Day at the Cotswold Wildlife Park

This was supposed to be an outfit post with couple of cute animals, but it turned into a cute animal post with a couple of outfit shots. Not that that's necessarily a bad thing.

You know those times when you come up with what you think is a cute outfit, look in the mirror slightly unsure about the way it looks on you and decide to just go with it because you really don't have time to change? That's me in these photos. While I was comfortable on what was probably the hottest day of the summer so far, I can't say the photos don't make me cringe. 

I'm all about body positivity and always say that people of all sizes can be beautiful and look great. But clearly, I just can't dress for my body shape. I'm frustrated that while my clothing size says I'm fairly small (size 10), I still feel a little like a whale when wearing anything short (fitting in with the other wildlife then, ha!).

The lemurs were an absolute highlight of the visit — my boyfriend and I loved walking around the Madagascar exhibit with them roaming around freely. They were so adorable and it was great to hear more about them and the conservation projects the Cotswold Wildlife Park is involved in.

I was quite excited to spot a red panda, which is one of my favourite animals. Whenever I've seen them at zoos before, they've been hiding away from the curious eyes of the human visitors. This one, however, was quite active, despite it being a very warm day.

Bag: ASOS (old) | Top: H&M | Shorts: H&M (few months old) | Shoes: Converse

That's it for this post! I hope you enjoyed this little post about our day out at Cotswold Wildlife Park. I quite enjoyed taking my camera out for something else than awkward self-portraits for a chance haha!

Outfit photos are by Nick

I am a graduate!

Where have the last two weeks gone? I know I say this a lot but I swear time has never passed so quickly! So, what happened?

First, my boyfriend and I spent a blissful week doing pretty much nothing expect enjoying the sun, walking his parents' dogs and figuring out things for our imminent move (less than 2 weeks now...!). We also went to Cotswolds Wildlife Park, so stay tuned for cute animals and probably less cute outfit photos.

The second week went in a blur because bright and early on Monday morning (I mean like pre-6am) we hopped on the car and drove up to Aberdeen for my graduation, which was happening on Tuesday. That's an 8 hour drive folks. Without traffic.

My family also came for my graduation, which was lovely. But as I'm sure you guys will know, sometimes seeing your family can be really stressful. And with a language barrier, six lost suitcases, a seven person group, a memory loss-prone grandma and two pre-teen kids, it was even more so. It was certainly eventful — almost comical! The suitcases arrived after my ceremony (cue half the family missing my ceremony and everyone wearing yesterday's clothes), my boyfriend left my camera and his two lenses in the taxi on the way to my graduation (we got them back the next day), there was a fire alarm (my grandma was in the bath and my sister were in pyjamas), and my family left one of the suitcases at the airport on the way back (I hope the airport security didn't have to blow it up). All this in the span of 5 days.

Amidst all the excitement and stress, I never actually got any photos of my outfit underneath the silly (but sort of cool) gown, hood and hat combo. A pity, since I hardly ever have an excuse to dress up for an occasion. We were only allowed to wear black or white, and since I didn't want to wear all-white, finding a suitable dress was quite a challenge. In the end I did find a very pretty Little Mistress number from House of Fraser (on sale no less!), which you can see glimpses of above. For my shoes I chose Polly by Minna Parikka, gorgeous white heels with gold-detailed wings on the sides, which I also wore to my high school graduation 5 years ago. I'm terrified to wear them because they are white. Silly of course, as there is really no point in paying 275€ for a pair of shoes that you only wear once every two years.

Some decorations from the marquee where we had the graduation lunch after the ceremony

We stayed in Aberdeen with my family until Friday morning, when we yet again took off pre-6am. But this time it took us about 10 hours to get back, which was obviously great. When we finally got back, we mostly just rested until Sunday... when we went for a 7 mile walk across the Cotswolds! As a city girl, I should have trusted my instincts and worn wellies and long trousers to shield myself from the cruel nature. Instead, I wore trainers and short running leggings. There were a lot of nettles. You do the math.

So, that's pretty much it. Now I am an officially unemployed (and panicking) graduate. Wish me luck (or employ me)!

Home: Living Room Inspiration

Since we now have a flat sorted out and the move is just over a month away, I'm spending more and more time daydreaming about decorating my first home. As we will just be renting for now, I wanted the flat to be a blank canvas (i.e. unfurnished) that I can decorate the way I want. While I was dreaming of white walls and no carpets while starting the flat search, I knew it was probably too much to ask (but it's my biggest pet-peeve in UK homes!). And it was. But I was willing to sacrifice my dreams of wooden floors and location nearer Oxford for the otherwise perfect flat in right in the centre of a town which I admit has almost everything you need in terms of everyday life. There is also the added benefit of considerably smaller rent prices than Oxford, which meant we could afford the two bedrooms we had wanted. Oxford is still just 20 minutes away by car, and therefore easily reached when I want to pop in for more variety of shops and cultural activities.

