Catching up with an old friend

I just indulged in my ultimate lazy weekend which kicked off with a very nasty hangover and finished with a Sunday night Swayze celebration in front of the new TV.

In between I cooked a favourite dish, walked around Queens Park, revisited The Godfather, ate several ham and cheese toasties and slept for a total of 24 hours.

The early days of Autumn have offered some wonderful weather so far and the weekend have me a chance to take out my mended camera for a long awaited session.

Changing seasons

Some new purchases, and some old favourites. I am currently shopping my wardrobe following a big clear out, a lot of ebay selling and a very empty bank account. However I have managed a couple of purchases for autumn so no need to feel so sorry for me.

The brown boots were a bargain at M&S and the large silver/grey scarf is from Zara and is beautifully soft. The Zara high heels destroyed my feet while out on Thursday night but they are fabulously high and hugely flattering for a shorty like me.

The black boots at the top were bought at All Saints last year, but seeing the current trend for what I call "building site" boots I think I can get away with them this year too.

The three winter jackets I have had for a while, and I am particularly looking forward to sporting some colour as the days get darker in the bright yellow mac.

A new addition to the family

I want to say a warm welcome to the new 41 inch, plasma screen television which has just been delivered to my flatmate and dear friend Elliott. He has kindly housed his new gadget in our living room much to my delight.

I can tell you now that I will be unavailable for social engagements for at least the next month.

Bag it up

One of the most distinct memories I have of growing up, and beginning to notice the way different people dressed and the way they presented themselves, is of looking at the contents of people's bags.

This mainly applied to women and my mothers handbag was the first one I ever got to riflethrough. It was always a tip, full of old packets of chewing gum and year old receipts and she could never find anything. My mum was a very successful, hugely hardworking woman and I hold no judgement over the state of her handbag yet I have always wanted mine to be different. More organised and full of useful things to keep me occupied on journeys or to offer when a problem presents itself.

Above you will see my new, gorgeous Topshop bag. Black leather, perfectly sized, hangs over arm but also has a long strap for wearing across body. It is perfectly sized and shaped.

I have also pictured the contents of it; make up bag, sunglasses, Moleskine notebook, make up bag, pens, chewing gum, purse, umbrella, Clarins hand cream and little cosmetic case filled with sewing kit, plasters, blister pads and lip balms. It also contains my beloved iphone, headphones, 2 books and camera, not pictured.

To this day I still love to rummage through people's bag, see what they decide to carry around with them all day and the things they just cannot survive without.

Silver lining

I am trying to find one today, because right about now everything is looking pretty gloomy!

It's just, a little...

It is fair to say that I am prone to falling victim to all consuming and hard to shake crushes which see me revert to my teenage self in a matter of minutes.

And I mean a teenage crush in the truest sense i.e. I turn into a giggly girl simply at the suggestion of a person I have probably never met but rather have become infatuated with the idea of.

As much as I'd like my crushes to be on cool, sophisticated, dangerous men that my peers have overlooked but in whom I have seen something unique and magical the reality is rather different.


It began at 13 when my best friend Jo and I queued up with a thousand other teenage girls in our home town to watch the first screening of Titanic. We cried for the duration, immediately booked in to see it the following evening and went straight from the cinema to HMV where we bought the largest Leo and Kate posters we could find.


The next day in our French class I produced a crumpled list from my pocket. "Ok" I whispered, "I have not been able to think about anything else for the last 12 hours except how wonderful Leonardo is, and I have made a fairly detailed list of the reasons he is so exceptional".


I turned to Jo, and as I did so I saw her retrieve a crumpled and detailed list from the bottom of her bag. Our friendship was sealed in that moment.

Since then my crushes have included Michael Franti (I emailed his tour manager begging for a job on the tour and pledging my slave like worth ethic, no reply), Jean-Marc Barr (all because of the Big Blue and those shoulders) and Dizzee Rascal (I'm currently in the grips of this one).


I must admit that my crushes can focus just as much on an actor or performer as they can on an entirely fictional character. In fact when I re-visited my Leo list I remember it revolved entirely around the character of Jack Dawson (and for the sake of full disclosure I just googled the character and my stomach flipped - natch).


Being the tv addict that I am my list also includes many of television's leading men including Buffys' Angel, Simon in Teachers, Pacey Witter and my beloved Drazic.

Despite being 25 and old enough to know better my ability to crush hard doesn't appear to be waivering. In fact if anything it has got worse, which gets me (finally) to the point of this email....

True Blood's Bill...a list has been written and a crush is born:

The way he says Sookie...see here (so amused this exists)
His tragic backstory
That he did a talk to Sookies' grannys history group, and enjoyed it
The fact that he killed the man who abused her, just quickly and quietly. no muss, no fuss.
Bill and Sookie are together in real life

I could go on, but I'm getting embarassed. Can we make this a confessional, any other "grown ups" fall this hard?

Rimini trip

I still have so much to write about our Italian holiday and have been so slow at putting up pictures. Here are my favourite of those I haven't posted.

Brief synopsis of trip:

Destination - Rimini on the Eastern coast of Italy

Detail - 2 weeks, 3 days of grey skies and cold, 11 days 30°c +

Resided - Camera e Caffe which I can honestly say was one of the most comfortable and welcoming places I've stayed and such good value for money.

Day trips - Bologna, Ravenna and Cattolica

Books read - Ghostwritten by David Mitchell (not that one) and The Book of Dave by Will Self (the first one is incredible, the second also good but a little indulgent)

Rimini is utterly lovely. A bit like Center Parcs on sea, which sounds horrible I am sure but in practice means it is completely family friendly, totally relaxing, constantly busy after about 9pm (although you may be surprised by the quiet before then and the sporadic opening hours in the town centre) and full of interesting characters..

There is 15K of beach, and our glorious B&B was just a 1 minute walk from the shore. The historic centre of the town is lively, has several fantastic restaurants and there are some great shops dotted around the town.

The Tiberius bridge was most exciting to me more for the glorious restaurants that surrounded it than for the history it is steeped in. But it is oddly thrilling to run your hand against something that was built in 14 A.D

We did have the most incredible dining experience of our life which I owe a whole post to. It was a meal I will never forget as much for the kindness of our hosts as for the food which still now, as I sit at home on a Sunday evening weeks later, makes my mouth water.

Downtime

My beloved camera is currently at the repair shop being worked on. She is only 6 months old and I am trying to get over my annoyance and disappointment. Tomorrow is Queens Park day where I was planning on getting extremely snap happy.

As such I have been trawling my photo library and until I get her back will make do with the selection of pictures from the last few weeks. I hope she isn't gone too long because the light at the moment is amazing.

The last picture is of the most amazing mozzarella, avocado, roast vegetable and sun dried tomato salad I ate at Chamomile on England's Lane.

Today is the first day I have spent on my own in several weeks. I am immensely enjoying being able to indulge in all my guilty pleasures (also known as secret single behaviour) including:

• Still being in my pyjamas at 2:30pm
• Drinking real and very strong coffee as if it were water
• Listening to the new Whitney and Leona singles on repeat
• Meals including melted cheese and tomato puree on toast and yogurt with cinnamon crunchies (previously Cinnamon Grahams, thank you Z for re-connecting me with this pleasure!)
• Creating inspiration boards for both my new haircut and my first tattoo (hello dad!?)
• Watching Holiday Airport, Come Dine With Me and Holiday Showdown.

Shameful

Up, up and away

The autumn days bring with them conkers, chunky jumpers, fireside gatherings, hot chocolate and kite flying. Hence I can't be too sad about saying farewell to summer.