Packing for Uni | BACK TO SCHOOL 2015

Greetings humans! 

So, it’s that time of year again - back to school, back to uni…just September. Either way, as someone who spent all of last summer thinking “I must buy and pack ALL THE THINGS” for starting university, I thought I’d let you in to the things I forgot to pack and the things I shouldn't have bothered with. Hopefully it’ll be useful!

Things I managed to forget:

• Kitchen roll. It’s one of those things that you don’t realise how much you use it until you need some.
• Laundry basket. Okay, so I didn’t forget to pack this, but the pathetic-excuse-for-a-laundry-bag that I brought with me was far too big and everything spilled out everywhere/I gave up/I ended up doing about four loads of washing at a time. Not fun (nor is it something I’m proud of).
• (also, if you can afford to, I would recommend buying your own detergent and softener instead of using what’s used in auto-dosing [if your laundrette does that] - it cleans clothes, but it doesn’t clean clothes, if you know what I mean)
• White tack. Whilst I’d planned how I would decorate my room at uni, I seem to have forgotten that photos and posters needed something to help them adhere to the walls (top tip: for the love of all that is good and pure, use white tack instead of blue tack - you don’t want to get fined for damaging the walls).
• Flask. Luckily I brought this back with me after Christmas, but I made a massive mistake leaving this behind in the first place - especially in winter term. 
• Flip-flops (or other such shoes). Definitely a must if you share a shower, but even if not, I would recommend getting some to go to-and-fro the kitchen, your room and your flatmates’ rooms. Those floors are nah-stay. 

Things I really didn't need:

• Apple corer/slicer. I don’t even like apples, but apparently I thought it was a kitchen necessity (I think my thought process involved potato wedges - I didn't make any of those, either).
• A wire rack which hung on a shelf. (I bought a pack of two from Dunelm, but I can't seem to find it on their website. I'm searching!) Rather than it acting as an organisational aid, it was just where I shoved stuff that I couldn’t be bothered to put away. If you’re a better person than I am, then it’s probably a rather good idea.
• Fancy storage. Whilst packing a fold-down ottoman from The Range was one of the best decisions of my life (well, of my university life), some fancy desk storage with little drawers for things, well…wasn’t. Similarly to the wire rack above, it could definitely work for some people. The issue for me was that the things I had intended to put in there didn’t quite fit, which meant they were all over the place.
• (I didn’t pack this myself, but I thought it was worth mentioning) A TV. Not only will you have to pay for a TV Licence (as much as I love the BBC, I’m also a student with little disposable income), but you’ll probably be doing things when your favourite programmes are on anyway. I’d recommend using catch-up services, or if you’re really keen, watching things live when your device isn’t plugged into the mains*. It’s a shame I found out about this nearer the end of the academic year (although just in time for Eurovision, so ker-ching!).

Which silly gadget did you decide to pack for university? And which staple item did you forget to fetch with you?

*on 2nd September 2015, the TV Licensing website said the following: "A hall's licence doesn’t cover a student in their room. Their parents’ licence also won’t cover them, unless the student only ever uses devices that are powered solely by their own internal batteries, and they don’t plug them into an aerial or the mains."

A Trip to Newcastle - Some Stationery

Greetings humans!

Last week I went to Newcastle with some of my friends, and I thought I'd show you the (very exciting!) stationery purchases that I made. Who doesn't love being nosey, right?

I bought both these pastel Staedler Triplus fineliners and Pilot Frixion erasable pens from Ryman. The fineliners were on offer for £2.99 and the Frixions £4.99 (down from £10.99 - what a bargain!). I love writing my notes in fineliners, and I always use erasable pens in my Filofax - especially at uni, plans tend to change more often than they stay the same!

I also went into John Lewis (JOHN LEWIS! I love that place), and was of course immediately drawn to their stationery section. After staring lovingly at the Filofaxes for a good couple of minutes, I had a look at the ranges they stocked. One of my favourites is Happy Jackson (I already have this pencil case from them) and these bright sticky notes are a brilliant addition to my collection.

I also bought a set of 3 MT slim deco tapes. I like the more pastel hue of this set, and the fact that the pattern alternates on each roll (as opposed to it being the same design the whole time). Apologies for the glare in the photo - I can't bear to take them out of their packaging yet!

And that's all until next time, folks!

