I'M FREE!

I finally finished my exams on Wednesday and I couldn't be happier! I actually think most of my exams went pretty well so I'm hoping that it shows in my grades!

It's a weird feeling that I'm completely finished with school/college now and that I'm hopefully moving on to a whole new stage of life in October where I get to be much more independent. I'm so happy I don't have to revise anymore too!

I have so much planned for this week which is exciting - I went round my friend Katie's for a sleepover yesterday/today and I'm going to London tomorrow, then on Wednesday I'm going to my old school's prom which will be exciting! I love actually having time to do things, I have loads to read and do over the next few months.

I've been collecting loads of post ideas over the last month, including reviews, tags, wish lists, the blogger challenges I've missed and a few other little bits and pieces! 

I've really missed blogging so expect quite a few posts when I'm not out!

Jess xx

1 down, 7 to go!

I've just come home from my first exam of the year which went quite well so I decided to do a quick blog post! 

- I hit 200 bloglovin' followers the other day which I'm so happy about, such a nice thing to have happen - I love that people are still reading my blog! 

- I've been quite ill for the last three days, pyjamas and flat lemonade have been my best friends.

- The only thought that has been getting me through revision is my plan to go to London the day after my exams finish...hurry up 18th June! 

- I bought a ticket to my secondary school's year 13 prom that I get to go to with my old friends and I'm so excited! My dress is so pretty and in the post! I should be getting it in the next couple of weeks so look out for that!

- I will be posting all of my 2014 Blogger Challenge posts that I've missed after exams, I'm going to try and make them extra special instead of rushing them and not really doing anything for them! 

- I haven't painted my nails for ages and it feels so weird. I just don't have the time to paint them at the moment sadly! 

Hope you guys enjoyed this little post, I hope to do a couple more as the month goes by - only 1 month and 2 days left until my exams are finished! 

Jess xx

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

The Liebster Award #3!

In the last two weeks I've been set about 5 essays and a million years worth of reading to do so I haven't had any time to blog - I'm sorry for my absence! I have a few posts lined up for the next couple of weeks or so, hopefully having one written every few days to give me little breaks from revision over the Easter holidays!

I've been nominated for the Liebster Award by the lovely Kate again which is awesome and very kind of her! 

The Rules

You need to link back to the nominator 

State 11 Facts about yourself

Answer the 11 questions given to you 

Nominate 11 new bloggers with less than 200 followers 

And give those nominated 11 new questions

11 facts about me

1. I have a serious love for Pink Marc de Champagne truffles from Charbonnel and Walker currently, they're the nicest things and they aren't too expensive!

2. I spent most of last week in the library when I wasn't in lessons and it actually wasn't bad! I used to hate it in there but I've learnt to love it this year.

3. I lost a couple of followers this week and it makes me sad that people have stopped liking my blog because I can't post frequently.

4. I have my exams in a month and a half and I don't feel as stressed as I know I should be - this blog will definitely be part of my exam breaks!

5. I'm actually looking forward to spending two solid weeks revising...I love my subjects so much so it will be good!

6. I'm deathly afraid of spiders. I was in the library three days ago and I almost cried because a big one was on the wall next to me.

7. I have a strip of clear floor going round my room but that's it...I need to tidy up.

8. I haven't read any books for fun since The Rosie Project and that makes me sad - I hate not having time to even pick up a book!

9. I'm determined to organise myself properly with these upcoming exams and I plan to make lots of resources, lists and timetables to sort myself a schedule!

10. I've managed to find a make up look I like and only takes 5 minutes at the most for when I'm running late! It also all fits in my tiny make up bag so I can do it at college if needed!

11. My favourite piece of clothing at the moment is my pair of lounge trousers! They're the comfiest thing to wear around the house when I'm not going anywhere!

Kate's questions

1) What's your favourite song at the moment?

Umm....I have So Long by Ingrid Michaelson stuck in my head currently so I'll go for that!

2) How happy are you on a scale of 1 - 10 right now?

I'm pretty happy but I'm also relatively stressed which always brings my mood down a bit so maybe a 7?

3) What's the saddest thing you've heard in the past week?

There hasn't been anything that I can think of which is actually really good! 

4) Write about the person you think of the most.

Oh gosh. I will probably say a group and they're honestly some of the best friends I have. I don't see them often at all now I'm at a different college but when I do get together with them (like my birthday film day), it's as if I was never away from them and I think that's when you know they're true friends and you belong in the group with them. They're the only group I truly feel like I belong in and don't have doubts about ever which doesn't mean I don't like my other groups of friends, but I fit with this lot like clockwork. 

