Alexa Chung for Madewell

Because how could I not have posted this awesome video before, and because the weather's nice, and because the collection is awesome, and because the song is lovely - ohhh... and lots of other reasons. Enjoy!

Leopard Print..

I have never really been all the interested in the stuff, until now.

I've been dreaming of certain 60s style incarnations of leopard print. I can pinpoint the blame to one infamous pair of boots - the Alexa Chung for Madewell ones (they're now sold out)

New Look have a pair of pretty cool ones too - I was tempted to buy them over the weekend as they have been reduced to the shockingly low price point of £19.99. I am still wondering whether I should buy them as I can't help but be suspicious of a pair of boots that low in price - I have to ask myself why are they priced so low - they're probably uncomfortable / badly made / both?
Does anyone out there own these boots / any reviews?



Oh, and I would also really like a leopard print skirt.. to wear with a thick jumper like these ladies, cool huh?


(The photos are linked - apart from the last one which I found and am told it's a recent Marie Claire photoshoot, I would love to see the rest of the pics from the shoot if anyone has any links.. )

Autumn, welcome..

As today is the 21st September, it is officially the first day of Autumn.

I am so looking forward to it all. I love Autumn, for me it's smokey nights, bonfires, dark make-up, baked potatoes and lots and lots of nostaglia.

I like it when the nights beging to draw in and that crisp light in the morning and dewy cobwebs. It reminds me of back to school and curling up on the sofa in front of the television, awaiting all the excitement of the months ahead..

There's a World Out There..

I got back from a wonderful time in Spain at the weekend. It was a very relaxed trip. The mornings were spent exploring neighbouring old towns and the afternoons were spent swimming in the sea and hanging out at the beach.

I had almost forgotten how much I love Spain. One of the best things has to be the cafe culture and the social aspect of it all. People sit for hours in cafes talking away as friends (and strangers) seem to drift in and out of conversations and nursing a beer at 11am is perfectly acceptable; so much of the day is dedicated to social time. For the locals, 2am is the normal bedtime as evening meals begin late and drift into the small hours as there is so much gossiping to do. In high summer 6am bedtimes are taken without the blink of an eye. Undoubtedly the best fun in the world.

Having not gone on holiday in so long, I almost forgot that there's a world out there. I had bypassed travel in order to save money. I forgot how important and grounding it can be. Certainly a very important past-time which is good for expanding the mind.

Edward Sharpe and Magnetic Zeros

I can't get enough of Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros right now. (New ipod update, their album 'Up From Below' will be sound tracking my trip to Spain right now..)

I've been listening to their album a lot lately and it's really awesome. I have also been watching this video of them performing on the David Letterman show on repeat (their dancing is rad.)

A cool bunch of hippies making great music could never be a bad thing, but this makes me long for what I imagine the American mid-west to be like - (in the best possible, stereotypical way) it's all carefree days with lots of beer and starry nights; men wearing feathers and smoking pipes whilst sporting a rugged beard - scented with more Patchouli oil than you could ever wish for.

Oh, and the name Edward Sharpe comes from a story which Alex Ebert (front man) wrote whilst in a 12 step programme for addiction. The story is about the character of Edward Sharpe who 'was sent down to Earth to kinda heal and save mankind...but he kept getting distracted by girls and falling in love.'

I hope they tour in England soon.

A brief Vacaciones..

I am going on a brief holiday tomorrow, (to Spain) and I can't wait. I haven't been away for well over a year now, graduating during a time of economic uncertainty and trying to build my career as an Arts Marketer hasn't left me with an abundance of free time or money. So, I am very thankful that my parents have agreed to let me tag along on their holiday.

I'm even looking forward to the flight and turning my phone off for a few hours and not worrying about anything. I may even keep my phone turned off for the duration of the holiday -maybe.



(the summery pictures are from the Toast summer 11 catalogue, the top one is my own)

'..We've got a City to Love.. '

Check out these totally rad videos. They make me want to travel to a city and enrol in language school so much.
I love pretty much everything about these videos the typography and shots are beautiful; the music is nice - it's all very inspirational.
They will brighten your Monday morning, I promise. ♥

EF - Live The Language - Paris from Albin Holmqvist on Vimeo.

