i fell in love with a sweet sensation, i gave my heart to a simple chord

Baa Ram Ewe! Don't you think they look just like sheepies? Maybe I should name them - well, there's Ma, Shaun of course...

Another 'short over long' outfit - this is becoming a bit of an obsession of mine. And could I wear my denim shirt any more than I currently am? I think not. It is the most versatile item ever. Much like I hoped this skirt would be, except that as soon as I walked two steps it rode up so high it was indecent and back to Topshop it went. I am constantly on the hunt for the perfect simple black miniskirt and so now I am back to it. And no, I am not brave/stupid enough to be wearing bare legs at this time of year, they are flesh-toned stockings and I am wearing them all the time now. I used to think them a bit of an old lady/office wear anomaly but when you seriously can't tell the difference between these and real legs I think it is okay. Well I accept that's a big 'maybe', but I'm loving the expansion of outfit possibilities in that 'anticipation of summer but it's really still a long way off but I can't bear wearing the same old opaque tights or jeans again' season.

Jacket and tights: H&M; Jumper, shirt, shoes and skirt: all Topshop; Bag: SU London.

wham cam

I saw this billboard on my way to Spitalfields the other day and heaps of people were taking photos, people were even stopping in their cars in the middle of the street to look at this. I wasn't even sure if I got it. I really feel like I should learn more about British politics, but then I figure most British people probably know less than me anyway, so should I really bother? I am not sure if I am allowed to vote in the up-coming election, but as someone who would usually get fined for not voting I am automatically tuned in to all the election stuff going on and starting to wonder/stress about who I should vote for and who might get in. 

So I did a little research (on the poster) and apparently dr.d is a London-based artist who 'doctors' mostly existing advertising to make them into something just a little bit wittier and bit fun. You can check out his work here.

she was a sour girl the day that she met me

What is it with pop-up shops now?! Remember when they were sooo cool? Remember when they were this brilliantly elusive and exclusive enigma that the trendiest brands used and only the chosen few knew about or stumbled upon, only for it to disappear before they could even tell their friends? Well, several years down the track the pop-up shop has gone viral. It's in the mainstream, and it seems to be a bit pointless to bother with a pop-up when you advertise it everywhere, and you've got plenty of stores anyway, where people know they can go whenever they want to, not just when you say. This week is particularly crammed with pop-ups. Last Sunday I went to Spitalfields and took in not less than three pop-up shops within a city block of one another. And this weekend Whiteley's, a random shopping centre around the corner from my friends' place in Bayswater that I've never bothered to visit because it seems to have only a H&M, is having a whole floor dedicated to pop-ups (isn't that a department store?). Okay, I may go along to check out the Wild Fox boutique, but I will participate in frequent eye-rolling and make sure to think I am better than everyone there because I knew about pop-ups when they were still cool.

Does it make a difference if you call it a pop-in instead of -up? (Cath Kidston)

And the Most Disappointing award goes to...

Other than fake tattoos and a photo booth there was just nothing in there!

Hmm, I wonder if the location of this shop directly across the road from All Saints had anything to do with Bolongaro Trevor's decision to open up here? (They started the All Saints label and Spitalfields is the flagship location).

I have a week of annual leave starting from...now! So I don't have to work until Tuesday 6th April. I have so much planned for the days off, from haircuts to fixing sewing machines to shopping (surprise surprise). I have tickets to Phoenix and the Cuban National Ballet and I plan to do some special gym training sessions as well. Maybe I will even have some time to blog in there somewhere. I just hope I can cope with all the fun-ness.

Album of the Week

This week I have discovered so much amazing new music! It was so hard to decide which one to tell you about first, but I think I will have to start with Broken Bells. I am such a massive Shins fan, and this one is a collab of James Mercer with Brian Burton aka Danger Mouse. The Shins are one of my favourite bands, and Danger Mouse is aptly tagged the 'hardest working man in showbiz' having worked with so many big big names as well as being one half of Gnarls Barkley. His style is not so obvious at first listen, as Mercer has written some lovely pop songs and my ear is always automatically drawn to vocals and lyrics, but these are underscored with some really interesting 'arrangements', instrumentals, and subtle electronic mixing.

And they're looking very snappy indeed...is Danger/Mr Mouse seriously wearing a peg-leg trouser suit?! And  James may be wearing some 'meggings' here (male leggings, duh). So cutting edge.

Getting my iPhone (and control of my own laptop back) has finally given me the inspiration to get my music library in order, which includes obtaining a few old faves like Toad The Wet Sprocket - Fall Down and Screaming Trees - Nearly Lost You. Plus, Wes would never download me any pop songs, so now I have a little Bey and Britters to go with my Dirty Projectors! Should I be admitting that?

pleased to meet you

Garance Dore's blog introduced me to the concept of 'short over long' as the fashionable way of keeping warm during New York fashion week. I have considered doing this myself before but always thought it looked a bit odd, but then her photos made me realise it can look sooo right. This was my first attempt, but I have since tried several combinations and I think it has become my new favourite way of dressing, especially for all this in-between weather we're having at the moment.

verandah out the front, and an old rocking chair

Feeling like our culture levels were dropping dangerously low, a group of us choofed off to the Design Museum near Tower Bridge last weekend, via Borough Market. We then did a little pub crawl heading in the direction of Brick Lane for a curry, then on to the Commercial Tavern which is a tarted-up pub near Spitalfields full of hip young things. In a good way, I didn't even get a whiff of pretention.

