Fairytale of New York

A belated Merry Christmas to you all and here's a Happy New Year in advance for Sunday. As I already wrote in my last post, I had an astoundingly busy week last week in the run-up to Christmas (will post photos from those at some point). I had a lovely Christmas this year and spent it with family which was nice. And now I'm in the sort of lost bit between Christmas and New Year's, where I sort of just sit around, eat from leftover selection packs, tins of shortbread, chocolate and biscuits and lounge around watching films. Also, since not being at school, I never know what day it is which is slightly alarming. However, I just checked and I realised that I have less than 6 days until I go back to school. I'm feeling alarmed at the very thought.

Here are some pictures to distract myself:




1. Dimples
2. The Diving-Bell and the Butterfly in book and DVD form!
3. Beautiful moving image (found on the internet somewhere)

Regarding presents, I mostly got vouchers and money, books, DVDs, confectionery... Nothing really worth mentioning, to be quite honest! I also went shopping earlier this week to hit the sales, but once I got there, I found that I really couldn't be bothered. Topshop was a nightmare so I didn't even bother and the only shops I managed to look around in was Selfridge's and Gap, which was a shame as I really wanted to check out Zara and H&M. Never mind, I'm sure I'll make it in again before the holidays end. :-) I didn't really find much to begin with, but I did manage to buy my prom dress (which is in July 2012) in the Fenn Wright Manson concession in Selfridge's which I purchased with my Crimbo vouchers! It's really lovely and I would love to show you all, but will most likely keep it a surprise. :-)

Anyway, I do hope you're all having a lovely holiday and best wishes for the New Year. Can't believe it's going to be 2012! That's going to take some getting used to. Hope you're all well. Happy blogging!

Chloe xxx

Fairytale of New York - The Pogues
It's a bit late, but I thought I'd let you know that The Pogues' 'Fairytale of New York' is probably my favourite Chrismas song. This is followed closely by Band Aid's 'Do They Know It's Christmas?' and Wham!'s 'Last Christmas'. :-) And you just can't beat Auld Lang Syne at New Year.

Blue Suede Shoes

Bonjour! My Crimbo holidays started on Friday (I had a half day and no proper lessons which was great!) and so far, I have spent the majority of my free time lounging around, watching television (cooking programmes for the most part) and eating food. This is the PERFECT way to spend time, in my humble opinion.

However, I'm gonna break the habit of a lifetime and actually kickstart my social life this week. I'm going into town tomorrow to meet up with a friend, mooch around the shops and then afterwards, I'm off to TGI Fridays (I've never been before, so here's hoping that the food is nice!) with some other friends. Then on Wednesday, I'm going TOBOGGANING (which is basically sledging, but with steering) for the first time to celebrate my friend's birthday and then I'm sleeping over until the Thursday. Then on Friday, I've got family coming round so I'll be able to spend some time with them. And then I'm spending Christmas Eve with some other friends and then FINALLY it'll be Christmas Day on Sunday.

So yeah I've got a pretty jampacked week, so blog posts will no doubt be few-and-far-between. Anyway, here are just a few photos (mostly of food):





1. Catching up on some magazines - Grazia is by far my favourite weekly mag :-)
2. Got through about half of this tub of Maltesers in one sitting!
3. The most delicious blueberry cheesecake I've ever eaten, plus lovely strawberries! (Told you I've been eating a lot!)

I'm feeling so optimistic at the moment, it's probably just the influence of the festive season, but it's a great feeling. Anyway, wishing you all Joyeux Noel for Christmas in just six days time! Can't believe that 2011 is almost over. It's been a pretty great year and I know that 2012 will be one of the best and most stressful years of my life, but I'm looking forward to it.

Hope that you're all well and keeping warm in this obscenely cold weather. Wish me luck for my unusually busy (but undoubtedly enjoyable) week ahead! Happy blogging!

Chloe xxx

P.S. Elvis's Blue Suede Shoes is a classic and as soon as it comes on, I want to dance despite my lack of rhythm, co-ordination and all-round embarrassing dance moves. Love it. Also, I'd love a pair of blue suede shoes, wouldn't you?

Charlie Brown

Apologies again for the mini-hiatus, the almost three weeks since I last posted has literally flown by! I can't believe that Christmas is here in just 13 days and school finishes this Friday! I've just been so busy with coursework deadlines and the like. Life gets busy sometimes, no?

The weeks have flown by in complete honesty, I don't know where the time has gone! I turn 16 in January which is quite exciting. It seems like an important milestone for some reason. Then I have mocks in February (heads up for a severe lack of blogging!) and then my exams start in the middle of May until the end of June. But then it'll be summer and I can't wait! It all seems a very long way off though.

