The End of an Era.

So, here we are. I can't believe it has been 5 years of Chelle Belle. I started this page at the age of 16, still at school doing my GCSEs. I thought it would be a great creative outlet, where I could write for pleasure but also have some sort of impact on readers. I had no niche in mind, just lots of random ideas and a fire in me to publish them. Here I am now 22-years old, about to start my journey as an English teacher, a lot more grown-up, and a burning fire to find my next passion. 

I cannot thank you all enough for the support I've had over the years. Thank you for every post you've read, shared and commented on. I never would have thought this blog would reach the lengths it has. I mean, over 65,000 reads....INSANE. 

This page has been a huge part of my life growing into the woman I have become and even though I won't be posting anymore content, I know it will be a huge contribution to the woman I'll become from now. I've had the most amount of fun blogging and I've learnt so many things whilst doing it. I truly applaud every full time blogger out there, because believe me, it is not as easy as it seems. There is more to it than just writing and clicking publish. It takes so much time and effort to maintain a page like this, and I can only imagine it to be even more so when your bills are reliant on consistency. I've definitely slacked on posting over the past year or two due to other commitments, but I'm glad that I've had such an understanding community. 

I started this with no qualifications and you've witnessed me achieve my GCSEs, A-levels and now a Bachelors Degree. I started with just a few experiences, and now I have many more under my belt. I started with no views or followers and now I have a small community. A community I am immensely grateful for and I hope to stay in contact with on my other socials! 

Saying goodbye to this page almost feels like saying goodbye to my childhood self. With it being my 22nd birthday the day this goes up, it feels appropriate to end this era today. 

This page has been a form of therapy at times and I cannot put into words how much it has impacted my life in the most positive ways. I love reading old posts back and reflecting on who I was/where I was at the time of writing it. I also love seeing how much my mindset has evolved from the age of 16 to 22. Not just that, but my voice too. I always said I wanted this page to be more like a conversation rather than essays, and I really hope I did that justice. I hope it felt as personal to you as it did to me. 

I plan to leave all my posts up and I won't be deleting this page, so if you ever want to read some of them back again, feel free. I'll be right there with you. 

My tagline for this page was 'finding joy in the journey" and it's crazy how fitting it is. I really have, and once again I want to thank you for being a part of it. 

So, for the very last time.....

Thanks for reading,

Have a great day x 

Things I Did Whilst Self Isolating

I think we can agree that quarantine was a strange time. Not having the freedom to go out and live life like "normal" wasn't an easy adjustment but I decided to make a list of the things I did whilst self-isolating. I have been adding to this list since lock-down began and reading it back made me smile. Despite the year not being what any of us planned, honestly 2020 has still been memorable in good ways. This list consists of things that I did in lockdown 1, 2 and 3 (yikes). If you didn't know, England went into national lockdown three times. The first being between March and July, the second, November-December and then January 2021 - April. Now we are finally starting to get back to normal life, with everything being open and mass gatherings becoming legal again. In light of "freedom", I thought it would be a great time to post this. 

Dear 25 Year Old Self

When I started this blog, I was 16 and one of the first posts I remember being really proud of writing was a letter to my 12 year old self. I re-read that post recently and was inspired to write one for the future me. If there is any good time to do it, it's during a period where the whole world is forced to stop and humble themselves. I've had a lot of time to really thank God for the way he has built my life and it makes me look forward to blessings yet to come. Since my previous letter was to myself 5 years in the past, it made sense to make this one 5 years into the future. So, here we go.

Words That Would Make Good Baby Names

So, this post is going to be super random and different. I was just thinking to myself one night, trying to fall asleep and I ended up thinking of random words that would make good baby names, if they didn't have the meanings or connotations that they do. I thought it could make a great blog post, so I put up a poll asking if people would want to read a post like this. Pretty much everyone who voted said yes, so here we are. ENJOY!

Answering Assumptions About Me

Welcome or welcome back! For today's post, I wanted to do something fun and light-hearted. These type of posts tend to do pretty well on my blog and it's nice to write something that doesn't require too much effort sometimes. As you can tell from the title, I am going to be responding to some assumptions people have about me. This is really popular on YouTube and I wanted to get on board with it. It's a good way to feed my curiosity and also for my readers to get to know me better.

All the assumptions were taken from people over YOLO (an anonymous app linked to Snapchat) and Instagram. If you want to get involved in future posts like this, make sure to follow my Instagram.
I'm excited to answer these, so if you want to read my responses, just keeping reading :)

2019 Achievements

I had a bit of a breakdown a couple weeks ago about not reaching as many goals as I planned - as I discussed in my 2019 lessons post. To reassure myself, I flipped through my planner and noted down all my achievements from 2019. It showed me that I've actually achieved more than I thought I did. In order to spread some positivity, I'm going to share those achievements with you. Hopefully this encourages you to do the same and really think back to all your annual successes, whether they be big or small. All achievements are valuable and sometimes it is so easy to forget them, in the midst of chaos. Take a step back and look at your wins! Here are mine.

