a day in ibiza town.

I knew I had to get away and see some sun sooner or later. My last few holidays have been to places like Iceland, Prague and Copenhagen and well, I live in England and this year has hardly felt like one of the warmest (I still haven't packed my winter coat away). I'm not even one for the summer, I much prefer the winter but I still wanted some sun. Still wanted to step off a plane and feel the heat hit me. When one of my friends from Uni expressed the same wish, it wasn't long before we started looking for breaks away. 

I'm not sure how we came across Ibiza - I have had a little bit of an aversion to Spain for a number of years. It just seemed to be a place loads and loads of British people went to, a lazy option plus every single time I've been to Spain or heard tales of friends who've been to Spain something disastrous has happened. So I'm not sure why we decided to book, but I am really glad we did. 

Picking Ibiza was a little unnerving for me too, as I'm not a huge fan of clubbing and well, it's pretty well know what Ibiza is known for. I haven't been "clubbing" since I lived in Holland and Dutch clubbing is pretty tame compared to English clubbing and I'm sure I didn't enjoy it then and I wouldn't have enjoyed it now. Luckily, we picked a resort in the north of the Island - Portinatx - away from the clubs and the stag dos and the parties and whatever else. It was a good choice - quiet, empty enough beaches, adult only pools to lounge around next to and empty seas to spend the day kayaking around. 

But that was kind of it. With a very late flight back home on our last day, we knew we'd have to find something away from Portinatx to fill our time. So we decided to get the bus into Ibiza town. 

Let me just start by saying that this in itself was not an easy option. The bus from Portinatx to Ibiza town may have only been €2.95, but it ran four times a day at the oddest times. Not even in some of the most rural parts of England would the bus service have been this shit. It meant when you were in Ibiza town, you were pretty much stuck there for the day and you had to make the most of it. And God forbid you forgot where the bus stop back was. 

Because spending three days at an all-inclusive hotel stuffing our faces hadn't quite been enough food, the first thing we did was find ourselves a quiet bar near the port in the city. We grabbed a small selection of tapas, some beer and some shade away from the sun. It was pretty hot at this point, so any shade was extremely welcome! 

We then walked along the port of the city, which brought back a lot of memories of the last time I was in Ibiza, around 10 years ago, and came in on a cruise with my Dad. At sixteen, I think all I wanted to do was go clubbing (what a sea change to now!). We watched the thousands of ferries head off to Formentera, another island off the coast of Ibiza which is a lot smaller and apparently a lot prettier than Ibiza. We didn't have time to head over, if I'm ever back in Ibiza grabbing a ferry will be one of the first things I do. The port area of the city is full of hippy market stalls which are a main stay of Ibiza, and although not really my thing, they are worth a quick look. 

After recharging with a drink, we head off to Dalt Vila (literally high town) which is a Unesco world heritage site - a town hidden inside castle walls, and a complete maze of cobbled streets with secret tunnels (one hidden behind an old Catholic shrine). We entered through a draw bridge and walked into one of the bigger squares of Dalt Vila, Plaza de Vila. You can get amazing views across the island and over to Formentera. We carried on heading up, and down and up again through the maze until we stumbled on a square full of bars and restuatants, including one which instead of chairs had bean bags up the steps of the hill. We stopped again for another drink - I was a typical tourist and had a glass of sangria followed by affogato (at least, I know that's what it's called in Italian, who knows what the Spanish version is!).

Afterwards, we wondered around Calle de la Virgen, where it got a little more touristy, with a few shops and a whole lot of fridge magnets. It's the main gay part of the city, and there are rainbow flags hanging from most buildings. The small alleyway feel of the streets get progressively more packed as the evening goes on, full of people heading off towards the bigger clubs in Ibiza. 

We headed the other way, to a small square - Plaza del Parque - where we treated ourselves to a few cocktails which came with pintxos, small snacks which are generally held together with a toothpick. We watched the world go by and steeled ourselves for the horrendous bus journey back to the airport. 