5) Do you overuse any words or phrases?

 

I can't think of any! I'm quite sarcastic though...

6) Where do you want to be in ten years' time?

 

Either travelling and doing Archaeology or working in a museum - as long as I'm near history I don't mind what I'm doing at all!

7) What's your favourite time of the day and why?

Probably when the sun is going down - the sky is so pretty and it changes colour daily, sometimes it's orange like the sky is on fire and other times it's bright pink and purple!

8) Do you have any disgusting habits? Please divulge.

I click my fingers and toes quite a lot which is bad...

9) Talk about your earliest memory.

When I was in playgroup, we had a day where we got to dress up in saris and my friend took the one I liked - I still remember that it was red with gold stars but I can't remember the one I had in the end!

10) Is anything hurting you right now?

I haven't seen my boyfriend much this week even though we're at the same college which is a bit of a bummer...

11) How does blogging impact on your daily life?

I randomly think of good blog posts and have to write them down, I'm on the look out for good pictures and absolutely anything can inspire me to write a post. I've actually written several posts on my notes on my phone when I have 10 minutes of inspiration!

My nominees

Amy (Blending Beauty)

Caitlin (Fox tales)

Caitlin (Thistle and tea)

My questions

1. Do you believe in fate?

2. Favourite smell?

3. If you could, what would you change your name to?

4. Current favourite song?

5. What was that last book you read?

6. Favourite sweet?

7. If you could have two superpowers, what would they be?

8. What is one thing you wish you were better at?

9. Favourite piece of clothing?

10. If you could go anywhere in the world right now, where would you go and why?

11. Top three favourite blogs?

Thanks for reading and hopefully you'll be seeing more of me over the next couple of weeks!
Jess xx

Autumn days

I'm currently sitting by the window in my college library and the trees just outside are starting to turn golden brown. Autumn is officially here and I couldn't be happier. Autumn in my books equals everything looking pretty, wooly scarves, big cozy jumpers and hot chocolate. Perfection in a season! I love the colder weather because it means getting to wear extra layers and not having to strip down to the glorified underwear that summer clothes end up being by early August.

I can't wait for every path to look like this in a month or so!

Autumn also means there's more of an excuse to stay inside in the warmth as the weather gets wetter and less acommodating. That does mean that I get to use my scotty dog umbrella though which makes me unnaturally happy, I love being outside but dry when it's raining, there's something calming about hearing the rain pitter-patting on my umbrella and having it centimetres away from me but unable to get to me.

It also means that it's just that little bit closer to Christmas which is always a great thing and I'm super excited! Christmas is my favourite holiday because people are always nicer around that time (unless you're my old tech teacher who actually had a 'Bah Humbug' Santa Hat...) and there are Gingerbread lattes in Starbucks; always a good thing for a coffee addicted student who will be majorly bogged down with work and revision by then!

Darker colours are also acceptable to wear which is also a good for my navy, grey and black orientated wardrobe. It also means I can wear darker nail polish which I've been struggling not to do for the last month.

What are you guys looking forward to about Autumn?

Jess xx

I'M BACK!

It's been an entire month since I blogged last time but happily I only have one exam left right at the beginning of June so I can start blogging properly again hopefully! I've missed it so much, my life has been overrun by work, I've had literally no social life up until now! I finished my last exam this side of half term today so I decided to hop on a train after college and travel to Reading where I bought some new nail polish! I bought three bottles of Essie nail polish and let me tell you, it was SO worth it. I bought Tart Deco, Tea and Crumpets and Turquoise et Caicos. They're all such gorgeous colour that are so perfect for summer, whenever it turns up... either way, I love them to pieces. Im currently wearing Tart Deco and it's just amazing! It's a light solid peach colour and I love it! It was so quick to dry and it was really easy to apply with a really small amount of it going on the edge of my fingers which I'm really happy about! I'll definitely be buying more, totally worth the extra few pounds and the colours are amazing!

From Instagram - Tart Deco, Tea & Crumpets (left on right pic) and Turquoise & Caicos (middle on right pic).
How cute are they?!

I also treated myself to a Krispy Kreme doughnut to have on the train home today which was awesome, I had one that had what looks like little pieces of oreo cookie on the top and it's so nice! I've also been meaning to start The Paris Wife for over 6 months now but I've been so busy with college work that I haven't had time! I'm glad to be able to finally have time to be able to read a book that isn't related to college or Ancient Romans/Greeks though! It's a nice change! I've missed reading and I've ended up having to use every spare moment, be that a train journey or 5 minutes before bed, to do a little reading of something completely different from my courses. Over the last month or two, I've been reading The Great Gatsby off my kindle app on my phone and to be honest, I didn't really think it was that great. It might have been because I was having to read it in so many little dispersed bursts that the plot line was lost on me, but I don't really understand why it gets such high praise. It didn't really seem to go anywhere for me and the so-called big secret and mystery of Mr. Gatsby and who he is was quite dull frankly. Maybe I need to re-read it all in one go so it flows better or maybe it just isn't a book that I enjoy. There are plenty of other books out there though so I can live with not liking one!

