Work, Leaving Parties and University Shopping

A lot of my time since I came back from Germany has been spent working, which is good because it means I have a nice amount of money saved up for University. And as part time jobs go, mine really isn't too bad. I work in quite a small pub/restaurant, and all the other people who work there are really nice.

One of the girls at work is in her second year of Uni, and so when she left to go back to Uni the other day, we had a little leaving party on the beach. It was really nice - there was a bonfire, and music, and alcohol of course (which I may have drunk a little too much of).

Speaking of leaving parties, one of my friends is off to start Uni today(!), so on Wednesday I went out with a few of my friends for cocktails. It was meant to be a birthday celebration for another of my friends as well, but unfortunately she couldn't make it as she was ill. It was a great evening anyway. We sipped our cocktails and chatted, and then I went back to my friends house and watched The Great British Bake Off. It was strange to say goodbye in the morning, knowing that we won't see each other again until Christmas, and that the next time we do see each other our lives will be completely different.

As well as working and occasionally meeting up with friends, I have been doing lots of shopping for things for University. Who knew that I would get excited about buying mugs and kitchen utensils? There is now a huge pile of stuff in the corner of my room, and I'm not really sure where to put it. There's only one week to go now though (how exciting is that?!), so I guess I should probably start packing it all up soon. Knowing me I will probably leave it all til the night before, and then panic and end up forgetting something really important.

As well as buying actual useful things such as pots and pans and bedding etc. for university, I have also been buying quite a few fancy dress items. the reason for this is that the first week of University in the UK (called freshers week) is basically just a week of parties, many of which require fancy dress. If anyone looked at my Amazon purchase history they would probably think I was very strange - the last two things I bought were a cowboy hat and a viking helmet!

I hope you enjoyed this little ramble.

Freya x

The Sunshine Award

Gosh, I haven't been posting much lately, have I? Anyway, I'll skip all the apologies and excuses and say a big thank you to Rhiannon  for nominating me for the sunshine award!

The rules are:

1. State 5 facts about yourself
2. Answer the 5 questions received
3. Create 5 new questions and nominate more bloggers for the award

Ok, so 5 facts about me:

1. My favourite films as a child were Pippi Longstocking and The Secret Garden
2. As a child I was also obsessed with the Famous Five series by Enid Blyton. My brothers and I would always order Ginger Beer because that was what they always drank in the books. They also ate lots of Corned Beef sandwiches, but fortunately we never ate those. 
3. At the moment I am extremely excited, but also a little bit nervous, about starting University at the end of September. 
4. Everyone at work always makes fun of me for being rubbish at driving, just because I forgot to turn my headlights on once when I was giving someone a lift... 
5. Whenever I can't sleep I always seem to end up buying really random things on Amazon

My answers to the Questions:

1. What's the last book you read, and your thoughts on it? The last book I read was 'Summer in the City' by Candace Bushnell, which is the second Carrie Diaries book. It is a prequel to Sex and the City, which I have not actually read. I absolutely loved the main character in the books - 17 year old Carrie Bradshaw. She was relatable, and real, and a little bit crazy in a way that made the book amusing and unpredictable. You never know what situation Carrie will get herself into next.     
2. What's your favourite quote/saying? This is so difficult, there are so many quotes that I love but for some reason I can't think of any at the moment! I love this one from Looking for Alaska: "We need never be hopeless, because we can never be irreparably broken". I also love this one from Paper Towns: "I'm not saying that everything is survivable. Just that everything except the last thing is."
3. When are you at your happiest? I would have to say maybe when I'm at the beach with friends. It always feels so chilled and I'm always so happy, whether we are sunbathing during the day or having a party or a bonfire in the evening. 
4. What is your party trick/unusual talent? I don't actually think I have one
5. Where do you see yourself in 10 years time?  In 10 years time I will be 28, and honestly I really don't know how I see my life going. Maybe I'll be married and maybe I'll have a child (or children). Maybe I'll be living in the countryside somewhere, or maybe I'll be living in the city. I could be living in a whole different country, a different continent even. Who knows.  

My nominees:

1. Imogen from Imogen Scribbles
2. Ellen from Wanderlust

My Questions:

1. What are you looking forward to at the moment?
2. (I'm going to steal this one from Rhiannon) When are you at your happiest?
3. What is your favourite book, and why?
4. Are you a morning person?
5. Would you rather be invisible or be able to fly?

Thank you again to Rhiannon for nominating me, and I really am sorry it took me so long to write this post. 

Freya x 

July Favourites

I have to say I am pretty sad to see the end of July. July was probably the best month of the year so far. I spent most of it in Germany, where I got up to tons of fun things, and then the last few days of July were spent at home with my family and my cousin who lives in Holland. We even managed to fit in a two day trip to thorpe park (a big theme park in the UK). Anyway, lets get on with my favourites from this month.

More Than This by Patrick Ness
I was given this book as a birthday present, and was really pleased to receive it, since I remembered thinking about buying it a couple of times while I was browsing Waterstones. I really enjoyed it, and it is very well written. I would definitely recommend it.
I won't give too much a way, in case any of you are thinking of reading it, but basically what happens is that at the beginning of the book a boy drowns. He then wakes up somewhere else, where it seems as though there is no-one but him.



