Latest...

Last night, some friends and I went to a vintage event in Shoreditch at Bar Music Hall. There was vintage clothing and accessories, cupcakes, vintage hairdressing and live music. After careful consideration I decided to buy a pair of Polka Dot shorts, perfect for summer (although summer is not coming anytime soon around here...) and the brooch you can see in the pictures. It was love at first sight. I like its odd shape, like there is something missing, although it still looks like a bow. The engravings are also beautiful. I still haven't decided how or with what to wear it.

XOXO

6 Characters in Snapshots...

Finished. Done. Over. Our play 6 Characters in Search of an Author and my second year at university. I can't believe it. It seems surreal, strange. Everything went by so quickly: Easter holidays, production week, all the rehearsals, performances... tomorrow will be the "last" official day in uni, the strike, to clear the space, put costumes back and leave everything as if nothing had happened there. But it did, and I am very proud of the cast and all of us that worked on this performance. We did a great job, were very brave with the idea and pushed it as much as we could. Of course there were technical problems but they weren't within our reach and at the end, what matters most is the performance and it was all there. And it was hauntingly beautiful.

 Here are some photos I took during the Technical Rehearsal. Enjoy!

XOXO

Fennies...

Last night, Will and me decided to make a little surprise for our cast :) We thought we could make them cupcakes to eat after our Dress Rehearsal and to give them strenght for the evening performance. We ended up making Doughnut Muffins and they came out amazingly well! I wasn't expecting them to come out as beautiful and perfect as they are shown in the pictures of cook books but they did!
Here I leave you some pictures and the recipe we used:

DOUGHNUT MUFFINS


Ingredients (Makes 12)
175g/6 oz Butter, softened, plus extra for greasing
200g/7oz Caster sugar
2 Large eggs, lightly beaten
375g/13 oz Plain flour
3/4 tbsp Baking powder
1/4 tsp Bicrbonate of soda
Pinch of salt
1/2 tsp Freshly grated nutmeg
250ml/9 fl oz Milk
Topping
100g/3 1/2 oz Caster sugar
1 tsb Ground cinnamon
2 tbsp Butter, melted


Method


1. Grease a deep 12-cup muffin pan. In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar together until light and creamy. Add the eggs, a little aat a time, beating wekk between additions.

2. Sift the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, salt and nutmeg together. Add half to the creamed mixture with half of the milk. Gently fold together the ingredients before incorporation the remaining flour and milk. Spoon the mixture into the prepared muffin pan, filling each hole to about two-thirds full.

3. Bake in a preheated oven, 180ºC/350ºF/Gas mark 4, for 15-20 minutes or until the  muffins are lightly brown and firm to the touch.

4. For the topping, mix the sugar and cinnamon together. While the muffins are still warm from the oven, brush lightly with melted butter, and sprinkle over the cinnamon and sugar mixture . Eat warm or cold

XOXO

P.D We named the cakes "Fennies" to make reference to the play "Fen" by Caryl Churchill which there was a  big discussion about performing that play or the one we finally did. Some people didn't get over it so we decided to honour it.

P,D 2. We did a slightly different version by adding chocolate twirls to the muffins. They were DELICIOUS!

On Set...

Snapshot of our set for Six Characters in Search of an Author today during Technical Rehearsal.
We are going up next week :D

XOXO

Home...

Well, of course it's not really my home (I wish) Not yet... Meanwhile, here I am living in a 20 year old (at least) house, shared with other 5 students, theatre arts (can you start to picture it?) With only ONE shower and reduced sink space. I will stop here because if I go on, I might never stop. So, the only thing that gets me out of my temporary misery (and homesickness) is looking at house catalogues, aka Ikea, Utopiu, abc NY, and Zara Home, which is where the pictures are from. There is a soothing feeling about them. I feel suddenly relaxed when I look at them, like I am suddenly transported into that "home heaven" that they are portraying. I love the way all the photos are carefully arranged and all the objects place exactly where they are supposed to be. That would NEVER happen in a real house, but maybe in a "Zara Home" house it magically would... I like the colours, the patters, rustic shapes of the plates and kitchenware...
When I grow up, I want to have a Zara Home house.

XOXO

P.D All the pictures are from their Spring/Summer Lookbook. You can buy online at www.zarahome.com

Summer attire...

Anthropologie

It seems like the worse the weather, the more I think about summer, beach, sun... (STOP) It has been raining non stop since I came home for the Easter holidays. To be honest, I wasn't expecting anything better but the sunny days we had in London had me fooled Spring was finally here, but no, back to "wet" reality.  So while this is all going on outside, I am home, daydreaming about the Caribbean and Retro-inspired swimming costumes (and a couple of surfers too...) Here are my favourite styles!

XOXO

Seafolly at Asos

J.Crew

Ted Baker

Oysho

Asos

Beyond Ballets Russes....

 Last saturday I spent in London before the holidays was very very busy. I had never double booked theatre for the same day because I thought it would be too much, a "performance overdose" but I did it this time anyway because it was the only day I could make it. I went to see the English National  Ballet's Beyond Ballets Russes. The programme consisted in The Firebird, Faun(e), L'apres-midi d'un faune and The Rite of Spring. It was the best ballet I have seen in a long time. The design, especially in the Firebird, was incredible. The set was simple but the lightning created such an intense athmosphere that when it ended, it felt like waking up from a dream. The costume was also beautiful and very detailed. Instead of a tutu for the firebird, she was wearing a unitard embroidered in gold, red, purple that created a lovely image with the lights. My second favourite was L'apres-midi d'un faune. A bare stage, two pianos in the corners (that was the only music) and two men dancing together. It was such a touching moment I even felt like crying (I know! strange right?) But it feels good to see that some things can still get to you in between all the crap that it's in this industry.

The firebird

L'apres-midi d'un faune

The second performance I went to see that day was Complicite's The Master and Margarita at the Barbican, based on the novel by Mikhail Bulgakov. The critics were divided: some said it was a masterpiece (like everything Complicite does) and others disliked it completelym saying it lacked direction and the story was blurred. I hadn't seen Complicite before and I was completely blown away by the magnitude and the technical and theatrical style. I loved it all:  the proyections, the scene changes, the costumes... Nobody can say it was unacceptable (which is what the couple behind me said and left during the interval) If you find this unacceptable, there is nothing out there that will please you because Complicite is at the very top when it comes to theatre. 

XOXO