I flew out to America alone

I've taken a three month break from this blog without even realising it. Time has gone way too fast and life has just been non-stop.
In the past few months I took my second driving test...and failed! Spent a week in Ireland with my Mum, went to Matlock for the day with my Dad, dip-dyed my hair blue, celebrated my Mum's birthday, went interrailing through Berlin, Prague and Budapest and went to V festival.

I tried a lot of new things this year, but one thing I didn't think I'd ever manage was getting on a plane and flying out to America alone.

On the 25th August I flew out from Manchester airport towards New Orleans to be reunited with my best friend, Megan after 3 months of being apart. After having an emotional goodbye with my mum it was time to start my adventure. I don't know why, but the only part that majorly stresses me out in airports is going through security but everything went fine. 

After lots of phone calls and stressing out for about 2 hours I got on my plane towards my first destination Atlanta, where I had to make my connection.

My flight was great! I flew with Virgin Atlantic equipped with my travel pillow and there was no one in the seat next to me! I watched about 4 films, well I say watched more like fell asleep through all of them but that made the 9 hours go by so much quicker (must have been the wine I had).

When I got off to make my connection flight, I could just feel the anxiety returning again because I'd never made a connection before. Turns out I was only overreacting again and it was a really simple process of going through passport control, go through security again, reclaim your bag and give it to the person who puts it on another carousel to be transferred. Easy as that! If you're really worried, don't because there should be signs everywhere and plenty of people to ask.

Next flight was with Delta airlines and I had to wait less than 2 hours before boarding, so I decided to listen to some music. It was a short but sweet flight and no body was sat on my row again, I even got another nap in and woke up to a bag of pretzels they had given out. That 1 hour and 40 minutes flew by and after 13 hours I had finally made it into New Orleans. Yaaaaaay!

I couldn't wait to get off the plane and finally see Megan's face and have a lie down.

After getting off the plane, I went downstairs to reclaim my baggage and I could see Megan holding a sign with my name on it. We ran so fast to finally hug each other and we even had a little cry :') I missed her so much and we sat and chatted at the airport for so long that we ended up missing our bus to get us to our hostel (Oops!)

I'll be writing separate posts about my 2 weeks of travelling in America, so look out for my New Orleans post next!

x x x

SHARE:

0 comments

Muse in Brighton

So last week me and Megan headed off onto another adventure in Brighton to see our favourite band, MUSE!

Brighton has been on my list of places to visit for a long time because of the quirky and beautiful scenery and obviously the seaside.

We hopped on an early megabus to London and then a train to beautiful Brighton.

We took a small tour of Brighton on the way to our hotel, we explore some of the shops in the North Laine which we loved and strolled past the Brighton Dome where people were already queuing for the show and walked past the beautiful Royal Pavilion.

Not long afterwards we found our hotel, we were lucky to have an amazing view of the seaside and the pier from our room.

After settling in we got ready for the show and got through a bottle of rosé very quickly, we were absolutely starving and went on the search for food.  Our obvious choice was Yo Sushi 1.We love Japanese food 2. It was close to the Brighton Dome and 3. We really wanted a Big Hero 6 Bento since we are collecting the wristbands (definitely not two 21 years olds). My chicken katsu bento was delicious and the excitement for Muse was rising.

Yes! The gig was amazing and my love for Muse just got bigger and they even played my favourite song :') I didn't want it to end and I felt that feeling of euphoria I had the last time I saw them in 2013.

The atmosphere in such as small building was just electric and their new songs sounded even better live.

Okay I'll stop gushing over the show. After having mixed feelings of joy and sadness that it had ended we got to see the band after waiting for them to come out. I can't believe this actually happened but I met Dom Howard (the drummer), I was actually lost for words when I met him but I managed to ask for a photo!!

After gushing over having our photos taken we had a few drinks in the Mash Tun and then went to the Market Diner for late night noms!

The next day we had the best English breakfast with a nice view of the seaside, I really wasn't ready to return home just yet but unfortunately we had too :( after the quick train to London and then a train back to Sheffield we were home.

It's been over a week and post gig depression is still there. Wah!

Anyway back to reality, this week is a little more calmer as my work placement has ended, my second job has finished for the term and my Japanese and aerial hoop classes have finished.

So I can actually start working on uni work now. (I'll probably do a post on over-commitment soon!)

x x x

SHARE:

0 comments

December already?

This year is going way too fast, where did November even go?
I've been so busy doing things, getting stuck into my assignments and panicking over everything haha! No wonder it felt like such a whirlwind.
I thought I would share all the photos I took in November to show what I have been up to in the past month.

*We went to see Disney on Ice in a moment of spontaneity and it was AMAZING! As soon as we entered the arena the smell of sweetness just hit me from all the popcorn and sweets, you definitely knew it was Disney. I couldn't help myself smiling all the way through it like I was a giddy 5 years old again! I treated myself to some flashing minnie mouse ears too. We agreed that we would definitely see Frozen on Ice next year*

*I've been to a few Christmas markets but not in my hometown, Manchester and Leeds. I took my mum to the Manchester one as she'd never been to one before. We had such a good time and the only thing I bought was a soap filled sponge, yeah it's really weird at first but I absolutely love mine! I went to the Leeds one with my friend and it was much different from Manchester's which was spread across the centre, I found this one so cute as it reminded me of a little village. We supped on Baileys hot chocolate and I got myself a crepe with Nutella.*

*Lynette celebrated her 21st birthday which was Frozen themed (no surprise there) but it was so nicely set out, had a lovely meal at Fancie and then sang happy birthday to her as the cake was brought out (I didn't get a photo so I stole hers hehe). Afterwards we continued celebrating in town where my friend Georgina was also celebrating her 21st! Lots of dancing and drinking cocktails! Thank god I'm no longer the old one anymore*

