The Bag: Fossil “Sutter” Crossbody in black.

I stumbled across this bag online after spending weeks searching for the [...]]]> Posted because I’m procrastinating and also because just about every other blog I read has already done this, and I was feeling left out!

The Bag: Fossil “Sutter” Crossbody in black.

I stumbled across this bag online after spending weeks searching for the perfect messenger bag. It’s comfy to carry, really well-made and all my stuff fits in it, even when I’m carrying my laptop around.

The Contents:

I don’t think numbers are really required for this, as its pretty obvious what everything is!

• Hairbrush
• Various memory sticks – the black one is 16gb, cost me a small fortune and is basically my backup for… everything important!
• Various pens – A Parker fountain pen, a black ballpoint I got from a hotel and 2 metallic gel pens, one pink and one green.
• My railcard in an Oxfam railcard holder. I’ll be rather devastated when it runs out in August as I’m now too old to renew it.
• Small, ruled softcover Moleskine for lists and important notes. Currently coming in very handy helping me organise the house moving details – I have a very long and still-growing list of businesses and people I need to inform of my change of address asap!
• Purple Tula wallet, currently holding far too many receipts and not enough cash!
• Palm Pre phone and its “sock”, this phone has endured quite a lot of criticism, but personally I love it!
• My house keys.

• Cosmetics: YSL Touch Eclat, L’Occitane 100% Shea Butter, MAC Lipstick in “Syrup” – my go-to everyday colour, MAC Fafi Collection lipgloss in “Squeeze It”, MAC Studio Fix in NW20.
• Small pouch containing sanitary products, painkillers and antihistamines.
• My new glasses.
• Passport – I’m currently using it as ID, it doesn’t show up very well on this blanket unfortunately!
• Cheque book – in my bag for house deposits etc. I don’t usually carry it around however, as I barely ever use it.
• Sachet of Options “Mint Madness” hot chocolate.
• Mentos spearmint and green tea gum.
• Emergency lollipop!
• Philosophy “Pure Grace” perfume – it smells like clean laundry and I love it!

Usually carried but not pictured:

• An energy shot of some description.
• A snack – usually a cereal bar or some mixed seeds. Occasionally a Cadburys Creme Egg or three.
• Camera (for obvious reasons) – Canon PowerShot A720IS.
• A book of some sort, currently assorted “Key Facts” law books.
• Benefit’s “Big Beautiful Eyes” kit – the under-eye concealer is totally wrong for my skin colour, but the shadows are great when I want a quick, easy, smart-looking eye look that I can do on the bus when I’m running late!

Sometimes carried:

• Selection of tote bags and reusable carrier bags usually obtained for free from magazines. Usually in there when I’m heading out grocery shopping straight after work.
• Eee PC 1000H in a protective case.
• A magazine, usually Grazia, which I’m becoming increasingly obsessed with.

That’s pretty much it! I love these posts, so if you’ve posted the contents of your bag recently, please put your link in the comments!

I haven’t posted a meme in quite a while, I couldn’t resist joining in the fun!

If I were a month, I’d be January.

If I were a day of [...]]]> Photo Credit

I haven’t posted a meme in quite a while, I couldn’t resist joining in the fun!

If I were a month, I’d be January.

If I were a day of the week, I’d be Friday.

If I were a time of day, I’d be 5:30pm.

If I were a planet, I’d be Mars.

If I were a sea animal, I’d be a Shark. (well I am studying law!)

If I were a direction, I’d be West.

Photo Credit

If I were a piece of furniture, I’d be a Bookshelf with sliding ladders.

If I were a liquid, I’d be a Mint Julep.

If I were a gemstone, I’d be an Opal.

If I were a tree, I’d be an Oak.

If I were a tool, I’d be a Swiss Army Knife.

Photo Credit

If I were a flower, I’d be an orchid.

If I were a kind of weather, I’d be a Thunderstorm.

If I were a musical instrument, I’d be a Theramin.

If I were a color, I’d be Red.

If I were an emotion, I’d be excitement.

If I were a fruit, I’d be a strawberry.

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If I were a sound, I’d be the sound of a coffee machine brewing.

If I were an element, I’d be Fire.

If I were a car, I’d be a Mazda RX7.

If I were a food, I’d be Umeboshi.

If I were a place, I’d be home.

If I were a material, I’d be lace.

If I were a taste, I’d be umami.

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If I were a scent, I’d be the smell of fabric conditioner.

If I were an object, I’d be a flash drive.

If I were a body part, I’d be the eyes.

If I were a facial expression, I’d be a shy smile.

If I were a song, I’d be The Everlasting.

