Working Weekends.

I have been in full time employment for 6 years. For 5 of those, I've worked Monday to Friday (albeit not 9-5, that would be a total dream. More like 7-4 or 6-3 or overnight or....... The glamorous life of a Visual Merchandiser). I love my weekends. I love being able to wake up of my own accord on Saturdays and Sundays and think, should I spend my day at a museum/gallery/park/market? If so, which one?! Or, should I just stay in bed watching Netflix and drinking tea. I like to be able to make that choice.

The only time I enjoy working weekends is when I get a call much like the following..."Elouise, what's your availability for next weekend? You're needed in our *insert new city here* store."

This is exactly what happened a couple of weeks ago when I got to work in our Nuremberg store. I've been to Germany a fair few times, I love Berlin and have friends there which always makes visiting fun, I've gone on day trips to the Christmas market in Aachen a few times which just adds to the magical feeling of my favourite season and I did a store opening in Munich which wasn't my favourite place I've visited (read: I didn't enjoy it there at all!) but a pal who moved there is very determined to change my mind with a return visit.

However, back to Nuremberg. I totally loved it there! This was largely due to fantastic weather and working late shifts which meant we were able to have a wonder round the city during the day. I rarity while working away.

There were churches everywhere. And they were huge! You literally couldn't walk down a street without a vast, Gothic piece of architecture looming. The city is also all within castle walls which gave the city an almost toy town feel. The castle itself is at the top of the hill and you can wonder round the grounds. The castle isn't like English castles, ruins amid plush greenery. Think Game of Thrones. I was in my element. The proportions of the castle were crazy, huge doors, tiny windows. This all added to the feeling that you weren't in a real place, more like walking round a film set.

All in all, a wonderful weekend spent exploring a new city. Definitely somewhere I want to return to.

By Elouise Wolf

Long Weekends.

I was mega happy to see the back of last year. It was, quite frankly, shit. 2015 was going to be my year, it was going to be excellent. And then February came with the news of possible redundancy and the fact that my house was being knocked down. Both these pieces of news came in the same week, thanks for that world!

Anyway, happy to say that things have turned out for the better. I kept my job which was a huge weight off my shoulders and my housemates and I found the most beautiful flat that I never want to leave. So while everything turned out ok, it was a very testing couple of months. Luckily, everything was sorted before my long weekend in Copenhagen over the Easter weekend, I used this as an excuse to celebrate.

I absolutely love Copenhagen. I nearly moved there a few years ago for work but it fell through due to not being able to find anywhere to live. It's been 2 years since I've been! Time flies. 

It was a total perfect weekend of just walking, drinking coffee, drinking a lot of beer (a whole lot!), catching up with some very dear friends, lying on the harbour, photographs, dancing in Jolene  in the meat packing district until the small hours of the morning and eating the most delicious pizza. I gave it up for Lent, words can't describe how happy I was.

In Copenhagen, like a lot of similar cities, nothing opens on a Sunday and I mean nothing! So don't go thinking you'll have a full weekend of shopping or anything like that. Be prepared for a lot of walking. The city is pretty much flat though and so beautiful that you'll soon forget that everything is closed due to the amount of photography opportunities you'll have.

Have you been on any good trips recently?

Resolutions.

So a couple of weeks ago, I wrote about it being the New Year and resolutions and such. This year, I am pretty determined to make them last and I am happy to say that today I ran the Cancer Research Winter 10k. Now, I'm not going to lie, getting there was difficult. First, my running partner bailed on me last night. Then, when my alarm went off at 7am this morning, the weather sounded absolutely horrific but that might have something to do with the fact my room only has single glazing, it always sounds worse than it is.

After the major obstacles of the morning (breakfast, getting dressed, etc. It was 7am on a Sunday, HUGE obstacles) my housemate and I trotted along into Central. We said our goodbyes as my housemate had come for moral support and I made my way to the starting line. We had a mandatory warm up which was very awkward as a lot of the warm ups were to be done with a partner and I was alone. And then things got emotional. The guy leading the warm up asked everyone to put up their hand if they knew someone who had been affected by cancer. Pretty much everyone, and I mean everyone, put up their hand. Then he asked people to keep their hands up if they had been affected themselves by cancer. Hands went down but a lot remained. Then, he asked for people to keep their hands up if they were still undergoing treatment for cancer. I wasn't really prepared for how many hands stayed up and needless to say I pretty much lost it. It then hit me, my obstacles of the morning were nothing compared to those of the brave people I was surrounded by.

I'd love to say the run was a total breeze but if I'm being honest, I definitely didn't train enough for it. It was a really fun course with snow areas and passing major monuments of London. The polar bears which high-fived you as you ran were also a massive help. Cheers pals. At this very moment, I don't know my time but as I was running, my time went out the window and I just wanted to be able to run the whole way, supporting a truly amazing cause. And yes, I did run the whole thing.

You can still donate to Cancer Research by clicking here

(Quite possibly the most horrific photo of me ever but look how happy I am that I've finished! And yes, that is a Double Decker in my hand that Holly pretty much threw at me as I crossed the finish line, best housemate ever!)

