Back To Education Bag Ideas!

It’s now September and I know the kids are now officially back at school. FYI the weather is also rubbish, it’s 10am as I’m writing this on my day off (day before this post actually goes up!) and I NEED my light on to see what I’m actually doing. I feel sorry for the kids who have just has 6 weeks of crap weather. YUCK!

ANYWAY! I thought to go alongside the back to education post I did recently (which you can read here) I would write a bag ideas post too, so you have somewhere to store all that awesome stationary I talked about before. 😛

To be honest a lot of the bags I feature on this post are ones I’d buy myself if I was starting back at school, college or university. The prices will also range too due to this. I do understand that some of the bags on this list are very expensive, but it’s just to give an idea I guess on what kind of styles you could buy and use. Doesn’t mean that exact bag. 😛

On with the post… That has secretly made me want to buy new bags! Oh dear… 😛

• Killstar Spektra 90’s Warp Backpack – £49.99 (link)

Wow I’ve really kicked off this blog post with a HELLA expensive backpack, haven’t I? It is gorgeous though and is obviously 90’s inspired and follows the grunge trend. It looks to be quite a big bag though which in turn makes it perfect for education use. You can shove all your books in there as well as stationary and necessities. I just love the random patches all over the bag, but yes it is expensive for what it is… You could always find a black bag similar to this one and buy all sorts of patches on eBay or Etsy to iron or sew onto it!

• Pink Moomins Love Shopping Bag – £20.99 (link)

I wasn’t sure whether to add this bag to the list or not due to it being a shopping bag, but hey! When I was at college and university I used bags similar to this one and they were great! Due to how big the ones I used were they were a perfect size for carrying books in and a pencil case or pens. It wasn’t anything over the top and it did the job. I saw this bag though and thought the pink and Moomin print on it was so cute and definitely one you could use at university to go to and from lectures with.

• The Legend Of Zelda Shoulder Bag – £25.99 (link)

Although I’m not a Zelda gamer, I know A LOT of people who are and who were really excited when the new game came out with the Nintendo Switch. The main reason for adding this bag here is because of the type of bag it is. I had a bag exactly the same as this during my GCSE’s at school and I loved it so much! It was the exact same colour as this but it has a huge Green Day logo on the front… I was a massive fan okay!? The bag was huge though and you could fit everything in there including folders. I don’t know if this bag will be the same but it’d be a great bag to use during GCSE’s like I did and especially throughout college and university. It’s also a conversation starter when your’e meeting new people!

• EMP Full Volume Pearl’s Backpack – £24.99 (link)

If you love holographic like myself then maybe a holographic backpack is the way forward? This would probably be more ideal for school due to how bright it is, but hey if you want to rock something like this as you get older then I salute you! I would have probably worn something like this at school and college and probably ended there. I love holographic, but I feel like a backpack would be a bit much at my age… God I make myself sound REALLY old. 😛

• Ita Bag – £20.00 (link)

Don’t worry if you don’t know what an ita bag is, I will educate you! An ita bag is something that every anime mad girl in Japan will use and wear. The trend is now well and truly in the UK and myself included wants one. They come in various colours but I decided to use the black one as you can’t go wrong with that colour. Where the clear heart is on the front you use as a display window for badges, charms, keyrings etc of your favourite anime character(s). It’s a way to show off your love of a certain anime or just a certain character. I’d love to get a black one to put loads of Persona 5 charms in. I do think I’m too old for this trend now. If this came out when I was in university I may have contemplated getting into it, but alas I’m a little old now. 😛 This would be an amazing bag for someone starting secondary school to have. It would make for great conversation between anime fans. This would work out to be very expensive though, but at the same time it would make an amazing hobbie!

• Iron Fist Wolfbeater Tote – £45.99 currently £28.99 (link)

I actually owned this bag many moons ago when I was at university and it was by far one of the best ones I owned! I still have it at my mom and dads house somewhere! It was huge and you have a few different ways to wear it too. Not only that but it’s like a Mary Poppins bag, you’ll never be able to find what you want straight away as it’s huge! You’d be able to keep folders, books, necessities and of course stationary in there without a worry. You can get all sorts of designs on this style of bag too, I just chose this one as this is the same one as mine.

