theatre review - Steel Magnolias

Dear Mothers and Daughters,

On Tuesday night, I put on a nice pretty dress and with my mum headed to Milton Keynes theatre to watch this all women play. Now I know this play has been turned in to a film staring Julia Roberts, however I've never watched the film, but on Sunday it was on channel 5 so I have V+ ready to watch soon. A work colleague had told me to make sure I had some tissues as she was sure I would have a few tears. Without knowing much about the play I read the program wanting to know a little more. The play is written by Robert Harling who after graduating in law moved to New York from the south to pursue a career in the theatre, when his younger sister and best friend, Susan, died in 1985. She was a lifelong diabetic who had risked her life to have a son, and later died from complications as a result. Harling found it difficult coping with the loss of his sister, so after a suggestion by his friends he started writing his feelings and created a short story which was later developed into a full length play. (Parts taken from the Program)

 This is a well know cast as they have been in many TV shows, films and theatre productions. The cast was Kacey Ainsworth, Denise Welch, Charie Lunghi, Sadie Pickering, Isla Blair and Cheryl Campbell.

After reading program, I could see where this play was going and looking forward to it. With nice comfortable sits my mum and I were ready to be entertained. The show is set in Truvy beauty salon, and the set only ever has small changes. You feel apart of the women's conversations as the play begins on the day of Shelby's wedding, with everyone getting ready for the big day. Kacey Ainsworth character, Annelle is new to the area and new to the job in Truvy's (Denise Welch) salon, through the women explaining their lives to this new lady in town, you learn all about each character. You can tell the women are all close, however poke fun at each other with good humour. The actresses were great showing the feeling of each characters and getting the audience involved with their story, you totally fall for these characters and their lives in this small town. Shelby's health is revealed in the salon when she takes a turn, her mother M'Lynn (Isla Blair) explains to Annelle and the audience about her daughter condition and however she should not have children as her life would be a risk, but also how much she loves her.
We then follow the ladies months later when Shelby happily married comes back to visit with news which she feels happy about, however not all the women feel the same. Having a child is just want Shelby wants however it isn't best for her.
The actresses are brilliant at telling this story, which has you laughing and crying all at the same time. I couldn't help but laughing out loud and reaching for a tissue to dry my eyes. Such a beautiful story, and a pleasure to watch. After the show I asked my mum if I could have a kidney which she reply "of course", to which to returned, "I've got a spare, if you ever need it".

If you get chance to catch this show while it tours the UK, check it out, I'm sure its one you will enjoy.

Take care,

Love Lolly
xoxo

book review - "Things I want my Daughters to Know"

Dear everyone,

I hope you are enjoying your day, I just thought I'd take some time out to tell you all about another book from my collection. I reviewed recently another book by this author and thought I'd share this one with you. "Things I want my Daughters to Know" is another beautiful book by Elizabeth Noble, one that will have you crying to the last page.

The Blurb reads:

How would you say goodbye to those you love

most in the world?

Barbara must say a final farewell to her four daughters. But how can

she find the words? And how can she leave them when they each

have so much growing up still to do?

Take Lisa, in her thirties but terrified of commitment - or brittle,

unhappily married Jennifer. Amanda, the traveller, is always a little

apart from her sisters and teenage Hannah faces adult life without

a mother at her side.

Barbara's answer is to write each daughter a letter, finally expressing

the hopes, fears, dreams and secrets she couldn't always voice. These

words will touch the girls in different - sometimes shocking - ways,

unlocking emotions and passions to set them on their own journey

of discovery through life.



This is such a lovely read for anyone who has a mother or is a mother, you will be wanting to spend more time with your family as you realise how much they mean to you, but also how much they will be missed when they are gone. The four daughters are finding it hard in different ways to deal with the passing of their mother. Barbara leaves each daughter a special letter just for them, as this is the only way she can explain all her thoughts that she know she won't get chance to tell them. Each daughter feels differently about what they have been told, questioning who their mother really was, and why she wait till she was no longer around to tell them. You will be shocked, laughing, and crying throughout this book, I know tears were falling at parts. My heart strings went out to each daughter, trying to understand how each deals with their lost of their mother. I know we all want to do best for our children, or do our best as children for our mothers, this story tells the side no only of a mother sad to leave her children, but daughters copying with the lost of their mother and best friend.

This is a book that any mother and daughter need to read!!

Enjoy,

Love Lolly

xoxo

Book review - "The Girl Next Door" By Elizabeth Noble

Dear Everyone,

I'm still busy working my way through my book collection, so I thought I'd suggest another book for you all to read. I found this book a few years ago when I was searching through the shelves at my local Waterstones. I normally pick books by suggestions of friends or reviews I've read, however after reading the blurb I just wanted to know more.

The Blurb reads:

What Makes a house a home?

For Eve Gallagher, home is miles away in England since she and her

husband relocated to an apartment building on New York's Upper East

Side. And life isn't remotely coming up roses.

