January Loves...

A kick start to a new year with a list of endless possibilities. Places to be discovered with holidays booked and countires to be explored, trinkets from Moroccan markets, Parisian macaroons and the Austrian Alps perhaps? Photographs to be taken to keep the adventures well documented and to share with you all, outfits purchased to be worn with love throughout the year. As well as being a fresh start the classics remain with lazy Saturday girly catch ups sipping milky tea, Sushi & cinema dates to escape the bitter Winter nights. Hand written Thank you notes arrive in the post, new diaries are opened with the crisp pages waiting to be inked. The January uniform of black is well tested but paired with a pink Mulberry Charlie brightens up the Winter days, my classic and comfort skinny jeans, brogues, cashmere jumper, layers of necklaces and a touch of Chanel Rouge Allure on the lips will be at the front of my wardrobe.

A Bit Of Everything...Pinteresting

A while ago I did this post that shared with you my love/obsession of pinteresting I feel that it's my very own scrapbook that I get to explore on a daily basis. Pretty cakes, holiday destinations, mis matched china cups, Winter cover ups its has it all. So here are some of my recent finds that I added to my scrapbook that I wanted to share with you all, enjoy! X

Parisian Perfection

In the small time that i wasn't busy today in work, I started daydreaming about the lovely Paris. I am feeling the urge so badly to pop on a plane or the Eurostar and head back to Paris and capture every little detail of the city itself. Take as many snap shots (although its never enough) but I just want to see it all over again, gaze around the Louvre, have Afternoon Tea in Angelina's, stock up on Macarons, take a stroll through the Tuileres Gardens and purchase some Parisian stationary and of course stare adoringly at the fabulous outfits and gorgeous architecture... j'adore pari...

All Things Red

Today I noticed that I was surrounded a lot by red. I wore a red dress to work, I was working on Valentine's 2012, my trainers I worked out in have red on them, my car got washed and the brushes were red and my brother purchased a red bag. So below are some of my favourite and quirky red images. 

Kate Moss A Dior Addict

With all the attention that fashion house Dior have had on them in the past couple of weeks it was their long anticipated arrival of the Dior Addict lipstick advert featuring iconic supermodel Kate Moss that grabbed everyone's attention.

The advert is an epic 90 seconds long and was directed by Jonas Akerlund who has collaborated with artists such as Lady Gaga and Britney Spears. Kate is featured in a Parisian hotel getting ready to make an appearance at Paris Fashion Week, applying the lipstick in her room and again  in the back of a vintage car on her way to the Dior S/S 11 show. She is looking glamorous as always with her tousled hair, Dior sunglasses perched upon her nose and of course wearing Dior Addict (colour 596.)

Everyone Is Wearing... Biker Boots

Karl Lagerfeld finally declared that flat, workman boots are the footwear du jour on the Chanel catwalk this week, giving all our feet a time to get pampered and freshened up for Spring sandals and high heels. Biker Boots are back on the scene or should I say the Parisian streets, for Autumn/Winters Paris Fashion Week. As usual celebrities and models are the first to jump onto this trend and why not? As its a trend that mixes style with comfort and an edge of tough-girl chic and great for any kind of look your wanting to chanel. These sturdy boots add a modern, rough edge to feminine minis, and chic short suits. So if you’re looking for a new way to style your pair, simply opt for one of two options - either channel Rosie Huntington-Whiteley's  rock-chick all-black, or go for the girly, Kate Bosworth look and style with contrasting feminine separates.

Rosie Huntington-Whiteley

Kate Bosworth

Between The Covers

I will proudly hold my head up high and admit that I am a book worm, I love nothing more than getting stuck into a good book. Especially one where you get so caught up in the story that you feel as if you are one of the characters and even though its half 3 in the morning and your alarm is going to be going off in a few short hours you don't care because you have to get to the end and find out if there is a happy ending.

An today is celebrating this passion of mine with National Book Day, encouraging people to get involved & find something that they enjoy and get lost in a world however far removed they wish to be. In my short 22 years of being a bibliophile (I love this word) I have been a member of Enid Blyton's 'Famous Five' & 'Secret Seven,' then I was off to 'Malory Towers' thanks to a week in bed with tonsillitis. I was whisked away into the magical world of Hogwarts, as my Grandad collected tokens from the Sunday paper and introduced me to the first two Harry Potter books before they became the craze they are today. Shakespeare & Chaucer were figures whose works you could not help but get wrapped up whilst in the middle of a English Literature class in school.

Today I have a mixed taste in books, I can go from a girly novel that I find are brilliant to read whilst lazing in the sun on holiday, there have been moments whilst on a sun lounger that I have been laughing out loud & then crying the next. History novels take up a full shelf on my bookcase as I love nothing better then reading about the incredible lives of The Tudors, there is something so fascinating about life at court and the events that took place in that era. "I'd always thought the dissolution of the monasteries would make a great setting for a murder mystery," says author C.J. Sansom, an I couldn't agree more as after reading all 5 novels in the Shardlake series I am a huge fan of this author. 

