Where the magic happens...

And by "where the magic happens" I mean the room where I spent countless hours sat at my desk meeting deadlines for university, or writing blog posts or watching TV. And a fair few hours sleeping too. I promised you guys a room tour in one of my recent posts, and so here it is!

I guess that the first thing I should point out is that this is my bedroom in my house at university (i.e. where I actually spend most of my time). However, since I rent this it does mean that I don't have a say in the furniture - not that any of it is horrible, I just wouldn't choose to have that type of wooden furniture.

First up, in the above picture you can see a mirror which hangs on the back of my built-in cupboard. This mirror was £9.99 I believe from poundstretchers - bought the day after I moved in and I realised that my new room didn't have a full size mirror!

On top of my large chest of drawers I keep a small mirror, my makeup bag, my makeup brushes and a wicker basket of skincare items.

My parents came and visited me in October and we went to Dobbies where they bought me this little plant tray and I got to choose some plants to fill it with as a housewarming present. I chose an Opuntia (the one that someone told me looks like Mickey Mouse) (£2.99), at the back is a Haworthia (£1.99) and at the front is a Succulent (£1.99). I really really love this little collection of plants!

Above my bed I have my quote wall. Yes, each one of these square photos has a different quote on it. Some are motivational, some funny, some just kind of poetic. I found the majority of these on tumblr/pinterest/instagram and the others I made myself. I can't quite remember which website I used to print these but they arrived already cut to be square in a very short time frame!

The fairy lights are battery powered from Primark for a few pounds and despite what the lighting in the picture suggests (fairy lights always look better with the curtains closed) they do extend in a heart shape around all of the quotes.

I'm so so happy that I get a double bed AND one with a good mattress! You spend so much of your life in bed (and some myself more than others) that it makes a huge difference if it is comfortable. I have flowery bedsheets from Debenhams (old) with a raspberry coloured undersheet, a cosy blanket and three cushions. The front one is three French Bulldogs sat on the doorsteps with the different coloured doors! 

Next I have a candle from Primark (£2.00) on my windowsill as well as a reed diffuser which smells like clean laundry. In the corner you can just about see my keyboard, and I also have an acoustic guitar between my keyboard and another free-standing wardrobe (I forgot to take a picture from the other end of my room, sorry!).

Above my desk I have these three posters, again I'm sorry about the lighting - sometimes having such a huge window with loads of natural light is a curse not a blessing! Below I have a few more square photos, this time of myself with my friends and family.

There we have it! Thanks for reading! Let me know in the comments what your favourite feature of your bedroom is.

Liebster Award (2)

Today was meant to be a room tour with loads of lovely photos and lots of close ups of some cute things in my room but unfortunately I have had so many deadlines this week that I haven't got around to tidying/hoovering/dusting my room let alone taking photos! So I'll delay that post until next week.

I know that I did the Liebster award a few weeks ago (if you missed it you can find it here) but I was tagged again by the wonderful Raashi to do it with her set of questions, so here it is. Thank you so much for the nomination!

(1) What is your favourite quote?
I am a complete sucker for quotes. There is no way I could pick just one. I have a lot of quotes on my bedroom wall, which I'm sure will feature in my room tour next week as it's sort of a major focus in my room. One of my favourites at the moment from my quote wall is: "I am learning every day to allow the space between where I am and where I want to be to inspire me and not terrify me".

(2) What's your favourite song (or a few favourite songs) at the moment?
I'm loving "Hello" by Adele, "Wasn't Expecting That" by Jamie Lawson and "Lump Sum" by Bon Iver at the moment.

(3) What was the last photo you took with your phone?
Oh God, it was a horrific selfie from when I was getting ready for Bonfire Night on Thursday. I'd post it here but my hair is scraped into such a tight bun that I'm just all forehead!

(4) Who was the last person who sent you a text message?
Hahahahaha it was Royal Mail telling me that my parcel wasn't delivered because no-one was in. That's so sad. I have mates I promise....

(5) Has October been a good month for you so far?
October was a really good month for me, I had fairly low expectations for Halloween which ended up being a really good weekend. And I have been managing to (just about) stay on top of my coursework and juggle my social life.

(6) Do you have any nicknames?
My flatmates sometimes call me Emjem and my boyfriend sometimes calls me hunny bun (bleugh feel free to throw up at that haha).

(7) What's your favourite dessert?
THIS IS SUCH A DIFFICULT QUESTION ummmmm let's go with cheesecake. Particularly chocolate cheesecake or lemon cheesecake.

