The Week So Far (In Numbers)

The week so far has comprised (but has not been limited to)

1: iced coffee, pub quiz, new packet of polo mints, new blog post, picture of a dog sent by a friend, outfit that accidentally matched my best friend's, moment when I laughed out loud while walking down the street alone, bowl of rice crispies, mug of green tea
2: heart shaped biscuits, selfies, hours spent playing Bye Bye Love on guitar, boxes of blueberries eaten, conversations about blue smarties, Weetabix eaten
3: different nail polish colours worn on alternate nails, nights when it's taken an age to go to sleep, bowls of muesli
4: missed calls
5: pancakes, songs from David Bowie's Young Americans
20: cry-laughing emojis sent
25: pints of water consumed
45: minutes of v chill and jazz music played in a bid to help me sleep
75: minutes spent waiting for buses (over several days) (approx.)
90: minutes of yoga (over several days)
648382942 million: plays of The Boy Is Mine by Brandy and Monica (approx.)
978737272 million: plays of Say My Name by Destiny's Child (approx.)

I've Been Thinking... - Things For This Week.

Hi!!!

Here's a collection of things for this week - things to watch, do, read and listen to - which will make your week go from good to great (or at least, better). Enjoy.

WATCH: Derry Girls on Channel 4 (on Thursdays at 10pm) and All 4.

Derry Girls is an utterly hilarious portrayal of youth, set against the backdrop of 1990s Derry in Northern Ireland. Full of very real characters, genuinely funny jokes and the effort and energy of a great cast and crew, you'll be doing yourself a favour if you watch it. It's easily one of the best shows I have seen in ages and I am the biggest fangirl of it. You can see the first two episodes HERE.

LISTEN: Swimming Tapes on SoundCloud.

I recommended some bands that I have been enjoying on SoundCloud recently in THIS post and Swimming Tapes were one of them. They are the band to go to for soft, dreamy guitar tracks which are the perfect way to inject bright and fun feelings into your life this week. Find their SoundCloud page HERE.

READ: Star Wars, The Debate Wars: Jedi vs Sith on Chronicles of the Red Herring.

Even though we have both been blogging for ages, my best friend and I have never collaborated on a blog post (at least not on our current blogs), until now. It took us ages to find a topic we disagree on but eventually we found one - I'm on the side of the Jedi, she prefers the Sith. In the post we discuss everything from weapons to memes - and I took the memes very seriously. I'm really pleased with how it turned out, it was great to work on something together, and if you're a Star Wars fan, I think you'll like reading our Light Side vs Dark Side debate. It might be going up here soon, too, but just in case or if you'd just like to get on with it and read the thing I've been rambling about, we'd both really appreciate if you went over HERE and read it - and as always feel free to share your opinions in the comments - especially if you want to talk about memes.

DO: Sign petitions to help protect the homeless.

This will take all of five minutes to do but it is so worthwhile. The council for Windsor want the police to remove all homeless people and rough sleepers from the area by May (aka the month of the Royal Wedding). THIS petition asks for a long-term solution to help Windsor's homeless population rather than the dehumanising proposed short-term measure. THIS petition asks for the repeal of the 1824 Vagrancy Act which makes it an offence to rough-sleep or beg in England and Wales. This law, despite being two-hundred years old, has been used as recently as 2014 to arrest and charge people. Poverty is not a crime or an inevitability - rage against it.

Thanks for reading - I hope I've helped you find some ways to fill your time this week.
What are your recomendations for this week? Do you have any other comments or suggestions for future posts? Feel free to leave a comment below if you do.
I hope you have a great week - you got this.

GingerSnaps xxx

Do Re Mi Fa So La Ti Do - Music - The Bands I've Been Listening To On SoundCloud This Week.

Hi!!!

I love SoundCloud. It is easily one of my favourite platforms and, for any music obsessive, it is an essential to have bookmarked. I personally mostly use SoundCloud to find new artists and to listen to songs by said artists if I love what they do (especially those who are yet to release full EPs or albums). I thought I'd share three bands I've been listening to - and loving - on SoundCloud this week.

Swimming Tapes.

Swimming Tapes make dreamy guitar pop with soft sunshine vibes. The music they make is like Fanta - fizzy, orange, fun. There's an intricacy to the layering of their songs and a gentle, hazy quality to the vocals and to the overall sound of the songs. Everything feels fresh - even though there are some vintage influences I can here, absolutely nothing about their sound feels recycled or like I've heard it before.

Start with: Queen's Parade.

Husky Loops.

