Holiday Snaps

The Texan and I have a growing collection of old photographs and photo albums (it all started many years ago with Miriam and Hans - my first blog post, no less!), and I'd say at least three-quarters of them are holiday snaps.  It seems to me that, at least for those that could afford it, holidays in the 1930s, 40s and 50s were obligatorily well documented - each photo carefully composed and cropped, and then lovingly placed at perfect right-angles in a photo album, saved for a rainy day of reminiscing.  Now those photos live underneath my coffee table, and occasionally the Texan and I will pull them out and flick through these familiar strangers' holiday snaps, making up funny narratives as we do.

It makes me sad to think that our holiday snaps of today never seem to make it into an album - who will be there in 60 years' time to make up narratives about our trip to Paris?!  I suppose in a way this little blog is the 21st century's version of a photo album, but a computer screen doesn't quite feel the same, does it?

These are just the tip of the iceberg of the photos we took in Paris (there's a second instalment to come on Sunday, I couldn't narrow them down to a single blog post so I do hope you don't get bored of these!).  What a beautiful city!  A particular highlight for me was meeting the sweetest (and itchiest, eww!) French Terrier at Le Pure Cafe - the Texan and I took the same walk as Céline and Jesse and ended up having tea at exactly the same table as they did - aww.

Brighten Up!

I'm taking a slight diversion from my Paris adventures this weekend to tell you a little bit about a competition which Cath Kidston is currently running - they want you to tell them about your favourite landmarks and features of your hometown, and why it deserves its very own Cath Kidston design. The winning nominated town will receive a bespoke, handmade piece of art featuring your favourite landmarks - pretty cool, eh?!  I think London is actually quite a tricky one for this because there are so many iconic landmarks and unique places to visit.  After much debating with the Texan, I went for a little street in Shoreditch which still feels like a Londoner's slice of London (a rare thing these days): Columbia Road.  It's possibly the only place in London where I don't mind a crowd - in fact, it wouldn't be the same without its obligatory early morning bundling!  The wafting smell of bacon sarnies, the sound of a fiddle and an out-of-tune banjo being played a way down the cobbled street, the unintelligible calls of the market traders, dodging giant bouquets of mimosas and hyacinths and pugs and dobermans - there's no where quite like it, and that's why I think it should win!

You can enter Cath Kidston's Brighten Up competition here - I'd love to hear the reasons why your town should be nominated, so let me know in the comments!

What I'm wearing  |  Dress: c/o Cath Kidston  |  Jacket, bag and loafers: Zara  |  Straw bag: Columbia Road market  |  Umbrella: c/o Cath Kidston

P.S.  Just a quick shout-out to Lucy of Pudding Lane who came to say hello to me and the Texan while having brunch at Clutch (both are new discoveries, and both are definitely worth a visit!) - really lovely to meet you!

Trocadéro

Freedom feels good!  The number of emails flashing at me on my BlackBerry is growing by the second, but I have no fear-induced desire to read them - my out of office is well and truly on, and it's staying on!  The Texan and I have been celebrating by eating far too much cheese, and roast duck, and iles flottantes (the Texan's new favourite), and creme caramel, and coffee eclairs...the eating never stops... I'll be surprised if we don't come home with type 2 diabetes!

Paris is beautiful, as always, and the light first thing yesterday morning was perfection - we couldn't have timed it better if we tried.  Photo-taking and jumping around in front of la tour Eiffel, c'est magnifique!

What I'm wearing  |  Coat and dress: Orla Kiely (I went a bit crazy in the sale...)  |  Fur collar: Vintage  |  Beret: Market stall, Paris  |  Ankle boots: M&S  |  Bag: Longchamp

Seconded

As I write this, I'm sitting in my PJs, all bunged up with a nasty cold - tomorrow is my last day at work before I go on secondment to a client at Canary Wharf, and I think my body has given up!  The last year and a half of my training contract has been challenging, exciting and exhausting all at the same time.  Needless to say, I've earned my six months of normal working hours and evenings spent practising my ukulele and taking photographs.

I visited my new workplace earlier this week and all I can say is that Canary Wharf is literally the windiest place on the planet!  Luckily (I suppose?) for me, I can access my new office without even having to go outside - I just jump off the Jubilee line, go up a few escalators, and there I am, in Canada Square.  Canary Wharf is such an odd place - it feels like you've stepped back 20 years into some Americanised version of London, with its impeccably clean streets and corporate glean.  It even smells "corporate", if you know what I mean?!  I certainly stood out in my bright red coat - like Elle Woods on her first day at Harvard, I thought - as I gazed upwards at the six months ahead of me.

What I'm wearing  |  Coat: Orla Kiely  |  Fur collar: Vintage  |  Houndstooth skirt: Vintage, Digs & Threads  |  Turtle neck: American Apparel  |  Bag: Michael Kors  |  Shoes: Topshop

P.S. The Texan and I are finally off to Paris this week before I officially start working life at the Wharf - I've got lots of tres francais photo shoots planned, so stay tuned!