Bowery Mural

Music. Sweet Sweet Music

Wednesday 29 June 2011

This weekend just past saw Glastonbury take place. There was rain mud and eventually sunshine. I'm not really into the idea of muck and camping and all that palaver but love watching on telly. I caught some of Friday's musical menu which ended with U2 on the main pyramid stage. It rained and it poured but, to my surprise, Bono was actually singing not too bad. His outfit was a bit debatable though - what looked like a rubber trouser affair. It was probably some eco friendly faux leather thing come to think of it. Anyway U2 were ok. I'd kinda wanted to see them 'live' at some point but to be honest I prefer their earlier music to the latest offerings so seeing them on Friday night was enough for me.

Saturday saw one of my all time favourite bands EVER! Coldplay. They divide a lot of people and some people are quite frankly snobbish about it but for me they are still one of the best live bands i've seen. And i've seen them 5 times now. The show has gotten better through the years and they can still bring out the old favourites like Yellow and Politik that get the crowd going. Saturday night saw songs from an as yet unfinished album but the Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall EP sounds good so far. Granted, Chris Martins vocals and piano playing can go a bit off when he's caught up in the moment but i don't mind that. The show is good, the songs always make me smile (yes even the slow ones some folk might find dull) and I couldn't care less. I love Coldplay, just like someone trying to be trendy might like the latest new young hip band that I've never heard of. I was hoping that  Jay-Z might've made an appearance during Lost like he did at the hampden gig a few years back but it wasn't to be this time. This time Jay-Z and his wife were spectators. Nice.

Sunday night saw me attend the Kings of Leon gig at Murrayfield in Edinburgh. I set off from a drizzly but clammy Stirling and headed on the train. I figured the train would be a safer bet than trying to find a parking space. I was right. When I got there the area was swarming with people sitting on pavements, walking to the stadium and generally having fun before the gig. I arrived just as White Lies were coming on. I'd heard of them before but not taken much notice. After their 30 minutes set i was right. They were nothing special. The singer reminded me of Spencer who was on Celeb Big Brother and married Chantelle. Ha!

taken with Hipstamatic app on iPhone (Dali film)

Anyway, at about 8.45pm the headliners came on. It was great. The singing was almost cd-ish in that it sounded just like it does on the cd ie. note perfect. The music was great. I loved the grimy guitar riffs, the banging bass drum tempos and the chit chat between songs.

Here's a thing that annoys me at gigs though. I was sitting on the second tier of the West stand. Two rows from the front in a row of about 1) and I guarantee you these two women didn't sit next to each other for more than 20 minutes of the 2 hour show because if one wasn't away buying wine, the other one was and vice versa. In and out, in and out. What is the actual point in going to a gig if you are going to spend at least half of the gig at the toilet (allowable) or at the effing bar. I mean, seriously! That totally annoys me.
Plus, there was a couple who were sat next to me. They seemed ok. But they never budged, I mean the hardly clapped or tapped their feet until Sex on Fire came on one song from the end!! Fuck sake.

Encore


Anyway back to the music. I'd wanted to see Kings of Leon for a while and was glad I did. They were ace and I'd say one of the best live bands i've seen. If you get that chance, go and see them, but not if you're not really into their music. I remember going to see Red Hot Chilli Peppers at Hampden a few years ago. They were good and played the favourites but there was absolutely no interaction with the crowd. I don;t think they knew where they were. The lead singer just sang the songs and nothing more. Disappointing. However, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band at Hampden in 2009 was totally awesome. I went with my Dad and he loved it too. They played for a good 3 hours solid and totally had the crowd in the palm of his hands. So glad I saw him. Now all i need is the Rolling Stones to do one FINAL FINAL tour and I'll have seen all who i want to see.

Well that was until I came home and caught up on Beyonce's set at Glastonbury on iPlayer. Oh my goodness can she work a crowd. Flawless singing and dancing (how does she do it?!). An amazing singer with routines I want to learn to do :)  She will be added to my list of must see live music as well as the Gaga. Can't forget her. Even my mum warmed to the Gaga after watching her on Paul O'Grady show the other week.

