Frills 'n' Spills

A week [or two] in photos

It feels like forever ago that I did my first week in photos post, but it's definitely inspired me to snap away at my mundane life again.

I started project 365 earlier this year and despite promising myself I'd stick with it, the whole thing dwindled completely over summer. I was just having too much fun.

You'll forgive me right?

I'm sort of getting back into it - I reckon it's going to turn into a seasonal thing!

Anyways, the week and a bit since my last post has been awesome, and there's plenty of photographic evidence to prove it!

Candycanes from a housemate. Yeah. They didn't last long.

A yummy Chritmas dinner at the pub. All the taste with none of the washing up!

A cheeky visit to the Clothes Show let me wear my new £6 leopard print maxi. And feathers.

I felt like a very confused, very tall breed of animal.

Every year I have one, and every year and want another. I may as well just take out some shares in Thornton's. YUM.

Finally got to come home for Christmas. It's going to be a hectic holiday, but for now I'm happy to just sit back and soak up all of this time with family and friends.

One reason for said hectic-ness is all the dissertation reading I've got to get done.

But when an author decides to put flying sheep on every page, I might just end up enjoying it.

Might.

Me and my housemate had a Kings Of Leon evening to celebrate the end of term. We swigged beer, ate cookies, and swooned over Caleb. And Jared. And Matt. And Nathan.

I honestly thought I couldn't spend an evening doing anything better. Until yesterday...

Yup. I got to see the real thing. Three rows from the front.

I think I love them more than all the Thornton's chocolate in the world.

And believe me, that's saying something.

Look out for more on this later!

As you may already be aware, Danni and I went to the Clothes Show in Birmingham on Wednesday and it was our first event where we had press passes and our excitement was palpable. We managed to navigate our way to the press lounge (!) and helped ourselves to the complimentary tea and biscuits... This was a bit of a change from last year's event when we both went...on separate days and ended up buying the same nail varnish... I get great minds think alike?! :P

After refuelling and grabbing our press passes, we were escorted to the 'press pit' with our cameras- shamefully, mine was only a teeny tiny Panasonic one and I felt very inferior next to the pros. Nevertheless, we were super excited for the show to begin. Most of the photos are Danni's as mine came out absolutely rubbish...time to invest in a better camera?

Exciting times! The theme for this years dance show was 'A night at the movies' and they didn't disappoint with male and female models dazzling in a variety of (themed) outfits.

AMAZING

My favourite part of the event though was the gorgeous George Lamb- SWOON. Does anyone else find him totally attractive? I don't know whether it's the height and/or his dapper sense of style but man he is YUM ;)

Swoon

I must admit, I was completely in awe of the models and dancers, especially considering their gruelling schedule. I think they perform up to 10 times a day! They also had the art of walking in heels mastered... something I desperately need to practice! Anyone who has ever seen me in heels will readily acknowledge that I am like Bambi on ice... I think I will be sticking to my block heels and sparkly flats over Christmas :)

I especially loved their take on fairytale glamour and the dress on the left in the last picture is very Alexander McQueen non? I love the muted colours and the unexpected burst of colour with the shoes- my love of purple is well documented so this comes as no real surprise! I found all of the themes inspiring though and I will definitely be trying to shake up my wardrobe a little and avoid getting stuck into a rut...

When they announced that there was a high school theme, I literally squealed (yes, I'm that cool) and proceeded to swoon at the hunky basketball players, cute nerds and the long swishy ~~legs~~ hair of the female models.

The show was indeed fabulous. I seriously can't fathom how those dancers do that five or six times A DAY. It's ridiculous. I mean, look at them!

It was weird to be in the press pit. I kind of felt like a bit of a cheat, I mean we're by no means a big blog, and we're certainly not journalists, but the opportunity was absolutely amazing and I'm so grateful they gave us passes - I wasn't expecting it at all.

We saw cowboys,

Rocky,

and double-oh-seven,

I couldn't believe how moody the model on the left was- if I had legs up to my armpits, I'd be grinning from ear to ear!

oh, and some antler adorned Deer-man. Naturally.

The show, as always was incredible. But I've gotta say that I think the novelty of the exhibition itself has worn off a little for me [SACRILEGE!]. I know I know, fashion bloggers should love a room the size of a small country filled to the brim with clothes, but honestly the only part I was interested in was the vintage section. And sadly I was a bit too poor to buy anything [and even if I'd had the money I would've definitely left poor as it was all incredible stuff].

The rest of the clothes stalls were a bit...meh. Although they did have an adorable new section devoted to all things knitted, sewn and crafted so it's awesome that they're mixing it up a little bit.

The make-up area is definitely the place to head if you ever plan on going. There's bargain after bargain after bargain, and Wednesday is the best day for deals as they're all trying to get rid of stock!

So basically, some top tips if you're going to brave The Clothes Show next year...

Go with money
Don't spend said money on something you wouldn't ordinarily buy
Expect a lot of stalls to sell the same stuff
Don't go on a make-up haul the week beforehand; you'll find some fab deals there
Go on the last day if you can!

I think one thing we can both agree on though, is the fact that this blog has taken us to some brilliant places and we have met some amazing people through it.... yes I am getting super soppy, but it's Christmas! :P If there is anything you particularly like or dislike about Frills 'n' Spills or you have any ideas for things you would like us to feature (more outfit posts for instance) then let us know :)

Did you go to the Clothes Show? What is inspiring you this Christmas?

