May favourites!

It's that time again (where on earth has this month gone!!) In fact it's gone so quickly, I didn't really have enough beauty favourites to do a post exclusively on that. So instead I decided to just round up my favourites things regardless of their category - because why discriminate ey?

Fashion

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Now unless you've been stuck under an instagram-free rock over the past month (good for you if you have been - I'm little obsessed :/)  you will have seen a shed-load of lace-up ballet pumps, a-la Altuzarra. But if, like me you don't have a spare 400 bob to shell out on a pair of shoes then you'll have masses of appreciation for these Topshop beauts. Now, to be honest, I was almost reluctant to put them in my favourites, because  - oh the blisters! - but they are just. so. pretty. Find them here!

Beauty

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A few new piece's I picked up this month, were this pretty delicious orangey smelling shower/bath cream from Soap and Glory. So smelly, and very moisturising, it doesn't dry my skin out like a lot of soap-like products do!

On the orange theme, how gorgeous is this Lipstick colour from Topshop beauty! It's orange but not too orange...it's generally just a very nice colour, particularly if like me you are waring of branching out too far from a classic red, or subtle pink!

Confession time:  I had to look up what this eyebrow pencil's exact name is because I've used it so much it's rubbed off. It's the Brow Satin, and for anyone with thin, fair eyebrows like me it is a beaut of a product. I've never had any bad eyebrow products before, but also never any that I've been like 'WOW everyone look at my eyebrows!' (that did happen) It's double ended, one with a pencil, the other with a powder already on a sponge that fills in gaps! It's great, and under a fiver! What more do you need!

Lifestyle

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This is Clemence and he is my Cactus. I bought him for £2.50 at a Market, and now he is mine, and I look after him and he makes me happy, because he doesn't die like all the other plants I've ever owned. That is why Clemence is my favourite.

What have you been loving this month?

Afternoon Tea at The Wallace Collection

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An Afternoon Treat

After seeing some beautiful photo's of the restaurant at the Wallace Collection all over Instagram, I wanted to give it a go myself and booked a little treat. (Instagram fomo is real!).

So of we trotted up to Marylebone on a sunny sunday to see what all the fuss was about! I'd never been inside The Wallace Collection building before, let alone the restaurant, but it is a pretty special place! A glass roof, pink walls, and pretty tree's give the illusion of being sat outside on a terrace in Italy (albeit eating traditional english afternoon tea...).

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Skip to the good bit...

Of course, nice environments, and pleasant staff are important, but I'm sure you'll all agree with me when I say that the food is what matters the most right! Well, good news, it was lovely! Some of the sandwich flavours weren't my cup of tea (s'cuse the pun) but I can be fussy sometimes (slash I just can't cope with cold egg it's seriously gross why was that ever invented!) and my company for the occasion scoffed them up quickly enough!

The scone's were tasty - and the tiny cakes were not only especially cute, but also especially delicious! It's hard to pick my favourite between the miniature Lemon Meringue Pie, and Raspberry Chocolate Mousse Heart!

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After the tea we had a look round the collection, tried on some armour (not kidding, you can do that!) and had a little look round at the art work on display! I'm not the hugest fan of galleries full of very old paintings...it felt a little pretentious, but I did enjoy looking at the special weaponry, and The Laughing Cavalier made me smile a lot! It's definitely worth a visit, as it's free to enter as well!

Then a wander round Marylebone, and some fantasy house shopping in estate agent windows was definitely called for! Myself, and guest both concluded that we were far to full for dinner. So at £17.50 per person, for the setting, service, location, and food I decided it was worth every penny for a well deserved occasional treat!

If you'd like to see what I wore for the occasion, check out my outfit post here!

 

 

 

Thought of the Week: Reason's to be Happy!

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When I started my Thought of the Week series, it was intended as way to talk about the issue I’d thought about most that week.  So far, you guys have seemed to really enjoy reading them, and I’ve really appreciated every thought you’ve left in return. However, the nature of trying to discuss issues that effect people, whether personal, or global, means that these post’s aren’t always the most cheery. So today, I thought, LET’S JUST ONLY TALK ABOUT HAPPY THINGS.

 Puppy love!

Anyone who follows me on Instagram or Twitter will know this already but I’m getting a puppy! (Cue a series of awww’s and ahhh’s). I’m a proper animal lover and have asked for a puppy pretty much every birthday and Christmas since I could say the word! But now it’s finally happening, and she is the most adorable little creature that ever walked the earth! Her name is Sylvie and she will be home with me in just 5 ½ short weeks!

