lifestyle posts

The Vogue 100 Exhibition – National Portrait Gallery, London

| blueskygirlie

As part of my birthday celebrations myself and my boyfriend had a great day out in London recently and I got to do one of the things I love doing – visiting art galleries.  The Vogue 100 exhibition had been on my ‘to do’ list since it opened in February and I was thrilled to be able to go and see it.  But the question is, is it worth seeing?

Once you enter the exhibition through pillars of different Vogue covers you are faced with this huge image of the late great Lee McQueen and a stark room with a  small selection of the past 100 years most iconic images from which you can then access the different areas grouped by decade.

The layout is quite a strange one as it doesnt run in chronological order so I made my way to the ‘century of magazines’ area first and then worked forward from the 1920’s finally ending in the film area.

I went into to one of the end rooms first  – The ‘Century of Magazines’ room

This room showed a copy of Vogue from every year of the 100 years it has been in publication…including the very first copy (pictured). It is breathtaking to see how a publication can represent its era, carry on through two world wars, touch politics, feminism and the changes to the world that happened during that time but still be a great fashion magazine.

 Another great room was ‘The Planning Room’ 

In this room you entered a darkened space with negatives from all eras presented on top of light boxes and series’ of shoot images being projected on the wall showing how many shots the Vogue team would see before they picked ‘the one’.

  

And then there were the rooms of the different decades…

My highlights

The 1920s/30s –

Aristocracy mixed with silent film stars and glamour girls. Many of the images looked as modern now as they did 100 years ago…


The 1940s – against all the glamour the starkness of these reportage shots from the WW2 really made you realise Vogue was never just a frivolous fashion magazine…

And seeing key fashion illustrations in real life, remembering they had been done at the time and were of the most contemporary fashions.

The 1950’s – this room held some of the most glamorous photos including original by Cecil Beaton and Norman Parkinson…

The 1960s – Probably my favourite era, style wise, I loved the tone of this room with its retro textured wallpaper and full wall shot of David Hockney, his assistant and glamorous model Maudie James in his studio by Cecil Beaton…

 

The 1970’s – a strange mix of glamour, sexist sterotyping and the grungy beginnings of punk rock. Probably my least favourite of all the rooms although this Helmut Newton pic taken the year I was born stood out…

The 1980s – Big, brash and bold was the order of the day in this room…

The 1990’s- a key time in British fashion with film stars and artists suddenly taking up as many shots as the models and the grungy ‘Heroin Chic’ style starting to appear…

The 2000s and onwards – it is quite breathtaking to see so many iconic images in one place – the curation was perfect and you really ‘felt’ each decade and its subtle changes…

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And finally (of course!) the shop

Look at these amazing Biscuiteers biscuits!  The Vogue 100 book was great too but I’ve got to be honest I’m not going to buy it for a ‘special price’ of £35 in the gallery when Amazon have it for £26. The vintage copies of Vogue on sale (from £35) were tempting though… 

I just adored this exhibition and would definitely recommend a trip. It runs until 22nd May 2016 and adult tickets are £17.00 each.  If youve been I’d love to know your thoughts…

National Portrait Gallery

St Martin’s Place
London
WC2H 0HE
020 7306 0055

Opening hours

Daily 10.00 – 18.00
Thursdays and Fridays until 21.00.
Last admission to the exhibition is one hour before the Gallery closes.
Exiting commences ten minutes before the closing time.

Easter Bank Holiday Weekend Inspiration

| blueskygirlie

Happy Easter! What ever your personal beliefs, this weekend in the UK is a double bank holiday weekend for most of us that we can spend with our families, hopefully seeing some sunshine, having fun and treating ourselves to lots of naughty food.  I’m a great believer in seizing any free time I have and making the most of it while creating some great memories at the same time. However that is easier said than done – in todays blog I share some things I do to acheive just that. 

