Halloween in the Chapel

Last night we celebrated Halloween with a group of friends dressed in terrifying outfits, inside the appropriate venue of the chapel (living in an ex-convent does have its advantages!). I decided I had to be a nun for the occasion, while Tom made a last minute mummy costume that turned out pretty well in the end!

We played musical statues to Thriller, passed the parcel and played a fun (but quite bizarre) game which involved making animal noises in the dark! My only regret was not having enough time for apple bobbing. There's always next year though eh? Happy Halloween folks x

The ghosts got a little melted!

Can you guess which movies these outfits are from?

Dear Photograph

Dear Photograph is really worth a look - I've seen this idea before but this time people add messages to the photographs. I quite fancy doing my own. Seen via hula seventy.

Film Friday: The Craft

I hadn't seen this film since I was a teenager so I decided it was the perfect time of year to invite some friends round, light some candles and watch the Craft once more. In case you managed to get through adolesence without seeing it and wanting to become Fairuza Balk, it centres around four friends who each decide to get their own back on those who anger them through various magic spells. (It was the first time Tom had seen it and his review went along the lines of "try harder next time," so maybe one to watch for the memories rather than for the first time!)

After this we watched the Halloween episode of My So-Called Life, which made for a pretty perfect spooky night in, all in all!

Five Halloweens

A few photos I dug up from previous years.

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

Looking forward to this year's! We are having a Halloween party on Saturday in the Chapel, I can't wait to see everyone's outfits!

Bits from my Travel Journal

Last year when I visited Paris & Amsterdam I started a travel journal about my adventures which I shared here, and I continued it over in Chicago. Here's a sneaky peek inside. Edit: Ooh I just read that Music Box, the cinema we went to see labyrinth in was the cinema rob visits in hi fidelity. ~geek alert~

Chicago part 2 - Vintage Shopping & Wicker Park

The day we spent wandering round Wicker Park was one of my favourites. There are so many cool shops and cafe's there! We initially wanted to eat in Earwax cafe as it is a favourite place for comic artists like Jeffrey Brown to go and draw but sadly it had closed down. However we found the Wormhole cafe which was great - the inside was filled with 80's memorabilia, there's even a DeLorean in the window! Other cool shops included the strangely titled Boring Store (which was far from boring inside) and Rudy's Roundup which was amazing. I bought a few things there as gifts for people but if I'd had more money I probably would've spent a lot more inside.

The photos we took in Quimby's

Inside the Wormhole cafe

We also visited a cool shop in Andersonville called Woolly Mammoth, a vintage shop filled with curious objects (and rather a lot of taxidermy, plus a mummified cat eep!). I could've spent all day looking at the strange things inside there.

Come on feel the Illinoise...

Above: us at the 'Bean' in Millennium Park

And we're back from Chicago! We had a great time there and packed a lot into our week long trip. Highlights included staying in the most wonderful B&B (full of vintage collections & old cameras), hanging out in the Art Institute (recreating this scene), visiting Superdawg's, a drive-in hotdog diner, going to Wild West Town to paint pumpkins and finding a black & white photobooth in Quimby's comic shop. Here are a few pictures, will share the second part tomorrow (and if you're not bored of Chicago by then soon I'll scan in some pages from my travel journal too!)

Holiday Guest Post # 6 - by Tom

When this publishes we'll hopefully be on our plane home! I asked Tom to contribute a post about one of his most favourite places, Japan. Thank you Tom!

2 years ago i went to Tokyo, Japan. Some moments really stay with me;

1. Going to a Photobooth in Harajuku (above: with friend Rob & sister Michaela)

In this photobooth you could take a picture of yourself and then add lots of funny graphics on top!

2. Staying up all night in Shibuya and sleeping in a Manga Kissa Cafe.

Some Mangakissa Cafe's are basically huge rooms with separate little compartments which have a tv screen and a big comfy chair. You can hire out Manga or a DVD from the library and relax in your own little compartment!! The overall atmosphere was of a library,really hushed and peaceful. A lot of people use them when they've missed their last train back.

3. Going to Tsukiji fish market at 5am and having morning sushi

The fish market was totally incredible. It's the biggest market in the world, filled with stall after stall of amazing colours and flapping fish. Walking down the aisles, you're having to constantly keep your wits about you as people come hurtling along on these little trucks!

4. Mount Fuji

Although we didn't get to climb Mount Fuji, (it wasn't safe for us to climb it as it wasn't the right season!) we did see it from a little town called Yamanakako which was about 2-3 hours away on bus. Here we rented bikes and explored the town. It was a nice change from the hustle and bustle of Tokyo and it was really nice to see what rural Japan looked like. We also had the biggest tempura prawns, the richness of the food was just INCREDIBLE!

5. Karaoke in Karaoke Kan, Shibuya

Ok, this tops the tourist 'thing to do'! We tried desperately to find the Karaoke bar that appears in Lost in Translation. After a few hours hiking up and down alleys in Shibuya we finally found the Karaoke Kan!

6. Pachinko!

Pachinko is a game not dissimilar to pinball/fruit machines although we didn't quite understand what to do! A lot of the time we just had bizarre pictures flashing up at us as we were trying to shoot little ball bearings into holes! It's incredibly loud and yet some people apparently spend all day in there!

Overall, I can't state enough how amazing Japan was. Every single person we met was friendly and helpful, the food was the best i've ever had, and i'm desperate to go back!

Tom x