It's back! My weekly diary posts are starting up again after some time off! I feel like since I stopped writing these I've felt less aware of what I've accomplished each week and less motivated to do anything! Time for some changes around here! Ready to join me?

Monday

• It's a bank holiday, which means having to pick up an extra shift at my retail job. I was given the afternoon shift, which meant having some time before work to do some assignment writing! 
• I did a lot of my uni work from bed before hopping in the shower and getting ready for work. 
• It's such a hot day today so I managed to find a skirt which was appropriate for work and I picked up an iced coffee on my way in. Gotta get that caffeine! 
• Nothing much to report from work, it was too warm and pretty busy. When it came to closing time, I was super tired and sat out in Picadilly Gardens for a while before heading home on the bus. 
• Not the most interesting day to kickstart my PYT posts again but that's just the way these things go!

Tuesday

• I got up at a fairly reasonable time today and went to uni to get some assignment writing done. This is after I took some product blog pics in my pyjamas for the post since the lighting was coming through my window beautifully and I use my bed for the backdrop of a lot of my pics since I don't have a lot of space in my student room. 
• Before I started my assignment in uni, I finalised a blog post and spent some time promoting it and scheduling some tweets before getting on with the work! 
• I left uni a bit earlier than planned and had to skip an event I was really excited for because I started to feel unwell and just wanted to get home and have a lie-down. 
• I spent the evening preparing for the internship interview which I have tomorrow. I am so hopeful for this interview since it's the summer internship which I have felt most drawn to out of all the internships I have looked at. Since I want to go into marketing after my degree, it is the perfect opportunity and I want it so badly. It's also paid which means that if I get it then I can definitely afford all my rent over the summer and also get some savings together! Fingers crossed!

Wednesday

• I got up, showered and got dressed up for my internship interview. It was so nerve-racking and I had trouble finding the building where the interview was held. Typical me! When I got to the interview, I realised that I had met one of the two interviewers before and she immediately recognised. I felt like I really clicked with both the interviewers and we got along well. They were both so friendly and it really put me at ease! I felt like we were on the same page about everything we discussed and I even showed them some of my previous relevant work. I may have blundered a few times in the interview but I think it went better than I had expected! 

• I immediately met with some friends in uni, ate a wonderful toastie and got some more of my work done! We all decided to hop on the bus and head into town for a bit of chill time. 
• I picked up some lovely goodies from Primark, Monki, Home Sense and Lush before we headed home. 
• I lit a lavender and sage candle which I had bought from Home Sense and it really filled my room with a calming aroma. I managed to get a lot of my work done this evening. Enough to lead me to believe that I will finish my two last assignments of the year by tomorrow evening! 
• I read a bit of How To Stop Time by Matt Haig in bed and now I'm ready to turn the lights out and get a good night's sleep!

Thursday

• Another day of going to uni early to get work done! 
• While I was writing my assignment, I received a phone call to tell me that I have got the internship which I interviewed for yesterday!! I'm so excited! It means that I can afford my rent this summer and that I can get some great experience in marketing! 
• I managed to get loads of work done in uni and also attended a seminar where my group work project was displayed! All in all, a productive time in uni! 
• I then headed home with a friend to catch up on Riverdale, which was so good! We were yelling at the screen! 
• I finished both of my last assignments of the year and got into bed at a decent time!

Friday

• I submitted my final two assignments after a quick proofread!! 
• It's payday which means a trip to Wetherspoons with the workmates. We got there fairly early for food and had a couple of drinks into the evening. I have not laughed this much in so long! We had such a good time!
• While I was in town to meet my friends, I managed to pick up a few essentials from Lush to restock my shelf.
• That's about it really, I was super tired after this week so I headed home early and I am so ready to sleep!  

Saturday

• Not the most exciting day! 
• I cleaned the kitchen and bathrooms before getting ready and going to work for the afternoon/evening shift. 
• I got home at a reasonable time and I just finished watching a documentary so it's time for bed!

Sunday

• Today was a bit more interesting than yesterday! I worked the early shift so I had the afternoon free after work! 

• A couple of friends and I went to Pizza Hut after work and then to the shops! I stocked up on Pixi Glow Tonic and bought a lovely new bra! 
• Once I got home, I spent the evening catching up on YouTube videos and reading. It's been lovely!

What a busy week! How was your week? x

My hair is in the best condition it has been in years and I wanted to do a post all about what I did to improve my hair quality and what products I use every week to keep it in good condition! Expect a rant about how darn good everything smells too! I love a good-smelling hair product!

In the shower!

