Reflections of 2013

T'was the night before New Years and all through the house people were drinking... even the mouse!
I am also reflecting over 2013 as a year in general. The last year has been difficult with a relapse of depression which I will talk about in more detail in another post, a complicated flat mate, a break up and even the end of a 10 year friendship.
So given the highs and lows of the year, here is a round up of the best and worst parts of 2013 and all the lessons they taught me! :)

La Vie Française: it sucks!

I am currently sat in a class where the tutor expects ridiculously fast writing from you to the point where my hand cramps up in every class. I tried to take a picture of an image on the presentation and was told not to take it and yet there was no information on where I could find the image. No, in fact I'm meant to be a mind reader and must automatically know these things!! Obviously, how foolish of me!

The Ugly Duckling

If I could go back and tell the 15 year old me some advice it would be this:

You are beautiful. The boys don't like you because you're not easy and the girls don't like you because you're not easy (and that makes them jealous.)

Ahh the ugly duckling.......

Music Shapes Us

I came across a really aweome album the other day by a band called Krewella. It's a mash up of of dance beats and dubstep style music that gets the blood pumping and your feet moving. I've always like music that fast paced, like the prodigy but when I turned 16 as you will all know from previous posts and the youtube video I made, I got into the whole "death death, bang bang" scene... That is the name my parents gave the image not me before y'all go crazycalling me judmental! I did the whole black eyeling and Vans thing and got into the alternative music scene!

If you'd told me way back when, that I would have liked the music that I do now, I'd have laughed in your face! This got me thinking to how music shapes who we are and how me act and naturally, our attitude to life............

I want some!

Bringing Sassy Back!

There's something to be said for upping sticks and moving to another country. It's terrifying, it's exciting and it's a mash up of every fear you've ever had about yourself. Mostly though it's the biggest boost of confidence you could ever have! ;)

Lyon by night!

Shoe Porn: The Riko Case

See what I did there?! With the play on words? Rico cases are to do with the FBI and are pretty important... Just like the shoes I am about to show you!

I was browsing Net-A-Porter this morning, wishing I had more money than sense, when I stumbled across these fabulous heels!

SOPHIA WEBSTER; Riko cutout patent-leather and suede sandals. 

The Escalator Fandango!

Now some of you may know, that my sense of fashion as a teenage resembled something from a late nineties reject girl band. When I was young, I wanted nothing more than to be just like Sporty Spice, with her toned abs and penchant for pulling off jeans and crop tops. And the high pony tail? I was a master of that hair style for sure! As I got older, I went through a phase of wearing heeled boots and kitten heels. I was about 13 and felt super grown up and thought they made me seem more important and successful. Then came my late teens; by age 16 I was living in my Vans with baggy jeans and the grunge look down. I didn't care what the authorities thought-- I was a badass and I would not conform!

Unfortunately I didn't have the advantage height of heels in this scenario...

Lumière De Vie: The Science Behind Beauty

Being a lover of all things French or even remotely French sounding and an assortment of beauty products, I was excited to have stumbled across a new brand of skin care products called Lumière De Vie.

I have been on a mission for the last year or so to find some skin care products that actually suit my skin, which is awkwardly dry and sensitive, often being allergic to many "natural" skin products. I wanted to research a little more into this brand in order to decide whether or not I should fork out a portion of my hard-earned money on their range.

Fashion Snaps: The Style Tribe Column

It's no secret that I am a sucker for a good shoe. I've been known to battle it out with teens for shoes in the sale and even ordering from another country for that coveted pair of heels. *Le Sigh*
I was on the internet the other day searching for some fashion advice (because even classy gals like me need advice sometimes) and I came across something on the Glamour Magazine website called Style Tribe.

The Name Behind The Blog

I get asked quite a lot what the meaning of SassyLassy16up actually is when it comes to ye old blog. And because this question is one that gets frequented by you badasses often I thought I'd just explain myself a little and clear up the confusion.

Public Displays of Affection

We've all been there, we've all seen it and some of us have even envied it. Affection. That sought after emotion we want with another person, to be unapologetically ourselves, around another person and still love and be loved for it!

Romance isn't just sex

Ooh La La!!

