A Weekend In London!

Back in September, my Mam and I went to London for a weekend of shopping and sight-seeing. I've not been on a summer holiday this year and my only time out of the North East was a weekend spent in Leeds for my friend's birthday back at the start of the year, so I was more than due an adventure.

London has always been one of my favourite places to visit and I can't count the amount of times I've visited now. I usually go in December time because I LOVE the atmosphere of seeing everywhere lit up on the dark nights, the ice rinks - especially the one at Somerset House - and of course Winter Wonderland. I'll definitely be heading back again this year because myself and one of my besties, Helen, have tickets to see the Red Hot Chili Peppers at the o2 in December. Can't wait!!

Anyway!

Day One...

Mam and I set off on Saturday 24th September bright and early for our train and arrived at Kings Cross just before midday. After a short taxi journey we arrived at our absolute beaut of a hotel, the Blu Radisson Grafton Hotel on Tottenham Court Road. Normally we really couldn't have afforded such a nice hotel but by some miracle there was an offer on Superbreak.com to stay two nights with rail included for £185 each - insane!! I would highly recommend trying to find a similar deal when you're booking a city break. Means you get more spending money for your trip!

The first place we visited was St Paul's Cathedral. I printed off some half price entry vouchers for main attractions which I found online, so we paid £18 for the two of us to go inside. You're given a little electronic device with a headset so you can have an audio tour as you walk around. I found this really useful to learn things as usually I'll just look around thinking 'ooo thats pretty' but not have a clue what I'm looking at! Sadly taking photographs inside St Paul's is not permitted but I did get a few shots of the outside.

After that we went on a leisurely walk across the millennium bridge towards the Tate Modern and along the riverside towards Tower Bridge and then across to the Tower of London. Unfortunately by the time we got there it was closed to go inside but we enjoyed the walk with amazing views, and stopped for a coffee break on the way.

We decided to head to the other end of the river to visit Big Ben, so we took the tube and had a walk along the south bank beside the London Eye. The atmosphere was great as the sun was just going down, there were food stalls, live music and street performers. I got myself an amazing veggie burrito from the stand at Wahaca which was insanely good.

A bit later we had dinner in a Cafe Concerto which was beautiful. 

We then finished the day with an evening walk back to the hotel via Trafalgar Square, Leicester Square, Carnaby, Regent Street, Oxford Street and finally Tottenham Court Road. Not surprisingly we walked 26,000 steps that day according to my phone!!

Day Two...

Not gonna lie waking up and getting out of bed was hard that morning because of all the walking! We got up and ready then head to Carnaby Street and popped into the Pret A Manger there for a coffee and pan au chocolat to start the day. With it being a Sunday the shops opened later than usual, some 11-5, others 12-6, so we had a wander around before places opened and enjoyed how quiet the streets were compared to usual.

We first visited Topshop of course and after looking around the entire place all I bought was a jumper that I'd seen in the stores at home and a pair of jeans! Not sure what is going on in there this season but I'm really not going crazy for anything like I normally would be this time of year. Having said that, my new jeans are incredible and I've worn them an excessive amount since buying them. It's always a sad time to visit the Topshop mothership when I no longer have my staff discount...
My jeans were the Dree style which I've never had before, and I took a risk buying them without trying them on, but I got my usual size w28 l34 and they fit me perfectly! Now I'm after the perfect pair of ankle boots to wear with them!

After Topshop we headed down Regent Street to a lovely vegetarian restaurant called Tibits to meet one of my best friends Sarah, who I hadn't seen in over a year since she moved back to London from Sunderland! We had a lovely catch up over the most yummy veggie food and I'd highly recommend the restaurant. It felt so strange to be able to eat anything and not have limited options! Hoorah! Thank you to Sarah's Nan for the recommendation haha 

After our meal Sarah, my Mam and I went back to Carnaby Street where we visited one of my favourite shops Monki, then Sarah had to head off. I miss her so so much and love that when we see each other it's as though we were never apart.

While walking from Tibits back to our hotel we passed a lady making art on her typewriter outside of Liberty. I looked her up and she's @krtypewriterart on instagram if you're interested in her work! I thought it was amazing.

The Sunday afternoon went slightly downhill after this because Mam and I decided to get the tube to Knightsbridge to go to Harrods and then head to Chelsea. But because of it being a Sunday afternoon, by the time we got to Chelsea everything was shut! We walked past the beautiful V&A Museum I did manage to find The World's End Vivienne Westwood Shop (closed) and we had a lovely walk along the Chelsea Embankment, but I definitely failed on finding the part of King's Road we had wanted to visit. We were so tired from walking around we slumped into the first pub we saw and had a not very nice and expensive pub lunch! In hindsight I wish we had visited the V&A Museum and spent time in there, but hey ho.