What makes a neighbour a friend?

Violet has lived in the building for decades but she's always kept herself

apart, until Eve's loneliness touches her heart and friendship blossoms.

What makes a wife a lover?

Jason Kramer in Apartment 6A is no longer sure he loves his wife, but

he's head-over-heels for Rachael Schulman in 6B.

What makes the girl next door the woman of your dreams?

Meeting Emily Mikanowski from 3A turns Trip Grayling's world upside

down. It's love at first sight, but he needs help from Charlotte, the shy

romance addict in 2A, if he's going to win the girl.

Dreams come true, hearts are broken and no one is left unchanged when

the secrets and desires hidden behind closed doors are finally brought

into the light.

This is all the stories from one building will have you thinking that you know all the gossip, however some of it you'll be wishing you never knew. From love and friendships, this apartment building has a mix of people. You are welcomed into the build by Eve Gallagher who is new not just to the build but new to New York and the USA. She has big dreams for her and her husband, however things don't always go to plan. From her you learn the life of the other residents living in the building, their highs and their lows, you'll feel that you are living their too.

I hope you enjoy this beautiful book by Elizabeth Noble. I do know she has written more books for us all to enjoy.

Take care,

Love Lolly

xoxo

Review - Keeping Faith, By Jodi Picoult

Dear Readers,

By now you can tell that I love reading, as I have blogged about many books that I have read. I thought I'd share with you all another of my favourite authors, Jodi Picoult. She has many books out that you can enjoy, i shall share my opinions about them all over time, however i thought I'd share my thoughts on one of her books ,"Keeping Faith".

The blurb reads:

When Mariah White catches her husband

with another woman, her life starts to fall

apart. And when her daughter, Faith begins

to confide in an imaginary friend, her

own brush with insanity starts to

take on a darker meaning.

Then Faith appears to start

performing miracles, and all at once

the situation is spiralling beyond

Mariah's control. Is Faith truly

seeing God? Or is she just a troubled little

girl seeking refuge from her parents' divorce?

When it comes to matters of faith, it's hard

to know who to believe...

This is a fascinating story which will have you second guessing all the way through. You truly want to know more about these characters and how they are coping with the situation. Most children have imaginary friends, but when Faith tells her mother hers is God, religion is thrown into the works. Mariah doesn't know who to turn to, with only her own mother on her side, religion isn't something she want to get involved with. Such a beautiful story that will have you wanting more. I know I couldn't put it down till the last page!

If you want to get into a new book, this could be for you. I've already lent this to a friend who said she loved it too!

I hope you enjoy.

Love Lolly

xoxo

New dresses I brought

Dear clothes lovers,

I decided recently when the sun was shining that I needed some new day dresses. Now, I'll be the first to say I have a few clothes (well a wardrobe full, but who's keeping count) however I do believe you can't have too many clothes as you always need the right outfit for each occasion, and you can never find it when you need it. Getting back to what I was saying, I thought I needed some new day dresses, so instead of heading out to hit the shops, get caught in all the traffic then take ages to find somewhere to park, I thought I'd try on line instead. I had never used Boohoo.com before, but there had been many TV adverts about recently for them, my favourite fashion mag also had featured a few of their items. Therefore I thought I'd check them out! I wasn't disappointed, as they had loads!!! It was exciting to see all the different day dresses, you can view each one in picture form on a model, zoom in on the detail at different angles and even watch a model walk a catwalk to see what it looks like. This helps to see what looks like on, but also from different angles. It's easy to pick different sizes and some even have different colour. You can also read other peoples reviews of the item you are viewing. They are very honest answers, saying the pros's and con's of each item.

Not before long, I had filled up my basket with a few goodies. You can easily check over your items making sure you have everything you want. You can then quite quickly create an account, you can even pay via pay pal. There are few different delivery options, but all quick and pain less. I placed my order late Wednesday night, payed for the delivery where I would receive my stuff in four working day. You can have next day deliver and even Saturday delivery. When Monday morning arrived so did all my lovely clothes!!

There's the dresses I ordered:

The Sarah Belted skater dress.

- £15.00

I've already worn this dress to the theatre early on this week! I've added my own belt in this photo as I want larger belt, however it does come with a thin black belt. The colour I'm wearing is Cobalt however it does come in 14 different colours in total. So there is plenty of choice, I'm so tempted to buy another colour too.

The Esme Striped short sleeve skater dress.

- £15.00 (Sale)

My photo doesn't show the colour properly, however it is a light mint green and white colour, but does come in coral too. I think this a lovely summer day dress, but I can add a belt and heels to dress it up, or a cardigan and tights to dress it down. I love the short sleeves and the length of the dress. Roll on summer!

