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

I'm 18!

I'm really sorry for not blogging much recently, the last four days have been filled with my birthday celebrations so all of my free time has been taken up by homework to make sure I could do all of the awesome things over the last few days!

On Wednesday, me and my college friends went to Pizza Express for a birthday meal as everyone gets Wednesday afternoons off college. It was a lot of fun and it was nice to do something with them that didn't include school! We had a really nice meal and I even got a mini chocolate cake with a candle on! I got my presents early from them as I don't see most of them around college apart from my friends who are in my lessons. 

Lots of chocolate!

Beautiful purse with a mirror in the back, a pen,
desk organiser and animal rubbers!

I now have enough chocolate to last me until Halloween, let alone Easter! I love the little French purse so much because it's just so me! French themed and with stripes?! Yes please. I also love the pen and organiser, definitely helps for Uni in September! I really don't want to use the rubbers though, they're way too cute!

My birthday was on the Thursday and it was an amazing day! I woke up and had to get done quicker so I could open my presents - I GOT A CAR!!! It's also insured with Compare the Market so I got a meerkat toy with it which now sits in my car! I got baby Oleg and  he comes with the most adorable grub! My parents said I would get my car at the weekend but I came home from college and it was sitting on the driveway! My car is a red VW Up and I've decided to call him Perry! I've been out in him quite a bit considering I only got him on Thursday and I love him - he's really great to drive and has a lot of room considering he is actually only a 3 door car!

I love my car so much! And the bow on top!

Oleg, his grub and his bed!

I got money from quite a few family members but my grandma got me a couple of really pretty bracelets that I can't wait to wear. My auntie and uncle got me a gorgeous silver trowel necklace which came in a brilliant little box that is so clever as it looks like a special (small) finds box! It's possibly one of the prettiest and well thought out pieces of jewellery I've ever been given!

The bottom bracelet was given to me by a friend on Wednesday.

I'm in love.

My mum's friend also made me 24 minion cupcakes which are chocolate and taste amazing! After we got back from our meal out, I also got given a minion lemon birthday cake which looks and tastes just as good!

These are the cutest little cakes ever!

I can't believe how talented my mum's friend is!

On Saturday, I had some old friends over for a movie day as I didn't want to involve alcohol and we couldn't afford a big party. It was a lot of fun and we ended up watching Pacific Rim, Despicable Me 2 and part of Monty Python's Life Of Brian. I love catching up with my old friends as I don't see them much any more due to work which is sad, but we act like we only saw each other yesterday when we do see each other again!

The Fault in Our Stars poster, it's so gorgeous!
From Julia.

Loki sticker also from Julia!

Weeping Angel and TARDIS biscuits also from Julia!

Julia is basically the girl who gets me tonnes of fan stuff and it's always the best! I love it all so much!

Bourjois little round pot intense eyeshadow in 08, Maybelline jade high heel mascara in brown,
Maybelline illegal length mascara in black, Dainty Doll eyeshadow in 002 Treat Her Like A Lady,
Maybelline colorsensational lipstick in 380 Sweet Bordeaux,
Maybelline colorsensational lipstick in 720 Drive Me Nuts.
From Lisa.

Left to right: Sweet Bordeaux, Drive Me Nuts, Bourjois eyeshadow in 08,
Dainty Doll eyeshadow in 002 Treat Her Like A Lady.

I'll probably review all of these at some point but so far I'm loving them!

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-glass by Lewis Carroll and
The Collected novels of The Bronte Sisters. Also got a really cute badge that says 'I read therefore I am'.
From Krissi.

Box of really cute goodies from Katie!

For when you're out and about and have the moments of inspiration for a blog post,
new outfit whatever it is, you can put it in this!

To get the creative juices flowing I guess you could say, or maybe just because
TASTY SWEETS!

This is a memory jar.  Any good memories from the day, write them down on the block then fold up
and put in the jar. Only at New Years eve can you look through all your memories from the year.
It's a good way to remember all the positive stuff and that maybe the smallest of things can be the best!

My old friends have obviously known me longer than most people outside of my family and their presents are all so thoughtful and basically cover every part of my life that I consider important and fun outside of people I know! I really love them and can't wait to use them all!

Kate also sent me a present which was super sweet of her - it's a scarf and mirror! I love them both - the green of the scarf is actually one of my favourite colours so I'm so happy! Thank you Kate!

Overall, it's been an amazing birthday and thank you to everyone who has been involved to make it a really special 18th! I'm so so lucky and it's probably been the best birthday yet! 

Jess xx

Food, glorious food!

For this time round, our topic for the Blogger Challenge is food!

As I don't have a lot of spare time on my hands, I don't get the opportunity to cook much but when I get the chance, I love it! I'm actually not bad either which is always a good sign with Uni and having to cook for myself looming over my head!

As I wasn't really sure what to do for this post, I've decided to find links to recipes of sweet food/snacks I would like to try and make at some point in the future!

