I swear, Moose is a bad influence on BEDA! I was doing just fine until he came to visit last night. We ended up vegging out watching Youtube together and fell asleep at 9:30pm like the amazing go-getters we are. Anyway! Happy Easter! I hope everyone had/is having a wonderful Bank Holiday Weekend! I'm actually not a huge fan of Easter - I don't have much of a sweet tooth so all the chocolate is usually wasted on me, and as someone who works both freelance (no such thing as a day off) and in catering (I do Sundays in a cafe on a tourist-heavy road), the concept of a Bank Holiday has always been utterly lost on me! Still, I was given a Lindt bunny and an Aero egg and Moose gave me an adorable My Little Pony egg he found in Tesco. :) To make up for my complete lack of sweet tooth, Mum showered me with Lush bath bomb eggs instead! She gave me this gorgeous Golden Egg melt and a bathbomb called the Immaculate Eggception which apparently has a little chick or Easter Bunny inside! So cute! Today has been largely spent catching up on last week's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D and making the most of the sunshine by playing Magic The Gathering outside in the garden. It's now only 3:00 and I feel like I should be doing some artwork for my upcoming conventions, but I think I might spend the day reading blogs instead. Tonight, I'm going to have a long hot bath with one of these bad boys and finally watch last week's episode of Mad Men.
Man. Life's just too hard.
0 Comments
Tags:
I have taken so many photos of this abbey, at Christmas, during summer, at night. Bath is still my favourite place in the UK, beautiful and artistic and quirky. Mum and I had a little shop there today while dad played golf locally, and I ended up buying some adorable Hush Puppies wedges in honour of this lovely weather! Hope it lasts long enough to wear 'em, haha.
Tags:
I was pretty optimistic when I thought I could keep blogging daily up while Moose was visiting! I haven't seen him in six weeks so we've been kind of busy catching up on lost time - which has mainly involved playing video games together, admittedly.
On Saturday, he and I went to Bristol to celebrate Luke's birthday with some friends. We saw Winter Soldier, which was pretty great. I had no idea what to expect going into the film - it's actually really handy that a bunch of my friends are proper comic book fans because whenever the movies throw new villains and characters at us, we can turn to them for explanation. Also, Falcon was pretty much the best. Yesterday, Moose and I headed out to the Bath & West Show for a Toy & Train Collector's Fair. Dad and I used to go there a lot when I was younger and I often found original My Little Ponies for sale. I kind of went with high hopes that now MLP is actually considered a 'collectable', I'd find a ton of vendors selling them, but there weren't any apart from a couple of G3s. Yawn. I'm off to London later today to spend a couple of days with him there, so I'm going to try and take a lot of cool photos for the blog if nothing else! For now, have a picture of a cute cow, in what I consider the Most Countryside Photo Ever. Tags:
Watching Call the Midwife with a cheeky glass of Babycham - 'Happy Days' in Bristol with mum - my silver bracelet Spring has sprung! - Bath Abbey - 'Vintage Life', a new favourite read in a bubble bath! I'm trying to get into a blogging habit here, but it's difficult! I spend so long on other social media outlets, it feels like I've already said it all on Twitter or Facebook. But when I spend so long looking at other beautiful blogs, I just know I have to keep this going. Someday I want to look back at this online diary and marvel at the memories.
Similarly, I've been trying to use Instagram a little more. It's a fun little way to document the smaller moments. Life's not always big holidays and grand adventures. Sometimes life is as simple and lovely as a glass of Babycham in a vintage glass. Tags:
The other day, Moose was ill. It was just a headache but it lasted days and it made him feel thoroughly wretched. We were due to walk Luke back to the station to see him off after his weekend visit down in Plymouth, but Moose looked and felt so poorly that I told him to go back home and sleep. He deliberated a moment, then took me up on the offer, hugging me and saying "thank you... for being you."
