The Weekend List

Things to do this weekend:

Visit the new Anthropologie on Regent Street.

Thin out my overflowing t-shirt / jersey top drawer (I can't see a thing).

Go to the Anish Kapoor exhibition at the RA (this may be a Daddy trip).

Learn my Japanese vocab.

Book a hotel in Japan.

Pick up my UPS package from Kenitsh Town - is it my boots? Or a Grace Coddington tribute tee? Want one?



Buy it here http://www.deerdana.com/2009/09/grace-coddington/ Picture thanks to Deer Dana.

Sock it to me

I hate winter for one reason - having to wear socks. I hate socks, but I hate having cold feet even more. And because I hate socks I always neglect buying them. The only ones I really put any thought into are sports socks, otherwise we're talking cheapo M&S and even cheaper Primark. But socks that are black and manky might mean they match when they come out of the machine, but they look rubbish with shoes.

So, on seeing Tabio on Neal Street was open last night I popped in a actually bought socks. Black with gold glitter and greenish with bronze glitter, I think they'll look spanking with brogues and jazz shoes and skinny jeans.

And as a present to myself I bought these tights too. Can't wait to wear them, all I need to do is shave my legs first - never let it be said my life isn't constant glamour.

Oh, to dance like this!

This man is amazing. JaQuel Knight is only about 19 or 20, but he choreographed Beyonce's Single Ladies video. This is the man himself and Beyonce's tour dancer Dana having a little jig in the studio. Whenever I'm a bit tired or down this video always cheers me up.

Great Katexpectations

Kate Lanphear.

I just love her look. Pared down and casual but with piles of accessories. She doesn't have her own tribute blog. I know!

I've never been one for too much in the clothes department. I go with American Apparel and Uniqlo, simple cheap basics and make the shoes, bags and other stuff do the talking. Simples. As one famous meerkat would say.

P.S. - can you tell I was watching the adverts when I posted this last night? Oh dear. Why does a meerkate in a jacuzzi fill me with glee?

Hix Soho - The Verdict

I went to Hix last night on Brewer Street with my Dad. In the past two weeks Monday has become a bit of a restaurant night for us, last week we went to Abeno Too where Dad grilled the poor girl about how to make okonomiyaki (he's been refining his home made version in the past few days).

So, anyway, Hix. Just opened, it's the Soho baby sister of Clerkenwell Hix Oyster & Chop House which I've always wanted to go to but never got around to, mostly because I am lazy and only eat within a 15 minute walking radius of my front door. The restaurant itself is very smart, with a big solid wood door, bistro style tables and chairs and a large bar in the New York style (where we sat). It being a Monday we demurred from eating our favourite food (oysters), with my Dad opting for the Cornish Crab Soup, whilst I went for the Beets with Blue Monday (Alex James' cheese, I think) and hazelnuts. The Dadster wasn't wild about the soup, but the beets were good, then again, how bad can you make beets and cheese?

For our main Dad did his very predictable thing of ordering Bubble and Squeak with black sausage and egg. He only does this because it is exactly the type of food my Mother would NEVER cook for him - far too unhealthy. He said it was very very tasty, and indeed the plate barely betrayed any past association with food at all after he'd finished with it. I had the pork chop with laverbread and cockles. I only decided on this because I wanted to eat laverbread after once making a film about it for the Japanese channel NHK (go figure). I set up filming the of laverbread harvesting and a cookery session with a chef, but never got to taste it. So how was it? Meh, it was alright, but let's just say I'm not that jealous of the Welsh if that's the dish of pride, I think I'd go for a leek anytime (he he). But the chop was meaty and the accompanying sprouting broccoli wonderfully salty and satisfyingly unhealthy. Vegetables taste so much better when they aren't all steamed and virtuous, it does seem the way of the world to pit taste against health.

