Be right back...

I look forward to catching up with you all very soon... Just stepping away for the moment as losing someone is never easy. Hopefully a short break away will do the trick.

Enjoy the rest of summer gorgeous people and i'll see you all in September.

x.o.x.o
p.s thanks for stopping... I'll be sure to hit you up when i'm back.

Q & A time

Earlier this week the gorgeous Fashion Butter tagged me to answer some questions... oooh, how much fun?!

1. Do you wear a watch?

Yes... I'm wearing a watch which Mr. Perseus got me for our 1st yr anniversary together, but every now and then I do switch on styles. I love chunky men's style watches too & my little Hello Kitty watch I picked up for next to nothing in the Hong Kong street markets.

2. What types of things do you refuse to spend money on? Splurge on?

Ooh difficult, nowadays, I refuse to spend money on anything that's poorly made (construction & fabric/materials are important) and overly trend-worthy fashion.

I would definitely splurge on beautiful lingerie, fashion pieces that have longevity, super soft bedlinen and food/drink wise- quality wine, cakes/pastries and organic meat!


3. Favorite animal?

It's a tie between a baby Giant Panda bear or Meerkats! I love anything cute and furry!

4. The best concert you have ever attended?

I'm wondering whether I should admit this...maybe not.

5. What's the oldest piece of clothing you still own and wear?

Kookai corset style leather jacket.

6. How do you *really* feel about cat print rompers?

Ok, are we talking full length jumpsuits here or playsuits? I love anything cat/leopard print! Ha!

7. What towns/cities have you lived in over the years?

I've lived in London all my life, Chelsea, Knightsbridge, then for a change I checked into the ghetto side of Clapham/Battersea before a big fat move to Athens, Greece.

Iconic image of Battersea Power Station

Have also lived in Sydney (Bondi & nr. Darling Harbour) and Hong Kong, on short term basis.

Sydney Opera House

8. Hot sauce ... evil or yummy?

Definitely Yummy! I love spicy, bring on the chilli oil & chilli sauce!

OK, I believe it's protocol to tag 8 other fabulous blogger friends:

My Glamourology
Shopping Therapy
K come Karolina
Audrey Allure
Jammer at 10a.m
Little Blue Deer
My Heart shaped my life
In Dramatic Fashion

My questions are:

1. Do you have a hidden talent? What can you do?
   
2. If you were given $£€1k, would you spend the majority of it on shoes or bags - can't say both!
3. If you could only take 5 things with you to a dessert island what would they be?
4. If you could switch places with a celebrity for the summer, whose life would you want to live temporarily?
5. What are your 5 best fashion buys ever!
6. What is your favorite thing to do on a Saturday night?
7. What is the most precious gift someone has ever given you?
   
8. Name your 3 favourite perfumes/scents.
   

HAPPY FUN FRIDAY PHOTOGRAPHY LOVE!

Ok, so typing is still isn't quite on the cards right now, so i'm going to leave you lovelies with these beautiful images! Yes, the image below is a ferry chock full of hot men on sunloungers!
All aboard!!!

HAPPY FRIDAY KIDS!

Loving the colours here and the pink wig!

images: Jessica Stam by Jason Schmidt in top photo and Natalia Vodianova by Craig Dean for W mag all via here.

The Jessica's: Relaxed Summer style

Summer style should be relaxed, easy and effortless, these beautiful Jessica's are portraying just that.

Spotted, Jessica Szohr rocking a printed mini and to die for Prada Bohemian clog sandals on GG set.
Aussie model, Jessica Hart's look reminiscent of when Sienna Miller started dating Jude Law... quite boho with a slight edge... This all over alligator print maxi dress is from Gypsy05 but has sold out!
Jessica Alba, doing stripes & something of an expert in off-duty, laid-back dressing. Loving the super sleek & shiny hair!

Ok, this is such a lame-o excuse for writing a short post but I've had a really bad, allergic reaction to several mozzie bites on the inside & outside of my wrist. My right hand now resembles a fat, red, splotchy, swollen and rather painful mess, typing's a struggle! Not good!

images via Grazia, Marie Claire & Instyle

Original & New Funny Girl: Jennifer Aniston pays homage to Barbara Streisand

Wow, I saw these images in Harper's Bazaar & Daily Mail this morning and had to share!!!

