November Sum-Up

"Oh Christmas tree, Oh Christmas tree"! It is less than a month until Christmas and I am buzzing! I don't remember being this festive in the past 3 years of Christmas'! Here is my sum up for November!

Favourite Songs?

It has to be Dodie's new EP, Intertwined. It is the most beautiful EP and I am so happy for her. An exciting bit of this month is that my friend and I got tickets to see Dodie in March 2017 and I am SO EXCITED! Also, the new Hamilton Mixtape is out on the 2nd December and they have already released some of the songs onto Spotify, which is the coolest thing ever. Generally, my best playlist has been my playlist which has everything on, which is called "A Compilation of Beautiful Things", which you can look at here.

Favourite Part?

My favourite part of this month had to be going to see Tom Odell in concert in Brighton. I wrote a post on it which you can view here. I honestly enjoyed it so much and I can't wait until my next concert in December!

My Biggest Inspirations?

This month, my parents have really helped me with a lot of things. Also, my friends. They are just the most amazing, inspirational people ever, who can achieve so much and have achieved so much and I am truly proud of them and everything they do.

Lessons Learned?

That I don't have to impress everyone all the time. Not wearing makeup every day and wearing the same jumper two days in a row does not matter. It shouldn't affect your friendships, it won't affect your grades and unless you truly care that month, it won't affect your self-confidence, which is aways a benefit.

Favourite Pictures?

Stay happy,
Katie xx

My Holiday Time Goals

As it is coming to that festive time of the year (I think it is that time of year but many would disagree), I thought I would revert to my good old goals. Usually, I do monthly goals but I thought I would do more of a general "Christmassy" themed one. I hope you enjoy!

• Buy everyone present that I am happy to give
• Buy myself something for Christmas - sometimes you need to treat yourself
• Study hard to the end of term exams
• Enjoy the time leading up to Christmas - don't wish it away
• Buy myself a ukulele - I had to give my other one back and I am feeling bereft without it
• Write more blog posts
• Start writing a new novel
• Focus more on my flute grades

What are your goals this Christmas?

Stay happy,

Katie xx

I'm Magnetised...

On the 4th November, Anna (who runs A Fabulous Feminist), Maisie and I went to Brighton to watch Tom Odell in concert. I can well and truly say that words can not express how much I enjoyed that Friday night. The music was amazing, the company was fabulous and altogether the experience was incredible.

Once we got to the venue (after problems with buses, a bit of traffic and a quick stop off at McDonalds), we got straight in and went to the merchandise store, where all three of us bought the same t-shirt and within minutes, we were wearing them and looking fabulous.

There were two support acts that were both pretty incredible. Firstly, there was Johnny Lloyd, who was amazing and sang some really good songs. After, on came Rag'n'Bone Man. He started his set off with an acapella verse, using low notes and this just made it so atmospheric. I loved it and he is now on my playlists on Spotify because of it.

Then was the most exciting part. Although he was 20 minutes late, due to his drummer dislocating his shoulder and the drum technician having to do his first gig and sight read the music, he started and ended in the most incredible fashion. An hour and a half of Tom Odell is never a bad thing, but live was just the best.

One of the best bits for me was the fact that I didn't feel like I was going to panic once. I felt so good throughout and for me that is an achievement, especially since this is my first concert without a parent being close to hand.

Altogether, it was a pretty fabulous night and I would urge you all to see Tom Odell live whenever and where ever you can.

Stay happy,
Katie xx

Alcoholic Nights: A Poem

"Didn't you have fun last night?

It really was a blast!"

"I don't really remember much,

About my recent past."

"I guess it must be

the drinks I had last night,

It's safe to say I was flying

at quite a dizzy height."

But what she hadn't realised

Was that I had told her so,

"Thank you for being there,

And helping me to grow.

I love you so much

And though you may not see,

You help me out through thick and thin,

You mean so much to me."

But she doesn't remember any

of what I said to her,

Because the alcohol just made

her whole night a blur.

Stay happy,

Katie xx

October Sum-Up

As Holloween turns to Christmas (well, kind of), I conclude that this month has been pretty damn fabulous in the grand scheme of things. I have got a job, settled into college, been to London, been to Wales and even had a couple of parties. What a life I lead.

Most inspirational part?

To me, the most inspirational parts of my month have been completely different ends of the spectrum. If you read my latest post on Through Our Eyes, you will know that I recently watched my dad perform along with several other male voice choirs in the Royal Albert Hall. To me, that was just the most amazing thing. A whole group of people, spreading from North Wales to Hong Kong to Boston to London, all coming together to sing and celebrate music. It was an emotional night and one that inspired me along with many others that night. 