(8) If you could have a superpower, what would it be?
I know that it would probably be as much an annoyance as it would be convenient but I would love to be able to read minds. 

(9) Has there been one blogging experience that you're particularly proud of?
I can't think of one really stand out post so I suppose I'd have to say designing my blog - I'm still wanting to tweak some bits and completely change others but I'm really happy with the progress of its design and that I'm doing it all myself!

(10) How would you like to be remembered by others?
I would love to be remembered for having contributed to the world in some way.



I'm not going to nominate anyone because I did this award post a few weeks ago but I hope you enjoyed reading anyway!

If you feel like it, answer one of the questions in the comments!

Goals for the rest of 2015

Yes, it might be the last day of October. Yes, there might only be two months left of this year. But in my mind, that is still plenty of time to make and achieve a few goals for 2015. I don't want to waste these next two months by keeping my goals until the start of the new year - I want to start working towards them right away.

Continue preparing healthier home-cooked meals

This is something that I've been trying to do a lot more this year - it's a lot easier now that I'm back at university where I'm completely in charge of my own diet. I've never been the biggest eater of red meat so that's basically been cut out completely. Similarly, I rarely eat chicken - I've almost become a pescatarian without really realising it! I've been eating a lot of fish recently and I want to keep this up. I also want to increase how much fruit and vegetables I eat per day - it drives me bananas when I don't get my 5-a-day (hehe so punny).

Get back on the skincare wagon

I've been really really naughty recently and I haven't been sticking to my night time skincare routine at all. Being in a new relationship I feel a bit awkward getting out all of my "lotions and potions" before bed so I've just been using either micellar water or makeup wipes and then a bit of moisturiser, and my skin is definitely suffering as a result. I'm going to post my night time skincare routine next week (so keep an eye out) and so hopefully posting that will give me the motivation to get back into my proper routine!

Save money every month

Last year I kept a detailed record of everything that I was spending my money on and I always had more than enough to get me through each month. This year I haven't been doing that at all, and I have definitely been living outwith my means. I really want to start budgeting again - especially with Christmas coming up!

Achieve good exam results

I've got my first term exams coming up in December and I really want to do well in them. In these exams last year I got AAAB and so I really want to try to match those results! I don't know that I will, seeing as the difficulty has really increased this year, but it's a good goal to have!

 

Continue blogging twice weekly

I like to think that this is me back into blogging! I've been really good at posting recently and every post has gone up on the planned days (Wednesdays and Saturdays). I want to continue this for the rest of the year - even into exam time, I'll hopefully have posts scheduled.

What's one goal you have for 2015?

Liebster Award

Hope you're having a fantastic day! Today I've got an award post for you, sorry that it's two of these posts in a row on a Saturday but that's just the way the cookie crumbles I'm afraid! 

I'm really excited to do this post as I love how they're something a wee bit different. I was tagged to do the Liebster Award by the lovely Charlotte from Charlotte's Picks - definitely click and check out her blog! 

And here are my answers to the 11 questions that Charlotte set her nominees to answer:

(1) If you had to choose one make-up item which you had to live off for the rest of your life, what would it be?
Mascara. It makes my eyes look so much bigger and brighter. My choice would either be Maybelline The Falsies (£8) or Max Factor Clump Defy (£11).

(2) Favourite brand of shoe
I absolutely love my Nike trainers that I got for my birthday earlier this year for running. They're so comfortable that I'm asking Santa for a lighter pair that I can wear to uni as it's about a 40 minute round trip walking there every day. I've got the Nike Air Zoom Fly 2 (£80) in pink and orange and I'm after something like the Nike Free 5.0 (£100) in black and white.

(3) Would you rather wear jeans or a skirt all day for a year?
Definitely jeans. I rarely wear a skirt actually, I much prefer a dress as I don't have to attempt to match a skirt and top together. And as long as they're my super comfy high-waisted jeans (read my blog post about them here) I'll be a happy chappy.

(4) Fruit or chocolate?
Does saying both count if I say that I really really love Terry's chocolate oranges?

(5) What made you want to start a blog?
I really enjoy reading other people's blogs, not only bloggers with a huge following but also and especially smaller bloggers. I have a lot to say and I thought that a blog would be a great way to get my thoughts out there, and also to interact with other people.

