CRAFTY CHRISTMAS: Sugar-free Apple Pie!

This Christmas I am going to be spending the day at my brother's and sister-in-law's house, along with my dad and my sister-in-law's mum. Everybody enjoys a few nice treats around this time of year, but it gets hard when someone in your family has diabetes. In this case, it's my brother. To overcome this I have decided that I am going to make a homemade sugar-free apple pie to take round to their house on Christmas day. This recipe is really lovely, and it's been adapted from this recipe here. 

*Just as a little disclaimer, I am not a chef, I just enjoy baking and cooking yummy food and drinks. I have taken the recipe I have linked above and made slight changes, but if you'd like to follow the actual recipe then click above!*

You will need:

• 400g of flour
• 200g of butter (cubed)
• 1 orange
• 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
• 2-3 tablespoons of water
• OR a ready made pie crust/ready made pastry

• 3 tablespoons of cornflour 
• 1 tablespoon of ground cinnamon
• 12 fluid ounces of sugar free (or no added sugar, if you can't find sugar free) apple juice
• Around 6 apples (The recipe calls for green apples, but I used normal ones so whatever you can find!)

Step One: You need to make your pastry! This is just a normal pastry recipe with my own spin on things: you can use whatever pastry or pie crust you like! To do this add the flour and butter into a bowl and rub the mixture between your fingers until it looks like breadcrumbs. This can take a while, so be patient. A tip from my senior school cookery teacher - use your fingertips and only lightly rub the flour and butter together, otherwise you'll melt the butter too much and the mixture will become oily and heavy. Once you have breadcrumbs grate the orange peel, to add some orange zest to the mixture to add it a hint of sweetness. Also add in the teaspoon of cinnamon and stir it lightly with a wooden spoon. Then slowly add the water, one tablespoon at a time. Make sure you don't add too much or too little otherwise the pastry will crack and be too dry, or will be too sticky and unable to work with. With each tablespoon you should be trying to squeeze the breadcrumb mixture into a ball shape, once you're able to mould it into a perfect ball shape you have pastry! Pop it into the fridge until you're ready to use it. 

Preheat Oven to 175°C (350°F)

Step two: in a small bowl (unlike the one pictured) mix together the cornflour, cinnamon and a 1/3 of a cup of the apple juice. Then set this aside.

Step three: Peel and chop up apples, placing them into the pie dish you're going to use for the pie. Once the pie dish is full of apples, similar to the photo above, you have enough apples.

Step four: place the apple slices into a medium sized pan. Cover these apples in the remaining apple juice. Leave these apples to simmer until they're soft. 

Step five: Whilst the apples are simmering, roll out your pastry until it's about 3mm thick - you don't want it too thick because you have to save enough for the pie lid. Once it's rolled out, put it into the pie dish - it doesn't have to look pretty (mine looks like a 2 year old did it) it's all about the taste!

Step six: Once the apples have become soft, add in the cinnamon, cornflour and apple juice mixture to the softened apples and mix until all the apples are covered in the cinnamon mixture. This mixture will become thicker, because of the cornflour.

Step Seven: Cover your pie with the top you want, this can be completely covered*, latticed** like mine or left out completely.
*If you completely cover it use a fork and make three or four stabs in the top of it to let air escape.
** If you lattice it leave the filling to cool completely, otherwise the pastry will become soft and will break really easily when you're trying to cross them over.

Step Eight: Pop your pie in your preheated oven for around 45 minutes or until pastry has turned golden. You can lightly cover your pastry in milk to give it a nice finish. 

And there you have it:
Sugar free pie!

CHRISTMAS HAUL! What I got for Christmas.

Just as a disclaimer before I get into this blog post: this is not a post of me bragging, or showing off. I enjoy reading and watching haul video's and blog posts, as I'm sure many others do. This is also for me to remember in the future to look back on for memories. 

We start things off with one of my favourite presents from this year: a Mark Hill hairdryer set from my sister! This gift set came in a lovely bag, which can be used as a handbag although I'm going to use it to store some beauty/bath products in. This set also came with a full size shampoo and a full size conditioner. This hairdryer is regarded as very good, and it is one of the higher end brands that you can buy on the high street. I'm not usually a fan of animal print things, but I think on this hairdryer it looks really funky and I love it!

This second present is a "where's the meerkat?" calender from my eldest brother and my sister-in-law. I asked for a calender with the squares big enough to write in - which this is. This calender is a 'spin-off' from the "where's Wally/Waldo?" series, I believe. It's a good calender, and has enough space to write notes in. 

This was supposed to be a surprise from my dad, but he ordered it through amazon and didn't realise that he was logged into my account, so the email came to me. I felt bad for him, but I told him just in case he thought he hadn't ordered it. He knew I'd wanted a new TV boxset and this one was on offer so I did hint at it, he bought me the film as a surprise. So far it's a really good series. Something i really like about the boxset is the layout of it. Inside the box pictured is a normal DVD case (but bigger to fit all the DVD's in) and inside that is the normal "book" layout to keep DVDs in, this book type layout comes out so you can flick through the DVDs with ease, and I thought that was really good. 

