The Autumn Tag

Hello my Super Lovelies :)

I have been wanting to do this 'Autumn Tag' ever since Sinead from Dreaming Again nicely nominated all of her blogging friends. I do consider her as a blogging friend as I do thoroughly enjoy her writing & pictures.

I love doing 'tags', they are so much fun, especially when you feel as though you can't decide what to write about. For me, I find it ok to come up with ideas on blogging, but for some, inspiration comes in different ways.

I love Autumn for its reasons of getting dressed in wooley jumpers & tights. Having hot-chocolate everyday and not looking like a kid... "with cream I may add", sheepishly :)

There's the whole duvet day as well, beside the fire with a cuppa, watching some great tv or even reading a great book.

Being cozy is what makes me happy.

So... let's carry on with My Autumn Tag, shall we?

Favourite thing about it?

I just love the idea of when you come home from a freezing day, that I get to jump into my snuggest PJs, have a hot-water bottle readied up, along with a cup of hot chocolate and be able to lie down on my couch watching tv with the blazing fire.

Favourite Drink?

Semi-skimmed Hot-chocolate with cream of course (Starbucks do a marvelous job on their ones).When August hit us, I started immediately into the hot cocos. (In summer I felt like a kid having it, counting the marshmallows but there's nothing strange looking when having it now in Autumn!)

Favourite scent/candle?

Well my Mums scent always reminds me of the chilly weather, 'Coco Chanel', I don't mean nothing mean like she's a cold person, I just like her to wear it, it's her own scent. And well I usually have the same candle scents for Autumn, as well for Winter. So there's 'Red Berry & Cedar' and 'Red Apple Wreath'. Both give off a warm sort of smell to me. I love my candles and scents.

Best Lipstick?

Well usually I'd wear quite dark coloured lipsticks for Autumn because of the clothes I style. I'm currently wearing my 'Rimmel Midnight Plum' lipstick with a touch of gloss.

Go to Moisturizer?

I've been sticking to my 'Vaseline' moisturizer for a long time now. (I've used up my 'Kate Moss Moisturizer').

Go to the Colour of the Eyes?

I love wearing purples, golds & a brown combination. From 'NYC' collection and 'Isa Dora' Collection of eye-shadows.

Favourite music Singer/Band to listen to?

At this time of the year I stick to more acoustic singers and more emotional soul singers :) Like today I've been listening to Nina Simone, Ella Fitzgerald and a little of Ed Sheeran.

Favourite Outfit to Wear?

There's 2 choices. First being; the knitted rainbow coloured skirt, with black woolly tights and separate woolly socks over them, brown ankle boots with gold plating on the heel and toe, with a silky peter pan top. And the second being; just a pair of simple skinny, denim, dark jeans, heeled boots, baggy pastel coloured woolly jumper and simple accessories.

Autumn Treat?

Going to the cinema with friends, popcorn and chocolate included, heehee, when the weather is at its most miserable timing with rain (and dried up trees... poor sad trees :(

Favourite Place to be?

At home in my PJs, watching some 'Downton Abbey' with the fire ablaze :) Such a feeling of tranquility and coziness.

I Tag?

I want to tag everyone who has followed me throughout this year, the peeps who have suffered with my every slurred sentance :) I wouldn't really be doing these posts if it weren't for ye! So give it a go everyone... AUTUMN IS FUN :D

I hope you enjoyed this post guys, and thanks so so much for reading :)

Love you lots my friendly peeps, x

Thankful Thursday

Waaaazup guys :)

This week was full of hard work, sleep deprivation and lots of hot drinks and jam sandwiches... yeah... random enough for ya?

And I'm sorta glad the week is over, I'm wrecked, so much College work and so little time. Plus today I'm not even sure whether I'm going to the big special event of meeting Tanya Burr in London. I'm off from College early but everyone I know is either working, looking after kids or in a different country... the one person I want to be there with me is my Best Friend Edel Belle and sadly she's back home in Ireland :( SAD FACE!

Anyway here is the list of muh 'Thankful Thursday'

-Writing in my Diary at the Park.

