Brighton Beach

I have a lovely friend called India who lives in Devon and she came to visit for the week. So we (Tara and I) thought it appropriate that India from Devon saw Brighton whilst it was nice and sunny. 

Sitting on a blue stripy deckchair, in the sun, with amazing friends (who laugh at all your jokes - bonus!) on Brighton pier overlooking the sea... I think we can safely say that's a great way to spend a Friday.

xxx Lucy xxx

Hurry Up Holiday...

Bonjour ma petite fleur's! I'm going to be speaking in French a lot now as I only have 6 WEEKS (ish) until my holiday to the South of France! I literally cannot wait - it would have been 7 months since my last proper holiday to Malta (see first ever blog post for more deets on that). TOO LONG!

This is my absolute favourite time of the year. To this day I still get those initial butterflies in my stomach when I dip my toes in the glittering sea and walk (I mean, stumble) across the soft warm sand. For two weeks I can forget about work, put my virtual life on hold (ish) get out a good old book (or in my case a whole bag) and zone out. If I'm not reading, I'm in the sea. Practicing pilates, or being stung by jellyfish. The first is a joke (haha) the last is reality (boooo).

As this much-needed-and-much-anticipated holidays is not gong to actually start for another 5 weeks and 4 days, I'm getting myself into the mood by reading about Chanel. Because, well, she's French. And she had a villa on the Côte d'Azur. I'll be dipping my toes in the same sea Chanel once did. I'm pretty chuffed about that.

A few years ago, me and my friend Caroline went along to a talk held at the V&A by the Author of this book, Justine Picardie, where she spoke about the life of Chanel. I had no idea how much of her past influenced the clothes and accessories she designed, all of which can be seen in her collection then, and with the fashion house now. For example, the use of monochrome that Chanel made famous bares similarities to the Convent Nuns she grew up with. And in this book, all the iconic symbols of Chanel (the intertwined C's that make up the world famous logo, the story behind white, the use of the Camelia etc.) are explained. I wasn't much into Chanel before reading this (always preferred Dior myself) but her life is so fascinating and mysterious and it's interesting to see how much of an influence she still has on the brand today.

I'm saving the last half of the book for when I'm on the beach or travelling to St Tropez. Seems more appropriate to be read in France than England.

Want the book? Link here:

Harper Collins

Amazon

xxx Lucy xxx

Weekend Adventures and a Little Shopping Trip too...

Just a quick post to share some snaps from last weekends antics.

Saturday was a beach day, because here in England any day that is remotely warm must be embraced and made as much use of. A visit to Branksome Chine and Sandbanks (yes, we went all out!), Bournemouth, to meet up with friends, make new ones, eat fish and chips on the sea front, walk along a pier before a short stay in an arcade where Tara and I were determined to win a cute blue Gorilla on one of those Claw Machines - it took a lot of patience and we ended up with a crowd of supporters, until at last what was thought to be impossible was achieved and that initial cheer of relief was followed by that smug look of 'I've just achieved my life's goal, I am now complete'.

Sunday was a shopping day. No, not for me *quick sigh of relief*, for a friend. Why spend my money when I can spend someone elses? Benefits: I didn't feel guilty at the end of the day and I'm not left in debt (round of applause please). Downfall: I didn't bring anything pretty home (umm... actually I may have done BUT it could have been worse!), and I spent the whole shopping trip asking Caroline to steer me away from Zara, Dune and Oliver Bonas. You know they're a true friend when they're still happy to talk to you after you've most likely injured them in an attempt to break out and run to all the sales.

When I said I got something - it  was really only a little thing I've had my eye on for a while. In fact, I have been walking past it everytime I visit Oliver Bonas because I couldn't quite decide what colour I wanted and I was so convinced that they wouldn't sell out I thought I'd take my time. But this weekend, I noticed they were selling out quite quickly, so I adopted that dangerous YOLO attitude again (as most people do when making decisions... Oh you don't? Just me then...) it's nothing major... 

