Valentines day in London was spent…..Eating Eggs Benedict in The Wolesley

..followed by Hot Chocolate in Claridges

…and was pure Bliss!

I hope you all get to spend this weekend wrapped up in the arms of someone you love, and being spoiled rotten with yummy food, presents, flowers, posh chocolates, films, and cuddles.. below are my favorite love songs that I can think of at the moment. The first brings to mind images of sitting in a 1960′s diner drinking a milkshake with a sort of teddy boy guy in a leather jacket and gel in his hair.. swooning literally. I don’t even drink milkshakes and clearly my mind wanders way too much sometimes!

I know most people know this song from Stan but I just think it’s so simple and sweet. Unfortunately the guy she wrote it about and her split up after 8 years but either way I think this is like the nicest thing you could ever say to someone;

Push the door, I’m home at last and I’m soaking through and through. Then you hand me a towel, and all I see is you
And even if my house falls down, I wouldn’t have a clue, Because you’re near me and I want to thank you
for giving me the best day of my life, Oh just to be with you, is having the best day of my life

I think this below is an incredibly sexy song.. I can’t quite explain, but I guess the lines

See, don’t ever set me free, I always wanna be by your side, Girl, you really got me now, You got me so I can’t sleep at night, Yeah, you really got me now, You got me so I don’t know what I’m doin’, now..

are all very cool as usually girls are portrayed as the ones consumed by love and all the giddiness that goes with meeting someone amazing so I like the idea of very cool guys admitting that that is how they feel..

However seeing as I am off to London for the weekend, this is a more apt soundtrack to the weekend!

However if you are less then loved up here is an article on moving on from a bad relationship.

These all seemed important to me this morning. I have no idea why specifically, maybe the plane as I am booking lots of flights, the bed as I spend my life in it and the quote because it’s like my diary which I spend my life scribbling in at the moment.. The photo of Alexa Chung is there because I am infatuated with her bag!

I saw this little 10 week old retriever on Grafton Street. His name is Dan and he is a sponsor puppy for the Irish Dogs for the Disabled. He is being socialized for a year before he goes into training to be a guide dog. People who want to put themselves forward for this can apply here You get a puppy from 8 weeks old till it is between 12 – 18 months old. All food, equipment and all vet bills are covered by Irish Dogs for the Disabled. Your job is to go to once monthly meetings, teach it basic house manners and expose it to the things and places it will have to deal with when it goes to work, public transport, lifts, the supermarket etc and LOVE it!.. The details are as follows.. Telephone 025-39393 E-mail: gerdillon@dogsfordisabled.ie

Having lived in London whilst I was doing my degree in Fashion Journalism for 3 years it is a city I know pretty well. Being a student there I was cash poor but time rich and I wandered everywhere and learned the art of window-shopping.  Whether you want to buy something beautiful or just browse these are my recommended shops.

-Browns Boutique- A perfect high end boutique with everything perfectly displayed. Also across the road is Browns Focus which is more contemporary specializing in casual cool to a T. 38-39 South Molton St, W1 020 7514 0064  Bond St tube.

-Margaret Howell-This Margaret Howell store is a testimony to the distinct, natural and low-key aesthetic she is known for. The store houses the understated womenswear and menswear collections which are very cool, as well as showcasing a vintage Ercol furniture collection. 34 Wigmore St, W1 020 7009 9009  Bond St tube.

-Start- Owned by Brix Smith-Start this shop personifies indie glam. Labels like Stella McCartney, Jil Sander and Philip Lim. The atmosphere is quite rock and roll inside and the sales girls all seriously know their fashion. 42-44 Rivington St, EC2  020 7729 3334  Old St tube/rail.

-The Dover Street Market- Dover Street Market is a new type of retail concept from Rei Kawakubo of Comme des Garcons, displaying some of the most fashionable labels from around the world over six floors of stripped industrial space. Lanvin, Aalia, and Alexander McQueen reside beside Converse runners. Have tea in the rose bakery. 17-18 Dover Street, W1s 4LT.  020 7518 0680 Green Park Tube.

-Liberty of London-Walking into Liberty feels like walking into the past, not because the goods feel dated, but more about the actual creak of the wooden floors and the fact that it’s a Tudor building. There’s something so warm and nostalgic about this place, and in recent years they’ve moved from selling predominantly traditional housewares and fabrics to also selling more contemporary and stylish clothing and accessories. Yasmin Sewell, ex Browns, oversees the fashion and it’s top notch. Vivienne Westwood resides alongside one of the best jeans selections in London and Liberty’s own prints are renown.Great Marlborough Street London, W1F. 020 7734 1234  Oxford Circus tube.

-Beyond Retro-Beyond Retro Soho is a lush 70s-meets-Victoriana boutique: a heady blend of chandeliers, taxidermy and granny chic. Allow lots of time and an open mind.  58-59 Great Marlborough Street, London W1F 7JY Oxford Circus tube. 020 7434 1406

-Topshop-No trip to London would be complete without a visit here. Expect everything you could possibly think of and if you have time go to the eyebrow threading stand and the Blow dry bar as they are exceptionally good and leave you ready to head out for the night. 216 Oxford Street, Marylebone, London, W1D 1LA Nearest tube Oxfor Circus.

-The Ralph Lauren shop on Bond Street blew my mind when I first went in and it still does. Expect glamorous interiors and an entire apartment recreated below as well as serious Amerricana fashion.  1 New Bond Street, London W1S 3RL 02075354600

-Coco de Mer-Set up by Sam Roddick, daughter of The Body Shop’s Anita, this is an emporium of erotica. Expect the most divine lingerie. Kate Moss and Sadie Frost have both said they love it and I do too. 23 Monmouth Street, Covent Garden, London WC2H 9DD Covent Garden tube. 020 7836 8882

-Markets-

The main markets in London are Portobello, Vintage clothing brick-a-brack and antiques. I love the costume jewelery. Go on Saturday and Sunday.  Notting Hill Tube.  And Old Spitalfields Market which is fresher although equally popular,

Thu: Antiques & vintage

Fri: Fashion & art

Sat: All shops & no stalls

Sun: Busiest day – all shops & all stalls

I know this is supposed to be a cat related blog, but mice and cats kind of go together and this is the sort of thing that comes along once in a lifetime… I love everything about it. The music is cool, the sense of heroism, it’s like a mini film…