April

The past couple of weeks haven't been too exciting. I've been working on and off mostly whilst fangirling, sleeping and writing in any spare time that I have had. I'm just looking forward to the upcoming weeks and everything that is planned for them, it should keep me busy for the most part! At least the weather is finally warming up in England - I've actually been able to put away my thick scarf though I probably shouldn't speak too soon.

I feel like a cat recently, I just want to sleep all of the time. Haven't been feeling fantastic recently but I've had some wonderful people to chat to, distracting me with their crazy conversations. Started to get back into healthy eating again now though - it's only taken since Christmas for me to get my act together! I had been feeling absolutely rubbish and Becki suggested it could be a lack of iron in my diet. Being vegetarian I tend not to get it as regularly as others do and especially since the kitchen was being done and we had no cooker or hob I was just eating crap really. Feeling better already now though - I'd forgotten how much I love pistachios as well, it's just a shame how expensive they can be.

[1] Squirrel   [2] HairynScary   [3] Love Bird

Whipped out my sketch book and (literally) dusted it off last week. It felt so good getting my inks out and playing again. That's one of the things I've missed about college, just experimenting. I finally played with the set that Dale got me Christmas and had a go with the silver and gold. Winsor & Newton make such fantastic inks, I love them and can't fault them at all. I'm really proud of the squirrel, the love bird not so much but I still like it. I may have also given in to buying another one of Jake Schroeder's prints on Etsy called 'Sweet View 4.0'. It goes with my previous hot air balloon purchase from him and I just loved that one so much that I just couldn't resist. This ones smaller so I think they'll look quite nice on the wall together.

Currently watching: The Walking Dead
Currently looking forward to: Dale's Nanna's wedding, my birthday, BBQs
Currently in my car: Two Biffy Clyro albums and the following mixed CD;

Adventure Time - BriBry
I Knew You Were Trouble - Taylor Swift
Gasoline - The Airborne Toxic Event
Little Talks - Of Monsters and Men
Born On A Horse - Biffy Clyro
My Moves Are White (White Hot, That Is) - Cobra Starship
The City Is At War - Cobra Starship
Safe & Sound - Taylor Swift
Somebody That I Used To Know - Gotye
Move Along - The All-American Rejects
I Know What I Am - Band of Skulls
Backstabber - The Dresden Dolls
Many Of Horror - Biffy Clyro

Adventures

I've really enjoyed the past week, I feel like I've actually made the most of my time off and I've enjoyed every moment of it. I may have nearly spent my whole pay check in a week but still, it was worth it (though I'm sure that I won't be saying that in a weeks time when I'm desperate for money).

 Me, Amy, Toria and Connie (Amy's photograph)

On the Friday evening Dale and I went to Coningsby to see his Nanna, have a meal and stay the night. It was nice. Saturday night I went out with Amy, Toria and Connie and it was honestly one of the best night's out that I've had. There was zero drama and we just had fun; I do love those girls.

On the Monday Becki, Kayleigh and I drove down to Manchester to see Biffy Clyro at Manchester Arena. They were brilliant, there's no doubt about that and the set was pretty cool too. It's the first time I was in standing in a crowd that size and honestly it was pretty daunting to begin with but I really enjoyed it. Being small sucked though, sometimes there were just a few too many heads in the way. I would love to see them live again sometime.

[1]  Hobbits   [2]  Kermit   [3]  Paperchase

Where we stayed was literally a five minute walk from everything which was pretty good. It may have not been a five star hotel but it was okay for the night so I was fairly happy. We went in Selfridges and Harvey Nichols and oh dear God I have never felt so out of place in a store before. And well they were the last clothing stores that we went in the next were the Lego shop, Disney Store and Paperchase - we have our priorities right. I now have Mr Frodo and Mr Bilbo Baggins to accompany me on adventures. I bought Alice In Wonderland (animated) and Mulan on DVD from the Disney Store as well as a Kermit the frog mug - I really do love my massive Disney mugs. Becki bought a linen spray called 'Wonder' and it really does smell fantastic. And then of course there was Paperchase - I've never seen one as big as the one in Manchester, it was fantastic. I bought quite a few bits and it only came to £12 which wasn't too bad.

Dale and I went to Hull on Thursday and went to The Deep. It was better than I was anticipating and I have to admit that the Jelly Fish were my favourite - I just find them so interesting and strange. I can imagine it being packed with even more kids this week so I'm glad Dale had last week off and not next week. I do love fish!

CCbox 9

I never have a bad thing to say about CrafyCreatives and this months box theme of 'Steampunk' was just brilliant. As always the box included tons of goodies with my favourites being the kit to make the trinket box, the brown tweed fabric (which I'm itching to have a play with) and the tiny watch parts.

