My 21st birthday celebrations in photos

Last week was crazy! I had my graduation ceremony on Monday 21^st and on Thursday 24^th July I turned the big 21. It was a mix of emotions all week as I was quite sad to leave my uni town Huddersfield fully and also happy to move forward in the future and enjoy my 21^st celebrations. The week was jam packed with lots of buffet food which has gained me a few pounds.

As a treat I designed my own cake from Slattery’s in Whitefield, Manchester who specialise in creating cakes for all occasions including birthday cakes and wedding cakes. I have been an avid fan of Slattery’s for years and I was incredibly impressed with how they turned my idea into a lovely cake. I chose to have a traditional jam sponge birthday cake and chocolate cupcakes. The cakes never fail to be absolute delish from here although (I honestly never want to see another piece of cake for a good while) I love cake but after continuously eating a slice a day for the past week has made me feel rather bloated.

For presents I received a Body Shop tea tree facial set which I will be reviewing soon, some owl earrings from my lovely boyfriend, chocolates and more beauty products. I also received a lump sum of money from parents which I am intending on using to pass my driving test. I also received money from relatives which I have already spent on perfume, a playsuit and a big faux fur vintage jacket which will be featuring in a fashion post soon.

I would like to thank everyone who sent me lovely messages last week, I had an amazing time but for now it’s back to my job search.

What are your memories of your 21^st birthday?

Graduation day in photos- 21st July 2014

Yesterday was one of the biggest moments of my life as I managed to graduate from The University of Huddersfield with a 2:1 in Journalism. At times I thought I wouldn’t have made graduation day and my mother even said yesterday the same thing as I’m the only one in our family to attend university. The day was a mix of emotions, of course firstly I was extremely happy to gain my degree and for the stress to be over but yesterday also gave me time to reflect on my next challenge ahead and to be honest I miss education already. I have been so busy applying for jobs, and organising my 21^st birthday I haven’t had much me time which includes blogging and considering other options, such as studying for my Masters or a PHD. For now I am going to enjoy this week of celebrations and also forget about the mess in my bedroom which I still haven’t fully unpacked whilst moving home. I am also very happy to announce that I am back with my boyfriend, after a whirlwind of 6 months apart; we have both decided to give our relationship another chance. Now that I am back home it is a lot easier to see each other and the 6 months apart gave us both an opportunity to develop as people and realise what our goals are in life. I’m very glad I was able to share my happiness with my parents, my boyfriend and my friends at university. 

To finish the day, I enjoyed a celebratory curry with my parents and boyfriend back home in Mancunian land.

Have you recently celebrated  your graduation day?

Relaxed Friday nights with ‘The Comforter’ Lush

A few weeks ago I took a trip back to Mancunian land to get my hair done and after I took myself on a mini shopping spree to Lush to get some face masks and bath bombs to indulge on weekends when I am wanting a bit of TLC.

Regrettably I haven’t done a blog posting for a whole week as things have been super hectic at the moment. Unfortunately I am still looking for full-time employment and with my tenancy agreement ending on my flat in Huddersfield, it only meant one thing, I had to take the plunge and move back in with my parents for the meanwhile until I can secure that all important job which can pay enough to get me an apartment in Manchester. I moved out of my student flat this Thursday and from the start it was a nightmare. We had to make two trips because of the amount of clothes I have and when I arrived back to Mancunian land Thursday, everything was everywhere in my room and I didn’t even have any space on my bed.

The Friday just gone was spent clearing things out and making room so I could fit a few things in my wardrobe. On top of this I also have my graduation, my 21^st birthday, my mum’s birthday, meals out and a photo-shoot to organise in less than a month which I really need to get organising A.S.A.P.

Friday night I was feeling so exhausted, I needed some pamper time so I ran myself a lovely bath and cut a small piece off the comforter and plonked it right in the water. Literally within a few minutes the water turned a stunning vibrant pink and my bathroom smelt like something from a sweet shop. A few minutes after this, whilst I wasn't paying attention as I was applying Lush Cupcake face-mask which I shall review in another post, I turned around and noticed my bath was filled high with bubbles and to be honest I started to giggle like a little child as I felt my youth had been relived because Friday nights was always bubble bath night.

