Frank Ocean "Swim Good"

You can download this song and some others of his here

Perfect for this sunshine weather!

Thanks Nick Grimshaw...

Twenty from the city

A good friend took me to a new place for lunch on Friday, I always very much value her opinion when it comes to dining out so I was v excited! Twenty minutes from Manchester city centre is Prestwich, home to Aumbry, winner best restaurant award at the Manchester Food and Drink Awards 2010.

I had the two courses from the lunch set menu for £17.95, a lovely main course of Rainbow Trout and a most delicious and v sweet dessert of treacle tart served with Earl Grey cream tea... this was something extra special. I have never had such a frothy tea! It was almost cappuccino esque!

The fine dining open white surroundings, combined with a rustic feel is finished off with pretty antique tea cups and chipped white wooden chairs. The room was filled with sunshine pouring through the windows and ended with two glasses of Champagne, it was Friday after all.

Highly recommend! x

Feeling fruity

As the sunshine kicks in, your wardrobe can too! Eccentric clothing is always easier to flaunt when the sun is shining. Here are some cool, kitsch pieces out there at the moment. Take your inspiration from the catwalks and put your mark on it.

Feeling fruity? Yes!

Charlotte Olympia adorable fruit pumps

Oliver Bonas Pineapple dress

Suno @ Browns

Stella McCartney fruit collar silk blouse

Moschino Cheap & Chic

Prada

Cute fruit socks @ Topshop!

Prada's banana earrings

Raspberry earrings @ Topshop

Wonder Woman Colour

How wonderful is this new range from Mac

Wonder Woman Colour

Rummaging around in your bag, looking for your lippy and pulling this out...

Kapow!

I love it.

Manchester's sun

London weekend

Here is my little stall, I hope you like it!

Clare Carter on Folksy

I purchased a "Cut Out and Keep Wedding" card from her stall! Full of lovely little gift ideas.

Blackwater Court Market April 2nd

The snow won't stop me this time! On April 2nd CC Vintage will take to the road once again, this time stopping off at East Dulwich's Blackwater Court Market.

Specializing in a selection of vintage blouses and dresses hand picked during travels around Asia, a colourful array of vintage delights will be available to brighton up your spring time wardrobe.

There will be 20 stalls on the day, with a selection of jewellery, food, accessories, cakes and unique gifts.

Blackwater Court Market

17-21 Blackwater Street
East Dulwich
London SE22 8SD

April 2nd 11-4pm

Spring is in the air

Sunshine welcome knocking on our doors

You make me smile and laugh for ever more

Warmth on my back and glowing on my face

The cold cold weather was nothing but a disgrace

Daffodils growing happily on the roadside

Baby birds cheeping, nestling upon their mothers ride

Little lambs born in twos and threes

Green shoots scattered across the trees

Welcome Spring time, I'm so happy to see you

My Oscar picks

I tried to keep my little eyes open, I wanted to see all of the stars shimming down the red carpet, however, after a busy six hours at work, having had only a few hours sleep, my lids were slowly closing. In the end I gave in, switched off my mac and instead went on to dream about the awards ceremony and those dresses...

This morning I went online and did some careful research into who I thought looked lovely!

These were my top 4, notice there seems to be a bit of a trend here..

The English Rose Bakery

I always like to hear of new ventures and businesses opening up in my surroundings, so when I spotted these lovely colourful delights I thought I would give it a mention.

I have yet to try the sweet tasting English Rose Bakery Macaroons, but I intend to soon (Manchester's Piccadilly Real Food Market this Friday, 25th Feb).

The website is so pretty with it's pastel colours and delicious looking delicacies. Mmmm

Now I just need to organize a party so I can buy up some of their treats and pass them around to friends!

Animal magnetism

I am somewhat drawn to articles of clothing, prints and wallpapers with animals upon them. The boldness, colours, shapes and textures that these images give off seems to be what appeals to me. I am not usually a fan of Henry Hollands clothing range, however, this little zebra blouse popped up (below) and I loved it. I am also continuing my love for leopard's spots and currently have on sale a little birdy dress that we picked up in Hong Kong (unfortunately it doesn't fit me so I selling it on). The connotations of animals on clothing also makes me giggle. It's fun and appealing to all. People can often relate to it as it's instantly recognizable.

Here are a few of my favs out there...

Yeh for Laura

So pleased to hear this!