On another totally unrelated yet related topic of discussion is a fantastic post I read over at Beautifully Invisible on 'The Plus size and straight size debate'. One of the comments that spoke to me very much was left by Fashion Butter on how we should be more supportive of each other, rather than judging, criticizing, labeling others....
In the comments section to the Jennifer Aniston article in the Daily Mail, I was horrified by the bitter, negative and just plain horrid comments left by readers. It's OK to have an opinion or constructive criticism, but I'm just someone who doesn't feel negative/bitter opinions being aired. It's like sending bad karma/energy out there, slagging someone off just ain't cool. What kind of message is this to others? I've also seen this on a few blogs too... what's the point? Soz, i just had to get that off my chest, if you'll excuse my outburst...!

images via Harper's Bazaar for full interview click here and for all images here.

PS: I can't believe I bought a maxi dress last week, this discount code arrived in my inbox today!!! Take Advantage girls!

You may remember my Frock Fest post for a gorgeous draped asos maxi dress.

Neat Trick: Making high Heels more comfortable

Call me crazy, but there comes a time when wearing in brand new heels around the home just isn't weird anymore. With wedding season continuing well into October for me, I'm going to be donning heels more often than hot dinners, but my problem now is the pain factor. I just Iuuuurve dancing, which inevitably means the pain will kick in sooner. I've not been wearing my sky scraper heels for some time now too... I just can't manoeuvre around Athens' San Francisco style streets and dodgy pavements (cue me tripping and wiping out), so these days I wear flats.

From Left top to bottom via Net-a-Porter:
Christian Louboutin Pigalle 120 Patent Pumps (120mm)
Charlotte Olympia Dolly Canvas Pumps (155mm high!)
Alexander McQueen Lace pumps (130mm)
Brian Atwood Drama Patent pumps (140mm)

Scouring the net I've discovered some great tips on how to make wearing heels more comfortable & how to get your shoe (if it's leather or suede) to fit better.

This tip is a bit weird but definitely worth trying as it is quite effective:
Tape your 3rd and 4th little toes together to make high heels more comfortable! You can use Scotch tape - bit difficult in this heat, or try fabric medical tape - I used a Elastoplast surgical tape. Genius! Note: This does work with some peep toe styles - just don't tape to close to the ends.
The science: Apparently at the base of the 3rd & 4th toes is where the nerve splits thus causing pain more easily particularly at the balls of your feet. Also, wearing high heels or ill fitting shoes causes the bone to rub against the nerve or place excessive pressure on the ball of the foot.

This neat little shoe fitting trick is for new shoes that rub, feel too tight and give you nasty blisters. This works best on suede or leather shoes and will not stretch or ruin the entire shoe, you'll see why in a mo.

Test drive your new shoes around the home for a bit to establish which bits rub your feet. Stick or wrap moleskin tape or even fabric plasters on the painful bits. You can either soak you feet in water, then dry them off, or just wet the fabric plaster. Slip into you shoes again and walk around a bit with the damp plaster and let your shoes mould & stretch over the damp plaster area. (You can do this a few times after the plaster has dried off a bit so that the shoe stretches a bit more to accommodate your feet). When you do wear them next, they shouldn't rub! Woopee!

Just make sure you're armed with some plasters or Compeed plasters if you're going out in heels! Right now there are so many companies cashing in on our pain experience, from Dr Scholls Party Feet products range to Compeed.

Here are some of the hot products to ease and make your heel wearing experience less painful:

Compeed - aka magic plasters, feels like a mini cushion on your skin, preventing/protecting your skin from blisters. If you do have blisters, this will help speed up recovery

Dr Scholl's Party Feet Range - awesome little gel cushions and sticky strips to help ease the pain on a night out in heels

So ladies, have you any cool tips to share?

Images via Boots.com
ref: Glamour & 5 inch & Up

Photography Love: Random Kitty Kat

This has to be one of the most random editorials i've seen in a while!
I came across this during a recce and am loving the use of colour against the backdrops... and I also love anything shot by Miles Aldridge.

Ickle rock star kitty?

Italian Vogue 2008

I really want to thank everyone for stopping by or leaving a comment - made my heart tingle & smile big time! Much love to you's!!!!

From London to Athens: The girl who moved for love

Holy banana's has it really been 2 years since I left the grey skies of Blighty?

