Rock the Casbah

Happy end of March! :)! We have had incredible weather in England the past week or so and I hope it continues all Spring/Summer long! I saw this gorgeous sheer top in New Look last week and it reminded me so much of the kinds of patterns I used to see when I lived in Morocco, so I fell in love.



Feathers & Flowers




I love having a bunch of flowers perched on my desk, looking all happy and alive. It makes me in turn feel happy and alive, particularly on a gloomy day! The other day I picked up this Easter Cactus [her name is Callie :-) btw] and now I can have this lovely lady filling me with sweet joy all the time! If you feel like you're not the greatest botanist, feel reassured, a cactus needs very little in the way of maintenance - just a few kind words every now and then!

Oh, and this is one of my favourite dresses. Silky and feathery, from Topshop concession: Rare.

Mega Love xx

Lady Danger


In Springtime I wear Lady Danger Lipstick from MAC. You should too :D

How do you have fun?

Ok, now I have a bone to pick with you guys... I have followers from all over the world, and I'm really interested to hear about how you have fun!

Let me explain. I have lived in Morocco, America and England, the latter since I was 16 (now 21). So I finished school here, and went to University. One of the key ways that young Brits seem to have fun is based on getting your 'friends' together in a room, with the cheapest, nastiest alcohol you can buy, drinking til you're pretty wasted and then heading out. This process of pre-drinking aims  to get you drunk enough to not need to spend a lot of money on nice, more expensive alcoholic beverages when you're out at bars and clubs. SO, first point is that people are drinking SOLELY to get drunk. Lots of drinking games, drinks that you switch off your senses to whilst you down as they are nothing but unpleasant. That is the goal of the pre-drinking situation (pre-game in the States).

The student life in England has the potential to be incredible. Most Uni's are absolutely thriving with active sports and societies members, doing anything and everything from playing rugby to raising awareness on climate change, but the club 'socials' are sometimes unfortunately one of the most heavily-advertised aspects of joining. No, this isn't in all cases, but I have definitely heard 'Come join! We have great socials and get wasted!' more times than not. NOW, I'm not saying that Uni students should absolutely never drink any booze or sit in their rooms and study all day (I sure as hell wouldn't follow that ha!), but I find it really upsetting that there is this pressure for people to come to Uni and think the only way to make friends and have a 'good time' is to drink lots and often. I think there is a big problem in this country of basing most social situations around drinking and being drunk. It breaks my heart to know that I live in one of the most beautiful parts of the country, yet there are thousands of students here that haven't experienced anything outside the bars & clubs of the city.

Whilst I rant about this, I think it is also important to mention that there are many people I have met (my current friends) that feel exactly the same way I do. It is with these people that I go for long walks, have BBQ's, cook and bake, go to the movies, theatre, bowling, play pool, explore the local sights and have maybe 1 or 2 drinks because I ENJOY THE TASTE. I truly believe the drinking culture is a major reason for people feeling their Uni experience is unfulfilled and depressing. Young students (espesh in their first year) are away from home (the first time for many) meet people that they either live or study with and fall into this habit of sleeping all day, and blowing all their loan on drinking. The result? They haven't seen much, get bored, and most IMPORTANTLY: feel like the drinking is point of the night rather than enjoying each other's company. And the worst bit? It is hardly ever a house party!! That's the point, its not throwing a fun party to catch up with people (and alcohol happens to be involved); it is drinking to get drunk, then go out and drink more.

I encourage unhappy friends wherever I can to not feel guilty about walking away from those groups of 'friends' and find people who are interested in the same sorts of things that they are, people that WANT to learn about them and spend time with THEM. I remind them that other cultures don't do things like we do here and that it is OK to find this whole process dull and tedious.

So back to my original question: what are things like in your country? I would be really interested to hear!

Mega Love xx

Au naturel

You know, it's funny. These days there are far more products on the market to disguise, enhance, or alter us than there are campaigns telling us to just wake up, throw on a t-shirt and work the natural look. I can understand why in a consumerist society where companies prey on women's insecurities to reach a certain level of perfection, but lately I've been having a serious look in the mirror and have realised that I actually feel most beautiful when I'm projecting the real 'me' to the rest of the world.