(6) How long did it take you to do your makeup today?
Oooooh, I'm not sure - probably between 5 and 10 minutes. I did quite a full face of makeup, but since I have my day-to-day makeup in a makeup bag separate from my drawer of makeup it really speeds me up as I'm not rifling through the drawer for what I'm looking for.

(7) What's your favourite makeup brush you use?
I love all of the Real Techniques brushes, in fact they're the only ones I use but my favourite has to be the buffing brush from the core collection (£21). When I first got the set I didn't really use it but as soon as I tried it to apply my foundation I was hooked. Sometimes if I'm using a particularly liquid foundation I will use the foundation brush but otherwise I always use the buffing brush.

(8) Are you an outside or inside type of person?
I'm a bit of both. Sometimes I go a bit stir crazy and just want to be outside so I'll go for a walk, no matter what the weather is!

(9) Favourite fashion accessory
My Olivia Burton black and rose gold watch (£70-£80) is such a classic piece which I think adds a little something to every outfit - if only I could remember to wear it more! I can't remember if I have the Midi or Big dial size but these are honestly such beautiful watches, check them out here.

(10) Would you rather use an eyebrow pencil for a lip liner or a lip liner for an eyebrow pencil?
I don't think using an eyebrow pencil for a lip liner would be disastrous...I have one brown lipstick and one browny-pink that I think could work with a brown eyebrow pencil used as liner!

(11) What's the most embarrassing thing that's happened to you?
I can't think of one particularly embarrassing thing in my life as a whole, but the most embarrassing thing to happen to me in the past week was in my local Tesco express. I had bought a few naughty wee treats as well as a small bottle of Dr Pepper which, to carry home (because I had forgotten a bag tut tut) I stuck in the pocket of my joggies. As I'm paying, with my arms full of my purchases I realise that the weight of the bottle is causing my joggies to start to slip.....and they aren't stopping at my hips! Luckily I managed to subtly pull them up before anything mortifying happened, but yes, I was very almost stood at the till at my local Tesco's with my trousers around my ankles!

I would love the following people to do this post, so here are my nominations:
Marti from Pink Smarties Blog
Raashi from Be the change that you wish to see in the world
...and anyone else reading this who would like to do this tag!

Here are my eleven questions for you guys!:
(1) What is your favourite hot drink?
(2) What is your favourite item of clothing?
(3) What is your favourite thing about the current season?
(4) What is your favourite colour of lipstick to wear?
(5) Do you prefer writing in pen or in pencil?
(6) Are you a morning person or a night owl?
(7) Who is your favourite celebrity and why?
(8) If you could travel backwards in time to one era, when would you travel to?
(9) If you could be given a free return journey to one city in the world, where would you travel to?
(10) If your favourite book were being made into a film and you were asked to play the lead character, would you?
(11) If you could only listen to one band or artist for the rest of your life, who would you choose?

Thanks for reading!

Versatile Blogger Award

Oh em eff gee, two posts from me in one week! Looks like I have my life together (for the moment anyway). Today's post is one that has been on the cards for ages, I was tagged by Chloe from basicallychloe to do the Versatile Blogger Award - apologies to Chloe, that I'm only just getting round to doing this now. Sorry!

Thank you so much to Chloe for nominating me, it honestly puts such a huge smile on my face to be mentioned by other people and to see that they want to see me post something.

Here are my seven facts:
(1) The majority of instagram accounts that I follow are french bulldogs, pugs and cats and I will legitimately tap whoever I'm with on the arm a million times until they look at the adorable picture that I'm looking at. And then repeat this until they beg me to stop showing them pictures of animals. THEY'RE JUST SO EFFING ADORABLE.

(2) My bedroom is so cold right now that I'm sat at my desk with a blanket wrapped around my legs like a burrito. #studentproblems

(3) I should most definitely be doing uni work right now but I have rediscovered a love of blogging and that should most definitely be a reason that my reading isn't done for this week okay?

(4) I'm staring at a flapjack I bought earlier that I want to save for tomorrow but it is literally screaming out to be eaten. SCREAMING

(5) It's October, and so it's almost some sort of blasphemy to say this, but I don't really like Halloween. I always think it's too overhyped. I do love horror films though, so that's hopefully my Halloween plans for this year. I also love doing Halloween face paint, and below you can see what I went as last year. I used some kind of latex stuff to make a 3D wound on my neck and forehead, and basically wore ripped up clothing - super budget but it kind of worked.

