How to survive A-levels...

If your taking A-levels it's that time of the year where its probably all starting to dawn on you that you have your final exams in about 6 months, and you may also have mock exams coming up very soon! AHHHH!! you may be in your second year or you might have just began the 'fun'.  

Having recently finished my 2 years of A-levels I thought I would share a few of my 'survival' tips, to help any one who is struggling, or who may just be in need of some advice! I did fairly well in mine (I'm not clever, I just worked blumning hard) I was lucky to be able to do As levels in year 12 and then A2 in year 13, I know they have now changed some subjects to doing the whole Alevel at the end of the two years, but I think the advice pretty much works in the same way :)

 For A-levels I did the subjects psychology, History, Biology, and As English, I achieved AAC and a B in As English which has got me a place at my chosen university for next year. I hope you enjoy my tips and tricks, and find them helpful... xxx 

1. Find a revision technique that works for you! I personally found that writing out the text books, and then re writing them was very effective. But some people find it easier to just read the books, or to watch youtube clips.

2. Theres no doubt about it, A-levels are very difficult, but if you realise that from the start you'll make sure you put in the work to do well. Some people can breeze through GCSEs having done very little work (we all have that one friend who seemed to do absolutely no work yet came out with basically all A*s! ) Unfortunately you can't really wing A- levels in the same way, I've seen people go form As at GCSE to literally Us at A- level, all because they did no work! So it couldn't really be simpler just work, work work!!!! I know it can be difficult to find the motivation to come home and revise after a long day at school or college but my advice would be just to think of your goal, if you are determined to get an A in a subject then let this be your motivation, you won't get that A without a bit of effort, or you may want to get into a particular university, a good way to stay motivated in this sense is to keep a picture of the uni near to where you revise or maybe on your phone, so your reminded of it every time you revise so you don't give up. I also wouldn't recommend revising with the TV on. 

3. Use your time effectively, this is very important. make sure you start your revision early in the year (about now is right) so you have plenty of time to revise little and often up until the exam season.  Its also not a great idea to do your coursework the night before its due in. 

I found that the best way to revise was to do a couple of hours of each subject a day, so maybe come home from school and get straight down and do 2 hours of say chemistry, then you could have a longer break maybe for tea, and then settle down to another 2 hours of a different subject. Personally i would get in from school at about half 3, i would then go on my phone or i pad until about 4:00 (no tv) I would then do a couple of hours until 6:00pm. I would then stop for dinner, and afterwards do another 2 hours of a different subject until 9:00pm after that I would watch some tv for the rest of the evening (its important not to over work). Its important to find times that work for you.

4. Take frequent breaks, its actually been shown that doing a whole 1 hour of revision is no good, we all think that the more the better, but actually we lose attention after about 20 minutes, so it's recommended to revise in 20 minute chunks, it just makes it easier to remember the information, as we remember things at the start and then end, but tend to forget the middle stuff, this is a good way of cutting down that 'middle stuff'. So after 20 mins or so (or after writing out a page of a text book) take a small 3-5 minute break, to fore example, check Facebook/instagram/twitter or maybe get a drink. Its also good to get up and walk around- just don't get too distracted so your 5 minute breaks ends up lasting 5 hours! 

5. Get some pretty stationary to make revision/class work more fun, it's a bit dull to just write in boring black or blue books. Pukka pads are actually a really good make of note books for everyday revision, they have lots of pages and good quality paper, also the pages don't just fall out like in many cheaper books, or re fill pads. Heres some of the things I used...

6. Use colour!!! using coloured pens really helps your work to stand out and therefore stick in  your memory, it's also far more interesting than just writing in black biro, plus your work will look pretty! obviously don't go writing your essays in bright pink, but maybe headings and titles and certain words and phrases you want to remember. Pictures are also really good when revising, I sometimes found it helpful to turn events in history into pictures to help me remember for the exam, (i drew out the whole of the arms race during the cold war in cartoons and it actually worked!) 

7. Stay organised, buy yourself a planner and write down each week what subjects you are going to revise and when and for how long. This will help you to not leave subjects out. It's also a good idea to break each subject down into units, so for example, don't just revise biology, revise biology unit 4 one day and then unit 5 the next! treat different units almost as different subjects, as they are different exams. 

