On Graduating

Being now about seven weeks since I graduated (!!!) I thought that it was now a good time to share some of my thoughts on Graduating with you all!

Graduation Day is a really strange, but fun and exciting day. It is from your point of view, basically all about you. You get to wear the robes. You get to wear the hat (which is nowhere near as fun as the robes). You get free beverages. You get to walk across a stage and get your certificate. 

Everything about your degree culminates on just that one day. It's kind of a big thing. 

And then suddenly it's all done and that's that. 

Before you graduate, but once you have finished exams and everything, you are officially termed a Graduand. The period of time is pretty great. You are on a high and loving life. You have just finished some of the best years of your life, you may not know what you're doing and the world seems all ahead of you.

Then you graduate. 

And all of a sudden you are in a whole other world as a Graduate. You need a job. You need somewhere to live. You need income. And it can take a long time for everything to properly settle down; for you to decide what you're doing and where you're going. It's exciting and terrifying all at the same time. 

My status for a siginificant chunk of my Graduand/Graduate period was 'doing nothing'. Then the reality sets in and you really should start doing something. It's a time of change, and getting rid of old things and bringing in the new. It's weird, and wonderful all at the same time. 

So essentially, I'm looking forward to this whole new chapter, but I have no idea what it entails. Which both excites and terrifies me! 

xoxo

On Mondays

I know, I know what you're probably thinking. She doesn't normally post about Mondays? But seeing as July saw me quite absent from the blog, I thought we might as well shake things up a bit! 

A lot has happened. 

July saw me move back home, watch the boyf graduate, graduate myself as well as fill my days with anything at all. I have read numerous books. Cleared through old magazines like there is no tomorrow. Celebrated birthdays. Eaten way too much food. Met new people. Organised my beauty collection (I do not need anything.)
Now we are over a week into August (already!) and here is a Sunday-meets-Monday post for you, filled with the things that I've been loving lately.

I (finally!) bought this plate and the matching cup from H&M.

I am absolutely loving Bear's Den and Blossoms music wise.

I am currently in a phase of trying to make bendy rollers a thing.

Mac Velvet Teddy. Enough said.

These M&S glasses are my new favourites.

After seeing the poster at tube stations, I've just watched the trailer for Wiener-Dog; definitely on my must-see list!

I recently acquired a Jack Wills rucksack; their bags are so en pointe.

It's the Olympics! I'm finding Google the best way to keep up with it all.

I am really appreciating having started my One Line a Day Diary last year; reading back what I was doing is really really nice.

This Boots Time Delay moisturiser is my new favourite.

If I wore glasses, I would definitely buy this Paperchase case.

It took me a half hour at least to unsubscribe from Apple Music; unsubscribe today from everything you're accidentally paying for!

The Garnier Ultimate Blends Collection have been the cause of me receiving a fair few comments on the condition of my hair lately; the Honey Restorer is the way to go!

How was your July?!
xoxo

On Sundays

Photo via Bloglovin' on Pinterest

This time next week I will only have one exam remaining and then I am finished with university! It's been a bit of a slog to power through these last few days, however visiting three different coffee shops has certainly helped! 

How has your week been? I hope more fun than mine! 

Meanwhile, here are a few things I've been enjoying from around the web.

My sister and I mean to do one of these every year. This year will be the year! (I'm definitely tempted by the make your own stationery one (p.s. did you see this?)

I really want to read this over the summer.

After reading this article, I now really want these (K obviously!)

The boyf and I watched this the other night. So cute.

Currently living in these shorts.

It was Eurovision last night!

Have a good Sunday!

xoxo

On Sundays

After going out to dinner last night and falling asleep to the final of Masterchef, I did not take my make up off properly, meaning that I now have smudged and smeared lipstick over my wrists where I've wiped it off in the night. Please tell me I'm not alone in having done this? I know I won't be alone in saying that revision is  just not getting better, so here are a few things to help you have a relaxing start to Sunday whether you're revising or not!

