someone still loves you boris yeltsin

If I weren't totally broke, I would be going retail crazy right now. With all the winter and 'holiday' collections arriving in stores everyday there are just so many irresistible items I have spied and it is hard imagining getting through winter without them! There are the obvious, of course, like I need a new pair of black ankle boots to replace my old holey ones, but there are a few more fun and frivolous items that have caught my eye...

I think this Whistles muff would actually be really practical given the juggling act I perform everyday when I need to take my gloves off to do anything on my phone, which risks dropping phone or gloves or both. But if my gloves were attached to my neck...drama solved!

Hear me out here!! Well, I actually have no reasonable explanation for this one other than that I have always seen snow boots as completely lacking in any style, and one of those signs that someone has just given up and succumbed to pure practicality with no interest in maintaining their physical appearance. But now I look at them and think, I reckon I could pull it off. These ones are by Rubber Duck and you can get them here.

Matalan is definitely not somewhere I have ever looked for wardrobe-updating staples but that is exactly what I think this dress would be. I have so far completely resisted the obsession everyone has with maxi stuff but I now think it would be an absolutely perfect all-weather layering piece and I think this one ticks many trend boxes. And it's sooo cheap!

You may have noticed that I am finding a bit more time for blogging lately. You would be correct with the main reason being that basically all my friends decided to leave London for sunnier climes downunder and I now find myself with far fewer social engagements to fit into my schedule. Party season? What parties?! I really miss them all, but hope they are all enjoying their new lives xx

Canal-boating in Wales over the long weekend. Had so much fun with my friends. The Brecon Beacons are really beautiful and the canal is so serene you feel like the rest of the world just doesn't even exist. The boats are really hard to drive (as I found out) but you get the hang of the locks and there are soo many pubs aaaallll the way along the canal! I would recommend this holiday to anyone and everyone.

Gee it's been awhile since I've done any fashion-related posts! Well summer's way too busy for thinking about posing for photos. I am actually proud of myself for not even worrying about the blog, I'm just out there living the dream - seriously, can't even begin to describe how much stuff I've packed into the last couple of months - and if I take a few photos while I'm doing it, I'll share them with you :-)

i'll be seeing you

Yes, I actually stayed here. 

Words cannot describe how much I loved my weekend in Tuscany, and how I can't wait to go back, hopefully with more time for sightseeing. I actually went to Pisa and didn't see the leaning tower! Much more pressing matters such as vino and antipasto were at hand. A gorgeous friend was celebrating her Hen's and we did it in style. It was quite last minute but we all whisked ourselves away for a long weekend. I drove on the wrong side of the road, was wooed by a rotund man called Julio, and had the most amazing meal of my life. I will never forget it.

Do I need to explain the title of this post? Stealing Beauty is one of my favourite movies of all time and I always dreamed of living the romance of Tuscany. I also love the soundtrack, which features this mournful Billie Holliday song.

jack on the green

Summer has been pretty awesome so far, as you all know or can at least imagine. Today's clouds actually provided a nice break, as long as the sun comes back of course! I managed to squeeze in a spot of lawn bowls on Saturday for my mate Jade's birthday (she's a Kiwi so I can use the word 'mate' here, usually I never ever ever use that word, especially not for girls). It was an absolute scorcher and I was dripping by the time I even got there, but I had a great time and met a bunch of cool new people, and drank cider out of a tin, quite a novelty for me.

bright lights of broadway

If you have ever spent any time in London you will find it hard to believe it has ever been this sunny! Those who haven't been here, you have to imagine that this is possibly the sunniest day we may see all year, so everyone rushes outside to the markets and green spaces to soak up every last ray of sunshine, just in case. Last Saturday we headed to Broadway market for lunch in London Fields before my friend Jodie's birthday party at a pub just down the market, then in Hoxton, then in Dalston, Hoxton again, then Camden...

Yummy yummy chicken wrap

I was wearing a new vintage dress from Camden Passage markets, denim jacket from Topshop, platform shoes from Australia, Karen Walker sunnies, vintage bag from Portobello Road market.

The hula hoop, as may see from the bow, is the birthday present Wes and I took along for Jodie. It was a big hit, especially on the dancefloor later in the night. Funny how some people have maintained their good hula-hoopyness from childhood, while most of us look like someone having a hoopy fit :-(

This guy was the best busker ever!! That is a full sound system and he makes amazing spacey music that he raps along to.

flap flap flap

I had a great birthday on Saturday! I will post photos soon, when I figure out all the ins and outs of my new camera!! It is fab. Another lovely surprise was my friend Viv buying us girls tickets to see the ballet together. We decided on Ballet Nacional de Cuba's Swan Lake which is on at Sadler's Wells soon. I have been going to the ballet since I was little, which means I've seen Swan Lake several times, but it is a truly great ballet, and every company does their own special take on it. I have heard Cuba's is really good. Swan Lake is rare for a traditional ballet because it manages to stitch together a dramatic storyline with technically demanding dancing. Sometimes the old ballets are a little heavy on the mime, light on the steps, but not Swan Lake. The female lead, Odette/Odile, usually goes through several pairs of shoes by the end of each performance. 