P.S. Wishing you all a very merry Christmas and a happy new year from both of us! X X

The last goodbye

As IF Christmas crept up on me like that. I feel like I've watched this term flicker past me in a blurry haze, and suddenly I'm packing up my things ready for the Christmas break.

If it weren't my final year at Uni, I would be over the moon to leave this term behind, relax over the holidays and look forward to the next. Instead, I just want to cling to the last scrap of time I have here before then. Because breaking up always ends with coming back, and frankly, I'm not ready to even think about 2011.

Already this year has offered so many new opportunities, I've met some wonderful people - through both the blog and Uni, and have of course cherished some amazing summer memories with old friends. It's way too early for a resolution filled 'best of 2010' post but basically, I don't want it to be over.

I know so many people who are struggling with Dissertations, deadlines and exams at the moment. Cowering under a heavy work load and generally not having time to think. At all. That's exactly how I've felt for the whole of this term really. And now that the end of term has brought with it a chance to slow things down and look back on the last few months, I'm kind of scared to say goodbye.

Melodramatic huh? I usually steer well clear of over-emotional posts, and I'm well aware this one is diving head first into drama-queen territory, but one joy of having a blog [and something that I'm looking at in my dissertation...get me!] is that it becomes a small part of you, and you it.

On a lighter note, I have seen that lots of you lovelies are also heading home for Christmas, and so wish you all a wonderful break. Eat, drink and be merry! Try to forget those niggling deadlines, take in all the fab festive cheer instead. Have a mince pie, drink some sherry and look forward to seeing what the guy in red is bringing you!

P.S.
How pretty was the frost?! These pics were taken earlier this week....my fingers were burning but twas lovely to get out there and snap it all up!

My Week...

I've found that lots of my blog-catch-up-time these days is spent ogling over people's 'My week in photos' posts - I can't get enough of them! [Pinkbow and DaisyButter do fabulous weekly updates] I do have nosy tendencies [and feel the shame, fear not] so these kind of posts are so great to read through. I guess it's nice to get to see into the more mundane, every day side of life that we usually forget to blog about [or, let's face it choose not to...who wants to know what I had for dinner, right?]. Well I thought I'd let you get back at me for being a nosy parker and take a peek at what I've been up to this week...

Yet more of these yummy Peppermint Mocha's. Mint is good for you right? I mean, it cleanses the palette and all. Argh what the hell, I need no excuse for these.

I took part in the gorgeous Ellie's Christmas card swap and sent her a rather scrawly, but very much lovingly-homemade card. Can't wait to open hers when I get home!

My lunchtimes now consist of deciding what kind of cheese covered carbohydrate I'll be enjoying. This day was a triumph for the mini pizza. Aah the tribulations of being a student.

I also found THIS joy of a chocolate bar in Thornton's. Black Forest Gateau.

There are no words.

My mum [bless her cottons] sent me an advent calendar in the post. Cute! Although not so cute was the first chocolate I got...

I was honestly questioning whether this wasn't some new-fangled Halloween calendar instead.

That's one scary-faced drum kit.

Hope you've all had a good week, and haven't been too put out by the snow! Me and Maria will be heading to the Clothes Show on Wednesday so look out for a post on that next week!

P.S. Please let me know if you enjoy these kind of posts, I'd love to make it a regular thing but don't want to be boring people to death! Don't worry, I won't bite if you hate them!

Christmas is coming...

With the recent cold weather and even the arrival of snow, it really is starting to feel a lot like Christmas, especially as we put up our Christmas tree at uni last Monday. Now before you shriek, I am a traditionalist and don't usually put the tree or Christmas decorations so early BUT we only have this week and next left at uni before we break up for the holidays. I'm not sure what Eleanor's excuse is though! ;)

It's only a little tree but I think it's super cute and it definitely brightens up that corner of our living room at uni! I have been finding it more difficult to get into the Christmas spirit this year but Danni's recent posts have helped as has the frost. We seem to be one of the few areas that haven't had snow but I for one am quite glad! Although I am a warm person, I don't like ice and the majority of my clothes and shoes are completely impractical!

One thing I do like with the cold weather though is the snuggling up in front of the telly with something to warm you up. In the past week I have had risotto, steak, meatballs and best of all stewed plums! I took these photos last year around the same sort of time but I never used them but I have made stewed plums twice in the past week or so so thought I would share it with you guys. These plums are perfect for warming your cockles on a cold day and are very easy to do:

* Stewed plums:

Ingredients:

Plums
Sugar
Water
Disaronno Amaretto

Take the plums and cut them in half, removing the stones.

Place in a saucepan and add sugar to taste.

Add water and Amaretto *WARNING* This is not all Amaretto before you think I am some kind of alcoholic ;)

Bring to a running boil until the plums are cooked through. Then serve in a big bowl or cup and drink/ eat up!

I'm pretty sure this counts as one of your five a day and or course you can stew pretty much any fruit but plums are one of my favourite, especially in the winter :) Stewed fruit always reminds me of my childhood and if I was going to go with that nostalgic feeling, I'd make a big bowl of custard to go with it! Now that's a thought... ! Luckily my brother bought me some Amaretto for my birthday so I have enough to sustain me over Christmas ;)

Do certain foods remind you of your childhood? How many of you have your Christmas tree up?