Life at 100 Miles an Hour

Hello Creatives,

Our move to Bristol has been relatively smooth, however I’ve not had 10 minutes to sit down yet! As I managed to bag myself a part time job, I’m currently sat in a hotel room in Leicestershire after 4 days of working as an Ecologist on some of our sites, with my suitcase packed ready to head back to Bristol!

One thing I love about being an ecologist and the position I’m currently in, is that nature is my office and with the early starts, I get to witness the most beautiful sunrises!

(Don’t get me wrong there’s many things I’m not a fan of, e.g. getting caught in the rain, slipping on my arse in mud etc…)

But today’s nippy 2 degree weather with the sun shining through brought along the best sunrise I’ve seen all year. Frost on the ground for the first time, and also the first time I had to scrape the car windows of all its ice!

Enjoy these photos I managed to capture today:

I’m dying to fish my crochet hooks and wool out of their boxes and whip up some cosy items for this winter season! I reckon that’s what I’ll do when I’m back this evening….

Until next time,

Lana xxx

Goodbye Nottingham, Hello Bristol!

Hello Creatives,

Wow it has been complete madness since the beginning of October.. I left on a solo trip on the 6th October to Malaysia to visit family that I hadn’t seen in 6+ years and surprised my last grandparent – I’ll do a blog post all about it, it was hectic, but amazing! I was back home on the 16th and that’s when it got busy!

My mummy and daddy arrived for a visit two days later and in that amount of time I managed to bag myself a job and find out I’ll be awarded with a Merit for my Masters at my graduation in December!

But just as a little update on our lives…

We have also packed up all our belongings from our lovely two bed flat in Nottingham, and moved down to Bristol to start our next adventure!

Long story short, it was becoming far too expensive to continue living where we were whilst unemployed, as now that we’re no longer students, a whole load of other bills were coming through – e.g council tax.. just under £140 a month?! Ouch – we thought it would be much more financially viable for us to relocate into Georges mums house whilst our job search continues! (I now have a job, but I’m able to commute!)

So today we unloaded all the boxes, half into storage and half into the house. So. Much. Stuff. I can’t wait to see what Bristol has to offer, even if we are only here a couple of months!

Anyway, tomorrow is Georges 24th birthday, and I can’t wait for cake! (He’s a wee photo of us from the other night at his aunties 60th birthday party!)

Next update soon!

Love Lana xxx

Beautiful Bath

Hello Creatives,

Are you ready for the next part of the travel blog post series!?

So this one will be in two parts, and the reason for this is because two main events happened over the few days that we stayed in Bristol!

We travelled down to Bristol as George had a Military Simulation Airsoft event he was attending (more about that in the second half to this post), but whilst we were down there i caught up with one of my close friends from Uni and her daughter in Bath! If you don’t know much about Bath i reckon you should have a little google as it is beautiful and filled with history.

The first time i met Sophia’s little girl was when she was only 3 weeks old! The second time i caught up with Sophia, her daughter was then 4 months old, and this time she was 8 and a half months! Time flies way too fast, and babies grow way too quickly! Although, little Tabytha is at a very fun age, and i could have just sat with her, watched her absorb the world around her and play with her for hours – she’s the happiest baby you’ll ever meet.

We went for lunch, walked around the city, and took in its beauty all whilst catching up on each others lives! Her partners mum also joined us for the day as she had never been to Bath before! She was such a lovely lady, and we all had the best girly day!

I loved every minute of this day, and i can’t wait till we get to meet up again!

Until next time (the second half of the Bristol series),

Lana xxx

This Little Welsh Seaside Town

Hello Creatives!

And here is the second part to my travelling series!

Long story short, George didn’t/couldn’t attend last years graduation ceremony for his undergraduate degree although he did manage to begin his masters degree in the meantime! Therefore, we had graduation number 1 for 2017 on July the 19th, and his second graduation will be November this year, followed by my own masters degree graduation ceremony in December! Crazy 

George and i drove down to Aberystwyth, Wales, and met his mum there for three days.

