digital re-vamp?

When I visit a blog, if the first thing I see is paragraphs of writing, a bell in the back of my mind chimes to immediately navigate away. Successful blogs ooze with pictures, they're essential for the reader to capture the essence of what the blogger is talking about, not to mention making posts look more interesting and my blog definitely lacks ALOT of visual aids - it's obvious. Lately I've been thinking of taking a more digital approach to blogging, taking my camera around with me a lot more, and doing an outfit diary maybe. Although I vowed not to use digital cameras, I'm going to don one for blog purposes only. Starting next week at some point, I'm going to start snapping and uploading, after all, what's the point in blogging about outfits with no photographical evidence?

I'm so 21st century.

P & L

shampoo can be quite cheap, you know?

i'm almost officially a forensic student at NEWI, i like the idea and the plan of the course, but the other students however, definitely need 'Goking'. walking into the class room on induction, was like walking into an open audition for The Hills Have Eyes, i don't mean to sound horrible but would it have killed them to wash their hair or thrown on a decent pair of jeans? geez. anyway, above is what i wore (take into account the fact i had thirty minutes to get ready).

...and i need to go shopping *ahem* shoreditch *ahem*.

P & L

London shmondon.

Sometimes two days just isn't enough, but four days is too much.

After my last trip, i'm sort of beginning to tire of London; maybe it was the weather, maybe it was the fact i had no money, perhaps it was my state of mind when i was leaving or maybe it was just because the novelty has worn off, i don't know.

Anyway, i arrived at clapham junction at 10.45 on monday night, i was half high off of a litre of red bull and happy to see my bearded male-amigo (stalk him here -> Breadline Hypebeast). i didn't have much money with me because it was a spur of the moment visit, so tuesday was spent walking around the city centre, voluntarily torturing ourselves - me hugging lavish items and Jack fashioning jackets valued at a months rent. there was uno purchase that i was over the moon with; in a previous fashion related post, i declared my love for a leopard print beret, priced at £22 though, it was out of my reach. which was why, in H&M on tuesday, the sheer sight of my beloved beret's twin on a mannequin for a fraction of the price made me "eep" - ask Jack, he was there. see for yourself the uncanny-ness;

H&M £7.99 -
Purchased.

Urban Outfitters £22

Throughout the day, hints were thrown about that i should stay longer, assessing my bank balance after the hat adoption - it was a yes. after giving up my last £17.50, my new train was saturday morning instead of thursday morning - and we were both quite happy about it. that pretty much concluded tuesday, knackered, we retired back to clapham and pretty much vegged for the rest of the night. this continued throughout wednesday, apart from the odd trip to ASDA, we were pretty much actual vegetables.

Thursday morning dawned, and although i had zero dollar left, i wanted to scope out the charity shops in London - as if i hadn't been tortured enough the previous day. we took a ridiculously long walk through clapham town, bobbing in and out of any second hand clothing stores we saw, which sounds weird considering about three years ago, saying such filth would have had you labelled a 'tramp'. there were a few cute garms and feet huggers, but i had my leopard print angora covered mind set on some vintage brogues, which i failed to find. we returned home feeling quite satisfied that we'd done some exploring, had some hawaiian pizza, a dose of Mystery Science Theatre and watched Finding Nemo; we're not hermits, it's just the joys of having no stable income. thursday night was pretty rough for me, the next day was six months since Faye went to heaven, i spent most of the night texting my Mum and trying to hold back tears (failing).

I woke up friday morning so happy though, i had my first dream where Faye came to visit, and it seemed so real - like she'd never gone, i'd missed her so much. what followed was a glorious day; we watched Matilda and How I Met Your Mother until we burst with sheer visual glory. then friday night, after lights out, pretty much mimicked thursday.

By friday, i was all set to go and couldn't wait to get home, but hated saying bye to beardy - as always.

So yeah, i don't know what tainted my London adventure this time, but i'm willing to give it a second chance. student loan wednesday somewhat translates into shoreditch, so i'll figure out soon if our capital and i can work it out.

P & L

i heart leather

The original draft for this blog entry was written before i got the fantastic, yet purse crushing news, about the finalisation of my tenancy agreement over in the city that doesn't sleep. i've been traipsing around chester today, receiving cruel taunts from shops i'd usually run towards, because instead 512 smackers of my fabric funds (ahem, i mean "student loan") are going towards my deposit at the end of october. this has seriously compromised my shoreditch plans, my typical 'drunk by 12pm' student attitude and restricted the amount of times i can go troddling off to London. however, when i'm living the dream in the big apple, all the sacrifices i'll soon have to make will be worth it right? still, can't hurt to look, so here's the blog, with a few adjustments...

