Soft Launch at Waterstones West Quay Cafe!

Last week, I had the absolute pleasure of being invited to the soft launch of the brand new ‘book-cafe’ opening downstairs in my local Waterstones. They’ve ripped out their old Costa concession and put in a beautiful, little indie cafe and honestly - I couldn’t be more excited about it. It’s going to be my new lunch-and-writing spot. 

Sam and I arrived straight after work and there was already a large group, buzzing around the cafe. We were provided fancy, almond milk coffee and then glasses of wine, then a tour of the cafe - whilst it’s not a huge addition to the store in terms of size, the lower ground floor of Waterstones has completely changed - for the better. 

Booths that you can nestle away feature all the way along the far wall, each table sporting it’s own framed book-cover and table name. I spotted the perfect looking sofa tucked away in the corner for melting into when the day feels extra long that I’m quickly going to ‘bagsy’ as my spot, as well as a booth picked out for me by the lovely Alex; the perfect distance away from the kids section (which whilst beautiful, is obviously full of over excited children) but not too far away to miss out on perusing the vast section of cakes and snacks on offer. 

During the evening at the launch, Sam and I got to sample a bunch of different cakes all of which cater for some kind of dietary requirement, so if you’re vegan, gluten/dairy/other free, then this Waterstone’s cafe has got you covered, thanks to Nathan and the team for working to support local businesses by sourcing local ingredients and preparing most of the snacks in-house.
This is possibly one of my favourite things about the cafe; everything feels very ‘home-grown’. Nathan, the cafe manager, used to run their Costa concession so he knows exactly what he’s doing and it shows effortlessly in the way that the cafe is put together - far enough away from the monotonous Costa-way, whilst still professional enough to be business savvy and easily marketable. 

Plus, when you’re wandering around bookstore like hours for I am, surely all you need is a little sit down and some cake? Exactly. 

I’ve snapped some pictures so you can check out the cafe and the menu - hopefully you’ll be as excited about it as I am! 

books + coffee + good food + friends = Happy Lex :) 

You can follow Waterstones West Quay on Twitter, Instagram, as well as Facebook so head over and show them some love.

Finding THE Jeans

Some people wait a life time, for a moment like this. I think Kelly Clarkson was singing about finding true love or something just as sentimental, but I know that some people wait a life time to find the perfect pair of jeans. My moment has come. 

As a human being on this planet, I’ve been wearing jeans for the majority of my life. That’s almost 23 years of various cuts and coloured denims, so I know a thing or two about picking out jeans. Sadly, I also know a thing or two about not being able to buy jeans from any stores on the high street due to my height. I’m 5’11; long torso long legs, and nowhere within my price range caters for that.

I recently wrote a lengthy diatribe about hating shopping for trousers/jeans in particular and how hard the high street have made it, but now - elated - I can safely say how happy I am to have found a style of jeans that I love and that fit me well. We all wear jeans - it’s a part of our culture. Bruce Springsteen’s artwork for Born In The USA is only half as brilliant as it is because of his jeans (and amazing ass…)

Anyway, back to the point in hand. This autumn, I bought a pair of jeans from Topshop because they were the only ones long enough in the whole of Southampton. Now, I’m realising how much I love them. Normally, because I wear jeans every single day (in work and at home) I wear through them pretty quickly, and although my Topshop jeans have faded, they’re still going mighty strong. 

So, ladies and gentlemen. Let me introduce to you the jeans that shall henceforth be known as the “Lex” jeans, otherwise known as The Jamie Jeans - Tall - Size 10, Length 36’’ in black. Obviously in black. Thank the lord for Toyshop’s instore Tall Range.

I’m sure to another generation this is going to sound weird, but I feel like finding THE pair of jeans that makes you feel both sexy and comfy, casual and smart, dressed for the part and feeling like yourself is a right of passage. There’s a time in your life when you grasp the jeans on their hanger in the store changing room, that’s always a little too hot for your liking, and you look up to the denim Gods and whisper “…thank you…” as the lights in the changing room dim, a halo of light appears above you and you can hear the faint echo of the hallelujah chorus. 

 I will live in Jamie Jeans from now on, until I venture into another style from Topshop who now have my jean-loyalty, but overall I’ve found my match made in denim heaven. They’re tight in all the right places with rips in the knees so I don’t ever look too overdressed; they’re a welcome drink in the sahara wasteland of jeans made my designers who only cater to 32” legs. Trust me, those extra four inches make a world of difference.