Here are just a couple of photos I took the other day:


Some days, I get home from school and the sky is so pretty. And sometimes, all you need is the sky and a hot drink to keep you content. My kinda day.


And this last one is just a quotation from Augusten Burroughs. I read one of his novels, Running with Scissors, a while back and it was harrowing, disturbing, but ultimately made an impression and is something that I won't forget in a hurry. I love this quotation though, I love the possibility and the hope. It is so fitting for this time of year, where it seems that anything and everything is possible.

On that note, I hope that you're all well and staying warm in this obscenely cold weather :-) I'll be sure to post again soon!
Chloe xxx

I have been listening to Coldplay a lot lately, their old stuff as well as some of the new songs off Mylo Xyloto. I love Chris Martin, he's one of the coolest musicians around. Their song Charlie Brown is a new favourite.

Helplessness Blues

(Source: unknown)

I've been incredibly lazy with blogging, so I just wanted to share some lovely photos with you. I can't wait to be all grown up and living in a lovely flat with high ceilings, white walls, cornicing, fireplace, period features, lovely floorboards and big shelves for lots and lots and lots of books. That would be the life.

Anyway, if you haven't already noticed, I've been lacking ever so slightly in the inspiration department, especially since chool has been as busy as ever. I'm going to leave it short and sweet today as I don't want to bore you with the uninteresting details of my life.

Hope that you're all well and that your week is going distinctly better than mine. Au revoir.
Chloe xxx

Title: Helplessness Blues - Fleet Foxes
This pretty much sums me up at the moment!

N.Y. State of Mind

Bonjour! I hope you have all been well this week! Another week of school gone, another week closer to the Christmas holidays. I can't wait to go down to London again for a fun few days in the run up to Christmas. Here are just a few photos from the other week in the Zara changing rooms. Please excuse the vanity, I just love playing around with effects on Picnik.com.



Grey jumper - Zara
Jeans - DKNY
Belt - Moschino



It has been perfect polo neck weather lately. I have always loved jumpers, my favourite being the Ralph Lauren cable knit that I got from America in Summer 2010. It has been surgically attached to my body ever since. However, I find that the jumpers from Zara are also really lovely, great quality and inexpensive too (I have a few V neck jumpers which only cost about £9 or £10 and I've worn them loads of times). Polo neck and cowl neck jumpers are sooo perfect for the cold winter, especially as I always seem to misplace my scarves.

I'm off for a night of listening to Florence + The Machine's new album and television of the frontal-lobe-damaging variety. Rustling up some apple pie and cream also seems to be on the agenda which suits me just fine. Hope that you're all well and good. Happy blogging!

Chloe xxx

Title: N.Y. State of Mind by Nas
There is nothing like listening to some Nas whilst exercising. I've always listened to people like Jay-Z and other popular rap, but recently gotten into Nas and Wu-Tang Clan. I never thought I'd really be into this genre of music, but let's just say I've been enlightened.

1234

My first post of November! Again, blogging seems to have reverted back to the once-a-week routine, most often at weekends when I actually have time to write. I'm back at school once again (went back on Wednesday) and now have to write my application for Sixth Form and choose my A-levels, which seems incredibly life-changing and important and a little bit scary.

I think I have my options finalised now though: Maths, Further Maths, Economics, Chemistry and Latin! Eeeek, I feel as if I'm finally growing up.

Anyway, here are just a few photos from last week where my social life didn't resemble that of a stick insect's:

My favourite hobby seems to be treating Waterstones like a library, spending hours at a time in my usual seat there.

Getting down to a game of Just Dance. One word: hilarious.



Great book. Highly recommended.


Ed's Diner in Selfridges! Loved the 60s style American music, jukeboxes, etc.


Who else is loving the weather lately? It's cold, but not too cold and even though the days are short and the nights are long, I can't help but smile when I see browning leaves on the trees. I like wrapping up in my scarf and coat and walking around with those leaves crunching under my feet. I love Autumn, everything just seems more beautiful in the dim sunlight. And it's not long until Christmas (and my 16th birthday in January!) This term will be busy in the run up to the holidays, but I'm ready for it. And life just seems a little easier with a cup of tea and ginger biscuits to warm myself up.

I hope you're all well and enjoying the weekend (which seems to have finished before it's even started). Happy blogging :-)

Chloe xxx

Title: 1234 by Feist.
She is just so incredibly cool. I mean her name is Feist. I can't even.

