Rachel Ellen

Monday, 18 July 2016

list 17:07

Summer Work Outfits

So the weather man has said that this coming week, England is going to be hot. BBC weather is predicting 29 degrees on Tuesday for the North of England (how can I get out of work again?)

The lovely people at Tommy John ( check out their website here) inspired me to create a post on how to adjust to the summer temperatures.

Being a cold person (currently typing this wearing a dressing gown even though it's July) I struggle with the work office sometimes, when the air con is on, all the windows are open and I have a downwind of three different fans, I'm sat shivering. But of course I can't dress for winter because of the temperature outside!

Tommy John asked me how I would style a few outfits that you could be warm enough in air con but cool enough in the summer heat. And I've even included a few for men! Of course, take inspiration from whichever board you like, I have only separated by the gender given on the websites.

Trousers

Trousers are a great option for staying both warm and cool, they keep us from drafts, but if they are not too tight, they can also keep us cool. Some flat shoes are great for walking in, I always find wearing heels when it's warm make my feet warmer still! These have elastic to keep your feet in the shoe so not as sweaty as the straps you usually get on shoes. The top has a crochet effect meaning you can get a breeze outside but once covered with the jacket when inside it's nice and warm.

1. Black top

2. Trousers

3. Jacket

4. Shoes

The White Shirt

I think a white shirt is essential for summer. This one (that I actually have) is a nice thin material that keeps you so cool but looking smart and stylish. The option of having the sleeves up or down really helps with this shirt, my only problem with it is how much it needs ironing! The colours are slightly more autumnal but is a great outfit for keeping cool. Cardigans are great for throwing over your outfit when needed, and little cropped ones like this fit nicely into most work bags.

1. Skirt
2. Shoes
3. Cardigan
4. White shirt

The Dress

A looser fitting dress is a great summer option, this with a collar looks super smart, but is still girly. The addition of tights and the cardigan inside will give you that extra bit of warmth that you need, whilst the looser fit on the legs allows a breeze to cool you down whilst outside. Could it even be a summer outfit post without an espadrille style shoe.

1. Dress
2. Cardigan
3. Shoes

The White Shirt

It's not just the ladies that can benefit from a white shirt in summer, if you don't need to wear a tie, a short sleeved shirt is a great option, this means you can have the collar open or closed, you can get a cardigan over if it gets colder in the office.

This outfit has a second of my tips for men, see if you can get some shoes that you don't have to wear socks with, or something you can wear these Tommy John liner socks with. It will give you an extra breeze, just like their selection of men's underwear but won't make you really cold in the office. Slightly cropped trousers are great for guys too! You are able to show a little leg and it still be professional!

1. Trousers
2. Shirt
3. Shoes
4. Cardigan

The Pastel

Don't be afraid of lighter colours, not just pink but baby blue, lilac and other colours. The long sleeved shirt and full trousers will keep you warm in office air con, but when outside won't make you feel like you're being fried!

1. Shirt
2. Shoes
3. Trousers

Hope you liked these outfit posts, how do you stay cool in summer but warm under the air con?

Make sure you check out Tommy John's website here and check out their youtube video of one of their products, it should give you a giggle!

Thanks for reading,

Rachel xx

Thursday, 14 July 2016

lifestyle 17:00

Rain Stories

by Rachel

The British summer is notoriously terrible, I think we all know that by now. But even for Britain we have had an excessive amount of rain fall (in the north west of England at least), and it rained ALL winter as well. Terrible weather means terrible blog photo opportunities so instead you can have a selection of weather related pictures

This was actually from a trip to Sheffield, I had a cute little outfit on and had to travel back to Manchester on trains that evening, it absolutely threw it down, the dry bit was wear my rain coat was covering, it made little difference overall.

So with half dry hair and a funny coloured playsuit - and probably smelling a little of dried rain I got on my train to Manchester. I then had to walk from Manchester Piccadilly to Manchester Victoria, which on a busy Saturday evening is extremely difficult. Even more so when you have about 15 mins until your next train. So I half ran across Manchester, dragging my mini suitcase, still not fully dry (it hadn't even rained in Manchester) and squeezing past people. An overly friendly guy felt this was an appropriate time to stand in front of me and ask for a high 5, this was my reaction on Twitter on the day

I'm still not sorry.

