My Blog has MOVED!

Hi everybody, just wanted to quickly say that my blog has moved! You can now find it here https://klarahughes98.wixsite.com/mysite.

What's in my Uni Bag?

I really enjoyed doing my 'what's in my gym bag' and 'what's in my handbag' posts, and I hope you all enjoyed reading them! As with my gym bag, I try to stick to the essentials so that I don't have to carry too much around with me everyday. I have tried to remember where I got things from in case you're interested in them, but a lot of things I've had for a long time so I may no longer know or they might not be available anymore. If this is the case, I apologise! None of these products are advertised.

The Bag Itself:

I got this backpack from Amazon. It's a good size and it has a laptop pouch and anti theft zipped pocket to keep my keys and phone in. It's great for what I need.

My Laptop:

I am so in love with this laptop. It is the 2017 model of the MacBook Pro and it is brilliant (the one without the touch bar). Fast, effective, good memory space, good screen size (I have the smaller version) and good battery life. I use it every day for my work and can have the powerpoint slides up during lectures to make notes from at my own pace. I also keep it in a protective case but it isn't that interesting so I didn't include a photo.

My iPad:

I have the 2019 iPad mini (WiFi only), and since I bought this I often take it to uni instead of my laptop as it is lighter weight and I can still view slides on it. I can also make notes on it, read presentation scripts from it and use it to search the library catalogue for books I need. The case is from Amazon.

USB to USBC Convertor:

My laptop has only a USBC port, and I occasionally have to connect to USBs so these are very practical if not particularly interesting.

Memory Stick:

This is pretty self explanatory.

Notebooks:

I have one notebook for my module notes and another for my dissertation notes. They're both from Typo. Pretty and practical!

Pencil Case:

I got this on Not On The High Street, and it has mainly biros in but also pastel highlighters and gel pens for making certain notes stand out. I know, fascinating.

Lip Balm:

This is a life saver in winter as I always get dry lips. This specific one is the eos cinnamon one which is very moisturising and smells divine.

Headphones:

I like to drown out the background noise if I'm working at uni with these. These are just the ones that came with my phone.

I usually have my keys, cardholder, water bottle and phone in my bag as well but as I already spoke about those in my previous 'what's in my bag' posts I didn't mention them again! If you haven't already, you can check those out here and here.

What's in my Handbag?

Hello everybody and welcome to part two of the 'what's in my bag' series! I hope you have been enjoying them as much as I have. I have of course linked the current bag that I am using as my handbag, but while I change the physical bag from time to time it is rare that the contents changes. It has been pretty much the same since I was a child, with only a few additions over time. Unlike my gym bag, I have more than the essentials in here (not too much, I do have to carry it!) because I like to be prepared wherever I go. (There are no ads, sponsored or gifted items in this post).

The Bag Itself:

I bought this bag in TKMaxx a few months ago and I love it. It's a practical size, it's pretty and the colour goes with everything. Plus the strap is a good length, which is something you don't think about until you have a bag with a strap that's a bad length. I usually go to TKMaxx for my handbags because they tend to be good quality for a reasonable price.

Purse:

I also get my purses from TKMaxx, for the same reason as my bags. Both of my current ones are from Osprey London which are one of my favourite brands that they stock there, so pretty and always good quality.

Card Holder:

I keep my bus pass, student ID and library card separate from my purse as I often take them in to uni and don't want to carry my purse around. This card holder is from Cath Kidston and I chose it because it was the first one I found and it was reasonably pretty.\

My Key:

For obvious reasons I need my house key in my bag, and when I'm at home my car key is in there too. This key ring is also from Cath Kidston.

Foldable Coffee Cup:

I'm trying to be good to the planet recently, so I carry this around in case I ever fancy a coffee (plus I save 25p in loads of coffee shops with it!). This one is from stojo but there's loads of different brands online if you want your own!

Foldable Shopping Bag:

Same as with the coffee cup, I like to save money and the planet so these portable and eco friendly shopping bags are great! As you can see this one is from Waitrose.

Lipstick:

This is the most non-essential item in my bag, but it's a staple nude that goes with everything so it's good to have on me. This one is Mac's Velvet Teddy, which is my favourite at the moment.

If you like my style follow my instagram accounts @klara_hughes or @klarablogs where I post regular updates about my life, including my daily makeup and outfits. If you're into travel, follow my travel account @klaraonhertravels or if you like dogs then follow my dog @friedathepup2018. Send me a dm that you've come from here and I'll follow you back!

Monthly Newsletter: November 2019

Hello everybody, thank you for visiting my blog! Those of you who have followed either this or the depsoc blog may have seen my previous 'month in five photos' blog posts. I wanted to update that idea to talk a bit more about things that I might not necessarily photograph as well, or add more photos if there's activities that warrant that. Each month I'll talk about what I got up to the previous month, so here's what I got up to in October!

