Melting Moments

As all overindulgence in the last two weeks of December is now a hazy but delightful memory and after a month of clean eating, morphing into a gym bunny and drinking enough water to sink a battleship, January - the month that makes the world feel guilty for enjoying Christmas - has finally come to an end. At this stage you either need congratulating for spending four weeks focussed and sticking to your New Year's resolutions, or congratulating for pretending so convincingly that you've spent the last 31 days being super well behaved when actually you've still been sneaking the odd chocolate bar and haven't actually broken that Diet Coke habit like you promised.

Either way, and no matter how you approached January, the most depressing month of the year is over - yay! - and there seems only one way to celebrate properly: baked goods. If you've been good, then you deserve it; and if not, who cares anyway? Treat yo' self!

These Melting Moments look beautiful, are the perfect accompaniment to a cup of tea, and taste wonderfully light, making them feel like a huge indulgence when they're really not.

Transformation Tuesday: Week 31

At first glance, this week wasn't much of a success at all. However, as far as I'm concerned it's gone pretty well indeed.

SAG Awards 2015 Best Dressed

At under a month away the Oscars are fast approaching, and last night's Screen Actors Guild Awards provided Hollywood yet another opportunity to celebrate the best acting talent of 2014, both in the worlds of film and television.

Many of the voters for these awards and the Oscars overlap, and so the nominees and winners at the SAG Awards often indicate who will be successful again in a few weeks time. Taking home the SAG statuettes were clear shoe-ins Julianne Moore (Best Actress); Patricia Arquette (Best Supporting Actress) and J. K. Simmons (Best Supporting Actress). The welcome mini-surprise of the evening went to Eddie Redmayne's win - he's been neck-and-neck with Michael Keaton all season, and often it's been too close to call, so this win really does bolster his chances for the Best Actor Oscar. In terms of television, the ensemble cast of Downton Abbey reigned supreme and Orange is the New Black seems to now be firmly (and bizarrely) in the comedy category. A full list of winners can be found on the SAG website here.

It has to be said, the SAG Awards red carpet has to be one of the best in recent years. Most men shunned the standard, boring black tuxedo and instead opted for a (sort of) rainbow of colours and textures; while the women shone in a variety of gowns that all have very little in common! As ever my selection of the best fashion hits is below...

The Ciné File Vol. 17

I love being surprised by films. I like not quite knowing what to expect of the finished product even if I've read every article going about the film before settling down in my seat at the cinema.

Selma surprised me this week. Mainly because I didn't know I was seeing it - it turned out to be the third film in Odeon's Screen Unseen series, but also because such a poignant and important moment in history was so wonderfully made. It's beyond moving and proves vital viewing.

If you're looking to be inspired this week then head to the cinema to see Wild. The book is a must-read, and Reese Witherspoon does an excellent job of bringing Cheryl Strayed's memoir to life.

Transformation Tuesday: Week 30

This has been the such a positive week that rereading last week's post makes me feel a bit silly.

The Ciné File Vol. 16

My film watching has taken a backseat this week as I rushed to finish the U.S. version of The Office, but I've managed to squeeze in one of my favourite films - The History Boys - and two new releases, both on opposite ends of the awards nomination spectrum in terms of one being heaped with praise and the other unexpectedly snubbed: American Sniper and Unbroken.

Critics' Choice Awards Best Dressed 2015

In all of the excitement in the morning with the announcement of the Oscar nominations I ridiculously almost forgot about another awards show held later on in the day in L.A. Many of the stars that had been recognised several hours earlier by the Academy came together on the blue carpet along with those that were controversially snubbed (Selma director Ava DuVernay and those involved in The Lego Movie come to mind immediately…) to celebrate the 20th Annual Critics' Choice Awards.

Boasting 24 categories, the winners are decided by a panel of nearly 300 reviewers in the Broadcast Film Critics Association. There's little overlap with Academy voters, but the top prize - simply titled Best Picture - has matched 12 times in the last 15 years, which bodes extremely well for this year's winner: the remarkable 12-year production, Boyhood. A full list of the winners can be found here, and if you're in the U.K. then Lifetime are screening highlights from the red carpet at 8pm, followed by the awards at 9pm, this evening (Sky channel 156).

As it's the first public appearance of many of the newly anointed Oscar contenders the fashion on the red (blue) carpet was pretty impressive indeed. As ever a full selection of looks can be found on the Vogue website here, but I've shifted though a couple of other galleries too to collate my Best Dressed list below.

Transformation Tuesday: Week 29

It's been a funny week, and I've struggled more than I think I ever have before.

Be warned, this is a longer post than usual, so I'd recommend putting the kettle on and getting comfortable...

