Christmas Gift Guide

This weeks pointless problem...

It's just the average western 1st world dilemma. Which one?

or...

Listening to:

Busted - Year 3000

11/11/11

I wish...

...and world peace, please.

Billy, Me & You

First things first, I have been terribly busy... With... School and stuff, so sorry about the lack of posts! *groan* so... much... revision... But I have managed to drag myself away from the joys of homework to write a little bit about mum's new book! Here you go:

Nicola Streeten (A.K.A my mum) has just launched a graphic novel about the death of her son and the four years of her life it took over, (OUT NOW!) and I was lucky enough to be at the book launch. As me and dad came (straight from school on the train) towards Corrine's house, right next to the British Museum, we could already see a few people stood in the window. Little did we know that a few hours later you wouldn't be able move for the amount of people clinking glasses and queuing to get their fresh new book signed. It went on from six to eight, the reuniting of mum's old friends, the congratulations from new ones. It was a rather jolly event, unlike the (apparently) heart-wrenching stuff packed inside the yellow cover. I, of course, haven't actually read it yet (I am working my way through every single previously existing graphic novel so that when I finally come to Billy, Me and You, I will be able to judge it honestly and fairly. And I haven't really had the time.) but I have heard raving reviews of it, where people have written in/called in tears from the gripping tale.

Sounds like your thing? Want to try something new? You can buy it by clicking HERE or popping into a Foyles or Waterstones.

harry potter

Okay, I have a confession to make. Since a few days ago, I had only seen two films and never read any books. I basically assumed it was rubbish (I can't remember either film, and strongly disliked any fantasy/magic type thing like that)... Well, all this changed a few days ago when I convinced dad to buy me the first book! I really don't know what spurred this on, I think I just wanted to see what all the fuss was about. (I am pretty late in realising anyway; even the true potterheads have died down a bit!)

Three days later, and I am begging for the next one after hardly putting the book down. I'm not really sure what it is about it, it's not particularly well-written (let's just say if i wrote the first few pages in my English exam, I wouldn't be top of the class...) but it has instantly likable characters, and a gripping plot... Well, that's what I think anyway!

Tattoo

Just pictures today.

eBay is my saviour

I have tried to use eBay before... To buy a Tamagotchi... I'm not too sure I really got the whole spirit of it though, as I was only little and I don't think I really understood the concept of money, let alone gambling it on pretty much any item over the internet. So after that day, I haven't touched it. Until last week.

As I mentioned in my previous post, I have developed a 'thing' for shoes, so I was searching Google for some orange high top trainers and somehow came across these beauties on eBay.

It was love at first sight. I think they put me in a trance and I'm pretty sure I was just sat there staring at them on my screen for about ten minutes... Now I don't know if it's just me that feels like this about them, but they are rare Puma's... and were only up for £8 including postage...

But I didn't bid yet; I has heard about this whole bidding lark and decided to wait until the last minute to put in my offer. Since it ended the next day and had already had two bids on it, I thought that was for the best.

So after spending the whole next day not being able to wait until I got home so I could spend some money, I settled down to my computer and typed in my bid. As soon as I had done so, the price rose... I tried again and the same thing happened... I waited. Those twenty minutes were the tenses ones of my life.. And then finally, in the last minute, I entered my offer and won! It was my first proper buy on eBay. Pretty successful if I do say so myself.

We've got our obsessions...

A few months ago, I would never be able to understand people that are obsessed with shoes... I thought shoes were pretty much only for protecting your feet and if anyone commented on the fact that 'all women love shoes' I would dismiss it as an ill-informed, sexist comment. Today, however, while I know this isn't always true, I have suddenly become slightly obsessed with what to wear on my feet...

Don't worry too much though, I'm not the average person as you will never catch me in high heels... I obsess more over sneakers. (No, I'm not American, but the word 'trainers' just brings up images of gym goers and professional sports people. As I try to avoid exercise, this is not what I buy them for.) Converse, high tops, bright colours and unusual shapes are among some of the things that pull me in.

So! Why the sudden interest in all this superficial stuff? Hmm.. I would put it down to a phase in life that will probably happen to everyone. I think it is part of growing up. (Well, this is what I tell myself so I don't feel as guilty spending all my money on shoes anyway..)

winged trainers, mickey mouse trainers, dr martens, black converse, lazy oaf creepers-sold out, blue creepers, white converse, leopard creepers, other creepers,

Maths exam

Lately I have been very busy with exams... Thursday was a mock Maths and Friday I had an English controlled assessment... I am still keeping my fingers crossed for a good English mark, but I know I got an A* in Maths! Let's just hope it goes that well in the real thing.

