A Farewell to Summer

This summer has been long and lazy. Probably too long, recently I have been eager for the next phase of my life to just begin already, and this weekend it will. I am moving to London (ohmygod ahh), and so the last wisps of summer are slipping through my fingers. Because as always I have been a terrible blogger I decided to compile a bunch of photos to keep the memory of summer alive for a little longer.

Brighton: In July me and James spent a few days here as a getaway before he moved to Amsterdam. We had so much fun and I completely fell in love with Brighton.

The view from our hotel room. Literally, there is the sea.

Spending quality time with the family: I did a lot of this, which was just lovely. We all enjoy each others company and I love to spend days with them all. Places like Minsmere and Southwold are favourite trips out.

Amsterdam: James now lives in Amsterdam, and is now busy working away for his masters. I managed to distract him for a week and also do so touristy things. It was

a lovely week, living in a different country kind of sucks so it was so nice to just be together. And watch mad men play instruments on a bike.

So that was my summer. I am so excited for autumn; for the cooler weather, the excitement of living in London and the unbelievable fact that I will be studying at the Natural History Museum (how on earth did that happen?!). Life is exciting right now.

Harry Potter Studios

I am a massive Harry Potter fan. I grew up with the characters and was even one of those mad people who dressed up and queued at midnight to get the last book. I'm not even embarrassed. So when Ella asked me to visit the studios with her I obviously said yes and danced around the room. 

We met up in London and then caught the bus to the studio. Even the bus ride was exciting. Once at the studios it just felt like we had stumbled upon a world where its cool to like Harry Potter. All of the staff were so knowledgeable it made the whole day even more enjoyable.

The sets are amazing, and so detailed that they actually add to the magic of the Harry Potter world rather than dispelling it. One thing I really enjoyed was the special event that they had on. Throughout the summer there were different special events, and when we went it was 'bludgers and broomsticks' which meant that they had people talking about the quidditch props, including the guys who had made all the brooms. It was at this point that me and Ella realised that we had spent 4 years doing the wrong degree...

If you are a massive Harry Potter fan then you have to go, and take a friend who is equally obsessed. You will come away excited but also a little bit sad that your Hogwarts letter never arrived.

Growing your hair out

Growing your hair out is such a pain. I have avoided it for years by slowly getting my hair cut shorter and shorter, but last Christmas I decided it was time for a change and took the leap. The top photo is my hair last summer, and the two bottom photos are of my hair a few weeks ago, and as you can see it really has got much longer! I thought I would share my tips for growing hair (ps. you might have seen in my graduation blog that my hair is now brown, so excuse the dodgy blond in the photos!).

Appreciate the difference

I think its good to look back at pictures to see how much your hair has changed to keep the motivation and resist the urge to chop it all off again. It is easy to get frustrated and think it will never reach the length you want it, so remind yourself how quickly it actually changes.

Set hair goals

And make them achievable. Going from a pixie cut to elbow length hair is going to take years, and you will likely get bored before then. I have decided I want to get all of my hair to the same length so that it looks less messy and then grow it to just above my shoulders. 

Change your hair products

When I had really short hair I used to style it using gel. Using gel now would just make my hair feel sticky and horrible. I have recently discovered sea salt spray and love the texture it gives my hair at this length. If you are getting frustrated with styling your hair it may be that you just need to switch up your hair routine.

And finally, have patience. Seriously, you can search for as many weird treatments for hair growth online, but I highly doubt they will make any noticeable difference. Just eat healthily, browse pinterest for hair goals, and wait.

I Graduated!!

Yes, you may now all call me Hannah Norman BSc. Please feel free.

Graduating is the best thing, and it turned out that even an aggressive letter from the university angrily telling us that we could NOT wear bow ties didn't dampen the day. I felt like I was in Hogwarts for the day (and green hood = slytherin which everyone knows would be the most fun), and it was just so lovely to celebrate with my family, friends and lectures who all made my final degree possible.

After a lovely (and mostly sunny) day celebrating in my gown and forcing my Dad to take more photos of me, I reluctantly gave it back and we headed out for dinner. If you live in Aberdeen and are looking for somewhere for a special meal, I thoroughly recommend Rustico. The food was SO good, the atmosphere and staff were lovely and it was just such a happy end to a happy day. 

I am now relaxing at home for the summer before I move to London in October to start a masters at Imperial. Life is good and the future is exciting. 

A Weekend in London

This weekend me and James headed to London for a weekend away. We went to a wine tasting workshop which was a lot of fun (although beginning drinking at half 10 in the morning was a bit of a shock to the system...). The wine tasting was near tower bridge and the weather was beautiful, so afterwards we wandered along the river in the sunshine.

