Saturday 31 March 2012

This Week

This week the sun decided to shine down and cheer us all up. It was much needed in our University as we are all stressing over our final exams. We all relaxed for the week, laying out in the sun, going to the beach and just enjoying the last of the time we have with our college friends before we break up for Summer. It was the perfect way to end the semester. :) My week in photos...


Wishing you all a wonderful week :) 

Love always, 
Orla

Versatile Blogger Award


I have received my very first Blogger award. I just can't tell you how happy I am! Thank you, thank you, thank you to the wonderful Cherry from A Day With Me. I stumbled across her blog recently when looking for fellow nurse-bloggers, and I fell in love with her words and photos and instantly. :) 

7 Facts About Me
{1} I simply can't go a day without singing. 
{2} My fingers (especially my thumbs) are double-jointed, so I can bend them almost any way I want. 
{3} I don't like cereal until it has been soaking in the milk so long that it's completely soggy. 
{4} I can be very shy. I love people, but when there are more than 3 or 4 people, I get all flustered and I don't know what to say! I'm getting better, but people still think I'm quiet. 
{5} I really really hate being barefoot. I always have to have at least socks on, because I hate when my feet get dirty. And I can't stand my hands being dirty either, I wash my hands way too often. 
{6} If I were to choose any career other than nursing & midwifery, it would be either primary school teaching or relationship counselling. 
{7} Most of the time I am in my own little world. I have conversations in my head and I laugh out loud when they get funny, I have epic daydreams (the real meaning of the word 'epic', and there is never a moment when I don't have a song playing in my mind. 


There you go, 7 random facts. :) So, who will I award the Versatile Blogger Award to?

Marielle from Magical Day Dream
Gina from Thoughts at Sea
Shauna from Shauna Loves...
Milla from Birdsong
Olga from For The Record

And I would definitely include Cherry in this list, but she has of course already been awarded! 



The rules: 
- Thank the blogger who sends you the award and add a link to his/her blog.
- Write 7 random things about you.
- Give the award to other bloggers you love and tell them.



Thank you again, Cherry! :) 

Saturday 24 March 2012

10 Signs That I'm Growing Up


{1} My friends and I sometimes have to google phrases that younger people use because we are so out of the loop that we don't know what they mean. Things like 'totes awky mo-mo' (which apparently means 'totally awkward moment') and  'so weak in life' ('This is so funny!') aren't phrases we are 'young' enough to understand...

{2} I have to worry about things like paying the deposit for my apartment, and where I can buy the cheapest milk. Imagine!

{3} My dreams are finally coming true. I'm working as a nurse. :)

{4} Adult conversations no longer bore me. I don't know when this transition happened, but I now get a thrill from hearing about shopping for new curtains or certain current affairs. Huh??

{5} My friends and I recently went to Paris. All by ourselves. No adult supervision- we were the adults. What is going on?!

{6} Having friends over and just chatting over a cup of tea is one of my favourite past-times. :)

{7} I get such a kick out of learning new things. I want to go to lectures, and I love hearing what my friends are learning in their courses too.

{8} We are so excited about buying flowers and cushions for our apartment next year. And we talk about how we will organise cleaning and grocery shopping.

{9} I actually like the taste of wine.

{10} Having children is no longer way in the future. 2 of my close friends are already mothers. And it's not very scary either. :)


Of course, I am not fully grown up and I doubt I ever will be! I still love all things Disney, my friends and I still skip around in public, and we go crazy for playgrounds haha. :) But I'm not afraid to grow up a little either. It's exciting. :) 

Tuesday 20 March 2012

Sweet Springtime


I don't know about you, but I have music to suit my every mood. That's why my iPod is so jam packed with different playlists. Right now, the beginning of Spring is leaving me feeling relaxed and inspired...


Sweet Springtime Playlist
Over The Rainbow- Israel Kamakawiwo'ole
She Moves In Her Own Way- The Kooks
Find My Way Back Home- Priscilla Ahn
Morning Lullabies- Ingrid Michaelson
A Thousand Miles- Vanessa Carlton
Nine Million Bicycles- Katie Melua
Lucky- Jason Mraz & Colbie Caillat
And The Birds Sing- Tyrone Wells
Neopolitan Dreams- Lisa Mitchell
Early Morning Rain- Eva Cassidy
Chasing Pavements- Adele
New Shoes- Paolo Nutini
New Soul- Yael Naim
Thank You- Dido
1234- Feist



Sunday 18 March 2012

Happy Corner

Have you ever felt so inspired and full of ideas and creativity that it all just crashes together, explodes and leaves you with absolutely no idea what to do with it all? No? Wow, I think there is something wrong with me. I am so full of energy right now, and I have this overwhelming urge to blog, but I have no idea what about! I just need to get this cheerful, crazy energy out of me somehow. Hmm... How about a pick and mix blog post? I will give you a little taste of what is going on in my head right now, what is making me so crazy and incoherent. Ready? .....Okay.. GO!

