Tuesday 18 February 2014

Chapter 33: The Proposal

I think you can all guess what I'm going to write about this week judging by the title - wedding proposals! I am happy to announce that my sister got engaged last Friday on Valentines day in the city of lurrrrre (Paris if you didn't guess). Could there be a more perfect engagement? I knew that my future brother-in-law was going to propose way back in November and I'm not going to lie, it was the biggest kept secret I've ever had! But it was worth the wait. Of course I would have never told my sister, but keeping it from the rest of my family was very hard. If anyone knows how rubbish I am at keeping secrets, it's Mammy. I spoke to my Mammy about absolutely everything and still do to be honest. It was almost like she gave me the strength to hold it in because in the long run, it would be worth it to see the joy on everyone's faces. I just want to take the time to congratulate Esther & Adam on their engagement! They're an amazing couple and are perfect for each other! I wish them all the happiness in the world for their future :) <3 xxx.

Ladies, I don't know about yourselves or whether you have ever been in this situation, but have you ever booked a holiday with a partner and all of your friends go, "Oooh, you think he'll pop the question???" To which you are like, "Errr, I dunno? Maybe? Maybe not?" THEN you can't help but think after, "Oh my gosh, will he or won't he?" And when he doesn't you're disappointed to shit. Please note... this has NEVER happened to me, but I have known it happen to others. Couples have been together for years, friends or family plant ideas in their heads that MAYBE it will happen when you go away or at a big event and then it doesn't happen. You know what I blame? Movies. Like EVERY single fecking romantic film out there. Women watch these no matter if they are single, in a relationship and dragging their partner to the cinema to see it, feeling happy, bitter towards an ex or just simply hopeful that this will actually happen in real life. Unfortunately, most people think these story lines ACTUALLY happen. I'm just going to tell you all now... THEY DON'T (I'm sorry). The truth of the matter is (and as cheesy as this is going to sound), we all make our own love stories... altogether now! "AHHHHH!"

Any couple you ask about 'how they met?' is going to sound nice to everyone else. Fact. It can be anything. It could be something like, "Well! He used to tease me in school and then he asked me out on a night out and we just hit it off!" - AHHHHH! "Well we met through a mutual friend, we then became best friends and discovered we loved each other!" -  AHHHHH! "He threw a pile of dog shit on me and then felt bad and cleaned it off me!" - AHHHHH! (Last one is a joke and not based on true events).

The best example of this can be taken from the classic Romantic Comedy, When Harry Met Sally (1989). Now, I know I blame women's perfect notions of love on romantic films, but this has to be the best romantic story line ever. Romeo & Juliet have nothing on Harry & Sally - nothing! This is the story of two people who meet unwillingly when Sally has to drop her best friends boyfriend, Harry, home after the end of College. Sally discovers Harry is NOT her type of man on the very LONG car journey home and when they part ways, it's not forever. They then meet unexpectedly years later when they both move to New York. Both having multiple partners over the years they then discover that they are in fact in love with each other. They are quite the opposites though; Sally is a strong woman, who isn't particularly confident in herself, but is sure of what she wants - even down to her food order. Harry on the other hand is extremely laid back, a complete womaniser (due to his failed marriage) who sleeps with women on the first date, dumps them and doesn't give a shit about what he says and how he says it. Throughout the film, there are short intervals about couples who have been together for years and the stories of how they met. Each of them are VERY different, but will be sure to make you "coo" at the end of each one. Check it out here.

I think every woman has an idea in their own heads of how they would want to be proposed. Some woman aren't even sure if they want marriage but like the idea of being proposed to and some woman would get married more than once whether that be renewing their vows or meeting someone else. The fact is, it doesn't matter how it happens, or how you met, what history you have - when the person you love and see spending the rest of your life with them proposes to you, you're going to say yes. You could experience love at first sight or have a very prolonged awakening of who it is you want to spend your life with - love is love. It is the strongest emotion you will ever experience and EVERYONE experiences it.

Look at me babbling soppy shit? I know. Here's some funny images that made me laugh hard on Valentines day:







You know I love to hear your stories, especially if you have ever been proposed to ladies. Fire away at me at the usual places on here, Facebook or Twitter.

I'm going to dedicate this song to my sister and future brother-in-law! Massive congratulations again to the beautiful couple! Here's Clean Bandit Featuring Jess Glynne with Rather Be. Love you guys xxx.

