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!

my youtube world

"i boarded a plane to the youtube world,

and in front of my eyes I watched it unfurl.

tmb, vlogbrothers, alex day and charlie,

follow me on twitter @SallyTMB!!"

-the skinny jeans cover of The Dance Routine

So today, I guess if you are looking at this you have some time to spare. Maybe you are bored, maybe you are avoiding something... but the reason doesn't matter right now, you are still sat (i presume) at your computer, reading this. I really want to take this opportunity to write about my favourite people on youtube.

Youtube is possibly one of the greatest websites ever invented... there is quite literally something on it for everyone, weather you like comedy, vlogs, just general homemade videos, music... there is something for you, I guarantee. Onwards, I hear you cry!

Okay, so first up is Charlie Mcdonnell, a.k.a. charlieissocoollike. "An English twenty-something that makes videos" He describes himself. Making videos about everyday life, as well as special things just for youtube, as well as taking suggestions from some of his over a million subscribers, he also posts music from himself and his band, Chameleon Circuit which includes, among others, Alex Day (see below). You name it, Charlie can do it.

Charlie was the one who basically introduced me to youtube (well, really it was my cousin who introduced me to Charlie...) and me and that cousin used to stay up all night and just watch all of his videos. Here's why:

Next up it's Nerimon, or Alex Day, who posts a video once a week (always around four minutes long) where he talks about stuff. It's like a vlog, but funny!

The Vlogbrothers are two American brothers (John and Hank) who take it in turns to do short videos to each other, some are educational, some are rants, some about day to day life and some are funny. Nerds Unite!!

No description needed for The Midnight Beast.

I have loads of admiration for anyone that can sit and talk in front of a camera and interest people, and that is why I write, not talk.

my dreadlocks!

Ok, so after WAY too much time, and WAY too much Tetris, my dreads are finally finished. It would be an understatement to say I am relieved, and even thinking about the tiresome pain of backcombing and endless tantrums (I really can't help myself... when I'm tired I would shout at someone for making me a cup of tea.) makes me shake. But on this one occasion, I will recall the events of the past few hours:

Equipment:

I got this great Dreadhead HQ kit full of all the stuff you need to make dreadlocks off the internet, which came with shampoo, locking accelerator, wax, a load of grips and a metal comb. I was reading about it and it said that a plastic comb wouldn't work for this hardcore backcombing, and I was like "yeeeaahh... right.", but seriously, even the metal one started bending!! Also, my bible for this whole experience was the Dreadhead HQ website, so if you have ANY interest in dreadlocks, head right on over there.

Sectioning:

After washing my hair with non-residue shampoo, dad (my hairdresser- thank you!) undertook the fiddly task of sectioning the whole of my hair into sections, a bit smaller than the dread size I wanted.

Spraying the stuff on:

The 'stuff' is locking accelerator, and spraying it on is easier said than done.

Backcombing:

I'm not entirely sure what goes on here, you would have to ask my dad. Or the very good website I mentioned earlier. It does hurt unbearably when you start the dread off though...

woo! half done...

And finally, waxing:

Basically just putting a really small amount of special dread wax in each dread. Thisis a picture before the wax went in:

And here is it after, the final result! Yay!

Finally, my very own dreadlocks. The photos don't really show off the whole dready-ness of them, plus mature dreadlocks look better than half hour old ones (I hope!!)... What will my flute teacher say...

THANKS DAD!

Hair

"Oh dear, have you made a mistake?"

These are the oh-so-wrong words, spoken from my Granny. In fact, contrary to the afore mentioned hairdresser trip, this time my (poor, damaged) hair has been dyed almost correctly! And by my mother! Who had never even backcombed before!

Sure, it is sort of ginger, and bound to snap off any day now. And the back looks different to the front. And the blonde the hairdressers wrongly put in my fringe is a completely different shade. But who am I to complain? (Remind me never to pay more than £10 for any hair treatment by the way. Ever.)

(In case you were wondering, I used L'oréal Paris Perfect Blonde (ha) Creme Maximum Bleaching Kit, costing around £6 from Boots, and i did it by backcombing my whole head in sections- so I looked like a starfish- and then dying the ends.)