Monday, February 28, 2011

Lovely Day + Adventure + Market + Crafting = Wonderful Weekend

It was a beautiful day on Saturday, so Paul and I went on an adventure!

We went to City Hall...

Paul being artsy
Leeds Town Hall
The Old Post Office

And the market... 

Leeds Kirkgate Market
Yay! Spring is on its way!
LOTS of olives
Om nom nom nom nom

And I got some flowers...
(And fruit, but that's a little less exciting)


Then, on Sunday, I got crafty and made some decorations for my room!
I've been meaning to do something to jazz up my walls and I've been noticing buntings everywhere, so I decided to make a cheater's bunting with magazine pages and 35p ribbon.

Meticulously setting out the magazine cut-outs
Ta-da!
It sort of looks like there's a birthday party going on, but I like it!
It adds some pizazz to my beige walls.
And, I cut out pages from a Cath Kidston catalogue, so it's doubly fun :)

Monday, February 21, 2011

Today's Forecast: Rain - YES!

Yesterday I bought a pair of dark purple Hunter rain boots.
And today, it's raining.
How perfect is that?


(I thought putting the black box in the picture would help make the dark purple look less black, but it didn't really work. They really are purple, I'm not just making it up).

Saturday, February 19, 2011

A Snowy Saturday

When I opened my curtains this morning and looked out my window (through the jailbars), what did I see?
Snow!
Big, fluffy snow!
But, in reality it was big, slushy snow because it didn't stick to the ground and just made my walk to and from the cafeteria very slippery.


I should be good today and do some of my schoolwork, but instead I feel like looking at various food blogs and craft websites, and deciding which colour of Hunter wellies I would like to get.

I feel like Hyperbole and a Half in the post "This is Why I'll Never be an Adult".
Hyperbole and a Half is a hilarious blog and the girl behind it has mad Paint skills.
She was the inspiration for those little stick figures I drew about a month ago.
I suggest: The AlotThe God of Cake, and Dog.

Friday, February 18, 2011

Aaandy!

On Wednesday, Paul and I went to see Andy McKee!
Andy McKee is a guitarist that does all that crazy tapping and finger picking stuff. He's from Kansas and became famous through YouTube - don't hold that against him.

He was amazing!
It was crazy how just one instrument could simultaneously produce so many different types of sounds. 
My favourite songs were Africa and Rylynn.

Andy's guitars!

In addition to being a fantastic guitarist, Andy was super funny and nice and seemed like someone you'd want to be friends with.
At the end of the show he invited everyone to stick around and talk to him, so Paul and I got to meet him!

Look, it's us and Andy!
(I look a little turtle-y, but that's okay because I'm next to Andy.)

Yay! Aaandy!

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Bows and Hearts

Today I went shopping and I bought these amazingly cute tights at Primark for £2 each!
This is Step 1 in upgrading my style to British standards.

 

I also got a pair of thick knit tights with hearts, and a tank top with bows printed all over it.
I guess I like bows and hearts...

Monday, February 14, 2011

Will You Be My Valentine?


After meticulously cutting out these letters by hand, I decided my new backup career is Greeting Card Designer.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Sunday, February 13, 2011

Weekend Adventure!

Yesterday, Paul and I went on an adventure to the Leeds City Market and the Kirkgate Market.
We started at the Kirkgate Market, which has an outdoor section with lots of fruit and veggie stands, as well as various stalls selling all sorts of knick-knacks.
I got apples, bananas and clementines - yum!

Then, we ventured inside and found more little shops. 
Look at this little egg shop!


Then, we came across something amazing...
Jamie's Ministry of Food!


Yes! Jamie Oliver has a Ministry of Food in Leeds!
When we walked past there was a class taking place, but I felt nosy peeking through the window, so we didn't stick around long. Unfortunately Jamie wasn't actually teaching the class...but still!
(The Markets have little cafes and restaurants in them, so I'm thinking that the space was once a little cafe, unless they specifically designed it to look like an old school diner).

