Pac-A-Perfect-Mac

Hooray! It's nearly the weekend, and a long one at that. I, along with millions of others, wil be attempting to get somewhere near the river on Sunday to watch the Queen's Pageant sail past, but of course it's due to rain - I'm taking precautions!

I'm bound to be wearing something unsuitable for the weather, I always do. I guess it's just wishful thinking perhaps but I hop into my flip flops at any chance I get and I'm sure this weekend will be no different. Suitably dainty little dress, sunglasses and sandals at the ready I'm all set for the Jubilee weekend - except this morning's Metro said Beryl's on her way. Yep, a storm called Beryl (who names these?!) is set to bring wind and rain to spoil everyone's fun. 

Now apparently the stormy weather won't hit until Tuesday but i'm not taking any chances - they may be a thing of the past but pac-a-macs are back, the ideal addition to your bag this weekend. For pure convenience I'm heading to Topshop to choose from these three - they have so many to choose from so it's definitely worth a look and they're just a bit nicer than the standard camping store option aren't they...

Basic pac-a-parka - £24, Topshop

Mink pac-a-poncho - £20, Topshop

 For something a little more sturdy this plastic mac would be great too, decisions...

Metallic plastic mac - £45, Topshop

All of these are perfect for carrying over to your festival wardrobe too!

Britain goes flag mad

It's no secret that I love the patriotic vibe the whole of Britain has going on at the moment so to celebrate, here's a post of things I've seen and loved about our wonderful country over the last few days...

A message from The Ritz

A very patriatic Victoria Station

Doing our part on the roof terrace

I managed to get there before the crowds!

This weekend will be seeing the whole country celebrate and I for one will be joining in and attending the village street party - Bring. It. On

A new obsession

I've finally discovered the wonder that is Instagram. This can only be a bad thing for my productivity - not only is it fun to snap away and play with the different finishes but it's also another social media platform, pretty similar to Pinterest I suppose. 

You can follow my pics at satchels_and_soap but for a preview here's what I've been wasting time on for the last couple of days...

a little random perhaps but there we go.

A Dog's Life at dwell

While having a browse on the dwell website I spotted too many adorable pooch-themed products that I just had to share with you - here are some of my favourites:

Balloon Dog Bookeneds - £69, dwell

Posh Pug Cushion - £49, dwell

Flocked Dog Vase - £129, dwell

and possibly one of the best things I've ever seen...

Balloon Dog Table Lamp - £129, dwell

and just because it's sunny and a Tuesday...

The hunt is over - Kooples Vs Zara

You may remember a couple of weeks ago my post 'On The Hunt' - it was basically a little entry of me swooning and drooling over the Kooples shirt below...

I'm sure you'll agree it's a beauty but at a whopping £180 it just wasn't in the budget - enter the Zara alternative...

Shirt with gold tipped collar - £29.99, Zara

Dotted with cheetahs and gold tipped collar/cuffs this it the ideal day-to-night shirt and is perfect teamed with casual jeans, a skirt, shorts, you name it!

I wore with shiny leggings and brogues for the daytime, swapping for some heels to dress it up for the night...

Brogues - Office, Heels - Kurt Geiger

Wrap it all up with the Deyn camel/black jacket from Aqua by Aqua for the finishing touch, now reduced to £91!

Kooples Vs Zara : Stag Vs Cheetah - Cheetah wins!

Newburgh Quarter does Britannia

It seems the Newburgh Quarter in Soho is gearing up for next month's Jubilee celebrations...

Why not give it a go at home with this offering from Paperchase:

Bunting - £4.50, Paperchase

Check out more Britannia goodies for a right royal tea party here.

Project Bathroom - Loo roll holder revolution

For those of you that are familiar with my 'Project Bathroom' posts you'll know that I haven't updated you on this for a while - purely and simply, it's not finished. It's taking absolutely ages to get around to doing the finishing touches and I want it to be perfect before 'the Big Reveal'. 

As a taster, here's possibly the cutest, handiest loo roll holder I've seen so far (yes, I really am being this picky about the accessories - they make the bathroom!)...

B Roll - £54, Nordic Elements

Not only does this avoid the whole searching-for-the-end-of-the-roll palava but you also have a handy section for either spare loo roll (as shown) or perhaps the perfect storage space for a magazine (in the case of Mr S&S!)

Also available in other colours - check them out here.

Roll on the sunshine (with a little help from Field Candy)

For those of you that are bored of waiting for the sunshine we've found the answer - bring on the Summer with imagination and a bit of help from Field Candy...

So whether you fancy a day at the beach...

Field Candy Hot Girls - £495

(team this weirdly adorable tent with this little number for the full sun, sea and sand feeling)

Palm Sunset bikini - from £40, French Connection

Or perhaps you want a day in the countryside...

Field Candy Animal Farm - £495

 

(with this one some muddy wellies should do the trick - try the ones below, if you can bear to make them dirty!)

EWE Boots - £160, EWE Style

or why not just cheer up a rainy day with this beautiful option...

Field Candy by Phillip Gatward - £595

(team with a delicious Summery picnic in the garden - why not!)

You can see even more incredible designs on the website (here) - whether you're going camping, want an easy way to find your tent at a festival or just fancy buying something incredibly cute and novel then Field Candy seems to be the only logical answer.

