Friday Frock O’clock

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There’s been a bit of an undercurrent of a trend going on this season that I am really loving, fifties chic. It’s a trend that seems to surface every summer and Mad Men is of course adding fuel to the fashion fire, with their sexy costumes. When it comes to the fifties, I’m not a huge fan of the stereotypical full skirted prom style dresses, but the trend I’m loving just now is more desperate housewives, all chic cocktail dresses, fitted shifts and candy colours.


The Beverley Dress from Coast, £145

I love yellow and this lemon shade is much easier to wear than most. The thin belt is a cute finishing touch to nip in your waist and the subtle gradient of colour is achieved with converging polka dots, which gives a classic shape a dose of fun. It’s perfect for a wedding or event this summer and I can just see it with Pimms on the lawn.

Happy weekend readers,

Love,
Rebecca
xo

Friday Food: Mahj’s Steak and Stilton Salad

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Given that I’m in the land of steak and also a part of the world that I think does salads particularly well, I thought this was a very apt post for this weeks Friday food. Sent in by Mahj, it’s also perfect for the warmer months – I often BBQ meat in the summer then add it to a salad to get a really summery feel to a dish. Take it away Mahj!

I can’t remember where I pinched this idea from, I think I had it in a pub somewhere at sometime and had one of those “hang on a minute. This is really quite easy. I could make this at home” type thoughts.

My go-to salad recipe comes courtesy of Sir Jamie and his Jamie’s Ministry of Food book which I thoroughly recommend. It is his Mediterranean chopped salad and it goes like this:

For 2 people
Small handful of black olives
½ a red onion
1 red chilli
3 tomatoes
1 Romaine lettuce or 2 little gem lettuces
Bunch of fresh basil
Extra virgin olive oil
Balsamic vinegar
Salt and pepper

You can obviously take out and change in whatever ingredients you want, but this is the recipe I use as a base for all my salads. And all you do is chop everything up. It’s really that easy. Sir Jamie recommends you chop all the ingredients (starting with the harder, crunchier veg first) and then pile them all onto the middle of a big chopping board and continue chopping and mixing together. I then divided up the mound of salad into 2 bowls, made a well in the middle of each and added 3 tablespoons of olive oil and 1 of balsamic vinegar into each and mixed both bowls so they were covered in their dressings. As stilton is so strongly flavoured, you want a lighter dressing on the salad.

With your salad done, now you can move onto your steak and stilton. Or, as my husband would call it, the best part!
I tend to use 2 steaks and it doesn’t matter if its rump, sirloin or whatever. Whatever your preference. For the stilton, I think about a 150-200g piece is enough. With that all you need to do is crumble it up and divide between your 2 bowls.

Then all you do is cook your steak in a griddle pan (if you have it). I am designated steak cooker in our house and the real secret is make sure you pan is hot. Like screaming hot. Like so hot you can see the heat waves coming off it and its smoking a little. Then add your steaks. For medium steaks its 3 minutes per side and rest for 4 minutes. You may need to adjust your times given how thick your steak is.

Finally, cut your steaks into strips, divide them into the bowls also and there you have it. This becomes a pretty regular staple in our house from now until September time. And is lovely with a glass of red.

Mahj xoxo

PS. I really should mention that the steak in the photo was more on the rare side which is slightly less done than I like to have my steak, but it still tasted delicious.

Holiday Beauty…

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As you read this I am in-flight on route to San Francisco so thought it was an apt time to discuss holiday beauty. I have a few things that I do before I go and a few tips for keeping the beauty products down. One person I know used to take half a suitcase of products with her for skin, hair and make up, but who really has the time or inclination to use them all? I prefer to spend my time enjoying myself but want to still look presentable in the all important holiday photos, so here’s the edit. This might also be a useful checklist if you’re planning a particularly glamorous holiday, a honeymoon perhaps, otherwise pick and choose the bits that will help you!

