A Reintroduction

Wednesday, 26 June 2019

life

A Reintroduction

I'm going to assume that whoever ends up reading this is probably totally new to this blog & hasn't witnessed the many, many introductory posts I've written over the past eight years.
Much to my own frustration I am seriously good at not sticking at anything I start - I honestly couldn't tell you the last book or Netflix series I actually finished, let alone the forgotten about DIY projects now just gathering dust somewhere, the several half written stories saved to my laptop, or even the ingredients being hoarded in my kitchen cupboards purchased with good intentions.

Or maybe you have been here before, you'll be a friend or family member (probably) that'll once again encourage my on-off relationship with blogging & make a comment saying it's good to see me back writing again - I love you guys & thank you, for once again entertaining me as I attempt to get back into this... again.

But, regardless of how you found yourself here, I thought I'd use my first blog post in almost a year to kind of touch base & reintroduce myself yet again.

So, hi, hello & welcome. My name is Emily, I'm a twenty-something hotel manager, living in the Lake District & I suppose this blog is what you'd call a 'lifestyle blog' as that seems to cover many topics, although I'm not really big on putting things into boxes. I prefer to believe that my life & my tastes are varied, eclectic & hopefully, not always what people expect of me - and that's what I'd like this blog to become.

In my 10 years since leaving school behind, I feel as if I've led several different lives.
I did a drama school thing for a bit, moved off to London & threw myself in at the deep end with an admirable amount of self-assurance & self-confidence.
Then, in stark contrast, I moved to just outside Nottingham and lived in a caravan & worked on site at a exotic animal refuge which included, feeding the monkeys every morning, falling asleep to wolves howling every night & spending the majority of my day dodging Diego the spitting Llama who'd taken a massive disliking to me.

At some point, I can't remember exactly when, I fell into the fringes of the UK rock music scene & made some of the best memories and met the majority of my closest friends. Amongst the inevitable dramas and fallouts, I lived some of my favourite days bumming around the country seeing some of my favourite bands play in fields, arenas, bars, academies, a friends basement & even once, in a library.
After bumming about like this for a little while, I figured I needed to get a job that was more than a mixture of odd jobs done when I was home, plus I think my mother had had enough of me mooching around the house just waiting for the next lot of shows to be announced - so I got a job in a cafe, which helped me save up for the long awaited tours to be announced & for the long list trips I wanted to go on which I had slowly curated over the years - many of which are still in the works.

It was a period of growth for me, the few years I spent working in that cafe, something about a FoH job really knocks the extreme shyness out of you. During that time, I entered into my only serious relationship to date, which was so good for me for a very long time, it taught me many things about myself, and others & I grew a lot from it, as well as eventually, and quite simply, outgrowing it altogether.
After the break up & after handing in my notice at the two jobs I was working, I took off in my little car to Ireland, with no plans set in stone, I toured around the country taking photos & writing in a journal, that I eventually (and purposely) left out there, I got my first tattoo (something I don't think my parents have quite forgiven me for just yet!) to commemorate the shift in my life in that moment of leaving the past behind & I decided to start out afresh, again.

Returning from Ireland, I was hell bent on getting a job that involved travel, but after a couple of rejection emails, I decided I needed some bar experience & so took a temporary job at a local hotel, which, I'm now a live-in manager at.
Oh yep, you read that right, full of totally different intentions, I went from temporary to live-in within a few years! But, I love it here, I've found a truly happy place in a part of the world that I just a few years ago I desperately wanted an escape from - and I just fell into it, but I truly believe that these things happen for a reason.
Sure my hours are long, late & early, and sometimes it's a struggle, but I care about the place & the people, & I don't see that changing anytime soon.
I'm still getting away as regularly as possible, I've ticked a fair amount of places off my list so far, & I have many plans for more adventures. I still disappear off to see bands, only nowadays I can afford the ticket & travel to get there, hell, I can even afford to eat more than a Maccies 99p burger while I'm there too!

So there is it, a brief history of Emily, I hope it's not been boring for you. Usually I'd have hidden behind a bunch of random facts about me (as seen in this post) but I'd like to write things that are more open and honest, more real, something I can't do if I'm stuck on hiding my story away behind what I think other people want to read - sod the other people, this is what I want to write.

