Fun at Focus Day

I had a bit of a change from the norm today. A welcome break from my new full time status and an all round brilliant one, at that.

I awoke to a text from my old English teacher the other day, asking if I would like to go back to school to assist with Focus Day. I thought about my answer for all of about five seconds, before promising to get in touch with her, as soon as I had asked for the morning off work.

As mentioned in my previous post, I have a new job. So I felt a little bit cheeky asking for time off but they were fine about it, on the condition that I made the time up.

I arrived to a reserved visitors parking space but I didn't take a photo to treasure the memory (boo). It's always nice to pop in (very) occasionally and say hi to the teachers that you actually liked and blank out the awful bits of school. Media and English were where I hung out, so I was happy to be hanging out there.

I thought Focus Day was fun, as a teenager but it's even better when you're a grown-up and those dreams of working  and doing what you love have come true (well, some of them). I gave the group of lovely Year 10's a little back story about myself, as I was sitting exactly where they were six years ago.

Their task for the day was to do the coverage of Focus Day all around the school. So, we got our journalistic hats on and got to it. We covered the various bits and bobs going on around school, which included Road Safety, a theatre group and an Art activity about the effects of alcohol on the body.


The group were super enthusiastic, probably helped by having reporters' notebooks and Media passes. It was an excellent few hours that I got to spend with them, sniffing out stories of the day's activities and making them sound interesting. Hopefully, the magazine will be printed and distributed at the end of term. Great start for their portfolios.

Ready to access all areas

All they needed now were the stories

I saw some brilliant work today and hope that these young people are encouraged and inspired consistently enough to see them achieve their full potential. Soppy, I know but they were a fab bunch. Can't wait to get my copy of  'Eye On Focus Day'.

Working hard

Much love,

Melly...xoxo

P.S. A post of my outfit on the day is on the way. Be sure to check back in.

Recipe for a Fabulous Saturday

This post is long overdue. But it's worth it, promise.

Saturdays. I adore them. And following on from the previous post, I promised to tell you all about my last fabulous Saturday.

Ingredients for a fabulous Saturday

• One fabulous friend. Mine on this particular day was Lisa. I recommend that everyone has a Lisa. 
• Sunshine - we got plenty of it on this day. Happy :) 
• One fabulous outfit. Refer to previous post - Outfit Post
• One vintage fair. On this particular day it was Birmingham Vintage Fair at the Custard Factory, Digbeth.
• Fabulous food. We checked out a place called Yumm. It's amazing!
• One gig. We went to see Friends. Pretty damn cool five piece from Brooklyn, New York 

Anyway, we headed off to the Birmingham Vintage Fair, which started at about 12 and it did not disappoint. For £1 entry, we were whisked into The Old Library, a beautiful building which was packed wall to wall with some beautiful vintage items. 

The beautiful Old Library

No junk here

The worst thing about vintage fairs what that some stuff really can be old rubbish. But that was not the case here. There were also some fabulous stalls for kitsch and vintage-style accessories. My favourite buy of the day were these beautiful Barbie earrings from The Prettiest Things. I also wore them to the gig later on.

I also bought 3 beautiful scarves for about £2 each. Two of them aren't very big, sort of like glorified hankies, so I've taken to wearing them in my hair as big bows. Gorgeous!

I heart these earrings

And now on to the gig! I don't go to gigs very often and really wish that I did. Sometimes, I simply can't make it and other times, I just forget to look. Anyway, I heard Friends when I was out shopping, Shazam-ed them to find out who they were and was immediately hooked.

So, Lisa and I went along for a boogie. They're cover of old school hit 'My Boo' is so good. And they're super funky. I can definitely hear some 80's influence, so I knew I was on to a winner with these guys.

Lead vocalist Samantha Urbani has the coolest dress sense. She wore a sparkly gold number, on the night. And I have serious top knot envy over her hair. Check out a video of them from the night. I don't own the footage, as all the images I captured were terrible.

