Thursday, September 20, 2012

Thursday Travels: Nice and Monaco

Nice is definitely nice, but we wouldn't be the huuugest fans (at least I wouldn't...Vic isn't too keen on Paris so in making the Paris/Nice comparison, she doesn't really favour one over the other). The only two occasions I've been to Nice have been directly after visiting Paris, and in my opinion, it just always seems kinda boring. Some people really love the gentler pace and sunnier clime of this French Riviera city after the bustle and grime of the capital, but I find it a bit meh. I mean, obviously I don't dislike it - it is charming and pretty and the surrounding landscape is absolutely stunning. 


{Nice is kinda nice, I guess}


{Just sooo much of this}

{Loved all the warm, sunset-coloured buildings though}

{Nice seems to have its very own colour palette - every place seemed to have yellow & burgundy decor}

{No idea why this one was so sulky, after being so well-fed and all!}

We did a lot of walking in Nice. Our hotel was by the train station, in the somewhat less salubrious part of town, so the walk in to the city centre was a good twenty minutes through lots of drab streets like this: 


We did make some interesting discoveries, though, like the fact that there exists a type of burger called "Bicky"!!! So of course Vicky and Becky had to have their picture with it.

{Vicky + Becky = Bicky! Still no idea what exactly this "bicky" burger consists of...}

{We also did boring things like laundry}

{Posing in the Place Masséna - Nice's main square}

We then took an evening trip to Monaco. We were only there for about 2 hours so didn't have too much time to explore. After briefly having a look at the legendary Monte Carlo casino, we went in search of somewhere for a bite to eat...but the part of town we were in was strangely deadsville (seriously, there was no one around) and the only place we could find was this fancy outdoor Haagen Dazs. So ice cream for dinner it was. And there were no complaints. 

{Casino}

{There were actual menus...}

{...and actual tables and chairs and even a hostess at the front like in a proper restaurant. So weird.}

{Every bit as good as it looks}

{Monaco at dusk}

{Sea front views}

And then it was goodbye to the glamour of Monaco (well, supposed glamour - it was super soulless when we were there) and back to our shabby little Nicean hotel. And a little midnight snack at the Chinese across the road from us. Delicious and elegantly-served as that ice cream was, it wasn't very sustaining. 

{Chips and chow mein - classy}

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Subdued Sparkle

Mixing greys and blacks is one of the simplest ways of throwing an outfit together when you're in a rush. Just have a rummage through your closet and layer clothes of varying textures in these tones for an understated, work-appropriate look. To keep it from looking too sedate, pair with a strong lip colour, silver jewellery, and jewel-embellished ballet flats. 









Black top - Twelve by Twelve at Forever 21 (via sister Claudia ;-)
Grey skirt - Gap
Grey tights - Gap
Ballet flats - Next
Silver ring - Suzy Shier
Silver bracelet - gift from India from my godfather
Lipstick - "Desert Rose" by Elizabeth Arden

*The out-takes from this little photo shoot are totally mortifying, by the way. I am terrible at posing for the camera. When I tried to smile without teeth I ended up having this creepy little smirk reminiscent of Sheldon from The Big Bang Theory, but when I smiled with teeth, I somehow chanelled the Obsessive Girlfriend Meme. Not the best of looks.


Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Five Laughs

Tuesday already?! Wow, this week has just flown by! Sorry about the lack of a post on Friday, lovely readers - our internet was acting up and was dodgy all weekend; it seems ok now...fingers crossed it'll stay that way. We were just at Safeway today, and all the massive, industrial-sized boxes of Halloween candy are already out in full-force. Even though neither of us are huge fans of the celebration (we're more Christmas kinda girls), it was still pretty exciting to see :-) Love love love this time of year! And we hope you love love love our five laughs of the week!

Car Ride

I'd buy that.

Mr. Bean as Lady Gaga. i'm dying.

Permpkern Sperce Lahter! It's derlershers!

makes me want to pick up cross stitching lol

Monday, September 17, 2012

Star Style: Virgo

Hey Virgos! Not only is the sun in your sign at the moment, but it's also time for the Virgo edition of Star Style. As we always say, it's a good idea to have a look at the other planets in your chart (which you can do by typing your date of birth here http://ephemeris.com/ephemeris.php ). Virgo comes after Leo and before Libra, so you may find you have more in common with one of these signs. But if you are a detail-oriented, hardworking, thoughtful perfectionist, you are a true Virgo, and we hope you enjoy this post!