But, yes. This is me, I am a jumbled up mixture of many different things, and my path is a winding one with many detours, but, I'd bore myself if I were any other way.

- Em.

Read article

My Summer Reading List

Saturday, 30 June 2018

books

My Summer Reading List

Every summer when I was younger I managed to work my way through piles of books, granted it was mainly the newest installment of Harry Potter & probably re-reading the ones leading up to the new one, but nonetheless, I basically would spend most of my summers with my head in a book. Nowadays, I'm a terrible reader, my attention span is so poor, I've found that the best place for me to read is when I'm travelling on a train or plane & I literally have nothing else to do.
I genuinely cannot remember the last book I actually finished, and, well, I find that really sad. I love stories in general, I can sit through a whole movie, or binge watch an entire series without an issue, yet I can't finish a book anymore?
So this summer I'll be trying my damnedest to rectify this, I'm actually seeking out time to read, in the garden in the sun, or in bed before I go the sleep. And so, just like the summers when I was younger, I've put together a pile of books that I want to try and get through this summertime.

I thought I might as well start with what I'm reading at the moment, I spoke briefly about The Lady of the Rivers by Philippa Gregory in my May Wrap Up. I'm still going with it, still absolutely adoring it, and to be quite honest I don't know how I'm going to not just read this whole series of books before I start anything else!

The Lady of the Rivers & The Last Tudor are the first and last books in Philippa Gregorys' Plantagenet & Tudor historical series, if you're reading them in chronological order.
Now, I'm a self confessed history geek & this time period is one of my favourites, I've been intrigued by the Tudor court since I was a child. And the fact that this book series focuses on the women at court, who, historically are often overlooked or pushed to the side for the men, the kings, the dukes, etc, the ones who wage the wars and make the rules, to make the history. While I know these books are works of fiction, and so not totally accurate, it's actually really refreshing to read about certain historical events from a womans point of view.

You'll most likely will have heard of a few of the other books in this series, though, you may not have been totally aware that they were actually books before they made it onto film. For example, The Other Boleyn Girl, which became a movie with Natalie Portman & Scarlett Johansson or The White Queen which became a BBC tv series.

Tender is the Night by Fitzgerald is a book I've had stashed aways for... years, probably. I think I may have even bought is at the same time I bought The Great Gatsby, The Beautiful & The Damned, both of which I have read & totally loved. I've also read, and loved a few of his short stories, and to be honest I just really enjoy how this man writes. There's something so emotional about his writing.

It tells the story of 18 year old, Rosemary Hoyt, an american actress who is visiting the French Riviera where she meets Dick Diver, a psychiatrist and his beautiful but unstable wife Nicole. Apparently, if you loved The Great Gatsby, you'll adore this one even more.

--

History of Wolves by Emily Fridlund is a book that I think I saw someone post about on instagram & was instantly intrigued. Upon googling it, it seems to have had some mixed reviews, but ultimately I decided to give it a go, thinking the story seemed to be a thought provoking and unflinching view of the human condition, that isn't necessarily always as innocent as you think or want it to be.

It tells the coming of age story of the socially awkward 14 year old Madeline, as told by the adult she has become. As an isolated, outsider, deemed a freak by her classmates, she is desperate to find a sense of belonging, which she seems to find in precarious situations, that eventually fall to pieces. As a naive young girl, she ends up in situations she doesn't yet understand & is forced to make decisions that will effect her for the rest of her life.

Who didn't buy into the hype surrounding Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine? It seemed like every blogger I follow was reading & loving this just a few months ago, so of course, while en route to Paris I picked this up in Manchester Airport.
I'm actually about half way through this one, but I was reading it while on places to and from Paris, and then it got unpacked & put on a shelf & forgotten about, as is the fate of most books I buy while on my travels.

But, I was really, really enjoying this, it's funny to the point I was actually laughing to myself on a crowded plane, although I knew I was reaching a bit where I was gonna cry my eyes out. I could just feel it coming, and so, though I might have been wrong, it kinda made me stop reading.

