Nothing simple about this baby this Season!!  The Trench coat is a staple any season but 2010 sees it taking on itself as the new Must Have!  From New Look to Dior, it really is the chicest way of keeping yourself dry in this ridiculous weather!

So how you do you like your trench?

Cropped? Shop for Dries Van Noten or actually Zara doing a very cool one..

Ruched?  Shop Burberry Prorsum…

Classic?  Shop Burberry…

Frou Frou? Dior is your choice…

Sleeveless? Try Sportmax…

In fact any style goes….and whilst the classic Burberry trench may see you through life as you know it, feel safe in the knowledge that anything goes!!!

Oh I could so live in Paris!  Who couldn’t! Who wouldn’t want to!!! Well there might be a few but not me!!!  Where do you begin to reel off the fabulous things I love to do…obviously shopping, the wine, the art, Laduree, Cafe Ruc….and let’s not go there on the men…

But my latest obsession (my lovely friend Anna has to take credit for this!) is Merci - the hottest lifestyle and fashion store in Paris - almost takes over from my other favourite haunt of Corso Como in Milan…but on the basis that I visit Paris more than Milan, it now becomes my number one love!!  I have never been in one place where everyone is so cool, they are Ice Cool (thankyou to Outkast for that one!).  I want my house to be like that…but you can only lug so much back on Eurostar so it’s going to take a while…

SO…. imagine my delight and you could probably hear the screams when husband walks into the kitchen and says “Merci - isn’t this that store you keep going on about????” - they’ve only gone and teamed up with my other favourite place in the world (for shopping!) Liberty and with Marie France Cohen, the creative director of Merci, they bring us an exclusive collection of fashion and homeware using Liberty’s signature florals.

I actually can’t cope with the anticipation - March 8th (landing day) cannot come soon enough and I have put the entire collection on my birthday list (March 25th if you are interested…)

Only problem with that is that I will probably have bought it all myself way before then so best to check with me first!!!

See you at the front of the queue…xxxxxxxxx

Well there I am pottering about Boots purchasing my vat of No 7 Intense Serum and Nick Lowe facial scrub as you do on a Saturday afternoon when lo and behold a new weapon of mass destruction catches my eye!!

Now already being a fan of Garnier’s Caffeine Roll On, there I am dumbfounded that you can get the best of both worlds now with the new Garnier Caffeine Anti-dark Circles 2-in-1 Roll On!! 

Not only does it combat my hideous dark circles (not helped by an overload of wheat and alcohol the night before!!) but conceals them too!!  Is that just too much to ask???????

Well I don’t think so - took it upon myself to purchase the slightly darker one and whooppee!  Gotta say I look pretty good today!!  And my face is a tough task on the best of days!!!  I might like to think that perhaps the light version is just too light and a tad orange for anybody but if you have a sniff of a bit of colour (fake or real!!), then this is a pretty good answer to your prayers!  And it only costs £9.99…..

So whilst your caffeine bill may just have been increased ever so slightly, when the bank manager says cut back on the daily coffee bills, this is one you will just have to argue for!!!

Ok - it’s official…January is over, February has begun and you are now allowed to start thinking about your Summer wardrobe but more importantly investing in the perfect Summer shoes for every occasion!!

Now in my world, (which is probably not normal and completely shoe obsessed,) this time of year has me trawling to make sure I have the perfect Wedge…obviously one in every colour would be ideal but credit crunch and all that….

So we have decided to list the perfect Top 5 wedges, any of which will serve you for probably 75% of your entire wardrobe for the Summer!  So, whilst not always the cheapest on the block, value per wear obviously amounts to a good buy!!!

So in no particular order:

1.  Christian Louboutin…the wedge is the sensible end of his range and a shoe that fits all shapes unlike the rest of his collection….we are loving a variety this season but feel the most wearable and therefore essential is this one!

2.  With the nautical feel still running high, and a lot of red white and blue flying around, these gorgeous red patent beauties from Miu Miu are just the trick!!

3.   Anything from the Wedge Kings themselves Castaner.. the best value, the most comfortable and this is definately cause for one in every colour….

4.  Clements Ribeiro Spring Summer 2010…not just the wedges, the entire collection has got my name on it…small issue of budget but hey there’s £115 million up for grabs this weekend on Euromillions so that should cover it!!

 5. And last but not leastly….even good old M&S you can rely on - cheap and cheerful and really quite Miu Miu’esque!!!

So there you have it….a shoe for all seasons….well Summer anyway xxxx