Krissy in Paris

May26

Since watching the Netflix series Emily in Paris, I have been desperate to visit the city again, so I talked my husband into a day trip to celebrate our ninth wedding anniversary, after all there is no more romantic city in the world than Paris.

It was an early start with our train from home to London St Pancras leaving at 05:16 to make the 07:01 Eurostar but it definitely is completely possible to do a day trip – just be prepared for a long day and ideally take the next day off work to recover.

Our first stop on arrival was The Place de l’Estrapade, where Emily’s flat is in the series and a visit to Boulangerie Moderne. Now it’s this bakery where in episode one, Emily samples her first pain au chocolat. Naturally I ordered the same and I have to say I was blown away, it really was heaven on the tongue, so buttery and delicious with gooey chocolate. I don’t think I will ever eat a pain au chocolat in England again. It was lovely sitting by the fountain in the middle of the square and doing some people watching. Also in this square is Gabriel’s restaurant in the series, Les Deux Compères, which is actually an Italian restaurant called Terra Nera.

We then walked to the nearby Pantheon, which is an impressive monument and one I seemed to have missed on previous visits to the city. We didn’t go inside but did pay a visit to the Saint-Etienne-du-Mont church, located next to it and lit a candle. There is another filming location from the series here too, The Bombardier, and English style pub which Emily goes on a first date to with her British crush, Alfie.

From here, we walked down to the Seine and the iconic Notre Dame. It is heart breaking to see what the fire of 2019 did to such a magnificent piece of architecture, but it is inspiring to see the renovation well underway with plans to reopen the cathedral in December 2024. It is being restored sympathetically with many medieval building techniques being used.

The square in front of the cathedral was playing host to fete du pain, a bread festival and the aromas of freshly baked bread, drew you towards it. You could see everything being made on site and of course purchase it. We bought a baguette each for lunch and sat in the gardens to eat it, feeling very Parisian.

With Notre Dame closed to the public, we visited Sainte-Chapelle – somewhere I’d found when googling best sites to visit in Paris and certainly somewhere I hadn’t been before or even heard of. It’s a royal chapel in gothic style and was the home of the Kings of France until the 14^th Century. The lower chapel is dark and rather underwhelming but when you climb the stairs to the upper chapel, you realise just why people rave about this attraction. There are 15 stained glass windows telling stories from the bible and a rose window at the west, representing scenes of the Apocalypse. All I could say was wow, it really took your breath away.

No trip to Paris would be complete for me without a visit to Kookai, the fashion label that dominated my teenage wardrobe. My husband was less impressed with this but luckily there was a chair by the fitting rooms for him to relax in. Clearly my shape has changed somewhat over the years and so the clothes aren’t perhaps as flattering on me as they once were, but I did buy a lovely green long sleeve v neck top.

Flagging a little by now, having been up so long and covering quite a bit of Paris on foot, we headed for Café de Flore in the Saint-Germain des Pres district, another filming location from Emily in Paris, where she meets Thomas, but also legendary as once frequented by famous writers, philosophers, actors and designers including Ernest Hemingway, Jane Fonda, Brigette Bardot and Yves Saint-Laurent. It feels very luxurious and the waiters all have waistcoats and bow ties. The hot chocolate was to die for, just like liquid chocolate, if a little expensive at €9.50.

My feet had decided we needed a break from walking so we then got the metro to Chaterlet. We walked through Westfield Forum des Halles, a modern shopping centre which makes it feel more like London or the US than Paris with the usual chains such as McDonalds and Nike. We headed back down to the Seine and to Pont des Arts, also known to Parisians as Le Pont des Amoureux or Lover’s Bridge. This was a necessary pilgrimage for me as felt like I had been cheating on my first love of Sex and the City with Emily in Paris and this of course is the site where Big says the iconic line in the final episode “Carrie, you’re the one”. The bridge is one of the few pedestrian only bridges in Paris and is covered with love padlocks.

A quick stop was made at the Louvre so we could do the iconic finger on top of the pyramid shot, before it was back to Emily in Paris filming location hunting and we headed to the Palais Royal, a formal royal palace. The forecourt or Cour d’honneur, has striped pillars which look like sticks of rock and seem to be a prime location for influencers to pose. The Jardin du Palais Royal is a beautiful tree lined garden, where Emily has her lunch break in the first episode and meets her friend, Mindy. Many of the benches have quotes written on them from 20^th century writers. The one I am sitting on translates as ‘we’ll never look enough, never fair enough, never passionate enough.’

Near here at Place de Valois is the location of the offices of Savoir where Emily works in the series. Here I bumped into other fans of the programme having their photo taken outside.

Time was now against us and we still needed to have our anniversary dinner, so we jumped on the metro to Abbesses. Just in case we needed any further exercise, we were greeted here by a 186 step spiral staircase to the street – should have definitely used the lift! It was then onto the funiculaire to take us up to the steps of the beautiful Sacre Coeur with wonderful views over the city.

We headed to La Maison Rose for dinner in Montmartre. The building is pink with green shutters and really beautiful. People were stopping to take photos all the time of this pretty restaurant. Emily and Mindy eat here in season one, episode five, which isn’t surprising as it is definitely Instagram able. We had a table outside and it was lovely that it is finally warm enough to eat al fresco. We had a lovely meal to celebrate our pottery anniversary and then headed back on the metro to Gard du Nord for the 21:13 train back to London. We arrived home about 12:20am!

I love the French language and it was great to have the opportunity to brush up on my rusty A Level French. Paris really is a beautiful city and there is still more I want to see, which gives me another excuse to return. I can’t think of a better way to have celebrated our anniversary, even if I was very tired at the end of it, having been up about 23 hours and covering about 28,000 steps! Our second celebration will be the pottery date night I bought Phil as a gift which involves air dry clay, hot chocolate and fudge. Definitely a lot less strenuous!

