September/October 2015 Books

Hi Guys!

*sorry this post is a couple of days late*

Over the last few weeks I have read a lot of texts. Doing a literature degree involves studying a wide variety of texts. From poetry to plays, sonnets to short stories and of course novels. I've probably read more in the last two months than I have in the last year.

1. Kate Atkinson - Behind the Scenes at the Museum

This was the first book I read for my course. It was a very interesting read. It took me quite a long time to read as the story had lots of characters and lots of different events. I enjoyed the way that footnotes were dispersed within the narrative. The novel tells the story of Ruby Lennox from the moment of conception. The footnotes tell the story of Ruby's female ancestors, something which intrigued me.

2. Ovid - Metamorphoses & contemporary poetry

This took me AGES to read! I wouldn't say I enjoyed reading this, but I do appreciate how much Ovid has influenced literature. We had to focus on five stories and they were all fairly straight forward. The main theme is transformation and this is the main reason why Ovid is referenced in so many other pieces of literature throughout history.

The week after we studied a collection of contemporary poetry which was influenced by Ovid's work. My favourite was Mrs Midas by Caroline Duffy as it changed the perspective of Ovid's story of Midas so that the story was told from Midas' wives point of view.

3. Jane Austen - Northanger Abbey

Personally I didn't like this book. I just didn't really feel like a lot happened. She only arrives at the Abbey in volume two and the ending was really predictable. Normally if I don't like a novel, I at least appreciate what the author was trying to achieve. However with this I don't even really appreciate it.

4. Don Patterson - 101 Sonnets

These didn't take long to get through and were ok. It helped to see how the sonnet form was represented in many different ways. It helps to see how the form was deviated from.

5. Claude Mckay - America, The White House and If We Must Die

These three poems have the common theme of racial inequality. McKay manages to put a high level of emotion into his poetry and that is what makes the poems so persuasive. I don't know why but I didn't think I would like these, but they really surprised me.

6. Graham Greene - The Destructors

This short story at first perplexed me and I was really confused as to the meaning behind it. If you are going to study this I was suggest to do some research about Britain after the Second World War as I promise it will really help. Part of it reminded me of George Orwell's Animal Farm with the struggles with leadership and the way in which Trevor treats the other boys.

7. George Saunders - Tenth of December

These short stories were weird! But they were also very interesting once you understood what was actually going on. This is the most modern text I have studied so far, being published in 2013. It has the main theme of a failing America giving it a dystopian edge. It is very interesting to see his views in the form of fictional short stories. But having said that it was probably the hardest text so far in terms of not having a clue what the heck was going on!

8. Charlotte Perkins Gilman - The Yellow Wallpaper

I first studied this short story in second year of sixth form and it was great to be able to study it again. I really enjoyed studying it the first time, but it was great to see how my views have changed and was my reading of it is now in comparison to this time last year. It was a pleasure to complete my portfolio on this in relation to the historical context behind it.

9. Caryl Churchill - Top Girls

A found this quite hard to read due to the overlapping dialogue throughout. Therefore it is easier to watch it and I would recommend the BBC version. I enjoyed studying this much more than I enjoyed reading it. I have ended up doing a 1,000 word assignment on it, so I must have enjoyed it. Word of advice if you are studying this is to research 1980s Britain and Thatcherism whilst reading to understand the historical context.

10. Oscar Wilde - The Importance of Being Earnest

I first studied this in first year of sixth form and I have to say I didn't love it. It seems that all of the books that are deemed essential to read are the ones I just don't seem to like! Studying it two years later I still don't love it. However I think I've worked out why I don't like it. It is aesthetic meaning it is made to judged on the look of it rather than the meaning behind it. One of the reason why I enjoy literature is that I love learning the meanings behind different texts. At least I feel like I have improved in the last two years. In year 12 I did a whole presentation on aestheticism and decadence and I still had no idea what the heck it was!

11. Zoe Sugg - Girl Online On Tour

Wow different background, mind blown! This is something that I have little been waiting three months for. It was really good and was a pleasant read as it was just fluffy and didn't require as much brain power as when you are studying a text. Also I listen to this on audiobook when I was walking to and from uni and on the train on Friday and it was great as I managed to fit it around studying.

