Homebound

Hi guys and girls,

I have recently neglected my blog so much but the intensity of uni work is getting higher. Earlier this week, Monday, I submitted my first ever uni assignment - eeeek! Fingers crossed the essay was up to 'university standards'. 

Exactly a week ago today I finally took a trip back home to see family and friends after being away for six weeks. If you've spoken to me a lot since being at uni you would know I was feeling super homesick, so the trip was everything and more for what I could wish for. 

I arrived home on the Thursday evening after being at uni until two then having the three and a half hour train journey home. Once I arrived home I caught up with my dad properly without it being through either email or telephone which was amazing. That night we also got a chippy which I so happy about after eating pasta constantly for the past six weeks. It's true what they say, pasta/and or noodles is student food!

On the Friday I headed into London for the day to see one of the best people in my life, Jodie. To catch up with her was just what I needed. Before I even reached London, at the trainstation I saw one of my favourite girls from college - Scarlett! We caught up about uni and life. It was so so good to see her and I seriously think if any of my college friends are reading this, we should all have a reunion at Christmas. We hit the shops for a while before then going up to Hyde Park for a while because unusually the weather felt like it was summer. In Hyde Park we caught up about life, laughed a lot, discovered who Colin the catapillar was and had a lettice fight. What more would you want?

Saturday was also a lovely day. The whole week before I only managed to have nine hours sleep. I still don't know how I functioned. I'm guessing it is all the caffine from the million and one lattes I had to drink. Anyhow, Saturday I was able to have the much awaited lie in without the fear of flatmates coming home late or the fire alarm going off. Saturday afternoon I headed down to my nans for a catch up where I caught up with my nan, auntie, aunties boyfriend, dad and sister. It was so so lovely and makes me miss seeing them daily. Cannot wait to head home at Christmas to catch up with them properly.

Saturday evening I headed to the pub with one of best gal pals Shannon which I was so so good. We orignially headed over to the pub for a spontanious glass of wine and a catch up but ended up ordering delicious food too. Whilst we were in there I saw a few ex college friends and was able to catch up with them which was an added bonus. The evening finished after a bowl of chips, a waffle with maple syrup and a bottle of wine. What a night. 

Sunday was the day I originally planned to head back to uni but with the travel disruption all over the place it would take me much longer than three hours to get back and who would like that? Sunday I spent catching up on TV watching my favourite TV shows (by the way, I was so excited to watch a TV advert - weird huh? But I hadn't seen one in over six weeks!!!) and doing the parts of the big uni work pile I have. It is so hard to do coursework whilst living in halls so was so glad to get some done whilst I was at home.

Before I knew it Monday had arrived and I had to head back down to Southampton. It was so sad to say goodbye to my family and friends but what an amazing short but sweet visit. I can't wait to head back for Christmas and catch up with more people and spend some quality time with my family. 

Until then I have a project to hand in a few weeks and a whole load of 'roomwork' and dinner to cook. 
Be back soon, 
Ciao x

Week 4/5

Hi everyone, 

Once again I feel like I have completely neglected this blog. This is probably due to university life kicking in properly now with work and readings due in almost every day (excluding the weekends, of course). 

Since starting university I have become more aware of the fact that I love to learn new things and that I love a good challenge. This is probably because every single day I am challenged in some way, shape or form. Whether that be simple things like 'how will I get my weekly shop from across the other side of town to home without my arms breaking off?' to learning how to live away from home with homesickness. Whether it be big or small we face challenges every day. 

This week however I have challenged myself in more ways than one. If you know me I am shy when presenting any work to classes or to tutors as for some reason I think my work isn't good. In a non attention seeking way - by the way. I always feel my work lacks in aspects to others and I really need to try and overcome that and see that there is good and bad in everything, not just bad all the time. Back on track, this week I have pushed myself to 'try' to speak more in lectures about my work and maybe speaking about others. I am fully aware that I still need to work on this but I'm sure it will happen in time. 

I feel like everyone should challenge themselves everyday to something that they may be uncomfortable with doing or just try something new. It will always make you feel a lot better once you have accomplished it - trust me. 

