"This Is Penny Lane, Man, Show Some Respect"

wavey bye

Fri, 25 Jan 2008 20:37:40 GMT

I've got myself a blog over at blogspot, so I probably won't get round to posting here anymore!
Do check it out, its not particularly personal though, its more of a style blog.
x

If Only I Knew A Native American Language For This Tagline.

Wed, 05 Dec 2007 01:15:28 GMT

I was looking through my box of hair stuff this morning and came across the headband I wore as a child to be a "Red Indian girl", which I wore with a big, yellow feather attached. Last year I rewore the outfit without the hair accessories to a fancy dress party at Louisa's halls (for some reason the costume was an adult size despite it being from my youth, I'm not sure how I wore it back then since I was a skinny, little child), but today I decided to splash a bit of colour across my forhead and wear the band (sans feather, sadly) with a dark green dress and black boots.
Tom came round earlier to swap my PC Laptop for his Mac for the evening, as him and the boys are playing some game that wouldn't work on a mac (anything to waste time, boys) and so I took the opportunity to play with the photobooth application, because I'm cool like that haha.

I'm fully aware I look particularly ridic, but what else did I expect?! It shows the headband anyway, though I'd changed out of the dress and into a jumper when I got home to sit around lazily, hence why I'm wearing a top that clashes!!

Oh and not only do I not have a camera [STILL ARGGH CAN'T COPE WITHOUT IT], I don't have a phone until next week when I'm sent a new one on my insurance. Bloody thieves... Not the insurance people, the phone stealers!

Tomorrow night I must dress as a pirate for Steph's birthday night out. The last time I dressed as a pirate, I apparently looked like a stereotypical disney style 'old gypsy woman" character. How someone can get a theme so wrong she turns from pirate to gypsy is beyond me, yet I managed it...!

Love You Long Time

Sat, 01 Dec 2007 17:56:19 GMT

I haven't wrote an entry for so long! Tut. I have been so busy recently. I had four essays due in within the same 11 days, and I had to spend every free minute lugging books around the library or sat with a notepad, scribbling down almost illegible quotes. When I finally handed in the last of the bunch on Tuesday, I wasn't quite sure what to do with myself!! Haha. I went to Taste Of Chaos tour at the Apollo on Tuesday night and it was really good, the Gallows suprised me very pleasantly, as I hadn't been looking forward to them as much as some of the other bands.

On Thursday night I went out with Ruth and Alex for a curry, and we devoured several bottles of wine along with our delicious meals. Then we headed to 5th Avenue, despite the fact it was indeed "Back By Demand" night, which specialises in Brit Pop and Manchester bands such as The Stone Roses etc. They also played stuff like The View. I almost died, but managed to get over it due to cheap spirits. Last night we attempted a House Bonding night, but Rosie was a bit too hungover from the night before to really join in. We went to The Bop for some reason, which was later regretted as loads of people we know work behind the bar, and therefore will have noted that a bunch of second years were bopping it. Oh dear. We had a nice chat however, I offended a French erasmus student, though he was a knob. And the amount of couples attempting sex in public was ridiculous.

Tonight is Mike's house party, which I'm vaguely excited about, but I'm ill with a head cold AGAIN. It's beyond a joke how ill I've been over the last few months. I went to the Drs about it and he made me do blood tests. The results come in on Friday so it will be interesting to see if there is a reason behind my shit immune system.

Anyway, here are some recent photos. I am so excited to have my own camera back at Christmas since I dropped it onto the floor monthssssss ago, booooo.

gime gimme more

Fri, 02 Nov 2007 21:22:58 GMT

I just put garlic hands in my eye and it is all puffy, sore, red and closed. Oh dear. This is after I snapped the freezer drawer apart...

And if those distractions weren't bad enough, instead of doing my essay I am now looking at various S/S 2008 collections online.

