Saturday, 29 May 2010

Like a prayer

Hi all! It's half term now and so it's time for a lot of work, but also lots of fun this weekend! Anyway, just felt like a photo post because I have quite a lot from this week. We went on the trip to a Buddhist pagoda on Monday and it was such a nice sunny day, so it was really good. We met the nicest, wackiest Buddhist leader and a monk, we also did some meditation which was pretty good. Then we went for a walk around the reservoir and had lunch, so it turned out to be a great day: it was a lot better than school on a Monday morning!

The rest of the week has been fairly uneventful and then it was the end of school on Friday! So that was good and then I went to town with my sister, Christy and my friends, Abi and Gabi. We met up with Paddy and went to Cow (vintage shop) and shopped, then we went to eat at URBAN PIE! You may have seen my previous post on all things related to 'urban' and I can assure you, Urban Pie was definitely up there. I opted for the Angus Steak pie which was so lovely and succulent - apologies for getting all foodie and pretentious on you, but there's no better way to describe it! - as well as mash and lashings of gravy, all in a lovely box! It is generally just the loveliest place, with half price pies on Mondays to Fridays, after 5 pm. The atmosphere is lovely and I love it!
Anyway, afterwards, we went to do some more shopping and then got a lift to Abi's. Originally, Paddy and Gabi couldn't sleep over, but then the Sleepover Gods were finally on our side and they both did, as did Leo! We all chatted and generally joked around, which was fun. Then the boys went to sleep in the spare room and we planned to wake up at 5:45 am for a morning "jog" - this wasn't my idea, but it was fun anyway!
So with only a few hours sleep, we all chatted and then decided to take Sophie, the dog, for a walk as well. It was still pretty cold and raining slightly, but we just went and failed at playing frisbee. Then we walked back and ate lots of cereal, then sat around and watched some trashy television. Then we got changed and went for another walk, even though it was raining and then went back for tea, toast and croissants. Then we made decorations and chilled, until it was time to go home! Really nice start to the holidays, so yeah it was really good :)

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This is me on the outside patio eating area of Urban Pie! I'm wearing:
Gap top - hand me down, borrowed cardigan, skirt - Urban Outfitters sale, Doc Marten boots - given to me!

Anyway, I'll have a better outfit picture post later, but right now, I'm eating some Frosties and chilling out. I checked out a book from the library, High Fidelity, by Nick Hornby. I read the blurb and it looks pretty good. Family came around today and we had a really nice day, so that was nice. Then seeing some family friends tomorrow, so that should be good too! Then the rest of this holiday will comprise of trying to revise and chilling out, I reckon. I just can't wait until the exams are over! Anyway, I'll try and post again in the next few days. Hope everyone has a great holiday and weekend. Happy blogging!

Chloe xxx

P.S. How much does everyone love Madonna and "Like A Prayer"?! I completely love this song and we were all singing to the Glee version last night, it's such a great song. It's currently on repeat and it's such a good song! (Although, I am trying to ignore the various innuendos which are associated with this song.. Boys are so immature.) Still, I love Madonna and this song!

Sunday, 23 May 2010

Lolita, light of my life

Bonjour, mes amis belle! As always, thank you for the lovely comments on my blog - I was so astounded to see that so many people share my love for Gilmore Girls, I always thought that it was just my sister and I who loved Lorelai and Rory's sisterly antics! It was all lovely and I was saving that as some sort of 'special' post so that people can see what I like to get up to, what my hopes and aspirations are, etc.

Anyway, back to the point in hand, I had a really good day on Friday, went to my friend Abi's house with some people and met up with her friends who I met for the first time. Spent the day with the loveliest girls and boys! So it was really nice, we went to her house and got changed, ate ice creams, had a drink and chatted. Then we waited for a while for the boys to arrive, but they were late, of course. Then we went to the park and took photos, played rounders, football, etc and had some drinks, basically chilled out. Also, I got ridiculously scared when a kind of 'rough' girl came up to me and asked me where I got my skirt from, I thought she was gonna mug me or something! When I told her, she was like, oh okay then, and then walked off. My friend Abi's best friend, Paddy, said he was ready to hand me the rounders bat, haha. Then we walked back to Abi's, played Wii and had burgers and hot dogs. And a jelly fight since someone messed it up completely and that was it. We went outside again to play football and generally mess around. I laughed so much that day, so it was fun! I went home about ten-ish and it was such a great day! Here are some photos, hope you like them! :)

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Also, I posted this photo on Lookbook.nu, I'd love it if you 'hyped' it! I don't really post much on there, but I would love to start doing it more, as I used to be really into it and there is so much inspiration on Lookbook!


