Utrecht Travel Guide

Well, it's definitely been a while so please forgive me if I've forgotten how to do all this. So I've finished third year of college and just got my wisdom teeth out so a week on the couch can get quite boring so I decided I'd finally start the Utrecht travel guide that I have been meaning to do since October.

I'm a huge fan of travel diaries when you're going somewhere new so you can see how other people found the place, what they did and what they would or wouldn't recommend. I always look for them when I'm going away so I love doing them after visiting a place and hand over any gems I've found or anything I wouldn't recommend doing. I've also linked everything I mentioned so it's very easy if you want to check anything out further. 

Five Years

So you're probably wondering where I've been and why I'm finally posting after this length of time but today is actually my 5th blogging birthday and I really didn't want to pass this milestone without mentioning it. A lot has changed in the last five years blogging-wise and I just want to have a chat about what's been going on with me and my blog (this will probably be a very long chatty one so I'll try and not word vomit too much!). 

Dress & T-shirt (worn underneath) - Penneys 

The Quarter Life Crisis

Ever since September and starting third year of college there's been a huge focus on your career and future in my course. Seeing people swanning around in graduation robes in college and hearing what they're doing with their life kind of freaks you out a bit, and this is when the quarter life crisis kicks in. As in, what the hell are we all doing with our lives? It's time to have a chat about the freaking out that 90% of people I've talked to are currently having about their future, career and life in general.

Pure Cork Bai

Today's blogpost has been a while in the pipeline because I wanted to do it well, it's what makes Cork Cork, like. I've done a few 'Best Places To Eat In Cork' blogposts but this one is a bit different, it's the Corkonians guide to Cork. I'm going to share a few of my favourite Cork places and things you should do and see as well as some great Cork food and drink thrown in too.

Amsterdam Food Guide

During the week I posted my Amsterdam Travel Guide which I usually do after a trip, but this time it was a little different. I had to split up the food we ate over there with everything else because there was so much good food we ate that I wanted to share with you! So here we are, the amazing places we ate in Amsterdam.

Amsterdam Travel Diary

Hey guys! If you follow me on Snapchat or Instagram you would have known I was away in Amsterdam last week with my group of friends. Whenever I'm planning a trip I search blogposts about the place to find out where people stayed, what they did etc and that's why I tend to do them when I'm home to give any nuggets of information to anyone going or share any amazing places we went to or ate. 

Since I have so many food places that were amazing I'm actually going to do a separate 'Where We Ate In Amsterdam' blogpost that will be up later this week. 

The Blogging Guide

This post has definitely been a long time coming and I always told myself I'd do it one day and I guess today is that day. I'm going to share my blogging tips with ye that are perfect if you're someone starting off or have been doing it for years and want to hear some of my nuggets of wisdom. I am by no means saying I'm writing this because I'm so great and successful because this certainly isn't a guide to succeed or gain followers. This is just some knowledge I have after spending more than four years in this industry. I've split all my thoughts and tips into three sections so let's get into it. 

Ice Cream In Cork

With this heatwave we're having I think it's fair to say that we are all eating ten times the amount of ice cream we usually eat. I thought it was a perfect excuse to add another post to my little Cork food series I've started. Today I'm going to share the fab places I like to get ice cream in Cork. I kept it specifically ice cream shops and in the city centre, which was actually harder than you think because it does rain 99% of the time in Ireland, ice cream shops really aren't a necessity. 

Makeup For Glasses

So today I'm going to chat about makeup for glasses wearers. I've worn glasses for 8 years now but  it's only now I'm wearing makeup with glasses and have to get used to how it acts and looks differently.

Social Media - The Good, The Bad & The Ugly

So last week I was in my old secondary school giving a talk to first years about social media and mental health and it really got me thinking about the whole thing, hence why I'm doing this blogpost to share my thoughts with ye.

Brace Yourself

So this is my first blogpost back after a bit of a break and it's an exciting one. Brace yourself, because this will be a long blogpost because it's been a long five years. 

So just over five years ago I got braces, my teeth were legit zig zag and coming from everywhere they were an absolute mess and now I finally have them off. Today I'm going to chat to ye a little about the whole experience and some of my tips and tricks when its comes to having them. 

The Stressed Student’s Guide To Study Week

Now that another semester of college is over it means that unfortunately exam time is upon us. I actually think study week could be nearly worse than sitting the exams, because of the pressure from other people and what they're doing and not being in the usual routine of college. So today I'm going to share some of my tips on how to survive study week 

Netflix & Chill

We all know the dread of finishing your favourite series and thinking that starting another series will never be as good as the last. We've all spent hours trailing through Netflix or doing those 'What Should I Watch' quizzes (only me?) trying to figure out what series will be next. Today I want to share my favourites series that you might want to give a try the next time you finish your current series or else just want to procrastinate. 

Tabletop Cork

Every so often I love to try out a new cafe, bar, or restaurant and bring the camera with me to share my experience with you. This week myself and my friends headed somewhere that is like nothing else in Cork, a board games cafe. 

Tabletop is on Castle Street just around the corner from Captain Americas so it's just as central to the city centre like other bars and cafes. The general idea is that you can chill out with some good food and drink and play whatever board games you want.

Life.

Sometimes life gets in the way of things, it can change your plans in all different ways with different things you're not in control of. I've had a lot of life stuff going on recently and social media hasn't been very high on my priority list so if you're wondering why the Snapchats or Instagrams haven't been up to scratch, that's why. Today I want to share some tips with ye that I've found helpful lately when life just isn't going as planned and you need to take a breather and look after yourself. I'm also sharing an outfit with ye featuring some pants that I am loving at the moment. 

So It's Been Four Years

So it's been four years since this all began. I think ye all know that I'm a real cringey person and I love looking back and reminiscing so of course I had to chat about my fourth blog birthday today. I started The Red Brunette on the 21st of February 2014 and I never thought I would still be doing it and get to where I am four years later.

Burgers In Cork

Last year I did a 'Brunch in Cork' blogpost and it seemed to go down really well so I decided to do a similar one about my favourite places to get burgers in Cork. These are mainly burger-orientated restaurants and I've chosen for to chat about today with ye so let's start chatting all things burgers in Cork. 

You Silly Goose

Last week I went to The Silly Goose for some drinks with my friend Rachel and I decided to share it with ye today because I don't know about ye but I'm always looking for new cool places to try out in Cork. I've been here a few times before but didn't take full advantage of their cocktail menu (spoiler alert: they're amazing!) but this time I definitely did. 

Back Into The Swing Of Things

Being in college means longer holidays which means it's much harder to get back into the swing of things when you finally return back to work. It's always so weird to switch the onesie and selection box to a lab coat and hours spent in the library but unfortunately it has to be done. I'm going to show ye an outfit I wore to college this week as well as chat a bit about getting back on the bandwagon.

Galway Travel Diary

I adore making travel diary blogspots, which means I have to go on some sort of adventure to make one! So this week was the week I went up to Galway for the first travels of 2018 and like all these travel diaries I'm going to share everything from where I stayed to what I did and where I ate in case you're going to Galway soon or else if you were just nosey about my trip this week.