Summer Look

I had a very productive first day in Sheffield... shopping! :D I'm having so much fun shopping for summer, i've missed the heat so much, and soon I'll finally be back under the sun :'D

I love the white top I got yesterday! It's from New Look, and it was on sale, so I managed to get it for about five pounds. I'm looking forward to wearing it with a pair of bright coloured denim shorts or my high waited ripped black pair. I got the black and white top today in Republic, and again, it was on sale. I ended up paying about twelve pounds for it. It's a crop top, and I can't wait to pair it with my black high waisted skirt or black high waisted shorts. It was love at first sight in La Senza with this white bra with gold lace! It's so gorgeous, the photo doesn't do it justice. It was on sale, and I ended up paying sixteen pounds for it. I also got a salt spray for my hair, because I got it cut short today, and want to have lovely beach waves during the summer :D I've never used salt spray before so I have nothing to compare this one to, but hopefully it works well, and keeps my new hair style looking nice!

I can't believe I actually cut my hair this short! I've been wanting to get it cut short for a while now, but i'm such a chicken when it comes to changing my hair, and so it was quite nerve racking for me! I've had really long hair for pretty much my whole life, so although it might not seem short to some, it certainly seems really short to me! I'm really glad I did it though, I love it! :D

-Alyssa xo

Summer Travelling - Part 1

I can't believe it's already been two weeks since I moved out of university halls and left Wales for the summer! It's been such a busy two weeks for me that it's just kind of flown by.

My aunt and uncle so very kindly drove three hours to pick up my stuff and bring me back to their house in Sheffield so that I could stay with them for a couple of days. As my parents and sister were still in Spain at this point, I was so grateful for their help and to be surrounded by family again. I'll tell you... once you leave home and live independently you sure as hell appreciate being with family and being looked after again... having your meals cooked for you, tea made for you, car rides etc. And oh my gosh, i'll tell you another thing I really appreciated during those three nights I stayed at my auntie's house... bubble baths! Having the choice to relax in a hot bubble bath rather than taking a shower was just heavenly. I had a really nice time in Sheffield. The highlight of those few days was going to the cinema with my cousin and her husband, whom I hadn't seen for two years. We saw The Big Wedding, and although the film didn't really impress me (it wasn't as funny as I had anticipated), as I never really get the opportunity to spend time with my cousin it was a really nice night :)

I then took the train (which is when I submitted my last post) to Cumbria, to stay with my grandparents for nine days. I had terrible internet connection up there, because they live in the middle of the country side, surrounded by fields and sheep, and as I couldn't get a strong 3G connection and my grandparent's don't have their own internet I couldn't blog. So yeah, I literally spent those nine days watching t.v and learning how to sew (my grandma taught me!). My grandparents fatten me up every time I go there, I swear, I know i've gained weight just from being there for just over a week!

My next stop was Chester! I met my parents and sister there, and we spent three nights in the cosiest hotel. I love Chester so much, the city is beautiful, really quaint and full of history and culture. It has such a friendly atmosphere and a major bonus is that the shopping is great! We spent the first day shopping, the second day at the zoo, and today we looked around Chester University for Chloe (as we are on a university trip for her, to help her decide where she wants to apply to) and went into the Chester Cathedral.

The Zoo!

 I love butterfly parks, and the one in Chester had some really beautiful butterflies. I adore the vivid colours on this butterfly, and the wonderful way that they blend together. 

Orangu-tangs are my one of my favourite animals! They're just so cute and so human-like, it's quite amazing to watch. This mummy ape was right up to the glass and was holding her baby (you can't see it on this photo unfortunately). She kept looking straight into the eyes of everybody watching her and you felt a real sense of likeness between the two of you.





Chester Cathedral!

I love visiting places of worship. My family and I are not overly religious, never go to church or anything. But i've always wished that I was. I find faith so beautiful and pure, and places of worship, whether they be christian churches, muslim mosques or buddhist temples, to be so peaceful and revitalising. Stained glass windows are one of my favourite things, and I just had to take a photo of this particular one in the Chester Cathedral because it was just so mesmerising... I couldn't take my eyes off of it!







My family and I drove back to Sheffield this afternoon to stay a few nights with my aunt and uncle, so I'll make sure to keep you updated during my time here!

