PicMonkey.com Review

I'm back with another review already. It seems that I've been finding so many different apps and websites that help me out immensely. I think this review is going to be a favourite of people who blog, create pictures with quotes on it or people that generally want to edit some of their pictures but don't have the money for fancy software. If you're anything like me, your photography skills and editing skills are limited. I never know what to change in order to make a picture look better but this site makes things a lot easier.

It's called picmonkey.com and it's so easy to use. The second you're on the site, you simply just click on the button that says edit a photo.  And then you get these options to edit your picture:

You can change the saturation, brightness, shadows and many many more things changing the colour of the picture etc. It's simple to use with the easy sliders that allow you to toggle between all the different effects that changes your picture in slight ways making them 10 times better.

I've never been one for changing a picture using effects and stuff. The closest that I've ever gotten is Instagram and even that I'm not very good at but this site has allowed me to add an extra dimension to the pictures that I use, mainly for this blog. Most of the new photos with words on them are made by myself and although they wouldn't win any prizes, I'm proud of having made them myself.

That's another part that I love the site so much- the ability to add text beyond the usual fonts available on Microsoft Word. My favourite font is Amatic Small Caps. You'll see it in some of my other blogs and also the main header to this blog! 

After

Before

And the best part is that it's FREEEEEEE!

I'll never be the best but it adds a little creative twist in my life that quite frankly lacks a lot of creativity.

Plus it allows me to create my own pictures for this blog, which I enjoy very much. If you have wanted to edit photos but haven't found a good site, give this one a go and let me know if you like it or if you don't. Also, if you know of a better site, let me know. I'd love to find a load of different ones so I can pick one.

Hope you've enjoyed this review and give it a go!

Love you all,

xxx

Curly Wurly

A while back when I first had my hair cut short I wrote a blog about the trials of long hair and wanting to find a hairstyle that looks good and is quick as well as easy to do. I shall link you to that blog if you didn't read it, or if you did but want to read it again? http://nicolespearlsofwisdom.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/trials-of-short-hair.html

Now, I think that I might have found a hairstyle for the moment that I am loving. Ever since I was a child, I have always had one hairstyle, and two at a push. All during school, I had the hairstyle of a ponytail with no fringe, just simple and sometimes, well mostly, frizzy. I wasn't a very stylish kid- not that I am now but I know a little more than I used to. Then when I got to Sixth Form, my hair started to slowly creep down and I would straighten it. It then stayed that way way into University. It's only since I have short hair now that I have experimented with it a little.

I am not coordinated but I have finally mastered curling my hair with straighteners and I have grown to absolutely love it. My hair is very thin and it lacks volume every single time I do my hair. I also have a weird thing with my fringe where it doesn't lay flat. It's so annoying. But curling my hair thankfully gives it a  bit of oomph and it also lays better than when I straighten it.

All you girls probably already know this but I shall go through it just in case you're an alien and have no clue...

1. Section off the hair into three and take small sections of hair to curl the section I have down.

2. Clamp the hair in between the straightener plates and then I curl away from my face and so twist it towards the back of my head, continuing twisting until I have twisted 180 degrees. From there, I pull straight down and then re-position the curl. 

3. Do this for the rest of my hair, and then run my fingers through it to settle the curls down before I put hairspray on it. After hairspray, I once again run my fingers through the curls so they are less poodle like, and looser. 

My favourite products are my GHD Professional Styling Straighteners, and then the TRESemmé heat protection spray topped off with the TRESemmé Salon Finish Freeze Hold hairspray!

Hope you enjoyed this blog, let me know if you like my hair curly and if you have tried this look and like it/hate it etc. Also, I want to learn how to curl my hair with some tongs but I fear my hair is too short at the moment.

Love you as always!

BYEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

xxx

Motivational Monday #15

Life is one of those things where change is constant and unsuspecting things happen on a daily/weekly/yearly basis. We can't predict the future, nor can we make sure that everything we want to happen will happen. It is so independent and the twists and turns that we take have a mind of their own. Our life is an autonomous organism in itself. It chooses what happens and when. And sometimes, life batters us down until we are just a centimeter from the grips of insanity. But at the same time, life provides us with such amazing happiness that helps us to weather the storm.

