LOCKDOWN LIFTING

Happy Sunday! It's the 5th of July and I'm sitting on my bed with a hot cup of coffee. I really love my coffee lately. Anyway, we've been in lockdown for 3 months now and although I'm so looking forward to being able to go back to the gym, see my friends and slowly ease back into 'normal' life, I'm feeling a huge sense of...nostalgia (?) towards the past 3 months. I've enjoyed not having FOMO, baking more, spending more time with my parents, speaking to my friends multiple times a day every day on FaceTime and let's not forget the zoom quizzes! I hope some of the slower pace of life we've been living recently follows us through to the 'new normal' of life after lockdown. My fingers are crossed that I will learn to enjoy life being a little slower sometimes! Al x

Summer Shopping Spree!

HEY! Summer is (kind-of) upon us, even if the UK weather disagrees, and I am loving EVERYTHING in-store this season. Topshop have got such a laid-back vibe this season with beautifully delicate slip skirts and beige, cream and khaki colour palettes. I'm here for it tbh. This summer we're heading back to sunny Spain and I have been in need of some cute pieces to take with me! I find shopping in Oxford on the weekends a little...stressful (LOL)! So when Banbury Gateway got in touch to check out their retail park I couldn't say no! It's an easy 30 minute drive from the centre of Oxford and is open late enough that I can pop down on my way to Birmingham (I often drive to the midlands on a Friday!). Here's a run through of the stores they have: Costa EE Carphone warehouse Fat Face Gift Company M&S (love a good quality staple) McDonald's (you know) Mountain warehouse New Look (shoes, shoes & more shoes) Next Outfit (toyshop dreams) Primark (for pants) River Island (best going out clothes) Starbucks (marmite and cheese toastie obvs) Superdrug Virgin Holidays After some fuel from the M&S Deli Counter (I had a delicious Moroccan cous cous salad with chicken) we headed to the shops! First stop was Outfit. I'd had my eye on this gorgeous TOPSHOP dress called the 'Austin' dress. It's a maxi dress with a slit on the leg and an open back. SO flattering and such nice colours. I then felt a little more daring and tried this baby blue suit. It had a kind of Harry Dunn feel to it but I really liked it! Unfortunately I do not need any more office wear so I opted for something that I actually needed for my holiday!

My main purchases were these paper-bag denim shorts which hide a multitude of sins. £35 but they're a summer staple. Going to pair them with a belt to just get a tighter fit, but I love that they're loose on the leg. The shoes are a perfect heel height for summer. £15 bargain! I always pack a pair of heavy wedges for holiday but never actually wear them! These are lighter and comfortable so I'm sure I'll get good wear out of them. Earrings £2-can't go wrong. Bag £10- a great size for sunglasses, sunscreen, phone and wallet!

There's my little Summer holiday outfit sorted! V excited to go away to Spain this year and thank you Banbury Gateway for getting me holiday ready! Click the link to check it out:

Al x

L I F E U P D A T E

Hello beautiful readers!

It's been a while since my last post...my bad. I have been on a few trips which I will aim to write up about very soon! As well as a few trips I have now moved to OXFORD (!) I have a job in the hospital here, a side of optometry I have always wanted to venture into and it certainly is a big change work-wise. I am now so much closer to London which I adore. I'm much closer to my uni babes, which means lots more prosecco and nights spent in Mahiki! Stay tuned for more post's! P.S. Any Oxford Bloggers- please get in touch! xoxo

Southern Costa Blanca Travel Guide!

I must start off by saying that the summer of 2017 has certainly been very good to me. I have been lucky enough to take a few trips, one of which is to my favourite place on the Southern Costa Blanca coast line, in a small town called Cabo Roig. Just two hours away from the beautiful old town of Benidorm, a fourty five minute drive from Cartagena (where you can have the most delicious ice cream topped waffles), and last but not least, two hours from the fabulous city of Valencia!

Here, I'd just like to share with you my favourite sites, places to eat and how to make the most of your day!

I usually fly with Easy-Jet from Bristol airport, who, so far have been very good to fly with; Vueling airlines from Cardiff airport (usually cheap and much closer to home); or  reluctantly Ryan Air. I think the less I say about Ryan Air, the better (and with what's going on with them at the moment, they don't need my help).