Enjoy!
T. x

P.S. If you've never seen When Harry Met Sally before, this scene will be sure to have you out buying the DVD tomorrow.




Tuesday 11 February 2014

Chapter 32: I Was Dreaming When I Wrote This...

Holllllaaaa. Hope you're all doing well and have had a great week :). This week I'm going to be talking about music... a subject I'm probably the least confident with as the years have gone by. I feel I have quite an eclectic taste in music...

I first go into it when I was 10... Me and my friend would meet up in Walsall most weekend and by a new single from HMV. Crazy to think that's what people used to do (or was that just me?). You're probably thinking, 'What the? You used to fetch a bus into Walsall to buy a single?!' Yes people, I had a Walkman... and let's remember I was 10 and back then I would have had to have been pretty loaded to buy an album! It all started with Bewitched... my FAVOURITE girl band and I'm not ashamed to admit that if a Bewitched song came on in a club today, I'm pretty sure I'd get up, Irish Dance and sing the lyrics... word for word. A few years on I got into more RnB and Hip Hop ('cause I was well gangsta). TLC then became my new favourite girl band. I'm not gonna lie, I still love them. 'No Scrubs' came on the Radio the other day and I surprised myself that I knew all the lyrics still... EVEN Lisa 'Left Eye' Lopez's rapping bit. I'm not gonna sit here and tell you I didn't memorise raps, because I did and I still do, ha! I loved Ja Rule as well and my sister will occasionally take this piss and say, "Remember when you used to be a Chav and be proper into Hip Hop and gangster music?" Err to this day I still don't see that as Chavvy, I still like it... ha! My sisters loved the like of Celine Dion and Mariah Carey growing and I remember they used to drive me mental when i got ready for school as they would listen to one song over and over and over again. One was Celine Dion, Think Twice. My sister should have bloody thought twice before playing that repeatedly as I would have sooner listened to Slipknot - might have got me out of bed a bit faster!

When I hit 15, I started getting into Indie and Rock music. I listened to The Verve and Red Hot Chili Peppers were among my favourites. I then got into Blur, Oasis and The Stone Roses which then ignited my passion for learning the guitar. Granted, I was shit. But I still loved it. My first proper concert was The White Stripes and to this day I'm a devout fan. I don't care what people say about the fact they probably need a Bassist. In my opinion, they don't. They do well with what they have and are still one of the best live bands I've ever seen. However, hearing the news that Tilda Swinton has replaced Meg White was very disappointing as I've never rated her as an actress (she's a weirdo) and no one can replace Meg!

I listened to Radio 1 yesterday and Grimmy was talking about how he seen Prince on Sunday night - what a dream! Prince has to be on of the most iconic artists in the music industry that you would love to be able to say, "I seen him live". Grimmy beamed about how amazing he was and how he was a real entertainer. Luckily, I got to see Oasis before they split at the Ricoh Arena and they are definitely a band I'm happy to say I've seen! Back in 2012 I was delighted to hear the The Cure were headlining at Reading Festival and immediately bought tickets. They were the only reason (next to the Foo's) that I wanted to go. The Cure singing 'Friday I'm In Love' on a Friday? This was too good! Reading came and I got so excited to see them only to have a massive fucking disappointment... BARELY any interaction with the crowd and were one of the worst bands I'd ever seen live. SO bad, that I sat on the floor and fell asleep for about 15 minutes... THAT CAN'T BE RIGHT?! Needless to say, if anyone ever wants to see The Cure, I can't say many good things about them. The same goes for Bob Dylan. My Dad bought me and him tickets as a Christmas present as we are both massive fans. Dylan is very nostalgic for me and my sisters as Dad would play his albums on long car journeys and his voice is like velvet to me... Velvet that lights up about 60 times a day, but velvet nonetheless! We had side sitting seats and were quite high up so it was a decent view, but oh my God was he dull. He didn't speak to the audience ONCE. Literally sat on a stool with the odd change of guitar and sang constantly and might I add, it wasn't the best. This was a huge disappointment for my Dad also... one of his favourite all time singers let him and all of his fans down a bag full. Very annoying when you pay a stupid amount of money for what you thought would be an immense performance. It's amazing how we can build something up so much, only to be let down... such as life really!

As for music these days, I'd like to say I'm up to date with new sounds, but to be quite honest, I'm ecstatic to recognize a song when I'm out as I listen to the radio very rarely. I will say however I'm a big fan of The 1975 and Bastille.

