My Week With Marilyn

I am surprised that I have never published a piece about my love for Marilyn Monroe. For as long as I can remember I have been a fan of Marilyn Monroe, I do remember watching 'Some Like it Hot' with my Grandad so I think it stems from there.

As I got older my fascination grew, I have many posters and prints on my walls of the actress and have many books on my shelves. Many biographies and picture books, all filled with facts, theories and maybe a little fiction, probably created by Monroe herself to get the public on her side.

I have read so many they blur into one, one however I have not read it 'The Prince, The Showgirl and Me', a diary by Colin Clark, who worked as a third assistant on the filming of 'The Prince and the Showgirl' (1957) starring Monroe and Laurence Olivier.

Clark was 23, and the book is his first hand account of having to deal with Marilyn during filming, he subsequently fell in love with her and had his heart broken by her, as so many men did.


The book was published in 1995 and the film is out now.

I was a little dubious at first as a Marilyn Monroe fan I am always a little critical about people playing Marilyn.


However, I was pleasantly surprised Michelle Williams is just phenomenal, she made me fall a little in love with her portrayal of Marilyn and that is just what she does portray Marilyn. She isn't trying to be her, or do a funny caricature.


She has picked up Monroe's mannerisms and is playing a normal Marilyn. She does deserve the Oscar and at times I had to remind myself that it wasn't the real one.


I don't personally think that anyone could have played Marilyn in quite the same way. Scarlett Johansson and Megan Fox may be fans or style themselves like Marilyn but I personally feel if they had played the star they would have pushed the sexuality aspect of her persona to the forefront and rather than a fragile young woman, she would have been a sex goddess with a tinge of sadness. Whereas, Williams plays her with a vulnerability, while also showcasing her magnetism and sex appeal.


As a massive fan I just felt a sense of relief after seeing it and felt that Williams had done the actress justice.

The film itself was really good, Kenneth Branagh is brilliant as Olivier and conveys the jealousy he felt towards the Hollywood star. Eddie Redmayne as Colin has a naivety and innocence. All the cast are really good and add something. But Williams does steal every scene she is in just as Miss Monroe did.

There were moments in the film that I kept thinking if Marilyn and Colin sleep together it is fabricated as I know people think she was a bit loose, but when married I believe she remained faithful.

I think the film showed a side of Marilyn that we don't really see - her lack of confidence when she filmed and also how people she worked with saw her. As they say when she turns it on she has it, also that she had a natural talent that many try years to achieve.

This is a great film and Williams is amazing as Marilyn and if she gets the Oscar nod she more than deserves to win.

Kasabian, The Brighton Centre, 28/11/2011

The last time I saw Kasabian was a couple of years ago when West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum came out. It was up in Manchester at the Apollo I think, it was so hot and crammed full so although it was a good gig, it was a little mental.

This time however, at the Brighton Centre it was cool and although full it wasn't rammed, and it was...the best gig ever!

Now again if you don't want to know what songs they play, the encore and that stop reading!

As I was saying this gig was just phenomenal! This is a band that know what they are doing and know how to rock.

They played so many hits, it was relentless you do forget how many good songs they have. L.S.F, Clubfoot, Shoot the Runner, Vlad the Impaler and Take Aim.

Tom and Serge are just to fantastic singers, and I would say dressers but I'm not sure about Serge's parka with feathers or his tiger print tight fitted t-shirt.

Their music live is just...out of this world! When you see Serge playing the opening bit of Vlad it is just...I can't describe it but like nothing I have heard before.

Tom may not be ultra cocky but he is a fantastic front man and can command a stage and captivate an audience. It was like no gig I have been to before. Much better than the gig in Manchester, which I can only assume was like being in the centre of the sun.

The encore was hard-core! They played Switchblade Smiles, Vlad the Impaler and ended with Fire, I am not lying when I say the whole room was jumping, dancing, pogoing just going completely mental and it was fantastic. Tiring but amazing. I have never seen a room come alive, with standing and seating going crazy.

In the encore you could feel the bass through your spine and it just echoes around the room, fantastic!

The set was really good as well it was like a dome, and the graphics felt 3D at points.

They got the mix of songs right as well, mixing old with new, album and singles but the whole crowd loved it. It was the type of gig when at first you go what's this....oh yer I remember this one!


I don't think anyone left that venue disappointed, and I was for one was not at all, this was what gigs are meant to be like, your ears hurt, your legs hurt everything hurts but it was so worth it.


