For Blog Sake

Evening all!

So it's been five months since I last wrote which is rather ridiculous! These past five months have absolutely flown past and have been filled with so much fun, laughter, new experiences and lots and lots of university work.

// A scenic walk in Baildon //

How we're in May already I'm not quite sure. May marks a whole year since I flew out to Australia. It also means that my first year at university is nearly finished which is terrifying! University is still fabulous; I enjoy every single minute of my course and adore the people I spend my time with. Luckily, I've also been able to bob home for the odd weekend here and there to remind the cats that I still exist and that I am their favourite person in existence. Between all the uni work and placement I have been able to enjoy the lovely spring weather we've been blessed with. 

 

// Beautiful Daffordills, Scarborough Castle and a schnazzy pic from a wedding //

We'll I guess that rounds this post up. I just wanted to rekindle my love for this little blog of mine. Hopefully it won't be as long till the next post! 

Love, Em x

2015!

Happy New Year!

I'm sure you'll all agree that 2014 was over in the blink of an eye, but what an amazing year it was! Personally speaking, it was one of the best years of my life. I was fortunate enough to fulfill a number of dreams of mine and have many amazing and irreplaceable memories. So, to celebrate the new year I'm going to look back at some of my favourite memories from 2014...

Waaaaaaayyyyyy back in January I celebrated my 19th birthday with friends. We enjoyed dinner at a fantastic veggie restaurant and a scnhaaazzy afternoon tea in Browns. The whole thing was rather lovely and pretty laid back, which was superb. 

March was rather exciting. Me and Lottie went to see The Wanted boys on their arena tour yet again. The whole affair was rather emotional but also filled with lots of fun, screaming and laughter. March also gave me the chance to attend to Kingsland Road social in Manchester which was rather lovely. Although my bowling skills were diabolical, it gave me that chance to hang out with the lovely bunch.

April brought with it more concerts... McBusted, which was a childhood dream come true. Me and my friends also embarked on a fabulous road trip to the seaside which was lots of fun. In April I left my job ready to begin my travels to Australia, which takes us nicely to May...

 May was the month of Miley. Me and the Bexster saw Queen Miley herself perform in Leeds. 4 days after that I took the biggest adventure of my life... I flew to Australia alone. Australia was one of the most incredible things I've ever done. It brought out a lot of qualities in myself that I've always wanted others to see. I got to meet family and friends and explore the beautiful country at my leisure for 2 whole months. In that time I laughed so much, met Kangaroos, koalas and climbed the Sydney Harbor Bridge. Those 9 weeks are memories that will last forever.

// (left to right): 12 Apostles, Melbourne Zoo, Beachworth, Sydeny and the Great Ocean Road //

After touching back in the UK with just over a week left in July, my family and I went on holiday to Cornwall. It was a beautiful camping trip filled with sunshine, sea, BBQs and beverages. August was my last month at home. It was filled with amazing memories, provided by my beautiful best friends Brit and Maria. We made cocktails, thew ice cold water over ourselves in the name of charity and had the time of our lives at Leeds Festival... which of course allows me to mention that once again, I got to meet The 1975. I also got to meet Union J, what a lovely set of young chaps. 

The first few weeks of September were filled with packing for university and spending every last minute I could with my friends before moving away. University was a daunting experience, but turned out to be incredible fun and my love for my course growing enormously. October, November and December were filled with university work and fun. Looking back, I've settled in so well and love every single one of the people that surround me here. November introduced me to my boyfriend and December was topped off nicely by our little break to Dublin and going home for Christmas. Being back with the family was ever so lovely, as was the Christmas dinner and the main attraction, the Quorn Meat Free Roast, delicious! 

I hope you all have a tremendous 2015 and fill it with amazing memories! We have 364 days to fill with brilliant people and fabulous experiences. Go forth and be fabulous! 

Love, Em x

Our Dublin Adventure!

Greetings all, in this crisp December month!

 

So, earlier this week my flat mates and I visited the beautiful city of Dublin! Our adventure was pretty spontaneous (the flights were a tenner!) and so much fun. Cold and early on Monday morning we left our flat and made our way to the airport. I was far too excited for someone awake at 4am. 

