013: a few of my favourite things & a room tour video!

I'M ALSO A NOTORIOUS RECEIPT KEEPER

having moved everything back from my university room i forgot how much stuff i actually had. once i put it all in my room i really hated how cluttered everything looked but i've come to realise that clutter=good and it's okay to be a hoarder! whilst i don't have it as bad are the tv programmes portray it i just love keeping things. from the bottle of vanilla vodka i drank the first night alex kissed me to the coconut i ate coconut ice cream from in paris with my best friend phoebe… i keep it all in my bedroom. i'm also a notorious receipt keeper, not because i might need to take something back (of course not, that would make sense) but because it holds memories.

recently, i've discovered where i get my hoarding tendencies from and that would be from my papa. we've had to put up numerous shelves around the house to home all of his little trinkets and having seen how much little things mean to him has definitely rubbed off on me to. so i thought i'd go through my own little shelf in my room and let you know what is on it. i'm also hoping to do the same with my little trinket holders you can see here.

 «currently in the record player: jake bugg shangri la (yup again!)»

lots of love, 
lily 

013: cath kidston s/s 2014

I SQUEALED OVER JUST ABOUT EVERYTHING

i'm certainly not one for copious amounts of press releases in my inbox. however, give me anything cath kidston related and i'm guaranteed to adore it. the catalogue came through my door just i was getting ready to snuggle up in bed with a cath kidston mug of tea - of course this hugely made up for having to get out of bed. i squealed over just about everything before instagraming a picture of it and just had to share it with you once it landed in my email inbox as well.
i feel like cath kidston's clothing isn't as celebrated as the rest of the treasures in store for some reason it's highly underrated. however, i urge you to check out the most recent collection, i already have but i think i will be numerous more times. (below are my favourite picks from the spring collection that is already in store!) 
  

«currently in the record player: jake bugg shangri la» - it's not left the player ever since i got it!

lots of love,
lily 

012: my university visual library sketchbook

PART ONE OF THE SKETCH BOOK POSTS

this is part one of the sketch book posts as i didn't think i could get all the photographs in one post as this is already *a very photograph heavy post*. therefore, i won't say much! but, this is my 'visual library' we had to put together at university. we were told to put them in a4 folders but i work a lot better in a scrapbook layout so that's what i did and they liked it! the sketchbook was from paperchase and i would highly recommend all of the brown paper sketchbooks as i have gotten through  a high volume of them!

 «currently in the record player: jake bugg shangri la»

lots of love, 
lily 

011: wish list number one

WISH LIST NUMBER ONE

imac: one word, yum. i've always preferred an imac over a macbook, there is just something so pretty about them. plus, i hate the idea of carrying around a laptop that costs £1,000.

marie antoinette vinyl: this is currently my most coveted vinyl and probably will be forever. if you haven't listened to the soundtrack properly before i urge you to! someone has kindly uploaded the soundtrack here and here and honestly sofia coppola's soundtracks are second to none. (i also strongly recommend the bling ring soundtrack which someone has made a playlist of here!) i forgot to say it's like ridiculously rare, so i'll probably never get my mitts on the soundtrack on vinyl.

cath kidston ipad cases (patchwork gadget case and spotted cover): i saw the patchwork case in the sloane square store and just fell in love with this new print. i then fell even deeper for the spotted cover and couldn't help but think it would be the cutest ipad cover duo ever.

jo malone vanilla and anise: in my opinion there is (from bottom to top!) perfume, penhaligons, marc jacobs, then jo malone. all of the her fragrances are just out of this world. plus harry styles and i both share the same favourite jo malone scent that is vanilla and anise.

lush neon love soap: having worked at lush for three years i'm always going to be a fan of there products. however, this is just such an amazingly scented soap - quite jo malone like in scent as well!

 «currently in the record player: the great gatsby soundtrack»

lots of love, 

lily

010: my new do!

THE HAIR CUT MY DAD DIDN'T EVEN NOTICE!

this ladies (and gentlemen?) this the hair cut my dad didn't even notice! neither did a lot of people as a matter of fact. anyway! it's been a good while since i last showed my face on this little blog and a lot of you probably didn't see what my hair was like before i had it cut so here is a picture pre chop. whenever i have a hair cut i always end up going for something i had when i was considerably younger rocking teal green glittery jelly shoes - but hey, i think it kinda works, what do you think? i felt like summer finn getting my hair all chopped off, someone queue hall and oates? 

