Bowery Mural

Nike versus Liberty of London dunk hi wedge trainer

Thursday 31 January 2013


Following on from my post last week about the Ash Cool wedge hi top trainers...look at these beauties I picked up too.

The Nike X Liberty of London dunk hi wedges. I think they're sold out now, sorry!

Nike x Liberty of London dunk hi wedge
When I saw these I fell in love. I've not had a pair of Nike trainers for aaaages and I cannot get enough of these. Come the summer, these will be a staple in my wardrobe with skinnies and skirts. For now though I have to work on my legs to be able to team them up with nice shorts! I'm doing that at Shock Fit classes, but more on those soon. Cannot wait for summertime.

Angela

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Time to fly

Wednesday 30 January 2013

The other day I was driving home from town. It had been raining heavily in the morning. Then the sun came out, but the air was still chilly. Then the heavy rain came along again. But on the drive home it was sort of spitting rain and the sky was clear. There was a blue that i haven't seen in a few weeks.

As I neared the village, I looked over to my right and saw this flock of birds fly around. They ebbed and flowed like a hypnotic dark murky waterfall in the sky. They weren't that high either.

The road was quiet so I slowed down to watch them perform. They spinned, they swooped, they dived and they rose up high again. It was mesmerising.

I began to wonder what it must be like to fly and dive and ebb and flow in unison with others. I wondered if i were a bird where would I like to fly to. Would I return to the same spot each winter or summer. Would I be able to join a new flock? Would they let me?

Perhaps it's time for this little bird to fly and join a new flock...

Cryptic.

Angela x
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New hair-do, and I like it!

Monday 28 January 2013

It's fair to say that my hair is really important to me. I'd say my curly hair is one of my distinguishable features. I love my curly hair, and if you've read here before you'll know the anguish I've gone through trying to find a hairdresser that i can go to regularly. My last attempt was a disaster that left me feeling rather rubbish. Mane Street: read about that here.

Anyway, *let the angelic choir sing* I think I've found the one.

I went back to Rainbow Room in Stirling and got the salon director Will to give my hair a much needed seeing to. After my last hair-don't, I said that I wanted ombre again but not the harsh dark at the top and really light at the ends. I wanted a more blended ombre. My consultation lasted a good 15-20 minutes. He asked me loads of questions about how I like to wear my hair, what exactly did I want and what did i not want. He suggested colours, told me which way he'd be doing it, told me how he was going to cut it and then style it. It sounded great. 

The assistant put a conditioning treatment on first and gave me a head and shoulder massage. He then washed off the treatment and then Will set about cutting it. Afterwards he rough dried and started on the colour. At the very ends I had a conditioning treatment applied, mid section was a blonde colour and then any remaining hair had the main colour applied. This was all left on for about 40 minutes with regular checks in between times. Then it was time to have the colour washed out. Afterwards I got another treatment applied and a second head massage - bliss. Then it was time to style it. 

He applied a leave in conditioner, a hair oil and a curl cream. He applied it to the ends first and then ran it  through the roots. Next he took sections and twisted them around his finger. Once my full head had these twisted sections he started drying it with the hairdryer and diffuser. I'd had this done before and was sceptical but actually, this time it turned out really lovely. When he was done he showed me the back with a mirror. Wow I was surprised. The curls were great and the colour was just right. 

Since we're still in winter my main colour is a mid brown that is my own natural colour but more shiny and a bit 'brighter'. There's a few golden blonde strands through the mid length and underneath there are lighter blonde-ish sections. This gives the effect of grown out sun-kissed ombred hair. I like it. It's gotten rid of that harsh dark brown and harsh bleach blonde ombre effect that I had. The cut is great too. He cut a few inches off the length, cit long layers into the back and sides and then twisted sections and cut downwards with the scissors. This gives the curls some extra bounce as well as making them thin out towards the ends. I really do love the way it sits now.
Lighter, more delicate ombre ends

I was really pleased with the experience in the hairdressers. I was glad I went back to Rainbow room and paid that wee bit extra to have Will do my hair. He gave me ideas for my next colour appointment too, a few extra blonde strands through the back in the springtime! Can't wait. 