After the Markets, Paul and I walked back to his residence, which is in an area called Clarence Docks and is by the River Aire.
The neighbourhood is full of old buildings that have been converted into modern apartments and fancy restaurants, and there are cobblestone roads and all that sort of thing. I quite like it.
It's a nice walk along the river, although the lack of barriers between the pathway and the water is a little unsettling.

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

A Craft Fair and Cath Kidston!

On Sunday I went to a craft fair at the Corn Exchange!
I love craft fairs and I love historic buildings, so it was like a match made in Stephanie Heaven.

This the interior of the Corn Exchange:



It's a really cool building with a big, domed ceiling that lets in tons of light and makes it feel like you're outdoors.

I think the building was once used for literally exchanging corn, which is neat.
But, I don't really understand why that would require three levels and a bajillion cute, arched, double doorways. Maybe there were a LOT of people buying and selling corn?

The craft fair was a bit smaller than I had hoped, but I still really enjoyed myself. I picked up two pairs of earrings made by a local artist.


(Jammy Dodgers are a type of cookie here. They're like the cuter version of Fruit Creams because the cut-out is in the shape of a heart instead of a boring circle).

And my weekend got even craftier was when I came across two super cute stationery shops while in the City Centre - Paperchase and Scribbler .
Paperchase had about a million things I wanted to buy, especially if it was from the teapot or the cupcake collection.
And Scribbler had these beautiful lasercut cards by Rob Ryan.

And last, the highlight of my weekend...
 My Cath Kidston bag!!!


It's going to be my new schoolbag because girls here don't carry backpacks and because it's beautiful and I love it.

Sunday, February 6, 2011

The Otley Run

Yesterday, I experienced by first Otley Run.
The Otley Run is a pretty famous event in Leeds.
It even has its own Wikipedia page.
It's a pub crawl with 18 pubs.
The crawl starts in Headingley, a nearby town, and ends in the City Centre. 

My residence was doing the Otley Run and the theme was Pub Snooker.
This meant that...

1. You had to dress up.
Boys as snooker players, bow tie and waistcoat, and girls as snooker balls, a uni-coloured outfit.
I went as the black ball - original, I know.


2. There were different points for different drinks depending on which pub you were at.
For example, at a "coloured" pub, you could choose from a long list of "coloured" drinks, but to get the most points you would choose a Guinness, Scrumpy or Brown Ale for 7 points.
I didn't score very high at any of the "coloured" pubs...

3. For extra points, you could do silly tasks.

Like, tie yourself to your partner...


Or, take a picture with a stranger...


These girls were part of a big flock of sheep, their costumes were quite something!
We also saw old school rugby players with afro wigs, babies, cowboys and cows, and a guy in a suit with a deer mask (I have no idea what that was about).

I didn't complete the Otley Run, I left after the thirteenth pub.
(No, I didn't have a drink at every pub - too expensive and too mean to my poor liver).
But Marko may or may not have been the winner - the Umpire (the dapper fellow in the full suit) has yet to make his decision.

Friday, February 4, 2011

Silent Disco Geeks

Last night, Marko, Yannish and I - Paul was going to come too, but he got sick :( - went to a Silent Disco at the Union.
I'd never been to a Silent Disco before, it was SO cool!

In case you don't know what a Silent Disco is...
You're given a pair of headphones that have controls for volume, Station A or Station B. And there are two DJs, so you can choose which DJ you want to listen to - A or B.

Why was the Silent Disco so cool?
1. You had a choice of what song you wanted to listen to.
2. You could (sort of) have a conversation with someone else.
3. It was cool to look around and see people clearly dancing to two very different types of music even though they were in the same room.
4. When you took off your headphones you could hear everyone singing (or in some cases screaming) along to the music, but without the actual music.
5. They played "I Just Can't Wait to Be King" from the Lion King.
6. The theme was Geek, look at us all dressed up!


 

Oh, and to explain our matching glasses, they were giving them out at the door.
So the three of us were matching...with hundreds of other people.

And just because this was by far the best photo of the whole night: