Summer sun

... or not as the case maybe. What is up with this weather? This time last week I was sunning myself in 34 degree heat by a pool in Spain and I come home Thursday to this. So yes, I took a little trip with my 3 best friends to soak up 8 fun filled days in my friends apartment in a town called Polop which is roughly an hour from Alicante. We sipped on cocktails and ate amazing food for most of the week (and obviously sunbathed) my tan lines are ridiculous! We also ventured into Benidorm a couple of nights but we'll leave that there (I definitely witnessed some sights, including seeing Sticky Vicky. If you don't know about this woman; Google).

Anyway, thought I'd share some of my outfit photos from my holiday with you all seeing as it's been so long since I last said hi. I know I've still got part 2 of my New York trip to finish too so watch this space.

Sunglasses: Ray-Ban

T-shirt: H'n'M

Skirt: Primark

Clutch: Primark

Belt: ASOS

Sandals: Bertie

Bracelets: Hérmes, Boutique in NYC, Primark and Urban Outfitters

Swimming costume: Evans

Skirt: Primark

Earrings: H'n'M

Top: Primark

Skirt: H'n'M

Sandals: Evans

Necklace: Primark

My gorgeous BF, Jinny and I

She wears dress by Miss Selfridge

I also went to Lovebox on the Saturday before my holiday which was amazing. Rita Ora is definitely my new Girl Crush.

Jacket: Edie Mac

T-shirt: BOY London

Necklace: H'n'M

Bag: Dune

Wellies: Office

Bracelet: Miu Miu

Jeans: New Look

A bite of the Apple. Part 1

So, as mentioned in my previous post I jetted off to New York at the beginning of May for a few days of shopping, cocktails, sightseeing and more shopping. I've been to the Big Apple twice before, last time was in the February 2002 and since then I had been craving for my next dose of NYC goodness. We found really cheap flights with BA (around £470 return) and booked really spontaneously about 8 weeks before we went. To be honest finding a cheap hotel in NYC is impossible. We were on a budget so headed to the airbnb website to see if we could rent out an apartment. To be honest I was quite worried about renting but we got talking to a really nice guy called Jason whose OHM apartment was roughly a 15 minute walk from the Meatpacking District and all the reviews from previous guests had been amazing. If you're planning a trip any time soon, I'd definitely recommend looking on airbnb. The building had a 24 hour concierge, a bus to and from Penn station regularly, gym, wi-fi lobby and a 24-hour shop. Jason was at the apartment when we arrived to hand over the keys and the view was absolutely incredible. We opened to the curtains to find ourselves staring at the New York skyline (and the rooftop view was even better).

We jumped in a taxi from JFK and got talking to our cab driver about the best areas to go, nightlife, restuarants, best places to catch Gossip Girl being filmed (he mentioned to us that he'd had Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds in his cab a few days previous to our arrival) cue mini heart attack and also the best vintage shopping areas. We dropped off our bags and went exploring. First stop was obviously Times Square, where randomly we bumped into some actors who we'd seen in a show when we went to Las Vegas last September (small world eh), I managed to do my best Jay-Z and Alicia Keys impression on the red steps, visit the biggest Forever 21 I've ever seen, drink a strawberry lemonade frap from Starbucks and then we headed back towards Chelsea. New York is a pretty big place so we did actually get lost a few times, to be honest though, walking was so much better than taking a cab everywhere as it leads you to the most unexpected places and cute little shops.

New York really does hold a special place in my heart (without sounding like a complete loser) the people are so incredibly friendly, will stop you in the street to pay you a complement (if this was London, you'd probably think the person was about to mug you. Sorry London, I do still love you) and if you're looking slightly lost will always be on hand to offer directions. We managed to eventually find Chelsea and then the Meatpacking District (again, cue heart attack) this is where (when I spend my year in NYC eventually) I want to live. I've never felt more Sex and the City than at this moment. We found the DVF building, Chelsea Market, Pastis restaurant (which we would dine at on our last night) but settled for dinner at The Diner; the best steak, egg and chips ever. We potted around a bit more and our plan was to go out for cocktails. however, after being up since 4am UK time, landing in NYC at 11:30am US time and it now being 9pm (2am UK time), we were ready to hit the sack. Obviously not as hard core as we thought but still, we had a whole 6 other days to get our Cosmopolitan on and had been up for nearly 24 hours straight.