Start the day right

Make a healthy breakfast exciting using boiled eggs (well it is Easter!) and some carefully chosen egg cups – I love this stylish cutie by Buddy and Bear or try Etsy or NotOntheHighStreet.com for similar contemporary designs. For a more eclectic look, seek out vintage ones and create a mismatched set.

 photo Buddy and Bear via EtsyUK 

Or maybe choose not so healthy… Creme egg stacked pancakes, you say? Easy to make (one egg per stack was enough sweetness for us) and very, very indulgent.  Yes it’s laden with calories but for one day over Easter it makes an amazing treat! 

Dress for it     

Spring means we can start dressing in pastels and cute prints again so lets embrace it. Spend Easter digging out some of your summer clothing and styling them up to feel and look great.  I love being able to get out of dark jumpers and boots and embrace something more joyful! Fingers crossed the sun shines too…        

Get crafty

More free time means more time for activities! I do like a project with the kids – for Roald Dahl day Reuben and I made this Mr Twit beard as seen below and this Easter I want to make some of these amazing giant origami rabbits that I saw on the wonderful Oh Happy Day blog. Find the tutorial here.   Photo via Oh Happy Day

Have an egg and spoon race

Want to get the kids off their games consoles/TV’s and out into the fresh air? An egg and spoon race is easy to do and you dont need to buy anything. We use plastic toy eggs (find race sets in most Easter seasonal aisles) but you can easily use chocolate or hard boiled versions instead.  On your marks, get set, GO!!!

 

Make and bake

If the weathers not so good, another great activity is to bake cakes or make some other special treats to share. We recently made homemade Lemonade as a family (à la Diary of a Wimpy kid) which the boys loved doing and often make cakes over Easter (see our 4yr olds nursery-made offering from this week below). This year we’ve made Spring themed fairy cakes together and I’m sure they will all get gobbled up soon. 

   

  
 

Go for a special day out 

Ok, it can be expensive to go on big days out but across the two weeks of the school Easter holiday we always try and fit one day trip in. Look for 2 for 1 offers, discount codes or free events – whether its to a theme park, zoo or just the beach or play area its perfect for making those special memories. And lets be honest – who doesn’t want to act like a kid again for the day?!?

     Do an Easter Egg Hunt

Easter wouldn’t be Easter without chocolate eggs but I do like my kids to work for them! Last year we hid them throughout the house and garden and our three boys had to follow clues to track them down…they loved it! We will do the same this Sunday, as well as give them a couple of their favourite chocolate bar eggs too.

 
Do some exercise

After all that indulgence some hard work is required to balance all those calories out…I know it’s boring but if you eat lots of chocolate and treats you have to exercise. As someone whos lost a lot of weight and now exercises regularly I will make sure, holiday or not, I’ll run my usual 5k run. As well as meaning you dont put on weight its great to de-stress, have some ‘me-time’ and clear your head and for me, Spring is THE best season to run in.

  
 

So make the most of those extra days of fun with the people you care for the most and make this Easter one to remember!

All photos via my Instagram unless otherwise stated. Follow me on Instagram for lots more here.

The thing I have fallen in love with this week: Hello Spring!

| blueskygirlie

Over the last few days it feels like we’ve finally left winter and slowly moved into Spring. Ok, its not totally here, but the suns been shining, there’s flowers blooming everywhere and Easter and all its sweet treats is on the way.  

I need some inspiration – I need bright. I need cheerful. I need cute!!!

In todays ‘The thing I’ve fallen in love with this week’ blog I share the things that are making me smile so far this March. I couldn’t pick one thing so I’ve gone for a few (I do love doing a flat lay!). Bright, fun and sweet is the name of the game…

 

Clouds zipped purse – Cath Kidston
Vintage coral necklace – Etsy
Purse and brooch – New Look
Nail polish – Superdrug
Hello Fashion Monthly – subscribe here
Pineapple dish – Debenhams
Vintage Mother of Pearl necklace – Etsy
Pineapple vase – Store TwentyOne
Scarf – Echo
Love Sick book by Jessie Cave – Amazon
Vintage glass dish – Etsy
Mike and Ike American candy – B&M stores
Mason Jar cup – Poundworld
Face pot stand and beaker – Tiger Stores
Twizzlers American candy – B&M stores
Clouds Gola trainers – Cath Kidston
Hand Food hand cream & Butter Me Up body butter – Soap & Glory 

