Summer Commences...

Hello, toasters!
I know, I know, it's been a while.
But I'm sure, with time and counselling, you'll be able to forgive me for my lack of recent posts.
The last term of uni has been really intense, with two hand-ins only a week apart. I basically feel like I’ve been pulled apart, limb by limb, by screaming children who all want to run off in different directions. But, like Supernanny, I managed to put them all on the naughty step and pull together two submissions that I’m actually really proud of.

 (Sammie 1- Metaphorical screaming children 0)

I've just come back from holiday in Lemnos, Greece. Before I left, I couldn't remember the exact name of the island, so when anyone asked me where I was headed I mumbled something made up and Greek-sounding like 'Kevlaka' or 'Steffikos'. A surprising number of people responded with 'ooh, I think I've been there!' so it quickly became my new favourite hobby.

Myrina, Lemnos

Lemnos was beautiful,  and I had a great time sailing (or at least attempting to) and meeting some really interesting people. I know it sounds soppy, but my favourite moment was watching the thunderstorm whilst curled up in my hammock with my sketchbook. I don't think I could get any more 'arty' if i tried.

Nicki Minaj hair time

The only downside with going on holiday is that my hair has gone from bright red to a faded pink/ coral colour. I can fix it back up no problem, but what's annoying is the fact that my family really likes it this way and are trying to get me to keep it this colour. I even got offered a bribe by my stepmum yesterday!!

Whilst this could be a nifty way to extort money and/or cake from my family, I miss the red so much and can't wait to go back to my usual, vibrant self.

So, to truly signal the start of summer, I thought I had better throw a party. And what better occasion than my 20th birthday? 

They'll be plenty of mojitos and cake pops, and plenty of cups of tea as it's a 'best of British' tea party. Currently, my biggest issue is how to dress up as the Queen without, well... looking like the Queen I guess. Although her unimpressed-who-the-hell-is-Will.i.am face completely stole the show at the Jubilee.

I don't have too many plans for summer yet, but I'm sure it will involve lots of trips to the pub, taking in lots of exhibitions in London and weeping over a paintbrush, trying to be as good as the artists in the aforementioned exhibitions.
I'm currently in limbo, waiting for the uni to let us know whose set design has been chosen for the Autumn AUB production 'The Rights of Man'. If my design gets chosen, it will actually be built and put on in November! So fingers crossed! (and toes! And eyes! And anything else that can be crossed!)
We went for a very abstract approach with everything taking on a hand-drawn quality. Here are a few pictures of my 1:25 scale set model so you can see what I’ve been working on…

 What are your plans for summer? Let me know in the comments :) 

Watch this space

Sammie

xoxo

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How to rid yourself of holiday 'friends'

Hello, toasters!

Most people take holiday pictures in front of big, flash cars, and I couldn't resist this jazzy number the city of Mahon had to offer
 

No one knows who decided it would be a good idea to socialise whilst abroad, but everyone knows it's a bad move.
I almost called this post 'How to rid yourself of unwanted holiday friends'.
I then realised that the term 'holiday friends' already implies they're annoying, not very funny and difficult to understand due to a thick Northern accent.
Just a general pain when you're trying to enjoy the sun, sea, and the handsome Spanish waiter who slips you your cheque oh-so-provocatively.
Of course, there are a few good things about befriending random families on holiday...
If you forgot to reserve a seat for the nights' entertainment, they're usually the type of people who have been camped out for 3 hours to get the very best table, and always seem to have room to spare.

(By the way, if you don't relate to having the issue of a bunch of people you don't know tagging around with you on holiday, you may be one of the people I'm talking about.)

I've just come back from Son Bou, Menorca.
We survived the first half of the holiday without a group following us about, making us feel like tour guides.
On the fourth day, we encountered Ebony in the  swimming pool.
On the plus side, she was a lovely girl who liked to laugh, and got on really well with my younger sister Gina.
In fact, it was perfect, as Ebony was constantly in the pool, so it prevented the constant flow of 'are you coming in yet?' nagging from Gina.
What was not so perfect was Ebony's family.
Physically, they were so huge and overpowering, that toddlers passing by wet themselves out of fear.
They swore like troopers, were overly touchy-feely, and complained about everything.
(They made my sarcasm look like nothing I tell you)
They also seemed to be constantly there, by the pool, in the lounge, even in the lift.
And wherever you were, they'd insist you'd come and sit, and have a long old conversation about how bad the state of the walkway was, or whatever latest thing they'd found to pick holes in.
So quickly popping up to the room to get your flip flops would take about half an hour as you'd be sure to bump into them at least twice.
When it came to their thick Liverpudlian accent, I did the very British thing by just nodding to everything I didn't catch, to prevent my side of the conversation being 50% 'I beg your pardon?'

So if you ever find yourself in a similar situation, here is a list of simple things that you can do to rid yourselves of these bizarre people...

