The Lo Down - College Update #3

Hey Guys and Dolls,

I can't believe I'm into my sixth week of college, it's a bit crazy to be honest. I'm loving college so far, I'm learning so much and it's alot of fun. I also like having a bit of a routine, that's definitely a plus I have to say.

As I told you before I had minor head surgery two weeks ago, after taking some time off college I'm all good now. I went back to college last Monday and I had an exam on Wednesday which I wasn't really prepared for. I think it went well though and I'm extremely happy about that.

Having learnt alot already, I definitely want a job in Marketing in the future. There seems to be lots of jobs going in this sector so I'm confident that I'll get a position that I like too. Fingers crossed on that one. If your wondering what course I'm doing it's a Diploma in Social Media for Business so it's definitely going to help with my blog aswell.

Laura<3

The Lo Down - My College Life #2

Hey Guys and Dolls,

I'm now into my fourth week of college and I'm really loving it so far. There's alot of content which means I'm learning so much! I'm going to miss a few days of college as I got minor head surgery on Thursday but that really shouldn't be a big issue to be fair. I'll be fine and I'll definitely catch up so I'm not worried at all.

My course is 18 weeks long so I'll be finished in the first week in August so if I  I get a job by then I'll definitely go away somewhere at this stage I'd go just about anywhere to be honest with Daragh for a few days. My course is full time but I'm going to be doing a part time course in Sports and Recreational Therapy in June so that sounds really interesting. Sure it's good to keep the brain active.

I'm also going to be doing a makeup artist course in September which is something I've always wanted to do so I'm excited. 2017 is going to be a really good year I know it.

Laura<3

The Lo Down - Weightloss Update #10

Hey Guys and Dolls,

 Sorry with the delay in putting this up, I had so many posts to put up it and it completely slipped my mind. Here we are now though so let's get into it.

So you may be wondering how did I got on last week with my weightloss, I'm down another 1 pound bringing my total weightloss to 2 stone 4 and a half pounds, it may be a small amount but I'm still happy that I'm making progress. It's been hard  as I've started college which means there's alot of nice lunches in the canteen  and of course there's not a healthy option in sight. I've had to have really good will power there.

I'm trying to have a really healthy week this week so we'll see how I get on. I do miss my fitness classes though as I feel like they helped me lots, once I get though any free time I'm going to go back to one for sure.

Laura<3

The Lo Down - My First Week of College!

Hey Guys and Dolls,

Sorry for the serious lack of posts this week, on Monday I started college and I didn't really get the chance to blog. I have early mornings up at 6 and don't get home until 6 in the evening which is such a long day. When I get home I like nothing more than to chill out so life has definitely got in the way of blogging but I promise you I'll do lots of posts over the weekend that's for sure.

Now back to my college course, first off I'm really enjoying it and it's certainly the perfect course for me. I'm studying Social Media for Business, it's a diploma course in case your wondering. As I'm into all things social media with my little corner of the internet, I think it's always a good idea to better yourself and become more knowledgeable in a certain area in the process.

I've learned alot so far in a week, branding, marketing and photoshop. The latter is definitely my favourite and alot of fun, I really enjoy it. My course has been so helpful, it's very informative and I'd definitely recommend it. It's very intensive but I'm sure everyone would be well able for it. I've met so many lovely people in my class aswell and we're always having the chats plus helping each other out if we need it.

I'll definitely do a couple of posts throughout my course and keep you updated on my progress but so far so good I'm really enjoying it.

Laura<3

The Lo Down - I'm Going Back to College!

Hey Guys and Dolls,

Yes you read it right I'm heading back to college. My course starts next week so I'm very excited indeed. The course I'm enrolling in is a Diploma in Social Media For Business which I'm very much interested in right now. Social Media is a big deal for me with my blog and what not which means I use it quite a bit in my day to day life. I only heard that I got a place in the course today and I start on Monday so things are moving pretty quick.

