Eley Kishimoto & Clarks

"Husband and wife Mark Eley and Wakako Kishimoto are the creative force behind the label, a union which brings together the traditional craftsmanship of Eley's native Britain and Kishimoto's Japanese design heritage. This classic-meets-contemporary aesthetic is the secret of the label's success - their collaboration with British footwear institution Clarks this season is the perfect example - think classic with a quirky twist."

I never used to be a shoe person at all...until I started working at Clarks. Now I spend most days surrounded by them and I am slowly, but very surely, becoming obsessed with shoes, especially Clarks ones! Clarks have just launched their collaboration range with designer brand Eley Kishimoto and I love the designs! The collection which debuted at London Fashion Week features Clarks designs, including their classic Desert Boot, with the gorgeous prints of Eley Kishimoto. Mark Eley of Eley Kishimoto has a good connection with Heriot-Watt uni and so I had the chance to attend a few talks by him in the years I spent there. Eley Kishimoto's signature style is very much bold and colourful prints...and I am all for bold and colourful prints!!  

These beauties are tugging at my purse strings!!

Scent Eley £79.99

A few of Eley Kishimoto's looks from Fashion Week, all styled with the Clarks collaboration shoes!

All images were found on google and the YouTube video was featured on the Clarks Twitter profile.

Oh I do like to be beside the seaside

Working in retail I don't get weekends off too often so I'd said to myself that when I next had a Sunday off I was going to do typical Sunday things! So yesterday I did just that, I'd even bought bacon specifically for the occasion. I knew that my Sunday plan involved going for a walk and I decided on Saturday night that I would venture to Portobello beach. The weather yesterday was absolutely amazing, making my day the perfect stress-less Sunday.

So, as I mentioned, I started my day with a cuppa and a bacon sandwich, accompanied by Friends on the telly. A nice relaxing morning.

Then I got myself ready; leather jacket on (only the second time this year I've been able to wear it and not had to wear my huge winter coat), my comfy boots for the few mile walk to the beach and my sunglasses even made their first appearance in a pretty long time! Ben Howard's album on my iPod and I was all set.

I love the seaside and living in the centre of town it's almost like I forget that the sea is so close. Portobello is a very nostalgic place for me and it was partly this that made me want to go and explore it again. My Grandma and Grandpa lived in Portobello, just a 2 minute walk from the promenade, when I was younger and so I spent a lot of time here if I was spending the day or staying with them. It was a nostalgic and quite a satisfying feeling to see the little play park that I used to enjoy being enjoyed by children now. There's a big concrete circle (I guess it once upon a time had something on top of it!?) that I used to get up and dance on when I was a child, and yesterday it made me smile to see some little children running about on it exactly like I would have done one day. There are lots of memories for me there. I'll never forget about the time that I was walking along the wall on the prom when I was about 5 and I spotted a boat in the distance, pointed and shouted 'Look Grandpa there's a boat' just as I fell off the wall onto the sand! Apparently my Grandpa had never moved so fast as he jumped over the wall to get me!! Ahh the memories! So walking along the prom today was a trip down memory lane for me and stirred a very nostalgic feeling in my tummy! My Grandpa and Grandpa moved from here closer to us which was lovely but I'll always miss when they lived here!

After walking along the length of the prom and then back again along the sand, I headed to The Beach House for a coffee. It was my dad and my sister that introduced me to this little gem on the prom after they'd stumbled across it one day a few years ago. I have been there before yesterday for lunch once and from what I can recall their food menu was really nice (I think I had falafels!) but yesterday was just a coffee and cake affair! As I expected on such a gorgeous day the place was very busy but I managed to grab a seat to enjoy my cappuccino and banana loaf! As reviews go, this place is amazing! A lovely food menu, perfect setting with the view of the sea, beautiful beach hut style interiors, gorgeous cakes, great coffee and friendly staff! What more could you want? I recommend that if you are going to Portobello beach then this is the best destination for a coffee break, and even if you weren't planning on going to Portobello, The Beach House is well worth a visit.

I really NEVER ever take self shots but I think the sunny skies yesterday put me a such a good mood that I just thought what the hell!! So here's the Instagram photo of me just before I left for my walk to Portobello!

