Showing posts with label next. Show all posts
Showing posts with label next. Show all posts

Thursday, 19 December 2013

It's not everyday you fangirl with your teacher...

Today has been an odd day. I set my alarm earlier than I thought I had so I ended up having loads of time to get ready this morning which was lovely! It also meant that I got to spend more time choosing what to wear and putting my make up on so I was happy with everything!

For my make up, I used Max Factor whipped creme foundation in Natural, Urban Decay eyeshadows in Drink Me, Eat Me and Mad Hatter from the Alice in Wonderland eyeshadow palette, Ruby & Millie blusher (don't know the name as from an old palette), Benefit BadGal Lash mascara and L'Oreal Rouge Caresse lipstick in Lovely Rose.
Vest is old from Next and the cardigan is from Crew. 
I get in to college half way through lunch on Tuesdays and Thursdays so I tend to take a walk by the river because it puts me in a good mood and today I got to feed some ducks and geese which was really lovely as I haven't done that for quite a while!
In Classics, we watched The Big Lebowski which was a really odd but funny film, it's a shame we didn't get to see how it ended though! 
In English, we had a quiz in the last half of the lesson which was really fun, our team came second by half a point! One of the questions was "Who lives at 221B Baker Street?" and someone didn't know! Me and my teacher were completely shocked because we just assumed it was common knowledge. We ended up fangirling over the imminent return of Sherlock in the New Year and it's made me even more excited because now I get to talk to her about it when we come back for the Spring term!
I love the end of term as the lessons are always so relaxed with minimal work which is great fun! There is also nearly always food involved which is also great!
How have the last few days been for you guys? 
Jess xx 
P.S. Thank you to all of my new followers, I'm one away from 50 now and I've reached 60 on my Bloglovin so I'm really excited and happy that there are so many more of you reading! 

Monday, 16 December 2013

The University Chronicles: My interview!

On Wednesday, I had an interview at Reading University. As I've been going to their Archaeological field school for the last three years, I was feeling quite confident but also really nervous as I didn't quite meet their grade requirements.
The interview was at the end of the day after a couple of lectures explaining various aspects of the Archaeology and Ancient history course and a visit to the on-site museum (one of the largest Greek vase collections in the country apparently! It was amazing!). It ended up being with one of the lecturers that I had met this summer whilst at the dig so I was extremely happy to be able to talk to someone who already had a vague idea about what I was like! I ended up just chatting to her about my A levels, the books I've been reading for my english coursework, lectures I've been to and, of course, Silchester. 
At the end of it, I got the chance to ask questions which was a really good opportunity for me to get to understand the course more! 
She eventually told me that they would be making me a 'non-standard' offer so I was so excited because they lowered the grades for me! The next day I had an email telling me that I've received a BBB offer from Reading which I'm super excited and happy about! 
The day made me realise how much I also didn't want to give up the Classics side of the ancient world so it's now made it very difficult to choose which University I like the most as Cardiff don't have a Classics department, so if I went there, I would be losing out on that aspect which I don't think I could do without regretting my decision. I think now that Reading is my first choice and Birmingham and Cardiff are joint second. The visit day really helped me understand the University more so I'm quite excited to see what the other two are like! 
The people at Reading were so friendly and welcoming and made me feel at home which was really lovely - I can happily see myself going to University which is always a good sign!
For my interview, I didn't want to go too dressy but also didn't want to look slobby so I opted for my black dove dress from Shikha London, my new brown suede boots from Next and my peacock design coat from Desigual. I also wore Essie's Bahama Mama on my nails as it's dark and a pretty colour that I thought went with the outfit pretty well! I also found that painting my nails was a good de-stressing activity to do the night before!
My one piece of advice for anyone who has an interview coming up is to make sure you're confident, you smile and you make eye contact - you will stand out more if you aren't shy and trying to fade into the background - your interviewer wants to know that you want to be there!
Jess xx

Tuesday, 19 February 2013

And toes!

So this is my last instalment in my little series of four posts! I hope you guys have enjoyed! I'm actually so surprised at how many pairs of shoes I have! However, a girl can never have too many shoes!

Boots
Due to the colder weather, I've practically been living in boots since about November. They're great for keeping your legs warm and they look great!

