Living In The Moment

I saw this quote on twitter the other day and absolutely loved it. It sums up my life at the moment pretty perfectly. 

Since finishing university for the Summer, I've done nothing but stress about money and work. Last Summer I had two jobs and was doing about 35 to 40 hours per week. However, right now I'm only doing half of that, and I've been worrying about money constantly. I've been applying for a second job, thinking of things that I can sell to earn more money, and I've been worrying about my savings account as I've been taking more out of it than I've been putting back in. This month in particular has been harder than usual, what with my Mum and Jordan's birthday, Father's Day and even Jordan and I's anniversary. I love buying people gifts, especially for those that I love.

But when I look at the bigger picture, I really shouldn't be worrying so much. The reason I'm short for cash is because I have trips booked and plans for later in the Summer. Travelling is my passion, and I love having trips booked as it gives me something to look forward too. So as long as I'm working and saving as much as I can, then there's not much more I can be doing. I need to save as much as possible in order to pay for my flat in September, but other than that, I need to stop worrying so much and start living in the moment. It's so easy to focus on the material things in life, when we should really be focusing on making new memories and having exciting experiences. Once I finish university in three years time, I'll no longer have a 3 month long Summer. I'll probably be working full time and will only get a handful of weeks off throughout the year. So I should start enjoying my Summer whilst I'm young, and whilst I still can. As long as I have enough money to get by and enjoy my life, I'll be okay.

A Week In Tenerife

Last week, Jordan and I set off on our first summer holiday together as a couple. We'd been looking forward to this holiday since January, so it's crazy to think that it's already over. But we both had the best week and I'm already looking forward to our upcoming trips over the next couple of months. We spent an amazing week in Los Cristianos in Tenerife, from the 31st May to the 7th June. We left from Glasgow International Airport and arrived in Tenerife later that day. We stayed at the Paradise Park Fun Lifestyle Hotel, and it was everything we could've asked for. We even upgraded our room so that we had a view of the pool and the sea. We were All Inclusive too, which made our holiday so much easier as we could spend our money on activities instead of on food.

We spent our first morning exploring the hotel. We discovered that the hotel had five pools, but the rooftop pool had the most amazing views. This is where we spent our next few mornings as it was the best place to catch the sun early in the morning. It was also an adults only pool, so it had a really relaxing atmosphere around it.

Jordan really wanted to try the Hard Rock Cafe as he's never been to one before and he really likes that style of music, so that's where we spent his birthday evening. It was a lovely meal and we both really enjoyed it. I've been to quite a few Hard Rock Cafe's before, and although I loved the meal at the one in Tenerife, I definitely think there are ones with a better atmosphere in other places.

Our hotel had a beautiful spa on the first floor that we were really eager to try. It was only 10€ to use the spa circuit, which consisted of a sauna, jacuzzi, plunge pool, Roman bath and various showers. We were able to use it for as long as we wanted, and I was majorly proud of myself for getting in the plunge pool. I didn't take my phone to the spa with me, so I unfortunately didn't manage to get any pictures of it.

The following evening we took a trip into Las Americas. It's known as the more lively part of Tenerife, with plenty of bars and restaurants, and is home to Tenerife's famous 'Veronica's Strip'. Jordan really wanted to visit the strip to see what it was like, as neither of us have been on your typical party holiday before. It wasn't a particularly big strip, but it was a good experience none the less. It made me realise that I definitely wouldn't enjoy a holiday like Magaluf or Zante though. The PR's started to get really annoying after a while, and I'm really not a big drinker anyway, so I didn't feel very comfortable. The only good thing was how cheap the drinks were.

On the Sunday we went back into Las Americas to explore the different beaches and have a wander around some of the shops. We found a really beautiful beach surrounded by some rocks, so we stopped to take some pictures. It was really hot that day, so afterwards we decided to go and play mini golf. I used to do this all the time as a kid when I went on holiday with my parents, so it brought back good memories. We had so much fun acting like big kids, and it was surrounded by some really pretty flowers and a water fall. But to top off the day, I also won the game!