These knives were a gift, bought by me, from my dad. I needed some new knives for university because I only have one, and I thought these were really good because they're different so they won't get mixed up with my flatmates knives. This are Richardson Sheffield knives, and i bought them from TKMaxx. 

Pictured here are two presents I received. It's not secret I love LUSH so these gifts are pretty amazing. My brother and his girlfriend got me a gift set (she works at LUSH which is always useful!) which is called 'Shooting Stars'. Inside the gift box there was a large chunk of 'Rockstar' soap in the shape of a star, "Shoot For The Stars" bath bomb, "Star Light, Star Bright" which is a super shimmery bath melt, and "Gold Fun". These are all super nice, except I haven't tried Gold Fun yet so I'll keep you posted. My dad bought me the Lush Scent that you can see next to the gift box. This scent smells of "snow fairy" my all time favourite smell. It's described as candyfloss and pear drops, which I think is very true to scent. You only need one spray and it lasts all day, love it! 

My dad put these in my stocking (although it was more of a sack). I enjoy doing the more complicated painting by numbers, so my dad bought me one of those and also bought me a really nice set of paintbrushes to help me paint these paint by numbers - I'm so lucky, I love these. 

It's a bit risky buying me new food that I haven't tried before, as i'm not sure whether I'll like it. At first, all of these seemed to be pretty gross sounding, to me anyway. The "Ginger, fudge and Cranberry Granola" sounded nice, except I don't like ginger, however this tastes amazing and I'm going to try and get some more before they sell out of it. I'm not the biggest fan of nuts so the "hazelnut and caramel coated toffees" were a bit iffy, but they also taste amazing. The "milk chocolate nuggets" looked awkward more than sounded weird, but they also taste really nice, a bit like oversized white chocolate smarties. And everyone knows what Jelly Babies are!

My Aunty bought me a gift set which contained socks, a bath fizzer, and some really nice smelling foot cream which smells like berries. She also bought me some handwarmers which are literally little hot water bottles - so cute. 

This candle is from ikea and my dad put this in my stocking also. This is my favourite candle and it only costs 95p and it smells up the room - if not the whole house - in no time! They do run down pretty quick, maybe about 25 hours? But at 95p you can buy a lot more hours of candle-ish goodness for the same price as one higher-end candles. 

I bought myself these slippers from my dad on the New Look website when there was a sale. I ended up getting these for £2.50. They fit more like socks though because my feet are so big, but that doesn't bother me, they're cute anyway. 

Last but not least, my lovely new IKEA duvet, pillow and bedding set. <3
The best duvet I've ever had, the best pillow I've ever had and the prettiest bedding I've ever had, so happy with it. 

CRAFTY CHRISTMAS: No time for Christmas Cards?

This idea was given to me by my friend Amy who is doing this, this year.

For whatever reason, running out time, not liking the idea, or wanting to put the money to better use, Amy is not sending out Christmas cards this year.

Instead she is using all the money she would have used on Christmas cards (and more so) to buy food to put in a donation trolley to go to the homeless this Christmas.

This is a beautiful idea, and to let others know you have done this you should take a photo and put it on Facebook, or on your blog, explaining all of this - if anybody doesn't appreciate this they are heartless and shouldn't deserve a Christmas Card anyway!

Have a search around and see if there's a charity bin like this near where you live!

Here's a picture of the stuff Amy donated to the food bin! 

5 Days to go so be quick - Amy's has to be in by the 23rd, so it will be similar in other places too!

CRAFTY CHRISTMAS: CHRISTMAS GIFT IDEAS!

Less than a month until Christmas!!!

This year I've been a bit inventive with my Christmas presents.

I don't have very much money this year and I have a large family so this year I decided to set each person a limit (£25 each). Within that I would also buy them a stocking or Christmas sack from poundland for their gifts to go in! This way they have a lot to open, it's not cheap but it's inexpensive and I don't have to spend a lot of money to make these presents look good!

These products are bath products from Lush, most of these were actually requested items which is always useful!
1. The Christmas Penguin this cute little chappy is a bubble bar. He costs £2.95 which isn't that expensive considering how adorable and Christmassy he is. He smells very fresh with a zesty citrus scent. If you've tried The Olive Branch shower gel you'll love him. I got him for my eldest niece - almost 13 - I'm sure she'll love him!

2. Lord of Misrule this bold bath bomb costs £3.30! Not the most inexpensive but it is definitely worth it. With a smell of sweet vanilla absolute and spicy black pepper this will be an exciting gift - it'll literally pop (because of the popping candy). Don't be fooled by it's green speckled colour though, once it's in your bath it will turn the water to a red wine colour! I bought this for my 10 year old niece, but I may suggest her exchanging it with one of her mums because of the adult-like scents.

