stella mccartney on olympics fashion

I absolutely love Jacob Sutton so when I found this video showing the Team GB 2012 Olympics kit designed by Stella McCartney with Adidas, I knew I was going to share it with you.

Indecisive when it comes to DESIGN

While I have oodles of creativity tucked away in this little head of mine, actually implementing ideas offers up a whole new challenge. I can't draw, sew or make, unless it involves photoshop or indesign and then I am O.K. Well barely ok.

So when it comes to the look of this here blog I am a bit stuck; I am bored of what I have but I am so lost as to the direction I want to take. For ages I was thinking about the visual aesthetic of the blog and pleasing or not pleasing it was and while I had bundles of ideas about how I wanted this to look or what colour/font that should be or even how the layout should have a shake up, I just wasn't sure how to implement these things. 

Furthermore, html code and altering ones blogger template is an altogether scary affair - I mean I know the very, VERY basics when it comes to html code but I wouldn't dare mess with it.

The more I thought about it though, the more indecisive I became. And the more places I sought inspiration, the further away I got from what I thought I wanted. With that being said it seemed appropriate to take a step back and seek outside eyes. 

Step forward a wonderful blogger/designer who is working away to create something wonderful. And boy do I admire her for her knowledge, talent and patience in dealing with people like me who know sort of what they want but are rather demanding when it comes to the details. 

So fingers crossed for a face lift in the neat distant future - if my designer doesn't kill me. 

I'll take care of you

this week saw yet another incident which had the boyfriend coming to my rescue. Due to tiredness, lack of attention and general stupidity, I slipped in the shower, head butting the wall and smacking my leg into the side of the bath. Needless to say I had a pounding headache and i'm now sporting a yellow,green and blue bruise leg from knee to ankle. Perfect when the weather is nothing but skirt/dress and short kind of temperature.

Then I heard this song on the tv so it seemed altogether appropriate to share it on this Sunday.

the weekend is for..... RELAXING

Sometimes I really wish the working week was a little shorter and the weekend just a teeny tiny bit longer. But dont we all. The weekends that creep up on you without even really realising it are the best. The sensation of a whole week at work just disappearing before your eyes as Friday afternoon appears brings with it a whole new take on life sometimes - it's funny how your perspective can change within a few hours. Just knowing that Saturday will be filled with shopping, coffee, food, sunshine and other miscellaneous activities that have no association with work makes it all worth while. And Sunday, well Sunday is usually reserved for sunshine, sea, sand and staring at nothing except blue water and the horizon.

And why am I in such a good mood this morning.....to be honest I couldn't tell you. Staying up late to watch the Olympics opening ceremony in London and being woken by the dog tapping my face with her paw at 7am would not usually suggest this mood. Maybe it's just the weekend feeling taking over.

you shouldnt have favourites

But I do. I have a special little place in my heart for affordable fashion and that space is strictly reserved for H&M. I have mentioned it many times before, but seriously, Cyprus needs an H&M; just one, so as not to be greedy.

All I can say is thank goodness for my Dad who is a trooper when it comes to appropriately collating and packaging all my H&M parcels into one and sending them over to me. I am overjoyed I can shop online but my Dad isn't since he is the one that has to deal with the incoming parcels - well if they only shipped to Cyprus.

The problem with H&M being online, is that while I wait for said parcels to arrive on my doorstep, If I have an H&M urge, it can be satisfied. And currently I am craving lots of cool, fresh colours and coral to offset the tan thats slowly creeping in.

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I guess I should warn my Dad of more post arriving on his doorstep in the near future.

bronzed legs v bruised legs

I want beautiful bronzed legs, a nautical inspired outfit and wonderful beach hair with just the right amount of blonde and texture.

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Instead, I have one bruised leg and a headache after I slipped in the shower this evening and head-butted the wall, slamming my leg into the side of the bath. And irrational fear of slipping in the shower which turns out to be not so irrational. So instead of writing a proper post using my headache drenched brain, I am going to stare at this cool image until I fall asleep and hope concussion doesn't set in [not that I am dramatic or anything].

My sense of humour

Cards are a big deal for me. I love receiving them and I love writing them, although what with the internet cards have somewhat become redundant in my life. But Birthday cards are very important. My boyfriend however does not share my enthusiasm. For him a card is just a waste of money and I am still battling to get the idea firmly lodged in his brain that I like cards and must receive them on said birthdays, anniversaries, valentines day etc. 

He did good this year and taking a leaf out of his step-dads book, gave me two birthday cards. Of course I have had a birthday card sitting in my cupboard since I came back from my England trip in May. You may think I am crazy but for any of you who know Paperchase in the UK, you know their card selection is irresistible. 

And for someone who hates cards and thinks they are pointless, I found the perfect one. And in keeping with my sense of humour. Wonderful!!

dream a little dream

When I was little I wasn't one of these kids that dreams of being this or that when they grow up. I was perfectly content being a kid, playing in the back garden and standing on a stool in the kitchen to help my mum bake cookies. 

