My Highlights of 2015

As 2015 is drawing to a close, I have been reflecting on this year's highs and lows. It has been a whirlwind of a year; finishing secondary school and starting college. Overall, 2015 has given me some great memories and helped me grow as a person. Here are a few memories that I have cherished this year.

The first shopping trip of the year with my friends: I really enjoyed this day. My friends and I planned a day out in order to buy stuff in the sales. The funny things is that we didn't actually buy as much as we thought we would. We wandered around town and looked at graduation dresses. It is a small memory but I look back on it fondly.

My 17th Birthday: my birthday was quite low key as I don't enjoy big parties or big crowds. My friends and I ordered Chineese, drank way too much Schlor and watched the Great Gatsby. It was a night full of laughs and it was probably my favourite birthday so far. My birthday is coming up very soon so let's see what 2016 has to offer! 

St Patrick's Day: this was just a day of my friends and I frolicking around my town watching a very low key parade. We always have this tradition of sitting in my friend's garden, ordering a pizza and having a laugh. I remember playing with the selfie stick pulling the funniest faces we could. It was absolutely freezing but we didn't care, we still sat outside. We sat out for as long as we could but we eventually had to go in as the next day was a school day. I really hope this tradition can be kept up. 

Completing my Leaving Certificate: last year was jam packed with study and thinking about the Leaving Certificate. When I completed my final exam, I was on cloud nine. After the high anticipation and the hype my teachers set, I had finally completed the Leaving Cert. It was an amazing feeling.

An airshow and a trip to the folkpark: my Mom and I booked tickets to an airshow that occurred in my town during the summer. It was lovely to see the effort my town put into the air display. There were lots of planes, food stalls and carnival rides: something for everyone in the family. It was an enjoyable day. The ticket included a free trip to Bunratty folkpark and we decided to take the opportunity to go te following day. The queue for the actual castle was crazy but we wandered around the old fashioned houses and we even managed to see some Irish red deer! We then treated ourselves to Apple pie and tea. It was another great day out and overall a great weekend. It was enjoyable to spend some quality time with my Mom.

Ed Sheeran Concert: I have a whole blog post on this particular memory. It was the best concert I have ever been to. If you want to read this memory, you should definitely go check out that blog post.

Leaving Cert Results Day: I was so nervous waiting for these results. I opened the envelope, scanned quickly and realised I got, more or less, the grades that I wanted. I ran out to my Mom and the first thing I said to her was 'I DIDN'T FAIL MATHS'. I found that maths exam so hard and that was the one I worried about the most. My parents were both so proud of me and that was an amazing feeling. I calculated my points and I got more than what I needed. I didn't need to worry anymore and that was such a relief. My friends had also got what they needed and that was amazing as we were all able to celebrate together. We got dinner together and it was such a lovely evening. We were all in good spirits and we took a photo that I still need to frame. The night ended in stargazing with my Mom as the sky was so clear that night and the stars were out. My brother and my Dad didn't have much patience and went in after a few minutes. It was the ultimate results night.

My Debs: the day before I had my college place in the bag and so did my friends. I was ready to celebrate. My cousin did my makeup and hair. I wore the most beautiful red lace dress. Everyone was admiring me and it felt quite strange but good strange. I was able to talk with the people that I spent five years with, finding out what courses they were doing. Everyone was in a great mood and it was a good night. 

Those are the memories that stick out the most in my mind. I have so many little memories from this year but if I had a whole blog post on that, I am afraid it will be extremely long. I hope you enjoyed having that little peak into my 2015.

 What are your fondest memories of 2015? 

I am wishing you all a very happy new year. I hope 2016 brings on good memories and lots of blog posts!

All the best,

 

Top Ten Favourite Things About Christmas

Before I get into this post I would like to quickly explain why I have been absent from my blog these past few days. I have had exams but I am finished now. I will posting as frequently as possible whilst I am on my break. I am looking forward to improving my blog throughout my break. Thank you for bearing with me. Now, on with the post! 

Happy Christmas Eve Eve everyone! I hope you are all having a great day so far. Can you believe it's almost Christmas Day? It is absolutely crazy. This year has passed by so quickly. Christmas is one of my favourite times of the year. It makes me feel so happy and fuzzy inside. Here are my top ten favourite things about this time of year.

1.  You get to spend quality time with your family.

2.  You can listen to the corniest Christmas songs and watch the cheesiest Christmas films without being judged.

3.  Christmas dinner.. need I say anything else? 

4.  Both giving and receiving presents. Seeing the smile on someone's face when you give them a present and someone putting a smile on your face.