But back to decorating, or rather, dreaming of it! My boyfriend has given me complete freedom when it comes to decorating the flat, so my imagination has run wild. While I like to talk with him about my ideas, he seems interest seems to be restricted to the actual furniture (colour scheme of sofa cushions is of no interest haha). He seems to be happy with everything I suggest though, and I suppose my taste is not too overwhelmingly "girly". There will be no hearts, ditsy florals or butterflies, because as much as I love looking at the shabby chic style on Instagram and the like, it's not me. While the romance of English countryside appeals to me on some level, the minimalistic Scandinavian style resonates with me a lot more. While I don't want to recreate the style of Almost Every Single Home in Finland, there's a lot of elements in the aesthetic 'back home' that appeals to me. Perhaps even more now that I'm here in the UK.

I thought I'd begin a little series of home inspiration posts, starting with the living room (as I'm currently obsessed with it).

As you can probably tell, I'm currently obsessed with yellow and turquoise! We're planning on having most of our furniture quite plain and in neutral colours, allowing us to redecorate easily if we feel like changing the colours at some point in the future. Throws and cushions are great for pops of colour, and I'm particularly liking this throw and this pillow (£35, £12, both from Next). Geometric patterns are a favourite, as you can probably tell. Shops seem to be full of them now too, as well as my chosen colours, which works well for me. The yellow print cushion (£7.99) is from H&M and the chevron one (£11.50 and up) is from PureHomeAccents via Etsy.

H&M Home has some lovely pieces at the moment, such as this cute wooden bowl (£6.99) and flower vase (£19.99). I'm also big fan of Debenhams when it comes to homewares — and they're not disappointing with their selection of turquoise and yellow pieces, or geometric shapes. The now-sold-out framed art work and the chevron picture frame are my favourites (think I'll make a trip to my local Debenhams to see if they have them in store!). I also love the trio of little vases (no longer in stock) and the white jar (was £8, now £6.40), perfect for storage of little bits and bobs!

Moving into a new home is expensive though, particularly when you have no furniture. As I'm still an unemployed student, 2 weeks away from graduation, we are not exactly swimming in cash — but we still want a nice looking flat that feels like home. I've been looking for some furniture on sites such as Freegle and Freecycle, as well as local furniture charity shops. So far, I've got us a free bedframe and spotted a cheap dining table and chairs that we might pick up this week. We're also planning a visit to IKEA, which I admit to be quite excited about.

IKEA is great for some basics, such as the white BILLY bookcases (£25) and KALLAX shelving unit (£45). We're looking to get a large grey sofa, such as IKEA's KIVIK (£810) — though we will probably try to find a similar looking sofa bed, so that we can have friends and family stay over.

While we do have carpets, I think a couple of nice rugs around the house would not hurt. IKEA has a lot of beautiful printed rugs that won't break the bank, such as the little round VIRRING rug (£10). I'm also in love with the yellow Stockholm rug (£160).

My absolute dream is this beautiful Garston love seat from Made.com (£699). While not necessary at the moment (and slightly pricey!), I'm determined that it will one day take its place in our living room as my reading chair.

If you'd like to see more of my homeware favourites (and lots of other things), make sure to follow me on Pinterest!

Personal: Hello England

It's been just over two weeks since I said goodbye to Aberdeen, loaded a frankly ridiculous amount of boxes in the back of a moving van and hopped on a 9 hour train to Oxford, England.

Since then, I've been staying at my boyfriend's parents' house near Oxford and commuting to Oxford for my work experience. I've also been flat hunting (which proved a success!). The two weeks have gone by unbelievably quickly, and to be frank, it's also been exhausting. This past weekend I made a little trip to London to visit a friend (and raid the Oxford St Lush store, shhhh) and now I finally feel a little more relaxed and like I can sit down and write. I haven't actually even opened my laptop on multiple days, and if I have, it's usually to use Google Maps for journey planning. This is unheard of for me, who usually spends about 5 hours a day staring at their laptop screen. But yeah, it's been that busy.

Hopefully it'll be less busy from now on and I will be able to take some photos for posts (surprisingly difficult when you're living out of a single suitcase and generally home after 7pm). I've got another week of work experience left, after which my boyfriend will be back in the UK. Then I'll start looking for a full-time job, go back to Aberdeen to graduate on the 15th of June and on 6th of July we will move into our flat!

