Back Again

Hey all!

So, the summer. Kinda left wondering if it really came at all... But none the less, I've been very very busy.  Too busy to keep up with blogging.

However,  I have decided, after my short break, two things. The first is that I wish to continue writing this blog.  I felt like I've missed it, so expect frequent posting from here out.

You might be wondering exactly what I've been doing to keep me so busy.  Well, here is the run down of our summer...

First, I went Blonde!

The went to a wedding (congrats to Mim and Eddie!!!)

Then it was Dave's last week of work, so I mooched around a lot.

Then Dave got his teaching qualification! Woop!

Then we went to see Handball at the Olympic Park in London (Awesome game, btw.)

Then we drove 6 hours to Cornwall to see two of our best friends get engaged! (and Dave scored best man duties, get in!)

Then we headed north, to Yorkshire, for another Friends wedding (Congrats to Becky and Luke!)

Then we went to Centre Parcs in Sherwood Forest for a romantic getaway, just the two of us (until the Thursday when we had my family visit for the day)

Then we went camping with a small group of friends in Derbyshire- beautiful, if a tad wet.  And a great walk in to Bakewell.

That weekend, we were meant to go to the Lake District to visit family, but the trip was cancelled (boo!) and we went bowling instead (yay!)

Then, we drove back down to London to visit the Harry Potter Studio Tour!!!  Which was amarzing and I so want to go back!!

Finally, last weekend we went to Greenbelt in Cheltanham, and had an amazing, yet totally muddy, time.  Listening to music and thought provoking talks.  And just keeping calm and carrying on as the mud reached our ankles (Thank God for wellies!!!)

And here I am, after one heck of a summer, tired, happy and ready for the lot of challanges I have to face.

My masters starts in almost exactly one months time.

Am I ready for it? No! But will I be? You can bet your ass!

Now, you may be wondering what the other thing I have decided is going to be...

And I'm not a mean person, so I'll tell you right now... I'm starting a second blog!

The Dressmaking Diaries, to be exact.

Where I shall be documenting my dressmaking adventures and clothing based DIYs in the future.  I've come to the conclusion that I want my blogging to be more focused.  So, one for my day to day adventures and one for my favourite hobby seems sensible.

Now, if you have reached the end of this wordy and, some might say, boring post, I applaud you.

Love,

Freya May

Girl Crush...

So, it's time to admit it.  I have a girl crush.  I have for a while.  And it wont come as a surprise to some of you.  So, here goes, Emma Watson is my girl crush :D

Source: raptorsinneverland.tumblr.com via Freya on Pinterest

Here's just a few reasons why...

• She is Hermione, who I have idolised since the age of 9(ish).  So, by rights I guess I should hate her for 'stealing my dream role', but I just can't.
• She is smart- who gets 10 A's and A*'s at GCSE while working on block buster movies?!?  That's some one I can look up to.
• She is beautiful.
• She is good- she supports UNICEF and People Tree (Fairtrade).
• She is so personable and comes across as so friendly on interviews and the Harry Potter extras.  I just think, given the chance, we could have been really good friends ;)

And, a ton of other reasons too!  Who is your celebrity or girl crush?  Please, tell me, make me feel less of an loser!

Freya May

Yet another Harry Potter p7b Blog...

Because it needs doing!  I, along with every other individual it seems, will be spending some time in the cinema this weekend watching the final Harry Potter film with a mixture of glee and sadness. 

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This, clearly, is a pre-viewing blog.  So, other than simply exlaiming my excitedness, I thought I'd use this as a recap of my years with Potter, the books first and the films which naturally followed after. 

Age 10 - The year I discovered the Harry Potter Books

To be fair, when I found them in the shop on the ferry to France, the second and third books had also been released, Rowling was writing the initial books in a year each.  But, there I was, little 10 yr old me, holding the book which would lead to many years of Potter fandom.

That book I picked up on the ferry, I have since lost, which sucks because it was one of the original editions, with the minister of magic on the back cover, not Dumbledore.  I also lent it to a friend, who scribbled all over the outside of the pages.  I don't know if that copy would be worth anything now, in mint condition, but I am still peeved off about it. *pic

It was probably because I was the exact age that Harry was in the first book that made me go Potter crazy that summer.  Now, you must realize that I have a vivid imagination, and a slightly obsessive personality.  So when I get the idea in to my head that I wanted to go to Hogwarts too, I had some fun.  I spent hours typing up the appropriate letters and shopping lists that any new student would receive -thank you, J.K. for including them or I'd have spent even longer creating my own.  I fashioned myself a school uniform, and this being the days before the big manufacturing companies were involved with HP stuff, that included printing of the Gryffindor/Hogwarts badges for my clothes.  And this is where I get really nerdy- I even wrote up my own timetable and 'attended' classes. 

