Vogue has drawn my attention to the works of a great artist I'd never heard of before called Ed Ruscha. I think he'd be classed as a Pop Artist? I'm not sure, not knowing much about these things. But I've decided that I loved words in art! This:

This made me think of a poster I'd seen somewhere that I loved instantly, by Anthony Burrill:

So simple but so effective. This is my favourite of the day:

Says it all.

A Much Needed Catch-Up

Regretfully I have completely neglected my blog for over a week now. In my defense, it was my 22nd birthday last week and I was a busy bee! To summarise last week, I turned 22 on Tuesday 1st September and went out for food and drinks with Sarah Megs in the eve to celebrate. On Wednesday I spent hours shopping with the majority of the money I'd been given for my birthday. On Thursday I shopped again but this time vicariously through Sarah Megs as she wanted a new outfit. In the eve, nearly the whole Smith clan went for a meal in town to celebrate both my birthday and my cousin's 20th which was coming up on the 5th. On the Friday I went over to my cousin's for a proper catch up and to have a look at all her photos and collected pieces from her recent travels. She went to Hong Kong and Dubai, and I have to say, I'd love to visit Hong Kong. Mentally adding Hong Kong to the list of desirable places to visit... done. Saturday had been planned for weeks as my birthday night out with the girls, but first we would spend the day in town eating sushi and doing more shopping. Loved it. The evening plan turned into a was a bit of a disorganised night with us needing/wanting to be in various places all over town at different times, but we managed to do it even after it looked unlikely we'd ever get to Sophbeck! Standing outside McDonalds at 2am, each of us in various stages of shitfacedness with every randomer Leicester has to offer popping up out of nowhere for a chat is never a classy look. But make it to Sophbeck we did, very drunk, with me ending up back at home gone 5am, eating microchips before passing out, and waking the next day with the inevitable hangover and the journey back to Manchester.

So that was my week! I'm starting to get a bit dizzy going between Leicester, Manchester and less often, Llandudno all summer. I forget who I know from which place and where I had this meal and where we had that conversation and even who it was with. But I'm glad I chose to spend the summer this way because now I have money saved for future enjoyable times, i.e. our day trip to London, a spa visit with my mother, a visit to Spain for LB's 21st, our trip to NYC in 2010..? God I hope these things materialise, they are what get me through the days!

Speaking of all things enjoyable, Ally D is returning from the states in a matter of days and we have planned a night out for her return back in to our fold as well as for LB's imminent voyage to the continent. I genuinely cannot wait and I know it won't hit me til days after that LB is really leaving and that Ally is really back. It's going to be very bittersweet.

SAD this Winter?

Last night the wife, the wife's lover and I were watching music TV and Rock DJ by Robbie Williams came on, and we were talking about the demise of his career and how the condition SAD could have been a contributing factor. SAD - seasonal affective disorder - in it's worst form affects 7% of the UK population each winter according to SADA. Another 17% are mildly affected by what is more appropriately deemed 'winter blues', and unfortunately I think I may be one of them. I've never been diagnosed but it's not too hard to understand; less light = less cheeriness for me. I certainly don't find it to be a debilitating condition and I function fairly normally, except for getting upset by small things, finding myself wanting to cry for no reason and generally feeling low in confidence and happiness. Some years it has manifested itself worse than during other years, probably coinciding with another factor in my life that has got me down.

Thankfully this year my fabulous friends have allowed me a bedroom in our shared house with a large bay window which should allow the light in, what there is of it. And I am far more optimistic about this coming winter as I generally feel happier in myself at the moment and have a good feeling about the next few months. It does scare me that my mood might become uncontrollable - in that I can't force myself to not be glum - and the control is something I think I have worked at since I was very young and most of the time seems to work. I have a lot of things to look forward to this winter as well as things that always make me happy, and I need to make sure I remember these things, so I will just pop them on a list so I can always look back at this and think right, cheer up!

• having all my friends around means never a dull moment
• it's the last year of uni - make the most of it
• all being well - going to Madrid for LB's 21st
• lots of other birthday nights
• hopefully a trip to New York January 2010
• having a job therefore having money to play with
• being able to wear all those comfy winter clothes, big boots, snuggly scarves and hats
• Christmas with all the family
• buying presents for people
• lots of nights out including Warehouse Project nights
• the X Factor runs right up until Christmas! Then usually Dancing On Ice starts!