Regarding the flat... Despite my previous plans to find us a place within a cycling distance of the Oxford city centre, we ended up deciding to rent in the same town that Nick grew up in. It's half an hour from Oxford, so not very far away, but still not quite what I planned. But we decided that being able to have 2 bedrooms in a lovely modern flat right in the centre, a couple of minutes away from the bus stop, for the same price as a grotty 1 bed in Botley, was a pretty good deal. Even if means living 20 minute walk away from his parents and grandparents – something which I definitely did not plan. And no, I don't dislike them — at all. I like them, and I'm very grateful for their support so far and in the next few weeks while we wait for our flat to become available. But I'm 3.5 hours away from my family by plane and have never been closer than 30 minutes drive to any family member previously, so it feels a little too close. And not living in a city is not something I ever wanted either.

Anyway. Expect some homeware hauls, wishlists and probably a little tour in late July/August when we've settled in and I've had the chance to decorate a little bit. And hopefully outfit posts soon.

Outfit: Queen of the Hill

Bag: Vinted | Dress: Topshop via Vinted | Shoes: New Look

Second outfit post from Cyprus! We were driving back to Limassol from Paphos via 'The Scenic Route' when we spotted a little cafe on the side of the road and a lot of cars, and decided to go and have a look what the fuss was about. Turns out, the cafe/shop was next to an underground tunnel to Aphrodite's Rock, a beach where (according to mythology) Aphrodite was born!

Sadly, I can only give you three photos, as I realised upon closer inspection of the photos that there were only two where you can actually see what I'm wearing (my boyfriend is still learning the meaning of an 'outfit' photo). Oh well. It's a very simple one, and as impressive as big rocks are, multiple photos might be a little boring.

Queen of the Hill (or rather, of a Rock)?

This will be my last week in Aberdeen(!) and while I have a couple posts planned up, I admit I might be quiet again here for a little while. The coming week(s) seems quite intimidating, as I have to finish my very last essay, box up all my belongings, move to Oxfordshire on Saturday, start my work experience at OUP on Monday, really begin house-hunting (instead of just browsing) and try to settle in (as much as I can). Intimidating, but exciting.

Outfit: Here Comes The Sun

Little darling
It's been a long, cold lonely winter
Little darling
It feels like years since it's been here

Here comes the sun
Here comes the sun,
and I say, It's all right

The Beatles - Here Comes The Sun

Sunglasses: Accessorize (old) | Top: H&M (old) | Dress: Asos Petite (old) | Shoes: New Look

As cliché as a Beatles song might be, it perfectly captures my feelings about the day these photos were taken. It was the first day of my holiday in Cyprus and after the never-ending rain and gloom of Aberdeen, it felt like world had suddenly come alive. The fact that I was also seeing my boyfriend for the first time in about 4 months probably helped too. ;)

I landed to Paphos Airport late on Friday night, so we decided to stay at the camp for that first night, and check in to our holiday accommodation in peace the next morning. In the morning, we made a pit-stop at Kolossi Castle on the way to Limassol since we had a little time before the check-in time. Apart from enjoying the sights from the top of the castle, and goofing around and being silly, we also took a few outfit photos, so I thought I'd share them with you (including the sillyness)!

And for the outtakes...

I find 'posing' for photos quite hard, and when the nerves get the better of me, I become silly. In the second photo, as you can obviously tell, I was channelling some angry fireplace spirit (don't ask).

Outfit: Back in Your Own Backyard

Oh you can go to the East go to the West,
But someday you'll come weary at heart back where you started from,
You'll find your happiness lies, right under your eyes,
Back In Your Own Backyard

Billie Holiday - Back in Your Own Backyard

Top: H&M | Necklace: Topshop | Jeans: New Look Petite | Shoes: Dorothy Perkins

I never thought I'd buy anything with peplums but here we go (and this is my second peplum top)! I spotted this rainbow-dotted piece from H&M sales a few weeks back for mere £5 and decided that I absolutely needed it. I've since seen a pair of trousers in the same print and been tempted to try them on every time I walk past them in the shop — but I'm afraid that I might end up buying them if I do haha.

I only have 2 weeks left in Aberdeen before I move to Oxfordshire. I have no flat and no proper job waiting, so it's quite scary. I will, however, be starting on 3 week work experience placement at Oxford University Press and I'll be staying at my boyfriend's parents' house until I find us a flat, so it's not too bad.

Before that, however, I have a presentation, an essay and a lot of packing to do (already started on that!). I'm trying to clear out my wardrobe a little bit, so if you're interested in having a peek, you can find me on Vinted (swingmeout) and Depop (@swingmeout)! I'll be posting a few more bits in the next couple of days.

There are no words to express how excited I am to finally be living in the same country with my boyfriend again, and even living together this time! It's been nearly two years since he got posted abroad and I must say, it's been tough at times. It feels almost unreal that we have finally got to this point.