Over the last few months I’ve been slowly but surely making a mental list of some staple pieces that I want to invest in throughout the coming months. It pretty much consists of the standard basics that either I don’t already own, or would like to update this year. One thing that I challenged myself to find was the perfect (and affordable) leather jacket.
So I recently turned 22, on the 28th July to be exact, and it’s safe to say I was not very happy about saying goodbye to being 21. Nevertheless I’m taking it in my stride (or trying to at least) and thought I’d do a bit of a reflective post. Writing about 22 things I’ve learnt seemed like a good idea but I quickly realised that I haven’t actually learnt that much and this post was admittedly a bit of a struggle. Hey ho, here’s to another 22 years of learning!
1. Sometimes chillies look the same as runner beans, but they are not the same thing.
I learnt this the hard way. At a friend’s 21st birthday last year there was tons of delicious Indian food on offer (yum) so I obviously piled my plate high with curry and what I thought was green beans – I actually said out loud ‘ooh green beans’ in front of the caterers whilst scooping them onto my plate. As you can probably imagine I tucked into my meal and thought ‘omg this curry is so flippin’ spicy’ so like a rational person would, I had a ‘green bean’ to ‘cool my mouth down’ or just give it a break from the heat of the curry. After eating about 6 of these green beans and wondering why I wasn’t feeling any better, with my stomach in agony, mouth on fire and actual sweat starting to drip off me, my friend pointed out that in fact I was actually just eating chillies. Not my proudest moment, but a lesson learnt none the less.
2. Nobody has a clue what they’re doing.
The older I’ve gotten I’ve realised that everyone is just winging it and there’s no handy little guide about how to adult. It’s just trial and error, and then usually a bit more error.
3. Extreme sports are not for me.
Or anything extreme for that matter. Bungee jumping? No thank you. Parachuting off a plane? No way hell. I’ve had a high sense of self-preservation since I was little so anything where I could die I steer clear from. I’ll get my adrenaline rushes elsewhere thank you very much.
4. If you’re making an Apple Crumble don’t forget the apples.
Learnt this one the hard way too unfortunately. Decided to make this lovely dish in our cooking class at school and was looking forward to bringing it home for everyone to enjoy after dinner. But it wasn’t meant to be – once it was in the oven and I started cleaning up I noticed my apples were still sitting wrapped up in my cooking bag. It wasn’t the nicest Apple Crumble I’ve got to say.
5. Never go to bed angry or upset.
It’s never good to wake up to negativity. I can never sleep when I’m angry anyway, and if I’m upset with someone that usually turns into me being pissed off that they’ve upset me in the first place! I’ve learnt that you should always try and resolve any arguments before you go to sleep if you can.
6. People who judge your taste in music are the worrrrssst.
Yes I like The Beatles and The Rolling Stones but you know what? I flipping love a bit of ABBA, Miley Cyrus, Backstreet Boys and even a bit of One Direction. Leave me be.
7. I will never say no to pasta.
It doesn’t even matter what time of the day it is, I love pasta so much that I would eat it for every meal if I could.
8. Anxiety is a bitch.
Big time.
9. How to tell if someone does (or doesn’t!) fancy you.
This is something my 17 year old self struggled to come to terms with! As they say, they’re sometimes just not that into you.
10. You can’t please everyone.
So seriously don’t even try. People like different things and have different opinions so you shouldn’t feel bad about having your own.
11. Just because people seem nice, doesn’t mean they are.
Most people are lovely, but some people just pretend to be and can be really nasty when you truly get to know them.
12. Chocolate and Cheese are two of the best things in the world.
I feel like this one is pretty self explanatory.
13. Worrying about things doesn’t actually help anyone.
Easier said than done but we’ve all been there. Worrying about something we know we can do absolutely nothing about. Of course that doesn’t stop us from worrying. Sometimes it’s even worrying that we’re worrying so much that we start to worry about worrying so much. And so on and so forth.
14. Mixing your drinks causes nothing but pain and regrets.
I feel like I need to be reminded of this every Friday night. I suppose I’m still learning this one. Although to be fair, I do know not to do it I just do it anyway. Yes I’ll have some wine please, followed by a few proseccos and more than likely a couple of malibu and cokes. Maybe even a vodka lemonade. Will I regret it in the morning? Definitely. Am I still going to do it? Probably.
15. I can’t draw to save my life.
I realised this early on in life but it’s something I really wish I could do. Annoyingly my sister inherited the artist genes in my family. I once tried to draw Frankie Cocozza (anyone remember him?) when I was about 14 because I fancied him when he was on the X Factor. I was impressed with the start of the drawing because I thought I’d got his hair pretty much bang on, but unfortunately when I went on to draw his face he looked like he’d been in some sort of tragic accident. I’ve not tried again since.
16. How shit Twilight actually is.
Yes, I was once one of those 14 year old girls obsessing over Edward Cullen and asking my parents to bury me with my Twilight books (VOM). Thank God I didn’t die during that phase because I hate to think of myself underground with that shite for all of eternity.
