Wedding planning so far

Bad bad blogger.

It would appear wedding planning takes up rather more time than anticipated.

I have already had that moment where I thought "Sod it! Let's just run away and get hitched, just us two". Not because anyone's putting demands on us or trying to take control, but simply because the idea of being the centre of attention is really freaking me out. I guess it's something all brides have to get used to.

So - let's focus on what I have achieved so far...

1. We've booked the church, and my godfather is going to marry us.
2. We've booked the organist and choir (again, all close friends)
3. I've bought the bridesmaid's dresses
4. I've bought MY DRESS!!!!!
5. I've designed, had printed and sent out Save The Date cards
6. We've booked the reception

Yet to do, and worrying me slightly
1. Music
2. Hair and makeup
3. Shoes and head....veil? Headpiece?
4. Flowers

On we go. My last Christmas as a Miss is just around the corner..

Wedding dresses I love but can't afford Part 2

All hail, Oscar de la Renta

Turns out I love lace. Who'd have thought it?!

Shout out to some great wedding blogs

I have entered a whole new world - it's like knocking on a door...someone opening it and finding a huge noisy party going on on the other side that you didn't even know what going on. My goodness - the wedding scene is massive - whether you're talking dresses, blogs, decorations, DIY, whatever.

So - in case there are any other brides out there - these are a few of the blogs that I'm loving. Most feature real weddings and provide great inspiration. Funny to see the trends - I wonder if 5 years ago people know that so many weddings would feature homemade photobooths (complete with moustache on sticks!) and artfully mismatched plates! Love it all. And it's a great place to see some wedding dresses 'in action'

Snippet and Ink

Green Wedding Shoes

Once Wed

100 Layer Cake

Dress heaven

I can't and won't spend a fortune on a wedding dress - I'm not sure even if I had thousands at my disposal I could bring myself to, but today I saw my first desirable big bucks frock.

99% of the other wedding dresses I've seen so far have left me cold, but today I stumbled across Alice Temperley's wedding dresses, or rather 'Temperley London' ones which are right up my street.

Behold - the Jean dress

image courtesy of this site

Potential dream dress alert!

I love slinky and retro looking. My ring is antique and I would love a similarly old looking dress to match.

The Mrs among you - what style was your dress? The Misses - what would you wear?

This blog is changing...and so am I....

A quick update about some upcoming changes and the upcoming metamorphosis of this blog..

So, I've been away.

I went here:
and here:

and here:

and had an amazing time.

We ate great food, we saw beautiful things and we met lovely people.

And most excitingly of all, near the end of the holiday he asked me a question...which resulted in some shopping the weekend we got home. For one of these:


Yes, I'm getting married!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! <-- it requires a lot of these, there's no getting round it.

So I'm thinking of trying to keep track and making this into a wedding blog. Bit specialist, but why not.

And now to catch up with all of you!

A few things I'm loving right now

Nails Inc

As I think I said before, the naff packaging always put me off before, but it turns out they're rather great. I also love the way they name their shades after London streets. Latest addition - Warwick Avenue (and for the americans out there...that's 'warrick' if you're in London!)

Here's a rather slapdash application of 2 coats:



Lavender

I bought a bunch the other day which looked and smelled beautiful. Now it's shedding vigourously so I've taken all the little dried buds off and am going to make some little pouches filled with them for drawers. It just smells gorgeous


Bourjois liquid gold eyeshadow

I received this in a swap with a friend - not sure if I'd have ever bothered buying it, but it's turned out to be a winner. I've run out of eyeshadow primer and every Boots I visit is out of stock so I gave this a whirl. It's received bad write-ups I notice but I find a few dabs on the eyelid, then you work quickly and add a beautiful subtle sheen. It also stopped the shadow I then put in my crease from creasing (!) at all - all day long.




Gardening

Well - living in central London you can't hope for much garden unless you're loaded but this summer I planted up the long neglected window boxes for the first time and they're now flowering beautifully. Look at my geraniums!


I feel like a proud parent! Just wait until we move further out and I get my hands on a whole garden! They're just beautiful.

Things I'm loving right now

Macarons

I was a lover of Laduree even before they hit the big time in England and became fashionable, and there's very little I wouldn't do for a salt caramel or blackcurrant violet piece of heaven from them, but while at the Taste of London festival this year I discovered someone else who makes them - a company called Bougie. Macarons - delicious, packaging - gorgeous.


Peonies

My two favourite flowering things in the whole world are peonies and cow parsley. Not that they really go together, but there you go. Anyway - I finally got round to buying some the other day and am loving watching the slow unfolding of them. Mother Nature really was on top form the day she made them



New shoes

Who'd have thought M & S could churn out such a beautiful, fashionable and comfortable pair of shoes? Never overlook the old favourites - they actually have a good selection in there at the moment. There was a beautiful pair, similar to these but even higher heels. Again they were wonderfully comfortable but I was getting to be "transvestite tall" in them and I don't want to tower over every man in the room. So, this pair I'm very pleased with


How cute?