So it turns out that my fairy godmother was looking down upon me over the last few weeks, organising my apartment in France, my money and all the other problems that seemed to rain down on me.

As a result, I blog to you today from Ze Land of Ze Frogs! Yep I have upped and left England and begun a year long adventure in France! It's going pretty well so far I must admit! Although money is tight and I am living on a shoestring, the weather is good, university is (frustrating but good) coming along well, I managed to take my Spanish exam without any hiccups and I'm starting to make friends.

Winners Never Quit... Quitters Never Win!

My life is so far from going to plan right now... I had 2 days of calling around French people for some accommodation only to be told I need a French Guarantor, by the time I actually organised it and paid for the pleasure, I found out that Student Finance England (being the stellar organisation that they are) have messed up my loan for the THIRD year running. So I give them my greatest congratulations because it is looking like I won't be going on my year abroad thanks to them.

Back to Training!

It's that time of year again when people start itching to sign up for marathons and set new goals, ready for race season! So I have decided to get back into training and really dedicate some time to my fitness...

20Things About Me

I've been tagged in this post by a number of people now so I suppose I should get on with it!

So here goes...........

The Importance of Dedication

There are 3 things I want to really focus on this academic year. I want to spend time on my studies, improve my running and become a green belt (minimum) in karate by next summer. In order to do this I have to have one very important thing: Dedication.

I have met some truly inspiring people this year who make me want to do better but also make me believe I can do better! And in light of the fact that I am moving to France in a couple of weeks, I decided that it was time for a fresh start and a fresh focus on things...........


Karate World Champion Vicky Panetsidou.

Karmic Powers and Other Such Stuff!

Now I'm a firm believer in Karma. You get back what you put out there: 3 fold. So basically be nice and people will be 3 times nicer back... Be a total bitch and people will return the favour times three. So please let me just remind you that if you find yourself alone, with no friends left and feeling hard done by then the chances are, you've brought some of that on yourself!! SUCK IT UP!

Life is your Blank Canvas

Just a little picture I stumbled across tonight...

I love it because:

• Life is a blank canvas with which we can do anything!


• It shows that you should never be afraid to take a stab at something-- if you don't try it will never work out!


• Drawing/ designing your life is a freedom like no other-- every choice you make is another stroke of the pencil!

Have you guys seen any inspiring pictures lately?? :)

The Value of Friendship

This year at university has taught me a lot about friendship and how fragile it truly is.
But when it comes to long term friends and crossing that ever important line, do we know when to cut our losses?

Only Young Drivers

Guess what!!!! I'm going to be writing for MONEY!! Yeahh man! I'm going to be an actual writer! Don't get me wrong this blog is my pride and joy but to actually get paid to write things down is a blooming miracle!

Say No To Starbucks..?

Now we all know I'm like a crack addict when it comes to my coffee-- I don't care where I get it as long as I get my fix!!! So imagine how thrilled I was to hear that my uni was suggesting a STARBUCKS ON CAMPUS!!! Oh my gosh, double skinny tall caramel machiato wotsits would be coming out of my ears when I returned to uni-- excitement doesn't even cover my sentiment to a PROPER coffee shop on campus!

Saved by Starbucks on Oxford Street!

Fashion Snaps: Wild Wild West!

With summer looming (in the far far FAR distance!) shops are cracking out the sales left, right and centre so that the bag we've had our eye on for weeks is now 70% off and those shoes we really don't need but desperately want because, let's face it: who doesn't need velvet peep toe wedges in magenta?!
The only problem is that you are not the only one with these thoughts! So it's clear that things are gonna get nasty...

Fashion Snaps: I <3 Keira Knightly!

Now I don't often have celebrity idols/crushes but one that I have had for a VERY long time, solidly is Keira Knightley! I love most things about her such as her style, her gumption and her fashion. I think she's very talented and rather humble, which makes her good at what she does and generally a nice person!

Feeling Sassy!

Surrounding yourself with people who make you feel good is the most important thing that I've learnt this year! Lately that's what I've been doing and I've really noticed a difference in my personal confidence levels!

Summer has Been and Gone Apparently!

Ahh remember that bank holiday weekend that's just passed us by, far too quickly? Yeah me too, it was a little fresh but the sun was shining, I didn't have any exams for 10 days and I had some spare money... Which clearly only meant 1 thing: BBQ TIME!!!!!!