I'm glad we took time out from our lazy mini-summer holiday to go and explore Ibiza a little more. Seeing Ibiza town in all its glory has changed my view of the island a little more - it's not just for clubbers! 

how to get a job as a parliamentary researcher.

One of the things that stands my job now apart from my last job is the sheer amount of people that come into my office, week in, week out to do work experience, shadowing days and internships. It's a revolving door of young people desperate to get a little taste of what it's like to be a parliamentary researcher. But it's not a very easy job to get at all, for each intern position we advertise for in my office, we have over 100 applications. For a fully paid job, it's rare to have less than 200 applications, I've known it go to over 300 on a few occasions. 

With the election coming up, there will be new MPs and a lot of swapping and changing in Parliament, meaning a lot of jobs up for grabs. So I thought I'd write a little guide on how to get a job as a parliamentary researcher. They're my own thoughts on how it's generally done, but it's not the be all and end all. I don't know everything. For example, I barely did any of these myself and got my job on networking alone. 

Get some experience.

It's not easy to get work experience in parliament, but it's also not impossible. My office offers a one day experience in Westminster - our office is physically too small to have someone for a week. We take pretty much anyone who e-mails and asks for it, as long as they have some connection to the constituency - whether that's by living there or going to school there. We ignore party lines when it comes to work experience, which is something we wouldn't usually do for anything else. Some MPs just won't do work experience placements, and some will only be in the constituency and not in Westminster. It's still worth emailing your MP to ask. 

Do an internship. 

I find this a difficult bit of advice to give because it's something I didn't do and couldn't have afforded to have done either. But it's also hard to avoid it because the average team size in Parliament must be around two for each MP - when they hire someone they want them to be able to come in and start work straight away and doing an internship is a great way for someone to have the Parliamentary experience they need. Some internships are now paid, some only require you for one day a week meaning you can fit it around University, some Universities (like Leeds for example) offer an internship as part of their courses and you can take part in the Speakers interning programme too.

Volunteer. 

If you can't do an internship, then you should probably get involved in politics in some way. There have been two general elections recently and the EU referendum, even local elections provide a chance for you to get involved. Join your local party, deliver some leaflets and show willing. I asked everyone I interviewed when I was last looking in September about what they got up to in the EU referendum, if it was nothing then they were downgraded pretty quickly. 

Do your research on MPs.

When you work in such small teams, it really is vital that you pick the right MP for you. It's not hard to do research into what they believe. Check their voting record (but don't take it as gospel), read up on their websites and even look for gossip about them on sites like Guido. I work for an MP that is pro-gay marriage, anti-fox hunting and is pro-choice, all things which are really important to me. There are horror stories around about some MPs, and if you see the same MPs looking for staff then you know they'll have a high turnover rate and they might not be worth it. Some MPs will expect you to work long hours, and you'll work closely with them so you might want to be able to make friends with them.

Stay close to W4MP. 

This is the website where most of the jobs in Parliament are advertised. Unlike some other jobs, if you see a job you want to apply for then you should apply for it that same day. Leave it any longer and you risk not having your application even read because it's been hidden below thousands of others. 

Expect to fail at least once. 

Most of my previous interns have found a job in Parliament after doing an internship with our office, but most of them had interviews for jobs they didn't get first. It can be a gruelling and cruel process and often something you have to stick to and just keep going because you will get there eventually. 

Personalise your cover letter/CV.

I know that when people are applying for jobs in Parliament they will have applied for many others, but it's so easy to read when someone is applying using the same cover letter. Each MP's constituency is different - they face different issues and different problems, they have wide-ranging demographics and each MP will have different interests. Your CV/cover letter should reflect that - even if it's just a small sentence or paragraph. 

Know something about your MP and their constituency. 