Things I've Learnt in First Year

Greetings humans!

Blimey, it's been a while, and an awful lot has changed since I last sat down to write a blog post. My first year exams finished a couple of days ago, and I thought such an occasion provided the perfect opportunity to get back to this again! Here are some things I've picked up on over the past academic year:

• Fresh flowers are slightly more difficult to look after than I had previously imagined (and keeping desks tidy is also apparently more of a challenge than I suspected).
• Languages need to be learnt little and often, as opposed to in panicked chunks every month or so (I'm looking at you, Koine Greek).
• Real friends are the ones who wait for you and get annoyed when you don't let them help you.
• Travelling by coach for several hundred miles every few months is surprisingly tiring for literally sitting on your backside all day.
• Life is messy and beautiful, and cannot always be put into boxes or categories - and that's okay.
• (cf. time management, social activities, modules)
• You can't know everything - and that's also okay.
• Walking into the Vatican City as a heathen does not make one spontaneously combust, to my relief (posts will be up in the next couple of weeks about my trip to Rome this Easter).
• I'm hopelessly dependent on tea.
• Seriously, I had barely any in Freshers' Week and I really, really felt it,
• Dishwashers are BRILLIANT. Honestly, a gold star to whoever invented them. It's one of only a few things that I seriously miss from home. 
• Brand New Eyes by Paramore was released six years ago this year, a fact which I am refusing to believe because I CAN'T BE GROWING UP! NOT YET!
• Yik Yak is brutal. Absolutely brutal.
• Stationery shopping is the most common form of stress relief in teenage girls - something I found out at a job interview, after telling the interviewer that Paperchase was my favourite shop. Promising.

Motivation...Muesday - Colour Coding Priorities

Greetings humans!

When on a quick trip to Sainsbury's the other week, I found these three Frixion highlighters on sale for under £3 and bought them without really thinking about their use. However, I soon created a colour-coded priority system for my to-dos, since I have an awful habit of just copying tasks from day to day without really thinking or getting them done.

It's relatively simple: green means that a task has been copied once ("hello, you should probably do something about me"), yellow means that a task has been copied twice ("hello, you should really do something sooner rather than later"), and pink means that a task has been copied three times ("COME ON HANNAH GET ON WITH IT!").

e-mails galore!

I then get on with my tasks which have already been prioritised; I will complete the pink tasks first, then the yellow and so on. I've found that I don't need any more colours for this, and that I can complete most tasks within three days of putting them off delay. I've not been using it for very long, but so far, so good!

My Week #37

Greetings humans!

This week, for me, marked the beginning of the end of summer; the first of my friends moved away to university and I began with my packing! Aside from that and a few admin tasks, it's been pretty empty.

1) That's definitely an 'e' in 'stationery'!
2) And that's definitely an essay I have to write before I even arrive at uni!

I hope you had a good week!

Stray Sticky Notes

Greetings humans!

Although having a Filofax means that everything can be put in its place, quite often I end up with an excess of sticky notes which don't have a home. For instance, I have some with uni information, people's phone numbers and other bits and bobs which don't fit anywhere in particular.

I then found some old business card holders which came with an unbranded 6-ring organiser - in here I have folded and placed the sticky notes which don't have anywhere to go. This is sort of a dumping ground for them; at some point they will be sorted out, whether action is taken with them or whether I've learnt the information off by heart and thus no longer have a need for them. 

Five Things I've Learned in August

Greetings humans!

August has been a jam-packed month for me; I turned 18, received my A-Level results (which in turn confirmed my place at uni), and have focused most of my time on seeing my friends before we all disperse throughout the UK!

Here are five things I've learnt this month:

