Christmas Crafts

This year I decided that as I have some spare time in the evenings since finishing my project that I would make something personal for my family this Christmas. I used to do this a lot when I was younger and particularly for my Mum's birthday I would always draw or paint a card or picture for her. They are so quick and easy to make and its fun being able to choose designs and personalise them depending on who you are giving them to. 

I took inspiration from Pinterest and tweaked them to suit the person I was making them for. The first card I made was my Mum's birthday card and I am really pleased with this one. My Mum love flowers so I hope she likes it! 

I used card from one of my Pink Pig sketchbooks which is an A5 square book. I then folded and trim it down smaller to a good size for the little designs. 

They were all super quick an fun to make and there are so many more great ideas on Pinterest that I can't wait to try when I make more! 

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Yet another update!

Just like hundreds of other people around the world I am counting down the days..hours and minutes until Christmas! Well, mostly until the holidays start and I can go home for a whole month! It is now more exciting to me to be spending time with all my family and all the things we have planned than when I was little and I just couldn't wait for the presents. I don't know if anyone else feels like that but it must be a sign of finally growing up!  

I've just handed in my first big project and as far as I know it has gone well but I will find out officially next week. I have one final presentation next Wednesday and then I'm off home! It has been such a good term and I am very glad I made the decision to come up here, it really has changed me for the better and made me grow up. 

I have a couple of posts planned and hopefully I can get a few more up over Christmas! 

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An Official Welcome!

New Welcome Video!

Today I posted an "official" welcome to my channel video as I had just taken the plunge and put my other videos up and got straight into it! Its actually so cool to see a couple of people commenting on the videos and getting a few subscribers. To think that even one person would want to watch a video of mine is exciting. I also think its cool when people leave links to their own channels as I love finding new YouTubers to watch. 

I hope to be posting some more videos soon and then I will make sure to write up a post on here about them too and keep the two linked! 

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New YouTube Adventure

Check out my YouTube channel, leave a comment and subscribe! 

It's a Sunday afternoon and we have had a lovely morning having a lie in and then lunch out and of course I couldn't go past a retail park without having a quick look in the shops for Christmas decs! It has actually been a lovely weekend as yesterday we went to a cute little garden centre just a couple of miles away and it was basically Santa's grotto! I always come away from garden centres at Christmas feeling so festive and yesterday was just the same, I officially feel like I can listen to Christmas music, watch films and start sneaking the decorations up. We actually bought our Christmas tree there yesterday and some baubles and beads in red and gold to decorate it with and I am now counting down the days until it is acceptable to put it up! 

I've managed to go off on a bit of a tangent but what I was really writing this post about was the fact that I have started a YouTube channel. It is something that I have wanted to do for a long time now and the thing that has been stopping me is the fact that I was living in a small town at home with my parents going to school and I was focusing on my A levels at the time whilst working weekends as well. Overall that didn't leave me much time to spend on a channel and so now I am able to put more of my spare time into this so hopefully it will be something I get into. 

The first video I put up I actually filmed and edited a year ago and as I said, living in a small town I just didn't want to put it out there in case anyone I knew saw it but now, living away most of time I feel more confident to do something that I enjoy and why shouldn't I! 

I plan to do everything on this channel and I don't really have any "set ideas", anything go really! I think it would be fun to film my trips to places, things like going to the Christmas markets around my area, trips home and then next year I am going away somewhere really cool on holiday for about 3 weeks which I cannot wait for! 

I'll add the link within this post and then if any of you want to go over and take a look you can. I obviously want to continue with my blog and I think that this will hopefully give me even more to talk about and I will probably intertwine them both in ways as well!

Check out my YouTube channel, leave a comment and subscribe!

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Tidy House Tidy Mind

So as it turns out I am very slightly obsessed with cleaning and tidying. I can only sit down and relax when I know that everything is done and there is nothing left that I need to do the next day. Before I moved up here I reminder feeling slightly worried that I would dread doing the cleaning and having to keep everything nice but I am glad to say it is the complete opposite. 

Having the flat nice and tidy and everything in its place relaxes me and not only that but it looks nice! I couldnt go out or go to sleep unless everything was right and since we have been here I have sort of found little routines that I enjoy doing. 

I am the sort of person who loves routine and so to try and cope better with moving out and living on my own so far away from my family, home and comfort zone I have had lots of little things that I do to try and make myself feel more comfortable. So most of the time I am not on my own however on the one day of the week that I am I take this opportunity to deep clean the flat. I clean as I go along each day however this is when I do absolutely everything and the things that I don't do every day.  

I have also been doing things like watching certain series on Netflix and sitting on the sofa all cuddled up or doing work on the coffee table and all these little things that I have got used to doing the past month and a bit comfort me and calm me down. It's funny what little things people do and even writing this I feel as if I am not explaining it in a way that anyone expect me will understand, but I hope at least some of it has made sense!! 

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Chester Zoo Trip

Last weekend we made a trip over to Chester Zoo for the day. I'd heard good things about it but after going to Longleat last year I wasn't sure anything could top that but this came very close! We got there just as it opened at 10am and it took us around 3-4 hours to go round and see everything. 

