Day Six - (Slightly Premature) University Lessons #1

Even though I technically have another 5 weeks left of essay/dissertation/exam-free university life (cue daily posts about how I vow to never drink again, and how my bed is my new best friend... not that I ever get drunk. EVER. Hi Mum and Dad), I thought now was a good a time as ever to think about the lessons I've learnt in my 3 years at Reading. I was going to do them all in one post, but it turns out the first lesson (living with boys) became pretty long, so to save boring you all, I'll spread these out into different posts, and I may edit this at a later date. If that makes sense.

After spending my first year in a predominantly male flat, and second year being outnumbered 3:1 in a house of boys (HI GUYS), I definitely learnt the joys of living with girls. It's been a peaceful year, away from having my room trashed on a daily basis, and being locked outside of my bedroom.

Ahh the joys of university boys. Not. Strangely, the second year in particularly, was definitely not as gross and dirty as I expected, and I'm pretty sure I was the owner of the messiest room on several occasions. Not surprisingly, there was a healthy daily dose of BAN-TAR ("you look like you've been dragged through a bush backwards" and the vandalism seen below)...

...but if you can cope with that, you're onto a winner. They may not be the best allies when you're ill (thanks again for the lovely dinner when I had mumps...oh.), and they may sometimes drive you completely insane (see writing all over my stuff, my brand new mirror in particular...NOT FUNNY, and taking off my bathroom door...)

...and they can sometimes be the most infuriating, aggravating and rude species ever, but they make great cock-blockers, and will look after you when the sweat starts dripping from the ceiling in Sakura (great club, great club), or when you throw yourself into a bush after a particularly heavy Carnage (again, hello parents). I'll keep my dignity by saving those photos for private viewing. 

The top tip from living with boys? ALWAYS LOCK YOUR LAPTOP IF YOU LEAVE IT. ALWAYS. If you don't, you will get fraped. Badly. Unfortunately you can't lock TVs, meaning they can make it look like you've been watching Gay Rabbit. I wasn't. 

Day Five - Tunbridge Wells Food Festival

After a scrabble-filled couple of days stay with my lovely Nan, today I headed off to the Tunbridge Wells food festival, where I ate and drink a hell of a lot of definitely stayed well clear of all the food and drink samples, and had one of the best burger-like things I've ever had in my life. Thought it would make the post stupidly long if I put every single photo separately, so I decided to put them into collages... unfortunately this has cut some of the photos, not least because of my editing non-skills, so apologies for that. It was great to see so many local people enjoying LOCAL produce.

Couldn't find all the producers online, but these are ones I've found so far, and I'll add to the list if I find others:
- Arcade Fisheries (Hastings)
- Elizabeth Santer Creative Catering
- High Weald Dairy (West Sussex)
- Potash Farm (St Marys Platt, nr Sevenoaks)
- Yumptious Cupcakes
- Kieron's Game (Tonbridge)

More important, LUNCH. My Dad opted for a venison burger (seen first,) but I opted for the monstrosity that was pork belly with crackling and apple sauce. I had no idea it was going to be so big, but it was insanely good, so I struggled my way through it.

The food festival is on again down The Pantiles in Tunbridge Wells. Well worth checking out if you've got the time.

Day Four - A Shop Sizing Experiment

There are plenty of articles and blogs about sizes, which sizes are healthy, why size doesn't matter and so on, but there's one thing that really bugs me and I feel it's time for a rant.

Maybe it's down to my body shape (any sign of fat seemed to skip the very top half of my body and roll straight down to my stomach, sizeable butt and thighs. Seems unfair to me), but I couldn't tell you the exact sizing of clothes I need, because I could almost guarantee that it would be wrong in at least one shop. It's most problematic on the bottom half, where I can vary from a 10 up to a 14. In fact, in one instance, the first size that actually fit and did up in New Look was a size 16, at which point I promptly had a tantrum and quickly exited the shop. 

Take these clothes for example...

Top to Bottom: Size 12 - Primark; New Look; New Look (high-waisted); New Look
Size 10 - American Eagle Outfitters; Topshop

Top to Bottom: Both Size 10 - Rare London; Primark

Top to Bottom: Size 12 - New Look
Size 10 - Republic

 I think it's most obvious in the shorts how different shop sizes can be, although granted some shorts are in differing styles. It seems the biggest offenders are New Look, whose size 12 are pretty much the same size as a size 10 elsewhere (such as Republic, seen in the trouser photo), and actually seems to differ between their own clothing! I'm even more startled by the tiny sizing of a Topshop 10! 

