I'd give up city life

I have been in such a good mood recently. For some reason the January blues haven't really hit me this year...I've been too busy slightly panicking about schoolwork, aggressive journalling and spending almost all of my free time dancing around my bedroom to cheesy 80s music. I've started getting in to the routine of work on a Saturday, and have finally started working on my art properly (ok the deadline has already passed but still).  Not much else has happened really since my last post...I bought an ankle length camel-coloured coat which I can't wait to wear, discovered my slightly obsessive love for Gustav Klimt and wandered back and forth from snappy snaps with a silly amount of partly destroyed film. I've liked this January so far.

These photos are from a few Saturdays ago. I usually dress up a little smarter than usual for work, as I get to wear the jewellery we sell so it's nice to wear something I can match cool pieces to. If I catch a lift in the morning and I'm early I can sometimes take some pictures before I start, like these ones. I wore a Rokit jumper and backpack, Beyond Retro skirt and belt, and River Island coat. I've been meaning to (and will) take this skirt up to make a cute little 60s mini skirt, but I just haven't had the chance yet! I've added it to my growing pile of things I want to alter, so you never know I might attempt to sort it out soon...who knows?

In other news, I have been using a roll of film on my Zenit for the last few weeks but managed to get it all caught up inside my camera plus expose almost the whole thing while trying to fix it. After removing it in the cellar aka my makeshift darkroom and taking round to snappy snaps in an old tin that once stored my green tea I was certain nothing would come out at all but somehow I got seven pictures back, which is an achievement considering how many things I managed to do wrong in the process. The first was from Ed's Diner with Opi and Hollie, and the rest are from taking my little puppy for her first walk in the park. I kind of love the way you never know what film will come out like - there's something so exciting about finding a real gem of a photo (like the one above) as you can never guarantee any will come out the way you imagined they would.

^ Some January journal pages. I've been trying to journal more just as it really helps me with art...I tend to make collages with magazines / pictures from tumblr and write up playlists I've been listening to on 8tracks.
I hope you all have a lovely weekend!

into the colour that you're making me

This weekend was actually really busy and successful, and has left me feeling really satisfied and complete. I'm one of those people that feels really uncomfortable if I don't keep up with work, or don't see friends and go out, or just waste time being unproductive. Keeping a little sketchbook/journal has really helped me fill up those unproductive periods, so even car journeys or free time at home can feel like they're useful and worthwhile. Anyway, on Friday I booked a summer holiday with some friends (which has left me craving the sun so badly) and then had a good day at work and seeing some people on Saturday. On Sunday I went to the Vintage Kilo Sale in Bethnal Green, before meeting up with Hollie and Opi and having a meander around the National Portrait Gallery and Soho. I felt really in control with the whole work/life balance thing, which usually I can never organise (I tend to either spend weekends holed up working, or staying out on aimless walks and adventures to avoid doing anything at all).

Anyway, as you probably know I was interviewed for Judy's Vintage Fair's online magazine, Judy's Vintage Digest, last year, and have since written a little article for them after fashion week. As a fan of any sort of clothes and any sort of sale (even more so when they come as a pair) I jumped at the chance of going along to take some photos and try and find some bargains. I've been to a Judy's Kilo Sale before, and managed to bag a real Diesel leather jacket for £10 (through some later research I found out a new one was worth something crazy like £300), so I had high hopes for this one. I was not disappointed either, with the quite overwhelming space of York Hall filled with rails and buckets of clothes, with people rooting their way through, each seemingly with a serious pre-set agenda of exactly what they were looking for. There was so many things to choose from - the rails ranged from summer dresses, to velvet pieces, shearling coats, denim jeans and jackets, (lots of) plaid shirts and knitwear. I managed to find myself two big plaid shirts which will be perfect for cosy college outfits, a cute white jumper with embroidered flowers (looks better than it sounds) and a red cardigan (I am still obsessed with red). The whole lot only weighed about a kilo (which cost £15), so you really do get a lot for your money when you compare it to how much you might pay for just one item in high street vintage stores.

The other part of the event which I absolutely loved (and was the best surprise) was the long table of jewellery and accessories running along the back wall of the hall. Jewellery is not usually something you would find at a sale like this, and so it was such a nice addition, especially as they had so, so, so many amazing pieces and all for really cheap prices. I work in an antique costume jewellery shop on a Saturday and so can vouch that the prices were really competitive, plus the range of earrings and brooches was incredible. You just can't beat vintage jewellery, and I may or may not have left a good few pairs of earrings richer than I arrived.

In short it was a really well organised event, with each person given a bag to fill as they pleased before it was weighed at the till. You really could get lots of things for a really good price, plus they had so many interesting and staple pieces that made going really worthwhile. It's definitely worth checking out their next events here.

I wore a very earthy/autumnal outfit as is commonplace with me most days. I couldn't help throwing on some comfortable patterned trousers from Rokit, something I just can't get enough of at the moment. I used to worry that patterned trousers looked too much like pyjamas but I have come to the conclusion that they don't really, and even if they did I just wouldn't care. I wore them with a jumper from American Apparel, scarf from Blitz and my coat from Topshop. The shoes were my christmas present from The Whitepepper, and I am completely obsessed with them (I mean they're mustard. My favourite colour in the whole world). The little bee charm is from Lotus Fairy on Etsy.

After the sale I met up with Hollie and Opi, and after lunch and a catch-up we spent the afternoon at the National Portrait Gallery. We saw the Grayson Perry exhibition I've been dying to see for ages, before wandering through Covent Garden and Soho, visiting some of my favourite places including the astrology shop and Ed's Diner.
I took some film photos but haven't got them developed yet, so here are some recent photos from my phone from the weekend.

Clockwise from top: Pretty chandeliers at work / noodles for lunch / necklaces at work / dressing up in as much silver and turquoise jewellery as I could find

Clockwise from top: Grayson Perry at the NPG / NPG / the queen of absolutely everything, Vivienne Westwood herself (possibly my favourite portrait of her ever) / Grayson Perry at the NPG

We rounded off the day with ice cream floats in Ed's Diner, which was amazing as it always is in there (having Elvis playing anywhere makes me incredibly happy) however we did end up having a slight mishap with a very sly man and Hollie's phone...in short, be very careful in central London as there are lots of people that really like taking phones from teenage girls. The guys in Ed's were amazing though and so that definitely made the situation a lot less stressful than it could have been.
Anyway, I hope you all have a good week!