April Favourites + A Little Announcement

Hi everyone!

Another month, another monthly favourites. I think I said this last time, but I can’t believe how fast this year is going! I’ll blink once at it’ll be Christmas time already (not that I want to skip my birthday, but at the rate this year’s going, I just might!). This month gave me three more weeks of university, a week off for Easter, and intense assignment stress (I had something due Friday and the day before the holidays started. Yippee!). I haven’t really worn any new makeup this month (I’m broke as hell), but I have been using things that I haven’t used before, even if I’ve had them for a little while. There has also been new music out this month that I’m exceedingly excited about.

The week off I had after Easter gave me time to hang out with my friends (which we did). We went over to one another’s houses, playing board games, and creating new memories and inside jokes in the process. We went to Mooloolaba, listening and singing along to Ed Sheeran, Mariana’s Trench, Shawn Mendes, and Panic! At the Disco on the way. I think it’s fair to say we have a pretty diverse music taste! We had gelato and chips (separately) by the ocean. Then we went to a maze (Bellingham, I think) and also did mini golf while we were there. Afterward, we went back to one of our houses and played a board game before going home. Overall it was a great day, which was only made better by the fact that (my most favourite musician) Shawn Mendes released a song.

There’s Nothing Holdin’ Me Back by Shawn Mendes is my absolute favourite song at the moment, and it’s only been out for a week. I know all the words (I learned them the day it came out), no big deal. I’m not very good with music lingo, but I love the chorus, the pre-chorus, and the verses. I also love the guitar that backs up the vocals (that is the extent of my music lingo knowledge). It’s a great song to dance to (or walk to the bus stop to) and I thoroughly enjoy listening to on a daily basis (or on repeat, whatever you like). Its quite different to the rest of his musical repertoire, more fast and boppy, but if this is a sign of what is to come, I’m not complaining!

A beauty thing I have been using and loved over the past month is a moisturiser, as I haven’t really worn makeup recently (mostly because I can’t be bothered). It is the Formula 10.0.6 Picture Perfect Day Gel Moisturiser. I have used it in the morning every day since I ran out of my other moisturiser (the Simple one) and I have quite enjoyed it. It sinks into my skin quickly and makes my skin really super soft. Also, it has an SPF of 15, meaning that my skin is protected for the short amount of time I’m in the sun. The moisturiser claims to refine pores and promotes clear skin, and I would say it does that, as I currently have no pimples (for now…).

I would also like to announce that I might start a story on Wattpad to continue the little scene I posted last week. I won’t update it very often (once a month at least, depending on my schedule), but if you want more of the story I will do it. I quite like the story and I have a few ideas of where I could take it.

What are your April Favourites? Do you like mine? Should I start a Wattpad story?

Love, Nicky x

What if I Told You a Story?

Hey lovelies!

I had to do a little writing activity for uni a couple of weeks ago, and I thought I would share it with you. Tell me what you think in the comments below!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Harrison Blackley was tall. Not too tall where it got ridiculous, but tall enough to be noticeable to short people like me. He has this kind of calming aura about him and always made everyone feel needed. He had the coolest friends and wore sunglasses inside. His hoodie was always up, but you could still see bits of his auburn hair sticking out at the top of his head. And now he’s gone. He didn’t vanish so much as fall right off the face of the earth. He hasn’t been seen by anyone I know in weeks and we’re all really worried. I never knew him that well, but he always seemed so okay, like nothing could or would ever go wrong in his life. Except it did, and it’s kind of my fault.

We caught the same bus home from uni every day, we were in the same course, we never really talked, but everyone thinks it’s my fault he’s gone. For the first few days, I didn’t notice him not get on the bus, but after about a week or so, I, and everyone else, knew something was off.

That is why I’m currently walking to the last place anyone saw him: his house. I need answers. I know no one will trust me with information but I must prove my innocence. His mother answers the door, clearly frazzled, then immediately slams the door in my face.

“Please, Mrs. Blackley! I need to talk to you!” I said, a sense of panic in my voice.

No answer. I hear muffled footsteps retreating from the door.

I watched as the sun set over the houses across the street; Mum will kill me if I’m out late again, especially now that I have a target on my back. I heard a car roll into the driveway.