In My Feelings Playlist

Anyone that knows me, know of my complete adoration for music. I can't go a day without music. Quite frankly impossible. I listen to music according to different moods or to change my mood. During this season where it seems like everyone is boo'd up, I've been getting in my feelings a fair bit. Don't get me wrong, I'm very much content being single right now and have absolutely no plans to change that any time soon, but I do love a good slow jam or R&B tune. Due to this sometimes I end up sitting in the dark with my ear phones in, longing for my other half (ew). Anyway, I got a request from Robyn (my bestie - she better be happy about this shout-out) to share my 'In my feelings' playlist after giving a snippet on my Snapchat private, so here it is. ENJOY

Ways You Can Support Bloggers

I've been blogging for 3 years now and one reason why I'm still constantly writing, is because of the support I get from my readers. I often get messages from people telling me how much they love a product I reviewed or how some advice helped them. It is a great feeling to know your hard work hasn't been in vain. Unless you have a blog or social media platform of some sort, you may be unaware of the work that goes into maintaining one. I often spend hours a week doing admin bits, writing, finding new ideas etc. I totally understand why full time bloggers need a break sometimes. Without support from others, it wouldn't be as fun or rewarding as it is. I thought I would share some small ways that YOU can support a blogger.

The ABC Tag

It has been a while since I have done a fun tag post. My Perfect Imperfections tag is one of the most popular posts on my page! Given that it has so many hits, it tells me that you guys like tags. I saw this one on We Heart it and decided to answer the questions myself. I enjoy writing tag posts because it allows you guys to get to know me better, and I enjoy thinking about my answers. I hope you like this as much as the last one.

A (Age)

I am 19-years old.

B (Best Book)

I'm torn between See Me by Nicolas Sparks 

and 

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas 

C (Country from)

I was born and raised in Great Britain but my family background is Jamaican

D (Dream)

I have a lot of aspirations for my life (Here is my Bucket List), but one particular dream I have is to publish a successful book. I'm leaning more towards a non-fiction book of some sort. Whether it be an autobiography, a self-help book, a devotional for women etc. I have always loved writing, and would love the opportunity to write something that could go world wide. 

E (Everyday starts with)

I want to say prayer, but recently I haven't been very good with that. I still pray but it's not the first thing I do. Definitely need to work on that. The first thing I tend to do is convince myself to get up, and then check my phone (terrible I know)

F (Favourite series)

This is hard because I don't really watch shows all that often. There was a period of time where I just wasn't watching anything at all. Books and music were perfect for me. I would have to say Jane the Virgin or Say yes to the dress. I'm so upset that season 5 of JTV will be the finale. I enjoy Say yes to the dress because I'm that girl who has been dreaming about her wedding day since she was like 10. I love wedding shows. 

G (Greatest accomplishment) 

It took me a while to think of an answer for this question. Not because I haven't done good things but because I feel like I'm yet to accomplish something GREAT. For the sake of this tag, I will say doing my election speech for head-girl in year 11. The reason for that is because I shared a personal story with people who knew me but didn't KNOW me and for an introvert, public speaking is not the easiest thing to do. It was such an accomplishment to speak in front of over 200 people. That was something I would never have done even 6 months before that. I really grew in confidence during that time in my life. 

H (Height) 

I need to get measured again but I'm pretty sure I'm just under 5"3 but I tell people 5"3 because I'm not trying to be that girl who says "and 3/4". 

I (In love with)

I'm in love with FOOD. Honestly I crave Nandos 5 times a day 

J (Job of Dreams)

I would love to be a teacher, but I wouldn't say it's my "dream job". I've wanted to teach since I was about 6-years old. I used to place my dolls and teddy bears on the stairs and pretend I was giving a lecture in a lecture theatre, talking absolute nonsense. I had so many teachers whilst growing up that just made me want to do it. From primary through to sixth form I've held that same aspiration but I don't know whether it's my "dream" job. Maybe because the UK education system is awful. I don't know. 

K (Kids I Want)

I would like a maximum of 4. I feel like it just gets even more stressful and expensive beyond that point. 

L (Last Thing I Ate)

Moam Pinballs. Not the best for your body haha 

M (Magic Power)

If I had a super power I would want the power to heal. I would love to be able to fix a broken heart, mind or actual physical problem. However, I'm not God so I'll leave that to him. 

N (Number of siblings)

Two younger brothers 

O (One song) 

Bloodline by Ariana Grande

P (Plants/Flowers)

Pink Roses 

Q (Question I'm always asked)

"How's uni?" and "Are you mixed race?"

R (Reason to smile) 

My family and friends who always support me, the ability to keep reaching purpose everyday and seeing the people I love succeed. 