Yummy doughnut and The Paris Wife; excited to get into it!

Apart from today, nothing interesting has happened in my life in the last month! My exams have been pretty good and I've also had minimal breakdowns which is always a bonus so all in all, it's been an alright month!! I can't wait for exams to be over though so I can get back to doing things I enjoy like blogging!
Talk soon! I have lots of ideas for posts!
Jess xx

20 days

It's been 20 days since I last posted.....work truly has taken over my life. After Easter, I've basically been working the entire time. I went on a biology revision course for one week in Easter which surprisingly turned out to be quite fun! The people there were great and I ended up learning a lot of stuff that I didn't really understand before! Hopefully it rubs off properly and I can remember it all in my exams!
I have literally been eating, sleeping and working 9am-11pm every day so I'm shattered. I've had at the most, 8 hours sleep each night since about Christmas so it's really starting to catch up now and it's not nice, I can tell you that!
On a brighter note, I got a timed Ancient history essay that I wrote before Easter back this week, I got 23/25 which is an A so I'm super happy! Hopefully I can do that in the exam!
I also went to see The Host last weekend which was just amazing. Me and my friend kept laughing through it though because some parts were rather cliché and hilarious so that was pretty fun!
My life is so so boring now it's unreal. Nothing exciting is happening until the end of the year really which sucks! We had to do our 2nd year enrolment forms this week too so I finally got to say I'm dropping biology! This also means that I don't have to take it after half term so I finish biology after my last exam on 3rd June so I'm really happy about that!
I finished my extended project and have handed it all in now so I'm REALLY excited to find out what grade I got! My teacher predicted me an A so if I got that or an A*, I would be so happy! It would really make me feel proud because I've worked hard on it, and it would be nice to actually get an A* for a subject overall!
Anyway, I don't have time to write long blog post so I shall post again some time soon I hope!
Jess xx

Results day...

First of all, I'm sorry I haven't posted in almost a week...my life has become exceedingly boring and so full of work and revision that I don't even have time to do a quick blog post! Sadly, the work load isn't going to be letting up any time soon so the blog posts are going to be a bit less frequent.
I started to make my Roman style pot for extended project on Tuesday and I'm happy that it's going pretty well! I have to finish it tomorrow so that will be fun! It's actually going pretty well so I'm happy at the moment with it.
I also got my grade report back and I'm predicted all Bs and an A in extended project, so crossed fingers I get that!
I got my Biology exam result back from January....I got a D. I'm really disappointed to be honest, I thought I'd actually done well but because I wasn't used to the way the questions worked, even if I knew everything, I still didn't get the marks for what I knew and it's rubbish. I probably lost so many marks for not saying a specific word, or writing something a specific way. I really hate exams for that.
My parents have sorted me out going to a 6 day revision course over Easter to hopefully improve my grade. I really want to get a lot better so I hope it goes well. I'm just so scared that by taking that much time out of my holiday for a subject I'm not taking next year, will I be risking messing up my other subjects that actually matter? It's so horrible to think that I can't re sit so whatever I get in summer is what I'm stuck with.
I hate exams. I wish they would test your knowledge rather than your ability to answer questions how the mark scheme wants it. It's complete crap in my opinion.
Jess xx

Pinterest!

I have a new website love!
Pinterest is a bit like tumblr without all of the crazy fandom stuff. If you find a picture you like, you 'pin' in to one of the boards you have created on your wall (not sure what it's officially called but you put boards on your wall, right?) and you can re-pin other people's pictures, add your own and then others can re-pin those! It's rather addictive though and all of the pictures on there are so pretty...it's like my nice wish tumblr filled with the things I wish my blog looked like if it wasn't a multi-fandom mess!
I find loads of recipes, quotes, famous pieces of art, unknown art, doodles, clothes, room designs and loads more on there so it's just fantastic!
If you don't have Pinterest, get it! If you do, follow me at TheAdorableDork as per usual!
Jess xx

P.S. Sorry about it taking so long to upload a new post, I have crazy amounts of work and revision. Expect the next post Friday at the earliest!
P.P.S. I also found out that I get my January exam results back on Thursday - EEP. I'm so unbelievably nervous, I'm certain I failed biology.

