Minimalist Revamp

I was today perusing the blog of a finnish cosmetics blogger/ sales person extraordinaire, Virve, and the entry of her new apartment and the massive cull in the items she owns.

This, for me, resonates quite a lot at the moment. I am planning on moving to a new city next summer, in search of a new career as a graduate, as well as new adventures (all things going well!). Because of that, I have to seriosly look into the amount of things I own, use up my excess cosmetics, edit, edit, edit.

But also, I have half of my student fees to be paid off in January, which adds to the intrigue in its own way. Because of the fees, I have to save money, only using what I have to. No buying more clothes, no makeup as I have plenty (one day I will actually blog of my cosmetics shame), no handbags.. just the necessary food, no frivolities.

I have also recently ate lots of crap food, and feel it in my physical appearance. Clothes don't fit, I feel sluggish and tired, my skin's lacklustre. I definitely am in need of a health kick, that is a definite.
It all links together, but how, may you ask. Simple.

Need to save + need to minimize and sort out wardrobe + need for a health kink = Operation Run-Up. A run-up to Christmas, a run up to 2011, a run-up to the move..

Where as people put on weight leading to the end of the year thanks to the holiday excesses, I intend to lose it. Whereas people lose money because of the same festivities, I intend to save it. My theme for the end of the year will be about loss - loss of weight, loss of an impractical wardrobe, loss of excess spending, loss of all the cosmetics I have in the house.
I will blog about it, I will ponder it, I will be honest about it.. it'll be a pain in the ass, but hopefully, it will be somewhat useful, both for me, but also for someone who reads the entries.

The issues I will tackle are:

* my wardrobe: my current wardrobe is quite disjointed, and doesn't really reflect who I am. I am a minimalis at heart, like materials like leather and felt, dark colours like black, grey and purple, inky blue and dark blue-green. Strong colours, strong lines, character.
I will actually, when I am clearing out my stuff, go through all my old magazines and create myself a general mood board, and maybe identify some new trends in the things I like. Fingers crossed, anyway, maybe I will have some sort of a 'lightbulb moment'!

* my health: I have put on weight recently, thanks to the wonders of hormones and eating loads of food which is less than healthy. I have already imposed a ban on candy, chololate and crisps - in the name of enjoyment I will allow myself the occasional pastry as life is too short to eat food what tastes like cardboard.
I also need to crack on with my gym routine, but also re-start my exercise classes again. Hopefully I will take up something that is more holistic, as at the moment I feel about as flexible as an iron bar, sadly.

* my finances: saving up and paying uni fees, tackling existing debts, it's all about re-evaluating my relationship with money and consumption.

* my future: I have been doing a lot of thinking recently, having tackled allsorts of issues at work recently. Evaluated what I want out of life, and believe you me, working 80+ hours a week and doing shifts.. really not a nice thing at my ripe age (of 31, if you need to know)

So there, such will life be. Looking at my dining room table, it doesn't look any clearer. But the crisp/candy/cholocate ban has worked since sunday. Just don't mention the handbag I ordered tonight ;-)..small steps.



Ooh, metal. My future new bag from Next, my staple for everything these days :-).

Sad Sad Sad

Will be back. Have too much work, a fear that my old supervisor will be coming back, and minor heartache of a relationship I seem to have totally screwed up over the weekend.
Oh well, onwards and upwards, people :-).

The Bitch Is Back

After a long silence, I am back. My internet works, my laptops works, I have Picasa on my laptop. Life is OK again :-).

This is how I have spend my time recently..

 

Students, Again

I have been reading the postings of the lovely Yummy (link in finnish, sorry), who's today travellened to London to start her University adventure. At the same time, today has seen an influx of student to the University of Nottingham - yes, it is that time again :-D.
I really remember those heady days of becoming a student, returning to Uni for a new year, making new friends, catching up with the old ones. The excitement, the alcohol, the freedom, the lecture halls.. such fantastic days!

My own studying will start next month - as always, my Uni is kicking off at the start of October, and my induction will be on the 6th onwards. Second year on a part-time Masters degree starts. It will be a busy year - two modules, one dissertation, a few applications to do a PhD.
Funnily enough, that seems progressing. I have an idea what I wanted to do, and approached someone who I wanted to be my supervisor. She's keen on the idea, and passed on my mail to the head of their department, who's sent me a mail saying he's very interested and the department would love to suervise me. Yay \o/ * victory dance *!

