Relief

 (♥)
I can honestly say that finishing my exams has left me floating about a metre of the ground with a slightly dazed grin on my face. Anyone following me on Twitter  will have seen just how happy I was! I absolutely hate the pressure of exams as they make me go a little crazy as I don't deal with stress very well. Nevertheless, they are finished for this academic year and I have a week or so of blissful ignorance before I get my results. My mum and my youngest brother and sister came by yesterday and took some off my stuff home as I have to move out of my uni house pretty soon. One thing is certain though, I HAVE TOO MUCH STUFF, so keep your eyes peeled for some blog sale goodness in the next few days :)

One of the first things I did after my family left was to pull out my make-up bag and try my new coral lipstick. It is Revlon Super Lustrous Lipstick in shade 750 in 'Kiss Me Coral', a brand that I am consistently enamoured with.It is a lovely bright orangey colour that feels very summery.
It also matches my nails perfectly! The shade I am wearing is Bourjois Tangerine Fatale. I love Bourjois nail varnishes and the lovely LLYMLRS and I were singing their praises on Twitter, mainly as they dry so quickly and I am too impatient to wait!
LOVE
Mark's family came over on Sunday, the day after I finished and we went for a picnic in Kenilworth park (again!)  It was an absolutely boiling day and guess who managed to get sunburnt? :( My arm has been on fire for days despite me wearing sunscreen...GRR!
At least I had my sunglasses eh?
 I also went to Birmingham to visit my friends, Pete, Oli and Oli and I had a really lovely couple of days :)  Pete lives in Perry Barr right next to Villa Park so of course we had to go and take some silly photos...
The majority of my family are Villa fans so here you go Fallons! :)
This lovely little place *cough* is Aston Hall, a lovely manor house that has reaffirmed my desire to live in a house that has grounds (A girl can dream!) I mean just LOOK! They are absolutely beautiful and kept in tip-top condition with a team of gardeners.
 (♥)
I had a really lovely couple of days and would like to thank Pete for his hospitality and everyone for some very memorable conversations!  Danni has finished her exams today YAY!! :D so we went to the Dirty Duck on campus to celebrate with some burgers and chips. On the way home, I decided that I needed to book a haircut A.S.A.P as it was far too long and far too thick so I went to the Regis salon in Cannon Park. A lovely lady called Becky did my hair and she did a sterling job!
 She trimmed about an inch off the length but put all of my layers back in and shaped the hair around my face. I absolutely love it but this may be because of the incredible blow dry. It is no mean feat to tame my wild tresses into something resembling a style. I guess the real test is when I try and style it myself tomorrow morning :S Looking back at my outfits over the past couple of days, coral has definitely become my 'go-to' colour in both summer and winter. It's feminine without being sickly sweet and it is very very versatile and goes with a number of other colours.Plus, the pop of colour provides a bright constrast to my pale skin and dark hair- something that is always welcome!

Do you have a 'go-to' colour? What do you think of my new hairdo? 
 
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I think I'm in love. With the postman.

Afternoon everybody, it's been awhile. I could spend a paragraph or two wining about exams and yada yada, but no-one wants to here about that do they?! Instead, I'm going to take a quick break to explain my current love for our postman... 


Unfortunately he isn't a 6ft 4 clone of Jake Gyllenhaall/James Mcavoy/Greg James [although, in my head he most definitely is and this makes me very happy indeed], but he has been delivering some wonderful things lately which make me love him. Just a little bit.

First up, I was the winner of an irresistibly cute giveaway by the lovely Eloise. The only time I can ever remember winning anything was from a magazine about seven years ago, ensuing a few high pitched teenage squeals and some super-sonic filling out of an application form, and that was for a tube of clear mascara so you can imagine how excited I got when I received these lovely goodies...

The artwork is all Eloise's own, and I have to say I think she's extremely talented. I haven't managed to listen to the album yet, but I did have a quick sneaky listen on Adrienne's website and I love her sound - very chilled out and perfect for stressful exam time! The envelope itself is a masterpiece - and Eloise even left a lovely message for the [imaginarily stunning] postman. All in all a wonderful prize from an equally wonderful blogger- go go go!

I also got the best parcel the other day from mummy and sister Slater; they'd put together a revision package to get me through these exams. Naturally, it consisted of chocolate, cookies and a Cow of Wisdom. Yep, you heard.

