The Rules!

Last Thursday I had my review in work which is always a little nerve wracking - pleased to say there was nothing horrific - phew!

On the back of this I have been really considering how I can 'grow' and this morning my AD in work sent me something really interesting which I though I would share. New week resolutions anyone?!

10 Spartan Rules
In 1951 President Yoshida wrote 10 principles to guide behavior at Dentsu in Japan:

1. Create work for yourself; don’t wait for work to be assigned to you.
2. Take an active role in all your endeavours, not a passive one.
3. Seek out large and complex jobs. Trivial tasks debase you.
4. Welcome difficult assignments. Choose them. Progress lies in accomplishing difficult work.
5. Once you begin a task, complete it. Never give up.
6. Lead your fellow workers. Be an example for them to follow.
7. Set goals for yourself to ensure a constant sense of purpose. This will give you perseverance and hope for the future.
8. Move with confidence. Confidence gives your work force, focus and substance.
9. Find new solutions. This is the way we ensure satisfactory service.
10. When conflict is necessary don’t shy away from it or be afraid. Conflict is the mother of progress and the source of aggressive enterprise. If you fear conflict, you will become timid and servile.

Fashion A La Radio

Source nylonmag.com, Photo Credit NYLON Magazine Melodie McDaniel

Perusing the weekend papers I noticed some chat about the idea of Radio 3 doing fashion essays...... Up until now I didn't even know about this show - sounds pretty interesting too.

It's a series of 15min programmes debating and exploring arts and cultural topics, running Monday to Friday. Last week it was all about the scholar Michel de Montaigne. They also have quite interesting people reading them out - last Monday it was Alain de Botton whose weekly book reviews in the Independent on Sunday used to be one of my favourite reads when I was in school - I always thought his style of writing was amazing.

Anyhoo, I would defiantly be keen to listen in to any fashion essays - fingers crossed it happens now.

On a completely separate note - here's some inspiration for the day. The fringe is amazing xCx

Nailed!

Today has been domestic bliss. Mr M and I stayed in bed forever - totally needed after last week. We then ventured out of the house for some errands (Baby Bottom Cream all sold out as suspected - Doh!) and then back home for further hibernation and sausage and mash.

I've also managed to do all my washing, drying and ironing as well as change my bed sheets (is there anything better than a clean fluffy bed?!), catch up on all my favourite blogs and experiment with my nails.

As I've mentioned in the past, I'm quite the Barry M nail varnish fan. However I often find their colours a bit too light - requiring many layers and I just don't have that kind of patience! Not anymore though. Since purchasing their black nail varnish I've been using it under their vivid purple and navy blue to make them deeper - and to great affect it has worked. Today I've also done the same with their grey varnish (not the best photo but you get the idea). Clearly grey is not a new trend, but I've been pretty unsure about it. When you're naturally pale I think that you have to tred carefully with pale varnishes. Don't ask me why, I just think you do.... It's like nail varnish on long nails - just not right. Don't know why - it's just the way I feel! Anyhoo, I've decided to give it a chance and will be keeping it for at least 24hours to conduct a fair trial. I shall report back. Over and out. xCx

Let your hair down

(source: Disney, Tangled) perhaps this is a little too long!

Since getting engaged I've been on a mission to grow my hair. It's already pretty long but I'd like it about four" longer....... with less than four months to go I may be in need of a miracle though. If all else fails there may be some hair pieces on the day... Hmmm not sure about that though - if only I had Rapunzel's hair (can't wait to see the movie). xCx

Some inspo for now and later

Spring

Winter

There's a few sites that are part of my daily reading material and InStyle.co.uk is one of them. I love their 'Pick of the Day' feature. And over the last few days there has been a few looks that I have loved. Two of which are perfect for now (since it is STILL freezing) and two for Spring - something to look forward to.

Although I'm not the biggest fan of Olivia Palermo in The City, the girl has style and possibly the best hair in the business, not to mention probably one of the best wardrobes out there. She can't be all bad.

Bottoms Up!

Save

Splurge

So it seems I'm totally behind (no pun intended) the times. This week has seen Waitrose' Baby Bottom Butter smothered all over the press. However, on a night in with the girls, BC aka 'Queen of Cosmetics' (I've never seen a bathroom so jam-packed with girlie goodies) informed me that this is the second wave of hysteria for this £2.49 supermarket wonder and that following the first hit in 2008 her mother sent her a heap of it.

Having generously used it on my hands that evening, I'm now off to see if there's any left on the shelves - well when there's women saying it competes with Creme de La Mer which retails from £90 who can blame me.

I'm yet to give the Aldi skincare line a try as well, but apparently their Lacura Anti Aging Serum priced £3.49 is pretty great and since I've just inadvertently got myself addicted to Declours Aromaessence Néroli (£39) through a tester sample, I'm keen to find a replacement ASAP.