Eleanor Oliphant is a socially clueless young woman, to the point she avoids social interaction as best she can, which has been brought on by past traumatic experiences in her life. It's the story of her coming out of the comfortable isolation she has been living in through a series of friendships she happens to find, though she wasn't quite looking for them.

--

As soon as I read the blurb for Circe I was sold, I just know this is gonna be a story I love. 

It's basically a retelling of Homers' The Odyessy from the perspective of a minor character, Circe. I adore mythology & history, but so many of the stories are told from a mans perspective, and the women are often minor characters, or are put into a bad light by being deemed a enchantress or siren or witch, so this being a retelling of an old story, but from the witches point of view, is hugely up my street. 

Circe is the daughter of Helios, the sun god & the most powerful of the Titans. Though the daughter of a god, she doesn't seem to possess any power and is rejected by her kin & so turns to mortals for companionship, where she then discovers her own power of witchcraft, which is a power forbidden to the gods & so Zeus banishes her to the island of of Aiaia where she learns how to use her powers & finds her independence, but of course in a man-made world an independent, powerful woman is a threat to gods & men, and so she brings about the wrath of them both through various meetings with them.

Ill Will by Michael Stewart is another book that I just knew I had to read. It basically fills in the three year gap of when Heathcliff left Wuthering Heights to go to Liverpool, from which he returns with a fortune.

Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte is one of my favourite books, so any addition to that story is very welcome to me. 

After leaving Wuthering Heights, Heathcliff changes his name to William Lee and sets off on a journey to discover his own history, on his way to Liverpool he rescues a highway mans daughter, Emily, from whipping & the two then journey together, making a living from Emilys' supposed ability to communicate with the dead, they lie, cheat & scheme their way across the north of England.

--

I always meant to read more Ian McEwan books, I loved Atonement which I made a point of reading before the movie came out, I thought it was an absolutely & epically beautiful story which absolutely broke my heart. And so after seeing an interview with Saoirse Ronan about the movie being made out of his book On Chesil Beach, I knew I had to get it read before seeing the film.

Set in 1962 On Chesil Beach tells the story of a young couple who are spending their wedding night at a small hotel at Chesil Beach in Dorset. The night is a total disaster & reveals, quite painfully, the different complexities & secrets that each of them bring to their marriage. It sounds like another totally heart wrenching story about what gets left unsaid & what could have been. 

Everything I Know About Love by Dolly Alderton is a book that really sparked my interest as soon as I read the publishers description.
'It's a book about bad dates, good friends, and - above all else - about recognising that you and you alone are enough.'
Written by a former dating columnist it's a memoir that recounts falling in love, self sabotage, finding jobs, getting dumped & getting drunk. It's personal stories mixed with hilarious satirical observations that promises to strike a chord to any woman of any age.
I'm actually just so excited to read this one as I think it's gonna be one of those books I wished I'd read when I was younger & a book that I'll be recommending to all my girl friends.

--

You Play The Girl: On Playboy Bunnies, Princesses, Trainwrecks & Other Man Made Women by Carina Chocano, is another one I saw on instagram & instantly I knew I wanted to read it and I just know it's gonna be another book I wish I'd read when I was younger.
It's a collection of essays about how women are portrayed in pop culture, wether it be in movies, tv shows, magazines or adverts, and how it effects us as women as we grow up.
I recently read the introduction & within seconds of starting I wanted to go through highlighting certain paragraphs or quoting them over social media, all I could think was 'Yes. Yes. Yes, this is exactly how I feel.'
I'm so excited to read the rest of it, although I'm trying to finish each book before I move onto the next, I'm actually so desperate to keep reading this one & I'm really excited to talk about it in a post, although it may just turn into a series of quotes.


I've reset up my goodreads account in an attempt to motivate myself to read more, which you can find here. If you want to read more on any of these books, goodreads is a great place to read personal reviews & I've already listed all the above on my profile as To Read.
What's on everyone else's bookshelf at the moment? I like to think I've got a pretty broad range of books to get through this summer, but any recommendations based on these will always be appreciated!

Read article

3 Easy & Delicious Alternatives To A Gin & Tonic

Saturday, 9 June 2018

cocktails!