12. Alfred Hitchcock - Vertigo

Technically this is not a book, but I have had to study it for my course in a similar way to studying a book. I found this a little bit weird, but it was really cool to study a film as it was something I had never done before. Learning about things like the use of colour and camera angles is something that will forever be imprinted on my brain so I will probably never watch a film in the same way!

Thanks for stopping by! :)

Halloween Cupcakes

Hi Guys!

So today's post is all halloweeny (is that even a word...probably not, oh well). I basically doubled the quantity of the ordinary cupcake recipe I use to make loads of them. These would be great for if you have friends or family coming over for halloween!

Ingredients

For the cupcakes:

200g Butter
200g Caster Sugar
200g Self Raising Flour
4 Medium Eggs

Steps for Cupcakes:

Step 1:

Preheat your oven to 190 degrees Celsius (170 degrees Celsius for fan oven) and prepare your cupcake trays. This recipe makes 12 large cupcakes and 12 small cupcakes.

Step 2:

Firstly you need to cream your butter and sugar together for around 5 minutes. Doing it for this amount of time helps your cupcakes to be nice and fluffy and definitely makes a huge difference. It needs to be a light and fluffy consistency.

It needs to look something like this:

Step 3:

Then you need to gradually add your flour and eggs until throughly mixed. However don't over mix the mixture otherwise you'll end up with your cakes being too dense.

It should look something like this:

Step 4:

Spoon the mixture into your cupcake cases and bake in the oven for 10-12 minutes. If your doing different sized cupcakes like me, you will need to remove the small ones after about 10 minutes, but the bigger ones will probably need closer to 12.

Step 5:

Transfer your cupcakes to cooling racks and leave to cool whilst you make your icing.

Ingredients for the icing:

100g Butter
250g Icing Sugar
2tsp Vanilla Extract
Food Colouring (I used purple and orange, which turned out more peach but hey ho!)

You will also need a piping bag and a star nozzle

Steps For Icing:

Step 1:

Beat your butter and vanilla extract together for 5 minutes.

 Step 2:

Gradually add your icing sugar in, until it looks like this:

Step 3:

Separate your icing into two equal sized portions.

Add your food colouring (A little goes a long way!)

Step 4:

Put your icing into piping bags. If you're like me and only have one star nozzle you will need to do this one at a time.

Step 5:

Pipe you're icing onto your cakes.

Decorate with whatever you want. I went with what Tesco's promised me were fangs, but I believe these are more like an old person's dentures!

I hope you guys have fun making these!

Thanks for stopping by! :)

Living With Anxiety

Hi Guys!

I know I have already posted today, but I have been wanting to do this blogpost for a while and I thought seen as it is World Mental Health Day it was a good day to post this.

I have never been official been diagnosed with anxiety, but I'm pretty sure that I do have it.

When I was nine I started to worry about stupid things. For example saying something nasty about someone in my head. To be honest the things I worry about seem to be so small that I don't even remember what most of them are!

I personally find that my mum is the best person to go and talk to when I'm worrying. Back then I used to tell her anything I was worrying about, no matter how small. Nowadays I only really tell her the things that are really making me anxious. If I had to give anyone who has anxiety one tip it would be to talk to someone you trust. For me that person is my mum. You would not believe how much better I feel after talking things through with her. Also she does the best hugs, one of the things I miss the most as virtual hugs when at university is definitely not as good.

As I got older my worrying got slightly better or at least more manageable. I found that it would happen in blocks. So I could anything from a couple of months to about a year without worrying. Then all of a sudden I would just feel so anxious and worry loads for a few weeks. It felt like when you haven't seen a friend for a while and when you finally see them all they want to do is talk to you. Now that I am older and have more responsibility I find that my worry periods have become more frequent and, although I still worry about simple, irrational things, they tend to be harder to get off my mind.

When I was 14 I was sick in my maths lesson and that really set my anxiety off. I found that I couldn't go to school and I had a lot more of the physical symptoms of anxiety. I would wake up in the morning and even before I left for school I had stomach ache and felt sick which didn't exactly make me want to endure a day of school. Slowly that has got better and now it's only on the days when my school/uni routine is different do I feel this way.

