pre festive party shopping with Stella & Dot
A life full of work, London meetings, school pick-ups, after school activities and racing up to Staffordshire from Bucks and back for my father recently, has taken its toll on the old social life – I literally hadn’t seen any of my friends for ages, so what better excuse for a coffee morning than a Stella & Dot coffee morning…no seriously…how could it be more perfect….cakes, friends and jewellery - need I say more?
We all need to make time for our friends, they’re so important and I love mine to pieces. Which is why I was so pleased we had our little jewellery gathering at a friend’s house the other day. I walked away from this little party with a few fab Christmas gifts for my family and a smile…happy festive days…
one more post about shoes before Christmas…oh go on!
Emma Bag £395
I can’t help it, I seem to be on some sort of ‘Shoe/Bag-Roll’, but because it’s rather cold and slightly grey and dark I thought, you know what, its time for another shoe fix…
So off I trotted to the fabulous L K Bennett offices on Cavendish Square in London the other week for a wee nosey at all their lovely new Spring Summer 2013 styles.
I was impressed, not just by the amazing lady who cut my profile with a teeny pair of scissors and some black paper, (not sure what this is called, but it’s flippin impressive…actually what is it called when someone stands at the side of you and cuts your profile? Answers in my comments box please), but for the STUNNING shoes for our forthcoming season – 2013 sees us utterly spoilt for choice for gorgeous footwear – wave bye bye to silly porn heels, say hello to true, chic shoe style – yes my friends, FINALLY its time to walk into a shoe shop and depart without tottering like some shameless elderly drunk WAG down some dodgy Cobbled Street….in the dark…wearing sunglasses…you get the picture! Feast your eyes on these beauties from the L.K.Bennett SS13 Collection…YUMMMMMYYYY:
lets raise a glass to the great man himself…Manolo Blahnik
Have I ever told you how much I love Manolo Blahnik shoes? No? Well maybe this may explain why:
Some may think the above is a large collection of Manolo Blahniks, it is, but not as vast as others- my addiction is timid in comparison. I adore Manolo Blahnik’s shoes, he’s a genius and a well connected one at that. So I was absolutely delighted to hear Manolo Blahnik CBE received the Outstanding Achievement Award at this year’s British Fashion Awards. This special award celebrates and recognises one designer, who throughout their career, has made an impact on the global fashion industry.
With a career spanning almost 40 years, Manolo Blahnik is one of the world’s most influential footwear designers and has been British Fashion Awards Accessory Designer of the Year three times in 1990, 1999 and 2003. He completely deserves this award and on behalf of others who have the same love/addiction for his designs, may I raise a glass and salute this great man….CHEERS…
Ruby Rhubarb Childrenswear
I’ve been helping a lovely girl Carmen, with an illustration for her new business Ruby Rhubarb – she hand makes these fab hugs, (a genius idea, as they’re scarves that actually stay on and keep little necks warm) – which are absolutely adorable, along with lots of other lovely pieces for children – visit her website to see all her lovely latest pieces or ‘Like’ her on Facebook x
time for an Autumn fashion fix…
Sam Edelmen Frances Glitter Heeled Pumps
It’s been a funny old time of late what with the dark weather and all that, so thought I’d throw a little Autumn fashion out there to uplift otherwise slightly damp spirits. What better to lift the mood than a pair of gorgeous sparkly shoes teamed with a few amazing pieces by some of my favourite labels, clearly from the ultimate boutique outside the M25 – Plume…
I’ve had a chat about Plume before, owned by Gemma Fox (who weirdly used to work at the same non pc advertising agency that I did way back in 1998…random) and who owns Blankit Knitwear which she will be selling at the Living North Fair, well anyway, she went onto much greater things, eventually styling for fabulous magazines such as Easy Living and Marks & Spencer. She now offers her own Personal Styling service – she’s good at this, because I thought I could do it myself, but she just goes and throws a belt in the mix or something you’d think would look awful…then all of a sudden…tadaaa…something not as awful as originally thought…in fact rather lovely!
So to illustrate her powers of the style, I’ve included myself as the model here…I know I don’t look like Kate, and without sounding too narcissistic (says the ‘me’ blogger!), you can see that what she chose for me were pretty on the fashion mark…
By Malene Birger Astria Dress black £229, Day Birger Et Mikkelsen Hammered gold collar £49, Sam Edelman Frances Glitter pumps £125
Almost Famous Floral Velvet dress £145, Sam Edelman shoes as before
Day Birger Et Mikkelsen Velvet Bliss dress £245, Day Birger Et Mikkelsen Antique Sparkle necklace £109, Olga Berg Minaudiere weave clutch £55, Sam Edelman shoes as before
- Hoss Intropia Water mark glitter dress black £289, By Malene Birger Oreck Earrings £29, shoes as before
Rutzou Feather choker in slate £79, Day Birger Et Mikkelsen Sara Lane hammered gold cuff £29, shoes as before and Gemma Fox, (who is not for sale…any more!)
Modelling really isn’t my thing…at all…but hope you can see how lovely some of Gemma’s pieces are on me…there…I feel much better already!!
harvest time…
It was Harvest Festival today and my 6 yr old was singing at our local church, so we popped along to a lovely little Sunday Service to celebrate the Summer Harvest, which, lets be honest, has been a little lacking due to all that rain, (my apples are non-existent). Apart from the obvious that we should be grateful for the sheer quantity and choice of food we have in the Western World, we should also think of the farmers who bring it to us. This time of year always makes me a bit emotional, especially yesterday when I visited my mum, who is currently going through a very difficult time with Dad…
Dad was a brilliant farmer based in Staffordshire, he strolled across his beloved fields with his dogs every day, checking how his crops were growing, direct where the crops would grow, pioneer the latest farming techniques, at the same time setting the men on and doing general work that most would consider a HUGE effort – these were the lengths Dad would go to to make sure the crops were perfect and the harvest was on time.
He has since retired and now moved from the farm with mum to a smaller residence, which he needed to do, as he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s in 1993. This is why he is currently in hospital – after a lot of falls over the past few weeks, he was finally taken to Stafford General. Seeing my father who was once such a strong, powerful gentleman, sitting helplessly hunched by his bed, spoon fed by a nurse completely breaks my heart. Mum has been absolutely amazing with her unconditional care for him, forgoing a social life and capturing just snippets of her ever growing grand-children…
Before I went to see him though, I went for an 8 mile run around my childhood home in the morning – it was absolutely stunning and I took a few pics…
my childhood playground
xx
love a wedding
Who doesn’t love a wedding…? Well for those of you who do, I want to show off the one I recently attended for my beautiful friend Emily in Bristol. The reason for this … maybe a) Em is one of my most closest friends and she created a stunning wedding and b) my children were bridesmaids, so there’s no escape really.
I could tell you all about how these two met, but doubt anyone has a day to read a blog about their incredible adventures, I’m sure the pics say far more – I will say this though, it shows how strong love can be sometimes when a couple will fly around the world for each other, finally making their home in Colorado – love you both so much and wishing you an amazing future together xxxx
Finding the perfect dress in New York
wedding of the year