I'm busting out my leather jacket, scoping for a leather skirt and donning a leather LBD this friday. i'm thinking leather is going to be the look for winter, and since the majority of attendees at NYFW were draped in black, i'm guessing this season, black is the new black. here are a few things i have got my eye on/drooled over:-

love. love. love these leather black minis, i may be able to afford one of these thigh grazing bad boys once i have money. cannot afford.

My heart actually skips a beat when i see these gorgeous leather pin covers, it's just a matter of time until maybe they can cover mine - glory but they are unaffordable right now, as i have other financial priorities. *sobs*

Now here's one of my favourite fashionistas, Alexa Chung, looking super stunning in a three quarter length leather jacket. now i already have a leather jacket (who hasn't?), but one more can't hurt right? My current one isn't as 'vintage' looking as I'd like either and that one will suffice for now, no need for leather greed.

Although the eyelashes on this photo, freak the shit out of me, j 'adore the elbow length leather gloves. although there is always love, for the leather glove, there always seems to be a different style of leather glove around every winter. i bought a pair last year, yet they they met their maker this summer, when i gave most of my winter garms to red cross (blatant bragging). this winter, if i find the right pair of elbow length leathers, i'm diving in, fingers first i'm going to have to fight temptation and put the saved pennies in my NY fund.

Once again, and i'll keep saying it, hurry up student loan day!
Must...     be...      strong.


Currently loving:
Jamaican Panda (Ceephax Remix) by May Ling

P & L

the city so nice, they named it twice

It's exciting times in Emma's life, i think it's been the most exciting day for a good week and a half, i randomly decided to mosey on down to London to visit my male-amigo; but most exciting of all, after a month of e-mailing a landlord in NY, i finalised negotiations on a tenancy agreement for an apartment in manhattan. i can literally smell the shops.

Situated at 311 west broadway, SoHo is a neighbourhood known for it's art, and over time, has also become a famous destination for shopping. i'm literally almost peeing with excitement, even though i've known i'm going to New York for a while, the thought that a tenancy agreement in a lovely little envelope will be making it's way across the atlantic to little old me in the near future, somewhat makes it seem real.

The apartment is $800 a month...

... with a huge bedroom...

... private bathroom...

... decent living room...

... and a nice modern kitchen.

I have to pay one months deposit via an agency (safety first), and $600 security deposit on arrival, which i'll get back when i leave. i am definitely going to become a bargainista during this student year, i may have to cut down on some fashion purchases, but it'll all be worth it when i can spend my hard earned pennies in the big apple instead.

Now all i need is to find my forensic science internship and i'm all set. eeeep.

P & L

use your loaf

I've been admiring a lot of head gear at the moment, and i don't mean the 'special' kind, or the sports kind - i mean the fluffy kind.

How cute is this beret? i think
it'd be worth the hat hair too, i
must have it.

I may just ditch my headcarves
 and bands for this furry 
headhugger. £15

Never actually worn earmuffs, but 
i think it's about time my 
ears had a chum.

Roll on student loan day.

P & L

wish list

I have felt tortured the past few days, forced to stay in by my bank balance (apart from one visit to a friends in chester to watch Gremlins 2 and Critters 4), the internet was my only friend. i found one fashion website leading me to another, then that website directing me to a similar website etc., and before i knew it i'd concocted a mental shopping list of things i want/need.

Vintage

Leather twist lock satchel
Indiana Jones has one.

Varsity bomber jacket

Vintage brogues - acquirable from most vintage or charity shops

...and autumn florals.

j'adore vintage knits...

As many flannel shirts as I can get my grubby mitts on.

...and dainty little pendants

Chunky gold jewellery...

Wooly stockings
in a rainbow
of colours.

Chunky, oversized
scarves in as many
colours as I can afford.

Chunky 'YEAH' necklace
 - i don't know why
but it's cute on.

Retro

Adidas sports
watch on eBay

love this.

Reebok freestyle Hi
in white

I sort of want this 
'spacey' jacket too.

     

So for now they're all just a distant dream, and by 'distant', i mean when my student loan comes through. two weeks and counting 'til i hit shoreditch vintage fair and rape eBay in search of my pictured goodies, bye-bye summer clothes, see you next year.

I can't bloody wait.

P & L

just something a fellow blogger/friend posted which I kind of liked

"Fascination

As a young child, you own a multi-coloured jumper; the finest yarn, woven by the hands of your Parent's themselves. You wear it everyday; it is as much a part of you as your hands and feet. Of course, you grow, but the jumper still fits; the colours seem more intense, and it never goes out of fashion. Then, seemingly overnight, the jumper begins to fray, and a lose piece of fabric sticks out as if a question begging to be answered. You pull, and it begins to unravel. You pull again, and the feeling becomes addictive. The colours, now seperated, lose their intensity. But you keep on pulling until all that remains is a pile of material that no longer resembles a jumper. You pulled, and how you'll wish you hadn't." -Raven Hansman


P & L

Definite ear candy.

