House-Share, Anyone?

This time next week I will be entering my very last half-hour of work at Aspire Style. I'm feeling absolutely terrified but trying to stay at the Excited end of the scale. As of yet, I have no job and nowhere permanent to live, but I shall nonetheless be packing up this weekend and moving up next Tuesday*.

I viewed a couple of places at the weekend, one of which was so hilariously gross that we couldn't believe the woman was even showing us around; it was a serious health-hazard. The other was gorgeous and I got through to the final phone call of paying the deposit and then bottled it because I could not justify that rent on my freelance incomings if I couldn't find a job.

So I'm now looking into house-shares which will save me at least £200 a month. Has anyone done this before, just looked up online for spare rooms and moved in with strangers? Hit me with stories: success or horror - I need to be fully prepared!

*I just need to check this with my friend as it was a "yeahhhh sure come and stay with us <glugs more alcohol>" moment.

Wedding Dancing: Brilliant!

We woke up yesterday to find it pissing down with rain after months of not so much as a spit, so I felt all gloomy on the bride's behalf and had to completely change my planned outfit. Naughty rain. By the time we'd driven down to Buckingham it was glorious sunshine so while I was delighted for the happy couple I began to regret my tweed dress and black tights - everyone else obviously felt more optimistic and stuck to their floral summer dresses with bare legs so I felt rather silly.

The service was perfect - a stunning bride, Naomi's own church choir singing beautifully, some rather teary vows and lots of confetti. Then it was on to the reception where I consumed wine, soup, wine, champagne, wine, and vodka. Which is why I assume that somewhere, someone is currently watching video footage of the evening and laughing at one rather sweaty, drunken lady in a tweed dress doing something a little bit like dancing.

Needless to say by the time we got back to the hotel I was feeling pretty queasy and this morning I was in a world of pain. Lunch was a fairly zombie-like affair at Jamie's Italian, although I was just about present enough to be able to remember that the Italian Nachos in an angry Arrabiata sauce were a) barely even irritated, but b) delicious.

Sadly I was far too busy on the dancefloor to take any decent photographs, but here's one of a very shiny and very, very happy little giraffe:

Verdict: Lots of fun, lots of love.

Weddings. Season 4, Episode 1.

Tomorrow morning I shall be getting up and getting ready for my lovely friend Naomi's wedding - my first of the season! I really hope it stays dry and sunny as she (and Ben) are very lovely and deserve the very loveliest day possible.

Plus it will make my outfit decision very easy as I will throw on this bad boy:



(available here) with some little navy heels and navy clutch. If it rains, this very much won't work as the dress is linen and the shoes are suede. Barely even splash-proof, let alone puddle-proof. I also don't have a navy umbrella - only black or Tinkerbell.

I (very optimistically) haven't got a rain outfit planned at all, but I fear it would be altogether a very drab ensemble by comparison - what wouldn't be?!

So...wish me luck with the weather! Ahem, I mean, wish Naomi and Ben lots of happiness for their special day and their future together. Yes, that's better.

Bingo virginity: POP!

Last night I did something I never thought I would do: I went to Bingo. Not only did I go, but I had to sign up to be a Gala Bingo Member, and as such I now have a bright yellow Gala Bingo Membership Card in my wallet. Mortifying.

In my head I imagined that I would meet up with my friends and we'd all have a natter and a catch-up and we'd win lots of money and laugh at some of the hardcore Bingo-ers. But...er...you have to be silent at Bingo, otherwise you get told off. So there was no nattering, no catching up, just hardcore Bingo-ing! And d'you know what? It was brilliant! Lots of secret whispering and innuendo - "I'm close" being suddenly the most hilarious two words invented.

Shall possibly be going back next week, if only for the fun of the Bingo Pen.

Has anyone else ever induldged? Bingo: discuss!

Zumba virginity: POP!

How is it even possible that I haven't blogged about this yet?!? On Tuesday night I lost my Zumba virginity with one of my very bestest friends in the whole world, Sally. We went with:

a) an open mind
b) the intention to just get as sweaty as possible
c) lots to drink
d) little towels - see b) for details
*I promise I am still talking about Zumba

...and Sweet Jesus was it fun. I think it could be one of my all-time favourite hours ever. It's definitely one of those things where you get out what you put in, and man did we put a lot into it. At the end of the session the instructor said how brilliant I was! Well, she said was "wow!", although on reflection she probably meant "wow, your ass nearly had my eye out". But still.

