Tuesday 24 September 2013

Etsy: Les Folles Marquises






Last month, Chantal of Pony Chops hosted a giveaway, and I was lucky enough to be the winner! Dorothée of Les Folles Marquises contacted me and gave me a choice of the wonderful creations in her Etsy shop. When I came across Chantal's giveaway, I fell in love with the Little Cutie pendant dolls straight away. Their shape, cute little details and very shiny finish really appeals to me. The little dolls are made from polymer clay and are varnished to give them their glossy, smooth finish.

I was a little bit torn when it came to choosing. I was torn between the Little Cutie doll I had originally picked out, and the neon pink triangle earrings. I have a bit of a thing about triangles, and I knew that the earrings would be more wearable on a daily basis as I am always wearing earrings even if no other jewellery. Eventually I placed the earrings in my Etsy love list and decided that I should pick the Little Cutie doll, it is definitely more unique and although I won't wear it everyday, that just makes it a little bit more special when I do wear it.

Dorothée was lovely and helpful, and my sweet little necklace arrived not long after I'd chosen. I was surprised when it arrived all the way from France in such a short time! It came lovingly packaged, with beautiful and well thought out design of postcard, business card and headed letter. Dorothée even wrote a little note for me - so sweet! How pretty is Dorothée's handwriting?! I couldn't be happier with my necklace, it's so unusual and quirky, and I can't wait to wear it more.

I'd like to say a big thank you to Chantal and Dorothée, thank you both so much!

Chantal's blog // Dorothée's blog // Les Folles Marquises Etsy // Les Folles Marquises Facebook



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Sunday 22 September 2013

Music: Portugal. The Man, Manchester


When? Friday 13th
Where? Night & Day, Manchester
Wearing? left-to-dry natural wavy hair, Lupfer t-shirt, Zara jacket, Firetrap jeans, leather chelsea boots from TK Maxx

I bought Mark tickets for PTM for his birthday in June, and I booked us a hotel for 2 nights so we could make a weekend of it. We were so excited! We saw PTM a couple of years ago, in the same week as seeing Bon Iver for the first time. I was a first time PTM'er and I was truly converted. Despite the awe inspiring show we'd seen by Justin and his friends, Portugal. The Man just blew us away. It wasn't Mark's first time, but we both agreed it was the best show we'd ever been to. That is some mean feat! It was atmospheric, a spangly disco ball reflecting hypnotic colours everywhere. A small crowded room. Mesmerising voices and lyrics lulling you into a state of utter bliss. I think we floated all the way back to our hotel!

Fast forward two years and you find us inside the Night & Day cafe, after much driving around getting lost and finally having found a car park (£13!!). I like the feel of it, though I'm not quite sure about everyone in attendance. The majority being wonderful, the sparse few being very irritating, and most certainly on something. We arrived late, but we applauded the support act and eagerly awaited PTM. There wasn't as big a sense of anticipation as at the previous show, but we were excited enough for everyone!

Both of us had agreed prior to the show that we weren't as 'into' the new album Evil Friends yet as we are each of our favourite albums. That's the way it is with new music, it takes us a while to adapt to the new sounds. But there were several songs played live from the album that we enjoyed, I was surprised when I caught myself singing along to words I didn't know I knew. Then of course there were some of the anthemic tunes we know and love and enjoy hearing over and over again. Some songs just never get old. But after around 50 minutes or so onstage, we were thanked and left. That was it? That was it. There was no encore, despite other setlists listing lengthy sets and encores. John and the band left the stage with an attitude we hadn't seen before.

We left the venue bewildered and disappointed. All of our anticipation, and we were going back to the hotel at 10.30pm on a Friday night, our first night away. Disappointment evaporated into anger for Mark, as a massive and loyal fan he felt so let down! When we got back to the hotel his first impulse was to send an angry email directly to the band. He wasn't to be stopped, so I guided him in wording it, expressing our disappointment and what we'd hoped to see (again). Mark never expected a reply, he just wanted his opinion to be known. But the next morning Mark received a lengthy email directly from the band (John, we assume). It went along the lines of...

"I respect and appreciate what you have had to say on this and take note. We love our fans as an absolute. We respect you. ...We give a f__k. I am disappointed in myself for not performing to the best of my ability."