3. Mrs Frosty can be yours for just £12.50! That equals out to be just over £4 per item, plus you get a really cute handkerchief. Inside Mrs Frosty you'll find: A small version of The Comforter (to me this smells a bit like Ribena - yum!), So White (apple scented bath bomb) and Butterball (my personal favourite bath bomb. Made with Shea butter it leaves your skin smelling and feeling gorgeous). I bought this for my sister who is in her thirties.

4. Ickle Baby Bot has been around for quite a while! I used to use these when I was about 8! They're the perfect little bath bomb for a young person OR for a person with sensitive skin. I believe they're the cheapest bath bomb available (money-wise) coming in at only £1.95. They're brilliant for your night-time baths because of the lavender oil scent infused within! These are for my 6 year old nephew who asked for these specifically!

5. Candy Mountain a personal favourite of mine costing ! This smells of the typical Lush smell - snow fairy. Sweet as anything it smells like candy floss...and look how pretty!!! I have one in my drawer that I haven't used because I don't have a bath at university, but every time I open this drawer the nicest scent comes out - I may never use it! This is also for my 10 year old niece! These cost £2.65

6. Another favourite of mine Magic Wand with the same smell as snow fairy once again you can't go wrong with this - especially for little girls (or big girls who act like Princesses, AHEM me AHEM) I got two, one for my 10 year old niece and one for my 12 year old niece! These wands are pretty steep though - £4.95.

7. A Lush come back but with a whole new design is Luxury Lush Pud. Over the years Lush have come out with quite a few different Christmas pudding bath bombs but this years is definitely the most colourful. Now I must admit when I first saw it I didn't think it was very Christmassy, in fact the only Christmassy thing about it is the name and the bit of holly on top, but who are we to judge? Maybe Christmas needs a bit of bright colour. After an exciting day of opening presents; cooking and eating dinner; being up since 5am what could be better than getting into a Christmas, lavender-scented bath? I got this for my 12 year old niece for £3.40

8. Finally we have Phoenix Rising. This beautiful bath bomb costs £3.25 and I think it definitely deserves that price. Look at the lovely colours of pinks and purples and gold. Not necessarily a Christmas bath bomb but it definitely fits in! Use this for a spicy smelling bath being full of cinnamon AND you'll come out of the bath feeling moisturised thanks to the cocoa butter!

These gorgeous Dipped Leaf Earrings from accessorize cost £12. I actually bought these for myself as a present to me so these aren't necessarily for Christmas, but how cute would these be if you opened up your stocking on Christmas day to find these?! They may be a bit pricey but they feel good quality and look gorgeous. They also come in silver if you're more of a silver jewellery-wearer and remember - students get 10% discount!

I have a niece who has just turned one and the Early Learning Centre is brilliant for that age group. For her birthday I got her Rosie Rabbit and her Motor Car for £10 and Ellie the Elephant for £4 and she loved them, so I decided to get her James Giraffe (on the left) for £4 too. Her mummy and daddy also asked for an easier shape sorter as the one they have is too complicated for the little one so I got the Rolling Wooden Shape Sorter for £12

I didn't buy these for anyone in particular, but Hotel Chocolat is soooo good for stocking fillers. Violet and Rose Cremes Selector for £3.75, Rose Chocolate Truffles for £3.75 and Blueberry Cheesecake Chocolates for £3.75 are a few examples of the beautifully interesting chocolates they make!

Me and my flatmates are doing secret Santa this year but what's a little £1 box of Celebrations going to hurt? I got mine from Boots!

My dad absolutely loves Calvin Klein One, the aftershave. So after umm-ing and ahh-ing over getting him the large aftershave or the gift set with the shower gel in as well for about half an hour (literally, the sales person must have thought I was an idiot!) I decided to get the gift set. It costs £16.50 from boots for a 50ml bottle of aftershave and 100ml hair and body wash. That's the same price as getting the larger bottle of the aftershave.

