Guess Who's Back...

To the lovely people who signed up to be notified by email about my blog ramblings, I apologise, I'm back.

I can't promise for how long or in what way but I was just redirected to my little blog here after I was notified that someone anonymously commented on my law personal statement post - it was a nice comment thankfully. I was reminded how much I used to enjoy this, I guess I'm one of those people who just likes to talk about themselves! So what's new?

Let's see, Urm, first things first I graduated with a 2:1 from Edinburgh University. Go me!

The charity I started last year is going from strength to strength under the safe guard of the new and lovely Project Manager. I got a job, my first proper one! I'm now a trainee Recruitment Consultant in an education staff supply firm and whilst admittedly I stumbled into it I'm absolutely loving it. Can't say I'm loving the long hours just yet (7-4.30 some days, 9-7 on others) but colleagues keep assuring me I'm going to get used to, it it's just going to take a few months. Yesterday I got my first pay cheque (well not first ever but you know what I mean)!

I'm not even sure what I'm going to write about anymore, as I said to my boyfriend last night it's much easier to maintain a blog when, as a student, for 9 months of the year you really have very little going on. But this blog was meant to be a sort of timeline, and I like to think this is a whole new chapter, so I guess I'll just write as and when I feel like it. I imagine alot less will be about coffee shops now as I rarely I'm rarely out of the house/office.

I think part of the reason I stopped before was I made a few mistakes with how I ran this. For example telling people on Facebook made me feel more nervous than anything that people were judging me, I'd love to be on of those 'screw em' type people but I'm just not - far too paranoid. So if your reading this then great, I'm not going to go out encouraging people to anymore. And if you're reading this and going 'oh gaaawwd why has this rubbish popped up in my email' please unfollow/unsubscribe! Also I'm sorry if there's spelling, grammar, formatting mistakes but I'm blaming it on the iPad.

As far as it stands these are the general topics you might (if I manage to stick to writing for more than just today) see pop up in future...

• My job and things I learn along the way e.g. sales dos and don'ts as I figure them out for myself
• Career stuff generally e.g. Cv writing, interview tips, where I'm at and where I'm trying to get to.
• Wedding/crafty/pretty things... I'm still a gooey romantic at heart and my Pinterest page is still going strong.
• My opinions. I stress the word opinions, I accept that I'm not even close to well read enough to be able to offer really important or influential opinions on anything but for example especially with regards education now I'm starting to get there, with a boyfriend studying for a PGCE and discussing education news with head teachers all day long you can't help but get involved and a bit soap box-y about some topics.
• Weight loss via Slimming World.

That's a fairly big thing or feels like it for me to just put out there, a year ago now I lost a stone with Slimming World and I've never felt better about myself, but final year at uni being stuck inside studying/eating/studying/sleeping/eating etc everyday for 3 months meant that didn't last long! However I started again over the summer and so far it's going well, I'm 11 pounds down and trying to make it more of a lifestyle thing than a diet as such. It's scary to admit to people that not only are you unhappy with the way you look but that you're trying to change it, somehow it becomes more pressure when people are either rooting for you or just observing to see if you manage it. But this is important to me and in a sad sort of way I really enjoy it, so this may end up being a bit of healthy eating blog who knows, and for that matter who cares!

• And finally I suppose just whatever pops up or I feel like writing about!

Anyway thank you for reading if you genuinely are interested in my jibber jabber!

Posted with Blogsy

Finals Shminals

 

Reason, Season or Lifetime

People come into your life for a reason, season or a lifetime.

When you figure out which one it is, you will know what to do for each person.

When someone is in your life for a reason,
it is usually to meet a need you have expressed.
They have come to assist you through a difficulty;
to provide you with guidance and support;
to aid you physically, emotionally or spiritually.
They may seem like a godsend, and they are.
They are there for the reason you need them to be.

