Money Diaries: Day 2

7:10AM

Took the bus to the DLR station instead of walking like I do usually bc it was -3 deg this morning - free bc I have a travel card. I was not ready to leave the house after 2 whole days ... but actually it didn’t feel that bad. The station was really crowded and even the train was more crowded than usual. Actually taking the bus proved to be a really good idea. I’m going to do it until the days get warmer.

7:35AM

Arrive at office. I get some breakfast from the pantry (free).

12:00PM

Lunchtime. Had to call Royal Opera House as T and I have decided on the date to switch the tickets to. Waited about 10 min before finally getting through. It’s £2 to change each ticket so £4.

Went out to buy lunch + had to go to the post office (£2.68). Got a chai soy latte from Starbucks on the way back (free from my health insurance woo!) and got a salad from Tossed as I had a discount code (£4.47).

19:53PM

Home and typing this on my phone (I actually hate using the laptop lol). Was so cold on the way back! And transport was free because of my travel card. The Vitamasques hydro face mask which I did yesterday turned out to be really good and I saw a girl selling one on Depop for less than half the price. £3. But Vitamasques also just sent me an email today with a 40% off code, so I’m quite tempted to order more ... nooooooo.

Also got an email that my VS return from a month ago has been received and processed! -£19.69 ahaha. Currently waiting for my housemate to return home as he offered to cook dinner (thankful for amazing housemates).

23:29PM

Pretty late now, but tonight I managed to video-call my parents for an hour, finished my leftovers from yesterday and K cooked ravioli and pasta so had some of that too. I also managed to sell my American Apparel jeans which I never wore and will never wear on Depop to a really nice girl and hoping it will fit her!! But okay not counting in those amounts like refunds etc bc I'm trying to track my spendings here. But I will have to make another trip to the post office tomorrow again.

On a side note, my Missguided order from yesterday as well as the ASOS order from Saturday have both arrived today, but I haven't had the time to try on anything yet ...

Day 2 total: £14.15

Breakdown
Food/Drink: £4.47
Entertainment: £4
Clothes/Beauty: £3
Travel: £0
Other: £2.68

Money Diaries: Day 1

12:37PM

Woke up at 5am not feeling better at all so called in sick. Currently hiding under 3 duvets ... and had no idea it was snowing until I checked fb but that explains why it’s so cold I guess. The heating in the house is switched off at the moment and in all honesty, I have no idea how or even where to change the settings. Just ordered some takeaway from Just Eat as I have no food at home except for snacks and instant noodles ... £14.56.

That’s actually pretty expensive for a single meal compared to Meal Pal which I’ve just signed up for (but not yet activated my account will probably do so later in the week as not at work today anyway), but I did order enough food for 2 meals I think so that would include dinner. Really craving a smoothie as well but have no juice at home, might pop out later if I feel better but doubt it. Now I just need the food to come quick bc actually starving ... bless the people who do food deliveries on cold days T_T

16:12PM

Food came early. I ordered a chicken + mixed veg with rice, chicken noodle soup and a wonton soup. Was not worth the money, but well it was the cheapest Chinese takeaway in the region. Made some of the French tea from Maison Bourgeon that I bought in Toulouse last year, and I think the random yellow spot stain I found on my palm might have been from washing out the tea thing yesterday. I haven't opened the bowl of wonton soup yet so not sure whether it'll be good, but I only finished half the rice and the chicken noodle soup so saving the rest for dinner!

Agreed to do a swap on Depop with a girl - swapping my Topshop satin maxi skirt (which I will honestly never wear because it's too big and too long for me) for her Real Techniques Drape + Colour Brush set and YSL Black Opium Gift Set. Had to pay £0.33 in all for Depop + Paypal fees.

In the meantime also tried on stuff from my Missguided order from last week. I ordered a bikini set and a lilac crop top, everything was on sale. Didn't like the lilac top at all and contemplating whether or not to order another size for the bikini bottom (obviously I will return one of them) - and also they have free next day shipping now!!

