Lifestyle | Five Before I Turn 25

There is so much I want to do with my life. I'll read something, or see something on the internet that is going on in the world, and I will think to myself "well I could be the one to make a change" or I'll see someone explore a city that I am yet to visit and all I can think to myself is "I need to live while I can." And after another episode like that it got me thinking what I would like to do in my life, realistically, and where do I see myself in 3 to 4 years time. I thought it might be interesting to see if I make these mini goals, and achieve even just one thing from my list so I am going to share them with you all.

1. Travel, travel, travel. Okay, so I know that this is quite cliche but everyone who I have spoken to who has had the ability to travel whether it is just around one country, or if it is around the world has to travel as much as possible while you are young because later in life that opportunity won't be there anymore.
2. Educate myself. Some say that you need to attend formal, and higher education to educate yourself, and yes, I believe that it is certainly one way to educate yourself to some extent. However, I believe that you need to live in the real world to truly educate yourself. For me, since graduating university last month I already feel as if I am educating myself more, through living 'the adult life'.
3. Donate blood. This is actually something I am planning to do within the very near future - as in the next few months or so. It is something that I have always wanted to do but i'm a little bit of a scaredy cat and I used to be terrified of blood, and needles. However, I feel as if now I am over that fear and I am ready to donate. 
4. Move into my own place. I've recently moved back in with my grandparents after living in university accommodation, and as much as I adore living with my family again, I miss having my own place, doing things in my own time, and generally just doing things my own way.
5. Progress in my chosen career. At this moment in time I am a care assistant, however I'd love to progress in my career, but i'm struggling to decide between careers. I'm torn between becoming an adult nurse, or a social worker within adult services - with both professions I will need to attend education once more and both career paths can take a long time to complete, therefore I don't want to rush into a career that I may not enjoy in the long run. That is why I have decided to take my time in moving on in my career, and I am planning on taking an Open University course in an Introduction to Social Work to allow me to gain a bit of insight into the topic before making a proper decision. 

Well that is the five things that I want to do before I turn 25, with just over 3 years to go until my 25th birthday the pressure is on. Is there anything that you would like to achieve before a birthday of yours? Leave me a comment, and let me know!

                                                      Bye for now my little pumpkins

Lifestyle | Womens Sizes

Okay, I want to admit something to you all, are you ready? Okay, good. I hate any form of clothes shopping, whether it's for myself or other people. I won't try clothes on in store, I hate walking around trying to look for something you saw in store or online merely a week ago, but most of all, I hate how much sizes vary from store to store.

I know that I am definitely not the only one who suffers greatly because of this, but I want to share with you one experience that has completely put me off shopping altogether. I bought a pair of shorts from my favourite high street store - Primark - for my holidays, size 14, black denim shorts. I thought they were a steal for £5, and were perfect to take with me on my little summer holiday. Now I didn't bother trying them on in store partly because of my hatred of the whole shopping malarky, but also partly because the queue for the changing rooms at my local store are always unbelievably long. When I got home I discovered that not only were they a little snug around the tops of my thighs, but it near impossible to fasten the button around my hips. I am going to be honest I was a little disheartened but I was in desperate need for holiday clothes, and because when here in the UK I tend to just stick to what I am comfortable in - jeans and leggings - I just knew that I had to drag myself back round the shops, not only to take the shorts back but to find a replacement pair. Because of the fiasco caused by the last pair, I decided to actually brave the queues and try a number of pairs of the same shorts but in varying sizes. But to my disbelief and utter shock, the size that fitted me best was a size 18.

A few days later I found myself back at my local high street on the hunt for another pair of shorts, however out of curiosity I tried my luck at New Look - not a store that I shop at frequently. Before heading to the changing rooms I picked up a number of pairs of shorts, all in a variation of sizes and styles. And honestly, I found that the most comfortable pair were a size 14, and were a similar style to those in Primark, however as lovely as they were I just wasn't prepared to pay nearly three times more for them compared to the ones in Primark.

Unfortunately, it is not the only store I've had difficulty shopping in, and although I managed to find that comfortable pair in New Look, I've found that they sometimes have very low stock of the bigger sizes.

Since the great short fiasco I have set out on the search to find what store and style fit my shape and size best. Do any of you lovely lot have any suggestions of stores I should check out, or have any shopping horror stories yourselves that you wish to share? If so you can leave me a comment below and I'll be sure to check it out.

                                                      Bye for now my little pumpkins

Guess whose back? Back again.

Yeah, that's right.. I am back. You are all thinking either, where on earth i've been or who the hell I am. Well, I am Shannan, and I used to blog over at Sunshine, Butterflies and Books, however life seemed to catch up and I got out of the swing of blogging, writers block followed soon after and I was unable to find the motivation and willpower to continue with something I once loved. My previous blog also represents my university years, and now that I am a graduate, I would like to believe that I have matured just that little bit.

I aim to post weekly, providing a little insight to any travel plans I may have, sharing various little life hacks that I have discovered during, and there after my time at university as well as a discussing and review some of my favourite reads.

So this is it, a new blog, with a new look and hopefully a slightly more matured author.
                     

Bye for now, my little pumpkins