• I'm surprisingly better at navigating alien IT systems than I thought
• Enrolling at university means a whole lot of complicated IT-navigation. I managed to guess my password before it was released, and upload a picture without a hitch! (My IT education really wasn't the best and over the past few years I really haven't had the time to catch up with it; this is a pretty big achievement for me!)
• A one thousand-page book provides a "rough outline" in the World of Higher Education
• I'm not too worried; after all, a tonne of reading is what I signed up for in the first place. And at least it's something I seriously enjoy!
• The BBC ran a short series of Horrible Histories for adults, hosted by Stephen Fry
• Yes, really. If you're unfamiliar with the franchise, I'd suggest a little research; the books were best-selling (and a major influence in my love of history and culture when I was a child, especially in academic study), and the TV adaptation was the first family show to win a British Comedy Award. Despite a younger target audience, I've found that it regularly explains key issues in far greater detail than documentaries for adults (especially the Reformation and its progress), which in a family show is both extraordinary and refreshing. 
• A 'studyspo' community exists on Tumblr
• Ah, Tumblr, the land of the fandom, cat gifs and social justice warriors; and the land of  the studiers, apparently. Full of pictures of pretty desks and sticky notes, I absolutely love this side of the website. I've created a studyspo blog here, although I'm not yet sure how I'm going to balance original content in both places.
• I have a love for novelty push pins that I never knew existed
• Since I have a small room at home, I have no room for a corkboard or a similar item. However, I have a large notice board in my uni room; whilst buying stationery for uni, I saw many novelty push pins - my favourites are those shaped as moles and molehills! 

I know that next month I have a lot more to learn; I'm moving away from home and encountering a way of learning that I have never experienced before. More on that when I get there!

Motivation...Muesday: Putting Things Off

Greetings humans!

A couple of weeks ago, I forgot to write a "My Week" post. Since then, I've been putting it off.

And my features.

And more blog posts.

I've shied away from them because I haven't kept to schedule.

So what am I going to do about it? It's usually at this point in a post where I come up with some kind of super-duper plan for myself, but if I'm honest I have absolutely no idea. Either that, or I try and avoid schedules altogether for a while.

I'm determined to get back to this ASAP! I promise.

A-Level Results Day 2014

Greetings humans!

Since this has been a part of my life which I've shared quite a bit about, I thought it'd be best to give you an update...

...I got into my first choice uni! I'm incredibly excited to read Theology from this September...so excited in fact that I bought some erasable highlighters in the hope they won't bleed through Bible paper!

I also went into Wilkinson and treated myself to some of their new washi tape - it's great to see washi getting more and more popular.

Motivation...Muesday? - Lists!

Greetings humans!

I do love to-do lists. However, recently I haven't been creating many because I don't actually have much that needs to be done at the moment; I'm currently floating in the lull between the end of exams and results day when I have no idea as to what's going on with the rest of my life. I'm beginning to create to-do lists for every day, no matter how superficial (with tasks such as 'make bed', or 'make cup of tea') so I at least feel productive, and so will not be out of the habit by the time I maybe get to uni.

A 'List Book' from Paperchase. How could I not? 

My Week #31 & My Birthday

Greetings humans!

This past week has been very busy; this weekend I (finally!) turned 18 and for the first time I had a get-together at my house to celebrate my birthday. I thought I'd share some pictures with you in lieu of a WO2P spread - there is little there apart from "shop x" and "shop y". This was also my first time handling a DSLR camera (not mine), so I apologise in advance if the pictures are poor!

Paper Bunting - £1 from The Range per pack. I love the pattern so much!

I made tags from paper tapes to label each dip

What's summer without Pimm's? 

To decorate tables, I placed some fresh flowers in vintage china tea sets - I am now apparently one of those people!

Motivation Monday - Goals

Greetings humans!

This weekend, I wrote a list of goals that I wish to accomplish over the course of the summer. I've split them into pre-results day and post-results day categories, so that there's a little more time pressure. 

Having this stuck up on the wall by the desk means that I constantly have in view what exactly it is that I'm working towards! 

The paper I used was a list pad from Wilkinson last year - I absolutely love it!

My Week #30

Greetings humans!

This week has been relatively quiet, so much so that I've barely used any of my planners (this is evident in my failure to put at least one event onto this week's pages that I've only just realised...).

The countdown to results day has definitely begun (it's a fortnight on Thursday, if you're interested) - I've been trying to keep myself as busy as I can so that I don't weigh myself down with worries about whether I get to my firm choice, or to university at all.

I hope you've had a good week!

The Liebster Award

Greetings humans!

The lovely Michaela from The Bellus Lupus has nominated me for a Liebster award - how exciting! It involves me giving eleven facts about myself, answering eleven questions and then nominating eleven other people to do the same. So, here goes...

