Oh Christmas Tree...

I am back! Clearly. I decided to take a bit of a break to focus on revision and hand-ins, because I get distracted enough as it is. I've not finished exams yet though, my last one is this coming Thursday which I cannot wait to get out of the way - mainly cause then it is Christmaaaas! Can you tell I'm excited? Excited may even be an understatement.

Traditionally, my family decide to put the Christmas tree up at the very last minute which has annoyed me for years. I like to start getting into the Christmas spirit as early as acceptably possible (Michael Bublé's Feliz Navidad made an appearance in the middle of November and I am not ashamed). So this year I took matters into my own hands and purchased a mini tree to decorate myself, in my own style, and when I wanted. I actually had so much fun doing this as it has been a while since I let my creative side loose.

Okay so here is the wee tree - bare and sad and lonely. I got him from Homebase for a tenner (I think) which is pretty reasonable. Time to get decorating!

Oh wait no, sorry. I forgot Santa's Little Helper. Internet, meet Pepsi. I mean Pepsi's idea of helping is getting caught up in the fairy lights and trampling on the baubles, but she is cute so we can forgive her.

I really underestimated how frustrating fairy lights are. I bought an LED set from Paperchase which seemed great at the time, until I got them out of the packet and discovered they covered approximately a quarter of the tree which was not a good look. I had to go in search of different fairy lights in the attic, found some, then discovered I needed more batteries (I seriously wanted to give up at this point). BUT, I stayed strong, overcame that little hiccup and the tree was finally lit up like the Fourth of July.

Lights done, time to hang the baubles. I also got my baubles and decorations from Paperchase - their Christmas section is on point every year. Also, by this point Pepsi got bored (or tired - she sleeps 90% of the time) and left.

So the colour scheme I went for was gold, silver, white, black, grey and rose gold (my current favourite colour for decorating). I also found some bloody adorable laser-cut polar bears in black, white and wood. It is probably quite lame how much I enjoy design-related stuff like this but I don't care!

I am so h!p$t3r.

You can't forget the star on top of the tree! 

This wasn't staged at all.

The finished product! I'm actually really happy with the way it turned out. I hate to ring my own bell but I think it looks great. 

The star is actually silver, not sure why it looks gold here but it's not the end of the world. It is also from Paperchase, but to be honest I wouldn't recommend it. The hole is far too small, and considering this is a small tree it would be useless on a normal sized one! Please ignore the innuendo there was no way around it haha.

Getting up close and personal with one of the polar bears here. Look how cute it is! 

So, I hope you enjoyed this post about me decorating a Christmas tree as much as I did doing it! It has made me feel even more Christmassy and was actually a good break from revision. Since my exams finish next week, I'll be posting weekly blogs again for the foreseeable future - I know, I am too kind. See ya next week x

My Current Favourite Music

Hey guys. This blog is going to be relatively short - I will not be rambling on and on - as I've been pretty busy this week. Exams are coming up and I've started to knuckle down already, which is so unlike me.

As I have mentioned I have a very eclectic music taste. I thought I would share some of my favourite songs right now. They are in no particular order and are not necessarily current songs either!

1. Blank Space - Taylor Swift - 1989 (+ video)

The video which was released last week took the internet by storm. I actually only watched it yesterday and it made me fall in love with the song. It cleverly portrays Taylor as the crazy girl which the media like to say she is. Maybe she is crazy but she makes great music! TS also worked in collaboration with AMEX to produce an app which is scored with Blank Space. It was shot with 360° cameras and is supposed to be a 'cinematic interactive musical experience starring Taylor Swift'. It says the app is supposed to be an experience which is 'an immersive journey with intertwined story lines, multiple rooms and dozens of hidden interactive features' - keen to give it a go! Taylor is also the first woman in over 50 years to replace herself at Number 1 (Blank Space overtook Shake It Off last week). You go girl.

