I hope everybody is having a wonderful Bank Holiday weekend! I can't believe how fortunate we have been with the weather this weekend; sunny and warm weather never happens on a Bank Holiday in the UK!
2017
is the year I want to try oodles of new things with my key goals listed below!
1. Visit a country I have never been to before. The Maldives would
be my perfect place.
2. Visit a city in England that I have never travelled to before.
Definitely somewhere in Southern England as I have
explored most of the major cities in Northern England.
3. Travel to a new continent. I have never been out of Europe!
4. Learn to drive. I am 22 years old and have never had a driving
lesson!
5. Delve into a new subject matter that I don't know much about.
Maybe some sort of historic event?
6. Do something for charity. I am currently considering doing the
Great North Run this year to raise and
donate lots of money.
7. Get a dog. I have wanted a dog for such a long time and this
year will be the perfect time to welcome a doggy
companion into our home.
What's on your bucketlist for this year? Let me know in the comments below!
Best of wishes.
What a year 2016 has been. I went skiing in Austria, sunbathing in Greece, visited London just before Christmas, got a full time job, I graduated and me and my boyfriend officially moved into our own house. 2016 has been a fab year but I think 2017 is going to be even better and to make next year even better than the last one, I have a number of New Year resolutions.
Exercise. Me and my boyfriend have our own gym in the house so there is no excuse for me to not exercise. We have dumbbells, kettlebells, a squat rack, Olympic bar, EZ bar and dip station - all I could ever want. Up until May, I worked out religiously for a good year but final year exams came for my degree and I stopped going to the gym. Ever since, I just haven't been able to get back into it even though I have tried on numerous occasions. January is where this will change and I cannot wait to feel fit and healthy again whilst toning up which is my aim!
Diet. My diet has been seriously bad over these last few months. Takeaways, chocolate, cake, you name it, I've eaten it and probably lots of it. I am really sick of lacking in energy so some energy rich, clean food packed full of vitamins and minerals rather than sugar and fat is needed. Roll on January!
Travel. We didn't do too bad in regards to travel to say me and my boyfriend now both work full time and I was a university student up until May but this year I want to travel even more. Even if it just means visiting places in England I have never travelled to. I have never left Europe and this is a major goal for this year!
Life. I love sleep like seriously love it but you don't accomplish anything by sleeping apart from overcoming tiredness. I need to start getting up earlier, getting out of the house and seeing the world and adventuring rather than just sleeping in bed.
Water. I do not drink enough water. 8 glasses a day in reality is not much and with my love for tea and coffee, it should be really easy for me to drink at least 8 glasses.
Family. I visited home a mere 3 times this year which is shocking. I am going to aim to travel home more often next year so I can see my family and spend as much quality time as possible with them. After all, it does only take 2 hours on a train.
What are your goals for 2017? Let me know in the comments below.
Best wishes.
With only a few more days until the big day, party season truly is in full flow. With many schools and universities already broken up, it won't be long until many working people have a few days or even a week's rest for the festivities. However, for us hospitality and retail workers, Christmas is the busiest time of the year for us so a few days off work is not in the question for us poor souls.
This is my first time working over Christmas and I drew the lucky straw of working Christmas Eve, Boxing Day, New Year's Eve and New Year's Day which as a full timer at a bar is probably inevitable. So when you're out drinking over the next couple of weeks, take time to consider the fact that we are working at the busiest time of the year which we should be spending eating, drinking and going out with friends and family just like you but we are instead at the other side of the bar. I have already had two customers accusing me of short-changing them and under-pouring them which they then apologised for as I was in the right and they were in the wrong.
After being a bartender for a year and a half, these are my personal absolute hates, and probably every other bartender that has ever existed, from a customer.
Shouting. Us bartenders hate being shouted at and especially clicked at. If anything, a customer doing this makes me ignore serving them for even longer. We try and clock the order of people coming to the bar and serve them in that order so be patient, you will get served and probably even more quickly if you don't shout or click! We don't have 6 pairs of hands!
End of the night. Continuing drinking at the end of the night when the lights are bright, the music is off and the bouncers have told you we are closing. Don't just hang around, please leave as we have probably had a hell of a shift and want to go home, especially at 1 in the morning! We might even be back for another shift in the morning so please leave as soon as you notice we are officially closed.
Know your order. There is nothing more annoying than a customer who has been waiting for a few minutes and then when they finally get served they can't decide what to drink. Don't come to the bar if you don't know what you're drinking! And no, don't say you'll drink anything to your bartender as we will probably end up picking something you don't like and then we'll get even more agro.
Pushing. Don't push at the bar, you will all get served! And if someone was there at the bar before you, do the decent thing and tell your bartender to serve them before yourself.
Creeping. Don't be creepy! Most of us bartenders, me in particular, hate customers who try to flirt to get free drink or something even more! It makes us feel uncomfortable which we shouldn't have to feel when we are at work.