If I were a pair of shoes, I’d be big stompy goth boots.

Photo Credit

via The Fab Brunette let me know if you decide to post it too!

Right now I’m reading a lot more than I have in the last few years, but still not as much as I used to. I saw this survey on a couple of blogs I read and although I believe it [...]]]> Photo Credit

Right now I’m reading a lot more than I have in the last few years, but still not as much as I used to. I saw this survey on a couple of blogs I read and although I believe it was created for a blogging event that has now passed, I couldn’t resist filling it in.

Do you snack while you read? If so, favourite reading snack?

It depends what I’m reading. If it’s something “light” that doesn’t require much concentration, I’ll snack if I’m hungry. If I’m reading something really engrossing however then I will occasionally completely forget to eat and only realise when my stomach complains!

Do you tend to mark your books as you read them, or does the idea of writing on your books horrify you?

I have written in books I bought specifically for essays, however in general I don’t like writing on books. In fact, I’ve been known to purchase a second copy to keep on my shelf if I’ve read a book for uni, written on it, but enjoyed it enough to want to add it to my collection.

How do you keep your place while reading a book? Bookmark? Dog ears? Leaving the book open flat?

I don’t have a proper bookmark, I generally use whatever happens to be lying around, so train tickets if I’m travelling, old to-do lists, receipts, etc. at home. When reading hardback books I sometimes use the inside fold of the dust jacket as a bookmark, and when I need to mark pages in several books at once, such as when I’m writing an essay, I will occasionally slot the books together to save the pages in two of them.

Fiction, Non-Fiction or both?

Definitely both – good fiction is a wonderful thing but I also love learning new things and reading about real life, so non-fiction books are a must too.

Are you a person who tends to read to the end of chapters, or are you able to put a book down at any point?

I prefer to read until the end of  a chapter or at least somewhere there is a clearly-defined break, however it doesn’t upset me too much when this is not possible.

If you come across an unfamiliar word, do you stop to look it up right away?

This may sound a little conceited, but I can’t honestly remember the last time that happened. I would probably look it up straight away though, I hate not knowing things.

What are you currently reading?

Dead Until Dark: A True Blood Novel by Charliane Harris, I’m addicted to the True Blood TV series so thought I ought to start reading the books that inspired it too. I’m also reading various law books as usual.

What is the last book you bought?

Generation A by Douglas Coupland, because I’ve read all his other books and had completely missed the fact that there’s a new one out! Also Bringing Nothing To The Party by Paul Carr, a recommendation, purchased on impulse.

Are you the type of person who can only read one book at a time or can you read more than one at a time?

I tend to only read one non-academic book at a time, but I can juggle reading for fun and reading for my course.

Do you prefer series or stand alone books?

I don’t really have a preference, though when I fall in love with a character it’s always nice to find out that there’s more available!

Is there a specific book or author that you find yourself recommending over and over?

I always tell people they need to read To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, it’s probably my favourite book of all time and I read it for school!

How do you organize your books? (By genre, title, author’s last name, etc.?)

One day I’d like to organise them properly, but at the moment it’s all a bit haphazard! My course books are all together, and I tend to have bigger, heavier books on the bottom shelf, some books grouped by author where the editions are all similar-looking (Haruki Murakami paperbacks for example) but other than that there’s no real order, everything’s just packed in where it will fit! Perhaps when I’ve moved house I’ll be inspired to organise my reading material properly.

I’d love to hear about your reading habits!

I have been tagged by the fabulous Ms Constantine and I can never resist a good meme! It makes one of the hardest (for me anyway) aspects of blogging – sharing things about myself [...]]]> Photo Credit

I have been tagged by the fabulous Ms Constantine and I can never resist a good meme! It makes one of the hardest (for me anyway) aspects of blogging – sharing things about myself without rambling about rubbish nobody in their right mind would ever find interesting – easy, plus it’s something fun to do with my Monday morning!

What is your current obsession? Like everyone else, definitely TV shows. I’m currently also obsessed with True Blood, and I’m working my way through ReGenesis too, which is totally awesome and I’m quite surprised I managed to miss it the first time around.

What is your horoscope and do you relate? I’m a Scorpio and whilst I relate to some of the traits I’m supposed to have, there are many others I don’t relate to in the slightest. I am yet to be convinced by astrology, though I strive to keep an open mind about that sort of thing.

What are you wearing today? A red, knee-length full circle skirt, a loose grey drapey jersey top with a bow, and black ankle-strap flats. No jewellery or other accessories, I was in a hurry this morning and didn’t think about it.

What is the last thing you bought? Some washing tablets, 2 litres of diet coke and a kinder egg from the corner shop. Previous to that I bought a black sequined jacket and a “pearl” multi-strand necklace with a corsage from boohoo.com.

