6 style struggles every girl has going into autumn...

Even though I haven’t been in education for a few years now, every time that September rolls around, I still get that dread of going back to school. Yep, summer is done and dusted for yet another year and autumn is rearing it’s head again, those awkward dilemmas of what to wear during this trasitional period appear once again.

1.) Layer it up like a Mary Berry cake

 This is especially true if you live in that there Big Smoke of London. It’s still stupidly hot on the tube due to there being about 200 people packed into a carriage about the size of a sardine tin. But the sun’s not making an appearance as often and it’s getting chillier with each day you walk to work. You wanna wear something breezy for the commute but wrap up warm for everything else. Cue you wearing more layers than a cake in the Bake Off, and you dressing and undressing more times in a day than you care to wish to.

2.) Right, so how long can you hang onto that tan you got on holiday?

You've caught a bit of the sun and now you’re feeling like a bronzed goddess from your summer holiday. The sun’s fading, but you don’t want your tan to be as well! So you do everything with all your might to stay golden while the skies turn grey. You wear loads of white to flaunt it - while you’ve still got it and everything. You invest in some of that after-sun that has a bit of fake tan in it and your bedding ends up smelling of biscuits. But in the end, you just had to do like Elsa from Frozen and just Let it Go. You’re going to be so wrapped up soon anyway, that you won’t see any skin, never mind a tan.

3.) I love and hate tights simultaneously.

As a loyal skirt wearer, they are an essential in my wardrobe as soon as those leaves start falling - I don’t know how i’d live without them! But my god, I love strutting around with bare legs. And the fact that they have to be prisoned once more by an 80-denier prison makes me so sad. Let’s also not forget that those little menaces ladder like crazy, you have to buy so many pairs that it ends up costing more than your rent, are just so unattractive. You will never feel more unattractive than the split moment you catch yourself in the mirror as your getting ready and you’ve just got your bra on, and a pair of tights pulled all the way to your bellybutton.

4.) Dust off those jackets and coats boy and girls.

Once upon a time, you could leave the house and go the whole day with just the top on your back. But those days are over my friend. Even your trusty denim jacket that goes with everything won’t even suffice now. Nop. You’re going to have to slowly step away from the jackets and infiltrate some big, snuggly coats back into your life.

5.) Better say seyonara to your sandals!

There’s no way that your little tootsies can withstand the ever declinging climates without being snuggled up in a pair of socks in the comfort of a pair of closed toe shoes. On the rare occasion you get ready in the morning and the sun’s peeking through and you think you can get away with one more appearance from your fave summer sandals, by midday you’ll realise what a grave mistake you’ve made

6.) Who knew you had such a GREAT winter wadrobe eh?!

Yes i know it’s sad to say farewell to those flirty and floaty skirts and sassy and strappy tops. But the upshot of all of this is that all of a sudden you feel like you have a completely new wardrobe to play dress up with. More jazzy jumpers, snuggly scarves and bangin’ boots that you can shake a stick at.

Until next time!

A.x

11 reasons to swipe the hell left on Tinder

Once upon a time, I was swiping left and right on my phone like nobody's business

There were cute boys to chat to, who were saying silly-nice things to me until I resembled the blushing face emoji…what’s not to be on board with eh?

But sadly, the Tinder fairytale wasn’t meant to be. After deleting and re-downloading the app more times than a reality tv star promotes their workout DVD - usually when I’ve ran out of memory on my camera roll and then when I’m feeling hungover and needy on a rainy Sunday - I decided to banish it out of my life once and for all at the end of summer last year.
 (well, apart from logging in again for these screenshots - research and all)

And it’s not surprising to see why…

1.) Same shit, different day

Yeah, sliding your thumb from side-to-side is pretty easy and fun at times. But when you’re on a packed train and have stayed working late, the last thing on my mind is typing out one meaningless small talk after another, which took 20 left-swiped creeps to get to.


2.) It can be cringe-central

As someone who loves nothing more than a good pun, a cheesy line sadly does make me laugh more than it should but...even for a punster like me, there's a limit. Sometimes, it's just all too gouda to be true...

3.) Sometimes it's like talking to a robot

Hi, no I don't know what a girl like me is doing in a place like this, and yes I do like to have a fun time (you mean going roller-skating right?). I have a feeling that a strong case of copy and pasting is in use here.

4.) Sometimes it's racially questionable

I meannn.... Thanks? I think?

5.) Sometimes people are straight to the point



Short and sweet eh?

6.) And sometimes people are just looking for one thing (surprise surprise)


Well...at least they know what they're there for?! I’m don't have a fucking clue: A pretty face or a pretty decent conversation?! I get my ego stroked for a good while before feeling just a bit empty gonna be honest.

7.) It goes nowhere 

Might as well be on MSN and asking "wuu2?...nm, u?", while in my head, screaming 'WHY HAVEN'T YOU ASKED TO ACTUALLY MEET ME YET'


8.) You’re guilt-tripped for not wanting it to go anywhere

Sometimes, a handsome face lures you in, but the chat just isn't quite your cup of tea, which y'know, HAPPENS. Cus that's life. So you politely decline instead of lying or ghosting them (the absolute worst FYI). And for your honesty, you're met with cries of "WTF"', "are you serious" and "c'mon it's only fair".


