That Friday Feeling...The 80's, Some Reading and Beautiful Sounds

First working week of January completed - woo! I think that having such a lovely and relaxing Christmas has made the shock of the new year and being back to the daily grind even more noticeable!

It's been a great week though, with lots of nice scattered moments throughout.

Here's a few pieces of happiness from this week:

What I've been watching:

Sing Street - This film quickly and quietly worked its way into my heart and onto my favourite films of all time list. It's a film about an Irish lad, growing up in the 1980's and dealing with all the difficulties of life at that age (and then some, to be honest), who escapes from all of the negative by starting up a band. His relationship with his brother, who introduces him to new bands, and influences the style of the band and their music each time, is quite honestly beautiful. It has some laugh out loud moments (some of the throwbacks to the bands of the '80's are just perfect) and is also touching throughout without being overly sentimental. Can't recommend this film enough!

What I've been reading:

I've joined a book group - yay! It's the Poppy Loves Books Club (more on that to come).  The first book I'm reading for it is Sofia Khan is not Obliged by Ayisha Malik. I'm only a little way in but it's already had me laughing aloud so I'm looking forward to reading more this weekend.

What I've been listening to:




I feel so sad about George Michael's passing. He was a beautiful man who just never seemed to realise how amazing he was. I've been listening to his performance at the Palais Garnier, Paris. This is one of my favourite songs of his. Beautiful.

This week I've also been trying my hand at some very simple candle making (review to follow!) and sulking that the Christmas tree and decorations have been packed away. Having a tree in your lounge should be legit at any time of the year!

Whatever your weekend holds, I hope it is a good one!

Bye for now.

xx

Snow White and the Huntsman - Official Trailer

This makes me very excited...


I can't wait for this film...totally ticks all my fantasy film boxes, including the giant Chris Hemsworth shaped box :)

She's alive...and in perfect hibernation

Hibernation is a good way of describing the past few weeks *cough* months *cough* for me. It's been hugely useful to take a giant step back, and then work out what the next step forward should be.

Although all has been silent in blog-land, I've been busy writing which has been so much fun. I've also managed to watch about a gazillion films (ok...I exaggerate...a lot of films), since joining up to lovefilm.com. My favourite so far has been Up, which managed to be both heartbreaking and heartwarming, all at once. It also introduced me to the sheer level of adorableness that is Dug:

I've also found time to partake in some crafty ventures. I'll be posting more pics of my projects soon, but for now here is a item that inspired the title of this post...a little matchbox turned into a mini Han Solo in Carbonite thanks to the power of decoupage and Fimo.

This was made for a swap over at Craftster and so was filled with miniature crafty goodies.

Be back soon with a most wanted item for my toy shelf!

Moomin Maths

I'm stuck in the spiralling panic of realising that I've left making everyone's Christmas presents until the last minute at the moment.

I mean - thinking 'hey I'm going to make presents, not buy presents this year' was all very lovely but apparently it had escaped my attention that I would actually need to make the presents...in time for Christmas day.

Still, before I return to the panic...and stitching Motley Crue onto a notebook (don't ask)...here is a little piece of sheer joy. I can't even tell you how happy this sum makes me...
                                  

                  


   


 +

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Alexander Skarsgård providing the voice of Moomintroll in the new Moomin movie which seems to have been created in a beautiful vintage style? 


It literally doesn't get any better than that.








Right...back to my spiral of panic I go.

Where the Wild Things Are

I love goal number 2 - it allows me to justify spending time chilling out and watching 90 minutes of pure beauty - also known as "Where the Wild Things Are". I didn't know a single thing about this film - hadn't even read Maurice Sendak's book, but just knew that the "monsters" looked a little bit cool and that I was in the mood for a whimsical movie to appeal to my inner child.

As it turned out I'm not sure what I would have made of the film if I'd watched it as a child - but as an adult I absolutely loved it. There was a Labyrinth-esque feel to it - a darkness, that really appealed to me. Max and Carol's journey through the film really is quite painful at times - their troubled natures and search for security aren't the stuff of your average kid flick. Visually it is a thing of beauty - the colours used are muted and just perfect, I loved the fact that the creatures mostly appeared to be actual costumes (Jim Henson Company's Creature Shop ftw), with CGI enhancement - not just CGI creations, and the scenery is stunning.

All in all I was completely captivated from start to finish by this beautiful film (directed by Spike Jonze by the way - how did I forget that?). My favourite part? Hands down - Bob and Terry. Genius.

My next film of the week has a lot to live up to :)