One Long Week

Last week was quite the busy week; working on my writing and figuring out plot points and character development. I could work on my time management, if I don't watch the clock I'll be there all day and forget to feed myself. 

I also went to the funfair (The Hoppings) with a few friends. I'm not a fan of rides now a days, the old lady bones of mine do not approve but we all went on the Ferris wheel and looked down on all the people playing bingo for toasters and kettles (each to their own). I spent most of the time following the smell of donuts.

On Saturday it was Thomas' grandmama's Seventy Sixth birthday. We celebrated with cocktails and lots of food (including Thomas' mam's cheese scones, which are the only scones you need in your life). It was a lot of fun.

Later that night our friend James' band (Broken Levee) were playing a gig, so we went along. On the way to the pub the taxi driver told us the pub was haunted which I forgot about when Thomas and I were still waiting on our taxi after the pub had all closed up for the night (our first taxi never showed); it was dark, cold and you could hear the river slither by, would have been creepy if I was easily spooked.
Anyway Broken Levee are a Blues band and I think they're pretty good (That's saying something because I never listen to Blues). James is the drummer, Ian is on guitar and vocals and then another James on the base guitar and vocals (James, ever the ubiquitous name). 
We were really close as you can tell from the photos, we could properly watch James play and see the perspiration on his face. I slept like a baby that night. 
 

Thomas (on the left)and James (on the right)

On Sunday I rested at my mother's with her baking and curry.

 
I had the white russian on Saturday and took some goodies home on Sunday. My mum's peanut butter brownies are amazing. 

 Thank you for reading, should probably get back to doing some writing.

Devon x

Books: I Endeavour to Finish You

I think we have all encountered books, that we want to read, tried to read and even lied about reading because you want it to be true so desperately but alas you still haven't gotten to the end. These are some of the books that I have sitting about making me feel quality for neglecting them.

 Stoner, John Williams

I didn't actually buy this book, it was sent to me by Bookmarks. I read the synopsis for this and thought it was going to be quite an interestingly sad read. It's not a huge commitment at just under 300 pages but when I sat down to read this book I couldn't get into it. There's something unengaging about the narrative and the characters so far haven't demonstrated much in way of personality, let alone likeability (Not that I believe you have to like a character to enjoy a novel). Over all if I pick up a book and have to force myself to ever pick it up again I know it's not the book for me but I am also aware that I haven't read enough pages to even attempt to appreciate the themes. I honestly don't believe any novel that leaves you feeling indifferent about the events that take place throughout can possibly muster any poignancy in its conclusion.

Cocaine Nights, J.G Ballard

I should be in love with this book; I am a fan of Ballard's writing and have enjoyed reading quite a few of his novels. I also love novels with detective qualities but Cocaine Nights just leaves me a little frustrated. I keep meaning to make it a priority but never even look at it, like it's a conversation I keep trying to avoid at all costs. I can't figure out why it hasn't absorbed me. I wouldn't even say it's the pace of the narrative, I have read some slow books in my time. Even the characters are interesting and have an air of mystery to them. I am simply struggling with it.

The Hobbit,J.R.R Tolkien

I haven't really got much to say about The Hobbit. There are parts of it I really enjoy and others that fail to hold my attention. I am a brave way through it so I will get around to finishing it. I think I am just too picky with this one, so difficult to impress (so demanding).

 American Psycho, Bret Easton Ellis

This book exceeds its reputation, it is cleverly written and incredibly violent but also intensely dark in humour. The only thing that puts me off reading this book is the sere mundane and lengthy paragraphs, which are necessary and fundamental to the theme of the entire novel but it's so hard to trek through, all the shallow meaningless social encounters and boring, frivolous characters that start to drive me crazy if I read if for far too long without a break. The bizarre self indulgence of all the characters attempting to achieve any sense of fulfilment is harrowing to read, the hopelessness in all their money. I might finish it one day but I feel I have taken away all I can from this book already.

Thank you for reading, I also need to finish How We Do It but with it being non-fiction it's taking me much longer than usual to read with all my extensive note taking.  

Devon x

Geeky Things I Own: Hermione Granger Wannabe

On my 21st birthday my mum took me to the Harry Potter Studio; Thomas tagged along as well and I have to say it was my best birthday I've ever had, forget going out and getting drunk with your friends Warner Brothers Studio Tour is where it's at. Obviously you can't not buy a wand while you're there and I must have been amusing rocking up to the till with Hermione Granger's wand and Crookshanks, keeping in mind my hair is exactly as Hermione's is described in the book. Memories of primary school have come flooding back, being called Hermione was better than the other nickname I can remember...

It was Wand Week when we visited so we got to see the ladies behind the wand designs make them, it was amazing to watch. I love the leaf detail on Hermione's wand but I also really like Luna Lovegood's wand but I think Hermione's suits me better.