Tommy Reilly

Scotland's finest Tommy Reilly, singer-songwriter from Torrence, impressed judges on Orange Unsigned Acts in 2009 with his acoustic led songs. After originally being rejected in the audition stages, Jo Whiley had a feeling, along with alot of Britain, that she'd made a mistake and called him back. Probably the best decision the Whiley has ever made on the show as Tommy stormed through, week after week, captivating the audience with his acoustic creations, eventually becoming the winner.


It was all uphill from there for him; Reilly's first single "Gimme A call" reached number 14 in the UK Singles Chart in it's first week of release, followed by the release of his debut album "Words on the floor" in 2009 (which I swiftly bought) and the recent release of "Hello, I'm Tommy Reilly" in June this year (which was quickly bookmarked on Spotify and will be purchased once I have moneys). One of my favourite tracks on his new album, is the hidden one, I dreamt of New York. Consistent with Tommy's previous work, the song is beautifully written, with lyrics that make me just melt; "I dreamt I'd swing from a bungee cord, or travel the whole wide world, but now I'm completely sure you're what I'm living for."

I have followed Tommy from day one, since then his music has been safely anchored on my mp3, phone and iTunes. My pet musical hate is over-produced, over-credited, polished songs which are unauthentic and un-personal to the singer (You know what really grinds my gears: songs where the singer isn't even singing in their original accent; especially if it's a Brit singing in an american accent. Oh, and while I'm ranting, Alysha Dixon "Drummer boy" is the worst song I've ever heard - and I've heard Katy Perry). Tom has an enticingly rustic, Scottish singing voice, gloriously unpolished and authentic; his personality shines through in his stage presence, in every song and it's music that I listen to rather than just hear. 

I enjoy the live versions of his songs more than I do the produced ones, mainly because I love raw talent and live music, but also because his voice has more emotion which outshines the instruments; that being said, I also do love his produced songs, they may be the same songs, but they're different in so many ways - he is so under appreciated it's sickening! Although Tommy is one of my favourite songwriters, high up in my list of must-listen-to's is his acoustic rendition of "Mr Brightside" by the killers, and I'm sure I'm not alone in saying it bought tears to my eyes. In my opinion, Reilly has remained humble throughout his whole time in the lime light, replying to my Myspace messages and thanking people personally for their support. Definitely a lovable character, excellent musician/singer/songwriter and all 'round stand up guy (not just because I have a huge crush on him either).


Visit Tommy's website here and get to your nearest record store and purchase some of his acoustical genius.


Tommy Reilly wins at life.


P & L 
Voodle

vintage haven.

I'm not an England person. although i was born and bred in England, i don't like England, and whenever i'm in England i like to make my stay as short as possible. ever since i quit my full time job at the age of 17 to go to Europe for two months, i can't stand to be in England unless i know i'm going to be leaving in the near future, and summer 2010 was my first summer in England for four years - i was miserable and even my friends said it felt like there was something missing. that being said, i have found a place in England that i actually LOVE and if for some reason i am ever condemned to England for the rest of my life, shoreditch is where i'd want to live.

Brick Lane

During my six day adventure around the big smoke, i was introduced to glorious locations such as camden, chelsea, the city centre and my favourite place of all, shoreditch vintage fair.


It took about half an hour on the train from Clapham Junction, but boy was it worth it; as soon as we turned the corner onto brick lane, it was like stepping out of a time machine into the pre 90s. there is not a starbucks or gap in sight, it's wall-to-wall authentic market stalls,  'floordrobes' and vintage coves, all of which bursting with retro goodies - all of the clothes involved are genuine, vintage, urban renewals and you're never too far away from a bargain. Although i didn't buy anything apart from food because of a serious lack of dollar, but if my bank balance was as big as my eyes, i would have bought my body weight in fabric, therefore the planning of trip number two when i have money is in progress. i would definitely need the whole day to sort through all of the racks in the market and in the stores, and probably about a thousand pound to accommodate my findings, but definitely a job worth doing!


Although the retro garms are the backbone of the vintage fair, there is just something else about the area in which my fabric fairy-tale is set. it's the authentic, rustic, cobbled streets; it's the mazes of golden oldie frocks; it's the double decker bus, converted into a cafe; it's the artsy fartsy rapport about the place; but most of all, it's the sheer coolness and laid back attitude of all the attendees, who are all there to have a good time while they shop. most places in the UK would look down on buying second hand clothing, but here it's encouraged, to the point it's almost fashionable not to be wearing a box fresh garm.


I bloody love high street stores, i think they're essential, but after my little visit to brick lane, they will never match up and i will always find myself comparing possible purchases on the high street to what i could get in shoreditch for the same money.


Thanks shoreditch, you've set the bar high and i'll be back soon, after i've sold my right arm.


P & L

that's a capital idea.