 

Bright colours and cute designs lift my spirits. I love the Cath Kidston cloud design (well I am the blue sky girl!) and my new Echo scarf is perfect for Spring styling. The yellow Pineapple vase from Store TwentyOne was a bargain must have and ‘Love Sick’ by Jessie Cave is a book of her doodles on love and relationships and it is very funny and VERY relatable…

 

Regular followers of my blog know I love Hello Fashion Monthly (a bargain at £1.50 each month) and I couldn’t live without Soap & Glory products – I can’t shower, scrub or cleanse with anything else! If you like a jelly bean (as I do), it doesn’t get better than American brand Mike and Ike and when I saw that Pineapple dish in Debenhams I just had to have it…

I feel more cheerful already! So, what are you loving for Spring?  

For more flat lay product inspiration follow me on Instagram – here.

Pharmacy 2

| blueskygirlie

Let go back in time…

Its 1998 – London is in the grip of the Rule Britannia phase, Brit Pop rules, as do lads and ladettes doing too many drugs, New Labour were telling us ‘Things Can Only Get Better’ and the British art scene led by the likes of Damien Hirst, Tracey Emin, Sarah Lucas and Gary Hume is changing the face of modern art.

Mathew Freud and Damien Hirst open up Pharmacy, a restaurant in Notting Hill and the rest is the stuff of legend. I went once with some people from Loaded Magazine (remember that!?!) but sadly I cannot mention most of the stuff that happened that night for fear of being sued! It was a pretty cool place though, although the waiters in surgical gowns did freak me out a bit…

Jump forward to now and Damien Hirst, in collaboration with chef Mark Hix, has opened Pharmacy 2, this time based in his Newport Street Gallery in Vauxhall, South London.  See below what I discovered…

Its small but perfectly formed! The bar area is a mix of neon, pill prints and hanging leds.  Hirst butterfly print medical ‘+’ signs sit each side of the mirrored bar backdrop and cocktails are mixed as you perch on pill shaped bar stools.

There are booths to sit in for bigger groups and loads more Hirst originals. I tried to leave with one up my jumper but sadly there were too many waiters!

img_6420And even the bar stools are cool…  Just like the original piece of art, 2500 or so different pills fill the cabinets on the walls…The menu covers British and European classics, including the likes of shaved winter squash with Treviso and Graceburn cheese, white polenta with a Burford Brown egg yolk and shaved Wiltshire truffles, plus a Mark Hix signature dish of crushed potato and black pudding with pineapple upside-down cakes or chocolate mousse with honeycomb for dessert. Pharmacy 2 covers breakfast, weekend brunches and Sunday roasts, plus it serves a mean cocktail.

What do you think? Pharmacy 2 is now open for bookings – find the details here.

Monday Mantra

| blueskygirlie

Yep, its the beginning of the week again, the weekend has flown by and here we are at Monday morning! Here is todays quote or thought that has inspired me and I hope it inspires you too. Have a great week!

Todays thought –

  Source – my Pinterest

Do you overthink? I do sometimes and its a very destructive habit. I’ve discovered a few things that help me though…

Find inspiration – use that amazing brain we have for positivity…read great books, watch fantastic films and TV, embrace art or start writing (blogging is a great way to achieve that).  

Exercise – when I run my mind works freely, exorcising all those negative thoughts we carry. You get to see nature close-up as being on foot makes you see the world at a different level. Listen to music.  And when you return, your mind will feel free of all the clutter that was there before.

Detox your life – remove toxic people and don’t allow yourself to be in negative situations. Learn to say no – we all have responsibilities of course but you don’t have do things you dont want to do. 

Life is short and I’m aiming to not spend it battling with my pointless, negative, critical thoughts. What a waste of time and energy that would be…

What words have inspired you recently? I would love to know.

Creating my own Stairway to Heaven

| blueskygirlie

As I have mentioned previously, we are currently revamping our house which will see us pretty much redo every room in our house bar the kitchen.

