A little piece of calm on a Sunday.

What is it about Sundays? 

When I was younger my Sunday mornings were about a full English breakfast (which I now realise was mainly to lure my sister and I out of bed) before going to church for a couple of hours. Afternoons were spent seeing my grandparents and doing some last minute homework in preparation for school the next day.

These days, my Sundays are rather less eventful and generally are spent lazing about in bed, watching catch up TV and eating my body weight in yummy food.

I think my perfect Sunday would be spent having a lie in till maybe ten or eleven, then strolling over to my favourite cafe (which I have yet to discover), to sit in the sunshine (because the weather will be gorgeous, obviously) and drink coffee and eat a delicious brunch of fruit and pastries. Then I'd spend the afternoon with friends and family, possibly at the beach with a picnic. Lots of frolicking in the sea and dogs running around and burying people in the sand.

Yes, that would be lovely.

Saving money.

So I'm one of those people who refuses to pay full price for something unless I really have to. 99% of the time there is some way of cutting a few pounds off the bill and if you're like some of my friends and 'can't be bothered' then I think you're just lazy and daft!

I'm not claiming to be some sort of ultimate bargain hunter or anything however, these are my personal tips for saving your hard-earned money:

1. Voucher codes

A very very helpful website where you simply type in the name of a shop or restaurant and it brings up money saving codes and deals. Takes two minutes, there's an app for if you're on the go and BOOM, money saved.

2. Signing up for e-mails

Now I know they're annoying and half of them you really don't want but on occasion they do come up trumps with a decent offer. I would advise 1, create a 'spam' e-mail account which you can use purely for things like this and 2, just sign up for the shops which you truly buy things from. Don't get lured into spending money on things you don't really need simply because it's a 'good deal'. 

3. (If you're a student) NUS extra

This little nifty card gets you discounts in a lot of shops and restaurants yes, but it's most useful for getting discounts whilst online shopping because that's when your standard college/university ID doesn't work. 

4. '10 ways to have more money as a student, without working'

This Facebook group is AWESOME. You don't even have to be a student to take advantage of most of the money-saving deals they post. If you have a facey b then I would urge you to go follow, now!

5. Get a loyalty card

Some of my must-have loyalty cards: Nandos (free chicken!), Boots advantage card (4 points for every pound you spend!), Tesco clubcard (build up points for money off vouchers and other deals), Costa coffee club card (build up points for free items), myWaitrose card (money off and free newspaper and coffee/tea) ... I'm sure you already know these things but just in case :)

Obviously don't go getting cards for places you don't frequently go to (this a a hypocritical point from me because I have a purse full of such cards) but if you spend rather a lot in a store then you might as well try and get some free stuff/money off vouchers out of it! 

Good luck saving some £££!

I DON'T CARE. I LOVE IT.

image credit

Great song.

Went for a little walk around our local area with some of my house mates on Monday evening. It was so nice to be able to be out after 8pm wearing only a denim jacket over my tee and for it not to be pitch black. I definitely can't wait for summer.

Sadly, the weather has taken a turn for the worst and apparently we had 75mph winds last night... great. Better make sure I wear jeans today to uni and not a skater skirt. No Marilyn Monroe incidents for me ta.

The £9.99 H&M Trousers.

I have to admit that I only bought these trousers after seeing my sister looking amazing in them and deciding that seeing as we don't live in the same city any more, it was acceptable for me to need them in my life as well.

I don't think the above photo actually shows how nice the trousers actually are. For £9.99, they're well made out of fairly thick material, flattering and are great for just throwing on (surprisingly considering the pattern). So here is a terrible photo of me wearing mine, I apologise in advance for the quality:

I paired them with a plain tee and some Zara heels I bought via Ebay. H&M also does the same trousers in various other patterns and block colours as well. Bargainous! 

You can find them here.

Sanctuary Spa Hand Lotion.

Okay so I'm not usually one to write about anything 'beauty' related, however, I've been so impressed with this lotion that I wanted to just post very quickly about it. 

I have horribly dry hands. Like I mean, cracked, bleeding, granny hands which do not look at all appealing and make me really self-concious. I've been using this lotion for just over a week now and I love it. The main reason for this is how quickly it sinks in, nourishing my skin without making it feel greasy or sticky. It also has a really nice scent and leaves my hands soft and nice to touch but I can be back to texting or typing on my laptop within a few minutes of applying because of how little residue it leaves.

