Five things that made me smile

I thought I'd try out a 'five things' feature this week, so here are five things that have made me happy in the past week or so!!

1) Going on day trips - last week I went to Manchester for a night to see a friend from uni, went to London with my sister and had a shopping trip in Bristol with my best friend. 

2) I'm going to Reading Festival - I applied to be a volunteer at Reading and found out on Wednesday that I've been accepted!! I really hope I get to see my favourite band The Pretty Reckless.

3) Having a surprise boat trip and party for my grandad's 80th birthday - the whole family got together and there were a lot of smiles all round.

4) The rain - finally the weather has cooled down and freshened up. Now I'm able to wrap up in my duvet again.

5) I laughed so much at this picture that my make-up ran, much to my sister's amusement.

source: Dawn French Facebook page

What's made you smile this week?

J :)

Who says you can't go home

It's all over!!!

I flew back to England on Wednesday, which means that my study year in Malta has now finished. I had mixed feelings about coming home. I was excited to see everyone again, but at the same time I was really sad to leave. I had an amazing time in Malta with some great friends and I'll cherish the memories we made out there. 

It's strange how things change but also stay the same. I felt like a different person leaving Malta, compared with when I arrived, but as soon as I got home it was like I never left, and it was all just a dream. Does any one else get that?

I don't know what this summer may bring as I haven't really made any plans yet, but I can't wait to find out!!

Also what is going on with the weather?! It's actually been really nice!!

J :)

Sun, fun and friends

Since we finished uni, my housemates and I have been making the most of our time in Malta. And so have our friends and family!! We've had so many people visit us in the last few weeks it's been great fun.

The weather's been perfect for trips to the beach!!

Tigne Point, Sliema
Our local beach is just down the road from our apartment. There's no sand or pebbles just rock, it's good for chilling out for a few hours. There's even a cocktail van nearby that makes yummy cocktails from fresh fruit. On Monday I had a Strawberry Daiquiri, Friday a Long Island Ice Tea and a Strawberry and Banana Pina Colada on Saturday.

Mellieha Bay

Last Tuesday we headed over to Mellieha Bay for the day. This is a really nice sandy beach with really clear, shallow water. Perfect for people with kids. We took bats and balls and played games in the water.

The Blue Lagoon, Comino

We've done a few boat trips to Comino now, and on Thursday we took my housemate's friends there. The view is beautiful and the water is so blue. We swam from Comino over to a small island nearby and then through a cave. It was tiring, but well worth it and such a good experience. 

The first time we went, they we doing crazy sofa rides from a speedboat. It was so fast and bumpy it was like being on a roller coaster and we got absolutely soaked. IT WAS SO FUN!!

The island we swam to.

Spot the lizard.

I hear the weather was good in England last week!! Hope everyone enjoyed the bank holiday weekend. What beaches would you recommend from other parts of the world?

J :)

Lower Barrakka Gardens, Valletta

On Monday my cousin came to visit and on Thursday we went to Valletta for the day with my housemate.

After wondering around for a while we made our way to the Lower Barrakka Gardens. They are so beautiful, particularly when the sun is out and the sky is clear.

There are lots of pretty pink and lilac flowers around at the moment.

The perfect spot to have our sandwiches.

The lower gardens are quieter than the upper gardens, I'd like to come here to read at some point.

  I took this photo of a couple the first time I visited the gardens:

Opposite the gardens is a bell tower. Some plaques read:

"This bell tolls in memory of those who gave their lives in the Siege of Malta 1940-1943"

"At the going down of the sun and in the morning we will remember them"

Many people don't know about the significant role Malta played in WWII. They sided with Britain and were heavily bombed because of it, yet they never gave in. In 1942 the whole country was awarded the George Cross for their bravery.

We ended our day trip at the Valletta Waterfront for cocktails. It's a hard life ;)

J :)

Make way for summer!!

So..

I've finished my university experience in Malta!!

I really can't believe how fast these past 8 months have gone. It seems like only yesterday I arrived in Malta for the first time, stepping off the plane into a new country, not knowing what to expect. Now it doesn't feel like I'm abroad at all, it feels like home and it will be weird to be back in England.

I have enjoyed every almost every minute (could have done without the coursework related stress) out here and I will miss Malta very very much.. However I look forward to making the most of my last five weeks out here and soaking up some sun.

