this is my other face.

skipping the meal for a g&t

2012-02-22T15:09:00.000Z

At uni they keep scaring us about how difficult it is going to be to get a job. So naturally I went to London and bought this ankh necklace. My main priority at the moment is drinking tea. When will it be spring? Tired of waiting.

"If you always do what you always did, you will always get what you always got"

our day will come

2012-01-20T12:37:00.000Z

How I Met Your Style.
New fave way to waste time! It's almost as good as The Coveteur.

hey new shoes, hey!

2012-01-16T10:34:00.000Z

new look boots, which i had given up hope of owning, prior to my housemates' hawk-eyed online shoe spotting skills. much love.

where they go hardcore and there's glitter on the floor

2012-01-09T22:52:00.000Z

i have a thing about canvas bags.

don't balance on a spindle, and smile when you know I'm uptight

2012-01-09T22:31:00.000Z

zara colourblock knit, my only real sale swag of this year. Economising, woot!
and a blurry snap of my minnetonka moccasin booties, christmas coins wisely spent. I think they're cute! Unfortunately my family think its hilarious to ask if they're slippers.

In between catching up with old faces, I seem to have spent a lot of this break reading - as in, non uni-related books(!) - which is really nice as for about a year there I sort of lost interest in reading. Now that I'm feeling the buzz again, I'm like a machine, most recently devouring some other Antonia White (Frost In May is one of my favourites ever ever ever). Most of my friends are back at uni now (sad face) but I get another couple of weeks of January off (dare you to suggest I'm on a slackers course, see what happens, muah ha ha..etcetera) so I hope to crack on with a few more books whilst the house is quiet. A lot has changed since this time last year. Appreciating the little things now, like still moments in my room & making tea in an actual teapot.

BIG LOVE

two AM, I think I am gaga, maybe I've gone too far, I'm dancing on the bar.

2012-01-03T10:16:00.000Z

To sing Auld Lang Syne whilst decked out in glowsticks, to spend new years day eating pizza served in a frying pan, to drink cheap wine and meet new people and party with a selection of the besties. Thats what made this New Years fun and I hope yours were just as perfect.
BIG LOVE

you left for london when you were nineteen

2011-12-14T12:13:00.000Z

Christmas jumper, on.
Santa hat, bought.

Heinz tomato soup to see off the chill, before tonights last pre-christmas raz before I head home for the holidays. So perfect. (sorry for the hideous photo but it made me laugh) x

you and me in a photo booth, 10

2011-12-07T21:54:00.001Z

Hey kids heyyyy

How are we all?

Remember when I promised to blog regularly? Yeh about that. Hah :) Follow me on twitter (@lizzies_face) cos you can't keep me off that. especially when I'm meant to be essay writing...

No excuses. Other than I'm coming to the end of my first semester as a second year student, how time flyyyyys eh? So just finishing off deadlines in the next few weeks and then I can go home! So much fun stuff is gonna kick off this christmas, I'm buzzing. This semester has been really fun too actually, might whack some photos up here when I have a second.

Our student house is decked out in twinkly lights. Can't stop listening to the albums of Florence Welch & Nicola Roberts.

"And here you come, with a cup of tea

Wreathed in steam.

The blood jet is poetry,

There is no stopping it."

from Kindness by Sylvia Plath

the aesthetic has changed.

2011-11-24T19:21:00.000Z

leopard print fit'n'flare dess - Republic

so much coursework, so little time.
not complaining though!

big love
xx

you and me in a photobooth, 9

2011-11-08T08:18:00.000Z

helloooo
uni has been H E C T I C... posting this before going out to my 9 am and then gonna write the crap out of an essay due next monday. party on down, amiright?
had a lovely friend visit me in pomp over the weekend which was included fun aquarium times, and all my housemates went home so I think if she hadnt been here I'd have had a major case of the blues! No fear though as I am headed home this weekend for my first visit this term and I am majorly excited to say the least.

hope youre all well
BIG LOVE x

\

How to make a gif

It's the little details...

2011-10-25T13:07:00.000+01:00

some close up shots of my room at university.

1.my precious moleskine, flower enamel necklace, the bow ring I never quite managed to give back to Kim 2.A framed photograph from Newquay this year in ornate black Paperchase frame, my Newquay 2011 wristband, and a scented reed diffuser in the background 3.Calvin Klein Beauty perfume and white tin tealight holder 4.Pretty bunting from one of my favourite shops, New England Store in Worcester 5.Pillows on my bed including my Beatles pillow, which is so comfy but I feel that Paul McCartney judges me as I flail around doing my exercise dvd... 6. the dreamcatcher I've had since I was about ten! Its from the Native american bit of Epcot, Florida 7.Well worn New Look moccasins and the paper bag I keep uni work in (got it from the freshers fair even though I'm not a fresher, cheeky) What can I say I'm a sucker for cute typography 8. Elle, my academic diary organiser and black/gold Skullcandy lowrider headphones 9.A wicker basket (you have no idea how many of these I have in my room...) and a couple of my ever growing pile of Vogue UK..I love to stack them. Its not my fault that they are beautiful enough to incorporate into decor!

A little tribute to two of my favourite pretty blogs, Ciao Domenica and This Is Glamourous.

I don't know when I turned into an old lady, but recently have got really into cosy interiors, home baking and decorating!

Coveting Le Creuset cookware and Mason Cash mixing bowls.

Loving anything berry coloured, honey and almond porridge and pumpkin pie.

Must be autumn setting in.

from the picture my mind drew, i know i'd look good on you

2011-10-22T13:17:00.000+01:00

I have very veeeerry thick hair, and if I'm not careful the sheer weight of it makes it go flat. Flatlined. Even when it's short.
So the other day I used my carefully hoarded Boots points to treat myself to Charles Worthington Volume Blow Dry Spray. I liked the shampoo from this range so thought I'd give it a go and holy cow it actually works. I don't know how it would perform on hair that's flat because it's thin, but for hair that's flat because it's heavy bish bash bosh jobs a goodun.
Have any of you tried it?

BIG LOVE (and big hair.) x

I ♡ knitwear...

2011-10-22T13:09:00.000+01:00

...don't you?

BIG LOVE x

more inanimate than amateur

2011-10-21T20:29:00.001+01:00

could I just say that this is my favourite website? and that you should browse it whilst wearing something fancy and consuming an entire cheesecake. Envious facial expression optional.

my my my, what have we here

2011-10-18T15:09:00.000+01:00

wow woah well wouldja look at that, it's been almost three months since I posted on here.
here are some photos of me pulling faces and ting.

I would not be surprised if there are none of you lovely readers left, but those of you that have stuck around thankyouuu for remaining subscribed, I shall lob some content at ya very shortly

The last few months of summer were spent soaking up the lingering last rays of evening sunshine, wandering through the Yorkshire countryside, eating far too many of my mothers peanut butter cupcakes and generally wasting time in the best ways possible.
Since moving back down to Pompadomp a month ago I have moved into a beautiful (not visually, but in soul) terraced house with four brilliant housemates and despite the second year workload piling up I can already tell that its gonna be a good year. Those of you that have been reading my blog for more than a year will know I had a rough old time of it as a fresher but all that is changing ohh yeaahh

I'm gonna make these blog posts brief but regular, (hopefully with lots of pictures, be they photobooth or not, and I'll still use it to pile up arty things I like) and even if nobody reads them it will be nice to prove to myself that I don't always give up on everything ;)

Hope youre all well, I have of course been reading blogs as regularly as ever all summer
xxx

shouting lager lager lager

2011-07-25T15:35:00.000+01:00

Mark Menjivar photographed the content of peoples fridges, as is, in the hope it reveals something about the owner. Accompanied by a job description, how many people live in the household, and a snappy one-line bio. See the rest here.

Innovative art, you guys! x

well honey, don't

2011-07-12T15:31:00.000+01:00

the next thing I shall save my pennies for is something by The Kooples. My favorite brand to drool over at the mo. Simple silk blouses, cigarette jeans, modern cuts in rock and roll fabrics. Chic, French and classic. Any of these skirts would do peachy, but I've particularly fallen in love with these Wedges, a snip at £105. Best get pinching those pennies then...

"it is better to be absolutely ridiculous than absolutely boring"

2011-07-12T14:53:00.001+01:00

adventures in Newquay.

me and my dysfunctional family style band of eight friends went for a week in seaside party town of the uk - Newquay, Cornwall.
There are no words for the amount of cider drunk, the hideously embarrassing encounters with locals/other holiday goers, the attractive faces we pull in photos, train journeys endured, and terrible songs listened to. We spent the week shouting catchphrases such as "flip flop time!", "duckface", and "possum fall!" at eachother, whilst avoiding our terrifying landlord and perving on lifeguards at the sunny beach.

Pics or it didn't happen.

dream yourself awake

2011-06-28T21:59:00.000+01:00

I am going to set aside my jealousy of all the people who were at Glastonbury festival this weekend, one of my besties was amongst them & I would very much have liked to have joined her running around a field covered in glitter and mud.
BUT here is something cool and sweet. Resident Glastonbury photographer Jason Bryant took these photos of before and after a couple of famous glasto sights. Enjoy the rest from earlier in the year, here.

watch out cos he'll steal your girlfriend

2011-06-28T16:05:00.000+01:00

loving:
barry m lip paint in Baby Pink (until i can justify £22 for YSL rouge volupte!)