So, all in all, a nice meal, but not one I was blown away by. Service was a little forced and I felt slightly uncomfortable that the staff were grinning manically to try and hide some great calamity, or maybe that's because it's so new? But the place is nicely decorated and it felt buzzy. Maybe I'll try it on a Thursday or Friday in couple of months. I think I would still choose Great Queen Street over Hix any day of the week for my fill of no nonsense British grub. I've never had a bad, okay or even decent meal at Great Queen Street, only fabulous ones.

We didn't go for dessert because we wanted to go home and watch the interview with Warren Buffett. Warren is amazing and a lesson to us all with our silly pretensions and ambitions. Legend.

Paul Smith - Hero

I love Paul Smith. Talented, funny and a collector of things...he has boxes of rabbits - toys, models, fatties (family term for cuddly toys) - for no other reason than he quite likes them. This is a man that would get me in a flash.

Thinking Thin

It's been a terribly sad start to the day. Doing some research for my job I happened across a few blogger sites written by pro ana girls. Their worries and issues depressed me no end and had me thankful that I grew up in a time, whilst only 15 - 20 years ago, that felt a world away from these worries and the social networks today that allow them to grow. These are girls who obsess over their diets, share their food avoidance strategies, beat themselves up if they eat a grape, ramble about how fat they are (they're 15 and gangly) and most disturbingly, post pictures of their self harming.

I know most of us have bad days when we feel we're ugly, fat or stupid, but it is heartbreaking to see girls who really believe that their bodies deserve punishment and pain because they don't look a certain way.

A New Tokyo Trip

I've just booked my third trip to Japan (thank you airmiles), taking my Mum to Tokyo. She's never been and is a little scared, but I know she'll just love it once she gets over there. I can't wait to show her the shops that sell the beautiful sheets of handmade paper, the temples tucked away just feet from the heaving mass of 'salary men' and OL's (office ladies, what an amazing term!), the vending machines that sell everything under the sun, and just how clean and ordered the place is.

Today I Want To Be...

...Justine from Elastica circa 1990 something in the Connection video.

Frustratingly the embedding option is disabled, but click on the title to be taken to the video on Youtube or paste this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jsPU42s1Lf4

Cute Animal Related Post

Pigs might fly in a New York subway.

Conundrum

Once upon a time a girl ordered a pair of shoes. They were beautiful ankle high flat boots with sort of Victoriana feel from Urban Outfitters in the States. As the girl did not reside in America she had them sent to the house of her brother was renting at the time in New York.


The girl waited and waited for the boots to arrive. But they were out of stock and delayed by over two months. The wait was excruciating, but she tried to remain patient. Then, one cold dark day she got an email that said they had been shipped. Rejoice!


She tracked the parcel, and as luck would have it, when the girl was actually staying in New York with her brother it said they had been delivered and the parcel had been signed for. But she didn't have the shoes. The foreman of the building had signed for the girl's shoes and left them outside the apartment door inside the building. But a big bad wolf had stolen the parcel and the girl never got her shoes.


And now, a full year later the girl looks on the US Urban Outfitters site and sees the boots in grey (not brown) in the sale. Should she order them? The shipping is $50, which is major expensive...


Sigh. She will have to think about the possibility of a fairy tale ending. No one told her a nice ending would be so expensive.


Edit - I did it! They are mine. Another bad day at work (thanks to a mean press office). I know, two pairs of shoes in a week. Quite normal for me worryingly. Here's a pic. Will be mine in 5 - 7 days!

Why Charity Shops and Bin Diving Rocks

I love charity shops. I'm lucky that my Mum has taught me how to be a good 'charity shopper'. You need patience, a good eye, a quirky sense of what's valuable and the willingness to chat to old ladies nicely. Once you can do that the world is your oyster. These are some lovely things we've picked up(and a bus driving game from a skip in Lewisham). As my Mum would say, "Who would throw this out?". We are very lucky we seem to covet the stuff that others seem to no longer want. Ever since I was a kid the majority of our house was charity in origin, and I think my Mum's style really influenced my own, especially home wares. She was all Anthropologie before it existed in terms of shabby chic and eclecticism. I'll keep posting some her greatest hits - be warned, she knows how to get a real bargain.

