Ball. So. Hard.

Jay-Z and Kanye West "N***as in Paris"

Finally. The wait is over. Last night I got the absolute pleasure to see the Watch The Throne Tour, Jay-Z and Kanye West in one arena, in one night. To be quite frank, I'm stuck for words; how do you describe something that was quite simply utterly incredible? As such a long-standing Jay-Z fan, (with the back catalogue of albums to prove it), I still feel a little palpitation at the thought of it being a reality. So now we have firmly established that I am in the 'super fan' camp, I can somehow attempt to eloquently describe the experience. 

Firstly what I wore:

H&M Trousers, New Look Vest, Zara pumps via ebay, H&M and Topshop jewellery

Printed trousers Statement trousers seem to be as common as the trophy blazer of seasons past, mirrored florals, tropical scenes and pyjama prints are the obsession du jour. These trousers must have been a massive hit for H&M, having seen them on a number of fashionistas throughout the bloggersphere, and in numerous street style shots, with them subsequently selling out. This is no surprise, with the £12.99 price tag they were hardly a drop in the ocean. I teamed them with leopard print for some ‘print clash’ action, and a simple loose fitting grey vest, my thoughts being: I wanted to look like I had made an effort, but was also thinking practically; having got standing tickets, there was going to be no way I was going to stand and watch all the action from the perimeter, I wanted in!

It would appear that Jay-Z and Kanye have some seriously stylish fans. I have to say that I was somewhat surprised by the diversity of the crowd, I'd been expecting it to be predominantly 'hip-hop', but was proved wrong, despite the plethora of New Era caps! For the ladies it was a mix of AA disco pants, (back to the statement trousers), in mostly black, with the brave branching out and opting for red or safer charcoal and navy. A smattering of Jeffrey Campbell Lita's were seen, as were cut-off denim shorts sported both with and without tights despite the minuscule amounts of fabric. The boys seemed to keep it casual in printed tees and chinos, but they weren't afraid to throw on an accessory or two, with many a bespectacled beauty to be seen.

Just to give you an idea of scale, this was the arena bowl filling up before the lights dropped and that all important announcement that the show was about to start was made.

For those of you that have tickets, but haven't seen the show yet, you are in for an absolute treat! Jay an Ye have such a presence when they are on the stage, they really do know how to command an audience, of which all remained standing throughout. The light show was incredible, at one point it looked as though there were clouds floating on the stage, and as for the huge led, light-box stages-unreal! 

For me, despite N****as in Paris being undoubtedly the headline song of the night, four times over in fact, performance of the night for me was Izzo (H.O.V.A), as at that point Jay asked the crowd to put their diamonds up in the air, and seeing the whole crowd raise their hands and show Jay-Z the rock, was a real euphoric moment.

You constantly felt throughout as though there was a real sense of rapport between the two on stage, even so much so that when each the other took centre stage to do a song from their solo album, you caught glimpses of the other lip syncing along, it was little details like that, and the obvious respect that was mutually shown that made the show so special; just two artists on stage, without backing dancers, simply doing their thing.

Cannot deny the fact that I have felt somewhat deflated today, I'm sad it's all over, but yes I did get to Watch The Throne, and I think it is going to take some serious beating!

What show have you been to that simply left you feeling elated? Have you ever been to a gig and wondered if anything will ever live up to that performance? Would love to hear from some of you.

KDx

The music went and led me astray

Friction "Led Astray"

As I'd wrote about in an earlier post here, I was taken by the idea of a Spring suit,or co-ord and here's my interpretation as worn out on Friday night when we dined at La Tasca for my good friend Laura's birthday. It turned out to be a bit of a double celebration as she only went and bagged herself a new job after unfortunately having to endure an interview on her birthday, but it was all worth it in the end! 

American Apparel black u-back body, Asos floral shorts via ebay, Oasis blazer and Topshop boots

Despite the undesirable weather conditions, I perked up my hands with a summer nail look

I brought this Rimmel Lasting Finish nail varnish in 'Hot and Spicy' for a bargainous £1.24 in Morrison's whilst on my lunch break, admittedly my main reason for painting my nails was that I had brought the colour that day; how can you fail to transport yourself to hotter climes with zingy nails like this? The colour also looks a dead ringer for Models Own 'Hedonist' that has been spotted on numerous bloggers fingers. For my ring finger I used one of my favourite Nails Inc's, 'Lanseborough Place'. I have also discovered an amazing nail art/inspiration blog that actually comes courtesy of the Guardian-so I thank them for bringing it to my attention. The blog is called 'The Nail Saurus' and is written by 21 year-old Sammy from South Wales, you can find her amazing nail creations here. After reading through post after post I have to say my once creative self isn't feeling so advanced right about now, but she has filled me with some ideas and reignited my love for diy nails, so hopefully there will be some to feature shortly!

Right, back to the food. As much as I enjoy La Tasca I felt that being a party they neglected us a little, as they were so keen to serve us our food, which seems like a bonus, we were denied the 'tapas' experience and ended up with a table of soon-to-be cold food as we just couldn't eat it quick enough. In previous visits they had brought a selection of plates out in succession, so you had chance to enjoy them, before they were cleared away and the next lot brought out, hence our decision for choosing La Tasca; you get 13 girls together and they are going to want to talk! So sadly it felt like a lot of food went to waste. The food was as good as I remembered, albeit it in huge quantities, so I can't say I'll be rushing to recommend the party menu to anyone in the near future, just stick to small groups and I'm sure you'll get a more authentic Spanish tapas experience; the La Tasca I know.

Saturday was just spent wandering around town before a girly night in with our very expectant mother-to-be. Truth be known, a little part of me hoped we might be front line for a piece of the action, but the baby's not quite ready to meet us yet, so the wait continues...

