I Haven't Forgotten!

Hello all!

This is just a little apology for my lack of posting recently, no fear, I still love blogging and damselfly I've just been up to my neck in other pressing writing assignments (namely the two pieces of coursework and other legal based writing)! Once I am all up to speed I will be back with a vengeance as I have some great ideas for posts! This is likely to be early to mid December but hopefully I can sneek an odd post in between then and now! 

Thank you for sticking with me, I love writing this blog and its exciting to see people read it from around the world! 

Much love,

Damselfly

xoxo

Damselfly's Little Proverbs

I have a friend who reads GQ and if I'm being honest if its lying around I'll spend a good hour reading it. Despite being aimed at men its a really interesting magazine and the advertisements are full of gorgeous men with bodies that send my head reeling (and we all love a bit of eye candy don't we?). Mens fashion is another thing GQ is noteworthy for. I love the waxed jackets, thick woollen cardigans and knitted jumpers designers are bringing out for the winter season. Kudos to the editors and designers for men's a/w 2011.

But one of the things that I enjoy the most about GQ (and other men's magazines such as Men's Health do it too) are the Gentleman's Proverbs or the Man Rules. They always make an entertaining read whether they are decent snippets of real wisdom and wit or absolutely hilarious, totally outrageous or just plain ironic. I'll give you a couple of examples... in the latest edition of GQ I read: 'If you're going to be with a married women, make sure its a happily married women, unhappy women just bring their drama along too'. Surely if the woman was happily married 1) its immoral to ruin that happiness 2) she's not going to be interested?! Secondly: 'Do not cheat on a girlfriend you're not ready to break up with'. Well duh?! and honestly if you're considering the possibility of cheating on her then something probably isn't right with the relationship (or you) anyway. Still, GQ, I guess its the thought that counts.

The magazine of my choice is always Elle. I have a subscription so every month I enjoy flicking through my new glossy magazine with all its advertisements, health tips, fashion and lifestyle articles. It has however (bar the need for more articles) one major flaw when compared with the likes of GQ. It has no proverbs!

So here's a funny little thought I just figured I'd put into practice. Why not use damselfly to publish my own little life proverbs every now and again? What is life without a little experience to share, or in my case lack there of. Nevertheless, enjoy...

Soundtrack Song for October

For a long time I've created soundtracks for each year. Each month I pick a song that has meant something to me, initiates a memory or feels relevant in some way to events that took place in the last 30 days. I've picked a couple for the last month and a bit but I'm loving this guy at the moment. Also loving the fact he's a Devonshire lad!

Keep your head up, keep your heart strong

no, no, no, no, keep your mind set, keep your hair long

oh my, my darlin', keep your head up, keep your heart strong

Nah, oh, no, no, keep your mind set in your ways

Keep your heart strong

xoxo

Falmouth at its culinary best

There is nothing better to inspire your culinary skills than a food festival. Despite not being particularly fond of seafood the Falmouth Oyster Festival is an exciting place to be as its a mixture of cookery sessions, men dressed up in drag, music and dancing and many stalls with fantastic foods to try. I could have spent a fortune on Gourmet Wine Vinegar and Cherry Tree Pickles, Baker Tom's bread and fruit cider. There were Cornish pasties with a twist (made from kangaroo or ostrich meat) and of course plenty of oysters to celebrate the beginning of the dredging season. Whoever said the English have little taste in food clearly hasn't visited Falmouth's Oyster Fest. See below for piccars..

The Best Word in the English Dictionary

There are some words that just feel so good rolling off one's tongue. Learning to say the french word 'psychologie' properly whilst doing my A levels was one of those little episodes. My teacher went around the classroom making each of us say it one by one, I doubt I will ever get the pronouncation wrong and I still love to say it. 'Kartoffel' is another, the Danish word for 'potato' feels kind of comic, but my absolute favorite right now is the word 'enchanted'. 


enchant |enˈ ch ant|verb [ trans. ] (often be enchanted)fill (someone) with great delight; charm : Isabel was enchanted with the idea.• put (someone or something) under a spell : [as adj. ] ( enchanted)an enchanted garden.


Not only does 'enchanted' feel amazing to say but there's something so classy about someone exclaiming, "Enchanted to meet you". 


