Double Denim

I’ve never had the urge to try out double denim  even when it enjoyed a revival on the catwalks and could be seen on every high street across the world. It’s hideous! Britney and Justin did not help the case….

… but then I saw this…

Well if it’s good enough for John Lennon,…. And it’s 70s which I’m sure you’ll have noticed is everywhere at the moment. So I thought I’d try out double denim, the legendary way. I had to borrow my sister’s round sunglasses to get the look just right but have since bought my own from Topshop and you get a free snazzy case.

Starting with wide leg blue jeans that should be in every woman’s wardrobe and cowboy boots which are everywhere at the moment too….

…. I added my New York City T shirt bought on a trip to New York a few years ago. (Yes I did buy it because of John Lennon.)

Still not exactly a fan but you can’t go wrong with blue jeans and a white t shirt. Classic! How do you do double denim?

My First Time

I was looking through my pictures and came across the ones of my first attempt at being a fashion blogger. The theme I was going for was a 1950s drive-in cinema. The photos are ridiculous but that’s not going to stop me putting them up here.

I should be telling you where you can buy what I’m wearing or at least where to get something similar but I’m a bad blogger and you are probably better at online clothes shopping than I am.

The Butterfly House – Wisley Gardens

The first dry bright sunny Saturday of the year was glorious. It was not to be wasted indoors but spent out in the open with the option to seek shelter and hide when the sun inevitably faded. A giant glass house filled with fluttering butterflies at Wisley Gardens offered the best option.

You know that moment when you turn up to an event and there’s someone there wearing the exact same outfit as you?  It happened to me in the butterfly house…

I got my outfit from Topshop but I didn’t realise that Caterpillar does more than just steel-capped boots.   

The butterflies will be around till 9 March 2014 so get down there asap although I’m reliably informed that they do return each year if you miss them.

Outside the sun was still shining.It was a bit chilly outside compared to the hot and steamy butterfly house so I put on my military jacket (from H&M) and my aviators for the first time in 2014. Accessories in blue and gold…

If you ever do visit Wisley Gardens you must try this honey and nut tart in the restaurant. They really didn’t skimp on the nuts.It was really awesomely good with a cup of tea…..

Hold on to your Hats and Kites

‘The celebrated Mr. Kite
Performs his feat on Saturday at Bishopsgate’

Change Bishopsgate to Ally Pally and we have a perfect description of last weekend. It was so windy in London that my sister and I decided it would be the perfect opportunity for a couple of first timers to fly a kite. We headed to the nearest biggest hill to make it easier for ourselves, as if the gale force winds already blowing weren’t enough. Instead of seeing seasoned pros laugh at us at Hampstead Heath we headed to Alexandra Palace.Thankfully we were the only ones with a kite so if all went terribly wrong there’d be no witnesses. I prepared the kite in the car having bought it from Toys R Us thirty minutes before.

To go with my Power Rangers kite, I wore Topshop jeans, Burberry wellington boots, my thickest, warmest coat newly purchased from the Topshop sale (similar here) and a fur hat from Portobello market was definitely required. Finishing preparations on site…

I was expecting to have to run around like a headless chicken but the wind helped our amateurish kite flying skills look intentional.

Even the sun came out to play which has been a rare sight this year.

The ground was still quite sodden in parts so an outing for the wellies was a must.

Look at the concentration on my face…

Then things calmed down and it was a breeze (breeze, see what I did there)…I even managed to multi-task. Flying a kite and striking a pose…Flying a kite like a BOSS…

Here’s proof the kite really did fly…..And it was me controlling it.

By the end we were chilled to the core so there was nothing left to do except….Warm up with a hot chocolate…and one helluva piece of cake.Chocolate hangover cake to be exact at Coffee and Cake in Crouch End. Three layers of chocolate cake sandwiched with chocolate ganache, covered in marzipan and re-coated in another layer of ganache.

 Coffee cake – chandeliers and cake in the window

 

 

FFW: Frimley Fashion Week

It’s London Fashion Week!

Very soon all the magazines will be filled with who was on the FROW and what they were wearing. Well a few months ago I was lucky enough to be on the FROW too. It wasn’t quite the front row in London nor was it Paris or Milan. It was Frimley.

