Sunday 24 June 2012

meet fergal and olive...

...our cats.

I don't want to be a crazy cat lady but I love my cats. Living in London its difficult to give the room and space a dog deserves. Plus we are out of the house most of the day and this would not be fair for a dog.

A cat on the other hand is a bit different as they are more independant and sleep most of the day.

Both Fergal and Olive are from unwanted homes and have long stories to go with them. Anyway I got them both within their first year of their lives and they live happily with us now.

Fergal is small and a very handsome tabby. He acts like a dog and follows us everywhere around the flat. Like everywhere all the time. He is also quite needy and can't be left on his own for long.

Olive is the lady of flat and basically we are all her minions. She is very cool and laid back and the complete opposite of Fergs.


Worm fun.



zzzZZZZZZZZZ


Monday 11 June 2012

the silver spoon

Another wedding = trying to find a suitable wedding present.

I personally do not like buying from pre-picked gift lists as I find them impersonal. But at the same time I don't want to buy something that they already have or something that the couple will not like.

I have a wedding at the end of the month and decided to buy the couple the holy grail of Italian cookbooks. I know the groom likes to eat and the bride likes to cook so its a no brainer. Plus who doesnt like italian food?

We already have the cookbook as well as the french version. This cookbook is HUGE and takes two hands to carry if you know what I mean. It is well thumbed cookbook in our household as it has every italian recipe you could want plus more.

What sold it for us is that apparently this is the most sold cookbook in Italy. I think that says it all really.


You can buy it at Amazon here.

Sunday 10 June 2012

whistles

If I was asked the question, "What is my favourite shop for clothes"?, I would have to say Whistles.

I am in my thirties and what I want in what I wear has changed to what I wanted in my twenties.  These days I want to have quality well made clothes that will last. I also want clothes that can transit between seasons and for several years to come.

Hence for me, I think Whistles is my go to shop. It is more pricey than H & M and Zara for example but you do get what you pay for.

I have several pieces from Whistles including seven dresses and a classic navy wool peacoat and I do intend on building upon this collection. I buy my pieces in all manner of ways. In the store full price or in the sale and second hand on ebay. On their website they also have an "outlet"section where discounted pieces can be found.

My wishlist:







june purchases

The internet makes shopping too easy. The internet is bad. Well that's what I tell myself but in reality I have no willpower.


I am not going to reveal everything I have bought lately because that would be facing up to reality so I am going to provide an edited account.


My first purchase is a gold and coral ring. There is a story behind the ring as it is similar to a ring that I saw in a magazine years ago. That ring was from a boutique in Turkey and with no name or reference to help me hunt it down my search could go no further. Anyway I was browsing Etsy (I love Etsy) and noticed a ring that looked similar to the ring that I had seen previously. Better still the stone within the ring was coral which is my favourite colour. So here is the ring and I love it. I had it made in sterling silver and plated with 24k gold (if I only I could afford it all to be made from pure gold).


The jeweller can be found here and she was very friendly and helpful as I asked for the ring to be customised. I highly recommend her.


My second and third purchase is in homage to the designer Isabel Marant. I love how the french dress. Effortless, chic and simple and funnily enough quite hard to achieve in my opinion. Again Isabel Marant is not cheap and a bit overpriced considering her 'look' is rather casual. One of her staple and recognised designs are her infamous Dicker boots (shown below) but at 365 GB pounds a bit out of my price range.
The original Isabel Marant Dicker boots

ASOS have some great boots at more affordable prices. They actually have a great dupe for these boots here but I chose the August boots shown below. I am short at 5ft 3.5inches so I chose a boot with a lower rise up the ankle as a higher rise boot would cut me off and make me look even shorter. I love these boots and they are so comfortable and I will wear these with jeans, dresses and skirts.


ASOS August Boots



My final purchase is a vintage blouse from Etsy which is also not so faraway from Isabel Marant.



I intend on wearing all the above with black skinny jeans for a friend's birthday party this weekend. Its a shame the party is not in Paris :)