Lou Lou's Vintage Fair Southampton

On Saturday i went to a Vintage Fair in Southampton at the guildhall, it was the first i have ever been in England and i loved it soo much!! Whilst i lived in Finland i had many opportunities to go to flea markets and second hand shops which really do sell the best stuff and they aren't like charity shops in England at all, so i was very excited about this one! There were 50 different stalls selling clothes from the 1940s to the 80s including lots of gorgeous furs,bomber jackets,christmas jumpers,sequinned dresses, the list goes on. There really was so much on offer as well as a gorgeous tea room that was set up which was selling the best cakes! But of course i didn't leave empty handed!! I bought the most gorgeous faux fur jacket for £35 which is such a steal and something i have been looking for forever,my room now smells like an antique shop from the coat haha!! Anyway,I hope you enjoy my pictures from the event!

 Gorgeous tapestry bag from paris,i was in love!

 GORGEOUS tartan, i had to remember i didnt need anymore of the stuff!

 Real fur collars and hats

 They even sold cute bits and pieces for the home

 Christmas jumpers!

 The stunning cakes, yum!

So in love with my faux fur coat purchase!Coming to an outfit post soon..

What i wore Playsuit - Urban Outfitters Tights - Primark Shoes - Primark Necklace - Topshop Coat - Zara Bag - Ted Baker I hope you enjoyed reading! Do you like vintage clothes? Have you been to any vintage fairs before?

Part 1. My Guide to surviving freshers week

Its nearly that time of the year again when all of the fresh faced first years will be starting university,to say i'm sad that i'm going into my third year is a massive understatement. But with basically two years spent being a fresher, once in Southampton and then again on my exchange year in Finland i've experienced and learned a lot as well as having had a huge heap of fun! My short guide here is me telling you what i wish i knew before i went to university,in the hope to help you survive the craziest and funnest week of your life!

Here are some of my top tips;

-As soon as you arrive and have unpacked/settled in make an effort to get to know your housemates, leave your door open so people can come in and chat, try and get involved with some of the events going on and befriend people on your uni course, i was unfortunate to be put with some people in my house that didn't really make an effort but because i had made friends with my course friends i always had that group of people to do things with! 

-Make sure you find out when your freshers fair is on and go there early! I got soo much free stuff,including food, cooking stuff,vouchers,sweets,discount codes,free entry to clubs as well as hearing about any exciting events that were going on that week,i recommend going down early because the stuff goes fast and most people who went towards the afternoon went away empty handed!

-Sadly the myth about freshers 8 pounds (where you gain 8 pounds in this crazy week) during freshers week/fortnight is true to some extent(not everyone)!Before i went away i was naive and knew that someone as fit and healthy as me wouldn't gain weight . Well i did. I drank more than i ever had before, i actually ate takeaways and could have as much pic n mix where and when i wanted(sweet deprived child), had many late nights, never exercised and i wasn't really looking after myself! You want to enjoy your freshers week but don't drink to excess and know your limits as no one likes to be the embarrassed housemate on the first night,yeh, I've been there!

Don't be this person in freshers week

-Be careful on nights out and stick together in a group, to me its strange that its your first few days in a strange place yet you allow yourself to become drunk in this group of people you don't know very well,so be careful on the first week,never leave your drink alone,leave the club with someone else and if in doubt get a taxi home!

-BUDGET! So many people i know didn't budget and blew all of their money in the first week partying, every year i save up before i go back so i know i have that to fall back on if needed. I also budgeted for each month on food,mobile contract,gym memberships,alcohol.... and then the rest definitely goes on clothes and makeup,boring but its best to know where you stand with money.

So skint he resulted to drinking alcohol spilled on the floor..

-However hungover you are, don't stay in bed all day! Have a look around the place and get your bearings, i spent so many nights out getting lost! Make sure you know how to get to all the uni campuses(if more than one),register with the local doctors, know where the hospital and police station is and the nearest food shops,takeaways and night clubs!! It it is worth knowing where the hospital is just in case you or someone else needs it! Also make sure you have a local taxi number saved to your phone,some taxi companies even offer discount to students.

-Do dress up! I took so many fancy dress costumes to uni and used the majority whether it it is for the notorious Carnage bar crawl(my fav) where there is a different theme each time, Halloween or a birthday occasion.Plan outfits to take so you don't end up spending more money while you are away.

So do dress up and look more orange than the entire cast of towie,geordie shore etc you get the idea..

-Lastly have fun!! That's what freshers week (fortnight) is all about and i had the best time ever and wish i could relive it all again!!! Be safe,take care,make friends and don't exceed your limits and you'll have the best time!

I hope these tips are helpful and if you have any other questions about university life please leave a comment below i would be more than happy to answer it for you! Is anyone going to either of the Southampton unis?

First time cruiser!

I recently embarked on my first cruise which was with Royal Caribbean on the Independence Of The Seas and it was a Mediterranean cruise for 2 weeks. The port of calls were Vigo, Lisbon,Gibraltar,Valencia,Barcelona,Ibiza,Palma de Mallorca and Cadiz.Choosing a cruise for a holiday had never been something that i ever thought about and i often associated it with something that older people enjoyed. When my parents asked if i wanted to join them and my sister i jumped at the chance. Needless to say it exceeded any expectations i had beforehand.

The ship docked in Lisbon

Upon arriving to Southampton which is where we would embark for our cruise, the car parking there was so easy and our luggage was taken away to then be delivered outside our cabins later that day..how convenient! We were able to check in at 2pm to our cabins and our bags were already waiting there for us.

The cabin - We had an inside stateroom cabin, my visions of it beforehand were of a tiny room on a local ferry crossing! I was so shocked at actually how big the room was,with 2 single beds a sofa and also plenty of storage spaces for all of our clothes! Our stateroom attendant was called Alfina and her service was fantastic,nothing was too much trouble and the rooms were cleaned twice daily. Every alternate day they also left behind a towel animal ranging from a bat to a dog, such a great touch and something i always got excited about seeing in the evening!

Our stateroom

My favourite towel animal

The dining options - We were with my time dining and our dining room was King Lear on deck 5, most nights when we returned we were on the same table and always had the same waiters who were both from the Philippines which i loved as it was nice to build a friendship with them. Again the service was second to none and we were always well fed and the meals i did enjoy, however as i am a fussy eater i ate the chicken breast meal for two weeks, to say i was bored by the end was an understatement! But for those who enjoy eating different cuisines this is fantastic for you. For all other occasions of breakfast,lunch and dinner and also snacks on those days when we were at port the Windjammer buffet catered to those needs. I have never seen so much food in my life!!!They really did cater for all your needs including special dietary needs, for children and foods from different countries. It enables you to try a bit of everything and eat as much or a little as you like. I loved the buffet but it really is hard to resist those cakes!!

The grand dining room

The entertainment - Every night there would be a show on in the Alhambra Theatre which would be on at two different times so you were able to fit it around your dining time so you would never miss out. All the acts i saw were brilliant including a hypnotist,Queen tribute act,magician,love and marriage show,dancers,comedians my list could go on. They also had an ice rink where there were a few shows throughout the cruise this was fantastic to watch and hard to believe you could do all of this at sea!

Alhambra Theatre

Needless to say i could write pages and pages about this holiday but this is a summary of the cruise and i will try to do some more in depth blog posts in the next week or so! I honestly did have the most amazing holiday on my first cruise and i think i will find it hard to have a holiday which comes close to this.I really do recommend a cruise 100%!! 

Dining with a view of the Rock Of Gibraltar

Have any of you ever cruised before? I would love to hear about your experiences!