Uber Wednesday!

HELLO! We are not quite back to normal scheduling as I have the Alliance launch event tomorrow (woo!) and then I’m off to Paris for a few days on hols before returning to regular life again. But, I am stealing a few moments now to collate aaalllll the fun stuff I’ve come across or done and wanted to share over the past few weeks but haven’t had the time to! Here’s to uber wednesday.

1. If you are a teenage girl, have ever been a teenage girl, or know any teenage girls, you have to check out Rookie Mag. It’s an online magazine that I know I would have loved, loved, loved. Full of beautiful photoshoots like this one (don’t you just want to be in a girl gang?), musings, music, and advice, it’s just lovely. Read about Miranda July’s first feminist action here.

2. I’ve just finished Julia Child’s My Life in France and it might actually be one of my favourite books now! She was obviously an extremely funny lady, as you can see from these photos, and it made me want to run away and become a culinary chef.

3. I was very lucky to be a finalist in the Sheila McKechnie 2011 Campaigner awards this month, for my work with the East London Green Jobs Alliance! Check out the other finalists and winners, they are all amazing.

4. You have to listen to this, it’s only 6 minutes long and very funny. Starlee Kine’s mission to eliminate small talk from the world.

5.  I’ll be moving back to London in just over a month! I am so, so sad to leave Brighton and the loveliness that is the little nest I built for myself over the past year. But work and friends and new beginnings beckon, and these beautiful photos of our capital from What Katie Does are making me quite excited actually!

6. How to get out of a creative rut – Nextness.

7. GO SEE JANE EYRE. NOW. It’s so good.

8. I’ve been listening to the Diamond Mine album by King Creosote & Jon Hopkins on repeat.

9. I wrote another blog for 10:10 – Where are the green jobs?

10. I used my trusty KitchenAid to make these chocolate souffles when my sister came to visit. SO YUMMY. I made this vegetable paella for the main course. Now morbidly obese.

I’ll be back soon!

hanna  ♥

Hold it flash bang wallop what a picture!

Oh dear oh dear. I’m not doing very well on the photo a day, am I? I have however written 10,000 words of my dissertation so far, so it’s swings and roundabouts!

Delving into the world of smoothie making – here is a banana-raspberry-blueberry-mango concoction.

Beautiful. Read it.

A post-dissertation sesh reward for myself.

On Brighton beach.

Amazing vegan mint choc chip ice cream from Aloka in Brighton. Good for us lactose-intolerants, you see.

Donning an incredible panama hat my grandpa gave to me. I love it!

 

Super Sunday

 

1. Last night I was lucky enough to go for dinner where there was a) homemade foccacia, b) homemade mushroom ravioli, c) homemade apple tart, d) homemade elderflower cocktails, e) disco lights, f) friends, g) nicki minaj on the radio, and h) some serious debating about religion. YUM. Still digesting (both the food and the debate).

2. I saw The Mountain Goats play at Brighton Coalition this week and they were AMAZING. One of the best acts I’ve seen live, I think. John Darnielle’s lyrics are just incredible. Happily, someone has uploaded some of the songs from the gig. This was my favourite of the night.

3. Is it weird that I find the pictures of Ed Miliband and Justine Thornton’s wedding ridiculously cute? They look like Mr Bingley and Jane Bennett! (And he is definitely a Bingley. Sadly, there are no Darcys in the UK government).

4. Amelia Gregory tweeted this picture of these bicycle biscuits from Harts Bakery in Bristol earlier this week. They are immense.

5. Sarah Duff is a South African historian who has written the very interesting and thought-provoking post, Whose Slow Food? It definitely relates to and has added to my thinking around supermarkets, and the relationship between women’s work and environmentalism.

6. Tom Hanks and Amy Poehler both gave brilliant Class Day speeches at Yale and Harvard respectively this week. Why don’t we get A-list celebs speaking at our graduations, eh? EH?

7. I finished the excellent book Boxer, Beetle by Ned Beauman this week. Ridiculously original, incredibly mad, slightly uneven but well worth reading.

Right, I am off to make some brownies. Should take the edge off those two applications I have to write this evening…

hanna ♥

 

 

Music Monday

Another thing I did this past weekend was catch a couple of things at Brighton’s Great Escape festival. I really enjoyed a set by this girl, who goes by the name Daughter. Visit her myspace for what I thought was her best track, Landfill.

hanna ♥

Super Sunday

1. I just got back from seeing Snoop Dogg at Brighton Dome! Quite hilarious.

2. This is awesome. I want to deliver this rap at my graduation. That should be fine, right?

3. The guys over at UKYCC sneakily uploaded this video of me talking about green jobs as part of their Push Europe campaign. I had really liked this outfit, but now think it’s on the wrong side of girl guide/hobo. Hmmm…

4. I had a really good banana and chocolate chip cake today. I didn’t take a picture of it though, so here’s an even more excellent carrot cake muffin I had in brooklyn. yum yum yum.

5. After being ill for 3 weeks, being put on antibiotics wasn’t super as such, but it was pretty good. (image from weheartit).