If you like your music live and relentless and amazing and brilliant and just....indescribable then see Kasabian you will not regret it.

I should say as well Miles Kane was the support. I had seen him before supporting Beady Eye, he was really good, he is very cocky and really got the crowd going, as a good support act should.

He played some new tracks which were really good, he did well and you wouldn't have realised as first he was the support he had the whole crowd under his spell.

So if next year at any festivals you see either Miles Kane or Kasabian on the list make sure you see them, you will not regret it.

Back to basics...

So after the disaster of the cola cupcakes I went back to basics and made some simple vanilla ones.

I put some chocolate drops in, which sunk to the bottom but I know for next time now to put in when half baked.

To make up for it when they came out of the oven I put a chocolate button in which melted, yummy!

The icing is just a butter icing with vanilla essence and red food dye to make it that pinky colour. And finished off with pink sparkles and chocolate sprinkles.

They were very nice, which the cola ones were not.



It has restored my faith in my baking, the road to becoming a domestic goddess is a long and windy one and I went down a bit of a dead end.

Blood, sweat and tears...all in the name of competition

As I am fast becoming a bit of a foodie obsessive, watching any food programme I can turn over to, including Great British Bake Off and Masterchef I love the drama of the programme and that 'normal' people can do well.

I know I am not a great cook, I am enthusiastic and do try but I love watching these programmes.

Family members have commented that I should apply for BBC's Great British Bake Off as I have a new found passion for baking. However, I do not think my nerves could take being on a TV competition like that, or any of those cooking competitions. The pressure, the fear and the nerves, I think I would spend most of the time sat in a corner crying.

My job can be pressurised, getting things done on time but in that realm I have a level of understanding that I know what I am doing. But in a Masterchef kitchen being shouted at by a chef would make me either storm off, I don't kindly to being shouted out and strop, or cry,

I can't see how someone shouting at you can make you produce the best, it would make me a bag of nerves and fail!

I can, also, be clumsy, I burnt my hand the other day when I cooked cottage pie. I'm just a touch on the clumsy side especially if nervous, so if I did those competitions it would literally be blood, sweat and tears.


Also as a cook I am a very much a read recipe and follow, so on Bake Off when there are no instructions or just basics ones I would not do so well. My boyfriend on the other hand has a great flavour for recipes he can make something out of nothing and he can taste something and know exactly what to put in it, not me but then I would never enter something like that, just for my sanity really.
 
Finally, I am glad Jo won Bake Off, as out of all the bakers she was the one I related most to.

Wild Beasts, University of Southampton Student Union, 21st November 2011

I will admit outright I wasn't a massive fan of Wild Beast nor did I know the names of most of the songs before seeing them, however, after experiencing them live my opinion has completely changed.

I had seen them before a few years ago when they supported The Foals, who were on tour with their debut album, and although I can remember they were good I was there for The Foals and was a little restless. Not the case for my boyfriend it was love at first sight and so he started to follow the bands every move.

He was the one who bought the tickets and I am very glad he did.

First the band are a four piece indie rock band from Kendal in Cumbria, there are two lead singers I suppose Hayden (sings the higher notes) and Tom (the lower ones), my boyfriend said if he could sing like anyone it would be Tom.

Both the voices complement each other and are so different but blend so fantastically.

Their sound I would say is a bit of a mix of The Cure, and Editors but is then totally unique and just amazing.

My favourite song live had to be Albratross it is so hauntingly beautiful and Hayden's voice is just so enchanting.

They are unlike any band I have seen before, it was a very chilled out gig, but the audience were die hard fans and at certain points the would cheer and clap at their favourites.

However, Southampton did have one thing going against it, they couldn't clap in time! One half were one half wasn't, something Hayden said was very confusing for the band.

Now personally I don't think the union at Southampton is a great venue but for this gig the sound quality was really good.

The last gig I saw at the union was The Courteeners and the atmosphere was completely different for one people weren't throwing around pee.

This gig was just phenomenal, this band are fantastic live and I wouldn't hesitate to see them again.
For me the end did come to soon.

Set List:
- Bed of Nails
- We Still Got the Taste Dancin' on Our Tongues
- Albatross
- The Devil's Crayon
- The Fun Powder Plot
- Two Dancers (II)
- Deeper
- This Is Our Lot
- Loop the Loop
- Two Dancers (I) 
- Reach a Bit Further
- Hooting and Howling
Encore:
- Lion's Share
- All the King's Men
- End Come Too Soon

Not a happy cupcake bunny....