Bit of a weird post this week and don't want to bore you any further. I must go and wash up my dinner plates and things and crack on with more coursework. 

Ciao for now :)

Week three/half of four - oops.

Hi guys and girls,

I'm back. Can you believe that tomorrow I moved to Southampton a month ago? A whole entire month. Insane. The first few weeks are always going to be the hardest but I feel like I have settled in a lot more compared to my first blog post that I've written since being here. I feel like I have my bearings around my new home now, although I still haven't taken a trip to the docks yet... must. do. that. soon. 

Anyhow, uni has now completely started and is in full swing. Before starting my course I was a little nervous about 'not being good enough' and all them kind of things, but it turns out I had nothing to worry about. We do skills sessions in different lessons in the week which helps us build knowledge on different programmes such as; Photoshop, InDesign and Illustrator. I've always wanted to find out how to use Illustrator and I'm super super excited to be learning about that later this week. 

This weekend just gone it marked the end of freshers. Freshers partying lasted a whole two weeks and within them two weeks I only went out twice, three times if you count the night I moved in. The first week I had a really heavy cold and the last week I just couldn't be bothered. I'm that type of person who would rather spend money on food rather than alcohol - boring? maybe. Freshers ball was on Sunday night and it was incredible. It was held in the club in town - Oceana. They had artists play such as Jess Glynne, Zane Lowe and MK. My favourite part of the whole night was definitely the silent disco. How weird. When you walk into the room you are given headphones which have two channels that you can flick between. The DJ's are still in the club, just you have your music played through the headphones. When you take them off though the whole club could be singing two different songs - hilarious. 

This week I have also decided the date which I will be returning back to my hometown - halloweeeeeeen. I can't wait to see family as I have missed them all so much since being here. 

Also, just another little thing. I have a new blog over at wordpress where I will be keeping all my uni graphics and graphics which I do in my spare time at. Please check it out at: www.charlottenlucas.wordpress.com 

(I will however be blogging more personal blogs, OOTD posts etc on here.)

I best go and catch up on the Eastenders I have missed and stop eating this toffee popcorn. 

Ciao for now xx

First week at uni - yikes!

Hey guys and girls,

As you are aware last week I had a massive change of moving to Southampton for university. Last week I was feeling very homesick and only went out clubbing once. I feel much more settled in this week but of course I still miss home a lot. There are times where I wish I could be near family, especially after not feeling 100% health wise since being here with colds etc but I have met more people I live with and they are lovely. The accomodation is split into floors with four kitchens on each floor. There are usually around ten people to a kitchen which can become very busy at dinner times. Talking about my flatmates we all headed over to the pub across the road for a drink before starting our big first week at uni which was lovely as we got to know each other a bit better. 

Oceana Wednesdays (17th September)

Monday was my first day at university. It was welcome week and I think(!) we start our course this coming Monday which is both exciting and daunting. On my first day we got to enroll and do all the boring admin stuff like sign up for doctors etc etc but I got to meet my class for the first time. The tutors are supportive and the people in the class are lovely - which I'm pleased about. 

The rest of the week we got given a mini project of redesigning a high street fashion brand which I found very exciting. The class had a guest speaker come in to talk us through on how he got into the industry and gave us tips on how to brand a company which was so helpful. The group that I was in decided to rebrand Dorothy Perkins as we felt their logo lacked a little edge to it. We headed to the shop where we took mental (and physical) notes of what kind of shoppers went in there and asked both staff members and the public what they thought of the shop to help us rebrand, which was interesting! I noticed whilst in the shop itself that all ages of people shop there but different generations buy the same clothes for different reasons. 

The same day we did research into the company, I went shopping after uni with some people in my group. We grabbed some lunch and off we went. We felt like we needed some retail therapy as well as getting to grips with places around Southampton. (Still getting used to the city centre and finding my way!!) Incidentally I found a bag from Dorothy Perkins which I purchased for uni. It's a deep leather bag and was in the sale reduced from £28 - £18 and THEN £15 with student discount - bargain!! 