Moments of enchantment are rare, I can only recall I couple in my lifetime but the memories stay or at least I never forget them as I always end up writing them down. There's a kind of excitement underlying an 'enchanting' moment, like magic, like a frame from a feel-good movie or a chick flick. Like walking into Hogwarts for the first time, an unexpected fantastic surprise or meeting someone that you just know you'll end up falling for. 


I think I could fall to sleep tonight considering this word and looking forward to the next time I feel 'enchanted'; because the feeling I get hearing the word tumble off my lips... I'm convinced is almost as good right now. 

xoxo

Bright eyes and bushy tails

I've never missed home more than I did this last week. My family came down for my birthday at the weekend and despite coming down with some monster throat infection I had a lovely time on the sea with them for the day. I do have to keep reminding myself at the moment just how much I love university but there's something about being in the comfort of your family even for a couple of days that make all problems seem smaller and I feel so much more at ease. Recently university has become work work play with no breaks because I cannot let myself stop to think and breathe. The 'bug' has still not left and I'm getting a little fed up with it now. I want to start at the gym again and feel bright eyed and bushy tailed! By the end of the week I'm determined to be there and here's how I figure it should be done;

This Album

I've always loved James Morrison so I'm looking forward to collecting his new album.

Apologies for the lackage of postage I keep working on this rant of a post but I can't get it right! 

love love love

xoxo

Things of the Moment

I'm feeling rather uninspired by my wardrobe at the moment and there are very few things online that I like enough to buy. I think I'm in this purgatory phase or a fashion rift if you will and I've been in one for the last month! I guess it doesn't matter so very much at university because whilst its nice to wear clothes you love Cornwall isn't exactly fashion capital material.

To begin with we have barely any high street stores let alone designers. No Zara, no HandM and the local Topshop is tiny! We do have little boutiques here though, occasionally there's a gem to be found in them. Secondly, I adore shoes and ankle boots but the crazy hills don't lend themselves very well to anything taller than a 3 inch heel. Finally, being on the coast allows for certain 'coastal winds' that are not very skirt friendly. If I wear shorter skirts I'm usually setting myself up for a day of holding it down to salvage what's left of my dignity! Nope. Comfort is key here but even I would admit I probably play it too safe at times.

Powering It Through

I think I may have one of the loveliest running routes in the UK. I jog out of the studios, up some steps and turn left and that is the boring bit over. From there on in its running up hill past the dockyards, into the costal woodlands around the beaten down old castle that looks out to the sea then down towards the beaches and the cliff routes between them. I am in love with my route. I have never ran anywhere more beautiful. 

If running isn't your thing then don't by any means force yourself into it. Find something you enjoy there are too many possibilies to use the excuse 'sport just doesn't interest me'; Gym, Tennis, Football, Rugby, Athletics, Dancing, Cycling, Badminton, Netball, Basketball, Zumba, Aerobics, Swimming... oh so many exciting activities!

The thing with running is it can be the most fantastic feeling in the world and at other times it is the very last thing you want to be doing. If you decide to start running remember that the first month or so will be the toughest you will want to give up and find a million excuses to. After a while, however, you will get to the point that if you go a week without stepping out the door in a pair of not-so-white-anymore trainers your mind and body will be crying out for a bit of exercise! For example right now I haven't run in 3 days... that's pretty long for me and my body if desperate to be out jogging in the evening breeze but I've got to be somewhere soon so I have to wait until morning. 

Mirror, Mirror On The Wall Make Us feel Like Pretty Girls Again

 

As a generation we are probably one of the most body conscious and image based there has ever been. The obvious answer to all this is our love hate relationship with the media, never before has there been so many movies, glossy magazines and blogs to follow all full of beautiful men and women with the perfect figure, the perfect hair, make up, styles etc. I'm not about to rant and moan about how we should ignore the obvious draw of the media to look perfect; that models and actresses are the 'them' and we will never reach those dizzy heights (though I'll be the first to admit that no one is perfect and there is this beautiful thing called photoshopping and image editing that magazine editors just looovveee). In all honesty, in my opinion, body image is something completely personal and only you can change how you feel about your figure.

I have struggled with body image for as long as I could read. I remember looking as a child at the thick messy brunette hair on my head that I now love and thinking that I looked like a boy. Back then the craze in my primary school was braiding and long sleek straight hair. My mother insisted (and rightly so) that my hair was to be no longer than shoulder length because she just couldn't bare my moaning when she tried to drag a brush through it! Thus no long sleek hair and no braids for little me.