I think two pieces of information would make this slightly more acceptable, first, I was an only child until the age of 7, and, so, had learnt fast how to entertain myself very happily.  The second is that I was also a huge fan of Enid Blytons books, Mallory Towers and The Twins at St Clare's, so boarding school life was very attractive to me- it seemed like the place kids went to to have fun!
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OK, so, moving on from that initial summer of maddness, in which I read the first three books countless number of times (obsessive, like I said), and on to the following summer.
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In the interim, I had began karate lessons, in a church hall near our town center.  I attended every Saturday morning.  And, once a year for two years, a day would come along that would make me long to finish even earlier than normal weeks.  That's right, Harry Potter 4 and 5 release dates!  Mum would head into town once the class had started and return with a shiny new copy of the book I was desperate to read.  *pic

 
So desperate, I began to read them the instant I was in the car and wouldn't stop until I'd reached the end.  It was lucky, I guess, that I'm a fast reader.  A speed reader, really.  It took me less than four hours to read each of those books.  Of course, I read them over, and slower, I just wanted to be the first to finish. *pic

There was, of course, many an hour spent on the fan sites, and RPG games.  The Internet, for me, had finally reviled its true purpose :-)  I spent far too long on various sites, learning and chatting and generally accessing a fantasy land that I loved.

It was in year 10, that I had many of my previous dreams come true.  For an English Department open day, my teacher declared it Harry Potter themed- and I was allowed to be involved with the planning!  We had a whole day, pretending to attend Hogwarts, in my very own school.  Far to much fun to be allowed:-) *pic

The following year, or was it two years later, for book 6, I, along with a couple hundred others, lined up in Borders, to pick up the latest book at midnight on the day it was released.  This was fun, but strange, as at this point in my life, staying up late really was a oddity.  But there I was, feeling right at home in a book store, with 200 other people with whom I had one, giant, nerdy thing in common.  *pic

The last book came out when I was in sixth form, so I had to be a little more mature about it then, but, there I was again, at good old Borders, waiting at midnight for funny little staff members, dresses in school cloaks, to pass me the final instalment of the beloved series that has truly dominated my pre-teen and teenage years. 

4 years after that, hear we are.  Waiting patiently for my chance to watch WB vision of a series that is so important to my transition from child to adult.  Which is all very apt, as I was following the same, if much less turbulent path of Harry.  Harry Potter party dream has became a reality, I too, have left school, and made some wonderful friends in the process and, I hope, I've learnt to be brave in the face of certain danger.  *pic

I have no doubt I'll love the film, and I'm terribly excited, and If you have read this far on such a long post, I thank you, and hope you have a great time at the cinema this week end too.

Freya May

The Long Awaited Harry Potter Party :-)

A time for utter geek-celibration!

Months in the planning, a wee bit too much cash spent on it and far too much excitement in anticipation, the Harry Potter End of Year Party was everything I hoped it would be!  I have been planning this party for ages, since before Christmas.  To be honist, the planning has largely been thinking about what I want to do vs what I can afford to do.  And the end result was AWESOME :-)

We decorated Fran and Em's house, as it had lovely wooden features which meant it was a perfect starting point for turning it in to the Gryffindor common room.

Another chance to make a cake, I went for an owl, in memory of dear Hegwig.  The shape is based on a wedding cake made by Ace of Cakes, but I don't know which show and haven't been able to find a image of the original- sorry. 

Drinks were, naturally, presented in potion form.  We had an alcoholic potion punch, one non-alcoholic, jelly shots in house colours, and wine.  Sweets were also on offer.

We played two drinking games, The Goblet of Fire and one Em made up, and Harry Potter Scene It. 

Music, by resident DJ, Dave (aka, Husband).

Decor, by me, because I have too much time on my hands/ was just too much fun.
Thank you everyone who came, you made it soo much fun!

Check out my craft blog about the prep, please! 

Hope those who came had as much fun as I did, thank you so much for joining me in awesome geekyness, and please enjoy checking out the photos.

Freya May