On the other end of the spectrum, when I went to Wales, I visited the Aberfan memorial and got to see the graves of the 144 people who died on such a tragic day. I had seen a lot on tv, but it doesn't even begin to compare to actually being there and seeing the memorial, built on what used to be the school building and seeing all the marbled graves on the top of the hill. Again, it was emotional, but in a different sense.

The place you enjoyed the most?

Although I had my moments, London was the place I enjoyed most this month. I love the atmosphere of it, especially at this time of year and it also, it is so photogenic. I think it is because so many of the buildings are light colours. I don't know, I just enjoyed it a lot.

What lessons have you learnt this month?
That talking to someone about a problem will make you feel 100 times lighter.

Anything exciting coming up?
Lots of things are happening this month! On Friday 4th I am going to see Tom Odell with Maisie and Anna! On the 5th I am celebrating my Grandad's birthday, where he would have been 90. Lots of school things are happening and lots of birthday celebrations for various people! Also, lots of pictures of leaves will be happening!

Stay happy,
Katie xx

My 3 Favourite Pinterest Boards

I have a bit of an addiction to Pinterest, so here are my top 3 Pinterest boards from my account, which you can view here!

1. Adele 2016
My Adele board is my favourite one and therefore my entire Pinterest feed is pictures of her. She may or may not be my favourite!

2. Quotes
As you may know from a previous post, which you can read here, my quotes board is full of quotes that I love!

3. Fashion
My fashion board is one of my favourites because I love the different styles in it! I pin everything from cute dresses to nice jumper and shirt combos!

What are your favourite boards on your Pinterest?

Stay happy,
Katie xx

My 3 Top Female Inspirations

I have been planning this post for a very long time in my head, thinking out what I can say and what I can talk about. Making lists about who I liked and who inspired me and I think I have whittled it down to 5. It is quite hard when there are so many amazing women out there. I will do a Male Inspirations as well, by the way!

1. Adele
You may all know that I love Adele, not only because of her music but where she came from and what she has been through. She "almost destroyed her career" through alcohol abuse and yet look where she is now. I saw her live in March 2016 and it was by far my favourite evening ever. She also supports charities supplying water to 3rd Worl Countries amongst other things and I complain about not having enough time to do things. She must be so busy all the time! She is also so genuinely lovely, which is always nice!

2. Meryl Streep
I have loved Meryl Streep since I first saw her in Mamma Mia. Ever since then I have looked out for her and in everything she does, she adapts to the role and makes it her own, as well as playing it exactly how she knows the audience will want it to be like. As we as this, she is a patron from the ONE campaign, for extreme poverty and set up two scholarship places at the University of Massachusetts Lowell, called the Meryl Streep Endorsed Scholarship for English Majors. She is just an altogether inspirational person and I am sure that many would agree.

3. Dodie Clark
Dodie is one of my biggest inspirations as in a way, one of her dreams is the same. From a young age, she wanted to go into music as a profession and recently she began her US tour, singing and performing for others. She is amazing for doing this anyway, but she is also coping with mental health issues such as depression which I know is hard so to do that whilst away from home is incredible. So much love for her. Plus, her first single has just come onto Spotify, 'Sick of Losing Soulmates' and it is one of my favourite songs ever.

Who are your inspirations?

Stay happy,
Katie xx

Instagram Theme | A Poem

Scrolling down Instagram,
With the faces of people in perfect pictures,
Doing perfect things,
It fits with their theme, they say with a smile,
But shouldn't sharing pictures,
Be about your favourite people,
Doing your favourite things,
Rather than people you like,
Doing things you like?
We put our pictures on, of people
we hate because it is a good photo,
not because we like them,
not because it's your favourite photo
with your favourite people, but because it fits,
with the theme,
of your Instagram page.

Stay happy,
Katie xx

My 5 Favourite Quotes of the Month

I said a while ago that I wasn't particularly motivated by quotes, but recently, that has changed. I like the idea that you can read something and suddenly feel like you can do anything. Here are my 5 favourite quotes this month.

1. "There are far better things ahead than we leave behind"

2. "Actually, I can"

3. "Speak the trust even if your voice shakes"

4. "You're always one decision from a totally different life"

5. "To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people just exist"

All of these and more are on my Pinterest board, titled 'Quotes'. You can view that here and you can follow my Pinterest by clicking on the button on this page.

Stay happy,
Katie xx

My Autumn Bucket List With Eventbrite

Since Autumn started yesterday, I thought it would be appropriate to put up something a bit like my monthly goals, but my goals for this season. This post was inspired by Eventbrite, the largest self-service ticketing platform in the world, and their GOMO campaign.  I wanted to create my goals for stopping FOMO (fear of missing out) and starting GOMO (going out more often).  If you're looking to GOMO this fall you can check out Eventbrite and look up events in your area or use their site to create an event for you and your friends!  Here are my attempts to get out more and have fun with my friends! Here are my attempts to get out more and have fun with my friends!