Although, as is the case with many girls, I have my body hang-ups, I don't feel I should be ashamed in any way with the clothes size I buy. However, particularly in New Look's case, their unpredictable and small sizing feels like it's designed to make you feel bigger than you actually are, and has made me feel fat on more than one occasion. What I can't understand is why there's not a standardised sizing that all shops need to stick by, as it seems ridiculously that you can vary so much from shop-to-shop. There's already enough magazines and photo-shopping making us feel like we need to be much slimmer/fitter/this that and the other than we are, so it's about time shops did something to counter this. And don't even get me started on bra sizes...

By no means I am saying that being obese (or anorexic, or any other eating disorder) is OK, but by potentially making us feel bigger than we actually are, shops are doing nothing for women's self-esteem. I for one am sick of being embarassed of sizes, and would love to see women (and men!) stop being defined by whether they are a size 8 or a 16. 

Any thoughts? Feel free to drop a comment below :)

Day Three - Beats, BAFTAs and Bikini Body Battles

ALBUM OF THE DAY

Bit of a long one today...

Daft Punk - Random Access Memories

After 7 years without a studio album, Daft Punk are back with the collaboration-filled Random Access Memories. Since Get Lucky has already maintained four glorious weeks in the number one spot, and doesn't look to be going anywhere anytime soon (thank GOD, since it is the only song I know that has the ability to be played 24 hours a day without getting boring or repetitive), the album has a lot to live up to. There aren't many compliments I could pay this album that haven't already been said elsewhere, so I'll be keeping this to a very brief mini-review.

From the punchy opening beats of Give Life Back to Music, to the slightly strange ending of Contact, via the chilled-out The Game of Love, the musings and teachings of Giorgio by Moroder, the string-based build-up of Beyond and the old-school, disco, relaxing feel of Fragments of Time, RAM is full of brilliance and surprises, forever keeping you on your toes. Coupling a feeling of nostalgia with sounds that are as fresh and relevant as ever, RAM proves just why this duo have still got it after 20 robotic years. 

You can stream the album now on iTunes, by going to their artist page, and feel free to comment below with your thoughts and any favourite tracks!

BAFTA Fashion

In other recent news, the BAFTAs happened on Sunday [winner's list], and as expected, there were some amazing and not-so-amazing dresses all round. Thought I'd present some of my favourites here, although feel free to pop a comment below if you disagree (or agree!). All pictures thanks to Google Images... naturally.

Monochrome seemed to be the trend of choice at the awards, with Sheridan Smith, Louise Redknapp, Tess Daly, Laura Whitmore and Claudia Winkleman, to name a few, all in dark ensembles.

Some of my favourites, however, came from Zoe Hardman, who's fitted number beautifully showed off her enviably figure, and Millie Mackintosh's thigh-high Sass & Bide dress, with gold detail, showing off her long legs and slim figure. 

Away from black, nudes, whites and creams were another favourite amongst many, such as Jenni Falconer and Louise Thompson, with my favourites being Jenna Louise Colman's simple maxi dress, completed with statement clutch, and Lucy Watson's white embellished design.

Finally, a pop of colour provided many glamorous red carpet moments, from Binky Felstead's pink jumpsuit (below), to Imelda Staunton and Mary Berry showing that you can look fabulous at any age. My favourite, however, and perhaps one of the best outfits of the night came from Sienna Miller, who wore a gorgeously detailed powder blue dress from Matthew Williamson teamed with an up-do hairstyle, a simple clutch and studded heels.

Like any of these? Any favourites I haven't mentioned? Let me know :)

And Finally...

With a mere 35 days until I head off to Tenerife (TAKE ME THERE NOW PLEASE), the battle for a bikini-ready body is definitely on, so I'm ending this post with a little insight into how I've tried to start to get into shape today aka the healthiest day I've had in a VERY long time (nb. I am definitely no fitness expert!!). Starting the day with a bowl of porridge, I then completed 50 squats, 50 sit-ups and 2 minutes of butt-kicks, high knees and mountain climbers. Afterwards, I had the best Covent Garden Leek & Potato soup, with one slice of white bread (preferable wholemeal but we had none), followed by a banana. I'm hoping that a few changes here and there will help me get ready for the beach, so I will keep you all updated!

Day Two - An Ever-Growing Barry M Obsession

As any of my housemates will tell you, I am a teeny weeny bit obsessed with Barry M nail paints, so much so that it takes most of my strength not to buy a new colour on every shopping trip. At the last count, I own almost 30 paints, and 2 nail art pens. Bad I know. So, to kickstart my venture into the realms of beauty blogging, I thought I'd review some of their products.

