Every girl needs a secret garden

One key film which reminds me of my childhood is the 1993 film version of The Secret Garden. Filmed in and around the Yorkshire Moors and Allerton Park, its a film which still retains its childlike mystery, ambiance and jovial fun yet dealing with death, disability and childhood experiences. Focusing around the journey of the ten year old Mary battling becoming and orphan and trying to change the love and longing of her cousin and uncle through the magic of a secret garden one hidden and locked away out of sight and mind.

What a perfect way of watching and spending a cold, rainy winters afternoon then by re-watching this delightful film [that and the 1947 version of A Mircle of 34th Street]. Sometimes period dramas can hit very wide of the mark they are aiming for, but this publication captures the plot and the meaning of the noval right on the nail. I think the best way of trying to replay and demonstrate the magical ability of this version is to just finish off with some film captures. Sometimes films from your childhood really are some of the best!
Images have been taken from The Guardian, Houseofmirthandmovies, Fish_Bear,

And she's back

, Yes, I did slightly vanish for a while, but just blame the laptop, oh well just modern technology. A while ago I did mention that me and the [now old and at the tip] laptop had some issues with wanting to actually start. Well on Wednesday it started no more. Bad times!

But anyways, fear not I am finally back with a brand spanking new laptop!! I thank my lucky stars I saved most of my future images for my blog on my flickr so I haven't really lost much luckily. If I'm honest the death of the laptop has occurred alongside a death in my inspiration for thinking of things that could be worthy of being published upon this site but hopefully something will pop up soon!

Last thing to say is that I hope you all have a delightful weekend. Today has consisted of helping swarms of confused or pissed off Christmas shoppers, which reminds me again - that I haven't done anything for Christmas!

Word on the coccus bulbs is that they are starting to push through the soil - lovely stuff!

PROJECT: Crocus In a Teacup

If you enjoy pretty things, sweet little flowers and want to find a use for some of your vintage teacups then this might be the perfect excuse for a spot of gardening. Ages ago I did mention an item that was broadcast upon the BBC programme Garden's World back in September designed by Alys Fowler of using your vintage teacups as a pot for growing some seasonal winter flowers, titled "Christmas in a teacup".

This weekend we started to get around to making these a reality using some old teacups from my gran and some crocus bulbs. Not being a green fingered individual at all maybe this might be the start of a little adventure. Well perhaps its a start anyway, and here's how we did it!

What you need:

• Vintage china cup and saucer
• 10mm diamond coated drill bit which can be purchased from any good DIY shop or Ebay for £4 or less
  
• Drill to insert said drill bit into
• Some bulbs [suggestions include crocus, paperwhites, hyacinths or small daffodils]
  
• Soil

What to do:

So you have everything sorted and you've chosen which of your bulbs you want to use for your Christmas/winter display and now the fun starts!

First you need to select your chosen teacup, it could be vintage or just retro inspired, either one that has been hanging around your dinning room for years with no use or just brought cheaply from a charity shop or ebay. Just take your teacup and your drill with your 10mm diamond drill bit two or three little holes in the base - just a way of letting the water drain away so your bulbs don't get wet and mouldy.

[My choosen teacup and matching saucer rescued from clearing my grans house]

Then all you need to do is place two or three bulbs into your teacup and fill up to its rim with compost. You can then store them in a greenhouse or cold frame bringing them inside when the shoots are poking through, or they can be kept inside were you can watch your little bulbs growing in time for Christmas. Just water them well [but not let them sit in water] and keep them warm. Additionally they can even be replanted outside once their growing season is over.[taddaaa my chosen teacup and its contents. You can just see a little shoot coming through already]

I'll keep you updated on the growing.

Mirror, mirror on the wall ...

I'm in one of them days for a random post, and seeing i've not being at work today and therefore had no buses or customers to complain about then I thought I'd take the time to carry on from a post I found upon Daisychain's blog. So to carry on the tradition i'm going to attempt to try and come up with ten random beauty facts about me!