The event was organised by the KatCanDo charity, which you may remember also organised the baking tutorial by Jo Wheatley. The clothes were supplied by Travelling Trends who are experts in the charity fashion show field. The collection has a mixture of classic and fashionable lines to suit ladies of all ages, shapes and most sizes. The labels had all been cut out which turned into a bit of fun as we all still managed to shout out where they were from.

We were even encouraged to feel the clothes as the models walked past.

Grand Canyon // Hoover Dam

There were two especially painful mornings in Vegas; one after our night at XS nightclub and the other where we had to get up with the sun to catch our flight to see the Grand Canyon.

We were picked up from our hotel and taken to the airport to board our 18-seater jet. On board we donned our headphones and listened to the guided sightseeing tour.We flew over Hoover Dam and Lake Mead.The flight was just over an hour and took us to a whole different state where they say things like ‘ya-hoo’. Our tour guide did at least although I suspect it was for the benefit of us tourists.

The Grand Canyon everyone, ya-hoo!As you can see I dressed appropriately for the occasion in my cowboy hat. Can I get another ya-hoo!

Everything in America is grand. For example here is the biggest fly I have ever seen….and the biggest grey squirrel I have ever seen

.

There were signs all over the place warning us not to feed the squirrels as they can get vicious. This guy was either brave or stupid.

I stood well away and instead slid down a little crevasse to get to this vantage point. I edged ever closer to the edge with very wobbly legs. I screamed at my sister to hurry up and take the picture which echoed through the canyon. So did her reply.

This is the closest I got to the edge. It looked a lot closer from where I was standing.

I was expecting a life changing experience judging by what other people had said about their trips to the Canyon. It was…. alright. It was definitely big but so is everything in America. Glad I ticked it off my list but nothing to write home about.        

Sunday Night Sushi

Is there anything better than driving into Central London and parking up directly outside your favourite shops? No waiting for cabs, tubes or buses. Plus you don’t have to carry around your shopping bags all day. It’s a treat reserved only for Sundays.

After strolling around the shops till closing one particular Sunday, we made our way back to the car to drop off our bags. I did my best Ziggy Stardust impression along the way.

sequin tartan trousers, furry jumper, grey leather biker jacket, Jeffrey Campbell, Prada handbag

We decided to drive instead of walk the few streets to Nobu. One of the benefits of bringing the car along. Nobu is the hottest ticket in town for Japanese food. It’s trendy. It’s cool. It’s fancy pants. It’s expensive. But you can expect to bump into any number of celebrities. It was my sister’s birthday after all.

Arriving a little early for our reservation we started with a quick drink downstairs.

 I chose my drink purely for the bottle it came in.

The menu was a maze and we had no idea what to order but our helpful waitress guided us through and suggested that 4-5 dishes would be enough for the two of us.

Our first dish that arrived was probably the best, the delicious crispy rice with spicy tuna with yuzu sauce for dipping…

Then came the tiger prawn tempura with jalapeno sauce (my favourite), creamy spicy sauce and more yuzu sauce. Simple but definitely a must if you like sweet succulent prawns.

Quickly followed by soft shell crab Kara-age with Ponzu sauce.

Mushroom tempura

 Then came the reason why we picked Nobu, the black cod den miso. Sweet, salty and a little slimy in a good way. Make sure you practice your chopstick technique.

Finally the Wagyu beef gyoza which were crispier than expected.

We were still a little hungry and couldn’t resist ordering a little sushi before dessert. After all sushi isn’t fattening is it? I chose the eel and cucumber while my sister opted for salmon skin roll. I loved their little soya sauce pots. A tip: eat each piece in one go. it just makes a mess otherwise.

Now we were properly ready for dessert. My sister’s chocolate tart arrived adorned with a special message and a spectacle. A chocolate shell that melted after pouring hot chocolate sauce over to reveal a delicious sake kasu ice cream.

I had dragon eyes this time for the name!! I’m such a shallow orderer. I must have consumed it before I could get a proper picture but you can just about see it in the above picture.  It went down pretty easy!

The loos were good too. Elemis hand wash and lotion get the thumbs up.

