The JAM wedding

Nicci and I are both Office fans and I think I speak for us both when I say that the wedding of Jim and Pam has been the TV moment we’ve both been waiting for.

I watched as Jim loitered by reception a little too long in season 1 and made puppy dog eyes at Pam while she left at 5pm each night with Roy. I was on the edge of my seat when the twenty two second silence between them on the Booze Cruise pointed toward a shift in their relationship. My heart lept into my throat when Jim announced ‘I’m in love with you’ and Pam answered with ‘I can’t’. My hopes were dashed when Jim went to Stamford and a new voice in background answered the phone with ‘Dunder Mifflin, this is...’

Then Jim came back! But he had a Karen! I cried a little with Pam in the corridor and wanted to comfort her but Dwight got there first and talked about PMS. I felt pleasure in Karen’s misery when Jim admitted that he still loved Pam but booed loudly when Pam went home with Roy at Phyllis’ wedding. Then fancy new Beesley got up in front of the Office after walking over hot coals and admitted that she missed Jim. It was bye bye Karen, hello PB & J. The tears in Pam’s eyes when Jim asked her out to dinner were mirrored in mine.

I longed for my own Jim while Pam fell more in love with hers. A few fake-out proposals later and they got their perfect moment in the rain and Pam got a ring on her finger. Pam came back the wrong way to be with Jim and he bought her a house. Now they’re knocked up and proud and just had the wedding (or two) of the year. Getting married under Niagra Falls is an epic topper to an epic relationship.

Not only that, but this happened:

Love.

Posted By: Cat

Paramore: Brand New Eyes

I love Paramore. I’ve made it no secret that I love Hayley Williams and want to be her. She’s super talented and is the lead singer of a cool rock band and she’s not even 21 yet. I also covet her hair. I long to be alternative with red hair but when I suggested it to my hairdresser, she politely reminded me that I’m the palest woman in a thirty mile radius and I should avoid washing myself out anymore.

Brand New Eyes is Paramore’s new album; number three. I love it already and have been playing it over and over. It’s not a big departure from Riot or All We Know is Falling, it has some ‘turn up and scream along’ songs, but it also has some pretty, slower tempo tunes. There are eleven new tracks, with Decode, their song from the Twilight soundtrack, making twelve.

I love, love, love Looking Up, it reminds me of travelling. Listening to the lyrics, there are a few nods to the band almost breaking up a while back, but never fear for they are here to stay! .... I hope.

Posted By: Cat

Taylor Swift

We’ve been doing this blog for a year now, and although we agree on many of the things we post on here, Nicci and I have never written an entry together. And what is the honoured topic for this occasion? Well its right up there in bold. Taylor Swift.

Not only does she produce insanely catchy pop/country crossover songs, but she writes them, and performs them live. This is not a common occurrence in the world of teen pop idols. Her video for You Belong With Me is dorky and cute and the kind of video I would have made if I ever had an ounce of music talent or was a pop star. Playing two characters fighting over the same boy? Having a Cinderella style prom ending? Wearing huge geeky glasses? All amazing.

Sometimes I think that Taylor wrote the story of my teenage and early twenty years a few years too late. It’s amazing how relatable her songs are. Case and point: I sent a text to one of my best friends saying, “Youtube “Fifteen” by Taylor Swift.” She responded almost immediately saying, “Oh dear, that is us.” And there are like fourteen other songs of hers that tell the story of my life. I really think that most anyone can pinpoint a song on any of her two albums, or even a track of hers floating around that hasn’t found a home on an album and relate to it on an extremely personal level.

Not only does Taylor have major talent, but she genuinely seems like a classy and humble lady. She’s only nineteen, and where she could be out underage drinking and getting into cars sans underwear, she instead holds herself with respect. Her Twitter posts are witty, sweet and she never has a bad word to say about others. In other news, I covet her eyeliner. I, Nicci, love her because she represents for the tall girls. I should also add that besides her representing for the tall girls, she always seems legitimately excited to be wherever she is performing, always makes time for her fans, and seems genuinely interested in what her fans has to say and makes them feel like they’re one of her best friends.

Its rather topical for us to blog about Taylor. Since Sunday night she’s been the talk of internet Kanye West and his ever growing ego tried to steal her limelight with a jumped up idea of how he rules the world and ergo, award ceremonies. He’s almost twice Taylor’s age and yet she has a thousand times more class, composure and humility. Guess he's just mad because she's outsold him and his 808 repetitiveness.

Mostly we like her because we would like to be her best friend.

Posted By: Nicci and Cat

(500) Days of Summer

My friends tease me because although we watch a lot of movies, I rarely find one that I love. I like a lot of movies, but there’s always something which ruins it for me – an unbelievable plot twist, an annoying character, an unnaturally happy ending – it seems I can’t be pleased. Two movies lately though, I have loved. One was Up! Which I got to see in Spain before it’s released here in the UK in October. And one I saw last night, (500) Days of Summer.

Everything about this film was perfect for me. It was quirky and different with its non-chronological storytelling and direction. Zooey Deschanel is appealing, even though she continues to play the same character in every movie she’s been in. What I really loved though, was Joseph Gordon-Levitt. It was great to see him in something cute and endearing instead of dark and unravelling. I’ve liked a lot of his work, Brick especially, but in this he was adorable. He can look so in love that it makes your heart flutter, and then when

he’s playing heartbroken, it makes you think of every time you’ve had it happen to you. On a side note, the wardrobe department sure know how to make him look amazing in a handsomely dorky kind of way.

It may not be the intellectual film of the decade, but it’s really enjoyable and I

loved it. See it if you get a chance, it’s real, funny and wonderful.

