Life as of Late #6 - A Family Wedding, Green Day & Summer Time!

Hello Everyone! 

Here is another update on what I have been up to during the summer months. I had intended to blog at least once a fortnight this summer, however this ambition has sadly not materialised as I juggle my time between many things. Not to worry though, here's some photos of where I have been and what I have been doing! 

Went to my cousin Ashleigh's wedding!

My lovely cousin Ashleigh got married to Richie at the end of June! All my aunts, uncles and cousins were in attendance so it was a brilliant day for everyone. I was very surprised and delighted when I was asked to read the First Reading during the wedding ceremony and I also distributed Holy Communion as there was a large attendance. (I did a course in college late last year). The day itself was just wonderful and we all thoroughly enjoyed ourselves during the day and evening! 

Green Day in Kilmainham:

As you can tell from my excited face in these photos, I simply couldn't wait to see Green Day in Kilmainham! I travelled up with my brother to the venue. The rain was intense however we were well prepared with waterproof coats and boots we didn't mind getting mucky. The support act was Rancid who really got the crowd warmed up and ready for Green Day. 

Despite the weather, the band were so energetic, with Billie running around the stage, fuelled with adrenaline and excitement. The set list was superb, with a mixture of old songs such as 'Welcome to Paradise' and new songs from their latest album 'Revolution Radio' and iconic hits such as 'American Idiot' and 'Time of Your Life.' Overall, I think they played around 25 songs or more, all of which were just utterly surreal to watch live! It was a privilege to see the band live, as I've loved their music for years now. I will definitely go see them if they ever come back to Ireland! 

Got Tickets for Ed Sheeran in May 2018:

I managed to get tickets for Ed Sheeran in the Phoenix Park for May 2018! Despite waiting for several hours, I finally succeeded and got the tickets! I was in work, ran on my break just before 9 to ensure I was on my phone for when the tickets were released. My break was soon over and I had to go back to work, and I still hadn't gotten tickets. The infamous, 'sit tight' refresh page kept popping up, leaving me in hysterics. I accepted defeat and went back to work under a cloud of sadness. 

Later my Mam collected me and told me to get back on my phone, as there were still some tickets left! I went home to go on my laptop and managed to get a pair of tickets instantly! I've loved Ed's music ever since A-Team was released but through chance and bad luck, I've never actually gotten to see him live in concert so I am waiting in anticipation for May 2018! 

Finally ventured to 'Thirsty Thursday':

Myself and the girls finally organised ourselves and our rosters to go to the infamous 'Thirsty Thursdays' in Gorey! Several of the pubs/nightclubs do cheap deals on alcohol on Thursday nights in the summer months. Maeve and Iseabail came down from Dublin to have a well deserved night out and a catch up. It was a great night as we caught up with people from school who we hadn't seen in a while. 

Made last minute plans for a night out:

Have you ever been at home on a Saturday night around 10.30, on the sofa flicking through your phone, watching television and having a case of FOMO? Until one of your work friends texts saying to head out that is! This happened recently and after a quick spur of the moment decision, I found myself tearing through my wardrobe and make up bag to make myself look decent in less than 20 minutes! 

I had to forgo the fake tan but I still managed a full face of make up which I was delighted with. Town was quiet overall but it was a good night as I bumped into friends I hadn't seen in a while as they're a year or two younger and aren't in college yet! Next week is the August Bank Holiday weekend and I'll be going to the Market House Festival to catch up with my friends so expect a blog post on that soon! 

Overall, I'm keeping a fairly low profile this summer, I sold my ticket to Indiependence so I'll be staying at home and going to the Market House Festival instead. I've also started my driving lessons so I'm keeping myself busy with those! For more updates, follow me on Instagram, Twitter and Snapchat (links on the right hand side)

I hope you're all having a lovely relaxing summer filled with plenty of fun and frolics!

Talk soon! 

Life As Of Late

As it's the summer and my first year of college has come to a close, I've spent the past couple of months back at home. To be totally honest, I've been a little bit of a hermit due to work, being ill for a number of weeks and other factors.

Here's some of the things I've been getting up to recently.