An unwanted Valentine

Feb20

My gift this Valentine’s Day was a positive Covid test. I couldn’t believe it – having avoided the dreaded lurgy for almost two years, two lines were staring back at me. The day was spent under a duvet in front of Netflix and binge watching Emily in Paris. I did get a beautiful single red rose from my husband which cheered me up a bit though.

This year I really wanted to celebrate properly, after last year being in lockdown – was that lockdown part three? I lose track. So, it’s just as well we planned our celebrations for the Saturday before Valentine’s, after all who wants to celebrate on a Monday anyway?

Despite lockdown last year, we did make the best of it and still celebrate with an afternoon tea delivered from Cutter and Squidge in London. I wore a jumper from Oasis with heart buttons on the sleeves and was spoilt with my favourite red roses and some heart earrings from Pandora, so I can’t really complain.

I know a lot of people see Valentine’s as commercialised and so don’t bother to celebrate it at all, but I think any opportunity to celebrate love is worth taking. Having said that I do try to avoid restaurants with set Valentine’s menus, as it is usually inferior food and service at an inflated price.

This year, we did something a little different to the norm. The huge slide at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, ArcelorMittal Orbit, had been on my bucket list for a while and as I can see it from my new office window, I figured it was time to take the plunge. I’ve always enjoyed theme park rides so thought this would be great, until I read that the last part of the slide is corkscrewing in the dark that is! Flashbacks hit me of Space Mountain at Disneyland Paris, aged 13 – the only ride I’ve ever hated.

The slide is the world’s longest tunnel slide at 178m long. There are viewing platforms to take in the views across London before you slide and they are breath-taking. You can see as far as the Shard, the O2 and Canary Wharf. Once up there and seeing the slide, my nerve started to go. There are transparent sections of the slide to take in the views and I was watching people go down. Was I too old for all this now? Did I really want to be doing it? I figured the slide has been there for ten years now (how were the Olympics ten years ago?) so it must be safe and you are only on it for 40 seconds so how bad could it really be?

Anyway our slot came and we put on the head protection and elbow pads and joined the queue. I decided to go first and get it over with and I really don’t know what I was worried about – if anything it was quite tame and I really enjoyed it. My other half on the other hand wasn’t so keen!

Afterwards as we walked round the structure, trying to get a good picture, you could hear people screaming as they came down and we looked at each other and said we were glad we hadn’t heard that before we went on it or we may have chickened out!

We finished the evening with a more traditional celebration – a meal at The Real Greek with prosecco and cocktails!

It’s so easy for day to day life to take over and to stop spending quality time with the one you love, so Valentine’s is the perfect reminder to appreciate each other.

And Just Like That

Feb6

And Just Like That, the long awaited Sex and the City reboot is over, and I find myself disappointed, desperately hoping for a second series and wondering what I will now have to watch on a Thursday evening.

I have been a major Sex and the City fan for years now, as anyone who has followed my blog will know. I actually only really discovered the TV series a year or so before the first film came out, so long after it originally aired, but have since watched all the episodes many times over. I waited at the movie premiere to catch a glimpse of the stars, went on the movie tour in New York City, sought out the series locations when I visited Paris and even had Carrie’s blue Manolo’s as my wedding shoes.

I used to compare my relationship at the time I first started watching with Carrie and Big’s relationship, thinking that was an example of true love but actually I now know that true love shouldn’t be that hard. I am now happily with my Aidan and I had hoped we’d see the return of Aidan in this sequel and Carrie would see he was the one that got away, but sadly not.

Anyway, I was eagerly awaiting a chance to spend more time escaping to New York City and enjoying the glamour and the fashion with my favourite characters. The first episode however left me rather disappointed. For a start, the dynamic wasn’t the same without Samantha. Then there was the way they were trying so hard to be woke, making up for the inequalities of Sex and the City, that it was cringe worthy, and don’t even get me started on Carrie destroying her iconic blue Manolo’s in the shower whilst cradling Big as he died! How could they kill off one of the main characters in the first episode? Mind you given the revelations about Chris Noth, perhaps that may prove to be a wise decision for the future of the series. Should I continue investing in this, I wasn’t sure.

I am so pleased I did persevere though. For me the real strength of the series is the enduring friendships. They are there for each other no matter what and support each other even when they disagree. I hope I still have my same group of friends to go out to lunch with in my 50’s. The fashion is still a joy to see, showing that fashion isn’t just for the young, although I’m not sure what the thinking was behind the bright orange Valentino ballgown with pink elbow length gloves Carrie wore to scatter Big’s ashes in the final episode but I did love the diamond encrusted Eiffel Tower bag which contained his ashes! It was lovely to see the Versace dress of a thousand layers again when Carrie is going through archiving her closet, a nice nod to Sex and the City and that final episode in Paris. There were various nods to Sex and the City but I think they missed one opportunity to once again link back to Sex and the City in the final episode when Che asked on the podcast “What’s your worst break up?” and Carrie replied “My husband died” I was screaming at the TV, the post-it note!

So should we revisit other shows from the nineties and early noughties or should we leave them in the past where they belong and just remember them fondly?

I think the desire to revisit comes partly from our investment in the characters but more so as it reminds us of the happier, carefree times of our youth and let’s face it, most people view the past through rose tinted glasses. It’s also a chance to relive the things we enjoyed growing up, with our children or nieces and nephews.

I recently watched Mean Girls with my twelve year old niece and I think that film is just as relevant today as when it was made in 2004. Girl’s still identify with it as there are still the same cliquey groups and rules you feel you have to follow to fit in. “On Wednesday’s we wear pink.” There was a Mean Girls 2 in 2011 and the girls had a reunion in 2020 to encourage people to vote in the US elections and to celebrate the longevity of the show.

