The New Pad!

Lancaster

I am thrilled to be in a house in town for my final year in Lancaster. After two years on campus (County South and Townhouses) I was really desperate to get out into the world and have a proper house to make my own. I'm living alone (looonnng story!) which isn't ideal, but I've got used to the fact and am going to use it as an excuse to have a permanent open house.

As I don't have a scary landlord to shout at me if I paint a room, I decided to go the whole hog and properly put my stamp on the house- I will be living there for a year after all. The

kitchen and bathroom are both modern anyway so there was little to do to jazz them up except put up some pictures, and of course add my spotty tea cosy clad teapot onto the kitchen worksurface. I also placed three little silver pails onto the windowsill to keep herbs in, and bought utensils in pastel colours to give the overall room a girly feel.

The front room had previously been used as a bedroom, so there wasn't much character to it. As there is a fireplace in there (albeit disconnected) I decided to make that wall a feature wall, so chose a wallpaper printed with large blue and green flowers. My leather sofa is navy blue so it all matches in well, and I also found a

rug from home that covered the slightly shabby carpet. A few candles and photos here and there, standard TV and DVD player, and it is now a homely living room.

The positive of no longer having a bedroom downstairs is that I can use the second reception room as a dining room. Again, I chose a feature wall, this time painting it a pale forest green, and bought a table and bookshelf in white for a direct contrast. Being a lover of Ikea, I chose two quirky fabric prints from there that were predominantly white and green, one to make a runner for the table, and the other for seat covers for my dining room chairs. My mum made me some green curtains, with tie backs in the same material as the seatcovers, and a

vertical mirror turned horizontally made a good focal point on the green wall. In the hallway I have a carpet runner in beige with little sunbursts along the edges, and up the stairs I have put three vintage Disney posters (The Jungle Book, Aristocats and Alice in Wonderland) just to add a little something extra to the bare walls.

For my bedroom, I wanted somewhere to properly relax, and so chose pale brown and duck egg blue as the two main colours. I painted one wall brown and left the other three in cream, and got a blue bedspread with brown detailing. The furniture in there is pale beech wood, so it all tones in well, and a couple of scatter cushions on the bed give it a comfortable feel. The second bedroom upstairs I am using as a dressing room/ office, so I have put up lots of pictures and adverts to make it look pretty and inspiring when I am working.

Over summer I decided to get a pet rabbit once I moved in, so with the house all finished that was all that was left to be done. My grandpa made me a hutch that fits neatly down an alley in the kitchen, and so once that was in place I popped off to buy one. I came home with a grey girl bunny who I have named Saffy. She is left to hop around the house when I am in, and is settling in nicely already!

Autumn Reads...

Stolen by Lesley Pearse- 2 stars **

This book was lent to me by my mum's friend who thought I would enjoy it, so I had no idea what to expect. I'd never heard of the author, despite the inside cover boasting pictures of twelve of her previous books (which all seemed strikingly similar), but I started reading it with an open mind.

I'll be honest, the first few chapters didn't blow me away. The writing was in a chick lit style, referring to all men by how 'gorgeous' they were, and the initial set up described a group of people working together harmoniously in a hotel in the middle of the countryside. Very cliched. I persevered however as, like I said, I was keeping an open mind.

The main plot revolves around a girl who is found washed up on a beach, with no recollection of her previous life. After it is discovered that she has recently given birth, an appeal appears in the local newspapers for any information about her. Dale and Scott, two of the workers at the hotel recognise the woman as their friend Lotte who used to work with them on a cruise ship, and so begins a mission to help her to remember her past.

There are parts of the story that do have you gripped as to what will happen next, and the 'baddies' in the story are quite cleverly crafted; overall though, this wasn't a book I would rush out to buy the sequel to. It would be great as a holiday read, as it doesn't take up much concentration to understand, and the idea behind the writing is quite an intriguing one.

Homemade Recipes!

The Cheshire Cat and Aliens

It was my boyfriend's 21st party yesterday, and seen as I was lucky enough to have LOTS of amazingly constructed cakes when I was younger, I decided to follow in my mother's footsteps and make a special one for him (with a fair bit of her help). I searched and searched online for inspiration, passing some off as too difficult (Woody from Toy Story) or too simple (a caterpillar cake) and finally settled on doing the Cheshire Cat from Alice In Wonderland.