The first thing I always ask when I'm interviewing anyone is "what are three things you know about this constituency?" and/or "tell me three facts about this MP". It's maddening how many people just can't answer it, or come up with something completely random. I'm never looking for an in-depth knowledge, it's nothing you can't find out on Wikipedia or on the MP's own website.

And once you get there, I highly recommend reading How to Be a Parliamentary Researcher by Robert Dale.

a few of my favourite political books.

I know it's not a typical blog post but with the general election approaching I thought it would be nice to share a few of my favourite political books, at least some of the ones I've read most recently. The rate that politics moves at the moment, some of these actually feel a little out of date. But then, I think the publishers would have a hard job getting people to write quickly enough. 

Anyway, here are a few to get started. 

Mad Men & Bad Men - Sam Delaney

This is without a doubt one of my favourite books, political or not. Political advertising is something I focused on throughout my degrees and it never really left me and I'll read anything about it that I can get my hands on. The book focuses on four different election campaigns and the impact that an increasing amount of advertising and new techniques had on them, and if you're in any way interested in advertising, digital or influencing then this is particularly interesting. 

Unleashing Demons - Sir Craig Oliver

After the EU referendum there were hundreds of books about the campaign released, but this is one I read and enjoyed the most. I am possibly biased as I worked on the Remain campaign and so recognised many of the meetings that are described, but if you're interested in what happened throughout that time then this is the book for you. The only criticism I have is that sometimes I wanted to scream at Craig Oliver about how blind everyone seemed at what was going on, but it's also true that hindsight is a wonderful thing. 

The Brexit Club - Owen Bennett

While Unleashing Demons might have focused more on the Remain campaign, the Leave campaign is well covered in The Brexit Club. Owen Bennett attended far more EU events than could ever have been considered normal by anyone else's standards and has some pretty odd tales to tell. The only issue is that it's quite light on analysis - if you're after more then it's possible that Tim Shipman's "All Out War" might be a better choice. 

Revolt on the Right - Robert Ford and Matthew Goodwin 

At some point it seemed that every time a news show needed analysis on UKIP then either one of the authors would appears to chat about the party and their fortunes or misfortunes. It's great at understanding the rise and fall and rise and fall of UKIP, and even though it's now out of date, it's also the reason I don't quite believe that UKIP are over and done with just yet. 

Comrade Corbyn - Rosa Prince

If, like me, you knew very little about Jeremy Corbyn before he became Labour party leader then this book will give you a good background. Some people have found it biased against him - personally I don't see that but then maybe I'm biased as I'm not his biggest fan either! It does give good analysis on how he managed to win the Labour party leadership contest, but avoids bigger questions on whether that was part of a wider international shift away from "establishment" figures. 

Speaking Out - Ed Balls

I never thought that I'd be adding an Ed Balls book to my list of recent favourites - as an MP I found him vaguely arrogant and abrasive and never warmed to him at all. This book changed my opinion of him somewhat - it was full of honesty and humour. It's also quick and easy to read with bite sized chapters and full of little gossipy tit-bits too. 

Everywoman - Jess Phillips 

I read this very recently and I am still completely unsure whether I absolutely hated it or absolutely loved it. One of the things I really love about Jess Phillips' is that she comes across as a great constituency MP and her love of Birmingham really shines through too - both are things I really admire. There were so many bits of advice that women can take away and apply to their own working lives, especially women working in male dominated industries like politics and I almost want to go back to work to try and put them into practice. The only thing I find really irritating is that I do think there are unnecessary swipes at the Tories where the stories seem to have been jammed in and don't really add anything. 

Let me know if you have any other recommendations!

that was the week that was: drie

This week I'm recovering from...driving lessons. I've found the whole process extremely stressful so far even though I already had a vague idea on how to drive from when I learnt when I was seventeen. Right at this moment I don't know how I'll ever be able to get myself to test standard but I'm just thanking God that I'm learning to drive somewhere quiet and not in London. I've been trying to take some of Rebecca's advice and ignore whether other drivers are getting pissed off with me. 

