First Class Ramblings

Valentines Gift Guide

2012-01-27T17:30:00.000Z

As you can imagine I have had an extremely busy what with starting at Video to Viral last Monday. In addition, right before and during my first week I was working on features for both Area and FAKE magazine. It's always good to see the fruits of your labour though and now the February issue of Area is out! You can pick it up around Birmingham or view online here. My Valentines Gift Guide is on p.34 - 41.

Napping, Cluedo and the Wrong Number

2012-01-15T20:03:00.000Z

As I know I will be spending most of my time in front of a Mac when I start work tomorrow I have been really trying to stay off my computer until then. (Needless to say this post is a bit of a mess of things - apologies!) I have devoured all but one of the Sookie Stackhouse novels that I got for Christmas (the last is nearly finished too), ate a LOT of Quality Streets (all but the fruity ones) and spent this weekend with my boyfriend.

We seem to have spent most of it napping or "resting our eyes"; I dread to think what I'll be like next week after my first full week back at work in over a year. On Saturday that was very useful as he had made me spend what felt like hours in Boardwise trying to select a pair of snowboarding trousers and I was exhausted. Of course, he brought the ones I had suggested about 10 minutes in.

We did go to see Girl with the Dragon Tattoo... nobody told me it was a who-dunnit, it reminded of a big game of Cluedo. Maybe that's because last Sunday I played a lot of Cluedo with my sisters, tipsy mother (who had only two small glasses of red wine) and one of her dogs. Oscar just couldn't help but poke his nose in...

Oscar aka Elvis (because of the quiff when his fur is long) or Fat Boy (because he used to be fat)

My boyfriend and I are not the perfect couple, nobody can be perfect, but in the six years that we have been on and off as much as a yoyo has been up and down we have always known how we both felt. We met at a party and spent the whole night talking and laughing. He became my friend first (as he had a girlfriend - and then I had a boyfriend) and so there were no fake phone numbers or avoidance tactics. I still haven't forgotten what it's like to be single, which is why I was amused to receive this text today:

I have done this before. Not text a false number but given one. In clubs when I was younger (I started going to clubs from the age of 15) I would often give a guy the wrong number to get rid of them. I just found it easier, I wasn't confident enough to really deal with the situation. Now, I would just be honest and getting this text made me feel bad for Talha as much as it made made me smile. He was trying here, this polite text came after a missed call and so I felt it was fair to reply so that he doesn't try again.

When I used to mix up the last few digits of my number I didn't think about some stranger receiving a text or call intended for me or about how that guy would feel when he realised. Would he have accept she just wasn't into him or try to make excuses? I'm really quite grateful this is such a tame message. If they had spent the night together who knows what kind of dirty texts I could have received today?!

Dressing for the Office

2012-01-06T11:01:00.000Z

As I am starting my new job very soon I figured it was about time I invested in some clothes. The office for me is a creative studio so a suit isn't required (nor is it my style) but I did want something that could be adapted to see clients, was fashionable and comfortable enough when sat working at a computer. Oh, and that I could adapt to be wearable in winter. If I see one more pair of 7/8 trousers I may scream, as much as I love them. Oddly enough I don't want my ankles to freeze and this wind is not productive to anything less than full length/thick tights.

Finding clothing that transcends AW11/12 and SS12 is not easy. The process becomes even harder when you try to find something that won't require you to wear heels. My poor ankles are currently very weak (who knows why) and as such heels aren't really suitable for trotting around in all day. I've not had much luck, except for a few items in Next and Oasis, but there are some great new pieces showing up in the spring collections and I can't wait!

Marks and Spencer

Left: Deco Diva Limited Top £35, M&S trousers £25, Shoes £29.50, Earrings £12.50, Watch £25

Right: Park Avenue Autograph Top £45, Trousers £45, Shoes £29.50

Warehouse

Left: Zip Front Tunic £45, Desert Trek Trousers £45, Bag £28

Right: Mesh Jumper £36, Lace Skirt £40

Left: Top £28, Trousers £38

Right: Top £26, Skirt £35, Platforms £40, Clutch £16

Happy New Year

2012-01-03T12:36:00.000Z

Now if you aren't already its time for you to sit down because I have something to tell you. It's 2012. Can you believe it? I can't. This year is the Olympics, The Queen's Diamond Jubilee and my 24th birthday. It is also the year that I officially put university behind me and head out into the big wide world. To kick that off I'm starting a placement at Video to Viral in Birmingham in a few weeks. It's a busy year, and one I'm excited about, so of course I celebrated in style...

I went to Hull to see my boyfriend and on New Years Eve Eve we went for some impromptu drinks at the pub, which of cause led into a long night that left us a little worse for wear on New Years Eve. Due to this there was no posh outfit, no expensive entrance fees or queueing 5 deep at the bar, no dancing and no drunkenness. We woke up very late, had a team nap with his flatmate around 7 (by which I mean we all fell asleep in the living room watching television, not that we all snuggled down together) and woke up to see in the New Year with Jools Holland (only at the last minute for the countdown - I'm not a fan) and drank champagne that he had very thoughtfully purchased and had chilling in the fridge.

Hornsea Beach

I had a great time. New Years Eve Eve is the new New Years Eve don't you know. It meant that on New Years Day we were bright, shiny and smiley so we decided to go to the coast. I've never visited a northern beach, I'm all about Cornwall and Wales, so Hornsea's surprisingly brown sea wasn't quite what I'm used to but I loved it nonetheless. Pottering along the sand and listening to the waves is one of the most relaxing things to do. Oh, and we got back in the car just before the heavens opened from those grey clouds. Amazing timing. I hope my luck continues for 2012 and that you all have a great year.

An Almost Grown-Up Christmas

2011-12-28T19:06:00.001Z

As a child Christmas is very me, me, me but I am now 23 and, as my mother keeps telling me, this means I don't get the same amount of surprises as the little ones. Now I'm not bothered about amounts, I'm a quality over quantity kind of girl, but sadly Christmas usually means useless presents so this year I took charge and kindly requested a whole host of gifts from her. I was very clear, all I really wanted was some pyjama's, anything else would be a bonus, but I had listed a variety so that I wouldn't know what was coming. I thought this was a cunning plan and somehow, magically, even those who didn't have access to the gift gave me wonderfully thoughtful presents.

Some of my favourite presents, including a beautiful long chained gold bird necklace, a hand knitted headband
and an Apple Magic Mouse to stop me getting RSI with my incessant trackpad use.

I loved spending time with my friends on our traditional Christmas Eve pub crawl, plus my family and my boyfriend. This is his first year out of university (he did Dentistry which is a 5 year course) and he didn't love his short 4 day break (that's very short when you're used to 2/3 weeks) but we crammed in seeing both of our families and the constant moving around felt very adult. Suddenly we weren't just sat in front of the television eating chocolate, we were in the car moving around and he was entertaining my five year old brother playing Halo on the XBox and competing over the noise of my family all talking at once. Seriously impressive if you take into account the fact my boyfriend is an only child who is not used to having lots of children around and my brother argues with everyone he plays with and even shoots those on his team.

I put a lot more effort into my presents this year, making sure they were thoughtful and putting time into it with my DIY Christmas gifts. Unfortunately I was poorly before Christmas so I had to rush all my baking in the last 2 days and forget to take pictures...now all I have is the nearly empty box I gave to my dad with it's sad little bow starting to fray. I decorated each sweet box individually with blue, silver and purple ribbons, plus a handwritten contents tag. Each included small pieces of peanut butter fudge, chocolate hazelnut truffles piped with my own fair hands (yes, ok, so my dad thought they looked like dog poo but they really weren't that bad and tasted divine) and a treat bag with 3 or 4 pieces of differently shaped shortbread - stars, circles, "gingerbread" men and women or holly. Everyone seemed to love them, especially the fudge.

The rather lonely shortbread man left in my dads treat box

Astral's Peanut Butter Fudge and White Chocolate Vanilla Bean Truffles & Milk Chocolate Hazelnut Truffles

(Nobody likes white chocolate in my family but me hence I just opted for the milk chocolate ones!)

Massive thanks go to Astral and her blog The Art of Being Perfect. Despite having a whole host of recipes I wanted to try this Christmas 2 out of the 3 recipes were found on her blog and it would have actually been all three if I hadn't been poorly and could have got the paste food colouring I needed to make the melted snowmen cookies.

Astral's Melted Snowman Cookies

A year ago I couldn't bake anything! I'm still not perfect but I am a LOT better than I used be and it was Astral that inspired me so I highly suggest you give them a go. So long as you don't mind yours looking a little more homemade you'll be fine.

The Good Natured: Video Voyeur

2011-12-13T21:33:00.000Z

At the beginning of this month The Good Natured released their latest video for the song Video Voyeur. I discovered the band about a year ago through Get it Loud in Libraries and interviewed singer Sarah McIntosh for Cellardoor Magazine. They class their music as "pop noir" and I'm not even going to pretend I know what that means but I love it and I love this song.

Yes, it is all incredibly 80's but it definitely suits them. Sarah, Hamish and George have this great quirky, vintage style. I can't wait until their album is released. In the meantime, you can currently download Video Voyeur for free.

Images from their website gallery

Mikko Lagerstedt's Winter

2011-12-10T14:37:00.001Z

I'm not much of a winter person. I tend to go into hibernation, don't fancy walking around and cuddle under blankets with lots of books and lots of snacks. In fact, I'm trying really hard not to dash to the kitchen right now and bake some chocolate chip cookies...because I will just eat them all.

I'm not a fan of the cold, the fact it gets dark before it's even 5pm or the slushy snow and treacherous ice. I can however appreciate how gorgeous the changing seasons can be. In fact, I love crunching in the autumn leaves and will sit for hours watching it snow... happy so long as you don't make me try to walk on it when it's turned all slippery. If you do I will provide you with a very good Bambi on ice impersonation.

I'm trying my best to get into the spirit. The Christmas tree is up, the presents are brought and wrapped (except for my boyfriends - I'd be grateful for your ideas) and I've invested in some cable knit cardigans and a new coat so that I can venture out into the cold now and again.

I came across Finnish photographer Mikko Lagerstedt's work today and it's reminded me that even though there are so many things I don't like about winter it is an incredibly beautiful season and as I slip around on the ice I promise to try to enjoy it because spring is only around the corner.

From Mikko Lagerstedt's album Winter

Graduation Day

2011-12-07T20:04:00.001Z

So after a full year of major stress, none stop work and a little bit of fun for good measure today was my MA graduation. I am now officially a Master of Arts in Fashion and Lifestyle Promotion, which is essentially creative marketing. What did I wear? A swooshy skirted midi dress from ASOS, a gorgeous necklace from Summer and Silver in the Jewellery Quarter, star tights from New Look and block heeled shoes from Kurt Geiger.

My gorgeous friend Sarah went for quirky rather than formal a stripy shirt and leather shorts. (You probably can't see any of this in the pictures as I was rather flustered and didn't spend enough time on the pictures. Plus, my dads camera decided to make most of them blurry. Always good.)

As most people graduate in July it was a bit strange. Rather than a room full of people from the School of Art, Design and Performance there was a bit of everything. Law, journalism, social studies, very brace PhD students that had written thesis about sexuality, abuse, psychosis and many other things I couldn't help them with. This meant that rather than Elizabeth Dawn (Vera Duckworth) and Terry Mansfield, who were honorary fellows at my first graduation, today we had magazine editor Sally O'Sullivan and District Judge Gorgon Ashton who has published extensively on law for the elderly and disabled.

I hate to sound unacademic but Liz Dawn is still my favourite. She leant over and chatted to us before it started (having been on stage early as her emphysema prevented her from doing the procession) and was so appreciative of the honour and very down-to-earth. All in all, she was absolutely lovely and my Granny was over the moon as she has always thought Liz Dawn was wonderful.

Sadly, today was not quite so magical. I'd done it before, it was incredibly windy, my poor Granny isn't good enough on her legs at the minute to attend and for some reason I woke up at 5am so I was really tired and hadn't been fed. Sarah thankfully snuck me a packet of Go Ahead bars before it started but I was still shaking after the ceremony - I was really and truly exhausted and it was only 1pm! The two hour ceremony seemed to last forever but my quick hand shake made it all worth it. I had officially done it and I am very pleased.

I'm definitely bearing in mind the main topic of all speeches - that just because you will probably struggle to find a job after graduation you are not alone, it does not mean you aren't clever or talented or employable, it just means silly politicians and bankers have ruined our economy. All you can do is work hard, be persistent and do everything you can to keep on top of your game.

A DIY Christmas

2011-12-01T12:50:00.001Z

It is December 1st, which means that even if you are a bit bah-humbug like me it's probably time to think about Christmas. This year I'm trying to save a bit and really think about what I'm spending my money on...and I'm sure I'm not the only one. My 7-year-old sister asked me for a Designafriend outfit yesterday and got a firm no. I refuse to spend over £10 on clothes for a dolly. Sorry little sis but it is not happening. In fact, even the presents I've agreed to will be sourced at the lowest prices.

What's more, where possible I will be doing it myself. I always end up buying lots of chocolates and treats for people and this year they will be getting a (probably slightly special looking) hand decorated box of handmade goodies. I'm thinking shortbread, peanut butter fudge, treacle toffee and maybe some handmade crackers. After all, what better time for crackers and cheese than Christmas? There are a whole host of recipe ideas on the BBC and Good Food, which is great as baking is something I can actually do.

My first attempt at shortbread using this recipe and sprinkled with caster sugar when still warm.

The rather rustic look is due to the fact they were cut with a glass due to the absence of a cutter.

Yes, I'm coming over all Kirstie Allsopp and whilst the media tries to portray her as some out of date anti-feminist. I think she's an inspiration for keeping crafts alive and giving them a go and sometimes failing. There are tonnes of craft ideas on Channel 4 and HobbyCraft's Ideas Library but I think I'll be sticking to baking this year. I may not be a dab hand on a sewing machine or with a flower arrangement but it's not about being amazing at everything, it's about putting your thought and time into what you give and making a box of chocolate mean more than you were running low on time and decided to pick up a box of Thorntons in the supermarket. (As lovely as Thorntons chocolate is!)

Kirstie herself says she "can't stand the idea of anyone feeling pressured to homemake, it's supposed to be fun and therapeutic!" I don't see this as being cheap/what I should be doing, but I like the idea of making the most of what I can do and still giving those around me gifts they will (hopefully) love. At the minute I have bags of time as I am one of the many recent graduates looking for a job. If you just aren't into DIY/don't have time/just love unique handmade goods by independent designers then this is the perfect time to browse Etsy, Folky or Not on the High Street (which is my favourite at the moment) for some unique handmade gifts.

