Home and Back Again.

Dear blog, I'm sorry I haven't called but I've been busy. It's not you, it's me. I just had some things I needed to sort out. But if you let me buy you a drink I bet you your little HTML heart I can woo you back. Because we're good together, you and I. But first, I think you should know that...

I've been cheating on you with this guy. He's just so damn cute. You would too, wouldn't you? 

So, about that drink...

Camden Coffee Shop

I love coffee and as much as I depend on a cup of tea to get me through the day, it's the smell of coffee that does it for me. Sorry Earl Grey! But when it comes to where my coffee comes from, who roasted it, who carried it in big sacks and loaded it in a van thousands of miles far far away to get all the way to me and my cup...I don't really mind. I am not, God forbid, a coffee snob. My good friend A and I meet at Starbucks. Because we like our grande lattes. And we get to bitch about the tourists that crowd them. You can't do that with an award winning barrista, can you now? Having said that, I love walking past the teeny tiny little Espresso Room on Great Ormond Street or Kaffeine on Great Titchfield Street just to smell the coffee. It's good coffee!

So, when I realised that on good ol' Delancey street in Camden Town lies a little gem of a coffee place I had to visit and promised to become a regular. Because places like Mr George Constaninou's Camden Coffee Shop need regulars to keep going. He's been running the place since 1978. His coffee roaster is 85 years old for frappuccino's sake! Go, visit and smell the coffee. 

Candice Lake Shot Me!

And I loved it! Naturellement, I'm talking in the photographic sense of the word although Candice is such an angel that you'd happily accept a bullet from her and you'd probably say thank you in return. Trust me, you would.

Two reasons why I ended up loving the whole thing despite dreading it so much I was contemplating leaving the country and their names are Candice Lake and Rachel Ingram, aka The Dream Team*! This is why I found myself on a sunny but 4C H.O.T. December morning on the mean streets of Primrose Hill freezing my limbs off in pretty little S/S'12 things, with Candice kindly offering instructions on how to appear taller and leaner ("thrust your pelvis forward, shoulders down...") that went in one ear and out the other while simultaneously hatching a master plan to get me killed by incoming traffic ("stand in the middle of the road and skip towards me, skip, SKIP, ignore the giant van coming towards you, gooooorgeous...") and Rachel (who works with me at Glamour where I kindly feed her neon addiction while she tries to get me to stop wearing socks with heels) manhandling me with my own coat and rubbing my arms to keep circulation going, at least until the shoot was over.

So, here are the resulting images, which appeared in the March issue of Glamour, where behind all that smiling and smizing you can see my eyes going dead from the cold, my skin turning a deathly pale hue and my dying arm clutching that neon clutch one last goodbye.

* Our last victim was the gorgeous Caroline Issa that Candice agreed to shoot straight after landing from a 125 hour flight back from Oz. We are dedicated assassins, you see.

Click here to view larger but please, do cover your eyes!

Giant Mylo Xylo Xylophone!

This is pretty wonderful too - sadly it's an ad but let's ignore that for a minute or two. Spot Bambi!

The Red Ball Project

I'm pretty excited this is coming to London this summer. Because, let's face it, what else IS coming to our little city this summer? Nope, nothing is coming to mind. (It's only the Olympics, stupid!)

New York artist Kurt Perschke has so far taken his project to Chicago, Barcelona, Taipei and Sydney among others and has squeezed it into alleyways and bus shelters and - even better - displayed it right in the middle of squares and busy streets prompting schoolchildren and forever-young-oldies to run and bounce off it. I don't know you but that's what I call an Olympic sport!

I HEART: The Jane in New York and Cafe Gitane.

I had the following conversation a lot with people while in New York for Fashion Week:

friend: Where are you staying?

me: The Jane.

friend: Oh, nice, how is it?

me: Nice, it has Cafe Gitane and it's quirky, straight out of a Wes Anderson film and, of course, you know about the shared bathrooms, right?

friend: *in shock* *cue open mouth and look of terror in their eyes* You. Share. A bathroom?

Yeah, people! My name is Kiki and I shared The Jane's shared bathrooms and I came out ALIVE! Here's two additional pieces of information you need to know:

1) I paid something like $99 a night. In New York!