White Chocolate Candy Corn Popcorn

I was obviously going to include this - an improvement on my current favourite treat!

Pull Apart Cinnamon Roll

I love cinnamon and this looks so nice! I can't wait to make this one day!

Pink Lemonade Doughnuts

You may have realised I have a bit of a sweet tooth...these sound amazing and I assume they can be made with any fruit juice!

If you guys try any of these, tell me how they go!
Jess xx

Challenge post five.

Hopeless.

Sorry that I haven't been blogging lots recently, I've had so much work to do and I just haven't had any motivation! I have a few things in the works over the next week or so though so I should get some posts out soon!

It's my birthday on Thursday and I'm honestly so excited! I'm turning 18 which in reality isn't much of a big thing but it feels huge! I know that I won't suddenly turn into a responsible adult and know where my life is heading but it'll be nice to actually be an adult officially! 

I'm going out for lunch with my college friends on Wednesday and having my old friends over for a film day at the weekend so it'll be so much fun!

I shall do a post on Thursday/Friday about my day so look out for that! 

Jess xx

The University Chronicles: The final visit!

I have officially completed all of my open days and offer holder visit days! 

I went to my final one in Birmingham today and it was great! It started with talks about Archaeology and Ancient History, then we had a taster session about Sparta which was interesting to see how the methods of teaching varied from my AS Sparta module to University. It was a lot more relaxed and the lecturer even bought in a replica Spartan shield (minus the bronze plating...) which was really cool! 

We then got chance to ask questions and then we went to the Archaeology tech department. It was amazing. I haven't really been shown any of the technology that's used at any other university, only usual science style labs so it was exciting to walk into a room and come across interactive tables! They were basically massive iPads mounted on stands and it was incredible! There were loads of pictures of items they have in their museum and you could move them, enlarge and turn them which was quite entertaining - there was even an option to read more about the artefact! There were also videos showing different  artefacts that had been scanned and their 3D counterparts were being rotated and shown from lots of different angles to get a feel for the objects. 

They also build and use virtual models to get a feel for what a place would be like, such as Rome, and then create a programme so you can 'walk' around Ancient Rome and see what it would have been like! 

It was really exciting to see the sort of technology that is available to use in Archaeology and to see how it can improve learning as well as being just an awesome tool to be able to access! 

Even though I probably won't end up at Birmingham, it's still exciting to see it all!

Jess xx

Book review: The Rosie Project.

Love isn't an exact science - but no one told Don Tillman. A thirty-nine-year-old geneticist, Don's never had a second date. So he devises the Wife Project, a scientific test to find the perfect partner. Enter Rosie - 'the world's most incompatible woman' - throwing Don's safe, ordered life into chaos. But what is this unsettling, alien emotion he's feeling?

I bought this book when I went to Guildford with Kate in half term after wanting it for ages and I'm so glad I did! 

This definitely isn't a typical romance story as Don is the most brilliant and different protagonist I've ever come across in a book. He leads an incredibly structured life, planned out to the minute and a complete sticker to the rules - most likely living with undiagnosed Aspergers syndrome. He's blunt and quite incapable of interpreting people's emotions which creates a comical but loveable character. Then Rosie enters his life at the same time as he decides to create 'The Wife Project'; a 16 page detailed to help him find the perfect wife (non-smoker, omnivore, doesn't drink/drinks moderately etc.) and throws his life into chaos. Don is obsessed with a new project - the Father Project which leads him on an adventure across continents and closer to Rosie.

The book is written in first person so we feel a connection with Don as he struggles with his inner conflict between helping Rosie or carrying on with his constant, structured lifestyle in his overly formal and somewhat geeky narration. The character development of Don is also brilliantly done by Simsion as each slight change is analysed by Don, showing his base personality is still there no matter how much his life has been thrown up in the air. 

The other important characters (Rosie, Gene and Claudia) are each given fantastic plots and their own quirks which make them equally loveable. Even more minor characters such as the Dean have little pieces to give them a 3D personality instead of being flat, filler characters with no real purpose but to move the plot on. 

I finished this incredibly quickly as I found it quite an easy read despite some technical genetics discussions! I was funny, quite sad at times and generally brilliant - I can't recommend this book enough - it's probably made it into my top 20 books and I will definitely be re reading it!

I hope you guys pick this up as it's such a great book!

Jess xx

A Blogging Day

A Blogging Day by jessica-deacon featuring lace stockings

Teal dress
$25 - owntherunway.com

Trasparenze lace stocking
$33 - pret-a-beaute.com

Skechers brown booties
zappos.com

Betmar beret beanie
hats.com

Oasis floral scarve
$34 - oasis-stores.com

Clear lens glasses
shopzerouv.com

Notebook A6 - Vintage Camera
etsy.com

I rediscovered this in my Polyvore drafts from a few moths ago so I decided to finish it and post it! I'm still not 100% sure on the design but I really love the dress and shoes...

Jess xx