(6) Thinking of things to say is just getting tricky now. Uhhhh..... I can lick my nose AND fit my whole fist in my mouth. Although not at the same time..... hahahahaha

(7) I wore a scarf for the first time this Autumn today, that's when you know its finally getting really cold!


I tag anyone reading this who has a blog and who hasn't done this tag to do it! Thanks for reading.

6 movie survival tips you should ignore

I was on tumblr the other day and...
well if that's not a cracking first line to start a post with, I don't know what is. Have you worked out that this post is going to be super random and ranty yet? Let me start over, before I interrupted myself (??)

I was on tumblr the other day and I came across these "movie survival tips". I've handpicked some of the most useful/ridiculous ones to show you guys. You can find the original list of 22 here. Some of these I already knew were nonsense, like #4. and #6. and others I thought were genuinely true like #1. and #3.

Before we get started, I just want to say that I'm not a doctor or any kind of medical professional and the following is based on information that I got from reputable websites such the NHS website. If any of the information below is incorrect, please do let me know so I can change it.

#1. The way to treat a jellyfish sting is to pee on it
WRONG. This is unlikely to help and may make the situation worse (not to mention both parties are going to be hugely uncomfortable and awkward both during and after...). Doing this can actually activate unfired stinging cells which will make them release more poison. What you should do is carefully remove any stinging cells from the skin using a razor blade, credit card or shell and then use painkillers for the pain. Television has been lying to us, even good old Friends has it all wrong:

#2. To stop bleeding from a flesh wound, apply a tourniquet
WRONG. In Jurassic Park, Ian Malcolm applies a tourniquet to a flesh wound to stop the bleeding. A tourniquet stops blood flow to the entire leg which leads to tissue death, so if this was real life he would probably have lost his entire leg. You would be better simply applying pressure to the wound. Tourniquets should be left to those with proper training.

#3. When someone is having a seizure you should jam something into their mouth to stop them from swallowing their tongue
WRONG. Contrary to popular belief (and to what I thought until now) it is physically impossible to swallow your tongue. Your tongue is rooted to the floor of your mouth by a small mucous membrane called the lingual frenulum. Prying open someone's mouth and then jamming something into their mouth while they seize is going to end up injuring them. They could also potentially choke on whatever it is they now have in their mouth! The best thing to do is to let the person seize whilst protecting their head from impact and also roll them onto their left side into the recovery position to stop them from choking on their saliva or vomit.

#4. When you get a nose bleed, tip your head back
WRONG. My younger sister gets nose bleeds all the time so I like to think I'm a bit of an expert on this. If you tip your head back, the blood will rush down your throat and you'll probably choke on it. What you should do is sit down, lean forward and breathe through your mouth. Firmly pinch the soft part of your nose, just above your nostrils for 10 to 15 minutes. This allows the blood to drain down your nose rather than down your throat.

#5. If you're stuck somewhere without water, drink your own pee
WRONG. How does this even make sense!? Your pee is fluid from your body that is full of waste materials that your body needs to get rid off, such as salt. Don't put it back into your body! It will just make you even more dehydrated.

#6. Defibrillators bring people back to life
WRONG. This has to be one of the most annoying things to see, particularly in medical dramas on TV although it's also common in films too. Defibrillators work by temporarily stopping a still-beating heart in the hope that when it starts again it will start in the proper rhythm again. It's something I've only ever noticed since watching all 11 seasons of Grey's Anatomy this summer - they use the paddles while the heart is still beating, it just isn't beating in the normal rhythm. (Trust Grey's Anatomy to be doing it right) Using the paddles on a heart that has stopped is pointless, but that doesn't stop it from happening in other television shows and films.

This is a bit of a different post from me today, it's a little bit ranty but I hope it was also a little bit informative? I think I'm going to try to do one post per week about something that in the vaguest sense you could call lifestyle and then one or two posts per week about beauty things. Sound good? And I promise not so many random posts like this one. Thanks for reading!

5 Years Time

Soooooo.... hey there! Remember me? I can't believe it's been so long since I last posted - blame the move back up to university and the excitement of freshers week. I was tagged by Vicky over on goodmorningbelle to do the 5 Years Time tag (read her version here and while you're there have a wee read through of her fantastic blog!)

As a wee bit of context behind this seemingly random photo: this is me 5-ish years ago! I'm probably about 13 years old here and in case you can't tell from the photo, I'm wearing bootcut jeans, I have a ridiculous side fringe and also far, far too much eyeliner on. I can guarantee 5 years from now I'll look back at photos of myself right now and think they're the worst thing ever too!

