NYE Nails

I recieved this lovely Xmas present from Chloe.B. I thought I'll test out the purple instant effects and the white from 17. And man, white nail varnish is tricky. I always paint 2 generous coats regardless of the color, but, this time I had to apply 3 coats before I got full coverage. This normally applies to the lighter pigments as they always look quite pale with one coat.

First coat. There goes my ultimate pet peeve when I'm painting my nails. Girlies, please don't stop at one coat. This is what it looks like. RAARR.



Second coat.


Third coat.


Voila, the finished look :D

Happy New Year. May this new year bring you success and good health. Best wishes to you all. x

Chocolate Making

On boxing day I was lucky enough to indulge in a session of chocolate making. I learnt a few things about chocolates, but one thing I couldn't stand was how messy this process gets. My lips were sealed as my cousin's fiance was cooling the chocolate on the table, this involved folding the spactula through the chocolate gloop, sliding it around the table. The temperature of the ganache, which is French for chocolate filling is extremely important. The temp is key from the way it solidifies, the texture, to the gloss and shine. Yep, that shine you get on choclates doesn't form naturally girlfriend, it takes numerous folds and temp monitoring to get that smooth gloss.

The chocolatiers concurred orange genache was the way to go, although there were moulds for plenty other different genache filling, but not enough chocolate. My loose guide to choclate making (forgot the essential temperatures, damn!)
1. Melt chocolate in a bowl above water filled saucepan.
2. Using the spactula, fold the chocolate out onto the table and continue to fold it for it to cool.
3. Using the spactula, spread the cooled down chocolate onto a mold. This will naturally fall and form a thin lining of the mold, leaving a gap which will be filled with genache. Then that goes into the fridge to cool and set the 'shell' of the chocolate.
4. Repeating step 1, stir in orange juice into the chocoate and mix well and let that cool again.
5. This time, scoop into a piping bag and squeeze the chocolate into the mold, leaving enough space for the final layer to seal off and to form the chocolate base. Enters the fridge again.
6. Once the panache has hardened, a layer of choclate can finally slide on top to put to bed the panache which completes the little beauties. Then in goes the chocs into the fridge.
7. Delicately nudge the molds with patience and wait for the chocies to pop out. And voila, the glossy faces of the rose and parcel molds filled with orange truffle ganache is ready to taste. This was then followed by games of Rummikub, a very addictive game.

London Misc

London is probably the closest I will get to New York or Paris. Therefore I so naturally relish every moment I'm down there. As it's still the Christmas-new year period I've given up fighting procrastinating and chosen to do something far more useful with my time-visit Winter Wonderland at Hyde Park. Why the hell not? Who would pass on chomping a few German Sausages and sip glasses of steaming mulled wine. Unfortunately, we didn't get to go on any rides, as drinking beer from mahoosive pint glasses and staring at a group of men who had blatantly brought their Malamute Husky (to excite 'chicks') was quite satisfying for them. But I did have the joy of singing along to a Reindeer's head on a roof, that charmed the crowd with Christmas tunes. 'Twas worth it.



Losing my Macaroon virginity: I thought I knew what macaroons were-the delicious flaky coconut cakes you get from supermarkets, however these 'macaroons' meant business (expensive business) each macaroon worth £2 and more. They are so delicate and beautifully crafted that I wanted to just hold it in my palms and look at it all day. My purse didn't allow me to persue the latter so I nibbled one from the box of 6 for £8. My conclusion: I'm not sure whether I like that 'jammy' texture but the flavours were really rich, guaranteeing sugar rush after 2 of these badboys.



I must had been a disorientated magpie that day. My eyes were glaring at anything and everything colourful that I must've stared at the M&Ms 'hall' for a good 5 minutes. I was in awe with how many pretty colours they could coat M&Ms in, from super bright colours to mellow pastoral tones. I just wished they sold these in normal cornershops. When we finally left the gigantic M&M's World in Leicester Square, my friend and I were battling a frenzy of entering a colour comatose. It's a cool but strange tourist attraction. I still don't understand why we have one though?

Crazy Stupid Love

In the past week or so I've embarked on a Ryan Gosling movie binge. I'll stare motionless at Mr Gosling's IMDb database and scour through the films that I'd missed at the cinema. And the Christmas holidays certainly hasn't done me any favours in terms of getting on with my mammoth pile of uni work, but who cares...it's Christmas!

