Celebrate Good Times! - Happy Birthday To You... - Happy Birthday Elf Girl!

Hi!!!

Hello everybody! How are we all on this wonderful day? It's the lovely Elf Girl's birthday this week - I might have mentioned her about a thousand times or so - and so I thought I'd put together a little post about it.

Happy Birthday Elf Girl!!!

 

Thank you for being a fantastic friend.

Elf Girl is the best friend ever in the world and is a sister to me. 
She is the most hilarious, sassy, fun, awesome, supportive, thoughtful and kind friend who is always there for air guitar playing, singing along to musicals, long chats and everything else in between - I haven't a clue what I'd do without her.

Happy Birthday Elf Girl, loves ya xxx

Read Elf Girl's blog (HERE).

That is all for today then everyone. I hope you've had a lovely day today and I will see you all when I'm back from Brighton (which is where I'm spending a long weekend).

What is your favourite thing about birthdays? What are you guys up to this weekend? Any comments or suggestions for future posts? Let me know in the comments.

Thanks for joining me today.

 

Have a totally fab day!

GingerSnaps xxx

Do Re Mi Fa So La Ti Do! - Music - Some Current Favourite Summer Sounds.

Hi!!!

What's up, guys? I had an absolutely wonderful birthday on Friday and I'm back from my little "birthday break" with today's post. I thought that I'd fill you guys in on some of my favourite songs at the moment - I really enjoy putting posts like this together and hopefully you enjoy reading them!

"T Shirt Weather" by Circa Waves (HERE)

 

This song has fantastic music and lyrics and an awesome vibe.

I am absolutely in love with it and have been since I first heard it.

 It is a great one to dance around to but is equally well suited for a road tripping soundtrack and even just something a bit different to listen to when all you want to do is sit down and listen to some music (as I often do).

"Stronger" by Clean Bandit (HERE)

This song is brilliant.

 It is a real bop about, lift your mood, sing along with a smile kind of song and whenever I hear it, it puts a big smile on my face.

 I really like Clean Bandit and their unique sound and this song does a great job in showing off their musical abilities (violins and cellos? Yes please!) and their fun side.

"Shut Up and Dance" by Walk The Moon (HERE)

I'm fairly sure everyone has been loving this song (even a little bit) lately and it isn't hard to see why in my book.

It's fun, it's catchy, it's a cracking tune with some ace lyrics behind it and I just really, really like it - a lot. 

This is definitely one I like to turn up a few notches whenever it comes on - it's a proper summer tune.

And that's your lot for today, folks. Thanks for reading.

What are your favourite songs and new discoveries at the moment? Have you discovered anything new through this post? What do you think of my picks? Do you have any ideas to share or comments or suggestions for future posts? Let me know in the comments below.

I shall see you guys again soon.

 

Have a fantastic day today!

GingerSnaps xxx 

 

Oh My Life! - Tales of My Life and Times - A New York Minute, Dancing in the Street, Free Fallin' Buskers and Milkshakes.

Hi!!!

So, the other weekend I headed down to my beloved London with my wonderful mother for a day full of all of the best things and I had an amazing time. I thought that I'd tell you all about it today and I hope you'll enjoy this post.

I was doing some browsing around the interwebs a few weeks ago and I found out about the (free to visit) "Fifth and 57th" installation at the Old Selfridges Hotel in London to celebrate the opening of the new Tiffany and Co store in Selfridges on Oxford Street. I have always loved Tiffany and could sit at my computer or stand at the counters admiring all of their exquisite pieces of jewellery all day long so this just seemed like a must for me. I was telling my lovely Mom about it one day and she suggested that we go together on a weekend. We ended up going on the last day it was running - the 12th of this month - and we had a great time in London.

I hadn't been to London in a while as I'd been fairly busy and so I was really looking forward to taking a trip down - it is one of my most favourite places ever. We drove down on the Sunday morning, caught the train from Watford and walked from Euston Station to Covent Garden because we love spending time there. We looked around the markets and smelled and spritzed numerous perfumes in the high end shops before continuing on to Oxford Street. I love walking around London and on our way up to Selfridges we passed many a school trip in Leicester Square which is where we passed a pretty good busker with a guitar who played "Free Fallin'" by Tom Petty and made me smile and sing along until we couldn't hear him any more. We were just about to walk up Regent Street and we noticed that the bottom of the road was closed off and we stopped to figure out if we could still walk that way.

