Last night Best-Friend-Jess and I had a fantastic evening at an NSPCC Charity Fashion Show and Auction held at Anglia Ruskin University in Cambridge in celebration of 25 years of Childline. After enjoying a delicious supper of meze platters, salad and frittura misto at CB2, we hurried along to ARU on East Road for 7pm to take full advantage of our welcome drink (Prosecco - yes please!) and the various clothes, jewellery and cosmetic stalls on offer in the buzzing foyer.

My winter blues have somewhat lifted now that we've finally seen some sunshine!

To top off my good mood, I've got lots of fun and exciting plans for the month of March. This month I'm looking forward to visiting castles by the sea, sipping champagne at charity fashion shows, some hardcore hot yoga, exploring vintage haberdashery, and vicariously enjoying some good old British binge drinking.

St Mawes Castle, Cornwall

In search of a fairytale wedding venue by the sea, The Boy and I are embarking on a 7 hour road trip to Cornwall this weekend to attend our first "wedding showcase" at a potential venue. With a few wedding fairs under my belt and lots of advice from married family and friends, I've got plenty of ideas, questions, even scrapbooks, but I'm going to ease the fiance in gently. He scares easy. So a fun weekend of beach walks and fresh seafood, including a *quick* wander round a castle (which just happens to have been set up for a wedding) could be just the ticket. Besides, the castle is managed by English Heritage and we're big fans. Photos to follow! :-)

NSPCC Charity Fashion Show and Auction, ARU Cambridge - book tickets here: Mumford Theatre.

To celebrate the 25th Anniversary of Childline, an exclusive event is being held in Cambridge to showcase some fabulous independent local fashion, art and talent. The catwalk show and auction, held at Anglia Ruskin University on East Road, will feature the university's BA Fashion students and unique creations from local labels Abigail Crampton Millinery, Cuckoo and Le Reve lingerie. I'm looking forward to sipping champagne, ransacking my goody bag, and maybe even rubbing shoulders with celebrity auctioneer Will Axon (of BBC's Flog It)!! ;-). Watch this space for my review. 

Hot Yoga at Camyoga, Cambridge

Lately I've been spending a lot of time in one of my new favourite places in Cambridge. Tucked away in a quiet side street close to the city centre Camyoga's beautiful yoga studios and cafe provide a haven when I need to escape a busy day and the winter weather. I signed up for the centre's new client offer at the beginning of February and now I'm hooked, especially on the Hot Yoga classes. Held in the centre's special heated studio with gorgeous bamboo flooring, the class follows the 26 posture Bikram series and is a fantastic way to de-stress, meditate, and sweat out all those horrible toxins and (hopefully) aid weight loss. Perhaps I'm gradually becoming a seasoned Yogi... after four weeks of classes I'm getting a bit addicted to improving my focus, balance and strength so that I can attempt the "advanced" versions of each posture. So this month I'm looking forward to making my membership official and enjoying many more treats from the centre's Dandelion Cafe. Favourites so far have been the Superfood Salad, Lentil and Coconut Soup, and a fabulous cheese, olive and sundried tomato organic savoury muffin. YUM. Go and see for yourself - but don't tell everyone ;-).

Lentil & Coconut Soup and Umami Muffin

Vintage and Retro Finds at Rejuvinate, Cambridge 

A real gem of a retail store has popped up on Hills Road in Cambridge. Decorated with deliciously tacky neon lights, silver foil shimmer curtains in the windows, and an array of 60s, 70s, and 80s paraphernalia, the shop is packed full of goodies that transport me back to my teenage years of collecting funky vinyl covers and lamps shaped like lightbulbs. When I find a spare ten minutes I'm planning to have a good rummage through the shop's vintage and retro offerings and haberdashery. The window display alone has got me coveting a gorgeous white distressed dressing table and some fabulous 1940s heels. Photos to follow :-). 
I heard about an intriguing little piece of theatre being performed at  The Junction this month when I was compiling the City View listings for March. Created by multi-award winning theatre company The Paper Birds, the show, aptly named Thirsty, is based on our nation's love affair with alcohol. I thought it was fitting to invite Best-Friend-Jess to join me - the friend with whom I learned to binge drink, before that was even the name for being 18 and going out with your friends to the local pub to neck a crate of alcopops. I make light of it now but I'm looking forward to being educated by the theatrical piece, which apparently weaves together true stories and booze-based confessions, collected from a 'drunken hotline' and on online questionnaire, in particular focusing on the women waving the flag for 'Booze Britain'! I suspect I will be sheepishly lowering my glass of half-drunk red wine by the end of the show and vowing to detox (the Hot Yoga obsession might come in handy there...). Watch this space for my review.  