So I attempted to make some unusual cupcakes, cola cupcakes.

This recipe is from the Cox and Cookies cake cookbook, it was a little strange melting butter with coke but the cakes looked ok.

It was a slightly different cooking method from my other ones and I think it showed. I tried one and I'm not convinced, I don't really think they taste of anything maybe a hint of chocolate but not coca cola at all.

I was a bit disappointed really, no one else has had one and I feel tempted to chuck them away. I don't know if I didn't cook them for long enough either but I also worry about burning them. I don't know it feels like two steps forward eight steps back today.

The cola and chocolate icing is nice though, here they are...

I don't know... I suppose it can't go well all the time.

The Twilight Saga - Breaking Dawn Part 1

I have said before I am a twi-hard and last night I went to the midnight screening of the latest instalment Breaking Dawn Part 1.

If you haven't seen the film or read the book then please do not read on as there will be spoilers.

You have been warned.

I will admit outright this is not my favourite book, I felt it was really long and bit boring. However, the film.... AMAZING! A little shocking, a little mental but overall director Bill Condon has done a really good job. Although I do think part 2 isn't going to be as good.

Anyway part 1...

The film starts with the wedding, honeymoon, then Bella pregnant and having the baby. It feels like two different films. The first part they are all happy, Edward even smiles! There are funny bits, the speeches at the wedding are just so funny. The honeymoon is a bit of a love in and for any twi-hard will make a smile creep across your face as Edward and Bella are finally Mr and Mrs Cullen and you would think will live happily ever after.

However, Bella gets pregnant with a 'demon child' and this is when the film starts to get a little darker. When Jacob goes to visit Bella to see if she is still human she looks almost grey and gaunt, like a completely different person. The make up and special effects in this part are just phenomenal Kristen Stewart looks completely different from her happy blushing bride at the beginning.

Anyone who has read the books will know that the birth scene is pretty brutal, the film is a 12A but even so it is still pretty bloody and shocking, you don't see a lot it's mainly from Bella's perspective fading in and out but I think you see enough.

Although I would be interested to see what someone who hasn't read the books would say as in the book Edward rips open Bella's stomach with his teeth and gets the baby out, you don't really see this just Edward disappear and then come up with blood over his face and the baby but I think because I know what happens in the book it feels worse.

There was a point as well that I thought Bella was actually going to die...just shows you how good the acting is.

The bit when she changes to a vamp is very good her body goes back to how it was instead of a skeleton frame and it goes through all the other three films, reminding you how young they looked in the first Twilight film. Also Kristen Stewart looks beautiful, like a sleeping beauty.

I think it is a shame in the films though that you don't get to see much of the Cullens, but the bits they are provide moments of laughter and apprehension.

When me and my friend came out we were a little shocked and dumbstruck, the second half just sticks with you and it is a little heavy but Bill Condon does portray it really well, it does make you wonder what the 15 rated version was like though.

One thing though when Jacob 'imprints' on Renesmee it is lame and cheesy but that is the only bit that is.

Overall, I think the film is fantastic and cannot wait to see it again. If you are a twi-hard you will not be disappointed, this film I think does live up to expectations.

On another note though I was driving to my boyfriend's house through a village and walking down the road was a husky! It scared the beegeesus out of me, when you have watched a film about werewolves you don't want to see a lone wolf like dog walking down the street.

When life gives you lemons make.... lemon cupcakes!

No birthdays this time just the urge to make cupcakes.

Lemon cupcakes - a simple sponge with lemon zest, which makes them lemon-y, same with the icing just add grated zest. I was quite surprised that it was the zest that made them taste that way rather than juice or syrup.

I was a bit concerned at first about the icing it wasn't quite as thick as the other butter icing and I wasn't sure it would make a swirl like the chocolate cakes I made a couple of weeks ago. But actually I think it looks quite good as just a layer of icing rather than a swirl.

There are just a couple of things I wish I had done and will do next time. I will take the middle out and put lemon curd in and put sugar lemons, what you usually have at Christmas, on the top as decoration.

They were really nice though I was a bit surprised as I didn't think they would be as nice as they were. Another success.

Made to measure for your special wedding day...

On a girl's wedding day there are some things that are a-given 'something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue'. There is also the fact that every girl should feel like a princess on her special day.

