Fuji Instax - Be still my beating heart!

Oh Polaroid photography, what a thrill.
My memories of people using Polaroid cameras are somewhat foggy, I can remember them a little, I can see a cool artsy type in the 90s holding one up to my face telling me to smile, maybe it's a memory from a past life, but I am pretty sure it's this one.
I am no photography enthusiast, I like a pretty picture the same as the next person, if I'm feeling particularly artsy I might ramp up the 'contrast' setting on a photograph for a thumbnail on YouTube. But that is as artsy as I get with this sort of thing.
Two weekends ago, at a party I saw a big white camera that looked like a marshmallow on the counter, picking it up in curiosity the owner retrieved it and told me to 'Smile', I grabbed a pal, the owner looked through the viewfinder and there was a flash and a clunk.

Several seconds later a credit card sized photo churns out the top.

It begins white and takes a few full minutes to come through- What a dream! How exciting! What fun!

Yes I was quite enchanted by this little clunk-o-matic and I kept thinking that I might like to own one. I have a rule with shopping (usually for clothes) that if I am still thinking about a garment that I put back a week ago, then I should go back and purchase it, and if it's out of stock then our relationship was not meant to be.

These cameras however were coming up pricier than the average dress, jumper etc so I'd need to think about it a little while longer...

I was browsing through ebay and by stroke of chance a white Fuji Instax was up for auction, ending in under a day. I pondered about what to do, and whether it should be mine to have and to hold!
I thought about what my top bid should be and shortly before the auction ended I placed a bid.
To my delight, the camera was sold to me for the humble price of £30-ish
I was delighted!
Coming from ebay it was second hand, but I decided that I didn't mind too much if I didn't have a new one. (that's what a hipster would think, right?)

So here it is! All mine!

The film is not cheap, maybe £12 for 20 shots and that's the cheapest I could find. So I am quite determined not to waste a single one on 'test' shots and go all 'snappy happy'. I will just have to test and experiment with different settings as I go along. So far it seems very self explanatory, I have taken two lovely photos. The first try was with my friends and it was such a treat to take it, and we all sat waiting as it slowly, slowly developed.

The next photo is taken in front of the Coca Cola truck, I had to ask a stranger to take it and she looked a little baffled by the prospect of having to 'look' through a viewfinder in this day and age.
The photographic result is very forgiving of imperfections. The photo effect is completely and utterly charming!

I am not the cool-artsy type but I do hope that the novelty of this doesn't die and that I continue to hold it up in peoples faces and tell them to 'Smile'

Beaches on a Saturday night

It is still super duper freezing cold here, but if we're heading out on a Saturday night I may aswell dress as though it's the middle of Summer- once you get inside it feels like it is the sweatiest summer ever anyway.

My top has Brighton Pier spread across it, I really like this top because it is basically just a giant photograph. Walking along the street would be a much brighter place if everyone wore beautiful photographs printed on the front of clothes, I love looking at amazing photographs and would want to see them walking along the street I think.

This style reminds me sort of of those Galaxy Leggings from Black Milk that were so popular, it's because the picture on them was truly beautiful- who doesn't love to look at the stars?

The top itself is from good ol' Primark, the shorts I beleive were Primark too and are coming up to 5 years old probably.

Tights from Pretty Polly at New Look and heels from Ebay!

On my eyes I'm wearing a blue-grey smokey eye Ooh La La!

It's gym time!

It's the new academic year, which means new memberships to all kinds of delights, the most financially testing however is the gym membership- awooo
Insert obviously horrible membership photograph here:

It's as though these machines have no choice but to make you look hideous.
Take a vote, which picture was worse... This year or last years?

After forking out my arm and leg for membership fees, I needed to buy some new gym clothes that would be appropriate, aswell as trainers. Then I remembered Forever 21 to the rescue! The gym clothes there were so cheap I nearly did cartwheels in the shop, a pair of cropped yoga trousers for £4.50?! Yes please
I also got a sports bra which had a less amazing price of £10 or so, but then I decided that's one area of gym kit you shouldn't skimp on, aswell as shoes.

And I'm good to gooooooooooooooooooooooo!