48 Little Gingerbread Men - £6.88 - katieduran, Etsy

Ceramic Notepad - £15 - Addject Ltd, Not on the High Street

Organic Kindle Cosy - £14 - Lemon Pip, Folksy

Fox Brooch - £15 - Hollowbourne, Folksy

'...I Met and Liked' Notebooks - £11 each - Horsfall & Wright, Not on the Highstreet

Fern Frond Silver Necklace - £35.37 - lisahopkins, Etsy

A River Island Christmas

2011-11-29T12:23:00.001Z

River Island is a strange one. It is very rare that I go into one of their stores and see something I actually want to buy. It all seems too samey, too tight, too short and basically just not me. As for menswear, if the boy came to meet me wearing most of the stuff they sell I would probably freak out. Jeans that have a crotch settled right between your knees is just not a good look as far as I'm concerned.

You may find all this a little backwards if you have taken a look at any of my Fused fashion spreads (such as this one) because River Island feature highly. Their campaign images show really beautiful clothes, which I have realised exist but mostly only online or in the large stores. I am a bit of a shop-a-phobe, I love talking to people but hate having to fight my way towards a dress. That's why this year I will be scouring River Island's website for some of these wonderful Christmas pieces. It's probably not a surprise that I particularly love all of the feathers.

Baltimore Feathered Collar Dress £60.00 and Shelley Feathered Dress £70.00 with Purple Agate ring £10.00

Dahlia Lace Top £30

Diana embellished shorts £40.00, Tamara velvet detail bodysuit £28.00, Onyx pillbox hat £??

Red Dress £50 with Feathered Shoes £65 and Matangi Ruffle Dress £70

All pictures by River Island.

More Temporary Secretary & Love Hearts and Crosses

2011-11-28T13:33:00.001Z

I love jewellery. The quirkier the better. I hardly ever go to a high street retailer for it because they all seem to be stocked by companies that produce near identical pieces. In fact, in some cases I'm sure it's the same supplier. Most of my jewellery comes from local independent stores such as Peccadillos in Stafford, who fuel my love of precious stones.

In October I wrote about Temporary Secretary, who were suggested to me by the lovely Rose over Twitter. Now I finally own my own little piece of TempSec thanks to the boy... he had a parcel sent my house over the weekend that enclosed the TAB typewriter ring I had been lusting over. It came complete with a wonderful little note from Sarah thanking him for his purchase. What a lovely graduation present! (I officially graduate a week on Wednesday.)

My new found love for TempSec has had me looking elsewhere online for gorgeous costume jewellery. I came across Love Hearts and Crosses on Twitter as well... but this time I wasn't thinking just of myself but of others too. I can think of one friend in particular that would love one of these pieces in their Christmas stocking. In fact, she has her very own karma circle tattooed onto her inner arm. Maybe she'll get the necklace to match.

Sing Dance Live Love Stacking Bracelets £25

Arrow Head Necklace £14 and Triple Triangle Necklace £14

Love and Peace Bracelet Charm Set £15

Hot Air Balloon Charm Necklace £12 and Karma Circle Charm Necklace £10

Crystal Feather Friendship Bracelet £12

Misty Miller Makes Me Smile

2011-11-21T20:39:00.001Z

I'm currently a bit poorly and feeling a little sorry for myself. My graduation is looming and I am trying to find my first step on the career ladder at a time when there are lots more people than there are jobs. Post-Masters I am a bit at a loss and as winter is creeping up on us I spent most of today curled up under a blanket with my MacBook on my lap trying to find something to perk me up a bit. Misty Miller's music was the thing to put a smile on my face.

I first fell in love with her when I heard her acoustic version of Remember, which she filmed as part of Burberry Acoustic. She isn't new, I haven't tapped into some unknown talent or anything unfortunately, but she is spectacularly talented. Lots of her songs are on her MySpace in very good quality so you should definitely check her out. Hopefully she'll help you relax and smile a little bit too.

Nifty Notepads

2011-11-14T20:03:00.001Z

I have a love of all things digital, my iPad fuels my laziness and it now hurts when I have to write with pen and paper for too long. Despite all this I still love paper. Stationery is one of the only things I actually enjoy shopping for.

Cue these nifty notepads available at Liberty. Not only are they stylish (with a rather retro feel) but they're perfectly designed to pass around the classroom (or the office). There's nothing like a paper aeroplane to tell someone to please stop throwing virtual sheep at you.

Social Media Citation - £5.95

Apology - £4.95

Fashion Citation - £4.95

Paper Tweet - £4.95

Caramel Cupcake Recipe

2011-11-07T20:03:00.002Z

On Saturday it was bonfire night and that for me brings up memories of sticky toffee apples that were always disappointing when you were only left with an apple, homemade treacle toffee that my Gran could never get right and being wrapped up in lots of layers to watch fireworks in the rain. I make it sound a bit rubbish but I loved it.

This year I really wanted to dust off my great aunt's treacle toffee recipe and give it a go but knowing the mess it makes my dad convinced me not to bother for fear I would mess up our new oven. Instead, I chose caramel cupcakes from The Humminbird Bakery Cake Days book, which is where the Malteaser cupcake recipe came from.

I read a blog post today by Joy the Baker who was giving general blogging tips, in which she said: "Work hard to make it look easy…. and just be ok with the fact that it’s totally not easy." I'm not going to do that. This blog isn't me trying to be an expert, it's just me sharing things I enjoy as I find them and that includes attempting to learn to bake. That's why there are always notes alongside the original recipes saying what I did instead. I do hope you don't mind.

Caramel Cupcakes

Makes 12-16

Ingredients for the sponge:

80g unsalted butter, softened
280g caster sugar
240g plain flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
240 ml whole milk (I know it's supposed to be whole because it tastes better but I actually used semi-skimmed. I found myself forever throwing away the end of a bottle of whole milk because we just don't use it in our house.)
1/2 tsp vanilla essence
2 large eggs (I only had medium so I used 3.)
150g tinned caramel or dulce de leche

Ingredients for the frosting:

500g icing sugar (This amount of icing sugar just seems a bit mad to me. I was always taught 2 parts icing sugar to 1 part butter so I used 320g of icing sugar instead.)
160g unsalted butter, softened
50ml whole milk
100g tinned caramel or dulce de leche (I added an extra spoonful), plus extra to decorate (I grated a small bar of Cadbury's dairy milk and used that instead.)

1. Preheat the oven to 190 C/Gas mark 5, and line a muffin tin with muffin cases.

2. Whisk together the butter, sugar, flour, baking powder and salt until crumb like in consistency.

3. Place the milk and vanilla essence into a jug with the eggs and whisk until combined. Pour 3/4 of this mixture into the dry ingredients and mix together until smooth and thick. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, then add the remaining milk mixture and the tinned caramel, and continue to mix until all the ingredients are incorporated and the batter is smooth.

4. Divide the batter between the muffin cases, filling each by 2/3. Any remaining batter can be used to fill additional cases in a separate tin. Bake in the oven for 18-20 minutes or until well risen and springy to the touch. (During this time I was panicking. The cakes got rather brown rather quickly and then seemed to explode from the middle...something that has never happened to me before so all I can think to blame is the caramel. Despite me stressing they were burnt they tasted really good and not even slightly burnt.) Leave to cool for a while in the tin, before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

5. Beat the icing sugar with the butter until combined and still powdery in texture. Mix in the milk, and once it is incorporated whisk until light and fluffy. Add the caramel and beat well.

6. Spoon the frosting on to the cupcakes once they have cooled, smoothing it on with a palette knife and swirling the frosting. (This never works for me, even after refrigerating the frosting first the swirl lasts for about 5 minutes and that's it. It's probably because I didn't use the full amount of icing sugar but these were so sweet I was really glad I didn't.)

7. If you want to decorate the cakes, spoon some tinned caramel or dulce de leche into a piping bag with a small nozze and pipe onto the cakes in little hearts or whatever shape takes your fancy. (I used grated chocolate instead because this seemed like unnecessary hassle as my family would eat them too quickly and because the chocolate had the benefit or covering up the fact the frosting wasn't expertly swirled.)

Ms. Fitz Does Jewellery

2011-11-06T13:54:00.000Z

Ms. Fitz, who I mentioned before in my Blog Reading List back in January, has used her skills in styling and design to create her own jewellery line for SS12, with the collection entitled 'A Kind of Magic'. Whilst she launched it back in August with an online store, it continues to grow with new designs and their unique nature means they would make perfect Christmas presents. Yes, I dropped the C word in November, I'm shocked at myself.

There is a great interview with Ms. Fitz herself on The Vine, where she talks about her inspiration for the line.. My favourite designs are her knotted and woven necklaces and bracelets, which are made from hand dyed tribal print cotton sourced from Amish communities. She also features some wonderfully eccentric earrings and recently added a range of ear/nose chains.

If you love her collection as much as I do you can also tell her on Twitter and take inspiration from her blog on how to wear her pieces... get creative with your overall style or just use the pieces to add something bold and individual to your normal look.

Storytelling: Buildings and Vampires

2011-10-28T12:29:00.002+01:00

I love stories of all kinds. Storytelling is such a natural form of entertainment and teaching; people have used stories for hundreds of years to pass on myths and truths. With Halloween coming up, people will be creating and absorbing stories through comics, video, books, music and word-of-mouth.

When babysitting the other day I thought to get in the Halloween mood we should carve pumpkins. Unlike my little brother who did his best to do an angry pumpkin so he wouldn't be afraid of it, my youngest sister put all her effort into making a scary pumpkin. When she was finished she stared at it and then piped up worriedly: "Evie told me pumpkins come alive at night. Will my scary pumpkin do that?"

My brother's angry pumpkin and sister's scary one

There is something wonderfully naive about children and their stories. I think that's why Where the Wild Things Are is so successful and why it has inspired so many people since. I particularly like the Buildings and Vampires story and how the tribute video by Sebastian Baptista & Nico Casavecchia then went on to inspire the likes of Manuela dos Santos to be more experimental. Creativity breeding creativity is a wonderful thing and I love the childlike style of both the video and the chalkboard cards.

Buildings & Vampires from Nico Casavecchia on Vimeo.

Manuela dos Santos' chalkboard cards.

Temporary Secretary

2011-10-18T12:22:00.002+01:00

Over the past year I've put together quite a few fashion spreads for Fused and Area including a selection of purse friendly suggestions for the annual student guide and more recently (but not yet published) a colourful autumn spread. Fused and Area are independent magazines and as such I like to include a mixture of well known brands and lesser known gems. One such gem that I have used in several recent spreads is Temporary Secretary.

Sarah Wong founded the brand in 2008 and it's gone from strength to strength with fabulous designs and a great blog. In fact, she recently won the A/W 11 Look Magazine's Blog Competition - congratulations! In all honesty though, I think she shines when she gives the reader an insight into her life...particularly her adorable posts with the lovely cat Oscar.

Brand wise she is always a pleasure to work with, ready to help and with lovely pictures of her quirky and kitsch handmade jewellery. I can't wait to get my hands on some of her latest pieces... particularly her laser cut wood range and typewriter rings. I love the bright red tab key, I think I'll have to get that and a letter. Thankfully, it'll be Christmas before we know it. This year I am definitely making a list.

Images from the Temporary Secretary blog and website.

MA Fashion Exhibition

2011-09-26T14:59:00.000+01:00

So after really neglecting everything that isn't my MA for the last year I have finally finished. Hopefully this means I can settle into a nice job in a marketing agency or with an in house team that will let me be creative and, most of all, will help me to learn more and hone my craft. Fingers crossed.

To celebrate the MA Fashion Department is hosting a private view of our exhibition tomorrow from 5-7pm in the PR1 gallery on the ground floor of UCLan's Victoria Building. As I now live 100 miles away I have sadly had nothing to do with the organisation but I am hoping for drinks, nibbles and lots of banter with our guests. If anyone is in Preston you should nip and and say hello, the more the merrier. Here's what you'll see if you do...

Open publication - Free publishing

Malteaser Cupcake Recipe

2011-09-13T19:21:00.000+01:00

My 'little' sister has just turned 13 and last week she started high school...we have a middle school here hence her not having gone at 11. It seems like she is growing up really quickly but despite the stroppiess and constant texting that comes with being a teenager she still wanted specially made cakes for her birthday. Malteaser cupcakes to be specific, so I enlisted a recipe from The Hummingbird Bakery's Cake Days book and got to work.

I got the book a few months ago and I really like it. The recipes are accessible, different and look amazing. The photographs in the book are fabulous and I love that it is set into occasions working from Valentines Day right through to Christmas, incorporating fruits such as raspberries and blood oranges according to season. I tried their basic vanilla cupcakes first and the cakes were beautifully light but I used my own buttercream recipe as 500g of icing sugar seemed a bit excessive. I plan on trying many more and will let you know how my first whoopie pies go when I finally get round to it. In the meantime, you should definitely try these... and let me know how it goes if you do!

Malted Chocolate Cupcakes

Makes 12-16

Ingredients for the sponge:

150ml sunflower oil
75ml whole milk
75ml buttermilk (I actually couldn't find buttermilk in my local supermarket so I followed these instructions and mixed up a substitute using lemon juice.)
1 large egg
1 1/2 tsp vanilla essence
240g plain flour
25g cocoa powder
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
330g caster sugar
150ml boiling water

Ingredients for the frosting:

200g dark chocolate chips - minimum 70% cocoa solids (I chopped up a bar of Green and Blacks)
240ml double cream
115g malted-milk powder (When I opened our Horlicks it had set rock solid so I used Ovaltine instead, which had some cocoa powder in it too.)
50g full fat cream cheese
35g caster sugar
36-48 Malteasers to decorate (I brought a sharing bag and had some spare too. I normally gobble up Malteasers so fast I have no clue how many is in a bag.)

1. Preheat the oven to 190 C/gas mark 5, and line a muffin tin with muffin cases.

2. Using an electric whisk beat together the oil with the milk, buttermilk, egg and vanilla essence on low speed until well blended. Sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt, then stir in the sugar. Add a third of the boiling water, followed by another third of dry ingredients to the oil and milk mixture and beat slowly until evenly incorporated.

3. Beat in a third of the boiling water, followed by another third of the dry ingredients then repeat with the remaining ingredients, mixing together until they are all combined. Remember to scrape down the sides of the bowl after each addition, to ensure well-mixed batter. (I didn't read this properly, their instructions can be a bit lengthy - I like short and snappy - so I ended up pouring the boiling water in after all the dry ingredients. Still tasted good though.)

4. Divide the mixture between the paper cases, filling each by two thirds. Any remaining batter can be used to fill one to four more cases in a separate tin. Place in the oven and bake for 18-20 minutes or until springy to the touch. Allow to cool a little before removing from the tin, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

5. To make the frosting, place the chocolate chips in a bowl and set over a saucepan of simmering water to melt, then remove from the heat and set aside to cool.

6. Meanwhile, using the electric whisk, whip the cream with the malted milk powder until it forms soft peaks. In a separate bowl, beat the cream cheese with the caster sugar until combined, then add the cooled chocolate and mix again.

7. Carefully fold the whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture, adding half the whipped cream at a time. Divide the frosting between the cupcakes, smoothing and swirling with a palette knife, then decorate each cupcake with 3 Malteasers. (I almost wished I'd crushed them and sprinkled to add to the Malteaser taste overall but they were divine none the less and looked pretty all arranged on top.)

