best. news. ever.

After writing my post below I of course tweeted Clarks Originals my blog post, and shortly got the amazing reply below:

Such great news and actually really nice that they are so on top of their twitter account. So many retailers and brands seem silent, but @Clarksoriginals are an excellent example of how it should be done. Urban Outfitters are another, who truly embrace the social media scene and use it to their advantage as a way to promote the brand, and communicate with their customer.

desert khan.

These NEED to be made for girls. Clarks, if you are reading please bring out the Desert Khan in ladies sizes.

I am a massive fan of my Clarks Originals, but sadly the Desert boot is as far as it goes. The Originals are excellent quality, and although you can get exact replicas at other retailers for a snip of the price, they will not last. 

The Suede is durable, holds its shape but gives nicely for comfort at the same time, and most of all they are just so comfortable. The style is so classic, and I have bought the Khans for my brother, my boyfriend, and my dad but what I really want is to buy them for myself. 

Clarks have done collaborations with Poste at OFFICE shoes which have been just tasty but again for men.... will the female Clarks Originals fans out there ever get to indulge?

yoko.

There really is nothing worse than pining after something so bad after you have seen it, even when no matter how skint you are... you just. have. to. have. it.

John Lewis Yoko

Please let me introduce the above.... the John Lewis Yoko bed linen.

I saw this way back in October when I moved into my current flat, but (unlike John Lewis) I could not get my hands on a Double size anywhere.

Months later, I am back up in Nottingham supposedly spending money on Mum for her birthday but there it is; a double. I know if I decide not to get it due to a lack of funds, I will never forgive myself and the chance may not come round again so I gave in.... very quickly.

Brightens up my small one bedroom flat in London a treat, and I do not regret it for a second. 

Poached eggs on toast for a week but oh so worth it.

jubilee.

Run up to the Diamond Jubilee in London is getting exciting for sure, but today I saw a petal faced Queen on Old Street which I thought was B-E-A-Utiful.

The time this must have taken is unimaginable, but the end is so worth it. The creative florist window this is in is McQueens, in between Barbican and Old Street station on Old Street. Well worth a look if you are nearby.

pinterest.

Love the idea of Pinterest, and despite it being yet another form of social networking I really enjoy how creative it is.

Sadly I am a laptop-less at the moment, and "pinning" is difficult on the iPhone, but as soon as I am back up and running I can't wait to start compiling some boards.

Find me here.....

birthday card.

My family can be slightly competitive when it comes to getting the funniest card for a birthday, so much so that my sister and I would often get the same card for the same relative.

The only way to beat her is to of course make my own.

Always personal to the receiver, sometimes maybe a little too personal, but that is all the fun.

chloe jade green.

LOVE the jade green soles of the Chloe Jade Green shoe collection preview. Set to launch on May 17th in Topshop the sneak preview image on her website sets a good precedent for the rest of the collection.

Inspired by Louboutin they may well be, but hey, they look good.

ikea to build east london neighbourhood.

This new development planned by IKEA does sound great, but think of all the empty derelict buildings already standing in East London that could be given a new lease of life with the money?

I can't deny it sounds interesting but I am all for fixing up whats already there. From the picture below it looks like it will be around the olympic site which isn't surprising....

Find out more here at HUH magazine.

at the corner shop.

Today one of my new followers "At The Corner Shop" had me all excited.

When first visiting the website I thought I would give the About Us section a read and see what these ladies were about.... and I knew before looking at what they had on offer I would be impressed.

I am really obsessed with glass at the moment, not entirely sure why, so think the cork topped oil and vinegar bottles will look great in the kitchen.

Everything they sell is of limited quantities, so I shouldn't imagine they will be around long.

Visit them by clicking here, and follow them on twitter at @AtTheCornerShop.

save the nail.

Day one of my "save the nail" treatment from Nails Inc London. I. WANT. NICE. NAILS.

diamond wedding. II.

All stuck down... Various tests were done with different glues as the fibres from the recycled card darkened easily with the moisture. A good glue stick worked the best, and despite taking ages and being fiddly, the end product was worth it and looked much tidier.

diamond wedding.