I love The Body Shop so when I saw they had an offer on (spend 5 pounds and get 30% off, free delivery AND a free gift worth £13) I had to buy some presents from there! I may have bought myself one or two...or five things also. Starting from left to right:
1. Banana Shampoo and Banana Conditioner both cost £4.50. These are for me, and are my everyday shampoo and conditioner however they can be used as a special treat for your hair as they are so moisturising - especially the conditioner. Another present that would be amazing would be some Lush shampoo and conditioner as they're expensive so not many people buy them for themselves. Just be careful to check the expiration date on them!
2. Reindeer, Snowman and Gingerbread Man sponges! Unfortunately I can't seem to find the gingerbread man one on the website, but there may still be some in stores. They cost £3.50 each and I was really surprised at how nice they are. From the pictures on the website I thought that they might be pretty small, cheap looking and not the greatest but they are so cute. They're pretty big in comparison to most sponges, and they are great novelty stocking fillers!
3. Long Handled Cactus Bath Brush. Probably not the sort of thing you'd give as a gift to someone - unless you've got them lots of bath stuff, then it might be cute? But I bought this for myself. I had heard about this thing called 'dry brushing' which helps to get rid of cellulite, helps to improve your blood flow etc. and I really wanted to try it. At £10 this isn't the cheapest - you can get one in Superdrug for about £3, or one in Boots for £10 also - but it is amazing. It's really strong, so it kind of tingles? (not sure if that's the right word) after you've used it. It really gets rid of dry skin and I would really recommend it. It feels really sturdy, which I imagine the £3 one from superdrug will not. 
4. Shea Body Butters! These actually really excited me. These are the 200ml ones which are worth £13 but I got one of these three for free with each of my orders (I made three orders because I'm cheeky!). You can also get cute little stocking filler ones for £5 which contain 50ml of product. They have so many different scents, this one I find is the most moisturising, everybody knows what Shea butter smells like and it's glorious but there are some fruity ones and a cocoa butter one too, I'd definitely recommend going to have a sniff!
5. Last but not least the Mini Shower Gel Collection. These cost £8 each and they're amazing to put in a girls stocking! I got these for my sister and my sister in law, and I'm sure they'll love them. They're 4x60ml bottles inside: Strawberry, Mango, Moringa and Satsuma scented. 

Shh..this is what I've got for my sister in law ;)
She loves making cupcakes so when I saw this calender I knew what theme her stocking would have!
This calender cost £10 from Waterstones or Paperchase, but I can't find it on either of those websites?! It's not even 2014 yet, what's going on?! This calender has a different cupcake recipe for every month of the year, and it's also one of those useful ones where it's a 14 month! It's all sparkly and lovely, I would recommend it if you can find it!
Keeping in the theme of things I also got her some silicone cupcake cases. You can get these from quite a few places: supermarkets, handy shops, paperchase! They're usually pretty expensive in comparison to paper cases, but they're really good because they conduct heat better and when you're done using them you just wash them up and they can be used again!
I also got her some little cake decorating things, which I'm sure you know where to find ;)

This picture and the picture above are books that have either been requested or that I think will be a cute little extra to a stocking.
My mum loves crafting and at the moment she's into making quilts (she made me a mini one which I love and is on my bed at university). These two books were on her amazon wishlist so I ticked them off and get them for her!
The doctor who annual is for my nephew, because I know he loves Doctor Who. If you have a young person in your family who loves a certain TV series or whatnot have a look and see if they have an annual for it, it will make a good thing for them to open to keep them out of your hair whilst you're making Christmas dinner!
The "A Tangle of Tails" book is for my 10 year old niece. It's three books in one and I think something like that - for any age - is good, especially if they're a bookworm. A good thing about Waterstones is that Children's books are laid out in age categories and Adult books are organised by genre so it's easy to find a book for someone if you know what they'll like!
I would really recommend the "that's not my..." books for young children. I bought two, one for my second to youngest niece (1 year and 8 months old) and my youngest niece (1 year and 1 month old). They help children learn textures and they're a nice short book for children to be interested with but also help them drift off to sleep in the evenings. 

Alcohollllll.
Never buy alcohol for anybody underage - it's bad!
On the left here there are 4 different types of lager. This came in a gift set from Tesco for only £5! It's called Lagers of the World Gift Set. I got these for my brother - who is 30 before you tell me off!
On the right you see some Southern Comfort and Pernod for my dad. I won't link you to them because if you keep an eye open around Christmas time you can find some good offers, usually, in your supermarket. They're expensive alcohol, but that definitely makes a good Christmas Gift!

These are for my brother - Guitar Cufflinks - these are from H Samuel and cost £15. My brother's recently bought himself a guitar and is learning to play it through an xbox game...well boys will be boys with their toys won't they? So myself and my dad thought that these would be a great novelty item for him. If  you have a male in your family who enjoys something, some cufflinks would make a really nice item if you can find something that resembles their preferred activity. For example: you can find quite a few golf ones - pretty good for dads!


Well guys that's it for now. I'll try and add some more as I go along with my Christmas shopping so keep posted.
Thank you for reading!
Leave comments on what you've asked for this year! I'd love to hear your suggestions for gifts too!

STUCK FOR CHRISTMAS GIFT IDEAS?

No problem!

Later on this week I'll be showing you what I bought for everyone in my family AND how I managed to only spend £25 per person and still manage to get everybody some lovely things.

Keep your eyes peeled!

Maisie

To the woman my husband loves,

If you are reading this then it must be true. He loves you, without a shadow of a doubt or else he wouldn't have given this to you. I can only hope that you feel the same way about him that he does about you. I wanted to write this letter because I wanted you to know one very important think; I'm so glad he's found you. I only wish I could be there some how to meet you, and maybe in some ways I am. Outside of my husband and my two beautiful children, you are the most important person in the world to me because I am gone and they are yours now. You need to take care of them; make them laugh, hold them when they cry, stand up for them, and teach them wrong from right. The though of you it gives me hope. Hope that Alex remembers what it feels like to be young and in love. Hope that Josh finds someone to fish with again. Hope that Lexie has someone to help her on her wedding day. 