Well, that's a good start. It's always good to be prepared! Come on winter, come and have a go, I'm ready for you.

Seeing Family in Llandudno

It was decided a while back that the Smiths (my family not the band) would converge on Llandudno during August. Three of the Smiths already live there of course, so there was free accommodation for me! My parents stayed in a B&B because they wanted it to feel more like a holiday, as they havent had one this year. I stayed with my sister in law Sioned in her new house. It was so beautiful and compact - just enough for her and Gruff, my nephew. I stayed in Sion's room which looked out over hills and fields stretching ahead, whilst she slept with my nephew because he wasn't coping well during the night. Sioned really has an eye for design - simple but beautiful, and on a budget. Plus, her mum made all the curtins, cushions, blinds and so on for the house for a teeny tiny fraction of what you'd normally pay! (I have already put my order in!)

So I arrived the day after my parents due to having to work. We decided to go for a trip along Llandudno front for the afternoon. The weather was slightly overcast but the place was buzzing with holidaymakers, so there was a nice atmosphere. It's a great place for older people and kids - it's really traditional with its pier and promenade, Punch and Judy shows and donkey rides too of course.


I noticed how much Gruffhad changed straightaway. It'd been a good few months since I'd seen him - the last time I was there he was still shuffling around on his knees, and suddenly he's running around on his own two legs! Apparently he still keeps getting mistaken for a girl though - must be the blonde ringlets!

That evening we went to Sioned's mum and dad's house for tea, it was lovely. Everyone was pretty tired by the evening so after Gruffy's bath, mum and dad went back to the B&B, Gary set off and Sioned and I watched a bit of TV before bed. Probably shouldn't have chosen "Crimewatch Solved" for our evening's entertainment mind you - traumatising. Despite this I had a really good night's sleep in my temporary bed. I'm not sure Sioned did with the baby though!

The next day we all piled in the cars to go to Colwyn Bay Zoo! Now if you're not familiar with Colwyn Bay, you might not realise how small a town it is. So I expected the "zoo" to house things like rabbits and maybe some horses, but that's it. In fact it has camels, bears, monkeys, alligators (which I insisted weren't real until one blinked), penguins, birds, tigers etc etc... although there were some rabbits there too. I'm still not sure how I feel about zoos, but it was a nice morning nonetheless.

We went out for dinner in the evening which meant Gruff could have a go on the soft play area. It was a nice chilled out day all in all, and the weather staed nice until the evening when we went for a walk along Deganwy beach. It's the opposite side of the town from Llandudno front as has a quiet sort of beauty about it. It's not popular with holidaymakers as it's not a sandy beach, but I prefer it because it's peaceful. I imagine a setting for a Jane Austen novel there!
We were leaving the next day, but we made sure we did something during the morning so as not to waste it. We went over to Conwy, which is a really picturesque little fishing village with a castle and city walls and stuff. We had a little walk around the shops and stopped on the front to watch people catching crabs in nets. Although it had threatened to rain, the weather stayed nice for us until we left. We bought some scones at a bakery ready for cream tea later and went to Bon Bon's, a handmade chocolate shop which makes the most amazing chocolate in the world. We had to set off fairly earlier because Ma and Pa Smith were giving me a lift back to Manchester then heading home. It always makes me upset to leave because we can't be together that often, and time goes so fast when we are together, but we had made the most of our mini holiday! I'm looking forward to going away to different places when Gruff is a bit older and can cope with longer days. And here's to my next holiday... New York? Fingers crossed.

Granny Fashion Forward

I can't help but think that Grannies (also known as women of a certain age) really know where it's at when it comes to fashion. Not that they're all wandering around with Louis Vuitton bunny ears a la Madonna atop their blue rinse perms, I don't mean that. I mean that they have an elegance that we don't have anymore. Fair enough, sometimes my own Grandma wears shapeless things because she wants to be comfy that day, and so she should. But more often than not, I think she looks amazing. Here she is a few Christmasses ago:

My Grandma is in her 80s now, which means she grew up with the fashions of the 40s and 50s. The cuts were beautiful - feminine and elegant yet not frilly or overly girly. This was the era during and post the second World War. The whole world had changed. Women had an important role in the war, and the fashion that came after it served this importance; it was power dressing that never lost its femininity. The skirts were still below the knee, and however much I love a short dress (currently loving the shoulder pads and short hem-lines on the high street) I've got to say I think a just-on-the-knee/below the knee cut is the most beautiful. Of course I'm not going to wish my life away, but when I reach that "certain age" it won't worry me that I can't wear minis anymore; instead I will embrace the fact that I can dress in comfy clothes and carry that air of elegance that only mature women seem to truly own.