OPI does Katy P

OPI always does the best nail varnishes with the most inventive names, so I'm not surprised to find out they have collaborated with Miss Katy Perry to produce a limited edition range.

I kinda like Katy Perry - she seems pretty cool and appears to have a good sense of humour (you would need to if your hubby was prone to releasing dodgy pics of you on the web) and the colours really reflect this. Haven't tried them yet but I'm looking forward to getting my mitts on them.

All the colours are inspired by her new album, Teenage Dream. There's two metallics (The One That Got Away and Not Like The Movies) as well as two glittery ones which I'm not so sure about (Last Friday Night and Teenage Dream).

They've also done a 'shatter' black. It's like the Barry M limited edition one. However, I'm unable to comment on this one either as when I opened it, it would appear that the brush was broken and I've been unable to use it or find anymore in the shops - boo hoo. I do know that they both act as a top coat and 'crackle' whichever colour you put it on top off - kinda cool.

Each polish is £10.50. Apparently there's a Justin Bieber range on its way too............. Sounds interesting!

Inspiration

I am always saving images on my desktop or cutting out pics from mags so I thought I would chuck some on here to share what I'm kinda into at the moment.

Caught in the middle

Darn it! I totally meant to take a photo of my outfit yesterday to go with my post but by the time a made it home from work there was barely enough time to get changed for my pilates class.

Am really loving pilates at the moment and now that I have my new swanky-ass mat I'm no longer sliding around the gym! Also got to wear my new Sweaty Betty pilates pants too - they are soooo comfy. LOVE them - must try not to live in them though else my ass will spread to fill them!!

Am totally bored of most of my wardrobe at the moment so am making a special effort to try and make different outfits - it's only another 4months before I can stop saving for the wedding and start buying lots of lovely clothes and shoes again.... Can not wait.

Anyhoo, opted for my Full Circle maxi dress that I purchased in the summer. It's a thick enough cotton to let me get away with it in the colder months so I have teamed it with my Nine West biker boots from years ago, a Jigsaw leather belt and my preppy Karen Millen cardi from back in the day when I used to work there. I'm pretty happy with the outfit - it's cute me thinks.

It's also serving to experiment with the long/medium length straight jersey skirts which I have been pondering for a while. Nearly bought one at the weekend but was unsure what to wear on my feet with it at the mo. Think I need to spend more time considering before I jump in - though Ashley Olsen does make it look pretty cool..... My out fit does not look anything like this!

Such a perfect day

This weekend was a truly glorious affair in light of my new years resolutions to basically start looking after myself in 2011 - especially ahead of the wedding. It kicked off with an early morning threading session! This is truly superior form of hair removal. HOWEVER, my eyebrows are still a little red - two days later. I sported my beret for the rest of the day because, as Mr M put it 'my cheeks were flushed with the cold and joining up with the redness of my eyebrows leaving a whopping big white forehead'! Thanks hon! We then headed to a lovely little shop for Mr M to try on his grooms outfit - he looked soooo smart.

The rest of the day was filled with shopping where I picked up a new pair of Pilate's pants from herewhich I will be trialing tonight in the first Pilate's class of 2011. I love Sweaty Betty. It makes going to the gym so much more enjoyable. Everything they make is so comfortable and stylish - it's just a shame that I don't go to the gym enough to warrant the amount of stuff I would like to buy!

I was also on the hunt for a new pair of skinny black jeans, but to no avail - everything has so much Lycra. This is no good when you spend most of your time getting up and down from your desk - nobody needs to see my ass falling out all the time! Instead I picked up a pair of black jodhpurs from Zara. No photos at the mo but I'll post some later.

I LOVE my new jodhpurs, and to top it off so does Mr M, who mostly finds my fashion decisions confusing!! They are the happy medium between jeans and leggings (when did they become such a wardrobe staple anyhoo!). I have paired them with my Dotty P boots from last year, a slouchy cream sweater, mussed up hair, a tan, leopard print scarf and gold jewellery - I feel like a little snow bunny.

Boomerang!

I kept promising myself that I'll get back into the swing of updating this, but alas I have not....

I suppose it's been harder to find the time since January. Last Christmas my landlord decided to sell my flat (which I LOVED) and, instead of trying to find a new home over Christmas, Mr M and I decided that the most sensible thing would be to move back in with my mum and dad (Mrs F and Big T) for the time being..... and we're still there!

