Lake Vyrnwy

Lake Vyrnwy

Now that we are out of lockdown I have been slowly ticking off my UK destination bucket list. One of these destinations that I have heard a lot about but have never seen in person is Lake Vyrnwy. The lake is a reservoir in Powys and has become an important nature reserve for habitats and wildlife, with the total walk around the lake equalling 12 miles.

We arrived on a sunny Saturday and decided to walk around the lake to get views of both the dam and the gothic tower stretching out into the middle of the lake.

Farmer's Welsh Lavender

Farmer's Welsh Lavender

Back at the end of August I visited Farmer's Welsh Lavender in Builth Wells with some friends. I had been recommended the spot by a former colleague who had visited and it looked like an idyllic place to go for a day trip, relax and even have a wild swim in the lake.

The farm was a good trip away from where we were in Shropshire and I must admit some of the roads to get to the farm advance warning are quite steep and bendy. However do not let this put you off visiting!

The farm is open year round for visitors however the best time for the lavender is midsummer, when we arrived at the end of August the farm was clearly coming towards the end of its lavender season. However there was still some lavender and a lot of lovely flowers and wild flowers planted around the lake.

Wollerton Old Hall Garden

Wollerton Old Hall Garden 

On a sunny Sunday last weekend I had the fortune of getting to visit Wollerton Old Hall Garden based in Market Drayton in Shropshire. I hadn't heard of the gardens before and like many of us I am sure I have been searching around my local area for new ideas for day trips or days out. 

We were fortunate to be able to visit at such short notice as the gardens are private but open to the public on select days throughout the year, see their website for more information on this. The gardens are set around a 16th Century hall and feature a variety of plant combinations including David Austin Roses.

UK Destinations I Want to Visit

UK Destinations I Want to Visit

Coronavirus is looking like it is here to stay for the foreseeable future and due to this all travel abroad is either being cancelled or advised against. I am aware some people are currently travelling abroad and booking new trips for this year but with the circumstances being what they are I have realised I am not comfortable with the idea of travelling abroad currently.

With this in mind and being an avid traveller who likes to have at least one trip to look forward to a year I have decided to put together a UK Bucket List or as people are calling it 'staycation' destinations that I want to visit in the UK. Below are the destinations or sights that I have never been to that I would love to visit: 

A Day in Bratislava

A Day in Bratislava

Back in November while on holiday in Vienna me and my boyfriend had a day trip to the capital city of Slovakia, Bratislava. Being only an hour train ride from Vienna where we were staying made it an ideal day trip destination. If you're planning a trip around a few different countries, I believe these two capital cities are the closest together in the whole of Europe making this an ideal place to start.

While we were only there for a day we managed to pack in a lot of the major sights and we even got to visit the Christmas Market in the centre that happened to have just started for the season.

The city is incredibly easy to walk around and if you do not wish to walk from the train station you can cheaply get a day trip bus ticket for a couple euros. However all the sights are located in or near the main centre so this would just be needed to get to and from the train station. Below is a guide of of the sights we saw and would recommend and the restaurants we ate at on the day. I cannot recommend any accommodation as we did not stop over in the city.

What I Have Been Doing While in Lockdown

What I Have Been Doing While in Lockdown

I had a lot of travel content that I was planning on writing up for this blog but sharing it in the current climate feels a bit odd so I am saving it for future posts. Instead I thought I would share with you all what I have been doing to keep myself busy while lockdown has been enforced. Currently I am working from home so that is filling up most of my working days. That aside what I have been doing to keep myself entertained is:

1. Catching up on TV Shows
I watch a lot of TV generally it is one of my favourite hobbies, I love getting invested in a good programme. This extra time has helped me catch up on shows that I started watching but never finished as well as binge watching new shows. You can check out what I have been watching here.

The Best European Cities to Visit After Lockdown

The Best European Cities to Visit After Lockdown

I'm sure a lot of people like myself have had their travel plans this year cancelled or rearranged, this week I should have been sunning it up in Zadar in Croatia a trip which unfortunately could not be rearranged. 

To make myself feel better about this I have been looking back on past holiday photos and reminiscing over memories. I figured I would share with you some of my favourite cities that I have visited and that I would recommend visiting once lockdown is over and travel is a possibility again. After all we can only dream of destinations and plan for future trips currently!

My Tarot Deck Collection

My Tarot Deck Collection

A hobby I am fascinated in and working on improving is tarot card reading I own multiple tarot and oracle decks and have been learning the differing meanings of the major arcana cards and the four suits in the minor arcana. It is a hobby I am hoping to improve with continued practice and learning.

I wanted to share with you the different tarot and oracle  decks that I own and use starting with my tarot decks I have three different ones.

