My Hobbity London Trip Part 1. A not altogether Unexpected Journey

I seriously have so many things I’d like to share with you, I’m overwhelmed where to begin.

I decided to start in the best possible place meaning right at the start.

As some of you may know I got the absolute perfect birthday present this year from my family and friend.

My BFF Max and I started out on our adventure on a frosty Thursday.

The plan was simple: get to London in a timely fashion, unpack at the hotel, freshen up and rush to Leicester Square to meet two of my fellow Armitage Admirers Judit and Linda60 to catch The Hobbit together at the Odeon.

Our two lucky Richardettes had attended the official movie première the day before and I really couldn’t wait to meet them and get the dirt.

The flight was uneventful (and I really don’t want to go into detail on how inappropriate I found the 10 minute patting down at the airport and how I’ve had foreplay with less physical interaction… Oh well, a sign of our times I guess…).

On landing at Heathrow I encountered my first Armitage sighting.

Armitage Shanks that is… spelt across the loo and basin I was using.

As many other Armitage Admirers like Guylty, I was shocked to find myself using a product in some bizarre way connected to our Precious.

I can honestly say though that this was the first, but certainly not the last time I got excited about Richard Armitage in a bathroom.

On our way to the hotel, which is close to Waterloo Station, we passed another reminder of my favorite actor.

I really did scream when we passed The Old Vic, where Richard Armitage appeared in a fund-raising gala on 21st November 2010.

I’ll just say what we’re all thinking: you’ve seriously crossed a line when you actually get excited at a strip of pavement that your beloved actor had walked on a good 2 years before.

There was little time to dwell on the madness though as I had a 3pm appointment with my online friends and fellow Armitage nuts.

I had arranged to meet Judit and Linda60 an hour before the movie, pick up our tickets and pop in for a quick coffee  before catching the film at 4pm.

I was clad in my Thorin-inspired fur collar and Erebor key brooch, looking like a hairy savage American football player 🙂

 A lovely surprise awaited me, as it turned out Guylty, also known as the Ooof Girl, a periodic collaborator at me+richard, joined our merry gathering, and I presume that we ended up looking like four slightly mad and overly enthusiastic hobbits leaving the Shire 🙂

My fellow admirers were exactly what I had expected meaning witty, funny, articulate and energetic and Linda60 knew her audience very well as she came bearing a gift of yummy chocolates.

The one thing I did learn that surprised me was when obsessing about Richard time passes just as fast in RL as it does online.

Green is the new red…

Before I knew it, it was time to take our seats and embark on our rather expected Hobbit adventure.

I regret we didn’t spend more time just chatting away, especially that all of us had other plans for our stay and RL friends we shared our London time with.

I honestly could have spent 5 more hours after the movie just chatting, so hopefully next year we’ll get the chance, and I am looking forward to meeting up with more fans next year for The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug.

In my next post I’ll be writing about my Hobbit thoughts as I think most of you have seen it at least once and I won’t be spoiling anything.

Just a quick Hobbity Hello!

Dear Friends,

I hadn’t intended on taking such a long break from the blog, and I apologise to anyone who was worried about my sudden disappearance.

It started with taking a step away from the promotional madness of The Hobbit which I wasn’t enjoying too much.

Then my trip to London came about and so did the countdown to Christmas.

We then went away for the holidays and I’ve only been back for a day.

What amazes me is how life went on here at I Want to be a Pin Up while I was away.

The stats have been going through the roof despite me not posting anything new and it is a tad unnerving that my posts are read beyond our Armitage circle.

There’s a million things  (OK, exaggeration…) I want to write about, so I shall have to cut it all up into separate posts.

I can’t wait to share the details of my Hobbity weekend in London, meeting my fellow Armitage Admirers, and the exhibitions I managed to visit while there.

Now that The Hobbit is out around the world, I think it’s time I shared my thoughts on the movie in a painfully honest review.

Until then, huge hugs and keep warm 🙂

23 hours till The Hobbit and Counting…

The Hobbit is so close I can almost taste it 🙂

As I write this post, the countdown on the sidebar says 23 hours before I see the film.

I’ll be heading over to London in a few hours, but before I get on the plane let me share with you some of the ways I’ve been expressing my excitement (besides jumping up and down and overusing the word Yahoooo!)..

Firstly, if you haven’t checked out the fruit of Seba‘s labour of sweet RA love, you simply have to.

Get your Hobbit Cookies Here!

He answered my call for someone to test Hobbit cookie recipes, and went above and beyond.

They look super yummy, so head over there for the details and sweeten up your day!

By the way, Seba saw The Hobbit last night, so scoot over to his blog to read about his impressions.

NO SPOILERS, so not to worry!

I’ve also ordered a few tops with images I’ve been fiddling with, I’m still waiting on them and time is running out.

I’ll be bummed not to have them before London, but not to worry, I still have the Polish film release to look forward to.

 I can only hope the T-shirts come out all rights.

The following image was created as a bit of a giggle.

It was inspired by a post about Hobbit merchandise and the My Little Pony Thorin Spa.

