Tomorrow I will be participating in the Bloggers Day of Silence for the disaster relief effort in Japan.
Please donate whatever you can to help the relief effort.
My thoughts are with the people of Japan and their families around the world.
Showing posts with label lifestyle. Show all posts
Showing posts with label lifestyle. Show all posts
For Japan With Love - #Japan
17.3.11My thoughts are with the people of Japan and their families around the world.
Not Just Fashion - Favourite Finds - #FaveFinds
4.3.11Happy Friday everyone!
Here's my round up of the coolest things I found on the web this week.
I'm really trying to embrace the whole thrifting culture. Sally shares some great tips in this post
No trip to London is complete without a trip to Liberty (especially at Christmas - they have the most amazing decorations you can ever imagine!) A great selection of beautiful silk scarf designs are shown here
As anyone I know, I'm a worry wort. I'm even the first to admit it. This was purely just some advice for myself, and made me smile!
These cool leggings also made me smile. By QooQoo Fashion on Etsy, you can get your very own anonymous bear leggings right here
Some great shots of the Balmain A/W 2011 catwalk collection are shown here. I LOVE this embellished mini-dress. How glorious is this seventies disco style piece
I loved this colourful blog post, showcasing the amazing colour clashing trend for Spring. I can't wait to shake off the winter jacket and start wearing some of these colours!
I don't have an iPad (yet! As I keep telling the hubby!) but the new snap on covers are a great addition, they double as a stand and come in some fab colours to match your Spring outfit!
How amazing are these Jean-Michel Cazabat boots? They are the perfect mix of feminine and tough. I want a pair!
Like 'A Pair and A Spare,' I've been eying up the oversized zip clutch on all the street style blogs. I'm so intrigued to see how the DIY went
How amazing is this structural 'naked' shoe by Andreia Chaves?
I'm such a huge fan of hand lettering. This invitation by Bernadette Pascua is exquisite
This is a great review of the pop up boutique by Colette & Chanel. The illustrations are so quirky and bring a unique sense of fun to the boutique. I love it!
This Just Made My Entire Week!
Ta da da! Bloglovin for iPhone!
I've been waiting for this app for ever! Blogloving is my absolute favourite blog feed reader. I can't wait to try it out on iPhone.
Will let you know how it goes!
Not Just Fashion - Favourite Finds - #FaveFinds
Well, it's Friday again (yippee) so it's time for my weekly round up of all the nice things I've found on the web this week.
Enjoy and have a fantastic weekend!
If there is only one thing you check out on the web this week, it has to be this absolutely stunning Canadian Winter Wedding photo shoot
A bit of a read, but a great insight into the development of fashion in the online world and a debate over whether this is a good thing or not
This is a great portal for young British fashion and accessory designers trying to break into the mainstream. There are some fantastic pieces for sale on this site.
I couldn't resist this link. How cute are these personal S'mores making stations? Mmm... Delicious!
My favourite LFW show, Mary Katrantzou's collection. This is a great review of the show
Check out these beautiful travel-inspired invitations. The colour palette is fantastic
Such a cute idea, interconnecting cutlery. This really makes a statement to your place setting
This is a fantastic read for anyone interested in pattern design
I'm desperate to sort out our spare room to make a little office space for myself. I love this cupboard office, and it's great that you can shut the office at the end of the day and forget about work!
I love this leather jacket. This will definitely be a Spring purchase for me
My Issues With Shapewear
10.2.11Shapewear is always something I’ve been afraid of. I always imagine it being something grannies wear, like underneath skirts...
I also saw it as a sign of defeat. surely I should really be more closely monitoring my diet and exercising more instead of resorting to an incredibly tight piece of elastic to hold everything in.
But the celebs you see on the red carpet must be wearing shapewear. Look at Kim Kardashian in this gorgeous Vera Wang dress. She has to be rocking some serious lycra based outfit under there? Or perhaps she didn’t eat for days...
I have previously owned a pair of pull-in pants, that I wear on the ‘fat’ days we all have, but is there anything else out there. I’m going on a mission to find the perfect shapewear. It has to be pretty too, I don’t want to look like I”m wrapped in surgical bandages.
