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.

Sal's kitchen- Pull-apart pizza bread*

Okay so I've been a naughty and very disorganised student and I've had no time to blog, I'm sorry, I hope this offering of awesome pizza bread makes up for it. Just look at how amazing it looks!

  

Reading week in Barcelona

So it's currently reading week at Bangor and this year I'm very lucky to be spending the week in Barcelona carrying out field work for my course. We didn't get off to the best of starts, the bus to take us to the airport wouldn't start but they sent us a replacement and we were soon on our way! 

Blending style and technology, a lesson from Logitech*

Well most of my friends will tell you, I'm not the tidiest of people and my desk is probably one of the more cluttered areas of my room, there's wires and chargers everywhere!. So when Logitech got in touch recently and asked me to take part in there latest project of blending technology and style I was curious. Could this be the inspiration I need to pull my socks up and get organised and restyled at the same time? Here are Will Taylor's tips on how to blend technology into your home

Harry Potter Studio Tours- A truly magical experience.

September marks many things for me, one of the more important dates in september is the 16th. It's my very good friend Jo's birthday. We've know each other for ever and until this year I don't remember a birthday I've missed. So in order to celebrate early we headed of to do what we do best, fan girl over Harry Potter. We headed down to London for the Harry Potter Studio Tour. It was freaking awesome!

I donned my Hufflepuff t-shirt and Jo sported a Gryffindor hoody and t-shirt.