I must become a lion hearted girl

The looking glass so shiny and new
How quickly the glamor fades
I start spinning slipping out of time
Was that the wrong pill to take (Raise it up)
You made a deal and now it seems you have to offer up


Here I am a rabbit hearted girl
Frozen in the headlights
It seems Ive made the final sacrifice


This is a gift it comes with a price
Who is the lamb and who is the knife
Midas is king and he holds me so tight
And turns me to gold in the sunlight


I must become a lion hearted girl
Ready for a fight
Before I make the final sacrifice

We raise it up this offering
We raise it up


And in the spring I shed my skin
And it blows away with the changing wind
The waters turn from blue to red
As towards the sky I offer it

[Rabbit Hearted Girl by Florence and the Machine]

Allo Allo?

[PLEASE PRESS PLAY AND THEN READ THE post - it will given this post a much needed french feel]

Oui, oui - J'adore le francais!!

OK, that just about exhausts my french speaking...(I got a B at GCSE - but that was a year ago).

Let's start from the beginning.


[you remember Ambra, right?]

Yesterday, I went to the cinema avec Ambra. It was great seeing her - it seems like aaaages since I've seen any of my mates. We saw Year One in the end and even though it was quite crap I had a really good time. We went shopping afterwards and Ambra forced me to buy things. Ok. That was unfair. Strictly speaking she didn't force me: more encouraged me, to which I obliged to quite cheerfully... So she bought this rather gorgeous purple and black bag that was £8 but at the till went down to £2!! Lucky moo. I bought this little black and white top that i LOVEEEEE, this black cinch belt and...

A BERET.


I know what you're thinking - girl, it's the middle of summer and you've just bought a woollen hat (I also hope you're thinking: girl, that looks good). I have two reasons for this purchase:
1. I am rebelling against the crap summer weather. Yeah! Take that clouds and general greyness.
2. Berets are cool. Full stop.

I suddenly feel like learning french properly, not just random phrases that the French probably only use when playing Pictionary. I want to be bilingual!! I think it must be sooo cool to be bilingual. Grr and now I fancy croissants (warm moist ones with dripping butter and homemade strawberry jam and- STOP STOP!! Must. Eat. Healthily.)

In other news I have just finished the book Johnny Be Good by Paige Toon, recommended to me by none other than Kirsty. It was really good, though I haven't read a book that finishes with a cliff hanger since primary school haha I give it 10/10 for general brilliance. WIll be getting the next book methinks. Omg and Kirsty actually got messaged on Facebook by Paige Toon. If you want to meet celebrities, befriend Kirsty: she has contacts coming out of her ears!! Seriously. It's incredible.

Anyhoo I have to get back to my eBay business to make up for all the money I spent yesterday.

Au revoir, mes amies.

And now I'm back. From out of SPAIN.

Yes, as you can tell I'm back from Spain.

I really enjoyed my holiday, and so much happened that if I were to give you a full day by day account I think you'd full asleep. So i'm going to comprise two lists, one with the things I liked about the holiday and another with the things I didn't like as much about holiday.

Let's start with the positives shall we?

- THE SUN. England isn't famed for it's sunshine, in fact on 8 out of 10 cats the other day, a statistic stated that the thing English people are famous for talking about is the weather. We can't help it!! The weather here is like a hormonal teenager with extreme mood swings, mostly staying on the stroppy dark and dull mood more than any other.

- THE SIGHTS. Transparent shores, yellow sands, the bluest sky and occasionally a crisp white cloud. Perfection?

- THE FOOD. Oh my lordy the food!! My stomach is seriously rumbling in the bitter memory of delicious food all holiday and then coming back to fruit in England. Ahh. Also, they sold Churros!!! I fell in love with these sugary donut sticks in America. They. were. delcious. (However, I think that American churros are better than Spanish - the ones in America are softer and have cinammon all over them- Ok. I'm going to stop there cos I could seriously go on all day debating over Churros).


- RELAXATION. After a pretty busy year it's nice to kick back and relax. Ahh, I'm looking out at my window at the grey English skies and general stuffiness of the house and I'm thinking: why did I come back?

- THE TAN. Not only does the sun clear my face right up (YAY), but I look a lot healthier with browner skin than my usual deathly pal complexion. But remember kids - use that sun tan lotion. That's right Debra - even you!