9.) You’re constantly checking your phone

"Sorry, you were telling me about your day but I wasn't paying attention cus I was seeing if Tom the photographer who's 10 km away with the piercing green eyes has messaged me back."

10.) You’ve always got a low battery

As if liking photos on Instagram and Snapchatting your Friday night dancing along to Destiny’s Child didn’t drain your battery enough.

11.) You miss out on real life

Yep. I've been guilty of checking my phone more than I should, but it never got in the way and replaced my actual life. I’ve been out before at clubs, pubs, parties, get-togethers, and seen people just swiping away on their phones at the bar or in the corner on their own, away from all the interaction and people who are physically there. And that just makes me feel a bit sad y’know?

I’ve fallen in love with First Dates (along with the rest of the country) and as well as the show making me feel all smushy and in love with love, one of my biggest irks about it is when people appear on and have a whole tick-list of what they want in their perfect partner. Not to put a downer on things, but, aren’t you kinda setting yourself up for disappointment?

Going into a first date with an open-mind and open-heart is the only way to go...no?! And yeah, it might not go well or include more than it's fair share of awkward silences, but that’s OK!
(How else are you going to fill that autobiography of yours with fun anecdotes?)


My read at the moment is the always-funny Aziz Ansari’s Modern Romance, and he’s hit the nail on the head with how I feel about about this who Tinder malarky:

“I would rather put myself in those social situations than get exhausted…While we may think we know what we want, we're often wrong.
There's not a dating service on this planet that can do what the human brain can do in terms of finding the right person."

TRUTH.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I have nothing against Tinder or any dating app - I went on some dates, met some nice people that I got on with from it, and have friends who are in kickass relationships from it - and I hope y’all have better luck or fun on it on your search for your Tinderella or whatever it is you're on there for.

 But for me? Afraid I'm swiping left on it - I’m having a whale of a time with the fun and cringe of my real life.

Until next time...

Stay happy!

A.x

18 times the The Powerpuff Girls was way too real

The Powerpuff Girls were my jam back in the day. That theme song. The striped dress. THOSE GIRLS.

And what with the freelance lifestyle I'm living and the Netflix subscription I'm repping, I'm not gonna lie - I've been reliving my childhood and indulginging in some PPG marathons. And oh my, has it been glorious. 

If you thought the cartoon was pretty fab when you were 6-years-old and watching it on a Saturday morning in your pjs, then get ready to have your mind blown as an adult over the innuendos, cheeky jokes and actual life lessons it contains. Honestly. It's a bit TOO real.

Don't believe me? Just take a look for yourself...

1.) First thing's first, TRUTH.

No further comments needed.... (LOL)

2.) Confrontation is awkward as FUCK

Coming from someone who notoriously shies away from confrontation, you can go from mumbling idiot to blurting out your feelings in about 0 to 60.

3.) Diets are a fad

Kinda wanna look like a Victoria's Secret model. Kinda wanna eat burgers and fries. The struggle is so very real.

4.) Just you do you babes, and that's all that matters

That only person that is allowed an opinion on your life, what you do with it and how you live it is, well, YOU.

5.) Sometimes your hair will just have a life of it's own

No amount of serum of twists around your curler will sort out that sitch. You've just gotta put it down as a bad hair day and move on. 

6.) Never judge a book by it's cover

You wouldn't want someone to do that to you right? So don't do that to others! Everyone's living their own life their own way.

7.) You don't have to prove yourself to anyone

 If you being you isn't good enough for them, well, that just means they're definitely not worth your time.

8.) The internet has the answer for everything

Google that shit.

9.) Gender equality is a tough ol' thing

It's getting better, but it's oh boy, is it still a bit of a struggle. 

10.) Admit to your flaws

We all have them and the best thing you can do is embrace them and explore ways you can improve on them.

11.) Some people are just dicks, and you'll never know why

If only we would just nice to one another, the world would be such a better place! It's so simple it hurts.

12.) Don't let people kill your vibe

YOU'RE AN UNIQUE, SPARKLY, BADASS UNICORN WHO IS LOVED AND SPECIAL IN THIS WORLD AND DON'T LET ANYONE TELL YOU OTHERWISE.

12.) Early mornings never get easier

Caffeine please, PRONTO.

13.) Zzz is oh-so-important

It's more than just beauty sleep. It's essential and keeps-you-sane sleep.

14.) You should embrace your feelings - even when they're shit ones

With the fab times, comes the shit times, and when those times roll around, just allow yourself to feel down in the dumps for a bit. It'll get better again in no time.

15.) And whatever you do, DON'T bottle those feelings up!

Vent, baby, vent.

16.) It's important to make time to take care of yourself

Treat yo'self and love yo'self.

17.) You'll never please everyone

Not everyone's your cup of tea, so you're not gonna be everyone's. There's plenty of people who love you and those who don't? They can just slide on by.

18.) And you can never go wrong with being nice

BE NICE OK.

Until next time,

A.x