In the past 4 or so years, I have learnt this lesson, but for some of you, maybe you haven't had to. Reality: bad things are going to happen and they're going to happen a lot. They're also going to happen when the last thing you need is bad things to happen. Bad things have a way of piling on top of each other and it crushes you down, both physically and emotionally. But before a storm, there is always a moment of glorious feeling where the air is light. It is these moments that you need to enjoy and treasure.

You can think about an upcoming storm in two ways.

1. You can fret about it and become scared of what it may bring spending all your time harping on about what will come or even if it will come rather than spending the time on what is actually happening.

Or

2. You can enjoy the moments before the storm where life is good and untroubled so that when the storm comes, it's hard and it's scary but at the end of the day, the positive feelings you felt before help you get through.

Life is a storm. Life is a boat in the middle of the ocean during storm season. It will be rocked by the hard waves that test how well the captain of the boat is at his job, and it will batter you until you feel like giving up. But at the same time, life gives you the moments of pure bliss where the water is clear and balanced where you sail along in a glorious movement basking in the beauty of life. You treasure and remember the moments of uninterrupted happiness and ease and do your best to get through the storm in any way you can. 

Before your life becomes complicated with whatever life decides to through your way, remember to enjoy the calm before the storm. Enjoy all those boring days where everything goes your way because it won't always be that way. But with the knowledge that you will return to those days sometime soon, it'll help you get through the horror of the storm- those long, and hard days where life doesn't feel worth living.

The storm may come, but it goes after a while. Weather it and you'll come out stronger and ready for the calm to overtake you once again.

I think we are due a storm given the indecisiveness of the weather at the moment. But I hope the sunshine stays- I want the calm for a little bit longer....

I love you all. 

I hope you enjoyed this week's Motivational Monday. If any of you have a quote that I can use for next week's edition. Let me know, I'd love to hear your suggestions :)

xxx

If you want to read more Motivational Monday's:
Motivational Monday #1
Motivational Monday #2
Motivational Monday #3
Motivational Monday #4
Motivational Monday #5
Motivational Monday #6
Motivational Monday #7
Motivational Monday #8
Motivational Monday #9
Motivational Monday #10
Motivational Monday #11
Motivational Monday #12
Motivational Monday #13
Motivational Monday #14

Twuffer Review

I have been giving this blog everyday for a year thing a bit of thought and realise that I am going to be on holiday in a couple of weeks and the likelihood of access to Internet is probably very slim. It made me think about whether  I should carry on or just give up from the inconvenience of it all. The easy option would be give up the 230 odd consecutive blogs and say I tried my best. But I've given up on a lot of things in the past and never really truly stuck to anything long enough for it to be a real achievement. Therefore, the easy option is not an option. The hardest option of course would be to pre-write all the blogs for the two weeks that I will be away and schedule them for everyday so they automatically publish for you guys!

Now that is all well and good but unless I tweet about it, there isn't always a way to see if I've updated already or not. This brings on another problem about scheduling tweets to correspond to the schedule blog posts. I had never really thought about scheduling pre-made tweets to tweet themselves but given my predicament, I have been searching the Internet for a way to do this. Enter Twuffer...

This is a service online that allows you to log into your Twitter account and schedule tweets for whichever date in the future. It then schedules the tweet and when the time and date that you specified comes, it automatically tweets without any assistance from you. I love these helpful gadgets because it makes life easier when you have something busy going on. If you know you're not going to be able to send a specific tweet at a specific time that you want, Twuffer can solve that problem.

For bloggers, like me, and also marketing people, this service is invaluable. We can't always tweet whenever we want, but this gives us the autonomy to be able to do that when we are at our busiest to keep our audience in the know and up to date. It's a marvellous invention and I'm definitely going to be using it. One of the best things about it as well is that in theory, you could schedule tweets for years in advance if you wish to. So, imagine writing a tweet as a 21 year old and having it actually tweeted at the age of 25- providing you still have the same Twitter etc.

It also allows you to see how many tweets you have scheduled at that moment and how many have sent... The easy to see dashboard shows you how many tweets are left to be automatically tweeted and the ones that have been successful. The tab along the top also usefully shows the tweets that have failed.

