Added Extras #5

These weekly posts are all about the positive things that have made up my week. The happy added extras didn't come to me as easily this time as I had a truly stressful week at work and had little time for anything but going home and passing out from exhaustion. But there were some, and bloody good they were too. Positive mental attitude, people!

Three Alternative Nights Out in London

I'm rubbish at going 'out-out'. I hate crowds, I hate drunk people, I cannot wear heels for an entire evening and for the most part, the music is shite. I will occasionally hit the town, but generally that will include somewhere I can sit down and be able to hold a conversation. In the last couple of weeks I've headed out with some of my favourite blogger ladies to experience some alternative nights out in London which aren't stupidly expensive.

What I Wore to... Musical Bingo's Halloween Ball

I always get in a bit of a panic when it comes to fancy dress. I'm not particularly artistic but I'm also fiercely competitive and a total perfectionist so I get frustrated if I can't figure out something to wear! I braved the insanity of a Soho fancy dress shop yesterday where there was a queue snaking down the street and people literally panic buying fake blood. You've never known crazy until you hear a woman frantically shouting across a packed store, "I JUST NEED A NUN'S OUTFIT!" 

Anyway, my outfit was 'Zip Face' and I bought a 'zipper face kit' from Amazon for under a fiver (although they've ramped up the prices closer to Halloween). As you can see it was pretty realistic! I wasn't expecting to look quite so disgusting and the reactions I got from people really proved that I wasn't a pretty sight! The zip was relatively easy to apply as it came with special glue to attach it and it stayed on well into the night, although it was so itchy, as you can see from the photo below! I then just added a ton of fake blood to the space and dabbed at it with my fingers to make it look more scabby. Obviously the face was very OTT and I was going to wear fake lashes but it seemed a bit much (plus I was having issues applying them as I've never worn them before), so I kept my outfit really simple. Just an oversized shirt and more fake blood. Super simple, massively effective! It was a bit strange having strangers ask if they could take my photo but it was all worth it as I won the title of 'Most Horrific' at Musical Bingo's Halloween Ball and go a trophy and everything! Our team rocked the awards part, with my friend also winning 'Best Make-Up' for his handmade deformed skin. 

Ah, Musical Bingo. If you know me at all you'll know that I have a total love affair with the place! It's just the most fun night out, with singing and dancing and drinks and general stupidity. I'm now considered a 'regular' which probably shows just how deep my love for the whole night actually is. The guys who run it always have the best time too which only goes to encourage me to dance more. Probably on the stage too. Check out their website for upcoming dates and I'll probably see you there!

Some photos here are courtesy of birthday girl and dead doll in the pics, AJ at Writer's Block and Broken Lenses

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Turning 26

Birthdays just aren't as exciting as they used to be. As I hurtle towards the next big age milestone, I'm genuinely baffled that I'm actually this age. It hit me the weekend after my birthday, when my baby sister sashayed off to university. There's nothing that can ram home how long it's been since I started uni myself, then watching her Facebook timeline become steadily populated with bar crawls and new friends. I sound like a really old lady when I say, it literally feels like yesterday. I cannot believe it's already been seven years since I met some of my best friends, had some of my biggest laughs (and stresses), and almost seven years since some random tall bald guy appeared in my halls at which time I had no idea of his name, let alone the fact that he would turn out to be my boyfriend of  6+ years!

I've had my crazy birthday parties, I've had my times of making obscenely long present lists. Now, I just like having a few drinks with friends and going back to my mum's to spend it with her (as it's also her birthday on the same day). This year, my friends and I hit up Musical Bingo, which is one of my favourite nights out in London, and I've become a bit of a regular. Held at Concrete in Shoreditch (above the delicious Pizza East), we danced and sang and bingo'd to our hearts content, and this time a grand total of four of my friends won prizes and got to go up on stage! I, however, do still hold the world record of most Musical Bingo games played and lost, so I was very excited to see people I know actually winning!

Somethings that I look forward to on every birthday is a homemade cake from my mum and a homemade card from my friend Zoe. The chocolate cake above was marbled inside and covered in my favourite sweet treats, and isn't this year's card a stunner? Check out Zoe's Etsy store, Zoe Fred, for handmade and unique jewellery and homeware too.

We also have a tradition in the office of getting in cakes when it's someone's birthday; always great for a 3pm sugar lull. My fabulous manager headed on down to Hummingbird Bakery in Soho and picked up some incredible cupcakes, which went down very well with my slightly perverted Cumberbatch themed card (I got a similar one last year too, they know me very well!).

I was very lucky to be spoiled with some gorgeous presents too, including a beautiful cast iron Le Crueset casserole dish, lots of books and jewellery, Harry Potter pyjamas, and a 1kg jar of Nutella. 

So yes, the years are ticking by and yes, they aren't as much of an occasion as they once were, but everyone loves a birthday secretly. I'm just not in a rush for my next one!

Life: November 2012

Spiky spiky shoulder pads from a Soho haberdashery
Beautiful ceramic doorknobs on Portobello Road
Getting excited about Christmas with Jack Skellington
My mum's roast dinner wins all the food awards

Finally visited the Models Own bottle shop in Westfield White City
Cartier Bond Street's Christmas front
Models Own comic nail wraps
Discovered a Japanese food store in Finchley

My first attempt at caviar nail art went quite well!
Photobooth at Channel 4 party
My place setting for Thanksgiving at Pink Julep's house
Our award for Best Team Effort at Musical Bingo (we were Zombie High School!)

The Marmite Oxford St Christmas lights
Underfire Red by Carine Roitfeld for MAC with gold nail studs
Pulled pork, apple and black pudding burger at BKB
Skull pin on my coat lapel

Explore: Musical Bingo at Mahiki

If you're thinking this post will be about grannies, two little ducks and musty village halls then Musical Bingo will blow your mind. I'm not a 'club' person, and I'm more than happy to stay in and play board games if I'm totally honest so this is essentially my perfect night out! Held at celebrity haunt Mahiki the concept is simple. Rather than crossing off numbers, you cross of the songs that are played by the DJ - one, two, three lines or a full house and you get prizes. Simple!

The night was fronted by the uber glamorous Lola Hi Rola, who was more than encouraging when we decided we wanted to move from dancing in our seats to busting some moves on the dancefloor!

Being in Mahiki we had to take advantage of the amazing cocktails on offer - all served in bizarre glasses with all sorts of things poking out of the top. We had a Poisoned Chalice and a couple of Lover's Cups, both served in huge fish bowls with ridiculous straws for sharing.

There was a lot of dancing to a huge mix of songs from M.I.A. to Rage Against the Machine and pretty much every genre and decade in between. There was a point where I felt it necessary to dance on stage, I'm not entirely sure why but hey, it's all in the name of bingo right?! One of my fabulous friends even went up to compete in a hula hooping challenge and won one of the famous Mahiki treasure chest cocktails!

And obviously it was a game after all so there had to be prizes! Aside from the treasure chest cocktail we weren't particularly lucky with what we won. Our haul consisted of 2 Superted DVDs, one packet of Pombear crisps and a Matt Cardle autobiography... don't be jealous now!

The atmosphere for the whole night was fantastic, we laughed and danced and drank and danced and hula hooped and eventually stumbled home bouncing like excited toddlers that had had too much sugar. Musical Bingo have a new residency at Mahiki and will be there once a month. I'll see you there!

Photos are by me or from the Musical Bingo Facebook page.