Be Inspired...

Despite the stress of having the little flat redecorated, the excitement of choosing new furniture has taken over!

Not being able to face spending hours of precious weekend time trawling furniture shops with the masses, Pashminas and Pearls decided to spend a mere fraction of that time looking at furniture websites from the comfort of my sofa.

I say furniture websites plural but being a huge fan of Oka online I headed straight there – and there I looked no further. ‘Green Fingers’ (significant other) has just splashed out on some Oka furniture for his pad – sofa, coffee table, lights to name but a few(!) so I’d seen some of their newer products in the flesh.

Oka’s website is fabulous – with products ranging from sofas and beds to accessories and fabrics - the quality of the photography gives you a clear and enticing idea of how stylish your own home can look.

I could have furnished a whole house, let alone my two bedroom flat! And for those lacking in imagination, there’s a section on the site called Be Inspired that shows great examples of their pieces working together – fab for some helpful hints.


I must admit I did get a little carried away – despite the best intentions of only getting a couple of new bedside tables (pictured) and a chest of drawers , my final check out also included two gorgeous lattice lamps and a veda rug that will match my curtains perfectly!
Money well spent I say!

Searching for Sun...

Fed up with the lack of summer so far, Green Fingers and I decided to go looking for the sun instead. Despite a week in Jersey ‘en famille’, the diary is looking almost as bleak as the Fulham sky.

Deciding enough was enough, after Pashminas and Pearls experienced another bad hair day in the torrential rain, I resorted to trawling through the websites, searching for some winter sun possibilities. It’s also going to be Green Fingers any my first holiday together so even more pressure to get it just right. Being seen in the wrong sort of hotel or resort would have done nothing for our reputation!!

After my initial suggestions of the Banyan Tree, Sandy Lane and any one of the One and Onlys being shot down with exclamations of ‘I wouldn’t pay that for a week let alone night!’, we decided on Egypt. Far enough for winter sun, but wouldn’t blow the annual electricity budget! I admit Pashminas and Pearls can be a little picky and fussy sometimes, but there really is no point in slumming it don’t you agree?

It was at this point frustration kicked in and the emails went flying to the luxury travel agents – the package holidays wasn’t quite what Pashminas and Pearls had in mind…Why this didn’t come to me sooner I don’t know. Within a day we had the perfect holiday all booked through Exsus Travel without the ‘stress and strain’ of having to do it ourselves. Take a peek at what we booked...The Oberoi.

Some may say Pashminas and Pearls is a touch on the spoilt side – I say it’s more a case of searching for perfection…that’s my excuse anyway!!

Party Preparations...

Boys definitely have it easy when it comes to going to black ties parties and weddings by simply putting on the dinner jacket or morning suit and then making the ‘tough’ decision of which shirt and tie to wear.

If only it was that easy for us girls!!

Not only do we have to find the perfect dress, shoes and bag to match, we’ve then got the pre-party preparations to deal with.

I had a lengthy and time consuming to do list to get through before a wedding I went to last week. Having found the outfit (see blog Dilemma), it was then down to the prep.

Being more of an ‘English Rose’ than a ‘California Tan’, it was straight to the beauty salon for a head to toe self tan. Having had previous disasters with spray tans (drips down legs…) and trying to apply them myself at home (I had to borrow tights from the host at a 21st once) it was straight to Gina Conway on the Fulham Road.

I opted for the all over sun kissed look. With the choice of either St Tropez or Aveda (a more natural tan – apparently) I went for the latter – the I’ve been tangoed look is smacks of Footballer’s Wives and isnt a look that Pashminas and Pearls goes for!

The added bonus of Aveda is that it’s clear, so popping down to Amuse Bouch for a couple of glasses of bubbles afterwards wasn’t a problem!

Next came the nails – I popped in to my favourite nail spot The Nail Gallery on the Fulham Road for a quick mani, and then just the day before, came the eyebrows.

With the day of the wedding on us, all that was left to do was the wash, blow dry and straightening of the hair. With my hair having a natural wave to it, hair straighteners are an essential in every weekend bag!

The final touches were then made – a pashmina and a set of pearls…what else?!

Online Temptation...

Pashminas and Pearls has just started writing a fortnightly blog on SheerLuxe.com. It’s a fabulous website full of goodies and ideas about shopping online whether you're shopping for fashion, for your home, for your children or even your pets! There's a great daily email with all that's hot too. Keep reading for Pashminas and Pearls’ first post!

LK Bennett was made for Pashminas and Pearls. A shoe or boot for every occasion, be it a wedge espadrille for a summer’s afternoon at the beach or killer heels for a drinks party, you need look no further than LK Bennett’s website.

The perfect outfit can be ruined by teaming it with the wrong shoes. However lazy or poor I’m feeling, Pashminas and Pearls will go to all lengths to find the ‘right pair of shoes’ to complete a look. Now, I can be lazy, save my newly pedicured tootsies and view an endless supply of shoes from the comfort of my sofa or, heaven forbid, my desk at work - LK Bennett has now gone online! Gone are the days when you’ve got to sit and wait your turn in a hectic shoe shop on a Saturday morning. The site is slick, simple and easy to use with great images of their shoes and boots, giving you the ultimate temptation.