EF - Live The Language - Barcelona from Albin Holmqvist on Vimeo.

EF - Live The Language - Vancouver from Albin Holmqvist on Vimeo.

These three are my favourites, but check out more here

The Great British Bake Off

This is one of my weekly television highlights.
If you're not familiar, it's like The Apprentice, but with baking. Plus, it's infinitely more twee.

This show is pretty awesome, high risk baking in a tent with lots of Emma Bridgewater crockery. I didn't realise that so much thought went into making shortcrust pastry or ginger biscuits. I did, of course, know that macarons are exceedingly hard to make. I thought that this week most of the contestants made a pretty good go of it.

My family and I have already predicted who's going to be in the final three (as beautiful as he is, Rob is not part of that list.) Have you made your predictions yet?

Some of the contestants have blogs -

Holly - Recipes From a Normal Mum
Mary Anne - Time to Cook
Yasmin - Yasmin Limbert
Jason - Preheat the Oven
Jo - Jo's Blue Aga (tres cool blog background.)Rob does not yet have a blog - but he has twitter - @robertbillingto

(The bottom two beautiful photos are from The Boy Who Baked, Edd Kimber's blog, (he's the guy who won last year.)
My own baking efforts can be found over here, at Girls Who Like to Gorge.

The Playroom...

This little room has gone through a number of transformations over the years. When me and my sisters were little it was filled to the brim with toys and craft materials. Now it is a much more subdued space which is mostly used for reading in or watching television in.

It also houses my sewing machine, which I always intend to use, but invariably never do. The pictures on the cork board at the back are always changing. The fabric covered boxes house my growing my number of postcards and magazine cuttings, which I am never sure quite what to do with!

It's not quite a Lobster & Swan beauty, but it is a great place to hangout.


(The photos are my own.)

New Folky Things..

The Kindling were introduced to me as 'Bon Iver on the lash with David Bowie' ..which to me sounded awesome, and yes, they live up to this description..

I really like them, I think you will too - their sound is cloaked in melancholy which reminds me of smokey evenings in the Autumn. The sound evokes twiggy trees and walking home after the pubs close whilst wearing a tightly wrapped scarf.. mmm.

Runaway Shoes is my favourite - listen to this if you folky stuff and mellow tunes. Lovely late night listening.

Also, they're playing in London in September and I fully intend to check out their show in Hoxton...


(Check out The Kindling here - pictures are from Toast)

Kinfolk

Check out this lovely little online magazine / blog: Kinfolk - a guide to small gatherings.

It's all about entertaining - something which I have always loved doing and is one of the primary reasons why I am looking forward to getting a place of my own.


At University me and my housemates cooked dinner for one another on a daily basis. Sometimes we would sit around the table (there were probably candles on occasions and certainly wine) whereas other evenings were more relaxed and took the shape of a family supper, either way little (or indeed, large gatherings) are always lovely occasions.

Cooking for other people is really one of my very favourite things and this magazine is great for getting future 'hosting' ideas going.. what's more, the photography is stunning.


(All the photos are linked to Kinfolk )

A 'Toast' Film

I wasn't sure if I should even post this - because it is utterly self indulgent and pretentious; laughably so, though one would argue that everything Toast does is like this.
I am mostly posting it because it's called 'George in the East' which I took to mean east of England - a place which I shall forever hold dear...

It's all dramatic and draped in the kind of melancholy you only see in period dramas and old romance novels. 'George' awakes after nice night sleep to read the paper in a poignant manner and drinks her coffee from enamel mugs, writes badly and then dons layers upon layers of (expensive) knitwear to march around the coast like Cathy (Wuthering Heights.)

No matter how silly or however much we smirk at this (a lot) the shots are beautiful and I cannot resist ANYTHING which relates to the ancient county of Norfolk.. uhh.. or melodramas... or romance.. or creaky old buildings.. or the coast...



Found via Toast Travels