I also printed this beautiful image created by Seba at GisbornesBoy on a white T-shirt.

If you head over there, Seba has created a number of versions of this stunning image to suit all tastes.

We’re so lucky that he shares his talent with us!

Last but not least, I found this amazing image at adlpictures.

I love it on so many levels, least of which comparing the dwarf plight with the biblical story, but that’s best left for another day.

  I fiddled about with Thorin’s Last Supper by aging it a tad and adding crack and “Dirty Dwarves”.

I’ve also mentioned wanting to use my non-existent skills and try making some Hobbity jewelery.

I  decided to make a brooch from Thorin’s Key to Erebor.

I used the key chain that is readily available, although it was a bit too silvery and cheap-looking for my taste.

You have to admit it’s a bit tacky.

I ended attaching the rest of the key chain to my garage keys.

 The pin is attached using the playdough-like substance you use to stop a leaking pipe.

One might think that a  hot glue gun would be a better idea, and sure, you’d be right, that is of course if you can find it…

Anyway, my DIY plumbing material worked like a charm 😉

Then I used some furniture varnish with golden coloured dust to cover the bright silver.

I tried not to pile it on because I already liked the darker elements of the key and wanted to keep the rustic feel.

I also used a regular crayon to add a bit of rusty looking depth, but I’m not sure it’s all that visible.

Anyway, here’s the final effect and I’m happy 🙂

   Talking about visible representations of The Hobbit excitement, the last thing I’d like to mention is the heater in my sisters kitchen.

We use it for magnets and funny notes, so I decided to hang up my birthday card.

I turn around and find a note left by my sister Magzy expressing her displeasure with my Armitage expansion tendencies.

That cracked me up, especially her choice of deity she calls upon!

Clearly she’s struggling to get into the Hobbit spirit 😉

Have a wonderful weekend and I will see you on the other side of The Hobbit rainbow 😉

I want to eat an Armitage praline a day and make the box last…

Never have I wanted to hail  a cab so darn much…

Taxi…Taaaaxxxiii…. Follow that cab…

I swear I wasn’t planning to do a disappearing act for so long.

It’s gotten to a point where my sister (who doesn’t really visit here that often) has been chewing me out for not posting for such a long time.

What’s strange, and quite frankly a little disturbing, is that my stats have really been going through the roof in the past couple of weeks, despite me not posting a thing.

Richard may be badass, but there’s nothing bad about that arse…

Here’s the deal:

I really had that “I want to be somewhere else” feeling a few hours before the New Zealand Hobbit première.

I had set my alarm clock for 3.30am but the only thing raising an alarm that night was my inner fangurl.

It just felt better to not engage and be caught up with all the craziness I’d usually lose myself in.

Richard wields his sexy magic and even the poor cab driver falls under his spell…

I can offer 2 reasons:

Firstly, I just really want to see the film.

I don’t want to read about it, hear about it, see pictures, stills, costumes and teasers.

I’m teased enough and now I’d like to experience the actual film and make my mind up.

I’m trying to avoid any reviews so I can allow myself to feel whatever it is I will after anticipating The Hobbit for so long.

Enough with the teasing act, I want to be sitting in the Odeon cinema in London’s Leicester Square with Judit and Linda60, clad in unflattering 3D glasses and jumping up and down with joy (sorry girls, feel free to pretend you don’t know me…).

Taking blood has never looked this hot…

Secondly, I think I need to savour the moment.

I’ve been an Armitage  fan admirer nut for some time now and I still haven’t seen all RA related goody.

I don’t need to do so, as I like the feeling of having something to look forward to.

Do you remember how excited I got when I unearthed Richard and the Chocolate Factory?

I was literally the last person within the fandom to see it, and yet it really did make my day (mental note to self: I’m way too easy to please…).

I have a whole year before the next Hobbit film comes out and I want to use that time to slowly make my way through the new photos and interviews.

Instead of getting RA diabetes, I want to satisfy my  sweet tooth one day at a time.

I want to be able to pop one Richard praline in my mouth each day and make the box of bonbons last.

Does that make sense?

It makes me crave chocolate though 😉

Grey is the new orgasmic…

I’m happy that I can take things slow, ad that’s thanks to the hard work of our friends at RANet and RAC.

A huge Thank You!

Anyway, before I go I just needed to post the pictures from  Glamour magazine (UK) January 2013 issue, as it has become my new favorite photo shoot (can you guess what my previous favorite was?).

The moment I saw it, it was absolutely love at first sight and the new chic Cary Grant vibe is making me fall in heavy sweaty lust all over again 🙂

Oh Richard!

Ps. Is there a name for someone with an unhealthy vest / waistcoat fetish?

Because I’ve got that…bad… 🙂

All images from RANet

Waiting for The Hobbit to premiere in your country? Do this in the meantime…

My Darling SEBA and his friends have picked up pick up the gauntlet and baked The Hobbit cookies! They look amazing and super yummy. I really regret I wasn’t there to lick the wooden spoons 🙂
I hope everyone is having a wonderful Hobbit Week and are counting down the hours!
Great job!!!