I know it may seem strange to write about the sheer love of an item of clothing, but when those jeans make you feel like Kelly Kapowski in all the right ways, there’s nothing I can do but shout about it. All the love for those jeans.

Here's the link for my Topshop jeans if you fancied a look-see at the jeans that have got me all excited.
Here's also a couple of pictures of me and some of my best friends from University - I am wearing the jeans from heaven in these pictures, but apparently no full length pictures of me exist in the world.

(I do not own Bruce Springsteen's Cover Art or this delightful picture of Kelly Kapowski, images were sourced here and here.) 

One for those Tall girls....

I was in a dance school when I was younger and in the videos I'm the kid in the back, who's a least a whole head height taller than everybody else. There's one number in particular when we're all five/six and dressed up in blue and red toy soldier outfits, tap-dancing to Following The Leader from Peter Pan. I'm at least a foot taller than every other little girl in the class.

Needless to say, I've always been the tall girl. Ive always been 'the tall friend' and that's okay. Sometimes it's very easy to feel like you're in the way when you're as tall as I am, because it feels like you're so large that you're Alice when she's ten feet tall. Honestly though, It's never really bothered me that much, but I can completely understand how some taller people do feel uncomfortable with it. Being tall forces you to be slightly more extrovert than you might want to be; there's no shying away when you're towering over everyone you meet and constantly being met with "Wow, you're all aren't you!" - like, thanks. That is brand new information. "You should be a dancer, you're so tall!" "You're like...model tall." And the old favourite that gets dragged out at every family event "Wow, you don't get any shorter do you! How tall are you now?"

Here I'm wearing flats and my three girls are wearing heels.

There are a million upsides to being tall, don't get me wrong. I can reach for things that others can't, I can put on more weight than shorter people can without it looking overtly obvious, I don't have to wear heels if I don't want to. Old ladies can ask me to reach their bran flakes from the top shelf and I can and it makes me feel good. You can always see at concerts, or movies... No one is ever going to borrow your shoes and forget to give them back, because they'll look like clown shoes on anyone else but you. You can get on that Indiana Jones loop-de-loop rollercoaster at Disney Land before any of your friends can... 

 

My first year of University...

 

Of course, there are also a million downsides; I know a few tall girls who have really bad posture because during their school lives they slouched to be more similar to their friends in height, sometimes people don't understand why you're willingly paying the extra £10 for extra leg room on a long haul flight (these are the same people who understand why you like aisle seats at the movies), there is so much more surface area to think about when it comes to shaving/waxing your legs - same goes with fake tanning. But my main bug-bear as we transition (slowly after all, I live in the UK) from Winter into Summer is buying (and wearing) clothes. 

 

Graduation Ball 2014 with two of my favourite girls.

 

Today, I went into three fairly big highstreet stores only to be told that they do not stock any jeans longer than a 34 leg, and when they do order their 34's in, they only order one or two pairs in because there simply isn't the demand. I felt like shouting, I'm here! I'm demanding! Ideally, I'd love a 38 leg, but a 36 could do the job nicely too. If my jeans are slightly too short in the winter, it's fine, because I'll just wear thick socks and tuck my jeans in. In the summer, I'm not really feeling thick socks and boots - I want my jeans to be long enough and I want to wear dollies, or plims, or Toms, or (heaven forbid) sandals.
Not just jeans either - Maxi dresses are not Maxi dresses. The Maxi Dresses that are designed are built for women between 5'5 and 5'9. When you're as tall as I am, those extra few inches count. Jumpsuits - same deal. I've got the longest torso of anyone I have ever known, so a jumpsuit/playsuit that fits you will definitely not fit me. Skirts, shorts, playsuits all become inappropriately short. I have not chosen super-short hoochie shorts to wear, I just have more leg than the average chick. This is not my fault.

Graduation Ball 2014

New Look used to stock a Tall range in their larger stores, but now they don't even do that; you have to order online, which I'm sure is great for some people but I don't have the time, money or patience for that. I want to go into a store on a Saturday, pick up a pair of jeans, try them on and then buy them. Whilst many girls don't have to try things on, I do because I'm tall and constantly between sizes (again not my fault) so any kind of buying online service is immediately redundant. 90% of the time, the first pair of jeans I pick up instore wont fit and I don't want the hassle of having to order ill-fitting jeans online and then go through the hassle of sending them back. I shouldn't have to. I should be able to shop for clothes with ease just like anybody else.

