Summer By The Sea

Well... It's August, officially the "Sunday of summer" and I can't believe July is over. It seems as I get older time goes by alot quicker and I'm not entirely sure I like it. But I thought I'd write a little update about my summer so far! 

  I'm currently on my break from uni in my home town by the sea. As much as I love London it is lovely to be home with my family, friends and the fresh air, as opposed to the petrol fumes of the city. If there's one thing I appreciate at home its living near such a beautiful seaside towns. Being in London you can often feel a little trapped amongst the tall buildings and busy streets, and although you have the river nothing quite compares to a sunset over the sea. The waves crashing against the banks of the Thames isn't the same as the sandy beaches near my home. 

Broadstairs a picturesque little seaside town

Ramsgate - Although its not always perfect it does capture a lovely summer sunset

Whilst being at home I have had the amazing opportunity to work at a place called Dreamland. This is a historic vintage pleasure park located in Margate. Being able to work here has been incredible and has made going to work seem like less of a chore and more of a fun experience. My colleagues are so friendly and its great seeing so many people so happy in the sun - although if most of the time I want to be on the rides rather than selling sweets! Either way Dreamland is an amazing place to spend my summer and it makes a beautiful picture for Instagram! 

"Another day at work" 

Fun at the funfair 

Our staff party - riding the 'Kiss Me Quick'

With all this being said I do miss London so much! I think my year at uni has definitely brought out my inner 'city girl'. There's just something about being in a busy place, surrounded by people in a city with so much to see and do that I love and can't get enough of. There's so many areas I have yet to explore and so many experiences to be had and I can't wait for them. London and my university are such incredible and diverse places to be which makes every day inspiring and interesting and although it may be expensive I wouldn't change where I live for the world. Although it is lovely to come home to the sea side too! 

A moody looking london

No Caption Needed. 

Anywho! This was just a little post just to share some pretty pictures I've taken so far this summer. There will be more to come soon... I'm thinking of doing some outfit posts and stuff like that so keep your eyes peeled for those! 

 Thanks for taking a peek!

Ellie xo

5,912 Miles

This time last year if you'd have told me I'd have a boyfriend from Brasil who is currently living there for two months until University starts I probably would have laughed in your face. But now... that's my reality. This post Isn't going to be full of 'lovey-dovey' depressing content but I will be talking about long distance and how I've dealt with it personally. 

So I guess I should start from the beginning how did we meet?...

Well me and Pedro (classic Brasilian name I know) met at pre drinks in my university halls... so romantic. We flirted and spoke a lot both in person and on line and in the end I found an amazing friend in him and eventually an even better boyfriend. When we first started our relationship I knew there would be a time where we would have to part ways and he would have to travel the long 5,912 miles back to Sao Paulo. But at this time I just didn't care... it seemed like it was a million miles away and that the day he left would never come. But unfortunately it did and here I am writing a blog post about long distance relationships. 

Pedro left on the 19th June one day before I left all my friends at uni and the night of my one of my best friends birthday and our last night out. Him leaving definitely made the night feel a little different and I think the timing made my already heightened emotions about leaving friends a little worse. The days following his departure were a little torturous and probably a little over dramatic but what can I say? I'm a dramatic moody teenager. The first week we were away from each other felt the worst and it didn't seem like it was going to get any easier but gradually its become 'normal' to see him through a computer screen rather than next to me in real life. 

I've read so many posts stating that all you need is 'love' to get through any relationship. But that's honestly not the only thing you need, especially when it comes to long distance. I think the most important thing is understanding. There's some days when you will completely resent the fact you're so distant and some days the distance seems like nothing, its definitely a bit of a roller coaster. But as long as you both have an understanding of those emotions and that they don't necessarily mean anything it becomes a lot easier to deal with. 

Another thing I've read is that you need structure. Which to me personally is true. Its comforting to know that you will (most days) see your boyfriend or girlfriend. Or at least speak on the phone. I speak to Pedro so much over Skype that its going to be quite surreal when I see him in person. Sometimes I think about how different this relationship would have been 20 years ago when there was no Skype, FaceTime or Viber. We would have gone weeks or months without hearing from one another which is why I thank my lucky stars that I'm living in the 'digital age' because this would have been a hell of a lot harder before that. 

