Wimbledon 2015

Oh how I love Wimbledon, let me count the ways:

1. Your Pimm's bubbles.

2. Strawberries & cream is your signature meal (healthy and tasty).

3. Rain or shine we all have a good time.

4. In fact some of Wimbledons top moments have been during rain delays.

5. Your uniform of 'All-in-White' is chic and sophisticated.

6. I love to play 'guess who' to all the fabulous spectators that fill the Royal box.

7. Even though it's agony I love to see Andy Murray playing his best game on grass.

8. I'm happy to sit on coats/blanket/friends on Henman Hill/Murray Mound and watch all the action on the big screen (rain or shine! Pass the brolly).

9. I love the support. Every player has their fandom in their corner, with tshirts, hats and banners to show how much they're loved. The Hewitt chants, the Nadal 'Vamous!' cheers and all the nations flags flying high.

10. Wimbledon is the best place to people watch. Whether it's looking out for the commentators (Annabel Croft, in my eyes, has a brilliant job... She gets to travel the tennis tour, talk about tennis all day and chat with the players, and she always looks fantastic. Major shoe envy. And who doesn't love Sue Barker?), checking out the fabulously dressed guys and gals or hunting out for the players other halves (Kim Sears is a style hero.) You're bound to spot some fantastic (and hilarious) outfits.

11. The atmosphere around the grounds is electric from the show courts to the outside courts and the practice area. I can get so close to the action. And when the Brits are winning, there's no place better to be.

12. I love to dream. Each year we all unite on holding our breath when watching Murray step out onto court. We cheer, we sigh, and we hope. He's done it once and it was magnificent. So this year with toes and fingers crossed we can dream of Murray lifting the trophy once again! 

A Nod To The Cowboys

A Nod To The Cowboy

When I flicked through my beloved ELLE magazines and saw the latest trends my instant thought was "really, flares... Not a chance" "suede, I don't think that's particularly practical". But I mulled the idea over and have been converted. From the 70s influences, the cowboys and the hippies, I tip my hat to the trend. Last week I purchased my first piece, a gorgeous zip front A-line suede skirt from M&S and I'm in love with it. Paired with plain black tee and my denim shirt it's the perfect summer piece, smart enough for the office but will be fun for the weekends.

Check out my latest Pinterest board to see my inspiration and what I love about this trend.

Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty

I don't think there are enough adjectives in the English language for me to express how amazing the Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty exhibition at the V&A is. I was totally mind blown by the whole experience. 

I always expect great things for exhibitions, the clothes on display are lavish and the photographs are fantastic. But what I saw at the Savage Beauty exhibition was nothing short of theatre. Each room you went into told a different story, mixing his collections but ultimately the themes focused on one of the strongest catwalk shows of his time. There was definitely an overriding quite deeply disturbing vibe throughout the exhibition which reflects the life McQueen lived and how he became inspired for his collections.

My highlights of the exhibition would have to be:

'Cabinet of Curiosities' - A beautiful room full of nooks and crannies showing of the exquisite gowns, headdresses, shoes, bodices and so much more. It felt like you were walking into the set of one of the Harry Potter films. In the middle of the room was the finished "paint dress" spinning around as it did in the catwalk show where it became painted by mechanic arms. That's a true work of art.

 

'The Window of Culloden' - I don't know if anything has ever quite taken my breath away like this illusion of Kate Moss, suspended like a ghost in a prism. The room just became quiet whilst watching her move so gracefully and looking so serene. It was a recreation of the 2006 show where Kate was projected across the catwalk as a hologram, looking just like a ghost.

'Plato's Atlantis' - This is the last full collection that Alexander McQueen created before his death in 2010. It's a vision of the future and my favourite collection. The digitally engineered prints of sea creatures, jellyfish and the huge armadillo skin boots feel very modern and 'out of this world'. To see the army of dresses side by side was a dream, I definitely can see myself rocking one of the dresses for a night out... Right?

 

 

Unfortunately you can't take photos in the exhibition but as it was a birthday day out I was treated to the exceptionally beautiful book that accompanies the exhibition. This is definitely a coffee table book, it's a heavy weight, indulgent page turner. Filled with beautiful pictures of backstage, the designs, catwalk shows and McQueens life. It's a beautiful memoir to celebrate his life and his work. It will defitnley be centre stage on my coffee table (one day when I get that beautiful Notting Hill home that I dream of). I highly recommend that you go book tickets right now to witness this fabulous collection (before it finishes at the beginning of August) which has been pulled together and presented in the most wondrous of ways.