I’m actually loving the look of this Body Wrap slip. I wonder if it’s any good.
The main problem I have with finding shapewear is I have a bigger bust so I have to go for a bigger overall size shapewear, which then doesn’t actually hold anything in around the important stomach/hip/thigh area.
Perhaps I need something more like this high waisted thong from La Senza (although it is sure to be crippling around the rear nethers!)
My Catalogue Obsession
29.1.11
Thursday and Friday are huge flyer delivery days. Toward the end of the week our newspaper is plonked outside our door, sending Jurassic Park style ripples through my bedside glass of water. I almost needs a fork life truck to pick the newspaper up on these days! I love this time of the week, ever since I was a child I loved the day when a new catalogue hit the doorstep. Be it the Next catalogue, Freeman's’, or even the new edition of the Argos catalogue, I wasn’t fussy, I just knew I had to be the one to open the pages first. I would whisk these catalogues out of the sight of any family member who may have been prowling and run straight up to my bedroom with it in my clammy little hands. There’s nothing better than hearing the crackle of the static as the pages are opened for the first time, and when that first waft of the sickly paper scent hits your nostrils, you know it’s an exciting time of year.
I love the start of a new season, and catalogues have always been an indicator of this for me. Spring/Summer or Autumn/Winter, it’s an excuse to completely restyle yourself by dragging out old faithfuls from your wardrobe and pairing them with new trends. I will mentally tick off everything in the catalogue I want, no turning down of corners for me, I want to keep the catalogue pristine!
Today, however, 20 year on. One of the flyers was from Sears. Instead of the front cover being adorned with fitness great and half price treadmills as I've become accustomed to over the past few weeks, I was confronted with images of women in swimsuits and suitcases.
I stopped in shock.
Now, I know I've been wishing winter away since November, but am I actually ready to don a swimsuit yet? Erm, no! I whizzed through all the prep that needed to be done to prepare myself for summer, exfoliating, moisturising, hair cut, pedicure, manicure. Clearly my chewed down nails won’t cut a week in the sun. But in all reality I should be already in full summer prep
Actually I should exfoliate and moisturise all year, but I just want to wrap up in my bath robe in winter, and really I don’t think I’ve even seen my own toes without socks or tights for the last four months so the pedicure has definitely gone out of the window!
We were hoping to escape ‘down south’ (I still can’t get the hang of that phrase) for a week at the end of March, and from a rushed glance at my calender this morning, that’s only 7 weeks away!
Can I be beach ready in only 7-weeks?
I think I better start trying!
20% Off Your First Custom Design!
11.2.10For 10% off your first order, or 20% off your first CUSTOM order, please email me with the code, STRAWSAVE before 1 March 2010.
Thanks so much!
FREE NEW DESIGN: Handbag Notelets
10.2.10Show off your fashion sense with these handbag notelets... Get this one free!
Printable PDF link here.
NEW DESIGN: Stylish Business Card
Looking for something different to showcase your business? Don't shy away from colour, embrace it!
Calling card inspiration
9.2.10Looking at some inspiration for a range of calling cards I am designing... Simply beautiful. I'm really loving the square format.
NEW DESIGN: Just4U Card
A simple design for a greetings card that pays homage to all us designers who are used to creating print ready files and looking at all those print registration marks!
NEW DESIGN: Mid-Day Crisis
8.2.10I know i tend to have a mid-day crisis around 3pm every day! This is often cured by a large cup of coffee and a donut, but now you can celebrate these time by proudly displaying this poster!
NEW DESIGN: I Love London
5.2.10A special way to show your love for your favourite city, is this cute I love London design... London not your favourite city? Then send me suggestions and I will create a new design showcasing your No.1 city.
Guest Blog Post - Kind over Matter
2.2.10I'm guest blogging today for the wonderful Amanda and Jenn of Kind over Matter.
You can check out my post and printables for a amazing Valentine's on a budget here.
Thanks Amanda and Jenn for making me feel so at home!
