Last week I decided to pop home for the weekend. As much as I love being at Uni, I do miss things like having a cuppa and watching Dragon's Den with my parents or catching up with my friends at home, not to mention sleeping in my own bed! 

So I kicked off the weekend in the best way a Northerner can...with a Parmo!!! You're now thinking what on earth is a Parmo...Well it's basically breaded chicken smothered in a creamy bechamel sauce with a sprinkle (actually a lot more than a sprinkle) of cheese melted on top. They're absolutely delicious and a well loved speciality from Teesside, so make sure you try one if you're in the North East area! 

Saturday morning involved a trip to a local farmer's market..one of my favourite things to do! No one is ever miserable walking round the stalls and I love finding cute independent companies...especially food ones! I managed to pick up a few chocolate treats for Rachel's birthday.

Saturday afternoon was spent at my friend's farm where me and my mum basically spent the whole time cuddling lots of cute animals! We even witnessed the birth of twin lambs which was great as my mum was desperate to see this as a keen viewer of lambing live! 

The lamb pictured above was my favourite :) I know you're sitting there thinking awwwww

The vet student in me feels I should point out that you shouldn't actually kiss lambs as you can catch something called Orf, which is a skin condition. It wouldn't be the end of the world. but you know, better just to not get it. Have a little read here if you're into that kinda thing!

Saturday evening was spent eating the yummiest of yummiest food at Chadwicks - my favourite restaurant! I went with my friend Rachel as an early celebration of her birthday! It's quite pricey but oh so worth it!! I won't make your mouth water with the food pics just yet..I'm saving those for a review in the very near future, so all you foodies better keep an eye out!

Oh go on then, maybe just the one! 

On Sunday, I went with my parents and friend Rachel (again yes, we're inseparable when we're both home) to the Hartlepool's Maritime Museum which is somewhere I used to go all the time as a child, so it really brought back heart warming memories being there again. 

Peek-a-boo!

 It was fun walking in and out of the different houses that were made to look as they would in the 18th Century. Places like this make learning about history so much more fun and interactive!

As fun as it might sound climbing up ropes etc on a big badass ship, life at sea sounded pretty horrendous and I can't say I envy those men that went to war at sea but you have to admire their bravery!

"he's got the whole world, in his hands, he's got the whole wide world, in his hands"...

After we were done taking silly pictures, we headed to the calmness of Saltholme Nature Reserve, for a bit of bird watching.

Can you spot the famous Transporter Bridge in the background?

We even managed to have a spot of tea with Alice and the Mad Hatter!

How adorable is this!? There were holes at the back for wild mice to climb in and steal a treat or two!

 This place is perfect for clearing your head for a bit. Something I'd been needing to do for a while actually, so this was a refreshing visit!

 Can you spot the duck?

It was so lovely to be home and I already can't wait to head back for Easter! 

A brushin' good bargain

Just a quick one today to bring a great affordable product to your attention that was kindly sent to me by beauty product testing, in return for an honest review, so here it goes...

I never really used to use make up brushes for applying my foundation, until I was basically made a laughing stock in MAC by the counter girl for admitting I used a sponge...and was bullied  persuaded into buying a stippling brush for around £30!!!!! Personally, I think that's a bit excessive...

BUT BUT BUT!!!! 

For £3 you can get yourself Revolution's Pro F103 Stippling Brush! As a student, that is music to my ears...

My first impressions of the product were good - I thought the packaging made it look a lot more expensive than it is, so I was genuinely surprised when I looked up how much it costs. I think a lot of it has to do with the rose gold foil of the packaging, I'm a sucker for rose gold - aren't we all at the moment!

The bristles are lovely and soft, although I must admit, I ever so slightly prefer the feel of my MAC brush when applying foundation to my face..not enough to justify the price difference though! 

The brush is great for applying foundation under your eyes and blends it well, leaving just as good a finish as my mac brush. The head of the brush could do with being a bit bigger but at the same time, the smaller size gives you more control.

Overall, I think that this product does its job, looks the part and doesn't break the bank! I'm quite keen to try out some of the other brushes in the range now that I'm becoming a more frequent user of make up brushes!! 

Have you ever tried Revolution make up brushes? 

Salthouse Tapas Review

I don't know if this is something that happens commonly in your twenties or if I'm just a greedy guts, but I can say, hands down, that I would much rather spend my money on a nice meal than on a night out. I'm becoming a little foodie and it's great! 

Last night, I went for a spontaneous meal out to celebrate passing my most recent exams at uni. I'm not usually one for spontaneity, but if food is involved, I'm in 100%! 

We wandered the streets of Liverpool for a good twenty minutes or so, freezing to death, until we came across Salthouse Tapas!