I really enjoy the college life to be honest, I like the lifestyle and learning new things. I don't think you can be ever too educated and new things come out all the time so there's always stuff to learn. I'm going pick up some bits and pieces over the weekend, notebooks, backpack etc, I actually saw a really nice bag in Penneys/Primark today so I'm going to get that over the weekend. You may definitely see a haul post of all my college stuff over the weekend.

This course is right up my street and I feel like I have so much to learn from it. It will help my blog alot in the long run aswell I think. I'm really looking forward to meeting some new people aswell. Basically the course in a nutshell is to understand how social media can be practically, proactively and constructively used as a viable business mechanism which sounds very interesting. It will definitely help that I have my social media platforms active already.

So yeah college life is going to start on Monday and I'll definitely keep you guys posted on how I'm getting on and what I think of the course itself.

Laura<3

My Graduation Day!

Last Monday was a huge day for me, I graduated from college. For those of you who didn't know over the past year I did a Part-time Diploma in PR, Sales, Advertising and Marketing in DBS. I went two evenings a week for eight months which was pretty difficult at times. Some days I was working from 8am-4.30pm and rushing into college for 6 so it did get somewhat stressful. Even after all that though I don't regret going back to college again, I did a course that I absolutely loved and I met some amazing people that I'm going to keep in touch with. On the day of graduation the weather was supposed to be pretty horrible (typical Dublin) but the skies stayed clear which was a relief. I was a bit apprehensive about wearing the robes at first as I seriously thought they'd be too long and I'd fall over but I have to say once I put them on over my dress they weren't as bad as I though they'd be. My Mom and Dad treated me to professional graduation pictures that were taken on the day so I can't wait for them to arrive in the post. I'm already picking out photo frames to put them into, I think a trip to IKEA is definitely needed soon.

I picked up my dress from Awear in Dundrum Town Centre and I couldn't be happier with it. I love this style of dress and I have quite a few in my wardrobe. I went for a floral print as I know it would be something I'd wear again. I hate nothing more than buying a dress and knowing deep down that it's just going to be sitting in my wardrobe right after the event gathering dust for god knows how long. I did my makeup quite simple on the day with a neutral eye look and of course lashings of mascara. I've been using YSL's Baby Doll mascara lots recently, definitely my most reached for mascara at the moment. Another product I have to mention is by a brand called YoungBlood and it's their Liquid Mineral Foundation. It's wasn't a brand I was familiar with before but after I went to their launch a couple of weeks ago I was really looking forward to giving their products a go. I'm not one for mineral powder foundations they just have never really worked for me. This is something completely different from the other mineral foundations I've tried as it's a liquid. After using this a couple of times this is hands down my favourite foundation. It doesn't cake on my skin and it literally feels like I'm wearing no makeup at all, it's unbelievably lightweight.  I'm so glad I used this on my graduation day as you can see from the photos it photographed amazingly well and it didn't budge all day.

My graduation will definitely be up there as one of the best days of my life. It was so nice to spend the day with my family, to see my parents and grandparents cheering while I was going up on stage to collect my diploma will definitely stay with me forever. Unfortunately Paddy couldn't come along to the ceremony but he came up to my Nanna's house in the evening for some nibbles. Paddy got me the most amazing gift, last weekend he brought me over to Manchester to see two of my favourite bands, Vampire Weekend and Noah & the Whale. I had such an unreal time over there, it's one of my favourite cities and I'll definitely be going back over sometime in the New Year for sure. I'm going to be popping up a Manchester Trip post on here soon and don't be surprised to see a sneaky haul too. 

Laura<3

Gifts from Spain & a Little Sidenote

This time last week my parents arrived home from Spain, a whole ten days of sun, good food and the beach. I'm not going to lie I was a bit jealous seeing as the weather hasn't been the best in Ireland lately. I may need to take a little holidays myself soon, I'm missing the sun it feels like it's jumped into Winter so quick.

