guess you better slow your mustang down

Hello! So it's a new week...and I've had to start working again. I thought the end of my exams would mean I had less to do over Christmas but as usual, I was wrong, and I have had to save this week of the holiday to get on with my art and textiles coursework. However, I had a very good sunday and last night of freedom, as my parents had bought me tickets to see The Commitments at the Palace Theatre. We decided to make a day of it, and so I got to potter around Covent Garden all morning, which is a favourite place of mine.

I wore my white shirt from Blitz, cardigan from Clothes show, belt and skirt from Beyond Retro, bag from The London Satchel Company, socks from Urban Outfitters and shoes from Rokit. My Bowie t-shirt was a present from my cousins and I absolutely love it...it's so nice to see Bowie memorabilia featuring images other than the iconic Aladdin Sane cover, which I do love but feel gets a bit over-used sometimes.

Rokit had an amazing sale on, and I ended up spending the remainder of my birthday money on some gorgeous autumn-y bargains, before having a lovely soup lunch in Pret (they do the best vanilla chai tea on the planet). We then went on a little stroll through China town to find the theatre, and stumbled upon Ed's Diner, which I have been meaning to go to for basically ever. We ended up going there for dinner after the show, and it was AMAZING.
Also, on the way I was lucky enough to be shot for street-style photographer Joseph Kent's blog, Unlimited by JK. I hadn't actually seen his blog beforehand, but have been enlightened and become a dedicated reader as his photography and fashion sense is incredible. The photograph below is from the shoot, and here is the link to the post.

Ed's was just as amazing as I had hoped. The decor is so perfectly american I honestly felt as if I had stepped back in time into a 50's diner. All it needed was some quiffs and skater skirts and bang, you wouldn't believe it was the 21st century. What I also liked was it managed to keep the greasy feel of a burger joint without being at all, well, greasy - keeping hygiene and food quality at a solid 10 out of 10, it maintained the feel and vibe of a standard diner without losing the luxuries of a restaurant.

As I'm sure you can imagine, the food is absolutely incredible. There is a lot of choice, from classic dogs and burgers to chicken and vegetarian options; a wide range of kid's meals; and the freedom to opt for a 'Skinny Ed's'...all the flavours and toppings from any of their hamburgers, served with fresh salad and no bun. Perfect for people like me who can't handle a whole burger and chips, or for those wanting a healthier option. I also raise my glass to the fact that they serve the salad with the dressing on the side...every dressing should be served on the side. I thank you, Ed, whoever you are.
Their milkshakes are also to die for. I am a huge milkshake fan, and have definitely had my fair share of different consistencies and flavour combinations over my time, and it is safe to say that Ed's make the best milkshakes out of anywhere I have visited in my 16 years of life. I chose a mint chocolate flavour, and nearly cried it was so freaking good. Also, they are served in a tin decanter, so you are guaranteed more than one glassful...I managed to get three out of mine. Three. (life goals: achieved)

My parents had bought me The Commitments tickets for Christmas, and although I wasn't familiar with the story, I had been listening to the soundtrack recently and so was so excited about seeing it performed. It is based on the book by the same name by Roddy Doyle, and is about a group of misfits from Dublin who club together to form a soul band, and bring soul music to Ireland. The contrast between the powerful music and dark irish humour strikes a perfect balance, much like I can imagine a sweet bailey's liquor would taste on the tongue. The actors were incredible and had so much energy...and fantastic voices. I really enjoyed it, and am now desperate to see the film...if only to try and experience the thrill of it all over again.

After the show we walked back through Leicester Square, where we found ourselves in a Christmassy funfair. It was a lovely end to a very busy and very eventful day, and a lovely way to finish off my Christmas holiday before getting on with my schoolwork again.
I hope you are all well,

ellie xo

Those old melodies still sound so good to me

 Hello! It feels weird to be blogging again - I kind of assumed Christmas would last forever, but all of a sudden it's all done and dusted; I feel like it all happened way too fast. I had a wonderful one though...I got a semi-digital Polaroid camera from my parents, which I absolutely adore, and all of my family got me really thoughtful and special gifts that I am sure you will see on this page over the next few weeks. I hope you all had a lovely holiday too.
Today I woke up to a beautiful blue sky outside, and considering the awful weather we have been having of late, I felt it was absolutely necessary to go out and enjoy the fall while it lasts. We went for a lovely long morning walk over the heath and had lunch in Kenwood.