Hot Chocolate
It took me a while to remember how to say 'hot chocolate' in German, but now that I know what it is I have been drinking so much. If you're wondering what it is, it is "heisse schokolade", which should have been obvious really, since that is literally the words hot and chocolate translated. You never know though, because in Dutch it is "warme chocolademelk", which translates to warm chocolate milk (although you probably already worked that out for yourselves).

Catfish the TV show
My cousin introduced me to this TV show, and it has been on a lot lately. People who have been talking to someone online get in contact with the guy from the catfish movie (which I haven't actually seen), and then he helps them to find out if the person is real. It is pretty entertaining.

I think that is all for this months favourites, I hope that you all enjoyed July as much as I did.

Freya x

Goodbye Germany

On Saturday I am going to be leaving Germany and heading back to the UK. I can't believe how fast time has gone, and I am going to be so sad to go. There are so many things I will miss - my host family, the city, practicing my German, my fellow au pair friend, the amazing ice cream shops... I could go on and on.

I have had an amazing time here. I have not only had massive amounts of fun, but I have also gained a lot from the experience. I was out with my friend today, and she said that she thinks I have become much less shy - something which I definitely agree with. We have only known each other a few weeks - we met when I started au pairing - but I think that this just shows how much more confident I have become.

Moving to another country, even if only for a few weeks, has been really good for me. And I would urge anyone reading this to do something similar. Not necessarily going off to another country, but just to step out of your comfort zone, do something new, go on an adventure.

Freya x

Victoria Sandwich Cake

Yesterday I decided to introduce my host family here in Germany to the most classic of British cakes: the victoria sandwich cake. I made it with my host kid, and despite me making up quantities myself, it turned out really well. Normally you would have two layers of cake sandwiched together, with cream or buttercream and jam or fruit. But we chose to do four layers. It was huge, and cutting it without it toppling over proved to be quite a task.

Ingredients:

400g caster sugar (or 300g caster sugar and 100g Brown sugar - this is what we used, and I think that the Brown sugar was really nice in it)

400g butter

400g plain flour

6 eggs

1 sachet vanilla powder (I don't know what this is actually called, but we couldn't find vanilla extract so used this instead. Obviously you could use 1tsp vanilla extract).

1 sachet baking powder

A splash of milk

400ml double cream

Strawberries

Method:

1. Cream the butter and sugar. This will be easier if the butter is soft, and if you cut it up into smaller chunks. 

2. Add the eggs and half the flour, and whisk until they are mixed in. 

3. Add the rest of the flour and whisk. 

4. If the mixture is too thick add a bit of milk, and mix again. Continue doing this, until it looks about the right thickness. 

5. Add the baking powder an vanilla, and mix. 

6. Divide the mixture between four cake tins. We only had two, so we did two rounds of cooking. 

7. Cook at 175 degrees Celsius for about 20 minutes. A skewer inserted into the cake should come out clean. 

8. Leave the cakes to cool. While you are waiting, whip the cream and chop the strawberries. 

9. Once the cakes are cool, spread cream onto the first cake, and then put strawberries on top. Put the next cake on top and then do the same. 

10. Sprinkle a bit of icing sugar on top of the top cake

Freya x

Nordic Walking and the Opera

Today was a day of firsts - my first day off (as an au pair), trying nordic walking for the first time, and my first trip to the opera. If you don't know what Nordic walking is - I didn't either - you basically just walk normally, but with a pole in each hand (they remind me a bit of ski poles) which I am still not entirely sure what you are supposed to do with. My host mum goes every week with a group of five other people, and she asked me if I wanted to come along. We went for a one and a half hour walk, but it really didn't feel that long, and it was really nice because I got to see some areas that I hadn't been to yet. We walked up to this huge park, and I definitely want to go back to take some photos because it was so pretty. 

This evening I went to the see an opera called rigoletto. It wasn't the full thing though, it was the "kostprobe", which is sort of like a dress rehearsal before the opening night, which they let people go to. I looked up what it was about beforehand, which was good since all the singing was in Italian so I didn't understand a thing. I can barely understand opera in English. I still enjoyed it though, and it was really nice to have an evening out. 

I hope that everyone is having a good summer (unless you are still at school - in which case, poor you).

Freya x

Sometimes the Internet can be an amazing thing

As you may know, I am au pairing in Germany at the moment. I have been here a week, and so far I am really enjoying it. My host family are great and I am in a lovely area. The only problem is that I haven't met any other au pairs, or anyone else my own age. Until today that is.

I posted in an au pair Facebook group to see if there were any other au pairs nearby, and found a girl who is in a town about 40 minutes a way. Meeting up with people who you have met on the internet is one of those things that parents and teachers always tell you not to do. I ignored these warnings, and we made plans to meet at the main train station of the city that I am in.

There was a slightly awkward 'are you the person I am supposed to be meeting?' moment at the beginning, but after that it was a really day. Unfortunately the weather was not great, but we still had a good time wandering around the shops, sitting in Starbucks and chatting. We also managed to get a little bit lost on the tram, but when there are two of you, getting lost can be pretty amusing.

