Life

"I want a life that is mine." - Sayuri, Memoirs of a Geisha

 

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It's a shame, I wish my webcam was working, then you could all be treated to ridiculous selfies which I'd take of myself from time to time.

As an explanation to my absence, all I can say is I've been living by: working my butt off, seeing people, trying to find a job, experiencing events and immersing myself in enriching materials resulting in new waves of inspiration and a new appreciation for certain 'things' shall we say. In general nothing socially has changed, I have become a more happier and slightly more self-assured individual this year compared to last. Still I am experiencing this painful squeeze of education and am still confused over my feelings towards people, and myself. Still the only way of getting through life is doing it with the right attitude, and I feel I have caught onto the bare threads of that. Perhaps it's this autumn air making me feel like this, or maybe I am growing up and changing... Who knows.

 



Highschool

I think today is a day for this song. The only explanation I can give for my absence is school.

Heart

Mama made a heart today with Priscilla Jones. Was a magical experience and I learnt a lot, now my Textiles is going to be humongously Groove, who's excite? 

Curator of All Things Personal

A little bit of a compilation of all the tings which have happened to me this week. Aside from having post party giddiness (which I have a disposable to get developed from, ooh tres excite) I had a few things which I acquired around this time and they are so beautiful you all must be immersed in their presence. Firstly I went to a friend's party last week, which was also incredibly fun, and for his Eighteenth I was torn between buying him a pipe or giving him something personal of mine. I ended up giving him a cine camera from my collection as a sort of 'good luck for the future' emblem. However in the process I ended up falling for one of the most enchanting pipes which I have ever seen. If you don't already know I am a huge lover of all tings which have some kind of unusual quality and intriguing appearance, so this pipe just literally hit the spot gurl:

Not only is the neck so elegant and curves with grace, the plump rounded body gives it a kind of weight. I can't explain it but both parts compliment each other so well.

The body is decorated with this beautiful design, I'm not sure what of though, perhaps small flakes of 'mother of pearl' or some other kind of material.

The neck is also decorated with these understated floral trains, which seem to be scorched or scraped in. 

For me the best feature which really sold me the whole piece, was the metal cap which was embossed with another floral design.

I think the whole smooth motion of opening the cap and the completely defined appearance just really made me want to cry from the beauty! Despite the fact it is ornately designed all the way through it's able to get away with being so damn flashy as the person who made the pipe did it with such precision. 

In a turn of events I also inherited this little praying 'ivory' Geisha figurine which I can't get over and who proudly kneels on my already cluttered sewing machine. She is charming though isn't she! 

Finally a photo of my friend Lydia who looked so beautiful I just had to capture it. Although she may feel uncomfortable wearing a bow in her hair, I think she looks so classic.

Anyway, my chest is feeling all funky and my stomach is demanding some scran. So I'ma leave cho. 

 

Orchid

Today my friend Lydia and I had an intense art day and spent nine hours being ridiculous art students. During a third of this time she dressed my up in many of my scarves and photographed me. I absolutely adored my reflection and wish I could have the confidence to walk around in the huge headdress she created for me. I felt like an Empress, similar to the one on the cover of Empress Orchid. She got some really nice shots and I wanted to show you some of my favourites. Maybe I should tell you first that her concept was the use of objects and make up to portray someone's identity, and as we progressed my 'identity' got more and more outrageous but I loved it, so much so that I'm planning on doing a toned down version of the hairstyle for school tomorrow. It may seem a lot, but this wasn't even a quarter of the photos...

Of course I saved the best ones for last...

 All photos belong to Lydia Hazlewood

Astrologist Pants

How groovy are these culottes which I bought last weekend in Beyond Retro? I just had to share these beauties with yo as I just find them so funky. Not only are they super comfy and high-waisted they have this gorgeous suns and stars print all over them (which is one of the main reasons I picked them up in the first place). My bad for my lack of professionalism in this shot. I was just so ecstatic to show you that I ignored the lovely array of  things on the floor and the whole lighting situation. This is how you can tell that I am a class A blogger! 

Anyway, coursework calls and many other 'errands' which I need to get sorted today. I hope you enjoy the lovely September sun which seems to be making an appearance today despite the previous days of teeth gritting wind and sporadic bouts of rain. Also, I have been really digging the sounds of Little Dragon lately, and Fleetwood Mac, Although I find Fleetwood Mac sounds so much better when it's quieter and the tiny voice of Stevie Nicks is just floating around you like a little cloud.

Oh and this remix is pretty 'sick'...