I skipped out of there with a smile on my face and hot footed it to H&M where they have all around mirrors so I could capture it on my phone. These pictures make the hair look a bit 'redder' than in real life as I was under their artificial lights. Now, a few days later and after one wash I can say that i absolutely love the cut and the colour is great too.

I'm so pleased with it. It's good when you feel you're hair is sitting great.

Angela x 

Gorgeous Colourful Clothes: Prabal Gurung for Target

Sunday 27 January 2013

As some of you may or may not know I visited Nepal in 2009 to trek in the Himalayas with the hope of reaching Everest Base Camp. You can read that whole story if you scan back to the beginning of this blog.

So, ever since then I like to try and keep up to date with news and stories and anything Nepal related. This includes following the fashion designer Prabal Gurung on Twitter. He was born in Singapore, raised in Kathmandu, Nepal but now lives in the US. I loved pictures he was posting from a recent visit to see family back in Nepal and I adore his clothes.

Imagine my utter excitement when I saw a tweet about a clothing and accessories collaboration he is doing in the US with Target. I think it's US only too, boo. Target is probably equivalent to our... Debenhams maybe(?) but a little bit cheaper.

Oh my goodness! The clothes are really bright and colourful and rather amazingly priced. There's lots of flowers on backgrounds of black and white as well as bold block primary colours and shoes in the same matching colours. The apple red dress and shoes are right up my street. You can view the full collection on the Target website as well as a full look book and pricing over at Refinery 29.

After eyeing up almost all of the looks, here are some of my favourites from the Prabal Gurung x Target collection, due to hit on 10 February. You lucky Americans!

Source: target.com via Angela on Pinterest

This sweatshirt in First Date print is really cool, a snip at $29.99. Full look details and prices are found over at Refinery 29.




The jeans and shoes are great with this blue blouse. The red apple ankle strap pumps - $39.99. Full look details and prices are found over at Refinery 29


Prabal Gurung for Target ankle strap pumps. $39.99

Source: target.com via Angela on Pinterest

I love this whole outfit. But the standout is the blazer in floral crush print - $49.99. IN LOVE. Full look details and prices here at Refinery 29

Now all I need is a few more spin classes to get those legs and someone kind in the US to buy me that to-die-for blazer (I'll pay!).

A girl can dream...

Angela x

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1 week, post dentist

Thursday 24 January 2013

It's been a week since I got two teeth out at the dentist. I never told you that story. But don't worry there's no gory details, except to say that beforehand i was quite anxious, or maybe just nervous about it. I hadn't had a tooth out since I was a child, many moons ago, and I wasn't sure what to expect. Add to this the fact that I'd saw Les Miserables last Sunday and there was a scene where Fantine was in a ghetto, had just had her hair cut off and then had a tooth pulled out by some vagabond for money to send to her sweet Cosette. That looked painful. I didn't want my experience to be like that!

I arrived five minutes early for my appointment, took my seat in the waiting room then a receptionist came through to say that my dentist was running half an hour late and did I want to wait or come back? I waited. I read some blogs to take my mind off it.

Twenty minutes later the dentist called me. He explained what he'd be doing then gave me the jags to numb my gums. One in the front of my gums on upper left and right and then another larger needle on the upper left and right palette area. Ouch, that was sore as he pushed the stinky numbing liquid in. About five minutes later I felt it go numb and realised my mouth was becoming twisted. Also my palette seemed swollen. I asked how long it would take to get each tooth out 'how long is a piece of string?' he quipped. There's no time for silly jokes I thought. Breathe. Here we go...

He gave me safety specs and I shut my eyes as tight as I could. First of all he was in with some sort of implement pushing at the first tooth. Front and back. Pushing. Manoeuvring. Lightly at first and then harder. There was no pain. Once he was satisfied with the he changed implement. I could tell it was some type of pliers. Eek!

I could feel them gripping the tooth. Still no pain though. He was twisting, and twisting, and twisting. One direction, then the other. He gave a big twist and I put my hand up for him to stop (we'd agreed hand signals beforehand). He gasped 'can you feel pain?'. No I replied, but it feels like your about to twist the lid off a tight jam jar and I just don't want to feel that pain when it pops. You won't feel pain but you may hear it! Gah.

