Next Trousers and Recent Updates

Hi Everyone,

Today's post is all about Next Trousers and recent updates, as it's been a ridiculously long time (over a month!) since I've last posted something.

Here are some updates:

I have recently taken on a second job, which I'm quite excited about. It's similar to what I'm currently doing, but a little more related to what I want to be going in the direction of in the future. The job will take up 10 hours of my time, every week!

I have moved homes, I now live in the centre of London, as opposed to outside of the city. It takes me 30 minutes to get to work compared to 1 hour, and it's really convenient to go places during the weekend or after work! The flat is a lot bigger and very modern, and I love it (despite the fact that everything runs on electricity and the bills will give me several heart attacks over the next year)!

I've pretty much completed most of my Christmas shopping (just the boyfriend's parents left now!) and everything is looking pretty good.

The company I work for is in the process of changing, and the clothing policy has changed - it's all smart and professional dress now, which I quite like as I like a little businessy dress or trousers and shirt. - By the way please do drop me a line if you know any good retailers for business clothing, so far my business wardrobe consists of Next and (I dare say) Primark! Any tips will help as I REALLY need some new tops to go with some very unique trousers, see the following pictures:

Next Grey Check Trousers

Next Check Trousers

Anyway, the main issue I'm having is finding a nice black suit (preferably with trousers but could buy both trousers and skirt to match the jacket). If anyone has any tips (for tailored fits) please, please let me know!

That's really it for today.

As Always, Stay Tuned!
- A

The Christmas Cheer is Near

Hi Everyone,

It's that time of year again: Christmas!
In all honesty it's my favourite time of year. The all around atmosphere of love and joy, the sitting in front of a warm fire drinking hot chocolate, or even those long walks in the snow with a loved one, it can't get better than that! Of course I also love the shopping aspect of it, and walking along Oxford Street with the gorgeous Christmas lights blinking and glistening against the crisp winter air - just gorgeous!

This year, I'll be spending Christmas with my sister, in my gorgeous, new, central London home (yes, I am moving in 2 weeks and am VERY excited about this)!

When I was younger and spent Christmas with the family, we used to celebrate it on the 24th of December, and we would have 3 days of food feasts, and another feast on New Year's Eve! I really want to make this year's Christmas similar to those, so any good Christmas recipes would be very much appreciated.

In terms of gifts, I'm always at a bit of a loss at what to get the boyfriend. The last present I got him (for our 2-year anniversary) was an expensive pen pouch, which he wasn't very happy with (much to my anger).

So for Christmas, it's got to be something practical, yet not overly expensive. Anyone have any good ideas?

In terms of Christmas presents for women, here are a few things she might like:

Although I'm sure your wife doesn't hate the Christmas jumper you seem to love getting her every year, she would most definitely prefer something like this gorgeous Tiffany & Co. bracelet:

Your sister probably likes the usual fashion jewellery that you tend to get her every year, but I'm sure she'd love you for this amazing French Connection dress, which is perfect for a New Year's Party:

And then of course, there's your mother, who I'm sure loves those bath products you seem to give her for every special occasion, but would absolutely adore you for buying this stunning pair of Swarovski Earrings for her:

For other Christmas present ideas, have a look at sites like Buy a Gift. In turn, if you've got any good ideas, I always appreciate the help!

Hoping you're all going to enjoy the festive season!

As Always, Stay Tuned!

- A

Venice - The City of Romance

Hi Everyone,

Welcome to the third and final part of my 3-part holiday post! This one is all about Venice, the city of romance!

Now I love a bit of romance (as most girls do), and I must say, if there is ever a place for romance, Venice is definitely it!

Unfortunately, we had a bit of a hiccup when we first arrived. We had spent all night on an overnight train from Rome to Venice (arriving at around 5am), including a snoring, rowdy old man who constantly went in and out of the cabin and turned on the lights, and screamed down the phone at around 3am.
Once we arrived in Venice (in the dark), we went to the hotel and found that it was shut, and not opening until 7am!!! We rang the bell and got a sleepy, angry owner on the line, telling us to come back at 7. So with heavy suitcases in hand, we set off down the road to find an open cafe. Two hours of eating pastries and drinking delicious coffee later, I was exhausted and could only think of a comfortable bed! So we headed back to the hotel to check in and sleep, only to find that, yes, we were able to check in but no, the room was not available until 2pm!!! I'm sure you can understand my aggravation, and they did not even offer a shower for us to freshen up. We left out suitcases there, and set off to wonder around the city.

The city is like a bit of a maze, so it's easy to get lost. But everywhere you go, there are lots of shops selling the famous Murano glass (made on Murano island), gorgeous masquerade ball masks, and lots of other quirky little things.
Once 2pm finally came around, we headed back to the hotel and went to sleep for about 4 hours!
The good thing of being up at around 7am, was the fact that we were able to see the gorgeous sunrise above the little streets and canals of Venice. The bad side? We were falling asleep on a bench, somewhere in the middle of Venice, watching a duck trying to steal a bin!

Overall, there are 5 other islands to see, but we only went to three of them - Murano, Burano, and Lido.
Murano was amazing, we went to see one of the many glass factories (and I have to say, I feel sorry for the people working there. Outside it was already 30 degrees C, inside it must have been so much worse!!). We watched two men making a gorgeous glass vase, and after a short while decided to have a little wonder around the island. Murano is much smaller than Venice itself, but the amount of shops selling Murano glass are multiplied by about 10.

After Murano came Burano, the island of colourful houses and lace! I have never seen such a pretty place to live, the colours of houses varied from bright blue, to green, to pink and red! The island is probably the smallest amongst this group, and it probably only takes about 10 minutes to walk from one end to the other. It has a pretty main square, where all the restaurants are. We decided to have lunch here, which was a bit of a fiasco. The amount of waiters standing outside and trying to get you to their restaurant is slightly overwhelming. We finally decided on a place and, after about 15 minutes of waiting to actually be served, decided to walk off and go to a different restaurant. Maybe they shouldn't try to get people in, but focus on the ones that are already there!
After lunch, we had a look around the shops. Here, the abundance of lace shops was pretty amazing. I really wanted to buy a nice, thin, pink scarf, but they are (obviously) very expensive, and I decided not to.

Once we left Burano, we headed to Lido. Lido is one of the bigger islands, and we had been told that the island has a beach!! We walked from one end of the island to the other (the width, not the length!) and found the beach. Unfortunately, by the time we got there it was about 6 O'clock, and getting rather cold. I tried to sunbathe, but it was pretty much impossible at that time.
I did, however, gather a few small seashells, to remind me of the island  - they are currently sitting on my windowsill.

The islands took up one whole day of being in Venice, the other was spent visiting St. Marks Square, and all the sights around the square. We didn't end up going up to Campanille, as it started raining quite badly when we were in the queue outside. Maybe next time!

All in all, the holiday (despite a few minor hiccups), was super fun, but pretty exhausting.
Beach holiday next, please!

As Always, Stay Tuned!

- A

Rome Wasn't Built in a Day, But it was Visited in Two!

Hi Everyone,

So it's been over 2 weeks (!!) since I last posted, and I am well aware of the fact that I promised a three part post about what I did on my holiday in September. Therefore, I'd like to apologise for my delay with this post, but here is the second part to my holiday shenanigans:

The fifth day of our holiday, it was time to go to the airport (at 5am I might add) to fly to Rome. We got there at around 12pm, and it was gorgeous! The weather was so hot, and as we were driving towards the city on one of the airport shuttles, I instantly fell in love with the gorgeous houses sprinkled all over the little towns of Italy.

As soon as we got to the hotel, we checked in straight away. The room we had was the best of all three rooms we stayed in. It was fairly big, had a good, big shower, and was nice and quiet, away from the hustle and bustle from the street. The hotel itself was just a two minute walk from Termini Station, which is where we had to get our night train from on our way to Venice two days later. There were lots of restaurants around, and quite a few sights were within walking distance.