Lush say, “Sometimes you just need to shut yourself off from the outside world under a blanket of fruity foam that will put you back in the right frame of mind to face the world. This bar is supersized, so you’ll only need to crumble half a bar under your tap to make enough bubbles for a long, comforting soak. Cassis absolute gives a distinctive blackcurrant fragrance, while bergamot adds an uplifting note.”

I personally believe this bar will last 3-4 times as if I had put half of the Comforter in the bath I think my bathroom may have been flooded with bubbles. I love how a little bit goes a long way with this bubble bar and priced at £4.50 it is really good for the money. (As I told the woman in the shop I was a blogger, I got The Comforter for free). However next time I would happily pay full price for this wonderful item. In all I would rate The Comforter a top 5/5!

What’s your favourite Lush bubble bar?

Degree Celebrations- What my degree means to me

(Ready to party on results night)

It’s that time of the year where everyone is receiving the all important degree classifications to determine whether or not to stay at university to do a masters or enter the big wide world. After three years of hard slog and an emotional roller-coaster I received mine a few days ago and to my honest surprise I got a 2:1. I would be lying if I said I didn’t cry because I did.

I haven’t had the greatest times at university and in my first year I was so close to quitting because I didn’t click with anyone. Living away at university, even though only a short 45 mins down the road was added pressure and although I didn’t do too bad fending for myself and making food, I had no social skills what so ever. Being an only child I think didn’t help with this matter as I was used to just me. Of course I had a few friends back home but I could never really let my hair down and be wild in front of them because I had serious confidence issues. However I didn’t want this to stop me from doing what I came to university to do. I had many arguments with my parents about quitting university because they wanted me to quit too. They would drop me off at my flat after spending weekends at home and knew I hated every moment of being there because I was alone. I managed to get through my first year thankfully and after spending all summer at home, the nerves started to come back to me when September arrived because I thought what if I don’t fit in again?

I made more of an effort although it was difficult and I partied more, made more friends and actually spoke to people off my course a lot more. However in my second year I became stressed with my university work so much I made myself ill. I had already been diagnosed with a weak immune system by the doctor which didn’t help matters at all but I would come home after a full day at uni and spend most of the night doing work too. I found it hard to make proper meals at university as my budget was so tight and in the end I was ill every week. I had the flu 10 times, and other illnesses which meant I spent time travelling home to the hospital for blood tests but at the end of the second year I received a 2:1 and I was ready to finish my degree once and for all.

I remember coming back to university for the third time round and moving into a new flat again. I noticed on Facebook there was a flat party happening that night and I had been invited. I sat there and for the first time in my life I thought I’m going to this party. I had nerves of course but going to that party was the best thing I did. I made some amazing friends this year which I couldn’t last without. Throughout the whole year we made healthy meals together which kept my immunity at bay but this time I was struggling with my course. I had a lot of bad luck with many things this year on a certain project and I didn’t know if I was going to make it through.

It was the last few months of my degree and I was in serious meltdown and to make things worse my boyfriend of almost three years finished me 2-3 months before finishing my degree. People ask me if I was hurt by it because I didn’t really show emotions but I was. The first weekend in nearly three years I spent alone. I sat in my flat a big emotional mess because I felt like I didn’t have the energy or the confidence to even go outside. To be honest on the Saturday of that weekend I stayed in bed literally all day, I didn’t shower or even get up to eat I felt sick. I had always spent my time every weekend with him and now he wasn't there I was lost and felt a big empty space out of my life had been lifted when I needed someone the most. At one point I was going to defer my degree for a year because I couldn’t deal with things. I never missed university and my tutors said how well I looked because I got up every day and dealt with it as it came. It came near deadlines and I handed everything in to the best I could do with the situation. I did a few all nighters to try and finish everything to my satisfaction but when I received some of my results this year I was left a bit disappointed because I thought I could have done better.

Results day came and I nervously waited for them to load online and to my surprise it read upper second (2:1) and then it hit me like a brick. All those times I spent unhappy were worth it because from the start I did this degree for myself. Age is just a number because at 20 years old I have a degree under my belt and I’m excited to get more experience to pursue my career in PR. At the moment I am unemployed but as  I tell my parents every day I've never quit at anything and I’m certainly not going to make a habit of it now.

The biggest thing I have got out of my university experience is confidence; I can walk in a room full of people now with a big smile on my face. I can socialise with new people without even feeling nervous. I am so glad I have been given this opportunity to do a degree because not everyone has the chance to. Now four months on after my break up and I’m my own independent person. I have payed more attention to my blog and attending the gym which is what I enjoy doing. I think without going through some of these things at university I wouldn't be who I am today and I am ready for the next challenge ahead.

