There aren’t many advantages of living in Wimbledon; it’s a trek to central London, most people are aged 60 + and the nightlife is almost as dead as back in Kenilworth. But one reason why I am glad I moved to South West London is because I am so close to Chelsea – one of my favourite places in the city. So I spent Sunday doing what I do best, shopping, eating and acting as if I belong on Made in Chelsea.
My OOTD consisted of the sparkliest of headbands from Zara, a gingham dress from Brandy Melville, a grey faux fur jacket from Topshop, knee high H&M boots and a Kate Spade bag. I was channelling some serious Blair Waldorf vibes in this outfit. I really felt the part whilst I was walking down the Kings Road – fake it till you make it, right?
I spent the second part of my day shopping on the Kings Road, a notoriously expensive street. Granted, I could only afford to go into about 3 of the shops down there but I still had a lot of fun window shopping and getting inspiration from high end fashion. I also wanted to get some Christmas decor inspiration because it’s already the 5th and I have nothing up! I first went into Anthropologie, a super cute shop that sells shabby chic clothing and home accessories. They had a ton of gorgeous Christmas decorations, none of which I could afford but it did give me some ideas as to what I can do with my room – I think i’m going to go for the rustic look as that seems to be everywhere this year.
I will definitely have a Christmas decor post up soon!
I have also decided to do a little Christmas blogmas. Of course I was far too unorganised to do the generic blogmas throughout all of December so instead I am going to do ’12 days of Christmas’ from the 15th to the 26th!
If any of you guys read one of my first ever blog posts, you will know that in Spring this year I went to This Morning Live, an exhibition in Birmingham based on the daytime television show. Whilst I was there, I met the editor of This Morning, Martin Frizell. Me being the upfront person I am unashamedly went up to him, told him my life story and asked how on earth I was supposed to get into television – my dream career since I was about 10 years old. It turns out that my confidence paid off as 7 months later I have an actual job in actual television!
My first opportunity came about after Martin gave me his email address and told me to contact him with my CV. He was kind enough to help me get onto the ITV insight programme where I completed a 2 week work placement at the ITV studios on the Southbank in London working with the production team on This Morning. This was a dream come true considering I had never done anything in television before so my first experience was in a huge live TV programme where I got to see exactly how things work. I met some really awesome people whilst I was there, both celebrities and people that work on the show who were so welcoming and really tried to help me with my career path.
I happened to get talking to some of the girls in the fashion department and they asked if I would like to intern with them. This is the main reason I moved to London; I was going to be spending 5 weeks here anyway so I thought why the heck not just move for good? I wasn’t getting paid for the internship so I had to get a part time job in order to pay for my rent and well… to live. I got a job at Brandy Melville in the Oxford Street Topshop meaning I was working 12 hour days, 7 days a week. I can honestly say those 5 weeks nearly destroyed me. There were many breakdowns and numerous teary phone calls back home but I got through it. I completed my internship with the fashion department at This Morning and quit my horrendously painful job at Brandy in order to focus solely on a career in television.
My perseverance and also knowing I wouldn’t have anywhere to sleep if I didn’t get a job made me determined to work as hard as possible in order to find a production company that would take me on with my small amount of experience. I spent hours writing and sending emails to individual production companies knowing that there was only a slim chance of getting a reply let alone any actual work. After sending what must have been a hundred emails, I got a phone call from someone at a production company called Kudos.
Kudos are producers of TV drama such as Broadchurch, Grantchester, Humans, Life on Mars and MI High (any of my main CBBC watchers out there remember that?) They produce incredibly successful content for broadcasters as big as the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Sky Atlantic. After going into their head office for an interview, I got invited to do a 3 day trial with them for an office runner role. On my first day I immediately knew I had to get the job. The people were lovely, the job was so much fun and I was finally where I wanted to be.
…My first day was 4 weeks ago and I haven’t left since. Yesterday, I officially signed my contract to be an office runner/receptionist at Kudos Film and Television.
Looking back to this time last year, living in London with a job that could potentially lead to my dream job was a fantasy so wild I could barely even imagine it. Just over 12 months ago I was completely lost, I had dropped out of school and I was fighting a mental illness that very nearly got the better of me. I now get paid to be in an environment I love with people I admire.
