A is for Anxious

Hello! Least consistent blogger here.

I haven't posted anything since January, but today I'm going to ask you to be patient with me while I try to write about something that's really personal to me. This is the third time I've sat down and turned on my laptop with the idea of writing this blog post in mind. It is also the billionth time I've thought about doing so, always brushing it off. There is so much I want to say, so many words floating around in my head, that I'm definitely struggling to let it all out. I have always said that I never understand what's happening in my head until I put pen to paper because writing about something allows me to see it from a clearer perspective. In other words, writing about it makes it real, and I wasn't sure I was ready to see this come to life.

Am I ready now? To be fair, I don't think you're ever ready to do anything, but sometimes you just have to go ahead and do it anyway. The reason why I decided to sit down again today was because for the past couple of days, after a long while, I've started feeling a little bit more like myself - whatever that means. To be honest with you, I don't remember what I was like before I started worrying like crazy about every single thing that has ever happened to me or will happen to me in the future. I have always been a worrier, and as such, I am very familiar with the ways in which my body responds to stress or rough times. Over the years I've learned to anticipate it and deal with it before it's even happening. My body asks me to slow down and I have no other choice but to obey. The problem is that lately the over-worrying business has been taken to the extreme.

Although it's not exactly true, I feel like almost everything that could possibly go wrong with me has gone wrong over the past few months. After a while refusing to do it (because I'm FINE, mom, I've been sick for two months but IT'LL GO AWAY), I went to see my doctor. She decided to run a complete blood test, which came back clear. I am perfectly healthy. Then what on Earth is happening to me? Why do I feel ill all the time? Why do I keep feeling anxious that something's going to go wrong? Why am I so sleepy all day and then unable sleep at night? Why can't I just focus? Why am I so moody? Why am I so f!$/cking sad? Why does my body keep failing me? "That's just you being anxious. You're just nervous. That's caused by stress and over-worrying. You're okay. You just need to relax." That has been the answer to all of my questions lately. Then the doctor asked me if I was going through a rough time, if there was something going on causing me to be so stressed, and I lied to her and said that I was just worried about uni, which happens to be true right now but wasn't at the time. As far as stressful situations go, I was feeling perfectly fine. The semester had just finished, I'd passed everything with flying colors and I'd spent the previous months taking life easier than I ever thought I could. Or so I thought. 

It is hard enough to deal with stress when you've got reasons to feel uneasy, but irrational worry is a whole different thing. It can't be stopped. It turns your life upside down. For someone who wants to do so much with her life, there have been days where even going to class has been difficult. Some days I literally have to remind myself, out loud, that I'm okay, just to make sure that my body won't freak out on me. I have pieces of paper with quotes on my wallet. I'm using meditation apps. I'm wearing a chakras bracelet when I haven't believed in these things since I was a kid. I am doing everything I can think of to make myself feel safe. It takes a lot of effort on my part, as well as an awful lot of herbal tea, and while I will gladly do whatever it takes as long as it's beneficial for me, it's something incredibly terrifying to think about in the long run. But as I said, things seem to be looking up now. I'm holding on to that instead - at least for now. I'll worry about the future when it becomes the present. One day at a time.

Hope you're all having a great March.

See you soon... maybe.

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2014 Entertainment Favourites

I should've made sure I had the time to post this before 2014 ended, I know. I'm late. What's new?

As the homebody you already know I am, I always have a million things to watch, read and listen to. People always ask me, "Oh, don't you get bored if you stay home?" Please. How could I ever get bored with the amount of good things I have to entertain myself with? There are new albums and books coming out every week and either new or old tv shows I always wanted to give a chance to waiting for me. Now, it is really hard to make a list of the things I enjoyed the most this year (I have good memory, but this post would be endless), so I just put together a few of the things I could find. Notice that not everything I've been into is pictured above because I don't have a material copy of every single book or tv show that I love -and not enough tablets either to show you more logos-.

