Sunny wanderings...

Well, I'm three down, one to go on the exams front... Next one's on Tuesday, and I have to find some motivation deep within to get back into revising after crashing for a couple of days since my 3 exams in 27 hours typed with crippling pain from the RSI.

My viva 'exam' is basically going to be me bitching about the exam timetable lol. I don't think they've gone too badly overall so far, but considering in my third paper I was so knackered I could barely type, let alone form cogent arguments to the best of my ability on my best paper, so will probably get a low 2.1, when I should have got a first, is annoying to say the least.

Ah well. I've given up on the idea of a fourth year and just want to get this done so I can go home and think about jobs etc lol. Plus, most of my friends are already finished or finish in the next couple of days, so I'm really champing at the bit to be done. Then again I know nothing for Tuesday's exam, so should probably do something about that quite soon haha.

Anyhoo... Moaning aside, T-B and I did take some time out the other day to do a photoshoot, while it was still sunny ;-D

Purple days and Purple ways...

Truly low maintenance summer-ness... I'm in my trusty, slightly worse for constant wear two-tone Converse (- can't see my colour combo, but kinda jonesing for a brown and orange-tongued pair. hmmmmm -), TopShop tee and dress, Toywatch, vintage purple sunnies and my MapTote.

Funsies. It was pretty much straight from this shoot back to work... Euurggh. I really should be getting back to work tonight. Blah. I know nothing about the Anglo Saxons. Sigh. Long long long 5 days ahead. But once it's over, I have a BBQ at our dissertation coordinator / college fellow's house (he has the cutest kids) - not sure he knows quite what he's doing having 20 just-finished-finals undergrad archaeologists turning up at his house, but he's a good laugh as are all the other dept fellows who'll be there, most of whom just get drunk with us, so... Yay! First archaeology lash in a looooooooooooong time!

Then I have the WONDERS of May Week and May Balls to look forward to... (Ignoring my viva exam on the last day of May Week lol.) It's going to be weird, as pretty much everyone is going their separate ways. Slightly scary prospect really. Sigh. But that light at the end of the tunnel - Finishing - is what's keeping me going at the mo.

Sorry I'm still not around much... I'll try to amp up the posting, and get around to returning to Google Reader and returning comments sooooooooooon! I miss you guys!

Xxxc

Since you were all so patient...

It's a PHOTOSHOOT DAY!!!

Yay!!! Also, it's T-B's 22nd birthday today... So everybody think good birthday vibes for him! He has hardcore revision supervisions this afternoon, so is not having the best birthday this time. HAPPY BIRTHDAY LOVELY!!!

Red, White and Blue...

Lots of images... Sorry ;-D 

This is probably my favourite photoshoot so far, which is saying something! 

So, I'm wearing a Topshop skirt, anonymous cream seamed lace tights, Kate Kuba blue suede heels, falling apart and well loved Venice tee I bought there aged about 12  - the first visit of many - I've tried to find the same shirt since but no luck, vintage navy suede belt, gold rose necklace from Clares Accessories, GAP men's cardigan and my vintage tooled leather bag.

We went for a wander across town to the Granta meadows, Darwin Island and the bit of the river past the sluice. It was excellent fun. And we saw ducks and cows too! The latter roam free on the meadows... That got me childishly excited! You'd think I didn't grow up with a farm behind my house! (Remind me to post a pic of me in green overalls with a pitchfork some time! ;-D)

I also just wanted to say thank you tonnes to everyone who's been so supportive these past couple of weeks... I've really, truly appreciated it. This place, in exam term, can get horrific. I've now got 3.5 weeks til finals, so stress is going to set in again in a week or so I guess. Joy of Joys. But I'll try to post at least a few times a week as I hated being away SO much!

Oooooh, and I *think* I'm also going to be the fashion editor for our uni newspaper in Michaelmas term of next year (that's October to December). How cool!!! I get pieces every week and a twice termly glossy magazine to produce!!! Woop! Now I just have to hope I get on my 4th year course ;-D - which involves revising... Hmmmmm. Maybe I should do that now...