Unlike Paris, Rome was a lot smaller, and we were able to walk to different places pretty quickly, meaning we didn't use the public transport too much, which I thought was a little confusing anyway.

My favourite part of Rome? I know it's cheesy but, once it turned 7pm, you would see lots of brides and grooms taking their wedding photos at places like the Colosseum, which was pretty amazing. I'm a typical girl in the sense that I was looking at all of their wedding dresses, imagining myself in them.

The food in Rome was pretty good too, being Italian, I was pretty happy. I do have to say though, that Italians seem to eat a lot for dinner. Their menus included three courses, the courses each being huge, like a full plate of pasta for first course, and a big steak with veg. and chips for the second course. I must have gained a good 5 Kilos whilst I was there.

The other thing which was slightly annoying in Rome (and Venice too, as a matter of fact), was the amount of people selling fake designer bags and sunglasses and wallets on the streets. They did like to hassle you, and try to get you to buy one of their bags saying they were just like the real thing (when in reality they didn't look anything like the real thing).

When we went to the Vatican, I was almost not allowed into St. Peter's Basilica, because they are so strict with dress codes. A woman is not allowed to show her upper legs, her shoulders, her midriff,  or have a top which is too low cut. I understand it of course, with the Basilica being so religious, but I had covered my upper legs, and quickly put on a cardigan. So after a short 2 minute discussion with one of the security guards, I was okay to proceed.

Rome is also the best place to see the Roman ruins (of course), and my boyfriend and I spent about 3 hours of one day walking around all of the ancient ruins. As I was looking at different things, I was imagining what it must have been like to live in Rome in those days. We tend to take a lot of things for granted with it being the digital age and so on, but people in those days must have had quite a few difficulties with various things.
I do think the history in Rome is really cool and interesting, as (in my opinion) it is one of the most historic and cultured cities in the world.

Anyway, that is all I've got to say about my time in Rome. For a first time visit, it was pretty amazing.

The last part of my 3-part post will come soon (I promise to write it before the end of next week!!), and will be about: Venice - the City of Romance.

As Always, Stay Tuned.

- A

Oh la blah - Disappointing Paris!

Hi everyone,

It has been quite a while since I've last written a post, so the plan is to write a 3-part post over the next few days about my holiday adventures from the beginning of this month!

First up: Oh la blah - Disappointing Paris!

So my boyfriend asked me a few months ago, what three places I'd like to visit most in Europe. My answer: Paris, Venice and Rome.

The outcome of this discussion was, that he booked a 10 day holiday weekend for us to go and visit all of those places. First up was Paris.

Now, my expectations of Paris were huge, especially since everyone says that it's 'One of the most romantic cities on earth'!

Upon arriving, we ended up in a rather rough area of the city. Picture army people walking around with machine guns, full grown men walking around kicking bins over out of anger, and a whole lot of alcoholics sitting on benches, drinking and gawking at anything that had legs. And that wasn't even the worst of it: the Metro had a constant smell of wee about it, which was rather unpleasant after a romantic dinner in the nice part of town.

Don't get me wrong, there were also a few nice moments in the city, like a boat tour on the river, climbing up the Eifel Tower, and seeing it glitter and sparkle every hour, on the hour, as it was lit up with shining lights. But was this my favourite place on the holiday? No!

The city has put me off of French food, one particular restaurant served something which resembled a mix between chicken, and pressed organs, but was actually meant to be fish - I still feel sick thinking about it now!
In another particular restaurant, the waiter was actually trying to tell us that a corking bottle of wine was, in fact, not corking at all but that the 2009 wine was just quite old...
On the bright side, I have quite a few funny stories to look back on, after stripping away the aggravation, aching feet (from hours upon hours of walking around the city, going sightseeing and more), and the smell of wee!

Other things that happened in Paris? I met my boyfriends cousin, who took us to some dodgy looking (and smelling!!) "underground" bar. The bar was covered in graffiti inside and out, but the cocktails (although strong) were pretty good.
I had breakfast on the Champs Elysees (which I've always wanted to do), I saw and climbed up the Eifel Tower, I went up the Arc de Triomphe, went to see Notre Dame cathedral, and saw various amazing views of Paris by day and night!

All in all, even though I didn't love Paris, it's still worth a visit and definitely an interesting experience.

Next on the 3-part post: Rome Wasn't Built in a Day - But Visited in Two!

As Always, Stay Tuned!

- A

Social Media - help appreciated!

Hi Everyone,

So it's been just over a week since I've last posted, and the heat wave still hasn't let up - amazing!
It did rain a little bit earlier, but that's pretty much it.

In terms of what I've been up to, honestly? Not much! I've been writing my first chapter for Life Throws a Curveball (check it out!), and otherwise I've been working lots. The annoyingly stressful client at work is currently reviewing our work, meaning I've got a bit of time to relax - a little like the calm before the storm!

On to the main part of this post:

So I've been trying out various types of social media to promote this blog - I've used everything but Facebook to get some more traffic in, and whilst I've gotten it up to quite a few page visits, the number of unique visitors is (apparently) only around 54 for this month.

What do you guys suggest I do - should I make an anonymous Facebook profile and start promoting it there too? Are there any blogging communities you could recommend which work well?

In terms of Google analytics, how do you embed the code on your blog on blogspot, so that it works best - I've had a bit of trouble getting it to work properly, does anybody have any suggestions?

I'd be really happy if you could help me out here, I really need to know a few more things, especially as I'd like to start promoting my new blog, which I'm hoping to generate a lot of traffic for.

Thanks in advance.

As Always, Stay Tuned!

- A

Summer Daze

Hi Everyone,

So the last few days have been a perfect Summer Daze! Warm mornings, hot days, and gorgeous, summery evenings.

Of course most of my day was spent at the office (oh the joy!), and I was so busy that I didn't manage to leave the office before 7.30 in Wednesday.

My weekend isn't looking any better, as most of last week was spent working on just one client, meaning I have loads of work to catch up on!

Anyway, enough work talk, and on to the more interesting stuff now!

I've decided to try something new, a Book Blog called Life Throws A Curveball. The concept is this:

• The blog will take the shape of an online book, and will be the length of a novel.
• Each post will make up one chapter of this "book".
• Posts will take between a week and a month to come out (depending on how much spare time I've got outside of my full-time job) - I'm hoping, of course, that posts will take closer to a week to come out, to keep everyone interested.
• The story will most likely take the form of a chick flick!

Please do have a look at the blog, and if you like it, spread the word - and don't worry, I won't abandon this blog - I intend to keep posting here at least once a week!

Now, just to quickly round up this post, here are some of my favourite fashion items from this week:

Aqua Kimono Maxi Dress - ASOS

Jimmy Choo - Candy Printed Acrylic Clutch

Alexander McQueen - Unicorn Skull Embroidered Satin Box Clutch

Christian Louboutin - Alti 140 Spiked Patent-Leather Pumps

Alexander McQueen - Skull-Embroidered Suede Pumps

Giuseppe Zanotti - Swarovski Crystal-Embellished Contoured Wedge Pumps

Anyway, That's all from me today - I hope you are all enjoying your Summer Daze as much as I am!

As Always, Stay Tuned!

- A

What would you wear on a date with a celebrity?

Hi Everyone,

I'm dedicating today's post to a hypothetical thought I had this morning, and of course, what's been happening in my life for the past two weeks (sorry for the lack of posting!)

So as I woke up for the third time this morning (at 9am believe it or not!), my boyfriend had gone to work, and I had a particularly random thought.

Hypothetically speaking, if you had a date with a celebrity (say Chase Crawford or Taylor Lautner), what would you wear?

I would wear this:

Paprika Bodycon Dress

But instead of those shoes and that bag, I would wear these:

Love by Moschino Clutch

Christian Louboutin - Yolanda Patent Heels

Now on to you - what would you wear on a date with a celebrity?