As far as music is concerned, the first album I got obsessed with last year was Macklemore & Ryan Lewis' The Heist, which I do have a copy of (obviously), but I chose not to include it in the picture as I've talked about it a million times already. Just for the record, I still think it's amazing. I saw Fall Out Boy live last year, as well as Macklemore, and they blew my mind, so I just had to include the album I listened to over and over around the date of the show, Save Rock and Roll. Then, a few months later, Ed Sheeran's X came out and I thought I had never listened to something so genius in my life. I usually get tired of the albums I listen a lot to, but this one's still living on my phone. It's so so good. Then last month Santa Claus listened to my prayers and got me Ella Henderson's Chapter One. I am so in love with her voice, you don't even know. It's probably the best album ever by an X Factor artist. Absolutely great. And last but most definitely not least... Taylor Swift's 1989. Hands down, album of the year. 

Choosing the books I wanted to talk about was the hardest task ever as 1) I read quite a few books that got to me last year 2) I don't have a copy of most of them. Pictured above is The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox by Maggie O'Farrell, which I'm currently writing an academic paper on, and I decided to include it simply because I'm not used to enjoying the books that I have to read for class that much, yet I loved this one. The one next to it is We Were Liars by E. Lockhart, which is the best YA novel I've ever read. Saying too much about it would be giving things away, so let me just tell you that when you find out what happened in the novel you will want to throw it out the window, Bradley Cooper style. My favourite book of the year is probably one of those books you read about and think "Alright, this may just be the biggest cliché ever..." but it turns out to be wonderful. Clichéd? Yes, a little bit. But it's a really cute story without being incredibly cheesy. That is You Had Me at Hello by Mhairi McFarlane. (I'm still daydreaming about Ben.)

Lastly, TV shows! I find it so hard to follow new shows because at some point I always end up forgetting to watch a certain episode and then I have to catch up and ain't nobody got time for that. That's what happened to me with How To Get Away With Murder. It is absolutely amazing and that's why I'm including it, even if I'm still stuck on episode 4, because it's the only new show I've gotten into this year. As you may know, I have also been obsessing over Criminal Minds with my sister, which I still think is genius and I still watch every weekend. However, the show of the year has to be Breaking Bad. Yes, I do know it ended in 2013, but I only just got around to start watching it back in November and boy, is it great. I'm currently halfway through season five and I'm torn between "I want to know what happens" and "I don't want it to end". Even if you don't think you're into tv or movies about drugs, just give it a go. You will most likely love it.

As a bonus that I hadn't even thought of until I finished writing about tv, the movies I enjoyed the most in 2014 were, no doubt, The Wolf of Wall Street, Gone Girl and an early 2000s flick called Whatever It Takes. I know there must have been some really good ones this year that movie geeks would be outraged that I haven't mentioned, but I have to confess that I don't watch nearly as many films as I'd like to. First of all, because my salary as a nanny does not allow me to go to the cinema that often (yes, mainly because I spend all of it on makeup, clothes and books, so what) and second, because I'm too lazy to watch them at home. I always think, "God, do I really want to spent two hours sitting here watching something? No, I don't." And then I watch eight Breaking Bad episodes in a row. Smh. (Hey, there's a New Year's resolution! Watching more films!)

Looking back at my favourite tv shows and and movies, should I be worried that most of them have something to do with breaking the law? I mean, there's a lot of murder, drugs, money and psychopaths. I see a pattern there...

Ha! What did you read, watch and listen to in 2014? 

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Goodbye 2014

 Madrid, August 2014

I don't know how to begin this post without repeating what you've heard a million times by now, so I'm just going to go ahead and say it: 2014 has flown by. I cannot believe it's been twelve months since the last time I sat down to reflect on another year. 