-Starbucks Caramel Macchiato & semi-skimmed hot-chocolate with DOUBLE cream (it's the savage inside me).

-Tips from work, along with it's respectful customers.

-Comfy shoes.

-Sleep, after a long day at College/Work.

-Old, meaningful jewelry, given as gifts. And with them, their treasured memories.

-Orange 'Kit-Kat' bars.

-Respectful, considerate, hard-working College Tutors, (I think they deserve to be on the list).

-Best Friend catch-up on Skype.

-Tofu.

-Downton Abbey.

-Return of favourite US T.V. Shows.

-My Health.

-Alone Time.

What a week it's been. You know perfectly well what would top off this list... and it's the Tanya Burr meet-up. Oh to dream :)

Just keep Dreaming I say :)

Love you all so much m'dears,

25 Facts About Me (Part 1)

So this '50 Facts About Me' tag has been going on for a while now, through blogs and vlogs, and I felt as though it was a handy way of letting ye know a little bit more about moi.

This is the first batch, having divided it into 2 parts because 50 is too much to read :)

So... here is the first half...

1) I'm known as 'Kayla' to my friends & family.

2) I have the worst sweet tooth, with addiction to chocolate, serious counselling-needed-chocolate-addict.

3) I believed when I was 7, after reading 'Harry Potter' that I could possibly be a witch.

4) And also 'Harry Potter' is my favorite book & film franchise.

5) My favorite food, is Irish Beef Stew.

6) I love the smells of mowed grass, Christmas scented castles & strangely the smell of farm sheds.

7) I have one, true, Best Friend, Edel.

8) I suffered from stress pains when I was 15, because I was self-conscious about my appearance.

9) My main Passion is Music. I play the piano, guitar, tin-whistle, a little of the flute, and I sing.

10) I love catching up on Bloglovin' with a cup of tea/hot chocolate, at night time when the place is quiet.

11) My favorite tv shows are Bones, Greys Anatomy, Sherlock, Downton Abbey, New Girl and Gilmore Girls. ( I LOVE TV).

12) Religion is an important factor in my life.

13) My Mum (who is more of a sister) is one of my role models. She lives a happy life, with no care for over-stressing herself. The other role model being my Grand-mother. She led a life full of faith and strength.

14) I love cats & dogs.... Oooooh and SHEEP :)

15) I'm a good enough cleaner, I find it therapeutic.

16) I let my hair dry naturally, instead of heated products.

17) My favorite blogger is 'Sprinkle of Glitter'.

18) I want to become a General Adult Nurse, moving onto working in ITU, and then hopefully get a degree in Music.

19) Gazing out at the stars makes me think that magic is real.

20) I'm extremely ticklish around the waist.

21) I enjoy going to Bakerys, I love my pastries.

22) I hate night clubs.

23) I don't drink or smoke.

24) I love being snugged up with cosy PJs & a hot water bottle.

25) My must-have makeup is mascara... hate leaving the house without it.

So there you have it guys. I'll be sure to add up the next half another time.

Love-love-love you all lots & lots,

First Ever 'Thankful Thursday'

Hello, my fello chums-chums.

I have decided to test myself, with starting the 'Thankful Thursday' post tag.

My reason for starting this was because I want to have a routine going with this blog.

I do put up a good few blogs when possible, even when I'm busy, but ye guys are important to me, and I want to record these specific moments in my life.

Also with these posts, I like the idea of looking back through the week, appreciating the good & the bad. (The bad at times can be a good thing, makes you learn from your mistakes).

Anyway let's get on with this marvelous thanktastic show:

My 'Thankful Thursday' #1

-Family:- for keeping me up for the duration of this year in my new home in England.

-My new friends that I've made in College.

-Cupcakes from my cousins 'Sheep' themed party. (They were frickin' awesome by the way!)

-The health of the people I care most dear about:- from hearing people discuss about their sick relatives & friends. It made me appreciate the healthy family & friends I have so dearly.

-My very FIRST 'Oh Comely Magazine'. And might I say, it's just the magazine for me.

-Being organized:- with my new College folders, stationary etc...