So the moral of the story is that you can gain something from every experience in life, whether they are good or bad. If it wasn’t for the experiences I have been through, I wouldn’t be where I am today. Without leaving school due to mental health issues I wouldn’t have worked at House of Fraser to earn money that is allowing me to live in London. Without working at House of Fraser I wouldn’t have got the time off to go to TM Live where I met Martin Frizell and without the thick skin that my past has given me, I wouldn’t have the determination I have today to pursue my dreams.
Whatever it is you want to achieve, you can do it.
So yet again I have abandoned this blog. I am so sorry to anyone who is actually interested in my life. But I am back! And just in time to show you Christmas in my new home – London.
For the past three months I have been settling into my new home in the big city. After spending 18 years living in Kenilworth, I spontaneously decided to uproot my entire life and move to Wimbledon. In a little under two weeks I had made the decision, found a flat, and packed up everything I own. The explanation for my move will essentially be a novel so I have decided to go into all the details on another post (will be posted shortly). But the main reason for moving is to follow my dream career path in television.
I’ve never lived on my own, so moving out has been a challenge to say the least. The initial move itself was quite the task – I didn’t realise just how many clothes I have. But the worst thing by far was saying goodbye to my little pup Dexter. Over the past 5 years he has been my pride and joy, my best friend and biggest comfort. Throughout everything he has always been there for a cuddle when I have needed it most and without him I thought I would feel completely lost. Obviously I miss my parents a lot too but I know they’re always just a phone call away when I need them whereas I can’t hug my little fluff down the phone (☹️).
As for actually living on my own, I have done pretty well so far. As of yet, I haven’t destroyed my flat which is always a positive sign. I’m currently living with two couples – one Italian, one Spanish. Unfortunately they are quite a bit older than me and they speak very broken English so they aren’t likely to become close friends. It has proven to be quite difficult coming home every day and not having anyone to speak to so I am hoping to move into a new place in the new year with people more suited to me. In terms of looking after myself i’m doing surprisingly well. I successfully do my washing every week and i’m getting really good at making pasta with tomato sauce; it’s safe to say I am officially adulting.
I spend most of my days either at work, shopping or exploring cute cafes in Chelsea. I rarely spend time in my flat – primarily because I don’t have a television (which is probably a blessing). Tragically, my laptop doesn’t connect to wifi so I can’t go on Netflix either. Because of this, I have a lot to thank for my Parks and Recreation box set. Honestly, without it I think I would have gone out of my mind. I’m not lying when I say that it has been on a loop every night for the past 3 months.
Anyway, the rest of the process has been super exciting. I have had so much fun decorating my room and buying bits and pieces for my very own (shared) flat. It’s a literal dream to be able to stay in bed until whatever time I feel like and I can now have breakfast for dinner as much as I want. I do miss Sunday lunch, coffee with my Mum and home comforts but slowly but surely I can say that I feel at home here in London.
Hello! I thought I’d share with you some of my favourite feel good books for when I’m not feeling so fabulous. These books sure aren’t miracle workers but they always manage to make me feel some kind of way even on the darkest of days! There’s so many cool books out there that help with positivity and mindfulness so if you have any please share them with me!
So I have to admit, I did only buy this book because it was all over tumblr, it’s extremely aesthetically pleasing and I thought it would look cute in my bedroom; I didn’t really intend on reading it. I guess there is kind of a story behind how it did start helping me on bad days. A couple of years ago my family was going through a really hard time, in order to piece ourselves back together we decided we needed to spend more time as a family. One day, we decided to go to the zoo – a ridiculous idea considering it was mid February, the majority of animals were kept indoors and it was absolutely freezing. But anyway, we had a lovely day and it really helped us to realise what’s important. A few days later, I decided to open the book and the first thing I read from a page full of words was ‘going to the zoo in winter’. I don’t really believe in fate but this was way too much of a coincidence so I have loved the book ever since. It’s not really something you can read as such, but it’s really nice when you feel a bit low to open the book to a random page and read the simple things we take for granted. It’s similar to the technique of saying what you’re grateful for but everything is written for you which I find a lot easier.
