Frills 'n' Spills

Once again it is the holidays and we are both back home for 5 weeks (!) for Easter trying to sort out our plans for next term. Both Danni and I have exams but the university hasn't yet told us when they will be. As you might have guessed, this makes revision more difficult to organise. Ah well, I will just have to adjust my colour coding on the revision timetable I am yet to make... OOPS. I also have to write a Roman economy essay which I am NOT looking forward too...ah I wish I was more organised! However, to help me in my constant struggle to make plans (and then stick to them) I have bought a beautiful diary from Paperchase that has little owls on ♥

 Hopefully this will inspire me to become as organised as Danni :) It is so nice to be home again, I always forget how pretty it is, especially in comparison to Coventry!

My sister has a German exchange student staying with us at the moment so our house is pretty much full to the brim with people at the moment, especially with me home :) On Saturday, I went to the outlet store in Swindon with Mum, Dad, Isobel and Alistair and had a really nice day out. I bought a pack of 3 pairs of grey tights from Marks & Spencers that were 99p from £8 but I got them for 49p as Mum also got some tights and they were buy one get one half price... I was literally like YES! :) I also treated myself to some Mac make-up- a beautiful pink blush called 'Summer Rose' (which has a beautiful rose embossed on the blusher) and an eyeshadow suite in 'Counterparts' - a lovely gold and green duo that will be perfect for sultry summer make-up. (I will put swatches up A.S.A.P) 

I wore the blusher on Sunday, when I met up with Mark, Pete, Cindy and Dan (who you may remember from New Year's Eve) at the local pub in my village. It was lovely to see them all as it was the first time I had seen them since Easter, and much hilarity ensued. I also got my very late birthday present off Pete, but it was SO worth the wait...

A copy of 'Blogging for Dummies' and a DVD I have been wanting for ages. Thank you Pete for such a thoughtful and useful present! I have already been avidly reading the book which is full of useful tips that Danni and I will try to use on here :) Although I would have liked to have seen everyone for longer, it was amazing to catch up and to see each other face-to-face. Thank you to everyone for making the effort to come to the village where I live as well, I know it is a real trek for everyone :) I had a really lovely day so thank you again guys ♥

True love ♥

 I really can't believe that I have known Pete for eleven years...ELEVEN! Crazy times.

As usual, we were all laughing ourselves silly, hence why we all have super smiley faces :D As you can see from the photos, I wore my blue shorts again, They are from the Garden Collection at H&M and I am absolutely in love with them, they are so comfy.

 

After getting completely over excited over just the trailer, we were extra happy when Alice in Wonderland was finally released in cinemas. Our excitement however, didn't correlate with organisation in the slightest and so, nearly two weeks after its release we eventually managed to organise a cinema trip, donning our cutest Alice-inspired charms and of course, 3D glasses...attractive.

I'm not going to lie; the 3D glasses did make me feel super-cool and my excitement at the prospect of keeping them after the film was just too much to contain. Naturally, they've remained on my desk in the same spot since Monday and are completely useless. Still, they are MINE!

Anyway, back to the film. Personally I really enjoyed it - Burton's trippy style was the perfect compliment to Lewis Caroll's equally zany story (although the film doesn't actually follow the original tale) and the actors were selected really well. I especially loved Stephen Fry as the Cheshire Cat - his voice just made the character seem even mellower... as if having the ability to float around aimlessly wasn't breezy enough.

Although Tim Burton's known for his ultra-wacky approach, and in spite of the fact that the film was undeniably weird (yet wonderful) one of my favourite aspects was the slightly exaggurated features that were juuust enough to make the characters look dreamlike, but not enough to be OTT. Cheshire's slightly creepy and extra toothy smile for example, or Hatter's somewhat enlarged and off-centre eyes.

Speaking of the Depp, you could definitely see aspects of his previous characters coming through... Captain Jack Sparrow's infamous run was definitely in there : P

Storyline aside, the only negative aspect for me was the 3D gimmick. I just don't think I've quite come round to the idea of it. I don't really think it added to the story here, although maybe I wouldn't be saying that if I'd seen it in good old 2D as well.

Overall verdict? It's definitely a watcher. I'd advise anyone to see it, and although it's definitely not the best film I've seen, it's certainly one of the most unique. And hey- if you end up not liking it, at least you can leave in the knowledge that, should a suitable use come to mind, you have a pair of very fetching (if slightly expensive) 3D glasses to hand.



I really enjoyed the story and the characters were very well cast. I thought Helena Bonham Carter was brilliant as the slightly unhinged Red Queen. 

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Ok, so it's been merely a week since I turned twenty and I'm sitting in bed with a mug of cocoa at ten o'clock. Is this a sudden burst of age-related sanity? Did some freakishly complex process trigger in my brain when the clock struck twelve a week ago? No, sadly not. The early bedtime can be explained by my 'not-quite-bad-enough-for-a-day-off'' fluey symptoms, and the hot chocolate.... well I don't really need to justify a warm mug of sweet milky goodness now do I?

Although my recent sensibilities have certainly been a result of feeling a little under the weather, I did make the conscious decision last week to begin my twentieth year with 'productivity. And biscuits' as my facebook status will have (somewhat ironically) pointed out. So far, I'm happy with the progress I've made. Ok, a few things that I've wanted to do have either 

a) taken much longer than expected

b) been delayed

c) not happened. oops.

