Good luck to everyone striking today, or standing next to public sector workers on marches & picket lines. Because the private sector has shitty pensions is not a reason to down grade those in the public sector. If, in the work place for example someone is discriminated against, you do not then decide to discriminate against everyone so it's equal, you sort out the original discrimination. If they wanted better pensions, they should've fought for them & put pressure on the government to put pressure on their employers. 

Anyway, today is not about the sceptics, it is to show just how much our country relies on hard working, low paid public sector workers to keep everything going. I think I could live without a couple of bankers, or retail workers (which I am one of) but I could not live without nurses or teachers. That's why they deserve better pensions & a bit of fucking respect.

& don't even get me started on the bullshit that cascaded out of George Osbourne's mouth yesterday. Literally, lets behead them. Or read Channel 4 new's fact check & smile/cringe/cry.

I can't actually remember how I found Christopher Patrick Ernst's website, but really I'm just glad that I did. His photos conjure up the kind of mental, sparse, depressing America that I've always wanted to wallow in. & the palm print just brings to mind that Versace for H&M stuff... & better palm prints that have been swilling around in my head for some time. Plus, his penchant for crazy wallpaper is wonderful.

I'm so nervous today because I'm going to the school where I'm sort of volunteering /shadowing an art teacher for the next months or so. It was basically because I felt like I needed to do something that felt like more of a step towards what I actually want to do with my life. But I'm not so sure that's it anymore & it's just awkward. Like hello 16 year olds, I'm only 3 years older than you & there's no reason why you should give a fuck what I say because since I finished college I have done nothing productive. Oh well, maybe it'll be fun, maybe I'll get a job out of it. But right now (well when I'm writing this, so...night before) I just want my day off instead. Sorry.

Oh how 90s throw back. Mohair, exposed midrif & short skirt appliqued with sequin hearts. Wore this a couple of days back to sort of waft around post illness getting a surprising amount of my Christmas shopping done & getting nothing done at Staples. This week is going to be a little bit dreadful. Too much to do & although my next day off is not till Friday, I spent yesterday clearing out the loft with my mum & brother. Who knew I had so many teddies/beanie babies?

I'll admit I'm in a bit of a stupor clothing wise, because on one hand I've been dressing for practicality (work, manuel labour, illness) & on the other it all seems a little pointless when you just put a coat over it in the end anyway. But I do have a couple of new things I'm excited about so maybe when I find some much needed down time I can somehow figure it out. Anyone else with me on this?

Wish List Gifts

Clockwise from top left: House of Harlow Peacock Cuff, £149, Oh So Boho, Fairisle Crofting Blanket, £120, Johnstones Cashmere, Illesteva Meyer Sunglasses in Dark Brown, £401, LN-CC, Our Exquisite Corpse Large Beaded Skull, £489, LN-CC, Yarnz Chic Karl Print Scarf, £125, Liberty, La Perla Bra, £215, Net-A-Porter, The Art Museum, £125, Blackwell's, Delfina Delettrez Make Your Finger Ring, £252, Opening Ceremony

Obviously this was the funnest list to make & I've been hankering after some House of Harlow/Delfina Delettrez jewellry for a while now. I know the first is designed by Nicole Richie but it's fucking fantastic. & we have The Art Museum at work next to the desk, every time someones put it on some Renaissance portrait I flick it back to Frida Kahlo or the Feminism page. Is fun to have little conflicts with the customers. & obviously that skull. That skull. Damn, I hope it's not cultural appropriation because it was made in Mexico...

I'm finally better! Went back to work yesterday & everyone was extra nice to me so it's all good. & I'm getting really Christmassy, bought a surprising amount of my presents although I am making a few things that I really need to get cracking on with. That's probably contradictory to the whole "gift guide" thing that's been going on this week, but oh well, sometimes people are so hard to buy for that you have to make them things *coughmumcough*. Also have to write 2 essays on a really tricky theme for next week so I'm stressing out slightly. Oh well. It's nice to be asked to write things! I am grateful!

Anyway that's the end of the gift guide, although it will of course live here forever on the internet for the next time I have a last minute birthday present to buy... What did you think? Did you like it? If so, I might try & do it next year too! 

