"Still, for years it all seemed to be blindingly beautiful. And it was." - Gilead

Today was spent in the library (again) reading in preparation for exams blehhh. So of course I did a lot of eating, people watching, and daydreaming. Since the library was, as usual, FREEZING, I found myself wishing it was this time last year when I spent the Easter holidays chilling in Californiaaaaa.

My boyfriend Charlie spent the year in Santa Barbara studying as part of his degree, so I popped over to visit him in the hols, needless to say it was amazinggg!! We spent a month travelling from LA, where we spent a few days seeing the sights, including going to a Lakers basketball which was amaazing, I'm not a big sports fan at all but the atmosphere was incredible and I had so much fun it's definitely something I'd love to do again if I ever get the chance! PLUS Becks himself was there (which, when I realised obviously meant that I spent the entire time spying on him through my binoculars) as well as Ashton Kutcher and Gerrard Butler!

On our second night we went to an incredible show at the Kodak Theatre, Cirque du Soleil, it was absolutely beautiful and parts of it made me feel quite emotional! We had quite an eventful time getting there, we spent the day in Santa Monica browsing around the shops, got some sushi, and while we were there we saw a Cirque du Soleil tent on the beach so thought great, we're right near it we can just stroll on to the beach later for the show...

...It was only right before the show when we properly looked at our tickets when we realised we had tickets for the show at the Kodak Theatre, not Santa Monica at all! So we quickly put it into the sat nav and drove as fast as we could to get all the way to Hollywood!

Charlie hadn't driven since his test when he was 17 so driving in LA on the other side of the rode pretty tricky! We definitely had a few mis-haps and close calls while we were there, finding ourself driving towards oncoming traffic a few times and I think we must have run numerous red lights without realising! 

Cirque du Soleil

After the show we had more problems as we couldn't find our rental car anywhere in the car park, after about 45 minutes searching its numerous levels, we asked the car park attendants and they searched with us (it didn't help that we couldn't really remember what the car looked like and everyone seemed to have a similar looking silver hatchback!)

Eventually, they asked to look at our ticket, told us we were in the wrong car park, and directed us to one over the road, so we went there, only to realise after a lot more searching that there must be a lot more car parks than we first thought because it wasn't there either! After what must have been hours of walking around car parks pressing the button on our key to listen out for our car beeping, we finally found it, but we still had to check into a new hotel in downtown LA, by this time it was really late and we still had no idea where the hotel was!

Our car that caused all the problems!

When (after lots of issues with one way systems!) we eventually found the hotel, it was very much closed for the night and we genuinely thought we were going to have to sleep in our car in the car park opposite. The fact that we were in downtown LA and some pretty dodgy people had already approached us while we had been sat there, that prospect was not too appealing and not having enough money to spend on another hotel for the night we really didn't know quite what to do! Luckily Charlie went and asked in the (much nicer and more expensive!) hotel next door, who informed us that our hotel reception closed at 11pm but we could access it through their hotel! Phew! Although it was quite depressing going from that beautiful hotel to our dodgy hostel with about 4 metal mesh barriers on the windows and one toilet and shower between the whole floor, we were just happy to be sleeping inside! And of course Charlie loved it regardless, being completely orange (he's probably orange's biggest fan)..

Charlie blending in

A policeman on a scooter in downtown LA!

Charlie and I had no idea what downtown LA would be like, and it was definitely eye opening to see the more 'real' side of LA. I couldn't believe the extent of homelessness out there, most shocking was driving past 'skid row' on our way through LA back to Charlie's uni.  It's a far cry from the glamour of LA all the advertising would have us believe, and I'm really glad I saw it as I feel it gave me a broader perspective of the country. There aren't many photos on the internet of it, and none that show it to its full extent, there were literally roads full of tents, I'd never seen anything like it before in my life. Here are a couple I found online...

Okay, sorry for ending on such a sombre note but I really must go to bed now! I'll be doing another post on our time LA and the rest of California very soon though :) 

Hope everyone is having a lovely week!

