Thursday, June 12, 2014

New Adventure!

So... A lot has happened since the last time I have posted on this blog. When I had first started this blog, I was just starting my second year of university and I was not quite expecting the work load to be as hectic as it has been. And as if the assignments and exams were not enough to keep me busy, a few friends and I decided to start up a society (BioPharm Society) for our course at university to which I was elected as both social secretary and then president of the society. So you could say that I have been keeping myself busy.

Furthermore as I was in my second year of university, this also meant that I was eligible to apply for year in industry placements which are designed to give students an insight into the pharmaceutical industry via a year long placement in a pharmaceutical company. 

To my delight I was successful in an interview earlier on in the academic year and I have secured a Regulatory Affairs placement in a pharmaceutical company called Reckitt Benckiser based in Hull. As I am originally from Newcastle this means that sure enough I will be moving down to Hull in July 2014 when my placement starts. 

When I got the call from the pharmaceutical company to let me know that I was successful in securing the placement, words could not describe the amount of excitement and joy that I felt, as I was very much looking forward to having more of an insight into what it takes to be a regulatory affairs officer in the industry. But as it is the first time I am moving away from home, I am feeling more and more nervous at the prospect. I am trying to remain positive but there is no doubt in my mind that I will miss my family and friends from home very much. I am however so excited to be documenting my experience, and will keep you posted of my little journey.



Thanks for stopping by!
Ciao! 
Vanessa.




Friday, August 23, 2013

Monogram, Monogram, Monogram Everything!

First of all, sorry for the lack of posts these last couple of weeks. I have been feeling a bit under the weather which explains why I have not posted. So for that I apologise, but hopefully as I am feeling better now, I will get onto a more regular schedule.

Last week was an exciting week for me, despite my flu. I had ordered a custom made monogram necklace from etsy a while ago and was anticipating the day that it would finally arrive. I am absolutely in love with my necklace and have worn it nearly everyday since I received it. The service I received from this etsy store was amazing and no doubt I will be purchasing from her again.

So without further ado, here is my necklace...



I decided to go with the 1.5 inch monogram on a 18" chain as I thought it would be a perfect size to start my collection with, and as you can see the necklace arrives in a very pretty box.