In fact, growing up I was never preoccupied with dreaming about what life would hold later on; I think my whole approach was more concerned with organising the here and now rather than dreaming about what the future could possibly hold. 

I never dreamt about going to university, I never dreamt about my dream job, the perfect family or any of those "normal" things. And I sure didn't dream about moving to Cyprus with my boyfriend and starting our own life together [well maybe I dreamt about living on a Mediterranean island but who doesn't]. 

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It may sound harsh and cold but in such a fast paced world, dreaming about stuff that might never happen, that might be altered within a split second by an event you could never imagine, seems like a waste of time. Don't get me wrong, just because I don't dream doesn't mean I dont have ambition or drive. On the contrary, there are things I want to achieve, places I want to visit, activities I want to do, but all are within somewhat realistic reach. 

For me dreaming is reserved only for sleep, its something that turns up unrealistic scenarios and lets you play out fantasies in your mind. Until you wake and the real world comes knocking.

inside out

When I think of wallpaper my mind conjures the image of my bedroom back home in England, when I was about 6 and had this mind blowing [and not in a good way] textured wallpaper. Thank goodness design has come a long way since then and now wallpaper has a little more style. It also is no longer reserved for the inside of houses.

Italian company Wall & Deco has created a range of wallpapers to adorn the outside of your home. The technology behind the structure of the wallpaper allows for photographic images and graphic design work to be effortlessly plastered across the exterior of any building.

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So you can change the look of your house whenever boredom strikes!! All I need now is my own house and so extra cash to wallpaper its exterior. In an ideal world said house would be on top of a cliff overlooking to sea and the exterior would be something like the black and white geometric print above. Not sure how it would hold up under the Cyprus sun but there's only one way to find out I guess.

gifts

This week, despite i actually being my boyfriends birthday, his mother sent me a belated birthday gift [I love that women]. I blogged ages and ages ago about A Merry Mishap [here] and while I jokingly suggested someone send the black bead necklace my way since my birthday was approaching - I never actually thought anyone would take note. 

Oh how wrong I was; the boyfriends mum is full of surprises, which means I am now the proud owner of said black bead necklace. And I love it! The length of the gold chain is perfect, the black geometric beads sit perfectly and it looks wonderful round my neck accompanying my black skirt, white t shirt and sandals for work. Everyone in my office wanted to know where it was from and while they didn't quite understand the whole concept of etsy they admired it from afar. 

And of course it came in super cute packaging which is also an important part of receiving something; a little bit of love for the exterior goes a long way! 

Visit the AMM shop here - there are some beautiful pieces for summer!!

lost for words

Words swim round my brain constantly, but sometimes its near impossible to string them into a sentence or a logical sequence to tell a story. Today is one of those days. 

So with that being said, I will leave you with this wonderful picture. It's always better to see the glass half full right!?

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The Olympics v Graffiti

With the worlds eyes soon to be fixed on London for the Olympics, it's no wonder that the city wants to look it's best. Streets want to be clean and sparkly, the tube needs to run on time and the security of the city needs to be paramount. But part of me feels like many other things, for example the everyday lives of Londoners who must find alternative transport or not leave their house for the duration of the games, are being overlooked. 

This article, was forwarded to me by the boyfriend and while I blindly thought "oh no not another article about graffiti I have to read" I am glad I took the time. 

I will now digress for a moment to give you a little back story; I met my now boyfriend of nearly 8 years while he was painting graffiti at a youth centre in our local area. When we met I knew nothing about graffiti but over the years he has "educated" me about this writer, this style and I even pick his colour schemes. I have seen first hand the good he has done through graffiti workshops with young people at said youth centre and while a lot of graffiti I feel is just a horrible scribble, I have such a great appreciation for the proper stuff that I would even go as far as to call some of it art. And no I am not talking about the Banksy stencils [please dont start the boyfriend off about stencil "artists"] I am talking about artists, graphic designers and illustrators who use spray cans to create something quite beautiful. 

So back to the point. As I read the article I felt my blood boiling just a little and while you may think this article is just something from a graffiti related blog, if the New Statesmen decides its a newsworthy item there is no room to disagree! 

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The basic outline of the article is this; with London so concerned about offering up a sparkly clean image during the Olympics, councils have been a bit more active in the removal of graffiti and police seem to be cracking down on graffiti artists in a big way. But when BTP [British Transport Police] raid the houses of graffiti artists who retired from the scene, some of whom haven't painted illegal graffiti for 15 years, it seems the system is working on prevention rather than punishment. 

Arresting someone who hasn't been involved in graffiti for years, has a family, a job and respectable life and prohibiting them for using London transport or being within a certain distance of a multiple Olympic areas across the city, is in my eyes, taking advantage of the system. How you can you justify punishing someone for something they may or may not do. 

