So I have decided that this year I will try to do more charitable things. I found that I had become someone who allowed myself to let “life get in the way” so often that I hadn’t actually done as much positive endeavours in my recent “life” as one would feel necessary. Unsure where to begin I started with the most instant thing I could think of – Sponsoring a little girl via https://plan-uk.org/sponsor-a-child
For £20 a month I get to sponsor a little girl called Anma and support her access to heath care and education. It literally took me 10 minutes to sign up and to be honest, I’d almost forgotten I’d done it when I received my welcome pack with a picture of her and information about her life. It was a very odd feeling and I highly recommend doing it if you have a few spare pounds. I received my first letter from her charity worker this week and I am looking forward to sending one back. A very happy letter correspondence indeed….oh there is a History, Ahoy! in that subject I think!
I’ve also made the mistake (big mistake, huge) of being overly confident and agreeing to suffer immensely take part in the Shelter Vertical Rush challenge on 9th March. This is also the day before my Birthday so I am hoping that rather than Birthday presents, I get a few sponsors to compensate for the fact that I am dreading it.
I am certainly going to have to start fundraising as its 4 weeks away, so any creative fundraising ideas are welcomed. I am willing to try anything once! Living in London you really do see homeless first hand and I walk post people sleeping on the street in Central London in tents every day. It breaks my heart that there are still situation like this in the country, but every little helps as you can see below. I just need to get myself down to the gym to exercise, otherwise I can imagine myself being carried up by the rest of my team (sorry in advance peeps!)
Have any of you done anything charity related of late? If so I want to know, especially how you managed to keep going when it training….I am so weak when it comes to going to gym, Sob!
So *Que official trumpets* I finallyhave a new laptop. I know, I know. It only took a year but I am very fortunate to have other devices at hand to help me live my life. Anyhow, I’m now sat very content in front of my brand new laptop buddy, ready to go.
I’m brimming full of ideas and creativity. Excited about the literally adventures to come,trembling with anticipation as I am about to brain fart my glorious mind….Well, kind of.
Thus far, I have writers block and can’t figure out how to transfer my iPhone files over. I am not a paranoid person but I sincerely believe that my laptop and iPhone are in cahoots with each other to drive me insane with trying to get me to remember my passwords in order to anything.
So with that technical struggle in mind, here is the one solitary image I have managed to upload which is from my Instagram (please leave your @’s below so I can follow you)
To be fair, it is rather nice tile work. It was found on a pub floor on Charlotte Street. I will pop back and find the name when I am next in work. Not that I work in a pub, I just work near them. Lots of them. And like to take pictures of their floors. Nothing odd about that. Oh nope. Ahem.
You’ve got to appreciate a bit of mosaic tiling, don’t you? It’s one of the things I love about living in a city like London, you are literally walking on history everywhere you go. Another place which I am desperate to show you in a post on here is Pompeii. I have some fabulous photos of my travels around there and some train travel tips which were invaluable, especially when travelling from Rome. I just hope I manage to upload these buggering images so I can share them with you all….fingers crossed! I think we are gonna be a while…
Some of you may know that I work in digital marketing, which I love and I am currently having the best time of my life working on a project about the legend that is David Bowie <3
More details can be found here on the Facebook page, where there are loads of amazing exclusive interviews and pictures by the photographers who have contributed their amazing work the event about the man himself.
David Bowie ‘Fame, Fashion, Photography’ is a free-entry, ticketed exhibition in honour of David Bowie at 10 Heddon Street from 7 to 19 June. All proceed will go to Cancer Research. There will also be an online auction where there are exclusive images of every price range up for grabs so everyone around the world can get involved.
I’ve always been a huge Bowie fan. I literally love him down to his hair follicles, which may explain my penchant for bright hair colours. So I am truly elated that I get to work with the fabulous people involved. If any of you are planning on coming down to the event which is free but, you will need to book a slot to go to the exhibition (Click here for details)) get in touch! as I would love to have a meet up.
Apologies for the delay in your historical fashion fix. It’s been a busy week but I have made sure to get some extra lovely historical fashion goodies for you. So you see, I do care.