Scratching myself alive with hives

It all began with an itchy scalp, my first thought was that I'd used a shampoo or conditioner that evening that was making me scratch my head and the back of my neck to shreds but eventually I dropped off to sleep hoping it would have calmed down by the morning.When I woke up I saw it on my elbow, lumps- little bubbles like my flesh had been boiled, they were itchy and a little dry

At first I mistaked them for eczma, but we headed to the pharmacy who gave me some cream to calm down the effects a little, he had diagnosed me with hives- I always though hives were some kind of gross contagious chicken pox but luckily these weren't contagious, but by the time I was back home they had spread further across my body and onto my hips, the back of my knees and under my armpits. We just couldn't figure out the cause- nothing in my environment or diet had changed at all!

So what began as individual red spots, were multiplying into clumps and would be on the front of my body one minute, then fifteen minutes later there were only half as many and I'd say 'Oh! I'm healing!' only to see that they had instead sprung up twice as bad all over my back!
Frustrating as it was, the worst part really was the appearance, I wasn't in constant pain and the itching was not on the scale of chicken pox so if I just stopped thinking about it, it would just go away...surely?

Another day passed and with no improvement having happened overnight. I was getting a little disheartened but was still thankful that I could cover them up easily as they didn't go past my neck so my face looked somewhat normal, but later on in the evening I felt a tingle in my hands my fingers got increasingly uncomfortable as through they were bloating up! I quickly rubbed on some more cream from the pharmacy but nothing was stopping the bloating until eventually it wasn't just uncomfortable to close my hands in a fist shape- I physically couldn't! The swelling was so bad and happened so quickly! But that's not all! The swelling happened to my feet, lips and cheeks until I began to see what I might look like if I was 2 or 3 stone heavier! I didn't like what was happening and it frightened me a little bit, but again I wasn't in any urgent pain just a little discomfort with the swelling and itching on the back of the neck so I slept through the night certain tomorrow things would be imporved.

The next morning I woke up feeling a little weary and headed to the bathroom, in the bathroom I felt myself pouring with sweat and wondered what on earth was going on! Something did not feel right inside. I felt like I had no energy, I felt lightheaded and a little woozy and I just didn't feel like functioning properly when THWACK! I pass straight out on the landing between the bathroom and bedroom, I didn't have time to put out my hands to protect myself which left me with a lovely black eye, cheek graze, cut lip and finger grazes from the wooden floorboards, a thumping head and a genuine fear that nothing was improving at all and perhaps things were even getting a little serious.

This is my 'Keepin' my cool in a medical dilemma' pose, those pouty lips and peace finger rarely make an appearance because frankly I'm not cool enough to pull them off unless I have a mark down my face that looks like I've been in a scuffle!

I gave a quick call to the NHS Direct helpine and the kind nurse on the end of the phone told me that it was important that I went to A&E that day mainly for the head injury and to check for a fracture, so off we went, prepared to be waiting for 8 hours when infact we only waited 2. The nurse told me that my hives were very severe and my hands were extremely swollen (I knew that already, but the fact she pointed it out made me feel better and like something magical would appear from the medicine cabinet to help calm them) and I was diagnosed with having hives in the form of a 'medical rash' so I'd taken some tablets that hadn't agreed with me, and was given yet MORE tablets to help the problem (I'm not into popping tablets, I only use paracetemol in an absolute emergency and mostly prescribe myself a nap to cure most problems)

So out we go, expecting things to get all dandy from here onwards when the following day...
My fear had been realised and the hives had erupted all over my face!

 But I didn't want to be cooped up for another day, so I took what I was prescribed from A&E and 2 hours or so later I almost looked like my normal self! I wasn't kidding when I said it moves from place to place, and dissapears then reappears faster than an army of ants!

The power of modern medicene and a little bit of concealer!

So where I am at now, 5 days on from the first itchy scratchy on the back of the neck.
Well the hives have completely gone or so it seems, literally instantanseously , this morning is the first in which I cannot even find the mark of one left behind on my body or the faintest red imprint- which has got to be a good sign as according to google (reliable medical source..er) most cases of hives last from a few hours to 2 days.

Here you can see I'm still dealing with a bit of face swelling as shown by deeper crease under my eye and the eye is healing, I'm just trying to not pull too many facial expressions so as to not disturb the healing! But I am feeling normal and human again!

I hope this gave a little explanation of what I've been up to the past few days, and maybe this will be comfort to someone who is feeling distressed with something similar and can't find the explanation in anyone elses 'hives experience' on the internet-there are a lot of them and none of them seemed to be that similar to mine!
Sending lots of well wishes if you are feeling under the weather or have been caught off guard by something making you feel (and look) sickly!