Targeting artists who retired from the scene a long time ago doesn't make sense. Why not target those who are currently active in the illegal graffiti scene, those who cause criminal damage and those how scribble over trains, walls and buses across the city. 

Now lets get one thing straight I am not a graffiti activist or anything; I hate tags and meaningless scribbles on walls and anything ugly or offensive. But good graffiti makes the city a better place. It brings life to the streets and adds something to London that you dont find every where. I love the culture and art London has to offer and for that matter the variety.

While I will always be a London girl at heart and love the diversity of the city, instances like this remind me of the stupidity London offers.

Sophie Hulme.

I first discovered Sophie Hulme in the May 2012 issue of ELLE [yes I am a little behind - my magazines get sent to me from England,via post, by my wonderful and long suffering father] when they featured her in an article about a new breed of young British designers taking the simplistic route by storm.

While I may be a bit behind on the up and coming British talent, I am slowly catching up and I am lusting after Sophie Hulmes looks. With a super simple style, feminine but structured silhouettes and a cool and minimal colour palette, what's not to love! 

I have picked my favourites, but you can find her entire collection range here.

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A suit perfect for play!

"A playsuit is an item of lingerie consisting of an all in one design where the top half, similar to a negligee, is joined to the bottom half, similar to a panty or shorts. The playsuit also exists in mainstream fashion as a type of garment." [source]

Maybe it's the weather or maybe its the functional feeling this garment brings, but I really wish I had more playsuits cluttering up my wardrobe. As it stands I have only one. One that was picked up in H&M nearly two years ago and has been serving me well as a beach cover up ever since. In soft jersey with a spotted black print, it goes with everything and remains one of the most comfortable things I have ever worn. 

Now I feel it may be time to delve further into the world of playsuits and purchase one appropriate for everyday or evening wear. While my shopping options in Cyprus are limited, the world wide web comes to my rescue and with nearly every brand out there doing some sort of style playsuit whether it's plain or printed, structured or simple, flowing or fitted, I am sure there is a playsuit for everyone!

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sunday funday

Since we have an extended weekend we decided to take a little trip. Sundays are usually my low key, low energy day; you know the washing has to be folded, the apartment tidied and the brain relaxed before Monday hits us at full force. But with a few extra days off, there is no Sunday night feeling in sight, just a tanned and tired English girl fresh from a day of rock climbing in Ayia Napa.

Ok so not technically rock climbing as you would think, I mean I am not really the sporting type. When I say rock climbing I mean more walking and clambering over rocks on the side of the bay in Ayia Napa. 

Not just content to laze on my sun-lounger all day long, I opted to take advantage of my surroundings and take some snaps, a. to make you all insanely jealous of where we live and b. so this blog post would be a bit more visually pleasing.

When you think of Ayia Napa, you probably dont have the best thoughts, but little did you know its not all booze and bottom shaking. We have found a lovely little beach, tucked away from the hustle and bustle of clubbers paradise, where the sand is white, the water is a clear and everytime we go, I feel like I am on holiday. 

I think I will let the photographs do the rest of the talking.

hello weekend

While weekends come and go this one is particularly perfect since I have Monday and Tuesday off work, which means total relaxation, Monday spent on a sun lounger instead of an office chair and no Sunday night feeling. And it already feels like the relaxation has set in. 

In Cyprus we finish work at 2:30pm on a Friday which in my opinion is just marvellous [some companies and all stores close early on a Wednesday for a mid week rest from the heat] but lots of international companies opt for Friday as it ties in better for business. Anyway, the benefit of this is that Friday afternoons turn into a day in their own right. 

After an afternoon hiding from the heat in the mall in Limassol - where the boyfriend had to do some visual merchandising and I had to peruse the sales - coffee and dinner with the boyfriend's boss and his gorgeous wife, it's easy to forget that I was at work this morning.

So welcome to the weekend. There will be lots of this..... 

 

And fingers crossed lots of this......

 

I think we will get along well.

an overflowing ASOS basket

The one thing I miss about London is the high street and the variety! Whether you have a teeny tiny budget of a limitless one, you can go shopping and treat yourself thanks to the great British high street. 

But living in Cyprus I have learnt to become a bit more creative with my clothing recently and am stepping out of my comfort zone and into a skirt to breath new life into my existing wardrobe and make it weather appropriate. But seriously, there comes a time when you just have to splurge correct? 

Step forward ASOS. Seriously I am forever grateful for ASOS and for the fact that they deliver to this itsy bitsy island. I like the fact they not only have their own affordable and more luxury lines but they stock a whole host of brands I just cant get my hands on here. And it's a bit more fun to wear something a few people may have instead of something from Zara half the island has.

The thing is when I am in a shop and have to hold the garments I want, the reality of the budget sets in as well as the limit to what I can carry.  With an on-line basket, the total is just numbers on a page and the amount of garments is just something inside my screen. 

So now the overflowing ASOS basket edit begins....which is a whole other challenge in its own right.

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