Shopping With Momma Bear

Date: 21 January 2014 

Time: 23:55

Weather: still freezing and wet :( 

Soundtrack: Usher- Scream 

Today was the day of the long anticipated shopping trip in Birmimgham with my lovely mummy! I had been waiting for this day, the day I could treat myself to new things, since the day I started revising for my January exams!! It was possibly the only hope that got me through the exams because well, I'm a girl who loves to shop, I mean, who doesn't right?! 

So, at approximately 11:10AM, the train set off in the direction of Birmingham and me and my my prepared for an awesome day! Honestly, I didn't just plan the day for myself, I wanted to treat my wonderful mummy to a much needed day out, she's been through a lot recently and I figured this would take her mind off things. When we got to Birmingham, it was lunch time and we were starving (mostly me because I overslept and missed breakfast) so, we headed for some lunch at Nandos because it's my favourite place to eat, more so when I haven't eaten there in months! 

Lunch was a delight, as it always is at Nandos and after this, we hit the shops to shop til we dropped (ridiculously cliched I know, sorry). I managed to bag myself a few bargains in the sales and I'm also the type of person who will not leave until she has hunted down a good bargain and I definitely managed to do that today! I think I saved myself about £50 altogether! That included a saving of my new little piece of technology: iPad Mini 2, 32GB. Not only did I have a voucher for the Apple Store (my raffle winnings from the raffle I helped organise; ironic but I promise I didn't cheat!) but I also got a student discount (perks of being a hard working university student!) Needless to say I was a very happy person with the savings and purchases I made today! 

My mum also decided she would buy my dad an iPad because she knows he's the type of guy who will never treat himself to brand new technology, he always buys second hand technology (except for phones). Turned out that she ended up having it anyway because my dad wanted the bigger iPad and so swapped he new mini with my mums iPad 2! It was the funniest experience for me because it took me so long to convince my mum to buy the iPad mini for my dad in the first place and it turned out that my advice was wrong because, even though my dad told me JUST LAST NIGHT that he wanted the mini, he changes his mind far too quickly and didn't want it anymore! Anyway, it worked out okay because my mum was happy with a new iPad anyway! 

So the purchases of my day were: 

iPad mini 2 - Apple Store

A new bag - Forever 21

A pullover jumper - H&M

A set of rings - H&M

A zip up Hoody - BANK

A top - BANK 

Rimmel Colour Rush Intense Colour Lip Balm - Superdrug 

I'll update my post with pictures tomorrow! However, the shopping didn't stop because when I got home, I went ahead and ordered myself an iPad cover with a keyboard from Amazon and I also purchased some Nike Roshe Runs ready for my gym sessions when I head back to University!! I'll post a picture of these when I get them! 

Overall it was actually a really great day, I haven't had a day like today in such a long time and it was lovely to come home and sit around with my family and see everyone happy and talking together! The only downside was that my little sister was ill with a headache and so slept a few hours if the evening away. She soon perked up though and was as excited about my new purchases as I am! 

It's definitely amazing to have such a loving and supportive family. My life has changed so much and I've definitely grown a lot more closer to my family and I can honestly say that having such a loving family changes so much in your life. It really makes me value the fact that I have a family like mine, because I know there are some people who aren't as privileged as me and who haven't had the support of their family like I have. 

Some people might be reading this blog thinking I'm some sort of spoilt child because I've been lucky enough to go out shopping and enjoy he day like I have but honestly, I'm definitely not. The only thing my mum paid for today was the food we at and the house I came back to. In fact, I was the one treating my mum to the things she wanted today because I make it a point to show her my appreciation and gratitude. I've been brought up to appreciate what I have and share with others, those are the values I will never ever lose, to me, they're everything. I'm fortunate enough that I have a tiny bit of spare cash to be able to treat myself but, I don't do it all the time, sometimes I'll go into Birmingham and buy nothing, other times I'll spend a little or maybe more than I should, but I definitely don't splurge like crazy and I most definitely am grateful for all that I have. 

So I think that's enough of me for tonight! Before I go though, I would like to point out that I am blogging from my iPad and I think I am almost certainly in love with it! Look out for a new post soon where I will be reviewing the new Rimmel Lip Balm and my new maybelline lip pencils! 