The Blake

Blake Lively knows how to spend time in Paris.

While filming the fourth season of her hit show Gossip Girl, Blake took plenty of time out of her busy schedule to schmooze with the best of the fashion industry; going to couture shows with Anna Wintour, Vogue’s editor-in-chief, and wining and dining with world famous designers Karl Lagerfield and John Galliano.

But what is the Gossip Girl actress calling “her greatest accomplishment?” Why only having a pair of Louboutin heels named after her! No big deal…

Christian Louboutin- The Blake

After touring the City of Lights on the back of a Vespa with Christian Louboutin one of the most famous shoe designers in the world(as if that wasn't enough) he has dedicated a pair of shoes in her honour

She said:"I want to sleep with it under my pillow every night.”

To which he said

“We’re naming it the Blake.”

I can’t even lie at how slightly jealous I am right now.

Parisian Stylish Sugar

Colourful sweet cakes that are crispy on the outside and soft and sweet in the middle, pretty & delicately packed in keep sake boxes Macaroons are one of my favourite discoveries from Paris. 

If I am being honest  had never tasted or even exactly knew the sugary details of a macaroon until I read the 'Goddess Guide' by Gisele Scanlon which is one of my favourite books and one that always ends up in my suitcase. The guide has 2 whole pages dedicated to macaroons (so I knew they had to be something special) explaining the unusual flavours and scents they create. The bright colours they come in that make your eyes pop open when deciding which ones to pick and the finishing touch of the tissue papered, beautifully detailed boxes they come in that make you never want to open them and spoil what inside. 

Laduree is the well established luxury cake an pastries in Paris that specialises in Macaroons, selling thousands each day but sometime getting a bit over crowded with tourists who have been told to visit there for the best macaroons. Pierre Hermes is a worthy competitor for the making the best macaroons & where I purchased my first box of macaroons when in Paris. Located on Rue de Cambon we had just come out of Chanel and where heading towards the Louvre when I notice the Pierre Hermes shop on the other side of the quite street. I was so excited at having unexpectedly found it that I gave out a little shout of excitement. Picking which macaroons to get is one of the exciting parts as there are so many flavours that you don't even know where to begin. I remember savouring each bite and after each flavour giving it a score on what we thought of it!  With macaroons being an established Parisian sweet it was inevitable that they would collaborate with an equally famous designer John Galliano. He together with Laduree was inspired by the rose and ginger scents of his new romantic perfume that they created the exact same macaroon. Romanticism is apparent in the romantic vintage theme of the box with his noticeable signature scrawled across the front. I suppose to some macaroons may just seem a regular sweet but there is so much more hidden beneath the scented layers and each time they are so much sweeter and perfectly formed then you last remember, that you can't help but enjoy buying a box of macaroons maybe even more enjoyable if your lucky to be in Paris as well. 

A bit of Eat, Pray, French & Pilates

I haven't made a post in the last couple of weeks but things have been pretty hectic at the minute and there are quite a few things that I want to blog about that I don't even know where to begin, so I'm just go to say it all in this one post so bare with me.

Lately I have really wanted to learn French again, I don't know why because in school I absolutely hated it, i mean i used to dread going to classes but I'm suddenly desperate to learn it again. Usually once I've got an idea in my head that's it, i wanted to do whatever it is straight away so I've already been out and bought some books and enrolled on night classes in January! I know its most probably going to take me ages to speak it but as cliche as this sounds I've got this image in my head of being in Paris and speaking French as if I've being doing this for years. I was in Paris last summer with my boyfriend for a week and completely fell in love with the place, the buildings, shops, museums, macaroons, cafes, everything about it. Were going back next summer and I can't wait, hopefully by then I will have mastered the basics.

I'm reading Eat, Pray & Love at the moment and normally I am a really quick reader however with this book it seems to be taking me quite a while. I don't think i would have normally picked this book, as much as I've got quite a mixed taste in books this one I doubt i would have bought, but seeing the movie trailer made me want to read it before i see the film. When films come out that I want to see i usually want to read the book before hand as they tend to make so many changes, also I have a bad habit of only wanting to read the original copies so i hate books with the film promotion pictures as the front cover. To me it reads more as an autobiography which I'm not a huge fan of but in another way it draws you in that bit more, as I loved hearing about her living in Rome on her own for 4 months, conquering the language and doing whatever she felt like doing. ( I think this might be a slight reason why I'm so desperate to learn French again.)

Pilate's for some reason is something else that I want to start at the moment. I don't know why I'm so keen, I did a Yoga class once and afterwards I had a dreadful headache I think I had to lye down for an hour or something. That is why I'm steering more towards Pilate's and not Yoga plus I've done my research and Pilate's seems to more what I am looking for. Surprisingly though I could not believe how few classes there were in Liverpool honestly there are about 4 teachers within Liverpool! I thought I'd be able to turn up to my gym and be able to pick a class but obviously not I've got to go on a waiting list! A waiting list for Pilates classes I cant believe it, it must be like the new 'it' Chanel or Hermes handbag, you've got to join the list to become a part of that new club.