Warehouse black and white cardigan, Zara leopard pumps and Topshop taupe leather shorts via ebay, H&M sleeveless shirt and New Look necklace

I'd been after some leather shorts for an age, but the real ones were always too expensive for me to justify for what in reality is so little material, and the fake ones always seemed to air on the side of bondage, anyone for shiny fake leather?! *shudders* The search inevitably continued. As with most things I tend to buy there is no time frame, which I find is the best way to shop; so as I rarely need anything for a specific outing, I can hold out until I get things at the right price, which in this case was 99p, and £3 delivery. Can't argue with that. In my opinion they were more than worth the wait, especially as it's May and I am still able to get away with wearing them with tights and not look like I am planning to lose my body weight in sweat alone.

As with every alcohol free weekend, food comes to the fore. Being hungover doesn't allow yourself to truly enjoy nice food, so a Sunday afternoon spent baking when I would normally contend with the suppressed fat girl isn't an option, so today Momma Bear and I donned our finest aprons and baked. We opted for scones (my tea habit needs some substance so as not to completely drown my insides) We followed James Martin's recipe from the BBC Food website, the only change we made was the addition of chopped glacé cherries because I love them and sultanas are a product of the devil  quite frankly.

Trust me when I say that it was absolute torture taking a picture of my lovingly jammed scone opposed to just scoffing it down asap. A bake I recommend to all. We only managed to get 7 scones out of the '8-10' mixture though, so I would ignore that bit, as if we rolled the mixture out any thinner I think we would have had cherry biscuits.

According to those that deliver the weather, this week we are supposed to see marked improvements. I'm going to do as every British person does at the hint of sunshine and harass all those around me into having a bbq, and at the risk of looking stupid spend a day without tights (I've been gradual tanning in preparation for this day to come so as not to be taken by surprise!)

Willie Nelson has been singing it for years... Bring me sunshine god dammit!

KDx

You've got a heart as loud as lions, So why let your voice be tamed?

Emeli Sande "Read All About It Pt.III"


This weekend has been a complete change of tempo compared to the last, I was so right about having a bit of routine back in my life. But it wouldn't be a weekend without at least one night out with the girls; throwing my arms around uncontrollably to some awesome music and generally having a bit of a giggle. This was my party outfit of choice for Friday's antics:

New Look grey vest (tied and tucked up into a crop) River Island leopard belt, River Island white skater skirt via ebay, gifted black Topshop platform boots, Miss Selfridge gold knot chain necklace and River Island feather earrings

We went to a night in Birmingham called Nude, at Bluu Bar on Summer Row that we hadn't been to before, so we didn't know what to expect, but we were pleasantly surprised, the music was brilliant! Disclosure's remix of Jessie Ware's running was playing within seconds of me getting to the bar so I was hopeful that the music would remain at the same standard all night, and I wasn't disappointed; the curve ball came in the form of the mix of old school garage and house music, real feel good music! 

Despite consuming nothing but vodka and jager bombs all night, the hangover felt no need to rear it's head on Saturday which meant lunch with the girls:

Lilac Love Label skirt, Topshop lilac body, Topshop grey heart pumps all via ebay, pale blue H&M belt, gifted Oasis leather jacket, Miss Selfridge neon necklace

I am typically a girly dresser, as I've posted previously trousers are a new venture as are shorts, although they are becoming a firm favourite, and this is my updated take on 'ladies lunch attire.' The twin-set has been replaced by a coordinating skirt and top and the pearls with some neon diamanté. Lilac is fast becoming my favourite pastel shade for the coming season, however, mint is a contender. I am hoping to get a mint-on-mint outfit together soon. You really shouldn't be put off by putting the same colours together, to stop it looking washed out, mix textures and tones, the body is paler than the skirt, and the pleats of the skirt add some interest. In order to stop this outfit veering too far into old lady territory (a purple rinse would have seriously over stepped the mark!) I added my leather biker jacket to update the look, as a reminder that I haven't played smash and grab in a gran's wardrobe.  

For Christmas I had brought my bestest tickets for us to go and see Emeli Sande, the gig was Saturday night at the HMV Institute in Birmingham. It was an early gig, with the doors opening at 6pm, having listened to not much else but her album at work, I chose a suitably dressed down outfit:

(More) Levi's denim shorts brought as jeans via ebay, Amplified customised Run DMC T-shirt, Dune leopard pumps, Miss Selfridge necklace and Dorothy Perkins belt

Emeli. Was. Incredible. That girl has got a serious set of lungs on her! Her album by no means does her any justice, she has such a powerful voice, it almost feels listening to the album after having seen her live that she really reigned it in to record the songs. I don't think I had a favourite of the night, because they all sounded so amazing, it was really nice to hear her influences for the songs, and to get an insight into what someone's thoughts were when writing a song. Interesting fact, Emeli Sande was studying to be a Doctor before becoming a singer, whodda thunk it?! In regards to the outfit, these are my third pair of Levi's cut-offs, which naturally means they are my new favourites. I think I managed to cut these into the style I envisaged in my head, they do say third time lucky.

Apologies for the near unrecognisable pictures. Thankfully Emeli has such distinctive quiff of hair!

Sunday is undecided. Hangover free and no plans...I thought I best make some effort, just in case. I think that phrase sums me up perfectly Karmen 'just in case' Deanne. I find it difficult to leave the house regardless of  the weather forecast without an umbrella, always carry a pen and a notepad... Yeah I am so wild.

American Apparell U-back navy body, carboot sale belt, Zara leopard print pumps and vintage Next pleated skirt via ebay

Hope everyone enjoyed their weekends. There has been a development on the blazer debacle. But more on that to come.

KDx