The sun, the marshes and a lo(v)ely field

On wednesday, I had a day off with Lewis and the weather was absolutely gorgeous!! We woke up late, had breakfast together, listened to music, went to the riverside cafe for a small lunch and discovered new paths in our neighbourhood; We also went for a nice walk in the marshes, and sat in a field talking about our life, soaking up the sun and cuddling together, while eating snacks!

It's a shame that our society burdens us with worries of bills, money, jobs, working harder, etc... sometimes it makes us wish we still were broke but happy students without any other worries than writing a good essay and attending two lectures a week! Lewis and I were having that talk about our futures and what we wanted to do; turns out he's got a thousand ideas and is lost when it comes to making them happen or even which to choose, and I have NO clue! I'm just trudging along, working my a** off 6 days a week to make ends meet and I keep on doing it because - well - it could be worse! I think I need to spend more time thinking about what I REALLY want to do, and possibly act on it despite of the fear...

Anyway - I also finished my book and later that night we ordered Indian food and watched some silly programmes on the computer! All in all a perfect day with Lewis, something we don't get to do very often and we need to be enjoying every second of it when it happens!

Media Thursday 11 - Daydream Nation

In 2008 I took part in London Fashion week as a model for an alternative show at the ICA. It was amazing and I enjoyed it very very much!

I have two videos to share from that experience today:

The Making Of

The Show

Ink Black but No Mourning

This is what I wore to work on Thursday! I have to wear black clothes when working at the o2. When doing evening/event shifts and mainly when doing a shift that requires me to be face to face with customers, I also have to wear an ugly purple work shirt over the top of my clothes but none of that means that I can't look good while working! Nowadays I actually enjoy putting together all black outfits because for my job at The Place I can wear whatever I want and I usually try to be pretty creative without pressurising myself, although I do like to impress ;) This dress is one of the three I bought in second hand shops in Crouch End on Wednesday and I like it very much but I did buy  it thinking I'd be wearing it at work when the other 2 are slightly more playful! It is actually H&M originally and I like the dotted texture. It has a very plunging neckline and I had to wear a V tank top underneath so I wouldn't flash my boobs to anyone!

Cardigan / BDG sales at Urban Outfitters ; Dress / thrifted (H&M) ; Boots / eBay (Topshop) ; work badge

On a slightly more futuristic note, I am already starting to plan my birthday treat (mid May) and my summer holiday (end of July with family). Since last year I have started taking complete charge of me having a good time on my birthday as I was getting tired of waiting for people to surprise me and it hardly ever happening! For my 18th, my mum made me a nice late night diner after I had spent over 12 hours at school including chocolate fondants; for my 20th, Lewis secretly prepared a candle lit romantic diner on the balcony; and for my 21st he took me to the Safari Park, then I chose for us to eat at GBK and to go to the cinema to see Star Trek! I had the flu on my 22nd and last year for my 23rd I decided I wanted a mini break by the sea and planned a couple of days for Lewis and I to spend in Brighton! 

This year I can't really afford Brighton hotels, but we are going to the seaside nonetheless, to Worthing! I found a kgb deal and I'm sure we're going to have a blast! I don't even care if we spend a whole day in the hotel room or lounging on the beach and doing nothing else, as I'll be by the sea with Lewis and that'll be perfect! I am also going to see a great dance show at Sadler's Wells and having my girlfriends over for diner! I am very excited!

Summer is complicated in financial and organisational terms but we will get there! I get to go to Corsica with my mum and her husband and some of his family as part of their family honeymoon! Since I wasn't there for her wedding it's really nice to be able to be there for that... + mum is turning 50 this summer and it'll be nice to party with her! I send you off with a gorgeous picture taken during their wedding:

Mathilde (my sister) and Thomas (her boyfriend)

Dominique (my mum's husband), My mum (she is so gorgeous), My grandma (who is in a wheelchair)

Media Thursday 10 - Lana Del Rey

I went second hand shopping yesterday, on my day off, in between a counselling session and some admin tasks and washing my hair and my clothes at home and I got 3 new-to-me dresses and a top for less than £30 which includes brands like Laura Ashley and Zara! The items are good quality and complement my wardrobe well; I am looking forward to slowly posting outfit photos of those in the next few weeks :) For now though, I hope you have heard of this girl and her voice and her lovely songs! She is gorgeous and her voice is to die for... Her videos are also most definitely pretty great! So for media Thursday I give you Lana Del Rey, my obsession of the moment: Blue Jeans

Sunday Spring Outfit

Saturday was a great day! I worked this weekend but did a lot of cool stuff...

