We couldn't go to Vietnam and not visit Ha Long Bay, could we? Toria and I opted for the Hideaway Tour as it had lots of daytime activities as well as really good reviews from other people we'd met whilst travelling. Now, if you've read my Hanoi post (linked here) you'll know that we had a bit of a messy night out the day before our trip. So, you'll be unsurprised to hear that we were feeling a little worse for wear when our alarm went off at 6am and we had to embark on our five hours of travel to the private island. We stopped halfway there and had a buffet lunch on the boat, did some boat jumping and swam in the sea.

Once we'd arrived on the island we were allocated our rooms. We were put in a room for eight with four other girls and as it turns out, we all got on really really well. That evening we had a buffet BBQ, which received some mixed reviews. I wasn't a massive fan of the food, but some of the other girls really loved it. That evening there was a really big thunderstorm, so we spent the evening hiding away and getting ready before heading to the bar for happy hour.

We woke up at about 8 the following morning ready for what was to be the most exhausting day of the entire trip. The day started with a boat ride, and then a cycle to the start of the jungle trek. Now, let me tell you, I have never sweated so much in my LIFE than I did on that bike ride. It was really hot and humid, which combined with a lot of uphill cycling, resulted in a lot of sweaty, hungover backpackers. Now, we'd been told by a girl we'd met at a hostel earlier on in the trip that the jungle trek was a bit of a breeze and nothing to worry about. SHE COULD NOT HAVE BEEN MORE WRONG.

The walk was an hour uphill through the jungle, climbing rocks and mud, in 30-degree heat. Now, I cannot even begin to tell you how many times the girls in my room and I wanted to give up and just head back down to the start. But, after quite a few rest breaks and pep talks between ourselves we made it to the top. Now, this was very anticlimactic. We were expecting really gorgeous, panoramic views and it's fair to say we were underwhelmed, particularly after all that effort. Alas, we had a quick rest at the top before heading back down on the descent.

We then had lunch on the boat, and a quick swim off the side, before heading back to the island. We had another chilled afternoon swimming in the sea before having our second buffet BBQ. We then got glammed up and ready for our second night of drinking on the island. It was far better than the last and involved alllll sorts of drinking games.

The following morning we were all feeling nothing but exhaustion... Perfect when a morning of kayaking is ahead, hey?  It was really good fun but oh so tiring. After this, we had our final meal before heading back to the boat to head back to the mainland. Overall, we had a really good time, but definitely needed a few days afterward to recover. Hideaway isn't for the fainthearted. If you're thinking of going, definitely do the 3-day tour - it's a long way to go for only one night and really is worth the money.

Ahhhh, can we just take a minute to appreciate how festive this week's collage looks?!? I mean, look at that beauty. Apologies for the radio silence this time last week, I didn't have a lot to report other than 7 days spent doing uni work, the BEST roast potatoes I've ever made and a house party. This week also featured lots of uni work, roast potatoes and a couple of house parties, but also a bloggers event, Black Friday, Christmas markets and a bloggers sleepover on top. So, yeah, this could potentially be the busiest Sick Tings Post to date.

This week two of my best friends turned 21 on consecutive days, so it's unsurprising that a couple of house parties were in order. (Also, shall we just talk about the sheer coincidence of having 2 birthdays in the space of 2 days in a group of four friends - what are the chances of that?!). This was really good fun. We don't have any lectures together this year so it was really nice to see them and catch up.

Ahhh, Black Friday... My Mum and I spent the day wandering around West Quay along with the other 184739482 keen shoppers, picking up all sorts of bargains. What was supposed to be a shop for Christmas presents ended up as a Becca buying herself things kinda trip, oops. (I posted my best Black Friday bargain over on Twitter, here, if you'd like to have a nosy.) That aside, I also picked up a few more wintery pieces including a jumper that I've had my eye on for ages. Hooray for not buying it at the time and getting it for half price now.

