Penpal pandemonium

It feels like (and probably has been) forever since I last posted. Ooops. I do have a valid reason though - I was on holiday for two weeks and when I came back discovered that my computer had logged me out of my blog...and that I hadn't actually written down my password. After many frustrated attempts, I managed to get back in. I was actually incredibly relieved, which made me realise that I've become slightly attached to this blog, even though I haven't posted half as much as I wanted to this summer.
I start my new sixth form tomorrow and haven't been nervous in the slightest until I woke up this morning and actually started to think about the fact that is it tomorrow. But then I do tend to think too much and then I just end up worrying, so I decided to distract myself by getting up to date on here.
The holiday was wonderful, jut what I needed - a few weeks away from reality to do lots of reading in the sun, eating nice food and smiling. I also got my GCSE results ( which thankfully went very well, as I could have put a slight dampener on the holiday if I'd failed something) and also changed one of my A-Level choices from Drama to History. (I'm really hoping that was the right thing to do.)

 

 

Only have a few photos from the holiday. In the top photo, with my mum, I'm wearing a dress from Primark, that I managed to scavenge just a few days before we left, for FIVE POUNDS! I wore it all the time as it was so comfy and has a gorgeous vintage pattern.

The bottom one is on results day, we ate out at a restaurant called 'La Bodeguita' and it was so lovely. When we booked the table they asked if it was an occasion so I explained about results. When we arrived they had put a big sign up saying 'Felicidades' and little flowers scattered the table. I had a gorgeous pizza with pesto and cherry tomatoes and afterwards, they brought out this pudding for me (for free!). It was a wonderful night that I'll certainly remember - it just felt very special!

I really couldn't sleep last night and so was looking through Instagram

 (which is a bad thing to do when you can't sleep because it just makes you think about everything and anything and then you still can't sleep) and ended up looking through all of 'The Love Parcel's page - you HAVE to check it out (http://instagram.com/theloveparcel) or visit her website(http://theloveparcel.storenvy.com/). It is just to die for. I swoon looking at the photo's - I really can't put in to words what they make me think of so I am just going to list the words that come into my head (this is just proving how lacking my English / creative writing skills are!)

 

- romantics

-autumn

-lace

-nature

-love

-chunky knits

-rainy days

-polaroid's

-vintage-ness

-wonderful poetry

 

 

 

   

Basically, it's exactly what I wish my blog would look like! I just want to own every single thing that is sold (but it's my birthday soon so fingers crossed!). It made me think that that could be something I could do in the future: start up a little crafty business-type-thing to earn some money doing something that I love. Seems ideal! I can just imagine sitting by the fire on rainy days, creating beautiful little parcels and letters to send to strangers all around the world...then again I would hate it if I got sick of doing it because I had to...I'll think about it. I have way too much on now, but it really is something I would consider, maybe at uni to earn a bit (probably would be a very tiny weeny bit!) of money whilst keeping creative? (I literally have to have a creative outlet at all times or I actually get really grumpy.)

It also made me think about writing letters - which I love to do and often write to my grandparents, but that's it, as no one seems to send them anymore! So I was wondering if anyone would be interested in doing a penpal kind of thing? I figured here would be the perfect place to ask as anyone reading this probably has similar interests to me. I find the idea so wonderful - little messages travelling around the world, making peoples day a little brighter knowing that someone, somewhere has spent their time putting pen to paper for them. You could pop little pressies in the letter too, maybe something that you don't really want to keep - they do say 'one mans trash is another mans treasure' and I (obviously!) believe that is so true! Imagine coming home from an awful day at school and finding a beautiful handwritten letter, just for you, filled with little interesting thoughts, jokes maybe, song lyrics to share, and some little presents. It's a way of sharing what you think about and things you love.

I guess you can find out about each other, write about little thoughts that pop in to your head, but the great thing is, things that you find really dull about your life, other people will actually find really interesting, as it may be so very different to their lives or it not then it's interesting to talk about similar experiences.. It's a bit like blogging, I guess, but in letters and more personal! So, after all that, if anyone is at all interested please comment or get in touch! :)

 

 Wim x

(All credit for photos goes to The Love Parcel)

 

 

 

 

 

 

The room is turning slowly away from the moon

 

 

Hello,

I feel like my greetings are always so dull but what can you say other than hello , hi etc...? Hola? Greetings? I'll think on that. Anyway, this post is based around a wonderful little find I had yesterday. I had just got off the bus on my way to work and happened to see a charity shop open. I was 20 minutes early for work and so decided to pop in for a quick nosy. Little was I to know I was about to tumble across the greatest pair of shorts I think I will ever own. AND IN MY SIZE. I MEAN, WHAT ARE THE ODDS? They were high waisted, with a beautiful floral pattern with a black background and were only £3.50! It was obviously meant to be so I (very spontaneously for me) bought them immediately, along with a gorgeously elegant cream headscarf.