Oh and my train journey home was an ordeal. Or rather getting back to HaymarketHaymarket for the 23.04 train...or so i thought. I ran most of the way. This wasn't too bad as i;m pretty fit now but by the time i got to the station i was sweating like a bad one and...and...AND it turns out there were extra trains put on to Glasgow, Linlithgow and Stirling. They had neglected to put signs up at the station to this effect when i arrived. Bad Scotrail. I mean seriously, let passengers know in advance so they don't panic and run two miles for no reason. The platforms were chockablock but i got on the train fine. I was home just after 12 midnight. It's lucky I had a holiday from work the next day :)

Phew! that was some weekend there for music. Are there any bands you think I should see? hit me with it.

Angela x

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Beauty and the Glossybox

Saturday 25 June 2011

I haven't blogged for over a week. Sorry. I didn't really have much to say. But yesterday i got my first Glossybox delivery and wanted to show you it. Most of you probably don't know what a Glossybox is and almost all of you won't know that I like to treat myself to some beauty products and make up. You won't know this because I don't often wear make up and my skin isn't what you'd call flawless what with it being prone to dryness and red patches, nevertheless i like to treat it. (I've got another post coming up with a few of my favourite things).

Back to Glossybox. I've recently been reading lots of beauty/girly blogs. Some are great and some are frankly horrible to look at. Gaudy colours, nasty products and horrible photos. And if i'm honest there's an underlying hint of competition going on between them that never gets talked about (that's the impression i get). Anyway, on one blog i read about this Glossybox thing where the recipient got a box full of five beauty goodies in exchange for £10. Sounded good to me, considering there was a full size Nars Illuminator in shade 'orgasm' and everyone raves about it. I signed up and waited nearly a month for the June box to be sent. (The premise is you get a box of five sample sized products each month but you don't know what you're getting, a little surprise).

I came home yesterday after a long and tiring week and it was there waiting for me. All beautifully packaged of course.






I carefully opened the box. Secretly though I already had an inkling what was in it because I Googled it during the day and some people already had their boxes opened and blogged. When i opened it I realised I'd gotten one of the good boxes. This is what i got



3.75ml OPI silver shimmery holographic glitter nail polish.
Rouge Bunny Rouge lip gloss (worth £20!!)
Bioeffect EGF serum
Lalique Perles de Lalique perfume
Batiste original dry shampoo

And here's my nails with a coat of the OPI nail polish. It's shimmery and glittery but also quite subtle.

pretty sparkly in the direct light, holographic too
I've read some people aren't happy with the contents but I think it's ok. Nothing more. It's meant to be sample products of non common items and so I know what i signed up for. Sure they lured everyone in by including the Nars product in the first box in May. I'll stick with it for another couple of months and then might cancel as i think it may turn out that i won't use most of the items in the box. But if each box has at least one full size high end product then £10 a month is probably worth it. Although they've been sneaky. There was free postage but it will go up to £2.95 from September. Still a good deal. Plus I'll bet most of you girls out there will spend more than £12.95 a month on beauty items.

Angela x

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Happy Birthday Ryan

Wednesday 15 June 2011

Today we celebrate the birthday of my beloved nephew Ryan. It is a milestone birthday, what with him being 5, Five, V, and that. He had a birthday cake at nursery this morning and will get another one later on when the family descend on his house.

I'd got him some books and an All Saints skull t-shirt for his birthday (he loves The Cat in The Hat) but i figured with him being only five he'd also appreciate a toy of some sort. So yesterday, after a few weeks of false starts on this trip, i took him to Hamley's in Glasgow where he was presented with lots of choice. However, there would be a limit! We headed straight for the Toy Story area, then Ben 10, the Skalectrix and then to the demo area where you can play with the remote controlled cars. We were there for a good twenty minutes and i thought he'd have chosen the remote car but no. We moved to another section that had fire engines (he wants to be a fireman when he's a big boy, that or a drummer!). But he has loads of fire engines in various shapes and sizes. But guess what he chose as his birthday toy?....



