Daily Outfit: Massive Attack

Gosh, what an awesome night. Hurray for new friends and smooth tunes!

Daily Outfit: cocktails, a piano, red wine and some cats

This:



Creates this:

A list of lists

Or, amusing lists in my diary.

As a Virgo, I like nothing more than to open up a fresh page in my diary and jot down a neat little list. I choose my favourite ink colour for the day and write out a heading and make uniform dot points down the page. I get a great deal of satisfaction in crossing off items, striking them through.

So here's a sample of lists made in my diary:

• My guide to getting a boyfriend in three easy steps


• How to call in sick for work


• Things I would like to eat in New York


• How to prepare for my Dior interview


• Paris is crazy, or I took drugs last night


• Reasons why it's good I didn't sleep with Noel Fielding


• How to make my life Awesome


• This morning I didn't know where I was. My thought process was as follows
  

If you haven't discovered it yet, head over to the list-loving site of The Secret Society of List Addicts.

Daily Outfit: Quick trip to the shops

Sunny day. Sequin Cat in jeans. What is happening to the world?

Wednesday Wrap-up

It's late and I'm oh-so-tired. My 'jours de repos' from my new job at Disneyland weren't very restful at all. After working seven days straight (phew!) I had a cultured two days off and attended two photography exhibitions, a stand-up comedy show and saw live music. All accompanied by mojitos.

Other great things have been seeing my friends who were travelling in Africa for eight months (!!), meeting Scandinavian people, buying a Winter coat (finally), home-cooked meals, orchestra rehearsal and filling my belly with laughter.

There's only 35 days left in the year and so much to squeeze in!

Daily Outfit: When you don't know what you've been doing

But it must be reasonable if the coat's still on.

Daily Outfit: Vegetarian dinner date

Delicious dinner out near Père Lachaise cemetary.

With cardigan

Without cardigan!

I spared you of another photo of my red coat. Needless to say, it wrapped me up tight in the cold night air!

Sequin Cat loves

Fresh produce

Autumn colours against blue skies

Chairs that are deceivingly comfortable

What's in my bordel of a bag

In French, when something is disorganised it's not just called a mess, it's called a whorehouse.



Clockwise from left: camera, wallet, eyemask (!), giant sunglasses, diary (with orchestra membership, sketches, postcards and lonely planet pages tucked in), hand sanitiser (swine flu!), bow hair clip, earplugs, two necklaces, assortment of pens and a pencil, Neutrogena hand cream, two eyeliners, pawpaw, lipstick, lipgloss, hair creme (! Free sample at Kiehls), Carte 12-25 (reduced fare on trains!), ticket to see Massive Attack, train tickets from Lyon to Avignon and back to Paris, various jumble of life (Grenoble taxi business card - don't know when I got this, travel tickets, Velov' tickets, Avignon art fest brochure, brochure for the Palais des Papes in Avignon, Avignon tourism pass, business card for the Moroccan teacave in Lyon, Palais des Papes admission, receipts from H&M, business card for a shoe store....), iPod, mobile phone.

Oh dear. I really don't know how it all fits in such a compact bag!

Pink thighs

Apparently in France, eating carrots makes you nice and gives you pink thighs.



This, however, is just silly.

Daily Outfit: Paris, I love you

What a view of the city. You can understand why I'm grinning like a Cheshire Cat, non?

I'm getting tired of Winter wear already! So much effort getting dressed in the morning and undressed at night.

Daily Outfit: Exploring Pau

A sunny day calls for a sunny walk around Pau, a major town in the Pyrenées. We walked around the grounds of the English summer chateau, and then went to buy cake.

I don't bother trying to be cool.

Wednesday Wrap-up

I know I've been saying it a lot lately.... but WOW! What a week!

There's been good upon good. Scoring opshop goodies, Massive Attack concert, making new friends, Spongebob exhibition, gorgeous Autumn days, treating myself to delicious meals, debauched party times, riding through rainy Paris streets late, late at night, a perfect Sunday and... starting my new job at Disneyland!

Let's just summarise the week here by saying I'm the happiest girl in Paris. I can't stop saying "I love life!" and skipping in the street. I fall into dreamworld feeling thankful for my cold feet and soft bed, and wake up happy to be alive.

Daily Outfit: Sunday lunch with grandma

Down in the Pyrenées we picked up the great aunt from her retirement home and took her out to lunch. It was a beautiful, sunny day.

Later, we went for a drive and then hiked through the forest.

Yep, I'm not wearing any makeup.

Make a Wish!