LAURA MARLING

Hello all! As I have already mentioned, I went to see Laura Marling today at Birmingham Cathedral with my sister, Christy, and my friend Sarah of Austentatious Memoirs today. Instead of standing out in the cold, we decided to catch up over a coffee in Costa before going back to join the queue. After waiting for about an hour or so, Laura came on.

Needless to say, she was amazing, as expected. She was really humble and actually seemed quite overwhelmed by the reception, even asking us if we were okay in between songs. She was quiet, but what little she did say had the audience laughing. And when she sang, we all sat captivated by her beautiful voice. I just sat in awe during the entire performance. Night Terror, Rambling Man, Goodbye England (Covered in Snow) and Sophia were my favourites.

I feel so grateful to have been able to see one of my favourite singers perform in such a beautiful place (the acoustics in the cathedral were amazing!) And overall, it was just a perfect day. If any of you ever get the chance, do go and see Laura Marling perform! :-)








Skirt - Portobello Market (£4.50)
V-neck jumper - Zara (£10)
Jacket - Sister's (?)
Bag - Bill Amberg (Gifted)
Scarf - ? (Gifted)




I'm now spending some time with my extended family who have come round for the day. And then I'll be finishing up schoolwork before school starts again on Wednesday. This holiday has gone by so quickly... as per usual! I hope you're all enjoying your weekends, I certainly have! Happy blogging :-)

Chloe xxx

See You Soon

To those it may concern... I am actually still alive! The fact that I haven't blogged for 2 weeks just means that my life has been both dull and busy. Everything's just been the same-old, same-old. School, homework, coursework, revision, etc. However, now that it's half term, hopefully I'll have time to catch up on my favourite blogs and some blogging of my own, amidst the masses of work that I should probably be doing.

Anyway, here are a few photos that I took earlier today in a last-ditch attempt to do something productive with my newfound free time:


My face - just in case you forgot what I looked like


Photos for art


Blue skies in late October... Madness.


(Fake) sunflowers to brighten up the day :-)

Hope you like the photos, I'm gonna try and crank out an outfit post some time this week. Anyway, the agenda for the coming week is sleeping in, doing homework and I'm actually gonna have a social life too (shock horror) as I'm going out on Monday and Tuesday with friends and then in a week's time, I will be seeing the amazing Laura Marling on Saturday at Birmingham Cathedral! I am beyond excited :-) I hope that the rest of you are having a lovely weekend and that you're all well and good.

Happy blogging :-)
Chloe xxx

The title of this post is See You Soon by Benjamin Francis Leftwich. A fitting title, as I hope to not be leaving the blogosphere for as long as two weeks next time. Also, because Leftwich has such a beautiful voice.

Lost In My Mind

I apologise in advance for my lack of posting yet again. My mind is currently full of binomial theorems, Arthur Miller, deictic terms, centripetal forces, titration calculations and active transport... As well as a whole wealth of other things which I am somehow expected to retain in my not-big-enough brain.

I feel that as I'm getting older and progressing through school, my social life is depleting and I am becoming the hermit that I feared I would become. Sorry to be going on about schoolwork and other boring stuff like that, but when you're faced with the monotony of school, there's not much else that to say! Luckily, we have Pupil Review Day on Thursday next week and I'm also celebrating my friend's birthday on Friday too which should be good. I haven't had a proper day out in ages (as you can probably tell judging by the content of my blog posts!)

Anyway, as promised, here are some photos from the (unfinished) pages of my Moleskine, hope you like:


Clearly unfinished... One of my favourite quotations by the wonderful Henry David Thoreau. On the right is just a little sketch of a photo of myself in Rome (looks nothing like me though)!


Again, an incomplete list. And yet another quotation, but this time by Jack Kerouac.


Finally... Guess who...? Yet again, not one of my greatest drawings, but I couldn't resist having a go at capturing the beauty of Keira Knightley. :-)

Anyway, that's all for this week! Hopefully, I'll be back next week with a bit more exciting stuff. Hope you're all enjoying your weekends and having a lot more fun than I am! Hope you're all well. Happy blogging.

Chloe xxx

P.S. Lost In My Mind is a fantastic song by The Head and the Heart. I highly recommend it to all of you!

When The Bell Tolls

So... You know what I said about Autumn being just round the corner in my last post? Turns out that I got Autumn confused with Summer! This past week has been probably the hottest week in the history of all Septembers in England. This is no word of a lie, it's been almost 30 degrees most days, which has been horrible when I've been stuck in my black school blazer, in stuffy classrooms - I am definitely not used to the climate. However, the plus side is that the skies have been gloriously blue, my favourite shade of blue. Thankfully, the weather seems to be reverting back to its usual self and I can feel myself relaxing as the temperatures decrease.