This week we are going to dip our toes into historical fashion influences in pop culture, which if we are honest, are never really that authentic. Reign anyone?!
reign it just screams 1600’s on acid
I haven’t properly watched this series yet, so I can’t really comment but we can’t be too hard on it. The fact is almost all historical dramas are tweaked so that modern day audiences wont be put off. For example Cleavages, they are always high, pushed together and bulging, which is in fact a 21th Century preference and not like the cleavage preference of the regency era where they liked high boobage but separated. You could see between ze boobies. Not like the lovely Lizzies cleavage we have come to expect in Pride and Prejudice-
I am a huge fan of Disney, and I try and get it into as many posts as I can ( see previous History Ahoy! posts ) So I am LOVING this video about “Historically Correct Disney Princesses” from Buzzfeed. Ah, Buzzfeed, the internet crack of the millennial age. I really love these history fashion flashback videos, what are you thoughts?
It’s strange to ponder what the princesses fates would have been, if put into the real life historical constraints of their times. Yikes. I love history but when I am asked if I would ever want to go back, my response is always the same – if I had to, I’d have to be rich and male. Otherwise, no. I like modern medicine too much. And I have a big mouth. I would have ended up like this after about an hour. I can help myself-
Gotta love a scolds bridle.
It’s London Fashion Week, and the city is a buzz with fashionista’s tittering in their heels, looking for their next fashion fix. To my gleeful delight recent historical inspired media has seeped into the fashion catwalks, and below are some of the wonderful examples of fashion meeting history. Be prepared to have major wardrobe envy though.
A crown and a cape. Yes! Not that the cape was ever out of fashion, my good friend at writersblockandbrokenlenses rocks her regularly in fact. Viva le cape!
Frockflicks has a great article on the historical influence on modern fashion that you should check out!
I don’t think this is a new thing either as all fashion is inspired by previous fashions, but I think the periods that are getting the most replication at present are the more flamboyantl historical periods. This makes me very happy! Pass me my powdered wig. (Washed of course..)
This dress by Dior is a beautiful homage the wide skirts of the 1700’s. Still lovely and it doesn’t lose it’s traditional cut in translation either.
Do you have to keep your hand in your pockets for the whole day that you wear it though? Hmmmm…
I notice that the model’s above and below are wearing a crown. Which means I am now allowed to go out in public wearing a crown ( like that would stop me, but it being socially acceptable may influence the size of the crown that I wear )
I still hold a grudge against my boyfriend because he took me to the Towers Of London for my birthday and promised me a crown. I never got it. Still waiting *side eyes boyfriend*
The Byzantian style of this tunic below is just breath taking and it looks so luxurious. I can completely see it being worn casually and dressed up.
Oh I WANT IT SO BAD.
*throws self on bed and cries* #firstworldproblems
All three dresses below actually make me want to purr like a kitten, so beautiful. The craftsmanship as well..pass my smelling salts. I am loving that Baroque is rocking the catwalk right now. *fist pumps*
Gotta show some love for this Dior make up image and it’s hark back to the crazy hair styles of the 1700’s. I bet this style smells much nicer though. Wigs in the 1700’s could have things living long term in there.They didn’t like to wash much. In their minds, there was nothing a spritz of Perfume couldn’t hide away! Niiiiice. I still know some people like this.
A nice full skirt. I love how this skirt moves as well. Le sigh. Also, added bonus of long skirts means having to shave legs, less. Whoot!
I adore the back of this wedding gown. It’s beautiful. It’s one of those timeless styles, as it would be a lovely dress to wear in any age. WANT.
I want it so bad that if I had the money, I’d literally buy it and then proceed to just sit, watch tv and eat pizza in it like Monica and Rachael from friends just so I could wear it all the time.
Last but by no means least – You’ve got to love John Paul Gaultier, I certainly do. He’s so cheeky and so, well, French. I am a bit of a Francophile and my partner is part French, so it’s rather convenient. He likes to feature a sprinkle of historical reflection in a lot of his designs ( John, not my boyfriend )…Anyone who can make underwear, outerwear and make wearing a corset cool again is more than ok ( like is ever wasn’t?) He’s fine by me.
