'Tis the Season

The last couple of weeks have been filled with festive cheer in the form of decorating our flat, ready for the Big Man coming to town; visiting Christmas markets, baking, deciding on Christmas wrapping schemes and heading to London to see the bright lights of Oxford and Regent Street (along with a bit of shopping in Liberty, of course).

It's our first Christmas in the flat so decorating and making plans for the holidays has felt extra special.

What have you been doing to prepare for the festive season?

Burberry Acoustic: Vinyl Jacket

We have such a great music scene here in the North East of England, and it's always fantastic to see our local bands getting recognition and being picked up by global influencers.

Vinyl Jacket are one such band. Recently, Burberry's Head of Music contacted them saying he was a big fan and they were asked to film a session for Burberry Acoustic. Filmed by the river Tyne in beautiful Wylam, this stripped back arrangement of their track Koala is exclusive to Burberry. Already obsessed with the harmonies; I'm a complete sucker for a brilliant vocal arrangement.



Vinyl Jacket are set to release their new EP next year, but if you can't wait that long, they'll be supporting Cattle and Cane at ARC Stockton Arts Centre on Thursday 20th December.

Vinyljacket.co.uk

Twitter.com/vinyljacketuk

Facebook.com/VinylJacket

Youtube.com/VinylJacketUK

Soundcloud.com/VinylJacketUK

Advanced Style

Impeccable style fascinates me. It transcends age, as proven by the photographer Ari Seth Cohen who captures immaculately presented older men and women on his blog, Advanced Style.

I am well and truly in awe of everyone featured on his blog - I can only hope I look as good and make such bold style statements when I reach a more experienced age. Here are some of my favourites.

And of course, no mention of style at a more mature age would be complete without the incomparably brilliant, Iris Apfel. "More is more, less is a bore."

All images from Advanced Style by Ari Seth Cohen

Cath Kidston Newcastle Store & Giveaway winners.

At the end of last week, I ventured into Newcastle to check out the new stand alone Cath Kidston store. Set over 2 floors on the beautiful Grainger Street, the store has a great mix of fashion, homeware, childrenswear and Christmas merchandise, along with some lovely, considered displays for the store including a wall full of framed Newcastle paraphernalia.

I spoke to CK Newcastle's store manager, Alex, to find out a bit more about the store:

Welcome to Newcastle! I’m so pleased Newcastle finally has it’s own stand-alone store, following on from the success of CK’s concession in Fenwick. How does it feel to have a base in the North East? Thank you. We are all really excited about the new store and being able to offer Newcastle a chance to see the whole product range. From just being open a couple of days, we can already see that everyone is really as excited as we are here. The reception has been fantastic.

What can CK’s Newcastle fans expect from the store? 
I’m really excited by the faces of our customers as they walk through the doors of the new store. They will be taken aback by so much colour and brightness. It’s such an expressive brand, so uplifting.

CK is all about print – which prints do you think will be most popular with Newcastle’s CK fans?
Print is so important to Cath Kidston, all of our prints are unique and inspired by Vintage. The products are colourful and fun and bring a smile to your face. Our spot prints are really popular and spray flower in our china is a best seller, both these prints are very classic Cath Kidston and never go out of style or date.

As the festive season is upon us, does the store have anything special lined up for it’s Newcastle customers this Christmas? 
We have opening promotions going on over our launch day and the weekend. We also have a shopping spree competition for the customer to win £250 shopping spree with Cath Kidston.

And now to reveal the winners of the Cath Kidston giveaway.

After randomly selecting names out of a hat (well, a decorative bowl in this case), the winners are...

Cath Kidston Laptop Case - Sophie-Anne from Decisions, Decisions
Cath Kidston Tote Bag - Katie Coward

Well done ladies. If you could please drop me an email with your address details in, that would be marvellous.

Cath Kidston - New Store Opening - Newcastle, UK

This week sees a real treat for North East fans of British brand, Cath Kidston: we are finally getting our own stand-alone CK store in Newcastle upon Tyne.

The brand have had a small concession based in Fenwick Newcastle for some time now, and now to help strengthen the brand presence in the North East, CK now has it's very own space. Set over 2 floors on the Toon's wonderful Grainger Street, the store will feature products from homeware, kidswear and accessories through to fashion and special one-off vintage pieces, all including CK's iconic print designs.

GIVEAWAY NOW CLOSED: 
To celebrate the store opening, I've teamed up with Cath Kidston to offer a special giveaway for readers of AMB. I'm exclusively giving away a beautiful spotty tote bag and laptop case to 2 lucky winners. Simply leave a comment below stating which item you'd prefer to win and why, and I will randomly select 2 winners to receive these wonderful prizes courtesy of Cath Kidston.

Only open to UK residents,  and the winners will be announced at the beginning of next week alongside a Q&A with the Newcastle's store manager and a look at the store. So get to commenting quick sharp! 

The store opened today, 8th November, so if you're one of the lucky few who've had a chance to visit already, tweet me what you like about the store @alicemarybarnes.

 Cath Kidston, 136 - 138 Grainger Street, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 5AF 

The Gentlewoman Autumn/Winter 2012

My favourite magazine has released it's A/W 2012 issue.

Behold The Gentlewoman.

And can you think of a better cover star than Angela Landsbury? I think not. Enjoy.

Urban Night Feast, Newcastle

Last night, Joe and myself headed off to Urban Night Feast, to sample the delights of some of the North East's finest street food vendors. Having heard brilliant things from the event on Thursday and Friday nights, I couldn't wait to dig in to some of the goodies on offer. 