It was the Met Gala on Monday; I mentioned my sort-of-underwhelmed state about the fashion. My sister agreed! What were your thoughts?

It's Vogue's Centenary year! I've started off my weekend reading through their gorgeous special edition with Kate Middleton on the cover. I have loved Vogue for many many years and my wardrobes are topped with my multiple stacks of them! 

This Princeton professor made a CV of all his failings (I feel mean saying that!). He listed all the academic placements that he did not get to show his pupils that not getting something isn't always a bad thing. 

Whilst trying to finish reading through my (36 page!!!) dissertation, my motivation started to wane. I bought this pouch/clutch as a treat to myself to power through. It's hand-made, limited edition, and I got one of the last two in stock! Not to mention it's beautiful!
(p.s. see it here too!)

Feel Unique has 15% off Benefit! (And other deals too!)

I recently bought these sandals and am already loving them!

Nyx is doing so well right now. Their Lip Lingerie range and their Soft Mattes have been my go-to lip products for months!

Labour's Sadiq Khan is sworn as London's new Mayor.

Happy Sunday!

xoxo

On Motivation

It is the penultimate week of the Easter holidays (Warwick give us 5 weeks; don't ask). I have a grand total of 17,500 words to write (this will be small to some and large to others; it's all relative), three exams to revise for. A CV to complete, job applications to fill in and emails to send. 

I woke up yesterday morning with a horrendous migraine and could do nothing but re-watch Gilmore Girls and drink hot water in bed. I know that the latter part of this sounds pretty pleasant, but the former was awful and in total it left me feeling extremely guilty about having done little to no work. The majority of my deadlines are six weeks away and a good 12,000 of those words have been written. Yet still, I felt guilty. I lacked absolutely any motivation which also added to the guilt.

But motivation is hard to find. I'm one of those people that if I want a break, I'm going to have a break. I know that I'm not going to be productive if I want to watch Four In A Bed or go and make hot chocolate. I have productive periods of about 20-40 minutes at a time; then I need a break. Working like this means that I can then gather a bit more motivation in each break. Read an article about the girl that got accepted into all 8 Ivy League schools. Or the blogger that is in the same position as me but still runs an amazing blog. Or just lust after this bar cart.

Yet when you do have motivation, there are so many things you can get done. You can finish that essay. You can beast that exam. You can finally get rid of all those Law Firm brochures (I recycled all of my Law career hopes and dreams of 2013 yesterday). You can tick off some of your To Do List. And it doesn't really take that much to do it either. If you got out of bed, you're already basically 75% there anyway! 

My diary has become a mass of day to day to do lists. In fact more like day to day goals. Finish Nietzsche Essay. Make revision timetable etc. It's all about those small steps. Once you know what the steps themselves are, the rest is actually pretty easy.

And if you're like me and your main problem is actually making the steps; read: actually doing it, then really the only thing holding you back is you. 

And remember. Today is Tuesday. We've already conquered Monday!

xoxo

Lent

It was pancake day. We went to my friend's flat for pancakes (savoury pork and mango ones which, were AMAZING, and I don't even like mango). On their notice board they had a list of what everyone had given up for lent and the weeks. As well as cute little drawings to move themselves along the timeline.
I thought this was a great idea and then realised that I hadn't planned to give anything up this year. Then the boyf said, 'You should give up Pepsi Max'

...

For anyone that knows me, then they will know of my love of Pepsi Max. If I get a meal deal, my beverage of choice will be Pepsi Max. If I have a beverage craving, it will be for Pepsi Max. If I'm re-using a bottle, it will be a Pepsi Max bottle.

To be fair, he had a point.

So I said, 'You should give up biscuits.'

To which he had the same response.

So together we have embarked on the struggle that is giving up something you indulge in maybe a bit too much for 40 days and 40 nights.

There have been the withdrawel symptons 10 days in. 