I'm wearing:

T-shirt: Topshop

Blazer: Issey Miyake

Skirt: Marks and Spencer

Hi top trainers: Topshop

Bag: Mulberry Alex

Lobster necklace: Tatty Devine

Next morning, my friend Rachel was like an army sergeant and eager for us not to miss one minute of NYC time. We were up and out by 9:30 and ready for our first full day. The bridge from the OHM building took us straight into the Meatpacking district and it is here you'll find Chelsea Market. This is one of my YOU MUST VISIT places. It's so beautiful and full of quaint cupcake shops, designer pop up stores, fresh fruit and vegetable markets and is also home to Artists and Fleas vintage store. We had a really lovely breakfast here (I can't remember the name of the restaurant which is frustrating seeing as I picked up a card from every other place we went to). The weather was quite bad on our second day, extremely wet and quite cold! We spent forever in Artists and Fleas (and a small fortune). I picked up 2 lovely hand made make up bags by a designer called Pamela Barsky.

We walked from Artists and Fleas to Bleeker Street which was recommended to me by an old work colleague. This was another one of my favorite places and home to the famous Magnolia Bakery (and a Mulberry shop were I spent a good hour trying to decided whether to buy the Peace bracelet or not).
The cupcakes are TO DIE FOR and expect a rather long queue but trust me, it's worth it. We stumbled upon Perry Street here too which is home to Carrie Bradshaw's apartment. We spent a while on those famous steps looking up and down the street for Mr Big! The rest of our second day was mainly spent around this area and then heading into Soho to find the Dash store (yes, I'm a Kardashian fan). Kim and Kanye were actually in NYC at the same time but I didn't see them anywhere. After a lunch of chicken wings and Shirley Temples we headed to China Town (an experience than ended up with us being surrounded by what looked like the Chinese Maffia in a park trying to sell us fake Chanel handbags) an experience I have to say! China Town is definitely worth a look if you're after a bargain. I had my hands rather full with shopping bags at this point. We jumped on the train to the Ground Zero and wandered around. There is a memorial here now which you can pay to go and see but you needed to book tickets in advance. The area itself is very sombre and quiet with people there to pay their respects.

We ended up back at the apartment to get ready for a night in the Meatpacking District! My first taste of a Cosmopolitan - woohoo! We ate at the Gaslight bar which is next to Soho House and then ended up meeting a guy called Sammy who got us into a club called TenJune which is on Little West Street. To be honest, I don't really remember much after this, only that we ended up in another bar down the road called Brass Monkey at about 3am for an amaretto and cranberry juice ;)

I'm wearing:

Blazer: Issey Miyake

Top: Topshop

Jeans: New Look Inspire

Pumps: Topshop

Bag: Mulberry Alexa

Necklace: H'n'M

I'm wearing:

Blazer: as before

Dress: Primark

Seeing as this is the longest post ever to grace TGTH, we'll cover the rest of the holiday next week. I wouldn't want to bore you all!

We meet again.

Well hello there, I'm back! Well kind of. I've been swanning around the streets of New York City and getting myself a job promotion since I last blogged so things have been busy busy at work. I am planning on doing posts on my amazing trip to the Big Apple (hopefully this weekend, but don't hold me to that). And what d'ya know, since our last meeting, the sun has decided to finally make an appearance too. I'm not a lover of the sun, partly because I hate getting my legs and arms out (we've covered this before) so I find it pretty hard getting dressed in the mornings when it's hot hot hot. I do however enjoy the mood the glorious sunshine puts everyone in (although not the outfit choices some people make). Anyway, to keep it brief here's a little outfit I wore a couple of weekends ago to celebrate my friends birthday in Soho.

My amazing floral jacket is from Beacon's Closest in Brooklyn, New York (more to come on this) and my sequin top is from a vintage shop I found in the East Village whilst on my travels. GOOD TIMES. I'm not wearing any shoes here, I promise I did put some on when I left the house!

Jacket: Vintage

Sequin top: Vintage

Sheer maxi skirt: H'n'M

Necklace: H'n'M

Bracelets: Accessorize

Rings: Love, Hearts and Crosses and Accessorize

BRB... Off to take a bite of the Big Apple

So after what seemed like the longest day ever, I'm FINALLY packed and ready for my plane ride at the crack of dawn tomorrow morning to New York City. I cannot begin to tell you how excited I am for this trip with 2 of my best friends from Uni. We've rented an apartment for the week in Chelsea village so we're right next to the Meatpacking District and Soho. I have many things on my shopping list for when I'm in NY as well as lots of cocktail bars and touristy things to visit. The last time I visited was nearly 10 years ago so I'm eager to see how the city that never sleeps has changed.

