3 Trends I'm Obsessed With This Week

This time of year always has a bit of a love-hate divide amongst most people. For many, it evokes a miserable and moody temperament centred around holiday blues, the onset of cold weather and the return to school or uni. Then there's the getting up when it's dark/getting in when it's dark issue, which we all admittedly find difficult to come to terms with. But to be honest, I actually love the end of August when Autumn is just around the corner. I'm not entirely sure why, either. Despite the fact that the cold makes my eyes water and my nose pink and I'm usually walking quickly because it's bloody freezing, I have this romanticised visual of walking through the city centre, or through a big open park on a sunny afternoon in the middle of November, with my big winter coat and dozens of brown leaves crunching under my chelsea boots. I love Summer, but by the end of August I always feel ready to embrace the change and if I was feeling slightly down, there's the anticipation of the AW collections to look forward to, and of course, what I believe is the most exciting LFW of them all. The shorts and birks go into hiding and the coats and brogues come out, every year a little different, with a new trend that no one would have dreamt of this time last year. 

Here's three trends that I'm loving at the turn of the season - from lace numbers which seem to be everywhere, to Autumn's essential knitwear and Misguided's impressive New In, which features some of their best ever going out garms! Enjoy xox

LACE

Embroidered Panel Blouse, Topshop, £38

Freya Chiffon Blouse with Contrast Back and Organza Sleeves, Dahlia, £49

 Simone White Peasant Blouse with Lace Shoulder Detail, Dahlia, £55

White Isle Ivory Crochet Trim Grecian Mini Dress, Oh My Love, £36

Straight Laced White Smock Dress, Oh My Love, £45

KNITS

Lace Panel Knitted Top, Topshop, £36

Woven Hem Knitted Crop Top, Topshop, £34

Jersey Hybrid Cable Jumper, Topshop, £38

Jersey Cotton Peplum Top Pink, The White Pepper, £40

Mango High Neck Knitted Top, @ ASOS, £34.99

MISSGUIDED'S GOING OUT EDIT

Patsy Mesh Panel Skater Dress Black, £19.99

Freda Ribbed Striped Open Back Dress, £24.99

Charlize Strappy Asymmetric Bodycon Dress Black, £19.99

Verity Crepe Scallop Shift Dress White, £24.99

Alyssa Geo Stripe Detail Shell Top Monochrome, £14.99 and Shorts, £17.99

Corrina Crepe Cropped Boxy Top Taupe, £14.99 and Skirt, £9.99

Tereza Contrast Bandage Waist Crop Top Black, £19.99 and Skirt £19.99

xox

Why you shouldn't worry about your insurance choice uni xox

It really is devastating when you don't make your A-level grades - for a million and one reasons.  You've felt sick about opening your results for days, it's literally haunted your entire summer, and then that dreaded Thursday in August comes around and it's probably the most nerve wracking experience of your entire life so far. And then to make all the stress and anxiety even worse - you pluck up the courage to open your results and you haven't got the grades you needed to go to your dream uni. 

Of course everyone who did get the grades is celebrating and whilst you're happy for them because they're your mates, you really just want to curl up and sleep through all their euphoria. Wake me up when you're done buzzing, please.

Trying to get your head around going to a university which you only put because you didn't really know what to put, is really, really hard. And on top of that is the disappointment that you feel for not actually getting the grades you thought you deserved. Then there's having to tell people. It really is traumatic. However, you will look back in a few years and think, why the hell was I such a stress head? Here's why you shouldn't feel bad.

My firm choice was Newcastle and it was the only place I wanted to go. I looked through millions of prospectus' for my insurance choice and in line with my entirely indecisive personality, I had absolutely no idea where the hell I wanted to go, which had grades low enough to make me sleep easy at night, knowing even if I failed horrifically, I'd still get in somewhere. So one day, sat in my sixth form library, I stumbled across my University of Brighton prospectus. The grades were BBC - so low enough incase I massively cocked up and erm, I'd never realised before but Brighton looks AMAZING. All I needed were the photos of Brighton beach, the Sussex countryside and the 'Student Life In Brighton' section and it was completely sold. I had never been to Brighton, but then I never thought I would miss my grades, so this, at the time was a non-issue.

When I did miss my grades, made even more annoying by the fact it was for three marks, I realised that I was either not going to Uni, or I was moving to the other end of the country, where everyone was Southern and Seagulls were the size of buses.

