My Surprise Trip to Manchester

Something I wasn't expecting on my graduation day was a trip to Manchester. My boyfriend Paddy really did surprise me with this one, he seriously is a keeper. He had everything all booked and the whole weekend planned out for us. It was so nice not having to worry about flights, that was already sorted. We flew over to Manchester with Ryanair, from past experiences I repacked my bag a million times to make sure it wasn't overweight. Thankfully it wasn't, I downsized my makeup bag so much for the trip, I literally brought the necessities and I'm glad I did it freed up so much space.

This was my fourth time going to Manchester and it is one of my favourite cities. There's so much to do over there and the people are extremely friendly. Of course the shopping is amazing too. It wouldn't be a trip to Manchester without visiting the Trafford Centre. Thankfully Paddy is one patient guy and he didn't mind strolling through all the shops with me. We must of spent pretty much the whole day there and himself being the gentleman carried all my shopping. Luckily we also came to Manchester at the right time as their Christmas Fair had just started that weekend. I've been to a couple of Christmas fairs in Dublin but this one was so much better. Walking around town made me feel so Christmassy! I really enjoyed checking out all the different stalls, I could literally do that all day. I was really impressed with this sweet stall, I couldn't leave without a picture. 

On Sunday we went to the Phones4U arena (will always be the MEN to me) to see Vampire Weekend and Noah & the Whale. Paddy and I love both of these bands and it was so amazing to see them live. I've been to this venue twice (Taylor Swift & Morrissey) and it's my favourite. It's really easy to get to and we've always had amazing seats everytime we've gone. The gig lasted for about two and a half hours, for the whole duration we didn't stop singing along to our favourite tunes. Paddy introduced me to Vampire Weekend and Noah & the Whale when we started going out almost five years ago so this gig was really special for us.

I couldn't pick one highlight from this trip as there was so many of them. I had such an unbelivable time, I'm so lucky to have such an amazing boyfriend. It was such a nice break from work, kinda sad to be back now. I definitely came back with a much heavier suitcase than what I went with. I guess somethings never change eh? I'll be putting up a haul post really soon on here as I did pick up some gems whilst I was there. I'm really hoping to take another trip to Manchester in the New Year I always have such an amazing time in that city.

What is your favourite holiday memory?

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