The only thing I am unsure about it is whether or not you need to be constantly signed into this Twuffer for it to tweet automatically. I will need to test it over the next couple of days but I know I will definitely be using this service when I am on holiday in order to continue my success at this blogging everyday and hope that it works extremely well because when I'm away I won't be able to sort it out unless I pay for Internet.

I really don't want to ruin my consecutive days because I have chosen to lounge in the sunshine but we shall see. If you use Twuffer or have a better service to schedule tweets, please let me know. Or if you have any other useful service that you think will help me, like Twuffer or Airdroid, please leave a comment below talking about it. I'm always interested in finding new apps and services that help me out tremendously.

I love you all as usual, and hope you enjoy your Sunday Bumday!

xxx

Confessions of a Blogger Tag

On Youtube, I always see Youtubers do these "tag" videos where they answer questions and then tag others inviting them to create a video where they answer the same set of questions. It was in one of my brainstorming moments that I wondered if there were any blogger tags and if I could do one for you guys. I came across many but I picked this specific one that I found Jackie Harrison do because I really liked how much the questions related to blogging and not just general life. I also added a few in myself. So here we go... 

1. When did you start blogging?

I started blogging on 13th October 2010 and called it Thoughts From The Heart. Today, I changed the name to Little Pearls Of Wisdom. I am unsure of whether I will keep this name or change it but that's the beauty of a blog, you can sculpt it to be whatever you want.

2. Have you had any past online presence (Youtube or another blog)?

No, I had previously thought about participating in Youtube with the whole vlogging (video blogging) but I'm very shy by nature and the thought of having my face out there for everyone to see scared the life out of me. It was then that I found Blogger and I thought, I love writing and I feel like I have quite important messages to translate and it felt like the perfect combination.

3. Why did you start your blog?

I started blogging about the time I first went to University as a way to track the way I felt about the new experience. I saw it as an online diary, and because I love writing so much, I saw it as a way that I could write and potentially others could read. It's so hard for writers to get their work seen, but the sheer opportunities for blogging makes it a little less scary. I didn't see it as a very important thing and I quickly got a little bored with it.

4. When did you become serious about your blog?

Initially, I became serious about blogging when I rediscovered it about two years after I created my blog. In September 2012, I thought I would give it another go and managed to keep posting fairly regularly. In 2012, I managed to post 72 blogs, which was unimaginable to me at that time. In December 2012, I made a pact to post everyday for the month of December and I achieved that. It was then that I got extremely serious about my blog and vowed to keep posting everyday for as long as I could. I am currently at 235 consecutive blogs. I am hoping to reach the goal of blogging everyday and hope that I can.

5. What was your first post?

My first post was one of my more inspiration and deep thinking blogs which was called Imperfections. It was a time in my life when I had just moved to University and was feeling all sorts of self-conscious. It was one of the blogs that was more for me than anyone else.

6. What was your most popular blog (most views)?

My most popular blog was my April's fool joke of this year titled Introducing... that has reached 118 pageviews. The best part of this blog was that I managed to fool quite a few people who read this, which just put the icing on top of the cake. It was a brilliant idea and I loved seeing the reactions.

7. Where do you see yourself in a year?

I'm hoping that I will still be blogging but I definitely don't see myself blogging everyday. There has been days where I haven't felt the want to blog but I carry on through because I know that it's one of the best things in my life. I am so proud of myself for getting this fair and who knows, maybe I will be reaching for the two year mark this time next year? It all depends on what is happening in my life, I will hopefully be a teacher and so I hope I make time for blogging for it is something I love to do.

8. What is the most rewarding thing to you about blogging?

The most rewarding thing is knowing that people religiously read your blog. I started with this venture thinking no one would want to read or if they did, they would get bored. But thankfully, I have a small following that read everyday and it warms me right down to my toes knowing that people do. It's rewarding to have people read and people like what it is you're producing. Writing is everything to me, and it means the world to know that people like my blogs.

9. What is the most discouraging thing about blogging to you?

The most discouraging thing has to be some of the lack of response. You see the pageviews and I value every single view that my blog gets but it is a little discouraging when there are no comments. It makes you wonder if people click on it and then click off it in boredom or dislike. It's one of the things that has always bothered me with everything I've posted online from blogs to stories. Everyone likes to have response to what they write but most days, I am quite happy to gauge the reaction on the views.

