Sunset on the Seine

On Saturday evening, as the final activity of the welcome programme we did a Bateau Mouche along the Seine at sunset. It was a boat full of Sciences Po exchange students and lots of other tourists and it is about as touristy an attraction as it gets in Paris but you can't deny how unbelievably beautiful Paris is in that golden hour and for a sunset-lover like me it was great.



It's been so hot in Paris over the weekend and though I would rather be on a yacht on the ocean when it's this hot the Bateau Mouche was the next best thing. It was a bit annoying when you were trying to take a photo of the Eiffel Tower though and someones selfie stick pops up in the middle of your photo but that's tourist attractions for you. I know that I have been saying I want to live like a true Parisian and not a tourist but sometimes you just have to indulge yourself and join the masses because its not like I can afford to hire my own boat to sail down the Seine at sunset drinking rosé.



How stunning is the scenery though? Pretty sure if you go down the Thames on a boat it's not this beautiful but that's probably because it's always raining in London. You can imagine the delight when at 21:00 the Eiffel Tower begins glittering and Paris looks even more romantic and magical before.

I just want to instagram these and #sunset the whole time. As you may have noticed, I have magically managed to link my instagram so that now when I post on there it also posts to here so you can always be in the loop. I warn you, though, it will be mainly sunsets, scenery and food (and the odd selfie).  

A day in Italy

So we went to San Remo for the day because Italy is absolutely beautiful and because we wanted to buy a whole parma ham and prosecco for out upcoming party/festival.

Here was my outfit of the day: I had planned to wear a bright blue skirt but then my sister was wearing a blue skirt so I changed et voila...

 

Top -  New Look 

Shorts - Topshop

Sandals - Zara (kids - love having size 5 feet!) 

Bag- & other stories 

Bracelets - various, inc. my Glastonbury wristband (woop!) 

Sunglasses- Stella McCartney, from Century 21 in NYC

Post with pictures of the food market and gorgeous San Remo to follow. 

Marina Baie des Anges - a.k.a our favourite beach spot

The Marina Baie des Anges has stunning architecture that when I was little I used to try and recreate with lego bricks. My mum lived there as a girl with her family which is pretty cool and I think I lived a couple of months there as a baby. But buildings aside it is always one of our favourite beach spots on the Cote d'Azur.

Okay the beach is pebbly which is not the most comfortable but the water is so deep blue and clean and you can get the nicest Pain Bagnat (a Nicoise specialty sandwich).

 

I got this top on the right for £5 when I was back in England. I am in love with it. The sequins, the words which are just what anyone is thinking all summer long; the perfect beach coverup. 

From the beach you can look across the bay and see all the way along the coast to Nice. Even if it clouds over it still looks pretty impressive don't you think?

 If I could send a postcard to anyone whenever I am on the beach here I think this is what it would say:

Although I don't wish everyone was there because then it would be busy and lose it's serenity and it's beautiful calmness, and I would like to keep this little secret all mine.

South of France Summer

So, after a little delay, I am back on my blog. Apologies for the absence. Here's what happened since I last blogged:

- England crashed out of the world cup in possibly our worst world cup effort ever.
- I finished my first year of uni, and passed all my first year exams (phew!)
- I have now taken up my usual summer residence in the south of France and will continue to blog from here on all about my summer.

This year I'm not in Paris so I suppose that's not so cool but we have a mini-festival/party happening in 3 weeks with loads of friends and family so I am very excited about that and will be updating you with all the developments and antics as they unfold.

Here's a couple of photos of our beautiful new pool, when it was empty and as it started to fill up:

I'm sorry but does that look lush or does that look lush??

Let summer commence!

Beautiful Birmingham

At the weekend I visited Birmingham, less than half an hour by train from Coventry and less than £3 return ticket. Birmingham is the second biggest city in the UK and whilst this wasn't the first time I had been, the last time was for the National Student Apprentice and I didn't have that much time to explore. 

The city, on a sunny blue sky day, is actually quite beautiful (even if the locals of Birmingham are not so beautiful). 

Here are the gorgeous regal buildings that I was in for the Apprentice Challenge, they look even better with the blue sky back drop: 

I believe they are the Town hall (first photo) and the Council House (second photo). When we were looking up things we could do in Birmingham one of the options google found us was a 'Council House Tour'. I was confused as to why anyone would want a tour of council housing, but now I realise it meant this beautiful building and it makes a lot more sense! 

Contrast these old buildings with those more new and architecturally interesting like this one below and Birmingham makes for a visually really exciting city. 

