Why hello there!

Oh dear, I've been a bit behind with blogging - life has just become rather hectic! So, a life catch up...

A couple of weeks ago my rather wonderful friend Ellie came round on a Friday night for, what I thought was, a couple of drinks down the pub. However she was clearly up for a 'proper' night out, so off we went! We started in the Oak in Clifton, then Amoeba, then Park bar on the triangle. Here are a few pics;

Laura and Ellie

Everybody say 'awww' -
Laura and boyfriend Andrew

The girls! Laura, Ellie and I

Amoeba - Me, Lee and Ellie

I like this one :)

Me! 

The end of the night in my bed!
Ellie was asleep in 15 seconds flat.
At this point I was eating a yoyo burger...
with extra garlic mayo. Classy.

Out with Clinique, in with Boots No.7 'Beautiful Skin'

I have a smelly job application to do tonight, so I did a bit of self-bribery with some new purchases. Nic's post on double cleansing at Strawberry Blonde Beauty triggered some thoughts on my skincare routine - I really struggle with my skin. My face isn't too bad but I periodically struggle with REALLY bad acne on my back.

For a while now I've been using Clinque's anti-blemish three-step system, but my facial skin is dry with some breakouts, not oily and I find that the Clinique system is quite drying. You're supposed to use it twice a day, but even when my skin is at it's worst blemish-wise it feels like it would fall off if I did that! I do use the cleansing foam on my back and find that it does help if it's playing up. It is good for my face when I'm a spot-covered monster but I can't really use it in between.

I'm also lazy with make-up removal. I rely on face wipes and a bit of moisturiser before bed and then cleanse in the shower in the morning - but only if I'm washing my hair as I don't want to get my fringe wet....I know, it's naughty. I've been reading up on skincare and acne, thanks to this article from British Beauty Blogger and thinking that perhaps the issue is not controlling excess oil, but dry skin cells and slightly oversized pores. Clinique does not seem to offer an adequate solution to this. I've been using the 7 day scrub but again I only do this when I'm in the shower and washing my hair - it feels great for a short while afterwards, but it's not meant to be used every day and the effects don't seem to last - probably because I'm letting make up and grime build up. Nic (SBB) said that now she's started double cleansing, the little bumps under her skin have started to go, and mine have been annoying me, my skin doesn't feel soft and smooth - rather slightly scaly! I'm only 24!

So I had some time to kill today while waiting for a bus home and popped into Boots. There is a 3 for 2 on No.7 at the moment so it seemed like the perfect time to pick up a new skin care regime, although I am absolutely broke....! The nice lady behind the counter scanned a £5 voucher for me even though I didn't have one though, which was great, and I bought a month's worth of Berocca, also on 3 for 2, with my advantage points!

My purchases: Firstly I bought the Hot Cloth Cleanser. I've used Liz Earle in the past; I really liked the feel of it on my skin (and the smell!), and using the exfoliating cloth. I also loved that I could use it to take my eye make-up off without any sting. However it did make my blemishes worse at the time - I think this is because I scrubbed too hard, not really understanding that I was aggravating my already irritated skin. So I have resolved to try again with No.7 (not least because it's only £10, compared to £24 for the Liz Earle equivalent size). I will report back when I've used it!

Secondly I bought the beautiful skin hydration mask - Ellie brought this round on valentine's day and I really liked it. I'm excited to use it again :) Hopefully I'll finish my job application and then be able to use it tonight!

Last but not least I bought the Normal/Dry Skin day cream. I wanted the night cream but they'd run out, so I got the day version. This might have been a good idea anyway as all this extra moisture might be too much, with a rich night cream being the last straw! We'll have to see - check back for updates :)

I was also met by this fantastic view on my way home:- 

Not only are daffodils popping up inside our garden, but also outside the side of the house! 

I love spring.

Week 2 of long distance 2012.

Michael was home for the weekend, and we spent a lovely day together yesterday - we ate too much and I began my quarter-life crisis - but we were together, and there was sunshine and cuddles. It was even warm enough to have our first meal in our garden!



However this morning I had to drop him at the station at 4.50am to get his train back to London for work (super-off-peak tickets expire at 5.00) - not fun, and resulted in me coming home to an empty bed and not being able to sleep until 20 minutes before my 7.45 alarm went off. I was on the bus at 8.24 though - that is pretty good going!

As I said in the blurb Michael and I met at school, but having been together for less than three months Michael went away to Reading for university. He's a year older than me so I stayed in Bristol to finish my A levels, and then went off to Sussex to do my degree. So the first four years of our relationship were conducted across many train lines and many weekends. We saw each other every two to three weeks, and the only time we went more than four was when I was in Ghana for five. Again, apart from a few days between calls in Ghana due to the expense, and maybe the really occasional day when one of us has been abroad elsewhere, if we've not been together we have spoken every day on the phone/skype/face-time for the last...*quick google - yes there's an app for this*... 2436 days, or 6 years, 8 months and 1 day (In fact it's even more than that because we were talking on the phone every day before we got together!).

Obviously this is not going to change because Michael is on a three-month secondment but I have really got used to actually seeing him practically every day for the last 555 days, or 1 year, 6 months and 8 days (This date calculation thing is a bit addictive...). I don't really know how to go to bed on my own anymore, I stay up until 2am when I got up at 4.30...what's that about?? My sister and her boyfriend are thousands of miles apart while she lives in the states, and I know that the time difference means they can't speak every day so I am really lucky. Not to mention those bereaved or in the forces and away for huge periods of time - I really do understand that I'm lucky. 

But I miss him.

And it SUCKS. 

Really.