16:54PM

I caved in. Terribly. Was meant to just order one bikini bottom, but then the stuff which I had in my bag were selling out in my size so obvs I had to get them first ... Also I would feel bad getting the delivery for just ONE item. Also the free UK next day delivery was ending in a few minutes, and they normally charge for delivery, so I might as well have bought them first - got a pair of lilac joggers, a pair of black culottes and a pair of black trousers. They are for work so that's fine. It's always fine if it's for work ... isn't it. £64

The first item was the Purple Double Side Stripe Jogger. They are 50% off now. I wasn't going to get them at first when I first saw them last week because they featured a blogger wearing it and the colour looked completely different. But today I went to take a closer look and realised the photo of the blogger they had was a completely different pair of trousers as the one in her photo is missing the front seams down the leg. I am hoping the actual pair will be true to the colours on the website:

The other stuff were the 2 pairs of black trousers for work: the Black Belted High Waist Cigarette Trouser and the Black Crepe Culottes. Both have quite good reviews, and anyway they are basic trousers. But it's still quite cold now so don't think I will be able to wear the culottes until summer. I currently only have 3 pairs of black trousers for work which isn't really sufficient. And they were half price!! I did order them in 2 sizes though, which means I can still get £26 back. So my net spendings should only be £38.

I am going to close the website now so that I stop looking at things to buy.

Total for now: £78.89 (omg). I don't think I have to spend anymore for today though as I already have dinner covered.

On a side note, I was organising my Pinterest and realised the stuff I put up for sale for the CNY flea last year - I actually managed to sell about 20 items as I had to delete them off the page.

19:26PM

Had the chicken noodle soup and wonton soup for dinner, still haven't finished my chicken and veg with rice yet. Did a face mask after dinner - Vitamasques Hydro Face gel mask is amazing. I got it from my February Glossybox last year and finally took the time to use it today. My skin has been really dry and flaky and the mask says up to 120 hours / 5 days of hydration ... well we shall see about that. But it was my first time using a hydro gel mask and it felt pretty good. Had to stop myself from ordering more of them until I actually see the results. They are also rather expensive for one-time masks as they cost £8 each usually.

I take back what I said about not spending anymore today. Had to book Stansted Express tickets for April. Good that I'm booking them in advance as they are cheaper. £21

Also, I made a really stupid mistake when I booked my flights because I forgot I booked tickets to see a ballet on the same night. Now I have to change the tickets for the ballet ... but waiting for T to tell me which other day she can make it. Bad planning on my part argh.

20:19PM

Just booked my return ticket for the trip in April because when we booked the outbound we hadn't decided on how many days to stay for the trip. Decided to come back on Monday instead bc travelling is tiring, and also can save on one extra day of accoms. £21.45

Now I don't think I'll be spending anymore for today since 1) I don't have anything to buy atm 2) Royal Opera House is closed and T hasn't replied me about the dates so can't change the ballet tickets yet 3) Going to sleep soon as have to go to work tomorrow 4) I have £3.83 left in my debit card. I hope the refunds for the stuff I returned on Saturday comes through tomorrow (please).

Day 1 total: £121.34

Breakdown
Food/Drink: £14.56
Entertainment: £0
Clothes/Beauty: £64
Travel: £42.45
Other: £0

First post of 2018

Hi again. It’s been more than a year since I last blogged omg. But last year was really busy with final year and exams and apps and all. I might resume blogging this year just because I’ve been travelling so much and I do want to be able to remember what happened HAHA.

I’m ill now and down with a really bad cold and lost my voice today. I also have an exam tomorrow as well as the remote cert which I’m not even sure if I can do at this point seeing as I can’t really speak. Also I’m pretty sure there used to be an app for Blogger, now it’s just annoying to blog on my phone ...