One of the first areas I have looked at is the hall, landing and stairs. When we moved in it was a pale green with no carpet and felt cold, was noisy and very dusty. All the doors were untreated wood and there were areas of architrave missing.    I had wanted a striped stair carpet for some time but had only lived in homes where the carpets didnt need replacing so it was not to be. But now? Well, I had the perfect opportunity!

Over a couple of weeks I painted out the cold tone pale green walls into a warmer tone (a basic matt magnolia), re-glossed all the woodwork and primed and glossed all the doors. After quite a search, we found the carpet via SCS as I wanted a quirky, slightly uneven stripe rather than something too repetitive and formal. The brown tonal colours make the stripes stand out but not be too overpowering in this high footfall area.

      

With the bold carpet taking centre stage I then added some accessories to the window sills and some artwork to the walls –

A grouping of some of my collection of 1950s/1960s glass is presented on the hall window sill. Due to being overlooked I had to have a net curtain up (not one of my favourite things) so I went for a simple white voile…

 And a huge vintage ‘Le Chat Noir’ print is one of the first things you see as you walk in…Upstairs, two large artworks dominate the top of the stairs, one being one of my favourite items I own – an original 1970 Geoffrey Leeson artwork of a Peacock. Two of my favourite ornaments, a pair of collectable Villeroy & Boch ‘Animal Park’ cats are placed on the smaller upstairs window sill as well.

 

I’m really happy with how its turned out! The first project of our new home is complete and I’m now working on the master bedroom…look out for my blog on it soon.

What home improvement have you been up to recently?

My top 10 January sale buys

| blueskygirlie

So we are now at the end of January…how did that happen?!? There isn’t that much to be cheerful about in January but I find a trip to the sales is always able to fix those post Christmas/New Year blues. So sale shopping throughout the month is a must for me! Heres my 10 favourite sale purchases I made…

1) H&M LOGG jumper £15 (from £29.99)

This pale grey jumper is so soft and fluffy I couldn’t resist. The high turtle neck is easier to wear than a roll neck and it is oversized so hangs beautifully (I’m a size 10/12 and went for the small). I’ve worn this loads already with both skinny jeans and wet look leggings. 2) H&M fine knit jumper £5 (from £19.99) 

A super cute fitted jumper with a slogan I’m going to use as a mantra in 2016! A total bargain too.

 3) H&M long cardigan £7 (from £24.99)

I love the colour plum in the colder months and liked the long line of this cardigan. At 70% off it would of been rude not to buy it… 4) New Look jewellery / necklaces £2 each (from £5.99), earrings £1 (from £5.99) 

I can’t resist bargain priced accessories and these 2 necklaces look much more expensive than they were. The tasselled necklace has a real vintage feel to it and is very unusual and is definitely different to anything I own already. 5) New Look shirt bib £3.50 (from £8.99) 

I got the white formal shirt version of this as part of a Christmas present so when I saw this checked flannel version reduced I grabbed it.  Its such a clever idea and is great to place under more fitted items such as dresses and tops to create the illusion of a shirt underneath, without the bulk.

6) Primark blanket coat £10 (from £23) 

OK, this coat is an acquired taste but in the grey, black and winter white colourway with a faux leather trim, it looks great. It came with a belt (which I removed) as I am going to wear it as a more laid back waterfall style coat or use a large kilt pin to fasten it. Its suprisingly cosy for a car coat (as its not lined) too.7)  Claires Accessories floral crown, diamante headband, pearl and stud necklace and lurex braces – all £1 each (from £10 – £5)

Because you can never have to many acccessories….8) ASOS patchwork dungaree dress £22.50 (from £38)

I have been on the look out for a dungaree dress since the Autumn and tried loads on but couldnt find one I liked. This one with the different colored denim sections is cute without looking too young and where I didnt like the raw hem (really ASOS?) and just hemmed it to make it look neater.  

9) Monki via ASOS sunglasses £3.75 (from £15)

Is it too early to buy sunglasses? I say no! I loved the cats eye shape of these combined with the gold metal frame. 10) River Island suedette bib £9 (from £15) and bow collar £4 (from £8)

Yes, it’s another shirt bib! I really think theyre fabulous. I also liked this cute bow which fastens like a choker and will be a great substitute for my normal statement necklaces.  