River Island simply just don't make jeans for tall people. 

 

Student Awards 2013

 

Topshop has a Tall range and I'm sure Levi's do long jeans too, and of course there's Long Tall Sally, but then we're venturing into a totally different budget zone. I don't have hundreds of pounds on jeans. I want to spend £20 on a pair of great fitting, long jeans but can I? Hell no.
Men, on the other hand, are expected to be tall so they can buy their jeans from wherever the hell they want to. CK Men's Jeans are awesome, ASOS are great for Men's jeans as are Levi's and I'm sure Primark and New Look's men's ranges are great too. 

 

Vegas in April 2013

I wish this was being sponsored and I could come up with a resolution for this problem I'm having, but it isn't and I don't have a solution. So, welp. I will continue searching for tall-clothes for tall-people. And I will continually ask myself "Is this dress too short for me?" when on other people it might fall below the knee. I know this is obviously such a first world problem, but needs must and all. 

 

Summer Ball 2012 - First Year at University

 

REVIEW: Lush Cosmetics - Celebrate Body Lotion & Golden Wonder Ballistic

Being a resident Lush fan and newly employed Christmas Temp has given me the opportunity to not only be able to afford new Lush products, but to also get to try them earlier – everyone’s a winner.

I’ve got my trusty pot of Karma Kream so I never looked into the other lotions but then I met Celebrate and it was a match made in heaven for days when Karma just isn’t quite what I want.
Of course, even though a limited edition Christmas product, the 225g cream comes in the standard Lush black and white pots. When I’m done with Celebrate, I’ll be adding it to the ever-growing pile of ‘clean-black-pots-to-take-back’ pile. If you’re unaware what I’m rambling about, where have you been?

One of Lush’s many recycling schemes involves customers bringing back five empty, clean black pots – we send them back to the factory for recycling and you, as the customer, get a free fresh face mask out of it. I’ll say it again, everyone’s a winner. 

“A sumptuous body lotion with oranges, almond oil and lime. As it’s Christmas we’ve also added a splash of cognac to put you in the festive mood.”
With generous helpings of the citrus ingredients, this slightly thicker lotion packs a whole zesty punch and is the perfect product for getting jazzed up before heading out to your office Christmas Party – leave the whole room wondering, what on earth is that amazing smell?

This lotion is so bright, it’s a refreshing break from all of the predictable ‘christmas’ scented products from companies across the board at this time of the year.  “Lime and Brazilian Orange bring cheer to the body and mind. Almond oil and cocoa butter will moisturise and soften the skin.” Celebrate is packed full of goodness, particularly in Almond Oil which is high in vitamin E which is so good for your skin, along with Fair Trade Organic Cocoa butter. A fully Vegan-friendly product, this just adds to the Vegan range that Lush has curated – working toward creating a better workplace, creating better products.

“This lotion shares its fragrance with Golden Wonder bath bomb making it a perfect way to layer the uplifting blend of essential oils whilst softening the skin. It’s also self-preserving, giving us true cause to celebrate.”

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Golden Wonder is probably one of, if not, my favourite Ballistic at Lush at the moment. It is a chunky square ballistic, covered in shimmery gold lustre with a cute bow design on top; looks like a little Christmas gift.
If you get the chance to see one in store, give it a shake – you can hear the little secret ballistics inside rattling around.  There are three little different coloured ballistic pebbles, surrounded in a blue ballistic casing, which is then completely covered again in the white and gold ballistic layer, so not only does it smell amazing – it’s awesome to watch, too!  If you’re giving a Golden Wonder as a gift – don’t tell them about all the layers, let it be a surprise! 

Because Golden Wonder is quite big, with such an array of colours and an awesome scent package to boot, this product is perfect for a gift for pretty much anyone - it just keeps on giving.

With the same fragrance as Celebrate body lotion, the uplifting Orange and Lime oils refresh you from spending your days trawling around town doing your Christmas shopping. Or, perhaps you work in retail too and need a break from the world when you get home – if so, this fella is your guy.

Although the original Golden Wonder, retailing at £3.75, does have a cheeky splash of cognac to keep you on your toes, there is an alcohol free version for those inclined. The original should be available in most stores across the UK for sure, and the alcohol-free one I know for sure is available on the Lush Website.

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