Also, my outfit consists of: Gap top: Hand-me-down, Skirt: £5 Portobello Market, Boots: DM from Abi, Bag: My sister's, Hat: Abi's! This outfit cost me a tenner, tops :)

Again, thank you all for the continued support, I am so grateful for it all. I hope you're all enjoying the wonderful weather, I am! And no proper school for me on Monday, I got chosen for this R.E. trip since I did well in the test and a few of my friends got chosen, so I'm envisaging a nice day in the glorious weather. Also, shout out to one of my best friends, Abi, for being the best and giving me her Doc Marten brown leather ankle boots, since she has grown out of them herself! I love her to bits and I am so grateful to her :) Anywho, that's about it, I'm off to enjoy the rest of my Sunday. Hope you're all having a wonderful weekend. Happy blogging!

Chloe xxx

Wednesday, 19 May 2010

Me

Hi everyone! Thank you all so much for the lovely comments on the previous post - I'm glad that so many of you share my immense love for white walls! And because of that, I thought I'd do an extra long post about things which I hope that I'll be able to get up to in the future. I really, really hope that these things pan out for me, because your life should be exactly how you want it to be, etc etc etc. I'm gonna try and not be too cliché in all of this, because I am actually a really clichéd person. At least I think I am. It's not always a bad thing though, there's a reason why clichés are clichés. Anyway, I guess these are sort of my hopes and dreams or something: I hope you like them as much as I do!
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(A photo of myself in the beautiful sun - apologies for the vanity!)

I want to have a place fairly close to the city, close enough to feel like a part of the city, but also a little off the beaten track. Somewhere where I can call home, where I can feel safe and secluded from everyone else. I'm a natural introvert and I think this is perhaps what my inner introvert is telling me. It will be impeccably decorated and tidy, with white walls and large arced doorways, open plan and spacious.
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(More photos from the brilliant Light Locations)

I want an entire room for books. I want a whole library, with books of every kind. It will be alphabetised and even organised by genre, to aid my neurotic self. The shelves will cover the entire wall. I'll have a sliding step ladder to reach the books on the highest shelf. There will be blown up posters of my favourite books' covers and a comfy seat for me to sit in to while away the hours and lose track of the time.

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I want to be successful. I want a job in finance, one in which I'll be able to travel a lot and I'll be able to earn money to fund all of the things that I want to experience. I want one so I can be happy and repay my family for everything they've given me and also enough to create a new family of my own.
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I want to be a known 'regular' at a local coffee shop close to where I'll live. It'll be the Luke's Diner to my Lorelai Gilmore (reference to Gilmore Girls = love) and I will have tried every thing there is to try. I'll have my own tab, which I will frequently run up with lattes and tea and chai. I will sit in my usual seat with a good book/magazine/newspaper, my reading glasses and a drink.
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I want an old school bicycle. One with a little wicker basket. It won't be too big or too small for me -- it'll be just right. One which I can take for long rides in the sun. I will ride it too fast and feel dizzy, but the wind in my face and my hair will be so exhilarating that I won't care. I will take long bicycle rides on my own and with friends. I will teach my child how to ride a bike and it will be my proudest moment until the next time they choose to astound me even more.
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I want to host a moustache party, amongst many other differently-themed dinner parties. I'll get lots of recipes from cookery books and do the perfect hostess thing. There'll be amuse-bouches, canapés, starters, mains, desserts, a cheeseboard and coffee afterwards. I will be the Dinner Party Queen. Of course, this is all dependent on whether I can cook or not, but fingers crossed!
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I want to travel everywhere. I want to Canada, Australia, Thailand. I want to maybe live in New York City for a year or two; to quote Baz Luhrmann's Sunscreen Song:
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Live in New York City once, but leave before it makes you hard; live in Northern California once, but leave before it makes you soft. Travel." I can't wait to travel everywhere and experience new things. Things won't always go to plan, but the best thing will be going there, experiencing new things that I wouldn't otherwise have done and then going home to the place where you belong. That's what life should be about.
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I want to write something. I am essentially a very logical, Maths and Chemistry type girl, but I love reading books and this is kind of encouraging some sort of part of me to write something. Anything. Reviews or even a novel, something which I can pour my brains and my heart into (not literally, 'cause I mean.. that's slightly ridiculous and gory.) I don't know though, I think I'm the least creative person going..