Yes please Viktor & Rolf

Yes please Galliano

Yes please Mui Mui

(style.com and elle.com by way of Thefashionspot)

Also I'm so glad this Thursday is my weekA and I have a day off as I'm well excited about going to H&M and checking out the Cavalli collaboration! I love all the tux style shirts, both the sleevless ruffled ones (I want the white) and the long sleeved animal-print bibbed ones (I want the black and white leopard print one), so I might attempt to get a refund for my necklace from etsy that STILL hasn't come despite the fact the seller said she'd repost it(?!) and put it towards my Cavalli fund.
The only trouble then will be deciding which one to get as I deffo can't get both! I might not go into town in time to get either mind you... I can't imagine people rushing to H&M manchester for a designer collab... But then, I'm pretty much doing so.... haha

ramble ramble essay distraction!

Reading Week, Which Should Be Called Shitloadsofwork Week.

Fri, 02 Nov 2007 14:24:40 GMT

I went home last weekend and had a ROAST DINNER. Yum yum yum. I am hungry just thinking about it now, despite having just finished my lunch haha. I can't believe how hot the house was the whole time, I literally felt like I was burning up on occasions! This shows what poverty we live in here in the student house, when the heating I was once used to feels like desert heat!

Halloweeeeeeeen was fun. I decided to be Morticia Adams, but ended up looking nothing like her haha. And my long, black wig wouldnt stop getting in my face and annoying me so I ended up tying my hair back, which added to how little I resembled her. But it was all good, and that is what counts. Phil was a muderous clown, and her costume was amazing! Alex was a ladybird, Danielle a witch, Tom was Mickey Rourke's character in Sin City, Other Tom was Mr Orange from Resivoir Dogs and Mike was the Phantom of the Opera =].

Must do essay nowwwwww.

Oh dear, oh dear.

Thu, 25 Oct 2007 18:20:11 GMT

I've had a nice week, I finished my first essay of the semester without stressing too much for once, and it was mine and Tom's second year anniversary, which was cute. I bought him shoes [from the sale haha], the original Halloween on DVD and a panoramic print of Reservoir Dogs, and he got me a big bag of caramelised chocolate drops from Hotel Chocolat, a coffee-table style book of 1970s fashion and beauty adverts and the new Coheed & Cambria album, which I'm loading onto Itunes now =]. Andddd, after I ordered a necklace from Etsy two weeks ago and it never came, I was giving up hope on ever getting it and having wasted £15, but I emailed the seller explaining that it hadn't come, though not expecting much because if the postman has fucked me over its not exactly their fault, but she emailed me back saying that a few orders had gone missing around the date mine was posted and she would post me another one today!
So, very nice.

But, alas, that has now changed. I looked at my bank account details today and I have managed to spend £200 in roughly a week.

Shit shit shit shit shit.

Life As We Know It.

Thu, 18 Oct 2007 22:27:42 GMT

I know it's been ages, but I've been a busy girl back at uni. I went to all of my lectures and seminars for the first four weeks, which is pretty damn studious of me, I must say. I haven't been in for the last three days, but... Now I've got it out of my system
I can attempt to carry on with the educating for another four weeks or so before I slip up again!

I've been going out drinking and dancing a lot as with last year, but I've found a couple of new favourite places. One being Keys, Money, Lipstick at the Star & Garter, which is on every fortnight, and also tuesdays at Satan's Hollow, which I went to once last year and got too drunk at and had to be taken home. But I managed to last out all night this week [which is pretty impressive since theres an hours free bar at the start and then £2 double spirits all night after] and I had such a great time. They played Billy Talent, TBS, The Used, Coheed & Cambria and so on and so forth so I had a nice singalong and Alex's housemate works behind the bar so we got a couple of cheaper measures and such; all good =].

I've been eating a lot too. TOO MUCH. I keep eating out, like at least 6 times a week... and that doesn't include eating lunches at the refectory at uni. Oh dear. Louisa's been showing me new Asian food places, like a lovely little place with giant bowls of noodles. Her and her new boy are so cute, but she won't believe it. She despises her relationship being seen as anything other than some 21st-century-meeting-of-minds-and-bodies thing, but, I know. It's cute!

Right now I should be writing an essay for my Roman history class, about coinage... Which is more interesting than one would believe haha. My lack of motivation is getting silly now though; churning essays out at the last possible moment was what I promised myself I wouldn't be doing this year, but I'm eating my words at my first essay for Christ's sake.