I ALWAYS wish for the same thing

Pulling smooth moves with smooth tunes

Teardrop

The other night I was at the Massive Attack concert (yes, it was awesome) and it got me thinking. What do the band members of MA put on their hooking up playlists? Don't pretend you don't know what I'm talking about.

Daily Outfit: Walking through the forest.

Down in the Pyrenées I took a walk through some isolated forest. It was a beautiful Autumn day and all I could hear were dead leaves falling off the trees.

Little Red riding hood indeed!

I got a bit worried when I came across some bulls in a field and they were staring me down. Then I realised I was wearing a red cardigan. Run, Sequin Cat, run!

Lacoste ads

While I'm not tempted to buy any of their clothing (indeed, I don't think I've ever seen their wares for sale), I'm struck by how amazing their colour schemes are in their advertisements.

Nail. Head. Every. Time.

How amazing are these two shots from Autumn/Winter 09?

Spring/Summer 09 looked like lots of fun too

Hooray for colour!

Daily Outfit: 10 hour car ride

Paris to Pyrenées? No problem if you have magazines and a Nintendo DS. Hangover optional (erg...)

Could my holiday house get any more 70s??

Daily Outfit: Fond farewell to a friend

Cocktails on rue Mouffetard, contraband, apartment dance party and playing caps. A wonderful night's sleep with amazing friends.

I can't stop wearing my new necklace back to front! What do you think?

I CHOOse sleep-in

So I set my alarm for 7am. I really did. But when I woke up then, and saw that it was cold and grey outside and heard the gale force winds, I decided to not bother. And promptly slept till noon.


I may pop into one of the H&M branches in Paris this afternoon to witness the ravaging. I'll be interested to read some of the other bloggers' write-ups.

Jimmy Choo pour H&M

The ads have been splashed all over the metro for weeks. Tomorrow's the big day! After looking through the collection, nothing much has grabbed my eye. That is, except for the incredible cuissardes (thigh high boots.) However at €199, they're out of my budget.

If I want to be there before doors open, it's going to be a 7am wakeup call... We all know that's unlikely to happen. Watch this space.

Grocery shopping

I'm ridiculously happy with my grocery shopping the other day because I bought some of this:

amongst other things including: root vegetables, nutella, garlic and herb cheese spread. Am trying to embrace all aspects of Autumn life.

Daily Outfit: Interview chez Disney

Happy little face of success? Yes.

A polished interview outfit but with some trademark quirks

Half of my fellow applicants were in jeans! (yes I counted)

Wednesday Wrap-up

Had an uncomfortable few hours this afternoon when I thought I'd lost my USB. Au revoir, seven months of travel photos! Au revoir, scans of important documents! Needless to say, there was a BIG sigh of relief when I found that scamp hiding in a random crevice of my handbag.



I've been quite happy this past week to rug up from the cold and spend some time indoors. I've been cleaning my room, writing in my diary, reading books, scrapbooking, getting through my blog reader, listening to music and watching shows online (I've only just discovered live streaming!)

When I have gone out, all bundled up, I've fallen back in love with Paris. I did end up going to Colette, and explored the new UNIQLO store too. I visited the Institut du Monde arabe for the first time, and enjoyed the most amazing views of the city.





Drinks and conversation in cosy cafes. Practising this. Enjoying seasonal citrus. Japanese potage at a vegetarian restaurant (I could eat it every day for the rest of my life!) Happy hour cocktails. Red wine with new friends in the most amazing apartment. Brisk walks in night air. Dreaming on the metro. Reading a novel in French.

I'm getting organised. I have a feeling a new chapter is just beginning...

I'm also listening to this

and loving it lots. And lots. Hope you do too!













So I'm one of those dags who is reticent to try new music. I stick to what I like. Which is usually Arcade Fire and David Bowie jamming. But! After listening to these tunes, perhaps you have a recommendation for me? Share away, friends!

The Accidental

Oh, I have a big crush on this song right now. My iPod version is much dreamier than this youtube version though.



Qu'en pensez-vous?

Daily Outfit: Autumn in Avignon

A happy day touristing it up at the Palais des Papes, bridge of Avignon, delightful lunch date and flower shopping. Followed by dance routines and a delicious dinner.

I didn't even put my coat on! A tshirt and a cardigan in late October???

A Parisian revelation

Tonight I realised, as I walked through the Marais, listened to a piano being played on the street, drank red wine and ate cheese, navigated a warren of metro tunnels.... there is nowhere else I'd rather be right now.


Paris, je t'aime.

