Pretty Much Penniless

The Hitched List: A Trip to the Moon

2012-02-06T22:39:00.003Z

Pictures from the following: 1, 2 and 3.

Last two: my own.

Trying to settle on a wedding theme without finding myself on a conveyor belt of corporate white chair covers, 'vintage'-looking decorations and a decision involving fruit cake and victoria sponge (FYI, I'm having both. At the very least) is one hell of a minefield.

Yes I want jam jars, wildflowers, bridesmaids in vintage lace dresses and heaps of fairy lights but I also want something different to tie everything together. A theme. Vintage is too vague a word and overused at best. Trying to describe to people that I want a slightly gothic, fairytale, pastel-hued affair with a dash of taxidermy and steampunk thrown in for good measure, really wasn't working. I've just started asking people to imagine Miss Havisham and her cobwebbed lace and bingo, that's the look I'm going for.

And then I found the postcard above and it all fell into place. I remembered seeing Georges Méliès 1902 film 'Le Voyage Dans La Lune' a few years ago and how it entranced me. It is considered the first ever science fiction film and runs to a little over fourteen minutes and was finally, 109 years after its original release, restored to full colour and shown at Cannes Film Festival 2011. If you have a spare quarter of an hour, watch the full video above.

I've decided on stars and moons and no particular era. I might have a fifties dress and twenties jewellery, a guest book from the 1890's and a DJ playing anything from the last sixty years, but everything will come together under a glittering sky. And yep, I do plan on making a two-metre high crescent moon prop to pose in.

Lace & Glass: an easy DIY

2012-02-05T13:03:00.001Z

One item on my list of things to collect over the next 12 months in the run up to our wedding is jam jars. Or pickle jars, chutney jars, mustard jars, any jars that I can steam the labels off of.

There's a number of little uses I want to put them to on the day but this one was the starting point- lace tea light holders. We'd quite like hundreds in the garden for the reception, but I'm seriously doubting how much Bonne Maman my family and I can consume over the next year.

You will need:
Jars with the labels scrubbed or steamed off
Scraps of lace or pretty ribbon
Glue dots (can be bought on Amazon here)

Attach the glue dots at equal distance (approx 1 inch) around the top of the jar.

Cut the lace to fit around the jar to include a small overlap and press the lace around the jar onto the glue dots. Add extra glue dots to stick down the overlapping piece of lace all the way down to where the lace finishes on the jar.

Et voila!

They look even prettier with the tea lights in. I'm planning to make lots of them with different pastel-coloured lace and group them on tables and all over the garden so, if anyone eats a lot of jam, you know where to send those empty jars!

The girl with the curls: a mini how-to

2012-02-02T17:47:00.001Z

As someone who publishes their email address for all manner of creep to see, the ratio of kranky/non-kranky emails I receive is suprisingly low. Mostly, I just get the nice ones and recently I've had a few emails about my hair, which may or may not be the handiwork of some fringe fetishist. Coincidently, I received an email from lovely Jilly on behalf of John Frieda regarding their new set of YouTube tutorials (on their new UK channel here)so I decided to kill two birds with one blog post and do a little tutorial on how I do my hair and some advice from the professionals.

Firstly, as you can see from the photos above in 1 & 2, my hair is embarassingly in need of a re-colour. I can't quite believe I'm even publishing these photos of my bog-brown roots.

It's not that I haven't got the time or the money (I usually use a box dye at home), it's because I'm attempting to give my hair a jolly good rest. I've been dyeing my hair since I was 15 years old (10 years!), from purple to black to red to orange, and in that time my scalp has become hardened to most chemicals I slap onto it. However, using the same dye I've used for over a year- L'Oreal Feria in Mango- I've started to get a tingly, stinging scalp. After reading the PPD/Resorcinol scare stories, I immediately stopped and am now stranded in a land of dark roots and fading lustre. There's nothing to be done but ride it out until I summon the courage to become a henna user.

My hair is naturally wavy (my Dad was the proud owner of a ginger afro in his youth), so I blow dry it using a paddle brush to smooth it out so that the curls take to the hair more (1). When I curl my hair, I split it into three horizontal layers and curl one at a time to add volume.

I've used curling tongs in the past and never liked the result they've given me, always too uniform and not particularly natural. When I started using my hair straightner instead, it was a revelation. With each layer, I take small, inch-wide sections of hair and starting at the top, nearest the scalp, clamp the section with the straightner (2). I pull down, rotating the straightner as I go, taking the pressure off about an inch from the end of the strands.

When I've curled each layer, it's much too perfect so I brush it all out with my Tangle Teezer, turn my head upside down and shake it all out (4). I'll apply a bit of hairspray (Tresemme's Freeze Hold is my current choice) and I've found the curls will tend to hold all day.

The California Waves video above shows you an alternative way of doing it with curling tongs if this is your preferred method. They also have a fantastic one for retro curls which I'd like to try out once I get my mitts on some rollers. Do you have any other tips for a natural curl? Perhaps you're a rag-rolling fiend or a connoisseur of bendy curlers, so whatever you're preferred method, let me know what I'm missing.

Mooching around London & a giveaway winner!

2012-01-30T17:58:00.001Z

This weekend was one of those all-round fun ones with lots of things planned (that go to plan). On Saturday I met up with friends and their gorgeous little Shih Tzu Buster to go desk shopping in Islington.

Instead of scouring the junk shops we visited Criterion Auctioneers, an auction house on Essex Road with a huge floor of furniture and collectables. There were some lovely old pharmacy tins, a handful of gilded religious icons and old Elvis posters but I decided to be restrained and save my money for a fish finger sandwich and a cider at The Old Queen's Head where we sat amongst stuffed stags heads on the walls and glass domes filled with old doll parts.

I've blogged about my love for the amazing-but-expensive Camden Passage in Islington before so was more than delighted to take another stroll down it on Saturday. I spied a shop I've never seen before: Issy's Milky Way is a fifties diner and milkshake bar in a palette of pastels and stripes. We didn't get a chance to pop in but looking at the photos of their cakes on their Facebook page is making me want to make a date there ASAP.

The Passage also holds the fabulously weird stall outside Loveday Antiques which over time has become my favourite. This week, they were selling old incorrect education posters, bits of threadbare taxidermy, strange metal contraptions, some very steamy projector transparencies and all manner of small vintage toys.

The last photo, for those of you who are familiar with it, will indicate we ended up near Brick Lane browsing the Old Truman Brewery sample sales and sipping hot chocolate at Rough Trade. And still, after all these amazing shops and stalls, my purse was still firmly planted in my satchel. It was quite a novel experience not to be engulfed in a haze of post-spending guilt!

And finally, the winner of my phone cover giveaway is...drum-roll please...Jasmine from Jaz XO! Congratulations Jasmine, I'll be emailing you now. Thank you to everyone who entered!

An illustrated giveaway.

2012-01-22T13:41:00.000Z

My old phone cover was looking a little tatty so when I received an email asking if I'd like to try our one of the covers from Iconemesis, my iPhone, in it's cracked Cath Kidston case, thanked me.

In collaboration with some of the greatest illustrators and artists around at the moment, they have created some truly desirable covers for both the 3G and 4G iPhones. I chose one of the many Fifi Lapin covers for it's pastel palette and thankfully it turns out to be as functional as it is beautiful.

Sturdy and well made, there are a huge range of other artists' to choose from- Gemma Correll, Cat Sims, Sarah King and Jonny Packham to name a few.

The very nice people at Iconemesis have also offered one of their lovely cases to one of you! All you have to do to enter is like the Iconemesis Facebook page, pick your favourite case design and let me know in a comment below with your email address. The competition will run until next Sunday 29th January and is open to all followers, including international ones.

Project Take 10: Zign at Zalando

2012-01-18T08:18:00.005Z

I love a good Mary Jane. Even if they have been totally bastardised by high-street shoe chains as of late, they still remind me of sixties babes, Courtney Love circa Hole and a host of illustrated Enid Blyton's from my childhood. Thank you to Zign at Zalando for making a Mary Jane with a wearable platform in something other than pleather. In a beautiful pink suede, they don't look like I've just resurrected from my nineties school shoe collection. Or maybe they do, but I love them regardless.

I decided to run with the sixties theme and give myself a mini-hive and wear the heels with a polka dot mini from Primark and, inspired by Jen's recent love for a sparkly cape, a sequin over-sized collar from Peacocks, a sale bargain bought for a fiver.

Are you a fan of the Mary Jane or do they remind you of uniforms and school days? This month everyone went for a totally different type of shoe, from warm winter boots to loafers, so make sure you take a peek at my fellow Take Tenners and their style.

Susie (Take-out in Couture)
Sherin (Hi-Fashion)
Vicki (Magpie Girl)
Sarah (We Shop)
Harriet (Where's Harriet)
Sabine (Psynopsis)
Jen (A Little Bird)
MJ (Dreaming Spires)
Paula (Pink Bow)

Pick & Mix

2012-01-15T18:25:00.000Z

This week has been very busy and full of exciting things, which has meant little time for sitting down and spending my free time blogging. We all feel the bloggers guilt sometimes don't we? I have it by the bucket load at the minute, so thought I'd give you a little update on what I've been up to.

Yesterday, Ed and I went to see another bunch of wedding venues- 2 duds and 1 absolute beauty. Cripps Barn (above) is a stone barn in the Cotswold's with huge outside gardens, a bonfire, forest, the option to camp and some very pretty interiors. We still have a few more to see but this is looking like the favourite so far, even if I think it's a bit too polished for me.

One thing that has really got to me whilst looking for venues is the strictness of some of them. If I'm paying thousands of pounds in hire and catering costs I expect them to be a little more negotiable to the whims of a non-traditional bride. One of my wishes is to have a desert table, with cakes made by friends and family, macarons from Laduree and all of our favourite puddings. This is looking more and more impossible since most venues don't allow you to bring any outside food in which, in this age of austerity, seems particularly mean. The search continues for the perfect run-down barn in the south of England so if anyone has any hints or knows of any secret barns available, please let me know and save my nerves.

People have been going on about Pinterest for ages, but it was only after looking at the ridiculous amount of bookmarks I have on file that I decided to give it a go and, predictably, I'm now hooked.

It's fantastic for bringing together all of my wedding inspiration so if you fancy having a browse and following me, or if you have a Pinterest account too, let me know. You can find mine here.

Instagram of the week. Still loving it:

1. New Dorothy Perkins sale coat, £15 down from £69
2. Centrepoint on Tottenham Court Road, early morning.
3. Man with a golden pyramid on his head, Waterstones, Oxford Street. Amazingly, this guy is a cult London figure, which I found about after stumbling on this blog post here. I love London eccentrics.
4. My fawn bookend sadly lost it's partner in crime last weekend, smashing to the floor. If anyone spots any more, please let me know as he's very lonely.
5. My new Miista sparkly flats were bought courtesy of their ingenius Twitter promotion, whereby the higher the tweeter's Klout score, the higher the percentage discount was applied. I managed to bag the last of these for £14 down from £99!
6. A boy in a dog hat. More precisely, Ed in a dog hat bought for him by 'Santa'. Just for the lolz.

Finally, I was delighted to see that I'd been nominated for a Company Blog Award in the 'We Love Vintage' and 'Overall Winner' category. I'm under no illusions that there are far bigger and more popular blogs out there so I'm not asking you to vote for me, but I am asking you to vote because it would be fantastic to see a blogger I know picking up an award! You can vote here and as many times as you like so hop to it.

Collars and scarves

2012-01-08T18:00:00.001Z

I saw these beautiful collars on Fiona's blog and knew I had to know more about them immediately.

They are designed and made in London by bright young thing's Cleo Ferin Mercury, who make them alongside their amazing silk scarves under collections entitled 'Icons' (featuring Bridget Bardot and Beyonce), 'Les Histoires D'amour' and the latest 'The Animal Friendly'. The latter features the brilliant Hibernate With Me arctic fox, badger and hedgehog collars and I can't get over their cuteness.

Talking of collars, how do you like this crochet collar I plucked off a particularly hideous charity shop dress? The dress was a couple of pounds and I was more than happy to pay it despite relegating the rest of the dress to the remnants pile. Just a tip if you see a lovely collar on a less-than-lovely dress, they're generally always quite simple to snip off.