8. Make sure you do other things... This one is actually really important, while the more revision you do the better, it's not a bad thing to take some time out for doing other things, maybe go for a walk, or have a day out. It's so important not to spend all 7 days a week working non stop. Make sure you see friends, and if you belong to a club of some sort or have a prat time job, don't quit, try to balance the two. For example I danced on Mondays and Tuesdays and I think it actually helped, it was a way of getting out of revision for a few hours, and de-stressing (which is also very important as A levels are pretty stressful... you've probably worked that out already) Also if you really don't feel like working one evening, don't! nothing will go in, you can't force yourself to revise if you really don't want to! 

This photo is from a walk i went on a couple of weeks before exams.

make sure you relax too! 

a day out to the beach 

So I hope these tip help you to stop ripping out your hair, and having weekly breakdowns. Just remember to stay organised and positive and keep your goals in mind and you will do just fine! :) 

Emma xxx

spooky Halloween cupcakes

I love baking, so if theres ever an excuse to bake, you can be certain that I will probably have produced some sort of cake, or some cookies or biscuits. I also really enjoy this time of year in particular, I love the festiveness, I think it serves as an even better reason to get baking, and to make those bakes fun and creative. So I thought what better way to spend a couple of hours this week than to make some Halloween cupcakes.
I  decided to keep them simple, I contemplated adding a gooey chocolate filling or experimenting with flavours, but I wanted to focus more on making the toppings look fun and creative, and very Halloweeny (probably not a word). I was very prepared for these cakes, I had been planning making them basically since the final cake from last years halloween batch was polished off, therefore as soon as all the haloweeny bits popped into the shops I stocked up on cute cases and fun toppings.

I used the recipe that I always use every time I make cupcakes, and it has never disappointed, people always seem to enjoy the cakes. (The recipe is a Nigella Lawson recipe, but I pretty much bake them form memory by now)

For the cakes:
makes 12
125g of caster sugar
125g of butter
125g of self raising flour
2 large eggs
1/2 to 1 teaspoons of vanilla extract
and a dash of milk.

I make these cakes by shoving everything in the food processor and blending until smooth with a dropping consistency, basically not too runny and not too stiff. It doesn't mater what order the ingredients are added. Although i would add the milk last when its in the bender. You may even find you don't need milk.

I prefer to use a muffin tin, rather than a smaller tin for fairy cakes or cupcakes,  and larger cases as it makes them bigger and I personally think they look better a little larger.

To cook: Bake in an oven at 200 degrees or gas mark 6 for about 15-20 minutes or until golden brown on the top, as ovens do vary. Then to be sure whether or not they are fully baked stick a thin knife in one of the cakes, if it comes out clean they are done! Always remember to avoid opening the oven too much during baking, as this will cause the cakes not to rise properly, and no one wants flat, floppy cakes.

For the topping:
There are no rules when it comes to the toppings, its up to you whether you want to use butter icing, or runny icing or royal icing, or nothing at all! one year I made some with runny icing and put marshmallows on the top to make little ghosts, they looked really cute. but this year I decided to make traditional cup cakes and use butter icing.
There is not a definite way to make butter icing, its down to personal preference of how sweet you like yours to be, and how much you want. But as a general rule I would say double the amount of icing sugar to butter.  So to make the icing;  you beat the butter in a large bowl until its soft and smooth then you mix in about half or your icing sugar and then the other half, doing it like this stops you from making a mess or adding too much you then add about a table spoon of milk, it may need more than this, but again like with the cakes your looking for a smooth and soft finish thats not too runny or too stiff- perfect for icing cakes with pretty swirls that won't just flop is what your looking for.
Its at this point where you may decide to colour the icing or add an additional flavour, like lemon or vanilla, I used vanilla in mine, so I added about half a teaspoon of vanilla extract. It just makes it that little bit sweeter.
This is how they turned out...
enjoy, Emma xxx

 The sprinkles are from Waitrose, and the little Halloween icing shapes are from Waitrose too. I found the cases for sale in a garden centre but I have seen them for sale in various baking shops.

These were the little ghost cakes I made a couple of years ago.

A Lovely Autumnal walk

I love Autumn, and every year I look forward to enjoying all those cliché autumnal things, like the pretty colours of the trees, cold nights allowing you to snuggle up in front of the TV with a giant hot chocolate, halloween, bonfire night , fluffy jumpers and cinnamon flavoured everything.

