Drawing Calendar: March

This post is the third edition to my 2015 drawing calendar. I explained everything January post. This month has been a busy month for school and i had to go to A&E for my bad foot. I had fun drawing this month because more exciting things happened each day. Sometimes, if i've been slacking on the drawing on the weekdays, i watch TV and fill in the gaps on the weekend.

-Noki's first training lesson
-Phone went in the dish washer
-Went to A&E
-Maths Test
-Painted my self portrait
-Got my maths test back
-First long dog walk in ages
-Made marmalade
-Bought a cauliflower
-Went to the globe theatre
-Last fitness P.E lesson
-Grade 4 saxophone exam
-History essay
-House party
-Slept for 5 hours
-Head hurts
-Irish face painting
-Running test in P.E
-Met a new friend (lol)
-Got my eyebrows done
-Worst party ever in the cold
-Got a cold
-Misfits Marathon
-Ill
-Cornrows
-Last food tech lesson
-Party at the bandstand
-Jazz concert
-Went to a french brasserie
-Brother came home
-Windiest day i've seen

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Cornrows

I've been trying to take advantage of my hair growing by doing alternative hairstyles more frequently. I've wanted to try cornrows for a while but kept excusing it because i thought they would take too long. When i was ill at home the other day, i gave it a go because my hair was getting in my way and i was very bored. This is the best hairstyle for sports and fitness because it stops your hair from sticking to you or getting in the way. Also, it does not hurt when you do sit ups like it does with a ponytail. The way that i did this was quite simple, i divided my hair in two and held in to the side with a grip. Then i halved the other side again with a parting comb. I pinned the top half to the side and then did the french plait (taking hair from both the top and bottom). I took out the other half of that side and french plaited that and after that i did the same to the other two plaits. My hair stays in the direction that i plait it in so if i want the plaits to stay behind my shoulders then i have to plait it while it's behind my shoulders. I like wearing this hairstyle with really busy and bright clothes like this shirt that reminds me of South France.

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Leeds

I went to Leeds on my own a few weeks ago to see my brother. We spent the weekend eating amazing food and chilling out. On the first day, we made t-shirts and i helped him make his pinterest-worthy cork board out of wine corks. On the second night we went to a theatre production at the uni, which i really enjoyed. We had no idea what to expect and it was a play about a witch-boy and his town not accepting him- a tragedy fairytale. The next day, i met some of his friends and we went to Belgrave Music Hall and Canteen for some foreign food (who has tried deep fried naan bread?). The last day was spent in a speed boat (which then broke down) and i was helped my brother coach his rowing team. After getting very cold on the boat, we then had a vegetarian burger. The best thing about being a veggie is that it makes me steer away from my impulse food choice; instead of a bacon and cheese burger, i had the halloumi burger and caramelised red peppers and onions with homemade mayo. This was the best burger i have ever had because it was so juicy and fresh; the fries were also very crude.

I have already been to Leeds many times with my parents, which is when we saw some of the historical and educational parts of Leeds. This time, i really enjoyed just chilling out with my brother and eating so much fresh and unique food. Leeds is a really good place to chill out and have a relaxed time; theatre, food and walks.

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My First Impressions on Misfits

After finishing most of the TV shows i enjoy, i decided to start a new one and i was drawn towards Misfits because of its bizarrely un-mainstream story line. It starts off with the five main characters getting caught in a strange storm and gaining deranged super-powers. I have only got three episodes in and it is the strangest thing i have watched. I did not expect to like it but from the first few minutes, i started to enjoy the mystery and farce. 

I liked the idea that five people, who have all done something wrong, are suddenly put together and connected by one storm. They are all doing community service and you gradually find out what each others crime was. Within the first three episodes, i can already tell how different each character is and how funny and sad each of their backgrounds are. Them gaining superpowers is such a good idea because they are not very special and then they suddenly get something that no on else has. I also really liked the use of filters for the cinematography. Everything is quite black and white (except their orange jumpsuits) before the storm then after it gets brighter. 

I think the rest of the series will be the characters coming to terms with their power and developing their relationships with each other. After watching Misfits, i now really want a superpower. 

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New Music

My dad has always enjoyed every type of music but he never shared many of his "bangin' tunes" with me. My mum was always strictly Bob Dylan and my brother, well, he just enjoys wrapping, remixes and acoustic guitars. I don't ever really listen to music because i find it distracting. I have recently realised that i am missing out on an amazing thing. I ended last year by loving country music (basically one album on repeat) and then i listened to a bit of jazz to help with my improvisation for my saxophone. Now i've decided that i want to try a bit of every style of music (except mainstream pop- no thanks Taylor Swift). Here is quite an unknown band, which i found that i like: 

The Mouse Outfit- recommended by my brother

I'm so uneducated in music that i'm just going to guess that this style is called hip-hop. The Mouse Outfit is a band from Manchester, who seem to be quite unknown. Their songs normally have rapping (with words that i can actually understand) on top of a repeated trumpet riff and some synthesised sounds. I can do my homework with their songs on and is so perfect for chilling out to or as background music. Two of my favourite songs are Never Get Enough and No Stoppin' Us. No Stoppin' Us has trumpets playing a syncopated riff and you won't be able to stop bobbing your head. I love wind instruments with rapping because it's such a contrast to the normal rappers. I recommend it if you are just getting into hip-hop.