Have you just recently finished your degree?

Birmingham weekend in photos

Last weekend me and a very close friend took a trip to Birmingham to get away from Mancunian land. From the start they're was lots of laughs and giggles and we knew a shopping trip was on the cards when we arrived to Brummy town.(I went a bit crazy in Selfridges and bought some Bobbi Brown make up for £75 whooops) We had planned to go on a night out after a meet up in January and the weekend was perfect. Along the way we took a few photos to remind us of our weekend. Although we unfortunately didn't have time to explore monuments so we have agreed to take a trip back there soon for more Birmingham madness.

(Review of my Bobbi Brown haul coming soon)

The best of both worlds- Brunette vs Blonde- Dip dye trend

I have been contemplating dying my hair for the past year but after a hair disaster when I was younger I swore to myself I would never dye my locks again. From the age of 15 I went through the stage of dying my hair regular, with hair caps and foils but it took a lot of work to maintain, and my roots always showed through too soon. I did leave dying it for a while until I got bored and started experimenting with brighter colours such as blue, pink and purple but as my hair is naturally dark brunette, all of that bleaching left my hair clinging on to my head for dear life.

For years I have been a natural haired hippy, I believed in keeping my natural tresses looking their best by using hair masks and pure coconut oil. I promised myself I wouldn't dye my hair again until I started turning grey (which hopefully isn't going to happen in the near future). However with my 21^st birthday and graduation quickly looming I was screaming out for a change in my hair and my wardrobe. Since the dip dye trend hit our fashion market, I was obsessed from day one the only thing that was missing was to dye my hair dip dye.

After searching P’interest, I went straight back to Mancunian land to my sacred hairdressers Saks to make the most of my last ever student discount. I decided I wanted a more natural caramel colour than platinum blonde as I wanted to keep the look sophisticated. I was incredibly excited when my regular hairdresser stated she would not be using bleach on my hair to achieve the results I wanted as I know too well what peroxide bleach can do to a girl’s hair.

One hour and three quarters later my dream hair had been achieved. I am so glad I have made the change as almost instantly the biggest change was the smile on my face. I love how I get to experience the best of both worlds now without being named a stereotypical boring brunette. I personally believe it’s all a myth; brunettes are mysterious and definitely know how to have a good time but now I’m half blonde too, it shows I have an adventurous side and my friends know I’m the party girl who’s always the last one home after a night out-Without sounding cliché- It’s always the quiet ones right?

I’m going to end with the most cliched motto ever which is always true ‘You really only live once’ so if you've had a hair hang up and have been indecisive like myself, my word of advice is to just go for it because you can always dye your hair back to its natural colour. I would recommend visiting a trustworthy hairdresser because as well as a having a bad haircut; we all know a bad hair dye can be much worse.

Have you changed your hair recently?

Snapshot Sundays #1

Happy Sunday lovelies! I decided to start a new feature on my blog called Snapshot Sundays. As the sunnier days have finally arrived, I have really got back into walking and the outdoors.This weeks picture was taken at Greenhead Park in Huddersfield. I absolutely love blossom trees so when I saw this fairy wonderland setting, I had to take a picture.

Lots of love Miss Vintage Vibe xo

Happy Mothers Day- Dear Mum

As its mother’s day I just wanted to dedicate a blog post to my mum.
Dear Mum: I know we sometimes argue and we don’t always get on but you are always there for me through heartbreaks ready and waiting with a box of tissues and  feeding me my own body weight in chocolate to perk me up. When I feel everything is going wrong and I can’t handle university, your there with a flag at the finishing line telling me I can get my degree. Most of all you are helping me achieve my dreams to go to Australia and although you know if an opportunity arises, I will be relocating there and you won’t get to see me often, you are still cheering me on telling me to grab every chance I can because life’s too short and you know you would get to have a holiday in Oz when visiting.

As a thank you for all her help and bringing me in to this world, I treated my mum to a lovely bouquet of tulips from Moonpig.com and a card just to say how much I care about her. I chose tulips rather than any other flower as they remind me of spring and I loved the vibrant colours which I knew they would brighten her day. When purchasing a bunch of flowers, I also got a free card and of course I picked tatty ted as it’s her favourite. In total it came to £29.99 with Saturday delivery.

