17 May 2013

Friday Fun

So I told you about my renewed love for Etsy earlier this week.

So I thought I would try and write a weekly post about lovely things.

This little item has been in my basket for a few week now. From RootedIn Succulents, hello fabulous.

 

 

They are $130 each which is rather steep and I imagine they could only be shipped without plants (if at all!) but perhaps the inspiration is enough? Very tempted to try and make my own. Not that I’ve made a dovetail joint since I was 12!

Do you like?

Imagine having these in your new family name displayed in your kitchen! Love.

I’m looking forward to my weekly trip to Etsy! Do you have a favourite shop? Or do you sell through Etsy? Would love to hear from you.

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16 May 2013

Forget The Great Gatsby – what men should really wear

Yes, yes, yes.

If I could turn back time and have been born into aristocratic family with matriarchal powers which would have allowed me to attend university to study egyptology in the 1920s, I would turn back that time right now. Oh the time would be back already. I adore the 1920s and the style of the trailblazers.

However, The Great Gatsby, bah humbug. Let’s focus on men’s style that men can actually look hot in.

I only have one example because I’m sort of swooning a little too much. The rather dishy Chris Pine. Oh my, my poor weak heart. Yes ladies and gents, the double breasted suit is slowly making it’s way back.

Bean will surely have a few things to say because it’s not perfect but yes, chaps you can look delicious. Let’s just take an moment to appreciate.

Of course, double breasted suits are rather difficult to wear if you aren’t quite slim as Mr Pine. And if you are to buy just one suit, I probably wouldn’t suggest a double breasted beast.

And yes, Bean might say the jacket is a little too small in the waist and I’m sure he’ll think the sleeves are too short. (And maybe the trousers too, but that’s difficult to see when he’s moving). Oh and patterned shirt and a patterned tie and a patterned pocket square is a little like overkill.

Oh but the shoes. Yes, the shoes are hot!

Yes, this is a good wedding look. Please look further than morning suits which just don’t work. The Great Gatsby will be great for styling inspiration and what not but please, please, please don’t urge your man into a style which is just not that fabulous on most people.

 

Posted in Men's Style | Tagged , , , | 1 Response
15 May 2013

Etsy Love

If you’ve followed me for a long time you’ll know how much I used to love Etsy. Back when there wasn’t a whole load of regretsy (sadly now defunct). If I’m honest, I haven’t bought anything since last April but that’s not to say my cart doesn’t have 99 items sitting and waiting for me to purchase them! Oh and my wedding was filled with Etsy touches, from the Gocco machine I bought to print our invitations to the pins I gave my bridesmaids as one of their presents, if I could find it on Etsy it was mine! If only now could be a time of many presents with pretty stamps!

So Etsy, with it’s love for small shops and love of all the stuff means it is definitely my cup of tea. Obviously not everyone is lovely but I’ve never dealt with anyone who wasn’t happy to help me in any way even after all my inane questions. (Usually, sorry I’m from the other side of the Pond related!).

It’s just a case of knowing how to look for what you want. You can trawl through everything and anything. Whilst it is helpful to be specific, in case you fancy a ceramic unicorn planter,* it does help to be less restrictive with searches and thinking about how the colonies might phrase something. *No I wasn’t actually looking for it but I saw it and “needed” it!

Hence top tip #2, if you want something that’s one of a kind and perfect, buy it! An amazing antique grey velvet cape I watched for ages to come down in price, which it did, but I got cold feet because it was still rather expensive got snapped up, my heart cried a teeny bit.

Anyhoo, I was invited to Etsy UK’s first little toe dip into the wedding fun last week. Obviously, I’d forgotten to charge my camera so I hope a little A Beautiful Mess instagram magic will keep you entertained!

Yes please I want this amazing besequinned gown from Willowmoone, sorry other vendors, this stole the show. Epic dress. Please one of my lovely readers could you wear this on your wedding day? If not it may have to be me and it won’t look half as lovely.

Thank goodness there was a little for the chaps too. I’m not sure if these are quite to Bean’s taste but I think they are rather snazzy!

 These are from Mukshy.

An amazing cut out from comeuppance who also make pretty jewels!

And I adored this hoop of joy from Squibbly Bups I made something very similar but infinitely less pretty for my bridesmaids. (It’s so nice to see the little things you’ve made for people in their home years after!)

Hello hat I want muchly. Also from Willowe Moone. Yeah, you’re pretty much going to want to buy everything from that shop! I know I do!

All in all, I am loving the UK deliciousness. There was a multitude of stationery too but I think that can wait for another day!

So do try and have some Etsy fun. I promise it’s worth it, although Bean may not agree from a fiscal point of view!

Oh and now you can get local shop updates by email. It sure takes out the worry of asking for postage from far away lands!

Do you have a secret favourite etsy shop. Mine would have to be the not so secret Paloma’s Nest.

