Definitions

I always find there are certain words which people use to define themselves.

"Single"
"Married"
"Smoker"
"Feminist"
"Artist"

It set me off wondering why people feel the need to define themselves as these things. Do we need to define ourselves at all? If I were to define myself I'm not sure I'd even know where to begin.

Romantic?
Idealistic?
Ridiculous?
Photographer?
Cook?
Enthusiast?
Caring?

The idea of defining myself with a single word, like any of the above seems impossible. How can a person be defined so easily? Surely you'd need at least 20 adjectives? I wonder if people use the first words to define themselves because they give such a definite definition. Like, "I'm married and stable and happy so that's all you need to know." Or maybe, "I'm a feminist and there's no way I'm going to let you carry my shopping bags or get my number so don't even bother asking." Maybe the words are shields, comfort blankets, to ensure that no more details beyond the definition are necessary. One word says it all. And if that is true, then what the hell is my "one word"?! What's yours? How do you define yourself? And at the end of the day, do you even need to define yourself?

What I Wore Today..

I've never done an outfit post before so here goes my first attempt (be nice..)!

My absolute must-have item for this autumn is the Topshop Leigh skinny jeans, my personal favourite? The dark forest green pair! Not only are they ridiculously flattering and comfy, they're a subtle nod the new trends. Are they army? Are they countryside chic? Who knows and who cares cos they're so damn versatile! As always, the most practical part of a girls wardrobe is a hard working pair of flats. Mine are River Island snakeskin print! Last but by no means least is my new bag, a premium Topshop number, it looks ten times more expensive that it is (£95) so snap it up asap!

I can't claim credit for my oversized grey cashmere jumper as it happens to belong to my Dad...go rummage around in your house and I'm sure you'll find one too.

 

 

 

A Few Reasons Why I Love Knitwear

If the cosiness of cashmere, or snuggling up in merino wool, not to mention the soft touch of silk-cotton blends are not good enough reasons to love knitwear, here are a few of my favourite visual aids:

It's Complicated

So the other day, I actually found myself giving the answer "I can't, it's complicated." I could have slapped myself. I hate that expression. Because in reality, nothing is complicated. We have complicated everything for ourselves by over-analysing, over-describing and over-stressing.

There was a programme on Radio 4 the other day about how there are some cultures and tribes in the world which don't use numbers. No numbers, none at all. Because they don't think numbers are important. At first I thought, how silly, how can that work? But then the more I thought about it, the simpler the life you lead, the less complicated it is. Kind of like the other day when I had to take my car to the garage because the Lambda Probe had malfunctioned. A ridiculous piece of add-on software meant I couldn't drive for four days. Because it was over complicated. My Dad's 40-year-old VW Beetle has next to no features and doesn't ever break down/malfunction/misbehave. Because it's simple.

Here's to un-complicating everything.

Dinner Party Conversations

"There are three things you should never discuss at a dinner party. Weight, money or politics."


Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone on O2

The Closing Ceremony of London 2012

Where should I even begin? The electrifying opening from Emile Sande? Her gorgeous green dress? Stomp banging it out on their amazing makeshift percussion? One Direction? The John Lennon jigsaw? Kate Middleton? Jessie J, Taio Cruz and Tinie Tempah rolling around in convertible Rolls Royce's? Fatboy Slim in a giant octopus? Boris' dad dancing? The supermodel parade? The designs? THE SPICE GIRLS PERHAPS? 

There are absolutely no words to describe the surreal evening that was the Closing Ceremony. It is my honest belief that Rio, or any other country in the world for that matter, will ever be able to top the London 2012 Closing Ceremony. The evening was a phenomenal tribute to the athletes who have worked so hard for so long to be there, to compete there, to win there. I watched most of the evening through teary eyes and bursts of dancing and singing along to the performers and can safely say, it is the best TV I have ever watched.

So, before I start crying (again), here are a few of my favourite images from the night.

Enjoy! xox

Kate Curls

Something I have never ever been bothered to do is curl my hair. It's just always been such a hassle, with my hair being SO heavy and thick, curls just drop out. Hence my lazy attitude towards curls. Much as I love them on others, whenever I've had curls they've always needed at least half a can of hairspray to stay in anyway (I HATE the crunchy hair feeling) so I simply avoided them.

However. As you may, or may not, know Kate Middleton is my ultimate all-time icon. And she has curls. Perfect, bouncy, salon-blow-dry curls. I knew I needed to find a way round my aversion to curls. So, after a good hour long battle with the GHDs and a masterful technique...I conquered my naughty locks and managed to get them to stay!

My favourite part about it was that after ignoring the hairspray (as a matter of stubborn principle), during the afternoon the curls started to drop from Salon Queen to Casual Princess! Needless to say, I was delighted. The morning result was clean, polished and regal, the evening result was tousled, effortless and a piece of cake.


Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone on O2

Whatever You Want It To Be

Pretty Little Things is now all grown up because I am all grown up! Got the degree to prove it too. My blog is now called "Whatever You Want It To Be", because the more I thought about trying to define my blog in a few succinct sentences, the more I realised it is completely undefinable because my interests are undefinable. I don't sit in the fashion camp, nor do I just post about beauty. I am not a feminist voice, I am not campaigning for anything. I am varied: I love fashion, beauty, shoes, photography. I love cooking, I love the 50s ideals, I love making things.

So, my blog is no longer Pretty Little Things pretending to be a fashion blog, my blog is whatever you want to read, it is varied, it has a bit of this, a bit of that.

I hope you all enjoy reading and looking at whatever madness I'll be posting in the future!

LER xox