Tuesday 26 February 2013

love a bit of leopard.....

though this was not always the case. Leopard print has some negative connotations, wear too much and you can look like Bet Lynch. For all you who don't know who she is she is a character in a long running soap here in the UK.  Leopard was her favourite as you can see.



Unlike Bet, I like leopard but in very small doses. I think leopard acts as a great neutral to off set plain coloured clothes. I have a scarf that I wear a lot and a pair of ballet flats if I want to liven up a plain outfit.
I saw this and now I want this dress. Its from Whistles' new collection and I think will be a great staple for Spring and Summer. You can dress it down with sandals (I live in Saltwater sandals during the Summer) or white converse. If I want to dress it up I will pair with leopard kitten heels. These are by Jimmy Choo but as I have said I am not a shoe person and will settle for a less costly pair....so now I am on the look out.





I will get the dress next week. I am now, as of tomorrow,  off to Scotland for a visit.

Sunday 24 February 2013

wild at heart

I have two more things to do for my small wedding in July; get shoes and choose the flowers for my bouquet. Not a shoe person I am holding off the latter task until I can brave a day of proper 'sole' searching.

Even before I got engaged I already had an idea of where I would get more flowers. I have lived in London for nearly 7 years and one of my favourite places is Liberty the department store. I will have to do a separate post on this place alone. Liberty is housed within a mock Tudor building and in the lobby of the main entrance is Wild at Heart florists. The smell of the flowers each and every time I enter the store is evocative and brings me so many memories. So for sentimental reasons I have chosen this florist.  It also helps that Wild at Heart is a modern and chic florist that is so far removed from flowers that you get from the supermarket.


Even though I am still 5 months away from the big day I wanted an idea if I could get the kind of wedding bouquet I have in my head. But first I needed to know what I wanted. As my wedding is small and not dictated by a colour scheme I can basically get anything I wanted provided the flowers were in season. Out went my first choice of peonies as these are a Spring flower and not guaranteed in July. I also wanted to stay away from roses as for me they are a bit cliche and I wanted something different.  Below is a selection of bouquets I have found overtime that I like but have ultimately shown me that I like textured but simple bouquets.







I definitely want the stems showing so that the full form of the flowers can be seen. I also want them to be tied simply with a simple ribbon.







Friday 22 February 2013

bocca di lupo

I have never been a fan of Italian food. When choosing a place for dinner Italian was never on the list... until I discovered Bocca Di Lupo two years ago. This restaurant does not have any pizzas, lasagne or dough balls on the menu but what they do have on the menu is authentic rustic Italian dishes that I imagine an Italian grandma would make.
Bocca Di Lupo is located on an quiet side street in Soho. The main focal point of the restaurant is a long marble bar which is located in front of the kitchen. Unless you book weeks in advance you are more likely to be sat on this bar when dining. Some like this and some would prefer to sit in the rear restaurant area. I actually like sitting on the bar watching the chefs cook the food.

What makes this place so great is the simplicity of the dishes. The ingredients are high quality, seasonal and intellectually combined. The format of the restaurant comprises of a tapas style  menu where the dishes are to be shared. Each dish notes the region of Italy where it comes from. All the cured sausages are homemade by the restaurant and they are delicious. The menu changes daily.

My personal favourites, when available, are the selection of the fritter starters and the bruschetta.


Selection of the bruschetta

 Main course including their very good homemade sausage


P.S Bocca di Lupo is the big brother establishment to Gelupo. See previous post.

Wednesday 20 February 2013

grenson brogues


Last Summer I lived in my Gap nude leather ballet flats. They went with everything and the thing with nude coloured shoes is that they make you seem taller than you are and for me at 5ft 3.5inches I take all the help I can get. Those nude flats are now so well worn they are in my hoarder pile, i.e. I should really chuck them away but I can't.

Having established that I need a replacement pair of nude shoes for the impending Summer I snapped up these in the January sales...a pair of nude Grenson brogues.  Grenson specialise in mens brogues and recently started making brogues for women. I got these at half price and they are truly a beautiful shoe. All handcrafted in England.. you can't get better quality than that. Once you have tried on a handmade shoe you really appreciate the craftmanship and that they really are worth the money.

