Monday 27 August 2012

Heart of Gold.

While shopping for a new outfit 
(which I'm ashamed to say I haven't photo'd well in so no peeks until I can work it all out.. maybe it was my hair? Anyway) 
I was attracted to the make up section of Topshop. I'm not usually that bothered as I'm convinced it's a scam. Surely I can get the same stuff from Boots a bit cheaper? Meh. So I was grabbed by their clever marketing and shiny lights. I started to loose my senses when I came to the rainbow of nail polish pots. I've wanted a metallic nail colour for a while but the ones I'd tried weren't anything to write home about. One was foily, as in it seemed to peel off like foil. Another was papery, as in it flaked off like dry tissue. Weird. But not this bad boy. I present TOPSHOP Heart of Gold. 



I took a photo of my nails this morning. I've been wearing it since Friday afternoon! It's lasted all day Saturday in work (the craziest day of the week), a rather messy night out with the work gang (the dirtiest kids around), a sofa day and many showers. 


All in all, a fairly decent nail polish. You really do get what you pay for.
You can find it HERE on the TOPSHOP website.
xoxo

Friday 17 August 2012

World Humanitarian Day 2012.

I knew there was a huge reason I loved BeyoncĂ©. She's celebrating global humanitarian aid and promoting their efforts to inspire us all to join in. A few weeks ago this was posted on the singer's Facebook page. I've found out the artist is called Dallas Clayton and you can see more of his work HERE.


It's WHD on Sunday 19th August 2012 and she urges us to 
help another person in any way we can.
She asks that we spread the word via social media as to try and reach as many people as possible.
The message is clear, we are all human, we can all connect, we can all help. 

You can find out more on the WHD2012 website - www.whd-iwashere.org
The message from BeyoncĂ©'s page - link


Who will you reach out to and lend a hand?
xoxo

Monday 13 August 2012

Ray-Ban Clubmasters.

Here they are, my magnificent Ray-Ban Clubmasters. Courtesy of Dad Birthday Vouchers. Oh hell yes! 
xoxo





Saturday 11 August 2012

Why would you do this to me?


Saturday is a big day for us in The Shop. It's not unusual to require a Starbucks before this shift.
Now, I've been going to this Starbucks for about a year and a half, the staff know my regular drink, many of them just ask "The Usual?". I think the girl behind the counter this morning was having a bad day or something because she asked me for my name (what a psycho you serve me every morning and I always say the same name). I suppressed my rage and looked up sweetly to boldly say "Jill with a J". I can't stand it when people make the understandable mistake of misspelling my name but it really annoys me. I'm not Gillian, or Gill, or Gilly. Birth name = Jill. Just Jill. When I was a little girl it was Jilly. Then when I was old enough to know better I made it Jillie. I know with my weird half breed Geordie accent the way I say some thing is often misunderstood here in Wales so I settle for my normal name when confronted with strangers, or generally just people I don't want to get to know. Especially people who have the power to tarnish my vital morning beverage. The white cup embossed with with the green lady. The bitter brown liquid of the gods. Would you dare ruin this beacon of shining glory? Why would you do this to me?
It set the tone for the day. 
xoxo

Friday 10 August 2012

The sun has got his hat on.

I've had this bunting for about a year and a half, just sat in the corner. I didn't put it up out of fear of it getting trashed. I had birds nesting on my balcony and they'd make such a mess (gross I know!). I finally got rid of the birds and I've cleaned and cleaned and cleaned until it looked nice again. My little brother sent me some money for my birthday this year not knowing what to get me (thanks Jake!), so I invested in two strawberry print deck chairs. They looked a little lonely on their own so I came to the conclusion that I'd rather waste my bunting by using it and risk it getting a bit battered than waste my money by never using them. Such a good idea as my balcony now looks picture perfect.
Hello sunshine!
xoxo


Thursday 9 August 2012

I'll Be Here All Week.