Gifts under £20

Clockwise from top left: V&A Art Box, £12, V&A Shop, Donna Wilson My Beard Tea Towel, £12, John Lewis, Initial Heart Locket Necklace, £12, Urban Outfitters, Kurkdijan Violet Perfumed Blowing Bubbles, £15.50, Liberty, Love Message Bottle, £10.50, Liberty, Russian Criminal Tattoo Encyclopedia, £16.95, Urban Outfitters (REALLY want this), Skull Snow Globe, £15, Urban Outfitters (again).

Gifts under £10

Clockwise from top left: Moomin Papa Soft Toy, £7, Art Box, Christian Lacroix Notebook, £9.95, Liberty, Freud Little Figurine, £4.90, Culture Label, Moustache Eraser, £2.50, Tate Shop, Yves Saint Laurent Rive Gauche Colouring Book, £5.99, Blackwell's, Alphabet Stamp Set, £7.95, Muji, Miffy Mug, £8, Art Box, Totem Pole Tape by Ben Newman, Betty & Dupree.

Glad you guys are liking these & it actually worked out pretty well because after coming home from work on Monday morning I've pretty much been welded to my bed. So these gift guides mean I don't have to force photos of my lovely ill pale face at you! Yay for everyone! PS. I want that tape. A lot.

Gifts for Him

Clockwise from top left: Donna Wilson Message in a Bottle Waterbottle cover, £39, Soma Gallery, Idea Journal, £9.75, Sparrow Nest Script, Scratch Map, £16.50, Pod, Solar System Mug, £12.50, Liberty, Taylor of Old Bond Street Super Badger Shaving Brush in Travel Case, £38.95, Selfridges, Squirrel Print Silk Tie, £25, V&A Shop, John Keats Selected by Andrew Motion, £6.40, Blackwell's, Comme Des Garcons Wallet in Green, £65, Oki-ni

After making this I realised that a majority of the stuff I probably wouldn't buy or just wouldn't be suitable for the men in my life. It's more for like a hybrid man with my preferences & personality. What I would want for Christmas if I was a dude. Geeky, cosy, well traveled & well shaved. Nice. So real guys, how did I do?

On Saturday I officially bought 2 of my Christmas presents & I have now made a proper "Who gets what" list to set about on acting on. So I thought it would be fun for this week on the blog to do gift guide thingy's because I had to trawl through loads of websites in search of inspiration for what to ask for this Christmas & it got me thinking... Does it sound like a good idea? Today's girls, tomorrow guys, & then under £10, under £20 & finally wish gifts of extravagant cost! I had a lot of fun putting them together but I would be genuinely chuffed to give or receive all the things I've picked & I hope it inspires someone even a tiny bit!

So...

Gifts for Her

Clockwise from top left: Illamasqua nail varnish in Spartan, £13.50, Selfridges, Bumble & Bumble Pin Tin, £11, Selfridges, East of India gingerbread candle in a tin, £6.99, Jonie's Gifts, Andrea Garland Lip Balm Ring, £34, Liberty, Ribbon scarf, £10, V&A Shop, Swatch x Jeremy Scott Punk Watch, £38, Lazy Oaf, 100 Ideas That Changed Fashion, £19.95, Blackwell's, Elizabeth I Portrait Pants, £20, Not The Highstreet.

Did you like it?

Today is a day of action for the Fawcett society's "DON'T TURN BACK TIME ON WOMEN'S EQUALITY" campaign. There's a march in London & some tea parties around the UK which you can see here. Unfortunately I'm at work but I will be donning a vintage 50's number, some red lipstick & seamed stockings to show how I do not want to have my rights switched back to that era. It's a little strenuous I know, but hey. At least watch the video if only for the fact that the amount raised from mother's by capping child benefit = £2.5b is the same as the amount raised from taxing the bankers. Yes, equality?