Petting Goats

If you read my Twitter or Tumblr, it's hard to deny that I love goats. I think they're so lovely and cute! I've spent countless hours watching Vines of baby pygmy goats and follow a few goat focused Instagram accounts. I recently visited Kia Ora Mini Farm, who have several pygmy goats as well as animals of every type and description. But of course my attention was directed towards the lovely goats. I stood there in the baking sun simply petting goats for an afternoon recently. An afternoon well spent really. 

Pokemon Go

                                             

Who isn't obsessed with Pokemon Go lately? The Sibling and I have been going on frequent walks around town looking for Pokemon, Pokestops and lures. It's been a fun week running around after Eevee's, Pigeots and even an Arcanine! Playing the game really reminds me of my childhood, Pokemon was a huge feature of my life as a child. 

Reading Books - As Always!

I'm making an effort to continue reading every day. At the moment I'm stuck into the Jack Reacher series of books by Lee Child. At the moment I'm reading, 'Nothing to lose' which is quite interesting so far. All the previous books have been excellent so I'm optimistic that this one will be just as good.

Sending Snapchats/Thinking I'm Humorous 

 

Snapchat is honestly one of my favourite apps at the moment. Like everyone else, I love the filters that I can apply. Here's some of my recent snaps to my friends with my supposedly 'funny' captions. Maybe I need to go outside more often. . . 

Taking Selfies

Snapchat is again to blame for this (and the filters). Here's a small selection but boy there are a lot more floating around!

Coffee/ Hot Drinks

As a self-confessed coffee addict, I love a good strong coffee as much as anyone. If I could spend my days drinking coffee, reading books and newspapers then I would be very happy indeed!

Here's what I've been up to lately, have you been doing anything strange or unusual lately? 

Let me know in the comments, tweet me or send me a snapchat, my name is awkwardaveen on SC

Aveen x

A Two Month Gap & Start of Everything New

Hey Everyone,

It's been a long time. I haven't forgotten about TRLOA if you're wondering. I never intended to stop writing and posting here every week. Time just seems to pass by so horribly quickly, leaving me in a tailspin. I'd always heard a phrase in clichéd conversations or films discussing how ''Life got in the way.'' This is truly the first time I can genuinely utter those words with conviction.

My last post on August 23rd marked the end to a long and tedious chapter. Instantly, a new chapter was written in my copper plate handwriting. The last 'chapter' was at least two years long, aptly named The Leaving Cert Experience. This chapter of my life is a dramatic change and shift from the previous one. I'd like to call this one, The College Life Experience. The last chapter is ultimately the prequel to this chapter of my life, which I see unfurling with new adventures and memories on a daily basis.

This new life, is parallel to the life I led twelve months ago. This time last year I was sitting in my bedroom cramming for exams which decided everything I wanted in life. Now, I'm sitting in my room, in Limerick. I'm still studying, but I'm in college pursuing the course of my dreams. It took so much to get to this position but oh my, it was worth every second.

As I walk in the crunchy leaves near the Library with newly made friends to lectures, I can see my younger self in an ecstasy of peace and serenity at the acceptance of being, happy. A glance in a window and I see my younger self, her dreams are coming true after all these years. She never thought it would happen, but it has.

 A week of Orientation translated with ease into several weeks of lectures. All the while, in the midst of this newly found chaos, I still checked on my blog. I read other bloggers posts and I still posted on Twitter and Instagram. I still did everything except type words onto my own blog. The weeks sped past, the Summer which I spent waiting for, evaporated with the brief heat that arrived for a while. The rush of maroon, gold, orange and green appeared on the trees on the bus home every weekend.

A little voice would whisper, ''It's time to write the next chapter.''
I ignored it. I boldly decided to throw myself into this new world, utterly forgetting about my Internet life. Being so distracted by life is a foreign concept for me, especially not having the time to write all these new memories down.

I've made wonderful friends so far on my course. The past eight weeks have been filled with wonderful memories and I honestly don't know where to start. My mind is filled with so many evenings of my friends and I giggling in our rooms and everywhere. This blog post was always going to be a long post which has to cram so much of my new life into paragraphs and photographs.

I realise that I never posted about my Debs, The Sibling's Graduation (and subsequent emigration) as well as starting college. I hope to write another post detailing those in due course. They too deserve their own story.

For now, I'll start with this. Every chapter needs an introduction, I'm back again. 

