January

All day, I've been seeing 'January' favourites posts, then I saw Karen's sum up on January, and decided I quite liked that idea! So to borrow an idea from one of my favourite bloggers, here's how my January went.

• I managed to post 14 times, which is (almost) every second day, which I'm happy with! I really need to start organising my time a little bit better & typing up blog posts/ editing photos instead of sitting around watching crap TV.

• Speaking of which, I've watched many, many films & a lot of TV this month. The Help, Wolf of Wall Street, Definitely Maybe, the first seven Harry Potters, Scooby Doo, Tommy Tiernan: Something Mental, not to mention Dancing on ICE, The Voice of Ireland, Splash, AND Operation Transformation. What can I say, it's exam time.

• I got back to Germany on the 5th of January, in a flurry of tears & sad goodbyes, but I also booked my tickets home for my semester break & managed to settle in a bit better.

• I became obsessed with getting rid of blackheads - Thermal masks, steaming, extractions, the works. Today I bought a blackhead remover & plan on trying out Una Brennan's Clay Mask when I get home, after Twitter recommendations. 

• I bleached my hair again! No joke, I had dark hair for all of a month and it annoyed me so much. I am now white blonde again, with plans to have pink, purple, & blue ombre (once my orals are done.)

• I started the month commenting on as many blogs as possible, but that's fallen by the wayside a bit now that I'm studying flat out. But I'm determined that by this time next week I'll be back in the swing of things, especially after this post on Make Up Monster about supporting Irish bloggers, & now that there's a dedicated Twitter account!

• I went for an amazing Mexican meal with my boyfriend, but my starter of nachos filled me up so much that I could barely even start of my quesadilla. The pitcher of margaritas helped though.

• I started one of those Instagram photo a day challenges, but failed miserably half way through. Too much commitment for me.

• I cried over the fact that a lot of music acts I LOVE (Ellie Goulding, Jake Bugg, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, Arctic Monkeys, Kodaline, Kings of Leon) are playing Marlay Park this July & I most likely won't be home for any of them. It hurts.

How was your January? Other than being the longest month EVER!

Chloe x

Life On Erasmus #2: Things I Miss

So, I've now been here for 8 weeks. Time for the novelty to wear off & panic to hit. Mainly panic about what food is most like Irish stuff, & how to adapt. Last week I read loads about what people most miss about Ireland when abroad.. & here's my version.

A decent chicken & mayo roll. I used to grab one of these from Centra beside where I worked, almost daily. I almost went through withdrawal on my days off. This is a Wexford thing - During college, I tried a few different shops around Dublin & the chicken always tasted like plastic. I'm dying to get back to work, for my lunchtime roll.




I miss work. I complained occasionally but I loved my job. I've been emailing my boss regularly, with the result that I will be working full-time over Christmas. Okay, that's obviously taking up time from my family, but the money will be appreciated & it means cabin fever won't set in.

Mashed spuds & stew. Look, I can cook, but I don't make spuds just for myself, & I definitely can't make stew. Also, decent soup. I want a nice big bowl of farmhouse vegetable soup with some nice brown bread!

Penneys & Tesco. There are loads of shops I miss, but these are the main ones. It's just so easy to run into Penneys & pick up cheap basics, or a nice warm pair of PJs, instead of the €20 that seems to be common here. And I spent a lot of time in Tesco in the morning, before work, or afterwards. There's similar shops here but.. They're not the same.

A real fire. This is something I miss when I'm in college too, but at least then I'd have a fire at the weekend. While my room is always nice & toasty from my heating, nothing beats sitting in front of the fire when it's cold & wet!

Obviously there are lots more things I miss.. Friends & family go without saying, & while everyone else talks constantly about Cadburys, tea, etc... I actually brought a stock pile of Irish chocolate & many, many Lyon's teabags over here. & I haven't finished them up yet. I knew my priorities!

What're your favourite things about home?

Chloe x

Life on Erasmus #1

Catchy title, eh? But hey, it is what it says on the tin! It doesn't feel like I've only been here just over two weeks (Not sure if that's a good or bad thing!) But, from the start.

Arriving in my new town after a flight & train journey

Strangely, I had no problem leaving home. After my crying the night before, I was okay. It felt weird to be the one comforting my parents, but I took it well. Til I got on the plane, & a few tears escaped. Since then, yep, I have cried a little. The first time I Skyped my little sisters, I sobbed afterwards! But it's all good now.

View from the train station

I really like the city. It's small enough to feel comfortable here & know the place, but big enough to be interesting & there are lots of places nearby to travel to. Some of the buildings are beautiful & the scenery pretty much is breath taking. The view out my window is lovely! (Which is good, because I have no curtains.) But my room is massive, so I can deal with it.

