My Questions For 'Gilmore Girls' Revival

*Disclaimer: There will be spoilers in this post, if you haven't watched the original series or the revival and don't want spoilers don't read any further.

Hello there,

I'm expecting that most die hard fans have seen the new series now! Gilmore Girls has been quite a huge part of my teenage life since I discovered it on E4. I loved how fast they talked (as people tell me I talk too fast) and how witty the dialogue was, and the references they used. I'm also sure this is where my addiction to coffee began...

When the original series ended I was heartbroken, as I felt there wasn't a resolved ending. When the four part series A Year in the Life was advertised, I thought all of my previous questions would've been answered:

What happens with Luke and Lorelei?
Will Rory get married?
Will Rory and Logan get back together? 

When the opening titles of A Year in the Life began, with sound bites from old episodes I was giddy with joy.

I loved how modern the filmmaking was, the first episode felt like a hug to the original series, the fast talking, wit and references, even the dialogue nodded to how long it'd been. It showed how easily the cast can still slip in to their roles again.

And, of course the homage to Richard Gilmore (Edward Herrman who passed away in 2014) I did tear up quite a bit!

It was great to see that not much had changed in terms of Stars Hollow and the characters themselves. The fact that Lorelei and Luke still can't communicate to each other about things in their relationship. I wanted to see more of all of the characters, I didn't even recognise Miss Patty! I thought maybe she had died and they cast someone in her place, but she actually had a huge weight loss! I wanted to see more of Lane and April, but there was a lot to cover in each of the episodes so I might let them off...

Here are my new unanswered questions:

1. Who's the dad to Rory's baby? 
We were left with this bombshell in the finale, and there could be five possibilities (Logan, Jess, Paul, the Wookie - but we don't know who this could be, or I saw someone on Twitter mention that Rory could be a surrogate to get money, I don't hold my hopes on the last one, but it's still a possibility) This must mean we'll get another series right? I don't know how long I can wait for more!

2. Will Paris and Doyle get back together?
I loved their relationship, and I hope they get back together as they are both so nutty (the town house with the stairs that kept making nannies leave was hilarious)

3. Will Emily make it to the wedding on time?
Towards the end of the last episode, Luke and Lorelei get married before their wedding, and we see Emily blissfully enjoying her new abode...this is nice and all, but will she attend their actual wedding??

Also I love how sassy she gets after Richard passes away, I have a new found love for Emily, and I want to see her like this always!

4. Can Luke swim now?
I know he had some swimming lessons and dated April's swim coach, but we never saw him properly swim. But, he was the life guard to the outside swimming pool? How?

5. Will Sookie come back to the Dragonfly?
I may have been more upset than Lorelei that Sookie wasn't working at the Dragonfly (might be because Mellisa McCarthy is super busy right now, but still that's not an excuse missy!) I was hoping she'd come back, after all the Dragonfly was both of their dreams.

6. Will Rory get a job in the field she wants?
I loved how relatable Rory was, she's a college graduate (a smart cookie), left home for work, but then has to come back home. This is a brutal truth of life after your degree, it's never guaranteed to give you a job straight out, and I really related to Rory having to move back home, as I'm finishing my degree this Summer. But, will she get that big permanent break?

7. Why can't Rory and Logan be together??
I loved their relationship in the original series, and it made me sad that they seemed nothing more than friends with benefits. They originally broke up when Logan proposed and wanted them both to move to San Fransisco, but Rory needed to figure her life out (which I thought was stupid, because she could've figured it out in San Fran, but she said she needed time). In the revival, she'd been in and out of London a lot, and Logan's family eventually were ok with their relationship...so why weren't they together? In the end Logan was my favourite boyfriend of Rory's, they seemed to fit together nicely and they only really broke up because Rory didn't want to make any rash decisions.

I feel like Gilmore Girls has always been more about Lorelei, it's her story of how she left a privileged life to bring up her daughter how she wanted. Throughout the series there has been times where I really haven't liked Rory, especially when she made decisions that impacted her relationship with her mother. I suppose that's because I mostly grew up with just my mum taking care of me and putting me first (which was also coincidentally when I started watching Gilmore Girls).