On Friday evening I was lucky enough to be invited to Beaulieu for the opening night of their Christmas trail. I took my gorgeous Mumma as my plus one and we had a really great time. We started the evening by having a cream tea in the cafe before heading for a wander around the grounds. There were lots of different things to see and do, and so many gorgeous Christmas light fixtures. It was a really lovely evening and we both left feeling all kinds of festive.

This weekend has been spent wandering a Christmas market and shooting Christmas content with Fran. She came down from London to spend a few days with me here in Southampton and have a blogger's sleepover. On Saturday we visited Bath for a wander of their Christmas markets, which, considering it was the opening weekend, was potentially not the best of ideas - there were people EVERYWHERE. It was, however, really really pretty and I had the tastiest salted caramel white hot chocolate. We spent our Sunday shooting Christmas content so get ready to see allllll the Christmas posts between now and December 25th. I have a couple of major deadlines for uni this week so my Sunday afternoon has just been spent doing work ahead of submitting those. It's all about balance my dudes, work hard play hard.

So, you've decided that you want in on this thrift shop, sustainable but inexpensive fashion malarkey... Here are three tips for thrifting:

- Set aside a large chunk of time 

There's no such thing as just popping into a charity shop for two minutes and walking away with a new outfit. It takes time, and patience, so is definitely not something to do in a rush when you've got 10 minutes left on your parking meter. In their very nature, they're all over the place and filled with random toot, so finding the hidden gold takes a long ol' while.

- Ignore the size labels 

I cannnnot stress this enough. For one, lots of the clothes have been worn lots and so hence have been washed lots and so have shrunk. The stripey tee I bought is labelled as a size 16 and is fairly snug on me (I'm an 8). Also, there are all sorts of brands in charity shops with all sorts of different sizing. What is an 8 in Primark is not always the same as an 8 in brands X, Y and Z. So, I would recommend just looking at all the rails and working out what might fit by eye. Most charity shops have changing rooms so just grab a load of stuff and try it on.

- Plan outfits in your head

Yes, the clothes might be cheap, but if you can't picture yourself wearing them as part of an outfit then it's definitely time to put them back down. Whilst shopping with my friend we made a real point of doing this, trying to come up with different outfit combos for potential buys. That £6 hot pink fur coat might be a nice statement piece, but if it's going to sit festering in your wardrobe for 12 months, then maybe leave it in the shop.

Our bus to Hanoi from Tac Coc only took three hours, so, we grabbed our bags from the bus and headed to our hostel to check in feeling all sorts of peachy. We were shown to our room and had alllll sorts of conversations with the people in our room on things like Brexit, peadophiles, you know, the standard small talk (?!?). That evening we went for dinner with one of the girls we'd met from our room and decided to eat at the restaurant Obama's. Which, yes, is named in honour of Barack Obama... When in Hanoi, hey? Although, I just wanna say that the food there wasn't great at all and the staff were particularly rude, so maybe not one to add to the must-visit list.

That evening we went for cocktails at Beer Corner which was really good fun. I don't want to spoil it for anyone that is planning on going, but Beer Corner really is quite the experience. So, essentially the bars and restaurants aren't legally allowed to have tables and seats out on the road but still do it anyway. Every hour or so there'll be a huge mad panic as all the restaurant staff whip chairs from underneath people and fold up and throw tables inside just before the police make their visit. Then, as soon as they've left the vicinity, the furniture comes back out and the customers can sit back down to eat and drink. It's hilarious to watch and really is a domino effect.

The following morning we went on the free walking tour provided by the hostel. This was actually really enjoyable and the only walking tour we did the entire trip. Our guide was really friendly and knew everything there was to know about Hanoi. We were wandering for a good few hours and then finished with an egg coffee. Yep, you read that right. I personally don't like coffee, so settled for an egg hot chocolate instead, which, can I just say, tastes way better than it sounds. After this, a group of us from the walking tour all went for Banh Mi together at Banh Mi 25. I had the BBQ pork and would highly recommend - not quite sure it beats the one from Highland Coffe though, just saying.

