Some cool and pretty things that happened this week

It was back to work this week. If you read my post about some of the stuff going down in education at the minute (link here) you’ll know I was feeling a bit apprehensive about going back.  I feel very much in limbo at the moment about whether things will change or if I’ll be off elsewhere. Plan B is on the go and in the meantime, I’m trying to take my mind off things and surround myself with life’s little pleasures. I fully admit some are shallow but if my February Birchbox takes my mind off things, fetch me another!

1. Wedding planning

I had my first fitting for my dress over the weekend. It was a perfect fit and I just have to go back in June to see if the lining needs altering slightly.  On Sunday, I went to a wedding fayre at the Mere Court Hotel (link here). It’s good for a number of reasons- there are plenty of canapés and free flowing prosecco. The last time we went, my mum got completely wankered and it did make me think that if she managed to get that hammered at a wedding fayre, imagine what a bash the actual wedding will be. The hotel is pretty too and it is the perfect size for a wedding fayre, making it less daunting and more cosy than the whacking great big ones they hold at exhibition centres.

In all of my bride-to-be-wisdom, I would say that I am definitely a fan of the smaller wedding fayres held in hotels. They are easier to stroll around without getting overwhelmed and you get absolute bargains from local suppliers.  I picked up my wedding flowers from one of the vendors and spent about £100 for bridal and bridesmaid bouquets and lapels, a fraction of the cost I was expecting to pay.  Get to the smaller wedding fayres, enjoy the stress-free browsing and spend you money with the humble locals rather than the big brand chains.

PS. This wedding fayre was totally Instagrammable too and I’ve nabbed loads of ideas for my own table decorations.

2. I went to a book launch, darling.

On Saturday, me and my other half went to a book launch in Waterstone’s Manchester. The author, Oscar De Muriel was launching his new book and my partner was keen to go after he enjoyed the first book so much.  It was cosy (held in the cafe), free (with free booze and nibbles too) and interesting to listen to the guy do a reading and chat about his new book.  Waterstones do a lot of these events apparently, have a mooch at their events link (here) and even some of the bigger events only charge a really small fee.

The book itself is the sequel (link here) to the first one which I haven't read yet but since Oscar described the series as 'The X-Files in Victorian times', I'll definitely be putting it on my reading list (just as soon as I get around to finishing Gone Girl)!

3. I reminisced about my travels.

Spent some time daydreaming about California and other solo adventures I’d been on.  There’s a future post to follow on why all you gals need to travel alone at least once.

Venice Beach

My travel love: San Francisco

4. I bought a new foundation brush.

No, this isn’t ground-breaking or life-changing. But I really like my new Real Techniques Expert Face brush from Boots. It’s like a mix between a flat foundation brush and a rounder powder brush meaning that as well as painting on your foundation in strokes, you can also buff it into your skin using a circular motion. The finished result? I look even, airbrushed and natural, all at the same time. Nothing short of a miracle for my make-up application.

5. My February Birchbox arrived! 
I have no shame in saying that it made my heart flutter and I keep lifting the lid of the box for a little peek of my goodies. £15 this month got me a new blusher brush, face scrub, body lotion, a full size champagne coloured eye-shadow, a super-duper hair bobble and a blow dry product. Lush.

Birchbox

I've heard a lot about Birchbox and my heart gives a little flutter every time they post something new and pretty on Instagram, but until the other week, I was yet to give them a try.

Hello pretty!!!

Birch box is a beauty service where a subscription (starting at £10 a month plus £2.95 P&P) gets you 5 little beauty treats delivered to your door every month. You can set up a monthly or annual subscription' your card is billed when your next box is sent and you can cancel at any time, though I have a funny feeling that getting a box of goodies every month will be come addictive. Who doesn't love getting parcels in the post? And these are guaranteed pretty ones with beauty goodies in them! It's my shallow idea of heaven right now! SIGN ME UP!!! After you register, you also fill out a detailed profile about your hair, skin tone, beauty concerns (erm, yeah, ageing was the one I ticked), skin type, your style (classic for me)....pretty much everything so that your box can be catered to your own tastes. This beauty profile can be updated at any time too-useful for when you're bronzed in the summer or pale, chapped and flakey in the winter!

I discovered Birchbox whilst on a Manchester roam and in Selfridges. I was just about to head to the Bobbi Brown counter when I came across a Birchbox pop up shop. it was slightly different to the online set-up where you get random surprises in your box, but this little old counter meant you could pick 6 products to try. I was in heaven again! It took a while mainly because I was spoiled for choice but I came away with plenty of goodies  and a voucher for £5 off my next box, meaning it was inevitable that I was going to get an online subscription.

