2013 Ear Worms

Hello,
So 2013 has drawn to a close. How did that even happen? I don't know if I'm just getting older but the years seem to actually fly by these days. Anyway, for me 2013 was a year of change and one thing that definitely changed was the music blasting on my headphones. So I thought I'd share my fave albums of 2013. I'm not a music know-all but I does knows what I likes.

I don't really read loads or watch many films but music is something I tend to keep on trend with a bit more and I thought there were some really standout albums this year so here were my top 5 and little taste of each.

5. Too Weird To Live, Too Rare To Die - Panic! At The Disco
Panic are my leftover guilty pleasure from my greasy haired scene kid days. As much as I try to let go of them (I don't try very hard to be honest) I can't seem to get over how catchy their songs are. This album definitely wasn't their best and I don't think they'll ever get back to their emo glory days but it's got songs that'll make you want to dance and that's most important really...

4. Save Rock And Roll - Fall Out Boy
Ok maybe Panic aren't the only leftover from my scene kid days but really how many people can honestly say they weren't excited when Fall Out Boy announced they were releasing new stuff? I ran through my flat screaming about it...only to find none of my flatmates cared. Humph. Whatever! This album was good. Different enough for new fans, samey enough for die hards and it had Elton John on it. Literally nothing not to love!

3. Magna Carta Holy Grail - Jay-Z
Since this album was released in July I have listened to at least one song from it everyday. My friend recently moaned that "it's not as good as The Black Album". Well duh but you can't always compare someone as long-lasting as Jay-Z to their finest album. To get all pretensh up in here I feel like this album has so many different aspects to it, it's got pop-rap like Holy Grail to catchy club tracks like Tom Ford stopping off at a bit of social commentary (Somewhere In America) along the way. My fave Jay-Z release for a long while.

2. Matangi - M.I.A
This album is da bomb. Literally. I can't even explain how much I love it! I heard Bad Girls ages ago and then when I found out the whole album was being released I was so excited. M.I.A is just amazing, her rhymes are sharp and she just sounds so sassy all the way through the album. Some of the songs (especially Exodus) are just ridiculously sexy whereas others like Bring The Noize make you wanna party and start a fight all at the same time! I love this and I can't recommend it highly enough. Even if you've never been into M.I.A or rap or anything before you should give this one a go.

1. Beyoncé - Beyoncé
Up until the beginning of December, Matangi was without a question my favourite album. M.I.A had it sewn up. Then Beyoncé got all Beyoncé up in here and released a secret visual album. Only a queen can get away with that. Mrs Carter's secretive offering is my favourite from her for years - especially after the slight disappointment of 4. This album is too sexy for it's own good, it makes me want to dance and cry and get married and eugh. To me, Beyoncé is just incredible, she makes me proud to be a woman and this album reflects that. After years of making unquestionable hits this album feels way more honest and powerful. LOVE IT!

So those were my favourites of 2013...how about yours? Got any recommendations for me? Swear to God if anyone else says 'Yeezus' is the album of the year I will kick off! 

This Blogpost Will Save Your Year

Ok so that's a bold statement...and it probably won't. But maybe it will save mine.

2013 was rubbish wasn't it? It started off really great and full of clichéd promises that this year would "be different" and this year would "be your year". None of them came true, the year is over and everything is just as pitifully rubbish as it was before. Just me?

For me January started off really awesome. University was great, there were super exciting new people in my life, everything was perfect. But I don't really think life ever works out like that and cracks always begin to show no matter how pretty you paint over them. I struggled a lot during the summer. I had been told to make friends and get along with my classmates and fall in love and then it was suddenly whisked away from me for a very long 5 month summer. I know that seems like such a tiny problem but I noticed that life away from home probably wasn't as pretty as my rose tinted glasses had told me they were.