Right. I'm off. Going to the theatre tonight, and off to a conference in Oxford (and seeing the lovely Claire while I'm there) for Friday and Saturday, and I'm getting confirmed on Sunday! (I have the BEST outfit...) So, family's descending. Actually, rather yay! Thus posting might be sporadic, but I'll do my best. Twitter-ing is likely, especially as I may need an outlet for yeeeeep-ness, as staying with the *I-shouldn't-have-this-crush*-crush - Oops! (Before you say anything... It's totally platonic, blah blah blah. Seriously. There are many reasons as to why it's a DEFINITE should-not-would-not-could-not situation... Some of which some of you may have picked up on, but I won't go into detail lol.) Got to love my dramas! ;-D

Also, one final thing... I'm featured on Layers of Meaning as part of the Through Her Eyes series, throughout May. The first post came out on Wednesday, and there'll be three more. If you click on the button in the sidebar, it'll take you to just the series' posts, so check it out if you like! :-D

Hugs!!! 

Xxxc

Popping in...

I had planned to post a tag-catch-up before now, but that's on the back burner 'til I can find my camera in the mess that is my room... 

Anyway, I was having a quick escape from dissertation pain to play on LookBook - my favourite of the Chictopia / Modepass etc type of site... And since my brain is too dead to do anything other than say... "I like." "Pretty." "Want dress." etc - in manner akin to Me Tarzan, You Jane / McQueen dress / Louboutin heels / vintage scarf etc, here is a quick stream of images that have made me smile and feel a tiny jolt of inspiration through my otherwise dead-brain:

- Can I please *be* this girl? She's so cute! And that skirt is calling out to me!

- Not exactly my style, but she looks so great, I'd think about rocking it... LOOK AT THOSE SHOES!!!

- Adorable yet naughty with those tights! Love the skinny belt over denim shirt... Wish I could ever find ones long enough to do that without revealing my arse to the world lol.

- LOVE this! Illustration as well as cute pic! Those tights are adorable, and I so want to read a kids book drawn like that... Now. Please. Thank you.

- Looks like such fun! I miss fun. I also NEED those shorts... I'm a sucker for red at the moment!

So there you have it... I popped in... Splurged my tiny little bit of current inspiration... Now I should go drink more red bull, and try to kick my brain into gear over my dissertation case studies... 

61.5 hours 'til IT'S ALL OVER! This makes me want to cry and laugh hysterically at the same time! ;-D Can't wait for the freedom to lie around on the backs, reading Murakami / Dante / Golding, procrastinating from revision, and laughing at my mates looking like complete idiots playing frisbee / croquet / strange made-up games that make no sense...

Xxxc

P.s. I'm trying to keep up with my Google Reader, but am epically behind on comments... Please forgive me, and I promise I'll be back and replying and generally being my usual hyperactive-blogging self! Honest!

P.p.s. Say hello on twitter! I'm constantly updating at the mo. Keeps me a tiny bit sane...

Sorry for being away!!!

Hello everybody!

It's been far too many days since I last posted, and I've been missing the blogosphere like mad! The dissertation draft is on its way to completion - not quite there yet, but hopefully by the end of the weekend! *Crosses fingers*

Anyway, I'm back (ish) - posting's going to be less frequent than usual for a while, but I have a few posts up my sleeve and some PHOTOSHOOTS!!! Woop! T-B is back in Cam-land, and we're raring to go!

So... The first of much Easter-term procrastination-shoots:

Wonderland: circa.1628

Wearing - French Connection long grey jersey skirt, TopShop realitees concession twist back t-shirt, Paul Smith mustard blazer, Jocasi belt, ToyWatch, Jaeger brown leather court shoes, brown macrame flower necklace bought from a tiny craft shop in Florence...

- Here I'm looking at one of the indexes... Each large book case has a hand written index inside a little fold out wooden window... Mostly in Latin, but occassionally understandable, they're almost as fascinating as the books themselves!

It was lovely to get out of the main library today for a wander around the "Old Library" in college... Built in 1628 from a donation of £1400 (haha), it houses some of the most precious books in the world - books, manuscripts, journals, paintings, medals, field notes etc - ranging from the 15th century to the present day... 

