Snow is falling

This week I have been trying to find the perfect snow boot. Now I'm not the greatest boot fan, I like heeled ankle boots which I often wear at night, but I can never find a good pair of daytime boots. So when it came to the snow we've recently had I've been resigned to either wearing my Hunters or Converse (I'd rather have grip than fashion on my walk to work). However this means I'm left with having to a pair to change into once I get in the office.

The shoes above are a few of my winter favourites. Obviously the heels and saude aren't the most practical features for winter but a girl can dream?! I really like the chunky trend which can be seen a lot on the high street in shops such as New Look and River Island. Shearling is also going strong, although I feel it may die down by the A/W '11 due to over kill from aviator jackets.

I think of all above the black and brown riding boot is probably my favourite and the most timeless. This is the most important feature of a boot, to be timeless and to go with any outfit as you will no doubt be living in them for a good few weeks during the 'Big freeze'. Now, time to find a copy of those beauties on the high street! Let me know if you have seen any.

Smart PR move?

The video above is the new Andrex campaign entitled 'The little things' by advertising agency JWT. The advert see's Andrex replace the loveable puppy running about the house chasing loo roll with a CGI puppy going about his day preparing for the return of Mrs Andrex puppy, making a cake, collecting flowers and lastly turning over the corner of the newly replaced Andrex loo roll.

So what prompted this move? The company has said it was to 'refresh' the brand but maybe there is more of an underlying reason. We all know the British public hates change, just a quick seach of 'Bring back..' on Facebook reveals endless groups such as 'Bring back GMTV', 'Bring back Gamu from XFactor', 'Bring back vanilla Coke' and the list goes on. So with this in mind, the changing of the puppy will spark many 'Bring back the real andrex puppy' groups and #realandrexpuppy trending topics. This is a smart use of the public's voice to create PR for a company.

With Andrex being a household name, it runs the risk of being a brand that everyone knows but doesn't necessarily buy. A campaign like this will get the name back into the consumers conversations and opinions, meaning when they walk down the aisle of a supermarket they are far more likely to pick it up then a competitor such as Cushelle/Charmin or 'Soft soft soft' Velvet.

What do you think of the advert? Do you prefer the CGI puppy? Would it make you buy Andrex?

Do you get my drift?

My view at 7:30am this morning.

Remix and Rewind

I've always been a fan of remixes, by which I don't mean 'Dance vol 10 - club classics'. What I mean is when a talented producer takes a song often from a completely different genre and puts their own stamp on it. Below is an original song by Lauren Pritchard and the Roni Size remix beneath.



Lauren Pritchard was born in Tennesse, now residing in London is an up and coming soul singer and released 'Painkillers' earlier this year (video above). The soul roots can be heard throught out and her voice has the same sex appeal as a other modern jazz singers such as Joss Stone. It really depicts a sense of helplessness and depression of down and out through the lyrics and rich voice.




In comparaisson you take Roni Size's remix and it flips the song around. Apparently, for this track, Roni loved the vocal and song so much he felt compelled to do this remix. The remix brings a new side to the story with the addition of vocals from Talib Kweli, from being less of desperation and more of desire and lust.

Back online

So, I've had a bit of a break recently. I moved house in September and due to several issues did not get the internet until November! Obviously I had a lot of catching up to do so haven't really got round to posting any new entries.

Next post due tomorrow!

Hello H&M home

So H&M joined the world of the highstreet online recently with the addition of H&M home, which I have to admit have never seen in England before. When I went to Sweden a few years ago to visit a friend I went to H&M over there and they have a whole cosmetics section (not just a few nail varnishes and eyeshadow) It felt like boots.

Anyway, back to my original point. I've had a quick browse online and thought I would share a few of my favourite homeware pieces.

I love the texture of this pillow, It's so lushious and girlie. The ruffled satin rose effect really sets of the romantic feel. It would look great on a plain bed spread or a brown or cream sofa.
Chic and Chanel, that's the vibe I get from the above.


That's one way to made laundry fashionable. I'm a sucker for the vintage print.

Music Monday

Currently on my playlist:

Everything Everything - MY KZ, UR BF (Grum remix)



A great Manchester band just about to hit the big time. This has such an infectious 80's vibe.



Baths - Animals



Hailing from the other side of the pond, Baths (aka Will Wiesenfeld) was described by one reviewer as 'dream-pop'and 'chillwave' and after listening to the song above I think you have to agree. This is the type of song I'd love to put on at the end of one of those all night affairs when the sun is rising and everyone has either fallen asleep on a sofa or involved in some in depth conversation they'll forget all about the next day.

Pulled apart by horses - High five, swan dive, nose dive



Great video, great song, great breakdowns.