Very often, I label things in my head as good or bad. What I like and what I don't. What's good for me and what's not. I always need to know that the villain is a real villain and I can't sympathize with a hero that's doing mean things. If you're a good friend, you behave like one. Most things are in black and white in my head, because that makes it easier for me to understand how I feel towards someone or something. However, I'm not sure I can fully label a year as good or bad. I keep hearing people talking about balance and that's always been an interesting concept for me. I'm attracted to the idea that we have to go through the worst to appreciate the best. It's not exactly fair, I suppose, but I like to think that balance exists, whether we like it or not, and that good times will always come.

To be perfectly honest with you, I also think that it all depends on your attitude. That's why without counting neither my curses nor my blessings, I'm going to say that it's been a good year. This year I don't want to look back and think about the days I've been sad or lonely or miserable, days that we all have. When I'm old and wrinkly and I'm rocking my chair back and forth thinking about the good old 2014, I'm going to think about the lessons I learned and the good memories we made. Trying to sneak into fancy hotels. Watching the sun rise from the beach. Tracking flights at 1 am. (Not so) early mornings spent lying in bed searching stuff on twitter, then falling asleep again. Crazy audio notes. Blogging more. Realizing that there's really no point in worrying so much about everything. That it's okay to be sad, upset and afraid and you have to allow yourself to feel all of it. Finding myself a little bit more every day. Finally coming to terms with who I am and what I want (and what I don't). Growing. Accepting. Moving forward.

I am a completely different person than I was twelve months ago and I am a completely different person than I will be next time I sit down to write about my year. And that's alright. Hopefully, next December I will tell you more or less the same thing: that bad things happen, but they will never be more relevant than whatever makes you smile. I'm happy. I hope you are too. And I hope 2015 is the year of your life.

Happy new year!

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Six Christmas Songs

Ho, ho, hooooo!

I know I said I would start posting on Wednesdays and Sundays but given that it's Christmas Eve tomorrow and most people will be busy spending the day freaking out about what to wear, including me, I thought it'd be a good idea to move it forward to Tuesday just for this week. I wanted to write about something festive today and my first idea was a Christmas gift ideas posts, but haven't we seen a thousand of those already? Plus, don't you all have your Christmas shopping done by now? You should, at least, if you don't want to end up on the naughty list this year!

I'm sure you all have seen a few posts on Christmas songs as well so I know this won't be ground-breaking material, but I felt like sharing with you a few songs I've been listening to this season. Some are new, some are classics, but I hope you enjoy them all nonetheless.

Baby It's Christmas - Travis Atreo & Colton Haynes

All I Want for Christmas Is You - Love Actually Version  

Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) - Michael Bublé

Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town - Mariah Carey

Santa Tell Me - Ariana Grande

Jingle Bells - The Vamps 

And as a bonus track, here's One Direction playing classroom instruments (yeah Zayn, smash that triangle!) and singing Santa Claus Is Coming to Town in festive jumpers. Enjoy!

What Christmas songs have you been listening to this year?

Merry Christmas everyone!

 

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We need to talk...

No, I'm not breaking up with you.

When I wrote a blog post back in October saying that my week long break from blogging had accidentally been extended to ten days, I really didn't mean for it to go any further. However, I was fully aware of the weight my final year of university might put on my shoulders and before we started classes I had a very serious chat with myself: I had to learn to take things easy and start doing what my body and mind asked me to do - which surprisingly I'm becoming quite decent at. I often joke that this semester is turning me into the laziest version of myself, but really it's just me trying to keep myself together (...okay, and maybe being a bit lazy too). That being said, and as much as I love blogging, once I started feeling a bit overwhelmed by the thought of having to sit down and write I simply stopped posting.

To be quite honest with you, I've been finding it hard to write in the past few months and not only for the blog, which I hadn't even tried again until thirty minutes ago, but also for myself. I always say that I don't really understand what's going on in my head until I put pen to paper, and it's absolutely true, but not even the worst headaches have made me want to write. I have been turning to my friends a lot, which means I've been sending ridiculously long text messages complaining about boys being idiots, work being stressful and me being a soon-to-be spinster with five dogs. Alriiiiiight, I'm 20 and I have one dog. Whatever. You get the idea. My point is that I've never been one to openly talk about my problems like I've been doing lately, so it's nice to be able to open up for a change - even if my notebooks are now really sad and hate me for it. 

