Friends - ♥ davinia hamilton

Friends

December30th

No Comments

2010 in review

Posted in: Friends, House & Home, Internet, Jewellery, Life, Music, Photography, Travel

As 2010 makes its exit, I think it’s time to look back at the year I’ve had and reflect on what I’ve achieved and learned from it.

In January, I moved out of my parents’ house and into my own place with my man. Of course, this has been one of the most important steps I’ve taken in my life. 2010 has seen me properly enter adulthood and take on quite a few responsibilities but I’ve also had a lot of fun with it.

I’ve also been taught quite a bit about what it really means to compromise and about the importance of space in a relationship. I’m so glad Andrew and I have separate rooms we can chill in alone, even though I love our together time.

Toward the beginning of the year I also started making my own jewellery. I had been meaning to take on something creative for a long time and I’m pretty pleased with the results of this. I hope to make more things in 2011 and hopefully start to sell them. Starting my own Etsy shop is on my list of 25 things to do.

At the end of March, Hutch and I went to London to watch Sir Ian McKellen in Waiting for Godot. London is my city. I need to visit every year, otherwise I feel like something is missing in my life. London feels more like home to me than any other place in the world.

Another life-changing event that happened this year was Hannah leaving the island. I’m surprised at how well I coped with this and how strong our friendship still is. We talk on Skype regularly and I went to visit her, twice. Still, this just goes to show that long distance friendships do work.

This year, I also went to watch Tori Amos in Amsterdam. Watching Tori in concert is always a spiritual experience for me. It’s amazing how the music connects the audience. I was even luckier because I got to watch Tori perform with an orchestra – something she’d never done before – which means I got a setlist full of amazing numbers like Jackie’s Strength, Flying Dutchman, Winter and Precious Things. I’m so happy Colette was able to join me for the show and that I also made a new friend, Sotaline, there.

My family and I also went abroad together for my birthday. We all went on a lovely cruise of the Mediterranean. This was perfect as I really needed some relaxation at the time. Andrew and I also managed to take some really amazing pictures of the places we visited. My photos of Rome also got published in Money Magazine.

This year was an alright year for the stage, though I hope to do much more acting next year. I took part in Shakespeare Revisited this year. I also sang with Renzo Spiteri and his amazing band at Notte Bianca. Working with musicians so down to earth and professional was so very refreshing. Also, as luck would have it, I sang a bit with Joseph Calleja and Riccardo Cocciante as well as my uncle Ivan Grech at my cousin’s wedding.

I also got my driving licence this year, after a ridiculous amount of attempts. You can’t imagine how happy I was when that happened and it’s great to be able to drive myself from place to place now.

Of course, I started the blog this year. It started out as just a small space to put my thoughts into writing but this blog has taught me more than I could have imagined, and made me so many new friends (hi, there!). And you, all my readers, are so amazing for supporting it and telling your friends about it. It encourages me so, so, so much when somebody tells me they enjoy reading what I write. Here’s to 2011 and many more posts to come!

So it looks like 2010 has been pretty good to me. It’s been a year of growing up. It has dealt me many situations – some easy and some trying – but I have learned a lot from all of them.

I have a good feeling about 2011. I think it is going to be a good year for dreamers.

Tell me about your 2010.
December13th

2 Comments

The wallflower at a party: five bits of advice

Posted in: Friends, Life, Lists, Positivity

‘Tis the season to be jolly. And party hard. But while some people treat parties like their natural habitats, some of us are more reserved and have a harder time socialising at parties. I mean, you need to converse. With strangers. Eeep!

So how can the wallflower feel more at home in a party setting? Obviously it takes a little more mindfulness if you’re not a social butterfly. But never fear! Here are five things you can do to make sure you feel a bit more comfortable at your next party – heck, you may even find yourself enjoying it!

1. Say yes.
It’s true, you guys. Think about the best times of your life; did they ever happen after you said ‘no’? I didn’t think so. If you find yourself saying no to everything, perhaps it’s time to shake things up a little. The next time somebody asks you whether you want to dance, say “Absolutely!”. If your friends ask you to join them for drinks after work, say you’d love to. If you’re really tired, set yourself a time limit: you’ll stay out for an hour. If you find yourself enjoying it, then just stay on. If not, then you tried, didn’t you? Saying yes means you’re willing to have new experiences and everybody loves people who are willing to step just a little bit outside their comfort zone.

A skiing trip this weekend? You'd love to!

2. Pick out the right clothes
At a party, you want to feel gorgeous – and you should. Pick out an outfit you love, and for God’s sake, make sure it’s comfortable. Yes, corsets look amazing, but they don’t feel too great after one too many sausage rolls and Martinis. If your clothes are pinching you, or you look amazing (but only if you suck in your belly and hold your breath) then maybe you should go and change. Another thing: dress appropriately! If you’re off to your office do, you may want to keep the shiny hot-pants for your next tarts and vicars party. It’s not that hard to dress in a way which is both comfortable and sexy. For more ideas, click here and here.

The Little Black Dress: Sexy, class, versatile and comfortable.

3. Don’t overdo it
It’s very easy to drink too much, especially at parties where the drinks are free. It’s also easy to rely on booze for courage. Drinking three G&Ts just before downing a tray of tequila shooters and finishing off with a nice Long Island Iced Tea will get you dancing and chatting. It’ll also act like truth serum and you may find yourself telling that girl from work what you really think of her. Also, the porcelain throne around your neck is generally not the best way to accessorise!

Not attractive.

4. Stay off the interweb!
It’s really sweet that you want to read my blog in the middle of your party (ahem) but if you’ve got your fingers glued to your iPhone touchscreen, the signal that gives off to other people is that you’re bored and unapproachable. Don’t Tweet or update your Facebook status at a party, even if you’re saying it’s a great party. It’s a little bit rude. Also, if you start playing games on your mobile, your hosts should have the right to kick you out. I’m just saying.

5. Talk, talk, talk
If the thought of starting a conversation with a person you barely know scares you, why not ‘prepare’ a few topics to talk about beforehand? Easy ones include: items in the news, music, films, fashion and food. And as cliche as it sounds, be yourself! Don’t pretend you’re savvy about something you’ve never heard of before because you WILL get caught out. Besides, people who can admit they don’t know everything are great. Share your opinions and if the discussion gets very heated, then remember the rules of arguments are to always listen to the other person and try to understand their perspective and to stay calm.
December7th

5 Comments

Dublin, take two, part two

Posted in: Friends, Life, Travel

Before you read on, if you already haven’t done so, read Part One here.

Alright, kids, back to our story:

We had planned on going ice skating on Sunday but our aching bones and muscles meant that was off the cards. Instead, we had a little wander around the quays.

Eventually we found a nice, warm, little coffee place which served breakfast. It was advertised as a Full Irish Breakfast, but it looks like a Full English to me. I don’t know what the difference is. You have your bacon and eggs, sausage, beans and toast:

I can’t complain, though. It was very tasty.

After breakfast and quite a lot of coffee, we started walking again – this time towards a Christmas market Han had been meaning to check out. It turned out to be a lot of fun. It was a flea market held in what seemed to be a converted house, with different stalls in different rooms. There was even a small hall with food and a live band in the middle of it all. They sold all sorts of vintage, retro and handmade things in there, and I also loved what the people were wearing. All those vintage dresses were so beautiful!

Here’s some photos of the market:

After the market, we walked back home. Everything was still frozen over:

Including us! So cold!

We went for a bit more shopping in the afternoon. Hannah says I shop like a machine. And I guess it’s true, but she is a noob.

We stopped for some dinner, then got ready to go out again. This time to a pole dancing competition. Sorry, guys, no photos of this. I’d never seen proper pole dancing live before so this was a new experience for me, which is always good. I have to say some of the girls were a bit hopeless (ahem, not that I could do any better, but I think you have to be of a certain standard to get up and pole dance in a competition).