Freya x

End of exams

I had my last exam yesterday! I am so glad that exams are over and I no longer have to spend all of my time stuck inside revising. I finally have time to catch up on all of the unwatched YouTube videos in my subscription feed, and to blog, and finish all the half written posts in my drafts. 

Since all of my friends have finished exams as well we had a little celebration yesterday - for the end of exams and my birthday, since I will be in Germany on my actual birthday. 

We spent the afternoon at the beach, and luckily the weather decided to cooperate for once. I live at the beach, but the beach by my house is stony so we decided to go to the sandy beach which is about a 15 minute drive. It is usually packed, but since most people were in school etc it was really nice and quiet. We had a lovely afternoon lying in the sun and chatting, and the sea was actually quite warm. 

After we were done at the beach, we drove back to my house to have some dinner and watch a movie. It was a really nice way to celebrate.

Tonight I had another celebration with my family, for both my birthday and my mum's birthday. All of my aunt's and uncles and cousins came, and it was really nice to see them all. I also tried haloumi for the first time (I didn't even know what it was before today), and it is definitely my new favourite thing! 

I have had a pretty great start to my summer holidays so far! Tomorrow won't be nearly as much fun though - it will be spent packing, since I leave for Germany on Monday morning (a bit last minute I know...). 

Freya x 

The Liebster Award

So first of all sorry for being away for such a long time again! But anyway I am super excited because I have been nominated for the Liebster Award by Beatriz from Bea Boon!

So here are the rules:
1. Link the blogger that nominated you
2. Answer the 11 questions they have written for you
3. Give 11 random facts about yourself
4. Nominate other bloggers with under 200 followers who you think deserve the award
5. Post 11 questions for your nominees

So here are my answers to the questions I was given:

1.If you could switch lives with a celebrity, which celebrity would you switch with?
This is so difficult! I think maybe Emma Watson.

2. Would you rather skin a cat or a dog?
I can't say that I have ever really thought about this before... Am I allowed to say neither?

3. Life Goal?
Totally Cliché, but to be happy.
I don't really have a career goal at the moment, but I know that I definitely want to have kids when I grow up, and I want to travel as much as I possibly can.

4. Biggest Mistake?
I can't really think of any massively terrible mistakes that I have made. Of course I have made mistakes, but I can't think of anything that bad right now.

5. Best thing you've ever done?
I've done quite a few pretty awesome things in my not-very-long-life so far. I'd have to say that the best thing was probably going to Africa for three weeks last summer.

6. Pro or Anti farting?
Definitely Anti farting. If you grew up with three brother's you would be too.

7. If you can change one thing about yourself what would it be? (can't be aesthetic)
I am really shy and quiet, so I think that I would change that.

8. Would you rather be 4ft tall or 7ft tall?
4ft. Can you imagine how hard it would be to find clothes if you were 7 feet tall? If you were 4ft at least you could fit into clothes in the kids section. Also you would never have to worry about not having enough leg room. You wouldn't be tall enough to go on roller coasters though, so that would be annoying, but I'd still say I would prefer to be 4ft than 7ft.

9. What would you tell your 21 year old self if you could?
I would remind myself not to settle for a boring job that I don't really want, to experience as many different things as I can, and to take every opportunity that comes my way. And I guess just to make sure that I really live rather than just existing (I don't know if that makes sense).

10. Favourite book?
Looking for Alaska by John Green. I love that book sooo much, and I am sure I have probably already mentioned that multiple times on this blog.

11 facts about me:

1. I am going to be an au pair in Germany for 5 weeks this summer
2. I will be studying Psychology at University next year (providing I do well enough in my exams)
3. My favourite film at the moment is Pitch Perfect
4. I have a dog. He loves to steal food, especially chocolate - many an Easter egg have been lost to the dog.
5. I have a job as a waitress
6. I drive a Fiat 500
7. My current favourite TV shows are Revenge (although the series actually just finished here) and How I Met Your Mother
8. I will be 18 this month
9. No one would ever believe that I am almost 18 by looking at me - everyone at work always tells me that I look about 15
10. I recently got pinterest, and now I am addicted!

My nominees:

Sarah from A Glimpse of Blue
Sheridan from Sheridankate

And here are my questions for you:

1. If you could be any character from a book, who would you be, and why?
2. What is your favourite meal?
3. What would you do if you won the lottery?
4. Where is your favourite place?
5. If you could travel to any country, where would you go?
6. What is your favourite thing about summer?
7. Why did you start blogging?
8. What was your favourite film as a kid?
9. Do you prefer the city or the countryside?
10. How would your perfect weekend go?
11. What is your favourite personality trait?

Freya x

Awkward Car Problems

So first of all, yes, I am still here, and I am very sorry for abandoning this blog for the past few weeks. I am sending you all virtual chocolate to get you to forgive me. Ok, now we are all friends again lets get on with the post.

Today I had to fill my car up at the petrol station for the first time! I know, not really a big deal, but I was actually pretty nervous. I dropped my brothers off at their school, and went to the petrol station nearby. I managed to fill up the car without spilling petrol all over my shoes, putting the wrong fuel in my car, or blowing anything up. I then went to pay and the man in the petrol station was like "Did you know that your tyre is flat?". So I looked over at my car sitting by the pump, and the front tyre was indeed flat. And by flat I don't just mean a little bit soft, I mean completely flat.   

