Back from Spain

This is my first real post since I got back from Spain.  Had a great time but it was a very quiet holiday, really. Not much partying to be had. (Apart from one mad night which involved copious amounts of cocktails and some ill-advised dancing.  And neighbours at the door at 4am.) 

My plan had been to go and get an awesome tan before coming back home for my cousin's wedding but the weather wasn't all that great.  Nice enough for most of the time but the night before I was going to go to the beach there was a storm - thunder, lighting, the works... - and we got soaked. And then the next day was kind of cloudy so we didn't go.  Never mind, I went a kind of golden brown so that was good enough in the end.  Probably better for the skin, too!

I went for lunch with my friends to this cool Colombian restaurant, and it was really tasty!  Lots of good eating!  We also went to see the Shakira concert, which was good fun, though I hadn't been a huge Shakira fan before we went.  In the end there were about 7 of us there and she put on a really good show.  We all went to celebrate my friend Fran's birthday - he was dying to see her, so me and him went along during the day to camp out and get a good space in the queue.  When we arrived there were already about 100 people there waiting, so we set up camp and waited it out through belting sun, rain, and clouds for about 5 hours!  It was worth it though cause Fran was so excited.  Here's a pic of him just after we arrived and marked our territory, well prepared with sun hats, parasols, water, beer, munchies, and iPods:

One day whilst I was there I hopped off the bus on a whim and had a wander about a market that I'd just passed.  It was all painted in bright reds, oranges, and yellows outside and I just couldn't help myself!  So I went in and bought myself a quarter kilo of cherries for 90 cents, and they were so good I almost couldn't believe it!  I'd forgotten how amazing the sweet cherries are when they're in season and I scarfed almost the whole lot as I wandered about looking at the other stands.  I couldn't eaten a kilo, I'm sure, but I probably would have paid for it later! 

Some of the other things I forgot I liked about Spain:

1.  Fountains all over the place.  In the tiniest, grubbiest of squares, you'll often find a fountain.  Or on a roundabout, or in front of a bank or official building.  And they're always turned on, and they're always immaculate - no rubbish thrown in, nice clear sparkling water.  And most people don't even notice them because they're all over the place.  Well, I always did, even when I was living in Spain, cause I love them!  And here's one just in a normal roundabout in a quiet street I walked down.  Lovely!

2.  Buildings in lovely colours.  I don't know who chooses the colours to paint buildings, if they're colour co-ordinated, or if the council just got a good deal on coloured paints, but everywhere you go you see rows of buildings all painted different colours.  Some of them are bright, vibrant colours, others are pastels but they all look fresh and clean, and make wandering about a wee bit more cheerful.  Here's a building that caught my eye in the Russaffa area of Valencia.  I loved the balconies, as well as the nice paint job...

One more thing to tell you about, and that is:

3. the trees!  There are trees everywhere in Valencia, you can't walk down a single street without seeing them and there are loads of different kinds.  The ones you notice most, I guess, are the orange trees.  These are everywhere, and they're all full of giant, heavy fruit.  Quite often you'll see an orange splattered on the ground where it's fallen out of the tree, though I've never seen anyone get hit, yet.

If you walk around at twilight then the orange blossom starts to open and the air is filled with this incredible heady scent that lingers and seems to envelope you as you walk about.  It's a wonderful smell, and is maybe the strongest memory I have of living in Valencia.  I used to walk home from my work at the school at 10pm and, passing a row of orange trees, I would smell this incredible blossom and feel very content.  Even after a hideous class, of which there were many. 

This time, I didn't get a photo of an orange tree, but I did snap a couple of palm trees, which are also all over the place, even in the middle of the city.  This photo was taken at the beach, and these are the big tall palm trees rather than the wee fat ones that look like pineapples, which are actually more common.  I love this photo though, perfectly timed intersection by Fran!

Of course there are things I hated about living in Spain, too: bank queues, supermarkets (the stupid layout, the lazy, slow staff, the massive queues, the fact that there's no express queue...), people quite conversationally informing you that you've gotten fat or had a bad hair cut... but never mind that for now, this post is about some happy memories, so I hoped you enjoyed  photos! 

And if you're looking for a new holiday destination on the Med, you could do far worse than go to VLC.

Here, by popular demand

...are the pics of my new La Redoute trousers.  Possibly not the most flattering shape in the world but I don't care, cause they're so comfy.  I've stuck a leg out in one pic to show how wide they are.  I think I'll wear these with the same gold shoes on the plane, and team them with my red patent heels for night-time.