5.  Quality Streets, Celebrations, Roses.. just being able to eat lots of chocolate in general.

6.  Wearing that Christmas outfit you planned for weeks.

7.  Christmas lights.

8.  Chilling after Christmas dinner, getting cosy by the fire.

9.  New pyjamas.

10. The appreciation of how lucky you are.

There you have it, my favourite things about Christmas. I hope you all have an amazing Christmas. I will have some posts for you before the new year. Thank you for reading my blog and thank you for bearing with me.

All the best, 

The Christmas Tag

Hello. I hope you are having a lovely day. The festive season is truly kicking in and I am really in the spirit ( okay, I have been in the spirit since August but still ). I decided that the Christmas tag is the perfect way to mark the festive feeling. I couldn't decide on which one to do so I mixed a few up and put them into one tag.

1. What is your favourite thing about Christmas?

I absolutely love the quality family time that Christmas brings. I love just sitting by the fire on a cold evening, eating chocolates and watching crappy t.v. I love how family orientated my Christmases and I wouldn't change it for the world.

What is your favourite Christmas movie?

Definitely Elf. It is the perfect Christmas film. It makes you laugh, it makes you cry and it gives you the warm Christmas feeling in your stomach. I am a sucker for all Christmas films but if someone asks me which one is my favourite I will defend Elf with all I have.

3. Real tree or fake tree?

We have always had a fake Christmas tree in my household and it is a lovely tree. I guess having a fake one would save time due to the fact that they last longer if cared for. In saying that, I would like to experience having a real tree someday.

4. Giving presents or recieving them?

I love giving presents if I believe that I got the perfect presents for someone. Seeing the look of complete joy on a friend or family member's face when I've gotten them the perfect present just warms my heart. I am more of a giving person. That being said though, I do love recieving presents too. I mean, who doesn't? I am always so thankful for any present that I receive. I feel so blessed around this time of the year.

5. Do you open your presents on Christmas morning or in the afternoon?

In my house, we open them in the morning. I always struggle getting to sleep on Christmas Eve, I'm not going to lie. My brother and I will normally chat back and forth to each other throughout the night. My brother will stay in bed for as long as possible most days, but when it comes to Christmas, he'll be up at the crack of dawn. We open them as early as  possible.

6. What tops your tree?

For the past few years, we have had an angel top our tree.

7. As a child, what was one ( crazy, wild, extravagant ) gift you always asked for but never received?

Back when I was obsessed with Pokémon, myself and my brother both asked for real life Pokémon. My cousins, my brother and I, actually thought that we would all wake up on Christmas morning and see Pokémon sitting under our tree. We talked about going away with our Pokémon to become Pokémon masters. To our dismay, there was no Pokémon. It didn't crush is too much though because we were so preoccupied with our other presents. My cousins received Pokémon teddy bears to compensate for the fact that Pokémon are not actually real. ( I wrote the word Pokémon A LOT in that paragraph.. ).

8. Handmade cards or bought?

When I used to be good at drawing, I made cards for as many people as possible. It was hard work and it was very tedious. I would rather use bought cards to be honest. It's just less work.

9. What is your favourite Christmas food?

Oh this is a tough question. I absolutely adore turkey but my Granny's homemade stuffing is to die for. I think I am going to say my Granny's homemade stuffing for sure.

10. Christmas Eve traditions?

We usually just chill for the evening and watch whatever Christmas film or television special is on that night. 

11. Favourite Christmas song?

If you are Irish, you will probably be able to guess this before reading ahead. It is Fairytale of New York by The Pouges and Kirsty MacColl. For me, it is not Christmas until you hear this song. It is a classic.

12. Gingerbread or candy canes?

Gingerbread one hundred percent. I have actually been eating gingerbread flavoured things quite a lot in this past month. Also, I am obsessed with Costa's gingerbread lattes. They are so good.

13. Clear lights or coloured lights?

I love the clear lights. I think they are aesthetically pleasing. In that being said, I think coloured lights can look very pretty too.

14. Have you ever made a snowman?

I have! It was a good few years ago on the rare occasion that there was snow. It wasn't the prettiest snowman as there wasn't much snow to build it with, but my friends and I were just shocked that we were able to build one. 

15. Favourite winter drink?

It's definitely between a Terry's orange hot chocolate and a gingerbread latte! They are both amazing.

16. What is the best gift you ever received.

It has to be the handmade dollhouse I got when I was a child. Both my cousin and I received one. I was so happy when I got it. I still have it. It's in my attic. If I ever have children, I will pass it on to them. It's just one of those gifts that should be passed on.

17. What would be your dream place to visit during the holiday season?

I would love to go to Germany and see all of the Christmas markets there. My friend went one year and she said it was incredible. New York also looks magical during the Christmas season.