• Missguided Faux Fur Bag – £18.00 (link)

I can’t say I agree with the faux fur look fashion wise… It looks tacky to me and yuck. BUT I put this down to the hideous fluffy sliders that have appeared this summer. This backpack has the faux fur trend all over it and although I’m not a massive fan of the trend, this bag is really cute in it’s own right. This could  be worn by anybody and considering it’s by Missguided it’s probably going to be more fashion orientated and not as practical… But sod it! If you’re at university and live on site then this will definitely be a winner for you! You can carry your folder and look all American high schoolesque.  😛 If that wasn’t already a word… It certainly is now! 😛

So that’s some of my bag ideas for returning or even starting back in education. I can’t believe how quick the school holidays went, can you?

Do you have any bag recommendations for younger people than I? Make sure to tell me down below! Have you bought a new bag recently? If so let me know that too.

Until next time, take care all and I hope you’re having a great week!

Back To Education Stationary Ideas!

I just want to start this post off by throwing it out there that the title and original idea for this post was for back to school, not education. Then I realised that it’s not just kids and teenagers who get to have fun buying funky stationary, older teenagers and young adults get to as well!

September is by far one of my favourite months of the year and I’ve explained on various different posts over the years why. It just feels like a fresh start to me. It’s when you started a new year at school, college and university. Hey! It’s even when many start their first years at these places and you want to always leave a good impression to the others in your year and classes.

I remember in August as a kid my mom taking me to the stationary shops to pick up some new bits for school. It was always an exciting time! New books, scented gel pens and a fluffy pencil case and I was ready!

Things haven’t changed either, with 90’s trends making a comeback in fashion AND stationary we now have so much funky stuff to feast our eyes upon again! There’s holographic, fluffy, unicorn and even Hello Kitty and Pokemon! Talk about bringing back some nostalgia!

Today I am very tired from a night of awesome drinking and talking with my friend Jacqui, her boyfriend Chris and of course Dane. I didn’t want to write anything at all today. I’m not hungover, but I’m very tired and lethargic. Urgh!

BUT I was scrolling through the internet and decided to do this post. The summer holidays are coming to a close and whether you’re returning or even starting a new year of education, here’s so funky stationary ideas for you to have a look at! 😛 P.S. Pray for me that I feel better by bed time. 😛

Oh by the way, this post won’t contain things you’ll need such as special equipment for maths, art, science, etc. This is just the bog standard necessities. 😛

• Harry Potter Deathly Hallows Ruled Journal – £12.99 (link)

Now, although I am not a Harry Potter fan myself (sorry guys…) I know a lot of people who are, young and old! I find journals to be great not only for use as a notebook for classes, but also for personal too if you want to get any thoughts written down on paper. Although I’m not a Harry Potter fan this journal looks gorgeous and is definitely one that would get a conversation started for any Potter fan who would see it. It’s not cheap however, so this is a journal for something a little more special.

• South Park Barrel Pencil Case – £3.99 (link)

This pencil case was mostly added for nostalgia. I remember when South Park came out and everyone and I mean EVERYONE went mad for it! Then WHSmith brought out some pencil cases for it and all the boys in my year had one at some point or another. I wanted one, but they were forever sold out in my local store. This is definitely more for guys but sod it, girls can pull this off just as much! I don’t think this is anything huge either which is always good if you have a small bag.

• Hello Kitty Gel Pens – £6.00 (link)

Who doesn’t love gel pens eh? Especially scented ones! These aren’t scented but they’re Hello Kitty… What more do you want?! I always found different coloured gel pens to be great to use on certain projects and I’d like to say during revision too… I was one of these stupid kids who didn’t revise… How I would have been if I was as level headed then as I am now… 😛

• Green Marble Notebook – £2.49 (link)

This is actually a notebook I really want to get for myself… But I won’t because I have WAYYYY TOO MANY! This is a notebook for the more older members of education who may read this post. It reminds me of the notebooks they have over the pond… You know the black and white ones that EVERY SINGLE high schooler owns and uses to write secrets in. ANYWAY! This is gorgeous and would be great to use as a notebook for a certain lecture or class.