This week I'm looking forward to...getting out and about and exploring a little. I'm determined to make the most of the next two weeks that I have off work and actually go and see some things that have been on my list for a while. I doubt I'll get the chance to have this much time off work ever again (unless there's another general election this year - hope not) so I really need to do something vague productive with it. 

This week I'm feeling apprehensive about...going to a hen do. It's a good friend of mine from Uni getting married, and we lived together for a year and so I know mostly everything there is to know about her, but I barely know anyone else going and I'm always a bit apprehensive about things that might be considered "enforced fun". I'm sure it will be fun, but I'm just a bit nervous about the whole thing, especially as I haven't been to a hen do before (unless you count my Mums, which I don't think I do).

This week I'm loving...Bodyshop's Drops of Light Brightening Essence Lotion, which was a completely random purchase for me but seems to be working out quite well. I've only just started using it but I'm pretty sure I can already see a little bit of a difference in my complexion. I've been really enjoying re-discovering the Bodyshop lately.

This week I've been grateful for...not having to endure a heat wave in London. One of the great things about being back at home in the 'burbs is that when it's night you can actually open your windows and not have to listen to busy noises and whatever else. My flat in London is on a main road, next to what seems to be the most popular bar in Clapham (if you possibly exclude Infernos...) and a tube station and in the hot weather I just don't stand a chance. I'm absolutely crap with the heat anyway. 

This week I'm listening to...The Great British Breakfast playlist on Spotify. The whole thing reminds me of being at Uni, and is also the kind of music my Dad listens to when he's washing up which is a great nostalgic memory for me. 

What are you up to this week?

a little anti-haul.

I am loving everyone's anti-haul posts and I've been reading them avidly, so I knew I was gonna have to do one of my own. If you've not seen one - it's basically describing the things you wouldn't buy. In a blogging world where we always talk about the things you would buy, sometimes it's nice to hear the exact opposite. Don't get me wrong, I love seeing everyone else's recommendations, but occasionally it's nice to get a bit of relief. It all started with Kimberly Clarke on YouTube so full credit to her, but I first saw it on Rebecca's blog.

So without further ado, here are a few of the things I wouldn't be buying. 

Pixi Double Cleanse

This is a bit of a cheat as I've just finished a pot of it, so I have bought it, but I have to say I doubt I'd ever buy it again. I loved the idea of having a two in one - a cleansing balm and a cream cleanser - but in reality, it just wasn't that great. The balm was nowhere near as great as my favourite from Clinique, and the cream was no better than a vaguely cheap one I use. You get the same amounts of both, but you're expected to use only the balm at night but the cream in the morning and night, meaning you run out of one quicker than the other. The only time I've really liked this product was when I've travelled anywhere because it cut down on packaging and carrying two items rather than one. For me, it was just massively over hyped. 

Cold Shoulders

I don't know whether it's just because I'm getting on a bit or what, but I just don't get it. I spend half my life feeling cold and desperately trying to warm up, so why would I want to buy something that is literally described as cold? Also, I have broad shoulders - "swimmer's shoulders" - and I just can't see them working for me. Plus I swear I spend too much time internet window shopping and seeing cold shoulder tees and thinking: "oh if only I could sew up those shoulders..."

Chokers

Does anyone have those weird things that rationally they know make no sense? Like, I can't have a shower unless I've brushed my teeth, no exception. I'm the same with anything going near my neck, I feel like I'm choking even though of course, I'm not. I even feel suffocated if I see someone else with a neck tattoo, I think I'd probably conk out if I had to wear a choker. 

Holes

I mean holes in t-shirts especially. Jeans I can just about handle, but I don't understand why I would want to buy a t-shirt that looks like it's been attacked by moths in a wardrobe. Old? Me? Yep, probably. 

