Something To Smile About: Festive Edition

Ahh, Christmas. A time of happiness, love and seriously worrying about whether or not your favourite trousers will still fit you by the time St. Stephen's Day rolls around. This is my first year not living at home for Christmas, but I've come back to stay for a week or so and spend time with my beloved family - who have just moved into a new house which is the best Christmas present ever. Apart from me coming home with all my washing, obv. ;-)

Seeing as there are a lot of happy moments to be had at Christmas, I thought I'd do a quick blog post about the things this week that've made me feel all warm and cozy inside.

1. Driving home for Christmas (I sound like Chris Rea) with Laurence and being so excited to see all my family. Ringing the doorbell of the new cozy house and being reunited was such a lovely feeling.

2. Mine and Laurence's first Christmas whilst living together. We put on Christmas music, wrapped our presents, had a bottle of wine and danced around the kitchen while preparing our pre-Christmas dinner, and finished the night by watching Elf. What could be more Christmassy?

3. Lunch and a gossip with my mum. We headed to the Gourmet Parlour in Collooney (which I've never been to) and I was over the moon to see they had loads of vegetarian options, and they all sounded amazing! I went for a good old jacket potato with cheese, and my mum got a spinach and mushroom pie. The food was gorgeous, especially the Asian noodle salad served with the pie which I just have to know how to make. Drool.

After our catch up we collected the gateaux and cupcakes mum won from Mc G's Cakes. They are absolutely beautifully made and taste as good as they look!

4. Finally getting my Christmas shopping finished. Laurence and I headed into Athlone town centre to tackle the shops on Thursday. We started bright and early with a McDonald's breakfast (sometimes it has to be done), and I mentally put on my warpaint to brave the crowds. When we initially went into Golden Island shopping centre it was surprisingly quiet, but it only got worse as the day progressed. I ended up almost having a nervous breakdown in the middle of Argos because a) it was like the zombie apocalypse with people everywhere, and b) both of my present ideas for Laurence ended up being sold out so I had to resort to something less exciting. I also spent about an hour in Penneys and got myself a few nice bits - because if you can't treat yo'self at Christmas when can you?

In the middle of dashing around trying to get gifts for everyone I started getting extremely overheated. I was wearing a top that was bodysuit style so it had poppers on the, erm, lower area. Now apparently when I was born I had a very long torso which means bodysuits are pretty much impossible to wear. I had to do a sort of contortionist/gymnast move to try and do the damn thing up, and when I finally did I got out of the car and it popped open, meaning I spent my entire shopping trip with this stupid bodysuit top wedged up my arse. That's pretty much my life in a nutshell.

Anyway, I ended up feeling so faint Laurence brought me over to the fridge section of Tesco (romantic) and told me to "pretend to reach for a hummus" so I could put my hands on something cold. We eventually made our escape and headed to Insomnia for a nice relaxing drink, and breathed a sigh of relief.

5. It's Christmas! What else can I say?!

Feel free to let me know what made you smile this week - I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and a healthy, prosperous New Year. 

What They Don't Tell You About... College

You know when you finally finish something that's been looming over you for ages, and you feel like all you want to do is exhale, eat 15 chocolate biscuits (just me?) and sleep for a week? That's pretty much my mood right now, except I've only had 3 biscuits. Today was my final Christmas exam, and I couldn't be more relieved. In fairness, I only had 2 exams which was very fair, but they were two tricky subjects - Microeconomics and Accounting - and both were about as fun as sitting on a hedgehog. 

Anyway, when I started college, for the first few weeks or so I had this niggling feeling of "Will I stick this? Am I socialising enough? Am I doing college right?" And this blog post is for anyone going through their first year of college thinking those exact same thoughts, or anyone who is interested in going to college, because I know there will be many people who feel this way.

There is no right way to do college. The media portrays college as this whole new dimension of life where you 'hook up' with 15 different people a week, get roaring drunk every night, partying 24/7, doing lines of cocaine off your lecturer's desk (pugs not drugs guys) and general mayhem. In reality, it's usually not like that. 