Thursday evening my three housemates and I went out for a really nice meal at Barracuda in St. Julians. We'd been planning it and saving up for a while and it was a really special way to celebrate the end of uni. This weekend was also the last time it would be just the four of us in Malta, as the first of our family and friends arrived on Monday and now we'll have a full house right until the end.

#

Then on Saturday we went on a boat trip to Comino and went on a crazy sofa ride, which was awesome!! In the evening we ordered pizza and watched West is West, which was just as good as East is East.

In the next few weeks I'll be trying to visit as much as Malta as I can, so I'll be posting about what I get up to and putting up lots of pictures on my intagram.

So have you finished uni yet or do you still have exams? What are your plans for summer?

J :)

Nearly there

So i'm nearly at the end of my university experience in Malta. In five days there will be no more presentations and the last coursework will be in (I hope) and I can enjoy the last six weeks in the sun.

However in those five days I've got to finish two essays, write a report and do one or maybe two presentations. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

So for everyone else who's out there trying to get through the last few days of uni or just in general need of motivation, here's a few songs that might help.

If you like these two songs, check out Art of Dying:

And of course Survivor's Eye of the Tiger performed by the lovely Jensen Ackles aka Dean from Supernatural:

All video rights belong to those who uploaded the videos to YouTube and/or as outlined on YouTube by the video up-loaders.

I haven't added videos to a post before so I hope they work OK. Let me know if there's any problems viewing them.

Good luck with all your exams and coursework!! We're nearly there!!

J :)

Coursework blues

Hi guys,

Sorry I've been a bit absent from my blog recently. It's that time of year when uni decides to give us the whole terms worth of work to do in just a few weeks. But then that's part of the student life, you learn to work hard and play hard and juggle each aspect of your life until you feel like a Jester. But hey, I love being a student and I'll be sad when I get to the end of my course. So for now here's a few pictures of what I've been up to during some much needed breaks from studying and I hope to fill you in on the details soon.

Been wanting one of these tops for a while!! Over Easter I saw a
'mathlete' one  in Primark that  I  wish I'd brought.

And just to prove that there has actually been some studying as well ;)

How have you been getting on with uni work? Any tips for fellow students?

J :)

Shopping for summer - Style haul #1

So I'm back in sunny Malta!! After being back in England for almost three weeks I'm definitely appreciating the heat!! (Although I'm gutted that I seemed to be in the only place in the UK that didn't get snow during that time).

While I was back I made full use of Primark and Asda to do some summer shopping - probably too much as I am now slightly worried about bringing everything back at the end of the year, oops.

Can I just say that I am currently listening to Black Veil Brides newest album Wretched and Divine and it is awesome.

Dresses

Left: Denim dress from Topshop with laced up back - I can wear this in the day or dress it up for a night out.

Right: Mint green lace dress from Primark - I wore this on a night out with my sister.

       

Left: Sheer white dress from Primark, longer at the back and has lace at top back - I fell in love with this dress straight away and at £15 it's a total bargain!! I'm planning on wearing this when I go to Barracuda for a meal with my housemates next month, to celebrate the end of our coursework.

Right: simple tie-dye dress from International - perfect day dress for walking around Malta.

J :)

Buster

Nearly seven years ago my parents finally agreed to get a dog. We brought Buster from a farmer when he was 14 weeks old. His parents were gun dogs but he's scared of loud noises and is useless at finding his ball so he wouldn't have made a very good working dog. However he loves lots of hugs so he's perfect for us!! Like most springers he's crazy about tennis balls so we find them all over the house. I always find them on my bed along with muddy paw prints for some reason.. He likes curling up into small spaces and wakes me up in the morning by licking my face haha.

We have to take pictures while he's asleep because he doesn't stay still.

While taking the picture on the right he managed to get my eye with his nose.

J :)

Home sweet home

It's been quite a busy week, with lots of travelling. I flew back to England on Tuesday evening, for the Easter holidays and boy is it cold!! It's good to have the family all under one roof again :D

Lunch on the beach before I caught my flight home.

Its nice to have the open fire on.

 I was really excited to wake up to snow Saturday morning, I was hoping to see some before I go back to Malta. Sadly it didn't settle.

