Glasgow Alternative & Burlesque fair!

Hey! How have you been? I have been a little under the weather and studying a lot which has been an absolute joy....not! I have been getting very easily distracted these days it is very hard for me at the moment to keep my focus on one thing which is becoming a problem, especially in classes when I zone out and miss half the class....it makes studying that little bit more challenging haha. I think it has to do with how close Christmas is, well that’s my story and I’m sticking to it, I have so many recipes in my head I want to try and presents I want to buy people and of course the all important Christmas card list....who has been struck off in the course of the year (just kidding of course)!! Anyway before we get talking about the festive period there is the Alternative & Burlesque fair I went to with Hubby, here are all the details!!!

Glasgow’s Alternative & Burlesque Fair was on 8^th November at Glasgow University’s Queen Margaret Union. I went along with Hubby and we had a great time, there were loads of stalls selling everything from Soap and Harry Potter jewellery to Handcuffs, Whips and Adult toys! We had a little look around and there was one stall however that I just couldn’t seem to get enough of so Hubby kindly bought me a Deathly Hallows necklace from the lovely woman who put up with me going through everything she had about 3 times.

So many stall to buy from!!!

Something I really liked was that some of the people who were there selling dresses, tops and coats amongst other things had a service where if you couldn’t find the size you were looking for they would measure you up there and then and make the item to measure for you. I am usually between sizes so find it hard to get a dress that fits well on top and bottom so this was fabulous and I would definitely consider taking a bit more money with me next time to buy from them!

Now for the entertainment there were entertainers galore! The compare was excellent and had an amazing voice and was great at getting the crowd gathered round to see who was coming to take the stage, there were aerial pole dancers and burlesque acts the one I enjoyed the most was the headline act Hettie Heartache. Hettie is an Edinburgh based burlesque act who is really puts on a show, it was the first time I had seen a burlesque performance live and it was pretty much how I expected it complete with the confetti cannon to finish it all off! Everyone who performed on the day did themselves extremely proud but for me Hettie stole the show!!

One of the amazing pole dancers from the day

Hettie Heartache doing her thing!

The next Alternative & Burlesque Fair is in Feburary and I am really excited about it, I will definitely be taking more money with me and camping out for the full day to shop and enjoy all the festivities. Alongside all of the stalls selling things and the wonderful entertainment there was a bar and places to get some food as well as a cloak room to put your jacket, which was useful considering it was a typical Glasgow day...started sunny and then the heavens opened and it rained for the rest of the day! After all of that fun and excitement Hubby and I came home I changed into my comfy pj’s and we watched Mr Nice and ate pizza it was the perfect ending to a lovely day, the only thing that would have made it complete was if the dogs had learned to use the loo so I didn’t have to run back out in the rain with them....alas we can but dream haha!

 All of the pictures in this post have been sourced from the event's Facebook page....I am hoping Santa brings a new camera so I don't have to keep using other peoples pictures!!!

 Thanks for reading hope you are well :) 

Let the Music Play!

Hello! So in the last couple weeks since I posted I have been setting up social media for the blog which has been fun, Uncovering Rockabilly has a Facebook page and a Pinterest you can follow these by clicking the links! I have also been thinking about the direction of the page and have decided that each month I will find an event in Glasgow to go to and write about. I think this will be a fun way of meeting people who are part of the rockabilly, vintage and alternative world and show what Glasgow has to offer. I have found an Alternative and Burlesque Fair on 8th November at Glasgow University’s Queen Margaret Union which looks pretty cool; they have events all over the country so I can’t wait to see what they have in store for Glasgow. Judy’s Vintage fair are having a fair on 13th December that I will be going along to, Judy’s is a big company that have regular fairs in cities up and down the UK so that will be good to go to near Christmas and see what little extras I can pick up! I was really annoyed with myself at the end of September because I missed Judy’s last event in Glasgow because I mixed up the dates and didn’t realise until the day it was on!