• Bramblewood Fox Notebook – £2.99 (link)

Yes, another notebook. BUT it has a fox on it and you know I love my foxes! I used to own a phone case with this same fox design on, which I adored! It’s just a bog standard notebook really, which you could use for classes or personal. I’d probably end up using it for classes. I find that when you have a really nice and funky notebook for classes, lectures or even at home for notes you just feel good opening it up to jot stuff down.

• Aquamarine Pencil Case – £5.59 (link)

If I had to have a favourite item on this list, I’d say this is it. As you all know I LOVE anything holographic, turquoise and mermaid themed. This just ticks all those boxes for me and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t at all want to buy it… 😛 It’s a gorgeous turquoise pencil case with a fish scale sort of texture to it. This definitely reminds me of something the “cool kids” at school would have used. Either that or a fluffy pencil case! WHSmith have loads of these sorts of pencil cases available, with quite a lot of them selling out. So if you like the look of these sort of cases, get on there (or even in store) pronto!

• Pusheen A4 Ringbinder – £4.99 (link)

I LOVE Pusheen and I have a feeling that if I had been a kid when Pusheen first came out, I would have saved up my pocket money ready for when school shopping came around to buy EVERYTHING I could! I remember in my last years of secondary school I used an A4 pad of lined paper inside of a ringbinder for when I jotted notes down. I don’t know how I did it to be fair, as years later I attempted to do that again when studying my MA and I HATED IT. Folders are really handy to have, especially during GCSE’s, but it’s always better to have a cute one.

• What Would A Mermaid Do Prediction Pen – £8.00 (link)

Holy shit. I randomly found this obviously whilst researching for this post and I hesitated adding it at first as I thought it seemed so daft. I just couldn’t resist though. It’s so dumb but also so funny! If you love mermaid related stuff this pen is for you and the younger you are, the more you can get away with having it. 😛 It’s not cheap at £8.00 however, but it’s just such a novelty! Definitely something to cheer you up when you’re feeling down.

• Gemma Correll Unicorn Pencil Case – £12.95 (link)

I love Gemma Correll’s designs and in the past I’ve bought and used her stationary items! I still to this day own my ringbinder I bought and now use it to house adult documents in, because I’m now a motherfucking adult. 😛 I saw this pencil case and knew it needed a place on this list. I’ve got a couple of mermaid items, so a unicorn has to be part of the mix too! This isn’t cheap but it is a brand and it’s massive too! This would especially be good for an art student.

• Getting Shit Done Sticky Notes – £3.50 (link)

I remember when I was at university in my final year I was organised as fuck. I bought some post it notes, expecting to use them seriously and in the end I used them as a way to piss about so that I didn’t have to do any work on  my dissertation… I got a 2:1 on it and overall so it’s not like they affected my mark. 😛 They were boring though, so whenever I see funny or funky post it notes I wish they had been around when I was studying. These made me laugh so much! I may have to buy them for the office and blog related work. 😛

• Scented Pencil Pack – £4.50 (link)

Smiggle is notorious for their scented stationary, even their pencil cases! It’s cool but I do wonder if they’ve overstepped the mark just a tad… I always give stuff a smell on the rare occasions that I pop in however. I have looked at these scented pencils in the past and it just makes me wish I was at school again! I’d have definitely bought the banana ones.

• Mini Cookie Eraser Pack – £4.50 (link)

Again another scented item from Smiggle and one I just couldn’t leave out of this list. I was always a sucker for cute little erasers as a kid and I still remember to this day my mom bought me some puppy ones for when I started year 1. I couldn’t bear to use the one as it was just too cute. I’m pretty sure it’s still in my room at home somewhere! These little erasers are just adorable and I especially love that they come in a little plastic tub so you can keep them nice and smelling strong before using them.

So those were my picks for what you could buy for going back to education with. This list was definitely aimed more at a younger audience, but if you’re an adult who loves anything cute and kawaii then this list is totally for you too!