Then, without any wrongdoing on your part or at an inconvenient time,
this person will say or do something to bring the relationship to an end.
Sometimes they die. Sometimes they walk away.
Sometimes they act up and force you to take a stand.
What we must realize is that our need has been met, our desire fulfilled; their work is done.
The prayer you sent up has been answered and now it is time to move on.

Some people come into your life for a season,
because your turn has come to share, grow or learn.
They bring you an experience of peace or make you laugh.
They may teach you something you have never done.
They usually give you an unbelievable amount of joy.
Believe it. It is real. But only for a season.

LIfetime relationships teach you lifetime lessons;
things you must build upon in order to have a solid emotional foundation.
Your job is to accept the lesson, love the person,
and put what you have learned to use in all other relationships and areas of your life.
It is said that love is blind but friendship is clairvoyant.

— Unknown

The Dissertation

I am literally about to submit this bad boy...

 

It's a weird feeling, I'm not as ecstatic as I expected to be. Nervous if anything, and tired. As soon as I pressed print (which took some serious psyching up) I got that IT'S ALL WRONG feeling. I suppose it's a bit late for that now! Fingers crossed for me anyway please! 

Express LD - the website!

If you've been following my blog posts you'll know that along with my fourth year studies I'm currently Project Manager and Co-founder of a charity project called Express LD. Express LD aims to give practical support to students with dyslexia whilst also dispelling the stigma surrounding learning difficulties. In December we held our first launch workshop which you can read about here.
This week our wonderful treasurer Sarah presented me with the sweetest stickers with our logo on, I was so excited I gave out four to friends straight away, last night in Revolution bar I saw one of them still had it stuck to his shirt whilst working, I might of overreacted but man that made me happy!
But that's not the big news, the big news is that after months of planning and hard work we have a website, I'm so incredibly proud. 
A massive, huge, humongous, gargantuan thank you goes out to Tom Shore (aka Austin) for doing this for us out of the goodness of his heart. 
Hopefully over the next few weeks we will be adding some professional photos of the team and workshops, plus a new 'events' page. But for now I present to you Express LD, the website. Go take a look! 

www.expressld.co.uk

All I Need to Get By - living with the iPad 2

Now this post is probably going to look weird. I'm basically trying to get used to a blogging app called 'blogsy' that came highly recommended for blogging on the iPad. I assumed blogging would be something done easily on the iPad, I was sadly mistaken. It's a bit of a faff as it turns out. But in any event I read some reviews as you do and went with blogsy. It's going to be a learning curve I reckon, and I have no idea how it's going to look on the actual blog. So bare with me if there's the occasional funky looking tad messy post, this is why! So far the app looks really very clever though it's just I need to get used to it.

This is all part of my mission to show people out there that you really don't need to spend so much money on a mac if you have similar habits to me. I useD my laptop for Facebook, twitter, I write essays, edit documents, read PDFs, use pinterest, blog, i make power points, occasionally mess around with excel, listen to music and watch movies. And out of all that literally the only thing I've struggled with using only an ipad2 is not being able to watch flash videos, for which I've been using my ancient acer laptop because I can't live without The Office and New Girl.

A lot of people have asked how I'm doing my university work without Microsoft, well I haven't been using pages either, I am using an app called 'open office' which cost me £13 and it's brilliant, does the job just great. I can open word documents without them having to be converted, I can edit them, then I use 'dropbox' to save everything on both my iPad, laptop, uni computers and online in just the click of a button. I also have 'box' for the charity business. Essentially, I don't need to edit photos or music or videos. And that's the only thing I think you might struggle with on an ipad. Having said that I've been told its doable. So there was no sense in me buying what Tom referred to as a "£1000 Facebook machine".

I also bought a refurbished one, apple don't do student discount on iPads and I read about the refurbished option which in the end was a great shout. I saved £60, it has the same warranty and returns policy as non-refurbished machine and there's not a scratch on it.

Back to blogsy, the pictures are dragged in from my camera roll on the iPad via picasa. I've been messing around with the camera since I got it (most pics are edited with Instagram). I'm just having trouble moving them all onto one line,just having three in a row. So they are a bit all over the shop, like I said its a learning curve and I'm sure I'll get better with time.