The problem was that some of the girls were:
1. Trying too hard to be sexy, and coming off as slutty.
2. Too technical – they were lacking in emotion
3. Dancing to the wrong music.
4. Dressed badly. I’m all for the curves, as you know, but please make sure your bottom isn’t eating your thong while you dance. That is not a good look for anybody.

There were a couple of girls who got it spot on. It was fascinating and sensual, but not slutty; they made eye contact with the audience; and their routines were flawless and didn’t make me fear for their lives. I couldn’t find any of their vids up on YouTube yet, but here’s a video of the winner of last year’s Advanced Category:

After that, we braved the FREEZING cold and went to a bar, where we met a friend of Han’s. We were quite disappointed they closed a half hour too early, so we went to some other club, which had a live band, before heading home for less than two hours’ sleep.

And now here I am, back to reality. I’m glad Christmas is coming up and there are all these parties to go to because that breaks the routine, which is always a good thing.

Have you ever been to Dublin? What do you like to do when you’re there?
December6th

1 Comment

Dublin, take two, part one

Posted in: Food, Friends, Life, Travel

I have just come back from a short trip to Dublin – my second visit to the city in as many months! I went there to visit my awesome friend, Hannah, who moved there earlier this year.

Dublin is fast becoming one of my favourite cities. And now that I’ve seen it all decked out in Christmas lights, I think I’ve fallen even more in love with it.

I left on Friday. I was worried because on Thursday Dublin airport had been closed due to the vast amounts of snow on the runway. (For those of you who live under a rock, this is what the UK looked like at the end of last week) But on Friday morning, it all looked quite clear and no delays or cancellations were announced, so I got to the airport and checked in and, soon enough, I was in the air, flying toward Dublin.

When the flight was almost over, the pilot’s voice came over the speaker, saying something to the extent of, “We’re currently flying over Wales so we will be in Dublin soon but we have just been informed that Dublin airport has been closed in order for the runway to be cleared. Luckily, we’re stocked with about 4o extra minutes of fuel so we’ll circle a bit and if we see the airport hasn’t been opened then, we’ll land somewhere else.”

Aaaagh! I didn’t want to end up alone in Belfast or at Shannon airport!

Luckily, Dublin airport reopened and we landed there. And…

…wait. Before I explain this next bit, you have to know that where I live, in Malta, it has never snowed. It rains an awful lot and we get hail sometimes, but never snow. And so snow is still something quite magical to me.

So when we landed in Dublin and EVERYTHING was covered in white ice, it felt a little like a fairytale to me. I could even bear the biting, sub-zero temperature.

From the hotel, I caught the Aircoach to O’Connell Street, where I met Hannah, who walked me to her flat and offered me some tea and showed me her Christmas decorations, including her Christmas tree! Yay!

That night, we met Debbie for dinner at Yamamori, which was absolutely fantastic. I <3 Japanese food, especially when it is done so well. I could eat sushi forever and ever; teppan yaki even more so.

The next morning, we walked to St Stephen’s Green so we could catch the Luas.Oh, by the way, I’m not kidding about everything being covered in ice:

Of course, to warm ourselves up, we had to get a to-die-for hot chocolate from Butler’s. Mmmmm!

We walked past a cute little tea shop:

As well as the best window display ever at Brown Thomas. It was so beautiful and detailed and each window told a story. Very much like the window displays at Selfridges on Oxford Street, London, but better. Look!

Yeah, we really did like that display. Now you get a gratuitous photo of us:

We did eventually get onto the Luas and headed to Dundrum, a pretty big shopping centre, where we next few hours shopping, mostly at Penney’s. Actually, as much as I like Penney’s and Primark, I really wish they were more consistent with their sizes. I have clothes I bought there recently ranging from a size 14 to an 18, and sometimes the 14 will be loose or the 18 too tight. I hate that. Stick to a standard for your sizes. It makes your customers happy.

What I WAS happy with was a pair of black imitation Ugg boots which cost me €8. Yes, I know Ugg boots are ugly and a travesty etc etc, but they are AWESOME to walk about on the ice in, and they also have fleece inside, which makes your feet nice and toasty. These are what Ugg boots look like, in case you didn’t know:

Oh, look what was inside the shopping centre!