Anyway, onto the second part of this post - it's been quite a while since I've posted something, over two weeks as a matter of fact!
Quite a bit has happened so I will just recount the highlights quickly -

• Last Friday I went for a few drinks with my colleagues at the pub accross the road from work, which is always a laugh! I then went home to watch the London 2012 Olympic opening ceremony, which I have to say was pretty cool!
• Saturday I went to watch the Men's bike race (or a part of it) and in the evening, I to see the Wizard of Oz at the Palladium in London, and had a nice meal with my boyfriend. I quite liked the Wizard of Oz, definitely a classic and a must see (they even have a real dog on stage - a highland terrier - which was pretty cool)!
• On Sunday I went shopping with the boyfriend and just chilled.
• This last week I've just been working away, and the week flew by pretty fast. I'm enjoying work a lot these days, despite some annoying colleagues making a fuss about really unimportant issues in their lives. 
• I finally got my shiny, brand new iPhone 4S (the white one!!), which I'm pretty excited and happy about. 
• This Friday, I went straight home from work to spend some time with my boyfriend, as he went to watch an Olympic football game yesterday, and is working today, meaning I don't get to see him

So that's all from me today.

As Always, Stay Tuned!

- A

My Saturday Night

Hi Everyone,

This post is dedicated to my Saturday night from last week.
I'd gone back to the old house in South East London, where I used to live, for a house party. 3 of my old housemates, and a the girl who moved into my room after I'd left, are moving out of the house simultaneously, so they had a leaving do.

Now, two of them are moving out because the landlord has basically decided he doesn't like them, and doesn't want them living there. One of the girls is moving to Australia (so awesome), and the fourth is moving in with her boyfriend!

So back to the party. I got there at around 7.30 (after leaving my house about an hour later than I'd actually planned to, and not realising how the long journey actually was). We all sat around in the garden, drinking and chatting, waiting for everyone else to arrive, and from then on everything started turning into a bit of a blur, but here are the key parts:

• We decided to have a little fire in the garden, which we put in a broken shower base - cracked from a previous fire. 
• I found my old door leaning against the garden fence (the landlord had obviously been a bit lazy in getting rid of it), which totally helped keep the fire going after dark. 
• It started raining, just when we decided to light some flying lanterns. We got a few going, and I really hope they didn't land somewhere and burn down a house or a tree, but I didn't see anything in the news, so I think we're safe.
• I managed to cut my hand in three places, on the screw top of a wine bottle.
• I drank a good bottle and a half of wine
• Someone spilled wine all over my (gorgeous) Top-Shop Blazer (dry cleaners please!!!)
• I talked to a lot of people about how they proposed/were proposed to (apparently the marriage talk comes out when I'm drunk).
• and the best of all, my old housemate (the only one staying in the house) decided to take pictures, complain to the landlord, and call the police because she didn't want to join the party, which is around about the time when I left.

After I left the party, I walked to the bus stop at about 1am (completely drunk I might add). Once I got there, I had a rather unpleasant encounter with a man - which I can only laugh about now. 

I called my boyfriend about 20 times and left 2 horrible voicemails and sent 3 horrible texts to him in my distress of not knowing how to get home (I should mention I was actually planning on leaving the party at 11pm, rather than 1 am!). 

Eventually, I made it home at 3am, a long bus journey and taxi ride later, McDonald's bag in hand!

Even though the journey was a bit of a pain, and I ended up getting ill from running around in the rain for hours, and ruining a perfect pair of white shoes with mud, I thoroughly enjoyed myself and was happy to see my friends. 

I will leave you with this quote:

That's all from me today.

As Always, Stay Tuned!

- A

Life Roles Reversed

Hey Everyone,

Have you ever found yourself in a situation with someone, where your roles are completely reversed, compared to how everything used to be?

Well I'm finding myself in this situation now. Back when I was at uni, and living with my friend Amy (not so much my friend now, but still a 'Facebook acquaintance'). She had a boyfriend at the time, and they were one of those couples that only ever did things by themselves. She barely had any friends, and she thought I was crazy for constantly going out clubbing etc.

Looking back now, I am in her situation, with a boyfriend, and hardly seeing my friends (which is more due to the fact that they live quite far away from me), and Amy has a new boyfriend, and is constantly out clubbing, and really not doing much with her life.

I'm glad I got all the clubbing out of my system back at uni, however, because it means I can focus on my career and not have the whole "what if" situation floating around in my head.

Thinking about the whole situation, I can really see how people can change so dramatically over a short period of time. 

Anyway, it's a short one from me again today.

As Always, Stay Tuned!

- A

PS: for those of you who haven't tried it - Ben and Jerry's Cherry Garcia Frozen Yoghurt is a MUST HAVE!

Writing Inspiration - Kicking in!

Hi Everyone,

Today's post is dedicated to all you writers out there.

Isn't it strange, how inspiration can kick in at any time of the day?
For instance, I was walking along a busy road in London on my lunch break the other day, and all I heard was an American girl, uttering one sentence, a sentence that, when taken out of context, can be built into an entire story.

I went home and began to write, and plan a new story. I'm hoping this may be the big inspiration I was waiting for.

I must say, for anybody who is stuck, or has writer's block, take a walk along a busy road like (for example) Oxford Street in London, and just listen to the noise around you. Listen to people talking, take in the scenes, and you might actually come home with a few ideas to even just begin a new story or chapter of your book!

I know it's just a short one for today, but:

As Always, Stay Tuned!

- A

Dress Your Age?

Hi Everyone,

I stumbled across this article earlier, which asks the question, should you dress your age, meaning should you leave "younger" styles for the younger generation?

The article has been made public by Twiggy (aged 62), and discusses the fact that "dressing your age" is not the right way towards finding your own fashion style. Breaking the rules every once in a while is what we should all be doing. Fashion is about experimentation and confidence. According to Twiggy, if you decide to wear a bright red or purple colour every day, it will look good, as long as you show confidence in your style, which is the key to success.

Anyone will believe you look good, if you choose colours which suit you, and have the confidence to wear colours such as this:

River Island

How do we know which colours suit us? Well we can't, really. The best way, I find, to figure that out, is to go shopping with one of my best friends, and her for her honest opinion.

If they really care about you, they will tell you if something looks bad! The fact of the matter is, if you're not an expert on fashion, or you're just not sure, a second opinion can always help.

I don't usually trust sales advisers, as they want to sell you things, however a personal shopper is not a bad road to go down. They know what they are talking about, and they will pick out styles and colours which will really suit you - which is a great starting point for anybody.

What do you think, should you dress your age?

This is all from me today.

As Always, Stay Tuned!

- A

Jersey Boys - The Musical

Hi Everyone,

I've had a fairly good week - I went to see Jersey Boys, the musical, the other night, which I thought was pretty amazing.

For those of you who aren't aware of the musical, it is about Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons. The entire show is about how the Four Seasons band was started, and how all members went through hardships, right through to a point where the band split up, and Frankie Valli became the only remaining member, thus forming "Franki Valli and the Four Seasons" with four other people.
The music is addictive, the actors are amazing, and the entire show has been put together and executed so smoothly, that it's impossible to be bored for even just a second.
If you are a theatre fanatic and love musicals - this is a must see! I loved it so much I'd happily go and see it again!

My favourite song from the musical was:

My Eyes Adored You - Jersey Boys in Concert

In terms of the rest of my week, I went for a Mexican meal the other night, with my boyfriend, which was pretty good - not as good as my all time favourite Mexican restaurant back home, but still pretty good!

Last weekend I stayed at my boyfriends parents house with him, and he showed me where he went to school, and all kinds of other places around the area he grew up in. It was pretty cool walking around and finding out some new things about him - I thoroughly enjoyed it. Another plus point is the fact that my sister currently lives near the same area, meaning I got to see her, and a few of her friends as well, and finally got to introduce my boyfriend to her.

That's all from me today.

As Always, Stay Tuned!

- A

Life Forms in Outer Space

Hi Everyone,

Today's post is about the past few days, and the possibility of life forms in outer space.

I had a long bank holiday weekend (Saturday through till Tuesday), last weekend, which was amazing. I went to Westfield in Shepherd's Bush on Saturday and bought a few gorgeous things, then I had a day to relax on Sunday, as my boyfriend returned from France that day.