Weather

This glorious weather is making me very happy indeed. The thing about living in a country with such unpredictable weather is that we're thrilled when the sun comes out for two consecutive days in summer. More please!

The lovely weather also means I'm currently walking 8 miles a day (the journey from home to work is 4 miles - I google mapped it!) which has to be a good thing and means I avoid the sweaty grimness that is the tube. Mr C has downloaded a cool app to his iPhone meaning I'm always trying to take arty photos - here's a lovely one from our walk in yesterday morning. Times like this I realise how much I love London.

Bank holidays rock

In the style of one of my very favourite bloggers, loveaudrey I feel a lovely bank holiday weekend is best summed up in list form:

- cooking polenta for the first time. And not the last!
- strolling through Green Park - still lovely even amid the gathering storm clouds (and feeling smug for missing the rain!)
- sweet smelling freshly ironed bed sheets
- making peanut butter swirl chocolate brownies (courtesy of the Barefoot Contessa - someone I fell in culinary love with while living in the US)
- spending time with one of my oldest, best friends and her family - this includes 3 gorgeous children. Broody? Who, moi?
- too many G+Ts
- hoovering, washing, tidying - worth the hard work to finish the weekend with a lovely tidy home
- having three lie-ins. What a treat.
- dancing like an idiot on friday night and then..
- ...having my saturday hungover somewhat softened by being brought breakfast and a trashy newspaper in bed (Mr C really is a diamond)
- booking a trip to Paris for my birthday. How has it been 2 years since I last went to Paris!

Claus Porto soap

I'm a sucker for an expensive soap. If it's genuinely good quality then I don't mind paying. I thought I'd found one with the Iris soap from the Farmacia Santa Maria Novella, however shortly down the line I found that it really didn't have much oomph and it's beautiful just didn't last longer than a week or so.

Latest discovery? Claus Porto.

I lobbed this in the shopping basket on our final sweep of duty-free on our way home from Lisbon. Mr C gasped at the price but it's proven to be money so well spent:


Violet soap. Violet has to be one of my favourite fragrances of all time (I've considered trying to track down a Violet perfume) and this soap smells very strongly. And what about that beautiful packaging.

The first day I reverently unwrapped it I admired it, of cousre, but then when I came home from work and found the whole house smelling of it I was thrilled. And, weeks later I can report that it still smells lovely and is in turn making me smell lovely. I'm using it all over, and it's not drying at all.

The website for Claus Porto tells me it's been around since 1887 and has many more lovely looking products to discover, and I intend to find out a little bit more.

Nails Inc - what a pleasant surprise

I've been incommunicado on the blog front so I'm sure this freebie has been done to death but I felt it was worth a mention.

The prospect of a long train ride home + the promise of a freebie saw me picking up a magazine on Friday. Something I never do these days. Anyway, as you'll know In Style is giving away one of 3 shades of Nails Inc nail polish at the moment.

I picked up Mink


Très Chanel Particulière, non?

So I tried to take a photo on my way home
..with the Eye in the background....but as you can see without much success. So here's another more successful one:


I thought I'd hate it as much as the grey one, but I actually love it. It's strangely flattering on my skintone, which is a surprise as I thought it'd be one for the tanned ladies only.

I'm also impressed with the formulation - just thick enough and it's lasting very well chip-wise. Nails Inc are onto a good wheeze with this (and the Coke give away they did recently) as it's a brand I would never have considered buying before - probably if I'm honest because I think the packing is so naff and cheap looking - but now I'm definitely going ot investigate the range further.

Do you have any Nails Inc favourites?

Clarins Everlasting foundation - HG?

So bumbling round the duty free on my way to Lisbon I was browsing foundations. For some reason I find the staff in airport makeup counters are incredibly snooty and unfriendly but the girl at the Clarins counter was a sweetheart. And so I ended up buying something - their Everlasting Foundation (SPF 15)


My initial thoughts about this:
1. I can't believe they have a shade that matches my pale skintone
2. This smells lovely!

I'm now a good few weeks into useage and feel reasonably comfortable with saying that I truly love this foundation.

Things I like:
- I have shade 103 - Ivory and as you can see it blends into my skin really well.

- It gives quite full coverage, which I like, but it does depend a little on your method of application.

- It has a strong fragrance -very similar to Bulgari's eponymous perfume, which incidentally I have, and like - but this might put some people off.

- Price - I believe it was around the £20ish mark which I think is fine for a foundation if it's a good one

- ..and finally its name! Silly I know, but 'Everlasting' - very fairytale!

The only slightly critical thing I have to say is concerning one of its big selling points - the supposed everlasting-ness of it. I find unless I finish it with powder, I do end up a little shiny faced in the afternoon, but perhaps that's just my skin. Otherwise, a big smiley thumbs up from me

Closed for holidays

I'm off to Lisbon!


Happy Bank Holiday weekend everyone!

