Style Crush: I Heart Jess Hart

Completely in love with Jessica Hart at the moment! Aussies will know Jessica as the gap-toothed beauty in the Seafolly campaigns and endless other advertorials. The Sydney model who is based in New York has that understated, geek-chic, rock-chick, couldn't-give-a-damn look that is undeniably compelling. Her style is that she seems to roll out of bed after some uber cool concert and after-party the night before, throw on an old rock t-shirt she finds under the bed, some mismatched shoes and heads out the door. And it looks amazing! Jess has that effortless beauty that makes you wish you could prance around town with unbrushed hair, no makeup and your boyfriend's shirt on and still feel like a million bucks (sadly for us mere mortals this look is only acceptable when running down the corner for some milk with your face hidden behind your Tesco card). Jess designs a street-cool line called Neon Hart which is available exclusively at General Pants in Australia. The line is stocked with retro flannel, denim cut-offs and casual staples that are all based on Jess's personal style, all at a very affordable price point. You can also be swept away with envy into Jess's world reading her blog which has stunning photos (mostly courtesy of her muso/photog boyfriend) and a behind the scenes look at amazing on-location shoots.

(photos: jessicahart.net/blog/)

The Long & Short of It

So the weather has finally turned good and I'm finding myself wearing shorts every other day now. Shorts are everywhere this season and with more versatility than a skirt it's definitely the go-to option that guarantees style and comfort. I love how far the humble pair of shorts have come and you can dress accordingly for work/party/bbq/summer soiree- there's a pair for every occasion and they look especially cool with all the chunky platform heels and clogs that are around at the moment. If you're sporting a super short pair then match them with an oversized tee or button-up shirt to balance them out. Likewise if you're rocking a high-waisted or longer length pair you can afford to go with less on top. Theres something quite understated and cool about a crisp white pair of shorts, simple blouse, huge statement earrings and matching clutch with  some stylish heels as an alternative to the bog standard short dress and heels on a night out. Do you agree?

btw: Men's shorts are also looking decidedly more stylish this season with the slim-fitted, roll-up variety the clear winners. Husband has been enjoying the short trend too this summer in his denims and I got the needle and thread out recently and chopped off a pair of his slim fit trousers and made them into roll-ups after the clumsy boy ripped a great hole in them!  

(photos: StockholmStreetStyle)

Matchy Matchy

There are some rules that never change. Never. For instance, not eating things you find on the ground or ever being seen drinking alcohol out of a can unless you're a 45 year old man at a cricket match, those are the kinds of things you just don't mess with. However there is one rule that it's A-okay to break at the moment. The matchy matchy rule. I'm not talking about the time when your mum told you not to play with matches either, but the old fingers and toes matchy matchy.
As spring has now sprung its completely acceptable to not only wear bright, amazing shades of candy on your nails but also to sport the same colour on your toes too. Until recently this has been a major fashion faux pas and only acceptable for those under the age of  nine. The new matchy matchy also lets you to match your nails with your outfit too (but not toes as well if you're doing this, as that would be, like, totally, waaaaay too much!).
I'm particularly loving soft peachy oranges on fingers and toes right now, paired with pinks, neutrals and yellow outfits. I'm also enjoying coral nails with clashing pink lips and pink toes. Totally Copacabana chic, no? Now all we need is to sail off into the sunset on our perfectly matching yacht....

Saturday Eats

I had two types of brownies I wanted to try last weekend so I ended up making both. Crazy. The first was a traditional type brownie with a cheesecake layer on top that you can find here. The second was a white chocolate blondie with cherries, which I swapped for raspberries here. Both were really good but most people seemed to prefer the blondies as they were creamier and more dense. Either way, everyone wins!

Inbetweeners

It seems to be that kind of weather at the moment that is continuously deceptive. Looking out the window the sun is out! (the trees are also blowing as if there's a hurricane down the block but I decide to ignore that part). However its not exactly "summertime" (besides the fact that its June thank-you-very-much) so getting the right weather-outfit ratio is a bit tricky. My answer to this conundrum seems to be long sleeve button up shirts, then you can get away with bare legs if its still a bit breezy. Rocket science, right? I can't get my hands on enough chambray/acid/check/flannel shirts at the moment and am kind of wishing I could get away with wearing this much comfy-ness everyday!

Style Crush: Erin Lucas

I'm totally head-over-heels in lust with Erin Lucas at the moment! I seem to go through a phase every week where I'm obsessed with someone in particulars fringe/side-parting/amazing clutch/lipstick shade/hair colour/shape of nose/whiteness of teeth/choice of nail polish/fabulous accessories/vintage t-shirt or all of the above. This week it's definitely Erin Lucas. You probably know her from season one of MTV's The City and you probably don't know her as the daughter of the AC/DC bassist, which if you ask me, is the kind of rock-royalty status that adds to her cool-cred.