1. Begin by stabbing a nearby squirrel with a toothpick.
2. Just kidding, but do try to do something subtly outlandish to make them rethink why they're allowing their family to be around you. By 'subtly outlandish', I do not mean making kebabs out of poor woodland creatures.
3. Run everywhere. Maybe if you can run away from them for long enough, they'll latch onto someone else.
4. Become a used car salesman and try to sell them PPI Insurance.
5. Put mildly controversial ideas into the children's heads. For example, if the father is an avid Manchester United fan, plant seeds in the kids heads that Chelsea is way cooler to support.
6. Insist they come along with you on a reeeeeally long hike.
7. Talk about nothing but how likeable the Go Compare singer is.
8. If all of the above fail, it's time to bring out the big guns.... open a tin of Pringles, share them out amongst your family but don't offer any to them. Watch them eye the tube pleadingly, and feel very guilty about it, but know that its all for the greater good.

 

I hope you can take these lessons and put them into practice next time a particularly lecherous family of four decide to be your new best friends.

Good luck!
Sammie
xoxo

Homecoming

Hello, toasters!
Sorry for the relative silence on the blogging front for the past few weeks, but I've been on two family holidays (lucky me!)
We went to Centreparcs first, then Menorca second, which I have just arrived back from today.
They were both brilliant, and I now have a lovely tan!
I don't quite pass as looking more 'European' than 'British' yet, but I think if I keep it up, I could find myself slipping across the channel.
My next full post will be up tomorrow evening, but I just wanted to let you know where I've been! (Because of course, you've been wondering... why wouldn't you have? xD )
So, I'll see you all tomorrow!
Sammie
xoxo

Five annoying people on holiday & Challenge no.15- Tie Die EVERYTHING

Hi everyone :)
I hope you're enjoying summer so far and the unusually hot British weather! Oh, and Andy Murray winning Wimbledon!
Having just come back from a family holiday in Kos- which was beautiful and sunny and all things a holiday should be- I couldn't help but notice a few people that.... well.... these people grind my gears.
The people that I picked out weren't just the average obnoxious holiday makers, oh no.
These are the people that bring a boombox to the pool and play foreign, low-quality drum and bass while everyone else is trying to relax. These are the people that have dieted for months to skip along the beach in their skimpy bikini saying how fat they are. These are the people that shake their sandy towel out right next to you so that you get a face full of sand!
I don't know what there is to be done about these people (we all know who they are! And if you don't know who I'm talking about, I'm afraid its you) but I decided to record all of my thoughts in a vlog so that all of you sane people headed overseas this summer can identify and avoid these 'human beings'.
So without further ado, here is my list of just Five annoying people encountered on family holidays...

....deep breaths....
Okay, well now I've got all of those frustrations out, I have completed another challenge!
*congratulatory music*
Two of my friends came down to my student house in Bournemouth earlier this year, and we decided that we needed to it was our destiny to become hipsters. As you do.
So we donned our skinniest jeans and our most ironic snapbacks, and drove all the way to Matalan. Recording everything on instagram, obviously.
We bought the cheapest skirts we could, and the loudest dyes we could, and set to it...

 

And here are the results.... TA DAAAAA!

 



We then set off to the Harvester looking like a fabulous Gay Pride brigade, and had a beautiful, reasonably nutritious meal.
I still use my shirt to sleep in (its so comfy!) and tie-dyeing is probably the most fun, unique way of jazzing up old, bland clothing- if you haven't tried it already, I'd definitely recommend that you channel your inner hipster and give it a whirl.
Sammie
xoxo

I've finished my first year!

So it seems I've finished my first year of uni, and it's the summer holidays already... and it's only 4th June?!
I have no idea what I'm going to do for the almost four month break, but I am certain of a few things...

1. I will probably go to quite some length to try and cure my boredom, including the possibility of watching some television series' that raise questions about my cultural tastes.
2. I now have no excuse to comfort eat, like I did when it was getting close to the deadline and everyone sort of lets you off. This said, I did buy 2 pots of Ben and Jerry's Cookie Dough ice cream (they were on offer!) and had a Chinese last night. Something tells me I may be unhealthy....
3. I will leave my summer project to the last few days. Regardless of the fact that I am actually working on it as we speak, and am interested in it. Because, if we look at the way I've handled previous summer projects (or, in fact any project), I always leave everything until the last possible minute. So, I wish myself luck, but am not setting my expectations too high.

This will also give me a heck of a lot more time, which I can use to get through my list of 101 Ways to Procrastinate :)
 And if you'd like to see what I've been up to the past 2 months, here are some photos of my finished costume....

 

And here is a photo of me (and my friend Cara) wearing our costumes that were made for us! :)

 

 

This project was a lot of fun, and I can't wait to see what's in store for next year!

Watch this space, guys and gals

Sammie

xoxo