Got My Swag On

As well as lots of eating and drinking in New York, it was also my birthday (sort of) so lots of shopping was also on the cards. I came back a very happy lady...

First, I have been coveting a red Prada bag for longer than is probably healthy - second only to my desire for a Lady Dior. Having toyed with buying one for a good two years, it was high time gave in. Look at my new baby -- isn't she gorgeous?

Now another thing you may notice in this photo? My bad ass coat. This winter I fancied a faux fur, but didn't find one in London that looked (and felt) good enough, with winter being almost over (we pray) I had pretty much given up the ghost on this one.

We were in Elie Tahari innocently shopping for other things when this beauty caught my attention. I'm a bit of a fabric magpie and can't resist touching lots of things in shops. I copped a feel of this and thought it must be real, it is so incredibly soft. A quick glance at the price tag confirmed it was in fact faux fur, and had to be mine.

Wearing my new Prada and Elie Tahari pretty much made me into a New Yorker...in my mind. We're also not calling 'coincidence' that doormen started being much more on call, and someone stopped me in the street and asked for directions - Literally got my NY swag on. This obviously made me very happy. I am such a poser.

Some other lovely purchases? My first ever pair of High-Tops from the Converse store and a selection of Michael Kors clothes (which are my new spring wardrobe staples)

My Michael Kors cardigan 

So, what's your favourite piece?!

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Links of London Friendship Bracelet

A little while ago I won a Twitter content - so long ago in fact I can barely remember what I did! Today my prize finally arrived (after a lot of coaxing!) It was a collaboration between Westfield and Links of London. I knew it was a bracelet but it wasn't until today I knew which one it would be.

Links of London packaging - so cute

I took a sneak peak in the shop and had my eye on a few...but it was nice to get a (long awaited) surprise

It is a special edition 2012 London Olympics Friendship Bracelet. It's no secret I wasn't all that thrilled about the Olympics but it's a pretty nice bracelet. It has '2012' on the clasp but hey ho, you can't really see it...

Friendship Bracelet, 2012 Limited Edition

Nice surprise eh? This is one of the many reasons I love Twitter so!

What do you think? I'm generally more of a Tiffany girl, but for casual think I'll be wearing it for time to time. PS; THIS arrived last week. The Links packaging was gorgeous but there is no substitute for the blue box and a white ribbon!

Tiffany and Co still owns my heart

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Radio 1 Hackney Weekend 2012

This weekend the BBC put on two days of free music at hackney marshes. As local (ish) residents we managed to wangle tickets. We were attending on the Sunday where Rihanna was headlining. Saturday night was headed by Jay-Z.

The weather has been nothing but awful in the last few months. Rain rain rain. Apparently the wettest June in 100 years. Hello global warming. Therefore outfit selection is crucial. Hunter Wellies were a must, as was the new lacey white number I bought the day prior.

Boots, black tights, jacket...not exactly summer attire.

Dress - Warehouse
Jacket - Zara
Boots - Hunter
Bag - Michael Kors
Shades - Ray Ban

On arrival we were ticket checked no fewer than 4 times, and had to go through airport style security. Seriously?! Eventually we got in and headed to the one extra tent. In there were a boy band, so cute their voices hadn't even broken yet. We pulled some wicked shapes laughed our heads off then darted out. 

The first act we were going to see on the main stage was Plan B. I can't say I'm a massive fan and I couldn't have named any of his tracks beforehand - and cant remember any now! He had a beat boxer on stage in between songs, he was really getting the crowd going, we loved it...honestly this beat boxer was better than Plan B, so we took the opportunity to catch up with some other friends we had met...

...and check out the mud situation

One of the acts I was really looking forward to seeing was Jessie J. Her tracks are so catchy and some of them are on my running playlists - much fun. She also seems like a gorgeous person. We were looking forward to seeing the outfit! She didn't disappoint, belting out all the hits from Man Dem to Price Tag and Whose Laughing Now. Finally we heard the opening notes on Domino. Cracking summer tune. The party had started.

Not sure what happened to this pic, but I like it

Next up was Tinie Tempah, Florence and The Machine and Lana Del Ray in the New Music arena. In between this we popped to the food vans for some much needed, over priced, terrible food. After Florence we decided to go to the Dance Tent, for the first time that day where David Guetta was pressing play on the Mac to deliver the tunes. It was honestly one of the highlights of the day. Dance music isn't really my thing. Don't get me wrong I like some David Guetta tunes, but they are all the ones with vocalists and a catchy hook. Just 'doosh, doosh, doosh' isn't for me. Maybe it was the mud or the shades inside (a tent) but we really got into it. It was almost a shame to have to leave and meet our new friends who were hooking us up for Rihana.

Tinie getting the crowd going

Lana Del Ray looked hawt

Serious 'do and eye liner

Flo looking like she would have a boob incident any second

My David Guetta pics kind of suck...

When we disappeared for the aforementioned over priced food we got chatting to one of the security guards. He was a marine and this was the first time he had worked a concert. He said he would hook us up, we kind of took it with a pinch of salt and thought we'd try our luck but didn't hold out much hope. At the allocated time we went to meet him at the platform that was directly opposite the stage and raised above the crowd where the camera crew were and also some guests with special requirements. When we caught up with our man and amazingly, he came through. We were waved straight up onto the platform and the view was cracking. We did a little victory dance and then realised we were out of drink. C (for Crazy) was dispatched to the bar...

Hello view

Ri-Ri's set up

The woman herself. Hot (but no Beyonce...)