The day after I found out, we went to the Frieze art festival and coincidently, we stumbled across this A* piece of art.

p.s. to find out more about our 'adventure' at Frieze, take a look at Nicola's blog

Stay cool...

I made this in my last ever textiles lesson... No one gets it...

STICKAID 2011

This Saturday, 1^st October, was the best day of my life. You may laugh, my friend, but on Saturday I met the YouTube HEROS of my life. That’s right, this Saturday was the 24 hour charity event which is Stickaid.

I will start off with a brief introduction to Stickaid, because the likeliness is that you haven’t heard of it. I have to admit; I had no idea what it was when I booked two tickets for me and my cousin to be in the audience of charlieissocoollike and Sorted Food. Basically, it is a 24 hour fundraiser, getting money for UNICEF by inviting a load of YouTube sensations to come and co-present with the founder, Myles Dyer; the result of which is streamed live onto the internet.

So, as me and Sophie (my cousin) are MASSIVE fans of Charlie, we couldn’t quite believe it was real when we arrived in London a few hours before our 6-8 time slot. It was pretty hard to believe the reality of it all though, a few amazing things happened that day…

The first one of these miracles went like this:

“Sally look behind you.”

“What? Why?”

“Look behind you. Quickly. Look.”

“What? I can’t see anything..?”

Before I knew it, we were picking up our stuff and stalking a fraction of Chameleon Circuit. That’s right, Liam Dryden from the ‘Timelord Rock’ band and the blue hair guy  Tom Milsom were entering what looked like a Tesco Express. Sophie managed to slip them a hello.

Soon after, we decided we would head to the venue, and who should be stood outside but the AMAZING ALEX DAY!!

“OMG, NERIMON IS OVER THERE!!!”

He was really nice, and we got a picture with him.

After waiting a bit, we realise there was a crowd in the corner. A crowd concealing Sophie’s future husband, the man that was turning twenty one today. Yes, Charlie McDonnell signed my history book.

When we finally got into the recording room, I have some personal highlights:

· Sam Pepper was sat in front of me. Sam. Pepper. And he gave me half of his tiramisu, cooked by the Sorted Food team!!

· Charlie’s mum (lilliesarelike) gave me some of Charlie’s birthday cake, it was in the shape of a ukulele!

· I bought a tshirt. In fact, I’m wearing it as I type this!

So, yeah. That was one of the best days of my life.

Hair

If you don't follow me on twitter, then you won't know I have taken my dreadlocks out. I did it about a week ago, simply by using my fingers and brushing with shampoo. A lot. The reason? They just got annoying! They would have been too high maintenance to get them to a 'proper dreadlock-y' standard.

Now, I thought to myself, my hair is really boring... I should dye it! So last Friday, I decided to go into town. After waiting an hour for the bus in the sweltering heat, and about half an hour stuck in traffic, I finally got into Blue Banana to buy some hair dye!

I chose Coral Blue and Shocking Pink.

Snipping the tops off the bottles and shampooing my hair, I covered my body with an old towel and got to work, spreading the dye just on the tips.

I left it for about 25 minutes, and went to watch a bit of QI.

And then...

Voila! Pink and blue hair! Yes, I am wearing my Stickaid 2011 shirt...

Playlist of the Week:

Viva Brother - Darling buds of May

Marina and the Diamonds - Shampain

Metro Station - Shake It

very old clothes (aka vintage)

With me expecting a cardboard box of dirty corduroy trousers and mum expecting skinny waisted 1950's dressed, we headed down to Granny J's house to take a peek at her (now vintage) clothes.

Oh how wrong could we be! In the low roofed attic, perfumed with mothballs and sprinkled with dust, there were about five beautiful vintage suitcases full of what first appeared to be junk. Three of these suitcases were... not junk, just not what we were looking for... toys and children's clothes, but the other two were treasure chests!

Most of these things belonged to my mum and her siblings... it must be really weird to see your daughter want to wear the same clothes you did when you were her age! Among the chunky cardigans and turtlenecks, this is what I managed to salvage:

Covered in dust they may be, but after a wash, some of the things we collected are pretty damn good. They include an old guides top, two checked tops, some flared, high waisted jeans, a sort of tartan coat and a big, luxurious red coat which we still haven't got round to picking up... We also spotted an old record player thing in another corner of the room, hidden behind a baby gate. I have wanted one for ages, even though I don't own any records personally, and don't even particularly like old music... I just think they are nice objects.

