1 week of Summer Memories: DAY 7!

And here it is, the final post! This post has to be sentimental, doesn't it?  It's back to school on Monday and a whole week of reflection made me realise more how much I'm going to miss this Summer.  But, as my wise boyfriend says "All in good time". (whoever really says that I have no clue, but the boyfriend does so I'm quoting him)

This final memory has been looming over me all week but I decided from the very beginning to keep it for the last day.  I'm talking of the memory of feeling happy.  You know how in Summer...you do absolutely nothing much all day except lounge about on the beach, then hang with friends or family, eat more fruit and ice-creams (ok, mostly ice-creams in my case) than actual food and you're driving home in that Summer breeze and you're happy.  In your head you think this is one of those great days I'll never forget.  Of course, you don't actually remember that particular day, but I'm talking about that silly feeling that you get in your stomach when you think of the day you've had.  I probably sound like a little girl talking like this but I'm sure you've been in your bed, ready to sleep and you smile to yourself thinking about how life is sometimes very, very good and little things can make you happy.

Well, I was lucky to have a good number of moments like that this Summer and the memory of those feelings is the best memory of all.

All days won't be as awesome, if they were we'd never appreciate the really special days, so today, on my last Saturday of Summer 2013, I won't be sad over what has passed, but be happy that it happened!

Claire xxx

1 week of Summer memories;DAY 6!

I'm writing this off my phone so it's going to be a short post, just a quick little memory to keep the series going as promised.

As you might have gatherer from my other posts, I tried to do everything and anything possible! Something else I did this Summer was attend the Joseph Callejja concert. For those who don't know he's a Maltese tenor, known worldwide and often compared to the late, great Pavarotti.  The tickets for this concert are usually quite expensive but this year they made it free on the standing side.  

I loved every minute of it.  Classical music relaxes me so I enjoyed every second of the 3 hour show.  

Anyway, that's the memory before the last, and I just love it! Have a great night, 

Claire xxx

1 week of Summer Memories: DAY 4 & DAY 5!

So given that these two memories are rather simple I decided to mix it up a little and put two memories in one post.  That way, you don't get bored and I can get away with not feeling guilty for having to skip a day.

So 2 memories, one post.  Let's do this.

First memory: I usually hold back from talking about my results online, be it Facebook, my blog, Instagram, anywhere.  I try to keep school a private matter because it's something very serious to me so I don't feel it's appropriate to discuss stuff like results online.  But this memory is funny and one time won't hurt.  So a quick explanation for those unaware of how stuff works at the University of Malta.  So, results are posted onto an online platform called esims.  Hated by all, this little platform lets us view results and when a new result comes out it is in green font.  Now I was at Sliema heading home from work when I decided to check whether any results had been posted.  And I see a little green line of words.  Zooming in, I wasn't sure whether the grade was a D or an A.  Now this blessed esims, gives the result by giving only the grade and subject code.  Obviously, I had no clue what the code was.  Anyway so I check the code and it's a subject I worked super hard in and I was extra happy that I did so well.  Forgetting I was walking around in Sliema, I start skipping and saying "Yes! Yes!" aloud.  Realising that I was in the middle of the street I decided to go into my car and celebrate there.  So I rolled down my windows, sat down in my seat and screamed my heart out with joy, banging on the stirring and doing God knows what.  At one point I look to my left, and realise that I was parked right in front of a pub or bar of some sort with tables outside and people sitting on the tables.  Needless to say, I started my car, sped off and never, ever parked in that spot again.

Second memory is easy and simple.  A favourite of many, it's the memory of days at the beach.  I'm blessed with living on a tiny island so the sea is never more than 15 minutes away, no matter where you are.  I enjoyed Sundays at the beach with friends (and beer), quick dips with my parents, other days with my two boys (mentioned here) and my favourite days at the beach, days spent with my bestie and her daughter.  I got to be a little kid again playing around with my little 3 year old friend.  I rolled in the sand, threw water on myself, dived a gazzilion times, all to heae her giggle and laugh.  I probably had more fun than she did, being able to act silly and all that.

Enjoy!

Claire xxx

1 week of Summer Memories: DAY 3!

Hello everyone! Day 3 is here.  I was going to do a particular Summer memory today but then I realised it's the 24th of September today which means...this time last month I was on my way to Chicago.  How has it been a month already?

Okay let me slow down.  I will try not to repeat myself, same thing with Rome, since I've already posted about my trip.  This particular Summer memory is probably my favourite and most special one.  For good reason.

I will forever remember the holiday as one were I managed to do something cumpaqpum as we say in Maltese, which means at the spur of the moment.  As I've said before I'm unfortunately a very bad control freak.  I need to have everything planned and in order and within my control.  But not this time.  I decided to go on the trip a mere 2 weeks before...I had no confirmation of whether I was going or not, having never been to the States, I couldn't plan transport and maps and stuff because I had to get a feel of what the city was like, so I took a deep breath and let it all fall into place on its own.  And it worked out fine.  I roamed about like a local, saw all the best parts of the city, travelled on my own, in other words, I sucked it up and everything was OK.