Moving to Brighton and attending my insurance choice uni, was the best decision I ever made. And I'm not saying that in retrospect having just graduated. I said it to myself after my first week, my first day. Sometimes things happen which we think are the worst possible scenarios, but a lot of the time they're not. It makes me feel sick and completely panicked to think that I was so close to not going to Brighton. Almost like when you nearly cut your finger off on a sharp knife and you get that image of if you had and it goes through you and makes you squirm.

John Lennon once said, "there's nowhere you can be that isn't where you're meant to be" and I've never agreed with anything more than this, when I moved to Brighton and met incredible friends and someone who I feel terrified to imagine I might never have met. If you haven't met your firm choice grades, try and take comfort in the fact that it might not necessarily be the nightmare you think you're in. Be excited, even if the uni isn't as good as your firm - you'll soon see this as much less of an issue than you think it is now and wherever you go, you will meet amazing people and it will be the best time of your life.

5 Reasons why my boyfriend regretted taking me to a football match...

So my last week living in Brighton and my boyfriend decides what better way to round off my uni experience, than to take me to a Brighton football game. Hmmm. We had lived in Brighton for three years, the first of which our halls were next to the football stadium, and we had never before been. So now was clearly the right time. 

No, I don't like football. Despite this, I was feeling optimistic. Also the promise of him paying for gbk beforehand kind of sealed the deal...

1. As I rolled up to his house in my black chelsea boots, high waisted black jeans and cutesy collared top (what the hell do you wear to a football match and dinner out?), I could literally read his mind: Should have invited one of the lads...I had only been to a football match once before in my life and that was when I was eight and a tomboy. Now, at 21 and as far from a tomboy as Gok Wan is to being butch, I felt I had dressed down as far as I could and that was that. 

2. As I've said, the last time I went to a football match was when I was eight, so never before have I had to browse the extensive range of alcoholic drinks sold at a football match. Beer, 'local ale' and cider. The thing is, I only like cider when it's mixed with something. And I only realised how stupid I sounded as the words "do you have blackcurrant for the cider?" came out of my mouth. I don't know if it was more embarrassing that before the poor girl could answer a solid NO, I answered my own question "oh shit no of course you don't, sorry". Somehow I ended up with a hot chocolate.

3. I was quite looking forward to the football match I have to admit and in the spirit of things we went into the merchandise shop because I wanted to buy a scarf. Perfect, I thought. I'll buy a scarf, then I'll look like a true fan and I can take it home with me as a lil Brighton momento. Then I realised they were £25 and I preferred the other teams colours anyway so what the hell was the point in buying one? We missed the first 10 mins queueing for no reason. Oooopsy. 

4. Saying "I didn't realise Brighton were such a crap team" in the middle of the second half, when no-one had scored and everyone was exasperated, surrounded by die hard Brighton fans. Nearly weeing myself with fear when one such fan sat next to me said "who do you support then?" and all I could whisper was "Man United..." made things a lot worse. 

5. Missing the first goal of the match whilst listening intently to a father explaining to his son what the off-side rule is all about. The five year old understood, but I still do not and there was about a five second delay between everyone in the stadium standing up to cheer, and me slowly standing up to get involved.

Needless to say he'll be thinking twice about taking me next time...xox

10 Items of Clothing In My Shopping Basket This Week

It feels as though Summer has only just started really, but here I am yet again in the middle of August, getting excited about the upcoming Autumn fashion. I don't know if it's because the Summer sales have truly begun to dwindle away, or that we're almost two weeks away from September (which means LFW is just around the corner!), either way I can't wait to get browsing the boots, chunky knitwear, cable tights, trousers, hats and of course, the winter coat. Here's what's in my fashion shopping basket this week - a mismatch between-seasons collection! xox

1. Oversized Midi Shirt Dress, The White Pepper, £55

2. Zip Detail Top Black, The White Pepper, £40

3. Mesh Flower Applique Tee, Topshop, £45

4. Textured Scuba Bomber Jacket, Topshop, £68

5. Shirt Dress with Belt, ASOS, £40

6. Column Dress, ASOS, £42

7. Freya Chiffon Blouse with Contrast Back and Organza Sleeves, Dahlia, £49

8. Jumper with Roll Neck, ASOS, £20

9. Peg Trouser in Check, ASOS, £40

10. Maida Vale Blue Drape Open Trench Coat, Dahlia, £85