A Week Of Happys #2

LOOKING BACK
I really enjoyed doing this post last week so why not do it again, eh? Here's a few things that made me happy last week. Happiness starting now...

1. LEON: THE PROFESSIONAL 
Leon is my favourite film and I watched it again this week, and it just makes me so happy. Leon is so cute and I have a huge weird crush on him (to the point where I named my plant, Jean Reno, after the actor... <3). Watching Leon again just confirmed why I love it so much.

Leon and Radler to celebrate my last night at uni. 

2. BEACH DAY
We went to Chichester Harbour last week, which is a lovely little beach crossed with countryside. The weather was gorgeous and it was just so nice to walk along the seafront in the sun! Plus we had scones, so that bumped up my happiness levels quite a lot.

3. FINISHING UNIVERSITY
I finished my first year of university this week, and it's so crazy because this year has gone hella fast and it only feels like a few months ago that I nervously started. I have loved my first year of uni, and to be honest, it was hard not to when I live on the most gorgeous campus ever. We have sheep and cows in all the surrounding fields, and I get to walk past lambs on my way to lectures. Oh god, it's so great <3 And as if the animals weren't good enough, my course is the best. I study creative writing which means I just to write stories and talk about books. Living that ultimate bookworm life yo.

Me in my university room.

4. BEST HOME AND AWAY EPISODE EVER
I'm a huge fan of both 'Home and Away' and Simon Baker, so when you combine those two things it gets excellent results. Simon Baker (star of TV show 'The Mentalist') is Australian and was in Home and Away when he was much younger (I think from about 1993 to 94, ish) and they showed an episode starring him last week. The best thing about it? He was on the beach wearing just Speedos. Amazing :')

5. EMIL AND THE DETECTIVES
My mum and dad went to London last week and whilst there they bought me a beautiful hardback edition of the book Emil and the Detectives! We used to listen to the audiobook of this in the car when I was really little and last year I saw the stage show of it with my Mum, so it's quite a big part of my life. And this lovely hardback edition is a very welcome addition to my book family.

6. RICCARDO
Riccardo is my little avocado tree baby and I love him so much (probably an unhealthy amount actually). He lives with me in my uni halls, but unfortunately is now too big to bring back and forth too often, so during holidays I have to leave him at uni by himself :( When I went back to uni for a couple of days last week I was very excited to see that he grown a new leaf. BUT that's not the best part! (He grows new leaves all the time and whilst I'm always proud of his leaf efforts, it's not as exciting as the first few.) The exciting part was that his new leaf had grown in between branches rather than at the the top of his trunk like usual. This means he is hopefully going to start growing outwards rather than upwards! #proudplantmother

The smallest leaf in the middle is his new one!

THIS WEEK
And that's it, time to start living this week! Tell me in the comments below what has made you happy recently!

Thanks for reading, remember to follow me for weekly posts.

Hope you're having a rad day.

Love Chloe x

Coffee Cups With Chloe // University

HEY

So guess what.... It's been another busy week. And that's why yet again you're getting a coffee cups with Chloe post. I guess this one is a bit different though because I'm drinking coffee on a train station rather than in my bedroom. Changing it up, getting crazy with the coffee themed posts. (I'm waiting for a train... I'm not just sitting on a platform especially so this post can be different!)

MY WEEK

So my week is been hella busy. And that is thanks to deadlines at university. It sounds crazy to say, but this is pretty much my last week as a first year uni student. I'm going back on the 28th for an exam and then that's it, I'll be packing up my little room and moving back home for the summer. I have no idea where this year went, it feels like only yesterday that I nervously started university! 

I study creative writing at uni, and luckily I love writing. Handy, since I do so much of it. This week has been spent in lectures and writing up portfolios of work to hand in this week and the start of next week. And if you don't believe me that I was busy then I'll tell you about my day yesterday to prove it: 

I started working at 11 (okay so I don't sound busy now but I gotta maintain that student lifestyle yo) on my poetry portfolio. This meant typing up the poems that were handwritten, editing others and reading through them all until it was perfect. Once that was done I moved onto my other portfolio which I can put any kind of writing in. For that I wrote about my travels in Australia and then a short poem about a family friend. This portfolio was pretty much done but I just needed to do the final touches. AND THEN, I had to pack a bag for coming home today. I stopped working at 6 o clock. During that time I only had an hour break to have lunch and watch an episode of Beverely Hills 90210 to relax my brain a bit. So that's 7 HOURS of work. Jesus. 

TV 

It's not all work though, I have had some free time, haha. I've been watching My Kitchen Rules a lot this week, as I missed it all last week because of my adventures around bath and Bristol. I love that programme. It's just relaxing to sit down and watch it after working all day and I don't know what I'm going to watch instead when this season ends! 

I've also just got into Desperate Housewives. I've watched a few episodes here and there and always enjoyed them, but I wanted to watch it properly because there was so much I didn't know that was making it less exciting to watch. Like what were the secrets they were all keeping? So I bought season 1 and I'm loving it. It's an excellent mix of humour, romance, drama and mystery. 

