My First Award!

I got a Very Inspiring Blogger award! I am really really happy – I love all the comments and feedback I get from people who read this little blog! The lady who made my day by giving me this award is the lovely Mrs. Williams of Vibrant Vintage. She writes a lovely variety of posts about the vintage lifestyle (I like this one about glasses A LOT), and has the kind of pixie hair that I wish suited me, so do go and check her blog out.

So here’s the deal: I post seven facts about me, then pass the award on to ten more bloggers! So let’s get on with it...

Seven facts about me:

1. I’m scared of dogs – I mean cross the road scared – even though I begged my parents to let me have a dog when I was younger. I don’t know what happened! I LOVE cats though. My parents just got new cats, so when I’m home from uni, I get to cuddle up with George...

And Jones...

2. I study German and Russian, and I also speak some French, some Yiddish, and a tiny tiny bit of Swedish. I can’t go near any new languages without wanting to learn them. Did you hate grammar at school? Well I LOVE it.

 This is when I lived in St. Petersburg and my parents came to visit - that's my Dad!

3. I’m absolutely obsessed with Poirot. I love the books and the David Suchet TV programme. When I lived in St. Petersburg, I used to buy paperbacks of Agatha Christie meant for Russians learning English – they were very cheap and I read them over and over. My favourite is Death on the Nile.

4. This used to be a vintage clothing blog. I dress ‘vintage’ most of the time – I like making myself look like a woman from the ‘20s, ‘30s, ‘40s, ‘50s, or ‘60s. I think we’ve lost the sense of glamour of the past, and the idea of presenting yourself beautifully to the world. Plus – red lipstick is better than therapy. FACT.

It's the '30s!

5. Even though I’m pale as anything, I use hair and some skin products made for Black women. My hair is really curly, and shampoo and conditioner made for Afro hair works SO much better than anything I can get in the supermarket or at Boots – and it’s cheaper!

Also, the products always have really great names - how can you resist Smooth-n-Hold Pudding???

6. I collect postcards, and am vicious about getting people to send them to me when they go on holiday.

 My room in my second year of uni, decorated with some of my postcards

7. A good friend, Joe, and I used to throw cocktail parties at uni twice a term. They always had a theme, and instead of everyone bringing a bottle of cheap wine and a grabbed-a-the-last-minute-in-the-supermarket-snack, we asked everyone for a monetary contribution and made cocktails and food to fit the theme. We had the parties in my room, but to make it sound like a bar, we called it Highball Emy’s – my name and the name of the cocktail glass! (My full name is Emerald.)

 Scenes from our "Cuban Missile Crisis"-themed party!

Well, that’s all about me! Now – my recommended blogs!

Two Peas & Their Pod - Lots of really good innovative recipe ideas on here - both healthy and not-so-healthy!

Post Punk Kitchen - What can I say? I love Isa Chandra Moskowitz.

Miss Kate of the Almshouse - I linked you all to this blog a couple of posts ago. My friend Kate writes it, and I love it - she's doing up her house and planning a wedding, but she still finds time to look glamorous - aspirational!

Vegan Richa - I love this blog! It's got a lot of Indian-influenced food, which is great because I LOVE INDIAN FOOD

Vegan Crunk - I think Bianca, who writes this blog, has a really great attitude to food, and I love seeing her recipes - I really want a copy of her book as well!

Lost in the '50s - I want to own everything Laurence owns.

Funnypilgrim - For those of you who speak German (or are learning!), this is one of my favourite fashion and beauty blogs - lots of make-up suggestions, product reviews, and sometimes recipes too!

Fit Villains - I've recently got into exercise. Some of these workouts are still too hardcore for me, but there are a lot of really good suggestions and cool links, and Chichi Kix (the author) has a really good no-shame no-self-loathing attitude to health, fitness, and food.

Alex Norris Books - This blog is so brand new that there's not much on there yet, but I know Alex personally, and he's lovely. I think it's very brave of him to really go for his dream like he is doing. I think he'll be great, so watch this space!

Chef Amber Shea - I only found this blog recently, but how good do those wedding cakes look? There's also a really nice variety of recipes to browse through.

Well, there we are! Those are my facts, those are my recommendations. I hope you enjoy them!

Love,

Emy

xxx