Leeds Visit

My 18th birthday has just passed and to celebrate my family and I went up to Leeds for the weekend. I have only previously visited Leeds once before, but that one visit was enough to convince me to choose it as my firm choice uni for next year. The city has the coolest vibe, I feel as though it's London with a Northerner vibe.

We stayed at the beautiful Quebecs Hotel in the centre which is 19th century red brick building with elegant, classic rooms fit for a princess.

Birthday lunch was a highlight. After having done a quick google for cool places to eat in Leeds I stumbled across Belgrave Music Hall which is a really cool music venue/street food style diner/roof terrace bar. As it was a beautiful sunny day we headed up 4 floors (the stairs killed me) to the terrace which was really funky with bright yellow beach huts and graffiti style walls and rammed full of hipster types on deck chairs. Unfortunately not all of the different street food huts were open but there was the choice between a proper dirty burger or a huuuge size of pizza. I went for the burger with fries which was absolutely divinely greasy and sloppy- everything a burger should be. It was also National Record Store day so the bar had a massive collection of vinyl for sale for super cheap prices downstairs which was cool.

After wandering round the city centre all afternoon and having a stroll down by the river, we headed to dinner at a really cool bar/restaurant. Cocktails ensued (first legal drink felt divine) and I went for the obscure sounding bacon something which was insanely tasty. The food was equally amazing but unfortunately the lighting was very 'atmospheric' and therefore my iPhone camera did not want to cooperate and capture the amazingly presented dishes.  

All in all, my weekend in Leeds was amazing, and has spurred me on more to work hard in the next couple of months to get the results I need and so desperately want so that I can spend the next 3 years in my new favourite city- Leeds.

Revision Remedies

After recently finishing all 5 of my AS exams, I have experienced the epitome of boredom and procrastination. I found myself writing a line of notes, refreshing Instagram/Twitter/Facebook and then repeating. This process is mind numbing, particularly when you are studying the politics of Henry VIII's reign. Whilst I have thankfully finished my period of torment and stress, others younger and older than me are still currently dredging through the horrors of revision. To aid those who are suffering, I have established several tips to help you through learning entire syllabuses.

1. Jellybean (or similar) Trail

Place a treat at the end of each paragraph or page, and when you have completed the notes on that section, reward yourself. It's all about the incentives.

2. Classical Music

Whilst many of my fellow students find listening to music from their I-Pod helps them to revise, I struggle to not sing along or sub-consciously write the lyrics to what I'm listening to. For anyone who shares my problem, classical music is the cure.

3. Stay Hydrated

Water is important to maintain concentration during long days of gruelling revision. However, going to the kitchen to get glasses of water can lead to distractions, the main culprit being the fridge. With one of these small and handy dispensers, the water only needs to be filled once daily and you are provided with a constant supply. (They also make good alcohol dispensers at festivals/parties but I didn't say that).

Best Low Heels (for BFGs like me)

So at 5 ft 11, 6 inch heels are not my best friend. Despite my reluctance, sometimes heels are simply unavoidable as a pair of old tatty All Stars just don't cut it for certain occasions. Up until recently, according to the high street, it appeared that the higher the heel the better. This was not good news for me as buying heels led to an unavoidable case of towering over my much shorter friends. However, the current trend of low and mid heels has been welcomed warmly in to my arms and means I no longer dread the pre-party group pictures. Here are a number of my favourite lower heeled shoes which are on the high street currently.

Topshop 3" Wedges

Topshop 2" Sandals

New Look 3.5" Sandal

Zara 2.95" Sandal

Zara 3" Sandal

Topshop 2.5" Sandal

Skort Storm

Asos Floral Print Skort 

The high street has had a sudden influx of wrap skorts following the massive success of the simple Zara skort last summer which was a staple to any fashion blogger's instagram. Gone are the haunting memories of my old pleated, navy gym skort and instead I'm lusting over the most recent skorts which are perfect for the coming seasons.  

Topshop Metallic Sunflower Skort

New Look Crepe Skort

Topshop Pink Ottoman Wrap Skort

Get 'Appy

In my opinion, these are some of the best apps out there aside from the obvious Twitter/Tumblr/Instagram/Pinterest etc. Whether you want to edit your photos, to challenge your friends, or to fill a tube/bus journey with an addictive finger tapping game, there's an app for that (and they're all free!)

1. Quiz Up- Challenge your friends/ strangers on almost any topic from general knowledge to Disney movies to the Spice Girls.

2. Timehop- this app connects to your facebook and twitter to give daily updates on what you posted a year/ 2 years/3 years ago on that day. Very interetsing to look back at memories but comes with a cringe warning (facebook status' from 2010 are a killer).

3. Animal Face- this app allows you to edit various animal faces onto you and your friends- endless fun.

4. Flying Cyrus- Wrecking Ball- after the huge success, and then downfall of the dangerously addictive game Flappy Bird, there has been a multitude of similar apps released such as Fluffy Armpit and Flappy Fish but this app featuring Miley, a wrecking ball and a hammer, takes the trumps.

Alexa's Coat-Drobe

Whether it's a leopard print number, a heavy fur, a simple black, a classic camel trench or a funky festival mac, Alexa is the queen of carrying off the bare-legged coat look. One can only dream of basking in the glory of this woman's coat collection, and what a dream that would be.