I've been with Moose over four years now. He's always telling me he loves me and reminding me how happy he is to be with me, but for some reason, that statement resonated so much with me that now, days later, I'm feeling compelled to blog about it. Call it the spirit of the day, I guess. I've not made life especially easy for Moose in a lot of ways. I'm not about to say that he's perfect and I'm a monster - we have ups and downs like any couple, and the long distance element of our relationship lays claim to most of the downs - but I have a tendency to obsess over things long after they've subsided. I'm a dog with a bone, extremely high maintenance and extremely emotional. Hey, passion runs both ways! But in that moment there was this tired, raw, genuine thanks. Not thanks for saying he should leave us and sleep. Not for buying him juice or for being sure that he had painkillers. Just a thanks for being the person who doesn't for one second demand more from him than he should be giving. For being me. Moose tells me he loves me all the time, and I believe it every single time, but there was honestly something so much more meaningful in his thanks. For every down we've had as a couple, for all the inconvenience of loving somebody who lives hundreds of miles away, I'm somebody he's genuinely thankful for. And honestly, I'm so I'm thankful for that, too. Tags:
I've decided that 2014 is going to be a great year. It's going to be a year of financial gain, artistic growth and, more importantly, a year of getting off my butt. Figuratively, at least, because most of the things I plan to do are things that largely involve sitting on my butt:
Vlogging I was secretly very pleased with my little foray into the Youtube scene last month. It's nice to be new to something with the knowledge that you can improve, its actually nice being the newbie with things to learn and techniques to master. I think about two videos a week is a realistic number, and one I'm capable of doing now that the holiday season isn't getting in the way. Any more than two a week would cut into my art time, and as much as I love the Vlogging world, art will always remain my priority. Art This is the same resolution I've had every year, but I want to downright art more. I want it to be a basic state of being. I spend so much of my time looking at art online, at artist's techniques or tutorials, reading inspiring quotes and imagining what I want to draw, but I never actually do the drawing part. I've said for the longest time that I'd be a really good artist if I actually drew between drawing, because at the moment I can go days and days without so much as a doodle, and then sit down and just work on one finished piece. This year I'm forcing myself to just draw more. Anything. So far it's been going well, I'm trying to take my sketchbook out with me rather than my tablet. So far, so good! I also set myself a 'solid', realistic set in stone resolution (something I rarely do, it's best to keep these things a little flexible!) that I would paint more art that could be taken to local craft fairs/art fairs rather than just comic conventions. Watercolour fantasy/cartoon animal pieces, mainly. We'll see how that one progresses! Reading I used to read so much. I'd devour countless books every year! And then the internet happened and gaming happened and lazy happened and now I'll barely read one. It's awful. So, as a special treat to myself for competing in the Dryathlon (2 weeks and counting!), I bought myself the first Game of Thrones book and Noughts & Crosses by Malorie Blackman. Again removing my tablet from my daily life, I've started taking books into the bath with me again, and as a result I've almost finished Noughts & Crosses! Now to tackle the Game of Thrones franchise... (Ye-es, I did used to take my tablet into the bathroom - stop looking at me funny! There's nothing better than a long hot soak armed with bubbles, candles and Netflix.) And, lastly, fittlingly... Blogging I've had a blog of some kind since 2001, when I got invite-only access to Livejournal. I still love and use Livejournal (and make a point of forwarding all my blogposts here to my old LJ account) but since everything's so quiet over there, I thought I'd take my rambling here, instead. I still don't know what I want from this blog. I find myself at odds a lot with the blogging world because I'm a girl who loves lifestyle/fashion blogging, but I'm also a complete geek who plays video games all the danged time and who attends conventions in silly clothes and who draws cartoons for a living. I asked, a while ago, on my Livejournal if people would mind seeing that mix of fashion posts and gaming rants, and the general consensus was to just go for it, scrolling really ain't all that difficult. So, basically, I've decided to just go for it, here, on my personal space. I want this place to be a slice of my life, nerdy and full of art and colour and fun, where I can talk about anything from my latest shopping haul to my anger and rage at League of Legends players. Which is why I've finally joined Bloglovin', so pleasefollow me there if you'd like. Or RSS me, if you'd rather. I can't promise to always be interesting all of the time, but if you like girlie nonsense, slice of life ramblings, pop culture art, nerdy television, video games or conventions, you'll probably enjoy at least some of the content here, and if I make anyone smile at least once, I know I'll have done something very right indeed! Tags:
Well, today's the very last day of 2013 and I'll be sad to see this year go, really! It's been an amazing, busy year chock full of conventions, travel, video games, fun and love. Now it's time to take down the 2013 calendar and put up one for 2014, but not before I go back through its pages and revisit some of the amazing things that happened this year! January