As a sidenote, there mas been very little fashion/beauty-type postings here. Simple reason - my camera wire has gone AWOL. I have a few pics of my new bauty haul stuff, as well as my handbags, but cannot post the little blighters.
Fingers crossed I will find the wire soon, and get back to business. The plans are to make a posting on the five last bags I bought (I am a bag lady), plus to post about sorting my wardrobe out.
Oh yes, the last one has been a task and a half. After deciding I want to keep my privacy and to stay home alone, I ave decided to move my stuff to the bigger bedroom with a few wardrobes. That has left me to the process of sorting out my wardrobe. I have lots of clothest that I do not wear, plus with a possible move ahead of me next year, because of my potential studies, I feel it is time to start downscaling with clothes, accessories and makeup. God knows how that will work out, seeing as I just today found myself a lovely eyeshadow quad by Tigi from TK Maxx :-p..

Laziness

I have been stuck at work since last week, and will carry on work until next week. I've had to call the fire service in, the ambulance in, have broken things, gotten grounchy, been tired, stressed, annoyed, generally shattered.
So where does that leave me?
On Wednesday, I will be finally having a day off, and will be popping over to Leicester to spend a day horading more books, and meeting up with a University friend for some coffee, lunch and chatting about further studies. But with the tiredness, I am suddenly struck with a dilemma - I really cannot be bothered to make an effort. Casual slouchy clothes, trainers, no makeup, hair thrown in a ponytail, those are the things that appeal to me. Not the usual stuff I like - looking minimalistically rock, having eyebrows that are done, generally looking, well, passable.

Damned you, work, making me want to look like me, with no improvements. We cannot have that ;-)!



P.S. I miss dancing.

Fly By

Just a quick note from me. Have been working lots, going to the gym (well, maybe about once in the past month), not sleeping enough. More to follow. But now, my crosstrainer song from today..

So What Am I Doing, Anyway?

A simple picture-less post from me today - have just accidentally deleted a post I was writing, so am just going to ponder today, after a long working day..

You'd think that a style/fashion blog would be an easy thing to write. Post photos of the 'outfit of the day', ponder about runway shows and talk about trends.

What about me, then? 'Outfit of the day' for me would be my work uniform (black trousers, white shirt, black shoes - hardly sartorial excitement galore). The perk of a work that requires a uniform is the sheer simplicity of it all. i don't have to think - I put my uniform on, and crack on to work. It makes me a canvas to which my employers wishes and expectations are projected to. I stop being an individual who has her own style and character, and become a part of a machinery.
Outtside work, I do not have an exciting style at all. I wear black, occasionally I wear jeans. At home I wear my 'home clothes' which usually consist of leggins and a hoodie or a shapeless but warm and soft cardigan.
My favourite shoes are plimsolls that have worn through and should have been binned months ago because they have a hole on the sole. I own a lot of high-heeles ubersexy shoes, but never wear them outside the house because I am afraid of falling ver and/or scuffing them.

I have lots of makeup because I love it, but I rarely wear it these days because I have no dressing table to apply it next to. My hair is tied back, and cut and coloured simply to suit my own reflection of my personality.



Runway shows I do not really watch or follow, apart from picking up the stuff I like. I catch the show reports on the media, think that majority of them are totally pants, and then go 'oooooh, I like that one', and 'boom', there's my focus.
This autumn, it's all about the military vibe and grungey hair. Quite handy for me, being an ex-soldier and someone who constantly loses their hairbrush.
Trends are the same ilk for me, I ignore them, unless I really like them, and even then I am likely to not really 'get involved' in them. I can appreciate a trend, but not take part in it.

So why do I write something that can only be described as a style- or a fashion blog?
because, people, I do like my fashion. I may not be the most fashionable person out there, but I appreciate it. At the same time, I don't feel like I am a slave to it. I just like it. And that, in my view, is enoug, because even 'normal' style is style.

Mania

Work has been a nightmare. 12 hour shifts involving lots of standing and walking around, lifting stuff, standing by an open door, boredom, snappy people and odd conversations with colleagues.
On top of that, a friend-of-a-friend has just been a victim of crime, so some reassurance (due to my previous jobs) has also been dished out, further reducing my energy levels.

On top of that, I have piles and piles of books to read for my course. All very interesting, but as you know, as soon as you need to read something it stops being interesting. But all in good time..tonight is not the time, either!

