University Room Tour

 

This month I moved back to Huddersfield to start the second year of my Fashion Communication and Promotion degree! I spent last year in halls, living in a flat of four about a five minute walk from uni and while I did enjoy the experience, I'm much happier to be back in a house with a cosy, homely feeling and lots of space. I was determined this year to create my own happy little bubble where I can stay focused and motivated during the day and relax in the evenings. I am honestly SO pleased with the outcome. I've been turning to Pinterest religiously lately for inspiration or a way of dragging myself out of a low mood so I wanted to reflect this by having lots of uplifting quotes to inspire me and coach me through the next year. I wanted lots of colour and detail rather than having a distinct theme, so from the dozens of fairy lights to the many maps and travelling pics, the whole room gives a very 'me' vibe. When I was little I used to hope and pray that my parents would convert the loft in our family home into my very own room and now I'm literally living out my attic room dreams! I have an amazing view (although there is a tree kinda blocking it which I wish I could cut down) and the sun spans over the window all day so it's always bright and airy. The extra flight of stairs made moving in with my mountains of stuff pretty challenging but even that has its advantages as in addition to the twenty minute walk to uni, I've been declaring everyday as 'leg day'. I'm expecting to have the legs of an athlete by the time I move out next year. The whole house has white walls and exposed brick with accents of lime green (I daren't post pictures of the rest of the house as with six people living here, it is NEVER clean) and feels really modern and quirky. We can't figure out the heating so I'm permanently cold and the neighbours already hate us but I am SO happy here.

Aaaah isn't it just soooo cute *insert heart-eyed cat emoji here*. I've opted for two sets of bedding from Primark this year - a cute pastel geometric/grid print one which I have yet to try out and a plain white one which I love because it makes the rest of my soft furnishings the focus - even if it does crease like craaaazy. My throw is also from Primark, along with the geometric green/grey/marble print cushion on the far-left and pink one on the far-right. The other two are both from Matalan. I have some (once again) Primark festoon-style fairy lights hung up along my pinboard which my dad helpfully nailed into the wall (shh) and atm I have some scanned illustrations from Sophia Amoruso's Nasty Gal book pinned up to add to that whole #girlboss attitude that I've been trying to channel lately. On my bedside table I have the most adorable box which I picked up from TKMaxx earlier this year, a New Look copper mason jar and an oil pourer/vase, originally from TKMaxx, which I spray painted copper - not obsessed I PROMISE - and added some IKEA tulips to.

I neeeed to talk about this wall because it is EVERYTHING. I just love seeing other ppl's feature walls full of framed illustrations, photos, posters etc. so I've tried to recreate my own here and even though it's still in its early days and there's a lot I could do to improve/add to it, I'm in love. So far I have a hand-painted acrylic canvas (left) of an area in Krakow which I bought there last year, two 'just be you' and 'dream big' prints from a cafe/design store called Fig and Sparrow in Manchester, some travel polaroids, two quotes which I printed and framed, a large Paperchase vintage-style world map, an illustrated postcard from Venice and a cute little decorative hanging framed quote from Primark. This wall is the main thing that I feel really ties everything together and I just can't get enough of how much colour it adds to the room. I mounted the larger pieces (i.e. the canvas and frames) to the wall using adhesive command strips which you can probably find in any craft/diy shop but I bought in B&Q. Since I'm living in rented accommodation, I'm not allowed to add any permanent fixtures to the walls and these are a really good alternative to blue-tack because they're much easier and sleeker to use.

The storage space in my room is seriously lacking compared to my room in halls last year so I brought up a bookcase from my parents' house that wasn't really being used anymore and I'm glad it fits nicely into the little space at the end of my bed. On here I have a vase originally from Habitat, which I also spray painted copper, a snazzy AF pencil holder that my mum found in TKMaxx (filled with all the colours of the rainbow in sharpie form), a few books which I had to read at school/college and more often than not hated - but now love - and a B&Q potted plant which I mentioned in my last blog post. My desk area still needs a lot of work because it's looking super bland right now! Along with my beloved new Macbook I've also invested in a printer of my own this year which makes the long, dreaded walk to the library printers a thing of the past. My lamp was from Wilko and cost about £3 max and I've tied a Zara neck scarf around the base. I also brought my own desk chair from home because the one provided by the landlord was discoloured and pretty disgusting! Wouldn't find that in halls. I'm anticipating that in the up-and-coming months the back wall against my desk will be decorated with various deadlines/sheets/post-it notes/newspaper clippings etc. which might bring this area alive a bit more! I spent my freshers' week mostly drunk and making questionable decisions or hungover and nursing my poorly-self and now I just simply can't express enough how pleased I am to finally be settled back into my uni town and getting stuck back into my course. Thanks for reading!

