Tag Archive | Kikki K

VIP for the day

One of the A-list events in the calendar for me now is Stylist Live. It is an annual three day event that brings to life everything sassy, affluent female commuters, in London and other major UK cities love about the free, weekly magazine – Stylist.

Stylist being distributed at Southwark tube station

On my way to Olympia for the event in November, I was admiring a ladies skirt on the tube and then realised I might look a bit odd starring at her so struck up a conversation. Turns out she was off to Stylist Live too and the fabulous skirt she was wearing had been designed and made by her. Check out more of her great designs by following her on Instagram @luxefromclare

I always like to make an effort for these sort of events to at least try and look like a stylish, sophisticated woman so I wore black leggings from Oasis with a Kookai blouse and New Look biker jacket, paired with my suede stilettos with tassels on from New Look and Oasis cross-body bag.

This year my best fashionista friend and I opted for the VIP tickets and I am so glad we did. While last year was good, this year was on another level.

On arrival we were filtered into a special queue and within the VIP lounge, there was plenty of space to relax and a separate cloakroom from the other ticket holders which saved the long queue at the end of the day. Your ticket included a free go on the vending machine of dreams which despatched a pack of Candy Kittens gourmet sweets and if you were lucky some great prizes ranging from Warehouse vouchers to a holiday.

Included in the VIP ticket are unlimited snacks, lunch and soft drinks. We had the macaroni cheese which was to die for and a Bol salad so we felt a bit more healthy! A glass of prosecco and a gin are extra freebies alongside the complimentary Gordons premium pink gin all ticket holders receive, and most importantly a we received a goody bag worth £150.

The goody bag more than paid for the VIP entrance cost and included some full size products as well as a number of sample sizes. My favourites include a travel tangle Teezer, NARS lipstick, Jack Wills socks and some clear telephone cord hairbands.

goody bag

As if all of this wasn’t enough, a treatment in the beauty rooms was also included with our ticket. There was a choice with a choice of either Shiseido, bareMinerals, NARS, Laura Mercier or Buxom. My friend chose the Shiseido which was a cleanse and moisturise session that she enjoyed and I treated myself to a NARS Fashion Week Supermodel Eye. I have to say, it was quite a transformation but despite them writing down all the products they used and where to put them, I doubt I would be able to flawlessly recreate it. Afterwards you had access to a dressing up box and a short catwalk so they could create a GIF and email it to you.

More than 250 boutique pop-ups were at the event, providing a range of free beauty treatments, hair styling and shopping opportunities. I was a little disappointed at the length of the queues for some of the hair styling but the range goods for sale was fantastic, encompassing well known brands such as Spectrum, BaByliss, Fresh and Pixi with emerging newer brands such as Yull shoes and Mean Mail. My favourite pop-up was Kikki K, the Swedish design stationery brand which a friend at work got me into a few years back. Its founder, Kristina Karlsson was at Stylist, signing copies of her new book, ‘Your Dream Life Starts Here’. I was star struck getting to meet her and I hope by reading her book, I am inspired to get on the road to living my dream life.

Talking of inspiration, there were plenty of inspirational talks throughout the weekend and one I found particularly useful was from the Physiologist DR Nerina Ramlakhan who gave practical advice on how we can all get a better nights sleep.

The catwalk show is always one of the best parts of the day for me and being VIPs, we got reserved front row seating to watch the best of the autumn/winter 2018 trends. Leopard print has made a big come back along with trends of bold, earth tones and cowgirl. I particularly like the fact that all the clothes are high street and you are given a sheet detailing each look, so it is easier to go and shop for the looks you like the best.

By the end of the day, my friend and I were both shattered but it had been such an enjoyable day. We will definitely be returning next year and I urge all you fashionistas to read Stylist magazine and look out for tickets going on sale for 2019 Stylist Live event. To watch a short highlights video of this year’s event (very excited as it’s the first video I have made and edited) check out my Instagram @blahnikgirl

Own your destiny

Feb18

So another new year dawned and is already whizzing by. I can hardly believe we have already had pancake day and Valentines day for another year! I’m sure the older we get, the faster time passes. Mum turned 70 in January which was a big wake up call of how fast the years pass, with the realisation that I am now half way there myself! I still feel the same as I did at 18 but the reflection in the mirror tells me otherwise! After all, you know you are getting old when Radio 2 plays your era music in the afternoon!

This year, I made some of the usual and most popular resolutions such as to lose weight which I have so far showed little commitment and therefore little success at. I guess I’m not alone with that, given only 8% of people stick to their new years resolutions.

It’s funny, growing up, we think that once we are an adult we will be able to do whatever we want, but that doesn’t always bring you happiness. Life is full of boundaries and consequences; yes you can eat that extra slice of cake, but you won’t be slim. Everything is a choice and a new year is the perfect time to reflect on our choices and make positive changes. You only get one life so you need to take charge of it.

I did for the first time do Dry January. Dry January is a recent term which came into existence after Alcohol Concern’s first Dry January in 2013 and became a public health campaign in 2015. I must admit I have always thought of January as a depressing month, so why make it any worse by not drinking?! However this year I decided to do it and raise money for the National Autistic Society. It is a wonderful cause and particularly close to my heart, being that my nephew suffers from it. As much as I love a drink, I felt a month’s abstinence would be a minor sacrifice compared to the difficulties that he overcomes everyday. I managed to raise an incredible £377.50 which far surpassed my expectations so a big thank you to everyone who supported me! It might not have turned me off the booze for life but has definitely made me review the quantities I was putting away. Statistics show that 64% of people who do Dry January are drinking less, even six months after it’s finished.