So yesterday I finally gave 'Crazy Stupid Love' a chance and I can gladly say I absolutely loved it. The plot is essentially about a middle aged man (Steve Carrell) and his journey to'single-hood' after his wife asks him for a divorce. He meets a charming bachelor (Ryan Gosling) who becomes his mentor, teaching him the ways of women.

First things first, you will without fail fall in love with Ryan Gosling regardless of your sex, his charisma and (body) will make you sort of, melt. Expect ongoing sub-plots about relationships and love but mainly about the failed husband. It satirises sex and culture; from the way women prowl around bars looking for men to men's pickup lines.

This is actually a funny romantic comedy, I won't spoil the plot but there is a clever twist towards the end that closes the film really well, all the characters meld together to create a great conclusion. I'm not usually a massive fan for romantic comedies because they most always turn our mediocre and suck, its either loaded with too many 'jokey' skits or cheesy romance. Of course with most romantic comedies the endings are always predictable, man and woman fall in love then comes a dispute which is resolved and they live happily every after, but rather than being that simple the leading up to the ending did pull at my heart strings. I had forgotton that it was a comedy and it sort of dissolved into a drama. It deals with a sensitive subject about MEN going through a divorce, usually we hear about women and their woes but rarely men. Steve Carrell makes it entertaining without losing the realities and the vulnerabilities of a divorce. As for the title I can sum up easily; Crazy for Ryan Gosling's abs- Stupid moments that will for sure make you laugh- Love (Gosling's abs) and the witty script.

So that's what I think of the film and will definitely recommend it to romantic and comedy enthusiasts. I'll leave you with one memorable quote that had me laughing for ages

“Are you in a fraternity?-No. Are you Steve Jobbs?-No. Hold on a second are you the billionaire owner of Apple computers?-No. Oh well in that case you got no right to wear new balance sneakers EVER”

Its snowing in Google

This is such a geeky app coded by Google a few days back as way of showing their festivity. Type in Google 'let it snow' and wait for the screen to frost up with snow. For all the scrooges out there, theres also a 'defrost' tab to make it all dissapear.

For laptop users tilt your screen back and click on the photo to enlarge and see my message.

In the Hood

I'm so excited that my order from Merrimaking (www.merrimaking.co.uk) arrived yesterday. I purchased this super soft and furry hood last week and it's been swiftly made in no time considering that the hoods are all handmade. Hoods have also been sported by the likes of Ellie Goulding and Rizzle Kicks. Its something different that can you set you apart from the standard furry animal hats from highstreet brand River Island. I had to make a difficult decision but in the end I opted for the 'Light Wolf' hood.

Basic hood starts at £28 not including P&P, with the choice of inner pattern. ALL items are handmade by a team of graduate 'Merrimakers' from Notts Trent Uni. I love the idea of supporting a local brand founded by recent graduates who actually spends time on each hood personalised by you, rather than mass production in some far east factory. Its definitely a good investment as its uber soft and warm so no more worrying about cold ears.









OOTD: Truly Madly Deeply tee-Urban Outfitters + Long Johns-Ark + delightful hood Merrimaking. Are you in the hood?

Blast from the Past

So I came across my original pride and joy the other day- my first blog post from 2009 just before I left for uni. I was generally listing how I was feeling at the time. 3 years later, I'm doing my last year of my English degree (minus the media...long story) and I can finally re-open this chapter of my life and mull over those stupid stupid things I did. (Beware, this is going to be a long post, but I promise it'll make you smile (at least) if not cry.)

"The idea of typing a journal of opinions and happenings from my extremely ordinary life seemed so appealing for the past year. I would go online and a voice in my head would start chanting ‘blog blog blog’, but as always the brainwashing site for student’s we call Facebook strangles me. By the time it releases me from the grips of constant ‘profile stalking’, and the endless notions of ‘liking’ a status, I would crawl into bed after a marathon session of pointless nosing around, forgetting all about writing an entry!"

Some things just never die. Till this day I will never be able to go on a Facebook detox, it's just a modern day etiquette now, you've got to follow it. Now Facebook no longer requires the basic complex of 'liking' things or having a cheeky 'stalking' fest', but social media has developed a new sensation of photographing food, which Guardian articles friends have read, or what their listening to on Spotify. So, nothing has really changed since 2009, instead, chuck in 2 dozen assignments in between Facebook and drinking = a very neglected blog that could give Miss Havisham a run for her money.