Liz Earle Products

I once had some samples of Liz Earle stuff and nothing has ever broken me out quite like them. If I bought them I'd go back to looking like the massively spotty teen I was ten years ago. I can think of much more enjoyable ways to get spots (a ridiculous amount of chocolate, pizza and alcohol for example) rather than spending God knows how much on a cleanser. 

Sliders

For some reason, my ASOS recommendations are full of sliders and I feel like they're desperately trying to push them on to me. They just look like the middle aged man version of flip flops to me, I just don't geddit.

Anything you agree with? What wouldn't you buy?

drinking at the rumpus room | the southbank.

 

I'm not the biggest fan of living in London - something I've mentioned on this blog many times before. However, there is always an exception to the rule, and my exception is that the one absolutely brilliant thing about London is that there is always somewhere new to find somewhere amazing to have a cocktail in. I'm a big fan of cocktails - I think it's the variety of choice, I'm like a kid in a sweet shop.

Also, if I'm being kind to London, it would be hard to ignore how brilliant the city can be when the sun is shining and you find yourself on a roof terrace overlooking the brilliant buildings the city has to offer. 

that was the week that was: zwei

This week I'm reading...well, this week I've just finished two books which is pretty unusual for me as I never find the time to read, but having just got back from a trip to Ibiza where all I did was flop down on a beach all day I can cross two off my list. I finished off Jess Philips' book Everywoman, which I'm 100% 50/50 about. I really can't decide whether I hated it or loved it. I also read Their Finest Hour and a Half by Lissa Evans which I know I hated. It's just been turned into a film - "Their Finest" - which I think I might like, but the book was incredibly dull and I couldn't wait for it to be over. 

This week I'm researching...things to do in London for when I finally move back there. If anyone has any ideas then please throw them my way, I'm all ears. 

This week I'm nursing....a bad case of sunburn. I've been so careful in the sun for the past ten years I've barely suffered with sun burn at all but I massively fucked up on holiday and only took factor 20 with me. It's safe to say I could have done with factor 50 at least. Now I have to spend most of my time with a peeling nose and an itchy back, all of which is completely my own fault.

This week I'm drinking...quite a few cocktails to be honest. Look out for a few more bar reviews from recent places I've visited in London, even if the pictures will be a little dodgy. Here's to bringing back iPhone photography on blogs, that's my only excuse. 

This week I'm looking forward to...spending some time with my Granny before she goes on holiday to see her brother in Devon. She's honestly one of the best people in the world, and since my Grandad died last year nothing has been the same. I want to spend as much time as possible with her because she means the absolute world to me. 

This week I'm worrying about...starting driving lessons. I mentioned last week that I'd be starting, and I've managed to find an instructor that will give me some pretty intensive courses over a week's period. It's been nearly nine years since I was last attempting to be behind the wheel of a car and when I told my Dad that I'd be doing some lessons, he spent a lot of time laughing. My Mum, bless her, has also insured me on her brand new car that she possibly loves more than she loves me, so that could quite easily end in tears. 

This week I'm loving...a few new Body Shop products which I've got hold of. I've really started to like their skincare range and I'm a big fan of their cream cleansers, so I've decided I'm going to branch out and give a couple of their serums a try too. 

This week I'm watching...all of the soaps I missed last week when I was on holiday. I'm one episode down on A Murder in the Family on Channel 4 and I'm already hooked, and my Mum keeps nagging me to watch Three Girls too, so there's a lot to get round to!

What are you up to this week?

that was the week that was: een.

This week I'm reading...literally anything about the general election. This time two years ago I was working six days a week, twelve hour days for a political party and I was exhausted. This general election, I'm working for an MP and I'm not allowed to do any work. My work pass has been cut, my e-mail access suspended and I have five weeks off. I'm trying to get my politics fills in other ways - sticking close to any news that comes out and the following everything closely. I love little gossipy bits - for example, I loved this little tidbit about a press officer screaming in 2015. I'm waiting for the 2017 version!