Well here goes ...!!

1. If I was rich enough, or just merely had the money to spare I really would buy all my make-up and beauty products from Clinique.
   
2. Until then by day to day make up is No17.
   
3. I never go anywhere without wearing eyeliner [black for the underneath and brown for the lids]. I fear going without eyeliner makes me feel somewhat like a zombie!
   
4. Body butter is a life saver - with skin like sandpaper anything to make my skin somewhat human is a valuable must!
5. I'm currently trying to get more into a beauty routine at night, scrub scrub scrubbing away the dirty of the day, moisturising and using toner, but with a rubbish memory and being half asleep, I often forget
6. I love nail varnish
7. My perfume of choice is most often one by the British designer Paul Smith - the first perfume I ever brought for myself or really wore was Floral, and I just love Sunshine and Woman. This is so closely followed by Daisy by Marc Jacobs and 4711.
8. I never stick to just one brand of hair products, but I guess my favourites would have to be Toni and Guy, they seem to cover my dresser more then any other, but I seem to have everything and anything when it comes to hair stuff, I have a bit of an addiction!
   
9. I need to re-dye my hair but I really don't know what colour. I've been dyeing it for the past four years - with blondes, toffee colours, brunettes and reds. Just need to find the colour and the time.
10. And I love my hair being played with :)

I'm not going to tag anyone, just have a go at it yourself if you fancy! Its not as easy as it first looks!

Award!

Today has been one of them rather manic, crazy and leg wearing out kinda days. Work has turned into a beehive of Christmas shoppers, from confused wandering shoppers their arms weighed down with a mountain of gifts bursting forth [and most often breaking the handles] of their shopping bags, to grumpy and bored looking husbands following in toe, to screaming children. My legs and feet currently feel like i've walked to London and back and sadly most of my nails seem rather much broke - I must admit I can be a bit of a girlie girl when there is the excuse to pamper the nails and face.

With early mornings and nearly two hours spent commuting alongside being shoved by pram and shopping bags, it was such a delight to log onto my blog tonight and be awarded such a little treasure from one of my favourite blogger's at Chronically Vintage!
I know I should probably pass on this award, but right now i'm half asleep and feeling rather useless at wondering who you pass it onto since all the blogs I follow are all fabulous anyway!

Too be even nominated for this award is fabulous especially alongside some other worthy winners. I feel very honoured in my company in sharing this award. And I will take this time to say a massively huge thank you to all of you that follow, read and comment upon my blog - it means a lot to me that not only do you read it but that is worthy of following! Since July when I started typing up my thoughts, my blog really has allowed me to develop my writing style and thought processes into something credible and worthy of keeping up.

Stay tuned because I have a tonne of ideas and pictures awaiting the chance, but most importantly the time to be published and developed. I have considered developing a post a week more compact based especially with regards to manufactures, their history and random ones I find upon the net. I really think there is a bit of a need for more decent blogging and online information with regards to compacts.

So thank you every last one of you and have a delightfully lovely weekend - hopefully one not with too much rain!

The next sewing project

So today I have spent my day off randomly sorting out the households random collection of sewing silks. We seem to be slightly over run with them alongside tapestry wools. Most have been left over from previous projects, others we inherited from my gran. A lot of them sadly are rather old but they still hold a use especially when picking out colours for a new project.

Now I did all this while I still haven't finished of any of the other projects i'm currently doing. With 30 odd days left to Christmas I still am on the case of the Christmas table cloth that I saved from my gran's [a proper posting about this tablecloth is in the pipeline]. I'm also still meant to be making a pair of patchwork cushions [they seem to have gone on the back burner since finding the tablecloth], and a cross stitch piece based around the Flower Fairies. Oh and a hot water bottle cover. I have too much on the go and with working now, not enough time.

But with the tablecloth on the verge of being finished I must admit rather then getting on with any of my other projects I have been more then tempted into starting something else, this time a sewing of vintage cars.