(Just watching Big Fat Gypsy Weddings on 4 OD on youtube.  Oh My God.  That dressmaker talks like she's had a bloody stroke!  15 to 20 stone for a wedding dress?!  And the Mother of the Bride looks like she nicked her outfit from an amateur version of Oliver! )

Colour-blocking is my favourite fashion trend...

I've been doing it for years, but it's only recently that it's been given a name by the powers that dress.  For anyone who's unsure, 'colour-blocking' is where you wear items of clothes in any bright colours you want. The colours are usually unpatterned and always bright. 

If you're minted, demented, or on a catwalk you can look like this:

Or, in the real world, you can calm it down a touch and throw on your clothes that you sometimes fear are too bright (not possible), or don't match(that's the whole point, this time)...  And that's exactly what I did this morning.  

In defiance of the January ming, the grey skies, the ever-present threat of rain and then general dreichness of a Scottish winter, I pranced out the door in my mint bowler-style hat, and teamed it up with a lovely jewel blue jacket (a winner of a present from my mum) and a skirt-that's-really-a-top bought many moons ago in Primark.  The skirt also happens to be printed with a cutesy flower design, which is going to be all the rage for the Spring/Summer 2011.  You heard it here first.

Anyone ever hear of that girl who wore a different outfit every day for a year and posted pics on her blog?  I think it was called whatkatyworenext or something like that, and, I'm sure she ended up making some money out of it! 

Now, I'm not saying that I'm expecting the money to start flowing in, after I post a few pics on my blog, but I do like the idea of taking snaps of my outfits and sticking them up.  I have loads and loads of clothes in all kinds of colours, fabrics and patterns, and yet I find myself sticking to the tried-and-tested favourites all the time, rather than pulling something out the back of the wardrobe and thinking about how to style it up. 

Well not any more!  From now on, I'm going to have much more fun in picking out what to wear, and going for the dress I haven't worn in ages, or the jacket I never know how to wear.

Clashing patterns, coloured tights, funky shoes?  Bring it on.

The Turban of Joy

I'm wearing it today and it's everything I wanted it to be!  I love it so much I might never take it off.  It's light-weight, a great fit and if I didn't know better I'd almost think it gave me magic powers.  Or was that just the wine I had at lunch?

Anyway, here are a few pics for you all to admire in awe and excitement.  Taken in the bathroom de Smeaton; admittedly not the most glamorous setting but enough for blogging purposes.

 

         

        I am totally loving it. 

So my granny popped in and wanted to go out for lunch, so we went to a place called the Battlefield Rest, round from my house.  I know it sounds like we're always going out for lunch but the thing is that my granny don't really eat when she's in the house on her own, so we either take sandwiches round or she comes round for a cup of tea and then asks if we'll go for something to eat.  So, it's good to know that she eats at least one good meal most days.  I had spaghetti with mussells and it was very tasty.

Last night when I couldn't sleep I made a list of things to take to Tenerife so I think I'll pack tomorrow.  I have orchestra tonight, which, to be honest I can't really be arsed with, but I'll probably go anyway.

Also, had to go to the jobcentre this morning, so I went, I waited, I sat down, signed a piece of paper and literally about 1 minute later I was on my way out.  Oh well.  Everytime I go in I think they're going to give me a hard time, ask why I don't have a job yet or say I can't have been trying hard enough.  In reality, no-one gives a toss, they ask the cursory question about what I've been doing to look for a job, get my signature and send me on my way.  And, if you dare to ask a question, they look a bit put out and reply without really answering and that's that.

I'm sleepy, could do with a wee siesta!  Think I'll leave this now and hop off and read Grazia.  It's good that it's out every Tuesday, cause I buy it on my way home from the jobcentre, to cheer myself up!

My vanity knows no bounds.

Please please excuse my terrible room - everything on that floor is part of an outfit that was discarded!!

Here are the looks that made the grade:

Outfits and some pics

Still can't decide what to wear to Keira's party, so I flung all three outfits on and took some snaps to help me decide.  Then I decided there's no point having a blog if you can't be totally narcissistic, so I thought I'd stick them up.  Feel free to comment, but please be kind. ;-)

Also, I'll be wearing better underwear than I am in these shots, so I won't have the Victoria Beckham problem, in case any of you picked up on it in the photo with the skirt.  Ignore the daft pose with the cape, just showing it off as much as I can, and I did a close up of the skirt so y'all can see the lovely sequin pattern...

I'm leaning towards the skirt, but still undecided...