THE WEEK #6 | "HALLELUJAH THE SUN" & THE PARKLIFE OBSESSION

Lots and lots and LOTS of snaps this week. So grab a drink and enjoy.

THURSDAY was our first proper sunny day in ages, luckily myself, Tanya and Tash had planned to hang out. Of course, our day started in TOPSHOP, where I nabbed the khaki dress above which came in handy when I started to overheat in my dungarees...resulting in me doing a lil switch over in the middle of the park. Grabbing some lunch, we headed to the local park and spent the majority of the day lazing about in the sun, talking and cultivating our new alter ego's, Tha Wizard, Tuff and Peter Pan [thanks to the Wu-Tang name generator].

I love public parks, it's a great place to just chill and people watch which is exactly what you need sometimes. I honestly had the best time with Tash and Tan, it's so nice to hang out with people that make you belly-laugh and make you feel totally comfortable to be yourself.

THURSDAY EVENING resulted in an extremely spontaneous trip to a playground. Yeah, I'm nearly 20 I promise. Hanging out with Daisy [left] and Bam [right]. We look exhausted in the snap above but it was a great way to end the day.

SATURDAY was another ridiculously sunny day, so of course I headed back to the park. There just so happened to be a medieval faire on but I was more interested in catching a tan, snoozing in the sun and reading my book. Afterwards I headed to this quirky, spooky little magic store and nabbed myself the "relaxed Buddha" key-ring [the lady in the store said that's what it's called, please don't give me shit if it's wrong - but I'm always curious for more info on it] and this ace emerald stone necklace.

SATURDAY NIGHT involved Bam, Daisy and I heading to our local pub/bar type thang and having a couple of drinks. I am definitely an enormous advocate of pubs and bars over clubs [call me a granny if you will], of course the night wasn't without drama...but then when is it ever?

Let me know if you enjoy more photos/less writing or vis-versa. Today I fell asleep in the sun and woke up extremely tan, thanks Dad for the foreign skin/absorb the sun and go brown genes. Then, Dadda Lenihan and I whacked out the BBQ, beer and listened to DIIV. 

Keep your eyes pealed to my blog this week, there are some exciting posts dropping. I hope you've all had an ace week/weekend. 

THE WEEK #5 | CHATTED UP IN NOTTING HILL + RED WINE & SOUTHBANK

THE WEEK is back. It's getting hectic in my life again and that means this series gets a little more interesting. 

THE WEEK started with a desperate attempt to rectify my hair. I know, "why didn't you just got to BLEACH LONDON or the hairdressers to start with?"...well, it's me and I never do things the easy way. We're getting there. Even if it's taking a heck of a lot more ££ and time than I'm willing to part with.

Then, on TUESDAY Maddy [aka the ying to my yang, the bizzle to my nizzle] came home from Uni, which consisted of us trying really hard to get a nice snap together [which is impossible].

On WEDNESDAY I was back in Epping, which is becoming a regular occurrence and it happened to be a real beautiful day. Thanks to a certain person, I've kind of fallen in love with this little corner of the world. 

FRIDAY began with a little strangely. I came out of the tube at Notting Hill and some weird old guy, dressed in a white tunic asked if I had a YouTube channel because I could be more popular than Beyonce and J-Lo [at this point I was waiting for camera's to appear and it be a prank] then he continued to say that I should be in a L'Oreal advert because I was so beautiful and my hair [which is an absolute disaster, so that chat up line didn't even remotely work] *then he did a weird hair flick with imaginary hair* and that when I'm rich I should fire my boss....thanks for the advice mate, it makes 100% sense. Then he asked if I wanted to go for coffee/give him my number. One day, one day I'll attract normal humans. 

After that wonderful experience, I met Maddy and we went to my favourite charity shop on the Globe and I nabbed an absolute dream item [I'll reveal all soon]. Hopping back on the tube we hit up Oxford Street and I spent £££ in TOPMAN and got ridiculously stressed over grown men getting in my way when I'm trying to buy their clothes. 

After dinner, we headed to a little garden hidden behind Southbank with a bottle of wine. It was supposed to be a really classy, Tumblr thing, but of course it ended up with us drinking red wine out of plastic cups and getting a little worse for wear. FRIDAY finished at sunset with me and Maddy extremely drunk on the Millennium bridge staring at the sunset and getting a little overwhelmed over just how beautiful our city is. I mean look HERE. Then, after parting ways at St Pauls, Maddy heading back West to Uni and me back East, home - I had to tackle London Liv > Shoreditch extremely drunk which was an absolutely mission. Luckily, I made it. 

