A Few Of My Favourite Things

Like a lot of girls, I'm a sucker for accessories. Mixing up your jewellery and hair bands etc is such an easy way of making an outfit look a bit 'different' and creates a focal point for plainer ensembles.
No one likes to be seen in the same dress two weeks in a row do they? But there are times it can't be helped, so I like to find weird and wonderful trinkets to add a little something extra to an LBD...

A website that I love is Temporary Secretary-http://www.temporary-secretary.com/

They carry and eccentric collection of jewellery, brooches and hair accessories at pretty reasonable prices. Here are a few of my faves...

Sex And The City made the name necklace oh-so-popular after Carrie's became her signature piece.  This Wizard of Oz 'Dorothy' necklace (below)  is adorable and the ruby slipper charms make it stand out more than the standard name necklaces. They're priced at £18.75 and also come in 'Alice' design with Wonderland themed charms.

I'm drawn to certain motifs when it come to accessories, birds and birdcages are a regular occurrence in my collection, even most of my tattoo's are based around bird designs...and now I've made myself look like the crazy bird feeder in Mary Poppins, I'll continue... these cute necklaces (below) are right up my street and range from £14-£18.

Charm bracelets are quite traditional and you don't see many people wearing vintage ones anymore. Most of them now consist of quite contemporary designs, but I think this one (above, £35) incorporates both old and new school elements with the gold and coloured charms. Lovely!

Possibly saving the best for last is this quirky fry-up ring (£12, below) that Paloma Faith was seen wearing on Never Mind The Buzzcocks. Little pieces like this could essentially be seen as really tacky, but I love them!

Love Is In The Air

Jade Jones has finally popped the question to Emma Bunton - yay!

After 11 years together it's been publicised that this couple have had their ups and downs. A highlight being their first son, Beau, being born while Emma is currently pregnant with their second baby-spice. The Dancing On Ice judge has previously said of her relationship to the former 'Damage' star, 'I can honestly say that we're really happy, so we don't feel the need to formalise it.' But the proposal was obviously a happy surprise as Em tweeted on Saturday
'Yahooooo I'm Engaged! Love you Jade! I'm a very happy lady!'

Pal Davina Mccall was one of the first to congratualte her, tweeting
'OMG r u engaged??? Well done !!!!! So happy for u both!'

Victoria Beckham was first in line though, tweeting 'Congratulations Emma and Jade on your engagement! we are so happy for you!x vb,’Mrs Becks then arranged a dinner at Ongar for the gals and their guys to celebrate. Aww.

There must be something in the water in celeb land as Jade Jones isn't the only one to put a ring on it...
Lady GaGa's beax Luc Carl reportedly proposed to Poker-Face-Pretty (both pictured above) at Luc's parents house in Nebraska over Christmas. An insider told the Daily Star "She and Luc are in no rush to name a wedding date. She doesn't even have a proper ring because he couldn't afford one."

The cute couple met four years ago at a Manhattan bar where Carl worked, and last year had a 'spiritualcommitment ceremony' in Greece (below) 

GaGa is no stranger to a good PR stunt, so it comes as no shock that the singer is apparently going tomake a formal announcement on the release date of her new

single 'Born This Way' on Feb 13th.

We'll all be waiting Stefani!

Does America Need Thicker Skins?

On this side of the pond, the series' of 'Skins' has been embraced with open arms. From the early days of Tony, Sid, and crazy Cassie to the newer cast of Cook and Effy, the UK have accepted that a culture of drinking, drugs and casual sex is present in the lives of British teens, and Skins has depicted this openly, honestly and for the most part, pretty accurately.

'Skins USA' has recently been unleashed on the American public and with a few character tweaks the series is essentially the same as the first one we saw with the British cast. It comes as no surprise that the PTC (Parents Television Council) have hit out at the controversial show saying it is "the most dangerous show for children on television".

Ron Mustafaa who plays 'Abbud', AKA Anwar, responded, "It's a show. Your kids might be doing this or they might not. We're not saying that they should do it." While Daniel Flaherty (who plays Stanley, AKA Sid) pointed out, "It's actually good potentially because it's more real and showing what teenagers actually do... It does show consequences for bad actions as well."

If America can condone the 'real lives' of Snooki and the gang getting wasted and having sex in hot tubs in the middle of the day, it baffles me as to why a fictional show is "dangerous" to their society?!

Pure Fashion Gold

Award season is upon us and the stars kicked off their fashion showcase at the 68th Annual Golden Globe Awards.

The 'Red Carpet' - seeing who-wore-what plays as big a part in these ceremonies now as who actually wins the awards. So, bypassing who took home a globe I'll share with you a few of my fashion faves of the night.

