Soundtrack to today.

Soundtrack to my thoughts.

Stumbled upon this Australian label a good while back. Seeing the latest collection of leggings has sparked a desire to eBay all that I have so I can justify spending £50 on glittery cloth. I’m starting a dressmaking course next week, and while it would be wise to wait and sew myself a pair…I JUST NEED THESE…

Images: all hand poached from Black Milk’s gallery.

Matt of Barely Regal Records, chilling in the sun

Among Brothers

The ‘Piano Stage’

Woodland origami

Playing scrabble (pre-beer) in between bands

Wild Beasts

Came back from a brilliant weekend at End Of The Road festival. Saw amazing bands (Among Brothers, Austra, Twin Shadow, Wild Beasts were my favourites – Among Brothers being Mr Jones’s band, so not at all biased.) Luckily the weather stayed nice enough to enjoy sunbathing, ice creams, forest exploring and spending the weekend in loafers. Now back to reality, soft drinks as oppose to 7% pear cider and the countdown to Swn.

Hope everyone had a nice end to the summer. Here’s to wrapping up warm and my first sighting of advent calendars in a supermarket!

£1 each – ‘Grow your own herb’ pots from Poundland. Actually growing.

New coat hooks I picked up from eBay for £3. Yet to master the art of drilling into our very thin walls.

Cheap treats: This month’s Vogue, cotton scented candle from M&S, the perfect navy v-neck from APC.

Nabbed this Cheap Monday vest and (total daylight robbery) a Vaudeville & Burlesque maxi skirt. Both £10 each.

This month the purse strings have been tight after blowing some serious dosh in the Lake District and booking Edinburgh New Year festivities (very early, but very excited as Mr Jones and I are going to Hogmanay).

Lack of money and a three weekends in work have made August a lot less boozy than July and socially quiet. As a result, I’ve sought pleasure in cheap treats that warm the cockles of my womanly bones.

I’ve ponced around in the house, growing herbs, organising and throwing out clothes, hunting down hooks and changing the colour scheme of the lounge. Venturing in to the Habitat closing down sale brought back memories of working in Borders and having to serve customers during the final few weeks of their business. It made me feel sick to my stomach seeing beautiful hard back books getting tossed around like meat trimmings and booted across floors as people greedily searched for bargains. I definitely came away with ‘Vogue Covers’ and  Mario Testino’s books for a billy bargain, but I felt a sort of sick guilt. That same sick guilt came again when I sauntered around Cardiff’s Habitat and left with an armful of cushions and throws. Sick shortly subsided when putting up framed Glastonbury pictures, sinking rather large arse into new, comfy sofa arrangement and not lighting the cotton scented candle like a prize knob because it’s ‘just for show’.

Images from Jeffrey Campbell’s AW Lookbook.

Delightfully retro, slightly hipster images. His AW collection excites me beyond belief. I’m even more excited to learn that the Cardiff Urban Outfitters will be receiving a small allocation.

Getting excited for AW now. These classically twisted pieces by Emmanuelle (founded by Thomas Chen who previously worked at Thakoon) are the perfect layers for that bustly Autumn to harsh Winter transition. Although slightly boyish, I really enjoy how the look still maintains an air of chic. I’ve been enjoying the college prep bits and bobs that have been trickling into Urban lately – namely letter cardigans. I do tend to look like a haggard child in overly preppy, colour blocked clothes, so admire from afar in a costume of black.

For the first night we chowed down on a 4 course dinner (it was the first time I’d tried ‘sorbet’ in between meals and resisted putting posh cutlery/salt and pepper shakers/vases in my handbag – I was brought up well) and had an earlyish night ready for the morning.

Whilst I’d love to prattle on with a Mills & Boon paragraph of smut, the grim reality was that my afternoon spent in Cardiff, hunting down sexy lingerie that spiced up my largely m&s comfy pant collection…was almost pointless.

I almost burst out of my Ann Summers corset, coating the walls with seafood starters, delicious lamb dinner and a supersize helping of home made apple and toffee crumble. Less sex-bomb, more belly-explosion.

A 10 mile cycle round Windermere and an arse crippling jaunt up a mountain revealed the breath taking beauty of The Lake District. Being surrounded by quaint craft shops, windows full of home made cakes and just seeing nothing but greenery for miles tapped in to my womanly fondness for all things twee and delightful. I did that typically tourist thing: When submerged in mountains and cloud we insist on breathing in as much fresh air as our poor city lungs can handle. Naturally I’ve come back a detoxed woman who needs more of a garden, my own bike and a cake shop in the mountains.

Planned on going on a boat trip this morning, but had to head back to Cardiff due to bad weather. Crazy August. Feeling well rested…it’s back to work tomorrow. In between lunch breaks and days off I’m most certainly going to plot the next break.

Christopher Kane intergalactic biker dress, I salute you.

Some of my most recent wants, needs and inspirations. I don’t think I’ve seen a nicer chelsea boot than the new Topshop Allegra.

It’s unbelievable just how much death puts life in to perspective. It’s easy to get caught up in the hamster wheel of daily life, worrying relentlessly about what is in actual fact, completely trivial.

It’s too easy to write negatively, to verbally criticise and to hurt. Writing something nice, saying something from the heart and not being afraid to love is harder.

“Miss me a little but not too much

and not with your head bowed low

remember the love that we shared

miss me, but let me go”

Rest in peace. x