17. How to do a winged liner.
Finally after 22 years I have finally perfected it! I’ve got it down to a T now and can do it in a matter of seconds. Practice really does make perfect folks.
18. There is ALWAYS two sides to every story.
This one is worth remembering – never come to a conclusion about something when you’re only half informed. I’ve never really understood people that do this but there’s too many of them.
19. Animals are just the best.
We really don’t deserve them. I can honestly say I feel so much happier and less stressed out if I’m around an animal – they’re literally the only miracle I need.
20. Your gut is right pretty much all of the time.
I should really listen to it more because most of the time its spot on.
21. Time goes far too quickly.
I feel like I left school about 5 minutes ago. How can I have been a graduate for over a year now? I don’t understand. Why is my hair grey and why am I in an old people’s home?
22. I have so much more to learn.
I think we all do really.
DRESS | ASOS
SHOES | ZARA (unavailable, similar here)
Everyone knows about the classic little black dress, or LBD if you will. It’s a must have in every girls wardrobe and can be dressed up or down to suit every occasion. It’s pretty much a lifesaver – in the most dramatic sense of the word. The little RED dress on the other hand, doesn’t get as much attention which in my opinion is downright tragic (also the dramatic sense of the word). Whilst black is obviously chic and classic, now that it’s finally summer I want to try and inject some colour into my wardrobe and stay away from dark colours as much as I can. So, with this in mind I took myself shopping to find some pieces to update my summer wardrobe. I’m also going to Spain next week so I’m obviously using that as an excuse to buy a ton of summer clothes.
Now, admittedly Urban Outfitters isn’t somewhere that I regularly shop and I very rarely pop in and take a look at what they have to offer. But I found myself in the middle of a VERY busy Liverpool city centre at the weekend – I couldn’t face a manic Zara, I’d already checked out the likes of H&M and Topshop and there was definitely 100% no way that I was tackling Primark on a weekend – literal mayhem. After eating my mid shopping trip hotdog from a burger stall (classy) and dropping ketchup and onions EVERYWHERE I still had some time to kill before meeting my boyfriend after he’d finished at the gym – we lead very different lives, I know. So I wondered into Urban Outfitters and discovered this red beauty. The main thing that drew me to it was the cross over detailing at back, which really gives it something extra even though it makes wearing a bra impossible, and peeking nips inevitable. The fit is lovely and even though it clings to the skin, it (just about) skims over any belly podge – aka my hotdog from earlier that day.
I’ll definitely be getting a lot of wear out of this baby and it’s safe to say LRDs are going to become as crucial as a LBD in my wardrobe from now on.
(Please excuse my manky toes in this picture!)
DRESS | URBAN OUTFITTERS
SHOES | NEW LOOK (old, similar here))
There have been a lot of things this week that I have been loving, some that I’ve been hating and some things a little I have mixed emotions towards. So, I thought today I would do a bit of a stream of consciousness post and share my love/hate relationships of the week! Because just sharing things you love is sooo yesterrdayyy.
THIS WEATHER
If you don’t live in the UK, you might not know that we have had a pretty dramatic heat wave this week. We’ve had highs of 31 degrees celsius thank you very much. And before those in hotter climates laugh at us thinking that it absolutely bloody ROASTING, we’re not used to this heat. And because it’s a rare occurrence literally no where has air con which is an absolute nightmare. Also our location means that we get a whole lot more humidity than other hot countries which is the main reason we can’t deal with it. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve been over the moon at how lovely it’s been and I’m deffo not complaining (much), but when you’re stuck in a boiling hot office or trying to get to sleep in a stuffy flat with no fan (and its too loud outside to open my windows) its not fun. Definitely a love/ hate thing going on.
HONEYCOMB MAGNUMS
I can’t even begin to describe how much I love honeycomb magnums. I literally feel sad when I finish one. So obviously now that the weather is like this, I’ve been eating my fair share of them. If you’ve never had the pleasure of eating one, stop what you’re doing and go and get one. Seriously, you won’t regret it.
LIAM PAYNE’S NEW SONG
This is very negative of me to include, and I have no idea why I have such strong feelings of hate towards this song that I thought I would include it. I have no idea what it’s called, but it’s that one talking about women stripping off maybe?? It’s on the radio ALL THE TIME. I saw him perform it on The Graham Norton show a few weeks back and from that moment on I’ve just hated it more than anything else I’ve ever heard (exaggeration but you get my gist). On the other hand, I very much like Harry Styles new stuff.
IT’S ALWAYS SUNNY IN PHILADELPHIA
Now onto something I’ve been loving this week. I’m a bit late to the party (about 10 years late) but I’ve become obsessed with this programme. I like humour to be risky and almost cross the line a bit, basically anything that’s the opposite of PC so this is literally my ideal show, would highly recommend if there is anyone to still not have seen it like me.
