Springtime Walk | Sir Thomas & Lady Dixon's Park, Belfast

I'm back home in Northern Ireland now after what has felt like a very long lent term at university, though at the same time I can't believe my second year at uni is nearly over, I really don't know where the time has gone. 

In the time I've been away in Lancaster this year, my beautiful friend, Ashleigh- part-model, part-spider monkey- has been off all over the world doing some really exciting things on her gap year. So far she's spent three months in Chico in Northern California, three months in South Africa and now, luckily for me, she's back home for a few months before heading off again, so finally we're in the same place at the same time which has meant a long and much-needed catchup. Ashleigh and I have been friends for quite a few years now and in a way we've sort of grown up together. We first met when I was thirteen and she was twelve so we've spent the most part of our formative teenage years figuring life out side by side, which is something that has continued now that we're becoming adults and has been such a pleasure.

The weather turned out to be really nice yesterday so we decided to go for an impromptu visit to Sir Thomas and Lady Dixon's Park (or just Lady Dixon's to the locals) which is a huge, green expanse near to where we live on the outskirts of Belfast. It's one of the nicest places in our area so I go there quite often and have done ever since I was really little, and Ashleigh and I have been there quite a lot over the years too so it seemed like an appropriate place for some long-awaited chats.

If you'd like to know a little bit more about Ashleigh you can find here here:

Instagram: @clarityatmidnight

Twitter: @_ashleighsarah

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Scenes | Dinner at The Barking Dog, Belfast

One of the things I sincerely miss about Belfast when I'm at university is all of its quirky and eclectic bars and restaurants, and there really is a lot of them. I basically spent the entirety of my last week of university, in fact, dreaming of my return to my home city where I could soak in the wintry ambience of its bustling beer gardens, dining out and getting tipsy with old friends amidst the hum of city sounds.

Thankfully I have a friend with an equal penchant for alcohol and good food in Gemma and on Thursday night we decided to take a little dander into Belfast for dinner and drinks. I'd managed to nab a last minute table at The Barking Dog on the Malone Road which was really lucky since it's normally so busy, especially around Christmas time.

Our table was by the window which was nice since the restaurant is in the University Quarter of the city, right by where the Queen's University student accommodation is so you could see all the students passing by outside, heading out. The table was also candlelit and decorated with roses and holly which was lovely.

Gemma and I both opted for turkey and ham for our meal- it is Christmas after all!- and I have to say, it was amazing. 

After dinner we headed out to a bar called 'Filthy McNasty's', though despite the name, which my English friends think sounds absolutely horrific, there's not really anything particularly filthy or nasty about it. It's probably the most popular bar in Belfast at the minute, made up of a quirky indoor bar, beer garden, cocktail bar and nightclub, the 'Gypsy Lounge' which has an interior made up to look like an old gypsy caravan. It's one of my favourite city haunts for sure.

We didn't stay for too long, just for one drink before calling it a night, but overall I had a lovely evening and I'm looking forward to many more like it before I head back to uni!

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Life | Back to Uni Instagram Diary

Hey folks! So at the minute I'm meant to be doing coursework but of course I've decided to write a new post instead! Since I've been so crap with posting recently I thought I might as well have a catch up on what I've been up to since I've been back at uni. This term has been crazy hectic so far, which hasn't really afforded me much of a social life and as a result I haven't really been anywhere particularly exciting to share with you here. Though, any time I really go anywhere or do anything it usually ends up on my instagram, so I thought sharing some of my most recent pics would do the job of explaining quite nicely; a picture is worth a thousand words, after all!

>> You were wild once, don't let them tame you. I found this card by designer, Sarah Majury in St. George's Market on my trip back home and I thought it was really cute. I think the message speaks volumes as well.

>> Obligatory Christmas cardigan selfie, because I can only wear it one season of the year and I've been waiting so very long to do so. 

>> Socks the pony. This is one of the ponies at the stables where my uni equestrian club ride and I just love his little cheeky face so much. You can just tell he's absolutely loving the attention here!

>> Bonfire Night. I was quite keen to partake in the bonfire night festivities this year because, being from Northern Ireland, it's not a holiday we have back home. On the night there were fireworks all over Lancaster so two of my friends and I headed up to Williamson Park to try and catch a glimpse before heading to the pub.