 I got this gorgeous orange satchel from my cousins for Christmas, and not only is it the exact ochre-ish colour that I am obsessed with at the moment (just look at the post before this one) but it totally matches my Suzy Bishop meets 40s schoolgirl vibe that I've been really into recently. I couldn't help but also bring my current prized possession too - an old storybook for girls that has been carefully inscribed with 'a gift from mother, 1913,' in pencil. It was another gift from my cousins, and I am still reeling from the thought that exactly 100 years ago, a woman gave this very book to her daughter. I keep thinking about whether it was a birthday gift or for a different occasion, or who exactly the girl was and whether she liked it. It appears well-read so I guess she, or another owner, did...and halfway through I found a really old pressed flower, so I like to imagine someone once took it to a park or something and used a flower to mark their place or remember their little reading session in the sun.

 My cardigan is from Blitz, shirt from Clothes Show, skirt from Rokit, shoes from Clothes Show and socks from Topshop.

My eye necklace was a present from Clothes Show and it perfectly matches the earrings my mum got me from a gorgeous little jewellery shop in Covent Garden. They really remind me of the 'evil eye' talismans that you often see on bracelets or keyrings, to protect you from harm or bad luck. Weather-wise, they definitely worked today.

We walked around the red arches and Viaduct Pond, before walking back around the heath to have lunch in the old kitchens in Kenwood. I had a spiced tomato and lentil soup with chunky wholemeal bread, and greek yoghurt with spiced fruits. I obviously also utilised their tea facilities as I am literally addicted, and had a nice little teapot of peppermint to myself. Lovely.

Afterwards we had a little look around Kenwood house itself. It is an old stately home which once belonged to Lord Mansfield, who helped begin the abolition of slavery by restricting the rights and power of slave owners. The house is now owned by English Heritage and can be visited for free, and is most well known for it's stunning library and extensive art collection, with pieces by masters such as Vermeer and Rembrandt. I really liked the carpet in the library for some reason, hence the photograph above.

On Boxing day morning we went for a walk around Exmouth Market with the dog, and I got to test out my Polaroid a little bit. It's really cool as it's a normal camera, with a viewfinder, SD card, zoom, aperture and focus settings, whilst still being able to print selected photos like a normal polaroid. I took some sleepy pictures of the empty street, and of a cool bike I found tethered outside a church.

A few more polaroid experiments...from the top left clockwise: An amazing amazing amazing cake from Coco's Cakes (which I enjoyed with warm custard and nearly cried it was so good), me on Christmas morning (in my new christmas pjs), me on Christmas day looking adequately grannyish, and my amazing christmas dinner at my auntie's house (obviously smothered in ketchup because that is what I do to all of my food). 

Anyway, just to make this post even longer (I do apologise), I may as well tell you all about my trip to London Zoo on Friday. For my dad's birthday this year, my mum and I bought him a 'zookeeper for a day' experience, and I went along with him so he wasn't all alone. We had to be there at 8.45am, where we were met by a zookeeper, who led us around the zoo, letting us do typical zookeeping activities like mucking out the giraffe house, cleaning the penguin pool, and preparing food for the bearded pigs. We also got to feed loads of different animals and get up and close to species we would otherwise only ever see through glass. We also got to wear incredibly attractive boiler suits, so we looked fabulous (please notice my extreme sarcasm). They were pretty cosy though.

We got to feed lemurs, giraffes, giant anteaters, piranhas, meerkats, ring-tailed coatis, llamas, and meet Ricky the penguin...who apparently has his own facebook page?! There was also lots of opportunities to take photographs, and we learnt lots about the zoo and all of the different species we saw. The zookeeper that led us around was really knowledgeable, and it was lovely to be in an environment where everyone was so into animals and passionate about caring for and protecting them. We also got to meet some really interesting people in our group, and so it was a really refreshing and educational experience, with lots of wow moments that I'm sure I'll remember for a long time.

Basically I have been having a really good Christmas holiday, and am intending to enjoy this last weekend of freedom before next week begins and I have to start working again. I hope you are all having a good holiday too...and I haven't forgotten about the giveaway I promised...it's on it's way I promise! Also...thank you for reading to the end of this post, sorry it was a very long one!
hugs,

ellie xo