Hope everyone had a jolly bank holiday weekend. The boy & I headed to the seaside for a proper bank holiday day out. Ice creams were had, fish & chips ate, ginger beer fizzed & promenading done.
Bringing the average age of the visitors to Largs down by quite a lot we had a rather lovely day out in the unexpected sunshine (I had my mac on like a proper granny- can't take any chances!) I browsed in the charity shops & eyed up every assortment of hard boiled sweet imaginable.
Until the next one... I feel I should source a RainMate just in case we aren't as weather lucky.
1. This week I have mostly been working, exercising, ebaying, looking at exotic holidays & working. I am mostly looking forward to a lazy, long weekend (I dream of sunshine, I know that is not that realistic) spent catching up on reading ( I have got into a habit of buying magazines & not making it past page 5, so I have a long overdue obligation to get through Harper's Bazaar, Vogue & InStyle), girlie cocktails & maybe hitting a market or two. What is everyone up to for the bank holiday? I always feel the pressure to do something fun on this extra day off, thinking it would be lovely to just jump in the car & head for some unknown little town with twee pub lunches & fully stocked bakeries....
2. Topshop summer looks, I accidentally bought a few dresses when I had a quick ‘browse’ on the online store (it was a particularly long Wednesday). Also, I know Topshop has never been amazing quality pieces but I am finding a lot of things very see through of late, anyone else finding that? Or maybe I am just becoming old and respectable? Also had a gander at the Secret Store collection that launched yesterday- I wasn't overly wowed by the pieces but I really like the idea. Using 'Wild at Heart' florist Meadham Kirchhoff they created a secret floral pop-up shop in store & online, hiding an assortment of jewels & more unique pieces in small production numbers. If I had to pick a standout piece it would be the Pamela Love Aztec Ring £50:
3. In the hope of gaining some sort of passable beach body that does not require me to wear a moo-moo, I have started exercising like a fiend (well by fiend I mean that I joined the gym & actually went a couple of times). This exercise nonsense is hard though, I had to miss a couple of coffee gatherings to go exercise, how do people fit it all in? Maybe I should invite people to take up a position on the treadmill beside me? Since I am now trying to incorporate it into normal life I am thinking I need to up my exercise wear in a big way, hoping to go check out the new Nike store on Buchanan St (it has to be better than my recent JJB ick experience).
4. Lauren Laverne on 6 Music. Firstly & rather bashfully must admit I am not a big radio fan, I like to hear the music I like & don’t have the patience to sit through other songs while I wait. Secondly I use Spotify most days (rather bewildered what to do now that I have used up my allocated 10 hours). Thirdly I always thought 6music was a bit too serious for my random musical whims. However I was pleasantly suprised when I tuned into Lauren’s show- not too much chit chat, no jingles and mostly music that I can tolerate. Been starting the working day with the hummings of Otis Redding, She & Him and Everything Everything.
5. Fashion friends this week- still crushing over my recent Chloe acquisition, her coral hue makes me long for summery days to take her out (stupid dull Glasgow!) My old beat up Levi denim shorts (still). Now thinking of outfits that I can incorporate them into. Looking for vintage smock tops and beat up tees to wear them with.
Spending my Saturday catching up on errands, coffee shop sitting & generally wandering about. Comfort & simplicity are taking precedence. Is it wrong that I plan outfits based on the bag?
Kate's wardrobe selection for meeting the Obamas on Tuesday has caused quite a stampede. She wore the Reiss Shola dress, similar to the Victoria Beckham & Herve Leger bandage style dresses, it was form fitting & classic (you would expect nothing more from the Royal style icon in the making).
As the pictures circulated, the Reiss website crashed under the pressure (not to return for 48 hours), their facebook page read “Due to unprecedented demand, Shola mania has crashed our website! We are endeavouring to bring the Reiss brand back to you ASAP!”
The dress quickly sold out & Reiss have no plans to reissue stock in the UK or US. The dress is now selling on eBay for upwards of £495 (an increase of 180%). So what does everyone think? Good choice by Kate? Worth the £495 to own a piece of high street fashion turned fashion history?
Update - Reiss have announced today that due to customer demand they are restocking the Shola dress. They are estimating it will be in store in 5 to 6 weeks & will be on a first come first served basis. Join the waiting list.
So I caved last week & purchased the See by Chloe bag I had been fawning over. I just innocently went to check she was ok & still in stock, then the sales assistant clearly saw me coming & gave me her best 'you should have this in your life' persuasive chat. So she was mine in the end.