Anyway I made that train, red sweating and out of breath. Every apology to the lady I sat next to, she looked mortified. I realised it looked like I hadn't washed for a week with my rain soaked self, only covered by the sweat. I was that really gross person on the train.

The weekend just gone, me and my friend got all dressed up for a Hollywood themed party, so fun to look so fancy, right up until we had to prepare for the rain

Does Blake Lively show up on the red carpet in a raincoat?

There have been some incredibly moody looking skies looming over Rochdale lately, this is a view from one of my work windows looking over Rochdale. No amount of filter or editing was making Rochdale look nice.

And then the picture below, once I got over the fascination of blue skies (what are those- we still couldn't quite find the sun) I thought the clouds looked so cool, the picture doesn't even do the sky justice at the many layers of clouds.

The weather forecast looks as though we're getting a bit of warmer weather next week, still no sun though. I hope you've liked my weather related ramblings.

What's the weather been like near you? Is it feeling like summer yet?

Thanks for reading,

Rachel xx

Monday, 11 July 2016

university 12:12

What Diary Should I Buy?

by Rachel

As mentioned in my last post (here) I will need an academic diary for starting my masters course in September. I want one that's quite nice to look at as the more I like it, the more likely I am to use it!

So after scouring a few websites I thought I'd share my favourite diaries I have found.

Paperchase

Where else would you go first for stationary other than paperchase!

Brushed floral casebound A5 mid year 2016/17 diary £8 - here

I think this one is so pretty on the outside, it has week to view pages on the inside which are really useful! Not loads of space but enough to note down assignments and reading! It's A5 size which is quite nice, although I haven't decided if I want that size or smaller yet. There's also an A6 sized one with this design.

Geo floral magnetic A5 mid year 2016/17 diary £12 - here

I think this one is so pretty, and has an unusal way of opening. However, this might get annoying if you're in a rush. Again it is A5, but this time has two days per page, it gives a little more writing space and I think the pages look so pretty and neat and tidy. It also has a flap in to put any spare papers you need to put somewhere safe which is so helpful!

Kraft maps A6 mid year 2016/17 diary £6 - here

This one is a bit smaller at A6, I think the cover is so cool and the gold detailing just makes it look so nice! This one is week to view but has much smaller writing spaces. I'm not sure how much space I'm going to need so it could be a risk!

The Works

A5 Academic Diary £3 - here

This one is from the works webise, at only £3 it is so cheap, but admittedly is much less pretty than the others on this list! It has a day per page, which would probably mean the diary is very thick, maybe not easy to transport.

The Happiness Planner

The Happiness Planner $55 - here

Now this one is much more expensive than the others! Check out the website to see why. I'm not willing to spend so much but I can see why people do! I think this is much more suited to people who treat their diary as a journal rather than just putting important things in.

Wh Smith

Now we know WH Smiths have loads of choice, if anything to much choice to get my head around! The filters help you find exactly the type of diary you want

Bizzy Lizzy 2016-17 A5 Floral Stripe Mid Year Diary Day to Page £10.99 - here

This one is really cute and so colourful, if you can't decide on oner print this is a good one! A little pricey compared to the paperchase ones though as most of the WH Smith diaries have very plain looking pages.

2016 - 17 A5 Floral Lace Design Mid Year Diary Week to View £8.99 - here

I love the colours of this one (surprisingly like my blog) I think it's quite a simple design but so pretty. I really like that it has a wire side, makes it much easier to open and write in.

2016 - 17 Slim Retro Butterfly Diary Week to View £6.99 - here

A slimline diary like this one is actually what I normally aim for. Small and light that can easily be carried around as I only put important dates in and my work shifts. I'm still tempted with the small size for my masters but I'm worried about running out of space or wanting to put bits of paper in.

I hope you 've enjoyed my list of diaries, let me know if there's anywhere else I should look to find good ones.What do you normally look for in a diary?

