Sunday roundup

Listening to: Daughter, Frank Ocean and the Black Keys

Watching: "Marley and Me" for the first time. I spent the whole film convinced that I was not going to cry, that this was just a Hollywood film and not real life. I almost made it until towards the end before I wept and wept and wept. Now really paranoid about looking after pets properly and never being mean to them!

Eating: lots of Marmite on toast
Baking: mug-shaped biscuits for my friend's Macmillan Coffee Morning (but really it was a Cocktail Evening)

Drinking: home-made mojitos

Wishing: I was somewhere remote
Walking: in the woods

Reading: my Business Law and Civil Litigation textbooks
Learning: client interviewing and advising technique

Enjoying: the routine of being back at "school"

What have you learnt this week?

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Silence

Source: weheartit

I love these kinds of friendship. The ones where you feel very much on the same wavelength, and the chances are, even if you are not speaking out loud, you are having the same thoughts, mulling over the same topics, in your head. I recently read "The Silver Linings Playbook" in which the protagonist and his new friend barely speak to one another; they just run for miles each day. Yet they have so much in common and understand each other in a way others don't. Does that mean then that there are some people you are just meant to know or be friends with? Does fate play any part in the relationships that we have with people and how close our friendships are? Maybe the book is an exaggerated version of the real life encounters synonymous with this. It is probably more likely that this type of friendship is one which has been built up over years of experience independently and together, and a mutual understanding formed as a result. Not every characteristic of mine is shared by my closest friends, but the important ones seem to be whether they are innate traits or a consequence of mutual life experiences. What is it that connects you to the ones you can share these silences with? I would love to hear your thoughts below xx 

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Sunday roundup - birthday edition

Watching: beautiful sunsets

Admiring: my sisters' ability to make superrrrr deeeee dooooperrrr cakes such as the beautiful birthday cake pictured above! Also my pretty roses :)

Hanging out with: my best friends, lovely family and cutie kitten

Eating: sushi at my favourite restaurant, Sticks 'n' Sushi, which I have blogged about before right here
Reading: a book about the empowerment of women in the developing world (oh and more law books of course)
Listening to: Daughter
Excited about: going to see "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time" at the theatre next month :)

Birthdays seem so irrelevant these days. I mean, everybody has one so what makes them so exciting? I am grateful, however, for the effort made by people close to me to make me feel special so that is lovely - thank you :) 

What's your favourite way to spend your birthday? Do you place much emphasis on it?

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On being "weird"

Not that I'm being elitist or anything... (Source: Pinterest)

I have been known to call my cat a "weirdo" on several occasions each day, because lets face it - he is. He loves playing with empty Pepperami wrappers; he rollerskates in the bathroom sink; and today he was caught red-handed eating lemon cake on the kitchen table. My sister tells me not to offend him by calling him names but I don't see being "weird" as an offensive term. It is commonly accepted that I am weird. I turned down a lift the other day when it was pouring with rain, just because I wanted to try out my new raincoat. More often than not I don't complete my sentences and punctuate them with incomprehensible gobbledigook. I enjoy filing. But it is these little habits and quirks which make us all interesting, I think (except perhaps the filing...). Just as everyone is beautiful and fantastic in their own way, everybody is weird in their own way too. 

I had a conversation with a ten-year-old recently about what makes a person "cool" - none of these included being good at anything academic. I accept that academics aren't everything but they are something I have always respected and taken interest in. I'm still studying now! But I remember what it was like to be made to feel "weird" for spending my lunchtimes carrying quiz books around the playground and testing my own general knowledge. Extra studying for fun - fancy that! Another thing I was made to feel "weird" for was having vegetable sticks as part of my packed lunch because that wasn't the "cool" thing to be eating circa 1999. My Mum must have been a leader or something in healthy eating then because it seems to be fairly popular these days... Like a lot of labels (and I am not in favour of labels in most cases, unless they are of the sticky, stationery variety), "weird" has an unnecessarily negative stigma attached to it. What is the problem with doing something differently and taking pride in something different to somebody else? 

Whilst I recognise that the examples and anecdotes I have included in this post are very trivial, I do believe that the world would be a pretty boring place if we all enjoyed identical hobbies and believed the same things. I suppose there is less emphasis on "weird" being negative as we grow up but I am keen to encourage littl'uns that they can do whatever they are interested in and not restrict their imaginations and ideas. Nobody should fear other people's judgement on something that makes them happy. Part of this, however, stems from lack of self-confidence/belief. How do you reckon we go about instilling this in a younger generation who are so image-/style-conscious? 

I would love to hear your thoughts on this - suggestions/thoughts are very welcome in the comments section below.

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Sunday Roundup

Listening to: the Arctic Monkey's new album "AM", London Grammar and Daughter

Playing: Game of Life - my sister's friend brought this over for us to play on Friday night and it was just perfect! Like reliving childhood! Although the ending is a bit of an anticlimax don't you think? 

Naturally the kitten joined in.....

Giggling at: the lactose intolerant kitten eyeing up milk each and every day, and stealing custard

Reading: "The Silver Linings Playbook" and lovely law books (see previous post)

Looking for: a pretty cover for my new iPhone. Anyone got any recommendations? Been scouring hundreds of Etsy pages but there is almost too much choice! I would ideally like one with Matilda on it but the closest I found was one of The BFG. Close...

Loving: this picture and idea (source unknown)

It all makes sense! 

