The time between Christmas and New  Year is always the time I get the most reflective. I always sit down and think about the past year and what I want to improve/achieve in the following year. 

I usually end up writing a big list of goals I want to do or achieve that are totally unattainable or that I know I will only stick to for a few weeks. I start the beginning of the year full of enthusiasm and ready to tackle said goals and by the end of January I fall off the bandwagon.

It then leaves me deflated for the rest of the year, not having completed said goals. Seeing others sticking to their New Years resolutions whilst I am sat in the corner feeling like a failure. 

Blog

• Find someone to help me redesign this blog space (anyone know of anyone who can help a girl out)
• Make sure that I capture moments on my phone/camera as we all know that a good blog post has at least one picture right?
• Update all my pages 
• Post at least 3 times a week (Monday, Wednesday and Friday)

This is me right now. The lack of pictures is quite comical but by mid afternoon I was way to drunk to take any photos. The documenting of Christmas 2015 has been a giant fail, but I hope you all had a wonderful time celebrating the holidays!

P.S add me on Snapchat courtjonesxx I love to see all your adventures.

I am over the moon to have gained a place in my chosen university, words cannot describe how excited and happy I am. 

Sometimes we all need a good confession session, it works wonders for the soul. 

I confess that...

I have been so busy these past few weeks that blogging has taken a backseat. I have been working non stop, spending as much time with family and friends before I move and packing up all my things into boxes that by the time I finished I just don't feel like whipping up any posts. 

I am obsessed with Snapchat lately. I love seeing snippets of peoples lives, especially of the unfiltered and staged variety. If you have Snapchat then add me my username is courtjonesxx 

I need to be better with my spending, I frequently buy things when I don't really need them and it is no good with my bank balance. Now that I am on a student budget there really is no room to be buying those £50 boots. Anyone have any good budgeting tips?

I am SO glad that Fall has arrived. Cooler temperatures, boots, scarves, plaid, pumpkin spice lattes and Halloween. Fall is my favourite season by far. 

I have a really bad habit of never taking photos. You will see most of my posts have 0 photos and I know to be a good blogger each post needs at least one photo but I simply forget as I am just living in said moment that getting my phone out for a photo doesn't cross my mind until it is too late.

I have fallen off the healthy eating bandwagon these past few weeks. With everything going on I have been grabbing things as I go and stopping for takeouts on my way home. I really need to start planning my meals again as I don't feel good eating junk all the time.

What are you confessing? Comment below.

Merry Christmas friends! I hope you all have a wonderful holiday filled with love and joy. Remember to hug your love ones extra tight this season and to put the phones away and enjoy some good quality time. 

Source

Considering all I have been doing for the past week is watching Christmas movies I thought I would share with you my favourites...


1| Home Alone



Personally I don't think its Christmas until you have watched Home Alone, although I watch it year around it is something about watching it at Christmas that gets me. This is a classic movie that everyone loves, am I right? 

2| Elf



This is my favourite Will Ferrell movie by far. I always manage to laugh out loud at this movie and it really gets me in the Christmas spirit. Buddy the elf reminds me of myself as he loves Christmas just like me;)

3| Its a Wonderful Life




This is one of those films that is not only enjoyable to watch but has a really important message behind it all. We all have an impact on peoples lives no matter how big or small, sometimes movies with messages behind them are the best sorts of movies.

4| National Lampoons Christmas Vacation



This reminds me of some of my Christmas festivities in the past which have been chaotic. It has the mantra of ''anything that can go wrong will'' and sometimes that is what happens during all our Christmas holidays, nothing is perfect! It has all the Christmas traditions thrown in there with a hell of a lot of laughs.

5| Love Actually



I love romantic comedies, they are one of my favourite genres of movies to watch so Love Actually fits right in;) It has a great cast and a great story line. I love taking a peek into peoples (love) lives so this movie suits me!


Also special mention to these other Christmas classics that I love to watch, The Grinch, , Santa Claus the movie, The Holiday and Jingle all the way.  

What are your favourite Christmas films?


    
  

Hello! Is anyone there? Yes I am still alive, shame I can't say the same about my little space around here. But here I am attempting to show up and get back on the blogging train...

1| It is less than a month until I finish up my first term of university to say I cannot wait would be an understatement. This month has been full of big decisions when it comes to University, I have decided that next year I will be moving to a different University, doing a completely new course and staying closer to home. I really am having a hard time with the course I am currently doing and it is making me not even want to attend lessons because I hate it that much. It is also having an impact on my mental health, I hate to be known as a quitter but I tried and hopefully the new course next year will enable me to not only do what I want to do in the future but to also be much happier. 

2| Have you all seen the John Lewis advert?? You know Christmas is nearing when they release their annual Christmas advert. I was so moved by it. If you haven't watched it you can watch it here. 

3| I have started to come up with a few things for my Christmas wishlist that I would really like to have. Starting with these earrings, this ring, this pinafore dress and this book. I am finding it hard to decide what I want this year for Christmas so hopefully I can find something closer to the time!

4| It is November (has been for 13 days I know I know) which means that the Christmas markets start to open in the area where I currently live. Bath is such a beautiful area and the Christmas lights and markets really make it feel like Christmas. I can't wait to walk around drinking a hot drink and buying homemade crafts and presents. 

