Tomorrow.

You know how just the other day I wrote this blog post on how much I love Kate Middleton?
Well, she's going to be in the North East tomorrow! (Prince William was supposed to be coming too, but unfortunately he's attending a funeral).

I am so excited! It has been announced that she will be at Newcastle Civic Centre at 10.30am tomorrow. I am definitely going to go to get a glimpse of her! Anyone going to be there too? If you are wanting to see her elsewhere, here is a link detailing the different places in the North East that she is visiting.
Hopefully, the Geordie nation will not embarrass itself and she will love us as much as we love Greggs and stotties (an awful lot!)

My style idol.

I know Kate Middleton (Princess Kate) has been getting a lot of press recently (and not for something she would actually like to be known for). As a massive Kate fan, I want to rave about her a bit. I love her fashion sense. I want to wear everything she wears. When I got engaged last year, my amazing friend photoshopped  mine and the (then) fiancé's head onto an image of Will and Kate. I even went as far as to get the husband and I to dress up as the royal couple for a birthday bash last year. See figure 1.

Figure 1.

And, I got married in the same year as her. No biggy....
So, anyways, I love Kate Middleton. And I would love to own these dressses:

Okay, I could just keep posting pictures of her amazing outfits, but if you love Kate's wardrobe as much as I do, then click here to see InStyle's collection of Kate's 100 Most Memorable Outfits.

Bop for Liz

Yes, the name of my blog post comes from a sign posted outside of a pub that are having a party for Queen Elizabeth's 60 year reign. It made me laugh so much that I thought I would fossilise it into my blog post, then I will always have fond memories of that little moment!

What are you doing for the Queen's Jubilee?

I think this year is an exciting year to be English - the Queen's Diamond Jubilee + the Olympics being held in our own country = a lot of patriotic Brits. Why can't we be more patriotic? Sometimes, I wish we were more like the Americans and proud of celebrating and declaring our nationality!

My few favourite finds:

• Kingsmill bread have renamed themselves Queensmill. And if you buy three of their bread products from Asda you get a free sandwich tray that says 'Keep Calm and Carry the Sandwiches'. Love it!
• Fondant Fancies have been recoloured to be red, white and blue. They don't taste any different, just look lovely and patriotic.
• Weetabix have the slogan 'Fuel Brittania' on their boxes. Genius. Genius.

(Have you noticed how all these relate to food? Man, I am a foodie through and through!)

Best places to buy anything red, white and blue or smothered in Union Jacks:

• M&S. It really is the best British shop ever. They have everything you could possibly want. I love it all.
• BHS. I'm not usually a fan of BHS, but they have lots and lots of delightfully British things, they have lovely wicker picnic baskets and pillows!
• Next Homeware. Their range is so pretty and stylish. After all this hype has died down, I'm going to go and buy all their stock at half price (because, sorry Next, but you are a bit too pricey for me!) and decorate my house.
• Primark. They have some really lovely Royal and English themed homeware items.

Embrace the Queen's Diamond Jubilee! I love the Royals. I am attending a few jubilee parties. I may even get dressed up. I might buy some more of those fondant fancies and eat one. Maybe.

Keep calm and...

In my opinion one of the biggest crazes around at the minute is with the keep calm and carry on posters that have suddenly become iconic throughout the country (and abroad!) and used in so many forms of advertising, promoting and marketing! I love the original KC&CO poster and how is was used in 1939 at the beginning of world war II to strengthen morale and give people courage in the face of a war-threatened country. When it was first released it didn't get much publication as it was only distributed in limited numbers, but it resurfaced again in 2000 and now it is everywhere! The sad thing is that no one knows who the original designer of the poster was!

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I know that John Lewis have taken this iconic poster and used it for their summer merchandising. Their window display in the John Lewis store in my city has a big summer scene set out with the KC&CO style printed on mugs, bags, notebooks and even plasters!

The craze isn't just for the keep calm and carry on wording on the poster but all the word-substitution posters in a similar style. Below are some of my favourites:

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I like this design craze. Yes, it may be a little bit overdone now and is losing it's uniqueness but there is something so fresh, quirky and very British about it. I feel that the history associated with it's design only heightens peoples' love of it! Let us all keep calm and carry on no matter what may come our way!

(via pinterest)