Then I seen the plushies and of course I had to get one of the cats, I actually wanted Mrs Norris but they didn't have her, disappointing oversight. Anyway I love ginger cats so I wasn't disappointed getting Crookshanks I just knew I'd look like a Hermione fanatic but I was far from the only one I bet. I'd love to go back for pet week and meet the animal actors and their trainers.

Thank you for reading, oh the Slytherin scarf was given to me by a friend as I was sorted into Slytherin on Pottermore. Feel free to read into that.

Devon x

 

Vinyl Records and Sunshine

In my teenage years I collected quite a few 7" vinyl singles, now I only collect albums but after rooting through all my old singles I kinda wish I hadn't stopped. With Spotify now I barely collect any physical music these days, I like the convenience of having all my music in one place and not having to consider where to store it but there's something satisfying going through CDs or Records, looking at the artwork and reading the usually interesting notes from the artists.
I'll admit I'm not as into my music as I used to be, it's something that's calmed right down since my adolescence (along with my desire for famous men).

This is a collection of my more visually interesting records...

The Enemy, Sing When You're in Love, B side Here Comes the One (Live). Maximo Park, The Kids Are Sick Again, B side Tales of the semi-detached. The Cribs, Come on, be a No-one,B side Don't Believe in Me. Maximo Park, The Kids are Sick Again (acoustic), B side History Books. The Enemy, Sing When You're in Love, B side Don't Upset the Rhythm(Go Baby Go). (Top left to bottom right)

White Lies, Death (album version), B side Nothing to Give (M83 Remix). The Gaslight Anthem, The '59 Sound, B side State of Love and Trust (Live). The Cribs, Cheat on Me (Live), B side We Were Aborted (Live). Kele, Everything You Wanted, B side Down by the Heather. (Top left to bottom right)
Ellie Goulding, Starry Eyed. (centre)

Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Heads Will Roll, B side Heads Will Roll (Passion Pit Remix). 

Thank you for reading. 

Devon x

Pretty Books

I'm a bit shallow when it comes to book covers, I would buy all the pretty books if I had infinite funds; they would make the world's most attractive bookcase and I would sit smugly under it drinking fancy tea and thinking about how pretentious I have become in my old age. Of course a beautiful book is always best when it is a gift, which these are; Thomas has bought me them over the years. Some were Christmas presents and some he got me because I kept seeking them out in Waterstones.

I got this in the summer, Thomas wrote a message in the back because he's soppy and adorable. I have mixed feelings about The Hobbit and I don't think I'll get round to reading more Tolkien.

The Wizard of Oz was my favourite childhood book, I had an illustrated 
copy that I still cherish. This copy is the Penguin Threads edition and also includes The Emerald City of Oz and Glinda of Oz. Did I mention that the cover actually feels embroidered and the inside has the back of the threads? The pages are also uncut.

I think Yeats is probably my favourite poet and this is a fantastic collection of his life's work. I remember wanting this edition for a long time and then one Christmas I finally got it.

I never read To Kill A Mockingbird at school and I'm glad we didn't it would have ruined it for me. This is the 50th anniversary edition and it's just beautiful. My local Waterstones had a copy of it with a damaged back for months and then they didn't seem to be getting any more and I thought I'd missed my chance but then Thomas had been watching out for it online the whole time and surprised me with it, the secretive bastard (I hate surprises).

Thank you for reading, hopefully I'll procure more attractive books in the future.

Devon x

Awesom-O

After Thomas dropped the old laptop I used to use, he decided to buy a new one (I would have been hogging his tablet otherwise). As I will be using it for studies he wanted to get an Ultrabook, so I could actually manage to carry the thing. We got a Asus Vivobook S400CA and I have to say it's very sexy. I'll let you check the link for specifications, as much as Thomas has taught me about computer hardware I still can't remember what's in this particular beast, I think it has the Intel Core i3 processor and Thomas said something about this one having better graphics...

It comes with a touch screen, which personally I feel is unnecessary for a laptop; I'm never going to touch my screen and get it all covered in sticky finger prints.
The keyboard is very nice, having not used one with spaced out keys before I had to get used to it but that didn't take long at all. The whole thing just feels very nice and runs beautifully. 

I hate the track pad on this thing but I hate all track pads, I have had awkward experiences with them in the past and now our relationship is tarnished. So instead of trying to struggle on with it we got a mouse, it's a HP X4000 wireless mouse in ruby red. This mouse is also very sexy, fits my tiny hands perfectly and the usb dongle is tiny and sits snugly in its little slot for travel.

We were concerned we'd struggle to find a sleeve that would fit it nicely but also protect it somewhat but we ordered this anyway (PLEMO Bohemian Style Canvas Fabric 14 Inch)
and it's pretty snug.
I wanted something a bit less boring than one solid colour and I've seen this pattern everywhere.

It also has brown fuzzy lining inside that should help the laptop to stay looking pretty, it's so soft I'm petting it now.


Thank you for reading, oh the laptop is called Awesom-O, if the title seemed irrelevant.

Devon x

Burgers and Cats

This whole post is purely a cat appreciation post.

 

 

This is Quinn my friend Amy's kitty,I got distracted by the cat when we were making burgers, well watch Amy cook them really. We also ordered pizza that we got for free, we are fatties.

 

Amy and her "burger ladle" did a damn fine job, the cheese burgers were tasty. Also Quinn would only stay still if Amy held her, she wanted to terrorise the blackbirds outside instead of hanging with us.

Thank you for ready, it's terrible that my first cat appreciation post isn't of my own cat.

Devon x

Dinosaur Cookies!

I love dinosaurs and cookies, so when we got these cookie cutters from Amazon I was so excited to break out the baking stuff. The designs are pretty cute, although the T-rex looks pretty derpy; my favourite is the triceratops.

We made shortbread cookies because shortbread is damn tasty. It's also pretty easy to make. All you need is:

• 125g of butter 
• 55g of sugar
• 180g of plain flour

Mix the butter and sugar first until smooth (like you do for most baked goods) and then add the flour. We found that we had to add more flour for the dough/paste to be workable and keep it's dinosaur shape. You pop them in the oven for around 20 minutes until golden and then let them cool before decorating.

We had a lot of fun decorating these babies (I'm sure you can tell). They turned out great and it took no time at all to gobble them up. 

Thank you for reading, I'll probably be making these again some time soon.

Devon x

Getting My Plant On

Since I turned 22 I have been embracing my old ladyhood and Thomas is quite happy to join me in premature old age. I have become quite enamoured with growing green stuff. I got out my gardening gloves with my little shovel and cracked open some seeds.

I planted some rocket, basil and chives. I love rocket; I always feel disappointed if it isn't in a salad but now every salad can be a rocket party.

We also got some bean sprouts of which Thomas is running the show. They are hidden in a cupboard at the moment, growing their roots. I think they are odd little things bobbing about the jar and shedding their green skin.

Planting was easy, we picked up some pretty pastel green drainage pots from B&Q, I popped in the soil and sprinkled the seeds over the surface.I then covered the seeds with a thin layer of soil and ta da!

They live on the kitchen windowsill and the rocket is really starting to grow, the chives are starting to pop out of the soil but barely got going still. As for the basil it hasn't showed any sign of action yet but they might be getting busy under the soil.

Thank you for reading, I'll be reporting back when more green stuff shoots out of the dirt.

Devon x

Cooking Disaster

So I decided to creep on Thomas and his cooking, he was a bit shy but I talked him round. He was making stir-fry with spring onions, chicken with sesame seed oil and udon noodles.
It was going to be delicious, the smell was already incredible; I love east Asian food. Thomas learnt how to make ramen curry for me (I can't cook).

Thomas was ready to add the noodles when he noticed black bits on the chicken; black bits that looked like the non-stick from the wok. The very wok I had told him to stop cooking with because it was becoming "scruffy"...

We had to abandon the food, I almost wept, well that might be an exaggeration but I was so excited for dinner. 

The wok is now in the bin, cruel beast.

Since we had wasted time cooking and having nothing to show for it we were a bit naughty and ordered pizza. Thomas and I have a bit of a problem with Papa John's Pizza, we always order too much (as you will see). We didn't even just order pizza we got dessert too.

Chicken and Bacon 

I would like to stress that our flatmate also eat some, apart from the cinnamon roll pizza style, I eat all of that baby to myself...

Thank you for reading,

Devon x

Day Dreaming and Sugar Needs

Yesterday was a big day, so today I'm staying in and doing some writing. I have to be alone to write (too easily distracted) if someone else is home I have to pump music in some headphones to try and mask their existence. I always have my playlist playing anyway; I like the way music can change the mood of a scene I'm writing, usually for the better. Day dreaming is a big part of my "creative process"; imagining every scenario and finding which ones feel right, music really helps with this. I can also spy on what Thomas is listening to at work, bless you Spotify and your creeper features.

The only problem I have with writing at the moment is the damn chair. I think I need a special one made just for my awkward back, preferably one that reclines so I can also nap in it.

I also have to write near a window, not to spy on the neighbours (although people watching can be fun) but to keep me sane. Apparently the garden might be having a make over, if it does I'll be out there doing work every day the weather permits; which in England might not be that often.

This is important, I have a thing for juice cartons; miniatures are adorable to me, little mayonnaise jars, mini cheeses etc but Thomas brought back home these Rubicon babies and now I'm addicted. I haven't had Guava juice until now, they're exotic here, not that it's taking over the top spot, apple you can't be beat. Watermelon is another weakness, as is passion fruit; okay I have a bit of a juice problem. It's on my list of "addictions" with tea and cheese. 

I really need to work on my relationship with food.


In other news, my physiotherapy is going well; so well I don't even feel guilty for eating a massive pudding last night, I admit I couldn't finish it because I have the stomach of a field mouse.

"There's pie in there somewhere" Thomas.

 Thank you for reading, soon I'll be doing a book review, won't that be exciting? What if I mention that it's a book on "How we do it"?

Devon x