What I Did in 2011

I did this last year and I wanted to do it again this year.

1.

• Moved in with my boyfriend after 6 years of going out.
• Went to London and Oxford in October for my birthday and got to do loads of new fun thing like go to the Oxo Tower, go to a comedy club, ice bar and Fright Night in Thorpe Park.
• Met several online friends for the first time: Laia, Lex and Angela, as well as loads of lovely Beaut.ies!
• Went to my first ballet in October.
• Did some more exploring in Ireland. Visited Blarney Castle, went to the Cliffs of Moher again and spent a few sunny days in Waterford.
• Went to several different parties including my brother’s 21st, my friend’s brother’s 21st (which was like a mini outdoor festival), great aunt’s 80th birthday party and a UV party.
• Bought my first car (as well as my second one too!).
• Managed to get two different jobs
• Went to London again in December and went ice skating at the Natural History Museum, visited Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park and ate in China Town for the first time.
• Got a sewing machine and learned to sew!

2.

3.

Again, not plans but what I did New Year’s Eve. Sat in, watched tv with my boyfriend and missed the countdown as RTE did it early. Perfect!

4.

Another year has passed but it’s still the same letter as last year. Why haven’t I done anything about it? Am I too afraid? Or is it I just don’t care anymore?

5.

6.

What don’t I want to change in a way?

7.

My siblings, my bf, KS, SH, BH

8.

Resolutions can be found HERE!

Favourite Songs of 2011: Part 3

My last songs of 2011 post! Part 1 and Part 2.

Heart Skips a Beat by Olly Murs. This song took a while for me to get in to, I heard people go on about it but never paid attention. It wasn’t until I was in Camden in October when I heard it in the background and it got stuck in my head for weeks then!

2011 was all about Adele and while I enjoy her other songs, they can be quite depressing. Rumour Has It is upbeat though and I loved the version they did in Glee!

I don’t know much about The Black Keys. In fact, the only reason I knew about this band before I heard this song is because one of their songs are used in School of Rock. Lonely Boy is catchy though, I can’t help singing along and the video is funny too.

It wasn’t until I heard What Do You Take Me For by Pixie Lott that I realized I really liked a lot of Pixie Lott songs. I guess I’m a fan without ever actively becoming a fan!

So Getting Over You by David Guetta(and various acts) was released in 2010 but I didn’t really pay any attention to it until January 2011. I wasn’t going to include it until I looked at the play count on my iTunes, well over 150 plays! And it has LMFAO, who I apparently also really like.

The last two posts are my guilty pleasures (both coincidently X Factor contestants. Not sure if that fact is relevant or not). I admit, I do enjoy some of Jewdward’s songs! I know they’re not the best singers but their songs are fun to bop along to. I chose Lipstick, due to their fun Eurovision entry.

And One Direction’s What Makes You Beautiful. It’s funny the different types of people who love this song!

So what were your favourite songs from 2011?

Favourite Songs of 2011: Part 2

Continuing on where Part 1 left off!

Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds ‘The Death of You and Me’. This isn’t my usual type of music. While I like Oasis songs, I was never a huge huge fan. This song is amazing though! I will admit though, every time it starts, I think it’s The Beautiful South starting! It does have a Beatles-ish quality to it, which is probably why I like it. And I love the line ‘Watching my tv/Or is it watching me?’, very 1984!

‘You and I’ by Lady Gaga. Yes, another Gaga song but you couldn’t really have just one favourite in a year! While I do enjoy ‘Edge of Glory’, this one just about pipped it for me. I love the country twang to it. Again, not my favourite kind of music but for some reason I just love it. Though, once again, I’m not too sure on the video!

Otis by Kanye West and Jay-Z. Part of me hates myself for liking this excuse for egotism (it’s just basically them bragging) and it’s quite odd considering it has no chorus in the song. But I love the way Kanye writes, his play on words.

And speaking of Jay-Z, what a year it’s been for him and Beyonce! I did enjoy her ‘Run the World’ song (but hated ‘Best Thing I Never Had’), it’s very catchy, despite a lot of negativity around it. I heard a great mash up with Nicola Robert’s ‘Beat of My Drum’ song, but alas I can’t find it anywhere.

Rihanna and Katy Perry seemed to be everywhere this year! They both released a handful of songs. While I do like ‘We Found Love’ Rihanna brought out with Calvin Harris, I’ve quickly grown tired of it. I do still like ‘S&M’ though. And while ‘Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)’ was probably Katy Perry’s biggest hit of 2011, my vote goes with ‘E.T'.’, a song that slowly grew on me (and even though I just proclaimed my love for Kanye’s lyrics, I MUCH prefer the version without him).

LMFAO again, this time ‘Sexy and I Know It’. Again, just very catchy and good, tongue in cheek fun!