The Useful Groupon (etc) Guide

2012-01-05T19:51:00.003Z

When Groupon asked me to do a review for them it seemed utterly pointless. Everyone I know is thoroughly fed up of me raving about it to them or anyone who'll listen. You poor readers haven't escaped my enthusiasm either, I've written about Groupon on the blog previously to share my own fantastic experience of using a voucher to visit Drink, Shop, Do.

So, I thought, what can I offer you instead of my usual 'I Love Groupon' viewpoint?
How about a run down of how I get the best out of Groupon? They, and all the other identikit sites around, play host to some brilliant deals and money-saving vouchers but there are some pitfalls to watch out for.

These are the tips I use for every deal I buy:

1) Be sneaky. If you're buying something that needs to be booked in advance, for example a hair cut/a pedicure/a hotel stay etc. OR you're buying something that you want to be able to use at a specific time, for example a wax before a holiday/a restaurant deal before a theatre performance etc. call the business before you buy the deal! This is especially important if you can see that 300 other people have bought the same deal. You don't want to buy the voucher to then find out they can't fit you in until the arse-end of 2013. The company may not take the booking until you have the security code from the voucher, so you may need to be quick in buying the deal and calling them back, but at least you won't be taking a totally blind risk.

This also goes for physical products bought. I bought the above books on the 5th December, hoping to get them in time to give one to my Dad as part of his Christmas present. However, by the time the voucher went 'live' and the delivery time of 1-2 weeks had passed, I was already home in Luton and miles away from my wonderful Leon cookbooks. Don't buy anything you may need straight away, the companies will often be packaging hundreds of orders and will have factored that in to their delivery estimates!

2) Get on early to beat the crowds. A pretty obvious one, but Groupon is usually one of the first websites I visit everyday. Their daily deal email's are sent out between 2-4am so the deals are updated by the time I hit my desk at work and I browse them while I eat my breakfast.

3) READ THE T&C's. Again, obvious, but seriously if you don't read them you may be wasting your money. Some deals aren't applicable for certain areas, certain dates, sometimes postage isn't included, you may need to purchase more than one deal etc. Just make sure you read them because even if it's a bargain, if not used, it's a waste of money.

4) Check the expiry date. Or should that be, remember the expiry date! I've bought deals in the past, usually restaurant vouchers, which I've printed out, stuffed in my purse and then completely forgotten about for months. I try not to buy things that I won't use within a month or two so that at least I can book them straight away and schedule it in my diary so as not to forget it.

5) Research. Groupon is pretty huge now, and hence popular and reputable companies/businesses are being signed up to sell their wares. However, I often see deals for salons and restaurants I've never encountered before and hop straight onto Google to research the hell out of it before I even consider buying a deal. I had my nails done recently thanks to a voucher, but when I arrived it was in a dingy, freezing basement with staff who could speak no English and did a shabby job on my acrylics. If I'd have researched it, I would have seen that a dozen other people had already written of it's crap-ness. Learn from this and never be tempted to dive straight in.

5) Look further afield. We recently went to Bath and as soon as the train tickets were booked I stopped by Groupon to see if their were any relevant deals for the dates we were there. I managed to find a great restaurant deal which meant we were saving money on our mini-break with a touch of luxury dining thrown in.

6) If you're not happy, complain! If the salon/restaurant is not up to scratch, either before or after you've used the deal, make sure you complain to Groupon. I had extremely rude service from a hair salon about a year ago, when they couldn't handle the number of customers buying the deal and effectively hung up on me. I complained to Groupon who refunded my money very quickly and without quibble. Even if you've used the deal but it wasn't what you were expecting, or you felt you were treated differently to other customers because you were using a voucher, call or email Groupon to let them know. It may not get you your money back every time, but feedback is always useful.

I hope this has been helpful for anyone just starting to use websites like these. In the interest of variety, my other favourite deal websites include: KGB Deals, Living Social (especially their instant deals!) and Wahanda (for health & beauty)

If anyone has any questions or additional tips about these types of websites feel free to leave them in the comments and I'll answer them in as an edit to this post.

P.s These Leon cookbooks are what I bought with the voucher that Groupon gave me to post a review. They are incredibly beautiful, and every page is a graphic dream. They are probably the most visually stunning cookbooks I've ever seen but I'm yet to make anything from them just yet, so I'll update you on their usefulness in the near future!

The Annual: 2011

2012-01-01T14:44:00.000Z

2011 was an amazing year but not one for sticking to resolutions in. I didn't lose weight and I didn't stop smoking. This year, I'm not making a single resolution. I just want to learn as much as I can and have a good time doing it.

The first thing to change in 2012 has been the layout of this blog thanks to Faye from All These Pretty Things. There are still a few tweaks to be made but I love the clean lines, so do let me know what you think.

Thank you to all those who've given advice and kind words over the last twelve months, it's been a brilliant year and I've loved sharing some of it with people who are still interested enough to keep reading!

Here's to an exciting, prosperous, inspiring and full of love 2012!

Lucky

2011-12-31T16:01:00.004Z

Clockwise from top left:
How to be a Woman, Caitlin Moran
Silver satchel, The Cambridge Satchel Company
Sailing ship jumper, Topshop
Orange Blossom cologne, Jo Malone
Antler hair grips, Woodland Belle

Clockwise from top left:

Teacup, saucer & plate set in Duchess design, Royal Albert.
Birdcage hanging storage
Teacup candle
Ginger & Neroli candle, This Works
Vintage fabric tote, Poppy Valentine
Arthur Rackham's Fairy Tale Illustrations
Aveda Damage Remedy collection

I hope everyone had a beautiful Christmas! I'm very sad it's over for another year, I get a sort of post-Christmas blues which lasts until the end of January so I might need a bit of cheering up over the next couple of weeks.

I've been busying myself by sorting out the flat and taking photos of the pretty things that both my and Ed's lovely family bought for me. I know these sort of posts are loved and loathed in equal measure but I, for one, am always hugely nosy to see what other people received.
The satchel was my present from my parents and how happy I am to finally have it in my possession. It's just the right size, not too big, not too small, with a discrete company stamp on the back and very very shiny. I'll be writing extra special thank you notes to everyone this year.

What is everyone up to for New Years this evening? I'm going to my friends flat in East London for a dinner party and a night of cocktails and boardgames. I just can't handle the crowds and expense a New Years night out generally entails but if you're braving the outside world tonight, good luck to you.

From tomorrow morning a new look Pretty Much Penniless will be on show for all to see. New year, new beginnings and all that so I'll be doing a little rundown of 2011 to celebrate what, after all, was a good old year.

I hope everyone has a fantastic night and that heads aren't too sore tomorrow! I'm already dreading mine after a dozen Mojito's.

Christmastime!

2011-12-25T14:17:00.001Z

Love to you all x

Finds and fairy tales.

2011-12-23T16:52:00.000Z

Only two sleeps to go until the big day and I've mainly been dashing around for a little bit of last minute shopping and seeing family. Thought I'd do a quick run down of the past few days because everything is happening so quickly at the moment! My Auntie and her children came down to see us for some pre-Christmas fun and with her, brought a huge amount of vintage furs from a house clearance that she is helping to sort out. She kindly let me keep one so I chose the mink/musquash stole above.

I know that not everyone will agree with real fur, but it's something I've always loved, probably since reading The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe as a child and imagining walking through the snow in a full length mink. (Apologies for all of these camera/mirror shots, being Edward-less has deprived me of my photographer!)

My parents live in Luton and, as I've mentioned before, every time I'm home I make sure I have a quick scout around the charity shops. I always seem to find something good and being used to the over-priced London ones, they always seem very, very cheap.
I managed to find an over-sized wooly bobble hat to keep me warm and, one of the holy grails of charity shop finds, a pair of Salvatore Ferragamo pumps that actually fit me. Total bargain of the month at £4.99.

Also got my hands on the gorgeous velvet heart slip-on's from Topshop after a little twist of fate. I hovered over them in Topshop for about ten minutes but with a heavy heart I left them behind after deciding I couldn't afford them. When I got home, my mum walked into my room saying 'Would you like these? They're too narrow for me' and pops the very same shoes on my lap. Fate indeed.

Sarah sent me a beautiful hand-drawn Christmas card which is always such a pleasure to receive. Every year she draws a new character and I love waiting to see what she's come up with. Thank you Sarah!

And finally, I dug out my copy of Oscar Wilde's fairy stories, in particular The Happy Prince, ready to read in bed on Christmas Eve. There's nothing like making up your own traditions- falling asleep reading fairy tales will be one of mine!

All the support you need.

2011-12-20T20:25:00.002Z

At this time of year, the feted party dress gets a bloody good publicising in every magazine, paper, website and blog. Shall you go to ball in sequins or silk, bold colour or monochrome? I try not to buy a new dress just because someone's telling me I'll be a work party outcast if I don't, but a new dress is always nice regardless. Especially one that packs a secret metaphorical punch.

Marks & Spencer asked if I'd like to trial one of the dresses from their new Secret Support range for the party season and with a Christmas 'do on the horizon, anything that promised to smooth my curves whilst giving me a little kick of confidence was a must-try.

On first inspection, the dress is a beautiful shape and material. A classic pencil dress with a peplum ruff around the waist and in a polka dot texture, the material is stretchy but thick enough not to be overly clingy, something I hate in clothing. The magic really lies, however, in the lining. An inbuilt support of tight lycra with it's own inner zip pulls everything in seamlessly and once the outer zip is closed, there are none of those unsightly glimpses that support separates can give you.

I wasn't expecting miracles, as I don't with any sort of wonder product, but I loved what the dress did to my waist. There were no lumps or bumps and I felt securely held together enough to not even think about it. My only gripe is that their range of dresses are all short-sleeved/sleeveless which, for someone who loathes their upper arms, (this is the only time you'll ever see them so naked on this blog!) is a bit of a downer.

I ended up pairing mine with a little sparkling cape and flats to get very, very drunk on mulled wine which made the double-zip scenario a whole other challenge later in the evening!

Motel Secret Sale...

2011-12-20T13:57:00.000Z

In the beautiful, snuggly Leah cardi*

Motel have provided me with a cheeky little link to their online sale preview for anyone who actually has any wages left to spend this month! Just click here to have a browse at the dresses, tops and playsuits on offer at some very reduced prices.

In other news, I'm back in Luton today, ready for some full-on mince pie gorging, festive telly watching and other general Christmas shenanigans. I'll be catching up on blogs over the next few days and trying to blog as much as possible before the whole period comes abruptly to an end as it always does.

Also, listen up Secret Santa participants! Can anyone who hasn't received their Secret Santa yet please let me know! I'll be emailing the senders to make sure they've been sent, but do be a little patient as the post is horrendous at this time of year.

Olympia Le- Tan: Queen Librarian

2011-12-16T10:07:00.002Z

All photos: Olympia Le- Tan tumblr

If I were a rich city kid, the heir to some country pile, a Norwegian princess or the daughter of a Russian oligarch I would be asking for a library of Olympia Le- Tan book clutches for Christmas.

Oh to have a wall of intricately embroidered felt folios to choose from and a library ladder to be my enabler!

I think I might have a little go at making my own but it will never look as fantastiche as Olympia's. What book would pick to carry your purse in? I'd choose Angela Carter's Wayward Girls & Wicked Women or Durrell's My Family & Other Animals with Achilles the Tortoise sewn on by hand.

Sound the sirens! One day 'til Secret Santa deadline!

2011-12-13T11:00:00.000Z

Here it is, your one day warning signal. The deadline for the Second-hand Secret Santa is tomorrow, Wednesday 14th December.

I cannot ask enough that if you are having any sorts of problems, please email me at myneonlights@hotmail.com

Thank you so much again to everyone for taking part and I really hope that this will be a sweet little second-hand success!

Not a Project Take 10: House of Fraser

2011-12-12T21:30:00.001Z

Of the twelve amazing challenges I've taken part in for Project Take 10, all have come off without a hitch. Unfortunately, the law of probability meant that one, somewhere along the line, wouldn't. Here lies the story of my House of Fraser challenge.

The House of Fraser team sent each one of us completely different dresses, picked for us individually. After the initial trepidation I felt at having one dress selected for me from the hundreds available on the website, I relaxed when I received a beautiful silk Biba one-shouldered frock. The material is pretty and delicate, it looks elegant and timeless on the hanger, but that is exactly where it stayed. On the hanger.

The dress was a size 16, the size I am in most high street shops if you exclude H&M, (and I always exclude H&M for their bizarre sizing) and yet on commencing the zipping-up ceremony, there was a gulf of at least 2-3 inches that Edward, no matter how strong he is, could not eliminate. I am too fat for Biba. Gutted.