Before you go…
1. First things first, I always try and get any essential mantainence appointments booked into the diary early… you know what I’m talking about here ladies, the great de-fuzz. I prefer to get a bikini wax (I’ll spare you the details in the interests of preserving your breakfast!) and half leg – the top half, as I can never wait to get the bottom half done in the summer months. For lower legs and under arms I continue shaving.

2. Mani/Pedi – I love a good manicure and it’s great to get a bit of relaxation time in before you go, feeling smug about your forthcoming trip while the beautician asks you if you’re ‘going anywhere nice?‘ I’ll be choosing Nails Inc shades this year with ‘Henley Regatta‘, a juicy pink Strawberry scented shade for fingers and ‘Portobello‘ neon for toes. If you’ve never had a pedicure, I’d highly recommend it. My first was before my wedding and even though I only had a ‘toe tidy’ it was the best toe nail painting I’ve ever seen and lasted ages. :)

3. In the shower – If you’re going to be getting your body out either on the beach or by the pool, hell, even in a skimpy top for dinner, you want your skin at it’s glowing best. There’s nothing for it but to get scrubbing. I use an exfoliating glove and my usual shower gel and scrub from my jaw line to toes, paying particular attention to dryer areas on feet, knees and elbows, or bumps on the backs of my arms. Don’t forget to do any areas you have waxed to prevent ingrown hairs.

4. Before bed – Moisturise! After sloughing away all that dead skin treat the new layers to a drink with a good moisturiser. I use something simple like Nivea or Vaseline Intensive Care so you can slap it on liberally and stay silky smooth and glowing.

5. If you remember… tan. Wherever you go on holiday, stepping off the plane into the golden light after leaving Englands blue tinged greyness can be a shock, but to minimise the milky appearence of sun starved skin try a gradual self tanner or a couple of applications of Fake Tan (Read Louisa’s round up of the five best Fake Tanners here.)

Beauty Packing tips
1. Decant. The picture above is my Mums wash bag. It’s legendary in my house as she always has it ready to go away and never needs to faff around with beauty products before a trip, whether it’s an over night stay at mine or a month long trip to Australia. Save the freebies in magazines and giveaways from department stores to use up on shorter trips and for longer trips empty smaller sized bottles you get in christmas gifts and decant your usual shampoo, conditioner and showel gel into them. (I always empty hotels of the toiletries if I like them then take them next time we go somewhere there might not be freebies… Travelodge anyone?!)

2. Space savers and travel heros – For nails, take a pot of pre-soaked nail varnish remover pads so you can change your nail colour with your mood. Don’t forget a nail file for breaks and ditch the hand cream – use your body cream instead. For your holiday, invest in the Venus Spa breeze (above) with shaving gel block attached to the razor. It’s not quite as close a shave but works brilliantly.

3. Make Up – You don’t need a different eye shadow for every day of the week. Take your daily basics and 2 variations of colour for a holiday evening eye – golden eyes work well in the sun and using sea inspired shades tones well with gold for a more disco look. Take no more than one or two lipsticks and a gloss. A little eye liner goes a long way for another evening look or vamping up your staples.

4. Buy travel sizes of your hair styling products. Boots has a massive range and they can save you a lot of space (and weight.) If you’re going somwehere sunny with pool or beach time pack a hair mask like the Aussie 3 minute miracle to sooth stressed locks and pamper yourself on holiday.

5. Where not to skimp on size: This is a no brainer. Pack at least 2 full sized bottles of sunscreen and never take any less than factor 15, I always start with 30+ and only sometimes drop to factor 25. Ditch the aftersun if you’re really stretched but use a decent moisturiser instead and plenty of it.

So what do you do to prepare for a holiday and do you have any tips to help reduce the weight and volume of your packing whilst still looking goddess like?

Big sunshiny holiday Love,
Rebecca
xo

Legally Stylish…

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This morning, I’m headed off on holiday and in the mean time, I have lined up a selection of fabulous ladies to pop in and keep things going around here while I’m away. There will still be 2 posts a day, but one of them won’t be by me. I’m pretty excited actually, each of the bloggers who are contributing are people who I admire for their style and content so I think you are all in for a treat. And I’m not telling you who’s coming either, you’ll have to wait and see!