-Having my 1st proper job at a restaurant/bar, just a 5 minute walk for me... I'm tres lucky!

-A day of hard work rewarded with 'Thorntans' chocolates. (God bless he/she that made chocolate... I bow to you!)

-Barry's Tea (all the way from Ireland) reminding me of home & of my Granny.

This week was absolutely hectic. First proper week of College (with 2 already given assignments, first working shift at 'The Gate' in North London, meeting my new class mates or Competition... Oooh).

Even though the week was hard, I was happy all the same to be extremely lucky for everything I achieved and done this week.

Luv you all lots & lots like them Sheep cupcakes... dammit, that didn't rhyme!

First Week of College

Hey hey :) I hope all you readers are well, and to those of you who are new, this is my blog full of stories, my travels, music & other rambling topics. I love all kinds of blogs, so comment below if you think I'd follow :)

Anyway I have been over here for a week, so far in North London, and have started my 1st year course in Nursing. I'm currently trying to decide what University I will be attending to next year (underline, because I'm determined to get it). I'm battling between 2 as my top number one choice: University of Hertfordshire, which is closer to me. And then there's Florence Nightingales School of Nursing & Midwifery, which is an academic school of King's College, London.

King's College would be amazing to get into, but I would be equally as pleased to get into Hertfordshire.

I'll have until only a few weeks to choose, so yes there are worries of whether I'll have be able to afford living in Center London. Living in London would be so expensive.

Anyway I will update you later sometime on my decision (I'll just pretend that your interested in things like that, heehee).

So this week was my first week in College. And it was completely different to my student life in County Galway in Ireland. I didn't feel as though I was being looked at in the College (Paparazzi, you know how it is!), I didn't have to keep my head down while walking through the corridors.

I was in actual fact, late on my first day. Can you believe it. JUST like my first day in Primary School. Buuut, this time it wasn't my fault. I was given the wrong room number, so..... No, it wasn't my fault! I and another girl came in late, apologizing and awkwardly climbing over people to get a seat. Also in my College they scan their cards for their roll call. So modern and new. I feel like I'm a VIP back stage, or old. I mean I even said it to a girl, "Oooh, everything is so modern." Haaaa! Even though I'm one of the youngest, I'm the one who is amazed by technology.

So, in class, there was a lot of tension. Everyone was x-raying the class, trying to see their competition for the year. And so I decided that I was sick of it, and that I was willing to make a right fool of myself. The tutor was saying how there was a pool table in the College, and that if anyone in the class could play. Some of the girls looked as though they had never heard of the word pool before. So I spoke out saying "Sure, when I get stressed out I play some serious pool!". Some girl believed me saying, "Aww, I wish I could play!".... WHO CAN'T PLAY POOL?

My second day then was thankfully more relaxing. I got the chance to sit with some remarkable ladies if I may say so (and I bloody well can, seeing as it is my blog ). Well they were telling me their stories of why they were there. And each of these lovely four ladies are Mommys. I felt even more childish then (with them speaking about their husbands attempting to make dinner the previous night). Me thinking, yeah husband, won't be getting one of them for a while. So I got to know these lovely ladies and the more I knew about them, the more I was amazed. One of which has 5 kids, 5 KIDS! And she has a job of which with taking care of kids, (Ooh the patience!) And what she said to me was that, she's been wanting this for 13 years. She has always wanted to become a midwife. Then there was this woman who volunteers to work with people with disabilities. She's excited each day to see these people, and feels great coming home. She love's her work, and she has what most women want, the support of her husband and children.

It's these sort of women I look up to. Not these celebs in pages of magazines with a few pictures and captions. People think they know everything about them and call them role models... anyway that's another discussion that can be posted for another time.

But I was glad that I was with these mature young women. Not stuck with people getting excited about a night out (which would be every night out!). The women that I met had their own personal stories of why they wanted to become Midwives/Nurses, and I felt as though I could relate with them. I felt excited that I would be meeting these women next week, for the whole year in fact. They were approachable, honest, funny, amazing women.