 Dance away the blues!

 I’ve been dancing more again recently. And I don’t mean in clubs or on nights out (I’m too much of an grandma for such things) but I’ve always been a dancer, training in ballet, contemporary and tap, and have recently (well nearly two years ago) taken up Lindy Hop as well! Social dancing is so much more enjoyable than I ever realized (If a little scary sometimes not having choreography to hide behind!) But in the last month, I’ve done a performance, an intensive workshop, been to class every week and a social dance. I’ve also taught more contemporary classes, and started choreographing again!

Dancing has always made me happy but post-uni it’s hard to keep it up, the industry is notoriously difficult to make a living in, but I’m trying to get better at not thinking about that too much, and just enjoying being able to dance for fun!

 Tidy house, tidy mind!

I’ve become a tidy person. Anyone who I’ve ever lived with, or stayed in a room with for more than 1 hour will know that this is an incredible development in my life. I always thought I was more likely to be the first woman on Mars than to become a tidy person. But it’s happened. I’m really enjoying it at the moment. All my things look so nice, and my clothes are always clean and I can always find everything I’m looking for! I really should’ve done this earlier! (On a side note slightly worrying as it makes me stressed when things aren’t tidy now, but for the meantime I’m enjoying my new pristine living space!

 Ireland and People

On a less personal note! WOO GO IRELAND! I don’t remember a time when there was such a pro-other people display of love and respect anywhere in the world. I think people with extreme views are too much in charge of everything. And it’s great that Ireland just said, Hey hold up! We may believe in different things, but that doesn’t mean we can’t live side by side peacefully, and it definitely doesn’t mean you are any less than anyone else! It’s quite spectacular, and I think more things like this need to happen. If we just looked out for each other a bit more, not necessarily in huge political referendum’s but also just in everyday life, then the world would be a better, happier, and more peaceful place.

On that note, have you got any happy news to share! I’d love to do a round-up of other people’s happy things, so we can celebrate all our success, news and lives together! Let me know in a comment if you would like to be included!

Show of the Month: Golem

 

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Disclaimer: this is a bit of a tease, as this show was only on for a limited run in London and has now closed! However, tour dates can be found here! (they are in Paris next week if anyone fancies the trip - I'll come!)

For a theatre company founded by an animator, you would expect 1927's animation to be pretty well sorted. Their acting, dramaturgy, storytelling, and other theatrical devices maybe less so. This however, is not at all the case with this spectacular all-rounder of a show.

Based on the myth of Golem - a clay man who comes to life to obey his master's every command - we see Robert and his family's life disintegrate as Golem begins to control them. Golem becomes a must have product on the market, and influence's all it's master's choices through tactical manipulation and product placement. By the end of the tale, we see Golem: Version Three, being inserted straight into people's brains. His original purpose - of helping with physical tasks being lost - and he becomes a tool used by the corporations to control the human's every thought.

The story is an exploration of human kind, and our obsession with machines. The need and desire to have the latest technology, as we believe it will better our lives, and the dominance of corporations and the control we don't realise they have.

We are guided through the story by the animation: the backdrop forever moving, we see the characters running through town whilst the actor run's on the spot. Outfit's and furniture change in a flash, and bugs run off pictures as if it's all happening in our own living room.

The animation is impressive, without a doubt. It takes a lot of work to create any animation that's 90 minutes long, especially anything decent. The story is amusing, and thought-provoking - if occasionally a little predictable, and repetitive. What make's the show spectacular however is the acting, and the precision with which all of their movements are timed to the live music, AND the animation. Despite their slight ridiculousness, we relate to Robert, Anna, Grandma easily. We warm to them, as they are portrayed with such an endearing simplicity, and they are so wholly believable as people.

The music is catchy, and funny, and overall the show works. There are so many layers to the production, all individually brilliant, but when they come together they transform the theatre, and transport us into another land. A land where Golem rules the show, and the simplicity of eating breakfast, knitting, working, or rehearsing with a punk rock band in your basement all get lost to the corporations. Scarily relevant at a time where Google has begun controlling our taxi rides - our location's to an extent. What is the next step? And where will it end?