I'm hopefully getting the dress swapped, so fingers crossed I'll have a banging party dress ready for show & tell in the next few days, but for now off you pop to drool over my gorgeous Take 10 comrades and their perfect party pieces.

Susie (Take-out in Couture)
Sherin (Hi-Fashion)
Vicki (Magpie Girl)
Sarah (We Shop)
Harriet (Where's Harriet)
Sabine (Psynopsis)
Jen (A Little Bird)
MJ (Dreaming Spires)
Paula (Pink Bow)

Handcrafted Christmas: Wrapping in style

2011-12-09T18:06:00.002Z

The Christmas tree is up, the mulled wine is simmering away on the hob and I have one week of work left until I go home for the season. The tradition I usually loathe is wrapping presents, so this year instead of using a roll of WH Smiths finest and a bunch of ugly tags and trying to get the whole charade over in the quickest time possible, I decided to get a little bit creative for very little money.

I bought a huge roll of simple red and white striped paper from Ikea for about £2 and this will be enough to wrap both mine and Ed's presents this year. I love the way that it's simple enough to add my own touches, but still looks a bit more luxe than the ubiquitous brown paper.

I've seen paper doilies used in quite a few American DIY's over the last few months so decided to crack out my pound shop pack from a couple of weeks ago, bought for a doily emergency just like this. I either cut them in half (for the smaller presents) or kept them whole and stuck them down with a small dab of pritt-stick. I raided my sewing box for oddments of ribbon, chiffon offcuts and gingham fabric to add a final flourish and then secured that down with sellotape.

The tags are made from the same book that I used for my paper bunting, which I just cut into luggage tag shapes and stuck on with tape.

So, was it worth the extra bit of effort and time? Yes. I love how they look and it was surprisingly therapeutic to sit and add whatever I wanted to customise each wrapping. I can't wait to give them all away, but for now they are sat under my tree looking (even if I do say so myself) very pretty indeed!

P.s The lovely Amy at WolfWhistle is one of the entrants of Matalan's Style Project for December, so please go and show your love by commenting on your favourite girl here.

A mixed bag: Bath, slippers & scent

2011-12-03T17:36:00.001Z

We went to Bath for the night last weekend and drank our weight in mulled cider and wine at the Christmas Market, ate a candlelit dinner in the Pump Rooms, shopped until we figuratively and literally dropped (into a pub) and neglected to take many photos at all. We went to a great little flea market and I haggled for hardbacks. It's such a beautiful place, somewhere I can imagine myself living in a few years and that's all you need to know! I also bought some amazing ribbons from the indoor market which will be popping up in a DIY over the next few days...

This weekend we're dog-sitting Buster, our best friends' Shih Tzu, so today has mainly consisted of watching films, having a snuggle with him and taking advantage of their fire.

It's also given me a chance to try out the slippers that Nature Shop were kind enough to send me. By Snugs, they are pure New Zealand sheep skin and so soft I don't ever want to take them off. I can't recommend them enough. They come up smaller than most shoes, because of all the padding, so I went for a size bigger than usual. There's 15% off them at the minute so they'd make a beautiful, luxury Christmas present for the homebody in your life.

I finally received the prize I won on Twitter from Diptyque back in September! A beautiful Bakelite travel bottle with 3 refills in L'ombre Dans L'eau. Described as "...the rustling of petals and the leaves of bushes heavy with fruit in an English garden", I can't think of scent I'd rather have received. It's perfect, heavy with the smell of fresh roses which has always been my favourite. Walking past the grocers earlier, I couldn't tell if it was my perfume or the freshly cut flowers I caught a whiff of.

P.s. The deadline for the Second Hand Secret Santa is quickly approaching, Wednesday December 14th remember! Do let me know if you've received your gift already, so I can tick you off the list.

P.p.s. My wonderful Mum and Dad took part in a fantastic fundraising event for a homeless charity called LAMP last night, which involved them sleeping outside St Albans Abbey in just their sleeping bags. I have no idea how they did it, especially considering it was one of the coldest nights of the year so far. If anyone is feeling generous, their fundraising page an be found here on Virgin Money Giving.

Attn: A memo for the present buyers...

2011-11-29T21:01:00.000Z

Topshop Aveda Damage Remedy, Want the Look Em & Sprout Hannah Zakari
Liberty

Selfridges

Hannah Zakari
Book of Skulls, Urban Outfitters
Geek tote, Not on the High Street Zatchels, Liberty
The Cambridge Satchel Company, ASOS

Every year I do one of these: the Christmas wishlist. It's not supposed to be a steadfast list, but more of an inspiration board of what I'm liking at the moment (although if someone wants to buy me those beautiful antler hairpins, I wouldn't complain!)

The more I think about presents, the more I wish I could ask for non-material things. Someone to teach me cross stitch, an extra lie-in a week, more time with Edward, to perfect the perfect pistachio macaron, to have the time to learn how to play piano or guitar or Italian or French. Mostly, more time and more knowledge please.

What are you asking Mr. Claus for this year? And if wishes could be granted, what would you really be asking for?

Handcrafted Christmas: Old paper bunting

2011-11-27T17:05:00.002Z

I buy alot of books just for their illustrations and my poor bookshelves sigh each time I bring a new one home. I've wanted to show off the pages of this old 1950's Daily Mail Christmas Annual since I bought for 20p at a jumble sale a year ago, so some bunting seemed like a good idea.

To start with- cover your ears book-lovers- I tore out pages of the annual with the illustrations I liked the best. This ended up being nearly every page, over fifty in total.

Next, cut out the triangle shape. I can be as big as you like. I cut out one that I liked the shape and size of and then used this as a template for the rest. You need to remember to leave a good centimetre at the top that can be folded over, so cute out a slight longer triangle than you need.

The good thing with paper bunting is that you can cut out more than one triangle at once to save time.

As you can see, I ended up with alot of triangles! I picked 14 or 15 of my favourite to use for this bunting and I've saved the rest for some wedding bunting.

I used plain string and, one by one, folded over the top of each triangle, lay the string under the flap and sellotaped the flap down.

Et voila! Later on, I also added some sticky-back silver glitter letters to spell out Happy Christmas but they are too fiddly to snap, so try and imagine them until I get a photograph! You could use anything for this, even simple newspaper or wrapping paper. It's possibly the cheapest Christmas decoration I've ever made!

Are you making any of your decorations this year? Or, on top of everything else, is it just too much to ask?

New November loves

2011-11-23T20:25:00.000Z

There's nothing like a batch of new things to cheer up a dreary November week. I'm trying to be very good with money, seeing as there's only a few weeks left until Christmas, but it's so hard when there are so many pretty things that keep catching my eye! Luckily, my idea of pretty usually consists of something that costs under a fiver so I'm only just approaching skint with a handful of days to go until payday!

My new bedroom light, Ikea.
Brilliant cheap little light, I love thee. Makes beautiful patterns on my walls and provides enough light for us to read our bedtime books by. Apparently, getting into bed at 10pm to read means we are officially old. I can't be alone in loving this?

Four new teacups & saucers, Christmas fair.
My dream jumble scenario usually consists of me assuming something is going to have a hefty price tag, asking just for the hell of it and then being told it's 20p. And there you have the story of these wonderful tea cups. All 4 of them, from St Stephens church fair in Hampstead, for 80p. Possibly the cheapest thing I, or anyone else, has ever bought in Hampstead.

Old hardback books.
I think I mentioned previously about collecting old hardbacks for my wedding for a secret project. Well, I've just hit the 50 mark in just over 2 months of collecting! This is by far my favourite, More About Pixie from 1903. One thing that has struck me about all the books I've found so far is the vast majority of them that have moving and beautiful dedications written in decades-old ink on the inside pages. I think book inscriptions would make a fantastic idea for a tumblr.

Homemade artwork.
Take one Saturday evening, some bad television, a takeaway and some very talented (and naughty) friends and this is what happens. My very own piece of willy-emblazoned artwork. And for free!

P.S I'm off to Bath this weekend! Any tips/recommendations?

PPS. How is everyone getting on with the Secret Santa? Has everyone received their emails ok?

Handcrafted Christmas: Decoupage Hearts

2011-11-20T12:15:00.001Z

Decoupage Hearts

Plain red heart decorations- Ikea- £1.50 for 4, or make your own using red card and ribbon.

Decoupage sheets- Can be bought on eBay but if you have one of the amazing Tiger shops near you, they have lots of designs for £1.

An alternative to decoupage sheets are old books or magazines. An old Christmas annual would have amazing graphics for you to cut out.

You don't really need any instructions. Cut out pretty pictures, stick onto cardboard hearts, hang on tree. Not rocket science, but I wanted to show you how I personalised these plain red hearts I bought in Ikea the other weekend.

Dogs and cats aren't particularly seasonal, but the Victorian-style decoupage reminds me of those gaslamp-lit movie Christmases: A Christmas Carol, Miracle on 34th Street, It's a Wonderful Life.

You could use anything to decoupage, pretty recycled wrapping paper, tear outs from old magazines, photos etc. I think lace would make a perfect addition, either glued around the edges, or covering the hearts and secured with a couple of staples on the back.

Next: some fuss-free paper bunting...

Project Take 10: Company Magazine/ASOS

2011-11-15T12:15:00.001Z

Dress: ASOS c/o Company Magazine

Shirt: Hobbs via Oxfam (£3!)
Bag: Vintage via eBay
Boots: c/o Bertie

Susie (Take-out in Couture) Sherin (Hi-Fashion) Vicki (Magpie Girl) Sarah (We Shop) Harriet (Where's Harriet) Sabine (Psynopsis) Jen (A Little Bird) MJ (Dreaming Spires).

Why, hello there! The Take 10 girls have been featured on the pages of a glossy and in none other than blogger favourite, Company magazine!

It's a bit weird, this having your photo in a magazine lark. People at work were lovely and put it in the company-wide newsletter and the parents went and bought copies for the rest of the family. It's the first time my mug has ever been in print, apart from the time I was 11 and wrote to the local recycling plant asking if I could visit for a school project. The Luton News turned up, for some absurd reason, to document my groundbreaking visit, which was made all the more humiliating by the fact I was stung on the eyelid by a wasp the night before.

At least I can be grateful that these photos came out slightly better than those...

Anyway, back to the challenge itself. Company's December issue is dedicated to that elusive, mythical creature- the perfect Little Black Dress. Courtesy of ASOS, they decked us all out in a simple fit and flare black mini dress and asked us to style it our way, à la Take 10. Being a girl who hates her arms, I chose my thrifted Hobbs shirt, a ribbon necktie, my old favourite Bertie platform boots and a plaited belt.
This for me is safe dressing. I feel comfortable, happy and me. Exactly how I want a LBD to make me feel. It was a tad short for me, so the opaques made it a bit less daring.

Thank you to Company and ASOS for having us. Take 10 has brought with it some brilliant opportunities and I love working with the other girls each month, be sure to get clicking above to check out their blogs.

So, come on, how do you think we all did for our published debut? And have you spotted us on the shelves of your local newsagent? It's only £2 this month, so off you pop down to WH Smiths...

Good times, Goodfibres.

2011-11-14T19:11:00.003Z

I like things with animals on. This Goodfibres t-shirt, the horse print hair scarf, my amazing vintage beaded bambi bag. I also like posing like a douche, as you can also tell from these photos.

Goodfibres kindly sent me the Owl & the Pussycat t-shirt, designed by Tom Newell, to play around with and it's a total winner in my book. I could go on about how much I love owls and pussycats but I won't and instead tell you that all their t-shirts that come with an ethical stamp of approval.

They aim to use only FairWear suppliers, give 10% of each sale to the original print designer and donate, like for like, to a charitable cause voted for by customers. If you're an illustrator/artist who fancies having their work splashed across the chest of a discerning t-shirt buyer, you can even submit your designs. Everyone can then vote on a huge selection of new designs and the most popular will be put through the printing press.

I like animals, I like ethically produced garms and now I like Goodfibres.

Innocent: The Big Knit & a giveaway.

2011-11-13T14:43:00.001Z

When Innocent emailed me a few weeks ago asking if I would be one of thirteen bloggers to design one of their familiar wooly hats, I was thrilled. Their yearly project, The Big Knit, helps a charity very close to my heart: Age UK, the newly-merged Help the Aged and Age Concern.