This week I'm wasting my time by...playing a ridiculous amount of Roller Coaster Tycoon. With five weeks off work unplanned, I'm finding it hard to fill my time doing anything at the moment. I did search through my drawers and unbelievably found my old Roller Coaster Tycoon CD, which must be from when it came out in 1999! It's impossible not to waste a huge amount of time playing it. I'm 100% addicted. 

This week I'm loving...Clinique's Take The Day Off cleansing balm. It's sad but it's one of the only skincare products I have that I actually look forward to putting on and taking off. Nothing has ever taken my make up off with such ease before and I've only just finished my first pot that I got for Christmas. 

This week I'm eating...probably nothing as good as my friend Gemma who has just started her own blog about all the wonderful food she eats. You should probably check it out. 

This week I'm drinking...ludicrously thick mochas from a cafe near my boyfriend's house.  It was so sweet I had to go to the nearest pub afterwards for a g&t to wash it all down. Winning all round, to be honest.

This week I'm researching...the numbers of driving instructors back in my home time. As I have such a long time off work then I reckon I might have to try and so something vaguely productive with it! Learning to drive is on my list of things to do this year and I passed my theory test not too long ago, so now I just have to take the plunge and do the actual driving bit.

This week I'm listening to...Adventure Bar's Spotify playlist. I love that bar and now I can save money at home with a Malibu and Coke and pretend.

What are you up to this week?

i want my little blog back.

I keep losing my way when it comes to this blog - and I think I've worked out why. It's just not personal to me anymore, and I desperately want to reclaim it. 

I can't remember when I started this little part of the internet, but I do remember sitting in my halls of residence back in 2009 updating it every day. Of course, blogging was a little different then - there were no flatlays, photo editing, keywords and SEO. I just whacked whatever I felt like up, whenever I felt like. 

I know I'm not the only person who feels like this. I've seen a lot of blog posts recently about it all, but one of the main ones that has stuck in my head is Elizabeth at Rosalilium who wrote her post on "7 Things I Miss About The Good Ol’ Days Of Blogging". The days of any old photo and comments and no pressure to make it big, to make contacts with PR companies and whatever else. 

Now I've been blogging for a long long time, spent a hell of a lot of my life on the internet but I think it's safe to say I'm never going to be a massive blogger. So why do I get stuck on checking the stats? Why do I keep comparing myself to others? Why don't I let myself just enjoy it more?

So...a little pledge to myself. I'm going to reclaim this little part of the internet. I'm going to bring it back to the things I like, the things I enjoy. It'll be more about travel, little bits of London and the UK, but also a little bit more about me. I want to be able to look back each post and remember what I did. If others read it and enjoy it, then that'll be pretty great too.

Annie x

a little skincare wishlist.

I've been really trying with skincare now for about three months (yeah, I started late in this particular game!). Back in 2016 - y'know, all those months ago, because seriously, how is it already April? - I literally only used a simple face wash and occasionally a trusty Superdrug hot cloth cleanser, which is are the same products I'd been using since about 2012. I know it sounds so thick, but I didn't know what a cleanser was, wasn't clued up on the importance of moisturising and the thought of a serum was completely removed from my life. I've not been blessed in the clear skin department, but hitting the age of 26 and realising that I needed to help myself out and get on with trying to make my skin clear rather than hoping a cheap Superdrug face wash will do it for me has changed the game somewhat. These days I have an actual routine and am while I'm not quite at the clear skin stages yet, my skin has definitely improved and I can now run to Tesco without any makeup on and not want to put my head into a plastic bag. So here's a little wishlist that I'm looking to try to take this journey a little further!

the ordinary cold-pressed rose hip seed oil | a review.

First things first, I am no beauty expert and this is by no means a beauty blog. But I have recently been trying to get into the scary world of skincare and take better care of my skin. This has involved a lot of research (Reddit has weirdly been a great source of help in this regard) and lots of scary words like retinol and AHAs. The first thing you learn is that there's a lot to learn. The second thing you learn is that this can be an expensive game.

