How I Will Survive This Winter

Often when you're trying to maintain a conversation between yourself and an acquaintance, the debate over whether winter or summer is a better season will come up. As stupid as it is, when the time does come around for the season to change to winter, spring, summer or autumn, our moods can also alter in reaction to it, meaning we might have to add things into our life that can make the change of season, that little bit better. Personally, I love both winter and summer with an equal passion, however, there are particular things that I find are of need during each season. So, for today's post, I will list the few things I will most definitely be needing this winter in order to survive (not really, i'd be fine without them, if i'm honest).

1. A Good TV show

Now, I am one of those people who will embarrassingly re-watch TV shows over, and over again because I simply do not get sick of them. If I find a show I love, I will shamelessly re-watch the entire series because it is what makes me happy. TV shows I have been known to watch over, and over again is Australian Big Brother (the 2013 season to be precise), Made in Chelsea and Gossip Girl. Considering all of these TV series' have so many episodes and seasons, it's hard to remember how every single episode goes, so to me, re-watching those shows over, and over again doesn't seem so weird. The show I will be re-watching this winter, again shamelessly, is Made in Chelsea. I recently introduced this show to one of my friends and she became OBSESSED. If you want to know how terribly good the show is, let's just say I have a piece of show merchandise and we will leave it at that (it's a great t-shirt for bedtime).

2. A Good Turtleneck

Last year I got a simple black turtleneck from Country Road that I wore practically the entirety of winter, and will probably do the same this winter. If you find yourself getting dressed one morning and do not know what to wear, this black turtleneck would literally save you. Any great turtleneck whether it be a simple black one like mine, or a colourful statement one, will keep you looking put together and "trendy", but also incredibly warm (just like the beautiful black and blue woollen turtleneck I got the other day). 

3. A Load of Blankets

It may seem stupidly obvious to NEED blankets during winter, but I almost feel like blankets are becoming a thing of the past with the creation of heat pumps and all. During the winter it is essential that I have layers of blankets on top of my duvet as the temperature tends to drops to disgusting lows. Now, whether or not you need these blankets to fit the particular aesthetic of bedroom, I would find as many blankets, aesthetically pleasing or not, and layer them on top of your duvet to make those early school morning starts that little bit easier. 

4. A Good Skincare Routine

You, yourself, may have already discovered the perfect skincare routine that works the way you intend it to throughout the entire year, but for some of us, that skincare routine is something we just can't perfect with the constant change in weather and temperature. I know that I have and still do experience terribly bad skin days which inevitably knocks my self esteem down, but this can change! Throughout the summer my skin was amazing and the best it had been for months. Now, with the drop in temperature and more time spent inside than out, my skin has gradually gotten worse. Because of this, recently I have been trying out different products to see what actually works well on my skin during winter, and what doesn't. Although I can not be sure yet as to whether or not the products I am currently using are working, I can feel that something good is happening. My advice to you is to trial different products, particularly ones with good reviews to see if those results can happen for you as it is almost important to have a good skincare routine throughout winter. Work within your personal budget, and experiment with confidence because an amazing result is not always guaranteed. 

5. Becoming a Winter Morning Person

Everybody knows that those early winter morning starts are appalling, but if you alter your mindset you could easily become more of a morning person and conquer the world from 7am onwards. I believe becoming a winter morning person is something close to an art, something we all wish we could be but can never quite be bothered being. A few things I will be doing to try and become a morning person is saying to myself "if you're lying in bed, you're sleeping", waking up and getting dressed straight away rather than lounging around in my pyjamas all day (something I am guilty of doing today), and enforcing the fact that I am lucky enough to be waking up where I am everyday. Fingers crossed this works!

Now that I have provided you with a couple of ways in which I will be facing the cold months, I hope you can take my advice and survive these wintery months along with me.

Pros & Cons of Places I Have Travelled To

I wouldn't say I have travelled A LOT, but I will say I've had my fair share of wonderful trips to some of the most amazing places around the world. Yet, although every trip I have been on so far has been outstanding, along with the pros, come the cons. Here are some of the pros and cons I have experienced whilst hanging around a couple pretty cool places within our little world. 