They had such a variety of animals and all of them had great environments with plenty of room and stimulation and we were able to observe them from a distance that would not bother them too much but allow us to see them clearly. I feel that zoos are a very grey area to a lot of people and I myself sometimes feel a little sad when I see animals that should be out in the wild, in zoos and enclosures however it was amazing to see them and see the work the zoo does for them especially the conservation of the endangered animals that are close to becoming extinct in the wild. 

The big cats they had there were incredible. The ones I have pictures of on here are breath taking however there was one thing that I will always remember. We had walked around the lion enclosure and seen one of the female lions sitting on top of the rocks sleeping and as we walked over to get some lunch, Niall was ordering and I just walked over to this hut on the edge of the lions outside enclosure. It was dark inside and so I assumed that it was empty however as I got closer to the glass I could see movement inside. It was dark but the light caught the face of this huge male lion. He was in there with another female and as I was stood in front of the glass he stood up and came closer to me and just looked at me. I couldn't believe just how big he was but also his presence and how handsome he was. He just calmly sat and then laid back down. Shortly after a few other people came over and then a crowd gathered so I moved away but I felt honoured that I had been able to have that experience with just me and that magnificent animal. 

It really was an amazing day out and I will definitely be going back in the future. All the animals were up and about and exploring their environments, the rhinos we saw even put on a display for the crowd as they playfully battled and the giraffes all posed together and in turn for photos. There was so much to see and it was a great day out for everyone! 

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Counting down the days!!

The countdown is on until I see this gorgeous face again!! I have missed him so much and I feel bad because everyone else knows what I'm doing and where I am but to Monty, I just vanished one day and have abandoned him:( I have facetimed my family and so he has heard my voice on there and he starts looking around the house for me. It will be nearly 3 weeks and although it isn't a lot of time to some people, to me it has felt like years and I am going to saver every moment I have at home! 

I was quite worried that once I went home I wouldn't want to come back up here and carry on the way we have been but the last few days I have been excited (very excited) about going home for a visit but at the same time I have made some really nice friends already and I am super happy with our flat so I also feel like I don't want to miss too much of my life up here as well. This trip will be a little treat to keep me going until we next see everyone properly at half term. After that there are flights starting from our local airport to Newquay airport in Cornwall for quite cheap prices so that means it will be a lot easier to pop down for short breaks and also so that people can come up and visit us. 

Exciting times ahead and I am sorry if this is turning into a sort of diary for myself online and the post have been all over the place but I have been so busy with everything going on in my life at the minute I haven't really had a chance to take the photos and write the posts that I have been planning, I've just been writing them randomly and firing them out when I can. Hopefully in the coming weeks as things calm down a little I will be able to focus more on that and it is cool to live in a city and places on the campus of the Uni where I can go to little cafes and areas and do work or write a post and especially in the winter I am looking forward to doing that and having a cute warm place to shelter!  

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Living the Yorkshire life

So with all the big changes that have been happening lately it has been really nice since we have settled in and we have been able to exploring and enjoy living up here. We've been finding the balance between doing the jobs around the house, that we are both doing on our own for the first time, and then also going out and having fun and enjoying ourselves! As our town at home is surrounded by countryside and we are quite high up, moving to here which is in a valley and all quite low down I did feel slightly claustrophobic. Because of that we have had a few drives out to the countryside and up onto the high points around to escape the city! 

We also had a Sunday trip out to Hebdon Bridge which was so calming and such a nice relaxing place. We had lunch in a little pub that was in the main square and through the windows whilst we were eating you can see all the families and people wandering round the square which had a lovely big oak tree in the middle and beautifully arranged hanging pots of flowers (the proper name has completely vanished out of mind right now so thats the only way I can describe them but they were lovely). 

Since my last post I have also planned a trip home which is so exciting as I have really missed everyone and I can hardly contain my excitement for the next couple of days! I hope to have some lovely walks, trips to the beach and maybe a surfing trip so I hope to be back with another post soon! 

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A new chapter; Uni Life!

I've made the big move!! We are now living up in Huddersfield and I started uni last Monday! It has been a whole rollercoaster of emotions the last couple of weeks and I'm glad to have got to where I am now and be moving forward. This whole journey started when two weeks ago today when I left my house in Cornwall. It was hard to say goodbye to everyone (Monty especially!) and Mum and myself were quite upset which I think has been the same story with everyone else that I have talked to about when they left. It was a good journey travelling in convoy in our little cars all packed up with everything we need for our flat. We arrived at my Grandparents house just the other side of Leeds (6 and a half hours after leaving home) and spent the night there so that the next morning we could travel over to our new flat and move in!  