Today, it’s the hilarious and seriously intelligent Kirsty from A Safe Mooring. She’s hit on a subject I’ve been meaning to cover for a while so I hope you enjoy this teaser and share what you wear to the office after her insights. Thanks Kirsty!

Like Rebecca, I work in a profession that is often presented on screen as impossibly glamorous. If television and films are to be believed, female lawyers waltz around the office all day in nothing but mini-skirted suits in a variety of pastel shades, sporting perfectly coiffed hair and skyscraper heels. (They also merrily flit from one specialist area to another, this week defending a murderer and the next pursuing a libel case, but apparently the rules of professional conduct, just like the rules of office-appropriate attire, don’t apply on the other side of the screen.)

It’s all Ally McBeal’s fault. Back when I was an impressionable teenager, Calista Flockhart epitomised my idea of a glamorous lawyer. Donning a tiny skirt, dancing in the communal bathroom, drinking in the in-house bar – just a typical day in the life of your average solicitor. Or not.

And who can forget the pinktastic phenomenon that was Legally Blonde? Sure, it’s hardly representative of real life (or intended to be), but there was something about those fluffy pens and candy-coloured Jackie O suits – not to mention the implication that you could be blonde, wear pink, and actually have a couple of brain cells to rub together – that secretly appealed to me. Judging by the embarrassingly large number of blondes brandishing fluffy pens on the day one of my law degree, I wasn’t the only one.

Sadly, the reality of life in a legal office is somewhat disappointing in the style stakes. When I began my job straight out of university, I had three suits: a black, a grey and a blue. Conservative, safe, zzzzz. Fast-forward a few years and instead of being a trainee, shuffling paper and scurrying in the background, I’m out in front mixing with clients and making decisions. I don’t need to hide my opinions at work, so why hide my sense of style?As women become an increasingly dominant force in the workplace, the classic male uniform of suit, shirt and tie becomes less and less relevant, so why is the legal profession so slow to catch on? Surely it’s possible to look professional without looking like you’re the Conservative candidate in a local council by-election??

Ladies, I believe it is. Allow me to present Exhibit A in the case for professional-but-stylish: Diane Lockhart, the ballsy senior partner in my current legal drama of choice, The Good Wife.

Diane’s wardrobe is subtle, but speaks volumes. Rich jewel tones in classic shapes are lifted to the next level with interesting jewellery and luxe fabrics. Dresses and smart separates replace suits. It doesn’t scream “Look at me!” (or, “Look at my legs!” à la Ms McBeal). Instead, it says in a calm, authoritative voice, “I am a woman. I am good at my job. I do not need to dress like a man, nor do I need to dress to attract a man, to excel in my chosen field. And by the way, your fly’s undone.” At least, that’s what I like to think it says.

Of course, it’s a fine line to tread, and women’s magazines aren’t particularly helping us find our way. If I read another article suggesting that a leather pencil skirt is “totally office appropriate”, I will throttle someone with my own bejewelled hands. But the shift from the days of McBeal and co – when television’s idea of a female lawyer was a ditzy girl larking about in a short skirt – to the slick, smart and stylish professionals presented in The Good Wife is a significant one. Off-screen, there are signs that it might be catching on. My (female) boss often ditches a suit in favour of a sleek dress or colour-blocked top and skirt, and even the senior partner has been spotted – *gasp* – without his tie. Lawyers aren’t known for their daring sense of style, but as more and more young women enter the profession, perhaps we can show the old boys a thing or two.

What about you? How do you balance looking professional with looking stylish?

Blogging Laid Bare #2: Getting started.

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This afternoon, I thought I would continue the Blogging Laid Bare series with some serious basics, how to get started. Many of you might be reading this and thinking, well, I already blog so I’m already started, but there may be some of you wanting to either start a blog or to take an existing blog from a basic blogging platform to something like WordPress. Plus every series needs a beginning right?

Ok so here goes.

