I’ve never been the type of girl that spent hours daydreaming about and planning her wedding (I much rather daydreamed about… ooh, wait a minute, that’s a good idea for a blog post, you’ll just have to wait and see). I am though a sucker for pretty dresses and some of these of Disney Fairy Tale Wedding Dresses are just gorgeous (and some are just plain hideous). 

There are six character lines to choose from: Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, Jasmine, Ariel and Belle. The idea is that each line of dresses ‘captures the unique spirit and beauty of each Disney princess’. Each Spring/Fall line has 3 different styles (so far in total there are about 9 different dresses per character). Here are a couple of the dresses:

Cinderella is ‘classic glamour’.

Sleeping Beauty is ‘regal radiance’.

Snow White is ’sweet elegance’.

Jasmine is ‘bohemian chic’.

Ariel is ’sexy and sultry’.

Belle is ’stylish sophistication’.

Check out all the dresses at the Disney Fairy Tale Weddings website.

(Photos courtesy and copyright of Disney)

A couple of weeks ago I won a Tokyoflash watch via a contest on Geeks Are Sexy (btw those geeks rock!). It arrived last week, so I thought I’d do a small review of it.

The watch I got is of the red Tibida design and it looks great. It has a polished stainless steel case with a red face and a polyurethane wrist band. The cool geeky thing about Tokyoflash watches is that they all have a unique way of displaying the time to you. In Tibida’s case there are four different display options: hour-centric, minute-centric, binary and date.

In the hour-centric mode, the bottom half of the display (the two 5×3 LED grids) is used to show the hour, The minutes are showed in the top half (the 2×6 grid) with each LED representing 5 minutes (so 8 LEDs on is 40 min). WIth the minute-centric mode, it’s the other way around. The bottom half is used for the minutes, the top half for the hours. Here are examples of both of them:

The binary option is (of course) the geekiest of the bunch. It doesn’t use the bottom half at all, only using the top 12 LEDs to show the time in binary. Very cool, but not that handy if you quickly want to know the time (at least not yet for me, still have to train myself a bit better). The last option, date, simply shows the date today, with the month in the top half and the day in the bottom half.

So far I’ve just been listing facts, not really giving my opinion on it. To be honest, I’m not completely convinced by it. It’s a very cool watch, but I’m not sure it’s the best fit for me. For starters, the wrist band isn’t that comfortable. The problem is with the area where the face connects with the band; instead of forming a smooth round band around the wrist, the top part is on a slightly weird angle (as if the band doesn’t want to bend that way). Now it could be that my wrists are just too skinny or the plastic is still too stiff, but at the moment it won’t fit comfortably around my wrist. Weirdly enough it does fit around my wrist; normally, I have to puncture an extra hole in the band. I think though the Tibida will fit fine if you have a bit more wider wrist than me and maybe given some time it will fit me better too.

Another thing you must realize with this watch is that the LEDs only go on when you press the button. So that means every single time you want to look at the watch for the time, you’ll have to press that button. Besides that you can’t look at it from an angle, cause otherwise the LEDs don’t make much sense. You really have to look straight at it. They’re not really problems or “end-of-the-world” bad, but it’s a new type of flow you have to get into. 

On a personal note, I discovered I don’t use my watch to know the exact time, I use it to know how much time has passed or will pass. For this, I’m so stuck in my ways with an analogue clock, my brain is so used to processing the angles and quarters of a clock face. For instance, when I know something will take 15 minutes to do, but don’t know what time to start it, my mind will be constantly updating the image I have of a clockface and moving the quarter around.

Anyhow, the Tokyoflash watch doesn’t completely suit me… as a watch. I don’t see this replacing my standard (but boring) analog watch. But as a geek accessory though it’s fantastic. Plus it’s almost the right shade of Miss Geeky red, fitting perfectly with some of my clothes. While not completely what I expected I do love it, so expect seeing it on me at a future geek event!