School is still overwhelming and still picking up the pace in terms of workload and revision for tests. I won't bore you with the details, but I am slowly getting worried about the masses of exams next Summer, eeek!

Despite all this, I have some brilliant news... I managed to get tickets to see Laura Marling at a matinee performance at Birmingham Cathedral in October, as part of her 'When The Bell Tolls' tour! I was so gutted when I didn't manage to get tickets to her proper tour, but when I heard about a matinee performance in the daytime, I just had to get tickets and luckily, I did! The tickets sold out so quickly, I just can't wait to see the wonderful Laura Marling in the flesh :-)



Last but not least, I have had very little time to do many drawings or anything inside my Moleskine sketchbook, which is a shame. Here are just a couple of things in there at the moment:


'i carry your heart' by e.e.cummings
Despite his complete lack of correct punctuation or capital letters, I love e.e.cummings and I especially love this poem.


Not my best drawing, but Audrey Tautou is just beautiful and she was featured in the August edition of my Marie Claire, so yeah! Also, the other thing is obviously my autograph from Rob Pattinson. :-)

I've got a few other things to show you from my Moleskine, but I'll leave that until next time. I hope you're all well, wherever you may be. Happy blogging!

Chloe xxx

More Than Letters

Whoops, I haven't posted in almost two weeks. So, you could say I've been more than a bit of a recluse lately, especially on the whole blogging front. School has been exactly as I'd expected: overwhelming. This year, I am studying so many subjects:
Maths FSMQ, A.S. English Language, Chemistry, Physics, Biology, Latin, Art, History, French, R.S., A.S. General Studies, as well as compulsory (but not assessed) P.S.E. and P.E. To add to my already massive workload, I've decided to opt for English Lit IGCSE which I will have to study during my own time and after school. I am definitely feeling the pressure of studying all the subjects whilst still trying to juggle what is left of my social life and extra-curricular activities.

So as you can imagine, I'm feeing pretty run down and tired right now.




This weekend, I will be spending the whole time in my pyjamas and Ralph Lauren cable knit jumper (pictured above), drinking tea, eating toast and trying to bring myself to do the masses of homework / coursework that I have to get done. Also, listening to City and Colour on repeat goes without saying. One positive note about being in September is that I can see Autumn just around the corner. Even though the days are already getting shorter and colder, I can't wait until I can wrap up in a scarf and sketch the browning leaves on the trees.

My ideal Autumn day would consist of lunch at Urban Pie to warm me up, a hot latte from Starbucks and wearing my big red Burberry duffel coat whilst looking through the shop windows. Sigh.

Happy blogging
Chloe xxx

Currently:

Currently reading:

How To Be Good by Nick Hornby, which I checked out from the school library just before the summer, but I've been finding it a bit of a drag. I love Hornby and High Fidelity is one of my favourite books, but I've just found it difficult to get into this one. Nevertheless, I don't like to completely give up on books until I've read the very last page, so hopefully it picks up a bit!

Currently listening:

This Communion compilation CD which I got from MOJO magazine back in July or something. It's got some of my favourite singers / bands on there, like Johnny Flynn and Mumford & Sons, which sort of prompted me to actually get this. I also really like Benjamin Francis Leftwich and Marcus Foster too, so it's definitely worth it.. Also, I think Laura Marling's new album, A Creature I Don't Know, is out soon. Can't wait to check it out, I was so gutted to have missed out on tickets to her UK tour, the Birmingham tickets sold out within an hour!

Currently watching:


The Like Crazy trailer on REPEAT. I really want this to be out in the cinemas soon. Plus, I love Felicity Jones because she's such a great British actress. I hope that this film does for her what An Education did for Carey Mulligan!

Well, this has literally been the longest week of my life! It was my first proper week of lessons back at school and I've already had my glimpse of busy Year 11. :-( Posting will no doubt become non-existent, so I do apologise in advance! My weekend has been mostly comprised of catching up with sleep, eating and doing bits of work here and there. Monday has come around so quickly again, but at least I have plenty to look forward to as I'm hopefully going into town on Friday to FINALLY watch One Day and I've got a lovely day planned on Sunday. :-) Hope you've all had a lovely weekend.

Chloe xxx

P.S. As many of you know, today marks the 10 year anniversary of the 9/11 attacks in America. There have been many documentaries showing the last week or so and I managed to watch some of the coverage from America and England today, as relatives who had lost loved ones, spoke about their losses. Having visited Ground Zero myself last summer when I was on holiday, it was so saddening to see how destructive individuals can be through terrorism. And it really does help to put things into perspective. It may have been 10 years ago, but we'll never forget. Rest in peace, 9/11 victims. Stay safe.