In he went again, and with on final twist the tooth eased and out it came. No pain but yes, a faint weird crunch noise. Phew. That wasn't too bad. Yay I'm brave.

Now it was onto the left hand side. This was a biggie. A molar with four healthy roots and a huge filling. He warned me that this one would be harder to get out, and with it being heavily filled it may break up too. Yikes. In he went again with stick to loosen it. Then again with the pliers. He was tugging good style with this tooth and it wasn't for budging. Then it went, and this time I heard a huge crunch and out it came. I definitely thought it had disintegrated but when i eventually sat up it was still intact except the filling had fallen out. I was taking deep breaths through my nose all the way through and I think that helped me.

After a rinse (there wasn't too much blood) I lay back down on the chair and he inserted a couple of bits of gauze into the wounds for me to bite on. He explained I should take two paracetamol when I got home with a sip of water. I should wait an hour to drink, preferably just water. No hot drinks or spicy/hot food today, and if it continued to bleed I should call them. He sent me on my way with two bits of clean gauze and my two teeth in a tooth fairy envelope.
tooth fairy
When I got home it was just passed 1pm so all in all I must have only been in his chair for fifteen minutes. Not bad at all. I still wasn't having any pain but my mouth was really twisted. My palette still felt weird and swollen. My tongue was doing weird things all by itself. I sipped on some water through a straw and relaxed.
excuse me and my wonky numb post dental appointment mouth
It took me a couple of hours to look in the mirror. I pictured a huge gappy smile but actually, unless I smile really unnaturally wide then you can't really tell where the teeth were. I was satisfied with that. It wasn't until about 7pm that I took two painkillers and that was as a precaution.

As the days have passed I got used to having the gaps in my mouth. It does feel weird though as you don't realise where your tongue goes in your mouth with a full set of teeth. The upper right gum and palette is still a bit sensitive and I can't really use it to bite anything so eating is still a bit difficult.

A week on and I'm glad I went through with it. A few to go until my orthodontist appointment to have the brace fitted and there's no turning back now. Have any of you had braces?

Angela x

Not wearing Converse...for a change

Tuesday 22 January 2013

Yes. That's right. I've managed to buy a couple of new pairs of trainers that *aren't* Converse. And you know I LOVE my Converse. My red Converse are still my favourites - just take a look at my header photo. They're so comfortable they are almost like slippers. I wear them most days and they're my signature 'thing', i think.

But I'd seen a few style blog posts from the various bloggers i read and i always imagine that I'm there, in one of those posts, in my skinny jeans and designer handbag with the backdrop being a sun lit, palm-tree lined street. Of course, my legs aren't that skinny and i live in the heart of Scotland so it ain't ever gonna happen. But i do love those kinds of blogs.

The style of these girls is fabulous. I could never really put outfits together like they do, or tip my head at just the right angle to get the best of my awkward face. Occasionally little gems pop up in their pictures. Like wedge trainers...
Ash Cool wedge hi tops
Yes. Wedge trainers. I'd seen a few back at the beginning of last year and during the summer and i didn't really like them. They looked cheap but were over £150 and Tulisa off of XFactor was pictured in a pair. Which mean i definitely would not be buying them. No siree!

But as summer turned to autumn, then to winter a blog post appeared where the girl wore a really nice cream suede pair of wedge trainers. They were Isabel Marant and were pretty pricey at over £350! No way would i be paying that. But helpful as she is she included a link to a pair that were sorta the same. A pair from show company Ash. When i clicked onto the website i found those pair that Tulisa was snapped in a tabloid wearing once - yuck. But i also found lots of cool suede pairs in a multitude of autumn / winter colours. Wowsers. They were smart, but still expensive at £150-£185. I resigned myself to the fact that I wouldn't be getting a new pair.

Then like the all knowing eye that they are, ASOS sent one of their emails that you can't ignore and i clicked on their sale/offer code. I searched for 'Ash' and lo! The Ash Cool wedge suede trainers (below) had 35% off!


Still expensive at £130 but surely a much more affordable price - and with free next day delivery. (Still available at www.ashfootwear.co.uk for 50% off!!) Anyway, I consulted my lieutenant and within a few minutes I'd bought myself an early Christmas present. I ordered the size 4 since reviews I'd read mentioned they came in slightly smaller. Bad move...