In other news I’ve been following the Money Diaries section on Refinery29. Pretty interesting and despite them not having invited me to contribute (obviously) I thought it might be fun to try it out for a week and see where is my money going. And it is the end of the month next week (hooray!) but I’ve spent so much since Christmas and I’ve also made a pact to myself to not buy anymore clothes ... the sheer amount of clothes I own at the moment is actually horrendous. I’ve put some stuff on Depop and eBay now so hopefully they’ll be able to find new homes! But yes, starting tomorrow I’m going to record my spendings and see how much I spend in a week.

First post; back in London

First post of 2017, and I got back to London a few hours ago. The past week in Strasbourg has been eventful but also weaved with sad moments because it was my last week, and I have no idea if I'll be going back. Final term (of uni wow) starts tomorrow and I need to focus again. I had such a good holiday though I really don't want it to end :(

Goodbye 2016, thank you.

As always, I tend to do a last post of the year on New Year's Eve to remind myself of the past year and just recap everything. So, a monthly recap of 2016:

- January: Italy trip, quiet times back in Strasbourg after half the Erasmus gang left, snow in SXB, weekend in London, Car's birthday weekend in Paris

- February: Visited V in Brussels, day trip to Antwerp, hanging out with K, Italy round 2 with YL, exploring Venice alone (amazing place) and meeting up with YS there, back to SXB for classes

- March: Oh Wonder concert in SXB, day trip to Colmar, generally quiet and mostly classes and revisions

- April: Birthday with friends, Paris after my birthday, exams, Dijon with A and YX

- May: Post-exams with amazing weather, 10 days in Spain, went back to London, collected keys and moved into new house!

- June: Came back to SXB, Hamburg to visit V, last 2 weeks in SXB and pre-internship prep, packing, goodbyes :'( , back to London, BM garage sale and started internship

- July: Internship, hanging out with friends on the weekends

- August: Internship, came back to SXB for K's birthday, end of internship, P's birthday back in London, left for Paris to visit YM!

- September: Paris and day trips with YM, came back to SXB for 4 days, back to London for the weekend, BM garage sale 2, left for Tours, farming for 2 weeks, back to London

- October: Start of uni, apps and networking, came back to SXB for one weekend, O's birthday, lots of work and school basically

- November: More work and school, interviews, figure skating etc, Black Friday sales and BM sale round 3

- December: More work and school and figure skating, Lazy Oaf and BM garage sale round 4, started working at HCo, came back to SXB for Christmas and New Year!

---

If 2015 was an amazing year, then 2016 was a strange year. On 1 Jan 2016 I embarked on my first solo trip to Italy full of positive vibes and everything felt so refreshing and full of hope. But this feeling didn't continue for the rest of the year, even though I wish it did. The first half of 2016 was exciting and adventurous - I'd booked so many travels and I remember going back to London on a whim, weekend in Paris, mid-week trip to Belgium, Italy again and exploring Venice on my own, day trip to Colmar, Paris after my birthday, exploring Dijon with friends, 10 days in Spain, and finally my last Erasmus travel to Hamburg before returning and departing Strasbourg. Erasmus was like a dream, and sometimes I felt I lost myself in it. The second half of 2016 came like a reality check, and there were moments where I felt truly miserable, lonely, tired and disenchanted. Following my short respite of exploring France and farming in the Midi-Pyrénées I was back in UCL and launched into an intense period of work and apps. But hard work pays off, and I'll always be grateful for all the opportunities and second chances I've been given. And through the ups and downs of this year I've become more conscious and aware of my own priorities. I guess it's true that sometimes you gain some and you lose some, but I always believe what's meant to be will be. 2017, I think I'm ready.

Last days of 2016

Second last day of 2016. Tomorrow is NYE! This year has gone by crazily fast. But I've realised that the older I get the faster time seems to pass. Childhood felt like it was so long. Maybe it's because we're more occupied as (semi-)adults (haha). I have not been very productive in SXB ... brought all my notes but barely did anything except for French omg really need to do econ. K introduced to me this chess game called "Backgammon" a few days ago and I've been addicted to it lol. It's been really foggy here in SXB and the temperature's gone below zero so haven't been out much and basically just staying indoors and watched a lot of movies haha.

