I heart my Mini

I've had my Mini for about two and a half months now. Am I happy with it? Absolutely! How did I ever live without a car? No idea!  

It is such a fun car to drive, especially because it's the sporty Cooper S. The engine has a really cool and dangerous-sounding rumble to it :-) 

I'm really pleased with the colour of the car, too. I'm glad I chose the white silver metallic, I think it's elegant and there aren't that many around. The child car seat is also from Mini.

I'm even getting better at parallel parking. I've always hated it but you can't avoid it in Europe so I've had no choice but to learn. When I'm parking, though, I'm always reminded of this video and I sometimes look around to see if anyone's filming me (do you ever wonder if you're on YouTube without your knowing?!). It's funny to watch but how humiliating for the woman! (I actually cringe every time I watch this!)

Chanel lip balm

Do you know that feeling when you really want to like something but it's not quite right for you? You're a bit disappointed but determined to make it work? (what was it?) 

Well, I wish I could declare right now that this Chanel lip balm is the best. I can't, though, because it's not quite as perfect as I'd like it to be... but I'm not giving up just yet! Maybe I'll even blame myself - my expectations are just too high sometimes - so I don't have to criticise a Chanel product :-) 

This doesn't dry out the lips, which I swear some lip balms seem to do. It's moisturising and does its job... it's just not as rich and creamy as the Baume de Rose by Terry that I love so much. Unless you apply a lot, it can feel a bit thin and watery, if that makes sense.... which is uh... perhaps a good thing if you want to apply it under a lipstick?

At least the packaging is chic, light and relatively travel-friendly for a lip balm in a pot.

La tarte tropézienne

Have you ever heard of La Tarte Tropézienne? If you're ever in the south of France you should stop by their boulangerie / patisserie / salon de thé. 

It is also the name of their famous cake. I wanted to try it so I got the smallest one (they called it the bébé - the baby!). It was too sweet for me.

But some people love this stuff... that's why they also sell huge ones (on the left). 

They make everyone's favourite macarons, too. Don't they look good? With all the move-related stress we've had in the past few weeks, I'm so ready to go back for a short holiday!

P.S. We finally got internet in our new home! It's far from perfect - think: cable spaghetti - but I couldn't wait for the hi-tech solution that my husband's planning, I just had to get online. It was torture, not having proper access and I missed blogging. Thank you for coming to visit and comment, even when I couldn't return the favour. It will take me a while to get back into it because I'm still busy with the house but I look forward to visiting your blogs again! 

Our little super hero!

I went to Petit Bateau last week and couldn't resist getting this red super hero outfit (they're actually pyjamas) for my little boy! It comes with a matching cape that you can attach / detach easily and a mask that goes over the eyes!

I also thought this blue one was cute. Could be a Michael Jackson costume! 

For the princess girls, there are pretty things in pink, too, here.

NARS sheer glow packaging

What's up with this weird packaging? Honestly, NARS could do so much better than this. Like with any liquid foundation you are supposed to put the lid back on tightly. But not too tight? Because if you do, it looks like this.

And they don't sell the pump, either (only online).

Otherwise, yes, it's a nice foundation but I find this rather annoying! How important is packaging to you?

Beautiful + Delicious = Beautilicious, right?!

It was a while ago now... but we went to a fancy Japanese restaurant and had a five-course meal with lots of sake. Japanese cuisine always scores high points on presentation and taste, wouldn't you agree?

The sashimi (top right) was the first official course but they brought us a small plate of fried squid beforehand. We chose soup for the second course (it came in a teapot-type thing, how beautiful is that?), then we had prawns and pork for the third.

By the time they served the sushi, I was already full.

But of course I still managed to squeeze in the dessert! We had matcha (green tea) ice cream and matcha pana cotta. Delicious.

There is so much more to Japanese food than sushi! What's your favourite dish?  

Watches by Cartier

When I hear "Cartier", I generally think of their classic timepieces like these (with or without diamonds).

So I was a bit surprised to find these unusual designs!

The last one (bottom right) is supposedly a racoon. Now tell me, who on earth would want a diamond racoon on their watch?! On their Cartier watch?

To be honest, I much prefer the simpler designs. And you?

Marmite love or hate?

I love Marmite. What about you?

Have you ever visited their website? It's really funny! First, you get to choose if you love or hate Marmite... (click to enlarge)

If you love it, they have ideas for Marmite sandwiches!

And if you think it's disgusting... you just go straight to the "I hate Marmite" site!! It's so funny, I had a really good laugh reading all this.

Have you ever tasted Marmite? I want to know if you love it or hate it!

Withdrawal symptoms

Hi everyone!

The move went well and we love our new place! It gets better every day: less boxes, proper lamps (and not just naked light bulbs), real food in the fridge... but it is exhausting.

