Hello, I'm Lottie!

Winter is in full swing and with the weather drawing in, it can often be hard to stay warm while also looking nice. As for me, I am always cold so staying warm is essential because as soon as it gets to October I find myself reaching for my chunky knit jumpers and layering up. I think my style could best be described as 'stylish yet practical' as I like to look nice but need to be warm and dressed appropriately for the weather so I have created this post to show how I layer up and stay warm while still getting the most out of my wardrobe...

Jumpers
Who doesn't love a good jumper? I have quite a lot of jumpers as they are one of the main things I wear from about October - March, every outfit has a jumper with it and I find that helps me to stay warm. There is nothing better to me than snuggling up in a warm jumper while it is cold outside. Since I wear jumpers a lot throughout winter I find that I get bored of them quite easily which is why I buy a lot from Primark as it allows me to tire of the jumper without feeling guilty that I spent a lot of money on one jumper, and also they are warm too so why not!

I love this turtleneck from New Look, it goes with everything and I like the cropped body which changes it up a bit

This chenille jumper from Primark is SO WARM and soft. It's one of those jumpers where you look like you've put in a lot of effort while really not trying. The purple colour is also gorgeous which I love.

This jumper is from Primark and I love the mustard yellow colour. I think it brightens up your outfit in winter when there's not a lot of colour around.

You might recognise this from the Dog Rates Twitter account. My friend bought me this jumper for my birthday and I love it so much! It is slightly baggier and it is so comfortable, pair it with some jeans and you've got a casual look for every day.

Longsleeved T-shirts
Now these are essential for me during winter. Worn simply as a t-shirt or under a jumper they add so much warmth to my outfits. I also have a couple of thermal t-shirts that I wear in snowy weather. I love layering up under my jumpers to stave off the cold but if I get warm there is always the option of wearing something cute under my jumper. All of my long-sleeved t-shirts are from Primark as you can get a lot of colours and styles on a budget which I love!

I love this t-shirt. I often wear it under my mustard jumper and with my denim skirt as seen here.

This is my fave t-shirt at the moment. I love how the light blue makes my outfit a little bit more special than just a plain t-shirt, and I also love the neckline which pokes above some of my jumpers.

Thermal tights
I don't know about you, but I always found it so sad that I couldn't wear my skirts and dresses during the winter months as my 40Dernier tights would never keep me warm enough and I found winter to be really boring without the option to wear something other than jeans. Well, that was until I discovered thermal tights. I get all my tights from M&S and stumbled across their 100Dernier tights one day and just knew they would keep me warm, and they did! I wore them on my birthday when there was snow on the ground and the temperature was below zero and I was actually pretty toasty. They're so thick and comfortable that I would recommend these to anyone and they are my trusty warm tights in the winter months.

Please excuse the pose, it's the only one I know how to do apparently lol

Jean Substitutes
Winter gets so boring when you wear jeans every day but when you need the warmth that trousers give what else can you wear? Well I love wearing my leather-look leggings because they add a bit of edginess to my outfits while being surprisingly warm. They also kinda make me feel like Sandy from Grease and as they are black they go with everything!
The next jean substitutes are technically still jeans, but they've got a little bit extra that elevates them from being plain old jeans...
They are, of course, dungarees! I absolutely love my dungarees and they are made out of really thick denim that is perfect for colder weather. I love how they're a bit different from jeans so you don't feel like you are wearing the same thing every day but how I can still stay in my comfort zone with what I like to wear.

Boots!
Finally, the piece de la resistance, boots! If you know me, you'll know I love boots and that's practically all I wear so here are some of my faves that help keep me stylish yet warm.

First up, my sparkly boots. I wear these when I am going somewhere nice as the diamantes make the boot a bit more jazzy than I'd like for every day. They are really comfortable though and I love them when I am wearing dresses.

These are my every day, go with everything boots. I wear them with skirts or with jeans and they are so comfortable. I love how they lace-up as I have narrow feet, meaning I can form the shoe to my foot but they also have zips meaning I can get them on and off easily.

I love my Timbs so much! They are properly insulated and are practical yet stylish. Winter would not be the same without them as my feet would constantly be cold which isn't good!

Finally, my over-the-knee-boots. I absolutely adore these boots as they make jeans look so much nicer. I had been looking for over-the-knee boots for a while when I stumbled on these lace-up ones from Missguided but don't worry they have a zip up the side so I can get them off haha

So that's it, my top tips for staying warm in winter while looking nice, hope you enjoyed.

Lottie

Every year we have a tradition where we visit Cannon Hall and have a christmassy walk around the gardens. Cannon Hall is a local stately home that has been turned into a museum, complete with sprawling grounds and working farm. With that in mind, I couldn't resist taking some pictures* so here they are...

When you study at university as much as the time there is about having fun and gaining worldly experience, it is ultimately about what you are going to do after your degree. You spend 3+ years studying a subject that you love so that you can end up in a career you love after you graduate. Basically, there is a lot of emphasis placed upon the 'after' part of university life but many, myself included, aren't really all that prepared for when the end does come, and it's time to leave university and enter 'the real world'.