The Naked Palette.

I am literally the worst person ever when it comes to make up. After spending years having to apply it with a trowel for dance shows, I feel I look either too natural (read: bare faced) or in drag. There's no happy medium. I've also worn pretty much the same make up since I was about 14, black eye-liner, mascara and the palest powder going. (When I was about 16 I started to experiment with red eye shadow. I thought I looked super cool until a friend from college asked if I'd developed a crack habit over the summer holidays. I still have the offending eye shadow but it's now saved for Halloween and Halloween only!)

Then for Christmas last year, my dear uncle bought me a gift that has changed my make up bag for the better!

The Naked Palette from Urban Decay has become something I can't live without. 12 gorgeous shades going from a nude to a glittery black, there's something for everyone in this palette. There's also a difference in finishes with matte, shimmer and glitter shadows. It's safe to say I've fallen in love with it. For during the day, putting one of the nudes on before my eye-liner just makes me feel a lot more 'done.' And with the fantastic brush that comes with it, creating a superb smokey eye for an evening out is easy as pie.

I still may not be a make up master, but with this palette, as least I can fake it.

GUY BOURDIN: IMAGE MAKER

Had a perfect London afternoon yesterday and was treated by the beautiful Rachel to spend a couple of hours at the Guy Bourdin exhibition at Somerset House.

Guy Bourdin: Image Maker is a collection of over 100 photographs spanning a photography career of over 40 years. Included was the "Walking Legs" series which is a campaign commissioned by Charles Jourdan that has never been shown in it's entirety. Accompanying the series was an unseen fashion film of his road-trip around the UK in 1979.

The exhibition was amazing and I'm always drawn to people's work that is the total opposite of what I do. All photography work I have ever done is black and white and usually quite natural shots. I loved the use of colour throughout Bourdin's work and the whole staged and theatrical feel of it all. It's the same reason I love the work of David LaChapelle and Tim Walker.

Throughout the exhibition, there were a few films being shown including a room with 4 screens set up to make you feel truly immersed in the footage. Paintings and rough sketches were also included throughout and anyone who knows me will appreciate how excited I got at the polaroid series (I did a project of my own in uni called "The Polaroid Project").

We also popped in to "Chris Stein/Negative: Me, Blondie, and The Advent of Punk" which was incredible. There were some amazing photographs with some excellent stories and explanations attached but going on a Saturday lunchtime probably wasn't the best time for this one. I wanted to read everything but being so busy, I felt like I was constantly in the way. I will definitely be heading back for this one but may think a bit more carefully about what time I head down.

As always, a outfit snap was a must. Especially when you have THE BEST BACKGROUND EVER!

(Leather Jacket - Schott, Duster Coat - Urban Outfitters, T-Shirt - an old The Cure one I bought when I saw them in 2004, Jeans - Topshop, Boots - Office, Bag - Topshop)

Guy Bourdin: Image Maker is on until 15th March 2015 - entrance fee £9.00

Chris Stein/Negative: Me, Blondie, and The Advent of Punk is on until 25th January 2015 - free

New Year.

So 2015 is upon us, something which makes me incredibly happy. 2014 wasn't the best for a number of reasons and come December, I was counting down the days for the year to be over. I really don't like wishing time away.

Like most people, I have been thinking about resolutions and what I want to achieve/experience this year. While this is nothing new, I feel like I've literally hit the ground running.

G E T  F I T - when I lived in Leeds, I was at the gym around 4 times a week. I loved it. Since moving to London, I've indulged too much in my other love. Pizza. It doesn't help that to move gyms, my membership would increase to £125 per month! So I thought, I can sit around eating pizza or I can get moving. I've since signed up to do a 10K in a couple of weeks and the Hackney Half in May. Fingers crossed I'll complete it this time in under 2 hours!

T R A V E L - To be fair, I don't do too badly for travelling but I feel there is always room for improvement. I have flights booked for the Easter weekend to visit friends in Copenhagen and then possible trips to Vienna and Berlin and that's before a summer holiday and anything work throws my way!

E X P E R I E N C E - Again, not doing too badly with this one. I have tickets for 4 pretty big gigs coming up, an evening at the theatre booked and plans in motion for a festival in the summer. I feel like this is the easiest one as I do a lot in my spare time but sometimes, it feels a bit same old same old. I'm going to make a point of looking for events that are happening in places I wouldn't usually venture too and make sure I take full advantage of everything London has to offer, especially in the summer.

B E  H A P P Y - I feel like this one is massively generic but a lot of last year I was doing things that I felt I should be doing rather than doing things because I wanted to. This will not be happening anymore. If I don't like something or it doesn't do it for me, it can do one.

B L O G - This is the only one I feel I have been slacking on so far. Seeing as it's already the 14th and I'm writing a new year blog post. Ooops. I WILL BE MORE 'ON IT' THIS YEAR. I promise.

What are your new year resolutions and aims?