Beetle & Flor

I'm having a major love fest at the moment with Brooklyn. Not only do my family hail from 8th Avenue and Bayridge; but bklyn also boasts tie twosome Sovereign Beck and edgy jewellers BittersweetsNY. Let's not forget its equally fashionable residents - Beetle and Flor. If you like your design a bit on the edgy side, why not ask Santa for one of their rad animal skulls fitted with an 18k gold grill. Too much? Why not try the gold capped tooth pendant. Much more interesting than a pair of socks...dontcha think?

Check it out at Estsy.com.

kind regards and Happy Holidays!!

advent season: day nine: christmas mixtape

lynsey de paul-sugar me

drugrug- for the rest of your life

jefferson airplane-today

darwin deez-deep sea divers

elton john-benny and the jets

the do-the bridge is broken

the dears- 22: the death of all romance

david bowie-kooks

jefferson airplane-white rabbit

Sometimes I dismiss mix CDs as cliched and pretentious.

But then I give in and embrace the connotations of music snobs, think of High Fidelity, and how much I enjoyed the scene with John Cusack explaining the art of the mixtape. I remember all of the bands and tracks I've come to love after an introduction through a mix. NWA, The Pixies, Elliot Smith, Sebastien Tellier, April March; what if you had never made it onto the playlists my friends so lovingly burnt and passed on? The carefully hand illustrated covers would still lay in a stack in my room but the tracks that turned out to be my favourites would have floated around a musical abyss, unknown until discovery.

I may break the dry spell and make a few mixes again this Christmas and these are some of the tracks I'll be popping on there.

Which tracks are your mixtape essentials?

advent season: day eight: wishlist morality

Working at Topshop, I am, quite naturally exposed to a fairshare of materialism. This is not to say this is something only encountered whilst working in retail, or even to try to pretend I am an anti-capitalism saint (I have a fashion blog afterall..) but at this time of year, with the christmas rush, the demanding nature of people's material needs is increasingly apparent and well, all a bit distasteful.

I've lost count of the amount of flustered mothers and boyfriends I have tended to over the past fortnight. They are armed with wishlists and flailing their shaky hands with a fear of giving gifts that have not been previously specified as wanted. I can identify with that sense of hopelessness during present shopping, the task swamped by cluelessness when facing the idea of buying for a tricky family member. However, hearing resigned Fathers sigh 'these days she just tells me what she wants.. at least then I know she'll be happy..' is all rather heartbreaking and quite frankly tiresome. I hate to come over all Scrooge, but what does this Father's statement (and I've heard numerous identical echoes) say about my generation? That hoards of little Princesses are being bred with a sense of entitlement to receive perfect christmas presents exactly as they wish, is the impression I'm under.

Of course, I know relatives like suggestions to ease the burden of shopping, but when did giving a gift to somebody you love have to be a burden? Any other time of the year it would be both a pleasure to give and receive a little token out of the blue. A little 'I thought this and thought of you, but hey, no worries If you don't like it' gift. This is an era clouded by environmental and financial issues; we're producing more than we need, creating hair-raising amounts of waste and being swept away by the 'instant gratification' ideology. It is with this in mind, combined with the daily sprinkling of the word 'recession' across our newspapers that this mindset seems particularly unsettling.

Can't we look back to bygone eras (I know, nostalgia in such situations can seem cliched and romanticised..but..) and adopt that spirit of quality over quantity? Perhaps a thick paperback and a modest slab of chocolate for christmas time reading and rustling over a stack of shiny new electronic goods (which come with financial heartburn come January..)

When my friends hear that myself and my parents will be exchanging just one book and one food/drink related piece this year, they indeed call me Scrooge in jest and I hate to think I sound self righteous, but why can't this be enough? Less can be more, the element of surprise is refreshing, and most of us live surrounded by enough accumulated clutter. The worse case scenario is that you get lumped with a couple of gifts that aren't your cup of tea. I really can't see that this is true hardship.

Now, this isn't meant to be a rant, though I suppose it is a bit of a vent. I am interested to know your attitudes. I used to write wishlists when I was younger, but since the age of 16 I've been encouraged to buy my own gifts and receive the same amount as the 'adults'. Perhaps you feel differently and can stand up for your traditions or I've overlooked something. Either way, do have a gabber in the comments box!

an apology..

A lump of coal.

A bit stonking lump of coal, heavy and bland with not even the faintest of pretty glittery sparkle to it's surface. That is all I shall be receiving this Christmas because of my appalling lack of posting over the past few days.

All that I really have to say to justify my actions is that, well, I've been busy.

This weekend I went with one of my best friends, Emily to the christmas party of a magazine which consisted of much merryment including a barbershop quartet that bellowed and sing song-ed their way through tunes with lots of witty rhyming and seasonal ineundos.

And halfway through the night just after commenting on a couple of girls across the room and a passing remark of 'ah, emily, they look like us in a parallel universe!' the said emily-lookalike came up to me and said she recognised me from the blog. Me and Emily sort of spluttered our wine in wonderment, the two lovelies joined us and well, by the end of the evening we were all jolly good friends.

I went back to their flat, and really, think I must go back and take photographs for you all. It was the real-life equivalent of scrolling through a particularly rewarding tumblr page filled with marvellous interiors pictures. Really, I cannot quite describe my reaction when I walked in and was greeted not only by a rail of furs but also a victorian beach changing tent and walls full of ornate framed portraits of anonymous women. These two ladies (Sophie and Sophie) shall surely have to be making an appearance on the blog sometime soon.

Now, after all the commotion I shall resume with the Advent blogging. I've run away to my lovely Granny's flat for a few days while she is away in Morocco as I'm really craving my own space (sorry parents, but I've well and truly arrived at that wanting to move out stage..) and her backdrop of quashy floral sofas, expansive book collection (a comprehensive journey through classic literature to dotty sciencey-new-age bibles..) and enough DVDs to make a film geek foam at the mouth. Throw in lots of teas, herbal remedies and the familiarity of a Grandparent's house and I'm beginning to think 'sod university' and consider staying here forever..

Elephantito Girl's Holiday Tweed Dress and Matching Boy's Tweed Slacks

Elephantito’s Holiday Tweed Dress is perfect with its round collar, puffy sleeves and beautiful taffeta sash with bow.

Elephatito Boys look just as dashing with their tweed slacks paired with a classic shirt and red sweater.

Sugar3 Custom Boutique Handmade Holiday Outfits

Sugar3 Custom Boutique offers handmade and custom children's clothing and gifts on eBay - search: "Sugar3" to find their collection.

Check out their adorable Custom Boys Sugar3 GR!NCH 3pc Set!

Everything But The Princess Holiday Sale - 70% Off and Free Shipping

Everything But The Princess is offering up to 70% off and Free Shipping.

Don't miss their amazing "Santa Specials" this Holiday Season.

Take for example this adorable White With Red Satin Ribbon Pettiskirt and Red Ruffle Top by Kaiya Eve that makes the perfect holiday outfit!