Below is my trinket box which I've been having a go at today. It may not be perfect but I really enjoyed making it which I suppose is the main goal. I used the reel of wire that was included in the box and made a hot air balloon (however it seems to look more like an exclamation mark but nevermind!) and then added the tiny watch parts and the chain to the balloon to decorate it a little bit. It's simple but I like it! I did have a play with the metallic transfer foils and cogs but I haven't quite got the hang of that one yet.

I can't wait to start getting creative with the fabrics - I need to buy some stuffing first however, something which I keep forgetting to do. Admittedly my bedroom hasn't really got the space to be storing millions of CCboxes but I'll find somewhere to keep them (that isn't beside my bed) soon. What I would really love is a desk that I could keep all of my art bits in/around. The calligraphy set that I received from Dale for Christmas hasn't had a chance to come out yet for lack of space - I just don't particularly fancy using my dressing table as a desk, there's already enough on it. This is when I miss the study that is now a spare bedroom.

I forgot to mention that we dressed up at work for Comic Relief. It definitely does make the day go a little bit better - especially when a little girl gasps with wide eyes as she sees your sword. It was a really good day and everyone joined in with half of us ending up being pirates and the other half being animals. Any excuse to dress up and we're there. 

Which brings me to the Rocky Horror Show. Becki, Zoe and I went to see it at Grimsby Auditorium on Monday night and it was just so bloody good. I didn't quite know what to expect from the stage show but it was fantastic and done so well. Frank N Furter was cast so well - I was not disappointed - and the way that they did the bedroom scenes with Brad, Janet and Frank N Furter was very clever.

It was brilliant how the majority of the audience really got into it with dressing up and dancing and yelling things out. That's one of the great things about Rocky Horror, how much the audience participates. We dressed up but didn't go over the top - just a corset, shorts, fishnets (or just tights in my case) and pearls. There were some brilliants Frank N Furters there though and quite a lot of Magentas that also looked fantastic. Personally for me the narrator was one of the highlights of the show though, he was just brilliant and would react to the shouts from the audience perfectly - he was hilarious.

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A Literary Feel

 [1]  Ripper   [2]  Pancakes   [3]  Valentines Day

I didn't complete NaNoWriMo in November, it sort of came to head and I couldn't write anymore at the time but I've been dipping back into it recently, looking into the 29,212 words I have written so far and annotating and highlighting bits and pieces that need rewording or just completely rethinking all together. I have a little folder that I'm keeping it all in: the character profiles, the locations, thought processes. I have to admit, I'm really enjoying this and to be honest I think that is exactly how attempting to write a novel should be. What is the point of putting all of your time and effort into something if you aren't going to enjoy it. It's strange to think that this is all based off of a dream that I had in May last year - a dream that I can still vividly remember. I'm quite proud of what I have done so far to be honest.

[1]  This Book Is Full Of Spiders   [2]  Excerpt   [3]  The Lord Of The Rings

I'm trying to read a lot more this year, having started with 'This Book Is Full of Spiders: Seriously Dude Don't Touch It' by David Wong. The book is the sequel to 'John Dies At The End' though you don't necessarily have to read it to enjoy Wong's second book. I love how fun this book is and how once you've started you just can't put it down. It made me laugh and I'm going to admit that I cried pretty damn hard towards the end... but then again most books manage that whether the situation be worthy of tears or not. Truly a fantastic book though, I highly recommend this to anyone and everyone.

"Shut the fuck up. Did you kill Franky?”
John said, “It was self-defense. And he stole my car, he drove it here and I had to walk all the way from the police station. Got here just in time, he was raping Dave when I walked in.”
“He wasn’t-“
“SHUT UP. Both of you. You’re coming with me.” To me he said, “Put some pants on.”
“Fuck you. This is my house. I make the rules. You take your clothes off. John, get the Twister mat.

I should be banned from entering Waterstones quite frankly. I know for a fact that I can get books so much cheaper on the internet yet I find myself fawning over books and before I know it I'm leaving with two or three. My poor bank account. My most recent purchases are 'The Hobbit' and 'The Fellowship Of The Ring' by J.R.R. Tolkien. Dale had introduced me to 'The Lord of the Rings' a while ago and my God those films are long. And then we went to see 'The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey' when it came out in December. Again it's a long film, the kind of film my sister would be too fidgety to sit through but it was incredibly good - so good in fact that I found another new obsession (as if I haven't got enough as it is). I'm really enjoying the book so far and I'm glad I decided to give it a go. 