The one bit of advice I would give anyone going through a long distance relationship is to have a goal. Set a date where you know that you will see your other half again and look forward to it. Count down the days, minutes and seconds until they are back. Because although at the start it will seem like a thousand years away, you will be surprised by just how quickly time passes without you realising. That's not to say that it makes everyday they are gone any easier, it just helps to make them more bearable. 

I know that a lot of the people reading this won't be in a long distance relationship and may be sitting there thinking "oh wow how over dramatic is she?!"... and I understand.. that would have been me this time last year. I would have been completely oblivious to just how hard something like this could be. Anyway. I tried to keep this as short and sweet (and least soppy) as I could. I just wanted to talk about this because as I said I never thought this would be me, funny how things work out huh?

I hope this was a little interesting for some of you at least. I hope you enjoyed and keep your eyes peeled for more posts. 

Thanks guys, 

Ellie xo 

My First Year University Experience...

Long time no see... looks like I have some explaining to do. The last time I posted to my blog was around October time which is terrible and I really have no excuse for neglecting my blog so much. However! I'm back with a little post about my uni experience and a couple of 'tips' I would give to people starting University in September. 

So just as a little re-cap, I go to Goldsmiths University of London. This is a mainly arts based university in South East London where I study Media and Communications. When starting here I was so unaware of just how 'arty' this University was. It seems everywhere you look there is someone dressed extravagantly, or someone protesting for feminism or animal rights. Goldsmiths is definitely what could be described as a 'hipster college'.  Which brings me onto my first piece of advice... 

When starting university its very easy to feel a little lost. I know when I started I felt like a fish out of water, surrounded by these incredible people who seemed to have found their individual style in such a large city. So many of the students I walked the halls with appeared to have redefined not only their fashion sense but also themselves. This is something I think uni does to everyone, It changes you and usually for the better. So my advice would be to let that change happen, don't fight it or block it out, just embrace it. Finding your individuality in such a large place can be daunting but being individual doesn't mean looking, talking or acting different to the rest of the crowd it just means becoming comfortable with yourself. We are all already so different in our own ways and it's important to let those differences show because people will love you for your little quirks. 

When I first started trying to find my 'style' I bought a hat... yep. That was me trying to fit in with the 'Goldsmiths swag' (lol). 

A second bit of advice I'd give to freshers is finding a solid group of friends. This for me didn't happen instantly. In the first week of uni I made good friends with two of my course mates Stefan and Holly. As much as I loved having two great friends I still didn't feel I had found my uni 'family' - although Stefan and Holly were like my brother and sister. I think when I first arrived at uni i expected that to happen straight away, I thought I would walk into my flat to a table of people with warm faces and open arms and truthfully that isn't what happened.  In the first term I found myself going out alot with my smaller group of friends and having an amazing time but due to Holly not living in my accommodation I felt a little secluded in my little room.  Which is the last thing I wanted for my first year. It wasn't until second term that I had met the people I now call my 'McMillan Family'. Once I had found a large group of people in my accommodation who I immediately clicked with university finally started to feel like home. 

So I'd say to anyone who goes to uni and isn't greeted by a massive group of new friends is to wait. During freshers you'll meet so many people you think you're going to be best friends with and most of the time you find your 'family' towards the middle/end of the year. Once you've established a group that not only welcomes you but also understands you then your uni experience will begin. Well that's my advice from my experience anyway. 

 As much as university is about your course and working hard for your degree it is also about creating a new life for yourself. This first year has by no means been easy, there's been so many ups and downs but I wouldn't have changed a thing. I consider myself so lucky to have found the friends I have at uni and also have found my  Brasilian boyfriend (as I know he's reading this). It's been the best year and I can't wait for the next two.

I'm going to stop rambling here because my 'little' post appears to have turned into quite a long one. I am by no means someone qualified to give advice but I feel I could have used these kind of 'tips' before I went to uni in order to make me feel a little  more content. So I hope this helps at least  one person reading.