Now let me tell you about a little special moment I had.  I was out and about after a whole day sightseeing when I decided to do a lot bit of shopping.  Next to each other were two stores I love but never actually been in, American Apparel and Forever21.  For some reason I've never been into the Forever 21 in the UK.  So I go into the first shop, I'm fine, then I go into Forever 21 and it hits me.  I'm in America.  I made it here and I'm doing just fine.  I did not plan anything, I had no control over what happened and I'm fine.   To make the special moment even more special... the shop was huge! (yes, exclamation point needed)  I'm saying mega huge.  I seriously could have got lost there.  So I start looking around like a maniac, picking up stuff, looking at the sizes and grinning like an idiot because they are the US sizes and we rarely get clothes here with US sizes.  I swear I must have looked like a complete psycho.  People probably thought I'm some crazy person who's been allowed to shop just this once.

I ended up only getting one skirt because the sizes there are weird (or maybe, it's me) and quite huge (short dresses still went down to my knees) but that one skirt is magical to me.  Because I look at it, and remember the awesome feeling I felt in that store, not just for the shopping bit, but the whole experience.  I brought one skirt back from Forever 21, but the memories I have of this experience are infinite.

Claire xxx

1 week of Summer memories; DAY 2!

Due to stuff I had no control over, I'm posting this quite late and it's going to be a short post.

The memory for my second day is going to be a bunch of memories together.  Basically this Summer I spent quite some time with my boyfriend and brother together, that is, the 3 of us hanging out together.  Now I love boys, not in the I can't see a pair of pants type but in general I think boys (or males so they don't get offended) are the coolest.  They're easygoing, funny and quite frankly fun to be around.  So getting to hang out with the two most special boys in my life was awesome.  I'm lucky because my bro and my boyfriend get on really well, so well that they usually gang up on me, but we'll let that slide. 

We spent days at the beach together shooting mini-movies, we went to the cinema, we hung out laughing about the stupidest things, we had fun.  And that alone qualifies for an awesome Summer memory doesn't it? 

I'm adding a video my bro made of a day at the beach.  He loves his camera and even though I'm probably super biased, I think he's really talented.

http://youtu.be/YeG0kdcCSAw

Enjoy,

Claire xxx

1 week of Summer memories: DAY 1!

Ok, so you know how this blog is actually based on the idea that I post something based solely on the fact that when something crops into my mind and I find it somewhat interesting, I write about? Well, whilst the brother and the boyfriend are here playing PlayStation I realised this time next week I will be gearing up to go back to school on Monday.  And an idea came to me.

So I decided to try something which will not be completely random.  From today, I will be writing about  one Summer memory a day.  This is quite different from my usual approach to writing, I enjoy feeling the urge to write about something and not put pressure on myself to write about something specific.  But I want to learn to embrace change and also discipline myself a bit when it come to writing.  

So today is Day 1.  Bear with me if this first post is weird, I'm still figuring out how I'm going to go about it. 

Day 1 - Memory: Rome,July 2013

I posted about this after I came back from Rome but I just had to make it my first Summer memory.  I went to Rome earlier on in the Summer which is the best time to go on holiday because when you come back you still have the whole Summer ahead of you. 

3 memorable things about this holiday were, the food, the scenery and the shopping.  The food was obviously amazing, it's Italy and you can't get better food than Italian right? I'd been to Rome before so I'd seen the Vatican, Colosseum and all those before but I can never be bored of them.  They are such beautiful stuff that I get overwhelmed every single time I go there. 

Now next up, the shopping.  Now most people are surprised by this.  Excluding the street sellers, Rome is known to be super expensive and believe me, the prices  at the designer places were crazy!  But my mum found this huge shopping mall just outside the airport, Parco Leonardo which had SALDI everywhere.  Now if you don't know what saldi is (shame on you, you should know this word in all languages), it translates to sale.  So we had huuuuge shops like H&M and River Island and plenty more, all on sale.  Needless to say, both me and my boyfriend went a little crazy!

I can go on forever writing about this holiday and what memories I have of it but that will make this post mega long so I'll stop here for today. 

I'll talk about another memory tomorrow so make sure you check my Facebook page for links to tomorrow's post too. 

What are your favourite Summer memories?

Claire xxx

Never too old to...

If you follow me on Facebook you will have come across a status I posted earlier about something that you are never too old to do and it got me thinking about all the other stuff in the world that no matter what age you are...they bring out the kid in you.  So, I decided to post about just this: stuff that you are never too old for. 

1.Milky Buttons

These little sweets, in their little bag are uber addictive and once someone opens up a pack, everyone runs over to nibble one.  The packs are usually really small so once people start picking at your packet, you can say bye bye to enjoying it on your own.  Eating milky buttons is also followed by multiple variations of the phrase "oooo I loved that as a kid".

2.Trampolines

In Malta, at a particular beach, an inflatable obstacle course is set up every year.  It is something me and my friends try to do every year and one of the inflatables is a trampoline.  Now the ages of the people in my group range from 20 to 26 but when I tell you we get butterflies just seeing this trampoline, I'm not joking.  But you might say that we're a bunch of silly people, but when we tell people where we've been...they always ask about the trampoline with so much excitement.  And I've witnessed this at other places...trampolines are just to cool.