The first week after we moved in we spent cleaning everywhere so that we felt comfortable and so that we knew it was clean (I have since developed a worry liking to cleaning and organising and do it ALL THE TIME). The day after we moved in we made the 20 minute drive over to Batley where we experienced IKEA for the first time. Lets just say that it was a very successful visit and is now our favourite shop! We got a "day bed" for the spare room, kitchen table and chairs, coffee table, side tables and of course I needed my own dressing table as I had left my other lovely one at home. So we then had the task of putting all the flat packed furniture together which was an interesting experience. Basically, after a lot of fiddling about and waiting for our own bed to arrive and our sofas we are finally all moved in and sorted with everything we need! Today was also a very long awaited day as our broadband box arrived allowing us to rejoin the world on the internet! 

It has been very nice having my grandparents just an hours drive away (a lot closer than ever before) and I have met some really nice people on my course and have a really nice tutor and course leader which has made settling in very easy. I have so far enjoy the start of the course and the task we have been assigned to do is something I feel excited to undertake! 

We are hoping to make a flying visit down to Cornwall either this weekend or next and just catch up and see family and make missing everyone a little bit easier. 

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The start of a journey!

Today is my last day in Cornwall:( The cars are getting packed up ready for leaving for Huddersfield tomorrow morning. Its such a big change and of course its scary but it had to happen at some point but its just stepping into the unknown that is hard. It is exciting that we will have our own flat and space and be going to Uni to do something we both want to do however we will be 300 miles away from our families and it will be weeks before we see them again. I know in my head that after a few days and weeks it will completely normal but its just getting to that point. 

Right now I'm busy stressing about the final process of getting our flat and when our bed and sofas will arrive and making sure we have food in and how we will organise everything so I think it is easy in your head to want to stay how you are, in the easy and comfortable life but it is for the best! 

I can't wait to be at the point where I can look back at this bit of the process and wonder why I worried so much and look how well it turned out. But for now, just have to crack on! 

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Switzerland in a day

The Swiss adventure now! As our villa was only about 30 minutes away from the Swiss border we decided to go there for a day in search of snow and mountains and we certainly got what we wanted! 

We drove along the Simplon pass and as we did so the mountains built up around us, it really was just the best drive and then we stopped about 10 minutes into Switzerland and got out of the car to take pictures and enjoy the views. The air was just amazing, so fresh and clean and cooling but warm at the same time! 

There was our snow!! It was amazing that it was warm enough that we didn't want cardigans or jumpers and we were all in short sleeves and me and my mum in dresses but there was snow on the peaks of the mountains! 

Everywhere you looked there were things of interest and this was just one of the many waterfalls we saw. 

The blue grey glacier water just set the scene. 

We then went up in a cable car to the little town half way up the mountain, the air here was even fresher that down below and it was amazing.

We couldn't come all this way and not stop in a cafe and what a cafe it was. There were homemade goodies everywhere and we were joined by these little birds that had no fear when it came to claiming their share of the crumbs. 

We then went up in the second cable car to the top of the mountain! It was very steep and in this photo you can barley see our destination. 

We had lunch in this lovely restaurant on top of the mountain and then walked around the corner of the mountain to the glacier!

It was so spectacular to see and you could even here the water flowing beneath the glacier, it was so quiet and calm up here, it really is something that I will always remember. 

The cows and cow bells!! These had to be my favourite part of the trip. When we first got out of the car you could here to ring of the bells around their neck and this has got to be one of my favourite sounds. Writing this now I just wish I could go back and be in the fresh air and hearing the bells, it was an experience I will treasure! 

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Italy; Mountains, boats and lots of ice cream

Our trip away to Italy was so lovely and relaxing. It was very different to a lot of the other holidays we have been on as we normally have a villa with a pool and so we spend a lot of time there where as this time we were out and about most of the time! We stayed in a place called Gignese which was a little village just out of the town of Stresa on the edge of Lake Maggiore. I have visited Italy and been to Verona and Venice on a trip with school before and so it was lovely to go back because I had such a great time last time!  

We may have also eaten our body weight in ice cream and pizzas have one every day we were there! But what else can you do when in Italy?? It's tradition! We had a very nice little pizzeria in our little village we stayed in and so we could walk to there and have a one there or sometimes we took them back to the villa with us. We also had a meal in the square of the town on the lakeside and we sat under the trees with umbrella over the top and little fairy lights, it was sort of magical! 

We went down and spent a lot of time at cafes and wandering around the little unique streets and shops in the town of Stresa. We did things like boat trips to the islands on the lake and we also went up to the top of one of the mountains around the lake and went on a chair lift and rollercoaster which was so exciting and fun! 

There were all of these very posh and lavish hotels on the lakeside and they were all so lovely and nicely done it gave the whole place a look of glamour. 

Before we came to Italy this time I had it in my head that I wanted to get something from a little shop that makes wooden pieces and this was the image I had in my head! The things you can see on the outside were so nicely made and there were so many little trinkets but it was what was inside that was amazing. The walls were covered, every inch, by cookoo clocks all individual but all beautiful and as soon as you walked in you could here each and every one ticking at different times. 

And finally, this was the view from my room in our villa. It was breathtaking and being able to watch the sun rise over the mountains was the best way to start the day! 

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