Monday, 22 December 2014

Festive Favourites #2- Top Christmas Tunes (Plus An Announcement)

Hello all! As promised I return this Monday to present you with my favourite Christmas songs. Friday I talked about my festive favourites & I mentioned that I liked Christmas music but decided to leave my favourite songs till today, as it is Music Monday.

So without further ado, allow me to give you my top 5 Christmas tunes:


'Fairytale Of New York' by The Pogues ft. Kirsty MacColl

Such a good song- it may be be rather melancholy in places, but the tune itself is mostly upbeat. Gotta love this classic tune!



'A Spaceman Came Travelling' by Chris De Burgh

This is one song which I find odd that I like this time of year. See, I'm an atheist, yet this song is very much based on Christianity & the nativity. I think what draws me to this song though is the space theme- plus the song itself & the way it's sung is good.



'Gaudete' by Steel Eye Span

Again, another one I find odd that I like as it's religious & I'm an atheist, but I really just like how this song sounds!


'Feliz Navidad' by Jose Feliciano

The reason why this song is in my top 5 is because of the good memories it brings. I went to Florida for Christmas 2012, & whilst in Seaworld this song was playing. Hearing it takes me back to the sun & the good times!




'Santa Claus Is Gunning You Down' from Futurama

What's better than a murderous robot Santa? A song about a murderous robot Santa, that's what! Gotta love this little parody!

Well, that's it for my Christmas songs. Now it's time for an announcement:

As you're all probably aware, I've been very busy recently, what with Uni work & getting things sorted for Christmas. Unfortunately, I have a lot of Uni work to do over my Christmas holiday, so I'm putting the blog on hiatus until my hand in. After then it should be running as usual on a Monday (or Tuesday) & whenever possible on a Friday.

So that's that my readers. I'll fill you in when I return, but for now, I wish you all a merry Christmas & a happy new year!

See you in 2015! :)

Friday, 19 December 2014

Festive Favourites

Good evening readers! Hope you're all well this festive season- I've been pretty busy, hence the lack of posts the past week. To be fair, there hasn't been much to blog about, but nevermind- let's crack on with tonight's post!

Seeing as it's the Friday before Christmas, I thought I'd share with you some of my seasonal favourites. Christmas is such a nice time of year I find- it has such a lovely atmosphere, what with the festive music, the decorations & being the season of good will. It's great spending quality time with family & friends, which would be the first of my festive favourites, along with giving said loved ones presents- it's so nice to see their faces light up when they see their gifts!

But as well as being a time of giving & sharing, Christmas is also a time for self indulgence. I think it's essential for everyone to have some 'me' time, & I'm sure everyone has their own little things that they like to do to treat themselves at Christmas, whether it be watching a certain programme or film or just chilling with some festive tunes & a glass of mulled wine.

Speaking of programmes, this brings me to my second festive favourite. There are plenty of festive shows on TV over Christmas- various Christmas specials & classics such as 'The Snowman', but my favourite Christmas special to watch is the Futurama episode, 'Xmas Story'. Futurama is one of my favourite shows & I love the insight into a futuristic "xmas"- which is terrifying as well as heart-warming! Matt Groening's decision to portray Santa Claus as a murderous robot is a great one & one that makes this festive favourite a joy to watch!

"He'll hunt you down & blast your ass from here to Pakistan!"
(Image not mine)

When it comes to self indulgence at Christmas time & festive favourites, I don't think I could leave this post without mentioning food! Christmas wouldn't be Christmas without a great selection of food- from nibbles to biscuits to main meals- Christmas is the time to indulge oneself in all the goodies, be that cheese footballs, twiglets or a fine selection of cheese & crackers. Now, I do love my food, so this is one of the highlights of the season for me! Amongst all the delights the season has to offer, these are my favourite Christmas foods:
  • Lebkuchen- These are German biscuits similar to Gingerbread. My Mum bought me some a couple of years ago & they are amazing! They have a cake-like texture on the inside & usually have a biscuity outside, coated with either sugar or chocolate. 
  • Caramelised Peanuts- These are something I only tried last year, but upon doing so I discovered that they taste great- sweet, crunchy & very more-ish!
This year's batch- yummy! :D
  • Mince Pies- I love the fruity flavours of the mincemeat, combined with the sweet pastry it makes for a lovely festive treat. Teamed with a cup of tea, they make for a great snack during the day, or a dessert if heated & served with custard- yum!
  • Pigs in Blankets/Bacon Wrapped Sausages- Now these are number one for me & the Christmas meal would not be a Christmas meal, & Christmas wouldn't be Christmas, without these delightful, rather morbidly named* treats!  These have always been a favourite of mine ever since I was little, & I always save one until last in my dinner so I can savour the taste!
Love them!
(Again, image not mine.)

I also enjoy hearing Christmas music- the delightful tunes really do help to put you in the mood! But I won't say too much here- you'll have to wait until Monday to learn what my favourite Christmas songs are!

And there we have it readers, my festive favourites, covering the 4 Fs- Family, Friends, Futurama & Food! What are your Christmas favourites? Why not let me know by leaving a comment below? :D

Thanks for reading, I'll be back Monday to share with you my top Christmas tunes! :)

*When you think about it, the term "pigs in blankets" is rather morbid- it may sound cute, but really it's dead pig wrapped in dead pig.




Monday, 8 December 2014

Weekly Music Challenge Day #23- A Song That I Want To Play At My Wedding

Hello readers! Been a busy week here in the life of Amy Sheppard, hence why you didn't hear from me Friday & why I did a Tune Tuesday last week. This week I am taking the time out to continue my music challenge, with my hardest song choice to date!

A song I want played at my wedding. Not something I've thought of- heck, I've not even decided if I will get married yet! May just live "in sin" as they say & hold a party with a buffet, seeing as that is the best part of a wedding (not to mention it'll cost less!). Or I'll end up being a crazy cat lady...

But who knows? Maybe when I'm older I'll be more inclined to marry. If the event ever does happen, I've decided this would be a good song:


'Last Night On Earth' by Green Day

It's my favourite "love song", so I think this would be appropriate. Contains "nice words" as my Grandad would put it (although I doubt he'd think so about this song, I hasten to add).  Fingers crossed the man I end up with is a Green Day fan... 

So there we have it, a song that I want played at my wedding. Future me, if you do decide to get married, please think back to this post when coming up with a playlist! Readers, if you wish to share a song you want played at your wedding, please feel free to comment below!

Thanks for reading! :)

Tuesday, 2 December 2014

Tune Tuesday- "Fix Me"

Hello readers! Tune Tuesday returns! Again, it's because I didn't have time to do my usual Music Monday post, so I've decided that this shall be the post I go to in the event that I do miss Music Monday.

Here's this week's tune:


'Fix Me' by Jack Strify

The reason why I've chosen this song is because on Sunday, the digital copy of Strify's 'Illusion' album was released to those who had pledged. I'm currently giving the album a second listen & I'm loving it! The song above doesn't appear on that album & I'm not allowed to post any of that music online as the album hasn't been properly released, however, this song is equally as great as those on the album. Plus, the imagery given in the first few lines of this song is similar to that given in some of the songs on the new album (well, it is for me).

Anyway, this song is great & I thought I'd share it with you. Plus, Jack Strify is a great artist- some of you may recall he was the frontman of Cinema Bizarre & their music is also excellent!

Thanks for reading folks! Hope you enjoy this week's tune & I'll be back with the challenge on Monday! :)

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