5| We have had non stop rain for over a week now and the temperatures have dropped way below what is acceptable. So for the past week all I have done is hibernate and watch Christmas movies. Yep Sky has brought back its 24 hour Christmas movie channel, Christmas movies all day everyday who can say no to that. 

Give me a moment whilst I dust the cobwebs from this blog space of mine. It has been a hot minute since I last updated this little space of mine so I thought I would catch you all up on my life lately with a currently post before I get back to semi regular posting over here.

Reading: Nothing other than reading material for my university. I have about 9 books stacked around my room that I have to read parts of and also I have to read a ton of articles about various things so the last thing I want to do after spending hours reading Philosophy and Religion articles is read leisurely. But I have been plugging through my blog reading list!

Watching: All the Fall TV such as Castle, Law&Order SVU, Friday Night Lights, Made in Chelsea and tons of other programs that are back! Seriously I have so many I need to get through in the next few weeks. Also been watching tons of Disney films too as always.

Listening to: Carrie Underwood- Smoke Break, I came across this song on an advert and I have been hooked ever since. Never really listened to Carrie Underwood before but her new album is out soon and I will definitely buy it after hearing some of the songs from it. 

Eating: Nothing that is worth writing about. Since I have moved I haven't cooked much if at all. I just haven't had the energy after a long day to prepare anything spectacular but on the plus side I have managed to perfect the best grilled cheese sandwich! Hopefully when the temperatures dip pretty low I will get back into the whole eating soup and other warm dishes but until then grilled cheese it is.

Wearing: The temperatures have dropped a lot over the past week or two which means I can finally start wearing my Fall clothes. Boots, chunky cardigans, jumpers, plaid everything, blanket scarfs. In my opinion the best fashion season is definitely Fall.

Loving: The Fall weather, the Fall fashion, having a Starbucks inside my university, the new place I am living (so beautiful) and all the recent make up I have bought. 

Hating: How stuffy my university room is. I wasn't expecting a massive bedroom but it isn't the size I am complaining about I can deal with that, it is the lack of air. There is no air conditioning in the rooms, so I have to open windows if I want any air but then it gets too cold so you see my problem I can't really win. So because of the lack of air I have been dealing with a cough, dry lips and a hell of a lot of congestion it is the pits.

Wanting: A brown pair of boots then my Fall wardrobe is complete. 

These are in my basket and I am so tempted to buy them, what do you think?

Doing: Research for ongoing presentations and assessments that I have coming up. So much planning to do but so little time ah.

Working on: Budgeting, when I was back home I didn't really pay for much myself. My mum paid for the internet, shopping, electricity, water and all the other bills there are. All I paid for was anything I needed for myself like clothes, shoes, make up so now having to pay for groceries and other bills all whilst having a social life is a challenge. 

Thinking about: Halloween, more specifically my costume for it. I have had a few ideas floating around but none that I am set on buying. I know that I am a little late considering I have about 8-9 days before Halloween is here but this year I have been struggling. I usually start browsing and buying costumes early October but this year I have been so busy and just cannot for the life of me decide on a costume. 

Love this costume and it is the cheaper option and has free next day delivery.

I love Maleficent and think I could pull this off. Are we sensing a Disney theme here?? Which one do you prefer?

Feeling: Stressed. I have so much to do in the next few weeks regarding work for university that I do not know how I am going to be able to accomplish it all. I have been trying to get a little bit of a head start but it isn't really helping my stress levels. 


Now that you are all caught up with me, what has been going on with you?

These past few weeks have been so exhausting and unfortunately blogging has taken a back seat whilst I have been trying to settle into my new routine. So what better way to get back into the blogging game then linking up with Jessi and Jen!

There is nothing I love more in life than fall and food so now that the temperatures have started to drop here in the u.k I can finally start making my favourite fall recipes! I can't wait to start eating all the chilli, soups and everything apple.

Whilst I love making and sticking to my favourite recipes, it is always good to throw in some new ones for good measure. So here are some of the recipes I have been pinning lately that I must try.

1| Butternut squash and sweet potato soup (source)

Doesn't it look delicious?? I love butternut squash soup (but I have never made it) and sweet potato has become a staple in my diet lately so I think this soup would be a hit. Not to mention it is a really healthy dish and vegan approved! 2| Crock pot pumpkin chili (source) Omg yes please I cannot wait to start making this. This dish just screams fall with the added ingredient of the pumpkin. So easy to prepare too, chuck it in the crock pot and come home to a lovely smelling home and dinner already made. 3| Slow cooked shredded beef tacos (source) This looks absolutely heavenly. We have a thing called taco Tuesdays in my family and I cannot wait to add this to my rotation. Nothing like some good Mexican. 4| Pumpkin chocolate chip cookies (source) Ever since I had my first PSL (ever) I have been trying to pin everything pumpkin. Warm gooey cookies are my favourite kind of cookies throw in some chocolate chips and pumpkin and I am a happy girl. 5| Hot apple cider with rum  (source) Really want to try this twist to the classic hot apple cider. Nothing like sitting by the fire watching tv with a nice warm alcoholic beverage.