JUST A CUTE LITTLE GLOBE. Uses: none. Practiciality: none. Excuse: .... I didn't have a globe and I saw it and I bought it? Does that count? 

This shopping trip has only made me write a fairly long list of things to get next month including:

Mac Lipstick - I haven't decided between Sweetie, FanFare or Hot Gossip

Office Shoes - Jaguars Dorsay Point

Benefit Eyeshadow - Always the Bridesmaid (Pearly Lavender) Creaseless Cream Shadow

Benefit Eyeshadow - Raincheck? (Smokey Amethyst) Longwear Powder Shadow

Oliver Bonas Photo Frames - you can never have too many pictures (or in my case, empty frames)

Theme song for the weekend - Waves, Mr Probz (Robin Shulz Remix Radio Edit)

xxx Lucy xxx

China Blue Bedroom Interior

I've been on Pinterest loads recently. Like, I'm so addicted I forgot about Instagram (which, coming from me means a lot) and I've now pulled a few friends into Pinterest too so they can become just as engrossed.

I've set up lots of Interior boards, in the hope that when I can eventually afford a nice little flat (we're thinking a loooooooong time away) I know exactly what I want. Since I was little, I've always had a very keen interest in interior - I would sit for hours looking at my Mum's interior books, and mark my favourite ideas with post it notes (all colour coordinated I'll have you know). I had a very tiny room at first, but as soon as my brothers moved out, and about time too, I jumped into the big room and 'Lucy-fied' it before they could change their mind and come back.

Their room (now mine mwahaha) is now painted white - this acts as a sort of canvas so I can use plenty of colour, patterns and print without it being too 'in ya face'. It's not too busy or eccentric ... my friends may say differently?

Though I don't want to clear my room and start all over again, I do want to make some tiny changes because I'm getting slightly bored (this is the problem of only having one room to decorate not a flat). In an ideal world I'd have more pattern and print, but in less colours - stick to a few favourites like blues and mauves... I have no idea how and when I am going to do this, so for the time being my new best friend Pinterest will have to provide me with an escape.

Pinterest is great for getting ideas for colours palettes and generic styles but it can be easy to just copy everything you see, and here is where people miss out on a fun hunt for things that make the room *insert your name here*.

So, every now and then (when I remember) I'm going to design new colour schemes, themes, or 'whats in the shop' collages to help inspire you to get your room looking lovely. And... because... if I can't buy them, I can insist someone else does...

To start, I've focused on China Blue. I found this bright and beautiful cushion in a shop, designed by Bombay Duck, and yes, I did actually gasp when I saw the colour (now starting to regret not going back for it) that I went on an online hunt to find things in this lovely shade of blue. I've fallen in love with everything I've found, especially the photo frame, cushion and bed linen. So it's only fare I share the finds:

Tempted? Links here:

Souk Embroidered Cushions Square
Square Memo Board
Astrid Chevron Photo Frame
Velvet Tub Chair
Geometric Print Duvet Cover
Wallpaper Vase
Flocked Baroque Mirror
Ornate Arch Tapestry Throw
Ombre Lace Curtains

I have a good idea of whats to come next under this new interior ideas project and I'm getting quite excited (channelling my inner geek). Until then, happy shopping.

xxx Lucy xxx

Pandora Bracelet

Sooooo. Payday came, and, went...quite quickly. BUT, I mean, I got a Pandora bracelet out of it (this is me justifyng my actions - roll with it... second thoughts, I don't need to justify this purchase - it's far too pretty for that.

For years I've been on the edge of deciding whether to get one. When I looked on the website, I fell in love with the Purple Woven Leather Bracelet for the colour, the detail and for me, this was more my style - I'm always drawn to this deep Aubergine purple - in stones, decor and clothes, and I wasn't disappointed by the quality or colour when I saw it in the shop. I don't have much gold, but I do wear a few gold bracelets all the time (inherited from GeeGee my great gran) so although I'm wearing my charms on the other wrist I didn't want the silver to clash. Instead of sacrificing some, I'd rather find a way to wear it all together. And, being the genius I am, I have ;).