Every year thousands of people in the UK knit the mini hats and send them to Innocent. Then Innocent package them up with their smoothies and transport them to every Boots and Sainsbury's up and down the UK. For every be-hatted bottle sold, Innocent donate 25p to Age UK to help keep older people warmer in winter. And the best bit? Of all the hats Innocent receive, 80% per cent of them are knitted by people who will directly benefit from the help of Age UK. I love a good fact.

I sat down and got my wooly thinking cap on and came up with a simple black and white polkadot design with a bow and a pompom. A perfect winter warmer!

I really wish I could keep this for myself, but the twist is I get to give away the full size version of my design to one of you lucky lot. I'm not revealing the hat though, as that will be up to the winner. 'Tis the season of surprises afterall!

Instead of running a regular giveaway, I'm going to send it out as an extra gift to whomever gets randomly picked as the recipient of my Secondhand Secret Santa. So to be in with a chance of receiving it, just make sure you've signed up by this evening! The deadline is tonight and so far, I've had over 40 people sign up, so thank you to everyone, I'm a bit overwhelmed by the response!

Motel Press Event: 10/11/11

2011-11-11T18:30:00.000Z

Along with possibly every other South-based fashion blogger, I went down to the Motel press day event last night. It was positively heaving, hence the low number of photos- I couldn't actually manoeuvre my camera out of my bag more than once. It was great to see so many faces I recognised (Sarah, Harriet, Florrie above!) although I didn't manage to say hello to everyone, so I'm sorry if I missed you! I turn into a bit of rambler when meeting new faces, so equal apologies if I talked you to death.

I managed to get a look at the new Motel collection through the crowds and they had some really nice pieces. The body-con look isn't really for me, the results would be too hilarious, so I adored their new Heidi dress. They had some really sparkly, fun pieces for Christmas parties and such and I love their new look-book photos. I spy a red Heidi dress in that first photo, which looks incredible!

Roll up, roll up! Bloggers Secret Santa now open!

2011-11-06T11:10:00.004Z

After the Christmas card swap I organised last year and a mini-Twitter survey that I conducted the other night, I’ve decided to organise a Blogger’s Secret Santa this year. The card swap had a really fantastic reception and even though this will require slightly more effort, I hope people fancy getting involved!

So, without further delay, I now introduce you to the Secret Santa with a twist:

I wanted to organise something that didn’t cost people a lot (if any) money and a second-hand Santa seemed to be the way to go. Maybe it’s a vintage brooch, a pretty scarf you don’t wear any more, something you’ve made or drawn or some curio you’ve picked up from a car boot or jumble sale. Just remember it should be anything you'd love to receive yourself!

Here are the details:

1) Please email me at myneonlights@hotmail.com with your name, address, blog URL and any information you think might be relevant to your Secret Santa.

2) The deadline for sign ups will be one week from today, Sunday 13th November and you will receive details of your Secret Santa by Monday 14th November.

3) The deadline for posting gifts off will be the Wednesday 14th December so you'll have 1 month to find something!

4) You can include a card if you like but remember it's secret! I'll reveal the list after Christmas.

5) Make sure your present is wrapped and labelled so that your giftee knows it's from their Secret Santa

6) Your item must be sent by recorded delivery. For an extra 75p, it can be tracked and traced if needed. When you've posted it off, please email me with the tracking number.

7) I'm afraid this Secret Santa is only open for UK residents as the presents can be easily tracked.

If you have any queries, you can either leave a comment here or email me at the address above!

Finds from across the pond...

2011-11-02T21:48:00.000Z

After a month of forgetfulness, I finally got around to photographing the few things I bought in America. Since being home, things have been scattered around the flat and organised into their rightful places, so trying to remember everything is a significant task in itself!
Frankie Magazine: a couple of issues old now I think, but a fantastic issue with an emphasis on the art of making (a strangely timely issue which coincides with the V&A Museum's Power of Making exhibit- something currently on my to-do list!)

Gold Gate postcard: I tried in vain to find more of these vintage style postcards as a set would look great alongside each other in frames.
Frankie magazine included an amazing tear-out map of the world poster which I've placed in one of my cheapo Ikea frames for now. I wish I had more wall space as I think I'd cover it all in pretty pictures and ephemera and posters of Ryan Gosling being a feminist.
And yes, another pretty picture. How could I go to the Tim Burton exhibition and not buy a print? Untitled (Romeo & Juliet) is the name of this odd little drawing and I absolutely love it. If you haven't read The Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy, Burton's little book of dark stories about outcast children and their strange afflictions, I highly recommend it. It's the sort of book I wish I could have discovered as a child instead of an adult who's not supposed to read books with pictures.

Remember my post about Hidden Treasures? Well this is the dress I bought there. A sheer 1950/60's shift dress which my hips need to lose a couple of inches to accommodate. For $12 though I couldn't leave it behind.
And remember how I said I loved vintage souvenir scarves? I found a couple of Tijuana (party central!) printed ones in the huge scarf bin at Hidden Treasures for a few dollars each. I plan to make these into cushions for a Christmas present for someone I know who adores everything Mexican.
But the best thing I found all holiday was this big bag of vintage lace. I've never had much luck with finding vintage lace in this country, it's either very expensive or in appalling condition. This bag was $10 from a thrift store and includes collars, cuffs, hems and ribbons of lace cut from old dresses and blouses. Some of it is extremely intricate and must be close to a century old. It's purpose is a secret for now, but let's just say it will be making an appearance at the future wedding!

And now a question for you all: would you be interested in some DIY Christmas present/decoration ideas? I did a few last year and they seemed to be well received so just wondered what you all thought on the matter? Any thoughts appreciated.

All Hallow's Eve

2011-10-30T15:38:00.004Z

A weekend of charity shopping and fancy dress is my sort of weekend. I went back to see my parents on Friday and my Mum and I did the rounds of the town charity shops. Luton is so much cheaper than London when it comes to thrifting, I managed to get 5 old books, a dress, 3 plates and a few other trinkets for just under a tenner.

I've not written about any of my shop finds since America, so there's a huge pile to be photographed. The light in the evenings is so dim now, it's very hard to get good enough pictures in our two-window flat. The only thing I've managed to capture is the Day of the Dead tile that I bought in Death Valley. Perfect to hang up this time of year and I love it so much that I doubt it will be coming down anytime soon.

Last night, a big bunch of us went out to a zombie beach themed night at a local club-night called Dark Party. Dressing in Hawaiian print and lei's and at the same time covering ourselves in white paint and lashings of blood seemed a little odd, but we had a total hoot nonetheless. Nothing like having a dance to some fifties rockabilly and the Monster Mash to celebrate All Hallows Eve!

Breast Cancer Raffle: Friday 28th October!

2011-10-25T12:50:00.003+01:00

The wonderful Sarah of Essbeevee has gallantly put together a fantastic fundraiser for Breast Cancer Awareness in the form of a raffle.

This Friday 28th October, for one day only, you'll be able to buy tickets at £2 a pop to be entered into a draw to win one or more of the following prizes, with more being added daily:

£50 of Debenhams vouchers
£20 of Clippy vouchers
A selection of House of Holland tights from MyTights
An October Glossybox
Handmade bracelets by Sophie
£20 gift voucher for Crown & Glory
£30 gift voucher for my Etsy shop
A special vintage piece from Darwin & Delilah

You don't have to be a blogger to participate and all you'll need to do is visit the Just Giving site here on Friday 28th October and buy as many tickets as you can afford! It's open to everyone who resides in the UK, so do get your family and friends involved!

If there are any other companies reading this who would like to donate to the cause, please get in contact with Sarah by emailing her at essbeevee@gmail.com

Gosling, make my Halloween.

2011-10-23T18:21:00.004+01:00

Google the words ‘Dear Ryan Gosling…’ and it results in hundreds upon hundreds of impassioned billets-doux, some hilarious, some terrifyingly serious. I haven’t written one myself just yet because I don't think I could top this amazingly funny and astute open letter by Meghan O'Keefe over at Hello Giggles.

I do, however, sometimes daydream that inbetween snogging the face off Mendes and playing 40’s police sergeants, Gosling sits down with a cup of tea and his beloved George to read them all. This obviously doesn’t happen, because he’s so aloof and beautiful and a very busy man, but it’s a nice daydream.

I could talk about Gosling all day. About all the great films he’s done. About the time he wore that crazy pajama top to Cannes and all I could think about was eating breakfast with him. About the way he constantly gnaws on that toothpick in Drive. About that clip of him breaking up a fight on a New York sidewalk and then admitting he was embarrassed about the whole thing. As I write this, I'm watching Half Nelson because, evidently, I can't go for a week without watching his face on my TV.

Uber Goslettes, Loulou and Laetitia, dedicated a whole show to Gosling on Babe Time Radio (which you should be listening to) and they also mention Dead Man's Bones, Gosling's band with his friend Zach Shields. I've been listening to them for about six months now and since we're a week away from Halloween, I thought this would be the perfect time to share them.

Firstly, Ryan can sing. None of this auto-tune crap or music so loud there's no need for the ability to carry a note. He has a wonderful voice, sort of spooky and deep, like the narrator from an early episode of The Twilight Zone. Inspired by Disney's Haunted Mansion, doo wop and 60's girl groups, their music is the perfect accompaniment to this time of year. It's actually the sort of music I've been waiting for all my life. Theatrical and dark, but with a homespun edge of silliness and fun. They always perform with a local youth choir who are usually all dressed up in their trick or treating finest. The kids are amazing. And Gosling with the kids: me swooning all over the place.

Their album came out this time back in 2009 and it's rumoured they've been finishing up their second album in time for a new year release. God, I hope it's true. A few of their video's are below so do let me know what you think!

Dance party in an old folks home. I die:

Project Take 10: Next

2011-10-20T09:10:00.000+01:00

I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one who's been shivering away in a blazer and a flimsy scarf over the last few days. Summer is a distant memory so I've reluctantly been packing away dresses and sandals till next year. The temperature has plummeted this week so thank goodness Next came along with this pillar box-red coat for us Take 10 girls to wear.

I rarely wear a coat without a scarf so decided to go glam with a full-on faux fur collar. My bright yellow vintage dress can just be seen underneath and I just couldn't resist wearing my wedge sandals one last time before they went in a suitcase until next summer. There's also a sneak peek at the gorgeous leather satchel I bought from a car boot sale last week for the princely sum of £1.50.

I love how the other girls wore the coat, it looks so different on us all!

Paula, Harriet, Susie, Sabine, Sarah, Jen, Vicki, MJ, Sherin

The Hitched List #2: Alternative Wedding Shoes

2011-10-15T18:16:00.001+01:00

Shoes from Topshop.

Wedding shoes are something I've always found, in general, to be ugly, impractical and not very 'me' at all. All the rows of ivory satin stilettos available in most bridal shops just don't appeal to me in the slightest and the alternatives available out there (that I've seen) aren't particularly encouraging. So, what do you when you don't fit the standard bride-to-be mould and their assumed likes & dislikes? You search for something you love, whether it be in the shape, the colour or the style and amplify it a thousand-fold for your wedding day. Well, that's what I'll be doing anyway...

From Etsy

From Ban.do

From Etsy

Glitter, tulle, chiffon, pom poms, vintage, designer. I found shoes I adore and none of them are strictly bridal. I'm not on a Miu Miu budget I'm very sad to say, so my imaginary pair of DIY-ed glitter platforms with a pair of the Ban.do chiffon shoe clips is currently making my heart sing.

And just in case you thought I'd forgotten about the groom...

From Ask The Missus at Office

Where we end: The mountains & the valleys.

2011-10-12T16:42:00.000+01:00

So, here it is. The last set of photos from the road trip, which now seems to me to have been a hundred years ago. Even with two weeks back amongst the hum drum of reality, I notice myself slipping and thinking I still have it all to look forward to.
Soon, soon. A honeymoon adventure maybe? There’ll certainly be no more big holidays till then, what with a wedding to save and plan for in the meantime!

Yosemite was incredible, and much more beautiful than we expected. We were staying in a motel just outside the National Park, called Cedar Lodge. When we were doing our research on Google before we went, we discovered a story from 1999 about a serial killer who had worked at the lodge and killed 4 of it's occupants. Not funny. No signs of anything untoward once we arrived though, thank god, just a great motel with a huge pool nestled in the forest and next to the Merced River. We did some mini-hikes to the waterfalls in the park, dipped our toes in the river and chilled out for a couple of days. After San Fran, it was a perfectly quiet get-away from the crowds.

