Happy Christmas, baby!

I've been really enjoying relaxing during my Christmas break so far. It's nice to be getting back into taking photos too. With many others going offline for Christmas Day, myself likely to be included (aside from perhaps the odd Instagram), I thought I'd share my Advent playlist for you before I sign off for a few days.



I have lots of pictures from a festive trip to London to share with you that are waiting to be edited and uploaded but for now I figured I'd share a festive playlist with you to get you ready for the big day.

Some of the same old songs do wear me down a little but I've featured a few, you know, just because it's Christmas, you filthy animal. ♥

I've Got Friends, I've Got Family Here.

On Monday, Moon and I went to our first gig in ages, bit of a mistake given that it was on a school night after busy days for both of us but we powered through.

We were at the O2 Academy Oxford to see Eliza & the Bear, a band I discovered back in January when I refused to listen to anything but Xfm. I've mentioned them a couple of times before on here and they've become regulars on my Spotify playlists as time has gone on.

Without meaning to sound too mushy, they're lyrics and sound are just really uplifting and they're a pretty great band to turn to when I need that little lift. After listening to their recordings for the best part of a year, it was the actual best that they were even better live. Opening with 'Friends', I was dancing from the start of their set to the end and despite Moon's scepticism, the fact that they're that bit heavier live, he actually might have fallen for them. So good job, guys, you've won yourself a new fan.

Supported by a local guy called Jack Little and (my bargaining tool for getting Moon to come) Pixel Fix, it was a really enjoyable evening and makes me excited for the live shows we have coming up in the next couple of months, after no festivals and even longer since we've been to an actual gig, I don't know why we left it so long.

Highlights for Jack Little included his song, 'Zombie', about putting your phone away, something I'm probably slightly of guilty of but something that definitely gets annoying when you're at a gig and 'that popular' song comes on, it's the video-takers I hate.

Moon and I also loved Jack's little mate who clearly thought the world of him and was singing along to every word, the cutest ♥.

He might get it a lot but as a 'guy with a 3/4 guitar', it's hard not to make the comparison between him and Ed Sheeran, which I hope works in his favour and doesn't mean that he's missed the boat, you know, since Ed Sheeran is bigshot sellout now.

I knew next to nothing about Pixel Fix other than recognising the name. They're not what I would usually listen to but they put on a good show and their between-song patter was pretty good.

Pretty pleased I managed to get this one. \o/

#MusicMonday :: 'Everlasting Light'

If this is something I plan on keeping up for at least little bit then it wouldn't be quite right to talk about music on here without mentioning the band that I've seen over 10 times in the last three years, especially when they have an album coming out at the end of the month.

Dry the River have well and truly cemented themselves as one of my favourites, they can virtually do no wrong. Despite the fact these last two singles from their forthcoming album haven't been the stand-out 'Hidden Hand' that I've heard when going to see them, they still hold a lot of merit and make me so excited for what they're going to do next.

'Everlasting Light' is a little more edgy than anything I've heard from Dry the River before and reminds me a little of Taking Back Sunday. The video is neat and the lyrics of the song are as well-executed as ever so nothing but love over here.

After reading Pete's little piece about it just after the video was released, I was happy to see a bit of Newbury-love. Did I mention that we share a local and I played a pub quiz against him over one of the May Bank Holidays this year? No? That might be because it's not like I talked to him or anything...

'Everlasting Light', along with 'Gethsemane' and the prospect of seeing them in October has me on tenterhooks for 'Alarms in the Heart', it feels like it's been such a long wait.

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And to follow here are a couple of short music-related lists... I just feel like it's nice to write a bit again and maybe I haven't been recently, you know? When you write things all day for work, it's another one of those situations but this is actually quite a nice bit of respite. I didn't even realise I was missing it.

