Malta Malta Malta!

What a huuuge couple of weeks! And I can't help but feel that it's only just the beginning. Having been away for two weeks on two separate holidays I was proud of myself for making it through relatively unscathed after lots and lots of partying and was looking forward to a bit of a rest and getting back to normal life. Then, it hit me. It's summer, there's no such thing as normal life! The sun came out this week and my head is already spinning. Plans are being made to cram as many concerts, parties and events into every waking minute for the next 3 months. I am not going to be getting much rest for awhile, I just can't afford to risk missing any little bit of the summer!

Here are few snaps from the trip to Malta. It's such an interesting place, a real mix of British, Mediterranean and Moorish influences. The capital, Valetta is filled with history, and the people are really proud to tell you about it. The weather is obviously pretty perfect, it was my first dose of summer in a year, and my first ever swim in the Med!

I just got back from four days of fun in the sun in Malta, and would love to tell you guys more about it but our flight was delayed by four hours (!!) on the way home which left me time to do little more than eat, sleep and pack for my next trip to Scotland tomorrow. Yikes, I really need to get to bed. See you soon, xoxo

Album of the Week

Okay, the Album of the Week post has been on a long hiatus, which is really just indicative of the state of my blog in general, but I now have so much new music on my iPod I don't know where to start! After some long and hard consideration I have decided to tell you about the latest Black Keys album. I chose this album this week because they kind of get my 'Most Improved' award. Well, that sounds really condescending, more like, they've really evolved and I'm liking their sound with a few more layers. I have watched the Black Keys with interest ever since I first heard their early singles on jjj but I never got as fully into them as I expected to. I guess their albums didn't grab me like their singles promised to. I will definitely be going back and reviewing their back-catalogue now, though. I always like to have the history and context of a band in my mind when I'm getting to know the new music. They used to sound very stripped-back like two guys in an old house with an eight-track and a guitar and that was it. Now, in a nutshell their sound is very dirty rock (rawk!), that's very bluesey, and more than a little bit Hendrix. 

I'm not turning this blog into a Danger Mouse fanpage, I promise, but he is responsible for producing yet another brilliant effort here. Where does he get his genius inspiration from and when does he sleep??

swimming with some beautiful sharks

Honestly, how do people wear high heels?? You should see the size of the blisters on my feet right now. Those shoes looked frickin awesome, but the first time I have worn them will also turn out to be the last. Focus has now shifted to blister avoidance and so I'm breaking in my thong feet for my holiday to Malta next week!! So excited. Yes, har-har, you know what I mean, flip-flops, jandals, whatever, I'm not talking about my bum.

I haven't taken any photos in awhile, so you may have noticed that all the recent photos on here are those taken by Wes and his favourite iPhone app called Hipstamatic. It kind of imitates a lomograph-style camera with separate lenses and 'film' that you buy from the App store. You can get some great effects. I know a real lomo camera would have more street cred but it's much easier to carry this version around. These ones are not that great, but for better ones just scroll down to my older posts. The more abstract ones above are from when we went to see Paul Dempsey live in Kings Cross...and then we saw White Rabbits (again) the next night at the Garage at Highbury...

ride with me...

Sometimes I go through phases of wanting to buy so many new things and nothing in my wardrobe seems right and getting dressed is so hard. Then other days I come up with outfits made out of so many old things I think maybe I don't need anything at all, it's all already there it just needs to be rediscovered. I call this outfit 'Couldn't decide what to wear so just put on everything at the same time'. The bow headpiece is always a crowd-pleaser. This was for my friend's belated birthday party which ended up being a veeery late one. 

something good can work

What a glorious weekend!! The sunshine was welcomed with open arms in a way only Londoners can - the parks filled with pasty-skinned soon-to-be-lobsters, kids on scooters, and squealing teenagers. While Wes still has a lot of work to be done, it was absolutely too good to pass up a bit of time in the sun. Lunch on the Green on Saturday, and Sunday lunch in Hyde Park and a quick visit to the new Topshop in Knightsbridge.

Shirt: vintage from Holloway Rd; Capris: Topshop; Loafers: Topshop; Earrings: Portobello market; Sunnies: Karen Walker. 

i'm pretty sure coco's not even her actual name

Is it totally wrong that I'm loving this song at the moment? It is, isn't it?

Seriously.

Words cannot describe the anticipation of such awesomeness.

covet

A fair chunk of my working week is spent in the historic area of Finsbury, in south Islington. It has alot going for it, with cool buildings, trendy cafes and famous restaurants, and some really lovely boutiques. One morning a pop-up boutique called covet appeared on Arlington Road, with a list of dates that gradually ticked by as I kept forgetting or was too busy to actually go in. But when I finally got around to 'popping' in it was one day after the last day on the sign, and it became clear that it was going to be sticking around. Not so pop-up after all. A very good thing considering my current stance on pop-up shops, which I posted about here. The owner tells me they will be featuring different designers each month or so, so it will change over time, but everything had a very handmade feel to it, with the jewellery really captivating me, particularly the bracelets made of all sorts of found items like plastic rings and baubles. I ended up buying a couple of pairs of earrings - one of recycled buttons by uncommonly beautiful and a pair of silver dangly hearts by gimcrackery (couldn't find any info about these), both £8 each. I will be back.