-Alyssa xo

First Post! :D

So after much deliberation I have finally decided to become an active blogger! I’ve always loved writing and I’ve always kept a private diary, literally, since about the age of seven. You should see my first diary entry, it’s the cutest thing... I drew a picture of all the members of my family, my mum, my dad, my younger (two years younger) sister Chloe, mis abuelos (my Spanish grandparents) and my English grandparents, even my aunts, uncles and cousins. My second entry is even sweeter, where I wrote a description about The Grinch. I remember thinking to myself when I wrote it: ‘I’m going to write reviews on all the movies I watch’... yeah, well, that didn’t happen, obviously. Can you imagine if I had though!? Imagine all those reviews! It would have been pretty awesome to read back on, to see how my analytical skills developed over the years. 

My first diary was a funky friends one, with a cover made of blue denim. It was a pretty cool little diary, with a little lock and key. I used to write little poems in it, and I was reading through them a couple of months ago and I just burst out laughing because they were just so random... about my garden, friends that I had fallen out with over something silly and my sister Chloe.

My second diary was a pink glittery one, which had two fairy’s on the cover. Chloe had a matching one. I got this diary when I was ten and so it’s the age of boy crushes, bad fashion sense and music taste and pathetic quarrels with school friends. Quite a good read, got quite a few chuckles out of it.

I began a travel journal shortly after my family and I moved to Singapore (in 2007), simply because this is when I began travelling properly. Before Singapore, when I lived in South London, I had only visited a few countries because we had a holiday house in Southern Spain (due to half of my family living there), and therefore we spent the majority of our holidays there. Singapore, being in such a great location for travelling, enabled me to visit and experience so many countries. I was learning so much from all the cultures I was exploring and therefore decided to start a travel journal, and I am so glad that I did! I would certainly consider myself well travelled, having been to many countries, including India, Thailand, Indonesia, Australia, Dubai, the Maldives, Cambodia, Vietnam, Jamaica and many more! I have been so fortunate in that aspect and I am truly grateful for all the experience I have already had at the age of nineteen.

When I moved to Wales (UK) in September 2012 for university I began another journal, one which I am still writing in regularly and plan to continue writing in it until it’s pages are full. As you can see, I’ve had my fair share of journals, and I thought it was time I started my first blog! I am pretty excited about this blog, to be honest, just because I love expressing myself and sharing my thoughts  and experiences with others.

I am currently on the train on the way to my grandparents’ house (my English ones) in Cumbria, England. I’m sitting by the window and I have the most wonderful view. The scenery is absolutely breath-taking, travelling through the Lake District and all, supposedly the most beautiful part of England! It’s so lush and green, mountainous and open. There are sheep with their lambs and horses with their foal on the fields, and although the clouds are heavy and grey and trying their best to rain, there is the tiniest ray of sunshine that keeps peaking through and it just makes everything look so beautiful. 

You will come to learn that I am a girl forever on the go, moving between places. And I absolutely love it, wouldn’t change a thing about it! I’d hate to be stationary the whole year around. So, as you know I moved to Singapore when I was thirteen, and that was truly life changing. I was going through a lot at that age, with anxiety related issues, and moving to Singapore was an opportunity for a fresh start. Singapore holds a big place in my heart and I love the country to the moon and back. The people I met there and the experiences I gained helped to transform me into the person that I am now; an optimistic, down to earth, HAPPY girl. I will forever treasure the memories made there and all I learnt during those five very important years. 

I moved to Wales, United Kingdom, last September for university and I absolutely love it. It’s completely different to Singapore, but I love that about it. I go to Bangor University which is in the north of Wales, and it is so very beautiful in Bangor, I’m living between the mountains and the sea, and it’s absolutely lovely! It’s a big change, coming from Singapore, which is such a globalized and urban country (it’s a city state). But I love nature just as much as I love urban life, and I am really appreciating being surrounded by so much of it. A favourite hobby of mine is horse riding and I have to walk for half an hour to the stables and half an hour back every Wednesday, through quaint little country lanes, and I love the walks, even when it’s pouring down with rain (which is very often), because it’s just so tranquil!

My parents and my sister moved into our holiday house in the South of Spain in December 2012, so that is where I now spend my holiday periods. I love Spain, and it’s rich culture. I love my home in Spain, right by the sea, the sunset is incredible, but the sun rise, let me tell you... is phenomenal! I love seeing the sun rise up over the sea in the mornings, it’s really refreshing, a great start to the day!

My summer holiday has already begun, and I have a four month summer break to look forward to! I have so much planned and I’m going to be a busy girl for the next few months to come. So I'll be doing lots of blogging to document my 2013 summer experiences :)

Well, I am almost at my stop and will have to get of the train soon so I better get going. Amazingly, I could write so much more, because I’m the world’s greatest rambler. However I’ll leave it here until next time. Thank you for reading, I hope you didn’t get too bored of my chit chat!

- Alyssa xo