Radio 1's Live Lounge Special - Ben Howard covers Ellie Goulding's Figure 8.

This is literally my idea of music heaven.

Ellie's album Halcyon is one of my favourite albums of 2012 (in close competition with Mumford and Son's Babel). Although every track on this album is incredible, Figure 8 is by far my favourite. It's powerful, meaningful and most importantly sounds great both vocally and musically.

Ben Howard is my favourite male solo artist, I've posted about my love for him before so I won't bore you all with that again. Naturally I was extremely excited to find out Ben Howard was doing the live lounge special and the anticipation for the cover couldn't have been met with more enthusiasm from me.

Ellie's version of this song is incredible, but Ben Howard brings a new dimension to the sounds and lyrics in a way that transforms it completely. I wouldn't say it was better than the original because it's too different to compare, all I know is that I want to listen to it over and over.

This is Ellie's original version of Figure 8. The passion and the power of the song is something that draws me in to it and is most probably why it is my favourite on the album. The video for this has been done extremely well and is a good balance of creative beauty and powerful emotion. The timing of the drops along with visual representations is perfect and results in a very successful video.

Enjoy (:
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Ke$ha - Die Young

Ke$ha has always been an artist that I've liked, not ever quite enough for her music to make my iPod, but enough to enjoy on a night out. However, her new album has converted me to a solid fan. The whole sound is different to her previous album and the majority of tracks are extremely catchy.
I love Ke$ha's style and the way she presents herself as a person. I know a lot of people don't like her, but there is something about her that is really appealing to me and I like her values.

Music videos tend to bore me a bit these days, they're all very samey, over edited, boy meets girl story line  Ke$ha's video for Die Young is a bit more gritty and I like it. There is a variety of styling and hair and makeup looks throughout the video, Ke$ha looks amazing in all of them. (I think it's safe to say I have a slight crush..)




Enjoy!
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Today I saved a Hedgehogs life.

It's true! Today I spent my day off (well, part of it) saving the life of a cute little Hedgehog. I'm not entirely sure that it should have been out foraging in the frosty grass for food at this time of year.. Aren't they meant to be hibernating by now?
Either way, he was adorable. I grabbed my camera and tiptoed in to the garden to take some photos.
(I've named him Ernie)

Hedgehog. Cute. Animal. Frost.

After spending a good 10 minutes sneaking around the Hedgehog trying not to startle him and taking photos, I headed back in to the warm. I just happened to glance up out of the kitchen window to see the neighbors evil cat stalking Ernie! I wasn't about to watch an evil cat attack a confused cold hedgehog so I proceeded to run barefoot(bad idea) in to the garden to save him.
Safe in the knowledge that Ernie was hidden from the evil cat, I headed back inside to defrost my feet.
Who says days home alone aren't exciting?

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Christmas Poem. (E.E.Cummings - Little Tree)

Poetry is one of my passions, I love to hear it, read it and write it. There is something about a poem that can capture you in a way that prose can't. It has the ability to create mood, feeling and emotion that lasts longer than the lines in which it is contained.
Keeping with the theme of Christmas from my previous post, I thought I would share one of my favourite Christmas poems with you, it's called Little Tree and is written by E.E.Cummings. It's beautifully written and effortlessly tells a story.
It's the kind of poem that makes me think about the meanings behind it but on a more superficial level just makes me feel good. It paints a picture of Christmas perfection that is the thing of childhood memories and dreams.

little tree

little silent Christmas tree

you are so little

you are more like a flower

who found you in the green forest

and were you very sorry to come away?

see          i will comfort you

because you smell so sweetly

i will kiss your cool bark

and hug you safe and tight

just as your mother would,

only don't be afraid

look          the spangles

that sleep all the year in a dark box

dreaming of being taken out and allowed to shine,

the balls the chains red and gold the fluffy threads,

put up your little arms

and i'll give them all to you to hold

every finger shall have its ring

and there won't be a single place dark or unhappy

then when you're quite dressed

you'll stand in the window for everyone to see

and how they'll stare!

oh but you'll be very proud

and my little sister and i will take hands

and looking up at our beautiful tree

we'll dance and sing

"Noel Noel"