They arrived the next day and i loved them immediately except the sizing was a bit larger than i thought. I decided I'd order the size 3, just to be sure in my mind, but strangely with ASOS you can't just exchange if you want the item straight away, you have to order and pay for another pair. So I did. Fool. This pair were delivered the next day again and the size 3 were perfect - yay. I packaged up the size 4 and sent them back via the free courier drop service at a local shop. This was easy enough. What wasn't easy was the nearly 3 week wait on my refund for the size 4 pair. I eventually got that on 30 December, and only after I emailed ASOS twice. Granted it was during the holiday period but still...


I've worn the shoes to work, to shop, to the cinema, and they are really quite comfortable for a wedge. The heel height isn't too high for me and it give my legs a nice shape when teamed with my skinny jeans. They feel great on. The fabric and construction are quality and I'm sure they'll last me a few years (I'm not sore on shoes). I opted for the black suede with wine coloured accent. Classic colours i think. At the end of the day it's good to get them off but not in that 'my feet are aching' way. They may become my second slippers but I'll certainly not throw away the Converse yet.

Angela

PS excuse the jeans in the photos. They're supposed to be a regular leg length (29") but they're way longer than that. Otherwise they fit great, even though they look hideous here :)

Essie She's Pampered, with a bit of sparkle #NOTD

Sunday 20 January 2013

On New Years day I sat and watched a whole day of Kim and Kourtney in New York on Viva channel. It was great as I hadn't seen the episodes immediately after Kim's short marriage to Chris. The Kardashians of course. Anyway, I sat on my bed, blogged and watched this and in between times painted my nails.

For this, a new year, i decided to go for something bright with sparkle. I opted for Essie's She's Pampered and then Beyond Cozy on the ring fingers. Both polishes from the recently new winter collection.

Essie She's Pampered - true red creme
Beyond Cozy on the right. Looks a bit pewter here too
She's pampered is a bright red creme with a blue tone in it, not orange toned like Snap Happy from the same collection. I have She's Pampered in the normal sized bottle and Beyond Cozy in the mini size from the set i'd bought just before Christmas which you can read about here.

She's Pampered is what i call a true blue red. Not too dark, not too light, a true red. One of my favourite colours. As with the newer style Essie polishes this comes with the wide brush (even in the mini size bottles) which is just a dream to apply any polish with. The polish applied well and dries with a shine. 

Beyond Cozy is a strange fine glitter colour because in the bottle it looks like dull golden flecks but on the finger it can take on a silver tone. Strange, but nice all the same. I don't think I'd apply this by itself on all the fingers (it would be a pain to take off) but it certainly added that little bit of sparkle for the new year that i was looking for. 
Essie Beyond Cozy - in a mini bottle

An arty processed shot of my ageing fingers.
She's Pampered is darker here than in real life.
A truer colour representation
As always I applied my polish over a base coat of OPI Nail Envy Matt. Recently i've been wearing my nails bare to let them heal from using all the dark polishes. The Nail Envy has worked a treat to help prevent my nails from splitting since they are pretty ridged on my thumbs and index fingers. I find the OPI Nail Envy to be the only thing that helps me with that. At £18.50 per bottle it is pretty expensive but i bought a new set from QVC where they had both the matt and original versions in a set for £18.50 (2 for 1). Can't really grumble with that.

Overall a really great show-stopping red. What do you think?

Angela 

Daily Reminders, we all need them

Saturday 19 January 2013

I saw a tweet the other day from Jamfactory over on Twitter. It was via Instagram and when i followed the link, it was to a picture of a cool little letterpress calendar. He provided the link to the website and i followed and quickly ordered my own copy.

Here it is. The Because Studio daily reminders calendar.


It is letterpress printed on beer mat board and comes with a wonderful little graphic key to all the high days and holidays, as well as having a little packet or coloured push pins that you can add yourself for your own holidays or appointments.

I ordered this one day and the next day it arrived in a beautiful manila envelope with a string fastener on it. How cool! Inside was the calendar and all the bits together with a nice hand written note from the makers. A nice touch I thought.