Simplicity of Life

It's incredible how something small and calming can help change your mood so much. Since being back at school I have had post-summer blues, which entails being a little snappy and moody with everything. Especially today where I already felt the stress of work, just because small things were going wrong and certain thoughts were dominating my mind. When I came home I still had this blockage, it felt a little like a metaphorical tumor. However when my mum came bursting through the door proclaiming she needed a drink after a stressful day and we, as a family, sat around the table and ate all the food my brain began to destress and suddenly I stopped feeling negative about certain things. It also helped that I decided to do the school work I wanted to do, and not force myself to do the work I felt obliged to do. It has been a good evening of painting, listening to beautiful music and realising life only becomes stressful when you make it so. I have my friend Ruth to thank as without her blase yet passionate attitude on life I would probably have worked myself into a tizzy over the most ridiculous things. 

Songs like this one will always be in my list of top tunes, I for some reason never get sick of it and always listen to it when I'm in certain moods. 

It Shall Always Be Seen

Who said blue and green should never be seen? For me this is a heavenly combination, and having these white stripes create a little more detail in the outfit and velvet shorts giving it an interesting texture I know fo'sho I shall be wearing this outfit right into the Autumn... Maybe even Winter considering they are both quite heavy fabrics. I understand perhaps pairing a sky blue with these olive green shorts would look a little too similar and therefore a bit of an eyesore, but for me I really am fond of this pairing. 

I've started reading Hokusai - Prints and Drawings in preparation for my art course this upcoming year. I haven't changed my mind about the topics I did for my Art and Textiles this past year, however a few weeks ago I realised if I didn't change my mind now I might really regret it in the future. I will probably share with you some pieces I do throughout this course. 

D A I Y E

Hi to you all. Today was a glorious day for weather, although slightly chilly from the breeze, and so was the perfect day for going out on a day trip in. You may not know this but during my holidays I tend not to venture out of my hometown too much. I usually stay in my house or within my comfort regions despite my desire to see more of England, however today was a fab day for reaching out and trying something new for the day.

My friends and I decided a few days ago to have a trip out to the Safari park however after a few bumps in the road we realised it wasn't going to happen, so instead we went with a plan B and hopped on a (quite delayed) train to Bristol to go to the aquarium. I think what made this day as wonderful as it was would have definitely been the number of surprises which seemed to just churn out hourly! At first on the train we happened to sit behind a very loud, gravely, one legged and slightly intoxicated man who never really stopped talking for the entirety of the journey and at one point was topless singing verses from that 'Combine harvester(...)' song. However that was only a small part of the day. When we got off the train we had some lunch and met the sweetest little ginger haired toddler, who found it difficult to keep his trousers on... I'm not kidding. It proved that in his attempt to catch up with his father yet still wave goodbye to us all his little trousers could not take it and ended up round his ankles twice, which made my friend and I really chuckle to the point of tears.

Since our day was mainly planned for seeing the aquarium, our actual fish time was really not a high percentage in the grand scheme of the things. We had a quick whizz round and saw some pretty insane looking fishes. We decided to explore around Bristol because it really is a beautiful city and did make me feel quite close to home. We stopped by in a park/gardens area and a few minutes later a very slick and generally 'cool' dreadlocked man appeared by a table-tennis table near us looking a wee bit lost and hungry for some sportin' action. He really was just such a cool guy, I really cannot explain him in any other way he was just effortless. After my friends played a couple of rounds with him he decided to show us some magic with a pack of cards and tell us entertaining stories on how he managed to gain around two hundred pounds in under ten minutes by doing these tricks to others. He really put a smile on my face. Afterwards we just went up a tower to see the views, went into a few shops (one being a music shop where I have found a passion for instruments and also had a bit of astonishment at my friends' talent), then decided to head back to the train seeing as a lot of places were closing this time. Back on the train there were again some loud and tipsy men who made the journey more lively. What was most shocking was we saw the original homeless man on our train back home and, for me, it was just a moment of pure panic where I just didn't know where to put my body.

Anyway, I am still alive and very tired. I have guzzled down a cider, had a shower and settled into bed. I have a good day out with my friends and really only wanted to blog this so I could look back on it as a sort of diary entry and remember what a splendid time I had. Overall everyone really enjoy your time off and try to get out on some days to break away from routine! I will have photos with you shortly.