So overall I had a fabulous holiday. In fact I'd go to say I had a brilliant time for 90% of the holiday. BUT, there were some ickle things that made me miss my stuffy room back in England:

- BB gun bullet. The one thing that spoilt my day: we were queuing up for Churros and there was a fair going on (hence the Churros). Well, whilst my parents were kindly treating me I stood back and looked around at the beautiful stalls with their intricate jewellry when I felt a really sharp really quite painful *ping* on my arm. I look up at the guns all these little boys are holding, standing in front of a gun firing game. A few of them are away from the crowd and still have their guns brandished. They stare back as I look up in shock and then they laugh. For some reason I feel embarrassed and look away, but now I wish I'd given them The Finger.

- Cochroach. AHHGH! Yes, I was the one (again) who spot the cochroach. It was black and huge and in our bathroom. My dad is usually good at picking up spiders etc from us screaming girls, but you'll understand the grossness of the bug in the fact that he refused to touch it and instead brushed it out of the apartment.

- Heat. As I say - an English gal is never used to hot weather, so even though I loved it for a bit, it did get too much. The heat was so strong it was almost solid and made all of us feel very lethargic.

- Sunglasses. My most heart breaking moment was when I got onto the coach outside Majorca airport and searched in bag for my sunglasses. As the coach set on it's way to our hotel my gut wrenched in panic as I turned to my mum and almost screamed: "I'VE LEFT MY SUNGLASSES ON THE PLANE!!!!!" My mum didn't seem too bothered until she saw my upset face. I'm a sunglass addict, and I finally found my perfect pair in Topshop - the black Rayban style ones with a floral print over them. I was really upset and it also meant that I had to spend two days of my holiday squinting into the harsh light as I searched for some temporary sunglasses. We've emailed the airport by I don't think they have them. RIP sunglasses :(.

BUT!!! Overall, I had a really nice time :). It was a fabulous break and I managed to get inspired by the Spanish cuisine, weather and people.

Now - bring on Center Parcs!!

So I say thank you for the-

LEMONADE STAND.
Thanks Kirsty!! :)


[the award]

So here's what's going on. You gotta send this award to 12 other people and here they are in no particular order (I LOVE THEM ALL!):

1. The Clothes Horse
2. Liebemarlene Vintage
3. Casey's Musings
4. Blooming Leopold
5. Pigeons Look Silly When They Walk
6. The Cherry Blossom Girl
7. Sally Jane Vintage
8. The Stylish Wanderer
9. All This Happiness
10. Half Girl
11. Aurea Ness
12. The Paperdoll

If anyone wishes to pass this fun award onto other friends you are more than welcome to follow the instructions below:
1.) Accept the award; post it on your blog together with the name of the person who’s given it plus his or her blog link.
2.) Pass the award on (or not, if you’d prefer) to other blogs that you’ve recently discovered.
3.) Link to your nominees within your post.
4.) Contact the nominees to let them know they've been chosen for this award.

I'm going on holiday for a week!!

Yes that's right - at 4:00am tomorrow morning I will be on my way to sunny sunny spain for some beach adventures.


{ok so this is a photo of when I went to Barbados, but you get the picture} :)

I WON!!!!!!!!!!!

OH MY GOD!!! I WON THE COLLEGE POETRY COMPETITION.

SO I was really nervous and I finally got into the theatre hall. Not many people had turned up to watch but at least my friends had!! [thanks Debra, Ambra and Dawn - Kirsty you were there in spirit].

In the end people poured in so there was about 20 people altogether. Everyone's poems were really good - I was incredibly nervous because of that. Before everyone came in we got to practice our poems at the little podium with a microphone. Incredibly, doing the one practice calmed my nerves completely. Out of 10 people, i performed at number 9. When it got to my turn, I just thought sod it - they're going to be looking at the supercool slideshow I made anyway: not at me. So i did it a lot better than I thought (although I say that - I was filmed so it could be worse than i imagined!!).

