A Review of 2013...

Moving away from my less than uplifting posts over the past few days, I thought I would share the highlights of 2013 because (despite the overall tone of the year) there were some mega moments.

Here is my top 10 of 2013...

10. Edinburgh

(getting blown away on crags peak)

 I went to Edinburgh in november to help my friend Trudy celebrate her 21st. We spent the weekend with a bunch of her friends enjoying what the town had to offer. I still can't get over how lovely the place is, but the highlight was getting to see my old roomies Trudy and Germ.

9. Shard & Ballet

(a tad blurry - that's what you get when you don't know the person taking the photo)

The location is besides the point, but lunch at the shard was pretty special because it was a rare family get together with a rad view. After a delicious spread at lunch, we (the females) proceeded to the ballet. Food and ballet - there is no better combination for a day.

8. Christmas

(there's no one perfect shot so a cobination of the two does it)

I find that every year christmas becomes more of an enjoyable and stand out point (after the shock of FC), mainly because it's a rare time when the five of us are together for a good few days and it's just like old times and I love it. Plus, this is the second year since I enforced a rule to get a family photo once a year to make sure we document our little family.

7. Work trip to Hungary

(old school arrivals board)

I had a quick work visit to Hungary about a month ago, where I had to check on the production of a particular item and instruct the factory the correct way we want the items made. I was really glad to be trusted with this responsibility despite the long day of travelling. 

6. Arctic Monkeys

(am)

What more can I say other than it was a very long time coming and just such a great gig.

5. 38B Hanover square

(when snow hit the square)

It feels so long ago that I was living here and was actually at uni that it's easy to forget that this even happened in 2013, but it can't go without mention that living on this idyllic square was so much fun with SNM and Larry.

4. My internship

(the office dog)

With all the long days and errands it can sometimes be difficult to remember and realise how lucky I am to be doing such a great internship. So here is its recognition - no.4.

3. Milan

(duomo)

I started to write about our 4 day adventure and typically got side tracked and never really finished the details, but it's one of the most spontaneous moments of my life; the decision, the plans, and the random events. Yet, a stand out and memorable trip for sure.

2. 21st

(how old am i?)

How could I turn 21 last year and not talk about it. I'm not one for birthdays at all but 21 is a milestone and I had a really nice birthday in the way that I like them - little fuss and delicious food.

1. Skydive

(tom cruise watch out)

This is one of the stand out moments in my life, I have wanted to do a skydive for a long time, and it was so so so unbelievably amazing that it's the top of my year for certain. I would do it again in a heartbeat.


What are your highlights?

Enjoy,

SRJ

Closing a chapter...

I'm somewhat at a loss for how to deal with things, I am quite a solitary person and only really open up to a select few, but when I am struggling I go into my shell and suffer alone. I need to get better at talking about things, but one of my main issues with that is the fear of annoying people with my problems (does anyone else get that?)

I didn't realise my writing would be so sinister, apologies for that, I'm merely writing about all things me and you'll learn that much of that comes out very sarcastic and downcast.

I have been on the verge of closing a chapter, that was dear to my heart for a long time, over the past year - toying with the pros and cons it would leave me with. However, there is a simple factor that makes it impossible - I don't want to close it at all. (I am not going to go into detail because this dilemma covers all manners of things, and it's not solely based on one thing.)

So why am I discussing this now, if I'm not going to spill any juicy details?

This is my way of getting these words out of my system and venting a small empty space of the internet - and maybe it'll make you feel better that you aren't as peculiar as me - lucky devils.

The chapter I am referring to had been fizzling out on it's own and I was fighting the inevitable end, so working hard to keep it as interesting as it could be. Once I realised that this was more of a one sided effort and was not helping me in the slightest, I knew I had to let go. I managed to distance myself from the situation and did so for quite some time, yet reopened the can of worms recently. I thought I was ready for the consequences (or deluded into hoping that it was all going to be dandy), however it has not improved anything.

Maybe I just have to bite the bullet (apologies for all the daft sayings and cliches) and put an end to it all.

I always retain a ray of hope in situations, so hopefully this can be reopened in the future - the book just needs some more padding and preamble.

I hope you are all more cheerful than me this rainy Thursday evening,

SRJ

2014...

So... the date has changed once again and the expected excitement of a new year comes with fireworks and promises to be a better human in the new year. Whilst it's a bit of a weird thing that people use this day to make changes, we all are guilty of questioning what we could improve, and I for one certainly have many things I want to do differently and alter for the upcoming year.