It turned out that we could indeed walk that way, and I am very pleased we did. Every Sunday in July, Regent Street has been completely closed to traffic so that "Summer Streets" can take place. It features performances and workshops from dance acts and musicians, benches and deck chairs in the middle of the road, games (such as Penalty Shoot-Outs) and pretty flowers everywhere and nearly everything is free (except, I think, for things like food or certain games which have small fees). One thing I really liked about it was that I had the ability to see people's faces and to see people enjoy themselves. I love London, but it is true that on the busier streets like Regent Street and Oxford Street, you see less of people's faces and more of the backs of people's heads. I really relished being able to see people smiling and being able to stop and take photos without being in someone's way. That and being able to dance around in the middle of the road to "Uptown Funk" and not get run over because that is pretty hard to beat.

We managed to drag ourselves away and continue on to Oxford Street where we had a quick look around Selfridges before heading next door to the installation which was at the Old Selfridges Hotel. I hadn't ever been into the hotel but it is a great space which I really believe should be used more often. We were given our free guide brochures by the girls at the entrance and walked up the stairs to the installation itself. As we turned into the space, I instantly felt that my expectations had become a reality. Bright lights and the sounds of busy streets filled the room and we walked through the doors of a subway car to be greeted by a lovely Tiffany and Co employee and a slice of New York itself. There was a little corner inspired by Central Park which featured a beautiful backdrop, a crisp white bench and a "blossom tree" - we took photos and admired how pretty it was. We moved further along and found ourselves living the New York life, with "Walk | Don't Walk" signs flashing at us and projections of a subway station on the 1837 plain white Tiffany boxes that surrounded us - 1837 were used as Tiffany and Co was established in the year 1837. We watched a short film about the "New York Minute" and the influence Tiffany and Co and its founder, Charles Tiffeany, have had over it - for example Tiffany and Co had one of the first public timepieces on display in New York City by which everyone set their watches. We moved from there to the recreated Tiffany and Co storefront which looked identical to the one that sits on the corner of 5th and 57th Street in the Big Apple itself and watched a master engraver at work which was incredibly interesting. We then grabbed a complimentary bagel from a street cart and headed over to Charlie's Bar - a speakeasy inspired bar named after Mr Tiffany - to see the gorgeous décor and check out the scene. Finally, we caught the stunning "Manhattanhenge" Sunset which, as if it were not special and beautiful enough alone, transformed as it set, to become a gorgeous Tiffany Diamond, the boxes surrounding us turning blue and sporting white ribbon. It was a fantastic end to a brilliant exhibition. I had such an amazing time and was incredibly pleased that we went.

The rest of the day featured lunch at Selfridges, window-shopping on Oxford Street, more dancing and actual shopping on Regent Street, walking on walls in the rain in Leicester Square, dinner at Bella Italia and milkshakes on the motorway to keep us going until we got home.

 

I had the most brilliant day - a big, huge thank you to my fabulous mother for joining me.

 

Browse the Tiffany and Co at Selfridges website (HERE)

Browse the Selfridges website (HERE)

Find "Summer Streets" (HERE)

Find Bella Italia (HERE)

And listen to "Free Fallin'" (HERE)

I hope that you have enjoyed this post, it was lovely to sit and think about all the cool things we did while I was putting this together. It's my birthday on Friday so the next time I see you I'll be another year older (and ready to write more posts!).
Have you been to London recently? What do you think about the idea for Summer Streets? Did you get to go to the exhibition? Do you have any comments or suggestions for future posts? Please do let me know in the comments below.
I'll speak with you guys soon.

 

I hope your day is full of joy!

GingerSnaps xxx

It's So In Vogue! - Fashion, Supermodels, Models and Fashion Photography - Annie Leibovitz

Hi!!!

Well hello there ladies and gents! Its the perfect day for blogging and for reading books and drinking tea from one of my favourite mugs - its raining on and off and the sky is a lovely grey colour, which is perfect for staying curled up inside writing.

I haven't written a post in this series in donkeys years and I'm not 100% sure as to why that is, because I really like them... Anyway, I am here today with a fashion photography type post, focussing on the amazing Annie Leibovitz.