Its a pre-printed design that I had totally forgotten I already had. I have the case of buying things, putting them away and forgetting they ever existed. But after having a bit of a tidy up the other day this one has tempted me into sorting out the cottons. Normally, well in most cases you get such a design with the colours provided, or at least a list of which to purchase. This design however, had neither so it's all been a case of trying to match silks to the colours printed. I guess it leaves a little to the imagination and the individuals take on the image. And I guess in a way, it's half the fun.

As a DMC canvas its a sampler of vintage cars from 1925 to 1951, not that I know anything about, or really even like cars but i'm just attracted to the vintage element and because its just a little bit different.

[The vintage car sampler and it's chosen cottons!]

Now I just need to write on my stitckers down the right which colour is which cotton before I either forget or totally get confused! I can't wait to start, but I must finish the tablecloth first!

Bus bus bus

Buses annoy me, well most of the time. Often just slow take this morning it decided it wanted to be 20 minutes late with no sign or word of an apology from the driver. Yet take Saturday night, the same journey and 3 minutes late and the driver uttered a huge sorry for his apparent lateness.

I wish I was one of them people that can do things while they are travelling. On trains I'm fine, but stick me into something moving with four wheels and I can't do anything but stare out of the front window. Texting is just manageable, but reading just is a lost cause.

With a week and a bit spent going back and forth for verging on two hours every day to work, its a wonder what you see and what people do when they are travelling either for work, shopping or meeting people.

Take tonight, one girl was crying during a phone conversation, on her lap a huge bunch of flowers and at her feet a massive rucksack, a women was knitting nearly in the darkness because the lights started to go faulty inside - some soaks in a gorgeous navy blue, a few were reading, chatting on phones, listening to music. One girl was doing some written work, an elderly man was winding up his hand-powered torch.

I just stared out of the window into the utter darkness and watched the stars go past.

Image of the Los Angles Motor Company Bus circa 1920s take from Flickr.

The Laurel

While having a hunt in my mam's falling to bits sewing box I stumbled across this 1930s The Laurel, Ladies Boudoir Safety Razor complete in it's original tin, razor and spare blade. I think this find was originally found while my gran worked in a charity shop purchasing anything sewing related for herself or for my mam. Perhaps, if I remember rightly, this cute little tin was hidden away in one of the boxes of vintage buttons.

The presence of such Laurel safety razors are pretty much all over Ebay, thus showing they are far from rare. Yet with bids and prices ranging from 99p to £14.99 there reminds a market and an interest in such vanity and vintage finds. Measuring only 4.5" in length, it comes complete with its original instructions for use.

In comparison to contemporary packing, yet alone razors nothing compares. In its own little ways it has its own presence and beauty. Today this tin and its contents can so sweetly be presented and admired upon a vintage girls dressing table. In 70 to 80 years will our grandchildren be doing the same with products of our era?

I somehow think not.

LIFE: Random Ranting Time

Sometimes I really do just need to rant about stuff, often only little things that just need to come out into the open. So here goes;

a) Guys and gals who tend to wear their jeans below their arses. I don't really care to see your undies, even if they were Paul Smith branded ones, I wouldn't want to see them so clearly decorated. Either wear a belt in your jeans/pants, or get some that fit. Oh and please god if you do have to show the world your undies, make sure they are clean ones.

b) People who interrupt you mid sentence when your busy talking to someone else. Especially when it's so very obvious that your talking too, and helping someone. Just wait damn it.

c) There seems to be a sudden lack of manners, politeness and being able to be nice and friendly to people. To give a smile its free, yet they seem to be lacking in public.

d) Why does Marc Jacobs perfume have to smell so yummy and be so expensive. Well maybe £45 to most isn't that expensive when it comes to perfume, but it is when your money saving. Especially when Daisy has been out for over a year.

e) Why is everyone so obsessed with reality TV and the manufactured "talent" that is projected from such shows. The nation, even the news seem overtaken, and somewhat corrupted in the love and the life of the people which show and host these shows. Talent has been confused with glamour and fame. Yet to be "talented" has somewhat been blanketed into having a TV personality and appeal. I fear I'm one of the few people that just doesn't watch such shows. Hopefully there are more of us hidden somewhere.