Pre pandemic in 2019, which feels like a million years ago now, my friend and I went to a themed evening of Mean Girls. A leisure centre in London Marylebone, was transformed into North Shore High School for a screening of the movie, with themed photo opportunities, food and drink inspired by the film, and our own Spring Fling after. In the words of Gretchen in the film, it was “so fetch”. You were encouraged to come dressed in pink or as your favourite character, so I wore a cerise pink dress from French Connection.

Last year we were treated to the long awaited Friends Reunion. I can remember watching Friends on Friday nights as a teenager and ever since the re-runs can always be found on some channel or another, ideal for a lazy weekend day, just like a comfy pair of slippers. It was another show I was a great fan of and probably where I first fell in love with New York City. So I was excited by the thought of revisiting Chandler, Ross, Joey, Rachel, Monica and Phoebe. It was nice in a way that it wasn’t a continuation of the story but more the cast getting together on set and looking back at some of the fun they had during filming and their favourite bits, plus interviews with the writers and other stars. It’s like one of the producers/writers said, this was a series about a time in your life when friends are your family and I sure remember that fondly. There are so many classic lines in Friends and it doesn’t matter how many times you watch it, it’s still funny. It is so sad when something that has been such a big part of your life comes to an end, after all it ran for 10 years and was the most popular sitcom for the whole six series, but time moves on and so too must the characters.

Christmas 2019, I had a great evening with a friend at Friends Festive in London. They mock up all the sets and there are loads of photo opportunities along with themed food and cocktails.

Today I finally started to build my Friends Central Perk Lego set that I bought in lockdown but never got around to. There’s something very relaxing in regressing to childhood and building Lego – trust me – don’t knock it until you’ve tried it!

Talking of reliving childhood, let’s not forget the remakes of the Disney cartoons with real actors/CGI either. I have enjoyed all of these just as much as the originals. Disney can be quite dark but there are always some great messages in their movies and I love watching them.

So what do you think? Are remakes and sequels a good idea or not? Maybe they sometimes take things too far – how many sequels of The Fast and the Furious have we had now? But ultimately I am loving the nostalgia, and for die hard (excuse the pun) fans of the originals there can often never be too many.

I loved Sex and the City and enjoyed both films, despite the second one being panned by many and also to my surprise enjoyed And Just Like that, once I took it as a series in its own right and stopped comparing to Sex and the City. So if the writers are listening, please can we have another series?

Reflections of Lockdown

Mar21

So here I am again, finally putting a blog together, after some eighteen months plus absence.

Next Tuesday 23 March, marks a year since lockdown began in England. We were so sure it would only be for 3-4 weeks and here we are a year later! Although there has been some rule relaxation over that time, life as we know it has not been able to resume.

Now in many ways I know I am one of the lucky ones. Up to this point, I have been lucky enough not to suffer Covid-19 myself and my family are thankfully all safe. The vaccine programme is well underway and we have a roadmap for getting out of this, but still a year locked down has taken its toll, particularly with the additional personal challenges – those close to me know what I am referring to. The hardest part has been this stretch since Christmas where we have been back in full lockdown but without the sunshine of last year’s full lockdown. I think what was once a novelty, has started to become quite tiresome now. A holiday to look forward to or even a meal out would be nice.

Now I vowed a year ago to start blogging again – after all lack of time could no longer be used as an excuse – however somehow or another, weekend after weekend would pass without me getting around to it. Well now as we have a roadmap for hopefully being back to normal by June, I really need to get on with this before time does become an issue again.

So, what am I going to write about you might ask, given that most of the last year has revolved around my four walls and the latest Netflix series? Well there is plenty to catch you up on prior to the pandemic changing our lives beyond recognition, but I’ll start with a reflection on our current situation.

There have amazingly been some positives to come out of this world crisis and I only realised quite how many at New Year, when I went to post my top ten photos of the year from my camera roll on Instagram and struggled to narrow it down.

In January 2020, we got our new rabbit, Benji – a continental giant. I had been keen to get another, since we lost our beloved Rufus the previous October and I’m so glad we did before the pandemic hit, as he has been a great comfort during the lockdown, even if we do now have a lot less carpet than then, thanks to his chewing! Next month we will be adding to our pet family with a girlfriend for him – double trouble here we come!

I had never been a great one for gardening before the pandemic, but last year, my husband and I really got stuck in and grew runner beans, courgettes and peppers successfully. The peppers I was particularly proud of as I grew them from seeds I dried out of peppers from the supermarket. The BBQ was used more than it had been in all the years of having it too!

Having lived in Medway ten years next month, it had never really felt like home, mainly I think as I used it much like a hotel as I worked in London all week and visited friends and family in the London boroughs most weekends. Now while I would still like to move back to a London borough, the pandemic has made me appreciate my local area far more. We have discovered and appreciated some great beauty spots on our doorstep and as well as keeping up our running (despite there being no parkruns) we have also realised the pleasure a good walk can bring. We’ve also got to know our neighbours better and it feels more like a community – particularly on VE Day in May, when we had a street party.

Our wedding anniversaries have always been grand celebrations, usually involving a holiday, but I actually found our 2020 celebration of six years together far more special than any of those, because so much more thought went into it– read more about that in a later blog.

I started volunteering for the Rainbows, part of Girlguiding, it’s for the 5–7-year-olds before Brownies. Volunteering with Girlguiding was something I had wanted to do for a long time but somehow, again never got around to. So far it has all been on Zoom but I am looking forward to finally meeting them all in person after Easter, all being well. Volunteering really is so rewarding and I’d encourage anyone to look for opportunities, even if you only have limited time available.

I got to see one of my closest friends get married and get her well-deserved happy ever after, the weekend before they cut wedding numbers from 30 to 15. The ceremony was beautiful and held at The Old Marylebone Town Hall. I felt so privileged to be included in the intimate ceremony and the smaller numbers made it all the more special. She looked absolutely stunning and they both looked so happy. It was a cold, windy day but we still managed confetti on the steps as they came out, followed by prosecco and the favour was a facemask to remember the occasion. I wore a purple dress from Silk Fred, with my wonderful Sophia Webster sandals which I had bought for her original do, planned for April 2020 but cancelled due to the lockdown.

