Happy Birthday Elizabeth!

Hey Guys,

Today is the 7th of September which for those you don't know is Wlziabeth the firsts's birthday.

Technically it's her 482nd birthday but I wanted to tell you guys because she is a big inspiration for me.


I find her reign so interesting: she ruled for 44 years and managed to hold her own in front of her entirely male council.

She made amazing speeches and managed to calm the religious tension slightly by not " making windows into men's souls"

Her fashion was INCREDIBLE as she used symbolism and lavish materials to create these awe-inspiring gowns.

Lastly she proved everyone wrong. After surprisingly surviving Mary's reign, rumours about her and Thomas Seymour and also Robert Dudley and the fact her mother was Anne Boylen she became ' Gloriana' an icon.

If you want to find out more about her either read or watch Elizabeth by David Starkey or read some historical fiction- not quite as accurate but can paint a picture better...

So anyway I am off to read, watch and discover a bit more about her,

Love,

LadyoftheRivers

Living in the Moment

Hey Guys,

Sorry i haven't been around much recently but this Summer has been super busy... but awesome.

So i thought I'd recap it here partly so i can read this back and remember how much fun i had especially in the dreary days of exams...

Firstly I headed off to Cornwall for two weeks of Sun, sea and family; which was so needed after month and months of hard work. After two weeks of snorkeling, surfing, family ice creams and pasties. Although i forgot my phone it kind of worked out well cause it meant i appreciated being there a lot more.

Afterwards, i managed to find a job really close to my house as well and although it is pretty disgusting and tiring i managed to get one which i am pretty proud of and pleased... especially when i get my pay-check....

But also sprinkled into this extremely busy summer i have had a couple of little parties with my friends, it was so much fun. Firstly we meet just for a little afternoon then at 10 am i was about to head of to work and i got a little text which  basically said we were having a sleepover that night... But the best night HAD to be results night which was at my house and it was one of the best nights ever.... defiantly stored that in my brain's memory...

I also had couple of weekends in Edinburgh and London. I Edinburgh i saw some fringe shows including an Elizabeth 1st monologue which was amazing and also a couple of comedy shows and saw my great aunt and my Scottish part of my family which was lovely.

In London i went to see Benedict Cumberbatch as Hamlet at the Barbican which was INCREDIBLE and one of the best Shakespeare i ever did see. We also went to a service in Westminster Abbey in which i got all the feels because Elizabeth had her coronation and is buried.... Amongst many other people... So that is something i will never forget.


Lastly i had time to recuperate and rest. Something which is always needed after a long year at school but it has given me then energy and motivated to completely succeed in my last EVER year at school ( yeah buddy)

Thanks for reading,

see you soon,

Love,

LadyoftheRivers x

How to Possibly, Maybe, Hopefully Get a Job.

Hey Guys,

Summer a bit weird isn't it.

After months of hoping, dreaming, wishing for it when it actually comes you are so tired al you want to do is sleep/ internet.

But it gets to the point when you realise what's Summer's 'gift' is.

Time.

Something you never get when you are at School...

But what to do with all this time. Well after you've watched every video ever made by either Dan, Phil or -insert you tuber of your choice here-. You might want to DO something that could earn you money down the line. AKA. a JOB....

This is what I have done with my Summer swapping duvets and internet for the stress and panic that comes with delivering food.

However, despite all this aching limbs, stress-filled shifts and awkward small talk with both customers and my fellow staff, I am still in dis-belief they hired me...

Not barbecue I un-hirable or anything it was just surprising.

So I thought I could share with you some things I learnt when writing the dreaded CV.

1. DO NOT be scared of it. If your scared you won't be able to 'sell yourself' as well and end up sounding awkward. My first draft was that.

2. Get a professional email- keep the one you made up for you MSN/ Facebook account when you 12 private... Time to ditch emails such as Lad69@gmail.com...

3. Split your CV up into sections.
For example mine were

• profile- where I described my self in a few words - i think mine was about 60 words-
• Education- i listed my secondary eduction and what GCSES i got and what A-levels i was predicted. 
• Achievements- this is literally where you list what things you have done from DofE to grade 1 on trumpet. Make sure each one shows of the aspects of your personality you described in your profile. For example if you said you were dedicated list the musical instrument you got up to Grade 6 in or the fact you were part of a drama/sport/art club for five years. Make sure everything you say reflects positively on you!
• Interests- this can be where the person reading you CV understands you a little better- oh she enjoys reading history books- this makes them see you as a PERSON not a piece of paper and could lead them to think how you fight into their work environment.
• Lastly Work Experience- this doesn't necessarily mean a paid job, I wrote about my work experience where I volunteered and described it in a bit more detail. And yes, Babysitting totally counts...

4. Don't be anxious that you sound too cocky- you've got to just shameless promote yourself as there is always going to be someone better... 

5. Tune your CV into the job- if the job was at a bookshop highlight your interest in books, Sport? Mention your sport achievements.

6. Presentation incredibly important, use bullet points and sharp sentences to make it easy to read. Black font. Always. 

7. And... Remember to check spellings!

I hope this helps get you a little summer job to give you a little money independence!

Love, 

LadyoftheRivers x

Phoneless for two weeks

Hey Guys,

Sorry I've been absent from the keyboard for a while, things as usual have been crazy here but I also had a little holiday to Cornwall.

However like numpty I left my phone at home so for the two weeks in Cornwall  was phone-less.

This meant no alarms, no photos, no contact with anyone other than my family. I thought I was going to go mad.

And at the start it was hard, not beng able to tell my frineds whats been happening, not knoing what they'd been up to, but then I kinda got used to it and it became refreshing.