Voila.

Autumn/Winter Style in Fused Student Guide 2011

2011-09-07T11:29:00.001+01:00

For the second year on the trot (which is nice because it gives the impression it went down well last time) I have compiled the autumn/winter style pages for Fused's annual Student Guide, which has been transferred to their pocket sized Area format. So, I suppose, it's now Area's Student Guide but it is as awesome as always.

You can find it here or embedded below (p14 - 19) but you should read the rest as well. I particularly like 'How to Get Laid on the Cheap' (p34) and 'The Carpels' Guide to Birmingham Music' (p58).

Open publication - Free publishing - More fused

The End of Summer

2011-09-05T15:00:00.001+01:00

I think it's fair to say that summer is officially on the way out, which is a shame as it always seems to be when I'm happiest and I feel like I've spent most of it doing work for my MA. However, I have also done other things...I've been to Portugal, I've been to Wales where the boy tour me on a tour of many many castles (my favourite was Pehrhyn), I've baked A LOT, drank copious amounts of red wine, I've done some writing for Fused, prepared their AW Fashion Guide, wrote a short story for Cellardoor's wonderful End of Summer Issue (p84), got my little sister prepared for high school and waved the boy off to live bloody miles away. Oh and I've more or less finished my MA. It's been a busy one.

Barmouth Beach

View from the Caravan

We may complain about British summers but even when it's pouring it down a 99 from the ice-cream man and chips on the beach front make me reminiscent of summers when I was younger. As a young girl I spent many summers in a caravan/apartment/posh hotel depending on our finances at the time but to me it didn't matter where we were. I once adopted a seagull who I called Sammy, I fed him every day whilst we were away with my aunties and cousins and every one. I only realised this year whilst telling the boy that story that Sammy was probably multiple seagulls. Naive I know, but it shows how much I believed in the magic of summer - as a tiny girl I had a pet seagull. So don't give up on British summers - they may be shorter, come at strange times of the year and be largely interspersed by rain but they're our summers. Make sure you make the most of them.

My mother and I, Newquay, aged 2.

Tom Hussey: Reflections

2011-08-04T14:45:00.000+01:00

Lately my wonderful mother has started reflecting on her age. At 46 and with 4 children she obviously doesn't look how she did when she was 18 but she has always been an inspiration to me. At 18 she was a size 8, now she's a size 18 and she is still confident about her body. In fact, she affectionately refers to her stomach as jelly belly, giving it a little wobble and laughing. After all, it's from their that her wonderful children came. (Yep, that includes me.)

Recently her aunt died and she admitted she was glad her mother had died in her early 70's. My nan's sisters have suffered from dementia and the thought of seeing her own mother like that worried her. Well of course now it's worrying me, genetic factors only cause the disease in a very small number of families but what if mine is one of them?

Tom Hussey's award 'Reflections' is an advertising campaign for Novartis' Exelon Patch, a prescription medicine for the treatment of mild to moderate Alzheimer’s dementia. The images depict an older person looking at the reflection of their younger self in a mirror. The campaign is innovative, eye-catching and really reminds you that we all go through the same thing and deserve just as much care and consideration, no matter our age and condition. See all the images from the campaign here.

Raspberry and Vanilla Cupcake Recipe

2011-07-24T12:54:00.000+01:00

The raspberry portion of the Graduation Cakes went down best with everyone but my little siblings...but I expected that and it's exactly why I made some chocolate fudge cakes too. The recipe was an adaptation of the Bling and Buy recipe found in the Cupcakes and Muffins book. Not surprisingly, I didn't think the boy would appreciate cupcakes decorated with jelly rings and icing handbags. In fact, I'd have completely skipped over the recipe for myself if I hadn't noticed the use of raspberries. They were light, moist and really really easy.

Raspberry and Vanilla Cupcakes

Ingredients:

175 g/6 oz softened butter or margarine
200 g/7 oz caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 eggs, lightly beaten
150 g/5 1/2 oz raspberries
225 g/8 oz self-raising flour
To decorate I used one quantity of buttercream, for which you can find various recipes online and in basically every baking book there is, and added 1 tsp of vanilla extract.

1. Preheat the oven to 180 C/350 F/Gas Mark 4.

2. Line a 12 hole muffin tin with 10 paper cases. (I actually got 14 cakes from this recipe and used 12 silicone cases and 2 paper cases.)

3. Place the butter an sugar in a large bowl and beat together until light and fluffy, then beat in the vanilla extract. (I'll be honest, I forgot to add vanilla extract to the cake mix but the flavouring in the buttercream and the raspberry flavour in the cake meant you didn't really notice.)

4. Gradually beat in the eggs, then fold the raspberries and flour into the mixture. (The raspberries will break up slightly but that's ok, just be careful to ensure some raspberries remain whole as they taste great when you discover them in the middle of the cupcakes.)

5. Spoon the mixture into the paper cases. (I tried to make sure the raspberries weren't all at the bottom but spooning the mixture into the cases in various stages.)

6. Bake in the preheated oven for 20 - 25 minutes, or until golden brown and springy to the touch.

7. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

8. To decorate, mix up a batch of vanilla buttercream and pipe onto the cupcakes using a star nozzle. Add sweets/other decorative aspects as required. Whilst the recipe suggests handbags, shoes and jelly rings, accessorised with those little silver decorating balls, I opted to use the extra raspberries and giant chocolate buttons.

Some Day, But Not Today...

2011-07-23T15:07:00.003+01:00

I talk a lot about becoming old, which I am aware may seem crazy as I am only 23, but I'm beginning to think it's not my fault. It's not some mad insecurity of mine it is the pressures of society dammit. Or something like that anyway. It's definitely people trying to rush me. They keep asking me questions about me, about my life, what I want to do with it, who I want to do it with. And when. I don't know.

It all started back at university when someone asked what I wanted to do as a career. I didn't know. Three years later I still don't know because I want to do everything: PR, marketing, journalism, art direction, social media consultancy.... all of those would be great. What I dream of though is being a novelist. I want to write. More than anything I want to huddle down in a house in the middle of the woods, next to a lake and not too far from the beach and I want to write a story.

It will be one of those epic stories that will be so amazing it will never win awards, people won't understand it, but it will lead to the odd fan letter telling me I am a genius and that I summed up their entire being within the pages, albeit probably virtual pages as by the time I finish it print will have almost died and nobody will want my book enough to get it printed on demand. (And yes, on demand printing is a thing. Blackwells have a massive vending machine for it and everything.)

That or it will be a really girly, chick lit type novel that will over exaggerate my love life into one amusing tale. Not quite genius but it'll be a novel and it will be mine. Either way, this is apparently not an appropriate career choice if I want to eat and actually able to afford to live in that house in the middle of the woods.

Lately however, the questions my family like to pose to me have upped their ante. At the last family party my idiot uncle said "isn't it about time you pop out a few kids?" Erm, no. No it isn't. Then whilst baking chocolate fudge cupcakes together my little sister (age six) mumbles "when are you getting married?" She was awfully quiet and shy, very unlike her, and didn't even raise her head to look at me instead choosing to maintain eye contact with the chocolate and butter mixture that was melting in the pan as she stirred it. This is all down to my mothers previous comment: "We thought you and the boy might get engaged in Portugal."

I've assured my mother she is crazy. Sadly, my poor sister had taken this to mean that some time soon she would get to be bridesmaid, hence the shyness. I assured her that of course she could be a bridesmaid but she would probably more like 16 than six when that happened. She'll be even older when she becomes an aunt. In fact, that may never happen. Channel 4 has managed to scare the crap out of me with shows like Emergency in the Womb and One Born Every Minute.

So forgive me as I freak out a little at the thought of my other sister going to high school in September, of two best friends buying a house together and talking about having kids there, or the fact people keep telling myself that if you can't see the rest of your life with someone what's the point in being with them at all.

I know I don't need to feel rushed. Fingers crossed I have plenty of time. Sometimes it just gets a bit much so, throw me a stick and remind me I'm not the only one that has their feet firmly planted in the 'some day, but not today' field of thinking. Oh, and remind me to actually sit down and finish writing that novel in the not too distant. Even if it is chick lit and is written in my teenage bedroom at my fathers house rather than that beautiful house in the woods. I will do it. Some day.

Chocolate Fudge Cupcake Recipe

2011-07-22T11:00:00.000+01:00

I did promise that I would put up the recipes I used for the Graduation Cakes so today I'm starting with chocolate fudge. These are more hard work than the raspberry cupcakes but they are extremely rich in chocolate flavour and all dense and gooey. I should warn you that I'm not the best baker, this was probably way more experimental than it needed to be with me adding extra water and syrup just because I thought it needed it. I don't think they were quite supposed to look like they did, but they tasted good despite the fact the frosting was way too sticky and thick really to be piped...as you can see.

The recipe was taken from the old faithful Cupcakes and Muffins book and was one half of their Dark and White Fudge Cakes recipe. The boy doesn't like white chocolate, but if you do make the frosting following the recipe below but replace the plain chocolate with white.

Chocolate Fudge Cupcakes

The following recipe is supposed to make 20 cakes, frosted half and half with white and plain chocolate fudge frosting. Whilst the frosting recipe is therefore only for 10 cakes when I made this I only got 12 cupcakes and the frosting covered perfectly. However, you may want to make extra and/or experiment first to see how far you get.

Ingredients:

200 ml/7 fl oz water
85 g/3 oz butter
1 tbsp golden syrup
3 tbsp milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
225 g/8 oz plain flour
2 tbsp cocoa

Frosting:

50 g/1 3/4 oz plain chocolate broken (I used a 85% cocoa fair-trade chocolate)
2 tbsp water
25 g/0.9 oz butter
175 g 6 oz icing sugar

1. Preheat oven to 180 C/350 F/Gas Mark 4.
2. Line two 12-hole bun tins with 20 paper cases. (As previously mentioned I only got 12 and used silicone cases.)
3. Place the water, butter syrup in a saucepan and heat gently, stirring, until the sugar has dissolved. Bring to the boil, reduce the hear and cook gently for 5 minutes. Leave to cool.
4. Meanwhile pour the milk and vanilla extract into a bowl. Add the bicarbonate of of soda and stir to dissolve.
5. Sift the flour and cocoa into a separate bowl and add the syrup mixture.
6. Stir in the milk mixture and beat until smooth, then spoon the mixture into the paper cakes.
7. Bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes, or until well risen and firm to the touch. (Whilst most cakes in silicone cases take less time this one did need the full 20 minutes but keep on eye on them.)
8. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
9. To make the frosting, place the plain chocolate in a small heatproof bowl, add the water and butter, set the bowl over a saucepan of gently simmering water and heat until melted. Stir until smooth.
10. Sift the icing sugar into the bowl and beat until smooth and thick.
11. Top each cupcake with frosting and leave to set. Decorate with chocolate shavings. (Or a giant chocolate button in my case.)

Graduation Cake and a Trip to Portugal

2011-07-21T12:24:00.002+01:00

Finally the boy has graduated. I am very proud. He is almost a fully fledged dentist, soon to be earning a lot of money whilst I plod on with finishing my MA and hope to God that I can get a job this autumn. Cross your fingers for me.

This comes after a wonderful holiday in the Algarve where we did absolutely nothing but lounge by the pool, hide from the sun so I wouldn't burn, get covered by sand on the beach (and break my sisters Kindle there too as I dropped it on a rock - eek!) plus eat a lot. Eating become the main activity...we would discuss where we would go all day and then savour three courses with a bottle of wine/sangria and topped off with some deadly cocktails.

We walked for miles on the one cloudy day we had, following a map that was not to scale. At all. Tourist maps, you would think, show key things that you should see so we trekked to see a statue. The following is the statue in question...not really a statue more an island with religious connotations.

Our first holiday and our first graduation (we weren't speaking when it was mine) so to celebrate I baked cake, various cupcakes in fact: vanilla with raspberries and chocolate fudge. Thankfully the deserts in Portugal weren't that great so my cake didn't have much to live up to. If I'd been cooking ribs/steak/any kind of fresh fish it would have been a different matter, they were amazing in Portugal. The old faithful Cupcakes and Muffins book came out, as did my mothers wonderful silicon cupcake cases. They went down an absolute treat, which I'm glad of because I was too poor to buy anything better. The raspberry is particularly amazing so I'll make sure to put the recipes up for you to try another time.

Can I Be Your Friend?

2011-06-12T11:39:00.000+01:00

Whilst doing my usual Sunday morning perusal of blogs I came across the video 'Can I be your friend?' on Slash/Slash. The video brings the actions we use online into the real world and demonstrates just how strange a concept poking people, liking things and announcing our relationship to the world really is. What's stranger still is that the video is to promote a new opera, not the first medium you'd expect to exposure the dangers associated with living our lives online.

"Ever thought how odd your online life is? Ever thought what could go wrong? This film looks forward to ENO's production of Nico Muhly's new opera 'Two Boys'." If that sounds like your kind of thing the opera premieres on the 24th June at the London Coliseum.

The Cupcake Miracle/Peanut Butter Cupcake Recipe

2011-06-07T21:02:00.002+01:00

I love cupcakes. In fact, I love cake of any kind but unfortunately I am terrible at baking without supervision. Oddly, I've been told this is because I follow the recipe too much... I think it's more I'm inpatient, rarely have every ingredient and the oven at home likes to burn everything on the right hand side. I like to try to counteract the last aspect by turning things regularly but of course this means my cakes are usually flat as a pancake.

Today I decided to bake at my moms house. I was armed with a good oven, all the ingredients and a peanut butter cupcake recipe that I was determined to follow to the letter... When I took them out of the oven they had risen, cooked to perfection and tasted divine. It was a cupcake miracle.

My yummy cupcakes :) - I didn't say they looked professional, I said they baked perfectly.

I'm no Astral when it comes to decorating but I promise they're amazing!

As a baking retard if I can make this recipe I'm sure anyone can. It's from the book Cupcakes and Muffins: A Collection of 200 Delicious Recipes, but I have shared it with you here so you can try right now. The recipe is apparently for 16 but that must be for massive cupcakes... I got 21 so decided to do half chocolate and half frosted. There was an absolute tonne of frosting left over.

Frosted Peanut Butter Cupcakes

Ingredients:

55 g/2 oz butter, softened, or soft margarine
225 g/8 oz soft light brown sugar
115 g/ 4 oz crunch peanut butter (I used smooth because that's what was in the cupboard. They still tasted yummy but didn't have the crunch...obviously.)
2 eggs, lightly beaten (Apparently I should have beaten by eggs before putting them in with everything else - I didn't.)
1 tsp vanilla extract
225 g/ 8 oz plain flower
2 tsp baking powder

Frosting:

200 g/7 oz soft cream cheese (I used ricotta.)
25 g/1 oz butter, softened
225 g/8 oz icing sugar

1. Preheat the oven to 180 C/350 F/Gas Mark 4.
2. Line two 12-hole bun tins with 16 paper cases. (I used silicon cases and cooked in two batches.)
3. Place the butter, sugar and peanut butter in a bowl and beat together for 1-2 minutes, or until well mixed.
4. Gradually beat in the eggs, then add the vanilla extract.
5. Sift in the flour and baking powder, then fold them into the mixture, alternating with the milk.
6. Spoon the mixture into the cases.
7. Bake in the preheated oven for 25 minutes, or until well risen and golden brown. (15-20 minutes with my moms small cases and fan assisted oven.)

8. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
9. To make the frosting, place the cream cheese and butter in a large bowl and beat together until smooth.
10. Sift the icing sugar into the mixture, beat together until well mixed, then spread the frosting on the top of each cake. (My mom has no sieve. God knows why. This of course meant I had to massively beat my frosting, and the more you beat the cream cheese the softer it gets. This is why my icing is a lot runnier than the one in the book, so it was more pour than spread. Still tastes amazing though!)

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes

The ingredients are exactly the same as for the cake above but all you need is chocolate spread (I used Nutella) instead of any frosting ingredients.

1. Follow the above method until step 5.

2. Spoon half the mixture into the paper cases then place about 1/2 a teaspoon of chocolate spread into the centre of each.

3. Carefully spoon the remaining mixture into the paper cases so that it completely encloses the chocolate spread.

4. Bake as before.

5. Cool and cover with more chocolate spread.

Voila :) both batches taste absolutely yummy. The chocolate cupcakes are much stickier, with the frosted cupcakes coming across lighter even though they're the same cake. The peanut butter makes the mix rather sticky and heavy but I promise they are divine. If you give either recipe a go let me know!

BLAC Space Scape

2011-06-05T14:18:00.002+01:00

Now I'm back in the Midlands I decided to try my luck and see if Fused Magazine would let me write for them again...and they said yes. I will be writing for Fused/Area Culture Guide online and in print, so keep an eye out for me. For those of you who go to Birmingham uni look out for my reprise in Fused's Student Issue, where I give you the best trends for the coming season...all affordable of course.

My first article went up on Tuesday entitled BLAC Space Scape. (If you follow me on Twitter you'll already know this but I am a bit behind with my blog sorry!) You should read it because it features fabulous jewellery by BLAC and an incredible shoot by creative director Ashley Hilton, who will be graduating this summer. It also features an amazing film of the shoot by Videographer Dima Kalenda.

Wallpaper Magazine: Custom Animated Covers

2011-05-22T18:12:00.000+01:00

I love Wallpaper Magazine. It's pretty great when it comes to all things design and I relish in all the beautiful architecture, art, products etc that it features. In fact, Wallpaper makes me wish I'd become an architect. Well, I can't be an architect but my work can now grace the cover of their magazine...

Wallpaper are giving readers the chance to create their own animated Wallpaper cover, which will live in their online gallery. Following this you can take a still shot of the animation and for £6 ($10) they'll post you a copy of the August issue anywhere in the world with your customised cover gracing its front. No design degree needed because there's even an easy peasy guide.

The deadline is May 31st and I have zero time. I have an MA to complete after all. So, just in case I don't get time, I think you should all do it and then let me bask in the glory you feel for designing something spectacular and unique.

I need to go somewhere...

2011-05-05T17:50:00.001+01:00

I have been sat working away on my MA work for about 12 years now. At least it feels that way, it has completely taken over my life. Oh and I have no money, nothing, nada, ziltch. So I am leaving the North and moving home to the Midlands as I have no more excuses. I have no lectures, it's just time to get on with it.

As well as moving home, which will be a trial I'm sure, I have also had to give up many fun things such as drinking copious amounts of alcohol (I have no money and also no time to waste on hangovers as I am now an extremely professional person), eating three decent meals a day and also holidays. This last one is what gets to me most. I am happy to drink water and eat pasta. I am not happy to be stuck in my little bubble, I want to see the world!

What is making this worse is The Cool Hunter's Facebook page, which keeps tormenting me with pictures of places I want to go. They call their albums things like "Private Pools", "Treescape" and "Amazing Places to Visit Around the World" that are filled with pictures that are supposed to inspire but what they actually do is cause jealousy. They may as well be called "Haha Laura can't go here! :p" (Please note that :p has actually raspberry blowing side effects in my head and is shortly followed by an evil laugh.)

Anyway, because I'm incredibly cruel and I'm sure you're all sat at a desk/on a couch/somewhere equally uninspiring I have picked my favourites from the Amazing Places to Experience Around the Globe album. There are a lot! And a lot more that are on the 'go to' list. I hope to fill you with the joy of knowing you'll possibly never visit some of these. Unless you're Richard Branson. In which case: Hello Richard. What a lovely tie you're wearing. I am a big fan of your aeroplanes and I've heard your private island is lovely. Care to go out for dinner?

Marble Caves, Chile Chico, Chile

Gruta do Lago Azul(Blue Lake Cave), Bonito, Brazil.

Berry Head, Avalon Peninsula, Newfoundland, Canada

Moraine Lake, Alberta, Canada

The Wave, Arizona

Hang En Cave, Vietnam

Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming

Cellardoor Magazine: Get it Loud in the Library

2011-04-26T22:03:00.002+01:00

Recently I wrote an article for Cellardoor Magazine's Spring Fling Issue. It's all about Get it Loud in Libraries, featuring Pegasus Bridge and The Good Natured as the next up and coming talent spotted in the library. To see the article properly click the link and turn to p.78-81. I hope you like it!

Doppelganger: Images of the Human Being

2011-04-07T10:32:00.000+01:00

This new book, which Cool Hunting recently featured, includes "bizarre, creepy and altogether stunning visions of digitally-influnced identity." Due to the nature of my MA topic I have been reading a lot about the influence of the digital on our personalities, intelligence etc. it is very interesting to see it represented in a visual way. It is imagery like this that could inspire the digitally influenced fashion and lifestyle trends that are developing.

"Exploring what deeply concerns people emotionally and representing it pictorially is one of the most interesting things happening in art and visual culture today," explains editor Robert Klanten in the book's preface. From tangible, more conventional layers like costumes and masks to photo-technical renderings and artistic manipulations, this sizeable coffee-table tome reveals the innumerable permutations of human form that have emerged in this very short span of time. Perhaps the result of its translation from German, Doppelganger's preface can seem a little abstruse at times, which hardly seems to matter given that the rest of the book's evocative and unsettling images speak for themselves." (from Cool Hunting)

Soundtrack to Stress

2011-03-16T18:07:00.000Z

Ok...so the title of this post is a little extreme. I'm not manically stressed, I just have five deadlines this week. Currently I have done 4 of those...I'm definitely on top of everything. It's times like these when checklists are good.

1. Umbro iPad magazine - CHECK :)
2. Cellardoor magazine article - CHECK :)
3. Uni report 1- CHECK :)
4. Uni progression presentation - CHECK :)
5. Uni report 2 (formatted as an iPad magazine) - erm.... not so check :( It's written, it's partially formatted but it's definitely not finished. Bugger.

Anyway, in an effort to get all this done in time I have gathered albums that keep me happy enough to work but not so happy that I start working. I have decided to share this just-happy-enough-ness with others so that they too can be productive. If you're expecting anything exciting and new then lower those. Here's a tip - those albums that are best aren't that new. Or they're new but I've listened to them so much I don't have to spend time focusing on lyrics I just sing along, much to the joy of my neighbours. (They're really loud and rude and inconsiderate anyway so it's fine).

Here goes... (in no particular order!)
1. Kate Nash, Made of Bricks - Merry Happy is my current favourite, it was Birds before that.
2 and 3. Paolo Nutini, Sunny Side Up AND Those Streets - Yep Paolo is just bloody awesome at keeping me going.
4. Slow Club, Yeah So - When I Go is a gem of a track.
5. Stereophonics, Word Gets Around - I've wrote about them before (i.e. here) so you may be aware of my love for Kelly Jones.
6. The XX, XX - the bonus tracks are awesome if you haven't had a listen.

So yeah...I told you they weren't exciting but believe me they will keep you focused a treat. Here's a little bit to get you going:

The Bright Side

2011-02-26T15:06:00.000Z

The Bright Side, established by illustrator and wordsmith Rachel Bright, has become my go to brand for cards and little gifts, for one very good reason. Their 'mantra' is on the back of each of the cards:

Be nice
Think happy thoughts
Champion silver linings
Love all things (not just cute things like babies and kittens)
And when you do love - love like they do in power ballads (you know like on a cliff with wind in your hair and your eyes shut, knowing you'll never know another love like this)
Watch out for dog poo
Smile at people - even grumpy ones
Be nice (oh I already said that)
Remember that anything is possible
And whatever you do always try to look on the bright side

...and really this is why they are awesome. They say things simply, how they really are and make people smile those little smiles. To me those little smiles are better than huge laughs because that funny thing will never be funny again but that smile will come back every time you see the thing that made you smile in the first place.

In addition to cards a local store (and Campus Gifts if you're an online shopper) now sell The Bright Side Gifts. At Christmas the women closest to me all got little stocking fillers from The Bright Side. Biscuit tin for my granny, sweet tins for my mom and my aunt (all filled of course) and my sister, the not-so-little-any-more monster, got a notebook proclaiming "evil plans and stuff" on the front.

My next purchases are a wedding planner for when my friend finally starts organising her "very big huge day" and some folders for me... Some things are difficult, some take a long time, some just really need doing and if this is the case I'm sure wrapping them in The Bright Side is the best way to do it.

Lancaster Library Gigs: Mona, Pegasus Bridge and Yuck

2011-02-21T19:42:00.001Z

I had a weekend filled with gigs in a library, all part of my work for Get it Loud in Libraries. Luckily for me this means watching and interacting with some amazing bands in a very quirky venue.

On Saturday night Mona took to the stage supported by Tribes. Nick Brown, Mona's frontman, snuck out from backstage to watch Tribes play...I think really to assess the location but I don't think he was disappointed. Mona played as if they were in the largest and most traditional of venues and embraced the library with the usual "shhhh it's a library" type comments. The atmosphere was incredible, better than the Devlin gig but maybe I'm just biased because it's more my kind of music.

Mona at Lancaster Library, 19 February

On Sunday afternoon (yes...during the day time, weird right?) I was at the Yuck gig. They were supported by Pegasus Bridge who reminded me of The Kooks with a more electric feel. They have a great, positive sound that worked really well with the afternoon setting but that was also the failing for both bands because people just don't get as excited in the afternoon as in the evening. There was little dancing and interaction during songs, no clapping/singing along, but that's not to say it wasn't enjoyable.

Pegasus Bridge at Lancaster Library, 20 February

Edward Turner's vocals are what makes this band for me. It was good enough to convince me to buy the CD (the first CD I've purchased in about five years) and they have been the soundtrack to any travelling I have done over the last 24 hours. My friend was singing along to Ribena after only hearing it once and it is this infectious catchiness that makes them so popular, especially with teenage girls who swarmed around the band afterwards.

Yuck at Lancaster Library, 20 February

Yuck were, of course, amazing and coped with the effects of the gig setup perfectly. Two little girls stood right in front of Daniel Blumberg the entire time, dancing along and staring. (This is what you get for having no age restrictions and an afternoon time slot.) He smiled at them and said: "You're supposed to clap when we finish a song...I'm joking, only clap if you actually like it." They even carried on when, during the last song, those same girls knocked over a microphone. I can't wait to get their album, which came out today.

I am continuously surprised with how well bands take to the playing a gig in a library. They all seem to find it weird at first but adapt to it really well and afterward gush about how good the idea is. Ed, from Pegasus Bridge, said: "It was a little strange being to see every face in the room, but I enjoyed it." I think it's the uniqueness and the intimate living room feeling that it generates. You can't get more intimate than having a room full of people staring at you in broad daylight.

The Return of Colour

2011-02-18T16:04:00.002Z

I went out for a friends birthday the other day and her lovely sister decided to compliment me on my pale skin tone. "You're ever so white aren't you, it's wonderful, it goes so well with your red hair. It suits you so much better than blonde. My friend likes to white up and make the best of her pale skin, she has all the make up for it you should speak to her later because you could do that too!" Bless her, she was being genuine.

See what I mean about ghostly? I'm just grateful this was taken with a terrible camera phone.
My hair doesn't even look red on this photo so I can only hope that in real life I don't glow this much.

I have a bit of an issue with my skin tone pure and simply because I look a bit dead at times. I get stressed out very easily and this stress results in a wonderful array of dark tones beneath my eyes that just will not be covered. Needless to say I feel more ghostly than wonderfully pale. Thankfully, Twilight has meant the fact I look like a Cullen (I've been told I could pass for a vampire...charming I know) actually mildly acceptable.

Thank goodness that spring is coming though! I cannot wait to add a bit of shimmer, get out in the sun so I look like a normal human being in winter and throw on some bright colours. Yes, the return of colour this spring will be paired with the return of colour to my skin (I hope). Blue, tangerine or neon brights, they've filtered down from the catwalk and now the high street has some great options...

From top left: ASOS '60s Mac £75, Next Ruffle Playsuit £38, Topshop Peep Toes £68, Topshop Court Shoes £62, ASOS Tailored Shorts £30 and ASOS Peg Leg Trousers £40.

Hermanos Inglesos: Wanderland

2011-02-18T14:57:00.001Z

This music video appeared on The Cool Hunter this week and despite the fact the song is infectious it is the video itself that interested me. It is quirky, unique and produced in the mixed material style I just love. The combination of photographs with illustrations works perfectly and reminds me of some of Darren Firth's work.

Hermanos Inglesos feat. MeMe - "Wanderland" from Michélé De Feudis on Vimeo.

The Force

2011-02-07T10:53:00.001Z

My brother has become a bit obsessed with Star Wars. Personally, I thought it was a bit early for such an obsession seeing as he's only four but then I was reminded that at that age my favourite films were Grease (1 and 2...it appears I had no taste) and Dirty Dancing.

He has taken to watching the films over and over whilst simultaneously playing the game on the X-Box. This multitasking is something he struggles with and usually results in us doing one or the other and encouraging him to let us turn off the film so we can at least watch something else. This never works, in fact what actually happens is we have the game, the film and a battle with his toy lightsabers all at once. Turns out I'm pretty good with a lightsaber and I refuse to let him win (I figure he needs to learn how to be a good loser) and so he just changes the rules constantly...

Me: "I hit you. That means you're dead."
Caleb: "No you have to hit me three times."
Me (whilst prodding him): "One, two, three. I win."
Caleb: "Noooo I said five times."

...Isn't it convenient that when he hits me once though that I am then dead and expected to enact rather dramatic death scene. This happens so often that the batteries have in fact run out and now the lightsabers make no noise. I think my mom was happy about this but it means now we have to make the sounds ourselves.