1. Buy your Domain
First things first, you need a name. I can’t help you there, but once you’re decided on one (or intact if you have a name like www.florencefinds.blogspot.com which is hosted by Blogger for example and want to become self hosted) you have to buy the domain. Purchase your domain for 2 years as it’s cheaper but it also looks better to search engines. It shows you have staying power. Think about buying your domain with a number of different endings. The ideal would be .co.uk and .com, .net and .eu This is all about protecting your brand. If someone else has the domain you use but with a different ending it leaves you open to it coming up in search engines and redirecting to a site of their choice. Who you purchase your domain from is up to you but I think it’s easier to purchase it through your host if you can, which leads me to my next step.

2. Find a hoster
Imagine the internet like a blank wall. When you find a host you are finding someone who will pin your website or blog up on that wall for everyone to see, on the internet. The amount of wall space you get is often determined by how much you pay, and how much storage that buys you.

There are many hosters out there and the best way to find one is ask around your friends or twitter contacts for recommendations. Compare prices and how many page views you will get for your money (some packages give you a limit and when you exceed that the site goes down.) Look for an unlimited package if you expect high traffic.

3. Choose a platform
For me, it’s all about WordPress. I had used it before when I started Florence Finds but nowhere near to the level I have learnt to do so. It’s powerful and super flexible so you can tweak thousands of pre-designed themes or start from scratch on your own design. It also has loads of widgets that you can drop into your theme (for example the three columns ‘Blogroll’, ‘Your Favourites’ and ‘What people are saying’ at the bottom of the Florence Finds page are all widgets,) and there is infinite variety on what you can choose to include.

The other major hosted is Typepad, which I have no experience of but Annabel over at Love My Dress uses and although she acknowledges it’s glitches, she’s a big advocate of their individual service. (You can read more from Annabels ‘Being self-employed‘ series and particularly her blog redesign here, or shoot her a tweet, I’m sure she’d be happy to answer any queries.)

4. Design your blog (or choose a ‘theme’)
Once you’ve got your domain name and a hosted, you can start to think about how your blog is going to look. The easiest thing to do here is to choose a ‘theme’, basically a pre-designed blog template. Theme’s are often free, or for better, more customisable ones with more options you can choose to pay for one. Exen the most basic often have options, for changing the font colour for example. The most expensive option is to commission a designer to custom design a blog to your specifications. That might take the form of starting with vague inspiration and ideas, or taking a design you have sketched out or planned on the computer to be translated into a custom theme.

Florence Finds was designed by me in Pages (Apple’s equivalent software to Microsoft Word and Publisher combined.) It’s a very simple design and after a bit of reading I started to translate it into reality by tweaking a WordPress theme, Thematic – a widely used theme for starting from the very basics. Eventually reading would no longer suffice and I had to call in an expert – I asked Ian from Swash and Fold to help me and he started again with Twenty Eleven to produce what you see today. If you need help like I did, Ian‘s your man.

5. Get started!
Kind of an obvious one, but you can go on forever tweaking your theme, making it look perfect and obsessing over what people think when you launch. chances are you may not have an instant readership if you’re new, so people will take you as they find you and whilst a poor blog design discourages people from coming back, really it’s the content that is King.

I hope you’ve found todays instalment useful and if you have any questions, feel free to throw them out there in the comments box below. Also, as I said last time if there’s something you would like to see covered in the series, just let me know :)

Love,
Rebecca
xo

Found: Extreme Party Mascara

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Ok, so I feel like I’m turning into a walking talking Bobbi Brown advert recently, what with the make-over I shared and the gorgeous lip colour I also bought. But todays find is a bit of a fluke really, albeit one I couldn’t keep to myself.

A couple of Fridays ago I was heading off to a friends wedding, we were running a little late, Pete was getting grouchy and so I piled all my make up into my make up bag and planned to finish it in the car, base already seen to. No sooner were we on the motorway when rifling through said bag I realised I had left my mascara behind. And theres no way I was getting dolled up to the nines to then going without Mascara. Oh no. So like any self respecting woman, I directed Pete to make a stop at the Trafford centre and hot footed it into the John Lewis make up department to pick one up. It’s partly chance that Bobbi Brown is pretty much the first counter I came across and partly because I had heard of the Extreme Party Mascara and thought the name sounded like the kind of effect I love on my lashes but I purchased one and left, in such a rush that I only checked that it was in fact black, after I had paid. The sales assistant must have thought I was mental.