Trip to Southampton.

I took a couple of days off to visit my friend Midge in Southampton. We got up to a whole load of fun stuff such as karaoke night, house dinner at an Italian restaurant, making rocky road and shopping. I always love going to see her, although I do miss having her around every day.

Halloween Party.

My friends Abbie and Georgia threw an awesome house party for Halloween. I had way too much candy cane gin and danced and chatted nonsense and it was great. I'm excited for the next one!

Uni Work.

Of course, as a student uni work is a huge part of my life especially now that I'm in third year. I've had a deadline every week this month alongside my dissertation, so it has been intense. On the bright side, the work that I've had marked has come back as firsts! I'm also really enjoying my topics, I've been learning about the culture and politics of food, serial killers and gangsters in crime and women who own property.

Dates with James.

James and I have been trying to do fun things when we're not working, but obviously on a limited budget only allows us to do certain things. We've been to spoons, junkyard golf and one time he treated me to a Wagamamas. It's good to just get out of the house for a couple of hours and spend some time together!

Baking Society.

I rejoined the Baking Society this year, and have been trying to be more involved than I was last year. I've been to bar crawls, baking sessions and a social at a dessert cafe. I've really enjoyed it, and the other girls who do it are really nice so there's always people to talk to!

Gym.

As always I've been going to the gym regularly, although I've had to tone it down since last year because of my workload and physical health. I'm still enjoying it though, especially new classes such as pilates and Zumba!

Peacock Eyeshadow Tutorial

I'm super excited for this post! I've wanted to write this for a while but never got around to it. It's a little bolder than I would usually go for, so I've enjoyed doing something a bit different. I hope you all find this as much fun as I did.

First of all, let's go through the products I used for this look!

Concealers:

Natural Collection Liquid Concealer in shade Fair.

No.7 Match Made Concealer in shade Cool Ivory.

Foundation:

Estée Lauder Double Wear Stay-in-Place Foundation (Sample).

Eyeshadows:

No.7 Stay Perfect Eyeshadow Single in Violet Shine.

No.7 Stay Perfect Eyeshadow Single in Matte Plum.

No.7 Stay Perfect Eyeshadow Single in Turquoise Shine.

Eyebrow Pencil:

Benefit Goof Proof in shade 3.5.

Mascara:

Too Faced Better Than Sex (Birthday Edition).

Eyeliners:

Crayola Beauty Face Pencil in Periwinkle.

Isadora Twist-Up Metallic Eye Pencil in shade 46 Silver Sky.

I also used the Urban Decay All Nighter Setting Spray and the Too Faced Rich and Dazzling gloss in Social Butterfly to finish off the look.

Step 1:

First I covered my blemishes with the No.7 concealer and put the Natural Collection concealer on my eyelids as an eyeshadow primer. Then I added a light layer of foundation.

Step 2:

I blended Violet Shine into the crease of my eyelids.

Step 3:

I pressed Matte Plum onto the outer edge of the eyelid.

Step 4:

I blended Turquoise Shine onto the inner half and into the inner corner of the eyelid.

Step 5:

I blended a tiny bit of the Crayola face pencil at the outer corner of the eye.

Step 6:

I lined my bottom lid with the Isadora eyeliner.

Step 7:

I added mascara and filled in my eyebrows.

Step 8:

I set my face and added a nude gloss. Then I took some selfies, because I really enjoyed this fun new look! I will absolutely wear it again.

Why I've Been Struggling to Settle Back in at Uni.

Two weeks ago I started my third year at university. Since I transferred last year, this was my first time not being a fresher. I thought this would make it easier to settle in but in fact I've actually been finding it really hard. There are several reasons why, and I thought I'd write about them to help me overcome them, and maybe comfort any of you who are feeling the same way!

Firstly, the work load is more immediate. While I normally wouldn't have any deadlines until week 6, my first essay this semester was due in week 2. This meant instead of having a couple of weeks for me to take it slow and start to get back into routine, I've had to get down to it pretty much immediately.

Secondly, there is a lot more pressure to do well. Third year is the one that holds the most weight, and I don't want to make any stupid mistakes. I know I'm capable of doing well, I just have to work hard to do it. This makes me stressed as I feel like I should be working whenever I take any time off, even though I know this isn't true.

Thirdly, I've been really homesick since I got back. I'm not sure why this is, maybe it's because I've spent a lot more time than usual with my mum this summer so I'm missing her more or maybe it's the lack of nerves emphasising this feeling but I can't be sure. I live with my boyfriend, so it's not even like I'm on my own! In the past, after a couple of weeks of homesickness I've start to feel better so I'm hoping that will happen again this year.

As well as this, my best uni friends are going through tough times in their personal lives. I worry about them a lot and I'm trying to be a good friend but I don't know how to help. I worry that I'm either forcing my support on them or not supporting them enough!