We then trekked to train street (which was much further than we expected) and waited to see the train coming from HCMC pass through the very narrow residential street. This was quite the experience and another thing that was nothing like I'd ever seen before. That evening we had a Domino's for dinner - yep that's a thing - and then went on the club crawl being hosted by our sister hostel. This was actually really good fun, the drinks were cheap and it was just an all-round fun night. The following morning we had our Hideaway tour (more on that coming soon) and it's fair to say we weren't feeling fantastic.

After the trip, we had a few more days in Hanoi before flying to Laos, and decided to stay in the same hostel as before in the hope of getting some peace after the three day bender. That evening we had another Domino's which did not agree with us in the slightest. (Note to self: stick to the local food next time). The following morning we headed for full body massages - they were great. The in-between the toe rubbing, not so great.

We then hunted down a tattoo shop that we'd read was really good and Toria got her first tattoo. The staff were really friendly and it was done really well, so a win-win all round. Next up on our Ha Long Bay recovery, peace and tranquility, agenda was a manicure. We went and had gel nails done at a salon near the markets before heading for a bit of shopping. Dinner that night was at Little Vietnam and the food was INCREDIBLE. So delicious. I had black pepper pork and it was amazing!! We woke up leisurely the next morning, packed up our stuff before checking out of the hostel and heading for a final wander of Vietnam. We had our final Banh Mi at Highlands Coffee before taking a taxi to the airport.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS

THINGS TO DO 
- Train Street 
- Walking tour of the landmarks 
- Try egg coffee 
- See a water puppet show (which we didn't end up doing but is meant to be an 'experience')

TIPS AND ADVICE 
- Visit Beer Corner solely for the entertainment value
- Don't order a Domino's
- Plan a lazy day or two for after the Hideaway Tour if you choose to do it
- If you haven't already, have a Banh Mi at Highlands Coffee

WHERE I STAYED & REVIEW
2/3 days - if you plan on going out, if not 1/2 will suffice.

- Choose a colour

- Use the same props/similar locations

This is the by far the easiest way to keep to a colour scheme. As I'm sure you'll have noticed, the same little munchkin pumpkin featured in 99.99% of my autumnal photos, lurking here there and everywhere in my flatlays. I also shoot most of my photos against my white bedding, so teamed with the same props, this creates a really good sense of consistency even if the other content in the photo is totally obscure.

- Edit using the same routine

- Get a grid previewer

- Only end up posting about 3.7% of the photos you want to

As much as I love having a theme, it really really is frustrating. Now that I'm knee deep in my Christmas content I don't feel like a recent outfit snap in the autumn leaves would fit in very well, even if I love the photo itself, my hair looks great and my outfit is fit. And that, my friends, is annoying. I mean, I know it's not that deep, and it's only social media after all, but once you get into the swing of things it becomes oh so difficult to snap out of these routines.


I think it's important to take all of this with a pinch of salt and take a step back every once in a while and remember that it really doesn't matter thaaaaaaat much. You do you, boo.

Our bus arrived in Tam Coc at about 5am so we just sat around in the lobby of a hotel which, fortunately, was open. When 6.30am rolled around we headed to our homestay as this was the time they opened. We weren't able to check in, but they did allow us to leave our bags in one of the dorm rooms and Toria had a nap. I headed out for breakfast on my own and sat in a cafe watching the world go by at such an early hour. During this time I discovered that pineapple jam is a thing and was blown away by how good it was.

Following this, we went for the famous boat ride through the limestone mountains and in the caves. Now, the interesting thing about these boat rides is they use their feet to steer and paddle the entire time. The boat ride lasted about 2 hours and was £6.50 each. The scenery really was stunning, and fortunately, we were early enough to miss the crowds so it was a really peaceful experience. As we were leaving there was just a constant stream of boats one behind the other, which sort of ruined the tranquility.