 

Sunday Afternoons

This is possibly my favourite playlist on 8tracks. It's just happy and lovable.

I'd Spend My Sunday Afternoons With You

It also introduced me to the song 'Smile' by Uncle Kracker which is makes me SO happy.

Men and Women Can't Be Friends

Unbelievably, one of my good friends hasn't seen 'When Harry Met Sally'. This is for him, and my Dad since it's his favourite film. 

The two clips below show some of my favourite quotes/unnervingly true observations from Harry.

Part 1 is right at the beginning of the film and part 2 is set several years later, after Harry and Sally bump into each other at the airport for the first time since their trip to New York in part 1. 

Eugh it's just such a good film! Now there are so many more clips I want to add on but I'm restraining myself. 

Thoughts of a Yorkshire Pudding

My friend Chris just started a blog: "Thoughts of a Yorkshire Pudding"! As a newcomer to the world of Apple products (I just purchased the Ipad2 - which is now my pride and joy) I heartily approve of his first emotional 'I love Steve Jobs' post. Not to mention the epic name. Check it out.

Psychology in a Nutshell

So this is my life now...

I'm currently writing my dissertation...  

Selective Memory as an Explanation for the Interpretation of Dreams as Precognitive 

... which is of course super fun! Anyway, as a result I'm essentially living in the basement computer lab of a building called 'hugh rob'. Luckily I have many a companion. Take for example the mature student who regularly falls asleep with his hands down his pants, or the girl who made a bed underneath the desk. I like to think of the dungeon as a place where the light of dreams and hope dwindle in the cold, dank sewage of reality. Some people understandably need a nap to get through the day. 

In any case, dear diary, I arrived today at 9.30pm, having done a cheeky 8 hours at the hotel, to find my dear friend Robyn. This is basically what went down...

  

Spread the Love

Maybe it's easy to say since I'm happy and in love this Valentine's but I'm really enjoying the whole thing. Facebook and Twitter are filled with happy thoughts and people declaring their love for one another, and all along Middle Meadow Walk (my way into uni) some angels have hung adorable little pink felt hearts from every tree. Actually I can say that, I was single last year and had an amazing day with my friends feeling just as loved as I do today.
I just dont think Valentine's should only be about big romantic gestures or being spoilt rotton (for one thing Valentine's day should be about both halves of a couple and not just a reason for a guy to have spend a lot of money). The sad thing is that some people feel downright depressed on days like today, and that shouldn't be the case. I'd rather Valentine's day be about showing appreciation for everyone you love. And if you are in the happy couple category, then on behalf of men everywhere, make sure Valentine's day is a day for you both! 

If You Can't Say Something Nice

Advice for the day...

Meh

Well I'm not so sure about that, but it's no picnic granted. And it is from the Telegraph...

Serenity

"God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
 the courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference."

My Nana and Grandpa bought me a beautiful gold locket for my 7th birthday with these words engraved, it's amazing how often they bring me comfort.  It's from the Serenity Prayer, which is not actually in the bible, it was written by theologian Reinhold Niebuhr in the early 1900s. 

Valentine's Day

Instead of go uber mushy and gross everyone out for Valentine's day with an epic love post, I'm going to let this picture do it for me and that'll be the end of it. For Valentines I am not buying Tom a card, I am buying him a whole chicken. Both practical, scrumptious and close to his heart.

Cupid's Arrow

I'm getting in the mood for Valentine's Day.

Not that Tom and I making a big hoo-hah out of the occasion -  I keep having to remind myself that we are students, and we are skint - but I've been in a lovely-love-yey-Valentine's-day type mood today. Therefore despite it being a tad early, here's some Cupid style inspiration...

All these pictures & more with their original sources can be found through 'My Valentine' pin board on Pinterest.

Crazy, Stupid, Love.