Time sure flies when you're in love and having fun! I cannot even begin to tell you what it's been like settling into a new country where the sun always shines, siesta's are a good thing, the language is completely different, shopping hours take a while getting used to and being without feel good quick, SOS back up - as in my gal pals, family, Marmite, crumpets, prawn cocktail flavoured crisps, pickled onion Monster Munch crisps, Pubs, Dim Sum & bacon sarnie's! Eeek!
My box set of Friends and Sex & The City got me through some pretty tough times.
I have no idea why, but today's post is gonna be filled with little words of wisdom, enjoy!
I remember the week running up to "Moving day"... it was a bit like Carrie Bradshaw's week before she left for Paris... I had friends asking me if I was absolutely sure about leaving amongst other questions... but after 2 years of flying back and forth (both of us), it got tiring, playing havoc on both our health, work & lifestyle - yeah, Monday mornings at work were never a good thing.

It sure took a while settling in and adapting to life in beautiful Greece

The art of mastering a new language:
I just keep talking now (that's if no-one can shut me up), with mistakes and all. I love that saying "It's all Chinese to me" used sporadically here in Greece and in the UK, "It's all Greek to me" - what's so ironically funny about both of these phrases is that I speak fluent Cantonese and now Greek (really badly)!

I love that the culture here is different, life is slightly slower paced... I sure don't miss getting up at 'ridiculous hour' in the morning, running for buses or getting crammed like sardines on the Tube to get to & from work.
I've gotten used to the shopping hours here, at first it really bothered me, but my philosophy of looking at life is slightly more different now. I actually think it's healthier all round to have no shops open on Sunday (except for mini markets & Zakharoplastio-cake shops). Have you ever stopped to think if this might be part of reason for the UK's downfall in families/culture etc, was treating Sunday like any other day and not stopping to just put aside one day to enjoy with family, friends and just relax?

"Slow down
calm down
don't worry
don't hurry
trust the process"

- Alexandra Stoddard

I even love how if you're trying to get into a tight parking spot (very common in Athens), that a passer-by will help guide & direct you into your space then carry on as normal. That would so never happen in London.

Beating the heat!

Food love: The Greeks are pretty serious about food & their coffee... I love the Greek kebab, aka Gyros, how amazing & huge the watermelons are and the quality of Olive Oil is, as well as the traditional tavernas here. All I think about is food!!! So my life quote for Food love would be -

"Life is short, eat dessert first" - Torres

If someone has been on a visit to their village, I can usually expect them to bring back fresh eggs, olives, tsipouro - a Greek liquor (which my man once mistook for a bottle of water and gulped it down in the morning - what a wake up call!) and copious amounts of Feta cheese.

People eat late here too, something I didn't get to grips with for a while but which resulted in me eating at least 4-5 times a day.

The Watermelon truck on drive-by duties - For real!

The biggest pumpkins I've ever seen in my life

Mainland & Island love:

This country has some of the best islands ever! I'm yet to discover all the gorgeous places North of Greece & in the Peloponnese too with crystal clear waters & passionate history, but it's all there waiting for me! I'm incredibly grateful for the various ports in Greece, they are like mini gateways to paradise!

I sure could go on & on... but you know what?

"A life lived in love will never be dull"

- Leo Buscaglia

Have a Happy Damn Friday kids!

Images via: Fashion Gone Rogue, Spiros Poros, Iris Brosch

Quelle Surprise: Care Package Delight

Woo hoo! I love getting mail, big time. It's like Christmas each and every time I open mail. I love old skool style hand-written letters, photos, pretty cards and surprise packages!

My blogger gal pal Jemima & Lynzy of Skirts and Skillets have been care package (gift) swapping and recently they extended this little bit of fun to 15 other bloggers/readers! I thought i'd join in & see what awesomeness would arrive on my doorstep.

So the theme was florals...

You can imagine my delight when I opened my package to find a beautiful floral sleeveless tunic dress, a gorgeous necklace by Jemima's fave jewellery designer, Amaro & a pretty card...

This little necklace had the prettiest stones, from aragonite, rose quarts and amazonite, oh and a cute butterfly perching on the flower.

This airy floral tunic dress is perfect for beating the crazy heat in Greece, me love!
I love sheer, but I though i'd spare you guys any bra flashing!!!
I believe Jemima will be posting her care package surprise today too, check her out!

Thanks J-girl, you're the best!!!

Miss Selfridge Fall Highlights & World-Wide delivery

It's like I can't wait for the Autumn leaves to start falling or something (and those of you in OZ are like, bring on the Sun please!)....and it's not like Greece will ever get bitterly cold, but this morning Marie Claire had some super duper gorgeous Miss Selfridge press pics to show and I just had to share!

I absolutely die for the middle look - I've seen Doctors style bags around already but this floral number is interesting. Love the fur trim flying jacket too!

