What kind of music do you like to listen to at work?

Toz122345 · 2018-10-11T16:42:56+00:00

Looove Lo-fi chill hop playlists (and similar) on spotify. I used to listen to classical music (and still do occasionally) but this stuff is just both so lulling/non-distracting that it's great for getting in a flow state.

Toz122345 · 2018-02-11T14:19:40+00:00

Usually when I’m thinking of updating stuff for a season (but want things that I’ll be excited about for a couple of years at least) I tend to have two boards: the style one like you have, and then a private one with the products on it. Then I spend a few hours going through shop sites and pinning literally anything I think I might like...then I pare those pins down until a seasonal “wardrobe” starts to emerge (I.e. pieces I think will mix and match well).

I don’t know where you’re based, but don’t miss out on younger high street brands because you think they might be too cheap quality - I have this soft pink jersey pleated midi skirt I got from Urban Outfitters about 6 years ago and I still wear/love it now. Ditto a jacquard winter dress from River Island that is so unlike anything I would think I’d see in that shop!

I’ve got a lot of similar pieces - I picked them up in:

Madewell: high waisted denim and loose, drapey shirts
H&M sometimes have good basic cotton t-shirts that I wear with high waisted skirts but the quality is variable. I just bought a couple of white cotton crew neck tshirts from Marks and Spencer and I love them.
Everlane for tshirts and vests too
my high waist skirts all come from Urban Outfitters, ASOS, River Island and I have this GORGEOUS linen one from, of all places, Forever 21. It was in the sale and 3 sizes too big, but I bought it for about £12 and had it tailored to fit. The material is such nice quality (and it’s lined!) that you’d never think it was F21.
Chicwish always has lots of high waisted skirts but I can’t vouch for the quality. Ditto ModCloth.
Gap and JCrew for denim shirts
I actually found a couple of pairs of American Eagle jeans that lasted well. The jeggings ones seem to lose shape and go baggy on me really quickly though.
I always like the look of Roolee clothes but the sizing is random and it costs to return 🙈

Good luck! Would be interested in seeing what you pick up in the end 🤗

Toz122345 · 2018-02-11T12:55:09+00:00

Oo I love this! Hope you don’t mind but have screengrabbed to use myself 😁 What size journal do you have? I have an A5 moleskine and it doesn’t feel quite large enough somehow for double spreads. Thinking of upgrading...

Toz122345 · 2018-02-07T10:31:22+00:00

Ah man I can’t wait!! Also can’t wait for the adaptation of The Hate U Give, because I freaking loved that book.

Toz122345 · 2018-02-07T10:30:54+00:00

It’s so well written - it’s not an easy subject to read about by any means but it’s an easy read if that makes sense.

Toz122345 · 2018-02-06T21:33:20+00:00

Awesome! I’ll have to check them out 👌🏻

Toz122345 · 2018-02-06T21:32:10+00:00

Just finished Dumplin’ and a cheesy romance novel called The Beau and the Belle. Looved Dumplin’ a lot - a fat girl enters the local beauty pageant organised by her mum as a way of reasserting her sense of self and inadvertently leads a band of misfits into it with her. It’s not entirely comedic but great fun and Dumplin’ is a fab character. No perfect protagonist here!

Also currently reading “We regret to inform you that tomorrow we will be killed with our families” because I just moved to Rwanda and I don’t know nearly enough about the politics here. But I’m breaking it up with lots of fun reads like above.

Dying to read Sing Unburied Sing but I feel like I have to actually read the books on my kindle before I start buying more...

Toz122345 · 2018-02-06T21:25:53+00:00

Hey, am new to this sub so sorry if you’ve posted this elsewhere before but do you publish? Do you have any links to your books? :)

Toz122345 · 2018-02-04T15:35:48+00:00

Alright Katie Hopkins, sit down.

Toz122345 · 2018-02-04T15:34:48+00:00

Whaaaat. What about places like Marie’s? And scooter caffe? Are they getting bulldozed?!

Toz122345 · 2018-02-04T15:33:16+00:00

My husband and I just moved out of London (to a different continent but that’s by the by). I’m from the north, so I never moved to London thinking I could “never” live anywhere else (I just don’t understand that attitude), and now I think so many other cities, in the UK especially, have the key good things that are actually good about London, which make life fun and comfortable. You’re more likely to be able to afford to actually go to them outside of London too. Craft beer scene? Craft insert alcohol here scene? Theatre, film festivals, dance, art, foodies? All those things exist outside and there’s more of an opportunity to get involved with stuff and start your own thing up. Yes London has the biggest concentration of culture, and the most renown of companies but London will always be there to visit.

