Random Wednesday: The Billionares playground

The excitement over the Olympics has reached fever pitch over the past few weeks and, I must say I was feeling a little bah humbug about the whole thing. Altered working hours and millions more people trying to take the last available seat on the already overcrowded tube? No thank you I thought. That is, until I dropped by the Olympic party held by Schön Magazine aboard the MS Deutschland last Wednesday. 

Currently operating as a floating hotel (that's come all the way from Germany) the MS Deutschland was the perfect setting for Schön Magazine to throw an amazing party celebrating all things German and wish the German team luck for the coming weeks.

Rebecca, Zsa Zsa and I ambled over after work to sample all that Germany and Schön Magazine had to offer, and let me tell you, we were more than impressed. The varieties of people in the queue to get on board was slightly baffling to begin with (imagine a load of MPs, on a boat, with everyone who works at All Saints and you'll come close to the scenario we were faced with). But from the the delicious pretzels, to the amazing setting, to the people themselves (who certainly know how to party) - we had a whale of a time and it was the perfect way to kick start our Olympic spirits (and was simply fuel to the fire for my ambitions to live abroad).

As I write this the Olympics have well and truly begun and I'm exhausted from all the 7am starts, but I must say I'm loving living in the 2012 Olympic city. I might not actually be going to any events but the buzz in town and the sense of community and fair play is easy to get swept up in. When we won our first gold in the women's rowing it was a special moment to watch the medal ceremony on the TV at work with my friends and seeing Bradley Wiggins take Gold in the time trials are memories that I'll remember all my life. 

So, I like sport. Who knew?

As the sun set, Zsa, Rebecca and I put the world to rights and danced the night away on board a cruise ship overlooking a collection of super yachts belonging to the worlds most rich and famous. I must say it was pretty surreal - and just what we needed on another random Wednesday. Thank you Schön!

 Image by Chris Butchart

You can read the amazing Schön Magazine here.

Random Wednesday: Burberry Brit White Collection Launch

A couple of weeks ago, Random Wednesday took me and the girls to the launch of the Burberry Brit White Collection at the Burberry Brit store in Covent Garden, to enjoy canapés, cocktails and a preview of the new collection.

I was under no illusion that I would actually be able to buy anything (due in part to the brands high price point and largely to my low wage packet) but I love the Burberry brand and was interested to see what this range would be like. The breathable and lightweight fabrics and colour palette immediately gave this collection a different feel to what I usually associate with Burberry and overall I was impressed. Sadly, the only Burberry garment I own is a vintage trench coat I bought at a charity shop for £13 (winning) which I am considering selling on eBay due to it now being too big for me (also winning). And, due to my general clumsiness and love of food, I'm pretty sure the Burberry White range will always be out of my grasp. However, I often think that if I was one of those More Dash Than Cash women, Burberry would quickly become one of my go-to brands for all things timeless and stylish, as I love their designs and think they're one of the most innovative brands around.

The Burberry Brit Store - Bags and shoes from the current collection - a DJ to keep us entertained - Zsa and Rebecca peruse the merchandise (that's right, we like Kurt Geiger) - Lust-worthy bags - Innovative sunglasses - The Burberry Brit White Collection

This particular Wednesday should also be known as the day that Summer officially hit London town. I dressed accordingly in a dip-hemmed carboot sale dress that I have been dying to wear even since I bought it a few months back.

Dress - Miss Selfridge (via a Hampshire carboot sale)

Scarf - Primark

Bag - Hobbs

Shoes - Matalan

Sunglasses - Primark

Random Wednesday: getting in the swing of things

Firstly, apologies are in order. I feel I've been a bit neglectful of the blog lately, not for want of trying (I literally have so many topics I want to blog about that I'm scribbling things down and writing draft posts every five minutes) its simply been due to a lack of time. Ah time, that elusive thing that when you need some more it just slips through your fingers, and, when you wish things would hurry up, it seems to take an age. I've simply been spreading myself a bit too thin of late and something had to give (as usual this turned out to be the one thing I wanted to do the most). 

Last week was The Boys birthday which called for major planning on my part (more of that later) and it also coincided with the final week of my online visual merchandising course, which meant many a night spent creating moodboards and writing reflections until gone 11pm (way past my usual bedtime). Still, it's all done and dusted now and I can really focus on what I love: spending time with The Boy, being creative and blogging away to my hearts content.

So, although this week was crazy busy I still managed somehow to find time to try out a new type of exercise with the girls. Namely, Anti Gravity Yoga at the London Academy of Performance and Dance. Now I know what you're thinking, me (the girl with absolutely no upper body strength at all) hanging from the ceiling by a length of fabric? This is pretty much a disaster waiting to happen. But I actually had an amazing time and best of all it was exercise that was actually (whisper it) fun.

Kirsty in action, one of the instructors shows us how it should be done

We headed down after work fully expecting to pretty much spend an hour sitting in a hammock (a common misconception it would seem) and came away feeling not only that we'd worked out but also fully energised and stretched to within an inch of our lives (a good thing). The classes are essentially a series of yoga postures done whilst either hanging from or supported by a long strip of silky fabric which is bolted to the ceiling. I'm not going to lie, some of the poses were tricky, but almost every one was loads of fun to try and it felt almost like you were simply messing around rather than actually exercising. Needless to say, Kirsty put us all to shame with her fitness abilities as usual and was hanging upside after what felt like minutes of starting. I struggled with some of the moves due to my lack of upper body strength but my sheer determination to at least manage each one once was a work out in itself (which I could feel every time I opened a door for the following two days).

LAPD is a dance fusion company and runs classes in various locations all over London but its main base is at Old Street Dance Studios, a friendly, quiet studio which was really easy to get to (but less easy for Zsa to find using Google Maps - my advice, check the address before you set off). LAPD currently have classes on discount through Living Social and their website but hurry these offers end soon.

Sweat-working, the branch merch way

Find out more about the London Academy of Pole Dancing on their website, twitter or facebook