Smiling. I get customers telling me to smile quite often. No. I don't want to smile. I have to run around a busy bar getting shouted at and flirted with whilst cleaning up sick and dealing with people who may have had too much to drink whilst putting on a brave face and getting on with my job to provide an efficient service. Plus, of course you have more fun when you have had alcohol as us bartenders are stone-cold sober. Smiling is the last thing on my mind. So no. We don't always want to smile on shift.
The customer is always right. I have learnt that more often than not in this industry, the customer is usually the person in the wrong. Especially when you've had a few bevvies and we haven't had a single drop of alcohol.
Music. No we don't have the power to change the music or turn it up. Ask a manager but they will probably say no anyway.
So follow these rules and make not only your Christmas night out enjoyable but also enjoyable for us bartenders!
What is your pet peeve about working at Christmas? Let me know in the comments below.
Best of wishes.
I cannot leave the house without my trusty handbag - it's a place where I can store everything I need for the day ahead. Apart from the obvious items of my phone, keys and purse, what else do I have in my handbag?
Hand cream
I find there is nothing worse than dry, cracked and rough hands throughout these hard winter months. I slather it on every morning and every night and top it up throughout the day if and when I need it.
Vaseline
Vaseline is essential to me. I again hate cracked, dry and chapped lips which I tend to get in winter. I have also found that my workplace tends to dry my lips out because it can sometimes be so humid. I use it as a base for my lipstick to keep my lips moisturised and nourished - I also think that my lipstick looks a lot better when I use Vaseline as a base. I do top up my Vaseline quite often throughout the day but at least dry lips are a thing of the past for me.
Compact powder and brush
A definite need when I have a long day ahead as it helps to get rid of any shine on my face that the day may bring.
Tissues
You never know when your nose is going to need a blow or you go to a public toilet to find that there is no toilet roll.
Sunglasses
To help protect my eyes especially when the sun is low in the sky in winter. It prevents wrinkles as it stops me from constantly frowning and squinting when the sun is shining.
Kindle and a Sudoku book
For when my bus journey to work is dragging or I have some waiting around to do whilst I'm in town.
Reusable bag
I refuse to pay 5p for a carrier bag when a reusable bag is an option. It not only saves money but also the environment.
Body Spray
Just in case I need a quick top up of scent. I never take my actual perfume in my bag just because it is in a glass bottle and if it smashes I would be devastated so a body spray in a plastic bottle is the perfect option.
Pair of Gloves
One minute you can feel toastie warm in winter; the next you might not be able to feel your fingers.
Umbrella
Again, British weather is unpredictable so if it does rain, I am covered (quite literally).
What do you keep in your handbag? Let me know in the comments below!
Best of wishes.
I have been in education since I began nursery which was a lifetime ago. I didn't take any gap years or breaks throughout my education and since 2010 when I first started my GCSEs, I have been an extremely academic girl always putting my work before anything. All my hard work and sacrifice for my GCSEs and A Levels paid off and I made it onto the course and the University that I really wanted to attend.
University life was amazing. Endless partying, meeting new people and learning new things; it was a real learning curve and helped to bring out a new confidence within myself which I lacked throughout school. Although there was a number of tired and endless nights and the fact that I probably cried myself a mini river throughout my time at University, I wouldn't change it for the world. Except for Harvard referencing. I despised that.
After graduating and entering the big scary adult world that we live in, you begin to realise how much you took student life for granted. Having to get up to go to work instead of learning about a passion of yours is quite tiring which is why I am currently looking to further my academic career as I am currently applying for Masters courses. I have basically learnt that since graduation, a profession in my degree area is much easier to get with a Masters. Also since graduating, I feel like my intelligence is slowly but surely depleting. I hope I'm not the only one who feels like this! I am used to being force fed tonnes of information everyday but now the only information I get is from the news. I think I need to get back to reading books and articles on my subject area again.
I can't wait to finish my Masters application, hopefully be accepted and start learning again! A year out of studying is too long for me and I can't wait to call myself a student once again. If you're currently a student, make the most of it!
Are you a graduate who misses being a student? Let me know in the comments below!
Best of wishes.
Wanting a sweet snack without any artificial sugar and packed full of protein? You've come to the right place. This deliciously soft and fluffy banana bread is the perfect snack for you and it can be made and baked in under an hour.
What you need:
- 4 mashed bananas
- 1 cup of oats
- 1 cup of plain flour
- 4 scoops of banana protein powder
- 6 egg whites
- 5 teaspoons of apple sauce
- 10 teaspoons of sweetener
- 2 teaspoons of baking soda
- 2 teaspoons of chia seeds
First set your oven to 190 degrees Celsius.
Mash up 4 bananas (the riper the better!)
Add all the dry ingredients (excluding the chia seeds) to the mashed banana and mix.
Then add the remaining ingredients (still excluding the chis seeds) and mix thoroughly.
When completely mixed, pour the mixture into a loaf tin.
Then sprinkle the chia seeds onto the top of the mixture.
Bake for 40 minutes, ensuring that when a knife is inserted into the middle of the loaf, it comes out clean and without any unbaked mixture.
Allow to fully cool then tuck in!
What are your thoughts on this recipe? Let me know in the comments below!
Best of wishes.