Peace, love and thanks to you all xo

Pic of the day: My beautiful cat, Tiger: 

Purchases of the day: 

Close up of the rings: 

Picture of the day!

My creation after messing around with photo editing apps :) 

Just another day in the life of PLUS! Rimmel Lip Lacquer...

Date: 19 January 2015
Time: 16:08
Weather: Freeeezing 
Soundtrack: Nicki Minaj: Pills n Potions 

Firstly, IT IS SO COLD TODAY!! I was having a chat with my friend earlier and mid conversation she screamed "IT'S SNOWING!!" but not in any type of delight, she was gutted because she had to walk in it to her exam. Needless to say she was not at all impressed, as if having an exam wasn't already bad enough!!

Today was probably the earliest I have woke up in at least a month. I had to get myself up and ready for my Commercial Awareness Competition (which was horrendous). The 8:30AM alarm was no use to me, I woke up as it hit 9AM, the 8:30AM alarm was merely a warning!!

It's been cold all day today, I'm currently wrapped in my blanket, huddled into the corner of my bed. Student houses are always the coldest places to be, I think the University Library is probably warmer. I've been contemplating making a hot water bottle but it's far too cold to move!! The Weather App tells me its 2 degrees but I'm certain its colder than that, it definitely feels it anyway!!

I'll be hopping off home tonight, my dad says he will pick me up later this evening so at least I will be able to enjoy the warmth and comfort of my own home for a while!!

So, I just thought I would post a little review today. I'm wearing Rimmel Lip Lacquer in colour 402- Across the Universe. Honestly, I cannot get enough of their lip lacquers! I am forever getting complimented on my lip colour when I wear this particular colour! In general, the Lip Lacquers are amazing because they stay on all day and you don't even have to reapply if you put on enough in the first application. Today, I've had mine on since 10AM and I haven't reapplied. Also, it doesn't make your lips feel sticky or dry. Sometimes, when I have a bare face, I use this colour as my statement for the day and it works a treat! It's a deep red but it's not overly dark, for me, it's the perfect balance for an everyday lip colour! The only issue I sometimes have with it is that when I apply it, it sometimes has a mind of its own and moves outside my lip line but, this is easily solvable with a cotton bud, just simply wipe away the excess and your lips will look wonderful!! I would definitely suggest investing in one, they very affordable and the range of colours is great. They now have a matte range out, which I haven't tried out yet but will be very soon!!

Here's how it looks. The second is a close up of how it looks right now (after it being on for 6 hours and enduring the cold and wind and me eating croissants, crips and drinking tea so it has faded in comparison to the first picture)

The End of My First Weekend of Freedom 

Date: Sunday 18 January 2014 

Weather: Cold and miserable 

Time: 15:52 

Location: My bedroom (Nottingham)

Soundtrack: Beyoncé: Partition

So, today marks the end of my first weekend of freedom. My first set of exams of my second year are now over. So, this is the first blog in a very long time and a lot has changed since then. Firstly, I received my first year grades. I averaged at a 2:2 degree class. Slightly disappointing but not dreadful, it's the average expectation of a first year Law Student. Whilst a 2:1 is desirable, a 2:2 is not as bad as it sounds. 

Summer was great, I visited a friend who lives in Oswestry (near Wales) and I made the most of the time I had with my family and my freedom! I also earned as much money as I could however I quickly spent it because I felt like I deserved it (I probably shouldn't have done that). 

I also broke up with my boyfriend who I had been with for 2 and a half years. It was heartbreaking to say the least but at this point in my life, I haven't been happier and I know that everything was for the best. Whilst it was a sad time and it saw the end of a chapter of my life, I greeted the next chapter with open arms and thus far, it has ben the brightest of my life (even though there have been some downfalls). 

So, the start of my second year came with full force in September 2014 and here I am, having endured whatever my lecturers threw at me in my first semester, happy sat, knowing I've worked hard, in anticipation for my results. I believe it's another 3 weeks until I find out my results but we'll cross that bridge when we get to it. They say you shouldn't waste your life waiting, seize the moment and all that, so I've tried to do that as much as possible over the last 2 days [of freedom]. 