It was most definitely the most sensible thing to do but I think both of us have felt a little weird about the situation. It's probably been worse for Mr M than me. But, apart from having to swallow our pride, it has meant that:
- we no longer eat in front of the TV
- we spend more time out-and-about in the country
- we don't go out and drink too much as much!
- we don't stay in bed all Saturday
- we have started going to the gym again
- we get to walk my mum and dad's dog - Finn
- we have saved a load of money for our wedding
- we have paid off our student loans
- we eat more fruit and veg
- we get to enjoy my mum's home made food - Mmmmmm

That's a lot of positives, but of course there are some negatives too:
- we commute between Wales and Bristol everyday (that's over 300 miles a week and 10hours in the car
- we can't just pop out with friends after work without flipping the coin for who's driving (Mr M has been amazing and almost always drives)
- we don't have too much spare time in the week
- we don't have too much time just us!

Anyhoo - on top of all this, there's been the usual Wedmin and MASSIVE work load. However, I'm going to try to start blogging more often (again). I'll also try to document our time in the country before we had back to the city in the next 4 months (it's likely to be more hunters than stilettos).

Guess we just have to except we're part of the 'boomerang' generation - lucky M&D!

xCx

Hurrah! Zara is now online

One of my favourite highstreet haunts has made it onto the worldwide web at last. I believe that H&M are not going to be long behind them either! This development is going to make it even harder to save my pennies..

Holy Clog!

Despite my many musings about 'to clog or not to clog', I figured that I had made it thus far without them and would therefore not be purchasing a pair this close to the autumn months.

But then I discovered these Sam Edelman clog boots......... Interesting, very interesting

Tick Tock, Tick Tock

I can't believe how bad I've been - things have been so busy I had no idea just how long ago I last blogged. Five whole months - eek!

Sadly it doesn't feel like I have done too much either:
- Work
- Wedmin
- Joined the gym

Yep - Pretty much it!

The biggest thing I have been up to though is definitely the Wedding thing! Deciding on a date for the wedding (30th April 2011), trying on potential wedding dresses (so exciting!!) and trying to decide what colour theme to go for (totally confusing) - I need to get a move on and make some decisions. Time is ticking and if the last five months are anything to go by, I'm in trouble!

I think ideally I would like it to be a bit mix and matchy/country chic/city glamour!!! I am very confused.... Kind of like the above though.

Beauty Spot

Why does everything always finish at the same time?!

All three of my very favourite beauty must-haves are done. Oh no! As I have mentioned before, I live and die by Elemental Herbology's Cell Plumping Facial Hydrator. It is truly the best moisturiser I have ever used.

My cleanser of choice is Eve Lom's - it's like a facial in a jar and leaves my skin totally rejuvenated. In short, IT'S AMAZING.

Last but not least is my secret weapon….. Darphin Purifying Balm. I'm told this isn't meant to be used every night, but I slather it on each night and can feel it zapping any unruly skin and smoothing out those late twenties wrinkles which are trying to set in… Doesn't say any of this on the pack but a really do swear by it.

As you can see, I'm not one of those girls who stick to just one brand - I like to mix it up a bit.

Going back to the original dilemma though - this is bound to set me back… ohhhhh £110. Space NK makes a pretty penny out of me!

My name's Claire and I'm a beauty addict!

Oh My Clog!

Oh My Clog!

As you know, since falling for the Chanel clogs I have been on the search for the perfect pair sans the Chanel price tag - PR just don't pay that well!! Having discovered a few pairs, none of them have quite fit the bill (or should that be foot!). Anyway, I believe the search may be over…

Whilst embarking on a rather swift strut (burning calories so I can wear the BCBG bandage style dresses from SS10 NYFW,) I happened across an independent shoe shop on Park Street - and there they were in the window!!!! Unfortunately, said shop was shut. However, I will be hot footing it down there to try them on very very soon. I'll keep you posted.

Also on the shopping list is a new 'it brag'. You know - the type of bag that makes others weep with joy!! Slightly cheesy I know, but any bag-a-holic knows exactly what I'm talking about!

I'm drawing up a strict shopping list of must-have's which the chosen bag must fulfil - Stay tuned.

Xxx

All that glitters...

The Wedding Board

I know it's the same old story, but I really have been totally manic for the past month.

I can usually find a spare moment during the day to write, but alas this has not been so. To top it off, Talk Talk are incapable of putting internet into my house..... I feel a rant coming on, so I'll move on.

Over the past month I have spent A LOT of time thinking about the wedding and have pulled together a little mood board.

Obviously the big day isn't going to be quite as decadent, but it's a starter for ten.

I'm mostly annoyed about the fact that Macarons are now EVERY WHERE!

By the time I get married I'm pretty sure everyone will have had them…. Never mind. Still plenty of time for decisions to be made.

Next step, THE DRESS!!!!!

Stay tuned…..

Coming Soon...

It's here! It's finally here. Today is the first day of LFW - it comes around so fast.

A review of today's shows will be posted soon - I promise. Xx

A sad day

Alexander McQueen. A huge loss. So very sad.

Strike a pose Vogue

Can you believe it?!? Chung has only got the ruddy Chanels. I am green with envy!! I ♥ them......