The products I chose were lush too:

1. The jelly pong pong Caribbean sun duo bronzer- cannot wait to get this on my cheeks in the summer. Hello bronzed, golden cheek bones!

2.  Mirenesse Glossy Kiss in Cheeky Kiss- a gorgeous lip balm with a really strong tint to it. Has the colour intensity of lily but feels like a balm. I've been wearing it since I got it.

3.  Nude ProGenius Omega Treatment Oil- I'm definitely buying this one again. I use it a couple of times a week under my usual Olay night-time face cream and my skin is looking fabulous.

4.  Rituals Honey Touch Body Cream- yeah....pretty much all used up. Smells divine and leaves you feeling like a supermodel beaut.

5.  Macadamia Professional Moisture Shampoo in weightless- not tried this yet. For a sample, it's a de net sized bottle, much bigger than a travel mini, and I'm probs going to save it to pack for my honey moon so I can look like I've stepped out of a salon rather an the pool. Bring on the swishy hair!!!

6.  This Works sleep plus pillow spray - a lavender pillow spray that helps you sleep through the night. Nearly all gone, smells divine though I'm not quite sure it's the pillow spray or the glasses of red wine that are helping the to sleep so well at the moment.

So is Birchbox worth it? Well I've set up a rolling monthly subscription to see what other lovelies I can bag (plus I might as well do it now just in case I have to take a pay cut- you'll know what I'm on about if you read my last post, which also happens to be here). If you're a product junkie like me, I would definitely give it a whirl. You get to try a range of things you normally wouldn't and if you do like them, you can get the full size products from the Birchbox shop.

Parked up at the career crossroads

Plenty of flat whites and coffee shops have helped settle my thoughts this week!

I love my job. Yes, I whinge about it now and then but I enjoy it- the variety, the challenge, the holidays, the decent wage and, until last week, the job security.

We’ve just gone through restructuring and very naively, I thought that my job and department were safe. Not quite. Even in the industry of education, it would seem career-wise that we all need a Plan B. The restructuring proposal will see us lose a member of staff from my department. As for me, my role is being assimilated, meaning that I will continue to lead my own department, but also take on another whole-institution responsibility. It will be much more of a management role than what I’m currently in and pushes me even higher up the pecking order. It potentially takes me away from doing the aspects of the job which I love but until I see the exact job description (you MUST read this), I’m still in the dark and just mulling over possibilities here. 

Times are uncertain but one thing I do know is this: I cannot and do not want to take on even more responsibility.  After a long, hard think and knowing how busy things do get at work, I do not believe that I can manage to lead my own department and then take on another responsibility. I’m flattered that people think I am capable of this and that they trust me with masses of responsibility, but where is the work life balance?  Over the last year, I know for a fact that I have been living to work and not the other way around.  I work my eight hours a day Monday to Friday, followed by another few hours each evening and then a good few hours over weekends. What would this workload be like if I was doing double the amount of work?

My heart tells me that maybe it’s time to give up some of the success and take a step back, slow down, take a slight pay cut and enjoy things again.  I’m getting married soon and come September when I would be in my new super role, is this really the best way to start married life by taking on bigger things at work that ultimately will be too much and make me depressed? It doesn’t sound like such a good option to me.

In all of this, my head has been a whirl but I have learned and realised one or two things. We will all end up at the career crossroads at some point in our lives and ultimately we have to:

1.        Be prepared for them.

2.       Believe that what will be, will be. Let life and energy flow naturally and you will end with the best and correct outcome.

3.       Always have an updated CV and letter of application good to go- you’ll never know when you’ll need them and it is a BIG job noting down everything you have done over a 12 year career.

4.       Being a member of a trade union is worth it- they will fly into action for you whenever restructuring happens.

5.       Keep up to date in changes and advances in your industry- even if you just read about these in a blog or something, keep your finger on the industry pulse.

6.       Know your money- how much do you earn? How much do you owe and save? Can you afford a pay cut? How much pension do you pay?  What are our outgoings? What is financially do-able and realistic?

7.       Wait until you have the facts. Restructuring might make you immediately jump onto a job-hunting website and many people choose to jump before they are (possibly) pushed. If this is for you, fine. If you want to play things a little slower, wait and see what unfolds in your trade union discussions. Remember that the 30 days after the restructuring proposal is a consultation process where details need to be reviewed, asked about and, if necessary, challenged. Things aren’t set in stone just yet....