One of our proudest moments of last year was being selected to be Godparents to my best friend’s son. Again, the ceremony was small given restrictions and we went with my friend and her husband for afternoon tea after the service. It just felt extra special somehow because it was a small affair. I wore a floral maxi dress from Oasis, with a navy waterfall jacket from New Look and my espadrilles by Castaner that I got in Barcelona a few years back.

In amongst all the craziness, my husband and I even managed a short break to Whitby in August, which we last visited to get engaged in 2013. We stayed in a lovely little cottage and of course visited the famous Magpies restaurant for Fish and Chips.

One of the things I am so grateful for is technology. If it hadn’t been for Zoom and FaceTime, I’m not sure how I would have coped. While nowhere near as good as meeting people face to face, it is a good consolation and I have enjoyed video calls with friends and family, including quizzes! I have never researched so many quiz questions in my life! We have regularly had dinner over facetime with my Mum and Dad which actually works really well and you almost forget the camera is there. Christmas lunch was done like this and we told cracker jokes and opened our presents over it too.

I’ve loved spending more time with my husband, even if we have driven each other crazy at times and when I have managed to see friends, it has been more quality time, without distractions and I feel we’ve got to know each other even better.

I certainly haven’t missed the commute, although it will be nice to see work colleagues in the flesh again. It will be lovely to get some routine back and a push to get out of bed in the morning, rather than leaving it to the last possible minute to roll into the spare bedroom and start work. One phrase I definitely won’t miss is ‘you’re on mute.’

I will miss some of the simple pleasures that lockdown has brought though, not least that quality time spent with people. A slower pace of life has been nice and time to notice some of the nature around us – maybe the answer is a blended approach. I won’t be giving up my Sunday evening baths with Lush bath bombs, candles and a book, that’s for sure! I’m sure we will all be glad when the hairdressers open though – there’s a reason I never trained as one – me and clippers are not a match made in heaven, as my husband can testify!

We all hope we are on the home straight now, but why not take some time to look for the positives in this nightmare and like me, you might be surprised at how long your list is!

Wood you believe it?

Aug4

I can’t believe that five years or half a decade has passed since I married my soulmate on a beautiful hot May day in true fairytale style.

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The traditional gift associated with five years of marriage is wood. Since ancient times trees have been thought to symbolise strength and wisdom. The idea is that after five years, deep roots have been formed meaning that the relationship is strong and you are wiser in that you have learnt from early mistakes and disagreements.

I was a bit stumped (no pun intended!) on a gift for my husband but saw they had released a limited edition Formula One print to celebrate the 1000th race which I knew as an avid fan he would love so got that and a wooden frame to put it in so it fitted with the theme. He got me a wonderful wooden swing seat for the garden – something I have longed to have for many years.

We always like to do something nice to celebrate our anniversary and if possible go away somewhere. I am a devoted reader of Stylist magazine and when I saw Mollie’s Motel & Diner featured in there, I just knew that was where I wanted us to go for our anniversary, especially as we had considered doing route 66 across the USA later in the year, before ruling it out given the amount of daily driving we would have to do because annual leave would mean we could only go for two weeks.

Located in Buckland, Oxfordshire, Mollie’s as their website describes it, is a nod to 1950s America. It is a motel, diner, drive-thru and a general store which opened earlier this year.

The place still had that lovely new smell to it and the staff were so welcoming, particularly Natalie on reception who ordered us complimentary Prosecco for our room to celebrate our anniversary.

The rooms were absolutely stunning, with large beds covered with crisp white sheets against a wooden clad headboard and a shower that was to die for – easily the best shower I have ever had. Complimentary Cowshed products were also provided. It felt like a true taste of luxury at a reasonable price.

The diner didn’t disappoint that evening either. Not only was there a great 50’s American vibe but the food was delicious and American size portions too! I had an Oreo milkshake which was a little bit of heaven, cheesy nachos to start, followed by a dirty burger and finished off with a humongous chocolate brownie.

I wore a dress from Oasis which has proved to be a great transitional piece with its long sleeves and the fact it looks good with boots, shoes or sandals. I wore pink pointed buckle shoes, also from Oasis and finished it off with my Dior look-a-like saddle bag from River Island.

The following morning, not wanting to miss out on Parkrun, and needing to burn off last night’s indulgence, we went to one near the motel at Whitney. They were a really friendly bunch there, but it was a bit of a tougher course, spilt over narrow woodland, some road side and some on the grass.

After that workout, we had a well earned breakfast back at the diner which for me consisted of pancakes with mixed berries and a banana milkshake.

The t-shirt I wore that morning was from Shein – an online boutique I have recently discovered through Facebook.

Five years has flown by and while I would be lying if I said the whole five years was blissful, our marriage has grown and we have a far deeper understanding of each other now. I don’t know how he puts up with me sometimes! I never want to imagine life without him. Here’s to the next five years and then the eternity ring!

Risk it, go for it!

May31

Mary Quant once said “Risk it, go for it. Life always gives you another chance, another go at it. It’s very important to take enormous risks.” That’s exactly what she did in the Swinging Sixties, redefining what it meant to be young and seizing every opportunity that came her way.

The Fashion and Textile Museum’s latest exhibition; ‘Swinging London: A Lifestyle Revolution’ explores the design and the fashion of the Chelsea Set, in particular Mary Quant and Terence Conran, but touching on the work of other designers of the era, who worked with them such as Laura Ashley and photographers of the time.