Some of my favourite things (aside from endless keyword searches of the medieval manuscripts collection) are the works of Ovid that belonged to Lorenzo de Medici (1474 - arms of the Medici - illuminated - and Marsuppini - sketched marginalia - here) , the first complete translation of the Bible into English (photos of pages from 1535 and 1537 here) and the 1808 book on the abolition of the slave trade by Thomas Clarkson, one of our alumni who was instrumental in the abolition along with other almuni including William Wilberforce (photos of illustrations of conditions on slave ships here). 

In the more modern section of the library (- by more modern I mean it holds more recent books), there are vast archives of the works of fellows and alumni including the field notebooks of Jack Goody (anthropologist) and the conference journals, mystery novel manuscripts and neanderthal cartoons of Glyn Daniel - ex Disney-prof of archaeology (- Janus entry for the papers here). 

I love each and every one of those things with a passion, and every time the adorable college special collections librarian (J) lets me into the old library, sometimes for hours at a time, I breathe in the air of musty old books and really think about how lucky I am that they're here... And I'm trusted with their safety! It's quite scary to think about sometimes! You can't really take them out of the bookcases, unless J is with you - well, practically, one could, but morally... If you actually want to study any of it, one should get it out with J and look at it in the reading room. Some of the medieval manuscripts (like this one) are breathtaking to study in person...

Saying that, especially downstairs, you do tend to just rummage... I love all the pastel sketches of fellows done for their portraits, and there is one particular archive that I have been allowed huge free reign with, that I won't tell you about just yet, as it's going to form the basis of a project that I'll be publishing on the blog in a couple of months time! Let's just say, it's awesome... Well worth the suspense... Honest! :-D 

Sigh... So much for today's work ethic! I should probably go and get on with my case studies now. Must stop thinking about old books with no relavence to dissertation and start thinking about the ones in front of me!!! ;-D

Xxxc

P.s. Please bear with me while I catch up on my several hundred googlereader posts and everyone's lovely comments! And, as ever, photos by Alex Tatton-Brown, and thanks to JH.

FIERCE!!! in Studs and House of Holland... (And more savings-fun)

Well, since I managed to have a panic attack at 3am last night, I decided there was nothing for it but to get through my pyramid studs! 

So here are the jeans... DIYed! 

There weren't Quite enough studs to finish a pocket, but almost... I think they're wearable without 'finishing ( - I was going to do a full half pocket - ) if not quite kwl as they are!

I took the whole pocket off, as I preferred the slightly neater look, and unlike in the Jak and Jil photo, black denim just doesn't have the same look, frayed and torn apart!

So... What do y'all think?

I was glad to have these this morning, as it was my first day out and about, working in the University Library - ok, only for a few hours, but still! - rather than in my own room... It felt good, not to float around, as is my usual want, but to stalk around town in black denim and an oversize crrraaaazeeeeeeee tee-shirt from House of Holland... (Claire - this is the one I got in my first foray into Cocosa!) Otherwise, I'm wearing Kate Kuba suede and faux snakeskin shoes and the ribbon of a net-a-porter box as a belt!!! Hehe. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle and all that! ;-D

I'm already trying to think of what to do next! (After the AA tees and the Mick Jagger one which may take a while to get here anyway, and ribbons may be a long term plan too...)

I was on Koodos today - they're having an up-to-80%off-sale at the mo on brands like Sara Berman, 7 for all Mankind, T-Bags dresses, Miss Sixty, Betty Jackson, Maria Grachvogel - to name a few - too...

And I saw these:

They are Superfine jeans down from £250 to £60!!! Though my bank account's running fairly low at the moment, at least for purchases over the £10 mark... and I thought... what about trying to stud chevrons onto my black jeans...? Might try and find another pair and do it in gold, but it seems like a fun, if slightly more intermediate plan than the ones I've been making so far...

Any thoughts? Maybe I should hold off on studding everything is sight tho... Hehe.