3 Easy & Delicious Alternatives To A Gin & Tonic

It's no secret that I spend a fair amount of my time working behind a bar, and I've kind of been given free reign when it comes to mixing drinks & ordering new flavours or mixers, and even getting in new styles of glasses. They've actually started calling me 'cocktail monster' or just 'monster' for short because I will quite happily spend my shift making cocktails for people, and inevitably get them totally shit-faced after they've spent an evening on them.

Gin is easily the most popular spirit at the moment & we have several different types & flavours where I work. I was always convinced that I didn't like gin, but as it turns out I actually just dislike tonic & I'm not really big on soda either unless it's with another flavour, so these are all drinks that I'll make for myself instead of a gin & tonic.

E l d e r f l o w e r  C o l l i n s

Start with a glass loaded with ice, pour a double shot (50ml) of the gin of your choosing - I tend to use the Bedrock Gin which is locally distilled at Keswick Distillery.
Then add a dash of lemon juice - I usually use a 15ml measure, but you can add as much or as little as you like.
Follow that with a double shot of Elderflower Cordial - they'll be others out there, but the Bottle Green one is delightful!
Give that a quick mix up with the ice, add a few lemon slices to garnish & then top up with soda, or lemonade if you prefer your drinks to be sweeter. 

M i n t  &  C u c u m b e r  G i n  J u l e p

Traditionally Juleps are served in copper or stainless steal cups with crushed ice, but we may have broken our ice crusher & it really doesn't matter what glass or cup you use so long as the drink is good.
Again start with a glass filled with ice, pour over a single shot (25ml) of Hendricks gin - I'd recommend using Hendricks for this one as it is slightly cucumber flavoured, but again you can do it with whichever gin your prefer.
Follow with a single shot of Creme De Menthe, top up with soda & garnish with mint leaves & cucumber slices.
You can also use a double shot of gin, but just be aware that Creme de menthe is an alcoholic liqueur, not just a flavouring.

R h u b a r b  B r a m b l e

Once again, start with a glass loaded with ice, add a couple of lime wedges & pour in a double shot of rhubarb gin - again use whichever rhubarb gin you prefer, but the Slingsby Rhubarb gin is absolutely beautiful, it's the best one I've tried, I recommend it to everyone in the bar when they're not sure what to have!
Follow with a shot of lime juice & top up with either soda or lemonade depending on how sweet you like it. 

These three cocktails are my absolute go to for myself on warm day when you want something refreshing, also when I'm serving I tend to recommend these three and they've not let me down yet. 

Read article

8 Movies To Watch Before Visiting Paris

Tuesday, 5 June 2018

movies

8 Movies To Watch Before Visiting Paris

Hands up who else binge watches movies about the places they're heading before booking or going on a trip?
I've done this for... ever. I've always been a huge film fan, it's an escape, and when I was younger, before being able or allowed to book trips to where I wanted to go, I'd disappear into a binge of movies set in or about which ever city was taking my fancy at that moment in time.

Paris was always at the top of my travel bucket list, so I've seen all the movies (good & awful) & the following is a list of my favourites that I would recommend to any lover of Paris.

001 - M o u l i n  R o u g e

Who hasn't seen & loved this movie? I mean really, it's beautiful & heartbreaking & fun. (& there's Ewan McGregor, being all cute and in love, so what else could you want?)
Even for someone that isn't usually too big on musicals, this is one of my favourite movies, I will always go back & re-watch this one.
The movie, set within Montmartre, follows Christian a young English writer/poet who moved to Paris to join the bohemian movement who ends up falling head over heels in love with Satine, a cabaret performer & courtesan at the Moulin Rouge.
The whole movie just a feast for the eyes, every shot is just beautiful, the set design, the costumes, the make up, it's all just so rich with sumptuous colour. Baz Luhrmanns' Paris is viewed through the eyes of those belonging to the underworld of Paris, from the rooftops of the Moulin Rouge, it's dream-like with all the colours & twinkling lights, with the Eiffel Tower & Sacré-Coeur in the distance, through the clouds.

002 - F u n n y  F a c e

003 - C h a r a d e

Audrey Hepburn really did get to be in some great movies all set on location, several of which are in Paris. 