Absolutely brilliant, shall be going back every Tuesday until I move and then immediately scouting out a York session. Anyone else do it?? For those of you unfamiliar, I'll put a video in. Obviously not of me, that would be horrendous.

JOIN THE PARTY!!

Interviewing for the new me.

Gosh, what an odd, odd morning. Has anybody else ever had to be part of the recruitment process for their own job? You want to get the right person and make sure it's somebody who will enjoy it and who will do well, but you also want *anybody* just so that you don't feel guilty about leaving your team-mates to pick up the slack.

In other news, the Stratford Herald came out today along with the May issue of Focus magazine in which my feature features. The editor dropped off a copy this morning and said they'd love me to do something next month, too! Wondering if there is anything similar in York and whether I can find somebody who knows somebody who knows somebody who could get me some work there.

If anybody would like my job then please email me here. If anybody would like me to write/edit/proof for them then please email me here.

Lovely York and Terrible Food.

Just got back from my future homeland, York. England is just so perfect when the sun is shining and you don't have anything to do other than wander around and enjoy yourself. I'm hoping that when I pack up my life here I will find all of my old cameras so that I can start taking lots of photographs for the blog. I've got an instant and a couple of lomos somewhere....any lomo fans out there? Anyone from up North who knows where I can get films developed?

Yesterday we spent the afternoon in a beer garden in Heslington playing giant chess, which I won! Well, he won, then I won. But the main thing is: I won. It was perfect and sunny and brilliant. Nothing quite beats afternoon drinking and game-playing when the sun shines, does it?

Last night we ate at "The Go Down" - mains are about £16 and the food sounds promising so we've been meaning to go for ages and thought it would be really good. I'll warn you now: it's not.

I went for a starter of goats cheese, expecting little pieces all lightly crumbed and warm and melty. I got a huge piece that was cold, had no flavour at all and was coated in very thick, very hard breadcrumbs.

I tried to order mushroom risotto for my main (other veggie option was an omelette?!) but they couldn't do it so I had to have pea and sundried tomato. It was actually quite nice because it just tasted of cheese, but no sundried tomatoes in sight.

Boyfriend's melon and prawn starter was what it said on the tin, really - prawn mayo sandwich filler with two slices of melon. His main of fishcakes and lobster sauce was remarkably similar to my goats cheese starter: a giant fishcake caked in burnt breadcrumbs, cold in the middle, pretty tasteless, more potato than fish.

Speaking of potatoes, we were also served some surprise sides: roast potatoes (no, really), carrots, and grey peas and cabbage. The carrots were the only item that got finished.

Basically, it was a huge disappointment and not recommended, but at least we tried. Next time we'll just go to J Baker's so that I can write something nice, as that place is effing amazing. Anyway it didn't spoil the weekend, I had a brilliant time and I can't wait to move! All suggestions for places to try (or avoid) welcomed!!

Decision Making.

I have been doing an awful lot of thinking lately. I sometimes find myself very aware that I am furrowing my brow and looking blankly at a screen or looking at the book in my hand and thinking what has happened in the last 20 pages? And this thinking has culminated in a decision to move 146 miles up to Yorkshire.

Long story short: Head vs Heart, Heart won. Not sure how sensible that is, but as my very wise friend and work-mummy Marie says: Make hay while the sun shines. I'm not going to try and predict the future or worry about what might happen, I'm just going to give it a go! That's all anyone can ever do really, isn't it? Just see what happens.

So...I will be off in a mere four weeks, and intend to get bloggering in the lead-up so that you can all help me move, and so that my Aspire friends and fans can keep an eye on me when I am oh so very far away.

Advice on packing, moving, saying goodbye, saying hello, unpacking, York, The North, and anti-wrinkle creams (from aforementioned brow-furrowing) are welcomed, as are any unwanted kitchen appliances, sofas and very warm clothes (it's Arctic up there, right?).