ALSO I SMELL GREAT

Yeah, you heard me. I smell great. When I was shopping last week I saw some Library of Fragrance perfumes in the clearance section of Boots. I'd heard  about these perfumes before because of the book scented one they do (still need to get my hands on that because I strive to smell like books). I sniffed all the different scents and decided to buy 3 - peach, marshmallow and moonbeam - as they were just £1.65 (!!!). They only had the testers for marshmallow and moonbeam but there was only a very little bit gone from them so I decided it was better than nothing. Then when I went to pay the lady gave me the testers got free! 

TL;DR - I got three amazing smelling perfumes for £1.65. Best bargain ever. 

I'm wearing the Moonbeam one right now and it smells like heaven. I keep getting whiffs of it and remembering how delicious I smell. 

FIN

I think that's probably enough for now, my book (White Cat by Holly Black) is calling me so I going to read that for the rest of my train journey (oh yeah, the train came while I was typing this, so this post has been brought to you via two different locations). 

Thanks for reading. Remember to follow me for new posts every week, and sometimes more :) 

Hope you're having a rad day! 

Love Chloe x

All WE Know Now

CARRIE
If you are someone who spends a lot of time on Youtube (like me) then I'm sure you already know Carrie Hope Fletcher, or as she goes by on youtube, ItsWayPastMyBedtime. And if you do know her then you'll also know that her book, All I Know Now, came out last week. I very excitedly went into Waterstones this week and bought my copy of her book, and then sat down in their café with a latte and a big slice of millionaires shortbread and began reading it.

And so, in celebration of Carrie's book coming out I decided to tell you five things I have learnt during my nineteen years of life, or more simply, all I know now...

1. Bread Makes You Fat
Now this one might seem obvious to you lot, but picture a 14 year old me, happily watching KickThePJ videos and not watching Scott Pilgrim vs The World. It wasn't until I watched that film a few years ago that I understood a lot of the references PJ had made in his videos about it. So when PJ said in a video that bread doesn't make you fat, I stupidly took his word for it (I don't know why, I was young). Cut to me watching Scott Pilgrim vs The World and hearing the rest of the line and it's then that I find out that bread does make you fat. My mum confirms it. My world is shattered. I can't eat endless amounts of bread and not get fat. Now, let's get real here for a second; I still eat a lot of bread, that will never change, bread is my one true love. But I do now know that it's definitely not good for me.

2. Your Makeup Doesn't Come Off When You Sleep
Well that's not strictly true, it does come off when you sleep (the evidence is on your nice was-white pillow), but it doesn't properly come off. When I was first getting into makeup in my early teens I remember my mum telling me to take my makeup off before going to bed, and I responded my saying 'It comes off when I sleep, I don't need to.' YES YOU DO YOUNG CHLOE. Taking your makeup off before going to sleep is the best, and easiest, thing you can do if you want clearer skin. It stops dirt and oils from building up and plus, it feels so good after a long day (unless you have really good makeup on, then it just feels heart-breaking, but you gotta power through that pain).

3. It's Better To Have One Flower Than 100 Weeds
This is basically just me saying, it's okay to not have hundreds of friends, but making it about plants because why not. I have never been good at making friends, and I have about eight years of experience in not having friends in my classes. (I was that one person who loved seating plans in school because it meant I didn't have to worry about not having friends to sit next to!) But I've come to realise that it's okay to not have loads of friends, as long as the friends you do have are rad as heck. If your friends are amazing and love you as much as you love them then don't you worry about only being a three person group. And it's far better having just a small handful of wonderful friends than having lots of fake friends who don't really care about you (speaking from experience here, trust me on this).

4. Don't Do Anything Once You've Painted Your Nails
I am the worst at chipping freshly painted nails, I've been known to chip or scratch my nail varnish within minutes of painting them, so when I say wait at least an hour before you do anything when you've just painted your nails, TRUST ME.

5. Fuel Your Passion 
Whether your passion is writing, photography, playing guitar or acting, fuel it! If that means spending hours practising, or grabbing five minutes to write something when you have the chance, then do it. My dream is to be an author and it always has been (apart from that weird time when I was very young and wanted to be an ice cream van driver), but for some reason between the ages of about 11 and 14 I stopped writing. I have no idea why, but I am constantly grateful for the forums on a gaming app I used to play that made me start writing again. Because of those forums I rediscovered my love of stories and writing, and now here I am five years later studying creative writing at university and getting my passion for writing fuelled every single day. So don't give up on your passions, keep going with them, and you'll reach your goal soon. Promise.

VOILA


Well, there we go, five things I know now. I hope some of those helped you, even if it was just a little bit. If you want more life lessons then make sure you go read Carrie's book because it's wonderful.

Thanks for reading, remember to follow me as I post once a week (and very often more)!

