Blood, sweat and tears, or "Sofie moves out"

At the beginning of this week, I said "If I can get through this week, I can get through anything." Now, on Sunday night, I can happily breathe a sigh of relief in the knowledge that yes, I DID IT.

This is what went down: 

Wrapping three digits worth of advent calendars

Creating a portfolio for...

A graduate scheme interview

My mid-year appraisal

A weekend in the midlands with my university friends including a very late night out

Packing for...

Moving to North West London. Today.

This time last week I had to remind myself that a week was only 7 days, and I could totally handle it. Maybe.

Panic.

The good news about the mass of advent calendars I sent out is I can now wrap things pretty darn well, ready for the festive season. The bad news: there were a LOT of advent calendars. I was so happy when I finished wrapping that I did a little jig in front of the post room guys. I think this just confirmed their suspicions of me as a mad lady, but I was too happy to care.

Creating my portfolio was stressful, but also a nice little boost. There's nothing like putting together a presentation about what you've achieved and giving yourself time to digest that these things are all yours, and I did actually deserve a pat on the back for my efforts up to this point.

My graduate scheme interview was a bit of a mess, since I'd misunderstood the meaning of "marketing communications" (thinking this would be similar to what I'm doing now) and after babbling about PR and how much I like working in the beauty industry, they interrupted with "So what makes you think you fit with *insert name of company* and advertising in particular? To which I may have replied something like "Um... Why not?" Oops. It also didn't help that my answer to "What was the last film you saw recently?" was "Monsters University" and it WASN'T, it was "Le Weekend", which would have made me sound so much more cultured. Sigh.

My mid-year appraisal was okay and went a lot better than I thought it would! Always a relief.

I was finally able to let off some steam with friends at the weekend and it was so so nice to see them. Especially as I hadn't seen one of them since graduation, which is now over 4 months ago. Someone please tell me where the time's going? Because I honestly don't know. It really was great to catch up with them and have a good old natter about anything and everything.

Unfortunately, I had next to no sleep last night because I was panicking so much about today, even though i'd been very good and completed most of my packing before I left for the weekend. Moving really is one of THE most stressful things. To make matters worse, my hungover/shattered state was pushed to the limit when my stepdad managed to cut open his forehead whilst loading my bits into the car. Disaster! I just heard a call of "Sofie, come here quickly" and was met with a bloodied father. It pushed me over the edge. I just started sobbing and clumsily trying to put ice into a bag rather than into a glass, THEN putting it into a bag.

I don't deal well under pressure, especially when tired, groggy, stressed, and witness to a bloodied mess of a father.

Did he have concussion? Was he able to drive? Did he need to go to A&E? Where was the nearest walk in centre?

Luckily, he was okay (just a bit sore) and we moved my mountain of rubbish into my new flat.

Phew. It's been quite the week.

So, what does this week have in store? Despite being busy, I'm hoping it will be more fun than stressful, thank goodness. I'm catching up with friends for post-work drinks, seeing Catching Fire (I. AM. SO. EXCITED. *squeals*), getting made over for our work Christmas party, and taking the following day off to recover and prepare for a weekend of excitement (I hope it's exciting, anyway!).

I might take a picture of my new room when I've got it looking all pretty. Not that I think anyone will care that much, but because I am very very happy with it. And I have a double bed again! The space is such a novelty...

Anyway, I'm starting to become a tad hysterical due to a lack of sleep/too much excitement, so I think we'll leave it there, shall we?

Tubes, Big Necklaces and my new friend, Abdul

Shock, horror! I am moving away from my alliterative titles for the simple reason that being creative makes my brain hurt a bit too much.

A few days ago I visited London for interviews.  I had two interviews in one day, in utterly different locations, and the whole day was stressful but brilliant.

Of course, this meant I had to put together the perfect outfit, something simultaneously professional and stylish.  I also wanted to inject a bit of my personality into the look.

So, first things first - how to look professional?  This bit was quite easy, as I'd invested in a black blazer from H&M a few months before.  Blazer? Check.

I then decided that I wanted a colour theme, and settled on black and gold (gold is for winners, after all).  I knew I was getting a lovely gold skirt from Topshop for Christmas from my parents, so I just needed to find a top to match...

Which I found in Primark, of all places!  I settled on a white, sheer shirt, with printed black and gold butterflies.  It was super pretty, and an absolute steal at £12!

The base of the outfit down, I then needed to accessorise.  I'm usually absolutely awful at accessorising, so this was quite the challenge.  My friend Chelsea advised me to stand out by wearing a statement necklace (thanks for the advice, Chelsea!), and I thought all hope was lost until I found an amazing black and gold chunky necklace - again in Primark - for £6.

I teamed the outfit with thick black tights and my beloved brown leather boots with a slight heel, and my hair in a ponytail (apparently giving me an "open, inviting face"...) and voila, outfit complete.  I kept my make up simple, with a natural face, a bit of blush, a hint of gold eyeshadow and some pink Elizabeth Arden lipstick.

If you follow the following link you can see the top half of my outfit, with a few of my friends when we went out later that evening to the ever classy "Harvester" http://instagram.com/p/UEwpwAqJc2/

The interviews themselves were fine - the second one grilled me rather a lot, but I think they were just trying to see if I was serious about the internship... I did manage to make a new friend called Abdul, though!  When I got hideously lost I asked the first guy in a suit who didn't look shifty for directions and when he started to lead me down a side street I DID start to panic a little, but it all worked out well in the end.

But what is the point I'm getting to? Big necklaces are brilliant.  If you haven't already got one, take advantage of the sales and go buy one now! It immediately glams up an understated outfit and can be worn for professional purposes, too.  Normally I wear delicate little necklaces, but I think I can be converted.

So why not make an accessory you've always wanted to try (but never quite had the courage to) your new year's resolution?