Sunday 30 November 2014

i knitted two jumpers

I have always known how to knit and have used my skills to make some very amusing gifts for friends (I made Tom Glencross a hat with a bobble the size of a baby's head which I am particularly proud of). But my whole life I never thought I could actually knit a full garment which I would actually wear. If you are in the same position, eg. have only ever made scarves / hats / blankets, then I am here to tell you: jumpers are not hard. And they give you an excuse to watch an entire season of MTV's "Are You The One?" in a day (guilty as charged).
 Here is the first one I did. The picture isn't great but it is a really nice khaki colour with a bit of dimension. This was really easy, it was knitted in one piece wrist to wrist. I followed a Kaffe Fassett pattern but changed it quite a lot, making it wider, with a smaller neckline and thinner sleeves. 
 And here is me wearing the jumper, where the colour looks a lot better. I was very proud of myself and am now officially a "knitter". That means, I always have a project on the go, and I am genuinely contemplating buying a "knitting bag".
After my triumph with jumper #1, I decided I could do a proper jumper made of four whole pieces. And even this wasn't too hard! I used a pattern from ravelry, which is a website my mum uses for pattern sharing, but again I changed it a lot. I am very glad that I did the bottom of it how I did, it has a border and side splits and I think it has a really nice effect. This is in a lovely beige / camel colour with black flecks. 
Here it is on. I am so cool and clever at knitting.
If anybody wants I can definitely share the patterns I used (made up) then I would be more than happy to share, but I'm under the impression that to most people it would just be nonsense taking up space in my (otherwise aesthetically immaculate- har har) blog. But maybe even if you don't like these exact designs, this could inspire ya. Knitting is very fun and completing little projects is very good for my mental wellbeing, and then at the end you have a new and very warm and relatively inexpensive jumper!

Saturday 29 November 2014

stylish boys

Here are some photos of boys, ones who I like anyway for their work and their personalities (and usually for their hansy-ness), but also for their fly clothes.
Here is something I have loved for about four years, Conor Oberst from Bright Eyes wearing a khaki felt cape with black fur lining. This is literally all I have ever wanted from an item of outerwear and have never found. I think I could actually make this myself with a bit of effort. I couldn't find the original photos of this which I fell in love with, but he did a LOT of twirling about and other cape-related fun. Good Job Coberst.
 Here is Conor again wearing many different shades of black, a "good hat", a bunch of necklaces and a gummy smile. CUTE!
Here is a photo of general fabulousness. Obviously RuPaul looks like everything I've ever wanted to be, but I'm not sure I can really focus on Ru in a post about boy fashion. The purpose of this is to illustrate that, although this is not the point at all, I like the way Kurt Cobain dressed. Stripes, blonde bob, fun sunglasses (fun-glasses), vg.
 Here is another picture I have admired for many years. It's the combination of a million things which works for me. This is what I am trying to emulate when I wear leopard-print, and not "a pimp" which is what Lilly has accused me of looking like.
Matthew Gray Gubler is, imo, the handsomest of all the handsomes. Here he is looking v soft-grunge in a stripey lacoste jumper. Bonus points for it being a polaroid.
Matthew stop it. Put that lower-stomach away. Loving a big stripey jumper and black jeans, cool and understated, particularly when paired with the one-strand-fringe.
 
Did you know that MGG always wears odd socks because he believes he falls over if he doesn't? This is the sort of mad-thinking I can get on board with. Even though he is wearing corduroy in the photo, which I wouldn't normally condone, he makes up for it with the non-matching dinosaur socks. By the way, you should all follow MGG on instagram, he is very insane and hilarious.

So there are some photos of boys which I like to keep in mind when I get dressed. Bonus Picture of Carson from Queer Eye for the Straight Guy (aka the best television show ever).