Love Chloe x

HAVE SOME LINKS:
'All I Know Now': https://www.waterstones.com/book/all-i-know-now/carrie-hope-fletcher/9780751557510
Carrie on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/ItsWayPastMyBedTime
Me on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/TheGiddyElf

Human Stories // AMBER LILLY PAYNE

BEFORE WE BEGIN...
I just wanted to quickly explain what this is. So basically I had this idea for a series of blog posts called 'Human Stories', in which I ask a bunch of people some questions about their lives and the stories within their lives. And so that's what this is, it's the first one and today you'll be meeting my dear best friend, Amber. Make sure to look out for future Human Stories and there will be opportunities to get involved with it at a later date too! Enjoy! :) x

* * *

Human Stories // AMBER LILLY PAYNE

This is Amber...

Why do you like this photo of you so much? What is the story behind it?

I chose this photo because I can’t use Jade’s photo of me as Merida and so here’s the runner up :’) This photo was a headshot done by my good friend Tom Ridgeway, and oh the giggles we had trying to get to the photography room when the doorway was blocked by piles of artwork and things, we were still laughing between shoots. I feel like this photo actually shows me, and not just my face, I mean you can get an idea of who I am and what I’m like just looking at this photo. I think it’s pretty neat that a photo can reflect personality as well as personal appearance.

The Basics

• Name? Amber Lilly Payne

• Where do you live? On weekdays I live at Bracknell Forest, Berkshire. I spend my weekends in drinking tea in Narnia.

• Favourite food? Either margherita pizza (toppings are too much if planning on devouring an entire large pizza) or carbonara pasta.

Describe yourself in one sentence

“I have no special talents, I am only passionately curious.”

Childhood - What is your favourite childhood memory?

My favourite childhood memory is probably exploring my Nana and Popa’s garden in New Zealand. Think of the film The Secret Garden, then add random animals walking through occasionally because of the farm which you have to go through a hidden pathway to get to. New Zealand is magical.

Dreams - Do you have a dream for your life? Is there are story about how this dream came about?

I want to act, more than anything. I especially want to become a well known actor because I have had Generalised Epilepsy for six years, and more recently have developed Gilbert Syndrome (laughably harmless) and Asthma (I call them Effie, Gilbert and Annie for short). I didn’t know of many performers at all who had conditions that could potentially stop them from performing or from doing anything else major and I think it’s really important to have people there that people like me, with conditions, can relate to when times are tough. I want everyone to know that illness doesn’t have to define you. You are not your illness.

What don’t we know?

I plan on learning at least five languages by the time I’m old and grey. I’ve got English down, I’m currently learning British Sign Language, Dutch and French. I hope to start learning either Finnish or Swedish and Spanish soon after I become more fluent in the previously stated languages.

Storytime - Tell us an interesting story about yourself.

Back in my college days I was the shortest person there (at a staggering height of 5”1), and so whenever something was lost out of a window or in a small space I would retrieve the items with the help of fellow students by hanging out of the window (with someone holding my legs of course, safety first children!) and use a litter picker to grab a hold of the revision book or whatever it was that had gone out the window. Thinking back on it, maybe my heroic deeds hanging out of windows is what made me so tired at college? I may have fallen asleep and woken up to find my friends had been piling things on me…

Social Media - Where else can we find you?

You can find me on Facebook as Amber Lilly Payne, and Instagram @amberlily.

25 Accomplishments of 2014

I don't remember who it was, but last year I saw someone talking about writing a list of 25 things they accomplished during the year, and I thought that was such a rad and positive idea, so I put together my own list. 

One year on, I still think it's a rad and positive idea and so I've made my list again. And since I have this blog now, I thought, why not share it? 

Here are my 25 accomplishments of 2014: 

1. I finished college with good A-Level results.

2. I got into bath spa university - somewhere I've been dreaming of going to for years now. 

3. Living by myself at uni. 

4. I finally visited Australia! (Bucket list stuff that is!) 

5. I read 50 books. 

6. I reached 160 subscribers. 

7. Met Jack and Dean. 

8. Met Bertie Gilbert. 

9. Met Ben Cook. 

10. I met Noel Fielding... Who I may or may not have a huge fangirl style crush on and have had for about 8 years now...

11. I made new friends, both in real life and through the Internet. 

12. I completed my first term at uni! 

13. I held a wild rosella whilst on the Great Ocean Road.

14. I fed a kangaroo and also held hands with him. We're best friends forever now. 

15. I held a starfish. 

16. I stroked a koala. 

17. The million hour long flight to and from Australia. 

18. Changing a lot of my beauty products to cruelty free ones.

19. I gained a tiny bit more confidence. 

20. I got good eyebrows! 

21. I kept up with a good skin care regime. 

22. Growing Riccardo, my beautiful avocado tree, from an avocado pit.

23. Wrote over 100 pages of my novel, Curious Winds.

24. Expanded my cacti collection.

25. Handed in my uni work on time. 

Some of these things are a big deal and some of them are just small things that probably only I would be proud of. 

I encourage you to make a list of your own! It's such a nice way to look back on your year and think about the good stuff that happened to you. 

I wish you all a fantastic 2015. And hopefully I'll be blogging more this year, after all it is one of my New Years resolutions! 

    Love Giddy x 

Photo: my top 14 photos of 2014.