21

So on 21.12.2012 the world is going to end. (Correct me if I’m wrong, but wouldn’t it be more poetic is it was the 20.12.2012 or the 21.12.2112?)

If I had lots of time left (and was as sceptical about my future as the Mayans are being) I would obviously create a personal list of 21 things to do before the 21^st while aged 21. Sadly there’s not much time left before the 21^st so I’ll condense the list to 10 things I’d like to do…

 1.  Spend a day frolicking in London with all my nearest and dearest – art galleries, restaurants and shopping galore!

2. Host a delightfully lavish dinner party (à remembering that money isn’t an issue, I won’t be needing any anymore anyway, so I’d really splurge!)

3. Invite someone I’ve been meaning to get in contact with for ages but haven’t to said dinner part

4. Invite someone excessively outrageous to said dinner party, purely for entertainment

5. Cook ALL the food for ALL the courses from scratch for said dinner party

6. Skype call the person furthest away from me in the world right now

7. Read a novel in a whole sitting without leaving the sofa (only to go to the loo)

8. Buy a Celine Boston bag

9. Go for a ride / on a hack with my sister dear

10. Spend an evening in front of the fire with magazines and books and a cup of tea. And someone to give me a shoulder massage.

Why I like a good Christmas Jumper

Earlier I read this article on the Sabotage Times (a personal procrastination pleasure) - 'Christmas Jumpers Are For Wankers' and immediately felt I had to fight my ground. Firstly, and somewhat beside the point, 'Wankers' is a wee bit aggressive and derogatory kind sir! Personally my stance with journalism is that one shouldn't spew profanities (I enunciate them clearly, like a fucking lady).

However more to the point, I myself am the proud owner of a fine Christmas jumper, very much akin to this little number on the right, and I really am rather fond of it. Made of 100% wool, it is one of the few seasonal items in my wardrobe that will actually give me some warmth. Considering that in super snowy Switzerland the peak temperature today was -4 degrees celsius, I am very grateful for this. But on a less pragmatic note, I do rather like it. Like anything fashion, it's a little statement - this one seasonal.

Mr. George Springthorpe's grudge with these seasonal sweeties is the apparent 'where's your Christmas Spirit?' attitude towards the non-wearers. Well George, I'd like to take this moment to say that, like most of my fashion choices, I wear this jumper to please myself - whether for warmth, comfort or that innate inner 'tee hee, I'm wearing a Christmas jumper!' feeling to perk up a cold and gloomy December. I'm not inflicting any forced Christmas Spirit on you and I'm certainly no W****r thank you. Remember, I'm a fucking lady.

A right royal baby!

Congratulations Kate & Wills, 'our' royal baby is on the way!! Some may whinge that they took their time, but honestly (not that it's any of our business really...) they really couldn't have timed it better... 2012 was the year of the British, but the birth of Baby Wales / Windsor in will ensure that Britain will stays firmly on the global radar into 2013!

On another note, maternity clothing is going to develop a WHOLE new royal concept! Oh and gutted for K-Mids that she won't be having Champers and Mulled Wine this Christmas though..

With my fingers in lots of pies

I've always been a huge Ab Fab fan. Such fun! Like most women, I can definitely sometimes relate to Eddy. Perhaps more than I'd like to admit..! But there are certain quotes that definitely strike a chord for me, such as:

Eddy: "I've got my hands in loads of pies darling. Darling! Sweetie! EDDY PIE HANDS!"

While neither Eddy nor myself literally have our hands in loads of pies (I've never been a pie person..) Eddy is obviously referring to metaphorical pies - the variety of jobs, projects and businesses she's got on the go. And this is the pickle I'm sort of finding myself in at the moment. 

I finished university in the summer; with a good degree, from a good university. As an English and History graduate my opportunities are endless, which is great! Fab. So far I've interned in journalism, marketing, PR, event managing and am hoping to also do a publishing internship... 

So far I've really enjoyed all of my placements and could easily have stayed on in each job. But when do I specialise? When do I choose? HOW do I choose?  Can I be an event planning, marketing, journalism PR consultant? Gah. The opportunities are just too many! So many men jobs, so little time. 