Love the circular icons for holidays
Can't wait to hang it up and start using it
If like me you are a stationary nut and love a bit of letterpress then this may be for you. I really do like it. Now i need to find a place to hang it. I will have 3 calendars of sorts in my room. So I've really no excuse to miss anything.

Angela

Ch, ch, ch, changes...

Thursday 17 January 2013

Times they are a changing, and so is this blog. It is with much thought and a little sadness that i've decided to get rid of the Project Everest title of this blog. I'll still be keeping the link but i've decided that it's time to move on from that phase of my life. It was in 2009 after all.

The trek to Mount Everest was the single most amazing and most important thing i have done in my life, up to now. I say up to now because I still think that there are many adventures left inside of me.

The change to the name of the blog is one of those new adventures. And at this point in my life it feels right and is more 'fitting' to me. There will be no deleting of posts nor pictures of my trek. Everything will still be here but under a different name. Not much of a change you might think but for me, yes, yes it is. Head right back to the start of this blog (2008 & 2009 posts) if you're a fairly new reader and want to catch up on that story. It's pretty great.

I love this little blog. It has become a part of me, even though lately it may have lacked any...individuality? (is that the right word?)...
I did have this as a header image but it is MAHOOSIVE!
So, i'll still be here, still with the same sorta posts, but under a different name, once i decide on it. There are few in the running. That may take another couple of weeks.

In the meantime you might have noticed a little design change. Of course my favourite shade of red is involved and it's still a bit minimal. I'm not a fan of fussy blog designs. I've been wanting to do this for a while but did't get around to it. I've been playing around with the template and layout for a few weeks and tonight i think I settled on one that i like. I've also introduced a few social buttons over there on the right hand side. There's Twitter, Instagram, Flickr, Google+ and Pinterest. Quite impressed with myself that i managed to add them on - high five!

Hope you like it!
Angela x

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Graphic Tees

Wednesday 16 January 2013

Lately i've been all about the graphic t-shirts. Well, not so much graphics as t-shirts with words or designs on them. My wardrobe is pretty much one style. I love coloured trousers and jeans, I always seem to be wearing some sort of red flavoured jean, but my tops are pretty much basic white or black t-shirts with the odd shirt or long sleeved tee thrown in for good measure. At work i also wear a variety of knitted jumper (in the winter).

I saw a few Wildfox tops on ASOS during the summer and wanted one of those 'famous' heart printed ones but when i saw it in real life in Harvey Nichols I wasn't so impressed with the fabric or quality. Especially not for around £99!

Whilst browsing Harvey Nichols one day I stumbled across the Zoe Karssen display. It was all simple white, black and a gorgeous faded electric blue. There were t-shirts and sweatshirts with different slogans or designs but they weren't gaudy. The were simple. I wanted one immediately. Once again the price tag put me off and i pushed them to that part of my brain that says "Ange, you'd love this top but not at that price"...

A few weeks later I got an email from The Outnet and they had Zoe Karssen! I browsed and luckily managed to find one of the lovely faded blue t-shirts at almost half the price. Yippee. I ordered it and it arrived promptly and it was just as lovely in real life. It is long enough to 'cover yer back' (as my mum says), the material is a soft cotton that drapes nicely and the neckline is low round cut but not too low that I'm still comfortable wearing it (this is important, i hate a too low neckline). I'd say it's slim fitting but still loose (I got the XSmall). The slogan on the front is actually printed on the inside so that it appears more faded on the outside. There was another one i had my eye on and lo-and-behold Santa duly delivered. Well done Santa (sister!).

In the meantime I also bought the over popular Topshop Geek t-shirt as well as a white t-shirt with two birds on it, also from Topshop. The Geek top is thicker normal tee cotton and the S/M size is really quite massive and boxy on me so it's a slob about tee. But the white one is a bit more flattering. I like them both though.


I really like the Zoe Karssen pieces and have vowed that my next purchase is one of the sweatshirts. But only at a discount price. Gotta save the pennies and i don't really care if it's so last season.