There's probably more, but that'll do for now! Free free to add your own ...

Bedtime petals and quilted seats

Take a classic bed

And cover it in sweet pink tipped rose petals
And the girl just falls deeper

I so would love that bed and dressing table - aren't they so glamorous and fab!

Sorry for the limited words tonight my dears, first day back as a working girl and I'm absolutely shattered.

The store radio was also playing an endless stream of Christmas songs - I may be well sick of them by the time Christmas arrives.

But additionally - your thoughts i'm sitting on the fence
over
Quilted objects, especially this quilted chaise;
Fabulous? Naff? Indifference? Discuss
If you do love it, you can buy it from Squint Limited

A Romantic Kinda Love

Sometimes there is a longing for a return to traditional and long lost romance. I am [secretly] a die hard romantic but I'm lucky enough in finding a guy that treats me like a princess. I have a romance I could only dare dream about.

While their romance was turbulent, their characteristics clashing and their personalities drawing them further apart, the relationship between Vivien Leigh and Laurence Olivier at the start at least, is filled with a lustful, deep romantic power.

Often to remind himself of his lover over in Hollywood [whom he nicknamed Puss], Olivier often placed carnations in his underwear during the Broadway run of the play No Time for Comedy [1939]. During their separation Olivier would send Puss long, intense love letters often accompanied with the carnation he had worn.

While they themselves were never granted their happy ending, it calls us to remember the little things that make up love, and the power of romance, of how it can change hearts, outlooks and the future. Of the power of love letters, love poems.

Even in hard times, love never dies. Sometimes it only gets stronger.

Petals of rose
Blossoms of blue
Sweet kisses of
My lover true.

[JJ]

Image of Leigh and Olivier taken on-board a boat in approx 1938, is taken from here.

Christmas Cakes

[Pat-a-cake, pat-a-cake baker's man, bake me a cake as fast as you can - 2009 Christmas Cake baking away]

Christmas cakes can come in numerous shapes, sizes and filled with a multitude of indigents. Traditionally they are considered a British pastime, of a fruit cake most associated with Yule time. Filled with richest of fruits, from currents, mixed peel, cherries and nuts, they can be covered in marzipan, icing or left just plain and maybe topped with some brandy drizzled over. And for a more northern English tradition, cut a slice of Christmas cake served with, or without butter and some cheese.

One of the things I associate with Christmas is when mam starts collecting for, and eventually baking the family Christmas Cake. That day was today. The smell of the baking fruit soaked in orange juice, the crisping baking paper, the taste of the glace cherries carry through the house, and its sweet Christmas smell still lingers. As long as I can remember Mam has ALWAYS made the Christmas cake, its one of the things she refuses to buy from a shop, and to be honest they never really taste the same. And in a way, this cake makes Christmas, knowing its being made is when I start thinking about, and looking forward to Christmas.

The other fun comes when its time for it to be iced! We have a box of randomly collected Christmas decorations for the top, they have a history and an age of their own. I've grown up with them and to me, the little Santa on his sleigh, the house covered in snow which adorn the top of the cake really do make Christmas for me. Simple things.

The origins of the Christmas Cake stretch back to the traditions of twelfth night feast (traditionally the 6th January) and the celebrations around a plum cake, or for poorer families it would be fruit. These cakes were baked with a bean in one half, and a pea in the other - whoever finding each would be crowned the King and Queen of Revels.

Through the Purtian Reformation and their hatred of celebrations and religion, twelfth night was branded an eve full of mischief and was eventually banned. Thus celebrations remained somewhat limited until around the mid 1830s when Christmas festivities grew in popularity occurring alongside the increasing production of an iced fruit cake similar to those made today.

I'm not sure if the ideas of Christmas Cakes have escaped over the oceans? Or if many people still make them?

