Tuesday 9 July 2013

Things I've Learned About Myself


Two days ago, I celebrated my 27th birthday. I can't say it was a shock - my birthday normally happens around that sort of time - but what has surprised me is how much has changed, and how much I've learned, in the space of a year. They say you can't teach an old dog new tricks, and I never thought I'd still be learning about myself this close to my 30's. 

A photo of me with my new Alice Menter necklace, taken earlier this month

However, despite how this post may sound so far, I consider this to be a positive thing, and I want to share this with you. Here are a few things I've truly learned about myself over the last year:

  • I'm starting to grey...and that's okay. This exact scenario has happened, and continues to happen, on numerous occasions: I'm doing something in front of a mirror (brushing my teeth, doing my make-up, staring at my wonky face), and suddenly I'll see something shimmering in the reflection...something in my hair. Slowly, I comb my way through each section until I find the offending strand. I then pull it out and stare at it for a really long time, and if my boyfriend's home, I'll make him do it too (I know - what a lucky man...). But what I've come to realise is that it really doesn't matter. It's something most people go through, and it really doesn't look that bad. Plus, if Rogue from X-Men can pull it off, there's still hope for the likes of me.
  • I'm never going to be skinny, and that's okay too.
    From the first day I started to wear grown up lady clothes to present day, I've always been a size 10 - 12. My weight has fluctuated over the years, but weirdly my dress size hasn't. For years, I dreamed of being skinny, and I'd get sad because I wasn't. But this year, I came to a realisation: I love food. I love cooking it, I love eating it and, more importantly, it makes me happy. I know that I will never be a size 6 or 8, and that's just fine. I'm still not 100% happy with my appearance (far from it), but the aim now is for me to stay happy and healthy, not be sad that I'm not smaller.
  • I like to be challenged.
    This one was a real shocker for me, as I'm a pretty laid-back person on the whole. On my days off, I like to relax and do near to nothing but when I'm at work, it's a whole different story. I want to be challenged and I like to work hard for my money. Professionally, it's been a very interesting year for me, and I'm so grateful for all of the choices/mistakes I've made because I know exactly what I want to be doing and who I want to do it with. Better late than never, eh?
  • I love my nephew. 
    That probably sounds like a strange and obvious thing to say, but it's true - I love my nephew. Since he came into my life just over two years ago, it's been amazing. I've never been around a growing child before, and watching him develop over the last couple of years has been a real eye-opener. As a result of this love, however, I've found that I worry about him constantly. All the time. Even when I'm not around him. My sister laughs at me when I play in the garden with him because I shout, "Be careful!", "Get down!" and "Don't run!" the whole time. I've had a real insight into the raising of a child. and as a result, I'm in awe of all parents. Serious kudos to you.
  • I'm a big weirdo that writes self-indulgent blog posts about her boring life. 
    I think that one explains itself.
Can you relate to my recent learnings? What have you learned about yourself over the last year? Please tell me in the comments so I feel less like a crazy person...

Much love,

Frankie
Swell Vintage

x

Sunday 7 April 2013

Frankie's Three Things for April


Hello friends!

So I've decided that once a month (which is roughly the amount I blog these days anyway - whoops), I'm going to share THREE things that I really love or am enjoying at the moment. It will probably be a very shallow list of things, but hey! We are living in a material world, and I...aspire to be nothing like Madonna.

Here are my three things for the month of April:


  • Tallulah Star Leaf Cocktail Ring by Sushilla
    If you know me in real life, you may know that I worked at the lovely Push PR for a while last year and that is where I was introduced to Sushilla. Made with the most beautiful precious stones, all of Sushilla's jewellery is stunning, but this ring stole my heart straight away. I finally managed to get my hands on one this week (pun intended), and I don't think I could possibly love it more. The Star Leaf stone is SO intricately beautiful that I cannot stop staring at it. It's distracting me from my work and day-to-day life, but who cares? It even makes my sausage fingers look less sausage-y. My hands are very pleased with me. That sounded a bit rude, didn't it? Sorry.  


  • Kraken iPhone 5 case from Not A Scratch
    Recently I finally conformed and got an iPhone 5 (sell out), and wanted to get a fancy case for it. After hunting around on Etsy for something a bit different, I stumbled upon Not A Scratch and the rest, as they say about less trivial subjects, is history. All of their unusual designs are engraved with lasers (modern, eh?) into the wood of your choice, and the delivery is insanely fast. I went for the Kraken because it is, for want of a far more eloquent word, awesome. I also ordered my sister one of their custom cases for her birthday, and they managed to capture the perfect face of my baby nephew beautifully. Please see both below.


(Which one is the Kraken and which one is my nephew? You decide...)


  • Role Models by John Waters 
    I must confess that I haven't had a chance to read much of this yet, but so far I am loving this book. John Waters is an incredible writer (and director, obviously) and if you love his brand of weirdness, you'll more than likely love this. I got my copy from The Society Club Shop (which also happens to be one of my most favourite places in the entire world - but more on that soon...), which is lucky because an affordable copy seems hard to find, even from the likes of Amazon. Start hunting, people.


What three things are YOU loving at the moment? Tell me right now please. 

Much love,

Frankie
Swell Vintage

x


Wednesday 13 March 2013

Wedding Wear


As I move further into my 20s, I've noticed that one thing is becoming increasingly common. I'm not talking about grey hairs or dark shadows under my eyes (although they're coming along nicely too) - I'm talking about weddings.

These days it feels like 90% of all the people I've ever known have gotten engaged lately, and as a result I'm going to a few weddings this year. So far I have three in the diary. Naturally, this has lead to a huge quandary in my lady brain - what the hell am I going to wear?!