8.       ...But at the same time, there’s no harm looking at what’s out there, putting out the feelers and creating a Plan B.

9.       Meet with your employer to find out what your new role will entail, but take a union rep with you. Read your job description and compare it against your old one.

10.   Unite with your co-workers. Don’t slag off one another based on whose job is safe and who needs to reapply. You are in this together and as a group, you will have more power than as an individual. Support one another.

For me right now, I’ve done what I can.  I’ve brushed up my CV and a letter of application meaning I am good to go if things don’t change and I do decide to apply for a new job. At first in all of this, I was scared. I’ve worked at the same place since I was a graduate and know it well. I’ve started off at the bottom and worked my way up, earning the high position that I have there based on experience rather than a thirst to get to the top quickly. I am proud of my achievements there but if it’s time to go, then I have to and I am ready.

On the bright side, I have also considered what my Plan B might entail.  Yes I will work within the same job, potentially at a lower wage, though with a greater amount of free time. Maybe I’ll have more time to blog and earn extra pennies from it. Maybe I’ll have time to pen that book and self publish it on Amazon Kindle. Maybe I’ll have time to brush up on my photography skills and make some extra pocket money from that.  The house will be clean too!!

These sexy notebooks (£2 each from Sainsbury's) are perfect for making notes as you're planning and plotting Plan B.

Yes, the threat of changing jobs and redundancy is a daunting one but as the saying goes, ‘every cloud has a silver lining’. Times are uncertain and this occasionally hits me in waves of fear and apprehension but at the same time, I can’t help but feel that this could be the start of a brand new adventure. I’ll keep you posted (unless I end up on the dole).

Some of my current favourite things (that also look fabulous on Instagram)

The coffee at Infamous, Manchester is definitely Instagram worthy!

Instagram is a brilliant social media account to have. It comes without the dramas of Facebook and it's gives you instant gratification- you get to look at pretty pictures or make you own in minutes.  As a photography lover, it's pretty easy to be smitten with Instagram and spend some time each day scrolling through what others have seen through their own camera lens.  There are definitely some things that are more Instagramable than others, but these are some of my favourites- not only because they create a pretty picture, but because they are fabulous too! You can find me as @thegirlwiththelilytattoo on there if you want to give me a follow and say hi!

1.  Cocktails
I got the Sex and the City complete box-set for Christmas and have been totally embracing my inner Carrie Bradshaw. This, along with a local new cocktail bar, means I have been sampling (and photographing) quite a few of them. The mojito was from the bar in Manchester House; the others from The Lock right here in our little humble town of Leigh.

Cosmopolitan- Instagram style!

A Manchester house Mojito

The Lock's Pornstar Martini and Flaming Zombie

2. Coffee.
You can' beat that first coffee of the day.  I've rediscoverd my love for my Dolce Gusto machine and also the simple pleasure of sitting somewhere for a coffee. There is nothing nicer than having a half hour alone to watch the world go by. Last week, my haunt was the Oxford Road branch of Java. I started going there as a student back in 1998. The coffee is still as good and the prices are still so cheap. The £2 americano was better than any offerings from Costa and Starbucks.

Java, Manchester

3.  The 1950s and Lindy Bop
I love the 1950s and am pleased to report that I am waaaayyyyyyyyy more an Audrey Hepburn than a Kardashian.  I love the Hollywood stars of the time and most of all the fashion.  I recently bought all of my bridesmaid dresses from Lindy Bop (check out the dresses here). Not only are they something Marilyn of Audrey would wear, they are only £35 a piece!  The quality is fabulous and I'll definitely be ordering some more for myself.

Once I've stocked up on some new 1950s style clothing, I'll be rocking it in a new place I discovered in Manchester yesterday: Infamous Diner (link here) in the Northern Quarter is THE most authentic American style diner I've been in. It was just a quick stop for coffee (see item 3) but I'll be heading back there again very soon!

4. Impressively stocked bars
Yeah, I just think they look pretty cool, I'm not too bothered about drinking all of it though (so long as there's some prosecco in there).

The Alchemist, Spinningfields Manchester

Infamous Diner- Northern Quarter Manchester

5. Lighter evenings
It's definitely getting brighter on the journey home.  And with sunrises like this, I can't wait for the brighter mornings too,

Manchester, you beaut!