Life update | University life and beyond

As you may know I recently finished my final year at university, I can't even believe where the last three years of my life have gone?! It truly has been an amazing whirlwind of time. I'm still finding myself each night wondering what work I have to next before realising that I never have to do any again, long gone are the sleepless nights and stress induced spots (See pic above!!), hallelujah! I thought it would be nice to round up my time at university and what I plan to do next, I do like to keep you all in the loop with my life aside of blogging! I studied International Business Management at Southampton Solent University and in hindsight getting Solent as my second choice of University was probably the best thing that ever happened to me,well worth the many initial tears on results day! I really do believe in such a thing as fate! 

I had never even been to Southampton beforehand to check out the university, city centre and the surrounding areas so it really was all alien to me when I arrived and realised this is where I would be living for the next three years! Unfortunately for me I didn't get a place in halls but the university laid on some really good find a home days which is where I found 12 other people to live with in a HUGE house right in the centre of town,perfect for obsessed shoppers like me but very bad for the bank account. The first year flew by and it was mostly spent partying and sleeping off hangovers, oh and studying of course.. My course group was very small unlike other courses so we had a really tight knit group of friends that did a lot together, it also made the whole experience at uni really enjoyable, the small class sizes were also brilliant for interaction with the lecturers. As for the accommodation, living with so many people of course had many downsides as you can imagine, but I'm still grateful for the experiences that I had and that I met my boyfriend in that house,clearly fate working its magic again! 

My second year was without a doubt the most amazing year and experience of my entire life and it will always be something that I look back on with extreme fondness. Because my course was International Business Management we had the option in the second year to stay at Solent and do half a year placement or to study abroad for the year. Without thinking I packed my bags and said good bye to England for a year and embarked on my year living in Finland! The whole experience was just phenomenal, the university was fantastic, the people I lived with are still my best friends and Finland will always be referred to as my second home now.

So this brings me onto my final year. As anyone knows who has been to university it's stressful, there is lots of work but there is still room for plenty of fun! I haven't actually written about my achievements on my blog but you may have seen me announce it on twitter/Instagram that I am proudly graduating with a first class honours woo hoo! I have had a really tough year and I was 99.9% sure that I had achieved an amazing 2:1 that I wasn't even eager to read my results in the morning that they came out. The shock of it made it even better and I still think that it's only just sinking in now, my graduation is not until November which is a while off but I'm already looking forward to getting dressed up for the day and seeing my uni friends once again. I really am so grateful to have had the experience that I did at Southampton Solent, the university was all that I could have wished for,the year abroad and the experiences and friendships that I made along the way. It may be gone but never forgotten! But I'm more than glad to wave goodbye to student accommodation, and of course I missed having a bath way too much! Nothing beats having those home comforts back.

Now that uni is over it's time to enter the real world,no more watching TV box sets all day and spending all my student loan on clothes! I was always aware of the job situation post uni and being a graduate does not make you instantly employable. I'm currently in something which I call catch 22, I'm too experienced for some jobs yet I don't have any experience for graduate jobs. They ask for at least 2 years experience  for some of them which is madness as I've had next to no time or any opportunity to gain experience alongside my course, other wise I would have done so in a heartbeat. I really do see the attraction of work placement years. I'm looking for a job in the marketing/social media sector which really is my dream career, I'm not going to let the endless applications and rejections dampen my spirits, the key is definitely to remain positive and know that there is light at the end of the tunnel. There is comfort in knowing that I am definitely not the only one in the same boat. Whatever is out there I am completely ready for it and armed with my first class honours degree waiting to make a difference,but fingers crossed i'm employed by graduation!

I hope you enjoyed reading about my time at university! If you are moving away to uni for the first time this year I wrote a post last year on surviving freshers week which I definitely recommend a read of!

Have you been to university or are looking to go to university? What are your tips for a new graduate like myself?

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Uni Haul!

I don't know about you but haul posts are some of my favourites to read, it gives you inspiration as well as having a good nosey at peoples purchases! Its safe to say that i am completely obsessed with shopping for uni stuff,whether its stuff to decorate my room with,kitchen ware or bath stuff. You will find me frantically rummaging the aisles of TK Maxx and Wilkinsons weeks months before uni starts in search of the best stuff, so here is what i have been haulin'!

Plastic cups - The range// Heart shaped moulds,polka dot tin - TK Maxx// Princess spatula,mug - Wilkinsons// Cake decoration set - Primark// Straws - Ebay//Food bowls - Athena// Coasters - Present

Here is a selection of the prettiest stuff i have bought for my kitchen, i have excluded all of the basic stuff because i'm sure everyone knows what a plate looks like haha. All of this stuff literally cost me next to nothing, the polka dot tin will come in handy for hopefully all of the cooking i do....I picked the heart shaped cake moulds up from TK Maxx and they are amazing,i think all food looks better when its heart shaped in general! Yes the plastic cups are pretty boring but they are a necessity for student life, the amount of glasses i have had stolen/broken from pre drinks is incredible,this way when people come round i don't have any washing up after either! In the midst there is a few other essentials, a princess spatula is vital for every cook!

Tray - Ebay//Heart blackboard - Hobby Craft// Friends are like stars decoration - Shop in Hitchin (sorry i cant remember the name!)