An £8 police car. "There's no flashing lights or anything" I said. "It doesn't matter, i can play with it with my own hands" was his reply. I smiled. He has a great imagination. Only the other day did he come home with his nursery report card that said he loved the sciences, playing with the animals and...wait for this... a rhythm for music, especially drumming. My sister was delighted to hear that! He's also good on the computer too. Reason number 54 why i always have to go into the Apple store when we go to Glasgow...

Watching Fireman Sam on the iMac's in the Apple store. Its what they're made for


Five years ago today our lives changed for the better when Ryan arrived in it. A timid little boy with a great heart and a bigger soul, he's caring, considerate, highly energetic, has a nifty left foot on him but he hates getting his hair cut. He loves his little brother so much although they're always play fighting.

Right now he's outside sporting a 5 badge and hitting a football off the wall. Brilliant.

Most of all, for me, he makes me smile and laugh and brightens up my day whenever I see him. If you met him he would do he same for you i'm sure.



Apparently i'm not his auntie, i'm his Angie. And that is damn fine with me.

Happy birthday Ryan, Love, Angie xxxx

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Eye Eye (cream)

Sunday 12 June 2011

It's no secret that i'm in my 30's, and a girl in their thirties really should look after your skin or you'll end up looking like you're in your fifties when you're in your forties. Follow me so far? Good. So for a good few years now (about 8!) I've followed a cleanse, tone and moisturise routine and topped it off with a pretty good moisturiser (expensive too!). I don't go near the sun, haven't used a sunbed so my skin is pretty good apart from the odd spotty breakout. My moisturiser used to go all over my face including my eyes (because the women demoing the product said you could) but for a good year or so now my eyes have started to nip if the moisturiser goes anywhere near them. So i've been looking for a good eye cream that isn't just cucumber eye gel. No, I need something to combat the dark circles and cope with my dry skin. Yes the area around my eyes could be a little more moisture filled. Although it's not exactly dry skin.

Anyway, people on Twitter recommended Soap and Glory products that you can buy from Boots. This range has always baffled me and i always recoil when people mention it. Yes the packaging is quirky and could even be described as fun, if your idea of fun is seeing scantily clad women in 40's/50's outfits on the packaging. The names of the products are a little Benefit-inspired to me. But where I think Benefit trumps Soap and Glory is that their packaging isn't as busy or confusing. I swear this, I was standing in front of shelves in Boots today and I didn't know what i was looking at. Sure i had an idea because on the next shelf down was cream, and eye serums and moisturisers so i had an idea i was in the right vicinity but the Soap and Glory products were a mish-mash. I just want to look at a product and find out what it is. I don't want to have to pick every box up and inspect to find find out if it's eye cream or face serum. The title (if you will) didn't jump out at me. However after three* hours of reading every box i picked up something that appeared to be eye cream. Make Yourself Youthful Eye Cream with anti-wrinkle superpeptide complex plus oxygen boosters for brighter, tighter, fresher eyes! Big promises those eh. I just want a cream. Not a highlighting cream nor a concealer or anything like that, just a cream that will moisturise as well as take down the odd occasional puffy eye. My skin is really pretty good for a 30 something girl.

this better work! (Photo from the soap and glory website)

So i brought it home (feeling a little bit dirty that i'd gone against my gut instinct and bought this thing!) and have only just tested it. I discovered it's an illuminating eye cream and is tacky to the touch, yuck!!! I can't believe it** It also has a slight fragrance but nothing too off putting. I just hope it's okay on my sensitive skin.

Anyway, 10 minutes later and it's dried in leaving a slight sheen on the back of my hand. I just hope it doesn't nip when i put it on my actual eyes. Watch this space. I shall report back soon...
Oh but in themeantime if any of you girls or guys have a better eye cream or moisturiser to recommend, let me know. Ta!

Take care kids
Angela x

*okay maybe twenty five minutes!
**I can! I got a gift of the body butter a few years back at Christmas and it was the same. Took ages to dry on my skin. Bleurgh...