It's Been Awhile: A Catch Up.

I realise that it has been quite some time since I last posted anything on here. Sorry about that! Things have just been a little more hectic and time consuming than before. To save having a mini-spam of posts about a number of different things since I last spoke to you I figured making a little 'life update' post might be better.

The beautiful snowflake charm necklace I got from one of my nans.

Biggest bit of news first: I'M TWENTY-ONE! As of the Monday just gone I reached another big age milestone. The actual day itself didn't feel too much like my birthday, but that's probably because I did most of my celebrating the two days previous -that, and I had uni. On the Saturday I got treated to an Oxford Street shopping spree. I was quite reserved about what I got though, because although my boyfriend kept saying I could go as crazy as I wanted, I know he is very money conscious, so I didn't want to wreck his bank account too much. Then on the Sunday I had most of my immediate family come around for red velvet cake; and on Monday, after coming home from uni with two vases in tow for my lovely flowers, I went to Frankie & Benny's for dinner and had the most delicious salmon!

Secondly, I'm back at uni now. That was a little crazy at first because there was a bit of an issue with online registering within the Psychology Department, and then there was an issue with timetabling as a result of the registration stuff. It doesn't sound like too much, but I'm a very neurotic person so I was in stress central for the first two-ish weeks. Things have settled down now thankfully, and so far I'm enjoying my second year. But that's probably because I've not had to do any assignments yet.

The beautiful pink lilies that my boyfriend got me for my 21st.

Also I am thoroughly enjoying Lush's Autumn/Winter products at the moment! When their store by my campus released their A/W stuff I went in there twice in the same day, and only felt the tiniest bit ashamed about my very apparent addiction. Then there was a student shopping event in the mall one evening and Lush were open, so naturally I went in and got even more stuff. And I've been in another couple of times since then (Oops... Sorry bank account!).

Another thing I'm also really enjoying at the moment is Strictly Come Dancing. I just love to watch people dance and admire the female dancer's beautiful dresses! The only bad thing is that I get really jealous of all the professionals for being such graceful and talented dancers, and of all of the celebrities for getting the chance to learn how to dance.

Finally, I met the most adorable and friendly, little kitten on my walk home from the town centre the other day! That's not exactly note-worthy to most of you I expect, but I am a massive cat lady and that cute, little thing really made my day. I met her a few roads down from my uni house and after a good fifteen or so minutes of petting and stroking I forced myself to carry on walking home (I honestly would've stayed there all day if I could have, and not looked weird) and the sweetheart followed my half the way home! It was honestly the sweetest thing!

What are some of the things you guys have been up to and/or enjoying since my last Blogger appearance?
-Hannah. :)

Happiness: October.

Today marks the start of October. To some today is the same as any other day; to other's -myself included- it's rent day; and to others it's the tenth day of the year where they can go around pinching and punching people. But to me, today is a lot more than all of that. For me, today marks the start of my favourite month and my favourite season.

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I absolutely adore October and the autumn. Autumn has the perfect weather, and everything always looks so beautiful during the autumn months. I love layering up in all my favourite clothes, and autumnal accessories, and going for walks alone, or meeting up with a good friend in a coffee shop. That all sounds so simple, but it honestly makes me incredibly happy. At the end of almost every day in autumn, regardless of what I have done, I always have this sense of comfort and satisfaction.

And all those warm and fuzzy emotions are usually at their peak during October. A lot of people think October is my favourite month because that's when my birthday is, but in all honesty October would still be my favourite month even if my birthday was at any other time of year. Having an October birthday is just a coincidental perk.

October is my favourite month because that's when autumn really settles in. Slowly but surely it starts getting darker earlier, which mean long cosy nights in with a huge mug of hot chocolate. Everywhere is covered in piles of fallen leaves in varying hues of red, orange, yellow and brown, that make such a satisfying crunching sound when you walk on them. And most importantly there's Halloween.

I love Halloween! Not in the dress up in a rubbish costume and get drunk with friends sense, which is popular among some of my friends -I spend my Halloween watching Halloweeny films by candlelight via the various holes in my pumpkin(s). I love Halloween for a multitude of much simpler reasons. There are pumpkins everywhere, and people get super creative when it comes to carving them; there are cute and creepy decorations dotted about the place; there are great films on TV, like Halloween Town, The Addams Family and anything by Tim Burton; you get to see little kids and adults alike getting creative with their costumes. I could go on and on, but I'll leave it at that before I bore you.

Regardless of whether or not you love this month as much as I do, I hope you all have a really good October. Let me know in the comments what your favourite month/time of year is and why!
-Hannah. :)