I hope that one day my family will be whole again.

And most of all hope that somehow I'm there with all of you, watching over all of you.

I just watched 'Safe Haven'. I've seen quite a few reviews but its all about the plot at the end (which I won't ruin for you). I read the book and I enjoyed the plot at the end, in fact in the book it made me sob and I think that's the sign of a very good book. Give the film a chance if you don't like reading, or give the book a read if you do! It's a Nicholas Sparks book so they're all pretty similar in genre. If you've read one and enjoyed it I'm sure you'll enjoy this one.

That's all for now; Maisie.

HAPPY FIREWORKS NIGHT!!! (4 days late)

I know fireworks night isn't meant to be the biggest celebration but in our family it usually is. As everyone in my family has their own families now it's usually just me and my dad on holidays but on firework night most, if not all, my immediate family and their families come round to celebrate with us. We end up spending too much on fireworks but we have an amazing time.

This year things didn't go as planned and it was only me and my dad again. Because of this we were reluctant to go buy expensive fireworks so we got a set of 17 fireworks from Lidl for £12.99. Ha, it was better than nothing and it was fun to laugh at the pathetic ones.

Whats your favourite holiday and how do you celebrate it?

Click here to see a 'video' of my fireworks. It's on instagram so sorry for the rubbish quality and video-taking skills!

MAISIE'S UNIVERSITY FRESHERS TOP TIPS (1-5)

These tips are based on university freshers who live on campus, in self-catered, en-suite accommodation. Although they may also be useful for others in different accommodation.

1. No matter if you think there's a high possibility that you won't get into university still apply for your loans, accommodation etc. and work your way through UCAS because even if you don't get into your choices you could get in through clearing. I got onto my first choice course, at my first choice university, after receiving EED in my A-Levels. Anything is possible! If you don't complete these steps, and you do end up getting in, your life will be so hard. I only just got my first installment of my student loans last week - almost 2 months after everybody else! You may also not be lucky enough to get into accommodation at the university and that will make your life harder, especially if you live far away!
2. When you first move into your university accommodation only bring the stuff you know you will need on a daily basis. Everything else you can get next time you go home! Obviously if you live far away and you've hired a van then bring as much as you like...you might just have to take some stuff back home. This tip is important because you don't know how well equip your room will be for storage, and you don't know how big it's going to be. You could bring a whole moving van of stuff and are only able to move quarter of it in! If you bring your essentials with you, you can then make a list up until when you next go home of the things you've been wanting or needing and you will also have a better judgement of whether or not it will fit!
3. Buy a recipe book. I personally have "Nosh For Students" by Joy May. This book is really good, as it's all set out and it's specifically for students. It has all different recipes which you can experiment with. In the corner of each page it gives you the information of how many portions it makes, how much it's estimated to cost, how long it will take to cook, how long it will take to prepare etc. it's really good and I would really recommend it. It also has simple information like how to cook pasta or rice, and how to store things in your fridge and for how long. Buying a recipe book can help you with your budgeting. As a student you're going to have to shop in places like iceland or with vouchers in big supermarkets whilst also buying their own brand stuff. By getting a recipe book you can choose what meals you're going to have that week and make a list of the ingredients you're going to need to buy. This will help so that you don't go hungry but you also don't waste your money on pointless things that you won't eat or aren't very nutritious so won't fill you up. Be sensible and remember that if a meal makes more than one portion thats more than one meals worth - you can put it the fridge and heat it up the next day! By doing that you will only need to cook 3-4 days a week!
4. Save up. You may get a job along side your uni work, but you're going to be at such an advantage if you come to uni with a good amount of money in your bank account. If you do have money don't waste it. Come the end of your first half semester you won't have much money left and you'll have wished you had taken my advice.
5. Be considerate. Don't go into university with the mind set on "I am who I am, I'm not going to change, everyone has got to deal with it" because you won't be very popular with your housemates. Make sure you take into consideration that you share the flat with other people - the kitchen is a shared area, don't leave it in a tip. The night time is meant for sleeping, if you know housemates are in and they're trying to sleep don't bring the party you've been to back with you! Everybody has to change to make allowances for other people, that doesn't mean change your personality, just try to overcome your bad habits like leaving your dirty washing up in the sink that everybody wants to use! They're not going to clean up after you, it's your responsibility now.

WHAT COURSE AM I DOING?

I am currently at university studying for a BA (hons) degree in Early Childhood Studies. 

In my first semester I am currently doing the units:

• Child Development
• Critical Reading and Writing
• Sociology
• Staying Safe

These units will take me through until the Christmas break and when I come back in January I will have four different units to study.