Sometimes you see the "Granny Fashion" style popping up on the runways and in the shops. I love it. I love a big comfy cardi. It's nice to mix it with up to date stuff and look edgy. I'm glad it's stuck around - but let's be honest: no one can do it better than the Grannies themselves.

Let's Go Down to London Town

Me and my better half Laura Eve have decided to take a bit of time out for our hardworking selves in September and take a jaunt down to LDN. We don't want it to be a typical shopping trip - you know: spend ages trying to find Oxford Street, eventually find Topshop, spend millennia in there, leave without buying anything then hop over to H&M and do the same thing all over again. So instead we want to go and see some sights; be proper tourists, take photos and generally knacker ourselves out - but knowing we've made the most of it. So with this in mind I want to list a few things we have to see, places we have to go, things we need to eat and celebrity haunts we need to sit in and wait for aforementioned celebrity to appear. I'm not saying we'll do them all, I'm just saying we'll think about it.

1. Visit Camden Market. (Fair enough, this is still shopping, but it's cool, quirky and so totally "I got this bag for £3 and yes it is hand-made by a student who just screen-printed this iconic yet over-used image onto it")

2. Go on the London Eye. (unless it costs more than a tenner, which I reckon it does)

3. Watch the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace.
4. Go to the National Portrait Gallery. (Always love it there

5. Tate Britain and Tate Modern.

6. Picnic in Hyde Park.

These are the first things that have hit me as interesting. However it's nearly 1.30am and my brain is slowing down and I have to get up for work tomorrow! I shall ask around and get some recommendations to continue my list with. Until then!

I tried taking pictures, but they were so mediocre

This is my first blog entry. I thought briefly earlier about what I was going to write, but quickly decided I'd just jot down some thoughts about my day, or should I say, jot down some things I've been thinking about today. Either way, let's get going.

I was asked today what my favourite film is. As I am a film student I get asked this often. However, I never have a completely truthful answer ready when I reply. Most of the time I'd say Magnolia as my official party line. I think I say Magnolia because it is one of the films I've watched and the whole time viewing it I've been engrossed, interested and, I guess the right word would be, entertained. However, I've felt like this about other films and I don't say that they are my favourite. Basically, it's the films that I still think about years on, and the films that I feel give me something to think about. I love comedies too, and romances and some thrillers and action and so on and so on... but I will always choose a "thinker" as my favourite. That's why today, instead of immediately saying Magnolia, I said Lost In Translation instead. I love that film and I'm not sure why. I love the fact that Sofia Coppola wrote and directed it, an actually managed to get it made, and got two huge stars to play the leads, when in all truthfulness, it's actually about very little. And it made me think, this was something she felt so much for that she had to get it made. Fair enough, she is the daughter of a very famous and revered director and could probably get any old crap made, but then why choose a story about two people who basically just have a series of encounters and conversations, and then part ways having made no real progress in their lives except for the fact they met each other? But this is the stuff that interests some of us! It certainly interests me. Maybe it's because I analyse what people say too much and find meaning in it all, or maybe I just take things way too seriously sometimes (a thought certainly shared by most of my friends!). But at the end of the day, it's the people I am around who really make my life and the little moments you have with them or the great conversations you have, or the look that says "don't get stressed Lau" from the friend who knows me nearly down to my bone-marrow, or the way I can tell a certain twitch of the mouth means another friend feels uncomfortable, or the sudden sense I sometimes get that I don't know any of these people at all.

Another thing it made me think was that someone out there will love the stuff you are capable of creating, and that's why I want to make sure I keep writing, drawing, painting and learning new ways to create and be creative. One of my biggest fears is getting bored and stale and giving up on making life interesting!

The last two days have been really fun. A few friends came up to stay and we went out for drinks and dancing, went shopping, and ate our own weight in indulgent food. I loved having everyone around and everything feeling busy and exciting again. I really couldn't spend a long time on my own, I am so grateful for my friends. Back to work tomorrow, which is never as bad as I imagine it will be, and is the means by which I can go to New York with Laura and Sarah later in the year!