I had somehow managed a 40 minute drive with a completely flat tyre, and I had not even noticed. It's a miracle we made it there safely. 

Fortunately they had one of the air pump things at this petrol station, and so I drove over there. Considering I was by myself and had no idea how to use the thing, I was pretty worried. I rang my dad to ask what the tyre pressure was, put it in, unscrewed the tyre cap and put the hose onto the tyre. It all seemed to be going fine. 

There was just one small problem - the tyre pressure was not actually going up. I started to panic - this must mean that my tyre has a huge puncture. I decided that I would have to drive to school (I mean I made it this far already), and then put the tyre on at lunch. I have no idea how to change a  tyre. One of the advantages of being a rather small 17 year old girl though is that I could just play the "I'm just a weak little girl, I need a strong man to help me", and get one of the boys to do it for me! (Although that is rather sexist and extremely unfeminist of me)

Another advantage of being a 17 year old girl - the man at the petrol station came out to see if I had managed to pump the tyre up. He saw that I hadn't, and decided to fill it up for me. There was a bit of an awkward being-hit-on-by-this-random-employee moment, but he was pumping up my tyre for me, so I decided to go with it. Anyway, turned out I had forgotten to push the button for the air! Nice one!

Eventually I got to school, I was late, but I made it. And fortunately my tyre stayed up all day, so I didn't even have to attempt to manipulate any boys into changing it for me!

Freya x

April Favourites

We are coming to the end of another month, and so of course that it means it is time for another favourites post.

1). The Frozen Soundtrack  - I bought this off of Amazon the other day, and I have been listening to it a lot when I am in my car. Today for example, I gave my friend a lift home, and we spent most of the journey blasting this CD with the windows down.

2). Vitamin Water - I have always loved vitamin water, but this month I have been extra obsessed. It tastes good, has barely any calories, and it contains vitamins - what's not to love?

3). Ugly Betty - If you have never heard of ugly Betty it is a TV show centred around a girl (Betty) who works at a fashion magazine. There is obviously a lot more to it than that, but I just thought I would just give you a very brief explanation of what it is. Anyway, it has just been added to Netflix, so I have been watching it quite a lot. When it was on TV I only ever watched random episodes, so now I am going to watch it the whole way through from the beginning. 

4). Stuck in Love - Again something which I found on Netflix, but this time a movie. I didn't really expect to like it much, but I actually loved it, so I would definitely recommend watching it. 

Freya x

P.s. Sorry for not posting much lately, I have been so busy with school and work and revising for my upcoming exams.

How to fool people into thinking you are an amazing cook

The other day my cousin and my little brother were being really really loud, so I decided that to quieten them down I would do some baking with them. We decided to make cupcakes, and my cousin was really impressed b the fact that I know how to make cupcakes off by heart. So I thought that I would share with you guys a cupcake recipe that is really easy to remember so that you too can make people think that you are a brilliant cook who doesn't even need a recipe book.

Ingredients:
3 Eggs (This varies depending on how many cupcakes you want to make and the size of your eggs)
Self raising flour
Caster Sugar
Butter
Weigh the eggs and then use the same weight of all of the other ingredients: (e.g. if your eggs weigh 8oz use 8oz of flour etc.)
And a Teaspoon of vanilla extract

Method:
First cream the butter and sugar, and then add in all of the other ingredients and whisk until mixed in.
Put into cupcake cases and bake at 180⁰C for 10 - 15 minutes. The cakes should spring back when you touch them, and a skewer should come out clean.

Leave them to cool, and then you can have fun icing and decorating them! We chose to decorate ours with vanilla butter-cream icing (which we coloured green, yellow and pink) topped with mini marshmallows, mini eggs and chocolate chips. Yum!

Freya x

Some Exciting News

So guess what guys!? I Passed my Driving Test today! It was actually the second time I took my test, because the first time I just got super nervous and made a stupid mistake which meant I got a major fault. I don't know if it is the same in other countries but basically here if you get a 'serious' or major fault then you fail, but you can get up to 15 minor faults and still pass. This time I only got 3 minors, so I was really pleased!

My family have all been raving about this new Hot Chocolate place that opened up in a nearby town and I haven't had a chance to try it yet, so to celebrate I drove there with my brother and my cousin. It was so good! The hot chocolates are home made using real chocolate, and you can choose which chocolate you want. I chose white chocolate, and it was delicious! My brother and cousin both chose 60% (I think) dark chocolate, and theirs were really nice too, although I prefer sweeter chocolate. As well as being delicious the Hot Chocolates were also really big - they come in bowls(!) - and they were topped with loads of delicious foamy stuff (do you know the stuff that I mean?). We also got a big marshmallow each to go with our drinks.

Sorry for the bad picture quality, but there is my Hot Chocolate

Ok so now onto the other exciting thing that has happened recently. I am going to become an Au Pair! It will only be for 6 weeks over the summer, but I think it will still be a great experience, and I can't wait!