There was the relapse weekend following being up for 26 hours as a result of having to take the boyf to A&E. Only Pepsi Diet was available, which had to do. But it is NOT the same,

Some McDonald's diet coke also ended up in the mix.

Normally I give up everything sweet for lent, but seeing as I rarely eat sweet things now anyway, the Pepsi Max is definitely proving a greater struggle. (It also includes all fizzy drinks except for tonic; I was not giving up G&Ts, no sir). 

With 16 more days to go, we are over halfway!

If you've given up anything for Lent, we are in the struggle together!

(And maybe keep in mind the actual meaning as well, whether you're religious or not, it's about testing yourself and proving to yourself that maybe you don't actually need all these things. The test is even more real when the boyf writes on Pepsi Max bottle on your desk (see above) a line around the remaining liquid with the caption 'You better not go under the line'.)
Never has water tasted so good.

Have you given anything up for Lent?

xoxo

Keeping Your S#!? Together

Last Wednesday I got back from a really great trip with Mother and my sister; we went from Madison to Vegas to San Francisco and then all departed our separate ways from there.
When I got back, nearly everyone I spoke to had had some sort of breakdown, or was on the verge of one. I was not exempt from this, despite just bobbing along in my little post-holiday ship, I was a mess waiting to happen. Mine happened yesterday (remember all those posts I made from my tablet because my laptop had died last year, twice? Well it's near-death yesterday elicited a twenty minute sob whislt cradling it in the union yesterday fifteen minutes before my second midterm of the day. My laptop and I have bene through more together than some couples, I swear).
And after then spending last night until the early hours doing literally nothing, other than talking with one of my best friends, and helping her with work every now and then, it occurred to me that sometimes we can't all just keep it together, all of the time.

But here is a list of some of the things that might help at least take your meltdown a peg or two!

- Tea. Obviously.

- Just stop. Stop whatever you are doing. Take a deep breath. Here I will quote Elliot from  Scrubs, 'Everything then just slows down.'

- If you know everything is about to overwhelm you, tell someone. But maybe try and find that one friend that isn't also on the verge of the same thing, because instead of lifting each other up, you will both more than likely bring each other down.

- Try and wear matching underwear. I'm telling you, when you suddenly remember that everything underneath matches, it makes your whole outlook on a life a whole lot better.

- Go to bed that little bit earlier. Turn everything off. And just sleep. Put some relaxing music on if need be; I know I cna't really sleep without music when there are 65659684736843 things going on in my mind all at once.

I don't know about you, but Spring Break is almost upon us here at Madison, and if I was back at home right now I would already be on my loong Easter break. So the end is nigh!

We can all get through these stressful times together!

xoxo

p.s. I am not advocating that we should all just have a meltdown, but sometimes, as my Philosophy professor told me this week, it's perfectly normal to cry if you just need to cry!

Top Ten Things You Hear As An International Student

1. Oh wow! Do you have an accent?
(*whispers quietly* everyone has an accent)

2. How did you end up here?

3. Omg can you say *insert probably really cringey word*?! It sounds so different when you say it!

4. Ohh I have a friend/relative/person that went/lives there!

5. What do you miss most about home?

6. What's your favourite thing about being here?

7. I've always wanted to visit *insert your home country*!

8. Is it true that *insert again probably really cringey stereotype*??

9. I can't imagine not seeing my family for that long; at least there's Skype!

10. When was the last time you were actually at home?? 

It's like we're from a different country or something...

xoxo

A Day in The Life #5 | Sports Ball 2014!

Sports Ball at Warwick is one of the biggest events of the year; the tickets sell out in stupid amounts of time, but it is one of the best nights of the whole university year. I didn't go in my first year, however I am so glad I went this year!
Here are just a few photos from the event (the main bit being at the Birmingham Hilton; [I'm so fancaayyy, you already know! Just kidding...]

