Happy New Year everyone! Sorry I've been a tad absent from the blogosphere but I'm back! I always love the start of a new year. Although it genuinely terrifies me that it's 2017 (how was 2007 a decade ago?!?), I love starting a new year with a fresh new outlook. Although 2016 was a bit of a downer in so many ways (especially for an ex politics student...) overall, it was one of the best years of my life.

It started off in January with the holiday of a lifetime! My boyfriend Chris and I flew across to California and ticked off places I'd been dreaming of visiting my whole life. After exploring Southern California (reliving those Laguna Beach days) and hitting up Disneyland a mere three times, we drove up to LA, staying in Santa Monica. We stayed in the cutest bed and breakfast and on the first evening we hopped on our bikes and cycled along the beach to watch the sunset which has to be one of my best memories of last year. From here we drove all the way (I say we....I mainly slept) to San Francisco which was incredible. We made lots of little stops along the way in small towns we'd never heard of, pigged out on in N' out and retro diner food and were completely overwhelmed when we first spotted the Golden Gate Bridge on the drive in. I absolutely adore San Francisco. It's honestly one of the most beautiful and fascinating cities I've visited and I can't wait to go back some day. Eating clam chowder by the bay was again another highlight for me. From here we joined a bus day trip to Yosemite national park. I know I'm one for over exaggeration but I honestly have never witnessed anything as beautiful in my entire life. After a pretty long bus ride we entered the park and pulled over to the first viewing bay which claimed to give the best view of the entire park. I can still remember stepping off that bus, being hit with a -5 degree icey breeze and gasping. I don't think I'll ever be able to recreate that feeling again. I genuinely shed a tear and felt goosebumps surge all across my body as I caught my first glimpse of Yosemite. Seriously it is just breath taking and beyond magical and I think everyone HAS to visit Yosemite at least once in their lifetime. Anyway it was a holiday I will never forget and kicked 2016 off to an incredible start!


In March I finally got to see The Last Shadow Puppets live- and they were even better than I imagined. We were basically TLSP groupies last year, going to see them four times (but come on I've waited 8 years for this!). The highlight was seeing them at Alexandra Palace which included THE best David Bowie tribute ever and a guest appearance from none other than Johnny Marr. They are by far my favourite live band ever and I finally got to live out my teenage fan girl dream by seeing them live!

From here our travels only continued. Visitng Paris again in May which was, as always, magical. Paris is probably my favourite city in the world and every time I go I am overwhelmed by its beauty and charm. It's hard not to walk around the streets and feel like you've stepped onto a film set. This time we managed to fit in a trip to Versailles and Disneyland which were both equally amazing and found ourselves lost, trapcing through the streets of Montmarte only to find THE best bakery I've been to in my entire life.

Then in June we embarked on yet another incredible adventure across Italy! Visiting Rome, Naples, Sorrento, Capri and Pompeii. It was absolutely incredible, and something we'd been planning for years. I fell in love with Italy when I first visited Rome a few years ago and had been dying to go back. This time we wanted to visit some different places and Naples (the home of pizza!!) seemed the perfect place to try- and it's only a short train ride away from Rome. I had the best pizza I've ever and probably will ever eat (for a mere 3 euros!) and sampled more gelato than I thought was possible. The highlight for me was the ferry trip to Capri and stepping off the boat to the most incredible view of the island. It really was like looking at a postcard. I think I've fallen even more in love with Italy than ever before and need to go back asap!

July came along and I turned 22 (sorry what?! I'm not 18 still...) and Chris and I made one of the biggest decisions of our lives. We finally took the plunge and decided to move down to London- something we'd been wanting to do for a while. Although it's something we knew we wanted to happen, actually looking at flats and arranging removal vans seemed crazy! Anyway, in September we made the big move and haven't looked back since. I still love Newcastle, it's an amazing city that holds some incredible memories for me, but we both knew it was time to move on and try life in the capital!

Since the move I've had some incredible opportunities swing my way. In November, I was asked to model for one of my favourite brands Joanie Clothing which was just insane! If this opportunity had been given to me a few years ago I know I would have flat out said no on the spot. I was so shy and self conscious of my appearance I would have turned down such an incredible experience out of fear. I still hate getting photographed especially when I have no control over the images being taken but I feel my confidence this year has definitely improved. It's something I still struggle with but as I reflect on the past year I can see how I've matured and gained confidence this year. Anyway the shoot with Joanie was something I'd only ever dreamed of and after being welcomed by the incredible ladies who work in Joanie HQ, I soon felt right at home and absolutely loved trying on their gorge clothes in front of the camera!

Last month I even managed to score myself a dream fashion internship! I literally have dreamt of this since I watched the Hills in 2006 and I still can't believe I managed to get it- I mean I even get to go to Paris for 10 days (soz Chris I've learnt from LC, never say no to Paris!). I can't wait to start and it really brought a great end to an amazing year for me. I know a lot of the years world events seemed to overshadow everything but really, I had a bloody amazing year and just hope this year can continue to be as exciting!


Anywho if you've managed to read this far well done!! I have an annoying tendency to ramble on and on so thank you if you have actually read all that! On to my outfit- what you've probably clicked on here to see! I managed to score some major sale finds at the Selfridges sale, including this dreamy rainbow striped jumper! It's from the brand AALTO and was reduced from a whopping £450 to £50! Bargain of the year or what! I've teamed it here with a vintage leather coat I picked up from a little shop in Durham, Asos Gucci-esque loafers, my fave suede skirt from Topshop and my adorable new bag! I'm not normally a fan of Radley, but when I saw this in an outlet store I absolutely feel head over heels in love, it's just the absolute dream and goes with everything.


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