The Art of Reinvention, La Belle France and Melvita Times!

How do you manage to settle into your personality when you're still stuck in the toxic situation that changed who you were in the first place?!

It's all About Being a Girl!!

You know what's just hit me? I'm a girl. Don't get me wrong, I've always known that I'm female but I'm an actual girl. Which means that it's okay to take an interest in fashion, beauty and make-up but to still love rock music, have piercings and go running!

Sporting my new lipstick, hair and sweater! =)

Mind that; there's a Wall there!!

I've been hitting a wall as of late with le Blog, I just haven't really been able to get my thoughts down into actual words. It seemed that no matter what I wrote about, whatever topic and wherever I turned, there it was the great wall of Writers Block. Fortunately for you guys, I took a break to find a bulldozer and have now demolished said metaphoric wall!!!!!!!!!!!

So today I thought we'd have a bit of a catch up, and natter about what's going down in Sassy Land at the moment!

Let's Catch Up, shall we?!

Summer Summer Summer Time!!!

SO SPRING/SUMMER HAS FINALLY ARRIVED!!

Can you tell I'm excited? Can you, really?! :P I have indeed cracked out the shorts and am one to boogie on down with my amigos! I'm back at uni and after lots of revision at home *cough cough* I am ready to buckle down to some real exam prep!

Another Step Forward!

Things have been super crazy right now but look at who I stumbled across and what I've been inspired to get up to....

Give 'Em Hell!

I've been watching Revenge lately, and it got me to thinking: Should you take revenge on someone who has wronged you?

In a word: no. But believe me when I say I have been there and done the whole revenge thing myself. In fact, someone in my life (we'll call her Miss Misery) who crossed me in possibly one of the WORST ways they could, got a nice dish served up cold!

Things Are Looking Up (Oh Finally)!

Brownie points for quoting song lyrics in the Title of this post. But that's the funny thing with music. Some of it is great to dance to, some music is good to be angry or sad to. Some music relaxes and sometimes, music just sums up your life. I get this a lot with the band Paramore. Yep that pop punk band that everyone says sold out but you know what, it just seems that whenever they release a new song, it resonates with my life!

Freedom of Speech and Expression

Just wanted a little word about some things we like to call in good old Blighty, Freedom of Speech and Freedom of Expression. Now if you know me, you know I'm not one to take anything lying down. So a few weeks ago a girl I know caused a major shit storm in my life that had some very significant domino effects.

Getting back to the Root of Things!

I touched up my roots on my hair today and it has changed more than just my hair colour!



I'm not one to really wear my heart on my sleeve; I don't usually take a chance on a special someone and I really don't like to leap off the edge and hope free-falling will work out! But actually, I took a chance on just how red my hair would turn out and I love the end result!

Smooth As Silk

Everyone knows that I'm a little bit of a grunge kid, so when I was invited down to Silk Road in Colchester, my immediate reaction was firstly, that it probably wasn't my kind of thing and secondly, who would I know that was even going to be there? And why would I think that? Well amigos, Silk Road is a club that serves up hip hop, RnB and all things with a completely different base to what I'm used to... I really only listen to this genre of music when I run, because the beat is perfect for pavement pounding!

Boy was I ever wrong!

Cutting it Fine!

Ahh deadlines are looming and all I hear people saying is that they've left it all to the very last minute... Again! I'm not one for being finished weeks before my deadlines, but really I'm a prep girl! I like to prepare my work, do some research plan my essay and structure it so that it doesn't look like I wrote it up an hour before it's due in. In fact, I'm usually finished by midnight the day before, not to sound smug or anything! ;)

However, for my fellow students (and business folk) I am gonna give you the low down of how I stay on top of my rather large and rather crap workload! It's all in the organisation, so if you're not prepared to do the work before the (actual) work then look away now!

If it's not on the calendar, then it's not going to happen!

I'm a Writer...

I don't know whether you've picked up on this shiz yet-- I know I've pretty much only just realised, but I'm kind of a writer. I love writing. I can sit and write my novel for hours, though typing it up is probably gonna be a royal pain in my ass!