Eva Longoria  looked perfectly petite as always in this stunning Zac Posen dress. The sleeves, neckline and cinched waist complement her shape by accentuating her tiny waist but the low neck and cut out back makes this dress a little more daring.

Sandra Bullock (below) always looks stunning on the red carpet but this dress,by British designer Jenny Packham, particularly stood out for me. A few celebs chose to clash with the red carpet with the pale pink colour, including Glee's Lea Michele, which added a nice Spring/Summer touch to the Winter ceremony. Sandy complemented the silver embellishments on the dress with her jewellery and clutch bag and I love how she kept her hair simply straight and sleek, keeping focus on the dress.

Perhaps my favourite dress of the night was Mila Kunis (above), who isn't really a red-carpet-veteran in the fashion world but Macaulay's ex came up trumps in this emerald Vera Wang number. Granted, Mila could probably wear a hand-me-down from Oxfam and still look beautiful, but this dress works wonders for her.
She keeps the rest of her look simple with a dainty gold bracelet and an up-do which draws attention to the one shoulderdesign of the dress. Stunning!

I can't talk dresses without mentioning the wonder that is Helena Bonham Carter (above). The quirky actress wore this Vivienne Westwood creation with mismatched shoes, and also whacked on some Beatle-esque sunglasses as she posed for the paps.This is a look only Mrs Burton could pull off. She brings an element of fun and diversity to the red carpet which shows she doesn't take herself too seriously, which I love about her.

It's always interesting to see how couples co-ordinate their outfits on the red carpet. Back in the day we saw Britney and Justin do their oh-so-cute denim combo, and the Beckham's dabbled in matching leathers but my fave couple at this years GG's was Catherine Zeta Jones and Michael Douglas (pictured below).
Catherine wore a breathtaking Emerald (also a popular colour this year) coloured Monique Lhuillier ballgown and the coupleoozed affection . They were very sweet and honest while chatting to E!'s Ryan Seacrest about their tough year and Michael's rehabilitation.The actor spoke of how he has had the all-clear after being diagnosed with cancer 5 months ago, but still has to have monthly check-ups.
As he took the stage to present the award for Best Film he joked 'There's gotta be an easier way to get a standing ovation'

As I mentioned, men's fashion doesn't cause quite the stir at award ceremonies as that of the ladies, but a few did stand out...
Bieber rocked his D&G suit with a pair of shiny sneakers, while Zac Efron looked smooth in his skinny black tie (both pictured above) But my award for hottest male would have to go to Blue Valentine's Ryan Gosling (below). Any man that can work a velvet suit like that is a winner in my books.

A Catch-Up With The X

It's the start of a new year and generally the time when people, attempt, to make changes in their lives. No group of people have been given a greater springboard into 2011 than this years X-Factor contestants. The likes of Waissel, Lloyd and Cardle have had so much press over the last 6 months there's no doubt that 2011 is their oyster. So what have they been up to of late?

Little Miss Lloyd has (no shockers here) headed out to America and has been in Miami recording with producer RedOne, who's also worked with Lady GaGa, and is pictured above with artist 'Porcelaine' on a little break from being in the studio.
The petite singer has also been busy getting inked! Adding to her existing collection of a bow on her lower back, musical note on her left hand, and a Spanish phrase up her right fore-arm which means 'pocket full of dreams', Cheryl's protegee now has a diamond on her right hand and a piece of text up her left fore-arm that reads 'All that you haveis your soul' (all pictured below).

Cher has now hopped across country to hook up with Will.I.Am in LA, flying none other than first class. The 17 year old has reportedly signed with Simon Cowell's Syco label despite rumors of her signing with Jay-Z and Will.I.Am.

Runner up Rebecca Ferguson headed back to Liverpool to enjoy a quiet Christmas with her family and 2 children. She also sang at Twickenham stadium at the Harleqins V London Irish rugby match, and saw in the New Year performing at Liverpudlian club Koko, dressed in an amazing white hat and maxi-dress combo. 

The stunning Scouser has said she's found it difficult adjusting to life after the X-Factor, but with the tour around the corner and, like Cher, recently signing to Cowell's label it looks like Becky has a year to look forward to.

Winner Matt Cardle has no doubt been on a non-stop promo tour for his single 'When We Collide', but I was slightly more interested in his crazy new year celebrations with X-Factor bestie (and personal fave of mine) Aiden Grimshaw. The pair (pictured below) reportedly lived it up in Newcastle at Tup Tup Palace, racking up an £8,000 bar tab! Leaving the club at 3am the reality-show hotties headed back to their hotel to carry on the party until 6am. Nicely done boys!