“Hello, dear,” Mr. Blackley said, with the same calming demeanour as Harrison. His suit was crinkled from sitting at a desk all day.

I looked up at him, expecting him to ask me to leave, but quite the opposite happened.

“So, what brings you here, Katie?” Mr. Blackley said with a smile.

“Well, Harrison is missing.”

“I know.”

“I need to know who did it. Everyone thinks it's me.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know. I was the one who saw him last, I guess.”

Mr. Blackley seemed so unaware of any information about his son’s disappearance, and there was no way I was getting information out of his mother. She stormed out of the room when her husband let me sit at the dining table. One hour in and I had already hit a dead end. That was until I saw it; Harrison’s backpack was on the floor near the front door, packed and ready to go.

“Do you mind if I look through that, sir?” I said, pointing to the bag, “It might have clues to his disappearance.”

He nodded his consent. I hurried over to the bag, eager for clues. Digging through the bag, there were normal teenage boy things: aerosol deodorants, notebooks, textbooks. I began to give up hope, until I closed my hand over a cold metallic object; his phone!

Should I do this? I want to find him, but I don’t want to get in too deep. Oh, screw it.

I switched on his phone. Oddly enough, there was no passcode, like he wanted it to be found, like he wanted to be found.

“Can I keep this, sir? To investigate it more?” I said, gesturing to the phone in my hand.

“Well, Harry’s not using it, is he?” he said with a distant laugh. 

I thanked him and left for home, the setting sun a distant memory, with a phone in my pocket and a bit more optimism than I had when I had arrived.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

What did you think? Did you like it? Would you read the rest of the story?

Love, Nicky x

Inside Jokes and Ear Pokes

Hey peeps!

I’ve heard a lot recently that it’s really hard to maintain a blog while studying at university. I guess it is, in a way. It has been harder to find time (and ideas some weeks), but I’m mostly okay. I have the occasional writers’ block, which happens relatively frequently as not only am I writing as a hobby, it is also what I’m studying. At the moment, I have to write a nine-line poem by Sunday. I have never written a poem in my life and have no idea what to write about. We were told in the tutorial that it doesn’t have to mean anything and it doesn’t even have to rhyme, but I want to make it rhyme and have meaning, otherwise, I don’t really see it as a poem. It would just be a bunch of words thrown together and labelled a poem (not unlike any of my other assignments, but shh!).

I don’t really know what the point of this blog post is, so in a way, it is a giant poem. Except there are no line breaks, no metaphors and similes that flow like a gentle stream, igniting vivid imagery in the mind of every reader. There are words thrown onto a page in an order that suits the writer, who is quietly hoping that the readers can make sense of their rambling and poor excuses for humour. Anyway, the whole point of me saying this is that I don’t have any ideas this week. I am currently writing this the night before it goes up (not unlike any of my other assignments, but shh!), and hoping that my rambling and poor attempts at humour make sense to you, dear reader.

Let me tell you a story. The other night, when Mum and I were watching a reality TV show that rated so bad it wasn’t on weekends or prime time, I made a joke about one of the contestants. Without realising it, Mum had put her hand up offering me a high five. As I left her hanging for a bit too long, she decided to hit me on the side of the face instead. We then fell into fits of laughter for at least the next five minutes and whenever I get the chance, I high five the side of her face as a kind of inside joke that no one else gets. Also, about an hour ago, instead of getting my attention like a normal human, she decided to stick her finger in my ear. Not hard, but enough to know that it was in my ear. As I was leaning against the couch and she was sitting on the couch, I flinched my head straight into her knee. Again, we were laughing for a good while after. Tonight was also the night she discovered Bruno Mars is not actually called Bruno Mars, but Peter Hernandez. The happened prior to the ear poking incident (in fact, it may have been the instigator of the incident itself).

There was a market on tonight at our local park, advertising freshly made pizzas for a pretty cheap price. We decided to walk over to the park for a nice little family pizza dinner. We showed up to the place and it turns out the pizza was sold out. Walking back home with grim looks on our faces and stomachs still rumbling, I “subtly” suggested we had Maccas (translation: McDonalds, Mickey D’s, the Golden Arches) by humming the jingle. Mum reluctantly agreed, which is how we got to the ear poking situation.

Do you have any weird inside jokes? What do you call McDonalds?

Love, Nicky x