Fan Art, Friends and Cars

We lost our second cat at the start of this week.

It seems so long ago already as I've been back to London since then and met up with a few friends.

It was only in April that Smudge was taken from us unexpectedly. He was hit by a car sadly, such a horrible way to go.

But Kittie, she was getting on a bit so we knew it was coming soon.

Mum said she was purring right up until the end. Heartbreaking :(

 

Sorry to start this post off with a bit of a downer, but just look at how beautiful she was.

She was always there for a cuddle when I was growing up. Sixteen years of my childhood.

Anyways, I am now back at home again after a whirlwind few days at work, just so I get to see mum and Neil before they go back to Dubai.

I've seen a couple of friends already and have a couple more to go as well as my grandparents. Just trying to relax mainly as I haven't taken any holiday in quite a long time.

I went bowling last Saturday with a friend from college I hadn't seen in 2 years. Saw another friend from college for dinner after work one day.

I also saw one of my best friends yesterday and she's obsessed with gaming and tumblr and whatnot. So now that I've come back from seeing her I have a new (old but returned) love for tumblr again.

We looked at a lot of fan art yesterday (mainly for Fallout 4 as she loves it) and it's made me want to start sketching again.

I miss it so much.

I used to do it all the time. I mean I worked my butt off at GCSE and got an A*.

I was so proud.

And then college came along and my art class got dropped and photography took over my world. If only I'd have continued drawing.

There may be a few dodgy sketches to come before I can get back into the swing of things, but I really am hoping to start up again if I can find the time.

I've also been trying to get a car as I suddenly got the urge to drive (plus Adeel's insurance is super expensive since his accident)! I've put a deposit down and test drove it, so I should be picking it up Tuesday if all goes smoothly.

Fingers crossed! (I'm sure I'll post pictures once it's all official, got to drive it back to London on Wednesday yet - scary!)

And on another note, as this is an arty post, I still haven't thought of a name for my bloody novel.

At this rate it never will have a name. Why is this bit harder than the actual writing?

Ah, oh well. I've got a few more days here and then I'm back to normality.

Wish me luck.

What I Want To Do In The Next 6 Months

I just sat opposite a man on the tube who had the hairiest chest and, equally, hairy mole right on his chin. I honestly thought he had a goatee at first... Whoops.

Anyways, as my countdown app kindly reminded me this morning, it's just six months to Christmas (as I write this post) and that brings me to look back on my resolutions from January. 

I haven't quite achieved many of them as of yet, but I've created another similar list of goals in this post of what I would like to have achieved in the next 6 months.

I don't know how much I can actually accomplish with my ever dwindling motivation, but maybe this will get my butt into gear. So here goes:

1. To visit home/friends/my dad more

2. To book my trip to Venice

3. To buy a sketch book and start drawing again

4. To finish the second draft of my novel

5. To travel more, even if just in England

6. To do a writing retreat and lock myself in a hotel away from home and get a substantial amount of writing done

7. To find more inspiration. Create mood boards if I have to in order for my motivation to return

8. To meet some more of Adeel's family

9. And to equally not worry so much about it and what people think

10. To celebrate Adeel's new job (when he gets one)

11. To donate money and the rest of my unwanted clothes to charity

12. To have a clear out and a tidy up of my room

13. To take more photos in photo booths or more photos in general

14. To decide when I want to return to Dubai and visit my mum and Neil

15. To run 96 more miles

16. To increase the percentage of my wages going in to my pension

17. To stop buying cheap clothes that always seem to fray or break easily, buy something expensive and durable

18. To find a new home, one that we can start calling our own with new furniture and everything

19. To give away or sell all my old textbooks

20. To spend more time offline



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The Final Paris Adventure

Minus the other two, Yasmin and I headed off early to Montmartre to see the Sacre Coeur, bags packed and left in the trusty hands of our check-in receptionists (Yasmin had been the previous day - God knows what I was doing - but we wanted to buy everyone French novelty gifts!).

