Holiday Week! {October Blogging Challenge Day 2#}

New scarf :p

It's Tuesday... blog day! This week I have the week off work, so today's blog is particularly fun and image-packed :0

Saturday was boring.. so I'll skip it and go straight to Sunday! Sunday was the harvest service at church so everyone had to bring food for the foodbank. Harvest isn't a religious holiday as such but is almost like a 'Thanksgiving-y' type affair. I looked it up on Wikipedia and apparently its a British thing dating back to early Christians, where everyone would have a big feast in the village with everyone's successful produce. In the modern tradition, everyone makes or buys food for those who have less than they do and then sings songs about gratitude and nature and stuff. It's usually alot of fun, and has great aesthetics. Read more here... This years harvest festival was my first in a new church - and also first in a long time lol so I had a good time reliving good childhood memories associated with it. However, it was pretty busy and I think I was just feeling a bit anxious anyway, so at the end I was fully socially exhausted.. (っ- ‸ - ς) ᶻz

On Monday, I went to the cinema to watch the film Brides. The premise is that these two girls are running away to Syria to become ISIS brides. So I knew going in it was gonna be a sad watch. 

 

Spoooky cinema...

 

The theater was basically empty which was cool and the film was really great. Defo not an easy watch but way more light-hearted than I expected. The writing makes you root for the girls so much you almost forget why they are there in the first place. Highly recommend. 

 Today (Tuesday) I took a trip to Oxford, home to the notoriously fancy and very beautiful university. I hadn't been before but my mum helped me plan where to go as she has been before. ^.^ The train journey was very chill and I listened to The Everglow by Mae. Oxford is very pretty to walk around as the architecture is soo pretty! All the university buildings are amazing looking and soo ornate.. I can't imagine studying there...

 They also had a cute market - which is always one of my favourite things in British towns. What can I say we just love to trade things! 

  

After walking around various churches and historic streets I decided to make a pilgramage to a vegetarian cafe I found on google maps. The walk was long.. and treacharous.. and I was soo hungry... but I made it yay! The food was all homemade and looked so good, so it was def a worthwhile trek.

 

 Beetroot salad, roasted chickpeas, courgette salad with mint and a curry vegetable pie... my dream meal..

 

They also had amazing looking cakes but I was already full.. maybe next time Magic Cafe Oxford..

 

Oxford was the home of Lewis Carroll, author of Alice In Wonderland and so there's a cute shop called Alice's Shop that sells themed items. I got a very cute keychain (photo at the end). At this point my phone was dying so I turned it off to preserve battery and used signposts and intution to navigate around. This meant I got lost a few times.. lol. I found my way to the Ashmolean Museum, which is an arts museum and also totally what the museum in the game, Mystery of The Druids is based on (I only figured this out AFTER I had gone home and had been convincing myself that it was another building) 

 

Museum from Mystery of The Druids - not at all similar to the one below LOL even though I really thought they were the same...

 

NOT the Ashmolean museum but the Natural History museum instead.. maybe i'll go inside next time

Anyway, the museum had some great art and was very relaxing! Here are photos of my favourite paintings.

Convent Thoughts - Charles Allston Collins

 Home from the sea [Mother's grave] - Arthur Hughes

After doing some more shopping and looking around I went home. For my train journey I got a smoothie as a treat but I def made the wrong decision getting one with blackberry in it because the seeds were very.. crunchy.. 

Here are the things I bought: 

 

New Testament Bible, postcard of New York, Alice In Wonderland keychain and oil pastels 

 

The New Testament Bible I got in a second-hand book shop. I didn't really intend on buying another Bible but when I opened it I found all these things inside - so I couldn't resist LOL. btw I realise this is the second time I have mentioned Christianity in just one blog post.. this is not going to become a Christian-blogger situation don't worry!!!!

Cool af tapestry book mark

 

There were more pictures than these - some dated 1950! The book smells very old and damp.. I don't think anyone else had opened it in a looong time.

The oil-pastels were just so cute, I couldn't resist. Hopefully I'll try them out tomorrow! ₊🖌⊹♡

 

 In regards to the challenge, this week I have:

- not watched any YouTube

- watched 4 films since Saturday 

- Goodbye, Lenin! 

- Novitiate

- Brides

- Brother Sun, Sister Moon 

- uploaded all photos from my music pages from imgur

- i have fixed my disk-man (needed new batteries LOL), so more CD listening is happening!

I would say the challenge is successful so far! Yay! (^__^) 

 

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October Blogging Challenge: Day 1!

First offical day of my blogging challenge, and I actually remembered to post! Yay!

I can report that since the start of this month I have not watched any YouTube yet, however, I have listened to music on YouTube Music - which I have decided is okay. Instead of watching YouTube I have... watched a couple episodes of The Office, read a couple chapters of my current book, began to fix my website and actually made some artwork! So I can report that it has been successful so far :-)

The art work in question is something I came up with as I was practising my calligraphy. However, the actual calligraphy part of it is really messy - lol! I don't mind it so much though.