File:Virgo2.jpgVIRGO (22nd August - 22nd September)
Symbol: The Virgin
Element: Earth
Colour: Navy blue, green, dark brown, cream
Gem: Sapphire, sardonyx
Flower: Lavender, poppy, morning glory, chrysanthemum 
Traits: Meticulous, diligent, reliable, kind-hearted and intelligent, but can be overly critical, cautious, and worry too much. 
Your Style: You are chic and stylish in a very classic, understated way. You don't like anything too loud or showy, instead opting for feminine pieces in subdued colours. 




FAMOUS VIRGOS
         {Beyonce Knowles}                                  {Blake Lively}                                {Nicole Richie}                                                         

{Cameron Diaz}                                     {Rachel Bilson}                               {Michelle Williams}

{Salma Hayek}                                      {Emmy Rossum}                        {Shania Twain}

{Claudia Schiffer}                                  {Lea Michele}                                 {Florence Welch}


TOP TEN STYLE PICKS FOR VIRGOS

Virgo



1. Navy Coat: A classic coat in one of Virgo's lucky colours is both practical and eternally stylish.
Warehouse - warehouse.co.uk


2. White Jeans: You are one of the few signs that can pull off white jeans simply because you're so neat and tidy; you rarely spill things on your clothes and always look immaculate! 
Mango skinny jeans - houseoffraser.co.uk


3. Boat Neck Dress: A dress like this is both classy and cute; dress it up with a statement necklace or wear it plain as a statement in its own right. 
Orla kiely - orlakiely.com


4. Sapphire Bangles: Sapphire is your lucky gem, but chances are you don't want to flaunt it with a big, garish ring...take a more subtle approach by mixing sapphire (faux or real) bangles with other metallics. 
Chamak by Priya Kakkar handcrafted jewelry - endless.com


5. Leather Doctor Bag: A bag in a neutral colour (and ideally with a stylishly prim "doctor" handle) is perfect for practical yet chic Virgos. 
Dooney bourke - lordandtaylor.com

6. Lace Pencil Skirt: You love "office-wear" and probably already own several pencil skirts. Lace adds a bit of interest to this classic look.
Prabal Gurung pencil skirt - barneys.com


7. Liquid Eyeliner: You are definitely the most meticulous sign of the zodiac, and as such, have the patience and eye for detail necessary to creating the perfect winged eyeliner look. 
Illamasqua - debenhams.com


8. Coco Mademoiselle Perfume: This perfume, with its combination of citrus and floral notes, is feminine without being cloying. 
Chanel perfume - nordstrom.com

9. Oxfords/Brogues: This style of shoe is so Virgo, in that it's both practical and chic. 
Oxford shoes - topshop.com

10. Snood: Keep cosy in a chunky, knitted snood of a neutral hue. 
Cable Snood - jigsaw-online.com


Images:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Virgo2.jpg
http://www.onepakistan.com/showbiz/news/music/7157-beyonce-jay-z-threw-star-tantrums-in-hospital.html 
http://www.fanpop.com/spots/blake-lively/images/27922678/title/blake-lively-photo
http://beauty.about.com/od/promhairstyle1/ss/promhaircasual_7.htm
http://www.exposay.com/nicole-richie-teen-vogue-young-hollywood-party/p/9791/0/?j=36204
http://www.best-hairstyles.org/wavy-hairstyles/rachel-bilson-long-wavy-hairstyles.html
http://www.stylebistro.com/lookbook/Short+Straight+Cut/Michelle+Williams
http://www.bestcelebrityhairstyles.com/salma-hayek-hairstyles/salma-hayek-hair-2/
http://www.karaoke-lyrics.net/photos/emmy-rossum-14630/28212
http://www.usmagazine.com/celebrities/shania-twain
http://people.zap2it.com/p/claudia-schiffer/1556
http://www.peoplestylewatch.com/people/stylewatch/package/gallery/0,,20332854_20334833_20729822,00.html
http://www.topnews.in/light/people/florence-welch


Friday, September 14, 2012

Thursday Travels: Prague, Czech Republic

Prague definitely ranks up there amongst our favourite cities ever. It kind of took us by surprise how much we liked it, as we didn't really know what to expect. Unlike with cities such as Paris, Rome and London that you just know you're going to love before you've even set foot in them, we entered the Czech capital with indifferent expectations, and left it true Praha (its Czech name) lovers.

It was just the perfect combination of majestic, fairy-tale buildings, lively streetlife, good shops, beautiful gardens...in short, a very well-rounded city. There's a lot to see and do, and we left it without seeing nearly as much as we wanted to in the day and a half we were there so we will absolutely, most definitely be back!