But, perhaps most importantly of all, I'm beginning to realise that beating yourself up about it is not going to resolve the problem. If something is taking you that little bit longer than you first imagined, it's fine; you couldn't possibly have predicted it's time span anyway, and it's easy enough to just allow yourself an extension or postpone other things. And those 'postponed' others that end up being delayed? Again, fine. Just set yourself a new target starting point and make sure you stick to it. The main point is not to stress about it. And I hope to God that I will reread this in a couple of weeks, when revision and essays are getting too much, because i know that by then (as is always the case) my new mantra will be thrown out of the window and frustration will have gotten the better of me. We are all human after all, and it's natural to become irrational and anxious during stressful periods. What's important to remember though, is that you can remain perfectly sane throughout all the stress and the worry, by just putting things into perspective and getting a move on. Harsh words I know. But I think many of us are too scared to hear it sometimes; we don't want to 'get on with it' and certainly whenever I am told to do so, I respond with the good old "You have no idea what I'm going through!". Well, I hate to break it to you kids, but those who care enough to give us such advice, are usually doing so not only out of kindness, but also out of experience.

I've just realised how preachy this all sounds, perhaps the age thing really has gone to my head. Honestly though, I think those oldest and wisest would say that life really is too short to focus so much worry and energy onto essay deadlines and looming exams. So yes, do push yourself to achieve that grade you so want, and do try your utmost to do the very best that you can. But remember that we all have limits, and actually, if we spent less time worrying about those all-important targets and more time focusing on meeting them, we might actually find that we can enjoy life a little more, and appreciate the little things that make it all worth it in the end.

For a few months now, I've been well and truly stuck. That is, stuck in a fashion rut. Having claimed before my hatred of judging people by their looks, I suppose it would be pretty sensible to presume that for me, throwing on a pair of jeans and a hoodie is perfectly suited; after all, clothes aren't that important. Are they?

Well I can safely say that after countless mornings of this grab and go dressing, it did nothing for my self-esteem. I suppose it was lack of inspiration, as well as general feelings of de-motivation, that led me into this fashion trap and finally, I decided to stop feeling sorry for myself and start to enjoy that morning routine once again. I'm not shallow enough to suggest that clothes define a person's character, but I can't deny the influence that they have on my mood, and therefore the way that i come across to other people. In trackies and a jumper, I'm as miserable as sin - and seem to let my slouchy clothes determine an equally slouchy attitude. But just a little bit of effort gives me that boost to feel happy, relaxed and ready to face the day. Of course, it's not the same for everyone; I know many people who can happily trot to Uni in their trackies with a smile on their face and eagerness in their eyes... but that's just not me. I need some sort of structure; I need to feel like me.

But where does a sweatshirt clad girl turn to when her style has gone awol? Her super stylish, ever put together housemate of course! I think Maria was more excited than I was at the prospect injecting some inspiration into my wardrobe and, after a few hours and as many dips into the Milk Tray, we'd come up with a pretty good selection of outfits. It turns out you can create a whole new wardrobe without spending a penny : )

The £2 Topshop trousers that were a gift from Maria ... best bargain ever?! (YES!) 

Me and my beautiful sister, who's wearing an equally gorgeous playsuit.
NOM. ( Beth you look SHAWADDY )

Just a couple of hours of reorganising, re-matching, and actually just looking at the clothes that have been hidden away for so long has lifted my spirits tenfold. The trick is to remember that on those occasions (or perhaps phases) when your only wish is to just blend away into the background, force yourself to just face the fear and have fun. It's so easy to worry too much about what others are thinking, when at the end of the day all that matters is what makes you feel happy. Cliched? Perhaps. But there's not much sense in being miserable now is there?

(♥) 

This sounds like the beginning of a bad joke, but I am fed up of feeling ill. I have been so lethargic and drained of energy for months and it means I have no energy to do anything, even if I had the inclination... I went to the surgery on campus the other week and they did a load of blood tests, and the results were "inconclusive" , meaning that I don't even have a name to give my mystery illness.

It seems that when things are looking down, cake is the answer. Yesterday was no exception to this rule and so, after multiple and prolonged panics over the unfinished state of our Uni work, we decided to make an impromptu Pineapple Upside-Down Cake to cheer ourselves up and boy did it work. It was just fab; not too sweet, perfectly pineapple-y and moist but not soggy. So good in fact that one of the cakes has already been demolished... sorry cake number two but your days are limited.

Butter for greasing

2 x 15ml tbsp sugar

6 slices pineapple from a 425g can, plus

3 x 15ml tbsp of the juice

11 glacé cherries, approx. 75g total weight

100g flour

1 tsp baking powder

¼ tsp bicarbonate of soda

100g soft butter

100g caster sugar

2 eggs

1 Preheat the oven to 200C/Gas 6. Butter a tarte Tatin tin (24cm wide at the top and 20cm diameter at the bottom) or use a 23cm cake tin (neither loosebottomed nor springform).

2 Sprinkle 2 tbsp sugar onto the buttered base, and then arrange the pineapple slices to make a circular pattern as in the picture. 

3 Fill each pineapple ring with a glacé cherry, and then dot one in each of the spaces in between. 

4 Cream together the butter and sugar before sifting in the flour. Mix in the eggs and then pour in the 3 tbsp pineapple juice to think it a little.

5 Pour this mixture carefully over the cherry-studded pineapple rings; it will only just cover it, so spread it out gently. 

6 Bake for 30 minutes, then ease a spatula around the edge of the tin, place a plate on top and, with one deft – ha! – move, turn it upside-down.