If you haven't been fully updated by my instagram, facebook or twitter....I have completed the PGCE course and am a newly qualified teacher at last! *celebrations*
Since 2009, when I finished my undergrad course, I have been applying to do my PGCE. January 2011 I started working as a TA and 2 years later, I'm a teacher. It's still sinking in. SO many things to think about over the summer, I'm actually too excited...my new class are in for a treaaaat....
My answer to the most asked questions/comments about my proffession:
"Secondary or Primary?"- PRIMARY. All day. Err' day.
"What exactly do you teach 5 year olds? Do they learn anything?"- We teach them to read, count, write....providing foundations for the rest of their education. We teach them how to be decent little humans...which in some cases will be learnt for the first time...I could go on...
" And how many holidays do you get in a year again? 5/6?"- Depends on what you define as holiday. Report writing, lesson planning, studying and assessing your children's progress and mentally preparing for the next term... most teachers would compare it to working from home.
...and so forth...
At 7:45am when teachers are comfortably engrossed in their morning preparation, then the same teachers are being shooed out of their classrooms at 6:15pm so the caretaker can lock up...and YOU are one of them...you realise you have found your calling.
The craziest thing is that the children I will be teaching in September were being born as I was deciding to go down the teaching path while I was at Uni. Crazy times. Happy days. *all smiles* This is it!
I'm a thinker. A logical introvert. Forever needing to express what's on my heart. And now that I have the time to...Watch this Space ;)
Firstly, a massive congratulations to anyone who has stepped into the next chapter of their lives; whether you have graduated, said YES, walked down the aisle, or have a new addition to the family....CONGRATULATIONS! May it be beautiful for you and may you embrace each challenge with drive and determination.
I've returned to the blog to share some of my experiences with wedding preparation. I'm no way a proffesional wedding planner but I have planned my own from start to finish with my groom ;)
Now, I know I won't be able to give you all the tips and tricks but I think thats part of the beauty of preparing a wedding...all the suprises and achievements that come with it.
So here it goes...a bit of advice ;) I won't be able to cover everything but if you have any further questions or additional comments, feel free to share.
Have realistic expectations. Putting uneccesary pressure on yourselves to have the most perfect wedding will only result in disappointment and feeling let down. Things happen, its how you deal with them that matter most. I looked out on the morning of our wedding and saw a blue and yellow bouncy castle being inflated on the grounds we had hired by another party. How did I deal with that one ay?
Do decide on a theme and early enough to direct the rest of the preparation. Choose/Create one and stick to it (colours, style, size etc). Wedding fairs, wedding blogs, wedding magazines are all useful, be inspired and make a mood board. This will help anyone who gets involved to have a visual idea of how you see your day.
Having a team is crucial to the process. You do not want to burn out at any point. If you plan to delegate, once your ideas are together, it will take off a huge load as it gets nearer to the day and you will have time to actually relax before the wedding.
Detail is everything. From quantities of drinks to the minute by minute schedule of the day. Everything needs to be as clear as crystal and your ushers, wedding coordinator, parents will all need to understand the vision because you won't be contactable on the day. There were a few details of our wedding that we expected to see but never happened due to the fact that only myself and Jason knew about it! We live and we learn lol :)
Look around. The wedding industry is a competitive one and there are a
lot of vendors in the game. Check the small print regarding VAT, returns
etc. and when you have found the right service for you, negotiate as much as possible. You wouldn't believe how much people will go down to for a wedding sale. Don't take the first price they give you as their last.
Family and friends are important in the process, however, it is YOUR wedding. At the end of the day if everyone else is happy and you and your spouse are not, you will have regrets. Think carefully about the decisions you make or allow to be made, after all, this will set the standard for the rest of your lives together. Who decides what you want?
On that note, it is IMPOSSIBLE to please everyone. You will find that without even doing anything, you manage to upset or offend people. If you have carefully made decisions, don't question yourself or your decisions based on their feelings. You are a couple with a budget and have to be realistic and hopefully people will be understanding and accept that. Even if they don't, they'll live. :)
ENJOY! Wedding planning is soooo much fun! And I truly thank God that Jason was into it as much as I was! It made the whole process so much more exciting and really made us look forward to seeing the final product.There are times I wish I could do it all over again but our day was amazing and nothing beats the feeling and buzz we felt getting married in front of our loved ones and beginning our journey together as husband and wife. :)
After years of preparation and a good solid year of wedding planning, I'm back from our honeymoon and finally MARRIED! *jubilates* God has been soooo good to us and we are truely truely BLESSED!
I meant to blog and update and what have you but literally between work, church, planning and just life itself, it just never happened. But here I am!
#NP Rockstar-N.E.R.D.
So yeah....married n that :) Still waiting for the wedding pictures but I am still buzzing about how amazing our wedding day was and I'm grateful to have had my best friend right next to me throughout the whole of the planning. It was the day of our dreams and nothing could stop us! :D
I learnt a LOT during this year and I hope that my next few blogposts will help someone out or even help them not to make the same mistakes we made! 1st tip, make sure it is YOUR wedding day. Whether its over bearing family or controlling wedding planners, you and your future spouse will remember the day for the rest of your lives. Make your stand, do your thing and don't watch the haters ;)
So much more to come! But for now, I'll leave it there and heres a couple snaps from our amazing honeymoon!