{Old Town Square by day}


{The stunning Church of Our Lady before Týn}

{The Prague Astronomical Clock}

{The St Charles Bridge}

Compared to other cities in Europe, Prague seemed to have an abundance of all the typical Western chains - Starbucks, McDonalds, KFC, etc. - which brought so much joy to our greedy little North American hearts. (As much as we loved Italy, we just could not love/get used to their idea of a coffee - everywhere you went, a cappuccino to go was watery and tepid, and served in the teensiest cup, like the sample size ones Starbucks gives out). But in addition to Starbucks, Prague has its own delectable cafe chain, Coffee Heaven, which received a hearty two thumbs up from us. 

{FYI, the filling to pastry ratio of that delicacy on the left was amaaaaazing}


























{Vic in Coffee Heaven!}

The one sketchy culinary experience was this little scene below - simply because at the time we were visiting Europe, there was an E. coli scare, with lettuce, cucumbers and tomatoes being the offending culprits. Even though the deadly outbreak was largely in Germany, it did make us a bit wary of consuming those particular veggies...

 {Basically Czech sausage rolls with a side of E.coli}


{But you can always rely on a good old Mickey D's!}

{We hadn't seen a mall of this magnitude for nigh on a month...delirious excitement ensued}

{The most beautiful Mango shop}

{Posing in the gardens of Prague Castle}

{So intriguing!}

The second afternoon, we somehow found ourselves in a kinda random part of town where Becky found this abandoned physics textbook from the '50s just chilling by a fountain. Despite it being (a) entirely in Czech, (b) weighing roughly fifteen pounds, (c) about PHYSICS (heheh sorry Becky, I know it's your major but that stuff ain't exactly a walk in the park!) and (d) potentially the precious property of some starving student who put it down for a split second with the intention of returning...she claimed it for her own, and named it Trotsky.

{Becky and her baby}

And then we went in search of the Jewish Quarter...and oy vey, was it a trek! We got lost several times, the day was hot and we were very hangry, but eventually we found it, and its sombre beauty was definitely worth the hassle. 

{One of several synagogues in the area} 

{The 13th-century Old New Synagogue}

And then it was back to the Town Square, which was thronged with people and even more charming by night!

{Prague by night}

{Starbs!}

{Goodniiiight!}

Image 4: http://theswissrock.wordpress.com/2012/06/30/city-hopper-prague/

Wednesday, September 12, 2012

10 Items For Autumn

As you may have observed, we are very fond of making a good list over here. And lists involving clothes sorta come top of our list of favourite lists to make! So on that note, here is a compilation of our top 10 items of clothing/accessories for autumn. With these ten picks, you can mix and match to create any number of fab, season-appropriate outfits. 



Autumn




1. Leather Boots: Invest in the best boots your budget will allow, because believe us - you will get an insane amount of wear out of them. 
Tory Burch round toe boots - toryburch.com


2. Khaki Parka: The military look is in vogue yet again this fall, so pay a subtle nod to the trend with army-green outerwear. 
River Island hooded jacket - riverisland.com


3. Button-Up Shirt: Layer them under cardis, pair them with skirts or jeans - there are so many ways to wear a button-up. Have a solid colour or two in your wardrobe, but also look out for cute printed ones. 
Hollister Co club top - hollisterco.com


4. Flared Skirt: This style of skirt is universally flattering, and the perfect complement to #5.
J Crew full pleated skirt - jcrew.com


5. Interesting Tights: Bright colours, sweet prints, luxurious textures - unique tights can be a real statement piece. 
Red pantyhose - modcloth.com

6. Jumper Dress: Also known as a sweater dress, this cosy look is as chic as it is comfortable.
Vanessa Bruno Athé fair isle dress - theoutnet.com


7. Snood: There is something so comforting about a snood - it's like having a little cocoon wrapped around your neck. Perfect for chilly early mornings.
Miso scarve - republic.co.uk

8. (Cool) Backpack: Ditch the JanSport and update your look with a more grown-up leather backpack. 

Fat Face leather drawstring bag - fatface.com

9. Woolly Cardigan: As with #1, buy the best-quality you can, because you will wear the heck out of an oversized cardi - it's just one of those pieces that goes with pretty much everything. 
Long sleeve top - coggles.com

10. Coloured Denim: Look for jeans in autumnal hues like berry, forest green, burgundy and mustard. 
H&M slim leg pants - hm.com