Funny Face & Charade just happen to be my favourites, but she also did Paris When It Sizzles - which I'm not so keen on, I like the premise of it, but it just seemed too cheesy for me. How To Steal A Million - with Peter O'Toole, which is a great crime/rom-com movie. And Sabrina, which I also love, but only a small part of it is shot in Paris.

In Funny Face Audrey plays Jo, a really shy, bookshop worker in New York, who is spotted by a high end fashion photographer, played by Fred Astaire, who believes she has what it takes to become a fashion model. And, despite her reluctance at first, she agrees to travel to Paris to pose for photographs of her in beautiful clothes in front of all the famous Parisian landmarks.

Put simply its a bubbly old hollywood musical that won't fail to put a smile on your face. Expect to see all the sights, accompanied with some beautiful 1950s fashion, singing, dancing, & romance.

In Charade, Audrey plays Regina Lampert who returns to Paris after a holiday in the Alps, to find her apartment bare & her husband murdered. Through a series of twists & turns, she, with the help of Cary Grants character finds out why her husband was murdered, and by whom, all while Regina herself avoiding being harmed or murdered by the same people.

It's a super watchable spy-thriller with a hint of rom-com, all shot on location in Paris. 

004 - A m é l i e

Amélie is a french, whimsical, quirky, romantic comedy. It tells the story of Amélie Poulain, played by Audrey Tautou, a a totally offbeat, quirky character, she's a shy waitress from Montmartre, who decides to secretly help change the lives of the people around her for the better, in small, subtle ways.
You see snippets of her unusual childhood, which she spent mostly alone, developing a wild imagination, and learning to love the tiny pleasures in life such as sinking her hand into a sack of seeds or cracking the top of a creme brûlée.
All of the scenes outside of Amélies apartment are shot in Paris, even the café she works in, Café Des Deux Moulins, is a real place which you can visit in Montmartre. Paris through Amélies eyes is almost fairytale like & full of possibility & wonder.

005 - M i d n i g h t  I n  P a r i s

I think this is possibly one of my favourite movies ever made. It focuses on both present day Paris as well as 1920s Paris - which is one of my favourite moments in history, which is probably why I love it so much. 

Owen Wilson plays a hollywood screenwriter, who dreams of being a novelist, called Gil Pender who is visiting Paris with his fiancé, played by Rachel McAdams, and her family.
While on the trip Gil is constantly put down for his romantic, idealistic and nostalgic views by his materialist, and just generally awful, fiancé, her family and her friends.
The one night, at midnight while walking back to his hotel, he is transported back to 1920s Paris & finds himself mingling with the great writers, artists & musicians of the time, all who love Paris as he does & he finds himself connecting with a few of the characters, and thus opening his eyes to the shortcomings in his relationship, and eventually helps him to decide to change his life from something that felt unfulfilling, to living his dream by staying in Paris & working on his novel.

It's basically an ode to Paris, it's nostalgic for the past lives the city has led and has a wonderful romantic view on the city. If you weren't already in love with the idea of Paris, this film surely will leave you infatuated with the city. 

006 - T h e  H u n c h b a c k  O f  N o t r e  D a m e

007 - T h e  A r i s t o c a t s

I blame these two movies for sparking my love of Paris as a tiny wee girl. I re-watched both these movies before writing this post, and all the joy I got from them came flooding back to me.
I feel like everyone has seen these two classic Disney movies at some point in their lifetime. If not, where the hell have you been?! Get them watched immediately. 

Everyone should know these stories, but just incase you don't...

Hunchback is about a deformed boy, Quasimodo whose mother is killed while attempting to claim sanctuary on the steps of Notre Dame, who is then begrudgingly taken in by Frollo the minister of justice of Paris, and all around horrible little man. Honestly, I hate him even more as an adult, he is creepy af with Esmeralda & throughly toxic to poor Quasimodo.
As an adult, and the bell ringer living, hidden away in the lofts of Notre Dame, the story is about Quasimodos fight to be accepted both by himself and the society.
If you were an fan of this as a child, and still are, I'd recommend looking up The Hunchback of Notre Dame 2, it's actually pretty damn good! 