And of course... my food! We had lamb and then lemon torte

Dress - Missguided

Face - Garnier BB Cream, UD Naked 3, Eyeko Skinny, Lancome Hypnose, Tanya Burr Lipgloss 'Aurora'

Mid-Exam Blues

I wouldn't necessarily say that I am blue, but everyone at the moment is definitely feeling the pressure of exam season in its near-peak. With one exam down, and two to go, I am most definitely on the countdown for them to be over (two weeks yesterday at 5 and I am freeeee!).
With that aside, I thought during my break of incessant note making that I would share some things that have recently been getting me through the stress and boredom of revision, and also a list of things that I will most definitely be doing when I am finished.
If you have already finished your exams (or don't have any), please spare some thought for those of us who are students. Possibly send us some puppies and snacks as well.

• This video which has been made to The Black Keys - Gotta Get Away will definitely lift some spirits; not to mention the song is great!
• This post. The 50 Cutest Things That Have Ever Happened. Prepare to taste heaven. 
• Bobble Bottles. More to come on this bad boy later, but trust me, you need one. (I have the pink, just sayin'). 
• The Simpsons Tapped Out. Now, beware, this is addictive and I would only suggest it for those with copious amounts of self control; it is basically the Sims but with The Simpsons, or as I call it, The Simmpsons. You heard that here first. 

If you're still not feeling motivated or would just like some more happy thoughts, here are some things that I am counting down the days to do!

1. Sleep in until whenever. No more getting up at 8 o'clock to start work!
2. Watch stupid amounts of television (currently it's re-watching Friends and Gossip Girl...) without feeling any guilt at all about not working. 
3. Go for a celebratory meal with mes amies and a tipple that won't have to be cheeky!
4. Pimms. 'Nuff said. 
5. Buying celebratory hoards(hords? hordes?) of Nars and Mac make-up as a treat to myself with Emily. My eyes are most definitely set and locked on Nars Sheer Glow and a Mac 266 Angled Brush. 

I hope that if you are mid-exam season that this has perked you up a little bit! (It certainly perked me up a bit; Immanuel Kant definitely needed blogging back in those days.) I wish you all good luckkkk! If you're not doing exams, you luckylucky people, I hope you just enjoyed this little post!
(I also apologise for the lack of posts recently...revision is my life right now. If that already wasn't clear...)

Happy working!

xoxo

The Promise of Happiness - Justin Cartwright | Book Review

This was a book I picked up in a little charity shop round the corner from me at uni and am I glad I did! It starts off quite strange, with a main protagonatist peeing in a graveyard and this did set me off thinking that maybe this was going to be a bloody weird book.
However it has become one of my definite favourite books. It follows a family of five, who have been split up and spread all over the world for various reasons; the middle daughter in a questionable job and relationship in London, the youngest son becoming a millionaire in the States and the eldest daughter just coming out of prison for a crime she didn't technically commit and the loving Mother and distant Father is their resultant home in Devon. Don't worry, none of this is a spoiler!Cartwright portrayed the family soso well that you could really see them as being in existence and as really struggling with all of their problems and laughing through all of their good times.
His writing is also absolutely wonderful. Some of his sentences read just like poetry and give such a lovely, sentimental touch to the book, that I couldn't help keep on reading and reading through the chapters.

This was a truly great little read and would definitely recommend it to anyone who enjoys a fairly heary-warming familial tale. I'm not going to lie, I also found the characters pretty inspiring, especially the beloved eldest daughter JuJu.

Next Up: Before I Met You - Lisa Jewel

Would you read this powerful work?

