May I? May wishlist

Now that I am no longer a penniless student I have been browsing online to see if there's anything I really want to buy with my first paycheck. I've decided to make a little wishlist of all the things I want to buy this month but probably won't.

1. Movie quote prints/ £20/ available at http://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/CONCEPCIONSTUDIOS?ref=pr_shop_more.

I adore the movie Almost Famous staring Kate Hudson so I decided to go on Etsy to see if there were any movie posters available and stumbled across these three prints. The quotes are 'It's all happening'(Almost Famous), 'Damn the man, save the Empire' (Empire Records) and 'Nobody puts Baby in the corner' (Dirty Dancing).
 I also love Empire Records, not overly keen on Dirty Dancing but I think these prints are so cool. They would look really nice on a picture frame feature wall. Seeing as I still live with my mum that's not going to happen anytime soon but I am tempted to buy them and store them away until I get my own place. As far as I can see the frames aren't included but that's alright because they would just add to the shipping costs.

2. DERMAdoctor KP Duty dermatologist body scrub 360g/  £29.75/ Available on amazon.co.uk

For as long as I can remember I have had the skin condition Keratosis pilaris which means I have rather unslightly red bumps all over the top of my arms and legs*. It's perfectly benign just not very pleasant looking. For years I didn't realise this was a conditon and just assumed I didn't exfoliate enough but after some research online I discovered that it's quite common. There are forums dedicated to this where people can recommend products they have found useful. One product that came up again and again in positive reviews was this body scrub. Yes it is pretty pricey but now that we are coming into summer I long for the days I can wear cute t-shirts and sleeveless dresses without having to add a cardigan.

3. Urban Decay Naked eye shadow palette/ £36/ Available at urbandecay.co.uk

I realise I am very late off the bandwagon with this one. Years of having no money meant that all my eyeshadows were cheap 'drug store' brands. I have coveted this palette for ages now. I love every single colour and it's perfect for day and night. I really think I might splurge on this as soon as I get paid.

4. Oasis Rose Gold bracelet watch/ £40/ Available on Asos.com 

I spied a similar watch to this while watching Made in Chelsea. I think Millie Macintosh was wearing it. 

Now I assume hers was hundred of pounds but there no way I  would spend more then forty pounds on a watch. I lose practically every piece of jewellery I own so it would be silly to spend a lot of on money it. I have no statement watches but for some reason I just love this, it could really jazz up an outfit.

5. Samsung Galaxy Ace phone cover/ £1.99/ Available on amazon.co.uk

Now what about this for a wee bargain, eh? I recently lost my phone and had to get a new one off the insurance so I need a new cover. I love this shade of blue and polka dots so it is perfecto.

6. MAC cosmectics/ £20-£27/ available at Debenhams

Like with my eye shadows, my foundation is usually cheap, drug store brands. I have no favourite products and tend to just grab a bottle and hope for the best. I've decided as a wee treat I'm gonna go to the MAC counter at Debenhams and get my skin tone matched to a good foundation. I decided to go with MAC as I have heard so many good reviews. It is far more expensive than any make up I have ever owned so I hope it's worth it.

If I do end up buying any of these products I will be sure to do a review for you all. But usually what happens is I get paid, blow all my money and useless crap and end up broke for the rest of the month. But hopefully I purchase at least one of these things

Love

S x

*If you feel you might have Keratosis pilaris  here's a couple of links you might want to have a nosy at

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keratosis_pilaris

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/keratosis-pilaris/DS00769

http://www.keratosispilaris.org/forum.php

Meat feasts and Belfast punks

When  I first started this blog I originally intended to write about fashion, beauty and things to do in Belfast. But as I have still not been paid I haven't bought any new clothes or beauty products to blog about, and since starting the new job I have been so tired all the time I've turned in a bit of a hermit. Hence this blog has turned into a bit of random, free for all in terms of content.

But yesterday me and my good friend Siobhan decided to have a little date day. We really wanted to try a new restaurant in Belfast city centre called Bubbacue. It has been open for about six months and I have heard nothing but good reports so we thought we should suss it out for ourselves to see what all the fuss is about.

Well oh my God, it was amazing. Even thinking about it now I am drooling. The idea of Bubbacue is to serve slow roasted meats with traditional Deep South sides. It is definitely working, Siobhan and I arrived at about 2.30 and there was a queue out the door already. Bubbacue do not take table bookings so you just have to show up and hope for a seat. Luckily the queue moved pretty quickly and within about ten minutes we had ordered and were sitting waiting not too patiently.

Homemade lemonade and amazing sauces

I intended to ordered the BBQ chicken platter but the waitress informed me they had run out of chicken and it would be half an hour before anymore would be ready. My starving belly protested having to wait so I decided to go with the side of ribs with cornbread, coleslaw, mac and cheese and fries. I think my stomach may have be ruling my mind because it was obscene amount of food. 

Siobhan ordered the pulled pork platter with the same sides as me. After a short wait our food arrived and I'll let the picture speak for it's self.