I visited with my Mum, who grew up during the wonderful Sixties in London. I often think it must have been a fabulous era to be a teenager in. Taking Mary’s philosophy of risk, I chose a different outfit to something I would normally wear which also gave a nod to the Sixties/Seventies, along with embracing the current trend of co-ordinates. The skirt and top were from River Island, the beige mac was M&S (I was channelling my inner Mod here) as well as the orange espadrilles. The bag I styled it with was also River Island – a great copy of the Dior saddle bag. I tied in the orange shoes by also wearing orange hoop earrings from Accessorize. Unfortunately, the risk didn’t really pay off as the outfit was not a great choice for my fuller figure. Fashion is about having fun and Quant certainly promoted fashion as a game, but we have all had our fashion fails. Why not share some of yours below?

While a relatively small exhibition, Swinging London gives a great overview of fashion from 1952-1977, displaying homewares, fashion, furniture, lighting and ceramics and is very reasonably priced to visit at less than £10 per ticket. Visit before the exhibition closes on 2 June 2019.

Mary Quant was born in Blackheath, London in 1930 and was instrumental in the Mod and youth fashion in the sixties, along with being one of the designers accredited with the mini skirt and hot pants. She opened her first shop, Bazaar in Chelsea in 1955 and two years later a second branch, in Knightsbridge, designed by Terence Conran.

Terence Conran was born in Kingston Upon Thames, London in 1931and started his own design company in 1956, designing a shop for Mary Quant. He is most famous for the household and furniture store, Habitat, opening the first branch in Chelsea, London in 1964. Involved in other retail businesses, along with architecture and interior design; more recently he is known for a number of London restaurants which he has created.

The below photo shows the co-ord set designed by Quant in 1965. The design of the fabric was a textile from Liberty of London, originally an early twentieth-century block-printed fabric, which Liberty converted to a screen-print. The ‘Sgt Pepper’ coat is by Michael Mott for Paraphernalia, a leading boutique in New York who acknowledged the influence of Mary Quant and her boutique.

The shoes below, came with a carry bag and are from a 1967 range by Quant when she collaborated with G.B. Britton – a work boot manufacturer. They proved to be unpopular, given that like wellies, they were too hot and sweaty in summer and too cold in winter.

Part of the exhibition was Elizabeth Suter’s sketches which captured the designs from the sixties catwalks. What makes these sketches all the more brilliant is that they were drawn mainly from memory, as sketching during the shows was not allowed. These were captivating and showcased such a wonderful talent. I would love to have some of these framed on my walls at home.

Following the exhibition, Mum and I explored some previously unvisited corners of Bermondsey and discovered a lovely parade of cafes and shops which included Kat Maconie the shoe designer and London Glassblowers where they display glassblowing as well as selling signed decorative pieces by Peter Layton. We went on to discover Vinegar Yard, an urban garden and street food market that has pop up shops selling vintage clothing, antiques, records and art, amongst other things. Vinegar Yard only opened in April this year and you can’t miss it, due to its art installation of a train carriage with giant ants crawling over it. Artist Joe Rush created the ants and has a working studio within the yard. Just round the back of London Bridge station, this is a classic example of what I love best about our Capital, there is always something new to discover around the corner!

We finished the day in the vibrant Borough Market with lunch at Fish! which served delicious fish and chips in the heart of the market.

We had a lovely day out, proving that South London has just as much to offer as the more central and traditionally tourist parts; after all Mary Quant herself was a South London girl!

Why not take a leaf out of Quant’s book and take a risk, after all when you die you always regret the things you didn’t do.

J’adore Dior

May28

When I think of Dior I think of femininity, luxury and class. When Dior launched his first collection in 1947, he created The New Look – the hour glass silhouette. The press dubbed the collection The New Look because of its revolutionary nature. In contrast to wartime boxy styles, his designs emphasised the curves of the female body.

Born in 1905, Dior retrained as a fashion artist in 1935. Tragically, he died of a heart attack in 1957, just ten years after the launch of his first collection, however the legacy left by Dior continues to inspire some seven decades later, through the six artistic directors that have succeeded him in the fashion house.

The V&A’s biggest fashion exhibition since Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty in 2015 Christian Dior: Designer of Dreams, has been a sell out for the London Museum, leading them to extend the exhibition for a further two months until 1 September 2019. The exhibition was inspired by the Christian Dior: Couturier du Rêve in Paris and also explores the designer’s fascination with British culture. Dior is quoted as saying: “There is no other country in the world, besides my own, whose way of life I like so much.” He was fascinated by England’s great houses, ocean liners, Savile Row tailoring and royalty. He often showed his collections in grand country houses, such as Blenheim Palace in 1954 in aid of the British Red Cross.

I had long anticipated the release of tickets for this exhibition and finally got to visit in March with my friend. For the visit I wore a red t-shirt from Topshop with J’adore on the front to emulate an actual Dior t-shirt worn by Carrie Bradshaw in Sex and the City Movie 2.

I paired the t-shirt with a black satin, bias cut skirt from New Look. A similar skirt produced by Topshop was an Instagram sensation and therefore a sell out. The weather still being somewhat chilly, I also wore my trusty New Look faux leather biker jacket that is one of my go to pieces. To really set the outfit off, I wore black suede heels that I purchased in Belgium some years back and accessorised with an Asos bag which I thought had a look of a Dior saddle bag and actually appeared in Fabulous magazine sometime after I had purchased it. The only true Dior I wore was my mascara, Diorshow which I can’t rate highly enough. A lady on the tube commented on how beautiful my shoes were but after a whole day in London in them, I can assure you I was using a rather different word to describe them!

The exhibition has over 500 objects, including over 200 rare Haute Couture outfits, displayed with accessesories, original drawings, perfumes, magazines and photographs. The exhibition is set out over different themed rooms and is a display of absolute beauty, curated perfectly to take you on the Dior artistic journey. It looks at where Dior found inspiration for his designs from the eighteenth century, to travel to gardens.

