Kindle Classics

I am a Kindle addict, it's no secret. In fact, I even wrote this little love letter to my precious e-reader on the blog. Even though my Kindle has a good enough cover, I can never help looking at new ones. 

When I saw these gorgeous covers from KleverCase I fell into total lust. The ingenious people over at KleverCase have created Kindle covers that look and feel like cloth bound books. Read more about how it all began here.

The To Kill A Mockingbird cover made a perfect birthday present for my brother's girlfriend, a fellow book-lover. My personal favourite has to be the Pride and Prejudice cover.

And that's not all, they even have a classic James Bond range as well as covers for other types of e-readers. Plus, you can personalise the covers when giving them as gifts. Aren't they beautiful?

All images from KleverCase

Life in London Lately....

We're rapidly approaching the five month move-iversary over here in London. Five months, it's craziness. Moving is a total roller-coaster of emotions. Sometimes I feel like I've just been on a really long holiday and that I'll eventually return to normal life back in Cape Town. Other times I'm overcome with terrible home-sickness and would give anything to trade it all in and see people and places I love so much.

Mostly though, I just love waking up to the sound of the hundreds of birds chirping, my daily walk to the red bus that takes me to work and the feeling I get when I wake up on a Saturday morning and realize that I have a whole, beautiful weekend stretching ahead of me in a beautiful city. The winter darkness has vanished and spring is all over. There are flowers and cherry blossom trees bursting everywhere. The sun rises early and sets late, making it feel like the day has an extra hour or two squeezed in. Le Fiance and I have settled into new jobs and have started to make the flat into our home. We're slowly getting rid of upcycled box furniture (true story) and have started furniture thrifting and painting the flat in colours we love. We're also having fun being live-in tourists, exploring museums, markets and parks.

Life has even calmed down enough for me to start wedding planning and blogging. It's been too long since I've had the thrill of clicking on the New Post button in blogger. 

Below are a few pictures of life here through an Instagram lens. 

/Our building/ Day trip to Brighton/ Lomography in the park/

/Regent's Park/ The Shard/ A carnival/ A beer in the sun/ 

/DIY-ing/ Wedding planning/

No Chips Ahead, Essie's Miracle Top Coat

One thing I can't stand is a chipped manicure. I can get through five days max before the dreaded chips appear.  When I spotted Essie's No Chips Ahead I knew I had to give it a try. It promises to extend your manicure from chipping for up to 10 days. My faith in its abilities started to grow when Le Fiance and I began our apartment DIY, there wasn't a chip in sight after a day full day of work. 

I love it when products manage to do what they promise. Although I didn't quite manage to get to the 10 day mark, I think 8 days without any serious chippage is pretty darn good. This little Essie miracle is definitely going on my beauty staple list. 

The Little Paris Kitchen

I've begun a little Sunday morning ritual here in London. I sit with a cup of coffee in front of the telly (Ha! Did you see what I just did there?) and I'm transported to Paris through Rachel Khoo's quirky cooking show, The Little Paris Kitchen. 

Rachel moved to Paris to learn more about the art of French cooking. After studying at Le Cordon Bleu, she opened the world's smallest pop-up restaurant in her French apartment to test recipes for her book. On her show she wanders around quaint food markets and whips up delicious French classics with a modern twist in her tiny kitchen, filled with thrifted pots and pans. She makes it all look oh-so-easy while wearing gorgeous vintage-inspired outfits. 

Her recipe book is on the top of my wish list at the moment and definitely needs to find a home on my bookshelf in my Little London Kitchen.

See Rachel in her kitchen here, discover some of her cooking tips here and learn about some of her favourite places in Paris over here. 

image source 1,2 and 3

Retro-Romance

How adorable is this romantic short by Disney? It's called Paperman and has been nominated this year for an Oscar in the Best Animated Short Film category and I really hope it wins. It's a charming little story, set in 1940s New York, about a paper-pushing office worker that has a chance meeting with the girl of his dreams on a train platform. Read more about the interesting animation process here.

Watch and swoon....

How To: Wear Your Hair While Growing Out Your Bangs

Almost all of us been there. We decide we are going to commit to bangs. We know we are strong enough to deal with regular visits to the hairdresser, the daily styling, the comparisons to Ugly Betty (oh, is that just me?) Inevitably, we get to the "falling out of love" stage of Bang-dom. That's when we vow we'll never, ever get bangs again. I've been at this point three or four times before, and that's where I currently find myself again. I want out. I went on a quest to find out how I can live in harmony with my bangs while they grow out, before I give in and trim them myself (the horror). Here are some wonderful tips on how to wear your bangs during their awkward growing out phase....

1. Pin It Back

This is my go-to solution, bangs are tucked away nice and neatly. Adding a bow to this look, as suggested on A Beautiful Mess, is a genius idea as it hides away the ends of your bangs that stick out when pinned back. 

2. A Different Part

You can experiment with different parts while saying au revior to your fringe. I like pushing mine to make a side parting, which is the easiest, no-fuss way to live with bangs. I love Alexa's middle part but that requires a bit more styling and might not work for everyone. 

3. Use a Headband

A tight head band can disguise your bangs altogether. Use hairspray or a styling gel to keep any flyaway bits of hair in check and create volume behind the band by teasing the hair just behind the band. 

4. Go Retro

Create a side parting then pin your bangs to the side with a well-disguised bobby pin, this will work great for when your fringe is at the embarrassingly long phase. 

image source 1, 2, 3, 4