2 weeks ago | 2,310 notes | posted by: little-more-written
1. ASOS, BITTEN Leather Platform T Bar High Sandal, £75
2. Topshop, Wattage Nude Suede Wedges, £78
3. ASOS, PANDORA Colour Block Wedges, £45
4. Topshop, Lisbon Buckle Fastening Sandal, £68
5. Urban Outfitters, Grey Metallic Mule Wedge, £85
6. Valentino, Studded Leather Peep-Toe Pumps, £595
7. Kurt Geiger, Esme, £150
8. ASOS, HUNT Super High Leather Wedges with Egyptian Print, £95
2 months ago | posted by: little-more-written
1. Zara, Shirt with Pockets,£25.99
2. ASOS, Multi Arrow Spike Necklace, £25
3. Miss Selfridge, Seam Detail Biker Jacket, £52
4. Smashbox, Photo Finish Foundation Primer SPF 15, US$42
5. ASOS LUCY, Geo Print Bow Detail Ballet Flats, £22
6. Dior, Miss Dior L’eau 100mL, £65.50
7. Converse, All Star ox low white canvas, £39.99
8. Topshop, Raspberry Bow Skirt, £26
2 months ago | posted by: little-more-writtenAs my housemate can attest, my favourite game is ‘hypotheticals’; a trail of questions beginning with ‘What would you do if…?’ or ‘Would you rather…?’. Of all the hypothetical situation questions that are thrown around, my favourite would have to be ‘If you could be this age in any other era, which era would it be?” because I know my answer. While the idea of experiencing ‘Beatle-mania’ first-hand sounds appealing, I would definitely go for the 80’s. Questionable fashion choices, Hall and Oates, Prince, Pac-Man; sounds a dream. So a cafe named after the classic 80’s flick The Breakfast Club sounds right up my alley.
The brainchild of two 80’s kids (lucky bastards), the first Breakfast Club was opened in 2005 in Soho. It has a quirky menu, and even quirkier interior design theme; kitsch is cool. Much like John Hughes’ classic film injected the fun into detention, The Breakfast Club puts the cool into eating. This approach to breakfast clearly works as The Breakfast Club opened another branch in Shoreditch last year, making it one of the four dotted across East London. Online reviews for the chain have been shaky, but the lines streaming from each store on weekend mornings speak volumes.
Sunday saw me visiting The Breakfast Club (TBC) for the second time. After a minor travelling mishap (losing my housemate on the Underground), we arrived at the Angel branch at around 10am. The store was bustling, and a small queue had already formed outside the trademark yolk-yellow door (though miniscule in comparison to the 30-45 min wait at the Shoreditch restaurant on our first visit). With the rainy weather keeping some diners at bay, we are seated with our menus within ten minutes.
While the Shoreditch venue had an American diner-esque feel complete with neon lights, booths and a Smeg fridge (which you are highly recommended to INvestigate further), the Angel store immediately feels different. Working with its smaller floor space, the decor is playfully homey; fairy lights, retro posters and a pinboard filled with a photo collage. A stream of 80’s classics such as ‘Johnny Be Good’ play overhead, adding to relaxed atmosphere. This cafe wouldn’t be out of place in Brighton, UK or St. Kilda, Aus.
The menu offers all you’d expect and more. For the less adventurous, there is the traditional fry-up and American pancakes. The calorie counters can rest easy with bircher muesli and porridge. But the fun begins when you enter unique TBC territory: meat-tastic wraps such as the El Butty, apparently feasted on by Spanish builders and a ‘Posh Sausage Sandwich’ (sausage, smoked applewood cheese, Portobello mushroom and ren onion chutney) all reflect TBC’s trademark flair. After seeing another tuck into it heartily on my last visit, I go for the Green Eggs and Ham. My two companions choose the Breakfast Burrito and Huevos Rancheros. There is a lunch and dinner menu for the lazy bones who can’t face the daylight, but frankly, I don’t see why you would bother; it is the equivalent going to an Italian restaurant and ordering a green salad. Stick to what they do best.
Service was neither here nor there. While everything arrived quickly and our waiter was pleasant, our drinks arrived after our meals and an ordered fruit salad never landed at our table.