By far, my favourite day of the entire holiday was when we went to Siam Park. I'd never been before, but it was the definitely the best water park I've ever been too. Our hotel offered a free shuttle bus service to the park, so it was really easy getting there and back and saved us a bit of money. The park itself had a sort of Thai theme going on and was actually really beautiful. We had the best day going on all of the slides, and I was really proud of myself for going on them all. The only one I wouldn't do was the Tower of Power as it had a vertical drop which scared me to even look at. I think my favourite slide was Singha, the new one for this year, as it was ridiculously fast and was unlike any slide I've ever been on. This was Jordan's favourite too. As we were leaving, there was some sort of Sea Lion show going on. We didn't stop to watch it, but I did take a few pictures. Thankfully the park wasn't busy at all, so we were able to do all the rides at least once, and we went on our favourites twice. I 100% recommend going to Siam Park if you're going to Tenerife anytime soon. It's been voted the best water park in Europe, and the second best water park in the world.

I thoroughly enjoyed our holiday to Tenerife and I'm so gutted to be home already. Spending an entire week alone with Jordan was perfect, and I really enjoyed just being able to do our own thing. We made sure we were kept busy, so none of our days were boring at all. I'm so eager to go on holiday again next year that I've already started thinking about where we could go. I absolutely loved it in Tenerife, and I think it was definitely the best place to go for our first holiday together. I'll certainly never forget it.

My Favourite Summer Scents

Now that Summer is almost upon us, I thought I would share some of my favourite fragrances for when the weather starts to get hotter. I have so many perfumes and body spray's in my collection that I found it hard to narrow them down to just four. However, these are the ones that I always seem to favour during the Summer months. 

Estée Lauder - Bronze Goddess

This one is my ultimate holiday perfume. I only ever use it when I'm on holiday, so whenever I smell it, it always brings back good memories. It has quite a strong coconut style scent, so it's fairly sweet but isn't too overwhelming. It's only available during the spring and summer months, but it is released every year. Estée Lauder describe the fragrance as "A sensuous, sun-drenched blend of Bergamot, warm Amber, Tiare Flower and Vanilla combined with a delicious creamy coconut." I would definitely recommend giving this a smell whilst you have the chance, because to me, it really is the epitome of summer scents.

Viktor & Rolf - Flowerbomb

To be completely honest, this is a fragrance that I wear all year round. I would probably say that it's my 'signature scent.' But it definitely has quite a summery feel to it as it is a very floral scent, with an almost musky base. If you don't like that sort of thing, then this one definitely isn't for you. The Viktor & Rolf website describes Flowerbomb as "harmonious sparkling top notes of mandarin and orange, middle notes of Sambac jasmine with a hint of orange tree, Catleva orchid, freesia and Cenifolia rose with a woody base note of Patchouli."

Victoria's Secret - Coconut Passion

As you can probably tell, I have a bit of a thing for coconut scented fragrances during the Summer. This one was quite a recent purchase, but as soon as I smelt it in the shop I knew that it would be perfect for on holiday. It has a very sweet smelling scent to it, with a mix of coconut and vanilla. I love wearing body sprays as I feel like they give out such a strong fragrance, whilst also being a lot lighter than a perfume. This will be perfect to just keep in my beach bag on holiday. I've had lots of Victoria's Secret fragrance mists in the past as they always smell amazing, so I'm excited to start wearing this one.

Hollister - Crescent Bay

Now this body spray has been a favourite of mine since I was about 15. I remember buying it for the first time when I was in third year at school after first trying my friend's one. This one has a very fresh and fruity style of scent to it, quite different to the Victoria's Secret one, so I love it for during the day when I'm feeling a bit sweaty. I've tried out quite a lot of the Hollister body sprays, but I always seem to go back to this one.

Holiday Clothes on a Budget

It's less than a month until Jordan and I go on holiday and I seriously cannot wait. This will be the first time that I've been on holiday without my parents, and it's really shocked me just how expensive it is for one week in the sun. I've been trying to get as many of my holiday clothes as I can within my budget, and I've done pretty well so far as I still have some clothes from last year that I can take. All of my shopping has been done at Asos, Primark and Boohoo, which are my favourite places to buy clothes. Of course I will be taking much more than this on holiday, but I thought for this post that I would show you some of what I've been buying to maybe give you some inspiration if you're going on holiday anytime soon!

Boohoo

Most of the pieces that I bought from boohoo were for me to wear in the evenings when we go for dinner and things like that. I was really impressed with some of the things they had online this year. As you can probably tell, I absolutely love anything off the shoulder, I just think it is so feminine and will look great with a tan. Everything from boohoo is so affordable, so I'd definitely recommend it if you're on a budget.

