Put your fashion foot forward

I have a presentation tonight at the London College of Fashion, discussing a career in consulting and how it could apply to those studying Fashion and Management. Whether or not this is of interest to those students, I have no idea. But, the big thing for me wasn't what I was going to say - it was what I was going to wear.

A quick trolley dash down Oxford Street resulted in this...

Terrible photo of me and my room!

Anyway, the jumper is the Annie Sparkle Crew, £65 from Whistles.
Skirt is the Summer Shower Skirt, £110 from Whistles. (both available here)
Worn with my kitten heeled 'Vamp' shoes from Zara (see this post).

Usually I'm not a fan of spending this much on one or two items, BUT, there are two offers you can take advantage of:

1. If you have an AMEX, sync it to your foursquare account, and then 'check-in' at House of Fraser to receive £25 off any purchase over £50. (although quick as this runs out today)

2. Whistles (in store only, not concessions I believe) has 25% off with Grazia magazine. Either show the coupon in store, or if buying online, the code is "wh25ss13", so you don't even need to buy the magazine.

So, I bought the jumper in HOF (£40, saving of £25), and the skirt from Whistles (£82.50, saving of £27.50). I'm not pretending it's cheap as it still totaled £122.50, but much better than the £175 at full RRP!

A supermarket-free Lent

Even though I'm not super religious, I always give something up for Lent. Usually, it's a good reason to stop eating chocolate, or meat, or bread, or wine, in an attempt to get healthier. This year however, I've decided to give up supermarkets! So that means no Sainsbury's, Tesco, Morrison, Asda, Waitrose, M&S or Co-op. I'm allowing myself to go to the local, independent 'mini' supermarkets as I think using those still counts as contributing to the local economy.

So far, I've done two food shops. The first one, I did via Hubbub, which is an absolutely brilliant home delivery service. I think they're only based in N1 and E8 at the moment. The basic premise however is that you order your food online from a pretty good selection, and then they go to lots of different independent shops to collect it for you.

The food is always very good quality, if a little more expensive than going to a regular supermarket. They also charge £3.50 for delivery, however given that it saves you time that's really not too bad. Another great plus point is that as well as offering plenty of fresh food, they also have cleaning products, shampoo, and other household goods that I'm likely to need.

My second shop was a little more creative and I went to five (!) different shops for my weekly shop. I went to Newington Green Fruit and Vegetables, which is possibly my favourite greengrocers ever. They have a fantastic range, plenty of unusual vegetables, and also a good selection of things in jars, like capers and vine leaves. I cook a lot of food that requires unusual ingredients, but here they had tahini paste, artichokes, galangal and salsify, as well as plenty of things I couldn't identify.

My fish for the week came from a local Turkish fishmongers. I wasn't quite as impressed as although the fish appears to be good quality (I've not eaten it yet), there wasn't such a big range and it was dominated by the more standard fish types such as salmon and cod.

Other shops include the Wholefoods store (for creme fraiche and fresh soup; the latter was very expensive and so I need to find another stockist), L'entrecote for wine and Percy Ingle for bread. All in all, I spent about £30, although that includes £10 on a bottle of wine.

I'm looking forward to discovering new shops and new ingredients, although actually shopping in person is obviously quite time consuming as not only are these shops further than Sainsbury's, you have more to visit. I do like Hubbub but miss being able to choose my own food so that's not a perfect solution either. I'll keep you posted!

January pick me up

I'm supposed to be saving up for a big holiday later this year, but a gloomy January and a bored week day evening meant that my credit card took quite the battering last week! Here are my latest purchases...

Money can buy happiness (probably)

This blog has been a bit food-heavy recently, reflecting my new year's resolutions to lose weight, and also spend less money! Whoever it was that said "money doesn't bring happiness" obviously wasn't into material goods anywhere near as much as me.

However, a girl can dream, and if I had to pick my top new season buys, these would be it.

Unfortunately I highly doubt any of these will be becoming mine any time soon, except maybe the blouse, but who knows, I must be due a lottery win soon...

Sale shopping: tedious but rewarding!

After a mixed Christmas, my mum and I decided to go to the Trafford Centre for a bit of retail therapy. Apparently 90% of sale stock goes in the first 48 hours, so not wanting to miss out on the good stuff we headed on the 27th.

I was amazed at how little there was in the sales! With the exception of Zara, where the whole shop resembled a jumble sale, there just didn't seem to be a lot on offer. Whistles had a tiny sale rail, and most items were only available in one or two sizes. From speaking to the sales assistants I think we missed the best stuff the day before, but I did manage to pick up a few things.

I've not linked the items as some are no longer available online, so if you fancy any of them you'll have the brave the shops.