When I went round my grandparents it wasn't for WiFi it was to talk to them, when I took pictures it was ones I really wanted because they were Polaroids.

Although I'd never give up my phone as i need it to talk to people having a little break reminded me of being a kid and just enjoying my holiday and spending time with everyone.

Let me know the longest you've been without a phone,

Love,

LadyoftheRivers x

We are all Superheroes

Hey Guys,

I have just finished reading one of the best books I have ever read...

All My Friends are Superheroes: by Andrew Kaufman

I have been meaning to read this for a while so when for my birthday I got a Waterstones book-token I thought I'd take advantage of this and bought this small but wonderful book.and oh my goodness...

Ok, so imagine a world that it is full of superheroes... and non-superheroes... Tom is the latter but all his friends and even his fiancée - the Perfectionist- are superheroes. However, the twist is when the Perfectionist's ex-boyfriend Hypno hypnotises her into believing Tom is invisible and he has just a plane ride to convince her he's there...


The best thing about this book though is the creativity of the Superheroes he creates like the Spooner who goes to lonely people at night and just spoons them until they feel better. my favourite is one of Tom's old girlfriends who ahas the biggest plans but is the best procrastinator. Just read what happens. It is brilliant.

So because this is one of those books that leaves you with the best feeling ever it got me thinking of Superheroes and that we all have superpowers. For example I've decided my super is my imagination. Which although means I can dream nothing will never really happen. But my train rides will be a hell of a lot more interesting.

Remember what Albert Einstein said... ( I'll keep reminding myself this coming up to results day)



Any way let me know what your superpower is whether it is changing a nappy without puking or an expert on Netflix binges.

Love,
LadyoftheRivers x

Freedom within Boundaries

Hey Guys,

Recently I read that in to conform to the rules i had to be less "individual". 

I was confused. Surely individuality is celebrated now especially in the 21st century society...But then again probably not considering Women and Men are not paid equally... So it got me thinking. How can i be expected to be comfortable with myself and accept who I am if i can only be myself to a certain extent.

For example for the whole of my life i have been told i am to weird to function and that no guy will ever like me because of that... one of my friends even went as far as telling me to stop being myself in order to make me more desirable... Seriously?! 

So this summer I have set myself a challenge. 

To become myself. 

This might sound strange, hipster-y or pretencions but I have never seriously considered who I am. 

All our lives we are created by the labels other people place on us like: Mother, Daughter, Father, Brother, Girl, Boy, Gay, Straight, Weird, Ugly, Fat, Skinny, Moody.

While not all of the labels are bad they might not define who you really are inside

Which is why I want to find out who I am. Yeah, a lot of it will be the same... Like I know I will still love History, be a sister, be a daughter and a Friend and have a weakness for chocolate but I might discover that I am not fat or I can finally accept that I am different and that is okay now I have stopped being my own worst critic. 

So although it is cheesy and cliché it is important to remember that  I and you if you reading this are struggling like I am to accept yourself and even though it seems impossible to love yourself.

I hope this helps.

Love,

LadyoftheRivers

Current Favourites

Hey Guys,

Guess who has finished their exams.... oh yeah... this girl...Very happy about that.

This does not only mean I get to go on Yoututbe more and feel less guilty about it but I now have enough time to take pictures for these posts rather than them being long, ranting posts.

So in celebration of that I thought I'd share with you some of the things I have been currently loving.


1. Bath Products.

I will forever love the smell of Original Source's Lime shower gel. It just smells amazing and even better you smell like that for long time after ward. 

I have gotten back into Aussie products after buying them on a whim because they were on special offer. They make my hair so soft it's brilliant my only criticism make the bottles the same size, as I use more conditioner than shampoo even thought the conditioner bottle is smaller.

Simple is a classic, it moistures my face and rehydrates it to almost perfection. And I will be mixing with some sun-cream as the weather is getting warmer to product my sensitive skin.

2. Jewellery

I am really enjoying just wearing these two silver bracelets, my Pandora one will forever be my staple ( for more detail read my post here: http://www.ladyoftherivers.blogspot.co.uk/2015/01/my-favourite-jewellery.html)

But a new edition is my silver Elizabeth 1st charm bracelet from Etsy ( link here:https://www.etsy.com/listing/112967066/the-queen-elizabeth-i-story-handmade?ref=shop_home_active_12 ) It is handmade by the shop owner Clare and she does a massive range of Tudor-ry jewellery which means I will be ordering a lot more.

3. Candles

 Candles are most defiantly not just for winter, for this hotter season I love floral/ fruity scents such as this one Apple and Elderflower. I really enjoy St Eval Candles there scents are subtle but last a long time and stop my room smelling quite so gross.

4. Technology

 The two technology things I have been loving is firstly my kindle specially  the Infernal Devices (like the Mortal Instruments but in my opinion better) as it means I can read heavy books without my bag breaking under the weight. I find kindles so good for travelling whether it's to and from school or more exotic locations. Trust me, if your a struggling bookworm go Kindle for those heavy - or embarrassing books-.

Secondly Instagram ( you know follow if you want it ruth_truscott) but I have just loved looking and sharing what everyone has been doing.

5. Randoms

A bit more randomly I have been loving my handmade book-laptop case. Made by CaseLibrary on Esty ( https://www.etsy.com/shop/CaseLibrary?ref=ss_profile) and can be made custom to your laptop. I already have fallen in love with my Harry Potter one and have had so many compliments. 

I have also me enjoying my Tudor colouring in that my friend got for me as a joke but have turned out as a success as it is really therapeutic colouring in Henry VIII or Elizabeth 1st for a couple of minutes. Go on, try it out...

Hope this have given you some inspiration,

Love,

LadyoftheRivers x