DEGUSTA BOX | SEPTEMBER ’20

It’s no secret that I love a good subscription box. I’ve subscribed to several over the years but there usually comes a time when I get a bit bored of the one I recieve and want to switch it up. I had been subscribed to the Vegan Kind box for a few years but I felt it was now time for something different. I’m only vegetarian and it became that some of the snacks that were included such as the vegan chocolate was beginning to make me feel a bit sick. I had once trained my tastebuds to like the stuff (thanks eating disorder) but since my eating habits had changed again, I realised I didn’t actually like these things very much. Part of me will miss TVK as I did discover some great snacks, but I wanted something with more of a mixture and something that Ryan could enjoy too. I stumbled across Degusta Box a few months ago and had been contemplating trying it out for a while. I thought what better time to start it than after just moving into a new flat! So, here we are, my very first Degusta Box review.

TOP 10 MARINA SONGS

Before my YouTube hiatus I would occasionally upload videos talking about my favourite songs from some of my favourite artists. I felt like bringing that back but this time in blog form and what better artist to start with than my favourite female musician, Marina.

Formally known by her stage name, Marina & the Diamonds, she has released a total of four albums since 2010. Her latest release was a two part album titled Love + Fear (2019) which only further showcased her songwriting and musical ability. So, without further ado, here are my top 10 Marina songs from the last decade.

10) Buy The Stars

Kicking off the top 10 we have a bonus track from Marina’s second album, and arguably most iconic, Electra Heart (2012). This album as a whole means a lot to me on a personal level and remains one of my favourite albums of all time. I discovered Marina through Tumblr in late 2012 when this album was ALL over the blogging site. The album is themed around the character of Electra Heart who is notoriously known for being a heartbreaker. I was, and still am, obsessed with the aesthetic of the record. Very pink and very feminine and very much the style I was going for back then. Buy The Stars is an incredibly underrated track and takes me back to sitting listening to it on repeat while reblogging pink things to my tumblr.

CHANGE

You may or may not have (probably the may not have) noticed that I disappeared from the blogging world for a month. Usually that would be a sign of laziness and lack of motivation but this time around that was not the case. I’ve been busy moving out of my childhood home and into my first flat with my boyfriend. This is probably the biggest change that I’ve experienced so far in my adult life and it’s had me thinking about how I cope with change and how it’s something that I’ve struggled with a lot in the past. So, I wanted to try and address my thoughts and share my experience of moving out for the first time from the perspective of someone who feels a lot of anxiety around change and the unknown.

DISNEYLAND PARIS TAG

it’s no secret that Disneyland Paris is my happy place. I’ve been lucky enough to go twice with Ryan in the last year and a half and I’m going again in April with my family (and will no doubt go back sometime after that with Ryan again). I guess you could say that I have well and truly caught the Disney bug. Although Disney has always been a part of my life in some regard, it wasn’t until I set foot in Disneyland Paris in June 2019 that Disney took on a whole new meaning for me. I plan on filming a video talking about what Disney means to me and why I love it as much as I do at one point but for now I thought it would be fun to answer some questions about DLP.

These questions are from HERE!

‘FOLKLORE’ AND TAYLOR SWIFT THOUGHTS

Taylor Swift came to save 2020 by dropping a surprise album. Folklore marks her 8th studio album and she ditches the energetic pop numbers that her 2019 release Lover posessed and swaps them for a more melodic sound. I was two tracks in and could already tell that this was the album I had been waiting for. It was the first since her fourth album Red that really struck a chord with me from the first listen. I’ve been a Taylor fan since 2009 and although I have enjoyed her pop albums, her first four albums have stuck with me a lot more. I guess you could say I prefer country Taylor to pop Taylor, but her new music feels like a happy medium.

PHOTO CREDIT

TOP 5 DISNEYLAND PARIS ATTRACTIONS

Disneyland Paris truly is my happy place and it has just recently reopened after it’s temporary closure due to COVID-19. So, I thought to celebrate that I would share with you my top five DLP attractions.

5. RC RACER

I had a tough time deciding what was number five, but ultimately I have to give 5th place to RC Racer. A simple attraction that only lasts a mere few seconds, but all the while is great fun. Me and Ryan went on it a number of times on our first trip and only once on our second but every time we’ve been sitting at the front and I honestly think that that has added to the expereince. At this point I think if I’m ever not at the front it’ll just be weird. Toy Story holds a special place in my heart and the first two are probably the Pixar films that I’ve seen the most. I also love that you queue on a scalextric style race track and Toy Story music plays while you wait. It’s the one queue that I’m always dancing in!

PHOTO CREDIT

EXTRACT FROM ‘THE TRAIN’

I thought it was about time that I share some of my own creative writing. This is a piece that I submitted for an assignment in one of my creative writing classes where we had to write an extract from a novel idea. My idea revovled around a couple who were travelling through Europe after their graduation where they stumble upon a town that had been hidden from society for centuries. The novel would be split into two parts: ‘The Train’ and ‘The Town.’ This extract is from ‘The Train’ where the two are travelling to their next destination but things start to become unusual.

LOCKDOWN THINGS

I think we can all agree that 2020 has been a year that we’re desperate to say goodbye to. Over these last few months I’ve definitely had the mind set that this year doesn’t count, but that doesn’t feel quite right, does it? Should we really write off a whole year? Probably not. After all, I did graduate this year. Instead of trying to push 2020 out of the door, maybe we should take the time to focus on the small things that have been keeping us sane during this rather insane time. Things that you maybe wouldn’t have discovered, or wouldn’t have taken as much time with, if it wasn’t for lockdown. So, here are five things that have allowed me to keep hold of my sanity during this godforsaken year.

ANIMAL CROSSING NEW HORIZONS

I know I’m not the only one to have passed the time fishing, catching bugs and paying off my loan to a tanuki (contrary to popular belief Tom Nook is NOT a racoon). I’ve been an Animal Crossing fan for years so was already buzzing for the newest addition and it couldn’t have arrived at a better time. It was released a few short days before lockdown in the UK began. I have since played it religiously every day since and digging up fossils has become part of my morning routine. It’s definitely the kind of wholesome escapism we need in the middle of a pandemic.

MY EXPERIENCE WITH ANXIETY

I’ve always been a quiet person. At parents meetings the one thing that my teachers would say was that I was very quiet and would point out that I would know the answer if I was asked, but would never answer off my own back. My younger sister was also like this throughout school and it was never a real issue. Throughout high school I never considered myself to have anxiety. It was just the way I was – quiet, shy and too awkward to answer out in class. It wasn’t until my final years at university that it all changed.

I had been out of high school for three years before I went to uni. I spent a year studying Early Education & Childcare and then the following two years studying Media & Communication before deciding to study Journalism, Creative Writing & English at the University of Strathclyde. I had remained the quiet student as I had been in school, but I pushed through presentations and graded units without feeling massively anxious. It was the same during my first two years at uni. I never volunteered to speak out in seminars, but I did if I had to with only a small amount of nerves to account for. I had always found it difficult to make friends and had always been quiet around people I didn’t know and my time at uni was no different. However, in my first year I made one friend in my English lecture and that was enough to keep me happy. Fast forward to my first semester of third year though and I’m sitting speaking to a uni counselor.