2. How You Get the Girl - Taylor Swift - 1989

3. From Eden - Hozier - From Eden EP

4. Left Hand Free - alt-J - This Is All Yours

This is from alt-J's second album which isn't nearly as good as their first 'An Awesome Wave'. That being said it was pretty hard to follow as the first was a masterpiece. 

5. Fool's Gold - One Direction - FOUR

6. Strong - London Grammar - If You Wait

7. Right Now - Mary J. Blige - The London Sessions

8. I Lived - One Republic - Native

Got to love a bit of One Republic, huh?

9. Tennis Court (Flume Remix) - Lorde

I discovered this a few months ago. Definitely worth a listen. Flume has produced some other really good tunes, which are mainly uploaded on YouTube.

10. Many of Horror - Biffy Clyro - Only Revolutions

Thanks to Matt Cardle for ruining this for me for ages after X Factor. 

11. The Longest Time - Billy Joel - An Innocent Man 

Major throwback - this song puts me in such a good mood and has done since I heard it about 3 years ago.

12. When a Fire Starts To Burn - Disclosure - Settle

Put this song on, turn it up loud and walk somewhere. My personal favourite time to listen to it is walking to a 9am, with the sun rising, and basically marching to its incredible, punchy beat.

13. Adore You - Miley Cyrus - Bangerz

Not sorry.

14. Give It All Back - Noah and the Whale - Last Night On Earth

15. You're The Best - Wet - Wet EP

16. Trojans - Atlas Genius - When It Was Now

This has actually played in my work (Jack Wills) for months and every time I go to work, I leave with it stuck in my head.

17. Oceans - Coasts - Oceans

18. Bros - Wolf Alice - Bros - Single

19. All Night Longer REMIX (feat. B.o.B) - Sammy Adams - All Night Longer REMIX Single

Ultimate skite tune.

20. Stronger - Kanye West - Graduation

It is still just as incredible as it was 7 (yes s.e.v.e.n) years ago. 

21. XO - John Mayer - XO

22. Fireworks - Acoustic Version - Thyra - Fireworks (Acoustic Version)

x

10 Small Ways To Improve Your Life

Hey hey hey! So I thought it would be a good idea to focus this blog on a bit of self-improvement. I spent the beginning of this week in a bit of a slump for a variety of reasons, and a number of the following made me feel a lot better. I try to do all ten of these on a daily basis and I find that they do really help:

1. Wake up 30 minutes before you need to. For example if you were planning on setting your alarm for 9am, set it for 8:30 instead. I do this basically every day and it sets you up for a less stressful day. If you are rushing in the morning you are instantly stressed out and this can alter your mindset in a negative way, influencing how you react to situations throughout the rest of the day.

2. Drink plenty of water. I know everybody says this, but I started drinking more water about a year ago (on average 1.25 litres a day) and I have noticed a massive difference in skin hydration, concentration and I feel less drained. I try to have a glass of water instead of coffee as well, but sometimes I settle for a green tea. Life hack: drink a cold glass of water the minute you wake up, whether it is in the morning or from a nap, and you will feel much more awake almost instantly.

3. Get involved. Join a sports society, sing in a choir, be your class rep, partake in charity events. If there is an opportunity on your doorstep just take it. When I applied for my part-time job last May I never thought it would transform me in such a great way - I am far more confident in everything I do and I have made so many more amazing friends. Or when my mum suggested in January that I start taking riding lessons, admittedly I was quite reluctant to begin with, after a couple of weeks I was so thankful I had because I actually began to believe in myself. As cliché as that sounds, it is true, and you might be surprised at what taking up new hobbies might do for you.

4. Try to do at least one good deed a week. Big or small it could go a long way. For example, hold the door for an extra 5 seconds for somebody behind you instead of just marching off or let an old lady onto the bus before you. A couple of weeks ago I was sitting at a bus stop waiting for the 41 when a man rushed past and dropped something. When I looked closer I realised it was actually a fiver, so quickly picked it up and ran after him. At this point he was a good 20 ft in front of me but I caught up and handed it to him and walked back to the bus stop. I then realised that I quite easily could have kept that for myself, an extra fiver would have been lovely, but it wasn't mine to keep. I'm not saying I deserve a medal, and yeah it was only 5 quid, but I'm sure that guy massively appreciated it.

