New phone!

I've had my Dad's old iPhone 4 for two/three years now. After spending months without a working home button, last week, the on/off button also decided to give up on me, meaning that the only way to turn it on was to flick the silent button on and off again and I had to use an on-screen home button to turn it off.

This became a bit of a problem so on Friday, Dad bought and iPhone 5S and I got his iPhone 5! I'm honestly so happy, I have a working phone and I've finally got iOS7 (I was scared to update my phone incase it became impossible to work it...) which I love. Unfortunately, that means I'm going to have to get a new case to replace my beloved one from Gelaskins that I've had since the very beginning. 

However, it is quite exciting to be able to look for a new case and have a look at the patterns that are available!

Some of my favourites so far:

Cafe at Night - Vincent Van Gogh on Gelaskins

Alley By The Lake - Leonid Afremov on Gelaskins

When The Dreams Came True - Leonid Afremov on Gelaskins

Shore - Lawrence Yang on Gelaskins (My old case!)

Literary Glasses on Kate Spade

These are my top 5 that I've been looking at! I'll most likely get one of the Gelaskins ones again as it was such a good case last time and the designs are so gorgeous, I can't wait to see what other ones I find!
Which do you prefer?
Jess xx

Books vs. Kindles

I always found this such a funny argument that comes up all the time. I own both and don't see why people have to have either one or the other! They're both great and I wouldn't want to have to choose between them!

Books
I love the smell and feel of books. There's just something about opening a new book and getting that fresh page smell. The sound of pages turning is also great. I could spend hours in bookshops and I actually ended up using up nearly the whole hour I had in between the train I missed and the next one just browsing the local Waterstones the other day.
The smell of old books is also amazing. I don't even know what it is but the browning pages and musty smell is so nice.
The downside to books is that they are so expensive! However, trawling through sale shelves and secondhand bookshops always produces some hidden gems! Some of my favourite books were found in an amazing secondhand bookshop in Northumberland!

Kindles
The most obvious difference: Kindles are one size and can store thousands of books without changing shape which makes them so much easier to carry around and fit into bags.
The books are cheaper on the kindle and the one I have doesn't have a lighted screen so it's literally an electronic book which is really nice! It's also a really handy feature that you can download a sample of any book then once you've read it, you can buy the book fully!
I also think they're really handy because it is connected to your amazon account and 3G so if you want to buy a book, you can search for it on the kindle shop and download it there and then, then read it straight away without having to go to a shop and buy it, or ordering it and having to wait for days on end for a book you want to read then.
The downsides are that it isn't the real book so you don't get the feel or smell of pages. I also find the more recent versions of kindles that are trying to be cheaper iPads because that isn't what kindles are for! They were designed to be a device that you could store and read books from, not play games! I think the lighting is a good idea but the rest of it is pointless. It defeats the whole point of it being a reading device!

I love them both and they're both good, just at different times and in different situations! I tend to carry them both around in my bag because I tend to have multiple books on the go, normally one actual book and at least one book on my kindle! I don't have a preference particularly but I like having my favourite books in book form; it's just nice to be able to have them there physically.
Tell me your thoughts!
Jess xx

Reading

This is currently my favourite quote ever. It's so true! It's my phone background at the moment.
Reading is such an amazing thing and I believe that everyone should be given the opportunity to read. It's such a fantastic experience that broadens your imagination and lets you discover worlds that you could only dream of! It gives you the opportunity to meet new characters, get to know them and their stories; and the best part of all is that no matter how long you take to read the book, and no matter how many times you put it down and pick it up again, you'll always be sucked right back in to old adventures with old friends and they'll be as fresh in your memory as if you read them yesterday!
There are so many genres of books that there will be a book for just about anyone! You're bound to find one you fall in love with if you search enough.
Also, the smell of old and new books are amazing, you have to smell it to understand!
I always find myself visiting bookshops when I go out, they're always cosy and warm and have such a peaceful atmosphere that you want to just sit in a corner and read for hours. (I have actually just sat on the floor in Waterstone's before and read for about half an hour, it's great fun!) I can mostly tell if I'm going to like a book or not from the first chapter or so, so before I buy it, I always read a bit first! The problem then is that even if I don't think I like it, I still want to know what happens next! It shows that a book is good when it actually makes an impact on you!
Just thinking though, my favourite thing to do is actually curling up with a hot chocolate and a book! So peaceful and nice to get away in your own little world and forget the real world for a while, it's amazing.
Anyway, if you don't read, just pick up a book and read the first few pages! If you don't enjoy it or aren't at least intrigued as to what happens next then try another until you find one that gives you questions that you want to answer! Then read the book! You might surprise yourself!
Jess xx

Sick Day

I've got such a bad cold :( It's not one of those little ones that just give you a case of the sniffles; its one of those monsters that likes playing the drums in your head, is ultra sensitive to light and sound, likes shoving glass down your throat and rubbing sandpaper in your nose.
My cold is making me sound like a croaky old man! I feel complete rubbish :(
Luckily, I'm talking to some awesome people, blogging, drinking peach ribena, eating Orange chewy toffi-chocs from Thorntons and cuddled in my duvet. Bliss. Oh, I'm also doing some work for my extended project! Finally found a decent link that helps me to research for my project!! It's getting done and I couldn't be happier! Success!
I only got 1 hour of sleep last night. No idea why, I haven't had coffee or any form of caffeine like that for over a week and I felt tired before I got in to bed! Then I got there and my brain just wouldn't shut off! I've not actually been feeling very tired today which is scaring me a little. What happens if I can't fall asleep again tonight?! I can't deal with 2 hours sleep over 2 days, that would kill me and just make my illness feel even worse. :( Luckily, I get a little lie in tomorrow, I don't have to be in until 10.30!! I love college :')
I don't get how I can still be cheerful when this is the worst I've felt in quite a while, must be a gift! ;D

I'm going to post another song by Ingrid Michaelson; I just can't get enough of her recently! She's just fantastic and I've been listening to this one practically all day!
Ingrid Michaelson - Giving Up: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_27y74pw1g
Isn't she pretty?! I love how she still wears her glasses, it's great that she doesn't care what people think :) I lovelovelove her hair as well, I wish mine was that length and colour :3

Anyway, better be off to do some more work, bye guys!
Jess xx