We then headed back to the room for a nap after our night on the bus and the early start. Can I just say how good it was to have a comfy bed AND A DUVET. I think this was the best nap of the entire trip. For lunch, we had vegetable noodles before hiring bikes and cycling to the Mua Caves viewpoint. Now, I was not prepared for what was ahead. 500 extremely steep, uneven steps. It's fair to say we took quite a few breaks on our ascent. But, when we got to the top, the view made it all worth it and more. There was even a wedding shoot happening at the top, with a bride in her gorgeous dress. Honestly, the things you see in Vietnam.

After making it back down safely we cycled to a nearby temple to have a look around. On the way home, we spotted a hostel in the middle of nowhere so stopped there to have a sprite to cool down. Whilst there, we met a couple of Aussies and ended up going for dinner with them. We went for an Indian, and let me tell you, the food was AMAZING. By far one of the best curries I've ever had. I had a chicken tikka and a garlic naan, incredible.

That evening we played pool in a bar and had a few drinks before heading to bed. The following day we woke up and had the free breakfast at the homestay. We then went for a wander and had smoothies, followed by lunch, and then boarded our minibus to Hanoi. The journey was only about 3 hours, so by far the easiest of the trip so far. The minibus itself was also really nice, so no complaints at all here.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS

THINGS TO DO 
- Boat Ride

TIPS AND ADVICE 
- Do the boat ride as early as possible to avoid it being too busy

WHERE I STAYED & REVIEW
Ha Trang Guest House
1/2 days - there's not a lot to see and do

So, I know I said I wasn't going to let Christmas content seep onto here until December, but oops, it's early November and I just couldn't help myself. This week has been far less busy than the last, which I am more than grateful for. That being said, I haven't been to the gym as much as I'd have liked to and I still feel like I'm up to my eyeballs in assignments, but yanno, you win some you lose some.

Ahh, Monday, a busy one as usual. I had my morning lecture, followed by a uni lunch date with my gal pals and then another lecture in the afternoon. I then went home and did a bit more work before heading back out to attend sign language. Last week we learnt family members and sexuality, so if you ever need someone to sign that your brother is gay or your auntie in law is straight, I'm here and happy to help.

Tuesday was slightly less busy than usual but started with an early morning gym session. Anna and I headed to the gym for 8ish and spent an hour or so chatting, catching up and occasionally doing a few sit-ups. Following that, I had my economics lab and then a group meeting with my project group. We've decided to do a psychology based project, which as a Psychology student who was a bit out of her depth in economics, I'm really really pleased about. Tuesday evening saw me attend photography society where we were practicing using flash - this has by far been my least favourite session so far, fingers crossed I enjoy next weeks a little more! I came away feeling that I hadn't really learnt anything which was a shame...

I don't have lectures on a Wednesday so my day is usually pretty empty. This week, however, I spent pretty much the entire day in a computer suite working on a group project that's due next week. We've definitely gone above and beyond what's needed and I'm really pleased with what we've designed. Welllll worth all the extra effort. I also received my results for one of the oral presentations I did last week and your girl only went and got a first, woop woop.

Thursday saw me spend another few hours in a computer suite working on the aforementioned group project and another few in a lecture. I enjoy my Thursday afternoons - they're always really interesting. I spent the rest of the day catching up on uni work, scheduling blog posts and creating #ahomelychristmas... So, if you hadn't already heard, #ahomelychristmas is my new baby. It's an Instagram hashtag I've created that's going to act as a hub for alllll things Christmas. I'm thinking flatlays, food, decor, gift guides, outfits, the lot. It's already got a few followers and there are four posts up already - I'd love it if you could check it out!

After a busy few weeks, I was really pleased when Friday rolled around. I've spent this weekend at home-home, and so on Friday my Dad came to pick me up from Uni. In the afternoon, we went to Cafe Nero to sample our first Christmas drinks of the season - I had the winter spice hot chocolate. I also managed to rope my sister into helping me take some Instagram content, so that's pretty much the extent of my Friday.