I have always had more psychological symptoms rather than physical ones. It tend to have this sense of dread and anxiousness. At the moment it is fairly constant and the time when I don't feel anxious is rare. I think the worst thing about anxiety is when I can't work out what I am worrying about. It makes me feel quite down and my mind is constantly racing to find out what it is, which doesn't make me feel any better.

Moving to uni has really intensified my anxiety. I find that now I am worrying about the most irrational things mostly to do with fire safety. I will talk about this more when I write about my first month at university, but I will say that it is making my uni experience a lot less enjoyable as I feel constantly on edge. This makes it harder to get into uni life and homesickness doesn't help!

So there is how I find my life living with anxiety.

Please leave any tips or comments below!

Thanks for stopping by! :)

Update

Hi Guys,

Firstly I should probably say sorry for my appalling absence, can't believe how long its been!

I thought I should probably update you.

Well, when I stopped in March it was because I had started to revise for my A-levels. I finished sixth form in May and then came the long summer waiting for my results to see whether I'd got into uni.

I had a fairly fun summer, going to the seaside with some friends (believe me, it's a great achievement for me!) Also I went on holiday to Southwold (post with pics should be up soon, hopefully).

Then came the tedious search for a job for the summer, which believe me it's harder than you would think! Finally after several applications, I got a job at Travelodge as a Hotel Room Cleaner (I know, glamorous). I have to say it was probably the hardest seven weeks of my life. My whole body ached when I got home at night! However I am glad I did it, as it allowed me to gain some experience within a working environment. Also it helped me gain in confidence having to speak to lots of people, even though I wasn't very good. I feel it prepared me slightly for uni.

I got my A-level results on 13th August. I don't think I have ever been so scared as when I logged into UCAS that morning. However finding out I got into my firm choice to study English Literature was probably the most excited I have ever been. My results were B in English Literature, C in Psychology, D in History and a D in General Studies. It was slightly disappointing that I got a U in my final history exam. I kind of expected to get a D overall and I got an A in my coursework, which I am so pleased with as it was such hard work!

I really enjoyed getting prepared for uni with my mum. I have been here for 4 weeks now and I can honestly say they have been the longest 4 weeks of my entire life! I will have a blogpost of how the first month has been soon.

Finally at the end of the month my little nephew, George, was born! He is so gorgeous and I miss him loads!

Thanks for stopping by! :)

Getting to know me!

Hi Guys!

I thought it was about time you knew a little more about me!

1. What is your middle name?

Jane. I know pretty boring. Basically anyone born around the same time as me will either have a middle name of Jane or Louise!

2. Share your favourite subject in high school.

Probably when I was younger it was history. But now it's English Literature.

3. What is your Favourite drink?

I drink mostly water, but pepsi probably.

4. What is your favourite song at the moment?

I'm not really sure, probably In my life/A heart full of love from the film version of Les Miserables.

5. What would you name your children?

Girl- Alice
Boy- Charlie
Which is a coincidence as my great-grandparents were called Alice and Charlie!

6. Have you  participated in any sports?

NO!!! I hate sports apart from swimming occasionally. 

7. What is your favourite book

If I want an easy read then I really like the Gallagher Girl series by Ally Carter. I also like The White Queen by Philippa Gregory.

8. What is your favourite color?

For clothes Navy Blue. Just in general either blue or purple.

9. What is your favourite animal?

Probably dogs.

10. What is your favourite perfume?

Not really a perfume kind of girl.

11. What is your favourite holiday?

Southwold.

12. On a scale from 1 – 10, rate your childhood.

10

13. Have you been out of the country?

Been to Portugal, France and Spain.

14. Do you speak any different languages?

French, but not very well.

15. Do you have any siblings?

Yes one older sister

16. What is your favourite store?

Fatface

17. What is your favourite restaurant?

Frankie and Benny's 

18. Did you like school?

Yes.

19. Who are some of your favourite YouTubers?

Zoella, Sprinkle of Glitter, Hello October, Jess D'arcy, Hannah Maggs, Essie Button.

