017 Saturday Matinee

We didn't go to the cinema to watch this film for fear of disappointment, but now it is out on DVD and for rent hear in the UK we thought we had better give it ago. The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Golden Unicorn is the Steven Spielberg/Peter Jackson all star adaption of the Herge comic strip Tintin. At home we have all the books, the 90s cartoon series on DVD and Tintin art in our bathroom, I guess you could call us fans!

Thankfully we were not disappointed! The story line made complete sense, having not been based of the first comic I was worried the character set up wouldn't make any sense but I had no need to be worried this film adaption was in the hands of two complete masters! The state of the art filming techniques lent itself brilliantly to the cartoon adaption, on occasions I felt that the action sequences were a little busy and that I couldn't concentrate on what the main characters where doing in the scene. However the rendering of the animation was amazing, we would love to know how long it took to create the scenes in the desert where the sand turns to water. It was more than filming it was the creation of art!

I don't want to give any spoilers on this post because I want everyone to be able to enjoy this film. So the last thing I will say on this it that the cast was brilliant! Andy Serkis's interpretation of the old soak Captain Haddock was a twist on the childhood image I had of him in my head that was most enjoyable. With the story mainly centred around him and it really developed the character and his relationship with Tintin, played by Jamie Bell. Supported by an excellent cast it is an unmissable film!

My last thought, one which I have had for years, why are there no girls in Tintin?

Kate
xo

The Mother Land....

Back in March I made a secret trip to visit my parents, namely my mum as  it was a secret mothers day visit for her! She was so surprised and it was an amazing weekend, the weather was stunning and the food was great. On the Sunday we went for a drive around the North Antrim coast line and above are a few of my many snaps that I took. It was so beautiful that I was nearly convinced to move back. For a week after I returned to England i was trying to convince the bf to move back to Ireland with me!

If you have never been to Ireland you all should really go, it is so pretty especially where I come from on the North Antrim Coast. I shall have to do more blog posts on places to go and things to do...

Kate
xoxo

Flower Girl....

Aren't these pretty!?! I always love to have fresh flowers around the place but sometimes I just don't have the time to pop to the shops to get some. The last year I spotted some beautiful silk hydrangeas in Bedeck made by a company called SIA they are also stocked in Selfridges but at £12.50 per stem I hadn't been able to bring myself to splash out.

Then on a recent trip to Northern Ireland to visit my parents I popped in to Dunnes Stores, which is a store only in Ireland like a cheaper M&S or more expensive Primark. I always make a visit whenever I am in Ireland because I can buy clothes that none of my other friends have and it is sooooooo affordable.

While I was at the till paying for two pairs of skinny jeans and a beige mac my mum spotted these silk flowers, not quite the same quality as the SIA ones but not far off. So I bought 5 white stems and 3 green stems, each at £3.50!!! AMAZING!  They just make me smile every day!

For those in Ireland or just visiting I highly recommend making a visit, sorry to those that can't got get them, unfortunately their website isn't quite up to scratch for buying things on line. But these are too pretty not to share!

Kate
xoxo

016 Saturday Matinee

I love this film it makes me happy and sad all at the same time! It is the perfect film to watch on this wet Saturday afternoon as I am forced to stay indoors with a horrid cold. It all starts with a chance meeting between two intrepid explorers Carl and Ellie, as they grow up love blossoms, they marry and have a content life together. It is not without its up and downs but soon Carl realises that they have never been on their adventures, sadly Ellie dies and Carl ends up going it alone. He feels forced out by the big city developers and when he is about to be made to leave the home he built with Ellie he flies away...

It is a hilarious film with lots of humour aimed at adults, although my favourite joke is pure childish humour.... SQUIRRELS!

If you haven't seen this before then what is wrong with you?!? Pixar is not just for kids!!

Kate
xoxo

M.I.A.

Well I am back in the land of the living hopefully doing things that interesting enough to blog about, maybe doing a little shopping and generally getting on with my life. But I thought I would take the time to write a little bit about why I haven't blogged in such a long time... I may not have mentioned this before but to make ends meet I am a Structural Engineer, really it is more than making ends meet it is my career and something I love to do. If you stop by here to read my general life bits and bobs then you most likely don't have a clue what a structural engineer is or does. So here is my basic explanation, an Architect or Client may have an idea about how they want a building or space to look and then we get involved and make sure the whole things stands up and defies gravity, wind and the general demands made on a building.

I love my job, I love creating buildings that will still be here long after I have finished my career and hopefully long after I have left the planet. There is nothing more satisfying than leaving your mark on the planet for a good reason!

Anyway after spending 5 years at university getting a masters in engineering I then started working but that wasn't the end of my examinations. After accruing a number of years experience engineers can go on to become Chartered, meaning they are competent to design a structure on their own. In September 2011 I submitted my application for Chartership and in November I had an interview to make sure my submission was accurate and I was competent to sit the chartership exam. On Friday 13th April 2012 I sat that examination, it was the longest and shortest day of my life so far. It was a 7 hour exam which seems like such a long time but you are asked to do so much in that time that it absolutely flies by and that the end you just want 3 more hours to finish the paper properly.