I'm rambling. 

The reason why I'm sitting here writing all this instead of watching Breaking Bad, which is the only thing I've been doing with my time lately, is that I want to get back to blogging. Yes, again. For the millionth time. Initially, the idea is to start posting twice a week, possibly Wednesdays and Sundays, and maybe I can squeeze another one in between every other week (especially more personal posts - you know I like those). It's definitely not an overwhelming amount of work, at least not until I start my second semester at uni in February, so I should be able to keep up. And if I don't, feel free to tweet me saying I'm the least consistent blogger you've ever met.

Lastly, thank you for being so patient with me. Over the course of the past couple of months I've seen the number of views and followers grow, just when I thought that the outcome would be the opposite. Thanks a million. I'll make sure Santa gives something extra special to all of you. ;) xx

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Life Update: Rise & Shine

If I had to use labels, and I guess I do, I would define The Aristochats as a beauty, lifestyle and fashion blog, although you will have noticed by now I write a little bit about everything - without really being an expert on any field. I write these posts mostly for my own amusement, so I don't really have everything planned out or scheduled in my mind. Sometimes I will think "Oh, I'm going to publish that beauty haul on Sunday" but then I feel like writing about an amazing book that I have just finished and so that's what I do. This is not something I'm doing professionally, it's just something I do to let my creativity flow, so I don't worry about following a strict schedule. Sometimes I enjoy writing about beauty and sometimes I want to chat about life. And what's what I want to do today.

I started September with 2 followers on Bloglovin and now that the month's coming to an end I'm at 39. Some may say it's not a lot, but that's more people than were in my class in my last year in high school so, for me, that is a lot. Especially because I wasn't sure I was going to be able to keep up. I have given up blogging before simply because I thought I couldn't find the time to do everything. Now, though, I have been doing it for two full months and I don't want to stop any time soon. I'm proud of that, and I'm proud of this little blog. I'm not going to lie, that does feel weird to say. I guess I'm used to writing about how inadequate or stressed I feel, whether that be for the blog or for my own sanity, so it feels nice to say something good about myself for a change. Being proud of it, of what I do and what I write about, is allowing me to share it with more people, hence getting more involved with the blogging community. All that is just a massive highlight of my month, something that's made me smile quite a few times over the past few weeks.

As for my personal, away-from-the-blog life, everything's going great. I'm rarely ever satisfied with the way things are going (the "I can do better" kind of attitude always kicks in), so this is new for me. Not long ago, I decided to change the things I wasn't happy with. After all, I realized nobody else could ever do that for me. I started doing things for myself, to improve my life, to feel better about who I am. I quit my old job, which I hated, and found a new one. I walked away from people who were not treating me right. I decided to stop worrying about the future so much and focus on the present. I started feeling more and more confident and comfortable in my own skin. I am nowhere near perfect - in fact, I probably have over a thousand flaws that could tear me down if I let them, but I'm not going to. I only have one life and one body, so I might as well start taking care of them. In the words of the always wise Brooke Davis, "I am who I am. No excuses."

If you're in a bad place right now, please, just remember that you are the only person in charge of your own life. If you have the opportunity to change the things that are making you miserable, and in most cases you do, then go ahead. Don't let them consume you. Rise and shine, friends. 

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#1Day10Pics - Back to Uni

Not long ago, I came across a post that really caught my attention. It was written by Kerri from Crumbs in The Bed, with the title "#1day12pics || A Day In The Life". I was immediately attracted to the idea so I started wondering whether I could pull that off... then, as it usually happens when I start overthinking, I tried to brush it off. Most days my life is not that interesting anyway and my post would mostly include a bunch of pictures of my dog and some Criminal Minds screenshots. But I was absentmindedly ignoring the fact that I was going back to uni this Monday and so, after overcoming my pre-final year blues, I decided to documment my day. It is surely not going to be that interesting, and I'm definitely kind of shy when it comes to taking pictures (stupid, I know), but I tried my best. 

Here's a day in the life of me - featuring sunrises, sunsets and a shameless selfie that I'm going to regret posting as soon as I hit Publish. And my dog. Obviously. Enjoy!

I had the earliest start I've had in a while, which neither me or that lovely ball of brown fur were too happy about. Fortunately, and basically just because it was my first day, I was in a good mood. Two highlights about that part of my day: I met a really nice girl at the bus stop who just moved to town and I got to watch the sun rise from there as well. Only good part about being up that early in the morning!

Waiting for the train for thirty/fourty minutes every day can definitely be a pain in the butt, but it all looks a lot better when you've got a good book to read. I'm currently reading and loving The Queen of the Tearling by Erika Johansen and it was so nice to be back in my usual spot... wait, that sounds lame, doesn't it?! Haha, it's true though! I know lots of people hate routine but I don't. That's something I definitely love about being back.

Then we picked up our new folders and planners and met for coffee before going to class. I mean, what do you go to uni for if it's not to sit at the cafeteria?

Eeeek, I missed a bunch of hours! The truth is I was in class from 10 to 1, then I rushed back home and then I spent some time with my little cousin, whose mum I'm not sure would want her pictures on the internet, so I'm just gonna save those for myself.  After all that, I went through my notes and wrote them out neatly (ooh, such a good student... yeah, but that doesn't really happen that often after the first week!) and watched a few YouTube videos, including Joe Sugg and Caspar Lee's new Amazing Impressions one which cracked me up. Then I decided I'd go running, but that didn't really happen as I was extremely exhausted, so I ended up just going for a mountain walk. Good enough, right?

All that happened afterwards was just too boring to take pictures of, just standard weeknight procedures, so that's where my #1Day10Pics ends. It wasn't the most exiciting day, but I enjoyed taking a few snaps here and there! I hope you're having an amazing week and if you're starting/going back to class this week as well, I hope you're having a great time :)

Love,

Tania x

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Let's Chat: Final Year Worries

I had a cute little post scheduled for today, something about a coffee shop we found in the city last week, but I decided to leave that for some other day last minute. The reason? My mind's not really focusing on anything other than the fact that tomorrow marks the first day of my -hopefully- last year of university.

I've been at  university for three years now, as it's a four-year degree, and so far it's all been good. Most of the time I love what we're doing and it's only when we have too many tests to study for and too many papers to work on that I'm truly stressed and willing to drop out and join the circus or something (just kidding... but that would be pretty cool). I work hard, again, most of the time, and so passing all of my subjects and generally being what I guess you could call a successful student has not been that hard - especially last year. Surely there have been some difficult times, but in the end it's always been alright. So why am I so afraid of this new school year?

The answer is very simple: it's my last. I'm not nearly as scared about this year as I am about what's going to come next. I have always known I wanted to go to university, even before I even knew what university really was or what I wanted to study, but I have never been certain of anything beyond that. This is as far as my life plan goes. It's not that I don't have dreams or goals - I definitely do. There are many things that I want to do, and they are all so different that I'm just really scared of having to choose. Of choosing the wrong thing. Of chasing two rabbits and catching neither. Of what comes next.

On a lighter note, I'm really excited to go back this year. I want to see everyone and see what my new classes are all about and all that, so I'm pretty sure once tomorrow comes and things go back to normal I'll feel a lot better about it. For now, though, I just wanted to be honest, both with you reading this and, most importantly, with myself. I'm scared and that's okay. Now let's beat this year's ass. ;)

Tania x

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From High School to University: Tips & FAQ

 Credit

I remember my first day of university like it was yesterday. I was shaking-legs kind of nervous - had been that way for a whole week. For the previous six years I'd attended the same high school, with the same people, the same teachers and the comfort of having the building five minutes away from home. I didn't have to move away for college, luckily, but to get there I would have to take the bus and the train every single day for the following four years. So different from what my high school journey was like for me.