I'll be sure to blog all outfits and New York findings when I'm back. But for now, see you on the other side. Oh, and a quick "Hello" to all my lovely new readers on TGTH. Can't believe how much my readership has grown over the past month. Amazing.

xx

Fros and Florals

These floral ASOS trousers have been everywhere at the moment. I first saw them on Jazmine (who by the way looked absolutely stunning) when she styled them up as part of her ASOS Style competition entry. I purchased them, they arrived, I tried them on and absolutely HATED them. They seemed way too short on my legs and no matter what I paired them with they didn't look right. The other day I was making some purchases on ASOS for my holiday to New York and noticed the trousers had gone down to £20 in the sale. Something was telling me to give them another go, so they made their way into my basket a second time. I tried them on this morning and I don't know whether it was because I was feeling pretty crappy when I tried them first time around but I fell in love with them. I'm still not 100% sure on the length, I'd really like them to be a bit longer but the fit is incredible. They are quite low rise, but with a baggy t-shirt, look absolutely fine. I'm really pleased with them and am so glad I FINALLY own a pair of floral trousers.

My twitter followers will know I went to the Barnes Mary's Living and Giving shop launch last week with Mary Portas. She's an incredible woman and I even managed to her a brief chat with her about my job and high street fashion. Mary also mentioned how much she loved my Accessorize statement necklace I was wearing at the time (Bravo Accessorize!). My Mum also attended as she manages one of the shops on Barnes High Street and she was having a right old chin wag with Mary. Whilst sipping on champers I spotted this beautiful Issey Miyake blazer hanging on the wall and only £25! I went into the changing room whilst the party was still going on to give it a try - I loved the length of it and was in desperate need of a smart black blazer. It really is my new baby and was a perfect match for the floral trousers.

Oh - and here's me with my fro out! Haha. My hair is one of my greatest annoyances and I rarely have it out but I need to start embracing this curly mop a bit more now as I do so much damage to my hair when I put it in a top knot ALL the time.

Blazer: Issey Miyake

Flora trousers: ASOS

T-shirt: BOY London

Necklace: Topshop

Trainers: Converse

Rings: Accessorize & Love, Hearts and Crosses

Matchmaker.

Firstly; thank god for the long weekend. Secondly, this is what I wore out on Thursday evening. Quite a "grown up" outfit I feel for a casual night out with the girls and boys but it's always nice to make an effort, right? These Clements Ribeiro for Evans pyjama trousers do throw me off slightly. I've worn them only once before - quite dressed down for work with a pastel mint tshirt and gold converse but I'm just not 100%  sure how to pull them off. They are incredibly long too so I'm not sure whether I should get them taken up or not. Have to say though, I'm quite fond of this outfit and I think maybe dressing these up more than down are the way to go for me. You can see the gorgeous Bethany wearing them here too.

Blazer: Forever 21+

Trousers: Clements Ribeiro for Evans

Body top: ASOS Curve

Necklace: Marni for H'n'M

Clutch: Dune

Rings: Spitalfields Market

Earrings: Accessorize

Shoes: Vintage

Photos taken by Jinny King

Golden Elephants

I just had to share something rather special I found whilst visiting Battersea Car Boot sale yesterday. I met up with the lovely Jazmine in Battersea (who FYI is a charity shop/boot sale pro) and we walked down to the various charity shops and then onto the boot sale where we were later joined by Kristabel. I have to say, you need to require a large amount of patience to go through peoples piles and piles of belongings at Car Boots. You can see Jazmine has a good eye for spotting vintage pieces (she picked up a pair of Levi cut off shorts for a couple of quid!). I found a gorgeous silk kimono for £2 along with a beautiful emerald green clutch bag for £2.50 but it was these amazing shoes that were my true bargain of the day.

I'm a size 8/9 in shoes. To be honest, I don't actually find it that hard any more finding shoes, now that most high street retailers go up to a UK size 9 (apparently Paris Hilton is a UK 11 so that makes me feel slightly better!) but it's not often you find vintage shoes in a larger size. How AMAZING are these? The detail on the heel is what first caught my eye. They have little gold elephants around the heel as well as on the front. My iphone camera doesn't catch just how wonderful they are, but I'm hoping to do an outfit post with them tomorrow. And only a tenner - bargain!