Friday 28 November 2014

more rubbish (you're welcome)

Another episode of me trying to downsize my life before I move to America for a bit (nbd).
The Body Shop Camomile Cleansing Oil is very nice indeed. It smells good and removes makeup really fast and without having to do any scrubbing. I don't tend to wear enough makeup to warrant using this every day but when I do, it is very useful. I usually only wear a lot of makeup when I'm getting drunk, and when I'm drunk this is great and very quick.
Maybelline Brow Drama is ok. It is good to put on after you do your eyebrows to make them look a bit more "hairy" and less like flat drawn-on brows. However, I am so over spending time on my eyebrows, so I like to use some sort of brow mascara which fills them in as well. This Maybelline one isn't enough for me to use on its own and having to use multiple products in my eyebrows is effort I am not willing to undertake.
Neutrogena Rapid Clear Treatment Thingy didn't do anything for me.
Charles Worthington Volume & Bounce Texturising Spray is very good. I bought approximately a billion of these when there was a good deal on them and this marks the end of them. I'm sure I will buy this again but right now I'm using the superdrug dry shampoo with volume and that is very comparable and costs about one pound!
 Kiko City Filter Sunscreen I liked. You would be forgiven for not being able to tell what this is because for some reason the letters on the bottle moved around. It screened by skin from sun and didn't do much else, but I prefer the Bioderma one so I'm not buying it again.
Bourjois Magic Nail Polish Remover I found gimmicky and pointless. It's quick,  but also how long does removing nail polish actually take anyway?? Silly.
Nars Radiant Creamy Concealer is the best concealer ever. I use Vanilla which is a bit pale but it's also fine. Covers up everything but doesn't look like a ton of makeup. Already repurchased - this one lasted a year of nearly-daily use. 
Boots Botanics Organic Rosewater Toning Spritz is really nice. I would spray this on my face all day long if I could. Works under makeup as a toner to soothe and hydrate or over makeup to add a glow (I like to look kinda sheeny). The bad points are that I went through this quite fast, and that is has alcohol in it. Instead of repurchasing I just got some 100% rosewater on Amazon and put it in this spray bottle.

Again, I feel the need to apologise for this weird and potentially boring sort of blog post. But I am enjoying seeing the surplus of my "beauty" things shrinking and this is a good way to record it I reckon. Ok, goodbye.

Sunday 2 November 2014

my pouch

I like to change my bag with a fair amount of frequency, and the decision to do so is often made when about to run out of the door. Hence, my pouch: the handbag within a handbag which makes changeovers easy and speedy and also make sure you don't leave any man behind. It also is paramount to the maintenance of a tidy handbag, and thus the illusion of a tidy mind.
Here is my pouch of choice, which I got for free from Ren for spending too much money. I like it because it's white, unobtrusive and have a nice zip closure. Also even if I didn't like it, I'm not going to buy a new pouch, I'm not insane. For the record, don't worry, I'm not under the illusions that anyone actually cares about me and my pouch. But for selfish reasons, in the formation of your own pouch, this could be quite useful. I helped my mum with her pouch and I do think it genuinely changed her life.
So: my pouch. I always have a hand sanitizer because you never know when you'll accidentally drop your phone down the toilet, that is something I have always said. Mine is from Aldi but I'm not really into the smell of intense grass. I also always have a hand cream because I am eighty-five years old. This one was a pound from Superdrug and I really really like it. The little moisturiser from Aveeno was free in the post, and its useful for other dryness-related problems.
Plasters and medicines are good for someone as accident prone as myself. The medicines are ibuprofen (usually for headaches) and allergy medicine for when I accidentally get bitten by a horsefly - the doctor told me I should have it with me at all times so he no longer has to look at my bare ass when I get bitten on it. I also have a pill box from a car boot sale with more allergy medicine in, because I'm not really into showing the doctor my bare ass either (despite what he may tell you).
I have a pen, for obvious reasons (mostly underlining the clever and funny bits in whatever book I'm reading). At the moment I have a pencil, a sharpener and a rubber too, because, fun fact, you aren't allowed pens in the British Library. This blog is truly a learning experience for you.
The other things are makeup related. A Nars concealer in "Vanilla" because it's the best. This one is basically empty and I have another full one which I use when getting ready. Maybelline Babylips in "Peach Kiss" because it's my favourite lip product at the moment, and is both a balm and a makes-lips-nicer thing. A mirror for staring into and writing love poetry. The RMS Living Luminizer, which is a frankly ridiculously priced highlighting paste type of thing. It is so so nice but I still can't believe I bought it. A nice gold spray bottle from a charity shop which is full of the &Other Stories Fig perfume. This is good for when you stink, like really stink. An eyebrow pencil from The Body Shop, for obvious reasons. A purple lipstick from Stargazer. I really like Stargazer lipsticks because they have loads of fun colours and they're really cheap. And finally a brown mascara which I use on my eyelashes sometimes, but mostly on my eyebrows to make them look hairier.
So there you have it, the contents of my pouch laid out for all to see. Don't say I don't spoil you.