In other recession-friendly-sales-and-discounts-news:

1) the Tate (museums) online shop is offering a 10% discount with the code 10%Twitter09 - so tempted by the Rodchenko and Popova hammer and sickle scarf still, but my purse will be remaining in pocket, as I know that I get the same discount - without postage - at home due to my discount, but it's a really good deal! I'd also recommend the brooch and tote bag from that range and I'm wierdly attracted to this children's bag:

I just want to cut off those backpack straps and add some felt handles to make it into a cute but eccentric bag to take somewhere like the next Planet Angel party I get to... (For those that don't know, Planet Angel is like a rave, but more hippy... and is a secret... so Shhhhhhh. But I gave you the link, so you can have a look... I haven't been for ages and am SO looking forward to going every month in the summer! Before you write me off as a hard-partying-druggie, I'll put my hands up and say I don't drink, I don't smoke, I don't do ANY drugs... I just get hyper on sugar and dance... Lots... and Lots... and then throw some glitter at people...)

- back to savings now -

2) Hervia.com - Vivienne Westwood's online shop - is offering FREE SHIPPING on all orders OVER £68 until Midnight, Monday 13th April...

3) Don't forget Hervia's current Melissa for Vivienne Westwood shoes, for which the discount code MEL02 still applies, until MIDDAY TOMORROW (Thursday 9th April)!

4) UK Members-only sales

a) SecretSales - quite low end mostly, but they do currently have some Herve Leger dresses reduced massively (talking 2 grand to 350 quid) and good jeans sales...

b) BrandAlley - great sunglasses, had Melissa's for £20 the other day... lots of tat but also lots of gems!

c) Cocosa.com - the creme de la creme of online members-only hand-picked sample sales... From House of Holland to Allegra Hicks to Matthew Williamson (clothes), Bex Rox and Laura Lee jewellery, Hunter wellies, Loewe and Pauric Sweeney bags PLUS competitions for jewellery / bags / events etc. AMAZING doesn't begin to describe the discounts on here...

If you want membership, then follow and message me on twitter @cassiopeiadoes so we can private message emails, or comment (with ur email inc'd) on here specifying which one. I'll then send you the code for joining or send invite emails! I won't deny I get vouchers for recommending people and especially on Cocosa, that's an immense thing lol. (I'm on another new one, but it hasn't opened yet so will post that when I know more...)

5) Acne online shop has just opened an IMMENSE outlet store - we're talking 50-70% discount on really great stuff! Go here.

6) ASOS - code that I'm unsure about working... APRILDELIVER gets free delivery on orders over £50. Apparently. It didn't work when I tried, but that was the day that ASOS was malfunctioning a lot...

*Phew!*

Deep breath. That was a lot. Thanks for bearing with me... I should really go finish the case study I've been working on all day...

"ox bones... blah blah... ritual deposits... blah blah... monumentalising landscape... lalala... burnt bits of daub... ???... contiguously sequenced buildings... ooooh! bird flew past... ritual continuity... ARRRGGGGHHHH!!!"

It's not that bad, but I'll be so so so glad when this dissertation's over!

*** Sorry this post seems to be all about "promotions" - it's not supposed to be, but I got excited about them all, so thought you might like them too, especially given people's reaction to other 'deals' I've posted... Maybe I'll try to do a weekly save post? Do you want me to? Not sure how long it'd be most weeks, but I can do my best to unearth lots of discounts... If you want? ***

Let me know!

Xxxc

Studstudstudstudstudstudstudstud... etc.

So today, I got a bit of a DIY-bug... The brainstorm was mainly as I received (and ordered more) studs to play with today. These are just silver stars and pyramid studs, which I’m using on denim...

First 'play' was with a Top Shop layered frill denim skirt that I studded with a smattering of stars... Mainly for clubbing wear as I’m not this skirt’s biggest fan, but it was on its way out, so thought – in the interests of reduce, reuse, recycle – to do this instead:

Outfit is TopShop denim skirt, H&M white vest, M&S grey lace vest, M&S silver pumps and GAP baby blue men's cardigan...