Favourite 2014 Albums so far ::

• Sheezus :: Lily Allen
  I know so many people don't like her, and I don't really care why. I like everything about her and her unapologetic attitude, I even own a couple of the dresses she did for New Look. I'm a fan and I'm a fan of the comeback. I can listen to this album from start to finish, each song giving me something different. I'm not sure what I can say that's not already been said but her social commentary is on-point and I like that.
• The Take of and Landing of Everything :: Elbow
  If I said this was the perfect Sunday morning album, would you know what I meant... because I mean that. It's got nice gentle Guy Garvey singing bits and nice rifty bits plus there's a lot of love in it, which is what I liked the most about Build a Rocket Boys.
• Jungle :: Jungle
  I think I already talked about this last week but you can have 'Sunday morning' albums and you can have albums that are perfect for dancing by yourself to in the car... or in the lounge... with the cat.

Most Anticipated 2014 Albums ::

• Alarms in the Heart :: Dry the River
  As written above - after finally hearing a few new songs live in May last year, I've been waiting for this for what feels like an age. It will be good to finally get a proper recording of them too, they managed to transfer their great live songs so well on their last album. Even though they're still a million miles better live, I feel like they're going to pull this off, plus more material when I do see them live, which is always good.
• Carry on the Grudge :: Jamie T
  After his mysterious hiatus just when he was riding high on the back of two super successful albums, Jamie T is back! Moon and I have often pondered what happened to him because we really liked him and just didn't get it. We missed out on his upcoming, annoyingly sold through the terrible Seetickets, mini-tour but there's hope he'll be doing a bigger one soon - unless he still fancies the life of a recluse. The first single from the album, 'Don't You Find' is definitely a grower but as it has indeed grown, I'm looking forward to hearing what he's going to bring out next.
• This Is All Yours :: alt-J
  The two songs I've heard so far aren't as 'alt-J' as I thought they would be but I really like them in their own right all the same. If 'This Is All Yours' is on the same wavelength as 'An Awesome Wave' then I think we're going to get along just fine. alt-J just seem to really know how to make interesting music.

I feel like this might be a little TL;DR but hey, writing practise so...
What's your favourite new music at the moment?

#MusicMonday :: JUNGLE

Jungle and their debut album 'Jungle' have been played nearly non-stop for the last couple of weeks.

They're completely different from anything that I would listen to normally but I can't get enough of them. They're perfect for dancing with myself while driving to work and getting motivated while at work. You really can't beat a good album to have a boogie to - they're calling themselves 'modern soul', so I suppose that's a thing.

I'm not as up to date as a I could be with a lot of music, I guess but I just had to share these guys with you.
Apparently they used to play gigs 'hidden' so they couldn't be identified, a little weird but intriguing. I was hoping to catch them on tour at the tail-end of this year as I won't be heading to any festivals but it looks like I'll be waiting a little while unfortunately though as the dates don't work out for me at the moment.

I first caught these guys while watching Glastonbury coverage last month and was instantly hooked. I feel a little guilty about this now given that I probably wouldn't have given them a chance if I'd managed to get myself to the festival and had actually been there.

What have you been listening to lately? Have you found anything new that you wouldn't normally listen to?

A Little Wishlist.

If it weren't for the fact that I've spent nearly all of January being particularly skint, I'd say that I've also been pretty good at saving, which is definitely something I want to try and get really good at this year.

With that being said, it's pretty difficult not to spy fun things to splash out on, besides, one of these things isn't even for me.

1. Eliza and The Bear 'Southern Wild' Sweatshirt – Having heard Eliza and the Bear on Xfm a couple of weeks ago, I've fallen for them. Their song 'It Gets Cold' was an instant favourite and 'Southern Wild' allowed me to be reminded of the wonders of the 'Beasts of Southern Wild soundtrack. The fact that this sweatshirt has a bear on it only sweetens the deal, I really like the colour and it's not going to be warm enough to go without some extra layers for a while so it would be a welcome addition.
2. Not Another Bill Subscription Box – This might be the best subscription box idea I've seen to date. I think they look to provide great 'boyfriend' gifts and with Moon's birthday coming up at the beginning of March it couldn't have been discovered at a better time! Not only do they post gifts from independent designers but quite a few past gifts have featured nice fonts and wood, two of Moon's favourites. I'm hoping that a three-month subscription will be fun and different, and perfect for a boy who never tells anybody what he wants.
3. Muffin-Top Mattress – A rather silly (grown-up) thing to get excited about but this mattress from Loaf.com looks like an absolute dream. My spare time has been a lot about sleeping recently and although this is a bit extravagant, it's probably about third or fourth on our list of 'home priorities' if we decide to stay put.
4. Month Toothbrushes – Spotted on the 'past gifts' section of 'Not Another Bill', these wooden brushes are so cute and definitely make me a little resentful of my boring electric toothbrush. They serve a practical use as well as looking great too and let you know how long you should use them for.
5. Scout Motto Doormat – This definitely makes me long for a door that comes in from outside, sadly the dark corridor that is our hallway just wouldn't do this cute doormat justice but it can just sit here until I can do something with it.