BEING HEALTHY
Trying to be healthy/ tone up/ watch your diet is SO HARD. Literally, how do people do it? I swear I’ve genuinely been snacking more the harder I try to stop. I’m going on holiday in less than a month so I’m desperately trying to banish my stomach podge so I don’t have to walk around sucking my belly in round the pool. Unfortunately though, I’m not very good at dealing with being hungry. As soon as I feel a pang (and that’s pretty much within 45 minutes of last eating) I can only think about food, and how I’m starting to feel weak with hunger (so dramatic) so of course I eat because I don’t want to starve now do I? BUT I have been getting into the gym a bit more, I’ve downloaded a workout schedule which is so far so good, I am only on day 3 though. Anyway, if I don’t manage to F off the fat, that’s what sarongs are for right?
DRESS | ASOS
BOOTS | ZARA
BAG | PRIMARK
Yet again it’s been a while since I last posted a blog, just over two weeks. I never anticipated how difficult balancing blogging and a full time job would be. By the time I get home from work, have dinner and clean up etc it’s about 7pm, and a lot of days I end up going to the gym which means I don’t actually get to relax until about 8:30pm. I’ve turned into an old lady at the moment and I’m going to bed for about 10pm so for that hour and a half all I want to do is sit back, relax and watch It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia which I have been binge watching recently.
So apart from my constant state of exhaustion a few things have happened recently, one being the seagull couple Chuck and Mary on the roof opposite my flat have had babies! I admit this isn’t exciting news for most people but it makes me very happy to see three little chicks running around and flapping their tiny little wings. They’ve grown so quickly though, which I’m not too happy about because I want them to stay tiny forever. The other seagull couple is yet to have the excitement of little ones, but they’ve built a nest and have been sitting on what I can only assume is an egg for the last few weeks so fingers crossed we’ll have some more little chicks bopping about. I literally have my own version of Springwatch going on. If you don’t already follow me on instagram I would highly recommend doing so as you will receive lots of lovely footage of said seagulls. My handle is @daisycuttings
Another exciting thing is that I’ve finally booked a holiday THANK GOD. I was seriously beginning to worry that I wouldn’t be able to afford going away this year and I am in desperate need of that Vitamin D (no joke I’ve been medically diagnosed with low vit d – best excuse for a holiday). My boyfriend and I are jetting off to Spain at the end of next month for just over a week including my birthday so i am very excite (Borat voice optional but recommended).
Hopefully I will be able to shoot a couple of blog posts whilst I’m in sunny Espanola but for now I am going to try my absolute very best to keep them as regular as I possibly can.
Thanks for reading
-Daisy, x
SHIRT DRESS | MARKS & SPENCER
SHOES | PRIMARK (similar here)
***I was planning on publishing this blog post a lot earlier in the week, but I just didn’t feel right sharing something so frivolous as fashion after everything that happened on Monday night. I’ve felt so empty and sad since, and there’s not been a minute where I’ve not thought about what happened. The reaction from emergency services and the general public has been so amazing, and although the attack was a monstrous act, the support people have been offering each other has really given me some hope for humanity. I just wanted to mention that at the start before got into the main post.***
I’ve had a pretty eventful past week. I started my new job which I’m loving, been to the theatre, done TWO classes at the gym (I know) and made the most of the UK’s mini heat wave with many an ice cream and cider. Unfortunately, the clouds are back over Liverpool but I’m determined to spend as much of the bank holiday weekend outside (even though our planned BBQ may have to take place inside). It’s been over a week since I last posted even though I promised myself I wouldn’t leave it that long again, but I pinky promise this time that I will start to get back into my routine of posting regularly again. I’ve got a new blog template coming so soon (hopefully this week!) and I’m sooo happy with it so that’s very exciting.
I’ve been in a bit of a shopping mode at the moment even more than usual, and one of the pieces I’ve picked up is this amazing red wrap top. I’m slightly upset that it’s a bit too hot to wear the past few days, but that’s really not something I should be complaining about. I saw it on Lizzy Hadfield from shotfromthestreet and I instantly fell in love. If you’re not following Lizzy’s blog or instagram by the way you seriously should, she’s one of my top blogger inspirations and she also has a youtube channel which is amazing. I’m seriously loving wearing red at the moment so this is the perfect piece to add to my wardrobe. I’m thinking about sharing some love and doing a post on the bloggers that I follow and who inspires me so please do let me know if that’s something you’d be interested in!
I’ve paired the top with my MissSelfridge jeans which honestly I’m starting to fall out of love with because I don’t think they’re the most flattering pair which is a shame, and my old Topshop boots. I don’t think I’ll ever not wear boots in summer, although I am currently on the search for the perfect pair of sandals so I will let you know when I find them. I’ve got my eye on a couple so far…
I have a few blog posts planned for the next couple of weeks already so please stay tuned because I promise to be back soon!
-Daisy, x
TOP | ASOS
JEANS | MISS SELFRIDGE (similar here)
BOOTS | TOPSHOP (similar here)
p.s. when looking for a similar pair of these boots online I discovered an amazing website which has designer shoes for a fraction of the price! I’m gonna be spending the next few hours scouring this site. Be sure to check it out by clicking the link of my similar shoes.
