I Married A Blob From The Centre Of Mars

What's up, my nerds?!

So, I hope you're all having a fun Sunday and all is well. I'm pottering away while Nic watches Fritz Lang's Metropolis for a lecture he's giving tomorrow. I haven't watched this film since I studied it in my first year undergraduate and as background TV it's pretty bombastic. It's giving Nic the giggles, too - mainly because he keeps making comparisons between it and Star Trek: The Next Generation. Well, that and the protagonist's jodhpurs:

Like, seriously.

Anyway, much like last week, this week has been terrifically busy at work for both me and Nic. I had to go to Slough for a meeting on Monday morning, and it was an exhausting day. What with the travelling and the very thinky (technical term, there) nature of the meeting, I was knackered when I got home. Still, it's all good - I managed to clock up a day's worth of flexi time in my 15 hour day, so that will come in handy at a later date. And it was totally worth it, too - it was one of those times when my job is interesting.

I was able to finally finish my Colette Peony dress this week. It's not perfect - it still needs some work, and the bodice could have done with another toile, but I'm happy enough to live with the imperfections on this one. The next one I make will need to have the bodice shortened by about an inch, I think - the neckline comes up too high and wrinkles a bit as a result.

Floral Peony dress and yellow wedges

Immediately after finishing making this, I put it away for a few days because I just couldn't decide if I liked the fabric or not. Seeing it on, I think I do like it, although the print is quite busy. It's cotton lawn and I bought around 3 metres of it for £4 in the charity shop around the corner from my house. At first glance the fabric on the bodice looks upside down, but the print itself runs both ways.

Even with the necessary alterations, the pattern was a delight to sew from, and I think once I figure out the bodice fitting this is one that will work well for all sorts of customisation. It requires a very small amount of fabric and it's very easy. I have a lovely floral wool crepe which I'm going to use for my next Peony but it will need to be lined. I omitted the pockets in this one, and the fabric cummerbund. I'll put pockets into a future make but I might not bother with the cummerbund - they look great on the other makes I've seen out there, but I don't like fabric belts on me. I adore the shape of the sleeves and am looking forward to making the longer ones too. So, while I started out feeling a bit underwhelmed by this make, I can see lots of potential for future ones! And I will definitely wear this - it's pretty cute, and all of the colours in the fabric means it can fit well into my wardrobe. Today I went with the yellow accents:

I think it'll look good with pink tights and a pink cardigan, which is how I'll wear it when it gets colder. So, all in all this gets two thumbs up from me. Four Maurice McDaids out of five.

On Thursday evening Nic went to Leeds, as he was giving a paper at the Thought Bubble festival on Friday. I was working on Friday but came up and joined him in the evening so we could spend Saturday in Leeds. I arrived at about half six, and after checking into our hotel we went out on the town. First stop was the Electric Press for some drinks in Epernay. I have a weakness for champagne cocktails, as you might have gathered from previous posts, and Epernay did not disappoint. I had a Lavender Darling, which was champagne, lavender gin and lemon, while Nic had one with champagne and blue curacao which was called a Ritz Fizz. I followed my Lavender Darling with a Take it Sloe, Honey - it had champagne, sloe gin, honey and fresh strawberries. Nic had a Tatanka Royale, which had Zubrowka bison vokda, apple juice, fresh green apple and champage. It was all delicious and the bar was a delight.

Lavender Darling and Ritz Fizz
"My only regret in life is that I didn't drink enough champage" - John Maynard Keynes

Fortified by champagne, we went off for dinner and from there to the Fab Cafe. This was mainly because Nic wanted to show me how cool it is, but we ended up staying a while and having a grand old time, and a good old dance as well. The Fab Cafe is so cool - it's a cult tv and movie themed bar, and it's pretty much the perfect venue for a pair of geeks like me and Nic. I'm going to love any bar that has its own Dalek, and when we weren't dancing Nic and I were having fun looking at all of the cool memorabilia scattered around the bar.

I'm not sure who these feet belong to

Slimer! Is it just me, or does he look a lot like Ned Beatty, here?

I loved these Geordi LaForge and Data action figures

SPACE INVADERS! These were only 20p. They're as good as I remembered, but the updated packaging doesn't have the comic strip, which is a shame.

Hans Solo in carbonite. Nic.

Yes. More Metropolis.

WHO 1

The DJ booth was shaped like a spaceship, and the DJ played a weird and wonderful mix of tunes. One of the highlights was watching a dancefloor full of hipsters dancing to Nine to Five by Dolly Parton. If I lived in Leeds I'd be at Fab Cafe all the time.

Tired and happy we took ourselves back to our hotel. Now, this was the only downside to our time in Leeds. It was a well known budget hotel and it was full of teenagers and pissheads. I'm not exaggerating when I say we didn't manage more than an hour's uninterrupted sleep. I complained to reception about the girls in the room next to us and, at 5 am we had to go out and lay down the law to a group of lads a few doors down who were playing loud music and lounging around in the corridor IN THEIR TINY LITTLE PANTS. My inner teacher came out, and I was a wee bit stern but fair enough, they turned the music off and took themselves into their room.

I was fully expecting to feel like crap, then, on Saturday morning but I was okay. Nic and I got up and out nice and early and went to the Corn Exchange in search of breakfast. We were rewarded with Primo's Gourmet Hotdogs. I'll admit, that doesn't sound like somewhere that would have breakfast food for two vegetarians, but it was excellent. Nic had a veggie hot dog with gherkins, monterey jack and jalapenos, and a banana milkshake. I had a toasted bagel and a nutella cappuccino.

Me in Primo's

If you're in Leeds, run, don't walk, to Primo's. It's ace. The Corn Exchange is beautiful, and it was lovely to wander around and enjoy the atmosphere. The Christmas decorations were up and it all felt very festive indeed.

Corn Exchange, Leeds

I really enjoyed myself in Leeds. I'd been twice before, for work, but never had the chance to see the city. There are loads of vintage shops, and although most of them seem to be more towards the hipster end of the scale, I saw lots of gorgeous things. In my sleep deprived state, I was too sleepy to think about shopping, but it was pleasant all the same. In the afternoon, we headed to Leeds City Library and Art Gallery for tea in the tiled hall cafe and to get a bit of culture before catching the train back to Leamington. I really enjoyed my little jaunt to God's Own Country, and I'm already looking forward to visiting Leeds again at some point in the future.

The rather grand Library

These little fellows were to be seen all over Leeds, even in the Christmas decorations

Tiles in the tiled hall

Dusk over Yorkshire

When we got back to Leamington, Nic and I were fit for nothing more than a few episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation (comfort viewing), dinner, and a bath before bed. I slept well last night!

I'm not too sure what is coming up for me this week but no doubt I'll be back before long. I'm going to leave you here, because that pile of ironing won't do itself. And, if I've learned anything from this blog post, it's that doing laundry is a good way of ensuring that I have clean clothes to wear.