10 things I wish I knew before starting university

If any of you follow my design Instagram you will have seen this over on my stories but I thought I would dedicate a blog post to it because I'm sure lots of my followers are just about to start 1st year at uni and it can be bloody scary! Some of these points are very art school based but hopefully most of them are relatable to anyone!

Don’t put pressure on it to live up to the expectations of what everyone says uni will be like. 

Especially at a London university, it will be most likely be a different experience for you than the stories you have heard. It may be the best 3 years of your life when you make incredible friends for life and you may party 3 nights a week and spend every night socialising at the SU. But also it may not and thats ok. Don’t feel like you have to push yourself to fit in with this stereotype of the uni experience, keep hold of what you enjoy doing, time to yourself and time for your old friends and family and you will be just fine.

You get out of university what you put in.

No matter how amazing your course is, at the end of the day, the amount of effort that you put into your work will be reflected in how much you gain from those 3 years. Give every project and opportunity your best shot and it will be so much more worth the money!

If you can, DO WORK EXPERIENCE!

If you have spare time to do work experience atall, do it as much as you can too! These are the contacts that will help you get ahead once you have graduated because you have a strong relationship with them and they trust your work and work ethic.

Learn 5 recipes that you can make in 20 minutes or less.

When you are busy with work, staying late at the studio or even just rushing a quick meal before you go on a night out, the last thing you are going to want to do is cook or think of a meal to try and make. I kept a whole stock of curry sauces, pasta sauces etc that you can just stick on the hob with some sort of carbs for 15 minutes and fry up some chicken/ veg etc to put with it and you will save a whole load on ready meals! 

Have a secret stash of cutlery

Sounds silly but I’m sure my flatmates ATE cutlery, it all seemed to go missing. Having a spare set in my room saved me having to eat all my meals with a spoon on many occasions.

Keep your uni room as a nice relaxing space to come home to.

This one will help with homesickness and general stress levels. I started to realise that I felt so much more stressed when my uni room was a mess and my bed wasn’t made and laundry wasn’t done. Try and make your room as homely as possibly with photos/ decoration that makes it feel like your space and somewhere that you look forward to coming home too.

Before you start uni, try and save up a bit of money to use as your freshers fund and overflow money.

From the date you move in in September, there is a while month until you get your first student loan instalment, which I didn’t realise! Your student loan is paid on the first week of your actual university course. So unless you want to go into your shiny new overdraft straight away, have some back up money ready.

Art supplies that you use regularly, buy in bulk online

For me things like sketchbooks, scalpel blades, mountboard and foamboard really started to add up when you buy them all singularly from the art shop and I found that buying them in bulk on ebay made such a difference, even if you buy them and split it between your mates!

Learn to budget very early on!

As soon as I got my first student loan payment, I worked out how many weeks I had until the next one and then divided how much money I had between those weeks. That was my budget for the week and if I went below that I put extra money into the ‘overflow pot’ I spoke about earlier and then took out of that if I needed it. It seems like a lot of faff but trust me you will thank me later when you need extra money for birthday presents or event tickets or christmas!

 However you are feeling, someone else is feeling the exact same way.

It's a big change to begin with, give yourself a bit of slack and be kind to everyone. You are all a bit scared and anxious but just relax and know that - as cliché as it sounds - everyone is in the same boat, everyone is putting on a brave face and everyone is only putting the best bits on social media!

Tara-Jade x

How I get involved with Blogger events

I have been a bit AWOL recently on the blogging scene, mainly due to being a little busy finishing my degree and the craziness that goes with that such as the mad panic to throw yourself into the "real world" as soon as possible - but more of that on another post. 
However, in amongst it all, I have managed to squeeze in a few blogging/ fashion related events and have had a few of you message me about how I go about getting invited to these or hearing about them. I'll be honest a lot of it is luck, as I don't have a very big following so am always SO grateful when a brand wants to invite me to one of these and be part of an exciting event, but I do have a few tips and tricks that I can share with you so I thought I would pop it all in a blog post along with a few photos of the recent events that I have been lucky enough to have been invited to. 