Dress / Vero Moda at Asos ; Tights / Accessorize ; Boat shoes / M&S (giftcard) ; Cardigan / H&M

I was working Saturday morning till 15:30 and didn't really feel like going home. Lewis was going to be out with his friends after work and I didn't wanna be miserable at home doing nothing! I stayed at work as my friend Hannah had the shift after mine and I really wanted to chat and catch up with her; Her friend Marta, from Italy, was around and she was lovely to spend time with too. We had a great time chatting between girls and a colleague brought us Treacle tart! Incidentally neither Marta nor I had ever tried it and it was gorgeous! We kept on talking to people/friends passing through by the desk and had a great time!! Then Hannah took her break and we went to the pub with PJ; When Hannah went back to the desk, PJ and I stayed in the pub for a while longer and went back around 9pm. I stayed till the end of Hannah's shift around 9.45pm and we walked back together to the station.

On Sunday morning I had time to spend lounging with Lewis which which was nice and I took those pictures of my new dress from Asos (brand Vero Moda). I love how it just flies when I turn around and it will be brilliant for Spring and Summer. Sunday was a bit too chilly for it but still I couldn't wait to wear it out so did anyway! It is going to go with everything in my closet :) Then we both went to work. My evening was mostly uneventful and boring at work :)

Cat Monday 10th Edition

My little kitten is back on the site :) No need for words, she's gorgeous and the pictures speak for themselves!! 

DP Love

It's fair to say Dorothy Perkins has become one of my favourite stores to buy stuff from! Among the most worn items in my wardrobe stand casual tees in different colours, this dress, my best pair of skinnies as well as my amazing yellow skirt and great quality tights in yellow, green and wine red!

I do love <3

- independent shops: I have a gorgeous pair of summer shorts from an independent store in Stoke Newington Church Street that promotes independent designers,

- discount stores: my gorgeous owl dress comes from Lotus Leaf on Holloway road, they always have little gems hidden in there)

- and especially second hand shops: more specifically if in a quite well off area as items are usually better made and in better condition, even if the price is slightly higher - you might remember my all thrifted outfit from this post, all items come from Camden second hand stores! or the poncho featured here, which comes from a second hand shop in Highgate Village,

but I don't always have time to browse in store so online shopping often comes in handy to spy those items you just wanna try then buy!

So continues my wishlist from this shop!

#1 I have just bought These trousers! Love the colour so much! Outfit post to come :)

#2 This Dress has been tempting me for ages!!

#3 Love that Coat! I've wanted a duffle coat for ages, I'm quite gutted I missed this one in the sales, such a bargain!

#4 I love sleeved tops and dresses and this one is pretty cute.

#5 You might have noticed I'm a sucker for tights, you should see how full my closet is, but These look great!

Headscarf and a whole lot of Yellow

After being in a rut, tired, busy, ill, away from home, no time for myself-type two weeks, I am happy that I could photograph my outfit today. I am not often home during daytime, as if I am, I'm either lounging around in my PJs or doing all sorts of things in not-so-chic clothing! Thus, the best days for me to take pictures is when I work mornings, or if I have had a purpose for which to get dressed in the morning with time to kill for myself in the afternoon. If not, I find it very hard to get into clothes with no purpose whatsoever to be getting out the house! Additionally, my outdoor pictures are always taken by Lewis. As I haven't got a tripod, I take my pictures indoor, mostly by the industrial elevator on the landing of my flat as there is a low coffee table very well placed on which to put my camera and use the timer!

So I haven't been writing much. I was ill last week, then went to the most wonderful counselling weekend (see the explanation about RC, and the website); I didn't want to get back into a routine too quickly as I had never felt so clear in my head and happy and just wanted to enjoy it while it lasted! Now I am back to hard work on discharging all my distresses so that I can aim to feel clear and happy all the time! Coming back home, living with three guys and fighting against all of their sexist behaviour has been the hardest. I am getting discouraged a bit more everyday but won't stop fighting against it; I am trying to get my boyfriend to be my main ally and unfortunately at times am also met with sexism rather than being backed as I should be. It is difficult to explain all the ins and outs, especially when it's about something so personal but this is just so you know, I am having a hard time but am determined to overcome it. + I have loads of counselling planned in the next few weeks and months and things are looking up!

Cardigan / thrifted ; Tights / Dorothy Perkins ; Dress Dungarees / old, gift ; Top / H&M ; Boots / Zahra ; Rings / found and boot sale ; Earrings / gift from Sister ; Scarf / gift from Mum

I have also been working quite hard since coming back and our waste management system also stopped working for 18 hours, which wasn't fun as it was my day off, and I had to get it sorted out since everybody else in the house was busy or at work! We had no toilet, we couldn't run water down the sink and couldn't take showers all that because our "macerator" had stopped working! But leave it to me to get it sorted quickly I tell you! Our landlord who is usually the most useless man in the entire world called the plumber at 8.30am thanks to my repeated emails (all night) and my phone calls and texts to his right hand man! So yeah - pretty proud here! Weather was beautiful too yesterday but I was just too knackered to do anything and so I just lay on the bed (once the whole toilet thing was done) and watched a marathon of One Born Every Minute on 4od which I can tell you will put you off natural births forever!!

Right so that's it! I know it's pretty hard to sum up two whole weeks in one post, a lot has happened and I am glad for a lot of it! Leeloo is having a little nap on my knees and it is a moment I always cherish! She is the most gorgeous cats who wins me over the most when she asks for kisses... I am in love <3

Late Cat Monday or Lack thereof!

