'L' IS FOR MY LOLA AWARDS!

Dear readers, I am participating in Jenny Matlock’s Alphabe-Thursday where ‘L’
is for both The Lola & Superior Scribbler Awards!

Firstly, I’ve got a little confession to make! I received most of the awards hanging in the sidebar over a year ago and, er, forgot about them - until now! The reason? The site’s had a spot of spring cleaning! And not just a coat or two of cooler, paler colours, polishing the pics and rearranging the text furniture. But hanging up winter’s woolly words and dusting down all those wonderful awards hanging over there, the most recent the Superior Scribbler Award from the wonderful Bhavesh Chhatbar which I’m passing on today together with the most famous and prestigious of all, my very own Lola Award for Services to Blogging!

But now, back to our awards today! Now I’m aware some of you don’t "do" awards and I’ve tried to bear that in mind with the nominations below. However, mistakes do happen dear readers and if, inadvertently, your blog’s been included ~ or excluded for that very reason ~ please blame it all on that useless P.A. of mine, Nora...!

Now, my Lola Award is for recently discovered blogs and, like all similar blog awards, is useful because it introduces wonderful new blogs to a wider readership. This means, regrettably, I have to EXCLUDE those esteemed fellow bloggers I’ve known now for a little while (most of whom have already been garlanded with well-deserved awards). In fact, all those listed on the sidebar deserve award after award but I’m restricted to just 20. (Stop gushing and get on with it. Your P.A., Nora.) So, ripping open the shiny, sealed envelope on the blogosphere podium, I momentarily pause (for drumroll and swig of whisky from artfully concealed hipflask) before reading out the nominations for both the Lola and Superior Scribbler Awards (in no particular order):

Jenny Matlock

Bermudabluez

Jacque4u2c

KatiewhatcanUdo?

Trying to look fab in your forties

Teawithonesugarplease

Seens from the backs of my Eyelids

My Romantic Home

The Misadventures of Mrs B

Haute World

Smiling Sally

Me and My Memes

The best hearts are crunchy

Daydreamnworld

Show my face

Carmen's Chronicles

A La Carte

Here's to Life!

Styling Bodies

Hyacinths for the Soul

Finally, thank you all my dear readers and also new followers who visited or left comments this past week! Have a great Alphabe-Thursday! And do check out other great Alphabe-Thursday posts! btw I’ll be MIA for a few days cos’ my P.A.’s away on a brief business trip again! But she’s promised to type up and post my latest YOUR LOLA LIFELINE! next THURSDAY, 15 APRIL! Make a note in your diary! Don’t miss this historic, earth-shattering event!!

XOXO LOLA:)

PS Be good while I'm away!!

AND THE WINNER OF THE FIRST-EVER LOLA AWARDS IS ... !!

AND THE WINNER OF THE FIRST-EVER LOLA AWARDS FOR SERVICES TO BLOGGING IS ... !!

Well, my dear readers, the time has come to announce the winner of our true/false statement mini-meme! A moment I know you’ve all been waiting for since last Saturday’s July in Christmas Blog Party! I’ve allowed a whole week for comments 'cos at this time of year so many of my dear and loyal readers are to- and fro-ing on vacation and I wouldn’t want them to be disappointed and left out. Indeed, as it transpires, one dear reader left a lovely comment just the other day - while she was still doing the rounds of the Christmas Party Guest List!

But before we come to the ANNOUNCEMENT CEREMONY itself, let’s take a quick look at those statements and find out which one’s TRUE! Some 3 of you believe Nora’s related to Boris! Well, that’s quite understandable given all the waffle and drivel in the posts I allow her to publish and her general, bumbling ineptitude (always trying to sneak in one of her own hunky pics! Never again, mind you!). And 6 of you think she did a trainee stint at a tabloid:

Again, quite understandable given her atrocious overuse of exclamation marks and dreadful, bombastic exaggeration! But the rest of you believe she met and chatted with Paul Newman. And ,YOU, dear readers, are CORRECT and eligible for the random draw - as the SEPTEMBER 28 2008 tag (now artfully reinstated!) proves. Congratulations! Incidentally, if any dear reader survived the trek all the way back through the unkempt undergrowth of overblown writing to that post (hopefully fortified by numerous St Bernards and assorted hipflasks), he/she deserves a separate LOLA!

So, dear readers, we have the vast majority of you as potential winners! But before we come to the announcement of THE WINNER (who, you recall, should: 1. Accept the LOLA Award. 2. Post it on their blog together with my name and blog link. 3. Pass it on plus mini- meme), let’s set the scene and put ourselves in party mood, celebratory mood by attending an Awards Ceremony together! So, dear readers, settle back and relax as I take you on a little journey...

Firstly, welcome to the Auditorium and that Red Carpet...

Let’s walk up the famous staircase together...

Of course, in our finest couture AND jewelry (lent by Tiffany of Rodeo Drive)

Oh, look! Beautiful People are posing just for US...! There’s Helen Mirren and friend over there in red, Penelope Cruz in black
and Bjorn in, well, something white!

In fact, white seems to be everywhere...

Jennifer in Valentino, Penelope now in vintage Balmain (quick change of outfit!) and Anne Hathaway in Armani...

and Evan Rachel Wood in Elie Saab, Jessica Biel in Prada and another look at Penelope plus Sarah Jessica Parker. And how about a close up of Sarah Jessica in that Dior creation - our Best Supporting Dress nomination!

And sooo many designer outfits! Help! Hope nobody’s in the same outfit as ours, are they?!