All I need now is someone to chuck an Hermes bag. I have found one fake one for £5.99 in a Newcastle Cancer Research, but alas, nothing more.

Opening Ceremony Shoes For A Blue Day

So, back to the serious stuff. I bought a pair of shoes from The Three Threads. I'd seen them in black a while ago in Poste Mistress, but in dusky blue they really took me and I had to have them - perfect for winter being my rationale, but also because I was grumpy at work, and nothing perks one up like a new shoes. That is a FACT. For me, anyway. They are Opening Ceremony, flat and actually very comfy which bodes well, as so many of my shoes are so high and crippling I only totter around my house in them - these might actually some of the chosen few that I go pound the pavements with.

Here they are, sorry the photos are a bit blurry, I'm still working on how to take photos myself on the self timer! And to prove I have liked them for a while, a photo of them in Poste Mistress the first time I saw them. I know, I am a shoe geek.

Coat - Topshop
Top - H&M
Long Johns - American Apparel
Shoes - Opening Ceremony
Antique Cover, Cushions and Welsh Blanket - Mum in charity shop

Food Glorious Food

As the kind of person that measures time based on my last meal, spends a good 40% of her time thinking of food or where she'll be eating and remembers meals with a clarity she wishes she could apply to things like work / study / pub quiz, it comes at no surprise that the best thing about my work is the food that I can buy nearby.

It is a place called Ruby on Charlotte Road near Old Street is a real find. The kind of place that makes me want to drag my friends and family to, the kind of place you want to stop all the poor buggers filing into Subway, Eat and Pret and show them the way of food that tastes really yummy. It's made in front of you, on burning hot stoves, as three men whip up delectable pastas, steak and chicken sandwiches that actually have some gumption and salads that I bet are nice too(I've only gone for the fat things). I have just scarfed down pumpkin and basil orecchiette and now feel happy inside and out.

I would tell you that I bought a pair of shoes today, but I feel a bit naughty and will wait until later when I get home and photograph them to fill you in.

Fun Times

I was trying to sort through my photos tonight and I came across these. One of my dear friend Maggie and I on a night out. We had glitter eye make up put on by a make up artist. I wish this happened everyday, it would be so much fun.

The other picture made me laugh so much. It was from my drunken 31st and neatly demonstrates what happens when my friends, alcohol and Laduree macaroons mix - in that they don't.

What Next?

There are many things I wanted to accomplish this weekend that I didn't. I had a lovely list written at the back of my notepad during my Import / Export course (oops) and almost none of them were achieved. Not even the gym. I have to start the fitness regime again as already I can feel bad habits slipping back and I love having a goal to push myself towards.

Thoughts so far are: London Marathon, running a 50min 10K race, Escape from Alcatraz, Marathon or Half Marathon in Japan. Oooooh. Believe it or not this actually gets be excited.

The Twitterverse Strikes Back

Today has been one of those days that started so quietly. Pottered into work, began tapping away, stumbled across Daily Mail article. Read it. (Don't read the article, please. Read this instead http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/oct/16/stephen-gately-jan-moir I don't want more money going to the Daily Mail. Sat quietly outraged. Carried on working.

Then I checked Twitter and noticed that it was not just me. There were hundreds, thousands of people that had been outraged by the article and were twittering it. I wasn't just me! There were people I respected, followed and many more besides who felt this was a bit off. And suddenly everyone knew about it. The PCC website crashed under sheer weight of traffic.

I know many people are snotty about technology, but really, when something like this happens it makes me feel better about the world!

Life Yesterday - Moderate to Good.

Fail on the boot front. Instead am wearing my over the knee Marc boots with Topshop's new skinniest ever jean cut, the Jamie (they ain't lying, they are super skinny on the lower leg and ankle). And I am busting out the new Something Else tee by Natalie Wood, an Australian designer whose designs always grab me and then I realise it's by her - you know when that happens? Anyways, I'm a fan. Here's her site if you are interested: http://www.something.net.au/home.html

Oh, and also I saw the woman with the Alexander Wang bag on the tube last night. Happily she was not in her full on fabulous get up. The bag, yes, but otherwise it was a purple jeans / burgundy sweat top combo that screamed 'hangover day'. I wasn't exactly Anna Wintour yesterday, but I held my head a little higher.