I was given this book by family friends after they took me to my first ever Tony Robbins seminar in London. At first I had no idea who this guy was. I expected the seminar to be formal and boring. But if you know anything about Tony Robbins you’ll know I was completely wrong. That seminar turned out to be a real turning point in my life. This book reinforces everything he said on that day. It’s really about how Tony became the successful man he is but the book is written in such a concise and easy-to-understand guided style that teaches you about life changing tools and principles. A lot of people may not understand how one person and a book can genuinely help you to live a better life; I was once one of those people. I urge you to try it though! Because this book has really inspired me and it puts everything into perspective. After reading his story about the obstacles he’s had to face before being as successful as he is, it always makes me feel better – these dark days won’t last forever.
This book was actually a gift from my therapist, she bought it for me because I had never really looked into mindfulness so she thought it could help with my anxiety. This makes the book special in itself because I know a lot of thought has gone into it and it shows that people do care! I find it’s good to put in my bag so if I start to feel a little rough I can just flick through it to calm myself down. I don’t even need to do the mindfulness tasks usually, it just puts my mind at ease knowing there are things to make me feel better! It’s also a nice book to read in the morning to get me prepared for the day. At the moment, my favourite passage is from the Accept and Respond section which states simple mindfulness practices engage the mind and the body, helping you let go and slowly bringing you back to a sense of equanimity and peace. Unlike the majority of the book, it is a poem called ‘The Guest House’ written by Jalal Al-Din Rumi (picture of poem below). I love it because of the metaphorical implication; it’s a really warming comparison which makes your feelings seem simple and easy to cope with.
Hello strangers! This is just a quick update as to where I am at in my life at the moment. I have been totally missing in action for the past month which I feel awful about as I happened to start a small following on my blog (I can’t believe you lovely lot are actually interested!) Although I am still beginning, I have felt so welcomed and already I have met some wonderful, interesting and inspiring people so I am determined to update you all on my antics at least twice a week from now on.
There isn’t a specific reason as to why I haven’t posted in a while – I guess i’m just lazy and parks and recreation/napping takes up most of my free time. ​But despite going off the grid for the past month, I have actually managed to drag myself out of the house (a miracle I know) to do some pretty cool things.
As if London wasn’t being ‘touristy’ enough, we also took a trip to Stratford upon Avon to see Shakespeare’s crib. Stratford is literally 20 minutes down the road from us so I’ve never seen it as a cool destination to explore, but our family from New Zealand thought it would be interesting to see so we thought we’d show them around. It turns out there’s actually some really good things to see there – who knew!
Due to the delightful weather we’ve been getting recently I managed to fight my vampire-like tendencies and actually get out into the sun for once without feeling like dying. My best friend Sam and I have taken some super cute trips to some super cute places. Our first adventure was on a rowing boat on the River Avon in Warwick; despite always saying how much I dislike my town, the view of Warwick Castle by the water never fails to amaze me. Although, Sam’s ability to row a boat may have made the experience a little less relaxing than it could have been. Next, we decided to take a spontaneous trip to Devon for the night. It was about 3PM when we decided to take a 3 hour drive to the beach (crazy or cute? Hm) but even though we only had a short stay, I had the best time ever. We ate dinner on the beach and watched the sun set, played mini golf, ate cheesy chips and won a toy elephant on the amusements – it was basically your dream weekend. Lastly, I went to Coombe Abbey with my friends for a picnic. I honestly didn’t realise how many pretty places there are close to me; Coombe Abbey is a lakeside country house and park with the most amazing views. We sat drinking our copious amount of cider and our Lidl picnic (very classily may I add) for a good 4 hours before we realised that the nature was too much and we needed to get back to Netflix.
​After not seeing the majority of my friends for a good 6 months, I finally decided to make my debut by surprising one of my best friends at her 18th birthday party. Above is a super cute gif of us all being drunk, weird and very very happy.
Lastly, here is a gif of me petting my dearest friend and pup Dexter. He fell down the stairs this morning and has felt very sorry for himself since so I thought I would give him some lovin’ too.
So that’s it for the update. I promise to improve my time management so nobody will have to send out a search party for me for the forseable future. I already have multiple posts lined up and there is also quite a few exciting things happening in the next month which I can’t wait to share with all 29 of you!