Anyway, you can imagine how funny I found it when I saw the recent Volkswagen advert entitled The Force. I'm not sure if Caleb has seen it yet but I am expecting a reenactment of this advert at home very soon. In fact I'm sure a Darth Vader outfit will be requested... or Luke Skywalker if he has finally made the decision to be a goody rather than swapping sides.

Devlin at Lancaster Library

2011-02-07T10:17:00.001Z

I'm working as a creative consultant to review and suggest developments for Get it Loud in Libraries, which pushes back the books in Lancashire libraries and fills them with amazing bands and musicians. So far they've featured Professor Green, Adele, Florence and the Machine, Smoke Fairies, Missing Andy, Katy B and many more.

Last night was my first library gig... I was put on the guest list to see Devlin. I'll listen to a lot, I'll move to anything with a good beat (but won't look good doing it) but it's rare I'd go to see Drum and Bass live. Despite a sore throat he acted as if he was in the biggest venue in the world not a little library in Lancaster. Plus, it turns out I know a lot more of Devlin's music than I realised and even found myself singing along to Runaway.

He constantly made reference to the venue and remarked "Drum and bass in a library...it should be illegal." Whether or not this is because he find it genuinely liked the venue is a different matter. When Ellie Goulding played Lancaster library she was caught backstage moaning about it being weird and I suppose it is... good weird in my opinion.

Devlin, Lancaster Library, 6 February 2011

Get it Loud in Libraries is a great way to get people involved and see the potential in libraries as fountains of knowledge and entertainment. This is particularly important as libraries across the UK face closure. 5th February was Save Our Libraries day but rather than one off support something like this gives libraries an additional use all year round. If you live in Lancashire get involved...and if you don't suggest it to your local councils. My job now is to see what people attending really think of it and how to make it better for everyone. The next gig I plan to attend is Mona on the 19th Feb so if you plan on going let me know and come and say hello.

Missing Garden

2011-01-20T17:59:00.001Z

Dominik Smialowski's photography merges with Monika Prus' drawings to create the project 'Missing Garden' that utilises childlike chalkboard drawings to show allegories of childhood.

Smialowski says: "This work is a reflection of nostalgia for childhood, sentiment for light-hearted, idyllic kids life, sorrow for something that maybe gone irretrievably. It's also a modest rebellion against adults life and small glorification of being child."

They effectively remind me of aspects from my own childhood, particularly those below, whilst the contrast of the naive, carefree illustrations with the serious adults photographs reminds me that I will never again experience these things in the same way that a child can - with no worry or responsibility.

The Amplifetes - Somebody New

2011-01-20T16:39:00.002Z

I may be massively slow on the up take as this song was released way back in May 2010 but I just cannot stop singing it around the house ever since it was on 90210 a few weeks ago. Don't judge my taste in television taste...90210 is accompanied by One Tree Hill, The Vampire Diaries, Gossip Girl and many other American "crap" TV but their soundtracks are awesome if nothing else. My housemate once caught me singing with a big smile on his face and said "I heard you singing, you have a beautiful voice." He may be French but he has English sarcasm down to an art. I'm hoping this will get The Amplifetes 'Somebody New' out of my head and prevent future embarrassment...

Chew Fu: Whip My Hair

2011-01-15T17:15:00.000Z

I almost can't believe I'm posting this, I never got on board with Willow's Whip My Hair, but then Chew Fu did a remix and I think it's awesome. Have a listen. He has a whole host of remixes up on YouTube, check out his YouTube channel for a wide variety of videos or just search Chew Fu.

BLANQ: Identity

2011-01-15T17:02:00.004Z

BLANQ's (Jeffrey Wang's) Identity, a series of manipulated photographs, chronicles the progression of a woman "who morphs from innocence to struggles, and back to innocence." The alterations give the impression of a woman shattering, unable to control her own destiny. This is enhanced further by the mannequin style characters that also feature. They seem to represent the struggles people go through to establish who they are, whilst continuously influenced by the world around them, their peers, their family, the media etc. The development of the images is amazing so take a lot at the whole series.

This is not the first time I've featured BLANQ on this blog, I discovered Blanqworld's 36 Stratagems on their website nearly a year ago. Having been called BLANQ, Blanqworld and simply Jeffrey Wang it's no wonder it took me a while to find the article link again for you to have a second look. There are some great new projects, including Evolve, so have a browse if you like what you see here. I'm pretty sure that as we all blur our digital and real lives, with our cameras instantly airbrushing and us adapted our digital persona to create a new variant of ourselves, this kind of photography will become commonplace in editorials.

Blog Reading List

2011-01-14T15:31:00.003Z

Ok so this is maybe a bit of a cop out post, after all I'm directing you to other blogs which is probably not what I should even be doing, but over the last 6 months I have discovered some gems. Some have hundreds of fans some but a few and I think we should share the love...so give them a go if they're your thing and if you like it make sure to leave a comment to give them a nice little boost. Everyone likes to know their writing is less interesting than the newspaper your fish and chips are wrapped in. (Please note if your chippy still puts your fish in newspaper now might be the time to find a new one.) Let me know what you think and feel free to suggest some blogs that you love.

The Blog Experiment:
Caleb Shreves writes some hilariously random stories as well as imaginary fun stuff are sure to keep you going on a regular basis.

Obnoxious Owl:
Warning: Owl is crude, blunt and often illustrates her posts with pornography. If this isn't your thing (or you are under age) please don't look. However, if a bit of crudeness is right up your street check her out. Her advice posts, particularly to men, are what almost every other women thinks but doesn't say.

Hyperbole and a Half:
This is a much loved blog and I'm sure you'll see why. Brilliantly funny anecdotes are paired with fantastically naive illustrations.

Ms. Fitz:
I discovered Ms. Fitz through a very tedious link. Her mother is my step father's step sister (I think that's right...). Needless to say this isn't what kept me interested (she doesn't even know the tedious link) what did is that she is fantastic. Check out some of the shoots she has styled and the accessories she has created. Brilliantly innovative. Oh, and if you like Obnoxious Owl this is the lady you need to thank as she introduced me to that blog. Thanks Ms. Fitz.

Plenty More Fish Out of Water:
Fishy is taking a break at the moment to write a book, which will be fantastically amusing if his blog is anything to go by, but read through his archives. His dating stories are fantastic. If you want something updated a bit more regularly try Tales From the Morning After, which is also great.

The Art of Being Perfect:
I cannot bake to save my life but this blog makes me wish I could. The pictures have me drooling and all I want to do is try the recipes. Sadly I don't even own flour. Maybe one of you can make the most of this blog. Particularly if you live in Brighton as the blogger runs her own cupcake company called Buttercream Bakery.

University Arts Funding

2011-01-13T14:28:00.001Z

A massive issue at my university currently is funding for the arts. The governments limitations on funding for arts and humanities funding will effect many universities, thousands of students and the industries as a whole. I am currently studying MA Fashion and Lifestyle Promotion at UCLAN, extending my knowledge from my BA (Hons) Fashion and Brand Promotion with Journalism, for which I gained a first. There has always been an issue with funding but according to my tutor the only reason the creative departments are managing is because we are part of a larger university that also teaches subjects the government will fund such as sciences.

What is strange about this is that fashion is an extremely profitable industry. It is worth £21 billion in the UK alone and is our 15th largest industry according to Fashion United, similar in size to the food/beverage services and telecommunications industries and bigger than the wholesale and retail of automotives, sports activities, chemical manufacture and advertising/video sectors". Why aren't we investing in fashion and other creative industries when they are great for our country not just in economical terms but because of the culture they add.

Fashion is innovative and the UK has some of the best fashion colleges and universities, whose graduates are driving its future. So how can this continue with a lack of arts funding? It has been acknowledged by many newspapers, such as The Guardian, that this will hit those from lower income families especially as solely arts based universities will need to rethink fees and supplementary costs. So how will universities continue to be fair to all students? And how will graduates get noticed when they leave?

Graduate Fashion Week was a great opportunity for me, I won the Lyle and Scott Strategic Marketing Award and got lots of opportunities to meet mentors as well as a fantastic win to put on my CV. Whilst Graduate Fashion Week and portfolio websites claim to be fantastic there is still an issue with costs. Universities are wondering if they can afford a stand/a catwalk at Graduate Fashion Week and graduates simply can't afford to join portfolio websites when there is such a slim chance anyone will see them.

Lyle and Scott Strategic Marketing Award 2009, Image from GFW Website

I have been considering creating a magazine as part of my MA to highlight the brilliant and conceptual work that can come from unknown creatives in the worlds of music, art, fashion, architecture and graphics. Trends and industry articles would be supplemented by imagery created by new talent and additional elements would profile successful people within the industry and offer exhibitions etc that could further inspire. I think it would be great for students and people within industry alike, giving them a chance to see what was already out there, inspiring them to make the most of themselves and their businesses. What do you think?

Scott Schuman: Visual Life with Intel

2011-01-10T21:04:00.004Z

Scott Schuman, the photographer whose blog The Sartorialist is iconic, has worked with Intel (a clever technological link, with Intel allowing The Sartorialist's work to continue effectively) to produce this insightful film on visual life. Is is especially relevant when you take into consideration the highly digital age we live in and how that has effected him. He is in his own way a trend forecaster. He spies these people and their style is seen and emulated by people across the world. It is great that he recognises this sharing, commenting and adaptation. The fact that digitial opens the world to us.

Ask the Gift Genies

2010-12-27T11:26:00.000Z

So this is late by a few weeks (I've been busy) and some of you reading this will probably hate me for posting this just after Christmas but I have discovered a brilliant app: Ask the Gift Genies. The brains behind the operation are the lovely people at peoplelovepresents.com, who ask you a few simple questions about the person you're buying for and then trot off across cyberspace to find you the perfect present within your budget.

Yes, actual people do it, which means that the request I put in for my mother on Christmas Eve hasn't yet been fulfilled (everyone needs a break right?!) but before Christmas responses were speedy. I have only tried this for a few people and I haven't actually purchased any of their recommendations. Name, age, relationship and brief info isn't really enough for them to know a person completely (and present buying should include your own thoughtfulness) but they can definitely inspire you. Of course the more you give them to work with the better. i.e. "she is a girl and likes pretty things" is never going to be as good as "she loves blue candles". Yes my examples are appalling but you get the gist...put in something more structured and you get a better result.

Here's the best bit though: It's entirely free. Watch this little video by Lady Geek TV to give you a better idea and then head to the App Store pronto.

Mien Clothing

2010-12-17T13:42:00.002Z

I love to stumble across new and unique brands...and it's even better when someone I know has started it. Sarah Morton started Mien with her boyfriend Tom during the summer as a mini project. Tom's graphic design makes for some quirky illustrations, whilst Sarah creates bold prints and photography orientated t-shirts.

Sarah's Godzilla and Tree Designs

Tom's Peekaboo and Zulu Designs

Each of their t-shirts is screen printed by hand and would make fantastic gifts. They are currently hoping to rebrand so all Mien branded t-shirts are on sale from as little as £5...hand designed and hand printed for a fiver is a bargain I think, especially when you won't be seeing anyone else walking down the street wearing one. They're in the process of creating a website but currently sell via Facebook and sporadically eBay. Simply email them on mienclothing@hotmail.com to say hello or to order.

Troy Davis: Making the Invisible Visible

2010-12-03T11:32:00.006Z

"Troy Davis has spent 19 years on death row in the USA despite doubts about his conviction. German street art collective Mentalgassi have teamed up with Amnesty International to highlight his case by creating unique lenticular fence posters across London." The three posters are located at 4-7 Great Pulteney St, 21 Great Pulteney Street, and 5 Berners St (all W1).

This clever use of lenticular design creates a great illusion that could be adapted to many different situations. The fact it highlights such a serious issue only adds depth to the project as the last time I saw lenticular used was on Thunderbird stamps, which are solely novelty with no real meaning behind them. It is a great apparition, using the lenticular concept in a creative way that is sure to grab attention.

Troy Davis: Making the invisible visible from Amnesty International on Vimeo.

The Fun Theory

2010-11-30T15:49:00.003Z

Volkswagon have created a concept called The Fun Theory "dedicated to the thought that something as simple as fun is the easiest way to change people’s behaviour for the better. Be it for yourself, for the environment, or for something entirely different, the only thing that matters is that it’s change for the better."

They even ran a competition for people to suggest ways that normal, every day things and the issues related to them could be made more fun, i.e. speeding = speed camera lottery, fitness = piano stairs, litter = world's deepest bin and recycling = arcade bottle bank.

The winner of The Fun Theory Award 2009/10 was Kevin Richardson from the US with the speed camera lottery. "Can we get more people to obey the speed limit by making it fun to do? The idea here is capture on camera the people who keep to the speed limit. They would have their photos taken and registration numbers recorded and entered into a lottery. Winners would receive cash prizes and be notified by post. Better still, the winning pot would come from the people who were caught speeding."

However, my favourite was the bottle bank arcade, which made a game out of recycling bottles. What I find great about this is not only did it make people intrigued, it would also keep them coming back and interacting. It also makes them smile...it makes me smile just watching it and who doesn't want to be happy?

It's not just about making things fun it's making people want to interact with and consider their world more. If design can make things more fun and therefore make the world and people happier then why isn't everything thought of like this?

Adele: Rolling in the Deep

2010-11-29T16:56:00.000Z

It's coming up to Christmas and anyone who's been to uni knows what that means... A mass of deadlines, mad rush to get everything done and, of course, a mountain of Christmas shopping. Needless to say I have been quiet on the blog front. However, whilst I regain my thoughts here is a song that's keeping me going at the moment. It's a beaut. Adele is wonderful. Enjoy.

Adele - Rolling In The Deep - In Studio from DUKOFF on Vimeo.

Ralph Lauren 4D

2010-11-12T17:00:00.000Z

This week Ralph Lauren created some fabulous 4D shows staged at their flagship stores in Madison Avenue, New York, and Bond Street, London. "In celebration of 10 years of digital innovation, RalphLauren.com presents the ultimate fusion of art, fashion & technology in a visual feast for the 5 senses. Utilising to technology Ralph Lauren make the buildings disappear before transforming them "into a series of objects and images rendered in 3-dimensional space."

Ralph Lauren 4D New York

Ralph Lauren 4D London

For me it's great to see the behind the scenes video (below), where those working on the project discuss the innovation behind Ralph Lauren and this live experience they're providing for people to enjoy. As said on that video it "becomes a piece of advertising within an arts installation." It's fantastic to watch and blows what other brands have done out of the water. I really wish I was there. Not only have Ralph Lauren put on a fabulous show but just about everyone is talking about it. A genius digital event and viral marketing at its best.

The Official Ralph Lauren 4D Experience: Behind the Scenes

Graze

2010-11-10T17:29:00.001Z

I am not very healthy. Right now I have fish fingers in the oven for the sole purpose of becoming a sandwich with ketchup. I was swayed by Graze solely because of their nibble box, which allows you to have yummy flapjack and chocolate buttons as well as fruit, nuts and seeds. I was sold when I was given a code by a fellow blogger to receive the first box free...and so today my first box dropped through the doorstep.