The next day we explored the natural history museum, and visited the human evolution exhibition they have on at the moment. I would definitely recommend a visit, it was really interesting and some of the artifacts they had on display were amazing. We also walked through Hyde park which was lovely, it was full of people enjoying the sun and so had a really happy atmosphere. And I got excited about moving to London in October!

I am now back in Norfolk for a couple of weeks before graduation, so hopefully the next fortnight will be filled with catching up with friends and relaxing in the countryside.

Freedom at last

So I am no longer a student. I finished my last exam a week ago and am currently trying to work out what to do with the rest of my life. If anyone has any ideas please let me know!

This past week I have been busy with an interview that meant I had an overnight adventure to Leeds, saying goodbye to the wonderful Ella for a month, and attempting to organise and pack. Luckily I have still had time to enjoy the sunshine and relax a bit. Here are some pretty photos I took on a trip to the beach.

Stress, Happiness and Dolphins

I am currently buried deep in the middle of revision for the final exams of my degree. As you can probably imagine, my stress levels (and eating habits) have reached their peak and I have become slightly bogged down in negative thoughts. I am not generally a negative person but I am a massive worrier and I am under a lot of pressure from myself to do well. I found myself becoming irritable, angry and upset which is an unpleasant mix to be around and is definitely not productive.

A couple of days ago this all reached its peak (oh no I'm NEVER going to do well in these exams that I have been revising solidly for for over two weeks), and I was forced out of my revision hole by the wonderful Ella. We walked down to Aberdeen harbour to see if we could spot dolphins, and as soon as we arrived we could see them jumping out of the water! Sitting watching the dolphins in the fresh air whilst having a good old chat was exactly what I needed and I am now refreshed and ready for the exams (well, sort of).

Aberdeen from the harbour mouth

The dolphins were to the left of the ship but my camera isn't good enough to capture them. Also the beautiful sun was replaced with rain after I took this photo!

Remember that however important something is and however hard you have to work, you need to take time to look after yourself and focus on the positives. After my exams I am going to make an extra effort to stop and appreciate the things that make me truly happy, and not get bogged down in stressing and worrying about the future. Life is good.

Birthdays and Balls

I am in the final stages of my degree (seriously, don't talk to me about how soon my exams are, it makes me feel a little sick...), and this means that I have been taking excuses to get out and about.

A couple of weeks ago it was my friends birthday, and we took a bus to a small town about an hour out of Aberdeen called Banchory. We walked for most of the day before finding a pub to eat a massive dinner, it was great fun and a nice change to get out of the city and relax.

The River just outside Banchory

We saw a tree creeper near here building a nest

We walked to Crathes Castle which is a proper fairytale castle, turrets and all!

Last night I got all dolled up and went to our biology ball, which was a lot of fun. It's the only ball I have been too while at uni, and I am glad I got to experience it. Ceilidh dancing is a lot of fun, even if you do end up sweaty at the end of the night! I don't have photos because I trusted my camera with my friend who took many close ups of her food and the tablecloth. You know who you are!

Now time to dive back into university work. See you on the other side!

A Visit to Glasgow with added Fall Out Boy!

This weekend me and my friend Ella finally went on our weekend away that we have been planning since last October when I excitedly bought Fall Out Boy tickets. It was such a fun weekend, it always helps when you go away with someone you know will have you laughing all weekend!

The gig was incredible, Fall Out Boy were just amazing, they put on such a good show and played so many great songs; their set was over an hour and a half. They are just brilliant rock stars and I loved reliving my teenage years through their music, as well as being a fan now.

We then spent the night in a hostel and went shopping and exploring all of Sunday. I took rather a lot of photos to document the weekend, so here is the weekend summed up in photos:

A three hour bus journey is never fun but it is slightly less dull when you are whizzing through the beautiful Scottish countryside.

The Hydro is such an awesome venue, it was all lit up outside and inside we had a really good view of the stage.

The Pretty Reckless were the main support act and they were really good, Taylor Momsen has an amazing voice.

Fall Out Boy!! They came out wearing balaclavas and were basically amazing.

Glasgow has some really elegant architecture 

We bumped into The Doctor whilst shopping...

Cullen Skink for lunch. If there is one Scottish thing you need to try, this is it. So yummy.

I obviously found this statue hilarious.. but I love how bright my hair looks here.

Dinner was tapas (I avoided the hard bread sticks as chewing is still a challenge). Then we had to run back to the bus stop for a late night journey back to Aberdeen.

I was absolutely shattered in my 9am lecture on Monday morning but it was definitely worth it! It has been so long since I have gone to a gig, and its my favourite thing to do.