On Monday we both went to Westfield in Stratford, which is absolutely massive! I bought a pair of wedges, which I love! On Tuesday, I was meant to enjoy some Jubilee celebrations but unfortunately got really ill, which is annoying of course, so I ended up spending the day in bed.

Other than that, I've been working as always, however did have to take the day off today, due to being ill.

I was having a look for some interesting articles earlier, and found something on Digg about famous UFO sightings. This leads me to my main topic of this post - Do you believe in UFOs?

I've always been intrigued by the possibility of another form of life existing somewhere in this universe. There is no doubt that it could be true, after all, a few years ago, bacteria from Mars had been found, proving the existence of other life forms.

Have you got any views about this?

As Always, Stay Tuned,

- A

Summer, Sun and Maxi Dresses!

Hi Everyone,

it's finally warm, which means summer, sun and lots of Maxi Dresses! Here's what I've been up to in the last two weeks:

Mostly, I've been working, so nothing extremely interesting has happened, but on Friday this week, I had a really fun social at work. We all went for a picnic in the park, with lots of drinks, food and games. I really enjoyed getting to know everyone a little better outside of work, and am looking forward to more of the same experiences.
I recently got voted onto the company's social committee, along with two others. The three of us get to decide on what socials the company has, and when. I'm quite excited about this, as I love organising events and things like that.

Moving on, I've been going for a run with my colleagues every Wednesday for 3 weeks now, which has been great. I'm starting to build up endurance (and leg muscles!!)! I've forgotten how much I love running, but have started to run by myself as well. I've already managed to run 3 miles, which I know isn't that much, but I haven't been running in 5 years, so 3 miles after only 4 runs in the last 3 weeks is not too bad, I think.

I've decided to set aside a small chunk of my salary this month, for some serious shopping. I'm thinking of going shopping next week, as I really want a nice maxi dress. If anyone has any suggestions as to where I can find nice maxi dresses (which actually reach the floor!), please feel free to comment! - I found a gorgeous one last year and am gutted I didn't buy it, as I can't find anything near as nice now...

Prints and styles similar to the ones pictured below are what I'm looking for:

AX Paris Floral Maxi Dress

Glamorous Border Print Maxi Dress

Anyway, that's all from me today, hoping everyone is having a lovely, sunshine filled weekend!

As Always, Stay Tuned!

- A

Summer Fashion

Hi Everyone,

so the sun is finally out, and the short sleeved shirts and sunglasses have made an appearance.
I've been looking at the gorgeous summer fashion for this year, and am still looking for the perfect summer dress. Last year I was unable to find something because, for some reason, the browns and beige's did not really take my fancy.

This year, however, it's all colours, and bright colours at that, so inspiration is striking and I'm loving the different styles, meaning I will have a difficult time trying to decide on what I'd like to buy. Here are some examples of what I fancy:

New Look

H&M

Zara

The above three dresses are just some of the types of dresses I've been looking at, and really wanting to buy! I do actually have a dress which is pretty similar to the one by Zara, but I just love those types of dresses - they are so cute!

Anyway, this is all from me today, as it's time to enjoy the sun!

As Always, Stay Tuned!

- A

Chilli Shots and Recent Occurrences

Hi Everyone,

So in recent occurrences, I went to Vodka Revolution's on Saturday, and drank a few chilli shots - those are really spicy! I decided to be "clever" and put one into my cocktail, thinking the spice would be masked by the cocktail....but no - my entire cocktail turned spicy. Needless to say, lesson learned!

Anyway, all in all it was a good night out, met some cool people and have decided to try and organise a lunch with a few of the girls I met - thought it would be good to just catch up with the girls, without the men around!

Anyway, today is a bank holiday in the fabulous land of the Brits, and I get to relax all day long whilst the boyfriend (who works in retail) is at work!

I've decided to start training for a 10k run with some colleagues at work. Some of them are run a 10k race very soon - I don't actually want to run that, but I do want to train with them so I can get fit and increase my exercise again. I actually stopped exercising for a while because I've been so tired from work, but now that I've settled into my routine, it's time to get back onto that horse because I do really want to lose some more weight.

It's only a short entry from me today, as I've not got too much inspiration going on today.

However just a quick note to those of you adding me on Google+ (see previous post) - I've had to change the name appearing on my profile as "anonymous" doesn't comply with Google policy, so I've chosen a pen name (Amy Mines) which is currently being reviewed by Google. Just letting you know so there's no confusion when adding me! :)

As Always, Stay Tuned!

- A

Follow Me Here

Hi Everyone,

It's just a quick post today to say: PLEASE FOLLOW ME!!

Pinterest: aanoname89
Twitter: @aanoname89
Google+: aanoname89

More possibly coming soon - I'm thinking of opening up Facebook and Digg accounts under the same name - any thoughts on how effective these might be?

One other thing I'd like to add to this post - these gorgeous Christian Louboutin shoes:

If anyone knows where to get similar shoes (at a cheaper price) - PLEASE let me know!

As Always, Stay Tuned!

- A

Love at First Sight?

Hi Everyone,

I've been watching this film (Only You), and it sparked a question in my mind, do you believe in love at first sight?

When I was younger, I believed that love at first sight was a real thing, that the movies were so right, that it was possible to meet somebody and instantly fall in love with them.

Do I believe it now?
Well in order to answer that question, I need to take a few steps back, to a few years ago:

I was at university, in my first year, and met someone who is seven years older than me. I had only known him for two weeks, but the minute I laid eyes on him, I thought I was in love. The key word here being "thought"! After having only known me for two weeks, he turned around to and said he thought I was too shy for him. He broke it off straight away, and I ended up being upset about the situation for a year.

Thinking back now, I know it's crazy, because I have had a few since then, and with some of them I thought I was in love as well. However, after being in a relationship for a year and a half with my current boyfriend, I know I wasn't in love with any of them.

So here's what I think (and may people will tell you the same thing), you don't technically ever know what love is, or if you are in love, because each time you are with someone, the feeling will be stronger than before, leading you to believe that you were never in love before, and this feeling you have now, must mean that you are.

I think love at first sight is a myth, because love takes a lot of work. Love is built by memories, and people building a life together. Love is not based on the first second that you meet someone.

Anyway, that is my opinion, but please feel free to share yours, I would love to know what you all think!

As Always, Stay Tuned!

- A

Louis Vuitton Sunglasses, Apologies And Other Things In Life

Hi Everyone,

I will be dedicating this post to various things, amongst them: Louis Vuitton Sunglasses, Mobile Phones, and Apologies!

So firstly, I must apologise for not posting anything on here for over a month now, work has taken over my life, and when I'm not at work, I'm busy spending time with my boyfriend. Here's what's been going on in my life:

I've been at my new job for 4 weeks now, and so far I am enjoying it. The work isn't necessarily mind blowing, but it is still interesting and I am learning more and more each day. Unfortunately it's all so confidential that I can't even tell my boyfriend about the clients I am working on, which is annoying as some really interesting stuff is happening.
Other than that, everyone is really nice at work, a lot of people have already left the company however, but new people are getting hired as well, meaning it's not just me in the newbie position now.
Compared to the company I used to work for, this company is pretty awesome. They do a lot of out of work socialising, and the vibe and atmosphere at work is pretty relaxed and friendly. You do, of course, get the odd annoying person, but that's normal. There isn't anybody at work, who isn't likeable, which is really great.

Appart from work, I've been visiting new places in and around London, such as Richmond Park, which is really nice. I've also managed to convince my Dad to bring the rest of my things to London, so I finally have all of my clothes and shoes back now, thankfully!

Other than that, not much has been going on. I've been trying to decide on what phone to get next, as I want to get a new contract soon. I'm thinking iPhone 4S, or the Samsung Galaxy Note. Any suggestions on the matter are of course welcome as I do need help on the subject, so please don't hesitate to leave a comment!
Also, if you have any suggestions on which mobile phone network to use, please advise me on this, it would really help!

