The best thing I ever did...

Was choosing to go to university.

That's it.. Sat my final (and most tedious) exam this morning, and I have waved goodbye to my first year of uni! Literally cannot believe how quick it's gone; it doesn't feel like 5 minutes since I was enrolling on my first day and having a terrible photo taken for my student card.

To say I've loved every minute of this year would be a lie, but I've enjoyed it all a hell of a lot more than I thought I would. Of course it's had it's ups and downs, but thankfully the positives have massively outweighed the negatives. Some of my favourite moments have been:

• Achieving two 1:1s in assignments; one for a magazine feature on mountain biking for women, and one for a speed writing feature test on Adele. It would seem my future may well lie in the magazine industry!

• Meeting some awesome people and making friends for life, especially Aimee, and I've come to believe we may well have been separated at birth.

• Reminiscing about various random nights out the following morning.. "We sat on the toilet floor for HOW long?!"

It seems so weird that this time last year I was so anxious about going to uni.. Will I make friends? Will the work be too hard? How am I going to look after myself?! Thankfully, I've made loads of friends, I've managed the workload just fine, and as it happens I am actually quite the domestic goddess. Turns out I had nothing to worry about after all.

Now I'm looking forward to moving into my new flat in August, and getting my head down and working hard when I go back in September. Well, that is between all the Shed Thursdays and Superbulls. Oh to be a student, eh?

The (new) holiday of a lifetime!

Camping has always been close to my heart, ever since I was a little girl and it was the only holiday we could afford.

I've been on my fair share of holidays in my lifetime, some truly amazing ones; Florida, Italy, France, Switzerland, Mallorca, Turkey, and many many more. But now I'm happy to say I'd gladly choose camping over any 5* luxury getaway.

Having left things to the very last minute in terms of booking a foreign getaway, last year my boyfriend and I decided to embark on a rather different holiday. Transit van packed full of stuff and 3 hours later we arrived at our destination - Keswick, in the Lake District. A quaint little town with much to offer us as happy campers.

We arrived on one of the rainiest days in August, and after battling with our brand new 5 man tent and awning (yes, there were only 2 of us!) we checked into our accommodation for the next 7 nights. I was disappointed to find I had to make my own bed, and a chocolate on the pillow was often missing, but all in all I had an amazing time.

Being away from many of the distractions of everyday life meant Robbie and I actually had to socialise and spend time together. With none of the usual forms of entertainment available to us, we found ourselves going rather old school, and playing endless hours of Monopoly and Yahtzee. Embarrassingly, we also developed a bit of an addiction to puzzle books - rock and roll I know!! - snuggling up in our sleeping bags most nights with a crossword.

Another thing which became a central thesis to our day was mealtimes. Robbie donned his apron and turned all Gordon Ramsey on me, making me a beautiful cooked breakfast every morning - no cold baked beans or Pot Noodles for me thank you!

Even though it was the first time we'd both camped in a good few years, we were much better prepared than I thought we'd be. Robbie had a hole kitchen unit, shelves and everything. We had 3 gas rings to cook on and a grill to do toast, I didn't feel like we were 'slumming it' at all! We had a couple of tables, some comfy chairs, plenty of lanterns and loads of blankets and throws to snuggle up in.

All in all, I had a great week. One of the best holidays I can remember in fact; we left feeling like we'd actually spent some real quality time together, and were completely chilled out. Best of all, I didn't go home with 3rd degree sunburns and a hole where my bank account used to be.

This year we've planned to go away with our friends Aimee and Adam, to introduce them to the wonder that is the good old camping holiday! I couldn't be more excited for beers, BBQs and banter! It's gonna be a top laugh :-)

That Thursday feeling

There's something about the sun making an appearance that just seems to put people in a better mood. Whether it reminds us of beer gardens, laughter, friends or just the feeling of its warmth on our skin, it's always a welcomed addition to the day. It makes the drive home from Uni for the weekend that little but more special. Windows down, sunglasses on. Full of excitement and anticipation for the weekend ahead.