Object of desire

OMG... just a little bit obsessed with these.  ASOS - I love thee.

Meanwhile... I keep meaning to find the time to post, but a little recap of the last 2 weeks.  Spent some crazy time in Basel at the Baselworld jewellery and watch fair, turned 31, went to Paris for a photography tour of the Marais, cashed in on some me time at the cowshed spa at Shoreditch house and I ended the weekend just gone at a roller disco in Wigan!  One of these days, I'll become a better blogger and actually post about these experiences.  If anyone finds some spare hours in the day, throw them my way!

Snow Days

This time last week I was channeling my inner snow bunny on the slopes in Les Arc.  Had such a great time and honestly felt the world was about the end when I arrived back in London and was sat in traffic in Victoria on Thursday morning.  I feel like this after every holiday...I just want to jack in normal life and travel the world!  Hmmmm unless I win the lottery, that ain't gonna happen!

Anyways... he's a few sun drenched pics of the snow!   Enjoy the rest of the weekend - doesn't it feel like spring has finally sprung!?

You know the drill, you spot an image on your fave streetstyle blog of one of the uber cool fashion editors strolling around  NY/London/Milan/Paris dressed in clothes that you can only dream of owning....then you crash back to reality with a hard bump when you realise that it is not justifiable to spend a months salary on one piece of clothing.  

But that's the best thing about these fashion houses!  They know there are people like me that crave that little entry price point, that first rung on the ladder of the brands identity and that's why they created perfume/make-up and best of all sunglasses!  Now I really can pretend i'm a fashion editor!

I first spotted Giovanna Battaglia wearing her red leopard print glasses on JAK & JIL and then she tortured me again on Garance's blog, then low and behold on the back of today's fabulous Sunday Times Style section, there is the below image of Naomi Campbell sporting them! Thankfully, she's advertising them on behalf of Dolce Gabbana for their new Animalier Collection and I for one want a pair ASAP!

Have a lovely week! I only have 5 days in work until i'm off skiing!

xxx

I &hearts New York

Thought I might as well at least try and sneak in at least one post into February!  I am still alive (just)!

This past week saw me totally unexpectedly in New York City.... yes my job sucks sometimes, but it also gives me great opportunities to visit my favorite place in the world!  Unfortunately my days were consumed with work, but whilst doing some late night shopping in the NY version of superdrug (Duane Reade) I came across the fact that OPI and Essie are a veritable bargain compared to the UK.  Queue me spending the next 15 mins trying to narrow down my choices down to 4 bottles, with the aim being to at least limit my spend to under $50!

Unfortunately, there was no room for my camera, so Iphone and hipstamaticapp had to cover me!  So I at least managed to sneak in a few pics!  I lived in New York for a year straight from university, and like to think i'm a bit of a local... (we are talking nearly 10 years ago) but I still get super excited about the cliche New York sights and sounds!  What can be more exciting than waking up to a view of the Brooklyn Bridge, then a short walk up Broadway to the office!  It beats the Victoria line commute hands down... 

Thankfully, I have a super exciting holiday planned for NYC in August with the boy and friends!  Roll on summer!  New York I still love you and you're not driving me mad!

XXX

It's snow fun anymore!

I'm having one of those weeks that can only be classed as total pants!  But as in order to get me through the next 2 months, I'm trying to focus on the fun things in life!  Steph at walkthesand has done a great post today about 10 things that she is loving about 2011!  That's the kinda positivity I need in my life right now and as I'm sure you'll agree, a little bit of sunshine can get you a long way!  So what great news to come home to this evening to find out that I'm booked with my family to go on a little mini skiing break in March!  Only 8 weeks this Saturday in fact...!  So what better to get me in the snowy mood than some of the pictures I took from December, when we all lived in a Winter wonderland.

Saturday Muchies

According to The Evening Standard there is a new London quest for the search for the perfect sandwich so yesterday O and I took a trip to Borough Market on Saturday with the aim to track down the holy grail in toasted cheese sandwich.... Unfortunately, there was just too much temptation and my belly got the better of me!  So we crumbled and went to The Guildable Manor for some slap up spicy lamb sandwiches, and jeez they really filled a corner!  But I'm already plotting our return, because the humble sandwich really is the greatest meal ever!

 Have a great week!

xx

Watcha 2011!

So how many New Year Resolutions have you broken so far!?  I'm doing ok with the usual "healthy eating" and "my body is a temple" goals but I'm guessing the test will be whether I say no to the Friday afternoon glass of white wine in the office...