Snuggley Knits

One of the best things about the weather changing into colder days and nights and having a mother that knits [I'm afraid I'm more of a sewer] is being able to get away with sticking on chunky and cosy knitted garments. My mam seems to be able to knit everything and anything, from babies clothes, jumpers, cardigans, socks. Anything that could possibly be knitted.

Mind you, I've never always liked my mam knitting me stuff, okay I will admit during school I never thought it was "cool" to wear anything hand knitted by my mam or my gran. Not that they weren't any good but due to the delights of the school ground and the swamping of young media's via the media and so called "fashion", knitting was never given any credit.

Now I'm at the point of no longer caring and generally just requiring more warmth. I always think home made woollen items always seem several degrees warmer then items purchased from the high-street, and with possibly the coldest feet in England my mam's knitted socks warm me up at tonne.

[Wrigley wriggle toes]

I have five pairs in multiple shades of rainbow colours, some topped with cream, pink or blue. Its weird how all the patterns and the shades work when they are being made - how they are made is beyond me. Bar understanding the use of needing four needles with no ends and going around and around in circles.

But seriously, knitted thick socks warm my feet up like an electric heater, more so then sticking them on a radiator ever would - mind you it has got to the extent of wearing one pair "normal" one pair knitted. Meh, I hate cold feet!

But then again as the saying goes, cold feet warm heart.

So when mam started knitting hats for Christmas boxes to Eastern Europe, I kinda wanted one. About three days later a viola, a bright red double knitted soooo warm hat is now mine! Normally I would never consider me and hats to have any form of friendly relationship, sometimes some things just don't suit - hats tended to be in this category. Until now. Regardless of its looks and its painless its so cosy and warm.

Seeing my new job doesn't finish till six and having to wait god knows how long for a bus back into the Yorkshire sticks my hat will be more then useful. I've already asked for another one - this time in purple!

So I guess embracing the knitting is the way to go, maybe I'll even try for about the thirtieth time to put up a pair of knitting needles and make something. Maybe.

One of my confessions, or probably one of my sins was the delights of MySpace in the days gone by, that's before the world of Facebook [so rightly I renamed Faceache] took over the Internet super-highway. I guess I became a bit of a photo-whore, but since then I tend to limit the pictures of myself that I post, even on Facebook - I think I'm one of the few that just doesn't post and comment about her life twenty four seven, instead I guess my blog is the one place where I'm most open and honest virtually.

I also found out today that I did properly past my Masters, so now I can properly add more fancy letters behind my name [I'm now an MA, BA (hons) blogger]. But I'll blog more about my masters and university when I graduate next month!

And to all you fellow Brits - have a fabulous and hopefully not to cold Bonfire Night- sadly due to the era of health and safety my local celebrations have been put out years ago!

Gems on your doorstep

Sometimes I think we as humans forget the things, the delights, the beauty's and the pleasures that can be found on, or close to, our doorstep. One of the things I just love about England and being British is our history, a history which remains so remarkably intact and visible for all to see at every turn, a history which gets may tourists flocking to our little island. From churches to castles, city walls to grand country houses history both rich and poor sits alongside and embedded within our nationality.

Yet I fear, even I often overlook the delights to be found on my very own [or at least 20 odd miles away] doorstep. Growing up in the fields of East Yorkshire, York has always been the shopping city of choice. While it was the city for clothes shopping I will confess to over looking the historical delights playing out before me within these visits; too busy being stuck behind the numerous and numberless amounts of foreign tourists crowded along the shambles or requiring directions for the "big church".

The "big church" happens to be the Minster, the largest of all Gothic cathedrals in Northern Europe and seems to be the magnet to which the tourists are drawn, yet it is a building I've walked pass countless times without really giving it a second glance. It's a shame really - while its more then a little expensive to visit these days, it remains a magnificent eye turner from streets away. Even the shambles the tiniest of little streets is a gorgeous delight, packed full of traditional shops, from knitting, wooden toys, sweets and tea shops, yet only too often I view it as a street to get me to somewhere else.