5. Eat well. It will make you feel so much more mentally and physically healthier. I even find I have more motivation and concentration when I eat clean. Eat a banana instead of a packet of crisps, cut down on dairy, snack on blueberries, swap rice with quinoa, fries with sweet potato wedges and always eat breakfast! I always sprinkle two tablespoons of ground flaxseed on top of my (gluten free) cereal which is really high in Omega 3. It's all very easy if you just stick with it!

6. Make time for your friends and family - all work and no play is not healthy. Whether you are just hanging out with your famalam in front of the TV or going out with your friends, you need social interaction! Trust me, for about 6 months the last thing I wanted to do was see anybody, and on a regular basis I would cry my eyes out because I didn't want to go out, to the cinema or even out for dinner. But, if I did manage to force myself to go, most of the time I found it helped just being around other people. 

7. Do what makes you happy (to an extent - do not be selfish). As I said, at the beginning of the week I was having a sucky time and was not loving lyf. I decided to drive to Aberdeen last minute on Wednesday to visit one of my best friends for the night. Yeah okay I missed an hour of uni the next morning, but I needed an escape from Edinburgh and missed my bezzie and ultimately returned home feeling much more positive. Whether it is big or small, if it can make you feel better then do it!

8. Save money - I feel like this is a weird one - even if it is just 20 quid a month in the long run this could help you massively. Or just in the short run if you want to save up for something like a holiday, cut back on something you spend too much on every month (for me, that is definitely going out for dinner).

9. Take a break from the internet for as long as you can, whether that is 2 hours consecutively or spread throughout the day. I personally find it is massively refreshing cutting yourself off for a bit. The internet can actually be a very negative space.

10. Surround yourself with positive and good natured people! I think this is very important. My friends are all kind, motivated, happy and hilarious and I could not ask for better people in my life - shout out to you all ILY. 

I know these points all sound relatively trivial but I genuinely think they make me more happy and motivated on a daily basis. Maybe if you're feeling a bit despondent or are needing a bit of inspiration, try out a couple of these and hopefully they will turn everything around! x

Disclaimer: your life is not going to change dramatically. I cannot promise you will win the lottery or become Prime Minister of the UK but every little helps.

The 5 Best Websites Online

Welcome back everybody. Missed you. How is it already Friday though? Seriously. I know I say this every year, along with every other human on the planet probably, but where is this year disappearing to? It's November... let that sink in. Anyway let's have a 'quick' recap of my week, shall we? 

So last Friday was obviously Halloween. I decided this year I would dress up as a zombie - so unoriginal I know but I never really go for the scary option and this year I thought I would take the plunge. For example, last year my friend and I dressed as a scary cat and mouse duo, but despite the black contact lenses I just ended up looking adorable so that was a fail. And the year before that I dressed up as a unicorn, which admittedly was completely amazing, but I thought I would try something different this year. So as a zombie I went. I actually played around with liquid latex for the first time, and somehow managed to create a very realistic looking slash on my neck! My friend from my old uni course who I haven't seen for 10 whole months invited me to her friends' party and that was really good fun.

Look it's me being all scary n stuff

I also went up to St Andrews to visit a friend for the day, which was a nice change of scenery from Edinburgh. As much as I advocated in my previous post about how great Edinburgh is, it can get a bit claustrophobic sometimes. But Scotland has a lot of lovely places to offer and St Andrews happens to be one of them - it is an ancient university town right on the coast. In between these days I have been going to uni and also going to work. Most importantly, however, I started watching the series How To Get Away With Murder on ABC. I am totally hooked and if you want to procrastinate like I do then I suggest you watch it. Words cannot describe how good it is and I am only 5 episodes in. 

