Leaving Home.

When I started my little blog, one of the things I wanted to write about was the experience of leaving home for the first time. I feel like it's such a huge life change to go through and reading about other people's experiences really calmed my nerves about leaving home. So here I am telling you about my own experience of moving out and also giving you a few tips that I have found made the transition easier.

Since I was born I have lived in the very hilly and rather quiet county of Cumbria, think Wales, add a few more lakes and you're mind is pretty much there.. Every place has it's good sides and not so good sides, for instance, Cumbria was very peaceful, not much traffic, beautiful scenery and very safe. A great example of beautiful views is the one from my back garden that I am in love with!

I loved living there and can see why many people don't always tend to leave but I knew if I got comfortable I would never actually pluck up the courage to go anywhere else, and since I was younger I have always vowed that I would be adventurous and live in big cities and experience the buzz of busier places. One of the downsides of Cumbria was definitely it's lack of buzz and excitement.

Originally I did imagine that I would go somewhere like London or Leeds, but it just so happened that I found a great opportunity for a one year internship/course in Bradford. From looking at the view of my back garden then looking at my balcony view at my new home in Bradford, you can see they are worlds away..

So in September 2013 I upped and moved to Bradford. From what people had said about Bradford before I went there, it was no surprise that I was absolutely terrified before I left, The day I moved in I had a slight meltdown and decided I was going to add a granny flat onto my mum's house in Cumbria and just live there forever, but fortunately I had enough sensible people around me to convince me that I was going to be fine! And thankfully, I was! I have to admit that I was definitely helped by my crazy flatmate and sister Zoe, who always saved me before anymore of my meltdowns. As I settled into Bradford, I found it wasn't as scary as anyone said it was, yes you have to be careful when you're walking and no, girls cannot walk alone in the dark but that's pretty much the same with any city, I found that the shops were nice, the city wasn't big enough to get ridiculously lost in (which was a worry of mine at the time as I have always had a horrendous sense of direction) and mostly, the people here are quite nice!

Although I found the city itself to be a pleasant surprise, it didn't make the fact that I was missing all things green, hilly, sheepy, my family and silence at night opposed to the lovely police sirens, drills and alarms that are now present in my life at night. I found it really hard at first to not to want to go back to my comfort zone of Cumbria, and I have put together a few tips that I found really helpful to settling into my new environment!

1. Make your new room nice and homely - this was so good for me! Literally I just put up every nice decoration I had in my room back home, all my photo frames, candles and filled my bed with all my comfy blankets and pillows. It made coming back in the evening like coming back to a piece of home.

(This pillow was bought for me from Next home and I just think it's so pretty!)

2. Don't forget why you moved - this was very important for me, whenever I had a down day or missed my family, I would always remind myself why I moved to Bradford. I would literally just tell myself 'you moved to Bradford for an amazing opportunity to learn new things, explore new places and live life to the best you possibly can,  and that, Naomi, is why you're here'. Seriously trust me on this, it helps! If you forget why you moved to where you did, then you'll spend your life reversing back to where you started. And I'm a big believer in moving forward, there's so much to do in this world and it's a cliche, buuuut.. Life is WAY too short!

3. Remember to see the beauty in where you are - moving from Cumbria where you see beautiful scenery absolutely everywhere to Bradford, where you see buildings, and some of them really unfortunate looking. But the more I tried to find the nice things to look at in Bradford, the more I found, it would have been very easy to miss some of the really gorgeous old buildings, or the hills in the distance and it really made me enjoy Bradford a lot more. I took this photo on a freezing autumn day while I was walking around, it was one of the first times I really saw the beauty in Bradford, and if I can find beauty in Bradford you can find it anywhere!

4. Keep in close contact with people back home - now, this seems like a given when you move away, but I have found that sometimes it's actually quite hard to find time to pick up the phone or send a text to one of your friends from home or family when you are getting used to this whole new life somewhere else. But the times when I felt the most homesick were usually when I hadn't spoken to anyone from home for a few days, and I felt so much better after a phone call to my mum or speaking to my best friends about the next time 

we'll see each other. 

