Bright lights, big city

So my dream of a city life is within reach, now that I finally have an internship (yay!) at a magazine, and so far I have been relishing the commuter life. Yes, I have to get up disgustingly early and don't get home until 8pm which isn't exactly ideal. But the feeling of being a part of such a hard-working part of society and learning to do something that I love is good enough for me to still be excited to rise and shine.

I have taken the opportunity to explore London some more, and one friday evening found this 'Cheese and Wine Market' by the Royal Festival Hall, full of amazing stalls including a churros stand which smelled divine, and all sorts of different foods and, my favourite, puddings and bakery bits.

I took the opportunity to sample an invention called "Mile High", a combination of crunchy oatmeal and walnut with chewy raisins and sweet chocolate.

They are so delicious that I'm going to try and find a recipe to make them myself. The crunchy-chewy combination is something I wouldn't normally try, but I'm converted!  

I have also pulled my sister into the love of city life, meeting up with her whenever we can in the evenings. It turns out she knows some pretty great places! Like this cool diner (Ed's Diner), conveniently next door to Yo Sushi! So main course of sushi (healthy, yes?) and mega pudding of creamy, frothy milkshake and a warm brownie with ice cream to share. And all conveniently in soho, just 20 minutes walk from Waterloo where I get my train from.

Shopping time!

Autumn leaves mean mushy, slippery side walks. And living in Winchester with lots of hills, this can be dangerous! This plus the seemingly never-ending rain means that I have a great excuse to buy boots!

The trouble is, all of the boots that I fall in love with have a price tag far beyond my budget (as little as possible), at £120 or more! This was far from ideal, so when I discovered that Clarks do great-looking and long lasting, quality boots, it didn't take long to find my dream pair!

Even though they do have quite a high heel compared to what I am used to, I have worn them every single day since I got them! They are comfy and warm and dry and look good with (almost) everything.

Most importantly, I can wear them with confidence and still have a positive balance in my account!

Do you like people?

At a recent interview, I was asked a simple question: "Do you like people?"

My answer was, how shall I put it, mundane; "Of course I like people." This is probably not going to get me the job (although hopefully all the other wit and enthusiasm will), but it has made me think.

And the truth is, I do like people, most people. I like meeting loads of different people, and knowing that we are all totally unique and that we all have our own likes, dislikes, needs and wants. I like that we are all made up of our own set of experiences. So I guess you could say that I like variety.

But what I like most about people is that they are there are there, and if they talk to me, they validate me. I think, therefore I am; others acknowledge that I think, therefore I am.

The whole job search, in fact, has made me intensely aware that unless someone knows that I have done something; sent an email, checked websites, made a few calls - there is no point. All of these attempts at contact, to make people want to know about the skills that I can offer, mean nothing unless the people I am contacting want to listen.

But maybe this is because of how I am going about my jobsearch? I have read several books to try and prepare myself, most of which claim that the internet-based job hunt is not effective. They want you to hit the pavement, talk to employers face to face, and generally make a nuisance of yourself. But, in my experience, they are too busy to be taking face-to-face meetings just to improve my interview techniques...

The old adage "it's who you know" is very definitely still the case!

On a lighter note... some offices clearly have a great sense of humour, and love creating post-it art!

 

Goodbye to summertime

It is with huge regret that I acknowledge that the summer is over, and I have not done a single post during it! I'd like to say that this is because I have been rushed off my feet, jet-setting all over the world. Unfortunately, I have just been in the UK watching my tan fade...

This summer has done me well though, with spending lots of time with family and friends. And the dreaded job hunt. But lets not dwell on that part!

One of the most memorable events was London hosting the Olympic and Paralympic games. (Yes, I'm jumping on that band wagon.) Due to lack of money and foresight to buy tickets, I contented myself with watching it on the big screens, enjoying the Olympic opening ceremony in the spectacular setting of Winchester Cathedral with one of my best friends. I also met my family in Greenwich to watch the Closing Ceremony on the screen at the Old Royal Naval College. The sea of people that descended on the grass-turned-to-dust created such a thrilling atmosphere! It was just a shame that we had to weave our way out at 10 o'clock to get the last train home.

So I didn't see much of the Olympics, but I was pleased to be able to hook my family up with some tickets to the Paralympics, thanks to my lovely employers (even if I did have to work while they were all enjoying themselves).

In other news, I experienced Nottinghill Carnival for the first time! I have to say, while I had a lovely day out (and the weather did co-operate), I was not all that amazed. There was too much rubbish, too much pushing and not enough dancing for my liking! The smell of chocolate all over sweaty, alcohol-sodden people still lingers on my jacket...

 What did impress me about Nottinghill was the colour and vibrancy of costumes (although they weren't as spectacular as I had been led to believe) and of the way in which people dealt with their litter... 