Each unit is graded differently. Child development has an exam. You receive the exam question 2 weeks before the exam and you can take a page of A4 notes - with 300 words on - into the exam with you (pretty handy for me as I suck in exams). Critical Reading and Writing has a 2,500 word essay to be handed in. I have already written 1,000 words and have handed them in to be marked in order to see whether I have written them okay! I didn't get any guidelines for this essay so it was really difficult - hopefully I get a first (here's to hoping). Sociology is based on an essay and a presentation. You present your findings in your essay to the whole class and then write a 2,500 word essay about your findings - it's rather complicated and we haven't really discussed this very much yet, but it sounds like it could be fun. Staying safe is my favourite unit, it's very interesting. It's graded through a 2,500 word essay you have written based on a case study you've been given. As we're studying early childhood studies our case study is based on the possibility that a child has been abused. It's not a real story but obviously these things happen and our lectures are taught in a way that's good to learn how to deal with these things in a professional environment. 

So far I would really recommend this course. It's a three year course and at the end of it it opens up a load of choices for you to go on and do within the early years settings. For me personally I'm going to stay on at university for a fourth year and do a PGCE to become an infant school teacher.

Thank you for reading

xo

UNIVERSITY FRESHER - HELP?!

This is only going to be a short blog post. It's currently 02:53 in the morning and I am so tired but my insomnia is stopping me from sleeping so I thought I'd write a blog post to say how my first half of a semester has gone.

Nobody ever said that life at university was going to be easy but I didn't realise it would be this hard. It's not just the work - in fact that's only a small percentage of what's hard - but you have to change so much in order to fit in with your flatmates. Don't get me wrong I think my flatmates are lovely people but I really do clash with one or two of them and it's not been fun. It's especially hard when you pluck up the courage to slip in the problem you're struggling with into a conversation and they turn round to you and say "well you'll just have to get used to it, no one's going to change their ways". Well I think that's completely bollocks, I've had to change my ways a lot so I should think that everyone else should too - be considerate.

The lectures side of things has actually been quite interesting. I'm glad I'm doing this course because I enjoy it. If I didn't enjoy the course I would probably have left university by now. It is a lot of work and it's completely different to anything you've been used to at college or school it's different. It's easier in the way that you're doing something you've chosen to do, you are more than likely to enjoy the course so you're more than likely to do well in it. This isn't to say you're not going to have to work hard. In the first semester (which is basically a 'term') I've already had to write three essays with the word count of 2,500 words and I've also had to prepare for an exam. The way they give you the essays is a lot different to getting coursework at college or school too! I got given my first essay question, got told to use at least 10 references to different sources of information and to get on with it - no guidelines! Throwing me into the deep end or what?

Your life at university isn't going to be a walk in the park, it's more like a sprint and climb along an agility course. You may fall off the balance beam or get tangled in the climbing nets but just take your time, climb back up and start again - you will get there.

The hardest thing for me so far is definitely making friends. This has always been a hard thing for me to do. The best thing for you to do when you start university is to be yourself. You don't want to start off this new part of your life as someone else - if people don't like you then screw them. Focus on your work, do well and leave the haters behind you because you're going to go far in life. I have four people that I can call proper friends from university (not including Amy who will be my best friend forever) but I still don't know them well. They've accepted me for who I am and I've been myself from the beginning so that's the best place to start.

If you're nervous about starting university remember that everyone is in the same boat as you. It's a new environment with new people doing a new course, everybody is the same! Just remember, you all have one common interest and that's your course, so you're more than likely to come up with a few good acquaintances during your time at university. Good luck.

MY BEST FRIEND: TEN YEARS!

Ten years ago today I met my friend Amy.

Soon after she became one of my best friends, and she helped towards molding my life into what it is today, and for that I am eternally grateful.

Many people believe that online relationships don't work, and where this isn't a 'relationship' in that sense, we have maintained an incredibly strong and close friendship for a decade through a screen, and I can promise all of you that that it not something one can come across with many people. Another surprising thing about our friendship is that, in my opinion, it hasn't been hard to maintain. Only having a few months where we weren't 'friends' as such during these ten years I believe we have a very strong friendship...and I hope I'm not speaking out of line when I say, for those few months where we weren't friends, I didn't for a second doubt that we would be friends again.

To Amy:

Thank you. 

These past ten years would have been completely different if I hadn't have met you, and I am so glad that I have. The majority of our friendship has been up, with only one major down that I can remember - not that I'm trying to remember the downs. You know my life as well as I know my life, I share my secrets and my stories with you and you are always there to listen...or read as it seems. I hope I reciprocate these acts of kindness to you also. It takes a lot in a person and a friendship to be able to know that even if they don't talk for a couple of days there's no problems within that friendship, and that we'll just turn around and be our random selves again (usually within a couple of minutes). We have that friendship which needs no introductions when we speak to one another. Our conversations are not finished at the end of the day they just carry over to the next day, even if we do say our funny little goodbyes when one of us...usually you, you old man, goes to sleep. We have this 'connection' which is rather spiffing - we will say pretty much the exact same thing, at the exact same time...sometimes we don't even need to be talking about that topic and we'll still come up with the same thing to say. We have a lot of common interests, of which I probably shouldn't go into on a public blog, with the only difference I can think of is our choice in chocolate, but I'm sure we can overcome that! I could continue writing forever, but that would be pointless as you'd never see this post, so I'll stop now. Just forever know that you're my best friend, and have been throughout the majority of the past decade. 

