Photo of the day

I was flicking through my photos on my mac book, when i came across this photo. You may or may not know who this wonderful lady is, but she really has dramatically revamped such a british iconic label, so much so that there is a 6 week waiting list in London for one of her bag's. See the size of my grin?

I was lucky enough to meet Emma Hill, creative director at Mulberry whilst i was at GFW. She couldn't have been more down to earth and friendly, and with creations such as the Alexa and the Daira under her belt, i couldn't be anymore in awe. If Mulberry hadn't had of hired Miss Hill, would it be the brand it is today? I don't think so. 

Have you ever met anyone who has inspired you? 

I have a tendency to celeb spot everywhere, infact it's rather borderline stalkerish! 

Tesco's Post It On!

No doubt will you have be aware of the lovely Emma's blog Oh Really?, but if you haven't you should seriously check it out. I've followed her blog straight from day one, and am always in awe of her fabulous styling and lifestyle posts! You should most definitely check out her post on marbling nail effects, bloody marvelous.

To my delight Emma has tagged me to take part in Tesco's Post It On feature, whereby you choose another blogger to receive an item from Tesco's new A/W collection. Do check out what she chose! Over the past two years, i've really grown to love having a good peek at Tesco's clothing, its very affordable, good quality and most of all stylish! Surprisingly so, may i add. Many skirts and dresses have found their way into my trolly, which are always bang on trend and much more affordable. Not only has their clothing impressed me, but their foot-ware, two years back i bought some tan riding boots, and still to this day people always enquire to where i bought them from. Their range of heels always attract my eye - i just cannot justify spending horrendous amounts on shoes that i barely wear (Louboutins don't come under this rule fyi) and they always have a great selection in-store for under £25.

After having a good nose on the Tesco's site, i've picked my top items..

oversized grey snood £7.00 / chunky knit snood £5.00 / knit arm warmers £4.00 / cable mittens £4.00 / chain detail gloves £12.00 / cable knit earmuff £4.00   

swing camisole £12.00 / black military shorts £14.00 / ruffle jumpsuit £25.00 / waterfall jacket £18.00 / scallop edge skirt £12.50  

knitted bubble cable dress £18.00 / gladiator stilettos £25.00 / studded shoe boots £18.00 / suede ankle boot £18.00 / tunic £20.00

The question is, what item do i pick? Too hard too choose. I'm particularly partial to the two dress in the last picture, that knitted dress looks beyond cosy and perfect for winter days, but the pink dress (French Connection, eat your heart out) would be just right for the 'christmas party season' (cringe).. But then that waterfall jacket and scalloped skirt too!

Thoughts? Let me know..

Sweet Paris

A few weekends back i went on a mini-break to Paris with my boy to celebrate my birthday, we were highly excited to go, it was a relaxing break too so we just decided on a whim what we wanted to do each day. We had ideas of where we wanted to go, but we weren't going to try and pack in all the sites into four days, rather just use it as an excuse to go back ;)

We took the Eurostar from St. Pancreas to Gare du Nord, in central Paris early Saturday morning. We stayed within the business district of La Defense, which i cannot recommend enough. We weren't particularly bothered about staying in the heart of the city, as out hotel was only fifteen minutes away by Metro from the Champs Elysees was the perfect choice. La Defence is mainly built up of large sky scraper offices and hotels along one main strip and square, it was dotted with fountains, small parks to sit and enjoy the views of the Arc De Truiph. The hotel we stayed at Sofitel La Defense  which was a real treat to stay in, we managed to secure an amazing deal saving a triple of the price of the rates advertised (400€ per person per night!), it had a crazy size bed and bathroom, which had surround sound everywhere, and not forgetting endless Hermes toiletries! The weather couldn't have been better, pure sunshine and warm weather, luck!

Here are a few snapshots..

of course i couldn't come to Paris and not buy a copy, this deserves it's own post entirely.

view of the Eiffel Tower from our hotel at night - so pretty.

planning the next days adventures in the disgustingly comfy bed.

on my birthday, we visited the Luxembourg Gardens, i cannot word how beautiful this park is. 

the weather was so lovely, and as we went on the weekend, hundreds of french families, couples and old people were relaxing in the sun. It was the most perfect Autumn day, with leaves just fallen and people everywhere doing activities, reading and soaking up the sun. I could have spent all day there, happily reading a book.

the Lourve was another place we really enjoyed, we spent most of the day looking at paintings, as the museum is so big, it would be impossible to cover the entire place - i can't wait to go back and visit. 

my birthday meal consisted of:

Hargen Diaz banana and toffee waffles, with whipped cream and a hot toffee sauce in an wafer basket, yum!