The first thing you need to remember is that you're not alone. Everyone's in the same situation. There are very few people who go to university with friends, very few, so you should remember that everyone's feeling as lost as you are. Everyone's nervous, anxious and overwhelmed. It's a new environment for everybody, so that's what makes it easier to make friends. It doesn't mean you have to be friends with them forever, because you're definitely not going to like everyone you meet at university, but you will start meeting people right away. Believe me, you will find people you can trust, people you really like, people who will be nice to have by your side for the following few years - and hopefully long after you've finished your studies. If you want my advice, if what you want is to take your classes seriously and do well, which I'm guessing you do, you want to befriend people who are on the same page as you. The jokers are fine, they're oh so much fun to be around sometimes, but they will do no good to your academic life. Something you can do to start meeting new people is to set up a Facebook group. For example, "Art (University of Edinburgh) 2014 - 2015". You will be surprised how many people want to join. Plus, it's a really useful tool to have throughout the school year in case you need some information or somebody's notes if you couldn't go to class that day.

Then there's the teachers. I've been lucky with mine and I've had some amazing professors in my three years at university, but I have also come across a few demons. My advice is, no matter if you like the teacher or don't, talk to them. Ask them about the things you didn't understand. E-mail them if you're writing a paper for their class and you have some doubts. Let them know that you're interested in their classes, and also let them know that you don't agree with your mark if you think you did better than that. Don't be afraid to communicate with them. It is something that I rarely ever did in high school, but it's proven to be really useful at university. Trust me, your teachers won't bite you, and in most cases they will appreciate the interest and be really helpful with whatever you need. (Note: I'm not talking about being a suck-up. You won't get better grades just by talking to a teacher. Want better grades? Work your arse off.)

Things I wish I'd known

Is university hard?

Yes. It is hard. Especially if you're an easily overwhelmed person like me. Sometimes you might want to pull your hair out. You'll say "I'm gonna have to stay up all night" more often than you ever thought you would - and not exactly because you're going out. But it is so worth it. University is such a rewarding experience. Choose something you love and you'll survive.

What if I don't make friends?

Stop worrying - you will make friends! Everyone does. What's great about university is that there's no judging - at least not as much as in high school. It really is like going from a fish bowl to an ocean. No one cares and no one will judge you based on what you like, so it's a lot easier to get along with people. Trust me, I would know... I like One Direction. ;)

How much will I spend on books?

You are expected to spend a lot of money on books, as if university wasn't expensive enough as it is. Especially if you're doing a degree on literature. But if you have a tablet, e-reader device or even just a regular computer (if you don't mind reading from your screen), just download them. You can find most books online for free. You can even find text books now. It'll save you a lot of money! (Kickass Torrents is my best friend.)

 What if I fail a test/subject?
This is probably my very own frequently asked question. It's something that's on my mind 24/7 when it's finals season. I put more preasure on myself than my parents ever have and that's probably the worst kind of preasure. They, my parents, understand that there are things I'm not going to be that good at and they always say the same thing to me, something that we can all use: "If you do fail, it's not the end of the world." And really, it's not. It's probably going to happen - almost everyone fails at some point. It doesn't mean you're a failure. It doesn't mean you chose the wrong degree. It just means that we can't just be the best at everything. My advice? Be the best you can be. Always. Go to class (I know how tempting it is not to). Revise. And then revise some more if you feel like you could do better. That way, even if you do end up getting lower grades than you were expecting, you'll know that you have really tried. Academically speaking, there's nothing more satisfying than knowing that you have done your best.

And then, of course - have fun! You're going to learn some amazing things, which can also count as having fun, but you're definitely going to need to let go of the preasure somehow. University is a work hard, play hard kinda thing and I don't know how many more times in life we're going to be able to get away with that. Whatever might work for you, do it. Want to go out and party like a crazy animal? Don't hesitate. Want to sit and watch old re-runs of Jersey Shore with your friends? No one's stopping you. Want to blog all weekend? I don't see why not.