Miss Selfridge is one affordable high-street brand name who has gone from super sexy in the early 90's (they sold dresses galore, especially LBD's best) to spot on fashion with their own signature style. I am seriously loving how they have introduced a ridiculously awesome collection for Fall. Why?
Well you know how fashion can just leap from trend to trend and from pale pastels to bold jewel colours in a jiffy, Miss Selfridge have incorporated some of the trends/stories/colours they had from past seasons but simply moved it on so that you can mix the outfits/pieces up with the old and new! Genius!!!

So some of the key trends & styling for Fall include:

Hippy Chic & Bohemian Luxe, lots of layering, beiges to brown, New twist for a Bonnie & Clyde-esque story with pretty soft, neutrals, winter pastels, tone on tone, peaches, creams, blacks with different textures, finishes, structure & heavy embellishment, A 60's couture feel, think Twiggy in shift dress with pearl collar trim detail, very girly, and Victoriana gothic theme - lace, embellishment and not forgetting creams with gold.

Do we like???

Ok, the other thing i'm going to point out because I know all of you lovely readers are stylishly International, is that they deliver world-wide, with a standard delivery (approx 5-7 days from placing the order, £5-£10.50 for delivery) to the following countries:

Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, China, Czech Republic, Denmark, Eire, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Italy, Finland, Greece, Lithuania, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Philippines, Poland, Republic of Korea, Romania, Slovakia, Sweden, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey, United States of America. Unfortunately nominated day delivery is not available at this time.

Source/ref: Miss Selfridge & Marie Claire UK

Randomness & Stylish Blogger Award: Congratulations to....

Early morning calls usually freak me out (I always think it's bad news or someone like Miranda Priestly on the other end of the line)... I was relieved & totally ecstatic to find out that a family member has had their application for a US visa go through!!! Finally! Yay!!!!

Yup, this is me goofing around, many moons ago, doing Karate Kids "The Crane"
Venice Beach, LA

As many of you know, I do random like no other, so allow me today to vent out my extreme happiness about this move because it's a real dream come true. This, of course means that I have a new place to visit - L.A!!!! Yippee!


Ok, so on another note, I was recently given this award from Maddie the Queen of craftista at Wardrobe Recycle. Thank you lovely!!! You are seriously awesome & this award means a lot to me but this award would have to go right back at cha girl!!!

The difficulty in receiving such awards is deciding whom to pass it onto. I'm big on sharing the love & since there are so many of you fantastic & super stylish Bloggers, readers, commenters (peeps on my sidebar/blogroll), I'm going to cheat and dedicate this 'Stylish Blog Award" to all of you!!!

Congratulations!!!

A Special Mention to:

Personal Style Blogs:
Citizen Rosebud
Fashion Butter
Grit & Glamour
Jemima
K Come Karolina
Leia's Delight
Pretty Pleased

Cool Photography, Editorial picks & Inspiration
Lee Oliveira
Much to my Delight
Beautifully Invisible

Greece 411:
Fashion Algorithms
Fashion Architect
Life in Athens
Life Full of Fashion
Shopping Therapy

Decisions, decisions... You guys rock!
Thanks muchly for reading and sharing the love!

Falling for Fall

Images of Fall (A/W 10/11) has been filling my head of late... Here's what some of the key players in the industry are falling for this Autumn/Winter.

A big yay for leopard! This is one trend i've invested into well over the years and splurged on key pieces, which can be worn over again and again.

Wow, military look not over yet... it's always there, lurking about and played with on many levels. I love khaki anyway, and since my old parka of 10 yrs died on me I recently scored a parachute silk one for next to nothing in the sales.

Above images via Net-a-Porter


Camel - This is such a chic colour that sadly I cannot wear, like nudes or blush, this colour looks so wrong on me - i might as well look naked! Ha!

Aha, now this is more like it! Bright, bold mixes of berry like colours, yummy!

Loving the dark, midnight express colours for the winter, so seductive and tantalising!
Bring it on i say!

Hello hardware! Loving this new collection from Aldo, I'm not sure they have it here in Greece or do they? Hmmm, guess i'll be ordering my delivery from Asos after all!

Above images via ASOS

Topshop have launched their first AW collection in-store with the story "Into the Wild". I couldn't help but fall in love with the idea of mixing of knits, leather, dark denim with delicate chiffons and lace... yes please!

Other Topshop Stories for AW

mood board images via Topshop

I'm yet to determine my lust-list for next season, there's just so much drool-worthy goodness out there... What have you seen lately that's on your "I want it, must have it" list?