Fastforward to the ongoing car journey, marital harmony restored and I started layering it on. And oh my goodness, the effect was amazing. So amazing that I felt obliged to take a photo and tweet about it there and then, with one eye mascara’d and the other not. I think it makes for a pretty impressive comparison.

Apparently Bobbi created the Extreme Party Mascara for women who ‘wanted the effect of false lashes without the fuss,‘ and it promises ‘Unbelieveable volume, endless build, exceptional separation.‘ I actually would say it’s better than that. It seems to curl the lashes, widen my eyes, makes them ridiculously long and thick and also gives the promised separation. The picture I took above is a single coat and you can build it for even more drama. Seriously, look at the difference right to left!

See why I couldn’t keep it to myself?

I promise, it will be the best £18.00 you have ever spent.

Love,
Rebecca
xo

Dream Destination: New York [What to see...]

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For a while now I’ve been meaning to write about New York and create the ultimate destination guide for any of you visiting or planning a trip. New York isn’t a place that I’ve been to just once, but feels like somewhere I’m fairly familiar with. I’m lucky enough to have been 3 times in the last 7 years – on a budget as a student, with Pete and then most recently on a proper girls holiday with Jess.  I also had family there and while I was  growing up we visited regularly. So I feel fairly confident I have some decent tips to share. When I started writing this turned into a rather mammoth posts so I’ve broken it down and today we’re going to start with things to see and do, then I’ll move onto where to eat and drink next time. :)

Although New York is mammoth (and I’m simply referring to Manhattan here, or what I and the majority of visitors think of as New York proper) it is totally walk-able. I’m not saying it’s the least tiring way to get around, but it is do-able. In the interests of your feet and not crippling you with exhaustion, my suggestion would be to break the main areas/sights down into 3 chunks, then combine them with general meandering, which also means you can see and do a lot in a long weekend.

Geographically, let’s start at the bottom (although all of these routes can be done in reverse of course.) Take the subway to the southern tip of Manhattan and come out amongst the sky scrapers of the financial district. From here you can easily take in a ton of iconic sites.


View Staten and Skyscrapers in a larger map

Skyscrapers, Staten and Sorrow
Start on the Staten Island Ferry, it’s competely free, just jump on, ride out to Staten Island, disembark then turn around, get back on and come back. You get fabulous views of the Manhattan skyline for your holiday album and really close to the Statue of Liberty for more snaps.

If it’s a nice day, spend some time wandering round the garden next door (Battery Gardens) and see The Sphere, previously on display in the space between the 2 towers of the World Trade Centre, a symbol of peace and now bearing the scars of the tragedy.

Visiting Ground Zero isn’t everyone’s cup of tea and there’s no denying it is both melancholy and heart breaking but I feel compelled to go everytime I’m in New York, having visited the towers as a kid on more than one occasion. When I last went the memorial was still being built and there was a small museum that was sobering but life affirming when you read about the acts of bravery people committed there to help their fellow New Yorkers. Definitely worth a trip.

Next take yourself for a brisk walk across to Wall street, via the Charging Bull, and then across town to The South Street Seaport. Grab some lunch or a cocktail here and sit in the sun. There are some shops although nothing spectacular, it’s just a nice area to stop at. One notable exception is the Abercrombie and Fitch store (on Fulton Street) which makes for a much more pleasurable shopping experince than visiting the 5th Avenue flagship store, as it’s usually really quiet.

Walk off your lunch with a stroll over the Brooklyn bridge for more iconic views then congratulate yourself for doing so much!