During this trip I flew from East Midlands Airport (click the link!) and used their Meet and Greet airport parking service which was awesome! I dread searching for my car in an enormous car park, trying to remember which bay it was left in. The M&G service takes all the hassle out of airport parking, making it quick, simple and safe. I gave them my flight number, and arrival time for the way home and as soon as we landed, there it was! Go and collect your keys and your car is there safely sitting pretty less than 50 meters away. I'll definitely be using this again for my next trip! You can find them on social media here: Twitter: @EMA_Airport / Instagram: @ema_airport / Facebook: @EastMidsAirport.

Now, on to the city trips!

I'm not one to shy too much away from the sun, however I would advise visiting a city like Valencia during the cooler months of the year. June was HOT! Perhaps too hot for walking around a big city (40 degrees!!). I feel I would have enjoyed it more had I not been searching for shade for most of the day. I will definitely be going back to take it all in this winter! Nevertheless, if you love the sun go for it! It's a bloody beautiful place and there's plenty to do. They even have an incredible aquarium that I didn't manage to get to, but it's definitely on the top of my list for next time!

Benidorm is just a 2 hour journey away from Cabo Roig, for just 10 euro you can have a return trip there! It's well worth a visit to the Old Town Benidorm for some delicious sangria and tapas. If I'm totally honest, I would probably not go to Benidorm again, other than to see the Old Town. It's is pretty much a giant stag do! 

We found a really lovely and reasonable cafe down a small side street at the very end of the beach and turn right to get to the old little Spanish streets. Also, Benidorm is surrounded by mountains, and so it is usually a few degrees warmer here than in Torrevieja. 

The last trip we took was to Cartagena, 45 minutes away! A small city with a beautiful harbour and delicious ice cream! It has a Roman theatre just opposite the boat trip kiosk, which gives out all the Colosseum vibes, but on a much smaller scale! It was magnificent to see and only 7 euros to enter. The history behind this was fascinating- built between 5 and 1 BC. It was worth the trip here just to see this!

These were the highlights of my little tour of Southern Spain! If you'd like any more information, just drop me a comment and i'll get back to you ASAP!

Love,

Alex

JORD WATCH E-GIFT GIVEAWAY

Hello there!

I was very kindly gifted a beautiful wooden swiss made watch from @JORDwatches recently, and I just had to share it with you all.

I was given the FRANKIE watch with the champagne coloured face which is just perfect for everyday wear. 

Not only does the watch come in a beautiful box, it also comes with an oil brush to darken the colour and protect the wood, and additional links to make the strap larger if you need to.

I've had so many compliments on my unique watch. It's striking and catches the eye straight away! I must be honest and say that I had not seen a wooden made watch before this one, but I am definitely going to be investing in more in the future. JORD have so many different colours and styles available, it's going to be hard to choose! 


I am collaborating with @JORDwatches to giveaway a $100 e-gift card! 

In addition to this, every entry will receive a $25 gift card towards your own JORD watch too!For your chance to purchase your very own JORD watch, enter my giveaway by clicking the link button HERE!

This giveaway closes on the 10/09/17 (September) at 11:59pm. Make sure you enter quickly!! 

Be sure to follow them on instagram @JORDwatches to see how everyone's been styling them! You can see me wearing it with my red trousers in my recent insta posts.

I'll be back soon honeys! 


Alex


x

Sunet with Zara

So I have fallen for a dress!

Seriously, I love it. This Zara dress was £39.99, and it is everything I had been looking for in a cute summer time dress. This may be really weird, but it reminds me of a cake  (like a wedding cake (LOL)) with all the tiers and floral embroidery! 

It's lined, lightweight and is so flattering. I HIGHLY recommend popping into your local Zara and trying this beauty on. 

Links below x

Unfortunately I can't find this dress on the Zara website any longer, however here are links to the same dress found on e-bay, and similar dresses!

Love,

Alex

Zara dress

Zara black tiered dress

Asos white dress

River island dress


Follow me on Bloglovin'


Hope these help! xxx

OPTOMETRY PRE-REG STRUGGLE

If you're about to start your pre-registration year you may want to give this a read...