I found a picture online, and made a template out of paper, so that once I'd baked the two cakes (vanilla madeira sponge- it lasts longer) I could cut the shape out by placing the template on top. I chose to sandwich them together with jam and buttercream, but if you wanted to make a chocolate cake you could use chocolate spread, or lemon curd if you wanted to make a traditional citrus madeira cake.

I cheated slightly and bought some pre-rolled royal icing, and after putting a bit more buttercream on the top of the cake to act as glue, I placed the icing on top, and moulded it into shape using my fingers, and a bit of water to stick bits together. I'd bought some black icing gel to do the outlines, so I drew the tail on first as it seemed the easiest place to start. I then had the task of trying to make the right shades of pink and purple for the stripes. I only had pink (which was basically red anyway) and blue food colouring, so with great difficulty I reached a colour I thought looked at least slightly purple, even if it wasn't exactly right.

I then painted in the stripes using two thin paintbrushes. I decided to do the face next rather than painting the whole body first, so i moulded some pink food colouring into some more royal icing to make the inside of the ears, the paw and the section around the mouth. I cut two circles for the eyes and stuck them on with buttercream and then iced the pupils, nose and whiskers on with the black gel.

The next bit was a bit of a guessing game. I painted the stripes in one by one, basically stopping once I thought they looked thick enough. The end result looked good though, so at least it worked! The final thing I did was to outline all the stripes with black icing. It made the colour look a lot brighter, and also clearly defined the stripes.

I was really happy with the end product, as was my boyfriend. I also made some little cupcakes that looked like the Toy Story aliens to go with it, simple fairy buns with green icing and white chocolate buttons for eyes. I snipped up some green Haribo sweets to make little ears for them, and after a fruitless search for green laces to use as their antennae, I improvised with spaghetti dyed green with food colouring!

Autumn Sounds...

Hands All Over by Maroon 5

When I first heard Maroon 5 had a new album coming out, I was straight on to Play.com to order my copy. Aside from having a huge crush on Adam Levine, I think their previous two albums were really good, and since seeing them live in November 2007 they have remained a firm favourite on my Ipod.

Hands All Over took a few listens initially before I got into it, but now I can't get enough of it! It's been in my car for the past four days and will remain there for some time. The first track is their latest release 'Misery' which is catchy and fun, and sounds as far from misery as possible. Levine's voice is pitch perfect as usual, and the band seem to work together harmoniously for a brilliant outcome. The album was produced by Robert 'Mutt' Lange, who has previously worked with AC/DC, Bryan Adams, Nickelback and The Boomtown Rats, and his expertise is apparent throughout the whole album, as it has been constructed and edited with great results.

My favourite song is the third track on the album, 'Stutter'. It sticks in your head for days (though whether that's a good thing..) and has a great beat for bopping around to. There is also the added comedy of the chorus literally sounding like someone stuttering! After previously mentioning this being in my car, I would like to add that the whole album is great to listen to while driving, or popping on the MP3 to take for a run at the gym. The CD cover looks edgy on the shelf too.

With it being the band's third album, it is at this point that a lot of artists run out of steam and their material begins to sound like carbon copies of previous work. Thus far, Maroon 5 have managed to steer clear of this, with each album having quite a different sound. Their debut, Songs About Jane is still, I feel, their strongest, as you can tell it was them experimenting with what image and sound they wanted. It Won't Be Song Before Long emerged five years later with a more mature feel, and slightly more risque lyrics. Hands All Over seems to be a return to their original material, but with sleeker results. Levine's vocals are not quite as high pitched and Prince like, and the instrumentals have more power and emotion behind them now. I love that they've done a cover of Queen's 'Crazy Little Thing Called Love' as the final album track as well, it means it ends on a high, and shows the band are still having fun while making music. Hopefully it won't take them another five years to bring out their next record, as I'm curious as to which direction they are headed next.

Autumn Views...

Cyrus- 2 stars **

The decision to see this film was pretty spur of the moment, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World wasn't yet playing and the previous night I'd seen part of the advert for Cyrus and it looked good enough. I had no idea about the storyline, but I knew that John C Reilly and Jonah Hill were both in it, and having enjoyed previous films that they had performed in (notably Superbad and Stepbrothers), I thought I'd give it a go.

The plot was pretty basic, John (Reilly) is a single guy with little luck in the romance department. After hearing that his ex-wife is getting remarried, he reluctantly goes to a party with the couple in the hope of meeting someone. He happens to meet Molly, an attractive middle-aged woman who seems to tick all the boxes. That is until John learns that she has a twenty-one year old son (Hill), with whom she shares a very unique relationship.

