....to Radio Gaga where I talk about growing a baby and playing it amazing music for nine months.
Back soon!
*EDIT: if you're reading this in google reader this is a retrospective post dated December 2012*
Saturday 1 December 2012
Sunday 4 November 2012
A Very Fluffy Wedding
Since the blog that originally posted our wedding report has now taken it down, I am taking it upon myself to re-blog our wedding here so we still have an online memory of the day. If you don't like weddings or general self-indulgent silliness, you should definitely look away now!
For us it was, inevitably, the most amazing day. Our friends and family are truly the best. We did it in five months and we couldn't have pulled it off without them.
People say you won't sleep the night before your wedding, but I did, like a big knackered log. I watched Dirty Dancing and ate cake and drank fizz with my best friend and then I sparked out til 7am.
I can understand why people who have big fancy weddings stay in a hotel the night before. I woke up at home in Armley and it was weird how normal everything felt. Catie and I got ready together and our incredible photographer Kev came round and took pictures of us. It didn't feel like it was actually happening until we left the house.
Even when Suzy came round it didn't feel like it was happening. And then my Dad came to pick me up and exclaimed "ooh you're like a big furry caterpillar!" and it started to get real. Only just a bit tiddly and nervous by this point.
We got married at Leeds Town Hall. Here's me walking down the "aisle" to You Make My Dreams Come True by Hall & Oates. I look really bat-shit smiley on all these pictures, but my enduring memory is feeling like I'd had too many cups of coffee.
We were moderately lucky with the weather - it was a crap June and we got a really sunny day til about 3pm, which was just about all we needed. Windy though. You'll notice me hanging onto The Veil in just about all the outdoor shots.
Got some weird looks posing outside Oceana - worth it to get the picture we used on our thankyou cards though. Onwards to The Lounge, where we had a sit-down meal in the upstairs room with our relatively tiny wedding ceremony gang (only 20 guests, all family apart from best man and wife, and my one bridesmaid).
This is our wedding fanzine, which we gave out as favours. It had a cut-out-and-keep Nissan Bluebird in it. And our cat Granville had his own puzzle page. Our six-year-old selves would be so proud. Also, board games as centre-pieces - good ice breaker and something you can actually keep and use afterwards. Recommend!
Whilst everything was frantically set up, I was safely tucked away at our wedding night hotel, getting ready for the evening and putting my new shoes on. I am forever grateful for nobody telling me our reception nearly didn't happen until long after it had been sorted out.
My memory just swirls into one big crazy party after this point. I kept putting my drink down and losing it. I remember chasing small children with confetti. Rushing round trying to talk to everyone and not really seeing Sam all night. It was good though, there were speeches from best man and maid of honour and there was a Dad Band made up of various members of both our family and the best man, none of whom had ever played together before the day. They were seriously impressive....
....there were Penny and the Sausages too (who apparently were a bit too loud for the oldies, and one small child ran out screaming with her hands over her ears, sorry about that guests)
There was the cutting of the cake (and the moment we realised nobody tells you where to cut it, and also that we'd left the good knife at home)....
There were also an abundance of Slips sandwiches, which made excellent fuel for dancing. We only got round to first dance at about half past nine though, we forgot to do it. The Way You Make Me Feel followed by Pump Up The Jam.
For us it was, inevitably, the most amazing day. Our friends and family are truly the best. We did it in five months and we couldn't have pulled it off without them.
People say you won't sleep the night before your wedding, but I did, like a big knackered log. I watched Dirty Dancing and ate cake and drank fizz with my best friend and then I sparked out til 7am.
I can understand why people who have big fancy weddings stay in a hotel the night before. I woke up at home in Armley and it was weird how normal everything felt. Catie and I got ready together and our incredible photographer Kev came round and took pictures of us. It didn't feel like it was actually happening until we left the house.
Even when Suzy came round it didn't feel like it was happening. And then my Dad came to pick me up and exclaimed "ooh you're like a big furry caterpillar!" and it started to get real. Only just a bit tiddly and nervous by this point.
We got married at Leeds Town Hall. Here's me walking down the "aisle" to You Make My Dreams Come True by Hall & Oates. I look really bat-shit smiley on all these pictures, but my enduring memory is feeling like I'd had too many cups of coffee.
We were moderately lucky with the weather - it was a crap June and we got a really sunny day til about 3pm, which was just about all we needed. Windy though. You'll notice me hanging onto The Veil in just about all the outdoor shots.
Got some weird looks posing outside Oceana - worth it to get the picture we used on our thankyou cards though. Onwards to The Lounge, where we had a sit-down meal in the upstairs room with our relatively tiny wedding ceremony gang (only 20 guests, all family apart from best man and wife, and my one bridesmaid).
I can't recommend The Lounge more highly. They were amazing throughout our planning, the food was insanely good and they kept us within budget. The afternoon was seamless, which is more than can be said for the Limelight, our evening party venue, who decided to close the whole building just as we were due to start setting up. Dicks! Luckily our friends are resourceful and amazing and pulled off the set-up in minutes...
This is the unicorn dessert buffet, hosted by our pet mannequin Ken. We had a LOT of cake and a LOT of unicorns.My memory just swirls into one big crazy party after this point. I kept putting my drink down and losing it. I remember chasing small children with confetti. Rushing round trying to talk to everyone and not really seeing Sam all night. It was good though, there were speeches from best man and maid of honour and there was a Dad Band made up of various members of both our family and the best man, none of whom had ever played together before the day. They were seriously impressive....