What do you think about the person who tagged you? She’s one of my favourite bloggers and her posts always make me smile, plus she makes some really awesome jewellery!

Photo Credit

What’s for dinner? Probably filled pasta with a tomato-based sauce and a salad. I’m doing the grocery shopping this week, straight after work, so dinner will be something quick and easy as by the time I get home with it there won’t be much time to cook.

What’s your favourite decade, fashion wise? I love different things from different decades, so I’m not sure I can choose! I love 80s batwing tops, 50s full skirts, 60s colour-block shift dresses and the odd splash of 90s neon, to name but a few! I also love anything Victorian-inspired and adore gothic lolita and steampunk looks, so I really can’t pick a favourite!

What are your must haves for summer? Loose clothing, water, high-spf suncream, late nights with cocktails, barbecues, strawberries and beer gardens with friends.

What would you love to be able to afford? To take time off work and try to write a novel, my own house, a full domestic staff including a dedicated spider, moth and any other fluttery / insecty / arachnid – catcher, I basically wish I could afford a life of leisure in which I can pursue all the creative projects I’m itching to try.

What is your favourite piece of clothing from your wardrobe? My selection of cotton circle skirts that disguise my huge bum so well or my Topshop leather biker jacket.

What is your dream job? Bestselling writer or other career creative.

What is your favourite magazine? I only really buy magazines when I’m going on long journeys, and then it’s usually whatever has the most interesting cover stories, so I don’t really have a favourite.

Describe your personal style? Eclectic, sometimes ultra-girly, sometimes not, lots of black, red, frills, sparkle and glitter. So basically, I’m not sure I have a definable personal style, I wear whatever comes to hand first half the time!

Which Beatle is your favourite? This is probably a controversial opinion, but I’ve never been that much of a Beatles fan, certainly not enough to have a favourite. Though if I must, I’d say Ringo, because Thomas the Tank Engine was cool.

What are you proud of? My strength and independence, the amount I’ve been through and come out smiling, as well as my strong morals and willingness to do anything in my power to help the people I care about.

I’m not going to tag anyone because as usual I’m not sure who’s already filled it in. If you decide to answer it however, let me know!

Image by MGShelton

This is a meme, but it’s a really great one, as posted by the brilliant Scribbles. I actually found it quite difficult to come up with ten things, but it definitely brought a few smiles to [...]]]>

Image by MGShelton

This is a meme, but it’s a really great one, as posted by the brilliant Scribbles. I actually found it quite difficult to come up with ten things, but it definitely brought a few smiles to my face!

The rules:

You leave a comment on this post, and I’ll assign you a letter. You write about ten things you love that begin with your assigned letter, and post it at your place. When people comment on your list, you give them a letter, and the chain continues on and on.

1. Exploring – New places, bits of my own town I haven’t been to before, I just love wandering aimlessly around places, getting to know them and discovering interesting things.

2. Eee PC 1000H – my main blogging tool, she’s small, light and accompanies me on all my travels. Not the most powerful machine in the world but I use my desktop PC for anything that requires lots of graphical capabilities etc. So all I needed in a laptop was portability.

3. E90- My other mobile blogging companion, otherwise known as my phone. I’m a big geek, so a smartphone with a keyboard and an unlimited data contract were essentials!

4. Earl Grey Tea – Lovely stuff!

5. Etiquette – I have a real passion for good manners and behaviour. I love old etiquette books and I long for a world where everyone is polite, courteous and nobody chews with their mouth open.

6. Eighties Goth Music- I love a bit of Bauhaus, Sisters of Mercy, etc. I used to attend a really great “trad” goth night in Nottingham occasionally, and always had a fabulous time there. These days I’ve expanded my colour palate but I still enjoy the music on occasion!

7. Empire Waistlines – For some reason, they seem to suit me!

8. Eating – One of my favourite activities! I love food of all kinds, and particularly enjoy trying new things!

9. Electronic Music- It helps me concentrate! If I’m working on something and keep getting distracted by the noises around me I put something repetitive and bleepy on, and it works!

10. Empty Notebooks – (slight cop-out perhaps, sorry!) I love a brand new notebook with nothing yet written in it, just waiting for me to put pen to paper and create something fabulous!