Poor Mam was so tired we headed back to the hotel, and while she was resting (with her permission) I left her and went to meet a friend for a drink in Leicester Square followed by another evening walk.

Day Three...

In utter disbelief at how fast the trip was passing by, we got up relatively early, packed up our things, left our cases at the hotel and ventured out for our last day. We planned on going for breakfast first but stumbled across an Oliver Bonas store where I could literally spend hours their stock is so beautiful. I ended up buying a beautiful lamp for my bedroom with a huge Edison bulb. Love! Silly me not thinking we'd pass the shop again later in the day, I carried the lamp around in a carrier bag all day long, completely unnecessarily. 

On our way to Covent Garden we came across Seven Dials which I'd never visited before and thought it was a beautiful area, with a Rokit vintage store, Urban Outfitters and a Brandy Melville store. 

In Covent Garden we browsed the market for a while which is always lovely, especially when there are musicians playing, which there usually is! During our visit there were violinists.

We then headed to Brigit's Bakery where I'd booked us Afternoon Tea, which we had been highly anticipating. It did not disappoint, it was amazing! The staff were lovely, the savoury food was yummy and the cakes were beautiful. We were so full we had to take away our left over treats, and we bought a BB Bakery mug to enjoy our cups of tea in at home. I'd highly recommend here for afternoon tea or simply just to stop by for a slice of cake and a cuppa. 

Following our afternoon tea Mam and I had a walk through the park Buckingham Palace and then across to visit Fortnum and Mason in Piccadilly. Neither of us had visited the store before and wow is it insanely expensive. I did enjoy looking around although I am just baffled by obscenely priced stuff and I really didn't understand the hype! Mam bought her friend a box of fancy chocolates and that was about all we could afford haha.

Having only a couple of hours left before we had to get our train home we decided to go to choccywoccydoodah for a treat and shared an unreal banana split dessert with ice cream, cream and chocolate flakes on top. I'm more of a savoury person than sweet but my God there was not a scrap of that left it was so delicious. All the walking we did I'm sure we burned it all off easily anyway!

The last part of our day was heading back to the hotel to collect our cases then heading back to Kings Cross to catch our train back to Durham. Three days in London is definitely a whirlwind trip and we didn't fit in as much as we wanted but we did get about a lot! Maybe next time I'll make more of an organised plan.

I Heart Depop!

Recently I've been pretty much obsessed with Depop. If you don't know what it is, where have you been?! But also, get it! It's basically a selling and buying app, with an 'instagrammy' vibe. You can sign up, make your own page and think of it as your own little online store. I've added a screenshot of how my page currently looks below. P.S my username is @lauraolivia so follow me!

June Wishlist

Here it is, my wishlist for June 2016. I've tried to stick to quality products and really narrow it down to things that would last me a long time and be investments. They also look pretty good together don't you think? Who'd have thought khaki and grey would be such summer colours!

1. Radley SOHO Large Zip-Top Backpack £139 SHOP HERE

So far this month I have become desperate for a new backpack! I've been having shoulder pain from carrying everything but the kitchen sink in a handbag on one shoulder, so I switched to this cheapy backpack I bought from Primark ages ago. After a couple of weeks of using that it is literally falling apart, so I need to upgrade to a better quality one. 

I visited the Metrocentre last weekend and saw this beauty in Radley, the Soho backpack in this beautiful grey colour. Even better it's been reduced! Still at £139 though it's sure to be on my wishlist for some time! Bring on a new job!!

2. Urban Outfitters White Moonstone Earrings Multipack £16 SHOP HERE

These earrings are just one sample of many gorgeous vintage-esque sets in urban at the moment. This one I particularly love because of the dulled gold and mixture of studs, hoops and genuine gem stones. I've been wearing the same tiny silver studs in my 3 lobe piercings for a long time now and I'd like to switch it up with these. Loooove!

3. Marks and Spencer Limited Edition Camouflage Mini Skirt £29.50 SHOP HERE
This skirt is an absolute beaut. So much so that I've not been able to find it in store to try on!! Very similar to an urban renewal version at urban outfitters, this one looks to be higher waisted and a slightly longer length which I'd be more comfortable wearing. Being M&S it's sure to be good quality too. Nice one Marks and Spencers soooo on trend.