Made In Chelsea (trashy tv at its best. constantly tipsy posh people - it epitomises everything that I know I should hate, yet everything that i want to be. sad, but true!)

Mumford&sons set at glasto (even if i did have to watch it on the tv rather than in the flesh)

hating: summer solstice being over (means shorter days! feels a tad like we're giving up before summer has even started)

british weather! (2 days of sweltering heat followed by cool wind and rain. logical.)

but hey ho, on friday I am off on hols with the crew! Watch out Newquay, us midlanders are invading. Every so often Im reminded how good a bunch of friends I have. Although organising a holiday for eight people is crazy difficult, more of a military operation. I am thinking of putting it on my CV as managerial practice.

;)

see I really like you, but I'm nothing like you

2011-06-22T00:05:00.000+01:00

Topshop NAILS in Delusion
Models Own in Juicy Jules

and i never felt so alive, and so dead

2011-06-17T16:03:00.000+01:00

hullo my lovelies, (sorry I've been a bit awol recently! been too busy catching up on everybody else's lovely blogs to write my own! haha the more I read the less I feel inspired with my own efforts, a bad habit I know, but I can't be the only one who thinks like this on occasion?)

anyway I would like to share my opinion on tattoos.
I don't have any, but really would like one. Although some people can carry off the arty sketchpad look, personally I think I'll only ever have one, maybe two. I also have quite specific ideas about what I think looks pretty (enough for me to have permanently inked onto me forever, anyway!) No coloured ink, and something small and delicate. It needs to be something I'd treasure, and never hate.
I don't think age would make you regret a tattoo of your youth. If it meant something to you at the time then it would be a momento of who you were, regardless of wether or not you are still them.
Despite being at the age when quite a few of my creatively minded peers are starting to get inked, I'm determined to hold out until my 21st birthday, because I have decided that I'd like a small outline, or maybe filled in, at the nape of my neck, of a key. This key, in fact!

It's the key to a sideboard/alcohol cabinet we have in our dining room in my familys house, I remember playing with it as a kid and unlocking all the different cupboards with it. It is ornate, but real. Also 21 is traditionally the 'key-to-the-door' age.. Call me sentimental, I know haha

Lord knows what my rents would say if I just strolled through the door with a fresh tat though, so I may have to broach the subject with them at some point over the next two years...
Do you have any tattoos? Or want any?

I spent today with a buddy from 6th form, we went back in to help out with 'Higher Education Day' for the lower sixth, giving our experiences of year 1 of uni, 'the things they don't tell you' that sort of thing. It was nice but exhausting. Got home to find these beauts in the post.

Naptime now ahah, hope youre all well!
BIG LOVE xx

endless, endless sky

2011-06-11T17:22:00.000+01:00

I went to this yesterday evening, at Cheltenham Racecourse. War and Peace at Giffords Circus.

Have been a good few years in a row now, it is always so so so breathtaking. If you can go, do! x

2011-06-11T17:10:00.000+01:00

new moccasins
yummy, and summer-y

"If you throw money out of the window throw it out with joy. Don’t say 'one shouldn’t do that' - that is bourgeois" - Karl Lagerfeld.

2011-06-07T21:37:00.000+01:00

aka the Biba purse post! (This post is wordy, and fashion-y. Just a little warning, I won't be offended if you don't read it!)

My recently emptied and curtly trimmed wardrobe is built of understandably modest labels - H&M and New Look mainly - I don't own anything designer (not through choice you understand but through lack of funds!) And when you can get designer inspired high street clothes for reasonable prices, why would you? The most expensive things I own are rings, one of which I got for my eighteenth and the other two are heirlooms - generally I love lovely things and although I have been known to splurge at topshop I'm hardly the last of the big spenders.

But for so long, ever since I saw this little beauty, I knew it might well be my first extravagant and entirely unnecessary luxury purchase. After some umming and aching, I saved my pennies up for it harder than I ever have before, kicked off by birthday money and then forcing myself to put pound coins into the silver teddy bear money box from my grandmas house instead of buying snacks or other useless little things I spend my change on.

Besides the odd time I had to dip in to the fund for laundry money (and that was a very dark day) I did pretty well, and after all that time I feel like I've earned buying this! Amazingly 'look after the pennies and the pounds look after themselves' is true! Saving change soon added up. (Obviously I didn't pay in the shop with my raggletaggle collection of 50p's and 20p's, that would just be silly.) My new baby cost £45 (and even that was reduced from £65!) which looks like nothing when its written under a picture in Vogue but in real life for a student like me I'd never considered I would actually PAY so much for something so unnecessary. I mean, I had a purse from Next, old and threadbare but in perfect working order...

However I do think it is perfectly reasonable for my first designer purchase to be at the respectable age of 19, and an investment I will (hopefully!) love and use forever; I may well look back on this day as an adult and describe it with relish and zeal, the start of a (restrained) love affair with luxury merchandise! Haha. Actually that is my view on luxury fashion in general - I agree excessive amounts are self-indulgent and unnecessary but the odd good-quality investment is just that, an investment. And I won't deny there is a bit of truth to the idea that you're buying into the lifestyle as much of anything, the values of the brand you choose and the way of life / quality of life they represent. I'm not denying, there was a buzz when this baby landed on my doorstep.

The purse is large enough to use every day, in peach leather embossed with the famous Biba stamp. You need to feel this leather. I wish you could all touch it, I now understand what they mean by 'leather like butter'. It is so soft I would like a bed made out of it and I could sink into it and swim about in its silky smooth sumptuousness. And it's peach!

Since Daisy Lowe relaunched iconic sixties brand Biba at House of Fraser in 2010 I have been in love with the dreamy looks harking back to my personal favourite fashion period, the sixties.

So, first classic purchase: DONE (and lengthily justified.)

PLEASE DON'T JUDGE ME! hahaha live and let live I say

BIG LOVE

close to the bone

2011-06-02T12:44:00.001+01:00

I've been feeling so insanely inspired since reading Detox by Becky-May from The Flower Girl. She in turn was inspired by Dead Fleurette. It boils down to the idea that what sense is there in the false economy of constantly buying cheap clothes which I then either get tired of or they fall to pieces? Investing in classics you will love forever makes far more sense.

I'm sure I've said that to myself before, but this time its aided by the fact that I have had a massive clearout and filled four charity bags with things I rarely ware or don't see myself wearing forever more. Hello guilt, for being such a horder. Recently moving out of my uni halls I realised that I brought my entire wardrobe with me in September, and then wore about 15% of it consistently. What a waste! We've all been there, thinking 'oh but I might wear it one day…'

So from now on, it is classic, timeless pieces. That doesn't mean they can't be fun, or to my taste! Let's face it, I will always be a little bit scruffy, and a little bit shabby. Much as I would love to dress only as Carey Mulligan in An Education, I will always have days when I've been listening to Beady Eye or Frankie and the heartstrings or watching skins, when I will just want to roll up my tshirt sleeves or the bottoms of my jeans, and lash on the necklaces. But this is fine. It's all about finding the balance. About classic pieces, not throwaway fashion. Good for my mind, good for my soul, and heaven for my bank balance!

key classic items i'll be searching for

classic worn-in parka
navy barbour/quilted jacket
soft slouchy grey blazer
good indigo skinny jeans
couple of slouchy breton striped tops
black (hopefully slightly girly) loafers
fit & flare short dresses
yellow slouchy shoulder bag

the idea of a capsule wardrobe is enticing. i have made a start already! any views on this? big love
x

you had a fun summer but its suddenly colder

2011-06-01T14:58:00.000+01:00

worse things have happened at sea.

2011-05-26T16:59:00.000+01:00

AHEM excuse me, people; this is the last blog I will write at this desk, in this little white cell-like room, in my university halls! Sad moment. I'm moving out for summer, and next term will be living in an actual house. Exciting times!

Right now, perched behind my chair, leaning against the wall and teetering dangerously is a huuuuuge pile of...stuff. I seem to have accumulated a lot of stuff. To be precise, 2 huge suitcases, 2 medium suitcases, one little suitcase, 3 'bags-for-life', a laundry bag and 4 waitrose-foldup canvas bags. PHEW.

I'm not sure why its sad to be leaving - halls aren't lovely. This room is not lovely. The window only opens a crack and the garish curtains give you a headache. My wardrobe has been door-less for 9 months (thanks, maintenance) and the carpet is mysteriously-stained. There are scuff-marks under the desk where my foot taps the wall, and the odd nail varnish mark here and there - but generally I have treated this room well, and whilst the early morning fire-alarms and people upstairs having parties at 4am might not have been brilliant, I can't deny that I've had some good times and met some lovely people in halls.

Above all it is very, very strange to think that come September some new person will be sitting at this desk, staring at the strip of wall, pretending they haven't got a pile of coursework next to them, and working their way through the content of iPlayer. Just like I did! And I may have written a nice little note and hidden it somewhere in my room, for them to find, is that sad? Tomorrow morning it'll be goodbye James Watson, goodbye Portsmouth, Hello Summer!