Blogging & Stress

Biology exam is finally over! This means I can blog again without risking complete failure! Yay!
Sorry it's been so long, everything that doesn't involve my biology revision has become neglected in the last week and a half, I'm sorry and I'll make it up to you soon hopefully by making some cool posts! Or at least long rambly ones that are vaguely interesting... :P
On a side note, biology went pretty well, and I've finished my extended project background research so I can finally get on to making my Roman pot! Good day all in all!

On to the next thing, stress. I get stressed pretty easily. For the last week or so I have been slowly going crazy because of worrying about not being able to fit in the amount of revision I had to do in the quickly shortening amount of time I had. It got to the point where I stayed up until 11/12 pm just to finish a page or section I was on. Never a good idea. Doing this for a week has messed up my body clock so I can't sleep before 11 (if I'm lucky) yet I'm still tired. It's really catching up with me now, I can barely keep my eyes open and I almost fell asleep in Latin today! Not good!
Even though my exam is over and I don't have any revision now, I'm still under stress because of my other work. I still have a piece of English coursework to do which I have no clue as to which question I'm going to do for it. I still have a lot of work left over from before Christmas and have various application forms for things in the summer to send off with close deadlines so I'm feeling quite overworked if I'm being completely honest!! Luckily the teachers haven't really set definite deadlines for the work so I don't have to rush to do it, I can take my time and make sure I do it well which is always good.
I'm taking today off working because I need to have a bit of a break and to be honest, trying to work when being this tired doesn't work anyway because I can't properly focus on what I'm doing which is annoying because I know I should be working...but I need to give myself a break to recuperate my scattered mind sometimes! I swear, by the time the summer exams are over, if I haven't had a mental breakdown then it will be a miracle, I've been close in the last week and it's really not good!

Anyway, on to better things! I found and restarted my old Pokémon fire red game!! Technically it was my brother's, but he gave it to me :D I've only got 8 hours of save time on it and I already have a gym badge and over 10 Pokémon saved on my pokedex! (Ones I actually own)
I feel like such a nerd, I'm currently addicted to Pokémon, my Sonic jump game on my phone (one of the 12 days of Christmas free gifts - so good!) and my new stylophone app on my phone that I downloaded today! If you haven't heard of them, go and YouTube stylophone, they're the coolest little instrument ever! The app gives you tunes that you can play like Final Countdown, Hey Jude by The Beatles and Star wars theme tune & imperial march! :') I also figured out how to play the tune for the Pokémon centre and the Mario theme tune! It's unreal how happy this made me! I wanted to buy an actual stylophone but they cost £15 and mum told me that there's an app, and at 69p, I wasn't going to refuse! I'M SO HAPPY!
Over the last week, I've also found the delights of Alex Day (Nerimon) and his weird and awesome songs and videos. He's so funny! Bit of a weirdo like the rest of the YouTubers, but let's face it, I'm talking to a bunch of random people through a blog, right?! :P He's definitely in my group of favourite YouTubers now though (Danisnotonfire, AmazingPhil, Charlieissocoollike, KickthePJ, Crabstickz, Vlogbrothers, CassJayTuck and ItsWayPastMyBedTime...I really have no life...)

So yeah! I'll blog again tomorrow and hopefully it'll be a bit more interesting than this!
Jess xx

Rose & Violet's

These are my favourite chocolates ever.
It's become a bit of a tradition that I get a box every Christmas and I love it! They're dark chocolate covered rose/violet crèmes. I would imagine that for most people they're too dark but dark chocolate is my favourite, so I'm always rather happy when I receive them!
I don't really have them any other time of the year because they're a bit of a treat and I like that they're connected to a particular time!
Unfortunately there are only 8 in a box so I don't get many! I suppose it just makes them more special though.
(Sorry about the randomness; I opened them to motivate my revision!)
Jess xx

Lion King!

It's a week until Christmas! I'm so excited; I'm like a 5 year old! 
We watched a bit of the Lion King in English today, we're watching the rest on Thursday!
I also had a biology mock today which I think went pretty well! I also saw my teacher after I'd finished (she wasn't in the lesson) and she said that in the last end-of-module test, I got an A!!! It's the first A in biology, plus barely any revision! I'm beyond happy with it!!! I'm capable of getting my needed grade in my worst subject which is fantastic!
My classics teacher went home ill today though which sucked, but I got to go home early which was pretty cool! Just hope she isn't really ill, my ancient history teacher was off the whole of last week because of some bug too!
I had a bit of a mental breakdown on Sunday because I was super stressed about my A levels but it's okay because I've managed to get my work under control now. I had loads of work to do on Sunday (English coursework essay plan, the actual essay, biology revision and just the fact I had a mock!) and now all I have left to do is type up my English coursework essay properly! Hopefully I can do that tonight!
But yeah, the work has been crazy this week so that's why I haven't blogged for a few days, sorry!
Only 2 lessons tomorrow though, then biology revision for the actual exam! I'm pretty happy about it all at the moment! Hopefully it stays good :)
Jess xx

There's no business like snow business!

