REVIEW: My 2015.

Hello, hi and welcome! Usually I like to review and give my (not so professional) opinion on albums but today I thought, seeing as it's the end of the year, why not review my own year, to look back at what I've done and experienced.

I have loved 2015, it has been one of the best years of my 20 years of living in all honesty. I've traveled, seen some beautiful places, and met the most amazing people along the way.

So let's start, shall we?

J A N U A R Y:

January was quite an interesting month as I spent more of it at home rather than in Switzerland. Going home meant spending time with family and of course Becky.

Our first ever night out together which obviously means taking 100's of photos on the Mac.

In January I also was fortunate enough to meet Holly and Amy, two girls who were also nannies in Switzerland.

The first day we met aka the craziest day ever. They gave their numbers to a waiter, I had my first ever beer in life and we talked until 10pm and we were asked to leave because we'd been there for around 5 hours.. Oops.

 We spent this day playing in snow like kids, drinking beer on benches like classy lasses and eating amazing chicken kebabs. (I wrote a blog post earlier this year called 'Thalwil'.

January was also the month I decided I would be leaving Switzerland later on in the year in July. It was a tough decision, I loved where I lived, my job and my friends. But I knew I needed a new adventure in my life.

Song of the month: Meghan Trainor - Mr Almost. 

F E B R U A R Y:

February was a month of pure work and earning money. I didn't do anything spectacular but I did take Dana to Zürich for the day shopping. We didn't get chance to hang out often so once we got the opportunity we spent the day spending all our money. 

February wasn't really a crazy month, it was kind of like a 'forgotten month', I don't really recall anything exciting happening.

Song of the month: Ella Henderson - Lay Down.

M A R C H:

March was a cool month. 

In March I flew to Berlin for the night where I went for a job opportunity that would be starting later on in August. It went amazingly well(obviously). 

March was also when I got the news of when I'd be leaving Switzerland to return home: July 3rd, this meant I could start a countdown and make plans with family and friends(mainly Becky).

For some reason in March I decided to be an absolute nutter and get this pierced. I have five piercings, all on my ears. I don't have any tattoos but I'm thinking about it in the future ~ I want a lion and/or a quote(personal quote) in Italian somewhere.

My mum also told me in March she'd be visiting the following month for a week during Easter which excited me to no end(as you can imagine).

Song of the month: Rihanna feat. Kanye West & Paul McCartney - FourFiveSeconds.

A P R I L:

April brought many exciting activities! I only worked for a week in April as the family I nannied for were on holiday so I got to do and see many things. 

My mum visited for 8 days which was flipping fabulous. We went to Bern(photo above), it's my mums favourite city and she requested on the first day to go there so we did.

We also visited Geneva for the day which was on my 2015 bucket list. I got to go to the Jet D'eau, as well as the United Nations building and lots of other amazing places. It was such an amazing day and I would only have wanted to spend it with my mum.

Also in April I climbed up the St Urs Tower with my friend Jess(I also did a post about this earlier on in the year HERE.

I'm not scared of heights so it was an amazing experience as it was such a beautiful clear day and we could see the Bernese Alps. The only thing I didn't like was that it was very tight walking up the tower as it was a spiral staircase so it was really narrow and it wasn't easy to turn around in so it felt quite claustrophobic. But once we were out on the balcony it was stunning.

Song of the month: Tori Kelly - Unbreakable Smile.

M A Y:

May was a lovely month, it brought lovely weather too.

 Great weather meant many trips to Zurich on the weekends. For me, personally, Zurich was the best city in Switzerland. I loved going there whether it was summer or winter, but with lovely weather it really came alive. Boats would be out on the river along with pedalos and little fishing boats, street acts would perform, sometimes they'd be dancers or musicians or magicians, it would change every week. It just had a great vibe to it, and made you feel so happy and at home.

Also in May, Minty and I went to Ikea for the day which was one of my favourite days in Switzerland to be honest. I also purchased this little gem that is Herbert(Herbie) the hedgehog.

I also tried this out, it's dried out apple rings. I found it really strange as I'm not too sure it's something us Brits have. It tasted very weird, like chewing leather in all honesty. It's really difficult to chew and digest.

Song of the month: Rixton - I Like Girls.