I think that this film was good, but not amazing. The plot seemed more like a by-line to a main story rather than a standalone one, as there wasn't much action, and the ending was very abrupt! Even though marketed as a comedy, I don't think it is quite there; there were quite a few funny bits (not the usual slapstick or wordplay as would be expected of these actors) but it wasn't a laugh-a-minute affair. I thought it was a little self-indulgent, as it seems to be Jonah Hill's 'proving I can do a serious role' film similar to the catastrophe that was Funny People for Seth Rogan and Adam Sandler.

There were good aspects to this film though. The acting was of a high standard, and the emotions displayed were raw and convincing. Despite it being a scenario that not many people would be able to relate to, you could understand why certain characters were reacting as they did and empathise with the situation. The on-screen chemistry between the main trio was evident in all of the scenes that they were in together, and the mother/ son relationship was flawlessly executed. Marisa Tomei who plays Molly is definately one to watch in the future, you may have seen her previously in Wild Hogs and The Wrestler, both of which were commendable performances; and her costumes for Cyrus were awesome!

Not one that I would rush out to buy on DVD, but if it's on Film4 at some point, I'd give it another watch.

Autumn Reads...

We Were The Mulvaneys by Joyce Carol Oates- 5 stars *****

This was my final holiday book, and my favourite. It is an intense read that really plays with the emotions, both good and bad. It begins by describing the Mulvaneys; a perfect American family, wealthy, well respected, living in the countryside with a big farm and a seemingly happy outlook on life. After the Mulvaney's only daughter, Marianne, is raped on her prom night, everything changes, and the book proceeds by showing the awful breakdown of their family life as it once was.

The tale is told through the eyes of Judd, the youngest child, looking back upon his life as an adult. His perspective provides a really interesting take on the story as a whole, as he describes how each family member gradually self destructs trying to pretend as if nothing has happened.

Oates has a way of writing that is unbelievably real, as though each and every character, no matter how minor, is a real person. An example is when she describes Patrick Mulvaney's first experience of a rock concert; 'The lead singer Traumeri was alarmingly emaciated, his chest sickly-pale, virtually concave, covered in an oily film. His bony-pouty face was made up pasty-white, his thick lips crimson, druggy-glassy eyes outlined in black mascara; his dyed black hair, braided in long dreadlocks, flew about his head as he threw himself about the stage with the manic abandon of an epilectic in a seizure.' Traumeri never appears again, yet you can tell that she has clearly constructed him in her head, and this is apparent for all of her characters. It helps to make the whole novel hugely convincing, and because of this it is much more hard-hitting to read when the plot develops.

I honestly loved reading this book, and couldn't recommend it highly enough. It depicts an idealistic picture of family life which makes it heartbreaking to continue reading when it starts to go pearshaped. Though each Mulvaney is drastically different, they all have points in the story where you can relate to how they are feeling, and despite the seemingly happy ending, it leaves you slightly tinged with sorrow that things can't always stay the same.

Autumn Reads...

A Wild Sheep Chase by Haruki Murakami- 3 stars ***

I am a huge fan of Haruki Murakami, and this is the seventh of his books I have read. A Wild Sheep Chase is actually the third part in 'Trilogy of the Rat' but despite having not read the first two instalments, it seemed to make perfect sense on its own.

I always find Murakami's stories are quite patchy, but not necessarily in a bad way, and this book was no exception. It jumps around quite a lot and focuses on descriptions rather than plot, and also finishes quite abruptly. However all the questions are answered, and the language used as ever was beautifully crafted and a pleasure to read. An example is 'His face was even harder to figure. It was a straightforward face, but expressionless, a blank slate. His nose and eyes were angular, as if scored with a paper knife in afterthought, his lips bloodless and thin. He was lightly tanned, though clearly not from the pleasures of the beach or the tennis court. That tan could only have been the result of some unknown sun shining in some unknown sky.'

The plot was unusual but interesting. It follows the journey of an unnamed man who after publishing a photo with his P.R firm, gets roped into a hunt for a sheep in the picture with a bizarre star on its back. In the space of one month he has to find the sheep, which could be anywhere in Japan, otherwise his company will be dissolved and his business partner left with no livelihood. Along the way he meets a woman with ears that people can't help but look at, and a man who dresses in a full woollen sheep outfit and wanders about the hills.

This is not one of my favourites of Murakami; I have to admit, but it still retains the charm and often humour of his books. An example of such is, 'But then some joker of an architect came along to attach another wing of the same style and colour scheme onto the right side of the original structure. The intention wasn't bad, but the effect was unpalatable. Like serving sherbet and broccoli on the same silver platter.'