Pretty sure that's an entire cow on my plate

It was absolutely beautiful. All the flavours really complemented each other and the meat was cooked to absolute perfection. Bubbacue have three homemade sauces to choose from. My favourite was the Memphis, a slightly sweet BBQ sauce that went really well with the ribs.

We stuffed our faces, Siobhan had to pop a button on her jeans and I had to take off my belt. After eating we had to go back to Siobhan's house so she could collect her glasses. We had cinema tickets for 7 o'clock so decided to chill out for a couple of hours at her house. We settled down to watch a couple of episodes of Community and both promptly feel asleep. I tell you this there nothing better than an afternoon nap after a big meal.

That evening we went to the cinema to see Good Vibrations a semi autobiographical movie based on the life of  'Belfast's Godfather or Punk' Mr Terri Hooley. Terri Hooley is the man who discovered the Undertones and was a tour de force in Belfast's underground punk scene during the Troubles.

I loved this movie, a lot of it was filmed in Belfast so I recognised some of the places. I was born slightly after the worst of the Troubles so it was very interesting to see how it was back then and how dangerous Belfast really was. I am happy to say we have definitely moved on quite a bit since then.

I highly, highly recommend this movie to everyone. A must see!

On that note I shall leave you all with sublime Undertone's classic Teenage Kicks

Ciao
S x

Gone fishin'

As I mentioned in my previous post I have signed up to an online dating site to see what's out there. I have been single now for about two years. After I broke up with my boyfriend, who I was with since I was 17, I decided to just be single for a while and focus on my getting my degree finished. I found it too hard to juggle university, placements, exams and work on top of having a boyfriend. It began to feel like I was forcing myself to spend time with my ex when there were other things I'd rather be doing.

So single I have been. It's been good, I feel I've reconnected with friends, had some amazing nights out and have focused on myself for a while. But now that I am working full time and everything else in my life is falling into place I've noticed a boyfriend shaped hole. As I work in a very predominately female profession and I never meet anyone on nights out as I'm too busy enjoying myself with my friends, online dating seemed like an easy way to meet people.

OK future husband, I'm ready for you

Let me just say this, online dating is quite possibly the most tedious thing in the world. I feel like I am having the same conversation all the time

'Hi, how are you?'

'I'm good, you?'

'Not too bad, so where about in Belfast are you from?'

'Where do you work?'

'Any plans for the weekend?'

Do you still live with your parents?'

'What TV shows do you like?'

Blah, blah, blah. There are times I actually want to bang my head off the wall. This all seems like an awful lot of hard work for a date. I did meet up with one guy from it, which I shall share in another post, but I don't know if it's worth the hassle. Maybe I should stick with trying to meet someone the normal way. Getting drunk at a party and chatting to strangers.

Sorry if this post is kinda weird I just don't really know what to say about online dating. At moment it's not really floating my boat.

Toodles

Sx

Turn around and face the change-cha-cha-changes!

So I have been absent from here for far longer than acceptable but I have had an awful lot going on in my life.
The biggest change has been I have started my new job! After three years of being a penniless student I have entered the big bad world of full time occupation. I am really enjoying it so far, it's in an area I really wanted to work in, the staff are all great and hopefully my first paycheck will be awesome.
The main problem is ,at times, I can suffer from a bit of social anxiety. It seems to have no pattern to it, with one group of people I have never met I can be outgoing, funny and chatty and then with a different group I am shy, timid and I think I come across as standoffish. I just find small talk really hard on occasion but just with certain groups of people. Does anyone else get like this or am I just a complete weirdo?

My mind is saying 'Please, please be my friend' but my face is saying ' Back off bitch, don't even think about talking to me'

So that's something I need to work on. All in all though it is going really well. I love that I feel like I can finally plans things and my days off are all mine to do what I want. When I was student I was either in placement or university so on days off I was always working to get some money. There were times I was working a sixty hour week. But now I am planning to make the most of having more free time, catching up with friends, joining a gym. I recently rediscovered my love of jigsaw puzzles so I've ordered a 1000 piece one off Ebay and can't wait for it to arrive. I am so rock and roll sometimes it hurts.

On another note I have given up smoking...kinda. I used to smoke about twenty a day which is ridiculous seeing as I'm only 24. I used to get out of breath just walking up the stairs and my bedroom and car stank of smoke. So I made the decision that new job= new Sho and put down the menthol's. I've been using the patches and gum and it's been OK so far. I've had a couple of slip ups. I'd say over the past four weeks I've ended up smoking about twenty. I had a really stressful day at work so bought a packet of ten and then had two nights out and ended up smoking while drunk. But I am not going to berate myself too much as it's still a lot, lot less then usual. I worked out I spent about £140 a month on cigarettes,  is it any wonder I was broke all the time?

However contrary to popular belief I don't feel fit and healthy. I wake up in the morning feeling like I've smoked fifty cigs and my skin is the worst it's ever been. My friend insists it's just the nicotine working it's way out of my system. I hope that's all it is and I'm not smoking in my sleep.

I do solemnly swear that I will not become a preachy ex-smoker when I do finally quit

And the final big news is that I have signed up for an online dating site and even went on a little date. But that deserves a blog post all of it's own. 

Stay tuned

S x