#Artyproject - Final Stages

 

Ok before I start, if you aren't aware of the #artyproject it's probably a good idea to catch up on my previous post's or this may all be very confusing! (Intro / Inspiration/ Playlist ) 

Progress

Sooo, is it just me or has time been slipping away from us? Because, last I checked I'd only just sent Maryam the email about joining the Arty Project and now the deadline is just two weeks ago. Scary stuff eh? When I had a little reminder off our Whatsapp group of just exactly how long I had left to go I had a little panic, and decided I ought to get my act together.

So, I made a kind of mini-storyboard thing (again, excuse my terrible drawing - feel free to laugh!) And I have chosen a location, music, and basically come up with the whole idea. I don't want to give anything away at this stage so I won't start describing it to you all. But I know what's going to happen when, what I'm going to be wearing, and basically how it's all (hopefully) going to piece together. The idea behind the film, I mentioned before, is how we are all the same underneath our skin. We are all made of the same blood, bones, muscles and our beauty comes from the function of our body!

What's left! 

 Now you might be thinking 'Oh great, Milli, sounds like you are basically there with the whole thing - why do you even need this update just post the film now!' Well....that is thing, now all I have left to do is film it. But it's kind of the biggest part of it, and I've never really filmed anything properly before so we will have to hope it goes well.

I'm going to put a day aside sometime over the next two weeks, enlist the help of a camera-handy friend and hope I can get it filmed - and edited before the June 4th deadline. If anyone has any advice at this stage it would be much appreciated! I have no idea how long it takes to edit a film like this, but I imagine to get it to what I'm picturing in my head - probably a little while! So I look forward to spending a lot of dark evenings at my desk in the coming weeks!

Time goes by...

I'm going to try my hardest to get it done before the deadline, so I don't let you all down, but if I come across even a tiny bump in the road, I think it might be quite a tall order. But rest assured I am working on it, and there will be a final film up here to show you before the end of June (fingers crossed!)

Wish me luck!

P.s here are the links to the other lovely ladies involved here! Some beautiful work going, across lots of different genres so be sure to give them a read!

Vicky / Zoe / Uli / Clara / Maryam / Sarah / Danielle / Manny / Emma / Annabel/ Jho

My New Favourite Blue!

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Nice weather for it! 

The weather's been a bit all over the place this May in London, and outfit wise I have seemed to get it wrong most days. Jeans and jumpers in 20 degree sun, and bare legs and leather jacket with freshly washed hair and no brolly in 12 hour long torrential downpours! BUT the weekend... on the weekend, I finally got the hang of this checking the forecast in the morning business - or rather looking out the window because I get to sleep in later! (Kind of, I was still quite overdressed on Saturday and got a little hot and bothered on my bus ride!)

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But Sunday, I was heading out for a classic Afternoon Tea, and when I saw the sun was back out and shining down, was quite desperate to wear this beauty of a skirt I picked up a few weeks ago now! It's just the BEST BLUE EVER! It feel's like summer when you wear it, and it makes me feel happy every time I look down, because everything is great when you are wearing cornflower blue, and it doesn't make you look five, or eighty!

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The shoes aren't the best choice, but I really need to invest in some new summer flats as all mine are about 10 years old and don't hold up so well with the walking part of shoe wearing. Some might argue (all people hopefully) that this is the main purpose of shoes, and I didn't want to lie to you all and pretend I'd worn ridiculous shoes around all day when I hadn't because I rarely do that! (I like my feet, and it's nice to be able to feel them!)

Watch out for my Afternoon Tea post coming later on this week! It was pretty damn tasty!

What I Wore

Skirt / & Other Stories, Blouse / River Island, Shoes / Dune, Leather Jacket / All Saints 

Summer activities in London!

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May is my favourite month in the city, for the following reasons:

1. The temperature is just about right so the tubes aren't too sweaty, but you aren't too cold waiting at the bus stop.


2. The evenings are lighter so you don't feel the need to go to bed straight after dinner, and can actually GO OUT after work.


3. We get not one, but TWO bank holiday weekends, and best of all,


4. ALL THE FUN THINGS START HAPPENING!  I did a little round-up for you.

Open air Cinema's. 

There is something pretty exciting about watching a film outside. It's something that you can't do at home unless you have a very impressive set-up so it always feels a little bit special.

There are so many great open-air cinemas in London - and around the country - in the summer months. Even free one's. Last year, I saw the Truman Show at More London for free, sat outside with a view of Tower Bridge, and The Thames behind me and it was bloody well lovely.

There is a great selection now of companies running these kind of events, and venues all over the city, so see if anything takes your fancy.

Check out some of these options: Rooftop film club, The Luna Cinema, Film 4 Summer Screen, Pop-up Screens.