Other than that, I saw some GORGEOUS Louis Vuitton Sunglasses on the website:

Other than that, there's not much to say! Hope you are all having an awesome weekend!

As Always, Stay Tuned!

- A

When Things Start To Fall Into Place...

Hi Everyone,

The hard work has finally paid off! I received a job offer this morning, from one of the jobs I interviewed for last Wednesday! They are meeting my salary expectations, and have set the start date for next week Monday!
The offices are in a really nice part of London, which makes everything even better for me!
I feel like a huge weight has been lifted off of my shoulders, and I have a few days to relax and prepare before starting the new job. Of course the contracts have not yet been signed, and I am now awaiting the official offer letter, so I won't be able to fully appreciate it all until everything has been sorted. But for now, I am imensely happy, especially because this job is something I really want to do!

In other news, I got a few more bits and bobs for the flat yesterday, had a telephone interview which I didn't feel too great about afterwards, and completed a few more job applications. I realise that I don't really have to worry about it all now, but I do like to have a backup plan, especially because of what happened to my friend (let's call him Jason):
He had a job interview about 5 weeks ago. No offer has been made, and the job hasn't gone to anybody else (as far as we're aware!!), however the company did ask Jason for references. He's been fighting an downhill battle with his old company since then, trying to get references from them and supply them to the other company. Now, he's still no closer to a job offer, and has no backup, as he hasn't applied to other jobs as much as he had been before the interview. The main problem I see here, however, is the fact that Jason only seems to contact these companies once a week. I, however, find that if you really want something, you need to be contacting people a lot more, almost pestering them, to get something done. This is especially the case with busy people as, if you don't remind them constantly, the will forget!
Ever since then, I've been applying to jobs like crazy, even after interviews, and contacting people as well, to make sure I know exactly what is going on, and that I have some form of contingency plan in case plan A messes up!

Other than my job offer, I have no other news, but I will keep you posted on further adventures!

Hope you all have a lovely day.

As Always, Stay Tuned!

- A

Time To Move!!

Hi Everyone,

The last few days have been a bit of a blur, but I can safely say, that my boyfriend and I have finally moved in to our new flat!! We've managed to put away most of our things, but obviously still have a few things to sort out. Anyway, here's what's been going on since Wednesday afternoon:

I went for the second interview, which, as I said, is right up my street, being online related. I thought I did quite well in the interview, I was able to answer all questions, even the more technical ones which they didn't expect me to know, and I got on quite well with both of the interviewers.
Afterwards, I headed over to one of London's Hilton hotels to meet another interviewer. I thought this one went well too, I was able to give some input into what he could do to improve things within the business, and was able to answer all his questions too. The only problem with this one is that it initially entails working from home, as the company does not have any offices anywhere at the moment, which sounds a little fishy to me.
Anyway, I heard back from the recruitment agent who got me the second interview. He gave me positive general feedback so far, but the final decision won't be made until tomorrow, so here's hoping it's good news!
I also heard back from the Sales interview, unfortunately they decided to hire someone else, because this person seems to have gotten a better score in their degree than I did. It did make me a little angry at the time, but thinking back now, I'm glad it happened, as sales is not really something I want to be doing.

I spent Thursday packing and applying for more jobs, and have scheduled a phone interview for next week, which is always good!

Friday came around, and my boyfriend and I went to our new place to sign the contracts and get the keys, all ready for Saturday. We then went home and waited for my boyfriends parents to get to his old flat. On Saturday, we spent the day moving all of our things to the flat, my boyfriend sorted everything out with his old flat, and we all went for dinner out afterwards, which was a pretty good meal as I had risotto for the first time in a long time!

Today we decided to go bowling with my boyfriends parents, which was quite fun! I do love a bit of bowling, I must say!
Unfortunately, however, last night's sleep wasn't too great, as the bed frame is in the process of breaking, and the matress is really uncomfortable. However, after having a short conversation with the landlady, my boyfriend managed to get her to agree to sort out a new bed and matress, which is great!
The only other annoying thing about the flat is that there is no kitchen bin. But as it's only our second day here, we will sort that out in the next few days.

Another piece of news: I finally managed to ask my dad to bring the rest of my things to London. He said he might be able to at the beginning of April, so I'm hoping that will actually work out! Otherwise, not much has happened.

Hoping for some good news tomorrow, and hoping you all have had a FAB(!!) weekend!

As Always, Stay Tuned!

- A

Inspiration Strikes at Starbucks!

Hi Everyone,

So apparently, inspiration strikes at Starbucks!

Here's an update on what's been happening:
the Non-profit organisation got back to me. Unfortunately, it was a no from them. However my motto in these situations is "onwards and upwards"!
The calls I've had from recruitment agents turned out not to be so fruitful.
One of them really annoyed me. She sent me a specification for a job which was clearly above my level. I really hate it when that happens, it is such a waste of time. The worst part is, she got me an interview at the company, without even asking if I was interested. How she got me that interview in the first place is a mystery to me, but I wrote her a fairly direct email, expressing my feelings about this particular job. She then had the cheek to call me again, with the same job spec, and had clearly forgotten that I'd already said no!

I've been applying to jobs like crazy since last Thursday, and it's been good so far!
I have three interviews in total today alone! One of them being a second interview from one of the jobs I went for last week. It went so so, but the chairman seemed a bit concerned about my educational track record. I had a call from them an hour after I left, with a few follow up questions. They are now considering their options and will get back to me shortly!

I have two more interviews today, both of them very interesting, both online related, so right up my street! I'll report on how they all go, either this evening or at some point tomorrow!

I've also started watching another show called "2 Broke Girls". It's really funny so far. Yet again, however, I haven't watched enough of it to be able to review it, but I promise to do so once I've seen a bit more!
Continued watching 24 as well, which is still pretty good, and keeps you on your toes with lots of cliff hangers!

In other news, I'm moving on Saturday! I'm really quite excited!! My boyfriend and I are going to sign the contracts on Friday, so the deal is pretty much sealed! Just have to start packing (again) now! As I've got no more interviews this week, I've got enough time to sort everything out in peace. My boyfriend is on holiday too, which is helpful, and his parents are coming down on Friday to help with the move!

I still haven't gathered up the courage to ask my dad to bring the rest of my stuff to London, but I will be emailing him by the end of today, because I really do need my things, and he did say he would bring them after all!

My blog visitor numbers have gone up recently, which is, of course, excellent!

For now, there's not much else to say! I do have to get back to my research as well, so I will write some more soon!

As Always, Stay Tuned!

- A

Interviews!!

Hi Everyone,

I'm currently sitting in Starbucks (yes, again!!), writing this. I've just had two interviews, one at 10am and one at 12pm.
The job search is starting to pick up, I've got another interview waiting to be confirmed for some time next week, and am now waiting to hear back from three interviews altogether.

I believe the fashion production company has decided to go with someone else as I haven't heard from them, which is fine by me as it all sounded a little dodgy to me anyway.
The non-profit organisation called today, saying they have not yet come to a decision as the key decision maker has not been in the office, meaning I will not hear back until next week.

The 10am interview was in Camden (!!) and took about an hour and a quarter, I got there a little early, which was good as I cut it quite close with making the interview at 12pm.
The first 35 minutes of the interview entailed taking two tests. The first one was the compilation of an Excel sheet, creating formulas for specific cells etc. I found it quite easy and was finished after about 15 minutes. The next test was a reasoning and mathematical test. I found this quite easy too and for some strange reason I was able to look at the numbers and just work out a few difficult questions by seeing a pattern. The only thing I stumbled upon, which is actually quite embarrassing, was a question which asked for the capital city of Spain. I kept wavering between Barcelona and Madrid. I knew Barcelona wasn't it, so I chose Madrid...luckily!
After both tests, I was asked a few interview questions, which I thought went quite well. I got on well with the interviewer, and the company actually sounds pretty great, even if it is a sales job, it doesn't sound too bad at all! At 11.10, I got a little nervous. I was still in the interview and had to be in a completely different part of London at 12pm. Luckily the interview finished shortly after, and I sped to the Tube station.