Now, Death Valley was something else all together. When I last went to California/Nevada, my mum insisted we drove around the valley, instead of through it because she was adamant it was too dangerously hot. I thought she was being overprotective and paranoid, but now I know exactly what she meant. Even at night, the temperature never dropped below 40 degrees. It reached 45 degrees in the daytime shade, and being a very pale Brit this meant alot of shade-time. Each of our rooms at the Furnace Creek ranch had a porch which opened up onto the golf course ('lowest in the world!' they proudly announced) with accompanying rocking chairs. If it hadn't yet reached almost cliche proportions, the rocking chairs tipped the scales.

During the days of hand-dryer-like breezes, we ate more huge buffet breakfasts and lazed by the pool. During the evenings we drank watered-down Margaritas, played charades and drove five minutes into the desert and turned off the car lights to stargaze. The quietness of the desert was eerie, with no sounds but the wind. The stars were like I've never seen them, but the isolation of it all scared me.

Las Vegas was, of course, like I imagined it but ten times larger, louder and brighter. We played on the Blackjack tables (the only game we vaguely learnt to play in preparation!), won and then lost trivial amounts of money, took advantage of the free drinks in the casinos and felt very, very sinful by the time we caught the plane home.

I'm sad the holiday didn't last longer. After saving up and anticipating it for nearly 4 years, it's hard to let it go. I urge anyone who can and wants to do this trip, DO IT! You won't regret a single thing about it. Just don't blame me if you never want to come home.

Thank you San Francisco

2011-10-09T16:46:00.001+01:00

The Golden Gate on a beautifully clear morning.

Santa Cruz Boardwalk.

Having a mad moment on Santa Cruz beach.

The Haight Ashbury junction

The legendary Amoeba record store

Haight Ashbury: a less scuzzy, less touristy Camden.

Alcatraz island.

From the top of Lombard Street.

At the Top of the Mark, enjoying the sunset and drinking cocktails.

Vesuvio saloon, North Beach, SF

The brilliantly titled A Fair to Remember, Columbus Ave, SF.

Thank you for being the perfect host, for shining on us and giving us such a wonderful time.

I'd been to San Francisco before, exactly 10 years previously when I was 15. I remember it being a crazy, sprawling place, I remember buying Hole albums in Amoeba and being sad about the amount of homeless people I saw.

This time around, with friends instead of family, the four of us had 3 nights there and made sure we tried to see most of the city.

The first couple of photos are from Santa Cruz boardwalk, where we stopped for a few hours on the drive to SF. It's home to a huge beach-side funfair with an old wooden roller coaster from 1924 which we rode, somewhat nervously, and loved! It might have been the heat, or the coastal air but when we got absolutely soaked on the log flume, I thought what the hell, and decided to run into the sea fully clothed.

The drive into SF was brilliant, similar to driving into New York from JFK. Out of nowhere, a family of skyscrapers rise up to greet you and you realise you're going to love it here. Haight Ashbury was my favourite area, along with the beatnik area of North Beach. Vesuvio's is an incredible saloon-style bar, with lots of hipsters still in residence, who serve a delicious Sweet Tea vodka cocktail. Kerouac and Ginsberg loved the place and became regulars once upon a time.

Haight is my idea of an almost-perfect place to live. Ridiculously good shops, vintage and new, indie bookshops, independent cafes and businesses and an awesome hippy history that is still very much evident. Yes, there are tourist places peddling the type of stuff Camden is usually drowning in, but it's not in your face or aggressive and there are enough genuinely amazing, one-off shops to make up for it.

I was sad to see the issue of the city's homeless population had worsened since I last visited. SF has double the estimated amount of homeless individuals as London it is very noticeable when you walk down any street there. The city spends over $200 million dollars a year helping people into programs and rehab but a new law brought in in 2010 to stop the homeless sitting or laying on the sidewalks for most of the day has divided opinion in SF.

Over the 3 days, we saw most of the tourist attractions:

Alcatraz- value for money, brilliant audio tour, just the right length, fascinating place and a beautiful boat ride.

The cable cars- we got a bit confused between the street cars and the cable cars at first. The cable cars (trams) are the famous ones, and purely used now by tourists. We queued to get on one, but the queue went reasonably quickly and for $6, it took us across town whilst we hung off the back like little kids. I also loved the beautiful old street cars which were really cheap and alot less busy.

Lombard Street- otherwise known as the Crooked Street. Weird and packed with tourists standing in the middle of the road, risking limbs to get a good photo.

Pier 39- Reminded me of a theme park, on a Saturday, in the school holidays. Packed full of average tourists and average tourist shops. Great views however and loads of smelly sea lions.

I've decided I could live in San Francisco, even with all of those horrendous hills and one day I'll go back for longer than 3 days.

Great America: Hidden Treasures, Topanga, CA.

2011-10-04T22:43:00.003+01:00

Hidden Treasures
154 S Topanga Canyon Blvd
Topanga, CA 90290

After seeing Hidden Treasures raved about by Doe Deere and Mademoiselle Robot, I added it to my must-see-even-if-I-piss-off-my-mates-list of places to go in LA. None of them love tack quite like me, so I was worried it would be a bit of a selfish detour from the Pacific Coast Highway. Luckily, as you can probably see from the above, it turned out to be an all-round spectacle that even Ed quite liked. Just look at the old traveling circus lions&tigers&bears cage!

A huge old house, the type that would give anyone the creeps save for the glittery signage and brightly coloured props attached to it's exterior, converted into a maze of packed rooms and an outdoor yard full of stuff! STUFF! I love stuff! A trunk full of random scarves, racks and racks of both fancy dress and wearable vintage dresses, a fantastic knitwear selection, leathers, furs, a beautiful selection of old patchwork comforters, a $2 bargain bin and some amazing fifties cat eye glasses. And the prices, oh the prices! Old fifties prom gowns for $40 had me weeping that I hadn't bought a bigger suitcase/packed less useless clothing.

I'm not really doing it justice in the slightest, because there was just an unbelievable amount, but trust me, I want to own the place. Or a place in England just like it. Please.

P.s Of course I bought a few things, but I'm saving them for a special 'What I spent my dollar on...' post. (Which, by the way, should but won't consist of mostly tequila and shrimp.)

American Road Trip: LA- Carmel

2011-10-01T11:17:00.011+01:00

Santa Monica sunset

3rd Street Promenade, Santa Monica

Santa Monica Pier

Camera Obscura, LA

Blueberry Pancakes

Tim Burton Exhibition, LACMA

Strawberry Waffles with Maple Syrup

Santa Monica Pier

Santa Monica Pier

Baywatch beach

Old Valley Drive In Theatre, Lompoc, Santa Barbara County

Roadside diner, Santa Barbara County

Inn by the Harbor motel, Santa Barbara

Lovers Point Inn, Monterey

Glimpse of a Humpback whale, Monterey

Fishermans Wharf, Monterey

Cannery Row, Monterey

Desert menu at Hula's Tiki Grill, Monterey

The Lone Cypress, 17-Mile Drive between Carmel and Monterey

Big Sur, CA.

Chocolate box Carmel-by-the-Sea

Point Lobos, near Carmel. Excuse Ed's face

How do you start trying to describe the best holiday of your life? The beginning is the most logical place I guess.

We flew into LA, picked up our huge hired Dodge Journey and drove to our hotel in Santa Monica. It was a hot afternoon, very surreal and one of the most exciting things I've ever done. Jet lag was settling in and the first night we were delirious by 9.30pm so we drank cocktails early and wandered around the brilliant shops on 3rd Street Promenade, soaking everything in.

We woke up early on Tuesday, had a huge breakfast (as we would come to do nearly every day for the next 2 weeks) and got a cab to central LA to visit the Tim Burton exhibit at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. It was incredible, and considering Mr Burton lives here in the UK (coincidently, across the road from me) I really hope this travels across the Atlantic soon. Over 700 pieces of his work were on display, including illustrations, early film footage, movie props, puppets and maquettes. As a Nightmare Before Christmas fan-kid, I wandered around with my mouth hanging open, gutted that I wasn't allowed to get snap happy. I could have stayed there for hours but with the sun out, we went to Santa Monica pier, ate copious amounts of shrimp at Bubba Gump's and lay on the beach Pelican watching.

Wednesday, we bundled everything back in the car and took a detour to Topanga Canyon to visit Hidden Treasures, a huge vintage/junk shop house I'd heard about. More on this soon as I'm dedicating a whole post to this amazing place.

For some reason, I have hardly any photos of Santa Barbara, possibly because we were only there for one night, but it was actually one of my favourite places. With a huge marina, we ate more seafood, went wine tasting, watched skateboarders at Skaters Point and lounged by the kidney-shaped pool at our brilliant old-school style motel, Inn by the Harbor.

Next up was the longest of our drives, along the famed Big Sur route, winding coastal roads, Bixby Canyon Bridge (for any Death Cab fans out there) and random stops at a Rock 'n' Roll diner and a wonderful old drive-in theatre. Everything seemed like a parody of itself. What you see in the movies? It's all true and it's all there.

We arrived in Monterey, checked out the ridiculously touristy Fisherman's Wharf complete with salt-water taffy sweet shops and stinky sea-lions. A tiki meal with very strong cocktails and some drunken games of black jack to prepare for Vegas meant we had a little lie in before we checked out of Hotel Abrego the next morning. We dropped our car at the wharf and collected tickets for the whale-watching tour we'd pre-booked. Three hours, some serious sea-sickness, and five Humpback whale spotting's later we drove the short half-hour scenic route to Carmel. Called the 17-mile Drive, it costs a $9.50 toll but has some of the most beautiful scenery, including the Lone Cypress above. We searched in vain for sea otters and arrived in the strange, eerie chocolate-box town of Carmel-by-the-Sea on Friday. Clint Eastwood used to be mayor and they may have an unhealthy obsession with dressing dogs as humans but it was an incredibly friendly and beautiful place full of bizarre art galleries, faux Hansel & Gretel houses and more bars that served good margaritas for me to drink.

There was so much more, but this first few days was just so busy and overwhelming I'm scared I've forgotten things! I've got so many photos that I'm trying to trim down as much as I can, but there will be at least one more post with photos from San Fran, Yosemite, Death Valley and Vegas. I've not even attempted to try and catch up on everyone's blogs yet, but I will try! The sun is so lovely here (hotter today in London than in LA ironically!) that I'm off out for a picnic. Part 2 will be up in the next couple of days and normal service will resume as soon as I snap back, regrettably, to reality.

Souvenir Scarves

2011-09-25T18:00:00.000+01:00

I'm a natural hoarder and sometimes my collection of junk evolves itself into mini collections. I currently have a few of these souvenir scarves and am hoping to pick up lots more whilst I'm in America (which is now! I ♥ scheduled posts. I'm probably trying to survive 40+ degree heat in Death Valley right now!)

They were hugely popular with tourists in the post war era and can be found for almost every holiday destination imaginable- Paris, Rome and Venice being the most common.
I'm thinking of starting an official collection of them and making them all into cushion covers. They're ten a penny at car boots and in charity shops and would make beautiful vintage covers.

These two are my favourites- a sixties Paris scarf and a kitsch-o-rama silk piece from Florida, both £1 from a charity shop.

Project Take 10: Butler & Wilson

2011-09-23T19:30:00.000+01:00

Top: thrifted

Skirt: Primark
Belt- vintage
Black sandals: Moheda
Bambi bag: thrifted

The kings of glitz Butler & Wilson, in partnership with QVC, offered to provide us with our next challenge piece and I was a tiny bit worried. I grew up on QVC, my mum was a bit of a fan, and whenever I was off sick from school we used to cuddle up on the sofa and watch the craft and beauty demos together.

I remember the Butler and Wilson segments vividly. A flamboyantly dressed presenter harped on about the exquisiteness of hundreds of crystals, whilst the model tried to keep her head up under the weight of a hugely over-sized hair clip or some such thing. I must admit when I first saw the collection, I immediately knew it wasn't very me, however I love the gaudiness of some of the pieces too. But I thought hey, this is a challenge, so I chose the piece I thought would match the best with my existing clothes.

This crystal flower ring suited my multi-coloured thrifted top perfectly and I decided to tone it down with a simple denim midi, platform sandals and my favourite vintage bag, a beaded Bambi number from a charity shop years and years ago.

