Stripes and Shoes

This week will mainly be about high heels and stripey tops. I've been so busy at work recently I tend to fall into lazy dressing habits. High heels always make me feel more dressed up, and stripes just go with everything. Well, I think so anyway which is why I own so many stripey clothes!

Lazy Sunday Links

1. If it it wouldn't be such a long commute I would probably move into Helen's dining room! 2. As a fairly basic cook this article on 12 recipes to know by heart is perfect for me 3. Best front row ever 4. I am in love with this apartment 5. I always love a 20s themed photoshoot 6. These photos just blow me away.

Making Time

I am a multitasker. I bet if you have a blog you are too. And probably if you don't! I rush around a lot, doing twelve things at once and at any given time I'll have five or six blog ideas on the go, be constantly looking for inspiration for the next, checking twitter and replying to comments, not to mention trying to squeeze work and time for my friends and family in there too!

I was watching breakfast tv the other day (and checking twitter, and reading blogs!) and a woman came on to talk about tea cosies. I'm not quite sure why the BBC were doing a piece on tea cosies but she did say something which I thought was interesting. She said the act of making loose leaf tea, in a teapot, of waiting for it to stew and pouring it into an actual tea cup, complete with saucer and maybe a biscuit was a gift of time to yourself. I could make instant coffee or builders tea, and most of the time I do, but every now and then I take the time to make a pot of french press coffee and it's pretty damn yummy, not least because it takes just a little bit longer.

What do you do to make time for yourself? Other favourites of mine are listening to podcasts in the bath and reading a magazine cover to cover with no disturbances! I definitely feel better for having a little time out. Being able to concentrate on just one thing at a time feels like a crazy luxury sometimes!

Winter Warmer

top - topshop, skirt - h&m (very old), belt - vintage, boots - schuh, headband - urban outfitters, bracelet - marc by marc jacobs

Brr! It's been so cold recently I've taken to wearing this headband even in doors to keep my ears warm. And I've managed to lose two pairs of gloves within the space of a week! Basically I am a winter disaster.

I wore this outfit at the weekend to go up to the Southbank, wander round Borough market and visit the Tate Modern. Further disasters occurred when I managed to drip the sauce out of my falafel wrap down my skirt and bag! And my fingers got so cold I ended up wearing my boyfriend's gloves, which looked decidedly giant and ridiculous when on my hands. So all in all not the most successful day out ever clothing wise, but at least I looked nice long enough for photos, and the wrap was delicious!

Looking stylish in the cold... is it even possible?? Please let me know your secrets if you have any?

Sunday Lunch

This Sunday I took a trip to our local farmers' market with James and my mum to purchase bread and cheeses for Sunday lunch. I know for many people Sunday lunch is traditionally a full roast dinner but in my house Sundays are much more likely to consist of a ridiculous quantity of cheese!

It's 1. a lot less effort and 2. just as good if you are cheese lovers like us!

We came home with focaccia and crusty bread, goats cheese with garlic and herbs and some buffalo milk cheese of some description and ate it with balsamic vinegar, olive oil, salad, tomatoes and orange juice. Pretty much my perfect meal!

Lazy Sunday Links

1. I love this pink and white house 2. Is this not the cutest blog birthday post ever? 3. Whenever I get fed up of winter Krissy reminds me how beautiful it can be too 4. I love this gorgeous wintry editorial 5. Dreaming of Paris over at Hjartesmil 6. And Suzie Bubble's post on secret places in Paris isn't helping!

Ulyana Sergeenko

1. Stockholm Streetstyle 2. Citizen Couture 3. Stockholm Streetstyle

I know money doesn't buy style but it certainly helps. I am so obsessed with the beautiful Ulyana Sergeenko at the moment. She's probably best known for her recent fashion collection which was featured on practically every blog ever, but her personal style is just as beautiful.

On another note I spent about two hours looking at streetstyle photos of her trying to find the original sources so I could feature the images and it was hard. I've not been great at crediting the sources of photos I've used in the past - I didn't really know anything about it when I started blogging but these days I try not to blog any photos that I don't know source. Street style images get reblogged, pinned and tumblr'd so many times that finding the original photograph so I could give credit was tricky, but a lot of googling and use of tineye (thanks Hayley for introducing me to that one!) and I have hopefully linked to the correct places for these three photos.

If you are as in love with Ulyana as I am a bit of googling will turn up a lot more street style photos of more dubious origin!

Dinosaur Queen

t-shirt - tee and cake at topshop, skirt - french connection, belt - clothing at tesco, tights - m&s, boots - schuh, earrings - juicy couture and h samuel, watch coutesy hsamuel

A couple of weeks ago I blogged about finally getting my hands on the Tee and Cake Dinosaur tee from Topshop which I've wanted for ages - and here it is! I've worn it absolutely loads since I bought it, this particular occasion was a couple of weeks ago to go down to Guildford to visit my friend Kate and eat cheesy pasta and drink loads of coffee.

This is pretty much my standard weekend uniform at the moment - sturdy weather repelling boots, thick tights and one of a number of interchangeable t-shirts and skirts. It's easy, warm and comfy and I don't need to think too much about whether everything goes together because all my clothes are blue, red, black, white and grey! For the past few years most of my clothes have been some sort of variant on the French flag basically!

What's your winter uniform?

Atomic Pizza

A while back I wrote a post about one of my favourite places to eat in Oxford - Fratelli's. Since then it has morphed into a new restaurant called Atomic Pizza, so with some trepidation James and I visited this weekend to see if it was anywhere near as good as it used to be.

The restaurant has gone from a cosy Italian style pizzeria to an American comic book themed diner, and though I wasn't a massive fan of the new decor the food was still pretty yummy!

I ordered a milkshake and their amazing beer battered onion rings (which are pretty much my favourite food ever) which I loved, but the burger wasn't as good as I had hoped. I should have followed James' advice and had a pizza really - the clue is kind of in the name!

Lazy Sunday Links

1. I love this Amelia Earhart themed outfit shoot 2. And Pastels. My goodness do I love pastels! 3. This girly bedroom is perfection 4. Did you know you can use crayons on your hair?! Neither did I! 5. How good does this look for dinner? 6. Paris says 'wear a hat'

anywhere but here

If you were ever as big a Buffy the Vampire Slayer fan as me you might remember an episode in season 2 where Buffy and Willow play 'anywhere but here'. Right now I am so cold and it's looking like it might snow (I hate snow!) so I am indulging myself by looking through some of my old holiday photos and dreaming myself somewhere else. 

Two years ago I spent a month travelling around the Italy, and in my head it's 28 degrees c and I am strolling around Florence in denim shorts, sunglasses and a breton tee, eating gelato and watching all the stylish people go by.

If you could be anywhere but here right now where would you be?!