Talent shone through on the night!

x

Sweetheart Day

Have a lovely day

x

The fashion line-up

As the sun shines and springtime comes into view. Pastel hues and block colours leap from my wardrobe and tiny snow drops pop their little heads above the dewey grass. As CC Vintage kick starts her springtime sales and yellow_polkdots features an array of colourful blouses(what's left of them) the Guardian's fashion line-up high lights a little spread in support of my chosen pieces...

"The fashion line-up: Blouses

"It's time to welcome your wardrobe star for spring: the blouse. Thanks to the Phoebe Philo effect, its sparse, minimal qualities are now its biggest virtues. Choose a plain colour, wear it billowing and revel in the simplistic chicness of it all. Don't complicate matters with fussy jewellery. If you must decorate yourself opt for a pussy-bow style, plain lace or a button detail – so much more refined"

You can read the full article here

Cinema visits

I have visited the cinema three times in the last week and one film that has totally gripped my heart, taken me to a whole new place, moved me and had my utter most attention is Alejandro González Iñárritu's Biutiful.

This is definitely one of my new favorite films . I suggest a trip to your cinema to see this!

Dinner @ Kim by the Sea

I love going to new places for food, especially ones that I have heard good things about and live up to expectations!

On Friday eve, a party of around 20 diners ventured to Hulme's, Kim by the Sea for a joint birthday dinner. The top floor of the tall narrow building was given to us, tables pushed together, mix-match of chairs, one menu shared between 10, a no thrills vibe is initially given off. However, as you cast your eye over the menu, particularly the specials that are around £10 each, the standard of food jumps up! I chose the Seabass Tom Yam special along with two others sitting next to me and my husband decided to go for the Duck Leg, also from the specials.

All the 20 dished arrived at around the same time, with just the one waitress having to trek up and down the stairs to serve us all. My meal arrived looking lovely and tasting absolutely fantastic. The flavours that were packed into that dish were truly splendid, the fish was grilled to perfection and the king prawns swimming in the hot and sour noodles were soft and delightful! For £10, this dish was a bargain!

I love to dine out, and managing a restaurant I understand that serving groups of 10 or above can be pretty demanding, especially having everything ready at the same time from an al a carte menu, with only a small kitchen.

Kim by the Sea definitely get's the thumbs up from me, set in it's grim surroundings, in an interesting shaped building with it's no thrills, tacky seaside resort feel and friendly staff attitude, I will be returning with more friends soon.

Too many restaurants in Manchester are style over substance, to me this place ticked all the boxes!

HapPY BiRTHday Aisling and Beech xx

Guy Garvey's Rainy City

Radio 6 presented this Sunday afternoon show to us about Manchester! The rainy city, the iconic features of the hum drum town. If you're interested in learning a little more about the grey skied city, why it rains like it does and the melancholy feel to the Manchester music, I suggest a listen again! Manchester's Guy Garvey hosts the show with some interviews thrown in there too, from 60s Manchester to the current day, catch up here...

"Manchester has become a powerhouse for progressive culture and politics".

Charms

I have a real thing for little jewels, charms and trinkets. I love to collect pieces and scour through piles of someones cast offs! Old bits from charity shops, seconds shops, car-boots and designer sale pieces too, make my collection an eclectic mix. Etsy is another place I keep searching on, especially as there is so many lovely hand made unique pieces. Wearing a simple outift, finished with a quirky piece of jewellery is the way I like to dress. Here is an adorable little shop I came across online. Based in San Diego, the items are all one of a kind, which make you feel even more special. I love the little Swan pendent pictured below...

Untitled

This landed in my mail box so I thought I would share with you...

Hasbeens for H&M and for ME!

I LoVE this little collection and cannot wait for it to land in H&M in April, another reason for Spring time to hurry itself along!

This is what the label had to say...

"We have a strong belief in making better shoes for a better world," Blixt said. "We want to make fashion more fun, creative and friendly to both the environment and people. We have loved designing for H&M! It's a fantastic opportunity to spread the idea of Hasbeens and make these shoes available to more people around the world."

And this I also LoVE!

The shoe label Swedish Hasbeens (also has a wicked site, worth checking out) will bringing three styles of it's clog range to around 150 stores. They will be somewhat cheaper than their current range too, yippee!

Last year my little Clarks Clogs saw me through my summer time, so I shall be sticking with the same 70s Nordic vibe I think!

Roll on Spring/Summer!