Had I never seen the Green Eggs and Ham before, I would have been quite happy with the first sighting. At the Shoreditch chain, my friend’s dish had thick chunks of gammon ham, instead of my thinly chopped squares that would be more welcome on a pizza. And rather than hand-cut wedges as promised by the menu, I was given skin-on fries. The flavours made up for these downfalls however, with the scrambled eggs cooked to perfection and the creamy pesto base exploding on the palette.
The Huevos Rancheros is a vigorous Mexican style big breakfast. The colourful mess of fried egg, chorizo sausage, refried beans, salsa, sour cream, guacamole and tortilla bread burst off the plate like an edible painters palette.
The Breakfast Burrito is a hearty combination of chorizo, egg, roasted peppers, guacamole and cheddar. The tortilla is soft and floury, and the creamy guacamole offsets the spicy bite of the sausage.
We wash these well-portioned meals down with some trademark TBC shakes and smoothies. The Cadbury’s Caramel Shake is thick and creamy, reminiscent of a perfect milk-bar treat from yester-year. The ‘Return of the Red Eye’ is glaringly bright- a playful concoction of blueberry, raspberry, passion fruit and orange that receives good reviews.
We set off into the gloomy day with smiles on our faces and full bellies, TBC having successfully avoided disillusioning us on this return visit. It is by no means ‘fine dining’, but they know that; The Breakfast Club knows what it does well and sticks to it. Ultimately it’s not the most nutritious of breakfasts but being bad feels pretty good (that was a TBC film reference, in case you missed it).
The Breakfast Club- Angel
Food: 7/10- Ingredients are fresh, and they know how to cook an egg
Drinks: 8/10- a vast menu with something for saints and sinners alike
Value: 8/10- the portion sizes overthrow some misleading menu additions
Atmosphere: 7/10- makes the cramped quirky
Service: 6/10- As is the case with many popular eateries, the floor staff are too busy for a truly personal experience, but pleasant nonetheless.
Makes me smile every single time!
3 months ago | 1 note | posted by: little-more-written
Bueller is back. In possibly the most talked-about advertisement so far this year, Matthew Broderick has reprised his most famous role of Ferris to endorse the latest Honda CR-V. Though a Honda may seem a slight step down from the mint Ferrari of yester-year, the Ferris we see here is also a slower, more reserved model. But it sure is good to see an old friend. And it seems I am not the only one; the official ad is almost at +10 million views on Youtube (and counting).This is quite comforting to me; last year I was asked to write an article for CargoART magazine on an iconic 80’s film that has stood the test of time. I chose Ferris, and this latest campaign just proves I was right. Gotta love when that happens.
So in light of this, I thought I would share with you the article I wrote. As previously mentioned, a version of this article appeared in the September 2011 issue of CargoART magazine…. Enjoy!
Remember the thrill of skipping school? I don’t, and I partly blame Ferris Bueller. While my inability to ditch school (or jig, or wag, or whichever term you prefer) is more likely due to a lack of imagination or guts on my part, it seems easier to blame Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. Let’s face it: no matter what you did with your day of illegal freedom, you wouldn’t be able to top the day Ferris and his friends had. Plus, once the film premiered, that “licking-your-palms” trick was eternally spoiled.
Released in 1986, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off was an immediate success both critically and commercially. A young Matthew Broderick is cast as the confident and popular Ferris who has hatched an elaborate plan to get off school. Charismatic and intelligent, Ferris is like a young James Bond; he can talk anybody into anything, girls swoon at his name, and he is always one step ahead. The one vital difference: Ferris just wants to have fun. As he says to his friends “You can never go too far”.
Backlighting his adventures are the overdramatic gestures of support from his neighbourhood, including a ‘Save Ferris’ blimp and a ‘naughty nurse’ house call. It seems the only two who haven’t fallen prey to Ferris’ charm are stubborn sister Jeannie and teacher Ed Rooney, whose individual missions to expose Ferris get themselves in more trouble than they do Ferris.