Specialising in oh so cool and super magnetic music, Husky Loops are the band to check out if you love smooth, slick rock. Making dynamic and seemingly effortless use of electronic elements and often taking the unexpected road whenever the opportunity arises, be it in the middle or at the end of a piece, moves their songs away from the standard and predictable, creating a sound that really stands out.

Start with: Fighting Myself.

TOUTS.

If you like bold sounds, blunt lyrics and punk music, you should definitely check out TOUTS. A three piece punk band from Derry who have managed to carve out a space for themselves in the genre which carries all of the fire and fight it should but is still listenable. It isn't noisy for the sake of being noisy, something that has always bothered me about certain punk groups - punk should have something to say and sometimes people turn their amps up to disguise when they don't. TOUTS have plenty to say and say it with Northern Irish vocals and a certainty that they are right, which is what makes them.

Start with: No Name.

Thanks for reading - I hope you enjoy exploring the recomendations in today's post.

Who have you been listening to recently (particularly on SoundCloud)? Do you have any other comments or suggestions for future posts? Leave a comment to let me know.

Speak soon.

I hope you have an utterly brilliant day!

• GingerSnaps xxx

5, 4, 3, 2, 1! - Happy New Year (2018 Edition).

Hi!!!

So, the last post of 2017 is here! I almost can't believe that we've arrived at the end of this year. Anyway, here's the annual review of the year and a message for you for 2018.

2017 has had some amazing moments for me. I've celebrated a milestone birthday, I've spent time with my friends and family and I left the kind of 'work place' I've known for most of my life. I've been to some great gigs, I've taken on big blog projects like Blogmas. I made some achievements in my 'work' life that I am still super proud of. I've watched my friends achieve and I truly could not be more proud of them than I am everyday. I worked harder than I actually knew I could but I've also taken plenty of time to play. I've danced and I've laughed. I've explored castles (and lived in one for a few days!). I conquered one of my biggest (although somewhat irrational fears) and had some dental work done that I'd been putting off for ages. I've passed on my knowledge of party dances and I've worn glitter all over my face and I finally got to go to London with my friends and I had the most amazing day. I went to Birmingham's MCM Comic Con in both March and November (and did some pretty cool cosplays). I dressed up as a fairy for Halloween and made jokes around a bonfire with friends. It snowed. And the snow settled. I got my Irish passport. I took ten million photos and am in the ten million other photos those around me took. I went bowling (and actually hit some of the pins!). I spent a day picking apples with my cousins. I watched a cake get set on fire and I ate candyfloss and we helped one of my friends build her first ever blanket fort. I got rained on while watching outoor Shakespeare and then later in the summer saw some far better and less rainy outdoor Shakespeare. I celebrated one of our closest family friends getting married and I ate pasta in Brighton and went on an Easter egg hunt and I sat on the grass and watched a Horrible Histories themed show and got lost in a maze with my best friend. I saw a fox in real life. I've carved pumpkins and sent an obnoxious amount of memes and played on a pinball machine and ate fries from a fake tree and and I reconnected with friends. I had really lovely and sometimes deep conversations. And looking back, I have loved so much of 2017 and I have learnt so much and done so much and I feel incredibly lucky.

If 2017 hasn't been a great year for you, for whatever reason, then I am really sorry. I hope that it at least has had some good moments and that you have smiled. Your story is so very significant and you really do matter.

I hope 2018 is an amazing year for you. I hope you get to make lots of lovely memories and spend time with the people who matter to you and I hope that when you get to this time next year and you're reflecting on what has gone before, you smile fondly and you realise that you've come a long way. I hope you and those who you love are happy and healthy and safe in 2018 and I hope you all love every second of the year. Thank you for your readership and support in 2017 and thank you for supporting me. Sending lots of love and good vibes for the New Year.

Thanks for reading.
What are your plans for the New Year? Do you have any other comments or suggestions for future posts? Let me know by leaving a comment.
I'll see you all next year.

Happy New Year!

GingerSnaps xxx

We Wish You A Merry Christmas! - Merry Christmas, Everyone.

Hi!!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS! and MERRY BLOGMAS DAY TWENTY FIVE! I'll stop shouting now, I promise, I'm just really happy. I have a few things I'd like to say - a Christmas message, if you will (like the Queen's speech but a bit more fun).

Merry Christmas.
I hope you have a wonderful day, full of laughter and love and happiness. I hope you get to have the kind of Christmas you love, whatever that involves. I hope you get to spend the day with people you care about and I hope that together you make precious memories. Even if your Christmas can't be quite what you'd like it to be, I hope you always remember that you are important and you are special.

I'd also like to say thank you. Today marks the end of Blogmas 2017. I hope you've enjoyed the twenty-five Blogmas posts and that they have filled you with festive cheer, that you have enjoyed them and that they have entertained you.