BIG LOVE xx

you and me in a photobooth, 8

2011-05-21T16:15:00.000+01:00

also known as
'that awkward moment when your hair actually looks nicer the next day than it did when you went out'

also known as
'that awkward moment you decide to put a makeup-free photo of yourself on the internet'

I am trying to select 50 photos which sum up the year, as my dad won free Snapfish prints. Tricky!
BIG LOVE x

alcohol lemon haze, i been watching you for days.

2011-05-21T12:04:00.000+01:00

I am dangerously close to completing my first year at uni. Well technically I already have! Hence the post-handing-in-last-assignment sudden increase in wine-and-food related blogs/tweets. Next Friday (assuming the world is still about, then) I pack up my little room and leave halls! To commemorate, here are some thoughts on my first year at uni, in the hope they will inspire and comfort those about to leave for their first years….

pizza is most definitely a food group. as is Red Bull. as is Nandos.

the library is open twenty-four hours at exam season for a reason

think of swipe card doors as a fun gambling game, rather than just assuming they will work.

radio times website has a really good highlights tv guide. just sayin

don't cause flatmate tension. at least, not till the last few weeks of the year

please don't buy dodgy meat after a night out. just, trust.

inexplicable bruises are par for the course

it is 100% possible to live on porridge

sleep is no longer reserved for nighttimes

and most of all this year I have learnt that Portsmouth is full of strange and complicated people, but also full of wonderful lovely gems, as I'm sure is true of the whole country over, and when you find such lovely people you should get them all together in one house and have a massive party with music and cider and then go home and do some work and basically you will have the best time ever.

photos from tumblr

2011-05-20T18:52:00.000+01:00

cellardoor magazine, and their blog. little slices of internet heaven.

champagne lifestyle, lemonade budget

2011-05-18T00:12:00.000+01:00

I SMELL LIKE BARBECUE SMOKE
I'M VERY WINDSWEPT
I'VE GOT KATS HAIR DYE ON MY WRISTS
I DOWNED HALF A BOTTLE OF WINE AT LUNCHTIME
WE WERE COLD AND SLIGHTLY DRUNK IN THE MIDDLE OF THE AFTERNOON
WE ALL LIE TO EACH OTHERS FACES
ITS NOT OKAY TO LIKE HIM
YOU HAVE TO DO WHAT MAKES YOU HAPPY
TODAY WAS SUCH FUN!
TONIGHT WILL BE TOO, EXCEPT THAT I CAN'T DECIDE IF I'VE PUT TOO MUCH VODKA IN THIS REDBULL OR IF IT TASTES VILE BECAUSE OF THE TOOTHPASTE

I hope you are all well my lovers?
Personally, feeling very inspired this week, hope you are too
BIG LOVE x

your life is your life, gotta live like its your life

2011-05-17T10:42:00.000+01:00

noah and the whale
the wedgewood rooms, portsmouth
10/05/11

"sick of being someone he did not admire,
took apart his old things, and set them all on fire,
he's gonna change, change his ways.
and it feels like his new life can start,
and it feels like heaven."

sorry for the noah overload, but, well i'm not actually sorry ;) you love it.

paolo was right.

2011-05-12T19:12:00.000+01:00

I think I have decided what I'm wearing tonight. I think. No I have, I have. New shoes, is this a painful mistake? Vodka and squash, and it's 'Anything But Clothes' night at Liquid but I am clearly wearing clothes, and if anyone thought I was going out in a binbag they can SING FOR IT.

Today I ate too much Nandos with course mates and things went back to normal.
also, tumblr, if youre interested
BIG LOVE
x

Candy Chang

2011-05-06T19:07:00.000+01:00

Candy Chang is an artist who took over the side of an abandoned house in her neighbourhood in New Orleans. Chalk is left out for passers by to compete the statement "Before I die...____"

The house has since been bought but she talks of popping up the project in other places now.
See the rest of the photos and read the updates here.
I think this is so special!
x

a victory for the kids who believed in rock and roll

2011-05-05T18:40:00.000+01:00

If any of you are university/college age people, or even beyond, do you know what you'll be doing as a job in the future? Cos I certainly don't! And I pretty much felt like the only one growing up, surrounded by kids with concrete job aspirations. Of course now I realise that most of the people around me only have a vague idea of the job they want, if that. And maybe I'm putting too much emphasis on career - I know its not the most important thing in the world. But I do think being happy is important.

So, blow it, if it all goes wrong here are my outrageous bank-busting back up options ;)
(also read: dream plans)

1. Village Pub
It is a fact of life that I have watched too much Corrie over the years, but this means that I am slightly obsessed with the idea of running a pub and living above it. The pub could be anywhere doesn't have to be a village, in fact in a slightly unhinged/romanticised way I wouldnt mind a slightly scummy street corner pub! But being the softie I am for a village green, pretty church and slow pace of life, this would pretty much be my dream job!

2. Vintage Boutique
I'm sure the current (last 2/3 years?) fad for vintage clothing will fade soon (and as an avid vintage fan hopefully this means the pricing will go back to normal!) but I hope there is always a market for good quality vintage. But I'm no snob; repro or vintage inspired modern pieces have just as much of a place and sometimes are even more perfect! I'd love to offer some kind of personable, glamorous service a la Lucy In Disguise haha (side note: have you seen their website? now that is a website)

3. Tea Room
Maybe I could even combine this with the one above, and have a cute lil tea room in the corner of a vintage boutique? (The mothership would love that haha). I remember being introduced to tea rooms on our many family holidays to Scotland as a child, being given sweet meringues with cream! As a grown up with a mild to moderate tea obsession I can now seriously appreciate a good pot of English Breakfast tea and a toasted teacake.

Anybody else have secret dream jobs? Or not so secret in my case!! haha
This was a bit of a cop out post. I'm going to write something good soon *pinkypromise*
I have a few exciting days ahead, but I must stop procrastinating and battle through this uni coursework first! Good luck anyone with exams!!

big love
x

all images from Google Images

screaming rule britannia

2011-05-01T13:23:00.002+01:00

oh yeahh so I'm 19 now waaaaaaaaa
I am a very lucky girl, with an adorable and generous family, and friends who are willing to dress up in togas, on my whim. :) That was a couple of nights ago, it was a crazygood night in the wootown. On my actual birthday yesterday there happened to be an Italian market in town so I popped down to buy some stuffed olives and eat local ice cream, then after an old school birthday tea with my increasingly hilarious grandparents, we just watched old movies with a glass of wine haha I'm so freaking rock and rolllll

x

♥♥♥♥♥♥
In Other News...
Would just like to go on record and say that I was completely swept up in royal wedding mania this weekend! Watched it with (and with a hilarious commentary may I add courtesy of) my rents and a friend I had over. There was tongue in cheek discussion over whether the Queen was in 'primrose' or 'sherbet lemon', my mum pretended to know who Sarah Burton was, there were comparasons between my dads eyebrows and those of the Archbishop of Canterbury, and speculation about Prince Harrys best man speech / bachelor status. But despite all the fun we were having (and the cake. don't forget the cake) Kate looked truly breathtaking, naturally graceful, and it was a moment that made you proud to be British.

♥♥♥♥♥♥

x

19 before 20

2011-04-21T15:09:00.002+01:00

Sooooo a little while ago I wrote a list called 18 before 19. (18 things I wanted to do before my 19th birthday!)
Well, that day is next week! (Please, don't even go there; I already feel like a pensioner after me and my friends attended an all day gig full of 14-year-olds. We drank cider, just cos we could.)

I figured I'd look back at the old list, and then write a new one for this year.
These are the things I managed to complete off of my last list!!
. cut my hair off (at christmas! allthough it is rapidly growing back now, which is good because I miss it! this was a silly idea.)
. get, and learn to use, a real film camera (my beloved diana dreamer. although I still have some learning to do judging by my last roll!)
. break 20 followers on my blog (proud muvva of 32 followers, each as sparkly and lovely and adorable and interesting as they come. I could NOT appreciate them more, and I mean that.)
. learn how to cook a new meal (hullo university, hullo culinary improvements.)
. add to vintage collection (some levi cutoffs in pompey, and a knitted christmas jumper in worcester)
. learn to type better (I feel I have done this. Only due to increased amount of time on blogger/twitter). see a band who I really really really like (The Vaccines!!!!!!!!!!!@*&?%!?!!)
. find some high heeled shoes I can walk in (my Select wedges. Not vertiginous, but dreamy)
. tell my best friends how much I love them (Started doing this far more now that seeing special people is more difficult what with us all leading adult lives. Especially when tipsay)
. sort somewhere to live next year (Our house is going to be BEAUTIFULLLLL)
. finish first look book (Did this pretty much as soon as I wrote it down. Bad way to make a list, really)
. start a second look book (yussssssss. will post another video when done). feel ok about being at uni (YAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYA. may have taken my time and had a few wobbles, admittedly, but I am happier now than I ever imagined 6 months ago)

So thats um 13/19. Pretty good since I only wrote this six months ago, not a year. I have the luxury of a full year to do the next list.
TALKING OF THE NEXT LIST HERE IT IS OMG HOW EXCITINGGGGG!! The first few are the things which I didn't complete last time, carried over. Then the rest is new...