S&S FOOD: MEATliqour

Last night I experienced the wonder that is MEATLiqour - Romantic, civilised and sophisticated it is not; delicious, mouthwateringly good and buzzing it most definitely is.

Having heard a lot of reviews that you will often have to queue around the block for an hour or so we thought a Monday night would be safe - luckily as we arrived at 6:45 we were fine although queues were building up when we left at around 9pm.

Inside the atmosphere is electric. The lighting is low, with red strip lights to set a bit of a grimey feel. The walls are graffitied, with a feature wall of plastic flaps covered in red 'blood' (paint) - you know the sort usually found in a slaughter house-type setting. It was reasonably early and the place was already full to the brim with drinkers and diners alike. We wormed our way through to the last table at the back of the restaurant and set about examining the menu, bringing me nicely onto the food - wow!

The MEAT part of the menu consisted of a variety of burgers, I opted for the Green Chili Cheeseburger. The LIQOUR section of the menu offered much more - a host of beverages to choose from, ranging from simple beer to an extensive cocktail list or perhaps champagne, I went for the Paloma while MR. S&S had the Donkey Punch, a whole load of ginger ale goodness.

I would go into detail of the food and cocktails but, and I think this is praise enough, you really have to try it to know just how good it is - literally the best burger I've ever eaten!

The photos are awful but you get the jist - and with everything served on one tray you really do just have to get stuck it (which completely explains the Kitchen Roll as a serviette replacement - very wise!)

and the dessert - if I could just eat one thing for the rest of my life it'd be the Quack Pie - To.Die.For!!!

Overall - completely, 100%, highly recommend.

Upcycled treasures

You may have previously read my post on the fabulous website & blog Breadbox - if you did you will remember my love of the upcycled shoe bench and my plan to give it all a go myself. Well, although I haven't got around to doing any form of DIY upcycling myself, Breadbox is still demonstrating how worthwhile it is - check out the new addition, this beautifully industrial coffee table made from an old, abandoned work bench...

before:

and the much-improved after:

Stunning!

A daily must - Emergency Cute Stuff!

I've just been introduced to Emergency Cute Stuff - a twitter account that needs to be shared, it's amazing! Here are a couple of gems but you really do need to see the rest, they're just too darn cute!

Follow Emergency Cute Stuff on Twitter, you know you want to!

Spring clean with some expert help

Contrary to what the weather seems to think it's Spring which can only mean one thing - the dreaded spring clean. It's one of those things we all hate but, ultimately, it feels so good once it's done! Interiors store dwell have decided to lend a helping hand by offering classes on interior design with their new Spring Talks.

With interior design expert Karen Stones hosting four 1 hour classes on creating the perfect living room there is no better excuse to get stuck in and start building your ideal home - mine would be something like this...

from Living Etc

dwell Spring Talks:

Guildford store - 17th May, 11am

Richmond store - 22nd May, 11am

Kingston store - 23rd May, 11am

Tottenham Court Road store - 24th May, 6pm

Just RSVP to helen.marsh@dwell.co.uk for your place but be quick, they're running out fast!

Bank Holiday trip to the zoo

On Sunday I went with the family to London Zoo - this trip included two little ones both under the age of 1 yr...that in itself was pretty exhausting but what a brilliant day out. Despite the fact that the zoo is typically a place for children it was most definitely the adults that had the best time and, to make it even better we even got 2 for 1 tickets, very handy for 10 of us!

To continue with the wild theme, and since I have a beautiful little niece with her first birthday approaching, what better way to end the post than with the ideal gift to celebrate an amazing day out.

Adidas Infant - Available from the Newburgh Street store

On the hunt

Working around Carnaby Street means it's nigh-on impossible to avoid shopping, or at least the desire to go shopping. One store I try to avoid as much as possible is The Kooples - I could literally buy everything in there if only I had a never ending supply of cash! 

It was inevitable really, I couldn't avoid it forever, and now I've fallen completely hook, line and sinker for this little number - the only catch, it's a fairly steep £180! But I do love it...

Printed Silk Jacquard Shirt - £180, The Kooples 

Pete Doherty collection at The Kooples

With thanks to Project Bathroom (the never-ending bain of my life!) I need to hunt for a cheaper option but I seem to be so blind-sided by this one I'm not sure anything will quite compete - might just have to take the plunge then, what a shame!

Old & Board - Wish you were here!

I know I say it a lot but, let's face it, this weather is grim. It's already May and London is grey, drab, damp, chilly and generally dull - I feel my view at this very second highlights this perfectly...

As much as I would much prefer this:

or this:

or even this, (after all I just want sunshine!):

...it just doesn't look like it's going to happen anytime soon, instead I've taken to dreaming about kitting out my garden to make the most of the sunshine when it does finally decide to make an appearance - say hello to Old & Board...

Old & Board is a San Francisco based company that works directly with the customer to design and hand-make beautiful chairs and tables out of reclaimed wood, customising the finish specifically to the customer's needs. With all of the wood coming from salvage yards, waste from building projects and even old pallets there are some imperfections, but that's what makes the finished chair or table so great - every product is unique and tells a different story. 

Unfortunately for us Old & Board currently only sell locally in San Francisco but I doubt it will be garden weather anytime soon in the UK so, who knows, they might be available here by the time the sun does come out - either way these are certainly worth sitting in the rain for - I'm in love.

OLD & BOARD