xoxo

Beauty Expirary Dates

I'm pretty sure that in this day and age, nearly every single thing even slightly perishable thing has an expirary date, and beauty and cosmetic products are no exception!
It wasn't until very recently that I actually found out what the expirary symbol on beauty products was, and ever since then, I have been acutely aware of how long everything lasts. The symbol itself is the little pot with the lid off on the back of products; the number under the lid is the amount of months that something is meant or at least designed  to last. Now I am by no means saying that 6 months from the date you bought the product, it's gotta go. Most people who own any sort of make up will probably keep it until it either runs out, or it has been so long that it has, gone off. What I'm suggesting more is that these should be used as a guide as to how maybe how long you should use a product for.
And of course, if you have sensistive skin, or problematic skin, maybe keep a keener eye out on how long you've had products for. Wetter products such as foundations, concealers etc are more likely to not last past the expirary simply because of what they are, liquids. More powder based products, such as eyeshadows, tend to last longer but let's face it, if you use up an ENTIRE eyeshadow in 6 months, you're probably using it wrong. Mascaras generally tend to dry up sooner than the date and it's quite obvious when the dry, clumpy wand needs binning.
A lot of people are however unaware of the dates, and so I hope that this has been a little insight into the more 'sciencey' side of make up!

I apologise ever so much for the out of focus mascara...flash + super macro = dying camera

The average length of time seems to be:

• Lip balm - 12 months
• Mascara - 6 months
• Eyeshadow - Anything from 3 - 24 months
• Lip gloss - 3-6 months
• Lip stick - Probably thr longest lasting at up to 30 months
• Foundation (and similar products) - 18 months
• Moisturisers (and similar products) - 12 months
• Cleansing Waters (and similar products) - 6 months

I hope that you found this helpful and as strangely interesting as me!

xoxo

Disclaimer: I am not a make up artist or anything similar at all, I merely have an avid interest in make up and have done various research into this. I am by no means stating all of this as true and exact, merely what I have found. 

Wishlist #1

This was a difficult one to just narrow down my current wishlist to a quick few, but I managed! The Revlon ColorBurst lip crayons have been released in all the lovely gloss finishes as well as matte versions as well. As much as I want to try the matte balms as well, I think that I've got my eye on at glossy ones at the moment; anything to break out of this dismal weather!
The Lush Bubblegum lip scrub is again something that I have been lusting after for a long time...now that I'm back homehome, Lush here I come!
The Real Techniques Expert Face Brush, well need I say any more? Hyped up as being one of the best facial brush products out there at the moment and definitely something that my collection needs!
And of course Naked 3. I really don't need to say any more on this one.

What are you currently lusting after?
xoxo

The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini | Book Review

So this is one of those books; you know the ones I mean. Everyone's read it, everyone loves it, everyone thinks it's amazing. Now don't get me wrong, I'm glad I've read it, but to be perfectly honest, this was one of the saddest books I have ever read (and the Noughts and Crosses series put me off reading, thank you very much Malorie Blackman). It just seemed that nothing good at all ever happened; at every turn everything that could have possibly gone wrong, did go wrong. Or as soon as something vaguely positive did happen, it would be drastically brought down by  devastation of some sort or another.
It follows a man called Amir sharing his life story, starting back when he was a child growing up in Afghanistan with a Hazara boy called Hassan. The relationship between these two is something which a part of me longs for; as a friend said of Hassan: 'He is such a beautiful person'. Various events unfold resulting in Amir and Hassan being separated. Amir ends up moving to America with his beloved, Baba, who throughout the entire book he strives to earn the respect and love from him which he believes he lacks.

The book was very well written, and at times I really did find myself captivated by the story, however a book such as this would normally take me days to get through. This took me around a month simply because I struggled so much to keep picking it up as it was depressing me so much. I would definitely recommend this book to those who absolutely adore reading, but word of warning: it is not for the faint-hearted.  

(Note: I apologise for the lack of proper photo; the problems of travelling back home for reading week...)

Next Up: The Wolf of Wall Street - Jordan Belfort

What are your thoughts?

xoxo

Divergent - Veronica Roth | Book Review

Hopefully some of you have also embarked on a reading challenge with me and I think that I've gotten off to a fairly good start! One week of the year down and I'm already one book down. Apparently I have completed 2% of my challenge! (From Good Reads). 