1. Aspen

Pros: Aspen was the first place I went to overseas to ski, and it was glorious. The town was small, wintery (a given), and glamorous in a somewhat discrete way. Everywhere you looked was beautiful. Snow covered every inch of the mountain and gorgeous fairy lights wrapped around almost every lamp post. Largely, the atmosphere was brilliant and inhabited a comforting, winter aura, something I loved. 

Cons: Firstly, before I delve into the negative aspects of Aspen, I will state that I loved Aspen and would happily go back to Aspen in a flash. However, there were a few aspects of Aspen that added an unpleasant nature to the small town. One minor and extremely uncontrollable aspect of Aspen I despised was the slippery, icy footpaths (someone shovel them!). Yet, a second aspect of Aspen I deeply despised were some of the people also visiting Aspen alongside me and my family. Some of them were truly awful, but for reasons that are so hard to explain without writing an entire essay. Yet, just like everywhere else in the world, these types of people are ones you will encounter no matter what... But that doesn't mean we should condone their behaviour!

2. New York

Pros: Shortly after my family and I arrived in New York we got in a taxi and drove to our apartment. In that drive we drove through Times Square, which was one of the most surreal things I think I have ever experienced. After seeing Times Square in plenty of movies, driving through there felt the same as when you met a celebrity; I couldn't believe it. New York was so cool, and thats probably one of the best words I could use to describe it. The architecture within New York was beautiful, and the greenery in Central Park was extremely refreshing. The shopping was brilliant, and I definitely enjoyed a great meal at Shake Shack, which I think I can say was my favourite restaurant. New York, I love you.

Cons: The smell. New York, you smelt a wee bit bad. 

3. Telluride

Pros: Similar to Aspen, Telluride was a cute, wintery town down in between the mountains of Colorado. Telluride was the second place I travelled to overseas to go skiing, which had an atmosphere quite different to Aspen. Telluride, being a ski town for more experienced, skilled skiers had a much more relaxed vibe in comparison to Aspen. Aspen was extremely glamorous and is often the place celebrities who think they can ski, go to ski. However, Telluride is much more of a ski town for skiers who dont want to go skiing on a field full of inexperienced lunatics. Now, I am not one of them! In fact, I still consider myself a novice despite the fact that in reality, I'm really not. 

Cons: Sometimes I found the atmosphere created by those experienced, skilled skiers intimidating, but that didn't really stop me from enjoying the trip. 

4. London

Pros: London was and still is the best place I have ever travelled to! I loved London. London, being one of the first major cities I travelled to was always going to amaze me, but I can't believe how after travelling to other cities, London has maintained it's position at the top! Maybe it was London's atmosphere which seemed to be very similar to Wellington, or just it's amazing history and architecture... I don't know! But what I do know, is that I want to go back.

Cons: Nothing. Seriously. 

5. Los Angeles

Pros: One of the best things about travelling to L.A. is being able to see my lovely second cousin and her husband! A second is the shopping, which was good to an extent, but also the beach in Santa Monica which was awesome! Another amazing factor of L.A. is the ability to spot celebrities at almost any time. Within two days I saw Lorde, Pixie Geldof, Rita Ora, Calvin Harris and Rita Wilson (aka Tom Hanks' Wife). Let's just say it was amazing!

Cons: Los Angeles was far too big. I thought half of L.A. was not what it is talked up to be, and I also thought it had a sleazy nature, unlike any other place I have been to. I think it might take a few more trips to L.A. for my opinion to change about the city, but for now, I guess I'm just going to have to say it's not my favourite city!

So as you have gathered from this post, I have been to a few places within our little galaxy (some of which I haven't listed), and largely enjoyed spending time in them. I hope that in the future, when I'm slightly older, I will have travelled to double or even triple the amount of places I have travelled to, to this day. So, it's time to start wishing...