Blog Change

Hey!

I have decided to relaunch my blog under a more relevent name. Please take a look and follow me by any of the ways below:

My website is: www.richmondpip.blogspot.com

My Twitter is: @richmondpip

My Facebook Page is: https://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Richmond-Pip/500456310000828

Also please follow me on Bloglovin' / Google + / Through my blog.

Thank you for your continued help and support :-D

Winter Sun at Costa Del Cleethorpes

I feel the need to write a post in celebration of my home town after enduring numerous snide remarks and comments about the place where I spent the first 18 years of my life since moving down to Richmond.  Nobody chooses where they are born or the background they are born into but people can choose what they want to do with their lives with the right guidance and upbringing.  I had an idyllic childhood thanks to my parents and family and I have many nice memories of my hometown as a child.  I may have chosen to no longer live there but I still enjoy coming home for a visit and today was a perfect Cleethorpes Sunday.

The cold, crisp sea air mixed with the clear blue skies and a nice blast of sunshine provided my favourite weather combination as I wrapped up in a hat, scarf and coat with my favourite fashion accessory of sunglasses to add to the mix.  We headed down to Cleethorpes seafront to take in the sights and enjoyed the rare tranquility that the winter brings to the coastline before the daytrippers and holidaymakers start to arrive in their droves around Easter time.

Stepping out of the car, I heard the familiar choo choo of the toy steam train which ambles along the seafront from the Leisure Centre to the theme park ferrying young and old alike in a nostalgic voyage of excitement, and I was transported back to childhood memories of a heady mix of noise and steam combined with the chill slap of the wind on your face as the train chugs along the tracks offering tranquil and panamoramic views out to the North Sea.

 

We then headed to the boating lake which was busy with other locals taking advantage of the first signs of spring and walking their dogs and children around the man made lake full of ducks and geese as well as the odd fish.  The lake glistened in the winter sun and the tranquil atmosphere was occasionally interrupted by the echoing squawks of its residents waddling around its banks in hope of a few scraps of bread or bird feed thrown at them by children walking by.

We cut across to the back of the boating lake alongside the tracks of the steam train before heading onto the sand dunes to take in the views of the ferries and transporter ships taking their cargo across the North Sea to Holland and Scandanavia.  Out in the distance you can still see the old, disused forts that have stood empty for so many years despite constant speculation that they are about to be redeveloped into a hotel or a rehab unit or to hold asylum seekers.

It was at this point that I thought that I should stop and snap a few pictures of my outfit, much to my Father's embarrassment who informed me that on a scale of 1-10 of being self obsessed I currently sit at 8.99 (although refreshingly I am apparently marginally behind my brother!)

I am wearing:
Jeggings - Abercrombie and Fitch,
Boots - Ash
Coat - McQ by Alexander McQueen
Jumper and T-shirt - both H&M
Bag - Mulberry
Hat and Scarf - Anna's Boutique on Richmond Hill
Sunglasses - Miu Miu

Of course I couldn't resist getting in a cheeky little pose just to embarrass my Dad further infront of all the dog walkers!

I then stumbled across a piece of drift wood and just had to get in a couple of photos with the husband, by which point my Dad had walked away in embarrassment as my Mum took the photos....

This one was taken by Mum by mistake but looked so hilariously posed I couldn't resist fitting it in....

Finally we emerged onto the promenade, where I had to get in a shot of the beach, with the tide out, just to show you that Cleethorpes has one of the finest sand spaces in England...

 

I feel incredibly lucky to have been bought up in one of England's last quintessential seaside towns.  It may not have the glitz and the glam of London, the contacts of a Middle Class upbringing in Richmond or the cultured opportunities for music and the arts like Liverpool but it does have my family, my friends and my memories...as well as a pretty nice place for a Sunday stroll.

New nails!

My Mum and I enjoyed a little pamper session this morning and headed over to London Top Nails in good old Cleethorpes (from where I originally hale) to sort our bad nails out! My Mum's nails have not been looked after much at all of late and my neon gellish set had started to peel so we headed over to the salon to sort them out.

Mum went for a Shellac Red whilst I opted for a Shellac Glitter with silver tips...a great choice to wear for London Fashion Week which I will be attending later this week, I'm sure you'll agree.

Here are the results below:

All hail McQueen!

Here is a little outfit post for tonight. I'm heading out for dinner with my parents, husband and in-laws.

Here is what I am wearing:
Shirt - Zara
Scarf - Alexander McQueen
Trousers - Armani Exchange
Shoes - Alexander McQueen
Bag - Mulberry

50 shades of Pilates!

Tonight I attended my third session of my latest hobby at the new Pilates Studio that has opened in Richmond.  I am already a member of Your Gym, which is behind the new centre, and I am a massive fan of their set up.  I had started to research which gym to join when I moved to Richmond in the months before I arrived but was getting slightly concerned about the massive monthly fees some of them seemed to be charging.  Fortunately on our first day in Richmond we stumbled across Your Gym by accident as we were trying to find our way from the riverside to the town centre and as soon as I entered the place I knew I had to join.  Sometimes I really do believe in fate and I honestly think that I was guided down that side street by a greater force in order that I would find Your Gym.