J U N E:

June meant the countdown to returning to England really began. I pushed my boundaries to do things I'd never done and go places I wanted to visit before I left. One of these places was Luzern.

Minty and I went to Luzern for the day and it was honestly one of my favourite places I've ever visited. It was so beautiful and pretty, I wanted to take a photo of everything. On one side there was the town with shops etc then the other side was the mountains, the alps hidden behind them. It was truly breathtaking. 

I also went by myself to Thun, a place around an hour and half away from where I lived in Solothurn.

They love a good bridge in Switzerland, don't they?

It was a cute little city that I'd love to visit again some day.

June also brought one of the hottest weeks ever there. On one of those days Dana and I spent the day chilling. (I was too hot in this and went home to change later into a thin playsuit). It was a great day of subway, chats and dipping our feet in the Aare.

Song of the month: Jhene Aiko - W.A.Y.S.


J U L Y:

July brought a few tough goodbyes as I waved a 'see you later' to Switzerland and those I knew there.

The weekend before I left, Dana and I went to a carnival.

We drank a LOT of white wine, and met some crazy Americans. Dana also had to force me chinese food and water so I would sober up. Cringe. But anyway. it was a great night(what I remember). It was also the night that I took a video of a drunk Dana saying: "Natalie, someone has taken the floor... or you?" One of the greatest quotes of 2015 to date. When we woke the following day Dana was wearing my shirt I was wearing that night as a skirt, and I had somehow put on my pyjama top. We ordered pizza and watched girly films all day until I went home at around 7/8pm.

Also, in July I returned home for a month to see family and friends. I loved every single minute of it.

My sister & I

My brother & I

Of course my brother and sister were the first people I wanted to see. I always miss them so much when I'm away, it was amazing to come back and spend quality time with them.

I also got to see my beautiful best friend Becky.

We had some of the best days ever together. A sleepover that consisted of chinese food, taking photos with my selfie stick, dying Becky's hair pink at midnight and spending too much money on rubbish in Tesco.
We also went on a road trip to Birmingham to meet Louise Pentland, aka Sprinkleofglitter where she signed our books(Darcy too). Becky almost killed us with her driving but it was okay, we were alright(thanks god).

Becky also stayed at mine for the night, the following morning we heard Drag Me Down for the first time and almost fainted, we also played games in the garden with my niece.

We went on a road trip to Meadowhall, made crazy dubsmashes and loads more - it would all be too long to write.

Also in July, I got to meet up with some old school friends.

Anjelica, myself and Gurpreet.

 These two are two of my oldest friends I have. I have known them both since I was around 5/6 - and I'm 20 now. I believe I will always be friends with these two, I couldn't imagine not having them in my life. They're the two people who I may not speak to everyday but I can always rely on being there.

Lauren(front), myself and Sonya.

These two were my best, best, best friends at school. I have shared some absolutely amazing memories with these two. Sonya was the only girl I was close with in my tutor group so we always just got on and had a bond because of that. And Lauren has just always been there for me, it's kind of funny really; we started secondary school disliking one another. People would say we looked alike and we didn't like it so we decided to hate each other. Then, one day we magically became friends for whatever reason and then we just became such close friends.

I also saw Charlotte who is the only friend I've known since I was 4 but we didn't take photos together because we spent the meal literally talking non-stop. We didn't have time to do much else.

Song of the month: Nicki Minaj ft Ariana Grande - Get On Your Knees.


A U G U S T:

August was also a mixture of emotions month. On the 5th was my 20th birthday. I have finally come to terms that I am no long a teenager anymore. It took some time, but I am okay.

My little brother and I on my birthday.

I saw my dad, brother and sister on my birthday, then met my mum in town with Becky, Charlotte and my nephews. I did a post about this which is HERE.

August was also the month I said goodbye once again(why is my life full of goodbye's?!) and moved away to Berlin, Germany aka the greatest city in the world(in my opinion).

I couldn't wait to move to Berlin, I was honestly so excited for a new adventure to begin. it exceeded all of my expectations too. It is my favourite city yet and I've visited a few i.e: London, Paris, Zurich,Geneva, Antalya..

I was also able to meet some incredible friends in Berlin too.