28 Dec Wednesday:

Woke up even later than usual, I think I attempted to read a bit of econ?? Was super foggy so didn't go out except to Rivetoile to get some groceries, and that was super late like before it closed. K cooked dinner for me!! Super good. Started playing Backgammon and hence began the game addiction lol.

29 Dec Thursday:

Woke up late, super cold and had cramps the whole day so didn't leave the house at all. Attempted reading Finance again, but ended up playing Backgammon (again). I finally made my soupe forestiere! Favourite soup of all time and I couldn't find it in London so defo gonna have to stock up before I leave + pomme poire too!!! I can't leave Europe ah how else am I supposed to buy all my French food ... Anyway watched The BFG, The Holiday and City Island. Been wanting to watch the BFG since summer but it came out in July and I was busy with internship back then so didn't have the time until yesterday. The Holiday was really nice but didn't really like City Island as much I felt that the beginning was too long and they took ages to get to the climax of the movie. 

30 Dec Friday:

A.k.a. today. Woke up early but basically went back to sleep until about 11 then stayed in bed to play Backgammon LOL. Facetimed the fam back in SG then went out to centre-ville because I really wanted to go to that bookstore at Place Broglie and I didn't know if they were going to be open tomorrow. And I'm so glad I went!! Got 3 colouring books (the only books I'm obsessed with now lol) for €12 and one of them is this coloriage calle Merveilles Sous Les Mers which I've been eyeing since maybe April?? It was also the last one so super glad I went today! The other two I got were the colouring postcards but they only had 2 versions and I even went to the other store at Place Kleber to check but they didn't have the others in the series. Nonetheless am super happy with my purchases! Walked about a lot and took different routes back and discovered a lot of streets that I've never seen and also revisited a lot of familiar places. Then it got too cold so I quickly went to Simply to buy some stuff and came back. Was really bored after coming back so went out again to HCo at Rivetoile to try on the shirts so that I could order my size online LOL. Couldn't decide between XS or S but decided to go with the bigger one so that I can wear it more as an outerwear. Then went to Leclerc to get more food and stuff and came back. Ordered my HCo stuff online and basically been procrastinating since then ... and I haven't even had dinner yet. I will read at least half of my Finance notes tonight sigh. I was supposed to have finished revising 2 econ mods by this week! T_T

Christmas in Strasbourg

I've been back in Strasbourg for about a week now (10 days to be exact) and I can really say that nowhere else feels more at home than here. It's weird, but I'm just so used to living here in SXB and the city and the places and everything. Post-Erasmus blues is real, and I'm not sure when I will get over it.

Anyway going to post brief updates about my life so far! I really want to remember things because today K was just recounting to me how we ate at Le Tarbouche once but I have absolutely no recollection of that at all. Like at all. It's so weird because he recounted the whole incident and I can imagine myself saying the same stuff but I just can't remember the actual incident happening?? And what's weirder is that normally I keep track of my spendings and take photos of my meals etc but I can't find anything about it. The only time I remember going there to eat was with V and that was back in December 2015 ... so weird. But anyway point is I wanna be able to remember what happens in my life!!

