hunger of the pine//

alt-j have a new song out and it's amazing - listen out for the ever unexpected miley cyrus

(this is the perfect song to listen to in this weather - it's currently verging on hurricane strength wind and rain here) 

Mini 'I got into Sheffield' haul //

Well! Here we are! Slightly overdue I'll admit, but nonetheless here. In case the title of this post didn't 100% give the game away, i got my predicted grades (or a variant of, anyway) and got into my top university choice, the University of Sheffield and studying journalism. It is safe to say i am a very happy georgie right now.
When i say a variant of my grades, i mean that in one case i exceeded my grade, and in another, got the grade below. i'm kinda pissed about the grade below, but either way i'm into sheffield which was the aim anyway. my grades in the end were A* english language, A psychology and B in media. Those of you who actually know me in person will be equally bemused at the fact that i got higher in psychology than media, despite being predicted an A all year for media and barely scraping a C when it came to psychology essays. i guess overall spending my evenings in the local university library paid off - or there's some unfortunate person with my realistic grade and i got theirs by mistake. we'll never know.
Either way, i decided to have a mini celebration. i'm trying to convince myself that these are things i will now need for university (i'm sure the rips in the jeans will be great for keeping my knees warm in sheffield) but realistically after a few months of hard work it was worth it anyway.
so what did i buy?
Topshop 'mom' white ripped jeans
H&M stripe top
Topshop midi rings
Topshop gold chain necklace
River Island simple bangle

I did actually attempt to find links for each of these, but the H&M top seems to have vanished off their website, as have the Topshop jeans aside the petite ones (let's pretend there's links there). Now all i need is more results so i can go shopping again, hmmm.

T Minus 67 hours//

today, i am stressed.
i think it's a given really; results day is on thursday. it's funny how those two little words can have such an effect on the entire student population (except, of course, those of us who were intelligent enough to realise a BTEC was a better choice, along with scottish students who find out before us brits) and that a few size 12 letters on a sheet of paper can have such a profound effect on someone's future.
that's the way i look at it anyway.
i've told my mum, my dad, my friends and whoever else pretends to listen that if i don't get into my first choice university (Sheffield, of course) then i'm going travelling to thailand. realistically, i'll cry, moan, complain, and then end up going through clearing and moving elsewhere in the uk. i don't want to go anywhere else.
i'm pretty sure that somewhere, on a distant corner of the earth, is a statistic proving that 99.9% of students hate their insurance choice.
i'd love to back up my argument by saying that i don't like my insurance choice based on a bad experience there (read: 6 hours of delayed trains and torrential rain) even though it's still a good university. the problem is, it's not sheffield. it's like when you love shopping, and you're given a £50 american apparel voucher. then someone takes away your voucher and replaces it with a new look one. it's still good (unless you detest new look like me) but it's not quite as good as it should could have been.
(check me out experimenting with text effects there wahey)
either way, i have my alcohol at hand. i've already accepted i'm not going to sleep the night before, so i've got my kopparberg, my chocolate and my boxsets ready. i didn't sleep the night before AS results, despite the fact i was in turkey and (in my mind due to the time difference) i got my results two hours before everyone else, so the chance of me sleeping the night before A2 results is about as likely as me winning the lottery. hopefully somewhat more likely is my getting into sheffield.
as a self confessed control freak, the next 67 hours may potentially kill me.

topshop sale festival wear//

rucksack
mesh vest
oversize shirt
denim bralet
kimono
shorts
necklace
jelly shoes

festivals are quite possibly my favourite things ever. i'll be honest - aside a stint at reading festival last year (and also early bird camping) all my festival experience has been a one day type of thing. that's not to say it's limited - i've been to slam dunk a few times along with smaller festivals. this year i'm hitting up (check me, getting down with the kids) shakedown festival and sundown. creamfields was looking to be on the cards but my friends are on holiday, which did cause a slight issue. 

my absolute dream of a festival would be to go to global gathering, or edc in vegas. i have a great love for house/ dnb music and after seeing andy c live, it's come on even further. sadly, this year is not the year for me to go to either, so i'm drowning my (financial) sorrows on current sales (topshop i'm looking at you)

these are just a few things i found (and possibly added to my basket) which i thought would be perfect for festival weather. the jelly shoes are a no brainer, along with the rucksack. i'm seriously in love with the pattern of it ahhhhh.

the shorts are pretty versatile and are perfect for '25 degrees and listening to some random indie artist i've never heard of before' which could then be changed with nude tights, your best 'festival' shoes (i'm pretty sure that's an oxymoron) and a cute crop top. hence where the denim one comes in! 

the trick with festivals is to learn the art of layering; one minute it could be pouring with rain and the next, 30 degrees. layering means saving yourself the effort of trekking 40 minutes back to the tent, whilst simultaneously dodging hordes of drunken teenage girls and the odd steward. layering a crop top under a mesh shirt, followed by a checked shirt (maybe leave the kimono this time) paired with shorts and (if you're more weather conscious) tights, means you'll be fit for whatever the english weather decides to throw at you!

or, alternatively, go to coachella or somewhere where there's destined to be permanent delicious weather. 

dupes//

Sunflower Shorts: Left: American Apparel £54 // Right: Ebay £10.79
'Leaf' (we all know it's not a leaf) Print Dress: Left: Ebay £6.09 // Right: Motel Rocks £32
Bandage Bikini: Left: Ebay £8.97 // Right: Agent Provocateur £195
All White Bikini: Left: Triangl £47 // Right: Ebay £9.98
Cleated Sandals: Top: Ebay £24.99 // Bottom: Vagabond £65
Sunglasses: Top: Henry Holland £150 // Bottom: Ebay £5.45

ebay has been absolutely marvellous when it comes to replica items recently. i'm not sure, as a blogger, i should be supporting buying dupes of things (and in all honesty as i haven't been paid yet i can genuinely say i haven't bought any) however in terms of financial ability it does make buying supposed 'luxury' items much more affordable.

this is where it comes down to style vs quality. obviously, if you're after a pair of durable, long lasting, sun blocking glasses then out of the two, it's far better to buy the genuine henry holland ones. however, if it's simply the design and desire to own a pair for the aesthetic appeal then the dupes make far more sense.

i'm fully aware that dupes are a contribution to the high cost of the designer options, but in my eyes it's a paradox. normal, average consumers can't afford to throw away £150 on a pair of sunglasses, so the good fellows in china do us all a favour and create identical ones for a fraction of the price. in turn, the price of the originals goes up to support the lacking buying amounts, and the circle starts again.

it could also be said that some things on the list are expensive purely for the brand name. american apparel thigh highs, as a perfect example, are not worth £20 in production value. aa are unique in the sense that they pay high wages to their staff and this is reflected in their prices, but in my mind if i was after thigh highs i'd definitely buy the ebay equivalents rather than the aa £20 ones.

generally i guess it's down to the individual's choice - do you save your money or support a genuine company? i suppose the answer should be an obvious one, but for shoppers like myself with minimal spending allowed, the dupes do look far more tempting.