18. Are you good or bad at wrapping presents?

I am absolutely horrendous at wrapping presents. They just look like a big mess with a pile of sellotape all over it. A+ for effort though, right?

19. Can you name Santa's reindeer?

Uhm.. Rudolph, Prancer, Dancer, Blitzen, Dasher, Commet. I think that's it or is Commet just from the Santa Claus 2? I tried!

20. Any holiday traditions?

On Christmas Day my family gathers at my grandparents' house and we open presents and have chats. We usually then visit my other grandparents' house for the same thing. After that we usually just go home, eat our feast of a dinner and chill in our pyjamas. It's usually really relaxed and family orientated, which I love.

So there you have it, the Christmas tag! I really enjoyed writing this. I absolutely love Christmas so answering questions about Christmas was a joy. I hope you liked this post and feel free to take this combination of questions. Thank you for reading this post.

A Day Trip | Galway

Hello! I hope you are having a good day so far. I was in Galway on two occasions last week - on Tuesday and on Friday. Tuesday's trip was very brief but I still enjoyed it a lot. However, seeing as I got more accomplished on Friday's trip, I wanted to do a post on that trip.

I headed off to Galway at around ten o'clock that morning with my Mom and my Granny. The drive up wasn't as tedious as I thought it was going to be. It was an hour and a bit. It went very quickly due to the stories my Granny and Mom were telling me from when my Mom was a child. It kept me very entertained.

When we arrived, we parked in a very strange car park. We circled around the car park three times before we realised level 2 was actually lower rather than higher, like most car parks. After all of that confusion and laughter, we eventually got parked and we were ready to do our shopping.

We were walking along the main streets until the weather started to deteriorate all thanks to Storm Desmond beginning to brew up. We decided it would be best to spend the rest of our time in the shopping malls, which didn't bother us at all. I really wanted to get some nice pictures of the streets, as Galway is so pretty during the Christmas season. I did manage to get an artsy picture or two on Tuesday.

I was mainly on the prowl for a cape. I have been wanting one for so long but I have been too scared to buy one as I suck when it comes to fashion risks. I tried one on in A-Look and although it was nice, because I am small, my Mom felt that completely swamped me. I decided to take a chance and go into Pennys ( Primark ). The Pennys in Galway is massive. After getting lost in there, I finally found a cape that I really liked. Once I tried it on I knew that I had to buy it. It is maroon and navy, and it is reversable. Personally, I rather the maroon side but both are lovely. I absolutely love the fringe detailing at the bottom. It was a great buy and it only cost €13. I am dying to wear it but I decided that I should keep it for my Christmas outfit.

I also purchased the softest pair of jeans from Vero Moda. I also got myself a new notebook from T.K Maxx on Tuesday's trip. Isn't it so cute? 

Once we all got what we needed, we decided to take a break and get a Whopper meal from Burger King. It was so enjoyable. My Granny and Mom picked up a few more things after our meal. We decided at two o'clock it would be best to leave Galway as the weather was continuing to get worse. 

Despite the weather, we had a great day and we all got the things we wanted. It was definitely a success.

I hope you enjoyed this post! Thank you for reading this. I hope you all have a great day.

My Month in a Nutshell | November 2015

Hello everyone! I cannot believe we are almost at the final month of 2015. It is quite scary to tell you the truth. I decided instead of a monthly favourites post, I would do a new series on my blog called 'My Month in a Nutshell'. Here it goes!

November has been quite a hectic month for me. I have had so many assignments to hand in and a lot of preparations for exams, which are starting next week. My assignments have been helpful so far because I seem to be in a good position in relation to my grades. It is because of this that I am not stressing too much over my tests. It's also great because my lecturers more or less told us what is coming up on the exams, which is so relieving. I have a reading week now so I have been tipping away at study. My exam timetable has worked out pretty well which also brings stress levels down. I have four exams and then I'll be finished on the 18th of December. I am looking forward to getting off for Christmas as I will be off for more than a month.

I have managed to have a catch up with my friends on different occasions. I went out with one of my friends for lunch and I had a nice chat with her about how I am really feeling about college. It was nice to finally have a heart to heart. I met another one of my friends randomly at the bus stop while I was on my way to college. I had a lovely chat with her on the bus. I am really looking forward to being able to catch up with my friends properly over the Christmas holidays.

Speaking of buses, bus journeys can be extremely boring, I'm not going to lie. In order to make them more entertaining, I listen to music. An album that I have been absolutely loving at the moment is Made in the A.M by One Direction. I have loved this band for so long. This album is honestly incredible. Their vocal and songwriting abilities are definitely showcased throughout the entire album. I cannot pick a favourite it is that good. I am so proud of these boys. It is an album that should be listened to, even if you aren't a fan of them. This album will change your opinion of them. 

