October Favourites.

1. Big and baggy jumpers: In my opinion there is nothing more cosy and perfect for autumn than jumpers. Just the thought of wearing a oversized jumper, with a vest top underneath, leggings and fluffy bed socks while lounging on the sofa watching TV with a mug of a warm drink cupped in my hands -with the sleeves of the jumper pulled over them of course- makes me feel all warm and satisfied. Those are the sort of days I really look forward to.

All I need now is a long weekend, -or the Christmas break, but that's quite a while away yet- some praline syrup to add to my mochas and a stack of DVDs!

2. My university course: I know it's still early days but so far I'm loving my BSc course and loving my uni life in general. The independence is great, the content is great and the majority of the staff are pretty great too. I'm particularly loving my courses 'specialist unit' which is 'Psychology & Criminal Behaviour'. So far it's been fascinating and the added knowledge the lectures bring is equally as interesting, if not more so sometimes.

3. Commuting: For the past month I have mainly been commuting to and from uni on the bus. At first I found the journey long and tiresome, but now I've started to really enjoy it -although it can still make me yawn a few times regardless of the time of day. The funny thing is, now that my month's bus pass has expired and I know what my timetable is like, I will no longer be getting the bus. I'll now be commuting in on the train because it's easier, quicker and the trains come more frequently. It will work out to be a little more expensive than the bus, but it'll be worth tweaking my expenses.

4. Woolly hats: Similarly to jumpers, I think that woolly hats are perfect for this weather and that they help to make an autumn day feel a little bit more perfect and complete. You may find that second part a little strange, but it's true! It's hard to explain, but I just feel that woolly hats and autumn go hand-in-hand, and that when I'm wearing one I just feel really happy and autumnal. Woolly hats just complete the 'out and about' autumn look and they make you feel content as you walk down the street in your own little autumnal world with toasty ears.

5. Dry roasted peanuts: this one is simple enough. They're just such a quick and easy snack, not to mention delicious as well!

6. Gel eyeliner: I've been wanting to try out gel eyeliner for a while now, but never been quite brave enough to invest in some. That has all changed now though! With the Boots giftcard I got for my birthday I bought myself some gel eyeliner, and I've got to say that I'm loving it so far. My first attempt wasn't great -it was okay but nothing special- which I guess is to be expected; and my second attempt went really well. So I think I'll be sticking to gel from now on instead of liquid.

7. The Hard Rock Café: Although I've only been once I just had to include the Hard Rock Café in this month's favourites list. Everything about the place is amazing! There's rock n' roll memorabilia everywhere, the music they play is great, the food is really good and the drinks are to die for -especially their Pickled Tink cocktail. The experience and the meal are both without a doubt worth the wait and worth the crowd.

My Birthday Weekend.

As some of you may be aware it was my 20th birthday on Sunday. I went home on Friday evening with my boyfriend in order to 1) spend my birthday with my family, and 2) go out the day before my birthday with my boyfriend for one of my birthday presents.

It was a little bit of a rush on the Friday evening to get home. I have a 4pm to 5pm lecture on Fridays, meaning I get into the bus station at 6:15pm. So in order to save a bit of time my boyfriend picked me up from the bus station and we headed straight to my house, just over an hour away, from there. The best part about that evening once I arrived home was that my cat , Jess, met me halfway up the footpath to my front door. I thought it was really sweet and I made me really happy because I've missed having her around -I think, at least I hope that, the feeling was mutual.

The next day Brandon and I were off into London -Hyde Park Corner specifically- where I was treated to lunch at the Hard Rock Café. The place was absolutely amazing! I loved looking around at all the memorabilia on the walls and telling Brandon what song was being played and who it was by. We were sat under one of John 5's guitars after our 40 minute wait for a table was up. I had the California Chicken Club sandwich, a Pickled Tink cocktail -which was delicious- a bit of a Berry Margarita and some of Brandon's chocolate brownie -this too was delicious.

After we'd finished and paid the bill we headed over to the Hard Rock shop next door. I spotted a few things I liked but didn't say I wanted them as Brandon was giving me the impression that as soon as I spotted something I wanted he'd buy it for me. I'm not one to get boyfriends to spend money on me -even when it is my birthday- and after the total cost of our meal there was no way I was letting him spend any more money on me.

From there we walking to Hamley's and then had a wander around Piccadilly Circus and Oxford Street before heading home on the bus. We spent some more time with my family doing nothing in particular -I got to open one birthday present which was The Breakfast Club on DVD- and then went over to my Nan and Grandad's in order to head off to bed after having a quick chat with them about each other's day and opening my present from Brandon -a Red Sox home shirt(!!!).

The next day was my birthday and I was awoken by my boyfriend shaking my slightly and saying, "It's your birthday!" over and over again because he's just that cute, aha! Once we were washed and dressed we headed back over to my house where I opened all my cards and birthday presents. Apparently I was too slow and meticulous for everyone's liking, but oh well. Then soon after it was time for a big family dinner, a Sunday roast! As it was my birthday I got to chose what meal we had so of course I went for a roast beef Sunday lunch with plenty of Yorkshire puddings! Once that'd had a bit of time to digest it was onto the birthday cake. I opted for the same cake I had for my 16th, a chocolate dinosaur shaped cake from Waitrose; half of which ended up coming back to my uni house with me.

That pretty much sums up my 20th birthday weekend! I had a lovely time and really enjoyed it. This was probably one of the best birthdays I've had so far.