The other girls chose some much more adventurous rings so go look! Paula, Harriet, Susie, Sabine, Sarah, Jen, Vicki, MJ, Sherin

Picture Theatre Thursday: Jane Eyre

2011-09-22T18:00:00.000+01:00

I'm not going to tell you the story of Jane Eyre, because frankly, if you haven't read the book, we can't be friends. I'm joking of course, although I will still frown at you very disapprovingly for not having read my favourite literary classic.

Since I found out last year that they were releasing a new film version (there have already been 18 previous adaptations!) directed by Carey Fukunaga (director of Sin Nombre- a Mexican gangland drama- very different territory indeed!) and starring Michael Fassbender and the beautiful Mia Wasikowska, I have been hugely excited about its release. After what felt like the longest wait in history, I went to see it as soon as it came out and it was incredible.

The film sticks faithfully to the book, thank goodness, but Fukunaga plays around marvelously with the timeline and structure. Unusually, it starts with Jane fleeing Thornfield Hall, with her time there and her childhood shown to us in flashbacks.

Also thankfully, there is nothing rushed about this take on Jane Eyre and no sign of the director trying to cram the novel's every plot point in. Instead it is an original, gothic and highly sombre take on Bronte's beautiful novel. Wasikowska is perfect as Jane: moral, strong and humble. Don't get me started on Fassbender as Rochester, I could go on and on. I'm a massive Fassbender fan girl and love everything he does (see Fish Tank, Hunger etc), but as Rochester he is amazing. Just the right mix of teasing and terrifying. Also, there's Judi Dench. Need I say more.

Even if you haven't read the book (tsk-tsk!), I urge you to go and see this film and I dare you not to fall in love with the darling Rochester and the haunting landscape in which he roams.

Smug, moi?

2011-09-17T18:00:00.000+01:00

Top two photos: Me
The rest: Smug

I found my new favourite London shop a couple of weeks ago, tucked discreetly and aptly down one of my favourite London streets, Islington's Camden Passage.

Smug is the sort of shop I'd love to own one day, a mix of vintage kitchenalia, bright melamine, one-off pieces by new designers, adorable accessories and the most beautiful hand-sourced fifties and sixties furniture.

Unfortunately, being a little poor and trying to save all my pennies for thrifting in America, I could only afford to buy one of their fanciful Guinea Pig tote bags at the bargain price of £4.50. I can't think of a better way of spending a fiver and being left with change for a chocolate bar!

Farewell England, hello California!

2011-09-11T18:30:00.000+01:00

Dreamy photos from Spanish Moss lookbooks.

This is my obligatory sign off post as tomorrow I fly out to California for my 17 day road trip to Vegas. Sorry to rub it in to all those who have to go back to work tomorrow, but I am EXCITED!

To those interested our route is as follows:
Los Angeles>Santa Barbera>Monterey>Carmel>San Francisco>Yosemite>Death Valley>Las Vegas
If anyone has any last minute tips or places to see in any of those locations, do let me know.

I've got a handful of posts scheduled in my absence but I'll only be checking my emails every few days as the Vodaphone roaming charges scare the bejesus out of me. I hope everyone has a great couple of weeks and to the people off to London Fashion Week, have fun!

See you on the other side!

Instagram Fan #3 feat. my Fairy Godmother

2011-09-07T20:47:00.004+01:00

1/2 The Bedfordshire countryside on the journey back to London & my new galaxy teardrop ring.

3/4 New H&M sheer polka dot top & the best crème brûlée I've eaten in ages from Brasserie Gérard.

5/6 Some perfect emerald crushed velvet booties from Topshop & another peek at the gorgeous swallow necklace Eclectic Eccentricity were kind enough to send me.

7/8 My crammed bookshelves (the side that doesn't hold my tat!) & we finally got our dollars. They feel like monopoly money!

9/10 Flowers, flowers everywhere, not a vase to spare. My friend Natalie shares her birthday with Beyonce, so we celebrated both with homemade Beyonce bunting and big sunglasses.

11/12 I was blessed with a visit from the elusive blogger Fairy Hobmother recently who gifted me with some Amazon vouchers to spend as I pleased. I bought a much-needed Lonely Planet California guide book and series 2 of my new obsession, Fringe. I'm a die-hard X Files geek, so it's totally my cup of tea.

As a very sweet treat, any one who comments on this post with one of their current wishes also has the chance of being visited by the wonderful Fairy Hobmother...I'll have my fingers crossed for you!

Tips on toiletries

2011-09-05T18:29:00.001+01:00

This is not a beauty blog but with my holiday fast approaching, I've been sorting out my bulging drawers and cupboards full of toiletries and deciding what to take with me. I thought I'd put together a little post on what I'm taking, why I'm taking it and a few tips that I've picked up for bagging yourself samples and freebies.

1. Skincare

Estee Lauder Idealist Pore Minimiser- A freebie when I bought my last bottle of Double Wear foundation. Make-up counters in department stores are the obvious places to start when looking for samples but you have to ask correctly. Ask the assistants questions about the products and tell them what you are looking for specifically. When you then ask for samples, it's not seen as opportunistic but simply the next step to buying something from them.
Dermalogica Multi Active Toner- A similar story to above, Dermalogica counters are brilliant and will often offer samples before you've even asked.
Lush Gorgeous Moisturiser- Lush are fantastic for samples. I often go and ask to try out their different moisturisers, of which I believe Gorgeous to be the best. They deal them out in these perfect travel-size tins and it's usually enough to last you a week or so.
Murad Essential C Cleanser- free with a magazine. This smells of oranges and leaves my skin feeling soft and squeaky clean. The amount of quality products given away with magazines nowadays is really quite something! Mavala nail polish with Elle, Benefit with Glamour, the list goes on. Always look out for any new additions!
Eve Lom Travel Kit- the only items in this photo that I actually bought, and they were on sale. I bought them from the Space NK sale which happens a few times a year and always has some fantastic bargains. This Kit came in a gorgeous case and with a couple of other products for £25 instead of £50.

2. Make up

Benefit Benetint- As before, a generous freebie from Glamour Magazine and a perfect size for travel. GOSH Xceptional Wear Foundation, Brow Kit and Long Lasting Eye Liner Pen- Bought on the fantastic 3 for 2 offer in Superdrug. GOSH products have always impressed me. The staying power of the eyeliner is almost a miracle and as a new devotee of their foundation, I can tell you it's currently competing with Double Wear to be my favourite!
Nuxe Reve de Miel lip balm- after reading Notting Hill Girl 's posts on French pharmacy skincare I decided to invest in some more products. For £10, this lip balm isn't cheap but it can be used sparingly. It's very thick and will be great for flight dehydration and the transition from the British to Californian weather.

3. Haircare

Molton Brown Shampoo- see below
Dove Conditioner- Outside the bigger tube stations in London, at rush hour you'll often find promo people giving away freebies. I've had can of drink, breakfast cereal and a couple of weeks ago, Dove were handing out samples of their new conditioner. A good size for a couple of weeks travel too.
L'Oreal Elnett- I'm actually more of a fan of Tresemmé hairspray, but in the summer this is a bit lighter but still holds my curls well.
Aussie Take the Heat Shampoo/ Sachets of 3 Minute Miracle- Instead of carting around the whole bottles of my beloved shampoo and conditioner, I decanted the shampoo into an empty Lush bottle and saved a few of the 3MM sachets from magazines.

4. Shower/bodycare

Molton Brown Body Lotion and Shower Gel- I've got a whole stash of mini bottles like this kept from hotel stays that I save up.
Argan Oil- Cheap Argan oil from a local shop is a great way of keeping the moisture in my skin. Much like baby oil but smells divine.
Liz Earle Energising Body Wash- Small bottle of my favourite shower gel
Cath Kidston soap and Crabtree & Evelyn Lily body lotion- I'm a fan of sample website Latest in Beauty, for a small charge you can get sent small monthly sample boxes of your chosen products. It's a good way of having a regular supply of minis to take travelling!

5. Perfume

Stella McCartney Nude- Bought in Debenhams a couple of weeks ago for the bargain price of £17 for a 30ml. The bottle is the perfect shape to take away as it isn't fancy or vulnerable to breaking.
Lush Snowshowers solid perfume- my favourite Lush perfume, a Christmas special edition. The ideal thing to take to freshen up on a long flight as it doesn't alter under pressure.
Miniature Chloe- free in a magazine a while ago.
Miniature Burberry Body- Loads of brands are now promoting through Facebook. Like their page and you can be eligible for samples, competitions and other freebies. Burberry had this promotion a couple of weeks ago and I was thinking it would just be a normal sized sample vial, but was pleasantly surprised when this 5ml bottle turned up in the post!

6. Lifesavers

Benefit High Beam- Another one of the infamous Glamour freebies. I won't sing the praises of High Beam, since everyone knows already.
Benefit Ooh La Lift- Taken from a Benefit compact when the other products had run out and which is perfect for soothing the eyes after a flight or long car/train journey.
P20 Sunscreen- I don't know if everyone else has caught onto the amazingness of P20 but it is a savior for those of us with pale skin. I used to have to apply suncream every hour or so, but with this once in the morning is enough. It also lets me achieve a very light tan gently but I am slightly nervous about using it in 40c heat in Death Valley. I'll let you know how I get on! It's not cheap at £15, but a bottle of this size will last me a whole 2 week holiday.
Germolene- an antiseptic that helps a multitude of nicks, bites, cuts, spots and grazes. A holiday essential no matter where you're going.
Hair pins- no explanation needed, although can also be used to pick locks.
Safety pins- another no-brainer!
Compact mirror- After an 11 hour flight, I know I'll want to take off my make up and start again and I know I won't want to go to one of the teeny tiny bathrooms to do it.

7. Storage

These matching washbags were from the home section in H&M, which if you haven't checked out yet, I would do ASAP. They have some very kitsch bedlinen and kitchenalia for very reasonable, Ikea-like prices. The set means I can store most of my stash in my checked luggage and the little pouch will hold just the in-flight essentials. Organised, moi?

Do you have any other tips for travelling? Is there anything I've forgotten? Or, as I suspect, is this way too much to take on an almost-3-week road trip?

Little Luxe

2011-08-30T21:08:00.000+01:00

I don't usually buy myself expensive makeup, apart from my beloved Estee Lauder Double Wear foundation, for a few reasons. First of all, I'm fickle. I make impulse decisions and instantly regret them. I confess to having a whole drawer of electric blue and neon yellow eyeshadow, pale pink lipsticks and misjudged bronzers to prove it.
Secondly, I'm a cheapskate through and through. A £2.99 mascara that does the job is good enough for me. This makes the fact that I'm fickle not such a blow to my purse, however I hate to think how much money I've wasted on well-marketed budget 'wonder' products over the years.
Thirdly, I'm a creature of habit. I'm currently on my fifth tube of GOSH Extreme liquid eyeliner because it has amazing staying power- I have slept, showered and swum in it, with it still looking perfect afterwards- and it's only £5.99 so therefore also ticks my second box.

But, when something is a gift it's a whole other story.

There is something very special about receiving an expensive luxury. In this case, a beautiful Chanel Rouge Coco Shine lipstick in 'Rebelle', wrapped in tissue paper, in a monogrammed gift bag and laden with samples of mascara and hologram postcards. It's the perfect red which, with one coat, is sheer enough for daytime and, with a few coats, can also be built up to achieve a strong, glossy colour.

Thanks to my wonderful Aunt, Uncle and cousins, my post-bank-holiday day back at work ended on an unexpectedly sweet note!

She's in parties.

2011-08-29T16:02:00.001+01:00

What I wore to go shopping:
Red dress: charity shop vintage
Denim jacket- old Primark
Tooled belt: vintage
Sandals: thrifted
Follow the Leader gold swallow necklace: courtesy* of Eclectic Eccentricity

Blue 50's dress: £20 Absolute Vintage
Yellow cotton & crochet dress £28/Brown shirt dress £19, both Blitz Vintage Department Store

Leather rucksack: £1, Absolute Vintage

Roses, from friends M and H.

Saturday was my Birthday and it was wonderful. Breakfast in bed, coffee and a cake followed by the opening of presents. Ed proved himself to be a clever boy indeed, buying me some beautiful things and the best one of all? A handwritten I.O.U for a day's worth of vintage dresses. Yes please!