Pssst, there are even more watches on the Tokyoflash site. Some of them are way crazier…

I came across these cool jewelry designs called Batucada jewelry. They’re from an up-and-coming design company in France and some of the stuff is just so pretty.

The jewelry is made from an synthetic Eco-friendly rubber, creating a tattoo-like appearance when worn. Because of the material it’s also waterproof and sweat proof. They’re perfect as casual, but trendy everyday jewelry. 

Most of the designs are available in 5 different colours: classic black, moka, silver, gold and shiny purple. Furthermore, two bracelets can be attached to each other to form a choker.

Although they’re a French company I couldn’t discover any European sites that sell them. I did though find a US store that does called Brooklyn5and10. There all the necklaces cost $34.95 and the bracelets $19.95. Sadly they only deliver to the US (shipping is about $10), so I’ll have to wait till I find a store here.

Check out the Batucada website for more cool designs.

For the past five years, I’ve always owned at least one pair of black knee-high high-heeled boots, which act as my main every day shoes. I’m very picky concerning my boots and each of my past pairs have to be exactly as I want them. They have to be black leather; no buckles, laces or other extra stuff on it; preferably a zipper on the side; rounded nose; high heel, but no stilettos, then again also not too big and lumpy; not too wide; and, most importantly comfortable (if I’m going to walk around all them, they better not only be pretty). Add to that the fact that my feet aren’t the same size and it’s pretty difficult to find a pair of great boots.

So I know all about the woes and troubles of finding shoes that fit and that’s why I like Duo Boots. While not perfect for me (they don’t sell different feet size shoes), they do sell boots where you can specify your calf size and shoes where you can specify your foot width. I know a lot of people who would love this service and it makes sense. It’s all about supplying shoes that fit a person exactly, instead of settling with something that kind of fits. 

It helps that the shoes are also gorgeous. As I said before, I’m most of the time pretty picky, but here there a couple of boots I fallen straight away in love with. They’re a bit on the pricy side, but then you’ll get a pair of boots that fit perfectly on you. For me, that extra cost is completely justified if that means more comfort and less pain. 

Duo Boots are based in the UK with stores in Bath, London, Edinburgh and Manchester and there’s also one European store in Amsterdam. They also have an online store and (if you have a credit card) will ship all over the world.

Regular readers of this blog know how much I love my Threadless tees. I’ve got 6 of them myself at the moment and have bought 7 as presents for others. And I keep seeing more designs that I want. I’m not typically a t-shirt person, so it’s really the designs that makes me want to buy them. That’s why these new products are perfect for me.

They’ve been around for some time now, but Threadless (teaming up with Blik) offer also wall graphics of a select number of their designs. And most of them are so pretty! Depending on the size and complexity of the design, the price ranges from $30 to $50. It’s not something I could justify buying right now (not with the small flat we have, wouldn’t be worth it), but I can imagine once I have a larger place getting a couple of these.

The wall designs consist (most of the times) out of multiple smaller stickers, so you’re not restricted to arranging them in the same way as the original design. There are a couple designs that are also part of the Re-Stik collection, specially designed so you can use them over and over again (perfect for kids).

The US shop only delivers to US and Canada, but there is also an overseas distributor in the UK. Sadly though, this is more expensive (for instance £40 instead of $45), but it’s better than not being able to get them at all. To see all the designs head on over to the Blik website.

I mentioned earlier that I always have problems with finding shoes, because one foot is larger (or is it longer?) than the other. At the time I discovered that Nike has a cool service, which let’s you customize your shoes (and other products): Nike iD. The idea is that you can specify the colors of your shoes yourself and with some designs this gives you a lot of choice. What is great though is that with some designs you can even specify different shoe sizes for each foot: perfect!

By the way, here’s a great tip if you’re in the UK:

For woman they’ve got 33 different designs which you can choose from, for men 67 different types. This also includes though multiple type of football shoes and basketball shoes for the men, while woman for instance only have one choice of football shoe. I’m not complaining though, I don’t like football.