After the beginning slideshow, and the finalists poems we got to listen to great music by two girls [they were so talented, it's unfortunate I didn't get their names. I think I recognised the short haired girl from the romeo and juliet play we saw... so maybe Kirsty knows...?]. Once the judges had made their decision and the runners up were called they then said:

"And now...it's the moment you've all been waiting for.. who the winner of the first poetry competition at this college is. I think you'll all agree this person deserves it [ :) ]... the winner is...

MADISON!"

After that it was pretty surreal - i could NOT believe I'd won!! I was so proud :)

I won a 'poetry for life' book and £30...I think that's in vouchers but wooop!

What a thing to put on your CV.

Thank you to everyone for their support [I had both Kirsty's and Ambra's good luck cards in my bag for good luck, as well as a post-it good luck which was stuck on my sandwich from my mum]. It was nerve wracking but a really good experience. I'M SO HAPPY!!!!

In other news, I sold my soul to the devil.

That's right - I got a facebook account.

AHHH! RUNN!!!

Everyone's been pressuring me for ages to get one (ESPECIALLY my mum. cringe.). So when I got in, after delirious congratulations, my mum took advantage of my good mood and said:
"Guess what. ANOTHER reason to get facebook - you can follow Nylon Magazine."

Well, i guess i was so happy and the love of Nylon made me get it.

And omg, the response I got (this is only some people. And yes, I didn't put my mum's comment down :P):



Down and out people.

Book Review

I escape from myself, but I am not free of you, I know it. A vagabond, and free, I shall sometimes long for the shade of your walls...


Today I finished The Vagabond by Colette, and thoroughly enjoyed it. I don't usually like older literature, but this french translated into English book really gripped me. The descriptions used by the writer are exquisite, and the detailed similies and analogies made me copy some into my 'quote book' because I liked them so much.

It is a romance story like no other - the leading character, Renee, has been hurt once before by love and the story unfolds a sorrowful tale of 'once bitten, twice shy'.

A darling read, definitely recommended.

London, baby, YEAH!

This photo sums up my day:


Anyway: we met up with Debra and her super new haircut (she hates it, we love it!) travelled towards the Lazy Oaf Michael Jackson Tribute at their shop. Unfortunately, Debra had to go... but it was for a friend's birthday so we hope she had fun too!




[Above - hilarious mates]

Soooo Kirsty got us there!! (me and ambra are hopeless at travel generally, though I admit that Ambra is an ickle bit better than me.... can anyone say 'clueless'?) It was a little bit quiet for a tribute but we still had hilarious fun at Carnaby street as well as buying some rather gorgeous items.


[From Accessorize and Vintage shop. I also bought a scarf and DVD from Oxfam - my first charity purchases ever!!]


It is always hilarious times when I'm out with my college mates (espesh the 'Abbs Cross Lot' as I call Ambra, Kirsty and Sophie when they're not there. SORRY!! lol). And you know what - we laughed sooooo much but I can't for the life of me think of ANYTHING we were laughing at. [though I recall me and Ambra pronouncing the restaurant 'HaHa' in about a million different ways really loudly down a random street... and the maths quiz we gave Kirsty on the way home... hehe.]


Aw gawd my memory sucks - we did so much today and had hilarious times but all went so quickly (time flies...). So, if you want to find out more juicy facts, let me direct you to... Kirsty's Blog!! Do it. Do it now.

Why can't all streets be colourful?

Because most of England is dull.
:P

My eBay uploads...

After splurging on delicious items that i didn't really need, I decided to upload some more items onto ebay to make up for the items I bought.

Did anyone ever watch that programme Life Laundry? Basically, this woman went to people's houses who hoarded stuff like mad. They would have rooms and rooms of objects that they didn't use and didn't need but they just couldn't get rid of it. The Life Laundry Lady would take every single thing outside onto their garden and tell them to be RUTHLESS. They would subsequently get rid of all their junk by other recycling, giving to charity or selling at car boot sales. Ever since I watched this programme, I've tried to be really ruthless with what I didn't need. I think it's quite a good thing to be. So, I'm selling the following items on eBay that I love, but I just don't use! (technically, the top is my sisters...)



I'm also getting rid of a whole load of Lady Luck Rules Ok jewellry - I have a hell of a lot of it so I figure: make some money on the pieces I don't wear. It's actually really refreshing getting rid of things - you should try it!