I guess in the rush rush society we all too often forget to stop and look around our surroundings and we miss so much that would or could catch the eye of someone else. We become so safe in our surroundings that the beautiful may sometimes be invisible.

[York Minster]

Outside the Minster this guy always seems to be, drawing away on the streets copies of works of art. Not only do the buildings make the city or the place, sometimes it really is down to the people.

Sometimes we all could do with looking a bit closer at the things nearest to us, before we miss them or they get overlooked for good.

____________________________________

I additionally would like to thank you for all your kind thoughts and ideas/cures regarding the old wisdom tooth issues. Currently the throbbing has subsided somewhat, and I have experienced the delightfully rancid taste of clove oil - that's not a taste I'll forget too easily but it has helped!

Oh and I have to share finally being able to get a job - it may only be part time and it may only be for the Christmas period but money was starting to get short and even though its only temporary and requires the joy of travelling and hassle of public transport, hopefully it'll be worth it.

My motto to everyone out there struggling and feeling so fed up because of the recession and lack of employment, really is to keep trying.

Sometimes there really is a lucky break waiting to be had!

Ahhh wisdom teeth

Why can't the last growing of teeth be as easy as the ones you get when your little?

Why do they have to kill so much?! All I can feel is throb throb throb, and yeah being drugged up on ibuprofen all day, but I keep touching it to try and find out why it wants to hurt me so. And it just suddenly started doing it, waking me up at 4 in the morning. Gr.

I'm all up for trying home made cures if anyone has any?

Moan over

Upon the Palace Green

Look into a picture and what do you see?

Well sometimes, rather a lot. I have a new posts lined up in the wings to delve inside some of the photographs that once belonged to my gran. The people however are often nameless in them, but they are intriguing centrepieces worthy of a wider audience.

While I myself am a born Yorkshire girl my roots go back on most sides of the family to the North East, particularly Durham and to a smaller extent bar my own four years, Newcastle. Yet the extent to which part of our family has been in Durham is somewhat of a mystery. Involve a story of an legitimate child, the year 1887, an unknown father, a grand carriage and the burning of adoption papers and you end up with half the story of my great grandfathers journey to Durham. As father to my gran who was born in 1924, and until her marriage to my Hull born and raised Grandad who she met during World War 2, she spent her youth living under the shadows of the cathedral.

Since her passing, we've inherited half of her photo ablums, often filled with numerous black and white images of weddings and children sat before the camera. And then there is this one which I'm posting here, its a little different and who and why it was taken remains unknown. So to, does the date. We're thinking 1940s or 1950s but if anyone has any other ideas let me know, especially if you can judge by the clothing.

But it is an image with a grand circus of characters.There is the man in his kilt holding his pipe, other dressed up women flowers upon their coats, their gloves in hand. There is the young girl to the far left, bored and looking out into the distance. There is the laughing women in her light and striped coat, giggling over to the women at the left [she happens, if one is allowed, my favourite]. A proud father kneeling down holding his child, another child with their backs turned, caught blurry and moving. Perhaps they are all lined up in shot for a wedding photographs - they are the remaining guests are the departure of man and wife. Or they are all off, or have been on some form on excursion?

The reason why it was in my grans album will always probably now remain unknown. None of the faces can be recognised, possibly the lady dressed in black at the far right is my great gran, but then again we can never be sure.

[Click on the image for a larger view]

What we do know is that this image was taken upon the Palace Green in Durham, behind them the keep of the University owned Castle appears.

Starting off the new month with an award!

I'm rather delighted, my blog has won an award thanks to the lovely blog Madeleine's Wunderkammer! What a great way to start off a new month, so in order to continue and to accept the award there are certain little things a blogger must do:

a) Nominate three more blogs for the award

b) Answer a few questions about myself

So questions first ...

What's your current obsession?

Apart from daydreaming about tattoos and searching the net for compacts, I have a current "thing" for merely putting in "1930s" into ebay and seeing what comes up, and then wishing I had the money to buy everything I spot. Also just a tad obsessed with moving back to Newcastle somehow.