S (Shoe Size)

I'm a UK size 6

T (Time I wake up)

It's different every single day

U (Unpopular opinion)

Avocados are vile

V (Vacation Place)

Anywhere beautiful where you can relax and admire God's work. I really want to go to Hawaii, Australia, Switzerland and Greece

W (Worst Habit)

Doubting myself or picking my eyelashes after I take my makeup off

X (X-rays)

I've had one x-ray for my foot. It was a gymnastics injury that I did 10 minutes before I was supposed to start comp...

Y (Your favourite Artist)

Ella Mai. I have been listening to her since 2016 and was anticipating her album for so long. It's so so good and her voice is incredible

Z (Zodiac Sign)

Virgo 

My Current Favourite Bloggers

The blogging community is full of creative, hardworking individuals with amazing content to show for it. Blogging is definitely not easy. Over the almost 3 years I have been doing this myself (wow 3 years.......time flies), I have definitely come to realize the hard work that goes into it. I am not a full time blogger and I've felt the stress and pressure that comes with being a writer, so I really rate those who do this as a career. There is so much more work than just writing, that you kind of need to do for yourself in order to understand. I thought I would do a little appreciation post for some of my favourite bloggers at the moment, to let them know that they're doing great AND maybe introduce you to some new blogs.

Jasmine Talks Beauty:

Jasmine Talks Beauty was one of the first Beauty blogs I became really invested in reading. Jasmine really works hard on her posts and you can see it! She posts so frequently and I have no idea how she does it. I love how her website looks too. It's so aesthetically pleasing and so easy to navigate. Everything about her blog is just so beautiful. Her photography is great and it's just light and refreshing. Before you even read anything, it just inspires you. I've come to really appreciate her advice when it comes to makeup products and beauty. Her reviews are really informative and shes always so up to date with releases. If there is a product I'm looking to buy, I pretty much wait until she posts about it.

ScarletSlippers:

I discovered Charlotte's blog through her vlog channel almost a year ago. I had been watching her university vlogs for months and one day I saw in her description that she had a blog. Of course I checked it out because I'm always looking for new blogs to read and be inspired by. Charlotte's blog is one of my favourites simply because of how relate-able she is. We're only a year a part in age and I guess that makes her personal posts a little easier to relate to. She is such a lovely girl and I would love to meet her one day. She just seems extremely genuine and fun to be around. You can tell that she puts a lot of effort into her posts and I love her photography! It was actually her who inspired me to do a bucket list page. I've always had my bucket list but I never thought to share it, so thanks Charlotte!

Lauren Victoria: 

I cannot remember when or how I discovered Lauren's blog, but I'm glad I did. She has one of the prettiest looking websites and I feel like it really reflects her writing style. Like Jasmine's it is just so light and radiates happiness. I hope you'll check her out and understand what I mean. Her blog mainly focuses on Beauty but she also writes lifestyle posts too. I really enjoy her writing style as well as her photography. I would LOVE some photography tips from her because they really add something to her content.

Humaira's Corner: 

OK this might be cheating a little bit because we're friends HOWEVER she would be on here regardless. I've known Humaira for as long as she has started her blog only a few months ago and she's definitely doing a better job than I did during the earlier stages. Let me tell you, one thing I didn't get right that Humaira has is consistency. I'm going to be pestering her for the secret because I'm still struggling with it. Whether it be on her blog itself or her socials, her followers always have content from her. Her posts are such a great read and she's already forming a great connection with her audience, which is super important in the blogging world. I'm proud of you sis!

The Macaron Girl Travels:

As you can tell from the name, this is a travel blog. The owner of the site is called Timi. I'm quite jealous of her to say the least. She has been to some of the most BEAUTIFUL countries. Her photography is outstanding and every post makes me want to travel. Her blog style focuses more on photography but with short almost diary like writing to go with it. She goes through some of the best things to do and places to go in each destination. I love that she has a little map on the side bar so you can see her next journey. It's super cute. If you're not already itching to see the world, follow her blog and Instagram.

Lavender Vines:

Lavender Vines is a Christian Blog created by a lovely woman called Tiffany. I discovered her blog very recently and I've been LOVING it. I'm currently doing a 21 day fast and her blog posts have really inspired me to make more time for God in 2019. In fact, make him the centre of everything. I love how real she is and you can tell she is such a loving person just through her writing. I actually found her blog through Instagram, as I was looking for more Christians to follow. I'm so glad I came across her blog and I feel like it was the perfect timing.

So these are some of my current favourite bloggers. I read SO MANY blogs so I will definitely be doing more posts like this in the future. I think it is so important to show appreciation for people's hard work.

I hope you enjoyed this post and found some new blogs to read this year!

Thanks for reading,

Have a great day x

Christmas Wishlist 2018

HAPPY HOLIDAYS GUYS! As I write this, it's FINALLY December 1st. Anyone and everyone who knows me will be aware of my love for December. Not only is it the month of Christmas (obviously), it is also the final month of the year to meet the goals I set in January. University life has been jam packed so finding time to write has been a struggle. Despite that, I wanted to make sure I got some content up this month. Last year I was able to successfully complete Blogmas so it is only fair that I get at least a few posts up this year.

