Happy New Year!

Dear Friends and loved ones, I wish you all a great 2013! See you soon much love- Chantal

Totally Cute & Sexy ♥ Tally Weijl

Tally Weijl: super cute high socks with a bow ♥ and the rare(!) glow-in-the-dark iPhone case 

the iPhone case is model 4 & 4s compatible ♥ the socks are onesize (and also available in black)

Viele von Euch kennen die Marke Tally Weijl bestimmt auch schon länger. Für mich gehört sie nun zu meinen festen Lieblingsmarken, denn hier hat einfach alles gepasst: Design & Service! Und nach meinem absolut positiven Service Erlebnis ( und wir wissen ja alle, das Deutschland eigentlich eher das Land der Service Wüste ist!! ) kann ich nur nochmals unterstreichen wie zufrieden ich bin:
Ich war auf der Suche nach einigen Artikeln für ein kleines Outfit Shooting (eigentlich anlässlich Silvester, aber daraus wird leider erst im neuen Jahr etwas). Ausgerüstet mit Namen und Artikelnummern, der besagten Objekte der Begierde machte ich mich auf in den nächstgelegenen Store. Da ich den ganzen Tag über noch einiges zu tun hatte, kam ich leider erst eine halbe Stunde vor Ladenschluss im Store an, doch der nette Herr am Counter nahm sich meiner an und telefonierte die ganzen Stores im Rhein-Main-Gebiet durch (bis nach 20 Uhr und es war immer jemand erreichbar!!) um sich nach der Verfügbarkeit meiner gewünschten Artikel zu erkundigen. Bis auf das iPhone Case war leider alles ausverkauft (•_•)...(die Socken stammen noch aus einem früheren Kauf ^-^, - Tally Weijl ist Fast-Fashion, d.h. es gibt jeden Tag etwas Neues ). Jedenfalls wurde mir ein Case im Main-Taunus-Store im Main-Taunus-Zentrum reserviert, welches ich dann auch am Folgetag dort abholen konnte. Falls ihr Euch auch noch ein Exemplar sichern wollt, es sind noch ein paar Exemplare im Main-Taunus-Store übrig! ^^ ♥

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`°•.¸¸.•°`Illustration time`°•.¸¸.•°`~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

pink lipstick 

 pinker Lippenstift
 

Portland Chinese Gardens

Just had to share some pictures of this place. Recently, I ventured to the Portland Chinese Gardens. Its a must if you stop in Portland (not with kids). My gosh it's so peaceful and detailed. I could have gone photo crazy in there... ok maybe I did. The tea room was divine because it was so authentic. I can't wait to go back this summer!

Random Loveliness

I only hope your holidays where as magical as ours! To be fully surrounded by love and family this year made this mamas heart fill with complete happiness. The boys made out with great gifts this year, mainly (not all) recycled second hand (whoot!) saving me an arm and a leg. We actually found a red tricycle and a train table at goodwill for $7.00 each! Spiffy'd those up nicely but; jeez that was a bargain AND actually on Santas Christmas list believe it or not.

Echt Frankfurt - Tapas Dinner

 tapas dinner at Echt - bar. restaurant, Frankfurt 

Mit den Kollegen ging es anlässlich der diesjährigen Weihnachtsfeier ins "Echt" - eine wirklich leckere Tapas Bar, klein aber fein, versteckt im rustikalen Frankfurter Stadtteil Bornheim. Wenn ihr mich fragt, ein absoluter Geheimtipp!
Unser komplettes Menü für den Abend könnt ihr auf dem letzten Bild nachlesen. Zu Trinken gab es bei uns wahlweise Rotwein, Weißwein und Wasser.

 

white wine, chicken and vegetables

Auf den Fotos könnt ihr folgende Gerichte sehen:
Gebratene Riesengarnelen in Knoblauch-Kräuter-Butter, Datteln im Speckmantel mit Frischkäse, Orange und Cayenne Pfeffer gefüllt und gebratene Maispoularde mit Spinat-Ricotta-Füllung.

the menu

Mein kleines persönliches Highlight waren die gebratenen Jakobsmuscheln in Dillsauce (leider nicht abgebildet). Ach ja, und der warme Mini-Schokoladennusskuchen im Glas war ebenfalls überaus vorzüglich im Geschmack!