From left to right: Brown suede calf length boots from Next
Sheep wool boots (NOT UGGS) from Celtic
Brown snow boots from Snow and Rock
Brown suede calf length high heeled boots from Next
From left to right: Black biker style boots from H&M
Brown ankle boots from Johnnie B
Brown wool lined ankle boots from Johnnie B
Blue high heeled ankle boots from Marks and Spencer
These brown suede boots are some of my favourites ever. Before they decided to die on me, they were the most comfortable things alive and I would wear them everywhere. Unfortunately they've worn out quite a lot and the backs are shredded inside, producing quite evil blisters!
My parents bought me these as either a Christmas or Birthday present a few years ago and I loved them. I also take pride in the fact that they aren't Ugg boots so they're good quality with a decent tread so they can actually be used for walking as well as looking great!
My snow boots have literally been life savers during the snow and ice in the last month. They're warm and furry inside so they keep me snug whilst stopping me from falling flat on my bum! Most snow boots look like something out of a cheaply made Sci-fi film from the 70's, mine just look like regular boots which is great!
These heeled boots are the replacement pair for the other brown boots and boy do they fill in! Despite having quite a bit heel for an every day shoe, they're really comfortable! Plus they make your legs look longer and better!
My black boots have come in very handy at gigs! They're light and don't make your feet sweat and they have pretty big treads so you can stand on the feet of the annoying idiots that push against your back trying to get closer to the stage! The toe is also quite tough so if people tread on your feet, it doesn't hurt as much!
These are some of my favourite ankle boots to wear casually with a dress or skirt because they give a cute western-style look. They're super comfy but it takes a few tries to get the fastening straps done up right!
My fluffy ankle boots are great. The wool only surrounds the top so they keep your ankles warm which is always good!
My blue heeled boots are so cute because they're quite dark blue so they go with a lot of things! They also have zips up the side instead of having to use the laces which is always handy!

Pumps
I'm starting to fall in love with pumps. I didn't really used to wear them but I really like the cute and casual look they have and I just wish I had more pairs!

From left to right: Navy boat shoes from Crew
Blue pumps from New Look
Red pumps from New Look
Black star canvas pumps from New Look
I love to wear the boat shoes with my pink 3/4 length jeans I showed yesterday, they look so cute and nice together and they're perfect for a summer day!
These blue pumps are gorgeous and the little black bow just tops them off. They go so nicely with most things because of the black detailing. I love them!
The red pumps can be such a great splash of colour in a boring and dull outfit. The thin soles means that they're easy to fit in to a handbag if I need a pair of emergency flats at a party!
The black canvas pumps were such a bargain! I got them for £5 a few years ago and they're still going strong! Proof that you don't need expensive stuff to find quality (Although it is nice to be able to say you own something of a top-end brand, am I right?!) that lasts a long while!

Summer shoes
I love having a few pairs of shoes that are specifically for Summer, just like my snow boots are just for Winter! It's great being able to have a change from the enclosed shoes to opened toed and light shoes.
From left to right: Floral wedges from New Look
Gold sandals from Marks and Spencer
Brown leather high heels from H by Henry Holland at Debenhams
I don't usually like wedges but I saw these floral ones in the New Look sale last year and I HAD to have them. Only £5 as well! New Look do some amazing bargains on shoes! I love the way the floral pattern is on the whole of wedge instead of being the usual rope effect on them.
I don't normally wear sandals but I really like these because they have a back which means that my heel isn't flopping about all over the place and the shoes don't fall off! absolutely perfect!
I actually bought these for a Valentine's date last year but I still love them! They're comfy but not good for walking a lot in! I love that they're leather because they have such a nice worn look which makes them look natural. It also means that they soften when you wear them so they aren't all stiff like other shoes tend to be.

Converse
I have an unreal love for Converse. They're the only trainer type shoe I will wear and I have so many pretty colours; I almost own the rainbow in converse!!

From left to right: Purple high tops, Black pattern high tops,
Teal low tops, Green low tops, Red heart pattern low tops
I got the purple high tops as an early Christmas present when my black patterned pair gave up and died after ages of constant wearing. I love both pairs of high tops and they're awesome because they give the ankle a bit more support than the low tops.
I got both the teal and green pair of low tops in a sale at Office in Windsor. I decided it would be fun to wear one of each colour on each foot and it looked really awesome! Sadly, it ended up that one pair looked dirtier than the other so it looked silly to mx and match the pairs.
My family found the coolest website where you can make your own converse about 2 years ago, so each of us made ourselves a pair and I created a pair of red low tops with little white hearts all over them! My mum made the cutest pair with cupcakes on them...I still have to steal them off her sometime because we're the same size in shoe!

Party shoes!
There are some shoes that you just can't wear unless you're at a party. Luckily, I have a few pairs that are awesome just for this purpose! This is one reason where I find it perfectly acceptable to splurge on a really nice, comfy pair of heels just perfect for parties and similar gatherings.

