Just a Minute....(October)

Have just discovered a cute meme from the lovely 'Daydream Lily', it's called 'Just a Minute' and the idea is to take some time at the end of each month to write what you've been up to in a quick succinct way! Take a look at Liss' here.

So I thought this could be a nice little addition to Limbo, take a minute to go over what I'm making/watching/reading/listening/loving/buying at the end of each month....

So here goes nothing...

Making- A rather large profile on Spotify, currently at 1344 songs! Genuinely don't know how I survived for so long without it!!

Watching- Lots of 'Top Model' shows, Russel Howard's Good News, Seven Days, X Factor (I know, cringe) and plenty of great films like 500 Days of Summer and Into the Wild.......oh and one awful film....The Wolfman.

Reading- Vogue and Elle by monthly appointment, book-wise I plan on starting 'The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo' soon.

Listening- Bon Ivor, Fleet Foxes, Typhoon, Charlotte Gainsburg, Deerhunter, Local Natives and Peggy Sue.

Loving- Discovering new blogs! Have discovered loads through Twitter lately :) Take a look at my links list!

Buying- Not alot! Frappacino's and magazines mainly! Next month will hopefully be full of clothes shopping though....

(Images via We Heart It)

Song of the Week

Sometimes you just need to listen to something LOUD.

I'm going back to my college days with this band- Jimmy Eat World. This is their latest single, 'My Best Theory' and I'm loving it. Play it loud and scream along music fans...

Forever 21

So I've been hearing some rather exciting news on the fashion grapevine this week- looks like US retailer Forever 21 are finally launching in the UK! Have read a lot about this brand, mainly from the beautiful Rumi Neely at Fashion Toast, and I couldn't be more excited! I think it's about time the UK got some fresh fashion blood. It will surely draw comparisons from Topshop, River Island and New Look, so I'll be very interested to see how the quality stands up against the competition.

The brand are opening their first shop in Birmingham and I'm looking forward to hearing reviews.... hopefully they'll open a store in London so I can go for a rummage myself :)

Here are a few things I'm lusting after on the website.....

Anyone else excited about this??

Photo Jojo

Just a very quick post this evening (I'm off out for dinner!) Just wanted to share these gorgeous mini wooden vintage camera's I came across today....

you can get magnets, photo holders and stamps!

Cute, right? Check out the Photo Jojo store here

Blue Valentine

Just saw the trailer for this film at 'Here Come's the Sun' (one of my all time favourite blogs) and I'm in love.

I'm such a sucker for Indie love stories...



That plus Ryan Gosling is a bit of an acting GOD...

Lanvin for HnM

This is probably one of the most anticipated designer/highstreet collaborations yet. Lanvin- French, high end, incredibly luxurious. HnM- affordable, on-trend, unique. Put them together and I think that's something worth getting excited for. Personally I can't wait, our town is fianally getting a HnM all its own in November and I cannot wait to get my paws on this collection.

I was lucky enough to write about Lanvin for work the other day, here's what I said...

"The Collection: Setting the standard for style in Paris, Lanvin is France's oldest and most celebrated couture houses. Known around the world for its luxurious and feminine aesthetic, Lanvin has evolved with women with an intrinsic knowing. Look out for draped silk, duchess satin, intricate detailing and plays on proportion.

More info: The Lanvin story takes us back to 1889 when Jeanne Lanvin set up a milliners boutique in the heart of Paris. Her move into apparel came about after the birth of her daughter, Marguerite Marie Blanche, who quickly became the designers muse. Expanding the brand, Lanvin began to produce children's apparel, women's apparel, sportswear and even fragrance, all appealing to Paris' high class social circles.

The turn into Pret-a-Porter fashion took place many years later in 1993, when a focus on men's and women's apparel became key. The label's latest change of hands saw Chinese business woman and philanthropist, Shaw Lan Wang take ownership, with Alber Elbaz at the creative helm.

