The 5 Most Useful Products I Own

 

Shoot me. I'm guilty. I love to buy products I randomly see, despite never having a need for them! Its a bad habit I know but to be fair, some things I've bought on a whim have actually proven to be super useful! So much so, I can't imagine having ever lived without them!

 

I thought I'd share with you some of the most useful products I've bought over time and now, I can't go anywhere without them!

 

 

Okay so the first item I love is this flat hole punch from Wilko! I have it tucked away in my school bag because its so compact and really lightweight. It's so perfect for school because I am always hole punching sheets and work to put into my folder so its really handy to have!

 

 

The next item is my portable charger which I carry around with me everywhere! Its a life saver when you forgot to plug your phone in the night before or for when you're out the house and your phone's going to die. I would seriously recommend for everyone to buy one! You can buy them absolutely anywhere, from eBay to Primark!

 

 

Okay the next thing was a completely spur-of-the-moment purchase while in Primark but I will never look back! Its a USB charging lead that you can put on your key ring. It's perfect for those moments you need to charge your phone in an emergency because more times that not, I have asked to borrow a charger but the only ones people have don't fit my phone. This one is the perfect solution!

 

 

You probably can't see what this one is but its a little spray bottle of perfume! It's tiny enough to throw in your bag and it isn't filled with just any perfume, you fill it with the perfume you own so you can top up the perfume you're already wearing! You just put this little bottle in place of the cap of your perfume and pump it into the bottle! I was bought mine as a gift but I do know it's from The Fragrance Shop.

 

 

This final item is my favourite of the 5. A USB extension from Wilkinson's. You plug your USB lead into one end, and the other into a USB port in your plug. It adds a lot of distance to your lead so you can carry on using your phone while its on charge, without having to sit close to a plug!

 

I hope you enjoyed this little post on the 5 most useful products I own. I could probably live without them but they just help make life so much easier! Do you have a random product you couldn't live without? Let me know in the comments down below!

 

I hope you have a great day and if it's your birthday, happy birthday!

Sixth Form Shopping On A Budget

One thing that every UK student looks forward to in sixth form is being able to wear their own clothes instead of a uniform. In reality though, it can be quite a pain, especially when you still have school uniform rules to stick to and (apparently) not enough clothes to wear.

 

I thought I'd put together a guide to help all you sixth formers out there when you need to buy outfits on a budget. Because we all know you never have enough money to buy all the clothes you want. So here we are:

 

Tips For Sixth Form Outfit Shopping On A Budget

 

1. Stick To Uniform Rules

They say you're allowed to wear whatever you want but chances are there are still rules to follow so make sure you stick to them.

 

2. 5 Outfits is a Good Starting Point

When shopping, aim for 5 outfits that you love. This way, you've got one for everyday of the week and won't have to repeat outfits.

Starting My Bullet Journal

For quite a while now I've seen the phrase 'bullet journal' being thrown around on the internet, particularly on pinterest. I never really understood what it was about until I had a much deeper look into it recently.

Seeing all of the pretty layouts and designs, as well as begining to understand the practicality of the journal made me want to give it a try.

At first I struggled to find a set of layouts that I thought would suit all of my needs. I have a blog to run, homework to do and school grades to keep up. So although I liked the orignial system and some of the beautiful layouts others had created, I knew I had to adjust them to suit me.

The journal I bought was a gridded Agenzio notebook from Paperchase, which cost me £11. I can't find the £11 version on their webiste, but I found the exact same one which you can personalise! It turns out its actually really hard to find a gridded notebook! (Get on it WHSmith and Ryman!) I shall also be using my new pens which you can see in my back to school haul.

The following pictures are of the first few pages of my journal. I wish they were a little neater but differences is what it's all about!

So this is what is called my 'future log' which marks out all of the events for the rest of the year. As I only have a few months of 2016 left, I thought it would be best not to include the whole year. On the left is all of the holidays and birthdays I need to remember, and on the right is all of the individual events that I can add to as time goes on.

Tips For Teachers That Don't Allow Time For Notes

 

Unfortunately, I know only too well the struggle that is trying to take notes in lessons when the teacher goes too fast. Although teachers should really go at a pace that everyone is comfortable, this isn't always the case and sometimes its really quite difficult to take notes in class.

 

Over time, I have developed a couple tricks that have helped me to write faster and become more accustomed to this but sometimes it can be hard! So I thought I'd try to help you by putting together a list of tips to help you deal with teachers that don't allow time for note taking!

 

1. Read material before the lesson

If you have a text book or pre-printed notes/handouts then its a great idea to read them before you go the lesson so you have a general understanding of what's going to be taught and then you wont be caught up on the basics.

 

2. Use your phone to take pictures of the notes you missed

I do this all the time! This means that I can quickly and easily access the notes and add in anything I know I've missed. If you have to do this often, I recommend storing them on an app like Evernote with a title of the topic, that way you won't have lots of random pictures of work on your phone.

 

3. Use Google to find similar or even the same examples your teacher uses

Sometimes writing down examples isn't the best use of your time and instead writing key points/methodology is a better use of time. Googling examples can also help to consolidate ideas and give you a different perspective if you don't understand.

15 Blog Post Ideas For Your Holiday Abroad

If you have read my previous few posts, then you'll already know that during the summer I went on holiday to Olando, Florida! Naturally, being a blogger, I really wanted to come up with some great new content ideas related to my holiday abroad.