My favourite room in the house

I'll admit it, I love seeing other peoples room/house posts, it's the nosey side of me! This post came from  Alex giving me a blog award that involved me answering questions, one of which was; 'Which room in your house is your favourite?' She stated that there was bonus points for photos and I straight away thought that was the perfect opportunity to do what I've been meaning to do for a while and show you all a few photos of my favourite room! I haven't had the time to answer the rest of Alex's questions yet and so now the photos of my favourite room have come before any of the rest of the blog award questions. 

My bedroom is most definitely my favourite room in the house. Being in a shared flat means that my bedroom is the room that harbours all my......stuff! And the place that I feel most at home. I am verging on OCD when it comes to the neatness of my bedroom and absolutely everything has it's place (it can't be any other way)!

So if you're secretly quite nosey like me then you'll love to get a wee glimpse into my world!

Illustration of me!

Lana's blog - Elephant Paws.

I have a new addition to my sidebar. See...over there! >>>>>

My wonderfully talented friend and flatmate Lana drew me! I gave her an idea of what I would like for the sidebar of my blog and this is the amazing illustration that she created! I mentioned that I liked the idea of it being black and white with a splash of colour so there's me with my beloved red brogues and satchel! I particularly love the hair!!

Do you think it looks like me? 

Resolutions and Plans

Happy 2013!

♥  Eat Healthier. Don't get me wrong...I'm not going to stop eating cakes! My plan is to eat healthier lunches when I'm at work, whether that means going to the Sainsbury's salad bar instead of Greggs (as I did today) or taking my lunch to work. I'm pretty good at taking packed lunches to work but I think I need to make myself something a bit more exciting and healthier than a buttered roll which I'll then put crisps on!! I also plan to set aside time to cook more meals from scratch. I've been very bad at making meals since I started working full time. I can never be bothered making anything after a long day at work but my plan is to make things in advance so that I have homemade meals I can just heat when I get in from work.

♥  Read more. I really think this is one resolution that I have every year and it is never one I can really stick to! I think I read one whole book in 2012...and that was 50 Shades Of Grey!!! I really want to get into a habit of reading before bed instead of just lying in bed looking through Facebook and Twitter on my phone. I got a book for Christmas that looks really good and I've got one in my bedside drawer that I've been wanting to read for ages...so 2013 will be the year!

♥  Go to bed earlier. Again, another thing that I say I'm going to do all the time and just don't! I'm so sick of going to bed, setting my alarm and it saying 'Your alarm is set for 6 hours' or even less. I need my 8 hours sleep!

♥  Spend my spare time being more creative. I managed to make all my Christmas cards this year and I was so proud of myself because I had so much fun doing it! I spent a few whole days just sat watching DVD's and painting little pictures for my cards and I loved it! I need to be creative and arty more often, I miss it! 

♥  Manage my time better. This one kind of applies to lots of aspects of my life in work and out with work. In general I just want to make sure that I am making the most of all my spare time and not wasting it away by doing nothing. But at the same time, I need to manage my time so that I can have lazy days and relax too!

♥  Join an exercise class. I've been meaning to join a class for a while now but time and money has meant that I keep putting it off. I used to do pilates for about three years when I lived at home and so I'd love to take that up again. I'd also love to find a suitable dance class for my 'not quite beginner but far from confident' abilities! Something intense like Legs, Bums & Tums would be good too!

♥  Save money. Surely everyone says they would like to do this!? Actually doing it is more challenging! I think since I've been working full time I've enjoyed just living happily without struggling at all. However I think I need to try and cut back at little bit on buying things that I don't need. I definitely want to go on holiday this year so that gives me something to save for!

And many many more:

-Get a team leader position at work.
-Go on dates!

-Visit Rachel in Manchester.

-Stay with Melissa in Stirling.

-Try and visit my family more often.

-Holiday abroad with my friends....maybe even go on a plane for the first time ever!!

-Buy more statement clothing instead of cheap items that I'll only wear a few times.

-Buy a new laptop and finally sort out my iTunes and music collection properly.

-Invest time and money in testing more make up products.

-See as much live music as I can.

-Gain over 100 blog followers and attend a blogger event.

-When picking a film to watch, pick one that I've never seen before instead of watching the same films over and over again.

-Reply to my texts a bit quicker! (I know this will please all my annoyed family and friends!)

Work Hard.

Don't stress.

Relax.

And.......Have fun.

I've posted this before, but I absolutely love it!