Copenhagen at Christmas

Last year Matt and I went to Copenhagen just before Christmas and we loved it so much that we decided to go again. This time my Mum came with us too! Flights were pretty cheap, about £90 return each, and we stayed in a gorgeous Airbnb apartment in our favourite neighbourhood, Nørrebro.

We spent our first evening wandering around Tivoli, which is an amusement park right in the middle of the city centre. Obviously it's quite touristy and you do have to pay 110DKK to get in, (which is around £11), but at Christmas they fill the park with Christmas lights, decorations and music - it's so beautiful and a great way to get into the festive spirit! We ended our night at Cafe Plenum which is a cosy cocktail bar in Nørrebro.

The next day we went to the Botanical gardens then Nyhavn before heading to Strøget to do some serious Christmas shopping. We were pretty exhausted by the end of the day so walked back to Nørrebro and treated ourselves to dinner at Provins, a lovely new restaurant that serves traditional Danish food. The staff were super nice and helpful and the food was delicious!

It's always a bit of a pain packing for somewhere chilly as warm clothing tends to be bulky and take up a lot of suitcase space! I tend to stick to a few basics like a roll neck and a couple of cosy jumpers, (one of which I can wear on the plane anyway), then I also pack a lightweight waterproof jacket in the bottom of my bag just in case it pours with rain; like it did the first time I went to Denmark! This time I lived in my new jumper from New Look. It's really cosy and can be worn with jeans or, because it's quite loose, it also looks good over a skirt or dress.

As always the trip didn't feel long enough and I was sad to return to London, but hey, I'm in Devon now having a fabulous time with my family in the lead up to the big day. I'm really enjoying the down-time and looking forward to a fresh New Year. Have a wonderful Christmas everyone!

XMAS WISHLIST 2015

1. Structured Leather Tote from & Other Stories | 2. Gold Ankle Boots by Vagabond | 3. Silk Pyjamas by Yolke | 4. The Mammoth Hunters by Jean M. Auel | 5. Knicker set from Cheekfrills | 6. Design Letters 2016 Calendar from Goodhood | 7. Fun slippers from Brantano | 8. Roll-neck Cable Jumper from Cos

This year I've struggled to think of things to put on my Christmas list, which I usually put together early December and email to my Parents and Boyfriend. I know that I'll think of a million things I want and need in the New Year but for now here are just a few things that might make my life a little more lovely!

RED OR DEAD EVENT | #RODKEEPCOOL

A couple of weeks ago I was lucky enough to receive an invite to the Red or Dead headquarters for a fabulous evening of food, fashion and fun! Driven there in a vintage London bus, (talk about traveling in style), we arrived at their stunning North London offices to find a tasty selection canapés and slush puppies waiting for us, with cupcakes for desert, yum!

Following our foodie treats Creative Director of the brand, Katie Greenyer, talked us through their history with an insightful presentation, which taught me a lot about Red or Dead and actually made me love them even more! I used to have a pair of Red or Dead specs, they do loads of fun frames that are worth checking out if you're a glasses wearer, and I also own a pair of their silver brogues. They have such a cool and quirky attitude, with clothing and accessories to match, and I love the punk twist that they give to modern-day trends!

Images taken from the Red or Dead blog

BERLIN | JIGSAW SKIRT

This is my final post from Berlin I'm afraid… tomorrow I'm off to Glastonbury festival though so thought it best to get all of these photos up so I can waste no time in sharing my Glasto experience with you when I return next week! Goodness, I'm so excited - even though the weather forecast has already promised rain! :(

Anyway, I almost forgot to show you my beautiful new skirt from Jigsaw; isn't this just the most gorgeous colour you've ever seen!? It's so rich and vibrant, I was drawn to it on the website immediately and felt like it would really compliment a lot of my other clothes. Because it's beaded it feels rather "dressy" but I may bring it to Glastonbury anyway and try wearing it in a more relaxed way... I really love the shape too, it's very flattering.

Farewell, speak to you next week! x  

BLUE BEADED SKIRT FROM JIGSAW

BERLIN | PART 2

You can see part 1 of my German adventure here.

On Sunday evening we went to Tempelhof, a disused airport near Neukolln, to watch the sun set. It was most certainly one of the highlights of my trip, the size of the land was immense and there was a lovely, relaxed vibe where people were running, cycling, walking their dogs, hanging out with friends, singing, dancing, having BBQs…. you get the idea! It just felt so strange to be walking around on an aeroplane runway…. its a big place so I'd recommend hiring a bike if you visit!    

As always I was sporting my tartan Mod Dolly dress, and luckily it was cool enough for a lightweight roll neck too, which I love wearing, (okay okay I do miss my autumn winter wardrobe a little)! On our way home that evening we stopped at a bar that had loads of pretty, colourful lights hanging outside in the beer garden, and had cocktails. I had the strongest rum cocktail I'd ever encountered and then we went and took photos in one of the "Photoautomat" photo booths - best €2 I ever spent.