Stopped for lunch, of course. This was a Pad Thai from the food court:

After a couple more hours of shopping, we made our way back home, carrying super heavy bags (my entire body aches as a consequence) so as to start getting ready for the evening.

My new favourite jacket from Dunne’s, together with my favourite scarf and new hat.

And Hannah, looking wonderful in black and red, with her brand new skirt <3

We walked down to The Academy, which is a fantastic alternative venue that do a lot of live bands. We went to watch…

…Electric Six, my new favourite band. I knew some of their songs before but had never really paid much attention to them. The gig was so, so, so much fun though. The energy was infectious and there was a mosh pit! Something I haven’t seen in SUCH a long time in Malta (does anybody remember that gig back in 2002 at Allstars? Best. Moshpit. Ever.) We were all dancing and singing along and when they played Gay Bar… everybody went absoutely crazy. It was fantastic.

After the gig, Han and I had a few drinks at this cool bar called The Garage before heading home.

More in part two, tomorrow
October19th

4 Comments

The colourful city

Posted in: Friends, Life, Photography, Travel

Last week, I went to Dublin to visit Hannah for a few days. I’ve been meaning to post the photos here earlier but hadn’t found the time.

I’d never been to Dublin before. I really, really enjoyed it there. The city is absolutely beautiful and so are its people. It’s such a friendly place. They love their literature and their music – and their beer, of course. The place is just full of theatres and cafes and vintage shops. But what impressed me most was just how colourful Dublin is! Have a look:

That’s Hannah at The Winding Stair, this gorgeous little bookshop-cum-restaurant we went to with the wonderful Debbie which does all this hearty Irish food. I had an apricot, pistachio and pork sausage with crusty bread for starters, thick bacon with mash and a divine cream sauce for mains, and a bread-and-butter pudding with whisky sauce for dessert. Absolutely divine.

That’s Christ Church, and a group of schoolboys on an outing.

Of course, we went to Yo Sushi and pigged out a little. We don’t have a Yo Sushi restaurant here in Malta, so I always go a little crazy whenever I see one abroad. It’s just so cute! Here’s Hannah with her colour-coded dishes:

We also went on the Dublin Literary Pub Crawl, which I would recommend if you have a free evening in Dublin and if you’re as much of a literature geek as I am. Very entertaining – especially the guys leading the tour acting out one of Oscar Wilde’s letters and a scene from Waiting for Godot, among other things <3

Three days were definitely not enough. I hope to have the opportunity to explore Dublin even more next time. I’m already planning the trip!
September24th

1 Comment

TILF (things I love Friday): September 24

Posted in: Art & Culture, Blogs, Fashion, Friends, Internet, Life, Lists, Movies, Music, Photography, TILT, TV, Uncategorized

I missed it ! I missed TILT yesterday, just like I did last Thursday. I hope you guys don’t mind me doing TILF instead (that’s Things I Love Friday) to make up for it. I’ve had a busy week, busy but good, and here’s what’s been great about it.

Gozo
Last Tuesday we celebrated Independence Day, which means I had an extra long weekend which Andrew and I spent in Gozo. Malta’s sister island is really peaceful and has retained most of its rural character. We spend a few weekends a year there when we can and always come back feeling energised. It’s a pity it was already to cold to go swimming, but that’s okay. We had good food and wine, good books, a couple of DVDs and even more good food, like Hobz biz-zejt. Mmmm. Also, don’t you love these photos of Gozo which I found on Flickr? Clicking them will take you to the photographer’s page.

Mooncake
I am not the most adventurous eater in the world. I’m nothing like the magnificent Andrew Zimmern, who munches away happily on bugs and beaks. Yesterday, however, I had the opportunity to taste mooncake for the very first time, so I did. Mooncakes are Chinese semi-sweet pastries eaten during the Mid-Autumn Festival. They’re usually filled with lotus seed paste and have egg yolk in the middle to symbolise the moon. My verdict: I wasn’t crazy about the taste, but it’s certainly interesting. They are absolutely beautiful to look at, though. Have a look at the above Flickr photos.