The entrance to the exhibition looks at Dior’s life and then focuses on The New Look, particularly the bar suit, acquired by the V&A in 1960 and considered to be a key piece of his first collection, reimagined subsequently by many artistic directors.

Dior in Britain’s main attraction was the dress designed by Dior for Princess Margaret to wear in her 21st birthday portrait in 1951. Dior said of the princess: “she was a real fairy princess, delicate, graceful and exquisite. The same adjectives could be used to describe Dior’s own creations.

The next room is historicism and looks at the influence of the eighteenth century on Dior and subsequent artistic directors.

Dress to the left is Christian Dior – Raf Simons part of Haute Couture Autumn-Winter 2014 – The skirt emulates the style of an 18th century court dress

The pink jacket to the right is again Christian Dior – Raf Simons and part of the Haute Couture Autumn-Winter 2014 collection. The cut and embellishment clearly echo 18th century court attire

Me in the historicism room

Christian Dior enjoyed travel and took inspiration from art, landscapes and architecture in different countries. The Travel room looks at how travel inspired his, and future designs of the fashion house. My favourite outfits in the room are shown below. On the left an Egyptian inspired piece by Christian Dior – John Galliano and part of the Haute Couture Spring-Summer 2004 collection. This is purely art, if totally unwearable. On the right, the dress was for the Tokyo presentation of the 2017 Spring-Summer haute couture collection and I just adore this Christian Dior – Maria Grazia Chiuri creation, which with the trailing cherry blossom, encompasses the femininity of Dior.

The next room was by far my favourite, The Garden, and I could have spent hours in there. It truly felt like a secret garden, which is exactly the feel Maria Grazia Chiuri wanted to create in the Musee Rodin where she displayed her first couture collection, as homage to Dior’s love of gardens. Flowers influenced both Dior’s designs and his wonderful perfumes. He would often sketch in the garden and as a boy he loved to study his mother’s plant catalogues. Dior said: “After women, flowers are the most divine of creations.” The room was simply magical. The centre piece gown, seen top right in the below collection of photos is Christian Dior – Maria Grazia Chiuri and part of the Haute Couture Spring-Summer 2017 collection. The detail is phenomenal with the petal-like decoration created using layers of dyed feathers.

The centre bottom photo of the collection above is a dress by Dior – Raf Simons and part of the Haute Couture Autumn-Winter 2012. The dress was worn by Natalie Portman as the face of the Miss Dior perfume. The bottom right picture of the above collection shows to the far right a dress by Christian Dior – John Galliano, which was part of the Haute Couture Autumn-Winter 2010 collection and is hand painted silk, clinched at the waste by a green bow representative of garden twine.

The Ateliers room demonstrates how test garments are made in white cotton fabric so the fit and shape of the design can be checked before making it in the actual fabric and adding embellishments.

The exhibition concludes with The Ballroom which was where Dior could really allow his imagination to run free and showcase extravagance. Dior once said that: “evening clothes are the most glamorous and fascinating things a woman can have as the evening is the time when you escape the realities of life.” This room was really atmospheric with relaxing music and lighting moving it between day and night.

The dress to the bottom right of the collection above is Christian Dior and part of the Haute Couture Autumn-Winter 1949 collection was embroidered with thousands of shimmering sequins and has to be one of his stand out pieces.

The final dress we see is the below creation by Christian Dior – Maria Grazia Chiuri and was part of the Haute Couture Spring-Summer 2018 collection. The inspiration for the dress was an original 1950 hand-painted fan by Christian Dior, held by the mannequin. Having his signature embroidered in the skirt is symbolic of his lasting legacy.

If you can get to the exhibition, I highly recommend it. Additional exhibition tickets will be released on the 15th day of each month for the month ahead and limited tickets are available to purchase daily at the museum on a first come, first served basis. Dior remains one of the greatest designers and his creations are often seen both on the red carpet and in the fashion magazines.

The shop at the V&A also has an impressive range of books on the designer and souvenir drawings, photos and stationery from the exhibition.

Sadly my finances will probably only ever extend to the makeup and perfume of the fashion house, but his influence can often be found in high street designs. He was a true God of the fashion world. Long may his legacy continue.

Hearts and flowers

May3

First thing on a Sunday morning, London is like a ghost town, quietly waiting for its admirers. A short walk from Old Street tube station, takeaways and bus routes give way to older streets with more historical buildings and over sized greenery seems to be heading towards us, as people struggle home with a new pot plant or two. Where are we heading? Columbia Road flower market.

The flower market began as a Saturday market but was later moved to a Sunday to accommodate a growing number of Jewish traders, for whom Saturdays were a day of rest. Moving it to a Sunday also allowed traders from Covent Garden and Spitalfields to sell off stock left over from Saturday trading. Following a demise in the seventies when there were suggestions of demolition, the locals fought to save the market and the surrounding Victorian shops and since then it has gone from strength to strength. The market now attracts people from around the world and as well as being a great place to pick up a cheap bunch of quality flowers, or a pot plant to transform that awkward corner of your home, the market also appeals to photographers and film makers.

The market is a feast for all the senses, with flowers in every colour of the rainbow available, their sweet scents filling the air, blending with the waft of freshly brewed coffee coming from the many cafes. The day we visited, the air was filled with the sweet scent of lavender. The second or third generation market traders call out their deals in cockney accents and there is a general hubbub as people squeeze their way along the stalls. Music can also be heard from the street buskers.

When you have had your fill of the plants, the Victorian shops behind offer vintage crockery, gifts and art. Then it’s time to chill in one of the cafes. We accidentally stumbled into a vegan cafe and I can tell you a vegan pain au chocolat doesn’t quite hit the spot, but I did feel like a hip east Londoner!

My husband bought me the most gorgeous roses which lasted way longer than your average bunch, despite being carted round London with me for the rest of the day.

It might mean an early start but the market is well worth a visit on a Sunday morning.

