no more saying no | taking every opportunity I get

Freedom, why you so near yet so far?!?  By freedom I’m talking the end of exams btw – always one for a touch of melodrama.  I’ll be done with exams, but I’ll also be done with 4 years of frustration of not being able to spend time on other stuff and having to turn down opportunities, too.  Yep, had to turn down an internship in NYC 4 years ago, because of school.  What an absolute bummer that was.  No more saying no!  I can do what I like with my time, so I’ve compiled a list of ways I want to spend this summer.  Nothing’s even summer specific though, and I’m making a point of not including travel plans in this list.  I’ll be chatting about those in a later post. 😀

Make the most of time with friends.  Wtf am I gonna do when all my pals head off to uni in September?  OK so that’s a bit melodramatic because plenty people are staying for various reasons and I have a really good network of people around me anyway, but still.  Want to soak up all the time with these guys and gals whilst I can.  Sometimes it’ll be birthday meals and cute days out, and sometimes it’ll be nights on the sofa, putting the world to rights with too much wine and family size packets of crisps.  Can’t beat those nights in when you don’t even need an uncomfortable bra and irritating shoes.

Reorganise/redecorate my room.  It’s not just summer holidays for a couple of months this time, it’s life (dun dun dunnnn), and I feel like I want a fresh start and *kinda* new environment to start my next chapter.  My next chapter being ‘distance learning maths & physics degree whilst blogging / travelling / freelancing / working / meeting people / god knows what else‘ and making it up as I go along.  And for some reason I’ve decided that revamping my bedroom and turning it into Joli House HQ is gonna be the secret to that success.  If I have a Pinterest worthy desk area, I can be a productivity queen and take on the world, right?  Let’s hope.  Basically I just want to sling every folder, notebook and A3 mindmap from my A levels into a box, pop it in the garage (I’m too sentimental to throw stuff like that away, I mean I’ll definitely reminisce through them in 20 years, right?) and clear some space to start afresh.  My eyes are peeled for a new desk chair to accompany my forever-favourite rocking chair (that ain’t going nowhere) and I’d quite like to spruce up the bedding and cushion situation too.  Potentially with DIYs if I’m not too preoccupied making crochet bralets.  Oh and I really want a cool clock.

Find new photo locations.  I’m sure you’ve recognised the same backgrounds crop up many times on here now!  It’s true that if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, but I love discovering new places to shoot and explore too.  These were taken near the Cenotaph around Blackpool North Pier – we’ve shot in Blackpool a million times before but ventured further along the prom than our usual glitter ball area this time.   Quite like the change of scenery. :)  Just proves again that you don’t have to go a million miles away to mix things up, for blog backdrops or life.  I’m still baffled by the number of new paths and fields and general ‘things’ that I come across whilst out running – I don’t even run that far, so I don’t know how I haven’t covered every inch yet.

dress: Jones and Jones (Hazel style) | shoes: New Look

Start taking family portraits.  Not of my own family, unless you count the odd fam group selfie I might snap.  I’m hoping to get behind the camera lots more, hopefully starting with portraits of families/children.  I love photography and think it’d be a good little ‘thing’ to build up on the side.

Mix up my fitness routine.  I already exercise a decent amount (2 workouts in the last 24 hours, woo!) but for the most part my routine’s gym based or running.  Need to mix it up more!  Whenever I’ve tried something completely new (go read about my pole fitness and military style bootcamp fun!) I’ve loved it, so the more different fitness activities I can give a shot, the better.  Btw if anybody’s looking for a running buddy round these parts, give me a shout!

Do my colouring book. Not even joking. So excited for guilt free colouring in. I haven’t done any since Christmas because it hasn’t seemed like a justifiable use of time whilst I have a million and one other things to do, but I’ll actually have free time (!!!) in a matter of weeks so I’m gonna colour just BECAUSE I CAN.

Blog blog blog blog blog. Now’s my time to hit the ground running! Until I start my degree in Autumn, blogging will be my only committment, so I’ll technically be a full time blogger for a few months. And even in Autumn I’ll still have lots of flexible time to dedicate to it.

Quick note about the dress, because what’s a fashion post without a paragraph about inanimate objects, eh? Yep it is a dress, not a co-ord – there’s a nifty layer of sheer fabric holding it together. Kinda different to all the other Jones & Jones dresses I’ve worn before, and I like that! As nipped in lace dresses go, it’s pretty casual. Shoe wise, I’ve a feeling these will be kicking around the blog/Instagram lots over summer – nude goes with everything (duhh) and they’re not too high for us tall gals so yeah, all good in my book. I think they’re still in stock, too!

A new chapter of my life will literally be starting in less than 3 weeks, and I’m SO excited to share it all on here.  It’s way more than just a ‘school’s out for summer’ kind of feeling this time round, you know?  Most 18 year olds are off to university so obviously that’s a hell of a life change too, but I’m not, and I’m gonna try to make it on my own.  Make it where, I don’t know.  I feel like leaving college is almost a watershed that I’ve been waiting for for years, and it’s the first summer in 3 years that I’ve been single – now it’s time to just do my thing.  Here goes!

lily kate x

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