This year marks the 25th anniversary of Ferris’ release and as with every iconic film, the question is raised: why has it endured? The easy answer is because it is just pure simple fun. It may cause some to fondly remember their own attempts at skipping school. A friend recalls facing the same scenario as Ferris when he looked sideways in traffic to see his father in the next car over. Suffice to say, he was not quite as lucky as Ferris.
Since its release, countless high-schoolers (and I daresay quite a few adults) have attempted to relive Ferris, Cameron and Sloane’s iconic day in Chicago including visiting the Sears tower and staring intently at paintings in the Art Institute of Chicago. Presumably most have been unsuccessful- there can only be so many Sausage Kings of Chicago, and destroying the Ferrari once was crime enough.
While some of the techniques Ferris employs are a little outdated, the messages the film sends are timeless. Ferris teaches us, and his cynical best friend Cameron, to live in the moment. As he says to his audience, “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop to look around once in a while, you could miss it”. Cameron learns that being a pushover will get you nowhere, and decides to stand up to his overbearing father. Even a stoned Charlie Sheen, as Boy In Police Station (a peek into the future perhaps?), imparts a gem of wisdom to Jeannie: stop caring about what other people do, just worry about yourself.
Writer director John Hughes, also credited to other 80’s teen classics Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club and Weird Science, was revered for bringing the teen movie genre beyond what it previously was and is again becoming. Unlike other teen movies, Hughes’ films don’t assume that all teens, both on and off the screen, only care about alcohol, prom and sex (nor does it make any references to vampires).
In Ferris, we have a slew of teen characters that are complex and relatable. Their issues are those that audiences can identify with- if not now, at some point in their life: a parent you are terrified of, a sibling who your parents like more, a teacher who is out to get you, or that feeling of not knowing what the hell you want to do with your life. And while you may not be able to jump into a city parade and sing your troubles away to “Twist and Shout” like Ferris, at least somebody knows how you feel.
Ferris has found its way into popular culture in many ways. Bands Save Ferris and Rooney credit their names to the film, a spinoff television series was made starring an unknown Jennifer Aniston as Jeannie, and quotes have permeated everyday language; “Bueller…? Bueller…? Anyone…? Anyone…?”
I will even admit to giving myself a mohawk and singing “Danke Schoen” into my shower head once or twice.
In a tribute to John Hughes at the 2010 Academy Awards, Matthew Broderick revealed that he is still asked daily ‘Is it your day off today Ferris?”. Because that is the true beauty of Ferris: no matter what age, or what generation, everybody appreciates a good day off.
3 months ago | 1 note | posted by: little-more-writtenAs has been evidenced on this blog numerous times, I am a bit of a film snob. As in; I hate when people don’t watch films. Or at least, refuse to watch films that I love. I am often heard exclaiming ‘You’ve NEVER SEEN…?’ As far as I am concerned, there are certain movies that everyone must watch; like a rite of passage. And not just watch, but enjoy and watch repeatedly. In fact, when it comes to movies that I enjoy, I’m like a fat person at a buffet; I’ll go back time and time again.
But I have a confession. I too am guilty of neglecting certain films for no reason, despite their high acclamations. It is not that I don’t want to watch them necessarily; I have just never gotten around to it. I’m too busy watching You’ve Got Mail for the 500th time.
So here is my (shameful) list of ten movies I know I should have seen by now:
1) Gone with the Wind
2) Breakfast at Tiffany’s
3) The Breakfast Club
4) Almost Famous
5) Strictly Ballroom
6) Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
7) Lord of the Rings trilogy
8) Edward Scissorhands
9) Dead Poets Society
10) Sleepy Hollow
3 months ago | posted by: little-more-written
1. Jeepers Peepers, Franz Sunglasses, £16
2. Topshop, Burnout Geo Tee, £20
3. Dorothy Perkins, Navy/Stone Soft Tux Jacket, £39
4. River Island, Black Speckled Top, £20
5. Diane Von Furstenberg, Kenley Scarf, £185
6. Current/Elliot, Leopard Print Jeans, £205
7. ASOS, Suede Mini Grab Bag, £21 (was £35)
8. NARS, Body Glow, £44
It counts as one of my five a day….right?
4 months ago | posted by: little-more-writtentheme by: heloísa teixeira