So whether they're jetting around in first class, signing record deals or just enjoying the spotlight and partying into the wee hours of the morning, you definitely wont find the X-Factor bunch painting, decorating or working back in Tesco anytime soon.

A Hit For Brit...(baby) One More Time?

The time has come, Britney's much anticipated new single 'Hold It Against Me' is released today! 

It's been just over 18 months since Ms Spears unleashed her last single, 'Radar' from the album 'Circus' which came out over 2 years ago!...How time flies.
There's always speculation whether Britters is going to pull off another hit, or if her time at the top of the Billboards has come to an end. But it seems the Louisiana lass has done it again and bagged herself a pretty decent tune!
American radio program director for Z100, Sharon Dastur, told MTV News "Our Facebook and Twitter pages exploded...I can see it being another huge hit for her" Brit hasn't been one to shy away from experimenting with different sounds and this track (produced by Dr Luke and Max Martin) definitely has major dub-step elements, with quite a surprising drop near the middle of the song.
There's mixed reviews about Britney's latest efforts, as always. The Princess of Pop can do no wrong in my eyes so it gets a thumbs up from me but have a listen on Britney's Facebook page - http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/britneyspears  and see what you think!

Hopefully not the only good tune on Britney's new album which is due out in March.

4th Time Lucky For Posh?

The Beckhams have confirmed they're expecting their 4th child, with Posh due to give birth in the summer.

The fashion icon has made it no secret that she's desperate for a girl, previously saying she'd "keep going"
until she gets one. In February's edition of British Vogue however, the Spice gal admits she has given up hope of having a girl, believing her chances are "quite slim".

The 3 youngest Beckhams;  Brooklyn, 11, Romeo, 8, and Cruz, 5 are said to be uber excited by the news and can't wait to have a new little bro or sis added to the brood. Aww.

On or Off?

Over the festive period there's been a few hook ups and break ups in the land of Hollywood, so who's called it quits and who's been cosying up under the mistletoe?

Bieber fans, crazy as ever, have

been
sending

death threats to Selena Gomez after these pictures surfaced of the pair holidaying together in St Lucia, new years day. There's been speculation about these 2 for a while and it seems the rumours were true! The poor gal has been inundated with hate mail warning her to "not break Justin's heart" or she'll be killed. Aww what loyal fans he has - in a Single White Female kind of way....shiver!

Elsewhere in Loverville, after only a couple of months Taylor Swift and Jake Gyllenhaal have parted ways. It seems the age gap and media attention proved too much for Jake so he called time on their brief romance. And here we were thinking Swillenhaal were in it for the long haul. Not surprised? No, me either...although it will surprise me if Jake G isn't her next muse for yet another break up song. Swift loves a bit of art imitating life.

On a slightly happier note, romance seems to be blossoming for co-stars Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds! Both have gone through very public break-ups this year. The breakdown of Sandra's marriage to Jesse James after his infidelity was a huge story this year and saw the actress go into hiding. While Ryan had a tough end to the year with Scarlett Johansson, filing for divorce 2 days before Christmas.

After their failed marriages and amazing chemistry in 'The Proposal' I love the idea of these 2 getting together! Bullock planned to spend New Years Eve with friends at her restaurant Bess Bistro in Austin, Texas, and Reynolds happily accepted her invite after he had turned to Sandy for advice during his split from Scarlett. Onlookers witnessed the couple see in the new year with a kiss and champagne toast, leaving the restaurant together at 2am. Let's hope love is luckier in 2011.

Also finding love on the back of her divorce, Christina Aguilera. She had a bitter-sweet end to to 2010 with the release of her first feature film Burlesque and the end of her marriage to music marketer Jordan Bratman. Christina met her new beau Matt Rutler (pictured below) whilst filming Burlesque where Rutler was a set assistant. The pair struck up a tight friendship while the singer was still married, but once X-tina had parted ways from her hubby there's barely been a time where she hasn't been in Matt's company. The singer spent Thanksgiving with her new boyf and the pair were seen having a spot of lunch at The Ivy in West Hollywood on new years eve. Possibly filling up in preparation for the new years/belated birthday bash she was throwing that night at her impressive Hollywood abode.

There's a break-up or love connection happening every minute in the land of celebrity so I will end this blog with just a few last tit-bits.....The mess that is Lindsay Lohan is now out of rehab (for like, the 62nd time?) and has moved in right next door to none other than ex Samantha Ronson. Ronson is apparently not too happy about the situation, to say the least, but it seems Li-Lo is staying put. Possibly hoping for a reconciliation?....R-Pattz and K-Stew had a lovely low key new years at a pub on the Isle of Wight, bless them....and Amanda Seyfried recently enjoyed a brunch date with Ryan Phillppe - lucky gal!