I've been up since the crack of dawn for work today and in a bid to wake me up I had Radio 1 on. Their weekdays 4am-6.30am DJ slot is filled by Dev, a cheeky chap from London. It's nice to turn off iTunes once in a while and just listen to what someone else wants to play and I like feeling like there are hundreds of other people listening to the same show as me all over the country. A segment of his show is called Resident DJ which features the suggested songs of his listeners in five categories, Moshpit Mondays, Cheesy Tuesdays, Workout Wednesdays, Birthday Thursdays, Film Fridays. I wasn't that inspired by this mornings rendition of Now You're Gone by Basshunter for Birthday Thursdays (apparently the listener was 12 when it came out? anyway...) so I sent Radio 1 a cheeky text (81199!) pointing out I could do a better job and I reckon I could come up with some good tunes to make your ears happy. A few minutes later he only goes and reads my text out to the whole nation! I was absolutely chuffed to bits! Thanks Dev, for making my day! Well I guess I have to send in some suggestions now... ;) I'm a huge fan of so many genres of music that I had to stop writing songs down, I could have made the list a lot longer!
There is a form on Dev's page on the Radio 1 site to submit your suggestions, this is what I've sent in.

MOSHPIT MONDAY
Dj Fresh – Talkbox
DJ Aphrodite – We Wanna Be Free
The Hives – Tick Tick Boom
Muse – Stockholm Syndrome
Florence & The Machine – Kiss With A Fist
Tilly & The Wall – Pot Kettle Black
Foo Fighters – The Pretender
Queens Of The Stone Age – No One Knows

CHEESY TUESDAY
Cake – Long Skirt, Short Jacket
Madness – One Step Beyond
Paolo Nutini – Ten Out of Ten
Peter Gabriel – Sledgehammer
Nina Simone – My Baby Just Cares For Me
The Communards – Don’t Leave Me This Way

WORKOUT WEDNESDAY
Swedish House Mafia – Greyhound
David Guetta (feat. Chris Brown & Lil’ Wayne) – I Can Only Imagine
Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Heads Will Roll (A-Trak Remix)
Azealia Banks (feat. Lazy Jay) – 212
Nero – Must Be The Feeling
Beyonce – Run The World (Girls)

BIRTHDAY THURSDAY
(My birthday playlist)
DJ Fresh (feat. Dizzee Rascal) – The Power
Rudimental (feat. John Newman) – Feel The Love
Skirllex (feat. Sirah) – Bangarang
Chase & Status (feat. Liam Bailey) – Blind Faith
Katy B – Easy Please Me
Beyonce – End Of Time
Basement Jaxx – Oh My Gosh
Wu Tang Clan – Gravel Pit

FILM FRIDAY
Soggy Bottom Boys – I’m a Man of Constant Sorrow (O’ Brother Where Art Thou?)
Dick Dale and His Del Tones – Misirilou (Pulp Fiction)
Queen – Bohemian Rhapsody (Wayne’s World)
The Beatles – Twist and Shout (Ferris Bueller’s Day Off)
Pink (feat. William Orbit) – Feel Good Time (Charlie’s Angels 2003)
Rage Against The Machine – Wake Up (The Matrix)
Chuck Berry – Johnny B. Goode (Back to the Future)
Katy Melua – No Fear of Heights (The Tourist)

What would you suggest?
xoxo

Sunday 5 August 2012

If you ever come back to me, I'll be here for you.

So it's been a year.
A year since our lovely Tish left this world and moved on to the next.
A year since I began blogging. 

I went to Cardiff Cathedral. I don't know why really. Maybe it's because it's was in one of God's houses that we were last physically together. Maybe because it seems grand enough to match my memories of you. I haven't been raised with to follow a religion, but to respect each of them equally. I'm quite sure there are plenty of Gods keeping an eye on us. Perhaps all religions are talking about the same thing, different versions of the same story. I didn't know where to go, but at least you were with me.

I'm sorry that you felt you had nothing left to gain from our world but through your actions you have taught me a lesson. Make it all count. Like many others I feel life slipping through my fingers, faster than I can keep up with. This is why I started my journal. Over the last year it has meant different things to me at different times. Sharing experiences and cute gifts. Expressing myself. An outlet. A way for my family and friends to keep up to date with my life, as they all live a long way away. A mark on my timeline that I can look back on. Maybe this is why I don't fall in to a category for blogs, I just want to appreciate my own life so I don't miss out on anything important.