I would recommend this book, but only to people with a very open mind, or those who are familiar with the author's work. I would say that if a regular John Doe were to pick it up, it would seem over the top and pointless, and it is a shame to be put off an really good novelist simply by misunderstanding the intentions behind the story. Try Norwegian Wood or The Wind-up Bird Chronicle first.

Traveller's Tales...

Water Planet Park, Side

Towards the end of our holiday we wanted to do something other than sit by the pool or bask on the beach, so we decided to go on a trip to the local waterpark, Water Planet in Alanya. It took us about 40 minutes on a coach from our apartment and despite an early start, once we arrived we were all raring to get shooting down some slides!

We put all of our things into the lockers (which were free of charge) then headed to the nearest slide, a large yellow U shape where you were literally thrown off the edge in a rubber ring! It was a great start to our trip, and one that we returned to at various points throughout the day. We then proceeded over to the largest group of slides in the park. There was a very extreme white slide that I went on just the once after being in considerable pain afterwards; two good slides that were a bit more mundane, and a set of 4 'racing slides' that were great fun for us all to go down together. We were given some rather bizarre nappy type contraptions to sit on that I presume performed the same function as the mats on helter skelter slides.

We then went on the 'Lazy River', or so we thought. One of the slides in the park that you could go on in two people rings, it was very twisty, so much so that we fell out on the first go! On closer inspection we realised that it was actually called the 'Crazy River' which could have explained the mishap! Probably my favourite slide in the park was a very large white and red chute, again a twosome affair. It was really wide so that you could build up considerable speed, and between the four of us we tried lots of combinations to create the best effect! For people who are not adrenaline junkies, there was a normal pool that had waves put through it twice a day, and had a nice waterfall to sit under.

We paused for a while for lunch which was rather expensive, but then it's to be expected of a place that wouldn't let you take any of your own food or drink in (even water). They had a strange card system where you put money onto a plastic card, and then used that to purchase anything in the park, and then claimed back the remainder of the money at the end of the day. It seemed clever in the beginning, until we realised the station to put or claim back the money was right next to the restaurant; so why not just use cash?!

We all had a fabulous day and for what worked out at about £20 including transport there and back, you can't really complain!

Autumn Reads...

Miss Garnet's Angel by Salley Vickers- 4 stars ****

This book was a good holiday read, as it had an intriguing plot, but wasn't really complicated and the characters were relateable. It tells the story of Julia Garnet, a middleaged woman who moves to Venice after her best friend and roommate Harriet dies. Having been a very solitary creature throughout her life, Julia learns about love the hard way, and experiences for the first time what it is like to have friends and a social life.

What sets this book aside are the religious aspects to it. After meeting a pair of twins restoring a chapel dedicated to the Archargel Raphael, Julia, a stout communist, undergoes a change of heart and becomes fascinated with the story of Tobias from the Apocrypha, a collection of Jewish scriptures. Her attitude to religion at the beginning of the book is very apparent, 'It might be a relief to confess her faults but she certainly did not want to confess them to an ugly puppety man in a coffin-like box. She sat on the column base in the golden gloom amid the hushed shuffle and the sense of her despair and loss and her own ultimate irrelevance.'

Salley Vickers very cleverly links the two stories together, by each chapter being split into halves; the first being seen through Miss Garnets' eyes, and the latter half telling of the journey that Tobias took in the words of his father Tobit. Not being overly familiar with religious stories, I enjoyed learning something new from reading this novel and especially liked the modern twist that the tale was given. As it all clicked together at the end, as a reader I became aware of hints throughout that had all pointed to the conclusion that became apparent upon finishing the book. I particularly liked the character of the Monsignore, who helps Julia to understand things about herself when she doesn't know where to turn, as well as confessing some secrets of his own. I enjoyed his quote about matters of the heart: 'The heart is a breeder of embarrassment. But we are all of us imbeciles in that area, that you can rely on. We all at times put up our hands before our cheeks in shame'

The descriptions of the scenery really made you feel as though you could see through Julias' eyes, 'the two stone wellheads; the unpromising- looking trattoria, where the fish was some of the best in Venice... the balconies with their humble adornments of washing and geraniums. And presiding over it all, the dignified, crumbling presence of the chiesa.'