Revlon 3 for 2

I'm almost down to the bottom of my "I love it but it's not quite the right colour" Estee Lauder foundation. Though I love everything else about it I'm reluctant to buy another bottle as it doesn't match and required endless custom mixing with other foundations every morning to get the shade right.

So, since it's 3 for 2 on Revlon in Superdrug at the moment I thought it might be a good time to give the fabled PhotoReady a go. I'm a little - no make that very - wary to try it after how much my skin hated ColorStay but lots of people seem to have liked one and hated the other so I'm giving it a whirl. And I they seem to have great shades. Better than any other drugstore or high end foundation.

Anyway, I shall report back after I've used it a while.

I also picked up one of their new lipglosses - no.170 in Coral Reef


I just couldn't resist as it's such a beautiful shade...

The consistency is not too sticky and I love the colour but as ever, I'm regretting my hastiness and remembering how I don't really like lipglosses very much. Hmm, we'll see.

I was all set to pick up another black GOSH eyeliner but since the Revlon was 3 for 2 it made sense to make my third item an eyeliner. How exciting can eyeliner be? It's ok.

In other news I've decided to be brutal and purge a some blogs from my reading list. I found myself increasingly disappointed at the number of reviews that either started or finished with a disclaimer - "this product was sent to me for review purposes.." etc etc. I know many people are sent the odd item and I don't mind reading a few freebie review, but some now seem to be made up of nothing but and so it's those I'll be removing.

Having just been out and blown 20 hard-earned smackers on this Revlon mini-haul which I shall use, scrutinise, and then carefully write about I find that I want to read about people who do the same. People who've spent their own money on something. It means they've put thought into it and invested usually money (and therefore probably more thought) in the purchase. Does that make me a bit dull and self-righteous? Yeah, perhaps. But I feel like some blogs have drifted away from where beauty blogging originally started.

Am I on my own? Thoughts welcome.

Tag - 3

d I nI do love a questionnaire, and I nabbed this one from the delightful loveaudrey - one of my favourites. Hop on board and give it a go.


Three jobs I have had:
1. Picking ragwort from fields on a farm. I actually got an amazing tan that summer
2. Pot washer in a cafe
3. Data Analyst

Three places I have lived:
1. Dorset
2. Bristol
3. New York City

Three favourite drinks:
1. a very dry Martini
2. Elderflower cordial
3. Red wine

Three shows I watch:
1. Damages
2. Mad Men
3. Glee

Three places I have been:
1. Japan - my brother lived there for a couple of years so I was able to visit - it was amazing.
2. New York - living there was the best time of my life.
3. Malaysia - beautiful place, beautiful people, delicious food - I love it.

Three places I would like to visit:
1. Nepal
2. USA roadtrip
3. Always reamed of taking the trans-mongolian express one day

Three people who text my regularly:
1. folks
2. bro
3. Mr C

Three favourite old TV shows:
1. Seinfeld - Best. Show. Ever!
2. Arrested Development
3. Sex and the City

Three favourite dishes:
1. Greek yoghurt and honey
2. Steak frites
3. Creme Brulee

Three Makeup products I can't live without:
1. Foundation
2. I could live without the rest, but I must have a perfect smooth canvas or I'm just not happy!
3.

Three things I'm looking forward to:
1. Having a lie in at the weekend
2. Going to Lisbon at the end of the month
3. On a more long term scale, one day buying (and more importantly decorating) a flat with Mr C

Cheap treats

I braved Westfield at the weekend. Let's break it down...

The Good
- threading - I've been dying to get my eyebrows threaded for ages and finally got round to it. I am hugely impresssed - they've been subtly and beautifully reshaped. I'm a total convert. However, I need to find a non-mall place to get them done. My friend at work who's Indian fell about laughing when she I told her how much I paid.
- a few purchases..a little beauty, bit of clothing and some jewellery.


The Bad
- the crowds...oh my goodness the crowds. I think though if you can be in and out by early afternoon you'll miss the worst of it as it seems to peak 3pm-ish
- queues - why don't shops build more changing rooms? They don't need to be big.. I'm happy to try something on in a cupboard if it has a mirror - I don't need to swing a cat but seriously - I just don't have the patience to queue
- Inglot sales staff (some). Some are lovely but there's a guy in there who stalked me and my friend round the entire shop, even after we politely said we didn't want any help

I bought this ring (which Mr C hates, but which I adore)

Cheesy I know, but oh how I love it.

Also, some of the ubiquitous grey nail polish


Hmm. Not sure about this trend. Perhaps beige/taupe is better. That said, while watching Sophie Dahl's cookery programme I've been loving her simple french manicure. It's been an age since I got out my bottle of Chanel ...er....Mademoiselle is it? Anyway, a nice pale nude pink one.

Photos of my rather lovely but vile smelling Inglot lipstick coming soon, I promise.

Also - review of Revolutionary Road (the book, not the film) also coming soon.