January is usually a pretty empty month, but Moose and I celebrate our anniversary on the 26th so at least that's something lovely to look forward to! We had a lovely meal at Zues, a Greek restaurant in Plymouth. There was also a heck of a lot of snow, and dad's annual golf society meal. February As a sort of Anniversary/Valentines gift, I got Moose and I concert tickets to see the Kaiser Chiefs in Exeter, so we had a lovely romantic night away together for that! I also sold at Exeter Expo and spent a couple of nights with my rad friends at Center Parcs for Laura's birthday! March Turns out, this would be the last Cardiff Comic Con, which is such a shame because it was an amazing event at a hotel with a pool and spa, sigh! I loved ending a busy day selling art with a relaxing session at the spa. More conventions should be held at spa hotels, clearly! April For Luke's birthday, we saw the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band in Bath! I also attended Plymouth Comic Expo and took part in my very first League of Legends tournament with Moose and his university society members! (We came fourth too, which really wasn't all that bad!) May May was a busy month! May's always a busy month! I crammed in three conventions, and they're all pretty big ones! Bristol Comic Expo was the first, followed by the biggie, London MCM Expo (or Comic Con as it's re-branding itself now!) and then Confuzzled, my first ever Furry con! That was an amazing experience and I am heartbroken I can't attend next year (due to a clash with MCM). Seriously, Confuzzled was the friendliest con ever. June As usual, June was a nice lazy month centered around DC's Birthday Bash! We had, games, movies (both cheesy and great!) and loads and loads of food. Nom. July Birthday month! And I was sure to make this birthday a long one! I went to Marwell Zoo with my parents and Moose, then Moose and I went to Weymouth for a day at the beach and aquarium exploring, and then we had a weekend at my friend Sarah's house for a BBQ, movies, a trip to Bristol Zoo and gaming. And then, later in July, I went off to London to visit the Harry Potter Studio Tour with my buddies Laura and Jess. Nice month :) August Headed up to London for Moose's birthday, where I arranged a day of nerding about London with his friends. I also went to Bristol to see Equestria Girls on the big screen with a theatre full of Bronies, attended the very last Ayacon, which breaks my heart because it was my favourite convention, and sold art again at BUCK, the UK Brony convention. September Oh boy! September! The month I didn't think could possibly come fast enough! Our friend Kingsley was spending a few months in New York training for his new job and Moose and I were offered the chance to stay with him and visit NYC! It was absolutely breathtaking! Everything I dreamed New York would be, and more! I'm desperate to go back because we had the most wonderful time and didn't even touch the tip of the iceberg. I went straight from PonyCon to New York, then came home a week later and went straight to DevCon, a small Plymouth convention I'd booked a table at. Nothing like burning the candle at both ends, huh? October October's usually a month I focus entirely on MCM Expo (which was ruined by my being really ill anyway, boo!) but this one was the exception! Danny Elfman, lead singer of Oingo Boingo, a band I've been obsessed with since I was 14, was coming to London to perform songs from the Nightmare Before Christmas! The concert was at the Royal Albert Hall, which was a beautiful venue I'd never visited before, and the experience completely destroyed me! I became a blubbering teenager again the moment he walked out on stage. Afterwards, I bumped into Steve Bartek (lead guitar of Boingo) outside, and dragged him back to meet my parents. Absolutely one of the greatest moments of my life. November November started relatively quiet but ended up pretty danged busy! I was invited to attend Armadacon, a small oldschool science fiction convention in Plymouth, and had a blast! I absolutely love older conventions, they have such a different feel to them than anime cons or conventions focused on modern (internet) nerd culture. I went up to London to see TMBG, a band I make a point of seeing every time they visit the UK, and then that following Saturday I went to Bristol with Moose, Mum and Luke to see Doctor Who's 50th Anniversary episode on the big screen! Later that week, Sarah, Luke and I saw Paul Michael Glaser (the original Starsky of 'And Hutch' fame!) in 'The Fiddler on the Roof' in Bath. December And here we are, the Christmas month! I'm writing this up on the very last day of December, the very last day of 2013. I had several Christmas meals, saw the Hobbit, arranged the oddest little festive meal ever (turkey dinosaurs, anyone?) and sold art at Exeter Expo. Today I'm off to Bristol, to game and nerd out with my friends before watching the fireworks over the city. In short, 2013 was busy, expensive and awesome, and I just can't wait to see what 2014 brings! <3 Tags:
Halloween is my favourite holiday. Halloween has always been my favourite holiday. When I was a kid, mum would decorate the house and make punch and I'd dress up and we'd watch Halloween cartoons and carve pumpkins together, and generally dork out about it. Nobody really celebrated in our area back then, and I rarely had anywhere to go trick-or-treating, but I loved the magic and spookiness of it all. What kid doesn't love the chance to dress up and embrace a little magic and mystery? I've been very fortunate to spend several Halloweens in America, where they really do it right, but generally most Halloweens here have been pretty uneventful as I got older. We still decorate the house, but we live in the countryside and rarely get any trick-or-treaters, so it's mainly a fun activity we do for ourselves. This year, however, Moose lives in a house of cosplaying, nerdy friends who wanted to do something cool for the occasion, so I finally got the chance to have a Halloween house party! Alice and I purchased a ton of decorations to spice the house up with, and we put in a huge order of pumpkins so we'd have enough for everyone to carve. I can't believe it, but Moose had never carved a pumpkin before! He'd never really done Halloween before at all, which I found just super sad, so that was something I was absolutely going to rectify this year! We had an amazing night! We had cosplay baking downstairs using all the pumpkin guts (we must have given them three bowlfuls of seeds and guts, haha), horror video games, Zombie Dice, Space Hulk (not technically all that creepy but a fun game anyway!), and we ended up watching season one of Knightmare in its entirety (not a single group won in the whole season.)
Tags:
|
Hi! I'm Selena an artist, blogger and gamer!
Dream Somehow is my little corner of the internet where I talk about life, the universe and everything! Here, you'll find travel, adventures, vintage style, life in the South West of England, a little bit of Disney dreaming and a whole lot of geeky nonsense. If you'd like to learn a little more about me, click here! Instagram
Archives
January 2021
|