The pyramid studs are currently being used to convert my 5 year old, rather shabby, black Cheap Monday skinny jeans into something along the lines of this:

 from Jak and Jil blog

Not exactly original, but looking okay so far... Another piece of denim I'd consigned to the 'rarely-wear' part of my wardrobe. They remind me far too much of my 17 year old self, head over heels in love with a blonde, blue-eyed, Harrow(School)-boy-metal-head lol. He liked them as they were the only thing in my wardrobe that was black! Hehe. Not much has changed eh. Except maybe my taste in men... So hopefully this'll give them a new lease of life other than being worn when there's no other option ;-D - I'll post pics when they're done.

I also ordered some skull-shaped studs and coloured (purple and baby blue) pyramids that I'm going to try to persuade myself to use on my beloved AA purple tri-blend tee... I might have to buy a double of it tho. Or get a blue one and play with That! Oh the possibilities!!!

Don't know if my heart can take the risk otherwise! ;-D  Yeeeek! I'm getting all these from the AMAZING ebay seller denk_universe who I cannot recommend enough... They're really quick for shipping, cheap compared to other retailers, and just generally really sweet! Plus the Mexican stamps on my package are just Too Kwl!

Sigh. They're even 'Tajin, Mexico, ARQUEOLOGIA' stamps... How fitting!?!?!? 

:-D

I think the skull studs are going to be used for a project along these lines:

- I'm currently waiting for this tee-shirt from voltage.vox on ebay... and I reckon, if I use the studs to attach (along with some sturdy invisible stitching) some velvet ribbon to the sides to pull it in at the waist it could be really fit! I ordered a medium to get some length and loose-ness around the shoulders and neck (which I'll probably cut out anyway ;-D). Thoughts on colour for the ribbon? I haven't been in VV Rouleaux for aaaaages and I can't quite bring myself to buy online as their shops are Such Fun... So this one might have to wait til after I've been home.

In other news... 

I was supposed to be 'smart' and on box office today, so in the ultimate boring outfit, I'm workin' my amazingly amazing grey Acne jeans - I buy a new pair every year in their brilliant online sales lol and they're the only jeans I wear... Slightly different washes, but always Hep style and grey! Unoriginal much. But I suppose I don't wear jeans much, so these do the job and go from casual to smart rather well. Plus a vintage Jaeger silk shirt (missing a couple of buttons - *note to self: replace them before Mother, whose shirt it was originally, cottons on!*), black M&S pumps and necklace from Etsy, yeeeeeeears ago... I got to their shop after a tip from SusieBubble (and I think, from Queen Michelle too, but can't find that post...) - Paraphenalia was the name, but they don't seem to be on there anymore, which is a Crying Shame!

Right... That was supposed to be a short post. Ha ha ha.

Back to the dissertation-grind!!!

Xxxc

P.s. Thank you so so so so so much for all the amazing comments on yesterday's blog post. I was having a really really really bad day (yesterday and today), and they got me through... Hugs. You're all immense!

*Edit* Paraphenalia can now be found at http://shop.paraphernalia.nu/ - thanks to Rebecca of The Clothes Horse for that!!!

Another day...

So today is the day I post make-up free outfit photos! It may seem strange to some people that I'm bringing this up, but bear with me - I have some things to get down on (virtual) paper...

Basically, I find it really difficult to do anything in life without my ritual make-up application, and quite a lot of hair brushing, skin touching, deep breathing at the rising anxiety etc.

This probably sounds vain to most people. Obsessive concern with one's appearance? Vain and shallow right?

Well, that's what I try to avoid thinking, because underneath the surface perception of perceived defects and ugliness, that, rationally, I know are at least a tiny bit ridiculous, there is an underlying issue.

I have something called Body Dysmorphic Disorder. This is something which causes excessive concern about one (or many) perceived defects in appearance, and means I can get completely consumed by panic just by looking in the mirror for too long without any make-up to hand. It combines both obsessive and compulsive aspects, and is strongly linked to instances of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder ( - guilty as charged! ). It involves some problems with social situations, and can take over your life really easily.