The Design Awards nominees were on display with projects ranging from cars to fashion to, well, artwork I guess. Is that what you would call a huge glass case full of panda moneyboxes with motion-sensors?

This car is made entirely out of fabric and it can stretch to change shape for aerodynamics and open doors and stuff.

A few more projects.

Onto the pub...

I thought the boys looked like they were having a romantic interlude. Guess it's the lighting in this place. Whenever we go out now, we always end up divided into boys and girls, it's so funny. Weirdest of all is that I actually enjoy the girl-time. I used to hate hanging out with girls and only had guy friends for years! Somehow I am becoming more girly the older I get. Huh, didn't see that coming. 

Pretty!

jake the peg-e-eggy-e-eggy-e-eg!

I wore this outfit to work the other day. It's deceptively simple, you see it's all about the details. New(ish) tailored peg leg trouser shape cuffed just so. Visible contrasting socks. Shiny black brogues. I normally hate trousers with a passion! But of course I had to try some peg legs when they first came out last year, and it took me a while to get over the feeling like I had pooper-scoopers on, but sometimes I quite like the way they can look. I just find it takes extra effort to make pants look interesting.

This outfit actually scored me a compliment from a guy at the bus stop. He told me he liked my socks. I thought he was joking, so I told him I was channelling Michael Jackson. He just said 'well, you're pulling it off, you look good'. Well thanks, I said.

ps. Isn't grey marle just the worst colour for sweat patches? It is actually my favourite colour, but seriously, I had to put my cardigan back on for the afternoon to hide them. How embarrassing.

this kind of lovin', leaves me mystified

It's official. Everyone in the developed world must have an iPhone by now. Because I got one!! I am certainly never on the forefront of any kind of new technological developments, and I'm not really one for bandwagons, so it must be true that absolutely everyone already has one and I am the last person in the world to adopt this now-mandatory item. How long it will take me to learn what to do with it is anyone's guess, though I have made steady progress and think I have learnt at least one new thing everyday. It is great having a camera with me wherever I go (no, I've never had a camera phone before) and together with the iPod aspect of it I now carry one piece of hardware in place of the previous three, and I am on a monthly plan for the first time in my life which means I can actually call and text whenever I like without counting pennies! And I don't need an A-Z anymore either. And I don't have to wait for Wes to gift me with five minutes on the computer to check my emails. And I think I could go on like this for quite awhile, what do you reckon? I just wish it weren't so slippery!

Awesome creation, huh? Courtesy of the amazing girls at Prick Your Finger, a yarn mecca in the East End - I think I may have to do a post about these guys, but for now check out their website and blog for an idea of what unbelievable things they can do with balls of yarn and a couple of needles.

And the lyrics are by Sydney band The Cops, they are awesome and from my former home of Summer Hill! They are awesome, you should check them out.

i'm running out of time...

This week's gig was Hot Hot Heat at Scala, which was packed full of pint-sized chicks who were all massive fans, the kind that know all the words to all the songs and try to touch the band members when they come close to the edge of the stage. Well, I'll admit the bassist was kind of spunky, and he certainly had all the dance moves, and the others all have interesting hair...I just wanted to find out if my new camera could take decent night photos, and the answer is, well not really. But I was really far away, and the lighting was really crap. I'm not too sure about the sound quality at Scala either. I'll blame that, cause a few times I thought HHH sounded like they were playing songs too fast and actually out of time, but surely the guys know how to play music properly, when it is their job after all?

I can't believe these photos finally loaded! Can everybody else stop using Photobucket please? I think it is all of you clogging it up meaning it doesn't work for me unless I get up at the ridiculously early hour of 9:30am on a Saturday!!

Ctrl-Alt-Del

Just about ready to throw my computer through a window. Well, I would throw Photobucket through a window were it not an inanimate object. Maybe I need an inanimate object torture box like on BBC's Genius last week. It is for when you stub your toe on something or jam your finger in a door - yelling at it won't hurt the door, but maybe an inanimate object torture box will. Someone just has to figure out what goes on in that box...

a little too much madonna for one night perhaps?

As you can see I went 'glam goth' for a house party the other night. House parties are always so much fun, aren't they? Stayed until about 3am and had to catch a taxi, then a bus home (I know, what?). We left when the Singstar came out. What a party killer that was. No more conversation occurred at all. And you know, no matter how good the machine tells you you are, it sounds terrible, trust me.

This is a skirt I made from remnants last year, hence it is waay too short and I feel really exposed wearing it. But on a Saturday night, why not?

Wow, I can't believe I got use the computer for long enough to actually *post something*!! Yay! I hope it won't be another two weeks til my next one...