Sequin Cat's guide to living out of your handbag

While chatting with a friend recently in a cosy café, I learnt that she spent six weeks travelling over Summer using only hand luggage. She mentioned doing the washing once a week as a bit of an inconvenience, but was thrilled by how much money she'd saved.

Unfortunately, I cannot claim to be as much of a travel goddess. What I do know, however, is how to survive for days living out of your handbag.

For whatever the reason, occasionally we find ourselves unable to go home at the end of a night out. If you're lucky, a friend will offer some floor-space, or even better, a couch. But how to survive the following morning? What you carry in your handbag should be sufficient to disguise the damage and avoid the scornful glares that walks-of-shame typically receive.


You wake up. Once you've established where you are, it's time to get moving. Bananas are great for a bit of brain power, demolish hangovers and are commonly found in fruit bowls, regardless of season. A glass of water doesn't go astray at this point either. If you can find tea bags and a kettle, even better.

Breakfast down and your brain should be functioning on at least a basic level. Next stop, personal hygiene. If your hosts offer you a shower, you've hit the jackpot. Enjoy their delicious shampoo and body wash and emerge fresh as a newborn. The rest of us however must make do and mend.

1. Hide the evidence.
Remove incriminating makeup and under eye blackness with makeup remover. A piece of toilet paper and some body wash will do at a pinch. At worst, splash your face and wipe old makeup to the outer corner of your eyes.

2. Makeup!
It won't be perfect, but it'll get you through the morning (or afternoon...) I like to carry two eyeliner pencils in my purse for this very purpose. A little white in the inner V of each eye will make you look more alive than you feel, and a neat line of black on the lower lid makes your smudgy look more rock chick than heroin addict. Eye pencils are generally small, light, and thus portable, and a line of kohl does away with the need for mascara (although some likely remains from the night before!) Wake up your face some more with a light pinch of each cheek. Who needs blush? Finish off your morning fresh look with some clear gloss on your lips (and eyelids if you're feeling it!) Lip balm or gloss can also be used for on-the-go hair styling if you wake with a serious case of bedhead. Otherwise style as best as you can with water and your fingers. I usually carry a spare hairclip in my bag.

3. Freshen up.
Unless you're clever enough to carry a travel toothbrush in your bag, you'll likely have to rough it. Toothpaste and your finger will make you feel a lot happier than not brushing your teeth will. Rinse, repeat.

4. Time to go...
If your host is up, ask them to point you in the direction of the nearest metro station/bus stop. If you're the only one standing, your best bet is to let yourself out and find a main road. You'll get home eventually! You should always have a travel pass or some coins in your purse.

5. Work it!
Throw on those oversized sunglasses that you cleverly stowed in your bag the night before and pop that iPod on high. Strut down the street in your ultra high heels in the sunshine and laugh about last night's crazy antics.


Living out of your handbag: a checklist

• makeup essentials: white eyeliner, black eyeliner, clear gloss
• travel pass/coins
• oversized sunglasses
• iPod
• mobile phone

And for the experts...

• hair clips
• miniature bottle of hand cream (for hair styling, makeup removal, random dry patches etc.)
• fresh pair of knickers
• a pen to record all the funny anecdotes that come back to you

With preparation this thorough, you needn't go home for days! Happy travels....

Daily Outfit: Sleepy Sunday in Avignon

Relaxing with friends, playing with a kitten, powering through a novel and a sunset stroll in the Medieval town of Avignon

I'm loving the mild Winter weather down South!

Daily Outfit: La Camargue

Homemade quiche eaten at a bull-fighting competition in Provence before taking photos of wild flamingos.

Links I Love

Bit of a French focus here, which I hope you'll deem acceptable.

Rémi Gaillard is a French prankster that is taking the internet and (socially uptight) France by storm.

Quirky animals getting funky in a hospital. Worth the watch!



A French father playing a trick on his daughter. Innocent fun (but maybe less funny if you don't speak French? Let me know.)


Warms even my icy, child-deriding heart.


This nana is canon! Je suis fan. Her chansons will rock your socks.

Daily Outfit: Stop me if you think that you've seen this one before

Riding through the streets of Lyon without a care in the world. The beautiful rivers, and the inspiring architecture. Moroccan mint tea and homemade pastries. Walking up a hill in the dark to sightsee over the city. Cheap Chinese and winning a quiz night. Drawing caricatures of each other and pen-ink tattoos on bony wrists.

Oh, I can't even recall what I have on underneath this coat. Warning, I could be totally nude! But with the cold weather, I'm doubting it.

Deliciously sweet and warming!