Also I dropped my camera in a drunken stupor and it died =[. Gutted. I have insurance for it and all, but I can't even get it couriered to the fixy-place for two weeks, so I won't have it back for ages, and I hate having to rely on other people to have cameras on nights out and stuff.

Anyway, I've rambled for so long.
A couple of pictures from Keys, Money, Lipstick on Friday

[Taken from the K,M,L flickr]
x

Big Fat Sexy Shoes.

Fri, 14 Sep 2007 16:07:16 GMT

I couldn't go out with the girls for my last Southport night out before going back to uni last night because I was dying with a cold. I've had four colds this summer, mother thinks I'm either anemic or have some crazy blood disease from having a blood transfusion when I was born before some rules about testing peoples' blood came in. She is the best hypochondriac I know, God bless her.
I do seem to have une shite immune system though atm.

In other news I popped to town with Tom to buy last minute essentials [a lamp - £2.50 at Wilkinsons [£2.50!!!], some blusher and red nailvarnish, remover and a George @ ASDA grey school cardigan aged 13... Because all 13 year olds I know have the body of a grown woman?! Crazy sizing going on there]. Well, that was a long bracket thing.

I then met up with Charl and went for a KFC, as I am full of class, but I stupidly bought some deal which involved a chicken sandwich, chips, a piece of chicken AND a corn on the cob. Why oh why do I constantly believe I should be buying such stupid amounts of food in one go?
We then went to some clothes shops and looked at things we couldn't afford, before popping to TKMAXX for her uni bedding [yellow gingham, very cute] and a look at the shoes, just out of interest...

Oh shit, I spent £25 on some. Great. BUT they are Irregular Choice and therefore an investment and a half. They are also insane. I will have to hide them from mother, but that won't be too hard as I'm back in Manchester tomorrow.
HOWEVER, they are too big even with a sole in... Anyone know any tricks or tips or things to buy that will stop them slipping off at the back?

x

And I Wait.

Tue, 11 Sep 2007 10:57:14 GMT

Yesterday I sent an email to our landlord in Manchester about how bad the condition of our house is, but I'd sent it to a .co.uk as opposed to the correct .com and I got an email back this morning.

Dear Nicola

having read your email i can only but sympathies with you about the state of 12 ******
Road. The reason for this is that I actually live in Gibraltar and have nothing to with
the renting of this property - you must have the wrong email address.

I have to say though that your letter was forceful enough for me to think about jumping
on a plain and coming round and fixing all the problems then moving you in myself just
to be on the safe side. Then i realised that it was all going to happen on the 15th of
september - the day after my birthday and that i would be absolutely no use to you at
all due to the stinking hangover i will be sufering from.

On that note, best of luck with your landlord and your new flat. Hope it all works out.

B.

It made me smile a lot =].

And then I recieved an amazon parcel with Richard's birthday present in [The Illustrated Biography of Ian Botham - my little bro is a sports fanatic], as well as two books I had ordered. That made me extra happy as I very rarely order things online and opening the box and lookingat the shiny, new things was a bit like getting a present to me.

I'm going to the hairdressers in 10 minutes to get my hair cut back into a short bob, maybe a choppier one than last time though. I hate the hairdressers though; I always feel self concious and judged whilst inside a salon. I don't know why =[.

I've been wearing lots of black lately. My friend Lou owns no black garments and refuses to buy any, but it really is my favourite colour [along with grey] for clothes. I don't think you can go wrong with black tbh.

Yummy clothes in my tummy

Mon, 03 Sep 2007 10:46:02 GMT

I want this Balenciaga blazer. I never got to wear one in highschool, we wore v-necked jumpers instead BOOOO.

I also love the way this Finnish girl [on hel-looks.com] is fearlessly wearing high waisted jodphurs. Love love love.

Who thinks they'd be brave enough to try out this seasons more difficult trouser trend?

Leeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeds.