A complete surprise every time you choose your likes, dislikes, loves and things you'd like to try and Graze choose 4 items for you that match these as well as working well together nutritionally. It's all about balance after all. It all looks yummy and I can't wait to try it.

If nothing else as a promotion student I have to give them top marks for not only getting me to order one but to also get excited about healthier snacks. Everything is conveniently packaged in recyclable packaging which has been mostly made from recycled plastic and cardboard. The branding is consistent and the little personalised welcome card and top tips leaflets are a sweet addition to your first box.

I have surprised even myself by wanting to try the Black Forest selection first, which contains raisins, strawberries and walnuts and is the only punnet I have received that has one of my 5 a day. I probably should have liked more of the healthy options but oh well. Clearly chilli slipped through my radar when I was choosing my dislikes because the Great Fire Dragon punnet, roasted maize, jumbo chilli maize and satay broad beans, will be given away sadly.

All good fun and a great brand concept. You can use the code H1L3JBX3 to get your free box. You can cancel straight after the free one if you want :o) and who knows, you might be pleasantly surprised just like me, then you too can "feed your friends" and spread the word.

Snuggle Up

2010-11-08T16:02:00.001Z

I don't know about where you are but is officially freezing in England. Both in the West Midlands (where my home town is) and the North West (where I am at uni). Halloween has gone, Bonfire night has gone and now the long stretch is ahead of us. There's even talk of snow.

I cannot stand the cold. I especially can't stand the cold when I'm in bed. I'm not one to lounge around in lace and satin. I'm more a cotton t-shirt kind of girl, usually with some retro cartoon or generally silly print splashed across the front. I like to mix and match as well, switching shorts for trousers etc dependent on how effective the central heating is being. Here is my favourite pyjamas this winter.

Talk Nerdy Set (New Look £12), Honey Monster Oversized Tee (Topshop £18), Reindeer Socks (Topshop £5), Fairisle Slippers (Accessorize £20), Afraid of the Dark Set (David and Goliath $52)

Mystery Jets Digbeth

2010-11-08T15:04:00.000Z

I had a horrendous day on Friday. I travelled home in the rubbish weather only to have arguments, annoyingly slow waitresses and a broken umbrella to make me mad before I even got to my location: the Mystery Jets gig in Digbeth, Birmingham.

I expected to arrive at the HMV Institute, which opened in September, with enough time to embrace the support acts and get a little tipsy. That didn't happen sadly and I struggled to get into the mood...until they started playing. They were amazing. The HMV Institute was a great, intimate venue and everyone was dancing and singing along (which was rather annoying when they were louder than the actual band).

I was amazed to find though that all my favourite Mystery Jets songs weren't actually sung by frontman Blaine Harrison, they were sung by William Rees and he made the night for me with Show Me the Light and my personal favourite After Dark. Strange considering technically it's actually a song by The Count and Sinden featuring the Mystery Jets. Either way it's amazing and anyone that can get me wanting to go out and dance until the sun comes up when I've been in a foul mood all day is a hero to me.

Kate McGill: YouTube katem3

2010-11-03T17:24:00.001Z

Kate McGill is a perfect example of how open source channels can spread you and your message far and wide. She's on YouTube, MySpace and a variety of other social networks. She started off by sitting in her bathtub filming herself performing covers of songs. By doing this she comes up in your search for that well known artist. For instance, my friend searched for Mumford & Sons on YouTube and up came Kate. What did he do then? He told me I had to listen because "not only is she beautiful but she is talent too" and he was right.

She has such a beautiful voice. There is this quality on her YouTube videos that manage to make every song sad and heartbreaking. Her management are currently running a poll and for every city that 100+ people say they'd like to see her she will tour there in January/February...and guess what? She has over 100 people for every location already. That's the power of the Internet.

< Insert video here >

...She won't let me embed them. How awful.

The Ethics of Technology

2010-10-26T15:44:00.000+01:00

Having started my MA I have been taught the importance of mind maps. "Mind maps" dears not spider diagrams (but as far as I can see a mind map is what I thought a spider diagram was). I was told to create one on Concept Draw to see what avenues I should be looking at for research. The result...I should be researching EVERYTHING!

What interested me most is the fact that in addition to all the usual trend, marketing and consumer malarkey I should also be considering ethics. Not just any old ethics but how ethical technology is. This wonderful concept has opened up a world of information to us but do you know the problem with it? There's too much information. It's actually scrambling the brains of the youth, with the younger generation (including me) being bombarded with so much we are now the most anxious younger generation there has ever been (or at least that is the gist I got from a recent Viewpoint article).

Technology is, in essence, taking over the world and scientists are making what we see in Science Fiction reality. The only problem with this? It's damn scary. I've seen the Matrix and iRobot, technology isn't good in those films it's downright evil. I found a whole book based (entitled Technophobia!) focusing on this issue and posthuman society. So, as you can see, I was beginning to panic slightly.

Well....I panicked massively actually. That is until I watched a video on Ted Talks called Ze Frank's web playroom. For once, something was showing me that technology can reach out to people, connect them and make them happy. So what if we're finding happiness through virtual worlds and virtual connections? Especially when the people on the other end are real. Surely if we're happy surely that's all that matters?

There is a lot about this world that needs fixing...and I mean A LOT...but if we start with the positives of technology and work out a way of finding our way through the mass of information that the Internet provides us with maybe, just maybe, we can use it to improve our world and work with us. That has to be a better concept than it ruling us right? After all, in a posthuman society we aren't here and that's just no good at all.

Influencers

2010-10-17T10:43:00.000+01:00

INFLUENCERS TRAILER from R+I creative on Vimeo.

"INFLUENCERS is a short documentary that explores what it means to be an influencer and how trends & creativity become contagious today in music and fashion.

Directed by Paul Rojanathara and Davis Johnson, the film is a Polaroid snapshot of New York influential creatives (advertising, design, fashion and entertainment) who are shaping today's pop culture." (The Cool Hunter)

There are indeed certain people that can tap into weak signals...singularly it's only one thing happening but when you see these signals all over the world it's a clear trend. I can't wait to see this documentary as I still find it massively interesting to see how and why things become the way the do. Taking NYC as their example is all well and good but we live in a global society, I would love to see this extend to look at the most influential "influencers" throughout the world.

Being a Dickhead's Cool

2010-10-14T19:37:00.006+01:00

When your tutor shows this video in a lecture you have to smile. Especially when she not only finds it funny but sees the potential for this style of video to be used in promotion/to express trend within fashion and society...

...It's a common look, or lifestyle even, in the UK and has been for the past few years. In my class every one of the English students found this funny, even if they were like this/their friends were...the international students not so much. In fact, none of the students from India found it funny/got it/appreciated the turn of phrase. I wonder if my readers in America relate to this? I doubt geek glasses, loafers and warehouse raves are just an English thing.

Umbro Sports Technology

2010-10-11T20:14:00.001+01:00

So...I am officially a student once more and diving into a project with Umbro. I am going to investigate many different things from trend and design inspiration to market research and the use of digital media within business. For my first task I need your help...

I am going to investigate the use of technology and design within other sports and see why/how the professionals within them are picking certain brands/materials/fit/colour and how it enhances their ability. The concept being that all sports are linked more than we realise and that brands focusing on a particular sport can learn from one another.

I think it's a really interesting starting point and so I am on the lookout to speak to competitive/professional players that know their sport and how to enhance themselves inside out. Know anyone? Jockey/snooker player/F1 driver? The more obscure the better really. Come on now, share and share alike. Only you aren't sharing with them...you're sharing with me. I'll keep your secrets if you want me to! After all, I am only a lowly student not an Umbro employee. Who knows maybe your help will allow England to finally get somewhere at the next world cup without showing us up!

Off to Umbro HQ in Manchester city centre on Friday morning. What's the likelihood I'll make a fool of myself? After all I know NOTHING about football. (Proper football American readers...not your twisted version of rugby :p ) I'm really excited to work with them, there's so much more to them than football that people don't even realise and the employees I've met so far have been amazing and so knowledgeable. Check out their blog to see what they've been up to.

The Business of Trend

2010-09-29T19:31:00.001+01:00

I have started an MA in Fashion and Lifestyle Promotion. Today we had a little introductory session where we all spoke about ourselves. Name, age, how we got to be on the course, what was the best thing that we encountered on the way, likes/dislikes, who we admire etc.

During this the head of Fashion Design at the university discussed how she loved her job, she loved trend, it didn't feel like work...but that trend itself is like a product. A product that she doesn't particularly like because if everyone of us brought into it we'd all look the same. However, what it comes down to is that whether you're a designer or a promoter you are trying to influence people to buy into the trends that you have acknowledged.

Trend is a funny thing. Designers can get inspiration from anywhere...history, culture, or a cupcake they see in a bakery or trend forecasters. Trend forecasters scour the land (the whole world!) looking at 'cool' things: a street, a shop, an artist, a subculture that has its own trend within society. Then they sit back and plan what will happen next. In the next 2 years, 5 years, 10 years, 100 years. I love it. And hate it.

Trend is like marmite. I sit here in my tapered trousers (the shape of the season don't you know!) and I wonder why I chose these. I didn't acknowledge they were in trend...I hadn't gazed at them in magazines, I hadn't spotted them on catwalks. I hadn't planned to purchase that particular style, I'd just gone into the shop and there they were but then subconsciously I might have planned to purchase them. After all, the designers for that shop had planned it. They'd researched, developed, seen them on celebrities and cool people at catwalk shows and filtered trend down for the high street where it has been successfully sold to me.

The business of trend is frustrating. Frustating and wonderful. It's rather amusing to think how it all comes about. Especially now, in the last throws of fashion week season with Paris Fashion Week in full swing. I wonder what makes people plan certain items to purchase and what makes others, like me, do it off the cuff with subconscious considerations. After all, Oscar Wilde said "fashion is a form of ugliness so intolerable that we have to alter it every six months" yet so many people have been dying for autumn to arrive so they can grab their shearling coats, boots, everything...

Hot Hot Heat: Goodnight Goodnight

2010-09-27T20:13:00.000+01:00

I have been rather bad at posting anything lately... and when I have it's been rubbish. However, today I became reacquainted with a song I used to love. It has really no relationt to my life, or indeed anything, but it reminds me of being 17.

I forgot Hot Hot Heat exhausted until iTunes did some shuffling and finally produced me with something different. Warner Brothers Records are mean and won't let you embed their YouTube videos so this is a random one...but check out the official video later.

Cannabis Over Breakfast

2010-09-15T21:28:00.000+01:00

I don't know why I've started appreciating the amusement in little things that happen at home...maybe it's because I might be leaving...but over breakfast lately I seem to laugh a lot. I don't know why as there are very few things that can make me smile in the morning.

As I was making coffee I noticed that there was a bag of green stuff in a plastic food bag. Surely not...no it must be...nah not cannabis. Not in my house. Then I notice it's sat on top of a tub of flour. Oh God, someone is going to make cannabis cakes. My dad. My dad cannot be doing weed in our house.

Turns out I wasn't the only one to consider it. My friend arrived for breakfast (she was early for work and decided to pop in) and my dad joined us. Only for them both to stare at the "cannabis" oddly and us to have to work out what it actually is. It was basil. My sister had decided to make a pizza at school using dried basil from a tub. (I said no and gave her fresh basil leaves.)

What I found most amusing about this though was that not only did three grown adults decide that cannabis was a more likely thing than herbs to find in my kitchen but that my dad then went into a detailed description of his cannabis consumption. Then my friend joined in, not thinking that it was odd breakfast conversation to be having with your friends father over Weetabix and a rather strong cup of Carte Noir instant.

Yes he'd tried it, no it wasn't always successful, skunk in fact sent him paranoid and gave him hallucinations. One of which involved hitting his ex-girlfriend over the head repeatedly with a spade. "One of those big flat ones like they have in America for the snow and stuff." I pictured the old guy brandishing his shovel in Home Alone automatically. This kind of violence must have stuck in my mind because in a recent dream I started banging a girls head repeatedly off hard surfaces (floors, walls etc). This is not healthy. Clearly people should be talking to me about happy, fluffy kittens and things. And not ones that have been shoved in a bin.

On an additional note my sister made the pizza. The dough base was actually made from a scone recipe because according to her teacher "pizza dough takes too long". The resulting cake pizza provided only added amusement to the entire situation.

Pop-up Cardboard Cinema

2010-09-07T21:16:00.000+01:00

The Cool Hunter have done it again...they've provided me with an article that shows a simple yet quirky idea that made me grin from ear to ear. Whilst people ramble on about being eco-friendly and are often ignored some concepts can't fail to make you reconsider if you're anti-eco.

This cardboard furniture can be assembled wherever, whenever then reuse or recycle. Feasible in reality? I like to think it could be. It's been used in museums and exhibition spaces so why not?!

Image from The Cool Hunter

Empty-headed Critisim

2010-09-06T19:35:00.000+01:00

Yesterday, after having a very bad morning, some lovely fellow decided to tell me that this "site" is full of "empty-headed b******s" and that the site name is very apt. So not only criticism me but my readers as well. I have had other comments that disagree with my opinions and calling me names for them but never have these people given their name. Whilst people have always put their names when saying anything nice "Anonymous" is clearly the alias for when people want to be nasty. It amuses me that this comment came on the article Guardian Soulmates and Short Men (I have now deleted it) as I can only assume he is an online dater that has been shunned by some women for being short. I was merely stating a strange fact of nature, not saying that you will never find love.

You know what my Granny always says: "If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything nice at all." My dad on the other hand just says: "Karma is a bitch so you don't need to be." Everyone likes a rant but blogs are to allow anyone to put across their opinion. If you disagree then put that across in an amiable way or keep your mouth shut and stop reading! This isn't just me suffering though, it's wonderful bloggers like Liberty London Girl. She calls these horrible people blog trolls.

Image from home.comcast.net

This blog is called First Class Ramblings. Yes, the name is apt, because I will ramble about whatever holds my interest at the time. It is not "empty-headed", I'm awell educated, but we don't all have to be pompous and self-righteous all the time now do we.

Lissie

2010-09-01T21:11:00.002+01:00

If you live in the UK you'll know that Lissie's debut album Catching A Tiger is being advertised constantly. So much so that snippets of her songs have embedded themselves in my brain and like I sheep I've gone and listened to her album. Listened but not yet brought, sorry Lissie.

She does have a wonderfully sweet voice. She reminds me of a more country version of Ellie Goulding. They have similar traits to their voices I think. Do you agree? Turns out she's actually teamed up with Ellie in Brighton and did a wonderful duet of Lissie's Everywhere I Go.