Rider-Waite Tarot

The one deck I am sure everyone has heard of is the Rider-Waite tarot deemed the perfect beginner's deck filled with the classic images that people associate with tarot, originally printed in 1910 with images designed by Pamela Colman Smith the deck comprises of 78 cards. The images represent each card well, a small booklet is provided with the deck but it does not provide vast detail on each card though I am sure with how simple the pictures depicted on the cards are they are easy to analyse from your own opinion with the basic knowledge of the meanings of the major arcana and the four suits. As stated previously this is a great deck for someone new to tarot who wants to begin learning a deck.

Game of Thrones Tarot

 I first saw this deck when I visited the Game of Thrones Touring Exhibition, as a massive fan of the show I was keen to add this deck to my collection. The drawings and imagery depicting each card is stunningly done and the characters used correspond with each card very well. These cards may be slightly harder to read than the Rider-Waite unless you already know the meanings but this deck does come with a more detailed guidebook with information on each card linked to the Game of Throne's plots. If you are a keen Game of Thrones fan and interested in learning tarot this would be a good deck for you.

The Light Seers Tarot

 Finally I have saved the best for last. This is the most recent deck I have bought but it is by far my favourite tarot deck! The 78-card tarot deck created by Chris-Anne reimagines the traditional style tarot in a more contemporary boho style using bright and detailed imagery to help explain the meanings of each card. I love how expressive the cards are and how well the characters are used in the imagery to help explain the meanings, this is a stunning collection for those whole like more colourful and bright imagery and detail in tarot decks.

Let me know are you a fan of tarot? If so what decks are in your collection?

Thanks for Reading!

Tips for Finishing a Dissertation at Distance Learning

Tips for Finishing a Dissertation at Distance Learning

Back in February I finally handed in my last assignment for my degree this was the one everyone dreads the Dissertation! Over the past 3 to 4 years I have been completing this degree while working full time and I can definitely say there have been some times when this has been a struggle and the burnout has been strong!

With the current situation alot of you I'm sure are finishing off your degrees or doing assignments at distance learning from home and I wanted to share with you some of my tips that helped me be productive when finishing off my dissertation.

1. Gather all your Research First

When completing my dissertation and all my assignments really I tended to gather all my research that I wanted to use first. I then used to identify all the quotes that could be useful to be included into the assignment based off of the question that I was trying to answer. I felt this saved me so much time when starting to write the assignments.

2. Create your References

When I would find a quote I would always create the full reference and add it onto the document then and there. This saved me so much time and meant that I didn't forget which text I had found the quote from or the page number.

3. Plan Your Time
I set aside certain days and evenings of the week purely for university work. I found this worked well for me as I had time for my personal life on the days when I was not doing university work. Sticking to a schedule is the best way to be productive and get work done by set deadlines.

4. Take Breaks

It is important if you have limited time in the week and can only work on weekends to take breaks. Grab a drink, some food, watch an episode of your favourite programme. This will help keep you motivated and clear your mind rather than working non-stop and feeling burnt out.

5. Change Your Workspace
Do your work in different places that suit you I found working in multiple places such as my computer room, the library or even at work helped change my headspace.

6. Keep in Contact
Keep in contact with your tutor, any questions you have e-mail and ask, contact over e-mail helps ensure you feel supported and ensure that you have some guidance that you are going in the right direction with the structure and content of your dissertation.

These are all the tips I feel that helped me and may help you while completing a dissertation at distance learning. Are you studying via distance learning? What do you feel helps you keep motivated and what tips do you have?

Thanks for Reading! 

Basic Banana Bread

Basic Banana Bread

Lockdown has given me far more time to bake than I normally would have and it seems like ABSOLUTELY everybody has baked banana bread at least once during this time! Having never made banana bread before I figured I would give it a go due to all the hype and the fact that I already had the ingredients ready at home. The recipe I followed was super simple and I figured I would share it with you:

How I'm Managing My Mental Health in Lockdown

How I'm Managing My Mental Health in Lockdown.

I'm sure the current situation surrounding lockdown over the last month has affected everyone's mental health in differing ways. During this time I have set myself many routines aimed to help and improve my mental health during all of this uncertainty and I thought I would share with you the routine tasks that have been helping me:

1. Exercising Everyday

Before Lockdown I was lucky if I found time to exercise twice a week, during this period with all the additional time I have forced myself to exercise in some way everyday be it going for a walk or following exercise videos on YouTube. I find even if I haven't been feeling the best that doing some form of exercise has always boosted my mood and made me feel better about my self image.

2. Reading 

I finally can read for joy again now my degree is complete, so this spare time and the kindle daily deals have given me chance to get stuck into some fiction. You can see what I have been reading in this post.