Dorothy Perkins bag which was in the sale - bargain!!! 

Towards the end of the week we had a freshers fayre which was awesome! It was held in Southampton's Guildhall and you could go along and sign up to different societies (or another word - clubs). There were a variety of different societies you could join ranging from rowing, American football to language swap. After we finished in the society tent we then went on to the actual fayre where there were leaflets and freebies. I randomly got handed a can of beans (interesting!!) and at the end you could claim your free slice of dominos pizza - who would say no to that!

Later that day we pitched our ideas to the class and got feedback. If you know me well you'd know I don't like public speaking or any of the kind but I felt like it went well. The class liked our idea which was what I was hoping for. 

The Dorothy Perkins mini logo I designed!!

Now... I haven't really been out partying. Yes I know it's freshers and yes I know you are meant to be going out partying but I've been sick and haven't gone. This Thursday, as I was feeling ten times better I headed to the big night out. It's a 16 club/bar crawl. I made it to seven before heading home around 2am to sleep before we caught a coach to our free uni trip to Westfield's in London (YAY!!)

Big Night Out when we bumped into a pig - wow!

One day this week I headed down to the common room to see everyone dressed in fancy dress for an event called 'Icebreaker'. It was so good to see everyone dressed up! 

People from my halls dressed up and managed to get a selfie with a poweranger!! 

To end what seemed like a very busy week the fashion school at uni went to London shopping. It wasn't just a shopping trip though we still picked up leaflets and look books from different designer shops to help with our first assignment at uni - ahhhh!!! I picked up some look books/leaflets ranging from Lipsy to a fab Versace one (which came in an envelope - sooo fancy!!!) I also of course went shopping and bought a new long black hippy looking skirt and two tops in a sale... Ill do another post on them soon! 

Leaflets and look books I found in London, one day I will work for one of these companies!! 

Being back in London was amazing yet so so sad. I kept thinking I was halfway home yet I couldn't go back. Hopefully I will be heading back to London in a few weeks which will be lovely. (I adore that city!!!) 

White city Westfield's!! Love it :)

I've also had phonecalls this week from my friends and family! Finally I caught up with my nan for a chat which made me so happy and of course I ring my dad daily. I love chatting to family back home but it makes me miss them more, especially on Fridays when it's our family night but time will soon fly in and ill be able to join them again soon. 

I've also had phonecalls from my really good friends Shannon and Gemma this week which was amazing! I love a good ole chin wag! 

So that was it for this week... Busy busy busy and it will only get much more busy I'm sure. Ill be posting more pictures soon of my outfits I've recently purchased. I'm also thinking of making the weekends my time to write weekly blogs to catch you all up on what I'm doing! 

I hope you all have a lovely weekend and ill be back very soon! 

Chow for now x

Uni life so far..

Hey guys and dolls,

If you've been following my posts on social media recently you will know that I have recently just moved over 100 miles away from home to Southampton for uni. This blog post is just a mini catch up on what I've been doing since I've got here - for those interested of course!

Well, I arrived on Wednesday morning I think it was around half nine in the morning and after much going backwards and forwards pass the uni accom I made it! My dad and I began to unpack, then did a food shop and walked around the city centre for a while. When it was time to say bye I got so emotional - saying bye to my dad was the worst. Although I'm hoping that I will see him before I come back home in December - WOAH. I think it really hit me that I'll miss having family around when I headed up to my bedroom and realized I was alone. I decided to make my pin board and desk look more homely and put pictures of the family on the bedside table. I met up with some friends who I have previously chatted to on Facebook and we headed out that night (believe me or not, I haven't been partying since Wednesday night, hangovers are NOT nice.)

                                                          Desk area at uni!

The rest of the week and weekend I decided to dedicate to finding my way around the city and get my barings. I've done a few food shops- just topped up when I needed too. Never did I realize how expensive it actually is. I've met some really awesome new friends whilst being here which has made it feel a bit more easier, yet it seems to be at night time I get really homesick. On Saturday I went on a tour of Southampton with my friend who I've known for ages - Steve. We went for lunch at this super awesome restaurant called - Turtle Bay. Whilst we were sat catching up and eating lunch we saw a person with a sign walk by for a vintage fair which happened to be dead opposite where we were - BONUS! We had a look around there before then heading up to another part of Southampton city centre and had a cup of coffee/hot chocolate in a cute little cafe! It was such an awesome day, really cheered me up!