If you're sitting there wondering if you're doing college right, stop it now. It will only lead to worrying and you'll make yourself self conscious. You don't have to conform to the whole party lifestyle if that's not your thing. If you're like me and  have nights where you'd rather sit at home in your fluffy hedgehog pyjamas and your rabbit dressing gown with a hot chocolate watching YouTube videos, there's nothing wrong with that. Sometimes the hangovers just aren't worth it.

Seriously though, maybe I sound like an old wan, but for me I love going out in moderation. I wouldn't be able to go on the lash every single night but I still enjoy dressing up and going out and having fun.

Not drinking = no friends? Not true. Most colleges have loads of clubs and societies you can join, not to mention movie nights and table quizzes. There are plenty of things to do that don't have to involve getting drunk if you're not into that!

On the flipside, student pubs also often host student nights where they do various events such as quizzes, DJ competitions and even a Take Me Out style dating thing. Athlone IT even hosted a Halloween party in the college itself and it was actually great. The Hospitality students made nibbles and cocktails, people got dressed up and the building was decorated nicely. Keep an eye out for similar events in your college, you'd be surprised how well executed they are!

You will have days where you feel like you're drowning. Whether it be because of money, relationship issues or studies. I've had days where I sit at the table panicking about everything under the sun and wondering if it's worth it. It will be. When I'm able to shower my family and friends with lavish gifts and sun myself on a beach somewhere exotic, it will be worth it. I tell myself this whenever I get worried, go and give my boyfriend a big hug and then try and forget about it.

Sometimes you need to delegate your worries. Put the least important one in a box and sort out the urgent things. If you're drowning in studies, figure out which subject is wrecking your head the most and deal with that. Go to the library and work in peace for half an hour, or an hour, and then take a break. You'll see that things aren't as shite as they seem!

If you are really getting yourself into a tizzy and feel really stressed remember most colleges have free counselling services which are actually really good, and there's nothing to be ashamed about - lots of people are in the same boat.

Never underestimate the power of free food. Athlone IT Student Union often has baskets of free food from Tesco. Initially I felt like a right eejit going and taking free bread but now I couldn't care less. To quote Ellie Goulding, 'bitches gotta eat'. I've got some cracking bits of food from there before, and it's really nice to know you'll have a nice meal even if your bank account looks like it's about to close itself due to low funds. Also, you probably will have days where all you eat is crisps and noodles. It happens.

Also, if you volunteer to help out at Open Days, you might just get paid on your student card to do it. Free canteen food and chocolate bars? Yes please.

YouTube is the bomb for learning. It sounds bizarre but when I'm sitting there scratching my head about something, I shtick on a YouTube video and it explains it in 3 minutes better than an hour of reading an old revision book ever could. Bonus points if you don't get distracted and start watching makeup tutorials afterwards.

So there you have it. A brief insight into the true student life and all its ups and downs. Hopefully that was helpful for at least one person. And remember, enjoy yourself. After all, college is meant to be about ~self discovery and all that jazz. Now, I'm off to cry while looking at next semester's timetable. Bye!

Canal Boats & Cat Cafés: My Amsterdam Experience

Yep, you read that title right. CAT. CAFÉ. Warning: This is a loooong post.

I'm really late writing this blog because, as I mentioned in my previous blog post, my laptop decided to break. Thanks to my stellar dad who is like a one-man maintenance whiz, it's now fixed. Hurrah! No more hiding from college assignments..

I turned 21 on the 19th of September, and because it was my 21st I wanted to do something memorable and special. I'm not a massive party girl so I decided what I wanted was to go to Amsterdam. I've been to Eindhoven in the Netherlands before and loved it, and I'd heard amazing things about Amsterdam (unrelated to drugs before anyone says that!)