This was Valentine’s weekend and so after the historic market, we headed to the modern Shard to experience the view from the top, whilst sipping champagne. I of course dressed themed for the weekend, in a top with hearts on the collar, paired with skinny jeans – both Oasis and complimented it with red ballet pumps by Mauro Leone purchased in Milan and a red heart bag by Floozie. I wore my trusted faux leather jacket from New Look as despite the sun, it was a chilly day.

At the beginning of any romance, it’s all hearts and flowers but once you have been together a few years, that all falls by the wayside, only to be replaced with the day to day routine. It’s important to still appreciate each other, so this year we decided to celebrate Valentines Day like we did in the early days.

The trouble with going out on Valentines is you are usually faced with an overpriced fixed menu and crammed in so tight that you virtually bash elbows with the person next to you every time you lift your fork to your mouth. Maybe we have just been unfortunate with our choices in the past, as this year we booked our local restaurant, Eight and although it was a set menu – the price was reasonable and we were in no way crammed in.

I wanted to get proper dressed up, just as you do in the first flourish of dates. I decided to embrace this year’s animal print trend and wore a jumpsuit from Oasis with some red wedge LK Bennett sandals. I even had my nails themed for the day.

Rather than just cards this year, we also did gifts. Men being notoriously hard to buy for, I got my husband some clothes from Superdry. He got me the best kind of chocolate – one that doesn’t get you fat! Have I discovered the holy grail I hear you ask? No just some fantastic eyeshadow by Too Faced that is scented with chocolate!

Love comes in many shapes and forms and needs to be nourished. Many of us spend the best years of our lives searching for our Mr Darcy, just like Bridget Jones. When we find him though, do we forget to appreciate what we have and take it for granted?

At the location used as Bridget Jones’ flat in the films

Along with romantic love, one of my other great loves is London. It is such a fusion of all the cultures and traditions of the world. It doesn’t matter how many times you visit, there is always something different to see and old and new blend together seamlessly. I particularly like the creativity it unleashes. A wander along the Thames from London Bridge to Blackfriars is made all the more beautiful by the entertainers. This particular day, there was a poet, typing you an instant poem on an old typewriter and a bubbleologist. A painting by Jimmy C of Shakespeare reminds us that London’s relationship with culture and the arts dates back centuries.

London’s people are what makes the city so wonderful and we all pull together when our centre of multiculturalism is threatened by extremists. The love Londoners have for each other is perfectly depicted in the street art of hearts created in Brough Market by the artist Jimmy C following the terror attacks there in 2017. Each heart represents one of the eight people who lost their lives that night. There is so much hate in the world but ultimately love will conquer all.

Practically perfect in every way

Feb22

The release of Mary Poppins Returns, a sequel to the original sixties made film, coincided with shops releasing some fabulous merchandise. A new generation has been introduced to the magical nanny and Disney has shown it can move with the times. A little less magical than the original, the film is still escapism at its best.

Given my love for afternoon teas, I couldn’t resist a visit to The Shard who are offering a Mary Poppins themed afternoon tea. My husband was reluctantly going to accompany me, until he broke his toe, so Mum kindly stepped in and my husband treated me to a Mary Poppins Pandora charm as an apology; so all’s well that ends well!

I wanted to wear something that had an air of sophistication and a nod to a previous era, words which could also describe the film. I decided a boucle jacket would fit the bill perfectly and saw a gorgeous one from Sister Jane but, unfortunately they are a sizest company and don’t go up to fat bloater size – so that was out! Luckily I found just the one in Marks and Spencer. I paired this with skinny jeans from Oasis and a plain white t-shirt. I accessorised with red Sarah Jessica Parker heels, a red ‘Mulberry’ clutch and a geometric silver necklace from V&A museum. The real piece, that set off the outfit, was a handmade large oval brooch depicting Mary Poppins’ tape measure and the slogan ‘practically perfect in every way.’ I purchased this online at Etsy, from a store called Shrinking Violet Jewellery, which I highly recommend. The product was excellently made and delivery was fast.

After clearing security, the lift took us up 32 floors to the restaurant area of The Shard and we made our way to Aqua Shard – the restaurant offering the tea. The corridors along the way have some wonderful illustrations depicting the map and sights of London. As we were early we had a drink in the bar and took in some of the stunning views across London. I noticed that some of the tables for tea had a window view and hoped we would get one, but was doubtful. However I was pleasantly surprised when we were ushered over to one.

Many people would probably think the cost for this tea (almost £75 including tip) was over the top, even by London standards, but the theme was done fantastically and we couldn’t have asked for a better view or a more pleasant afternoon. Goodness knows what it feels like to go up as high as the viewing platform as even on this floor, I was looking down on the roof of my old office and the trains looked like toys!

A mirror was handed to us that had the menu printed on it and all the crockery on the table was Mary Poppins illustrated. Our glass of champagne (which was so smooth, you could tell it was a luxury one) was delivered to us and we had the choice of adding a flavour to it, which were in medicine like bottles on the table.

The tea stand itself was even themed with Mary Poppins umbrella on the top and her boots as the feet. A tray of sandwiches was brought over while the stand was full of delicious sweet treats, including one that resembled Mary Poppins hat and a very novel tin containing a syrup desert.

At this point, I was concerned that the key component of an afternoon tea was missing – the scones. I need not have worried though as a rather handsome waiter arrived at our table and pulled a paper bag with them in, from a Mary Poppins carpet bag. It was the icing on the cake.

To finish off the fabulous tea, the final course was candy floss! Talk about take you back to childhood!

After all that we were both stuffed and had spent a wonderful afternoon having mother/daughter time and catching up. By the time we left, darkness had enveloped the sights of London and we could observe all the pretty lights.

If you wanted to take some of the magic home with you, there was an opportunity to purchase a Mary Poppins book and themed tea leaves on your way out.

I highly recommend this tea for all Mary Poppins fans. Escape reality for a few hours and be spoilt in a beautiful restaurant with an even more beautiful view – practically perfect in every way!

