Sun, Water and Family Time

So I've just had a fabulously relaxing holiday and I'm not yet out of the I'm-so-chilled-I-just-need-to-lie-by-the-beach stage after a break away.

I miss it so much already. I can't fault a week away from my home with sun and a pool. As much as I love where I live and the people, time away is valuable. It's time to just relax without the internet, without stress and without thinking about stresses to come. One of my favourite things is turning up somewhere hot and being dressed a little too English-weather-ly, changing into swimming gear and getting in a pool and that's exactly what I did. I can't tell you how good it felt. I read a couple of books, listened to new and amazing albums and sunbathed to my heart's content as the weather was fab. Laaaaarvely. More importantly I ate until I wanted to stop. For me, that's the dream. I ate oh so much. This past year has been a hectic one for all of my family and so it was nice to have time together: sit by the pool together; eat together; be together.

On holiday I didn't think about college or university and because once I think of an idea about my blog, my mind will start writing it and I'll get very stressed, I barely thought about blog content. However, I also get randomly inspired, which I don't mind one bit. One series I have, A Cynical Romantic Sees Love very much so relies on a spontaneous moment that has caught my eye and made me smile and kept my eyes focused (in a not-so-creepy way) on the moment. Sometimes I get very stressed because they're my favourite posts to write but because I wasn't thinking about it, I saw one - and possibly two - moments that I will be publishing soon. I'm super excited about this because I love these moments so much. It actually taught me to not stress about finding one of these perfect moments because they will come along!

Although I've got that "ugh I'm back home" feeling, I'm also so refreshed and enjoying summer and my thoughts and plans for my blog have excited me, so, for now, I look forward to the next break with the family!

Bubbles & New Books,

The Girl in the Moonlight.

Les Miserables

I love musicals. I love Les Mis. I love Carrie Hope Fletcher. So, naturally seeing the production of Les Miserables at the theatre was one of my favourite ideas.

The buzz of London is one of the best things. I also associate a lot of the excitement with the shows that are on: Wicked, Grease, Billy Elliot. I would go to the theatre every day if I could and see musicals that I've seen a million times before because I love them oh so much. Most iconic shows, I've seen but other than the recent film, I'd never seen Les Mis. As I loved the film and one of my favourite people (Carrie Hope Fletcher) stars in it, it really only made sense to go and see it.


It is one of those classic "I knew I was going to be blown away" moments but I didn't know how much I would cry. As soon as it started I was sucked into the story. I love those moments: where something that's not really happening becomes completely real for a while. Daniel Koek, the man who plays Jean Valjean evoked my emotions from the very start. It was his voice. It sent shivers down my spine. It was also the passion he depicted when he sung that made my eyes moist.

The whole cast was that kind of fantastic that makes you elongate every syllable. The young Cosette broke my heart with her sweet voice, as did Fantine with her angelic voice. The older Cosette was mesmerising; Javert was spot on; Marius was everything you'd ever want. The boy who played Gavroche was heartbreakingly perfect. The students were also fabulous. The whole thing was a dream.

One of my favourite parts in the film is when, after The Bishop of Digne offers Jean Valjean a place to eat, a place to be warm and Jean Valjean steals from him, and the police soon catch him, The Bishop lies to save Valjean. I have never watched the film without crying like a toddler at this part. It gets me because of his goodness and because it's the start of Jean Valjean finding strength to become an amazing man. Therefore, I must write about how utterly emotional I was watching this part in the theatre. I was a mess. The Bishop of Digne was flawless.

Now onto Carrie. She plays the older Eponine in the production. It's genuinely quite difficult for me to attempt to put how amazing she was into words and although nothing will justify it, I can try. When it was the scene that I knew Carrie would be in, my eyes were darting around until I saw her. When she was on stage, she was all I was watching (I am a huge fan). I'd only ever, before that day really seen her sing and, well, speak. That day I saw her act and she was bloomin' great. I believed every word she said and I felt her lingering gazes at Marius and it was just perfect. When she sung On My Own, for a moment I took a look at the whole theatre focused on the person who I had watched on YouTube and watched her dream come true. After having appreciated her talent for so long, I was overwhelmed with emotion. The highlight was her singing On My Own and it brought me to tears. She is the perfect Eponine. It must also be mentioned that when she came out at the end to bow as I whooped my heart away, I, of course, felt my eyes dampen with a little fall of happiness. She was with her theatre family and she clearly appreciated everything. Like the fangirl I am, I was so proud.

It is such an amazing production and I had the most wonderful time.

Castles & Clouds,

The Girl in the Moonlight.

I Heart Lewis Mokler

I want to make an "I heart Lewis Mokler" T-shirt and wear I for the rest of forever.