3. Baking

I have been practicing and perfecting a lot of baking recipes that I have never tried before such as banana bread (as who isn't baking that currently?) and brownies. The only problem with this one is I then have to eat all that I have baked!

4. Watching Movies/TV Shows

Catching up on the shows and films that I have not seen, either on Netflix, Amazon Prime or Disney+. You can see what I have been watching recently here.

5. Practising Self-care

My self-care before lockdown was awful, I never left time for any extra pampering. So during this time I have made full use of face masks, practising with makeup, having baths to relax and finally sticking to a skincare routine.

These are all the tasks I have been doing to aid my mental wellbeing during this time. What have you all been doing to help your mental health during these strange times?

Thanks for Reading!

What I'm Currently Reading

Currently Reading

With all of this time on my hands I am actually catching up with my reading list. I think this year will finally be the year I hit and surpass my Good Reads book goal!

I figured I would share with you some of the books I have started that I am intending to finish. I always seem to have multiple books on the go and tend to start another one before I have finished one, I just can't help myself!

Here is what I am reading currently:

Never Let Me Go - Kazuo Ishiguro

This book follows the lives of a group of children, focusing on the main narrator Kathy who is trying to come to terms with her childhood at the seemingly idyllic boarding school Hailsham and the fate that has always awaited her and her friends in the outside world.

I am really enjoying this story, I had already seen the film so it does take away the plot twist in the book! The film I remember being incredibly emotional so I expect the book to end in much the same way. I am half way through this currently and hoping to finish it shortly.

5 Things I Want To Do After Lockdown

5 Things I Want to Do After Lockdown

This post was inspired by Hello Miss Jordan's post 7 Things I'm Going to Do Once Lockdown is Over. 

I like the idea of looking ahead past all the doom and gloom of the current situation and setting future plans and goals that I can look forward to.

Currently I am very much enjoying the break this lockdown is providing me with, I don't think I realised just how rundown I had been feeling and I am incredibly grateful that I am in a fortunate position where I am currently able to work from home. 

Despite the break however I have been very sad to have a lot of future plans cancelled, while I understand it is necessary in the current climate it has definitely taken away the joy of having things booked in advance to look forward to.

With all that being said the 5 things I want to do after lockdown include:

Memory Scrapbooking

 Memory Scrapbooking

With all this extra time on my hands I have finally got around to starting a task I have had on my to do list for years! This would be my holiday memory scrapbook.

Over the past 6 years whenever I went on holiday I took photos and kept hold of tickets to sights, boarding passes, metro ickets etc. This was all with the intention of putting them together creatively into a scrapbook so that I could look back on my favourite memories from my various trips.

Included in this post are some pictures of my progress so far with this scrapbook. I've already managed to fill nearly one book because I just cannot choose between photos!

What I have enjoyed the most about this project at this time is that it has given me a creative outlet and something to focus on amidst all the chaos going on in the world currently.

I've really let my creative juices flow and created things out of coloured paper like mini planes, mini suitcases and flags for the different countries all to stick onto the pages with the photos and tickets to make them stand out.

I love the idea of having a book like this put together that I can pull out and have a look at over the years.

I still have a long way to go with this project but I am grateful to have something that I can use as a creative outlet where I can look back over my favourite memories and happier times while new memories currently cannot be made.

What have you been doing with your extra time during this lockdown? What do you enjoy doing that brings out your creativity?

Thanks for Reading!

What I've Been Watching

What I've Been Watching

Since lockdown started and I've been working from home I have had a lot more time on my hands. As I have finished my degree now I have been making the most of this extra time by catching up and watching new shows and films.

I thought I would share with you all what I've been watching.

Disney+

Like many people I invested in Disney+ when they had the offer of £50 for the year. Following this I have watched a lot of stuff on the platform, I'm a big Disney fan and loved the movies and the original Disney Channel shows. A few of the shows and films I have watched so far include:

Lactose Free Pancakes

A few days belated but I had my first attempt at making pancakes yesterday. I am currently trying to maintain a lactose free diet so these pancakes were made with soya milk.

The ingredients used were:

- 300ml Soya Milk
- 2 Eggs
- 100g Plain Flour
- 10ml Sunflower Oil

This was my first time making pancakes from scratch and the recipe was incredibly simple just mix all of the above ingredients together and cook them for 1 minute on each side.

For a first attempt I feel these were a great success they were incredibly tasty with strawberries and some dairy free yogurt. This is a great example of how with one simple change a tasty recipe can be made dairy-free or in this case lactose free for those with allergies or intolerances.

We don't have to miss out on the tasty foods. I am looking forward to trying out some more from scratch milk free recipes.

Thanks for Reading!