My gorgeous springer <3 

J :)

Tag: desert island

My friend Georgia from Becoming Hugo tagged me in this post, so here's the question:

If you ended up on a desert island, what 5 beauty products would you want with you and why? (We can assume that sun cream will be provided)

For me, being a vegetarian is a way of life not a diet, so all my choices are suitable for vegetarians and are not tested on animals (as stated on the companies websites and/ or the products packaging). This can restrict the cosmetics available, but these days - in England any way - it is a lot easier to find animal friendly products. At some point in the future I will do a post all about it :) Until then, here are my answers:

1. The Body Shop super volume mascara 01 - this was an easy choice, I never leave the house without it on.

2. Superdrug dry skin relief lotion - because I get really dry skin and Eczema so moisturiser is a must.

3. The Body Shop camomile eye make-up remover - if I'm going to be wearing mascara then i'll need an eye make-up remover!! And this is the best one I've tried by far.

4. The Body Shop tea tree skin clearing lotion - Its always good to use a facial moisturiser. I usually vary what I use depending on how my skin is and whether it's day or night. I usually use one with an SPF in the day, but as sun cream is already provided and I'm limited to five choices I'll go with this - even though I'm not a teenager anymore I still get loads of spots :s and this moisturiser helps with that a bit, it is also really good for sunburn!!

5. Barry M yellow nail paint 134 - the first four choices were fairly easy as I'm not the kind of girl who has loads of different cosmetics and make-up, however for this choice I was torn between nail varnish and eyeliner. In the end I went for this as I love wearing brightly coloured nail varnishes. I chose this shade because it looks great with a tan and feels very summery.

So there's my five choices!! What would be your choices?  Does anyone else stick to vegetarian cosmetics? Feel free to comment your answers or the link to your blog if you do a post about it - I'd love to hear your thoughts!!

The people I'd like to tag are Being Erica - a lifestyle blog with lots of cute outfits, Meg from Bow ties are cool - you know a blog is great when it gets its name from Doctor Who!! and Harry - a fellow English girl in Malta at Malta: Moving On, Up + Away.

J :)

My week in pictures

Monday 4th  - Went for tea and cake in Mdina, after work at the dog shelter. The cakes at Fontanella  are well worth the  long bus journey!!

Tuesday 5th - Had uni in the afternoon/ evening.

Wednesday 6th - Ducks at the bus stop on the way to uni!! Then we had some friends round to make pizza and watch films, then went out for sushi in the evening. I had Vegetarian pumpkin sushi, vegetable dumplings (really yummy) and green tea.

Thursday 7th - Went to uni in the morning then came back for lunch. Our bus didn't turn up in the afternoon so we didn't make it into uni but we made a start on our coursework instead.

Friday 8th - Went to visit some friends in Gozo, and went to the Piano Lounge in the evening.

Saturday 9th - Ferry back from Gozo.

Sunday 10th - Sunbathing on our balcony. It was election day and the Maltese were very passionate about it - all day people went past in cars, playing music and cheering. In the evening one of my housemates and I decided to check out what was going on, and we ended up at an amazing street party.

So that was my week in pictures!! What did you do this week? Were there any special events by you?

J :)

Mum comes to visit!!

Last weekend my mum flew over from rainy England for a Costa and some sun (and to see me). Living so far away makes me really appreciate my family so it was nice to spend some quality time with my mum.

First stop was a Costa at the airport for lunch and then back to my apartment, where I live with my three housemates. I then made the mistake of going into Zara - whenever I go into a clothes shop with my mum I end up spending lots of money - I brought two tops and a cute jumper with whales on. Time for a Millies cookies!!

On the Saturday we got the ferry over to Valletta and spent the day there.

On Sunday we had a picnic at the beach. I made a pasta salad for us to eat but I forgot the forks so we had to eat it with our hands!!

J :)

Puppies at the dog shelter

Sorry my post is a bit late this week, my mum came to visit so I was busy showing her around Malta (I'll put a post up about it over the weekend).


My housemate and I volunteer at a dog shelter on Monday mornings and this week there were two puppies there!!

They were soooo cute and playful. It was definitely a two person job to clean out their kennel, as one person had to keep them occupied so the other could clean.

When I'm away from home I miss my dog a lot. Visiting the shelter really helps, especially when I get lots of hugs.

  

The beautiful view of Marsaxlokk, on the walk to the shelter. In the Maltese language, 'x' is pronounced as 'sh' so it's pronounced 'Marsa-shlock'. Its a really pretty fishing village.







J :)