If you dont know much about Aberystwyth, it is a lovely seaside town on the west coast of Wales and is mainly a university town. You could probably walk from one end to the other in 20 minutes (add a little extra time for all the hills though!).

It holds so many memories. Its the place george and i met, the place i met my friends for life and, and it’s also the place this blog was created. P.s. No photos will ever do it justice.

Unfortunately the sun only shone on the day we arrived, and the stereotypical rain poured down, however it did seem to hold off on the day og Georges ceremony, even if the clouds threatened to open on us.

Where Have I Been?

Hello Creatives!

So unfortunately, my crochet has been put to one side fo a while, due to the fact that i have been ridiculously busy with my masters research proejct…. well, i should have been but instead ive been a social butterfly (the masters research project is currently throwing my stress level through the roof however).

I have so many photos i want to share from the past few weeks so im going to do individual posts for each event (i apologise if following my social life isn’t really your thing, the crochet will come back very soon!).

Firstly it was my 22nd brithday on the 2nd of July and George and i went to our second home in Spain to spend it with my family!

Secondly we went back to Aberystwyth where George and i completed our Undergraduate Degrees for his Graduation Ceremony (a year late!)

I then went to London thinking i was meeting up with one of my bestfriends, to then be surprised by all of my ‘girl group’ of best friends and we had the best weekend EVER.

After this George and i drove down to Bristol (his hometown) where we spent a week with all of his family and he attended an Airsoft Military Simulation event in Caerwent, Wales – obviously i was the chauffeur. I don’t have photos of this, however i have edited a vlog of us on a day out to an Army Surplus Store here in Nottingham! Something different!
During this week i also got to catch up with one of my close friends who has recently moved to Swindon with her partner and precious little girl. Baby therapy is definitely a thing!

Once we arrived back to our cosy flat back here in Nottinghamshire, ANOTHER one of my closest friends (i may seem like i say this a lot, but all  these girls i’ve mentioned will definitely be in my life forever… the type of bestfriends that you’d ask to help organise your wedding) came to visit after returning from 8 months of travelling asia alone! Soooo glad she’s back!

It’s not over yet – i have my longest and oldest friend coming to visit on Tuesday and I’ve not seen the girl in forever! She was totally my day 1 back in Aberdeen, Scotland.

On top of all this, one of my other close friends has moved back to the Nottingham area, so i am super glad to finally have a friend nearby. OH and george is also having friends visit… so it’s all very hectic.

Did i mention i had a masters research project due very very soon? Oops…

I hope you all enjoy the upcoming posts about my adventures. I will definitely throw crochet in somewhere, as im currently working up a little pile of granny squares with the cutest yarn that i do during my breaks from work – a stress reliever i guess…

Until next time!
Lana xxx

I Tried Rug Punching!

Hello Creatives!

So I've heard many names (I believe latch hooking may be one?) and seen different techniques but I've given it a go with what I have, and I have found that I love Rug Punching! I've also found it's a great way to use old scraps of yarn that are too short to crochet!

So don't go getting all excited and expect some wonderful creation, I've simply spelt out LOVE on a piece of burlap/hessian and forgotten to take photos of my progress…

Or maybe I'm saving that for another post

I used a crochet hook as I am yet to purchase a rug punching tool (which looks totally cool, in a really nerdy way)

Here we go:

I did this completely free hand, as apparently I don't own pencils anymore! However I managed to get myself some and then proceeded to add some floral decoration to the outside by drawing outlines to follow!

I haven't decided if I want to fill the background in yet as I love the way it looks currently and I may end up turning it into a wall hanging or frame it!

I'll post an update once I've decided what I'll do next… or if I can't decide and need some opinions!

Rug punching seems to be growing in popularity lately, and I want to make a stool cover/topper at some point! But unfortunately my Masters Thesis deadline is fast approaching and I have some serious writing to do – I reaaaaaally don't want to!!!