With the sky a tremendous blue and the sun shining down on us for the first time in our four days, we soaked it all up not wanting to waste a second of the beautiful March day. We headed around all of the typical touristy shops and stalls, finding a little cobbled square full of boutique cafes and antiques, spending our Euros as we went on plenty of souvenirs, chocolates and pastel coloured macaroons!

We came across the most beautiful chocolatier - stunning architectural French buildings were carved into slabs of chocolate and put on display behind glass cases, taking our breath away.

Before we wound our way back to the hotel to pick up our luggage for our return journey home, we perched ourselves on a rustic bench beneath the shadows of an overhanging tree up on the hillside, the Sacre Coeur above us, surveying the hustle and bustle of Paris in all of her beauty below us.

What a perfect way to end our trip and a great gift to myself for my twenty first birthday for the following day!

Although I was disappointed in myself for not being able to explore as freely as I would have liked or in being comfortable abroad in myself, I really did enjoy my time there and it was definitely a stepping stone to get my confidence up with travelling and facing my many fears (I mean since this time last year I have been to Dubai for two weeks with a combined time of 14 hours on a plane as well as doing many days/weekends out of my comfort zone, including a recent weekend to Oxford for my 22nd birthday! Although I'm happy to report that that wasn't so out of my comfort zone and I am slowly conquering my fears once and for all. Can't wait to bring you the posts on my time in Oxford!❤)

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Walking Through Paris

On our third and final full day we met up with my other couple of friends that had joined us the evening before and tried another cafe, talking through our plans for the day ahead of us. I vaguely remember deciding on going to some sort of chocolate museum, walking all of the way there and not even going in (think it looked small and rubbish) and then settling for another cafe making more decisions for our day.

We then did a lot more walking all the way to the Pont des Arts, otherwise known as the lock bridge, and took the obligatory photos.

Think this was the closest I got to the Eiffel Tower

We then wandered over to the Louvre and joined the massive queue, but then thought better of it and meandered off down towards Champs-Élysées instead, taking more pictures as we went.

Apologies for the world's crappest photo of the Arc de Triomphe 

We stopped for food again and then me and Yasmin decided to head back, tired from all of our walking. The others headed on as they wouldn't have any time in the morning before their train.

Shameless Paris selfie

My new favourite mug

Later in the evening we all ordered pizza, played numerous games (including my beloved Uno) and the others drank some cheap wine which was such a nice way to finish off a long day and our few days together!

The others were leaving early the next morning so we bid our farewells and with a few hours to kill the next morning, we packed in preparation and settled in for our final sleep in the hotel

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Exploring Paris

Although the hotel wasn't perfect, we did wake up to a pretty beautiful view - the balcony, the entwining railing, the curtain blowing in the morning breeze. Perfect.

We got ready and made our first trip on the metro (which is so much more confusing than the tube!), heading straight for the Notre Dame.

We arrived to a snake-like queue and after stopping to take a dozen photos, eagerly joined it in order to get a peek inside. However, I got a bit panicky (eugh, only I could get panicky and wimp out of exploring to my little heart's content) and decided I'd take a walk around the Notre Dame as Yasmin went inside. I got to oggling the crepe and waffle stalls as well as all the cheesy souvenir shops. I stopped off to buy myself the traditional tourist-y t-shirt and a couple of presents for people back home!

When I met up with Yasmin again, not long after, we headed next to the Pantheon, through winding cobbled streets and an abundance of beautiful old shops, convinced we could see our first glimpse of the Eiffel Tower in the distance.

The Pantheon itself is stunning inside and out, filled with long passageways, mosaic high-ceilings and long floors with a handful of pillars and statues to keep you entertained. We even went down to the chilling tombs where our voices echoed and our footsteps slapped loudly against the stone floor.

After our morning adventure we went back to the hotel to have a rest - meeting up with a couple more friends later in the afternoon. Once they had settled in we went to a little cafe and ordered tea like the civilised Brits that we are and had a good old natter.

Later on, the others went to the Eiffel Tower - I chickened out again, saying I was too tired. I honestly can't remember what I did instead, but I wish I had had the courage to go and see the Eiffel Tower! They even stopped off for dinner and had snails!

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