Thanks for reading,

Rachel xx

Thursday, 7 July 2016

university 19:19

What Do I Need to Take to University?

by Rachel

So, September is coming around fast, as everything has this year. September brings the start of my Masters degree(yes I know I mention it in every post, but somebody out there might not know!). As absolutely terrifying as it is, actually living away from home is the first thing I need to sort out. I have my place sorted (living with some people I know, super exciting) Now I just need to know what to take.

As I have done university before, this hopefully means I won't take as many unnecessary things, but knowing me I'll take even more. Last year I made a post about Unusual University Essentials ( go check that out if you haven't seen it already!) But today I thought I'd create a list of the more common things I will need. Get ready for a long list.

This is what moving out of my first year flat looked like... messy!

Kitchen

Ok, easy things first, although I do need to speak to my new housemates about what is already in the house, the kitchen isn't massive so I won't be able to take everything! Also I have found, the more kitchen things you have, the more the washing builds up, I like to keep it to a minimum.
- Pans - two normal pans and a frying pan should do it
- Baking trays ( I just don't think you can ever have enough)
- a couple of big plates, a couple of small plates, and a couple of bowls ( I had two different kinds of bowls, plastic for cereal and pot for hot meals)
- Basic cutlery (knives, forks, big spoons, little spoons)
- cooking cutlery - spatula, wooden spoons, tongs, serving spoons. (a ladle was surprisingly handy as well)
- scissors
- a sharp knife or two (trust me, buying a melon and then realising I had no sharp knives was not a good idea
- A couple of mugs and a couple of glasses, they are both so easy to drop and smash so don't spend a lot on!
- a bottle opener
- Maybe tupperware unless you're likely to buy chinese, just use theirs! Also a lunch box if you will be in uni all day, you don't want to be buying your dinner everyday
- Colander or sieve, especially if you like pasta.

Bathroom

With the bathroom you shouldn't need too many things! I won't go through the actual toiletries like shampoo etc.
- a toothbrush, it's best to have one at home and one at uni to avoid forgetting them when you travel between
- A basket or something similar to put your toiletries in when you don't want to use them or don't want them in the shower.
- Toilet Rolls - uni means you will suddenly be angry about the useage of toilet rolls, it's normal! I plan to go to Costco and get a big pack to take with me initially!
- Towels - at least two big bath towels and one small hand towel, it's no fun having no hand towel in the bathroom

Bedroom

Bedroom is the more fun part, less about utensils and boring stuff! Like the bathroom I won't include the things like make up and hair brushes that are more personal.
- At least 2 sets of bedding
- Pillows and Duvet, most places do not supply you with them
- a blanket - you spend most of your university time in winter so it's a good idea to prepare for cold weather!
- Laptop, it would be difficult to complete a degree without one but the uni will have lots of computers to use
- a TV - admittedly I have been through a whole degree without one in my bedroom as I just don't watch TV that much, the laptop does everything I need it to do.
- Something that plays music - along with my laptop I had an iPod dock so I could play music whenever I wanted!
- A wash basket
- Photos, Every list like this mentions photos but don't underestimate how important they are to make your room feel homely

- Decoration - like soft furnishings, ornaments, plants, just things to make you feel at home!
- A mirror, usually you'll have a small one in your room, stuck somewhere that is completely useless! It's nice to have a full length one but I would advise buying this when you get there rather than trying to transport it.
- A bin, these aren't always supplied.
- A lamp - again, not always supplied.
- A money box - you need to put the pennies somewhere and you'll appreciate them when you need it!
- A door stop, most uni doors shut themselves, it makes everything much more sociable to have the doors open!

we made paper chains to make our flat more homely!