Although suffering from severe lack in funds due to said purchase, I wanted to show her a good weekend, this involved an amazing lunch with the boy at Velvet Elvis, afternoon tea & scones with my friend & an adventure to a two year olds birthday party (in hindsight new bag & kids high on sugar with messy paws was not the best idea).
Velvet Elvis' quirky decor
Lazy Sunday lunching, definitely recommend the Velvet Elvis burger
Is it wrong that I am now looking for things to accent the bag?
I love a bit of Elle Decoration, Design*Sponge (love their sneak peeks) & LoveNordic Design for inspiration on everything interior & design. After the merging of the things in the moving in process, the boy & I are still trying to figure out how best to use the space to our advantage. I am spending a lot of time working from home & needed a place for all my papers & books to live. A few trips to Ikea, some shelf putting up swearing & we (he) created a cute little space in our spare room to whittle away the hours.
It is still a bit of a work in progress. But combining some Ikea shelves, my old antique dresser as a desk & some bunting (the boy caved & let me have some bunting) around the window, have made for a much nicer work space than our dinning room table.
Now if only I can convince him about the pouffe I have been eyeing up (its the blue/green/turquoise one):
Pinterest, along with lots of style eyecandy, has some great inspiration pictures of workspaces & dream homes in general. I loved this space saver:
As you may have gathered by now, I have a thing for shopping. I love a bit of Topshop and Zara as much as the next girl but I much prefer getting a tea dress or necklace that I am not going to see 20 other people with identical ones on a Saturday afternoon and knowing that my pennies are being better invested, by stepping away from the High Street. Whenever I visit anywhere, I try and locate some boutique type shops where I can search for more under the radar designers. So I thought I would share some of my finds.
Jarlo have gorgeous floral print dresses & now that I am maxi comfortable, I love their swishy, floaty maxi dresses.
Dahlia have quirky pieces with girly touches in their trim & texture
Hannah Zakari showcases the best in all that is independent. The shop is always on my list when strolling around Edinburgh. Check out their jewellery selection for a treasure chest of goodies.
Pretaportobello.com is one of my favourite websites & although not a substitute for my twice yearly pilgrimage to Portobello Market, they always showcase unusual and quirky designers.
PPB Jewellery is featured on the site and stood out to me as affordable and eye-catching, I do love gold and could give Mr T a run for his money but I highlighted below a couple of their current pieces that tickled my fancy.
So my message for today kids is that the High Street is fine, its a staple like an old pair of jeans, but mix it up a bit & you can find treasure pots of gold to add to your wardrobe in the shape of independent stores & designers.
That time has rolled around again, when the winter warmers are packed away and thoughts of having to bare all again in the name of summer brings on panic palpitations. With less than a month until I have to be beach ready, I am stepping up the quest to look Blake Lively summer tastic and I will be eating the oatcakes and thinking of everything nicer.
I thought I should get kitted out for this endeavor and purchased my first pair of trainers since high school PE (I was especially pleased that I fitted into the kids sizes). As I surveyed a sports shop for the first time ever really, it struck me that exercise clothes are really ugly. Whats with the brand names blazoned everywhere and why are all women's exercise clothes the smallest, tightest things ever? I have seen the Stella McCartney for Adidas collection and it was ok but nothing amazing. Until conditions improve I will be sticking with my Topshop leggings and American Apparel hoodie.
ps. the photo is from a patisserie in France, where I salivated over everything. Possibly how I got myself into this situation.
pps. Day 1 it rained, didn't make it out of the house (my new trainers would have got wet). Hoping for better results tomorrow.
I have a thing for bags (I may have mentioned this before) as sad as it sounds they make my heart beat a little bit faster. My bag lusting normally takes the shape of Mulberry, with Marc Jacobs thrown in, so falling for a See by Chloe bag has thrown me. Whilst browsing in House of Frasers on a rainy Sunday afternoon I spotted this beauty & I think its love.
From its coral orange colour, scalloped edges and satchel resemblance, it is summer bag carrying perfection. I am now trying to figure out how I can justify this lust filled purchase...considering maxing out the credit card a bit more, eating cereal for a month or asking the boy for some pennies (since he will get to see me wearing it afterall- handbags could be said to be art?) Until I can go back and visit her I will be staring lovingly at pictures:
Another Sunday, another market. Headed to Little Birds Market in Sloans, bumped into some friendly faces, browsed the goodies & drooled over the afternoon tea.
After last week's bumper vintage haul, I was on my best behaviour - window shopping & observing (also the boy was with me, this generally keeps my shopping in control.) So I lived vicariously through my friend Michelle who scored an 80s polka dot, pussy bow, blouse at the bargainous price of £10.
Now trying to fend off the Sunday night feeling with dinner, dvds & denial.