What items would you suggest people to pick up? Please leave links down below! I’m forever on the hunt for cute stationary!

I said at the start of this post that I hope I feel better when it’s finished, and you know what? I actually do feel better! I’m off to spend the rest of my Sunday chilled on the sofa with Dane.

Until next time, take care all and have an awesome bank holiday Monday tomorrow!

Life The Past 2 Weeks…

Well these past two weeks have FLOWN by! With my university life very much done after graduating, an amazing two week holiday, and a new job, a lot of stuff has happened in a very short amount of time. So I’m going to update you all with what has happened, and what I hope to have happen before and after Christmas.

Graduation

So the day before going on holiday I graduated, and quite frankly I still can’t believe it. Mostly that my postgraduate university life is over, and that I won’t have to work on another assignment for it ever again… Until I decide to study for my PhD anyway! But this being said the year that I was studying my MA for was really hard, and not to mention expensive in various different ways. Mostly though it was extremely tiring. I would go to work in the morning, and as soon as my shift would end I would need to drive straight to my university in Cheltenham which was an hours drive away. I wouldn’t get back home until 6pm and then I would need to be awake early in the morning again. It was incredibly draining but now I look back, it was worth it. Even if for a majority of the time I didn’t feel like it would be.

I dressed in a black body con dress for the ceremony, my Black Milk Clothing dress to be exact and I felt beautiful in it! I had pictures taken with my parents and my boyfriend, as well as chatted with some familiar faces. We popped around Cheltenham for a couple of hours afterwards, and then headed home. Me and my boyfriend went out for dinner that evening before I was due to go on holiday in the morning, which was lovely. I’m glad we got the chance to do something together before I was away from him for a couple of weeks.

Holiday

The day after being awarded my masters degree I was off on a two week holiday with my dad, and boy was it needed! Although I had a holiday in January, it was very much needed having another in November/December due to how much hard work I had done for my MA. My dad paid for it as a gift for graduating, which was really lovely of him! The two weeks we spent there really did fly by, and for the majority of our days we lay out in the sun from the late morning, until the late afternoon. Spending the evenings out in restaurants eating, and bars drinking. Of course we also soaked up all the free entertainment, which was amazing.

I like to think I have a lovely light, and natural tan. I do wish I had got darker than I am, but this being said I am pleased to have come back somewhat golden looking this time, as in January we hardly had any sunny days, and this caused me and my boyfriend to come back home looking just as pale as we did when we arrived.

As well as soaking in the rays, and drinking yummy cocktails, we also did a little bit of shopping which included for ourselves, as well as for people for Christmas. Speaking of Christmas, we got to see some Christmas decorations whilst we were on the island, and some of them were gorgeous, if not even better than what we get here in the UK!

Overall my holiday was amazing, and to be honest I really didn’t want to come back home. Fuerteventura is definitely my second home. I spent a lot of my childhood there, and going back every time is always like returning home. I don’t know when I’ll be visiting again, but I do hope it’s in the near future.

New job

As the title suggest, I have a new job, which I actually started today, woohoo! I had a warm, and welcoming first shift by both staff, as well as customers. As I always have done since starting my blog, I won’t be mentioning where my new job is. I don’t feel I NEED to say.

I left my old job the day before my graduation which was sad, but at the same time I was glad to be going somewhere new, with new challenges. I love a good challenge me! Due to how new this job is, I don’t really have much to say about it. I highly doubt that the hours I’ll be working will interfere with my blog writing, as they’re pretty similar to my previous jobs hours. Of course, if my posts do slack a little, I will explain why but I doubt this will happen… I’m a good blogger me! 😛

Anything else?…

So, has anything else happened the past couple of weeks? Erm… Not really! I’ve been doing a lot of Christmas shopping, and I have one more present (or two…) left to buy now! I read Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason on holiday (FINALLY after 2 years!) and I fell in love with Bridget again so much more, that as soon as I landed in the UK I ordered myself a copy of Mad About the Boy, which I’m really excited to read.