Thank you for your ongoing support and readership, not just during Blogmas but throughout 2017 so far. Thank you for reading and commenting and making blogging all the more special. I love doing this - I love writing and creating imagery and talking about the things I like and am passionate about. I love the idea that people like what I create. Thank you for being a part of this.

I'm sending all of you lovely people good vibes and lots of love this Christmas.

Thanks for reading.

What are your plans this Christmas? Do you have any other comments? Feel free to leave a comment and I'll be sure to get back to you.

Speak soon.

Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas...

GingerSnaps xxx

Oh My Life! - Tales of My Life and Times - Christmas at the Birmingham Botanic Gardens.

Hi!!!

It's Christmas Eve which means two things - 1) Christmas is tomorrow! and 2) it's Blogmas Day Twenty Four. Last night I met up with my friends for a Christmas outing. We went to the Birmingham Botanical Gardens to see their Christmas lights trail which I'm going to tell you all about today.

 

 

The lights are beautiful and they really make the best of the setting of the botanical gardens  - the trees are illuminated, the light reflects onto the ponds and every structure glitters.

 

The trail is about one kilometre in total but it takes a good hour or so (at least), especially if like us you'll be stopping for hot drinks, eating biscuits and posing for photos.

 

 

It was really lovely to go and see the lights and celebrate Christmas together and it was nice to do something a bit different, too. Now, not only do we have lots of lovely photos, we also have lots of lovely memories.

Thanks for reading Blogmas Day Twenty Four.
Where have you been recently? Do you have any other comments or suggestions for future posts? Let me know in the comments.
There will be one more Blogmas post tomorrow, so I'll speak to you then.

Enjoy your Christmas Eve!

GingerSnaps xxx

I've Been Thinking... - 5 Things To Do In The Lull Between Christmas and the New Year.

Hi!!!

I know some of you will be rolling your eyes at the title of this post because we haven't even had Christmas yet but today is Blogmas Day Twenty Three, we're very close to Christmas and I thought it might be nice to be able to have this list handy whenever you might want some inspiration. Also, I am sorry to anyone who won't be enjoying the lull between Christmas and New Year because of work or any other reason - you got this.

Read a book.

I'm sure a lot of us are in the 'I wish I had the time to read more books' club - now's your chance! Whether it's the new book that somebody bought you for Christmas or one of the books on your existing 'to be read' pile, taking the time to sit with a cup of tea and actually enjoy a book and switch off is always worthwhile.

Play a board game.

I love a good board game and the space between Christmas and New Year is the perfect time to play them because you'll have plenty of time and you can actually sit down and play a full game start to finish. My favourites are Cludeo and Best of British (I'm also very interested in playing the Logo Board Game, especially since it's made by the same people who created Best of British). If you really want to make something of it, then you could invite some of your favourite people round and finish all the Quality Street chocolates you have left before everyone gets busy or goes back to their own corners of the country again.

Go to the cinema.

While lounging about on the sofa at home is lovely, you also might want to get out of the house for a few hours between now and New Year's Eve. I went to see Star Wars: The Last Jedi a few days ago with some of my family and I would highly recommend going to see it (I'm hoping to do a separate post on it soon, but if I don't get round to it, just know that I love it, I finally had my 'Star Wars Moment' that made the franchise something I really love rather than something I just enjoy and, while it's busy, every scene and character has agency). Aside from how great the film was, it was also lovely to spend some time with my family, to eat burgers and discuss film trailers and laugh at a spilled Tango Ice Blast - if you didn't already know, I can be very clumsy - together.

Do some exercise.

I know it's maybe not the most fun thing on the list, but I can't be the only one who gets to the twenty ninth and starts to wonder whether all of the cheese I've eaten over Christmas is going to catch up with me suddenly and if my internal organs will hate me for it? I'm not sure how much half an hour of yoga will help my internal organs post-Christmas, but I think it's something I'll feel better for. Oh, and obviously if you prefer running or swimming or paragliding, then you can do that.

Have a pamper evening.

Similarly to reading books, I feel like taking time for ourselves through things like pamper evenings often fall by the wayside when we get busy. If you've been given any bath and body care products over Christmas, this would be the perfect time to use them and you'll actually have enough time to let your nail polish dry properly so it won't smudge. If you want to know more about my routine or the products I like, then check out my Blogmas Day Nineteen post here.

Thanks for reading today's Blogmas post.

What are your plans for the rest of 2017? Do you have any other comments or suggestions for future posts? Leave a comment to let me know.

I'll be back tomorrow - which can I just remind you is Christmas Eve, how exciting! - with another Blogmas post.

I hope you have a truly fabulous day!

GingerSnaps xxx