Enjoy (:
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It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

Anyone who knows me will know that I'm not always the most festive person when it comes to Christmas. Don't get me wrong, I do enjoy it, I love buying presents for people, seeing all of my family, I love Christmas traditions. However, when the Christmas hype starts in October I'm kind of bored by it all by the time it gets to December. It would be much more exciting if it was all contained within December.
This is the first Christmas in a long time that I have time free to actually enjoy it. The last 3 years I've had looming University deadlines resulting in me burying myself in paperwork until Christmas day itself. Having a job now and a relatively disposable income has bought more enjoyment to the present buying side of thing allowing me to treat my family and friends.
Despite me rambling about my feelings on Christmas, this post was initially intended for me to share a couple of photos with you all. Everyone has one thing, kind of like a tradition I guess, that lets them know Christmas is on it's way. Mine is the spectacular display of lights on a house around the corner from mine. Every single year for months and months, this guy spends hours creating a lighting masterpiece on every inch of his house. People come from miles around to see it and it usually makes news headlines. He collects donations for charity, it's an all round feel good event.
The moment his lights go on, it's Christmas.

Christmas. Lights. Festive. Lighting display.

Christmas. Lights. Festive. Lighting display.

I apologise for the picture quality, I didn't have my DSLR on me so had to make do with my digital compact.

(This was on the news yesterday so I thought I'd update my post and add the link for you all to see)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-wiltshire-20663776 

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It's Britney B*tch!

Britney's back!
I'm not much of a Britney fan these days, I'm all about the 90's Britney, but that's another story. However, when I heard she was collaborating with Will.I.Am, naturally I was curious to see the outcome and expected big things after the hype of the video.
I'm sure the song will be a massive hit, but my main focus of this post is Britney's styling - namely the hair.
Of course this is all purely personal opinion, but I'm struggling to understand the design concept.. To me it all just seems a bit disjointed. It is so very easy to make Britney look beautiful, but I don't think this look is flattering at all. I think it's the hair and the gold hair band. It provides too much of a harsh division, the end result looking like someone has superimposed  Britney's face on to someone else's hair...

Britney Spears. Scream and Shout. Will.I.Am

Maybe it's just me being over-observant but I think it's safe to say I'm not a fan of this look.

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Amelia Lily - Shut up (And give me whatever you've got)

As I was browsing the music channels this afternoon I came across Amelia Lily's new music video on the 'Must see' chart.
I'm undecided on the song, I think perhaps it will become something I love to hate after a few more listens, but the first thing I noticed was the styling.
The majority of the video has Amelia styled as you would usually expect to see her, however sections of it has very Christina Aguilera-esque styling from her Dirrty video..

For anyone who hasn't yet seen or heard it and would like to, here's the video to Amelia's new song.




Enjoy!

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Gabrielle Aplin - The Power of Love (John Lewis)

The fact I can blog about this and the majority of those of you who read it will know what I'm on about makes me happy in itself.
I love Gabrielle Aplin, I have done for years now. She comes from Bath which is just up the road from where I live. Over the years I've downloaded singles, been to small local gigs and urged my friends to listen to her incredible voice. It's nice to see someone succeed in something they're clearly born to do for a change!
Despite my attempts to spread her music, it seems that all was needed to bring her to everyone's attention was the eagerly awaited annual John Lewis Christmas Advert. Covering 'The Power of Love', Gabrielle Aplin transforms an already brilliantly written, moving advert in to something sensationally powerful.
Here it is if you haven't already seen it!

And here is the full song and video by Gabrielle Aplin;




Her voice is beautiful, it always is and will do any song justice. There is something about this track though that takes it to the next level. It's beautifully haunting, both powerful and delicate at the same time. It's good listened to quietly or as loud as your speakers can manage, it is deservedly working it's way up the UK singles chart. If there is any sanity left in music tastes, it deserves to hang around to make that sacred Christmas Number one instead of the generic x factor one hit wonder...

If you haven't already, listen to some more of her tracks, you definitely won't be disappointed and you may just find the soundtrack to your christmas!

Enjoy (:

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New Christmas/Winter hat!

