kitten love

I have been a rubbish blogger of late.

However, I did get to meet the fabulous Liv of Be Blushless on Wednesday.

Oh, but more on that later next week.

This weekend is a Bank Holiday in the UK and we are going to the northern wastelands.

We may have the time to see potential wedding locations.

Far more excitingly we will see the new addition to the Bean clan, House*

So as an apology I shall embed the cutest little video I have seen in forever.

When Bean found it he was literally crying from the cuteness!

*Gosh I do sort of love my pseudonyms! I promise you they are very clever!!

It's like I'm an Enigma machine!

ecochic shopping

No luck on the father front yet! So on to other exciting things.

I usually have a little trouble loving eco bags. They tend to be on the little garish side for me.

However, I have no trouble in loving this bag. Made from banana leaf laminated to fabric they concertina down flat so you can take them anywhere.

How cute is it?

Oh!

through the looking glass (well sort of)

The eternal question for a myopic, slightly vain, girl.

Glasses or contact lenses or even laser eye surgery?

Straight away I have to discount eye surgery. Mainly because my prescription has not settled yet and until all laser eye doctors have laser eye surgery I will not trust it!! Also the main problem with laser surgery is that a significant number of patients still have to wear glasses.

I have always been a glasses girl. Although unlike my brother I was lucky only to start wearing them at the tender age of 16. Despite the geeky connotations I do quite enjoy wearing glasses. I guess I like that I can hide behind them and they can frame my otherwise unremarkable face! The only real "problem" I find is that they can make my eyes look ridiculously small, like a cartoon. Does anyone have any tricks to help?

Obviously, the increasingly vain Anna that I have become since the engagement has led me to seek out these thin little iris sheaths. I cannot believe how easy they are to use. I guess I have just listened to far too many horror stories. I won't use them everyday but they are so handy and I can wear cool sunglasses at last!

I have been slightly surprised by the reaction I have received from people since wearing them. Even my closest friends did not notice I wasn't wearing my glasses. Admittedly they were more fixated by the new hair but they really didn't notice. Maybe glasses aren't such an obvious feature as I've always thought?

Yet why is it fine for a man to wear glasses on his big day and for the lady so horrifying?

I shall end with my favourite quotation as I am a serious ideas person. Indeed far more than possessing any actual practicality.

"Sometimes I've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast"

In my head these words are said by Queenie from Blackadder and it sounds so fabulous!

source

Really cannot wait to see the film!

give it to me straight

Just a quick bit of frippery for a Saturday morning.

Oh my I have caved! I have finally bought hair straighteners (and yes they are ghd's). Whilst my hair does look kind of cute when curly, it does tend to frizz at the merest hint of water vapour.

They were delivered this morning and now I have ridiculously sexy hair. I just can't stop touching it and looking in the mirror. Believe me when I say that is something I never ever do. Too exciting. I may be gone for a while!

oh sleek hair by annaandthering on Polyvore.com

P.S. Does anyone have any tips for the perfect product to protect my newly ironed tresses?

a new quandary continued

Oh ladies. I'm so overwhelmed by all your kind words. Thank you.

The thing is your comments would be super helpful if my father was a normie. A little more family background I guess.

I love him but he is a strange man. I certainly won't take away from the fact that he has given some of my best qualities. I am stubborn, funny and have a zest for knowledge because of him. He is an introvert like me and maybe that makes things more difficult. My family is quite the Victorian family. The total opposite to the Bean Clan (one of the reasons I love him so). We don't talk about feelings, children are seen but not heard and whilst we laugh and joke with each other, Mother certainly knows best.

So you see it is quite difficult. Hmm quite difficult Anna? Well maybe I should just suck it up and talk to him. I think I'll wait until they get from their holiday in a couple of weeks. Hopefully the mother will have chance to talk about things and maybe uncover the real reason for his feelings. Although she is not one for subtlety!