10. What is your lasting inspiration or motivation?

My lasting motivation has to be the pride I will feel at the end of the year blogging everyday. It's the thing that helps me to blog everyday even in the darkest days. I am always motivated to write and when I do, I try to in abundance to make the use of my passion. There are days when I have writer's block and I don't want to but when you feel like that you have to push through. With everything you love, there will be days you hate it and days you love it but the motivation to do it is that you'll feel amazing afterwards. And as always, you readers are my motivation and inspiration to keep blogging.

I hope you enjoy my blog as much as I like producing it and I also hope you liked this blog and got to know me a little better. Maybe in time, I will do a more personal blog tag! If you have a blog yourself, I tag all of you. Don't forget to put the link to it in the comments below and I shall read it happily.

Love to you all,

Nicole

xxx

Always Remember

"Never forget that the most powerful force on earth is love." ~ Nelson Rockefeller

"Tears are often the telescope by which men see far into heaven." ~ Henry Ward Beecher

"The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched. They must be felt with the heart." ~ Helen Keller

29/02/1940 - 26/03/2013 ♥ 

My loving, funny, sweet Grandad. we miss you ever so much!

I love you!

The lump you feel in your throat when you think of those that you have lost along the way is the constant reminder that there is something missing in your life. Nobody could ever replace the hole that has been left in my heart nor the Nan and Grandad size holes in my life. 

Throwback Thursday #9

I don't know if any of you noticed, but I missed last week's Throwback Thursday... Oops. I didn't actually realise until well into the weekend! It was because I got all excited for my graduation and I forgot the whole schedule. Never mind, there are worse things to happen. But to make up for it, I have a cute little picture for this segment...

For this blog, I have changed the game a little. I'm pretty sure you're sick of seeing my ugly mug when I was younger and have no interest in my little stories anymore and so I thought instead of having a picture Throwback Thursday, I would give you something a little different. I am going to be having a TV show Throwback Thursday for all those kids that didn't grow up with Hannah Montana, iCarly and whatever else it is that kids watch nowadays.

1. Sabrina The Teenage Witch.

This was potentially my most favourite TV show when I was little. I always wanted to be a witch and the thought of having a talking cat was just the icing on the cake. I loved Melissa Joan Hart and I thought it was such genius with great storylines and even better actors. It followed the high school witch with her friends at school, her witch aunts and all the supernatural goodness that would come through her closet door connecting the magic realm to the mortal realm. It was great! Looking back now, I think I could happily re-watch every single episode and not get bored of it.

2. Saved By The Bell.

This was another one of the high school drama filled 90s shows that encompassed everything you needed. A super hot popular guy and girl who fell in love, a really muscular guy and a smart girl that fell in love, followed by a really nerdy guy with a hot, materialistic girl who fell in love. All the great bases for a great show. It was one of those shows that I would come home from school to watch and if I remember rightly, I used to watch it before school too. It never got old and regardless how corny it was, it was unavoidably one of the best. Plus, the outfits were so cool it hurt my eyes...

3. Rugrats.

This is one of the best cartoons going and I believe it is still playing nowadays- at least I hope it is. This was one of the shows I used to watch when I was about 10 or so because quite frankly, the cartoon babies were cute and it was one of the best shows on TV. It's an old classic that you just can't help but love.

4. Tom and Jerry.

I'm so mad that this is not shown anymore. It was brilliant and I loved all the episodes that were solely based on the music. It was the music that made each episode given the fact there was rarely any talking it in. It amazes me now how amazing the melodies were to create such spectacular viewing with such simple drawings. Everyone loves watching a cat get beaten by a small mouse. There will be a day when kids have never seen Tom and Jerry and I think it'll be a very sad day at that!

5. Sister Sister

I'm not sure if any of you guys used to watch this but I used to love them. Sister Sister was about twins that were separated at birth by different people who then found one another at the age of 14. It followed their life of finding one another, and navigating through life afterwards. Obviously, one twin was smart, mature and responsible and the other twin was the less smart one with a higher need for boy attention that academic success. They had such a catchy theme tune that made me want to sing every single time the episode aired.