When my parents go away they always bring us kids back a few gifts, this time was no different. They picked up most of the goodies before they even got on the plane in Dublin, only one product was purchased in Spain and you can probably guess what that was. The present I was most surprised by was Jo Malone's English Pear & Freesia. I already have another Jo Malone perfume in my collection, Nectarine Blossom & Honey, I picked it up on the way to Manchester in July and I love it. I'm so happy my parents bought me this scent as it can be worn on it own or over Nectarine Blossom & Honey to give it's own unique scent. On the airplane my Mom picked me up these two sets, Liz Earle's Beautiful Skin Kit and Bourjois 5x Colour Pop Nail Kit. I can't wait to start using both of these, the latter contains so many pretty bright shades which I'll be rocking on my nails very soon, keep an eye out for some NOTD posts soon. You all know I love Liz Earle so I'll definitely be using this little travel kit alot, all the products included are not full sized but still decent and perfect for holidays. Last but not least the folks actually picked me up two bits from Spain, first is this gorgeous owl necklace, it's quite big so I think it will dress up any outfit. The other gift was the most sought after Bioderma, I haven't ever tried this before and after hearing so many reviews I wanted to see what all the fuss was about. I've used it once or twice already and I do like it but it hasn't completely blown me away. I'll use it a bit more and let you know in a future review how I've been getting on with it.  I was so happy with everything my parents picked me up they are seriously way too good, I don't think there enjoying the weather were having at the moment at all.

Just a bit of sidenote for you all, I start college tomorrow YAY! The time has certainly flown by since I announced I was going back. I'm nervous and excited about the whole experience, I'm hoping this will be third time lucky. I think I have everything sorted for going, I went a bit over board with the stationery shopping, which was to be expected I think. My Nanna got me a lovely bag in Warehouse for college, I adore it and I have a feeling I'll be using it outside of college too. Enough of the rambling I'll get back to why I wrote this sidenote to start with, as I'll be working and going straight to college from there, none of my time will be mine anymore. I want to give a 100% to college this time not like previous years so I may not be able to post as regularly as usual. I will be putting up posts but maybe only once or twice a week so I won't be gone completely, I hope you all understand.

Laura<3

College Here I come!

I'm sure you've heard me mention in recent posts that I'm starting college. I couldn't be more excited as I've wanted to go back for a while now. I'm so out of the loop with knowing what I need to buy stationery wise, Paddy and I must of wandered around Easons for a hour picking stuff up. Only for the lady at the till to tell me I probably only needed a notebook and a few pens, that still didn't stop me paying €20 for the bits I already picked up. The course I'm going to be studying in college is a Diploma in Marketing, Advertising, Sales & PR, a mouthful I know. I've wanted to do this course for a while but I'd always made excuses to put it off for some reason. I think I just get a bit nervous about starting again which I think is the case with alot of people. Everyone keeps telling me to relax and everything else will fall into place. I'm going to be doing a evening course and after attending the college open day I realised this was the best choice for me with work and everything. I was originally going to study PR & Event Management but I settled on my chosen course as it is broader and after talking to a lecturer for a good while I decided it was the one for me. I start in two weeks time on the 1st October so I don't have too long left to go and I couldn't be more excited. I'll keep you guys updated on how everything is going throughout. I still have a few bits and pieces to pick up, like a new bag for example, Accessorize fancy backpack or a Warehouse Tote, I really can't decided. Here is what I picked up so far, my little Cath Kidston makeup bag doubles up as a nifty pencil case I think.

My Mom also got pretty excited and bought me all the goodies in the second picture. She's the best and is nothing but supportive of me, I'm sure going to need those post-its and maybe even more. They are shaped as hearts which I think is the cutest thing ever. I love the brand Treacle Moon, she picked me up their Iced Strawberry Dream Bath and Shower Gel and My Coconut Island Body Butter. They both smell amazing, the shower gel smells like Strawberry Milkshake I can't wait to use it.

What else do you think I should pick up for college?

Laura<3