I thought I would kick start the month of content with my annual Christmas Wishlist. Not only does it help my friends and family but I find these posts so much fun to write. It's actually much smaller this year. So enough rambling....let's get into it. 

Perfume: 

I LOVE perfumes. It's one of those things that I don't tend to buy for myself but I use it every single day. You can't go wrong with opening a fresh bottle of perfume on Christmas morning. I don't have a specific perfume in mind but I know your collection can never be too big. 

Lip Scrub: 

Every winter my lips get super dry. Of course I'm constantly using lip balm, however I feel like I need something more intense this year. It's abnormally cold already and we've just touched December. I figured I would put this on my list because it saves me money haha. I know that the Lush bubblegum lip scrub is loved by many. 

Colourful Eyeshadow Palette: 

When it comes to eye-shadow, I definitely stick to neutral and warm toned colours, however I have recently been inspired by Tammi Clarke. She does so many beautiful looks with colour that make me want to be more experimental. The one problem is that I don't own colour. I've had my eye on 2 palettes in particular. 

- BH Cosmetics Take Me Back To Brazil Palette 

- September Rose SLUSH Palette 

Pamper Set:

I receive some sort of pamper set every Christmas and I love it. I have a lot of Netflix nights and I enjoy pampering myself whilst I watch a movie or series, so stocking up on products is a must. 

Nail Polish: 

I ask for new nail polish every year because by the end of the year, half the bottles are empty. I prefer nude for the most part. 

Lounge-wear Set:

I asked for this last year but unfortunately didn't get it. I did get a couple hoodies though so of course I was still very happy. I've never owned a cute lounge wear set so what's the harm in putting it on the list again?

Ring:

I also put this on my list last year. I got a beautiful ring with swarovski crystals, from my mum. I wear it almost everyday. However I had another ring that I used to switch between and sadly lost it in Barcelona. I love rings. They're probably my favourite thing to wear, so of course I have been trying to replace the missing one for months. I just haven't found the perfect one, so maybe someone who knows me well will find it!

Over-sized Denim Jacket: 

I'm 5'3 so anything is over-sized to me...HOWEVER all of my denim jackets are actually mid length. I've been wanting an over-sized denim jacket for a few months. I totally forgot to ask, for my birthday but I guess it's because it was starting to get cold. Denim jackets were the last thing on my mind. Sitting down right now and creating this list reminded me of how much I want one in my wardrobe.

A Bluetooth Speaker:

This is probably the thing I want the most this year. I'm always listening to music and I'm not sure why I have never thought to buy one or ask for one before. I feel like being at uni has made me realise how much my life needs one LOL. I'm not fussed on the brand or anything like that. As long as it does the job, it's perfect. 

Still Me By JoJo Moyes:

Would this be Rochelle's wish list without a book? I don't think so. The book I really want to read is Still Me by Jojo Moyes. I've read both Me before You and After Me. I loved them! When the third book was released earlier this year I knew I needed to read it but I never got around to buying it.

That's everything on my list for this year! Fingers crossed I can tick everything off. Of course I'm not expecting to receive everything but there's always that little bit of hope, right?

What's on your Christmas list? Let me know in the comments.

Thanks for reading,

Have a great day x

My Current Playlist

Music is one of the best parts of my life, I was actually writing another post when I thought mmm I should do another playlist post. My music taste honestly varies. Anytime someone asks what music I listen to, I honestly can't give a straight answer. If it sounds good, I'll listen to it. Best way to put it really.

I love music from primary school/early high school time. Music from 2009-2014 was the best, don't even @ me. I rediscovered so many classics and they're all on repeat, so my playlist is honestly such a mix.

Let's begin!

1) All of the ELLA MAI album to be honest.
- I LOOOOVE her album so much. I think she's a brilliant artist. I love how her album explores so many areas of love. It's not just a "men are trash" approach or "He's my world" vibe. It really paints a picture of what love is like. All directions were considered and I love that.

My Top 3 Tracks:

I) Whatchamacallit ft Chris Brown
II) Trip
III) Sauce

2) Deuces by Chris Brown, Tyga and Kevin McCall Jr
- This song came out when I was in year 6 and it still bangs. I rediscovered it very recently and honestly I forgot how much I loved it. It's one of those songs that could be released in 2018 and would do just as well in the charts as it did in 2011.

3) 079 Me by B Young 
- The whole vibe of this song is just such a mood. Like let me get mi maracas out! Take my number cus the beat is sick. It's obviously more of a summer tune but it's October, it's still acceptable.

4) Breathin' by Ariana Grande

I like this song so much that I randomly decided to choreograph to it. Choreography that nobody will see but thats not the point. I don't even know exactly why I like it but I do.

5) Funky Friday by Dave ft Fredo

I don't usually listen to either of them but I liked this song literally the first time I heard it. Dave did such a good job producing it and the flow is A1. You can't listen to it without at least bopping LOL. Also, if you've seen Sam Smith flexing to this, you know how funny it is.