I would recommend Miss Garnet's Angel to anyone who has a bit of time to spare (it is nearly 400 pages long!) and wants a challenging read that depicts a beautiful image of life in the Italian city of Venice, as well as an unusual take on a biblical fable.

Autumn Reads...

Choke by Chuck Palanuik- 4 stars ****

I picked this book up in Fopp! on a whim as I enjoyed the film 'Fight Club' and thought I would sample something by the same author before reading the popular book from which the film originated.

The story follows Victor Mancini, a troubled middle aged man whose mother ruined much of his childhood with her penchant for strange crimes (such as swapping all the dye bottles around in different hair dyes) and her general craziness. This has obviously had an effect on Victor as a man, as he goes to sex addict meetings to pick up women, and fakes choking on his food every night in different restaurants so that his saviours send him money on a regular basis. His mother now ill in hospital, he visits her often, hoping to uncover the truth about his father and discover the secrets of her diary, which is written entirely in Italian.

Despite training to be a doctor, Victor works in a historical museum, where fellow employees are punished for being historically innacurate in their roles, meaning the secret smoking of cannabis in the 'blacksmiths' and debauchery in the barn is not uncommon!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, although it is literally miles away from my normal reads (especially holiday ones!). Mancini's character is very bizarre but because the author justifies all of his actions, you actually start to understand how he behaves as he does. It is written in a very obvious narrative structure, so it feels as though the lead character is speaking directly to you, and the final twist in the plot was totally unexpected. Victor has quite a dark outlook on life, as can be seen when he says: 

'We live and we die and anything else is just delusion. It's just passive chick bullshit about feelings and sensitivity. Just made-up subjective emotional crap. There is no soul. There is no God. There's just decisions and disease and death.'

A cautionary word though; the book is very sexually explicit, so steer clear if you blush easily!

Traveller's Tales...

Side, Turkey

The blog is looking rather sparse of late, due to my holiday to Side in Turkey which is (unfortunately) now over. Now I am back on English turf, I will continue to blabber on thrice weekly as before!

Side (said see-day) is a sizable holiday resort about a 40 minute drive away from Antalya airport. I went on holiday there last year with my family and had a lovely time, so decided to return there this year with my boyfriend, my best friend (whose parents own the apartment we stayed in) and her boyfriend. The apartment we stayed in is part of the Side Hills II complex, which is a modern collection of residences a 20 minute walk away from the main tourist area. We had access to a communal pool, scenic views of the mountains and a well equipped three bedroom apartment for the twelve days that we were away for.

Side itself is an eclectic mix of old and new, where ancient ruins appear out of nowhere next to elegant restaurants and bustling bars. At the entrance to the main area is a huge archway surrounded by an old amphitheatre, bathhouse and temple that provide a great backdrop for holiday snaps, as well as a good helping of history for those who like to learn something new whilst being away from home.

We cooked in the apartment on a few of the nights, but we often ate out in the restaurants, a number of which I was very impressed with. In particular on one of the last nights my boyfriend and I ate in Tropic Bistro which was along a new promenade built this year. As well as the traditional Pide bread served at the start of the meal, we both had starters (I had some gorgeous garlic mushrooms) and then shared a Testi kebab, a local speciality where the dish is cooked all day in a clay pot, that is then brought to the table and smashed in front of you before the meal is served. We had the beef version, and it was delicious, the meat was beautifully tender having been bubbling all day, and the side orders were enough to feed an army!

The main street is filled with shops and bars, where owners try and grab you to buy their wares, whether it is turkish delight, shisha pipes or fresh spices and herbs which all look wonderful on display. As in a lot of places abroad, if you haggle you often get a good deal, especially on the fake designer goods such as watches and sunglasses some of which are quite convincing copies!

Dolphin Beach, the nearest beach to where we were is very nice, and a lot of the beach bars offer free sunbeds and a bus service back to your hotel/ apartment if you buy a few drinks or eat there during the day which we found to be a very good deal. The waves were quite rough on certain days when we were there which was fun, and there are rockier areas around the edges of the bay that provide good spots for snorkelling or diving. As well as just sunbathing and messing in the sea, there are lots of watersports available, from parasailing to jetskiing, and they seemed to be competitively priced from what we saw.

We didn't do a lot whilst we were there except relax and read, although on one day we went on a trip to the waterpark which was great fun (posts on books and the waterpark to follow!). I would definately go back again, as there is so much to do in Side, even a third time there and I don't think I would be scratching the surface! A lovely holiday destination that I would recommend to anyone wanting a relaxing break in the very hot sun!