EASTER 2015

Kudos to my Nan for putting on THE best Easter egg hunt every year. I don't get to hang out with my family all in one place very often, so it was super rad to have us all under one roof. Obviously, I won, then I got bored and decided to sabotage everyone else. 

I hope you guys are all having a lovely weekend, regardless of if you celebrate Easter or not!

Gabi 

xx

ALL TIME LOW 22/3/2015

You don't even have to know me very well to know that All Time Low are one of my favourite bands ever. I remember hearing The Party Scene in like, 2005 and just knowing I'd love them forever. 

Over the years, I've had the chance to see them like three or four times, but each time something has always stopped me. EG: I was meant to see them in Brixton last year but nah. 

Anyway, I am so so gutted that I didn't get to see them at their sold-out headline gig at Wembley on Friday [they sung Stella and just that thought alone makes me want to cry] but I DID manage to see them in Kingston at their acoustic set and damn, it was good. 

The venue sucked balls and unless you were front row, you couldn't see shit. That's what happens when you put a band in a club venue, with pillars and weird circle things hanging from the ceiling. But thanks to a lovely girl called Kaytee who took some snaps of Barakat [the love of my life] and let me sneak into her place to see better, it wasn't a total disaster. Annoyingly, it wasn't as "intimate" as I'd imagined with over 1200 people, most of which were thirteen year olds wearing not a lot of clothing - making me feel 1) extremely old and 2) crazily frumpy. Also, I think everyone feels the same with acoustic sets they're nowhere near as good as full live sets [don't worry, their next UK tour I'll be there regardless of snow, loss of limbs etc].

BUT don't get me wrong, I fucking saw All Time Low. 
The setlist took me back to 2006 with 'Dear Maria', they also played acoustic versions of 'Weightless', 'Dammed If I do', 'Backseat Serenade' and 'Therapy'. I couldn't believe how talented they all were, Alex's voice just blew me away [as well as his tambourine playing]. Rian's smile really is as angelic as it looks in pictures and Zack is legit Mr Muscles, Jack really is as lanky and his hair really is that big. The boys also played "Somewhere In Neverland" as well as the heart-breaker "Remembering Sunday" [Cassadee Pope came on and my God does she have the most insane voice].

Alex discussed how he uses tampons for nose bleeds, Jack offered for us to go listen to the new album on his laptop, to which the boys told him off and some kids threw mini-sausages at them.
I felt like I was an angsty 13 year old all over again, with a shitty haircut, far too much eye-liner and a studded belt and I kind of forgot that I'm now nearly 20 [still with a shitty haircut mind you].

We also got to hear stripped down versions of their new songs 'Somethings Gotta Give' and 'Kids in The Dark' from their upcoming album 'Future Hearts'. What with 'Runaways' being released today I am beyond pumped to hear what the rest of the record sounds like.

Yes, please put this photograph on my grave. Barakat you beautiful man.

I was blown away by just how far they'd come [and yes, I did get a little bit emotional]. I remember them being scrawny boys fresh out of school and now they're these insanely good looking men, selling out bloody arenas and stuff. They deserve every second of this success/madness and I am so damn pumped to listen to their new record. I've grown up with All Time Low as my soundtrack and it's insane to think it's been nearly 10 years.

REGENTS PARK & REGENTS CANAL

You guys know there are a million and one reasons I am madly in love with London and believe me, there's no city on Earth I'd rather call my own. I know not many people are lucky enough to live in or nearby to London, so this year I want to take you with me and show you the real London. Not Big Ben and Embankment but all the hidden paradises within the city.

Today, we're cutting right through the heart of Regent's Park and heading straight to Regent's Canal, aka one of my favourite secret hideaways. I discovered this little place at the end of last summer and in summer, it was so beautiful but it didn't shape up too bad on my return last week.

There's nothing like London's parks in the summer. Crowded by people wanting a little bit of that country escape in the middle of the city; but they're also gorgeous this time of the year what with spring just around the corner. 

Anyway, onto Regent's Canal. 

Once you've cut straight through the heart of Regent's, you'll come out onto possibly the most wealthy street you'll ever lay eyes on. I'm talking armed guards at the gates of these houses, it's crazy. You'll then cut down onto a little side road that brings you out to a bridge over the canal. Take the bridge, once across, make your way down onto the walkway beside the canal, it looks dodgy as hell but if you're into that dingy vibe it's pretty rad. Just keep walking. 