The idea of this tag is to basically write about what you hope to be doing or have accomplished five years from now.

1. I would love to have graduated from university with a first, but to be honest I'll be delighted if I have graduated! I'm currently in year 2 of a 5 year masters course in biochemistry, and although I love it right now - who knows if that is what I'll end up graduating in?
2. I want to have written a book. This is a pretty random one I know, and it's not even something that I've always wanted to do or anything - I just suddenly had this thought last year that I'd love to write a book. I have made a start to it but I'm finding it really hard to put the ideas in my head into written words!
3. I want to have travelled more than I have. I've never been outside of Europe and I haven't visited all that many countries within it: Scotland, England, Wales, Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland, Spain, Germany, Austria, Greece - okay, that was actually more than I thought! I really want to visit loads more though.
4. I would like to still be blogging, it's a crazy thought that in 5 years time I could look back on this post and then see 5 years of posts after it!
5. Finally, I want to be genuinely content with where I am in life. I don't need to be rich or famous, as long as I have people who love me and I'm doing something that I love then I will be a happy bunny!

I'm going to tag:

Tara - Dancing Through Life

Raashi - Be the change that you wish to see in the world

Chloe - basicallychloe

...and anyone else reading this who wants to give it a go! Comment below if you decide to do this tag so I can keep an eye out for it!

New Season New Me

Let me just start off by saying: OH EM GEE IT'S SEPTEMBER IT'S FINALLY AUTUMN!!!
I love love love Autumn. I don't mind the cold (I'm Scottish for goodness sake), the evenings start to get a big darker but it isn't dark by 3:30pm like it is in the middle of December and finally, oh finally, I can wear ankle boots and dark lipstick again. The joys.

Anyhow, this post is not meant to be about my love for the changing seasons. I'm writing down some thoughts that I've been having recently regarding my health and fitness. By posting this here I'm hoping to maybe inspire some of you guys to make some of my goals your own, as I'm pretty sure there's something for everyone in the extensive list I've got going on below. Also, it will hopefully give me the kick up the bum motivation that I need to hopefully achieve the majority of them!

(follow my instagram toast_oclock, also in this photo I'm sat on a bench in the park recovering from a run haha)

GOAL №1: Drink the appropriate amount of liquid
I came across this fab little hydration calculator where you input your age, height and weight and it tells you how much you should be drinking every day (obviously depending on your level of physical activity you may need to increase this). I'm recommended to drink 7 glasses per day, or 1.6 litres.The great thing is is that any non-alcoholic drink counts towards this - I've always found it a bit tricky to guzzle down litre after litre of water but luckily I get about half from the other drinks I drink during the day (milk, fruit juice, fruit tea). It's also recommended that someone my age should drink 3 glasses of milk per day, although since I love milk I definitely already get this.

GOAL №2: Eat my 5-A-day
Yes, this is probably the most obvious one on anyone's healthy living goals but it's something that I've been working towards more recently (and hope to continue). My only issue is that it can be expensive to buy fresh fruit and vegetables.

GOAL №3: Prepare more meals at home
Last year I occasionally skipped breakfast when I was running late for lectures and I've been guilty of going to Subway for a foot long at lunchtime to make up for skipping breakfast. It's not only unhealthy, but also expensive. This year I'm determined to eat breakfast at home every day and to have a packed lunch for the days I'm at university over lunchtime. I'm pretty good at preparing home cooked meals for dinner, but I need to make sure I'm getting the recommendation of 2 portions of fish (one oily) per week.

GOAL №4: Exercise for 60 minutes
I've got plans to get a gym membership at the university sports village as we get ridiculous student discounts and fitness classes are also included in this. I'm hoping to go there most days of the week and also go for more runs when the weather is nice, or do at home workouts when the weather is bad. It's also a fair walk to uni (even further to the gym) from my house, but I'm not including that in this.

GOAL №5: Get a better night's sleep
I'm going to put my hands up here and admit that I've essentially become nocturnal in the past week. I stayed up late one night and after that my sleep schedule has been a wreck. I also have been sleeping way too much which just makes me feel lethargic all day. I'm going to aim for between 8 and 9 hours each night.

I'm going to be posting weekly updates letting you guys know how I am getting on, and also as a record for myself. Let me know in the comments your thoughts!