We booked our flights - which worked out really cheap thanks to Ryanair - and our accommodation months in advance to save hassle and money. I thought it would be nice to have a proper experience and heard about a website called VRBO which is like Air B&B, where homeowners rent out their apartments to you at a fraction of the price of a hotel. We picked a lovely flat in the centre of Amsterdam in the heart of the Jordaan - a gorgeous area with beautiful canal walks, shops and restaurants. We only booked 3 nights away as I knew I'd be in college then so I didn't want to miss too much time. In hindsight, we should have gone for longer. 4 days just wasn't long enough to see everything we wanted to see!

The night before we flew out we decided to book a hotel in Dublin to save us waking up super early (which we had to do anyway) as our flight was at 7:20 a.m. I picked the Metro Hotel Dublin after my mum gave it such a glowing review, and it did not disappoint. The manager of the hotel very kindly upgraded us to a suite when I told her it was my birthday, and we were given a lovely bag with slippers, water and Lily O'Brien chocolates in it - a nice touch. The suite was gorgeous, I only wish my pictures did it justice as it was so dark outside it was hard to get good pics. We slept peacefully until our alarms went off at 3:30 a.m. and wished we could have stayed in the comfortable room for longer.

What's amazing about the Metro Hotel is it's literally a 10 minute shuttle bus ride from Dublin Airport. It was so unbelievably handy to hop straight on the hotel operated shuttle bus and arrive straight at the airport with plenty of time before our flight. We also parked at the hotel which was so much cheaper than parking at the airport, and this meant our shuttle bus only cost €2 each. Bargain!

After arriving at the airport hours early for our flight we had a mooch around (and Laurence had to drag me out of Victoria's Secret) before boarding our flight for our first ever holiday together.

After a short flight - around an hour and a half - we arrived fairly early in the afternoon so as soon as we hopped off the metro we strolled around the streets. I knew as soon as I stepped out of the airport I'd love Amsterdam, it's so beautiful. I love the buildings, the people, the food and how laidback the whole culture is. Nobody really bats an eyelid at anything, and if you ask someone a question they're more than happy to help you.

We booked our accommodation through a website similar to Air B&B called VRBO. I loved the idea of a self catering apartment rather than a hotel so Laurence could make me breakfast in bed on my birthday and we could look out over the balcony together. I'm such a romantic deep down, me. In the end we chose a small but stylish apartment in the Jordaan which is a gorgeous area filled with pretty little streets and canals.

After spending about 10 minutes trying to figure out which buzzer to press and walking up really steep stairs which almost killed me, we were greeted by Mary who owns a few apartments she and her husband rent out on VRBO. We were both admittedly a bit sceptical as I've heard some horror stories about Air B&B but all my doubts disappeared as soon as I met Mary. She was so friendly and left us to our own devices after giving us a bit of a tour around the apartment.

We left the apartment to go explore and have a bite to eat. I really wanted to check out a vegan café/shop called Vegabond which was renowned for having a great shop full of yummy vegetarian and vegan things, as well as tasty food. It turns out the café was just down the road from us which was a spot of luck! Inside was a shop with a huge selection and a little seating area to eat. We took a look at the menu which was quite small but had some nice options. I chose the spring rolls and Laurence went for a vegetarian pepperoni and salad open sandwich. We also shared a vegan cheese and onion pasty because they looked delish and sure, we were on our holidays. Yes, that's also my excuse for sitting there shovelling doughnuts into my mouth.

Speaking of doughnuts, the café had some vegan doughnuts and cakes on display so of course I had to try some for RESEARCH PURPOSES. I bought 4 doughnuts and immediately regretted it when I went into a sugar coma. Oh well. I also ended up doing a bit of a shopping spree in the Vegabond shop and got loads of bits such as vegan cheese, vegetarian meat substitutes, ravioli, chocolate, marshmallows and all sorts of other things to bring home. Everything was so much cheaper and there was loads of selection in comparison to Ireland, we really are hard done by over here for veggie stuff.

