A Question.

Last week began like any other.

An early morning train down to my office in London and a lot of emails.

I was due to be in that office until Wednesday then back up in the Manchester office for team meetings all Thursday and Friday. Or so I thought.

When I got in at 10pm on the Wednesday evening I was greeting by a somewhat flustered OH.

"Don't kill me," he began. "Ominous..." I thought.
"But you have about 6 hours to pack and we're off to the airport."
Ok...
"One problem though," he continued, "I booked this weeks ago and I've lost my passport in the house move."
Panic stations.
After almost every single box we'd packed had been torn open we eventually found it nestling in an inner box it most definitely should not have been in.

Hey-ho. We were back on. It was gone midnight, but we were back on.

At 4.30am my alarm went off and I just had to pray that I'd packed appropriately. That said I think we counted 12 pairs of shoes in my case when we got there so I was confident I'd covered all bases!

Once we'd checked in ("Don't tell her where we're going, she doesn't know yet.") OH told me that the holiday was to celebrate the end of the house renovation (which, typically, has run over deadline) and his birthday. Oh dear. In all the commotion I'd almost forgotten it was his birthday that day. Luckily I'd bought a card a few days before and it was nestled in my handbag somewhere. A gift would have to be purchased upon arrival at our mystery destination.

Then we were called to gate. There were several flights leaving at the same time as ours so I was still non the wiser. Candidates were: Paris, Rome, Barcelona and, worryingly, Warsaw.

As we approached our queue it became clear, "Gate 51: ROME"

Keen not to cause a commotion in an airport (never a good idea) I squealed internally and OH almost passed out with relief at my undeniable joy having learnt our destination.

Soon we were over The Alps.
 

 

When we landed we did a bit of sightseeing but OH informed me we were going for a nice meal for his birthday that eve so to get a nap in (I *love* naps) and have time to get ready.

Standard tourist selfie

That evening we arrived at one of the most beautiful restaurants I've ever been in. Lit solely by candles and seating a maximum of 14 people it was stunning. With Nina Simone's voice playing lazily in the background I was pretty convinced I was in heaven.

 

 

The meal was amazing - aubergine to start and sea bass main; far too much wine and lots of chatter. There were only two other couples in there at the time so it felt really intimate and as if we were almost the only people in Rome. The pictures aren't amazing as the light in there was so low but I would recommend The Library to anyone looking for a great restaurant off the beaten track with brilliant service and not insane prices.

Even from the outside it is stunning.

Then, after the meal and with out even the slightest sign of stress he dropped to one knee. I think I almost fainted. I'd always assumed I'd be a 'crier' if ever proposed to but I was quite the opposite - I got nervous laughter. Luckily OH knows me so well it didn't even make him blink and after I spluttered out, "YES!" he got back up and gave me the most beautiful ring his very talented Dad had made. (He's a jeweller by trade - he's a genius by nature.)

We spent the rest of the weekend floating around Rome smiling and enjoying all the coffee, food and wine we could get our hands on.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So now we have a wedding and a house to arrange. No biggy.

 

Keep up to date with my quest not to have a meltdown over it all on the blog!

 

And visit Rome. I did and now I'm in love.



Summer Sun.

Ola!

Just back into the UK after some time out, relaxing with OH and travelling up the length of Portugal and to northern Spain on a road trip. We'd been due to drive a very beautiful vintage Austin Healey back up but unfortunately we weren't able to so some very generous friends offered us their Jaguar convertible to use. I think I'd accepted before they'd even finished the sentence! Although not quite the vintage tootle about I'd imagined the Jaguar did provide OH with some great, Supercar fun along the mountain passes we took at times.

But that's enough car shenanigans. Onto the fun stuff - the accommodation! We spent each night in a new place; so we started in Lagos and ended up in San Sebastian staying everywhere from olive groves to yurts along the way. It was incredible. Most of the places we found were from a website recommended to us - Sawdays - which is a site specialising in off the beaten track beauties to stay in. As I said anything from yurts to tree houses to ancient castles can be found on there. I'd strongly recommend them and they cover several European countries so do have a click.

We each had our favourite spots but mine was, without a doubt, if you'd not already guessed, the yurt. This was a little outside Arganil in Portugal in a vibrant, green mountain valley. Owned and run by London born and bred couple Hannah and Derek, it is a truly unique and beautiful spot. After spending an incredibly happy few hours lounging in a hammock outside our yurt with my book OH and I asked their story and they told us they'd bought the plot and run down foundations of what is now their large house about 14 years ago for a startlingly reasonable amount of money. Initially it had been a holiday home project but as the years rolled on the draw was too mesmerising and a few years ago they moved their family (their children, dog and cats live there too!) over to their handmade heavenly spot. Hannah then recommended a good site to wish away a few hours on - Pure Portugal. Ideas are flowing guys...

You can eat there at night outside your yurt and again in the morning. The meals are homemade and brought down from the house to you fresh in a great picnic style wicker basket so you can enjoy the sunset with a few vinos and a lot of good food! We had deviled mushroom starter, fish pie for main course and poached pear for dessert. Each mouthful was a delight. In fact just the memory is making my taste buds tingle!