Midtown Monuments
So much of New York is familiar whether you have visited or not and when people are visiting my advice is always to walk, walk, walk. You can’t turn a corner without recognising something or somewhere from the movies :)


View Midtown in a larger map

Midtown is often described as the heart of Manhattan and it’s great for walking around and getting a feel, but not much else. How you take in these sights depends very much on how you want to see the view and where from – I’d recommend starting or finishing with a city view at The Empire State Building or the Top of the Rock. I think the views are best early on and later in the day rather than in the middle, it’s great to see the light changing and if you time it right, you can get shots of the view at sunset then at night. The other place on this list that you should always do at night is Times Square and Radio City Music hall, (the latter only really a stop for a picture in front of the legendary sign.) Both look amazing with the brightly lit billboards making it seem almost like day light!

The map is pretty self explanatory and each place is worth a stop. The Public Library is where Carrie was jilted by Big and the set for the film The Day after Tomorrow, Grand Central station is iconic for its architecture and ambience, The Rockerfeller centre is best at Christmas, to see the ice rink and huge tree, and Macys is ridiculously close to the Empire state building along with lots of shops around Herald square and 34th street between the two, or on Fifth Avenue.

Central Park and around
Central Park is a must see when in New York and the rest of the recommendations on here are really for culture vultures. Even if museums aren’t your thing, a lot of them do a free hour and a half before they close or one afternoon a week. Check the guidebooks.

The Natural History Museum has dinosaurs (Night at the Museum) the Met has incredible art and the Guggenheim is for modern art lovers. Of course these are only a selection of what New York has to offer culturally.


View Central Park and around in a larger map

You’re also at the top end of 5th Avenue here and the area south of Central Park is home to all the elite jewellers, including the legend that is Tiffany’s (5 floors of diamonds and they are completely used to people popping in to gawk so don’t feel shy!) Saks Fith Avenue is just a few doors down and tons of other fab shops. Go on. Have a browse (if you can stop yourself actually shopping!) A little more out of the way but on the map here is Bloomingdales, another New York Icon – the biggest in the city is at 59th and Lexington Avenue. There’s also a very fancy Apple store on the corner of Central Park opposite The Plaza.

Ok, so that’s your lot! I do have a little more to share in the way of another walking tour, but it fits really well within the eating and drinking run down so I’m going to save that until next time ;)

Now it’s your turn, do give me a shout if you’re headed off there and will be using this as a guide, or if you have any places to go that I have missed, please add them in the comments below! (Save your eating and drinking recommendations for next time!)

Love,
Rebecca
xo

Florence’s Book Club: Italian Home baking

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This week, I’m going slightly off the beaten track with the book recommendations and shifting from fiction to food. You all know I love my food and so I love recipe books, particularly when they are as evocative as this one. Italy is one of my favourite countries, I love visiting there and it’s also hands down my favourite type of food, so when I flicked through this book several months back in WH Smith, I knew I was going to have to buy it.


Italian Home Baking: 100 Irresistible Recipes for Bread, Biscuits, Cakes, Pizza, Pasta and Party Food by Gino D’Acampo

The recipe book is full of baked recipes, so it naturally starts off with about a million variations on the humble loaf, from ciabatta to foccacia, stuffed, plain, with olives and sun dried tomato, there’s bound to be something to make you want to slow down and knead the dough for your very own masterpiece.

There are (Italian) cakes too but the book branches out a little further into recipes where baking is simply part of the process, like pizza of course, but also baked pasta dishes. Although I like Gino D’Acampo, I’ve never really loved him on TV, but the way he talks about family and the role of food within it is enough to make you go all Jamie over him, just like the Essex lad ‘sexified’ food, here’s an easy-on-the-eye chef with a tan and a twinkle straight from the Italian school of charm.

If you are a fan of Italian food or know someone who is, I would totally recommend it, I know many of the recipes will be gracing my table this summer.

Can you recommend any great Italian or other regional food cook books?

Love,
Rebecca
xo

Italian Home Baking: 100 Irresistible Recipes for Bread, Biscuits, Cakes, Pizza, Pasta and Party Food by Gino d’Acampo available on Amazon for £9.99

PS Want to read more of Florence’s favourite cook books?