The real world hit me like a ton of bricks.

My life until 4 months ago was, as I like to call it, 'pre-adulting', the kind of adulting where you're only half doing it. Yes, I paid rent, did my own food shops and lived independently for three years but I was always somewhat sheltered from the real truth of adult life. My bills were included with the price of my rent, I didn't pay council tax, and every three months I would get a handy sum of money in the form of student finance. So yes, I was adulting, but I also felt like I was living inside a huge school trip where the real world didn't really exist and I was in my own little bubble, which of course I was.

During my third year, there was a lot of talks based around what our options were post-graduation. I went to these talks and promptly decided that I didn't really know where I was going in my life. Not only did this terrify me, but it threw a spanner in that idealistic image I had been clinging onto for three years where I would leave university and magically fall into my ideal career and boom, I was off. I thought that I was going to hit the ground running and be some sort of weird Wonder Woman and would be a billionaire by the time I was 22.

What I did was come home. For me, the hardest part of leaving university was that huge, looming question of 'what do I do now?' Every moment until June 1, 2018, had been carefully structured for me and now I was dropped into the big, wide world and I didn't, and still don't, have a clue what to do next. I haven't experienced that feeling of knowing what it is I want to do with my life and so I feel that I'm in a sort of limbo until that happens.

So, I did what any normal person faced with the prospect of choosing the path their entire life will take does... I took a minimum wage job and buried my head in the sand. And that's where you find me now. I graduated three weeks ago and I am no closer to figuring out where I'm going in my life than the squirrel from Ice Age is of holding on to his acorn.

Friends and family keep trying to tell me that 'something good will come along, you just need to be patient' but the thing is, I'm only human and one of our biggest flaws is that we aren't patient. I am seeing people I went to uni with getting their lives together and embarking on that next adventure that takes them one step closer to their dream career while I eat cereal bars and watch Brooklyn Nine-Nine at midday on a Tuesday. For them, life is going smoothly but I feel that post-graduate life has hit me like a ton of bricks. Now I know I'm not the only one to feel like this, many of my friends are also in the exact situation that I am and similarly don't know what to do or where to turn.

This is the part they don't tell you about at Uni. They make it seem that once you leave you'll become a jet-setting career type who lands their perfect job straight out of uni; and while this may be the case for some, that certainly isn't the case for me. Now I don't want this post to turn into something bleak and miserable because there have certainly been good times since I left uni, but no one talks about the 'oh' moment when you realise uni is over and it's time to be a real adult; one that pays bills and gets frowned at for being drunk at 8pm on a Tuesday while you watch Bake Off and cry into cupcakes. So I'm putting this out there right now; don't expect life after uni to be all rainbows and sunshine and that you'll land your dream job straight away. Things that are worth having are worth fighting for and while I'm still trying to get to grips with my new way of life and while I search for jobs that are connected to my degree I keep trying to tell myself that as a mantra. I didn't work hard for three years to work a minimum wage job forever so I need to make sure I get the life I want. But all I am saying is, be prepared to move back into your old room, and live in your old town while you figure that out because for the majority of people that's the real truth about life after uni.

Before I start this review, I just want to say that this post contains MAJOR spoilers for Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom so if you've not seen it yet, then I did warn you...

By now everyone knows of the Jurassic Park/World franchise and knows that where genetically modified dinosaurs are concerned, chaos usually follows. While the Jurassic Park reboot of the franchise is basically just a copy and paste of the original series, I still love them and they're entertaining so I don't really mind that the storylines are a little repetitive. But I have noticed that, while they do feature some cool dinosaurs, the (male) human characters are, well... stupid.

So here is a list of all the cool dinosaurs, and all the stupid men of the new movie (spoilers duh!)

First off, this idiot:

B.D. Wong as Dr Henry Wu

Ok, so if you're familiar with the Jurassic Park series then you'll recognise this man, Dr Henry Wu. In the original series, he was one of the team of geneticists that helped create the dinosaurs. Yes, he was only one of a team but still, if it wasn't for him, Jurassic Park wouldn't have happened so he has to take some blame here.

You'd think after the events of Jurassic Park where dinosaurs wreak havoc and, you know, kill people he would sit back and be like 'my bad, maybe I'll just go do a desk job, don't want that to happen again!' But does he?

NO!

He appears again in Jurassic World as the main f*****g geneticist who is basically the brain behind the whole park where genetically modified dinosaurs roam free! He is also the idiot behind the movie's killer dinosaur, the Indomunus Rex which, if you've forgotten, is a mixture of many dinosaurs including the T-Rex! What kind of idiot mixes together multiple dinosaurs, including the scariest one, just so some kids can be scared for three seconds? No woman would do this! I am sure, she would be like 'nah, maybe that ain't a good idea, how about another stegosaurus!' But not Dr Wu, he gives no care for the natural order of things and just grabs his genetic mixing bowl and gets to work.