University things

The things you actually need for being at university
- Laptop as stated above
- Pens, pencils, highlighters etc. I advise taking coloured pens and pencils, it helps make your work more pretty and therefore more interesting and memorable.
- Folders, I won't be buying these until after I start and find out how many modules I will be doing, I like to have a folder per module.
- Paper - lined mostly, you never know when you might want some plain though! Whether you choose pretty notebooks or like me you choose simple ones that you can pull out and put in your folders
- A diary, I plan on buying a diary starting in September, if anybody can advise me on where to get a good one, let me know! (I will also use the planner that I wrote about here)
- A good sized bag, you will need to take things to uni with you, some days more than others. Something big enough but not too big that you look as though you are moving house!
- any relevant past work or books that you have from college or your undergraduate degree, I did use my college stuff in my degree!

Etc.

- Medications
- plasters, you always need plasters
- Iron and ironing board
- Clothes maiden
- washing powder
- Cushions for the living room, chances are they won't be supplied
- A small suitcase or weekend bag - for when you want to go home for the weekend.
- A laptop bag, sometimes you need to take your laptop to uni, or home with you, you need something that will protect your laptop!
- any important documents - ID, national insurance number, a wage slip, certificates. The sort of things you'd need if you applied for a job.

And don't forget a good sense of humour, pranks are fun!

If there's anything you think I've forgotten please comment below! Let me know if this list helped at all!

Thanks for reading

Rachel xx

Monday, 4 July 2016

opinion 17:00

When Drake Showed Up...

by Rachel

Last week I was lucky enough to get hold of a few tickets for the Manchester Rihanna gig at Emirates Old Trafford. I only got the tickets on the day so it was arranged that day, it's probably the most spontaneous thing I've ever done on a Wednesday.

I won't claim to be a massive Rihanna fan, I've liked a lot of her songs but haven't really followed her career, I definitely hadn't listened to her new album before the gig! The doors for the event opened at 4 (we didn't arrive until about 8) There was a support act called DJ Mustard (??) on first and we entered as the second support, Big Sean, was playing.

Rihanna didn't come on stage until about 9:15, which I'm sure for the people who had queued all day that would have been exhausting to wait so long! I'll be totally honest here, for £75 a ticket (which I didn't pay, mine were free) the performance should have been much better, much longer and I feel the song choices could have been a bit better!

Most of her most popular songs she only played a short snippet from, I get that she has a LOT of songs and maybe that's the way to get as many as possible in but it was difficult to get fully involved! She obviously played a lot from her newest album, as expected but I was hoping for a bit more variation.

Now if the title didn't give it away, and you somehow haven't come across this news over the last week, Drake showed up at the gig! Although it was rumoured he might do, we didn't think he actually would. He sang Work with Rihanna which was amazing, and then sang his own song One Dance, which is so incredible to hear in that kind of atmosphere!

The response to him arriving on stage was incredible, I couldn't even hear him speak for the crowd noise. The gig could be heard all across Manchester, people I work with said it was so much louder around the time they saw the "OMG Drake is here" Facebook status'.

Rihanna finished the show with a song called Love on the Brain, which if you haven't heard, and I hadn't before the show, you should definitely go and listen to it, it's a really incredible song and she did a great job singing it live. She had a reputation as a bad singer in her younger years but she has definitely improved.

I was very surprised that there was no encore at the end of the gig, I've never seen an artist not do an encore before, maybe her and Drake needed to be somewhere. I was begging for them both to come back on and sing Too Good and Take Care but I can only be so lucky in one day!

So for last minute plans, free tickets I had a really great night. But I think tickets are getting way too expensive, the fact that Rihanna didn't sell out this show and tickets were given away for free at my work (work work work work work) place shows you that maybe they were way too much!

Beyonce is playing this week at the same venue, as it is open air I'm debating going somewhere nearer to the stadium to hear Queen B sing! I don't think I'll be so lucky to get more free tickets!

Did you attend the gig? Are you going to see Beyonce?

Thanks for reading,

Rachel xx

Monday, 18 July 2016

Summer Work Outfits

Trousers

The White Shirt

The Dress

The White Shirt

The Pastel

Thursday, 14 July 2016

Rain Stories

Monday, 11 July 2016

What Diary Should I Buy?

Thursday, 7 July 2016

What Do I Need to Take to University?

Monday, 4 July 2016

When Drake Showed Up...

Rachel

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