Skinnydip x Foamburst event

So the first way that I get involved in these events is through an app called @theinfluencersdiary run by @rosalindshimmen which you apply to be part of as a blogger and then weekly there are brand events posted on the app which you leave you handle on and apply your interest and via the app and then they will email you if you have been chosen. This is how I got invited to the Skinny Dip x Foamburst event which was a lovely event including a whole range of free candy cocktails, Mac and cheese, a dj for the whole night, plenty of photo ops and candy floss machines.

Boux Avenue Graduation event

The next event that I ABSOLUTELY made time for was of course the Boux Avenue graduation event in which my year as a Boux Ambassador drew to a close. It was such a beautiful event at The Ivy Chelsea Garden in their private room in which we had a free cocktail menu (which I took FULL advantage of if anyone knows the Ivy's cocktail prices usually!), SO many canapés, a mini awards ceremony - in which my hairdresser will be very proud to hear that I won #hairgoals queen, and finished the night off with presenting us with our own personalised satin dressing gowns to send us all off. Boux always have the most wonderful events for heir student ambassadors and I would highly recommend applying it if you are a student. They will shortly be announcing the new year of applications to be open so keep an eye out on their social media channels on how to do this!

21 buttons x The influencer diary event

 Another lovely event through The Influencers Diary but this one actually thrown by Rosalind herself, which took shape as a mystical forest in The Cuckoo Club with girls dressed as butterflies on stilts, ballet dancers, pink cocktails, candy icecream, light up candy floss (can you tell that the food is a vital part of an event for me!) and a pink flower Photo Booth.

Unrelated to recent events for me but another way that I hear about events and collabs is through a lovely Facebook group called Creative Girl Gang (CGG) run by @kelseyinlondon which is a great little tip I can share with you guys and also The Blogger Programme (@tbp_social) which is great for bloggers with a few more followers than me, as most of the events and opportunities start at 5k but I always keep an eye open for them!

 I will say that blogging events are a bit like marmite, you either love or hate them. There are so many 'Pro's' that get plastered all over social media such as the outfit photos at gorgeously decorated venues, goody bag unwrapping stories or glamorous boomerangs of clinking cocktail glasses, but it is rarely mentioned that often these are only the best bits like the trailer for a movie. What fills in the in-between is very often a lot of awkward standing next to someone, knowing that you both follow each other and like each others photos but not knowing how to introduce yourself without either a) looking like an idiot fangirl when you assume that they recognise you too and they have no idea or b) looking like you are ignorant when you try and play it cool and don't say an enthusiastic hello first. As someone who is a mixture of quite shy when you first get to know me, slightly socially awkward including lots of nervous giggling, and also have to WORST resting bitch face in the world when I'm not wearing my glasses, as you can imagine these things are sometimes a nightmare for me. If I have any shred of useful knowledge to pass on it would be, find a group of girls who share your interest for blogging and fashion that will also be invited to these things but that you also feel very comfortable around. I have been very lucky in that I have met some of the most lovely and down to earth girls through blogging, two of which being @robynnelouisex and @evieroselane - who I always know that I could ask to come to one of these things with and I would never be bored or run out of things to chat to them about, and it makes you so much more comfortable. When you go to these things,  in amongst the Clichy circles and resting bitch faces, there will be one smiley face or someone who looks just as uncomfortable as you do and you will gravitate towards them and the event will be all the more enjoyable for it.

Hope this has been half helpful for some of you or at least an interesting read on this rainy Sunday evening!

Tara-Jade x

Mini Festival Lookbook

Although it may not seem like it with our LOVELY grey and drizzly English weather still in full swing, but festival season is actually kicking off this week with all the buzz around Coachella. For my wardrobe this means one thing. All the colour. All the pattern. All the crazy trousers. So with Boux Avenue challenging their Student Ambassadors to come up with some creative festival inspired looks, I put my best crazy trouser-adorned foot forward and pulled together a couple of looks for you. Hope you enjoy!

Tara-Jade x

Outfit details:

Bralet: Boux Avenue

Jacket: In The Style

Trousers: Pretty Little Thing (Last years sorry!)

Trainers: Ego shoes

Outfit details:

Bralet: Boux Avenue

Cropped top: Pretty Little Thing

Trousers: Pretty Little Thing - (I would recommend going a size down in these girls!)

