Hey guys!

As I'm sure you've all realised by now, Christmas is fast approaching. That means presents. I already did a christmas gift guide, which you can find here, but to be honest, it's equally as hard to know what to answer when people ask you what you want for christmas.

My friends and I don't really give each other a bunch of presents, and I'm not actually asking for any of these (mostly because the shipping is expensive to Norway), but here are some things that I would really love to receive:

Nothing cheers me up quite like a good book, although I do find it quite hard to make time for it during the school year. I definitely read the most during the summer, but Christmas time is a close second. Can anything really beat cuddling up in the sofa under a blanket, reading you favourite book with a hot chocolate in hand?

I have a list of favourite books (which you can find here), and they all make me so happy. However, there is something very special about having a book specific to christmas, or that give you that very special christmas feeling. In this blogpost I thought I'd show you what my three very favourite books around christmas-time are.

The first and main one is of course Let It Snow, by John Green, Maureen Johnson and Lauren Myracle. It consists of three short stories that intertwine. They're humorous and cosy, and just generally happy. I can read it over and over, and although it's not necessarily a challenging read it's the kind of book that just leaves you very happy and grateful. I would definitely reccommend it, and it is the number one book that gets me in the holiday mood.

Another book, which was featured on my Top Ten Favourite Books of All Time, is Dash and Lily's Book of Dares. It's written by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan, and is about two characters who get to know each other through a hidden notebook when they're both  lonely in New York City during Christmas. It reminds me of The Perks of Being a Wallflower but just a lot more christmassy (there we are again with that word). It's a really entertaining and funny book, and definitely makes you want a cute holiday romance.

The next one aren't directly christmas related, but still definitely cheers me up and puts me in a holiday mood. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone is probably my number one favourite book of all time. There's something about this one in particular that really makes me want to cuddle up and read it with my cousin, which also brings back so many happy memories.

I hope you enjoyed this blog post, and let me know what you thought! Do you like any of these books? What are some of you favourite books?

Also, I don't do this very often, but I'd love for you to check out my bloglovin, if you'd like to stay updated with my blogposts. I really appreciate it.

Hey guys!

Sorry I've been a bit absent recently, but December will make up for it! I'll be blogging every other day until Christmas Day, with only Christmas related posts! I hope you're as excited as I am for this.

Today I figured I'd start you off with something to make you laugh. As some of you may know if you're a regular reader, I live in Norway (more about that here), and we have some very strange christmas traditions. As my family is English, we don't really follow many of these, but they still crack me up when my friends tell me about them.

Not my photo

A little disclaimer - I don't know whether these are celebrated other places or whether they're originally Norwegian, but I know they're celebrated regularly in Norway, so I figured I'd share.

1. The first one might shock you if you're not used to it, but we actually celebrate Christmas on Christmas eve. It's a regular work day for adults, and presents are unwrapped late in the evening, after dinner. The origin of this is actually that Jesus was (apparently) born during the night between the 24th and 25th of December, and so the date celebrated varies from country to country.

Not my photo

2. Lille julaften, the name we have for the 23rd (which directly translates to little christmas eve) is also celebrated strangely. This is the day where your entire family sits around the table wearing 'nisseluer' and drawn-on freckles and cheeks covered in blush, eating porridge made of rice. It sounds disgusting, but it actually really nice. You'd sprinkle it with sugar and cinnamon, and then have a dollop of butter in the middle, which melts and tasted really nice with the cinnamon. In the porridge we also hide an almond which has been peeled, and the person who gets this wins marsipan in the shape of a pig. I suppose this is quite similar to looking for the penny in christmas pudding.

Not my photo

3. We all have the advent calendars full of chocolate, but here there's one that every family has hanging in their window. On the 30th of November every year, each family is supposed to prick 24 dried carnations into an orange, and pull out one every day until we've reached christmas eve. It's quite disgusting actually, as the orange obviously goes out of date, and so they always end up being thrown away within the first week.

Hello November!

