Blue Suede Who?

Forget stepping on my blue suede shoes, this month I'm jealous of anyone owning a pair of Topshops latest beauties. Yes, out with the blue suede and in with these blue velvet chelsea boots (pictured below). They are amazing and sit top of my Christmas list...ahem, size 5 please!

Tight situation

For some people it's jeans, for others it's their pants. For me, it's tights. The main issue is that they either never fit, or they rip extremely easily. Why say opaque if they clearly aren't opaque once stretched over legs?! Why not allow me to return if I'm not happy with them? Why say ONE SIZE when clearly, everyone cannot possibly fit into the same par of tights comfortably? IT DRIVES ME MENTAL. Sorry, it's just that recently I've learnt the hard way to just draw a deep breath, delve in to my pocket, and splash out on a good few pairs of tights. Boots, Primark, M&S are a no go. Topshop and H&M yes please, a bit more pricey but all in all better to be happy, comfortable and poor than rich with bloody awful tights hey?! Rant over.

fully booked.

That's right, after over three years of dreaming, Amy Tray and I finally booked our round-the-world trip! We spent last weekend visiting various travel agents, getting different quotes and playing them off against each other and finally settling with Round the World Experts (they are experts after all..). So the set date is the 16th of January. Yep, just a mere 4 months away! The route goes as follows: London to Mumbai, travel around India for 5 weeks, South to North. Then from Delhi we fly to Bangkok, where we'll head to Laos for a few days first, then back to Thailand, heading down to KL, then to Singapore where we'll go on to Cairns in Oz for a month, travelling down the East Coast to Melbourne. From here we'll fly to Fiji. Yes, FIJI. Oh my god. Two weeks in paradise, then back home on the 8th of June, passing by Sydney.
I cannot quite believe that's our plan. Now for insurance, jabs, visas, camera buying, clothes sorting. Crikey, I had better get on with it. In the meantime, here's some pics of our beautiful trip..

backwaters of Kerala.

 blue buildings of Jodphur.

Ko Phi Phi, Thailand.

Petronas Towers, KL.

Sydney.

An island of Fiji.

Great Barrier Reef wildlife.

The Poppy Store.

Have a look at The Poppy Store on Soundcloud: www.soundcloud.com/thepoppystore

Lovely music by lovely people x

maxi, maxi.

 Dresses, skirts, trousers, I want them all. I can't get enough of the maxi trend.

lookbook wonderland.

lookbook has quite recently become an obsession of mine. Yes, I'm not going to lie, I look at it religiously. Yeah it's pretentious but actually a lot of the photography and styling is really inspiring and just lovely to look at. Anyway, I thought I'd put a few pics on here that I have liked enough to save on to my computer (yes, I have a folder dedicated to this on my desktop..) Have a look for yourselves here: www.lookbook.nu

lucy rose.

 From the success of the likes of folk singers Laura Marling and Emmy the Great to people like Adele, it would appear that there's a new spawn of female singer-songwriters on the block and that dance routines and miming performances are long gone from the stage. Husky voice and guitar at hand, Lucy Rose is the latest to arrive on the scene finding herself somewhere in the middle of the female indie, pop and folk genres. Still unsigned, you'll have to tune in to her myspace (http://www.myspace.com/lucyrosemusic ) or indeed head down to one of her shows to hear the impressive self-produced tracks including this incredibly catchy song Middle of the Bed:

This is out on the 8th of August as Lucy Rose's debut single! 

  

4?

So I believe number 4 of my Desert Island Disc selection would definitely be Noah and the Whale's Rocks and Daggers.  Why? Because, quite frankly, it's SUCH a good song.

Hair Today....Gone Tomorrow?

I'm currently loving Alexa Chung's bob. I'm thinking I may be sporting the look myself soon! However I must wait until after Summer, as it could be a little too high maintenance for my liking, what with all the RAIN we seem to be having here this season. Sigh...

Look Who's Back

Always eager to collaborate with the top trendsetters, Liberty of London is Nike's latest partnership. And what a collaboration it is. The original Liberty Dunks was made way back in 2008 and this season sees 12 new additions to the collection. Liberty's distinctive floral textiles mixed with some of Nike's most iconic styles including the Blazer and the Dunk, have together produced some fantastically stunning styles for this summer. I personally love the Kara's Tree Print Low Nike Blazers (pictured) which have recently come into Office, much to my delight!  I think I may just have to add these to a fast growing trainer collection of my own....

Alexa for Superga

How beautiful does Alexa Chung look here?! The model/tv presenter featured in stylist last week looking absolutely stunning as the new face for super cool Italian shoe company Superga. Ah, Alexa. You really never fail to impress.

Fly away home.

I love this tattoo, I think it's so simple and so beautiful.