Obviously I want him there, mother and I did not get along well as a teenager, and he was always the arbiter between us. (Oh mother nature in your infinite wisdom was it really the best idea to have mothers reach menopause as their daughters are full of hormones?!) Yet I wouldn't force him to come against his will. His stubborn streak and a propensity to booze can lead to awful outbursts (cringe worthy but rather amusing at the same time) not great for a speech giver!

The little voice in the back of my head has a cruel idea. My father thinks a wedding is a ridiculous extravagance. To some extent I do agree but I fear he doesn't understand the type of wedding I (sorry we!) want. However I think him smoking is a ridiculous extravagance. He thinks he is a secret smoker! So I am sorely tempted to talk to him and say "if you give up smoking I would be willing to give up the hoopla."* Obviously by the word hoopla he thinks the typical traditional white wedding so I don't think I would necessarily have to give up all my ideas? Devious, no!? It's almost as if I were a machine!

Maybe not. I can speak to anyone about anything. That's part of my job yet I can't speak to my parents. Does anyone have any tips to get through to a thoroughly unmodern stubborn mickey? I DO NOT WANT A HOOPLA, I WANT A HAPPY FUN FILLED WEDDING! Grr men!

*Even as a doctor I do not try and stop people smoking for if they are old enough to smoke they are old enough to weigh up the pros and cons.

my hundredth and a new quandary - papa don't preach?

Well my lovelies. This is my hundredth post! I can hardly believe I have been participating in this fabulous world for so long! I am so happy that so many of you lovely people take the time to stop by on a daily basis. Hugs all round please!

Well, why have a I been away for so long? This is the crux of my new quandary! Tis a real humdinger and no mistake. Let me take you back to the beginning.

So when Bean and I first were thinking about the wedding we were worried about the idea of a hoopla. Hence my need to call the whole event a hooplow. Some may think that a blog is a way of creating a super hoopla extravaganza out of a wedding but I see it as a way to bounce my ideas off superbly creative people and to contain my madness! Indeed I truly hope my wedding is not the best day of my life. Definitely in the top 10 but not at the top!

Anyhoo, my parents (read the matriach) offered my a sum of money to put towards a wedding or general futureness. After a long debacle (see quandary posts!) we both decided we that we wanted to celebrate our wedding with more than a civil ceremony. It just seemed a little more "us".

Fast forward to this weekend when we visited my parents. All was fine and dandy we were talking about different places in Northumberland. My mother was jokingly moaning about the distance and then my father suddenly declared, "at least I won't have to come...I think it's all a ridiculously wasteful extravagance...wanting to be a celebrity for the day." Taken aback? Yes I was too.

Now you must think my parents have a loveless marriage or are divorced? Nope quite the opposite. Yes the argue, they both know exactly how to rile each other up but they have been married for over 30 years now. They are currently searching for a house in the south of France in which to retire. Yes, my parents eloped but, as I have just found out, it was mainly because they could not really afford a "normal"* wedding. Could he really be jealous? No - he's just not that type of guy.

Furthermore, has he not met me before? When in his crazy head has he ever thought I would want to be like a celebrity? Nothing could be further from the truth. I loathe the whole celebrity culture. I despise the fact that mindless untalented vessels are wooed by sycophants with more money than sense. He knows I love eBay and Bean and I will always find the best deal and would always prefer quality over quantity. Hence the smaller guest list?

It is truly unfathomable to me and my mother. Yes he is known to be a little contrary and want to "fight the man" and I guess in this case the wedding industry complex (WIC)! Maybe I thought as his only daughter he could help me fight the WIC? Maybe he fears "the speech"? Granted he is not known for his public speaking but is often the life and grumpy soul of the party. In any case, surely all he needs to do is say that I look better than usual, welcome Bean and his clan to the family and tell everyone to have a good time?

Yes, the money must be the issue. Yet my mother tells me it is mostly her money that "we" would be spending and she is honestly happy to use it for a wedding. Known to be a little demanding, she promises that the money would be ours to spend. She only asks that I would invite 8 friends. However these are dear family friends who were already on my side of the list.