On Saturday morning I went to visit my Nannie and took her for her food shop. My sister's car is parked at her house until she passes her test, so we had a sit in it and turned the engine on for a bit. It's so weird to think that my LITTLE sister is 18 this year AND has a car of her own... In the afternoon my parents, sister and I all headed into town for lunch and some shopping. We went to Handmade Burger Company, and I'm gonna be honest, I wasn't suuuuper impressed. Having been blown away by Red Dog Saloon recently it just didn't meet my newly increased expectations. I then had my second festive drink - Starbucks' Salted Caramel Brownie Hot Chocolate, which, can I say, is delicious. I bought a dark brown hair dye whilst we were out so spent my evening having my hair dyed by my sister and I love it. I need to get more into the habit of keeping up with it because I really like how my hair looks dark even if I look a bit Casper the friendly ghost.

Sunday morning was a bit of a fail. We headed out for a walk, got about five minutes into it before it started pouring down and we were making a mad dash for the car. I had my third festive drink of the season (and completed the holy trinity) Costa's Gingerbread Hot Chocolate. I went for a big old food shop this afternoon and have been working on my dissertation ever since. We have our first deadline at the end of the month and it's suddenly dawned on me just how soon that is...

Just loooooook at this box - isn't it gorgeous?! Yes, I know it's only the beginning of November but I am so so ready for the festive season to begin. Now, I've posted about Birchbox and my opinions of the boxes I've received here, here and here, and on the whole, I've been fairly impressed! The theme for this month's box is Disney's new Christmas film The Nutcracker and the Four Realms, and I just can't get over the gorgeous packaging. Get ready to see it make many a feature over on my Instagram. (Sidenote, I have since created my own Christmassy hashtag; #ahomelychristmas and I'd love it if you could get on board). Anyway, onto this months products...

Manna Kadar Cosmetics Roller Shadow
Okay, so shall we just talk about how noughties this product is?!?! I think the last time I held a rollerball shadow was in 2006 getting ready for a school disco aka an evening of Gnarls Barkley Crazy and orange capri suns. Nonetheless, the shade is a beautiful warm copper and gives a lovely shimmer to the lid. It retails for £15 so isn't something I'd recommend rushing out to buy.

Paul & Joe Illuminating Foundation Primer
I don't usually use a primer, yep, I know I'm a bit of a fraud of a beauty blogger, but this is definitely something that I'm going to give a whirl over the festive period. It's really light, has an unoffensive scent and gives the skin a subtle yet dewy glow. It also claims to hydrate and firm - I'll report back to let you know if this is the case or not.

Polaar Polar Night Cream
This is a night cream that contains boreal algae (nope, I have no idea either) that acts to brighten and rejuvenate the skin. It also claims to smooth the skin and recharge it with oxygen (again, still no idea). I'll definitely be giving this product a full test purely out of curiosity more than anything... Algae?.. Oxygen recharging?..

Dr. PAWPAW Original Clear Balm 
Now, this is a product I've heard a lot about over the years over here in the blogosphere. It's apparently a bit of a miracle-working multi-use product which is going to be oh so handy as we roll into the colder months. I've been using the Nuxe lip balm for the longest time so I'm interested to see how this compares...

Spacemasks Self-Heating Eye Mask
A bit of a curve-ball, and something I didn't even know existed until I received it... It's an eye mask that contains jasmine and heats up when taken out of the packet. (So, I took mine out to take photos for this post and think I consequently ended up wasting it, so, unfortunately, won't be able to comment on this one!)

Overall, I really like this box and I'm really excited to give the Dr. PAWPAW balm and night cream a go! Of all of the products, the roller eyehsadow is by far my least favourite despite being a nice shade nonetheless...

There is no rush
Let me just repeat this one, there is no rush. During my first year we were absolutely terrified into choosing a house within the first few months amidst rumours that the houses would 'run out' and only the 'bad ones would be left'. Well, trust me, this is all artificial pressure from the estate agents. There are more than enough houses to go around, and alright ones at that.

Look for mould, everywhere
Student houses are mouldy, and some are significantly worse than others (my second year house for example). Take your time to look around for mould, the estate agent is hardly going to point it out for you. Our landlord last year bought us a dehumidifier but took it back after a few weeks, so that was the end of that, back to mould city for us.