Needless to say, the band has regained any respect lost and Mark's life is complete, he was made up!

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Wednesday 18 September 2013

What is Autumn to me?


Autumn is... golden orange leaves all around, kicking them, throwing them, fighting with them, crunching through them, beautiful trees, collecting shiny brown conkers, misty mornings, your breath in front of your face, crisp sunny days with a chill in the air, wrapping up for the cold, snuggly scarves, mittens on a string, knitted hats, comfy boots, thick socks, extra layers, thick tights, cable knit jumpers, thermal tops, wearing slippers, evenings getting darker, hurrying home from work by streetlight, hot chocolate, feeling snug as a bug in a rug with the fire on, sitting in front of the fire, extra cuddles, saturday night tv, reading curled up on the sofa with heaps of blankets and cushions, halloween, dressing up, trick or treating with younger siblings/children, bonfire night, sparklers, pretty explosions in the sky, eating hotdogs, treacle toffee, an extra hour when the clocks go back...



Hello lovelies, Lauren of The Emerald Dove tagged me in a lovely Autumn tag, answers to the questions are below, and if you click through to Lauren's blog you can see her answers too. I'm excited to answer the questions, as Autumn is my favourite season for all the reasons listed above!

For Autumn, what is your...
1. Favourite thing about it?
Absolutely everything, see above!
2. Favourite drink?
Hot chocolate without cream, I may or may not have started drinking hot chocolate in Summer...
3. Favourite scent/candle?
The smell of the leaves after the rain
4. Best lipstick?
I'll be sticking with my trusty Korres lip butter in Jasmine
5. Go to moisturiser?
Dramatically Different Moisturizing Lotion+ by Clinique
6. Go to colours for the eyes?
Gold and bronze (Clinique Beach Plum palette and Jemma Kidd City Chic palette)
7. Favourite music or band/singer to listen to?
Bon Iver every time, both times I've seen Bon Iver have been in the Autumn
8. Favourite outfit to wear (i.e. boots & a scarf combo)?
Skinny jeans, long sleeved layers, thick cosy jumper, boots, knitted scarf and big oversized coat
9. Autumn treat? (i.e. a new scarf or bag you have your eye on)
I'm looking to incorporate dark green into my Autumn wardrobe, and searching for a new pair of perfect skinny jeans in a dark colour!


I hope you've enjoyed this post, and I tag anyone who wants to take part! Please let me know if you do :)

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Sunday 15 September 2013

Recently read: The Fault In Our Stars by John Green


"Despite the tumor-shrinking medical miracle that has bought her a few years, Hazel has never been anything but terminal, her final chapter inscribed upon diagnosis. But when a gorgeous plot twist named Augustus Waters suddenly appears at Cancer Kid Support Group, Hazel's story is about to be completely rewritten.
Insightful, bold, irreverent, and raw, The Fault in Our Stars is award-winning author John Green's most ambitious and heartbreaking work yet, brilliantly exploring the funny, thrilling, and tragic business of being alive and in love."


Quite a while ago now, my sister Willow gave me this book and told me I had to read it. I read the back, and I was instantly put off. My eyes start to well up over the tiniest thing, and my view lately has been 'I'm not going to make myself feel sad'. This is partly down to a film I wanted to watch for absolutely ages, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. I don't want to ruin it for anyone or put you off, but it was honestly for me one of the worst films I have ever seen. I bawled my eyes out and the conclusion of the film (if you can call it that) just wasn't worth it. It felt like it never went anywhere. Add to this the fact that I lost my dad through cancer, and someone I recently knew and called a friend, and you can understand my hesitation...

A few weeks ago, I picked this book up when Mark was playing on Xbox one night and then I just couldn't put it down. I cared for the characters. I still care for the characters now I've finished the book! I'm not going to lie, a few tears escaped. But it wasn't horrendous at all. It was heroic, hopeful and witty. It's full of a certain sort of humour that draws you in and gives you an intimacy with the characters and their feelings, a closeness to the characters I've never felt before in a book.

The book, the characters and their story give you an insight into terminal diseases. It gives an insight to how the sufferers may be feeling, and it definitely opens your eyes to a few things. Me and my family have felt the devastating impact of losing someone through terminal cancer, and I think this book really does give an insight as to how those left behind feel. The impact of love and loss. But it isn't a depressing story, it's a courageous and honest battle of (and sometimes between) two young people in love.