6) Come and See Me & Location Mash Up by Kiana Lede and Maurice Moore

- It's such a beautiful cover. Their voices match so perfectly. I was listening to Kiana Lede when it came on shuffle and I loved it.

7) Bad Vibe by M.O, Lotto Boyzz and Mr Eazi 

Again this is quite a summer tune but if it's good I'll play a summer tune in December. I played this all summer and it's still being played. Anytime I hear it, I just wanna scream "WHO NEEDS MEN" and dance. Like I'm just living my life!

8) I Wish You Loved Me by Tynisha Keli

- This song is old as heck. It came out in 2009 so I was literally just a yute. I knew nothing about love so I didn't appreciate it. I mean to be fair I still know nothing about love but let's pretend I do. This is such an in your feelings song. It's pretty much about a girl realizing she is in love with her best friend and how much she wants him. It's cute but bit of a sticky one there. Shoot your shot sis.

9) Doo Wop (That Thing) by Lauryn Hill

- EVERYONE loves this song. If you don't, are you ok babes? This is one of those songs that I literally belt out at parties like nobody can see or hear me. It came out before I was even born and I play this like it was written for me. The anthem for the whole men are trash/women are trash movement.

10) Upgrade U by Beyonce ft Jay-Z

-In my option B-Day was Beyonce's best album. I'm always playing it. Upgrade U is like my sassy song, if you know what I mean? Like bro you NEED me. Your life may be fantastic but the way I can elevate it is a mad ting. WOW I'm gassing myself up too much to be honest LOL.My point is that it's a good song.

I'm just going to stick with 10 because I could go on forever. What songs do you have on repeat? Let me know in the comments below.

Thanks for reading,

Have a good day x

My Self Care Routine

Well....hasn't it been a long time! I feel like I haven't written a post in soooo long. Uni and work has been a little crazy. I may possibly do a post on my first semester at the end of this year so I won't get into all of that now. I did actually write the kitchen part of my uni hauls but I decided not to publish it because I didn't like how it turned out, so please forgive me.

Anyway.......enough waffling. Today's post is going to be my self care routine. This is something that I really want to get into the habit of doing, now that I'm at university. I'm only a month in and I can already see how your mental health can seriously be affected, so it's important to always make time for yourself. It's OK to go out and live your best life, but it's also important to have some alone time and make sure you're good. It can be very easy to focus on being social and looking out for other people but you really do have to treat yourself well too.

My routine isn't set in stone. It really does depend on my mood and how my day has gone, however I do have certain things that I am likely to do when I have me time. Hopefully this will give you some ideas for your own self care routine.

You can have some you time at any point. Sometimes I do it before a night out but most the time staying in is actually a part of self care. If I choose to do it before a night out, I like to give myself lots of time to get ready. Doing your makeup can honestly be so therapeutic and being able to do it whilst relaxed, rather than rushing around is so lovely. Do not underestimate the power of blending foundation. It's extremely satisfying. It's even better with music or Netflix in the background. Oo and don't forget your fancy wine glass haha.

When I stay in, I do the complete opposite. I love the process of getting UN-ready. Doing a full skin care routine is such a stress relief. I don't have a bath in my student accommodation so I definitely appreciate it more when I go home. If you like baths then a classic LUSH bath-bomb is essential. I take my time when taking my makeup off and I may do a face mask or two. I've found that less is more when it comes to skin care so on a daily basis I use no more than 3 products but self care days/nights, I may do a mask or some kind of treatment.

I've been asked to do a post for my skin care routine for a while now but honestly I don't do much anymore, so the post wouldn't be very long. Another thing I like to do is dress appropriately. If I go out, I will ATTEMPT (key-word) to pick a nice outfit but if I'm staying in, I usually wear pajamas or comfy clothes.

Obviously, self care is about how you feel, so it's not all about how you look. I just find that looking good makes me feel good but if you don't care for it, don't feel that you have to. There are so many other things I like to do.

If you've been reading my blog posts for a long time or you know me personally, you'll know that I've danced for years. It's always been one of my favourite things to do. Whether it be to an upbeat song or I'm just laying my emotions out to a sad song, dancing helps me relax. I just grab my laptop or some headphones and DANCE. I live with earphones in most the time. It's honestly not because I'm trying to be antisocial, I just get lost in my own world when music plays LOL. I literally have headphones in as I write this.

As well as dancing, sometimes I like to write. It could be a blog post or just something random in my journal (yup I am that person). I feel like people should expect that, considering I study English. Writing is such a good outlet. Angry? write. Anxious? write. Sometimes I write my exact feelings on paper and then rip it up. It's such a good feeling. It gets all your emotions out.

It doesn't have to be all negative either. I have a gratitude section in my planner so every night I spend time writing for that.

Since it is now Autumn and it's getting a lot colder, this is the best time to start your own routine. If you have a routine, what things do you like to do? Leave a comment below.