White on White: Kitchens

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This afternoon I’m finally giving into myself and allowing a moment of indulgence of my greatest ‘want’ at the moment… to revamp our kitchen. The great moving debate is a constant source of discussion in the Norris household right now, can we afford it, where do we want to live, how long would we stay, how long can we stay in this house… the possibilities are endless. While our kitchen is only just over 5 years old, it was chosen by the developers we bought the house from and although perfectly nice, it’s totally not to my taste.

So at this minute I’m bouncing between knowing it’s the sane thing to do to leave it, to needing to do something with it to preserve my own sanity. We’ve considered everything from extensions to makeovers although I always stop short of an entirely new kitchen. I actually like the oak-look shaker units and handles but hate the grey and white tiles and the high gloss granite effect work top. So I spend my time fantasising on pinterest about my dream kitchen and thought I’d share a few of my favourite features with you today.

Painted Cupboards
If I was to do anything in our kitchen it would have to be budget friendly and given that I already like the style of the cupboard doors it seems sensible to paint rather than replace them. I’d love a dove grey or off white paired with pale granite tops or maybe wood, although I know the marks on it would bug me massively.


Grey lower units // blue-grey island unit // Marble tops.

I always love marble worktops in magazines, but I’m not sure if in the actual home it would look outdated and opinion varies on how hardwearing it is. Not ideal for a functional space.

Open shelving
I’m totally torn when it comes to this next feature as although I love how it looks, I imagine it must be very high maintenance. Perhaps if you have a maid then having your crystal lined up on the shelves neatly would be beautiful but in reality, I don’t fancy greasy cooking steam getting all over them and the potential for breakage with the inevitably regular clean.


French sign // Neat floating shelves // Shelves with green and blue accents.

It’s a lovely casual look for a mixed cooking and eating space though and I’d love to be able to do it one day, perhaps in a larger kitchen.

Metro Tiles
Not a new trend but one I’ve been in love with for a while now, metro tiles bring a touch of the urban to any kitchen, classic, country or a mix of eclectic elements. They seem to work everywhere and add a clean streamlined modern look where you need to balance out other design features or sometimes appear quite deco in their styling.


Close up tiles with plant // Country kitchen

Down-right dreamy spaces…
Sometimes, there’s no denying that there’s inspiration and then there’s aspiration. I couldn’t help but include some of my all time favourite kitchen spaces and dream I might create something similar one day.




1 // 2 // 3 // 4

So, what’s your kitchen style readers and am I making your heart beat a little bit faster over these beautiful cooking spaces this afternoon?

Love,
Rebecca
xo

What to Wear: Whistles Wisteria print…

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Today’s what to wear is really just an excuse to share one of my favourite frocks this season. Already featured as a Friday Frock of course, Florence Finds fashion and these ‘What to Wear‘ posts in particular, are just about showing you what they look like on a real person, not a stick thin model. Hopefully you’ll find them useful as Whistles themselves use very slender models indeed for their promotional and online stock shots.


Whistles Wisteria print dress // French Connection Connie Jacket // Shoes – Mulberry (SS’11) // Bag Marc by Marc Jacobs (AW’10)

A long time fan of Whistles, I fell in love with this print instantly and was delighted to see it adorning something other than one of their signature dress styles. I love this shape of dress, it’s flattering and super easy to wear, plus it’s perfect for those occasions when you want to live a little in your dress and I don’t know, eat or something. ;)

On this particular occasion I wore it to dinner on my 30th birthday, which was a Thursday and Pete and I headed to Australasia in Manchester. Because of the glorious yellows and lilac’s int he print I accessorised with my yellow Marc by Marc Jacobs handbag with the step tucked in to make an oversized clutch and some fabulous Mulberry wedges that I picked up in the My-Wardrobe.com sale last summer. I like the retro T-bar style with school shoe-like buckles teamed with a very grown up sky high wedge. Of course as it was absolutely freezing, I threw over my ‘goes with everything’ nude French Connection Connie Jacket.

The Wisteria print is available in a Jacket (love), trouser, (double love) and top as well as this dress. And while we’re on the subject, there’s a £15 voucher for Whistles in this month’s Elle magazine too.

Lots of floral love,
Rebecca
xo