[ALSO en-route make sure you ruin all your friends artist photography shots with the lunge-stance]

THEN...after walking for so long you kinda wanna hurl yourself into the canal...you find this...

It's such a cool vibe there and it's the perfect place to take some rad snaps. Me and Maddy [in her trainers...if you're reading this Maddy hahahahahahahaha] chilled with a stray cat, strolled through here and enjoyed the last of the days sunshine. It's just a little place that not many people go, it's kind of the shitty version of Little Venice but with just as much character. 

THE WEEK #4 | A ROUGH START BUT IT GOT BETTER

There's no fancy snaps today guys, it's just a stream of conciousness, the usual layout will be back next week. 

I've not been myself for a while. This happens sometimes. I just go down, really quick, out of nowhere. Last week the sun was shining and I was so damn happy but within about 24 hours I just felt the depression creeping back. I suppose in a way, I'm lucky it's not consistent but when it hits, it hits hard. There have been things going on lately in my private life that have just been getting me down as well as that, I've become really unhappy with my figure after all the hard work I put in at the end of last year I've just gotten lazy [but then it's not as if mind state has been promoting motivation] and Monday it just hit me. I just couldn't be bothered anymore, so I went to bed at like 6PM and cried myself to sleep. How lame. Two things I never ever do are cry and/or go to bed that early, I'm a 2AM kind of girl. I think it did me the world of good as it kind of got it all out, whatever 'it' was, but at the same time it's exhausting getting to that point and picking yourself back up all over again. This happens to me every few months. Again, as I've said in posts before I am in no way trying to get your sympathy 'cause at the end of the day, we've all got shit going on - but I want you guys to get to know me and all the 'real life' stuff in these #TheWeek posts. 

Anyway, after a rough start to the week, I took a 2 day break from social media and believe me that did the world of good. When I'm down, I always go looking for stuff that almost reaffirms why I'm sad and on the internet - it's not hard. You guys know I've started my new job and I was there all day on Tuesday, I got to work with the loveliest lady, Alex, who's just as fashion-mad [if not more so] than me and we just had a really productive day. Just taking that breather and stepping away from the web did the world of good, even if it was for 36 hours. 

On Wednesday, I met one of my closest and oldest friends Maddy in Notting Hill and we just spent the day hanging out. You can see some snaps HERE if you fancy. After a little explore around the Notting Hill Portobello area, we headed up to Regent's Park and one of my favourite lil corners of London, Regent's Canal [insta picture: HERE]. I'm in the midst of writing up a post with some snaps of the area, so I'll tweet or instagram the link when it's up [both: @TheLenihanLook ]. I then headed back to Shoreditch to hang out with the boys at their place.

 I've got a couple of questions on Tumblr as to why I don't really ever mention or instagram about my hangs in Shoreditch or the boys. The reason is, it's my happy place, it's where I go to escape shit and it's just a corner of my life I want to keep private, plus it's not their world. Sometimes you've just gotta have a place you can go that is your own, away from everything. 

I've come out of it quite quickly, which if you suffer from depression is always a "am I going to go back down twice as hard" but I'm feeling so productive and motivated at the moment, which I'm trying to make the most of. I'm feeling really refreshed and I've got some cool ideas I'm working on for TheLenihanLook and now I've got my head back in the game I'm hoping to upload a lot more. I'm also working on something really special at the moment but I'm keeping it top secret [how annoying of me] but I cannot wait to start sharing little snippets. 

I'm not really sure what this post was but sometimes it's nice to just ramble away, even if no one reads this, it's done me some good to reflect on the week. 

Here's to a much better 7 days. 

How's your week been?

Oh and this time next Sunday I'll be in Kingston with just an hour until I see All Time Low at an acoustic gig - yes, that is the sound of me exploding internally with excitement. 

NOTTING HILL

It's days like yesterday that make me super appreciative that I live [part-time] in the East of the City. It means as soon as the sun comes out I can nip 'cross town on an adventure. After a rocky start to the week I set my sights on hanging out in Notting Hill, joined by one of my favourite humans ever, Maddy. 

Why Notting Hill you may ask? Well, not only do I rarely ever travel West [except the occasional trip to Shepherd's Bush and/or Ravenscourt Park], Notting Hill also happens to be the location of my favourite film on the entire planet..."Notting Hill."