Wine for Christmas: an idiot proof guide

And by idiot proof, I mean that I have personally (and selflessly) tasted all of these wines. If luck will have it, I'll be tasting them all again on Christmas day too.

1. First up, and my absolute Christmas favourite, is the Bolney Wine Estate Cuvee Noir 2009.
They say: an exciting and different wine, offering the drinker a break from the norm with its lovely colour and pairs well with pates and cheeses
I say: Buy now! This is Christmas in a bottle. Not only is it unusual (it's a sparkling red wine), the fruit flavours and hint of spice will have you full of festive cheer in no time

2. For the perfect pairing with your turkey, get a nice, creamy oaky chardonnay. Like Shaw + Smith M3 Chardonnay, 2010, Adelaide Hills.
They say: The M3 shows complexity of flavour, with both youthful primary fruit and some savoury notes, and has a long and layered palate.
I say: Vanilla, toast, pear, cream, fudge, butterscotch.. all of the good things in one bottle. But man it's expensive...

3. ... so for a cheaper alternative, try McWilliam's Mount Pleasant Elizabeth Semillon 2005.
They say: Sherbety lemon, lime, passionfruit and hints of straw on the nose
I say: Easy drinking, an ideal introduction to oaked wines at a bargain price

4. For something to sip on while eating your smoked salmon canapes, try Hacienda Zorita Vega de la Reina Verdejo, 2011.
They say: An intense aroma, during the white fruit with a recall of herbs
I say: This wine is difficult to track down, but well worth it for the excellent price. And it was voted best white wine in the world 

5. Finally, the perfect mince pie accompaniment, RM Nicholson 2010 Rustenberg, Stellenbosch.
They say: Blackcurrant aroma complemented by notes of dried herbs and black pepper
I say: Rich and full bodied, exactly how I'll be feeling after Christmas dinner

Christmas shopping, one for me, one for you

Only 14 days till Christmas! Although I might not have sorted out an Advent calendar yet (and my idea of a scratch card a day was so promising too..), I have finished all my shopping. At least I think I have. I officially finished last week but then  a beautiful children's shop in Greenwich market encouraged me to buy a few more bits and bobs for the new babies in the family.

For example, these amazing finger puppets from United Ideas.

I bought a jungle animal set and "Three little pigs and the big bad wolf", which was quite possibly the best present I have ever bought. I nearly bought one for myself. 

I also managed to squeeze in a little present buying for myself, coming home with this beautiful print of the Old Royal Naval College, which also happens to be one of my favourite buildings in Greenwich.

The print was from The Flood Gallery, a fantastic boutique gallery in the heart of Greenwich.  As well as being exceptionally well priced (the above print was £20 which included a frame), they have a fantastically varied range of prints and other bits and bobs. I was tempted to buy a notebook with a dodo screen printed on the front and a mug with a fox on it. Definitely a great shop for gifts, the website doesn't do it justice.

All of this shopping was topped off by some excellent chorizo and chips from the market, and a glass of mulled wine. The perfect winter's day of shopping.

More information about Greenwich Market and the surrounding shops can be found here.

The perfect dress?

Dress with combination sash, £49.99

New Zara dress for Boxing Day, veering away from my original navy blue theme. Skims the body, decent length and a flattering colour. Pretty much perfection in a dress. Buy it here.

NB: If you find you are usually between sizes in Zara (I never know if I am a small or a medium), I would advise buying the smaller size for this particular dress.

I also picked up a pair of jeans for £19.99. Unsure how they will wash over time, but a great price. They are from the TRF diffusion line which I rarely look at, but they have some interesting pieces in at the moment, especially this tiger print dress and my favourite, this Aztec inspired dress with diamantes. Perfect for a Christmas party.

It's a (navy) blue Christmas

Every year I get something new to wear for Christmas. It's become something of a tradition. Either I ask Santa kindly for a new dress (something I have tried on and approved of course!), or I frantically scour the shops the week before, hoping to get a bargain in the sale. Inevitably, the latter tactic is usually less than successful and results in me wearing something I've already bought.

This year, I am seemingly super prepared, having bought all my Christmas presents bar one, and so that leaves more time to ensure I look my best on Christmas day. It's not like my family are competitive about who looks best on the day or anything. Not at all.

For Christmas day, I'm thinking the navy blue silk blouse (£42.99, Mango), with some very pale yellow waist pleat trousers (£79, Cos). I'll probably wear it with my nude pink pointy toed shoes from French Connection from the SS12 collection.

For Boxing day, I'd like a dress, but nothing too clingy. There needs to be room for all that Christmas buffet after all. This tunic style dress (£135, Whistles), fits the bill perfectly. Worn with slightly sheer black tights and my beige studded ankle boots, it will look casual, but with a dressier edge.