Freya x

Divergent

Yesterday I went to the cinema to see Divergent. If you don't know what it is about I explained it here when I wrote about the book.

Having read, and absolutely loved, the book I was really excited about the seeing the film. Fortunately it didn't disappoint - it was brilliant! They missed out a few parts from the book - for example there was a lot less of the fighting/arguing between the initiates, and I don't think that Will and Christina ever got together - but all of the most important bits were in there.

I have two weeks off school for Easter at the moment, and going to see Divergent was the perfect start to my Holiday. I definitely recommend going to see it!

Freya x

March Favourites

So do you guys remember when I did Friday Favourites? Well because I am a rubbish blogger sometimes I really shouldn't even try to commit to posting something every single Friday. So I decided that instead I am going to start doing monthly favourites posts.

Anyway, here are this months favourites:

1) Lipton Moroccon Tea. This tea is seriously delicious. I actually got it whilst I was in France, so I don't know if you get it here, but I really hope that you can since my box is now empty. 

2) I have also been really enjoying all of the Playlist Live Vlogs on YouTube. I love watching daily vlogs like these because it lets you see what youtubers are like in their normal everyday life. Also since there were loads of youtubers vlogging at playlist live, you got to see things from lots of different perspectives. 

3) Simple oil balancing facial scrub. I only bought this last week, but so far I really like it. It really does make my skin less oily, and it also makes it really smooth and soft.

I hope you guys enjoyed this little favourites post.

Freya x

This is Really Happening

I have accepted one university offer, chosen one as an insurance choice, and declined the other three. My student finance application has been completed and approved. Come September I will really be heading off to University.

I am so incredibly excited! My friends are nervous about school ending, moving away, and everything changing. But I can't wait for things to change. Not because my life is terrible - because it isn't. Or because I am unhappy - because I am not. But because I actually like change. I want the excitement of a new place. I want somewhere new, somewhere different, and altogether better. Somewhere where I can be whoever I want to be. Somewhere where I can completely reinvent myself and become a totally different person. Not that I will, but it is nice to know that the opportunity is there.

It is strange though, because this time last year I had a completely different plan in mind. I wanted to jet off to America for university, or take a gap year and become an Au pair. When I started thinking about this I wondered what had happened to that girl? The brave girl with big plans who was willing to throw caution to the wind and live while she was young. Am I still that girl? Or did I get scared and decide to take the safe option? Am I making a huge mistake? Am I going to regret not taking a gap year, or becoming an Au pair, or studying abroad?

These questions filled my mind. I didn't know what to do. And to be honest I still didn't know when I sat down to write this post. But that is one of the many wonderful things about blogging: it helps you to see things more clearly. For me it does anyway. Writing it all down helps me to organise my thoughts and figure things out. And now I know that I'm not making a mistake. Going to University here in England is the right thing for me.

Freya x

A night full of absolute Hilarity

On Monday evening I went on another trip to Brighton, this time to see Russell Howard. For those of you who don't know Russell Howard is a British Comedian, who also has a TV show - 'Russell Howard's good news'. Here is a little video I found on YouTube in case you are curious:

His TV show is hilarious, so I was pretty excited about seeing him live. He did not disappoint, I was laughing for pretty much the entire time! There are some jokes which can be a little awkward when you are with your parents (I went with my dad and two of my brothers), but he is still really really funny.

Have you been to see any comedians live?

Freya x  

Brighton and my First Ever Shift as a Waitress

How was everyone's weekend? Mine was a pretty busy one. On Saturday I went to Brighton to celebrate my friends birthday. We spent the morning shopping (with a hot chocolate break of course), and then went to an Italian restaurant in the lanes for lunch. Then after lunch we wandered round the lanes a bit. If you haven't been to Brighton, the lanes are all these tiny little streets full of cute little shops and cafés. They are very easy to get lost in, and we ended up walking past the same shop about 5 times before we realised that we were going in circles.

We then walked down to the pier. It was really windy and cold, so we decided to stay inside in the amusements bit instead of going on the rides which are outside. We played air hockey and guitar hero, and attempted to win some teddy bears, and then went back to the high street for some more shopping. It was a really nice day, especially since I haven't been to Brighton for ages.

On Sunday I had a Trial Shift at a pub/restaurant near my house. I was really nervous because I have never Waitressed (is that a word?) before, and I am really clumsy so I thought I would spill a drink all down someone or something. It all went fine though, I only messed up once, and all I did was take someones card out of the machine too early so it didn't work. Not really a big deal. So I now have my first ever job (apart from babysitting, but that doesn't really count)!

Freya x

Ellie Goulding

First of all, I want to say sorry that I haven't written for a while, I have just been so insanely busy that I really haven't had a spare minute to sit down and write a blog post. Anyway...

Last night I went to see an Ellie Goulding concert with a few of my friends. If you read this post then you might remember me saying that I don't particularly like concerts, but after last night my opinion has definitely been changed. It was such an amazing night!

The concert was at the O2 arena in London, which is huge. We got there quite early, so we had plenty of time to get a nice meal in one of the many restaurants. We then went into the sky lounge, which you get to go into for free if you are a sky customer. You get given wristbands, and walk up a red carpet to get there, and you also get a picture taken of you and your friends, so it is really cool. There is also a bar there, so we could get some drinks, and it is literally right behind the stage. 

