The Roaring 20s: Now What?

A note from Joelle... 

♫ ♪ 'The World Should Revolve Around Me' - Little Jackie ♫ ♪

This post was created because I bought a blender...

... I was kindly given some birthday money from my parents and the FIRST thing I did was buy a BLENDER (and ice cube trays).

That's right - no Mulberry Bag, no Pandora charms, no magnum of Cristal... a blender with a mini blitzer thing too.

 As soon as the blender arrived, I thought, 'Wow, what has happened to me!'

I took a looooooooong, hard look at myself.... and then made a smoothie.

***

So I am officially 20 years old! That is 2 whole decades on this planet, 1043.55 weeks or 7304.84 days to be exact. 

To put that into perspective for you, here are some other things turning 20 with me this year:

The first series of FRIENDS

The Lion King

Mariah Carey's Christmas album

Harry Styles

Justin Bieber (hahahaaa)

You are probably thinking one of two things: 'Oh shhh, Joelle! You're really not that old!' or 'I can't believe Bieber is 20! When did that happen?'

On the plus side, I am now too old to ever be labelled a 'Teen Mum' AND those mosquito machines outside supermarkets won't work on my now-aged ears! I knew there were bonuses to this!

So I guess this is the stage of my life where I think 'Oh shit, I actually have to do stuff now; stuff that actually counts towards my life!'. And to make things worse, I have to force myself to be more 'independent and free' as well as 'fun', 'mysterious' and 'studious' all at the same time. Thanks God that this time, it's without the awkward mess that was teenage life. 

I have taken a few baby steps like going to the cinema on my own (once you get over the shame of asking  for one  ticket, it's fine!) and going on 'afternoon walks'. Both were actually really enjoyable.

The Roaring 20s is filled with so much expectation  as we are suddenly thrown into the real world and are expected to automatically know where we fit in and what we are doing with our lives.

I guess after I graduate, I need to start looking for a good job that will keep me afloat, but I will need a Masters degree for that.
I have also been playing around with the idea of taking a year out and travel the world, as I have been in solid education since the age of THREE (and have been watching too many FunForLouis videos!). 

I know this will be met by tutts and head-shaking from elders, so I might as well quash that idea now.

Hold up, when have I started using words like 'quash'? Ugggh, I don't like what's happening to me!

The truth is, I have no idea what I am doing with the life and the future scares the living crap out of me!

I now feel the ticking time bomb that is 'the future'. Do you get what I mean? It's when 'society' (the word I use when I don't have anyone else to blame) puts pressure on 20-somethings to do everything by the time we are old 'n' grey... at 30. 

- Get a decent degree (without a 1st, I'm practially fcuked)

- Learn to drive (I've been putting this off for the past three years now)

- Get a good car (Ford KAs just aren't acceptable anymore)

- Move out  of the parent's house (Ideal when £27,000 in debt...)

- Get a 'proper' job in the city (If you're willing to sell your soul for an unpaid internship first)

- Only use your Facebook to gloat about how amazing your adult life is 

- Get married ( as a geologist, I'm, practically married to igneous rocks )

- Become 'cultured', which basically means appreciating ridiculous art, gross cheese and worst of all... drinking from an actual wine glass instead of a fishbowl/bucket. THE HORROR!

I know this post is a bit of a mind-fcuk, seeing as I'm only on my 3rd day of this new decade... But all in all, I am excited to see where the next 10 years take me. What I am sure of is that I will continue to blog all my rants and odd thoughts just for you (you lucky devils!).
Digital girls like me have our dream lives already planned out on our Pinterest boards,  and perhaps it should stay that way - a dream. I mean, where's the adventure in already knowing how your life is going to turn out? 
I'm just going to refuse to admit that I am a day over 18 and continue to dance around to STEPS in my tartan onesie.

**I also found Emma Koenig's amazing blog 'Fuck! I'm In My Twenties' blog HERE. IT IS GENIUS and will provide me with lolz for the next decade.

Want to witness more of my meltdown? Follow me!

 Instagram | Facebook |  Twitter | Pinterest | Bloglovin'

Here Comes The Sun

A note from Joelle... 

♫ ♪'Here Comes The Sun' - The Beatles ♫ ♪

I am going to start doing more outdoors outfit posts! I have to admit that standing on a (rather nice) cobbled pavement posing alone in front of a tripod was the cringiest thing EVER, but at least it was a quiet street! I think I have found my 'Blogger Spot!'