... It's the name of a film not of my next uber-sentimental post. I know that will come as a relief to some and disappointment to others!

Anyway, I won't blab on too much but I just thought I'd put it out there, this is definitely 'one to watch'.

We had a decidedly lovely evening the other night cramped around our kitchen table with the most calorific home made cheesecake ever and 2 of our best friends. 

About that cheesecake... melted Mars bars throughout, with a chocolate hobnob base, marshmallow topping and butterscotch source. Like I said, supercalicalorificexpealidocious.

Anyway back to the film: I adored it, in part at least for very obvious reasons (Ryan Gosling... topless... in a rom-com...with Steve Carrell/Emma Stone- honestly how could you not love that?) The surprise came in that the boys (Tom and Chris) loved it too, which makes it a winner in my books. I suspect their admiration for Ryan Gosling was for different reasons, such as his incredibly awesome array of suits, and the fact that he's a total 'LAD'.

It's not all about him though, it's also a funny and touching story with a bit of a twist towards the end. So yeah, if you've got time to spare give it a go. Over and out.

Still Funny

Too True

Never Liked It Anyway

I can't decide if this is just depressing or morbidly funny...

It's simple enough, you get bought sparkly lovely love things when you're in love, and eventually things go down the drain. So what do you do with all the bits and pieces that remind you of someone you'd rather not think about? Here people are selling off the pieces they once loved from the people they once loved, and as if that wasn't sad enough, you get the whole story behind each piece! How very Sex and The City. There's everything from a teddy bear, to necklaces, bracelets, engagement rings, wedding dresses and even a hotel wedding package in New York. Owch.

Naturally I had a browse; there's some good bargains! If you could get past the superstition of having an engagement ring that never made it up the aisle first time round for whatever reason then I say go for it! 

Personally I'm a tad too superstitious and I wouldn't want a piece of jewellery that reminded me of somebody else's heart ache, and for the most part, I think it's nice to keep trinkets, maybe that's weird, but my ex-jewellery reminds me of the happy times and people who were  important at some point in my life.

For that reason, even if, massive fingers crossed, touch wood, cross your heart etc etc things go up in flames with Tom and I, you won't be seeing my beautiful new Swarovski bracelet up there.  

 

Afternoon Tea at The Tower, Edinburgh

Last week my birthday treat from the lovely Mia was a very civilised, absolutely adorable afternoon tea for two, with champagne at The Tower restaurant.

"Open and closed sandwiches, home-baking, scones with clotted cream and deliciously indulgent cakes are piled high on tiered cake stands. Enjoy with a glass of Perrier Jouet Champagne and the Tower’s speciality teas."

It was completely lovely and only Mia would think of such a luxurious little treat like that! Big thank you again Mims. xoxo

It's the first time I've been to The Tower which is situated on the top floor of the Museum of Scotland on Chambers Street and I will definitely be going back for four reasons...

 Firstly, the food was delicious, I suppose you don't expect afternoon tea to fill you up so much but we didn't even get through everything and were happily filled to the brim!  The highlight has to be the sweetest miniature crème brûlée on the top tier. Secondly, the view was breath-taking, it's possibly the only time I've been grateful for the sun setting early as we got to see the castle lit up from up high; magical. Thirdly, on top of all the that the service was impeccable. My fourth and final reason is that after some investigation, given the quality of what you get combined with the overall experience, the value of going for afternoon tea or lunch is surprisingly reasonable. All in all, it's well worth a visit if you're looking to treat someone special, or simply looking for something nice to do! (Just remember to book first, no walk-ins!)

Mia and I both said it's the perfect place to take parents for lunch/drinks when they next visit, my mind typically went straight to Graduation day, which I can now officially tell you is the  27th June!

Tear Jerker

Nightfall By Holly Sharpe

I'm asking a cheeky favour today as it's the last day of voting in a competition to design artwork for Florence and The Machine no less. This is for a very talented designer Holly Sharpe, please please click on this link and vote for her.

http://www.talenthouse.com/creativeinvites/show/submission/detail/2CM5DQ

It only takes a second and she really is wonderful, see...