Gallops - Miami Spider



I first heard this song on the radio a few months ago. Since then it's stayed on my paylist constantly. I love how the main riff changes from a quite high synth sound to a rich bass line, really brings the song together. Did anything ever listen to CKY back in the day? The bass slightly reminds me of something similar to their sound.

Camel club

I know the September issues have been full to the brim of the new 'it' colour Camel, but you can understand when you take a look at the amazing pieces out there.
In my opinion camel is a good colour for wardrobe staples such as coats, cardigans and bags. I think it's a lot easier to wear these pieces. Here are a few available at the minute:

This Topshop coat is a great staple, the duffel coat is quintessentially English what with Paddington Bear being at the forefront of the trend. On a more serious note, I would wear this with cute floral dresses black opaques and brogues.
This slouchy knit jumper from Whistles is a great way to dress down an outfit. I'm not so keen on the way it's been styled on the website, but that's because I'm not a fan of harem trousers (my hips/bum are big enough as it is thanks). I would style this with a tube skirt or a pair of high waisted denim shorts.

This skirt from Warehouse would be a great addition to any work wardrobe. The a-line skirt is back in a big way this autumn. I've already invested in a few for work, they are a lot more worker friendly than tight pencil skirts I have to say apart from if it's windy! Pair with a simple and chic white shirt and a skinny belt for a 'I mean business' look.

Recent purchases

So summer has been and gone, I've had a great time even though this has been the first year I haven't had a long summer and I'm coming up to my first year being in full time employment (is that supposed to mean I'm grown up now?!).

Anyway enough of that, I love Internet window shopping but very rarely actually go through and buy items. I'll put them into the basket but just before the 'go to checkout' I chicken out. However this doesn't apply when it comes to accessories and here are a few I've recently bought.
Asos:
Speaking of rings I've got my daily ring collection up to quite a nice number now. I have a few more but only wear them on special occasions, due to the fact I am quite clumsy and they have been past down the generations so are quite sacred to me. Here is my little collection...

Blue ring - Asos, silver swirl - found, pink heart - Accessorize, turquoise circle - Accessorize, gold & emerald - antique shop, stone & silver - market stall, turquoise - Asos, silver & diamond - jewellers, silver band - festival.


I'm looking out for more chunky stone rings, maybe amber as I love the richness of the colour.

Kelis - 4th of July on Later with Jools, May 2010

I'm going to a festival in August called Pukkelpop. Kelis is one of the main acts playing, so I thought I'd check out her new album. That was 3 weeks ago and it's been on repeat ever since. My favourite track is below, 4th of July. It also happens to be her new single.

Jump On It - Fresh Prince

Today is Wednesday. That means it's two days until the weekend when I shall be busting out moves similar to the ones below.
Enjoy

The Impossible Project

Being a child of the late 1980's/1990's I grew up with Polaroid Cameras. My dad always had his to hand and my brother and I would fight over who got to 'shake' the film and watch the picture develop. It really felt like magic how a photo could be captured and developed in a minute or so in front of my very own eyes.When I was about 16 years old I decided to take a polaroid of each of my close friends and put them up on my wall, so I always had happy faces staring back at me. I also took my camera to parties/group holidays and everyone would always get so excited.
Then as technology progressed and production moved to outsourcing to cheap factories, Polaroid came to the point where they decided it was no longer cost effective to produce Polaroid Instant Film, as it worked out at about £1 a photo! I remember the sell by date being sometime in 2008 and thought that was the end of Polaroid and that we would have to make do with cheap looking applications on phones to create that Polaroid 'look'.
Around the same time 'The Impossible Project' popped up. This was a project looking into bringing Instant Polaroid Film back to life. They studied the production of the film and bought the last production plant for the instant film. Well it seems they have achieved their mission (albeit a few months ago, I know I'm behind!) and are now selling film again and it isn't too expensive!


I can't wait to start snapping again!

(All Polaroids above are mine expect for the last one which is from The Impossible Project)

Ring ring

Inspiration
(1. Chic Heroin 2. Fashiontoast 3&4. Jack&Jill)

Seafood Risotto

As the bank holiday weekend draws to a close I decided to cook something tasty for tea. After walking around Sainburys for a bit I decided on seafood risotto. I thought I'd share my recipe on here in case you want to try it....It definitely hit the spot.