If you want to join in, comment and I’ll assign you a letter. If you’ve already done this one, link me so I can learn some more about you! xx

Image by SuperFantastic

Firstly a quick note to say thank you for all the feedback on the last post! I intend to use the Xmas break to do a lot of planning for this blog, and all your suggestions will go a long [...]]]>

Firstly a quick note to say thank you for all the feedback on the last post! I intend to use the Xmas break to do a lot of planning for this blog, and all your suggestions will go a long way to helping me plan regular posts, new content ideas, etc. Here’s a few general replies to some points raised:

* My own photos – I’m one of those people who, when they lose something, will search relentlessly for it, even when all hope of finding it seems lost. Hence, I have been searching for my battery charger for months now! A new one is now on my shopping list, so I’ll be able to use my camera shortly! I actually have several ideas for photo-heavy posts that I am quite excited about!

*  A sparkly template – this will probably come when I transfer the blog to a domain, as I will then be able to use 3rd party templates, my CSS skills aren’t really up to much anymore! I may change to one with a banner graphic in the meantime however, if I manage to create a banner I like!

* Those of you who kindly agreed to answer some questions, an interview is being prepared and will be on it’s way to you before next week!

For now, here’s another meme that quite a lot of the bloggers I read have already filled in, and I really enjoyed reading the answers to!

4 Things I did Today (well, yesterday)

1. Started making plans for next year, both for this blog and life in general

2. Did two of the three consolidation exercises I need to do for my course and email in tomorrow, and surprised myself with how much I knew.

3. Ate a really good chili cooked by the boy whilst watching In Bruges and reading blogs.

4.  Began to sort out my possessions for the big clear-out I’m undertaking – I own a lot of superfluous clutter!

4 Things on my To-do List

1.  Book train tickets for Xmas eve, travelling to my parents’ house the evening of the 24th is not going to be fun, especially getting across London at the same time as everyone else!

2.  Finish my washing and actually put it away for once instead of leaving it in neatly-folded piles until I want to wear it.

3. Do the other consolidation exercise and email them all to the college.

4. Start working on a few posts so that I’m ahead of myself before leaving Loughborough in case I don’t have much time to write when I’m in Kent.

4 Guilty Pleasures

1.  Baklava – I can eat boxes of the stuff in minutes!

2. Pretty much anything from the Marks and Spencers food shop – wine, sushi and party food in particular! If I could afford it, I’d do all my grocery shopping there!

3. Trashy magazines – Anything from “REAL LIFE STORIES!” stuff to celebrity gossip, I spend my lunchtimes at work gleefully reading the kind of publications I would never spend money on, but really enjoy reading when they’re there for free!

4.  Spending ridiculous amounts of time in the shower, I dread to think how much of our gas bill this contributes to, but I love taking my time, relaxing with various delicious-smelling products and planning my day.

4 Random facts about Me

1.  I’m only 5’1, but because of my Scoliosis I wear tall length jeans and petite tops! I say I’m disproportionate, my other half tells me I’m “anime-proportioned” (but for that I think I’d have to have a far smaller waist first!)

2. I love books, but I seem to buy them quicker than I get around to reading them, especially with all the extra stuff I have to read for my course! My “to read” pile is always growing!

3. I hoard EVERYTHING! I really hate throwing things away, but I also hate clutter, so I’m forever driving myself crazy with the amount of stuff I have!

4. I find thinking of new interesting facts about myself really difficult!

Bloggers that I’m tagging

I would tag, but I think most people have probably filled this one in already, so I shall refrain for now. (Next time I’ll fill it in a little earlier!)

Various bloggers including the talented Nubby Twiglet (who I believe may have been the original poster) have already done this and once again I’m taking a flying leap onto the bandwagon! Here are ten random facts about me, hopefully without any repeats from [...]]]> Image by cesarastudillo

Various bloggers including the talented Nubby Twiglet (who I believe may have been the original poster) have already done this and once again I’m taking a flying leap onto the bandwagon! Here are ten random facts about me, hopefully without any repeats from previous memes, but if there are then I apologise. I’m feeling quite good about myself this evening so I thought would be a good time to make a post all about me. In addition, one of our lecturers today asked everyone for an interesting fact about themselves. By the time he got to me, people had shared such amazing things (such as singing in a professional chorus, helping the Red Cross in war zones not to mention the wide variety of countries members of my course are from) that I felt rather boring  and couldn’t really think of what to say! This is therefore an exercise, a way of reassuring myself that I’m just as interesting as everyone else, even if I’ve always lived in Britain! This As always, let me know if you choose to post one of your own, I’d love to know more about the lives of other bloggers, I’m terribly nosy like that!

1.  I’ve never had anything pierced not even my ears! I’ve always worn my hair down so there never seemed to be any point. I’ve toyed with the idea of various other piercings including a bridge piercing, but I didn’t go through with it – too scared of needles!