>> Cowboys and Indians Social. This is just me and my friend Alysia dressed up for a Cowboys and Indians themed social with equestrian club a few weeks ago; a night where many a tipsy deep conversation was had!

>> Pretty Sky. A little picture I took of the sun setting on my walk home (despite the fact it was only 4pm at the time! The short days/long nights situation is one thing about wintertime that makes me really sad)

>> Wednesday night out. This is a cheeky pic of me and my friend Ian out one night which is actually an absolutely horrendous photo in real life- thank goodness for filters, eh?

>> Lancaster by night. A photo taken whilst my housemate Carlo and I were roaming the streets of Lancaster one October eve.

>> Cup of tea with Ian after I attempted to make him some spag bol, which actually turned out rather well in the end. We then watched this dating show called "Sexy Beasts" where people go on dates in really gross make-up and it was literally the most ridiculous and most amazing thing I've ever seen. 

So yeah, I guess that's me all up to date! Hope you've all had a lovely day!

Much Love

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Weekend Roundup

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Weekend Roundup

I really had such a lovely weekend these past few days. Between starting work and everyone being away on summer holidays it'd been a few weeks since I'd seen anyone so it was amazing to be able to spend a chilled out weekend with a few of my best friends!

We had some lovely weather here on Saturday morning so my cousin, Jenny and I got up bright and early and went for a long walk in the park followed by some lunch in Belfast. It was the first time I'd seen her since I got back from uni in June so it was great to spend some quality time and catch up. We went to this really quirky restaurant called Birdcage, though because it was quite busy I didn't manage to get any photos- I'll make sure I will next time!

Later on Saturday night Isabel and Libby who are two of my best friends from school came to stay at mine and we had a typical girly movie night with lots of chocolate and a cheeky bottle of Rosé. Then after a long lie-in the next day we braced the rain and headed back into the city for another lunch date. This time we went to a restaurant in the city centre called Made in Belfast which has a menu made up of all locally sourced produce. It can be a little pricey but it's completely worth it because the food is so good!

It was quite a special occasion for the three of us because since we've all moved away to different unis we really don't see as much of each other as we'd like to any more. Isabel (Izi) lives in London now and because of commitments with her job over there she can't come home very often. In fact, she's only back in Northern Ireland for two weeks this summer before heading back off again! So whenever we all get a chance to see each other it's literally the best thing ever. I really couldn't have asked for a better end to a week of placement!

Hope you all had a great weekend!

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Falling in Love with Lancaster

These are just a few photos taken out on a girly evening with my friend Louise (who, by the way, was the very good friend who lent me the wise Lion King-related advice a few posts back). It's crazy to think, but my first year at Lancaster is now very quickly coming to a close (my last exam is tomorrow, moving out of uni accommodation on Thursday!!!) and it was nice to just spend some time off-campus to reflect on the months that have gone by.

I  first met Louise because she was part of my workshop group on my marketing course but for months we were just casual acquaintances and only really spoke when we had to sort things out for our group work and presentations. I was actually a little intimidated by her at the start because since marketing was her major she often had to assume a sort of leadership role in the group and I was afraid she was judging me or I was letting her down by not giving my all. As it turned out, however, this was all nonsense and in fact, she had also found me a bit intimidating! First impressions can sometimes be very wrong. especially among girls I think sometimes.

Despite our misunderstanding about each other however, because she lived quite near me on campus we would sometimes walk back from seminars together and chat for a bit. It was on one of these occasions I mentioned to her that I used to horse-ride and was thinking about taking it up again, it turned out she also used to ride and we decided to go together and in the process we actually found out we really have a lot in common and now I'd consider her one of my best friends!

If you've read any of my previous posts you'll know I wasn't particularly happy here at the beginning. I found campus and campus accommodation very oppressive and because of a few personal problems I encountered, I found it really difficult trying to keep up with work and assignments as well as the demands of living on my own for the first time. It was a struggle but I can now say over this last term and a bit I've really found my feet, settled in and made some really good genuine friendships to the point where I will actually be really sad to go home for the summer.

Sometimes I also think I failed to appreciate how beautiful Lancaster actually is. There's some really stunning architecture in the city which is then surrounded by miles of green countryside (I'm a big fan of countryside), and also the Lake District is basically on your doorstep, something which I will definitely be taking more advantage of next year.

All in all, I'm very happy to say that I'm very much looking forward to my next few years at Lancaster and all the ups and downs that are still to come over my next 2 years here.

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