Mind you, it's obvious that I am not used to tripods as I have cut most of my head out of these pics! I'll work on it, promise!

Sunglasses - ASOS

Blouse - Primark

Necklace - Kukee

Jumper - ASOS

Trousers - ASOS

Satchel - La Moda

Pumps - eBay

The sun has finally started to show her face after fleeing Aberdeen for months. It's good to have her back!

Have a great weekend! 

Instagram | Facebook |  Twitter | Pinterest | Bloglovin'

Fashion At The Click Of A Mouse

A note from Joelle... 

♫ ♪ 'T-Shirt' - Shontelle ♫ ♪

I remember when I got my first paycheck at the tender age of 16. I was so keen to buy new clothes from the High Street (as I had always done), but as I now had a debit card, I wanted to shop online and finally know that it felt like to receive a big parcel full of goodies.

It was that moment when I made my first purchase of a handbag and a ring from ASOS, I realised that this was so much better than walking around the shops for hours on end!

source

So, has the Internet changed my shopping habits? HELL YEAH! Here's how:

 -  I like the fact that money is invisible and no one is there to sneakily follow you around the shops like a criminal.

 - The fact that the internet never closes it's doors and is there for you 24/7. You can search through hundreds of items whilst in still in bed with a cuppa (I do this on many occasions!).

 - The variety online and scrolling through pages of clothes is waaaaay easier than searching through clothes rails, right? I can spend hours on sites like ASOS, Urban Outfitters, In Love With Fashion, etc.

 - ONLINE DISCOUNTS!!!!!!! I am always on the hunt for special online offers on sites like Vouchercodes.

 - And where would we all be without the beloved eBay? This site changed how I shop in the most drastic way. The anticipation of the auction timer coming to an end, and even the heartbreak when someone outbids you at the final second. Selling my unloved clothes at the click of a mouse and making a bit of money on the side would not have been possible without the Internet!

Then, when I started getting into serious fashion blogging, watching Fashion Week shows online helped me to feel part of the fashion world and produce my own reviews. Having the speedy internet that Virgin Media provides would have been better than the dodgy, super-slow network I was on at the time!

The drawbacks:

It's not always plain sailing with online shopping, as you probably know...

I know it's hard to determine whether the clothes will fit perfectly, but 9 out of 10 they do and even if they don't, most retailers offer quick refunds/exchanges.

I wouldn't buy everything online though. I tend to refrain from buying things like bras and luxury makeup online as I want to make sure that they are a perfect fit in person first!

All-in-all, I am glad that I am living in this digital era where things are most accessible. It saves so much time and is really enjoyable to use!

How has the internet changed YOUR shopping habits?

*Sponsored post

Read my disclaimer HERE

Instagram | Facebook |  Twitter | Pinterest | Bloglovin'

Bunch Of Tossers: Pancake Day!

A note from Joelle... 

♫ ♪ 'Alright' - Supergrass ♫ ♪

I. Love. Pancake Day. It's the only day where you can eat as much Nutella as you want, call your friends 'tossers' and no one can say anything about it! 

After my belated birthday meal at a Mexican restaurant by the beach, my friends Linette, Esther, Eimhear and Elsh came back to the flat to get pancakin'!

Nutella with berries was the clear favourite! We also have lemon with sugar, syrups, summer berries, ice cream and even some of Elsh's homemade apple and berry crumble!

Absolutely stuffed, we headed over to the sofa to watch 'About Time': a film I have been obsessed with since the Summer. If you haven't seen it, you really need to. It will make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside!

I hope you had a fabulous Pancake Day/Shrove Tuesday. What are you giving up for Lent? I am giving up sugary food, alcohol, meat still need to think about mine.........

     Instagram | Facebook |  Twitter | Pinterest | Bloglovin'

Best Dressed At the Oscars

A note from Joelle... 

As I am editing this post live, I have no idea who will win the Academy Awards.

I hope Lupita, Chiwetel, and Steve McQueen get awards. But it would also be great to see my bae Leo Dicaprio finally win something!

*Images from twitter, Heat Magazine and Just Jared

Lupita Nyong'o in this dreamy Prada number

Kerry Washington

Emma Watson is Vera Wang

Amy Adams in Gucci

Julia Roberts

Maria Menounos

Anne Hathaway in Gucci

Olga Kurylenko

Louise Roe in Pronovias

Sandra Bullock in McQueen

Blues and husky off-colours seems to be on trend this year.
Lots of minimalism with matte colours and very little detailing/sparkles this year!

