January playlist

My other half Aled is very passionate about music, namely folk, americana and indie rock. He writes live gig & album reviews, contributes to music sites and also writes his own music blog, The Evening's Empire.

I thought it would be a great idea to do a once a month playlist curated by both of us! I wanted to go for mostly new songs with a few older ones thrown in, and also a mixture of well known and lesser known artists. My music taste is fairly varied and most of my new discoveries come inevitably from him. I realise it's the very end of January, but better late than never! You can listen to the songs below on the Grooveshark player.

I hope you like it!

Bloggers, pizza & cocktails

Yesterday I ventured completely out of my comfort zone and attended a London blogger meet up organised by Rose from The Londoner. I was in two minds about whether or not to go, mostly because my blog is fairly new, but mostly because walking into a room full of people I don't know slightly scared me! Luckily I braved my fears and I am very glad I did as everyone was so lovely and it was great to meet some other like minded ladies and swap details (namely the wonderful girls I spent most of the afternoon with Holly, Sophie, Thalia & Charlotte).

The meet up was at B Soho, a cocktail bar and pizzeria, which definitely delivered! The pizzas and cocktails were delicious and it was a much needed cosy respite from the freezing weather.

I didn't actually take that many photos as I spent most of my time chatting but did manage to get a few snaps. I have to say most of them are slightly hazy due to a few too many daytime cocktails! Holly & I visited Pret afterwards for a much needed coffee.

Charlotte, Sophie & Holly

Sophie & Thalia

Looking forward to the next one!

Christmas at home

I can't quite believe it's already January. I feel like this year's Christmas break definitely went way too fast. I had a lovely week at home, mainly hanging out with friends and family, and eating and drinking too much as per usual. (Bring on the January detox!). I rang in the New Year rather quietly at home with Aled due to being rather ill. We wanted to watch the fireworks but standing in the cold and rain for a few hours didn't really seem like the best idea! Instead we watched a few films, had some drinks (beer for Aled, lemsip for me!) and had a very tame bedtime of 12:05am.  

I am a bit of a perfectionist with my photos, and I was actually really disappointed with the ones I took over Christmas. I love photography and taking photos but I definitely class myself as a very amateur photographer and would like to improve my skills. One of my resolutions for 2013 will be to practice with camera and tripod more. I know there are so many functions I have yet to learn how to properly use! 

Even though I wasn't the happiest with my photos here are a few I did like....

(absolutely starving now after looking back at my Christmas dinner!)

The most wonderful time of the year

I bloody love Christmas. I'm off back home tonight and cannot wait to spend two weeks with my beloved family and friends. I'm slightly like a giddy child when it comes to this time of year. As we were away in Vancouver for Christmas last year, this Christmas seems a little more special.

London looks so festive at the moment and sadly I have only taken my camera out a handful of times. Nevertheless here a few festive photos from the past month or so.

 I'm looking forward to my Dad's roast dinner and seeing people open the presents I have got for them. I was actually quite organised this year and finished most of my Christmas shopping in the first few weeks of December. I'm definitely not a last minute sort of person!

I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas!

iphoneography #4

Life lately through the (filtered) phone lens....

Baby Noah / Salisbury town / First red cup of the year / Winter train journeys

Sunday fry-up / The only game to play when in Essex / Oxford St lights / Mediocre sushi (I miss Canada)

Aled & tea / First visit to Meat Liquor /  Happy Mother / National History Museum ice rink!

Masters of the ice / Soho pub times / Flowers on the mantlepiece / Exciting Christmas Koppaberg flavour

Vandalised our lamp / John Lewis snowman / Mulled wine / Sunny view from our flat

Instagram - @beznee 

Autumn gatherings

The past few weeks have been filled with family gatherings, nights out with friends, days out in London and back in the country. As you can imagine, I took a lot of photos and thought i'd quickly put together a post with just a few of my favourites....

Currently

Watching: 
Homeland. Finally caught up with this series and so glad I did. Such a great drama. Claire Danes is a favourite actress of mine so naturally I love her in this (even if she gives Kim Kardashian a run for best ugly crier). I love Brody and his posh real life English accent. So good. I keep hearing good things about Nashville so definitely need to start watching that soon, it's American (obviously) and seems very musical so I am sure I will love it. I am also trying to keep up with my regular (slightly trashy) programmes including Gossip Girl, Glee and Revenge.

Looking forward to: 
Next weekend. The BFF is coming to stay for the weekend and I haven't seen her properly in ages. We are going to partake in a bit of christmas shopping, eat some delicious food and watch a certain well-loved Christmas Richard Curtis film and most likely quoting it at high speed throughout. SO excited.

Listening to:  
First Aid Kit. I love this band and we are seeing them tomorrow (can't wait!) so they have been on repeat for the past few days. Other gigs on the horizon include Ben Howard and Admiral Fallow, yay! Also - I still have Taylor Swift's new album on repeat. I have to admit I am a bit of a shameless fan girl.

Thinking about:
Where we were last year. It's odd to think that this time last year, an amazing five months of backpacking around Eastern Canada & the USA were coming to an end and we were about to begin our five month adventure in Vancouver. Take me back!

Beautiful Vancouver - Downtown & Stanley Park - November 2011

Reading:
1984. I have been meaning to read this for ages (plus additional nagging from the boyfriend). I am really enjoying it but definitely need to make time for it. I love reading but recently have found myself pushing it to the wayside in favour on the internet and TV and I feel really bad about it. I keep discovering new blogs that I love every day. Two of my current favourites are Betsy Transatlantically and A Little Bird Told Me.

What are your current favourite thoughts & things?

[ This post was inspired by the "Currently" posts over on one of my favourite blogs Sometimes Sweet by Danielle. ]