First Time

Summer is coming to a close very soon and I am going to miss my days of sitting in the sun and feeling that cool edge of the end to this all. I know I haven't really updated you all on what's been happening, but to be honest it's been a lot of the same thing. Aside from going on holiday a couple of weeks ago I have just been working through my reading list (which unfortunately has not gone as well as planned, however I'm still going to read the books after summer, so 'tis not all bad), drawing in my spare time and sitting with my friends in the park for days on end. A few other events have occurred such as a party, a day trip to Wales and going to a festival, however these are only things which have happened on rare occasions. I am excited to be starting my new art course this Autumn underneath the whole 'ugh school' façade. I do have moments where I am happy to be getting back to a routine and doing art on a very regular basis, however I know I'll just look back with favour at these lazy and non chaotic times.

Still, the day is halfway through and I have not even begun to move around and sort my plans out. I first need to clean up my room a little, research into a couple of things and then head off to see my friends for the afternoon. If you have any free time between now and your start to school/college/Uni/work then I recommend you watch Spirited Away or Howl's Moving Castle as I had an anime sleepover yesterday, and despite being a little groggy when I woke up, I had a fab time experiencing my two favourite Miyazaki films once again. He really is a true genius and even though I have and collected a lot of other Studio Ghibli films, those two (maybe along with Whisper of the Heart) will always be my top ones.

Now in the last spout of excitement Summer Camp will be releasing an album in the next couple of weeks and I am so excited about it. I've already listened to their song Fresh a few times and am loving their new groovy sound, as although they have altered their music slightly they still have that iconic nostalgic disco vibe:

I went somewhere

Oh 'sup, how are you all. I'm pretty chilled as the sun is shining outside and although it is getting a little nippier outside I can still wear my shorts and shirts out for the last few glorious days of summer. Even though my Jet-lag has been pretty extreme these past couple of days I'm finally settling back into the reality of my English life again. I got my photos developed a few days ago and oh my lordy are they lovely! They make me miss my holiday quite a lot and although I look at them with a warm glowing feeling within ma soul I can't help but have a wave of sadness wash over me, as my time there went so fast. Still I'm excited for the next time I go. The photos I took on my disposables are only a little snippet of what I did on my holiday, so I shall show you some digital ones as well, so you can dabble in the flavorsome culture that was my fortnight.

Really these photos are in no particular order, so I'ma just jump and swim around in all of the events:

So we went to a beach resort whilst we were there and the whole family went for the middle weekend we were staying. It was super hot and the view, especially at dusk, was beautiful. I had a lot of fun swimming with my cousins in the sea, and eatin' buns on da beach (literally). We also went out to eat a lot, I tell you now one of the main reasons I was so excited for our holiday was because of the food I knew I was going to eat. Whilst there my friend and I went to visit the cultural village which was on the resort, and that was one of the best parts of the trip there as I just loved seeing all of the traditional housing.

I know, so heavenly.

Das just my dad bein' groovy...

...And I found the toilet signs quite funny.

We saw some temples which were dotted around the town centre. I absolutely could've just cremated myself with the incense and candles because of the shock at how beautiful I found the buildings. I just love all of the ornate decoration on the walls, the hanging lanterns and tassels, all just so groovy.

 

Photo of da month...

Dad's hat no.2: wet flannel for when the weather gets a bit too hot.

 

My cousin 'Psy' looks just so much like the real Psy here, I was really happy when I took this toto.

 

My friend took a photo of the pool from an upstairs view... I know, it looks so insane

 

We had bubble tea in a shop in one of the shopping malls, the jelly was pretty interesting. They also made milk teas which I loved, I had a yam one which was not only lilac colour but tasted so delicious.

 

Han and I chillin' with the pussys

 

Breakfast was always incredibly good.

 

 

I also brought along an underwater camera with me on holiday, just incase there were any swimming opportunities (which were quite a lot actually). It was so fab testing it out and I will definitely be buying one in the near future just in case I happen to have another rad pool experience, as there is something so magical lookin' when you dive deep.

 

 

I love this one of my friend and I.

 

Took it in da sea

 

We also went to go and see Orang Utans for a little day out. It was so sweet seeing the mothers and their babies eating all the bananas and my cousin and I even followed some up the road since they came down to see what was going on. They looked a little suspicious but were just so adorable.

 

Look at this cheeky little baby, so beautiful!

So that was my trip, it was one of the absolute highlights of this year's summer holiday. Oh and despite getting a little sick of eating the food, I also had an alright plane journey back. I watched oh so many films and a huge majority of them were foreign (two Korean, one french, then one American) and I now have a new love for Korean films! Anyhow, this has been a loong post and I'm getting phalange cramp (kind of).