Currently watching: Being Human and Once Upon A Time

Currently listening to: Imagine Dragons - Night Visions, Biffy Clyro - Opposites and of course The Airborne Toxic Event

Currently looking forward to: Rocky Horror Picture Show on Monday and Biffy Clyro in Manchester the following Monday

January

[1] Snowy garden   [2] Fudge Kitchen   [3] Poor Hugo

Well 2013 is now underway and it's been a pretty cold start to the year so far. We've had a week or so of snow but nothing extravagant but it's definitely been nice to be able to curl up in the warmth with hot drinking fudge and not have a care in the world. Well, for the most part.

[1] Becki's Birthday   [2] Belated Hogwarts Acceptance Letter   [3] Sleepy cat

It was Becki's birthday just over a week ago so there's been plenty of sweet stuff around the house - really doesn't help when I have little to no willpower. Really need to start doing some sort of exercise and eating healthier again - it's especially hard however when the kitchen has been ripped out right now though and we don't have a cooker and everything is upside down. I'm not exactly a big takeaway person but Domino's Pizza is definitely my weak spot... and Subway.

 [1] Polaroid   [2] Crafts   [3] Qwertee

Polaroids: I finally got the chance to buy some more film for my Polaroid 600 camera this month. Becki introduced me to The Impossible Project so I thought I'd give it a try and I was impressed. It's such good quality, the images are sharp, the colour is fantastic. Compared to previous film that I have bought from amazon it is incredible and it's the same price. I bought a PX 680 Color Protection pack as well as the limited edition PX 600 Silver Shade film with two white frames, two black and two with feather prints. The latter should be fun to use when the time comes. The only problem with Polaroid is that the film is so damn expensive but if you're going to spend that much on film you may as well get it from The Impossible Project, at least you know it's not going to be a waste of money then.

Crafts: I've been trying to do a lot more creative things this year. I received a 'make your own stuffed heart' set for christmas from Becki so I had a go at that the other night and I'm quite impressed! For a simple squishy heart I think it's quite adorable. I made two bracelets the other night: one used the rest of the skull beads from my taster box and I also used the toadstools from January's box to make a cute little beaded bracelet. What can I say, I like bracelets! Needle felting was the kit in January's box as well - it's really easy to do and quite therapeutic, I just need to think about what to actually do with the many leaves I've made now.

I also bought a Doctor Who top from Qwertee which is just absolutely brilliant, I love it!

Happy New Year!

It's January 2013 already! Oh how time does fly! I've met knew people, visited places I've never been before, went away for the first time with Dale, did Archery and sucked at it, received my Hogwarts acceptance letter... it's been an interesting year. And of course, rest in peace Grandpa and Dom, <3.

[1]   Leonardo Da Vinci's Flying Machine   [2]   Becki and I in a box   [3]   Salt-Dough snowman

The run up to Christmas was fantastic, I just love buying the presents and getting all prepared for the festive season. Becki and I made salt-dough decorations this year as well as some wreaths and such from the crafty creatives boxes. We also visited the Da Vinci Exhibition that was in Hull Art Gallery over Christmas - it was really interesting to actually see some of his work in person and the amount of detail that went into each of his drawings.

Becki and I did a joint present for our parents which were tickets to see a comedian however to make it more interesting we rapped them within several boxes, each box having a small gift inside for each of them. The starting box was huge, one that I had brought home from work and had originally had women's boots in - it was huge... so big that Becki and I box fit in it (which explains the second picture in the above photo set). We however didn't consider the fact that the box was so large that possible may not have fit through my doorway... thankfully with our house being quite new, the door frames are wider than usual and we were able to just squeeze it through Christmas Eve.

The only thing that I dislike about Christmas would be that I work in retail and well everyday is Hell on Earth and you are guaranteed to want to scream at and strangle at least one customer and maybe even some of your colleagues during any given work day. We do however make some pretty damn sexy elves, Mrs Santas, Christmas puddings and Snow-women. All you could hear that day was the jingle of bells and staff members ran around the shop... it definitely makes the weekend before Christmas just a little bit more bearable.

And then of course there are the jolly get togethers of friends. I love it. A festive drink, a delicious meal, good company and a catch up - fantastic. I love these guys and I'm glad they were able to make it.

[1]   Christmas treats from the managers   [2]   Decorations and Christmassy films   [3]   Tree decorations

[4]   Gifts   [5]   Christmas games   [6]   Harry Potter, Page To Screen

I love traditions. Every Christmas Eve I go to Mass with my Grandma, cousins and aunt and uncle to single carols. I enjoy that family time and then I come home and spend the rest of the evening with my parents, sister and Grandma watching Christmas specials. I'm the kind of the person that still gets so excited for Christmas even though I'm nineteen years old (twenty this year) - in fact I woke up at 4:30am Christmas morning and was so excited and slept on and off until 7am. 

I wish Christmas lasted longer than just two days. It seems to be over so quickly.