Good luck everyone :) 
Enjoy the ride!

Tania x

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August Highlights & Favourites

I know most people say it every single month but August really did fly by! It must have been the lack of responsabilities, or maybe lack of plans for most part of the month, for that matter; but I feel like I wrote my July Highlights post just a couple of days ago. As I said, I didn't have much going on in August as most of the people I know were away on holidays and so I was doomed to stay in my hometown for about three weeks. I read a lot (good), wrote a lot (pointless good), had a lot of time to think about me and my life choices (not so good), spent a lot of time with my family, convinced my sister to watch all four season of Teen Wolf... Guys, I even started working out. Not that it's a bad thing, obviously, but that's just how bored I was for the first few weeks.

Then I went to Madrid, which was super awesome, but you can read all about that here.

As for what I've been loving...

Books

Will Grayson, Will Grayson, by John Green

If I Stay, by Gayle Forman

The Queen of the Tearling, by Erika Johansen
(currently reading)

TV & Film

Teen Wolf is obviously the main thing I've been watching this month. I also found a TV show to fill the huge sitcom shaped hole in my heart - Young & Hungry, a silly, lighthearted comedy starring Emily Osment.

I went to the cinema to watch Begin Again with some friends from uni and I actually really liked it. It's not mind-blowing, but it's got this cute, 500 Days of Summer vibe to it. And the soundtrack? Amazing. I had Lost Stars stuck in my head for days. Another movie that really stood up to me this month was Good Will Hunting. I'd wanted to see it for the longest time and it obviously lived to -and surpassed- my expectations.

Beauty

KIKO Smart Lipstick in 914/Amaranth

Revolution Baked Blusher in "All I Think About Is You"

(got so many compliments!)

August Playlist

Albums:

Begin Again Soundtrack - Various Artists

Picture Show - Neon Trees

Believers Never Die - Fall Out Boy

Songs:

Shake It Off - Taylor Swift (!!)

All About You - Hilary Duff

Mulholland Drive - The Never Ending
Life Of The Party - Shawn Mendes
The Weight - Shawn Mendes
Not In That Way - Sam Smith 


What did you love in August?

Tania x

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Back from Madrid: Friends, Tourism & The Lion King

As I told you a couple of posts ago, I went away for the week - one of my closest friends and I finally went to Madrid, after first discussing the idea with each other over four years ago. We had both been there before but I hadn't really seen much of the city as I'd been there for entertainment purposes (ahem, concerts) so we had the best time being real, sunglases-and-tour-guide tourists!

The highlight of our trip was, obviously, the musical of The Lion King. It is unbelievable. If it happens to be near your, please, go. You won't be disappointed. It was so overwhelmingly beautiful that I started crying the moment they came on stage and boy, was it hard to stop. Another highlight was finally getting to see my friend Marina. We hadn't seen each other since early October as she lives in Madrid -having friends that live far away from you really does suck sometimes- and she spent the day with us, making us walk so much I thought I was going to pass out (jokes... kinda). It was wonderful having two of my favourite girls with me. Ladies, if you're reading this, 'cause I know you do read my blog from time to time... I love you. So much. Thank you for being the most amazing friends ever.

All of our pictures were taken with our phones as we were too lazy to carry our cameras around, but I still think they're worth sharing. :)

Quite a few, huh? Haha

Where have you been this summer? 

Tania x

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July & August Instagram Roundup

we're so fancy ♥ my littles ♥ Macklemore & Ryan Lewis ♥ Carla

blurry Barcelona ♥ Pacey & Joey ♥ books books books ♥ down the river

casually befriending cats ♥ such a poser ♥ Teen Wolf + coffee ♥ beach day

sunrise ♥ Dead Poets Society ♥ most recent picture with mum ♥ Bonnie photobomb

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