2) The location is amazing, right in the West Village. And here's one more:

I had avocado on toast at Cafe Gitane EVERY DAY! So, who cares if I had to share a very clean white bathroom with DOORS IN THE SHOWERS with other guests on my floor? Well, the old person in me did wonder once or twice if I was indeed too old for this craziness (my life is THAT wild, I know) and the lazy me looked a bit grumpier than usual in the mornings once I realized I had to carry all toiletries from my room, down the corridor, to the bathroom and back. But then, I was in, out and wandering the streets of Nueva York on my way to the shows. I never actually encountered another soul at any point - until the very last day when a dude walked in while I was brushing my teeth but I probably scared him more than he scared me. So, no big deal. But hilarious to see how much it shocked fashion folk! We can do grungy straight-off-the-street dirty-rock-n-roll but we will absolutely NOT share our bathroom.

How was the room itself, you ask? Good question. Tiny teeny walk-three-steps-from-the-door-and-you-hit-the-wall kinda small. One bunk bed and that's it. But with clever storage space for all your luggage underneath the bed and done up as if Wes Anderson and Bill Murray hired a boat for the summer and set off for ad adventure. And that, for me, is all I need for my 99 bucks. Oh, and some mashed avocado with chillies and lime on grain toast!

By the way, you have no idea how much inner strength it took NOT to buy the Hello Kitty camera.

I HEART: The Story Hotel in Stockholm

Let's say nothing about the fact I 'returned' to this blog only to disappear again for ages. I'm still trying to figure it all out - aren't we all? (Rhetorical question but if you must, answers in the comments, please) I have a bunch of things to talk about, not much time to do so but STOP, I've promised myself this is not a blog where said 'blogger' moans about lack of time etc...Simply put, with an hour free in my day I'm more likely to watch TV with a nice cake from Lanka, go for a walk, read a magazine, stare at the window (favourite activity, this)...than blog. I'm sure my therapist would have something insightful and terribly clever to say about this, if I had a therapist and if said therapist was Dr. Paul Weston from In Treatment (obsessed, let's talk about that another time, shall we?).

And having done what's known in the business as an AA Gill (ramble about something other than what's on the title) I must tell all three of you (hi sis!) how wonderful the Story hotel in Stockholm is. Because it is lovely, with character, and as I'm planning on returning to the city once temperatures rise above 0 (something around 25 C would be nice) I'll definitely be staying here again.

A small boutique hotel in a great location, right next to all the shops and a walk away from cafe Saturnus and its giant cinnamon rolls, it features a mash-up of prints and graphics on the walls, an empty mini bar that you're welcomed to stock up yourself (just go to the 7/11 and do a Lisbethaka load up on junk) and a yummy buffet breakfast (no pic because I ATE it all) it's very much a does what it says on the tin and very nicely and if this isn't the most enthusiastic hotel review you've ever read well, just bear in mind that I only realised how truly good Story was once I moved over to Berns hotel for the remaining of my stay. Yeah, Berns not so good, Story good.

I think it's time for me to go and stare at the ceiling again. See you back here soon (famous last words!).

Tack Tack, Stockholm!

I left my heart in Stockholm, possibly next to the half-eaten monster cinnamon roll that proved to be my kryptonite. And for this Greek-blooded "what's the point of cold holidays?" ignoramus the fact that the -13 C temperatures did very little to dampen my spirit says rather a lot about how much I liked the place!

I was in Stockholm for fashion week thanks to the lovely people at Filippa K and Mercedes Benz Fashion Week. You can read my report from the fashion trenches of Scandi-cool at Style.com here. I liked the place, the people, the silly little hissy fits that at times kept me entertained and at others made me despair about it all, stocking up on Daim bars at the 7-11 to last a whole winter and the fact that Acne is so damn cheaper over there! I did damage but for the benefit of T.

See you in the summer, Stockholm!

I HEART: Anna 6th And Grace Bananas!

I haven't been around here much and it will still be a few days yet before I get a breather from work so I'm leaving you with these two Ladies of Fashion as captured by Tommy Ton. It's the image captions he's given them that made my day: Anna 6th (let's face it, this woman deserves to have a number/title following her name) and Grace Bananas - no explanation needed, I'm sure. Over and out!

Images by Tommy Ton.

I HEART: Persephone Books For Spring!

On a randomly sunny Saturday morning, T and I went walking around Bloomsbury; a cafe stop here, a museum visit there and, of course, a quick browse around one of the prettiest and welcoming bookshops in London, Persephone Books on Lamb's Conduit Street. Perhaps it was the Vanessa Bell-inspired vases of spring flowers or the neat stacks of those pale grey/blue covers so synonymous with the publishing house but I felt that day signalled the beginning of Spring for me. How apropos then, that Persephone, for us ancient Greeks, represented Spring and harvest and new beginnings! A happy ending, you might think, since the myth has the daughter of Zeus and Demeter abducted by Hades to live with him in the underworld. We like a good twist, the Greeks.