We also visited the Eiffel Tower but the added security of police and army was a pretty tense place to be, and although it sounds daft, it could really do with a polish! ;)

I really enjoyed Paris, we are definitely making plans to re-visit! These are only a faction of the photos i took, my lovely friend Sarah bought me as part of my birthday present, two disposable cameras, so i really focused on using those up to fill up the lovely photo album she gave me too!

Have you been to Paris?

(and of course i visited Sephora!)

all the crazy shit i did tonight, those will be the best memories

if i had a pound for every time i admired this bag, i could buy it first thing tomorrow.

birthday money spenditure yeah?

Lavin for H&M

I'm somewhat slightly obsessed with these designer collaborations, as much as i would like to flounce down to Mayfair in my chauffeur driven car and pick up my new little black dress, it ain't gonna happen (not for a while anyhow.) The whole reasoning behind these designer/high-street collaborations is simply fabulous, providing great labels, and mostly great designs available to all women.

Since Jimmy Choo and Sonia Rykiel jumped on the H&M bandwagon, i've been hungry for more. And as i'm sure your quite aware, after a months of speculation and teasing, it was announced that Alber Elbaz, Creative Director at Lavin will be the next designer to whip us up into a frenzy.

As much as ever, information regarding the collection is very much kept secret, with details being released slowly. The collection is due to be released on the 23rd November, with another video explaining more details. As much as they have tried to pixilate the clothes in previously released videos and keep it under wraps, of course, there's always a leak here and there..

Left: Black one shoulder dress £99.99, Sunglasses £14.99. 

Second left: Coat £99.99, necklace £34.99, sunglasses £14.99. 

Right: Tux jacket £69.99, skirt £34.99, bracelet £24.99, sunglasses £14.99. 

Far right: Black dress £79.99, necklace £34.99.

Left: Puff sleeve dress £99.99, leather gloves £29.99, clutch £24.99. Right: Tiered dress £99.99, bag £29.99. sunglasses £14.99, necklace £24.99.

However, things just got a little bit more exciting. H&M have just announced that on November 18th, H&M will be showing the full collection on runway at the Pierre hotel in NYC and streaming it online for us over the pond to watch too. Stay tuned,

Personally, i couldn't be more excited for this collection. I love Lavins clean, classic designs, and not forgetting their to die for accessories! If your not all that familiar with the brand, here are a few snippets of their A/W '10 range.

 Are you excited? Are their any brands you would love to see collaborate with H&M?

taper jean girl

Each year, at Christmas my mother buys me a chocolate advent calendar. Don't get wrong, i'm all for tradition,  but i'm not all that fussed about chocolate really- yes, i really did just say that.  And after reading this post a few months back on British Beauty Blogger's blog i knew i couldn't just settle for the run of mill Cadbury's calendar..

The L'Oreal Advent Calendar has just landed at Selfridges, retailing at £60 a pop, this little piece of Christmas came early, counting down the days with a beauty treat. Say what? Each little window houses a miniature skincare, perfume or make-up item to trial and test, from brands such as YSL, Lancome, Armani, Shu Uemura. 

For a full list of products included visit the lovely Charlotte's blog Lipglossiping.

What a fabulous idea? £60 is a bit of a stretch, but in terms of the amount of products and quality - is it not worth it? I'm seriously toying with the idea, and i don't even think i'm falling for the gimmick side of it, package it as an Easter Egg gift, i would probably still be interested! No, but seriously if they were marketing it as a 'testing the best of..' i would be still be inclined to buy. 

Would you?

(also, if you haven't already check out British Beauty Blogger and Lipglossiping, because they are simply two of he best beauty blogs in town.)

killamangiro

With winter, not only comes my thick chunky tights and endless, but sneaky hot chocolates (with extra whipped cream, of course) but the common British cold. I call it the British cold, as no other country complain and moan and whine and complain as much as we. Feeling slightly gross and rundown, and rather angry at catching this retched cold, i thought it was the perfect time to post this monstrosity, bitter issue.

Mulberry for Target, exclusively in America, each piece will set you back at under $30, disgusting

snot, snot, snot. 

Okay, a rather bitter post. But still, a Mulberry Bays Water costs a good £700* nowadays, yet the Americans get a rip of version for roughly twenty eight squid slightly unfair. However, i reside in the fact that this is basically one big marketing plan for Mulberry for the US branding, secondly each bag in the range isn't made with the craft and leather that the 'real' ones are made with ...and thirdly, queue evil laugh.. 

MULBERRY FOR TARGET. 

But on the hand, if they were to sell these over here, then every tom, dick and harry would have them and that defeats the point of having an exclusive designer bag, oui?

what are your thoughts? are some things just better when they aren't mass-available?

*my bag was purchased a few years back, with my savings, for no where near that price - thank god.


they are slightly FUG. (sorry Emma Hill) but i would mind the little ones please.