So what bargains have you been treating yourself to? I’d love to know…

Christmas the Always a Blue Sky Girl way

| blueskygirlie

As many of you know, my background is in window dressing and visual styling and I’ve spent much of my career creating amazing Christmas concepts for the likes of Harrods, Selfridges, House of Fraser and Marks and Spencer. This means whether I like it or not, I have to ‘do’ Christmas in a certain way, with a certain style and over the years have collected some beautiful decorations to do it with.

In todays blog let me show you a few of my decorations and share some styling tips to hopefully help you create your most stylish Christmas ever!

Lets start with the first thing you see, the door wreath: Where we have a white modern door I have a very modern wreath. Its stylised with silver baubles inside, not to everyones taste but it suits our homes style. I like the simplicity of it and hopefully it sets the tone of the modern version of Christmas I personally love!

The Tree:

Having a modern designed home with retro/1960s highlights, I do love a white tree.  It is an acquired taste though. We actually have two trees each year, a traditional green one in the lounge and a more retro white one in our kitchen/diner. The mix of styles really works and keeps everyone happy.

On both trees I have a few rules – only a star on top, never an angel (sorry I find them super tacky, and a bit spooky); lots of large, stylised baubles made from glass if possible in a mix of no more than 4 colours and LED lights set deep within the branches.

Our two looks this year – Modern and cool : Traditional and festive:

Decoration groupings:

I don’t like a fussy home so mainly group similar decorations together in key areas.Ceramic soldier/fabric Robin: TK Maxx, Christmas Rules sign: Demelza House, slim Santa figure: Liberty, cut out stag: WilkinsonsGlass trees/Polar bear: TK Maxx, felt runner: John Lewis, wooden toadstools: Tiger Stores, baubles: HomebaseQuote cushion: Dunelm Mill, retro deer cushion: Asda, tapesty cushion: bought in New York (sorry!)  Merry Christmas sign: PaperchaseTin tray: The 99p Store

And with all this styling, I try to not take things too seriously, this is supposed to be a fun time after all… Giant bauble earrings for one of my favourite pieces of wall decor  A reindeer chopping board nestled amongst the usual ones in the kitchen And you’ve just got to have a few sprigs of Mistletoe hanging around, just in case!

And a final festive touch for our youngest child…well, if you don’t have a chimney, Santas got to get in somehow to deliver the presents! Santas key: Card Factory 

Have a wonderful Holiday season!  

For more Christmas inspo why not have a look at my blogs on advent calendars here and creating Christmassy kids rooms here.

Creating Christmas in a childs bedroom

| blueskygirlie

They say Christmas is for kids, and I always like to make sure my childrens bedrooms feel festive too. In todays blog see my top 5 tricks to do Christmas in a fun and child friendly way, easily and cheaply…and best of all your kids will love it!

‘Days till Christmas’ countdown –

This is a great way to stop those ‘how many days…” questions you get pretty much every day of December. I like using a very cute, child friendly one and then have it displayed in their bedroom. Cute decoration groupings –

In the rest of my home my decorations have to be ultra stylish, but in the kids rooms? Anything goes! I let them pick ones they like then display in groups amongst their usual toys.  These were all bought in our local pound shop! Christmas duvet covers – 

This is a simple way to add Christmas cheer to their beds and there’s some lovely designs out there starting at around £9.99. We bought ours from Dunelm Mill and bought a new one this year for our 8 year old for £12.00 – find it here.Bunting – 

A great way to add decoration to the ceiling or on higher pieces of furniture. If bunting isn’t your style, making paper chains is a cheap and extremely effective solution too.
Festive soft toys – 

For smaller children a soft toy or two can really add a cute Christmas touch to their bedroom or nursery. Remember normal Christmas decorations could be dangerous for any child under 3 years, so keep safe by adding cute plush toys like the one below.I hope this gives you some inspiration to add some decorations upstairs in your home as well this year!

See my blog on advent calendars here.