It's been a while I since I did one of these posts, and this is coming a tiny bit later in the month than I'd have liked. But here we are, November already.
If you're familiar with this type of post from my previous ones (June, July, September) you'll know that today I'm going to reflect on last month's goals and set new ones:

1. Keep on track with schoolwork - I definitely did well on this. I had a few really important exams earlier this week (which went really well) and although I'm slightly behind right now, I've been really good at handing in my assignments and doing things on time.
2. Publish 7 posts for September - I guess this didn't work out. I had 7 in total for September and October, which actually makes me really sad. Blogging takes my mind off things and makes me really happy, and I want to do it more often.
3. Get back on track healthwise - Nope, can't say I've even improved slightly in that area, sitting here drinking hot chocolate and eating peppermints. As soon as I get back to Norway though, this will definitely be a priority.

Hey guys!

Today I'm here with another photo post, but slightly different this time. If you follow me on twitter, you'll know that I spent a weekend in August camping with my class.

For those of you who don't know, I live in Norway. The town I live in is quite small and bland, and so I usually put up a protest when people tell me how lucky I am to live in this beautiful country. This trip however, has changed my view on that.

We went white-water rafting one of the days, which I really wish I had photos of for you guys because it was so much fun (and also absolutely terrifying), but I obviously couldn't bring my phone in the water.

We also went on a 10 hour hike up a mountain called Besseggen, which was exhausting but totally worth it. It was more of a climb, and every time we reached what we thought was the top, it turned out that we were far from it.

Disclaimer - All of these photos are mine (as always), but as I obviously couldn't bring my big camera with me, they're all taken with my phone, hence the quality.

Yet another photo of the beautiful view, but this time featuring the back of my head! Yay!

Hey everyone!

"Ah, music, a magic beyond all we do here." -Albus Dumbledore

Like most people, I really love music. It helps me focus and I genuinely feel like I'm connecting with the artists I'm listening to. It can completely change my mood and make me feel a lot better about myself. Therefore, I figured I'd share my music favourites with you.

I listen to a lot of different types of music, and so there are a few different genres in here.I hope you enjoy!

Favourite Songs
These are some of my all time favourite songs that I can listen to over and over again. In no particular order:

1. The Reckless and the Brave - All Time Low
2. Come on Eileen - Dexy's Midnight Runners (All my friends know that this is the number one song to cheer me up and guarantee me to dance)
3. Somewhere in Neverland - All Time Low
4. Ohio (Come Back to Texas) - Bowling for Soup (Bit of a weird one, but it has such great memories connected to it that I love it so much)
5. The Phoenix - Fall Out Boy
6. Vagabond - The King's Parade (I saw this band in Camden as a street performance, and bought their CD on the spot because they're amazing!)
7. Hey There Delilah - Plain White T's
8. Missing You - All Time Low (The best feel-good song out there)
9. WILD - Troye Sivan
10. Undercover Martyn - Two Door Cinema Club
11. Fresh Start Fever - You Me At Six
12. Lost in Reality - 5 Seconds of Summer
13. Girls - The 1975
14. This is War - 30 Seconds to Mars (sure, this isn't the original music video, but let's be real, it's a lot better)

Recently, I've had a lot more to do. I don't mean in terms of homework or stress, but just having a lot more of a social life, friends to hang out with after school, parties to go to in the weekend and so on.

I really enjoy it. I love spontaneously running into town to buy subway after school and spending the rest of the day by the docks.

One thing I hate, is having to say no to stuff. This is for a bunch of reasons, but mostly because I have a severe case of FOMO - which I might do a separate post about, because I know a lot of people are like this. I find it really hard to turn down hanging out when I know my friends will be going, even if I wouldn't necessarily like to be there myself.

I've realised recently however, that I simply can't say yes to everything. I say yes when I can and I make sure to spend a lot of time with my friends, but sometimes I don't feel like it, and that's okay.

I've always been the type of person who needs me-time. I think we all do, to an extent, we need time to just watch netflix, bake a batch of muffins or just chill for a few hours or even days.

This is important. I used to see it as something I just did when I was bored, but I've come to realise that this is just as important for me personally to spend time with friends. I get grumpy if I haven't had a few hours to recharge over the past few days, and I get grumpy if I'm around the same people for more than a weekend.

None of this is their fault, it's just that everyone needs to recharge.

So this is your little reminder to please, please please take a bit of time for yourself whenever you need it. Sure, it might mean that you won't have time to finish the science homework, but you need to remember that your mental health and clarity is so much more important than homework or anything else.

Take time doing something you enjoy, and I swear you'll feel better. Goddamn, I sound like an advert, but I really mean it. Whether it's going on a run, baking, taking a bath (ugh I hate baths) or watching netflix, just do something for you today.