Necklaces: Chained and Able

                 Chained and Able

What I learnt from taking a break from my phone

So before I pretend to get all high and mighty and act as if I took an intentional break from social media, to detox, cleanse my brain or anti oxidise my hair follicles or whatever other myths they sell to you nowadays, I didn't. I dropped my phone in the bloody toilet (for about the 10th time) and had to wait 2 weeks until my insurance got a new one back to me. You would think my now I would have learnt to have NOT PUT IT IN THE BACK POCKET OF MY JEANS. But will I continue to make the same mistakes until the end of time? Also yes. 

However, although unplanned, having 2 weeks without my phone did teach me a few things so I thought I would share a little bit about how things panned out.

1) I do not own another method of telling the time at all. The one thing that struck me the most was how dependant I was on my phone for the smallest things, for example TELLING THE TIME. I even had to go into the nearest post office at one point and ask the guy what the time was and he looked at me as if I had used him for the square root of Pi. I was late for pretty much everything during these couple of weeks because once I had left my house, I was in the abyss. It was slightly liberating though, not having to constantly power walk with the knowledge that I was going to be late, I was just blissfully unaware.

2) I have a crazy amount of spare time every single day. Honestly I am the first person normally to  complain about how I have NO time EVER and am always so busy and blah blah but without my phone I cannot tell you the amount of time that I spent sitting in silence staring out of train windows, bus windows, walking to places or listening into strangers conversations. It even got to the point where I actually had to buy a book from Waterloo station at a ridiculous price because I was going to go crazy if I had to do another journey in absolute silence. It did make me realise though that I usually would waste all of this time just scrolling through whatever was on the screen of my phone, and make me think about how useful this time would be if I spent it being more productive. I mean, I haven't since, but imagine.

3) I have more will power than I thought. Whilst we are on the subject of spare time, I actually found myself going to the gym more this weeks and managed to fit in a solid 4 sessions, which may not sound like much to some of you but its a good effort from me. BUT. But. As you can imagine, without a phone this made gym time very very quiet indeed. Do you actually understand the amount of willpower it took to spend 45 minutes on a treadmill with only the sound of your own footfall ringing in your ears? I'm proud of myself.

4) It's kind of lonely. For someone who lives on their own in London, I am happy to admit that I rely a lot on my phone for keeping in contact with all my family and friends from home, and having that snatched away was actually kind of lonely. Even though I am known for being the worst ever at replying to texts when I'm busy, I actually found myself looking forward to get home just so that I could Facebook call (lol) my boyfriend on my laptop or even email (double lol) my mum back. 

5) EMAILS. SO MANY EMAILS. One thing I didn't look forward to getting home to however was the bombardment of emails. You don't realise how easy and convenient getting emails sent to your phone is, for you to quickly reply back to and sort out in chunks throughout the day. Being a freelancer with about 3 different shows to organise at one time meant that when I got home I was straight on the laptop getting back to everyone, until it got to 9pm one night and I realised I hadn't even taken my shoes off or moved from the same spot since I got through the door 3 hours before. Never again.

6) The social media part wasn't actually that hard. Being a self diagnosed Instagram addict, I thought being without my phone was going to be like a drug addict being sent to rehab, but actually I didn't really struggle that much. Admittedly it did help that you can get most forms of social media up on a laptop, so I got my fix this way, but I found myself mainly using it just for contacting people. Oh and FYI Instagram for desktops SUCKS. There is no DM button either so I missed a collaboration request and so many lovely messages, I'm sorry!

7) I have some very fickle followers. Not you lovely people obviously, because you are taking the time to read my blog (and I love you so much for it!) but being MIA from Instagram and not being able to post or engage in other people's posts for almost 2 weeks meant that I lost almost 50 followers. Now I'm not that upset, seeing as I am not one of these people who takes numbers of followers too seriously - I have only grown by about 500 of you in the last year - but it just made me think how many of those unfollowers had a 'oh she didn't like my posts so I won't like hers' attitude or something similar that meant that when I took a small break, they lost interest. I know the whole deal with Instagram is this instant, constant, consistent flow of images that are expected but that is just way too much pressure for me which is why I don't think I could ever be one of these full time, dedicated bloggers. I admire you guys honestly.