But the most exciting thing I did last night was meet up with the girls. We went to see Up at Empire in Leicester Square where the Fantastic Mr Fox was premiering for the London Film Festival Gala. We got to walk the self same red carpet that Mr Clooney had walked but 15 minutes earlier. Because the red carpet was there with full on security everyone thought the cinema was closed, but it wasn't, and we saw Up with about 10 other people - probably the emptiest screening in the whole of London! It was a wonderful film. The short was just precious and the main feature was adult, silly and beautifully rendered. I cried my little eyes out in a good way and will never look at a dog with it's tail in the air in the same way. Thank you Pixar. Two hours with you are always two hours well spent.

(picture of Alexander Wang bag thanks to bagsnob)

Putting the boot in

I am having trouble with a lovely pair of boots I bought in the Koh Samui (RIP) sale last year. They are Marc Jacobs tan leather, knee 

high with a pink perspex heel. As Rachel Zoe would say, "I die". The problem is that the tan leather is so orange in colour that it makes them difficult to wear with black, or to carry a handbag that matches. Every day I have woken up looking forward to a day spent strutting about in them but then, when I try to find an outfit to go with them I fail. They are like the short boots in the picture, but in the longer length, and VERY tight around the calf (and my calves are the skinniest part of me).

It's Wednesday today. That's three times I've woken up this week itching to wear them. Maybe 4 times will be the charm?

Tight Deadline

Yesterday I wore my new Henry Holland faux suspender tights to work. With a dress. Don't worry. I liked them too. They cost £10, which isn't Wolford expensive, but hardly M&S cheap and cheerful either.

I was happy all day. I liked the cheekiness of knowing I had them on with my preppy dress and felt safe in the knowledge that if my dress rode up whilst walking all anyone would see would be the faux suspender / knicker detail of the tights.

And then I got home, tugged them up and promptly ripped them. I cannot wear ripped tights like all these young tykes who I see in the streets and their patron saint Peaches Geldof. It is wrong. We spent anguished hours at secondary school with clear nail polish trying to fix this common wardrobe woe. Sadly the tights were not fixable and went in the bin. £10 gone in less than 24 hours.

Maybe I should buy the expensive scarf instead...

Fantasy Shopping

I had to take it easy on Saturday because I was running the Royal Parks half marathon the next day. I started with a four hour Import and Export course, which was very informative. I think it's going to give me the confidence to start my own buisness. The whole idea of importing before got me up in a cold sweat, but having someone explain the ins and outs makes everything so much clearer.


After the course I went to Liberty's, which had a 20% off day for card members. But try as I might I couldn't bring myself to spend. Perhaps it was the thought of running for charity the next day that made me queasy, or the prospect of actually starting a business that made me money shy. Or maybe it was just that the only thing I truly took a shine to was an Hermes scarf that cost £668! It was a work of art. But even I cannot bring myself to spend close to £700 on art. So it stayed in Liberty's despite the sales woman's best attempt to reason as to why it was a steal.


I went to River Island instead and bought tights. Ha!


Edit: 9 months down the line and turning down the opportunity to own that scarf was one I regret. I haven't bought a scarf since, because as Prince would say, "Nothing compares 2 u". 

Fashion Top Trumps

Yesterday on my way home from work I spied a woman who was at least 6 inches taller than me (I'm 5'7ish, so we're talking model tall), with amazing pink flat shoes that looked a tad Chanel and THE Alexander Wang bag with the studs on the bottom. She was so stunning in all her finery that I had to get on a different carriage so I didn't evaporate in a puff of useless smoke.

Today I tried to up my game, but my Marc Jacobs over the knee boots are giving me a blister because I haven't worn them in about a year. Damn. I have my half marathon on Sunday and forgot I'd promised myself only comfy shoes until after it is over. I bet tube girl doesn't have these issues. Humpf.