If you've been thinking about reading it, you honestly should! I can truthfully say it is one of the best books I have ever read, for entirely different reasons to any I have read before. Have you already read The Fault In Our Stars? What did you think of it?

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Friday 6 September 2013

Remember when... the police stopped by when we were watching the Perseid meteor shower



The Perseid meteor shower took place in the night of 13th August. Somehow these things that I love to see nearly pass me by every time, if not for some random Facebook status or text informing me of their happening. After the supermoon, I was determined to become a more enthusiastic and knowledgeable sky gazer. So I signed up for the National Geographic newsletter (yep, things just got serious). Except I then proceeded to ignore the emails like all other newsletter style emails. Just as Mark & I had gotten into bed on 13th August, I got a text from my younger sister Willow at 10.37pm...

"There is a meteorite shower!!!!"

No. Way.

(everything I said from this point on was pretty much an exclamation!)

Mark, knowing me, knew exactly what this meant. Shoes on! Coats on! Glasses, Hannah! After a speedy Google search it turned out we weren't going to be likely to see anything up North, but we're not going to let a little thing like location and a terribly cloudy sky ruin it now are we! We stood outside the house for a good few minutes. Quick, we need to go somewhere without streetlights! Where to? To the park! No, not the park, it's low down. Let's just drive! Off we went, me gazing out of the window hoping to see something wonderful. We drove to the beach, but quickly retreated once we saw all the shhh! youths (definitely getting old).

Now what!

We just turned around and kept on driving. I was on the phone to Willow, all she'd had to do was step outside into the garden and was witnessing something amazing! We decided to pull over on the side of the road in a farmer's field entrance. The sky looked like the photo above. Yes! we thought. This is it! Where's the meteors! Eyes peeled! Nothing. We thought we might have seen something, but it was definitely our eyes getting tired. I eventually decided that since we knew which direction the meteor shower was going to be in, why not check the handy little thing on my phone called a compass...

No. Way.

You guessed it, the meteor shower was happening on the opposite side of the sky to the way we were stood! Yes! This is definitely it now! we thought. We gazed and hoped and gazed. It was freezing. We were in our pjs (Mark in a particularly fetching pair of grandad style burgundy check ones).

"Mark!! Hannah!! Mark! METEORITES!!!"

The sky was finally raining a few meteorites just for us, we saw three in total. Magical! And it was in this happy and hyperactive and beyond cold state that I noticed a blue flashing light. Approaching. Fast.

"Mark? Mark. Mark there's a police car. Mark it's slowing down. Mark! It's pulling over!

We had somehow attracted the attention of the local police, scary stuff! Someone had called the police on us! It was at the precise moment as we approached the policeman getting out of his car, that Mark realised the MOT was due. A few days ago... ohmygod! We thought we were in trouble for sure. The policeman asked what we were doing. Outside in our pjs with a camera round my neck. Lucky for us, I doubt the policeman has ever heard "watching the meteor shower" as an excuse before! He took note of the camera, our scruffy selves. He was friendly and asked if we'd seen any, we had a little chat. As soon as he got in his car and started driving away, we breathed a great sigh of relief in unison. LET'S GO! Home! Quick!

Phew!

Sunday 1 September 2013

150 follower giveaway


Hello lovely readers, as promised here is my 150 follower giveaway! Good luck!!
The giveaway is open internationally and there are going to be three prizes:

First prize
A custom A5 illustration of yourself (or a friend if you'd prefer), and a notebook with the illustration on
Second & third prize
A custom A5 illustration each

Previous winner's prize

The giveaway is going to run for the whole of September, and the winners will be announced on October 1st. There are a number of different ways you can enter, feel free to do just one or all of them, it's totally up to you! Please leave your email address in a comment, so that if you win I can contact you to discuss your illustration and you can send me your address once the illustration is finished. If you win, I will need a couple of photos, and a photo or links to whatever you'd like to be wearing on the illustration.

The prizes will be done in order of them being received, first prize first and so on. Each illustration will take no longer than a week to be done & posted. Please note: I will be taking an exam on October 7th, so all prizes will be done in the weeks following.
You are free to use the illustration however you like (if you want to use it on your blog etc.), but it would be lovely if you could credit me for it if anyone asks :)

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