Teetotal

New Year can be a good time to clear out your past that has perhaps been weighing you down. Too often we live in the past and look back through rose-coloured glasses. It’s human nature to reflect on the paths you have chosen and how different things could have been if you had only picked another. Essentially though, you can’t change the past but you can change the future.

A spring clean can be a good way to de-clutter your mind and set you on a path of change by letting go of the past. I felt throughly cleansed after clearing out the cupboards and also spent time down memory lane while going through my parents loft where, amongst other things, I found my old diaries and also my first shoes!

Reflecting on new starts, I revisited a great book – The Secret by Rhonda Byrne. I first read this in 2007, when I was going through a relationship break up and felt I had reached a crossroads in my life. It talks about the power of positive energy and attracting things to you and advocates creating a vision board. A vision board is like a collage of our dreams and helps to inspire and motivate as well as attract these things to you. I made one back then and when I revisited it recently, I noticed that at least 75% of it had come true. So I decided to make a new one, some ten years after first reading the book. I bought a lovely board from Maison du monde and some affirmation cards from Kikki K. I’m looking forward to finding images of what I want to bring into my life as well as reminders of places that have made me feel happy and content in order that I continue to attract those emotions.

Hopefully 2018 will see me achieve some of my dreams and I will end the year a better person than I started it.

I’d love to hear what resolutions you made and if you are still sticking to them. Remember, we are all in charge of our own destiny’s and life really is what you make it.

A magical time of year

Feb11

When it comes to Christmas, I am like a kid in a sweet shop! Every December I am counting down the days and itching to put the decorations up. Putting up the decorations this year was extra special as it was snowing outside. We followed our usual tradition of enjoying a different kind of snowball as well! Throughout the year I have collected some great new tree decorations including a golden Paddington bear and a glittering cinderella carriage. We couldn’t leave Rufus out either and decorated his hutch with paper chains, as well as getting him to wear his Santa hat!

Every December I also like to do something special to get in the Christmas spirit. Previous years have seen us going to Winter Wonderland, but we decided to give that a miss this year, in favour of a festive meal on a Pullman carriage, hauled by a steam engine on the Bluebell railway.

The Golden Arrow dining train as it is known, is a cheaper version of the Orient Express but just as special. For the evening I wore a royal blue maxi dress from Coast along with my Zara, tile pattern coat, which was a cult buy last year, that I snapped up as a sale bargain this year. In keeping with the time of year, I wore silver glitter sandals from New Look and finished the look with a silver scalloped clutch from Asos.

There really was a hint of magic in the air when we arrived at Sheffield Park station. Christmas lights lit the way to the booking hall and there was a marquee, decorated with fake snow, Christmas trees and lit reindeer that led out on to the platform where our train awaited its passengers.

We were given mulled wine, which was very welcome on such a cold December evening and then boarded our carriage, Fingal. Each carriage had the luggage racks decorated with Christmas foliage and the perfectly set tables were complete with crackers.

We ordered a bottle of Bluebell Prosecco which was delicious and then the attentive staff proceeded to serve a delicious 4 course meal to us. I started with a smoked fish medley tartlet followed by a traditional Christmas dinner, the most ornate peach bellini cheesecake you have ever seen and finished off with cheese, coffee, mince pies and a Baileys.

During the journey we stopped for carol singers which further added to the festive mood – you could even join in if you felt so inclined!

It was a wonderful evening and certainly put me in the Christmas spirit.

The day before Christmas eve was spent with my brother and his family and in the evening my two best friends, their partners and us went for a meal. Christmas eve we had my parents and my in-laws over for tea. I wore my Christmas jumper from Oasis. We opened each others presents. Rufus is now inside and while we were busy unwrapping we suddenly heard him trying to join in and unwrapping presents under the Christmas tree! That evening we went for prosecco at a neighbour’s before going to midnight mass.

This year, we decided to spend Christmas day just the two of us which was lovely. We started with a smoked salmon and scrambled egg breakfast, washed down with bucks fizz. We opened each others presents, cooked Christmas dinner and enjoyed Christmas TV. For the day, I wore a grey jumper from Oasis and a cord pinafore dress from Topshop. Rufus also enjoyed his own Christmas dinner and present!

Boxing day was spent in Norfolk with my Mum’s brothers and their families which was most enjoyable. We were truly stuffed after a fantastic lunch there and I was delighted that they set light to the Christmas pudding, as I had never seen it done before. For this day, I wore a dress from Zara with knee-high black boots from New Look and accessorised with my Stella&Dot clutch. We saw my husband’s family a few days later.

One of my most treasured presents this year was a Kikki K leather, monogrammed notebook that I had been lusting over for some time. That will come in very handy for my blog notes.

All too soon, New Years Eve came around. We went to my husband’s friends house for curry and prosecco. I wore a glitter, navy knitted dress from Warehouse. As midnight struck, that marked the end to my drinking alcohol, for I had put myself up for dry January.

2017 certainly had its ups and downs, with one of the main downs being nearly losing our beloved Rufus – luckily though the emergency vet saved him and we might be over £300 lighter but it was worth every penny to see him pull through. As for the highs, I end the year in a job far more suited to me than anything previously, in internal communications. Other highlights include visiting the Manolo Blahnik exhibition in Milan, our wedding anniversary in Scotland, visiting Kefalonia, seeing Stereophonics in Margate, a friend’s wedding and a number of friends having babies, a visit to Newcastle, my husband’s surprise 40th bash and many more. Here’s to a great 2018!