I know I don't really need a disclaimer for this, but I know a lot of people have very strong opinions on the fashion industry, and in particular, on models. I think that these ideas are often a misunderstanding of the industry, and the work and dedication involved. The fashion industry is a field I would love to work in, and have a real interest in, and so if you do have strong opinions that may offend anyone, please keep them to yourself. Thank you.

 

Annie Leibovitz

Annie Leibovitz was born in October 1949 in Connecticut in the USA.

 She studied painting at the San Francisco Art Institute, where she also took night classes in photography.

 

In 1970 she began work for Rolling Stone magazine and soon became their chief photographer. She left the magazine in 1980, I believe, and by then she'd shot over 100 covers (wow!)

She went on to join Vanity Fair in '83 and to start doing lots of regular work for Vogue in '98. 

On top of all this work, she has shot loads of awesome ad campaigns.
 

Exhibitions of her photos have appeared all over the world at some of the most prestigious galleries and museums and books have been produced of her work. Annie has been recognised and honoured globally for her work, notably by the Library of Congress and the French government.

 

Her work.

 

Annie is an amazing photographer who inspires the work of many other photographers (budding or pro).

 

I really love the attention to detail in her work and the way that she seems to capture what feels like a very real connection and magic in her models (especially when she works - as she often does - with multiple models at once).

 

In many of her shots, her subjects are seen smiling or with a joyful light in their eyes and I think that the way she captures that is very unique as this never seems false or forced.

Her work is brilliant.

The Final Notes.

Find her Tumblr site over (HERE) - aesthetically, it is a lovely slice of internet.

You can find her work for Vogue (HERE).
You can find her work for Vanity Fair (HERE).

Alrighty then, that is all for now, I think. I hope you've enjoyed the return of this series and hopefully we can start it back up a bit more regularly again.

What do you think of Annie Leibovitz's work? Do you agree with my thoughts? Which other fashion photographers do you like? Any suggestions for future posts or thoughts on this one? Let me know in the comments section.

I'll see you soon.

I hope you have a terrific day!

GingerSnaps xxx



 

Congratulations! - Blogging Milestones - Happy 2nd Birthday Blog!

Hi!!!

How are you lovely people? Today, if you didn't guess by the title, is my blog's 2nd Birthday and I wanted to celebrate. Sadly, I can't give you all a slice of cake or a party bag but hopefully you'll enjoy this post (and the photos of cupcakes might be some kind of compensation on the cake front). Also, warning, this might be a bit "cheesy"... Soz...

 

This little blog, A Dash of Ginger, turned 2 on the 3rd of this month.
Wow. Two years. Two whole, actual years.

 

 

When I started A Dash of Ginger two years ago, I was so excited.
 I had been debating and debating with myself for a few months at that point as to whether or not I should start a blog but, eventually, I did it.
On the day I decided to begin my blog, Elf Girl (my bestest friend and fellow blogger - HERE) and I were sat in her kitchen and she sat patiently listening to my ramblings about blog names and all that jazz.
Then, I went home and set it up.
Having ideas whirling around in your head for months before jumping into something like this can be helpful - I could already picture how I wanted everything to look - my colour scheme, my design. I was so excited to create my blog at last.
 My parents, bless them, were also incredibly patient while I talked their ears off about where exactly each piece of the blog would fit best and about all my plans for it.
And so, that evening in my old house, my blog, A Dash of Ginger, was born and I hit publish on the first post on my very own blog (which was proof read about a trillion times by both me and my parents).
 I was excited.
I sat, with my Blogger Dashboard open on my laptop screen for most of the evening. I wasn't expecting anything to happen, but I was just excited to play around with ideas, create drafts and so on.
 

 I told my family and some friends about the blog, and I felt proud to tell them my plans.
 The first comment that I ever received on one of my posts told me that blogging is addictive, and that I should be prepared to lose hours, even days, to blogging. Of course, this was in fact very true.
Ideas for posts came from my little brain and from the suggestions of my family and friends and I enjoyed writing them up and publishing.

Fast forward a year and the Blogger Dashboard may as well have been my home screen.
Around the time my blog turned 1, I set up BlogLovin', I wrote posts as often as I could and I watched this little blog grow.
 It provided a sense of achievement and accomplishment, a whirr of ideas constantly in my brain, describing myself as a blogger, a love for what I was doing and for the people who appreciated it.
 