It snowed today! First snow of this year! Yay! It's officially christmas time!
I've been struggling recently with concentrating on my work so yesterday I tried something new...turning off the internet. Shock horror! And funnily enough, it actually worked!!! :D I managed to do my Classics essay in under 2 hours because of that! But to work properly, I always have to be comfortable. In college today, we were talking about this and I've come up with a few ideas to figure out my best working conditions.
So here we go; Jess's ultimate working tips!

1. Turn off the internet/social networking sites. If you still have to use the internet, try to do as much work at school where you can't access any distracting websites, I've only just realised this, but they're blocked for a reason. If you can't do work at school, restrain yourself from going on Facebook; set yourself a time period that you will work in without going off topic, and if you do this, give yourself a little break to check your timeline! Or get your parents to block social networking sites until you've finished the work! It can be annoying at the beginning but it's actually very useful!
2. Clear your workspace of any distractions. Trust me, when you're procrastinating, ANYTHING can distract you. Make sure you only have what you need around you. Have anything that will motivate you to work around, just make sure you don't have fun things around! It'll help in the long run!
3. Make sure you're relaxed and your head is clear. Trying to work when you're stressed and distracted by other thoughts is possibly one of the hardest things to do like, ever. If you need to, just watch a bit of TV or read before you start work. Just get relaxed and motivated to work, focus on it and concentrate. 
4. Get a drink and snacks to keep you going throughout the work period. Make sure you keep hydrated when you're working or your mind will drift and you won't concentrate or work to you fullest potential. Set yourself mini goals and when you complete one, have a little snack! Be it sweets or a biscuit or an apple, anything you enjoy and will want to work towards! It's actually quite a good way to stay on track of work because you actually want to work to get the treat at the end of the section you're doing!
5. Wear something comfortable. Tight or annoying clothes will stop you focussing on your work fully. I always change in to my lounge trousers/jogging bottoms when I do work at my desk because they're super soft, warm and baggy so I can sit any way I want to without them being tight and awkward. My thoughts are basically the slobbier the better! Baggy and comfortable is the best thing because you don't have awkward buttons or zips digging in to your sides or tummy when you're working! 
6. Make a plan/to do list. For the last week or so, I've been making to do lists for each day. It makes it easy to organise and see what needs to be done each day, plus it gives you an extra bit of satisfaction when you cross something off! If you have to write an essay, make a plan. Honestly, over the last week or so, I've been set 3 essays and every time I've written an essay plan for it. It makes it easier to decide what to write as you can set out your main points, write out the quotes you want to use so you don't have to search for them (MASSIVE time saver!) and you can also move points around before you start writing it so it makes more sense! So much simpler! If you've never done it, try it. It will make such a difference to the amount of time you spend writing essays. It also allows you to basically write your essay in note form, get it checked by the teacher and only have to add in a few extra words to make it in to proper sentences! It doesn't have to be super detailed, but it also doesn't have to be sparse and barely any use at all! Writing out your main points, the quotes and the basic outline to the analysis makes essays so much easier. But remember, you don't have to stick fully to the plan, so if you come up with an awesome idea, don't forget to add it in! 
7. Give yourself little, manageable targets to work towards. If you set tasks for you to do, it can make it easier to organise your revision/work. Cutting a mountain of work in to bite size chunks will help massively. Maybe you have a huge essay to do or a lot of research? Say that you'll write 2 paragraphs/points and then have a break, or find out 5 pieces of information then get a snack? YOu can tailor it to you, it's your work!
8. Finally, DO WHAT'S BEST FOR YOU. If you already have a good way of working, ignore me and carry on! If you don't and like me, you get severely distracted a lot of the time, take note and try a few of these ideas out! They won't all work for everyone, some will work better and others will fail miserably. But if you don't try, you'll never know what works and what doesn't!

Hope this has been a massive help to anyone that's struggling with their work/revision skills :)

My perfect work set: Gingerbread latte, a few sweets and an essay plan!

Baggy lounge trousers and my cute dog slippers; how adorable are they?!

Jess xx