Going out for Sunday walks is something my family and I have done ever since I was a child, however I have only recently started to appreciate them more, lets just say when I was younger the walks often involved a lot of moaning and whining, and the only thing that would keep me quiet was the promise of an ice cream or some sort of cake from a cafe at the end. But now I'm older I have found I really enjoy just popping out for a little Sunday stroll. And of corse Autumn is my favourite time of year to do it!
So yesterday we decided to go out to a place called Fineshade wood, I went there in the spring to see thousands of beautiful bluebells, and since then I promised myself that I would visit again in the autumn to see all the pretty colours of the trees, and yesterday it definitely didn't disappoint. Theres just something special about being surrounded by all those beautiful autumnal colours. The golden yellow, and rich orange and red leaves on the trees are also very photogenic. I couldn't wait to do a Blog post about it.

So I would definitely recommend just taking a couple of hours to pop out for a little stroll, to admire how pretty Autumn can be, its also very relaxing.


I thought I would share a few pictures I took on the walk... enjoy x

Cute, fluffy Pyjamas

My favourite place to buy pyjamas from has always been Primark, they always have so many to choose from. I get so excited when i go to the pyjama section of the store, especially around this time of year when your looking for that perfect pair of cute warm Pj's for the Autumn and Winter. My trip to Primark the other day certainly didn't disappoint. I came across the section of fluffy and cozy pyjamas and i couldn't resist buying a pair (or two).

I fell in love straight away with two Disney pairs, I love anything disney though so it wasn't surprising, and for only £11 each, who could say no?! The first pair have Bambi on them, beautiful white fluffy bottoms with Bambi and acorns scattered down them (how Autumnal) and a pink jumper/top with Bambi's cute little face on to match. The second pair have Thumper the rabbit on them, The trousers are adorable, they are baby pink with white polka dots and of corse with a very sweet Thumper on too, they come with a fluffy white top. Obviously you can mix and match if you really want to!

I always have problems with pyjamas however, as the legs are usually way to short, so I end up strolling around the house with trousers that look like they're from the kids section, or I have to roll them up to look as if I intended to wear three quarter lengths, nightmare! So I learned from my past mistakes and I brought them in a size larger than i would usually get, the tops come up pretty big, but the bottoms are fine. I haven't washed them yet but for now at least I'm not walking around like jack-up Jill.

These PJ's are perfect to curl up in front of the Telly with a hot chocolate, on a cold Autumnal night, or a crisp winters day... Snug as a bug! Primark had many more fluffy pyjamas to offer if Disney isn't your cup of tea. :)
I thought i would show a few pictures... Enjoy,
   
                                                                                 Emma
                                                                                      x
                                                   

 Bunny Slippers came from next a couple of years ago.
Disclaimer: Im not sponsored by primark, all opinions are my own. x

Summer holiday, Lanzarote!

Every year I look forward to the autumn, the pretty orange and red trees, the crunchy leaves, the hot chocolates after a long cold walk and the fluffy jumpers. But theres something special about the summer, and travelling to different countries, being able to experience different sights and cultures. My most recent holiday this year, just a couple of weeks ago, was to Lanzarote. I didn't really know very much about the island before going, but on arriving I was amazed at the beautiful scenery and views, being a volcanic island  its not very lush, however it's beautiful all the same, strolling past a huge volcano on the way to a restaurant in the evening or to the beach became the norm. What sold it for me straight away was seeing the camels on the mountains in the taxi on the way to the villa.  The island also holds a lot of history which was very interesting to learn about whilst on trips and excursions, such as historic volcano eruptions. In between relaxing by the pool, we managed to fit a lot in, such as boat trips, jet ski rides, and tours of the amazing lava fields.

Looking back through my holiday photos, whilst I occasionally catch a glimpse of the grey skies and the prevailing threat of rain, makes me jealous that I'm not still there enjoying the sunshine and the pool and hot tub, However i think thats what makes the summer and summer holidays so precious.
So I thought I would share a few snaps of my holibobs, just to bring back those memories of the summer. x
                                   
                                                                                  kisses,
                                                                                Emma xxx

Welcome to my blog...

Hello!! I thought it would be a good idea to introduce myself...I'm Emma and I'm eighteen, I'm completely new to blogging and I'm very excited to start, Sharing lovely things i discover and creating everyday lifestyle posts, including baking, tips on school, travel and fashion. I thought  these would be a good idea for my blog, or at least a good place to start. After I discovered how much I loved reading other peoples blogs, and being completely submerged into their lives through posts and photos, I couldn't wait to start one myself. But having recently done A levels I didn't really have a lot of time to spare outside of the hours of revision and the odd dance lesson (I love dance, specifically ballet, and have done it for ten years.) But now I'm on a gap year between school and going to university so i thought this was the perfect time to start a blog, and therefore my blog was born :)

                                                                            kisses, 

                                                                         Emma xxx