In the spirit of writing about an event each month I went to see SOiL on Thursday at The Garage in Glasgow, I love live music and haven’t been to a gig in a while so this was a welcome treat. I was a massive fan of SOiL when I was younger so couldn’t pass up a chance to see them playing in my home city! I also couldn’t believe the number of old faces I seen walking around the place it felt a bit like a school reunion, I guess the alternative community in Glasgow is smaller than I thought haha! While we were waiting for SOiL to come on the drummer and lead from one of the support bands (hed)p.e. came out and kind of mingled with some of the crowd which was pretty cool. I also got my arm signed which in hindsight wasn’t my brightest moment...sharpie on your forearm doesn’t just wash off haha! 

We met this guy! (I would have used my own pics but they were way to blurry!!!)

 

 

I have been having a really music focussed few weeks as well so I have starting listening to some new country/folk stuff on Spotify; they have a relatively new section for Folk & Americana which caught my attention straight away! I started on some of their playlists and have picked out little songs and artists that get stuck in my head...I am up to 2 new artists so far. I don’t know what it is about the really folksy stuff that really gets me I am really in love with it right now and it’s really comforting somehow. The 2 that I can’t seem to get enough of just now are; 

Hozier – A guy from Ireland who has just released his debut album and it is brilliant definitely worth a listen. My 2 favourite tracks are – ‘Angel Of Small Death & The Codeine Scene’ and ‘Take Me To Church’

Amazing Talent! His Album is simply called Hozier

Shakey Graves – A Texan and former actor, he has a really individual rough quality to his voice that just makes my ears prick up! His new album just came out this month as well and it is fantastic...I predict listening to it a few times repeatedly haha. My 2 favourite tracks are – ‘Dearly Departed’ (feat Esmé Patterson) and ‘Hard Wired’

Shakey Graves Album is called And The War Came

 
Anyway this has been a really long post so I will stop now! Remember to check out the Facebook page and Pinterest, give a like or a follow where appropriate! Enjoy the rest of the week hope you have a good one. 

Thanks for reading and hope you’re well!! :)

Birthday Post!!!!

***Update!!! I have set up a Facebook page! you can find it at https://www.facebook.com/uncoveringrockabilly I am working on getting a link on here to take you straight there!***

So I am a year older since I lasted posted....I’m the grand old age of 27! I am opposed to the entire process of aging and I’m not just talking grey hairs and wrinkles, I mean all of it. The fact that I can remember what was going on in my life about 24 years ago seems cruel because I have never really thought until this point in my life that aging would actually be that much of an issue. I obviously had the conversations we all have ‘I don’t want to be 20, I want to stay a teen’ my friends and I at that time decided we would be twenteen instead of twenty haha! I think about that now and think how funny that is and I know 10, 15, 20 years down the line I will think the same about what I am saying now, but hindsight is a wonderful thing and if I could nip forward and see what the future holds I probably wouldn’t feel like this at birthdays but I can’t and so here we are!  I think it is good and healthy to take sometime around the anniversary of your birth to look back and see what you have done; What have you seen in life? What have you experienced? Look around and really asses what is going on in your world. However it is also good to look forward; What do you want to see in life? What experiences do you want to have? What direction do you want to steer in?

I’m not going to sit and answer all of those questions because that would be one massive post! There is of course something I do like about getting older....the presents!! I like to make a big deal about birthdays hubby has never been into celebrating his but every December 30^th when he gets up I have prezzies stacked up, balloons, cake and a card. Poor hubby does a big fuss for me in return which I love, granted it’s not in the same way and I wouldn’t want because it would come truly from him. The area hubby excels at is presents...which is fab! I wrote a little list of bits and pieces I wanted from various places and the size required from each place and let him and mum shop away. I always love seeing how neatly he wraps gifts but he knows I love to rip the paper to shreds...so I try to get the dogs to ‘help’ so I don’t feel too guilty! So details...I got a new dress, a variety of tops, a great cardigan that will be good for the colder months at college and have to lock my jacket away in my locker, a pair of cute little shoes, my favorite perfume and a clothes rail to put all of these on because my wardrobe is more for storage than function (I haven't built it yet!)! I have added pictures at the bottom and please accept my apology about how sad and limp the clothes look hanging there on their little hanger, I didn’t have time to do a pic with me wearing each item but I will be posting more pics over the next few weeks so you will see them all on I’m sure!