Carlee, Jordaan and myself.

One night I was invited to a house party by Carlee that was taking place soon and I felt so anxious about it. I contemplated it and thought it over for two whole days, I talked myself out of it but when I told my friend Franklin he offered to go with me and I was so glad he did. Without him going with me I never would have gone and I never would have met the people I did. Note to self: Say yes more!

Cologne.

I also got the opportunity to go to Cologne for the evening too in late August. It was a fabulous trip even though it was a short one. I walked over the bridge that was full of locks, went inside the famous cathedral and had one of the best ice creams I'd ever had in my life.

Love lock bridge in Cologne.

Song of the month: Gabrielle Aplin - Panic Cord Hucci Remix.
 

S E P T E M B E R:

September brought a lot of traveling for me. At the beginning of the month I went to Majorca where I got to see some beautiful sights of the island, one of my favourite places was Alcudia.

It was beautiful weather and I couldn't have been more thankful for the experience, it was amazing.

Towards the end of September I had a month of travel planned so I met up for drinks and a night out with my Berlin friends before I left.

At the end of September I set off with my job for a months travel. First stop was Spain, a small town called Guadix near Granada. My threes weeks there enabled me to meet some of the greatest people I have ever met in my life and I wouldn't have changed a single minute of it.

We got to explore a part of Spain I had never been to, and see things I didn't think were possible. The middle photo is a photo of a small village built from caves. Simply amazing.

Song of the month: Alessia Cara - Seventeen.

O C T O B E R:

October meant a little bit more traveling, this time to Turkey, a small town called Lykia.

It was the cutest place ever in the mountains, on one side was the ocean, on the other pomegranate fields. Pure bliss.

After Lykia we went on to Antalya where I got to experience the crazy markets which I unfortunately didn't get any photos of.

Antalya.

When I got back to Berlin in late October I was able to catch up with friends again which lead to a night out at some random club that gave us a free magic show at 2am..

Natalie, myself, Amelie & Joss about to watch a magic show.

October also meant Halloween, not an occasion I usually celebrate, but I dressed up for it and had a drink or seven..

Mairi & I on Halloween.

Mairi-Jane went as an alien and I was dead scary spice(I wore leopard print leggings - tragic).
It was a great night, I didn't get home until 5am because I am wild. And my train got delayed.

Song of the month: Tori Kelly Ft Ed Sheeran - I Was Made For Loving You.



N O V E M  B E R:


The traveling didn't stop there, November consisted of a week in Kitzbuhel, Austria.

I also went to Hamburg for the day too.

Hamburg townhall.

When the traveling eventually finished I was happy to spend some time with friends back in Berlin.

Riana, Ashley, Gaby, Mairi & myself.

We spent to day exploring Berlin, drinking Starbucks, discussing Justin Bieber nudes and chinese food(a pretty great day if you ask me).

Song of the month: One Direction - Wolves.



D E C E M B E R:

My mum flew out to me at the beginning of December which made me so, so happy.

Mum & I at the Berlin Wall.

Berlin Wall.

Alexanderplatz Christmas Market

We went exploring together which is my favourite thing to do with my mum as we always like to go to the same places. We visited the Berlin Wall, Bradenburg Gate, Holocaust Memorial, Alexanderplatz and a few Christmas markets.

With December comes Christmas which meant it was time for me to fly home to spend Christmas back in Nottingham.

The day after I landed I visited my brother and sister - I was so excited to see them both.

My sister & I.

My Christmas day was quiet and I only saw strictly close family; Mum, Dad, Brother, Sister.

My brother, sister & I.

I got some lovely gifts, but the main thing I was thankful for was my family. I am always grateful of my family.

Song of the month: Hailee Steinfeld - Rock Bottom.




My 2015 has been absolutely.. crazy.

It's had highs, lows and inbetweens. I've said goodbye to many people, but also met some great people too. I have so many highlights and happy memories from this year and I couldn't be thankful. I want to thank everyone who has made my 2015, there are some people I started 2015 with but I won't be ending it with them, it may be sad to some people but I just say: when one door closes, another opens.

This year has taught me that.

Here's to 2015 being a great year, and to 2016 being an even better one(if it can top this year).

Peace out 2015.

Natalie xx