Posted By: Cat

The Network

Last weekend, I was in Edinburgh to take part in The Network, a scheme devised by the Media Guardian to sit alongside its International Television Festival. The scheme is aimed at young people eager to launch careers in the media, providing masterclasses, workshops and talks with people in the industry.

I can’t begin to explain how great this experience is. There is no way you would get an opportunity to meet and question such a wide range of media professionals in one place in any other forum. In four days, I have been to talks by MTV and BBC bosses, Q&A sessions with Russell Howard and a team of TV station high levels, had masterclasses with the hilarious Charlie Brooker and Inbetweeners writer Damon Beesley and stars of the show Simon Bird and James Buckley.

I had the opportunity to be part of a workshop team working with Sky Creative to devise a 360 digital media campaign for the Sky Arts show Songbook (one of our campaigns will actually be used by Sky). We were lucky enough to get to listen to the (now infamously controversial) McTaggert lecture by James Murdoch, attend the Television Channel of the Year awards hosted by Michael McIntyre, attended by media professionals and actors such as Dominic West (McNulty! McNulty from The Wire!), plus lots more. Not only all this, but all the while the Fringe Festival is taking over the city and any spare time we had could be spent seeking out quirky, hilarious, off kilter performances in the most random of venues.

The Network is free. You have to get yourself to Edinburgh, but from then on, food and accommodation is free and there’s even some free drink thrown in for good measure. You have to apply for the scheme by providing a short TV show pitch and other such questions, and from these applications (three thousand this year), they chose one hundred and fifty people to participate in the scheme. Its exclusive, but it’s amazing. If you have any interest in a career in television, or the media in general, you should get yourself on the Network.

Posted By: Cat

Cupcakes Pt II

A while ago, I blogged about cupcakes.I'm doing it again because last week my friends and I got together and had a cupcake-athon of which these were the result.

We made chocolate chip and vanilla cupcakes and then went crazy with the decoration. I think everyone will agree that it’s the icing part that’s fun.

What I love about baking is that it can be a social activity. We spent a few hours hanging out, dancing to music and making delicious treats that we all got to take home. If everyone brings something different, it’s cheap and your imagination is the only limit.

Posted By: Cat

The Sims3

I wouldn’t class myself as a computer geek as such. Sure, I have a blog and I like to play on photoshop, but I also have a social life and work and other pursuits... except, bye bye to those for a while because the Sims3 just entered my life.

I’ve been all about The Sims since the first game was released when I was about 14. I love the control, the creativity and the overall feeling of achievement that comes with creating a sim and seeing them through life successfully (or if you get bored, trapping them in a room so they die of hunger). Perhaps it says something about my personality that my Sims are always perfect, reaching the top of their career ladders, achieving their wants and lifetime goals, and raising perfect children.

With this new upgrade, the Sims are far more free willed and you can customise literally everything. The game runs smoothly on my eighteen month old laptop with no glitches or crashing, something which has never happened to me with a Sims game before. There is also no loading screens when you decide to leave the house and no more waiting around.

My only complaint is that you can’t speed the game up when your Sims are at work or school, but at least you can now chose what they do whilst there, which is a compromise I guess.

I just wish I could stop playing.

Posted By: Cat

Rainbow Eyeliner

I’m a big fan of eyeliner. I don’t feel like I’ve really made an effort unless my eyes are lined as well as mascaraed and shadowed (I believe I made up at least one word there). Sometimes though, black eyeliner can made my eyes look smaller, especially when I use it on my bottom lids. This is where the colour comes in.

You can get eyeliners now in pretty much any colour imaginable. This makes it very easy then, to match your eyeliner to your outfit, or just to add a splash of glamour to your day. I have big, blue eyes, so I tend to sketch a quick line of deep turquoise blue under my eyes before I go out. It makes my eyes look bigger and is eye-catching without being over the top.

Greens, purples, blues and bronzes are all fun colours to play with. You could go the whole way and trade in the black for colour, but personally, I like the flicked charcoal effect on my upper lash line. I'm desperate to try these high pigment shimmer pencils from Bourjois too. Check out their make-up class videos at the website, they'll make you eager to recreate some cool looks.

Posted By: Cat

Peanut Butter M&Ms

You can't get these beauties in the UK, so every time any of my friends or relatives visit the States, they always bring some peanut butter m&ms back for me to enjoy. I recently came home from a holiday in Florida with two large bags of them in my suitcase.

The slightly bitter, peanut buttery goodness is a great contrast with the sweet chocolate and crispy shell and it all combines to create a taste sensation! They are so moreish that once you open a pack, you're hard pressed to be good and limit your intake - i.e. portion control is a problem.

I have no idea why these aren't sold here in the UK, but it makes every trip to the US worthwhile.

Posted By: Cat

last.fm

I'm not exactly sure what possessed me to sing up for last.fm, but I'm kind of glad I did. I'm not exactly sure if there is another purpose behind it, besides to track what artists and songs you listen to, but I think it's kind of cool.

Like, I had no idea I listened to so much Girls Aloud...especially when none of my friends know who they are. I also had no idea that I'd Lie by Taylor Swift was the song I've listened to the most. However, that there was a tie between Michael Jackson's Bad and Knock You Down by Keri Hilson as the song I've listened to the most in 7 days. It also scrobbles (I have no idea what that means) to my iPod, so whatever I've listened to on there shows up on my last.fm

You can even rate your musical compatibility with people!

I even took a screenshot of my most played artists!

So, if you're interested in tracking your listening habits, I'd check out last.fm --www.last.fm

Posted by: Nicci