The 12 outfits of Christmas

Feb15

Christmas is my favourite time of the year, not least because it brings everyone together and helps you to really appreciate the wonderful people that are a part of your life. Christmas also makes it legitimate to wear as much glitter and sparkle as possible! The shops begin Christmas sometime in October but I refuse to get too into it until December.

On 1st December, out came the advent calendars, including one for Rufus of course, which by Christmas Eve he had completely annihilated!

This was also the day of the first outfit of Christmas as we enjoyed a festive curry with friends that evening. I wore a navy glitter dot dress from Oasis with navy suede heels from New Look and a matching clutch from Boohoo. I even had my nails navy with the ring finger glittery. The dress was a surprising disappointment on the quality front, particularly given my love for Oasis and the usual excellent quality. The glitter shed itself all night, adding plenty of sparkle to the curry house and the next passenger in my husband’s car!

I always like to arrange a trip somewhere to really get me in the mood for Christmas, so this year I chose one of the best and most famous Christmas markets in the UK – Bath. My second outfit of Christmas comes in here. I wore a red dress from Oasis with a mid brown funnel princess coat also Oasis and some black suede, calf high, slouch boots (yes you guessed it – Oasis) that I have been lusting after for a couple of years so finally treated myself to.

Bath is somewhere I have wanted to go for some time and it didn’t disappoint although sadly the weather did. Rather than a nice crisp winters day with a few light flurries of snow that would have made it the quintessential start to Christmas, we were treated to drizzle!

The market stretched for miles through the Georgian streets, selling everything from paintings and crafts to hot chocolate and waffles! I was drawn by the smell of citrus fruits and cinnamon to a beautiful Christmas wreath stall. We also got a couple of unusual presents for people.

While in Bath you have to visit the Roman baths it is famous for. The baths are one of the most visited historical sights in the UK. The thermal spring rises here meaning the baths flow naturally with hot water. Bathing was a major part of Roman society and culture and this sight has been remarkably well preserved.

From Roman times to the late 1700’s, we had afternoon tea at The Regency Tea Rooms above the Jane Austin centre. Jane was fascinated by bath, mentioning it in all her novels and even making it the setting for a couple of her stories. We enjoyed the ‘tea with Mr Darcy’ served by waiters and waitresses in period costume, and avoided the worst of the rain.

After more shopping we warmed ourselves with a drink at the Abbey Hotel’s Apres ski bar.

As darkness fell, the beautiful streets and chalets were lit with pretty fairy lights and we finished the day with carols at the Abbey.

The following day, inspired by our trip, we put up all the Christmas decorations at home, while enjoying a snowball of course!

Mum and I went to see the Tina Turner musical the weekend before Christmas, so this was outfit number three! I wore a navy glitter knit dress from Warehouse with a pink shearling coat from Zara. After the fantastic show, we took in the lights of Covent Garden as we headed for dinner at Browns.

Outfit four was for Christmas drinks with friends and was a black blouse with gold spots from Oasis with black leggings, also Oasis, with black stilettos with a bow detail on the back from New Look.

We had an early Christmas day, on the Sunday before, at my Mums with my gorgeous nieces and for this I wore my soft animal print dress from Oasis with purple Ugg boots.

Christmas Eve arrived and we had both sets of parents over for dinner. I wore my gingerbread men christmas jumper from Oasis with a velvet mini skirt from New Look. We had a great meal, followed by a board game and then headed to midnight mass.

Christmas day was spent as a couple this year. We had bucks fizz and scrambled eggs with smoke salmon for breakfast. We cooked a wonderful Christmas dinner in the evening and in between pigged out on nuts and sweets while finally wrapping the rest of the presents. This year I decided to get crafty with my wrapping. I wrapped the presents in brown paper and added red and white twine, stickers from a Kikki K book and fancy tags, finishing with a slice of dried orange.

Christmas day saw me wear a fun Christmas t-shirt I got from River Island some years back and a checked mini skirt from Oasis. I was spoilt rotten with beautiful gifts, as was Rufus, who had a Christmas eve box, his own Christmas dinner and a blanket with his name embroidered on it from spoilt rotten pets!

Boxing day was a total chill out day, spent in our pyjamas on the sofa watching DVD’s so outfit eight was lounge clothes and cute slippers from Oasis. I did move from the sofa briefly to make some gingerbread men!

We met Mum’s family in London on 27th for a delicious meal at The Parcel Yard in Kings Cross station. Afterwards my husband and I sipped champagne at the champagne bar at St Pancras. I wore a knitted stripped sparkle dress from Oasis with the same mid brown coat and slouch boots I wore to Bath earlier in the month.

An afternoon with Phil’s family was spent in black skinny jeans from New Look, slogan t-shirt from Boohoo and a grey cardigan from Oasis.

My Mum and I had the great treat of taking my nieces to the pantomime which was Cinderella this year. For this I wore a mustard jumper and denim pinafore – both Oasis but to complete the look wore the wonderful Cinderella shoe necklace that my parents-in-law got me for Christmas.

All too soon, it was New Years Eve and I must be getting old as I turned down various invitations, to spend the evening in pyjamas, watching DVD’s and drinking fizz with a glowing log burner and my Yankee candles to add a bit of hygge.

So I saw out 2018 in outfit twelve of my Mary Poppins pyjamas from Marks and Spencer. New Year always marks a time of reflection on things achieved and those still to achieve. Once again I made a long list of New Year’s resolutions. This year I am determined to at least achieve one and it’s a big one – to lose nearly three stone in weight. I’m the heaviest I have ever been. Weight is sneeky – it creeps up on you and enough is enough. I started well with a seven mile walk around Riverside Country Park on New Year’s Day! Let’s see if 2019 is the year I finally achieve that.

What resolutions did you make and how are you doing with them so far?