When it comes to the celebrating this year all I wanted to do was stay in with a movie and a pizza joined by hubby, mum and my three lovely mutts, and that is what we did! I finally watched Saturday Night Fever which at first I didn’t really get but I did start to towards the end and I have been thinking about watching again so it has made an impression! Hubby made an awesome cake which was even more special because it was an invention of his own; he is not really a baker more of a chef, so it was fun to see him come up with different ideas with his chef head and think of it from a baking point of view. I will get a picture up of his masterpiece as soon as I find out who took pictures of it; there was a phone and an iPad being aimed at it so I will have a look!

Anyway I think it’s time I wrap this up so all there is to say is that I am going to a vintage fair on Sunday and so I will be writing mainly about that next week as I have never been to one before. I am really excited to see what it’s like and see what bargains there are to be had! I am also setting up a Facebook page for Uncovering Rockabilly and will add the link as soon as it’s done so look out for that!

Thanks for reading, hope your well! :)

PICTURES!!!!

 Clothes rail still in packaging!

 If you look closely you can see one of my dogs sleeping at the back!

Stronger Than Ever.....Finally!

Well it has been sometime since I last wrote anything. I was in quite a difficult and dark place the last few times I sat down and did this and I think that came through in my posts, in the past year I have dealt with some of my demons that have been an issue for me for some time now. When I wrote my last post I was at the start of a downward spiral that ended in me hiding away from friends and family, not wanting to go to college or fulfil my other responsibilities. In order to deal with this I left my college course, with the intention to repeat the year of study after some rest, I visited my Dr and was given new antidepressants and a referral to a counsellor, I also decided to try and find an interest – I thought sewing as I had just got a new machine etc- turns out my baking skills have come in handy!!

I am finally on the right track again and I feel I’m ready to take on the challenges that life has to offer! I know the warning signs of my depressions and anxiety issues and now I feel that I know how to deal with it and where to go for help or support, I have also found out who my real true friends are and I am grateful for that as I have to be honest I was surprised at who stood by me and who didn’t. That in itself has been a learning experience for me as I have realised that actually I should trust my gut when it comes friendships and not be lured in by the people who seem to care but are really only concerned about themselves and how I can help them, friendship is a two-way street like any relationship. Anyway that’s enough of that! Let’s get back to business....Uncovering Rockabilly!!!!

One major thing for me in my downtime was keeping up with my rockabilly pursuit I have ‘liked’ so many rockabilly, vintage, pin-up pages on Facebook it is pretty much all that shows on my newsfeed! I have also watched hours and hours of hair and make-up tutorials on YouTube that I am actually getting quite comfortable with some easy hairstyles and my eyeliner flicks are getting much better and faster to do! I haven’t added anything new to my wardrobe apart from one swing dress and petticoat which were a Christmas present from hubby and in all honesty I have worn it twice – once on Christmas day and once to a friend’s 21^st. I generally don’t have any rockabilly ‘everyday’ outfits so I have been making do with what I already have which at times is fun to try and mix up the combinations but to be honest most of the time it is quite frustrating as there are so many times you can wear one of two pairs of jeans with a small selection of tops. Fortunately my birthday is on Monday and after writing a nice neat list for hubby I am expecting some new tops to add into the mix, as for jeans/trousers I am going to have a look around the shops and get some when pay day arrives. I would love to get some cigarette pants but as they are basically skinny leg trousers I’m not sure how they would look with my shape so that will be fun to go out and try on different options and go from there.

In trying to make my wardrobe match the style I am going for I have found that accessories are vital in getting the look. I have found that hair accessories have been the main thing for me; I have three bandanas and 2 nylon style scarves. These are amazing for creating a look that from the outside appears to be much more complicated than it actually is....excellent for rushing out to college! Something else I have found that helps in selling ‘I am an awesome rockabilly chick’ to the world is attitude, believing that I look good and I am happy with what I have on or how I have my make-up done is a big positive. If you are happy and comfortable in what you are wearing – no matter what it is – you will look good and everyone will see that!

Well I think that is enough from me for one day! Just one last thing though...if you or someone you know is having a hard time please know that something good is just around the corner. I know it can be very dark around you and seem like nothing good will ever happen again but it will you just have to stick in there and find what works for you...I have baked a lot of cakes and my waist has suffered for it but it gave me something to focus on instead of worrying about what could be or thinking about what was. Find something to smile at once a day and put on some red lippy ;)

Thanks for reading and hope you are well :) x