So yeah, if you suffer like I do then I would recommend this stuff. I think I paid £4.50 for this bottle from Boots which I don't think is badly priced at all. I've also used it on my legs and feet and it worked a treat on those as well. Good stuff!

Why Life Begins At 20...

Seeing as I'm really not far from turning 21 and I read a magazine article in April's Elle Magazine (pictured) on this very topic, I decided to write my own five reasons of why in my opinion, life begins at 20.

Reason 1: You're no longer in your awkward teenage years. Teenage years are full of trying to figure out who you are and attempting to become comfortable in your own skin. Now I'm not saying you won't do any of this in your twenties, but I would hope that by now you find at least a sense of your personal identity and some contentment in simply being you.

Reason 2: The graduation. Now by this I don't even mean necessarily the typical university graduation. I mean it in a whole wide range of ways. For example, graduating from teeny-bopper club nights to more sophisticated bars (eventually). Graduating from seeing your girlfriends every day because you went to school/college with them to seeing them for lunch dates or coffee because you all have new commitments, be it work or uni or whatever. Graduating into a new style which fits 'being in your twenties'. Yes, sometimes these things are scary but I think if you embrace it all then you can really see how far you've come in just a few years.

Reason 3: Meeting new people. Your twenties give you the opportunity to really break out from the little cocoon you were previously so content to huddle in. Moving away, starting a new career... all of these things allow you to begin to form new relationships with people who you maybe in the past, would not have considered as people you would be drawn to or fit in with. Okay so it's important to not lose the friends you have always cherished but these new ones may be major players in your future. Who knows, you might even find the one. Just saying.

Reason 4: Travel. Until you retire, you will never have a better chance to travel than in your twenties. You're young, fit, unburdened with kids, a mortgage... all those things which for the majority come later in life and so get out there. See all the wonders of this little planet called earth. Work for a year to blow it all on an around the world trip, bungee jump, skydive, swim with dolphins, try that weird-looking  food, cry when you have to leave your new BFF/sexy Australian boyfriend, take a road trip across the US, inter-rail through Europe. Whatever. As Nike would say, 'Just do it'.

Reason 5: Career opportunities. Now is the time to take a year or two to yes, chill and relax and enjoy life but also to work your butt off at other times to ensure that you reach the highs that you dream of. So take that unpaid internship. Stay up all night studying to ensure you pass that exam/finish that essay. Work weekends and holidays to prove to your new boss that you have the drive and passion for promotion. Your twenties can be the most exciting years of your life but the real test is how hard you are also prepared to work because hey... you'll be thirty before you know it!

A Spring Outfit.

I love this whole outfit but I think my top priorities have to be the jacket (as long as it's still beautiful when I try it on), the clutch (adore) and those sandals (M&Ssaywhattttt!). 

Fly solo.

This is what I do with my spare time. Send off for free mugs because well... why not. 

Some of my favourite photos and places I've visited on there.

Don't you forget about me.

My uni room window sill had a little bit of a shake up with the addition of some things from my room at home and a picture frame I bought in a charity shop today (the dark wooden one). I filled it with some postcards I picked up from Niagara Falls and I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out!

Also going to test out this hand lotion which my Nana insisted on me purchasing because my hands are so sore and dry that they bleed. Not a good look. Fingers crossed it makes a difference.

Non-matchy-matchy bikinis.

So I'm not really a fan of being in a bikini. I like the idea but in reality I'm usually a self-concious mess. However, if I am going to have to wear one then I'm going to do it my way and this involves a lot of mix and matching to create the perfect combination. Here's a few mash-ups to get you going...

As you can tell I'm a big fan of River Island and Topshop for swimwear. It's relatively cheap but is pretty sturdy in the water (I'm a swimmer not a sunbather). Feel free to buy the matching top/bottoms for each for even more exciting mix-and-match combos!

All of these are available to buy separately  which comes with the added bonus that if you're like me and your top half and bottom don't match size-wise then you can get a bikini which fits you properly for once!

It's starting again...

Uh-oh! My Primark sunglasses buying continues. Good job they're cheap.

So what's up baby, what about us?

A [short] Easter holiday of catching up with some friends, attending a house-mate's 21st birthday party and generally lazing about and doing no work! It's a good job that I'm returning to university on Saturday because I really need to catch up with some classes and stop eating so much damn food. First world problems ey?

As for the post title, What About Us by The Saturdays is my most-played SUNSHINE song at the moment. Reminds me that I can't wait for a few rays and maxi skirts and iced lattes sat on park benches.