Thu, 30 Aug 2007 10:18:19 GMT

Another Leeds fest has ended, booo. It was a great one this year! Billy Talent and TAI were my favourites playing <3. The Used, Hot Hot Heat, Nine Black Alps, Cobra Starship, Eagles Of Death Metal and so on and so forth were all brilliant too though. There were lots of funny moments; most noticably John on too many herbal ecstacy talking crap and making crazy hand movements. It had me in stitches! The Silent Disco [headphones linked to a DJs so if you take off your headphones 100s of people around you are singing along to something in unison that you can't hear anymore - sooo much fun] was brilliant this year too.

Photos nowwww.

Busy

Sun, 19 Aug 2007 21:22:47 GMT

I've had no time to myself since I got back from Canada. I've been working a lot and I had a free house for a few days so I had friends over most nights [but never again, the amount of grief I've had from the parents over stains and such as usual, oh dear]. But, alas, here I am with Vancouver photos!

We saw grizzly bears and loads of fun sealife. We bought yummy new clothes. I ate Red Snapper fish. We ate fudge whilst looking out over the water to the mountains on North Vancouver. We turned our heads the other way and marvelled at the city skyline. We went for a bikeride round Stanley Park, which I could do every weekend. We found A&W burger and their giant portions of onion rings. We walked over the Capilano suspension bridge, which was all wobbly and high. I went apartment hunting with Tom's parents to penthouse suite apartments. We watched helicopters taking off from the top of luxury yauchts. We had some Canadian beer. We rode cable cars up to the top of mountains. We just had funnnnnnnn.

Looooook.

Because stressing is my favourite thing.

Fri, 03 Aug 2007 18:04:11 GMT

I'm packing for Vancouver at the moment, though by this I mean that a lot of my clothes are lying next to me on the pull out bed, far, far from being packed. I can't do it. I can't pack. I just can't handle having to plan a weeks worth of outfits and taking only things that match/ can be adjusted depending on the weather/ I will actually feel like wearing in a weeks time. Argh.

It doesn't help that I have to take the case round to Tom's tonight when we don't even leave the country until Monday night. But us two are travelling down to Gatwick on Monday, whilst Judy and Andrew are driving down tomorrow morning for Andrew to do a triathalon on Sunday in London, and so it is easier for my case to be taken in a car, rather than lugged onto various trains and tubes by myself.

I'm completely stressed out... God, I hate feeling so discontent. PMT is also a factor. Tom doesn't see PMT as an excuse for being moody/ shouting/ saying I feel crap and moping around, but I'm sure other women know it certainly is!

Anyway, on a nicer note, lots of photos from the past week =]

Now I must carry on with the dreaded pack =[

Mon, 23 Jul 2007 14:20:43 GMT

I'm bedridden, struck down by that terrible, terrible illness...
The Common Cold.
I'm sucking tasty honey flavoured throat sweets and flopping around feeling uncomfortable while watching internet TV. My main complaint is the sore throat because it is absoulte agony.

Whilst bedridden I've just watched the finale of Canada's Next Top Model 2 and for once my favourite contestant won, yaaay. My favourites in these programmes always come second it seems. I love her look though, and she dressed well in her own time, unlike the winner of the 1st series, who seriously dressed like she was a blind, borng, elderly woman.

I made cupcakes yesterday. I used too many eggs, so they are a bit heavy, but they are delicious if I may say so myself! I'm going to make cookies soon, yum yum yum.

Vancouver in 14 days! It's all gone to pot a bit [we're going two days earlier than we first thought, I have to travel to London after 9 hours at work on Sunday evening, we're now flying from Gatwick etc] but I'm still way excited.

In other news, I've been taking lots of photos of my legs recently. I don't know why.

shine on, shine on.