I feel like Lorelei gets the resolve she wants, she gets married to Luke...FINALLY. Although, there is the matter of children, but personally I don't really mind as they have Rory and April and as long as they are together, I'm happy!

But, at the end of A Year in the Life the tables have turned to Rory, all of the main questions surround her and what's going to happen.

One last comment on the revival, is that I love the scenes where the Life and Death Brigade 'kidnap' Rory, I love the outfits and that this is how Rory and Logan blossomed their relationship. It's possibly one of my favourite scenes from the new series.

HOW CAN THEY NOT BE TOGETHER??

I hope I don't have to wait too long to found out what happens next for the Gilmore's, but we waited this long before, just don't keep us waiting guys!

I hope you've enjoyed my little fan rant about Gilmore Girls, let me know what your unanswered questions are, or if you can answer some of mine in the comments!

Love Saffron x

De-Cluttering My Wardrobe

Hello,

If like me, you have a tendency to hold onto clothes much longer than necessary, and have a wardrobe bursting full of clothes you don't wear, then I might have some tips for you!

I thought I would share with you all a few methods on how to de-clutter your own wardrobe! I think it's good to do this a few times a year, if not once per season to see what you do and don't wear on a regular basis.

Usually I'll give away the odd bag or two to charity, and I'll cling on to my 'maybe' clothes praying that one day I will fit into them! Or they are just too pretty to leave my wardrobe. Taking inspiration from Marie Kondo (I haven't read her book yet, but I've heard about it, it's one of those books I keep meaning to read!) and some of my own methods, hopefully you can de-clutter your wardrobe.

1. Hold the piece of clothing
Does it bring you joy? (reference to Gilmore Girls - A Year in the Life) If it doesn't make you happy why do you have it? Get rid.

2. Do you fit into it?
If it doesn't fit you, or you aren't comfy in it why are you holding onto it? And don't answer that you'll lose weight. We all know that's unlikely to happen, and you can't guarantee to lose the weight in all the right places. Get rid.

3. Have you worn it recently?
I'm guilty of not wearing a lot of my clothes, I'm unsure as to why because I fit into a lot more than I thought! If you haven't worn it and don't think you'll have an occasion to wear it...Get rid.

4. Try it on
Find a day where you can try on the whole of your wardrobe, this way you'll see what you fit into, and what you don't like anymore. Make three piles: 'Keep', 'Maybe' and 'To go" try and minimise the 'Maybe' pile, as I tend to have bigger maybe piles than to 'Keep'. The only way you're going to have a deep cleanse is to try and keep it to 'Keep' and 'To go' but sometimes you need a second opinion. If it doesn't fit, doesn't suit you, doesn't enthuse you to wear it...Get rid.

Now, don't think I'm being preachy without taking on the task at hand. See below my pictures of my brutal de-cluttering! (These pictures aren't amazing, but I wanted to document the process)

Before: All of the clothes I wasn't sure about and wanted to try on.

After: (Excuse the writing, I had to save this image from my Snapchat..oops) Hopefully you can see that the 'To go' pile is bigger than my 'Maybe' and 'Keep' pile!

Because a lot of the clothes were brand new with tags, and never worn before I decided to try and sell my items on Depop (https://www.depop.com/saffroroon) so I took pictures of all thirty items (YES, 30!!) and see how it goes. Then I've folded them up waiting for their new owner to purchase them!

After making my 'Maybe' pile, I have decided to get rid of pretty much all of it, and they were jackets that wouldn't do up (what's the point of having a jacket if it doesn't zip up??) I've tried to be as brutal as possible, as my wardrobe has been bursting with clothes I don't wear and was hanging onto for far too long. I've had some items for seven/eight years and hadn't worn them in a few years!

I honestly recommend doing this, go through your clothes, pyjama's, socks and underwear, you'll feel so much better for clearing out, and you'll hopefully end up with more space!

