Things that make you go Oooooo (July 2011)

July has been such a busy but fun month for me I've hardly had time to sit and rest and now with August on its way it looks like I'll be in for another fun and crazy month not that I'm complaining I want to make the most of the sunshine and do as much as I can to make the most of this summer, so here's a few things to get you into a good mood for the sunny days ahead.

♥ How Not to Obsess About Looking Fat in a Swimsuit and F-ing Enjoy Yourself! - Girls stop stressing about how you look because whatever you think you're all beautiful no matter what shape or size you are, don't let your insecurities ruin your fun.

♥ 31 Ways to Reduce Stress

♥ Five Ways To Become a Mermaid - What better way to spend your summer than to become a mermaid!

by Lomokev

♥ D.I.Y. Rock Ring - I recently discovered my childhood rock collection and was thinking of making some cute accessories with them and this idea is perfect!

♥ A Love Letter To My Dresses

♥ How to Make a Life List You'll Actually Do: A Comprehensive Guide - Perfect tips on how to create achievable goals for yourself.

by Jessica Louise

♥ Absolutely Amazing Photography by Metin Demiralay - These photos are so beautiful they really get me in the mood to enjoy the summer.

♥ The Mundane Home Lives of Superheroes

♥ Christina Ricci's Closet - I love this woman and her closet is so pretty I would love a closet like that one day!

♥ Animation for Adults - Whether you're a fan of animation or looking for something different to watch there are some great reconsiderations on this list.

♥ Printable Paper Cameras

♥ Be Organic! - Some great tips here on being healthy and utilising natural ingredients in alternative ways.

by Sugarraindrops

♥ Coffee and Lavender Sugar Body Scrub - I'll definitely be trying out this homemade scrub, it'll be the perfect remedy to keep my skin looking good this summer.

♥ 11 Tips for Thrifting

♥ Do What You Are Meant To Do Now - Great advice from the gorgeous Nubby and how to make your dreams come true and do they things you've always wanted.

by Valentina

♥ "I think you should save money and not spend it all on fashion" -Very wise words especially during a time of recession, make considered purchases and don't constantly splurge for the sake of doing so.

♥ Why I Stopped Wearing Stilettos

♥ Who Buys These Clothes? They Do - Interesting read about the women who spend thousands on the latest runway looks.

by Zoltan Gabor

♥ How to Pose in Your Wedding Photographs - Some great tips here which are great not only for wedding but bloggers and people like myself who never know how to pose in regular photographs.

♥ Eating Well According to the Ancients

♥ Over estimating obstacles and underestimating you. Turn it around: Part 1 & Part 2 - For anyone who has said I can't it's just a dream this one is for you, most dreams are achievable all you have to do is stop looking at the negatives and start looking for the possibilities!

Salma from The Animation Workshop on Vimeo.


The Mountain from TSO Photography on Vimeo.


BOOMBOX from Ely Kim on Vimeo.

Love & Sparkly Hugs

Cate

xoxo

The Frequent Flyer: Sunrise in the Skies

It's been a life long dream of mine to go up in a hot air balloon, the whole experience seems so dreamy and magical to me, the thought of just floating in the skies and going wherever the wind blows is something I sure most adventurers dream of so when the opportunity came up for me to finally take to the skies in a balloon I leaped at the chance!

Sunrise is best time to go hot air ballooning as the winds are more stable so my wake-up call came at a very early 4am, so after a few stretches, a quick shower and a lack of coffee (no toilets aboard the balloon!) our ride arrived to take us to the launch site.

When it comes to ballooning you're pretty much working with the wind so the launch site for the day by chance happened to be a car park at the back of Wal Mart, here the baskets were set up and the balloons were heated and before we knew it we were in the skies.

At this point I'd like to mention how my dad was dreading this experience, he has a fear of heights so wasn't looking forward to being at the mercy of the wind in a big basket however once we were in the air his fear disappeared as it was every bit the magical, calm and beautiful experience I had imagined it to be.

Floating over the Nevada desert was on of the best experiences of my life looking (and waving) at the people below was so much fun and in vast contrast to the craziness of The Strip, it was just the perfect way to start the day.

 Our flight time was just over an hour but I honestly could have stayed for days just floating on the wind and seeing where it took me but unfortunately we were out of fuel and running out of safe landing sites, so our journey ended in a field on the south side of Las Vegas.

So after we helped pack up the balloon we visited a local park to toast our pilot and our safe journey. Hot air ballooning is something I definitely want to do more of as I loved the experience so much and would recommend it to anyone and everyone to try out at least once, if you're anything like me you'll be hooked and looking for your next ballooning adventure!

Balloons &Happy Adventures

Cate

xoxo

Daily Outfit: She Is Not Aloud A Rope

When I'm at home relaxing I normally just wear a tank and a pair of leggings and if it's cold (which more often than not it is) I'll throw on a cardigan or jumper, this is a typical outfit for me but one that I rarely venture outside in.

