So, in addition to my new, simple skincare routine that I’ve detailed here, I started to go to the D. Thomas Clinic. They are skincare specialists who are most famous for their signature tailored facials, of which there are three levels. About a year previously, I had received the DNA Essential Skin Grade 1, which involved extractions and tailored products and advice, but this time I wanted to go a step further and involve some of the laser services which the clinic is well-known for. Whilst they have a DNA Ultimate Laser Grade 3, I thought that the DNA Laser Complete Grade 2 was the best option for me, being a newbie to any laser treatments.

For a little bit of my skin history and the facials that I use to supplement my routine, click for this post here. But for now, let’s get onto my current skincare products.

So, here we are. After many months of planning and writing posts in preparation, and of course asking the lovely Cat to design me a website, we are finally live, and I can’t explain to you all how excited I am about this new venture. If you don’t know me, you can read a little about me here, but for now you might be wondering where on earth this has come from.

The title of this post is a little misleading because this is not really going to be a ‘how to’ so much as a few observations I made whilst writing mine. I have already (purposefully) lost much of the experience to the mists of memory and time, but I hope that some of you writing undergraduate dissertations this year might find a little comfort in it. I’m not going to write too much about the content of it because for some strange reason I still feel strangely protective over it and I don’t know if I’m ready to open it up to the world (how ridiculous am I), plus I think it’s so specific it wouldn’t be wholly useful to dwell on it too long.

I recently read Young Skins by Irish author Colin Barrett, a slim volume of short stories, all of them set in a nondescript town in County Mayo, and to tell the truth I’m still kind of undecided about it. The opening sentence of the first story, ‘The Clancy Kid’; “My town is nowhere you have been, but you know its ilk”, sets the tone not just for the setting but for the characters, too. They are characters you have seen before, the type of people you may know, though their stories are made poignant and thought-provoking by Barrett’s clipped prose style, that buttoned up effect that seems to make the emotion seem even more unbearable or tragic. Whilst that opening sentence seems to demonstrate the best of this style, there are times when it can seem overwrought (just a sentence later, the narrator of ‘The Clancy Kid’ says, “The Atlantic is near; the gnarled jawbone of the coastline with its gull-infested promontories is near.”)

I think this is the first novel I have picked for the book club which I have really liked and found few faults with. It is a novel that follows two Nigerian characters, Ifemelu and Obinze, teenagers in love who drift apart when the former goes to pursue further education in America. Mostly the novel focusses on Ifemelu and her new life in America, though there is some description of their lives in Nigeria, and a section dedicated to Obinze’s abortive few months in London.

Throughout my four years living in Edinburgh, occasionally I’d be asked where the best places to go for food were, what sights were a must and where to go out out. For a long while I’ve wanted to do my guide to Edinburgh but I struggled with a couple things. Firstly, I’ve always been nervous about trying to provide anything definitive about Edinburgh (or for that matter anywhere I’ve lived) because my knowledge of its restaurants and bars certainly has its gaps, and the touristy stuff even more so.

Way back in September, Zak and I drove along to Mam Tor in the Peak District to have a little walk and admire the views. This was not the most practical outfit I’ve ever worn for this kind of activity, but we thought we might take a few pictures for the new blog whilst there.

This. Nike. Top. Honestly, I’m in love with it, I feel like it epitomises me and my current style in one item. The structural fabric and turtleneck lend a smartness to an overtly sporty item; the fall and cut of it and its slight crop round the front all make for a perfect piece.

Anyone that knows me knows that I have an unhealthy obsession with ramen. For the uninitiated, ramen is a Japanese dish of noodles and various different toppings in a broth of some kind: meat, fish, or vegetable. In the last few years especially – though I distinctly remember having ramen as a kid around town, too -  this dish has become a bit of a food fashion in London and lots of new places have popped up around the city to try.

I asked a little while back on Twitter whether you guys would like to have me talk a little more generally about my experience as an undergraduate at the University of Edinburgh, and the response was a resounding yes.