Every time I see a pic of Erin she always looks unbelievably fresh and cute and so fashion forward. This is the kind of chick that starts trends instead of following them. Loving her awesome fringe and skin tone that looks good with every colour under the sun. Jealous much.

PS: The other day husband suggested I paint my nails different colours on each finger and I laughed in his face. After spotting this pic of Ms. Lucas with one bright yellow nail on each hand I think he might be more style savvy than I give him credit for!

(photos: remotecontrol.mtv.com)

Market Day

Husband & I made a quick stop at Brick Lane on Sunday as I'd read about a Australian/Vietnamese stall in the Upmarkets that makes banh mi. In Sydney all the good Vietnamese bakeries sell banh mi, which are pork rolls that are so simple yet so delicious that I never realised how much I loved them until I came to London and couldn't find them anywhere! Alas, it wasn't meant to be as we couldn't find the stall anywhere and my pork roll cravings are yet to be satisfied. We still ate some amazing food from the dozens of other stalls and also crammed in some Nutella crepes. I also couldn't pass a bakery stand that was stocked with macaroons without taking some home.

Afternoon Delight

Today was one of those lazy afternoons with nothing to do but make delicious cocktails with whatever was sitting on the drinks shelf! Husband had a vodka/rum/strawberry concoction while I stuck to a trusty champagne cocktail. We seem to have bought too many strawberries this week so they were a refreshing addition that made our drinks light and fruity (obviously this counts towards our five-a-day, right?)

Vodka Cocktail:
-1 shot Vodka
-1 shot coconut rum
-peach, mango & passionfruit juice
-splash of Grenadine
-muddled strawberries & crushed ice

Champagne Cocktail:
-champagne or prosecco
-1 shot coconut rum
-peach, mango & passionfruit juice
-muddled strawberries

Bellissimo!

Birthday Cupcake Love

There's always an excuse to bake cupcakes! This weekend the excuse was a birthday. I usually stick to pink or chocolate or cream cheese icing so I went for a pretty lavender shade this time. I could eat a dozen of these sugary pieces of air and still go back for more. I'm one of those crazy people you see in the mile-long line outside of The Hummingbird Bakery waiting to stuff my face with as many cupcakes as I can carry.

Can't Get Enough: Peonies

It's peony season, hooray! Peonies are available for what seems like about 2 hours every year and I absolutely love them and have to have them in my house as much as possible. They are so bright and beautiful and something about the way each bloom turns out different makes them seem so special. The colours are simply gorgeous and you can't help but be in good mood when theres peonies in the room.
I picked up a bunch from Borough Market today and also had to have these amazing dahlias aswell. Stunning.

Crochet Anyone?

After lusting over Kate Bosworth's festival style at Coachella a few weeks back, I'm desperately praying for something resembling sunshine & heat to arrive in town. No such luck just yet but you can still steal this look with topshop's crochet lines this spring- you may just have to team it with a biker jacket until the weather hots up!

(photo: JustJared)

Kings of Neon

All through the colder months (which is about 10 and a half months out of 12 in London) I lived in my almost-blacks/deep purples/grey nail polishes. Then as the frost slowly faded I was addicted to my taupe/mushroom/beige variants of colours. Now that summer is apparently, almost, just around the corner (I'm still not convinced) I've been really into all the neon ranges of colours that have had a resurgence since last year and popped up on-line and in stores.
These are the kind of shades that when you see on someone else you just have to have it immediately, then get home and try it on and are not so sure you can pull it off. I've tried a few and although after an hour of wandering around the house in a state of self-doubt, something clicks and I am totally in love! The kind of love where you glance down to see the absolutely amazing colour on your nails every 0.8 seconds. I've been wearing my neons quite a bit and still can't get enough. Make sure to keep nails really short though, hyper-colour talons are NOT a good look. Be aware of your clothing if you're doing neon nails, stick to neutral colours and definitely only pick nails or toes to bear these shades or else risk looking like an fluorescent 80's throwback.

Dim Sum. Yum.

With an extra day off this weekend and still slightly suffering from a two-day old hangover (a sign we're getting old..?) Husband and I took the chance to visit our favourite dim sum place. To be honest, any kind of establishment where your food starts to arrive approximately 4 minutes after you order it is usually pretty high on my list. Its always a good indication how good the food is in a restaurant by how many locals eat there and this is definitely the case with Imperial China. There's certainly more Cantonese voices to be heard than English ones and this just adds to the amazing authentic atmosphere.
We had pork buns, calamari, steamed prawn dumplings (I would eat these all day and night if I could), Singapore noodles and egg tarts. The food is amazing, cheap and super fast. Winner!