....there were Penny and the Sausages too (who apparently were a bit too loud for the oldies, and one small child ran out screaming with her hands over her ears, sorry about that guests)
There was the cutting of the cake (and the moment we realised nobody tells you where to cut it, and also that we'd left the good knife at home)....
There were also an abundance of Slips sandwiches, which made excellent fuel for dancing. We only got round to first dance at about half past nine though, we forgot to do it. The Way You Make Me Feel followed by Pump Up The Jam.
After deciding my husband looks better than me in a veil, it was time to go to a fancy hotel and drink cocktails til bedtime. Exhuastion at previously unheard of levels. Excellent times.
All pictures by The Blackeye Specialist
Wednesday 5 September 2012
Bag It UP!
In spite of having to wait until the end of September to get paid ANYTHING from my new job, I am perpetually being lured by the siren call of city centre lunch-break shopping.
Here's the problem: if I don't leave the office, people think I'm still working and give me stuff to do.
However.
If I leave the office, there is another issue. I am faced with a city centre bursting with pretty things to buy. A thousand retail temptations dancing past my senses like a glorious technicolour parade of wanton jezebels, sequins glistening, satin shining, whispering come buy me you need me you can't live without me.
OH! if I just bought some black court shoes then all my previously jazzy and unsuitable work outfits would magically appear demure and work-appropriate. OH! if I just had the right (expensive) bag to put things in then I would suddenly be organised enough to not leave my lunch at home and have to go to Sesame again. OH! the conundrum of dressing for the corporate office with a hipster sensibility could easily be solved with the right shirt dress. OH! a good black blazer makes everything look brilliantly smart, you just need to look in enough shops to find the right one ooh and while I'm in here look at that spotty top and those denim shorts I need I need I need
How do people do this every day? What is the answer?
Do I just need to get a promotion so I can afford it all?
Here's the problem: if I don't leave the office, people think I'm still working and give me stuff to do.
However.
If I leave the office, there is another issue. I am faced with a city centre bursting with pretty things to buy. A thousand retail temptations dancing past my senses like a glorious technicolour parade of wanton jezebels, sequins glistening, satin shining, whispering come buy me you need me you can't live without me.
Bag in Zara. In my opinion, unfairly priced. Because I cannot afford it.
OH! if I just bought some black court shoes then all my previously jazzy and unsuitable work outfits would magically appear demure and work-appropriate. OH! if I just had the right (expensive) bag to put things in then I would suddenly be organised enough to not leave my lunch at home and have to go to Sesame again. OH! the conundrum of dressing for the corporate office with a hipster sensibility could easily be solved with the right shirt dress. OH! a good black blazer makes everything look brilliantly smart, you just need to look in enough shops to find the right one ooh and while I'm in here look at that spotty top and those denim shorts I need I need I need
How do people do this every day? What is the answer?
Do I just need to get a promotion so I can afford it all?
Tuesday 4 September 2012
Bad, Bad Boys
I was having a debate with Amy on Sunday night about whether she should watch Top Gun or Point Break.
The debate was more of a mutual consensus that Patrick Swayze as dangerous wild-child criminal Bodhi will always top tiny little Tom Cruise, regardless of how many planes he flies or how much Kenny Loggins is on the soundtrack.
THEN yesterday at work I was talking to (boring to death - no wonder she wants to leave) my colleague and fellow new starter about how I never "got" Ryan Gosling until I saw Drive....
"Oh he's a really dark, violent character, but ..." *swoon*
...."which is weird because that's exactly how I was about Brad Pitt, I never "got" him til he played a sociopath in Fight Club! PHWOAR!"
"But it's OK because really the only actor I really really fancy is John Cusack. And he's a very sensible sort of person to fancy. Although I only really properly fancy him in Grosse Point Blank. Oh yeah, he's a hitman in that isn't he? But he's a hitman with really good taste in music."
This is all completely at odds with men I have dated, who have historically been ridiculously nice and non-dangerous. For crying out loud, my husband won't even get on a roller-coaster.
I don't have a point. And if you were thinking this post was just an excuse for me to post some pictures of some really, really attractive men you would be partly, if not entirely correct.
Vivez les bad boys!
The debate was more of a mutual consensus that Patrick Swayze as dangerous wild-child criminal Bodhi will always top tiny little Tom Cruise, regardless of how many planes he flies or how much Kenny Loggins is on the soundtrack.
THEN yesterday at work I was talking to (boring to death - no wonder she wants to leave) my colleague and fellow new starter about how I never "got" Ryan Gosling until I saw Drive....
"Oh he's a really dark, violent character, but ..." *swoon*
...."which is weird because that's exactly how I was about Brad Pitt, I never "got" him til he played a sociopath in Fight Club! PHWOAR!"
"But it's OK because really the only actor I really really fancy is John Cusack. And he's a very sensible sort of person to fancy. Although I only really properly fancy him in Grosse Point Blank. Oh yeah, he's a hitman in that isn't he? But he's a hitman with really good taste in music."
This is all completely at odds with men I have dated, who have historically been ridiculously nice and non-dangerous. For crying out loud, my husband won't even get on a roller-coaster.
I don't have a point. And if you were thinking this post was just an excuse for me to post some pictures of some really, really attractive men you would be partly, if not entirely correct.
Vivez les bad boys!
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