Brittany Lace Contrast strappy dress

- £18.00

This dress has an under colour of cerise pink with a white lace over the top, it is a very girly dress and perfect for the summer. I don't feel that I need to add much to the dress as it is so pretty on its own, heels or flats would suit. This dress would be perfect for a wedding or just chilling in a pub garden on a sunny day.

I did in count a small problem with one of the dresses as there was a stitching mark across the back, where a pull had happened. I contacted Boohoo, and told me to send the dress back and they would send another one out. They were so helpful, and answered all my questions, making me feel happy with the service. The dress was then send out on next day deliver! Saturday morning my dress was waiting for me!! Perfect!

So if you are looking for an outfit for a special occasion or just for a Saturday night out, check out boohoo as they have a great selection available at reasonable prices. I've already order two more dresses, just waiting for them to arrive.

Enjoy your weekend.

Love Lolly

xoxo

Film review -Snow white and the huntsman

Dear Film Goers,

With yesterday being so wet and miserable, my friend and I decided to head to the cinema to see Kristen Stewart's new film since twilight. Now this is a classic fairy story retold in a darker way, most of us have seen the Disney version of this film, I know I did as a child. There are some other big names like Chris Hemsworth as the huntsman and Charlize Theron as the evil queen included in this film, so you know they have pulled out all the stops. Kristen Stewart does put on a English accent which I wasn't to sure about, but I must say I've heard much worse. She doesn't say a lot till a long speech nearer the end. She does really well with the action scenes she was given, she looks a lot more stronger than from twilight, showing off a action side to her acting skills. There are parts where you do think "Twilight" like when she jumps off a cliff, but its all good. Chris Hemsworth is perfect as the Huntsman, (very hot too!) looking very strong and in control in all his scenes, the perfect protector for snow white. The evil queen is portrayed beautifully evil by Charlize Theron, not only does she look stunning, she ripples off danger, (lets just say I wouldn't want to be in a fighter with her). She does hold camera, making the audience follow her every move. With her character I did enjoy the back story that has been added, this help you to understand her much more.
Now you can't but love the dwarfs in this film!!! My friend and I loved who had been cast, watching some great names play these characters we all remember, adding humour to the whole film.

So overall this is a dark version of a well know tale, keeping all the main characters, but adding some more and showing more of the back ground of each - I like how prince charming is still included. Even the red apple is there.

The only down side to the film, is how long is. I would recommend going to the loo before and trying not to drink too much while you are watching, I had to run to the loo when it had finished. There might be bits that you could change, and some bits do go on a bit long, however I can see why the director has made them this way, he wanted all of the story to be told, I don't think anything has been lost. You can tell there could be another film in the works, but I really hope they don't try and over do it!

So if its raining tomorrow and you don't want to stay at your own house, go see this film!!



Let me know you thoughts on the film,

Love Lolly
xoxo

Book Review - I heart New York

Dear Readers

I hope you all are enjoy this extra long weekend, and have your union Jack flags flying for the Queens Diamond Jubilee, I know I have! I just hope the weather gets back on our side, because this morning the rain has been falling outside.
Well, this week a new book will be out from one of my favourite set of books. "I heart London" is a follow on the I heart series by Lindsey Kelk.

The series of books so far,

in order Right to left.



The set of books follows Angela and her travels across the pond to New York. She leaves England when she catches her boyfriend cheating on her at her bestfriends wedding, feeling like she needs to get away she packs a bag, catches a flight and travels to New York.

Here is the blurb from I heart New York:

"Fleeing her boyfriend and clutching little more then

a crumpled bridesmaid dress, a pair of Louboutins and her passport,

Angela jumps on a plane - destination NYC.

Holed up in a cute hotel room, Angela get a New York makeover from her

NBF Jenny and a whirlwind tour of the city that never sleeps. Before she

knows it, Angela is dating two sexy guys. And, best of all, she gets to write

about it in her new blog (Carrie Bradshaw eat your heart out). But it's one

thing telling readers about your romantic dilemmas, it's another figuring

them out yourself...

Angela has fallen head over heels for the big apple,

but does she heart New York more than home?"

This book is here and now! I loved hearing about New York from a British point of view, getting to the heart of how the big apple buzzes, but also the shops and cocktail bars we all want to find. Angela is living the life we all want to hear about in NY however will it all come crashing down around her. Also what about her family waiting at home for her, wanting the best for her, but also wants her to come home soon. This first book in the series throws you into the life of Angela and her ups and downs. Each follow on book will having you HEARTING these books more and more. These books will also making you want to drop it all and head to the Big apple in I heart New York, stroll down the Sunset strip in I Heart Hollywood, clime the Eiffel Tower in I heart Paris, and party hard in I heart Vegas.

Overall these are a wonderful set of books, and I was so excited to hear that another one was coming out soon, which I can't wait to get stuck into! This is a book that needs to be in your suitcase ready for your holiday.

Enjoy the rest of the bank holiday, I'm willing the sun to stay shining for a while.

Love Lolly

xoxo