We had a romantic stroll down the canal and popped into a few of the little shops dotted around the place. We then decided it was time to find a supermarket which was easier said than done. Albert Heijn is the main supermarket in the Netherlands and it took us so long to find one because we didn't realise there was one just down the street from us. Classic. Yet again, we were spoilt for choice in the supermarket with all sorts of other tasty bits. We filled up our shopping bag and headed back to the apartment to make some dinner out of what we got, and it was such a feast!

We were so tired from the 3.30 a.m. start that the next day we ended up sleeping in really late, which was annoying as there was a lot we wanted to do. One of the top things on my list was to visit the Amsterdam cat café (Kattencafé Kopjes). We discovered while Google Mapping there was a vegan café near the cat café so that was the plan for the day. After a short Metro ride we arrived at the cat café only to discover there was an hour and a half wait as we hadn't booked! Silly us. While we waited we went to check out the vegan café only to find it was booked out for a party. Not our most successful day as you can tell! After wandering around a bit it was finally time to go back to the cat café. The cat café operates by assigning 2 hour slots to anyone who's booked in - plenty of time to have a bite to eat and play with the cats.

The girls in the café were very nice and told us about the cats. All the cats are rescued; one is diabetic and one is missing an eye. The cats are so cheeky if you have food on your lap they'll try anything to get some, as we soon discovered when we got a sandwich! We spent our time in the café relaxing, chatting and playing with the cats. The café has various toys hanging up so you can interact with the kitties, and if you're lucky they'll sit up on your lap for a cuddle. SO. CUTE. I decided to buy a t-shirt from the café as a souvenir and I love it. All the cats drawn on it are the actual cats in the café which is really cool.

By the time we finished at the café it was evening so we got the metro back and got an Indian for dinner. I wanted to try an Ethiopian place I'd heard amazing things about but we couldn't figure out how to get to it and it was dark at this point. Definitely something to try the next time!

The next day was the big day: My 21st birthday. I decided I wanted a nice breakfast in bed and to go shopping and then for a nice dinner out in the evening. I was woken up in the morning by Laurence bringing in some gorgeous pancakes with chocolate in the middle, dotted with raspberries and accompanied by a glass of juice. We cuddled in bed as I ate my pancakes and then Laurence went into the hallway to 'get dressed' which I thought was a bit odd but I was so busy doing my makeup I didn't click. When I walked out into the hallway he'd adorned the living room with balloons and a birthday banner, and on the table was a plate of vegan doughnuts and cupcakes with birthday candles - just how I wanted my birthday morning to go. #luckygirl

After taking some couple-y pictures it was time to head to one of the main shopping streets, Kalverstraat, and shop 'til we dropped. Well, I shopped and Laurence dropped because being dragged around my girly shops isn't his kinda thing. I ended up not buying as much as I thought I would which my bank account thanked me for!

For my birthday evening meal I chose a place nearby called De Bolhoed, a gorgeous intimate restaurant by the canal. We enjoyed a lovely meal and the nicest peanut butter chocolate pudding I have ever tasted, before having a romantic walk along the canal. It was so beautiful watching the boats on the water and the glistening lights, like something out of a movie. When we got home it was time to eat some birthday cupcakes and have a few drinks. A perfect ending to a perfect birthday.

Sadly the next day we were to head home. Not wanting the trip to end, we booked a canal cruise to see some more of the city. The guy running the cruise was so funny and kept us entertained as he told us some really interesting facts about the city. We saw the Anne Frank house, the smallest house in Amsterdam (which is only a window wide), found out why the buildings are slightly slanted and saw the Stopera which is Amsterdam's city hall and Opera house.

At the beginning of the trip I had a notebook full of things I'd planned to do because I'm anal (leave it) like that but soon realised 3 days was not enough to do everything! I'd go back in a heartbeat but I'd make sure to go for a week to do everything I wanted to do.

I had an amazing birthday and am so lucky and thankful to be so spoiled by my loved ones. Thanks for reading and see you in the next post!