// Airport and aeroplane excitement! // 

The flight in itself was reaaallllllyyyy short. After touching down in Dublin town we made our way to the Generator Hostel, our home for the next four days. The hostel was really lovely, as were the staff. Staying in a bunk bed for three nights was far too exciting. There we crashed on the sofas and enjoyed our first nap of the holiday before beginning to explore the Irish capital. 

// Daniel the singer, he sang while we ate on night 2 //

// Baileys in The Temple Bar //

Over the course of our stay we saw pretty much everything Dublin had to offer. We explored the city far and wide, shopped our socks off and spent plenty of time in the pubs of Dublin. We experienced the night life, perfected the Irish accent, encountered half a pint of Guinness and sipped through enough Baileys to sink a ship. Dublin was decorated beautiful and festive. 

// Christmas tree at Dublin Castle! //

 Visiting Dublin was a fantastic way to end our first semester at uni. We all laughed lots and made some fabulous memories. Dublin, you were grand!

Love,

Em x

University!

Hello folks,

First and foremost, why has it taken me so long to get this blog post up?! Well I have recently started university and I've had to reorganise my whole life. 

Starting university has allowed me to begin a whole new chapter to my life. After having an amazing year out of education from being unsuccessful with the application process last year getting back into education was a very exciting and unnerving process. And here I am, loving every single second of it.

// My new home //

Preparing for university was  a very exciting and scary process. I needed utensils to cook with (pfft, cooking?!), new bedding, a box full of stationary (yey!) and a bucket full of confidence. My biggest worry for starting university was moving in with a group of strangers knowing that I will be spending the next year of my life with them. What if they didn't like me? What if they were really noisy? WHAT IF THEY DIDN'T LIKE CATS?! 
Looking back they seem like ridiculous things to worry about. I now have an amazing group of new friends who have helped university feel like home. Freshers week was a great opportunity for us to get to know each other. I cannot tell you how many times you have to shake someones hand and then state your name, course and how old you are. Before I came to university I'd never shook anyone's hand. Seriously.

//Some of the wonderful bunch I've met here. Also me looking ridiculously happy standing in some steam //

Starting my course was extremely exciting. I've know what I want to be when I grow up for as long as I can remember and now my time is here to make that a reality. Getting back into education was hard but so rewarding. We get so much work and sometimes I feel like my brain is falling out of my ears, but it is so worth it and I have my beautiful new friends to enjoy all the time in between with. GET YOURSELF A PLANNER OR YOUR LIFE WILL BE A MESS! 

// The team. They are fabulous. //

University isn't like the movies. We are possibly the laziest freshers I've ever met when it comes to going out. It is however, just as fun as the movies. If you're considering going to university I would say GO FOR IT GIRLFRIEND because it is quite simply, brilliant. I know now that these people are the main characters within this new chapter of my life and will be embarking on these amazing new journeys with me. 

Love, 
Em x 

Cats!

Hello!

So after showing off my blog to my friends my best friend (hi Brit!) read one of the sentences in my 'About Me' section as "I'm a cat.". After reading through that particular section several times in hysterics this very post idea came to mind. Cats!

I have two furry companions of my own, Haymitch and Katniss. (Yes I named my cat after characters from The Hunger Games!) They are both very beautiful and loving, even if Haymitch does pretend to hate me. But what I love about cats is their natural ability to make people smile. Whether you love or hate cats you simply cannot tell me that not a single one of the many cat videos on the internet has made you laugh or at least smile!

Cats are everywhere (muhahahaha). Recently I visited Australia and brought home several cat themed goodies, like cat wrapping paper from one of my favourite shops Typo. It really was vital that I brought some cat wrapping paper back from the other side of the world, promise! Will anyone ever receive a gift wrapped in this paper? No. I shall frame it.

Today I wish to spread the loving joy of cats with you all. I hope this post inspires you to watch cat videos all day long, laugh at cat memes or travel to the other side of the world for some cat wrapping paper. The truth is, everyone needs to smile more, and I believe my cat revolution will help us all achieve just that! Share these smiles with those around you because everyone deserves that extra happiness, even if it is brought on by a silly old cat. As The Aristocats said... "everybody wants to be a cat".

Love, Em, Haymitch and Katniss x

Leeds Festival 2014!

Good day to you all! 

Now that I have finally caught up on my sleep I am ready to tell you all about my adventure over the weekend that was Leeds Fest! This year I thought to myself, 'hey Em, why don't we go to a festival?' so that is exactly what I did. I used every last penny I had to purchase my ticket and essentials and then packed way too much stuff into the best festival bag I could find. In all honesty The 1975 determined the fact that I was going.