- Try and go on more walks - The autumn weather is the perfect time to go for a walk in the woods and hear the crackling of leaves and wear my warmest coat!
- Buy some new clothes - Autumn is the best for nice clothes, so I need to go and get as many as possible!
- Enjoy the concerts I am going to - I am going to see The 1975 and Tom Odell in the coming months and I cannot wait!
- Make some new friends and go out with the friends I have at college - College is a fabulous time for me to make new friends and keep the friends I have, so going out and doing stuff sounds great!
- Explore more cities - I really want to go back to London and I really want to go to Brighton and Cardiff as well!
- Print out my summer photos and do some more scrapbooking!

As I said earlier Eventbrite is the largest self-service ticketing platform in the world and I think that I will be using this a lot more in the future, as should you!

Stay happy,
Katie xx

Life Update // College and Other Bits and Bobs

On Monday 12th September, I walked out of my house at 7.30, headphones in, music blaring and headed off down my road to the bus stop. This was my first day at college and I was feeling so many things. Scared for the new start, meeting people and finding my way around. Happy I was doing subjects I wanted to do and enjoyed. Sad I had left school and I knew there was no magical way to transport me back to year 7 so I could restart and improve.

But my main feeling was happiness. And that continued through the day and the next and the next. I feel like I have found my place where I can enjoy my life with my friends, studying the right subjects for me and meeting people who, I think, accept me for me. My tutor is fabulous and my classes, in general, are good and friendly at the moment!

Also, I got a job at the local gardens and I am so happy about that!

Sadly, I had to give my ukelele back to my old school, so that will definitely be going on my Christmas list because I miss it so much! However, it is in its rightful home now.

I just hope I can continue feeling this way, even though I am sad that I have had to leave a few friends, I still have many and the ones I left are still my friends, I just don't see them as much!

Stay happy,

Katie xx

Alopecia Awareness

We all know about charities. Charities are everywhere and come in many forms. Ones that are based around raising money for cancer treatments, ones that are based on raising awareness for a certain disease, ones raising money for a cause like air ambulances or hospitals. There are so many charities. One of these charities that I have recently become very aware of, is Alopecia UK. 

This charity focuses on raising money for awareness and the research into treatments for the prevention of Alopecia. It is an amazing charity and I encourage you all to have a look at their website.

The reason that I have become so aware of this cause is because of my friend Anna, who writes for the blog A Fabulous Feminist. She recently did a post on her blog about her trip to Glasgow. This was for an Alopecia event, in which she went to workshops and activities which gave a better insight into the different types of Alopecia. She told me last weekend that she had a type of Alopecia, Alopecia Areata. This event is an auto-immune condition which means that the immune system, instead of attacking viruses and bacteria, it attacks the hair follicles, causing hair loss. 

When Anna went to Glasgow, she bought the most amazing wig, which looks amazing, as seen below. 

I think that Alopecia is not talked about enough and for that reason, I am writing that post and encourage you and anyone you talk to, to go and research Alopecia because it affects 12% of men ages 18–29 years, 38% of men in their 30s, 45% of men in their 40s, 52% of men in their 50s, and 65% to 70% of men over 60 years old. 

Anna's mum is raising money for the charity by shaving her hair off and you can donate by clicking on this link.

I hope you have learnt a few things from this post and I encourage you to look at Alopecia UK's website and donate to this amazing charity.

Stay happy,

Katie xx

Dear September

Dear September,

This month brings a whole new line up of exciting and scary things for me to try out! I can't believe it is September already, it feels like it should still be June when I finished school. This summer has been the best summer and I can't believe it has ended so quickly!

However, I am starting a new college, a new lifestyle completely. New lessons, new people, new friends, new routine. I am kind of looking forward to it, but at the same time, I really would just like to go back to school for a bit because it is all I know. This amount of freedom will be, and is, completely new to me and it panics me slightly. A lot of my friends are coming with me to my college, but a large amount is also going to the other college, which will be a very different and scary experience, after seeing them every day for years. For example, Anna and Jemima are going to the other college, which is so sad! However, lots of my friends are joining me at my college and I can't wait to start learning about the subjects I have chosen and have an interest in!

I also hope that this month will be a good month for me as I have recently got a job and although I haven't started yet, I hope I enjoy it as much as I think I will!

I think that September and the start of autumn will have so good photo opportunities as the colours change in the trees and the weather gets worse or better.

Thanks, August, hello September!

Stay happy,
Katie xx

September Goals

As is the new tradition, I am going to be doing my September goals today, as lots of people seem to like them! This month has a lot of new things happening, so my goals are in full flow!