 

 

HERE THEY ARE! These photos really don't do them justice - they are so beautiful. (I apologise for the background in these photos i.e. the teddies etc. We were in a slight rush this morning so I just snapped a few pics before I left. I will get round to using a more creative setting one of these days!)

 I know the rest of my outfit is quite dull really, just back tights, black shirt and I wore brown boots and a maroon cardi, but the shorts and hair were my main focus today!

And ohhh the headscarf. My friend slept over last Thursday and we were messing around with one of my headscarf's and she (jokingly, to start off with) twisted one around a bit and twisted it then around my head. I was feeling rather ridiculous until I looked in the mirror and realised that with a few adjustments and clips, this could be a look I could pull off. And so today, I finally did it. I did something with my hair. I honestly never do anything with my hair because... well, I just don't like my hair really! But today I tried it and I think it went alright? It probably doesn't look like much but it felt so weird as normally I just have my hair down, covering my face and chest! I felt so ridiculously sophisticated and with a slap of my cheap red lipstick and my groovy shorts I felt more confident than I have done in a looong time. it felt very 'vintage-esque' as well, which made me feel all the more comfortable and...well, me!

 

 

 I threw on some (VERY cheap) gold earrings and this camera necklace I bought in the sale at Culture Vulture in Leeds ( amazing shop), and I feel that this pulled the whole look together.

Today was a brilliant day. I went shopping for the first time in a long time - honestly, I felt like I was having withdrawal symptoms. I actually think I am having withdrawal symptoms from 'Our House'. The shows all went amazingly well (apart from Saturday matinee, but honestly, that show is best forgotten about...) and I loved every second of it. I get way too attached to the show and the people at these things. (We got some brilliant 5 star reviews too!)

Anyway, today was shopping at White Rose Centre in Leeds, mostly for the holiday this time next week! I actually hardly bought anything for the holiday as I just saw so many other things that I didn't need at all but absolutely fell in love with at first sight! I'll take some pics of everything I bought soon, probably on Wednesday, as I'm working all of tomorrow, but honestly, some things were just to die for!

It was so lovely to be able to get dressed up again after weeks of rehearsals in sports gear! My mum also treated me to my first proper red lipstick from The Body Shop, as she was buying an orangey one and they were on three for two. Safe to say I've fallen in love with it and it
 probably won't last very long! I'm going out with some friends on Wednesday night so that's another chance to get dressed up woopee! (Just read that back...oh god. Sounds very sad, but that is my life as of now!)

I'm off to watch the end of 'Wuthering Heights' now (with Tom Hardy, mmmm). Hope everyone's having a wonderful summer! Much love,

Wim x

OUR HOUSE

Morning!
It's been a while I know, but thought I'd do a quick post. my mind is a bit everywhere right now as I'm doing a workshop for a show that we put together in a week and then perform in a real theatre to the public etc. so I'm a tad stressed. I'm also shattered as we have been in Holy Island a few weeks ago (which is my FAVOURITE PLACE IN THE ENTIRE WORLD, will put pics up soon). I'm starting to get into the rhythm of blogging; as in, when I don't do it, I miss it a bit and feel as though I have a lot to say.
The show is 'Our House', the Madness musical and opens at The Grand Opera House in York TOMORROW! You can get your from www.atgtickets.com. It would be great if anyone fancied coming to see it as its a great show with brilliant music, but tickets haven't sold so well this year because no one has heard of it before! I'm off for a final dress rehearsal right now, so thought I would get this quick post done as I'm not back till ten. I've loved doing this musical as you just cant get the songs out of your head. Having a decent part also helps but it just makes the whole experience more exciting! (I'll hopefully get some outfit posts next week before I go abroad.)

 

 

 

Have a lovely week!

Wim x

 

 

 

 

Le tour de Yorkshire

 Hi there. I'm sorry that this post isn't fashion related but this weekend has been ALL about the Tour de France here in Yorkshire (and the rest of England, presumably?). It feels as though we have been waiting for this weekend for months and on Friday I realised that it was here as my entire family seemed to turn up on our doorstep. Yesterday we went to Harewood for 'Le Grand Depart' (I think people need to realise that putting 'le' in font of all English words does not necessarily make them French words) and I was not looking forward to it, to say the least. Dragged out of bed at half past six to sit in a cold, rainy field all day and watch some sweaty men ride past on a bike for ten seconds. Not my cup of tea. Or cup of hot chocolate. Or whatever.
     But it was actually SO GOOD! I massively underestimated how organised it would be and how relaxing an afternoon simply sitting in the sun can be. I don't have many interesting pictures to be honest - most of them are of the sky. I was a bit busy soaking up the atmosphere and actually I was a bit wary about having my camera out too much as there were so many people around.

