Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Lemon Incest

Yellow mood board

I'm experiencing a craving for all things yellow. When I'm out sales shopping my eyes are constantly drawn to the colour. From floaty sherbet-coloured skirts to mustard vests I can't get enough of it. It's strange for me because it is a colour that has not done a lot for me in the past. Until recently I was convinced it was unsuitable for me, causing my naturally pale skin to look jaundiced. Now I've decided that I don't care if it does, plus it's much less of an issue with coloured trews and skirts. The first yellow item of clothing I owned since being a small child was a dark yellow jumper from Uniqlo and I just bought a pale yellow pleated skirt (something else I can't get enough of) in the Massimo Dutti sale.

I love this song, despite the rather disturbing lyrical content, particularly with the father/daughter duet - they both have great voices though

Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Goodbye to Gilda

Still from the Rita Hayworth film 'Gilda' that the brand takes its name from
Since I've been writing this blog I've brought up my work a fair few times. Since October last year I have been working in the Covent Garden boutique of a wonderful jewellery brand called Gilda's Tryst who make pearl and gemstone jewellery that takes inspiration from classic vintage styles and adds a modern twist. Due to various reasons I have decided to move on to pastures new. Taking some time out to recharge before looking for work again - if any one wants to offer me a job please don't hesitate to contact me!

Instagramming myself at work - I've acquired so much black clothing because of this job!
But in all seriousness, I'm really sad to be leaving. Not only because of the loss of staff discount but because of how much I've enjoyed working in the shop. Although I've mainly worked alone in the shop I've still been fortunate enough to meet some of the other girls who work in the shops who are all lovely, as well as the owners; Shireen and Amanda who are just about the nicest bosses I can imagine having. The boutique was always a relaxed place to work as the customers were always really pleasant and it was great to be selling something I liked so much. As a final goodbye I've picked out some of my favourite pieces that I'm debating getting before I go.


Goodbye Gilda

Saturday, July 21, 2012

East Street, Cheap Pan-Asian on the Hoof

Bright signs form the background to eating at East Street: Tom Yam soup, Summer Roll and Gyoza
East Street, the new pan-Asian joint off Oxford street aims to recreate the experience of an east Asian hawker centre in London. Hawker centres are the original street food markets selling traditional delicacies fir low prices. They are the thing that my friends from Singapore, a country whose citizens seem to universally be foodies, say they miss most often.

 In order to create a similar atmosphere the interior of eat street is what you might expect if you had taken a Wagamamas and put the designers of legoland in charge after a fact finding mission to a Moroccan souk. A large open space is populated by wooden tables, bright plastic chairs and neon signs. I can't speak for the authenticity of this but I couldn't help but like it. It was fun, with some humour in the signs breaking up what could otherwise be a cold space.

Early Learning Centre meets industrial chiq
The place seems designed to be a chain and I could see it being rolled out to other locations with ease if people take to the food.

The other half and I ate there a few weeks ago en route between work and the pub to watch the football final (well, he watched). As we were in a hurry we went for the express menu which offered a main dish and side for a very reasonable £7.50.

Service was a little abrupt but efficient and our starters arrived quickly. My summer rolls were as I would hope; fresh and crunchy with a good amount of prawn although I did miss the usual peanut sauce to dip them in. Gyoza were also decent enough, though the filling was a little bland. Soon after arrived two steaming bowls. Tom Yam soup was almost overpoweringly flavoured with sour/spice with a lack of veggies and noodles to temper it but still quite satisfying. I'm told that the coconut curry was rather bland (though the spoonful I had seemed pleasant in a creamy, comforting sort of way) but he enjoyed it after adding a good dose of sriracha (a good selection of sauces was provided at the table).

The East Street sweets provided at the end of the meal were a very sweet touch
Overall it was an enjoyable meal and I have no complaints given the price. Although the food is not stand out if I am in the area and needing a quick meal or going out with a big group I would certainly bear it in mind: the food is well priced (the main menu dishes are generally under £10) with good portions and a lot more fun and variety than Wagamama or similar which I would place in the same bracket. I'll be really interested to see the future of this one as it seems perfect for expansion into a chain as Asian cookery other than Japanese and Chinese is gaining popularity.


East Street Restaurant on Urbanspoon

Friday, July 20, 2012

Here we. Here we. Here we f***ing go!

T in the Park day 1
DAY 1: Dress up Friday was Fairytale themed. DRESS & EARRINGS: H+M, HEADBAND: random stall at the festival, WINGS: Angels
Hello again, sorry for the absence. I went away the weekend before last to T in the Park and have only just got caught up with things back here! I've wanted to go to a festival since I was still at school  but till now I've not been organised enough to get tickets. So when my friend texted the night before T in the Park tickets were released to ask if I wanted to go I didn't hesitate, practical considerations of getting from London didn't cross my mind.The title for this post is the Scottish chant that happened for pretty much every act, as first we were quite confused what they were saying (especially my Ukrainian friend) as it changed based on the name of the act. Also please excuse the dodgy poses in these photos - I wasn't doing outfit photos per say and these are the only shots that show what I wore!