My lovely friend Tara bought me my first ever Pandora Charm (The French Lilly). I walked into Pandora, my mission to only buy the bracelet! 'Lucy, only buy the bracelet, only buy the bracelet!' but walking into a treasure trove such as this, with all the charms glistening in the light and screaming 'buy me, buy me', and being such a pushover when it comes to pretty things (my bank statement spells out YOLO), of course I was going to spot the sale section and add an extra charm to my delicately wrapped Pandora Bracelet. So now I have two little charms, the French Lilly and the Russian Doll. Bonjour and Privyet my little stunners...

I'm going to the South of France this year in September, so I shall get something to remind me of that when I come back... maybe something beachy themed like the shell or starfish or mermaid? To be honest, I could use that excuse for any day to day activity 'I'm going to Sainsbury's, so it's imperative I get a shopping bag charm'. Again, I just ask you to roll with it. I am very very excited about holiday this year - this will be my first time in the South of France, and it looks beautiful!

 

Some of my favourite charms on the Pandora site:

Snowflake Clip

Starfish Clip

Mermaid Charm

Teapot Charm

Tea Cup Charm

Tropical Seahorse Pendant Charm

Lantern Pendant Charm

Gondola Pendant Charm

Wise Owl Charm

Angel Fish Charm

Sea Shell Charm

On another note, July is here! Can't believe we're 7 months into the year already?! A few of my favourite flowers are out this month, so I snapped a few pics of some beautiful Hydrangeas, because look how pretty they are!

   

xxx Lucy xxx

Kings Of Leon - Mechanical Bull Tour

Last Sunday, me and the girls headed off to Milton Keynes, pitched tents in a friends garden (yeah, we wanted that festival feel), spent the afternoon sitting in their Pagoda sipping Margarita's before walking in the smothering heat to The National Bowl.

Twin Atlantic, followed by Haim, followed by Kings of Leon. Summer sun, festival feel, 7 rows from the front, and the clearest view of the band. Also surrounded by moshers, but safe enough to just laugh at them, until the last few songs where we joined in, because... well, why not?

I bought these tickets back at the beginning of January, put them on the shelf, and hadn't really thought about it until the last few days, and that warm fuzzy feeling of complete excitement and also nerves (what if we pack the tents but forget the poles? And, please,  remind me to pack the tickets because I don't trust myself at all) came over me.

This venue is amazing. Like, super cool. When people were calling it a bowl, I genuinely wasn't expecting what I saw as we climbed the steps. Looks like a massive meteor has hit the ground, been scooped out, and some genius has decided to use it as a gig venue.

When the night ended with  a burst of fireworks and one last roar from the crowd, we attempted to find those of us who'd sat on the slope (they came out looking immaculate, we looked like we'd been dragged into a moshpit full of sweaty over excited people who pushed, pulled and threw us around... oh wait...). Trying to find these friends gave me a perfect excuse to get us all lost again of course, and after 15m minutes of walking in completely the wrong direction we were eventually saved.

So then it was back to our tents for the night where we cosied up with hot water bottles and huge duvets and a few cups of tea. Just as we were settling (as comfortably as you can in a tent) we heard a sudden bang, thump and moan as we watched poor Katy walking straight into a patio door. No, we will never let her forget it ;)

I've now spent the rest of the week recovering, reminiscing, and in a permanent grump because I would quite like to just go back and relive it all over again. On a side note my nephew has just slapped a few stickers onto my forehead and run off - this may be adding to the melancholy...

Anyway I now have no gigs lined up *shock horror* and I'm back to normal life - as normal as my life can be ;) I better get planning another weekend trip...

xxx Lucy xxx