Holiday memories... Tunisia

Tunisia has kilometers and kilometers of nice beaches and turquoise sea. 

You can swim and sunbathe in the morning, walk along its corniches during the afternoon and admire the Tunisian sunsets in front a cup of shaii at a nice cafè.

Most of these sea villages have nice medinas too. Places like Hammamet or Sousse are very famous but full of tourists in summer time too; others like Mahdia or Nabeul are just hidden gems.

PHOTO OF THE DAY

Oxford Street, Oxford Street,, 1889

Starbuck Eggnog Latte

Starbucks' Egg Nog Latte features espresso with steamed eggnog and milk, topped with ground nutmeg.

 The first thing I noticed about the Egg Nog Latte is that there was a definite egg nog smell which I really like it .

Taste-wise, the Egg Nog Latte is very much like a Starbucks Latte, but with a hint of egg nog flavor. It is my favorite Starbucks holiday drink.
The Egg Nog Latte is also the only Starbucks holiday drink that doesn't come with whipped cream by default.

The Book Thief-Love, life, death, literature and the impact of war upon ordinary people

What I enjoyed most about the film was how death is introduced as a character. It's the voice of death which is used throughout the film to narrate much of what has happened in the past.

It's death who introduces Liesel, Sophie Nelisse, in the opening scenes and death who fills in her life story in the closing scenes. He's in and out throughout the film gently taking souls while passing on his own unique and inspiring message about all he has learnt about us, the human family. Very philosophical and really quite beautiful. His speech in the closing scenes was so uplifting I was almost moved to tears.

The story concentrates on the war in Germany and focuses upon the growth of the Nazi's and the impact that has on a small town in which Liesel is taken to live with 'adopted' parents. Liesel can't read much at first but develops a passion for books. A passion that will remain throughout her life and one that's encouraged by her new 'papa' and the Jewish boy, Max, hiding from the Nazi's in their cellar.

Some of the darker events of the times are shown but the film doesn't concentrate only on the fate of the Jews. It goes to great length to highlight the absolute racism and discrimination of the Nazi's even against their own people.

 There are a couple of great scenes set around Jessie Owens, American track and field Olympic gold medalist, which I thought were particularly well done. What 'The Book Thief' is asking you to consider is the effect an extraordinary war had upon ordinary people and how it impacted upon love, friendship and family.

I bought the DVD last week and I've watched it twice. It really is a good movie and such a clever blend of dark/light, sad/happy.

PHOTO OF THE DAY

Behind the clock face of Big Ben, 1920s

Paperblanks Great Minds At Work : Kafka Notebooks

I'm one of those people who decides that they'll start a journal but then just gives up after a week or so and so I decided that I would treat myself to a nice new notebook that would encourage me to write in it!

These unique journals portray the work of some of the greatest writers, thinkers and artists of all time. These reproductions of excerpts of original manuscripts, letters, scores and drawings provide a glimpse into the creative process of figures such as William Shakespeare, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Vincent van Gogh.

I love Paperblanks but as with most things the price from stationary stores is ridiculous so I funded that notebook on Amazon .It's of a brilliant quality with a lot of pages ,there is also  handy little pocket/folder at the back where I can store loose bits of paper or pictures or something along those lines! This notebook has good thick paper and looks amazing!It has approximatelly 95 - 100 pages or so. A bit heavy but it reminds the

old days notebooks!

Lancome La Nuit Tresor

Lancome launches La Nuit Tresor fragrance in February 2015. The scent is a flanker of the original Tresor from 1990.

The composition is announced as a gourmand aphrodisiac and a love potion created by perfumers Christophe Raynaud and Amandine Marie. It supposedly depicts the dark side of rose and mixes notes of black rose with Tahitian vanilla orchid absolute. There are also accords of natural incense, papyrus, patchouli and litchi praline added to the mix.

The faces of the campaign are Penélope Cruz and Ilay Kurelović and the photo was signed by Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott. The video campaign was directed by Rob Marshall.