Notte Bianca
I’ll be taking part in Notte Bianca tomorrow. I’m singing a set with Renzo Spiteri on drums, Jes Psaila on guitar and Juan Camilleri on bass, at Europe House, St Paul’s Street, Valletta from 8 p.m.

Hutch and me

Me and Andrew

Me and Rachel

Sam, Danjel and Hutch

Platinum Love launch party
The party was great and the first print issue of the magazine is AMAZING. You have to get your hands on a copy of it!

The Guardian’s film challenge
The animation on this is incredible and it’s so fun to try and figure out what movies are being referenced. There are 26 in total; I’ve got 19 so far. What about you?

Glee
Glee is back on TV! YAY! I am loving the new characters, especially Sunshine Corazon, who is so adorable. Rachel has a great recap (GLEECAP!) of season 2 episode one on her blog, here.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower
I really wish I had read this book back when I was 15. It’s just such a good snapshot of what goes on in your head when you’re 15. I know I’m not the only person here who can relate to Charlie. I loved his description of the first time he read The Catcher in the Rye (I remember my first time too, and it’s still one of my absolute favourite books). Also, the drama, the intense hormones, friends, feeling ‘infinite’… do yourself a favour and read it if you haven’t. And if you know any teenagers, do them a favour and buy it for them.
September4th

1 Comment

Odd beats and short skirts

Posted in: Friends, Music

Had a long and busy day yesterday. After work I rushed straight to a (very productive) rehearsal. My brain seems to finally be wrapping itself around the idea of transforming a very well-known song in 4/4 into 5/4 and 6/8. I’m even getting the hang of time signature shifts. Go brain!

After rehearsal I rushed to Rokna to meet the girls, including Hannah! Yay! Everybody looked so nice and dressed up. There I was, still in my work clothes and make-up that had been on since 8.30 a.m. Oh dear.

Still, we had a lovely time. After a yummy pizza, we headed off for a couple of drinks in Paceville. I’m going to go off on a bit of a tangent here. I don’t go to Paceville very often, mainly because it’s full of 16-year-old kids in clothes which are way too short and tight for them. The music is so loud you can’t even hear yourself think. It’s good to have a thriving clubbing scene, but we REALLY need some places in the central area that people can go to for a drink and a chat, where the music volume does not threaten to rip a hole through your ear drums and where you can relax without having to look at people’s exposed bums, or have your own bum grabbed several times by men who honest to god do not realise that is not the way to get a girl’s attention.

*Deep breath*

Now that rant is out of the way, here’s a couple of photos from last night:

Hannah, me and Carla.

Han and I trying, unsuccessfully, to take photos in the car

Han and I at Rokna
September2nd

No Comments

TILT: September 2

Posted in: Belly Dance, Friends, TILT

Yep, it’s that time of the week again. I’ve had a pretty good week so far, though pretty busy. I’ve not had a chance to sleep in in a long time, and it looks like it’ll be another week or so before I’ll be able to stay in bed past 10 a.m. on the weekend. But that’s alright. I like being busy. It beats being bored. Here’s what’s made my week unboring.

Hannah is visiting!
YAY! Remember when I talked about how my awesome friend Hannah was moving to Dublin? She’s been there for four months already and while Skype makes the distance bearable, I still miss her like crazy. So you can imagine how excited I am she’ll be visiting for a few days. It’ll be good to properly catch up with her a bit. And maybe this time I won’t bawl my eyes out at the end of the evening, because I’ll be the one visiting her in October – just over a month =D

Gypsy Caravan
The girls and I got our hands on the Gypsy Caravan Tribal Technique DVD bundle and we had a long dance lesson yesterday where we learnt a few new moves. It was a really productive lesson and a pretty great workout. I’d like to dedicate an hour a day to dance and practice and stick to it as much as I can. Belly dance, especially tribal dance, is a very good workout and is perfect for connecting to, and strengthening, your core muscles, as well as toning up. Also, the costumes are fantastic.
Another thing I love about tribal belly dance is that it’s not danced for men. Egyptian and cabaret belly dance are beautiful to watch and sexualise the dancer; tribal belly dance is about dancing as a sisterhood, taking turns to lead the group, connecting to the earth. I love that. It’s beautiful in a completely different way.