WHAT TO TAKE TO UNIVERSITY?!

I'm obviously no expert at this - in fact I haven't even arrived at university yet (16 days and counting!) but I thought I'd share with you what I'm taking to university.

For the first month I am living in halls, I am catered for and I have shared facilities. This means I don't have to take or buy any kitcheny type equipment with me and I won't be able to take all my thousands of bath and shower products cos I'll have to keep them in my small little room. However, I am moving after the first month and i'm not sure where to yet so I may be able to do an updated version of this if circumstances change!

I'll write my list and every time I buy or find something I think will be practical I will post a link to it, so this will be updated regularly! Primarily this will be for a girls room - but boys may find some ideas along the way!

• Duvet-----The university may provide this. Argos, Asda, Tesco, etc. sell good quality cheap ones. You're a student now - get used to buying the cheapest possible!
• sheets x2----- Same as above! I've bought these: here (Argos, £4.82) and here (Argos, £5.99). Make sure you get 2 sheets, so you alternate with washing them!
• Duvet covers x2-----Same as above! I've bought these: here (Argos, £12.99) and here (Argos, £19.99). Make sure you get 2 duvet covers so that you can alternate washing them!
• Pillows x2-----The university may provide this. I already own some pillows...but the same places as stated above may sell these too.
• Pillow Cases-----Most duvet cover sets come with at least one pillow case. Make sure you buy double the pillow cases to the amount of pillows you have (e.g. 1 pillow = 2 pillow cases) so you can alternate washing them! I bought these: here (Argos, £2.50).
• Mattress Topper-----This isn't exactly necessary and it might be worth waiting until you've spent one night sleeping on your mattress. If you find that it's uncomfortable a mattress topper should help! I've picked out my one just in case my mattress is uncomfortable: here (Argos, £29.99).

*Some of the following items definitely aren't necessary. I just thought that the decorative items are important to me because you can't decorate rooms in halls etc. so I'm buying all pretty stuff to help my room look decorated!*