Friday night (the day of my last exam) was my night off. Guilty is charged, I done absolutely nothing. Then Saturday came and I tidied my room out, sorted all my revision papers, took down the countless amounts of paper I had tac'd onto my walls and filed them away. 

It hasn't been a weekend totally free of work though, I had a few notes to go over to refresh my memory ready for semester two, and so I got to work on them. It wasn't solid work though, I deserved a bit of a break, so I've watched around 5 episodes of suits over the past 2 days, read a few magazines (Cosmo ft. Khloé Kardashian was great) and watched a movie or two. It has most certainly been a great weekend! 

Tomorrow (19-January) marks the day of round one of the Commercial Awareness Competition. Who knows how that will go!! Nevertheless, it will be a worthwhile experience so good luck to me and my team, let's do this!! 

So that's that, the update of my life since summer, there have been so developments but I'm still the same law student, with the same dream, some day I'll be there but until then, it's goodbye for now! Oh, and Happy New Year! May 2015 bring you things you've dreamed of and all the happiness you could desire! 

Quote of the day: 'Hate is heavy, let it go'- R.M. Drake 

Why? Because hate is a waste of time and energy. Not to mention it causes unnecessary conflict. 

Picture of the day: 

Why? Because I dyed my hair red a couple of months ago and this picture captures it so well. I also like my smile :)

City Law For Ethnic Minorities

Date: June 12, 2014.
Venue: Church House, Westminster, London
Mode of transport: Train, tube, feet
Energy: 5/10
Tiredness: 8/10
Hours of sleep: 6

The early morning wake up call of my alarm sounded as it struck 7am. I jolted out of bed, only to wake up the next day, the 12th of June, the day I would start my travels to London for a long anticipated event; City Law for Ethnic Minorities; run by TARGETjobs. The event had been running for 11 years, it provides aspiring solicitors of an ethnic minority background, the chance to network with and learn about some well established and prestigious commercial law firms.

Preparation for the event had been ongoing for weeks. Not only did I have to research the attending firms but, I also had to go out shopping for new clothes (obviously the most difficult part). I had to make sure I looked the part, I had to play a sophisticated student who was clued up on the ins and outs of commercial law and the participating firms.

Travelling to the even was an eventful and dating experience. The initial train journey was good although, the heat made travelling to the train station more stressful than it should have been. After purchasing a refreshing drink from the shop, I felt hydrated enough to continue my travels. On my arm I wore the heaviest thing ever; a Michael Kors bag stuffed with my clothes, shoes and other belongings (namely straighteners, creams and other things I probably panic packed). After the 15 minute journey to the train station my arm was sore and, quite frankly, dead.

I made it through the train journey to London and I reached victoria station where I had to buy my tube tickets for the 2 days. The time was about 12:10pm and I needed to be in westminster by 1pm. As expected, my nerves made me panic, stress and I'm pretty sure I worked up a sweat. Rest assured, I made it to westminster on time and I managed to walk around in circles trying to find my destination.

IOS7 and its genius map software was enough to lead me in the right direction and I managed to arrive 20 minutes early. I took a seat in the reception area and awaited the daunting experience of meeting new people. Little did I know that I would enjoy the programme as much as I did.

Day 1

Arrival, check in, find your name tag, get your picture taken, make friends, welcome presentation, ice breaker, networking, skills sessions and more networking. That was the itinerary of the day "in a nutshell". The skills sessions gave me all the information I needed on "what looks good on an application" and "how to make myself stand out". I also managed to make friends with a few girls and we seemed to just click, which was nice!

After the networking sessions with associates, trainees and partners (something I felt privileged to be doing) we were given a 'buffet lunch' (if you count cheese and crackers as a buffet lunch of some sort) and then we were free to go to our hotel.

Oh yeah, that's right, a hotel. You see, when you go to these kind of events, events sponsored by law firms (most of which are international) you get everything paid for. The hotel was paid for, so were my travel expenses.