Well, after touching back down in Bristol after a very alcoholically exhausting (but excellent) girly 21st in Magaluf, i began my London based adventure. now i don't have any pictures to put up of any of my UK-ey antics because, as previously explained; i've ditched the digital, donned the disposable and i have yet to have them developed.

First stop: Alysha-ville aka high wycombe
Whenever i've seen this location in text form, i've always thought it was pronounced 'high why-comb', but that's besides the point. this was my first visit to Alysha at this location as she's only been there around three months, but my gosh, she has got it so good it's sickening! house is beautiful, boyfriend and his family are lovely, area is bliss. we sat in the garden and gossiped, went for drinkypoos then had an indian banquet; now after 5 days of processed, all inclusive style, mass produced buffet food in Magaluf, it was heaven. indian food was closely followed by snuggling up in bed and watching Man to Man with Dean Learner - genius. we retired early, due to the fact i hadn't slept in two days, and we were all generally knackered. on the thursday, Alysha and i resumed to how we were when we spent every waking hour together, ruining perfectly good places by being general idiots, quoting too many films and making a mess when doing the simplest of tasks - i miss my friends. we had omelette (i helped by grating the cheese), then, before we could say "I LOVE LAMP", it was time to set off to go catch the 3 o'clock train to my next destination.

Second stop: Jack-ville aka clapham

The tube was stressful because it was the first time i had gotten it on my own, plus i had a big dock off suitcase, and it was hot. by the time i made it to london marylebone, i was a sweaty mess and didn't want to see anyone i knew, never mind someone who i actually quite fancied. my bearded amigo was supposed to meet me at clapham junction, but just as i was about to go down the stairs to get the tube to london victoria, i saw a glimpse of a face i recognised - it was Jack and he'd come to meet me, and if he was 2 seconds later, he would have missed me. i didn't really care that i was a sweaty mess anymore, that passing people were probably thinking 'get a room' or that it had only been a week since i last saw him; i was happy to see him (even though he was probably happier to see me) and i was going to show it. what followed was an awesome two days, which then turned into another three days, totaling five. we went shopping in the town centre, to the vintage fair in shoreditch, moshed around in camden, visited monuments and buildings (only so he could take a picture of himself flipping the v to them), went on a very long walk/adventure, ate many bagels and chocolate cake, watched many dvds and generally just had a splendid time. all of my findings and adventures will be blogged about, in detail, in time to come - because to do it now would just take so damn long! Then, with the loss of money, but the gaining of an off-white top (UO) and a boyfriend (yes, that's right, a boyfriend), i troddled to clapham junction train station to catch my 7.56pm train, i said my fairwells and boarded the train to london victoria once again. it was dusk as we were walking to the station, but by the time the train left, it was full on dark and the city was glowing. i hate leaving places i don't want to leave in the dark, more than I do in the daytime, i can't explain why; even if you gave me some opal fruits before their name was changed, a top hat and a £500,000 clothes voucher. Needless to say, it was very very sucky, but i didn't begin feeling upset until i was leaving london euston; mainly because i knew the next time the train stopped, i would be miles away from london, and from the person i've began liking so much - Mumford and Sons' album in my bastard ear didn't help either, as much as i love them, they just got me thinking about everyone i miss.

Final stop: home aka gobowen
Home, sweet home? no.
Train home was nightmarish; it was raining, dark, the city lights were getting further and further away and there was some sort of chav-esque mid-twenty year old hitting on me, wearing grey joggers and a black vest top - score. the stations got more and more rural, i started to recognise places and train station signs, the people began to get less and less well dressed and i felt as if i'd never left home, which was depressing - i always knew i was a city girl, but i never knew how much. so i got stranded in shrewsbury at 11.35pm because a train was delayed for an hour, i was surrounded by people wearing last years beanie hats and Primark jeans and i was at the point of tears due to sheer exhaustion when a baby frog hopped from behind my shoe into the middle of the platform. here is the story, quoted from a text i sent, explaining the first event to make me smile after 7.56pm:-
"it was a rainy September eve, i was leaning against a metal gate in shrewsbury train station, with twenty other bodies around me. all of a sudden, a baby frog, no bigger than a really tiny frog, went hopping past. at this point the frog was safe because everyone was stationary, but once the train was in sight, movement began to spark. it was at this point I felt the frog's fear and jumped to it's aid by shouting "watch out for the tiny frog in front of you", to which everyone obliged. the frog, safe once again, hopped along on it's way with a grateful spring in it's step as the temporary residents of shrewsbury station watched proudly. then everyone boarded the train and went back to being humble strangers."

After arriving home an hour late, i chatted with my mum, then went to bed. today i went to a friends and watched series 3 of The IT crowd, demolished a multi-pack of monster munch and then came home.

Now here i am, wishing i was somewhere else.

P & L