I'm sure lots of you will be aware of her but if not here's the song that go stuck in my head and most likely will stick in yours. Then you too will go and listen to it again and again if only in an attempt to get it out! Check it out on Lissie's myspace if you're not a fan of live versions... It is good quality though, promise! :o)

The Inbetweeners

2010-08-24T20:13:00.001+01:00

The Inbetweeners is back. Well it will be soon, the advert is on E4 and everything :o)

For you American's reading this The Inbetweeners is an epic comedy focusing on students in Sixth Form (for students aged 16-18, either at a school or a college) that spectacularly encapsulated what it it is like. Not only is it realistic but it is also very funny. I'm not sure you'll get it...I only attended a school in America for like three weeks and it was not like this...but please try and find it on the internet. That is if you enjoy English humour, The Office anyone? It has a massive cult following over.

I find The Inbetweeners hilarious. School is nothing like The OC/One Tree Hill/Laguna Beach or any of that American stuff. It's painful, full of bullying, all about sex and when you hit Sixth Form an awful lot of fun. Just like The Inbetweeners. I really hope their last year is like mine...full of 18th parties with bad music, lots of dancing and lots of gossiping about the parties the week after. Let's be honest though, they probably wouldn't get invited.

One of my friends likes to think he's like Jay, the one who pretends to have lots of girls, but I personally think he's more like Simon, the one that pines after Carly. Don't know but there's something there that just reminds me of him. He'll hate this. I probably shouldn't post it on the internet...

That's about all really, I'm just excited. Anyone else a fan? It starts in September if you are! :o) Here's a snippet to get you as excited as me...

Trend Repeat

2010-08-24T19:56:00.000+01:00

Everyone is blabbering on about Autumn/Winter 2010/11 fashion. What's more, during this blabbering they are completely disregarding summer (I know it's optimistic but it's August so I'm hoping for more sun) and wishing it away so they can wear long boots, wool coats, shearling etc. Yes, it looks good, but you know what? It's been done.

Victoriana, womanly cuts, A-line, fur... I love fashion but I sure wish people wouldn't go on and on about things being all exciting and wonderful when in fact they are rather similar to last year. Sorry, I sound bitter, I'm not. In fact, I love fashion, but is anyone else getting deja vu?

Beauty's going all copycat on us too. Time to drag out that red lipstick again! Vogue's rundown of how to wear the look worries me. " Draw on a deep Cupid's bow. Take the colour slightly beyond your natural lip line." Beyond your natural and drawn on reminds me of a clown or a five year old playing dress up. I'm very blonde, very pale and have teeny rosebud lips... Anyone that knows something about beauty care to offer me some advice on how this is supposed to work?

Dolce and Gabanna Image from Vogue

Guardian Soulmates and Short Men

2010-08-20T19:49:00.000+01:00

I have read many of Caleb's tales of dating sites and laughed out loud. However, this week humorous online dating escapades came up in the office. At Fused Magazine one of the lovely girls that works there decided to log onto Guardian Soulmates and regale us with the stories of freaks that have contacted her.

She apparently chose Guardian Soulmates because the people on there aren't as stupid and they're often quite creative...perfect for her then. She put in her requests, the main one being they have to be over 6ft tall, and has since had a multitude of very random responses. One being a telling off because she only wanted someone over 6ft tall when she herself is only 5ft 4. The man doing the telling off was 5ft 8 or something so didn't see why she needed someone taller than that. I fear though that his height may have been an issue for him otherwise he wouldn't have been so touchy about it. I predict he was really about 5ft 6, max, and fed of being ruled out by women.

Women like someone taller than them. What's more, they want someone that is taller than them in 6 inch platform heels. They may never wear 6 inch platform heels but they want the option. That's not too much to expect. I'm lucky, boy is definitely over 6ft. He was 6ft when I met him but, spectacularly, I think he's still growing. It's just one of those things for women. Yes we have been known to fall in love with short men but it is rarely the preference.

Really though, the point is that you should not shout at someone you don't know on a dating site because they want someone taller than you. This isn't right. What also isn't right is signing up when you're married to find someone to swing with. No, no, no. Oh, and you probably shouldn't tell someone: "I would like to meet with you for coffee and chat. We can have intellegent chat and smiles whilst we gaze into each others eyes." Pass the sick bucket...

I wonder how people use Guardian Soulmates (other dating sites are available) in a realistic setting. There seem to be a lot of idiots on them, even on the posh ones meant for smart and creative people. So how does it work realistically? Do you plow through hundreds of weirdos and then finally just settle for someone half normal? Or should I just be signing up now just to have a good laugh when I'm feeling down and ignoring them when I'm a lonely old cat lady? After all, at Fused we came up with many tales of swingers, short men, perverts, S&M hotels and many many more things...all prompted by Guardian Soulmates. So, thanks Guardian for providing some laughs.

Forever 21 comes to the UK

2010-08-20T10:52:00.000+01:00

Obviously I read other peoples blogs...and lots of them feature Forever 21. The outfits they posted looked good and were priced cheaply, so I was jealous we didn't have them here in the UK. I could have ordered online but it's just not the same so Forever 21 was shunned on my bookmarks until such a time that England was deemed worthy. We took Topshop to America after all, it's only fair to share!

Now that time has come, hurrah! Forever 21 have taken over a shop in Birmingham's Bull Ring, directly opposite H&M. It was announced months ago but now the signs are up and everything. My first thought was that it will be probably be like H&M...very good in the press, very shit in real life. I mean, nothing H&M has featured in magazines is ever available in the stores. Plus, they inevitably end up looking like a jumble sale. Needless to say my brief excitement was replaced by nervous curiosity. Any American readers want to tell me what we can expect from Forever 21 here in Birmingham?

Images of Forever 21 Interiors from Blood Sweat and Fashion

Beep. Beep. Beep.

2010-08-13T14:31:00.000+01:00

Beep. Beep. Beep.

It's 3 in the morning and that's all I can hear. Pretty sure it's the boys phone or something.

Beep. Beep. Beep.

I realise it's my laptop. It didn't shut down properly and now the battery has died because it is crap.

Beep. Beep. Beep.

Boy: "Something's beeping."
Me: "Yes. I think it's my laptop."
Boy looks at me.

Beep. Beep. Beep.

ARGH!

I get up. Attempt to turn it off. It's not having it. I take the battery out. Piece of shit battery doesn't last 5 minutes (literally) when the laptop is on but on standby it lasts 10 HOURS!! What kind of evil genius created Toshiba laptops and allowed this to happen to me at 3am? No wonder I'm tired. Bloody good job I only just found out where the hammer and other tools are kept.

Cake Britain

2010-08-13T14:05:00.001+01:00

So...there's an amazing exhibition coming up in Covent Garden. Art and cake...2 of my favourite things. I've wrote an article about it for Fused so no point really re-writing about it here. Think Heston Blumenthal's fairytale feast and the Skoda advert but you can eat the end result. Amazing.

Nostalgia

2010-08-10T21:47:00.003+01:00

No need to tell me I'm not old, after all I'm only 22, but I'm beginning to feel old. Not because of the reasons I listed in 22, 22 years ago, though these reasons are all still valid, but because things that have happened recently seem like lightyears ago.

Tomorrow Caleb, my little brother, is coming round to collect his birthday present before he goes on holiday. He'll turn four in a few weeks whilst he's at the seaside. Four years ago I was betting with the boy's mother and her friends, whilst at the seaside, how many hours my mother would be in labour and how heavy he would be. That feels like another lifetime. Understandable as it was four years ago and I was a different person then. I was wondering if I would stay with the boy through university (we broke up days later), how well I'd do (I'd get a first) and would I make friends (yes...and I lost some of them rather quickly after leaving too).

What I don't understand is that as I listened to Stereophonics on the way to work this morning their gig in Cardiff, which was a mere few months ago, also seems like years ago. Personally I think I'm going crazy. I'm hearing things, I'm seeing things and these things aren't there. It's quite possible I am becoming an old person...in mind terms. This is bad. How do you stop premature nostalgia?

Here's the opener from the gig: Trouble. Please let me marry a man like Kelly Jones. Only taller please.

Couple Dressing

2010-08-09T20:39:00.002+01:00

I don't know if this is a common thing but the other day at the pub I couldn't help but declare I was worried because whenever I see the boy we're dressed the same. Whether it's colours/material/pattern it has happened every time I've seen him for the last few weeks...we don't plan it. In fact we mostly get dressed at different times/in different places completely unaware until we're both dressed.

I remarked on this unusual occurance the first few times and he laughed and brushed it off....until I went to stay with him in Leeds and his flatmate went "awww how sweet, you match." We looked at each other and that was it then, I could see it had settled in with him and he wasn't too happy about it. That evening when we both walked into the living room in red shoes, and red shoes aren't common, he went "we've done it again." We went out for food, returned to his flat to meet friends before going out and he actually got changed. It amused me that he was concerned about couple imitation.

Turns out this isn't an odd thing. When I brought it up amongst friends apparently it's happened to them too and it's always uncomfortable. Has this happened to you? Is this a universal thing? You see, I found it quite comforting, I liked the idea that we had some form of psychic connection/inherent ability to coordinate with each other in the most basic of ways...maybe that makes me strange. Should I be forcing the boy into his room to change rather than just laughing about it?

Celebrities are mocked/praised because of it, fashion magazines ask whether this 'Couple Dressing' is trendy and photographers point out the irony of two people 'fitting' style wise... I found an entire collection in Reclarkgable's Behance portfolio called Couples. The images were so apt and so good, what with each photograph using the same models and the same poses just with some fabulous styling. Here are a selection that make my point perfectly.

Clear Out

2010-08-08T21:18:00.000+01:00

I had a MASSIVE clearout today. (Well actually it's still in progress as my floor looks like a bomb full of handbags has gone off!) In the process I discovered an old phone and fully intended to bin it as I don't even have the charger and the battery was dead. Instead my dad decided to wiggle some wires in it and hey presto, it's on. Then I spent two hours saving any data I could find....

...I found A LOT of photographs from about 5 years ago. And so they all went on Facebook. Much to the amusement/disgust of my friends. All were from the days we were in sixth form and brought back floods of memories. It's surprising what a little photograph can remind you of. A lot were of my baby sister, now nearly six, looking absolutely adorable. I got all nostalgic...not broody thank the lord.

I also discovered lots of diary videos my friend and I had put together discussing our latest woes/excitements/plans in love and friendship. HILARIOUS. I really hope nobody ever sees them but I have foolishly kept them for her to peruse as I'm sure it will put many things in perspective. Like the fact we had it so easy back then.

So....the moral of this story:

Have a clear out.
Save what you can.
Take the time to relive those old memories.
Dispose of anything you are shockingly embarrased about.

That's all folks! Let me know if you find anything interesting!

Catch up on your reading...

2010-08-02T14:19:00.002+01:00

I'm dotted throughtout this months Area Guide and on their website too. Sometimes my initials are at the end sometimes not...don't ask me why. The important thing is that whether or not LB is tagged on the end people will be reading things that I have written. It makes me all smiley and excited...and certain that I made the right choice doing an internship with Fused Magazine. Working for a smaller company certainly pays off. I've been writing actual articles rather than just cleaning the supply closet.

My articles are:
Inbindable Volume (page 4) - the first article in the mag :o)
Behind the Mask (page 12)
Six Summer Saturdays (page 14)
Shambala Festival (page 22)
Graduate Birmingham: Lorna Hirst (page 33)
Give it Some...Sourz (page 39)

I also compiled the big long list of What's on for Septmeber at the end. See...I've been working hard :o) I do not expect you to read them all. I'm just showing off as it's so exciting to see my work as it will look in print, in something that people will actually read...with LB at the end makes it even better!

I also wrote Claire's Twi-Hard Beauty Looks on Fused Magazine too...as well as having some of the Area articles published on there. What am I doing now? Compiling the fashion pages for Fused's magazine September issue. Birmingham is going to have some very stylish students. Oh...and organising work with Style Birmingham to help at their Style Birmingham Live event hosted by George Lamb. Busy busy...should probably stop blogging.

The Life Plan

2010-07-28T20:06:00.001+01:00

I am cynical and having some kind of quarter-life breakdown and therefore I don't have a plan. In fact, I dont see me having children or a job. Especially children, as today I spent a day with my mother, who is a childminder, and listened to a baby scream at an ear piercing level every time my mom was out of sight...even if the baby had caused that by bum shuffling across the floor.

What I see is a magical glass house that changes colour and texture with the flick of a button and a really hot husband. In fact...to be honest I don't see one husband, I see different ones at different times, I just presume we'll be married because at some point I would like a wedding.

Why would I like a wedding? I want the excuse for a massive party, I want gifts and I want a pretty dress. Primarily I want a pretty dress. A pretty expensive dress. Vera Wang, I have you pencilled in for this magical day that happens in a time not yet determined. In fact, it may be so magical it's timeless and you can nip in and out of it at will.

Vera Wang Dovima and Wedding Dresses

Images as shown on Vera Wang.

So, yeah..I live in fantasy.

A gorgeous friend of mine has 'The Life Plan' and revealed it to me and my little group over drinks on Monday and I almost spat my drink all over her. She wants kids within four years, which means she needs to be married in two, which means she has to be engaged NOW to allow planning time. This isn't a rare thing, in fact women have been known to plan wedding dates without even a boyfriend in sight as you can read here. My problem with this? She's 22.

Her: "I told him that we'll be having kids soon so he needs to get onto proposing but he's just sat on his arse not doing anything about his life."
Me: "Hold on a sec, you told him you're having kids soon? If I told my boyfriend that he would say he's nipping out to pick up some milk and then boom. I'd never see him again."

I mean this wholeheartedly. In fact, please note technically we don't even have a label. Let alone a life plan. I can tell you this though, our Grand Designs style house would be epic. And there would be no babies in it. Babies and glass don't mix. Think of the paw prints he'd have to wipe up... I would not be doing it.

Calum Harvey: Not Just A Label

2010-07-16T12:21:00.001+01:00

Calum Harvery is a good bloke. Not only does he regale me with amusing stories, delays getting back to his studies to ensure that I get back to the Midlands when the Tube decides to be rubbish but he also gets drunk with me at inappropriate moments. These moments are very sporadic, we don't see each other anywhere near as much as I'd like, but if someone will sit outside a bar wearing an oversized jumper, rescued in a recycling mission, that has a black bin bag fused to the front all in the name of experimentation then you know they're special.

And he is. So special Not Just a Label have featured him on their front page. He moves randomly around the page but he's there. Check it out because his clothes are pretty good too. He's another Graduate Fashion Week 2009 winner, nabbing himself the Textiles Award. Awwww. Shame people have now taken our crowns. Read the amusing tale from our Graduate Fashion Week Winners Reception for more tales of Calum.

And Calum if you read this yes I am rubbish at keeping in touch even when I start the communication. I am messaging you back in just a moment.

First Day at Fused

2010-07-14T16:24:00.001+01:00

I had my first day at Fused yesterday...and it went alright I think. Thank God. I compiled for articles for Area, their local West Mids guide, which goes to print Friday, and wrote about a fundraising music photography auction for the website: Teenage Cancer Trust Six Shooters Auction.

I'm not going to say it's my best work, I've wrote more unique things, but it is very nice to see my name published with an actual article somewhere that is not here...and it's in the most popular articles section currently too after only going online last night. Yay! Check it out.

