Monday, 21 March 2011

Shirtless.

As Springtime appears to be inching into our midst, I have to contend with cool walks to work and a boiling office once I get there... The time for light jumpers is passed, and it has to be light tops and cardies. Unfortunately I have very little in that area, aside from a few dry clean only shirts, and some vintage finds. Thus, I am on a hunt, people! For reasonably priced, okay, make that low priced, tops that are suitable for a relatively-smart-workwear office.

Today I had a mildly successful charity shop hunt, which unearthed a white cropped broderie anglaise top that might fit with high waisted skirts and trousers, and a black silk shirt for potential work use... Can't wait to play, particularly with the black shirt, next week!

What are people thinking about TopShop for workwear at the mo? I bought their mint green short sleeve, voluminous, slightly sheer shirt, which I wear tucked in with grey trousers and a shell pink cardie and white boots. Sheer? you may ask, but I have only had compliments on it at the office...

Photo 1 of Mint Tab Button Short Sleeve Shirt

Tempted to invest in another couple of their shirts...

Photo 1 of Sleevless Copped Tab Shirt or Photo 1 of Pale Blue Crop Tab Sleeve Shirt

Do you think buying the same thing in different colours is a good way to go? Or is too similar every day a bit unoriginal? Or is the fact that it's workwear mean being original isn't top of the agenda...?

The thing about these is, I know they fit. If I weren't so worried about fit, I'd go for this shirt at Rokit...




Sigh. Only 2 days to pay day! Then, I might manage a shirt or two... I just feel like such a scruff with my endless cycle of slightly tired outfits. I really do hate feeling Blah, even if it is "just" the office.

For a quick overview, my office is very female dominated, with no clear dress code. It's pretty hierarchical to be honest. The men are all at officer level (middle rank) and wear suits and ties. The women at manager level (top rank) are all similarly smart, wearing suits and classy dresses. The female officers tend to go for more of a top and skirt approach, with the assistants generally bringing up the rear in - for the most part - generally scruffy workwear. It was the oddest thing for me, starting 6 months ago, to find that people think it's acceptable to turn up to work in clothes I wouldn't even wear on a scruffy-day on the weekend. Okay, so I probably sound mean, but I happen to feel that at work, you should dress for the job you want in the long run, not for the job you have. In an office where the majority are at least well-dressed enough to hold a meeting with a client, I think it's bad form for the assistants to turn up looking like they don't bother, or don't notice, that we work in a professional environment.

Don't get me wrong, I have a few days where I wear a pretty skirt, or a sheer shirt (with cami, obviously), i.e. clothes probably too frivolous for, say, a lawyers' office, but generally, I try to present a professional image. Amusingly enough, of the six of us at assistant level, three of us take the dress-for-the-job-you-want route, with three taking the other, and guess what...? The two groups sit together on different "pods". Groupthink mayhaps?

What do you guys think of this? Is it important to you to project a professional image at work, or are you more about comfort?

Xxxc

Thursday, 17 March 2011

If only I was older and wiser...

I'd maybe be able to act on some of my fantasy wishlists!

Today, I've been yearning for Jonathon Saunders' acid brights, up now on Net-A-Porter.


Quite bright, I must admit... But I feel that it would be suitable for the spring days ahead!

(Jonathon Saunders dress, Crumpet cardigan, Proenza Schouler bag, Aurelie Biderman bracelet, Marc by Marc Jacobs bracelet, Lanvin brooch, Lanvin ballet pumps)

Ah to be able to afford even just one of these cute things!

Xxxc

Wednesday, 16 March 2011

Having Hair...

I've been musing a lot about my hair lately.


I'm relatively low maintenance about the shiny brown mane sprouting from the top of my head, but I often wonder whether paying more attention to it might reap more rewards.

I get it cut about every 5 months - I'm lazy and I still go to my hairdressers in London that I've been to since I was teeny-tiny.



Thus, it doesn't happen as often as it should. Otherwise, I rarely blow dry my hair - maybe once a month?! Though it goes in waves. Sometimes I'll use my hairdryer every day for a week, then it'll sit gathering dust in the corner of the living room for months at a time... Naturally dried, my hair is mostly straight, but with a frizzy, curliness to the back. It's usually bouncy enough, and I tend to throw the front section around, and side part it roughly.