From left to right: Black leather Lita boots from Jeffrey Campbell
Platform heels from Lipsy
Peep toe lace bow heels from Ted Baker
My Jeffrey Campbell's, as sad as it sounds, are ones of my prized possessions. Mum bought them for me after I pestered her for a pair for about a week before I tried them on in the shop and declared that they were perfection!! These boots have the biggest platform I've ever seen on them!! The boots make me about 6"0 compared to my usual 5"7 and they're the most comfortable heels I've ever bought. I can usually last an hour and a half in heels before they hurt my feet; I can last at least 3 hours in my Jeffrey Campbell's.
I originally bought the Lipsy shoes for Prom, but I found I couldn't wear them for long enough to be able to be comfortable the whole night. Luckily, they were good enough to become great party shoes because they look fantastic with some of my dresses I own!
The Ted Baker shoes were my Prom shoes in the end. The peep toe meant that essentially standing on my tip toes for hours on end wasn't as painful as it may have been. The lace bow is the cutest thing on the top and I love them because they aren't too high either, but they're high enough.

So that's the end of it! I hope you guys have enjoyed reading and looking through my wardrobe (or some of it anyway...) and hopefully I can come up with something vaguely similar to do in the future because it's been great knowing what to write for the last five days!
Jess xx

Monday, 18 February 2013

Knees...

Only one day left after this!! The second look at my wardrobe!

Jeans/trousers
I pretty much live in jeans. They're comfy, warm and look good without having to do much. I like having my legs covered because it gets pretty cold when they aren't so trousers and jeans are the best things for it!

From left to right: Dark blue straight leg denim jeans from Next
Black skinny jeans from Red Herring, Debenhams
Pink 3/4 length jeans from Crew
White cropped trousers from Marks and Spencer

My blue jeans are my current go to. They look good with most things but I have to wear my light blue jeans (not shown here) with dark coloured tops.
My black jeans can either show a rocker look or a cute look, depending on the top!
My pink 3/4 lengths are amazing. They finish just below my knees and they're tight fitting so they look really nice! I love wearing them with navy and white because it just works together!
My white trousers are less tight than my other trousers, perfect for warm summer days!

Shorts
I don't wear shorts much anymore, and for that reason I only have a couple of pairs.

Left: from Dorothy Perkins
Right: from Hollister
The Dorothy Perkins pair are a good length and the roll up bottom bits are really nice because they stop them being baggy!
Despite being pretty short, even for shorts, the Hollister pair are really good for hot days and they aren't as short as they look! I love the ripped detail on them, gives them a worn and casual look that I love.

Skirts
I wear skirts a lot in the winter, it's the same as dresses! I really don't understand myself sometimes.

From the top, clockwise: Blue floral skirt from Johnnie B
White and navy skirt from Hollister
Denim jean skirt from Next
Brown, pink & purple plaid skirt from Crew
The floral skirt is really nice and swishy! It's also quite short which is nice for the summer, it also goes nicely with boots and leggings in the winter!
The Hollister skirt has layers underneath which makes it flay out a bit and I love that! It's cute and flirty and it has flower cut out details over the whole thing which is really nice!
The denim skirt is good for edgy looks with black boots or heels! For when you want to look edgy/rocker and you don't want to wear jeans again!
I actually wore the crew skirt to my college interview so obviously it can be dressed up to look smart! It can also be dressed down to look cute and girly though.

Leggings
I don't wear tights because they hurt my feet, so instead I wear leggings with skirts! They're so much warmer and they're darker than normal tights too, it's also good because you don't have to worry about flashing people as much!
Leggings are also great for when you just want something comfy to wear out or to lounge around in at the weekend.

Lounge trousers
My best investment yet. I wear these when I'm at home revising or just lounging around (hence the name) and they're honestly the comfiest things I own!
Plaid lounge trousers from Johnnie B
I love these so much, I wear them all the time when I'm at home all weekend and I just love them!!

I'll be back tomorrow for my final instalment of the four!
Jess xx

Thursday, 27 December 2012

Internet teenager initiation: complete!

I stayed in bed with my laptop for the entire day yesterday! I'm officially a teenager of the internet! I'm planning on doing the same today! Apart from this time I'm in my lounge clothes instead of pajamas...
Granted, I have been working on my extended project almost solidly since yesterday morning so I think a bit of comfort and laziness is allowed! I'm determined to finish the background research today, it's driving me insane! It's 15 pages long and I haven't finished yet! It's mental!!!
I have so much work to do over the next week and a half or so...I have to read 2 and a half books, revise a whole term of biology, do a 500 word piece for my English coursework and finish this off...all by 7th January!
In advance, if I don't blog much between now and then, it's because work is taking over my life completely. But I'll make up for it next year hopefully!!
Jess xx