 «currently in the record player: first aid kit drunken trees»

lots of love,

lily 

009: how and why i became a uni drop out

THE BASICS

what course?:
fashion promotion and imaging
where?: 
the university for the creative arts (the epsom campus)
why did i choose uca originally?:
• i loved the diversity of the course as i was so excited about learning and exploring the industry that i thought it was perfect.
• it's also a £6.55 train fare away (including underground ticket!) from london, instead of the
£50 fare from home to london. 
• and lastly, i loved the vibe, on the open day it felt so creative and homely.

THE NITTY GRITTY DETAILS

why did i leave?:
• i was hardly in, for someone that loves working hard and finishing things i felt like i rarely did anything (whilst this isn't saying we didn't get set any work!). we had two scheduled days off and on the other days i was timetabled to do something i would be in for 2 hours tops. this wouldn't have bothered me at all if we weren't told on the open day and even on the time tables we were given it said we'd be in 10am-4pm. i know friends that are hardly in as well but, it would have been nice to have had a more realistic timetable in the beginning - plus they aren't somewhere as quiet as epsom. 
• this leads me on nicely to the fact that it just wasn't worth the money. now clearly there are very few courses (if any!) that are worth £9,000 a year but i just felt like this barely came close to the figure.
• i had an unbelievable amount of free time and went home almost every thursday. which doesn't sound like too much i guess but, home was 2 1/2-3 hours away and a £30+ journey away every time.
• which add ups and leads on to the point where i had a little bit of an awakening- the day i hit £0.00. i had spend a lot (and i mean a lot) of money keeping myself occupied and knew i couldn't go on spending so much just so i wasn't bored in my room for weeks on end. 
• going back to the point where i said i was only in 2 hours tops, i also felt really uninterested by the lecture sessions. however, i don't for a second think i choose the wrong course because i was so excited about learning. i found sitting for two hours listening to someone talk about their life or watching a film really quite boring. especially when we were close to deadlines and were told to attend film viewings i thought it was a little bit silly and like they were trying fill in time.
• another factor was my facebook news feed - it was full of my friends enjoying themselves at university and it made me realised how much i wasn't enjoying it. uni should be an experience, not just a degree at the end of 3 years and a debt. i especially think this relates with creative courses because it's the work experience and contacts that gets you places in the industry. 
• as well as all of this home just made a lot more sense. i mean there is a good university here, i'm closer to my family, my friends and alex, plus i'd have my car back.

how do i feel about leaving?:
• honestly i feel like a failure, university is something i've been working towards for so many years and it's just not worked out. i've wasted a lot of my own and my families money and time and there really isn't much i can do about it.
• but, i am also happy that i am happy and back at home. it made me a very grumpy bunny and as soon as i stepped off the train and on the epsom platform my stomach just sank and i felt like crying. so for now, home is good (central london would be better, but home is good).

• i do feel like i've leant a lot about myself i have to say (without sounding like a cliché!) and i've cemented how i want to learn and explore the industry of advertising, marketing and fashion. 

what is next?:
• well firstly, i'm working on getting a job as this was something i missed so much - and something i am in desperate need in!
• i'm also working on some really interesting work experience/shadowing with a marketing agency at home that i'm really excited about.

in the future?:
• living at home and going to the university of gloucestershire - which ironically was the first plan before uca. i'll be starting in september as a year one student as i have got two unconditional offers and i'm a very happy bunny.
• once i have a job (and saved a lot!) alex and i have made tiny weeny plans to move in together.

please note: i'm not trying to troll on the university as i'm sure many people enjoy it there, but personally it was a disappointment  - as i think university in general is too! a lot of people asked for a post about this topic so i thought i would write one. i would also love to hear your experiences with university as well!

lots of love, 

lily

008: i got some snazzy white shoes!

WHO CAN RESIST CHAD MICHAEL MURRAY?

admittedly i've been a terrible blogger as i was gifted these shoes last summer by zalando - but better late than ever perhaps? anyway, i've been a lover of converse ever since hilary duff was pictured wearing a pink pair on the cover of a cinderella story (who can resist chad michael murray?). so as soon as zalando offered me a gift card i began exploring there huge selection of converse and eventually chose these beautiful and oh so shiny white ones - which are now on sale too! i haven't worn them as much in the winter because i'm not too sure how they look with tights so i would love your opinions but over the summer they didn't leave my feet!

lots of love, 

lily