Resolution.

At the start of the year, whilst travelling around Japan, I made myself a list of New Years Resolutions. Like every new year I start off optimistic and then within a week I have abandoned all hope of keeping them! This year was different. I set realistic, simple things I wanted to do more of, wrote them down, and kept them close by. Sometimes resolutions are just too complicated and the optimism doesn't stand a chance. One of them was to keep up my blogging but to also write about all the things that interest me and not just fashion. You see, when I first started my blog I read a lot of the articles about blogging on specialised websites, which don't get me wrong, were great, but I felt like they put me in a box. The articles were all about 'building readers' and 'sticking to one theme' and 'business of blogging' which is all well and good but I feel like the point of having a blog is that there are no rules. It may not be successful but I am not doing it for success by any means. So therefore, I am getting to my point now I promise, I decided to post more about the things that interest me. Whether it be fashion, art, food, or music, there are no rules and I am not confining this space to a box.

Even though January has been and gone, and nearly has February, 2013 is still fresh and full of endless possibilities. I think it was Hannah Montana who sung "life is what you make it" in one of her songs, and it is! When did she get so wise?

sass and bide Fall RTW 2013.

Photos from style.com

The child in me has always associated yellow and black together with bees. Not the cute Disney version though. The colours always seemed so uncomfortable for some reason. Now the adult in me can't think of a better combination! Sunny yellow has become my favourite colour over the years and to avoid looking like a walking rainbow, black and whites are the best colours to wear it with. So when sass & bide sent down their monochrome, architecturally-inspired, Fall Ready-to-Wear collection with pops of yellow at London Fashion week I was, for lack of a better word, stoked! This is exactly how yellow should be worn: paired back with plain colours to let it do all the talking it deserves.

Kanazawa Travel Diary.

When my boyfriend told me we were going to this town called Kanazawa on the western side of Japan I wasn't too sure what to expect. After realising Kyoto wasn't as small and old as I thought, for some reason I was still expecting Kanazawa to be somewhat quiet and remote... but it wasn't. After the long train ride we were both left feeling a little unwell so we headed straight to our ryokan. Unfortunately most of our time in Kanazawa was spent inside our room as we both came down with the flu. We managed to get out in the afternoon on our first day to see the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art which was well worth it, mostly for the amazing gift shop! As we had to check out the next day we mustered up some strength and went walking around the Kenrokuen Gardens. This was my first time being surrounded by snow and everything just looked so out-of-this-world magical! I could have walked around for days. We stopped for a quick sugar fix at a hidden French cafe and then went on to find the Nagamachi Samurai District. The Samurai District is full of preserved residences which have been restored and made into independent stores that sell local arts and crafts. Kanazawa produces 99% of Japan's gold and is celebrated throughout the town. In one store there was so much excess gold leaf that they covered a whole room, inside and out, with it. You could buy things like gold leaf saki, honey and beauty lotions. It was truly unique. From thinking this would just be a small town experience, Kanazawa was rich in culture and history - just wish we had more time and better health to have seen everything!

Pink @ NYFW Fall RTW 2013.

Photos from style.com and Fashionista

I'm tipping pink as the next big colour... if that is really even a thing! It has been popping up all over the New York Fashion Week street style scene this week and was also a highlight of 3.1 Phillip Lim's collection.

3.1 Phillip Lim Fall RTW 2013.

Photos from style.com

3.1 Phillip Lim Fall RTW 2013, be still my beating heart. I'll take one of every coat and vest plus a pair of the chandelier earrings and those amazing knee high black leather boots!

Oscar de la Renta Fall RTW 2013 .

Photos from style.com

These are my favourite looks from Oscar de la Renta's Fall 2013 Ready-to-Wear collection! I loved the jeweled tones, gold bullion embroidery and the mixing of textures. Apparently John Galliano was on hand backstage and is rumored to have worked on the collection; those dark eyes and marcelled hair are most likely his handy work.

Kyoto Travel Diary.

 

This was one of my favourite and most treasured days in Japan. We hired bikes and rode around Kyoto, seeing landmarks, temples and shrines. It was also the first time that I had ever seen snow! It was such a weird and overwhelming experience but I instantly fell in love with it when I caught a piece on my glove and saw that it actually looks like pictures of snowflakes. I expected Kyoto to be this small, really old, traditional town that I had imagined from Japanese classes in high school. However it was just as metropolitan as everywhere else! Riding around on our bikes with the wind in our hair and the snow flying in our faces made the experience feel all the more authentic. We had the opportunity to explore everything for ourselves, finding places that were both on and off the map. Some of the castles we were hoping to see were unfortunately closed for the New Year holiday but luckily there is no shortage of temples and shrines to in Kyoto! My favourite was called Kinkakuju - a big, beautiful temple plated in gold leaf. It was so majestic, the way the gold leaf reflected off the quiet, flat lake among the trees and rocks was something that needed to be seen and felt to be truly appreciated. Kyoto was full of unexpected adventure and I believe most of that can be put down to exploring on a bike so I definitely recommend it if you go!

Valentines Day Inspiration.

Top: sass and bide
Skirt: Topshop
Clutch: Mimco
Ring: Pandora
Shoes: ASOS
Intimates: Elle Macpherson
Candle: Ecoya
Fragrance: Balenciaga

 When I think of Valentines Day, I think of black, white and red; simple, sexy and seductive. The combination is arresting, bringing out the strong, confident romantic in all. Skip the tacky cards and the fake roses and indulge this Valentines Day with a glamorous outfit, sexy lingerie, heavenly fragrance and a warm scented candle *winks like a Victoria Secret Angel*.

 Whether you are in a relationship or are flying solo - I hope you have a wonderful Valentines!