For me I will wear these with my basic Summer attire which normally consists of cotton shirts, Summer dresses, denim shorts or cropped rolled up chino pants. I can't wait.

However today I wore them with the following pieces.

Whistles Nick Shirt (last year)

M&S Black Jeggings


Topshop Bolt and Cord Necklace (still available)

Mulberry Alexa


Tuesday 19 February 2013

a classic time piece

Since the battery on my men's Seiko chronograph steel watch stopped about three years ago I have unsuccessfully been relying on my Blackberry. I have had my Seiko for 11 years and wore it during a time when oversized watches were not as popular as they are now. After a long time of wearing something significantly chunky on my wrist I felt like a change. Something a bit more chic and I also wanted to get a new watch that was timeless that I could wear for a very long time to come.

After establishing a budget of what I was willing to pay I decided on doing research and narrowed it down to the Cartier Tank Francaise and the Hermes Cape Cod. In fact I have been lusting after the Francaise for a number of years.  So I went to Bond Street and did some investigating. I tried on the Francaise Tank and the Galbee but though both beautiful in their own right I just felt they were a bit too flash and ladylike for me. I almost felt that I needed to be forty years old to wear one as they are very elegant timepieces and too be honest I am not elegant.


Cartier Tank Francaise


 Cartier Santos Galbee


I then turned my intention to the Hermes Cape Cod with a single strap. Nice watch but I couldn't justify the price of this watch considering that Hermes reputation is with leather goods and not timepieces. If I had unlimited amounts of cash I would quite happily get this watch but unfortunately I am not in such a position and though nice wasn't nice enough.


Hermes Cape Cod


Finally I turned my attention to the Cartier Tank Solo.  I love this watch for the simplicity in the design. It comes in three sizes and I chose the large size. It comes in small, large and extra large. Its lightweight and if I wanted I could replace the leather strap with a stainless steel bracelet strap. Personally I like the leather strap and eventually I will replace the black strap with a brown strap. The watch is also secured with a deployment buckle which makes it easy to put on.


Cartier Tank Solo
 
 

I got my watch from Harrods in Terminal 5 at Heathrow tax free and also before Cartier increase their prices which is anytime now.

Monday 18 February 2013

gelupo

I love food and I know living in London I am spoilt with the choice available to me. However one of the favourite places that my OH and I love to go is Gelupo. Gelupo is a gelateria that sells the most delicious kind of gelato that I have ever tasted including gelato in Italy.

The gelato is different in that they make it with milk instead of cream where possible. By keeping the fat content low and using a special freezing method the gelato is dense, intense and not too sickly creamy. 

The thing that we love most about Gelupo is the choice of flavours of both gelato and sorbets. On average there are 5 flavours of each available any given time. The flavours include mint (amazing), ricotta, coffee and honey, clementine, rhubarb crumble, rice, blood orange, rose, hazelnut, candied chestnut, coronation chicken (yes you read correctly), espresso, bergamont, pistachio etc the list goes on. Actually after trying to remember the flavours we have tried it is safe to assume we go to this place way to much.

Anyway we love this place and I highly recommend to any tourist to London to visit.









Sunday 17 February 2013

i'm back....

and I know I have been away for a long time.  Last year went by so fast and only now I feel I can really start to get back into this blog.

So since the last time I wrote I have got engaged. He asked me on New Year's Eve and  I know this sounds cliched but it was a surprise....a nice surprise. I chose the ring as he felt that he would never be able to choose a ring that I would like. Not that romantic and confirmation that I am picky ;) but I appreciate the gesture of picking my own engagement ring. So I chose an emerald cut antique ring from the Victorian period. I like old things.



We had talked previously to the proposal of what type of wedding we would like. Both introverts we definitely knew we wanted something simple, fuss free and quiet. To be honest if we had it our way we would just elope but I don't think our mothers would appreciate that ;)

We are also not religious and a church was therefore not an option. I had always wanted to get married at Chelsea Old Town Hall in Kensington. There they have the iconic steps and the arched window above the door that have appeared on some many photos that I had seen.

So we are booked to get married this Summer. Exciting.

Chelsea Old Town Hall