Divergent is the first instalment of what is simply called The Divergent Trilogy. It is the next big cult series following The Hunger Games and The Mortal Instruments. If you don't like these series' or are just thinking 'What!?', then this book is not for you.
The storyline is made up of a city which is split into different factions, upon which when you turn 16 you can then decide to stay in the faction you were born in or choose to join a different one, abandoning your family. The book follows Beatrice who embarks on this journey along with her brother Caleb. I thoroughly enjoyed this book; it had everything that you would want and expect. It had cliffhangers. It had violence. It had action. It had a bit of romance. I struggled to put it down to get out of bed in the mornings!
I would definitely recommend if this kind of genre is your type of thing. I now needneedneeeeed to read the next two books!!

Next Up: The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini

Let me know your thoughts!

xoxo

Chapter 2014...

Now I know that, yes, I am a few days late to the band wagon with this post but I had to collect my thoughts on it (and look at other people's resolutions...); I didn't want to just babble down a load of things that sound nice on a blog but not really mean.
I definitely have beauty resolutions. I have life resolutions. I have blog (?!?) resolutions. I have book resolutions; (don't worry, I will write more on this one). I could go on. But I think that for me, my main new year's resolution is that 2014 will be the year of Karina. 2013 wasn't quite up to par on that one but this year will be the one where I really focus on myself, my work, my future (oh lordy) and really put myself forward.

There will be more to come on my resolutions, but for now I'll leave it here. However, I will throw in an inspirational quote to keep us all tide over. Tied over? I don't know, but you know what I mean.

Or maybe not...

xoxo

Call that Crafty #1 || Button Initials

Back in the summer when I seemed to have endless amounts of time, I was trying to keep busy by being crafty and making things. I had often seen button initial canvasses in shops and thought to myself that I could do that; so I did!

What you need:

• 1 canvas (whatever size you want/colour/pattern. I just used plain white)
• Buttons; I used a combination of buttons and sequins
• Pencil
• Needle and Thread (preferably white, or a colour that won't be seen; unless you want it to be!
• Glue (in case of sequins or gems etc)

What you do:

1. First sketch out an outline. You of course don't have to do this, but I found it much easier to have an outline. I googled for the right kind of font that I wanted as I struggled to get the shape quite right.
2. You can now begin to sow your buttons and sequins on! I started with smaller ones in the corners and then worked my way into the centre of the shape with the bigger ones.
   It took a lot of placing and re-placing to work out the positioning I wanted so you may want to try different buttons in different places before sewing them down. 
   
   
   
3. I then just kept filling in the shape gradually, re-arranging as I went along until I was happy with the positioning.
   (This is now going to get a little picture heavy..!)
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   The Finished Product!
   
   
   
   
   
   

I think these would make lovely Christmas decorations and are inexpensive if you already have all of the things lying around which I'm sure most of you do!
What initial will you do?
xoxo

A Day In The Life #1

I'm a bit behind on my post schedule so hopefully there will be another one of these going up very soon!
Not the week just gone but the week before was reading week and most of mine was spent holed up in my room, wrapped up in blankets and scarves with cups of tea working on my essays. This sounds quite cosy but was a lot of work!
I did however discover love for Sleek! And oh was I late on joining that black-cased band wagon. I also managed to get myself a job; hoorah! Look out for me a catering event/bar near you! To celebrate, I took myself off to Starbucks and got myself my first Red Cup. I had a salted caramel mocha with the new espresso base and oh my, it was divine. If you haven't had one of these bad boys, I am telling you to go asap. With cream, caramel sauce and salted caramel on top, you can't go wrong!
At the weekend my parents came up to stay which was lovely. We had a really nice meal at Ask on the Saturday and did some lovely shopping on Sunday (with more Starbucks!). We had a lovely walk through the gardens which had a lot more in it than I ever realised with greenhouses and Eden Project-esque domes! I got a lovely candle which I'm sure I'll be posting about soon.
All in all it was a pretty good week; very productive and lots of treats!

Have you had your first red cup yet?

xoxo