"And that's how rootless. And that's how fragile" - Girl Meets Boy

So today has been a relaxing yet productive day :) This morning I hopped on the bus and took a little trip to Kemptown, I hadn't explored it much before and found there was a whole part of Brighton I barely knew about! I'm writing a little piece for the Brighton Fashion Week magazine, I was allocated the task of talking about an interesting place to visit in Brighton, so of course I had a whole load of places to choose from!

The other day I was getting my hair cut in a salon in Kemptown which was the first time I'd ever properly been around that area and saw that there were loads of cool places I hadn't ever seen before; coffee shops, pubs, restaurants, and funky hair salons. At first I was thinking of writing about a cool bar or coffee shop, but I think a couple of the other writers were thinking along those lines too so I decided to go for something a little more quirky... and then I saw the Brighton Flea Market!

Bright pink, it was hard to miss, and I just couldn't resist taking a peek. However, I was in a bit of a rush so I vowed to come back another day with my trusty Canon and take a few pictures and notes for the article. Today was that day! Here are a few snaps I took, if you haven't been to a flea market before definitely check one out, I really enjoyed rummaging around all the bits and bobs :)

Afterwards I popped into a lovely little cafe, had some tea and some freshly made soup which was delicious, and sat and read my book in between watching the world go by :). Before heading back I went into a few little furniture and antique shops, one of which had the cutest puppy running around I have ever seen! Of course, I had to check out the charity shops while I was there, and I picked up a super snuggly jumper in a lovely light blue wool for £4 to keep me warm in this freezing weather! Here I am wearing it now all cosy in my bedroom :)

I then strolled back to St James' Street and continued my Charity Shop crawl, a dangerous decision for me but I just couldn't help myself, I was having such a nice day and charity shopping is just my favourite thing ever! I'm so glad I did because I found this lovely little dish and tray that are turning out to be perfect for storing my jewellery and bits of make-up, both for a couple of pounds each! They're so pretty, don't you think?

I absolutely love finding little gems in charity shops that no one else will have, for hardly any money, and its all for charity, so guilt free shopping woo! Watch this space for updates on my future charity bargains and ways to up-cycle things :)

The above quote is taken from Ali Smith's Girl Meets Boy which I have just started reading and will review soon..

I hope you are all excited for the long easter weekend coming up and an excuse to eat an excess of chocolate, yay!

Peace lovelies x

"When someone remarked in his hearing that he had lost an eye in the Civil War, he said, 'I prefer to remember that I have kept one.'" - Gilead.

So today has been a pretty lazy Sunday. So much so in fact that I've just realised I haven't even left the house! I spent the day catching up on reading for uni, but as I have the attention span of a baby goldfish I didn't manage to stick to the one book (Triomf) that I talked about yesterday. So after reading a substantial amount of that I moved on to a book for my other module (21st century literature) called 'Gilead' by Marilynne Robinson.

I can't really comment too extensively on it yet as I'm only a little way through it but after the chaotic events of Triomf I'm finding it quite a relaxing read... It is about a father who, when he realises he is coming towards the end of his life, begins writing a letter to his young son, with the intention that he will read it when he is older. The idea that one can still be present in another person's life even when dead it is an interesting concept, and this combined with the contrast of young, old, past and present (the letter being written in 1956 but the novel published in 2005) renders it (so far) an intriguing read. The above quote really sprung out at me for its positivity :)

Oil paints and mixer pot

After a whole day of reading (apart from the hour spent tidying/cleaning my ever-messy room) I was feeling a little fidgety, so I thought I would do a little painting. Here are a few quick little sketches I did with some oil paints that I bought really cheaply from 'Tiger' the other day. The brushes were a bit rubbish and kept splaying apart, but then what can you expect for £2! Plus they were actually meant for watercolours and not oil paints so I guess its my fault for not reading the packaging properly, anyway here they are :)

Oh, I also applied some individual false eyelashes with some new semi-permenant glue I bought from e-bay today, I'm going to see how well they stay on and I'll take a photo and let you know if they lasted at least the night tomorrow! 