I think that is about it, and I'm sorry for the slightly unrelated blog images this time round, being without my phone meant that I left my loves over at Boux a little unloved for posts so I thought I would kill two birds with one stone and show off some of their new swimwear line as well. All linked below. 

Use code TARAJADE20 for 20% off.

Swimsuit: here

Bikini: here

Valentines favourites and how I am trying to be more creative with my content.

I was inspired to do this post by @laurengracelifestyle after reading her blog post all about how she is trying to shake up how she creates content and breaking free from 'boring blogging'. Finding your niche and what makes you different from literally EVERY blogger on the planet can be so frustrating when there is a very specific, clean style of images which tend to be successful with brands. Which is why I stopped and thought about how I could combine the two, still keeping the mix of bright colours  and clean backgrounds that has unintentionally become my theme. When I first applied to become a Boux ambassador, I said in my application that I wanted to play to my strengths as a creative and I realised that so far, I hadn't done this at all. Yes, I have created some beautiful content that I am very proud of but I have felt myself slipping back into 'what everyone else is doing' because it was easy, it looked nice and got more likes. 

So this month I am challenging myself to be more creative, bring a bit more of my personality and my strengths into it. I have always been very into illustrative style line drawings and although this still seeps into my theatre design work from time to time, I haven't done any for ages. (There was a point where every one of my friends started to get their own cute illustration drawing for their birthday when the obsession was at its worst!) When looking for some inspiration I found tons of gorgeous fashion illustrations that worked so well for lingerie sketches but the girls were all so unrealistic, and I wanted to do a couple of drawings which celebrate different body styles and gave a sense of the lingerie empowering the girls wearing it. I think with everything going on this week, there is so much girl empowerment and mutual support everywhere with the 'Galentines day' theme which is so great, but also seeing Gigi Hadid having to defend her body shape to all her twitter followers reminding me that we still have a long way to go with body positivity - on both ends of the spectrum.

I based both my drawings on the gorgeous Valentines pieces I was very kindly sent by Boux Avenue this month, specifically the Chloe Lace Plunge Bra, Lace thong and Suspender Belt which I will link below. I also popped a few photos of the Sorcha thong body to share with you in a quick flat lay but hopefully will do something a bit more exciting with it when I get some more time!

Have a great Valentine's Day/ Galentines day/ PANCAKE DAY loves and if you want to treat yourself to any Boux goodies, final orders for Valentines delivery is 4pm today! You can use code TARAJADE20 for 20% off, or to make use of any existing offers, use the link below:

www.bouxavenue.com/?utm_source=sa-tara-jade-usher&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=stuamb

Love,

Tara-Jade x

Featured items: 

Chloe lace plunge bra: here

 Chloe lace thong: here

Chloe lace suspender belt: here

Sorcha thong body: here

Chained and Able

As you may have guessed, layering necklaces is my go to jewellery look to make an outfit look a bit more boho and different, and this style of religious tags and medallions are everywhere at the moment. All the different lengths and sizes here are perfect for layering them up with a simple cami or dress to instantly make it that little bit cooler and more of a put together look. I'm sure you will be seeing these all over my Instagram for a long time yet but I thought I would dedicate a few photos to them for you to have a browse of and I will link them below if you wanted to pick yourself up any of them.  I have so many of layering necklaces at home but so many of them are plastic-y and last about two wears before they start to look cheap and tatty, but these surprised me with how heavy are great quality they were, it wasn't until I opened them up that I realised that they were actually 18ct gold, which is fab! If gold isn't a bit of you they have a whole load of silver options too, and almost all the women's collection is on sale at the moment too if you are quick.

I have wanted to work with Chained and Able again for so long, because they are one of my absolute favourites. Feeling respected when working with a brand is something which I value so much and every time I work with this brand they go above and beyond to spoil me and always react so enthusiastically towards anything I produce. Manners and respect really do go a long way. 

Chained and Able Women's collection online:

https://chainedandable.com/collections/necklaces-1

Also available at Asos:

http://www.asos.com/men/a-to-z-of-brands/chained-able/cat/?cid=20756

Tara-Jade x

January survival tips

Now I know that it is almost the end of January and I may have missed the boat a little bit on this one, but with my Dissertation deadline hanging over me for most of Jan, the post-christmassy, bad weather, no money blues have been hanging over me well and truly so I thought I would share with you guys some of my ways that I made January a little bit more bearable for myself.