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I want an old car. A really fantastic, old sports car. One which I can drive really quickly or just sit on the bonnet, when it's a nice sunny day, reading a book and sipping on a cold one. My top five consist of the:
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Porsche 964 Coupe
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BMW 507
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Porsche 550
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Jaguar E-type
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Ferrari 365 Daytona

Most of all, I want to be happy. As happy as I can be by adhering to the supposed 'formula for happiness'. Apparently:
Happiness = P + (5xE) + (3xH)
To put it all into a little more context, P tands for Personal Characteristics, including outlook on life, adaptability and resilience. E stands for Existence and relates to health, financial stability and friendships. And H represents Higher Order needs, and covers self-esteem, expectations, ambitions and sense of humour. So it really is true that 'Money doesn't buy you happiness'. I think that it's really important to be happy and I think that most of us are so lucky. I know I may not sound it all the time, but I am really grateful for what I have. Everyone has their bad days, but hey, it's gotta become good at some point.
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When I think of all the things that I've shown above, I can't wait to grow up. Obviously, I'm not naive enough to think that everything will be plain sailing from here on in. But I am willing to work hard and fight hard for everything I want, because 'life's too short' and I want to do it for myself and also my family.
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed my rambling post about all things to do with me, me, me. Heck, even this post is called 'Me'. But I couldn't really think of any other title and I dunno, I guess this is all about me. Sorry for being selfish, but hey, it's not healthy being selfless all the time! A little 'me' time is as good as anything else. Bear that in mind for the next time you feel like being selfish for a little while. Anywho, I think I've rambled on long enough and you definitely don't have to endure this for much longer. Happy blogging!

Chloe xxx

Sunday, 16 May 2010

White Walls

I can't believe I'm up this early on a Sunday, but yeah, I thought I might as well write a blog post whilst I'm up. So I was ridiculously glad to see Friday and the end of the school week, but now it's Sunday all over again and the coming weeks seem ridiculously daunting. I want to sleep and do nothing except watch telly and read books. Revision is the worst kind of work possible, I'm not even kidding. Other than that though, things have been pretty boring and non-eventful.
The main reason that I felt like blogging today was that I wanted to share some really beautiful photos with you, of rooms with white (or cream) walls in. These photos are pretty much exactly how I imagine my house to be when I'm older.

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(All photos copyrighted to Light Locations)

I'm in love with all of the photos. And now I'm going to be all sentimental and get all nostalgic looking at old photos on my laptop. I really miss having photos which you can hold and touch and get annoyed at others for smudging their fingerprints all over them. There's something great and tangible about them. I really wanna get an old film camera; something like a Holga or a Diana F+ or maybe even a Fuji Instax. I always wanted a Polaroid, but since the film is so expensive, I doubt it'd really be worth it. Maybe I should wait to save up for an actual DSLR before I can start thinking about stuff like that!

Anyway, that's it really. I hope you like the photos and I'll be back to blogging later on, either this week or definitely next weekend. Happy rest of Sunday and I hope your week will be a great one. Happy blogging!

Chloe xxx

P.S. I wanted to share a new blogger with you guys, Sarah Starlight from Austentatious Memoirs. She is currently in Lower Sixth at my school and has always been incredibly supportive of my blog -- so thank you, Sarah! Not only that, but she literally just started blogging, which I was so happy to hear, and she will give you an insight into all things Irish, literature-ish, art-ish, fashion-ish, music-ish, poetic-ish and Sarah-ish. In her own words, she is a "self confessed literature lover, aspiring artist, tea addict and she really wishes she could play the ukulele." I think that's reason enough why you should go visit her blog.

Monday, 10 May 2010

Hair Cutting

Hey guys, just wanted to do a pretty quick post - a little unlike what I normally do, but yeah. Just wanted to show you my hair, which I cut myself on Saturday. I don't really know what prompted me to do so, but I was really bored of my hair and just bored in general. I was a little unsure of it at first, but I quite liked it after a while and it's always nice for a bit of a change. After all, "Change is the spice of life!" as well as "Change is the only constant" and just to throw a third one into the mix, "Change is inevitable"! I feel really cheesy for saying that and relating that to a new haircut, but y'know.

Anyway, here's a photo of my hair. Apologies for the pretty terrible quality, but it's a webcam photo as I couldn't be bothered to get my camera and just general laziness. I didn't really plan on a full fringe, but I kinda think it suits me! I brush it to the side too and I thinned out the rest of my hair. The only problem with having to cut your own hair is that it's virtually impossible to get it all entirely even.

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And since I've been saving lots of nice photos lately, here are a few more!

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D'you know what I really love? Seeing a really amazing photo and wishing that I had taken it. Or reading a really amazing book and wishing that I had written it. Or listening to a really amazing song and wishing that I had written it. I feel that way a lot! I don't really class it as jealousy or envy, even though that's probably exactly what it is. I like feeling that way. I don't really know what I mean, actually.
Anyway, so this "short post" turned into a pretty long-ish one. It always does, I get too carried away with writing about my thoughts and stuff. I should probably get a diary, but I don't think I have the motivation to do anything like that. I like having a blog, you don't always have to write things every day and when you do, at least things will be semi-interesting -- at least, I hope they are. I'm rambling again, I guess. Should probably leave this one for now, have a great rest of the week - I know, I can't believe it's only Monday evening either. Happy blogging!

Chloe xxx