5. Don't be stuck in a daydream about home - I was so guilty of this when I first moved to Bradford. I would be so eager to get back to my room which felt like my safe place or be so involved in texting my friends from back home that I would miss the opportunity to talk to my new friends or go out with the new people I was meeting. You can get so wrapped up in being homesick that you don't actually enjoy or settle in to your new surroundings, so make sure you step out and make an effort with people because I found that making new friends made moving so much more enjoyable!

What I'm really trying to say is that moving can be so much more exciting when you focus more on looking ahead than looking behind from what you've come from! I'm so excited already for my next adventure, wherever that may be, and seen as home will only always be only a days travelling away, we can go anywhere that we want to!

I hope this was helpful for some of you and thank you for reading! 

Have a great day wherever you are!

Naomi 

oxoxo

Winter 2014 Fashion Picks

As most of you shopaholics will already have experienced, the time when you do not have any money for shopping is the time when you see a million different things you 'need' in every single store. I am no different. 

And as that time has come right now, I thought I would put my needs to good use and put them as my Winter 2014 picks. One day I will make a look book with these items as I am determined to own all of them!

My number one pick this winter is surprise surprise a Jumper! I get so cold anyway that the thought of wearing anything that isn't thick and woolly when it's freezing outside gives me shivers, and here in the UK the sun isn't exactly out a lot right now. This Jumper is from Iswai and is £24 pounds and it is just everything you could want from a jumper, it is such a pretty colour that could definitely be worn on a cold summer day as well and finally you cannot go wrong with anything that Caggi Dunlop designs, she is a genius! The only snag is that it is currently out of stock, but they have re-stocked it before so I am ready to pounce the next time they do..

http://www.iswai.co.uk/caggie-s-wardrobe/boyfriend-jumper.html

My second pick is from Topshop. To be honest it wouldn't have been long until something from Topshop squeezed it's way into these picks, they have some amazing designs this season! These shoes, I know are not the most practical for winter, but they do actually cover quite a bit of your foots surface so hopefully no small puddles would find their way into your shoe. What I like about these shoes is they way they use snakeskin, I would be the first to put my hands up and say that I am far from a lover of anything with snakeskin on it, but they do it so elegantly on this shoe with only the sides and band baring the print.

http://www.topshop.com/en/tsuk/product/shoes-430/flats-459/mardi2-croc-slippers-2397935?refinements=Colour%7b1%7d~%5bblack%5d&bi=41&ps=20

My next pick is from Zara, I have to be honest and admit that sometimes I would walk in the opposite direction whenever I saw a Zara store as I thought for a long time that it is way too expensive for me, but this scarf I have seen on so many people, all looking so comfy, warm and it really makes a plain outfit look a bit different. Since seeing this scarf I have actually been into Zara and found that they actually have some great things in there, and that aren't as expensive as i thought they would be! I love the fact that it is double sided so it can  be worn with many different colours and who doesn't need a tartan scarf this winter?! This scarf either isn't still in stock with Zara or is in the sale but I have found so many on ebay or amazon, probably  because it was so popular.

Photo Credit:  garancedore.fr/en/2013/10/17/lecharpe-plaid/

I am in love with this next item! Although something I never ever thought would suit me or that I would look at twice in a store, but I've seen loads of girls wearing it and it looks so fabulous!! Although never thinking animals looked good on clothing before I seem to have been converted to tigers and pugs looking good on clothes.. random I know but we all have our personal tastes! The front of this t-shirt is also satin which makes it slightly more dressy, I would love this t-shirt with some black skinny jeans and heels, such a good outfit for a meal or going out. This t-shirt is £20 from River Island.

http://www.riverisland.com/women/t-shirts--vests--sweats/print-t-shirts--vests/Black-tiger-print-satin-front-t-shirt-642700