We then went and found our seats, which were really good, and waited for the support act to come on. And then it was time for Ellie Goulding!

She was amazing! It was such a brilliant concert, and she can really sing - some artists don't sound very good live, but that isn't the case with Ellie Goulding. I really liked the fact that she sung quite a few of her old songs, like 'The Writer', and 'Your Song' (an Elton John cover which I absolutely love), as well as her new songs. 'Your Song' was probably my favourite because it was so nice how everyone sang along for the entire song, not just the chorus. I really loved 'Burn' as well though... well actually, I loved all of them!

She seemed really genuinely grateful whenever everyone was cheering etc., which I thought was really nice. And she was also pretty awesome when she got everyone to dance near the end, and she said that she can't really dance, and stuff. It was all just so much fun!

It was a really fantastic night, and I would definitely recommend going to see her if you ever get the chance!

Freya x

The time I accidentally booked a Driving Lesson during School

So today I thought I would tell you about the time that I accidentally booked a driving lesson during school time. Oh wait... that was yesterday. I haven't actually sorted the problem out yet.

So let me explain. I had a driving lesson yesterday, like I always do on a Wednesday. At the end of the lesson it came time to book a lesson for next week. I suddenly remembered that I couldn't do my usual time next week as I am going to a University visit day. So anyway, I suggested a different day and time that I thought I was free, and booked the lesson for then.

Our school has a two week timetable system, so it is different for week one and week two. My timetable stays pretty much the same, but I have a few single lessons instead of double lessons on a couple of days. So anyway, I was sitting in double psychology today, when suddenly at 12.00 everyone started packing up. I turned to the person next to me and said "Don't we have a double lesson today?"

Turns out it is next Thursday that I have a double lesson. But I already have a Driving Lesson booked for the second part of that double.

This leaves me with two options: skip class or cancel my driving lesson. Skipping Class would mean I have to find a way of convincing my mum to write a note saying I have a dentist appointment (or any other suitable appointment). Or I could of course just not turn up. But this is where we meet the second dilemma in the skipping-class solution. My classroom is right by the main door to go out of school, and has a huge window overlooking the car park - where my driving instructor will pick me up.

Now you are probably thinking just cancel the driving lesson. But the problem here is that my test is in two weeks time and so I really need that lesson.

Can anybody see some brilliant third option that I have completely overlooked? What would you do in this situation?

Freya x

Random Bursts of Motivation

Do you ever have those days where for no particular reason you are filled with intense motivation to do all of the things you keep telling yourself you will do? Well today was one of those days for me. It was the first day back after half term and although I had a free period first I decided to skip the extra 30 minutes in bed and go into school and get some work done. I didn't have many lessons so I was home by about 12. Normally on these Mondays I spend the day eating, watching YouTube videos and ignoring the homework that I should have done over the weekend. But as I mentioned already I was feeling quite motivated to get things done, so I did my homework, did some revision, cleared out my closet (I can't believe how many clothes I had in there that haven't been worn for at least a year), tidied my bedroom and even did a little bit of exercise. And now here I am writing a blog post. I'd say it has been a pretty productive day.

Freya x

I am a Terrible Friend

Do you guys remember me saying that I was going to go on holiday with my friends this summer? Well yesterday afternoon I went round my friend June's house, and one of my other friends, Taylor, came as well, and we were looking up holidays. We found two hotels which we loved which were both within our price range. So we started getting really excited, especially me and June as I guess we are just a little bit over excitable about these things. We sent links of the hotels to Gee, who also loved them. So we decided that we would book it this week, and everything seemed to be working out perfectly.

I should probably mention here that my friend, Indie, was meant to be coming as well, but decided a couple of weeks ago that she couldn't afford it. This was fine by us, as it actually made things easier (because it is easier to find a 4-person room than a 5-person room). So anyway this-morning me and June were still saying to each other on Facebook how excited we were etc., and looking at how awesome these hotels looked, and checking reviews on TripAdvisor. But then this-afternoon Taylor sent a message on Facebook to me, Gee and June saying that she can't go because she wants to save for University.

She also said all this stuff like "I'm sorry for ruining your holiday", and "please don't be mad at me" and so on. I know it isn't her fault, but I am actually really quite annoyed at her. I know - I am an awful friend. But it is just that I really really wanted to go, and I was really looking forward to it, and now it isn't going to happen. I know I shouldn't be annoyed, but I can't stop thinking that she should just pay for it with her own money, like the rest of us are, instead of asking her parents to pay. She might not have the money right now, but couldn't she borrow the rest of her parents, and then get a summer job and pay them back?

June and Gee have replied saying all the nice things you are supposed to say, but I just can't bring myself to say that I don't mind. Maybe it means I am a horrible person, and an awful friend. And maybe it shows how selfish I am. But I do mind. And I am annoyed about it.

It just really sucks.   