Ingredients
150g Risotto Rice
100g of Seafood selection (prawns, mussels squid)
1 Stock cube (Chicken/Fish/Vegetable) to make around 600ml of stock
1/2 an Onion
1 green chili
1 clove of garlic
1 handful of garden peas
1 teaspoon of tomato puree
1 teaspoon of wholegrain mustard
dash of lemon juice
shake of Paprika

1. Sweat the garlic and chili
2. Add the chopped onion and brown
3. Add the selection of seafood and dash of lemon juice, cook thoroughly
   for around 5 minutes to ensure the seafood is cooked through. Take off the heat and put contents into a bowl to sit.
4. Using the same pan to retain flavours, pour in the risotto rice and turn on the hob. Slowly add the stock and tomato puree and keep stirring.
5. Add garden peas and wholegrain mustard
6. Continue adding stock whilst the rice swells, in total it should take about 15 minutes.
7. Add the cooked seafood and onions to the pan and make sure it's piping hot before serving.

Canon Love

Last week I bought a new camera, the Canon EOS 450. I think I'm in love.
I'm so happy with it, I've been wanting a digital SLR for a while. I had an Nikon coolpix a few years ago but a flight to Paris damaged it beyond repair. I haven't had time to have a proper play with it yet but here are a few pictures.


Hopefully my photography skills will impove in the near future.

As my textiles teacher used to say "Make sure its taut"

For the past few seasons high street trends have been tight, tight, tight. From tube skirts to body-con dresses we just cant get enough. Now I have to admit I'm not the most educated when it comes to designers and fashion weeks but I know what I like and what I don't.

Whilst browsing the web I came across the Herve Leger show by Max Ariza in NY Fashion week. Herve Leger is daddy of the body-con and here is a quick summary of the show, the good and the bad.



I really like the nude tone in the dress above also the stitching detail adds an extra element of shape.



Crotchet is another big trend over the past few seasons. This dress incorporates harsh structure at the hips along with geometric crocheting.





Sheer panels always made an appearance in the collection. I feel this look has been done too much and will forever in my mind have an American Apparel-feel to it.


So in conclusion, my favourite part of the collection had to be the crocheting.
(all pictures from cotorture.com )

The phone lines are closed the votes have been verified and the winner is...

So, it's coming to that time again...GENERAL ELECTIONS. The next one is due to take place before June the 3rd this year and the campaigns are steaming ahead.

So far good old Cameron has caught my attention, with the the hilarious website My David Cameron. If you haven't heard of this website before it's come as a back lash the advertising campaign from the Tories. The original poster is below.



As you can see the poster campaign is highly photoshopped (do people not realise less is more!?) and a lot of empty text and a 'hard hitting' statement. So due to all these elements and the fact a large majority of people hate the Tories Mydavidcameron.com is host to a large amount of altered images of the original campaign poster. Here are some of my favourites below...
(All images from Mydavidcameron.com)

I'm blue dab a di dab a dar.

I came across the February cover for Vogue Italia (below) whilst I was reading through different blogs online.



(Pic fro Modelinia)

It made me stop, enlarge the photo and take a more detailed look. Now this isn't because I recognised Agyness Deyn or Daphne Guinness. Nor was it the gothic theme of the cover. It was the use of bright blue accessories set against black. Only this morning as I was getting ready for work when I put on a bright blue t-shirt and a black pencil skirt. Not having enough time to assess if this actually went, I decided in my head it would clash (and not the good type of clash) and changed quickly. I'm sure from a young age we are taught never to wear blue and black. Unlike most of these early fashion rules (red and green should never be seen, mustard yellow makes you look ill, don't mix patterns) this one seems to have stuck.

Now after seeing this photo, my mind is changed. The bright blue is so vibrant especially against the pale skin and dark hair. I know that was probably a bit of a boring story, but I thought I'd share it.

Blue is such a great colour in general from electric to turquoise. Here are a few pictures that show this.










(Pics from Fabsugar, Now, Google, Lanvin(style.com), Betsy Johnson(style.com))

Would you like to come in for a cup of tea?

So I'm a coffee girl, I've never liked tea and I don't think I ever will! I do however, via my flat mate's obsession, know that it is a vital part of most people's lives.
Anyway, getting to the reason for the post.I'm applying for an advertising MA next year and so pay maybe a bit too much attention to adverts. It seems two new tea commercials have popped up on the scene. Both adverts have the underlying theme of sex. Surprise, surprise 'Sex sells', and to put it straight one is a hit whilst one is SHIT.


PG Tips - When Harry met Sally parody.



It's just embarrassing. Do we really want to see a monkey making such noises?


Yorkshire Tea - Couples advert.



I really like this one, its incorporating humour, the addiction of tea, the good old Yorkshire accent and challenging the old 'Want to come in for some coffee...?' Phrase.


What are your opinions?

Lumber Jack

(South Pole Trek - Office website)


I want these so much! However, I don't wear heels during the day so they wouldn't get much wear. I love the lumber-jack wife air of them!

I liked the lilac hair, but the current yellow hair Lady G is sporting really is a throw back to Cyndi Lauper. Ah well, girls just want to have fun, eh?