I have always found it difficult to find modest outfits for the summer as I am an extremely hot person. I cant stand layers of clothes and material very close to my skin. So when maxis and now midis came back in fashion, my prayers were answered. My collection of midi-skirts is growing steadily and I literally wear them everywhere, to church, going out, to work...name the place. The length makes it versatile and here I have styled this gorgeous H&M skirt in a 3 simple ways. Enjoy!
Heading to the office :)
Turqouise blouse- Papaya
Grey blazer- H & M
Bag- Spitafields Market
Shoes- New Look
Springtime date
Top- is actually a strapless body con dress worn as a top :)
This tag is to get to know the person behind the blog better. As with any tagging game, there are rules:
Rule 1 – post the rules (I’m doing this already!)
Rule 2 – Answer the questions the tagger set for you in their post and then make eleven new ones.
Rule 3 – Tag 11 people and link them to your post.
Rule 4 – Let them know you’ve tagged them!!
1. If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be and why?
My favourite place in the world is Malaysia....ahhhh I dream of that place. I have so many memories in that country, I'm going for the 13th time this year <3. The climate is gorgeous, my family are all out there. It's just life. It's the place to live :)
2. Who inspires you the most?
When I'm asked this question, I struggle to think of the answer. I'm inspired by things and people around me but my main inspiration comes from God. If anyone can motivate me to get up n do something, its Him. All my ideas technically come from God anyway so I must give credit where its due lol.
3. Favourite historical figure?
Jesus Christ. Top 1.
4. What is the biggest life lesson you have learnt to date?
Its kinda hard to think of an answer to this question. Life has taught me too much. A big lesson that I have learnt is that sometimes you just cant change a situation or a person, you have to change yourself. Think of what you can change, be it your perception, your outlook, your response and it turn that will change things. For the better.
5. What is your current favourite youtube video?
Omg I recently discovered Brian Mcknight's sons, BJ and Niko. They make their own songs and they are also part of the group BRKN RBTZ. But my FAVE song right now, mainly cos Niko rippps in the middle is this. I can find my favourite live performance but this still kills.
6. What is the most expensive thing you have bought for yourself?
I dont really buy myself expensive things tbh! Probably driving lessons. Who knows how much I've spent on them over the years! *smh*
7. What makes you happy (superficial happy like a new pair of shoes – don’t write an essay!)?
Summertiiimmme <3
8. What is the best beauty tip someone has ever given you?
No matter how much you're wearing, alwaystake off your makeup before you go to bed.
9. What is your cant-live-without lip balm?
It used to be a toss between Vaseline and strawberry flavoured body shop balm. Now I don't really use either. I just grab whatevers in my bag to be totally honest. In the bag right now are a Barry M gloss, a clear H & M lip gloss and Nivea SOS balm (that one was for winter lol).
10. If you could name a beauty product, what would you call it, what product would it be and why did you choose that product?
A beauty product....hmmm... I love products that smell sweet or creamy and feel soft so it would probably be a small pot of sweet smelling powder that you could carry around with you to use when feeling clammy etc. And I would name it, Sweet puff <3 lol. Put me on Apprentice ;)
11. What do you aim to acheive with your blog?
I've just started the blog really and its full of randomness right now but eventually I hope that anyone reading it will be encouraged or maybe inspired by what they see. Yeah, the aim is definitely for a positive impact. :)
My 11 questions for those I tag are....
1. What would be your ideal job?
2. Whose style do you admire and why?
3. If you had to live on a desert island and you could only take 3 things, what would they be?
4. What is your favourite blog and why?
5. If you could spend an hour with one person, dead or alive, who would it be?
6. Whats the most embarassing thing you've done?
7. Name your 3 top clothing stores.
8. Fashion trend: Flatforms or glitter shoes?
9. What is your favourite year or age and why?
10. If you had a chance to go into schools and give a presentation what would it be on?
11. What do you aim to acheive with your blog?
If you're following me, I'm tagging you! :)
Shari Jeni Rosemarie rocks Sarah...this is for you!
My friend recently changed her hairstyle and I fell in love with the colour. Though I dont think I could try it myself, I've seen blue hair pulled off in amazing ways this year and I can't not appreciate the eye-catching fairy tale hair colour:
Jamie King
Katy Perry
Check out this bridesmaids unique styling. Rockin'!
Happy Monday!
I have been through months of wedding planning, I thought its only right that I share some of my findings. Some of the most creative and beautiful centrepieces, decorations, themes, flower arrangements, dresses, hairstyles....the list really does go on. But here a few of my favourite images from various sites.
Decor
How cute as a dessert centrepiece! Not sure how long it would last tho lol.
I love minimalism.
Bit view blocking but these crystalised branches look amazing.
Say no more. :)
N'aawwrr
Fashion and beauty
Oh comon, how cute is this? Look at those tutus <3
NOW...the dresses..
I think this outfit is just perfect.
Gorgeous.
The contrast of textures works so well in this outfit.
Vera Wang baby. <3
The structure of this dress! Love ittt
Cakes
So much detail!
These cake toppers are so cute!
Beautiful colours, I've seen so many different styled peacock themes and this cake is amazing even tho its sliding a bit. Lol.
Lol, I cant remember where I found this but I love it! A change from your usual sweet wedding cake.
So yeah, I've been engrossed in the wonderful world of wedding creativity for the last year and honestly as much as they are hyped over and money is spent, everyone loves a good wedding! I can't wait for ours! 4 and half months to go! :) x
