9 to 5 or AHHHHH!!

I am not someone who needs an outlet to rant, that is what friends and family are for and if they don't want to listen to me, that's fine, there will always be someone around. Recently however, I think I may be testing the patience of ALL of my nearest and dearest by droning on about the same subject, no not The Gosling, work. Or to be more specific the lack of it and lack of appreciation for my brilliance.

My job is a temporary contract, I knew this when I took it, so the fact it has to end is no surprise. However, the fact it is ending in approximately four days time, is somewhat surprising. I imagine this is what getting married is like, you wait and wait for the day and yet as it gets closer you are filled with something akin to fear. I would ask my married friends if this is true, but frankly listening to another sermon on weddings is liable to send me off the deep end right now.

Sorry, got lost in another ran there for a moment, back to the task at hand, the job. I have four days until I leave my job, I have had 11 months to prepare for this so it will all be okay, I'll just move onto the next thing… Except the next thing doesn't seem to exist. I hear the world out there is a pretty bleak place right now, I say hear because I live in West London and work in fashion which is essentially a bubble of complaints about not being able to get a table at the restaurant you want or being on the waiting list for the new Johnny Saunders jumpers. Not exactly signing on.

Yet being the news junkie (and generally not stupid) person I am, I know the situation in the wider world is dire right now. I know people are losing their jobs and can't pay their mortgages, I know things aren't good. I also know I have my health, my rented home (lets be realistic here, I live in London and am in my mid-twenties, of course I rent, I'm not Tamara-freaking-Ecclestone) and my family/friends and worse things happen at sea, but (cue the rant) - I work effing hard and have done since uni. Not only that, but I have worked effing hard at this job and all I am asking for is the opportunity to go somewhere else, earn a decent wage and do a job I enjoy and continue to work effing hard. I am apparently good at my job, I'm not work shy which is a constant surprise to my parents and those who grew up with me, so where is my bloody job. Why isn't it out there? And if it is out there why is no one phoning me to let me know! It isn't meant to be this hard. Or maybe it is meant to be this hard but I was hungover and skipped lectures the morning they explained that. I didn't screw up the economy, granted I didn't get the chance, but I shouldn't be penalised for not being old enough to mess up.

The problem with this rant and the reason I have had to resort to blogging to get it off my chest is that there is no solution and the people in my life, although they are too kind to say so, are getting sick of me talking at them and going round in circles.

There isn't a quick solution that I can see, it is just a case of sending out applications, waiting for the phone to ring and contemplating working in Waitrose over Christmas. I went for Waitrose based on the standard of food that would end up in the reduced section. 

So, for now, rant over. Thank you for listening nameless, faceless blogosphere. You've been a wonderful audience. 

I want... Friday fancies.

Some Friday pretty.

All things I have been thinking about this week:

Santorini, pretty bags and holiday tans, stacks of jewellery, An Education and Carey Mulligan, and the pics of Mossy's wedding in US Vogue.

Pics thanks to: The Cool Hunter, style.com, Russh

I want... to be thinner, don't I?

There are some things in life that annoy me; ignorance, people playing their music loudly on their headphones, mushrooms, but the one thing that annoys me more than any of that is diets and dieting, or rather people's obsession with all things weight. Don't get me wrong I would love to be a few pounds lighter (and a few inches taller if we're wishing for things) but talking about it won't make it happen. There is nothing more boring in this world than listening to someone talking about diet plans. I would honestly rather watch paint dry, at least you could get high from the fumes and have some peace and quiet.

I know this is a sensitive subject and this is obviously only my view on it, but recently this has been on my mind a lot. Part of the reason for that is because of someone I work with who is thin, unhealthily so. She is great, so helpful and good at her job but it makes me so sad just looking at her because she is so unwell and that is all I can see. As confident and charming (read: bitchy and outspoken) as I am, I'm not immune from insecurities, especially during "bikini season". Plus I work in fashion where your perspective can become skewed. So I do understand the theory of wanting to be slim but the reality is something I will never get. To me the most sensible thing to do if you want to slim down is to eat less and exercise more. Drinking diet drinks, depriving your body of things you want won't work in the long run because the more you forbid something the more you crave it.

I am not saying this from a preachy point of view, trust me I am not a size zero or too far the other way in case you are thinking I'm typing this from the comfort of my lazy boy whilst sitting on my 24 stone arse. I drink more red wine than is healthy considering one bottle of wine is over my recommended calorie allowance for one day, but I would rather do that than not. If my option was one glass of wine or two glasses of gin and slimline tonic, I'll go for the wine every time (and I love me a G&T). Nothing is likely to piss me off faster than going for dinner and knowing that the people I am with are not reading the menu to see what they'd like for supper but reading it to see which option has the least fat/calories. If you are worried, bring your own food from home like some knobby celebrity or just don't go out for dinner.