By the time I got to my next interview, it was only 11.40! pretty quick journey, and I took a few minutes to brace myself before walking into the building. I've always been told, it's great to be early for an interview, but you don't want to be too early, otherwise you look overly eager and desperate, and it's just annoying for the employer if he's trying to get stuff done by a certain time.

This next interview only lasted about 20 minutes, and to be honest, I don't think it went too well. I had done all of my research the night before, studied up on the company, made sure I knew what the role would entail, and made sure I knew the key elements for this interview. When it got to the interview, however, due to the fact that I'd been preparing for two interviews, both so close together, in one day, I completely forgot what I'd learned the night before. I was able to explain my knowledge of what the company did in a few sentences, which was good, but did leave out a few things. When it came to the role itself, I completely blacked out. I knew what it was, but in that instance I just couldn't remember. Embarrassing? I think so!
The interviewer explained everything to me in some more depth and we then proceeded to go through my CV. In the end, the interviewer said he's still seeing other people and I'd find out about next stages by next week. He also said that even if I don't get through to the next stage, he would feed back to HR about my interests career wise, as the company likes to keep people in mind and possibly use them for other roles across the business. It's good, but at the same time not so good.

Otherwise, I've had a few recruitment agents call me about other roles which may be of interest.
Fingers crossed I'll find something soon!

Otherwise, I'll be meeting my friend later on today! I haven't seen her since I left London in November, so I'm quite excited to see her and have a catch up, as it's been a while!

Yesterday, I had two meetings with recruitment agents as well, one of them was rather promising, and I'm hoping to hear from him either by tomorrow, or the beginning of next week. After those meetings, I met up with my boyfriend in town, as he had a day off. We decided to go for a Pizza Hut buffet (YUM!) but walked around for about two and a half hours trying to find one! By the time we did, it was 2.30, meaning nearly buffet closing time. I got my buffet, though, and was happy. I pretty much ate my entire days worth of calories in that one meal though...fail!

Otherwise, there's not much to report. Hoping for some positive news very soon, as I'd really like to get the career started!!

I will keep you all posted on my adventures!

As Always, Stay Tuned,

- A

The World is in Need of Anger Management!

Hi Everyone,

I'm currently writing to you all, from a Starbucks in Central London. The reason for this, you ask?
Well, to be completely honest, I'm procrastinating on job applications. I've been sitting here for the past 30 minutes, looking at various jobsites and jobspecs and have found NOTHING suitable. I know 30 minutes doesn't sound particularly long, but it is when all you're doing is looking at job specs!

I thought, therefore, I'd write a little philosophical/thought provoking something.

Now, due to the fact that I live in London, I will be relating this post to my "tube" journeys. However for all you other readers, you've got public transport systems such as the Subway (in NYC), the S- and U-bahn in Munich, the Tram/underground system in Milan and Moscow, or other types of public transportation throughout the world, which you can relate this post to.

Have you ever read about other people's frustrations of sitting on the tube, and constantly being stared at by other people? I know I have. The reason why I ask is, it really is difficult to NOT look at other people, and what is going on around you.
In my experience, I especially love people watching for things such as fashion advice, what's in, what's not, what looks good, and even what looks bad on people with a similar body shape to me. It really can be a very helpful fashion guide. However, I've often been subjected to angry stares, probably because people think I'm judging them or something, but it really is frustrating.
Then again, I've got a little contradiction in the sense that I tend to "dish out" angry and annoyed stares myself, because I feel judged too by people staring at me. The only way to "break the ice" here, really, is to smile and look away.

Now here's the point to my post - why do some of us feel so uncomfortable and uneasy in our own skin, that we think others are judging us just by looking at us? Is this what the media teaches us? Or is it just a general feeling of not wanting to interact with strangers, in case something bad might happen to us?

I know I just read an awful report the other day on the Daily Mail website, here, about a young woman being thrown onto the tube tracks at Leicester Square (!!!) just for having short row with a man, about his hat! The perp, unfortunately, got away as well, and has not been caught! This incident happened over 6 months ago, and only now, has the footage been released to the public!
It makes me wonder what the world has come to, and why people are so vile and aggressive, just because they feel attacked by somebody's words. Whatever happened to "Sticks and Stones can break my bones but words will never hurt me"?
The day before yesterday, I also read a short article about a young man throwing a brick at somebody's head! I cannot remember the "reasoning" behind this, but again, aggressive behaviour occurs, due to...well not really any reason at all!
I just can't understand why people feel the need to resort to violence for every little issue!

Anyway, enough of my ramblings on the worlds "anger issues"! I will get back to my application process now!

Hoping you are all having an awesome weekend.

As Always, Stay Tuned!

- A

Saturday Night Blues

Hi Everyone,

It's Saturday evening and I'm at home, alone, sitting in bed! I've decided this would be a good time to write to you all, as I currently have a fear of "overusing" the internet data allowance for this month, due to my frequent watching of Nikita. I'm waiting until Midnight, so I can watch it for free, 1 and 3/4 hours left to go!

I've had a fairly busy, yet uninteresting day today - I went out to pick up the boyfriend's dry-cleaning, bought some milk and vegetables and came back home. I hovered, applied for a few more jobs, and did my exercise. I've been good again, the last few days, making sure I do my exercise. I've been doing 30 minutes of weight lifts, 22 minutes of Pilates, and at least 45 minutes of Zumba every day for the past three days, and am planning on continuing this way. I need to scale up again after all, and now is the perfect time to do so as my boyfriend is working all weekend long, and I have to find some way to occupy myself!

Yesterday, I had a pretty boring day. I spent most of the day applying for jobs, and talking to my best friend on the phone. He, just like me, doesn't have a job at the moment. He actually might have an offer impending, however his references are taking a while to get sorted, so he is, of course, in a bit of panic. I do have to say though, that I feel a little overwhelmed with other people's problems when I have so many of my own. I don't have the heart to tell people that, because I believe that true friends should be there for one another, no matter what, but it is aggravating when you're trying to dig yourself out of your own hole and somebody comes and dumps some more dirt on top of you.

On Thursday, I went to see my old housemates. I went to the old house (the same as always I must say) and we had some wine and talked for three hours. It was just three of us, as unfortunately two of them were working/had other plans, but I will be visiting again, so hopefully I'll catch them next time. Whilst I had a great time there, I do realise I'm quite glad I moved out of there. Apparently landlord and tenant relationships have broken down, and the landlords are getting more and more annoyed at certain people within the house (one of which I can actually kind of understand). One of the girls has suffered heartbreak although all of us agree it's for the best for everyone involved, another one of the girls is moving to Australia in a few months (which is pretty awesome if you ask me!!) and I met the new housemate, who seems fairly bubbly and nice. According to the other girls, however, they aren't getting along too well, but I've always found a problem in that house (or any house where there are only girls living) is the fact that bitching ALWAYS happens behind people's backs. I don't know why girls can't just be honest and up front with others, it really shouldn't be that big of a deal, and it would really help in terms of stopping things from escalating into unnecessary arguments.
I know we all do it (myself included!), but if everybody just stopped bitching and putting other people down, we'd probably find a lot more people who we have things in common with, and never thought we'd be friends with them. Unfortunately, it's not how the world works, but here's hoping!

In terms of the job situation, it's get more and more difficult. I find myself applying to jobs at all hours of the day, but I'm also trying to find a balance between applying for jobs, and not driving myself completely insane by doing so. The pressure from my boyfriend isn't helping either. I know he's only trying to help but I do feel like I'm giving it my best shot and he's not appreciating it as much as I'd hoped.
I've also begun to branch out completely from what I want to do. I realise that I turned a job down because it wasn't what I wanted, but at this point I'm thinking, I do prefer an office job to a bar job, so even if I have to go into some kind of corporate sales, it's better than standing behind a bar for hours on end, especially because I have a bad back (yeah yeah I sound like a bit of a granny!). I know the back thing is my own fault - it was just considered "cool" to wear your school bag down to your bum during high school! Now I wish I'd listened to my dad when he warned me about messing up my back. Hindsight eh?!