I think back to all the times in the past year that I've got up in the morning, showered, spent ages putting on make-up and styling my hair and declined invites to do anything which might mess me up. This also coincides with the time I've felt the most trapped in my life. I was born and bred an outdoorsy, adventurous, roll-in-the-mud kinda girl, who also happened to adore the art of make-up and fashion. Where I took the wrong turn, I cannot seem to figure out, but somewhere along the line in the past couple years I thought I had to choose one or the other.

Over the past couple months I've just kinda said 'SCREW IT!'. Don't get me wrong, I still have an obscene make-up collection and busting wardrobe, but I save the dressing up as more of a treat rather than an everyday routine. The result? I get up, go for a run or a swim or a walk in the park, shower, leave the hair to do its own thing and dry naturally, throw on COMFORTABLE clothes that allow me to flounce around and do what I like. I go with a tinted moisturiser, concealer, mascara, blush and lip balm. I have had more compliments than I ever had before, I am also happier because of it and have never felt more myself. I think it is when you stop trying to fit into any kind of box that you truly find 'you'.

Casual Happiness

Oh, hi there! I climb trees because it makes me happy :D!
What makes you happy? You should do it more often!!
Mega Love xx

Sunshine Happymaker



It was sunny yesterday and cocktails were on the cards for the evening! A Key West Cooler is definitely one of the most heavenly beverages one can sip: malibu, smirnoff, archers, midori, cranberry & orange juice.
 
(The vibrant, attractive layered Key West on the right and a rather sad-looking mixed up version on the left!)

What's your favourite cocktail?

Mega Love xx

Third year in a nutshell.

Ever since day 1 of Uni, you hear about the dreaded 'third year' from both lecturers and past students. We are drilled with how much we are to prepare for the workload, lack of social life, sleep deprivation, misery... yadda, yadda.

I cruised on through the first two years, being much more on the hard-working side than that of the slackers, but always being able to cope just fine. I managed my time well and handed work in on time without having to pull all-nighters or drinking 10 cans of Red Bull / cups of strong coffee.

September of third year starts.. I'm in the lab almost 5 days a week collecting data for my dissertation. Yes, budgeting time for that whilst attending lectures, going to work, doing extra-curricular stuff, seeing the boyfriend and friends, as well as regular reassurance phonecalls to the mother to let her know I am not in fact rotting in a pit of vomit or maggots is a little tough, but definitely do-able.

Christmas and New Year comes and goes, and then the wall hits you. Let me explain; the wall is 4 lengthy essay/report style pieces of coursework all due in within the space of a few weeks, a 3500 word literature review counting towards a substantial portion of your degree, hours, and I mean HOURS of sitting in front of your laptop floating in and out of consciousness trying to decipher how the hell all these statistical tests work and what they tell you, writing your dissertation, knowing massive exams are coming your way, having to think about a real life adult JOB for when you finish Uni and where you are going to live, hating the grey weather, having little time to relax and cook proper food and instead going on a 'what is fastest?!' diet. The wall is the inner conflict of having to sit and do academic work for 80%+ of your day, when your heart sings for creativity, colour and stimulated senses. The wall is wondering what happened to all those friends you had and hardly see anymore, also craving sunshine and knowing there isn't any in England. The wall is wondering if this is even what you want to be doing or what you should be doing, and dying inside at the prospect of having got yourself into a disgusting amount of debt over something you're unsure you're fully committed to!

So I know every third year student  feels it at some point, but honestly its the little things like a nice long walk and really opening your eyes to your surroundings that let you breathe easy once again...
Mega Love xx

Casual Sunday

Hey, it's Sunday :-D! Don't worry, be happy.



Jumper - New Look
Shorts - DIY
Boots - New Look (old)

Freshly Squeezed

Oh sweet Lord, Spring has most definitely sprung and I am ready!


Top - Topshop
Skirt - H&M
Boots - Firetrap
Bracelets - Topshop

Mega Love xx

Autumn in Spring

I love orange. It is definitely such a mood-brightening colour for me and thus I love to incorporate it into my wardrobe rather frequently :). This outfit appears rather Autumnal, but tbh the weather today could fit into any English season.





Silk shirt - Thrifted
Trousers - New Look
Shoes - New Look
Bag - Thrifted