Turning 21!

With a new year comes new beginnings, new people and new experiences. For me, it also included a new stage in life - turning 21! My official birthday is on January 16th, but I had a super fun party a week beforehand to celebrate. Planning events is literally one of my favourite things to do and obviously I needed it to be perfect.

I wanted it to be huge, think Super Sweet 16... but I had to be realistic, we aren't quite millionaires haha. Between my parents and I (and a whole lot of help from Pinterest), we did a pretty good job even if I say so myself. I had all my closest friends and family there, as well as an array of entertainment (think magician, roulette, cocktail flairers) and one epic cake table because, let's be honest, who doesn't like cake?!

I wore the most amazing silver bandage dress from a designer I can't remember right now (I will find out!), with silver/iridescent heels from Office and jewellery from Huttons. I had my hair blow-dried at Harringtons, and my should-be-a-make-up-artist best friend Grace did my make-up. You may be surprised to hear that I don't dress up very often and tend to spend most of my life in gymwear, so it was nice to have such a formal occasion :)

Here are a whole selection of pictures for you to enjoy and imagine you were there with us, drinking to our hearts' content and adding more to the post-Christmas weight...

Just in case anyone didn't know which house it was at...

Little goodie bags for the guests to take home - each including a cake pop, a water bottle & paracetamol (for the hangover!) and a little keyring with a cute message on it

Cupcakes, gold macaroons, cake pops & a 2 tier-cake - got enough there?

Me with my lovely parents who helped make the party a huge success (along with some amazing speeches that almost had me in tears!)

A little beauty station with a selection of make-up, hair bits and perfume to top up with throughout the night

My boyfriend, Tom, the first at the roulette table as usual!

Reunited with my oldest school friends (and old PE teacher!)

Being absolutely amazed by the magician (Mike Stoner, look him up!) - he even guessed my phone passcode, crazy!

With my absolute bez <3

It really was one of the best nights of my life, and fully worth all the stress it took to organise! 

Bucket List Dreams

First things first, I apologise for not blogging for a horrendous amount of time (I'm too scared to count the number of months)! I don't really have any reason for this except that over summer I was just chilling and going on holiday, and now I'm back at uni it's crazy what with having a dissertation, etc!

Anyway, this post is a little different to my usual but I thought it would be an interesting read. Whilst on holiday in Portugal with my family, we went swimming with dolphins. This has been an dream of mine for yearssss and it got me thinking...I should write a bucket list. Bucket lists tend to be associated with dying, where people write one once they have been given a certain about of time left to live; however, why limit it to such a negative moment? I may as well start young, keep adding things to my list, and live life to the absolute full.

1. See the Northern Lights - I'M GOING!!!!! I had my 21st birthday last month and because I have the best parents in the world, they got me a trip to Iceland to see the Northern Lights in March!

2. Visit the Norwegian Fjords - I love walking and amazing scenery so I think a summer and winter trip to Norway is on the cards!

3. Go skydiving - not a difficult one to complete, particularly as heights don't bother me! This is one that I should plan immediately.

4. Visit Auchwitz - I know this is unusual, but I think it would be hugely interesting, especially having learnt so much about WW2 at school. My mum, however, thinks I'm mad for wanting to visit!

5. Visit New York - a city with incredible culture, shopping and people!

6. See Taylor Swift live - such a guilty pleasure, but Taylor is so great.

7. Do a Colour Run - can I be honest about this one? I want the cool colour-stained clothing instagram pic.

8. Stay in a bungalow on stilts - you know what I mean by these, like the ones in Bora Bora or the Maldives. The perfect honeymoon destination!

11. Visit Australia - with a lot of saving, this one is definitely an option in the future! I don't know what appeals about it so much, but anywhere with sun and sea sounds good to me!

12. See orcas in the ocean - orcas/killer whales are my absolute favourite animals and have been since I was tiny (I even sponsored one back in the day) so seeing them in their natural habitat would be incredible.

9. Go to the Cheerleading Worlds - I currently cheer for my university cheerleading team, and have become super keen. Worlds are like the cheer equivalent of the Olympics and I couldn't imagine anything better than watching all my favourite teams compete.

10. Be able to back handspring - another cheer-related one! I was close to getting this last year, but had an ankle injury. Being able to flip upside down is pretty cool, you have to agree.

13. See the Grand Canyon - one I will hopefully be doing next year! My cousin is getting married in California so this is being incorporated into a month-long trip to the US, eeeee!

14. Visit the Arctic - I want to see polar bears and just to see such a vast space of ice and snow must be breath-taking.

15. Give blood - another super simple one. These are happening constantly and are so beneficial. I'm actually going to go and find when the next one is in my area and I recommend all of you do the same!

16. Go to the Ellen DeGeneres show - everyone loves her and her show looks like so much fun! Now to somehow get tickets and travel there...

And that's it so far! Most of these involve travelling, but I love exploring new places! I will continually add to this as life continues, but I love having a place to go to when booking a holiday now, or if I want to plan something fun! What's on your bucket list? If you don't have one, then go grab some friends, discuss plans and all create one!

Love from Roxy x