101 in 1001 X

Wowee, August has been a busy month for achieving my 101 in 1001 goals! 

#13 Meet a blogger in real life

Ok, I know I've already met Helen and Islay before but this still counts, right?

#30 Visit Highgate Cemetery

I finally got to visit Highgate Cemetery and it was beautiful! 

#39 Visit the Museum of Childhood

I found the Museum of Childhood so interesting! 

#57 See all the exhibitions on my list

I visited the Jeff Koons artist rooms in Brighton during Brighton Pride.

#93 Get my forward helix pierced

I am absolutely in love with my new piercing! 

#96 Read 75 books

I didn't expect to actually read the entire Murakami book before the end of August but, somehow, I managed it. I read 2150 pages this month which is a fair amount really. 

#99 See Derren Brown's Infamous show

I saw Infamous in London and it was great fun!

#101 Watch my backlog of films

I finally got round to watching Burton and Taylor. I had no idea how much of a diva she supposedly was! 

I also watched the film version of Norwegian Wood, which I reviewed earlier this month. Although it was beautifully shot, I do think the director was more concerned with aesthetics than content. 

August in review

Favourite outfit

Gypsy top and new specs!

Favourite shoes

Dorothy shoes for Brighton Pride.

Favourite book

I do love a bit of Murakami! Norwegian Wood was no exception! 

Favourite day out

Highgate Cemetery is all kinds of beautiful! 

Other favourites

I pick the skin off my body and here's why. 


Grammar for bloggers.


Brighton Pride was a whole lot of fun!


Are you coming to my Halloween party? 

FFLIV

Ashly is an absolute genius!

I love Marvelle's Sully-inspired eyeshadow. So cute! 

I just found out narwhals are real and now I want a pet one. This crocheted mounted narwhal is adorable! 

Since I'm reading so much Marakami lately, I've been reading up a little on modern Japanese culture. I've discovered Tokyo Faces and I love it! There are so many outfits on this blog that I would actually wear and it's super inspiring. 

Evidently this is Japan week! I don't care whether you think this is acted or a genuine prank- I would totally react in exactly the same way as this dude. I definitely would not notice the legs if there was a whopping great dinosaur nashing at my heels! 

I absolutely adore Jamie's outfit! Why have I never thought of teaming a red top with my polkadot skirt? 

Book review: The Boy in the River

The Boy in the River- Richard Hoskins

I'd been meaning to read this book for a long time. Richard Hoskins is a former colleague of Rich so I felt like I should give this a go, although it's not something I would have chosen to read otherwise.

The book is a mesh of autobiography and true-crime. Hoskins is an African rituals expert who has worked closely with the police on a number of murder and abuse cases that have their roots in African belief systems. As he retells his stories of fighting for justice- mostly focussed on the case of Adam, a young boy whose torso was found in the Thames in 2001- he reveals a close personal connection with Africa, where he lived for many years and lost two daughters. 

Hoskins writes in an accessible, engaging style and explains his findings very clearly. He is quick to explain that the abuse is not a part of African culture, and that the people who commit these crimes are seen with as much repulsion in African communities as they are in Western ones. The overall portrayal is a man who is intelligent, empathetic and determined to do the right thing, at the risk of his personal life.

However, there were some attempts at humour that seemed at odds with the dark content. It jarred and seemed a desperate, unnecessary attempt to lighten the mood. There were also numerous references to Hoskins being middle class and from the Home Counties. Although I understand that this was used to contrast the differences in culture, it only served to create an "us-and-them" complex, and I would have preferred him to highlight the similarities, rather than the differences, especially as he spends so much time reassuring the reader that African beliefs are not rooted in voodoo. 

Overall, although I wouldn't necessarily recommend this book, I did find it an interesting read. 

Buy The Boy in the River here

Affiliate links have been used in this post

My blusher collection

A few months ago, I posted my lipstick collection. Clearly, lipsticks are my bag. I love them. However, I also love blushers. Not as much, admittedly, but still enough to have a good few in my collection. For those blushers that I have reviewed, you can click on the name of it and read it. 

Topshop Head Over Heels

One Direction Pink Perfection

Too Faced Perfect Flush

One Direction Rose Riot

Topshop Prime Time

Benefit Hervana

One Direction Coral Cutie

MAC Something Special

Benefit Benetint

Benefit Coralista

Benefit Thrrrob

Wreck This Journal II

I haven't been fantastic with my journal this month, which is silly as I've had the whole month off work! Nevertheless, I have managed to make a start on a few pages.

The book told me to take it in the shower with me. I decided to do it sooner rather than later as I use watercolour paints and I don't want them to get completely destroyed! 

 I know it says scribble wildly but I'd rather draw a picture of the person I borrowed the pen from. As you can see, this is Helen. 

 I decided to try my hand at paper cutting for this page. I used a craft scalpel so it cut through several pages in some parts.

I made a tree! 

I don't eat apples, bananas or pears so I never have fruit stickers. I'm using this as a general sticker page instead. 

Colours: Green

Slytherin tie//JobCentre piggy bank// Knitted T-rex// Frog finger puppet// Simple make up wipes// 1960s alarm clock// Wig// Peg magnet// Diana F+ camera

I didn't think I had a lot of green items before I started collecting stuff for this photo. Evidently I was wrong as I had too much green! Especially clothes- I had no idea that I owned so many green clothes. Not to mention all the Slytherin merchandise, of course! Yes, I'm a loser. No, I don't care! 

My pets

Ok, so I don't really have pets. I had a hamster back in 1999 called Nibbles. He died on Christmas Eve after living a good couple of years. Thanks, Nibbles! Then we got some fish around 2003 but they all died within a couple of weeks. Other than that, I've been completely pet-free all my life. 

However, I do have Fluffy. This will sound insane coming from a 25 year old woman, but my cuddly pig is my pet. I've had him since I was 9 and he's slept in bed with me practically every night. He's been on holiday with me, he was there to cuddle when I went through teenage break-ups and now he's part of my family. A couple of years ago, we put a bell around his neck and it gave him a little voice, of sorts. It's very sweet to hear him jingling away when he gets caught up in the bed covers. 

In 2011, I was given George. He instantly became Fluffy's little brother. We found a smaller bell for him which has a higher pitched jingle and he has joined our little family.

Although they might not move around and interact like real pets, they're very low-maintenance. Not to mention that they're not going to run away or do a Nibbles! 

Surely we all have a cuddly toy that we love, right?