Your Gym has a great selection of training equipment from the more traditional machines you would expect to find in any gym to power plates, ViPR equipment, TRX bands and Kettlebells.  The best thing about Your Gym is that there are always people on hand who are willing to set you a programme or guide you through your workout.  It also follows my preferred style of training, similar to tabata training, where it's all about working out smart not long.  Interval training is key and my fitness levels, stamina and strength have gone through the roof!

The Pilates Studio has only been open a few weeks but has already started to attract some major A List celebrities (I won't be indiscreet and say who but I will say it's my favourite celebrity in the whole wide world).  However, tonight it was my turn to put all of the equipment to the test.  I will warn you that I am one of the least flexible people ever so you are not going to see the best posture and positioning in the world from me but I do like to remind myself that I have only been seriously into exercise for the last 2.5 years and so I have 24 years of laziness to undo.  When I first started with my personal trainer and doing bootcamps I couldn't even do a sit up but I am progressing steadily and I am determined to continue to develop my core strength and fitness.

The studio is small offering intimate and personal class sizes.

To warm up I started with some stretching exercises on what is known as The Barrel.  First off I did a quad stretch followed by a stretch of the glutes below.  Having the equipment to aid your technique really helps you to push into the stretch and feel it deeply.

Trying that little bit harder to sit back into the stretch.

I then used the barrel to get in a hamstring stretch, I suffer from really tight hamstrings and this is the best equipment I've used so far to get a deep hamstring stretch where I can touch my toes.

Finally we did some back bends which, as you can probably see from my facial expression, are a lot harder than they appear to be!

We then moved on to the back of the reformer machine and did some squats.  The instructor was getting a little bit frustrated at our technique but I finally got it as seen here, using very little arm and focusing all the attention into the legs to squat down in a controlled manner keeping the back straight.

Next was on to some core exercises.  This is the area of the body I most need to strengthen up and it is only when you are shown how to do some of these abdominal exercises properly that you realise how weak your core strength is.  The machine below is The Cadillac and I was using the springs to pull out to the chest and then lower myself down before peeling myself back up using only my stomach muscles to do so.  A few of these and you really start to feel an ache in your muscles!

Next was lifting the hips up into a bridge with a leg extension.  This was actually a lot harder than it appears as you have to keep the bar still whilst maintaining straight legs and back.  The raised leg is supposed to be perfectly straight as well but I am not quite at that stage yet!

Finally, I finished off with The Reformer, this move below really stretched out the inner thighs, once I had overcome the fear that I would lose control and inadvertently do the splits (which would result in a lot of pain for someone as stiff as me)!

Here is a final bridge on the reformer, this really gets your muscles trembling after a while.

Pilates is the best toning tool in my opinion and I am hoping to see some massive differences over the coming months if I keep up a couple of sessions a week.  I still look back fondly to when I lived in Spain and was at my thinnest and Pilates was the only exercise I did.  I'm sure tomorrow I'll wake up a bit achy but that's always a sign of a good workout!

My Top 5 Blogs!

I am addicted to reading other people's blogs and if I find one I love I quickly become obsessed with it!  Here are my top 5 blogs I currently check every day in the hope that they have updated with a new post.

1. The Londoner - http://www.thelondoner.me/

Along with most of the blogging community, The Londoner is one of the best things I have ever come across. EVER! I check it obsessively to see what exploits Rosie has been up to or what she is recommending to cook in the kitchen.  She has recently posted a baked Camembert recipe that I am going to try when my parents next come to stay and I've also checked out a number of restaurants on the back of her recommendations.  She is the blogger I aspire to be!

2. The Glam and Glitter 4Ever - http://www.theglamandglitter.com/

Tamara is another blogger whose wardrobe I covet and she always looks pretty and stylish! Apart from major hair envy, she also owns most of the shoes and bags I would love to own and puts clothes together in a way I only wish I had the bank balance and creativity to do myself!

3. Glossy's Wardrobe - http://glosswardrobe.blogspot.co.uk/

I am still devastated that Talita has moved to Canada and ceased to post on her blog since October, but I am hopeful that she will restart her blog once she has settled on the other side of the pond. She is currently in London and so I am hoping for a few posts about her new Isabel Marant's/Louboutin's/general fabulousness soon.

4. Spring to Autumn - http://springtoautumn85.blogspot.co.uk/

This is the blog of my friend who lives in Paris.  She is a French and Spanish translator as well as taking some incredible photos and writing touching posts in her spare time. I still think she should combine her photography with her writing on the blog as she has an album of beautifully arty photos on Facebook of little walks she takes around the city.  Definitely a talented writer, she will transport you into a beautiful world of colour and emotion through the words she writes on paper.