True Blood Season 1
First of all, I have a big crush on the vampire Bill Compton. He’s got that repressed sexuality thing going, much like Jane Eyre’s Mr Rochester and Mr Darcy from Pride and Prejudice. Throw in a little bit of Wuthering Heights‘ Heathcliff’s passion into the mix and you have something good. And he’s a vampire. And not the silly, juvenile, shiny-skin Twilight type of vampire either. And Sookie Stackhouse, unlike Bella from Twilight is actually a compelling character.
We’re only about six episodes into the first season (long episodes ftw) but I’m already in love with this show. It’s clever, well-written, well-acted, well-directed. It has you laughing or smirking along in all the right places. It’s got romance, but romance that even cynics can stomach. Yes, I think it was a good idea watching this show.

Cute stationery
It’s a stapler. Shaped like sushi. Do I really need to say more??
August31st

1 Comment

Sketchbook Party: The deity chips

Posted in: Art & Culture, Friends, Life, Recipes

Last Sunday, Lexi, Phil, Miriam and I met at Miriam’s place for our very first Sketchbook Party. For those of you who’ve just started reading this blog, my friends and I are taking part in The Sketchbook Project and came up with the idea of organising parties during which we meet up and exchange ideas, hopefully to get the creative juices flowing a little (this is probably helped by the fact that there is also wine involved).

So we did meet up and we got some things done. A lot of magazines were cut up for collage fodder, a few faces were drawn and coloured in, and so on.

However, the real star of the show last Sunday was the food – namely Lexi’s ‘Chips of Jesus’, which we later dubbed ‘Oh My Various Gods Chips’.

Look:

That’s right. Homemade potato chips with diced bacon, onions and Cheddar cheese. Artery-clogging stuff but, oh my various gods, so SO good. For a picture tutorial on how to make these, visit Miriam’s awesome food blog.

We also had some of Miriam’s amazing butternut squash and walnut soup, the recipe for which can be found here (don’t you know butternut squash is the new aubergine, daahling?):

Of course, Benny the cat entertained us a little too by going ninja on an elastic band. Also, his DOOON’T TAKE MY PEEEKCHUR face:

Strike a poze, thar's nothing to eet

And, for those among you who are curious, here’s another finished drawing from my sketchbook:
April28th

5 Comments

My best friend is leaving

Posted in: Friends

Hannah and me backstage at the first Burlesque! Burlesque! show at Chiaroscuro, Valletta, in December 2008.

About eight years ago, when I was still idolising Kurt Cobain, wearing torn, unmatched, striped knee-high socks and torn up jeans, I came home from school one day to find a friend request on the now defunct deadjournal, where, in true angsty goth fashion, I vented my little heart out. The request was from somebody called ‘necrogrrl’, who was also from Malta, who was my age and who, on her alturl website, said she took books to nightclubs and posted photos of herself holding candles in a cemetery.

I was intrigued, so I accepted her request and we passively followed each other on deadjournal, then livejournal, and occasionally made comments on each other’s thinly-veiled allpoetry angst.

She went to the same sixth form I did, but we didn’t really speak, though we met each other at metal gigs and out in Paceville on the weekend.

Then, at University, we took English together. And that’s when we really started hanging out. We discovered we both loved books, obviously, but also shared the same sense of humour, taste in films, clothes, discovered belly dance together. We went to France together twice and spent numerous nights watching weepy movies and eating pizza.

On Monday, Hannah will be leaving Malta for good. She’s relocating to Dublin. I’m happy for her, but I am going to miss her something terrible. At least I’ll be visiting Dublin an awful lot.

And, really, as cliched as it sounds, and maybe somebody should cue the swelling music, true friendship can’t really be dented by distance.