I've ordered the blouse but yet to take the plunge on the Whistles dress. £135 seems quite a lot of money for what is essentially a simple dress. I know I'll wear it lots, but just need to get over that mental barrier.

I've also realised that my outfit choices have some kind of sub-conscious nautical theme. In fact my other option for Boxing day, at a more palatable £34.99, is also navy and white!

All I want for Christmas is... homeware

I cannot wait for the day I can furnish my own house. In the mean time, here are some updates that I'd love to see in my rented flat.

1. Grid Throw, £80
2. Coloured Enamel Tumblers, £5 each
3. Coco Bowls, £10 each
4. Spine Drop Pendant, £230
5. Table lamp, £26
6. Bird Nestles Cushion, £75

All I want for Christmas is... jewellery

Who doesn't love receiving jewellery? I already have a growing collection, but surely Christmas is the ideal time to help it grow some more?

I'm torn between big, bold costume jewellery (H&M and Zara have some great high street alternatives) and delicate, teeny-weeny pendants (Etsy has, literally, thousands of options).

Here are my top picks..

1. Fuschia Pearl Stone Drop Earrings by Gerard Yosca, £177

2. Astley Clarke Pave Diamond Evil Eye Bracelet, £165

3. Micro Pendant by Marian Maurer, £290

4. Pave Chain Necklace by Monica Vinader, £260

5. Olivia Bib Necklace by Stella and Dot, £95

6. Amethyst Fan Drop Earrings by Gerard Yosca, £184

The perfect watch

Is it too early to be making a Christmas list already? I think I almost like making a list as much as receiving some of the items on it! My friends and family know to never deviate from the list. It is usually long, expensive, expansive and includes pretty much every item I have seen and want. Not that I expect to get it all of course, but so that Santa can pick which gifts to get me!

Top of the list this year, is a new watch. I've wanted  a watch for years. I think the last time I owned one, it was a plain silver affair from M&S and it fell of my wrist when I was visiting King's College open day before applying to university. Since then, I've come to rely on my phone but it's increasingly annoying, and sometimes feels rude, to be constantly checking your phone, even if it is just for the time.
A couple of years ago, for my 21st, I spent a long time looking for the perfect watch - leather strap, rose gold, not too large but still with a decent sized face; not one of those bracelet watches 90% of women's watches seem to be. Sadly, it wasn't to be. I didn't find any watches I liked, except for an £11,000 Omega watch. Significantly over budget.

This last weekend, my parents were visiting and we decided to go to Selfridges to look at watches. And I found The One. It didn't have, as I expected, a leather strap, but instead a rose gold strap and a dark mocha-coloured face.  It's this one below, a reasonable (ish) price at £525, which, for a Swiss-made Burberry watch seems pretty good value.

Other items currently on the Christmas wish list include Jo Malone's perfume "Crisp pear and freesias" - which really does smell like pear - a new hairdryer (maybe the Hershesons one?), and the 'Jerusalem' cookbook from Ottolenghi.

No doubt nearer the time there'll be a fair few more books on there (I tend to pick seven or eight of the Man Booker prize long list), some make up (I get a top-up of Benefit 'Dallas' bronzer every year) and maybe some new bedding - my room is looking a little tired and having seen the beautiful sets available in Zara, I think it's time for an update.

How about you, do you write a Christmas list? How far in advance do you start thinking about it? And what's top of your Christmas wish list this year?

Columbia Road convert

Yes, yes, I've been a bad blogger. I've not got back into it properly since after holiday, a combination of being busy at work, and well, dare I say it, lazy. I've also been wondering about what this blog should focus on, and I think, as a life style blog it needs more photos of life, which, I guess, means more photos of me!
As I have lamented many a time, I don't have a (working) camera, and so most of the snaps are coming from my BlackBerry, the quality of which leaves a bit to be desired. However, I am going to make a more concerted effort to take more photos, if only because my Mum, possibly the only reader, will appreciate it.

In the mean time however, I want to share with you my new favourite shopping destination: Columbia Road. I've known about Columbia Road for ages, but just never got round to going. I thought it was just a flower market and a couple of shops. I suppose arguably it is just a flower market and a couple of shops, but the shops sell some really unusual things - like these coco bowls which I absolutely love - and there's a great atmosphere, with hipsters, students, families, and er, young professionals like me all mingling. There's even a little oyster stall.

Beautiful cabbage roses and delphi

More roses and only £5 for all of these!

There's lots of great galleries; I particularly liked this picture

Cute children's toys from Nom, I was tempted to get one myself!

There are a couple of clothing stores, plenty of home / garden stores and lots of galleries. Hands-down my favourite shop is Nom for its unusual home accessories all sourced from Cambodia and Vietnam. There were also several pieces of art I'd have liked in my home, mostly pictures of animals!