And the heights people would scale to get a good view...

There were even some residents of Nottinghill sitting on window ledges and rooftops, most of whom I was very envious of. Firstly for living in Nottinghill, and secondly for not having to deal with being pushed, shoved, splattered with chocolate and having prams shoved into their ankles. But I am making it sound as if I didn't enjoy it at all, which is not the case. There were also many great smells coming from the traditional Caribbean food stalls, and traditional crafts such as these Shekeres, and the handwoven baskets, below.

But the most entertaining part, for me, was the preparation that the residents of Nottinghill had put into it. All the shops were shuttered, people were lending out their toilets, and this sign: 'This too shall pass' summed up the day for me. There were scary crowds, loud music, various smells (not all good) and music thrumming in my ears, but I knew that it would not last forever, so I enjoyed it as best I could, rather than just waiting for it to pass.

Buff stuff!

So a few days ago I was given my first 'freebie' to test out as a blogger!

At the Vintage Fair on Sunday, preparing to write a blog post for Winchester Fashion Week, I was just having a lovely talk with Ellie LaCrosse of Betty Buff about her fun wig (from Aspire Hair), her association with RAFT and the photo shoot she recently did for advertising with busy bee photographer Carl Pendle, when she offered a whole tub of candyfloss body scrub!

Of course, I leapt at the chance (who could resist?) and am so glad that I tried this product!

It is quite rough when you are first using it, but once it is washed off, your skin is super-smooth and soft. One of the main benefits though is that it doesn't dry out your skin, so it is great for sensitive skin prone to dryness.

The smell isn't half bad either! It took me back to eating pink candyfloss at fairs in childhood, and who didn't love that? However, the other flavours that Ellie had at the Vintage Fair were also pretty mouthwatering... (And with all-natural ingredients, it's almost good enough to eat!)

So with super-soft skin, a beautiful new leather bag and scarf, plus Monday's impulse purchase of a rocky leather jacket, I feel like a whole new person!

Time for a catch-up

It has been far too long since I last did a post, so I have a few things to catch you up on!

First of all, I took a trip to the Greek island of Evia, on a walking holiday with my parents. It was amazing! A welcome week of sunshine (and lots of high winds too), amazing food and meeting new people. We walked to some amazing places, including a totally secluded valley, a gorge, the ancient roman marble quarry (with columns still there), a winery and lots of challenging and beautiful mountains! One of the many local foods that I tried was Evian honey, which with Greek style yoghurt is my new favourite breakfast. However, I was not such a fan of Ouzo! But the trip was fantastic, never to be forgotten, and I would wholeheartedly recommend a holiday with Exodus who organised it down to the tiniest detail! You barely had to make any decisions, so despite being active every day, I was able to totally switch off.

This break from reality was sorely needed as the following 3 weeks were my last ever at university, full of finishing assignments, doing my final assessments and, of course, celebrating with my friends.

The final celebration was a spur of the moment trip to Amsterdam with Claire. We went for 3 nights (4 days) staying in a basic hotel in the heart of the city (and also basically in the red light district...) and packed in as much as we possibly could! We went to Madame Toussaud's, Anne Frank's house, the Rijksmuseum, the Sex museum, the Van Gogh museum, hired bicycles for a day, on a coach trip to see villages, windmills, cheese and clog making and, of course, shopping! And once again, there was lots of amazing food right on the doorstep of the hotel.

In other news, Winchester Fashion Week is finally under way! After so much build up, I am very much looking forward to the events.

Yesterday I helped at the Brooks Fashion show which was good fun, and today I ventured back to the Vintage Fair and was once again entrapped by the amazing things! I bought a leather bag and a lovely soft patterned scarf! (Even after having told myself that I would not succumb...)

 I was also sorely tempted by this black beaded cocktail dress...

and this set of tea cups and saucers.

I also got to talk to a lot of the store holders in preparation for writing a blogpost about the event for the Winchester Fashion Week blog, including Ellie LaCrosse, owner of sensitive skincare range Betty Buff. After a lovely chat, she offered me a (large) sample pot of Sugar Scrub to try out and review, which I shall be doing later today, so keep an eye out for that post!

I was pleased to see lots of new stalls at the event, like Dolly Anna Does and The Cherry Closet, as well as some of my old favourites including Little Old Me, Classic Vault, Little Treasures and Winchester's very own Charming Magpies. There were also some slightly different stalls like Deborah Dalton's handmade millinery and Vintage in Print which had mounted prints of fashion photography and vintage Vogue covers.

So as you may guess, I am totally shopped out! Oh, wait, I'm going shopping in Southampton tomorrow... is this the definition of shopaholic?!

Finally getting organised with my reading list of blogs!

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