My day contained many debates in class, meeting the new Tutors, chatting at lunch getting to know the girls over a grande caramel macchiato, one girl taught me how to pronounce it heehee and then we both got 'Starbucks' loyalty cards, cos them guys are gonna have me stuck to them in the College right through the year. I was given 2 assignments by the end of the day, so yeah these Tutors are serious people.

What I want in the future is to get my degree in Nursing, then become a Adult General Nurse. Then I will climb that ladder, to see how high I can possibly go with this career. I could become a Nurse Consultant, or a scrub nurse... who knows? Or work with people going through Cancer. My grand-mother is the reason on why I want to do this profession, to comfort people. I feel as though I contained myself very well, that I remained strong for her when she was ill. And if I could be there for her, well then I could be there for other families & patients that are going through the exact ordeals that my Granny and family went through.

And the thing about being a Nurse, is that it isn't really all about grades. Books can't teach you how to break the news to a family that their loved one has died. I see it as a privilege being with someone crossing over after death, it is as equal privilege as giving life. There is fear, yes, but for me I believe that there is a place we will all go to after life.

Even a Tutor can't teach you on how to find dignity in giving someone a bed bath. It's all about being able to love and respect people when they are at their weakest moments.

Being a Nurse, you will see life begin and end, you will experience failures and triumphs. You will cry, laugh and you will know what it is to be human.

I'm ready for the challenge, so bring it on!

What was your first day at College like? Have you found a career in which you are passionate about? If so I would love to hear about it. I'm a true blog luvin' reader ;)

Lots of  Luv,

Keeping a Lively Faith

Hey there Peeps and Creeps (not really sure who's reading this...) Anyway whoever you are I hope you're well and happy :)

I wanted to put up this post a long time ago, but I was busy moving over to London and spending my last few days with friends and family.

This post is based around how I keep a lively faith. Not many young people show their faith in God and some don't even believe, and I respect their opinions. I just wanted to let you readers see what kind of person I am. And what you should know is that my faith has molded me into the person I am to this day.

I believed in God from a very young age. It was due to my Grand-mother. Saying the rosary every evening and attending mass and choir practice were all ways how I kept up a lively faith.

I'm a person who believes that to be a good Catholic is to help others out, whether by helping the Community by visiting the elderly or taking part in Church, or even taking care of your family. I don't think that you have to go to mass to show your appreciation to God or your loved ones in Heaven, but I go every week because simply, I enjoy it. I love the music, the quietness, the sense if unity. I love seeing everyone still and peaceful, it is so very different than the busy lives we see out there in the world.

When my Grandfather was dying, when I was 8 years old, I prayed the whole night long. And the next morning I was told that he had passed away. I felt as though I was bad luck, or being punished by God for some reason. I just couldn't understand. Surprisingly enough that didn't destroy my faith. I didn't cry at his funeral because I believed I would see him again. I was probably seen as cold, but my faith was the reason I showed strength.

Now I can say my faith has remained strong, even with my most favorite person in the world, my Grandmother, having passed away last February. That's the way life is. And sometimes I feel that with moving on I will forget these wonderful people. But moving forward is the only way to be happy and the only way to enjoy life. It is my mission to not dwell on the past anymore but to live in the present.

So back a few weeks ago I was asked to take part in a Catholic Youth Conference. Members from an organisation called "The Legion of Mary" were there, and I found out that my Grandmother was an actual member. She took part in hospices and charities. It really did make me tear up and I knew that she would have been delighted to have known that I was there taking part.

The organisation was founded by a man called, Frank Duff. He along with members of the legion opened two hostels, "The Morning Star" for the men, and "The Regina Coeli" for women. Both hostels keep up homeless people, even single mothers with children. To this day, both have remained open, since 1927. The women and men that work in these hostels, some are just volunteers and what makes it so amazing is that they do it out of the goodness of their hearts.

This was the College of All Hallows, a College of DCU, where I had been staying for the event. The buildings surrounding were very beautiful, but I was most amazed with their Chapel. The organ itself was just jaw-dropping beautiful. I tried imagining it in my house but... "Nah, it might be a little big for the dining room!"