Imagine warm honey, soft caramel and a hot chocolate and then multiply that by infinity and add sprinkles and grated white chocolate. Picture a slightly humid day but then vision yourself taking that first lick of an ice-cream and feel the comfort in that. Now, it's the coldest day and you're finally under a blanket, marshmallows and melted chocolate at the ready. Flash to this: you're lonely and it's raining but then your best friend cheers you up with a good movie and sweets. That's the only way I can describe Lewis Mokler's voice: warm, soothing, sweet, but also with something underneath it all that you can't quite name, something that's a beautiful mystery.

Lewis Mokler has a YouTube channel with some of his music on and you should check that out here. This is how I found out about him and it's one of my favourite moves I've ever made. As soon as I found it I went straight to iTunes to make sure I could listen to his voice at any moment during the day. I couldn't have a favourite song but Sucking Lemons, Simple, Nutella and Eve are my most played.

Watching Lewis perform live is magical. I'm literally wonderstruck and it's a dream of mine to see him live. It's how effortless his talent is, how happy he is performing and how his voice is flawless that makes me excited to join him one day while I stare, mesmerised. Equally, when he performs his track acoustically I'm transported to the best place anyone could dream of.

I really appreciate his music. He's a songwriter so when he's performing his songs his understanding of it is clear because he wrote it and the joy that brings me is oh so high. His lyrics are meaningful and where, sometimes that feels rare, it makes his music all the more pleasing and I always find his songs are stuck in my head and heart. I really love his talent.

I have spent many hours of the sunny days this summer in my garden listening to nothing but his tunes as well as cold days with my speakers and his music. If you look up the definition of perfection, "Lewis Mokler" should be the description. I can't wait to one day see him live because I can't wait to soak up his talent.

Umbrellas & Nutella,

The Girl in the Moonlight.

P.s. He makes my heart flutter. He (metaphorically) keeps me warm in the winter cold. I loves him.

Check out the lyrics to my song Permanent Rough Patch HERE.

Permanent Rough Patch

Verse 1
Quick, shut the door,
It's just the start of another war,
Cry quietly, be brave,
The storm will stop but you will hear the rain,

Verse 2
Footsteps, so silent,
Screams that never promise the end,
"It's all your fault",
Don't listen, I promise it's not,

Breakdown
Over and over again,
It's been 6 months, what did you expect?

Chorus
Within seconds everything turned black,
The joker once there, but then the devil's back,
They're shouting, blaming you for that,
Stuck in a permanent rough patch,

Verse 3
Monday, they start again,
Smiles all round, but you're not content,
A family where egg shells,
Are all they know,

Verse 4
She promised changed,
"He'll stop, I swear that he will one day",
You're so tired,
You've lost all of your fire,

Breakdown
In 6 months it will happen again,
Who's to blame, I bet you can guess,

Chorus
Within seconds everything turned black,
The joker once there, but then the devil's back,
They're shouting, blaming you for that,
Stuck in a permanent rough-

Middle 8
I'm sick of always being to blame,
And that no matter what it always ends the same,
Tell him I can't do this,
I can't do this,

End
Within seconds everything turned black,
The joker once there, but then the devil's back,
They're shouting, blaming you for that,
Stuck in a permanent rough patch.

A Summer Break and a Happier Mind

This summer holiday has been a small saviour for me and, even if I do say so myself, it has been greatly deserved.

It was getting to the end of the year at college and I didn't feel like I was functioning right. I was tired all of the time, I was stressed and relieved when I was able to go home. All of this did not give me any kind of positive mind-set. Therefore I was counting down the days obsessively until the end of the year (about four weeks towards the end). I see I'm not painting a good picture of college but I felt drained, but I'm sure it will be worth it... In the end *shivers*.

I've never appreciated a break more than this year. I'm sleeping a full night's sleep, drifting off easily because I've got nothing to worry about and waking up with happiness: another day of something good. I can chill out with my friends or have a lazy day and go out in the evenings without thinking about homework or coursework or revision. And heck it feels guuuuurd (that good I'd start a sentence with "and").

One day in the summer I got up, read a few chapters of a book, got ready for the day, saw a friend, watched a movie, sunbathed and saw another friend and do you know why that's fab? It's fab because I'm doing lots in a day because I want to. I'm not being forced to go to a place that's causing me too much stress for a day or do a presentation that causes me to want to cry (not that I'm bitter or anything).

So far I am having the best summer. You know when people talk about being refreshed after a mini break or epiphany... or deciding to become a naturist? Well, I've had that (whilst being clothed). I feel so so so refreshed and new and my mind feels free. It's unbelievable what a break can do for you.

I just feel positive. I feel happy and motivated and excited about plans I'm making for my days in summer as well as my future plans. That feels good. It should be known that I actually, underneath all the stress and occasional tears (and when they come, there are lots of tears), I actually like college but this summer, this break for all of the stress has been amazing.

I'm now off to eat five pots of jelly, arrange a cinema trip and meet a friend to eat chocolate. Perfection? I'd say it's pretty close.

Video Games & Milkshake,

The Girl in the Moonlight.