It was actually quite a struggle at first because I wanted to write content that was fun to create and interesting to read so to help out all you bloggers, I thought I'd put together a list of post ideas you can relate to your holiday abroad!

1. Holiday Playlist
2. What's In My Hand Luggage?
3. Essential Packing List
4. Items To Take To (insert destination) That You Might Not Think Of
5. Day-By-Day Photo Diary

40 Thoughts Everyone Has When Going Back To School

 

I can't believe it has been two weeks back at school already! I'm already feeling a little overwhelmed with it all! For most, going back to school after the summer holidays is one of the most dreaded times of the year so I thought I'd put together a funny little collection of thoughts that everyone has when going back to school:

1. Nahh, don't worry, I still have 2 weeks left of summer to do that project
2. How has 6 weeks passed so quickly?!
3. I should probably start that project now...
4. Nah, I'll start it tomorrow
5. Oh god, we go back to school in 3 days!
6. I need to buy some new stationary
7. Yay! Stationary shopping!
8. I will only buy what I need this year. The basics.
9. Oops, I bought a little more than I needed...
10. Oh well, at least I have lots of cute stationary now!

Back To School Stationary Haul

With the start of the new school year, comes one perk that I always look forward to: New stationary!

 

There is no denying that I am a stationary addict and if I could, I'd buy out the Paperchase franchise and keep it all for myself. I'm not kidding... In all seriousness though, I really do have an unhealthy addiction to buying new stationary. Everything from pens, to notebooks, to new ring binders. It's just all so beautiful!

 

Although it's not all as beautiful as everything you'll find in Paperchase, I thought I'd share with you all the stationary I bought for my new school year.

Orlando, Florida - Holiday Highlights

As I mentioned in previous posts, such as in my packing list and my 'what's in my bag?' post, in August I went off on my holidays to Orlando, Florida. It was truly the holiday of a lifetime and was a trip I will never ever forget. We spent two weeks in one of our friend's villas in Kissimmee and had a very jammed-packed two weeks!

I thought I'd share with you all an insight into my holiday and what I enjoyed most about being away.

 

Although the flight was long, I seriously love the feeling of flying and the views from the window are just breath-taking. It is an unforgettable thing seeing the world from above.

 

 

The day we arrived, we headed straight to Magic Kingdom so that we could watch Disney's 'electrical parade' and squeeze in our first ride of the holiday. The parade was sweet, with characters like Peter Pan and Mickey Mouse going along main street. The lights are what make the show though, they dim the lights in the rest of the park so you get the full effect and it's really quite amazing!

 

Goals For Year 13

 

So year 13 has officially begun for me and boy am I scared! I have university to plan for, A-levels to take, course work to do. It's all starting for me. But hey, its not all doom and gloom, I'm feeling motivated and determined to succeed so hopefully all will go well.

 

With a new school year comes new goals and ambitions (and new stationary!) and I thought I'd share with you all what my goals are for year 13. I know they may be a seem a bit ambitious but they are my genuine goals and what I'd ideally like to achieve in my last year in school.

 

 

1.  Never Be Late For Class

Due to the options I take, one of my subjects is taught at a different school and I have to travel between both schools during the day to get to my lessons but unfortunately last year that meant that I often ended up arriving just after the lesson began. This definitely wasn't ideal but it was also not always under my control as I had to take a mini-bus to and from my lessons to the other side of my town. This year however, I am determined to no longer be late for my lessons and I will do everything in my power to make sure I get to them all on time.

 

2. Finish My BTEC ICT Course Early

I actually take 3 A-levels and a BTEC course which is completely comprised of coursework and no exams. This means that it is possible for me to finish my work before Easter and not have to turn up to my lessons after that. This would leave me with three more study periods to focus on my A-level exams which would be perfect for extra revision time. Therefore, I am determined to have my coursework completely finished, to an excellent standard by Easter, if not earlier so I can utilise as much time as possible for my work.

10 Tips For A Great School Year

 

For most, the school year has finally began and it's just as daunting as always. Everyone hopes for a great year and success throughout it so I thought I'd share with you some of my top tips to help you make your school year great!

 

1. Be Prepared

There is nothing more frustrating than starting a school year and quickly realising you're not ready for it at all. Being prepared could include having done any homework set over the summer holidays, having already bought or at least ordered the text books you need, having read over and reviewed any topics from last year that will come up again this year. (I know how annoying it can be to come back from a six week break and feel like the whole of last year was wiped away like pen on a whiteboard.) Make sure your memory is refreshed and you're ready to get going from day one.

 

2. Don't Let Yourself Fall Behind

This is a mistake I think many people make, but its crucial that you don't do it. Letting yourself get behind on work or content will cause a snowball effect and it will be really hard to come back from. Any motivation you lack now, will have to be made up for later. Avoid giving in late homework one week otherwise you'll have to do twice as much next week and chances are, the next homework will be late too because you spent your time doing the last one. If you miss any lessons, make sure you go and see your teacher, copy down any notes and complete any exercises that you missed. Also, if you get stuck on a topic, don't wait until you move on because it may be important or relevant and may make you struggle later on. Instead, work extra hard to develop your understanding and go over work that you don't understand.

 

3. Instead, Get Ahead When You Can

Read textbooks the night before so you have a basic understanding before the lesson which will make the lesson much easier to understand, but don't worry if you don't fully understand it as the content will be covered in class. If its possible, do any work early too, for example if your teacher uploads your homework early then try to do as much of it as you can. Also, if you complete homework early, don't be afraid to hand it in early so you can get onto your corrections and follow ups faster.