Caesar’s Palace Buffet

“This isn’t the real Caesar’s palace, is it?” – Alan Garner, The Hangover

After a little more than a full day in Las Vegas, the film the Hangover already made a lot more sense such as the giant plastic yard cups that everyone constantly drinks from, the beaded necklaces that are handed out willy-nilly and the minibar weight sensors.

Our second day started with a short walk to Caesar’s palace for their breakfast buffet and even after the epic birthday celebrations the day before, Vegas did not cease to impress.  There were stations upon stations of all kinds of food from sweet muffins and crepes to beef briskets, pizzas and Chinese food. There was an incredible amount of choice! I tried chicken and waffles and shrimp and grits among practically everything else. We tried a couple of other buffets such as the Bellagio and Wynn during the holiday but nothing compared to Caesars. Most definitely highly recommended!

After breakfast we couldn’t venture too far with our full stomachs so stayed in the air conditioning. We took a walk around Caesar’s & its shops and had our first taste of slot machines. We had no idea what we were doing with them.

Best Birthday Ever (At) Las(t) Vegas

I am finally getting around to putting up pictures from my August trip to Las Vegas. I’m determined to get them up before the new year. Call it a presolution.

The holiday marked the transition from my 20s into my 30s. It didn’t get off to a great start which meant I travelled on my actual birthday. This turned out to be a blessing in disguise as, instead of the usual 24, I had 32 hours of birthday fun & people forcing themselves to be nice to me.

0100hrs – Double check we’ve managed to check-in online.

0700hrs – The morning began with a rose & lychee Victoria sponge cake for breakfast 

before seeing this odd sight on the way to the airport.

1130hrs – Aboard the plane, I tirelessly watched film after film and it wasn’t long till we landed in Vegas baby! A top tip: I overcame my embarrassment and eventually pinned on my giant ‘I’m 30 today’ badge on the plane which explained all the extra special attention I received. We even got a room upgrade when we checked into our hotel. If only I had put it on earlier there could have been a seat upgrade on the flight!

2200hrs – I unpacked my birthday cards and drank in the refreshing view from the hotel room. The celebrations then continued as we got ready for my big birthday dinner atop the Eiffel tower watching the Bellagio fountains dance.

2600hrs – We timed dinner perfectly to watch the sun set and the strip light up. 

2800hrs – My clever sister arranged a little extra special birthday surprise which arrived as she handed over her home-made birthday card.

2802hrs – Scoffing cake like it’s my birthday…

2804hrs – Dessert was ceremoniously devoured in minutes…

2900hrs – Full from dinner we stepped into the bright lights of the strip for the first time as we made our way to the Mirage hotel. Being a huge fab four fan, there was only one way to round off the day. We watched The Beatles  Cirque du Soleil show, Love.

3100hrs – After the show we were starting to flag but I managed a wander around the Love souvenir shop and couldn’t resist buying something if only for the paper bag it came in.

3156hrs – We made our way back to our hotel but there were still a few minutes to midnight so we filled them with a photo opportunity outside Wynn waterfall.

3200hrs – Although it was early by Vegas standards I couldn’t stay awake any longer and headed up to the room…

changed into the very cosy dressing gown…

got into bed and cuddled my new blue meanie wondering what the next few days held in store.

 

O’ Brother Where Art Thou?

I’ve always considered myself to be a tomboy almost to the point of removing the tom and being a real boy. I would never be seen wearing a dress or a skirt. I studied a male-dominated subject and played football at University. Since moving out of the family home things have changed. I have far too many shoes for one lifetime and I have the bags to match. What happened? I put this down to not having my brother around to make fun of me everytime I do something girly. So to re-address the balance I went in search of masculinity. I went to see my mate‘s new motorbike.

I’m not going to tell you what I’m wearing but what I’m riding: a 350cc Piaggio Beverly. I didn’t really drive it myself but rode pillion as that was scary enough. Although I have now put ‘get a bike licence’ on my things to do before I’m 30 list.

Ok, ok I am going to tell you what I’m wearing. Grey racer vest: H&M, floaty top: Topshop (last summer), Leggings: TK Maxx (they could be ski leggings), Shoes: J Campbell replicas from Simmi.

Oh and the bag is my new purchase from Prada. Talking of which, does anyone want to help me get rid of my remaining store credit at P?

Now where did I put my cojones?