However, I have planned a few other resolutions, and I'm hoping that my publishing them here will chivvy me into actually achieving them!  Rather than blandly typing them out, I treated myself to this rather lovely notebook from paperchase (how can you not go into that shop without splurging on something?) and put pen to paper and came up with 5 missions for 2011!  Here's to making them work and sharing them on the blog... as that's something I really want to spend more time on too!

What are your little missions for 2011?

Hola! It's party time!

Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas - I had a great time and loved being back with my family!

However, I think it's sign of age.... or just the realisation that New Years Eve is actually better spent at a house party, rather than in some overpriced bar!  So, this year I've decided to be the hostess with the mostest, and will be throwing a little soiree for my nearest and dearest!  I'm always one for a themed party and thought what better way to banish the winter blues by going for a Mexican theme!  So whilst I sink another turkey sandwich, am putting my google skills to good use, by researching all things Mexicana

It's always a fine line between kitsch and classy isn't it for a Mexican themed party, but how cool is this illustration taken from theydrawandcook? The artist is  Gennine Zlatkis  and her beautiful blog is full of wonderful colours!  I think my party inspiration starts right here!

 Image from here

Totally Enchanting...

Are you feeling festive yet?  I think I need a viewing of Love Actually whilst making mince pies and then I can officially call it Christmas!

Today to escape some of the Christmas shopping madness, I went to Kensington Palace to visit their enchanted palace exhibition and a little bit of me melted!  The curators have created something incredibly beautiful and magical and it truly allows us to be introduced to the history of the palace and it's inhabitants in a really unique and special way.

As soon as you walk into the first room you are hit with a sucker punch of sadness, what can be more emotional that a dressing table full of antique bottles used to collect the tears of Princess Mary after suffering from numerous miscarriages.

   Photo from here

The rest of the rooms were all themed around seven other Princesses that lived at some stage in the palace, and the stunning rooms are enhanced with amazing fashion and art installations along with some fabulous performance artists that really bring the palace to life!    We all had a giggle when one of the artists offered for my friend Claire to sit on a thrown and asked for her to speak her greatest wish, the palace courtiers then shouted her wish across the palace for all to hear!   Then a few rooms later we came across a beautiful type-writer and the notes stated that their was a visit from Princess Claire and again her wish was noted for all to see!

As you can probably tell, I really can't speak more highly of the place and I wish I had more photos to share, but unfortunately the exhibit restricts photography and it was stressful enough trying to sneak these photos!  We ended the day with a glass of champagne and afternoon tea in the orrangery!  How very regal!

Have a great week!

xxx

Wish you were here!

Wow!  All I can say is, thank the lord I'm not in Berlin now!  Today's temperature in Berlin during the day was -7c!  Not exactly walking tour temp is it?  Makes me feel like my experience of Berlin was positively tropical....

We had a great time in Berlin, even though I just wanted to hang out in Soho House all the time!  I created a google map to keep a track of all the places we visited and wanted to visit - so I've got everything saved for next time!

Being a bit of a history and politics geek (I did my degree in Economics and Politics), I was really excited to see the historical side of the city and one of the most interesting tours we did was of underground bunkers from WW2 and the Cold War.  The tours were run by berliner-unterwelten and I cannot recommend them enough, the tour was engaging, fascinating and really gave you a massive understanding of what it was like in Berlin during the Wars.  

We also did a walking tour and it was also a great way of learning how the various administrations of the city have impacted it in so many ways...our guide was fantastic and I'm now a big believer of being a bit of tourist geek and going on these tours!  They really allow you to learn all the important facts of the place you are visiting and also mean you don't walk around the tourist sites without learning the important facts.  Best of all, you then have more time for investigating the bars, cafes and restaurants!

Here are some pics!

 O walking through the Holocaust Memorial.

The memorial was amazing, every stone was a different height and angle and even the floor tilted.

The Christmas Market food stalls were stunning

I loved the U-Bahn - the image of the Brandenburg Gate was on every train and the gate is seen as a sign of freedom for the city.

You can't go to Germany and not eat sausages!  In fact we ate them twice, who knew that chopped sausage, curry powder and tommy k could be so delicious!?

        This was an artist commune in an old department store in the old Jewish quarter.  There was so much street art and I believe in summer there are loads of outdoor bars, so you can enjoy a German beer and some great art.