Here's my OOTD for this hot and sunny day, something of a rarity here in England, as you can tell by my lack of tan...

Top: Hollister 

Shorts: Forever 21

Shoes: Converse

Bag: Marc by Marc Jacobs

Sunglasses: Stella McCartney 

Spectacular sunset

This evening I decided to go for a run, which was a complete disaster because I can't run and after about 5 minutes I was sweaty and walking. But I  did get some absolutely beautiful photos of the sunset, all taken on my humble iphone 4s. 

I think they pretty much speak for themselves, and while being on a campus in the middle of nowhere is often really boring when you get to see stunning sunsets like this it is completely worth it. 

BA's have talent

So I was browsing through the images from the latest Central Saint Martins BA degree show and when I came across these creations my heart began to melt.

I decided, as I do with all creations that I lust after, to spend my time creating an illustration of the design since I will never be able to own and wear the clothes. This is how all my illustrations begin, as a simple line drawing, pencil on paper:

I have been desperately trying to add colour to this digitally but it's failing and I have decided that the beauty of this creation cannot be captured in a way that does it justice.

So instead I have decided to include a photograph below (source: vogue.co.uk)








The collection is by Richard Quinn, and is stunningly floral and feminine and the detail is so exquisite. It reminded me instantly of the glamour, elegance and artistry of Dior.

I actually did some research (thanks Google) on Mr Quinn, and was not shocked to find that he was selected to spend his summer in Paris working for Dior. 

Richard Quinn said "I think my time at Dior was the most influential in terms of my creative approach. My team leader always pushed my ideas to develop them further – even when you usually think you have exhausted every avenue, he showed you how to go that extra mile and make it relevant to the brand" 

I am by no means Carine Roitfeld but if I was Raf Simons I would employ this guy as my right hand man at Dior asap. 

Design talent like Quinn's makes me realise that business is the right degree for me; I couldn't compete with him. I wouldn't want to. But I would be happy to sort out his business strategy. 

For more info on Richard Quinn: http://www.wearefur.com/our-trade/fur-futures/blog/richard-quinn-%E2%80%93-central-saint-martins-dior

His full graduate collection and the rest of the CSM BA show: http://www.vogue.co.uk/fashion/spring-summer-2015/ready-to-wear/central-saint-martins-ba/full-length-photos/gallery/1176750

Crushing on florals

I LOVE  these floral pastel sunglasses. I am in love with them...

...and as much as they look like they are from the same Jonathon Saunders collection as the jacket in my last blog post there is one thing I love about them even more than the glasses themselves. They're only £18! 

Thank you Topshop for providing those of us on a budget with high fashion summer goodness. 

http://www.topshop.com/en/tsuk/product/bags-accessories-1702216/sunglasses-468/flower-detail-cateye-sunglasses-2990631?bi=1&ps=20

Chill time

So I had an exam today and it went surprisingly OK. I won't have got 100% but I am pretty confident that I won't have to retake it either (phew!).
As a reward to myself and a way to chill out post-exam I have taken to net-a-porter and dreamed up a gorgeous floral-y, pastel-y summer outfit to lust after.

This Jonathon Saunders emroidered satin bomber jacket is literally the bomb and is so great it's sold out online.

I had an english teacher at school called Mrs Saunders, I wonder if she was related to Jonathon... maybe she can get me a discount?

Oh to be rich enough to shop on Net-a-porter *sighs*
























http://www.net-a-porter.com/product/399166/See_by_Chloe/tiered-cotton-faille-mini-skirt

http://www.net-a-porter.com/product/432552/Jonathan_Saunders/cecily-embroidered-satin-bomber-jacket

Vionnet bank holiday

Earlier, whilst taking a break from the joys of spending my bank holiday revising and browsing the Daily mail celeb gossip section (tragic, I know) I came across an interesting article about Goga Ashkenazi, owner and head of the iconic french label Vionnet.

Goga is a socialite and Oxford-graduate and whilst she may be married to a multi-billionaire oil tycoon and have 15 staff, she spent her first years working in finance at companies such as Merrill Lynch before turning her hand to fashion and purchasing a majority stake in Vionnet in 2012.

One women proving that business and fashion do mix and that intelligence and creativity are a recipe for success.

Woo hoo!

Here's one of Vionnet's latest creations, I believe designed by Goga herself. It's absolutely luscious and summery and if had a ball to go to I think this would be my robe du jour.

<-- Similar here http://www.net-a-porter.com/product/432932/Vionnet/cutout-plisse-crepe-gown