Dress Of the Week –
This weeks dress of the week comes with an amazing story. How fabulous! –
Isabell Fraser’s Wedding Dress, circa 1785, wool, Scotland, used continuously by a single family since it was made in 1785, last worn in 2005, Inverness Museums & Art Gallery.
Anyway, I am ofski to sort out my own own wardrobe,which is a huge task, as I have a habit of getting emotionally attached to my clothes. It’s going to be an emotional one, so I have wine at the ready. I am also planning a get together for London Fashion Week, so if you fancy meeting up, more details can be found on my post here. Hope to see you there!
Having been born a no name slob with expensive tastes I am, when funds allow, a bit of a foodie. When funds don’t allow ( which is more often ) I take treats where ever I can get them, so when my boss ( hi boss, you look great today! ) took us for a team bonding session I was happy when it involved food.
I work in oxford circus, so there are some great little hidden gems about. We had wanted to come burger and lobster for a while but they don’t bookings, you just rock up and if there is a table, you’re off. So we performed some forward planning.
Not too much though as it’s reputation had preceded it and when we got there, a hoard of Chinese tourists were queuing outside. They were so cool, and I loved the hat’s they were wearing on the sunny day. We really do need to wear sunhats more in Britian, they really are cool. Anyway, hat envy aside we got seated, as it was bigger than expected and we went straight for the main course. Lobster.
I of course took the necessary precautions. The bib is in season anyway, so I was rather happy at the freebie. If you have ever met me you will understand. If you have ever met me when I have been hungry, you will know this act was futile.I would spill something on me, at some point.
After the last restaurant faux pas where I committed the blogger cardinal sin of not taking photographic proof of the event, I made sure to bully my co workers into taking lot’s of pictures of me eating for your enjoyment.
Fuck yeah, lobster! Yeah, in meh belly.
We had the main dish, lobster with a side salad and chips. It was amazing. It was such a shame I couldn’t fit any more into my stomach. We had to order more of the butter sauce, mainly due to the fact that it was that amazing and I wound have drank it from the serving jug.
kudos to my co workers who managed to take breaks between their feasting to take pictures of me shoveling lobster into my gob, and keeping to my good angles. cheers.
On hearing there was desert, I was most pleased.-
I somehow managed to find room and I ate my ice cream with the true ladylike grace they teach us girls from stoke- on- trent. I even had earl grey tea in a cup a saucer ( With milk, because I am a uncouth monster )
But lets all be honest, it was totally all about the lobster. And the butter sauce. I’d certainly go again. More info on the menu and prices etc here.
Differently one crossed off the list. Any recommendations for places for me to visit are most welcomed as, you know, it gives me an excuse to eat!
After 3 weeks I finally have new place to call home. It felt like a long time coming but we’re finally there,whoot whoot!
The new place is a flat which I am sharing with the wonderful Beave, who I managed to press gang into moving in with me. Shes elated ( Honest)
Next on the list is the always joyful task of packing up my old flat.EEkk!
Which I am sure will go like all the other urgent things I have to do.
Rather than the organised pile of boxes I have been imagining. In other news the new job is going well, really liking it and I am getting to learn new stuff every day which is always good. Can’t wait to actually be able to enjoy London. Thus far it’s been the metro, gumtree and spareroom experience!
Anyway I had better go and tackle the Everest that is my life in clutter.
I hope you are all having a bloody great Easter stuffing ones face with Easter eggs and roast dinners, be it with the family or on your lonesome! My Easter can pretty much be summed by this –
And
Seriously, I am not a shots gal anymore…ouch!
Thus far the house hunt is going well and I have some viewings in some really nice places this week, which if nothing comes from it at least it is progress from the original search of vile box room followed by vile box room…I have broadened my area search but tightened my requirements and it’s really working! Basically own bathroom, nice double…not more than 6 people in the house..as trust me, from experience it only goes horribly wrong when you have a lot of people using one kitchen. I don’t cope well with hunger. In fact Beave used to carry around an emergency snickers for times when hunger would strike, as I get that grumpy –
So I wouldn’t want to, you know, cause carnage because I couldn’t make a sandwich. Hopefully by this time next week I will have great news about a new abode, until then I am just not going to worry about it. It will happen one way or another!