My next item is a little out there price wise, but if you have a birthday coming up then this could be a perfect for a birthday present. Everyone loves a little bit of Michael Kors. I have wanted a watch for a while now, but I am a little wary of cheaper high street watches as my mum has been through so many different watches, they probably all match up to the price of a Michael Kors watch! Another thing I am a little obsessed with this year is rose gold, I think it just looks so expensive and goes with so many different coloured outfits that you cannot go wrong with a rose gold piece of jewellery! This Michael Kors watch is around £230 pounds depending on the retailer you buy it from.

http://www.robert-stewart.com/watches-c151/ladies-michael-kors-rose-gold-plated-mk5727-watch-p3529

Towards the end of my winter 2014 fashion picks is a piece of clothing that I think is an essential for this time of year! And that is just a plain black jumper that is from Missguided. I LOVE this staple item and have seen so many people wearing them so many different ways recently, you could wear this jumper with jeans and boots, with a cute dress, over the top of patterned leggins, the possibilities are endless! I just love how versatile this item is and how it gives an outfit a real casual feel and can literally be thrown on with anything! I think dressing this item up with a bold gold necklace would also look great! This jumper is £16.99 which is really quite a good price for a winter jumper. Such a fantastic buy!

http://www.missguided.co.uk/catalog/product/view/id/103269/s/lorindina-plain-knitted-jumper/category/545/

This next pick is a variation of an item that I already know, these are one of the leigh skinny jeans range from Topshop. I already have a black and a very pale blue pair of these jeans and they are just a god send! I went off jeans while I was in sixth form as we were allowed to go to school in our own clothes and whenever I wore jeans I just felt uncomfortable and couldn't wait to jump into my pyjamas when I got home. But the leigh jeans litterally just feel like leggins but do not fall down like I have found 'jeggins' do. I love this acid print and it is just so much more exciting than plain jeans and would look really cool with a bagg t-shirt or jumper. These jeans are £38 pounds which is a bit steep but they are so worth it, my other leigh jeans have lasted so well!

http://www.topshop.com/en/tsuk/product/clothing-427/jeans-446/leigh-skinny-jeans-744/moto-acid-leigh-jeans-2574744?refinements=category~%5b330510%7c208527%5d&bi=1&ps=20

My final pick is an item that I have absolutely fallen in love with this winter and that I need to snap up pretty quickly, you couldn't have a winter pick without including a coat, so impractical if that was the case. So yes you've guessed it, it is a lovely, fluffy, woolly, warm looking parka from Topshop. I have loved parkas for such a long time, gthey are such a timeless design and look good through any season, and are a necessity for myself living in England where we are under a constant cloud of rain. The best thing about this parka is the fleecy lining inside, that looks guaranteed to keep you warm in any weather, another great aspect of this jacket is that it is in the Topshop sale right NOW. So go and grab it while you can!

http://www.topshop.com/en/tsuk/product/clothing-427/jackets-coats-2390889/parkas-trenches-2390909/borg-lined-parka-jacket-2697913?refinements=category~%5b263006%7c208526%5d&bi=21&ps=20

Thank you guys so much for reading these were just a few items that I really love this season and I think would make great additions to anyone's wardrobe, including my own..

 If there are any winter 2014 fashion picks you have, comment below and let me know what they are so I can add more items to my 'want' list!

Have a great day wherever you are!

Naomi 

oxoxo

An Out of the Ordinary Year.

Hello lovelies!

Starting a blog successfully must be one of the hardest things to do in the world.. it has taken me at least two days to even touch the keyboard. Well this may not be successful, but at least it's a start!

All confessions aside, I feel an introduction is necessary.. I'm Naomi! An almost fresh out of school 19 year old (8 months fresh, the thought of that is scary!) and way past the school tradition of not doing anything too out of the ordinary, such as blogging, to try and fit in with everyone else. And as I decided that 2014 is going to be an out of the ordinary year, why not start with something I've always wanted to do, and start a blog. 

I am a friendly, geeky, and slightly random girl who is attempting to blog about all things fashion and beauty, and possibly any other random adventures I have or thoughts that pop into my mind. 

I love all blogs and would love to see any of yours so please follow me or link me to your blog so I can have a look!

Have an amazing day wherever you are!

Naomi 

oxoxo