The iPad in 106 words
27.1.10Apple's new product, launched today, marks a new era in technology. The iPad, whether you think the name is the worst ever, or if you think it is no use when you already have an iPod and a iPhone, will successfully cross the bridge of the void between your cumbersome laptop and your 'just too small to type comfortably' iPhone.
I'm excited to see this in the flesh and check out the public response to its launch. With an average of 800 tweets every 30 seconds on the trending topic #iPad on Twitter you can see Apple have once again taking over the social media world.
I'm excited to see this in the flesh and check out the public response to its launch. With an average of 800 tweets every 30 seconds on the trending topic #iPad on Twitter you can see Apple have once again taking over the social media world.
The Return to Work Trend
6.1.10
It's a strange thing, being back at work after a couple of weeks off. The only redeeming factor in the whole back to work situation is that everyone is the same boat after being out of the office over the holidays. It's different when you return from a vacation, then you're on your own. You're the only one that feels the holiday blues, you look around the office seeing smug grins on everyones faces and you can tell that they are pleased that you are back from your vacation. They don't have to hear your 'I'm off on holiday soon' conversations any more, as you slump behind your computer, your sun tan fading in the glow of the screen, you bring up the internet browser and head straight for Expedia.
Hey, if there's a flight seat sale on, it would be rude not to book another trip... Right?
This year has been doubly hard for me getting back into the swing of normality. I did the now regretful thing of combining a vacation with Christmas and boy has the return to work hit me hard. I have both post-Christmas blues and post-vaction blues too.
The first day back to work is always OK, you're still quite rested from a fortnight of lie-ins and binge eating and it's good to see everyone again, show off your new clothes you got for Christmas, and catch up with their holiday stories. You (almost) feel motivated for the year ahead.
Then, 2 p.m. hits. You've missed your afternoon nap and things are getting tough. You reach for a double shot of coffee hoping that this can get you through the final three hours of work. By 5 p.m., the office is deserted. We can't hack these 9 hour days any longer, how will we make it through the rest of the year?
Tuesday flies by pretty quickly. You are in a sort of trance, typing away but not really concentrating on the task at hand. You sort of resign yourself to the fact that you have to be at work. You're grateful for having a job in these tough economic times, yes, but you are secretly wishing the snow would start to fall so you can make a swift exit a few hours early.
So, on Wednesday the first thing you find yourself doing when you get into work is hitting the search engines for any last minute breaks, when you come to your senses you go and stand next to the person in the office with the dreadful cold, anything for a few days off work snuggled up under a blanket watching daytime TV.
Now, as I've discovered after living in Canada for nearly a year, Wednesday is classed as 'hump day' (this means something entirely different from what I originally thought!) Hump day is so called because it means you have reached the mid-point of the week, and surely things will get better from here on!
Just a minute I have an email from TravelZoo... Ooh, flights to Vegas from $80... Let me look...
No, STOP! I need to save money, I have no holiday days left at work. I'm stuck with it, so concentrate on that spreadsheet.
By Thursday you're busy planning the weekend.
I'm going to sleep for 48 hours solid...
...Knowing full well that you won't! The main problem with returning to work after the Christmas break is that everyone wants the first week to be relatively easy on them. Clients don't start sending work through until the following week as they too just want to hide away. You begin the countdown to the weekend, and then...
Friday is the day! Everyone will trounce into the office with a little bounce in their step. It's I DON'T CARE FRIDAY! The most precious day of the week, and come 5 p.m... you have a mini vacation of two whole glorious days!
And them on Monday, everything magically is back to normal. Getting up in the morning is slightly easier, the working day doesn't seem as painful...
...You want to know why?
Because it's only 126 days until your next vacation! You can start a new countdown!
For all those in the UK who are enjoying 'snow days' for their first week back, next week will be like this for you... and we'll have all recovered and be back to normal!
pantone colour of the year 2010
8.12.09pantone announced their colour of the year for 2010 today...
pantone 15-5519 - turquoise
this is a beautiful shade, something i think we will be seeing a lot of over the next 365 days!read more about it here
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