"This is your life, and it's ending one minute at a time" ~Narrator, Fight Club

"Among all the fairytales, I choose Shrek, because that's where I learned that even the imperfect people can have happy endings" ~Unknown
"But better die than live mechanically a life that is a repetition of repetitions." ~D.H. Lawrence  
My new song, 'Postcard'. Tell me what you think of it, and please subscribe to my YouTube channel. :)

So there you have it. A brief look at the inside of my head. It is going crazy, and I feel like dancing around the kitchen, or running down a hill, or baking brownies, or... Sitting. In silence. And just appreciating the fact that right now I am able to smile, and say that I am feeling happy. I want to savour the moment, because sitting with my puppy curled up beside me, the fire lighting, a mug of hot tea, and Imaginary Friend playing on iTunes- I am happy. :) 

Enjoy the rest of your Sunday, and if you're not having a great one like I am, then I hope you have an utterly fantabulous week to make up for it. :) 

Love always, 
Orla

Friday 16 March 2012

51 followers? Really?


I have always been big into reading blogs and following people on Youtube. But up until 4 months ago, I just didn't have the courage to contribute anything to the internet myself. I figured no one would be interested in what I had to say, and my music isn't that great, so I wouldn't waste my time, or other people's. I don't really know what changed my mind. But in November I finally gave in and started Escape to Vanilla. Now I am incredibly glad that I did.


Sometimes, I'm not a very patient person. When I get an idea in my head, I like it to work instantly. But blogging has taught me to appreciate the small steps. In the beginning, every pageview was a tiny battle won. When I got my very first comment, I didn't shut up about it for days, and when I eventually got a follower, I very nearly cried! 


I check my blog every day, and every single time I spot a new comment or follower, I grin like a little kid  in a sweet shop :D Now I actually have 51 followers. 51! I am in awe. Why would 51 people want to follow my blog? I don't understand. And I can't seem to get it into my head that you are real. I've been trying to imagine all 51 of you standing in the same room with me, and it makes me giggle! 51 people have decided that what I have to say isn't boring after all. I can't tell you how happy that makes me. 


I know I sound ridiculous. 51 followers doesn't exactly scream 'successful blog', far from it. But to me, it means so much. I am so, so grateful. Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU! 

You have made me so happy. :) 

Love always, 
Orla

Wednesday 14 March 2012

Icky Sicky

I have been given the wonderful gift of a chest infection this week. Not fun. That is until you find ways to make it a bit more interesting...

Things To Do When You're Sick
+Drink hot tea
+Watch The Ellen Show
+Attempt to sing, and laugh at the 'noise' it makes
+Sleep for a while
+Read lots
+Blow bubbles
+Colour
+Watch a really old movie that you haven't seen in years
+Write in your diary
+Make a 'Sick and Tired' playlist on iTunes
+StumbleUpon on your phone- kept me amused for hours!
+Walk around with a blanket like a cape
+Look through old photos and home videos
+Eat an entire box of chocolate fingers without feeling guilty
+Paint your toenails
+Repeat the same word over and over until it sounds ridiculous
+Watch Youtube videos
+Sport the no make up and ponytail look
+Text a friend and annoy them for a while
+Have a bubble bath


Sick &Tired Playlist 
Breathless- Taylor Swift
Jaded- Sarah Crummy
Fix You- Coldplay
Just Like A Pill- Pink
Cold Coffee- Ed Sheeran
Tired- Adele
So Sick- Ne-Yo
Lullaby- Priscilla Ahn
Fever- Lady Gaga
Sympathy- The Goo Goo Dolls

 

Have a lovely day. x

Friday 9 March 2012

Notes From a Stranger

A while back, I stumbled across a blog post by someone (I really wish I could remember who) who had picked up a book in a shop and found a secret note in the front cover. It was short and sweet, praising her for choosing that book, and I just thought the idea was absolutely wonderful! Imagine. Buying a book, taking it home to read, and finding a handwritten note from a stranger. I think it would make me smile for a month!

So... I decided I would do it too. I picked 3 of my favourite books, and on Wednesday I left a note inside each:
The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffeneggar
 


The Help by Kathryn Stockett


The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd


I had so much fun sneaking into the bookshop and hiding the notes in the books, I felt like a secret agent! 

And I wasn't going to tell you this next part... But I'll give you a giggle. 

So I had hidden the notes in my diary for safe-keeping, and as I approached the book shop, I stopped to take them out. Just as I opened my diary (on a random page), a bird flew over my head and pooped all over the page, splat! I was so shocked! I was just staring at the page, trying to make sense of it all. And then, while I was still trying to recover, a woman tapped me on the shoulder, "Excuse me dear, but you might want to pull your dress down on the right hand side at the back..." Oh my goodness, Kate and I laughed for about 20 minutes solid. The bird, then the skirt, then the bird again! Such a comical 2 minutes. At least I can laugh. :-P