When we had been 'downstairs' with the masses for every other act that day it wasn't that busy and we got kind of close even for people like Florence who we thought would be packed. The crowd for Rihanna was no joke. I don't know if all the other tents pretty much shut down but it felt like the whole of east London had descended onto Hackney Marshes. The crowd was insane. Cue another victory dance...picture flailing limbs, high tenning (five just wasn't enough) and general hyperactivity.

Thank god we're not down there

As soon as Rihanna came on the air was electric. You cannot recreate an atmosphere with photos or videos. They do not do anything any justice. The first track was Only Girl in the World. Amazing. She did some of the best hits including my favourite, What's My Name. I made a video of this moment...which when I watched back I had completely ruined by my dreadful singing. Honestly when you're there you can't hear yourself and think you sound amazing. On reflection I wanted the sofa cushions to swallow me up and make it stop. It's unfortunate because otherwise I would share!

The Umbrellas came out for all the right reasons...the song. Electric

The pièce de résistance was when Run This Town came on. Our new best friend (who had seen the show the previous day) Whispered 'this happened last night' at which time we speculated until we needed to no more. Jay-Z comes out on to the stage and the crowd literally went wild. If you thought there were a lot of cameras in the air before (from our vantage point we had a gorgeous view of this) the whole crowd was one big phone screen. Although I captured some footage and photos I was determined not to see the whole thing through a small screen and just focused on singing and dancing very enthusiastically. Serious shapes were thrown. What a work out.

Ri-Ri and Jay-Z

Ohhh Snap

The final song was We Found Love. Again my 30 seconds or so of video is just me singing, like a wild woman. I love the tune and it's another on my running playlist but live? Oh My. Next time I run and that comes on I will literally have goosebumps. Amazing.

As this wrapped up we heard England had gone into penalties, cue some spontaneous EN-GER-LAND, EN-GER-LAND chanting, especially when Italy missed. Honestly I think the euphoria would have been too much for us had they won. A bit of a come down that they crashed out of the Euros, but what did we expect?

Overall, that's what I call Sunday's...
Thank you BBC Radio 1.
Thank you Hackney

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Polo in the Park

Sunday this week was the Mint Polo final. The forecast was for rain...in the morning it looked like it was holding out...fingers crossed.

This is the first time I've attended the Mint at Hurlingham in West London. Previously I have been to The Cartier international, which is a very formal affair and we love to get dressed up (here's last year popping onto the Pimms bus...)

As the British summer was not playing ball, we had to opt for something safer, and Hurlingham is more informal we could get away with appropriate British Summer dress. This included a jacket for a start, and shoes would be a problem. Record: you cannot stomp divots in stiletto heels. Wedges are the best option, so I plumped for a cropped trouser:

Jacket: Balenciaga
T-shirt: Zara
Trousers: H&M
Shoes: Stylistpick

Stocking up in the Crown and Corgi we were ready for some pony action. The bar did not have slimline tonic (shocker) so I opted for a rum and diet coke as my 'treat' as I am still trying to keep to my diet. The match was made up of 4 'chukkas' or quarters if you like. At 'half time' (i.e. after the first two chukkas...are you staying with me?) you get to go on  the field and stomp the divots. Much fun.

Sydney

VS Moscow

Stomping Divots

After this match it was time for time for lunch. Being in the area Harrods set up shop as the caterer for the weekend. Thankfully they had reasonably healthy options. I went for a tuna nicoise salad, which although was smothered in dressing felt like a good choice.

By this time it started to rain, however we managed to stay under our brollies and watch the 'War Horse' stunt display. They make it look so easy...makes you think you could ride a horse with one foot on each while standing up and racing...hmmm.

Polo is such good fun, lovely crowds and a great day out, but mainly when the sun shines. See you at the Cartier International!

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Stylistpick

Although coming onto my radar a while back (no thanks to Cheryl Cole) I wasn't sold into Stylistpick. If I was in the market for shoes (their main forte) I would shop for shoes, simple.

It just so happened I have been looking for some new summer wedges. I had perused the shops and online outlets to no avail, then a work friend alerted me to a 2 for £40 offer Stylistpick were doing...it would be rude not to really.

I had to complete my profile even though I would have preferred to browse all and choose what I actually liked rather than what a computer thinks I'm going to like based on 20 fashion related questions. I came out as Classic, sure I'll take that.

I had already seen a pair of wedges I liked in my friends showroom that didn't appear on mine. You can however browse and shop the full collection, which is what I did.

I ordered on Tuesday they arrived the following Monday, not the fastest service and at a cost of £3.50. Free shipping is available but only of you sign up to be a VIP. They don't make the costs associated with this very easy to find. I opted to not do it, as I said I prefer to shop on a requirement basis not just monthly because new styles have been released.

The packaging is excessive But nice and feels like you are buying into quality. To get an idea of size here is my two pairs of packaged shoes compared to the shoes I had on beforehand...

Initially I put one of each on to gauge comfort/which pair would rub. I almost convinced myself I was going to pick a pair and send the others back...who was I kidding for £20 a pair?!

When I had to actually leave the office, I opted to wear these for the day. For c.6 inches they were pretty comfy although I am used to wearing heels most of the time. When I took them off at the end of the day the soles were pretty worn, which is fast as I only popped out at lunchtime and aside from that was in a carpeted office, so they will only likely do a season.

 Here are my second pair...a bit more sophisticated for summer evenings.

So what do you think? Tempted to sign up? If you do I would advise not buying when the showroom comes out but wait for deals like this later on in the month.

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