So, years of using the same cheap shampoo had stripped my hair of all its oils and goodness and made it look super dull and lifeless! I don't know why it took me so long to switch up my shampoo and conditioner, maybe I was just in a solid routine of buying the same thing without wondering whether or not it worked for me! It clearly didn't. I replaced my shampoo, conditioner and daily heat protector spray with the Garnier Ultimate Blends Delicate Oat range and it has transformed my hair! Using the shampoo and conditioner is lovely because they smell so good and the shampoo lathers up like a dream! This is how shampoo is supposed to feel! Even after switching the products for the first time, I could clearly see that they were nourishing my hair way more than my old hair products!


As for the heat protector spray, it has the same wonderful smell and feels great and lightweight in the hair! I have been trying not to blow-dry my hair or put any heat on it at all lately since the weather has been warm and my hair dries pretty quickly on its own. Instead, I spray sea salt spray onto my hair while it's still wet and it helps to give it some more texture when it dries. I used to use the Fudge Salt Spray (nothing beats the smell of this) but lately, I was a bit more broke than usual and I picked up a Primark Salt Spray for £2, which does the job!


Yes, I dye my hair!

I decided to finally pay attention to my neglected roots and dye my hair again for the first time in months! I used the L'Oreal Casting Creme Gloss, as I always have ever since I was about fourteen years old! It always leaves my hair looking super healthy and smelling wonderful! I used the colour 'darkest brown' and it looks so natural and glossy! Most importantly, my hair looks way healthier and so many people agreed when they first saw it! Casting Creme Gloss is only semi-permanent so it requires quite a bit of upkeep but it's also gentle on the hair and makes it feel so healthy and smooth!


Hair masks and pampering!

One thing I have begun to do is to pamper my hair and not just my skin! I discovered the magic of hair masks and I wonder how I never thought to try them before! There are two that I use regularly and they make my hair feel so SOFT! My favourite hair mask is H'suan Wen Hua from Lush. It is INCREDIBLE! I personally love the spicy deep smell, although I know some despise it, and I love the consistency, which isn't too thin or too thick so it spreads through the hair super well! The other hair mask which I love to use is the Garnier Ultimate Blends Hair Mask, which is a good budget alternative to the Lush mask!


So that's about it! Switching up my hair products and finding what works well for me has completely transformed the condition of my hair and I'm super pleased with how my hair looks and feels now! What are your hair holy grails? x

I miss my weekly diary posts! It felt good to write everything down and put it out there. Like throwing my personal life out there and getting it off my chest and out of my mind! I may start up the Pull Yourself Together posts again soon but for now, I just want to talk about everything significant that's going on at the moment. Full disclosure. Holding nothing back!

Right now in this moment

My chest feels a bit heavy. I'm trying to pick myself up from a down day. I am a fully hormonal and emotional wreck at the moment and I've nearly cried more times than I can count today! I have been suppressing a lot of negative feelings for a while now and I feel like they are spilling over. My counsellor isn't free for a session until the end of the month and I am sick and tired of going to the GP so often lately, even though my GP is lovely and a total angel! I don't know if I want to speak about everything with friends either. We all have so much going on and I don't want to add to their heaps of troubles! The thing is, in the past few months I have become a sharer. I used to bottle everything up but in the past few months, I have done the opposite. I have almost become reliant on sharing everything with others and now that I don't feel like I should do that, it's becoming really hard to keep stable.


University

My grades dropped this semester. No matter how hard I have tried to write excellent assignments, it just hasn't been quite good enough. It's almost making me give up. When I got low, I didn't go to my lectures either, which has caused me to fall completely behind with university when exams are looming overhead. I'm not sure if I can pull everything together in time. I'm trying to go back to the way I was in first year, when I was getting great marks in my assignments and studying with intense motivation, but I am just so tired. It's stressing me out so much that I am smoking again. Not great!

Health

Aside from my mental health, my physical health has also been up and down. I started having fortnightly periods. One week on, one week off, one week on, etc. Yeah, that's not ideal. They were also escalating in severity to the point where they are now as bad as they were in high school, before my prescription period medication and being on the pill. After a few weeks of tests to see what has been up with me lately, I finally got diagnosed with PCOS. I have known that I have this for a few years but in my hometown, my GP never took me seriously when I asked about it. However, my GP here has been so helpful and when I mentioned it and talked through my symptoms, he booked me straight in for an ultrasound. Goodness, PCOS gives me so many answers for things I have been experiencing for years. So many things which have been dismissed when I have tried to talk about them! I have also been super ill for the past week with a sinus infection. Not the greatest of times!