These shows were very much the essence of the 90s and I'd love it if you let me know which ones you watched, and which ones you didn't. Or if there were classic ones that I missed, let me know and I'll reply whether I watched them too but just forgot about them. It seems like such an age ago that these TV shows were at the top of their game and the best shows out there. Time is a crazy thing that just goes within a blink of the eye.

I hope you enjoyed this version of Throwback Thursday and if you did, perhaps I could do a version where I talk about old songs/toys of the past etc.

xxx

If you missed any of the other Throwback Thursday's, they are here for you to look through:
Throwback Thursday #1
Throwback Thursday #2
Throwback Thursday #3
Throwback Thursday #4
Throwback Thursday #5
Throwback Thursday #6
Throwback Thursday #7
Throwback Thursday #8

Monsters University Review

Yesterday afternoon, I went to see Monsters University; the prequel to Monsters Inc. I went into the cinema, as I always do with prequels/sequels, with a skeptical mind about whether or not this new film would ruin the brilliance of the first film but I came out with a smile on my face. It is rare that there is a film that can match up to the greatest of the original film but this turned out to be a gem in disguise. It had been 12 years since the very first film was released but boy was it worth the wait. Even  before the film came on, there was a cute little story called The Blue Umbrella that blew me away with how much emotion they packed into it. Most of the people were asking what the hell it was, but for me, it showcased all the magic that goes into melodies. It was a short video without words that had every brilliance just from the music that went with it.

Then the film started and it was cute little Mike Wazowski as a little boy and he was cute as a button. So small with such high hopes. I love how they slowly but surely merged the two films together entwining the story line to fit in with what would happen in the film to come. It was surprising by what they came up with in order to have the two protagonists meet and I was not expecting the turn they took. What really astounded me was the hundreds of new monsters that they had to create in order to fill an entire university. If it were me creating them all, they would all look the same but there were so many different looking ones that it made me wonder how extravagant the illustrator's minds were.

The main story obviously centered around the journey of Mike and Sulley through university in order to get into Monsters Inc which was where the first film started but there was more to just the story than that. It highlighted all the stereotypes of university and they weren't too far wrong. Besides the actual story, the brilliance of the illustrators and the small details blew me away. It was the small details of the exact sounds that added the icing onto the cake. There were the scattering of legs from one of the monsters that gave me the creeps and the winding of the camera in the background from one of the monster's mothers. There wasn't one frame that wasn't filled with amazing animation, hilarious and sharp jokes or spectacular use of music. It really shows why the film took so long to be produced and why I'm sure it'll be huge among both children, teenagers and adults alike.

It was those of the 80's and 90's that grew up with Monsters Inc, and many like me want to see it for the pure reason of reliving our childhood and hoping to capture some of the magic we felt when we watched the first film. It didn't disappoint me and I loved how it evoked such nostalgia inside of me. It made me excited but the only thing that was missing was the fact that it made me yearn for a sequel from Monsters Inc now. 

Both myself and my friend were torn between whether this film was as good or better than the first film. I'm still undecided but either way, it was amazing and a must see. I would recommend it to everyone and hope that they like it too. 

Like Disney, Pixar never fail to amaze me and I think this is just another film to add to their huge collection of successful films. It encompasses the beauty of animated films and for every other animation out there, they could learn a lot about making films from Pixar.

I love it!

xxx

Top Tips on How to Stay Cool

With the weather being unusually hot, there is a desperate need for us to stay cool and an inability to bring down our core temperature. It's one of those things that really rifles us up because we moan all the time that the sun doesn't come out and when it does, we moan that we are too hot and sticky. It's never a win-win situation for us picky people. But, if you know all the top tricks to keep cool, you'll be able to survive the weather.

Considering yesterday was the hottest day for seven years, I'd say we're not used to the weather and need all the tips we can to stay cool.

1. Firstly, if there is a fan in your house, turn it on. 

There's no use being unnecessarily warm. Even though sometimes a fan just circulates the hot air, it does give you a little bit of a release when the cold air hits your face. It's a lot better than sitting there sweating. Most of us in the UK do not have air conditioning because it would not be used enough and so we have to suffer in a house unless we purchase fans. So get yourself a fan!