I think the main reason I hardly wear outfits like this out is because of the cold weather, leggings and vests aren't exactly the warmest of clothes but now the summer is here I have the chance to fully utilise my wardrobe.

I adore this vest by Amelia Arsenic, not only is if one of the comfiest things I own it's beautifully designed, I adore skull motifs and can't wait for Amelia to release more of her A is for Arsenic clothing line!

My Vivienne Westwood bow booties are officially the most worn shoes in my closet, I have literally walked for miles in these shoes, they're really comfy and durable to and even though I've had them a while they still smell like bubblegum!

♥ Skull Tank Top - A is for Arsenic
♥ Cardigan - Warehouse
♥ Leggings - Sidecca
♥ Boots - Vivienne Westwood x Melissa
♥ Necklace - Tarina Tarantino
 

Love & Skulls

Cate

xoxo

Magic, Acrobatics, Flying & Explosions: Batman Live

Batman Live started its world tour this week and I was lucky enough to go see it, this is something I have been looking forward to seeing since I first heard about it last year! Unlike the infamous Broadway Spiderman production this isn't some cheesy musical, it's a live action stage show AKA Cirque-du-Batman.

The storyline follows the story of Dick Grayson and how he becomes Robin which makes a nice change from the Batman centric stories we're all used to hearing, lets not forget there is more than one hero in Gotham! So the tale may not be exactly as it's told in comics but it does a pretty good job of showing the Batman Robin relationship and Dick's reasons for becoming Robin, let's not forget this is only a 2 hour show so not a lot of time for a complete Bat-history lesson.

So as you've guessed by now yes I am a Batman fan and not just because of my long time love affair with Christian Bale in fact if you're only a fan of The Dark Knight movies you probably won't like Batman Live however if like me you love the original comics, found appreciation in Burton's vision of Gotham and are a fan of the original 60's series then you'll enjoy the stage show.

Admittedly the first half of the show is rather slow placed and resembles more of a circus act than the kick-ass action we're used to from Batman but it does a great job of establishing the character of Dick Grayson and his relationship with Batman.

My favourite characters unsurprisingly were that of Harley Quinn and the Joker, they stayed true to their comic book form and injected that bit of madness, humour and magic that the show needed. Every hero needs a villain and Batman Live has more than its fair share although the Joker takes the lead role, some of the best and most creative scenes were the ones that involved the Joker although a special mention should go to the Scarecrow who totally creeped me out!

The actors are superb in this, each character is true to its original comic book form and although some of the costumes weren't the best choice (yes I'm looking at you Harley!) I found as I watched it it became less of an issue as I became more and more endeared to the characters on stage, I can honestly say I'm a little bit in love with Dick Grayson after seeing the show.

Batman Live is still in its very early stages this was only their second public performance, yes there were a few minor glitches, the fight scenes were a bit clumsy and needed a bit more onomatopoeic action and things still needed to be worked on but all in all it was a great performance and with time will definitely be something special. A lot thought went into creating this show and it definitely reflects the hard work and time the creative team put into creating a story and putting on a performance true to the original Batman story.

It was kinda sad that the arena wasn't packed full of people because this is a show that will do extremely well with a large audience and it certainly deserves one, even if you're not a comic book fan there's something in this show for everyone it's full of action, acrobats, explosions, magic and romance so if you get the chance I definitely recommend you go see it!

Love & Batarangs

Cate

xoxo

The Frequent Flyer: The Truth Is Out There

If you couldn't guess from the title of this post I'm a bit of a fan of The X-Files and as soon as saw I you could take a road trip from Las Vegas to Area 51 the geek in me could not resist going, I was on a mission to find the truth, aliens & UFO's

So I admit I'm not exactly a believer of UFO's and the "mysteries" of Area 51 but I've been interested in it for a long time, as a kid I would love reading about aliens and the supernatural which was mostly fulled by my ongoing obsession with sci-fi movies and TV shows.

I love that everything in Rachel is alien themed, the road in to it is called the extraterrestrial highway, there's an Alien Research Center, they sell "alien" jerky on the roadside and of course no visit is complete without a stop the famous Little A'Le'Inn

I honestly can't find the words to describe the Little A'Le'Inn it was well, an experience, and if you're looking for extraterrestrial life then you've definitely come to the right place! The place is covered in kitschy alienware which yes you can buy to take home with you and the world famous alien burger lets just say is not exactly what you would expect.

The Little A'Le'Inn has been featured in numerous TV shows and movies and more recently one of my favourite creations from Simon Pegg, Paul which is about two geeks on a road trip that run into an alien escapee from Area 51, sound familiar? Although we didn't exactly run into any aliens on our road trip.

Aside from the geeky alien stuff it was really great to see just how vast and open the Nevada dessert is, all you can see is open land for hundreds of miles in every direction which is in stark contrast to The Las Vegas Strip and something you never see in the UK as everywhere is so densely populated.