The necklace is very pretty and the camera does not do it justice. As I said previously the etsy store (PersonalizedNecklace) in which I ordered from was amazing. Karen was so helpful and patience, and will no doubt help you with any queries you may have. The shipping took about 10 working days which was considerably fast as the necklace had to be shipped from Israel. I absolutely adore the product and will definitely order from Karen again.

~~~~~~

So sticking to the monogram theme, as it is back to school season I decided to monogram my folder/binder. I found some fabulous Lilly Pulitzer designs through A Preppy State of Mind, and fell in love with the idea. The templates and monogram designs came from the blog Jessica Marie Design, and all you have to do is like her facebook page you can get the designs for FREE! 


The binder covers are available for you to personalise and print out to stick in the front of your folder/binder. But as I live in the UK I found it hard to find cute folders with an insert pocket in the front. So I was stationary shopping the other day and came across sticker paper, which gave me the idea that I could print the designs onto sticker paper and then just stick it onto my folder.

So I decided to monogram my files that I had bought for the new semester.



I am pretty happy with how it turned out. But my only question is whether I should cover my files with a clear plastic book cover or not? I do not want my monograms to get damaged but I cant think or any other way to protect them. So if you have any ideas on what I should do, please comment below.


Thanks for stopping by!
Ciao! 
Vanessa.





Friday, August 09, 2013

Back to School!

So summer is coming to an end and what I look forward to the most, is shopping for school supplies. I will be returning to university in September so I thought that I would get a head start on shopping. As it is still early days, I do not have a list of textbooks that I need to get as of yet. But I have got, what I consider to be my top ten essential buys for university or college, and this is what will be in my university bag in September.

My Top Ten Essential Buys For University/College:
7 - Pens

Whether it be for university or school, a pencil case is highly important. I have chosen a plastic transparent pencil case as it keeps all my stationary organised in one place and is also allowed into the exam hall. The next item on my essentials list is a bag, this year I have chosen to carry around a tote bag. For my first year of university I carried around a backpack, I found myself putting so many things into my bag that I did not need, and consequently this gave me back pain. I specifically chose the large Le Pliage tote bag as I have the same bag in the colour gun metal already, and knew that I was getting a good quality bag with plenty of room for supplies. 

A diary/agenda is essential for university or college, as this allows you to keep highly organised with deadlines and out of school activities. Another organisation tip that I have found to help me throughout my academic years is to file away all your notes, to keep on top of work, and to not let handouts or notes get lost. 

When it comes to pencils, I have found that I much prefer mechanical pencils. They give a much more precise point when it comes to plotting graphs and data, but also as the pencil is mechanical you do not have to carry around a sharpener or even rubber/eraser sometimes. The two essentials that I feel go hand in hand are notebooks/writing paper and pens, although this is the 21st century I still feel that hand writing your notes and annotating lecture slides the old fashioned way, allows your brain to process the information better. 

My next essential is a scientific calculator, although this only applies to science based subjects and maths, I would not be able to survive without mine. As I like to handwrite out my notes and lectures, sometimes I feel like all those words on the page can make your brain turn to mush. So I like to pick out key words or phrases with my highlighters, which also makes revision a little more pretty to look at too! 

My last but definitely not least essential is index flags, these little handy sticky notes allow you to mark pages in textbooks without damaging the book. But what I also like using them for is to separate my notes into categories e.g. Pink - Lectures, Purple - Seminars, Yellow - Laboratory Sessions, Green - Assignments, and Blue - Revision Classes/Other. I would also label each tab with keywords to avoid any other confusion, so you could say I like to keep my notes fairly organised. I hope my top ten school essentials was helpful and gave you inspiration to start your back to school shopping.


Thanks for stopping by!
Ciao! 
Vanessa.


Tuesday, August 06, 2013

Inspired!

I have been working up the courage to start my own blog for a while now. I had created this blogger account for a couple of months but never felt inspired or brave enough to post anything. The idea of having a blog and posting fashion finds, inspirations, and tips for style and life has always appealed to me. I always found myself reading other peoples blogs and wishing that could have been me. Although the thought of sharing part of my life with the world wide web seemed rather daunting at first, I felt the sense of community and the release that you can get from writing a blog post would overrule that fear. 

My blog will be my own whimsical place for me to write about anything I want. I'll be blogging about subjects like fashion, home decor, travel, beauty and my life in general. I am not by any means an expert or trying to be a "beauty guru" at all, but I am a bargain hunter and love finding those statement wardrobe pieces for a good price.  

So here is a little background information about me.


My name is Vanessa Tang and I am 20 years old. I was born and still live in Newcastle Upon Tyne, England. I am currently a student at the University of Sunderland and I study BioPharmaceutical Science. I love stationary and anything that can be personalised or monogrammed, and have a weird compulsion towards being organised when it comes to my life and work. I would describe my fashion style as smart casual and definitely prep inspired. Although I like to splurge now and again on designer pieces, I find that most of the items in my wardrobe are from the high street. Being a student means that I like to save my money wherever I can, so you could say that I am prep on a budget. I love to appear on the more sophisticated or chic side of things. I am also a hopeless romantic and love to read. Yes, I am one of those girls who likes to get lost in romantic books and movies, and daydreams about getting swept off her feet on a daily basis.

I have a little rambunctious 3 year old Yorkshire Terrier called Mason, who I absolutely adore and will no doubt be posting a lot of pictures of him.


I am true believer in being happy and living life to the fullest or 'glass half full' type of girl. As Lilly Pulitzer once said 'Being happy never goes out of style.'

Thanks for stopping by!
Ciao! 
Vanessa.