Alyson Said What?

It's the most wonderful tiiiime of the yeeeeaaaarrrr! Seeing as today is National Pumpkin Day, I thought I'd made a little post about a super fun activity I went to last night. Madame Tussaud's held its first ever pumpkin carving workshop, so obviously I had to go. Halloween isn't as much of a 'thing' here as it is back in the States and I'd be lying if I said I don't feel deprived. So thirsty for the spook. So thirsty. That being said, I definitely feel like the Halloween spirit (hur hur hur) has been getting stronger in the U.K. over the past few years. Fake cobwebs and tinsel skeletons are popping up in more shop windows, and people seem to have realised that costume options go beyond Sexy Devil and Sexy Witch. This fun event at Madam Tussaud's is another example of how Halloween is catching on. Love it. When hubs and I arrived, we were ushered into a concealed side entrance of the building with the rest of the workshop group, taken up qui...

When I was last in my native Los Angeles this past August, I had the immense fortune of being able to attend the Guillermo del Toro exhibition at LACMA, sensibly named At Home With Monsters. It is a stunningly curated exhibition of items from his own personal collection of artwork, ephemera, costumes, and other macabre and enchanting treasures. Normally, these fascinating things are kept in del Toro's second home, which he has named Bleak House, after the Charles Dickens novel. At LACMA, the works are organised by themes such as death, the afterlife, and magic, rather than by chronology. I was moved by the amount of love that del Toro obviously puts into his acquisition, display, and maintenance of the pieces shown. If I took away anything from the experience, it was a newfound respect and tenderness for the man: A boy fascinated by the more strange and dark aspects of life, his love affair with cinema, and how he grew further into these things rather than out of them. Be still, ...

It's been quiet here - I know. Life threw me a few of those curveballs it's famous for and I've been focusing on coping, with varying degrees of success. For the most part, I'm ok, and trying to run with that.  My trusty laptop recently bit the big one, so that's made it even harder for me to feel motivated. Blogging from my phone is a bit of a pain, but I have the mental energy to write again and there are things I want to say. So here I am doing my best. Look at me go.   I'm in the process of cooking up a few important posts: a few fluffy makeup reviews (House of Beauty! More from Shiro! Sleek!); a review of my first 7 months working as a registered nurse in trauma, and my recent move to intensive care; a post on my thoughts on and experiences with bullying in nursing; issues faced by bisexual people in both heteronormative and queer spaces; and maybe a recipe or two.  In the meantime, keep up with me on Twitter-twatter @AlysonSaidWhat.  If you'...