Lots of cat pictures this week but he's pretty big in my world at the moment. He slept on my chest last night and then by my legs. I think we're friends now :)

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Law School - Day One

This was me today...

Source: weheartit.com

...lugging home all of these beauties...

...taking my Laura Marling box down from my shelf...

...to make way for these scrumptious bundles...

...minus the kitten. The kitten is too squirmy to sit still on a shelf.

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My favourite jumper

Seriously considering wearing this on my first day at law school, but very conscious that people may well point and laugh. That'd be ironic.
Cast your votes below please!

PS. A BFF of mine bought me this jumper a couple of years ago for my birthday and enchanted me with the story of the two horses who had been working hard all day, giving rides to little children, and this image is of them at the end of the day, kissing each other where the saddles had made their backs sore. What cuties. I think this is why it is my favourite jumper :)

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Tales of a Naughty Kitten #1

 "You know this plant which I know I'm definitely not allowed to eat could really do with some trimming. I think I'd make a pretty good gardener", mused Cosmo.

"Hmm, is this branch lopsided enough yet?" he wondered.

 He decided not, so got straight back to work.

"Ah yes, much better," Cosmo observed, sinking into his lounging position. "Now I can play with the leaves without having to stretch quite so far."

Photos courtesy of my sister who caught Cosmo in the act.

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My e-mail to the Mail on Sunday

...which was obviously ignored.

"Hello,

I am just writing to highlight a degree of irony spotted in a Mail on Sunday article from May 5th 2013. You can find the article in question below. As a young DVT sufferer I was pleased to see that a national newspaper had reported on it so thank you for that. However, the "Yes Please" bubble in the bottom left of the page talks about a drink which contains kale, spinach and broccoli. Lovely and healthy, sure - but actually three ingredients that people with blood clots are told to avoid in excess as green vegetables increase risk of clotting.

Many thanks,

Beeta"

Better research and placement next time please.

Disclaimer: I am NOT a Daily Mail/Mail on Sunday reader...one of my Dad's students saw this and gave it to him because she knew about my DVT. 

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Sunday roundup

This week I have been.....

Reading: "After the Quake" by Haruki Murakami - a series of short stories, largely unresolved and very thought provoking.

Eating: pop tarts brought back from America by my Dad :) oh and all of these anniversary chocolates...

Drinking: so much tea

Catching up with: lots of family, including a FaceTime session with my grandparents :)

Debating: whether you should always stick to your principles or whether you need to be in a position of privilege to do so.

Feeling excited about: making a "No More Page Three" t-shirt. Also, one of my favourite comedians (Katherine Ryan) favourited my tweet the other day which made me beam because 1) that means I'm funny...right?! and 2) my name appears next to other people she has also favourited tweets of, including a hero of mine, Caitlin Moran! Oh and MC Hammer and Frankie Boyle. 

Smiling at: the kitten falling asleep on my tummy with one arm outstretched towards me

This week the kitten has also killed and eaten a spider, discovered he liked jumping into sinks, tried to catch butterflies through the window and started relaxing on the kitchen work top when the sun is shining and he thinks nobody has spotted him. 

What did you discover this week?

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Back to School

I'm not sure how it's happened (LIE: I know exactly how days/months/years pass) but my gap year is almost over. I will be going back to school next week, to study the Legal Practice Course and although there is a little bit of me that is a bit scared of studying again, I am mostly excited for an injection of structure to my time and cerebral stimulation.

The picture above is of me on my first day of school in 1995. That pink lunch-box was a Beauty and the Beast one which I adored! I unfortunately didn't have the best start in Reception, as I managed to lock myself in a toilet cubicle by accident on my first day. I called out for my newly made friend who had gone to the loos with me but she didn't answer. Perfect. Locked away and abandoned! Panic, panic, panic. Luckily, a Year 1 girl heard me crying and decided she was going to rescue me. Her suggestion, however, did not go down well; there was NO WAY I was going to slide under the toilet door! My uniform was far too clean for that! So the poor girl crawled under the door herself and yanked at the lock, gifting me with freedom. Phew. As if that wasn't embarrassing enough for an extremely shy 5-year-old, by lunchtime just when I was beginning to forget about the morning's traumatising debacle, I overheard a dinner lady remark to another in the playground, whilst pointing at me, "Oh, she's the one who got stuck in the toilet. What a silly girl!" Lets hope my first day at law school will not be quite such a mortifying experience!

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What's in my bag?

Fancy kitten - CHECK.

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Sunday Roundup

Seeing: the view above from the 10th floor of UCL hospital

Listening to: Bastille

Waking up to: kitten meows

Eating: hospital food...gross. And anniversary cake chocolate fudge cake - YUM

Watching: Pretty Woman (for the first time), Great British Bake Off and Dragon's Den

Laughing at: the kitten hanging off the kitchen work top with his legs dangling, all so he could grab at a plant

Finding the silver lining in: being told by the mean receptionist that I can't visit Mike during certain hours so instead lying in the sunshine.

Admiring: my pretty anniversary flowers

Yesterday marked six years since Mike bought me a Fab ice lolly and said he wanted to "start seeing me", to which I replied "Are you asking me out?" and he nodded. The rest is history as they say! We're both currently burdening the NHS so unfortunately couldn't celebrate properly but have lovely things planned for October/November in various places. I will share those with you as they happen. Words don't really do him justice at all but he is a keeper for sure.

St Mawes, 2009.

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