I had spent such a long time working up to it that the satisfaction of it being over has been a little overwhelming and I am just so happy to be "living" again! I just have to wait now until August to find out if I passed or have to resit....

015 Saturday Matinee

OK this is a film I have been putting off watching because well I just didn't think it was going to be my thing. As a kid in the 90s I enjoyed watching wrestling on TV on a Saturday afternoon but I didn't really want to watch a film about an old washed up wrestler, that kind of has a similar appearance to triple H... look at my knowing the names of a "real" wrestler! Told you I watched it on Saturday afternoons but that was before I had a choice and it would usually be followed by Baywatch... traumatic childhood!

But this film was more than I thought it would be.... it was sweet and sensitive and even though the cover makes it look like a total guys film it really isn't. So for all you girls out there who have been putting off watching this with your other half's because you don't think it is your thing I would definitely say you should give it a go.

Micky Rourke plays the ageing wrestler "The Ram", who appears to have had a relatively successful career as a wrestler despite him living in a trailer and struggling to make ends meet now. But no one can wrestle forever?!?

Marisa Tomei as the love interest/stripper is AMAZING!! I had to go on IMDB to check out what age she is because she looked stunning! And played her character so amazingly well.

At the end of the film I had a little tear in my eye. So maybe if you haven't seen this yet you should consider a quiet night in on Valentines and rent/download the Wrestler and snuggle up on the sofa and watch this film.

Kate
xo

Week 2 Diet Update

I have just completed the second week of my 15kg in 15 week diet challenge and things are going quite well, I haven't been stepping on the scales because in the first couple of weeks I don't think it is much use worrying about numbers. Using the MyFitnessPal App to monitor my calorie intake on a daily basis has been really helpful! Today I just put together a menu plan for the week and did an online tescos shop for delivery tomorrow evening, hopefully this will save me some time in the evenings because things have been rather hectic recently.

Next week I am hoping to add some more exercise and fitness into my daily routine, what I really want is a 30min workout to do in the morning before I go to work. So after reading lots of work out reviews I have ordered some weights and a copy of Jillian Micheals 30 Day Shred. The workout is supposed to be in three levels of workouts that go through three core exercise groups... Strength, Cardio and Abs. Rather than 10 days at each level I will be aiming to do level 1 until I can keep up and then upping to level 2 and so on..... I shall keep you updated with the outcome... and maybe next week the weigh in and some progress photos?!?

Kate
xo

014 Saturday Matinee

This is no-brainer RomCom, not challenging to watch and it will never be on par with a hig brow film. However it did exactly what I wanted it to which was switch off my brain and make me feel like it is the weekend. All in all a perfect Saturday Afternoon Matinee.

As RomCom go it is no Friends With Benefits or Along Came Polly.... it just lacks the Com.... more accurately portrayed it is a....

ROMcom

Mathew McConaughey and Jennifer Garner star.... they basically only have one character type in films so you know what to expect and they don't fail. In a film were a devout bachelor attends his little brothers wedding weekend and is haunted by the ghosts of his past girlfriends. A slightly different take on the Dickens classic... A Christmas Carol.

Emma Stone as the ghost of girlfriends past is (I grant you) rather amusing... but only because usually she is so dam pretty. I am just going to glance over the type casting of Michael Douglas...

I would probably give it a 5/10 overall rating!

Kate

xo

15kg in 15 weeks

 image

I thought I would write a quick blog about my new diet.... 15kg in 15 weeks!

At the age of 27 I am hoping I will now be mature enough to lose weight in a sensible manner. Throughout my life I have battled with periods of Anorexia, at my lightest I weighed about 55kg and was an English size 6 or an American 4. Some people might think that that would be the perfect size to be, but I disagree I literally had to starve myself to be that skinny. At the moment I am 85kg and 174cm tall which is the largest size I have ever been. I am utterly terrified by dieting, there seems to be this switch in my brain the just clicks and all of a sudden I can stop eating. I don't even notice when I do it until I start thinking "I bet I can go another day without food", the whole thing becomes a competitive method of me controlling my life.

Anyway I have taken it upon myself to set a diet program which I think it achievable, I decided the best way would be to base my diet upon counting calories. I have worked out that an ideal weight for me is somewhere between 62kg and 69kg so I have aimed to lose 15kg before the summer holidays.

To help me keep account of my calorie intact I downloaded an app for my IPhone called my fitness pal, and it looks a little something like this.....

 

I am happily surprised with how easy it was to record my daily calorie intake and exercise. At the moment I have set the goal of eating approx 1200 calories a day in order to achieve my target weight. My exercise expectations are 30 minutes cardiovascular 3 times a week, which is completely achievable even with my busy schedule at the moment. It is comparable to Weight Watchers where I could have 1100 calories 6 days a week and then have a blow out day of 2000. The only difference is that this doesn't come with the easy to follow recipes! but it is FREE!!

