I LOVE Paris. A LOT.
The last time I went was with Miss Aimz in ‘08 – we were both single, it was new year, we kissed boys, we conceptualised Sassy Minx, we saw dancing girls, visited every lingerie shop Paris had to offer and Paris sprinkled us with it’s delicious magic…3 years on, Miss Aimz is in love with and is now living with her shaggy-haired manboi with their beautiful baby boy. LOVE.

I have written a book for grown-up girls about finding that Parisian magic every single day – out in 2012 – wohhhooo! – have met and moved in with my hot Viking beau who I love and adore, and who is now taking me back to Paris in February – ohhhh la la!

I am doing star-jumps o’ joy to actually be visiting the magickal city o’ all things bohemian, writer-y and delicious with the man I love, I’m watching the last two episodes o’ SATC, Midnight in Paris, Paris, J’taime and Amelie, reading Anais Nin and planning a walking tour round Montmatre ending in an evening at Lapin Agile, opened in 1860, where artists and writers such as Picasso, Utrillo, and Modigliani used to hang – SO excited!

So while I may not be able to fly above the rooftops of Paris ala this whimsically bee-you-tiful Sophia Coppola short film for Dior, I am, however, able to put in a call to the most awesome Paris tour-guide you’ll ever wish to meet – Miss Marine Chotard, creatrix o’ www.misssugarcane.com.

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Apologies for the lack of posts of late-I’ve been to New York and I’ve been working hard on a project that hopefully I’ll be able to tell you about soon, but one which I’ve had to spend all my time on so that I know it is how I want it to be! Anyway, I’m back and I thought I would share my NY experience with you and here is my top eight below…..

Vintage shopping in Williamsburg
I have scouted many of the best vintage areas in the world from London’s Portobello to the Paris Clignancourt, but nowhere does Vintage and for as cheap as it should be, like NY. Williamsburg in Brooklyn has huge Warehouse’s of the stuff, from Beacons Closet and Buffalo Exchange to discounted wares at new store Peach Frog. Pick up a taco from one of NY’s famous food trucks ‘Endless Summer’ and you are in heaven!

An affair to remember at the Empire State Building
The Empire State Building provides one of the best views in the city but when the sunsets, it is extra magical. Moviestar moments galore.

Ice Skating in Central Park
Pretty scenery? Check. The bridge from Home Alone? Check. Ice skating? Check. Strawberry Fields? Check. Running away from a hungry squirrel whilst chomping on a bagel? Just me then….

Consumerism at its best
Playboy at Marc Jacobs, Ken and Barbie at Dylans Candy Bar and Wonderwoman at MAC.

Burlesque at Le Poisson Rouge
Head over to Greenwich Villages ‘Le Poisson Rouge’, a hip arts club on Bleeker Street. We watched Filthy Gorgeous Burlesque, a fab show produced by Angie of the Pontani Sisters. Feathers, frolics from Miss Astrid and the evil hatemonkey.

Brunch on a Sunday at Hells Kitchen Flea Market
Lazy Sundays rock, so me and the beau headed over to Hells Kitchen for an eggs benedict brunch and to check out the Hells Kitchen Flea Market. Its pretty small but it has everything from vintage pictures&postcards, vinyl-I got Sonny and Cher and The Rolling Stones LPs, clothing and boots, bags and really old homely bits such as the fifties cocktail shaker that sits on my sideboard.

Food Glorious Food
Nobody does it like America. And nobody needs a gym as much as me after!
A cheesecake in my Sundae at Serendipity 3, Prawn overload at Bubba Shrimp, Tacos at the fabulous Tacombi in Nolita, Cupcakes here there and everywhere and a meal at Hamburger Heaven. Yikes. Needless to say I have purchased a mexican cookbook so I can adapt with some low fat love!

Random pieces of ArtJust inspiration everywhere, and it is looked after. Even the graffitti looks like art.

Glamping is the new camping – or the only camping that us Minxes do, that’s for sure.

Glamour camping is a luxurious girly version of the original and what with the IOW festival kicking the season into touch, it only seemed fair we gave you the heads up. You won’t catch me in a tent this year, the boy has a V-Dub camper van – but I love getting my head down on a bit of earth and watching the stars up above.

SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST

Zandra Rhodes teepee 119.99 and Zandra Rhodes sleeping bag, 24.99@ Milletts.co.uk Cherry coolbag@ Cath Kidston.co.uk, 30.00, Femibion radiance 9.99@boots.com, Durex extra safe 8.29@durex.com/en.gb, soap and glory face wipes, 4.00@soapandglory.com, Dermalogica Extra Rich SPF 30 faceblock 27.45 from www.pure-beauty.co.uk, Cotton Knickers, 5 for 12.00@lasenza.co.uk, Camo box, 15.67 @ ww.thebrowncorporation.com

The best looking Tiger Lilies in town sleep in a te-pee and this Zandra Rhodes one, from Milletts certainly stands out in the crowd! The range also includes chairs, and sleeping bags so you will be getting the ultimate in beauty zzz’s. Store your food in this lovely cool bag by Cath Kidston, and rock the floral trend all over-you might not be the most comfortable lounging it on the floor, but if its made prettier X10 by your inner tent surroundings, it’ll be a pretty haven away from the crowds. Speaking of comfort, keep to cotton knickers for the endless days and nights. Cotton is breathable even if you can’t grab a shower.-and showers might not even be that difficult if you have a nifty pocket shower which can hold up to seven litres of water. No-one likes queuing for the toilet, so pick a spot to hide and set up your own camo box-with bags, wipes and a recyclable toilet you can sit on, you won’t be wasting anytime. Now, if you are anything like me, its a little bit difficult to take your whole beauty case with you-but I promise Soap and Glory’s ‘In Your Face’ wipes clean away all that dirt, and Dermalogica’s Extra Rich face block will make sure it stays super smooth and protect your face from the festival rays. Unless it rains, but I can’t prepare you for that. With all the junk food at stalls, it’ll be worth popping some Femibion radiance tabs, which are full of essential vitamins to boost your diet and look after you. Finally, it may be all well and good to get right down and dirty with an indie-boi, but make sure you strap it up, before you whack it up and go for Extra Safe-Sassy and Sorted.

CAPSULE GLAMPER

BDG batwing coat, 65.00@urbanoutfitters.co.uk, Madhavi carry Playsuit, 65.00@laden.co.uk, Studded Slip Dress, 50.00@topshop.co.uk, ditsy bandeau and brief, 14.00/12.00@warehouse.co.uk vintage minidisco feather bag, 284.00:angeljackson.co.uk, Vivienne Westwood Mellisa Jellies, 90.00@hervia.com, feather headband, 8.00@accessorize.co.uk, faceted heart studs, 6.00@temporary-secretary.com, Glitter stackers, 5.95@barrym.com, Gloss Pur by YSL, 20@debenhams.co.uk, Eyelure false lashes, 6.15@justbeautifully.co.uk.

Lets face it, you can’t exactly carry that much to a festival and you’re only there a few days. I prefer to jazz up my looks with makeup-see Lily Allen and Bat for Lashes for ideas, and keep it classic elsewhere. A lil’ bit retro is easy to carry off-a silk dress looks everso 90’s grunge, and feathers add a fun element which is why Angel Jackson for bags and Accessorize for the best headbands and accessories rock. A playsuit, like this one from Laden.co.uk, always looks cute and they are mega comfy, and ditsy florals are best for bikinis to liven up a summer of love. One of my favourite pieces-the mac, is great updated like this one from Urban Outfitters, with its batwing details which gives a twist on the traditional 90’s Oasis style, and I have seen others with cute prints and ruffles on the high street. Work with the basics and you can still rock on.

Whats your favourite festival ? Care to share your favourite experiences?

For the past two years, I have been to Ibiza in the summer. If I could have it my way, I would go to Ibiza every summer, despite how expensive it is, and to counteract for this, I fly to Eivissa airport by Easyjet!
Although the island of ‘beautiful people’, doesn’t always appeal to everyone, and it also has a somewhat misguided reputation, courtesy of those tacky 90s TV shows such as Club Reps and Ibiza Uncovered. I would be lying if I said there aren’t still parts of Ibiza that doesn’t have fun features such as boozed up Brits, and flashing tits, but beyond this – and in our guide – are the best bits, for the jetsetters and glamazons.

Hippy Shake
Ibiza is the ultimate island for a spiritual retreat. This is why many celebs like Kate Moss, Dita Von Teese and the Minogue sisters head over to the lush balearic. This certainly shows in its style which is a mix of jetset glamour-think Jackie O- meets boho-think Ossie Clark florals and Pans People! The hippy markets in Es Cana on a Wednesday and San Carlos on a Saturday are meccas for vintage bits, exotic jewellery, textiles and artefacts from beyond. I love layering up with the mountains of beautiful beaded necklaces to go with my kaftan.