Posted in Inspired | 1 Response
14 May 2013

Celebrity Weddings

Last week we saw teeny snippets of Keira Knightley’s wedding to James Righton of Klaxon fame. So as I type I think it’s only fitting to listen to some MC Solaar.

I’m not particularly a fan of Keira, but I do love the way she stands up for small breasted ladies everywhere! And I have to confess I loved her nuptials in Love Actually (not so much the stalker part but the amazing Lynden David Hall part).

And so the wedding. The press loved it because it was relatively subdued and in a time of fiscal issues going all out is seen to be a sin.

She looked like a very happy lady on the way to the Hôtel de Ville, a lady who is oft surrounded by excess the laid back affair must have been incredibly appealing. (Although note her jacket was Chanel, her guests were elites and we no nothing about the wedding reception where they could have been drinking virgin’s blood from the skulls of Somali pirates with their heads high after quaffing Ortolan). I just don’t know.

But should we all move to the laid back affair?

I would like to counter that such “celebrities” live in a different world. Perhaps with their hearts beating in a different way. Each year in the glare of the world is the equivalent of 7 years. I’m not suggesting that they are dogs, but the way they move through life with engagements, divorces and other relationships is on a different plane to us mere mortals.

I think it’s why they seem to speed through relationships. After the human equivalent of 10 years together, they have been faithful and lived an entire life with their partner. Of course they might want to shake things up a little. I imagine the 7 year itch after just one rotation of the earth around the sun is excruciating and in a world of temptation can they really be blamed. Is forever, really forever?

To be part of the A list, no matter how hard you try, means that the rules don’t really apply. Each day for them could be a wedding day for us. Their Oscars are our wedding. Each day at work could be better than most of our weddings. So of course they would want to eschew the ridiculous excess which they experience on a daily basis. (We are excluding any Kardashian in this. 1. Because they aren’t real people and 2. They are not celebrities).

So yes, let’s applaud Keira for having the wedding she wanted (assuming it was the wedding she wanted) and again emphasise that you should have the wedding you want. Yes there will always be sacrifices, even if you elope, but work on what’s important to you.

What is important to you, being surrounded by 8 or 800 people? The dress, the shoes, the matching napkins? Is spending money important because you want your wedding to look like the magazines or actually because it’s an experience you want to treasure.

Honestly, I really wouldn’t change that much about my wedding. Yes it’s a huge amount of money. Yes it is just one day and yes it is not the be all and end all. But, and this goes sort of against everything I’ve ever thought, go big if you want to (and can afford it). It is just one day but you are allowed to treat yourself and your loved ones.

Posted in Let's Get Serious | Tagged | 1 Response
09 May 2013

An Evening at Hawksmoor

Last week I was lucky enough to be invited to Hawksmoor’s Guildhall restaurant so we could help spread the word that they’re happy and ready to host wedding receptions.  Hawksmoor is pretty much one of my favourite places in London (any of their restaurants really of which I’ve been to three and Anna bought me their cookbook for Valentine’s Day which, she will tell you, is probably the best present she has ever got me) so when I heard they had started doing weddings, I began to slightly regret rushing in to marrying Anna after only ten years and missing out on having our own wedding there.

For those of you not familiar, Hawksmoor started in East London a few years ago and has established itself as basically the place to go for steak in London.  Their formula is simple: great cocktails and the finest beef, responsibly sourced.  Their Guildhall branch in the City is packed to the rafters during the week but closed at weekends, so they’ve decided to open their doors to brides, grooms and their (up to 130) guests.

Of course the main selling point here is to food, and they certainly don’t disappoint.  I am, of course, a big fan and have been to three of their restaurants (including Guildhall) over the years, so I was curious to see how their “wedding” food compares to their usual output.  You’ll be pleased to hear that everything was at least as good as I remembered: tasty canapes (though, if I am honest, the mini grilled cheese sandwiches were maybe a little big as canapes go), a lovely pear, walnut and Stilton salad and of course, what everyone was waiting for, the steaks.  An array of different steaks, all perfectly cooked, arrived on little iron dishes with a selection of side-dishes and sauces for us all to share and followed by a delightful sticky toffee pudding.

 

 

Their service is also excellent.  This is a high-end restaurant in the City, and a very busy one, so while the staff are friendly (but not too chummy) they very much know what they’re doing and what they’re talking about.  So who wouldn’t want to get married in a steakhouse?  Well, the decor might be a bit dark and “old boy’s club” for some,  but it’s simple, unfussy and can be dressed virtually any way you can imagine and it has the rare combination of high-end food, space for a dancefloor and a late license.

If I was to do the whole wedding thing again there’s a good chance I’d decide to do it here.  And no, I’m not just saying that because they gave me a free dinner.

Posted in The Bean's Talk | 2 Responses

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