Aveen 

Daydreaming And Forgetting Yourself

It's crazy to believe that it's the month of August already. The summer has passed by with incredible speed, leaving me feeling overwhelmed in its wake. 2015 is steaming by, which consistently shocks me as I mark off another day on the calendar. I believe that I have spent the majority of the summer so far simply waiting for warm, balmy weather to arrive. Which it hasn't achieved so far.

The summer has been, to quote John Montague, a ''drama of unevent.'' In previous years, this would have irritated me yet now, it thrills me. To have the ability to simply rest and read a couple of chapters of my favourite book in the evenings, without the feeling of worry or dread due to pending study is wonderfully peaceful. I am happily content to spend my time going for walks, reading and daydreaming about everything or anything.

Walking in the evenings, with weak sunshine shining on my face, I smile and reflect on the days of summer so far. The weather has been far from perfect. immediately after the exams there was a warm spell which left as abruptly as it arrived. It was a shame in all honesty, I'm looking a little pale as of late.

The Leaving Cert results day is Wednesday August 12th. I turned my calendar onto the month of August, shuddering as I saw my own handwriting with ''Results Day'' written down for a day that has been awaited with baited breath since June 18th. I promise that I'm trying to avoid discussing or thinking about that day, when I receive an extremely important piece of paper. However dwelling on the possibilities of what the future holds isn't an easy activity to avoid. For the time being, I shall just take a deep breath and try prevent the waves of anxiety and fear from sweeping over me as days stretch into new days.

I think I know why they're called ''waves of anxiety.'' Going to bed after scratching another day off on my calendar, leaves me open to wave after wave of fear and nerves hitting my system. Extending from my lungs to my mind, these waves seem to both metaphorically and physically cause unease and fear. Choked breaths and shaking hands seem to fill the room as I search desperately for a book or music to send the waves away. For a little while at least. The closer the day gets, the more frustrated and desperate the distractions become.

For once, one of my frequent distractions isn't blogging. My current distractions are music, reading, Netflix, writing in one of my many notebooks, playing meaningless apps on my phone and walking.
As I shake like a leaf in Autumn, I realise how vital is it for me to keep myself distracted.

There are some days when forgetting ourselves, if only for a little while, is utterly necessary. To be free, breathe fresh air in your lungs. To forget all of those seemingly unsolvable or anxiety fuelled problems, even if it's for an hour or two.

 As the last few days waiting for Results approaches, I can feel my heart rate accelerate and my breathing become ragged and tense. I close my eyes and breathe in deeply. In the words of the poet Sylvia Plath, 

''Let be, let be''  

I will be brave and try keep my nerve. I was told something interesting a few weeks ago. To cut a long story short, we must always keep our nerve, as there is always something out there in the future that will make us nervous and terrified, particularly with regards to the next step and direction that our lives take. We must not lose our nerve for surely something just as nervewracking will surely follow suit. 

Aveen 

Summer Haul!

Hey Everyone!

I was doing some Summer shopping lately and decided that I should show you some of the items I bought. Last week I went for a little trip to Penneys (Primark) as well as some of the local shops in my town.

After reflecting upon the photos, I realised that I have quite the penchant for turquoise. My bedroom was actually turquoise for several years until I changed the colour scheme to white and pink. Perhaps it's my conscience attempting to cling to the calming effect of the turquoise? Who knows, probably I just really like the colour.

As I sat down and began to type this post, I realised I forgot an item or two so they're down below. Have you been doing any shopping or picked up any bargains recently? Let me in the comments!

I got this cute little bag in Penneys. I'm planning on using it as a pencil case in September, it's sure to brighten any mood. 

I picked up this beautiful blouse in a local shop today that had a half price sale. I adore the collar and lace detail. 

While I bought the white blouse, I also saw these turquoise skinny jeans. The photos don't do these jeans justice, they're more green in sunlight. 

Another local shop was doing a summer sale and I bought this Superdry t-shirt. It's really comfortable, cosy and fits really well. 

Amongst my escapades, I bought my debs shoes! (ssh, I bought my dress and am waiting for it to arrive, you'll see photos of it after the debs in August!)

I have to admit, I fell in love with these shoes and they've a small heel so I'll be able to walk in them too!

This pair of white sandals are so comfortable. I generally don't wear sandals but I really like this pair. I'll be wearing these for sure on warm days. 