I also came back home to lots of presents I had ordered, as well as a new phone case for myself, which I should be reviewing soon enough on my blog. I have seen a few pieces of clothing that I would like to pick up for myself soon too, and as I have some vouchers to use up, I may as well pick some staples up for winter.

I am pretty damn excited for Christmas this year, even though I may not be able to spend time with my loved ones as much as I had originally hoped… We shall see what happens though! I can’t wait for my friends and family to see what I’ve bought them for Christmas, most especially my boyfriend as I have made sure to spoil him rotten this Christmas.

Not long after Christmas, New Year and my 26th birthday are looming… But it’s way too soon to talk about these, that is due to come over the next couple of weeks.

For now, this is just a quick update about what has been going on. I also want to thank my friends and boyfriend Dane for helping keep my blog afloat and busy whilst I was away on holiday. It was amazing of them to go out of their way to write posts for me, and I’m sure it won’t be the only time they’ll appear on my blog.

Now it’s late, and I have presents to wrap before I get an early night for work tomorrow.

Until next time take care all, and I hope everyone has a great weekend!

Halfway To 50!

In a months time I’ll be turning 25. Yes I’ve been alive 25 whole years in a months time. I can’t believe how time has flown over the past ten years and when I think of things I’ve done and said over the years of growing up it makes me cringe. Especially when I attempted to predict what my future would hold when I was seventeen.

I remember at the time talking to a college friend when I was seventeen about where I wanted myself to be when I turned 25. I wanted to have a boyfriend and start a family. YES I wanted to start a family at 25! Fair enough to people who do do that, but for me it’s a definite no.

However the year after that when I was eighteen I decided that twenty-five was too young, and when I turned 28 that would be the year of me settling down and having a family.

Since that time I have started my career (somewhat!), been in a young relationship, a pathetic relationship and now in a serious relationship. I still live at home and I earn sod all money. I don’t think I’m ready to have children in the next 3-4 years, do you?

However I’m not getting any younger and in a months time I’ll be halfway to 50 and that’s a pretty scary thought when I look at how my life is at the moment.

I won’t lie, in the next 5-6 years I would like to be in my own home with my boyfriend, if we wanna get married then so be it, be in a good job, have a puppy/doggy, and finally start thinking about having a family of my own.

Considering the past 4-5 years have flown by its pretty scary that the next 5-6 years are going to fly by just as quickly. Especially with the fact this year has just gone, I can only imagine that the same is going to happen next year too.

So with New Years just around the corner, which also has New Years resolutions tagged onto it I’m thinking of some life goals to go through next year. Big ones at that! I’m thinking if I set myself 5 to complete every year until I turn 30, I’ll hopefully finally be where I want to be in life within those 5 years.

Image taken from weheartit.com

1. To be moving into my own home by the end of 2015.

Over the past couple of months my boyfriend and I have come to the decision that we do want to move in together and the sooner we can, the better. As much as I love living at home (okay that might be a little bit of a white lie) I want my own space. Whilst my family were away for 2 weeks I LOVED just having the house to myself, being able to cook what I wanted, when I wanted and not worrying about anything clashing. It was just amazing to have all that space to myself and it was nice having my boyfriend there with me everyday. Times like that show us both that we CAN stand each other for more than a few minutes and as well as that we were able to go and do our own thing and not have a problem.

Image taken from weheartit.com

2. To have a new car by the end of 2015.

As much as I love my little red bug, I would like a new car soon. In 2017 it’ll be 20 years old and whilst it serves it’s purpose for driving from local places A-B, I can’t drive to university and nor can I drive to my boyfriend’s house, so it means I often have to get trains, lifts, etc which is extremely frustrating when I know how to drive and I want to have the chance to drive on motorways but my car just causes my anxiety to flare. The worry it wouldn’t be able to handle the distance is a worry to me for a start. I wouldn’t want a brand new car, but a second-hand car that’s just had one owner would suit me. My car now only had one owner before me and it was perfect. What made it less perfect was when someone hit it a couple of years ago whilst I was at work. She admitted it was her fault and I got some compensation. Sadly though my cars value dropped by over £500 and it really annoyed me, and still does to this day. I guess it does make me paranoid to have another car incase it happens again… But if you live life-like that you won’t get anywhere.

