If I was a Rich Girl........and had to get a gift for the Man who has Everything....

Introducing the Livescribe Pulse.


Last week I met up with an old friend. We were having a very important conversation so he was taking notes. With this.
I'm not usually one to notice something so every-day as a pen but this one caught my eye and when a few days later it was still on my mind, I decided to ask him about it.
Knowing my friend and his (ahem) penchant for nice things I'd already presumed there was gonna be something special about it, but when he said "That pen is cleverer than me" he was not overstating things (sorry Jon but you said it!).

The Livescribe Pulse not only looks good and writes well; it remembers! It remembers what it wrote, why it wrote it, where you were and who you were with when you wrote whatever it was you wrote, it remembers what was being said when you were writing, Damn, it probably remembers the name of that person you call mate/darling cos you forgot what they were called one minute after being introduced to them and now it's too late to ask. It's very clever!
But in awe as I am of its abilities, I can't help thinking it's kind of the most ridiculous pen ever invented and I'm not sure I really get the point of it.

At around £150, it's far from expensive, at least compared to these

Mont Blanc £595...not really feeling it.

Graf von Faber-Castell Pen of the year 2009 from £1750. Made of woven horsehair? Did I read that right? Yep, I like this.

or if you must

the Aurora Diamante which at over £1mil, holds the title for the worlds most expensive pen (but they only make one a year so get your name on that waiting list asap).

However even with all these diamonds around, I'd still give the Livescribe Pulse number1 prize for being completely over the top. And for the man who has everything I believe it makes the perfect gift...looks cool; titanium-y and Manly, and the gadget element is more than enough to satisfy his inner James Bond/secret agent leanings.

Done with pens.

The Cultural Bit

I just about managed to get myself organised enough to see the Pop Art exhibition at Tate Modern before it finished last weekend and i loved it rather a lot. I could happily have whiled away more than the two hours that I actually spent there, but I had a table reservation at Vertigo that I was a bit eager to get to (check out those views!!!!).
Anyway, I loved it so much that one day I hope to own a couple of the exhibited pieces, after all, who needs a soul when you have incredible works of art. (Turns out I may not even have to sell my soul....my friend who works for Tate just told me that now the exhibtion is over they don't need the pieces anymore so they probably won't mind if he takes them home for me. Cool.).

Most of all I'd like Memories Of/Moments With You 2008 Damien Hirst, a gold cabinet displaying row upon row of manufactured diamonds.



Completely ostentatious but utterly beautiful. Take a closer look.....



I'm not sure this is exactly what Mr Hirst had in mind, but seeing it in person made me think of childhood dreams, and more so that gorgeous scene from Disney's The Rescuers where against a score of harps and chimes, the huge diamond that little kidnapped orphan Penny has been forced into a cold dark cave to search for, suddenly catches the light of her lamp, throwing the cave into a dazzling array of light and rainbows. [ooh gonna have to steal that video back from my sister's kids.] Everytime I turned around and looked at it, I almost expected to hear the same chimes.


Right now I'm picturing it hanging in a dark wood dining room where it can glow moodily under low light. Or maybe in a big open industrial/minimalist style room where it can dazzle to full effect.


The other piece I want for my own is Hotel International 2003 Tracey Emin.



A completely un-glamourous apliqued blanket, it's aesthetically about as far from Memories Of... as you can get. None the less, I found it compelling and beautiful and actually spent longer looking at this than at any other piece in the whole exhibition including the adults only room ;-)
There's something very sweet and tender and honest about it which comes across much better if you see it in person and can actually read the notes and messages and memories sewn in and written all over it. It soothed me to look at. Or something.


Memories of/Moments with You 2008 Damien Hirst (last sold for) £2.6mil
Hotel International 1993 Tracey Emin (can't find price anywhere. I guess if you have to ask then you can't afford it)
Suddenly the Alaia dress aint looking so pricey!

"An a what-a????"

The day I discovered Katie Hillier's paperclip bunny necklace was also the day I happened across The Dress to eclipse All Dresses: The Alaia Body-Con. Yes yawn, another body-con. But this image doesn't even begin to do it justice and this dress has to be seen to believed (second floor DSM).
I'm not exaggerating when I say that this dress, from it's place on one lucky mannequin, actually stopped me dead in my tracks.
The version I saw was in a nudey, peachy, almost metallic colour that I can't quite put a name to. If it was a Dulux paint colour it'd be called 'Desert Shimmer' (or something else cheesy, Roasted Pumpkin or Nigerian Sands anyone?). I prefer this colour to the white, but it's so close to my skin tone that if I were to wear it, I'd look naked from a distance. I suppose it depends what kind of attention you're after, but if I was to spend over £1300 on a dress then I'd want people to be able to see it! Fortunately (or unfortunately depending on how I look at it), its not a dilemma I have to deal with right now.
But if anyone's asking, buy it for me in Desert Shimmer and if needs must, I'll get a spray tan.

PS All day long that scene in Clueless where Cher is mugged at gunpoint has been playing over and over in my head.
Robber: [brandishing gun] Get down
Cher: Oh no..... you don't understand....... this is an Alaia.
Robber: An a what-a???
Cher: [sighing] It's like a totally important designer.

I'm beginning to think that in her position I would like, totally say the same thing.

Azzedine Alaia Body-con Dress £1388 Dover Street Market

This is where it begins......

I was out shopping and browsing at the weekend when I stumbled across this: the coolest necklace I've seen so far this year. It's playful and lovely and such a simple idea (so simple in fact that my housemate attempted to make me one). It also happens to embody two of my Favourite Things; gold and bunny.
I had a feeling when I saw it that it wouldn't be coming home with me that day and at £595, i was right. But it's been on my mind quite a lot so i decided to start a blog about all these gorgeous wonderful things that I seem to come across quite often that make me yearn (or make me feel nostalgic or make my jaw drop or my heart race etc).
It also means I can keep a record of all that I covet in one ordered place instead of scraps here there and everywhere, and when I'm rich I can look back and buy it all!
Until this day comes I will point potential suitors in this direction and see what they bring me :-D
Necklace by Katie Hillier £595 Dover Street Market.