1. read all the books left on my 'to read' list
2. paint a canvas
3. make a skirt. (it can't be that hard, surely?)
4. find some vintage babycham glasses! (also: four words. test tube shot glasses.)
5. find a nice boy!
6. make it to the second year of Uni!!!
7. learn to walk in heels! PROPER heels!
8. have grown hair long
9. have managed to get SOMETHING published, in some capacity or other.
10. break 35 followers? Is it greedy to have this on my list?
11. make a [substantial] donation to charity
12. clear overdraft / refrain from being more in debt due to wine / nutella / zara compulsions.
13. have had some sort of part-time employment
14. visit a new country
15. learn to cook a new meal (yes I already completed this - roast dinner! - but am repeating it. life skill innit)
16. drive a long distance journey
17. visit a stately home
18. come up with a plan, of what I'm going to do after uni
19. agree to do something, take an opportunity, that you would normally immediately say 'no' to.

I feel like this years list is more difficult than the last one! Bigger things. But I would like my short term goals to be less materialistic and more important to my life. We'll see. Right now, turning 19 in a week, 20 sounds like another planet, a million years away from here. Thats how old my brother is now! And thats freaky, because I'd like to be a teenager forever, please.
Let me see your lists then!! (cos I'm a nosey byatch.)

So chuffed that the sun is still shining on England :) Ima go help the mothership with some scone-baking (we are firm Paul Hollywood fans, a-thankyou. hahaa.) before meeting the girlies tonight for some cheekay cocktails. And some Malibu. Lots of malibu. HEY, it's like a tradition. Drinking malibu with the Droitwich girls is sort of like being 17 again hahahaha.

PEACE OUT
x

if I ever got a cat, i'd call it Ronan Kitten

2011-04-17T16:39:00.000+01:00

hullooooo,
first off I can only apologise for being a terrible blogger of late. There was a brief fling with tumblr and, y'know how it is, real life took over for a while. But don't worry you pretty little things, it's a Sunday afternoon - and as if I'd go a Sunday afternoon without logging onto blogger. It is necessary, along with The Sunday Times, cake baking and the chart show.

I've been back home for a week now, and as well as whizzing through my coursework (so fast that I am conviced I have forgotten to do something mayjah and as a result there will be a massive panic when I head back to pomp in about 2 weeks and then I'll fail a unit and probably all of Uni and then just die of poverty for evahhhh)...where was I? Oh yeah. I have also been reunited with the beauts I left behind in Droitwich. A sweet night out in the Woo Town (Worcester. Yes, like the sauce.) plus the vaccines gig and peter kay show, both in Birmingham. I get about, haha. I'm not sure I could ever be bored of home.
But I did think I should show my face around here, since my last two posts have been people-free with uninspiring photos and could have been written, frankly, by robots.

So here is what I wore yesterday, when my bestie came round to stay (hadn't seen her since January, the scamp). Upon realising the sun was out and about, I promptly whipped off the tights and blinded her with my milky white legs ;) I probably could have found a nicer place to take these photos, but I was uber-excited to be back in my room (read: too lazy to move). Also, head-to-toe Topshop, cos I is a choong, ennit?

Now I must be off to enjoy the fleeting midlands sunshine, and also because I have a chocolate loaf cake in the oven.

Just call me a domestic goddess.
xx

what did you expect from the vaccines?

2011-04-10T18:58:00.001+01:00

this was my saturday night:

yeah I didn't even get any proper photos from the gig because the crowd were so freaking violent I didn't wanna whip my camera out! too busy trying to stay upright and all that malarky. but oohhh myyyy, they were bloody good.

The Ceazars and The Smith-Westerns supported, who were both fab, but as soon as The Vaccines came on wowwwwww the crowd just errupted. Me and my friends may have been being naive (were we?) but we did not expect a mosh pit. Neither did the band, judging by Justin and Freddies amused faces ;)

also it was my first time at the hmv institute and I like like like! Hope to be gracing their venue more often haha. :) can't stop smiling, or playing the album, they were infectious.

if at some point we all succumb, for goodness sake let us be young

the other night

2011-04-08T16:49:00.000+01:00

this man, live at the NIA in Birmingham, made my stomach ache from laughing so hard
definitely worth buying the tickets over a year ago!

oh, and today the sun is shining more than ever, so lush!!
Loving the motherships homemade meals and Cathy coming over for a catchup. Love being home.

x

Dirty Dancing; wardrobe envy.

2011-04-05T17:05:00.000+01:00

happy tuesday afternoon my dears :)

I had a ridiculously quotable night out on monday at a terrifying/wonderful alternative night with the course lovelies (the source of most of the quotes), followed by a hop over to the 90s club to see the future housemates (I have literally no idea how I am going to get any work done living with them next year…)

therefore I am far too tired and emotional to write anything sensible, so instead I'm going to explain in pictures why a) Dirty Dancing is such a good film and b) this summer I intend to dress like Baby

hope you're feeling a tad all more alert than I am!

ps. i'm going home for easter in 2 sleeps! indescribably excited right about now.

so that'll be tied tank tops, high waisted denim shorts winched in at the waist, chiffon skirsts and fifties cotton sundresses, then. oh hurry up summer!!!!

sunday mornings

2011-04-03T13:26:00.000+01:00

good morning kids, hope you're having lovely sundays full of morning papers and croissants...well no, neither am I actually, if only! But what I AM doing, is reviewing what made me hap hap happy this week :)

1. last weeks little burst of sunshine at the beach 2. yummy strawberry bonbons 3. nights in = muchos doodling 4. topshops flash sale bargains 5. new fave lunch - fresh fuit and wholegrain yoghurt. although I can't wait to go home for easter and undo all this healthy eating!

SO I'm a littttle sad that I can't be with the mothership on Mothers Day (today in the uk, if it had escaped your notice) even though she really doesn't go in for all that soppy stuff. But still, I am uber-excited to be going home on Thursday. There are a million cakes waiting to be baked :) (sadly my uni kitchen is massively under-equipped for those kind of antics haha)

Talking of living in halls, Friday night illustrates perfectly why living here is freaking hilarious and also the bane of my existence - one fire alarm at 4 am is a bitch but you get over it, however when some joker decides to set them off three times in the space of like two hours, lets just say we were not happy bunnies. However seeing the same joker being wrestled down the stairs at 6am by burly security guards kind of made up for it! Most of the action took place two or so floors above us but there was a lot of shouting, and talk of pinning to the floor and black eyes =/ uh ohhhhhh. Apparently me and a couple of the homies are going in to our old sixth form to give a talk about applying for further education to the new year twelves - shall I drop a few of these horror stories in there? ;)
Being awake since four in the morning might explain why I slept so long last night, and why I am sooo rested this morning that I actually vacuumed. I know...cleaning, wow.

I'm also crazy-excited because next weekend I'm going to see Peter Kay! Actual bloody Peter Kay! I know, the fourteen year old me is jumping for joy! He makes me and my fam just cry with laughter, his material is so nostalgic and just bob on.. he's not toured for a while so it feels like a proper treat. I'll be sure to report back on that one :)

There is clearly no way I'm going to the library today, so I'd better get on with some other work so I actually feel like I've achieved something haha. Sorry this is so long! I'm awful at the 'quick catch up' sitch.

Enjoy what is left of your weekends my beauts x

nutella mug cake

2011-03-30T20:44:00.000+01:00

get in my life.
need to make this.

diana deux

2011-03-30T12:06:00.000+01:00

beach ones.
(southsea deserted in the rain, though...wanna go back in the sun!)

hope youre all well x

cape! cape!

2011-03-30T12:03:00.000+01:00

I'm sorry, but Topshop reduced this to £25 from £75? I resisted when I saw it on Sunday, but then had to go back on Monday. I thought 'if its still there, it's mine', and it was, soooo....
Not exactly weather appropriate considering spring has officially sprung (yayayay!), but next autumn I'm sorted for swishing about like Sherlock Holmes :) haha.. Although I'm concerned that I'll feel too dressed up to just go to lectures in it =/ Oh well I suppose I might need to go somewhere nice one day... Oh and lets not talk about my hair in the photos, yeh? it was late...

Thankyou Toppers! x

2011-03-28T17:16:00.001+01:00

this is my new tumblr account
i might use it
i might not use it

we'll see.

also, my blog has had a makeover! i think it feels so much fresher and brighter like this, to me anyway. but tell me what you bitches think? cheers my dears x

diana une

2011-03-28T12:08:00.002+01:00

wintery ones.

I got my diana for christmas and I wasn't expecting my first roll to be any good.. and to be honest it wasnt there was a LOTTT of solid blackness hahaha.. but hey, I'm learning and at least now I can see what I did wrong. Can't wait to use her in the bright summer sunshine.

On a sidenote I am NEVER GOING TO JESSOPS AGAIN UGH and neither will you if you have any sense; so expensive, took over a month when they said 7-10 working days, and was served by the snootiest girl ever. :( i dont even normally get fussed about stuff like that, but they really took the biscuit. In future think I'll try a different shop and scan them in myself :)

really happy though

bitchface.