Okay so week 10 of term 1 was quite crazy. I started working at HCo and wasn't scheduled for any shifts that week since I just got registered onto the system on Monday (12/12), but managed to pick up 3 shifts from my colleagues to cover so was pretty cool. I really like working in the store haha. I worked on Monday until closing, then bought stuff with my associate card for K and the housemates for Christmas hehehe. Tuesday had a full day of classes until 6 and went to C and MH's place for curry dinner! Worked again on Wednesday from 12 since I only had classes until 10 - was actually planning to dimsum lunch with S and K but couldn't in the end so I just went to work early and worked until closing again. Was supposed to do until 6 but manager asked me to extend cause they needed people for closing I guess. Super tired. Thursday I had class in the morning, lunched at Farmer's Market with C and XP then went to Westfield to shop / return stuff. Came back in time for Finance tutorial and French, but went to Regent St again after class to buy stuff from HCo lol. Then Friday was quite crazy - had class from 1 to 4, went to work at 4.30, worked until closing, bought a Subway dinner and went to M's place to chill - literally didn't get to see him for the entire term until last day of term LOL. Then I went back about 11 cause P was waiting for me to watch the penultimate episode of The Apprentice together since we both didn't have time to catch it the night before. By the time we finished it was about 1, then I had to pack my luggage for France while P just played Fifa downstairs until like 4 or something. I was organising all my notes and everything and time just passed so quickly - didn't even realise it was already 6am and I had to leave at 7 to catch my bus at Victoria. So quickly shoved the rest of the things into my luggage, ate my last avocado from the fridge and left. Was freezing and foggy when I left the house and I think I missed the bus I was intending to catch by 2 minutes. So had to wait super long for the next bus and I was calculating I would have about 5 min to spare when I reached the coach station. The bus was quite slow and I was literally watching the minutes and dashed off when I reached my stop. Dragged my luggage and ran towards the coach station and actually made it with indeed 5 minutes to spare but what a close shave!! I started to regret not having bought the Eurostar ticket.

Fell asleep when the bus started moving and woke up about an hour later - we had already reached Folkestone but there was a massive jam to get to the Eurotunnel. We were delayed about an hour or so then when we finally reached the check in for Eurotunnel the bus driver told us we were already delayed by an hour. Thank goodness I planned for 3 hours of transit time in Paris, but messaged YM to tell her that I most probably wouldn't be able to meet her for dinner in Paris that night. Wait more on the bus and finally the bus started moving and we got onto the Eurostar shuttle fairly quickly. The bus driver then told us somehow we managed to get onto an earlier shuttle which was great news. Slept on and off after that, arrived in France then realised my bus was taking another route via Lille instead of going directly to Paris. Checked the bus timetable and calculated we were about 1.5 hours behind. Weather was really awful - it was foggy and rainy and cold. Finally arrived in Paris and even then there were a lot of traffic jams. Arrived at Bercy at 6.30pm and there was no way I could make it for dinner. Took the metro for free to Paris Est - they were encouraging people to take public transport because of the air pollution in Paris so public transport had been free for Friday and Saturday, which was great for me as I didn't have cash so didn't have to buy a ticket. Travelling with luggage definitely takes more time than usual, so I only arrived at Paris Est at 7.15 and had to wait an hour for my train. Bought a French Meal Deal from Casino (the supermarket chain lol) then sat and waited. Spoke to a lady who turned out to be going to Strasbourg as well and had quite a nice chat with her. Finally the train arrived and boarded and slept on and off again on the train cause I was so tired. Arrived in Strasbourg at a quarter past 10 and K was already at the tram station waiting for me! So happy to finally be back aha. 

18 Dec Sunday:

Woke up quite late at 11, but K cooked brunch! I washed my hair then went out to meet LJ and friends who were just there for one day. Went to Cafe Atlantico (the boat by the quay!!) for drinks and cheesecake, then Sushido for dinner. The sushi was amazing I'd been craving it for about 3 months now lol. Then we went to take photos at the Christmas Market entrance and somehow my instax wouldn't work and there was this other girl who asked us to help take photos with her instax and her instax also stopped working. So weird but after I went back I realised the counter was actually wrong and I'd in fact finished the films. But still we managed to take 1 instax of all 3 of us together and I gave LJ and W the ones with them. I haven't used my instax ever since and I can't use my Christmas films anymore now that Christmas is over ...