New coat innit. My New Year's Resolution is starting to look a bit sketchy seeing as every time I find myself in a shopping area I end up buying something... usually planned. I headed up to Bath the other day & went into one of my favorite shops, Edinburgh Woollen Mill! One day I will buy a Harris Tweed Deer Stalker & rock it like some rad old man. For now I am satisfied with this gorgeous wool tweed coat, which is one part Crombie, one part zoot suit (in my head) & with my creepers looks pretty sweet.

Feeling all Christmassy trying to think what to get people & (more difficultly) what I actually want. Does anyone else have that stage fright type syndrome at Christmas where there's plenty of shit you've been wanting but you can't remember any of it? It's cold though, which is a good start. & I have a little money for once. & I'm going to Paris! & I need a haircut. & & & there's an & on my arm...

Charity shop shopping is the best no? I went a week or so ago now but this is the first opportunity I've had to post the gems I found! I set out looking for books, but this old man Americana shirt screamed or whispered "Prada" at me over the rails of polyester skirts & fleece jumpers & hypnotised me into buying it without checking it was long enough to wear without bottoms. Luckily it is. Well, denim shorts, but let us not get picky. & now I have an awesome shirt dress with cars all over it.

Because I like to think I am not influenced by the catwalk TRENDS they pump out every season I would like to say I would've bought this anyway because I have a weakness for odd prints. But I probably wouldn't have. Rocking it a whole season early does make me feel very fashion-editor smug though! Weird observations: my camera must be on a tilt & wearing thick woollen tights in photos makes me look like I have posterised legs.

Skyping with Jesus whilst he's on tumblr & spamming me with links sometimes has it's advantages. Dermagraphique & Fuck Off SHIT Tattoos have become two of my favorite blogs. Basically they are the antithesis to tumblogs like Fuck Yeah Tattoos! Who post photos of any tattoo as long as the sob story is enough. Now, I do have two text tattoos, a finger tattoo & a handmade one (as well as having submitted to FYT) so I break almost all their rules, but it is pretty unfortunate what people end up with on their bodies forever. Plus mine were (mostly) well thought out & (mostly) worked on & done by an artist I love & respect. Although part of me may wish I had chosen instead to cover my whole body with classic traditional tattoos, but hey... Anyway, if you are considering a tattoo for the first time PLEASE READ one of these blogs.

At work we're having like a little exhibition where all the work is by staff & it gets made into prints that we sell in the shop. The deadline for submissions is 1st December, so if you're in Bristol over December/Christmas please come in to Blackwell & at least look at them! I will happily talk you through which one's to like & not like depending on the person who made them haha. So I was trying to get some inspiration from my old workbooks from college & stumbled across some lovely (if I do say so myself) embroidered ribs. I also did hips, but these turned out better. So...

What do you think?

Thank you everyone who commented on the last couple of posts. It all got a little personal huh? Family & permanent body marks. But anyway here's something a little lighter, lovely vintage-ness that disappeared into the ether of my clothes rail a while ago. This Jean Muir crimplene cardigan thing has awesome buttons that look like a bearded man & also sheer sleeves to *uh hum* show off new tattoos. PLUS if I roll them up my arms a little you get this cool poet sleeve effect that I've spent a while trying to get on a blouse of some king. I got it pretty cheaply on eBay a year or more ago & have no idea why I don't wear it more... Worn with another (accidental) eBay purchased Topshop dress. They are evil, but if the money isn't going into Philip Greens pocket then I'm all good with a 100% cotton £3 dress.

The weird face in the first photo sort of shows the lighting issues I've been having with outfit posts too. When I stand close to the window (& the camera) I get really bright focused (awesome) pictures, but when I stand back to get full body ones they're all dark & look completely different. Any proper photographers out there help me out on lighting? It's in an attic room so the window's a velux on a slant. How can I get well lit full length photos

Also on my day off today I have gone to Bath to look at bags, accidentally bought a coat & come home to finally plan some posts. I never had to do that when I was at college or home, but being at work from 9.30-6 means daylight photographing hours are limited. So expect some actual posting this week, yay!

Last week my Granny came to the end of her struggle with illness & age. Today is her funeral but as I can't be across in Belfast I just wanted to put these up here in memorial & also to show that I am thinking of her & the rest of my family on this incredibly difficult day. Here are some photos of us in happier times, when I was one at the seaside with my Granddad, Poppy as well.