#goodadvice

I was doing my daily read through of the blogs that I'm subscribed to (I use bloglovin' and I 100% recommend it if you are a blogger or just a reader of several blogs, it's fab)...where was I? Right, so I was reading through and I came across this post on Raashi's blog. I hope that she doesn't mind, but it inspired me to write my own version of her post.

The advice is to find three hobbies that you love: one to make you money, one to keep you in shape, and one to be creative. I've found recently that it's so important to focus on the positives in your life and this advice is a great way of doing just that!

One to make you money

I'm about to go back to university in a few weeks for my second year of my degree, and although this isn't necessarily a hobby I did struggle last year with negative thoughts of whether I had chosen the right degree or not. I can now say, with confidence, that I am definitely doing the right degree. Biochemistry is so so interesting, I love learning how the body works on a chemical level.

I also will hopefully be tutoring again next year which I really enjoy as when the person who I tutor does well it really makes me feel amazing - I get particularly invested in other people's successes and it's incredibly rewarding.

One to keep you in shape

This is one hobby that is going to become a much bigger part of my life when I go back to university. For a short while last year I was really into jogging several times a week, then I sprained my ankle (not while jogging haha) and now every time I go for a run it becomes clear how weak my ankle is now. I'm determined to get back into it though.

One to be creative

My creative hobby has got to be this blog. My Slice is a place that I am very proud of - yes it needs more work in a lot of areas including blog photography, design and content but I am confident that with time this will all start to come together. I'm also in my spare time learning a little bit of HTML and CSS (that scary looking code that web pages use) and I am sure that this will also help me to improve the appearance of my blog.


I would love to hear what you guys have to talk about for your three hobbies (I know I really did more than three tut tut). So if you write a blog post similar to mine and Raashi's then link it below, or alternatively, leave a comment with your hobbies.

How to pass your theory test first time

Hello!

I PASSED MY THEORY TEST! Two weeks ago today actually, but I've been on holiday and I wanted to save the news until I had written this post. I was incredibly nervous, and I honestly thought I'd failed it so I was delighted when I walked out of the test room and was handed that piece of paper that said I'd passed!

In the UK, before you are allowed to drive unsupervised you must pass two tests: the theory test (£25) and the driving test (£62). You must also have a provisional license, which you can apply for three months before your seventeenth birthday. Before you can book your driving test, you must pass the theory test.

The theory test is actually made up of two sections: the theory test and the hazard perception test. To pass the overall theory test you need to pass both sections.

The theory test has 50 multiple choice questions which you are given 57 minutes to complete (I don't think it would take anyone this long, I took about 15 minutes but I'm a fast reader). The pass mark for this part is 43 out of 50, or 86%. That is really high, huh!? Don't worry, with enough practice it's totally doable. I got 49, and I was so annoyed, trying to think which question I had gotten wrong.

Most people who fail the theory test, fail on the hazard perception test. I found this section really hard, and thought I had failed because it came up that I had clicked wrongly and would score a zero for one part. During this part of the test you are shown 14 video clips which are each about one minute long. You have to click when you see a hazard developing, like a vehicle swerving into your lane, or a cyclist or pedestrian moving out in front of you. It's harder than it sounds! The pass mark for this is 44 out of 75 (each hazard is scored out of 5). I got 57, which included two zeros...oops!

For more information on the theory test click here or here.

Phew. Now all that is out of the way, here are my tips for passing the theory test on your first attempt - after all, nobody wants to chuck £25 away!:
1. Get your hands on a copy of a theory test book. I recommend the AA complete test book (£12.09) because it has information about both the theory test and the driving test, as well as practice theory questions and a copy of the highway code.

2. Get your hands on a Hazard Perception DVD (my instructor lent me one for free). I recommend the official DSA one (£4.96).

3. Practice the theory questions until you can answer them without thinking. The questions that come up in the test will be really really similar to those you've practiced.
For practice questions online click here or here.

4. Get as much hazard perception practice as possible. The videos that come up will be computer drawn, not real life but the skills used are the same. I've also found that the DVD and online tests give you a much higher score than the actual test, so be aware of this.
For practice hazard perception clips online click here or here

5. On the day, be calm, you will know if you've worked hard enough to pass. If not, don't be discouraged and try again.

Good luck!

My first driving lesson

Hello!

I feel like I've waited for far too long to start learning to drive, which is ridiculous because I'm only 18 and several of my friends haven't even started yet, let alone passed! I just remember being in my last year of high school where everyone was learning and passing theory tests and practical tests left right and centre, and now Facebook has quieted down so much with everyone posting that they've passed that I feel it's old news now to be learning!