Have any of you tried it before?

Until next time,
Love Lana xxx

My First Crochet Pillowcase

Hello Creatives!

On the 2nd of July it was my 22nd birthday so George and I decided to jump on a plane to Spain to spend it with my family! I really wanted to bring a gift along with me, but had been so busy that I hadn’t been able to pick anything up, so naturally I decided to crochet something! 

I started the night before we flew off, and realised I wouldn’t be able to finish my project before we had to leave, so I decided to bring it with me!

I decided to crochet a pillowcase that matched the houses ‘theme’. 

Here was my view whilst I crocheted away on the plane:

They loved it! I’ve found that I’m not the best at joining squares together. It seems to be even whilst I do it, then once I’ve joined it all together I just don’t think it looks right!

Above is my pillow case on the sofa in our Spanish home!

Any improvements I could make? I should have taken a photo of the back, but the pillow is fully removable so that the case can be washed if needed!

Love lana xxx 

Do a Masters Degree they said, it will be fun they said!

Wow, okay, so i had myself so excited for all the blog posts i’d be able to write because i would only be in lectures 3 days a week, and now im so dissappointed with the lack of them!

One thing i now know very well about a Masters Degree is that although you arent in university as many days of the week as you are during an undergraduate degree, you have 10x the amount of reading and work to do. It’s killeeeeeerrrrrr. It’s very much a case of, here’s a taster of a topic, now go and read on the subject, we wont spoon feed you!

This for me has been a massive challenge as i struggle with reading, or at least understanding what i read, so having to read multiple scientific papers a week (and understanding them) is pretty tough!

After this Friday i will luckily have some time to relax and breath before assignments start to pile up again, and what a perfect time it would be to work on a blog post about a wonderful box of treats i was lucky enough to win recently! (time is escaping me… recently means just under two months ago – oopsie)

This box  was filled with goodies from Nutri2Go, LianMask & KohlKreatives! Please please please go check out their social media!

Instagram & Facebook: nutri2gouk
Website: http://www.nutri2go.co.uk

Instagram & Facebook: kohlkreatives
Website: http://www.kohlkreatives.co.uk

Instagram & Facebook: lianmask
Website: http://www.lianmask.co.uk

I can’t wait to share all the health and beauty bits and bobs with you, but until then, here’s a preview of what i was lucky enough to open up!

Now let’s keep out fingers crossed that i dont get bogged down with work for this long again!

p.s. i really want the mug in the header photo/feature image

Lana xoxo

Plantastic IKEA Haul

Aloe there!

After recently moving into our furnished apartment, George and I felt like there were a few things missing that we didn’t have, such as side plates, a bookcase, and wine glasses among others, so we decided to take a trip to IKEA! You’re probably expecting me to go on about these items, however the majority of what we came home with were PLANTS!

Having previously lived in shared student housing, purchasing decorative items for any room other than my bedroom, nice kitchen appliances or plants were just a massive no no! Everything would get lost, broken whilst drunk or die. So for the FIRST time, I was able to enjoy shopping for home items, for my own home.

Currently (and im honestly not sure how long they’ve had these or how long they will still have these) IKEA has been offering a set of three different potted baby cacti. They come in green, lime green, baby pink and white. I personally didnt select them on the pot colour but the specific cacti within the set. Some gave me goosebumps and were all hairy, others looked cobwebby, and the ones i seleced were perfect.

CACTACEAE £4.50 for 3

CACTACEAE £4.50 for 3

CACTACEAE £4.50 for 3

CACTACEAE £4.50 for 3 different cacti. Pot colours can beseen in the image above.

My colllection!

They just seem to make such a difference to the room, and i think they’re to blame for the the rest of the haul. It’s an addiction.