6. This trailer for new film Schooling the World really blew my mind. So many important questions for development.

7. Generally catching up with friends old and new was really nice this week. Ahhhh.

hanna ♥

p.s. I forgot to say last week that I watched Brief Encounter for the first time and it was incredible! Watch it, if only for the accents.

Super Sunday

1. I bought a shiny new backpack this week – look how pretty it is! My old one was so old, not only did it have tons of holes in it, it had a designated pocket to hold a DISCMAN and straps for a SKATEBOARD. Needless to say, those days are ovah. I wanted something that would withstand my upcoming trip and that would hold my laptop – success! And if you’ve ever wondered what a rucksack looks like doing a striptease, these photos are it.

2. Robin came to Brighton and totally got a tattoo! I think it’s so lovely. The tattooist was Adam Sage at Into You, who does them all by hand (no tattoo gun) and incidentally, I completely fell in love with him. (Adam if you’re reading this, I’m really great. I can provide excellent character references.)

 

3. While Robin was down we cooked up a scrumptious storm with my friend Nick. Heart-shaped brownies and dinner courtesy of Ottolenghi (his cookbook Plenty is a.may.zing).

4. I saw the much-hyped Frankenstein at the National yesterday – incredible set, incredible acting by Jonathan Lee Miller (sadly, Benedict Cumberbatch was understudied) and I was pretty riveted. But weaknesses in the supporting cast and some strange directorial decisions (a weird flamenco between the creature and his imaginary bride sticks in the mind) stopped it from being as thrilling as I’d hoped.

5. Breakfast meetings are pretty super. Had one this morning over a veggie fry-up, orange juice, croissant and hot chocolate. Exciting plans and breakfast just seem to go together. These mouth-watering pictures are from the excellent blog entitled Breakfast. Not that I spend time looking at other people’s breakfasts… no, definitely not.

6. How lovely is this photo from a UK Uncut action last week? And how exciting that there is now US Uncut and Canada Uncut! This is how change happens…

7. Excellent article about how to be a woman in a boy’s club - Can’t Be Tamed: A Manifesto.

hanna ♥

Aardvark Manifesto

I have been eyeing up this print in a pop up shop down in Brighton for a while now. I heart it sooooo much. Would anyone like to get me a present? Pretty please with a cherry on top?

hanna ♥

Super Sunday

1. I went for a scrumptious afternoon tea with my friend Nick on Friday at Metro Deco. It’s like a cafe and an antique shop met and had a baby. My kind of place.

2. Nick and I also went to see Sleigh Bells play this week! I’ve seen them before and they were just as good the second time. However, I think it’s grossly unfair that Alexis Krauss gets to be Alexis Krauss and I don’t get to be Alexis Krauss. I think I am obsessed with her.

3. I have bought a ukelele! And for my first challenge, I am going to learn Umbrella by Rihanna. After I learn how to tune it, that is.

4. It was my Grandma’s birthday this week and I bought her a tub of this Lucas’ Papaw Ointment. I’ve been using it on my lips overnight and it has transformed them from a chapped mess into actual, normal, human lips.

5. I think these are getting close to my perfect beds. I like the idea of having a bed island. Both designed by Jimmy Schonning. I also very much like the idea of living in Sleepless in Seattle. Adorable.

6. I saw two plays this week – Greenland at the National and Phantom of the Opera! Both quite traumatic, yet uplifting in their own way. Highly recommended!

7. Read a great article from New York Magazine – Why Fashion Keeps Tripping Over Race.

“What is it like being the only black editor, designer, publicist in the room? I recall walking into a luncheon at the Joseph Abboud showroom some years ago. I was the first to arrive, and a white valet waited in anticipation of the guests. I said hello. He nodded but said nothing, and did not offer to take my coat. Within moments, however, a group of white male colleagues arrived, and I watched as the valet immediately jumped into action, checking their coats and bags. I waited, and when it seemed he had no plans to come to my aid, I finally said, “You can take my coat now.” Without comment, he did. Did he think I was a delivery person? The help? Or was he just hopelessly distracted and unprofessional?”

Worth a read.

hanna ♥

 

Craftivism Against Cuts

I AM SO SAD. I bought a new kitchen knife yesterday and managed to slice nicely through my knuckle just getting it out of the packet! It’s all bandaged up now but still, I can’t do all the fun things I wanted to this week, like sewing, playing my new ukelele (!), and riding my bike. Sob.

So, since I can’t sew, I thought I’d make myself feel productive by showing you what I have been sewing over this week – mini protest hearts against the cuts!

Warning: the slogans on these are very much tongue-in-cheek but could be seen as offensive! So if you like your crafts cuddly, proceed with caution…

I would never put slogans like this on a placard, but I thought the pretty colours and floral fabrics made a nice juxtaposition that meant I could get away with it!

This is the back of the “no cuts” heart. Geddit?

I’m really pleased with them. I can’t decide whether to put them in my shop, or hang them around Brighton for people to see! What do you think?

hanna ♥

p.s. woot woot to the forest news!

Brighton Rock(s)

A while ago, I went on a walk around and took some pics of Brighton. Here are a handful of my favourite places – JB’s american diner, the beach, marwoods cafe, wolf and gypsy vintage and the north laine. It’s a really pretty town, amiright or amiright?

hanna ♥