Fashion Snaps: The Home Edition

It's not often I get to brag about homely bits and bobs but having had to reassess my living situation, I thought I'd include a post on my favourite pieces about the home!

Viva Valencia!

So over the summer I went on a study vacation to Valencia, Spain. I'm pretty sure you'll all remember how homesick I got and how certain things went wrong. Well despite all these things, I still look back now, thinking about how I miss it and wished I'd done more!

My trip to Valencia was not only enriching in terms of how much I learnt about the language, but also in terms of the friendships I forged and the confidence I built! :) But most importantly I learnt about myself.

And I thought it would be just another holiday!

The Importance of Positivity

Last night I made the revelation that I'm going to start getting up at 5am. Now even I know it's a little on the bonkers side but I did get asked, why I was getting up so early when I should just utilise my time better and wake up later.

Oh Hello Ridiculous O'Clock!

It's that time again where I decide to up the game from 9am wake up calls to 7am wake up calls. Except now, I'm going to up them to 5am wake up calls!! I KNOW!!!! It's insane right?!

Well essentially, I've decided that if I'm ever going to fit in all the things I want/ need to in the day then I'm going to have to haul my ass outta bed each morning at FIVE O'CLOCK!!! Basically I've discovered that with all the extra studying I will be doing as of next week, and classes and gym AND running, things will be absolutely nutty, if I'm going to fit it all in then I'm going to have to get up earlier! :)

Jetting Off To Paradise!

If you've not guessed after the year and a half I've been doing this blog thing, then you should probably know that I love travelling!
I have worked my ass off for the last 5 years, in order to go away every year, to somewhere new, somewhere beautiful and generally somewhere I might find an adventure. I recently watched the film "Letters To Juliet" which is a sappy rom-com, but for me the best part of the film was seeing the different places the characters ended up: Vineyards, The House of Capulet, the beautiful Italian countryside.

Breathtaking!

Time Out!

Given some personal circumstances that have been going on, both at home and at uni, I'm gonna be taking some time out. Only for about a week but I think it's important to switch off and unplug in order to stop me from going completely insane! I know how important it is to keep in touch with your friends and those you love but in all seriousness, sometimes you just need some tranquillity and essentially a sanctuary to clear your head of all the drama.

I wish I was going here...

So amigos, I will be back in 1 week with a better frame of mind and a completely badass post. :)

Say NO to Domestic Violence

Me being a feminist, I'm all up for women taking the steps to empowerment. But sometimes, us ladies (and some men) can get into situations that you don't realise are detrimental to your health until the damage has been done.

I have been in this situation, I know people who have been in a similar situation and today on le blog, I just wanted to discuss the warning signs that should show red flags in your relationship, as to whether your partner could go from mental abuse to physical abuse........

We SHOULD talk about it more!

Dipping into The Unknown

As you all know, I love to change my hair colour and pretty much sway between the reds and the blondes. I've been blonde for about a year now and I'm not going to lie, I'm bored already! :P

SO, I've been tempted to dip dye my hair since October but have been a little nervous about what it's going to turn out like. None of the home dye kits had the shade that I wanted and I can't afford a hair dresser! I've dabble in dip dye before with my hair extensions but this was my ACTUAL hair!! :O

Me with the Blonde and my blue dip dye hair extensions!

Go back to the Play Pen Kids!

Where do adults get off acting like jealous, insecure teenagers? Seriously! I'm on a rant so I'll warn you now, if you treat others like you're an extra from Mean Girls then get outta ma way!!!

Don't try the BS with me...

Being Realistic

We’ve all been there at some point, getting into something new, going into each run determined and then coming out feeling full of badassery and awesomeness! But then, you skip a run… Then you skip another and that long run you had planned? Yeah you’ll make it up tomorrow! Before you know it, you’ve fallen so far behind that you’re back to square one all over again and it can be hard to get back into the swing of things.

Be Pretty on Rest Days: The Book!

If like me, you've caught the running bug and have either only just started or have major burning questions about how to improve your running then I can whole-heartedly recommend the following:

Bangs and a Bun presents: Be Pretty on Rest Days (an introduction to running)

I have GOALS not Resolutions!

I'm a firm believer in having goals rather than having resolutions... The reason being is that every year we make our New Year's Resolutions, go full force into them and then fizzle out before the end of January.