Since starting work full time, I've got used to also sticking mousse in my hair, as I air dry it while I walk the twenty minutes down the road to my office. Doing anything complicated with my hair before I drag myself out of the house would significantly reduce the amount of sleep time I get. And I do love my sleep time!

I tend to use Lee Stafford's Ddouble Blow Volumising Mousse, though it is supposed to be used in tandem with hairdrying... I find it easy to use, and good at taming some of the frizz.

Ddouble Blow Volumizing Mousse Photograph
However, I have been finding lately, that it is prone to making the roots of my hair a little lank.

I have also used the hairspray from the same range, but I find that that is too solid-making. If I ever remembered while I was in Boots, I think I'd probably invest in some Elnett hairspray, though I'm not sure if I'll ever be able to associate it with anything other than afternoons spent playing with my Gran's heated hair curler set, when I was sub-ten!

Otherwise, I always use a mixture of Redken and Aussie. I have used Redken since forever, as it's bought by my parents from our salon. I used to use their conditioner, but my hair has always needed intensive taming, and I started using Aussie 3 Minute Miracle (Luscious Long) about two or three years ago to supplement, and then replace the Redken. I've tried replacing the shampoo, as Redken is rather expensive, but I have to admit, I've never been able to find better... A few times, I've replaced Aussie with my housemate's Head and Shoulders conditioner, which worked rather well. Odd thing, that premium shampoo seems worth its weight, while I think you can generally get away with spending less on conditioner, and still having awesome hair. (Not that I think my hair is awesome, but it does have its' moments!)

Oooooh! On an Aussie related note, I managed to completely bugger up posting about their Christmas Fete in London... Crappy of me. I took Claire (the wonderful, sadly departed from blogging, A View From Here writer-turned-lawyer...) and we had a wonderful time sampling spicy prawns, sugared almonds, mulled wine and taking silly photos!

Disclaimer: the rather weird makeup was Not My Fault! Never tell a makeup artist to do "Anything" while in a darkened room, and without knowing whether they have an instinct for what colours suit people... Oops!



Right... Off to find food!

Night night.

Xxxc

Tuesday, 15 March 2011

Shades of Grey

So, I've always been a fan of grey... I have grey jeans, grey cashmere jumpers, grey socks, grey coats, but NOT ENOUGH GREY DRESSES!!! (Or shoes.)

Oh YMC Button Up Smock Dress, where have you beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeen all my life?!?!?!

Image 1 of YMC Button Up Smock Dress

Probably worn with these Finsk Wooden Wedge Ankle Boots...
Image 1 of Finsk Wooden Wedge Ankle Boot

And how cute are these little Paul Smith Jackie shoes??? Got to love the pop of orange! I own so few flat shoes, due to a shin splint / ankle problem that confines me to heels (Oh woe!) but I think I could make an exception for these in Fantasy-Shopping-Land!

sdlp-257g-buc-676

Definitely the thing to wear with this awesome See By Chloe little jersey piece! (Okay, Admission Time: my other grey dress is my corset print SBC dress featured here... Oops! =D)

Image 4 of See by Chloe Donkey Print Openback Dress

Seriously... I want a donkey.


from inkyfool.blogspot
Night night!

Xxxc

Monday, 14 March 2011

Can I...?!

An addition to yesterday's post...

Emma Ball - Barley Farm - Cake Tins

Seriously... Most awesome cake tins EVER?!?!?!

Xxxc

Sunday, 13 March 2011

Caaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaake!!!

So, in an effort to be prouctive this weekend, Boy and I made CARROT CAKE!!! No camera, so no photos, but here's a pic off ze interwebs to get your mouth watering...

Image from caketodays.com

It is awesome, though as the cooking instructions say cook for an hour - rather than the 12 - 20 minute in the oven cakes I normally do, I think I might cook it for less time next time we make it, to compare consistency...

As I'm celiac, and dairy and potato free, cake is always something we make at home. This one was a ground almond and rice flour base, with an egg and muscovado sugar binding agent. (We used dark muscovado instead of light - which is what the recipe called for.) The fruit / veg elements were lots of carrot - obv - and a zested and squeezed orange, plus sultanas, vanilla essence, baking powder, cinnamon and toasted pecans and hazelnuts. (We added hazelnuts, as we didn't have enough pecans, and I think it made the cake more awesome!) For frosting, we didn't use the cream cheese version in the recipe, but I mixed random amounts of soy butter and icing sugar, with a few drops of warm water, vanilla essence, cinnamon and zest and a bit of juice of a lemon. Nomnomnom.