I hope you enjoyed my post. Sorry for abandoning y'all (yet again). Hopefully you won't have to wait too long for the next one.

Thanks for reading,

Have a great day x

University Haul- Bedroom

Finally, I bring to you part 2 of the university hauls. I have been so busy lately with uni prep and celebrating my 19th birthday that I struggled to find time to write this post but I finally made it a priority to get the next few hauls up!

As I write this, I only have 2 days until move in day, which is so exciting.

My Theme:

The theme I have chosen for my room is grey, pink, navy and marble. Such a basic uni girl theme, I know.

BEDDING

I bought a reversible duvet set from George for £12. My bed will be a single however my aunt bought me a double duvet before I knew, so I'm going to be real cozy this winter. As soon as I saw it, I loved it. It fits my theme perfectly and I love that it can be reversed. 

I don't know what sort of people have previously been in the bed that I will be using for the next year, or what has been done, so I made sure to buy a mattress protector. It is from George and was £7. It's really soft too so it will add another layer to the probably hard as rock mattress. 

I have no idea where this duvet is from or how much is costs because it was bought for me. It's a double, like I said and I bet it's going to be super comfy. 

I got this navy throw blanket from Primark. It was originally £4 but I got it for half price at the till. It will go perfectly with the grey side of my duvet and it's super soft. I'm undecided whether I will use it as part of the bed or just to keep as a spare blanket for when friends come over. This is actually one of the only items that I bought which is navy, so I may take it out of the theme altogether. 

I got this bed sheet for my birthday. I was so happy because it was one of the final things I needed to buy but didn't have to in the end. I will most likely buy another one so that I can have one on the bed whilst the dirty one is in the wash. 

FOR CLOTHING

I have a bunch of spare clothes hangers at home that I am going to bring with me, however I bought some plain black hangers from Wilko for £1.00. You can never have too many clothes hangers. 

I bought some door hangers from Primark for £2. It will be good to put my dressing gown or jackets on. We don't have much wardrobe space so you have to make your own adjustments. 

I bought this pop up storage bin from Primark, which I will use for dirty laundry. As soon as I saw it, I was so excited. I LOVE MARBLE, and of course with it being a part of my theme, I was ecstatic. It was £4 but when I got to the till, it was half price! I'm obsessed with it to be honest.   

My mum got this light up diffuser for Christmas last year however she isn't really into diffusers and candles etc, so she let me have it. I thought I would save it for uni since we can't have candles in our flat.

My pillow is so lovely! It was £9.00 from Argos.

 

We get a dust pan and brush to share within our flat but I thought I would buy one to store in my bedroom. It was £3.50 from Wilko

This is just a few things I have bought for my uni room. I hope you enjoyed!

Thanks for reading,

Have a great day x

University Haul- Bathroom

EEEEK! Finally, my first uni haul. I have had this planned in my head since the start of year 13 and it is so mad how quickly it has came around. I started my shopping last week (minus bits I found for my room a couple months ago) and I have been so excited to show everything. We have an all girls uni goupchat where everyone was showing their bits and bobs. I knew I wanted to do these posts so I held back on showing my own stuff. It was eating me alive not being able to show everything but now I finally can!

I'm starting with the bathroom since that turned out to be the area I finished shopping for first. Some things (in fact most things) aren't necessarily fancy however I don't know about you, but I'm nosy. I love hauls. I will literally sit and watch/read grocery hauls just because I like to know what people enjoy buying LOL.

Disclaimer: 

1. There are little things that I won't be showing just because they're standard and extremely boring but at the end I will mention them. 
2. I will also be putting where I bought the items, with the price tag for the most part, however if I have lost the receipt and cannot remember, it will be blank. 
3. My pictures aren't the best but I wanted to focus on just showing the stuff rather than taking hours to do the perfect flat lays and set up. 
4.  It's not in any chronological order so if that bothers you.........soz pal 

My theme for my bathroom is grey, silver and white. There are some things that may be out of the theme because it's not that deep but I tried to stick to it as best as I could. 

LET'S BEGIN

Bath Mat 

I was in Primark one day with Robyn and we came across some memory foam bath mats. After feeling them I didn't want anything else. They were so soft! The one problem was the price. There was no way my mum was going to allow me to spend £6 on a bath mat. Of course that didn't stop me looking elsewhere for one. After searching long and hard, I got this grey memory foam bath mat, from Pound-stretcher! It was on sale too. Even flippin' better. ONLY £1.99. You can imagine my excitement when I walked out the store. I got my soft mat and wasn't poor.

I placed my hand on it for the picture to show how soft it is. Honestly this was one of my favourite purchases simply for the bargain.

Towels

My towels do not fit into the theme I'm going for since I'm just bringing towels from home. I have new towels that I have not used yet,so I didn't see a point wasting money on buying new ones just for the sake of sticking to the theme. (I wasn't able to take pictures however I may edit them into the post once I can) 

Shower Caddy

This is a silver Caddy with 3 shelves. I'm going to get command hooks so I can hang it up in the bathroom. My plan is to keep all my products in like shower gel, skin care products, wash cloth etc. It was £7 from Wilko.