Today Lanvin remains true to its elegant values while Alber Elbaz brings concepts into the 21st century. A key knowing of what women want has always been integral to the label's popularity, never more so than now when women desire both femininity and style. A recent venture into the mainstream has seen Lanvin join forces with high street retailer 'H&M' for an exclusive collection, sure to broaden the label's demographic even further. "

Cor that's alot of words isn't it? Here are some pics to drool over....




Anyone else excited for this??

Song of the Week....

Have been listening to an awful lot of Laura Marling this week after hearing her amazing set at the 'Mumford & Sons and friends' gig last week, so I thought I'd share one of her songs with you this week.

I first fell in love with Laura's music a good few years ago when my good friend Zoe recomended I take a listen. Since then I have been lucky to see her live at Bestival 2008 where I took my spot in the front row and set my face for stun.

Sparking a new love for folk music, my taste hasn't been the same since- and this is truly great thing considering I used to consider Pappa Roach 'one of the best bands evaaaaaa'

So here she is singing one of my favourite songs 'My Manic and I' from her brilliant album 'Alas I Cannot Swim' .....enjoy x

Package in the Post....

Don't you just love getting packages in the post? Today I got one and it totally made my day. I recieved my print by illustrator Kate Wilson, (remember I mentioned her here) and I'm so happy with it. I got it after the lovley Clare from Shy Shoegazer suggested a website for me to get myself a print (it was the Hannah Zakari site!), so a big thank you to Clare!

Here it is....



Also- you may be wondering- how did she do that fancy image? Well today I stumbled across a great blog called 'Gem Fatale's Style Blog' and she had some blogging tips, one of which was about Picnik, a great place to play with images. So look out for some more fancy images coming your way! All in all a very artsy day :)

Just Noey....

Stumbled across a great Illustrator/designer recently called Parul Arora (Co. called 'Just Noey') and I had to share some of her work with you! Love her illustrations, photography and how she puts them onto ceramics to make cool coasters, plates and mugs! Want to fill my imaginary flat with it all! Take a peek....

This is one of her Polaroid shots...

Some Illustrations....

Some cool postcard plates!

My favourites- Polaroid coasters! (Have just written a post about these for Cellardoor actually....will post link when it gets put up!)

And finally some alphabet plates! (K is for Kebab apparently, not Kat. Sadface)

Check out the Just Noey Etsy shop here, and the blog here...

Something for the Weekend....

Ahhhhh, finally a day off- BLISS. Celebrated my first day off in 10 days with a trip to Starbucks with some much loved friends! Not only did I get to catch up with the lives of my loved ones while sipping hot chocolate, my new Maxi dress got it's first outing..... and of course I couldn't resist a few snaps.

Here's me in the new Maxi dress, complete with tummy controlling tights (who needs to diet when you have these....seriously?!) oh and apologise for the blurry pic, only one where I didn't look weird....

Dress is from New Look and I wore it with a chunky knit cardi from River Island, a necklace from French Connection, a scarf from Hong Kong and boots from New Look.

Here are some snaps from the afternoon....

*Edit* I actually hate that picture of me, so blurry and yuk. This is why I never do outfit posts

:(

Winter Warmers

(Source)

Anyone else out there suddenly freezing their tush's off? I swear Winter has rudely interrupted Autumn....

With this in mind, I've decided I need to finally bite the bullet and invest in a great winter coat. As much as I love fashion, I hate spending a lot of money on one item so coat shopping always saddens me. I would much rather use that money for new tops, or shoes, or scarfs, or jewellery. Coats just seem like a massive money sucker. Which is why in the past I have gone to Primark, and then been in shock when after five minutes outside I'm frozen and, what's that? oh yeah, all my buttons just fell off. Case in point my latest Primark Parka- which I love, but is already to thin for England's cruel cold snap.

So I'm on the hunt for something of quality and WARMTH. Having trawled the Topshop website for some time, I've decided I like the looks of these...

Love this 'boyfriend' oversized coat- but will it be warm enough for my cold bones??



Now a Parka lined with fur- that's gotta be cosy right? Quite like this one.



*sigh* The cape.... the dream! But will it be practical and will it stand the test of time??

But this is just a rough idea...need to do far more investigating before I commit to handing over £100 for one item. I know, I know, it's an 'investment'. Blah blah blah- can't I just have some cheap T's?