So tonight, Matthew, I am going to be.. sitting on my backside, watching YouTube fashion and makeup videos, listening to music :-) .

My Fashionable Life

Suppose you could say that this blog is quite orientated about stuff that has a lot to do with the external stuff like beauty and fashion.
I have to say, however, that I am not at all fashionable as such, or indeed particularly stylish. I am trying to get there - I have a very distinct view of how I want to look (it's all about black, leather, a bit of a minimalist with an definite S&M vibe occasionally peeping through :-p).


This will all require a few changes in my life, and more importantly, in me. Thanks to the wonders of hormones, I am chesty enough (I cry every time I have to get a bra becayse the lettering depresses me - you're never happy with what you have), and that has a tendency to make me matronly.
I still remember seeing my aunt on my holiday, and her saying to me how much I have slimmed down. For the recond, I was wearing a shirt which was a tad more fitted - and has actually put on about two stone since I last saw her (that I only blame McDonalds and my lack of wanting to go to the gym, lol).

So for the style to look good, I need to lose weight. Not so much that I resemble a stick, but so much that I won't look like a square box with legs (I have a long back, high waistline byt no real waist to speak of).
More importantly, I just want to get physically fit, because I will have a very busy autumn ahead of me.

But me and fashion previously, my on my :-D. A teenager who dressed up like a gansta rapper, or to ill-fitting blue jeans and thich jumpers, bad hair.. ouch, bad bad bad :-). Atleast now I have some sort of an idea of what to look for, even if my vision has yet to actually materialize.. but one day, it will. My god, it will, and that day will be soon :-)

Promises And Plans

The weird thing about autumn, and on holidays, is that new plans seem to arise. Having been brought up in Finland, the autum marked the end of the summer and the start of something new. With four very distinct seasons, the autumn was a start of something new indeed.
The time to stop lazing around and to start new adventures and things. Schools and Universities kick off, summer holidays and all the excesses that are involved with it are over.

I distinctly have that feeling at the moment. In the end of September, Uni starts again, and for me, it will really be crunch time as I need to bring up my grades just that bit so I can start studying more. The more I think about it, and consider it, the more it is an issue for me, as I have a very distinct feeling of wanting things to change. I like work, but it's not a career. I like where I live, but it's not really a home for me.

The one thing I really have starte to realize now is that life is there to be lived the way you want to. I very much have an idea about the life I want to have, how I want to look, what I want to do. And that very much is the plan I intend to activate.
Small stuff is involved, style-wise - sort out hair, get a definitive 'look' for the make-up, get rid of stuff that isn't black from my wardrobe (as I am very much a 'black' person, someone dark and somewhat gothic). I need to get back into heels again. I need to sort out my accessories to suit my mood.
In the other aspects of life, I need to try to sort out the issues around the finances and health. Train more. Sort out payments of things I owe. Study hard. Blog more. Try to decide what life really has out there, all the things it has to offer.

Roll on, autumn, I am ready for you!

Boxed In

So I was supposed to go and watch a film today, walk around, enjoy the great outdoors and generally enjoy a day off for once.
Instead I overslept, and have spend the day indoors warding off the rain and trying to sort things out. Especially that damned shoe box above which I have on my dresser, which is crammed full of stuff that I have bought and chucked in. Any beautyhaul..that's where I usually lash it, and then forget it.

In it, such little treasures as this were found:



Ah, BeneFit and Smashbox.. nice. And may I say that for such a woman as myself, who isn't at all glittery or pink, the haul does look very girly indeed. Just look at the butterfly brooch in the picture of the box (from Primark, the source of all things sparkly and good)..damn damn damn, what did come over me (just you wait for the day when I take photos of all the other glittery stuff I have ;-) )?

Today I Have Mostly Been..

Drinking coffee, making notes and writing a budget for the remaining fortnight before my next payday.

Visiting Nottingham Contemporary for an art exhibition. Seriously good stuff, people. Very thought provoking.





The current exhibition, Uneven Geographies is worth a look (well, exhibitions usually are!). An exhibition about globalisation and its effects, it features some extremely fascinating imagery, especially photography which is always close to my heart (there is something amazing about real life being captured in its various forms).

Most of the day I have wondered about my plans of applying to study for a more art-based degree. Quite scary, since I do not have a portfolio present at this very moment. After all, I was en route to art school when I was younger, but then woke up to the fierce internal competition in the arena, decided to opt for safer options and went on to study business instead. Oh how life changes you..