Their support act was a hot new duo called AlunaGeorge. Had never heard of them before I went but their music is so good. They make me feel cool. Aluna Francis has got serious moves (and the longest legs ever). I also love gigs that aren't overpacked. Plenty of room for dancing!

Feeling brave with my outfit choice. T-shirt - Forever 21, Florida, Adidas Originals, laddered tights, coral blazer - New Look, shorts (if you can see them) - New Look (they used to be jeans).

About to cut some shapes



All in all, it was a pretty fab day. And the sun made an appearance. Here's to many more fab Saturdays. More shopping, more food, more laughs, and more gigs (I'll try, promise).

Much love,

Melly

xoxo

Newness!

Apologies in advance that this blog is a bit of a ramble and has no photos (boo).

It's all change here, in Melly's World.

As finishing my degree in English and Creative Writing loomed, I had started to worry that beyond summer, I would be a part of the frighteningly high statistic of 18-24's who had no job.

So, I started to Google around about how to erm, move on with my life.

The most important question I had to ask myself was 'what do I want to do?'

When I was 3, I decided that I wanted to be a teacher and that was my dream until the age of 18. Well, for anybody who has ever had a dream, you'll know that the only thing scarier than not achieving your dream is having no dream at all.

All I knew was this: I love to write. And since the teaching dream died, I'd thought of how I was going to acquire a job where I could do what I loved all of the time.

Teaching would have been the easy option. But who wants easy?

A conversation with a friend of mine scared me into action. On surface, they're all passion. Went to university to a degree in the subject that they were passionate about. Then fell into a job that they weren't too bothered about. And now, moving into their late 20's, sitting in their reclining armchair, I hear this statement from them, "You know, I thought I'd have it all sorted by 28."

Wow. That was enough to make my mind up for me. I vowed to myself that I would never apply for a job that I wasn't interested in, let alone accept one.

Anyway, on to the exciting part. My humble part time job as at the Students' Union was coming to an end. So I set about making my next step.

During Easter, in a state of sheer panic that I was going to be a bum when I left uni, I contacted a local copywriter and asked for advice. Miraculously, she went one step further and asked me if I wanted to meet for coffee. To cut a long (which would probably only be exciting to me) story short, we met and it was fabulous.

Anyway, I now have a full time job as Online Content Writer with T H Baker and it's the best! Also a massive challenge, but I feel like my skills and passion are being put to good use. Plus, the team are all fairly young and I get on with everyone.

More updates on the musings of my day job, coming soon.

Much love,

Melly xoxo

New Shoes: Fashion for Charity

Ladies! Fashion. You can't escape it. And you know what's even more exciting than just fashion?

That's a very good answer...but it's actually fashion for a great cause.

No, I'm not just referring to your vintage section in your local charity shop - although it is fab and I myself have found some absolute gems there, I'm actually talking about New Shoes. It's an amazing night of fashion, food, entertainment and it's all for an amazing cause. 

All the information you need to know about New Shoes, including  ticket hotline

In July of this year, in the West Midlands (Netherton, near Dudley) to be precise, a new home is being opened for girls and women with life-controlling issues (read: addictions, victims of trafficking etc) to get them back on track, restore their dignity, show them their worth and have them experience the amazing love of God and find purpose in their lives. 

As you can imagine, an amazing project like that cannot be kick started without funding and seeing as XS is a charity, and a part of Champions Church, every penny from this event is being ploughed into making this happen, so we can start seeing lives changed. 

Not blown away yet? Then check out the amazing building that it's being held in. 

Can you believe that this is a church?

The photo is only where the catwalk is. Wait until you see the rest. Did I mention that there are beauty treatments galore and the option to buy VIP tickets which includes cocktails,  a photograph, access to the VIP lounge and much more? I knew you'd be impressed. 

If you need anymore information, leave a comment or get in touch with me directly - here. 

Let's do something great and have an amazing night together. What else are you going to do on a Friday night?

Oh and did I mention the handsome men who'll be waiting on us all night? Minor detail. 

Much love, 

Melly...xoxo

P.S. This one is only for the ladies but fellas, hang in there, there's always plenty going on for you guys. Check it out here.