In love with this styling

All from asos. Isn't it so inspiring? So many great ideas to try out.

This month, I've been...

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Reading... Auntie Mame: An Irreverant Escapade by Patrick Dennis. Such a fun book. A young boy goes to live with his lovely & incredibly eccentric Auntie Mame after his father passes away & it follows their relationship. I was immediately hooked. I challenge anyone to not want to be Auntie Mame after reading it.

Watching... 30 Rock, Season 2. How did I not discover this show earlier. Seriously, it is so good.

Wearing... thick, oversized, wollen jumpers, skinnies & my (badly worn) brogues. Yes, I am dressing like a 40 year old man (apart from the lipstick). But in my defence it is freeeezing!

Buying... pretty tumblers & bowls (mine are in a mustard yellow - my obsession with this colour continues) from Anthropologie & some animal print flats from Topshop

Eating... a lot of cake, especially these cupcakes & this Moroccan chicken dish. My Mum made it for us on Christmas Eve & I've been rustling it up on a weekend ever since. The only change to the recipe that I'd recommend is to just add the 1 tsp of cinnoman & 1 tbsp of the honey, otherwise it can be a little bit too sweet.

Listening to... Doncamatic, Gorillaz featuring Daley (what a voice) & rather randomly, Always Look on the Bright Side of Life by those Monty Python Boys.

Dreaming... of seeing Arcade Fire in Hyde Park this June (I must buy tickets) & of our trip to Monte Carlo to watch the tennis in April. So much to look forward to!

Hope you all had a lovely weekend - Louise x

Perfection

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These photos pretty much sum up how I would love our flat to look after the redecoration. We're going with white walls but we really want nice big splashes of colour. I don't know about you, but I need colour around me - it instantly makes me happy!

My favourite vanilla cupcake recipe

I'm a bit of a fuss pot when it comes to cupcakes. I can't stand inches of sickly sweet icing - it's way too overwhelming for me! I want a lot of sponge cake and a nice morish amount of buttercream icing sitting pretty on the top, yum!

So I've been trying a ton of recipes in my search for the perfect vanilla cupcake and this Primrose Bakery recipe has to be my favourite so far*. I saw online that some people have complained that the sponge is a bit too dense & I'd agree that in a Victoria sponge, it would probably be a little too heavy, but for me the slightly denser sponge works a treat with a small cupcake :)

If you give the recipe a go, do let me know what you think!

*Apologies for the Daily Mail link - it was the only place I could find the recipe online. I'm not a big fan of that paper!

If you ever feel stressed/a little down in the dumps

...then I strongly recommend that you stop whatever you are doing & play the video below. The most hilarious thing I've seen. When things get a bit too stressful in the office, we huddle around a computer, watch this, laugh a lot & instantly feel better.

Thanks for the moves Jagger & Bowie x

A darling Brooklyn apartment

I recently came across the blog, Darling Dexter. Not quite sure how I didn't find it earlier - especially as I'd been swooning over the bedroom in their old NY apartment for months. I was so excited to see photos of their new apartment in Brooklyn. Just as amazing - as these photos (via Design*Sponge) show...

A little obsessed

I'm more than a little obsessed with collars at the moment... Shirts with pretty collars, dresses with sweet peter pan collars, collars peaking out of the top of jumpers, etc. etc. (You get the picture!)

I thought it would be nice to share a few items on my wishlist - & a few photos that have been inspiring me lately - enjoy!

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Etsy pearl collar & Topshop tiered blouse

I saw this Topshop dress in the store & to be honest wasn't even tempted to try it on. But then I saw this lady in it & am now smitten. Ah the power of the blogosphere!