As much as I would love to get a new and exciting outfit for each, I can't afford to. This doesn't mean I want to compromise on style, so I'm looking for a dress that looks nice and I won't get sick of wearing after wedding number one. Not only that, but I always struggle with knowing how formal I should go - is a evening gown acceptable? How smart is too smart? That's where you come in, my dear reader friend; I need your lovely eyes and brilliant brain to decide which dress to go for.

Here are a few options that I have found after endlessly trawling the internet:


Something Old - Vintage 1950s Imaginary Maps dress - £154

I love the shape and style of this gorgeous dress. It is a little on the pricey side, but I do feel that good vintage is always an investment. I am a little concerned that it is on the informal side, and that the print will be a bit sickening after a while. What are your thoughts?



Something New - ASOS Maxi Dress In Vintage Floral Print With 70's Sleeve - £48
The beautiful floral print of this dress caught my eye straight away, and I love the mix of colours. This also happens to be the most affordable option on the list, but is it too informal for a wedding? Also, one of the weddings is in September - would I freeze to death?



(Not really) Something Borrowed - Great Plains Sandbanks Linen Tiered Rosanna Dress - £75
Although this dress is on the plain side, I think it would act as a nice base for a variety of accessories. I love the cut and colour too, but the fact that it's made of linen makes me a little nervous - will it be too much of a daytime dress in the flesh? I do have receptions to go to too!



I know this is quite a pricey number, but I think this dress has the potential for lots of versatility. Instead of changing my dress for each wedding, I could get a mix of different accessories and change the look for each occasion, plus the beautiful blue colour would work for both summer and winter...but is it too evening-y? 


So there we have it: four potential options. Which one do YOU think I should go for? Please let me know your thoughts in the comments, and be as brutally honest as you like. If you don't like any of them, I will go back to the drawing board - just let me know! I respect and appreciate your opinion more than anything. 

Much love,

Frankie
Swell Vintage

x

Tuesday 15 January 2013

Sorry I'm Late


Recently, the same thing keeps on happening to me:

I discover something new. I get excited. I go to tell friends about it...

...and they already know about it. They found it MONTHS ago. 

It has suddenly dawned on me that I am very late to a lot of parties, but instead of feeling ashamed I've decided share a few of my better-late-than-never finds that you probably already know and love. 

I'd been hearing about Girls for a very long time. As someone who likes to watch their favourite shows via the world wide web, there is no excuse for me not watching it sooner, yet it took me until yesterday to finally do it. Now I am hooked. Lena Dunham, you are my hero(ine). 


I first heard the song "Mountain Sound" a little while ago. My ears loved it, so I decided to take a risk and download Of Monsters and Men's album, "My Head is An Animal". It is now my new favourite, but guess what? Everyone knew about them already and never told me. Why oh why did nobody tell me?!



So many of my friends love Cos. I've seen them wearing Cos pieces and thought, "I really need to check this Cos place out..." This weekend I finally got round to it, and wow - I'm obsessed! All of their clothes are stunning in their simplicity. Each item is a wardrobe staple that will always be stylish, and the best part is that they're not too expensive! What took me so long?



I love Mexican food with a fiery (pun intended) passion. Wahaca opened in 2007. I didn't eat there until late last year. I have to thank the lovely Cate Sevilla for suggesting we go there. If it weren't for her, who knows when I'd have eaten there?


Have you been late to any parties recently?

Much love,

Frankie
Swell Vintage

x

Saturday 5 January 2013

Spectacular spectacular!


Happy New Year, my Swell friends!

So I didn't blog for the whole of December - whoops! Instead of giving you a myriad of excuses, I'm just going to promise to be better and try to do more posts in 2013.

For my first post of the year, I will be reviewing a new pair of glasses, courtesy of the good folks at Lensway.co.uk. I must confess that despite being terribly short-sighted, I often don't wear any glasses, so I was looking forward to having a good pair of frames to inspire me to actually wear them! That being said, I already have a pair I love from London Retro, but it's nice to have different options to choose from on a daily basis.

After having a good ol' browse of their site, I was really impressed by the wide variety of spec styles on offer. Finally, after hours of internal debate, I settled on a pair I liked - the "Derek Cardigan" frames (who doesn't love a cardigan?) in the colour "Rootbeer".

I was a little nervous about ordering glasses without physically trying them on first, but I had no reason to worry as the frames turned out to be perfect! A slightly different shape to what I usually go for, but still flattering and comfortable. I also really like the clear plastic they're made from as it makes me look a bit cooler than I really am.




As you can see, I have modelling stuff down to a fine art nowadays...

Not only did the glasses look good, they were also really comfortable. I wore them for a full working day (from about 8am till 8pm), and hardly noticed them at all. In the past, I've had a real issue with glasses feeling heavy on my apparently soft head, but these felt nice and light.

In conclusion, I would definitely recommend a pair of specs from Lensway.co.uk. Not only do they have a lot of choice, but they're also very reasonably priced. My pair cost £89 (including the lenses), and came with a good sturdy case and even a little screwdriver should I need to tighten them up. Thanks for making my vision better and more stylish, Lensway.co.uk!

Also, if you follow me on Twitter, you may have already seen my New Years Resolution for 2013. This year, I have promised to do at least one nice thing a day for someone else. It can be big or it can be small; the only rule is that it has to be nice. To help me make sure I do it, I've started a little Tumblr. If you're interested, you can read all about it over at http://niceonefrankie.tumblr.com. Follow me and feel free to share the nice things you get up to too!

Many thanks,

Frankie
Swell Vintage

x