As Area 51 is a working military base you're not allowed past the the gates and there is no chance of you sneaking past either as as soon as we arrived at the gates an unmarked car was watching us from the hillside, so there was no hope of me breaking out the captive aliens inside *wink* but I did send them a note via the infamous "black" mailbox.

I had so much fun on this road trip even though I didn't meet any aliens it was great to see the places where some of my favourite movies and TV shows were inspired and it was a nice break from the craziness of the Las Vegas Strip, so if you're looking for something alternative for you to do when in you're in Vegas I totally recommend a road trip to Area 51!

Flying Saucers & Cactus

Cate

xoxo

P.S. If you're looking to book your own adventure I totally recommend Adventure Photo Tours, I had an amazing time with them and our tour guide was such fun plus nobody got arrested and that's always a good thing!

Inspirational Quotes #16

You can never be overdressed or overeducated. - Oscar Wilde

The Frequent Flyer: 5 Things You Must Do In LA

by P.J.M

There are so many awesome things to see and do in LA that you probably won't be able to experience it all in one visit so if you only have a few days in the city here are 5 things that you simply must do whilst you're there!

Visit the Tim Burton Exhibition at LACMA

$20 for entry isn't cheap but it's totally worth it as there is just sooo many amazing things to see in this exhibition! I spent a good 2 hours browsing and literally jumped with delight when I saw the Edward Scissorhands costume on display. The exhibition runs until 31st October 2011 but if you don't get a chance to see it then I totally recommend a visit to LACMA anyway as it is one of the best art galleries I've ever had the pleasure of visiting.

Shop on Melrose Avenue

Melrose Avenue has to be my favourite ever place to shop not only does it have my favourite designers such as Vivienne Westwood, Alexander McQueen, Betsey Johnson and Tarina Tarantio it also has some of the coolest vintage and independent stores to, I spent ALL DAY browsing the stores on Melrose and lets just say my bank account took a bit of a hammering but I'm pretty much stocked on the clothes front for the rest of the year!

Eat at In-N-Out

So many people told that I have to go to In-N-Out when I'm in LA and sure enough I did several times in fact and yes it was probably one of the nicest burgers I've ever eaten and the milkshakes were pretty good to!

See Art in the Streets

This was another amazing art exhibition being hosted at the Geffen Contemporary in Little Tokyo. I'm such a big fan of street art and it's one of the first things I notice when visiting new places so when I was told about this exhibition I just had to go see and it did not disappoint there are some great pieces there from artists such as Miss Van, Banksy, Os Gemeos, Space Invader, SWOON and many many more. I definitely recommend you go see it as it also gives a little history on street art as well, it's on until August 8th so be quick and don't miss out!

Go to Disneyland

Technically Disneyland isn't in LA but I'd say it's a must visit place if you're ever in the SoCal area, it's without doubt the happiness place on earth and every visit to every Disney park I've ever been to has always put me in the best mood and put the hugest smile on my face. This Disneyland is extra special to me though because it was the place that created dreams as the original Disney park and that alone warrants a visit!

Love & Happy Exploring

Cate

xoxo

Sexy Kittens & Yummy Ice Cream

On Caturday June 4th Japan LA celebrated it's 5th anniversary with a "Kittens & Ice Cream" themed party, over 500 people turned up to celebrate and lucky me was one of them!

The walls were filled with adorable artwork which if I'd have had the money and room in my suitcase I would have snapped up in a heartbeat but there's still lots of gorgeous artwork still left for sale so if you want to purchase your own piece from the show you can check them out on Japan LA's website and a portion of the sales goes to the Japan Earthquake Animal Rescue and Support effort, so you get a beautiful piece of artwork and help a good cause at the same time!

Photo by Bubblepunch

Lake Street Creamery showed up and of course I had to try some of their interesting ice cream flavours, Donut which tasted just like a real donut and Pancake Breakfast which had real bacon bits in it but dispite how it sounds was actually really yummy, we seriously need some ice cream trucks (or even palours!) like this in the UK because that ice cream was surprisingly yummilicious!

Photo by Dollybeast

I finally got to meet some of my gorgeous online buddies Yume Ninja  AKA Nyan Cat and Stephiee who's outfit was so good you wanted to eat. I had such a fun time meeting everyone and it's always great to finally meet online friends in the flesh especially ones that live practically on the other side of the world!

After the party was over Yume, Alcuin, Michelle, Jess, Twinkie Chan, Hairy and I went to a place called Father's Office for food and drinkies, they had some interesting beers and although I don't normally drink beer I do like trying the more unusual beer flavours there are out there so went with a nice fruity peach flavoured one.

Thanks to everyone at the party I had an awesome time and it was so nice to meet everyone I only wish I had another week in LA so I could hang out and have fun with everyone again!

Love & Kitty Cuddles

Cate

xoxo