Vintage Style - magazine piece

Kate Moss rarely goes a week without it, Beyoncé collects it, Lily Allen sells it and millions of us want it. What is it? Vintage, daaahling, vintage.

But vintage is just a euphemism for old, isn't it, so what's all the fuss about?

Well firstly there's the glamour and the joy of it all. Everyone loves a good excuse to dress up and have a good time, and perhaps loving all things vintage provides the perfect opportunity. If you ever go to a vintage fair you'll see swarms of happy young ladies wearing full circle frocks and bright red lipstick with their hair in fingerwaves and beehives. Rifling through the rails is only to work up an appetite for a nice pot of tea and – the best thing of all about vintage – a slice of good old-fashioned home-made Victoria Sponge. Beats munching on carrots in your skinny jeans.

Then there's the romance of it all. When True Vintage Fans see a 1950s cocktail dress they can't help but get swept away by the history of it. What sort of parties has it been to, what occasions has it celebrated, what scandal has it been part of? Vintage is for the Creatives of this world with imaginations that can run wild dreaming up stories of the past. One person may see a hideous yellow meringue that smells funny but a TVF will see a lemon cupcake dress that once twirled around a dance hall with a dashing young war hero. One man's junk and all that.

Social status could be another motive: a 1940s Madame Grès gown in excellent condition will be extraordinarily valuable and accessible only to the elite, but optimistic vintage lovers simply don't give up on finding a decent piece at a bargain price. The sad truth is, though, that we are unlikely to stumble across a genuine gem for 99p in Oxfam so most of us aren't even buying vintage, just the idea of it. Anything genuine needs to be pre-1980s yet you'll find “vintage” Topshop jumpers online – mass-produced in 1998, ripped and stained, but “vintage”. Hmmm.

The exclusivity and individuality of vintage clothing is surely another reason to love it. Wear a Zara dress featured on the front page of Grazia last week and you're running the risk of turning up to your university reunion in the same outfit as your ex-boyfriend's latest squeeze, but if you're wearing a 1920s flapper dress you will be the belle of the ball. Everyone will ask you where it's from, so you'll have to practise your nonchalant oh, this? Oh, it's vintage. There will be gasps and jealous sneers, and you'll feel like royalty.

Coco Chanel once famously said “Fashion fades, only style remains”, and I think she was onto something. The stylish 1940s clutch you bought for half a Franc at a Parisian flea market will be the envy of others until the day you die, but the meat dress you bought on eBay last week is already way past its sell-by date.

Lazy Vintage Days.

This morning I woke up and for the first time in simply ages I found myself at home with no guests, no work, no plans...and I liked it! Don't get me wrong, I love spending weekends with my boyfriend or going out with friends or drinking endless tea with family, but sometimes it's nice to just fill your time doing nothing. My Godmother used to sing me that song...

I'm busy doing nothing, working the whole day through
trying to find lots of things not to do
I'm busy going nowhere, isn't it just a crime?
I'd like to be unhappy buuuut I never do have the time

...and on days like today, with a hint of sun and no commitments, I think of it and smile.

I always wake up fairly early, but with nowhere to be today I just reached out to my bedside table (bought last week at the Tip Shop for £4 and painted with black lacquer paint, £8) and finished my book, Isobel Wolff's A Vintage Affair. Have any of you read it?

I work for a shop selling "vintage-inspired" clothes but it was lovely to read about genuine 1950s prom dresses and broderie anglaise and auctions and house sales, and to remember the true meaning of vintage. The book was just a cute easy read but it got me dreaming of opening up a little shop and hopping over to France every six weeks to search through the flea markets for hidden gems.

Anyway, after a leisurely shower and lazy breakast I went into Warwick and Leamington to look in some of the interesting and independent shops. Trawling through the antique centres, the things that really get to me are the rings. So many old rings and surely each one has a Story. I like to let my imagination run wild, picture the scene when the ring was first bought - by a nervous young man, by a woman in a delicate circumstance needing to appear otherwise? When did it first come out of the box? Was it well received, did it make it onto a lady's finger, sit for sixty years next to a wedding band..? I'll never know, of course, but I like to invent something.