The coolest part of the customization choices is that you can put your iD on them. For the shoes, this means you can let them stitch your name or a short phrase on the tongues of the shoes (or if you’re boring something like “Left” and “Right” or “Sinister” and “Dexter”). Beside the shoes, you can also customize bags and watches. Guys can also customize clothing, but they only have a couple of tight running T-shirts. I would like to see some “normal” girly sport clothes that I can customize myself, but I guess we’ll have to wait for that.

Next to the regular NikeID shoes, you can also get Nike+ID. These are shoes that have a secret compartment in the left sole, where you can place the Nike+ iPod sensor. While working out, the sensor sends all types of information to your iPod. I got a pair of Air Zoom Moira+ iD for my birthday, together with the iPod sensor. I had gone to the Nike Store at Oxford Circus (London), where they have a special section for Nike iD orders. The guys there are quite helpful and you can try out and see the different designs and colors they have. What I found a bit weird though was that they didn’t have the model I wanted in my size to try out.

I’ve got sizes 5.5 and 6, which isn’t too small, I think. I had to fit on shoes from another model to try and guess my size. I ordered them, hoping that I guessed right. I was told though that if after receiving them they didn’t fit or even if I didn’t like the colors, I could get my money back or order them again in another design and size. It took about a month to actually create and ship the shoes to the Nike store and I got a nice email telling me when they were ready. I picked them up without too much hassle. What I adore about these shoes, is that I’ve actually got Miss Geeky on them:

After running with these a couple of weeks, I have to say I love how comfortable they are. I might even wear them besides my running, although they might be a bit too shiny for that. I haven’t mastered the iPod sensor yet (it doesn’t do completely what I want), but more about that another time. If you are looking for new running shoes, these are pretty good, but they might be a bit expensive for some (80 pounds). Add the iPod sensor to that and that’s quite an investment into some sports gear. For me, it was absolutely worth it and if you’re willing to put a bit of money into it, this is by far the way to go.

Ever since Cristiano got his Crumpler bag (Warm Shower) a couple of months ago, I’ve wanted one of these handy bags for myself. Besides normal messenger bags, Crumpler has a great line of cleverly designed laptop bags. Perfect for a geeky girl with a lot of gadgets, right? Well, at that time almost all the designs were more focused on guys. I tried a couple of them out, but none of them ever really felt right.

Now though, Crumpler has released a couple of bags, clearly aimed for the geeky girls out there. The Cheesy Chick is a laptop bag, perfectly sized for a 13″ laptop with a padded laptop compartment and a separate removable laptop sleeve. It comes in four different colours: roadkill red, espresso, seeded mustard and dull black.

The Cheesytina is of a similiar design, but has space for a 15″ laptop. The pouch on the front is also bigger, but for the rest the bag is pretty much the same as the Cheesy Chick (what’s up with the Cheese names by the way? Girls like cheese?). It also comes in four different colours: black, oatmeal, washed dark grey and bordeaux red. If you’ve got a laptop bigger than 13″, this is the way to go.

Another 13″ laptop bag is the Fuzzy Runway. Just like the Cheesy Chick, it’s got a removable laptop pouch. The main compartment though has a zipper closing and there’s a zipped pocket on the front. This bas also comes in four colours: oatmeal, black olive, dirty brown and black.

I fell in love with these bags the first time I saw them and they’re exactly what I want. With each of them, even when your laptop is in it, there’s still enough space for all your gadgets and other girly stuff. And they’re not too bulky to lug around with you. Besides that, if you don’t want to carry your laptop with you, the laptop sleeve can be removed and you’ve got more space for other stuff. Handy, right?

Although it’s not a laptop bag, another Crumpler I like is the Boiler. It’s a small glamma bag, as Crumpler likes to call it, perfect for your basic carry alongs and gadgets. Besides the larger compartment in the middle, it’s got two zipped pockets on the sides. The Boiler comes in five colours: black olive, dark olive, silver, red and dark purple.