So while I was searching on the beauty section of ASOS (because who doesn't spend a disproportionate amount of time window shopping on ASOS?) I came across The Ordinary, a pretty new skincare brand. I'll admit that at first I was pretty much taken in by their super pretty and simple packaging which is right up my street and secondly, I was taken in by the price. You can't get away from the fact that this range is just a hell of a lot cheaper than a lot of the skincare on the market - and not cheap in a naff way either. Cheap in a "oh, this is actually good value for money" kinda way. 

While making one of my many ASOS orders, I decided I'd give the brand a go and I picked up their Organic Cold-Pressed Rose Hip Seed Oil, which sells for £9. I was looking for some Rose Hip oil for my skin anyway because there are so many benefits to it - this one contains linoleic acid, linolenic acid and pro-vitamin A which is great if you have acne prone skin (like me) and need something to reduce scars and even the skin tone. 

So let's start with the positives, shall we? The price we've already covered - a definite tick in the box. The packaging we've also slightly covered - it's slick, simple and appealing, I love it. Not only that, the bottle itself is UV resistant, which means the product won't degrade over time. Another tick in the box. It's glass too, which doesn't feel cheap at all. The only thing to be wary of is that it is a dropper - which is no issue for me but I know it can be an issue for some. 

But now to the negatives. For a start, I just don't see a great benefit to my skin from using it. And believe me, I've used it quite a lot (otherwise I wouldn't have bothered reviewing it yet, yadda yadda...). Secondly, I just hate the smell. I hate the smell so much that I can't face putting it on my face and so close to my nose anymore. Unfortunately, this means that this particular product has found its way to the back of my drawers, unlikely to be seen for a while. 

On a final note, the one off putting thing for a newbie like me are the names. As I've said, skincare is a confusing game and these products don't help. You have to have some idea of what you want from a product before you buy them as they can sound a little more like a chemistry set than a skincare brand (The Ordinary Niacinamide 10% + Zinc 1% anyone?), but that's a note about the brand rather than this product in particular. 

Having said that, it won't put me off buying anything from The Ordinary again (I may or may not have already purchased The Ordinary Lactic Acid 5% + HA 2% and I'm already eyeing up The Ordinary Advanced Retinoid 2%). It may not be the most indulgent of skincare brands, but it's shaping up to be one of the most real, at prices that novices like me can stomach - even if I do have to do my research first.

Have you tried anything by The Ordinary?

Annie x

8 things no one ever tells you about living abroad.

When I was finishing my degree, at the grand old age of 21, I didn't feel ready to off into the real world. It wasn't because I felt I wasn't ready to find a job, move into the real world or anything like that, it's just that I didn't feel I'd finished studying. I was in the process of finishing a Law and Politics degree and although I'd adored the politics side, I'd hated the law side. Of course, the law side had been the majority of the degree. I wanted to learn more politics, it felt like my last chance and so I knew that doing a Masters degree was one of the ways I could fit in learning a bit more. 

Faced with not being able to afford to carry on in Cardiff to do a Masters degree, I made the choice to head abroad. I'd loved Holland on a small holiday when I was 18 and it kept cropping up as a choice. It was a relatively cheap choice (at £1,400 for a year's tuition compared to Cardiff's £5,000), was taught in English and did the course I wanted to do. Not only that, but it was only a 45-minute plane journey from Birmingham and from home. Of course, there was quite a lot of drama around the whole application process which meant that I found out I'd got into my University of choice only two weeks before I was due to start. If you've ever moved countries in two weeks, you might be able to guess at just how stressful that was. But it's how I ended up living in Leiden, the Netherlands, for a year of my life.

26 things i've learned in my 26 years of life.

PANIC STATIONS. I turn 26 tomorrow. How did this happen? How have I now become closer to 30 than to 20? Does this now mean I'm in my late twenties, or can I still get away with being in my mid-twenties? Does anyone know the real definitions? EEK. Would sixteen-year-old Annie still be devastated that she doesn't own a house yet? Probs.