There are a number of different artists I would love to be able to say I've seen. Alive or dead:

















Those are just a few... I have MANY more. I love hearing about new music people are listening to or simply hearing someone shares the same taste as me! Let me know who you would LOVE to see live whether they are here today or not. Contact me on the usual places on here, Facebook or Twitter.

Right now I will leave you with one of my favourite Jimi Hendrix songs, Little Wing - Enjoy!

Have a great week peeps.
T. x

Tuesday 4 February 2014

Chapter 31: It's The Little Things...

Yo peeps. Sorry for the week off... again! I'm a right lazy sod. This week I'm going to talk to you about the little things in life that help you by day to day. Whether this be a big struggle or a little struggle you're going through, we all need something to cheer us up and help us with our 'baby steps'. Something I always used to say to Mammy was that she should take baby steps in order to take each day at a time. As I've said previously, there have been bad days, bad weeks, but usually a good period follows. The past week has been a big struggle for me personally; waves of reality kick in and take over. I like to think that Mammy is telling all of us to take baby steps now and that's what I've been trying to do.

There have been a few good things that have helped me in recent months. My family who have been my rocks and absolute best friends I could ever wish for. My friends, holidays to look forward to. Hobbies to keep me busy like writing and socialising and discovering new and interesting things. Here are a few things that I have liked and discovered recently:

  • Monica Vinader Jewellery. Ladies, if you haven't discovered this, GET ON IT. Steffans Jewellers currently have a sale for this brand of jewellery. Still a little pricey but no pricier than say Pandora. They do a lovely range of friendship bracelets with different meanings, such as 'love' or 'luck'. You can find their products on the Monica Vinader website or the Steffans Jewellers website.
  • On the topic of newly discovered jewellery, my old work colleague, Robin Bell, makes his own very unique jewellery. Robin and I worked together in New Look whilst studying at University and both often talked about what our dream jobs would be ('cause it certainly wasn't being New Look's shop floor biatches!) and now he is fulfilling his dream job of making his own jewellery. You can go to his website www.theweerobin.com and you can follow him on Instagram (@theweerobin) where he posts all of his new work on there. Here's a few of his recent pieces:





  • Going to the cinema and watching new movies is a very big thing for me as most of you have gathered by now. I went to see The Wolf Of Wall Street two weeks ago and it did NOT disappoint. I went in there knowing it would be a good watch, purely because of the cast (Leonardo Dicaprio and Jonah Hill). Needless to say, my mind was BLOWN. It would have been the perfect 18 if there was a bit more blood in it, otherwise, it had just about EVERYTHING in it. Sex, sex, drugs, sex, money, did I mention sex? I think the most nostalgic moment for me was hearing Leo's classic laughing squeal that would resemble his characters in What's Eating Gilbert Grape and Romeo & Juliet. It's got to be the film of the year, and it's only just begun! I'd also highly recommend Last Vegas if you love a bit of a laugh! Starring Michael Douglas, Morgan Freeman, Kevin Klein and Robert Deniro as long life pals, they all go on a Stag weekend to Las Vegas where they rekindle their young friendships. Let me just tell you all this... Morgan Freeman can dance better than anyone I've ever seen.
  • One song in particular is getting me raring for the summer already. WEKEED by Wild Child. Think we all have a song that reminds us or gets us excited for some sun, this one is it for me this year - get on it!
  • As I've said before, I do love Instagram... last week I discovered the work of @_artistiq. A VERY talented lady who draws portraits of famous actors and singers freehand using a pen. She rarely uses pencil, but my gosh are they good! I used to draw when I was younger as my Dad is a fantastic artist and he taught me and my Sisters and my little Niece and Nephew. He used to sit me and my Sisters down in front of the tele and watch this guy of a Saturday morning:
    Good times! I would love to get back into it and after seeing these I think I just might! It's very good for the soul and is a fantastic form of escapism. Have a look at some of her work:
Jennifer Lawrence
Angelina Jolie
Paul Walker
Lady Gaga






Well guys, there's a snippet of things I've been loving in recent months. I would love to know what you all like to do for release? Just contact me on the usual Facebook, Twitter or on the back of this blog.

Have a great week guys! Here's a bit of cheesy music to cheer you up and help you by... Starship - We Built This City.

Big Love.
T. x