 

 

The magpie drawing is really inspired by the cover of La Dispute's album, Somewhere at the Bottom of the River Between Vega and Altair. The text on the image is a couple lines from the poem somewhere i have never travelled,gladly beyond by E.E Cummings, the band references the poem alot in the album so I though it was a good fit. I love it when lyrics reference poetry - yay! The photo is really ass sorry but I'm considering redrawing it anyway...

 

Today I got some awesome clothes from my volunteering job at a charity shop. I have a week off work next week so I'm looking forward to wearing them ^-^

 

 

 

This blouse is meant for hiking I think but the colour is so cute I had to get it! I have a weakness for short sleeved blouses...

 

 This polka dot skirt is really light and layered. I gave away all my polka dot stuff a while ago and I miss it, so I was happy to find this! It's a little big but that's what safety pins are for :p

 I also got a new scarf earlier in the week but I'll include a pick in a later post. I feel like it's very Pam from The Office, which is totally my look these days haha.. 

This weekend is normal for me - work.. bleh.. Im looking forward to Sunday though, because we are having a harvest service at church which is usually fun - I need to remember to bring things for the foodbank collection though.. hopefully I don't forget !!!!

 Hope everyone has a good weekend ^-^

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October Blogging Challenge!

This October I want to get back into blogging, so I'm going to set myself a challenge of blogging twice a week - so ten blogs in the month! I'm thinking maybe Tuesdays and Fridays - but that could change lol.

I have a few goals I want to set myself this month so I'm going to document myself (hopefully) archiving them.

- Stop using YouTube!
I hate that I have been addicted to YouTube Shorts recently, enough is enough!

- Make more interesting blog posts

Like whats in my bag or a room tour

- Reupload all the images from my website that are on imgur

This one is a bit random but i do need to do it lol

- Listen to more of my CDs

- Watch films more often

- Make some art!

Some of these goals are a bit vague but I should be able to post something about each of them!

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art exhibitions + stationery haul !

Back to this blog again I guess! I like blogger so I shouldn't leave it this long haha!! On Tuesday I had a pretty full day of doing fun stuff so I thought I'd blog about it ^.^

I had read a few months ago two of my favourite artists - Yoshitomo Nara and Jenny Saville, were exhibiting in London galleries so because I don't go into London very often I decided to see both in one day!  I got the train at about midday and arrived in London at around two so as soon as I arrived I made a beeline to my lunch stop of the day.

Before I go anywhere basically, I always research where I'm going to go eat because you gotta make sure that you're not getting ripped off, which is often the case when you go out to eat in central London. I'm really in to Scandinavian food, so when I found the ScandiKitchen Cafe & Shop I decided to go there immediately because it was somewhat near the galleries I had booked to go to. 

Inside the cafe has very Scandinavian minimalist interior design and has a really nice atmosphere, not to mention it's air-conditioned! I was debating whether to eat in or eat outside but after feeling that good air-con I decided to pay a little extra and eat inside. Because I got there a bit after lunch they only had a few things on display and so I didn't have to make much of a decision on what to eat, which maybe was a good thing lol. 

 

I got the smoked carrot and avocado open sandwich with beetroot salad + filter coffee,

 it was all really tasty :p 

 

After I devoured my lunch I got the bus - which I realised when I was on it was only about two stops and I could of just walked - to my next location. The next place on my agenda was a visit to a stationery shop that I have been dying to go to for ages - the shop Choosing Keeping. Choosing Keeping are an independent stationery shop that sell basically, the cutest things in existence whilst keeping it totally classy.  I wasn't able to take any photos inside so you have just got to believe me that it really is the place of dreams, if your dreams consist of high quality paper and bear stickers like mine do. Their site is here  if you are interested. I had to get at least a couple things I had to restrain myself a couple times from going crazy and buying everything I set my eyes on. It's like if I was Carrie Bradshaw, Choosing Keeping would be my Jimmy Choo - I should not be allowed in unattended. The whole shop was full of cool looking people and even though I wanted to spend hours in their absorbing their coolness and trying out expensive pens, I was going to be totally late for my first booking! Here are the couple of things I managed to purchase before I had to tear myself away: 

 

Bear marriage!

 

 

Choosing Keeping branded silk screen print - the paper is TDF!

 

Maybe my favourite purchase of the day - glittery cat stickers! 

They are jelly stickers so are raised off of the page.

 

 I fast walked past China town and Leicster Square to the National Portrait Gallery where the Jenny Saville exhibit was being shown. As usual, I was convinced that due to my lateness I would be denied entry but I was let in without a bat of an eyelash! If you are familiar with Jenny Saville's work then you will be aware that her paintings are around 3 meters tall and just as wide. So as soon as I walked into the exhibit I was greeted with her work towering over me, which was pretty incredible. The exhibition began with her earliest works, which are defined by their pale backgrounds and usually focus on the female body as a subject.

 

Propped - 1992 

This piece was displayed originally by a mirror so that you can read the 

backwards words edged into the painting. The text, from an essay by feminist writer 

Luce Irigaray, reads: 'if we contiue to speak in this sameness - speak as men have spoken for

 centuries, we fail each other.' 