The River Saale in the local park

Yeah, it's not all sunshine & lollipops. When we arrived, I couldn't move into my apartment for another week, so I spent a week sleeping uncomfortably. We had no internet, & wifi just doesn't seem to be a thing here. I was waiting for my phone to be unlocked to use a German sim card, & when it was unlocked, I had to wait to get internet to actually complete the process, so I was spending massive amounts of credit! We were supposed to do a language course, which was cancelled. So basically.. We probably arrived a week too early.

View from the tower

But Monday, we start college, which I'm looking forward to. We have (finally) met other students, who seem really nice so hopefully I do actually make friends! And I think this year might really change me as a person. I'll have to wait & see :)

Me & my new home!

Chloe x

My bags are packed, I'm ready to go.

That's a lie. My bags are not yet fully packed, but they will be. Soon.



Just in case there is a person left on this planet who has not yet been told; I am moving to Germany tomorrow, for one year. I study Law & German, so I'm off to study Law in Germany on Erasmus. Terrifying but exciting but confusing but it's happening. Despite my best efforts to thwart it!

I'm taking it all very casually. Out of my class, I was the one not bothered where I went, as long as it wasn't alone. I was the one to wait til last week to book flights. I was the one who just ended up being a disaster at organising myself! Two weeks ago, I was in London, where I lost my passport. Faced by the decision to either apply for a new one by Express Post (10 working days) or go to a counter (3-5 working days plus a bitta extra cash), I went with the cheapie. But hey, passport turned up last Friday. THREE DAYS EARLY.

There was then my suitcase fiasco - I bought my case last week, & started to pack it yesterday. After throwing in a few bits of clothing, my make up & some shoes, I decided to weigh it, just for some guidance on how much extra I could put in. Except the luggage scales read 30KG. A whole 10KG over. I threw out all my underwear, determined I could go commando for a while. All three tops were taken out - I was wearing them. Anything not liquid or sharp was dumped into my handbag. Surely I'd get away with it now? Oh wait. I was looking at the 'lbs' measurement, not KG. Turns out I have lots of extra room in the case!

Then there was going to print my boarding pass, with no ink in the printer. Grand, I'd do it in the library. Once there, I realised I again had no passport with me. A run home & a call to my dad in work, & we were sorted.

So for now, I am sitting in the middle of my (very clean but covered in clothes) room, which my sister has claimed strongly. I will charge my phone, iPod, & laptop before they're thrown in. I will pack some warmer clothes. I will wash myself... Just in case it takes me a while to buy shower gel in Germany. I will steal all my mammy's teabags & I will hopefully blog lots about my experience!

PS After writing this I went to look for travel quotes. I am now crying. I AM TERRIFIED. But it's only a year & it is an amazing opportunity. Onwards & upwards!

Chloe x

A post on piercings

So, a bit of a different post today. About something that's just as 'me' as changing my hair far too much, or buying a ridiculous amount of make up. Piercings! At the moment, I have 17. So I wanted to show people where & what they are!

1. Tragus

2. Upper Cartilage

3. Not actually a piercing, just an ear cuff! 

4. Lower Cartilage

5, 6, 7, 8. Lobe

9. Rook

10. Lower Cartilage

11, 12, 13. Lobe

 14. Nose

15. Bellybutton

 16, 17, 18. Hip dermals

19. I had another dermal, but had to get it removed. When it heals, I'll get it redone!

The most common question I get asked is "Why?" I know a lot of people find the idea of having needles shoved through skin is horrible, but I get an adrenaline rush! Plus, I like trying new things - I like how they look & if I ever didn't like one, it's easy to remove.

Also, hygiene is SO important. Apart from my dermal, which I had removed because I pulled it in my sleep, I have never had any piercing get infected or rejected. I know people who clean theirs regularly & still get infections, but if you don't take care of it, (generally, wash it three times daily with sea salt & water. Any good piercer will advise you on aftercare), it can be dangerous & look disgusting. Plus, don't change them too quickly. If it looks healed outside, it could still be healing internally, so wait for the recommended time.

I get most of mine done in Dublin Ink by Dani, but had three done in Psychosis Wexford when I was at home. Both are reasonably priced, clean & offer free aftercare. Always choose somewhere that uses needles - Piercing guns are NOT good. Don't ever be afraid to leave a studio if you think it looks unclean - You're paying for a service. Don't just choose the cheapest place - Research it, & make sure you're comfortable!

I'm not an expert on piercings, but I've gathered a bit of common sense in my time. I got my bottom lobes done when I was about 7, & gradually added to it. Most recently were my nose & rook, which are only 3 days old! 

I hope you don't mind me posting about other aspects of my life, & maybe someone found it useful. Let me know!

Do you have/ Would you get piercings?
Chloe x