2013 was not the kindest year to me with a mixture of difficulties to deal with and trudge on with, but it was also a year of many experiences that I have really enjoyed, but nonetheless I am happy to ring in the new year with the hope of leaving behind some of the troubles and creating a year that is kinder to me.

The resolutions... I always seem to make small insignificant resolutions that I never stick to and it's about time that I actually complete some of them. Thus, this year my resolutions are a mixture of overdue desires and new challenges to help make this year unforgettable. Instead of posting my nonsense on here, I am going to email the list to myself to be delivered on new years eve 2014 so that I can review my year and then hopefully rave on about all the things I kept to.

Happy New Year.

Enjoy,

SRJ

The ramblings of a 21 year old under a silly pen name...

I started this blog as part of a New Years resolution for 2012 to write a blog post everyday. This kick started my enjoyment of blogs and posting my nonsense for someone to potentially stumble across and enjoy. I enjoyed the fact that it was driven by a resolution and was never about how many people read it or any falseness, it was my way to record my life and post pictures of things I enjoyed. Despite how fickle the activity may seem to some, I learnt a lot amour myself during that year - not on a deep level - if that's the kind of thing you're after you won't find it here... - but about the simple things, what makes me happy and seeing what I value as important enough to write about. 

Admittedly, many of the days became cop outs and were pathetic attempts to keep up with my resolution and 20 posts would come all at once, but when I got into the zone I found it fun. 

My old posts are no longer up but simply stored on my computer for me to enjoy in a few years time on a cold winters evening. Since then, I have attempted to get back into the enjoyment of blogging many times but have never known what is the category I want it to slide into; lifestyle - but my life isn't nearly interesting enough for that, beauty - but somehow I can't bring myself to unleash regular snaps of my face on the Internet, fashion - but that's something I'm surrounded by all day and I'm certainly not well dressed enough for that, food - but my skills are limited to only a few things and i think its better for me to admire food rather than try to share any words on the topic, so what can I do? 

There's one of the first things you need to know about me, I'm my own worst enemy and find it hard to big myself up in any way. The difficult thing is that I enjoy reading a wide spectrum of blogs and gawping at the pictures. 

I may have implied that I have more of a direction in mind with that pre-amble, but really I don't. So you'll have to bear with me whilst I find my rhythm and feet. 

Girl Crushing...

I don't know about you, but over the years I have accumulated a handful of girl crushes; a huge appreciation for a chick and all that she does. (Am I the only one who has these?)

My latest girl crush is Elizabeth Olsen, I have been loving her style and hair for the good part of a year and thought I'd share my favourite looks of hers, so that you may be as inspired as I am and so that you can see what sort of style I like.

If you like this sort of thing then let me know because I have plenty more girl crushes to share with you, it's all about bigging up girls - girl power and all that.

So here it goes...

I have some serious hair envy with her, and am waiting for mine to grow out a little bit so I can get it similar to hers. I think her style is sensational, she is chic in everyday clothes which are appropriate - none of that stuff you see people where when running errands and it's so unattainable, and then her event style is really playful, I can't get enough. 

What are your thoughts and who is your girl crush?

Enjoy,

SRJ

Bon Voyage...

My best friend of 7 years has just embarked on the trip of a lifetime, so I thought I would dedicate a post to wishing her the best of luck over the next 100 days.

The other day I stumbled upon a sweet quote about what it means when people are best friends, and I thought that it was appropriate since I am being separated with mine for a long time...

So where is my pal going? She is travelling to Sri Lanka, Australia, New Zealand and India over the next 3 months. I am so envious and wish that I could go with her, either way it's going to be a super cool adventure.

Bon Voyage Puffin, 

Enjoy,

SRJ

The adventures of a Fashion Intern...

I've been crazy busy over the last month  - hence why I have abandoned this blog and been a bad blogger.

So, what have I been up to?

I found myself an internship at last for my year in industry, and the start of that was pretty immediate so now I am a fully fledged working girl (not in the bad way...). I have been there, (I am not going to disclose the name of the place for a bunch of reasons so let's call it Alan's), for five weeks now and have settled in really nicely and am just about getting used to the commute and toll of working all week.

I spend a lot of time exploring the tube and different spots in London, gaining amazing knowledge and experience that I couldn't have even predicted - despite the complaints of tiredness and rush-hour trains, I am really enjoying it.

Stay tuned for work related posts, and ideas of how to while away the journeys

Enjoy,

SRJ