Instagram Round Up

2013 was, as you can probably tell from my last post, a bit of a hectic year for me so choosing just a handful of photos from my Instagram account to show you was a little hard! 

It was pretty fun to go back through them all and relive the memories that I made. So here below is a selection of my most important events through 2013; both good, bad and ugly. I think my favourite photo in the bunch has to be the third one along on the top line which is of me and my cousin at my sister's wedding. I took it as my sister was having her hair done in the hotel room before we travelled to the church. The whole day was just perfect - filled with friends, family, love and sunshine. 

You can follow me on instagram under 'itsanatnat'. Drop me a comment and let me know your instagram name so I can follow you back! I'm also using my twitter account @NailsandNibbles a lot more now so don't forget to friend me on there too!

2013 Round Up

Lets face it, 2013 was pretty awesome. I'm almost sad to see it go - 2014 has so much to live up to!

In 2013 I...

* Finished my dissertation, and with it my final year of university

Not pictured: 8 weeks of crying, swearing and throwing a Mac across the room trying to compute the stats portion

* Took up an awesomely fun new hobby

My aptitude for hanging upside is somewhat unparalleled.

* Moved back from university and parted ways with some amazing friends (but not forever!)

God dammit those 2am nightclub photos are always so flattering.

* Met my musical hearthrob

*Swoon*

* Threw my sister an awesome (if I do say so myself) hen do

Jazz hands were enforced.

* Graduated from three years of hard work

I'm the one in the hat, in case you were confused

* Moved into a flat with my wonderful boyfriend

The table is still standing, because I didn't build it.

* Had my cake featured on BBC2... Twice.

I cried.

* Took on the role of Maid of Honour at my beautiful sisters wedding

I cried again.

* Completed the Color Run, and with it my first 'official' 5K race. Many more planned for 2014!

Though my 2014 races will probably be less messy....

* Got a job after just a couple of months of searching (no photo for this, unless you want a screenshot of my many, many emails?)

* Went to see my first full rugby match at Wembley Stadium

Unfortunately it was a lose for the Saracens... fortunately, I'm a Harlequins fan.

* Said a very sad goodbye to my lovely childhood friend, Snowball

R.I.P beautiful girl x

Not to end this post on a sad note, but losing Snowie was the last big thing to happen this year. Apart from all of the above it's been work work work... (Gym) Work work work! And I wouldn't change it for the world. Love my job and who I work with, love my flat and who I live with, love my family and friends even though we're not all in one place.

Happy New Year guys. May this one be even better than the last.
x

The 'big five'; AKA the busiest month of my life.

For some reason this year it appeared that all the big events that I was a part of took place in a matter of weeks. Now they're all done it's time to take a breather and relax with a cuppa whilst looking at the photographic damage! For the most part, I'll let the photos do the talking.

First was my sister's hen do - for this we did a 'Strictly Come Dancing' party with The Cheerleading Company (who I would thoroughly recommend) and then a scavenger hunt and a meal followed by some fun, games and alcohol.

Secondly, we had my Dad's summer ball. Drunken revelry commenced and a good time was had by all! We go to this most years and it's always a good laugh. The booze flows as the drinks prices are generally about a quarter of that you'd pay for in a regular bar (can of diet coke = 35p!) and there's always bottles of wine and cider or beer on the tables that you can have.

The only photo of the night that I'm willing to show you (because it's already on facebook and I can't hide my shame)...

...

God damn it I am sexy. The sad thing is this was taken at 7pm, just after we'd got there, so I can't even blame my hideous facial antics on alcohol.

Thirdly, we had the rather large occasion of my sister's wedding! I don't know about her but it feels like this has been in the planning stages for years so to actually get to the day was really exciting. I'm still doing residual wedding 'stuff' (some secret stuffs and some not so secret stuffs) but it was all so much fun I don't really mind reliving it.

Finally, a photo of me looking like I can drink wine like a normal person!

Fourthly, two days after we celebrated Simon and Charli tying the knot, we drove up to Wales so that I could attend my graduation ceremony.