Whenever my time table was free I would sit in the chapel with a few others I had met, and we would just sit in the chapel listening to the choirs practicing. I brought along my diary, where I scribbled along listening to the music.

These pictures were of Frank Duffs house and all of his possessions. He is in actual fact a saint in some countries in Africa, because of all the help he's done out there. He loved reading and learning new languages. And in every room in his house there were at least 2 bookcases... he read A LOT! He was a man who thought that caring for others out there in need, was the Catholic way.

Pictures Credited by myself Michaela Maria.

After this experience I felt as though I could do more out there. I have been partaking in my own Community and Parish but there is more work to be done out there. What I plan on doing in London is finding a single charity that I can work hard with. I don't want to be flustered with work and over-doing it. I want to put all my attention on specific goals and then with time and effort will hopefully succeed in them.

This is my way of keeping a lively faith. With taking part in organisations and in the choir, any way of helping out.

As you can tell, religion and caring for others is really important in my life. And I think that with me taking on the course of Nursing is perfect. I enjoy talking to people, young and old. So please God you'll see me qualify in a few more years and that I'll be happy with my choices. I'll make sure to keep you updated.

Love you all lots & lots, like Chocolate M&Ms, cos they're me favey :)

Making Choices & Taking Chances

This Pic was found on Pinterest

Hey my lovely peeps :)

Can you believe it's September? Sure Christmas will be here in no time and well, I'm not complaining. I love Christmas...

Something new has happened to me, and it's a life changing decision that I've only recently made. I had been given the option to do Nursing in Ireland, which is where I was born and raised. But I chose to fulfill it in London instead. I had a choice, and it was extremely difficult to make. But the choice was always up to me, not my family. And I never realized that I had to just pluck up the courage and speak out. Just to stand my ground and say "I've made my choice, and I'm going to London."

I did weigh the Pros and Cons for either side, for staying at home and for studying in London. And problems occurred like travel, money, hobbies, opportunities. And there is more opportunities in England for me. I can at least try to reach some of my goals over there. In making new friends, joining music and drama societies and charity organisations, with becoming fit and healthy by joining different clubs. Back home I wouldn't have the transport I need to attend any facilities or clubs. And it's more difficult to get into the Music industry back home as well.

I'm 20 years old and I think I should be away from everything I know. I need to see what else is lurking out there. I may gain back that confidence that was drawn from me over the years. And I may find that person who once laughed at pretty much anything, that person who didn't stress over silly things in life.

I liked this picture down below from Pinterest because it just seemed to fit everything I was thinking about when I started writing this post. "Go confidently in the direction of your Dreams, live the life you've imagined."

I am confident enough with going to London, in starting a new course, in meeting people. And my dream may not sound amazing, but I don't want just one single dream in my life. I want loads. In my last year of Nursing I want to travel to Africa to take care of sick kids, I want to see how far I can go with my Music, I want to meet that special, (someways-cocky and arrogant) guy who will know me and love all the good and the bad (God help him! Heavy emphasis on the bad), I want to travel, I want one of those big, loud families, (not Brady Bunch type, God I'd feel as though I was in prison watching that movie).

Anyway, these 'wants' of mine are actually dreams. So maybe with this little starting point in London might just be the beginning for me. Fingers-crossed hey?

This Pic was found on Pinterest

I do hope that those of you that are out there searching for your dreams, just make a choice.

That one single choice may just be the push you need. Fear takes everything away. But you just got to speak out, (not yell) and say what you think and feel. It may sound corny and sappy in someway when that moment comes, but the message will get across. I'm a girl who is a glass half-empty-type and well if this kind of miracle can happen to me, well, it can happen to pretty much anyone else.

So today in fact, I'm taking the 18:55pm flight to London. And I start my first day at College tomorrow. Like it's all coming so fast already. Your thinking, "Doesn't this girl ever sleep?" Yeeeees, it's late and I'm stupid, but I'm happier when I'm sleep deprived. I'll let ya know whether I fall asleep mid way through a conversation with a lecture ;) It's happened before.

I love you all so much, and thank you, thank you, thank you for reading my every-single-sleep-deprived-thought blog post, heehee :)

Lots of Luv,