Freya x

*I apologise for how badly written and Ranty/Angsty this post probably was.*

A Little Trip To York

On Friday I went up to York for a University visit day. It wasn't until Saturday afternoon, so that meant that I had some time to look around York on Friday evening and Saturday morning. It is a gorgeous city - I forgot to bring my camera though, so I don't have any photos - and I had a really nice time. I was cold though - it is up North after all - so I ended up consuming far too many Hot Chocolates, and Chai Lattes as well, and not forgetting some good, strong Yorkshire Tea - so basically a lot of Hot Drinks.

When we arrived on Friday it was about 4pm and it was pouring with rain, so we quickly got on a bus to our hotel. Fortunately it stopped raining around 6, so we could go out and get some dinner. Of course it started raining again, so we quickly ducked out of the rain and into Prezzo, where I had a delicious dinner of Bruschetta, Pizza and Raspberry Cheesecake. Yum. 

The next day we decided that rather than eating breakfast in the hotel we would go out and find somewhere for breakfast, since thankfully it wasn't raining. So I had a huge breakfast of scrambled eggs, bacon, toast and hot chocolate, and I thought I wouldn't be able to eat again all day. I did manage a ham and cheese panini by lunch time though. We spent the rest of the morning wandering around the city and doing a bit of shopping. Then we went to the university were we were shown around and told about the course etc.

It was then time to head home, so we collected our bag and started the 4 hour journey home. It wasn't such a bad journey since I had Starbucks and the Company Paris issue to keep me occupied. I do really want to go to Paris after reading that though. And to start dressing like one of those effortlessly-cool French girls. Don't be surprised if you see me walking round in a beret some time soon. 

Freya x

The Time I was a Rebel and Skipped Class

My life is pretty much made up of school, stress and exhaustion right now, and there really isn't much room for anything else. So I thought that rather than boring you with the (lack of) stuff going on in my life right now I would tell you a story from last year. In case you hadn't guessed from the title, this is about the time that I was totally rebellious and decided to skip class. I think that I may have actually skipped class before this, but basically me and my friend, Lu, decided to skip class in pretty much the dumbest way possible.

So last year I was really lucky to have German with one of my best friends, Gee. She wasn't there on this day, but I went to class anyway. Everyone who I normally sat with in German was away, apart from Lu, which was surprising as he did not even turn up that often. We were sitting there and it was pretty much the most boring and pointless lesson ever. We were all making a board about the German trip, which neither of us had actually gone on (me and Gee had been on the same trip a couple of years before). We figured that there really wasn't much point in us being there, so we hatched a plan to escape. I should probably mention that our teacher was new, so we figured that we would be able to get away with it. We decided that we wold tell our teacher that we were going to the Library to do some research because the laptops were too slow, and just hope that she didn't notice that we had all our stuff with us.

We just about managed to keep straight faces whilst asking or teacher if we could go the library, and we managed to subtly pick up our stuff as we walked out the door. As soon as we were out of the door we collapsed into giggles, we had made it out, our plan had worked, and it was the greatest felling ever.

So we walked into town and both went our separate ways home, and it wasn't until the next day when we received angry emails from the attendance officer that we remembered that we were supposed to go back at the end of the lesson. 

My Concert Experiences

So everyone loves concerts, right? Hearing your favourite band playing live, seeing them in the flesh and singing along and screaming along with hundreds of other fans. Not much could be better than that. For most people at least. For me even a trip to the dreaded dentist, or even worse the orthodontist (having your braces tightened is painful), would be better than a crowded concert, full of sweaty, screaming fans.

Although I can't really conclusively say that I don't like concerts at all, having only been to two concerts in my life. The first doesn't even really count as a proper concert. Our school won a competition which meant that we got to have a concert in our school hall. The artists performing were Chipmunk, who I was obsessed with at the time, and You Me at Six, who at the time I had never even heard of. It took place after school, and me and my friends were so excited, so we ran straight from our last lesson into the Hall. I was in year 9 at the time, which was the youngest year allowed to attend, so rather than standing in the main part of the hall, we had to sit on the raised platform t the side. We thought that this would spoil the fun, but it was actually great as it gave us an amazing view of the stage. Now that I think about I actually had a pretty good time at that concert, so I don't really know why I am including it in a post about how I don't like concerts, but like I said it doesn't really count as a proper concert.

The second concert that I attended was last summer. Again it wasn't a normal concert, it was more of a one day festival, with multiple acts. Although nowhere near as much fun as a real festival because there was no camping, and despite the fact that there were rides and food trucks, we didn't get to experience these due to the fact that my friends insisted on standing right at the front where we stuck in the middle of a crowd. It opened an hour or two before the first act came on, and of course since my friends wanted to be at the front we got there an hour or two before that. This meant a lot of waiting around, which would have been fine, if it weren't for the fact that it was the most scorchingly hot, sunny day, and we were in the middle of London (I should probably clarify that the concert was outside). So we were sweating before the crowds even packed in, and the concert started.

The concert began with a band unknown to me, who were surprisingly good. The crowd was packed in close, but not too close so there was room to move and room to breathe. However, as each act went on it got hotter and hotter, and more and more people were trying to get close to the front. At some point some drunk middle aged men managed to get next to us, instead of the very lovely boys we had been next to all day and chatting to between acts. This was where things started to go downhill. These two men were very annoying, and not just to us to everyone around us as well. I don't particularly remember what they were doing, but I do remember them spilling beer all over me and one of my friends.