2011-03-27T14:17:00.000+01:00

for reals, this has genuinely happened to me.

when you smile those sad eyes

2011-03-25T16:43:00.000Z

Some nice inspirational pictures collected from around the internets, mainly tumblr, because I'm feeling quite inspired today. (unfortunately not inspired enough to start work on my cw portfolio though…well not until I've had some more coffee anyway.)

One day I will learn that in my uni halls they test the fire alarms on wednesday mornings. I jump every single time, and this wednesday I was asleep which made it a million times worse. They choose to do it at about ten o clock on my day off! How inconsiderate. On the plus side, enough change for laundry? Woohoo, the life of a student. Can't complain though, I've had some riotous nights out this week, and I'm insanely glad that none of my friends down here are too snap happy!

Did you see the hunting scarves that COW vintage posted on their blog this week? I would snap one up if I were anywhere near a COW shop. Oh man, a gander in their Birmingham store is definitely on my to do list when I get home for easter!

Some people are getting me all confused at the moment. I'm struggling slightly with the idea that things are happening now that I could really have done with happening two years ago! It makes me wonder, much as I appreciate how lovely everything is now, couldn't it equally have happened then? But maybe it wasnt possible, maybe time is needed. I suppose you can't rush things, you have to wait and see how they unfold. This is the annoying thing about imagination, it might makes my studies easier but it messes with your way-romanticised view of the world! I'm just going to tell myself that fate works in mysterious ways :)

I hope (if your lovely selves are in the uk!) that you've all been enjoying the brief spell of beautiful sunshine we've been having! This is when I am insanely grateful that I decided to move to the seaside; sipping cherry coke on the common, bliss :)

songs are as sad as the listener

2011-03-21T22:44:00.000Z

'Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close' by Jonathan Safran Foer is one of my absolute favorite books in the world. Just saying.

Because in an effort to avoid doing all uni work I have exhausted the content of 4OD and iPlayer, I decided to go back and re-read the small selection of books I bought with me to uni.
Shamefully this plan got less and less enthusiastic as the weather down here in Pompey got sunnier and sunnier... but hey ho, I still feel the need to tell you about this book. (YES OK originally this post was intended for world book night/day but that was hmm 2 weeks ago, and I never wrote it. Blah.)

It is the story of Oskar Schell, a young hmm shall we say eccentric boy living in NYC in 2001/2002 time. His father has died in the 9/11 attacks, and after finding a key in his dads wardrobe he is on a mission to discover what it unlocks - by trying it in every lock in New York. But its not even the story, its the way its written, it is so so beautiful and touching. Some pages only have one word on, or are blank. Sometimes Oskar talks to himself or to nobody or just doesn't use a full stop for pages at a time, because thats how people talk in real life. When Oskar is feeling sad, he says he has 'heavy boots', which I think is just perfect. In fact some of my favourite phrases/quotes are from this book, including “I shook my tambourine the whole time, because it helped me remember that even though I was going through different neighborhoods, I was still me.”
Theres a character who forgets how to speak, so uses exercise books to write what he wants to say; there are some words he always flips back to though, like something and nothing, and yes and no which he has tattoo'd on the palms of each hand.

Shamefully, despite buying this book a few years ago and rereading it several times, I've still not read anything else by Jonathan Safran Foer. Hope to correct this soon! (I study creative writing as part of my uni course and I can't tell you how much the things I write are influenced by his style.) In the meantime I hope you all go buy or borrow this book, its a beaut.

Next on my reading list: The Pursuit of Love - Nancy Mitford
The Perks of Being a Wallflower - Stephen Chbosky
Brighton Rock - Graham Greene

Lets see how long it takes me to get round to those eh? :) Are any of you reading anything good at the moment? I'd love to know!! xx

newhair/oldhair

2011-03-21T19:38:00.000Z

because i'm sure you're all utterly fascinated with the colour of my hair, i thought i'd show these lil snaps.
I wish i'd done this when it was long, think it would have looked nicer, oh well. And its a tad ginger, which I expressly told it not to be on my twitter. I figure if I just do it a few more times as it grows, eventually it will go more platinum-blonde?
(what I'd really like is properly white/grey blonde, but that would mean something like Manic Panic flash lightening kit and that scares me a bit. If anybody has used it and could give me a review, I'd be very grateful?)

I've talked more about my hair than I intended to. Ugh. Sorry!!

Today I bought fresh strawberries, they have made my life.

Also got the Vaccines album the other day, Wetsuit is my new favourite, makes me just want it to be summer nowww! :)

And please join me in feeling the love for Patrick Wolf, and his dreamy video for the City.

x

once you've seen it, you can't un-see it.

2011-03-13T22:11:00.000Z

favorite thing.
because beautiful as owls are, they fundamentally look hungover.

x

we're all just matter that will one day scatter

2011-03-13T19:13:00.000Z

hellloooo my lovelies, how are we all? I went home this weekend (nobody should go a whole 6 weeks without sleeping in their own bed haha) back to lovely Droitwich Worcestershire which was just lush. I saw my grandparents, went to le pub, and made pancakes with the mothership. If you follow me on twitter I mentioned that on Saturday night I went to my local theatre to see a musical that a couple of my trusty girlies were in, which was adorbs. The theatre was full of old people and I befriended the lovely old lady sitting next to me (glamorous grandma's are pretty much my style icons - when I turn up with a new purchase of a headscarf, knitted monstrosity or ugly shoes my mum refers to it as 'granny chic') and to be honest it was a scream. I'm back in Pompey until the easter break now and I've come back to an essay which I really must write because THE DEADLINE IS FRIDAY OH MY GOD and I GET ANOTHER ASSIGNMENT SET TOMORROW MORNING UUUGH STRESS.

I hope you have all had nice weekends too, and hopefully will have a calmer week than the one I have looming!!

x

lemon drizzle

2011-03-04T18:07:00.001Z

today someone spoke to me on facebook who i havent spoken to in a good few months, maybe years
it was strange
but nice strange

this week I have picked my units for next year (playwriting, screenwriting, literary adaptation, newspaper reviewing, fashion & film - one step closer to being the new anna wintour! haha)

I've resisted going out all week because this weekend will be a biggun, plus a few birthdays next week. hello overdraft, nice to see you again! ;)
Its okay though, because secretly I want to be a granny. I'm fine with a cup of tea (as IF we ever have milk) and some good tv - The Model

Agency, The Tudors and Corrie being my picks this week.

Plan for tonight is seminar prep, cook dinner, Dirty Dancing, early night. Living on the wild side, right? ;)

Have good evenings, chicadeee's!
x

crazy crazy, easy tiger!

2011-02-27T19:52:00.001Z

this is what I did yesterday, when my flatmates decided to go home and desert me in the flat. I read Elle instead of doing work, it was fab.

Well you have to do the best you can with a room at uni =/

Also, I think I own too many pairs of chinos..

hope youre all well my beauts x

what would effy do?

2011-02-25T19:19:00.002Z

NO I STILL HAVENT DEVELOPED MY DIANA ROLL IVE BEEN BUSY OKAY?!
okay.
meanwhile, it appears I am not the only one in my fam who is snap happy, my brother was given an old film camera (of some sort - i cant remember what it is!) for christmas and he showed me some photos the other day. I like this one best.

Its of swansea, where he studies. Pretty, no?
Talking of people I like, if you aren't following this girl then shame on you, you should be. Alice is not only my neighbourino and future housemate, but she is also cute as a button and a verrrry talented photographer!
How are you all? For me its been a long week full of some very strange nights out (one included dubstep and a possible concussion, one included dressing up from the moulin rouge / we looked more rocky horror - both nights resulted in a slight loss of dignity sadface) and some very important decisions about next years university units..
In between I found time to paint my nails with Models Own nail varnish in juicy jules which is essentially just silver glitter, I love the way it catches the light and makes my nails look like a disco ball. I forget its there and then it cheers me ight up! haha, simple things! Can't wait to try it over alllll the colours I own.

At the moment I cannot stop repeating this song!! I am developing a problem. The Vaccines are rapidly becoming my obsession du jour and there is the distinct possibility that I might be getting to see them live in Birmingham when I venture home for easter in April eeeek!
I have found that my PhotoBooth is totally rammed with very odd shots of me that I forget I take.. this isn't just me I'm sure! I am tempted to do a post of some of the more obscure ones. I tend to snap before I go out if I like what I'm wearing so that I'll remember and wear it again, but then I just never look at the photos. Oops.

This has been a mammoth catchup post for which I can only apologise..I should do more small ones...hmm..let me know if that would be better? In the meantime I hope you kiddies all had lovely weeks and enjoy the weekend!!
xx

ps. can I get to 30 of you lovely followers? Hmmm we'll see!

fashion smashion.

2011-02-21T19:32:00.001Z

rumours i've heard about anna wintour.

someone give me some time off uni so that I can catch up on LFW?
also a job of some kind would be lovely, so I can buy/order the millions of cd's I desire (the vaccines, noah and the whale, white lies, frankie and the heartstrings, beady eye...) without foregoing food.
sigh!

x

call your parents. they probably miss you.

