A Musical Interlude

Ok, so this song is sung by a puppet. About another puppet. But jeeeeeeeeze.

Someone take me to see Avenue Q?

Dr Who Experience

Yeah, what she said. If you don’t wanna know what’s in the Dr Who Experience in Cardiff, read no further!

In a word? AWESOME! The Experience bit is pretty big. You’re led through a series of mock-ups of the sets, with video clips from the Dr. The Dr has ended up trapped in a second Pandorica and you have to bring him the Tardis. Of course, on the way, you have to fly the Tardis, face off against the Daleks and escape the Weeping Angels. The attention to detail is brilliant, and even the most hard-core Whovians would be pleased, I think.

After the Experience, you move through into the Exhibition. Here we found:

Costumes of all the past Drs, including Tom Baker and David Tenant;

control panels of previous incarnations of the Tardis;

several versions of the Tardis itself;

a highly creepy chap in a fantastic costume as one of The Silence (the way he moved was TERRIFYING);

some classic Dr Who baddies, like the Cybermen;

and the Daleks! Pretty much all the villians were there, with some displays of how they’re made. There were also costumes of various companions and guest stars, and of course, we found K9. There were some great props too, including the Dr’s cot, several Sonic Screwdrivers and the keys to the Tardis.

The Dr Who Experience was fantastic, to be frank. And a total bargain. It cost us £13 each to get in, which when you consider we were in there for quite a while, is pretty good value. I of course came home with my own Sonic Screwdriver too, a replica of Tenant’s.

And of course, we couldn’t leave with visiting Ianto’s memorial.

And seeing as we were in the Bay, it would have been rude not to take a ride on the carousel. Here you can see Netty trying out her new Sonic Screwdriver. It clearly made the horses faster.

All in all, I actually had a really good weekend. We stayed with my best friend on Friday night, and a night in that house really is a cure for everything. You always leave feeling better. After my post the other night, it won’t come as a surprise that Ronan and I are going our separate ways. I’m upset, obviously, but I feel quite calm about it tonight. We’ll be friends, I know, so for know, I can just love him and wait until we’re able to be friends instead. It’s hard still being in love with someone who no longer loves you, but at the moment, I’m feeling ok. Here’s hoping I stay that way.

Don't Tell Me 'Cause It Hurts

I've been wondering how much to say on here about what's going on with me at the moment. I hinted previously about having the weekend from hell, and those of you who follow me on Twitter may have already guessed.

Ronan and I have been together for a little over two years. For the last year, since we both graduated, we've been long-distance while we work in different places. The intention, for me at least, was that once we both had a foot in the door of our respective industries of choice, we'd try and move somewhere we could both work, so we could be together.

On Sunday, Ronan decided this was no longer what he wanted. He feels the distance has become too much and is making him feel disconnected from me.

Last night, we spoke on the phone, trying to make some sense of what's happening. We talked for over an hour and a half. He's requested more time to think.

Right now, I'm existing in this horrible limbo state, unable to speak to him until he's come to a decision. I think it goes without saying that I don't want to split up. For me, this relationship has been for the long-haul. Being apart has been hard, but I always thought it'd be worth it in the end. His doubts are absolutely killing me, but all I can do now is wait and hope. I'm certain there's more we can do to make this work, and I just hope he comes to feel the same. The way I see it, with more contact, more effort to make visits, that connection we've always shared won't feel like it's slipping away.

I won't be posting about all of this horribleness, I just wanted to get some of this out, to make it clear why things on the blog are likely to be quiet for a bit, why my posts will most likely change for a while. I can't begin to express how painful it is trying to cling to a relationship that's crumbling around you. All I want is to soothe the pain he's feeling, and even though he's the one hurting me, I want him because I'm hurting.

Sorry for the mope-fest. My head is in a crap place at the moment, and I'm struggling to come to terms with the fact that my time with someone I love intensely is most likely over. Thanks for your patience and understanding with the inevitable slip in posting.