Spiritual Retreat
With the wild, on the island, I mainly enjoy Ibiza for the calm. If beautiful sandy beaches, super sunsets, blissed out cocktails in Cafe Mambo and laying on a bed at Kanya Beach club is not enough, there are many holistic options on the island. Ashtanga yoga courses take place on the island from March to November, inclusive of six days yoga, accommodation and meals, at the stunning Benirras Beach, which was voted the fourth most beautiful beach in the world by The Sunday Times. Alternatively, you can have one of handy masseuses from Massage Beach come and work out those knots and aches on the comfort of your sunlounger. Best Served Chilled? You got it!

Partygirls
Of course, Ibiza will always be renowned for its party lifestyle and hedonism, but with the calm, comes the storm. I have been to all of the superclubs-but my personal favourites are SPACE on Sundays, and Pacha. Ibiza isn’t your usual clubbing British clubbing experience-things are more chilled here and the attitudes are relaxed-showgirls, drag queens and exotic dancers are prominent as are the ranges of DJ’s from all around the world. Because of this, people also put on their best wares and get creative with their costumes-this looks expensive, rather than hen weekendy-and don’t tend to drink to exhaustion. My favourite thing to do, is sit in one of the cocoons on the SPACE terrace with a bottle of water, listening to chilled balearic house and speak to random people, which sounds odd and un-british, but because its Ibiza, anything goes and no-one thinks you are odd! Pacha is super-glamourous and the ultimate in show-off, but that’s one of the reasons to like the iconic cherry! Other hits are Bora Bora bar on Bora Bora beach; as you lie there on the sand, DJ sets are mixed and projected. Even with a hangover, it sounds somewhat blissful. I like Playa D’en Bossa for the beach and the clubs, and if you want to avoid boozed up Brits, it would be good advice to avoid the West End in San Antonio. However, the drinks are cheaper, and there are still some good bars, like Plastik, Cafe Del Mar and Bar M, and clubs like Eden.

Club Tropicana and Old Town
For the record, Club Tropicana drinks aren’t free, but the real place where WHAM! filmed the video for Club Tropicana, Pikes, is a haven for pure indulgence, and has a reputation for doing so-Freddie Mercury hired the whole hotel for his birthday in 1987, and it is a favourite of Julio Inglesias and Grace Jones. Pull up to the bumper with their brunch, served by the pool-delicious. For other gorgeous meals, and for stunning scenery and walks, head to Ibiza Old Town/Dalt Vila, which has a variety of restaurants, bars and is where the exotic locales go in the evenings. Walk up to the Old Castle, walk past the trow bridge, and descent up to art galleries and giftshops, and some of the most stunning views on the island. My one tip here is not to wear heels!

Ibiza Rocks
Going beyond ‘Biza’s repuration as a party hard island, it now appeals to all those cute indie boys. Why? Because it isn’t all about the house music anymore. What with the emergence of Ibiza Rocks, English bandboys are heading over into the sun to play at the hotel hotspot to beautiful people from all around the world. This year, some of my favourites like Ian Brown and The Courteeners are playing with other brilliant acts like Biffy Clyro, Florence and The Machine, Calvin Harris and Dizzee Rascal.
Ibiza definitely rocks, right?

Have you been to Ibiza? What are your tips-care to share?

Its that time of year again when we are all eagerly awaiting our summer holidays, and of course, summer holiday shopping. The fun things, like sandals, sunglasses and jewellery are always pretty easy to stash and grab, the swimwear? Not so much. I’ve developed a quick and easy guide…

For pure naughty nautical, What Katie Did , deliver a small but perfectly formed range of darling-ly retro swimsuits. It goes all out, so its more for our hardcore-retro laydees. However, I would certainly be doing a little wave and a curtsy, modeling this! All the sailors will be bringing you a Shirley Temple cocktail!

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I can’t believe it’s been 2 whole months since Miss Aimz and I hit New York and we’ve not even shared our sassy adventures with you…Well, it was a whole lot o’ awesomeness, but you’d expect nothing less when the minxes hit the city that never sleeps, right? Here are some of our highlights, must see’s and total NYC must-dos…

Fred Flare, Greenpoint, Brooklyn
I have been a fan-girl o’ Fred Flare and their gorgeous merch for years now, they’ve now got a pile o’ bricks in Brooklyn and the Fred Flare shop sure is location cutesville! We hung out with the fabu Bilgin and Bee, purched some merch – well, it’d be rude to go all that way and not, right? – and had a mini photoshoot with the girls starring on their very own blogginz! Head out to Brooklyn on the L train and go find the cuteness!