(This IS my cup of hot chocolate. Which was much appreciated whilst sat in a damp field at eight o clock on a Saturday morning.)

 

 
     The part of the day that I found most exciting was when Kate, Will and Harry arrived (!). My family didn't seem to have a clue what was going on and must have been slightly confused when I started jumping onto my chair to get a decent view of them. I just think it's so exciting to be 100 metres away from royalty that you have watched on TV your entire life. I mean, he's the future King, for flips sake! I've always been fascinated by royalty though, whether its nowadays or in the Tudor Court etc. so maybe it's just me.
 
     Then the Red Arrows flew across (not too sure what they are but they made some pretty colours in the sky so I was happy) and I'm pretty sure that's when we sang the national anthem, as you do. After the bikes rode past at about 12ish, we just seemed to chill for the rest of the afternoon. It was boiling hot, (I actually got quite burnt) and it was lovely to just watch the race, have a wander round the stalls(all cycling themed, no vintage at all, sob) and relax in the sun. I also had a yummy lunch, a salad that I'd picked up from M+S, because I was being a healthy bean - which was promptly followed by a doughnut and a Callipo. Oh well.
 
 

 

I've really been getting back into Pinterest lately (link for my page is on the right hand side) because you can just type in whatever you want and so much STUFF comes up - I could just sit and look through it all for days. But it's also brilliant for expressing what kind of look you're wanting to achieve, as you can juxtapose pictures (fancy word) to create effects, show what era you are into etc.

To see sources for these photos, check out my Pinterest.

 

Here are a few photos I found last night. I love the chilled vibe the colours seem to have; muted browns, caramels, champagne pinks, creams...they all blend so well and it makes me think of hazy summer days that's seem to last a lifetime.

 



Wim x

 

 

 

 

 

Lips as sweet as candy

     Hello again. So here is pretty much my first punctual post. I bet you're incredibly excited. Well, I am -  as you can tell from the incredibly moody photograph. Lots of pics and not really much to say today. But first outfit post yaaaay for me for remembering!

     I went to Meadowhall today with my mum. For those of you who don't know, Meadowhall is a huge shopping centre just outside Sheffield, and its a great place but you walk around it once and it feels like your feet are on fire. We were going just to pick up some black jeans and a few blouses for my new school in September. You are supposed to dress 'Business casual' which basically says to me 'We don't have a uniform, but here's a really vague dress code for you to decode during summer.' I actually bought a beautiful mustard-y coloured blouse from H and M that I am very excited about wearing and a fabulous school bag from Next.

 

 

 

     In love with this hand chain that I bought years ago from New Look - it seems to add a touch of glamour when added to an outfit. In the photos, I'm wearing my old high waisted New Look jeans that I have had for donkeys years, hand chain from New Look, fish pin from car boot sale and my shirt is a Kilo Fair bargain that I managed to grab at the last minute and I wear it all the time, so apologies if it crops up again soon. Hair's in a plait because it was being frizzy and annoying and actually, I quite like it in a plait.

I got this fish pin from a car boot sale in January, in amongst a box of buttons. I just love how weird it looks really.

 

 

 A few pics feat. cute pink shell from Whitby and new nail varnish, titled 'Round and round the garden'.

 

     ALSO. Today mum and I ate at Yo! Sushi which is now my favourite place to eat. To be fair it is rather expensive for the portion sizes but its SO damn good! I had Vegetable Yakisoba, Kaiso Salad and Vegetable Gyozas - I can hardly explain how much I love it! It's a perfect blend of spicy and sweet and leaves a wonderful after taste in your mouth. Would definitely recommend, but you have to be really careful about how much you spend - it adds up pretty fast!

 

     That's about it for today. I have my last assembly thingy at school tomorrow, so that's sure to be emotional, then I have work AGAIN on Friday and Sunday. On Saturday Tour de France is taking over everything in the world, it seems, and we're spending the day at Harewood so I'm sure there will be a post about that. In the meantime, have a lovely rest of the day.

 

Wim x



SCHOOLS.OUT.FOR.SUMMER.

     HI. So this is a bit of an update on what I've been up to over the last few weeks! The day after we broke up from exams (Friday 13th June, was my maths exam, lucky me!) we went on a family trip to London and the Harry Potter Studios. I don't have many interesting photos but the trip as a whole was incredible. Having grown up with Harry Potter it was incredible to see how it all worked.

 

      I decided to take 'The Great Gatsby' by F.Scott.Fitzgerald to read, as I'll probably be studying it next year. Brilliant book, but will probably have to read it again to make sure I actually understood it all properly. Really want to see the film as well ( Leonardo, need I say more?) so that's on my to do list.