The one really bad thing is that we do not have internet connection yet. I was getting major withdrawal symptoms so my husband set up the internet again in our old flat, which we have until the end of the month :-) Here I am sitting on the floor because there is no furniture and eating a sandwich for dinner - yes, I'm seriously skipping dinner so I can blog!

I can tell you that life without the internet / blogging is boring! But when I complained to my mother-in-law, she told me to be happy that we have mobile phones! Back in those days they had nothing for the first few months. Just imagine!

Champagne in the fridge

We haven't moved in yet but we finally have the key to our lovely new home! We are now proud homeowners - it's so exciting! Here is our Gaggenau fridge. No food, just a bottle of Veuve Clicquot champagne.

Our weekend will be really busy. Now that I've packed (and I can't tell you how fed up I am with packing), I can't wait to unpack :-) And I hope we never have to move again.
I wish you all a happy weekend!

The Dior box

I just rediscovered a little treasure I'd hidden away safely in my wardrobe...

It's a huge Dior box. Just so you know how big, I put a lipstick (Chanel; sorry I don't have any Dior lipsticks!) next to it.

I bought a Dior bag last year and they gift-wrapped it up for me. This is the box that it came in and whenever I look at it, I am reminded of that Christmas-like moment when I unwrapped my own present. I was squeaking with excitement and had the biggest grin on my face!

I should use it for something nice but don't know what yet. Any ideas?

Not worth it: Free but gooey Lash It mascara

Freebies! I like it when magazines give away stuff for free, and I picked up this particular one just because it was offering a mascara and a shower 'smoothie'. (I haven't even looked at the magazine yet! No time... yesterday I packed for eight hours!)

I'm currently loving my Chanel Inimitable Intense but I am always happy to try out new things. This Lash It mascara came with a metallic base and an extra volume mascara in black. So I took some photos first, then went to take my eye make-up off. I applied the base - it was boring - and when I unscrewed the mascara end, I got this gooey mess, instead.

I couldn't rescue it. So I chucked it out without even trying it.

I was going to say that I can't complain because it was free but I just realised that I paid an extra 50p for this! SO not worth it! Don't get it!

Three types of husbands

Packing is boring and the house is a complete mess but at least I'm finding things that I'd forgotten about. Like this book, Elegance by Kathleen Tessaro. I read it years ago and didn't think it was particularly interesting so I was about to put it aside...

But I had a look inside first and found something I wanted to share. She says:

"There are three types of husbands.

1. The Blind Man, who says, "Isn't that a new suit, darling?" when he at last notices the ensemble you have been wearing for the past two years. There really isn't any point in discussing with him, so let's leave him in peace. At least he has one advantage: he lets you dress as you please.

2. The Ideal Husband, who notices everything, is genuinely interested in your clothes, makes suggestions, understands fashion, appreciates it, enjoys discussing it, knows just what suits you best and what you need, and admires you more than all the other women in the world. If you possess this dream man, hang on to him. He is extremely rare.

3. The Dictator, who knows far better than you what is becoming... and decides if the current styles are good or not and which shop or dressmaker you ought to go to. This type of man's ideas on fashion are sometimes up to date, but most often he has been so impressed with the way his mother used to dress that his taste is, to say the least, about twenty years behind the times."

My husband is definitely #1! What about your husband / partner / boyfriend?

Christmas in September?

I don't know about you but I think it is still way too early to start thinking about Christmas. I was shocked to see Christmas decorations in a department store last week (first week of September!).

Bleu de Chanel: The new men's fragrance

This is the newest men's fragrance by Chanel and I picked up a bottle for my husband. He was impressed with the magnetic cap (a detail I'd probably never have noticed). I think I still prefer the Egoiste Platinum, though.

Watch the film! It's amazing how much time, effort and money they put into selling one new fragrance, isn't it? 

(If this doesn't work, click here.)

Frank Gehry's clouds

Don't you just love these cloud lights designed by the famous architect, Frank Gehry? They would look amazing in a high-ceilinged room, especially if the ceiling were painted light blue (perfect for children)! 

The big cloud (last picture) is fun but I'd prefer to have several of the smaller ones like in the first two images. What about you? 

More information here and here. All via Google Images.

A question of Philosophy

Philosophy is a brand that I've heard so much about but never tried. These are some of the products I'm especially interested in. Have you tried them? What are your Philosophy favourites?

London passport holder by Accessorize

I finally made it to Accessorize after blogging about their cute stationery. I picked up some stickers and this passport holder! I am so pleased with this little find and can't wait to use it on my next trip!

Have a look at the Paris one here.
I wish I had the matching luggage tag - like this one for Paris.