That was my week. Thrilling, huh? I should probably get on with the main subject of this post now. This week's theme is 'The Best Websites Online' as you have probably noticed from the title. Obviously I am not claiming that I know what websites are the best, but in my opinion these are definitely up there. I spend most of my time online trawling through these sites, probably not getting much out of them to be fair, and I enjoy them. In no particular order...

1. Twitter... #classic. So common white girl but that's me in a nutshell. I just find the concept of it fascinating and frequently find myself scrolling through the home feed re-reading tweets I have read two/three times already. It doesn't get boring. Plus, at the beginning of this year I read the book Hatching Twitter by Nick Bilton, which described the evolution and business of twitter. Incredible story.

2. StumbleUpon is potentially the best way to feel like you are doing something productive when you are definitely not. The tagline of this site is 'stumbles just for you' - it takes you on a whirlwind journey through an infinite number of websites, articles, videos and more attuned to your interests. For example, I just clicked the orange 'stumble' button and got taken to this article titled '22 towns in Italy that are almost too perfect looking' (http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/7IZjCi/1D2v4nPVU:Hd3@97O0/www.wherecoolthingshappen.com/22-towns-in-italy-that-are-almost-too-perfect-looking) - I love Italy, architecture, nature and travel so thank you StumbleUpon for enlightening me!

3. YouTube. And I don't mean I like to watch the typical fail videos or videos of cats doing hilarious things, although saying that Maru the cat is by far my favourite internet animal star. I am subscribed to various channels on YouTube, encompassing music, science, fashion, beauty, vlogging and health. For example a few of my favourite channels are Zoella, PointlessBlog, The Mahogany Sessions, Pentatonics, SacconeJolys and The Slow Mo Guys.

4. Skyscanner. Last week I was genuinely about 10 minutes away from booking a one-way flight to Australia. It is a great temporary escape from reality - 'where can I go with all that money and time I don't have?'

5. Instagram -  I know this is predominantly considered an app but it can qualify as a website. I know Insta as a whole is good but here I'm going to be referring to one page in particular called New York On Air (nyonair). Here is the link:

http://instagram.com/nyonair

They upload phenomenal aerial photographs and videos of New York City - one of my favourite cities in the world - using state of the art cameras and lenses attached to helicopters. Pretty cool stuff huh? They have their own website independent of Instagram where they actually sell their work which is quite tempting. For now though here is an example of what they produce on Instagram:

These websites I have mentioned are relatively mainstream, but I hope I have maybe opened your eyes to a new or different aspect of them. I have to say I am surprised I have actually managed to write a new post for today - especially of this length - so I am giving myself a virtual pat on the back as we speak. See you next week! x

p.s. if anybody is having a bad day/week/month here is something of relevance that should cheer you up: http://make-everything-ok.com. It is not one of the best websites ever but it certainly can make me smile. 

25 Facts About Me

I've been wanting to start a blog for a while - I have finally got round to it, well done me - and I thought that instead of writing my first post about something very specific, I would do a '25 Facts About Me'. My reasoning behind this is that, although unlikely, there may be people out there other than my mother (hi mum) who don't know me and would like to read my blogs. And so, I thought these potential readers may find a bit of comfort knowing, what I regard to be, the basic facts about me as they read whatever I have to say each week. I'm not entirely sure how successful this blog is going to be as firstly, as mentioned I cannot guarantee anybody is actually going to want to read it, and secondly, considering it took me 8 months to write my first post, my incredible laziness will probably hinder me actually producing them weekly. If you have read this far - thank you. I encourage you to keep reading what will hopefully be a relatively entertaining and informative post about all things Zoe. Here goes...

1. I am from the beautiful city of Edinburgh, Scotland. Born and bred. Although my accent apparently tells people otherwise - I've been called English, Irish and even American before...interesting. Anyway I highly recommend you visit Edinburgh at least once in your life if you haven't been before. It is truly stunning. I challenge you to find another city in the world which presents to you a massive castle plonked on a hill in the middle of the city centre.