I have a backlog of things I want to blog about seeing as I have been slacking recently! So for the next few posts and the previous two I shall revert to being a chain blogger to get it all out of my system. Then I shall hopefully restore consistency...

I am fully aware that this post may not be quite as exciting for those of you who read it as it is for me, but I shall go ahead and share anyway!

My first words to my friend as we entered Cribs to go Christmas shopping were 'Don't let me buy anything for myself, I have to get presents!'. Her dedication to this request was somewhat questionable as she pointed out a hat for me in River Island as I was attempting to find a Wallet for my dad. 

After seconds of deliberation, I was the proud owner of a new Knitted Bobble Beanie.. Well, I have to keep my head warm somehow! It is winter after all.

I would definitely recommend this to anyone who is looking for a good easy to wear winter hat! It's warm but really lightweight so doesn't constantly feel like it's about to fall off. I've also noticed that men's hats are a better fit than womens (maybe I just have a large head?) but either way, for £13 it's a perfect treat for Christmas!

Beanie Hat. River Island. Mens

Just in case you wondered what it looked like on my head...

I wanted to share the shirt I may have also bought for myself in Topshop, but they don't appear to have it on their website :(
Aside from the hat and the shirt, I did actually manage to complete almost all of my Christmas shopping... I've surprised myself with how early I'm all done. I've also surprised my bank account... Oops.

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Taylor Swift - I knew you were trouble

Okay so, usually I wouldn't typically describe myself as a Taylor Swift fan, it's not really my type of music. However I have a slight obsession with this song at the moment.
I'm not sure if it's the song itself or the fact that recent events during graduation week gave it a lot more meaning. You know when every part of your logic is telling you to walk away from a situation but you ignore all the warning signs that are becoming increasingly more frantic in your head...?
Never a good move!

Enjoy!
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Graduation!

 A lot has happened since I last posted. I have no excuse for my severe lack of posts, I guess I let my creative side take a back seat for a while whilst I was getting things in order after finishing uni.(Apologies in advance if this is a long one!)
Finishing University has probably been one of the most emotionally fueled things I have ever experienced. Initially, when I handed that last project in and had a month of summer to enjoy in Southampton with all my uni friends, there was an overwhelming sense of relief. This however subsided considerably the day we shut our front door to our uni house for the last time and handed in the keys. It felt like the last scene in the last episode of friends, but less glorified and a lot more upsetting. I think it's fair to say we all shed a little tear (guys included) at having to accept the fact it was all over.
I won't go in to how it was the best 3 years of my life, as I would be writing forever. I will however say this; people have always told me that you find yourself at uni and make friends for life, it isn't until I look back at the experience that I realise how much it has shaped me as a person. I get a horrible sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach when I think about it being over accompanied by the biggest smile when I remember how amazing it all was. I have no regrets and would do it all again in a heartbeat.

In slightly happier news, I GRADUATED :)
I now officially have a BA (Hons) degree in hair and makeup design for music, film and photography. The ceremony was on November 19th and was the marker for the beginning of the best week of my entire life so far (I imagine it would be hard to beat).
Let me say firstly that behind all of the smiles, it was potentially the most stressful day I have experienced! Gale force winds, rain, gowns and mortar boards are not a good combination!
I don't want to bore you with details of the ceremony, or the entire week for that matter, so I will say it through video clips and photos! Meeting up with my friends again made me a little camera happy, it was so nice to be back with everyone.

Aside from having to walk on stage in front of hundreds of people in a gown and hat, our ceremony was also streamed live to the whole world. http://new.livestream.com/accounts/1916107/events/1663039/ 
Obviously I had to invest in a dress for the ceremony. Now this is probably exciting for most girls, but I'm more of a converse and shirts kind of girl so the prospect of a dress and heels was a little daunting. In the end I settled on this dress from New Look.
http://www.newlook.com/shop/womens/dresses/grey-boucle-sleeveless-skater-dress_262679507

Graduation. Southampton Guildhall. 

Graduation. Southampton.


As much as I would love to sit here posting photos endlessly, I'll save the hundreds of photos for Facebook and settle for just the 2 on here!

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