2011-02-20T00:30:00.001Z

"I do still miss the girls. I miss the ordinary things: cups of tea and sticky buns after school - just sitting round the table, chewing the fat and bitching about their teachers. But it's a lot better now than it used to be. You find yourself useful in other ways. I suppose we all want to feel important - that's the thing. When you have a little baby, of course you're the most important thing in the world to them. When you leave the room they cry and that's lovely. But when they grow up and are able to choose who they like, then you've got to fight for them a bit more. They leave home at 18, then return and find out you're not as bad as they thought you were"

ADE EDMUNDSON ON HIS 3 GROWN-UP DAUGHTERS

and all of the squats have been turned into gallery spaces

2011-02-16T12:20:00.000Z

Morniiiing! A belated happy valentines day to you all. I spent mine drinking suspiciously blue alcohol with my single girls and sneezing my way through a cold. But I'm not one of those people who is all bitter when theyre single on valentines, I'm just happy for my friends who are in happy relationships and optomistic about the future. In the immortal words of Emma Thompson, "nobodys going to want to shag you if you're crying all the time" (Love Actually).

This post is actually supposed to be about Brighton Rock, which me and some lovely coursemates took a wander to the cinema to see at the weekend. We'd had a seminar about the original book, and the lecturer was dubious about them moving the setting to the mods/rockers of the sixties.

I'm going to come out and admit to the horror of all booklovers that I have not read the book (though a copy is winging its way to me as we speak!) and so knew nothing about it. I am also a massive fan of anything modtastic. And I really liked this film. I think my companions were a little less convinced, and I'm not about to start calling it my new favorite film or anything, but visually it worked and the plot was full of enough intense staring and brooding threat to make you gasp quit a bit.
Not a patch on Mr Nice, though, which I rented off itunes the other day to rid me of a hangover. Rhys Ifans cures all ills.
(I want to post a picture, but I can't find one which does it justice, so there may have to be another post soon...)

I fail quite a bit at the old 60s style, though I am becoming a fan of the beehive. Somebody buy me this?
Thanks. Oh and look at Greer's room, jeal? I am.

Right, I must be off as I have promised the flatmates bacon sarnies, and promises involving bacon are meant to kept, yeh?
xx

ps. how beautifully did Adele sing at the Brits last night? Hello broken heart.

don't let go.

2011-02-12T19:39:00.000Z

sometimes i put glitter on my nails. if i could, i'd put glitter on everything.
i'm such a girl.

boots essentials single use camera, merci

2011-02-05T13:53:00.000Z

my favorite snaps from the last disposable camera i got developed

i love the way colours never come out right and everything looks dusty
x

you and me in a photo booth, 7

2011-02-04T19:20:00.000Z

beehive!

not too bad for a first attempt, non?
inspired by wishwishwish, of course. Follow her tutorial!

x

you and me in a photobooth, 6

2011-01-29T17:06:00.000Z

I like to have lots of things on my wrist. These are the trinkets I chose today. I would actually like to have many many more than this, but they all have to mean something or else what's the point? Here you can see a painted bracelet that reminds me of the first houseparty I went to way back when in year11, the string friendship bracelet from Big Chill festival last year (my bestie wears the identical one), and also one of her black beaded strings. I have a pretty seed bracelet from a holiday in Cyprus, but it is getting all stretched with wear and I'm terrified of breaking it so it is stowed away.
Also check my new phone sneaking in the background there, cheeky.

Do you have any meaningful things tied around your wrist?

x

wardrobe envy; Clemence Poesy

2011-01-29T11:59:00.001Z

The epitome of modern French chic, Clemence Poesy has been popping up more and more frequently recently, proving her fashion credentials since playing Fleur Delacour in the Harry Potter Series. More recently she gave us yet another reason to watch Gossip Girl (although I don't need much persuasion on the Upper East Side front).

A year or so ago I impulsively bought Tatler magazine, delusions of grandeur I know I know, which happened to have Clemence on the cover and the feature photos (the first two below) are so so pretty.

If you want to copy these looks you will need; silk shirts, a trench coat, a little sequin embellishment here, a little embroidery there, a good lipstick, oh, and the best hair known to man. Strike a Poesy!

x

Oh, PS, I am back at uni now for my second semester. It is quite cold, and I just spent an extortionate amount at Tescos. C'est la Vie!

all these photos collected from around the internet, not my property

dreaming of cookham regatta

2011-01-24T22:33:00.002Z

Just some inspiration pictures tonight, gathered from the heaven that is tumblr.

Sorry sorry sorry - I will post some more interesting things soon, I have some posts planned just need to write them.
Despite normally being much more of a winter girl, swayed by peppermint mochas and layering up, this winter seems to have gone on for far longer than ones before, and now I just can not wait for summer. I want to stop wearing tights and coats, and I want to have an afternoon picnic which turns into an outdoor party and doesnt end until the next day. Please?
And no, if you were wondering, I have still not stopped binging on Oasis (see last post). If anything, the discovery of this website has only fuelled my brief obsession.

I was born in 1992, so whilst technically I was alive during the 90s, part of me wishes I had been a teenager during that time period. There is something about that grungey, gritty pop culture (or at least from what I can tell) that I feel would have suited me rather well. Am now craving floral maxi skirts and lager in a can.
I have to start back at uni next week. I know most of my friends are back already and so I have felt rather lazy having these lenient holidays my course has been given, especially since I have done nothing more productive than perfecting my brownie recipe, visit friends/go to pubs, and watch black and white movies with the mothership. Ah, well.
This is getting stupidly long, but finally, I have noticed my follower numbers are creeping up! Thankyou so so so much if youre following my mumblings, I don't think I'd really mind if me and my dog were the only ones reading this I'd write anyway, but it still means the world to me that youre interested. If you have anything you want me to focus on, tell tell ;)
Nighty night
x

familiar to millions

2011-01-19T23:19:00.001Z

This is a picture of Noel Gallagher and Paul Weller, just chilling, having a cup of tea. Because that is what rock stars do, yes.

I am home from visiting Kim at her uni in Preston (taking advantage of my extra couple weeks off) where I had a wonderful time! The whole way back all I could listen to on my headphones was Oasis, I don't know why. I love them. Reminded me of this, I don't know if I have posted it before. Whatever. I am tired and want sleep and tea and things.
Goodnight.

The King's Speech

2011-01-14T19:35:00.000Z

Saw it today.
Loved it.

I'm not going to write a long, boring review..I just will say SEE IT. It is charming and moving and lovely, and if Colin Firth doesn't win some kind of award for that amazing performance then the world is unjust.

dirty grotty magazines

2011-01-10T22:37:00.000Z

With my timing as impeccable as ever, I have bought massive boots about two weeks after the worst snow we've had for years has all melted. Well done, me. I love them anyway. They are Timberland, but only because there is an outlet near my uni. Next time it snows I shall walk without fear of ankle breaking. Result.

This is my other face.

2011-01-08T11:16:00.001Z

A large proportion of the time I spend at my computer is spent on Blogger. I just love the amount of creative people who's musings and styles I can gaze at/read about everyday. Clicking through comments on favorite blogs, almost at random, has led me to find some fantastic blogs that I am glad to have found. I subscribe to far too many blogs, so many that it justifies the amount of time I spend on here otherwise I'd never catch up with them all! Still, there comes a point when I look down the list of blogs I subscribe to and can't remember who some of them are, which means its time for a tidy up.

One thing that got me thinking though, as I read down the list was how many different directions people have gone in with the names of their blogs. Names are so interesting - what a person chooses to call their blog tells so much! And there are so many pretty, interesting and lovely names people use. Which got me wondering what they were thinking - what was behind their choice? - I'd love to ask them.

Well...lead by example! My blog title is hardly groundbreaking, but this is how I got it anywayyy..

'This is my other face' is a quote from here, Cassie's therapy video diary from British drama Skins.
This is my face. And this is my other face.

I used to be toooootally obsessed with Skins, and more specifically the character of Cassie. (Used to be..ok fine still am gahh. Last week I bought all four series of skins on dvd. And I really want some over the knee socks and a silkslip now haha)
She was genuinely a bit odd, not just that faux-kooky-but-really-quite-normal kind.
I don't remember when I first saw this video but I know why - at the time (couple of years ago?) youtube video bloggers were bigger than they seem to be now, and I loved mememolly who did this version, which is cute.

So when I needed a name for a blog I was setting up I thought it would be a nice reference, but if nobody got it that would be ok too because they are sweet words in a sweet order, and that is enough.

So now you know! Ta-daa!
PLEASE! Do a post of your own, telling everybody how you chose the name for your blog! Tag other bloggers, get other people to do a post too! On some level it is probably just nosiness, but I reckon people have some genuinely interesting reasons.

Also, I hope the first week of 2011 has gone by without any hitches for you all. I am slightly sad because all my friends are slowly disappearing back off to uni, but I am happy because I went to the pantomime last night in Birmingham, and earlier this week I finished my first Diana roll! Good times.

x

for auld lang syne my dear

2011-01-01T13:18:00.000Z

Happy New Year!

So much wonderful stuff happened in 2010, and even if there were a few dodgy patches I would actually go so far as to say it was the best year of my life.

I turned eighteen

went to my first festival

saw a little more of europe

went on a girls holiday (static caravan in newquay, living the dream)

did not completely screw up my a levels

explored my own country

saw the divine Florence and the machine live, amongst other gigs

was blessed with the best friends a girl could ask for

and made some massive changes, such as oh, erm, leaving for university?!?