Golden Globe Awards 2015 Best Dressed

Awards season officially started last night with the 72nd Golden Globe Awards held at The Beverley Hilton Hotel in California.

Although they herald the beginning of the season, the Golden Globes (the winners of which are selected by the freelance journalists of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association) are not seen as a cast-iron indication of which films or actors will be celebrating further success with the BAFTAs and Oscars in a few weeks time. Ultimately they're a lovely accolade to win - or be nominated for - but it's best not to make overly confident predictions at this stage based on the outcomes.

Once again it was a successful evening, hosted for the third and final time by the brilliant duo of Tina Fey and Amy Poehler. A full list of the winners can be found here, but in short it was a brilliant night for Boyhood (taking home Best Picture/Director/Supporting Actress), Birdman (Best Actor, Comedy/Screenplay) and Eddie Redmayne (Best Actor, Drama). In TV Gina Rodriguez took on comedy heavyweights and won (Best Actress in a TV Series, Musical or Comedy), Kevin Spacey made the most of a lack of Bryan Cranston and finally won a Golden Globe (Best Actor in a TV Series, Drama) and Joanne Froggatt made everyone cry with her acceptance speech for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Anna Bates in Downton Abbey.

Let's be honest, the red carpet wasn't too shabby either...

The Ciné File Vol. 15

This week has been full of trips to the cinema (Vue Super Saver Tuesdays are a life-saver…), as well as reminding myself that the Andrew Garfield Spider-Man sequel really was as bad as I remembered, and Philomena was actually even better finally following a second viewing.

It's also been the first time in a while that I've had to seriously try and convince myself that I actually liked a film, something I'm not comfortable doing at all and makes writing a review more difficult than I think it should be. Foxcatcher, I'm looking at you...

People's Choice Awards 2015 Best Dressed

It's been quite a while since I've done a regular fashion post (epic 2014 Best Dressed list obviously not included!) so yesterday's People's Choice Awards seemed like the perfect opportunity to get back in the swing of things and gently dip my toes into red carpet waters once more.

As far as awards season goes these aren't exactly overly important, nor do they really provide any sort of hint as to possible future winners over the coming months. However, as they're voted for by the public it's pretty interesting to see what people other than critics and members of various academies have enjoyed over the past year, and who they deem deserving of taking home the accolades and being showered with praise. The categories are pretty extensive, so a full list of winners (and there are a LOT) can be found here.

Transformation Tuesday: Week 28

After a couple of days off for Christmas and New Year I was dreading stepping on the scales this week for the fear that they'd reflect a dramatic veering off track. Logically I knew that wasn't going to happen, but as I've felt pretty positive with my weight over the last few days I was convinced I was ready for a reality check and a dose of negativity.

After six months of this I should have known better than to try and anticipate a result on the scales as I've consistently shown over time that I'm completely useless at gauging how I've done. Hence why I was pleasantly surprised last night.

The Ciné File Vol. 14

Thanks to the U.S. version of The Office currently taking over my life on Netflix, my film-watching hasn't been as extensive as normal this week, but I have managed to squeeze in a Disney film, a superhero film, and a Die Hard marathon. Obviously.

Plus, I've given 5* to the newly released The Theory of Everything, which is the sort of stunning and utterly remarkable movie that reminds you how truly great film can be.

Coming Soon: January 2015

Welcome to my new monthly film series, "Coming Soon"!

With busy schedules combined with the hundreds of films released each year, unless you've got your eye on something specific it can be pretty easy to let many hidden movie gems slip through the net and glide past unseen. Over the last week or so lots of websites have been uploading lists of films to look out for in 2015, but given how they're covering twelve months' worth of films it can be pretty overwhelming. Plus, the big movies hitting cinemas towards the end of the year are so far away that although it's wonderful to be excited about them now, the specific release dates are instantly forgettable.

At the start of each month I'm going to be collating a list of must-see films, covering both huge blockbusters and smaller independents. Hopefully you might come across a film you wouldn't normally pick, be reminded to see a film that piqued your interest via a trailer months ago, or be intrigued by something totally out of your comfort zone.

January is exceptionally bloated with films as a result of awards season, and although this offers an insane amount of movies to choose from, as far as I'm concerned that's not exactly a bad thing! From a biopic of Steven Hawking, to a Sondheim musical, to the adaptation of one woman's journey of self-discovery on the Pacific Crest Trail, there's definitely something for everyone, and taking into account the time of year it's safe to say that the standard at the moment is ridiculously high. Odds are, you won't be disappointed.

Blogging in 2015

I love blogging.

As far as hobbies go, I'm extremely glad I took it up two and a half years ago and I'm even more pleased that I've stuck with it.