Off we popped on the overground train to Shoreditch for a couple of hours of shopping. We only managed to fit in two shops- old faithful Absolute Vintage and new find Blitz (which I blogged about here). Blitz was fantastic, as I had hoped. The stock was really well chosen and the staff were helpful and attentive. I managed to find 3 dresses in there- two above and one below. As you can see the prices weren't dirt cheap, but they weren't extortionate either. The black one below was the most expensive, but the condition was amazing. In Absolute, I managed to find the perfect little leather back pack in the £1 bargain bin because the clasp was broken. It's easily fixable so this was a mega bargain, considering the ones I've been looking at on eBay have been going for £30-£50!

Four dresses later and I was shopped out and Ed was nursing his wallet. In the afternoon, we went to see The Inbetweeners at the Everyman cinema and had a couple of Mojito's served to our seats (if you haven't been to an Everyman cinema, I highly recommend!) and the evening consisted of a very good steak frites and Creme Brulee.

What I wore to eat steak frites:
Cotton and lace 50's dress (now realising , also slightly see through!) £38 Blitz Vintage
Tooled belt: as before
Faux leather Jacket: old Primark
Sandals: as before.

A new deer to add to my collection from my dear friend Vicky.

Beautiful toile M&S tea towels, from my mum. Surely too pretty to dry the dishes with?

Yesterday, my best friend Ellen (whose birthday is only 3 days after mine and who I am posing with in the photo above) and I had a mini party with our friends at The Edinboro Castle in Camden. A very early tequila shot, two delicious cakes, lots of lovely presents and a huge rainbow later, we all went back to ours for a night of cards, beer and Match of the Day. In bed before twelve on a bank holiday? Think I may have just turned 75, not 25.

P.s Hello new followers! I've had a mini influx recently so thank you so much for following and please say hello if you fancy it.

Project Take 10: Lomography

2011-08-25T07:09:00.001+01:00

Mini Diana En Rose with Flash- Lomography
Vintage chiffon dress- eBay
Peep toe sandals- New Look
Tooled belt- charity shop
Specs- London Retro
Silver and agate rings- all Camden market and Shopbop

The rest of the girls look amazing:
Paula, Harriet, Susie, Sabine, Sarah, Jen, Vicki, MJ, Sherin

It's August, it's 2 days until my birthday (you didn't think I'd let you forget did you?) and it's time for my favourite Take 10 ever. Since August marks the 1 year anniversary of the Take 10 project, we decided to do something a little different and as you've probably noticed, there are no items of clothing involved.

When I heard Lomo mentioned in relation to possible sponsors, I was very, very excited and more than a little surprised. I've owned various Lomography cameras over the past few years and have loved every single one, but for those of you not familiar with what a Lomo is, let's start from scratch.

Lomography is the name of an Austrian (and now global) company which specialise in producing analogue film cameras of all shapes and sizes. They also championed an experimental, artistic photographic movement whose devotees are known as Lomographers and which, in recent years, has filtered through into the mainstream. All of those arty, fisheye/vintage effects on your Instagram and Hipstamatic iPhone apps? They are all derived from analogue film effects and what happens when you use out of date 35mm film.

When the lovely people at Lomo gave us free reign to choose any camera we liked, I knew I'd want a Diana Mini. When I saw they had a special edition called the En Rose it was love at first sight.

The Diana Mini is a great beginner Lomo: cute, compact, practical. They take normal 35mm film, so no fussing with specialist bits and bobs and are very simple to get up and running. I'll be trying this one out over the next few weeks and sharing my finished photos as soon as they're back from the developer.

As for my outfit, I wanted something playful to match the toy camera so paired this ultimate neck accessory with an eBay-found sea-foam green chiffon dress and matching stone rings. It's a pale enough canvas to let the camera do all the talking!

The British love a Kew.

2011-08-23T20:22:00.000+01:00

Kew Gardens is one of the only big London attractions I've not visited the whole 3 years I've lived here and with Ed having greenery-withdrawal symptoms ever since he moved to London from the countryside, it seemed better late than never.

After a nice early breakfast of scrambled eggs and coffee to soothe our hungover heads, Ed and I jumped on the overground and rode the short journey to Kew. The tickets were £13 but I managed to find a 20% off voucher online which made the it a pretty cheap all-day outing. I wish we'd been more prepared, as we saw loads of people with picnics and packed lunches spread out on the grass, whereas us mugs bought lunch at a tenner a pop. Also: good gift shop! Could have spent hundreds on scented candles and pottery, but miraculously refrained.
The range of flowers, from abundant rose gardens to once-flowering exotics, made for lots of pretty photos and Ed had a ball trying to memorise their latin names (I told you we were geeks!).
We spent hours wandering the grounds and beautiful old temperate houses and when we left, due to a huge and relentless downpour, there was still a lot of the garden we hadn't seen. Definitely recommended if you have a spare afternoon before Autumn sets in!

Let's have a cocktail party!

2011-08-21T11:36:00.000+01:00

I've been hankering after a cocktail for a couple of weeks but a tooth extraction, a course of antibiotics and strong liquor don't mix terribly well. All healed and well again, I popped to the shops on Friday to celebrate the end of my sobriety and bought a bottle of Bombay Sapphire gin.
I experimented with a few ingredients and came up with two simple gin mixes, both featuring the elderflower wine I bought when we were in Cornwall. Happy cocktail hour!

Ingredients

Gin.

I bought Bombay Sapphire, a mid-range price bracket gin. Skint? Go for own-brand gin. Flush? Go for Hendricks. If you aren't a gin fan then I'm not your friend anymore. Only joking, you could replace the gin with vodka, if you really want to.

Elderflower Wine.

I bought mine at source, from Healeys Cyder Farm in Cornwall. If you struggle to find it, you could also use St Germain Elderflower liqueur (will make it killer strong!) or simple elderflower cordial (less strong).

Indian Tonic
Apple juice
Simple syrup (good recipe here)
Fresh mint leaves
Blackberries and strawberries to garnish.

Pretty Drunk Punch.

Mix 2 parts gin to 2 parts elderflower wine, add one teaspoon of simple syrup to sweeten. Top up with ice cold Indian tonic water and garnish with mint and strawberry.

Hazy Gin & Juice.

Mix 2 parts gin with 1 part elderflower wine, top up with apple juice. Add a couple of mint leaves and a blackberry. Leave to infuse for a few minutes. Drink from a tea cup.

If I'm a good girl...

2011-08-17T20:12:00.001+01:00

A yearly tradition, if you're even slightly spoiled on the anniversary of your birth, is the birthday wishlist. It's shameful, materialistic, arrogant and very Veruca-Salt of me but if I promise to be a very good girl, please can someone buy me...

A simple babydoll dress from Peacocks for the bargain price of £15. I can think of a hundred ways to wear this, it's easy to dress up and down and reminds me of 60's babe Jane Birkin. What more could you want from a dress?
A Cambridge Satchel Company limited-edition, exclusive to ASOS in navy and floral leather. Bags are my absolute downfall, but most of all I love satchel-style bags. I have about twenty and am not even remotely sick of them yet. Add it to the pile, I say.
I stumbled onto Chie Mihara shoes on Spartoo recently and really like the hand-crafted, unusual look of all the designs. There's a vintage air to them and you can tell just from the photos that the quality would be great, which isn't evident with a lot of brands, This pair, Falco, are a dream in the shape of a platformed-brogue-cum-loafer.
Did I tell you I'm a bit of a geek? I like dinosaurs and fossils and shells and geological features. I like this Topshop Tee And Cake sweatshirt because it tells everyone I'm a geek without me having to actually say anything. Triceratops FTW.

I've told everyone who's asked that I want this book for my birthday, so will probably end up with multiple copies, but I don't care because it is beautiful! I flicked through it in Waterstones the other day and fell in big love with it. The best thing about it is that it's not another one of those exquisitely illustrated tomes with zero useful content. It's got heaps of recipes, ideas and inspiration that could be used for a wedding, a party or home interiors. I want to be the hostess with the mostess!

I realised the other day that I have neglected my iPod of late, even though I listen to it every day on the bus to and from work. This must be remedied: Noah & The Whale, The Horrors and The Kills new albums are all to be bought ASAP.
I better catch up on the hype around the new PJ Harvey album, Let England Shake, soon too: my wonderful best friend managed to snag two PJ Harvey tickets for her show at the Royal Albert Hall in October. A little birthday present to myself perhaps?

Instagram Fan 14th August

2011-08-14T18:51:00.002+01:00

1. Wearing my perfect Topshop breton top, feeling a little sorry for myself post-wisdom tooth extraction, Saturday morning.
2. Biff, who lives at home with my parents. We named him, 14 years ago, after the Biff, Chip and Kipper children's books. Seeing him cheered me up.

3. Molton Brown toiletries at the hospital I was at having said tooth out. I put the whole lot in my bag.
4. First ever fish pedicure at a spa in Luton, very relaxing but I giggled the whole way through. Nibble nibble nibble.

5. Had the most epic charity shop haul on Saturday with my mum. Post of all goodies to follow. These loafers are a perfect fit for my weird feet, a small miracle.
6. And this owl teapot, which everyone has cooed over, was a favourite find.

7. My favourite family photo, because it is just so odd. Taken at a sleepy point on our tour of a Seal Sanctuary when we were in Cornwall.
8. Hot air balloon over Somerset.

Another week, another host of Instagram photos for you. What a week. It feels like more like a month has passed, than 7 short days. This time last week, I was getting ready to go back to work, we hadn't yet witnessed the worst of the riots and I was dreading my wisdom tooth surgery. Well, a week later we've realised nothing can break London's spirit, I'm counting down the days until my next holiday (28 days!) and my wisdom tooth came out without a lot of fuss.

Also, just in time to rake together some last minute holiday funds, I've put a few bits on eBay here if anyone has some pocket money to spend. Bit of a random assortment and I will be adding to it as the week goes on!

Hope everyone has a great week!

Dept. Store of Magic & Mystery

2011-08-11T21:48:00.000+01:00

All pictures from the Blitz Facebook page and blog

My birthday is in approximately 16 days and I'll be reaching a quarter of a century old. I think it will be a quiet one this year, with our impending holiday on the horizon but I'd still like to have a little bit of a get together. Maybe a picnic, a few G&T's, a dinner out somewhere in the evening.

What I really fancy doing in the daytime is going for a full on day of vintage shopping all over London and when I heard through the grapevine about the launch of new vintage mecca Blitz on the 5th August, in East London's Hanbury Street, I knew it would be first on my hit list.

Comprised of five huge rooms in a Victorian warehouse, it has been transformed into the Liberty's of vintage, with a hand-curated, high-turnover stock of clothing, furniture and accessories that I've heard is pretty affordable. A mega treasure trove in my words. Just look at the photos, it's a beautiful space that I can't wait to explore. And it has the added bonus of selling some very weird stuff, otters heads with mechanical arms, what looks like old lab equipment and a host of limbless mannequins have all been spotted in their catalogue of photos.

Now, not strangely at all, that is right up my street.

Please.

2011-08-09T16:01:00.003+01:00

I don’t have the words really, but here we go.

I never use this blog to comment on social situations- what I write about on here can be classed as mostly frivolous- but last night affected me so profoundly I need, not want, to talk about it. I live in North London, just up the hill from Chalk Farm, which sits right next to Camden.

As I watched the news over the weekend, Tottenham seemed another world away. I’ve never been there and would never plan to because I have no links there. It is as alien to me as Abergavenny or Chelmsford or Glasgow. I watched the events with a mental distance, feeling awful for the people there, but not really grasping it.

Last night I watched the news until I went to bed and then caught up on Twitter, gradually seeing my local area mentioned more and more in conjunction with the hashtag #riots. I lay in bed with a window open, refreshing my feed every couple of minutes, obsessed with hearing the tiniest bit of news, even if most of it were hoax's and exaggeration. Eventually, maybe inevitably, I heard a huge group of teenagers outside, shouting, throwing things. A brave lady neighbour opened her window and asked them to be quiet. One boy initially apologised but the rest jeered and it carried on. We live above a row of shops and I couldn’t stop myself imagining a hundred different scenarios and endings. I felt stupid, I felt idiotic to be panicking, but it didn’t feel irrational.

I only remember feeling as frightened as I was last night at one other time- on a plane a few years ago, when there was a strong case of turbulence. That feeling of utter helplessness and realising the same emotion is on the faces of the people all around you.