Since you never know whats going to happen next, I have given up guessing.
BUT
I do have some nice exciting new features planned for this blog, and some nice exciting things planned for 2011 in general. I hope you do too, and that you have a safe, exciting, beautiful and fabulous new year

:) :) :)

she don't do major credit cards, i doubt she does reciepts

2010-12-30T16:16:00.002Z

it's that ancient love, that you won't outgrow

2010-12-27T00:13:00.002Z

Firstly, I hope you all enjoyed Christmas as much as I did?!
A couple of days before Christmas I did manage to skid my way up to the hairdressers and do thiiiiis

eep!

I also got to see my beautiful girls, where we took a trip to the german market in Birmingham - and ate the worlds nicest garlic bread - then had a night out in my native Worcester - where we drank the worlds nicest pitchers. Why do all my adventures involve consuming food of some kind?

Anyway, as for Christmas day itself I certainly had a beautiful day avec le fam, and ate my body weight in fruit cake and wenslydale, and realized how odd some of my family really are, and watched TV you wouldn't watch at any other time of the year, and wore an awful jumper, and took photographs of the snow (which I haven't uploaded yet because I was far too busy, you know, being festive) and ate even more food. Festive photos to come, in time.
And I know Christmas isn't about the presents but I really did receive some gorgeous presents this year, my darling being this

lomography diana f+ dreamer camera
which I have only been saving up for for, ooh, 2 years? My parents found it painful to watch, and gave in.

To be honest, the best thing about this Christmas has been being home. It sounds soppy, but what with this being the first time I've lived anywhere but the house I grew up in, it is nice to know it is always here for me to come back to. Family is what its all about really

Any Christmas revelations from you lot? Did any of you receive a favorite gift, or do something beautiful? Under one week until new years!!
x

how could i dance with another?

2010-12-23T09:57:00.001Z

This is my best friend.

Isn't she fantastic?

yes, yes she is.

x

sleigh bells ring

2010-12-18T09:20:00.001Z

...are you listening?

Merry Christmas!

I am so incredibly happy to be at home! I intend to rid my life of all that stress, and then never let it back in.

Hope every single one of you, my lovely hoarde of adorable subscribers (all 22 of you at last count! I can tick that off my list) has a heartwarming, beautiful christmas and a happy new year! here's to all our wishes coming true.
xxxx

(all photos from tumblr, not taken by me. all to happy to give credit where due)

all the colours of benetton.

2010-12-14T16:05:00.000Z

I'm not worried.
This is only, what, 3 years of my life?
Well I intend to be alive for at least another 60, please. Perspective, innit.

new and unexpected exercises in self-restraint

2010-12-10T13:11:00.004Z

I'm very sorry if you are sick of my Zara-obsession.
Actually, no, I'm not. I know you love it. ;)

I'm so in love with the top on, it's unreal.

Zara Brocade Dress, £39.99
Zara Studio Dress, £89.99
Zara Printed Dress, £39.99

Also, I am so glad that this exists. It's like a Vaudeville Show inside your computer!! And if you have five minutes, and if you trust me even a little bit, you will click the above link and enjoy the visual feast that will take over your computer. Lush.

I'm off to finish my essay, then collect a parcel from the Royal Mail depot. Living on the edge. ;)
x

its right hard to remember that on a day like today

2010-12-07T14:55:00.004Z

If there is one thing I miss about school/college, it is structure. I don't like having unstructured days, the whole floaty-student schedule thing suits some people here down to the ground but I just want to be busy busy busy all day, and I don't know why but I just really kind of miss the rigidity of it all. I don't mean it was tedious or repetitive in a monotonous way; while I certainly don't miss getting up at 7am on frosty mornings for school, even college was structured in a looser way. I should probably have known uni wouldn't feel like that!

I feel like I'm waiting, waiting for something big to happen. And there was a time when I just assumed it would be leaving home.
It wasn't.
But thats fine, of course it wouldn't be the first thing that came along.
So I'm still waiting, and actually (on good days) I'm massively excited about the future..having a job, a career, a life.

Its like there is a constant massive battle between what I should do, should say, should think, and reality. It's should vs is.
Well I realise that that has to stop. It doesn't matter what should be, there is only what IS, and think of all the potential you're missing out on because you've got your head turned the other way. Stop feeling inadequate. The past is done, and the future is a little bit scary, so the present is where your head needs to be at, the present is what you live and what you can change.
Give it time.
Stop comparing yourself to other people.
You are coping admirably.
Enjoy every second.
If we said these things to ourselves, every day, how much braver might we be?
Think how proud you're going to be, when this is over
and your life is sussed
and you're achieving the things you want
because you didn't give up
and you can look back on these days as nothing more than memories.
Hopefully, fond ones.

(If you read all this, I heart you.)
x

you and me in a photo booth, 5

2010-12-03T18:22:00.004Z

the lights on the hillside
don't take me this way
- white lies

general catch up

2010-12-01T23:20:00.004Z

things I am excited about right now:
1 the fact it is snowing, and i can hear people going batshitcrazy in it outside my window 2 re-reading the beautiful book Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathon Safran Foer which is my all time favorite book ever ever ever 3 this movie being announced 4 the fact that Benedict Cumberbatch is on the Corrie ads. As if thats a thing that happened. 5 having a little direction in life 6 reading too much into facebook status updates. (hey it makes me happy to think that post might have been about me) 7 The Rinky Dinks covering arctic monkeys "UKE look good on the dancefloor". yes. 8 knowing for once I have food in the cupboards because I remembered to shop 9 lime shower gel 10 diving into my massive duvet as soon as I finish this.

what are you excited about??

x

18 before 19.

2010-11-28T19:53:00.006Z

Inspired by the beautiful Delightfully Tacky I doodled this list in my diary.. 18 things to do before I turn 19. I have been 18 for an incredible 7 months now (woah there!) so it perhaps would have been more effective if I had made it when I actually had a year to complete these things... oh well!

I wonder if I will manage all these things in the next five months? I can tick a couple off already, but I think its fine if some of them roll over onto my '19 before 20' list.
I don't know about you but I have sooooo many long term goals, things like what job I want, and how I envision my life in ten years time, blah blah blah... properly LONG TERM things that I have my whole life to achieve. And often that makes me feel overwhelmed by all the stuff I should be doing to make that perfect life come true. But it seems the truth is you can't plan for the perfect life to happen. I know where I would like to end up, but doing lots of fun little things along the way is what life is actually about, surely.

Enough rambling.

18 before 19 list
1. cut my hair off
2. get, and learn to use, a real film camera
3. break 20 followers on my blog
4. read all the books on my 'books to read' list
5. find a nice boy
6. learn how to cook a new meal
7. add to vintage collection
8. learn to type better
9. make a skirt
10. see a band who I really really really like
11. find some high heeled shoes I can walk in
12. tell my best friends how much I love them
13. sort somewhere to live next year
14. finish first look book
15. start a second look book
16. paint a canvas, it's been too long
17. find some vintage babycham glasses
18. feel ok about being at uni
TURN 19!

:) What would your list be??

x

you and me in a photo booth, 4

2010-11-27T19:37:00.003Z

tiiiiiired.

apologies for the lack of posts.
my days have been filled with well I don't know what really...a lot of putting off doing essays! But I am determined not to have loads to do over the christmas hols so its go go go from here! you won't see me because i'll be hidden behind all the smoke coming from my pen!

took a trip to Southampton today (about 40mins/an hour on the train from Pompey) to do a spot of crimbo shopping - we may have underestimated how busy it would be on a saturday, 4 weeks before christmas! but it was still a lovely day even if now all I have the energy to do is curl up, eat my body weight in chocolate eclairs and watch I'm a celeb.

today I fell in love with Zara all over again.

feeling a little more festive now; can't wait for mulled wine, stollen and the Pogues!
it is very cold here, but no snow as of yet. what about where you are?
x

i'm such a worrier

2010-11-21T18:51:00.003Z

please explain precisely why i really really want one of these?
'Quilted Vintage' Jacket, £99.95, Barbour

x

stone, grass, concrete and gravel, all we've got to keep us together

2010-11-19T09:22:00.002Z

hype me?

need a little time to wake up wake up

2010-11-15T19:13:00.002Z

I bought white rose fairy lights. As if they were going straight up on the walls.
Also today I managed to check a book out of the library and do laundry without any incidents, which is an achievement. How was your day?

x

introspection sucks, don't do it kids

2010-11-13T23:04:00.004Z

Tally ho! Was supposed to go to some fireworks tonight, which turned out to not be very good, so we left. It was nice to see people though and so now I am watching QI, doodling in one of my many many many notebooks, drinking tea and making shopping lists.

As a person, I don't feel very defined. You couldn't draw my life. I am too subtle. It doesn't help that I am on a convoluted degree course.
Anyway I'm working on it.

Back home my hair used to mark me out but here its nothing special
so because it is undefined/curls are unpronounced
I'm going to cut my hair
omgosh.
don't know how. I want a fuckoff fringe, like a friend of a friend has.