     We went to the V and A museum, which was like heaven for me - incredible place. Its huge; you'd probably have to visit a few times to see everything, but I just wanted to see the fashion exhibitions that were on. They were outstanding but, to be honest, it is really hard to write about and give enough credit to it - its almost like listening to someone dance.I would definitely recommend going, its just a feast for the eyes. I would have stayed there all day but it was hot and we were all shattered so we had a quick drink in the cute little courtyard and then set off on a boat trip up the Themes. It was great to 'see the sights' that you feel you really should see if you live in England, like Big Ben, London Eye etc.

 

     Harry Potter Studios the next day was INSANE.  You get to see all the sets, costumes, props and there are lots of videos playing everywhere with interviews with the cast...basically, there's never a dull moment. Really worth going to if you're a fan, and the best thing is, it doesn't spoil the books/movies, it just makes the whole thing more magical.

     So we got back from London on Sunday night and the following Tuesday was my prom. I've noticed loads of blog/Instagram posts about proms recently and they all look incredible but honestly, my prom was, to put it nicely, a disaster. Not for me personally, the whole night in general was just pretty horrific. Some may think I'm over reacting but I'm just saying, being forced to sing karaoke(and to avoid this, hiding in the toilets with my friends), eating cheese on toast for dinner and finishing at 9pm with no after party wasn't exactly how I envisioned my prom. Never mind, though, just explaining why there's no post/pictures about the disastrous night that was prom.

 

     The weekend after London, I was lucky enough to go to Whitby with my two closest friends, which we'd been planning for ages, so I was incredibly excited.

 

      Once we'd arrived on Friday, we spent what felt like forever just sitting on the beach and I began to feel unbelievably relaxed and calm about life. The rest of the day was pretty much the same and at night we went out to an American diner called 'Jumpin' Jacks Diner' which I loved (I am obsessed with diners in general. I don't care if I'm not hungry/thirsty, I would go and sit in a  diner and just soak up the brilliant, retro atmosphere).
     Right, Saturday. Okay, this is my PERFECT DAY, in answer to the question from the Liebster award. So we woke up pretty early and had breakfast etc. We left the apartment about 10ish, with a vague idea that we would have a chilled day wandering around Whitby. First, we crossed the bridge and had a sneaky peak in pretty much every cute, vintage-ey shop on that side of town. Heaven Number 1. There were some brilliant boutiques, that were all waaaay too expensive, but it was still great to look.
     At lunch time, we grabbed some fish and chips (chips and scraps for me) from a shop that looked busyish (busy means the food's good, right?) and went to sit by the sea to find that the tide was completely in. Not to be defeated by Mother Nature, I had come fully prepared with a picnic blanket and we defiantly sat right next to the sea, on the pier, occasionally having to dodge a crazy seagull every now and then.

 

     After lunch, we walked back along the sea front and visited the arcades (of course) and stopped to get either a doughnut/rock/candyfloss (one of my friends had never had candyfloss before. Mind=blown). We sat by the sea again, where the boats come in and just watched the world go by for a while. Never been so relaxed and happy in my whole life.

  

     On our way back to the apartments, we stumbled upon an antiques shop that I insisted we went into and, once inside, we discovered a 'Vintage Emporium'...need I say more? Heaven. Just heaven. Filled with old books, tonnes of clothes, stamp collections, vintage wedding dresses, Hollywood-themed costumes and just general bric-a-brac, we must have spent HOURS just looking at all there was to look at. I didn't buy anything but it was just beautiful. :) It was a perfect day, as I love the sea/beach so much, chips and scraps and vintage emporiums...what more could I ask for?

 

 

     We spent some more time on the beach on Sunday and then it was home. Amazing weekend with amazing people. I think that's about up to date with everything now, apart from the fact that my school had Speech Day on Friday, where I got my prize for all round merit (woop!) and the book I had chosen was all about the history of fashion. I am just dying to have five mins to sit and read it - it looks so richly detailed, which gorgeous pictures and simply full of everything I want to know! 

     And one last thing! I've just discovered where I put these pictures of my artwork. This is my 2D piece for art coursework (the moths, theme of 'Inside Out') and my final exam art piece (the coat), from the theme 'Order and Disorder'. As I discovered early on in Year 10 that I can't actually draw or paint without looking like a five year old, I had to find other ways of getting through the GCSE course, whilst questioning why I actually took Art at all.  But then I discovered textiles, thank god, which might have just about saved my life. And I couldn't have not taken Art really, as I am quite a 'creative' person in general, and I'm so glad I did take it, as it lead me to Textiles, which I feel is the right thing for me. So this is a old school blazer covered in material, buttons, flowers etc, and I actually loved making it. I'm taking Textiles next year, for A-level ( along with Drama and Theatre Studies, Spanish and English Lit, woop!) and I am SO excited!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

     I think that's everything for now, so hopefully I can finally start posting about things when they actually happen, and not feel as though I've missed parts of my life out!

    Have a lovely day everyone, much love

 

Wim x