2015 READING CHALLENGE: APRIL ROUND-UP

April was a very slow month for me, I enjoyed everything I read, but I read them all very slowly (which is not normal for me). I was very busy during April with college work, and I found some of the books I read to actually be very slow reads regardless.

In April I read a total of 3 books. I have read 23 books so far in 2015, and I'm 77% of the way through my reading challenge. I also started reading 'A Darker Shade of Magic' by V.E. Schwab' for LittleBookOwl (on Youtube) 'Little Book Club', which I am 31% of the way through- I'm finding it a very slow read.

After reading 'Doon' right at the end of March, I was in a massive reading slump. There was nothing I wanted to read, what I was really in the mood for was basically another book exactly like 'Doon' (I'm holding off reading the second book, 'Destined for Doon', until it's out in paperback, and then it'll be closer to the date of the third book coming out). I ended up taking a four day break from reading, which is not at all like me, and annoyed me to no end; the reading slump also meant that I read 'Throne of Glass' fairly slowly (it took me about a week, but it felt much slower).

At the moment I'm big on historical fiction, books set in royal courts (one of my all-time favourite settings for a book), and fantasy, which I had never properly read much of before, and never thought was my kind of thing until recently.

Books Read:

1. 'Throne of Glass'- Sarah J. Maas
Throne of Glass. Oh, Throne of Glass. The following in America behind this book is incredible, I have never heard so many people rave about one book like this (bare in mind all the raving comes from America, this book is basically unheard of in the UK). Many people have said that this is quite a slow read, and I completely agreed, I've also heard it's the least popular book of the series, though I haven't read any others so I can't compare. I like Celaena as a character, I liked how she's a realistic female character, such as by getting period pains, which never normally happens in other books like 'Throne of Glass'. A main problem I had with this book is that I found the descriptions containing magical events quite confusing, which I find to be a problem in quite a few books, but I wasn't entirely sure what was happening and the writing of these sections felt confused and slightly rushed. I didn't think I'd like this book, but I actually really enjoyed it, and I'm looking forward to finishing the rest of the books that have been released so far (it's going to be a six book series, the fourth book is coming out later this year).

2. 'The Queen of the Tearling'- Erika Johansen 
I read this for the 'Bookspolsion Book of the Month' for April and, yet again, I found it to be a very slow read, despite enjoying it a lot. I read a hardback version of this book that was so tall, it was bigger than my head, which I found quite entertaining. Unlike some books (looking at you 'Throne of Glass' and 'Doon'), I didn't find the descriptions of the magical elements of this book confusing at all, and the magic did actually seem to make sense here. I really enjoyed this book, and I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the trilogy when it's released.

3. 'The Selection'- Kiera Cass
The selection was everything I was looking for in a book at this moment in time. It's fun, slightly trashy, has princesses, a castle, a beauty pageant theme, princesses dresses, romance, everything I was in the mood for right now. It wasn't a literary masterpiece, and I wasn't expecting it to be, but I just really loved this book, it's like 'Miss Congeniality' in a book. I'm currently marathoning the other two, and there's another coming out in May.

WARDROBE STAPLES

Now it's the Spring/Summer months, everyone is starting to revamp their wardrobes and prepare for warmer weather and brighter colours. Despite the complete change-up occurring in most wardrobes, including my own, I do have some set, staple pieces that I believe are essential in any wardrobe.

Blue Jeans
These have been a staple in any person's wardrobe since time began. It's blue jeans, the epitome of jeans. What more do I have to say? (Apart from the added note that I prefer dark blue jeans as opposed to lighter ones).

Black Jeans
Another obvious one, they go with everything.

Vest Tops
More specifically black and white ones, and occassionally grey as well. Vest tops are an underrated item of clothing, I never wear a jumper without one underneath, but they also work well on their own and acn be used to layer up in the winter without overheating. (They're also pretty cheap). Horray for vest tops.

Black Skirt
Black skirts in any and every style are a wardrobe staple for me. They can be dressed up or down, they're both formal and informal, they go with literally everything, there's nothing wrong with black skirts.

Skirt- Miss Selfridge
Jumper- Boohoo
Scarf- New Look

Jumpers
More specifically black, grey or navy blue jumpers. As with most things on this list, it's a dark colour and I use the justification of 'it goes with everything'. But they really do.

Cardigans
There are two types of cardigan that I find essential: a black one and a chunky-knit one. So comfy, so versitile, so useful.

Cardigan- Boohoo
Top- Boohoo
Shorts- Marks and Spencer

White Converse
Specially the low-top ones. I find low-top white converse to be an essential in any wardrobe, they are my go-to shoe, they're so comfy and I find they're perfect for walking around in all day without causing foot pain or blisters.

Some Form of Ankle Boot
As with black skirts, ankle boots can be dressed up or down and, yet again, go with everything. I wear boots less in the summer, but in the winter they are the most perfect shoe in the world, they're so cute and stylist and how could you live without them.