19 Dec Monday:

Woke up at 7am to collect the key from I, then went back to sleep again and only woke up again at like 1pm so only moved in in the afternoon. K helped me with my stuff, then we went out to lunch. Wanted to eat at Franky's but it was closed so we went back to Rivetoile and had Buffalo Burger. Then went to HCo since it was right opposite Buffalo Burger and I discovered the amazing thing that I can use my associate card in France!!! So bought some stuff hehe and now I'm waiting for the new triple A's hopefully coming soon in Jan?? Shopped around a bit but not much to buy, then went to Leclerc to get groceries. Then came back and did work caused had prep to do but nothing much exciting. I ate a really French dinner of baguette and pate that I bought from Leclerc - hadn't had it for ages like maybe since March lol when LJ first introduced me to it but soooooo good.

20 Dec Tuesday:

Woke up quite late again but had a nice French breakfast of croissants and tea hehe I love croissants. Went to Rivetoile again with K but went to other shops this time like Bershka. I saw this super cute pink knit jumper in Bershka so am just waiting for it to go on sale. Also found the Mom Jeans that I tried on in Westfield that day but the queue was too long to try. Then we went to the Christmas Markets!!! Finally!!! I got a new Christmas Market cup without the vin chaud and some tea from Maison Bourgeon - it's called Delice Detox and it smells absolutely amazing, probably because of the melon inside. Apparently they only have a physical store in Provence but they sell their stuff at the Christmas Markets every year. Also bought some Alsatian cookies from Fortwenger and a baguette (so French lol) and we came back to try the tea with mille feuille and cakes that I got the day before. Then K had to go for work and I ate Nongshim for dinner that night lol basically just eating it everyday. Was quite unproductive and didn't do much work but still went to sleep really late argh.

21 Dec Wednesday:

Woke up late (as usual), had some brunch and went out. K and I found the Danish butter cookies in Simply but we couldn't find it in Leclerc strangely. Went to Rivetoile (again because there's not much places to go LOL), went to HCo and I tried on a couple of shirts which turned out not too bad but I think I'll order them online when I go back. Then we had froyo at Smooy which I've always wanted to try!! It's almost exactly like llaollao and I'm pretty sure it's from Spain/Portugal as well ... But it was really filling and basically settled dinner for me lol. Went back and I literally spent the whole night going through the entire HCo playlist trying to find this song which I heard but no success.

22 Dec Thursday:

Woke up late but did some French this time before going out. Went to Rivetoile (again I know) with K and had KFC for lunch lol. Went to Place Kleber but it was raining so we took the tram but it got delayed at Homme de Fer. Managed to get off after about 10 minutes of delay and went to Uniqlo then K went for dinner and I went to explore the Christmas Markets by myself. Took a lot of pictures and found the bracelet shop from last year but they sold out of the nice colours and the owner was just meh about it so was quite disappointed. Also saw Stand La Bonumeur in the same spot as last year and the realisation hit me that these things will always be there but the times have changed ... Like the Christmas Market stalls will be the same but the feelings and memories from last year won't ever come back. Felt really moody and nostalgic plus it was raining. Bought 2 postcards - one for M and one for me to keep. Was tempted to get a vin chaud but I knew I couldn't finish one by myself and didn't want to get too woozy on the way home, so I got a Sushido takeaway for dinner instead. Came back and listened to music and did French so at least I did some work.

23 Dec Friday:

Went to post office and sent out M's postcard! Weather was really foggy again and the cathedral looked like the top half disappeared. Went to Place Kleber with K and it was super crowded since it was the second last day of the Christmas Markets. I finally found a belt that fits me in Mango so bought that. There were a lot of street musicians and generally a lot of people. Went to Galeries Lafayette and found this amazing Topshop Velvet Embroidered Jacket but it was like €98 and apparently sold out on the UK website. Then went to Place Broglie in search of spatzle!! Bought a vin chaud on the way with a very pretty rainbow cup - it's the small one but I didn't mind cause I didn't see that design on a big cup. The vin chaud was amazing haha then went to find the spatzle store and it was in the same spot as last year - I still remember visiting the Christmas Market there with V and O and we all bought food and crepes ... but they changed the spatzle by adding cabbage this year and K didn't like it. Walked to Les Halles afterwards and went to a Persian grocery store. K got some stuff and I found some amazing pastry things (I think they are called swissi or something I need to ask again) then went to Paris Store which actually sells Asian groceries lol. Then went to Simply and took the tram back because it was raining. K cooked the long Persian rice and this Persian veg thing from a can for dinner then we had some nice wine called Monbazillac that we found the other day which is apparently one of the sweetest white wines.

