Haim

Image source: thetimes.co.uk

A while back my boyfriend kept telling me to listen to a band called Haim cause he was sure I'd love them. With Josh's preferred taste for underground deep house and techno, I wasn't really convinced I'd agree. Regretably I was ignorant and didn't even listen to Haim until about a month ago and ever since I haven't been able to stop! If I'd have known Haim didn't fall into the deep house category, and instead are often compared to Fleetwood Mac for their soft-rock approach to music, with hints of nu-folk & r'n'b, I would have listen to them a lot earlier. I actually meant to write about these when I first heard 'Don't Save Me' but like most things in my life recently, my blog seemed to take a backseat for a while as my days were filled with only work and the gym. But as summer has finally made an appearance, the days seem longer; and so I've made a promise to myself to blog more frequently. Let's hope it lasts.

Edinburgh

Image source: booking.com

Josh and I have finally booked a little holiday this summer. It's not really abroad, unless you class Scotland as abroad - well it is a different country I suppose! Anyway, we are heading to Edinburgh for a long weekend in August. I've been wanting to visit Edinburgh for a little while now, especially as anyone who's ever been is always talking about how great it is. We're going at a good time as well as its the last day of the Fringe Festival while we're there, so the place is without doubt going to be buzzing with crowds and awesome street parties! Of course we will be visiting the giant pandas at Edinburgh Zoo, and going on a whiskey tour to taste some of the most authentic Scottish spirit, not to mention the compulsory visit to Edinburgh Castle. We've booked ourselves into the boutique Malmaison Hotel (after a glowing recommendation) so will make sure to take lots of photos and update when we get back.

Teapot Vintage Fair

A few weeks ago I went along to the 'Teapot Vintage Fair' in Wokingham. My best friend Kerry is a personal trainer to one of the lady who runs it - actually we were supposed to go along to their first one back in November, but it just so happened that Kerry went into Labour and had her baby boy that day. The fair was pretty small but there were lots of cute things to browse - vintage jewellery/clothing, handmade cushion covers, candles, that sort of thing. The stall which was by far my favourite (and not surprising to my friends who know how much of a sweet tooth I have) was 'Kirsty's Fabulous Cupcakes'. Honestly, I know cupcakes can look amazing, but I don't usually rate the actual taste of them. I think too often they look much better than they are. Kirsty's cupcakes however looked and tasted incredible. There were loads to chose from; Crunchie, Creme Egg, Oreo, Rocky Road, Lemon Meringue, Mini Eggs... Oreo was the best though! Just look at it...

Hollyoaks Wardrobe Department

As you know from my previous post, I spent a week working in the costume department for Hollyoaks' studio. A friend of mine acted on the show and pointed me in the right direction for work experience. Like I said, I wasn't sure what to expect but I was excited none-the-less, as this is the first bit of work relevant to my degree that I have completed since travelling, apart from this blog of course.

There wasn't any of the glamour you might expect - it was freezing up in Liverpool and there was a lot of time spent standing outside for hours at a time. I did however spend almost the whole week on set assisting one of the costume supervisors. A lot of my job was to make sure the actors were given warm coats and hot water bottles in between takes, but I also had to check the continuity for all takes, ensuring accessories & clothing remained the same for each shot. Back in the costume department I sorted through each actor's wardrobe collecting bits ready for the next day, and 'de-rigged' the outfit's they'd left hanging in the dressing room. All in all, the experience was definitely valuable and has given me yet another possible career idea - whether that's a good thing or not, i'm not entirley sure; I seem to have a million 'possible' career ideas without an actual career...

Sorry, I've Been Slacking...

So it's been a while since I last blogged hasn't it? I was doing well keeping up-to-date and then it seemed like suddenly I had loads of things going on, so let me explain...

While I'm still working in an office close to home, trying to save a ton of money, I've been planning dream holidays and travelling trips. I was hoping to spend a couple of months driving through different states of America with Josh (who just to add, insists on trying some Man V Food-style eating contests along the way). America seemed like an almost certainty for a while but then the realism of having to both leave a job to then find another one when we return set in. So I think that may be on hold for the time being - but who knows what will happen in the future hey?! Other than that, a couple of my friends and I are thinking of spending 10 days in the South of France driving from nice, through Cannes, St Tropez and Montpellier and camping out etc. Oh and the latest on my mind is interrailing through Italy with Josh. Venice, Milan, Florence, Rome, Naples... I can only imagine too well how incredible this would be. Sadly this definitely won't be until next year though.

Aside from the travel planning, there have been other things keeping me busy. I spent all of last week up in Liverpool helping the costume department out at Hollyoaks studio. I wasn't really sure what to expect as not always during work experience placements are you given the opportunity to really get stuck in; but fortunately here I really was. I will dedicate a separate post to my time at Hollyoaks in my next entry.