The Aristocats is basically about a family of cats whose owner is an elderly, aristocratic, single woman living alone in Paris, who is planning on leaving her entire estate to her cats in her will, but when her dastardly butler overhears this conversation, he plans to kidnap the cats, so he, instead, can inherit everything from her.
After being kidnapped, Duchess & the kittens are helped by a number of characters to get back to Paris and their home.
It shows you both the upperclass side of Paris and the 'alley-cat' side of Paris. I loved rewatching this, if anything it just make me want to get lost in Paris & start a jazz band.

If you have never seen this movie, at the very least just look up the alley cat Jazz band scene, which, lets face it, is a party we all want to go to.

008 - T h e  R e d  B a l l o o n

The Red Balloon is a french short film made in the 50s, which follows the adventures of a young boy, who befriends a red balloon. It was all filmed on the streets of the Ménilmontant neighbourhood in Paris. 

At the start of the film he mearly notices a balloon tied to a lamppost which he unties and keeps for himself, but as it goes on, he realises the balloon has a mind of it's own and it begins to follow him wherever he goes.
The pair draw a lot of attention from other children, and eventually a gang of older boys attempt to steal and then destroy the balloon, it's then when a whole bunch of other balloons appear from all over the city and come to the boys aid, and then basically take him on a balloon ride over the city - AKA THE childhood dream of being swept up by holding too many balloons. 

It's a simple, yet beautiful film, that can be interpreted in many different ways. You can actually find the whole movie on youtube here.

There are so many movies about Paris and set in Paris, these just happen to be a few of my favourites. Hopefully there might be one or two on this list you haven't seen, and I'd love any recommendations of any I haven't mentioned and may not have seen! 

Read article

The May Wrap Up

Thursday, 31 May 2018

life

The May Wrap Up

Years ago when I started my first ever blog, monthly favourites were a done thing, everyone did them, but since starting up this blog again & actually reading my favourite bloggers again, they've changed up a bit. Monthly favourites have become more personal and less niche.
I'm gonna talk more about niches & my dislike of them nowadays in another post, but I'm really enjoying the monthly 'edits' or 'wrap-ups' bloggers and youtubers are doing now where they talk about anything and everything they've liked or enjoyed that month.
So, of course, I thought I'd follow suit...

May hasn't turned out to be nearly as interesting as it was intended to be - a horrible way to start a blog post, but hear me out? - due to illness. I had many more plans, but one week I had some sort of stomach bug, the next, I really hurt my back, and now this past week I've been down with the worlds worst chest/throat/ear infection. I think it's been my bodies way of telling me, not so subtly, that I need a damn rest.
My job in hospitality takes up a lot of my time, and it does become mentally & physically exhausting. And I always seem the learn that the hard way, usually through illness, that I'm due a rest.
I cancelled my plans of going to Slam Dunk festival in Leeds this past weekend, as I'd been off work all week & just still was not well. I'm beyond gutted I didn't get to go, the line up was so good, I'd been looking forward to it for at least 6 months, but it would've just exhausted me & made my illness worse, I know I made the adult, logical decision, but that doesn't mean I'm okay about it.


But as a result of being under the weather, I've spent a lot of time at my parents, spending quality time with my doggos & catching up with my brother who's home very briefly between his last stint working out in France, before then heading out to New Zealand in June.
However, I did make it to my cousins wedding on Tuesday, which has been a long time coming for her & her family. It was something I wasn't about to miss, because it's a part of my family that I don't get to see anywhere near as often as I'd like to.

Ah, this is a throwback, having once being a beauty only blog! Thankfully though, I will no longer feel the pressure to find a whole long list of products I've been loving this month (even, if I'm being totally honest, going out & buying new ones I didn't need, just to have more to include.)

I've talked about my love of the Garnier sheet masks in the past, over in this post; 6 Skincare Products for Tired AF Skin. And once again, they've been saving my skin! Like I've said I've just been feeling constantly exhausted this month, so I've been doing everything I can to combat the effects of that on my face! And I just find both the de-tiring & moisturising mask so soothing for my skin after a long ass day at work.

Hand cream is a necessity for me in a job where I'm constantly using & washing my hands, and recently the skin on my hands has become so chapped & dry that I genuinely think some of the dry patches are just gonna be here to stay! This Garnier restoring hand cream is delightful, it smells incredible & sinks in quickly so I can use it during shift without it bothering me too much.