Wer jetzt auch mal probieren möchte ist hier an der richtigen Adresse :)

Berger Straße 319

 60385 Frankfurt am Main

Christmas Party Oufit

The works Christmas Party is clearly one of the most important parties of the year. It's the one time you get to really dress up and have a fantastic night with the people you work really hard with, day in, day out. I'm pretty sure every girl will admit that they purchase a new dress when that time of year rolls around and it's your mission to find something that not every girl will be wearing. 

When the gorgeous Kim at e-tail webstores contacted me (she's the loveliest lady), on behalf of Chi Chi clothing I was just a wee bit excited at her timing. This, yes this dress right here has to be my absolute favourite Christmas party dress to date.

The long sleeves and comfortable material come hand in hand with a hell of a lot of sparkle, making sure that it's perfect for Christmas / Winter attire - plus it's a Little Black Dress, which is never an item you can have too many of. And although I like my dress to stand out a little, I feel that I could tone it down a little by pairing it with some chunky black tights and velvet ankle boots. 

Apologies for the lack of full length shots here guys, but the lighting at 7pm on a winter night was definitely against me. (cue to perhaps invest in some indoor lighting, any recommendations!?)

And if I wasn't in Australia for New Years - I would 100% be wearing this baby again.

See you all in 2013 my lovelies and Happy New Year!!!! 2013 is THE year, I just know it.

Greek key chest sneak peek

My Christmas was magical, absolute perfection and I truly hope yours was too! Later this week ill upload some photos to share with you all, in the mean time here is a peek into my latest project. It's actually been a few months since I've really worked on a piece and can't wait to show it off in full. It's really motivated me to be extra creative again. The paint it high gloss oil based rustoleum white.

Do you like Greek key? To me they really make a iconic and classic statement.

GIVEAWAY CLOSED: Blue Bird Bride Jewellery

The fab feeling of discovering another fantastic online jewellery boutique will never fade. So you can imagine my joy when I was contacted by Blue Bird Bride. If you're looking for statement beautiful necklaces then this is the place to be heading. My wardrobe consists of many plain, dark items so I always like to add a pop of colour to my outfit with accessories that do the talking. I mean, how frickin' gorgeous is this necklace?

I love it so much that I wanted you guys to be able to get your lovely mitts on one too. They come in a variety of colours and at only £16.51 I think everyone should own one! The giveaway will run from today for one month - 24th January. And if you don't win don't worry - you can nab a cheeky 15% off  when you enter FALL2012 at checkout. 

Good Luck All - and a Very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year :)

I will be off on my jolly holidays from Christmas Night, so I have filled this little space with lots of guest posts to keep you company. make sure you have a read!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Happy Illustration Sunday # 7

Royal Christmas Family Dinner

Heute ist der 4.Advent und morgen schon ist Weihnachten. Ich hoffe ihr freut Euch alle schon wie die Schneekönige auf das wohl schönste gesellschaftliche Ereignis des Jahres, wenn Familie und Freunde zusammen kommen und gemeinsam das Fest der Liebe feiern. Und da die Liebe ja bekanntlich auch durch den Magen geht, hier nun der wohl letzte Happy Illustration Sunday Post für dieses Jahr:
ein königliches Familien Abendessen. 
Ich werde natürlich auch über die Festtage fleißig fotografieren. Ihr dürft Euch also auf schöne festliche Bilder und Berichte über meine weihnachtlichen Erlebnisse freuen.

Merry Christmas everyone - Frohe Weihnachten ihr Lieben :)

Book Reveiw & GIVEAWAY CLOSED: 1930s Fashion: The Definitive Sourcebook

When Carlton Books contacted me about featuring a newly published 1930’s fashion bible I just couldn’t resist. You may, or may not have guessed from my blog that 1930’s is a little bit my favourite. I may not dress like a 1930's typical woman on a daily basis - but it's definitely where I take my inspiration from with regards to my make-up and I particularly love the effortless glamour involved with the fashion. The book is packed full to the brim with never before seen images and divine illustrations taken from fashion magazines of the day. 

I would describe this as the perfect sitting room book. You know when you sit down after a long day shopping and want to flick through a fantastic piece - well this is it. And not only that, when your in the mood to really learn something new this ticks all the boxes. The book focuses on Daywear, Swimwear, Wedding Gowns, Eveningwear and Accessories; and with all the photo's dated you can gage a full understanding of how the fashion changed throughout that time period.