Also hopefully soon the ballet classes I signed up to will start,
I miss dance being part of my life.
And fingers crossed I get a shiny lomo for christmas,
and next week I will buy pearl lipstick,
and some books that are nothing to do with my work
(and won't feel bad for reading them either)
and although I don't want a job till next year (barwork, please!)
I have at least signed up to hopefully contribute to the student paper

so soon I might be
the girl with the chic backcombed hair
and the sixties makeup
who idly takes photos with her cute camera
and who dances ballet
and reads books on theology, cambridge dons
and the history of ysl

AND I WILL BE DEFINED
keep those fingers crossed for me, kiddos!

Look! A book, of looks.

2010-11-12T16:53:00.005Z

All over the last few months of college and throughout this summer I have been working on this lookbook. Every time I finish with a magazine, I go all ninja on it with scissors I accidentally stole from my school art room when I was about 14.

Inspired by a video I saw on a blog, sometime last year.

http://ihategracefulpeople.blogspot.com/2010/06/laters.html

GO THERE AND WATCH IT FIRST!!! I COMMAND YOU!

It is a truly addictive way to waste an afternoon. :)
I have ended up with a huuuugely thick book that I am very proud of. It started off just being fashion, and whilst it largely still is there are also articles, quotes and other images too..
So yeh, bit of a mishmash, and although the book isn't finished yet I am too damn impatient, and I was bored one night so I filmed this. Hope you like it :)

(Don't tell me I don't know how to have fun.)

x

you and me in a photobooth, 3

2010-11-11T19:25:00.003Z

I'm going out for a while.
If I'm not back by tomorrow morning, come find me?
(ps I blame the Jacques. not a drink I'd heard of before uni, but apparently its big with students. and apparently I am one of those now. so, hey ho, drink up.)

don't walk that way

2010-11-08T11:12:00.005Z

I don't know if you've noticed, but its getting colder. A lot, lot colder. Maybe it is because I live by the freezing waters of what I'm pretty sure is the North Atlantic Ocean, at least the English/French channel anyway, but even as an ardent lover of all things winter I am having trouble adjusting to these bitingly cold temperatures. I had to invest in a badass navyblue duffel coat. In it, with my brogues and satchel, I look like a small evacuated child but it is cosy so I don't much mind.

Anyway, soon my thoughts are turning to footwear. My small selection of everyday shoes pretty much spans 3 different types of brogue. Snazzy, but not keeping my tootsies warm! I spy something beginning with...B! Boots! A pair of lovely snuggly warm winter boots.

I may have come to this a little late, but I remembering the last couple of seasons where desert boots started creeping in...and I am attracted!

These beauts are Karen Milan Weekend Luxe Suede ankle boots, £144 in ASOS sale, and you know I'm a sucker for a tassel. ;) But lets not get carried away here, hardly high street prices.
ARTY Moccasin Boots, £65, Topshop. They're just cute. And kinda ugly. But what is A/W'10 if not a celebration of the frump, in luscious brown suede they look so slouchy and casual. Styling them up might be a challenge, but I'm seeing skinny jeans and an awful lot of cable knit.
Somehow I'm not too impressed with Zara's offering, a wedge ankle boot £59.99. I don't know if its the odd mid-height (is it an ankle boot or a full boot? who knows!) but somehow they look a little too severe. They are still a cute, very Zara approach to the desert boot though, making it their own with the wraparound lace tie.

ANGEL Studded Suede Ankle Boots, £75, Topshop.
These have quite a lot going on, but for a hybrid of all the different booty styles going on at the moment (seems like studs from the biker trend, shape of the desert boot, toe structure of a cowboy boot etc..is that just me?) they are quite a successful piece. I am totally sold on the blocky wooden heel - quite often they look stupid, out of place, like someone has just stuck it on, but here it kind of works.

But - drumroll, please - we have a clear winner. And it's from a slightly unlikely source.
Clarks YARA Desert Boot in black. Isn't she beautiful? See, it's the simple one that wins out. The wedge heel makes the quite masculine desert shoe a little prettier, would look grungy-glamorous with a floral maxi dress, or androdgynous with chinos..I'm in love. At £99 it is the pricier end of the non-designer market, but if I had that kind of ready moolah at my fingertips I would deem them worth it. I called Clarks unlikely not because they haven't had some lovely stock - I still covet a shiny pair of brogues from there, which you know would not fall apart - but just because they don't really have the reputation of being fashion-y, theyre more classic.
So what drew my, and the bloggosphere's attention to these darlings? This darling!

The unstoppable Flo wore the Clarks YARA wedges in the sand colour to Glastonbury this year, and as a result they completely sold out - indeed, they still are! So getting your hands on a pair might be tricky, but good news; it would seem there will be more stock in. If you can wait till December, that is.

None of the above shoes would fill my criteria of snuggly, warm, everyday boots (with the questionable exception of the topshop Arty number?). But they would make you look all warm and wintery and suede-clothed, even if you were still a little nippy. And that is good enough, no?

Ah well.. any suggestions for actual warm and sexy footwear?!
xx

oh, i don't know why

2010-11-08T09:51:00.002Z

you and me in a photobooth, 2

2010-11-05T09:55:00.003Z

advance apologies for the beret, but we drank rather a lot of wine last night and I haven't brushed my hair.

Off home for a rare weekend visit! Looking forwards to sparklers, fish and chips, my local pub with some homegirls and of course seeing the fam. Whatever you're up to, have a lovely weekend. :) x

a chanel a day keeps the doctor away

2010-11-04T10:29:00.003Z

I stood in the newsagents, biting my lip and sighing - this was a big decision, and one it was vitally important I got right.

It was a toss-up between Alexa on Elle, or Emma on Vogue. And much as we all love Alexa, this time Emma won out. She is just too cute! I know opinion is split, but personally I think her pixie-cut is brave, adorable, and the perfect mix of sixties mod and right now.

Emma Watson on British Vogue December 2010

Of course, my rash magazine buying does mean this student will be living on bagels and tinned soup until next week...but what stylish lass wouldn't happily trade a few days of food for Emma?
The glossy white and gold cover is so so wintry, I can already see the fairy lights and sequinned cocktail numbers we'll all be whipping out for the Christmas party season.

Sorry, too soon?

x ;)

you and me in a photobooth, 1

2010-11-04T10:26:00.002Z

Thats right, I got moves.
As part of my blog overhaul, new feature! Regular snapshots of life, via iSight ;)

x

when I was seventeen, I had wrists like steel

2010-11-03T11:54:00.002Z

aren't these just granny-chic perfect?
somebody, please?
KAMA penny loafers, £55, Topshop

x

so lets make time work for us

2010-11-02T14:56:00.002Z

how miserable have I been on this blog of late?
erm, I am heart-stoppingly sorry for my depressing tone :)

Surprisingly, I'm actually not sad! University was a massive shock to the system, especially after I spent all summer avoiding thinking about my imminent departure... but now that I have accepted that this is my new life, it is all going swimmingly. In fact I have been rather busy of late, just doing student things, you know, things involving Jezza Kyle and jaegerbombs and Tesco and Orange Wednesdays and assignments and dettol and dubstep. Not all at once, you understand.
Hence the lack of blog activity/unenthusiastic posting.
Also, I am studying creative writing and I don't know if this will make any sense when written down, but I put so much of my creative energy into my work that I feel pretty much sapped of all my best ideas when it comes to free time! This is lazy and slatternly and not acceptable behaviour, for which I apologize.

It has been nice to spend a bit of time catching up on all my favorite blogs though, whilst eating leftover chocolate apples from Halloween and daydreaming about the day I will be able to afford some lipstick from Topshop's new makeup range. I suppose if I didn't eat for a few days...

I am back, I am feeling good, and ready to blog blog blog my way through my first year at Portsmouth.

x

mischief managed ;)

2010-10-22T03:23:00.000+01:00

don't cover yourself in thistle and weed

2010-10-17T16:40:00.002+01:00

I've got a lump in my throat, like when you are trying not to cry. Properly homesick today.

"We only write about two feelings: one is the first day of summer when you and all of your friends are standing on the edge of a cliff watching the sun set and being overcome with all of your hopes and dreams at once. The other is when you're walking alone in the rain and realize you will be alone forever."

- The Drums

etc

2010-10-08T13:57:00.003+01:00

And finally, this...
the relaunched Biba at House Of Fraser; if I could throw away my entire wardrobe and start again I would just buy the entire collection. that would do for life.

Photos nabbed from tumblr and other places, I don't claim to have taken any of them. Mores the pity.
Sorry for the lazy posting of late. I have ideas, but I lack time and motivation.
Loving catching up on all my favorite blogs though :)

from the NME website a long time ago...

2010-09-27T22:21:00.002+01:00

Faris Badwan of The Horrors explains his lyric writing process thus:

"You can never tell if you like [a lyric] until you've had a while to decide. I have the '24 hour rule' - if you write something down and it doesn't make you cringe the next morning then you're alright."

I like this, I think that is a good rule for creating anything.

aestheticism

2010-09-24T09:14:00.001+01:00

Inferior poets are absolutely fascinating. The worse their rhymes are, the more picturesque they look. The mere fact of having published a book of second-rate sonnets makes a man quite irresistible. He lives the poetry that he cannot write.
- Oscar Wilde