Blog Lovin'

Excuse the house-keeping post, updating the coding for Blog Lovin' to match the change from a Blogspot address to a dot com.

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Let's Be Friends: The Blog Hop

This is a slight drive-by post I'm afraid, to update you all on a brilliant blogger project I've joined.

The lovely Sarah from Coming Unstitched, alongside Catherine of Small Town, Big Wardrobe, has started a 'blog hop'. The idea is to help bloggers get a boost of traffic through their blog, at the same time as give them new blogs to check out. 
If you go to Sarah's original post about the project here, she explains it much better than I just did. You can leave your links on the post until Friday. At the time of writing, there are 60 bloggers involved, so get over there, leave your links and get exploring some new-to-you blogs.


On a side-note, Caramel Latte Kiss is likely to be a little quiet for a few days. I was away over the weekend and, well, without explaining it all, my weekend ended up being absolutely horrendous. Basically, I'm not in a very happy place, which doesn't really go well with blogging. I have got lots of nice plans this week though, including dog-sitting a seriously cute Jack Russell, and visiting the new Dr Who exhibition in Cardiff, so regular posting will resume next week, but expect some radio silence this week. I'm undecided how much to explain about what's going on; I don't want to post my upset all over the internet, but depending what happens over the next couple of days, I might post about what's going on. 

£100 ASOS Blogger Challenge

I’ve been seeing lots of bloggers putting together these ASOS looks, for the £100 ASOS Blogger Challenge. In order to have a chance to win a £100 ASOS voucher, you have to put an entire outfit together for, you guessed it, £100 or less. Here’s my look:

• Ring £6
• Shirt £30
• Skinny jeans £22.99
• Shoes £35
• Bracelet £6

…which brings us to a grand total of £99.99.

These days, my funds are often somewhat limited (thanks rent), so I’ve had to curb my shopping habits a little. Now, before I part with my cash, I have to be sure I’m going to get good wear out of any new clothes or accessories, which means that most of my wardrobe has to do double duty for both work and play. With this in mind, I decided to create an outfit that I’d happily wear in the office and then straight out for after-work drinks.

Not all offices are jeans-friendly, but mine is, so I’ve chosen a pair of black skinnies, which look smart but also are casual enough to go out in. The shirt, when you look at it close-up, has got lovely broderie anglaise detail, which stops it from being another dull white work shirt. I also love the bow-tie detail, which I think gives it another edge to take it from office to bar. The jewellery is small, but quirky, so I’d think you could get away with it behind your desk, but still feel a bit ‘cool’ when you get out.

Let’s talk about the shoes. Oh my God, so pretty. The lace, the soft colour, the shape…drool. You know what, if I don’t win the voucher I’m probably going to buy these anyway.

Anyone else had a go at this? Leave your links, so I can have a nose.

Bargain Boots

I think I’m in love. A nice courier arrived on my doorstep this morning with a parcel of pretty, which was these lovelies. Just to clarify, it’s the shoes I’ve fallen for, not the courier. What makes them even lovelier is that they were an absolute bargain. Thank you for very much Zara sale. I highly recommend having a nose at the sale section on their website; there’s some great stuff for very good prices.

 

What about life lately? Well, today’s been one of those days where it’s time to leave the office before you have time to breathe. In October, we’re taking part in the Afrovibes festival, which is an international festival of dance, drama and music from South Africa. We had the launch today at work, so we’ve been very busy with guests and presentations. It’s been fun though, trying South African food and figuring out how on earth you’re supposed to address the mayor!

After my last blog post, a mate pointed out that I referred to Ronan as, well, Ronan, rather than MrKiss, like usual. I hadn’t noticed when I did it, but there we are. I guess he gets to have his name back, which I’m sure he’ll be very pleased about. I’m going to see him this weekend, finally, so I’m wishing the week away so I can get down there and see him. There’s going to be a couple of uni friends around the same weekend, and one of the guys he works with is a student at the uni we all studied at, so it’s going to be quite the gathering of Aberystwyth people, which is always nice. I’ll be honest, I’m giddy with excitement about getting down to Brixham at last and seeing the boy. Yay!