Outdoor Eating/Food Events

Everyone loves a bit of Borough Market all year round, but there is no doubt that Al Fresco dining/(eating on the street) becomes a lot easier when the sun warms up.

Lewisham Model Market has opened in the last few weeks, and I am excited. A disused, and pretty derelict 1950's indoor/outdoor market gets transformed every weekend evening until September for a street-food market like none South East London has ever seen. I went last year, and whilst the food was good, it was a little over priced, and it was reallllyyy busy so hard to find a seat etc. but if you are in the area or don't want to stray far from home it's definitely worth checking out.

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Udderbelly and Wonderground

I have a great love for the Udderbelly team at Southbank. They bring a little bit of the Edinburgh Fest down with them every year (well technical it's before that but you catch my drift.) They have some brilliant stuff going on here. Cabaret's, circus acts, comedy, and theatre. All stuff that's a little bit different, and fresh. Don't miss Sh*t-faced Shakespeare (they perform shakespeare whilst one cast member gets progressively drunk throughout the show) or Showstoppers: The Improvised Musical for a fun and unforgettable night.

Outdoor Theatre

The Globe season starts in April but you have a better chance of avoiding those pesky April showers, if you go slightly later in the season. As a semi-regular Globe visitor I would recommend visiting in the slightly cooler spring months than the heat of Summer. I will never forget standing through Henry VIII for over three hours in 25C and not for good reasons. The shows are almost always excellent.

Similarly, the Regent's Park Open Air Theatre kicks off it's season with Peter Pan from the 14th May. Now I've never seen this version, but if there is flying (it's Peter Pan so I hope there would be) then I imagine it will be pretty magical to see Pan and Wendy flying through real-life tree's.

Well, that should be enough to get you started. Let me know if you check any of my suggestions out! I'm also currently working on a  detailed guide to South East London. So if you have anything you'd like to see go in that please let me know.

Thought of the Week: Confidence, Self-Belief and Positivity.

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So, you may have noticed that I've been absent for a few days. I'd like to tell you that it was because I was really busy, and just didn't have the time - but that really wasn't the case. If I'm honest, I just didn't feel like I could write anything last week. I wasn't happy with anything I tried to write, any topic I came up with or any photographs I took. I then got trapped into a bit of a vicious cycle of negative thoughts, and lost all confidence in myself and my blog.

I'm pretty sure it all started with anxiety over the general election. That was quickly replaced with anxiety about the outcome - and that was then replaced with anxiety about all the stupid people on the Internet who don't seem to understand how democracy works. (Lets move on swiftly because that is another rant for another time). The trigger is not of so much importance in this conversation. But you can read up on my coping strategies for Anxiety here if you would like to.

It's amazing how the tiniest indication of vulnerability can leak into all aspects of someone's life. I went from being concerned about politics to believing I wasn't good enough at just about everything. A small concern can morph so rapidly until eventually a whole week of your life has been wasted worrying about the quality of your Instagram photo's, or comparing yourself to every other person on the internet.

How can confidence decrease so rapidly?

If there was no one to compare myself to, then would I be more content with my life/job/blog? Would I be more confident with it? 

Last week, I had a negative thought about the future prospects for the country and the world and it bred so quickly until every thought I had was negative. I wasn't good enough at my job, my blog, my life because there were other people out there who were more successful than me.

If a person wants to do something, and they believe they can, they are probably much more likely to achieve. But if they don't think there is any point because the world's falling apart anyway or whatever excuse they might be giving, then they are much less likely to even try. There will always be room for improvement,  and without that drive to improve and succeed, life would probably be quite boring.

Maybe we need to compare ourselves to others for motivation? We all need something to aspire to, but we need to make sure our thoughts in relation to the comparison's are positive ones. I think it's time we start viewing each other as inspiration, rather than competition. We are all individual people, we will have individual lives, and even though we may think we want to land at the same destination as someone else, it is highly likely our journey's will be very different. If we are constantly comparing ourselves to each other with the view of it being unachievable we will only be increasing our insecurities. If we stay positive, and believe in ourselves then even when something does go wrong, hopefully, we will be able to move forward more easily, and more successfully than before.

So, again, I don't really know where I'm going with this. But I hope it either helped a little, or made you think. You may well be the most confident, positive person out there - in which case - hopefully you'll just remember that not everyone is, all of the time. So yes, stay positive, believe in yourself and have confidence in your abilities because somebody has to be successful and it may just as well be you!