2. If you are outside, wear light, loose-fitting clothing, both in weight and in colours. 

It is notorious that the colour black and subsequent dark colours trap the heat inside only making you even hotter. So dig out the whites and pale colours, and if you can get away with shorts at work; wear them! Also, cotton is meant to be cooler than many synthetic fabrics- so get your cotton on.

3. If you take a bottle of drink to work, put it in the freezer over night which will ultimately make your drink in ice. 

Over the course of the day, it'll slowly melt whilst keeping your drink refreshingly cold.

4. At night, if you can't sleep, use a cold flannel to wet your forehead and neck as well as sleeping on as little material as possible. 

Duvets are definitely not advisable and if you can, sleeping in the buff is even better. The less clothing you have, the cooler you should be. So get rid of all those comfort blankets.

5. Wear soaking wet socks.

Me and my sister did this one holiday when we couldn't sleep and I don't think it's very scientific, but it managed to get us off to sleep comfortably; . I think there's something about feeling the coldness on your feet and ankles that make you cool down and forget the heat for a little while so you can drift off into sleep. Let me know if you try it and if it works for you!

6. Another very important thing to remember is that cooling down your wrists will instantly make you feel a little colder. 

And so if you have the chance to, run your wrists under some cold water for a little bit and it should lower your temperature for a little while. It would be perfect if you could do this all the time but you may risk peeing yourself. 

7. Don't get yourself in a big tissy. 

The more you stress and worry about being hot, the more you'll think about it. The mind is a wonderfully powerful thing and if you just channel your mind onto something other than the unbearable heat, it may be that you can get through the day with as little discomfort as possible.

8. One of the most important advisories I can give you is to drink lots of water: you need to stay hydrated in this weather.

Be safe!

xxx

Motivational Monday #14

Even a sick girl who is feeling sorry for herself can churn out a Motivational Monday...

I think this one is more for me than anyone else. Life is hard, cruel and there are times that we feel like we are going through the worst times in our lives. We also can't imagine anyone else sharing our pain and our loneliness; we feel completely and utterly disconnected for the world and the people around us. We also only see the happy sides of other people's lives and we can't help but be jealous for the fact something is going well for someone else. At the moment, I feel lonely and I feel annoyed with life. At the moment, everyone around me is feeling the strain of life and it's hard to keep your spirits up when everything around you just pulls you down.

But despite everything that goes on, there is one thing that we all need to remember in terms of life. We are not alone. We are not alone, physically but we are also not alone in the way we think or the way we feel. There is someone else out there experiencing what we are, and sometimes experiencing things worse than us. That doesn't meant what you're feeling is nothing or is not important but it may bring you comfort to know that you aren't alone and different. People in the past have felt the way we have, and people in the future will. It's not wrong to feel the way we do sometimes because that's the gift that God gave us. He gave us the ability to feel and to hurt. But it's wrong to believe that you are alone and to let that add on top of your worries.

You're never alone.

I'm never alone.

There is always someone to talk to, and there is always someone that can lighten your mood if you just let them. Let them in your heart and let them see your darkest days. They might just be the light that guides you back to who you were before.

Stay strong everyone and remember that you are not alone, and if you ever need to talk to someone, I'm here.

I love you lots,

Nicole

xxx

Motivational Monday #1
Motivational Monday #2
Motivational Monday #3
Motivational Monday #4
Motivational Monday #5
Motivational Monday #6
Motivational Monday #7
Motivational Monday #8
Motivational Monday #9
Motivational Monday #10
Motivational Monday #11
Motivational Monday #12
Motivational Monday #13

Sick as a Dog

The truth of my immune system is that it is shockingly bad. I always get sick but this really takes the biscuit given the fact the weather has been beautiful, it really annoys me that I now have a cold.

Colds are usually associated with cold, dark and miserable winter days but apparently, they can strike whenever given the fact virus' are all year round. The more we spend around people, the greater the chance there is of getting a summer cold. The sore throat, a nasty cough, runny nose and headache is not desirable for hot, lovely summer days. But unfortunately, that's what I'm suffering with.