For some people, it leaves them completely crippled - unable to go to work, socially interact, lead normal lives... It can become that consuming. I'm one of the lucky ones. For me, it's not too bad. I have a very low register of the disorder, that I manage easily most of the time. I had a really bad patch when I was ill with CFS / ME, and last year during exams, but most of the time, like the OCD, it is only noticeable to the people who know me well.  Or who try to take photos of me! This is part of the reason I'm doing this blog... Working on photoshoots with T-B is part of my 'training' myself out of the bad reaction I used to have to cameras. So far so good. 

My close uni friends only started noticing when I got addicted to Sour Skittles in the bar, and spend about five minutes sorting them into groups of 4 of the same colour (or two and two)... I then eat them in 4s, and get very protective of the little groups... I count pretty much everything (especially food) in 4s. My room mate has known for much longer, mainly because she has had to sit through many dinners where peas were involved, and I would sit for aaaages, sorting, and eating them in 4s, to her amusement and eventually, once twenty minutes passed, horror!

But it's a big decision for me to put these photos of today's outfits on here. I didn't really go out today, and noone was coming round, so I had one of my 'brave' makeupless days lol. I also tend to change clothes several times a day to cope with how I'm feeling. All part of my strategies, but it does lead to a very messy room! Hehe. My room mate jokes that I change more times in a day than she does in a week! 

So. Deep Breath. Here goes.

- I wore this for a bit of twirling mid-panic attack about dissertation. Cheered me right up! ;-D - in a Betty Jackson "Two" dress, Kate Kuba shoes, Jocasi belt, ToyWatch.

- Worn for most of the day - my favourite American Apparel tri-blend tee, Warehouse skirt, Kate Kuba shoes, ToyWatch, Max C London cardigan...

That's all from me today... I'm supposed to be writing up a case study of conversion (to Christianity from 'pagan') of the landscape of a site in Northumberland... The excavation report is from the 70s and I'm dying here! ;-D

Xxxc

P.s. I hope noone thinks I wrote this post for sympathy / compliments... I just wanted to get it out in the open as an issue which is so rarely talked about. I tend to be quite self-depricating, and this is why... Thanks for reading this far and not writing me of as some self-indulgent crackpot! :-D

Weekend of Lovliness Series #3

Ok... So this one's the last in the series from last weekend. Sob! ;-D

As promised, this post is the detail shots I rather liked... Mainly focussing on accessories: the scarf, the brooch, the tights and the bag... 

- My lovely little clutch, hanging from a railing in one of Chelsea's private gardens, while I tied my shoelace... How SHINY!!! :-D

- I didn't watch the boat race... I was too busy gorging on barbeque ;-D 

- Loving the scarf against those tights... T-B took this one as I was getting back up from tying that pesky shoelace the ten millionth time. I like the contrast... *Note to self: need new laces!* 

- Oh, it's just so stressful, lazing around in the sun!

- My amazing Rodchenko and Popova exhibition brooch - the hammer actually moves due to the cog! How kwl is that?!?! :-D

Sigh. So now that's over... I don't think there'll be any more T-B photoshoots til he gets back to Cam on the 12th. Not too long, honest! 

I'll try to fill in the blanks with some self timer photos, but it depends on how deep into this hole of dissertation gloom I get. I may end up in my horrendous Jack Wills trackies (not my idea, but they are darn comfy) and uber-old, uber-darned and holey cashmere mens sweaters that are comfy as hell but not exactly stylish ;0) This isn't a joke... I may crack... In case you hadn't noticed the levels of stress my dissertation is causing...

- My diary from this week... nothing else in it...

- The state of my desk...

- The offensive / offending document ;-D

Haha. Oh well. I should have quite a chunk done by the end of the weekend, but I think, if I didn't have this blog, and you guys keeping me cheery, I'd be much more of a basket case. And that's saying something!!!

Until tomoro lovelies,

Xxxc

To keep T-B happy ;-D - images in this post are either Copyright Alex Tatton-Brown (1-5) or my own (6-8). Seriously though, 8, and all text therein, is DEFINITELY copyright me. Mainly because I don't particularly want to end up getting in trouble with the uni proctor of examinations... Sigh.