Wake me up!

I've come to the conclusion that, in the long and short, having a job simply means one thing - getting up at a certain time in the mornings...99.9% of the time earlier than one would like to. To make this as pleasant as possible, it's vital to start the day well. Yes yes, breakfast is mega important blah blah. But even before that, one factor plays a huge role in a morning routing. The alarm clock. Oh yes. This little friend is the one who tears you from your blissful slumber, awakens you from your pleasurable dreams and confronts you with the reality of your working day. What a little shitter.

To make this brutal awakening as bearable as possible, I firmly believe that one should be well acquainted with one's alarm clock and only use the best possible method. Should it really be your phone? I divulge..

The mobile phone - my go to favourite. Always on me, always a safe bet. Word of caution: it would be wise to use an 'alarm tone' rather than a song/MP3 file. If I use a song and then hear it during the day, my body goes into shock. True story.

The mother - a gentle awakening..perhaps a kiss, perhaps a cup of tea. Aaaah. Then again it makes me want to say "Mummy I can't go in today, I feel sooo poorly!"

The wake up light - from the likes of Philips etc. Claims to 'imitate the natural waking up process through sunlight' and often accompanied by technological tweeting of birds. Way too freaky.

The classic - I got given a really cute Snoopy alarm clock when I was about 12. It was one of those really old-school kinds with the bells on top. Sooo retro. When it went off I nearly pooped my pants and had a heart attack. It is now decoration only. (and obviously tells the time...)

Therefore my advice? None of them are pleasant, but it's probably safest to go with your phone alarm. Realistically you'll have it on you anyway. Oh and place it on the opposite side of the room, then you physically have to leave the bed to turn it off.

LBJ

I am currently silently weeping into my laptop at the fact that I'm not in London. If there's one thing I'd love to see, it's the Little Black Jacket exhibition at the Saatchi Gallery. Lagerfeld and Roitfeld, you've worked wonders.

Come Dine With Me

Now that I have a pad of my own, I figured that it was about time that I threw a swell dinner party. Obviously I’d have one for my friends and loved ones and I suppose family, but this, my friends, is my ideal dinner party guest list (of Brits only) along with a nice memo of why I’d invite them. Oh and please do note my consideration regarding numbers – one girl to every boy (seeing as I am a girl and will obviously be taking part, there must be one more boy than girl on the guest list).

The females

·      The Queen: this woman has pure class and is probably one of the most fascinating people to talk to.

·      J.K. Rowling: she developed Harry Potter (i.e. the greatest story / plots / concepts / characters of all time) and therefore I inevitably must meet her personally.

·      Adele: she is single handily taking over the world. (21 got 6 Grammys, 2 Brits and is the 7^th biggest selling album EVER in the UK and she’s singing the theme for the new Bond film Skyfall

·      Alexa Chung: my sister sometimes lovingly refers to me as Alexa. I guess we both have brown hair, a similar face shape and are both lanky. This (sadly) is where the similarities end. She has buckets of style and a Mulberry bag named after her. (One of which she’ll hopefully bring me as a house warming gift...)

The males

·      Prince Harry: he’s great.

·      Boris Johnson: I simply want to know what all the hype is about – is he really as down-with-the-kids as his clever PR wants us to believe? Or is he in fact as ‘commercial’ as various BBC articles have whispered? He definitely seems vociferous and dishevelled but there’s nothing shambolic about his mind or soft about his ambition... He also likes to chat in Latin over lunch. Thankfully not dinner.

·      David Tennant: yes, I used to have an odd little crush on him. When his Doctor Who put on his glasses and went all crazy clever I simply wanted to be there, hold his hand and say: Doctor, it’s going to be fine.

·      Stephen Fry: he is simply fantastic. I don’t even know where to begin singing his praises. Perhaps most usefully to the dinner party scenario is that he’s an incredible raconteur and apparently an exceptional after dinner speaker. (He also voices the Harry Potter recording, which I have spent many MANY an hour listening to…)

·      Ed Westwick: he’s originally from the UK! Shimply shmokin’ nuff said. Oh and Chuck Bass isn’t half bad either.