What's everyone else covering up with this Winter?

Song of the Week

This week I've chosen a song I fell in love with whilst listening to BBC Radio 1's brilliant Mumford and Sons & Friends set earlier in the week (Check out the vid's on the Radio 1 website) Great performances by Laura Marling, Bombay Bicycle Club, The Maccabees and of course, Mumford and Sons. But in between their sets, some great folk tunes were played, and it was here I heard and fell in love with this song....

Bon Iver: 'Skinny Love'

This is not the official video, (yet again, no video for this song), but I quite like what's been put to it anyway...



Have been listening to Bon Iver ever since, shocked I hadn't listened to them before! Anyone else out there a fan?

Here's Lookin at You....

I got myself some rather gorgeous eyewear recently and wanted to share them with you :) I often get asked (by pre-pubescent boys in bars usually) why I don't 'Just wear contacts', I've also had comments about my glasses saying 'they make you look older' and even 'My mum has those glasses' (nice, right?) so I wanted to set the record straight about my four eyes.

Basically I used to be a contact wearer, I loved being able to see clearly without hiding behind frames, they gave me freedom and made me feel that extra bit special on nights out. But then I made the stupid mistake of wearing them in the lake on a watersports holiday. For non-contact wearer's reading.... this is a big no-no. I ended up with a nasty infection which led to a stay at hospital and permanent loss of sight in my left eye.

So now as much as I enjoyed wearing contacts, I just don't want to risk anything happening to my right eye. So I've embraced my new fashion accessory and have come to love wearing glasses full time. Here are my latest buys...

My favourite pair is the black frame, Jasper Conran design. This post is dedicated to any fellow speckies out there- wear them with pride :)

Your Evil Twin...

Just came across a GORGEOUS blog through 'Daydream Lily' (one of my faves) and I have to share....

Your Evil Twin is summed up like this:

"...the photo diary of tracianne & trasienne, twins scouring interestingly
beautiful people and the coolest cities of the world, capturing anything and
everything in polaroids and film."

I love the photography, the idea and the occasional injection of illustration throughout. And yes, I would quite like to be these one of these girls- their life looks really rather amazing.

Beautiful new blog love :)

Song of the Week

Right guys, instead of doing the whole 'New Music Monday' thing I was going to try, instead I've decided I'm going to do a 'Song of the Week' post every week instead- takes the pressure off my Mondays ;)

Plus it means I can share specific songs that are currently rocking my little world!
To kick off proceedings this week I've got a song by the brilliant band 'Doves'.

For some reason I'd never really paid this band much attention until my boyfriend educated me recently (he's good like that). I'm currently obsessing over their album 'Kingdom of Rust' and while all the songs on there are great, I've chosen 'Jetstream' as my song of the week. This is the first track on the album and a beautiful opener....

(Oh and again a song without an actual video!! Sorry.)



Oh and speaking of music- Happy Birthday John Lennon :)

Sorry Subway....

So today I ACCIDENTALLY conned Subway out of £5 when paying for my lunch, (there was a mix up with the change), and instead of doing the right thing and giving the money back when I realised the mistake..... I bought a dress with the money instead.

I know, I know!! I'm a bad person, (feel free to judge me), but I think in the grand scheme of things... I need that money more than Subway does. I'm a struggling writer who has to work 6 days a week, often 12 hours a day just to get by.

Anyway! Moving on from my accidental criminal activity and on to more important things- THE DRESS. I've been after a maxi dress all summer in the hope I could transcend the look into Autumn with clever layering. I may have missed the boat as far as summer is concerned, but at least I finally found my dress. It was in the sale at New look and is perfect for what I want it for....

Would love to mix it up with these beauties...

This piece of vintage loveliness is from a new brand I discovered through Cellardoor, it's called 'Make Lemonade' and sells vintage pieces from London at normal person prices (yay!)

Love how Topshop have twisted the aviator trend- way cooler than the standard jacket....

And these boots from Urban Outfitters would make my feet so happy....even though my bank balance would be so so sad.

Yummy :)