Toilet Brush

This looks like one fancy toilet brush but it was actually so cheap. The thing that made me get it was that it has a lid. I like that because it won't make the air smell. Not that I would keep it long enough to smell but you get what I mean. It matches the theme too which actually wasn't the plan. I was just going to get a normal white plastic one but it worked out in my favour. It was £3.50 from Wilko 

Bin

I got the matching bin for £4 from Wilko. I like that it can be easily taken out and it's nice and compact. The bathroom isn't very big so it's important to look at size when buying your stuff. 

I also picked up a roll of bin bags for 50p at Wilko. 

Cleaning Products

These grey storage baskets were actually the first things I got for uni. My mum bought them months ago. I'm using them to store all my cleaning products. The smaller one will probably stay in the bathroom and I'm not sure whether to keep kitchen stuff in the big one or just use it for bathroom storage. I'm not sure how much they are as my mum bought them months ago and she didn't keep the receipt. 

I got some Pledge Cleaning Polish for surfaces. This is the one I use at home to clean my room so I thought I would just stick to what I know. I get it from Wilko for £1 and it lasts ages. 

My mum bought me some Duck 5 in 1 Marine Limescale Cleaner. It's literally just toilet cleaner. Nothing too exciting. I think it's like £3 from Wilko.

I have some good old Detol Surface Cleanser. EVERYONE needs to have this stuff. It literally cleans anything. I grew up using Detol products and I wouldn't use anything else. It's one of those products that can be used in the bathroom or kitchen. You can get it in Tesco for £2.50.

I also picked up some massage sponges. They're good to clean the sink or tiles with. They're super cheap. You can get them in Poundland, Home Bargains, Wilko etc. They do a set of 3 for £1 at Poundland or individual sponges for like 40p at Wilko.

The final thing I have are a couple packs of flush-able toilet wipes. This is obviously just to clean the seat and lid. Unfortunately I do not know where my mum got these from but you can find toilet wipes anywhere. 

Tumbler

Honestly you can get Tumblers for such a better price but when I see Marble I tend to be irrational. This was £3 from Primark and I low-key regret spending so much on a tumbler.....but its marble so justified. It's obviously just to keep my toothbrush and toothpaste in.

Wash Cloths

Pack of 3 wash cloths from Primark for £1.80. 

Cleansers

I thought I would show these two products despite them being boring. The Dove Body Wash smells incredible honestly and I thought I would show it so you girls can jump on it. It smells so nice. It's currently on sale at Superdrug for £1.31. The facial wash is the one I use every morning and night. Since I always get asked about my skin care routine I thought I'd show this. It's from Superdrug for £3.49. 

Other Things I Have: 

- Toilet Roll £2.00 for pack of 4 Wilko

- Tooth Brush x2 £1.00 Home Bargains

- Hand-wash £0.70 Home Bargains 

- Shampoo and Conditioner £3.00 for Shampoo and £4.00 for conditioner 

- Listerine Mouth Wash £1.00 Body Care 

- Lady Crap £1.45 Wilko 

- Oral B Tooth Paste £1.00 Home Bargains 

- Gillette Razors £3.00 
- Fabreeze Air Freshener £3.00 Wilko
- Deodorant £2 from Body Care 

So that's my bathroom haul! I hope it was helpful/interesting. I know a lot of you messaged me, wanting help with what to buy. Let me know if this post made you get anything in particular. 

If you're going to university or you're already there, let me know in the comments what your proudest purchase was. 

Thanks for reading, 

Have a great day x

Q&A

So, I thought I would do a Q&A since the last time I did one was like last year. I asked people to send me Qs and here I am with the As.

1) What is your dream holiday destination? 

I love travelling and seeing new places so I really want to go everywhere. I think the place on the top of my list is probably Australia. It looks so beautiful and there is a mix of rural and urban areas to explore. Hopefully one day I'll get to visit.

2) Congratulations on getting into uni! How are you feeling about going? 

Thank you so much! I'm genuinely so excited to start but also really nervous. More so about the academic side. I'm still recovering from Alevels so I'm a little anxious about starting a degree. Hopefully everything goes well and I settle quickly.

3) Where did you get all your uni stuff from? 

I'll be posting hauls very soon! So many people have asked me where I have got my things from so I figured it would be easier to do hauls. I'll be doing separate posts for each area, so look out for them!

4) What is your favourite show? 

I don't really watch much TV but I'm currently watching Gossip Girl and it's so good. I'm only on Season 1 but honestly I'm hooked. So far I love Dan and Serena, Blair is a witch and I can't stand Chuck. Let's see how much that changes by the final season.

5) Do you love Robyn?

Ew who is that? Definitely not.

6) Why did you decide to move out even though you could save money? 