• Bed throw-----

• Decorative Cushions-----Personally I'm NOT getting any decorative cushions, I've decided to just get a bed throw because you need to remember you've only got a single bed. HOWEVER you can get pretty inexpensive decorative cushions so it is a good idea to get some if you want to brighten up your room! Good places to look for these are: Dunelm-Mill or The Range
• Candle-----I'm a bit of a candle addict. I'm not sure if universities allow them, but if they do I'm taking my favourite one. Sweet Strawberry (Yankee Candle, Regular Tumbler, £9.95).
• Alarm clock-----I already own this, but you can get it here (Ikea, £4.25).
• Door wedge-----I've read that if you live in halls it's easier to make friends if you wedge your door open, I figured I'd try that as I only know of one person going to the same university as me.
• Hot water bottle-----You must have one of these lying around? Otherwise places like Asda, Tesco etc. sell them cheaply. Asda £1.50
• Desk lamp
• Rubbish bin-----I'm taking mine from my room. I got it here (The Range, £7.99)
• Mug-----I have a million mugs that I love but I must restrict myself to a maximum of two mugs. You don't have the room to over pack!
• Towels (Large) x2
• Towels (Small) x2
• Towelling dressing gown-----I'm in 'shared facilities' accommodation and where I'm sure all the people I'll be in halls with are lovely I'm sure they don't want to walk in just as my towel comes undone or something so I decided to get a towelling dressing gown from here (BHS, £25.00)
• Dream catcher-----Or something similar to this for some quirky personality.
• Pretty hangers-----These don't necessarily need to be pretty, but I would like to add some personality to my wardrobe with something inexpensive like that. Personally I love these (Ikea, £5.50) but you can get packs of hangers from loads of places, especially department stores or grocery shops with homeware sections in it.
• Handbag-----Just any old handbag you have lying around the house. You don't want to have to always switch up your uni bag for you to be able to take it out shopping. Nothing to expensive, just something practical and neutral so it goes with anything.
• Uni bag-----This bag will be the permanant home for your pencil case, books and other uni items, you don't want to have to share this bag with also being your handbag, things get lost or left behind like that e.g. assignments!
• Clutch bag-----Well, hello you're a student now. You're not going to be a stranger to going out on the town or to the student union are you? You want a nice plain, neutral/black clutch/small bag for these times. Something big enough to fit your money/purse/card, your phone and your keys in but nothing more!
• Purse
• Keys
• Watch
• Prescription glasses and sunglasses
• Face mask-----Even students need some pampering from time to time! I use this NSpa 5 Minute Magic Mask available in store at Asda
• Face scrub/cleanser-----I use this Scrub Your Nose in it (Boots, Soap and Glory, £7.50) and this Angels on Bare Skin Cleanser (Lush, £6.35).
• Moisturiser-----I use this Skin Drink Moisturiser (Lush, £11.95)
• Spot stuff-----How I wish I didn't have to use this Dr. Spot (Boots, Soap and Glory, £5.33)
• Toothpaste
• Toothbrush
• Hairbrush
• Hair accessories-----Bobby pins, hair elastics, head bands etc.
• Shower gel-----I use these shower gels: Whipped Clean Shower Butter (Boots, Soap and Glory, £8.00), Clean on Me (Boots, Soap and Glory, £6.00), Rose Jam (Lush, £4.65 per 100g)
• Shampoo-----I use these shampoos: Banana Shampoo (The Body Shop, £4.50) and Trichomania (Lush, £5.35 per 100g)
• Conditioner-----I use these conditioners: Banana Conditioner (The Body Shop, £4.50), American Cream (Lush, £4.50) and R&B Leave-in Conditioner (Lush, £11.25 per 100g)
• Razor
• Wash bag-----You really don't want to be lugging everything around separately, especially if you're in shared facilities! Get a large wash bag to keep everything in! Look at places like: Boots, John Lewis, Marks and Spencer, Superdrug, Asda, Tesco etc.
• Flannel x2
• Sponge
• Hair oil-----I get very bad ends, so I use Argan oil on them. I don't use the high-end brand of Argan Oil though, which I'm sure is better. VO5 Miracle Concentrate Elixir (Boots, £5.19)
• Face wipes-----Now ladies, we all know how important Face Wipes are! Quick to take off make up, and also freshening up your skin! I use these Exfoliating Facial Wipes (Boots, £3.99)
• Eye make up remover-----Gentle Eye Make Up Remover (Boots, £1.99)
• Cotton pads
• Cotton buds
• Make up bag
• Make up-----Pack your daily make up and your evening make up, no more! You don't have room!
• Nail varnish-----Choose your favourite five (this will be unbelievably difficult for me!) But you can always buy a few more once you get there if you feel the urge ;)
• Nail varnish remover
• Push pins-----Get these from most stationary shops e.g. Staples, Asda, Tesco, Paperchase etc. I got these ones (Paperchase, £2.00)
• notebooks-----I suggest getting 2 A4 notebooks, 1 A5 notebook and 1 Refill pad! This gives you notebooks for any occasion. For example: The A4 ones are handy for taking to lectures, the A5 one is good for carrying around with you to take memos down and the Refill pad is a good all-rounder! Make sure they're what you need, ruled, grid etc. Spiro bound or threaded etc. I got these notebooks: Pink A4 Notebook (Paperchase, £5.00), Purple A4 Notebook (Paperchase, £5.00), Camouflage A5 Divider notebook (Paperchase, £5.00) and Linear Floral A4 Refill Pad (Paperchase, £2.50)
• Memory stick-----Important! I suggest getting the cheapest one you can (not second hand!) which is 4GB. This will be big enough for you to back up all of your assignments and important documents that you need to. Make sure you don't clutter this up with your music etc. Have separate ones for personal files and university files.
• Pens
• Pencils
• Highlighters
• Permanent markers
• Ruler
• Eraser-----Don't buy these stupid shaped ones, just buy a simple one like this! (Paperchase, £1.00)
• Calculator-----Okay, so you can get cheaper ones than it, but I loved this. It's so pretty! (Paperchase, £6.00)
• Sharpener
• Pencil case
• Staples
• Stapler
• Holepunch
• Paperclips-----Try to find some just plain paperclips from somewhere like asda or Staples. Paperchase didn't have any proper ones, but seeing as though I was making an order I made do with these animal shaped paperclips... (Paperchase, £3.50)
• A4 ringbinders
• Lever arch folders
• Plastic wallets
• Envelopes
• Stamps
• Driving license, Passport, Other forms of I.D.
• National Insurance Number
• Laptop
• Kindle
• Phone
• iPod
• Computer
• Cables and Chargers
• Rechargeable batteries
• Camera
• Printer and ink-----Get the cheapest and smallest printer you can find, and even that isn't necessary. The university will have printers, it's just useful to have your own in your room.
• Printer paper
• Inhalers
• Medicines
• Antiseptic cream etc.
• Plasters
• Books
• Weekend bag
• Hair straighteners
• Hair curlers
• Clothes!-----Don't forget that even though it might still be warm whilst you're packing, you're going to be going to university in September - AUTUMN! It will get cold, lets get real - it's England! I would suggest packing 7 full outfits and 7 extra tops. All of which are warm or have some jumpers that will go with them. Pack some cute wellies if you think you'll wear them in the wet weather. Hats, gloves and scarves will be important and your warm winter coat too - not just jackets! And don't forget that you'll be washing these things yourself for the most part, so make sure they can be washed in the washing machine - you don't want to be forking out more cash each week for dry cleaning, you want to be able to bung it in a washing machine and be done with it.