 My mum had no idea I had ordered her anything, I just told her to wait at home as they’re was a special delivery and she couldn’t believe her eyes when a van appeared and a guy stepped out with a giant bouquet with a special message in side. I know that spending a small fortune or even hand making a gift would mean the world to her because as long she knows I’m thinking about her, that’s all that matters.

Happy mother’s day to the most wonderful mum, who today of all days decided to come down to Huddersfield and meet me to buy me a food shop because she knew I was running low on food.

Did you do anything special for your mum this mother’s day?

Roxy Ballroom Leeds- Bloggers event

Roxy Ballroom, Leeds part of the Jones bar group opened its doors a few weeks back and I was luckily enough to be invited, thanks to my fellow blogging friend www.LittleBoBlab.com. I have only managed to do a posting as at the time I didn’t have any pictures of the night and I have been waiting for them from fellow bloggers.

Roxy Ballroom is located literally minutes way from the station which was perfect for me, as I had just had a mad dash on a Primark shopping spree at Leeds Trinity and insisted I wore my new platform heels which as they were new, I couldn’t walk in them very long distances.

When we first arrived we were taken straight to the V.I.P room. I didn’t know what to expect but as soon as the doors opened, the Ping Pong table was staring me in the face and I knew I had to have a go. The managers at Roxy wanted to create an All American feel which they certainly achieved.

As soon as the Ping Pong bats and balls made their way to me, me and Kerys acted like little children at a Wacky Warehouse playground and it was game on, or it was until we found out we wasn't too good at Ping Pong and instead of lightly hitting the balls, they were flying all over the room.

After spending a brief five minutes playing, we decided it was probably for the best for everyone’s sake to give it up and hit the Ping Pong punch instead. The pink concoction made of Amaretto and a bunch of other things was amazing and went down a lot easier than I imagined.

Ping Pong tables and pool tables aren't just in the V.I.P room; they are situated all around in the main bar which makes it a relaxed place to go during lunch hour or after a long day at work. The V.I.P room is an amazing space for a party with just close friends before hitting a night club. It costs £20 an hour and the ping pong table can be placed in a cupboard if you prefer to have an open space party.

My 21^st is approaching in July and I haven’t planned anything yet but I know I want to do something big. I think Roxy Ballroom would make an ideal location to host my party and I can guarantee everyone will enjoy playing beer pong.

Have you been to Roxy ballroom?

The Valentines break up

Valentine’s Day, is usually described as a commercial money making day by most people. A few days ago I would have been less partial to this idea but only a few days ago my boyfriend of almost 3 years finished me. For the special day I pictured a lovely candlelit dinner in a nice restaurant followed by an exchange of romantic presents I had bought.

I thought wrong and now instead this first Valentines posting which was supposed to be a present gift idea for him is a gift idea list for all those single ladies out there who can’t stand the thought of seeing couples everywhere being romantic and mushy.

I never thought a week before Valentines I would be coming to terms that I’m single and trying to get through the last months of my Journalism degree.  However after an emotional few days I've realised I need to focus on me for a while and this Valentines I will be spending it with lots of my girly friends.

When I was searching for gifts I found the website notonthehighstreet.com which specialises in personalized gifts. Although a lot of them are in the £40 range or higher, I found ‘Our date jar’ priced at £13.95. I think this is a nifty idea to encourage you and one of your girlfriends to have a laugh not just on Valentine’s day by creating weekly date trips to the cinema or having a Jim jams movie marathon day.
http://www.notonthehighstreet.com/thegreengables/product/the-date-jar

For Valentine’s VirginExperienceDays have some great offers, such as eating at Heston B’s pub or having a spot of afternoon tea. I spotted this Boudoir photo-shoot for her at a reasonable cost of £28.00. The shoot also contains hair and make-up styling which means an extra pampering on Valentines to heal the wounds and to show the world you've still got it.

http://www.virginexperiencedays.co.uk/boudoir-photoshoot-for-her-sp3?path=q-friend%2520photoshoots

Finally if all else fails, Hotel Chocolat have this amazing chocolate gift selection for £39. This makes the perfect gift to take round your friends to make movie night extra scrumptious. Let’s face it too going through a break up is tough and chocolate makes everything better. This gift set also contains a bottle of rose which can be used as pre drinks before hitting the town.
http://www.hotelchocolat.com/uk/shop/valentines-day-gifts/the-love-selection

For anyone out there who is newly single this Valentine’s day, I know it’s hard but with time it’s going to get better and you will probably realise life is a lot greener on the other side. For a long while, even when in my relationship, I was planning a GAP year to Australia and this break up has made me realise to go and follow my dreams.