When I moved back to Uni in September I was miserable. Miserable like I'd never felt before. People who I had valued the most in the previous months were now the one's who were nowhere to be found. Look through my drafted (but thankfully never published) blogposts and there are many a whiney ramble. I sat there and I thought 2013 has taught me things. It has taught me:

1. There is no such thing as being in love

2. You can't trust anyone

3. Everyone will leave at some point

4. Even your best is never good enough

For at least a month, I was ridiculous. I cried. A lot. I thank my flatmates a million times for not slapping me when I was so downright rude and ungrateful and full of my own wallowing sadness. 

I don't really know what snapped me out of my miserableness. I think one day I was trudging somewhere in the rain and I just thought "God, this is boring. All this being miserable, all this being angry at people and refusing to move on in my life is so incredibly boring". I carried on trudging through the rain (my walk home from uni is particularly grim) and thought about the things I thought 2013 had taught me and I thought about all the brilliant things that had happened whilst the rubbish stuff was distracting me. All the times I laughed until I thought I was going to die, all the interesting conversations I'd had, all the essay marks that had made me proud, all the nice food I'd eaten, all the songs I'd sung along to, all the books I'd read, all the friends who had picked me up when I'd drunkenly fallen over in the street. I started to rewrite my 2013 lessons:

1. There's no such thing as being in love (I kinda stand by this) but that doesn't mean you can't show someone kindness and friendship and caring when they need to see it. That's way more important than being in love with them. 

2. You can't trust...everyone. Yeah some people are arses who will break all their promises but trusting someone isn't a conscious decision and before you know it you'll be sharing your secrets with someone you least expected. Roll with it. The quiet bit of my brain always knows best.

3. Everyone will leave at some point...but that just makes room for super fun new people. And hopefully they'll stick around a bit longer. 

4. Even your best is never good enough for some people. But from now I'm going to measure my best by what's good enough for me not what's good enough for everyone else. It's MY best...not theirs. 

So Facebook keeps nudging me to look at my "Review of 2013". Well I don't want to. I don't care about it anymore I just want to look forward. I've got new places to go and new people to make laugh and the places I felt I didn't belong last year or the people who made me cry last year...they're just blips on my map of brilliance. I was always too good for them anyway!  

Maybe none of these words will make any sense to anyone else, really this is just a note to future me. Please future me, remember to be happy in yourself because you're alright sometimes - you've never needed anyone else to tell you that.

2014's gonna be fucking awesome mate. 

Make It Highstreet | 2013 BAFTAs

I've recently been without computer so sorry that this is a million years late but y'know...thought that counts! Now I don't know about you but when it rains my hair gets remarkably frizzy, my mascara always runs and I slap on the most miserable face you've ever seen! Obviously actors and actresses are made of sterner stuff than me - they all braved the rain, donned the dresses and looked gorgeous (well some of them anyway)! Lots of bright dresses on show with Marion Cotillard in Dior looking like a little ray of sunshine on a horrible London day. I loved Jessica Chastain's mermaid-esque Roland Mouret dress, especially styled with such classic Hollywood hair. Vamp was the order of the day with Jessica Lawrence in Christian Dior, dark make-up and very sleek swept back hair and Thandie Newton in Louis Vuitton. Of course there was also a lot of black dresses on show as is the way with these things, my girl Anne Hathaway (we're destined to be best friends I just know it) looking stunning in embellished black Burberry and pop of pink lipstick.
There weren't any dresses that were a major miss for me. I feel Sarah Jessica Parker tried to step out of her comfort zone with an Ellie Saab jumpsuit but it just ended up looking a bit to casual, not as stand out as we're used to from her. Also, I'm not sure about Paloma Faith's whole look, the dress was pretty but the hair just made it feel a bit try hard and over-the-top...

Thandie Newton in Louis Vuitton / Lace Maxi Dress, ASOS, £70

Laura Bailey in Roksanda Illincic / Crossover Lace Maxi, Boohoo, £25

Kelly Brook Jumpsuit, New Look, £20, Sarah Jessica Parker wears Elie Saab