The pics above are a bit shite as they're taken on my iPhone, but here's a proper pic I took of my earrings when I got them home:

hipstamatic

What the hell kind of weather was that for a long weekend?? Shocking. But that didn't stop us from daytripping across the south-east of England, from Canterbury to the White Cliffs of Dover and back again.

On the way we detoured through a few well-known English seaside towns and the overall consensus is, we must stop going to English seaside towns. My God, they are so depressing! I know that comparisons to our coast are probably not really fair, but I just can't understand how these places ever attract tourists. Or repeat tourists I suppose is more accurate. I know the beach huts look charming but the truth is, they become essential when the beach is that unpleasant! These guys do inland alot better.
 Canterbury is lovely, the cathedral impressive, and we had a truly great dinner at a British restaurant called Deeson's. I recommend highly. And Whitstable was quite nice too just the weather was so bad I seriously regretted even getting out of the car!
Those are my new glasses, by the way, which I mulled over for months before I finally just snapped one day and couldn't stand my old ones anymore. I think they tread a line between funky and twat. And they only hurt my right ear just a little bit.

I bought the broguey-sandals last week!! Yay. Bad news is that the boots sold out on General Pants the same day I posted them!! Damn you Pants-man!!

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.

and when i caught it you were out of reach

I have been committing some major blog neglect lately. And you know what else is looking sad and malnourished? My shoe wardrobe! I just realised when the sun came out on Saturday that I don't own any sandals. I think I had just one pair in London but I must've given them to charity the last time I was forced to move halfway around the world against my will. Plus, my most favouritest comfy walk-all-day shoes are starting to show their age so I need some substitutes that can stand-in when they are feeling tired so they will live longer, like forever. This is a much more difficult and fine-tuned task than sandals. Sandals are everywhere. Sensible, comfortable, yet not ugly, yet mostly flat shoes are what you might call thin on the ground.

Don't worry, I have not been on a spending spree, I'm just deliberating in that terribly sad, no-fun, way-too-sensible way that I tend to shop now. I cannot decide between these pairs of sandals.

Oh, Swedish Hasbeens, if only I had been quick enough to snap you up of yoox then I might have been able to actually afford you! But you would go sooo nicely with my current vintage obsession.

I'm thinking these will be the summer version of my trusty brogues.

I wanted these so bad my first summer in London 2 years ago (I'm onto you, Office, I bet you thought no-one else would notice) but I hesitated, as usual, they sold out and then all the shop girls pretended they never existed, but I knew they had, I just knew!! See!

But I think I am definitely going to have these shipped from fave Aus store General Pants, considering I missed them first time around at Topshop (yes, exact same boots, am I right or am I right?). If only for the reason they are the only shoes I have found that fill the non-sandal criteria.

you're my high school lover

I forgot to post this last week when we saw Phoenix again! Not as good a set as last time but they are still a great great band. I wore my new vintage denim dress that I bought the other week, and I took all these photos with my iPhone. I actually think they turned out really well, considering you can't zoom or anything (that I know of!).

It's Wes' birthday today! We are having a quiet Sunday though, he will need so much sleep to get over his party last night. All he wanted was to have a burger and beers with his friends, so mission accomplished, and then some :-)

nineteen-oh!-one

Oh, I love love love my new skirt! It was actually handmade and somehow smells just like an old sewing room. And it fits me like a glove! I also got a dress that I couldn't wait to wear so I'm sure you'll see it soon. All our friends went away this Easter, but I took these photos last weekend when we met up for Sunday roast lunch and I decided to dress up a bit. I even did my hair and make-up like a proper London girl. Yup, eyeliner and everything. I'm currently wearing training wheels with this stuff, and think I did a pretty good job, but it smudged so quick I hate to think what would happen if I wore it anywhere hot or for any length of time. It would be running down my cheeks! It may work for Alice Cooper, but not when you're going for vintage-hipster-stylee ;-(

Wes and I went to check out the Marc by Marc Jacobs store in Mayfair, which is where I got this bone bracelet and cuff. Quite a cool store, really, and clever on their part as they stock everything from a £1 ring (or condom) to the £500 handbags via a £30 evening clutch or a £50 pair of jeans. Apparently everyone can have their own piece of the MJ brand, no matter what their budget!

Jacket: H&M; Cardigan: ASOS; Skirt: Absolute Vintage; Boots: Myer; Cuff and bracelet: Marc by Marc Jacobs; Earrings: Uncommonly Beautiful.

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.