Graduate

 Just a quick note to say - I graduated! The strangest feeling, it feels like I only just started my course, but at the same time it feels like I was never going to get this far! 

I had the most perfect, chilled out day celebrating with my family and friends! My parents came up from Bournemouth, and my sister tagged along too, despite having just gotten off a seventeen hour flight from Singapore! We started the day with a big old brunch at Giraffe, followed swiftly by a jug of Pimms to settle my nerves about walking on the stage! Luckily I didn't trip up despite wearing big heels!

I looked like a bit of a nutter in my mortar board (which The Boy's little sister quite cutely called my 'Uni Crown'), and it was so heavy that I had a headache by the end of the day, but I LOVED my robes, and I was so sad to give them back! I felt like a wizard!

We had planned to go out for a fancy meal, but since we were all so tired we decided to just pop in for a few dishes in Yo Sushi, before waving goodbye to my sister at Waterloo, and retiring to my parents hotel for a few celabratory drinks! I had the most divine Strawberry Mojito, complete with mashed up berries!

I feel quite sad to be saying goodbye to London College of Fashion, but I'm excited for the next chapter!

Now for my graduation present, holiday time!

The Post Dissertation Come Down

 It finally happened! On Tuesday morning I headed to Holburn, and handed over the fruits of six months of blood, sweat and tears, my undergraduate dissertation done and dusted. I honestly can't tell you how strange it feels. Handing it over was the most bizarre mix of relief and panic I've ever felt, but the strangest thing of all is knowing that my University experience is nearly at an end. It feels like I only started last week!

The last two and a half years have gone by in the blink of an eye, a whirlwind of incredible experiences, hard work, and a jolly good time overall. It's scary to think that in two months time, my University experience will be over, and I'll be heading out into the big bad world for real. I don't feel old enough! 

Since the last few weeks have been pretty stressful, trying to get everything done and dusted for my hand in, it was nice to spend the rest of Tuesday just relaxing. I know most normal students would have headed out drinking to celebrate, but that's totally not my style! Instead, I headed over to St. Pancras, to meet my best gal pal Daphne for a coffee & catch up! We've both been so busy with Uni, we've barely seen each other the last couple of weeks, so it was good to sit back with a coffee and chat about life (and have a sneaky peruse of Boots and MAC too!). The sun was shining, making the morning that much sweeter! I was tempted by a twelve box of Krispy Kremes to celebrate, but I settled for taking a Cinnamon Sweet Croissant Cupcake from Lola's home (my favourite!).

After that, I headed into central to meet The Boy for lunch. I finally took him to Honest Burgers, which could just be my favourite burger joint in London (a bold claim, I know). I chowed down on the classic Honest Burger with Rosemary Fries and traditional lemonade, which is served in the cutest mason jar glasses with paper straws. The restaurant itself is pretty small, and close quarters to say the least, but the excellent food and stellar service always makes up for it!

After that, I headed home where I had the most delicious two hour bath (and shaved my legs for the first time in weeks, it feels so good to have the time!), and then snuggled up in bed by four with The Boyfriend, where we watched Mr and Mrs Smith (can you believe I'd never seen it?!) and about a thousand episodes of Top Gear. I ate my cupcake and slept for almost twelve hours. It was utter bliss.

Of course it doesn't last, I woke up on Wednesday and got cracking with my magazine! No rest for the wicked!

Getting Organised for the Week Ahead

Right now I'm juggling two blogs, a YouTube channel, a dissertation and I'm also trying to put together an entire magazine from scratch, so to say my to do list is large is a bit of an understatement.

I've now got a bit of a Monday morning routine for managing the lot. I fill up my teapot with my current favourite blend (right now I'm all about Teapigs Spiced Winter Tea), stick on the latest episode of GIRLS (even though that show has gone pretty downhill, and being the granny that I am, I cringe at all the crass sex references), and sit down with a pile of stationery that would make Paperchase look a little sparse. I give myself an hour to put everything down on paper.

I start with a big pad of A4 lined paper (the flowery one on the left, it's from Paperchase) and I write down everything that I can think of that I have to do in the week. No big tasks, I break it all down into little steps, I write down deadlines if there are any, and I colour code the lot. Doing this is pretty daunting, but I at least know what I'm dealing with. I then take my beloved Erin Condren life planner, write in any classes I have and any events or plans, so I know what time I have free to devote to tackling the to do list! I like to have a bit of fun with my planner, with pretty stickers and a slightly disgusting amount of washi tape because it makes me more likely to stick to the plan!

I've got this cute desktop planner from Emma Bridgewater that I use to divide all the tasks up by day, I keep this on my desk kinda like a looming reminder of my impending doom. I try to stick to it as much as possible for fear of tasks spilling into the next day. Also, it's really satisfying when I get to cross them out with my giant red pen (which I definitely didn't just buy to feel like a teacher).

As far as blog stuff goes, I'm currently working out of two Rifle Paper Company notebooks (swoon), where I list everything, notes on posts, details on work I'm doing with different brands, what photos to take, that kinda stuff. I have a big excel document where I plan out what post goes on what day, but all of the important stuff is in these books.

It all works for me, and I actually relish my hour with a pot of tea and a stack of books on a Monday morning! It's a nice gentle way to start the week!

Thoughts On: Not Sweating University

Today I handed in the Literature Review portion of my Dissertation, a big milestone in completing my third year of University. *throws party over finishing it, then remembers the other million things I have to do before I can graduate*.

This hand in is the first that I haven't been stressed about. I spent the first two years at University, making myself ill with worry about deadlines and basically, being bloody miserable. 

But not this time.

I've come to the revolutionary realisation, it's not worth it.

Getting an awesome grade, it's not worth being ill, being miserable, being in a constant state of panic and stress. It's not worth it. What's the worse that happens if you don't get the grade you want? You retake an exam, you rewrite an essay, even if you have to resit an entire year, surely that's a better option than being unhappy?

For this hand in, I split my word count into manageable chunks (400 words a day) and went through my planner and assigned a chunk to a day, making sure I had plenty of days off interspersed. I forced myself to get writing, and allowed myself a few days at the end to clean it up. I stopped after my 400 words, and moved on to something else. I didn't let myself get sucked into a spiral of stress and worry and work that doesn't end. And it felt so good.

What I've learnt? None of it really matters. Being healthy, and happy, they are the single most important things. Nothing else matters. 

If I can give one piece of advice to all of you, it's get perspective. Figure out what is most important in your life, and don't let any of the other stuff bother you. 

I only hope I can keep this calm state of mind as my final deadline approaches!