And then the people on my street went away. Nothing happened. No windows were smashed, nothing. We were fortunate and hope to be again tonight. I cannot express my grief for the people in Croydon and Tottenham and Clapham who have lost their businesses and homes and security. I still didn’t sleep last night and I’m still scared now. I probably will be for a while. I’m sad and scared and wondering how we got here, how they became so far gone and lost to us that this has happened and they have done the things they have done. I hope this is the end and not the beginning. To everyone affected, please keep safe and conscientious.

Weekly shopping basket

2011-08-07T18:48:00.000+01:00

1. Shell pendant, St Ives
2. More shells, Hayle beach
3. Six embroidered bird napkins, Cornwall Animal Hospice charity shop
4. White cotton and broderie anglaise vintage skirt, Two Little Birds vintage
5 & 6. Elderflower wine, Apple juice and Scrumpy Apple & Bramble jam from Healey's Cyder Farm
7&8. Tartan dress and crochet cardigan, Traid, Kilburn.

Thought I'd do a little roundup of what I bought/found this week both in Cornwall and from a random trip to Kilburn yesterday.

The shell necklace was from one of those seaside shell shops (try saying that quickly!) and me and my mum both bought one. It opens up like a mermaids purse to store secret messages and things. I threaded it onto a chain when I got home and it's a new favourite necklace!
The hand embroidered napkins came from a charity shop in St Ives and will go straight into my hope chest for the wedding. A pound each seemed a bargain to me.
The skirt was from a vintage shop in Falmouth, Two Little Birds. Their stock was great, the skirt was a steal at £16 and I chatted to one of the lovely owners Ella. I wish more vintage shops in London were as good as this, such a change from the usual mounds of rubbish at some of the ones I've been to of late.

One thing I knew I wanted to do when we got to Cornwall was to visit a Cider farm. Healey's was really good, and although quite small, it had a huge range of ciders and jams. The best thing about it was it was totally free entry and free tasting! Obviously I bought the bits above but it only came to about £12 and I plan on making a nice little cocktail with the elderflower wine which I'll share soon.

And then finally, I took a little trip to Kilburn High Road yesterday to pick up a few bits from Boots and spotted a branch of Traid I'd not seen before. It was pretty big and had lots of stock- mainly high street labels like River Island and nineties Topshop, but I found this old M&S dress which will be perfect for holiday and a crochet cardigan both for £15. I still have a holiday list as long as my arm, but at least I'm getting there!

Found anything special this week?

Cornwall: Land of tin and glory

2011-08-06T22:23:00.002+01:00

I returned from Cornwall last night at about 1am after a 6 hour long drive home and I'm sad my little holiday flew by so quickly. All five of us (me, Ed, my mum, dad and brother) stayed in a chalet on a cliff in Hayle, just outside St Ives. It was very basic, but it had everything we needed and an incredible view of the sea and the St Ives coast you can see in the first photo. I really didn't want to leave.

I was scared of the long drive, but it really wasn't as bad as people had made it out to be. We left London at 7am and arrived by lunchtime, allowing stops for a couple of loo/cigarette breaks. We listened to my dad's iPod (Dire Straits, Crowded House etc. Yes please!) and I read lots of new magazines to keep myself occupied. On the short drive to St Ives, to explore on our first evening, we had a mini car crash when some douche decided to drive into the back of us. It's has never happened to me before so I was a little shaken up. I had a case of very minor whiplash so will be putting in my no win, no fee claim soon (I jest! I could do with an extra grand though...)

Nothing could deter me from shopping so we carried on to St Ives and my god, it's a hell of a lot more crowded than I remember it. Down the narrow cobbled streets with hundreds of tourists, they still allow cars, which makes it quite the death trap. Lots of fantastic shops though, with about 5 good charity shops (finds to follow in another post!). We ate fish and chips by the sea, keeping a beady eye out for the hungry gulls, laughed when my heavily-tattooed brother was apprehended by an be-hemped and enthusiastic evangelist and marveled at the beautiful sunset.

I packed extremely poorly for this week-long break and as soon as I unpacked in the chalet I realised it. I forgot my jeans, brought tops that didn't go with anything and two pairs of leggings with nothing to pair them with that covered my bum. Serves me right for trying to pack last minute at midnight the night before leaving. The only half decent outfit I put together was a mish mash of colours- a grey Topshop tee, navy pleated skirt from a charity shop, brown tooled leather belt and a Primark denim jacket. I'm glad the weather wasn't as hot as London because I would have had nothing to wear.

We visited a seal sanctuary and the Eden Project and Falmouth which I loved. Ella was kind enough to recommend a couple of places in Falmouth, including a vintage shop called Two Little Birds run by a couple of her friends. I bought a gorgeous white cotton skirt from there which I'll save for another post and my mum bought an incredible Alphonse Mucha print dress which I am crazily jealous of.
Most of all it was just perfect to spend some quality time with the fam which doesn't happen very often and then it's usually fleeting weekends here and there. We even met up with Ed's parents on Thursday who just happened to be down in Cornwall too. We didn't talk wedding once, which was a small miracle!

Now I'm home and I've spent much of today catching up on hundreds of blog posts, planning new ones for PMP and doing a bit of online shopping after panicking about not having the right clothes to take to America. Me and Ed popped to the Everyman cinema in Hampstead to see Super 8, which I really loved. It felt nostalgic and rose-tinted and reminded me of watching films like ET when I was a kid, so I'd definitely recommend it.

That was very wordy wasn't it? Apologies for the ramble! So, what have I missed this week? Any big news?

Project Take 10: Faith at Debenhams

2011-08-04T10:00:00.005+01:00

Paula, Harriet, Susie, Sabine, Sarah, Jen, Vicki, me, MJ, Sherin

Or otherwise known as the Take 10 that nearly never happened. Remember Faith? The shoe chain, in the same vein as Office, that went into administration last year? Well, under the radar, Debenhams bought the name and shop fittings and continued selling the shoes instore and online. From what I can see on the site there may be a bargain to be had!

Anyway, after a few problems with D'hams chosen courier company (it took a couple of the girls weeks and weeks to receive their shoes) we were finally all in possession of the taupe animal print wedges, and lets just say opinion was fiercely divided. I've been lucky with Take 10 so far, I've liked or loved nearly every item we've been sent. Unfortunately, I'm going to be very honest about these shoes and say that they were not for me at all. They were so high I had to get Ed to help me into the hall, absolutely no joke. I suck at wearing heels. Also, there's a bit too much going on. The leopard print, the taupe leather, the metallic stripe, the huge wedge. It made my head hurt a little. The quality was good though, the leopard material was sort of a horse hair effect and it felt quite luxe.

In the end I teamed them with a plain black skirt and a vintage Hobbs leopard print shirt that I found in a charity shop to balance out the colour in the shoes.

The shoes originally retailed at £80 which I personally think is too expensive, but then again most of my clothes are from jumble sales, so what do I know? At the moment however, along with most of the Faith range, they are on sale for £56, which I think is still quite a lot of money. However, they do have some very cute anchor and leopard print espadrilles for a few pounds and some reasonably priced sandals on the site so all is not lost.

As they say, you can't win them all!

The Hitched List #1: Save the dates & wedding invites

2011-07-30T18:35:00.005+01:00

Welcome to my new series of curated posts, The Hitched List, an outlet for the million and one ideas my mind is currently storing for our future, quite probably 2013, wedding.

If you're a new reader and weren't around when this happened nearly a year ago, let me summarise. Ed and I have known each other for four years and we've been together for just over 3. We started out as housemates and ended up engaged last August, with him proposing in York on my Birthday. Since then I've been stockpiling ideas, saving hundreds of online bookmarks from wedding blogs and generally getting a little excited. Most of all though, I've been getting overwhelmed by everything out there. The Hitched List is going to be a space for me to show you my favourite ideas for each element of the wedding and will allow me a nice little archive to look back on pre- and post-wedding.

Although this list won't be in any sort of order (my head can be all over the place with this sort of stuff!), it seemed logical to start with the Save the Dates and invitations.

Save the Date cards are a bit of an American invention, but I quite like the idea of letting people know up to a year in advance. There are a couple of bonuses for the guests: cheaper accommodation/train fares/flights if booked early (especially advantageous if the venue is away from where both bride and groom are originally from), more notice to take time off work etc. The main problem with a Save the Date is it's another cost to add to a very long list of costs. That's why I love the idea of a reusable rubber stamp, like the one below from Etsy. Personalised with your details it could be used on a simple postcard and they are pretty cheap. My idea would be to print them on to some beautiful vintage paper or floral wallpaper and cut to size.

From On Your Mark Stamps

Invites need a little more thought and can be sent a couple of months before the day itself. There are so many amazing and talented designers out there that I definitely want to have something custom made for us.

Dear So and So is run by a designer called Alex who makes beautiful hand-illustrated invite sets. I'm in love with every single set and I think this might be exactly what we are looking for. They all seem really personal and really individual to lots of the invites on the market, even ones from so-called boutique companies.
The invite sets can be made to include table layouts and place names, so that you can have some consistency throughout the wedding. I love the bunting set!

I also found this amazing Etsy seller called Color Quarry who creates hand printed letterpress designs for all sorts of occasions. The one below is a birth announcement, but imagine it as a wedding invite. Incredibly detailed and beautiful.

There are so many options to choose from out there, it has left me feeling like I want to send a different invite to each of our guests. Now that would be a challenge. What are your thoughts? Something more classic, or are these quirky offerings something you'd consider?

P.s. Everything that will feature in The Hitched List will be chosen by me because I want it for my wedding and therefore is not sponsored. Just though you'd like to know!

P.p.s I'm off on holiday to St Ives in Cornwall for a week tomorrow morning at 7am (7 hour drive! Gah!) so will be back next Saturday. I have a scheduled post lined up, but in the mean time have a great week everyone!

Picture Theatre Thursday: The Fall

2011-07-28T21:37:00.002+01:00

All screencaps taken from the amazing Fishstick Theatre

The Fall is a little known film with a huge colour palette and one of my all time favourite films. Essentially a fairy tale, it's grounded in a time of morphine addiction and silent film stars, with a beautiful little actress named Catinca Untaru and a very handsome leading man named Lee Pace.

In an sepia-toned hospital outside 1920's Los Angeles, a film stuntman makes a slow recovery after a misjudged leap. By chance, he meets a small girl with a broken arm, a fellow patient. Consumed by boredom, she visits him daily and whilst she sits at his bedside, he tells her a tale of fantastical adventure. The story, shown through her wonderful imagination, involves five varied heroes seeking revenge on an evil governor named Odious and their journey to find and kill him.

If I told you that a film only affects me if it makes me cry, would you think any less of me? I've been thinking about it recently, of all the films I have loved, the ones that made me cry are the ones I remember, that have stayed with me. The Fall is one of those loved ones, but it's also incredibly beautiful to look at. The colours are so vivid contrasted with the bleakness of the hospital and the situations of the main characters, which eventually merge with the characters in the adventure, are heartbreaking and lonely.

If you haven't seen it, I'd highly recommend it. Although, I have a feeling it's one of those films that won't be for everyone. The fantasy element is on par with that of The Labyrinth and it's directed by Tarsem, who also directed an out-there film with J-Lo called The Cell. If you do get the chance to see it, please do, and report back to me pronto!

A mini-plea: vote for me!

2011-07-27T09:35:00.001+01:00

Image credit: Shepard Fairey

If you read my last post about the Style Passport competition, then you'll know I've entered a little contest to win a lovely Anya Hindmarch purse.

The voting has just gone live and I would be so grateful for thirty seconds of your time, you don't have to enter any of your details so it couldn't be simpler!

You can read my amazing, totally vote-worthy (ha!) entry here and the link to vote for me is here.

Big love in advance chapettes!

Don't forget your passport!

2011-07-25T19:25:00.000+01:00

Style Passport recently invited me to take part in a competition they are having to promote their current accessories range. The task? Pick my favourite piece, write about how I'd wear it and let readers of the SP blog vote to decide who gets to win their chosen item.

I decided to go for a classic black embossed Anya Hindmarch wallet and instead of 'how I'd wear it', here's my fantasy take on the bloggers favourite, 'What's in my bag' post:

Black leather embossed wallet: Anya Hindmarch at Style Passport
Diary: Smythson
Market bag: Anya Hindmarch
Paul & Joe Lipstick in Dame
Rocking Horse keyring: See by Chloe
Camera: Leica
Notebook: Laduree

The competition entries will soon be up on the SP blog and I'll link to it from here when it goes live. I've never taken part in one of these vote-type competitions, but I'd love to own such a beautiful piece so your vote would be very appreciated if you think I deserve to win!