Candle holder - from Valencia// LED Lights - The Range// Mosaic pot - Wilkinsons

Makeup pot - Ikea// Accessory Hanger - Primark// Photo frame - Hobby Craft

Milk bottles - dotcomgiftshop

I made these hearts myself to take to uni with me,they were so simple to make and just required wire,buttons and flowers from card toppers. Let me know if you want full instructions on how i did it.

Above is my noticeboard at home and its how i will hopefully style the one i have in my uni room! I love noticeboards as you can make them as personal as you want them,with memories,pictures,tickets,inspiration,quotes etc and i find it such a nice thing to look at!

I hope you enjoyed my uni haul post,sorry its so long!! What do you think of my purchases? Are you starting or returning to uni soon?

Part 2. Top 10 money saving tips for uni

Hello everyone! I hope you've all had a lovely weekend. I am going back to uni in about 3 weeks now eek, I really cant wait to get back into a routine again after a 4 month summer! Anyway, if you read my blog you will have seen my first of a series of university posts on my guide to surviving freshers week. Now i am sharing with you my top 10 money savings tips for uni,read on if you have an expensive beauty,clothes and shoes habit...or if you just like spending money!

1. Loyalty cards! So many places do loyalty cards these days, they enable you to gain points on each purchase,then the more points you build up the better the rewards are,it tends to vary from store to store. The best loyalty card for me is boots,especially if your'e a beauty addict,they are the best of the bunch at 4 points for every pound spent,also look out for their special events in stores and coupons in the post where you can get double points and extra points on certain products. What i do throughout the summer is save all of my points up and then when i'm at uni and if i want to treat myself or cant afford something one week i just use my points to purchase the item.Sorted.

2. Don't immediately go to boots for all of your beauty needs, the places that do the best savings on decent hair care brands/toiletries are actually Wilkinson's, savers and poundland, you can usually end up getting good quality products for little more than a pound. But if you cant bear to shop anywhere other than  boots then look out for the 3 for 2 offers.

3. The Vouchercloud and vouchercodes apps are lifesavers,just because you're at uni it doesn't mean you cant go out for nice meals. With these apps that i have on my Iphone i have saved so much money, you can get 20% vouchers for restaurants, buy one get one free, the list goes on,its definitely worth a download.

4. Save up your pennies! Its crazy how much you end up having if you save your pennies for a while, before i go back to uni i always stash my pennies and any odd cash lying around and before i'm due to go back i go to my local Morrisons where you can change your pennies into a credit receipt that you can spend in store on that day, and i use it to buy some of my toiletries with, saving me a little bit of money!

5. Magic freebies UK is an amazing website that lists the most recent offerings of free samples and competitions. I have got so many free samples from this website, i then save them all up and take them to uni with me. Here are just a few of what I've collected below..

6. One of the well known reasons people go to uni is the nightlife. Yes its fun,but it costs an absolute fortune if you go out a lot(especially freshers week). This is a well known tip, but pre drink before you go out meaning you don't need to keep buying drinks when you're in the club,and believe it or not you can have fun without drinking as well! Add your names to the guest list of the club beforehand and you can usually make quite big savings with free entry before midnight etc.

7. Student discount, Carry your student ID everywhere,so many shops offer student discount now and also sign up to Unidays. They offer such great discounts across a wide variety of shops. People ask whether its best to get an NUS card too but you really don't, as most shops just ask for a valid student id nowadays.

8. Student railcard, if you're living away from home you really should buy a student railcard. They cost £30 BUT you save a 1/3 off all train fares and that totals up to a lot in the long run, i dread to think how much i would have spent without this beauty!

9. Funding that expensive clothes habit is hard, i should know! Use your student id to get discounts as mentioned before,also try looking on eBay for cheaper alternatives and look out for student lock ins which are usually held at shopping malls, these events entitle students to an evening where everything is so much percentage off,so look out for these(not all shops participate)!

10. And finally, cutting open what you think are empty bottles. This may sound straight forward but a lot of people don't do it! When your toiletries and makeup get low,for example creams,foundation cut the tube open and you will be surprised just how much of the item you have left, decant the remains into a spare bottle or wrap cling film around it to stop it drying out!

I hope you enjoyed reading my tips and i hope they help some of you! Do you have any other money savings tips? Do you already use these tips?

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?

Tartan on trend

Tartan skirt - Abercrombie//Black bodysuit - Asos//Rucksack - Topshop// Socks - Jack Wills// Boots - Kurt Geiger

Its no secret that i love shopping in Abercombie,i just love the whole experience including the badly lit shop,awfully loud music,dancing employees and ridiculously overpriced clothing, yet i still return! Hopefully i will grow out of this phase soon. Anyway, i picked this tartan skirt up in New York last year and i'm hoping to get some more wear out of it this year now that Tartan is really making a come back. I paired it with a really simple racer back bodysuit from Asos which i love as its a fail safe with most outfits! I finally decided on a rucksack for going back to uni and i picked up this acid wash bag in Topshop yesterday for £30 i love this look at the moment,probably no good for when it rains though oops!

Lastly for my feet i'm wearing my trusty kurt geiger boots which i bought a few years ago and they have been a real investment as i have worn them to death, i'm also wearing wool knee high socks from jack wills which i got a few years ago and were a waste of money, since then i've bought plenty more from Primark for a fraction of the price!

I hope you enjoyed reading my outfit post and you are all having a lovely weekend, what do you think?