Blast from the past

When I'm getting ready in the morning my style very much depends on whatever I've been inspired by lately. That could be a film that came out, a girl I saw in the street, whatever my hair wants to do that day, a look I saw in a magazine or just something I've been meaning to try out. As we are fast approaching Valentines Day, Pancake Day, Easter, Spring and all those new beginning days that January-May gives us it's good to have a look back on times gone by and there's no better way to remember a moment in time than through a visual...

'ABC' by 'The Jackson Five'

Every Saturday up until I went to University my mum would put 'The Jackson Five' album on and clean the whole house. I would usually get roped into hoovering or cleaning the bathroom and as much as I moaned I didn't really mind because alone time with your mum is invaluable and dancing around the house with her to this song always put us in the best mood. If I'm ever feeling down now it's this song I put on.

'Naive' by 'The Kooks'

Back in Highschool I fell for the lead guitarist in an indie band. Unfortunately he fell for my best friend. I'm not sure how but we ended up dating for two years after that and I just remember constantly playing this song as well as 'The Kasier Chiefs' and 'The Killers'. Clearly I was going through my indie phase, music I now can't stand!

'Tonight's The Kind of Night' by 'Noah And The Whale'

My friends and I got last minute tickets to a 'Noah And The Whale' concert at The Eden Project in Cornwall and drove down with a picnic on one of the wettest days I have ever seen. We played the album on the way down when the sun was still shining and I just remember feeling ridiculously happy that some of my favourite people were sat in the same car as me all singing along. We set up our picnic in a bus shelter and all the paper plates and the tablecloth blew off! 

'Frisky' by 'Tinie Tempah'

When I was nineteen I went to Ibiza with some friends and we had one pair of speakers and one Ipod between us all and no charger, I don't know why. This song had just come out and at the time I worked at a nightclub where Tinie Tempah was coming to perform at so we were all very excited. Because of the lack of battery we were only allowed to play this once a night before we went out and we'd go nuts bouncing all over the apartment. I took £100 with me on that holiday, ate meals from the kids section of the menu because I couldn't afford adult sized portions and we bought one bottle of alcohol from the supermarket the first night we got there which was 80% pure alcohol and would do shots and play cards before we went out.

    

'Hey Mamma' by 'Kanye West'

Another song that massively reminds me of my mum. We'd drive to 'Legs, bums and tums' class at the gym on a Tuesday night and sing this on the way.

'Riding Solo' by 'Jason Derulo'

I just love this song. When I was at uni and this song came on my friends would always look over at me and I'd have a massive smile on my face, singing all the words and dancing like the whitest white girl you ever knew. For three years it was just my song.

'High' by 'The Lighthouse Family'

This song always reminds me of long car journeys with my dad. We'd play the whole album and he'd get really into it trying to hit the high notes.

'Defying Gravity' by 'Wicked'

My best friend through uni introduced me to this musical soundtrack and we'd sing this song to each other across the landing.

'Oo La La' by 'The Faces'

I think the only DVD me and my sister could ever agree on watching when we were little was 'Without A Paddle' and this soundtrack brings back happy memories of when we'd sit on my bed watching films. Even when we hated each other and didn't speak a word throughout the entire film we'd still watch them and then she'd get up and leave. 

'The Hills'

LC, Audrinna, Whitney and Heidi were mine and my best friends style inspirations throughout College. I remember one time we went into College, got half way up the corridor to Sociology class before deciding we didn't want to be there today and went back to her house to watch episodes of 'The Hills' on repeat. That happened pretty often. Before this we loved 'Laguna Beach' and would wear denim skirts and tshirts and converse until Lauren Conrad showed up at Teen Vogue in pearls, a headband and a cardigan.

'Bad Girls' by 'Jacqueline Wilson'

All of the Wilson books were brilliant but it was 'Bad Girls' that did it for me. I loved her descriptions of all the girls describing everything from their hair to their make up and their clothes and I'd switch between which characters I wanted to be all the time. I still read these books even now!

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'Tammy Girl'

'Tammy' was where anyone who was anyone bought their clothes in Junior School. One of my favourite days was when my mum took me in and let me pick anything I wanted and I picked a black catsuit with gold glitter all over it for the school disco and she did my hair in two buns on top of my head so I looked like Scary Spice. I really really wish I had photos.

'Dinosaurs'

I used to get babysat by someone who lived round the corner from us who had two boys and a girl. I had a massive crush on the older boy so never went near him and the girl just wanted to play with her dolls all the time. The youngest boy was disabled but we bonded over our love of the programme 'Dinosaurs' and we watched it together for years until we moved away. I think this show is to blame for my love of checked shirts.

Bella

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