Anyway, I need to get the last bit of my exercise done for the day, and then find something to do for another hour and a bit.

As Always, Stay Tuned!

- A

Applications, Interviews, and still no Job!

Hi Everyone,

It's been a while, again, and I've got a few things to share with you all.

First and foremost, the job hunt! I've had two interviews this week, both Marketing related.
The first interview was yesterday, at a non-profit organisation. I don't want to give away too much just yet, but I have to say the cause that this organisation works for has me awestruck. It's been up and running for nearly 13 years now, and has achieved a lot! I think the interview itself went fairly well, I really got on with the interviewer, and the rest of the team is fairly young (aged between 20 and 25). I was told that I'd find out, if I get through to round two of interviews, by the end of this week or beginning of next, which is great.
On to interview two. Here's the deal, the company sounds great, apparently it is one of the biggest fashion photo and video production company's in the UK, working with top brands, and I'd be able to get an excellent portfolio here. The position is part Marketing based, but mostly Production based, which I'm happy with, it sounds exciting. However, when I was asked a few competency questions based on production, I had no idea how to answer. The interviewers (3 of them!!) had to practically answer the questions for me. I was able to ace the Marketing part of it all, but that doesn't help much. At the end of the interview I was told that if I got the job, I'd be working on a freelance basis with a lot of over time. The problem here is whatever I work, I get £60 a day, which in London terms, is not a lot, and that sum is the amount I'd get before tax comes off. I'd have to do my own tax as I'd essentially be self employed. Up until this point I'd wanted the job... now I don't really want it so much, as the pay is awful, and there is no contract or anything involved, meaning the job is really unstable. The interviewers said I'd find out if I got the job by the beginning of next week. I'm hoping for a miracle and hoping I'll get the first job I went for, the second one is not ideal... at all!!

I'm still applying for loads of jobs but there isn't a lot out there now, and after reading an article about the 10 best cities and 10 worst cities to find jobs in the UK, I was left feeling angry and irritated. Not by the article itself, but by the comments left underneath it. People that had jobs were complaining about not having something good enough (here I am thinking at least you have a job) and other people were complaining about having too many immigrants and basically pulling the racism card. I was pretty angry at these comments as I thought, there are so many people out there, with nothing at all, and here are all these people, complaining they have no job etc, and yet they have a roof over their heads, food and heating. So many people died in the recent freezing temperatures, due to lack of food, heating and shelter. Those are the people I really feel sorry for! Anyway, rant over!

I'm still holding out, hoping I'll find a job soon, otherwise it's pub work or retail for me. I'm not complaining really, but I would definitely prefer retail to pub work. Serving drunk people alcohol is not really my cup of tea.

Otherwise, it was pancake day yesterday and I did NOT have any! My boyfriend, lovely as he is, said he'd bring home some pancake mix tonight so we could catch up on it - yay for me :)

One last piece of news: I recently visited Camden again. I've only been there three times (including this last visit) but I have to say, I love it there. I love the quirky interesting people you meet, and I really love the different styles of fashion that people wear in this part of London. You get really interesting ideas from all angles. Also, for the first time in a VERY long time I walked into a shop (H&M) and actually found a lot of clothes I'd love to buy! For the longest time I've had trouble finding interesting clothes. I've had to ransack whole rails of clothing and haven't been able to find anything. Even when I went to Westfield's I didn't find that much. But this particular H&M had a lot of stuff from hot pink, faux leather pencil skirts to bright yellow or blue jeans to bright blue blazers, to imprinted tops with beautiful designs to gorgeous bright blue sandal wedges and much MUCH more! I think the next time I go shopping, I'll stop by here as it is absolutely amazing!

Anyway, that's all for today!

As Always, Stay Tuned!

- A

Adventures!

Hi Everyone,

So I've been up and running for over a month now, have 20 blog followers on my GFC, and a few more through websites such as Bloggers and BlogCatalog! Therefore, to start off my post today, I'd just like to say thank you to all you lovely readers, and also thank you to those of you that have left comments. I love your honesty, kind words, and words of wisdom!

Now on to my actual post!

Three days have passed since my last post, and I've been applying for jobs left right and centre. The exercise front, however, is not looking great. I have to admit since I moved to London, I've missed out on 4 days of Zumba. Not good, I know. I really need to get on track if I want to keep losing weight, because eating loads of carbs and not doing enough exercise is not helping at all!! I know I'm the only one to blame for all this, so I better get back to it!

In terms of my London adventures, I went to Westfield today. I love Westfield, it is my all-time favourite shopping centre, and I've spent many days there, meeting up with friends, shopping for suits with my boyfriend, etc. Today, however, no shopping was done! Due to my lack of money, I resorted to browsing through shops, looking for work shoes for my boyfriend, having a browse through clothes I'd love to buy, and of course having a cheeky look at all the lovely branded shops. After a long day walking around the shops, my boyfriend treated me to a meal at my favourite Thai restaurant. I ate a Red Beef Curry with Jasmine Rice, which was excellent. Afterwards we decided to go home, as the cinema was fully booked (we wanted to go see "Man on the Ledge").

Other than my adventure at Westfield, I haven't had much time to get out of the house. I've been trying to score some interviews, but there has been a major lack of contact by recruiters, and the rejections are piling up in my email inbox. Encouraging? I think not! Motivation has not slowed, however, so I am staying hopeful and upbeat about the situation, it can only get better from here, right?

Anyway, lovely readers, it's only a short one for today.

As Always, Stay Tuned!

- A

Valentine's Day

Hi Everyone,

Valentine's Day has come and gone for another year, and I have to say, I've had yet another good day.
My boyfriend and I went to a Michelin Star restaurant for an early lunch, and it was amazing! 3 courses of gorgeous food, and a few complimentary bits from the chef later, and I was absolutely stuffed.
My Starter was the best: Ravioli of Quail leg, with a mushroom and white wine sauce. That sauce was like an explosion of flavours in my mouth. Best food I've EVER eaten!
I also had my first macaroon ever (passion fruit flavour), which was really good, for some reason I always thought I wouldn't like them very much, but this one was pretty good I must say.
After eating, we went and had a look at Harrods, now I've never been there before, but both Harrods and Selfridges are probably my two favourite department stores! I just love the beautiful bags and shoes you can find there. I also had a look at the art gallery inside Harrods, there were a few nice pieces there, even one by my favourite artist: Salvador Dali!
It was pretty amazing to see the great art displayed there. There wasn't a lot, but the pieces displayed were amazing.

Speaking of art, my all time favourite painting is (of course) also by Dali:

The Famous Melting Clocks Painting

I love the abstractness of this painting so much, the first time I saw it (about 8 years ago) I just thought it was so cool, it's almost like a symbol of how time is melting away.
I never used to be much of an art fan at school, but I do like sketching and drawing, and I do enjoy pieces of abstract art, or paintings from the Renaissance. Abstract art is just quirky, and cool to look at. It's really fun to interpret as well. Renaissance art, however, is so beautiful, and trying to interpret it and take it all in can be really fun too.

Anyway, back to my updates!

In terms of the job front, I decided to cancel all of my job interviews for this week and start over. The jobs were either too far away, or some sort of sales related jobs. I don't want to end up in the same fiasco as before, with a job that I hate, and the dread of having to look for yet another one. I decided it's time to find a job I'm good and and one I actually want. Hoping something comes along soon but it's not looking to great right now. I've had no calls in the last 2 days, and emails have been slowing down too. I'm really hoping it's just one of those "mid-week busy periods" rather than a lack of interest. I have had a few rejection emails (which is of course normal) but thankfully only about 3 or 4. I'm hoping for a better day tomorrow on the job front.
Of course the regret of turning down my job offer has now begun to set in too. I know it's for the best because it's not what I want to do, but at the same time I'm angry because it was still a job.

