Driving test success!

Not the most interesting of topics from the title but my blogs flow from what's happening in my life at the moment and 3 years after sending off for my provisional licence and after a 2 year gap in lessons and buying a car 3 months ago I finally surpassed my New Years resolution and passed my driving test 2nd time lucky. So with this experiance I thought I would share some knowledge and tips with you guys who have yet to do your test. 

1 - My first tip would be, always ask questions: if you have a question for your instructor which you come across while not in your lesson write it down or text your instructor, they know the right answer and it helps you to remember the next time you're in the situation on what to do when in your test.

2 - Don't panic, this is something I did when first learning to drive, yes you're in control of a vehicle which can be dangerous but you need to be calm to be safe. If your learning in your instructors car they usually have dual control so if it comes to the worst they will stop it from happening. One of the worst situations which many people get flustered over is stalling, it's awful especially when you start to panic and can't get it started which leads to more stalling , frustration, anger and upset. It's very important that you need to be calm and collected and concentrate on what you're doing.

3 - Patience is key at junctions and roundabouts trying to quickly pull out in front of cars can be worse than you think and especially a bad habit to pick up before your test, it's better to get a minor for being hesitant than a major for being dangerous and instantly failing your test.   

4 - Practise, if there's something you're not confident at go practise it over and over again until you are confident that you can do it. Practise makes perfect.

5 - One way road trick, if you're unsure whether you're on a one way road or not check which way the cars are parked it's usually a good indication. 

6 - Gears, one thing I first struggled with was going from 5th gear down to 4th and getting lost to wether I was in neutral or a gear. I was taught a trick which is very simple. Whilst in 5th simply knock it into neutral and straight down to 4th it sounds stupidly simple but instead of doing it all in one move I found it simpler to do it in 3 steps and have never been lost in the gears since.

7 - Reverse park trick, the trick I was most thankful for, my instructor taught me this trick a week before my test it's a test saver as I just couldn't reverse park within 3 movements. 

Step 1: pull up beside the car your reversing around.

2: as your back seats are inline with the back of the car your reversing around turn the wheel LEFT all the way around once. 

3: now look out your left wing mirror and as the wheel trim meets the curb start turning the wheel RIGHT two full turns.

4: as the car starts straightening  up with the car in front (the car you just reversed around)  turn the wheel one full turn LEFT to make sure your tyres are straight.

In some situation you may need more left or right hand down but using this as a rule or thumb it works.

WALAH you can reverse park and since being taught this trick I can do it every time.

8 - Picking your test time, where I live the most busiest times are school times, start and finishing, I managed to avoid the dreaded lolly pop men, children running around and crossing situations, to stop or not to stop. Observe different times in your town and pick wisely. 

9 - Get to know your car, if you have your own car this is easy as in the test you will be driving in the car you practise in. The first time I began to learn driving I was in my parents car and practising in that but having lessons in my instructors car was making little improvement as I was used to a car with a high rev and petrol whereas my instructors car which was a brand new car and diesel powered.

10 - booking your test. When you get are ready to book your test you may want to think about it in advance, perhaps when you're about 2-3 week away from being ready for the big day as it can be 1 month until the earliest space available and if like me you don't  want to be waiting around and spending money on unnecessary extra lessons which cost a bomb, but not to worry if so you can change the date of your test online up to 6 times and keep checking daily for cancelations as I managed to get my test a week earlier than originally book from a cancelation at a much better date and time.

Thanks for reading and hope some of my tips and tricks help you.

Beth x

Autumn and Winter Outfit Haul

Perched at the window bench in my boyfriend's coffee bar I sat slurping my brew and people watching before I start my shift and thought it a good idea to begin writing this blog post as I have a busy weekend ahead of me, I shall be traveling to Liverpool and Leeds.

Just the other week I posted a autumn haul and since then I've purchased a few more items with the help of online shopping which I thought I should share with you. Recently I have being loving pairing my Topshop boots with whatever the outfit is and luckily for me they virtually go with EVERYTHING. I've also being wearing a lot of dark, grunge vibe? clothing possibly inspired by halloween and recently being told I look like I should be in  Hogwarts Slytherin house, compliment or not, I will pass it as pretty cool.

 BOOTS - TOPSHOP
SOCKS - PRIMARK

These boots are a pair I got as a gift earlier on this year and are amazingly comfortable to walk around in for hours, as I've said they go with everything especially A/W 2013 fashion. You can get other variations of this boot from around the market. I found these cute socks in Primark for super cheap in a multi pack with a burgundy and navy blue pair, you can never have too many socks.

SKORT - MISS GUIDED

After watching Sammi from BeautyCrush's October look book video on youtube I fell in love with the look of these skorts and had to purchase some. Since owning them have found they are a great design as you can tell from the name 'skorts' they are shorts and skirts all in one which is great for this time of the year as when the wind blows your skort doesn't blow up!

Whilst I was in Leeds I popped into the new shopping mall, Trinity Leeds and treated myself to a little something from Victoria's Secret and the staff there where great, I received the best customer service I have ever experienced and really happy with my purchase!

Thanks for reading.

Beth x

Winter Home Touches

I'm back but only a few days off track as life has been very busy lately with a short break in Scotland and revamping my boyfriend's coffee bar, Crema Espresso as he's just won UK's BEST LATTE award! Click the link to check out the blog he's just started if you're into great coffee. So with that happening I haven't had anything too exciting to report, but recently with all the seasonal excitement  of halloween I've being missing having to fuss about carving my pumpkin and the glow in the dark selections hanging around the place and seeking the more warming and comfort homely touch of winter as it's definitely not time for the Christmas decs to go up.

My first winter home improvement are these fairy lights wrapped around the frame of the bed which help the cold nights feel much cosier with the warm golden glow they give off, also reminding me its almost christmas, yay!

This contraption is something I made whilst in Scotland as I was inspired by a woodland walk we went on which was hosting an arrange of natural sculptures.I started collecting forest ground items such as the acorns, fur cones, feathers and branches I got to work creating this natural winter themed indoor mobile using wool to attatch the hanging pieces. Not does it only look good it was actually quite fun, passed the time and was free.

I'm quite obsessed with lighting candles on an evening and I think it can add a mood and brighten up the cold evenings. At the moment I've only purchased the small versions of these Yankee Candles as I find they smell completely different when they are burning which makes choosing one hard for me to decide on one candle incase I hate the smell of it when lit. Here we have; the halloween special - Candy corn, black cherry, mandarin cranberry and not forgetting hot cider! Let me know your favourites by commenting any seasonal candles that you can reccomend. 

The next thing isn't really home decor at all but I've really being enjoying snuggling up in bed with a cup of tea and watching a good film and so far I've resisted watching Chalet Girl for the millionth time and purchased some pre owned films from CEX for next to nothing. 

Thank you for reading lovelys.

Beth x