And, yeah, I know that at moments in the past two years, I have gone AWOL.
 There's been moments "IRL" (I know, I hate me for saying it, too) that have drawn me away from my computer, some awesome and some not so much.
There have been times when I have felt I was letting you guys down because I haven't always been able to write as much as I'd like to, or just honestly haven't felt like it and I am so truly sorry for those times.
But looking back at my archives now, I don't feel as disappointed seeing only a few posts in the archives for a particular month.
 Blogging *isn't* my job,  its my passion and I think that helps me to remember that as long as I always produce the best content I can for you to read, and so long as I blog about things that I really want to, and enjoy it all , then I'm doing the right thing.
 

Now that it has grown up a little more and it is 2 years old, I feel that this blog and I have an understanding.
 I love this blog so much and I love my readers loads.
I love being able to tell people that I write this blog.
I love being able to check in and see lovely comments, or page views or new followers.
And I'll always try my hardest to produce regular content - even if I don't always post as often as I'd like.
Blogging has become a massive part of my life and that is one of the best things.
I love blogging and I love you guys.

 

Over these past 2 years, I can most certainly say that this blog has given me nothing but pride, joy, excitement and love.
I cannot possibly ever thank it, or you, you lovely human behind that computer screen, enough for that whether I know you (in which case "yoo-hoo family!" - y'know, like Frozen?) or not. Whether you've been reading since day one, or if this is the first post of mine you have ever read.
Everything about the blog, your support and all the other bits in between truly mean the world to me and I am so grateful. So for every single one of my 4875 page views, each of my follows on Blogger and on BlogLovin', too - thank you.

 

Happy Birthday, A Dash Of Ginger.

I can't believe that you're already 2 years old.
We're both only young and both growing as a blog and a blogger respectively.

I cannot wait to see what happens here in this next year, and I hope that on your 3rd birthday, we'll have lots of good times to talk about. In fact, I know we will...

 

And to you, my lovely reader: I'd love it very much if you would stick around to see what happens next. Your continued support and readership means a huge deal to me, and I am so grateful. Thank you and I love you guys xxx

 

I hope you enjoyed that post. Also, thanks to my brilliant mother for being my photographer on this one, I'm really happy with the results.

Do you have any birthday messages for the blog? How long have you been a reader? What is your favourite post/type of post I have written? Do you like the photography? Do you have any suggestions or ideas for some posts? Be sure to let me know in the comments. 

Thank you, as always, for reading. You guys are awesome.

 

I hope your day is totally fantastic!

 

GingerSnaps xxx

 

 

Celebrate Good Times! - Happy Birthday To You... - Happy Birthday Lauren!

Hi!!!

Today's post is only a quick one as its a "birthday" post, but there's nothing wrong with "short and sweet" posts, is there?

This week is the week of one of my friend's birthdays, so this is kinda a post "for her".

Lauren is a lovely friend, who is funny, thoughtful and kind - we're lucky to have a friend like her.

Happy Birthday Lauren, loves you xxx
I hope you have a fabulous day and take some time to relax and enjoy yourself.

That's all for today then, thanks for reading. I hope you've enjoyed this post.

Is your birthday coming up soon? What is your favourite thing about birthdays? Do you have any comments or suggestions for future posts? Let me know in the comments.

I'll see you soon, lovely people!
 

I hope your day is completely and totally amazing!
 

GingerSnaps xxx

It's Showtime!!! - Theatre Review - The Importance of Being Earnest.

Hi!!!

It has been an incredibly long time since I've written a theatre review, but here I am. A few weeks ago now, my Mom and I took a trip out to Malvern to go and see The Importance of Being Earnest. My ever lovely Mom booked the tickets as a surprise and I am so glad she did as we really enjoyed it. I immediately thought, "let's go home and review this!" but obviously it was a bit late for all that carry on - so here I am now.

I have been a huge fan of Oscar Wilde and his writing since forever and I quote The Importance of Being Earnest all the time (even if people don't always pick up on the references...) so it was a great one to go and see.

Before I begin, I just want to say that it might seem like I think every show is brilliant and worth a viewing. However, this isn't the case. I would never tell you to go and see something that I didn't think was worth your time or hard earned cash. There will be times when I tell you not to go and see something, as well as times when I say you *have* to go and see something (like today). These reviews contain my 100% honest opinion and just because something isn't my thing, doesn't mean it won't be yours, these reviews are for advice only.