 

 The exhibit followed Jenny Saville's artistic career and each room or hallway was specific to a particular era in her life as an artist. This next room was a favourite of mine and focuses on her work in the early 2000s where she focused mainly on portraiture but of people who have appearances outside of the social norm. Her style has differed somewhat over the years, really just proving how talented she really is - she can do anything!

Witness - 2009 

This one was so cool up close, so many layers and textures.

 

Stare - 2004/5 

This painting is actually the Manic Street Preachers Journal For Plague Lovers artwork! 

She also did the cover art for their 1994 album The Holy Bible. I got a postcard of this at the shop.

 

One out of Two (symposium) - 2016

 

Out of one, two (symposium) - 2016

 

 Chasah - 2020

 The exhibition was super worthwhile - and free for under 25s too which was cool! I then walked over the road to the Japan Centre because they usually have stationery on sale and I am stationery-obsessed as you now know LOL. 

I got some cat sticky notes, which I will probably give to my sister as she is 'cat-obsessed' and some adorable washi tapes with retro Japanese sweets on them. I also got a matcha melon pan and some jasmine tea that I devoured without taking a photo of - oops! It was at this point I checked the time, and lo and behold I was going to be late for my next booking! If you are in any way familar with central London you will be aware that it is an incredibly walkable city which is something I was so graetful for in that moment as I began to sprint to the next gallery. I even had to cross the river Thames via bridge LOL, so I was obviously a bit sweaty and warm by the time I made it. 

The next exhibit was for the artist Yoshitomo Nara - whose work is much more illustrative and kitsch than Savilles. The exhibit started with the cutest shed which had been decorated by Nara and included both his works and collection of knick-nacks.

 

My Drawing Room 2008, Bedroom Included - 2008 

Naras work varys alot in size and material so it was awesome to see such a range of it displayed. Here are some of my favourites.

Light My Fire - 2001

 

Little Thinker - 2021

 

Stars - 2014

 

Mirror Ball Bon Dance Festival - 2012 and Recordings (レコード盤) - 2012

 

Wild One - 2024

Walking around the exhibition was a great experience, everywhere I looked was a different art work! There were also lots of cool people there which increased the overall vibe by like 10% even if I was more concious of my outfit suddenly. This exhibit was £10 for under 30 year olds and was way worth the money because there was lots to look at. I bought a badge will I will probs give to my friend. It's very cute though!

 Tierdness had begun to hit me as a finished walking around the exhbit so I decided to get a train straightaway. I had to run for it and just my luck it was delayed anyway so there was no point LOL. Overall the day was really awesome! Yay for art and tasty food :-)

 

 

 

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day 6 - modena in the sunshine ^^

day 6! 

Today we went to the town? city? of Modena, famous for balsamic vinegar and being beautiful. the weather was incredible i think the best weather of the whole trip and what a perfect place to enjoy it! 

the day started with a surprisingly leisurely walk to the station - i guess at this point we learnt our lesson about running lol. the train journey was very short, italian high speed railway is insane :0.

me and my mum had already planned to spend the day in modena whilst the rest of my family went to the ferrari museum in masenello which i couldn’t care less about lol. 

the walk to the town centre was nice and quiet and we walked past the military academy which we had originally planned to go on a tour around but it was too booked. it’s very beautiful from the outside tho ^^

military academy 

we then got seats at a cute cafe just outside the academy and sat in the sun. i had a macchiato and we shared a crema brioche (which is actually what north italy calls a cornetto, which means italian style croissant)

we then walked to a nearby church because we are both obsessed and it was really nicely decorated. 

 we then walked into the town square to get a map and saw the most beautiful clock tower ^o^ not sure if the detail will come up on my photo  or not …

modena has a huge cathedral which we wanted to go into and the architecture is insane! it really reminds me of the game ‘monument valley’ or what i think gormenghast looks like.

such detailed rooftop!

my favourite saint is Saint Lucia or Lucy and she is very popular in this area so they are lots of paintings and statues of her! i’m not catholic but i do really like saints and stuff because it’s all very dramatic and beautiful hehe.

Santa Lucia

we went on a walk around town which was so sunny and peaceful. we also got lunch at some point and ate it in a park while i nearly fell asleep because there was a fountain nearby haha.

 *natural white noise ~~*

i had a cheese and tomato toastie which was okay lol but i was ravenous and could of eaten anything at that point tbh. 

we attempted to get into an old monastery but it was closed for renovations but look at the pretty house over the road! 

pistachio green ~

my mum also bought some balsamic vinegar to bring home. we didn’t get the super expensive stuff because we still want to be able to use it lol. we met up with the rest of my family and went to a food market and looked round shops.

pretty book cover

we then left for the train and i got a lemon soda on the platform hehe :p

later on we went out to eat and i got a really mid vegan burger which will not have a photo because it was so mid. we went home and played poker though which was so fun! 

i think modena is my favourite place i went to on this trip - the vibes were so chill and fancy. not to be a nerd but it reminded me a lot of the town (which is supposed to be paris?) in pokémon X and Y. would 10/10 go again.