By this point there were only one or two acts until the main headliners - Mumford and Sons - so it was getting very cramped. And this was the point where I started panicking about how close I was to all these people. And I was so hot. And my legs wouldn't stop shaking. And I had a terrible headache. And I needed to drink water, but it was difficult because now my hands were shaking too. And I was worried that I might faint. And I just wanted to go. But I didn't want to fight my way through all of the people, and I knew that if I left my friend would come too, and I didn't want to ruin it for her. But eventually after her giving me a lot of worried glances during Ben Howard, and me attempting to smile and reassure her that I was fine, we left. We still saw the music, we just sat on the grass outside the big crowd, where plenty of other people were also enjoying the music, whilst our other friends stayed at the front.

I didn't faint, but I didn't have a great time either.

And that my friends is why I don't like concerts. I have someone managed to allow my friends to persuade me to attend an Ellie Goulding concert in March though.  

Friday Favourites: Gossip Girl

So I have just finished watching the Gossip Girl finale episode. I have been watching the whole show from series 1 to 6 on Netflix - not all today of course. I'm not going to lie, now that I have finished it I don't really know what to do my life. What do people who aren't obsessed with TV shows actually do?

So anyway Gossip Girl is an amazing show. It has drama, New York City, and amazing clothes. What else could you want in a TV show? Oh right, some hot guys to look at... well it has those too, and here is a picture of the gorgeous Chace Crawford (Nate in Gossip Girl) to prove it to you.

Freya x

A Couple of Little Updates

NEW YEARS RESOLUTIONS:

I thought that I would give you guys a little update on my new years resolutions so that hopefully I can inspire you to keep going with your own or more likely make you feel better, knowing that you aren't the only one failing.

1) Eat Healthier/ Exercise more - I am failing miserably at this new years resolution so far. I have as usual been eating way too much junk food, and spending my time watching Netflix/ YouTube.

2) Make the most of the rest of the school year (spend more time with my friends) - I think that I am doing pretty well at this one. I went out to dinner with my friends on Saturday to catch up since we hadn't seen each other at all over the holidays, and we have decided that we are all going to go on holiday after exams this summer. I am really excited about that, although I do need to stop spending so much money, and start saving. It is going to be difficult, there are so many things that I want to buy right now...

3) Think about big decisions properly - I have sort of not really been thinking about where I want to go to uni much, but at this current moment I do have tabs open of all of the unis I am thinking of going to, so I can compare the courses, and I have booked a couple of visit days so that I can have a look around. This brings me quite nicely onto the other thing I wanted to update you guys on...

UNI OFFERS:

So as of Friday I actually have an offer from all of the Universities that I a applied to! I am so surprised and excited! Now there is just the question of narrowing it down to only two of them - a firm and insurance choice.

Friday Favourites: Divergent

So, Friday Favourites has been away for a couple of weeks, but this week it is back, and the thing that I have been loving this week is Divergent by Veronica Roth. I got this book for Christmas, but didn't start reading it til Monday, and I finished it today (pretty good timing right?). Fortunately I also got the second book for Christmas, as Divergent was brilliant and I really want to find out what happens next.

Divergent is about a 16 year old girl named Beatrice. The city she lives in is divided into 5 factions, and at the age of 16 everyone must choose which faction they wish to belong to - they can stay in their current faction or transfer to a different faction. But before they can become full faction members they must complete initiation, failure to complete this will leave Beatrice factionless. So she must compete against the other initiates in her chosen faction, and of course there is more to the story than that - a dangerous secret which she cannot let anyone discover.

As I already mentioned I really enjoyed this book. If you like the Hunger Games books then I think you will definitely enjoy it too. Also the film is coming out this year, so if you are going to watch that you should really read the book first. I am a firm believer that you have to read the book first.

Freya x

Paper Towns

So I got the book Paper Towns by John Green for Christmas, and well basically I just wanted to recommend it to all you guys and say how amazing it is. Although I may be slightly biased due to the fact that I am a huge John Green fan.

Anyway as you guys may have noticed I am not great at summaries of books or films. Or reviews in general for that matter. So I thought that what I would do instead of a proper review is put up some of my favourite quotes from the book. (Don't worry if you haven't read the book it won't spoil it for you).

New Years Resolutions

I'm back! I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas, and your new year is off to a good start.

I figure that since it is only the 4th of January I still have time for a new years resolutions post. 

1. Eat healthier and exercise more often. I think that these two go together really, and so basically this one is just about being healthier (and hopefully losing some weight in the process?). 
2. Make the most of the rest of the school year. This is my last year of school and in October I will be at university somewhere completely new, with completely different people. So I want to spend as much as time as possible with my friends before we leave, and I want some awesome memories. 
3. Think about big decisions properly. I am awful at making decisions, if I don't know what to do I will just push it to the back of my mind, and then at the last moment I will make a snap decision which isn't always the right one. 

I think that that is all really. I always fail at my new years resolutions, so the less to fail at the better, right?

Freya x