I'm absolutely in love. And I was even more excited when one of the authors of the book agreed to have a little interview with me...

1. Charlotte, for those that haven't had the chance to read the book, could you tell us a little bit about it and the ladies behind the masterpiece? 
Emmanuelle is the fashion history authority so has written the introduction and most of the captions, while I am a design historian, author and critic as well as an absolutely obsessive collector of fashion photography, prints, advertisements, etc. I do all the image sourcing and try to shape the project so that we can give the reader the best fashion overview of the period that we can.

2. When did you first become interested in Fashion? 
Ever since I was child I have been interested in vintage fashion, in fact as a university student I dealt in vintage clothes as a way of avoiding having to get a summer job. And through this handling of beautiful vintage clothes, I got to appreciate the exquisite tailoring and detailing of say a 1920s beaded flapper dress, a 1940s fur stole or a 1950s boned swimsuit. They bascially don’t make clothes like they used to...unless, of course, you can afford Haute Couture, which let’s face it most of us can’t.

3. What inspires you about 1930's Fashion? 
I love the fact that even though it was the height of the Great Depression, women bucked the gloom and doom and opted for sheer over-the-top glamour – whether it was a slinky gown or just a bright red lipstick. Never underestimate the power of fashion to cheer one up...

4. The 1930's style truly celebrated the woman's figure and the coming age of glamour - do you feel we could embrace this more in our current day and age? 
I think that the overtly feminine silhouette of the 1930s was great – for the first time women could be glamorously womanly with their curves being accentuated with figure-hugging fabrics. Today, sadly most designers prefer to have models that look half-starved and/or half-dead so that they don’t compete with the impact the clothes make on a catwalk or in a glossy advertisement, which is all rather depressing. Really it should be that clothes are made to fit real bodies, rather the bodies being made to fit unrealistic silhouettes. During the 1930s women were allowed to be feminine, and this must have felt very liberating... And I’m pretty sure the men during the 1930s appreciated this curvaceous look too.

5. What's next for you two lovely ladies? 

We have just finished the next volume in the series, “1940s Fashion” – which is packed just as full with images and information – from wartime utility garments to Dior’s New Look. It has been another great learning experience, and we are both looking forward to working on other decades next year!

1930s Fashion: The Definitive Sourcebook is published by Goodman Fiell, RRP £30 and is available at www.carltonbooks.co.uk and all good book stores. 
And now for the very bestest bit!! If you want to get your hands on a copy of the beautiful piece - you can enter to win one below :) As many of you know I'm off to Australia next week for 3 weeks, so the giveaway will close on the 29th January 2013 - when I'm back and have had a chance to sleep!! A winner will be picked randomly through rafflecopter. Good luck!a Rafflecopter giveaway

Merry Christmas

Christmas is almost there, such an exciting time of the year. I decorated the house just a bit, but the pictures dont do it justice, they were taken at night with my iphone. I am at a place where there is no good internet connection, thats why I havent been posting often. It's a big adventure and I'll tell about it soon.








With a baby crawling around the house, I have guest slippers saved in a faux python magazine box near the entrance, a good way to avoid street dirt in the house.




I did a little DIY the other day. The painting above our sofa, needed a little makeover, I bought 3 little containers of gold glitters and used 3M sprayglue to attach them to the painting. On top of that I used a coating so the glitters stay put.




An image up close, again pic doesn't do it justice, it's really pretty an sparkly.




The painting before the glitter proyect.




Matteo is almost 10 months, he is quite a personality.
Merry Christmas to all and see you soon.

We are all Dreamers

Moonlight dancing across the bedroom floor

Picture perfect just like the night before

Waiting on somebody to turn us in . . .

21. 12. 2012

Die Welt ist nicht untergegangen, Alissa Beyer singt weiterhin traumhafte Songs
und auch wenn ich nie wieder durch diese Tür gehen werde -
die Erinnerung wird bleiben und die Welt wird sich weiter drehen.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`°•.¸¸.•°`Illustration time`°•.¸¸.•°`~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

the blue eyes of a dreamer
die blauen Augen eines Träumers