Now, I should probably explain that when it comes to films I hate chick-flicks/romantic comedies, if there's no explosions and guns within the first 60 seconds you've lost me [I'm a boy, I know] but there's something about "Notting Hill" I love. It's so damn British, it's sarcastic and pokes fun at itself but it's one of the reasons I fell so madly in love with London. From the sunshine and flower markets on Portobello, to the quirkly little coloured houses to the private gardens. I remember when I first saw the film, I just fell in love with how magical London seemed. Don't get me wrong, I know it's romanticised as hell and sneaky editing cuts out all the rubbish bits of the city. Although I spent a lot of my childhood in and around the city, I just wondered whether when I grew up the city would still be as magical to me. And it totally is. Even if it's for different reasons.

It wouldn't have been a trip to Notting Hill without visiting the book shop featured in the film...even if it's actually located hidden away in Portobello.

Of course I was such a nerd and took a selfie [which will never see the light of day] outside and then went inside and brought a canvas bag, chatting to the ladies about how I was wondering if Hugh Grant was about. [They were lovely, I'm sure they've heard it a million times]. 

Then, Maddy and I got completely lost. For girls that know all the short cuts and back alleys around the city, we're hopeless. BUT I discovered the house of my dreams. 

Just look at that quirky design, that ivy, those white walls...damn. *loser alert*

 All in all, it was the perfect breath of fresh air, I don't feel like I'm in London morning. I really needed to go and wander about in the sunshine for a while. 

Notting Hill is really sweet but I wouldn't change my Shoreditch in for it. 

THE WEEK #3 | "USE MY PHONE CAUSE I GOT THE MONEY...NO WAIT MEMORY"

Right; let's start by saying I know I've been averaging a post per week lately but there's been a lot going on to get my head around mentally & I will fill you all in as soon as I get it straight. BUT good news [whether you care or not] is that over the next week, there's going to be a heck of a lot of posts coming your way. 

SO *plug* if you wanna keep up, gimme a lil follow over on Bloglovin HERE.  

ANYWAY, The Week is back and this week, I actually had a life.

[there's an explanation to the 1st row/on the right photo - read bellow - it's a piss take, I'd never do that stance seriously, I'm no Madonna]

 

1] A little #TBT post to the night of my 19th bday. It was like 2am or something stupid when I took this photo. Don't get me wrong, London is insane regardless of the time of the day but there's something about it at night that I love. Also, the moon looks so rad in this shot. 

2] *TAKING THE PISS* We were on our way home from a night out and I thought the lighting was really cool, so I said to Amber to take a picture and it came out as "use my phone cause I got the money" but I meant "because I have memory and you don't"...so long story short this pose is the "I GOT THE MONEY" pose. Cool story. 

3] On the last train home as per, but this wasn't your usual shitty city train - it was like the Hogwart's Express ladies and gentlemen. I also found the whole "quiet carriage" extremely difficult.

4] Yes, that's the same James we watched preform at a different venue just a couple of weeks ago *groupies r us* but he's a real good pal of mine and he's also insanely talented. 

5] I am going to bang on and on and on about this extremely pose-y selfie because this was a one-take-wonder lads. Usually selfies take me a good 30-40 attempts finishing in "I'll settle for that one" but BAM I was obviously in tune with Kate Moss that morning.

6] On Monday, my mate Kirsty and I took our pups for a little puppy-play-date. It's coming up to three years since I rescued my wolf-pup [Monty aka the German Shepherd] and it's whizzed by. What a legend. 

7] Let's start by saying I HATE seeing animals in cages. It really doesn't sit well with me but I found myself bored and in a pet shop and made friends with this parrot called Wally. He didn't like me but I loved him...ironically the story of my life.

8] Probably THE funniest situation of the week. I love charity shops, you can get books for like 10p in em, so I was in one, with my chewy drumstick and I went into this little cupboard decked out with books. ONLY TO FIND SOME OLD PEOPLE GETTIN' FREAKY. So I took a selfie. Duh. 

Hope you guys enjoyed this #TheWeek edition.

Keep tuned for LFW posts to come and of course more OOTD's! 

INSTA - TUMBLR - BLOGLOVIN'

THE WEEK #2 | THIS WEEK SUCKED

January was just going too damn well. This week just sucked. Luckily it got better, but it was just one of those weeks.