Eau So Fresh

These photographs are taken by celebrity photographer Juergen Teller for the lastest Daisy Marc Jacobs perfume 'Eau So Fresh'. I stumbled upon the adverts whilst reading this months Company and they instantly captured my attention. So simple yet,  the blue skies and hazy sunshine feel to the photographs are so warm and inviting. The perfume is said to be a lighter, sunnier version of the original, perfect for the upcoming spring/summer months!

3.

I feel slightly hasty in posting number three of my desert island discs so soon after the second, leaving me now with only 5 songs (5, in the entire collection of songs ever produced). Just. Five.  But here goes...
Ask me to pick one artist to listen to for the rest of my life and it would definately be Bob Dylan. He is, quite frankly, the coolest man alive. 'It's All Over Now, Baby Blue' is one of my favourite Bob Dylan songs and sits firmly at number three. This song is absolutely incredible in every way. Despite the opinions of some, I happen to think that Dylan's voice is one of the nicest I've ever heard. Moany? Drony? Nasely? Yes. But beautifully heart-warming at the same time. The lyrics, the harmonica, the guitar and the voice altogether are amazing and make me smile from the cockles of my heart. Reminding me of my childhood, my family and my friends, it is a song that makes me feel completely happy, pure and content with life. And that's why, stranded on my island with nothing but my 8 tracks, I have to have this one.

Misty Miller - Remember

This is an acoustic version of Misty Miller's song Remember that she's recorded for Burberry's channel on Youtube 'Burberry Acoustics'. It's such a sweet little song that makes me look forward to summer times. Not long now! Have a little listen for yourselves...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8UnPsLvtiA&feature=relmfu

paris.

So, Paris..I've been meaning to write this post for a long time. Well ever since getting back from the place. . You see, this city is probably one of the most wonderful I've ever been to. We were there for a total of 4 days. Travelling up on the Friday morning from Toulouse (a total of 6 hours or so on the train) we arrive in gay Paris at two in the afternoon. Plenty of time to explore. The Sacré Coeur was just around the corner from where we were staying so we headed there first. The climb up to the highest point in Paris reminded me of the ever lasting hills in San Francisco to a certain extent. From the front of the church we could see the whole of the city. Throughout the next few days we completed all the tourist attractions, The Louvre, Les Tuileries, Champs Elysées, L'arc du Triomphe, Les Catacombes and of course the Eiffel Tower. One night we went out for dinner in a sweet little French restaurant with Dominique and her nephew and wife. We did it the Parisien way. Red wine. Escargots (delicious). Veal. Real Chocolate Ice cream. Bread. More wine. Cheese. More and more wine. Every morning we were delighted to wake up to tea and croissants in this classically Parisien appartment. I think me and Eddie were very lucky to be staying with a French lady who has lived there for 50 years and wanted us to see a real side to the place. You see, the real beauty of Paris lies in amongst the small alleys and boutiques in the non touristic parts of the city. Sometimes finding ourselves lost we often found the best places to go. I cannot wait for another trip back to discover and explore the depths and secrets of this city. Everything about it is inviting and intriguing and quite simply, beautiful.

simple syrup.

Simple syrup is a collection of cards I found today 

as I perused the shelves of a quaint little card shop in 

East Dulwich this rainy Sunday afternoon. I really liked the 

little illustrations on the front and thought they were pretty clever.

2.

After much deliberation I have finally found a worthy candidate for number two in my desert island discs collection. The song Blood Bank by Bon Iver would have to sit firmly high on list as it is a beautiful song that fills me with a range of emotions. Justin Vernons voice is softly piercing that makes me feel both sad and happy at the same time. I love a song that makes you feel, whatever that may be. And thats just it, this song makes me feel an indescribable emotion. This song was shown to me by eddie so it also naturally makes me think of him. Stranded on a desert island, I would want all these emotions to arise inside me as I sat on the beach eating mangos or whatever you do on your own desert island..

Mini what?

Forget mini skirts for the sunshine, this spring summer is all about the maxi skirt. I love this outfit I found on lookbook and it makes me want a high waisted maxi skirt to team up with all my crop tops! I'm also loving this feather necklace which would go perfectly with some of the crazy patterns coming out of this seasons Aztec trend!

Supermarket Sarah

Supermarket Sarah is an online shop with a twist. Popluar with stars such as Lily Allen, the designers' website features photographs of wall collages featuring different collections from various designers. Sarah started this all in her flat and has since branched out to more public spaces from galleries to shop fronts to bars and restaurants to most recently now featuring with her own space in London's Selfridges. Here customers will be able to look at the wall collages and buy anything in view, similar to the website. The collections at Selfridges will feature designers that Sarah has featured on the website as well as new and upcoming designers as well as some vintage items thrown in there. Visually very exciting and appealing, check out the website here http://www.supermarketsarah.com/walls.php or nip down to Selfridges and have a little see for yourselves!