While you’re in Brooklyn, hit the vintage shops of which there are plenty and buy cute pillar box hats like Miss Aimz…

Go find Patrica Field. Step inside and indulge. Need I say more? The staff are so hip and fabulous and there’s just enough pink and leopard print to make me the happiest girl in happyville!

302 Bowery, NYC, NY 10012 – Between E Houston & Bleecker Streets

Dylans Candy Bar may be owned by a super-rich ‘it’ girl, but I don’t care, because it’s filled-to-the brim with yummy scrummy candy deliciousness that you simply have to witness, and taste – natch, for yourself. They also have super-complimentary staff – those guys do wonders for a girl’s self-esteem and if you’re lucky you’ll catch a VERY cute boy on the promo stand who may over-share about his boy exploits with you.

1011 Third Ave, New York, NY 10021

Miss Aimz and I demolishing Magnolia cupcakes in true Sex and the City style – yumz.
Magnolias Bakery 401 Bleecker Street New York, NY 10014

We got our burlesque on at downtown New York locale, The Slipper Rooms. It was a li’l bit dark, a li’l bit dive-y and a whole lot of glam-girls pulling seriously saucy moves…
The Slipper Rooms, 167 Orchard Street, New York, NY 10002-2214

Miss Aimz post Bloomie’s makeover.

Me mid-Bloomie’s makeover.

The Yves Saint Laurent beauty counter in Bloomingdales. It’s a li’l bit of heaven right here on earth, and I’m not even exaggerating. We met an adorbz make-up artist called Miranda who made us both real pretty and then helped us to part with a whole lot of crazy cash for beauty prods in bee-you-tiful gold packaging…Le sigh.

Bloomingdales 1000 Third Ave, between 59th and 60th streets.

The soundtrack to our entire trip…

We’ve still got so much to share, we’ll follow up with part 2 and 3 very soon – in the meantime, we’d love to know what your New York highlights are…

On rain-filled days like today I think it’s only right and proper that I share some new treats from my pink leopard-print vanity case o’ fabulous pick-me-ups…

My gorgeous gal-pal, Deepa intro-d me to this song and I’ve been playing it on repeat ever since. I’m now officially looking for a man who I love more than chocolate and ice cream – he’s gonna have to be pretty freakin’ awesome!

Read ANYTHING written by Miss Dani – she’s a million shades of awesome and injects a touch o’ positivity every single day at her blogginz – Positively Present and Hope Springs Internal – oh, and she did a rather fabu interview with li’l ol’ me about sassyness and being a member of girlkind which you can read right here…Big props, g’friend.

Swell Vintage – LOVE this site so much, come back soon as I’ll be interviewing the lady behind the label, FYI: She’s awesome, til then, sigh out loud at the pretty, pretty vintage finds at her etsy store – I WANT. NEED. MUST HAVE this Oscar de la Renta scarf – le sigh.

Read this quote, write it out, read it again and believe it:
“…Smart is the new sexy. Awkward is the new cool. Flawed is the new beautiful…”
– Melissa Blake

Carolyn Turgeon – new girl crush. She’s freakin’ crazy awesome – interviewed her for SM yesterday and she’s blown me away with her awesomeness – you will be too when you read the interview on Friday – ahh-mazing. She’s the belly-dancing, author girl of Godmother: The Secret Cinderella story a book that I devoured in one sitting, it’s so good. If you love Enchanted and Bewitched this will sprinkle a whole lot of magic in your life and after all, everyone needs a bit of magic in their lives, right?

What’s new with you, pussycats? Care to share?

pic: www.flickr.com/photos/casch/215529903/

No, that’s not me – I know, hard to believe, right? That’s a crazy-cool surf-girl doing crazy-cool surf-girl things in Cornwall.

Oh Cornwall,  how I heart thee.

Now,  I am by no stretch of anyone’s imagination an actual surf-girl, but a visit to Cornwall, on the South West coast of the UK, makes me want to be one. A lot. Mainly because if I surfed all day, I’d be able to eat clotted cream on scones in the back of a camper van with a chilled-out, dreadlocked surf-boy by night – le sigh.

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Okay, so I may not be able to fly you above the rooftops of Paris ala this whimsically bee-you-tiful Sophia Coppola short film for Dior, I am, however, able to intro you to the most awesome Paris tour-guide you’ll ever wish to meet – Miss Marine.

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