With Love - Christina Grimmie

28th July:
I'm writing this just under a week before With Love, Christina Grimmie's second album is to be released and I can't express how super excited I am. Christina's first album Find Me is absolutely fabbity fab (I'm listening to it right now and my favourite track from it changes every time I listen to it, it's that good - right now, it's Counting!) and now, waiting for With Love... I'm ready to hear its awesomeness.

1st August:
Okay, so I've just woken up and got straight onto YouTube to see Christina's live chat and well... FANGIRL TIME. It's so exciting to see Christina so excited about her original songs and I sat in awe watching the live chat. From the snippets, I think The One I Crave and the bonus track [My Anthem] are my favourites but then I think of Tell My Mama and With Love and, well, every other track on the album and I don't know. I'm so psyched and ready for With Love to be on my iPod!

6th August:
The day has come.
The DAY HAS COME.
Sings a tune from the roof top (metaphorically).
So, I'm sat waiting....
And...
It's downloaded!
To be continued...

I've been listening to With Love all day.

Wowsers. It's perfect. The sound is so different from her first album and I am absolutely in love with it. At the moment my favourites are The One I Crave and Think Of You. I cannot get the fun tune of The One I Crave out of my head and Think Of You makes me so solemn! It's an album full of upbeat and slow songs and that's awesome because I can go from being on the verge of tears (With Love) to tapping my foot and smiling (Feelin' Good) to singing along sassily (Absolutely Final Goodbye & Get Yourself Together).

I'm so proud of Christina with this album. It's an amazing album and it was, without a doubt worth that wait, as I knew it would be. I'm excited to see footage of Christina performing her songs on tour. Forever in Team Grimmie.

Zelda & Link

The Girl in the Moonlight.

P.s. Here's my post about Christina.

Day 7: 10 Special McMoments

For the end of McFly Week on my blog I decided to write one fabulous thing that happened for each year that McFly have existed (even though I could name a billion).

2003 My favourite band were born officially. Now that's a pretty special moment if you ask me. Tom, Danny, Harry and Dougie were officially together as one. It's their best decision yet.

2004 5 Colours in Her Hair was released in 2004. The world met McFly with their iconic song. The release of 5 Colours in Her Hair was what created my schedule for each night. I spent my evenings  (before they released more music and I had more than one song to jam to) dancing along to the girl with five colours in her hair, pretending it was me.

2005 The year McFly got their BRIT. My favourite band don't need awards to justify and represent how talented they are. If they did they'd win every award possible but this BRIT was perfect. I remember watching them win it and I was so hyper and excited (yes, I was nine, but that's not related to it) and I was genuinely grinning with pride, telling my parents how amazing they are when they accepted the award.

2006 Just My Luck has to be mentioned. I literally laugh my way through that film every time I watch it and I absolutely love it. It's young McFly documented with their... fabulous acting skills. No more needs to be mentioned. Aw. Aw. AW.

2007 The Heart Never Lies. To McFly fans, this is one of the most iconic songs. It's beautiful, heart-warming and SO GOOD, but it also has the special line when performed live: "Another year over and we're still together, it's not always easy, but McFly's here forever." It's unbelievable what I feel when I see this performed live. The unity that's felt between all Galaxy Defenders is overwhelmingly amazing.

2008 In July the free version of Radio:ACTIVE was released. I don't have a favourite McFly album because to me, it would genuinely be impossible to choose. (I'm not judging people who do, obviously oh em gee.) For me, this was a special moment because I spent my summer holidays, my exciting six weeks off with new McFly music. It was the best.

2009 Obviously, this isn't a big deal for McFly (well, it might be, they do love their fans) but I had a sleepover. Where are you going with this, you ask. Well, I played every McFly album and my friends (they were never in a category of 'not McFly fans', they just didn't listen to them) decided they liked McFly. They're not what are called Galaxy Defenders but they chill with me and listen to them and that's so important to me. Wow, that's lame, but it means everything that my friends appreciate them and their music.

2010 The year of my first McFly concert. It was special. Like, truly amazing. Each time I see them is my favourite, and that time was my favourite because it was my first time seeing them. It was just not comprehendible, seeing that these people were yes, actually real.

2011 This was when McFly's amazingness was proven. Dougie and Harry won Strictly Come Dancing, their support for each other as blinding as the sun. It was a year when Dougie went into rehab and so seeing Dougie in the jungle filled every Galaxy Defender with pride and seeing Harry do justice to his competitive side was amazing too. It was an incredible time.

2012 For McFly, a big moment for them in their career and life was... meeting me. It was the best day of my life. I can never explain how truly amazing that day was so I won't try. Thanks McFly for letting me enjoy you in real life rather than through a laptop or TV screen.

2013 My favourite band reached 10 years of being together. I can't explain how amazing that is. They've been around for 10 years and there are still loyal, excited fans eager for their next album and the music and achievements after that. Kudos McFly, kudos.

Pudd & Flones,

The Girl in the Moonlight.