I’ve got a wedding in a couple of weeks – found the perfect dress (was really rather spenny) and needed some fabulous to go with that weren’t going to break the bank and were going to still be on my feet by the end of the evening.

These are what I chose:

And these are what I’m getting next!:

The downside? Making it even easier to succumb to yet another pair of shoes!

Chinese Heaven...

After a long day of packing (redecorating my little flat isn’t quite as simple as I’d first envisaged…) a visit to the newly reopened Mao Tai on the New Kings Road was in order. Over exerting oneself at the weekend deserves a reward in my opinion, and given that Green Fingers is going to be landlord for the next three weeks (yes this could be make or break!) I thought he deserved a thank you too.

Fulhamites are blessed with a fantastic array of delicious eateries, so there’s really no need to leave the Borough – a relief after a stressful day! (When I started planning a face lift for the flat I’d had visions of me browsing Oka Catalogues over glasses of wine in the evenings…hadn’t reckoned on having to completely pack up, lug boxes and move out.)

Anyway back to supper… No Chinese restaurant compares to Mao Tai, although Green Fingers argues that a particular take away gives it serious competition. In my view, I tell him (and you too reader), that there’s nothing more fun than getting dressed up and going to a yummy restaurant with good company – Green Fingers goes silent at this point, realising he’s about to dig a very deep hole if continues this debate.

Anyway, after popping in on some fellow Fulhamites for pre-dinner bubbles (a great way to curb the carb cravings), we arrive at Mao Tai. Feeling a little envious that they were off to Tom’s Kitchen, (another Pashminas and Pearls fave – there she’s often to be found lunching with a girl friend and partaking in a bit of celeb watching), I was quickly picked up by a delicious cocktail and the mouth watering aromas wafting from the kitchen.

And feeling very much at home surrounded by many a girl in her pashminas and pearls, we promptly devoured unbeatable Chinese (the lettuce wrapped duck is quite simply to die for).

A great evening had by all. Didn’t know dining out with one’s landlord could be so fun!

Dilemma...

The age old dilemma of ‘what to wear' never seems to go away, though the wardrobe and credit card bill still seems to grow. The trauma of what to wear to this week’s wedding, Ascot or a summer drinks party is enough to drive you to drink!

Shopping’s always been a huge weakness of mine; I blame my mother for passing on her excessive shopping gene. I can walk into LK Bennett with the best intensions (one pair only) and then leave half an hour later with three! (Though Pashminas and Pearls couldn't possibly be seen in only one new pair all season – what would people think?)

The week’s shopping dilemma was a new wedding outfit. After perusing the old favourites and deciding they were so last year, I came to the conclusion something new and fabulous was needed; the credit card was going to be stretched once more.

Harvey Nics, where else I hear you say, didn’t know what’d hit it. Arm in arm with fellow Fulhamite/old school chum/personal shopper, we ploughed through concession after concession. (Girls in pearls aren’t known for their adventurous fashion sense, twin sets being more the norm!)

After four hours, thirty odd dresses (I could have bought the whole of DvF) and only a couple of foot stamping episodes, ‘the dress’ was finally found. The fact it was one of the first I tried wasn’t at all frustrating for anyone…!! Teamed with, you guessed it, pearls and a pashmina, we completed the look and our achievement for the weekend. (New pumps from French Sole were perhaps a little unnecessary but very useful and go perfectly with my new pash!).

The day was finished in true Pashminas and Pearls style with cocktails and pomme frites in Sophie’s Steakhouse. The steak is to die for, but who needs chateaubriand when you’ve got strawberry daiquiris and mojitos! Within spitting distance of ‘the Borough’ what more could you want?

Any dream will do...

Being an avid fan of ‘Any Dream Will Do’, I could barely contain my excitement when my Joseph tickets dropped through my letterbox. Daddy’s contacts certainly come in helpful in desperate times like these! It’s booked out until next March don’t you know…well the decent tickets are anyway.

Accompanied by ‘Green Fingers’ (if his friends ask 'I was dragged kicking and screaming'), we left the comfort of ‘the borough’ - Fulham, just to recap, on our latest cultural trip to the West End. It’s times like these when I remember why I rarely leave ‘the borough’. The stress of hordes of people – mostly tourists snapping their cameras and generally getting in the way, almost sent me over the edge. Until I found the safety of a cheap and cheerful Italian restaurant for a much needed sharpener.

Revived after a drink or two, we ventured into the theatre.

Despite the rustling of sweet wrappers and crisp packets (you’d have thought we were in the local cinema not a West End theatre) and the wolf whistling at Lee Mead in a loin cloth and not much else – which I must admit put a smile on my face, Joseph was brilliant and well worth the hype and effort to get the gold dust tickets.

…until the beginning of the second half when the stage broke. Our fellow theatre goers erupted into booing and moaning. I felt the same, but girls in pearls don’t heckle or jeer! Luckily for us (and the cast who I think would've been lynched by a disgruntled audience at the stage doors, particularly the chap in front of me who’s blood pressure seemed to have risen dangerously by the puce colour his face had gone…), the show did go on, albeit in concert style at the front of the stage.

And there finished our West End outing - a black taxi was quickly hailed - public transport twice in one day was far too much to deal with! I’d highly recommend Joseph – if only to oogle at Lee Mead’s freshly waxed and delightfully toned chest!!