Why So Serious?

• Cardigan from H&M
• Necklace from Camden Market
• Top from…somewhere…it’s old and has one of those unhelpful obscure brand labels inside. Sorry!
• Jeans from Next
• Shoes from H&M

I took these pictures before I went away, and as you can see I experimented with the pigeon-toed blogger pose again. It has to be done occasionally, right?

The last few days have been…strange. I’m back into my routine now, and there’s lot of fun stuff coming at work with a launch for a big festival we’ve got coming up in the Autumn season. I’m just missing Ronan, I think. It’s been an absolute age since I last saw him, at least it feels that way. We haven’t managed a weekend off at the same time since my birthday, and then of course I was away. I wanted to go down this weekend, but he’s had to work. I am going to get down there next weekend though. It feels as though I’ve been back from holiday for a while, even though it’s only been a week, so I think that’s making it seem even longer.

I’m not one for a pity party (I hope not anyway), and I don’t talk much about my relationship on here much, but being long-distance really, really sucks sometimes. I think we’re lucky in that we were never the sort of couple who wanted to live in each other’s pockets anyway, and we are pretty independent of each other, but it does feel like a struggle sometimes. Don’t get me wrong, I know how lucky I am in that I don’t usually have to go more than a few weeks without seeing him. I don’t know how couples who are apart for months at a time cope. To be honest, some days are harder than others. The last few…well, last few weeks, if I’m honest have been hard.

Whoo, it’s getting serious in here. Let’s call it a night, huh?

Tenerife–Part Two

So, here we go, part two of my holiday in Tenerife. We went on an excursion up Mount Teide, which is the volcano in the middle of Tenerife. Mount Teide is 12,198 feet tall. The very top part, where the crater is, is protected now, and you have to have special permission to go up that far now. The rest of it is still open to the public though. We went most of the way by coach, which had spectacular views. The mountain is beautiful. We continued up in a cable car, and when we got out at the top…

…it was like another planet. As volcanoes go, Teide last exploded not all that ago. A few hundred years is a blip in Geology. This means that there is still a lot of Lava around, in these strange formations, and lots of Obsidian, as the plant life hasn’t been able to take root yet. Walking around at the top was like being on the moon or something. Totally bizarre, but so, so beautiful. You can look down on the clouds too, which was quite a bizarre feeling.

• Hat from Burton
• Sunglasses from Accesorize
• Handbag by Nica, with New Look scarf
• Top of long-forgotten origin
• Shorts from New Look
• Shoes from Priceless (classy).
• Bracelet  - bespoke gift (actually classy, haha)

Excuse the cardigan shoved over my bag, we were expecting it to be a little cooler on the top of the mountain. It was, but still warm enough for short sleeves. The path was quite rocky, so I’m very glad I put these little trainers on. We watched a few people tottering along in wedges or tripping over their flip-flops. Walking around was surprisingly hard-work, because the air was so thin.

Our final, and my favourite trip was a trip out on a Catamaran. They described it as having a luxury buffet, but that turned out to be fizzy drinks and ham baguettes. It was still great though. The sea was unbelievably blue, and we were able to swim in 30ft deep water of the back of the boat. Amazing. The best part though…

These little fins poking above the water belong to a family of Short-Fin Pilot Whales. They were about six in total, I think. It was hard to tell with them moving. I was surprised by how small they were; in my head, whales are massive. This is about the clearest shot I got of the whales.

The most amazing part though was undoubtedly these two beauties. These are Bottlenose Dolphins. They swam with the boat, right in front of it and alongside, for ages, playing in the surf it created. I love dolphins, and never thought I’d be able to get so close to them in the wild. Luxury ham sandwich buffet aside, the dolphins made the trip the highlight of the holiday.

So that’s it. Tenerife. Anyone else had a good holiday recently?