I do usually give my clothes to charity, but because there were so many brand new items with tags on I've decided to sell. I haven't really done this before, and I do need the extra pennies to try and get out of my overdraft. (See 'Why I'm On A Spending Ban')

I hope my few tips and tricks have either helped or inspired you! Let me know in the comments if you've tried this, and how much you decide to get rid of!

Love Saffron x

Why I'm on a Spending Ban

Hello!

Welcome to my first post of 2017. It's been a bit overdue as I've been concentrating on writing my dissertation (thank god that's over!) and this post is going to be about budgeting and spending bans.

As a university student, it can be common for many of us to be *cough* in debt *cough*. I recently came out to my family and my boyfriend about my financial situation, as it wasn't getting any better not talking to anyone about it. Even though that terrifying number still lingers in my bank account, at least I don't have to hide it or suffer in silence.

With that came discussing the quickest way out of my overdraft, I put some money aside from my most recent student loan as I had "borrowed" money from myself to help fund the most expensive month ever; December. I'm still not 100% certain about using this money to bail out my overdraft, as that money is there for driving lessons etc. However, it would be a quicker way to get out soon, then all the money I earn would be mine.

I started to look at what needs to come out of my account each month; direct debits, rent, and travel costs. All of that already takes out quite a large chunk of my monthly wage, therefor I should not be spending more than I earn (a huge mistake I've made in the past year). Of which I decided to put myself on a "spending ban" I'd seen some other bloggers do this recently, and thought it's a good idea and hopefully will get me out of my debt soon(ish). This means no unnecessary spending, no more clothes, make up, food, alcohol, nights out...you start to get the idea. Although this makes me a tad sad, it's for the benefit of my bank account. Ideally I'd love to be out of my overdraft and in a considerable amount of credit by the time I finish university (May this year).

I worked out all of my incomings up until May, and my necessary outgoings, and I should be in credit if I stick to my spending ban rules.

The only loopholes of my ban, are if I need any trousers or leggings (as my thunder thighs tend to rub and make ginormous holes 👍🏼) and if I need lunch. That's pretty much it, apart from needing to pay to get my dissertation bound. I know there will be the small purchase here and there, but I need to stop impulse buying to make myself happy. Yes, I am one of those people who got stuck in a rut buying things for happiness, only to be left unhappy and purchasing more.

The past year has been difficult for me, and I found that buying things (make up, books and clothes) made me feel better for a short period. My bank balance can't afford this bad habit anymore, and I have my support system to help stop me end this cycle. Today, I really wanted to splurge and buy the new 'Too Faced Sweet Peach Eye Shadow Palette' and I was close to clicking purchase. I had a justifiable excuse at the ready "I got some money for Christmas, that makes it ok", feeling close to giving in I told my boyfriend, he saw the price of it and exhaled dramatically. By telling him I wanted to buy it, it meant I couldn't because if he saw that I bought a £39 eye shadow palette I'd get a scolding and a lecture about saving my money. (I'm not bashing Too Faced, their products are beautiful, and I appreciate that they are cruelty free, it's just a shame my purse doesn't stretch that far!)

My advice to those who need to save, or get out of their overdraft:

1. Create a spreadsheet, or get a bullet journal
2. Figure out your necessary monthly outgoings
3. Work out your monthly incomings
4. See if there's anything you can give up, or reduce
5. Then see how long it would take you on a budget to get the amount you need
6. Tell people close to you of your plans, so they can help and guide you
7. If possible get a persistent other half to nag you the whole way (this can be optional but recommended, same effect can be created by a close friend who has similar traits)
8. Set yourself weekly spending budgets, you can even only take out so much cash and only have that to spend

I also would recommend getting a pot or jar that you can't open (easily found in a pound shop) so you can dedicate so much money to go in each month, and add in any change in your purse, and see how much you accumulate in a year, or a set time frame. I'm going to do this to save up for Christmas!

I hope this post has been a little inspiring for those in the same position as me, or even just trying to save up and are struggling! There's many helpful tips on Pinterest or you can look into bullet journals, they can help motivate you reach your goals.

Let me know if you have any handy saving or budgeting tips!

Saffron x