Whatever you're up to this month, enjoy :-)

   

Day 3 of London Fashion Week features shows by some of my favourite designers.

Check out the schedule here: Sunday 19 February.

Here's my pick of ones to watch on the catwalk today:

Mulberry - Click here to watch the live show of the Autumn/Winter 12 collection on the Mulberry website (from 10am GMT). I'm excited to see, as always, Mulberry's spot-on luxury English fashion pieces. Today's show is also expected to include a peek at the Mulberry Del Rey - a stunning new bag created in honour of chart-topping American songstress Lana Del Rey (Born To Die).

Twenty8Twelve (presentation) - Edgy, accessible, London fashion label launched in 2007 by sister duo Sienna and Savannah Miller, and still lovingly creating fresh and funky designs (although with S&S no longer at the helm as Creative Directors).

Matthew Williamson - First introduced to Matthew Williamson by his Butterfly collection for Designers at Debenhams, I love this designer's laid-back approach to glamour; combining femininity, fun, and effortless style in a range of pieces that appeal to many different women. Hoping to see some rich colour and, of course, some glitzy embellishments!  

Acne - Super cool Swedish label, once upon a time known for it's characteristic jeans and now globally recognised for creating a sense of subtle luxury, understated high fashion, and stuff real people wear!    

Enjoy! :-)

Ever since I discovered H! by Henry Holland at Debenhams department stores and promptly snapped up an array of budget-friendly quirky patterned dresses and a trusty tan leather tasseled satchel, I have been in love with all of the designer's weird, wonderful, and bang on trend creations.

The House of Holland Ready-To-Wear collection for Autumn/Winter 2012 certainly has the wow-factor for which Henry Holland's pieces are known and loved. Featuring a delightfully bold selection of prints and colours - from houndstooth to zig zags, fuchsia to metallic green - the collection ranged from the outrageous (think jersey all-in-ones in purple stripes) to the downright sophisticated (I'm already picturing myself in a navy/black shift dress with metallic houndstooth trim).

Clearly running through the collection was a sense of fun. Pair this with the incredible originality of each piece and we've got a winner. Absolute must-haves from the collection include neat fitted cardigans in zig zig stripes of black, yellow, pink, blue and red; oversize knits in blue, black, pink and yellow houndstooth; and a stunning black all-in-one maxi-trousers metallic green houndstooth extravaganza! 

See it all here:... Vogue's Catwalk Report and here:.... London Fashion Week Daily

Enjoy! :-)


P.s. Why not follow the House of Holland blog? It's fab!

I've been incredibly busy over the last few weeks but this weekend I'm mainly relaxing, eating neuhaus chocolates from a big red heart-shaped box kindly bought for me on Valentine's Day by my lovely fiance, and following snippets of news about what's going down at this year's London Fashion Week.

Here are my favourite blogs on the subject:

STYLIST.co.uk

mydaily

Vogue

And, of course: London Fashion Week Daily

So far I'm really impressed by the Autumn/Winter 2012 offerings from Felder Felder and Antoni & Alison. Mainly loving the continuation of camels/beiges/gold colour palettes, with British, Aztec and geometric twists. The painted fabrics and quirky embellishments appearing in Antoni & Alison's collection of statement dresses look amazing! Ready to Wear is where it's at!


I'm also looking forward to seeing more from my old favourite Jasper Conran and from my more recent must-have designer, House of Holland. I'll keep you posted!

Enjoy! :-)