How are you going to be spending valentines?

Murder Mystery party- Finding the perfect dress

Bonjour,

My weekly blog posting has arrived. I promised last week to post at least once a week as I want to be a dedicated blogger. It’s been such a manic week with deadlines and what not; I haven’t had much time to myself. As I’m at university most of the time, I have only been home three times within this term so when I was invited to a murder mystery party a few weeks ago it was the perfect excuse to go home and buy a new outfit to dress up.

Each of us who attended got a character we would be playing for the evening. I was selected to be:

Ingrid Pith: You are a Danish art-dealer, specializing in finding paintings all over occupied Europe. You are very busty and flirtatious.

Suggested clothing Very low-cut evening dress with a slit skirt

As soon as I heard about my character, it turned into a two week hunt for the perfect dress. I searched all of my favourite clothing websites such as Topshop and Asos but when I couldn't find a dress I liked, I began to search all of the small boutiques I hadn't tried. However as I’m fussy I had no luck with this either.

Some of my blogging friends had ordered from Chi Chi clothing, a fashionable London based brand, so I thought I would at least search the site optimistically. I looked in the sale section as I wanted a budget dress. To my surprise I found this gorgeous ivory lace maxi style dress with a sexy but classy thigh split, extra padding to make my boobs a bit bustier & pretty diamantes to give the dress some sparkle.

To my surprise the dress should have been £54.99 and was on sale for £32.99. When I ordered the dress I got a further 10% off and next day delivery. In the end it only cost me a small price of £29.99. Being a bit apprehensive on sizing’s as I’m a size 6-8, I asked for some advice from friends. The Chi Chi brand is known to be a bit bigger on sizing’s so I ordered a size 6.

The next day I was surprised when the dress fit snug as a bug. To finish the look off I wore pointed red suede heels which I bought from The head over heels section in Debenhams a while ago. I also picked some fine jewellery, a friend had bought me for my 18^th birthday and of course it wouldn't be the same without my trusty red lipstick.

Have you ordered from Chi Chi clothing before?

Lots of love Miss Vintage Vibe xo

Manchester Christmas markets 2013

Hola,

I know it's been a while since my last posting but as you can see I have revamped my blog design thanks to Kerys Marie, owner of www.LittleBoBlab.com . I have also been incredibly busy with university work, but after getting some lovely business cards matching my blog layout, I thought it was time to get serious about being a blogger. I'm making a promise to blog at least once a week from today as it's one of my goals of the year.

Miss VintageVibe is back and I thought I would do a posting on the Manchester Christmas markets. After having a lazy weekend with my fella, we decided to hit the Christmas markets today to get into the spirit of Christmas as it's the 1st of December. It's officially 24 days till Christmas and counting, now that's something to get excited about.

To be honest, I haven't had the time to do any Christmas shopping at all, which is extremely shameful but with being in my third year at university, I never have much time to my self. I'm really upset as this year I won't be able to go home to help my mum put up the Christmas tree and do all the fun bits, but I'm so excited to be able to relax with my family on Christmas day.

I decided to go to the markets to at least get an idea of what to buy people. My mum is usually the trickiest to buy for as she really does have everything, but after going to the markets I have seen some lovely home-made items which you just couldn't find anywhere else. I'm considering buying her a musical snow globe, it's a lovely keepsake that will remind her of Christmas time.

I didn't really spend too long looking at presents because the main attraction to the markets for me is the food. The whiff of German sausages and the sweet smell of pancakes had my belly rumbling instantly. For those that know me I'm trapped in a skinny minny body and have an appetite of a pig. I just couldn't resist a big Bratwurst sausage for £4.50 they are the tastiest treats around and as the markets are only here for Christmas why not treat your self.

The stalls which are set out over St Ann's square and Manchester town hall have plenty to offer. This isn't the last time I will be going to the markets as I really want a pancake for my tummy.

Have you been to the Christmas markets this year?

Lots of love Miss Vintage Vibe xo