I once read in a magazine that if you got rid of an item in your house everytime you bought an item in a shop, you'd feel a lot less guilty for spending your money. And that's my tip for today. ;)

Check my ebay out here.

Mailbag

Ok, so I don't need any more bags, purses or tights. But - sigh - I could NOT resist.



Ok, let's play a game - can anyone guess which item was the least expensive and which was the most??

This time last year...

I've been reminiscing about Prom which was last year.

In the leading up to the big night I was convinced it was going to be crap. However, it was pretty damn excellent - being with my friends, dancing like crazy and basically LETTING GO.


I LOVED my prom dress (I have to say I think mine was the most unique :). But I admit I present some bias). I got it from the VERY cool Dolly Dagger, and post prom sent my photo in and I'm now on the website. Check it out here.

[To find me you go into the blog and then 'Dolly's friends'.

Sometimes we're on the run, sometimes we do it for fun.

OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


If there's ever I time I wanted to be a millionaire, it is now.


For those of you who don't know me, I'm a HUUUUGE fan of Zooey Deschanel. Well, I've just found out that she has bought out a sunglasses range. Not only are they FABULOUS, but if you blow on them, two 'kisses' come up.



If they weren't £200 i would buy them now.



WHY AREN'T I MILLIONAIRE (i want every pair in this advert!!}

Sunshine, Lollypops and- and, well Poetry.

I got an email today from the college stating: "Well done! You're in the Top 10 for the poetry competition. The winner will be decided next Monday on not only the poetry but also the performance." AAAH! Don't get me wrong - I'm pretty proud that out of the whole college students that entered the competition I'm in the top 10. But I have to admit - I'm scared.

I've no problem with talking with a small group of people.. but in front of an audience I develop a stutter, splutter and a generally red complexion. However, I shall take the challenge by the horns [correct phrase..?] and do it. DO IT! [haha Kirsty - where did this come from??]

I have a meeting tomorrow with two teachers and the competition [ggrrr mean face, mean face]. This unfortunately means that I miss out on going to the Harry Potter Premiere with Kirsty who is Rupert Grint CRAAAAAAAZY!!!

[Unfortunately I egged on this obsession by buying her the pillow. Sorry Rupert! :P]

But anyways back to poetry, I shall try to get the confidence of one of my many inspirational people: Clara Bow.

Junk Sale Steals

I got up early this morning (because of another Brooke drama - too much and too embarrassing to explain) so decided to mooch around a junk sale with my parents. I got treated to quite a lot of lovely stuff...


[Excuse the bra!! Also, my hand is covering up where there is a button missing... but my Nan's quite good at all that stuff so she'll fix it up in no time. Price? Drum roll please... 50 pence!]


[20 pence Birthday book - my mum encouraged me to get this because apparently hers has 'lasted me years!']


[Ok, there's quite a lot here. All the books i got were 20 pence, the two sheets of really expensive wrapping paper from Paperchase... 12 sheets for £1!! My mum got the rest for her. Also, the new Almost Famous DVD cost £2.]

The only problem with going somewhere where everything is really cheap is the disappointment in yourself you feel when you see something you bought the shops for triple the price. IE - today there was a huge stall with about a million woven hats all no more than £5!! And I bought mine for £17 in Accessorize... Gawd damn it!

EBAY

Oh my gawd I haven't put anything on ebay in aaaages.
So here's what's new to the store:







And there's loads more but the one's above are what I'll be especially sad to see go. But alas we must move on in life...

View my items HERE!

What I did today...

Today I helped my mum out at a school summer fair. I earnt a bit of money but... my nose got burnt. Bad times [i overestimated the protection my hat gave me]. I could be Rudolphs sister...



Anyhoo some of the kids were really cute but ONE little boy got on my nerves, being really cheeky and whatnot. ["OMG that's a rip off!! You should be selling that for 20p!" The item was - and was worth - a pound.]



The school we went to was HUGE, with like 3 huge fields and tennis and football courts. I kind of got lost finding the toilets #'_'#. But it was a great day for all the kids cos there was loads of games and bouncy castles. It was also sports day for the pupils at the school, which bought back the old nerves of my sports day. Urgh what school put me through...



It was a boiling hot day, but it went really quick. Finally - a proper summers day in England.



Madison