Jezebel is one of the books I read for my English coursework over the summer and I was surprised about how much I liked it!
"In a French courtroom, the trial of a woman is taking place. Gladys Eysenach is no longer young, but she is still beautiful, elegant, cold. She is accused of shooting dead her much-younger lover. As the witnesses take the stand and the case unfolds, Gladys relives fragments of her past: her childhood, her absent father, her marriage, her turbulent relationship with her daughter, her decline, and then the final irrevocable act."
It seems like a pretty self-explanitory blurb, but as you read it, the plot gets more complicated and you see the full extent of Gladys' obsession with her youth and beauty. It ends with such an amazing plot twist that just left me starting at the last words on the page for ages. It's written beautifully and is such a brilliant book, it's probably one of my favourites to date! I would definitely recommend it to anyone who likes reading, it's fantastic! I can't wait to read other books by Irene Nemirovsky and see if they're as good!
I love writing lists of things, whether it's about books or songs I want to remember, or a list of things I want to buy.
There are loads of little things in life that I love!
1. Movie days
2. Spending all day in my pjs
3. Good books that make me feel anything
4. Long train journeys
5. Big jumpers/cardigans
6. Spending time with my older (secondary school) friends
7. People saying they still read my blog after telling them about it ages ago
8. Watching Disney films wrapped up in my duvet
9. Reading magazines before going to bed
10. Getting into my lounge trousers after a day at college
11. Writing blog posts that I'm completely happy with
12. Listening to Ingrid Michaelson and Lisa Hannigan
13. Chocolate chip cookies
14. Shopping without looking for something specific
15. Watching my favourite TV shows
16. Scarves
17. Getting my nails painted
18. New stationery
19. Learning new things
20. Finding a new singer/songwriter who is really talented
21. Mint choc chip and cookie dough ice cream
Hope you guys enjoy! I might have to do some more lists because I liked writing this!
Jess xx
I got the best news today and it's made me happier than I've been for quite a while about my general school stuff!
I've been sure that I was predicted BBB since I started college but after tutor time today, I spoke to my teacher about my Uni choices and predicted grades, and it turns out that I'm actually predicted AAB!!! I was so shocked and happy because these grades mean that I have more of a chance of getting offers from most of my Uni choices!
I've been quite worried about not getting any offers so I'm really excited that if my personal statement goes well, I actually have a chance! My top three are Cardiff, Reading and Exeter so I should hopefully get the offers from them because their grades are lower which is great!
It's put me in such a good mood and it's inspired me to work even harder this year so I can achieve these grades!
As we enter our final year of mandatory school life, my year group has to start choosing our next steps in life, whether they lead us to University, an apprenticeship, a job or something else.
Now I've had my grades back for this year, I've had to face the rather tough reality of the possibility of not reaching the grades I need to be accepted into the course I have been wanting to do for the last four years. This means looking at other options. On one hand, I love all things ancient and classical, and want to go on to do Archaeology and Ancient history (who's childhood dream wasn't to crawl around in the mud and dig for things for their whole lives?!) somewhere with a good reputation and teaching. However, on the other hand, I'm an Internet-savvy blogger who spends quite a lot of time (okay...most of my time) on the Internet, whether it be for social networking, research about yet another scrap of information I've found interesting and want to investigate, or doing something as simple as checking emails or reading the news. I forgot my phone on a day out on Sunday and I felt so lost, I kept checking my bag to see if it had magically turned up but sadly it hadn't and I felt like there was an odd space in my brain...and hand. With all of this in mind, my second (back up, if you will) choice of Uni course would be journalism of some kind, preferably Fashion journalism though. (One of the courses I've researched said I'm the description that all media should be understood, including Twitter! Perfect for me!) It looks so interesting and would incorporate the other side of my life which is equally important to me as the classical side of my life.
I really really love both things, modern and ancient, and in an ideal world I'll manage to get a weekly or monthly column for a paper or magazine whilst working on fieldwork or in a museum somewhere. My idea of heaven. But before I get anywhere near that, I'm going to have to pass this year and get on to one of my preferred Archaeology and Ancient history courses so I can progress how I want to.
I'm going to have to work my arse off if I'm going to achieve my goals, but eventually I'll make it if I'm resilient enough and try my absolute hardest. If my hardest gets me Bs, great and I'll be super excited because come September, I'll head off to Uni to do Archaeology and Ancient history! However, if it gets me Cs, then look out Fashion journalism!
I went to see Cardiff Uni today and I was so surprised! I hadn't heard much about it, but the course seemed really good so I booked a place for the open day!
Cardiff Uni is pretty much all situated down a single road so it's a campus but on the other hand, not a campus Uni which is strange but it works! It's almost like a campus road! We passed the main building in the car and I was completely blown away by how pretty it is!