Little Things I'm Loving

Life took a huuugely unexpected turn this past month so to try and combat the mess of emotions that has been my head and my heart, I seem to have accidentally piled up a big collection of shiny brand new things (woo). Retail therapy is a very good method of pain relief and I would highly recommend it in large doses :) I've provided links to all of the items if you wanna take a closer look. My first new love of late has been my incred new MacBook Air!! I honestly never dreamed that I'd be able to afford a laptop like this and while I technically can't just yet (student overdrafts are truly a blessing) I still feel infinitely lucky to be its owner and it's giving me all the uni inspo and motivation for my year ahead. I really enjoyed writing this blog post so thank you for reading!

Plastic decorative plants in cement style pots | B&Q, £7 each

These are probably the best and most realistic looking potted plants I have ever seen and I love that I don't have to fight to keep them alive! I attempted to care for some cacti at uni last year but it was a lot harder than I thought it would be so put it this way: they won't be returning with me for my second year. There are two different plants to choose from and I bought the succulent one first which I've already taken up to my new house at uni so I couldn't show you a picture of them side by side unfortunately! The plants are obviously plastic but there's also so much detail in the little grassy/mossy beds and the pots are super solid and heavy like concrete. I mean, I really never thought I'd be raving about potted plants to this extent so I guess they must be good. I'm living in the most aesthetically pleasing house this year with exposed brick walls, big bright white walls and lots of lime green detail and these will go perfectly in my cosy attic room! You can find them online here and here.

'Stay All Day' liquid lipstick in Beso | Stila, £16

Before I discovered liquid lipsticks this year, I used to think that I would just never be a lipstick person. I hate having to worry about it smudging across my face, I hate having to reapply after eating/drinking and I HATE how heavy it can feel on my lips. The Stila Cosmetics liquid lipsticks were a game changer for me because they literally banish all of these problems. They're seriously underestimated for their staying-power, amazing range of colours and gorgeous application and should be much more widely talked about than they currently are! I've yet to come across a formula I prefer over Stila. The liquid lipstick has actually just been awarded 'Best Beauty' product of 2016 by Stylist magazine. My first purchase was a shade called Patina, a pretty dusky rose colour which I've also pictured alongside Beso. It's like an improved version of my natural lips which are already quite pink and it's not a shade that I see repeated often elsewhere, although it's a great dupe for Kylie Jenner's Candy K. Beso, on the other hand, gives me the best red lip I've ever had and I've been loving wearing it. Now I need to plan which colour to purchase next! The full range of colours is stocked on Stila's own website with selected colours available at Boots.com plus some larger stores, Mark's & Spencer and Cult Beauty.

ASOS Simone heels, £35 | Pull&Bear slogan tee, £9.99 | ASOS rose gold plated hoop earrings, £8

I had a trip to Manchester a few weeks ago with the hopes of buying a pair of shoes in this block heel, court style but I was unsuccessful because there frustratingly seemed to be something wrong with every different pair I tried on and I reaaaally didn't want to bring home anything less than the perfect shoe I had envisioned. I was hesitant about ordering online since so many I had tried on in my usual size during my shopping trip were both too small and too big but I put my faith in ASOS and they (thankfully) didn't disappoint. These shoes come in half sizes and an array of pretty colours! I particularly love ASOS's take on the block heel court because of the *just right* heel height, elasticated back to avoid them slipping off and the pretty almond shaped toe - a nice middle ground between pointed and rounded. I also snuck an ever-needed slogan tee into my basket from my faves at Pull&Bear which I love. It actually looks light grey on the ASOS site but when it arrived it was a very subtle khaki green colour. I still love it all the same, if not prefer it actually! Finally, I treated myself to some pretty rose gold hooped earrings. I haven't really been that interested in wearing jewellery for a loooong time but I feel like people who remember to put on earrings every morning are the kind of people who really have their life on track so I'm trying to channel that by committing to a brand new pair of my own. I hadn't worn earrings for at least a year so I was a bit worried that the piercings had healed over but thankfully all is well and I can wear these and feel like a successful gal boss jewellery-wearing kind of girl. 

Cheap Eats | Venice on a Budget

I've been on my deathbed all weekend suffering from a case of post-festival flu so it seemed like a good idea to reminisce on happier times when I was devouring allllll the yummy food without feeling like I'd swallowed razor blades. My intention was to blog about my time in Venice in a similar style to the rest of my #traveldiary series but that plan failed as I kept myself way too busy to ever stop and write. So instead, I want to focus on the cafés and restaurants that I loved in Venice - in particular, the ones that were kind to my very tight budget! It wasn't always easy to find somewhere to eat that wasn't ridiculously expensive as most things are quite overpriced in Venice but a little bit of prior research and some help from Tripadvisor made my mission a little easier. In no particular order...