Wed, 18 Jul 2007 09:01:21 GMT

I've just been teaching myself how to draw eyes and lips in my collage/art/personal journal. They aren't too bad if I may say so myself, and thats saying someththing coming from Nicola Shit-at-art-and-design-tech Matthews! There was a reason as to why I had to chuck both art and DT in at 14 and do a computing GNVQ in place of one of those at GCSE!!
You should see me to cut things out in a neat way... But its a shame because I'd LOVE to be artistic, I really would. So I figured recently that instead of wallowing in cack-handed misery, I should just give it a go anyway since I enjoy it. =]

Anyway life is pretty simple at the moment. I just work a lot, fall asleep with Tom or watch ...'s Next Top Model programmes and Prison Break haha. I went to the doctors about my sore foot this morning and he gave me a prescription for some tablets. Sadly I can't drink alcohol whilst on them, which has really stumped me as I was looking forward to some drunken debauchery and general dancing for hours tomorrow night. I'm going to have to take lots of caffine tablets and drink red bull to stay awake and energetic =[.

Here is some recent photography.

1-5

Mon, 16 Jul 2007 17:53:41 GMT

1. Tom just finished his first day at his new job. He gets 62 pence more than me an hour [I get £5.88] so I am jealous. He does have to travel for an hour and a half to get there though. Anyways, I'm proud of him.

2. I quite like work at the moment [SHOCK SHOCK, HORROR HORROR]. I used to hate it, and dread my shifts, but to be honest life on bakery and bibc could be a lot worse. There are loads of great people to talk to and I spend a lot of time laughing and chatting. I still only seem to get on with guys there though. The three departments I've worked on so far have all been bereft of girls, especially ones under 30.

3. I'm going to Vancouver!!! This should have been first actually. I'm going on the 8th of August for a week, and my dad is paying my £600 flight [!]. I honestly didn't even consider my parents doing that for me, but we were at the dinner table and I was talking about how I'd looked into flights and that I couldn't afford it, and he just came right out and said "Well if you want to go, I will pay for your flight love". Ahhhh. It is going to be amazing. The trip was planned so Tom's dad can find a flat for when he moves there for a professorship in September, but Tom and I are gegging in on it and I can't wait. I've never been to Canada!

4. I can't get over how much one of the bakers at ASDA looks like the rapist in a TV programme called Cape Wrath... Andddddddd just realised they even share the same name! They also bot have South African accents. I get very excited over this, but no one else at work watched the programme so there is no one to share my amazement with. Poo.

5. I'm going to cook sausages, mash, cabbage and gravy for dinner, for Tom and myself. However, he is back in 20 minutes and I haven't even been to the supermarket to pick cabbage and potatoes up... Oh dearrr.

Must go!

Yay

Sun, 08 Jul 2007 19:36:15 GMT

Murray and Jankovic are mixed doubles champions of Wimbledon!
I was so bloody stressed during that match.

Off to the Underground "Suck My Disco" rave tonight with the girls, going to do lots of joyful drinking after a long day at work (8-5) and stressful shouting-at-sportsmen-on-tv session. Ahhh.

Worrying Obsession.

Sat, 07 Jul 2007 23:51:41 GMT

This is what I have developed over the last few days.
But what with?
With Jelena Jankovic and Jamie Murray of course!
Here is a photo that makes me go a bit funny inside [haaa]

Tom and I were lucky enough to see three Wimbledon finalists and a semi-finalist at Wimbledon on Wednesday, which is amazing since we were on court 2 [the third biggest/ most prestigious]. Jockovic had to pull out when playing Nadal today due to injury and we saw him beat Keifer (sp maybe?) at the start of the day on Wed, and we also saw Bartoli, who lost to a Williams' sister [not keen] in the womens' final today. Annnnnd we saw Murray and Jankovic get through to the 1/4 finals, and they are now through to the finals of mixed doubles - the 1st time a brit has been in a final of Wimbledon for years, yay!

ANYWAY they've been playing lots of exciting matches and making me stress when they lose sets, but most importantly THEY MUST BECOME A COUPLE. I am apparently obsessed with them becoming a lovely tennis couple and am almost treating it like a movie or TV plotline when you can't help but root for two characters to get together haha. Their flirtations have been all over the wimbs coverage and they answer questions about each other in interviews in dead ambigious, cheeky ways [eg when asked what tennis nickname for her could be, Murray replies "Beauty" and they joke about how many kisses he gets when they win a match and so on lol], which just aids my girly wishes.

I'm in work during all the finals tomorrow though so have had to SKY+ the whole of tomorrow's coverage, oh dear!