What's your zodiac sign?

Being a Libra, I'm apparently meant to be balanced which is far from reality and honestly I don't really follow or go into the horoscope thing.

What am I wearing today?

Normally I really am just a jeans girl and a nice top I just find them comfy but practical enough to do whatever that needs doing. So today its black jeans, pink lazy primark top and knitted Arron cardy, comfy but warm!

What's your latest purchase?

The last thing I happened to buy was on Friday when I went to York and while I was buying the dress that is mentioned in a previous posting for my MA graduation in December, I also happened to wander into HMV and came across yet another Betty Grable film from 1940, Down Argentine Way - can't wait to get around to hiding the time to give it the attention it deserves!

What do you think of the girl that gave you the award?

I love Madeleine's blog, its such a delight to see pictures of Durham because that's where a part of my family is from and she has great taste in tea and chocolates!

What do you have for dinner?

Dinner as in lunch or dinner as in tea? This is the north/south, UK/USA spilt of terms. But anyway yesterday dinner [lunch] was roast chicken and veg, and dinner [tea] was ham sarnies and lemon cheesecake]

What's your favourite decade?

I kinda surround and predominately read and be interested in any decade between 1910 to the 1960s for one reason or another, be it the movies, people or the music. But I guess at a push I would have to say the 1930s. Even though it was a dark decade of economic depression the films especially the musicals had so much gaiety and enjoyment that seems to be missing from contemporary society.

What are your must haves for summer?

Being a tattoo'd girlie sunlotion is the thing I get addicted too, mainly because they are on the top of my back and my shoulders which WHEN the sun actually does come out they always catch the rays.

What is your favourite piece in your closest?

My current jacket, its a light jacket so will probably have to be hung away for the winter soon and it is bright red but I just love it. I feel for it when I first saw it in New Look last summer and for £25, it was a total steal. It reminds me, and probably half the reason I brought it because it reminds me of the coat Audrey Hepburn wears [see following image] within Funny Face, while mine is more fitted around the middle it has a certain elegant simplicity to it. And being red - well I just love it and every girl needs colour in her wardrobe!

What is your dream job?
Right now - any job. But seriously I'd love to be a visual researcher and lecturer - just an excuse and a paid way of looking and analysing pictures all day!

What's your favourite magazine?

I'll be honest I rarely read magazines mainly because I just don't find they either appeal to my ideals or my style. If I ever pick up a magazine it will either be one jam packed filled with tattoo's or be one of my mams so it would be either Hello or Woman's Own. I think I read the TV magazine more then I read any of the magazines filling the UK market telling the best sex moves or how to get a guy with page after page of endless adverts of skinny models wearing clothes so out of my price range.

What do you consider a fashion no-no?
UGG boots, or just the UGG books with the messy hair, sunglasses in winter, coffee in hand kinda Rah look that use to be all over Newcastle Uni.

Describe your personal style?

Kinda random and just not very stylised. Most days I really am just a jeans girlie and being an hour glass shopping can be a bit of an issue. I think being in the countryside these days i'm just comfy and practical.

Who was your favourite Beatle?
Spilt between John Lennon and George Harrison.

What are you proud of?

Achieving my MA, it was a very last minute and I changed subjects from Geography over to the dark side of Sociology. It was a massive challenge going back to the basics to be able to not only to keep up but to be able to understand some of the basics. It was hard work, but its been worth it and I met some really amazing people that have changed my view on the world and university as a whole.

In a way I'm very proud of having this, my blog. It was an idea that was suggested to me by my friend as a place to express and at the time, get my anger out. I know I talk very randomly about things that are here and there, but it gives me a place to settle and share my thoughts and I've met some lovely people along the way.

So I'm going to take the time so say a massive thank you to everyone that has ever read, commented or followed my blog. It means a lot, so thank you all!

And my three nominated blogs would be;

• Blonde Episodes
• Modern Scarlet
• Grayscale