Kate Full Lace Midi Skirt - £15

Zoe Paisley Print Off Shoulder Playsuit - £12

Helen Off The Shoulder Playsuit - £15

Lucy Stripe Ribbed Bodysuit - £14

Tamsin Off Shoulder Skater Dress - £15

Anne Coin Back Sundress - £15

Ella Front Ruffle Cold Sleeve Maxi Dress - £18

Primark

Primark is always a favourite when it comes to shopping on a budget. I didn't buy an awful lot in there this year, but some of their new swimwear is gorgeous. I fell in love with the white swimsuit that I bought. It has an open back and is quite revealing across the front as it ties behind the neck. I think it looks so much more expensive than it actually was.

White Swimming Costume - £15

Black Bikini Top - £12

Lace Hem Denim Shorts - £12

Red Geometric Print Drawstring Joggers - £8

Asos

Last but not least is Asos. I didn't buy much at all from Asos this year, but I fell in love with the sunglasses that I bought and really wanted to include them in this post.

AJ Morgan Exclusive Round Sunglasses With Flowers - £15

*If you see anything that you like, just click the picture and it will take you directly to the item. The only things I couldn't link were from Primark as they do not have a website for online shopping yet.

I do not own any of the pictures included in this blog post

When I Went To Paris

A few days ago, I was reading someone's blogpost about their trip to Paris, and it reminded me that I've never actually uploaded any of my photos from when my friend and I went last Summer. I realise that it's now quite a few months later, but I'd like to do this post so that in the future I can look back at it and remember how much I loved it. The whole point of me starting my blog was because I love travelling and I wanted somewhere that I could document all of my past, and hopefully future, trips.

I went to Paris for four days at the end of August 2015. It was supposed to be a really nice trip for my friend and I before we both left for university. We both had a really great time exploring the city and its landmarks. We did a whole lot of sightseeing and tried to see as much of the city as we possibly could.

On our first day there, we headed straight for the Eiffel Tower. I'd always wanted to see it in person, and it was so much more beautiful than I'd imagined it would be. We bought our tickets and headed straight to the summit! The view from the top was amazing. We could literally see for miles all across the city. Once it started to get dark outside, we waited to see what the Tower would look like all lit up, and it certainly didn't disappoint.

Over the next few days, we set out trying to see as much of the city as we could. We started off by heading to Pont des Arts, as we wanted to attach padlocks to the famous bridge. It was crazy to see how many people had been there before us, and it was so lovely to see how many loved up couples had also attached locks to the bridge. I also wanted to try and find Kourtney Kardashian's and Scott Disick's lock, but once I got there, I realised it would've been impossible!

After that, we went to visit the Louvre. Unfortunately it was closed that day so we couldn't go inside, but we still took plenty of pictures. It was such a beautiful structure and I was really gutted that it was closed.

On our third day, we went to visit the Arc de Triomphe. I couldn't believe how huge it actually was! It was really busy around the Arc, and it took us a while to realise that we had to go through an underpass to get to it. We really wanted to walk to the top, but because neither of us were 18 at the time, we unfortunately weren't allowed. Instead, we spent a while walking beneath it and looking at all of the intricacies that had been carved into its sides. The rest of that day was just spent shopping and sightseeing. 

We decided to do a Segway tour of the city that day as well, which was honestly one of the best things I've ever done. It was such a unique way to get around the city, and we were able to see so many sights in such a short space of time. I did end up falling off in the end, but I'm trying to forget about that...

I absolutely loved visiting Paris, and I definitely want to go back in the future. Even though we spent our entire week sightseeing, we still didn't manage everything, so there's still a few sights I need to go back to visit. I really hope you enjoyed reading this post. I know that it's particularly outdated, but I didn't have my blog at the time, and I wanted to write it so that I could look back at it in the future and reminisce about how much fun it was. I absolutely love travelling and I can't wait to do more in the future.

50 Things That Make Me Happy

In today's society, it seems common for people to focus on the negatives in life. Although I am guilty of doing this myself, I feel like we should be focusing more on what makes us happy and what we enjoy about life. As the cliché saying goes, "You Only Live Once", so we need to start living life to the fullest and appreciating all that we have. Whilst reading Thirteen Thoughts' blog, I stumbled across the "50 Things that make me happy" tag and wanted to give it a go. I hope you enjoy reading my 50 things, and that it maybe inspires you to also take a step back every now and then, and just take a moment to appreciate all the good things in life.