4. Topshop Khaki Pleat Trousers £32 SHOP HERE

I already own a pair of these in black and white stripe, so when I saw they brought out a khaki version I got pretty excited about them. These fit amazing and are so super flattering, I MUST get my hands on this colour.

5. Birkenstock Arizona Two Strap Sandals £59.95 SHOP HERE

Last but not least, I missed out on this staple last summer - opting for the Topshop copy which are actually pretty good! - and I'm determined to pick up a pair this year. I've always loved the classic black and the two strap version I bet would be so comfy and something I would live in.

Thanks for reading xoxo

Updated Visual CV

I've spent a little bit of time tonight updating my visual CV. I won't be applying for any job roles until I've finished uni so at the end of August (I have extensions until then) but I wanted to revamp it and kind of think about where I am in my own head. It's hard to think of your own skills and sell yourself but I'm happy with how this has turned out, nice and clean and simple.

Tonight I've also downloaded Microsoft Office for free from the Microsoft website as I have a student email account which I didn't realise I could do until now! So I've been starting to tackle my dissertation on Word as I'm not keen on Pages on my mac. In the near future I'm meant to be getting a mentor to meet up with a couple of times a week to help me with my dissertation and my final project. This will be a huge help as I've been really struggling with motivation and haven't had a clue what I'm supposed to be doing or what I even want to do. Fingers crossed for progress in the coming weeks and bring on August when it will all be over!

xoxo

A new direction

Recently I've been dealing with a lot, in all aspects of my life, and I've made a few big changes.

Firstly, and most recently, I've left my job at Topshop due to my social anxiety and feeling so depressed. I worked there for 2 years and 9 months - the longest I've ever managed to hold down a job - and I really struggled to keep going the past few months. It's so hard to force yourself to work in a busy, image-conscious environment dealing with customers when you feel so ugly and unfashionable and you feel your heart race in panic every time someone speaks to you. It got to the point that I'd cry before shifts, get really hot and panicked and sometimes shaky. I'd have to force myself to drive into the car park and not turn around and drive back home, where I'd be able to dive back into bed and hide under my duvet forever.

I went to the doctor and got a sick note for a couple of weeks off work which instantly made me feel a bit better. I spent my time trying to make sure I still got out of the house every day, even if just for a walk to get a coffee with my boyfriend. A lot of the time I'd only be out a short while and feel overwhelmed and need to go back home, where I'd feel mentally and physically exhausted and have a nap. I always worry about what other people think of me and I'd be always thinking something bad will happen to me. If I go out in the car and I get into a difficult situation and someone honks their horn at me I could burst into tears and need to pull over. This isn't how everyone else feels surely, this isn't normal life for everyone else, it's not fair.

After those two weeks off, I still couldn't bear the thought of returning to work so I got another one week sick note. That week flew by and I agreed my return shifts. I managed three, 4 hour shifts and I couldn't do it any more. Something in my head had left my job behind in my time off and I couldn't see myself facing everything again. Speaking to strangers all day, having a queue of people looking at me at the till point, not knowing if a difficult situation might come about where I might make a bad decision and mess everything up for someone.

I've had a lot of jobs in my life, I'm now 27 years old and I decided that the best thing to do in this situation was to leave my job. To other people this might seem like a stupid decision, and yes I am sad to have left because that job was a huge part of my life. I made a lot of friends there and before my mental illness reared it's ugly head again, I felt comfortable there, to a degree. But when I feel so bad that I feel intense dread and panic over a 4 hour shift, it's not worth putting myself through that a few times a week.

Luckily I am still at university, if only for a couple more months, and I can concentrate on completing the last of my work in my free time. I'm not sure what's to come in the near future but I've learned that looking after yourself is number 1, and I'm sure once I feel better again in time I'll get myself a new job and start building myself up again.

If anyone else is feeling a similar way, make sure you let people know how you feel. I've spoken to friends, my parents, my boyfriend and even had meetings with my managers to put support in place. Sadly I still felt I had to leave, but everyone around me has been so supportive, so I feel cared about rather than a failure. Mental illness is no-one's fault and no-one should blame you if you're struggling at some points in your life.

Leave me a comment if you're reading this and relate or need some support. I've decided to give some depth to my blog posts as a way of expressing how I'm feeling as well as hopefully helping others. I'm looking forward to making more posts like this and I'd love some feedback! Thanks xoxo