Getting to work on my Grandparents Diamond Wedding anniversary card. I feel like I have been working out the dimensions of my hand drawn diamond, and counting out Diamanté for nearly sixty years myself.... Fingers crossed they like it.

Will be back with the finished product when it's done!

cards.

Couldn't get a better delivery while off from work on holiday.

Lots of birthdays and celebrations coming up, which only means one thing.... a creative and busy evening ahead.

karlsson.

I had always admired this clock that my Mum had on her shelf. She told me she bought it with my Gran in mind, as she never knew what time it was, let alone what day of the week or month it was. When my Gran eventually gave into dementia I was given it, and it sits very proudly in the flat.

I have always admired Karlsson for their retro styling, and love having one of their legendary clocks despite it losing a day now and then.

Urban Outfitters are currently selling a slightly brighter version for £150 here, but as you can see from the image not a lot has changed over the years.

supernice. take two.

Just found a sweet photo of the East London Supernice store on their website. Taken on a Sunday judging by the lovely flowers in front.

The image and contact details for the store can be found here.

supernice.

Columbia road market is pretty great, not only for the flowers but the shops. When I moved into a flat around the corner, I spent most of my weekends (and money) discovering some amazing brands and products.

One of which was a Supernice. Mainly selling wall stickers/transfers (with some other home wares and novelty's as well as really beautiful cards) the inside of the shop is quite a treat to the eyes.

After not being sure how to decorate the flat, and having to hold back on sticking holes in the walls, I was pleasantly inspired by what they had to offer. I went for the below lights by BLIK in Black (wish they were real lights) for starters, but plan another visit to Supernice to fill the bare white walls with some Gold and Grey to really make an impact.

Check out their website by clicking here and if you are ever around East London at the weekend then Columbia road is definitely worth a visit.

tatty devine or claires accessories?

I know which I would choose. Such blatant copies by Claire's.... They should really be ashamed.

I am all for drawing inspiration but you have to draw the line.

Visit the Tatty Devine blog to see all the items that have been ripped off.

buff shorts.

Wish I was back in Birmingham to get a pair of these for the summer months. Courtesy of Frock On Vintage, who can be found in Topshop Birmingham, The Custard Factory (Appointment only) as well as all the usual Facebook etc. they really are quite super.

According to Frock On's Facebook they are also posting them out so find them here. Quick.

office sale picks.

After picking my favourite sale items from the Office sale I got featured on the Office Shoes Blog.

Some great bargains this Christmas, and I managed to bag myself a pair of the Francis Brogue in Black Patent for half the price!

Click here to see what I picked from the sale. 

love my dog.

I really like dogs at the moment (surprisingly as I am a Cat Lover deep down) so when I heard that Love My Dog were having an open studio/sample sale I could not resist a visit.

Their Facebook page is loaded with all things doggy, and the studio dog Rabbit makes frequent appearances modelling beautiful, handmade in England, clothes and accessories.

Sample sale.

Bruce in Shrewsburys new collar.

Charity Poo Bags.... £1 of each purchase goes to The Dog Trust.

Hat and coat combos.

Rabbit and Friend.

Liberty print Collars/Leads.

Not often you find a company that hand makes items (down the road) to such a high quality, with a friendly and approachable service at the same time.

Visit the Love My Dog Website and Shop here to see the full range.

white girl problems.

I cannot wait for this book. Read chapter previews here.

And follow her on Twitter:

@whitegirlproblems

And Facebook as well. And buy the book when it comes out.

I love you Babe Walker.

national history museum ice rink.

4th November - 8th January 2012

How picturesque.

all i want for christmas is the internet.

Is it too much to ask Orange/Virgin Media??!

four floods.

My good friend Jennie Webber invited me to the Four Floods exhibition to see some prints she had been working on. The exhibition was held in the Concrete Hermit shop/gallery on Club Row. You can buy prints from the exhibition from the Hermit Editions website, and browse work from other artists as well.

As I am a sucker for a white t-shirt I left with the above (designed and printed by Jennie), and feel it is more a piece of art, than an item of clothing. Either way I love it.