 

A Summer Reading List

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I've taken up reading. I've never been a big reader and normally, once I start a book I'll either finish it in a day, or not ever. But recently, I've made a few additions to my bookshelf, which if I'm wholly honest has never grown much past my university reading list. These additions have come in various shapes, sizes and forms of literature, but each and every one has contributed to my life in someway quite dramatically, and I thought I ought to share the love.

A grown-up picture book...

Firstly, there's this beautiful hard-back specimen. The exhibition book from Savage Beauty at the V&A (find my review here). I fell in love as soon as I peaked inside, and before I'd even stepped foot in the exhibition. The photography is beautiful, and there is a perfect mix of exhibition images, catwalk shows, behind the scenes shots of McQueen himself, and some of the images that inspired his work in the first place. It was a little pricey, but it's a coffee table book that could last a life-time, and always be a great conversation starter, even amongst those who aren't into fashion.

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How to Build a Girl...

Next up, we have Caitlin Moran's novel 'How to build a girl'. I have loved reading this. So much so, that I've found myself not minding when my plans get cancelled, or my train is delayed - as it means I can tuck myself in bed early, or have an extra ten minutes with Johana and her family on the train.

The book is rude, funny, boundary-pushing and relatable to probably most women out there. I may not have grown up in Wolverhampton, walked around wearing a Top Hat, or found myself sleeping in a rockstar's hotel bath at sixteen, but Caitlin Moran is a genius lady, and somehow makes you feel like you have. If you haven't read this yet, and you want something that can make you cringe, cry, and look like a fool laughing out loud on the train then I would recommend this to you highly!

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The Paris Collection 

I am planning to spend a week in Paris this summer, and have been trying to brush up on my french. I picked up this beautiful phrasebook in Anthropologie - I must admit - mainly for the pretty cover. I have been trying though, and having these book's staring at me reminding me of my trip makes me push myself to revise. I also picked up the Spanish version (again, pretty.) but learning two languages at once is a bit much for anyone I think.

Everyman (again)

I HAD to pick up a copy of the Carol Ann Duffy Everyman script as soon as it was available. I will avoid gushing anymore at the absolute poetic genius of this play-text, as I already did that quite a lot in my review of the play (here). But it's poignant, poetic, funny and swear-y, and I think it's rather good.

For next time...

Now, The Guest Cat I haven't actually read yet! But I've heard a lot of good things (plus - book about cat? yes, please!). This is going to be my next read. Has anyone read it already? I'd love to know your thoughts on it, or any of the others!

#ArtyProject: Playlist

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Hello again lovely friends, you may have heard about a little thing going on called the Arty Project. If it's news to you, I would suggest going back and catching up on my first post here and my update here, if you want to have any idea what the rest of this post is on about!

So, i'm gonna be completely honest with you all here and let you know I've not made huge amounts of progress (read: none) since my last update. When the rest of the Bloggers decided we would all post on Thursday 30th (oops) I was a little panic stricken and kinda forced myself to do some brainstorming.

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Now, lets be honest - this is not the best way to be creative is it - however the deadline is helpful, it forces you to start thinking, which in turn leads to some ideas. Whether they are good or not doesn't matter to start with, they are something to work with, something to develop.  They can grow into something better.

So I (finally) came to a decision about the meaning of my dance-film. It will explore the beauty of the body, underneath the surface. The strength of the muscles, bones, organs and blood that keeps it all going. Underneath are skin, we are mostly built the same. There are of course many variations but we have the same skeletons, respiratory systems, cardiac systems, muscles groups, enzymes and fluids. Underneath our skin we are all beautiful in the same way. I think the way the human body functions is an incredible, impressive and almost incomprehensible thing.

I am still planning on using some of the things I talked about in my inspo post as props etc. Not sure how yet but we will get there in the next month hopefully! (ahhhhh!!!!)

So in the meantime I've been thinking about a soundtrack to this dance film. I want some silence in it, maybe some sound-effects of heart beats, breathing etc. but I also want music. so i've put together a little playlist for you all to get an idea of the type of tracks I might use. Have a listen, and, as always, I'd love to know your thoughts!

spotify:user:artsandgraces:playlist:1nNgIz3gZ5xfGZ0RnYLGZk

Don't forget to check out all the other bloggers involved too!

Vicky / Zoe / Uli / Clara / Maryam / Sarah / Danielle / Manny / Emma / Annabel/ Gemma / Jho