To be fair to myself, I was the youngest in the year and wasn't 17 until the very end of the year by which time I was sitting my advanced higher exams (basically first year university level and almost equivalent to A levels in England). Learning to drive took a bit of a back seat in my mind. Then I went to university in a huge big city and just thought: NO. WAY. IN. HELL. am I learning to drive here.

But I'm home to my town for the summer and I thought, might as well. I've no other commitments this summer so I can focus on it entirely. I decided to do a semi-intensive course which are offered by a lot of driving schools. Basically I'm learning to drive in 3 weeks! (The intensive course is ONE WEEK!). It's 5 lessons of 2 hours a week and I arranged to start it as soon as I'm back from visiting my Granda.

Then my driving instructor was dropping off a DVD to help me study for the theory test and offered to take me out for my first lesson the next day, separate from the semi-intensive course. I didn't even have time to be nervous.

He drove me to a huge car park, which was fairly empty although did get a bit of lunchtime traffic. The first hour was basically chatting and safety, learning the inside of the car first. Then the second hour was me driving around the car park, steering around lampposts and parked cars and pretty much stalling every five minutes. A direct quote from the day was:

"Me: Oh crap oh crap oh oh we're going awfully fast aren't we?"
"Instructor: Emma, you've reached a top speed of 8mph."

It feels a lot faster when you're just learning believe me! Although on the second lesson I was going 60mph on a country road. I was told I would improve quickly but seriously!

Let me know in the comments about your experiences learning to drive. I can't wait to start my semi-intensive course now!

Get to know me

Hello!

For this, the first of the Thursday's Thoughts series, I thought that I would do a "get to know me" post because this whole blogging malarkey is all very new to me. I hope you find this interesting!

1. What is your middle name?
Cecelia - this was my gran's name. My younger cousin also has the same middle name but her dad chose to spell it Cecilia, which is more popular but not the family way! Tut tut.

2. When and where were you born?
The 6th of April. I'm 18, a '97 baby. I was born in Fife, which is just north of Edinburgh in Scotland.

3. What is your least favourite thing about yourself?
 I wish that I was shorter, I’m 5 foot 9 inches (175cm). It makes it tricky to wear heels because I feel like a giant around my friends and sometimes it can put guys off being taller than them although this is of course not always the case.

4. Do you wear contacts?
I wear contacts all day every day. I’ll probably get laser eye surgery someday because I’ve worn glasses since I was 5 or 6 years old.

5. What is your party trick?
I can lick my nose and I can also move my eyes independently of each other (although this always gives me a headache).

6. What can’t you leave the house without?
I can’t leave the house without my phone (Samsung Galaxy S6) on at least 70% charge. It’s a safety thing if nothing else, in case I get lost or locked out or held up later than I expected.

7. Do you prefer heels or flats?
I love love love wearing heels but unfortunately depending on who I’m with (see question 3) I feel like I have to wear flats. I’m still choosing heels though.

8. Do you have any siblings?
I have a sister called Keri who is 3 years younger than me.

9. Do you have any pets?
I have two cats: Tigger (5) and Rocky (3).

10. What is your favourite ice cream?
Ben & Jerry’s Chocolate Fudge Brownie

11. What are your favourite smells?
Freshly baked bread (remember this when you get to question 19); pink grapefruit; fresh laundry; new books; smoked salmon.

12. What is your favourite brand of makeup?
Rimmel London

13. What is your favourite clothing store?
Topshop

14. What is your favourite colour?
Deep deep blue

15. What was your favourite subject at school?
I loved biology and chemistry (duh, I’m studying biochemistry). I also did Spanish for the first 4 years of high school and I really regret not taking it further.

16. What is your favourite drink?
Soft-drink: Dr Pepper
Alcoholic drink: Vodka & coke

17. What is your favourite book?
Watership Down by Richard Adams

18. What is your favourite song?
See my post about this from my 30 day song challenge.

19. What is your favourite food?
Bread. Let me explain this one. This is such an umbrella term because it includes a whole set of types of bread including garlic bread, naan bread and crusty bread. My favourite. Yes, I’m weird.

20. What is your favourite film?
The Fault in Our Stars. Frozen is a very close second.

I hope that was interesting for you to read and a huge congratulations if you made it through all twenty. Thanks for reading!