There are more bags on the Crumpler site, but these ones are my favourites. I’m still trying to decide whether I should get the Cheesy Chick or the Fuzzy Runway; they both look great and meet all my requirements, although I find the colours of the Cheesy Chick better.

By the way, there’s finally a Crumpler Store in central London (in New Oxford Street). It’s smaller than I expected, but then you don’t really need that much space to showcase those bags, do you? If you want to see some real life Crumplers, it’s definitely worth checking out. For buying these bags though, you’re better off at Amazon or other online shops; most of the time you can get them a whole lot cheaper.

I just love me some Threadless t-shirts. They’re having another sale with all tees $9 and I again couldn’t resist not buying some. Normally the tees cost $17, so the discount seems too good to pass up on. The first tee I’m getting is Adorable Disaster. I saw this one more than a year ago and I still have to smile every time I see it.

The second tee is called A Voyage of Discovery and I just love the detail of this design:

I’ve got 4 other t-shirts from Threadless and so far I’m pretty impressed by them. I used to get a lot of Emily Strange and David & Goliath T-shirts, but I always had problems with those (shrinking in the wash, fading, etc). These Threadless ones though are much better and a whole lot cheaper. So head on over to Threadless, while the sale still lasts!

I hate shoe shopping. Not because I don’t like shoes. Oh no, I love shoes. Somewhere deep down is side of me, there’s a girl who could own a closet full of shoes and still keep on buying them. But I don’t. Because I hate shoe shopping.

I’ll let you guys in on a little secret: one of my feet is bigger than the other. The left one to be exact. Not a little bit bigger, that wouldn’t have been a problem. Nope, it’s one size bigger. One freaking complete size bigger. Do you now understand why I hate shoe shopping?

Photo from Flickr by merfam

There’s no way that I’m actually going to buy two pairs of shoes, so I always have to go through hell trying to find a new pair. It’s already difficult enough to find a pair that I fit, let alone a pair I actually like. So many times I’ve found the perfect, cutest shoes, only to find out that (of course) I don’t fit them.

Low heeled boots and jogging shoes are (relatively) the easiest; try to fit the larger foot in and it doesn’t really matter if the other shoe feels a bit loose (an extra sole can easily fix that). But high heeled boots, pumps or sling backs? They’re terrible (but way prettier; so of course I’m going to go through the trouble to get them). I always have to go for the pair that isn’t too loose on the small foot (cause otherwise it falls off) and isn’t too tight on the big foot. Sigh… why can’t I buy two different sized shoes?

Photo from Flickr by ingorrr

Well, I found out today, some places you can. I was looking for new running shoes (because I started exercising again) and took a look at the iPod Nike ones. You know the ones with a special sensor you can put in the shoe to measure how fast you’re going? Turns out, you can customize them, pick your own colours and stuff like that and you can specify the size of each of the shoes. Great!

They’re a bit pricey, but I do think that in this case for me it might be worth it. Now all I have to do is pick the colours I want!

I just love Threadless T-Shirts. After getting two of them a couple of months ago, I’ve been waiting for a good excuse to get some more. Well, now Threadless has a Holiday sale with all T-Shirts for $10! The girl tees cost normally $17, so it’s quite a nice discount. I ordered two cute tees: Ambition Killed The Cat and Three Plus…One.

Threadless also has a great way to give discounts to members: StreetTeam points. The idea is that every StreetTeam point is worth $1.50 store credit. You can earn 1 point by submitting a photo of yourself wearing a Threadless T-Shirt and if that photo is chosen for the product page, you can win 10 points. Another way to get points is to link to Threadless with your unique StreetTeam URL, and if that referral results in a sale, you get 2 points. Meaning if you click here, I’ll get $3.00 discount!

I’m still looking for someone else who also collects StreetTeam points, cause I’m now “wasting” points. I’ve already ordered T-Shirts twice, meaning I could have “given” someone a couple of points. So anyone out there who wants the points of my next order? It seems to me if you coordinate it right, you can end up with a nice discount.