Thanks for reading guys, keep your eyes peeled for another post soon!

Ellie xo

London Loving

 Hey Everyone!

This post is going to be A LOT less text filled than my previous one as I just want to share some of the images I have taken of London recently. This week I visited central and was in awe of the beauty of London, every time I go back there I'm reminded exactly why I wanted to study here. Around every turn of the river is another amazing sight whether it's nature, performers, stunning architecture or a little bit of history there's always something to be captivated by. I walked along the river from Westminster all the way to St.Pauls Cathedral and it was perfect, watching the sun set over London was beautiful and I am incredibly lucky to live in such an iconic city. I'll add some images below for you all. Enjoy!

Me having a classic tourist picture with Big Ben

Me and my friend being tourists with the London Eye

The London Eye

Big Ben & The Houses of Parliament

A Police Boat speeding along the Thames

A Beautiful Merry-go-round next to the river

I thought this 'Fro-Yo' place was so cute!

A Lovely book market set up under one of the bridges next to the river.

Some of the London Skyline before sunset.

St.Pauls from Millennium Bridge.

Some of St.Pauls lit up at night.

The St.Pauls Dome and a London red bus!

This is a little road near my halls which i thought looked beautiful with the brown leaves falling on the road this morning.

 Thanks for reading guys! See ya soon!

Ellie xo

A Change...

Hey Everyone welcome back to my blog... today I wanted to kind of just talk about something which has been bothering me for a long time..

Like every teenage girl I'm insecure... about the way I look, the way I dress and the way I act. That's normal right? I've felt this way for a long time and have always struggled with my weight particularly. I've never been horrendously overweight but I've never been skinny or to put it in a better way.. I've never been the size I've wanted to be. Since I've been at uni my diet hasn't exactly been fantastic and I'm constantly worried about the 'freshers 15' (the curse that during freshers year you put on 15 pounds) catching up on me! 

 

SO to combat this I've decided to make a few changes in my diet and my routines. I'm not going to call this a 'diet' because that sounds like a chore or something I'll do for a while then drop it. I want this to be a change, in the way I think and what choices I make. I want to make healthy decisions which will eventually go towards me (hopefully) being happier with myself. 

Part of my thought process about writing this post is to kind of solidify that I can do this... I've put it out there for everyone to see that I want to change. And I'm pretty content with that. 

So I thought I'd just talk about a few of the changes I hope to make to my diet and routine in order to maintain a healthy lifestyle.

• Swapping the good for the bad: Like anyone when I'm feeling a bit bored or sad I go straight to what I love.. FOOD. But I don't always make the most health conscious choices when picking what I want to eat. It's usually chocolate or crisps or something that makes me feel happy for 5 minutes and makes me feel guilty for the rest of the day. In order to try and combat this habit I'm not cutting things out completely (because who doesn't love a treat every now and then) I'm just going to swap things.. so instead of reaching for some chocolate I'll go for some fruit like apples or oranges. And instead of crisps I'll snack on carrots. Hopefully it's these little changes which will slowly help me see a difference in the way I look and feel.
• DRINK MORE WATER: Now i know this sounds sooooooo obvious and it's what everyone says when they're trying to be healthy but I just do not drink enough water. I'd much rather have a can of drink or juice or anything BUT water. However, its time for a change. Drinking more H2O is meant to do so much good for your weight, skin, body and overall health. To try and make water more appealing I like to drink out of bottles and straws (I know it sounds weird) but it just makes it seem a little less boring. 

•  Do more exercise: Once again this is such a cliche 'loose weight' technique but once again.. I just do not do enough exercise.  Since I've been at uni I've been walking a lot more and I actually really like it. So I want to start walking more... I've never been much of a jogger just because I usually just look like a hot mess when I'm running. Which nobody wants to have to witness. I want to tone up a bit too, so I'm just going to do small exercise's in order to tone up my legs and stomach a bit.   