What's it about?

Two (fairly young) bachelor friends, Algernon Moncrieff and John Worthing, lead double lives to court the attentions of Gwendolyn Fairfax and Cecily Cardew. Throughout the play, the men must grapple with the (rather hilarious!) consequences of their ruse, as well as with the formidable Lady Bracknell.

 

What did I think?

I thought that this was wonderful!

I laughed so much the whole time and the way this was staged and acted brought Oscar Wilde's excellent, hilarious writing to the brightest form of life.

David Suchet played Lady Bracknell.
 It's an iconic role and a lot of pressure, and seeing Poirot in a dress was a pretty weird experience (!) but he did it so, so well. He was hilarious and everything he did was in character, from his speech to the way he stood which is exactly what I expected from him. Brilliant!

 

Emily Barber played Gwendolen Fairfax.
I really enjoyed watching Emily perform and she played Gwendolen really well. She was funny and she allowed her character to interact well with the other characters/actors on stage while still commanding the audience. Superb!

Michael Benz took on the role of John Worthing.
I think that he did a really good job of portraying John, he was very funny and his scenes with Philip Cumbus (read on for more on him) were so brilliant/side-splitting/well acted. He brought the character to a believable yet interesting and humorous life and that's great to watch. Awesome!

Philip Cumbus portrayed Algernon Moncrieff.
He was brilliant. His performance was very entertaining, funny, and, as I said before, his scenes with Michael Benz were some of the best. I think he really suited the character and he brought it to life in an excellent and humorous way. Fantastic!

Cecily Cardew was played by Imogen Doel.
Imogen was one of my stand outs from the play. Her portrayal of Cecily was amazing and truly hilarious. She conveyed the charming, funny, slightly dim nature of her character in the best way. I absolutely loved her performance. Wonderful!

Michele Dotrice was Miss Prism.
Michele's performance was really good and I was really entertained by her performance. She's a really good actress ("Some Mothers Do Ave ‘Em" anyone?) and she showcased that brilliantly in this play. Great!

Richard O’Callaghan was Reverend Canon Chasuble.
His work with Michele Dotrice was wonderful and he gave a very good performance. He is great (as we know from his previous work) and, like Dotrice, he really showed us all in the audience just how good he was. Excellent!

David Killick was Lane.
He made his role more than it could be in the best way possible and I think he did a great job and brought the entertainment factor up a notch. Fab!

Brendan Hooper played Merriman.
He was also very good and I think he really contributed to the entertainment value, similarly to the way David Killick did. Ace! 

The staging and all the additionals (costume/sets/etc.) were beautifully done. Thumbs up to all on Creative for this one.

I loved this performance, I found it so entertaining and laugh out loud. Big love for this one.

What did other people think?

The sound of laughter filled the room throughout the show, so clearly everyone was enjoying themselves!

I did a spot or two of eavesdropping (don't say I don't love you guys!) and people seemed to really enjoy the performance and they seemed to really appreciate the skill of the actors and actresses on stage.

Would I recommend it?

100% yes, if you hadn't already guessed.

I think that it is a very enjoyable show with a unique sense of humour to it and a great cast and creative.

Well, well worth going to see, you should go and see it if you can!

When can you go and see it?

While I went to see The Importance of Being Earnest in Malvern, it is going to be running at The Vaudeville Theatre on The Strand in London from the 24th June until the 7th November this year (2015), I believe.

The final notes...

• If you do go, enjoy it, dress smart casually (as I always say, out of respect for everyone involved).
• Be prepared to laugh until your belly hurts!
• Do what I did and take a big bar of chocolate in your clutch bag for the interval (and eat it alongside your tiny little ice-cream!) 



That's it for today, everyone. I really hope that you've enjoyed reading this today, especially since I haven't done a theatre review in donkeys.

Do you like Oscar Wilde's plays? What do you think about The Importance of Being Earnest as a play? Would you like to go and see this play when its season starts? Did you enjoy this post (even though I undeniably over-used the words "funny" and "hilarious")? Let me know in the comments below!
Thank you for joining me today, you lovely people.

 

Have the most utterly brilliant day!

 

GingerSnaps xxx