  An awesome card Steve made me & an Audrey place mat for my cups of tea from the fair!

I've been feeling a little rough with a cold which is going around and all I seem to want to do is sleep... brilliant time just before freshers starts :-( Tomorrow I start uni at 9AM, eeek! Praying everything goes OK. 

I will write another blog post soon about my first week at uni, I better go now for some more grapes, oranges and honey tea to get rid of this cold.

Chow for now!

#DanniiForTarget comes to the UK!!!

Hey peeps,

At the beginning of this month I wrote a blog which I outlined my top five favourite pieces from Dannii Minogue's Australian petites collection with Target stores - dreaming of owning a piece. 

Well... Today I had a very special delivery. Target doesn't ship their clothes to the UK (sad face) but my amazing Australian friends surprised me with sending not one but two pieces to me. 

It was a complete surprise as I had no idea they had this planned. My top piece from the collection was the jumpsuit. I have been searching high and low for a simple plain black jumpsuit, many have some sort of detail on which was something I particularly didn't want. When I had seen the look book for this collection I saw that Dannii had created THE PERFECT jumpsuit. I got so sad that I wouldn't own it as Target don't ship here. 

When I opened the package, eager to find out what was inside, the jumpsuit was there!!! I literally could not believe it, I am so happy! I instantly tried it on and it is the most perfect fit. It's loose in places it should be - so you can move with no problems and loosely clenches around the waist which makes your figure look incredible! The length is perfect and the material is so soft, a similar feel to silk. I am SO happy that I now own this as it makes me feel so good about myself. Definitely is a staple to my uni wardrobe as you are able to dress it up or down. Perfect! 

I excitedly opened another package which I received and inside found the amazing grey top from the range. I've been looking for a top that sits the way this one does for a while. Most tops I have tried on are too tight around the arms and don't allow you to move freely. When I tried this top on it instantly felt amazing. It is the perfect fit. This top is in fact the softest t-shirt I own. With it's style and colour this top will go with any style of outfit. A pair of jeans for a casual day or tucked in a pencil skirt for a date. 

Both these items of clothing are incredible and I am so grateful to own them in the UK! A massive thank you to Esther, Sabrina and Jo for sending them over & Dannii for creating the pieces of clothing I've been wanting for ages. You've made a girl incredibly happy.

Dannii for Petites range now available in Australia ranging from sizes 4 - 16... Get your hands on them ASAP! 

Editing.. Again!

Hey peeps!!

I've been so busy since coming back from holiday with sorting bits and pieces out for uni but I can now say I have my accommodation - somewhere to live - phew!! 

With only 26 days to go, I won't have much time now to create graphics as a hobby, so this will more than likely be my last graphic of the summer, before starting my full time course at university - Fashion Graphics! Fear not I will be posting what I create at uni in blogs too, so not all is lost. 

One of my previous graphic posts on here I created an alternative Fault Magazine front cover. With being a fan of how high fashion the shoot was I decided to use another photo from that shoot. 

This time I have created something which I have wanted to create for a long time. I spend hours going through Pinterest searches for inspiration of how to create something which is different and stands out. 

I've seen so many pictures like this on Pinterest and always thought they looked amazing. I love the colour pops around the image in the middle. After sorting things out and packing for hours I thought I needed a break. That's when I decided to try creating one myself. 

6 hours and 48 layers later this is the outcome. I am so proud of this. 

Please let me know what you think, I welcome all comments to help me develop further. 

Can't believe it's not long now at all until I embark on the next adventure and for finally studying a subject which I have true passion for. 

Will keep you all updated! 

Chow for now x

Photo credit (Dannii): Fault Magazine. 

Fault magazine out now!! 

Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/CharlotteNLucas