Let me know what YOU like to do during your 'me time'!

Hey everyone!

Today I'm back with part two of my photos from the Warner Bros Studio Tour, which I'm very excited to share with you!

I went to the Studio Tour in London in the end of June, and I posted a bunch of photos from it, which you can see them here! I'm very proud of them, but I thought it would be time for you to see the rest.

 Off to Hogwarts I go! The platform was actually a new addition, and the train is mind-blowing! You can climb inside it and walk through the carriages, and each one represents a different movie.
  

Those are all the photos I have from the Studio Tour. I hope you enjoyed them both (here's part 1), I know I did! I had the best day there with my best friend, and it truly was one of the best days of my entire life. I'd definitely recommend for you all to go if you have the chance, and make sure to schedule a whole day there!

I'd also like to thank you all for 40 followers on bloglovin. I know it might not seem like much, but it really means the world to me. I love every single one of you, and you're always welcome if you want to chat!

Hey there friends!

As you may remember from my posts like this in June and July, I try to do a monthly expectations post on the first of every month, so here we are for September!

First of all, let me just say, how the hell is it September already? I honestly can't believe that we only have four months left until 2016. That's terrifying.

As I didn't do a post like this for august, I'll skip straight to the goals and plans for September:

Goals:

1. Keep on track with schoolwork: I've now gone back to school, and quite frankly, the work is overwhelming. My main goal is therefore to stay on track with my homework and studying for my exams.
2. My blog is also very important to me, and I notice I feel a lot happier when I'm posting regularly. I'm not going to set a schedule for my blogposts, but I will say that I want to have at least 7 blogposts in total for the month of September.
3. I've been eating unhealthy and not working out most of the summer, and I can definitely notice a difference. I'd love to get back to my healthy routines and perhaps get a bit fitter over the next few months.

Hello everyone!

Today I have a bit of a special post for you, as I'm doing a collaboration with the lovely Frances from Royally Rouge!

On her blog, she will be doing a Back to School Makeup Look, and over here there's Back to School Essentials (as you probably guessed by my title).

In this post I won't be focusing as much on schoolbooks, as that is different for everyone. I will, however, take you through some of my favourite items that I keep in my bag that I wouldn't be able to get through my day without.

The first one - my planner. I LOVE this thing. It's from Paperchase, and I keep absolutely everything in it. I write down homework, blogposts, plans with friends, workouts, and everything going on in my life. Our school does actually provide us with planners, but I decided it was more likely that I'd keep up with it if I chose the design and layout myself.

If you're at one of those unlucky schools where they don't let you listen to music while working, I feel for you! I wouldn't be able to live without mine, so I always have to have my headphones!

These colourful pens are a new addition to my collection this year - as is the planner above. I've actually used them a surprising amount, and come on, how satisfying is it to see them all colour coordinated like this? I find that I'd much rather review my notes if the titles and important words are written in bright pink or turquoise! I got this set for around £6!

My emergency kit - the little set that constantly livesin the bottom of my bag and will stay there every single day I'm at school. This little pouch is larger than necessary, but works fine and is from Primark. The main thing in my kit is a lipbalm - usually two, one for chapped lips and one coloured - because I get superdry lips and I find that lipbalm really calms me down during tests. Deodorant is something I very rarely use while at school, but just knowing its there makes me feel a lot more relaxed. Tampons, of course, speak for themselves, but you'd rather not forget these! The last thing in my kit is usually bobby pins. I have very short hair, and sometimes during art, I just need to get my fringe out of my eyes.

I mentioned this in my previous post about being healthy, but drinking water is super important! I know everyone tells you this, but seriously, bring a waterbottle between classes with you! It'll definitely help, and make you feel a lot better about yourself! It also gives you something to do when you're listening to a lecture.

Those are some of my school necessities that live in my bag, I hope that gave you some ideas! Let me know when you go/went back to school, as I know it's very different everywhere! I went back to school two weeks ago, but I know a lot of people don't go back for another few, so I wish you all luck with that!

Also, go check out Frances' blog! As I mentioned above, she's doing Back to School Makeup over at royallyrouge.blogspot.com

I know writing a diary is typically something looked down upon, or something your grandma tells you to do and you just roll your eyes. I know that, and yet I chose to set my new years resolution of 2015 to write a diary most days (one of the only ones that have ever lasted for more than two days). It's something I do quite often now, and I really enjoy it. It's like my own personal therapist, where I can write about absolutely anything I want without worrying about hurting someone's feelings. It's a place where I can say absolutely anything I want about something and not worry about being judged.