The Charlotte Tilbury Lip Cheat in Pillow Talk is something I've been after for ages, remember all the hype around it when it first came out? I've been coveting it ever since. Finally I bought it about a month ago, and it is totally worth all the hype. It's the perfect pinky-nude shade for me, I've been using it daily just to define & fill out my lips a little with my usual lip balm. It's barely there, but does an awful lot to enhance your look somehow. I'm just obsessed.

Another thing I've finally ended up purchasing recently after coveting it for aaages is the Nars Radiant Creamy Concealer. I actually found this on eBay going a fair amount cheaper than in store, although I was very dubious as to wether it was legit, I'm like 99% sure it is. Even if it isn't, it's a damn good concealer. I first bought the shade Chantilly, which is the palest, which is usually right for me, and it's great for my undereye area & hiding those dark circles, but it's far too pale for covering anywhere else, so I went back onto eBay, found the same listing & got it again in Vanilla which is much better for covering any redness or spots I've got goin' on.

About two months ago I picked up two books by Phillipa Gregory in Tescos usual two for £8 (I think?) deal. The Last Tudor was the one that caught my eye, I'm an absolute history buff & have always had an interest in that era, so obviously the title caught my eye & then next to it was The Lady of Rivers, and it made sense to me to get both.

When I got home I realised they were both part of a series which can be read in chronological order, The Lady of Rivers happened to be the first one in the series, so I started on that one first.

While I've not quite finished it yet, I've been really enjoying reading it! It tells the story of Jacquetta of Luxembourg, who was a real life person with a real life story that I would assume has been adapted for the sake of a good story, but the majority of it seems to be historically accurate (because I'm the type to put the book down & google things to see how true to life the story is *geek*) She was a fairly prominent figure during the War of the Roses having firstly been married to Henry Vs brother and then being the mother of Elizabeth Woodville who married Edward IV and became Queen of England.

I was hooked from the start, as it actually starts out with Joan of Arc who after being captured spent time at Jacquettas childhood home (/castle) before going to trial and eventually being burnt at the stake. And it's all from Jacquettas point of view who witnesses the trial & execution of someone that'd actually become a friend even though they were on opposing sides.

There's a lot in the book about being a woman in a mans world, and how women were persecuted & usually named a witch, for simply marching to the beat of their own drum, there's a really great feminist undertone going on throughout the story.
Also there's a lot about witchcraft - for lack of a better word - not that Jacquetta identifies as a witch at all, but there's a lot of beliefs she has surrounding Tarot cards & herbal remedies as well as her family descending from a Melusina who in mythology was a female water spirit, similar to a mermaid, who passed down to the females in the family the gift of foreseeing, supposedly.

I feel like there's so much I could say about this book, so I may do a full review on it when I'm finished, because it's so in depth with history and meaning that I'm finding it really difficult to keep my explanation brief!

Another book I want to mention I actually bought as a gift for a friend, but after buying it, I meant to just flick through it, but ended up reading it all in one sitting.
It's called Sketchy Muma by Anna Lewis and it's basically a series of sketches describing in hilarious & meaningful detail the process of becoming a mother & the ups & downs of motherhood.
Even as someone who doesn't have a child, I thought it was brilliant & I think my friend, who gave birth about 6 months ago, will absolutely love it!

Now I'm a huge music fan, and my taste is getting more and more eclectic as I get older, so I'm always going to have a lot to talk about when it comes to music, but I'll try and keep it brief & just create a little playlist what I've been listening too this month at the end.

May saw the release of the new Frank Turner album, Be More Kind. I've been a huge fan of Frank for many years now, he's one of my absolute favourite musicians & I'm always excited to see what he does next. I had the vinyl version of his album pre-ordered from the moment it became available, and while the sound is very different in comparison to some of his older albums, the sentiment is so on point.
As a lyricist I think he's just brilliant, and his return to making political statement - although notably in a much less furious tone - has come at a time, for me, when I myself, am much more political than I used to be. His tone is kind of disappointed, but kind of hopeful for better things. And everything he's trying to say with this album, I just wholeheartedly agree with.
He also sounds happier, like he's sorted out some of his demons between albums, for example, to quote Frank himself at a charity show I saw him at in Lancaster he's "actually written a happy love song" called There She Is, which is just all kinds of lovely.
Again, I'm struggling to keep this brief, but it's just something I just love so much that I could go into so much detail with!