Rome Photos

Mon, 02 Jul 2007 09:00:14 GMT

This was the view from our balcony, it was pretty =]

We turned a corner and the Pantheon loomed over us, it was a breathtaking sight, it was!

Hanging round the Vatican, as you do.

The restaurant we visited twice because it was so delicious.

I wish I could pop back in time and watch a show at the Colosseum!

I liked the Roman Forum as one can tell.

I am too busy eating a blackcurrant yoghurt with bits (things with bits are superior to those without) to post any more though.
Tom has bought a Hitchcock boxset with 15 of his films in and we are going to work through it since I've not seen much Hitchcock. We watched Frenzy last night, I loved the body-in-the-potato-sack scene, it was comic yet tense and gruesome (the crunch of her fingers breaking, argh!).
I'm going for Chinese with Louisa later. There is this great place we found which does two courses for £4 and the portions are rather generous. Oooh I'm hungry for it already, yet still eating my yoghurt, which doesn't really make sense. Then I'm off to the gym for some work-out endorphins. They feel goooooooooood.
x

Would Harold Like It?

Thu, 28 Jun 2007 16:29:45 GMT

I'm a bit slow these days and just realised Neighbours (see the Harold pun up there? GENIUS!) is the new TAI single. I don't dislike it [then again, I don't dislike any TAI songs really] but I think they could have chosen a better song... I'm not keen on it lyrically?
And the video is performance/ footage based. It is a bien bien video of that type and I do enjoy it muchly, but everyone knows I much prefer a bit of a storyline video like Big Mess... This probably stems from my youth as a boyband fan those years ago lol.

That was all very irrelevant, but reminds me of how much I CAN'T WAIT for Leeds this year. So many bands I cannot wait to see *squeeeeeeeel*.
And Tom and I got our exam results on the uni intranet and we passed them all so no nasty resists over the Leeds week to force us away from it. Horrah!

The weather is so shite, I hate going out in the rain because I've generally made my hair/face look OK lol and then the walk from taxi/cash machine to Underground lessens the decency. Oh vellllll!

When In Rome

Thu, 28 Jun 2007 15:06:38 GMT

Rome was amazing! The weather was gorgeous, the food was delicious... And of course all of the classical history!
My favourite places were the square outside the Pantheon, the Colosseum and the Trevi Fountain, but everything was beautiful.
My favourite piece of historical information was that once in the early 100s a giant mechanical whale was built as part of the set for a Colosseum event and when its mouth opened FIFTY bears came out!
Now, I would like to see that.
Photos soon!
x

London.

Thu, 21 Jun 2007 18:59:11 GMT

The Weekend!
Oh and my ginger/blonde hair got sorted haha.

And so on and so forth!
x

THEY'LL THINK I'M INSANE

Wed, 13 Jun 2007 10:50:24 GMT

I went to the hairdressers this morning so the woman could see what to do about my fauxpas. She chopped some strands from underneath off to try two different browns on so I can see what its like when I go for my appointment on Friday and decide if thats what I want.
But I've grown so attached to the strawberry blonde, I've embraced my new ginger head and will be very sad to have to leave it behind. She said I needed some "warmth" put back into my hair so... Oh well, I must trust the professional, when I trusted myself it didn't go well haha.

Anyway I'm going to get it cut even though I've been growing it out for ages, I'll probably regret this rash decision. But I don't want to have boring light brown hair and not do anything fun with it, so I might go for a short bob.

Or I might leave it... Oh I don't know, argh!

Plus no one is available to go to lunch with me and I was looking forward to a nice Italian or something, booooooooooooooo.

In other news the owner of the house I'm staying in with Helen in London at the weekend recently had her car stabbed through the roof.

Oh dear. Quite excited haha!

Is It Over Yet?

Tue, 12 Jun 2007 20:16:30 GMT

I love this cover. And the video is rather brilliant.

Another Oh Dear

Sat, 09 Jun 2007 18:09:40 GMT

I tried to dye my hair blonde.

GINGERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR.

With attractive white blonde roots.

I give up.