Dal Moro's Fresh Pasta To Go

Tucked down a very narrow little backstreet in the heart of the island, this was my first meal in Venice. I had been dreaming about a tomato-based seafood pasta ever since I set foot in Italy and I was so glad to discover this little, hidden gem of a place (with thanks to Tripadvisor) to make my dreams come true. I'd recommend using the map function on the Tripadvisor app to find the place as it's definitely very hidden away! You'll know you're getting close when you start to see a lot of people carrying white takeout boxes and there may be a long line of people waiting outside but this is always a good sign in my opinion. The actual 'restaurant' is actually a very basic box room where you place your order, pay and take your food away. There was a little area to stand and eat inside but why stay indoors when you're in such a beautiful city? I walked a couple of minutes around the corner and found a small canal-way with a bridge and stairs so I sat there, along with a lot of other customers, to eat my delish and piping hot Spaghetti ai Frutti di Mare which had tons of squid, prawns and octopus in it. This dish would generally be one of the more expensive options in a sit-down restaurant so I think I made a good choice in coming here to get my seafood fix for just seven euros.

Cocaeta

I will forever remember Cocaeta as the place I fell in love with crêpes and all their wonderful, endless possibilities. I walked for miles to reach this restaurant as it's location in Cannaregio was pretty much on the opposite side of the island to my hotel in Dorsoduro. Again, this place only really facilitated a few people to stand and eat in and your crepe is served on a basic plastic plate so it's another very unpretentious recommendation. I had read fantastic reviews which totally swayed me into venturing out in search of the perfect crêpe. For about five euros I chose one with smoked salmon, cream cheese, rocket leaves and balsamic vinegar and it was just the best. thing. ever. It was so good in fact that I actually made the round-trip on foot later in the evening for another - this time nutella, banana and whipped cream. The shop is on a beautiful stretch of canal right at the very edge of the island and I watched the sunset over the sea just a two minute walk away - a very romantic Venice moment with me and my crêpe. The shop itself, on both occasions that I visited, was only staffed by one guy who ran it all by himself so waiting times were a little slow but the food was freshly made in front of me so I really had no complaints. I was pleasantly surprised by the range of drinks stocked here too - there were plenty of alcoholic choices and an array of juices and non-alcoholic drinks as well as the standard soft drinks. I had hoped to visit again during my time in Venice but unfortunately Coaeta is only open from Fridays to Sundays. No doubt I'll be returning here the next time I'm in Venice!

Osteria Al Squero

I visited here on the eve of a big festival so the entire area was insanely busy and this particular place, a wine bar in Academia, Dorsoduro, not far from where I stayed, was a bit overwhelming. I get the impression from the reviews that it used to be a well-kept secret with the locals but its increased popularity now means that it's always heaving with people. As a young and solo female traveller, I'd made it an unwritten rule to avoid huge groups of drunk people where possible so rather than hanging around the bar, I once again took my plastic plate to a pretty spot and sat in the sunshine to enjoy my meal! Saying that, the bar itself was buzzing and had I been there with friends, I would have loved to stay inside and make the most of the huge selection of drinks. I'm not sure whether they have other food options on offer but the reviews all rave about the 'cicchetti' which is basically an Italian equivalent of tapas and bruschetta. I chose six for less than ten euros and the lady that served me was very patient and helpful suggesting and explaining what each flavour was! I chose a selection with different cheeses, ham, tomato, pesto, peppers and crab.

Suso's Gelatoteca

This was the one and only gelateria that I visited during my four days in Venice and it absolutely lived up to what I expected of real, Italian ice cream. For reference, the shop is about a five minute walk from the Rialto bridge so if you find yourself in that area I suggest you treat yourself to a visit here. There were lots of flavour options including sorbets and they seemed to cater well for vegans and coeliacs too. On my first visit I chose watermelon sorbet (always my favourite) and dark chocolate in a tub for approximately three to four euros. The price of the wafer was included and the tub was edible which was a cute quirk that I absolutely loved! The reviews all rave about it being 'the best gelato' this and the 'one true gelateria' that and although I didn't go anywhere else to make a fair comparison, I can confirm as a self-diagnosed ice cream addict that it was bloody good.

Tips:

• I discovered in Europe that wherever I went, I was likely to find a 'tourist menu' offering a set choice of starter, main course and dessert/drink. Being on a budget I absolutely utilised this. In Venice, there are a stretch of restaurants along the canal leading to Rialto Bridge that I noticed all seemed to have such a menu and I ate at one of them (unfortunately can't remember the name) and had spaghetti in a tomato pomodoro sauce, fried fish and chips and a large glass of wine for ten euros. It was always nice to eat in a restaurant environment knowing that I wasn't breaking the bank to do so.
• If you're visiting Venice with little to spend, you must research in advance before setting off for a meal! Venice has a crazy amount of restaurants but the cheapest places are often the hardest to find and some areas are a lot more expensive than others.
• Don't expect A* service or the luxury of real plates and cutlery. As you can see from the reviews above, I often dined outside and sat on the floor simply because my restaurant choices didn't accommodate people to sit and eat-in. I totally didn't care though because the streets of Venice are too pretty to spend all of your time indoors anyway.