Some Form of Black Shoe
Surely this one should be obvious.

I'M 18

Last week was my 18th birthday and it's a weird one. I'm now technically an adult, and do I feel like an adult? To hell I do. My 18th birthday was a Thursday and I spent it like any other Thursday, I went to college and had biology and sociology lessons, I moaned about the 9am start and I watched Netflix in the empty classroom with my friends like we do every Thursday in the three hour break between our morning and afternoon lessons. And everything is normal except the slight little things like I'm suddenly being invited out to the pub to celebrate, and I can go out to Tesco and buy a bottle of wine when we run out at home, and I can book my own doctors and dentists appointments if I feel like it. And most prominently I'm can vote in the major election in May. There's no way I'm old enough or qualitifed enough or grown up enough to have a say in our country's future.

When I was younger I had it all sussed. 18 seemed like light years away, I knew what I wanted with my life, books about fifteen and sixteen year olds had taught me everything I needed to know. When I was younger I had the same image of my future that every single girl has had at some point in her lives. 'When I am sixteen I will have a boyfriend and be friends with all my primary school friends and I will be super cool and popular and go to parties all the time and everyone will be nice and I will get straight As at school and then I will go off to university to study creative writing and then I'll make my future as a best-selling author.' And that's so far from relaity now I feel bad for younger me.

My reality is that now, at just 18, my friends and I would rather sit at home and have naps and play Cards Against Humanity than go out (we recently opted out of a party in favour of a pizza-pj-party at home). I am still in contact with two people from primary school, they are two of my best friends, but I don't have the slightest idea what any of my other primary school friends are doing now, and to be honest I don't really care. And everyone is not as nice and friendly as you would except people to be as they get older.

In reality I did not get straight As at school, and now I am watching all my friends prepare to start university while I still have another year at home. In reality I dropped out of A-Levels and now do a BTEC Level 3 in Health and Social Care. I never thought I would be here when I stared Year 12, and I never though BTEC would suit me so much more than school ever did. I never thought I'd be this happy in education. But that's a different story. In reality, while I would still love to be an author, I'm going to study nursing at university and then I'm going to become a midwife. That's something I never even considered as a child, but it's been my dream for the past six years and I'm so excited to make that happen.

Life is never what you think it's going to be, it never plans out the way it did when you were ten, but I'm pretty damn happy with my lot, and though it's never what I imagined, I wouldn't trade it for my younger self's dreams at all. Happy 18th birthday me.

OUTFIT OF THE DAY- 16/04/15

I wore this out to dinner on my 18th birthday and it has already become one of my favourite outfits, I can see myself wearing this a fair few times as the weather gets warmer.

I wore this outfit with a plain black cardigan and my black heeled Juju Jelly shoes, and also with some simple black and silver earrings and rings. I decided to go simple with jewellery, but I'd also wear this outfit with long precious stone necklaces. In terms of clothing additions, I also think this outfit would look really great with a white cropped top and a chunky-knit cardigan.

Outfit:
Skirt- Mango (in Pearsons) (over a year old)
Cropped top- Topshop
Tights- Marks and Spencers

8 REASONS TO BE HAPPY THIS MORNING

1. Spring
Spring puts me in one of those moods where I feel happy and relaxed and like I could achieve anything.

2. The Weather 
It's such a good feeling when it's hot enough to go out without a coat on, and an even better feeling when the evenings are just as warm.

3. Friends
I have the loveliest friends and they mean so much to me and it's always nice to wake up and read their 100+ weird and wonderful messages on our group chat while I've been asleep.

4. Birthdays
It's my birthday on Thursday, and though I've never been all that bothered about celebrating it, I always get really emotional on the actual day as everyone is so wonderful and I always feel so loved and appreciated.

5. Making Summer Plans
Making summer plans with friends is exciting and it's nice to have a solid group to go away with and do exciting things with.

6. Going Back to College 
While every other person my age is probably dreading the return to school/college today after the Easter holidays, I'm looking forward to it. I'm happier at college than I ever was at school, I love my course and I get to see my friends. It'll be nice.

7. Books
Books make me happy. Their covers, the feel of the paper, the smell of the actual book, just holding a physical book makes me happy. I am very lucky to have the ability to read and to have access to so many books of every variety.

8. Time Spent With Family 
I am one of those people that considers their immediate family to be their best friends, and I enjoy spending time with them. My dad and I have been watching the Masters this weekend, as we do every year, and it was just so lovely.

CLEAN AND FRESH

I try a lot of scented candles in a variety of scents, but I always find myself coming back to the fresher, cleaner scents, or vanilla. Spring is the perfect time for these types of scents, so I've complied a list of four of my all-time favourites (there's something about white coloured candles that guarantees they'll smell good).