Image taken from weheartit.com

3. Pass my MA at university with a 2:1.

This is one of my biggest worries at the moment… I finish in September 2015 and whilst it seems far away I know it’ll creep up on me before I know it. I mean next Friday is my last day at university until the end of January now. Crazy huh? Also in a months time as well as getting older, I have five assignments to hand in. Yep FIVE! I’m really anxious about it, but I know with a few late nights and some hard work it’ll all be done in time. BUT I really want to be able to pass with a good mark, a 2:1 would be perfect for me and that is what I’m aiming towards. I’ll have to decide if I want to continue at my university to study my PhD or go and study it at a closer university… Decisions, decisions.

Image taken from weheartit.com

4. Go to Japan for a two-week holiday.

I would love to visit Japan as I have spoken about in the past on my blog and that urge is still very strong. After attending Comic Con at the end of November I want to go more than ever and knowing me I won’t want to come back home! It wouldn’t be cheap to go and I’d probably be inclined to travel out later in the year of 2015 for various reasons. I’d want to go after I finish university as a sort of “congratulations, you finished!” treat, plus it’s an excuse to go, isn’t it? This being said if me and my boyfriend get a house together, I doubt we would be able to afford it. I’d much rather sacrifice a holiday, than a possible home and investment.

Image taken from Charlotte Timmons Instagram account – http://instagram.com/charlotte_eleanor88

5. Get a tattoo!

Okay, this is a silly one and if I don’t do it it isn’t any biggie! I’ve already found the tattoo artist who I would want to do my piece, Charlotte Timmons (here’s her Instagram account, check out her work!) who has also done a piece for my friend, which was beautiful. She does some gorgeous pieces and her animal ones stick out the most to me. As regular readers will know, I LOVE foxes and the fact she tattoos them makes me very happy. It’s an added bonus how beautiful her fox work is. A recent piece (which is the image above) came up on her Instagram and the after pictures of the girl who had it, it’s stunning and really has made me want a fox piece by her now. I might not get a tattoo ever and it’ll constantly be a fantasy never actually played out in reality, but nonetheless and as Mr Potato Head said in Toy Story “hey, I can dream, can’t I?”

Will I stick to these? I know at least three of them I’m going to try and succeed in this year, not because they’re goals but because I know I want them enough to get what I want!

As I do every year, I will make some little New Year’s resolutions up for myself, but those will be up on the 31st of December. So keep your eyes peeled for those.

Will you be having a go at creating some years goals? If so, what would you come up with? Let me know in the comments!

Until next time, take care all and I hope you’ve had a good December so far.

I’m Going Back To University!

Image taken from weheartit.com

Yes it is official, I’m going back to university! This was something I was meant to do last year and the fact that I have gone through with it this year has really made me happy. BUT I won’t lie I’m also completely shitting myself.

I’ll be going to study my creative writing masters, which is a huge thing for me as it means I’m finally sorting out my career.

I left university in 2011, that’s 3 whole years of not learning anything… Well apart from when I went to study a short photography course at college, but I don’t think that counts!

Either way I am a mixture of excited and frightened and the fact that this has been a decision made within a week, it means I’m super stressed too.

I’m not studying in Birmingham but in Gloucester and Cheltenham so I’ll be having a dramatic change in my life for the rest of 2014. I’ll not only be traveling there and back for 4 days of the week but I’ll also be working 5 days a week. As well as that I’m hoping to move down there in mid-late October.

I’m really hoping to join some societies when I’m down there too, preferably the anime and snow societies!

I’m glad to have Poppy, one of my closest friends live down there as well as having my boyfriend come and live with me. My family and friends are being incredibly supportive and without them I wouldn’t even consider trying to take my masters again so I just want to thank them like 100 million times for helping me gain this opportunity and going through with it.

I’ll be keeping you all up to date with how my postgraduate university experience goes!

But I thought I would post this quick update on here… I really hope I do okay, please have your fingers crossed for me. ^_^

Until next time, take care all and I hope you’re having a good week.