2. I was born on 1st May 1993, which makes me the grand old age of 21. Saying that I still look and feel about 17.

3. I study Architectural History at the University of Edinburgh. Never in my life did I think I would graduate with a history degree, but it's true what they say - life throws at you some strange surprises...which takes me to my next point.

4. I was studying pure Architecture, and in November 2013 half way through my 3rd year, I decided I didn't want to do it any longer. The majority of people who know me who are reading this think I left that course because I hated it, which I guess is partly true, but there is another reason. This is actually really hard for me to write because for a long time I was in denial and refused to believe it was true, plus I never wanted - and to this day don't want - sympathy or attention. I actually had to leave uni because of depression. According to my psychologist it had been a long time coming, which was quite interesting to hear. I can write this now because I am in a really good place. A combination of meds and weekly psychology sessions seemed to do the trick. (Side-note: I'm not going to blab on about how bad it all was because that is lame, but if anyone has any questions about it or anything like that just get in touch - I don't mind talking about it anymore! Maybe I could even help somebody who was in a similar situation to me almost a year ago.)

5. Moving swiftly on... So having 8 months out of uni meant I had a lot of free time, and I decided I needed to do things to keep me busy. I kept my part-time job in retail, but knew I had do to something else. So as of January, I began horse riding lessons. I had never ridden in my life until then, and I immediately fell in love. Apparently I'm a natural as well so that is good to hear. Go me.

6. This is my lucky number...cool story. It was also the number on the back of my strip when I played hockey at school. Another great story.

7. I don't just love horses, I love all animals. Seriously. My family have 3 cats - Pepsi, Frisbee (don't ask) and Ruby - who are so cute. I'd really like a dog though, and preferably a French Bulldog at that and I will call her Stella (any Modern Family viewers should have got this already).

8. I am obsessed with TV series. Homeland, Dexter, Prison Break, Breaking Bad, Gossip Girl, One Tree Hill, Friday Night Lights, Orange is the New Black, Friends, House, Brothers and Sisters to name a few.

9. MODERN FAMILY. That is all.

10. I have never watched a single episode of Game of Thrones. No judgement.

11. I am gluten and lactose intolerant, so I predominantly eat meat, vegetables, rice and fruit. (I actually have IBS but that just sounds gross)

12. I am Apple obsessed: once you go Mac you never go back.

13.  I am a strong believer in fate.

14. I am not religious. It's not like I didn't have the opportunity as I was christened as a baby, it's just not for me. I like to think of myself as agnostic.

15. I suffer from wanderlust on a daily basis. For those of you who don't know, wanderlust is the constant desire to travel or be elsewhere. I just want to go everywhere and see everything.

16. My name Zoe means 'life' in Greek. I think that is quite cool.

17. I have the attention span of a two-year-old, so this has taken me a long time to write.

18. I love monochrome everything. I predominantly dress in black, white and grey with the occasional splash of colour here or there. As an actual colour, purple is probably my favourite though.

19. My family and friends are my life. (Classic white girl statement)

20. I have one sibling - an older brother to be precise. He is called Jamie, he is 24, and I love him to bits and I know I don't say that enough!

21. Speaking of, he is one of my biggest role models, but he probably doesn't know that. He is so driven and determined it puts me to shame. For example, he is currently doing his law traineeship at one of the best law firms in Scotland - I would say that's a big deal.

22. I will listen to any kind of music: indie, alternative, chart, hip-hop, R&B, rap, classical. But house is an absolute no go. It is not music it's just noise.

23. Fun fact: two of my best friends and I rashly booked to see Bastille in Milan in March this year. That was awesome.

24. I am absolutely awful at replying to texts. I fully intend to reply but think 'oh, I'll do it later'...and yeah that never happens. I'm sorry.

25. Finally, when I have a bag of skittles I have to pour them out onto the table, arrange them in colour order and then eat them least favourite to favourite. Very random, but everybody has at least one OCD habit and that is mine. #tastetherainbow

So, if you have made it to the end I salute you. Congratulations. I hope I haven't bored you to death. I am planning on posting a new blog next week so if all goes to plan see you then! x