Am I the only one going crazy? Does anyone else love vintage? Dream of opening a shop? Make up stories about jewellery with history?

Tomorrow I'm off to Chipping Campden in the Cotswolds. Surely prime vintage land so I'll let you all know if I find a good story....

Sunny running.

Now that the evenings are lighter I'm gradually bringing my training outside - on Monday and Wednesday it was still really sunny when I got back from work so I went to a local lake for my runs. I think these first couple of weeks are going to be a harsh reminder of how much the treadmill fools me into thinking I'm fit! Last night I went to the gym, ran for an hour and felt like I could have kept going forever...half an hour round the lake and my lungs have gone fishing.

I love going to the lake - there are always so many people to watch and so many stories to make up. Old couples holding hands, young lovers having heart-to-hearts, dads feeding the ducks with their kids. And you keep going around, and you keep passing the same people, and the second time you pass them you smile, and the third time you might make a little comment. It feels so....charming, somehow. I'm not sure if that's the right word but it's the one that springs to mind.

Does everyone else love people-watching as much as I do? Do you invent elaborate stories about people who just pass you in a flash but make an impact, somehow? And what about the runners out there, how do you feel about treadmill v outside? Not just on a best-exercise level but in terms of enjoyment??

Half marathon training.

Let me start by saying that until about five years ago I really didn't do sports, ever. At school I hated the whole concept from the changing rooms to the competitiveness. Plus I just wasn't good. After my first year of uni I went to the gym out of necessity (I blame the booze) and liked how it made me feel. I didn't go during term time (see aforementioned boozing) but during holidays back home I did a morning gym/swim most days.

Then in my final year I turned it up a notch - maybe too many notches - and became a little, um, obsessed. I just found it all so addictive: you start to feel great, you start to look great, you get better, faster, lighter... Well that was three years ago; now I have learnt how my mind and my body work and I'm ready to take on a challenge!

The clocks have gone forward and summer is on its way so I am moving my training from the treadmills in the gym to the pavements in the sun. Except when it's cold. Or dark. Or raining. I understand that makes me a complete pussy. Is anybody else training? Tell me all about it. Where, what, when, why, everything!

iPaditis

Oh dear. It's me. http://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/clips/p00fx5v7/spout_ipaditis/

Here's the proof:

Sent from my iPad x

My novel.

Yesterday I told you all I was writing a book. Well, isn't everyone? Like so many people I have started and not finished lots of stories - but this time I feel determined to get to the end.

I adore reading. I love finding something I can lose myself in, something that transports me to another world, or to another version of this one. I will go for a walk with my book, find a sunny bench and read until it's cold; I will take a good book into the bath and read until the water is cold; I will sneak off to bed early to get in a few more chapters...I get excited about getting obsessed.

I try and read a good variety but I'm sure like a lot of you I sometimes go through lazy phases and stick to easy reads [eee, I'm going to do it, I'm going to say "chick-lit"] - but am I the only one getting bored of the same plot lines, the same characters, the same twists, the same endings? It's inevitable, of course, that if you read enough you will start to find that you've already read it...but I haven't read anything to obsess over lately so I'm going to have to obsess over writing, instead.

Tell me about your reading habits! What, where, when, why? And do you agree that everything seems samey? What do you want from a book? Talk to me, inspire me, give me some comments to read!

As part of World Book Night I have lots of copies of The Spy Who Came in from the Cold. Anyone who comments can have a copy :o)

Play with me.

Morning morning one and all!

Some of you may know me from Aspire Style - well after six months of blogging for work I thought it was about time I set up my own - who knows what I'll talk about, given that previous work blogs have included how waterproof are clothes? and something to do with polar bears so let's just see...

Likely topics that might interest you in a vague, vague way include a) my novel b) my half-marathon training c) pretty things I stumble across d) my reading habits and e) all those other things about me that I am yet to realise are interesting. **Disclaimer: a) and b) are practically non-existent as of yet, but I do have the very best intentions.

Likely topics that will not interest you include...well, all those little niggles in life. You have enough of your own without hearing mine, so if I start moaning, be brave, leave comments, tell me to shut up. I love playing Devil's Advocate so please play with me.