20. What is your favourite movie?

If I Stay.

21. What are some of your favourite tv shows?

Downton Abbey, Call the Midwife, Him and Her, Gavin and Stacey, Life on Mars, Ashes to Ashes, The White Queen.

22. PC or mac?

PC

23. What phone do you have?

Samsung S4 Mini

24. How tall are you?

5ft 3"

25. Do you have any pets?

One cocker spaniel called Poppy

Thanks for stopping by! :)

Face of the Day

Hi Guys!

Today I thought I would show you makeup that I often wear at the weekend.

Step 1

Firstly I use the Rimmel Wake Me Up Concealer in Ivory by draw a triangle under both uses to cover dark circles and place on any blemishes with the applicator. Then I pat it in with the Real Techniques Expert Face Brush.

Step 2

Then I add some of the Maybelline Fit Me Powder in the shade Classic Ivory with the Real Techniques Powder Brush.

Step 3

After that I apply some of Seventeen Cheek Stamp in Blushing using the same powder brush. I find if I apply it with the stamp I end up looking more like a Russian doll!

Step 4

To tame my brows I use the Maybelline Brow Drama in Transparent. It makes sure my brows stay in place throughout the day.

Step 5

Then I borrowed my mum's eyelash curlers and curl my lashes before adding the Soap and Glory Thick and Fast Mascara.

Sorry the picture is so blurry.

The eyelash curlers were so good that I went out and brought my own that day!

Step 6

Then I use the Makeup Revolution Essential Mattes palette. I use a light eyeshadow all over the lid with the Real Techniques Shading Brush and then a taupe colour in the crease using the Real Techniques Essential Crease Brush.

 

Step 7

Finally I added the Revlon Lip Butter in Pink Truffle. It is good as it adds a hint of colour whilst being moisturising on the lips. unfortunately it broke whilst I was applying it, but I will definitely be repurchasing it!

Before

After

I hope you've had a good day!

Please leave any comments below.

Thanks for stopping by! :)

Skincare Routine

Hi Guys!

Today I thought I would show you the skincare products I use both in the morning and evening.

Step 1

I don't do this all the time, but generally two or three times a week I use this lipscrub I made a while ago. It is just some caster sugar mixed with Vaseline. It exfoliates the dead skin on the lips making them smoother. I also use it after I have had a cold on the dry skin around the nose.

Step 2

The Vaseline Lip therapy Stick has all the benefit of the original lip balm with the convenience of the stick. It maintains the condition of the stick. Also it has the added bonus of SPF 15 to protect the lip when the sun finally decides to appear.

Step 3

I tend to use whatever deodorant is on offer. At the moment I am using the Nivea Dry Confident Roll-on Deodorant.

Step 4

I normally use the Simple Foaming Cleanser, but it was out of stock when I popped into Boots the other day. Therefore I picked up this on, it is the Boots Botanics Mattifying Foaming Cleanser. It is amazing! It leave my combination skin so matte that I don't have to use primer or powder at the moment, which is a miracle. It is so good at mattifying that I fear it may have to be left in the cupboard until my skin is a little less on the dry side. 

I wet my face with a warm flannel, then pump one and a half pumps of cleanser into my hand. I lather it over my face and remove it with the flannel.

Step 5

The Simple Soothing Facial Toner is the only toner I ever use. I pour a few drops onto a cotton pad and smooth it over the face. I also use it to remove my eye makeup at night.

Step 6

This is the best moisturiser I have ever used! I have tried different things, but have always come back to this. It is the Simple Clear Skin Oil Balancing Moisturiser and it sinks into the skin very quickly. It balances the skin well and mattifies the skin.

Step 7

Finally I brush my teeth using the Oral B Vitality Electric Toothbrush (here's one that's similar). I normally use the Colgate Sensitive Whitening, but it wasn't on offer so I got the Sensitive Pro-relief which works perfectly well.

In addition

Once a week (usually on a Sunday) use the Simple Oil Balancing Scrub and the Deep Cleansing Mask. They help to smooth out my skin and the mask add some extra moisture, while dragging out any impurities.

I hope you've had a good day!

Leave any comments below.

Thanks for stopping by! :)