Anyway, with renting being on the cards for a few more years yet (sorry little me), I thought I'd put together a little list of things I've learned in my years on this planet.


Comparison is the thief of joy. It's such a cliche, but it's really true. I'd be lying if I said I'd worked out how to not compare myself to others all the time, but at least I can recognise I'm doing it and that it's not always the nicest thing to do

Tourists in London will always be annoying. I don't know how I haven't managed to get over this one yet, but it's very difficult when you have to walk through Westminster Tube station or over Westminster Bridge every day. I remind myself every day that I'm just as annoying when I'm abroad and that I need to get over myself.

That I have size 10 feet, not size 8 feet. I haven't quite learnt this one yet, as I still buy the wrong size shoes (seriously, try buying pretty size 10 shoes...it's impossible) but I'm getting better. The last pair I bought were a size 9.5. It's closer.

That having an easy job is not the same as having a good job. There are so many elements of my job that should be perfect - flexible working, good salary, good annual leave etc - but I still need to move on and feel like I'm using my brain.

School days aren't the best days of your life. 

A good skincare regime is something I should have invested in earlier. Going in to Superdrug and throwing yourself at a shelf in the hope of something landing in your hands that at best doesn't make you spottier is not a strategy. 

Cleaning my wooden floor with polish was so bloody thick. My housemates and I spent weeks slipping and sliding everywhere. I may as well have plonked banana skins everywhere. Don't do this guys, not unless you fancy cracking your head open every time you wear socks.

It's okay to not want to go out-out. I'm quite happy to see that part of my life confined to the days of University, along with painful heels and shit clubs. Mind you, it's probably a good thing - I think if I went out-out in London I'd be bankrupt. 

Exercise is vaguely miserable but always worth it. You really do always feel better for it afterwards don't you?

You move at a different rate to your friends. Although it gets harder and harder to smile when someone else tells you they're buying a house.

Grandparents are everything.

First class Virgin train tickets are worth spending the ££ on. That free drink, separate seat and not having to run along the concourse with everyone else to throw yourself on a London Midland? I'd pay for that any day.

You can be lonely even when you're surrounded by people.

It doesn't really matter what qualifications you have. To a point anyway. No one has asked me what my GCSE results are for a long time and sometimes I even have trouble remembering what I took.

There is nowhere colder on earth than Clapham South tube station. I wish there was a way out that didn't involve that escalator into that wind tunnel. Colder than the South Pole. 

Never get into the habit of washing your hair every day. Because a) it's no good for you and b) it's so bloody boring.

You can't please everyone. To be honest, I'm still trying to learn this one. 

Life is too short.

Everything happens for a reason. I'm a genuine believer of this. I once spent eight months searching for a job getting more and more depressed and desperate when one didn't appear. I later secured myself one of the best jobs I could have ever started with which has opened so many doors along the way.

Even the nicest people can be toxic.

Social media is not real life. I will always remember being in exact same place as a famous blogger at exactly the same time and her tweeting complete bullshit about the weather. Such a small and silly little thing to lie about but it taught me to take everything online with a pinch of salt.

It's okay not to care. Equally, it's okay to care too much. For example, I really do not care about X Factor or BGT, but I really care about what happens on Eastenders. Shrug. 

Talking to people on the tube isn't the worst thing. 

Nothing good can come from Question Time. I can't remember the last time I watched this programme and didn't want to scream at the TV or get myself into a stupid twitter argument (seriously, I once got into a big argument with a man about whether you could have 52% of five people on a panel. You can't).

London isn't the be all and end all of life.

Investing in clothes is probably worth it in the long run. I think I'd cry if someone totted up how much money I've wasted on crap over the years in Primark.

Let me know if you agree with any of these. Or, let me know what you've learned in your time on this earth!

Annie x