I'm not going to become one of these health and fitness fanatics or anything crazy, I just want to feel content in how I look and feel. I know this isn't going to be as easy as I'm probably hoping it will be and putting this on the internet is a pretty daunting prospect.. but I just wanted to write about this because it's been on my mind. ANNNND honestly I didn't really know what else to write. 

Sorry for this being so full of text and maybe a little boring... but I have a few ideas lined up for the blog over the next few days so watch this space! Thank you so much for reading this guys :)

See ya soon

  P.S this is in no way me being like "oh I'm fat" Blah blah blah it's just something i want to do for myself and my health. 

Ellie xo

Exploring Greenwich

 

 Hello again guys!

Since I recently moved to London to study at Uni I thought it was about time that I explored the local area around my accommodation. About a 5 minute walk from my flat is Greenwich Village, I'd never been here until last week and I was literally gob smacked by how beautiful it is. 'Maritime Greenwich' as it's called is home to the Old Royal Naval College which you can see in the picture above. This building is breathtaking and the inside is even more incredible.

The college itself neighbors the Thames  and in the distance you can see Canary Wharf. The grounds are so lovely and peaceful, when we visited there were families, couples and people sitting on the green eating, reading and playing. It was truly beautiful, not very often am I lost for words but I can't remember ever seeing something like this in my lifetime. Inside the College is the painted gallery which is literally indescribable , it's something you have to see to grasp it's beauty.

This gallery took 19 years to paint, and the detail of the paintings, from the shading of faces, to the vibrant color's of the sky is crazy. It's amazing to think that people used to live in places like this, they used to eat and dance in this hall and now I'm standing there admiring this part of history. I've visited this place 3 times in the past week or so because every time I go it never fails to fascinate me. There's always something new to look at and be in awe of.

The Cutty Sark ship is also part of Maritime Greenwich , it is situated next to the river and about a 2 minute walk from the Royal Naval College. The ship actually caught fire and burnt down in 2007 and has now been restored. Although I don't know too much about the ship it is still a beautiful part of history to look at and I am intrigued to find out more. Its strange to think these things exist in London but there's a bit of English heritage around every corner of the city which is why it's such a captivating place to be.

I really am so lucky to live so close to these amazing places, Greenwich Village is gorgeous with its boutique stores, little cafes and market. It's the perfect place for students and I honestly love it there.

I hope you enjoyed this little snippet of Greenwich! See ya soon!

Ellie xo

Moving To Uni

Hey everyone... sorry for the lack of posts but I have good reason. I recently packed up and moved to uni! So I thought I'd write a little Blog post to share my experience with you all :)

So... lets start from the beginning shall we? On the 14th of August 2014 I received my A-Level results. Trembling with fear I logged onto my UCAS account to find that I had been accepted into Goldsmiths University of London... it think its fair to say I was a little happy (I may have cried). After all the excitement wore off I began to think about the massive challenges and changes I was about to face. Moving to the 'big city' all by myself was definitely a daunting prospect especially as I was moving away from a little seaside town. 

If there's one thing I'd say to anyone about moving to Uni it would be that the thought is a lot scarier than the experience.. if that makes sense. I was petrified on moving day but on the 19th of September 2014 me and my dad set off to London to start my 'new beginning'. Once I could finally picture where I was going to be living I was a lot more content with my choice and once freshers began it seemed silly how much I was panicking before hand. However, that isn't to say I wasn't sad to be leaving my friends and family behind, it was so hard saying goodbye to everyone, my mum , family, boyfriend and friends. I still miss them sooooo much now but with the help of some new uni friends im slowly getting used to the distance. 

I think the most important thing for me was making my room feel homely so that when I was feeling a little sad, I could just sit in my room and feel comfortable and happy. I've tried making the room a little haven, with fairy lights, flowers and pictures as little reminders of home. So far, after a week of living here it seems to be working. (The pictures below were taken the day I moved in... my rooms looking a litttttle more lived in now)

To sum this week up I'll use three words... scary, exciting and unforgettable. I've already had some of the most amazing memories here going out with new friends and meeting new people. I'll leave some pictures below for you all.

 Thank you for reading 

Ellie xo