2. My fear of needles isn’t actually of the needles themselves, but of someone else wielding something sharp and stabbing me with it. (Quite rational I think!) I have to get a ‘flu jab every year and I always tell the nurse to let me look away and not to give me any warning, otherwise I’ll instinctively jerk my arm away.  If I was allowed to give myself the jab however, I’d be fine!

3. I feel the cold a lot, so I like the house to be nice and warm, however I also prefer to sleep in a cold room, as I find it hard to sleep without a heavy duvet! I must be a pain to live with.

4. I’m constantly challenging myself! I can’t take on just one thing at once, I have to have several projects or schemes on the go at any one time or I get restless.

5.  I have the best excuse to spend a fortune on shoes – my feet are so narrow I often have to get them from specialist stores, but also it appears that Jimmy Choos will fit me quite well! I don’t own any (yet) mostly because I really can’t walk in heels, but as soon as I learn to I’m treating myself!

Image by woodleywonderworks

6. Amongst my many lofty ambitions such as getting books published, being a great lawyer, etc. are some really mundane, domestic ones too. Possibly my biggest ambition is to own and decorate my own home. First however, I need to find somewhere I want to spend the rest of my live – somewhat bizarrely, Birmingham is becoming a strong candidate!

7.  When people ask me what kind of music I listen to I find it a really hard question to answer. I used to be able to at least narrow it down to “alternative”, but nowadays I find myself listening to a lot of classical, some conventional pop, and various other genres as well, so I can’t even pigeon-hole it to any particular collection of genres anymore. One day I’ll listen to Nine Inch Nails, the next Mozart’s Requiem (last Monday – I sang it when in my school choir, it’s a truly beautiful piece of music).

8. I really relish my alone time. I’m not antisocial by any means, but when I’m, for example, alone in a hotel room as I am now, it’s great just to get some time to myself somewhere I can relax, blog and watch TV in bed.

9. I love plushies! I have a small collection of Beanie Babies and other plushies that sit on my bookshelf in front of the books (I’ll post a photo sometime if I remember!) and various others that “live” around my room. My favourite (ssh, I don’t want any of them to feel left out) is a black and white cat called Frobisher.

10. For someone who has back problems and therefore can’t carry that much weight, I’m terrible for taking too much with me in my bag! I always have a handbag full of things I barely ever actually have a use for, but all of which seem completely essential, and when I go away somewhere I take about twice as much as I need! I’m only staying about 20 minutes walk away from the College of Law yet I’m going to get a taxi over in the morning as I’ll have all my bags with me and will barely be able to move!

I’d love to know more about all of you, so if you have some time, share a few facts! It doesn’t have to be ten, it can be as many or as few as you can think of! The total over-use of exclamation marks is entirely optional.

Image By Fern R

I’ve been tagged by the fabulous Carmen to list six or seven random things about myself, linking back to the blog who tagged me and tagging six or seven more people, so I shall do my best!

Image By Fern R

I’ve been tagged by the fabulous Carmen to list six or seven random things about myself, linking back to the blog who tagged me and tagging six or seven more people, so I shall do my best!

1. Right now, I have a completely vile cold, cough, and general lurgy that is making me feel rather vile. I’m a bit of a man when ill – I can’t cope with it, I go really pathetic and can’t get on with anything hence taking so long to do this meme.

2. I really like me and I’m not in the slightest bit ashamed to say that! People have, in the past, accused me of having low / no self-esteem simply because I don’t rate myself as above-average in the looks department (not fishing here, just personal opinion!) but the truth is I have a massive ego about… pretty much everything else about me! (Though I try not to be too conceited!)

3. I get intellectual crushes like crazy! There are so many people who, whilst not being shall we say, traditional “sex symbols” for want of a better phrase, I find myself imagining being married to because I could see myself happily hanging on their every word for years!

4. I have some really geeky interests! I’m totally into old computers and planes. Attending airshows is one of my favourite activities and I’ve contributed to the Vulcan To The Sky fund.

5. I can’t draw to save my life, and I think if I could miraculously gain one talent, drawing may well be it.

6. I feel the cold really easily, and can be often seen wearing hoodies and gloves indoors, huddling by the radiators whilst everyone else is in short sleeves. Because of this I’m also a terrible duvet hog, and the poor boy creature unfortunate enough to share a bed with me regularly ends up getting out a spare blanket!

7. I really enjoy it when nobody has done any shopping and we have to make a meal out of completely random ingredients found in the cupboard. I find it a really fun challenge!

Once again, I’m not going to tag anyone at this point (heck, after saying I’ll get my blogroll sorted I haven’t gotten around to that yet either! Number one priority for this week!) As usual though, I really enjoy learning more about others, so please let me know if you decide to fill it in!