1. My family. Especially my mum as she is also my best friend.

2. My boyfriend. He has helped me become the person that I am today, and I am so grateful that he is a huge part of my life. He has the biggest heart of anyone that I've ever met. Every time that he looks at me, I wonder how I ever got so lucky. I love him with all of my heart.

3. Puppies. I don't have one (yet), but every time I see one, I get the overwhelming urge to want to play with it.

4. Travelling

5. Crisps (I think I might be addicted...)

6. Going to the cinema

7. Having a tidy bedroom

8. Sunny weather 

9. New makeup

10. Having an early night

11. Sunbathing on holiday

12. Driving 

13. Summer

14. Spending some time alone

15. The feeling of satisfaction when an assignment is finished

16. Seeing the squirrels running around campus

17. My laptop

18. Green tea (especially with honey)

19. Pay day

20. My Grandma and Grandad. Remembering the things we used to do together when I was younger always brings a smile to my face. I miss my Grandma more and more everyday.

21. Christmas

22. Ben and Jerry's "Phish Food" ice cream

23. Nachos at the cinema 

24. Long summer evenings spent with family and friends

25. Laughing uncontrollably

26. Walking along the beach as the sunsets

27. Hot chocolate with marshmallows

28. Jewellery - I blame this on working in a jewellers

29. Lush bath bombs

30. Looking back at old photos

31. Knowing that I've done something to make other people happy

32. Cosy nights in just cuddling and watching films with my boyfriend

33. Rom-coms

34. Catching up with friends

35. Getting my nails done

36. The smell of my mum's fresh laundry

37. My phone

38. Nights at home with my family

39. Visiting new places

40. Airports 

41. Reading a really good book on holiday

42. Going out for dinner

43. My pandora bracelet that my boyfriend bought me for my 18th birthday

44. Berkley (a stuffed dog toy also bought for me by my boyfriend).

45. City breaks

46. Buying new perfume

47. Finding the perfect gift for someone's birthday

48. Skinny vanilla latté's from Starbucks (Costa's aren't as good unfortunately)

49. Getting hooked on a really good TV series

50. My blog

My New Favourite Skirt

I wasn't in the greatest of moods yesterday, so I thought what better way to cheer myself than to do some retail therapy. As I wandered aimlessly around New Look trying to find something to wear for my next night out, I stumbled across the most beautiful leather skirt that had been put back in the wrong place. Thankfully, the skirt was in my size, so I took it as a sign that it was meant to be mine.

The skirt is a gorgeous dusky pink colour, with two large pockets 

on either side and a large zip along the back! And the best part, is that it was only £14.99, a total bargain! After trying it on, I fell in love with it! It fits really nicely as it is quite a thick leather, so I knew that it would stay in place if I wore it on a night out. Also, because it is such a lovely pink colour, it's also perfect for Spring and Summer. I can't wait to wear it on holiday with an array of different crop tops and bralets.

Booking my First Summer Holiday

I wasn't too sure what to write about for my next post, but I thought I'd make it a little personal and write about something quite exciting that is happening for me.

Back in January, my boyfriend and I booked our first 'proper' holiday together, and on Thursday, we finally paid it all off! We're going to Tenerife for a week at the start of June and I honestly cannot wait. It'll be a great way to celebrate the end of my first year at university and finally have some time to ourselves to completely relax. We've never had a whole week alone together, so it'll be nice to spend some quality time with each other after being apart during semester time. I can't wait to just lie around the pool, chill at the beach, and have cocktails whenever I like! We also celebrate my boyfriend's 20th birthday whilst we're away, so that makes it even more special.

I feel like booking your first summer holiday away without your parents is quite a big deal. Or it is to me anyway. Whilst paying off the final instalment for our holiday, it hit me just how big a deal this is! Not only the fact that I'd just paid £500 for a holiday, but also because I'd saved up for it and paid for it all myself. To me, that is quite a big achievement and I'm pretty proud of myself. I feel like booking a holiday is quite an adult thing to do. But I guess that's what I am now; an 'Adult'!

I know that this post was a little different, but I like to document certain aspects of my life on here, and I guess this was just one of those times.