Holly: "This is set in a dream-like world where things don't quite make sense, colours are more vivid and intense and everything has an ethereal quality. I wanted to attempt to capture the passion and drama of Florence and the Machine's sound. While retaining a looming darkness that threatens to block out the light...."


Urban Outfitters have already made some of her designs made into covers for Apple products. Can't wait to get my mac so I can get the cover!  

Some more of my favourites from Holly just to prove the point...

Winning

Recently I got to thinking about the things I've achieved since I've been at Edinburgh University. Obviously my big one is co-founding Express LD, something that if you saw this post you'll know I'm incredibly proud of! And what if we eventually become a registered charity!? That would be ridiculously awesome. 
But enough about me, I'm almost overwhelmed by some of the things I've seen my friends and colleagues achieve in the last few years, so much so that I've decided they need shouting about. 

• Cesca started her own business Vintage Rings and Things selling beautiful vintage jewellery.
• Ellen started her blog Hand Drawn Heart and in less than a year got invited as a member of the press to cover the Manchester Fashion Show!
• My cousin Ben started working at Aldi after getting onto what might be the most competitive graduate scheme in the country. 
• Vicki started an engineering placement at none other than Jaguar Land Rover!
• Danielle became co-owner of Joze School of Dance.
• Rob near single handedly converted 4 bare walls into a beautiful flat for two. 
• Chris got promoted to Assistant Manager at Revolution Edinburgh and Rosie got made Duty Manager at the Meadows Hotel.
• My sister Georgia got accepted and started at Cardiff University, Mia got accepted to study law at Copenhagen and Tom got accepted to do a PGCE at Leeds.  
• Jacky founded the only student Dyslexia Society in the country at Edinburgh University.
• And on a different but equally amazing note Dom and Vicki bought their first house only a few days ago and in May last year Daniel and Amulree got married! 

That's not even close to everyone, I could honestly keep going. Literally the only point to this list is that I'm so proud of my friends and just amazed at what we're all doing, have done and are yet to do. I'm going to look back at this when I'm knee deep in dissertation and verge of tears for some inspiration and a dose of 'go get 'em' attitude. At the very least maybe I'll think 'do you know what, if all these people can do all these things, then I can damn well graduate'. 
And because I don't like doing posts without pictures here's some thrown together very quickly that are hopefully relevant enough to illustrate my point..

The Reality of Room Mates

When I started uni I was given so so much advice about Fresher's week and about what to expect in my first year. Everyone had something to tell me and I had plenty of student aimed 'I-work-for-the-government-but-I'm-totally-down-with-the-kids' style leaflets with advice like 'name your house plant Boris' (seriously). Granted those first few weeks were daunting in many ways, and I valued the advice I was given, although I never actually bought a house plant. I bought a lot of other rubbish, remote control flying eagles and a hamster for instance, but no Boris.
One  thing that I wasn't given guidelines was how, who with and where to live next. All at the same time it can seem like a HUGE decision or a tiny thing you don't pay much mind to. To me I didn't think it was such a  big deal. I loved all my new friends so I wasn't fussed, although I wanted to take my new best friend with me that wasn't a question. In hind-sight I should probably of thought a little harder about it. But there we go there isn't much point regretting these things now. I actually really enjoyed 2nd year and living a beautiful big flat in Lauriston with 4 girls, for the most part. That other part was heart braking and pretty soul destroying at times. Girls can be cruel.
I think some of the problem is we watch TV shows like Friends and think that when we get our own flat it'll be like the opening scene montage, purple walls, everyone laughing and hugging and jumping around having hilarous moments. Yes some bits will be like that! We had many days/nights of ridiculousness and lots of laughs. On the other hand, it doesn't matter how many tea lights you buy, how many cushions from poundland, or posters you put up, more than likely your flat won't be beautiful and problem free, and neither will your flatmates. The bit you won't think about when you're getting ready to move in is eugh that one hasn't done their washing up again, oh but I cant be bothered doing mine, what the hell I just cleaned the kitchen and her friends messed it up, I want to sleep but someone just came in hammered and woke me up, so and so said this about me, so and so did this, and I swear to God if I see ONE MORE BITCHY POST IT NOTE on the fridge...and so on. That's the daily grind of it all. If your lucky you won't have that all the time, but it will happen. Even the happiest bunch of flatmates I know (a 6 bed of 4 boys and 2 girls) have their moments.
Even thinking back over the worst times I've had living with room-mates I don't think I'd change anything. The biggest thing I've learnt whilst living with friends at uni has been to simply chill out. Not everything has to be the biggest deal in the world, and the little annoyances are just that, little.  I wish I hadn't let those things bog me down as much as I did way back when, I imagine the fall out would of happened regardless but I might of felt differently about it. I live with two boys now so the little things are very different to what they used to be when I was with girls, and aside from our inability to afford heating and the occasional appearance of Mighty Mouse I'm very happy. Having said that, I did miss having girls around until Mia was back! 