Got another surprise gift for my birthday - I am sick and it all started on the big day and I've just got worse and worse since ;-( So no outfit posts for awhile, methinks, I am hideous!

it's my party and i'll buy if i want to

So, it's my birthday on Saturday, what are you getting me? I am getting myself a party in Hoxton with all my nearest and dearest friends. And my mum is getting me some charms for my charm bracelet. Customs Declarations really do mess up surprises, but I will wait until the real day to open it, I'm just like that. I love birthdays and like everything to be just so. Wes is getting me a new camera so I can finally take photos worthy of blogging! Oh, I'm also getting myself this stuff from asos:

Something Else

Whistles

Warehouse

Warehouse

Diesel

Knit: Topshop; Tees: H&M; Skirt: ASOS; Boots:Docs


Edit: It all arrived today, and it is all perfect! Well, except the Warehouse drapey top, but I'm keeping it anyway, I'm sure I can do something with it.

Evening, not-so-Standard

As a 'coastie', being from an Australian town with a yearly average temperature of just over 25 degrees celcius, it shouldn't come as a surprise that I'm not terribly experienced at winter sports. While lugging skis up a hill or falling on my arse off a snowboard do not interest me whatsoever, ice-skating has always held a certain romance for me. I always fancied it might be my hidden talent and that as soon as I stepped on the ice I would realise my previously unknown potential and go on to Olympic glory. Or something like that. I hope I am not the only person who has these kind of fantasies?

So, my third London winter in, I finally got up the courage to head along to Somerset House and have a go. As luck would have it, I have been twice in the past couple of weeks with different groups of friends. I am not brilliant. But it is so much fun! Here's hoping that somebody remembers to buy me a course of Skate School next year.

This post must, however, be underpinned by a tinge of guilt and a dose of sympathy as Wes did not have quite as good a time and broke his watch as well as possibly some other bits in a nasty fall. He is still a bit swollen and bruised, and I am still catching up on all the sleep I lost playing nurse.

Plus, I got my first ever gift from Tiffany&Co! A cupcake, and it was free! (And had way too much icing, I couldn't even finish it, and I am the icing queen).

we poured our hearts out as the train pulled out

Is it too late to still be talking about the weekend? It was a pretty crazy night on Saturday, and it all started with this little contraption. Ross and Viv spent Christmas and New Year in Germany with some family friends and were exposed to this amazing method of making mulled wine. Since trying mulled wine for the first time this winter, I am absolutely loving it, and so far have found I can enjoy several (ahem!) glasses yet somehow avoid my usual red wine headache. Yay!

So, this is called the feuerzangenbowle. You put a big lump of sugar called a zuckerhut on a metal holder thingy over the mulled wine and pour 80% proof rum over it and light it until the sugar melts and caramelises and drips into the wine. It is sooo potent, but yummy and fun and a little bit dangerous. It set the scene for the perfect night in with good friends when it was freezing cold and snowy outside.

And yes, later on there was singing and dancing and Belinda Carlisle was involved. Man I sounded awesome - the mulled wine must do something for the vocal chords.

pah-rah-pah-pum-pum

I'd better post about Christmas before the New Year takes hold and That Special Day In December becomes relegated to a distant memory. Well, I had a wonderful Orphan's Christmas in Cardiff with great company, even better food and a Wii! Presents were plentiful, sometimes too much so as you can see by my lovely pjs from Wes. 'It said size twelve on the hanger!!' he insisted again and again. My most favouritest present was my fluffy white Muji bathrobe: so cosy, I wish it was acceptable to wear them for more than the five minutes between showering and getting dressed. Much more. Like all day.

We established that The Little Drummer Boy is all our boys' favourite carol. I don't think I have a fave as I actually really hate them. Does Wham count as a carol?

We'll always have St Paul's

Farewell to my lovely friends Anna and Mike. Off home to NZ, I wish them all the best. They threw a party to farewell their friends, this wonderful city, and their amazing flat in front of St Paul's! I know the photos are a bit 'arty' but I will never be there again so I had to share them anyway.

Coat: Topshop; Necklace: Sportsgirl; Skirt: Lipsy

You little Bottlerocket!

Well colour me happy, someone has gone and opened a cocktail bar in my hometown! I am meeting the girls there for drinks on Wednesday night and have been planning possible outfits whilst picking my jaw up from the floor. You see, we don’t even have any pubs I would frequent. I do not know what hip young things have done for entertainment prior to July 2009. Actually, I’m not sure we have any hip young things. Hmm, good luck with the business then!