As it doesn't come with any recipes I have been sifting through the Internet for healthy recipes with the calories already counted. Here are a few of my favourite....

1. Cook Yourself Thin
2. Delish (not all healthy recipes but does have the calories on most of them!)
3. Skinny Taste

If anyone would like to join me in this diet you can add me as a friend on Myfitnesspal app, (user kate_about_town) or if you just have any questions you can leave a comment on this post and I will get back to you.

Kate
xoxo

013 Saturday matinee

Sorry about this blog being a little late up but I have had such a hectic week with trips to Shrewsbury and London. It did mean that I had a lot of travel time to fill and not all of which could be used for work related activities, so I filled the gap with this weeks film review.... Friends With Benefits. I had high expectations of this film after my little sister sung its praises but then she also likes Mamma Mia so maybe her opinion isn't to be relied upon.

 That is why I was a little shocked that I enjoyed this film so much. Staring Mila Kunis and Justin Timberlake this RomCom follows the standard format... Girl meets boy in hilarious manner, a friendship blossoms, oh no they have fallen in love!, nope they can't be together, yep they can get together, cheesey smiles for the happy ending!

Even though there is a predictability to the story line the script, costume, sets and comedy moments are what sets this apart from the typical Hollywood RomCom. There a higher standard comedy going on, one of my favourite bits was when they are getting it on (see picture above) and JTs character (Dylan Harper) complains to  Mila kunis' character (Jamie Rellis) about feeling emasculated by their current position.

Woody Harrelson as the "Gay an slightly inappropriate colleague but it is acceptable because he is Gay" character is a complete giggle.

The romance element of the film is perfectly delivered when Dylan takes Jamie home to LA to meet his family and they enter a journey of discovery as to why exactly Dylan is the way he is when it comes to forming relationships. His Dad played by Richard Jenkins has a beautiful role as a man, father, grandfather with alzheimer's, view by others as completely crazy but providing some of the most enlightened moments in the film.

It also helps that I am huge Mila Kunis fan, she was great in the Black Swan, I love the style and attitude to life. In this film I just want her Wardrobe!

012 Saturday Matinee

 

 

For any of you that have seen Hangover I this film is true to form as expected inappropriate hilariousness. For those you that have never seen the first film then don't worry it is such a simple film concept that you don't need to have watched the first film to understand what the hell is going on.
Firstly this film is not really deserved of the title matinee... it is R.U.D.E.!!!! But I don't have highbrow sense of humour in fact most witty intellectual jokes pass right over my head, this kind of toilet humour I totally get. The film gently pushes the boundaries of social acceptability somewhat similar to how I imagine the Carry On Films may have done back in the day.

For the first time ever  I don't want to give away any of the plot line what so ever (this is going to make for a short review!) There are some key moments that I want to describe in single phrases or words though like.....

monkey, use of bottle, lady boy, pig, Vietcong execution photo

the end...

Kate
xoxo

Oh B.Hive......

I saw an article in February's edition of the Living etc Magazine as I was quickly carrying out the first pre-browse of the magazine. The reason it caught my eye because it was something that was in Bristol!! Ever since Living Etc adopted their London Directories it has felt like the rest of the UK has become some what isolated for the tender interiors magazine. But this article did mention Bristol so I read on... the next thing I noticed was women only! Now I work all day every day in an office full of smelly men and when I am not stuck in the office I am at meetings with them or on a building site being harassed by men... so needless to say I was interested in the members only club in the article. Hee Hee! This post so far makes me sound like some kind of high class hooker, I am afraid that isn't quite the case I am simply a structural engineer working in the male dominated construction industry.

Anyways the article.....

 

So I googled this club in the hope it was somewhere I could go to with my girlfriends for endless pampering sessions. But I was wrong, quite wrong! It is an even more unusual concept called B.Hive, with venues in London, Manchester and Bristol that provide tastefully decorated and styled corporate facilities for their female members to use to conduct business. Although I am forced to work in the boy dominated office with its blank walls, terrible coffee and hard lines I dream of being able to work in a relaxing stress free environment where my productivity has the constant support of quality coffee on drip feed, reliable Internet and communication facilities.

I think if this blogging was a profession and not just my hobby it would be the ideal place to go to separate work from home and make sure I crawled out of my PJ's every day, especially with their iMAC facilities for making movies for youtube. The £30 monthly fee is really great value considering the cost of  a good Internet tariff and daily coffees from Starbucks that would be required if I worked from home.

Other professions that might like the idea of this facility....insurance loss adjusters, recruitment consultants, independent financial advisers... if I ever get round to setting up my own design consultancy it would be a great place to use as a small but developing company.

What do you guys think?

You can find more information on their website here... bhive

Bye Bye Christmas :-(

I just thought I would quickly post a couple of Christmas pictures while I slowly and very sadly dismantle my Christmas tree....



Fare thee well christmas tree!




The yummy Christmas cake I made... Thanks Delia!!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone