Reading Challenge 2013, Update #1 (January - March)

 After a successful, easy year with last year's reading challenge, I've had a bit of a shaky start this year; With all the family stuff that happened at the beginning of the year, trashy TV became a better escape than reading a book, but I'm slowly getting back into books and working my way through the huge pile on my bookshelf. 

My biggest goal after last year was to try to read a few more classics and dramatic novels. Like films, I tend to gravitate towards contemporary novels or something that will make me giggle; As someone who cries at the drop of a hat, I'm never really enthused to read something I know will make me sad. Nevertheless, I think I'm doing reasonably well towards that particular goal with a couple of classics and a Murakami.

  

January

1. The Marriage Plot by Jeffrey Eugenides.

Beginning at Brown University in the early 80's, The Marriage Plot follows English student Madeleine Hanna, who is writing her thesis on the authors of the great marriage plots (Austen and Eliot); whilst also dealing with her own conflicting romantic plots; Scientist and charismatic loner Leonard Bankhead and theology student Mitchell Grammaticus. 

I was so excited to read this, I'd heard nothing but good things about it from friends and it sounded like my kind of book. I was however a bit disappointed. It's a complete literary geek's type of romance (or romantic) novel - with Madeleine being a self professed Austen geek and both male lead characters bonding with her over books and philosophical discussions - but I just didn't really like the characters, particularly main character Madeleine. I found myself speeding up my reading in order to get to the only character I liked, Mitchell, but even his character felt a little bogged down by his various theological interests and epiphanies. 

In all it was quite disappointing, not at all helped by the ending which I found a little anti-climatic and a bit of a cop-out really. I do however want to try and revisit it at a later date, I just have a feeling that it's one of those books that gets better with a few more reads.

“She wanted a book to take her places she couldn't get to herself.”

(more after the jump)

Details in the Fabric #7 - Bejewelled

1. Striped Top, Next. Lace Shorts, Miss Selfridge (similar). Heart Bracelet, River Island.
2. Denim Shirt, Next. Necklace, Rio Sheffield
3. Ring, Next. Cardigan, Florence + Fred. Blanket, Anieke. 'Fluro Orange' Nail Polish, Models Own.
I'm not really a big wearer of jewellery, the only pieces that I wear on a daily basis are the earrings in my second ear piercing (which screw in) and my nose ring, both of which never get taken out because it's too much bother. If I do wear noticeable jewellery, I tend to favour chunky door-knocker earrings over anything else. Lately, however I've been experimenting with pieces I wouldn't normally wear - chunky rings, single strand bracelets and statement necklaces, I even wore a brooch today!

Other Bejewelled Bits

• Gorgeous Etsy Finds - Chunky Bib Necklace by simply adoravel; Tiny Pretzel Necklace by bk and jo; Gold Bunny Ears Ring by Hide n Seek; Crap Necklace by Piano Bench Designs.
• I'm not really a Katy Perry fan, but she was fabulously bejewelled at the Met Gala in Dolce & Gabbana. I want a crown!
• This DIY for Spike End Bangles on Chic Steals and this DIY for a Jewellery Holder on a Pair and a Spare.

Bloglovin'/Twitter/Tumblr/pinterest

Making a Spectacle of Myself

I feel a bit of a fraud getting all excited about the weather, when right this second I'm sat in the darkest corner of my bedroom with my computer; It really has been gorgeous though. The weather has given me the opportunity to wear my vast maxi dress/skirt collection and of course take a few pictures of my new glasses, as promised. 

1. Makeshift glasses rack to show off the cases they came in. 2. 'Nancy' Glasses by London Retro, Glasses Direct 3. 'East' Glasses by Scout Eyewear, Glasses Direct 4. Maxi Dress, Next (picked up for £3 in a charity shop). Shoes, Tesco.
The minute they arrived I showed them to the only person who was home, my younger sister, who told me that they looked exactly the same as both of my old pairs. Even if they do, I am in love with both. After being a little bit scared of the idea of buying glasses online, I settled with Glasses Direct on the advice of my friend Alex who had previously bought glasses from the site - the BOGOF offer might have also swayed me a little (as well as the discount offer they had at the time). It's only been a week, but I'm pretty pleased with them; Glasses Direct kept me updated throughout the process and they arrived in one piece, so yeah, happy! It's a little odd having two pairs of glasses, it hasn't helped getting dressed in the morning at all, I really shouldn't be given a choice with these things. Deciding which pair best matches my outfit has added about 15 minutes to my morning ritual!

Bloglovin'/Twitter/Tumblr/pinterest

Recently, I Have Mostly...

I've kept my head down a little on the social networking side of things, not for any particular reason other than I haven't had much to tell. I've been working on a couple of work related projects, so have been giving them all my focus. As a result it's a bit of a subdued 'Recently' post, but still a few interesting tidbits, I hope!

• I've had lots of lovely messages about my broken glasses post. It definitely made having to wear a battered pair of glasses a lot easier. I finally have a couple of lovely pairs, which I'll take pictures of very soon!

• I'm tentatively trying to get back into some form of exercise. I'm not the type to enthuse about running or regular gym visits, nor do I exercise to lose weight. I do however love feeling healthy, energised and strong. If I had an exercise goal it would be closer to being able to pull a bus, not to achieve a thigh gap. 

• My mood is currently being determined by whether there is a new episode of Nashville to watch. I am so addicted to this show; At first I thought it would be trashy TV, but it is so good! Lots of intrigue, drama, romance, big hair and country music. I also really love how female centred the show is. If you aren't watching it, you should be (if only so you can talk to me about it) - Thursdays, 10pm on More4.

• I'm still getting my trashy TV fix from the newly launched TLC channel. I know people are really into Honey Boo Boo and Say Yes To The Dress (the latter of which got me through a terrible cold), but I am addicted to Breaking Amish. It may be because we don't have them here, but I'm obsessed with the Amish, it's kind of funny how quickly they start drinking/swearing/pole dancing the minute they leave their community.

• I went fabric shopping with my mum and got a bit excited buying jersey to make lots of basic jersey dresses for this warm weather. I'm a big fan of Cotton & Curls' tutorials and the maxi dresses/skirts are high on my to-do list.

• New favourite Tumblr, to end all new favourite Tumblrs - Betty Draper Looking Pissed (as seen in the top image). Similarly, how are we finding the new series of Mad Men? I'm loving Trudy Campbell at the moment. Hating Harry Crane and how much he's making Pete Campbell look halfway decent. Also if you aren't aware of Tom & Lorenzo's Mad Style recaps, I implore you to go read them!

• I'm definitely due a bigger Reading Challenge post, I'm currently on my sixth book of the challenge. I just really wanted to announce, yes announce, that after many years of not reading and expecting to hate The Great Gatsby, I absolutely adored it (made even more lovely by imagining Leo Dicaprio as Gatsby). I am so ready for the film, and more importantly the ballet on the May 18th, with Terri-Jane!

• Musically I just downloaded Iggy Azalea's free mixtape Trap Gold, which came out last year, and I didn't even know existed. I also still have Lianne La Havas and Urban Noize on repeat.

• The last time I was in Sheffield my mum and I paid a visit to Seven Hills Bakery and the bread was so good that we went back about 30 minutes later. It's on Sharrowvale Road, so if you are nearby (or on the adjacent Ecclesall Road) definitely drop by. I lived on a road just off Sharrowvale in my second year of uni, so am incredibly bitter about all the amazing shops that have opened along Sharrowvale since I left!

• Finally, a bit of housekeeping. As most people know Google Reader/Friend Connect is on the outs and Hello Cotton is no more; I have also deleted my Facebook account (blog and personal). I won't tell you where you should be following me, because that's up to you, but you can follow me on Bloglovin' if that's what you use; I quite like Feedly's interface, so have been using that quite a lot. If you don't mind regular bouts of nonsense amidst your blog updates you can follow me on Twitter; For carefully curated  interesting things follow me on Pinterest  and for the internet equivalent of blurting out whatever is on my mind, you can follow me on Tumblr. 

Hope you have a great first weekend of May, and Happy first May Bank Holiday fellow UK people!

My Style Icons: An Unreal Continuation - Jessa Johansson (Girls HBO)

My Style Icons: An Unreal Continuation

Part V: Jessa Johansson

(Girls - tv series)

There can't be many people out there who aren't aware of HBO's Girls, starring, written and directed by Lena Dunham; The show has probably courted equal amounts of controversy and praise. 

Girls follows a group of four friends in their early twenties, living in New York; Hannah Horvath (Lena Dunham), an aspiring writer, trying to support herself since being 'cut off' by her parents. Marnie Michaels (Alison Williams), Hannah's best friend and the incredibly goal driven and organised member of the group. Shoshanna Shapiro (Zosia Mamet), a college student who is the girls' slightly younger, naive friend. Finally, Jessa Johansson (Jemima Kirke) - Shoshana's maternal cousin - who sees herself as a worldly and knowledgeable traveller, a 'free spirit', but is also a little bit flaky.

If I'm completely honest, Jessa is my least favourite character. Her free-spirited, hippie-ness always seems incredibly forced, like she's a lot more conscious of the person she's trying to be, rather than the person she actually is (Not a criticism of the show, but a testament to Dunham's writing/Kirke's acting). However, whether she's an actual free-spirit or if she's trying to be one, the free-spiritedness is unquestionable in the way she dresses; floaty fabrics, large prints, chunky jewellery and Rapunzel-esque hair. Usually Stevie Nicks witchy vibes, whilst the odd high fashion piece betrays her privileged background.