After the Indominus Rex breaks free, wreaks havoc and, you know kills people Dr Wu flees with his research. But does he learn his lesson?

NO!

Back again in Fallen Kingdom, Dr Wu decides 'hmm, that one hybrid dinosaur that wreaked havoc and killed people just wasn't good enough, I know I'll make an even better killer dinosaur that I can weaponise to kill people!'

Needless to say, that bad boi gets loose and you know KILLS PEOPLE! Someone lock Dr Wu up because he is a danger to his own species and the species of dinosaurs! It's been 25 years and he still hasn't learned his lesson! *sigh*

Cool Dino #1:


She was cool in the first movie, she is still cool in the second movie, ladies and gentlemen I present Blue the raptor. Round of applause for saving Chris Pratt's beautiful face not once but twice! You da one Blue, there is a reason Beyonce named her kid after you (I know Blue Ivy is older ok but a gal can dream...)

Idiot #2:

Rafe Spall as Eli Mills

Is he attractive? Yes
Is he an idiot? YES!

So this guy has the entirety of Benjamin Lockwood's fortune to spend and invest and what does he do? Decide to sell dinosaurs to the highest bidder to continue (wait for it) Dr Wu's research! If there is anyone that does not need more money it's Dr Wu. If there is any research that does not need to be done, it's into dinosaurs. Also this guy is a dick to children and women so he deserves his place on this list.

Cool Dino #2:



This is a Stygimoloch, it has a hard shell-like armour on it's head that makes it the perfect creature to smash things. At one point, Ginger lady and Chris Pratt are trapped in a cell and this lil fella smashes down all the walls to help them escape. If it weren't for this guy (or gal, it's hard to tell what gender the dinos are) they would still be trapped in a cell so hurrah for Styggy!

Idiot #3:

James Cromwell as Benjamin Lockwood

Ok, so this guy isn't an idiot the whole way through the movie, in fact, you actually kinda like him until Eli Mills opens his big fat mouth and suddenly old Mr Lockwood turns into GIANT IDIOT MR LOCKWOOD.

Lockwood (whom you might remember from the original series as Richard Attenborough's bestie) has a 'granddaughter' with whom he is close. She is all he has left after the death of his daughter and she will inherit his fortune once he dies.

HOWEVER

Thanks to Eli, lil grandaughter Masie learns that she isn't Lockwood's granddaughter at all but a clone of his actual daughter!

A clone!

An actual clone.

No wonder Richard Attenborough (and therefore Father Christmas) wanted nothing to do with him, this guy cloned his own daughter!!!! Why would you do this old man? Why not grieve and move on like the rest of us? Why were you a giant idiot and cloned a literal human?! That is so wrong on many levels. I trusted you old man!!

Cool Dino #3:


This is a Brachiosaurus, whom I named Sandra. Sandra gets left behind when the volcano erupts. Sandra deserved so much more from this world. RIP Sandra.

#justiceforsandra


Idiot #4:

Ted Levine as Ken Wheatley

In every movie there is that one idiot who usually happens to be in the army and acts all tough, but then ultimately gets eaten by a dinosaur... well, that's this guy.

Called in to 'rescue' the dinos from the Jurassic World island, Ken is actually a noob who decides to create a necklace from the teeth of the innocent dinos. This guy voluntarily sticks his hand into a dinosaur's mouth so he can have a gross necklace!? He is also the idiot that lets loose Dr Wu's second hybrid dinosaur, the Indoraptor (which is part Indominus Rex and Velociraptor! Dr Wu come on!!!!)

Here is the scenario: Dinosaurs get loose and trash the place, everyone runs screaming away from the place where all the dinos came from (you know, that's sensible). Ken sees this, and is like 'hmm, you know what I'm gonna go directly into where the people have just run away from because I am a man and I want my pay rise. Ooh look, a shiny new dino in a cage, get me some of that!' He sees the Indoraptor and shoots it with a couple of tranquilisers (which is the most sensible thing he does the entire movie) before entering the cage and attempting to pluck a few of the Indoraptor's teeth. Needless to say, the Indoraptor isn't too happy about this and turns Ken into a lil snack.

Poor Ken, so stupid, so naive to believe he could rule over a species that were on this planet way longer than the human race has been alive. Idiot.

Not an Idiot #1:


Finally, we conclude with this gem of a man. He makes this list not because he is an idiot, and not because he is a cool dinosaur, but because he is Jeff Goldblum and we all know Jeff Goldblum can do no wrong. Actually he speaks the only sense in the entire movie so 'four for you Jeff Goldblum, you go Jeff Goldblum!'

Also:

You're welcome

In conclusion; this is all Dr Wu's fault and he should be stopped and never allowed inside a lab again, he has done too much and I don't think I can sit through another movie which bascially just a compilation of Dr Wu continually messing up...