Shout out to VSCOcam for existing.

I seem to have been neglecting my little blog lately, so thought I'd do a small post to give you an insight into my university life! Don't expect anything too exciting.

1. Sleeping

Waking up at 2pm most days in a tea-stained, Pringle crumb encrusted bed is truly liberating. Especially when you realise you've missed your 3 hour Tuesday lecture, again. (I'm disgusting)

2.  Tesco

2 days ago my Clubcard arrived. After 3 months of missing out on precious points then finally doing something about it, I found out that the Tesco a 3 minute walk away could potentially go bust before Christmas this year. Where will I buy my crumpets and exotic juice?!

3. Spag Bol

My mum's cooking has become somewhat famous in our flat lately. Spagbol sent frozen in a tuppaware box, then defrosted in the microwave seems to have quickly risen to favourite.

4. Drinking

A couple of weeks ago we bought a bottle of absinthe, drank it in the sitting room then went to bed. If that doesn't say 'freshers', I don't know what does. I'm a big fan of 99p Bakewell Bombs at 5th Avenue.

5. Netflix and 4od etc

At least 40 hours of Friday Night Dinner, Misfits and Bob's Burgers episodes later, here I am writing this blog post. Is there a job regarding this kinda thing?

p.s. it's my bday a week on Saturday 

As you may already know, I recently started university. As well as university, I apparently also started having to think of creative ways to get drunk on a budget. 

Because of this, I've decided to pursue a journey of cocktail-based self discovery. Thus, livlapin's Student Cocktail Series was born - kicking it all off with 'The Vodka Vime' (disappoint you, it will not).

You will need:

• 2 litres of Vimto
• the cheapest 70cl vodka you can find (I went for Tesco value)
• the cheapest rosé wine you can find (google 'Silver Bay Rosé' - I like to call it Silver Bae)

Method:

1. in a pint glass, pour 2/3 shots of vodka - maybe 4 if you're a brave one
2. add what you think is a sufficient amount of wine
3. fill the rest of the glass with Vimto
4. mix with a straw and driiiiink
5. ideally drink around 5 in order to be  nicely pissed before heading out
6. you're welcome

Mine and Ruby's trip to Berlin began with a very early morning and our plane falling through the sky. Luckily, things improved from this point. Firstly, I'd like to ask who thought it would be a good idea to let me and Ruby loose in a foreign country - alone, with a substantial amount of money? No doubt we thought this trip would end in debt and despair, and it did, but a good time was had by all. Something we noticed, however, was that some peoples' friendly attitudes toward us seemed to rapidly change upon discovering our nationality. Minor parts of Berlin didn't welcome tourists, which is unjustifiable yet sadly expected. A common theme throughout these photos seems to be food, drink and plants - unsure what that says about me. 

A burger restaurant with an overwhelming number of trees. They let people bring their pets out for tea?????

A lot of people in this restaurant were posing next to the trees.

The food took 8 years to arrive but the cocktails were very good.

A piece of the wall outside our hotel. 

The view from a rooftop club called Weekend.

The size of the head on a German beer is considerable. 

A protest against recent troubles in Gaza. People writing 'FREE GAZA' on the ground in chalk. The writing remained all over the city for several days. 

Ham & cheese crossaints in Balzac Coffee.

As the only particularly relevant social media platform we can vomit our (probably uninteresting and repetitive) daily lives onto, I find it quite sad and frustrating that Twitter harshly, in black Sharpie, draws the line at 140 characters. Although we are limited in the length of what we can say, it perhaps is quality that counts. After all, how could we possibly sleep at night if we didn't know how excited people are for their holiday to Maga in 97 days?! 

Disregarding this, I've collected together a few things I wished to tell the internet that sadly didn't fit the bill. Hopefully, the dreams of these rejected tweets can live on through this blog post.

• Now that exams are over and I don't have to spend my days feeling guilty about what I should be doing, I must find something else to fill the time between each episode of Sex and The City on Comedy Central. Here I must decide whether the next few weeks take a spontaneous and productive route or remain comfortably on the sofa, wishing I was friends with Carrie.  (-224)

• Waiting for nightclubs to upload their photos to their Facebook page fills me with the same feeling as waiting for exam results. Will I be filled with shame, regret and disgust or will I be pleasantly surprised, given the lack of hard work I put in? (-109)

• A world without ASOS next day delivery would be a dark dark place. In Bram Stoker's Dracula, Dr. Van Helsing receives a parcel from overseas - in one night. That book was published in 1897; technology is moving backward. (-181)

• I'm eagerly anticipating the day somebody addresses the dilemma of seeing someone you partially know out in public. The inner-turmoil of whether to greet or not is too much for one person. (-103)

From time to time I tend to develop infatuations with inanimate objects, songs, TV shows and things of that nature. However, the indecisive part of me pushes these temporary fixations aside over time and I seek out yet more from our Western culture to indulge in. Considering this, and the fact I truly am narcissistic, I thought you'd be interested in finding out what I'm currently enjoying!