I decided to move out for first year. I really wanted the experience of living independently and in halls. You don't get that sort of opportunity all the time so I really wanted to make sure I didn't miss out. Living in halls is going to be so different to living in a normal house. I  know it will cost a lot of money but I'm moving back home after first year, so in comparison to a lot of people, my debt won't be nearly as much.

7) What is your favourite thing about blogging? 

There is so much about blogging that I adore! I love being creative and coming up with ideas. I love getting excited when I come up with new content to write. My favourite thing about blogging though is probably getting feedback from everyone. Whether it be entirely positive or with a hint of criticism. I love knowing that people genuinely read my posts and I love knowing whether I'm doing a good job. I try my best to reply to all my comments, emails and DMs because I appreciate the support. Without y'all I would never have gotten to 14,000 hits!


I hope you enjoyed this post!

Thanks for reading,

Have a great day X

Unpopular Opinions

At the end of my last post (Here), I mentioned that I have a lot of unpopular opinions that I could rant about. I decided to share them because I don't voice my opinion too often and want to get out of my tent of comfort. I'm hopefully going to make this into a little series I guess. This will be part 1 of many (If you guys want them).

Disclaimer:

I have no intention to cause offence or hurt, in anyway. If you disagree with me then feel free to voice your counter argument in the comment section. 

*In hales* *Exhales* Let's do this.

1)  There are only 2 genders
- Please don't come at me for this because my opinion won't change

2) The Kardashians are one of the main reasons for the failure of this generation
- I have no idea how to explain this without disrespecting them so hopefully they will never read this LOL. I obviously don't mean in terms of violence and terrorism etc. What I mean by this, is that the Kardashian family becoming so mainstream has led to way too many girls wanting to look exactly like them, increased self esteem issues and increased cosmetic surgery procedures among young adults. Not only this but way too many people now aspire to be social media influencers as a career, which in my opinion is not a good career aspiration.
-Yes they've somehow managed to build multi-million dollar empires over the last decade just by being attractive, but I don't respect the process and at the end of the day I would rather be respected than rich.

3) Leading on from number two: Plastic surgery doesn't fix insecurities 
-When it comes to plastic surgery, I have very mixed opinions. I personally don't think I would get it but if someone else wants to get it, that is none of my business. When someone gets something done, I don't look at them any differently (If they are honest about it), however if someone's whole body is fake, I definitely start to lose respect for them. There is a reason behind this so let me explain.
-When someone chooses to change everything about them, there are 4 things I think of.
--- They took the easier route rather than learning to love what they have
--- They would rather risk their health for the "perfect" features than to work on their self esteem
--- They are choosing to waste thousands of £ on something that ultimately doesn't matter
--- They had a lot of insecurities to begin with that needed to be dealt with
- I just don't think cosmetic surgery is ever the answer to low confidence.

4) Dr Alex on Love Island needs to go home
- His time surely must be up by now? I'll be checking Twitter for when he is on his way to the airport. This guy has been hurt more than his patients.

5) Most trending Instagram comedy sketch videos are trash

6) Kpop is overrated
-I've heard a few songs and I don't get the hype. To be fair, BTS seem like fun guys

7) All this advanced technology isn't good, its terrifying 
- Listen here. If you think I'm using facial recognition to unlock my phone so that the government can store my retinas, you must be crazy. I'm already using finger print recognition and really skeptical. People think the facial recognition feature on iPhone X is amazing. I DON'T! It's terrifying and it makes me think the end days are approaching No thankQ. I've read 1984 by George Orwell...

8) Android is way better than Apple. 
-Samsung all the way!

9) Milkshake is gross

10) Nobody should be allowed to use the N word
- Even as a young black woman, I don't think the N word should be used at all. I get why it was reclaimed and used, but it has such strong history. I don't think our ancestors would want us to use it and it causes so much unnecessary controversy.

11) Most of this generation look at social media, to make political judgments rather than gather their own thoughts and ideas
- I don't know if it's cus we're brainwashed, lazy or sheep. Could be a combo of all three.

12) I'm not a huge fan of Bananas
- Nobody hypes up Nectarines and Kiwi but they're so good. I have to be in the mood for Bananas.

13) Black History Month is just to tick a box
- When it comes to Pride, everyone goes all out. Music Festivals, Rainbow everything, Banners etc. On the other hand, black history month isn't any where near on that level. We learn about the same people every year, there is a solid focus on slavery rather than how far we've become and it almost feels like it ends once you graduate high school. I thought it was overlooked in school and then I graduated. Never mind overlooked, we pretty much just get a hashtag. It's just a part of a To-Do List that gets ticked off to say we have been acknowledged.

14) Men aren't trash
- Some are, don't get me wrong, but for the most part I think they're just very different to women. We misunderstand each other.

So this was Part 1 of Unpopular Opinions. I can breathe now. Hopefully nobody is crying or driving to their safe space. If you enjoyed, let me know in the comments so that I can do plenty more. I have a lot of opinions.

Thanks for reading,

Have a great day x