To mention a few more names & songs that I've been listening to a lot this month; Ziggy Alberts album Land & Sea, which is just a lovely folksy, acoustic chilled kinda vibe; The Kinks, they have some of the greatest summer-y songs ever!; C'est La Vie by Stereophonics, it came on my shuffle one day & I immediately stuck in on repeat; Jack Johnson, In Between Dreams, again summer-y, chilled out vibes, excellent driving soundtrack when it's super warm & I have the top down (that's right, I own a convertible, it makes my inner child so, so happy); The Black Mist EP by Paper Cranes, again folksy, chilled, I'd never heard of them until a workmate was playing them on shift one time; and finally, Izzy Bizu, A Moment of Madness, I was obsessed with this album all last summer, and it's been finding it's way back into my driving playlist recently, again it's got a super summery kinda vibe going on

There're also a few other songs at the end of this playlist that've either caught my attention randomly or have been songs that I've loved for a while that I always listen to when the weather get nicer again. Some of which them are totally not my usual taste, but like I said, my taste has been getting more eclectic recently.




So, I genuinely thought doing a kind of 'wrap up' post would keep my ramblings to a minimum. Apparently not. But in my defence, I'm talking about some of the things I absolutely love, so I do have a tendency to just ramble excitedly.

I'd love to know if anyone has similar feelings about any of the things I've mentioned in this post!
Also, any recommendations based on these things would be awesome, I always love checking out new music/films/books/etc!

Read article

One Afternoon In Paris - A Photo Diary

Saturday, 19 May 2018

france

One Afternoon In Paris - A Photo Diary

During my recent visit to Versailles, I couldn't resist a quick trip into Paris as it's only a 20 minute journey on the RER & metro into the centre of the city.
Having visited a couple of times previously & having already seen most of the usual sights, I decided to head the my favourite part of the city - Ile de la Cité & the surrounding arrondissements.
I couldn't not visit Notre Dame again, it's genuinely one of those places that was so inbuilt into my own childhood (& teenage)( & adult, if I'm being totally honest here) daydreams of Paris, that it never fails to take my breath away when seeing it in person.

Originally I wanted to visit a few of the art galleries I'd hadn't been to yet, but as I was fortunate to see Paris in bright sunshine, I thought it was a waste to spend the day inside so instead I picked up my first café au lait of the day from a cafe near the Cité metro, stuck my headphones in & just walked, for hours, down every little back street, through every public garden & sampled treats from each beautiful cafe I passed, I literally just café hopped around the 1st - 4th arrondissement, and it was wonderful. 

I started out heading for Notre Dame, sitting to admire & people watch a few minutes (being mistaken for a parisian by tourists, asking me in broken french to take photos of them) while getting my bearings & heading through the garden behind the church & onto Île Saint Louis, picking up an ice cream from Berthillon (dark chocolate & caramel, it was dreamy, just fyi) and heading across Pont De Sully to wind my way back to Notre Dame along the Seine.

After a quick sit down in the shade of Notre Dame with a hot chocolate - that thick, melted chocolate  type of hot chocolate that you can only find in Europe *drool* - I headed over onto the left bank, firstly to visit my favourite book shop, Shakespeare & Company, secondly to find the oh-so-instagram worthy patisserie, Odette & thirdly to find the longest route possible through the lovely streets of La Marias to the Luxembourg Gardens for one last coffee & a people watch before heading back to my apartment in Versailles with more mini pastries than one person should ever really eat in a day.

While one afternoon is not nearly enough time to spend in a place like Paris, it was a lovely way to end my time visiting Versailles, even if the amount of walking I did over the three days left my legs feeling like they were about to drop off.

I don't think I'll ever be over Paris, there's still so much I want to see there! I'm thinking my next trip to Paris will include a trip out to Fontainebleau.. Just gotta find the time & funds now!

[You can buy many of my photos as prints on my etsy shop, click here.
Use the code ALMOSTEMILYJANE10 to get 10% off any print!]

Read article