Favourite Songs of 2011: Part 1

I had so much fun writing this last year that I couldn’t wait to start writing again for 2011! Last year’s posts can be found under the music tag. Again, these are in no particular order!

Maverick Sabre ‘Let Me Go’. I LOVE this song so much. It has still get get old for me. I wrote back in July that my boyfriend thought the song was boring but as suspected, it grew on him. It’s got a lovely soulful quality and makes me happy!

Cee Lo Green ‘Bright Lights Bigger City’. Another song that has yet to get old for me. I also blogged about this back in July, I love how the beat is from Billie Jean and oh the violins! I just love them. Again I’m posting a now unlisted video over the official one, only because the lights look so so pretty and really make me want to go to New York.

Maroon 5 ‘Moves Like Jagger’. Quite possibly the biggest of 2011. Or at least the most played! Again, I blogged about it back in July and while I still like it, it definitely has reached overplayed. But there’s no denying it is very very catchy!

2011, the year of LMFAO? Yes, quite possibly. It’s hard to believe that these two are the son and grandson of Motown legend Berry Gordy! They’re songs are so catchy though so maybe it’s not too unbelievable! ‘Party Rock Anthem’ was the big song of the summer and always makes me want to dance.

Lady Gaga ‘Born This Way’. Love the song, not so much a fan of the bonkers video. The song definitely has a Madonna ‘Express Yourself’ feel to it, whether you think that’s a good or bad thing. I spent most of my journeys to and from work dancing along in the car to this. It leaves me with a feel good feeling and there’s lots of great covers on YouTube too.

‘Superbass’ by Nicki Minaj. ‘Boom de boom de boom de boom de bass. He got that Superbass! Boom de boom de boom de boom de bass!’. Such a catchy chorus. I admit, I don’t know much else about Nicki Minaj’s music but this song is great! Of course, it’s made better by those little girls in tutus singing and dancing to it.

New Year’s Resolutions

It's that time of year again, the time where we pledge to change something. I posted last year what my resolutions were, so before I go on to post this year’s, let’s take a look at how I did with last year.

1. Cook 12 new savoury/dinner dishes

Well, I made 8 new dishes, I just wasn’t motivated last year, mainly as I was still leaving at home and cooking for my family.

2. Make 12 new sweet dishes

I got 9, which is surprising as I love baking. I’ll definitely make up for it this year though!

3. Read 25 books

2010 I pledged 50 books and failed epically, so I went for a lower target in 2011. And read 31 books overall!

4. Watch 50 films I’ve never seen before

Got to 36. Again, I wasn’t hugely motivated but I’ll give it a go this year.

5. Eat more fruit and veg

Yes and no. My veg intake is better but I’m just not a huge fan of fruit. I want to like it more though.

6. Lose weight and exercise more

*tumbleweeds*

7. Write more on the blog

Ya, didn’t do so great really but hopefully I can improve this year.

8. Get a job

I got two in fact but as of 31st Dec, I’m unemployed again. So this is another one.

I also listed that I wanted to learn a new skill and in April’s update last year, I revealed I was learning how to sew. I’m still working on that but I want to learn another skill this year.

My resolutions for 2011 will be much the same. They are

1. Be more healthy and exercise more (I really need to lose weight too but I think if I concentrate more on being healthy instead of obsessing over losing weight, I’ll succeed better)

2. Get a job

3. Cook 12 new savoury/dinner dishes

4. Make 12 new sweet dishes

5. Finish reading all the books I’ve started (There’s about 20-30 of them).

6. Watch 50 films I’ve never seen (while completing the A-Z list I started last year)

7. Learn a new skill (as of yet I have not decided)

I’d also like to travel more but realize this will probably have to wait a bit longer (or unless I win the lotto). And I want to be a bit more organized and more frugal too.

So wish me luck! What are your New Year’s Resolutions?

2011 Recap

2011 has been a very strange year for me. I’ve had two jobs but spent half the year searching for work. I got my first car but a month later ended up crashing it. The first 5 months of the year I dealt with a long distance relationship, with my boyfriend out in Australia but made up for that in the last 2 months, as we finally moved in together. Didn’t get to travel as much as my heart desires but went to London twice, got to go to Beaut.ie meet ups in Dublin and had a sunny holiday in Waterford.

Overall, a year of ups and downs. Like any year really. This is one I’m truly happy to have behind me. While it definitely ended well (moving in with the boyfriend, sandwiched with the trips to London), the year will forever be tainted with the memory of the car crash. At the end of 2010, I was in such a bad place mentally that I was convinced I wouldn’t see the end of 2011, I had this niggling feeling that I was going to die. I can’t explain it and I don’t think I ever will, but every time I tried to think beyond 2011, I had a mental block. I’m happy that I’m in a much better place mentally now and hope to follow this by being in a better physical health.

So here’s to 2012 being full of happy, healthy times with friends and family!