My situation is however a little more pressing today, as tomorrow I am playing potentially the most important gig of my band, Southern Sunrise, to date. We are competing to open Pinkpop, the oldest annual pop festival in the world.
The competition is called 'Nu of Nooit' (now or never) and is held yearly to decide which up-and-coming Limburgse band (band from the southern-most province of The Netherlands, Limburg) will have the honour of playing the opening slot at the festival.
We have already been whittled down from 85 bands to 25 and now we are competing in the semi-finals over 5 nights, 5 bands playing against each other for 1 chance to move on to the next round.
In the morning we are also playing a radio show, the L1 Cultuurcafe, the biggest show of Limburg, which I suppose you could equate to a regional BBC Introducing show.
So you can see why I might be a little nervous for my nose to calm down, nobody likes the Rudolph look, especially when on stage under a spot light.
I didn't really have the energy for a proper post today, thus I have done something a little different.
Firstly, let me explain the post title. During my university years I had a housemate who insisted I would one day write a travel guide for Brighton called Shonie's Shortcuts, due to my uncanny ability to know the shortest possible route from A to B (I think laziness is partly to thank here, but lets call it efficiency). I think this is highly unlikely to happen, but it's got a catchy ring to it and I wanted to use it for something!
In these posts (yes, it will become a series) I will be telling you about my favourites of each month, essentially providing you with a 'shortcut' to the awesomeness rather than having to stumble upon it yourself through the crazy mess that is the internet!
So, here we go!
These necklaces are just stunning, so delicate but bold and sure to make a statement with any outfit! They are hand made by the lovely Nikki and Julia of Let's Swim To The Moon, along with an assortment of animal face brooches and other stony necklaces. I was given one of these as a gift from the girls when we played the opening of their pop-up shop in December, but I accidentally left it at home over Christmas and just got it back last week (so kind of cheating saying it's a January favourite)
I have found the new ultimate breakfast food! Breakfast quiche with a hash brown crust! I saw someone post this on a facebook group I'm in and, although I couldn't open the link they posted, I was so inspired I decided to try concoct my own version. I threw in bacon bits, mushrooms, onions and tomatoes along with the eggy mix, then crossed my fingers when it went in the oven (there wasn't much measuring involved in the process, so I was prepared for disappointment). As you can see, it looked pretty darn good when it came out and tasted even better! Arjan proclaimed it to be glorious, I think that's proof enough. I will write up a post with the recipe for this, promise!
My favourite makeup of this month was tricky to choose, I've gotten a couple of new lipsticks that I really love, but the award has to go to my new Bobbi Brown Gel Liner. It is supremely good, lasts for ages, goes on so smooth etc etc. I could talk your ear off about this stuff, read my post about it here and find it online here.
By far my favourite thing to watch right now is Parks and Recreation. I know most people with any sense have cottoned on to how amazing this show is, but for those of you who haven't yet discovered its brilliance, WATCH IT!! I was catching up on episodes with my mum whilst I was home, it is one of the best written shows around and the comedy is so ridiculous but oddly believable. It's just perfect.
Lastly, I will leave you with something that's on my wish list for February (I only found it today so physically can't get my hands on it any sooner). I am constantly looking for new gig dresses, something a little fun and with a pop of red (my favourite colour for shows to match our new sparkly red drum kit!) and this caught my eye while I was browsing the Mango website today, plus it's on sale! I need this in my life ASAP.
Well, I hope that was enlightening to one or two of you, send us happy thoughts for the gig tomorrow and happy weekend everyone!