On Friday morning me and my best friend Maria set off to Bramham park, Leeds. Once we arrived we loaded ourselves up like mules. It then took us 2 whole hours to walk from the car park to our camping spot because everything was so heavy to carry. If you've ever done D of E or taken too much liquid to a festival you know the kind of pain I'm talking about! After giving up for one final time we decided to pitch our sturdy three man tent in the smallest possible place on a hill in the Blue camp. We did however have very nice neighbours who assisted us in the process of setting up home for the next 4 days. 

// A couple of photos from meeting The 1975. Just thought I'd mention that it finally happened. //

After later being joined by our third musketeer Brittany we were ready to be hit by the full force of festivalness. We enjoyed lots of bands and acts over the course of the weekend, lots of beverages (mainly ones that didn't belong to us) and the company of our new festival best friends. Shout out to orange camp! Before coming to fest I wasn't really sure what to expect other than knowing I was going to have the time of my life when The 1975 played (I did by the way, highlight of the weekend!). Making new friends made the whole experience so much more fun, and I got to enjoy my favourite band from the new found height of a new friends shoulder's. 

Over the weekend we saw The Neighbourhood, The Kooks, You Me At Six, met The 1975 and then saw them, Blink 182, Catfish and The Bottlemen, Courteeners, Imagine Dragons, Bombay Bicylce Club, Arctic Monkey and a ton of different DJ sets. I threw myself head first into this experience, seeing bands I never would have seen otherwise, and found myself bobbing along having a lot of fun. 

All in all the weekend was fantastic. Me and my friends laughed more than I believe we ever have. We got the smallest amount of sleep it is possible to live on. We saw amazing live music and immersed ourselves in crowds of festival goers. We danced with people, sang at the top of our voices and painted our faces shades of neon and tattooed our skin henna. 

Leeds Festival 2014, the highlight of my summer. // L O V E //

Love, Em x

Review: The Kingsland Road Show

Here we are, my first ever gig review!

The Kingsland Road Show // Manchester Academy 3 // 7th August 2014

I'll give you a brief overview of the band before I get on with the review. Kingsland Road are a 5 piece boyband and have been posting covers on Youtube since November 2012. After building a strong online fanbase the lads embarked on their X Factor adventure in 2013, finishing 9th. Their KLander fanbase is ever growing and the passion of their fans was more prominent than ever on their first ever UK Headline tour.

Armed with my trusty concert camera, ticket and best friend by my side we entered the venue after travelling for just over an hour to get there. IT WAS TIME!

There comes a point when supporting a band that you that 'proud mother' feeling... no honestly! And watching Kingsland Road walk on stage in Manchester made me feel nothing less than that. They were confident. They were energetic. They were explosive. Packed in tightly between the fans I watched in awe as they owned the stage, performing slliiiiccckkk dance moves complete with adorable bum wiggling. Yes, bum wiggling is most definitely adorable! The show was fabulously intimate; hands were held,  cameras sang into and we devouring their every word and action.

The lads sang a number of their newly penned original songs with new and old covers thrown in for good measure and a very pleasing set list. Hearing their new tracks live was marvelous, and when they performed their mash up of How Ya Doin' I danced and sang like no one was watching. That song is a personal favourite to perform rather loudly in front of the mirror or anyone else that is willing to watch. 

Keeping along the intimate lines (just how we like it!) the boys walked through the crowd while performing their cover of 'Burn'. Thompson, Jay and Josh walked RIGHT PAST US (breathes) to the stage. The band continued to wow us before performing their final song of the night, their debut single Dirty Dancer (out on iTunes now!). The atmosphere was incredible; we all had a dance and sang our socks off. We were thanked as they left the stage and the immediate exhaustion of going hard at a gig hit me.

The gig was amazing. Kingsland Road showed why they deserve a place in the industry. Honestly, I've never seen a band so early on in their career with a crowd reaction like that and I'm very proud to have been a part of that. One of my favourite things about concerts/ gigs is the moment your whole body becomes consumed by excitement. You grin from ear to ear as you watch your favourite artist perform. That energy fills the room as screams,singing and movement. Thompson, Josh, Jay, Matt and Connor provided nothing less than that.

Love, Em x