As seems to have been the trend this year, we effectively had two Christmas days this year. Due to family commitments and weather problems and a whole host of other reasons, our usual family arrangements for Christmas couldn't go ahead so we rallied and had a celebratory get together on the 23rd as well as the 25th.

 

Both days were full of fun times spent with family but as always went far too fast. It was nice to know for me personally that this will be the last Christmas that I'll spend as a student! I know gift giving isn't the foundation of Christmas but I like treating those I love and it's hard knowing you can't afford to match what you have received. So although the thought that in just one years time I will have graduated and will (hopefully!) have been working for a couple of months is very, very scary, it's also going to be a pretty welcome change. Bring it on!

 

I could not have been happier with the gifts I did receive - a lot of which were to do with keeping me warm in my house at uni! Perfectly practical! I also received a few DVDs I've been waiting to buy for ages, some new little earrings as I keep losing mine and some little stationery bits (ever the writer!)

 

Here a few Christmassy snaps, including obligatory yet very appreciative present pictures:

 

 

I wish everyone a very happy festive period and a fantastic new year too! I have already decided on my new year's resolution - it'll be making its way into a blog post soon! Let me know any of yours

 

Jade :)

I mentioned last week that I was popping up to the midlands to visit family and move some stuff into my uni house, all of which was great fun (minus the ARMY of spiders that had invaded our little uni abode!) Minus that little wobble, it's been a really good week - after sticking with my faithful 3GS for the last three years, the time finally came for me to upgrade and I now have a lovely, shiny white iPhone 4 to cherish.

My new ballet ornament is probably the favourite part of my room after my new duvet cover we found in Wilko's for a steal at £9. I've never had a double bed before so had to purchase new sheets and covers for it - went for a lovely blue and white number in the hope that my room with be flooded with calmness ahead of dissertation stress!

Jade :)

I love having lazy days in between working and I spent a good few hours reliving Season 5 of True Blood. Since I'm not allowed to wear nail varnish for work, I love having days off inbetween to pop some colour back on my man hands, and I'm loving finding new ways to wear my confetti polish. It's the simple things..

 

I'm off to visit family for the rest of this week so blog posts might be a little scarce. I am however hopefully popping into my student house up at uni somewhere along the line, mostly because I can't remember what on earth it looks like! I cannot wait to start getting things together to start decorating my room with - Pinterst, here I come.

 

Happy Wednesday,

 

Jade :)

Granted it's not the widest variety of photos ever but it's been a pretty good two weeks. A uni open day with my brother, a lot of baking, a few cheeky snaps from my most recent waitressing jobs and my poor attempt at being artistic.

 

Summer, you're fun, you can stay for a while.

 

Anyone else been up to much?

 

Jade :)

I'm at that stage in life where I'm just feeling terribly lost. I have one year left of my degree and no idea what I want to do after it. In fact, I often feel like I don't want to do anything after it. I'm a creature of habit (and probably a tiny bit OCD) but I like doing things that I've already done. When I go to my lectures I always leave at the same time and aim to sit in the same seat. I like having a routine - I always start with my left arm when I'm in the shower and I always eat my roast dinners one food at a time, in the same order (sadly these examples are just the tip of the iceberg.)

 

In short, welcome to the odd but mostly monotonous and prosaic insight into my life.

 

What the above might have subtly suggested is that I don't really like putting myself out there. Doing that requires making changes and my body no longer copes well with trying something new or different. To be fair, I don't think it ever did but as children we are, on the whole, far more adaptable. It's like I've hit the ongoing dilemma - the desire to move on to new aspects of life and make the most of all the great opportunities we're lucky enough to be offered, coupled with the overwhelming nausea inspired by the fear of rejection. The not-knowing how something is going to pan out.

 

I've had a lot of knock backs this year, as I'm sure everyone has. I'm not entirely sure how it's even possible to have done so, but my confidence seems to have dropped even lower than usual. Which is making it even harder to accept that in just over a year, I'm going to be graduating. The thought of having a job itself isn't too worrying - I've had a one before and I know that although I get horrendously nervous, I can cope. (Eventually.)

 

I think I'm more concerned about being the new girl, about not being up to scratch (and that's if I can even get a job once I graduate.) Basically I think I have a bit of an inferiority complex and yeah, it does stop me doing things because I'm scared I won't be good enough. It's like The Smiths say in their beautifully woeful song 'Ask':

 

"Shyness can stop you from doing all the things in life you'd like to"

 

 

But sometimes I am brave. Sometimes I push (well, force) myself to do things I wouldn't usually do. And sometimes it's great and I feel so much better for it. But just as often (if not more often) it's horrendous, I get knocked back and I can feel myself bitterly reminding myself why I don't do this. Why I don't put myself out there.

 

Take internships and summer jobs. I've applied for a few over the last few months and like a lot of people I've been constantly rejected. And every time I think to myself that supposedly comforting saying of get knocked down 7 times, get back up 8. But I have to say that the older I get, the harder it is to get back up.

 

But then I think to myself about the many, many people who have it worse than I do, which usually results in some guilt-induced eating, but then I pick myself up, dust myself off and dive back into my routine. It's a bit of a vicious circle really; anytime I break out of my norm, the moment it all goes wrong I become even more fastidiously repetitive than before. I guess I'm just scared that it's getting harder to shake off these confidence knocks, but in reality as soon as I leave university they're probably going to become even more commonplace.

 

So what's the answer?