 

I leave, breathless and inspired.

 

"I think there is beauty in everything. What "normal" people would perceive as ugly, I can usually see something of beauty in it." - Alexander McQueen

 

 

 

 

What's your Swagger?

This birthday was spent having a fabulous girls day in London with my mum. We visited the V&A museum to see the Alexander McQueen Savage Beauty exhibition (literally amazing, more to come on this later), went for high tea and then lucky me, got to go handbag shopping! 

Ever since seeing the Coach SS15 campaign back at the beginning of the year, I have been dying to get my hands on one of the beautiful Swagger bags. This bag is my new love, the periwinkle colour is perfect for summer and brightens up my typical uniform of black jeans and jacket.

For the Coach Swagger campaign they have created a #WhatsYourSwagger tag which has encouraged designers and bloggers alike to customise their bags and show what they carry. So I have taken the time to dig deap and find all the beauties I tend to carry around on a daily outing. Now I have one Swagger, I am already desperate to see next seasons colours... One for every season right?

Frimley Fun Run

On Sunday I took part in a charity fun run to raise money for Frimley Park Hospital. It was a great event, a little damp on the outset, but with everyone there with high spirits ready to race we all felt the love.

I decided to take part not only to raise money for such a great cause but also to challenge myself. A 2.5km fun run may not be a marathon but it is a start. It is important to live a healthy and happy lifestyle, I find that running not only makes my body feel good but it helps to clear the mind and get the endorphins flowing. That's good all round.

We ran the race in 15mins45, we witnessed a lot of fantastic fancy dress from families and we received a lot of support. We are raising money to help the hospital raise money to build a centre dedicated to early diagnosis of Breast Cancer, a disease that we want to beat.

If you would like to donate to my fundraising page then here is the link

Bali Photo Diary

I shall try to keep it short and sweet. Bali is beautiful. Yes, what with the bright blue sky, the crystal clear sea, friendly locals and a reunion with my best friends, it's safe to say that a two week vaction to Bali was perfect. 

Here I am posting some of my fave snaps of the holiday which I have shared on Instagram. Believe me I have taken hundreds of photos so trying to cut it down is a big challenge. I hope that the beauty of this country shines through in my photos (and the fun we had). 

Kuta - dubbed as the party town of Bali. But we're not big party people, so we found a pool bar (HQ) which looked over the beach and there we stayed with our Bintangs and scrabble for the duration of our stop over days. 

Gili Meno - possibly one of the most incredible islands I have ever visited. The Gili Islands are made of three small islands off the top of Lombok, the one we stayed on was so small you could walk around the island in about 2hours (if you didn't get sucked in by quaint beach bars and the clear water calling out to you in the heat of the day) and there is no public transport, just bicycles and horse and cart. At night with no street lamps (or streets for that matter, just sand covered paths) you can see the milkyway, during the day you can bask in the heat on beautiful secluded beaches and eat fantastic food from plenty of beach front bars and restaurants. We stayed in a brilliant bungalow, with stone walls and a thatched roof, with an outdoor plunge pool and shower (watching the night sky twinkle whilst you shower is a must) and we made full use of our little front porch for evenings playing scrabble, the game of choice between our travelling group. 

 

Tulamben - the last stop on our adventure was up to the Northern Territory of Bali, where volcanoes, mountains and black beaches rule all. Our resort was spectacular, I opened the curtains each morning to the views of our beautiful pool and the sea lapping onto the black sand beach. We went on a day exploring our surroundings which lead us to Lake Batur, a crater lake surrounding a volcano. It was spectacular, we got taken to some hot springs where we relaxed in the natural hot water overlooking the lake. It was a great end to a very memorable trip, I found time to reflect as we watched the sunrise on the last morning and had delicious fresh fruit smoothies overlooking the sea.

If you're planning a trip to Bali make sure you plan time to explore all the beauties the islands have to offer and allow plenty of time to sit back, relax and enjoy the time with your loved ones.

 

Friday Feeling

 

I have definitely got that 'Friday Feeling' today. This week I have worked hard, I've worked out and I have got a result! Keeping it hush-hush for now but it is safe to say I am very excited for things to come. Oh and bonus, this time next week I'll be in KL on my stop over before I reach beautiful Bali to reunite with my friends. So now to enjoy some sunshine and the weekend with some tasty chocolates and my favourite magazine. Yes, today is definitely a dance-around-the-room Friday Feeling.