Rooms at the hotel were being shared between two people; I was sharing with another girl from my university who was doing sociology. I had never met her before but we soon got to know each other.
After settling into the hotel, a few of us decided to go out for a meal. We found a small little indian restaurant and ate there. Butter chicken, coconut rice and plain naan; the order I placed which I wasn't particularly satisfied with. The complimentary popadoms did make it a little easier to swallow though.

After our meal, our next stop was any local shop or supermarket that would sell me some shampoo, a toothpaste and a toothbrush because, in all my haste and panic, I forgot the bare essentials for my trip. A 10-minute walk later and I found myself in a 'Nisa Local' spending almost £6 on the bare essentials I already had at home! One word: annoying.

After I got over my silly mistake, the girls and I headed back to our hotel where we sat and talked until we realised it was too late for us to be awake considering we had a 7.30am start the next day.

The heat of my room prevented my good night rest and I found myself doing nothing but tossing and turning for half of the night. I felt like when I finally did get to sleep, my alarm went off.

Day 2

6am. Beep, beep, beep. My alarm signals my need to wake up and reminds me of the lack of sleep I got throughout the night. Opening my eyes was like peeling away a layer of skin; painful and undesirable. When I finally built the strength to get out of bed, I brushed my teeth, splashed my face with cold water and started making myself presentable. Another day, another 2 law firms to visit.

I knew that today was going to involve a lot of travelling on the tubes, to and from the law firms, so I made sure that my shoes were comfortable and that I built enough energy and stamina to keep going.

7.30am in the hotel lobby was my next stop. I made it 5 minutes late but I was complimented on my level of preparation (I seemed to be the only one who had sorted my name badge with the correct information). A cold cup of wage later and I found myself stood in the blazing sun, getting ready to make my way to the first firm of the day; RPC.

My aim was to get there as soon as possible because they were going to be giving us breakfast. When we arrived, we were greeted by a few friendly faces in the offices, invited to take a seat and then invited to have breakfast. On offer for breakfast was croissants, sausages, bacon, yoghurt, orange juice, tea, biscuits, coffee and sparkling water (the one thing I regret taking).

I successfully managed to make a fool out of myself by dropping my croissant crumbs on the floor however, I tried to cover up my mistake by pretending nothing happened.

After breakfast and a bit of networking, we made our way back to the presentation room where we were given a talk on presentation skills and split off into groups to deliver a presentation of our own, alone, in front of the rest of our group, a trainee and someone from grad recruitment. Needless to say, it was a daunting experience but it definitely helped me improve on my presentation skills.

Later in the day we were made to do a group presentation which was definitely a lot easier than the single presentations! After the first half of the day was over, we had to make our way over to yet another law firm for lunch and also for the case study exercise.

So, after finally finding our way to Mayer Brown (yes, we got lost) we were given lunch and sticking true to the event being for 'ethnic minorities' we were provided with curry, rice and naan. Oh, and poppadoms too!

After lunch, we were given a brief for the next exercise; a case study. It concerned two chocolate companies considering to merge however, true to the reality of practicing law, there were a thousand and one issues that we had to deal with. Issues of fair trade, public opposition to one of the companies, money and more. We had 3 hours to deliberate in our groups and come up with a proposal to present to the partners (whose roles were played by trainees) and we were questioned on our choices and we received feedback on our presentations. It was definitely a challenging exercise but it also equipped me with a wealth of skills that I have been able to put into practice a lot.

Following this, we went on to a 'Panel Discussion' where we were given the opportunity to hear the success stories of associates and partners and we were also provided with information regarding further opportunities we might be able to make the most of. After this, the programme came to and end and we were given a goody bag (containing cards, brochures, pens and more) and we all parted our ways and made our way back home.

For me, the two days were a great experience. I remember my mum telling me she was worried about me travelling around London on my own (something I had never done before) but she also told me how she was happy for me, not just because I had the opportunity to visit the law firms and meet new people, but because I had grown in myself so much. The person I was a year ago would never have gone to any type of event like this on my own. But that's what life is all about, growing, learning, making the most of things.

After thoughts: 
My confidence has grown to a point I never imagined.
I've changed for the better.
I need to go to London more often.
Make the most of every opportunity you have because if you don't, you'll start to wonder what could have happened.