 
Isn't he beautiful?! He's just one of Edward Monkton's wacky characters, and you should check his website for some other lovely goodies. I have to say the prospect of a box filled with home-made cookies, macaroons and a slab of Galaxy cookie crumble has certainly propelled me into work mode. Hopefully it'll last me a few hours too ; )

Do any of you get just as excited at the sound of the letter box? How do you cope with revision? Let us know : )

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8 cakes, is that excessive?!

After a stressful couple of days travelling and networking, it was lovely to get back home and relax... well attempt to! I have 2 days (!) until my first exam and a week until I am done, believe me I am counting them down :S I really hate exams and find them so stressful- I think I worry far too much though so I am trying to stay upbeat :) As part of my revision today, two of my friends came round (hello Laura and George!) so we could watch 'Ben-Hur'
For anyone who hasn't already seen it, I thoroughly recommend this film. It is truly deserving of the 'epic' epithet and Charlton Heston is brilliant as the troubled Ben Hur. The film won 11 Oscars and is best known for the infamous 'chariot race'. It may be 3 and a half hours long but it is definitely one of the best films I have seen in a long time.
As other students may be aware, revision/ work of any kind makes you hungry and Danni and I are no exception to this rule. We decided to make some summery cakes to give us a welcome break from studying and to provide us with some yummy snacks at the same time :) We doubled up this recipe from the Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook and just added our own spin to the mixture to create 3 unique flavours. 
 (We used two thirds of the mixture for each flavour which made 36 cupcakes in total)
First up... CHOCOLATE! I had some chocolate left over from when I made rice krispie cakes a while back which we grated and added some vanilla essence to. 
Freckly cakes! :D 
Peach and vanilla is also a classic combination and our cakes were perfectly moist and airy :) 
Our ever growing cake tower :D
Last but not least, glace cherries and sultanas, made that little bit better with the addition of Disaronno Amaretto ;)
NOM
A tower of cupcakes, best enjoyed with lovely housemates and the football on the telly...
How do you rate England's chances in the World Cup? Have you tried any new recipes recently? 
 
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American Dining: An Antidote to Everything

Aaaaah, an evening with Marilyn Monroe, Elvis Presley, milkshakes and Cosmo's....could we really ask for anything more? Well, add in a quick stop off at the pub and you've got the perfect way to wind down after revision tensions. Yes, last night we ended up paying Dockers another visit and used it as an excuse to get glammed up after weeks of slobbing about (at least on my part) in slouchy stuff.


I think my top is actually a dress but on me that would just be plain inappropriate...thank-you skinny jeans!


So we made our way to Dockers and this time sampled their evening menu of American classics. I'd love to say that we savoured every delicious bite, but we were so unbelievably hungry when the food came that not a morsel remained after about five minutes. It really was lovely though; satisfying in a way that only greasy, finger-licking American food can be. Altogether we ordered burgers, chilli dogs, milkshakes and cookie sandwiches galore, but the highlight was definitely the cocktails (perhaps second to the Jukebox - there's something oddly enchanting about those things)...
My 'little Docker burger'
Heaven on a plate?
SJP would be proud
Both me and Maria went to the diner to spend some time with our future house-mates and after days of gradually increasing isolation and insanity from work, it was wonderful to eat, drink and be merry together. And merry we were. I'm not even referring to alcoholic induced sillyness here, I think the last few weeks of holing ourselves away with only authors and automated library e-mails to keep us company, we were in shock at sudden human contact. And so things got a little comic...
Maria having a jive
Maria and Lisa, true men at heart.
Why Danni, just why?!
Only we could find fruit amusing...half eaten fruit at that. The diner went from being super-packed to super-quiet and we decided (after finally noticing fading lights and angry glares) that it was time to head off. Rather than waste time waiting for the bus in the pouring rain (well, the torrent had stopped by then but the pavements, and our shoes, were sodden) we decided it was Pimms O' clock and sought out one of Leamington's pubs where we chatted away to the sound of open mic night whilst sipping Pimms as quintessentially as possible...
make gif

Hmm, perhaps not as prim and proper as Mr. Pimms (not even sure if there is a Mr. Pimm's but go with me here!) would like but we certainly enjoyed at least pretending it was summer, even if the weather was telling us otherwise. It was my first ever taste of Pimms and I have to say it was lovely; very sweet, and definitely more suited to sipping outside on a warm hazy evening, but nevertheless a success!
Pimms = Grins !


Looking back, last-night was a simple affair. Just burgers and bars to put it bluntly. But it certainly put a smile on all our faces, and made us realise just how good the simple life is. Paris Hilton, eat your heart out.


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