Not quite Twi-hard

2010-07-10T16:25:00.000+01:00

Something terrible happened. After moaning about the fact the Twilight films seemed to be lacking something my wonderful aunt forced the books into my hands: "You'll like them, I promise." I didn't believe her and so they have sat in a bag in the room for months. Literally. Until now.

This week has been relaxation week. After breaking up from work for the summer I've taken a week to unwind before starting my work placement at Fused Magazine. Apparently I can't just do nothing and so my fingers itched their way to that bag and I began to read. And there I found it...what's missing from the Twilight films: Bella's personality.

In the books she is quirky, cool, pretty, funny, clumsy, sarcastic and generally has bags of personality. The Bella Swan that people know and love (though I don't know why) from the films has none of this. Ok, so Kristen Stewart is pretty, but as Bella she lacks that personality. In fact, I don't think she cracks a smile at any point in the film. I re-watched it last night fearing I was being harsh but still saw no smile. Every other character though is spot on. Well...except for the fact that the supposedly extremely beautiful Dr Cullen and Co. are not all that beautiful. They're just creepy. And at no point does their skin (Edward included) ever look like diamonds.

I have now become obsessed with finishing the books. Stephanie Meyer's writing is fabulous. I have devoured both Twilight and New Moon in record time, have started on Eclipse and brought Breaking Dawn today. It cost me £15 as it is only currently available in hardback...and now I've just seen it half price online (follow my link). I must be stupid. How did this happen?! When reading the books you can create your own imaginary world. Everyone in my world is the same as in the films but Bella...but maybe it's pure jealousy the Kristen Stewart gets all close and personal with not only Robert Pattinson but Taylor Lautner too. Lucky girl.

No matter my opinion, it looks like Twilight is here to stay. Sorry to all those boys that just wish their girlfriends/wives/daughters would shut up about it! Read the books, avoid the films. Well, try at least, I have a feeling you'll struggle now Eclipse has been released at cinemas.

The Best Hunter Wellies

2010-07-06T10:31:00.000+01:00

They're the item for festival season...and have been for several years. A little glimpse of that rectangular label on the front of a pair of wellies and there's no denying which brand they are: Hunter. In fact, they've only become more of a statement as celebrities snatched them up (everyone from Kate Moss to Sarah Brown has been snapped in a pair) and Jimmy Choo jumped on the band wagon and collaborated with Hunter to create those black snakeskin wellies. (And just so you're in the know, they now come in other colours too. Including ultra high shine silver.)

Sarah Brown and Naomi Campbell at Glastonbury.

Brown wears charity Water Aid Hunter's (£49.99) and Campbell, true to form, wears Jimmy Choo's (£255).

Image from The Daily Mail.

For me, there is only one style of Hunter wellies. They're the classic tall style, perfect for knee deep mud, they're a great colour (a twist on the traditional black) and would look amazing worn with short shorts and a rain mac. What's more, and this is important, they're affordable. We aren't all celebrities, we can't all afford £250+ for a Jimmy Choo pair, but these are only £47.99 and they're an absolute style classic. Bravo Cloggs.

Hunter Wellies - Original Tall - Navy, £47.99 at Cloggs.co.uk

The Big Job Hunt

2010-07-05T20:37:00.002+01:00

I have officially finished work for the summer. Well...I have finished full time work for the summer, I start a work placement at Fused Magazine a week tomorrow and I am massively excited. I will be writing articles, researching, helping out with their marketing/PR activity and organising their 10th birthday bash. Awesome! Sounds a bit full time though doesn't it? I'm going to become superwoman to get it all done with only two days in the office a week!

Despite this excitement it is time to look for a "proper job" again. Due to my father's encouragement I have a meeting on Wednesday about "going on the dole". It will be terrible. I hate the Job Centre. However, hopefully they will help my summer cash flow whilst I'm off work and will of course push me to sort a job.

Now, what do I want to do...in no particular order...
1. Be a fantastical magazine editor.
2. Do the marketing for Burberry (they are so on it right now!)
3. Be a fashion buyer extraordinare.
4. Write a novel.
5. Take the world by storm.

Now...any chance of all these things being incorporated into one job? Anyone reading this who will give me a job? No, thought not.

So I'm a Geek...

2010-07-04T12:26:00.004+01:00

I like to pretend it isn't true on occassion but I am, most definitely, a geek. I love gadgets, I love what technology can do and I always get excited when I see something that utilises these aspects in a fashionable, design focused manner. Hence, yesterday I succumbed and brought the iPhone 4. Don't judge me. (And yes, I love it. And no, it hasn't broken - signal is fine and I have no weird yellow dots...yet!)

Despite this now gadget purchase this weekend I am most excited about an article I read on Style Bubble "Furthering with Furber". Whilst I usually try to publish new material rather than material I've read elsewhere I feel this is necessary... Aesthetically amazing, technically developed and as eco-friendly as a shoe can be...

Icica from Helen Furber on Vimeo.

Helen Furber's Icica project has a quality that is very rare to see within graduate work...and as a recent graduate I have seen my fair share...and I can't wait to see what she does next! She's not the only one showing potential from her class (check out the magazine Furber put together showcasing work from students on her course at her blog) but she's definitely the most forward thinking. I envision recycling and swapping, mixing and matching heels with uppers for a truely bespoke way of design.

Images and video taken from Helen Furber's Vimeo and LCF pages.

Handmade

2010-07-02T20:49:00.000+01:00

A couple of weeks ago I wrote about Jennifer Behr and pondered on how Topshop could think it was ok to sell me an elastic homemade-looking headband for £14 and decided I could make one just as good. Whilst some people (Caleb!) thought this was a stupid idea (If you get a home-made headband and wear it out and about, I want to see it!) and doubted how professional I am it's nice to see that handmade items have been given a new lease of life by the internet.

From Etsy to Folksy creatives are putting pen to paper and needle to thread to create some unique pieces just for us...and they're fabulous! You can get everything from vintage style cupcake toppers to stunning leather creations to adorn the newest gadgets. Yes, you can even adorn your new iPhone 4/iPad in some wonderful designs and all handmade. I need some of these in my life soon....

Alice in Wonderland Cupcake Toppers (£10 for 12) and Journal (£17) by Craftypagan Designs.

Bird Cuff (£19), Lace Cuff (19), Walkman iPod/iPhone Cover (£20), Flower/Print iPod/iPhone Cover (£26), Cherry Blossom iPad Case ($90), Wood Print iPad Case ($90) available from Beautiful Skin at Folksy or Etsy.

Neve Hex Bib Necklace ($98.50) and Marianne Trien Bib Necklace ($69.00 - sale item) by Giia

Family: who'd 'av 'em?

2010-06-28T19:39:00.001+01:00

I love my family. Very much. I just thought I'd clarify that before telling you that right now I want to kill them. I don't know whether it's my fault really. I'm 22, I like my own space, I've moved home after three years of living with friends 90 miles away and my tolerance is low when it comes to annoyance.

After spending a spectaular long weekend in Barmouth, Wales, I returned today literally five minutes before my dad and sister walked in the door. My sister, who at 11 has turned into a character from Kevin and Perry Go Large (a film she doesn't even know exists because it was before her time) stropped in without a smile, without asking about my weekend, and then proceeded to be everywhere I wanted to be. My father proceeded to tell me what a crap day he had in no certain terms willing me to ask why it was this way. I didn't.

Retiring to my room I tried to pretend they weren't there. They were ruining my post-holiday buzz. I was followed...my dad in a strop because now the boy is back he won't have a babysitter. (The boy is back literally just for four nights and then he's off to Europe for a month before returning to Leeds...I mean Christ, cut me some slack.) Then he shouts at me because I don't want to know what's been happening in my very short absense and strops out telling me to ring my aunty.

I swear, I live with mental people. This or I'm mental. According to my doctor I'm too stressed and need to reduce the stress, "is that possible?" My response: "I live with my dad, what do you think?"...turns out she'd seen my dad just that morning so no wonder she kept her mouth shut and just gave me a knowing look. According to my cheerful father depression has some genetic elements and so in 20 years I'll be rather like he is now. Lord help me. One thing's for sure...I've came back to reality with a right bump when I walked through that door.

World Cup vs Lemonade with Gran

2010-06-23T16:55:00.000+01:00

Today I finished work at 2:30. Nearly 3 hours before I'm meant to. Why you ask? The World Cup of course! I'm not into football at all (sacrilege I know) but I skipped out with everyone else, strolling through an overly busy village to home as everyone else rushed to get to their rightful location by kick off at 3pm.

Where was I at 3? I was delivering a plant to my Granny for her birthday and drinking lemonade. I most certainly was not watching the football. Now it's all over and after two horrendous draws we've only bloody won one. England 1 - 0 Slovenia. Awesome considering we were literally booing our own players just the other day. More importantly for me it means the boy will be happy, we won and we're still in the World Cup... Well, he'll be happy with the result, he most definitely will not be happy that he had patients all afternoon (he's just about to start his final year as a dentistry student) and I had the time off and still didn't watch the match.

What matters though is that my Gran loved her plant.

I love Jennifer Behr

2010-06-18T17:29:00.007+01:00

I love Jennifer Behr. I do. She's wonderful. Definitely just makes me think of Blair Waldorf though and a wonderful life where a headband is not just a headband, it's a crown...and you know what? I want a crown.

Images from the Jennifer Behr Website

Sailors Knot ($172), Encrusted Ribbon/Chain Wrap ($228), Denim Rosette ($138) and Patent Spiked Bow ($228)

Due to a big dance festival work closed early as our bosses headed off the weekend and we got to go shopping. Well, we got to go shopping after I made some elasticated headbands, painted flowers, cut feathers and added them all to make some fabulous head dresses. So today I went scouring the high street to find some Jessica Behr knock-offs as she is massively out of my price range. (Even though the prices are in dollars I still know when a headband is out of my league!)

I failed completely in my search. Well...that's a lie, there are some nice headbands out there. Not Jennifer Behr but good, from chic to embellished. The only problem is as I can actually now make flamboyant head dresses I'm sure I could embellish a simple headband or, indeed, make an elasticated/ribbon based one myself. Therefore, I couldn't bring myself to part with over 10 well earned pounds for a headband. The only problem is I'm pretty sure I'll never get round to making one myself. I'll definitely need to bribe myself to the haberdashery store.

The Perfect Telephone Voice

2010-06-16T19:42:00.001+01:00

There is a voice for everything. We all know it. Whether you're trying to be charming, formal, annoying, deal with children or are on the telephone. That's always the best. Everyone loves a good telephone voice. For me, it isn't just about tone alone. It is the tone and the accent. I go all la-di-da. As does my boss at work, God love her. Her husband becomes more common and approachable all "mate" this and "mate" that if he's trying to do a deal. Our manager is quite clipped. Not in a nasty way, just so nothing is misconstrued...she's all professional, concise and clear.

O2, being such a massive corporation in the UK, have it absolutely nailed. Before I explain why I will take this opportunity to say this can't always be the case, I've just been lucky.

Sitting there listening to their absolutely awful hold music, which, just as I get into it changes to a woman telling me that I'm on hold. SHOCK. I gasp, I hold back tears...who knew? Oh yeah, you told me before and then put the music on. Basically I was getting very bored. Then...and this happened last time as well...a lovely man with an awesome accent comes on the phone.

This time he was Irish. Last time he was from Newcastle and was all Geordie. I'm crossing my fingers for a Welsh man next time. And yes, they were all male...I'm sure SOMEONE who works at O2's call centre is female, I just haven't spoke to them yet. These men were good. No harsh accents, no foreign accents (which sadly scream "cheap labour in India") and most definitely no hint of boredom or annoyance at their jobs. They've been calm, soothing and gave me what I wanted - potentially because I have some charm myself? Their accents topped them off though. There's something so approachable about their accents! It's the boy-next door factor. Bravo O2! You have discovered the perfect telephone voice.

Facebook Stalking vs Actual Psychotic Episodes

2010-06-15T20:08:00.001+01:00

When we talk about why we use Facebook some girls use it for a very specific reason: Facebook stalking. They'll admit this. At work the other day one of the girls said "oh no, I didn't see that. I only really go on to stalk Josh." I should point out Josh is her boyfriend...who she clearly doesn't trust. Other Facebook stalking includes those who just hover on the News Feed to pick up on any/all gossip possible and those that trail after friends, ex's, friends of boyfriends etc.

All pretty harmless...or so you think.

Then I find a site called "Psychotic Letters From Men"...a blog that posts exactly what it says on the tin over the course of a year. It stopped in February but that doesn't prevent it from providing some rather amusing/scary stories. These "letters" after all, are actually mostly sent over the internet via email/social networking. Psychotic men tracking women down over the internet that they haven't spoke to in ten years plus in some instances. They verge from the self-deluded and apologetic to the downright insane and delusional.

Thank God for privacy settings. I've just upped my considerably! Check out the site asap in case they decide to shut it down entirely and make sure to click through to older posts are they're better...though lengthy in some cases!

Here's a quote though from PLFM Quickies: Cat Thoughts afer Amy reminded Alan he had no right to enquire about her cat after he once threatened to kill it:

From: Alan
To: Amy

I was nice to you to send you back your stuff. Now you write something like this.

Forget it. Just forget it.

Karma will get you. It starts now.

You are now in my kill file.

Poorly sick = Chick Flick

2010-06-14T13:24:00.000+01:00

I'm sick. Not the *cough, cough*, *sniffle, sniffle*, "pass me the bucket", kind of sick. I have tonsillitis. Yes, as a friend has told me, it is a childs illness and at 22 it's about time I just have them pulled out. This is, after all, the second time I've had this in six weeks.

I always thought it was a mild illness until I realised it could effect everything...from giving you earache and headache to making you sick. My God. How do you fix it? In my case it's antibiotics. One problem though...I'm allergic to Penicillin and some other stuff. When I went off to the emergency doctor yesterday, expecting him to be very helpful, I told him of my allergies and his response was "well what exactly do you want me to give you then?" My response: "Well I don't know. YOU'RE the doctor." This was said with less force than I'd have liked because my throat was too bloody sore to voice my irritation properly.

So...in an attempt to make myself feel better I have digested chick flick after chick flick. After all, tonsillitis came on whilst in the cinema watching Letters to Juliet. (Nothing spectacular but a proper chick flick with lots of shots of the very beautiful Italian landscape.) I've watched everything from She's All That to 17 Again, embracing my childish romantic side. I challenge anyone under 25 to not find Zac Efron attractive when he steps out of that car on his first day back at school post K-Fed disaster.

On my first (and hopefully last day at work) I'm now sat wondering why chick flicks are the answer. Holed up in bed looking decidely NOT gorgeous, depite what the boy may think - he's not here to see the mess I am after all, I am indeed miles away from proclamations of love and dreamy days out in the sunshine. Despite all this I have completely ploughed through my collection, sleeping through a few I must say, so what next? Any ideas?