Instagram snapshots #5

I haven't done one of these since the beginning of last month so I apologise for that! I have a good selection of snapshots for you this time around though! 

Absolutely brilliant book.

They actually are heavenly!

Costa date!

MY CAR! Absolutely brilliant 18th!

Beautiful silver trowel necklace, I'm so lucky :)

My minion birthday cake!

It's nice to treat myself sometimes.

My current favourite lipstick!

Because I like my make up and hair for once!

Captain America was so good!

Perfect revision snacks!

Hope you guys enjoyed this!

Jess xx 

Instagram snapshots #4

Instagram snapshots #3

Happy Valentine's Day guys! I hope you all had a great day either with loved ones or doing something you love!

I've been spending most of my time working over the last few weeks, hence the lack of posts, but I have been taking quite a few photos on Instagram so I haven't been completely dead on the Internet! I actually had more photos than I expected so this will be a bit of a long post!

This English coursework will be the death of me.

Hot chocolate, whipped cream, chocolate shavings and marshmallows!

Prettiest and yummiest chocolates I've had for a while!

What happens when me & mum go to the American sweet shop...

I wish essays were easier.

Caramel eclair and two peach and raspberry macaroons, yum!

Finally!!

Bought myself a treat for finishing my essay early!

Finally sorted it all out!

I love having morning frees.

Perfect boyfriend? I think so.

I could have split this into two posts but I thought it would be nice to put them all up from where I left off, plus I especially wanted the last photo on today's post for obvious reasons! Most of you won't know this but I've been in a relationship with a guy called Chris for a little while now which is pretty amazing if I'm going to be honest! He goes to my college so it's really great as I get to see him nearly every day which is completely new for me! It's also great that we share a lot of friends so yeah...I'm pretty happy at the moment! 

Jess xx

Instagram snapshots #1

Instagram snapshots #2

Instagram snapshots #2.

I haven't been on the internet very much this week so I don't have a This Week's Favourites post, unless you wanted me listing my favourite stationary that I've been using for my homework! Instead, I'm going to do another Instagram snapshots post because I've started taking more photos!

Good start to Friday morning!

Haven't had one of these in so long!

Pretty bottle and yummy drink!

Doing Aeneid notes, why must there be so much to write down?!
Going to need several sheets just for this book/chapter...

Good start to the day! Favourite pastry and favourite mug!

You can follow me on Instagram on here of you like these posts! I might make this a weekly/biweekly thing...they're fun to make! 

Jess xx

This week's favourites!

1. Humans of New York

"I can’t stand moral absolutism. You know, there’s always that guy who wants to point out that Martin Luther King cheated on his wife— as if he obviously couldn’t have been a great person if he did something like that. Or someone will bring out an inspirational quote, and get you to agree, and then inform you that Hitler said it. As if a good thought couldn’t come from Hitler. Moral absolutism keeps us from learning from the past. It’s easy to say: ‘Hitler was a demon. Nazis were all bad seeds.’ That’s simple. It’s much harder to say: ‘Is that humanity? Is that me?’"

If you haven't seen this, check it out NOW. Brandon captures the most amazing images and stories of people from all walks of life and it's amazing to see the variety of people living in just one city in one country. I love people watching and I often wonder about the lives of the people around me so this blog is so interesting to me and I know you'll find it interesting too!

2. NCIS Season 11
This is my favourite show probably ever. England get it ages after the US which is rather annoying as I end up seeing quite a few spoilers as the episodes air over in America. It's a US crime drama about a team at the Naval Criminal Investigative Service in Washington DC. As well as having a case each episode, there are also underlying plots that are so clever and well thought out, they may as well have happened. The characters are also brilliant and you end up loving them all - I've cried on multiple occasions when someone has died because the writers are so fantastic that they make everyone on the show seem less like characters and like real people which doesn't always happen on shows like these.
The new season started yesterday with all guns blazing and I'm so excited for the rest of the series, even though I know that one of my favourite characters leaves, I'm quite excited to see what happens!
Another perk is that American shows always have more episodes per season so it doesn't finish as quickly!
In America, this show is aired on CBS, and in the UK, Fox. I highly recommend it - there are always re runs, you just have to look for them!

3. wornontv.net
Do you always wonder where that one dress or jumper comes from on a TV show? This is possibly the best website in existence for you. If you're a fan of American TV shows, this website will be your holy grail. Some brilliant person has gone through almost 70 shows and found where the clothes come from and given links. The list includes Doctor Who (only English show on here, sorry!), Agents of SHIELD, Rizzoli and Isles, Once Upon a Time, Mad Men, Pretty Little Liars, Arrow, New Girl, Elementary and The Carrie Diaries so it has a wide range of different shows and pieces that they've found! Obviously they don't have all of them, but it's exciting to see which pieces they do have and where they're from! I know a few pieces I've looked at in some episodes of Agents of SHIELD have popped up on there so it's great!

4. Costa's gingerbread latte
Now that Christmas is over, the festive drinks are gone too. Luckily, Costa still do their gingerbread latte all year round which makes me very happy because it's my absolute favourite as it doesn't make me feel ill unlike Starbucks coffees.

This post ended up being majorly American orientated, sorry!
If you have anything you think I should check out for next week, leave suggestions in the comments!
Jess xx

Favourites of 2013

I would do posts with specific topic favourites but there isn't enough time left in this year to do that so I thought I would put all of my favourite things from this year into one bigger post!