They had fairy lights on the balconied area where we were seated, so I was pretty much sold from there. Plus lots and lots of candles which created a relaxed and cosy atmosphere, despite it not being that small a place!

I love trying lots of different foods (I'm that person that towers their plate sky high at buffets) so tapas is right up my street!

The Deep Fried Goats Cheese with Golden Beetroot and Apple Chutney was the first to arrive to our table. It was absolutely delicious and melted to perfection. As a huge goat's cheese fan and trier of many, this is easily one of the nicest I've had! My mouth is watering now just thinking about it mmmm. Also, I know people read blogs in whatever voice they imagine me to have...well apparently I pronounce Goat as 'Gorrrt.'  This provided some with great entertainment that night..

Next up was Baby Chorizo with Honey! Another favourite food of mine...I'm going to call a lot of things favourites so maybe we should just accept that I love food of most kinds...

This was so so good and the sweetness of the honey was a great combination with the Chorizo! 

I picked the Iberico Ham Croquettes as I first tried and loved them in Madrid last year. These tasted just as good as those from their native country! 

Patatas Bravas is another choice I made based on my visit to Madrid and these made a great side to everything else we ordered. 

Roast Pork Belly with celeriac puree, caramelised apple and sage; another favourite of mine - honestly the menu must have been created with me in mind. Very very tasty!

To round off the meal, we had Churros covered in a cinnamon sugar and chocolate dip! These were finger lickin' good!! 

And what better way to wash down a meal, than with a jug of Sangria!!! It was dangerously nice, so as you can imagine, I skipped home singing after that. A great way to celebrate passing my exams :)

If you're from Liverpool or ever find yourself there, I would highly recommend stopping by here. The food is seriously good and it was great value for money!!

Following your dream

I'm not going to lie, I'm a bit nervous about posting this as it's so different to anything else on my blog and it's about my biggest passion in life which I know not everyone shares but hopefully there's some takeaway messages here you can relate to! My main point I want to get across is that if there's something in life you really want to do, you can and you shouldn't let people put you off it either. Hard work and determination get you far in life! Here's my experience of following my dream...

Ever since I can remember I've always wanted to be a Vet. I used to be glued to the TV whenever Animal Hospital came on and I remember how much I loved the fact there was a Vet on there called Emma :)

I was the height of fashion back in the day...

Whenever I told people it was what I wanted to do, they'd always say how hard it was and I could tell some didn't think I'd be able to do it. One of my teachers told me I should probably consider a different career choice and that I'd be unlikely to get my grades. I honestly don't understand why teachers do this? Surely we should be encouraged to reach for as high as we can in life? Despite all this I still made an application to Vet school as I just couldn't imagine myself in any other job!

Part of the requirements for getting into vet school is that you have a certain number of weeks of work experience which led to some amazing opportunities! Have you ever been kissed by a sea lion? 

If you're interested, they have terrible fishy breath, but this one was just so cute!

As it turned out, I did get my grades and I took great delight in telling that teacher that he should really have more confidence in his teaching!!! However, what I didn't get was an offer for Vet school. I thought that was the end of it and that I'd just have to accept it wouldn't happen for me. 

I started another course and headed off to Uni anyway because that felt like the logical step and I did have a great time but I just couldn't let go of the fact that this just wasn't what I wanted to do and I decided to give it one last shot after a very long heart to heart with a friend..and guess what?

I got in!! :)

Receiving this email was probably the happiest and also scariest moment of my life. It was actually happening! I cried a lot that day.

I'm halfway through the course now, so I guess that's what led to me reflecting on the journey so far. There's still a lot of hard work to be done, but whenever I doubt myself, I try and remember how far I've come. In a way, I guess not getting in first time makes me appreciate the course so much more!

Even now, I can scare myself about the future but it's so important to do things, even if they scare you a little or make you nervous! It's worth it in the end. It's definitely not all cute and cuddly animals like these photos might portray but when I do see them, it is a perk! 

I haven't quite reached my goal yet as I still have lots of exams to pass before I can qualify and a few more years of training but it's good to finally be on the right track.

If you're unsure about applying for a job or opportunity - maybe you want to go travelling? I'd say go for it because you don't want to look back and regret it later. Use any negative comments to fuel your determination to prove those people wrong rather than let them drag you down. 

Maybe you're not where you thought you were going to end up but it doesn't mean you're going off the rails, you're just going down a different path, who knows, it might be a longer one that will lead you to where you do want to be. Maybe you don't even know yet what you want to do. These are all okay :) 

This is said all the time but it's because it's true, life really is too short. I'm 22 and I feel like each year flies by more quickly than the last!

What are your dreams? Have you got there yet or are you just on your way there still?