Just a note - Is it just me or is the font I've written in above very similar to that of Claude Monet on the cover? I had no idea that he and Taylor Swift had such similar handwriting!

Seeing as I've been writing consistently for a few months now, and am currently on my third diary, I figured I could call myself a senior diary-writer (lol). Therefore, I decided to use my position to share some tips and tricks with you, in case you'd like to start journaling.

This is by far my favourite one. It's from Paperblanks!

1. What I consider the most important tip probably sounds stupid, but it's to buy a nice diary. A really, really nice one. This one is at least very important to me, and I take great care in looking for a new one. I figure it this way: If I'm going to pour my heart and soul into this object (although not literally, like Ginny did in the Chamber of Secrets), I want it to be an object that I can look at and be proud of. For the few months each of these diaries are in use they're like extensions of my brain, and having a really pretty one keeps me motivated to write. I'd recommend ones from Paperblanks, but TkMaxx do really good ones too.
2. My second tip is what everyone advises you to do when starting something new, and that is to make it a habit. I'm not saying every day, but at least once a week have a habit that after dinner before you go to bed, you write. It makes it easier to do if you're not used to it.
3. Slightly opposite to point #2, but you don't have to write down everything. You don't have to catch up on weeks worth of happenings if you haven't been writing during that time. To me, that would make me put it off even more, because having to write so much at once seems daunting to me.
4. Just write. Seems simple, and it really is, so don't put so much pressure on yourself. Just write about what you had for breakfast, or why you and your friend got in a fight. Anything you want there, belongs in your diary.
5. This is something that took me a long time to get used to, and that is to make sure I'm writing to myself. It seems obvious, of course I'm writing to myself! But no, I noticed that in the beginning I was writing more like what I would want someone else to read, which doesn't help at all. What's the point in that? So just make sure you're writing to the you who's here right now, not the one twenty years from now.

Hey everyone!

Today I'm doing a bit of a different post, because I was nominated for the Versatile Blogger Award! Thank you so much to Georgia Charlotte, she is so incredibly lovely so go and have a look at her blog!

Now, there are five steps to the Versatile Blogger award, all of which I will try to follow:

1. Thank the person who nominated you - Check. See above.
2. Include a link to their blog - Also check. Just press the name and it'll lead you right to it.
3. Nominate bloggers you follow regularly - Hmm, how am I supposed to choose?
4. Include 7 facts about yourself - This should be the easiest step, shouldn't it?

Hello everyone!

Today I figured I’d do a post about some of my favourite youtubers, because as you’d know if you follow my twitter, I watch a lot of youtube. I’d like to point out that I actually mainly watch daily vlogs, but I decided to only talk about main channels in this post, as I guess those are the ones you’d find most interesting.

1. I’m including the first three here in a group, because I think all of you probably watch them, or at least know who they are: Zoella, SprinkleofGlitter and Tanya Burr. These three are so sweet, and manage to cheer me up so well.
2. Someone I discovered recently is Meg Says, who also has blog. She is the kindest, calmest, most motivating little gem who I absolutely love to watch. She talks about mainly beauty, lifestyle and health, and I find it all very interesting. Her videos are perfect to watch on a sick day or before bed, as her voice is so comforting and just cheers me up. 
3. Not even joking, I am currently rewatching a lot of her old videos right this instant. Fabulous Hannah is so relatable and hilarious that I literally laugh out loud. She speaks about her life in such a hilarious way, and I can’t help but love her. 
4. Velvetgh0st is someone who I personally find so motivating. She doesn’t sugarcoat things and talks about the good and the bad in her life, which definitely helps keep me grounded. I know she is very controversial, but I personally adore her.
5. The last person on this list is Hannah Witton. She’s not scared to give her opinion on things, and her videos are surprisingly informative. She talks a lot about sexuality, gender roles, and is just plain educational and funny.

There you have it, the main channels I watch on a regular basis. I’d recommend you to check all these out, if you aren’t already subscribed. I hope you enjoyed this post, and I’d be happy to do more similar ones in the future. Who are some of your favourite youtubers?