In relation to songs I have been loving the following:

• Chasers by The Academic

• Jackie and Wilson by Hozier

• The Feeling by Justin Bieber and Halsey

• Catch Me If You Can by Walking on Cars

• Youth by Daughter

• Waste the Night by 5SOS

• Get Loose by The Coronas

As my weeks have been getting busier, I have taken up meditation. Every night I meditate before I go to sleep. I have been using Tara Brach's website. It has been so benificial for me. My sleeping pattern has improved and it completely relaxes me, helping my worries drift away for a while. It is great and if your thoughts tend to get in the way of your sleep, meditation is the way to go. I will leave a link to Tara Brach's website at the end of this post.

My love for reading has also grown in the past month or so. I recently read a book that has had a huge impact on me; Me and My Mate Jeffery by Niall Breslin ( Bressie ). This book has helped me so much in relation to learning how to live with anxiety. If you live with anxiety or know someone who does, you should really read this book. It is extremely helpful. Bressie was incredibly brave to write this book and he has helped so many people in Ireland. 

I finally tried a gingerbread latte in Costa after wanting to for over a year. It did not disappoint. I am not the biggest coffee drinker but I really enjoyed it. I absolutely loved the little penguin Christmas cup and the little gingerbread man that came with it was so adorable. I sat upstairs in Costa and watched the rain patter against the window whilst I sipped on my drink, feeling all warm and cosy.

I am currently trying to organise what presents I need to get for people. I am feeling quite unorganised with it all to be honest. I am hoping that tomorrow will sort that out. I am going to Galway to see the Christmas markets and go shopping. ( yes, there should be a blog post up about it later this week ). 

My love for photography is growing more and more each day. Here are a few pictures I took this month:

I bought myself a hot water bottle this month as the one I had before was quite old. This one is so much better. My Mom also bought me a cool vintage glass which came with a candy cane coloured straw. I love it so much! 

I have been wearing my mustard infinity scarf non-stop. It is so so cosy and the fact that it only cost me €2.50 is amazing! 

So there you have it, my November in a nutshell. I really enjoyed writing this post. I hope you enjoyed reading it. I hope you all had a great month and hopefully December will be happy and merry!

Tara Brach's Guided Meditations: http://www.tarabrach.com/guided-meditations/

Note: This post is not sponsored. All opinions are my own.

Room Tour | Festive Edition

Hello! I hope you are all having a wonderful day. 

As November is rapidly coming to a close, it is getting more and more acceptable to talk about Christmas and get into the festivities of it all. In fact, it is only a month until Christmas Eve! How exciting. 

I am a sucker when it comes to anything to do with Christmas. Everyone that would know me personally would tell you that straight away. I decorated my room around two weeks ago. I know what you are all thinking: oh my god that was way too early!!! I couldn't help it. It is not just the Christmas part that I love about it. I love how calming and relaxing it is. I decided it would be nice to give you an sneak peak into my decorations that I have put in my room so far. I hope you enjoy! 

Before I get into this I would like to apologise for the quality of some of my photos. The lighting was not particularly the best.

My mini Christmas tree. I absolutely love this. My Mom got me this last year and I think it is so adorable.

What's a Christmassy room without some fairy lights? I purchased these in Pennys ( or Primark as it is commonly known ) and they add so much to this room. They are so cute.

 

My mini Santa. My favourite thing about this is that when you flick on its switch underneath, it lights up in different colours and star shapes reflect against the wall. 

I got this last year in the 2 Euro shop. I like having it hang off of my wardrobe. It adds so much Christmas vibes to my room.

I put this tartan scarf over my dressing table to add a Christmassy / Winter vibe to it. I decided because I don't wear this scarf that much, I wanted to put it to some use. I think it makes my room that little more cosier. 

I love how it looks so far. It makes me feel really relaxed and it makes studying a little bit more bearable. My candle isn't a Christmas candle, it has a simple scent that is very soothing and it doesn't make my room smell too strong. I wish I could keep my room like this all year long. I hope you liked seeing my decorations so far! I am sure that I may buy some more within the next few weeks. Thank you for reading this.

 

#PrayForParis

Hello everyone. I had a blog post planned for today but I didn't feel it was right to post it today. I will hopefully have it up for tomorrow.

This isn't exactly a blog post but I wanted to simply acknowledge the tragedy that happened in Paris yesterday. 

Rest in peace to those who died in the tragic events last night. My thoughts go out to the victims, survivors and their loved ones. What happened last night was way beyond religion. I hope one day John Lennon's wish for a peaceful world will be true. 

Paris, my thoughts are with you during this incredibly hard time. x