Sunday 30 September 2012

Calamity Jill.

So I always tell people I'm clumsy. But I rarely divulge the extent of my wobbly little problem. 

It's a daily fight with everything, moving and stationary.
For example, today in the airport, I managed to pick the only wonky table in the cafe which sent my scolding Americano flying. I was so embarrassed, but the nice bloke made me a fresh cup.
Queuing to go through security, the little clear bag with all of my small toiletries burst, scattering the tubes and bottles everywhere. Getting ready last night I managed to trip over nothing in my apartment and I ended up launching myself face first into my open suitcase.

I clearly have some kind of calamity death wish. 

xoxo

Wednesday 26 September 2012

Pay day girly meal.

Thank god for pay day!
I think it's okay to splurge on one little treat at least. 
I say splurge, we had vouchers for "2 courses for £10" for Prezzo! Hardly crippling. 
Just a spontaneous dinner gathering after work. 
I had a lovely time with the girls. 
Must do more often.


I went for the mushroom risotto and the chocolate fudge cake. 
Am I the only one who eats the mint leaf that comes with your dessert? I mean, if it looks a bit limp and old, then I obviously wouldn't, but this was crisp and fresh. 

xoxo

Sunday 23 September 2012

Studded slippers.


I've been searching for the right pair of studded slippers for about a year now. I have stubby feet and I can safely say that they are not slim and dainty. It's not that I need a wide fit, but every pair of these shoes I've tried on for months have been painfully narrow. Next launched a line early this season which again, to my horror were just as narrow as all the others, but then they brought out these beauties. As I prepared to try them on all I could hear was my inner monologue laughing at me, 'you know these aren't going to fit, idiot'. To my surprise they were perfect. 




xoxo

Saturday 22 September 2012

Happy 5 years to us.

This weekend marks the five year miles stone for me and Boyfriend.
I think it's nice to take a moment to look back at what you have been through together.
Consider how much further you can still go. 

Back in March we'd been in Cheltenham, in a cute home accessories shop called Vinegar Hill, where Boyfriend had spotted a mug with a nice quote on it. He took a photo on his phone.

Three months later I was in Newcastle, shopping with my Mam.
Through a shop window as I walked past, the same quote was jumping out at me. 
Is it corny to say, I think it's because he was thinking of me, or I was thinking of him?

So I bought the card. And held on to it for another four months. 
Just for this weekend. 

Because this is how he makes me feel.
Don't wait for a sign, for an excuse, for a chance to ask why me. 
Just get up and do it. 


xoxo

Friday 14 September 2012

How I Met Your Mother.


For the last month and a half I have been on a HIMYM marathon. I can safely say that I am smitten! I am nearing the end of the seventh season and I am so excited about the eighth starting at the end of the month. Those of you who have followed it from the beginning will understand that I couldn't live if anything happened to Lily and Marshall. I get it, we're supposed to feel like you would kill some one to find out how Ted does meet their mother. Seriously, I can't take it anymore. How many other insignificant women must we endure?! What is this reference with the yellow umbrella?! Make it stop. But I'm completely obsessed with Barney and Robin. It's the best love story ever. I'm also a weeny bit obsessed with Neil Patrick Harris (have you seen Dr. Horrible's Sing Along Blog? Watch it here). Getting back to Barney. Why he is legen - WAIT FOR IT:
Suit up.
High five. 
(Self-five, tiny-five, phone-five).
True story. 
Bro code.
Dibs.
Awesome.
Haaaaave you met Ted?
Wait for it. 
Play book.
Scotch and cigars.
Challenge accepted.
                                                                                                              - dary!

If you haven't already watched it, I suggest that you do. 
xoxo

Thursday 13 September 2012

Street Fashion Week.

Listen up Cardiff. 
We have a duty to fashion, a responsibility to ourselves to ensure we are named The Most Stylish City. GRAZIA Magazine in association with Toni & Guy HAIRMEETWARDROBE are hosting:
Street Fashion Week. 


This September seven style hunters are branching out across Britain to find the most fashion forward city in our Island Nation.

Saturday 22nd - Liverpool
Sunday 23rd - Birmingham
Monday 24th - London
 Tuesday 25th - Cardiff 
Wednesday 26th - Manchester
Thursday 27th - Leeds
Friday 28th - Edinburgh

Our very own Cardiff girl, Lucy from STYLE BY SMITH will be scouring the streets in search of our best dressed in the marathon that is Street Fashion Week. 
Tuesday 25th Sept. from ten 'til seven starting at Warehouse in Saint David's 2 shopping centre. 
Come down and see it for yourself with a hair make over courtesy of Toni & Guy between eleven and three. 

You can keep up to date on all of the goss on the Grazia website here as photos of the style queens start rolling in, live from each city. You can also upload your own photos from 22nd Sept, with the most stylish five winning a £250 Warehouse voucher! 

Surely, street style is fuel to the fashion industry. We sway trends and influence each other through our staple choices. Without texture, colour, hemlines and silhouettes life would be bland, let's face it. Let's celebrate our wardrobe prowess and show the nation our true colours. This would be fashion war, but that's not the nature of fashion. We do not tear away the beautiful ensemble of another should it appear better than our own. 
We coo and lust after our opponents wardrobe. 