My parents are not rich but they are not poor. My mother wouldn't offer the money if they couldn't afford it.

So please can anyone shed any light on this humdinger of a predicament? Do you sympathise with my father? Am I being unreasonable? Please let me know. Phew it's nice to be back! As thanks for listening another toe is dipped into the stream away from anonymity with my father's old beardy self!

*whatever normal is?

the fruits of our labour

So what does one do on a wednesday night? Watermelon sculpture of course!

I am sort of super proud of this one. Although I think it may take a few years of practice to make it look good!

And now I reveal our awesome fail!

The delightful Bean was sitting across the table from me excited about carving his name into a piece. Unfortunately his enthusiam slightly got the better of him. He was happily whittling away the B and then enthusiam struck. I think he forgot what he was doing and he managed to carve this monster!

Admittedly he did realise after the A! So he now has an evil twin brother, BANE! So naughty.

He He He. So primal, oh erotic watermelon love!

noooooo! and yes!

Somehow, the delightful powers that be at Blogger have decided I am not following any blogs. This is simply not the case and my Google Reader looks so sad! So my apologies if I do not get round to commenting on your blogs (and you know I love to) I am very very sorry. I guess it will leave me time to do some actual work! Hopefully I will back to normal tomorrow.

Also a big, big thank you to whomever added my site to StumbleUpon. Now I don't quite understand what it is or what it does but it seems exciting! Hugs and kisses all round.

In honour of the momentous stumbleupon occasion I thought I would add one of my favourite videos of all time. It just makes me smile. The quality is a bit rubbish but bear with it! From Amnesty International's Secret Policeman's Ball, in 2006 I think, ahh heaven.

wedding list wednesday

Hello, beautiful mixer! I have never ever seen such a fantabulous appliance. Where can I find one of these beauties? Anyone have any ideas? I fear it may be a limited edition.

Now it may seem I have mostly yearned after things for me but the boy is a fabulous baker and this would go down a storm with him. Well maybe not the pink but a marriage is about compromise is it not!!

Maybe this is the compromise?! Umm heaven!

KitchenAid

I have never used a KitchenAid appliance before as I hail from a Kenwood family. Are they as fabulous functionally as they look?

une affaire de goût?

I don't know whether you have seen the mini interviews set by the lovelies such as Accordions and Lace or Bridechka. Well it has also fallen to the equally fabulous Marie of Wife in the City to pose some hard hitting questions. Obviously I jumped at the chance!

So apologies in advance for the super narcissistic post but sometimes I think they are allowed? Here goes!

1. Why did you decide to get married in a registry office?

Shush do not tell anyone but I am not even christened. Do not fret however I do not spontaneously combust upon entering a church. I have tested this theory a number of times. I envy people who have true faith however it is just not for me.

Sure we could lie to our local priest and marry in the sweet church a couple of minutes walk from our flat but it just seems wrong. Even as an atheist I find it uncomfortable.

So our only real choice is to be married in a registry office or in a licensed venue. Oh how I wished we were like Scotland and we could have a Humanist ceremony. I promise it's not a creepy as Richard Dawkins makes it out to be! Obviously we could marry in Scotland but this leads to other issues. Also Bean and I quite like the idea of saying the same words of millions of people have said in the past.

(Something that also gets me a little angry are the people who marry in church just because it is pretty. Grrr. A whole new post that is currently simmering!)

2. Where did you first drink the Fabulous Gay Wedding and how do you make it?

Ahh the drink that has spawned a thousand questions! Are you a man, you do understand gay means homosexual, is Bean a girl? Whilst Bean is definitely a boy, trust me I've checked, he is deliciously metrosexual and can even look super sexy whilst sipping an overtly unmasculine cocktail.

Unfortunately my intense dislike for honey has made me avoid the apparently delicous drink. Bean first tasted its sweet nectar at Player. A cool little bar in Soho which is part of the Milk and Honey set. Oh to be a member one day. Now that would make a good wedding present! I know I shouldn't covet members only club but I can't help it sometimes. Actually I think I would prefer Soho House. Then I wouldn't need an excuse to pop over to NYC!