[L-R, clockwise: Paints used; nails in daytime light; nails under flash photography; close-up of 'watermelon' colour; paints used under flash; paints used without flash]

Forgive me for the shoddy painting, I am definitely no artist. I'm not sure how clear the Watermelon colour is going to come out, so I've added a close-up picture to hopefully help. These colours are both fairly dark, so next time I would probably not use the black nail pen with them, although this could be a good look for the Winter months. However, I love how easy the pen is to use, although I was already hoping this was the case from all the different designs I've seen from bloggers. The best thing about the gelly paints is their shine, as they look smoother than normal paints, and last a lot longer without chipping. Brilliant for summer, when nails are always scrutinised, as there will no need to repaint every five minutes. Looks even better topped with Barry M's (surprise) base, topcoat and nail hardener, although I have slightly cheated with an old Rimmel topcoat in these pictures as I left my Barry M one in Reading #cry.

[L-R, clockwise: Paints used; nails in daytime light; nails without flash photography; paints used under flash; nails under flash; paints used without flash]

Again, forgive me for the shoddy painting and dodgy flash in the middle, although I'm sure these pictures are making it look worse than it is. I won't repeat the whole review of the products here, as they worked just as well with these colours, although the 'art design' is severely lacking on this hand, as I find it extremely difficult to draw with the hand I don't write with! I particularly love these pastel colours for summer, as they brighten up rainy day (of which I'm sure they'll be loads of in the lovely British summer), and fit really nicely with the pink pen. I know the lilac colour in particular is a hit with many of my friends, and if I had to choose between the two colour combinations in this blog, I would definitely choose this one, if only for the summer.

I hope this has been useful. Please feel free to comment below with thoughts, favourite colours, or perhaps a different brand of nail paint I should be trying!

Day One - Sorting, Nostalgia & Some Amazing Headwear

So I'm trying out my first new idea, bare with. I thought it might be interesting to dab my hand in the world of lifestyle blogging, to document what my day-to-day life involves. I've always said my life could be made into some sort of comedy book, so here's my chance. Obviously, I know my everyday life is really not that exciting, so I'll only blogging things that I think will be of interest. This might not make any sense, and might fall completely flat, but I am up for giving it a try! [Please forgive me if this first post is a little lengthy].

So. Day One. Home from university for a few weeks, decided to start sorting my room out in preparation for the inevitable panic that will hit when I realise that all my accumulated stuff will not fit back in my room, as you can see from the chaos below. Hashtag hoarder. 

Yes, that is a whole box of CDs [middle top], in addition to the two almost completely full CD stands [bottom left]... just in case anyone was in doubt of my near obsession with music. The first thing I found was a whole stash of photo albums, which, as you can probably predict, completely screwed up my tidying plans, and provided me with hours of entertaining. This is a selection of my favourite baby photos of myself...

There are many things I learnt from these pictures:

1 - I had excellent fashion sense, even from a young age. Just take a look at those amazing hats [unfortunately some of the top left picture has been cut out, but I assure you, it was a beaut]! My favourite has to be the velvety burgundy creation I apparently wore to the park [middle picture], which went beautifully with those dungarees.
2 - I had the chubbiest legs I was just the chubbiest child when I was younger. I'm not sure how clear the middle picture on the right is, but hopefully that will showcase that. If not, just look at the roundness of my face in the bottom right-hand photo.
3 - I have always loved my food. And, as you can see top right, I also like to take regular naps after I eat.

The thing that struck me most, however, came from organising all the books I own. As you can see below with books like the Winnie the Pooh collection, a Roald Dahl trilogy and a very large pile of Jacqueline Wilson books, I used to adore reading as a child, but somewhere along the way, that love dwindled, and so I have very few 'adult' books to read. 

[L-R, Clockwise: Bookshelf, Photo albums and Chest of Drawers; Best photo of a deer on an island in Japan; Selection of dance certificates (I would love to get into dancing again); newly organised chest of drawers; kimono given to me as a gift years ago, bookshelf close-up]

It'd be great to blame university life for the disappearance of my reading habit, but there's definitely more to it than that, and I really want to get my read back on. If you've got any suggestions, please feel free to comment below! I'd also just like to point out that less than an hour after I did all of this, that whole bookshelf fell of the wall, hitting an apple and making it explode, but luckily not harming anything/one else. It could only happen to me...

This is just a brief 'about me' introduction, and hopefully posts will get far more interesting from here on in!

Experimenting, Expanding, Extending

Bare with me on this one. I have loved blogging about music for the past five years or so, and my love for music isn't going anywhere any time soon. However, whilst I still wish to include music in almost every post I write, I feel it is time to expand this blog to find with my expanding interests, and to showcase the other interests I have. So, I have made the decision to not start a new blog, but to evolve this blog into something new. I may run with a few ideas for a while, and see which one works best, so any feedback would be greatly appreciated :)

As I said, I am hoping to incorporate music into as many posts as I possibly can, as music is, and always will be a large part of my life.

I apologise now if technology fails me when I'm trying to rejig stuff on here. I will try my best to not mess it up!

Feel free to comment or message me with any suggestions or opinions :)