I have been waiting to buy a pair of Skechers for a good while now and finally did! This pair also featured in last weeks blog post which you can see here.

I saw this top in Penneys and loved it! It's a very thin material so I'm planning on wearing it with a bright fuchsia pink t-shirt underneath to emphasise the delicate detail. 

I picked up this gorgeous black clutch in TK Maxx a couple of weeks ago. It'll be ideal for nights out so I'm not carrying my Orla Kiely bag around! 

I hope you enjoyed my Summer Shopping Haul! 

I'll try post again soon, tomorrow I'm heading up to Dundrum with Grace for a Summer meet up so expect a blog post about that. 

Stay Strong, Happy and Fearless,

Aveen x

The Transition Of Seasons

Summer turns to Autumn. 

Not all at once, but through a 

Transition of Moments. 

The balmy Summer nights, 

Bright as a firework, adrenaline fuelling the light.

Turning increasingly darker until you pull the curtains at 7pm, 

Darkness already fallen and the daylight long since passed. 

The 99's, once so comforting and relaxing on the beach. 

The sand was warm and soft between your toes as you gazed into the scorching sunshine.

Waves lapping up the beach, the smell of salt in every breath,

Is replaced with endless cups of coffee

And pumpkin spice lattes 

As hot steam swirls gently upwards from the cup .

The denim shorts and cotton t-shirts, 

Once stuck to your skin with humidity,

Are substituted with woolly jumpers, hats and scarves

To warm you against the sudden Autumnal Chill 

As the brown and red leaves crunch softly with every step you take

On the dry, cracked pavements. 

Breaths that were once filled with mugginess, 

Now appear as white steam through the atmosphere and condensation to windows. 

Life, once going by quicker than a stopwatch, 

Slows, 

To the pace of a stroll in the park. 

Frost, Dew and Hope linger in places unexpected. 

Leítír Móir, Galway. 

''I'm With You Every Step Of The Way.. Tomorrow's A New Day. It All Works Out..'''

Hey Everyone!

So I've had a really busy and fun August Bank Holiday so far. It's been a brilliant start to my last month before starting Sixth Year *gulps nervously* I've spent the past couple of days down the town with some friends drinking milkshakes, slushies and feeling both exhilarated and terrified on amusements!

Photo with Grace!

In my town for the August Bank Holiday we always have The Market House Festival which basically means we have the amusements, concerts and lots more fun things for everyone of all ages to attend. On Friday night, myself, Grace and some of our friends went to the amusements and later in the evening, the Fashion Show 'Boutique Boulevard' which was hosted by Brendan Courtney (Who I took a sneaky photo of!) The fashion was lovely and we had a brilliant time. Photo below is of one of the models if you're wondering!

Afterwards we went to the concerts,which is basically the main event and involves lots of loud music which you can literally hear in your heart as it's so loud. The concerts on Friday night were the bands, White Chalk, Corner Boy and one of my favourites, The Riptide Movement! *fangirls* We watched all three of the fabulous acts and in reality they were all fantastic live! Here's a link from a local radio station of part of 'It All Works Out' and you can see how everyone is bopping around having an amazing time!

Selfie with Leah!

With Viv & Leah

Slushie!

Staring..

Casually having a blue tongue after drinking a slushy

Trying to overcome human head giraffes!

I arrived home later than I intended and as I live near town, could still hear The Riptide Movement performing! It's quite an experience to go asleep and listening to the band! I didn't go to anything on Saturday as the weather was simply atrocious so I stayed at home and watched 'Dirty Dancing' I absolutely adored the film, it's such a lovely classic at this stage.

Today (Sunday) I went down the town again to the amusements with Grace, Vivien and a few others. Viv & I went on the waltzers, however we were the only ones on it (because we're cool) so they kept us on it for longer. At the end I started feeling queasy and could feel stomach acid bubbling up my throat! Lovely. (Don't worry I was fine afterwards)

I also looked at the sheep and goats which were on the Main St (Honestly there was vintage tractors and farm animals) and as I simply love sheep and goats, took some photos. So say hi to my best friends down below! They might 'baa' in response ;)

So that's about it from me, I hope you're all having an amazing bank holiday weekend wherever you all are!

Stay Strong, Happy & Fearless!

Aveen xx