FACTS

1. I've never been on an aeroplane, or anywhere near an airport.
2. I prefer gold jewellery over silver/white gold.
3. I'm fleetingly obsessive, so I have to be careful how much money etc I invest in a new hobby in case I am no longer enamoured with it the following month.
4. However, my love for stationery and organisation has gone on, and on, and on, and on...
5. ...aside from lever arch files. I hate lever arch files with a cold, undying passion.
6. I've forever associated racing green (the colour, that is) with academic study; I've no idea why.
7. My favourite television programmes are Midsomer Murders and Agatha Christie's Poirot (which are incredibly mild when you've just watched an episode of Criminal Minds). 
8. I used to want to be a barrister, and then a forensic psychologist - now I'm hoping to pursue a career in academia, either related to Biblical Studies or Church History.
9. I recognise that I'm incredibly fortunate to (hopefully) study something which I absolutely love at university - reading academic books is something I do for fun. Regularly. 
10. I own two copies of some of the books I've studied at school - one neat one, and one full of annotations. 
11. I recently purchased a 53" plush teddy bear. Not entirely sure why. I'm eighteen in less than a fortnight. It's only a few inches shorter than me. Named Sebastian.

ANSWERS

Why did you start blogging?

I can't say I'm entirely sure. It probably boils down to the fact that I like talking about things I enjoy, and I suppose this is a far better outlet for that than talking at my friends/family/anyone who'll listen!

Where did your blog name come from?

It's something I did with my friend, Katie. We are both massive tea drinkers (not in the pretentious way, I do not see myself as superior for preferring one particular beverage over another at all), so Hanntea and Katea came about. Hers works better. 

What's your favourite of your own posts?

I do like my revision posts, the most recent of which is here.

How did you find new blogs to follow?

I use Bloglovin's recommended, along with a general perusal of the internet.

Would you ever stop following a blog and why?

If I no longer enjoyed the content, or if an opinion which I found abhorrent was expressed, then I would stop following a blog. I doubt that'll happen regularly, if at all, though!

What are your thoughts on commenting on other people's blog posts?

It's a great way to get to know other bloggers in the community - it's something I really ought to do more of myself!

Name one author whose books you will always read.

Oh my goodness. I really don't read much modern fiction, and saying "Agatha Christie" or "Shakespeare" may sound a bit ridiculous, but there we have it.

Eyes, lips or face? If you had to choose one make up item to wear all day what would it be?

Face by a long shot! Although if I could only wear one makeup item it'd be eyebrow pencil. Which is more face than eyes, right?

What do you look forward to most all year?

Going back to school! I love having a fresh slate (new stationery!) in terms of deadlines and what I'm learning. Also it's in the autumn and I am not at all a summer person!

Who is your favourite designer?

Cath Kidston! I'm basically a walking advert for her bags and accessories. 

How do you pick your outfits?

A combination of checking the weather and pulling things out of the wardrobe which look vaguely like they go together! I'm afraid I don't spend much time on this, instead my primary focus when getting ready in the morning is my hair & make up. 

PICK PEOPLE!

Ah, this is where it becomes tricky. I cannot think for the life of me who to nominate! What I'll do is find people and nominate-as-I-go - I'll get to eleven as soon as I can (and then publish questions, of course).

Thanks again, Michaela, for nominating me! 

Motivation Monday - Blackboards & Roses

Greetings humans!

So, as promised, here is the first instalment of "Motivation Monday", brought to you by a £1.49 blackboard from Home Bargains. Yes, really.

Although I use my Filofax an awful lot, sometimes it's useful to have something showing you your schedule that you can't miss. On this blackboard (which, as lovely as it is, is definitely what I paid for and nothing more) I'm writing everything that's happening outside my bubble each week, thereby showing me quite clearly when I have absolutely nothing on. And when I have nothing on, there's no excuse to not get cracking on the ridiculously long reading list that I've set myself. Right? 

Weeks 28 & 29 and Some Thoughts on Self-Motivation

Greetings humans!

The past two weeks have been relatively quiet for me - the occasional meet-up with friends and very little else.

And when I say very little else, I mean it. As you may be aware, I'm currently undertaking a short MOOC, and trying to get a fair bit of preparatory reading done for my undergraduate degree before results day (after which I'm planning on getting as ahead as I can with the reading for the course. Wishful thinking, I know). 

However, I have encountered a pretty big problem, which I didn't even think was the case before the holidays began: I have no self-motivation. None. Every drop of motivation I've ever had has stemmed from incredibly important, immovable deadlines with significant consequences (eg. A-Level exams, determining which university I get into, or whether I go at all). 