I didn't go home completely empty handed though, as well as the beautiful flowers I also bought this new oyster card holder, from Jane de Bono; check our her shop here. She doesn't have her own shop on Columbia Road, but there are a few stockists.

So, all in all I am a real convert to Columbia Road. There are plenty of nice cafes when you are tired of shopping, my favourite was an Italian deli, Campania Gastronomica, that did excellent coffees for under £2 and was the ideal people-watching spot.

There's also going to be late night shopping on Wednesdays for the last 4 weeks before Christmas, complete with mulled wine and mince pies, to really get in the festive spirit. More information here.

Topshop FAIL

I used to love Topshop. One of my first purchases as a teenager was a turquoise blue v-neck jumper for £18 from Topshop, and how I loved that jumper! Although I remember thinking at the time that £18 was expensive! These days, you'd be lucky to get a jumper for less than £30.

In recent years, I've really gone off the store. A combination of younger cousins shopping there (you don't want to be wearing the same clothes as a 15-year old), the poor quality clothing (buttons falling off, embellishments unravelling) and just downright unappealing clothes. They seem to veer from down right tacky (completely sheer tops, micro mini bodycon skirts) to the plain weird, looking more like fancy dress than 'fashion'. I realise that I am not the most 'fashion forward' of people, being a fan of more classic, timeless pieces. However, there's a difference between thinking "that looks great but not for me" and "who the hell would wear that?!"

When it comes to sale season, the sale rails at Topshop are always crammed full of neon, lycra, shiny, sequinned cast-offs, designated to end up as fancy dress or land fill. Personally, I think one of the reasons that Topshop has become increasingly expensive is to subsidise the design and production of some of the more 'out there' items that are only worn by a handful of people. Browsing the website earlier today, I certainly came across some rather, ahem, unusual items.

 Firstly, their bridal collaboration with Richard Nicoll. How many people would buy their wedding dress from Topshop? How many people would buy the wedding dress below?
Even as a cocktail dress, it's unbelievably naf and tacky. It's a terrible fit on the model too. Unsurprisingly, it's in the sale - available in every size.

Richard Nicoll bridal collection, £150 (from £250)

This skirt is from the collaboration with J.W. Anderson. I like the print, but a quilted skirt? Really? How many people would wear a quilted skirt? I suppose it's handy if you sit at an uncomfortable chair all day.

J.W. Anderson, £69.99

I don't really know what to say about this final item. Even my 15-year old cousin would think she was too old for it. A reviewer said the fabric was so thin you could see your underwear through it. Nice.

O.M.G. Yours for £32

Of course, Topshop still has a few good items. But I feel like other stores, such as Zara and Mango, are the same price, better quality, and with many more interesting, unusual yet wearable items. Maybe I've just grown out of Topshop, but I can't be the only one who wonders if their designers are on acid?!

TGIPD (Thank God it's Pay Day)

A combination of dreary weather (shopping instead of chilling in the park and long working hours (cue buying treats at 8pm from the office) seems to have decimated my bank account this month, and sadly I'm currently running on empty! Thankfully, pay day is nigh and that means it's time to scour the shops for a few new pieces.

Last week at Westfield, I went into Cos for the first time in ages. It always seems to be featured in magazines and touted as the "smart choice" for fashion, but something about the way the shop is laid out, all grey and boxy, leaves me cold. Last time, however, I made the effort to actually look through the rails and came across a few pieces that will hopefully be sitting in my wardrobe in the next week or so.

Contrast back dress, c. £55

Work wardrobe updates

A few key pieces I've bought to update my work wardrobe:

H&M, £24.99

Gorgeous plum coloured dress from H&M, for the bargainous price of £24.99! Plus, if you buy online and sign up to their newsletter, you get 25% off one item.

Tuesday treats

I am obsessed with tan ankle boots at the moment, and have been looking for the perfect ones for a few seasons now. Like most basics, I think it pays to look around to make sure you don't compromise on the colour / cut /style that you want. 

The high street has plenty of great options, a few of my favorites are below.

Tuesday treats

A quiet afternoon at home resulted in two holidays being booked, one for September and one for December, so the shopping budget is somewhat diminished this month. However, nothing wrong with a little bit of window shopping / forward planning for pay day! 
I've chosen items that I think would fit in nicely with my current wardrobe (mostly quite plain) and will still look good in a few seasons time.

First up: Contessa Jade Necklace from Stella and Dot (stelladot.co.uk). At £95 it's not overly cheap, but for a piece of jewellery you'll wear again and again (and you'll never be able to ruin it by ignoring the 'Dry Clean only' instructions) it's pretty good price. I already have a pair of earrings from  Stella and Dot, and they were definitely worth the £40. The necklace has already been featured in the Times, Vogue and Easy Living, so I'm clearly not the only person who likes it!