Angela x

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It's all about a smile

Monday 14 January 2013

Tomorrow I'm going to the dentist. I'm having two of my top teeth removed. One on each side. There's nothing particularly wrong with these teeth. Despite them both having root treatment, they aren't giving me pain or toothache. But I need to have them removed as part of a procedure.

I've been attending the hospital since last November about my teeth and after a few months worth of shifting the dental appointments and orthodontist appointments, tomorrow has arrived all too soon.

It's been many many years since I've actually had a tooth removed by a dentist. And even then I was put to sleep while they carried out the procedure. I remember i was about four or five years old and still at nursery. My mum dressed me in a little green dress I'd worn to my aunts wedding and I had bunches in my hair. Bunches is what we call ponytails. Bunches.

Anyway, I can't remember much about that dental visit except waking up and going home to get tomato soup. I'm really nervous about tomorrow. I don't think they'll put me to sleep. You have to go to the hospital to get that procedure now, i think. Hopefully I'll have plenty of anaesthetic. I don't think it's that that is bothering me. It's the tugging or noise or the taste of blood. Gah! I don't think i could cope with the tugging. If my head actually was pulled when they're taking them out. I'm hoping it'll be over in a flash, or at least in about ten minutes. I've stocked up on painkillers for afterwards, I'll probably need them.

You might be wondering why I'd put myself through this is they are reasonably healthy teeth. Maybe not. Well I'm having other work done in February. At the hospital. By the orthodontist. I hate to say what it is because it might seem a bit vain but it is something that has bothered me my whole adult life.

If I'm honest, I'm kind of ashamed of it but it would be like if someone thought they had a big nose or tiny boobs and went and got them 'fixed'. Most people who go through those procedures might say those things would give them more confidence. I suppose that's why I'm doing this. I should've done it years ago but my previous dentists were always like 'oh no, you're teeth are fine, let's just whiten them. That'll be £375 please!' and I was like 'no thank you'. But then I got a new dentist about 2 years ago and after a check up he actually sat and asked me about my teeth and if there was anything i didn't like. I took this as my opportunity. I told him and he said he'd refer me to a private orthodontist but it would cost £55 for an initial appointment. I agreed and I headed to that place. £55! It was sore handing that over for what amounted to about 9 minutes of this guy's time. After prodding about my mouth and asking me a few questions he decided the only method to get rid of the thing I didn't like was to have an operation to move my lower jaw forward! I was like 'you gotta be joking mate'! He was dead serious.

It would involve going into my lower gum at the back, breaking my jaw, resetting it and on top of that I'd get teeth out afterwards and then need to wear something else. It would cost about £20k but it'd be done on the NHS. I mean come on... As If I'd waste the NHS money on getting a procedure that frankly is cosmetic. He said he'd refer me to the hospital orthodontic team and I'd have to wait a while on the appointment. I discussed this idea with my mum and we agreed that this way was not an option. No way.

My hospital appointment came through. 5 months to wait. When I attended for that I got a young Irish (kinda hot) orthodontist who was in training. He filled in the forms. Asked me the questions. Suggested the operation. I said under no circumstances. Then he suggested the brace. A brace. A BRACE. I knew that's what would end up happening anyway. He took lots of pictures of my smile, my mouth, my open mouth, my closed mouth, my teeth close up, my upper teeth, my lower teeth and (wait for this) my incompetent lips. I must have looked puzzled. He said don't worry, ignore it, it's technical talk. From what i gather it means that my lips don't meet up exactly when close. But who's does?! After that I joked that he'd better not put those horrid photos all over Facebook. He laughed.

Anyway, the long and the short of it is that I'm having two teeth removed because in a few weeks time I'm having a brace fitted. We're talking full on Ugly Betty style track brace. So please, help a girl out. Don't cross the road if you see me. Don't make fun of me. And most of all, don't give me toffee's.

Angela x

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I saw Les Miserables...

Sunday 13 January 2013

And it was absolutely BRILLIANT!


You'll know that I've waited months to see this film since I first caught site of the trailer a few months back. It made my skin tingle. I'm glad to report that the full length film was all of that times a million. I LOVED it. I've heard all the famous Les Mis songs on various talent shows but I've never really bothered to find out what the story was about. Glad I didn't as it meant everything was more or less new to me.