Darn summer cold. I'm hoping that I can get rid of the cod soon because I want to go give blood again but I can't until I get rid of this stupid cold!

I think as well, it doesn't help with all the pollen in the air, it has sparked a little bit of hayfever combined with with the summer cold- sneezing like a gooden!

Wash your hands thoroughly kids, it helps stops the spread of germs and ultimately helps you not get ill, like me.

I'm going back to eat my tube of soothers and gag on the disgusting taste of the medicine.

Also, sun come out and join us today!

xxx

Just in Time

I have only just posted this blog at 11:37, 3 minutes before I would've missed a day. And the truth is, I didn't really care if I did....

What does this mean for the blogs? I don't know, but I know that for now, I am still on for having posted a blog everyday for a year. Will I make it to the end? Who knows?!

Graduation Pictures

I don't know about you, but today has been one of those days where nothing has felt right. I have gone through today with a sour mood and an unwillingness to smile. Who knows what has got me in such a tizzy? But there we go. Can't be all sunshine and rainbows everyday... Otherwise I might just have a drug problem.

Anyway, on Wednesday I graduated and I said I would share with you people who read my blog but aren't on my Facebook a few of the snaps from the day. You may not care less about my pictures, but I am still a little moany, and it's late so I don't really care. Enter rude Nicole like you've never seen her before. Ha! No, I do care, I just don't want to miss a day and I hope that if you read my blog everyday, you will want to see some pictures of arguably one of the most important days in my life.

So, without further ado, commence the pictures...

And there you go, Harry Potter for the day. Goodnight my beautiful  bunch of people!

xxx

So Long Cardiff

My parents and I stayed in Cardiff last night after my graduation where we spent the evening having a celebratory meal and a couple of drinks afterwards. It was lovely to wind down and to simply have time to take in the last three years, both academically but also personally. I enjoyed the day yesterday and I am looking forward to seeing where life will take me from here- onto my next course and into the future.

Graduation day is not only a day for celebration of what has been but it marks the decisions you need to make for the future years to come. Thankfully, I am lucky to have some plans but I know some graduates are sitting wondering what the hell they are going to do.

All I can say is don't stress, you stress enough as it is on your degree. Now, it's time to relax a little and live. 

It is also one of the last times I think I will be in Wales, and definitely the last times I will live here. I love this beautiful city and I hope one day I come back, even if it is just for the weekend. I have created lots of wonderful memories here and I will miss everyone who made my time at Cardiff so wonderful.

So long Cardiff, I shall see you again.

But for now, London is where my heart lies.

xxx

Graduation Day

Today, I graduate with a 2:1 Bachelor of Arts degree from Cardiff University. When I applied to Cardiff way back in the day, at the tender age of 17- this was the image that I had in my head. This was the day that I had been waiting for, for 3 years.This is the day that I have worked my butt off for so long, and struggled through.

This is the day for me, to celebrate my success and revel in how proud I am, and my family are of me.

Today is my day.

Today, I graduate.

(I shall post pictures of my graduation when I'm back at home with my laptop and internet connection!)

Two Years

Two years ago to the very day, my beautiful and amazing Nan breathed her last breath and said goodbye to the cruel world leaving behind many devastated and heartbroken people; me being one of the most. It was one of the saddest days I have had in existence and I remember the many months before leading up to the emotional ending. The very last words that was uttered to me from my Nan the night before she died with some of her last breaths was calling me over "Cardiff girl" to give me a kiss. The second I came out of that door, I burst into tears knowing that it was going to be one of the last times I heard my Nan speak to me.. And I was right. 

It's funny because tomorrow I will be graduating and I'll never get to tell her that I did it, despite all the hardships. She'll never get to know how hard I worked and how much I pushed down all my emotions to finish uni and make her last words mean everything. She never got to know that I graduated Cardiff and became her Cardiff girl. I wish she was here to share my success with me and tell me she is proud. I wish my Nan and Grandad was.