• green tea
• cheerios
• skin care 
• adidas trainers
• striped clothing
• baby pink nail varnish 
• salads
• sunbeds
• Sex and The City
• this song

Thanks for reading my self-absorbed writing, I'm not attentive or brave enough to write about things that matter. Let's hope I can change.

Exam season is upon us friends and that means a lot of stuff is going to get done that will benefit every aspect of your life, barring your education. I'm not going to use the term 'procrastination' as it implies your activities of choice are less important than revision... Here is some inspiration to help you, like me, probably fail all of your exams!

• Bake something. I like this one because it benefits people who aren't you as well. You'll probably gain a few pounds and maybe befriend some hungry people.
• Make 'revision' playlists. 
• Walk to the shop for 'revision' snacks.
• Teach yourself about British politics. (if you're studying Politics then please skip this one)
• Read a book. This is for people who feel guilty about not revising. 
• Go to the gym. Who needs qualifications if you're toned?
• Clear out all the shit from under your bed and the clothes you haven't worn since you were 7. 
• Regarding the previous step, sell said shit on eBay and maybe make some money.
• Go out and get drunk. 
• Nap. You can't revise if you're feeling sleepy. 
• Watch an entire series on Netflix.
• Bathe! If you're clean it means your life is in order.
• Exfoliate your butt. If you're smooth it also means your life is in order.

If you're still looking for a productive activity to fill the time tonight, before your exam tomorrow morning, you could probably rearrange your entire bedroom. The feng shui of your workspace obviously affects your study. 

Once you've done all of this, you're welcome to spend your days making flashcards and doing past papers - make sure you save them all for your re-sits next year. 

There exists a part of life in which you are neither a child nor an adult and I am certainly currently experiencing said stage. There are certain characteristics, however, that can help you place yourself into one of these two incredibly vague categories. This is, in my opinion, a list of components that (if you find yourself agreeing to) can let you know if you're a ~grown up~ or not. 

• Choosing to have a starter at a restaurant and turning down a pudding. (Eating savoury snacks instead of chocolate also applies here.)
• Understanding the importance of eating vegetables and eating them willingly.
• Enjoying the taste of coffee.
• 'Bedtime' being no longer a word with negative connotations. 
• Enjoying wine??????????
• Feeling like you've 'wasted the day' if you wake up after 10.

However, after this age-based limbo comes the stage where you are 100% adult and there certainly is no turning back. Some might call it middle aged... This time in your life (and I base this on my own mother and her friends) includes behaviour such as the following:

• Using slang words in texts and typing 'LOL' in capital letters.
• Using the term 'slang words'.
• Using Groupon on a daily basis.
• Typing on your phone using the index finger on one hand.
• Wearing 'reading glasses' on the end of your nose for watching TV. 
• Playing Scrabble on your iPad with your sister who lives 10 minutes walk away. "Olivia, isn't technology wonderful?!"

This list could definitely go on for a long time but I fear I've already offended and do not wish to do so much further. Do the maths and work out if you're too far gone up the maturity scale. 

If there's one thing that you should learn from your mother, it's that she is always right. Don't deny the fact you already know this. Accept it. Understanding that you are wrong and that she knows best is the more mature thing to do, anyway.

TOP 10 THINGS I'VE LEARNED FROM MY MUMMA

1. This post itself, my mum is always right. 
2. Tidying your bedroom is good for your mind.
3. You shouldn't spontaneously dye your hair with £3.50 hair dyes from a shop in town called 'Fashion HQ'. This has, however, provided a few laughs throughout the years.
4. Life isn't meant to be lived in one place. Travelling is some of the most fun you can have. Imagine how big the world is, then imagine how small your world is. Expand your world. 
5. Gin is really nice. 
6. Be kind. 
7. Feed your soul with good friends. Also good food. Cooking is really important. 
8. You have two ears and one mouth; use them in that ratio. (One of her faves, she's drilled this into me so much that I have to believe it.)
9. Advice isn't an instruction, it's a choice. You can tell a lot about people who choose to follow the good advice they've been given.  
10. You can tell if a pineapple is ripe or not by pulling the little stalk from the middle of the leaves. 

N.B. Fashion HQ uses leopard print carrier bags.  Use that information as you will. 

This is my favourite one of the three. Sorry to be one of those people that plays a song 20 times in a row. 

Flume's new stuff; always been a fan of Chet. 

PRETTY 

Instead of a New Year's resolution as such, I've created 3 goals to complete in 2014.

1. Read one book every month.
2. Travel to 5 different cities I've never been to before. 
3. Get into university.