The idea behind the exhibition, was that a selection of artists were given an open brief and told to come up with work using only pink, blue, yellow and black. 

My favourite being "The Coming Dawn" print by Joe Wilson, photographed below. More details of it can be found here.

The results were spectacular, and a lovely, cider drinking evening was had by all.

You can see more of Jennie's work here on her website or "like" her on facebook.

marrakech.

For my 21^st, I decided to go away with my sister. I fancied something a little unconventional and completely different to anywhere I had been before as everywhere I have been has been reasonably easy going when it comes to cultural and language barriers.

We stayed in the most beautiful Riad, called Riad Azzar which was run by a lovely Dutch couple. They're called Riads because they are inwards facing because of the heat and have the garden in the centre of the property. Really bizarre. They gave up their jobs and stressful city lives and decided to start running the Riad, which meant it was a complete sanctuary; No internet, no TV, nothing but books and beautiful food.

It was right in the heart of the medina, off a small side street... every street looked the same it was easy to get lost. I was a pro map reader by the end. The Souk (market) was absolutely huge, and at night looked like it might be on fire, with all the dust and bright orange light.

Some snaps of my travels....

Talented ladies.

THE jacket.

This is the beaut jacket I got from The Gingham Deer at The Vintage Fair: Shoreditch Town Hall.

twitter.

Getting oh so into the twitter thing.... the feeling you get when a brand/person/business you love "re-tweets" or replies to something you have to say is pretty great.

Follow me @rosie_tinted.

the vintage fair.

Today I stumbled across The Vintage Fair in Shoreditch. It was busy to say the least but needless to say I picked up some lovely bits and bobs.

4.45pm - still so busy.

Butterfly brooch - Janice In Wonderland

Feather brooch - Wolf + Moon

Hand bound notebook - Me and Miss Jones (Don't hold me to this name, I haven't been able to find anything more of them on the internet?)

I also bought a really gorgeous Jacket from The Gingham Deer but haven't got a photo as yet.... This was the first purchase and was quite the bargain. Glad I stumbled across this on my Saturday afternoon.

try again.

So, the job is a short term thing, working back at OFFICE head office doing maternity cover. It got me out of working in a store which is seriously hard work so I took it. This did mean moving down to London within five days of accepting the job which was tricky to say the least.

I had a short-let for one month, then a short-let for this month and then on October 1st I finally move into my flat!

Can't come soon enough. Anyway, with all these new things to see and do, I am going to blog my little heart out.

changes.

As you may well notice by the dates I have not blogged for a while. Why? Because a lot has gone on. I have moved to London and I have a new job. Its all happened very fast. Let the explaining begin....

BIAD graduate show.

Last night was the private viewing at Birmingham Institute of Art and Designs graduate show. This gives all the courses a chance to show off all the final projects that have been carried out, and give students a chance to promote themselves.

We each had a booth in which to display our work, and had to create the three boards that I wrote about before. This is how it all looked.

The lecturers also did a small awards ceremony later on in the evening to praise students for the work in which they carried out. Prizes were kindly provided by Harvey Nichols Birmingham. Jenna and I were both student representatives this year and each won a certificate and bottle of wine.

My large format poster is displayed behind, which looks absolutely great. Glad to know it wasn't going to waste.

The lovely chicken coops also got an extra appearance.

old soles.

As I have worked at Office shoes for well over two years now I have gathered quite an array of shoes, many of which I don't wear any more. They aren't not worn through distaste, just that they have been worn so well they look barely like the shoe they were when I bought them. I know shoes can be recycled, or given to charity shops, however mine are well past someone wanting to buy them again.

So I have been looking for a nice way to reuse them without me having to actually throw them out...and I found one. I am not really a gardening person, but have always liked to get my hands dirty when it comes to being house proud so this idea is perfect.

Making plant pots out of them. I found an article about it here on eHow and I am all inspired to get started.

This boot looks great.

I am a true hoarder at heart so to have an excuse to keep things, especially my beloved shoes, always makes me happy.