You Either Love It Or Hate It...

Day 3 of the drawing challenge has come up with the easiest subject matter thus far - my favourite food.
Now, if it wasn't for this brown elixir I think I'd have real trouble choosing a favourite grub but because this exists-

-I have no other real contenders. It will always win. Even over chocolate cake....yeah I said it.
Here's my hastily sketched version...

I don't think I can quite put into words exactly how good Marmite is. For all my readers who aren't from the UK - it's something that's very hard to describe. The taste of it is what the Japanese call 'Umami' or in English, 'a pleasant savoury taste'. It is a very acquired taste and most Brits either love the stuff or hate it with a passion.
Personally I like to keep a jar and a spoon handy at all times. The Boy and I even take a squeezy bottle of it with us whenever we go anywhere...y'know, just in case we have a sudden salty delicious gooey craving!
Marmite has even found its way into my jewellery box. Behold - one of my favourite pieces of weird jewellery - the Marmite jar and Marmite on toast bracelet!

I bought this on eBay a couple of years ago and it always gets a fair few comments. I bought it from this seller, who unfortunately does not do the bracelets any more but she does have some rather fetching Marmite earrings!
Yum!

Leopard Print Aint All That

Leopard is a pretty iconic Rockabilly print. It's everywhere. I LOVE my leopard print bag, don't get me wrong, but whilst doing Day Two of my 30 Day Drawing Challenge I came to the conclusion that tiger print is way better!
I adore tigers. Ever since my Christening (fat lot of good it did me!) at 18months I have been obsessed. It all started with a gift from my Grandmothers' neighbour. He was a gorgeous, fluffy, orange and black, whiskery TIGER. I grabbed him and wouldn't let him go again for the whole ceremony. I didn't let him go on my first day of school. I didn't let him go whenever we went ANYWHERE. Guess who still shares the bed with myself and The Boy to this day? Yep. Tiger does.
He looks quite different now. He has two new layers of fur, he's been flattened because I use him as a pillow, his eyes are scratched, his ears and tail are pretty non existent and he's covered in sewn up holes. Check him out...

He began my love affair with tigers. They're just gorgeous.

I'm wearing -
'We Love Tigers' T-shirt - Given to me as a gift when I was 5! (1992)
Black Weave Belt - £3 Boohoo.com
Grey Pencil Skirt - £7 Primark
Yellow Tights - Can't Remember (Whoops!)
Black Patent Shoes - £4.50 eBay

Here's a few items I've found that I think knock that leopard print right out of the water.

You could go all out and make tiger print the main attraction...

...Or just accessorise with a pair of killer heels....

....a rockin' tiger bag can make enough of a statement....

...or just a tiger print hair flower can be enough. Grr!
And here's the drawing that inspired my post today - my attempt at Day 2 - Draw Your Favourite Animal.

To learn about tiger conservation and why they're so threatened please click here. It's an important cause. The thought that they may become extinct in my lifetime is just too upsetting.

Long live the tiger!

I'm On FIRE! And I have a PENCIL!

I understand that the title of this post is rather IN YOUR FACE and doesn't make much sense so here's a brief explanation...
Two blogs in TWO days. That's consistency. Hence the fire.
The pencil reference is to do with a 30 day challenge. Yeah - one of THOSE. I'm sure you've all heard of it - it's the 30 day drawing challenge.
I really love to draw. I really love to paint. But I never have the time nor the inspiration. So this is basically a bit of a kick up the arse to myself. I'm hoping that after 30 days of drawing every day it'll just come naturally again.
I'd like to point out at this moment that I am not technically very good at drawing - I just enjoy doing it. So I apologise for clogging up your blog feeds with random ass sketches for the next 30 days.
(I know, I know, you're thinking '30 days? Kiki La Mer blogging 30 days in a row? Every day?' Well I'm gonna try. The word try leaves just the right amount of room for failure =P)

Day 1 of the 30 Day Drawing Challenge is...
1. Draw Yourself.
Well great. This is already a pretty self indulgent blog subject - let's just make it more about ME heh? *Rolls eyes*
I drew myself with a HB graphite pencil and a 4B graphite pencil. I pictured myself wearing my favourite comfy casual outfit whilst sitting at a table with a presumably alcoholic drink in my hand. I'm sure a psychologist would have a lot to say about that.
Anyway - here's the damn picture.

 Here's a photo of me in said outfit...with a pint glass...y'know just for you ;)

Yeah - we have a lot of fridge magnets.
Blue Swallow Earrings - £4.99 Camden Market (I posted about that particularly wonderful visit to London here)
Top - £1.99 Charity Shop
Moustache Necklace - £4.99 eBay
Jeans - £4 Charity Shop
Doc Martens - £20 eBay (Worn once! Steal!)

Hope you enjoyed. If I start becoming one of these people that actually does what they say they're going to do then I'll see you all tomorrow!

Oh so you're NOT dead?

No - I'm not dead. I know how you might think that, what with me saying I was back and blogging and then...y'know...NOT blogging.
Sigh.
I'm bad at this. But hey, I'm here now.
I've recently stumbled across a website called Wanelo and it scares me for two reasons. The first being that it has SO MANY cool things on it that I had no idea existed (it freaks me out that I don't own any of it yet) and the second reason being that I'm scared of what it's going to do to my bank account.
Here are just a few things that I think the world needs to know about. I just can't get over the coolness. Yeah...I should get out more.