From pretty much the first scene Hugh Jackman as Jean Valjean was amazing. A few minutes in and there's a scene that you can see very bit of anguish and pain on his hollow cheeked face.

Anne Hathaway is pretty great too as Fantine. When she does the 'I dreamed a dream' song! Oh man, I wept. I wept because there she was on the large screen, her new shorn head filling it all to the side and nothing in the background to distract you from that moment. It was a masterpiece.

Russell Crowe played his part well. warbling his way through a number of songs but still holding that menacing gaze.

The 'supporting' cast were really good too but i have to say I thought Samantha Barks as Eponine overshadowed Amanda Seyfried as Cosette. Barks was utterly brilliant and moving and of course a wonderful wonderful singer. Whilst watching I thought to myself, 'I've seen this girl before' and couldn't place her. Got home and googled her and *ringing bell* of course! She was in I'd Do Anything on BBC1. Where Andrew Lloyd Webber held a competition to find a Nancy for his Oliver show. I think it's amazing that she's been on stage playing that part and now in the movie. Hopefully it's only that start for her as she was great. 

Eddie Redmayne, that slightly ginger freckly kid from ... well where did he come from? but wherever it was I'm glad he did. He was good. Not a bad singer either. Very good scenes with his gang of revolutionaries. 

Sacha Baron Cohen and Helena Bonham Carter were totally brilliant as the inn keepers and really added something light to an otherwise emotional film. They were great. I downloaded their song as soon as I left the cinema.

As ever this isn't a review of the film, nor are there any spoilers, but i just had to get some thoughts down on paper. 

The sets and costumes were fab and the end scene a triumph. For all.

Les Miserables is a grand affair. At times it is harrowing. At times it is funny. With everything being sung I found I listened to the words of the songs more and what they meant. Kinda like how I have to concentrate more whilst watching The Killing with subtitles. It made me really feel the words of the songs and go through (well a little bit) what the characters were going through at that moment. 

Oh, and I want to see the musical too. Although in the movie the camera was really close to the faces of the singers. You saw all their pain and hurt and feelings and everything, you saw everything in every inch of their faces. Not sure how that would translate in the theatre. So who wants to come with me?

I'm going to see it again. I have to. The music was awesome. The film was great. I was sobbing all the way out the cinema. In a good way! 

Angela x

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...blog block...

Wednesday 9 January 2013

I appear to be suffering from blogger block at the minute.

There's going to be a few changes around these parts soon when i get around to it.

Until then I have the bloggers block... argh.

Much love

Angela x

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Nails Nails Nails... #NOTD

Wednesday 2 January 2013

For Christmas I wore Chanel Malice on my nails and I wore it well. You can see those nails over there. It is a classic dark shade with a beautiful light barely noticeable shimmer in it.

But for the week between Christmas and New Year I fancied a little change from the dark colours I'd been wearing lately. I decided to go with pink! It makes me smile.
left: OPI I juggle men, right: Essie off the shoulder
I opted for Essie Off The Shoulder from the summer collection and to add that little bit extra zing to them i added a topcoat of OPI I Juggle Men from the Femme De Cirque collection which i believe may be a few years old. I caught sight of this lovely polish whilst browsing one night and ordered it immediately.
see that shimmer? see it!
It is an almost clear base with very subtle iridescent flecks of violet, pink and blue... shimmer. The particles aren't glitter, they're much much smaller than glitter. They're barely there shimmery flecks and they are so pretty on top of almost any colour. I added them over the top of Essie Off the shoulder, a bold pink that isn't pale and isn't bright. It's that just right shade of pink that will suit most people.

As ever i used one base coat of OPI Nail Envy, two coats of Essie and one top coat of OPI I Juggle Men. It was a perfect pick me up on the dull rainy days that we had.

I love this OPI veil of shimmer in a bottle. The bonus is that is comes off easily too, none of that wrapping your fingers in tin foil to remove glitter.

Happy nails.

Angela x

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Happy New Year

Tuesday 1 January 2013

Smile, be kind, be happy, have fun and adventures, tweet, update, take photos, dare to hope ...and dream, dare to dream big and make them all come true.


Happy New Year.
Much love
Angela x

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