Good things

I realise now that a lot of what I have just written is all doom and gloom. There have been some good things! However, as you may know, memories are emotional things and we tend to remember events better if they evoke very strong emotions. That's why we remember all the bad stuff easier. It's just the way we're wired. However, I'm gonna rack my brains for some good stuff! I managed to go home and see my family a couple of weekends ago! It's my favourite! I saw my grandparents, cousins, parents and my lil teenage brother. I started using OpenLearn again to pick up short courses for free which is fun and interesting! I also got some great blogging opportunities which I loved being a part of, including being sent some lovely goodies from Simply Soaps which are a couple of my new faves! I also just ate the biggest and nicest piece of cake in the world from Manchester Museum. White chocolate and poppyseed cake, what a beauty!


When I was writing the PYT posts weekly, it was easier to keep track of the good stuff going on in my life and it pushed me to get out of bed and do more, so I could blog about it and share the experience. I think it's time to bring those posts back, are you ready?? x

Pull Yourself Together #14 coming Monday 14th May...

Can you believe that April is already over?? It flew by, I didn't even notice it passing! As usual, let's delve into some of my favourite things from this month! This is quite a mixed list this month since I have been all over the place with stress and work and illness. However, when I have had some time to chill and take a step back, this is what I have been loving!

Brooklyn Nine-Nine

I can't believe I didn't start this show sooner! I was at my guy's house one night and we were looking for something funny to watch and I told him that I had been meaning to watch this for ages but never found the time. That night, we watched a good few episodes and fell in love with the show. Then, when I figured we could watch the next few episodes together, I found out that he had almost finished season 2 when I had been waiting to watch it with him! I vowed to catch up to him and haven't quite got there but this is definitely my new favourite show! I have never laughed at anything as much as I laugh at this! My favourite character by far is Terry, he's just so hilarious and sweet!

Starbucks Reusable Cup

I wanted to buy a reusable cup but really didn't have the money for anything too fancy. The reusable cups from Starbucks are £1 and are definitely sturdy enough for their purpose! When you carry a reusable cup, you can often get discounts on your hot drinks and this is the case at the cafe in the psychology building where I spend most of my time! It feels good to cut down on waste and also to get those discounts! They really do add up when you drink as much coffee as I do!


Pixi Glow Tonic

This stuff is so good! Just starting and ending my day with a swipe of this chemical exfoliant has definitely improved the texture of my skin, which feels so much more smooth and even! I had been dying to try it out for so long and I am so glad that I finally picked up a little bottle of it. It's lasting well as a little goes a long way but I will definitely be repurchasing it when the time comes!


Borderlands

When I got my Xbox 360 the other month, I stuck to playing games which I had played before and knew I loved. However, this month I became completely addicted to Borderlands after looking for something new to play for a while. I love the art style throughout the game and how purely fun it is to play! The soundtrack has also been a must for me while I've been writing all my essays!


Puma Basket Platform Patent Trainers

These trainers are my new everyday item of footwear! I love how they look and how comfortable they are! The red spruces up any outfit and I love how these trainers look with my usual black culottes or skinny jeans. I have been wearing these non-stop with no signs of giving them a rest! Definitely an investment worth making! I know, the pic is blurry af! I don't have them with me right now but I want to get this post out to you so I screenshotted a boomerang from my Instagram story (which is @jessistryingblog btw).


Rosemary's Baby by Ira Levin

After a long spell of not reading much of anything, I delved deep into Rosemary's Baby by Ira Levin and finished it in a single sitting! It was eerie, creepy and excellently written! I could not put it down! It is definitely a book which I will read again in the future and I will probably be rewatching the film soon as I haven't seen it in a long time! It was a quick read for me and this is definitely what I needed!

Muji Notebook, Pen Case and Pens

Back at the end of March, I went to London to see Hamilton! It was incredible! While I was there, I picked up some bits and pieces from Muji and I have been loving them! I bought a little notebook, which I use for all my blog planning and ideas. It's so nice to work on dotted paper as you can work portrait or landscape and still with the guidelines to write along. I bought a couple of 0.38 pens and a pen case to use with the notebook so that everything matches. It's also all so compact and easy to throw into my ten thousand bags which I switch up on the daily.


How To Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie

It wouldn't be a faves list if I didn't mention a personal development book! In April, I finally read the classic How To Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie. I am trying to gain more confidence in my interpersonal interactions and found this book incredibly useful! No wonder it's a long-time favourite for many people and has become such a classic! I will be picking this up and reading through certain chapters time and time again!


My tattoo

Yes, I'm mentioning this again! I got a lovely tattoo on my thigh! It is unfinished and will soon be sporting some more shading and a lil bee but it's so cute and I love it! It's also healing wonderfully which is a lovely relief!