I am tricking you in saying there is no Cat Monday today. Indeed there are no pictures of leeloo this week because I was ill all last week and didn't take any photos... I also was away all weekend to the RC workshop I've been raving about for weeks! But there are my favourite pictures from one of the best posts I found this week :) are't they all SO cute? (but ey not as cute as Leeloo ;)

Recap - Being Ill and Compulsive Internet Surfing

I have been ill and have not spent much time gathering my ideas together for the blog. I am trying to regroup and find my footing again when it comes to writing online... My plan is to go through the list of things I want to post about, there is so much I want to do and say, yet when it comes to writing that blog post, my mind goes blank! This is also the more flagrant as I write a lot from work and don't necessarily have the pictures and links I had planned on posting about with me. But I want to tell you more about my life, even if it isn't necessarily present time activities that get reported. I work a lot and I do a lot of things that don't necessarily require or even allow photo taking and beautiful outfits! I read, I dance and I play music; I work and I lounge around at home with Leeloo and Lewis; occasionally I go on walks and attempt a DIY worth reporting but it is also nice to reflect on both past present and future dreams and activities...

Anyway, so this is my thought of the day, I haven't arranged my thousand ideas from my counselling weekend about how better my life is getting as I counsel more on a thousand things :) So I am sharing with you today some of my favourite Internet finds lately as being ill meant doing a lot of Internet surfing and film watching!!

True or what?

via Facebook

How cute is this little message?

via A Beautiful Mess

Some of those before/after pictures are absolutely amazing! I can't believe how fast they rebuilt their destroyed nation!

Spring is coming :)

via Delightfully Tacky

And as if you weren't tired of me posting pictures of cats, here's another funny one!

via Facebook

Fun Fashion Shoot anyone?

via Daydream Nation on Facebook

I absolutely love the photography from The Tragic Sense, it's so ephemeral and beautiful and looks like it comes from old times! I feel like I can really lose myself in those pictures as if they had really been taken decades ago...

Don't you also love the feel of her outfit shots? Simply gorgeous!

A little phrase to end this lovely collection of beautiful and interesting things: LIFE BEGINS AT THE END OF YOUR COMFORT ZONE (Neale Donald Walsch)

Media Thursday 9 - Amazing Lau

If there is one live acoustic band I just cannot wait to see live, it's Lau! I love myself so amazing folk music, I tell ya! Their music speaks for itself so enjoy this!

Check out their SITE

Hippie Times

This is the kind of outfit that represents me the best! Hippie chic/cool and eclectic! I wish I could just dress like that all that time, but I do get the occasional weird look!!

These photos were taken as I came back from work on Saturday night... I am really quite tired this week and I'm glad we didn't take any close-ups! But aren't those pictures fun with my gorgeous kitten?! I am having a busy week... Seems like I say that every week eh? On a positive note, I am doing loads of cross stitching and am in the process of preparing a post to show it all off! Part of what I'm doing are as presents, one for a birthday and the other for a baby shower and I already showed you a little something not long ago =) 

Harem Pants / Festival Stall (LPF) ; Waistcoat / Festival Stall (Womad) ; Top / Pimkie ; 

Scarf / Gift ; Coat / c/o Daydream Nation 2008 collection as payment for being a catwalk model for London's alternative fashion week ; Cardigan / Made by Grandma ; 

Socks / M&S ; Shoe Boots / Hand me down (mum's)

I am excited to go to that workshop starting Friday! But unfortunately that means quite a lot of days without seeing Lewis, seeing as all of our hours are backwards - when I work mornings he works evenings and vice versa - this week we're already not seeing much of each other so an extra 3 days apart will be weird. What's even weirder is that since we've lived here it's only the second time I am away from the house and he stays here! While he was away working at festivals all summer long in 2011 and went on holiday with his mates, I stayed in London to work. I only went home to France for my sister's 18th birthday and that was only for 5 days in June! All in all, I'm not a huge fan of sleepovers at other people's houses - or in this case a youth hostel and lots of co-counsellors; I'm a bit of a hermit that way; and I find socialising for too long is simply exhausting - a few hours and I'm good! But, I am doing it for my own good, I will feel the fear and will do it anyway! 

Cat Monday 9th Edition

I finally caught my little minx playing on the clothe horse in the kitchen on film and I am so pleased! She is such a lovely furry bundle of fun! I also got her a collar and tag but she has already found a way to loose it somewhere in the house? I guess the setting on the safe-lock thingy was too weak after all for her growing body! I have asked Lewis to look around the house and am hoping we will find it, otherwise I am gonna have to buy her a whole new set! - Bummer!

cuddles as mummy gets home from work (notice how much hair my little pumpkin is leaving on my jeans!!)

She's a little climber!

gorgeous picture by one of our kitchen windows

hunting eyes among wet hanging clothes

and she's going for it!

lovely collar and tag - now lost!