*We celebrated the one year anniversary of my Grandad's death by visiting his grave and laying some lovely flowers down. We then went for a quick bite to eat and drink at a lovely place (forgotten the name though). Truly emotional day.*

*We recently had a new couple move onto our street and they put on a lovely housewarming party, every one baked and brought things to eat, ah it was so cute! Plus I got to meet some people on my road that I'd never seen or spoken too. We're even thinking of having a street party next summer, actually can't wait*

*Had a nice birthday lunch with Lynette before our seminar, had a meal at a lovely Italian which we will definitely being going back too. I've been craving Italian food a lot lately. She also gave me some presents from Paris and Japan* 

*Some good news! I received my psychology placement for next semester at...The South Yorkshire Eating Disorder Association, which I'm so pleased about because I really wanted to work in this area. I'm a little nervous but so excited at the same time*

*Just gonna throw in that I've finally got my hair highlighted again and now it looks all autumnal and brown, yaaay!*

*The last event of November was a lovely wedding party. My friend from Japanese class recently married and a few of us were invited to her wedding party which was held in a cottage hidden away (never actually knew it existed). It was a French/English wedding and she looked so beautiful. My love for the French language has definitely grown and I'm determined to learn it now*

Let's see what December has in store...

SHARE:

0 comments

My 21st Birthday Celebration

I finally got to celebrate my birthday at the weekend and I chose celebrate in style in Manchester. People kept asking me why Manchester? I love being in Manchester it just feels so lively and the nightlife seems better than Sheffield to me and if it wasn't Manchester I would have chosen London and I didn't fancy making us all broke.

I had an amazing weekend with my best friends and I am completely blessed to have these girls in my life for making it so special. I started the day with getting my nails painted in my own Barry M Gelly Nail Effect polish in Blue Grape and silver glitter polish to match my dress.

After rushing around and panicking before leaving the house, we were on the train to Manchester. 

We stayed in a lovely aparthotel (apartment hotel) 5 minutes away from the station, so glad my mum was able to find this one because it was quite a late booking. As soon as we entered the apartment we all gasped in excitement and ran from room to room bagsying bedrooms haha! 

I definitely felt quite glamorous staying here for the weekend in a two bedroom apartment with a nice view of Manchester. 

The night started with a trip to the shop to buy breakfast supplies and returning back to eat cake and play Ring of Fire which I'd never played, I've not laughed that much in a while my stomach was actually hurting. After playing two rounds we got dressed and I discovered how difficult it was to apply make up properly when you've been playing drinking games (never again). The blue sequin dress was in the ASOS sale for £16, they only had an XS left but luckily it was the perfect size and I wore a pair of nude heels £12 from ASDA. We took lots of girly photos shuffling from the kitchen to the bathroom and then we headed out.

We started with a meal which initially was going to be in Hard Rock Cafe, however there was a 75 minute wait and being pretty pricey we thought we'd try the all you can eat buffet next door called Peachy Keens and we ended up really liking it. The waiters were lovely and even told me how much they liked my dress. And you can't go wrong with 20% student discount making it £12 each. A lot cheaper than Hard Rock.

Next we got the taxi to Vodka Revolution on Oxford Road and we enjoyed a free shot and a pitcher. Afterwards we walked towards Sackville which is the vibrant gay village in Manchester, we decided to try their Baa Bar and I preferred this one a lot more compared to the one in Deansgate. Although me and friend got a bit freaked out by the unisex toilet.

We ended the night in 5th Avenue night club which I'm not going to lie was a bit of a disappointment with the music, but we met some lovely people there. We thought of looking for another place but being low on money and feeling exhausted we thought we'd head back to the apartment and just order pizza instead. 

In the end it was a really good night out, probably the best I've had in a while and I didn't have a breakdown yaaay! We had breakfast in the morning courtesy of Megan and checked out later because no normal person can leave at 11am. 

I had an amazing weekend of laughter and tears of happiness rolling down my face, we're pretty tempted to come back and do it all over again for 2 nights in the future. 

Hope you enjoyed reading!

x x x

SHARE:

0 comments

Cocoa Wonderland!

I love spontaneous days out with my bestie! Me and Megan decided to embrace the 'hottest day of the year' at the park however it rained a bit, thundered and it was just really humid! So change of plans we decided to venture for some tea & cake.

A place in mind randomly popped into my head and I thought why not go to Cocoa Wonderland on Eccy Road! I've always wanted to go but the thought never crossed my mind often enough. 

I knew it was a place which sold chocolate but from reading the reviews they did tea, cake and lots more! 

  

We arrived at the shop and we felt overwhelmed with excitement as soon as we entered! It felt like a traditional sweet shop with all the array of colours. Even the woman serving us could sense how giddy we felt. I ordered a rocky road hot chocolate & a slice of chocolate fudge cake and Megan ordered a banoffe shake & a chocolate fudge cake, the lady told us she would bring it to us. We had a choice of sitting downstairs or upstairs so we sat upstairs! We even got to put our phone in the docking station and play music. Everything was delicious! My hot chocolate was really chocolatey so I didn't get to finish it all, but I helped myself to the free jug of water to wash it all down. The view of busy Eccy road was nice as well. 

Afterwards we took a stroll into the botanical gardens! And I made a friend in the form of a cat named Oscar :D 

Today was a fab day and this is why I love my best friend! We have the greatest adventures together (as others have told me) and I cherish every single one of them. 

Thanks for reading

x x x 

SHARE:

0 comments