The thing is, the course I'm doing online has no consequence if I don't bother with it: it's free, and although assessed, not to a particularly strict deadline and my success is of little consequence. Similarly, if I don't complete the reading I've set myself, there is no consequence whatsoever, aside from being a little less well-read for a finite amount of time. I've been following studyspo blogs for a while on Tumblr, and various boards on Pinterest, but I still have never had the urge to go and crack on with it. 

In order to sort this problem out (which I'm grateful I realised before university, and not months after I arrive), I've got a lot of planning to do. Also, I have mentioned that I want to be more regular with this blog, so with a stroke of genius (perhaps, we'll see) I've decided to start a regular feature - "Motivation Mondays". I'll chat about what I've been doing, how I've motivated myself and maybe it'll hold me publicly accountable to Get On With Things, or even inspire a couple of other people to Get On With Things. Who knows?

In the meantime, I think I'm in need of a date with my Filofax and a cuppa! 

A Visit to the Alley Café, Maidstone

Greetings humans!

As you may or may not be aware, I live in Kent. This little café, which is run by Stepping Stone Studios, can be found in an alleyway near Maidstone Museum and Maidstone East Station (I thought these were more flattering landmarks to give than, for instance, KFC and Savers). Like the cool cats that my friends and I are, we took a visit a couple of weeks ago to check it out. Since most of my friends are already 18, they'd been to Stepping Stone Studios for some of their indie nights before going out to one of Maidstone's fine (*ahem*) clubbing emporiums, whilst I remained at home reading books and drinking tea in bed. 

I must admit that I found the atmosphere a little intimidating at first, but I soon settled. This can be attributed to my mild misanthropy, or even fear, of strangers, especially when they're OLDER and COOLER and all that jazz. The furniture was perfectly mismatched, with these two leather chairs being my favourite items.

I ordered a 'Squeaky Veggie' pitta bread, which consisted of warm vegetables and halloumi cheese, which I enjoyed so much I forgot to take a picture of it...but here's the plate (and the remains of someone's nachos).

Oh look, an artsy picture of table decoration. Ooh.

Overall, I really enjoyed my lunch at the Alley Café. The only negative I could really find was the price; my pitta, which came with some salad and a couple of tortilla chips, cost £4.50. This is somewhere I'll be visiting as a treat, as opposed to stopping by regularly - of course, everything's more expensive in the South East anyway, and it's nice to eat somewhere knowing the food has been locally sourced. I'd recommend visiting if you're in the area!

My Week #27

Greetings humans!

Another full week of freedom this week, with an awful lot of socialising (well, when I say socialising, I mean "going round my friends' houses and eating all their food"). I also made a good start on my MOOC, although I've realised just how much personal motivation and determination it's going to take me at uni to learn independently! Either way, it's a challenge I'm looking forward to.

I hope you had a good week too!

Stationery Organisation - July 2014

Greetings humans!

The beginning of the summer holidays always means a clear-out for me, so I thought it'd be a great time to show you how I now store all of my stationery. 

Firstly, here are my more crafty/Filofax-related things. They may take up three out of six shelves on a bookcase, but things such as washi tape and sticky notes are all neatly organised into boxes and containers, with opaque ones labelled, making the control freak in me happy. 

Here's another view of my sticky note/memo pad basket.

Under my bed, I have a draw full of spare notebooks and other back-up supplies (mostly A4 Oxford ones which I managed to find in the Ryman sale for £1(!) - who doesn't love a bargain?). Despite the clear-out, the draw remains a little untidy due to it being pulled in and out an awful lot.

Finally, on my desk I keep my pens, split into black, blue and coloured, with another pot at the end to hold scissors and rulers etc. I'm trying to use as many up as possible before I go to university in September (hopefully!), if anything so I can buy more, so keeping them out on my desk will ideally mean that I actually use them.

So, that's where I keep my stationery bits. Hopefully I can use most of them up over the summer so that there's less for me to take to uni!

My Week #26

Greetings humans!

We're half way through 2014 already! My first week of freedom from exams has been mostly fun - socialising with friends was countered with having to make angry scary phone calls to big scary companies and a lot of life admin in general. However, next week should be a bit more relaxed!

I'm bored of not studying already, so I'm doing this.

Hope you had a good week!