5. Big Fashionista - http://www.bigfashionista.co.uk/

Kelly likes to rant and rant a lot about whatever takes her fancy.  Her light-hearted but heart-felt posts are great to read and I often find myself nodding in agreement at what she writes.  A great blog to read if you are pissed off with the world!

J'adore Paris

I thought I'd share this with you from my old blog. A little trip to Paris I had last Easter, it was so good! I cannot wait to go back in August!

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A light hearted reflection of our day as high society ladies.

Last Saturday was all about the catchphrases for my friend Joanne and I.  Catchphrase number 1 ‘dress to impress’, catchphrase number 2 ‘it’s all about the confiance’.

Following our two mantras we dressed ourselves up in our Sunday finest - for myself, a little black dress, leopard print Louboutin’s and matching scarf and a Whistles hat - and off we went to enjoy our journée parfaite à Paris!

Outside La Duree

We started our ‘journée de rêve’ in La Durée with a café crème and a croissant for me, a hot chocolate and some macaroons for my friend.  We left in high spirits, but somewhat disappointed, the waitress was not up to the standards we’d have expected for such a high end establishment and we decided that this famous Parisian eaterie has become a victim of its own success as hordes of Japanese tourists flooded the tiny inside space, taking photos of anything and everything they could.

With our stomachs lined we started the walk along the shops in the area of Rue Saint Honoré, our first stop naturally being a French stalwart fashion brand, Christian Dior.  As we kept saying to ourselves ‘it’s all about the confidence’ à la Samantha Brick (the running joke of the day), we strutted inside and were immediately pounced upon by a demure shop assistant encouraging us to try on the spoils.  Never one to pass up on an opportunity, we were shown to the most luxurious fitting room we had ever seen - in fact it was not one room but two complete with numerous mirrors, flattering lighting and an expensive looking couch (which we had much fun messing about on with our camera when the shop assistant’s back was turned).  We’d told her I was looking for an outfit for a wedding and she came back with some gorgeous heels and a silk dress which I tried on and fell in love with.  At an eye watering 4000 euros for the two items we told her that we wanted to explore more of the Parisian shops before making a decision and hastily and carefully put the clothes back before we had a chance to spoil them.

The stunning silk Dior dress and tan Dior platforms

Moving on, we headed to Longchamp to purchase a handbag and had a little mooch in Miu Miu, Chanel and Maje before heading to our number one, highly anticipated destination…Christian Louboutin.  Unlike my previous visit where I pretty much waltzed in, had the shop to myself and tried on half the shoes before purchasing, this time we had to queue for an annoyingly long twenty minutes before we were allowed to enter.  Nervous with excitement my friend (with a little persuasion from myself) decided it was time to ‘pop her cherry’ and chose the most stunning pair of Nude Pigalle’s as her first ever Louboutin purchase.  Off we trotted, her elated with her purchase, me a little jealous that I wasn’t able to buy a pair for myself (but it always gives me a good excuse for a return visit).

The tastiest Champagne and apple cocktail at the Ritz

Having spent a good few hours walking in heels by this time (and having ruined a pair of Louboutin’s by scraping all the red off the sole walking around Paris) we sneakily stopped in a shop doorway and changed into flats to start our descent to Place Vendome with one thing on our mind…champagne to celebrate the Louboutin purchase.  Just before we stepped into the famous square we quickly changed back into our heels and strutted across to the Ritz, with such pizazz that even Victoria Beckham would have been envious of us, and were welcomed into the Ritz accordingly. 

We enjoyed the jealous looks of our waitress as my friend examined her Louboutin shoes just as much as we enjoyed our Champagne cocktail and nibbles and spent the next hour pondering how we might afford to live such a lifestyle day in day out.  Unfortunately neither my friend nor I were blessed with the goddess like looks of Samantha Brick and despite secretly hoping we’d receive a bottle of Dom Perignon sent to the table by some handsome George Clooney lookalike we had to accept that our time living the high life was drawing to an end. We settled the bill ourselves and left, looking back longingly over our shoulders at the day we had left behind.

My talented friend Jo, translator and writer.

Enjoying my time as a high society lady!

Back to reality and we hopped on the metro over to the Rush bar where we met the Liverpool French Branch supporters club, ordered a Corona and a JD and coke and cheered on our team in the good old northern way we are accustomed to.  Just as much fun, apart from another draw from the mediocre Liverpool side that seems to be ruining many an afternoon for Liverpool fans worldwide at the moment.

We finished the day with a pizza and, feeling exhausted, headed back to my friend’s apartment to watch a film.  Unfortunately, upon arrival I realised that I had left my iPhone in the Pizza restaurant but the nice and honest French waiter had put it behind the bar for me so we trekked back across the city to pick it up.  It may have been 11.00 at night but we finally decided we had had our Samantha Brick moment (obviously we were so good looking the waiter decided he could not possibly steal the phone from us)….well maybe not!

The day may be over but the memories will live with us until the next time we decide to live the high life! Vive la vie!