“So this is it, my first entry on what could only be said as an introduction into a Chinese girl’s life and mind. To be fair it’s not all that interesting and to answer all the obvious questions…No I do not eat sweet and sour chicken with fried rice every night, and No I will not teach you how to say ‘hello’ or expletives in Chinese. Ok, so maybe the constant wonders of my nutritional diet and the language I speak is a riddle, but these special requests tend to become as irritating as your dog pissing on the carpet time after time, or if you don’t have a dog then the scenario of realising that yet again a pigeon has shat on your windscreen.”

I think with age I have sort of just accepted that people will always ask you to say something in Chinese; its the same as petting someone’s dog and asking if it does tricks, these commands just come with the package, regardless whether we like it or not. It's still a tad bit annoying but people have generally accepted my repetitive answer: 'er no'.

“In all seriousness though, I hope that by achieving to write a daily blog I will be granted the confidence in people ‘liking’ my style of writing, or most importantly its all about the EXPERIENCE these days (truthfully that’s what most of us bloggers are in it for right?) Getting the experience show that you’re passionate about writing and that’s what the punters like to see! I thought it was best to get it up and running before term started, at least then I can begin to pester my course mates to check out the blog and actually have more than one post to read. Sorry to those who will be in my Media and English course.”

I may have already failed the quest of gaining experience as I haven't updated it since August 2009, so there's not more I can say but tell myself I'm an idiot, a lazy idiot. As for the Media part of my course, 'twas destined to get ditched in the first week of second year. I didn't quite see how watching X-factor and annotating my TV journal was particularly the academic path I wanted to lead.

“As we all know university starts in September, we’ve had a long run up to the big leap that’s occupied our summer, and now it’s just weeks away till we take our first baby steps into the adult world...FRESHERS!! So far my summer days have either been as slow as the OAP driving in front or as fast as a shot of vodka. Let’s just say neither was enjoyable! Work has mainly dominated my self titled ‘fastest summers break of emptiness’ so respectively uni is the only motivation left for me to survive August. And now as the prospects of having no parents around and being at the legal age of 18 in the neighbouring city, my mind can only process so much information of fun and FREEDOM as a guy on crack.”

Wow, this is by far my favourite paragraph, my enthusiasm is still installed so vividly in my mind. But the cursed events unfolded and interrupted EVERYTHING: A week before uni, clearing students were told they basically didn't have a place to move into. Halls were full and we were put into student housing and hotels, this will be decided on the day of arrival. September 28th 2009...I was put into a hotel...outside of the city...with only 4 other people. Most of 96 other students occupied the city centres Holiday Inn. And there we were, at least 40mins bus ride out of the city, SCORE, not. That definitely dampened my experience, but it got better.

“The excitement of moving out is buzzing in everyone’s minds, the lists of what to take/buy down to the finest I’ve heard so far, ‘what am I going to wear during freshers week?! I need new clothes man!’-I can only quote from what seems to be the priority on someone’s mind (no names but you know who you are, shame on you). The only thing on my dear old rents minds at home is the worry of money, sex and drugs oh and of course whether I will actually finish my degree, they didn’t actually say this aloud I just interpreted the expressions painted on my mum's face when I over excite myself at the dinner table.”

The beauty of loans meant that I didn't have to worry about what to wear, I could always walk to Leicester Highcross and buy a new outfit. In hindsight, I wish I had been more conservative with my money, but hey blame the government for spoiling 18 year old by giving them a couple of grand. The latter part of that paragraph still holds truth, but more worryingly the pressure is on what I'm going to graduate with.

“On the other hand there are a few things that are starting to dawn on me, such as how the hell I am going to transfer all my songs on my current iTunes to my new laptop?! How much effort and time will that involve? Mainly the mission of cooking raw meat is the most worrying, the nightmare of flipping over a piece of grilled chicken after indulging its perimeters and finding it still raw in the middle!! Note to self, make sure I can cook at least one type of meat, so far 0. I wouldn’t be surprised if came home after first year as a veggie. “

Finally I can end this on a positive note, I needn't worry about transferring songs as that was just a start of a nightmare to come- a burglary in first year left me with no laptop and no backup, therefore I had to download everything from scratch anyway. As for cooking, I love cooking, but its just time consuming and not so pleasant in a dingy kitchen-note to self: always look out for the nice kicthens whilst house hunting. I've come to terms that I live to eat not the other way round bullshit. Most of my money has definitely gone on food more than anything else. So, what has uni taught me so far?-I love my food and I need to get through my degree so I can eat yummy food...and feed my materialistic addiction.

PhotoHub

After a long a break I've returned to Blogspot after major spamming on my normal blog, but anyway I'll try and update daily. So to open with something light here are the belated photos of The Coyotes studio rehersal.