THE BIRD'S NEST BUN

All hail the bird's nest. This look (seen above in Lanvin's catwalk show last season - okay, it's an old example, but it's still oh so pretty). I have been creating versions of this sky-high messy bun for almost a year now, but last week I bought a new tool to enable seriously colossal hair... At Ricky's, the one-stop beauty shop in New York City I discovered a giant fake hair piece (well my make-up pal Kit did and urged me to snap one up too). For just $2, it's helped me to construct a wunderbun in just minutes. Rough up the hair a little and I come over all Hitchcock heroine-meets-catwalk darling. Merci Ricky.

POM POM POWER

My uber cool design friend Loz just texted me about these stunning pom poms and I had to share. The brains behind Pom Pom Factory, graphic artist Karen Hsu graduated from Central Saint Martins and have been a London-based window designer for the past year. I'm madly in love with her giant paper puffballs and wish I could have them floating through my wedding marquee - but with all our other visual plans this could be a feast too far. nevertheless, I'm still sharing here. Joy!

BEAUTY QUEEN

I thought I lived a pretty glitzy existence... until this weekend. My New York hen do proved to be possibly the most fabulous extravaganza ever. My gang of Manhattan girls have more glamour credentials that Carrie et al ever did - including a make-up artist, NBC TV exec, Vanity Fair photo editor, Lucky fashion editor, Madewell stylist, Anthropologie beauty buyer and Us Weekly News Director. We were all dressed to the nines (a navy Stella frock, messy bun and fucshia lips for me) and ready to celebrate.

First stop: Beauty & Essex, a newly-opened restaurant that on first appearence looks like a pawn shop, but step through the door in the back and you're transported to a vast, cavernous eating spot complete with a sweeping spiral staircase, giant glittering chandelier and a free champagne bar in the bathrooms (Yes, seriously. Only in NYC.) We had a table in the centre and a continual supply of sharing platters including lobster tacos, salt and pepper shrimp, tuna sashimi, pork spring rolls and salt and vinegar fries. The desserts (coconut mousse, macaroons, molten bread pudding, layered devil's food cake) were impossible to resist and the pink champagne went down a treat. The best thing of all? There was no bill at the end!!

Next stop was Boom Boom Room, the impossible-to-get-into bar with 360 degrees views at the top of the Standard hotel. Crazy-expensive cocktails were worthy of every delicious sip (I had the lavender lady - lemony vodka trimmed with lavender sugar) and the views were staggering (also staggering: the news that Mad Men's Jon Hamm was drinking in a nearby bar and so wrecked that his girlfriend was requesting water!).

At 2am a slightly smaller group hit The Box - the hip, sleazy cabaret joint on the Lower East Side. Thanks to another hook up, we had the best table in the house and an endless supply of champagne. We watched acts so racy I can barely voice what they were doing, then danced for three hours straight (alongside some True Blood actors), and staggered home around 5am.

Crazy, glitzy, cool. If only I could always be this fabulous!

HERE COMES THE BRIDESMAID

Just recovering from possibly the most fun weekend in New York ever. Please forgive the fact that the next series of posts is Manhattan themed but after an embarrassingly long absence (I'm sorry! Work and life got in the way of blogging!), I want to share all the amazing things I've seen and done over the past four days.

First on the list (but not on the visit) - the J.Crew Bridal Boutique. My amazing friend Lisa hooked us up with a last minute appointment, after the afore-mentioned black satin bridesmaid dress didn't look as good on the body as it did the hanger. While most people would have to wait three months to score a saturday afternoon visit, it's exactly where we found ourselves, languishing on cream leather sofas, surrounded by peonies and vintage Miriam Haskell gems, sipping spakling water and watching my bridemaid Kit parade around in a series of gorgeous confections.

The store is so elegant that it gave me not only wedding inspiration but home envy too - from the parquet flooring (oh and the black and white squares of tiling in the bathroom!) to the inset shelves with objet d'art like white ceramic birds, old butterflies and battered books. And of course, the clothes, which are exclusive to the boutique and include printed dresses shot with shimmery thread, embellished silk tanks, sugared almond cashmere and shoes with giant satin ankle bows.

Although Kit's original dress was a no-go, we found something even more fabulous, littered with frills and amazingly, in the sale. It's charcoal, so almost a LBD - a still thoroughly chic. Very excited - the vision is coming together...

BEE MINE

How charming are these earrings in a bottle from Enelle? Not sure if I'd actually go crazy for bees hanging from my ear lobes, but the little bottle is just darling.