Liverpool adventures

Last week we jumped on the train to Liverpool for a postgraduate fair. We decided to make a night of it and book ourselves in at the Printworks hotel.

We arrived in Liverpool a little earlier than our check in time so we decided to visit one of the many free museums in Liverpool, sadly though it was half term and the place was full of kids! Although it was nice to see so many kids in a museum. On our adventure round the museum we saw some pretty cool stuff.

So many little fishes!

Dinner and a Movie with hungry house*

When Hungry House got in touch and asked me to try their dinner and a movie deal to celebrate their 9th Birthday, I was seriously excited! Sadly they don't cover Bangor however a trip to Richard's house was the perfect opportunity to try them out. Disappointingly the website only had one place that would deliver to us in Uttoxeter so an Indian it was, on Chinese New Year.

Now I have to say, I loved the Hungry House website, it was easy to navigate, the menu was clear. If you aren't sure what something is they have a handy information button that tells you what is typically found in the dish which was good for me because I have no clue about Indian food and I fancied a change from the traditional korma 

Semester two, year three*.

So it's time for semester 2, it's mildly terrifying to think that this is my last semester but at the same time I'm feeling quite positive about it. I finally have some plans for next year and I'm beginning to think that it's all going to be okay, more on those post uni plans soon.


The big clean

I like to get a big clean done in January, partly because our Landlady is trying to get tenants in the house for next year and partly because I like the, idea of everything being fresh and ready for semester two.

My floor cleaner of choice is usually a mix of bleach and antiseptic*, the smell is amazing! I love cleaning wipes*, they are great for quickly dealing with spills.

Lucky by name, lucky by nature.

On the 21st of January I woke up to some devastating news, my best friend, companion and partner in crime was dying. I woke up at 7 and by 8 she had died and that afternoon she was buried in the garden where she can play to her hearts content. I was totally heartbroken, I still am, writing this post now is hard but I wanted to dedicate a post to her and all the fun we had. So Lucky, here's to you, the best pooch there ever was.

A frequent visitor to the pub, I never realised how popular she was!

She was always happy to give cuddles, even if she had to be bribed with a toy occasionally! 

She loved the water,as soon as she would see a pond she'd be straight in.

Her favourite window perch seems empty now but at least we can now have flowers in the window! 

Although come winter, she was all about the woolly jumper! Yes, that is my jumper she's rocking.

Snow was another novelty, she used to get confused about snowballs,try to catch them, then end up eating them.

My mum hated it when we bought her a squeaky toy, she used to go mental with them.

Lucky unwrapping her Christmas presents was fun to watch, not sure how she felt about being wrapped up herself though. 

It's been a little over a week now and I desperately miss her, she's been so many things to so many people over the years. I think worst of all the house just seems too quiet without her. There's no more barking when the post is delivered and that's just weird. Eventually we will get used to not having her around, it's not going to be easy but I'm sure we will get there. 

If love alone could have kept you here, you would have lived forever.

Keep it Scrimpy,
Laura.

A very merry Christmas indeed.

Okay,so only a few days late but HAPPY NEW YEAR! I hope everyone had an amazing Christmas, I took a break from blogging over the festive period but I'm back now with a quick look back at my Christmas.

We got a little distracted when wrapping presents and ended up wrapping the dog.

Poundland Christmas gift ideas.

So where does this Scrimpy Student look for those last minuet Christmas gifts? Poundland of course! Now I have to say Poundland have really upped their game this year and there's actually some really good quality stuff so if you've left shopping a little last minuet Poundland is the perfect place.

Firstly how cute is this Pug money box? I just love it, he would look great on a desk and he encourages you to save a few pennies, he's literally so awesome, I would love to receive him as a gift.

This photo frame is beautiful, it just love the detailing, although it looks great as it is it could be spray painted any colour to match your home. As a gift you could give it as it is or just slip a photo in for a lovely personalised gift.

I've been frequently surprised by Poundland's selection of DVDs, they've got some awesome titles in there and there is defiantly something for everyone. You could pair this with some popcorn and some slippers and a facemask for an ultimate night in set.

These measuring cups are great for any Mary Berry wannabe, I admit the packaging lets them down a little but in all honesty it doesn't really matter, it all ends up in the bin anyway. Pair this with some cake mixes or a mixing bowl for any budding baker.

Now I posted about Rimmel London Apocolips a while back and when browsing the make up section for this post I found some more, this time in a neutral tone which I loved, it's a perfect colour and paired with a few other Poundland pieces or nail polishes would make the perfect make up gift.

Finally one to the gadget lovers, phone cases can be really expensive but Poundland have a great selection of cases for a wide variety of makes. There is a great mix of styles as well, some simple designs and some more out there ones, like giant pink fluffy cases but we shan't say too much about those. I currently have a rubbery case but I shall now be switching to this harder plastic one, I just love to pattern too, it's really simple, yet classy (a little like myself). Poundland also offer Ipad cases and screen protectors, annoyingly though, not for the Ipad Air! Sort yourselves out Poundland! You could pair this with a charger or some headphones for a gadgety gift.

They also do some awesome travel mugs that I sadly couldn't find for this post, I have one back at uni and I love it. It's hardly left my hands since I had it and everyone has been asking me where I got it, even one of my lecturers wanted one!

Where do you head for last minuet presents?

Keep it Scrimpy
Laura.

Digital detox with Endsleigh*

A couple of weeks ago Endsleigh, the student insurance specialists, contacted me and invited me to take part in their digital detox. After a long 12 weeks of what feels like constant essay writing I thought I could probably do with the break from the computer. The detox meant that after 9pm I couldn't use my laptop or beloved iPad and I turned off wifi and mobile data on my phone.

I began my detox a week ago which was also the Geography Societies Christmas ball. This actually made the detox a lot easier, there was no need to be checking Facebook or updating Twitter, also I had no signal at the place anyway!

Coming home for Christmas

Yup, I've made it through another semester (yay me!) and after several Christmas meals I'm finally home. The heating is on and my mum has done my washing, she's such a star. Here's a run through of my Christmassy moments of the past few weeks

It took me a good while to start feeling christmassy this year but it began with a trip to Cheshire Oaks 

10 Reasons why I'm a rubbish blogger

My top 10 reasons why I'm a rubbish blogger and why I should probably just give up now...

1- I always forget to take photos of my food before I start eating

The starter was so beautiful but I forgot the main! 

We were at a really fancy meal the other day and I only managed to instagram the first course! Disaster!

A weekend escape to Pwllheli

After a very tough few weeks Richard and I decided that we just needed a break, so we had a look online for a weekend getaway. We found a beautiful cottage in Pwllheli on a working farm, we booked quite late, and Richard even found us a code for a free cottage pie. Our weekend was spent cuddled in front of a log fire watching James Bond, and food network, eating roasted chestnuts, popcorn and home made stews and lazing around in the spa. It was a perfect weekend.