It may feel like you've been revising your entire life (you probably have) and the end is super close I promise!

If I am totally honest, I found my pre-reg year the hardest yet. Constantly working and revising can be so difficult, and it can feel as though it's never going to end. BUT it will! And there is no better feeling than receiving the results for your final OSCE's and seeing the word "PASS" next to your name! (your face is likely to look a little like this when you see that) 

Here are my top 10 tips to get you through what could be the worst year of your life:

1- FIND A BUDDY- whether it be Skype, or in person. Having an optom buddy to moan/discuss all things pre-reg will legit save you! Revise together and test each other with questions! A few hours quizzing each other before our OSCE's at the end made the world of difference! Being put on the spot with a random set of questions is perfect practice for the big day!

2- LITTLE AND OFTEN- Try to do a little bit of work every day. If you can get away with revising/making notes during work/lunch, do it! It'll save you time to catch up on KUWTK when you get home.

3- GOOD IMPRESSIONS- Your first visit will scare the absolute crap out of you. Make a good impression! Go over all the competencies and practice every day on colleagues to nail it when the time finally comes! You'll also have less to do the next time your assessor visits. 

4- SEARCH FOR RGP PATIENTS- RGP patients are honestly the hardest to find when you need to do 3 new fits and aftercares! Of course colleagues will help, but it's good to have a real patient. Ask any newly qualified optoms in your area if they have any patients who'd be willing to help! You'll also be amazed at how many of your parents friends are/ were RGP wearers!

5- COURSES- if the company you're working for hold events/ courses to go on-GO! It's a great way to catch up with uni friends and laugh about who has the worst supervisors. Hearing how everyone else had that crazy patient will make you feel better too.

6- GOLDMANN- GAT is so important! Make sure you practice at least once a week before your visit with this competency! You will also avoid looking like a dumb fool when you attend HES, and a consultant asks you to perform it on each patient for him!

7- SUPERVISORS- Make sure you build a good relationship with your supervisor. If they aren't pulling their weight, tell someone! They're there to support you throughout this awful year. 

8- RECORDS- Your records are literally so important. I found it best to analyse them myself and see if I could change anything. Following that, I'd ask younger optoms in work to read over them, then finally my supervisor for the final check.

9- YOUTUBE- Visual fields were the death of me. I hated the visual pathway and found analysing fields (24-2) so difficult! Searching for youtube videos which explained how to analyse each field was so helpful. ALSO!!! VF defects and where they're found in the pathway is super important, and your college assessor is definitely going to ask you about this! Here is a link to a youtube video I watched several times to drum this into my head! VF DEFECT VIDEO 

10- ENJOY- This may be a terribly challenging year, but do try to enjoy it! Some of the most difficult patients during my pre-reg were also my favourites.  You will cry with laughter thinking about how you reacted to each crazy situation, and all of these moments will help mould you into a patient, kind and fun optometrist. 



Of course this is a hard year, but you will learn so much! It's totally different to uni, and the pathology you finally get to see in reality and not just in KANSKI is amazing! You are guaranteed to come across the weird and wonderful, and trust me, there's plenty of it in this line of work! 

Please comment any questions below.

Good luck guys and girls! 




ALEX xxx

BACK TO THE FUTURE

I wasn't around in 1985, but I often feel as though I should have been! 

I love everything to do with the 80's. 
The movies, fashion, music and definitely the hair! (I'm pretty sure my natural hair was made for the 80's). 

When I stumbled upon the new-in in my local H&M and saw this beaut of a tee with "1985" printed on it, I knew I had to have it.

More than anything it was my obsession the association with the BACK TO THE FUTURE trilogy that encouraged me to purchase this t-shirt! 

Here I've tried to style it in such a way that relates to the 80's yet also has a bit of a 90's feel to it. Ripped boyfriend jeans, a black faux leather jacket, round sunnies and black loafers. 

Find links to similar items below: 

RIPPED MOM JEANS

BLACK FAUX LEATHER JACKET

H&M CROP

BLACK LOAFERS


  
Please leave me a comment and go follow my instagram @alexandrajehan xxx