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Mummy's Marmalade

In the past few years, my mum has started to make marmalade. This year i decided that i wanted to help. I never realised how easy it was until now and i much prefer homemade to shop brought. I decorated the jars with ribbons so that i could give them to my friends. And on some of them, i put a cupcake case under the lid. This is a really good idea for birthdays or picnics. I also found out that homemade marmalade keeps for two years!

 Ingredients:
1kg Seville Oranges
75ml Lemon Juice
2kg Demerara Sugar

1. Remove the tops off the oranges then cut them in half and squeeze out all the juice. Place this to one side.

2. Using a sharp knife, slice the peel into short and wide shreds. Put the peel into the bowl full of the orange juice and add 2.5 litres of water. Leave for 24 hours.

3. Transfer all the mixture to a preserving pan and bring to boil then simmer slowly and cover with a lid until the peel is tender. This should take about three hours and the contents of the pan will have reduced by about a third.

4. Stir in the lemon and sugar and bring to a boil, stirring until the sugar has dissolved. Boil until it has set (about half an hour). Remove from the heat and let cool for at least ten minutes then stir gently and put into jars and seal.

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V&A Wedding Dresses

Last weekend i went to my favourite museum (The V&A) to see a wedding dress exhibition. Although, i'm not very keen on weddings, i really enjoyed this exhibition. It was small and you could tell that every dress was specifically chosen. On the bottom floor, there was about three dresses for each decade for the 20th century and various from previous centuries. There was a brief but helpful description for each section. Upstairs was the modern dresses from all around the world. They had Kate Moss' and Gwen Stefani's dresses. I liked finding out the secret design secrets like that there was a little picture of Kate on her husbands tie at their wedding. The only thing i found tiresome was the description of each dress. It didn't excite me to find out who wore the dresses. I loved looking at the accessories and quotes from people in newspaper and seeing how much weddings have changed. The accessories included shoes, fans and hair garlands. I would have also liked to have seen who made the dresses and how long they took. Overall, i enjoyed the exhibition but would have liked something other than the material dresses.

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Drawing Calendar: February

This post is the second edition to my 2015 drawing calendar. I explained everything January post. February had my birthday in so i found it hard to keep up with all the dates but i have finally finished this month. If you don't think you can keep up with it every day or you like writing a diary then you could occasionally draw pictures to remind you of how you felt that day or what made you smile.

-Met an Akita and Husky club at the park
-Got Indian takeaway
-Noki's first snow
-Did well in fitness class
-Got my hair done
-Prepared for my birthday party
-My Hawaiian party
-MY BIRTHDAY
-Maths revision
-Pizza with the pals at lunch
-Volleyball dive
-Made potato cakes
-Train to Leeds on my own
-Walk around leeds and got food
-Boat broke down at rowing
-Prepared for the dance audition
-Ate a green pancake
-Opticians and dentist and orthodontist
-Saatchi Gallery
-Walk with friend
-Wedding Dress exhibition
-Prepared for school
-First day back
-Irish dancing lesson
-Irish Dancing audition at school
-Parents evening
-Got into the dance show and took Noki to the vet
-Wrote four blog posts

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My Hawaiian Party: Cake and Decorations

For the last post of my series of party posts, i wanted to show you the cake and decorations. The exquisite rainbow cake was made by my friend, who got the idea from Pinterest. It was a rainbow and had M&Ms in the centre. Finally, i accomplished my childhood dream of having a Colin the Caterpillar, my parents always thought they were too childish but i'm so far beyond 'childish' that they let me have one. For my outfit, i made a top identical to the one that Lilo wears in the film. I made it myself out of a red t-shirt and felt. Then i wore a hula skirt with matching hair, ankle and neck accessories. We also had mocktails in coconuts at my party. It took my dad an hour and a half to get the top off the coconuts and take the milk out. I then cleaned them out and put a straw and paper umbrella in them. There were two options for flavours:
The Noki Swirl- tropical juice and pink lemonade and a sprinkle of pomegranate
The Honolulu Wave- orange and cranberry juice with strawberries

I was really proud that i made the decorations in time and the managed to turn out quite well. I  got the ideas from Pinterest. The bunting and face of the lantern are made from card. I guessed the proportions and stuck them down with either Pritt Stick or the glue gun. I love the bunting so much that it is currently hanging in my bedroom.