So here it is, a little Sunday treat for my 340th post (how insane is that?) I finally got my ampersand! I don't know if I've mentioned it on the blog, but my friends will know that I've been wanting to get an ampersand tattoo since before I got my equation or anything else. It's taken me a few years but I finally decided on a font (Bold Monotype Garamond, the type my favorite poetry book is set in) & a placement (just above my elbow).

& now with my infinity (yes, it looks like an 8) as well I can say "To infinity and beyond!" through tattoos (almost). Part of me wants to get a 2 just to cement it... is that sad? I didn't set out to spell a Toy Story phrase with the things I've etched into my body forever but hey! Oh & by the way my equation is the Dirac equation that predicted antimatter, hence the beyond, as in parallel universes.

Sorry about the sloppy Sunday outfit. AA leggings & a t-shirt are like pyjamas for the world. Although now pyjamas are fashionable... Oh how confusing. Also sorry for all the marks all over my arm, yesterday I hurt myself by what my mum thinks is an allergic reaction to the masking tape used for the cling film bandage I have to wear for another day, ewww.

Happy Sunday!

ISSUE±13 IS HERE

For just £2.50 (+postage) you can get your very own copy to flick through, read & use to complete crosswords & dot to dots around the uhr...TV, at Christmas. The last SWEAT of 2012, which is pretty darn exciting. So to celebrate, if launching on 11/11/11 wasn't enough it's also chocka block with awesomeness from Spring 2012 trend reports & games to stunning artwork by Philippe Debongnie and Sarah Watson. Don't ever say I don't love you, you can view it all & purchase it HERE.

Sorry things haven't improved. This week has been generally shit all round on a personal note. Although I do have a new tattoo...randomly. Love you all.

Sorry this is a bit of a rubbish post, heightened by the close ups of my bad skin/face. Nice. But after some charity shop shopping last Friday I wondered into Boots innocently looking for matte lipstick. Red preferably. & something that would last so I can wear it to work. Unfortunately I got a little blind sighted. Have you ever noticed that there's no one to ask about make up in shops like Boots? There are people that hang around their make up stations but they only know that brand. I think more people would be good... just saying. For a novice like me the highly made up girls who know exactly what they're looking for among the bright lights & broken testers can be off putting.

Anyway somehow after my fuzz descended I found myself in possession of some lipstains by Revlon. The one's I got were called Gothic and Flame which sound pretty awesome. The bright pink Flame is really lovely, not matte but nice & it lasts (sometimes overnight) but the Gothic isn't as RED as I would like, it's just more red than my normal lips. I thought stains were meant to be really bright? I do however, appreciate the nice packaging & the lip balm that comes at the other end, both things the other Maybelline lipstain I own lack. 

Unfortunately in my little gif you can't distinguish between them (there are 3 photos) & I'm still on the hunt for a matte RED lipstick. Any suggestions apart from Chanel? Or should I just be someone who spends £23 on lipstick & get on with my life? In other news I'm sorry the blog is shit but there's no daylight anymore! I have builders in my house all morning & it's dark when I get home. I'll try & figure it out on my day off (Friday) until then please bare with!

Been waiting on the 20 Years of Dazed & Confused exhibition for a few months now & it opened today! As much as I'd love to rush there on this week, I think I'm gonna wait till the crowds (there should be crowds!) die down a little, or it's not a weekend. In the meantime here are some of my favorite covers from Dazed past. From top left, July 2006 cover by Damien Hirst & Barbara Kruger, December 2006 cover Zooey Deschanel by Terry Richardson, May 2007 cover Kate Moss by Venetia Scott, January 2009 The Youth Issue by Hedi Slimane, May 2012 cover Tilda Swinton by Glen Luchford & April 2011 cover by Jake & Dinos Chapman.

Thank you for all the lovely comments on my halloween post, sorry I've been so absent lately. I wanted to make it up to you by trying extra hard with the photography. Maybe those 2 years of A Level weren't a complete waste of time... Anyway, normal service should resume next week as I'm gonna try & figure posts out on my next day off.

Love love.