Busy, busy, busy!

I apologize again for it being so long since I last dropped by. Whichever part of me thought it would be easy to balance the final year of a Psychology degree, a weekend job, write a blog and have some free time for craft was obviously just a little deranged! So what have I been up to since we last spoke? Well...

Mum came to visit a and I was a bit rubbish with remembering to take photos, we had a quick shopping trip to Brighton, including an expensive trip to Cath Kidston (thank heavens for student discount!), we paid a visit to the land of the blue and yellow flags, spent too much money yet again, ate meatballs, went on an adventure to London, had paella in Covent Garden, went to Harrods, was overwhelmed by how the other half live - they even sell puppies. Puppies I tell you! And, the main reason for Mum's visit - we went to the Hollywood Costume Exhibition at the Victoria & Albert Museum. It was a great exhibition and I thoroughly recommend a visit, regardless of what era film you're into. Particular highlights for me where the LBD from Breakfast at Tiffany's, Eliza Dolittle's flower seller outfit from My Fair Lady, Elle Woods' pink outfit complete with pillbox hat and bag for Bruiser from Legally Blonde and of course the classics - the blue gingham dress and red sparkly shoes from the Wizard of Oz and Marilyn Monroe's white dress - you know the one!

Image source: V&A Museum Website

It was a truly brilliant exhibition, if a little crowded, despite entry being ticketed within specific time slots. I also completely understand why strictly no photography was allowed, however I think they missed a real trick in not selling a programme with a few photographs and some information about the exhibition and some of the costumes. They sold a book with lots of photos and a guide through the exhibition, but with a £25 price tag it was a bit out of my range! The Hollywood inspired gifts and pieces of costume jewellery available in the shop were a nice touch though.

Image source: V&A Museum Website

Since then I've generally spent my time catching up on work, completing coursework and beginning the long and laborious process of seeking ethics approval for my planned project that will hopefully become my dissertation. I've also been back for a whirlwind trip to Dorset (all 49 hours of it!) to watch WOW Youth Musical Theatre's production of Oliver on Wednesday and then help out backstage on Thursday. In fact, I was in Dorset when I started this post, but I dare say I'll be back in East Sussex by the time I've finished!

However, despite all the rushing about I have had the chance to do a little bit of stitching, mostly on the train I have to admit. When I first started stitching on the train when travelling between East Sussex and Dorset over the summer I noticed the odd funny look from people on the train. However this week I was a girl on a mission. No amount of funny looks or snatched overheard conversation was going to put me off! Needless to say this little guy is nearing completion already

I am also aware I haven't managed to post October's month in pictures yet. What can I say? I'm sorry, it's a work in progress. I've also written 4 more posts that will be published automatically over the next couple of days, seeming as according to my rules I am now officially allowed to start using the C-word!

So, so long fare thee well, pip pip cheerio, we'll be back soon! (spot the naff reference to Oliver)

Happy Saturday, 

aLittleBlonde

Legally Blonde on the West End

I first discovered legally blonde the film in middle school when I was off school with glandular fever and quickly became properly addicted to it. Even now, having not watched the film for a good few years (its true, sadly you can have too much of a good thing) I dare say I could still parrot about 75% of the lines if it was in front of me - yes, there was a time when I could have got close to 100% if I'd concentrated!

So when legally blonde the musical opened in London, despite my slight obsession with the film being long gone I vowed to go and see it one day. A few years down the line and it was still sat at the bottom of my list entitled 'things to go and see one day...' and the closest I'd actually got to seeing the musical was adding the original London cast recording to my regular playlist on my iPod.

Now things at uni have been getting rather stressful recently, so when it was announced that the show was closing I decided that I had to get my bum into gear and go and see it with my mum as something to look forward to/a reward for my efforts in trying to keep up with uni, work and stay sane (which is no mean feat I can tell you!). We also discovered that we actually knew two of the cast members back from when they were teenagers in WOW Youth Musical Theatre (I'll tell you more about them another time), before they made it to the west end, so we got in touch and finally bought ourselves tickets for the other night.

Well, what can I say? I thoroughly enjoyed the stage show and the extra dimension the big musical numbers brought to the show, making it an almost separate entity from the film and definitely my preferred option over watching the DVD. There's very little dialogue in the musical, making it brilliantly fast paced and fun, just as it should be to match the larger than life characters. The think that really stood out for me though was Paulette, Elle's new best friend and beautician played brilliantly by Natalie Casey. Her quirky, yet awkward style makes her instantly loveable and a real hit with the audience, providing some of the biggest comic moments of the show in addition to her two big numbers, 'Ireland' and the 'Bend and Snap'.

So in summary all I have to say really is get out there and go see it for yourself because it's truly brilliant and such a shame that it's closing! I could quite happily sit here and talk about it all night, in my own little fluffy pink bubble, but for now all I have to say is that I will definitely be booking to go and see this when it comes near me on tour and quite possibly be telling you a little more about what I thought about the whole thing in more detail at a later date), but for now I leave you with this...

Snaps for Paulette!