• To keep to my new student planner
• To do my college work as I get it
• To practise my instruments at least 3 times a week
• To start and attend my piano lessons
• To get back on track with this blog
• To get a job
• Start reading books again before I go to bed
• To keep my room tidy
• To spend time with my friends, as well as balancing my school work 
• Keep enjoying my extra-curricular activities

What are your goals?

Stay happy,

Katie xx

August Sum-Up 2016

It feels like I haven't written anything in quite a while, even though I have been keeping up with my posts on Through Our Eyes. I got back from holiday in Greece and was prepared to write for a few days. As I sat down to do this, every single thought disappeared from my mind. I had no inspiration to write anything, no ideas of what to post and in the end, I came to the conclusion that actually, I didn't want to put rubbish content up on my blog, so I stopped writing and gave myself a bit of a 'blogging holiday'. You may or may not be happy to know that I am back now for a while and although I have still not got any ideas, I will try my hardest to keep to some sort of schedule. This will mean, as my A level workload gets bigger, the posts are not going to be every two days as before, but will be three times a week, Tuesday, Friday and Sunday. I will carry on over on Through Our Eyes, with posts up every Monday as usual. This means I should be able to stay on track, hopefully.
Anyway, onto my month's sum-up! Which is also going to change because the questions are getting repetitive!)

Anything Exciting This Month?
This month has been such a good month, seeing my family and friends, holidays and of course, the dreaded GCSE results, which weren't as dreaded as I thought they may be. After coming out with 5 Cs, 5 Bs, 1 A and a Distinction Star in IT, I was so happy I managed to pass everything, even my Science! This month has meant I can now go to the college I want to go to and do the courses I want to do, taking one step forward into the career and life I want to lead.


Worries This Month?
Obviously getting into college and getting the results I wanted, which I did, so it isn't a worry anymore! Also, college in general, the transport (which is a large sum of money per year) and making friends in general. Also, another worry has been my blog. Because of my giant mind-block, I have been worrying about it a lot!

Any photos you like?
Well of course!

Something you have learnt this month?
That I don't need to dress up and wear makeup every day to impress others. Also, friends are so important for your happiness. Without them, I know I wouldn't be the person I am today.

I hope this gave you a bit of an insight into my month but I'll be back again before you know it!

Stay happy,
Katie xx

My Guide to Getting Ready with Airtime

I was recently introduced to a new app called Airtime, which lets you video call up to 5 friends at once, with no charge. I can't help but say I love it. They have asked me to tell you my favourite tunes to help me and my friends get ready for a night out, so here is my Guide to Getting Ready Playlist!

I think the best songs to play when you are getting ready with friends have to be really upbeat, dance anthems. That's why I chose quite a few new hits from the charts because there are some really good ones at the moment, along with a few older ones, like Downtown by Macklemore and a cheeky few from one of my favourite bands, The 1975. I think it gives a really good range so that we can enjoy getting ready to go out, as much as the night itself!

Now, the app Airtime is something relatively new to me, but I have used it with my friends and I can safely say that I would keep this! It is so good for sharing mments with your friends, wherever you are. As I previously said, you can have up to 5 other friends and you on a call at once, which is amazing. Along with that, you can share things one there in real time, like what you are listening to on Netflix, so all your friends can listen to the same playlist at once, or what you are watching on Netflix, TED or anywhere else. I think it is a great idea and should be used more!

You can download Airtime from the Apple store or Google Play, which is so good!

So go and listen to my Guide to Getting Ready playlist and go and download Airtime! You won't regret it!

You can download it here

Stay happy,
Katie xx

A Greek Picture Diary

I didn't take many photos in Greece but the ones I liked will be in this! I had a lovely time in Greece, just relaxing and having fun with my family, getting away from it all and having some time to think about the upcoming months. I have never really had a relaxing holiday so this was new to me and I really liked it! It was a bit hot though!

Stay happy,
Katie xx

August Goals 2016

When looking at my posts review recently, I realised that a lot of people seemed to enjoy reading my July goals, so I thought I would do an August one! Some will be similar but I hope you enjoy my plea at trying to make some small changes for the better in my life!

• To be able to nail the ukulele - I can play it now but to build up a repertoire that I can memorise and play when I want, where I want!
• To memorise my new mobile number - I still remember my old one (tough times)
• To organise my room for the forthcoming educational year
• Have everything ready to go to college
• Get a job (a must!)
• Save a bit of money every month
• Pay my friend for my Tom Odell ticket and organise our hotel
• Buy a new wall planner (mine finishes at the end of August)
• Find a new genre of music I like
• Get on top of my reading - I am not doing very well at the moment

I think that is all for the moment! It is a good start!

Stay happy,

Katie xx