If anyone wants the actual recipe, it's in the AMAZING book Red Velvet and Chocolate Heartache. I do so love that book. The Chocolate Full Stops are my go-to cakes - particularly in muffin form. Everyone loves them, though opinion is divided over whether it's the book-recommended Coffee icing or my own Cinnamon-Choco-Vanilla-Buttercream on top that makes the best experience. I've also had successes with the Christmas Cupcakes as gifts for the festive season (though some of the ingredients are an arse to find), and Orange Squash Cupcakes, which were loved at a lunch party. The Blondie is scrummy though we substitute Dark Chocolate for White and Blueberries for Raspberries. Courgette and Camomile Cupcakes are a particular favourite of my Mother's... My Dad prefers the American Vanilla Cupcakes. The Chocolate and Peanut Butter Cupcakes, while not my favourite, were very much enjoyed as an after exams reward, and I swear it was feeding Banana and Sticky Toffee Cake to my friend's long-time crush that brought them together at last... The Coconut, Lime and Blueberry slice recipe convinced our Chinese Geology PhD housemate that I was a gift sent from heaven last year, and the Rosewater Fairy Cakes were rather guiltily enjoyed by all when I took them to work while I was interning in the fashion press office a couple of years ago.

So all in all, £12 well-spent... (It was on offer in Waterstones at the time - it's £20 RRP - and I'd say it was worth that too!)

So how can I spin cake into fashion???

Well, I'm rather in love with all the carrot-cake colours out there in stores, so here's a selection of my favourite you-could-almost-eat-them pieces...
Topshop Unique Woven Wedge Sandals
Image 1 of TBA Organza Ballerina Print Skirt
TBA Organza Ballerina Print Skirt

Whistles Cobra Print Dress
Topshop Knitted Contrast Trim Top
I'm seriously contemplating hunting out those shoes, though Topshop shoes have never fitted my horrendously-hard-to-find-comfy-shoes-for feet... And the TBA skirt is top of my purchase-when-I-have money list. I have their mushroom skirt from last season, so I'm hoping it might be equally reduced in a sale at the end of this season!

Hmmmmm. All this writing has made me hungry. MORE CAKE TIME!!!

Xxxc

Friday, 24 December 2010

Home for the Winter

Apologies all for the hiatus, I managed to get myself rather ill and confused for a few weeks. Cue Boy rigging up laptops so I can watch Star Trek Voyager from the (extremely hot) bath, and cooking me nothing but grilled chicken and baked eggs for a week - my body basically couldn't digest anything except light protein, and I got sick of bacon with my eggs by day two...


But now I'm home in London, exhausted from a hard, and at times unsatisfactory, month at work, missing Boy, but glad to be without cares for a week or so.

Any recommendations for things to keep myself occupied with? All I can think of is sinking into a good book - most likely E.M. Forster - I'm obsessed lately, particularly with the new Hodder & Staughton editions... And watching lots of old films! I'm also rather enamoured with the idea of the V&A after Christmas.


Anyway. After several months of starving myself of clothes-related treats, I've splashed out in the Christmas sales! Not sure whether I'll keep them once they arrive from ASOS and Urban Outfitters, but I'm hopeful...


Image 1 of Camilla Norrback Dorothy Squirrel Print BlouseImage 3 of Camilla Norrback Dorothy Squirrel Print Blouse


Image 1 of TBA Mushroom Print Silk SkirtImage 3 of TBA Mushroom Print Silk Skirt

And finally... The jumper I've been lusting after for MONTHS (though in a different colour):

 

Ooops!

I've now got to go on an economy drive for the rest of the month! ;]

Though I'm so close to cashing in in the Mulberry online sale... (I haven't got the Bayswater yet. Thinking about it for birthday cash usage.) The Leah Messenger and the Hayden Tote are calling my name!

Is anyone else using the Christmas Sales as an excuse to treat themselves this year? =D 

Xxxc