We left a bit of a mess, but I (conveniently) had to go and pack my bags and left mum too it :)

Playlist of the week:

Marina and the Diamonds - Mowgli's Road

The Wombats - Techno Fan

The Hoosiers - Worried About Ray

it's fashion, innit.

hello,

Today, I am going to share with you my newest amazing things, (when I say new, I mean about a month old...) and my awesome picture poses. By the way, I am wearing my mum's 'vintage' Girl Guides uniform from all the way back in 1974. The little iron on badges don't say what they are for, but have little pictures on... One is a cup of tea, one is a girl throwing love hearts, one looks like a Roman building and the other appears to be a ghost. God knows what they got up to...

My Urbanears headphones are the new loves of my life. Seriously. They were the only thing I bought in Spain, but they sell them at Urban Outfitters as well...

BIG LOVE to my Converse (and ice cream socks)! I finally got some, and they have made getting dressed so much easier. Honestly, they go with everything in my wardrobe! They make my feet look really big, but that is one price I am willing to pay.

Also, did I mention I got some Doc Martens? Dad has 'been wishing his daughter would want some DMs', so jumped at the chance to spend my school uniform money on them... Oh well, I'm not complaining!;D

Now Playing:

The Midnight Beast - Fashion Innit Skit

P.S. My dreads look rather non-existant in these pictures, but I am thinking about getting rid of them anyway... They are starting to get seriously annoying!

I never knew I was a techno fan...

I have actually been obsessing over this for so long. Can't quite justify spending that much on a bag though...

underage festival 2011

I was looking through my blog posts, and just remembered I wrote this draft about the Underage Festival! It was quite a long time ago, so my bad for not posting about it earlier! Anyway, here it is:

So a few weeks ago, me and Amy went to the Underage Festival (a one day long festival that showcases the best talent to only people aged 13-17) in Victoria Park, London. It was pretty awesome.

After arriving two hours early, we were near the front of the queues, which payed off massively as who should be walking in front of the gates but Georgie Okell from T4 (wearing amazing trousers). I felt so star struck.

So, half an hour after we were supposed to be let in, we rushed in, picked up our free bags and found the Underage Festival Stage, where the first act was performing... Rizzle Kicks!!

We were literally in the second row, and were really lucky to get such a good view, considering pretty much the whole of the festival was there!

After watching a few more acts (Pulled apart by horses, Fugative and all that...) we casually wandered over to go and meet Bombay Bicycle Club. We were waiting for a while, even though we didn't really know who they were, but had heard they were famous so... Anyway, by the time we came out, there were already people lining up to go and meet The Midnight Beast... And I mean a LOT of people. The line basically went around the whole site!! But *cough* somehow, we ended up near the front.

So to set the scene: it's really hot, we have been waiting for about an hour, we were only a bit further down the line than we were when we met Bombay Bicycle Club, and the organisers had already told about 500 people (not including us) they wouldn't be able to see TMB. By now, we were about 15 minutes from getting into the tent, when they told everyone in the line that TMB had gone, and weren't signing anymore. Me and Amy were so angry. We had already missed the start of Roll Deep, and we could have been watching them.

blurry roll deep

After we had got over that, we went over to the Last.FM Stage to watch the last few songs of Roll Deep, and stayed on for Labirinth and then... *drum roll please* ... The Midnight Beast! We may not have got to meet them personally, but at least we could watch their performance, and what a performance! You could hardly hear them sing because everyone (and I mean everyone) was singing along!! And then the streamers went off into the crowd at the end and it was fantastic. Probably the best received show that day.

this is actually the midnight beast...

There was just time to go to the toilet and watch a bit of Bombay Bicycle Club before setting off home again.

Overall, there were good bits and bad bits, but I wouldn't have missed it. Here is my summary:

Best performance: Rizzle Kicks or The Midnight Beast

Best buy: Midnight Beast tshirt

Best stall: Merrimaking stall, but they ran out so we didn't get to make one, or the coke tent... Wooo free Coke!

Biggest disappointment: Not meeting the Midnight Beast!!

Worst part: The heat when your in a big crowd, and all the good bands clashing!

Festival fashion: LOADS of colourful dip-dyed hair (jealous!!), Ray Bans and Doc Martens.

And now... my feet and back hurt:(

On a side note, Pegasus Bridge pulled out two days before the festival because they split up.

PEGASUS BRIDGE HAVE SPLIT UP.. I still can't get over it, they were such an amazing band...