Anyhoo back on topic. I have no real idea how it is mixed but the ingredients are as follow and I know it's not that difficult to replicate.

gin, fresh lime, honey, cucumber, strawberries, raspberries, dash of vodders & champagne

I just asked Bean what it tastes like, his super unmetrosexual response - "mostly raspberries." Thanks for the in depth analysis, darling!

3. If you weren't a doctor what would you be?

This is a tough one. There are days when I hate my job. I have been working in the emergency department and I hate seeing what people can do to each other. At the same time I love being able to be there for someone and help them through what is usually one of their worst days.

Ultimately I know just working in a hospital will not fulfil me. I don't know what will and don't get me wrong I love being a doctor but its tough. I guess like any job.

My fantasy job would be a comedy writer for something like 30rock. So if any of you happen to be producers of such a show and think I'm funny, I promise I would be so much funnier in the US! Seriously my Brit charm would go down a storm!

Or I could turn blogging into a career that would be awesome! Do you think I could?!

4. What do you love most about London and where else would you live if it wasn't London?

Oh London, london I do love it so. I love that despite the palpable racial tension, that you feel sometimes when walking down a street, for the most part people do live in harmony together. I love that my polish grandfather was welcomed with open arms even before he fell in love with my beloved grandmamma. I love that you can do nearly anything you want when you live and love here. I am a London girl through and through I don't know if I'll ever want to leave. Maybe I would love NYC although I fear it is a little tall for me. If you know where to go in London you never meet a crowd and can feel quite alone (in the good way).

I would love to travel. Maybe buy an old land rover and drive it through Africa or island hop in the South Pacific for a couple of years. Like most of you I imagine I love going where no-one has met an English (or whatever) girl before. It's so much more fun that way! Maybe I would work in Tuvalu for a few years. I loved island life. The gossip, the booze, the people but I know I could not live there forever. I guess would want my future children to study in the UK until university at the very least.

5. What childhood hobby did you have that you wish you'd kept up?

Without a doubt it would be singing. As anyone who knows me knows I sing all the time. Quite tunelessly I'm sure. I loved singing in a choir when I was at school. I even got to sing at the Royal Albert Hall, St Martins in the Fields and a solo from Pergolesi's Stabat Mater (so beautiful you must listen to the first choral section) Southwark Cathedral. I was lucky to go to a good school in London and had more opportunities than most. I have tried to attend choirs since but they never feel right. If anyone knows of any fabulously fun choirs in London in need of a soprano do let me know! Also I wish I still played hockey (field) I haven't played since my university days and miss it so.

Oh gosh, this has turned into quite the epic!

Thank you so much Marie for sending me these questions. So fun to do, for me! I would love to repay the favour to any of my lovely readers. Just drop me a line and I'll think up some interesting (hopefully) and thought provoking (definitely) questions for you!

For those who have made it to the end. I shall dip another toe into the fast flowing stream away from anonymity!

Yes that is me brushing (with a hairbrush) our beautiful giant, long since passed, cat Simpson,* a truly amazing cat.

*a pseudonym!

and now for the science bit?

So Wishpot, which is an online registry for weddings, babies and general wantings, in their infinite wisdom has deemed me "fabulous"* enough to become a Wishpot Expert!!! (*My words not theirs!)

Now when they first contacted me I was a little wary since I am still unsure whether I really want or need a wedding registry. However after a quick look at their great website I realised that it wasn't just a registry site.

It enables me to collate all my wantings together whether they be heart shaped paperclips or fabulously extravagant amethyst geodes.

Go and have a look at my profile, I've made quite a few lists! Oh, the joy, it means I can plan several different styles of weddings at the same time! Whoop!

Just click on the button below and enjoy my so called fabulous taste!!

Disclaimer - Whilst I will recommend Wishpot as a gift registry I cannot be held responsible for any loss or damages which may occur through use of this site. Obviously!

oh for the joy of shopping

The sun is shining, the sun is shining!