I LOVE unusual jewellery. I like making people smile when they look at me - in the laughing with me not at me kind of way.

I am a little bit obsessed with coffee table books. I have so many that I have to rotate them so they get decent coffee table time. This one looks amazing.

These tights are AWESOME! The butterflies look so cool like that. It's actually inspired me to do the same thing with bats...and with a tattoo instead of tights!

Too cool for words. The coolest things are the simplest and most obvious ones that you hadn't thought of yet. Divine.

I think if I ever wanted a swimsuit then this one would be it. As it happens I go swimming very rarely and I never go to the beach. I'm more of an adventure/exploring holiday kinda girl. But for this bad boy I'd totally get my pasty white ass out.

DE-LISH.

I had to stop at 6 things. I'd go on forever otherwise.
The Boy and I have been on a real mean budget recently and we've literally only had the money to feed ourselves so finding this website was a REALLY bad idea. I've managed to be good so far...do you think the landlord would mind if I paid our rent with coolness this month??

What's A Girl Like You Doing In A Place Like This?

Woah. I'm in shock. I'M ON THE INTERNET!
The boy and I moved into our own place in May and here we are, 3 months later, finally online. The amount of hassle and money we have been through just trying to get an internet connection here has been gargantuan. So much so, that I am currently enjoying a nice wee glass of champagne to celebrate being back in contact with the big wide world.
And now I can start blogging again! Oh how I have missed you all....
Since I've been gone my half sleeve has finally been completed and the boy and I went to Sonisphere which was beyond awesome. I've wanted to see Metallica for a long long long time so to have them headlining and actually playing with Anthrax, Megadeth and Slayer absolutely blew my mind!
We had fun rocking out to Slipknot as well...even though it was raining.

The camping part was pretty fun too!

My sleeve got finished just a few days before we left for Sonisphere - which was perfect timing! I'm using a picture that a stole from Toni's (my tattoo artist) blog (you can see it here!) as my camera isn't amazing! 

I'm SO pleased with it. I feel much more 'me' now. The flowers are all just right. It's everything I wanted and more so thanks to Toni for making it happen!

Now that I'm online (long may it continue) I hope to blog much more. Got lots to say and lots to do! 

Moving House Leaves Little Time For Blogger =(

I've been absolutely terrible at keeping this blog going recently - but at least this time I have a valid excuse - I moved in with my boyfriend! I feel very grown up and mature...and I don't think I like that very much. I'm currently trawling through the annoying mundane things like bills, getting the internet set up and packing up my boxes. I can't wait until the decorating fun begins!
My Gil Elvgren compendium was the first book in the house - it has pride of place on the coffee table! I think that, when having guests over, it's the best kind of art reference to look through whilst sipping on a nice cup of tea.
Happy Pin Ups mean Happy People....yeah I just made that up. (The stress of moving house is clearly melting my brain.)

Wednesday Addams is Still in There Somewhere - Christina Ricci's Dress Blows My Mind!!!

Holy. Moly.
I literally cannot get over the beauty of this dress.
Christina Ricci brought this little bad boy out to play and the Met Gala the other night and I have to say, I have never been so blown away by a red carpet dress before in my LIFE. I want this dress so much!
The gothic web-like fabric teamed with that mahoosive fish tail skirt is just so gorgeous. She wears that dress so well too - others would have the dress wearing them but Christina's figure carries this off to perfection.
My only issue is with the boring hair, but that's probably just me wanting her to look like Wednesday Addams again!
Feast your eyes and enjoy. I am swooning!

The Royal Wedding = Cinderella...Kind Of.

Okay so, today I was glued to the television for literally twelve hours following every little piece of royal wedding coverage that I possibly could! I have come to the conclusion that it was, in fact, just a pantomime of Cinderella...pretty much. Are you ready?
Cinderella and her Prince Charming - Kate Middleton and Prince William (Well duh)

The Stepmother (In Law) - Camilla Parker Bowles

The Ugly Step Sisters - Princess Beatrice and Eugenie (I mean - seriously?!)

The Carriage 

The Fairy Godmother - The Queen (Well she did give her a Cartier tiara to wear and a pretty sweet venue!)

The Famous Kiss on the balcony!

You see? It totally WAS Cinderella.
Kate Middleton is a very lucky girl, she has basically just lived every little girls' dream. Now she just needs to get William to take her to Disneyland and seal the deal!

What I Want This Week - Teacup Headband!

I saw this gorgeous picture of Helena Bonham Carter today and I am now on the hunt for a teacup headband.
Isn't it wonderful?

Her young daughter must just love dressing Mummy up! I've found a couple of teacup headbands online - but I think I'm going to make my own!

See, this one is cute...but it's way too small for my liking.
I want a BIG statement teacup!

A Very Talented Laydee...

A lovely picture of my progressing sleeve has been posted on the awesome Toni's blog here.
Go and check her out! Her artwork is out of this world...

I'm Back - And Inked!

I've been so so sooooo bad at keeping my blog up to date recently, but now that I've got a break from university assignment I'm going to get it back on track. I've missed it - to tell the truth!
Since I blogged last, I've had two more sessions at the wonderful Broad Street Studios and my half sleeve is very nearly complete!
Here's some pics (I apologise about the bad picture quality!)

I've also had all my hair cut off! I was really wanting to get into the 40's/50's vibe and grow my hair long enough to at least put rollers in and retro style it up, but alas, I just couldn't stand having so much hair! I think once you go short it's hard to go back!

What's been going on in your lives?? =D