Life #2: New Year

As the Christmas dust settles and attentions turn to a new year, I thought I'd follow suit and write a post about what 2013 was for me, and what I hope to achieve in the year ahead.

This year has seen a lot of change for me, and being a typical Cancerian, change is not something I find particularly easy. Throughout my childhood we moved to new countries every 2 years: whilst I had an unbelievably blessed, exciting and happy childhood travelling the world, the constant upheavals, goodbyes and ever-changing unfamiliarities have undoubtedly left their mark on how I now respond to change. This manifested itself in May during my finals, knowing I was about to leave university and internally trying to process all the unknowns that were to come. I definitely hit a bit of a slump in May and quite honestly, I still don't feel I'm out the other side of that. I have good days and bad days and it's definitely getting better but I'm determined to make sure I am as positive and upbeat as possible this year as I've found my emotions in the second part of 2013 have been all over the place!
Despite the onset of all this, I managed to squeeze enough knowledge in to my brain to do well in my exams and graduate with a 2:1. I was at work when I found out and I left the office, phoned my mum and burst in to tears! Three years of working towards an end goal had obviously built up so much stress that the relief upon hearing my result was overwhelming. My graduation ceremony in July was definitely a prouder moment of my life and I felt super brainy wearing my gown and mortar board! July also saw my 21st birthday, the supposed coming of age and I celebrated in a lovely, cosy Italian restaurant in Fulham with my family and my closest friends, some of whom I hadn't seen in a few years. It was such a special night for me and it will be a memory I treasure for many years to come.

Leaving university, two other huge changes were moving into my own place as an 'adult' (i.e. not a student) and starting my full time job. My boyfriend and I spent June moving our belongings into a flat that's conveniently just over the road from both of our workplaces. Yay for no commuting. We quickly realised each other's company wasn't going to suffice and adopted a housemate and then two rescue cats, Tony and Cleo, who are bundles of joy and annoyance in equal measure. We wouldn't be without them - they brighten up the most miserable of days and make us laugh all the time. My personal favourite moment was running a bath with the help of Lush's Comforter bubble bar, watching the bright pink water foaming away, and then seeing a huge fluffy cat jump straight in. Seeing a sopping wet cat trying to scramble out of a hot pink bath made me cry with laughter. Suffice to say I don't think he'll be getting in the bath again any time soon.

In August I went to Miami with my best friend and honestly, it was one of the best weeks of my life. We stayed in a boutique hotel right on South Beach and witnessed all that Miami has to offer, from tropical thunderstorms on the first day to blazing 35-degree heat for the rest of the week, cocktails, tattoos (ahem), shopping, Sephora, and the best Eggs Benedict ever. A week is definitely not long enough to explore and it's somewhere I'm determined to visit again in the near future.

Beauty-wise, I thought best to recap with my most popular posts of the year. I was in the minority who didn't fall hook line and sinker for the Pixi Glow Tonic, and I wrote about that here. I was lucky enough to attend the press launch for OPI's upcoming Gwen Stefani Collection and a sneak peek of the shades and swatches are here. I also wrote about my evening with Lush in Nottingham here. I got to meet some absolutely fabulous bloggers who I now talk to all the time: Sophia, Megan, Emma and Meg, and it opened my eyes to a whole heap of incredible Lush products I'd not tried before.

The second half of 2013 was much slower-paced as the realities of life with a full time job began to sink in. I do try and keep life as interesting as possible but the Groundhog Day feelings are definitely there. I definitely miss the Uni lifestyle but I also know I wouldn't go back to it: it's nice to have independence (read: money, albeit not a lot) and feel like I'm on a career path. I don't know what 2014 is going to hold in terms of my professional life but I hope I can continue building my experience and feeling more settled.

I say every year I'd like to lose weight and keep it off. This year I plan to make changes to my lifestyle first and foremost and I would hope that as a consequence of that, I will lose weight and manage to maintain. To get to a healthy weight I'll need to lose a good 3 and a half stone, which is daunting, but I hope this time next year I can report that it was a success.

My other plans for 2014 include decorating my flat and learning to live a frugal lifestyle. One of the reasons I'm so thankful for the blogging world is that it's so easy to find resources, whether it's inspiration on decor or advice on budgeting, it's all completely real, tried and tested, and it works. I read so many brilliant blogs and whilst it can have a detrimental effect on my bank balance, it has also helped me in adjusting to life whether it's been becoming a student or becoming a 'proper' adult. I'm so excited to see what the blogging world has to offer this year!

I hope you all have a successful, happy 2014 and I'd love to read any similar posts you've done so please do leave your links!