I miss her so much everyday and wish that she was back with us all when she was at her best and strongest. I remember all the little stories of her calling me Nicky Nacky Noo Noo and me hating it every time she said it. Even when I was a teenager would she use that nickname for me when I despised it and now I would give anything to hear that endearment. Every weekend, we would go to her house on Saturday for lunch and every week we would spend 3 hours plus food shopping going round the supermarket. As I look back on it now, I used to hate it when I was having a bad day and I wouldn't be the nicest to my Nan; it's one of the regrets I have for not treasuring every second with her.

The truth is time is flying by so fast and I can't believe it has already been 24 months since my Nan breathed the same air as me. I think I'm still going to be this shocked when the 10 year anniversary arrives. Death is so final and I hate it. I had never experienced it before my Nan died and my Nan was one of the closest people in my life. And now she's gone, forever. 

She was meant to be invinsible and never leave me. She was one of the strongest women I knew who dedicated her life to her family.

I hope wherever she is, she is happy, safe, healthy and with my Grandad. I hope she also knows how much we love and miss her, and how much we always will. 

xxxx

Motivational Monday #13

I only have one message for you all this beautiful Motivational Monday and it goes a little like this:

In the summer there is limited sunshine as we all know in England, and so when the sun comes out to shine, the BBQs are out and the maximum amount of skin is showing. I for one are very excited for the sun and am trying to spend as much time out in it as I can. It doesn't last long and so I'm trying to make the summer days last.

And that is it, go outside, enjoy the sun and soak up all that amazing vitamin D.

xxx

Motivational Monday #1

Motivational Monday #2

Motivational Monday #3

Motivational Monday #4

Motivational Monday #5

Motivational Monday #6

Motivational Monday #7

Motivational Monday #8

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Motivational Monday #10

Motivational Monday #11

Motivational Monday #12

Santonica

Yesterday night I went to see my sister's boyfriend's band, Santonica, headline for a gig in at pub in Kingston, The Peel. I regularly go to their gigs to support them and encourage them because they're a band trying to make it big in a difficult industry. I really enjoy their music and it's always a great night out with family and friends.

Not only are they a good night out listening to great music but I also love their dedication and determination to try and make it somewhere in the music buisness. They try so hard to book gigs and they work their butt off with their band practices to try and make their sound the best they can. Anyone who goes after their dream and attacks it with all their might is someone that I admire. 

This is one of their songs that was roughly recorded at one of their many gigs and if any of you want to listen, you can. They also have numerous videos on Youtube: just search Santonica.

Their style is very mainstream with some amazing instrument playing. You can't help but be mesmerized as you watched them play and be completely immersed in their dream. I wish I was musically talented because I very much like to see myself as a guitarist or maybe even a pianist. Unfortunately for me, I wasn't but it helps when you know people who are and can go see them whenever.

You can also follow them on Facebook if you are interested more: https://www.facebook.com/Santonicamusic?fref=ts

I just wanted to write a blog because I personally feel they should be more well-known than they are- what better way to spread the news of a band than on a blog?

Let me know what you think of them! :) xxx

New Addiction

Recently, I have been loving the No7 range of nail varnish. I used to buy books all the time, then it moved onto a jewellery obsession; but now I'm back on the nail varnish obsession. There's something about summer that makes you want to paint them. Also, thanks to my maximum growth Sally Hansen clear nail varnish, I have beautiful long nails that look so good with a pretty colour on them.

Given the fact it is summer, I chose a number of summery colours to complement the glorious weather. I chose the Mint Treat and Deep Wine from the No7 Gel-Look Shine collection. What I love most about these is the fact that the application is so smooth and leaves your nails look like they were done by professionals. It's so easy and quick and the vibrant colour it dries as makes people stop and stare at them. 

The two that I got today were from the No7 Stay Perfect collection and I got the colours So Simple (Right) and Hot Lava (left). The So Simple one I bought because I thought it would be perfect to wear when I'm on placement at schools- a lovely neutral colour that will still look lovely wearing. Especially as it'll be winter. The other one I bought for the summer because it's lovely and bright and the colour is a gorgeous mix between orange and a pink- a bit of a coral colour. 

I seriously love painting my nails and I go through stages where I paint my nails every other day and stages where I won't paint them for months, This is a definite paint every other day kind of stage!

The only questions on your lips should be how many should I buy and what colours? Definitely worth the price you pay.  What are your favourite nail varnish brands?

xxx