It was a day early, but I couldn't help whispering a round of Happy Birthday through my sobs for you, Tisha. You would have turned 29 tomorrow. I went to the biggest cathedral in town and lit as many candles as I could so there's no way you could miss me. I said to myself that I would and I did. I would beam all the light in the world at you and the stars just to get your attention. I don't need to though, you are always watching. There is a song I've grown to love over the last few months, about your friends succeeding and venturing off into the world while you defiantly wait their sweet return. I imagine that it's you who sings it for us, happy watching us carry out our lives from so far away, but so close, appreciating the journey we're on, lovingly waiting until the day when we are all back together again. You and your big sister were my teen idols, which has made me who I am today and I am forever grateful.

I don't know if I will ever stop missing you. Sometimes I think you are with me and you can hear me, that you talk back. Sometimes I ask for you to talk to me and I hear nothing. But when I am alone and I hear a song you like I smile a little smile because I think you might have put it on. I notice little things like someone in a pair of platform boots and a studded belt and I wonder if you have steered me towards them because I am thinking of you. Reminding me that you are always here. Perhaps that is one of the crazy things about just being a soul, unhindered by a heavy temporary body, that you can be in more than one place and one time. I imagine you spend most of your time with your family. That you are with all of us. I bet your celestial diary is jam packed.

I hope you are scoping out your new world so when I turn up in the next hundred years you can give me the full tour. xoxo




Tisha Mary-Jane
R.I.P. 

Saturday 4 August 2012

Carnival craze.

So today in work it was all a bit busy so I was quite relieved when it was time to head upstairs for my lunch break. While I was waiting for my soup to heat up I could hear a babble of jazz music filtering through the glazed windows. Our staff room is three floors up, so any normal amount of noise is usually lost. I open the window wide and a cheerful blast of sassy jazz invades the room much to the approval of my fellow colleagues. Whatever was creating all of the commotion was just out of sight from the window so after eating I made a trip out on to the street to have a look. I was expecting to find a full brass band but I was sorely mistaken, in it's place was a pop up stage and about 15 young women performing burlesque dancing, complete with corsets, frilly knickers and fishnets. It was Cardiff Carnival! The burlesque act was only a chunk of the action, but it was just amazing to see. Not tacky and seedy, but lively and fun. I only got to watch for a few minutes as my break was up and duty calls, so here's the South Wales Intercultural Community Arts website if you'd like more information. 
xoxo


(Sorry about the bad quality photos! They're from my naff cheapo mobile).

Friday 3 August 2012

We're going to Rome.

Boyfriend has surprised me with a trip to Rome, in less than four weeks time! I'm so excited, I've always wanted to go to Italy. Perhaps it's all Audrey Hepburn's fault. One of my favourite movies is Roman Holiday. The Colosseum, the Pantheon, Saint Peter's Square and the Sistine Chapel, the Roman ruins, the Piazza di Spagna with the Spanish Steps, the Mouth of Truth at the entrance to the Santa Maria in Cosmedin church, ...
The mopeds, the gelato, the sunshine... I simply can't wait. I must brush up on some Italian though, I really can't speak a word. Might be time to download a language app, hmm. Well at least I can yell 'Ciao!' with plenty of bravado. French wasn't that bad, I was just shy. This seems like a good start - link!
It's not all about Rome though, as we head off for a 6 day cruise around the eastern Mediterranean sea. We'll visit start down in Sicily and sail to Turkey and Greece, including Crete, before heading back to Italy and then we'll stay two days in Rome. I am giddy with anticipation.
We're sailing with Royal Caribbean on their ship the Navigator of the Seas, this is the best video I could find on Youtube for it which seems to be from the 80's despite being five years old - video.
Inline skating on deck? Ben & Jerry's? Sounds ace.
29 sleeps. xoxo