I also found my post from last year on the Christmas Markets here:

http://lesarcsenciel.blogspot.fr/2015/12/first-time-at-strasbourgs-christmas.html

24 Dec Saturday:

Christmas Eve! K and I went to Parc du Heyritz because I've been wanting to visit the park ever since seeing it on Instagram lol. It was really quiet and peaceful and I'd never been to that part of SXB before. We found a playground and spent some time just chilling on the seesaws and stuff. I wanted to go see the Christmas Market at Petite France since it was the last day. Bought another cup of vin chaud with the verre to keep and found another stall selling spatzle but without the cabbage so got K to try that which changed his mind about spatzle lol. Took more pictures of the Christmas decorations and lights then came back and K cooked Christmas Eve dinner! Nothing fancy just a simple meal of rice and chicken and the veg from the day before but very nice and satisfying.

25 Dec Sunday:

Christmas Day, plus Sunday so everything is closed and super quiet outside. Watched movies the whole day and didn't study LOL but it's Christmas!! Had noodles for dinner hehe.

26 Dec Monday:

Boxing Day but unlike the rest of France it's still a holiday in Alsace. But unlike the UK there are no sales sadly and I spent the day trying to get into the LUSH website in vain - I was like the 100kth+ person in the queue which is ridiculous. But S managed to get a Snow Fairy shower gel for me in London!! Very thankful. Ordered some stuff from Miss Selfridge including a velvet embroidered jacket but I think it's slightly nicer than the one in Topshop also it was cheaper!!! K and I actually went out but not much was open except a few restaurants in Place Kleber. I bought a baguette on the way back and some Turkish Delight from a Turkish grocery store that was open. K cooked dinner (chicken with veg and rice) then went to work and I spent the night watching Mickey's Christmas Carol and Finding Dory LOL been wanting to watch it since June before I left SXB!!! It was so cute hahaha. Still no work done but I'm consoling myself with the fact that Boxing Day is a holiday ...

27 Dec Tuesday:

Woke up late as usual, went out because nice and sunny weather!! And finally the shops are open and business as usual. Went to Bershka at Rivetoile and I am actually tempted to get the pink knit jumper but I don't actually NEED it and I am almost sure it would go on sale. Wanted to try on trousers from Stradivarius that I saw online but didn't find them in store. K and I went to Place Kleber and it was really crowded. Went to Galeries Lafayette because I got the email that their sales started today and indeed ... and that Topshop velvet jacket went on sale for 50% off!!! But it's still €49 even after the discount and I can't bear to spend like €50 on a jacket I would hardly wear ... plus I already ordered one from Miss Selfridge (no idea if that will fit because they sold out of 6 online so I had to order an 8). Also another Topshop denim jacket was on sale for also 50% off so €26 but I'm pretty sure I already have one in that colour. Also it was a bit small. Ah I need to stop buying stuff!! So I didn't buy anything. We went to 7eme art for dinner then FNAC. Wanted to go to the bookstore but it closed at 7. Craving chocolate after having one after dinner so went to Simply and got a huge bar of Milka and some limonade to make diabolo. K walked me back and went to work and I've been writing this post but finally done!!

Can't believe I've already been here for 10 days and it's already half of my winter break :( :( Time always flies when I'm in SXB and I should really do some work - want to at least finish writing my French notes before the new year lol. Time is passing way too quickly :( I also have some way overdue posts on the 4 Brandy sales I went this year and have no idea when I will ever post them ...