They have spent years creating a little piece of paradise in the heart of Portugal so if you ever find yourself that way or better yet just want to go full stop (I'll definitely be back!) then their site is http://www.yurtholidayportugal.com/ Enjoy!

Anyway - here's a few snaps from our hols.

Yurt Yurt Yurt!

We had a wonderful time but I'm pleased to be back and feeling inspired! Sorry about all the selfies. Got a bit carried away!

Back With A Bang.

Hello!

It's good to be back - I've missed my blog these past few weeks but the time off was necessary. A mix of heavy work commitments and a week away with the O.H. meant that I made a conscious decision to take a blogging break and spend some time being selfish and just focusing on myself.

But even though I was taking time 'off' it didn't have any effect on my interest in finding new ways to update my clothes and accessories from a DIY perspective.

Introducing my latest project: studded Converse.

In my last post (many moons ago!) I referenced a pair of personalised, studded Converse that retailed at a chunk over £200. That, to me, is silly money for some studs being added to a pair of £45 shoes - not to mention completely financially unjustifiable!

The 'real deal' in action

I kept these at the back of my mind for some time, working out the best way to go about it. I already own two pairs of Converse but the idea of stabbing holes that may ruin them and render them unwearable was a little too much like a risk for me so I had to think of an alternative.

Just under two weeks ago I was readying myself for a lazy week away worshipping the sun in Egypt. I'd booked it about a month or so ago for a last minute break. I rarely take time off so had a lot of holiday time to use up and it's safe to say I did that. A jam packed week of snorkeling, a trip to Cairo, desert star-gazing and of course the obligatory lounging round the pool and I feel rested and reset.

While away I did the stereotypical British thing of combing the market places for some good deals. On my last night we decided to stroll to our local markets and about 3 stalls in I saw them. Black, high top Converse (faux of course, dahling!) A flash of haggling later and I had my project kicks...for £8.00!


So here's what I did to them:

Using a silver pen to mark the canvas I made a rough pattern of where I wanted my studs. I decided on matte black spikes as opposed to a carbon Converse copy (they've used silver pyramid studs.)


Then using my oh-so-technical apparatus of sharp nail scissors I set about stabbing holes in the sides of my shoes.

Next I pushed the screw back of the studs through and attached the front of the stud. Et voila - studded kicks for a fraction of the price. As I said, the shoes cost me all of £8 and the studs were approx £10 on eBay (for 100) so for under £20 I have a pair of shoes that will spend the next few weeks, at least, fused to my tootsies.

Here's the finished product. I know they're not perfect but for a DIY job done in an hour I'm more than happy with them.

And here's where I've been:

I wouldn't say I'm 'pleased' to be back but I've missed 2DyeFor!

En Mi Bolsa

I can hardly be accused of being someone who unpacks quickly at the end of a trip. Desperate to hang onto that holiday feeling I spend most of my first week back staring at my suitcase and working out how long it is until it's actually needed again. (Answer: depressingly long.)


And I'm no better with handbags I've used while away. My Mulberry Tillie was my most used one and when I came to empty it last night I thought of my post some time ago about handbags contents so this is a sort of part 2 of that. A holiday edition if you will.


Take a look inside...

So I like options of necklace and flat shoes if my feet get sore - what of it? The rest seems fairly self explanatory but it would appear I used the tube a fair amount. Still finding tickets in pockets and other bags even now!

#TodayIAmWearing (circa Barcelona trip)

Lately my 'day job' has been overly hectic. We launch a new label at the end of this week and a launch is never a quiet time so blogging has been minimal. I haven't lost my love for it - I have just lost the battle of keeping my eyes open long enough to add new posts as frequently as I would like this past week.

In my last post I mentioned photos of my outfits were being processed but unfortunately we didn't take as many as I'd hoped. The heat was too much and frankly posing wasn't much of an option under that sun.

Anyway...enjoy the pics. More posts very soon - I PROMISE!!

Sunny Days

Hello All!

I am back from my week in Barcelona...and devastated. From 28degree heat to this?! No bueno.

I managed to get some lovely shots of outfits but they're currently being processed so for now you'll have to make do with a montage of iPhone pics I gathered while away.

Back to full blogging capacity within the next day or so (in London tomorrow for work so never easy blogging on those days but we'll see..)

I love the style of this city. People dress (mostly) extremely well - the men look so much better than here in the UK. And the lifestyle is perfect - early mornings, siestas, socially orientated and everyone seems to own a dog; they are everywhere! I loved it so much I am enrolling in Spanish classes so the next time I go I can get even more out of my time there.

The blurred pics are of rollerbladers. At about 12.30am on Saturday night hundreds came flying past us as we ate tapas near our apartment. You would never get this here!

And the band playing were a jazz group who were performing on Sunday just to celebrate a small delicatessen near us turning 100years old. There is nothing I don't love about this city.

Take me back, Barca!