On our final day in Berlin, we arose at 8am, packed, tidied the apartment and checked out. We wanted to try and cram as much as possible into our last afternoon so started our day on a morning boat tour, which also supplied coffee and cake! We then headed back to Mitte for a while as I'd read that there -were lots of vintage shops there; Made in Berlin was really good.

I did enjoy my time in Berlin, walking around a new city discovering new things is one of my favourite things to do! I would like to go back again in 6 months or a year though to try and experience it in a different light… I would say that it's best to plan when visiting a city like this. We intentionally didn't plan in the hope of stumbling across hidden treasures, but although there are loads of unique, cool places in Berlin they seemed very far and few so we did end up walking around nothingness for a lot of our visit! I'd love to go back and go to more art galleries and museums etc too.

Highlights of my trip included the Santa Maria Mexican restaurant, cocktails in Kreuzberg, the Photoautomat machines, The Mauerpark flea market and Tempelhof airport.  

SUMMER DRESSING WITH MONSOON

Hello from my new home! Two weekends ago I moved to a beautiful warehouse conversion in East London; I'm now blessed with more light, space and happiness than I ever thought possible. I was actually contemplating quitting blogging altogether as since moving I've been focussing on other things, this new online project being one of them, but hey, let's give this another shot!

Here I am hanging out in my beautiful new Monsoon dress with one of my new neighbours! Isn't it great being able to leave the house bare leg now? Warm weather makes dressing so much simpler as there are less layers and it's easy to just throw on a dress or t-shirt and shorts. I also bought these sandals from H&M a couple of weeks ago for just £19.99 and I've been living in them ever since - they're super comfy and they go with just about everything!

DRESS FROM MONSOON

H&M SANDALS

NICCE LONDON

I recently came across a super cool new brand called NICCE. NICCE was founded in East London only a year ago and already it's started to make a name for itself; it's simplistic, unisex designs make it the perfect answer to a stress free wardrobe!

Although I do enjoy putting outfits together for shoots, I actually really struggle when it comes to dressing myself. I get overwhelmed when faced with too many colours or patterns, so for everyday dressing I tend to just stick to a strict palette of black, grey and navy… (unless anything else catches my eye of course), and I like simple shapes that speak for themselves so don't need too many accessories. I LOVE a one or two piece outfit, just a simple a-line dress with a cardigan for example, or a baggy jumper over skinny jeans. That's why I'm so pleased I discovered NICCE, I love how simple their designs are and they hane a very basic palette.

I've already got a wish list of things I want for my birthday, including this great lightweight mac, which is so perfect for British weather, and also these jogging bottoms, which look so comfortable!

As I mentioned before, I moved house recently…. it's a great place with a lot of character and I'm living with some amazing friends so am looking forward to a great year ahead! This road is just around the corner from my new house, it's really pretty with lovely gardens and big houses so great for outfit snaps! I've also planned a shoot in the area for next weekend - cross your fingers for good weather!

JUMPER BY NICCE

PLYMOUTH

The weekend before last I headed down to Devon to see my family and also celebrate one of my best friend's engagements! One late afternoon I decided to take my boyfriend to a place in Plymouth where I used to "hang out" loads as a teenager. It's called "The Hoe", weird name I know… I hadn't been there for a couple of years so not only was it nice and nostalgic but I really enjoyed showing Matt around - he got some fab photos of the seafront!

After exploring Plymouth's coast, we met my parents and went to an amazing hidden-away mexican restaurant by the docks. I wore my tartan Mod Dolly dress with my new(isn) vintage blouse, which I bought online from Beyond Retro. (I know you're probably all sick of seeing me wear this dress, what can I say, it's my favourite dress!)  I don't usually like clashing outfits, but I love this faded floral next to the heritage tartan! What do you think?

HAT FROM TOPMAN

GLASSES FROM SWAG & STARE

DRESS BY MOD DOLLY

VINTAGE, FLORAL BLOUSE FROM BEYOND RETRO

DR MARTENS SHOES

OUTFIT | MONOCHROME STRIPES

I was recently sent this adorable stripy top and skirt set by Dahlia - I'm not normally one for stripes but I love how graphic this is and I've been wanting to try the "matchy matchy" thing for ages! The fabric is lovely and thick so keeps its shape and creates a great silhouette, whilst wearing it I felt super happy and just wanted to twirl around in the sunshine!

Sorry if I've been quiet recently by the way, I moved house over the weekend so I've been moving, cleaning, unpacking, organising… that sort of thing… on top of this I have no data left on my phone and now no wifi in my new house! I really miss instagram :(

STRIPY SET BY DAHLIA

SANDALS FROM TOPSHOP

NORFOLK | A SEA OF PINK FLOWERS

Here's just one more outfit from Norfolk - as the weather is so on and off and the moment it's good to carry a cosy jumper, (or a lightweight, waterproof jacket), around just in case it gets chilly or starts to rain! Here I'm wearing a H&M roll neck over a striped dress.... how pretty is this field of pink flowers!?