After walking around IKEA and collecting all the other items we needed we continued to the tills. Right before the store room was the plant section… 3 steps in and I had my sights set onto a shelf of baby aloe vera plants! You may or may not know that aloe vera plants are relatively expensive and have many usages, from beauty to lifestyle.

 

ALOE VERA £2.50

ALOE VERA £2.50

SOCKER 12cm £1.25

ALOE VERA £2.50, SOCKER 12cm £1.25. I placed my ALOE VERA into the SOCKER  tin to give it a nicer finish for the house. The SOCKER tin is also galvanised to protect against erosion.

Aloe Vera has many benefits, i know it has soothed me through a few burns!
Ive done a little bit of research so you don’t have to and have listed some of these benefits below.

So, according to Marie Claire, aloe vera juice is:

1. Detoxifying
2. Supportive of the immune system
3. Able to lower cholesterol & blood sugar levels
4. Excellent for digestion (and constipation)
5. And easy way to boost your vitamin and mineral intake
6. Good for burns, acne and hydrating your skin!

Read the article HERE

According to Prevention.com it can be used as:

1. A make up remover when used in the form of pure aloe vera gel
2. A shaving cream
3. A soothing ice cube
4. A face wash
5. and many more!

Read more from Prevention.com HERE

And finally, according to Healthline.com, aloe vera can be useful for:

1. Heartburn – Consume 1-3 ounces of pure aloe gel. As aloe vera has a very low toxicity level, it is very safe.
2. Keeping ruit nd vegetables for longer – by cating them in aloe gel, it keeps bacteria away making your fruit and veg freshers for longer!
3. Use as an alternative mouthwash – I will block plaque and also provide pain relief for sore gums. It also contains vitamin C.

And to read more interesting facts about aloe vera, just click HERE

There are so many websites that will advise you on the uses of aloe vera, as well as suppliers of aloe vera houseplants and gels, so go have a look and make use of its wonderful properties! I know i will!

Lana xxx

Snack On Life!

In order to be able to open up on this blog, i realise the more you know about me and this blog itself, the eaiser it is to relate. So lets start with this blog. I previously posted about my struggles with finding my feet with this blog (and i guess the fact that im still figuring it all out).  You can have a read here if you fancy!

The name of this blog was originally (and still in the URL) BlueHillSpace. You’re probably wondering whyyyyyy?  Well, honestly, picking a name for a blog is super duper difficult as youre stuck with it FOREVER (kind of..). I wanted something with meaning, something that would catch on, and something that i wouldn’t regret. It originated from the street that myself and my other half lived on in Wales when we started this blog up. It was called Brynglas Road, “bryn” meaning blue, and “glas” meaning hill. Pretty straight forward right? I guess it had meaning, and will always tie this blog to its birth location, and “space” highlighting the blog as a space for creativity.

Honestly, i guess i grew out of it in a way, especially when the clothing line ‘Zero Space’ came to an end. And i changed (the header name, as the URL is unchangeable) to Snack On Life, Freshie. I thought “freshie” sounded ‘cool’ and connected the blog to university life more, urgh such a bad idea, and as you can see i got rid of that preeeeeeetty quick. I also added the tag line of ‘what do you do when everything’s new?’ quite simply because it rhymed, nothing was new, i was in a very familiar place doing the same old familiar things…

“Snack On Life!”

Snacking is probably one of my favourite things, and although the message behind the slogan “Binge on life” would have been a lot more meaningful, i like snacking, it means you can take a break and when you feel like it, snack again.

“What do you do when everything’s new?”

Only recently coming back to this blog have i found my tag line VERY fitting. I will be moving to a new city, a new university, and a new living situation (although having lived with George for the past two years, we are now in our own apartment rather than shared accommodation!). Everything will be new, even down to having my first new car!

So what DO you do when everything’s new? Well, what im going to do is blog about it! Take it all in and blog about the experience.

Are you starting something new? Let me know! I really want to engage more!

Here’s to NEW,

Love Lana xxx