3. Tom and Jerry

This classic cartoon is known to be loved by all...but seriously, who doesn't stop in front of the TV if the show's on? Enough said!

4.Easter Eggs

Ok, just a little side note, I'm a piggy, so yeah...I think of food a lot.  But really, who doesn't love Easter Eggs? The little fluffy animals on the side or the toy inside make easter eggs so exciting to adults as much as kids.  The chocolate is usually nothing special, but the little plastic toys inside are just too awesome and you can't not get excited. 

5. Naps

The Facebook post I mentioned in the beginning was about naps.  I find the approach towards naps so funny that I had to include them.  So kids are encouraged to nap, old people are allowed to nap because they are, of course, old, young people nap because they are lazy so in other words, napping is a universal activity loved by all.  In my opinion, nap time should be a mandatory activity for all! 

Enough reminiscing,

much love,

Claire xxx

Another back-to-school post!

Hey there! How's it going? I know you've probably been bombarded by back to school posts and vlogs and ads...so I will try and make this a different sort of post...you know me...I try to approach things a bit different from the rest.

First off.  Chill.  I am a very silly girl and I panic very easily and getting into Uni meant a whole load of stress and panic.  You will feel lost and alone.  It is completely normal.  Make sure you find one good friend who's ready to help you and vice-versa...don't try to go it alone, you will go mad. 

Next up is fashion.  Make sure you stock up on plenty of warm stuff...it can get chilly in a huge hall and after hours of sitting down you will be frozen down to your pretty little studious bum.  If you're into fashion, Uni is the time to try out new styles and enjoy dressing up, just don't over do it. 

Get involved.  Now this is something I never do.  I go to Uni...attend lectures, maybe get a coffee with a friend and leave.  Don't over do it and end up sitting for every exam twice, but it's good to be involved.  Most courses have their own Facebook group and it's nice to join in the conversations there that way you get to know other people and it shows you're interested in what you're doing. 

Last but not least...cherish every moment.  Even the 3 hour long tutorials or long sessions at the library.  They may be hard time coming your way but try to look at the big picture. In a few years you will be out into the world and now is the time to enjoy being a student. 

Other than that, work hard and enjoy it because you'll be out of there before you even know it. 

Oh and a little side note, my dear friend Christina has started a new blog and it would mean the world to me if you could check it out.

http://tinasbeautyscrapbook.blogspot.com/

Until next time,

Claire x 

Consumed by wanderlust!

A little note to begin with.  This post was written a few days ago whilst I was flying and as I did not have internet on flight, I decided to upload it now just the same since it was quite a special post.

I am writing this post whilst on a 7 hour flight to Amsterdam, where I'll catch a flight back home to Malta.

Ok let's back up a little.  I got the opportunity to visit the states, Chicago to be exact.  Not going into too much detail, the opportunity came along quite last minute and after making all the arrangements, off we went.  By we I mean me and my dad.  Now this holiday was a holiday of firsts for a number of reasons.  Firstly, I have never been on a trip with just my dad, it's usally the 4 of us or else it's me and my boyfriend.  I know some people might have been anxious about that but thank god I get along so well with my dad that I wasn't the least bit anxious.  I know everyone says this but my dad is super daddy and I couldn't have had a better man as my father, and the time spend together made me realise how truly lucky I am. 

Next first, I got to spend most of my days going round on my own.  Now that might have been a scary thing at first, I hate being alone, but I was super excited to be in the USA that I didn't bother with worrying about that plus Chicago proved to be such an easy and safe city that I honestly felt so safe and relaxed the whole time.  I had so many people saying the Americans are rude and all that but I honestly have to disagree.  People were extremely helpful and sweet.  It took a while to get used to people saying "how you doin'?" (Joey from Friends style) all the time in fact I ended up speaking to a couple of strangers just because I thought they were speaking to me directly when in fact they were just being nice.

Next first and most obvious is the actual visiting the US part.  I have travelled quite a bit but I'd never been over to the us and oh my god am I hooked.  Everything is just so American...I mean we see stuff in movies all the time but the funny thing that it's really just like that, down to the police sirens and Starbucks cups everywhere.

I also realised how tiny I really am.  That was sad.  I'm a tiny person even by Maltese standards, but when I went to get breakfast and couldn't reach the table or put on size XS stuff and everything went down to my knees I felt like a tiny bird in the middle of a great big city. Or Stuart Little.  Yeah you can call me Claire Little. 

Now I'm heading back, with Summer almost over. Sad moment.  But this holiday served to make me realise two things.  The first is that my love for travel has only increased.  The thrill of landing in a new place and exploring has never been stronger.  But at the same time I realised something else.  As much as I want to travel and love to, I want to come back home.  Not just this time round but in general.  Home will always be Malta for me no matter where I go.  The world is beautiful and I can't wait to see it all, but my little world in Malta, is even more and more beautiful.  So yeah, take me anywhere you want, any day, but make sure you bring me back! 

Claire xxx