Join the conversation on twitter with #StreetFashionWeek
and don't forget to vote for your favourite city from 1st October!


xoxo

Images // graziadaily.co.uk

Wednesday 12 September 2012

Rome.

Instead of going straight home after our cruise we stayed in Rome for just over a day. 
I've enjoyed my first Italian espresso. If you simply order a coffee in Italy, you get an espresso! In your face milky coffees of the world! I love this. An Americano is my usual beverage of choice but if I'm on the move and if I'm on holiday or with Boyfriend I should be, then it's too big to drink quickly and an espresso is ideal. Actually I prefer a double espresso. Anyways.
With limited time I headed to my favourite sites, the Spanish Steps and the Fontana della Barcaccia, Saint Peter's Square (I saw the Pope's house!), the Piazza Navona, the Pantheon (I nearly died of excitement when I realised the ceiling is a giant sun dial!), the Fontana di Trevi (I threw a coin in over my shoulder), we saw the Colosseum but didn't have time to go inside, or explore the Roman Fortress so we headed to the church of Santa Maria in Cosmedin before lunch, for one last sight. 
La Bocca della Verita. I thought really hard about how much I like ice cream and I shoved my hand in the Mouth of Truth and low and behold I didn't lose my hand. 
On our way back to the hotel to pick up our luggage and head to the airport we stopped for late lunch. We had already been to the Hard Rock Cafe on the Via Veneto but I convinced Boyfriend to have something a little less common and we walked further up the street to something a little more Italian. 
We had pizza and pasta and it was awesome. How could we not in Rome? 
This has been the best summer ever. 


















xoxo

Athens.

During our cruise I was lucky enough to get Boyfriend off the amazing ship to visit the Acropolis in Athens. All I could hear as we got off at the port was music from the Disney movie Hercules "Who puts the glad in gladiator - Herculeeeeees, from zero to hero, and that's a fact". I was so excited to see the ancient Greek ruins. Giant old monuments seem really peaceful to me. Not sombre, but they certainly command a certain respect.
For those of you who don't know what the Acropolis is, it's a peak in the middle of the city of Athens, on which the ancient Greeks constructed temples for their gods, the Olympians. The site overlooks the city and the panoramic views are incredible. It was absolutely boiling though! Hello sunburn.
Instead of booking an expensive excursion with the cruise company, we just went on our own. I think this is a safe enough option unless you're a total idiot who can't tell the time. It's worth it, as a basic tour with the cruise can cost £40 each. We took the well known 'Hop on - Hop off' sightseeing bus. You know, the red ones, open top. If you book with Viator they guarantee to get you to the next port of call for your cruise if you miss the boat because of their services.
It's a great way to see the city in a day. It's also a great way to say you've been around Athens when you've already seen what you came for. ;)
The Acropolis is amazing, go check it out. My favourites were the Temple of Olympians, Odeon of Herodes and the Temple of Athena. Then down in the city there's Hadrian's Arch, the Temple of Zeus and Panathinaiko Stadium (the site of the 1st Olympic Games in 1896).
Yeah, go check it out. Ancient stuff. Awesome.













xoxo

Tuesday 11 September 2012

Royal Caribbean Mediterranean Cruise.

We're back home after a brilliant ten day escape. Time really does fly when you're having fun, as it only feels like I've been away for two days. The enormous pile of washing is daunting. How did we wear so many things? Madness. 
Royal Caribbean sailed around the eastern Mediterranean sea and took us with them. Boyfriend isn't much of a sightseer so we compromised. I got to drag him around Athens and then Rome - which technically wasn't a port of call on our cruise, but more on that later - and we stayed on the ship for the rest of the journey, lounging by the pool in the sun with cocktails. Which of course was unbearable. 
We met some lovely people of which the best were Paulo & Florentin, the two barmen who fuelled our crazy trip, taught us a few magic tricks and were absolutely awesome the whole time, and Phil & Ian, two guys from London (and Newcastle) who were a right laugh, introduced us to semi professional karaoke ;) and shared a few too many drinks with. 
We were on the Navigator of the Seas, a ship that accommodated around 3000 passengers and 2000 staff, has numerous theatres, bars and lounges, a casino, a three storey dining room, a buffet restaurant and two more luxurious smaller restaurants, a 50's American diner, an ice rink, a gym, a spa, a chapel, a cinema, a medical centre, three pools, four jacuzzis, a sports deck with crazy golf, inline skating, a basketball court, ping pong tables, a rock climbing wall and a hollowed out promenade in the middle of the ship with bars, a cafe, shops and every now and then performers come out and make various parades and street parties. The whole thing is just mental. Surreal even. 
We had the best time and I'd recommend it to anyone. I forgot to mention that there is all you can eat frozen yoghurt. Vanilla, chocolate or both. Amazing. All of the staff are super friendly and they really make the cruise. I still can't believe they change the carpets in the lift every day of the week. Seriously. Then there's all of the entertainment they provide, like the ice dancing show, various theatre shows including aerial acrobatics, magicians and musicians. The belly flop competition. The pool parties in the evening. The agonizing pub quizzes. Language classes. We didn't have any need to use them, but they have a toddler and baby club. An area reserved for teens with a games arcade. All of this before we explored Athens and Rome. 




















xoxo