Are you looking forward to pay-day? What do you think of Not Another Bill?

Less Than Festive Christmas Wishlist.

My Christmas holidays are so close now I can almost touch them, but the big day still feels like a million miles away. I'm actually feeling pretty holly jolly though and have a big under-pressure Christmas shop on Saturday to look forward to.

Even though I've done quite well at picking up little bits for myself here and there, there isn't actually all that much that I want this year. That said, I've made a bit of room for these bits and pieces if nothing else to keep a note of them for once Christmas is over.

1. Hooked on a Feline Dress, Modcloth.
As soon as I saw Natalie wearing this dress I knew I had to have one of my own. I mean sure, it's a bit brown but it's all cats - it's certainly high up on my post-Christmas treat list if I don't get it before.

2. American Horror Story Murder House Poster, Society6.
Easily one of my favourite TV shows of all time (apart from The Simpsons, of course). I love all of Roberto Sanchez' AHS fan posters but I like this one best. I've got enough art for the little flat but you know when you find something that will just set everything off? That.

3. Inside Llewyn Davis Soundtrack, Amazon.
This film hasn't even come out yet but I know I'm going to be obsessed with it. It might be peaking too early to say it will be my favourite film of 2014, but I'm so so looking forward to it. I don't quite want to spoil it for myself by listening to the soundtrack before I've seen the film but having heard Marcus Mumford and Oscar Issac's 'Fair Thee Well', I'm sure I'll be head over heels.

4. Joe & Seph's Caramel Popcorn, Debenhams.
We got some Joe & Seph's peanut butter popcorn in this month's Flavrbox and having sampled their delights a few times now, I think they're easily my favourite. I can actually think of a couple of people that this would be a perfect gift for but that doesn't stop me from wanting some myself too.

5. Wreck This Journal, Waterstones.
I finally got around to starting my Bullet Journal this week I feel a bit like I'm coming down with stationery, and I haven't even started on my 2014 diary. I've wanted to get back into scrapbooking for a while though and while my Bullet Journal might serve this purpose too, I kind of like the idea of following instructions but coming up with something completely different from someone else.

What's on your Christmas wishlist this year?

Glasto2k13.

I'm not sure what I can say about Glastonbury that hasn't already been said, and I know that it's pretty stereotypical of me to go on and on about it, but you'd definitely get it if you were there. Even though it's taken over two days for me to recover from the walking and lack of sleep, I still can't wait for tickets to go on sale again later this year so I can do it all over again.

Here's a selection of my favourite photos from the nearly-week spent away, there's a bigger selection on Flickr too.


Queues, queues, queues.



L // Reppin' my Stay at Home Club tee. | R // Hangin' in The Park.




White chocolate cheesecake, outdoors... amazing.











Not sure these wellies will ever be this clean again(!)






Dizzee Rascal.



Seeing Dry the River for the 11th time after they opened our Glastonbury for the second time on the Thursday night. Pretty good fangirling.



♥




L // Jammin' along to The Heavy. | R // Lifesize Glastonbury Tor made out fo cardboard boxes.









One of my favourite musical moments this year. ♥
It's well and truly back to reality today as I'm back at work, lounging around was fun but a little unproductive so I need a little knock to get me out of my post-festival slump.