First we saw the accommodation and the type I'm looking at was open so we had a look and were so impressed! The rooms were a really nice size and had a HUGE desk and quite a lot of room which is so good! They aren't much of a walk from the teaching buildings which is always good, and it's only one long road with no hills so it'll be great if I get to go there!
Both of the subject lectures were really interesting and the joint archaeology and ancient history course sounds really good with some great fieldwork opportunities out in Europe! I'm really excited because the grades are BBB which I'm quite likely to achieve so I'm hoping I get in because I really love it there!
I've been thinking of new ideas for posts and I've decided to do a little post of things that I'm really loving at the moment!
First on the list is...
Make up
I think this is self-explanitory. I've done so many posts about lipstick and nail polish and all of that in the last few weeks and it's a bit crazy! I have a slight obsession and to be honest, my spending on make up is only curbed by my lack of money to spend. I love having different colours that each look good with different outfits and different nail polishes; sometimes you also just feel like wearing a certain colour! I don't wear make up for anyone but me though, I went the whole of last year without wearing any but I've rekindled my love for it, it can make or break looks depending on what (if any) make up you use!
Magazines
Until a few weeks ago, I didn't read magazines, let alone fashion magazines. However, I ended up buying Elle and Glamour after seeing how thick they were in relation to other magazines and their price. Elle was £4 and Glamour was £2 so I took the plunge and bought them! Since then, I've had Marie Claire bought for me and I've bought the next issue of Glamour for only £1!
I'm actually against fashion magazines because I don't like how edited and perfect all the pictures are. Luckily I'm not one of those people that get influenced easily by things I read, I just find the articles interesting and seeing what new products that I'll never be able to afford are! I find it fun to see how much clothing and shoes can go up to (I've seen some boots for over £4,000)!
I find magazines a really good way to wind down just before bed and as I get home from college, they're a good way to just dumb down for a while and relax.
Snapchat
It's so much fun to get a notification to tell me a friend has sent me a weird picture of them or something else! It's entertaining because you can send the weirdest faces and they can only be seen for a maximum of 10 seconds! You also can't save them (unless you're a genius and can screenshot while still having the picture open) which is really good!
Candy crush
I'm so embarrassed to say this, but candy crush is my guilty pleasure. I've managed to not play it for so long and I've missed most of the hype but my mum plays it religiously which got me into it. It's really addictive and I can go through quite a few levels (I did 12 in my first go...) in one go so it's a nice thing to do while waiting for something or as another dumbing down activity.
Goodreads
It's the most amazing website. I've been really a lot more than I usually do so having a website to keep a track of what I've read, what I'm currently reading and what I want to read. You can also read people's reviews on books and review the books yourselves. It's also a good way to keep track of your friend's books that they're reading and get ideas for other books to check out!
I've already spoken about her and I absolutely love her songs. She's an Irish singer/songwriter and I haven't found a single song I didn't like. Her YouTube channel is here.
This video.
I've spoken about TEDtalks before and I found this one a couple of days ago. Erika is fantastic, the talk is amazing and she is so funny! I love these and this is one of my favourites so far!
Burn Notice
Me and my family have been watching this for quite a while now and it's such a good programme! It's about a spy who was 'burned' and keeps trying to work out who burned him and in the mean time earns money by acting like a private investigator. Wikipedia explains it so much better than I do but I promise you, it's such a good programme! The main character's girlfriend/ex is also awesome because she wants to shoot and blow up everything which is quite funny most of the time!
I hope you enjoyed this little post, I think I've covered everything!
After enrolling back into college yesterday, me and my friend Liv had quite a lot of time free before out first lesson so we headed into town to have a look around! As per usual, I had my look around boots and I found a gorgeous pink lipstick! It looked so pretty so I went back and bought it today!
Maybelline Coloursensational Lipstick in Summer Pink is a gorgeous bright pink colour. It has little pieces of glitter in it which is subtle and gives your lips a slight shimmer which I really like! I wouldn't usually wear a pink that's this bright but it surprisingly works as an every day colour! I put it on just after I bought it and it was still there over 3 hours later! Most other lipsticks I own have faded after 2 hours or less so I've been majorly impressed so far! It doesn't dry out my lips and it smells so great so there are so many plus points for this product! I think the only issue I have is that the shape of the tip doesn't fit my lips very well but apart from that it's great! The packaging is also really sleek and looks more expensive than it was! It reminds me of the Revlon Lip Butter packaging a bit!
I love the effect it has on my lips! It has a slight golden shimmer.
All in all, I'm actually really impressed with this lipstick and I might have to buy some more...again! Superdrug seem to have more of a selection of colour so I might have to have a look there!
Summer pink can be bought from Boots (this product isn't on the internet weirdly...) and Superdrug for £7.19