Speak to the current tenants, alone
I think this is my biggest piece of advice of all and I cannot stress it enough. If you get the chance and there's somebody around, go and ask them what they think of the house. I did this at a few of the houses we were looking at and fortunately, this saved us from another crappy student house. Ask if there are any major issues and if the landlord is helpful if things go wrong!

Really think about who you want to live with
This one ties into the first one, but genuinely consider who you want to live with. Just because you lived with someone last year doesn't mean that you have to live with them again this year. And the same with coursemates, just because you sit in lectures together it doesn't mean you'd still be best buds after arguing about who left the skidmarks left in the toilet and the overflowing bins that need to be taken out.

Ask about what's included 
This seems like an obvious one but is something we forgot to do when we viewed our current house. We'd seen so many and asked so many questions that we just didn't think to ask about anything. So, guess who had to make porridge on the hob and forgo their cup of tea when they realized the house didn't come with a microwave or a kettle. (For reference, I know you can boil water on the hob, I just chose not to). So yeah, ask what comes with the house and what belongs to the current tenants...

Our bus left Hue at 1.30 in the afternoon meaning we arrived in Phong Nha at about 6.30pm. We checked into our hotel (it sounds fancier than it was, it was a hotel, but we were in an 8 bed shared room) and dumped our bags, then headed for dinner. There are quite a lot of restaurants on the main backpackers street in Phong Nha, but we settled on 'Bamboo' for our first meal there. It's an Eco Cafe, and was absolutely packed, so we took that as an indicator of how good the food was, and oh my, we were not disappointed. I had the chicken curry and it was AMAZING. It was one of the first meals in Vietnam I'd had where the chicken actually resembled and tasted like chicken. We then headed back for an early night having spent the majority of the day on a tiny minibus.


The next morning we woke up early, had breakfast at our hotel, and then headed to the lobby to wait for our bus to the caves. We'd booked a whole day tour through our hotel, and the day started with a trip to the 8 Ladies Cave and the memorial. This was really interesting and is part of most of the cave tour packages.

Following this, we drove to the next stop and climbed 700m worth of steps to the Paradise Cave. It was huuuuge, really cold (amazing after that sweaty climb) and beautiful. I've seen a few caves in my time but nothing that compares to that - it truly was stunning. If you're ever in Phong Nha, you HAVE to go and see it. Our trip included lunch, so we drove to the dark cave and were provided lunch there. This was the usual buffet style with all sorts of dishes to try. I opted for the veggie version and it was really tasty.  After this, we queued up for our harnesses and headed to the start of the zipline. At the Dark Cave, you take it in turns to zipline to the mouth of the cave. They take photos for you mid-air, which are freely available on their Facebook page the next day.

We then swam to the entrance to the cave, and realized just how necessary the head-torches were. It's not called the Dark Cave for nothing. We trekked through the cave until we reached the mud bath, which, can I just say was the weirdest sensation ever. When you're in the mud, you just float. I'm talking Dead Sea, floating without even trying kind of floating. We went down a natural mudslide and then headed back out of the cave to civilization. There were kayaks waiting for us, so we kayaked in pairs over to the water sports area. Here, there were swings, assault courses, the whole shebang. We then had a rum and coke before being driven back to the hostel in the minivan. All of the above was included in the price (£45), so I'd highly recommend the Cave tour if you're not on a tight budget.

That evening we had a night out - nope, we weren't expecting Phong Nha to have any nightlife either. But, it was good fun and we were surprised by just how many other backpackers were in Phong Nha too - you never see anyone in the daytime. We had drinks at the Easy Tiger Hostel and then headed to Andy's Disco Club.

The following day was a very relaxed one, spent in the pool and laying around in the sun. For lunch, we went and had an incredible pizza at Capture Vietnam. That evening we had dinner at Bamboo again and I had the chicken curry for a second time it was that good. We then waited for our night bus and saw our first proper Asia-style torrential rain, thankfully we were waiting inside. The bus arrived an hour late, was overbooked and had the WORST smelling toilet on board. Sleeper buses... You win some, you lose some.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS
Very very quiet but with restaurants as far as the eye can see.