So just a quick post to show you my exciting new purchase!

If only I knew how to add sound. For the sound the cute little bird makes is joyous!

Bean thinks it looks like a Cylon - from Battlestar Galactica apparently?! I think it looks like Mandora the Evil Catcher from the Thundercats. Oh gosh I fear I have revealed our super geekiness!

alarm clock by annaandthering on Polyvore.com

What are your exciting weekend purchases!?!

my polyvore premiere

Hello my loyal readers. I am so grateful for your kind words and lovely thoughts.

I fear my focus has been somewhat off the wedding lately.

I guess mainly because we are unable to really do anything until we have agreed upon a venue.

Hopefully before the end of October - this all depends on Bean! No pressure darling!

So I hope you do not mind my frequent jaunts away from marriagedom?

I hope what I write is still of some interest to you all?

However I felt a polyvore effort was on the cards as I've never tried it before.

Behold the magnificence?!?

This is truly how I want the wedding, no my entire life, to feel.

anna1 by annaandthering featuring Alexander McQueen shoes

wedding list wednesday

And so to the wedding list of dreams!

Rack

Whilst we have a healthy?! wine collection and obviously always have a bottle of champagne in the fridge I believe before we have the funds for a serious wine cave we will need a cute little rack such as this to hold our wine. What could be more perfect? My mother would be apoplectic with jealousy!

oh to have a chic city wedding

Now that we have (almost definitely - yes Bean never say never!) ruled out a city wedding I can fantasize how it would have played out. Well, dresses and shoes, for this post!

How fabulous would this dress, by Alberta Ferritti, be on the steps of the pretty, pretty King's Road registry office with rose petals floating all around? I would wear it with a cute high (almost empire line) sash, maybe nude tulle with similar beading.

Dress

Oh if I had the legs I would wear this darling dress to my own wedding. Unfortunately, I am a girl blessed and heavy with bosom but not height.

Maybe paired with the shoes that are the focus of my current obsession! Oh Mr Jonathan Kelsey you are really spoiling us!

Shoes

With a least one lovely lady wearing this gorgeous offering. Seriously, look at the back of the dress! I would definitely offer to pay and then ask for it back after! Now that must be an etiquette faux pas!

Dress

Oh Bean, am I changing my mind? No, I know what I want. I think!

P.S. I shall give you the direct link to each of these beauties rather than just a link to TheOutnet so you can try and refrain from skipping merrily through the fabulous pages of heavily discounted items! However I shall not be held responsible for any purchases made!

oh net a porter

Oh net-a-porter, net-a-porter, net-a-porter.

How often do I bow at your feet?

You are the home for some of the most beautiful items of clothing I could ever hope to own. (I know in my heart of hearts that couture will never be mine.)

You have the cutest delivery men who greet you at the door with fantabulous packaging and a smile.

However I fear this is one step too far. I want to knit, I wish I had learnt at my Great Aunt's knee for she was truly a couturier with her knitting needles.

Yet I am not an idiot net-a-porter. £120 for a pair of needles and some wool? Oh yes the packaging is sublime, the needles perhaps whittled from antique ivory and I am sure the wool is of the highest quality, maybe from the nasal hair of a virgin mountain goat, yet £120 for the privilege of knitting my own scarf? No.

net-a-porter

So could any of you lovely crafty ladies help teach me the joy of knitting?

grumpiness

Now my lovely friend (hmm can I call you that?!) at one little dove also has a fabulous site called stuff I would bazooka.

In honour of her general fabulousness and my general grumpiness please can I nominate music on websites?

I literally despise it. Why do they do it? Inevitably it will be some new age evil and inevitably I have my headphones listening to some other randomness and all of a sudden, BAM, evil music.

Please realise I have a slight tendency to open up to 100 pages at a time and can never find the stupid tiny stop button amongst the hundreds of open pages.

Oh web designers, I implore yea, quit with the sound. I don't mind having sound which I can turn on but please stop with the already on sound, please.