"Ladies Bike" - my early birthday present

I just wanted to share this amazing music video that Tom made me to accompany my early birthday present (a new bicycle!) He and some friends recorded 'Ladies Bike,' (to the tune of Ladies Night!), filmed especially in the Convent. Give it a watch - it's very 'Flight of the Conchords'! I am a lucky gal.

I am off on my holidays this weekend so farewell for now!

Laura x

Film Friday: Sound it Out

This week I watched Sound it Out, a documentary which centres around the last record shop in Teeside, north east England. It explores the slightly obsessive characters that frequent the shop, and the shop owners themselves who are so passionate about music. It was really interesting to hear the reasons why the customers held the shop so close to them, and why music has helped them get through difficult parts in their lives. There were some very 'Hi Fidelity' moments in the film too! I thought it was a shame that we didn't hear a bit more from female music collectors though, as the people featured were nearly all men (despite the director being female). I have sometimes found vinyl shops a little intimidating when I've stepped inside them, although they really shouldn't be!

Just a minute | May

This month I have mostly been..

Reading Stuart, A Life Backwards

Listening to the new Kurt Vile album

Enjoying the sunshine (which seems to have disappeared today, bah..)

Watching ...I have run out of boxsets, so am waiting excitedly for Girls season 2!

Buying mosquito repellent, sun-cream and flip flops for my holiday to Turkey

Looking after Tom's dad's sweet little dog Pip (above) while they were away

Posting my zines to another creative blogger for a zine swap, hurrah!

Driving electric cars during a super fun Scalextric match in the Racing Room in the Dragon pub. (It's amazing as they've built a mini Nottingham town surrounding the track. Sadly my camera died that day and I didn't have chance to photograph it!)

Has anyone got any good 'holiday' book recommendations by the way? I'm going to see if the library has a copy of IQ84 but any other recommendations would be great!

Things I still haven't mastered by the age of 29

As my 30th is approaching I've been thinking about seemingly 'adult' skills I should have picked up by now, and those I have yet to master. Here's a few that still need work..

1. How to apply make-up with proper brushes
2. How to walk in heels (although I don't actually own any)
3. The art of small talk
4. Knowing what to write in wedding cards (same goes for expectant mother cards!)
5. Whether or not it's safe to reheat rice
6. Sports
7. How to react to compliments
8. Anything to do with pensions/mortgages (eep!)
9. How to make the perfect omelette
10. How to stop biting my nails

Anyone got any of their own to add, to make me feel better? ;-)

Five Blogs I Love

Some of my favourite bloggers are doing a blog challenge this month to blog every day in May. I decided this would prove a bit tricky for me as I'm on holiday for a quarter of the month but some of the subjects are great so I might pick and choose from them as the month goes on! Today's is to choose 5 blogs you love. I have lots of inspirational blogs I like to read so it is hard to choose just five, but the following ones are the blogs I get happiest about whenever there's a new post!

1. Like a Skeleton Key
It is actually Bee's birthday today (happy b-day!) so I thought it was appropriate to pop her lovely blog in the first spot. Bee has a wonderful down-to-earth style of writing, and reading about her recent travels in New York and LA has given me serious wanderlust. Not to mention her descriptions of various eateries which make my stomach rumble!

2. That Kate
Kate's photos are always a delight to look through and I love reading about all the special places she visits.

3. Words that can only be your own
Janet's blog has become a firm favourite of mine. Janet writes about a range of topics like books, music and crafts and her blog is never boring.

4. For Me, For You
Another blog I love partly for the beautiful photos, Kate Miss is a designer and jewelry maker living in Los Angeles and has a knack for sharing great music, recipes and other design related topics. Her recent photos of the desert really made me want to travel there too.

5. Goodnight Little Spoon
You can always count on Bianca to make inspiring and creative posts. This lady has many talents, including painting and collage and is currently expecting her first child.

Film Friday: Broken English

Broken English stars Parker Posey (who i think has a bit of a cult following) as Nora, a woman in her thirties, stuck in a job she doesn't enjoy, who goes out with a series of men who are all wrong for her. Until one night at a party she meets charming Frenchman Julien. They spend the weekend together until he has to depart for Paris. Nora has a bit of a freak out and decides not to go but then has a change of heart and whisks herself off to Paris to find him. Without giving away too much of the plot, there are lots of echoes of Before Sunrise/Sunset in this film (*spoiler alert! - the last line in Broken English is apparently the same as Before Sunset!). Although I found Julien lovely, I couldn't quite decide if I liked Nora or not. I did enjoy the film, but  it didn't quite hit the mark; perhaps as I felt slightly let down by the ending.

The Merry old Month of May

A list of things that excite me about this month....

1. Holidays. In a few weeks we depart for a week in Turkey - I can't wait!

2. Birthdays. It's quite a few of my friends' and family's birthdays in May, as well as quite a 'big' one for me in a couple of weeks! I plan to drag out my birthday for at least three quarters of the month just for good measure.

3. Sunshine. Some may disagree but my Dad always says that May 1st is the first day of summer, so I'm hoping the cold evenings will disappear and there will be more time for bike rides and picnics this month.

4. The release of Before Midnight - okay so it's only released in the US this month but that means a UK release can't be too far away, right?

5. Enjoying the outdoors before hayfever hits me in June. Need to make the most of inhaling the scent of blossom and grass before everything makes me sneeze!

6. Not one but two Bank Holidays, that can't be bad!

7. We are dog-sitting for Tom's dad this weekend, and looking after Pip, the sweetest little dog i know.

8. This weekend for a friend's birthday we are having a go at Scalectrix in a local pub, should be fun!

9. I'm currently working on a playlist of songs that make me happy, to play at my birthday shindig. This means looking through all my favourite songs from the 80s and 90s (and wondering what Chaka Demus & Pliers song is best, ha..)

What are you looking forward to this month?