Finally, my flat this year is a new build and we've had various issues with administration and problems with the locks and things like that. There's nothing that will make you miss home like having to take a cold shower because there's no hot water...

The main reason for writing this post isn't for me to have a moan though! It's to make any of you who are facing similar problems at the moment. So here's what I've been doing to help settle down:

• Talk about it!! I've been sharing with my boyfriend and my friends how I've been feeling and they've been really great at comforting me and giving me advice on how to get myself out of a rut.
• Calling home. I don't miss my mum so much when I can have a good long chat on the phone.
• Create a set routine work-wise. If you have a preplanned rota for when to do what it makes it easier to force yourself to actually do it, plus you'll feel much more productive!
• Make manageable 'to do' lists. If you follow my Instagram (@klarablogs) you'll see I often share these on my stories! It helps me organise my week and I feel like I've achieved something  each time I complete one.
• Finally, make time for something fun at least once a week. Then you have things to look forward to, and it'll help you relax which actually makes you more productive in the long run.

All that being said, if you are feeling REALLY overwhelmed and these tips aren't helping there are TONNES of resources available. Don't suffer in silence! Contact your GP, your uni's student support services, charities such as Mind or Samaritans or if you feel like it DM me on instagram! I'm always happy to talk.

What's in my Gym Bag?

I saw a 'what's in my bag' video on YouTube recently, and I thought it would be fun to do a few posts like it (starting with this one)! There's not much in my gym back, because I like to stick to the essentials but hopefully they'll still be interesting to you all. *Please note: I am not being paid to advertise these products, nor were they gifted to me in any way. I use them all because they suit me for the purpose I need them for*.

My Phone

I take my phone to the gym for three reasons; firstly, I have loads of great playlists saved on it, secondly, I like to take selfies to see my progress and thirdly, I have the B_ND 'Get Shreddy' (both for home and gym) and 'Glute Gains' guides available to view on there. I highly recommend these guides if you're struggling at the gym or want to achieve a specific goal! They're fab and give extremely detailed workout plans that will have you seeing results in no time. If you're interested, I have an iPhone XR on EE. I love it because the battery and camera are really good and EE generally has great signal so I can easily access anything I need to. The case is from Casetify and is heavy duty to protect my phone properly.

T7 Headphones

Last year when my mum asked me what I wanted for Christmas, I told her I was trying to decide whether or not to get some AirPods. I knew that small wireless headphones like that would be perfect for the gym, but they were very expensive. I'd tried a cheaper pair from Amazon and they had been useless, so my mum being the superstar she is went online and did some research to discover these! Almost as good quality as AirPods for a fraction of the price. I couldn't tell you the exact price as they were a gift, but I know she got them from Amazon.

B_ND Short Band (Aqua)

I love the B_ND bands. Excellent quality resistance bands that add an extra zing to any workout. I adore the colour of this one, and the 'medium' strength of it is perfect for easing back into things after time off at the gym, or when I feel like a less intense workout. (Short bands are weighted from light to extra extra heavy). These cost £14 plus shipping and are 100% worth it, your bums will thank you.

B_ND Short Band (Khaki)

I bought this when B_ND was still Gracefituk so that's why there's a different logo on it. It's 'heavy' strength, so it really works your glutes (or other muscles if you use it in different ways)! This is my go to band to use with the 'Glute Gains' guide.

B_ND Short Band (Tropical)

I was actually lucky enough to win this in a giveaway on Instagram! This was also how I got the 'Get Shreddy Home Guide'. This beautiful band is extra heavy weight for days where I'd really like to push myself. Definitely not one for beginners.

B_ND Long Band (Khaki)

My long band is again 'medium' strength, although long bands are only available in light, medium and heavy. The long bands can be used in a huge variety of ways, and I often get inspiration from the B_ND instagram page. I got this, the aqua band and the 'Get Shreddy' guide as a uni bundle and saved myself some money! Normally these bands are £16 plus shipping though.

Chilly's Water Bottle (Pastel Purple)

As we all know it is extremely important to stay hydrated, especially while exercising. I love this bottle because it's pretty, environmentally friendly and it keeps my water cold (I hate warm water so much). I got mine from Urban Outfitters but they're also available from the Chilly's website for £20.

Amtech Padlock

I have to use a padlock at the gym to close my locker, so I got this one on Amazon because it was reasonably cheap but didn't look like it would break at any second. I can't remember how much it was, but it can't have been more than £5. So far I've been pleased with it, and I like that it's got a code so you don't have to carry a key around the gym with you.

Collection of Travel Toiletries

Last year I often showered at the gym because I would go places straight from there, so I always had shampoo, conditioner, shower gel and makeup remover in my bag ready to use. This year I live really close by so it's not so necessary but I have a couple in the bathroom to throw in if I need them.