I, myself, have yet to get married but in the past year I have seen two of my closest friends walk down the aisle and have two friends next year also tying the knot. So I know how important one particular part of the day is.... the dress. It has to be right, as the bride has to feel comfortable, special and one in a million.

When my best friend went wedding dress shopping she tried on a few dresses, but when she tried on 'her' dress we all knew it was the right one.

However, if you don't want off the peg and can afford something a little bit more unique. There is the option to have your dress made to measure the way you want it and to your exact measurements, so this isn't a dress that has been altered for you but made from scratch to your requirements.

In life not many of us get to have a dress from scratch designed especially for ourselves so if you are going to get one made it might as well be your wedding dress, as it is meant to be the best day of your life.

So for all your needs the place I would recommend, having been to a wedding where the bride and bridesmaids all had the dresses from there and been to the shop, is Brides by Ventrella in Manchester.

The shop has an Italian heritage, which explains the unique handiwork, there are not many places now a days where the dress is made on site to your requirements and measurements. A family business with techniques passed down from mother to daughters.

Each swarovski crystal is sown on by hand, the lace delicately placed by expert eyes.

Having started in 1987 they know what they are doing and the shop was making lace dresses long before Kate Middleton walked down the aisle in her McQueen.

Even if you don't live in Manchester, contact them as they maybe able to accommodate you in a quick time, surely it is worth it for that one in a million dress.

So for your special day check them out, you won't regret it, theses dresses are just beautiful, they also do prom dresses which are just as pretty and came make any girl feel special.

http://www.bridesbyventrella.co.uk/ or visit their Facebook page where people have posted images of their own wedding dresses. http://www.facebook.com/#!/profile.php?id=100001780173503

Choccy woccy cupcakes

Yesterday was my boyfriend's birthday and as is becoming a tradition I made cupcakes. He asked for hazelnut and chocolate cupcakes.

Basically they are chocolate cupcakes with the middle taken out and chocolate spread put in its place, then covered with butter icing with added chocolate spread, basically it is a chocolaty overload!

Let's hope he likes them.

You know I think I am getting the hang of this baking malarky....or have I spoken to soon?

I am going to try another item from the baking list and see how I get on.

Magnetic nail polish update....

Just to update you, the blue one didn't work very well but I used Frankie's silver nail polish and it really worked! Let's hope when I use the other blue one again it works just as well.

Here are the results....

I look forward to the new magnets and the different patterns.

There is something magnetic in the polish

We have had Barry M's nail effects with the crackling effect, we have had Revlon and Rimmel's scented polishes, now we have magnetic nail polish.

I have the black Barry M nail effect and the peach Rimmel scent nail polish. I also have some glittery ones the Revlon Facets of Fuschia and OPI's Bring on the Bling, great but really horrible to take off as the cotton wool sticks to the glitter. Other than that I love it.

Now the latest trend is magnetic nail polish. Polish that has iron powder in it, you paint your nails, hold a magnet over the top and whatever the pattern is on there you get the same on your nails.

Nails Inc have three colours for £13 each, to see the effect you can get visit... http://www.nailsinc.com/magnetic.

However, while at Britain and Ireland's Next Top Model Live my sister and I got chatting to a man from FashionistA make up who said they made the one for Nails Inc but had now started their own range.

Who do they have as the face of the range? The Saturdays. On sale in Superdurg the nail polishes are £6 each, the magnet is £3 and at the moment it is 3 for 2. The reason why the magnet is separate is that you only need one and they are planning to launch different patterns in the next few months. The current one is a wave pattern.

As you can probably guess there are five colours...
Frankie - Notorious Silver
Una - Ego Green
Mollie - Purple Me Up
Rochelle - All Fired Up Red
Vanessa - Forever is Blue


At Britain and Ireland's Next Top Model Live they were selling them on offer, two nail polishes and the magnetic for £10. So between me and my sister we got all but the green one. (sorry Una!).

The nail polishes are quite nice on their own. When I got home I tried Vanessa's blue one, and to be honest for first go the pattern didn't come out that well, a little faint but the faintest hint of the wave.

I'm not sure if it is because it is quite dark and it doesn't show up as good. But not one to give up I will keep trying, I have the silver one as well maybe that will show up better.

You can get The Saturday's at Superdrug or here...
http://www.thesaturdays.co.uk/news/the-saturdays-magnetism-nail-lacquer-is-now-in-store-and-online/

To be honest I am looking forward to see what the next nail polish trend is.