Finally, we drove to Manchester (again, two days after driving to North Wales, and four days after driving home from Cambridge) for a wonderful event called 'The Color Run'. A Color Run is basically a 5k run with a twist; at every kilometre there is a 'color station'. This is where volunteers throw powdered paint at you to make you all bright and colourful... For comparison, side by side of before the race and after:

So much fun, I can't wait to do it again next year! I finished in 33 minutes 21 seconds so that is my time to beat. It was a fantastic day and it was lovely to run it in Manchester, my boyfriend's home town. My parents met his family afterwards, so it really was a great weekend.

All of this took place between the 14th of June and the 21st of July - phew! Now I have nothing left to look forward to... so I guess I should find another run or something ;) Or I could attend to my poorly neglected blogs... haha!

Bargain beauty buy - Primark Neon Polishes

Primark is revered in many ways for their cheap clothing and accessories - unfortunately most of it is made in sweat shops in India by small children. Despite this they've rapidly become a high street staple and in the economic down turn we've been experiencing are a god send for those of us on a budget.

As a general rule, I don't like Primark nail polishes - but this little set of four caught my eye immediately on a recent shopping trip. Neons are definitely in this summer and as per usual all the big brands are releasing their own versions; from Models Own to Essie. Primark like to try and keep up with the trends whilst being affordable so it's no surprise that you can buy four mini neon polishes from them for just £2!

So what do they apply like? Well, unfortunately the tiny bottle and brush makes them quite hard to handle and apply neatly - but the actual nail lacquer inside is gorgeous. I tried out the shell pink one for the purposes of this blog post and here is how it looked after one coat!

There's hardly any visible nail line, the colour is strong and vivid and it dried really nicely. I went back and put another coat on and to be honest, whilst it made the colour even more vivid, it was very hard to do as the bottom layer seemed to go sticky even though it was bone dry before hand; as this colour at least is very pigmented I would say that actually, you can get away with just the one.

I normally hate pinks or oranges but this is lovely and I'm so glad I picked this set up - I can see myself using it a whole lot this summer! The different colours in the range look equally exciting. The yellow definitely has a goldy shimmer to it and the pink is so bright I think I would feel like Barbie wearing it!

The best thing about this set though is the price. I broke my no-buy for this pack but as it was just £2 I don't really consider it a fail. I was in Boots yesterday browsing the stands as you do and I totally bypassed the Models Own new Ice Neon collection because quite frankly, I don't need it any more, I have this!

Thoroughly recommended.

Summer sun wishlist

I don't normally do wishlists largely because if I want something, I tend to just buy it right there and then. Now that I'm coming to the end of my degree, I'm trying to get into better spending habits and save up for things I want rather than just impulsively buying them!

This wishlist is a bit of an eclectic mix - my style is definitely changing!

1) Cream bird print dress, £12.99 from New Look. This is a really nice simple summery dress that would look great at a picnic or even a pub garden. I'm really loving prints (even though I already have a bird print dress!) this year. The sleeveless style will be perfect for sunny days and sunbathing.

2) Mulberry denim shorts, £10 from Firetrap (USC). Shorts are a staple for me in summer, and I love bold colours and patterns. More often than not on hot days my go to outfit is a pair of bold shorts and a plain t shirt; comfy in the heat and still girly.

3) Black suedette dolly shoe, £20 from Faith. Shoes are a tricky thing for me as my feet are wide and very soft - I get blisters at the drop of a hat from the lightest rub and it's hard to find shoes that really fit me. This pair of dolly shoes are both cute and functional; and they make a change to my normal summer trend of plain black pumps.

4) Cream embellished heart vest, £22 from River Island. Normally, as I said earlier, I tend to wear a plain top with shorts in summer - but this heart vest is really cute and would look awesome with a pair of casual denim blue shorts.

5) Floral print lace insert playsuit, £20 from BooHoo. I kinda... fell asleep for the playsuit craze last year/the year before but this summer I want to get myself one; there are some lovely designs out there and they're not too expensive to get either. This lace and rose print version from BooHoo is stunning and summery; perfect for all weathers this summer.

6) Swarovski wedding cuff bracelet, £15 from Etsy. Despite the fact that this is intended for use by a bride as part of a wedding outfit, I think this bracelet is absolutely stunning and would be fantastic to glam up a summery outfit for a night out. Plus it's pretty!