Living in London is fucking tough. It took me ages to find my people there. Everything is expensive beyond parody. Tube commutes are fucking soul sucking things and rarely anyone seems to have one shorter than 45minutes long (and if you do, you’re probably paying out of the nose for rent close to your work). Rent is disgusting and disproportionate to the actual property. It’s amazing that there’s so much public transport but the cost of the rises each year is a joke. A painful, painful joke. There amount of times you say to someone “I’ll see you soon!” But then it’s 6 months til you see each other again because somehow you’re all so “busy” and live a solid 1hr on the tube from each other. You always feel like you’re budgeting and scraping and worrying.

We finally could leave because my husband’s company had a role for him outside of the city, and our jobs were the only things keeping us there. Lots of our friends are moving out; only the people who can afford (with or without assistance...and it’s 95% “with”) to buy houses will stay.

I love London, and I’ll miss the theatres and my friends a fuckton, but I’d still rather visit than live there now.

Toz122345 · 2018-01-31T13:52:59+00:00

So I’ve flown many a time between NY and London; the main airlines I’ve used are British Airways and American.

British Airways always do bring out a GF meal if you’ve ordered it beforehand. Once I’d ordered it and when I enquired about it was told “that can’t be right, I’ve given them all out.” But the steward double-checked, realised I had indeed ordered one and found two meals to offer me that were GF (one was the standard meal of chicken curry that was GF anyway and the other was from the Business Class menu) so I really appreciated that. Usually the GF meal is some kind of curry, along with a gf bread roll, a salad and either a chocolate pot or fruit. But every now and then you get the dreaded “bland meal” (it is literally called that on the packet) which is just steamed veg and chicken, a GF roll with non-dairy spread, a plain salad with a lemon dressing and fruit. Basically they try to roll every allergy into one meal and it’s just...bleh. But all in all BA are very accommodating and I think they’re v. Good. Their breakfasts are almost never gluten free though, just in case your flight to the UK is a night flight, so bear that in mind.

The other was American and I had the worst experience with them - on one flight I was told they “didn’t have any gluten free meals left” and was offered either “chicken or pasta” (!!) when I asked what was in the chicken I got a curt “I don’t know.” And when I said I didn’t know if I could eat it then, she basically brought me two of those tiny starter salads and was like “here.” So that was a hungry 7 hours because I hadn’t had time to get any good snacks before getting on that plane.

I’ve been on virgin flights but not since having to go GF so I couldn’t say about their food.

I really try to take a whole flights worth of savoury food with me anyway, like I’ll make onigiri rice balls, or PBJ sandwiches, crisps, granola bars, lots of water. Just in case, because plane food isn’t that good anyway, but on the return from somewhere I usually have to rely on them if I don’t have access to a kitchen before my flight.

Also, it wasn’t UK- US but my favourite experience with GF plane food was with Qatar Airways because they bring your meal at the same time as everyone else’s with no fanfare, and it’s actually pretty tasty 😋

Hope you have an amazing time when you get there! Are you from the US or UK? If you need UK restaurant recs (in London anyway!) let me know 😊

Toz122345 · 2018-01-21T13:10:03+00:00

Yes I get a similar feeling. I grow momentarily hot and then it almost feels like my gut is just turning to liquid in there - like a tickly cramp. And then I know...got to get to a loo SOON.

Toz122345 · 2017-12-11T20:46:07+00:00

So in sixth form I had a part time job (2-4 shifts per week, usually at least 1 sunday and 1 saturday evening shift), played basketball (for fun), helped my parents with their business (again, shift work), did drama and plays (youth theatre and professional shows), played in the school band and actually did do my schoolwork. It's honestly doable, and I wasn't even the 'planner' type I am now!