And Then She Turned 22

This isn't as vain as it seems I swear, my Dad is extremely anti-facebook and wont get to see it otherwise! Also, yeah a little bit vain, I love my red dress. Thank you ASOS. 

Top Pins

For those of you don't use Pinterest, first off you're missing out big time, but also, it's kind of to blame for me not blogging as many photos as I used to, I've been 'pinning' everything instead! To make up for it I'm bringing some of my favourites of the last few weeks over here. All picture sources and many more amazing ideas, pictures and inspiration can be found on my pinterest boards at http://pinterest.com/beccastephaniej/
As it stands you still have to request an invite to join pinterest, however if you get invited by a member it's a lot faster so let me know if you'd like to me send you an invite!

As you can see there's a bit of all sorts. These pictures are taken from all my different 'pin boards' which include...

• Giggles
• Quotes & Inspiration
• Wedding Wonders
• When I Grow Up (home & family)
• Just Love It
• Dreamy Looks
• Gift Ideas
• Film Inspiration
• Craft Create Cook
• Life's To Do List

Wish List Numero Uno

I've been saving my Christmas and Birthday pennies from wonderfully generous relatives for one of these beauties. Yes yes I'm not a DJ or photoshop genius I don't strictly speaking need one but damn it look how pretty!

Adorable cover from etsy, they make all kinds of patterns/sizes.

Disney Wisdom

Pic from faithtrustdisney

Pic from faithtrustdisney

Happy Birthday To Me!

 I am officially 22 today! It's OK though I've done a thorough check and so far no wrinkles or grey hairs, phew. 

In a few hours time my wonderful girlies Jess & Hannah are arriving at Waverly all the way from God's own country (Yorkshire) and I am so excited!!!

Then I imagine we'll grab a bite to eat and begin the 'glamourise-me' process for tonight. It's not very imaginative but I'm doing exactly the same thing I did a year ago, pre-drinks at mine with lots of lovely people then meeting a fellow birthday girl out in Lulu to dance the night away. Hey, if it ain't broke don't fix it!

Unfortunately I didn't have time to open all my cards this morning, but as I was downing a steaming cup of coffee and charging out of the door I did open the one from my boyfriend Tom, simply because it said on the envelope "inside this envelope is a masterpiece, you're welcome". And I wasn't dissapointed. 

I also got the best birthday voicemail of all time from Mia this morning, unfortunately she's in London and it's like missing a limb, between her and my sister I'm basically armless! 

But anyway, imagine this song with a croaky 'I literally just woke up and haven't opened my eyes yet' voice plus a Danish accent...

Happy Birthday to you

You live in a zoo

You look a monkey but a pretty one

And you smell like one too but you smell delightful

And so I began my 22nd year on earth laughing. I've got a feeling there are good times ahead!