Until then, Ciao!

"It's all in the family" - Triomf.

Hi people :)

Welcome to my blog of all things fashion, art, design, photography, literature, film, and anything and everything else I've been up to recently in my life that I feel like sharing with you all :)

I am a 22 year old English Lit undergrad living in Brighton, aspiring to enter into the fashion industry, through fashion design and/or fashion photography.

Recently I have been assisting an amazing fashion photographer, Emy Lou, on some shoots in London, https://www.facebook.com/Emy.Lou.Photography?fref=ts, she's very talented, lovely, and keen to help other aspiring photographers to get started. She recently posted this video on YouTube to help anyone needing a few tips on fashion photography http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lHb2cL6RJ-Y. 

Here's a few snaps of all the shoots we've been doing..

Photography: Emy Lou 
Hair: Emmanuel Estaban 
Make-up: Diana Espir 
Jewellery: Liron Kliger 

Emy Lou Photography
#vintage #floralprintdress #headscarf

Photography: Emy Lou 
Hair: Emmanuel Estaban 
Make-up: Diana Espir 
 #behindthescenes #make-up #hair #fashionshoot

Emy Lou Photography

Emy Lou Photography
#EastEndLondonGirl #LA magazine

#behindthescenes #vintage #thriftyhuntermagazine

As for today, unfortunately it hasn't been quite so eventful as I spent most of it in the library at uni reading a book for my dissertation (yawn). Although the prospect of doing a dissertation quite makes me feel like throwing up, the book I'm currently reading for it is actually really good. It's called 'Triomf' and the little description on the front describes it in a nutshell:

"South Africa as you've never seen it: a tale of incest and white trash. Funny, feisty, ferociously clever. Read it!"

I would agree whole heartedly with all of the above bar the "funny" part, I'm only half way through but so far I've seen nothing funny amidst the poverty, racism, rape and incest!... As you can see it's not exactly a light hearted read, but I'm really enjoying it and it definitely opens your eyes to what life can be like in the troubled South Africa.

Here is the link to it on amazon if you're either interested in African literature or just a fancy reading an easy-to-read but also interesting and cultural book (you can get it pretty cheaply pre-owned) http://www.amazon.co.uk/Triomf-Marlene-van-Niekerk/dp/0349112347/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1363906622&sr=1-1 ...I'll let you know my final verdict once I've finished it!

Lastly, once I was done with reading for the day I checked out BBC i-player for a film to watch and felt I deserved some Ashton Kutcher in my life after working hard in the library...(working hard in the library meaning eating, drinking, chatting to your friend you took to the library to study with, chatting with people you bump into who you only ever actually see/talk to in the library, both tell each other how much work you have to do before walking away feeling depressed about how much more work they've done than you, popping to the cafe to get an over priced snack and cup of tea that you can't afford but you convince yourself you deserve for doing so much work, going on facebook/twitter/dailymail for a little break and to catch up on how Kim Kardashian is coping with her pregnancy/what she's wearing/if her and Kanye were holding hands or not when they went shopping....etc etc.)

So, yeah, after all of that strenuous brain activity I definitely needed a break. And luckily there Ashton was, and he didn't disappoint. If you haven't seen it before check it out ladies.. (any film with Ashton in is a good film, right?) http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00lvgd0/The_Guardian/

Equally, if this doesn't seem a valid reason for you to watch a film, (i.e. you're not a girl who wants to perv over Ashton's arms/torso/eyes/hands/lips/face and watch him diving into rough seas and saving lives, wishing desperately it was you stuck on a sinking boat), feel free to ignore this recommendation, as it is based primarily on all of the above :)

If though, on the other hand you think that pathetic pervy girl might be you, here are just a few more pics of Ashton in the film being beautiful, enjoy...