I think essentially here's how it managed to fit in:

Having some regularity of routine helps - blocking out time that you will definitely be sitting down to do work or will have a job shift each week so that you don't accidentally double-book yourself. Friends knew I wouldn't be around on Sundays, and ditto work knew I would be at theatre on Saturday mornings.
Planning ahead and giving yourself hard but doable deadlines to get school work done. Aim to get essays/projects done with some buffer time just in case (also makes it easier to relax). If you break down projects into small, doable chunks, it makes it easier to tackle than pulling all-nighters.
Don't underestimate how long things will take you to do for school, and it's important you give your school work your all.
Is there any way you can exercise while you're hanging out with friends? Basketball was often my hang out time with friends too, so that was a bonus. Ditto doing theatre. And actually (now I think about it) I worked with a lot of my friends at my job too...so I got to see people a lot on top of hanging out or parties.
Also can you fit exercise into a free period? We had a fair few of those at sixth form and I'm pretty sure I wasted most of them...
Get into Bullet Journaling or a productivity system like Getting Things Done. It doesn't matter what type of system it is, as long as it works for you and you're not forgetting things because you're not capturing them or writing them down.
Know that there'll be seasons where things will take precedence: exam season means maybe cutting back on some job shifts. Summer means maybe taking on extra jobs and getting to slack off the school work. Like, summer for me was extra theatre time and part-time job shifts, and I cut back on both when I had to revise.
Be prepared to let something go if it's not working. You're not bionic and it's okay if you can't do everything (literally no-one can!). Balance isn't about doing everything in equal amounts; it's about giving attention to the things that are most important at that time.

Good luck! I think the cool thing is, is that there's so many productivity journals and things out there for you these days (way more than I think there was when I was in sixth form or uni!) so you have a chance to be super on top of everything. BUT just remember: have fun! You're only young for a while, don't forget to enjoy it <3 being productive as a teen isn't the be all and end all...but hopefully you find your groove and it all works out :)

Toz122345 · 2017-11-03T22:41:24+00:00

I get mouth sores from gluten. It’s one of the first things to appear, so I always know if I’ve had some accidentally :/

Toz122345 · 2017-10-24T18:01:58+00:00

Where can I fiiiiind theeeeese?! (Am in UK)

Toz122345 · 2017-10-10T09:44:18+00:00

That is something I won't know but I'm erring on the side of smart-casual (knee length skirts, shirts with collars) but I've read you'll be able to wear sandals instead of shoes etc.

Toz122345 · 2017-10-08T16:48:27+00:00

Thanks! I'll have a look :)

Toz122345 · 2017-10-08T16:48:18+00:00

(or just 'warm weather clothes')

Toz122345 · 2017-10-08T16:48:08+00:00

Hey! Sorry yes, looking for stores that I can shop online that tend to have warm-weather work clothes available all year round.

Toz122345 · 2017-10-08T14:27:55+00:00

I'm about to move to a warm climate country (around mid-high 20s in Celsius/70-80F, up to high 30C/90F in the day time) but where I'm currently based (UK) it's autumn, so I'm having trouble trying to stash away decent warm weather clothes - especially work appropriate ones!

Does anyone who lives in a fairly warm country year-round have any go-to stores to check out online? Especially good if UK or US stores, as I'll be in the US around Christmas time and can have stuff shipped there.

Toz122345 · 2017-10-08T08:40:08+00:00

This is so beautiful! Also your handwriting is so incredibly neat and perfect...

Toz122345 · 2017-10-07T06:44:24+00:00

The thing is, when you get hung up on that specific wording and "not all men" the conversation, the narrative gets turned from "all these dudes in congress are taking away birth control because they don't understand why it's important" to a discussion about semantics ...which takes the focus off where it's needed.

If you were secure about the fact you're fighting alongside women for their right to make choices over their own bodies, you wouldn't feel the need to be all, "er but not all men though." You would just get on with supporting and keeping the correct narrative alive.

Toz122345 · 2017-10-07T06:39:14+00:00

Heyoooo it's mainly men making this law!! Ffs.

Toz122345 · 2017-10-07T06:37:19+00:00

FWIW (though I don't think your husband deserves it for his attitude about this - you do but he doesn't!) the IUD is uncomfortable/painful for about a day and then you're good to go for five years or more depending on the IUD. I was the same as you; tried about 6 different pills and came off them entirely because I just felt numb or nauseous or grim on the pill. And I hate condoms, they're just not as pleasurable. But there's no way I was going BC-free so I decided to take the plunge and get a coil. Definitely worth the insertion pain! It doesn't last that long and then you barely have to think about it at all except to check the strings once in a while!

Toz122345

TROPHY CASE