UNF was held in the beautiful Stephenson Centre, an amazing industrial space behind Newcastle's Central Station. We arrived just before the night kicked-off, and my god, I'm glad we did as soon there was a hefty queue of hungry punters forming outside.

We kicked off proceedings with a pint from local ale-crafters, Wylam Brewery - Writer's Block for me and Red Kite for Joe.

Next we headed to the stall run by the brilliant team from, Broad Chare, one of my most favourite places to eat in Newcastle. We grabbed ourselves a Scotch Egg, beef and Newcastle Brown Ale pie and a pork pie with homemade piccalilli. I can't say enough good things about these 3 dishes - the scotch egg in particular was perfection. Warm and just runny enough in the middle. Delicious.

Next we sampled delicious salt and pepper squid from local fish supplier/seaside mecca, Latimers. The squid was cooked in front of us and was out of this world - perfectly cooked.

We stayed for a couple of beverages to soak up the atmosphere, and on the way out stopped at Riley's Fish Shack, from our local Tynemouth, for a fishy treat - and we weren't disappointed. We both had the Mackerel wrap - the fish and the flat bread were cooked right in front of us and I can honestly say it is one of the best things I have ever tasted. I can't wait to catch these guys at the Whitley Bay St Nicholas Festival and Tynemouth Christmas Fayre over the next couple of months. Follow them on Twitter to find out which foodie event they'll be at next - @rileysfishshack

The organisers of UNF really did a great job and the venue was absolutely packed. The vendors were a good mix of established North East chefs/restaurants and passionate new North East producers, all set against a fantastic backdrop with brilliant tunes to match - we heart CoolAid Events.
Same again next year please guys.

Are you on the 212?

COMPETITION CLOSED. Well done to the winners!

Azealia Banks is hot stuff right now.

Fancy seeing her live at the O2 Academy in Newcastle on Monday 1st October? Yeah you do!

I have 2 pairs of tickets to give away to followers of AMB, courtesy of the lovely guys at ASOS.

How to enter
To win tickets to this fabulous gig, simply follow me (@alicemarybarnes) and ASOS (@ASOS) on Twitter and leave a comment on this post saying "Hi AMB, I want to see Azealia Banks in the Toon on Monday 1st October!"

First come, first served! So, to the first 2 people who comment on the post will win the tickets.

You down with that? Ready, set, go.

Best in show

I am unprecedentedly behind with the Spring/Summer 2013 collections.

Whilst I catch up on all things Spring, here's Prada's latest collection. 22nd Century geisha? That'll do me for SS13.

Boo George for Toast A/W 2012

I am a huge fan of photographer Boo George, especially his backstage shots from fashion shows which always capture the chaos brilliantly. His photographs for Toast's A/W 2012/13 campaign are sheer perfection - as it the casting. Sara Blomqvist, Anna de Rijk? Sheer beauty.

For more images from the campaign, see Toast's Pinterest site. 

Wants and Needs.

With retailers and magazines thrusting the new fashion season in our faces during this hot weather, I want Mr Sunshine to clear off and for Autumn leaves to cover the ground.

Autumn/Winter is the best season for fashion; beautiful new cashmere, a fantastic winter coat and a chance to update all those winter wardrobe base layers.

This season, I'm after basics...wardrobe staples if you will; a butter-soft biker jacket, classic heeled leather ankle boots and lots of M&S and Uniqlo cashmere (the best in my opinion).

Currently coveting

Whistles Dree Leather Jacket
Slightly out of my price range, but leather is always a good investment - hard to resist.

The Boots
How do I love thee, Burbs. But alas, these a merely a dream. Topshop's versions are canny though.

Winter Warmers

...in the form of cashmere and merino wool. Because who can survive winter without a bit of cashmere? Not me. Last winter, I actually bought items from the mens range from M&S and Uniqlo - I love the oversized fit. Cashmere below by Uniqlo - classic colours for every winter wardrobe.

Mantra

This week's inspiration. Found via Black, White, Yellow.

Sunday Love: Lee Jung

I can't get enough of these beautiful light installations at the moment. Well done Lee Jung.

All these things that I've done.

Life has been hectic recently. I haven't had time to think let alone to blog! This is me getting back on the horse. Here's how life has looked recently.

Clockwise from top right: Taken on our first night in the flat, this is our beautiful fireplace in the master bedroom / Emma Bridgewater Diamond Jubillee napkins at my Mama's for Jubilee tea / first day in my new job / One of our brilliant house warming presents, a Crystal Head Vodka bottle. We daren't open it!

Clockwise from top left: Gnaw dark chocolate from lovely Park View Kitchen in Whitley Bay / Finally framed, my Prefab77 Always in England print up in pride of place / Pret coffee / Breaking out the spotty trousers for a friend's birthday.

Clockwise from top left: Matching bling / New Stelton coffee press from the parents for our flat / the prettiest street in Tynemouth / Buying coffee from local artisan roastery, the Ouseburn Coffee Company. I can't recommend their Foundry No.1 and Coffee Johnny blends enough.

Clockwise from top right: brilliant laser-cut wooden business cards for new Newcastle eatery, Ernest / my favourite lip balm / new wine-coloured studded flats / Baby Angels with Guns ll preview night at fantastic local space, The Pure Gallery. We bought the Day of the Dead print!

Clockwise from top right: Testing out beauty products / a cycle up the coast with Joe / local ice-cream at Tynemouth market / another one of my favourite prints finally framed and up. It's all about The North.

Clockwise from top right: a reminder at Jesmond Metro station / the best kind of post, paper samples from GF Smith / celebrating my brother Adam's 30th birthday / finishing the Great North 10K in 58:16! Please excuse the ridiculous make-up free face.

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Normal posting duties to resume this week!