Make Up

BadGal Lash Mascara - Benefit 

I love this so much and always reach for it when I'm wearing make up. It makes my lashes look so much longer while still looking natural which I think is really great! It also doesn't give me panda eyes and only comes off if I rub my eyes so for a non-waterproof mascara, it's amazing! My new MAC mascara might overtake though because it's also amazing!

Bahama Mama - Essie

I know I didn't get this too long ago but I love it so much that I couldn't not include it! The colour is probably one of my favourite Essie shades that I've tried out to date and it's such a great colour for this time of the year. 

Alice in Wonderland eyeshadow palette - Urban Decay
I've actually had this for years and will do a proper review eventually, but I started using more make up this year and these eyeshadows are by far my favourites. The colours are all limited edition and they're so gorgeous, mainly shimmery which I love, and so long lasting!

Kate Matte Lipstick in 107 - Rimmel
I've already reviewed this here but I have to include it as I wore it so much this year. I love the colour, the smell, how long it lasts, just everything! If you only ever buy one red lipstick, make it this one because it's probably my favourite.

Whipped Creme Foundation in Natural - Max Factor
This is the first foundation I've tried that actually covers up the redness and dry patches by my nose so that says a lot. It's so light and the shade is perfect for me so I'm really happy to have discovered this beauty!

Baby Lips - Maybelline
These have been saviours on more occasions than I can count. They smell amazing, look amazing and give a subtle wash of colour if you aren't feeling too adventurous. They also make my lips super soft which is great!

Sexy Mother Pucker Gloss Stick in Nudists and Raplumzel - Soap and Glory
I love these so much. Both colours are fantastic, applying them is super simple and they last for quite a long time for glosses. I reviewed Raplumzel here.

Books

How To Fall In Love - Cecelia Ahern

I bought this for 99p on my kindle a few of days ago and I finished it yesterday. I'm not usually a fast reader but I tend to read faster on my kindle and when the book is good and boy, was this book good. I love Cecelia Ahern and the new book of hers is no exception. It's such a sweet story about helping someone else and inadvertently helping yourself at the same time. Cecelia definitely knows how to write a good character and a realistic storyline, I recommend this book 100%!

The Last Letter From Your Lover - Jojo Moyes

I read this book over my half term holiday as it was the only one that looked interesting in the sadly lacking selection of books that they had at the holiday home. I'm so glad I decided to pick it up though as I was, again, completely hooked! I didn't like how it was written point of view wise but once you get over that, it's such a great read and has a great ending that was unexpected and so heartwarming! There are a lot of lost memory, self discovery books out there but out of the ones I've read, this is probably my favourite one by far! It follows two storylines in different times and the ending brings them both together in such a great way! It's almost a love story mixed with a detective story and I found it so exciting, I had it finished in about 5 days, in between going out and doing holiday homework!

Films

Despicable Me 2
I loved the first one and this one was possibly even better! The minions are my favourite things in any film, they're so adorable! Apparently they're making a minions film so I'm super excited for that!

Monsters University
I saw this twice, once at the cinema near college who hold a free film night once a month and another later on. First off, it started with a short film called "The Blue Umbrella" which is honestly the sweetest thing on this planet. I loved this film so much, it was funny to see all of the characters we know and love earlier on and to see how they became that way (Randall anyone?!).

General

Costa
The mid-week saviour for me and a couple of friends. It's quieter than the Starbucks just down the road as less college students are there so it's perfect for chatting and getting on with work as it feels more relaxed and laid back. Another plus point is that their coffee doesn't make me feel ill which is always nice!

Car boot sales
I only really went to these in Summer with Mark as my mum doesn't like them but they were always so much fun! I got some amazing deals on a lot of books and just trawling through all of the stuff at each stand made it just that bit more satisfying when I found something great.

My Burgundy Crew jumper
I've only had it for a week or so but I love it and it's probably my favourite jumper I have. It's super warm, looks great and is a really pretty, neutral colour. Definitely going to be a firm favourite for 2014 too!

I hope you guys enjoyed looking through my favourite things from this year, it was quite hard to choose as I've changed a lot and have quite a short memory span so thinking back to Summer is hard, let alone January!

Jess xx

General Life

Everything is going pretty great at the moment. My UCAS has been sent off and I'm so happy! I have 4 emails from the unis to tell me that they've received my application which is so great but so scary! I just have to wait to see if I have offers now!

I went to college early today and got a costa with one of my closer friends which was amazing! We had a really great chat about loads of things and the christmas drinks came out today so that was super exciting! I love the Christmas drinks and food, they always taste so yummy and are absolutely perfect for this time of year. 

I'm loving college at the moment in general, we aren't getting much homework which is nice and the work is interesting and a lot of fun so I want to learn more! I'm doing my english coursework this half term, meaning I have to read and analyse a couple of books as well as the book that we are taught in class. It's so much fun getting to choose the books and question to do for my coursework - as long as it relates to identity, I can do pretty much any question I feel fits my books the best! 

Instead of choosing from the list we were given, I came up with my own question! 

To what extent do the writers of your chosen texts suggest that failure to live in the present inevitably leads to obsession and isolation? 

I think it's such a great question that fits with all three books and I'm so happy me and my teacher managed to verbalise my question after explaining to her what I wanted to say! 

My three books are: Translations by Brian Friel

Jezebel by Irene Nemirovsky 

The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman.

If you read these, or the blurbs, they sound like they would have nothing in common but they're all fantastic for this question! I'm actually really excited to properly start my coursework now!

Sorry I'm not blogging much at the moment, there isn't much to talk about! I'll start posting some reviews of my half term purchases soon though!

Jess xx