Who was your best dressed?

Instagram | Facebook |  Twitter | Pinterest | Bloglovin'

What Happened To Girl Power?

A note from Joelle...

♫ ♪ 'Love Generation' - Bob Sinclar ♫ ♪

source

I am currently writing this post on my phone in a lecture of a course I don't even take. I am pretending to take notices to avoid awkwardness, but have also resorted to eavesdropping on conversations to pass the time.
On my left is my friend that does take this course, but on my right are some girls bitching about their friend who has just left the lecture theatre to get something.

The girl has just returned with drink and is completely oblivious to the fact that seconds earlier, her 'friends' were making jibes about her frizzy hair.
I really can't understand how girls can do this to one another and then pretend to be all chummy with the same person they were dissing just moments ago. It's one of the most hurtful things you could do, but we all still do it, even me at times.

This little moment of eavesdropping on their conversation makes me think back to secondary school, where this behaviour was so common (I went to a all-girls school) and how damaging it can be for everyone involved.
*Okay, I'll finish writing this somewhere else because people are looking over my shoulder... *

When I think of Girl Power, I think of The Spice Girls (of course) and how they helped to shape a positive female attitude for a short period of time. I also think of empowerment, loyalty, trust and confidence - things that all women and their friends should have. Here's what some fab people on twitter think:

 So, why are girls so mean these days? Whatever happened to 'Girl Power'? Why do some find it hard to support their friends and be loyal?

I guess it's not really a new phenomena. It has been going on for centuries in the female world, but everyone just blames hormones, which is only a wee fraction of the problem.

Think about it, the reason why the film 'Mean Girls' was such a hit was because almost every girl could relate to it in one way of another, right? It was funny and outrageous because no one had ever really done a film about how cruel girls can really be until then.

I am sure we have all been aware of our social ranking in school/uni/work, it can either makes us happy that we have a lot of people around us, or makes us feel like there's something wrong with us because we are not attracting the people we want to hang out with.

The constant battle for attention/the leader of the clique crown/most likes,  can seriously ruin friendships from the inside and cause unnecessary friction. All of this could have been avoided if we didn't feel the need to hold feelings in all the time and just trust that our friends would support us and give advice.

The way some girls treat others does have a lot to do with how they see themselves, which is sadly in a                                                                                   negative light. 

The main problem is self esteem: Oh yes, the phrase that teachers and counsellors shoved down our throats in every PSHE lesson.

I used to roll my eyes so much because I didn't believe that every girl had insecurities. I just thought that the mean girls craved attention and used their confidence/annoying loudness to become the most powerful in the school grounds.

It was only after I came out the other end of years of verbal bullying, that I realised that those girls had serious personal issues, which they took out on other people who threatened them emotionally. Instead of opening up and talking to their friends about their problems, they found it easier to exploit  and then attack their friend's (and others) vulnerabilities in order to make themselves feel better about their personal situation.

And for a moment, it worked. My self-esteem was practically non-existent due to the bullying and then I started to turn on people, the same way the bullies did to me (but I just  bottled all the emotion/anger in my head instead of being abusive out loud).

What I was doing was quite similar, because at one point, I didn't have anything nice to say about anyone and genuinely felt better about myself by pointing out other people's flaws. 

After a long hard talk to my mum and myself, I realised that I'm actually an OK person with talents and qualities, just like everyone else. I shook off that bitchy facade and I felt like me again!

The reality is that no one can succeed on their own. We need need loved ones, whether it's just friends, family or both!

We need to realise that just because someone else might be experiencing their moment of success/attention, it doesn't mean that you are a worthless pile of poop who is going nowhere. 

You should be happy, supportive and know that your time to shine is coming soon.

As soon as we humble ourselves and learn that we are stronger as a collective of bright women, we can go further and maybe even get on with each other.

So is Girl Power dead? Not at all, but it is not as strong as it used to be and needs a serious revival otherwise we are pretty much fcuked as a sisterhood.

It tends to come in waves and is never continuous, which is why there are thousands upon thousands of girls and women worldwide who are lonely, depressed and feel they can't even talk to their mates/family about their issues.

All we need to do is be kinder to one another and we're halfway there. Being false and mean will just come back around and bite you on the bum. After all, Karma is the Queen of  all bitches.

Thanks for reading and let me know what you think! :)

Instagram | Facebook |  Twitter | Pinterest | Bloglovin'