Fluffy Towels
Small Jar- around £8
My brother gave me this candle for my last birthday, and I used the whole thing up in just over a month (that's the fastest I've ever used up a whole candle). This is a scent that I don't think I could ever get sick of, it's the epitome of clean scents, smelling kind of soapy but in a good way. This candle literally smells like its name suggests, and makes your room smell lovely and clean; I feel relaxed using this candle.

Clean Cotton
Sampler Votive- around £2
I've always found Clean Cotton to be one of the more popular scents, and I can really see why. It has a scent I recognise but can't place, it's as clean as the name suggests, with a hint of floral in there as well. I'm currently sitting at my desk just smelling it and I can't get enough of it, I think it's possibly my favourite of the list.

Soft Blanket
Sampler Votive- around £2
Soft Blanket is not as fresh a scent as the others, but still qualifies as being on this list. It's hard to describe, but it's more of a darker vanilla scent but without being too dark and spicy (if you get what I mean- which you probably don't). I'm struggling to describe it because it's completely unique, but it's one I'd be inclined to light on a summer evening in the garden.

Ikea Vanilla Candle
95p
For a 95p candle, the scent is amazing. It has such a strong scent, my whole room smells of vanilla without me even having to light this candle. Vanilla is my go-to scent, it's one you can never go wrong with, and one where I can have the candle lit for a long time without getting sick of the scent.

REVISION ESSENTIALS

As is it coming up to exam time (and I am a stationary  and organisation fiend), I thought I'd compile a list of everything I find to be essential when revising.

Massive Ringbinder (and Folder Dividers)
I use one of the massive lever arch files from WH Smiths to keep all my work together. I tend to have one for each subject, and then have one or two for all of my revision notes for every subject to go in. I also use folder dividers to separate different subjects and different units/topics within each subject.

Cue Cards
To revise, I like to either have spider diagrams, posters or short notes on cue cards. Cue cards are great as they minimise the amount of information you can have on each card, making them easier to revise from.

Highlighters and Coloured Pens
When highlighting work, it is important not to highlight every single word. I like to highlight only key words or phrases, and have lots of different coloured highlighters to separate different key points; if relevant, I also highlight points that are related to each other in the same colour. I also find it harder to work from things where everything is highlighted in the same colour. I use coloured pens for the title of that section of notes, as it makes the different topics clear, and it just brightens up your revision a bit.

Extras
1. Deadly silence- I find that I can only work if I have complete silence. No noise, no music, no window open as that lets outside noise in, nothing.
2. Drinks- obviously hot drinks, but I also recommend sticking some water in the fridge as I always find water helps me concentrate more, and it's better when it's nice and cold.
3. Snacks- I use snacks as rewards basically.

PLAYLIST AND WATCH-LIST | FEBRUARY AND MARCH 2015

I haven't been changing up my makeup or wardrobe recently, so instead of doing a favourites this month, I'm going to do a combined 'playist and watch-list' post, everything I've been listening to and watching in the months of February and March.


Watch-List

Wolf Hall- I mentioned this in my 'January Favourites' post, but it finished in February and it was just so, so good. My whole family loved it so much that we've already bought the DVD.

The Great British Sewing Bee
The Sewing Bee was a TV discovery of mine in 2014 and, again, my whole family really enjoyed it. It inspires me to start sewing again, and I have big plans for sewing clothes when the weather gets warmer. The Sewing Bee is just such a happy, feel-good show, I love judging everyone's sewing on whether I'd wear it or not, and I'm now quite knowledge about sewing terminology. Unpopular opinion, but I personally think the Sewing Bee is even better than the Bake Off.

Raised by Wolves
Raised by Wolves is still currently on (we're three episodes in out of six) and I'm really loving it. It's written by Caitlin Moran and her sister so I had high expectations going into it, and it hasn't disappointed. It's funny, it's real, I love all the characters, and I would highly recommend.


Playlist 

'Something's Gotta Give'- All Time Low
This is All Time Low's first single from the album coming out at the start of next week (I do believe April 6th). I have loved All Time Low for a long, long time and this song reminds me of why I started loving them in the first place. I want to scream along to this song as loud as I possibly can. The new album ('Future Hearts') is sounding great so far, I can't wait.

'Blame It on Me'- George Ezra
George Ezra's voice is great, and this song is great. That is all I have to say.

'Like I Can'- Sam Smith
This song. I am in love. I literally cannot get enough of it, I have it on repeat. No words to describe my love for this or for Sam Smith right now.

Sam Smith in General
I'm a little bit late to the party on this one, but I am really, really loving Sam Smith at the moment. As well as 'Like I Can', I'm also really into 'Stay With Me' (obvs), 'I'm Not the Only One' and 'Lay Me Down'. Much love to Sam Smith.

Harry Potter Audio CDs
Stephen Fry was sent to this earth for the sole purpose of reading the Harry Potter audio CDs. I love the books, I love the CDs, I'm excited to listen to the rest of them.