I suppose the reason this bothers me so much, is thin isn't always beautiful. There is a difference between thin and slim. Thin is when you are almost unhealthy, when you look like a good meal would make a difference to you. There are slim girls who are gorgeous, Keira Knightly, Alexa Chung, Kate Bosworth, to name a few, but there are also normal size girls with boobs and hips who are equally as stunning. When Beyonce played Glastonbury I went from kind of liking her (and trying to do her booty shake when drunk) to being in proper awe of her. To be able to dance and sing live for 90mins, with only a 5 minute break is amazing. Your body has to be a machine, a healthy machine. So it is possible to be "curvy" (I hate that word) and still look awesome. (I am not stupid I know Beyonce and these other women are curvy in celeb world but slim in the real world.)

Three women, Beyonce, Samara Weaving and Sophia Bush, all gorgeous, all have awesome figures that are slim without being thin or unhealthy. Goes to show it is possible.

Also all of this can apply to men too but if I start on about that I'll be here all day.

Disclaimer: all images are not mine

I Want... To Be On Holiday

Today I am here...



The temperature outside is about 28 degrees. In my air-conditioned office I am wearing a jacket because I am cold. So all things considered, I would rather be here...

Images with thanks to google.com

Ch-ch-ch-changes

I haven’t posted in a while, this isn’t because I’m lazy – well isn't entirely down to my laziness – but because I’m stuck. When I started this blog I was freelancing (that’s what I called it, certain people in my life - Father, the boyfriend - liked to call it being unemployed). Regardless of the label I was spending the majority of my time thinking about fashion rather than actually surrounding myself with it. So the blog was a way to keep my hand in. However recently I have found fashion inspiration somewhat lacking, my job (actual job – all members of the family circle agree on this) is thinking, talking and writing about fashion. And as all social smokers eventually find out, too much of a good thing is bad for the lungs.

So this post heralds a blog change. I’ll still post about fashion because to be honest most things I want, like and think about are fashion based, but I will also post about other things. If you readers out there (all 3 of you who I probably saw at the pub on Saturday) are upset by this I’m sorry, but not that sorry because frankly there are a billion other, much better and more regularly updated fashion blogs out there so go read them. But do come back here to read my thoughts on all manner of things, from wine to politics, to holidays and Beyonce.

But as I am not one to leave the masses wanting, here are my current favourite fashion blogs –

Richgirlsss – An Aussie based, bit of everything fashion blog. This is a new find for me but I'm already a big fan of her style and inspiration.

Garance Dore – This is a bit of a blog classic, on every best blog list there is. She appeals to my desire to be French and fabulous.

Tuula Vintage – Another Aussie blog. This one is more of a personal style blog, her style is slightly edgier than my dream style but she has great hair and cool photos.

Fashion Me Now – This is a London based fashion girl, with a great eye and very cool personal style (though she doesn’t post that many pictures of herself).

Notting Hill Girl – An Aussie living in West London, not exactly a rare phenomenon but one of the best blog about it I know. This is part personal style blog, part general inspiration.

The Sartorialist – If you haven’t heard of this blog then shame on you and your blogging knowledge, it’s like proper famous. So famous people are kinda over it but I still think it’s pretty.

Vanessa Jackman – Great blog for “fashion snaps” but with words. Plenty of pretty to be found.

We the People – Street style fashion blog based in Sydney. Love seeing the fashion on the other side of the world but also because I would quite like to live out there as I have mentioned before.

Il etait une fois – Another Aussie blog, I know this is becoming a bit of a trend but what can I say, I like their style.

And finally, it’s not fashion but I am obsessed by this blog…

The Beauty Department – A beauty blog, from Lauren Conrad (yep her of MTV reality show fame) and her hair and make up team. It has great hints and tips and makes it look easy.

Illustration by Garance Dore

Hair Hair

Sometimes I want things I can't have. This happens quite often when I see a celebrity or model with a new haircut. I start to convince myself I want that too. I almost get as far as booking an appointment before I remember that I look about 18 and my face is the same shape as the moon so a pixie crop on me will make me look like a 12 year old choir boy. Or that part of my charm is my inherent laziness so anything that requires effort (like a choppy bob) is a waste of time because effort is something I refuse to put in.

Doesn't mean I can't look at the pretty though and think, I want her hair.

Images thanks to Instyle.co.uk and Dianna Agron tumblr

Happy Birthday to me...

It is very nearly my birthday.

I am not a birthday person, I enjoy the presents (as any shallow, object obsessed person does) but I hate the focus. I hate it being all about me; my birthday, my day, my decisions. The irony is on any other day I adore it being about me and am prone to throw a strop if it isn't.

This birthday I am particularly dreading. It has been brought to my attention that I am in fact not getting any younger and this birthday will not only add a year to my life but will push me into the next box on official forms. My last birthday whilst not as "nothing" as I thought it would be, was not as bad for me as it was for some of my friends. I dealt with last year in quite a grown up fashion, however on this birthday, despite it being a school night I fully intend to get drunk and possible cry about my wasted youth.

There are a few things that might make my birthday more bearable....

A Daisy Knights chakra bracelet (available at my wardrobe).

Laduree macaroons.

Vintage cocktail glasses, a cocktail shaker and a bottle of Noilly Pratt (all part of my quest for the perfect Martini).

Angus & Julia Stone to serenade me, specifically with And The Boys (but I'm not fussy), if they aren't available then it'd be great if Adele could pop round with tickets for her London dates.

Images thanks to Laduree, Daisy Knights, Google. Videos thanks to youtube.com