Meryl in Alberta Ferretti, Tilda in Lanvin,

Keira in Vera Wang, Miley Cyrus in Zuhair Murad (a mermaid in, er, sequins?!!)...
Then there are all these couples dying to share Hollywood gossip with us:

Plus some gorgeous men too:

Daniel and Jack - after all, it wouldn’t be a party without Jack, would it?!...
Not to mention our Gorgeous George!

But, quick, let’s take our reserved seats 'cos the ceremony’s about to begin. Look, here’s Jon, our MC, welcoming us:

followed by lots of lovely film clips and announcements!

And now all these winners thanking US for their Awards!

Nicole in Galliano, Angelina in Elie Saab,

Julia in Valentino, Kate in YSL,

Gywneth in Ralph Lauren (ugh! Not so sure!), Cate in Armani (sooo elegant!)
But before we move on to the delicious meal specially prepared for us by Wolfgang Puck

in the Post-Awards Party Marquee,

let’s return to OUR second, bigger and, more importantly, EXCLUSIVE CEREMONY OF THE DAY!! - THE LOLA AWARD - and the moment you’ve all been waiting for. THE GRAND RANDOM DRAW BY P. Look, there’s his hairy, masculine hand just pulling the winning slip out of the champagne bucket at midnight, July 31st! And, dear readers, the winner of THE LOLA AWARD FOR SERVICES TO BLOGGING

is (deafening drumroll) ...

DUSTJACKET ATTIC!

Congratulations, DustJacket! Pop over to pick up your prize!
And now back to that party and champagne all round!!!

"No! No! No! I said CHAMPAGNE ALL ROUND! NOT CLIVE ...!
Are you deaf?! You’re the most useless PA ever...Grrh! Grrh!"
VINTAGE CHAMPAGNE!
xxxLOL LOLA:)

LOLA'S CHRISTMAS IN JULY PARTY GIVEAWAY!!

FIRST OF ALL, HAPPY HOLIDAYS, DEAR READERS!


AND WELCOME TO LOLA’S CHRISTMAS IN JULY PARTY GIVEAWAY!



THIS IS A MINI-MEME! THE CHALLENGE IS TO POST TWO LIES AND ONE TRUTH. CAN YOU SPOT WHICH ONE IS THE TRUTH? THE WINNER WILL RECEIVE MY GREATLY COVETED LOLA AWARD (BELOW)!
THE COVETED LOLA AWARD!

Two of the statements below are FALSE! One is absolutely TRUE! The question, then, is which? The correct one drawn (see below!) will get the greatly coveted LOLA AWARD! After all, everyone gets an Oscar these days. But who do you know has a LOLA? You’ll be the envy of all your friends, neighbours, blogpals!! Here, then, are the three statements:

1. When she lived in LA, Nora met and chatted with Paul Newman who told her he preferred eating incognito in small, unassuming restaurants to avoid the paparazzi and hangers-on waiting outside to pounce...
PAUL NEWMAN!

2. Nora is related, albeit very distantly, to London Mayor, Boris Johnson (below). Both are fair-haired and prone to waffling and bumbling ineptitude. Both studied Latin! But while Boris’ side of the family has Turkish forebears, Nora’s is totally British born and bred. Here's Boris:
BORIS JOHNSON, MAYOR OF LONDON!
Oops! Grrh!! Wrong pic again, Nora !! Grrh...Grrh...!!! True both gents have fair hair and first names beginning with "B" but that's probably where most similarity ends, don't you agree?!! Anyway, here's our one and only Boris:
THE REAL BORIS!

3. Early in her career as a would-be writer, Nora did a trainee stint at one of the UK’s tabloid newspapers. It was there she developed the habit of alliterative allusion (“sliding down the slippery slope of sloppiness... beacon of beauty in a desert of deficient desolation”); bombastic hyperbole (“Stop Press! Your Lola Lifeline!”) and over-use of exclamation marks!!!!

ONE TABLOID!
ANOTHER TABLOID!

Remember, only ONE of the above statements is TRUE! It’s up to YOU to decide which!

To ensure the judging is as fair and impartial as the recent Iranian elections (No! Seriously! Just joking!), I have asked P (who’s extremely independently minded) to conduct the task: the winner will be randomly drawn from all the correct answers after the DEADLINE OF MIDNIGHT (BST), JULY 31. (Can’t entrust Nora with such an important task - too useless for words!) And I will announce the winner ASAP after the final deadline!

THE RULES (*STERN LOLA FACE*!!!):
1.You are a follower of The Lola (oops!) Johnson Diaries! Already one? Thank you! If not, just be sure to click on the followers link (right) before entering!
2. Leave your answer in the comment box below.
3. Accept the LOLA AWARD, post it on your blog together with my name and blog link.
4. Pass on the Lola Award plus mini meme.

And remember, this may be a Once-In-A-Lifetime-Offer! So hurry! Enter now!

Buche de Noel, Fauchon

And now, after all this Christmas excitement, I’m going to creep back to my basket for my beauty sleep (yawn), but do help yourselves, my dear readers, to some pistachio bûche de Noël (above) and egg nog (below) on your way out! Oh, and do please close the door firmly as you leave... don’t want to be woken up by the merry clinking of all those glasses (snore)!!!

And a huge thank you to our divine hostess, my dear friend, Maggi, at Just Add Glitter and Stir for hosting this great event!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS AND SEE YOU SOON AT YOUR PLACE!
xxLOL LOLA:)