THINGS TO DO 
- The Caves 

TIPS AND ADVICE 
- Look around for your cave trip, some are significantly more expensive than others
- Take plenty of bug spray, the caves are in the jungle

WHERE I STAYED & REVIEW
Heritage By Night Hotel

HOW LONG TO STAY?
2 days - the cave trip takes an entire day, and with the bus timings 2 days is perfect

Happy November! I know we're still 7 weeks from Christmas, but now that Halloween has been and gone I am so so so in the mood for Christmas. For anyone that doesn't want to be hearing the C word just yet, rest assured, Christmassy content will not be gracing becc4.co.uk until December. I'm not so sure I can make the same promises for my Instagram, however. Is it too soon to start posting festive flatlays? I hope not because I've already started taking a few and I just want you all to see them.

Oh, Monday, what a stressful day you were. Monday morning saw me do my first graduate interview, a video one. I'd never done a video one before and really wasn't sure what to expect, so it's fair to say it had playing on my mind. It was way less daunting than I'd expected and the questions I was asked were really interesting, so moral of the story; chill out, you got this. I haven't heard back from them, so fingers crossed I will do soon.

My afternoon was then spent delivering a presentation to about 70 of my cohort on a research paper my group and I had read. Again, this was a fairly daunting task as it was by far the largest crowd I've ever spoken in front of so far. My evening was far more relaxed you'll be pleased to hear. It was my housemate's 21st so we all piled into Red Dog Saloon for burgers and dirty fries. I had the Gooey Louie burger and the chicken and bacon fries, and they were both incredible. I highly recommend.

Tuesday was another busy day with lectures, meetings, and a gym session. Not a lot more to report, just a day full of uni stuff really.

On Wednesday I went and visited the hospital as part of the Business Programme I am a part of. Four others and I are currently doing some work for them, so this week we went to see them in action. It was actually really inspiring and when the project is complete I'll be sure to tell you all about it.

Ahhhh, Halloween. A very last minute, all over the place night that ended in the midnight curry house, standard. I wore my famous pumpkin costume once again but unfortunately, once we got to the club it was already one in one out and the queue was huuuuuge. Speaking of getting to the club, our Uber was a Tesla?!?! So that was pretty cool. We then walked to the Indian restaurant and all chowed down on a drunken tikka masala and naan.

Thursday aka presentation number two day. This semester I have presentations in all of my modules and two of them just so happened to fall in the same week. So, yeah, it's fair to say the last few weeks have been very busy and full of group meetings. This presentation also went really well, it was on the factors affecting teenage conception, and the facts we found whilst researching the topic were suuuper interesting! We just have some follow up work to complete and then we don't have anything else to worry about for the module until the January exams.

I had another meeting with my dissertation supervisor on Friday and I'm definitely making some good headway with it now. I've come up with my research question and have found the majority of my references, so I'm well on track for our first deadline at the end of the month. I spent most of Friday afternoon in the gym and am already seeing improvements in my strength, so cheers to that pals. Friday evening saw me attend house party one of the week and my second night out of the week - who is this girl and where has third-year Grandma Becca gone?!

Saturday morning was spent catching up on work and then I took myself into town in the afternoon. I hadn't been into town in a whileee and I just really enjoyed having a wander around all the shops. The primary aim of the trip was to pick up some gifts for my upcoming gift guides and some decorations for Christmassy flatlays and you'll be pleased to hear I succeeded on both. When I got home I made nachos and fajitas for dinner before heading to house party number two.

I have had a leisurely Sunday today. I woke up and had brunch, have stayed in my pjs all day and am currently cooking a roast dinner. I've become a bit obsessed with making roast potatoes on a Sunday and haven't missed a week in a while now. Why did it take me until third year to discover how easy they are to make?!?

• Leopard & Grey
• Hue, Vietnam- Tips, Tricks and Things To Do