Persephone prints mainly fiction and non-fiction by 20th century women writers, many of whom, and whose work, has been somewhat neglected or forgotten. The collection stands at around 90 titles at the moment and each of them seems as considered and cared for as small works of art. The aforementioned book jackets come in the signature grey/blue with a cream tab for the title and an individual print inside. Matching printed bookmarks, anyone?

Names so evocative like Diana Athill, Patience Gray and Primrose Boyd, Monica Dickens and Winifred Watson, whose Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day reads like a Fred Astaire tap dance. Whether these women - most of whom saw great success at their time - had to put aside their writing careers for their families or whether their names were simply left out of must-read lists by publishers and journalists fixated on a small number of mostly male big names is difficult to tell and anyway beyond the matter. Their work can now be discovered by complete ignoramuses like myself and cherished and bought as gifts for friends and as Miss Pettigrew's friend Delysia Lafosse herself would exclaim, isn't that swell?

ps: I left with half a dozen postcards and Mariana by Monica Dickens.

I HEART: All We Need Is Love!

Images by Tommy and Tommy Ton.

I HEART: Twirling, Swirling and Jumping for Whistles!

A lot of you seemed to love the Whistles SS11 preview. That doesn't surprise me, of course!

Today started with yet another moody London sky and a light drizzle that was enough to make me desperate for summer and bucket-loads of sunshine. Are we there yet? Nope but I'm patiently waiting for the morning when I get up and notice that something is different; the day is brighter, warmer but in a reassuring here-to-stay way, the plants outside seem to have a sparkle, a hyper bee or two start appearing at my window...and the thought enters my head; spring is finally here!

Until then I will make do with looking at more beautiful summer collections, making a wish-list of what to get and how to throw things together (square-cut men's jumpers with girly skirts a new obsession of mine) and daydreaming about floaty, light dresses with bare legs. This just-released video preview of Whistles' SS11 collection has managed to lift my spirits even though the moment I saw the girl turn, twirl and swirl in the halterneck white dress (00:54 secs in) I actually gasped. So pretty, so summery, so perfect!

Whistles Spring / Summer 2011 from WHISTLES on Vimeo.

I HEART: Here comes the Whistles sun!

My ever-increasing, never-ending, on-the-right-side-of-obsessed love for Whistles is, I think by now, pretty well documented and based not merely on the fact they once made a jumper that featured a dog! Suffice it to say that this alone would get any other label a big nod of approval from me. Whistles - and I'm sure we can now stop specifying the moment Ms Shepherdson took over - does so much more and so incredibly well it often makes me wonder, why doesn't everyone else? The answer, of course, lies in the simple fact that no other label has a superteam like theirs, one that through experience (you can't beat that) and a focused, clear and easily identifiable purpose has outgrown the need to show off or follow each silly trend that comes around. How they can therefore produce collections that feel right for the moment but have a lifespan longer than a dash to the supermarket is a masterclass in design, marketing and understanding who your customer is and what it is that they want from you.

Being their own customer too also helps the team, which is why when I walked into the label's SS11 press day event, a couple of weeks ago, I marvelled at how good everyone looked! Jane Shepherdson (CEO), Jo Farrelly (Marketing Director) and Ellie Wilson (Press Officer) in particular with a great Seventies look in a pair of leather trimmed wide leg trousers that should hit stores quite soon. On a sunny but freezing cold morning, the colour palette of the SS11 collection acted not only as the best de-puffing, brightening eye cream around, but as an appetizing amuse-bouche (is there a more pretentious food-related word?) for spring and summer. Can winter be over already?

This bag is the first thing I saw when I walked in and I might as well note here that, without exaggerating, this is the bag I've been looking for in a while! The label's own accessories are particularly strong this season. Oh yes, the gorgeous pleated dress hanging it behind it might have something to do with how much I fell in love with it too! More bags and accessories to follow below.

Is your heart - because your mind is probably telling you otherwise - set on getting at least one brightly coloured lace dress for Spring-Summer, after the month of Fashion Weeks we just had? If so, go to Whistles where the tones of these dresses, also in a lovely off-white, are actually flattering but cool enough to pull off the Chris Kane/Princess Margaret look with aplomb.

Brightly coloured, lace-up, pointed espadrilles. I think I've found the shoe of the summer.

Spots replace stripes as the thing to wear next summer.

It's all about the heart, I told you so, but with Whistles I have a feeling your mind will follow suit.