 

I think I'm still trying to figure that out. I'm just not one of those incredibly effervescent people who gets over things terribly quickly (I have a lot of flaws - just saying.)  I will say it helps to have a really good set of friends. They have a habit of finding incredibly amusing YouTube videos that definitely help to take your mind off things. I tried only pushing myself for things I really wanted, to lesson the frequency of rejections but as it turned out, this only serves to make rejection less familiar and all the more painful. So at the end of this very wordy post (sorry) it seems I can offer very few tips (sorry again!) But I guess because I'm still on this learning curve myself, I'll let you know when I know.

 

Deal?  Deal.

 

(And just in case, like me, you're stressed out by exams, feeling low about life or just in general need of a pick-me-up,  my brother showed me this video and it tickles me ever such a lot. I'm not even a massive fan of the movies!)

 

 

 

Enjoy,

 

Jade :)

 

 

Last Thursday was my university's annual dance ball and in typical dance girl behaviour, everyone got fully dressed up. With one exception (no guesses who!)

 

That's kind of half a lie. I did get dressed up, I just didn't wear a dress. Pretty good compromise I thought. I wore my faithful golden sequin shorts, my favourite long-sleeved blouse and a blazer (which, three hours later, I would sweatily regret.)

 

 

 

 

I love, love, love my blazer. It has 3/4 sleeves which is perfect for me as I always roll long sleeves up and the colour is, whilst a bit more girly than I usually dress, brilliant for summer. Having said all this, it is NOT good for getting a little bit tipsy and dancing like Beyonce. And to make matters even worse, Binky from Made In Chelsea came to the club we were all at and I had a photo with her looking horrendously sweaty!

 

 

Nevertheless the night was probably one of my favourite nights out this year at uni - everyone was on top form and to put the cherry on top, I was lucky enough to win three awards during the presentation at the ball! I've been feeling a bit disillusioned with my degree and with life in general recently so winning those really did cheer me up - I feel like a very lucky girl!

 

 

 

So even though I did feel a bit out of place being the only one not wearing a dress, the dance ball was - as it always is - a top night and I am so glad dance is such a big part of my university life. Especially since I'm currently in midst of a ton of coursework deadlines and exam prep - right now anything is a welcome distraction and dance is definitely top of that list!

 

Good luck to anyone else with deadlines and exams coming up - not long till summer now!

 

Jade :)

I love ballet. Fact.

I've danced since the age of four and though I often claim I'm not the world's biggest girly girl, ballet is one of my main artistic outlets. And now my little outlet is finding its way to the high street and I for one couldn't be happier. Now granted, leotards are - in my opinion - one of the most unflattering items of clothing to wear. They're tight, they usually cut up higher than a tiny pair of bikini bottoms and more often than not, the ones with the pretty, delicate straps make it incredibly difficult to wear a bra. But stay with me, because ballet really is brilliant.

(x)

 

1) Ignore everything I just said about leotards. Fashion leotards, whilst posing a few of the same problems, can actually be used to create a beautifully sculpted outfit. For instance, wearing one under a skirt eradicates the problem of tucking in a top and leaving you with a mound of material around your waist. For example this collection of leotards by American Apparel via Asos would be perfect to be used under a skirt or pair of shorts. I personally own a lace and a plain black leotard, the latter of which I use for ballet practice and nights out (not on the same day though!) Two for the price of one!

 

2) Tights. Every ballet dancer needs a few trusty pairs of tights to wear under their leos (and that goes for the boys too!) Now if any of you have done ballet before, you'll be aware of the annoying seam that often travels up the back of your leg.  Luckily for fashion, this part need not be copied. Typically ballet tights are pink or pale peach in colour but whether you prefer plain or patterned, with autumn just round the corner tights can act as a perfect balletic barrier.

 

3) Dresses. Now ask anyone to draw a ballerina and nine times out of ten, they'll draw a young girl in a frilly tutu. As fun as tutus are, they're not the most practical item of clothing to wear out for lunch or in a busy night club. So instead, dresses with chiffon sections or skater-type skirts are brilliant copies. A few notable ones to try are this pleated dress from Rare, this zip chiffon dress from New Look or even this textured lace dress from Forever 21.

 

 

4) Ballet pumps are a perfect way to finish off a ballet-inspired outfits and there are plenty of pairs to be found. Asos in particular have a large number to choose between and in a variety of style, design and colour. Also, shoes with ribbon are ballet-inspired and I remember seeing a great pair on Miss Selfridge a few months back.

 

5) And finally, a ballet bun to - quite literally - top it all off. No longer are bun rings only for ballerinas. Now because I had to wear my hair in a bun for ballet examinations in the past, I was a little hesitant to try wearing a bun ring outside of dance but now I can't get enough of it. It's perfect for windy days when you want something pretty yet practical and really helps to make an outfit look completely different. With big buns being so on trend, you can find bun rings almost anywhere - I've been buying mine from Primark but I've seen them in Boots, Superdrug and online in places like Asos too.

 

So there we have it - balletic beauty! The best thing about using ballet as inspiration for fashion is that it breaks all the stereotypes. No longer do you need to be tall, slim and flexible to be as beautiful as a ballerina. And that goes for actual ballet too. I'm far from the typical ballet dancer - I'm average height and my flexibility needs a lot of work -  but I won't let that stop me from doing something I enjoy. So to finish, I thought I'd post a little picture from my past.





Yep, that's really me.



I think I was about 6 or 7 in this and it is not the best ballet photo ever! The tutu I'm wearing is far too small for me and my supposedly "pointed" foot is actually terribly sickled. But I thought I would share it all the same.

Do any of you dance? Or find your hobbies making a foray into fashion?