I was supposed to speak to the two employers about it on Monday, but got an email saying "We've decided to look for someone new, sorry." This infuriated in two ways:
- One: I was the one turning the job down and they made it sound like they were turning me down.
- Two: my weekend was ruined due to the fact that I was worrying about the conversation I was going to have with them, and it didn't end up happening.

Other than these few things, I've started watching 24! I think it's brilliant, haven't really seen much of it, but so far it's pretty good. I'll be sure to review it at a later point in time, when I've watched more than half of the first season and can be more objective.

I'm hoping you've all had a good Valentine's day too. It's another short one for now as I've got to get back to those job apps.

As Always, Stay Tuned!

- A

Jobs and Flats!

Hi Everyone,

So it's been a while (yet again!!), and I've got a fair bit to chat about!

Firstly, I had a group interview on Friday for a 3 month internship, which then leads onto a full time, permanent position once the internship has been completed. The interview took place in the company's office outside of London, in the town where my boyfriend works. There were five of us altogether, and the interview lasted about 2.5 hours.
First we were asked to talk about any topic we wanted to for one minute, just off the top of our heads, in front of everybody. I talked about moving abroad, and how the experience has changed me and has proven to be the best decision I've made in my life. After this, we were asked to write a synopsis on one of the company's clients websites, which was fairly easy too, as we were asked about a Digital agency (which is what I've been applying to for quite some time, job wise).
After the synopsis exercise, we were asked to attend 3 different one-on-one interviews (lasting 5-10 minutes each), in order for the interviewers to ask us competency based questions. After these interviews had been completed, we attended another quick question and answer session for us interviewees to find out more about the company and job itself. Once completed, we were free to leave.
I believe I left at about 12.25. At 12.40 I received a call from one of the company directors, offering me the job. I was very pleased at first, however after reading over the job spec one more time to ensure I was completely happy with it, I discovered some elements which I wasn't keen on at all - telesales!! I hate telesales and field sales! I am not one to shy away from making a simple telephone call, or strike up a conversation, however I don't like it when it involves sales!
I ended up letting the director know that the position was not quite what I had in mind, however he asked me to discuss it all further on Monday, so I will let you all know what happens then.

In other news, my boyfriend and I have been viewing flats for the past few days and I have to say, every single one we've viewed has been really nice. We took a while to make a decision, but we did end up deciding on the flat we had initially picked out, as it is closest to my boyfriend's work, and once I have a job, I'll make do with what I have and sort out my travel time/expenses then.

Other than that, I've had a few more people contact me about jobs (all sales or outside of London!!), but I'm hoping something will come up soon. Staying positive is the key to being happy!

Now I do realise this isn't a particularly long post, however I'm rather tipsy at this point in time, and I can't remember every piece of information I wanted to relay.

I promise to keep you all posted on further adventures in London.

As Always, Stay Tuned!

- A

Things are Looking Up

Hi Everyone,

Yet another eventful day today! My boyfriend didn't have to get up until 8.40am today, and I was so confused by that, that I kept waking up thinking he was going to be late for work. Eventually he left, and I myself couldn't really sleep but stayed in bed until 10.15am.

I finally had my phone interview at 11am, but was a little annoyed by the fact that it lasted 7 minutes flat! I was told that I have a good voice on the phone, ie. a good selling voice, but that I have no experience in selling, which may be a problem compared to other candidates. I will find out by the end of the week, what's going to happen next. The woman said she will keep me in mind, and may want to see me for a face-to-face interview next week. Fingers crossed.
I then spoke to the same recruitment agent that got me this interview, and he is currently trying to get me an interview for another selling position. The interview will be a group interview (always enjoyable) and will not happen until Feb. 16th, which is good as my boyfriend has booked some time off from Feb. 9 till Feb. 14, so the interview won't come in the middle of that.
I also spoke to two other recruitment agents about possible Marketing or Media related positions. Hopefully I'll get some interviews scheduled in for those too. I really just want to be able to start working again, it's been too long since I've been at work, and I'm starting to feel a bit lazy.

In other news, my boyfriend managed to break his laptop yesterday (by break I mean possibly download a virus!). So I will need to take a look at that as well at some point to see if I can fix it.

I still haven't managed to complete my new layout for this blog, and I've been working on it for a while now! I'll try and find some time to do so in the next few days, I hope.

Other than that, I am going to view a flat tomorrow, with my boyfriend. This is the flat that my boyfriend viewed whilst I was still abroad, and was told the owners would hold it for us. I'm hoping it's a good one as I really want to get the whole flat thing sorted and out of the way so I can focus on finding a job!

It's only a short one for today as I must get back to applying for jobs, my boyfriend isn't back until at least 11pm, so I better use my time wisely.

As Always, Stay Tuned!

- A

The New Life Begins

Hi Everyone,

So I haven't been active since Friday - my apologies! But I can now safely say, that I am once more a Londoner! It feels good to be back, I must say.

I was quite surprised about the fact that my flight took off on time, landed on time, and there were no troubles whatsoever! As we landed, we flew through a load of clouds, which I found rather freaky as I couldn't see anything around me, it was quite scary. But other than that, it was all good!

I got back yesterday evening, and my boyfriend waited for me at the airport, with a lovely bunch of flowers. I've never gotten flowers from him before, so I felt extra special :)
The train ride home was a typical London journey, surprisingly again, with no disruptions (I say surprisingly as it had snowed and it's unusual for London to not have any problems with public transport in those kinds of weather conditions). Walking back to the flat was an adventure because (me being clever as always) I was wearing high heeled boots. I thought I was being clever because I was wearing them, rather than adding the extra weight to my suitcase. If only I'd taken a second pair of warm shoes to change into on the plane because walking home in the snow, I was slipping and sliding everywhere....fail!

I then decided to put dinner off until 8 - which the boyfriend was fine with - because I was waiting for a call from a recruitment agent. My boyfriend kept telling me not to bother waiting, as they'd never bother calling on a Sunday. I didn't listen but was disappointed when he was right. I got an email 2 hours later apologising that he wasn't going to call until 9am in the morning.

Going out to dinner at 7.30ish, I yet again put on the heeled boots (because I have no other warm shoes) and was sliding around again. We walked to a pub just down the road (down hill!!!) as they serve a really good Sunday Roast dinner. I was all excited because I hadn't had a roast in a while and was really looking forward to one. When we got to the pub, however, the bar staff told us that due to the lack of customers that day, no roasts were being served. We sat down with a menu and just decided to have a burger (for me) and a steak (for my boyfriend) instead. I was happy, and probably was the most stuffed I've been in a while!

I got back, setting my alarm for 8.45 this morning, so I'd be up in time for the call I was expecting from that recruitment agent. I overslept, due to the fact that I had forgotten to turn my (very old!!) phone on loud and so the alarm didn't ring, and I didn't hear the call! I only overslept my 45 minutes, which is all good, got the call out of the way and waited for the next one at 11am, which was an actual phone interview. 11am came and went (I'd put my exercise on hold till after, gotten a coffee etc.). 11.30 came and went... at 11.45 I still hadn't received a call, I'd gotten very annoyed and decided to do my exercise, send an email to the recruitment agent and ask what was going on. 1 hour later, he replies saying "she sends her apologies but she was unexpectedly out of the office this morning, can we reschedule for tomorrow?". I didn't reply until at least 4 hours later as I was very annoyed. I didn't care that the woman was unexpectedly out of the office, but she should have the decency to let me know if she wasn't going to make it BEFORE our appointment, not 2 hours later! I rescheduled for tomorrow, but for the fact that I don't even really want this job, it's safe to say that I'm utterly annoyed and can't see the point any more.

Other than that, I've been applying for more jobs today, so fingers crossed. I had another recruitment agent call me at exactly 11am this morning, told her to please call me back at 11.45, which she never did, and am now even more annoyed because I have no credit or phone number to call her back, meaning I may have missed another opportunity because of this incompetent woman from this morning.
To top everything off, I've been holed up all day in a very cold flat today (as I have no idea how to work the radiator) and am feeling a sore throat coming on.

Hoping for a better day tomorrow!

As Always, Stay Tuned!

- A