Make yourself a 'nest'.

With all of the christmas clutter your space can start to feel a bit overwhelmed. Take the time to make your room/ house/ flat feel all nice and cosy again, because believe me with all this gross weather we are having you are going to be spending A LOT more time indoors and it will make coming home in the dark and cold much more inviting.

Kick start your budgeting again

If you are anything like me, budgeting went totally out the window over christmas and with all the January sales. Start now to get your finances in order and start budgeting again asap so that you can start saving towards a holiday or festival etc without the last minute panic! I set myself a weekly allowance and put anything left over into a 'fun pot'.. such a loser.

Schedule yourself

Whilst we are on the topic of getting yourself organised, also create a mini schedule for yourself for any deadlines or goals that you have coming up and make sure that you start working on these in plenty of time. I am the worst person at leaving things until the last minute but with it being my final year at uni and what feels like a million deadlines, I am determined to not let it get on top of me this time.

Give yourself something to look forward to

I know how dreary this time of year can start to feel, so give yourself something to look forward to and put all your efforts towards. Whether it be getting that overtime in to put towards a weekend away that you have booked or even just getting all your work done, with drinks with the girls at the weekend in your head the whole time. It will help you feel a lot less bogged down and hopefully make time go a little bit quicker.

Get out! Stop the cabin fever

Especially at busy weekends when I have lots to get done I like to dedicate even just an hour to getting outside, usually to just drag Ryan out for a walk for an hour or so but just to feel like I have taken some time out and hit the reset button before starting the next working week all over again. If I don't get out I start to get all cabin feverish and irritable with everyone around me, NOT a great way to end the weekend. 

Stock up on vitamins to fight off the germs

Public transport is the absolute worst for this, every man and his dog is spluttering all over the place and it seems like an impossible task to fight all the germs off. I've had 2 colds already this month so I might not seem the most qualified to offer this advice but mine were due to lack of sleep and stress I promise! Whether you have started the healthy eating or not, boosting your vitamin levels can help your body perk up a bit which is why I have started being a bit more mindful and taking a multi vitamin tablet each morning. I'm also going to share Mumma T's secret cure to you - Echinacea spray - its this herbal spray that your spray at the back of your throat whenever you start to feel a cold or scratchy throat coming on and most of the time it will be gone by the morning. Honestly try it and thank me later.

Keep yourself cosy... but also glam up every once and a while.

I'm sure every girl has experienced the satisfaction of buying a new cosy jumper, cardi or dressing gown and just wearing it to death for the next few months, and I wholeheartedly support this. Buy that teddy bear coat you've been eyeing up or those fluffy socks but also, every now and then I like to make a bit more of an effort just to prove to myself that I still can! Wear your dressing gown all weekend but also put on a pair of lashes just to go for a catch up with your friends, you will feel all the better for it. And you can take a few selfies to last you the next week or so to post while you are sitting in your fleecy pyjamas and slippers.. we all do it.

Hope these have helped you make it through to the end of January or even winter in general.. see you on the other side!

Tara - Jade x

Outfit details:

Dressing gown: Boux Avenue - Florence Hooded Robe

http://www.bouxavenue.com/robes/florence-hooded-robe/202083.html?dwvar_202083_dressSize=M&dwvar_202083_color=20BH&cgid=#q=dressing%2Bgown&lang=default&start=7

Bodysuit: Boux Avenue - Erica lace body (no longer available but similar here)

http://www.bouxavenue.com/bodies/tori-lace-body/100157.html?dwvar_100157_braSize=30B&dwvar_100157_color=01BL&cgid=1000032#start=4

Grey bra: Boux Avenue - Zoe non-padded bra

http://www.bouxavenue.com/bras/zoe-high-apex-non-padded-bra/101679.html?dwvar_101679_braSize=30B&dwvar_101679_color=01DV&cgid=1000027#p=2&start=28

Get 20% off any item using code TARAJADE20 at the checkout or follow my ambassador link below:

www.bouxavenue.com/?utm_source=sa-tara-jade-usher&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=stuamb