1] I hate to admit this because we all know how Taylor Swift makes me feel [extremely uncomfortable] but Blank Space is an absolute anthem [especially when drunk] so I caved and purchased it. That's it T-Swizzle, 99p and that's all you're ever getting from me. 

2] In the midst of random snowstorms, these Dorothy Perkins sandals were a risqué purchase but they have got me dreaming of spring regardless. Keep your eyes pealed because I'm pretty darn sure there going to be in a million trillion OOTD's to come. 

3] In a desperate attempt to organise the chaos that is my wardrobe I rediscovered an entire cupboards worth of clothes that I'd completely forgotten about. I'm not 100% sure this helped the overall cause, but look at it this way...there's plenty of material for new blog content...literally *not even sorry for the Dad joke*. 

4] For a brief 10 minutes there was enough sunshine to make me completely forget we're in January. Also, how rad would it be if my legs were actually that long and skinny? Damn you shadows. 

5] Reunited with the love of my life, Jack Daniels on a last-minute Friday night excursion. 

6] *MELTDOWN* The tickets to see All Time Low at their acoustic gig in Kingston arrived and I went into meltdown. I cannot believe I am gunna be seeing the guys, let alone at an intimate gig. Bummed out it's the "early show" but I will be seeing my soul-mate Jack Barakat none the less. 

7] Saturday night we planned to head into town, but apparently all trains were replaced by buses. If you know me, I will literally walk bare foot across shattered glass instead of getting a bus. I hate 'em. In an attempt to soften the blow, in our drunken state we headed to the back of the bus and [although I complained about it smelling of Nans] pretended we were on tour. #TOURLIFE.

8] The first last and only photo of the weekend. 

Next week is shaping up to be a whole lot better than this one but it can't always be brill can it? 

How was everyone elses' week?

THE WEEK #1 | THE BOTTLEMEN, THE BANDS & THE OBNOXIOUS SUNNIES

2015 is all about the evolution of TheLenihanLook and as part of that, I want to make more lifestyle type posts. Yanno the ones where I give you a peak into what I get up to, rather than the odd outfit post here and there. I'm going to try to post a weekly round up every Sunday, with some snaps and chit-chat about what the week involved. I can't promise it'll always be that exciting, but that's life right?

1] On Friday evening, I saw one of my good pals James Burrage and his band, as well as four other acts preform in Essex. The venue was the coolest darn bar I've ever been in, going down into the basement with all exposed brickwork and mismatched chairs we saw the boys preform and hung out with them afterwards seeing the other acts. I also [partially] fell in love with the guitarist in E-Mute and his insane man bun. They're also the nicest guys, [we made friends] and I can't wait to see them play Camden next Friday. 

2] The obnoxious shades. Taking a little trip into town, I stumbled across these ace mirrored tinted sunglasses from New-Look and although one of my friends Kirsty refused to walk beside me, I'm in love with them. We also may have made a little pit-stop to Maccas in which we drunk milkshakes and I created a band name/logo on a napkin, yanno as you do. 

3] Hanging out of windows in Shoreditch to take snaps of sunsets. 

4] On Monday, I went back to Sixth Form which was very strange. Something big is happening in my life at the moment [all to be revealed soon] and I needed to tie up a couple of things. Pretty tragic that I had to wear a visitors badge at all times.

5] Tan. Guys, if you haven't seen Tanya London's artwork, what the heck are you playing at. I was blown away when she surprised me with this illustration of me. [The crazy ass hair is pretty accurate.] You can view her stuff on her Insta|HERE or her new Blog|HERE, please go give it a look she's so damn talented. 

6] Probably THE most exciting half hour of the week, getting tickets to see Catfish and The Bottlemen for their gig at O2 Brixton Academy in November. I am so obsessed with this band, The Balcony has surpassed many an album and made in into my top 3 of all time. The boys are so darn cool and I cannot wait to see them live. In scarier news, by the time I see them, I'll be 20. 

7] This week I've rekindled my love for charity-shop and vintage shopping. Luckily there's never a shortage of ace places to go and have a snoop. Sometimes I really do wonder why I pay ridiculous ££ when I can pick up a mens sherling jacket for £15. I'm planning on writing a post all about charity shop bargains very soon, so keep your eyes pealed. 

Some very exciting things were thrown into the mix this week and I can't quite talk about them yet, but when I can you guys will be first to know. 

Happy Sunday everyone, what did you get up to this week?