Am currently back in Shrewsbury desperately trying to pack up my flat as I agreed to viewing on Tuesday…one problem…the bloody bank holiday, DRAT!..therefore can’t take things to tip..great! Not that my flat is a mess, it isn’t, but I wanted it to be perfect for my landlord so he got everything sorted asap. He’s been bloody wicked with the move and everything and last thing I want is someone to turn up and see all my “unwanted” life laundry boxes in the flat. Oh well. To be fair I think everyone suffers from this affliction when trying to sort out their life with minimal time-
But it totally isn’t my fault this time ( honest)
The good news is I managed to get a cheap train ticket home…and first class too ..YES! Knowing my luck though the train will get cancelled or something but we will get there in the end.
Fingers crossed Peeps. Have a great day off tomorrow, I’m sure most of you will hangovers from hell!
So BP is in London making it even more fierce, and I mean more so than this –
Apologies for being so quiet as of late. I have a very early rise in the morning followed by a loooong commute. Then all my free time is spent house hunting, which as you can imagine is as close to fun as you can get without actually having any fun! Thus far I have missed an appointment to a dream room due to clamping of car ( only my boyfriend could achieve this on the one day it really mattered bless him) and then been refused a room in the nicest house ever as I had a boyfriend. Seriously..what do they think I would I do? Have filthy, naked, monkey like sexy time on the kitchen table whilst they ate breakfast?!
Anyway what have I been up too? Well this sums it up –
As I have a little time before my beautiful bestie Beave gets back I will share my first part of “Rules of riding the tube”
Part One-
Rule 1.
Always, ALWAYS get the metro or time out magazine when you can. There is nothing quite like staring at the same tube advertisement for STD checks or over 50’s vitamins for an hour to confirm why you must do this or dare break the eternal code of never looking at another passenger the eye…when in a severe rush and unable to grab a reading prop you can always repeat what I saw one girl do, and just stand staring at the door for 40 minutes with your back to the whole cabin the whole time. Now that’s dedication.
Rule 2.
Unlike the rest of the country, you’re allowed to be as big of a twat as you want on public transport, as it’s every man for themselves unless being a twat means walking really slowly or getting in my way. If that happens I don’t care who you are ( Rhianna) I am pushing you outta my way, kapeesh?
Rule 3.
Learn to breathe through your mouth. Just trust me on this one. There is BO and there is London tube BO.
Rule 4.
Learn to expect the unexpected and pretend it’s perfectly normal.
Any how I hear the drunkard foot steps of my roomie stumbling up the stairs so that is all for now! Once sorted home wise I can finally share the magic that was Snowdon with you all and actual updates etc etc until then, if anyone has a house in Ealing they would like to give me, please send it my way!
I’m here, I’m alive and no, the mountain didn’t do it. In actual fact I dun got me a new job and I am relocating to sunny old London town. I know, it’s so exciting * girlish squeal* So yes, I have been rather busy trying to sort my life out with very little time. I am rather chuffed to be going on a new adventure though.
Whoot, Whoot! Packing off the bunny tag for pastures new.
As you can imagine, it’s been all systems go but it’s all good fun, or at least I am trying to tell myself that! Thus far I have discovered a strong passion for vacuum storage bags ( the greatest invention after the wheel) and been caught uttering a few intense, tear filled goodbyes to soon to be departed items of clothing. I have beer too, so it’s not all bad-
I’m feeling pretty crazed whilst speedily packing up my flat ( all without any procrastination, such as writing blog posts, taking place) I am also managing to fit in moments of sheer panic and elation , sometimes at the same time-
My flat now looks like a bomb has hit it so I’d better hop off to the rest of the bunnypudding packing party, where the gang are getting into the groove.
Promise to completely fill you all in on everything asap BBz, wish me luck. <3
