Alabama Shakes

Bonjour,

I've been listening to a lot of music recently since I acquired Spotify and I have a new favourite band whose songs have just been replaying in my head over and over.

They are Alabama Shakes and according to their website http://www.alabamashakes.com/ their union sounds organic and such a refreshing change from all these TV talent shows. These guys met each other, jammed and played to their souls content and they have born something thrilling in their debut album Boys & Girls.

Picture from http://www.alabamashakes.com/

Brittany Howard is the singer and she rips up the vocal on their debut album Boys & Girls like some kind of illegitimate love child of mick jagger and nina simone, the crazy concoction is a roaring, scratching, heavy soul/rock orgy and just when you think you've got her pinned she pulls her voice back inside and all of a sudden it's as smooth as melted chocolate and those hairs on your neck will be upstanding.

Picture from http://www.alabamashakes.com/

The first two songs on the album are Hold On and I Found You and with their relaxed, lazy guitar pattern and bluesy verses they settle you into a laidback atmosphere and theres no question you'll want to hear more. Their soulful vibe seems effortless and harks back to when the band started out playing Otis Redding and James Brown covers and writing their own stuff on Brittanys floor.

You Ain't Alone takes you by surprise, starting along the same lines as the previous tracks bringing Al Green right back to life but then there is this defiant punk rock undertone teasing it's way through. As the song progresses it almost sounds like an anthem penned by David Bowie, the percussion from Steve Johnson crashes all over the mesmerising guitar and bass lines from Heath Fogg and Zac Cockrell and it all comes together in a gritty, down and dirty, wild blowout.

Don't take my word for it though, get the album...turn it up loud and drink it slowly like an expensive whisky...Alabama Shakes will dig in their profoundly emotional hands and pull out your soul.

Love
Lorraine
Lacroix

Instagram Fashion & Beauty Pics

I've been Instagraming again!

Here are some of the pictures of outfits, accessories, clothes and make up on my Instagram.

It's just a little sneak peek, If you want to check me out on Instagram just search for username ShotsThroughTheHeart

Love

Lorraine

Lacroix



What I Wore Today

I love clothes (actually lets make that capitals)
I LOVE CLOTHES!!! So I've decided to share my love of fashion with you and make a regular 'what I wore today' post.

My pink skirt is actually a dress and the striped top is really thin and lightweight so perfect for bright but still chilly days, they are both from one of many Primark hauls! My envelope bag is Zara and spiked bracelet (which I am obsessed with!) is from New Look. My pretty Paris necklace was a gift from my sister.

As this is my first post of this kind my lovely friend at http://www.jenlovesstuff.com/ helped me out with the snaps. Thank you Jen!

Love
Lorraine
Lacroix x

I Heart Instagram

L'Homme asks patiently when I'll be going to sleep as the glow from my Iphone lights up our bedroom like a techno candle and with squinting eyes I reply 'in a minute...' and he rolls back over leaving me to get my fix.

You see I have a new addiction and its name is Instagram. In its own words Instagram is a fast, beautiful and fun way to share your photos with friends and family but it feels like so much more than that!

Instagram has renewed my observation of the beautiful little things we see everyday, I feel like someone turned the little focus dials in my eyes and I'm constantly on the lookout for photo opportunities.

You take a picture and Instagram lets you shift the focus and try out different filters and it makes even the simplest of pictures look stunning, here are just a few of the snaps I've taken around Liverpool in the past few weeks.

Another reason why Instagram is so brilliant is that you can tell people when you like their pictures and if you decide you want to see more of them all you have to do is follow them. You can see all of their lovely shots in your feed and they can do the same if they like your pictures. I'm following people from all over the world and my followers are growing too, it truly is social media through images not words!How does the saying go again?...

A Picture Speaks A Thousand Words

Love

Lorraine

Lacroix

Somewhere Over The Rainbow

Bonjour,

I really adore my whiter than white house, almost all of the walls are white and even the original wooden floor of my boudoir is painted white but amongst all of that heavenly hue I felt a strong desire to crack open a giant bag of skittles and dance in the colourful rainbow!!

So L'Homme and I got to thinking about our staircase, it's in the hallway right so it's not like you have to look at it all the time and besides a sleek white console table there is no other furniture to match (or potentially clash with) so the stairs we decided, would be our canvas.

This picture was taken on our second viewing before we even bought the house. The textured wallpaper and brown carpet made the pretty Victorian entrance hall feel narrow and dark but we could see the potential and I adored the wooden banister and arched ceiling.

We completely stripped out the hallway and the rest of the house too (which you may see in future posts) but with no carpet, a few rusty staples from previous underlay and a couple of blobs of old paint here and there our stairs were looking slightly forlorn and they were in no way contributing to the stylish aspirations we had for our home.

I spent hours trawling the internet for ideas and came across a couple of contenders on one of my favourite sites for decor porn http://www.housetohome.co.uk/.

This fantastic striped stair carpet was created using IKEA rugs, just genius...

...and we toyed with the idea of having a runner fitted like this one...

But after going to a few carpet shops we just had no luck finding the colours or style that we wanted (I would much rather be in Laura Ashley oohing and aarhing at cushions than looking at giant rolls of carpet) and my enthusiasm was seriously waning.

For a while we did nothing and the stairs sat bare and unloved for a good few months until I saw an advert for a certain collosal paint brand and a pretty pair of legs sashaying up a case of glossy red showstopping stairs and a lightbulb sparked bright in my imagination. We'd been looking in the wrong aisle the whole time, paint was the answer and we snapped up a few tester pots for £1.50 each (much less than the £3000 beige carpet quote!).

Rainbow Stairs

I adore the transformation and the stairs are even a hit with Pierre le Chat!

Rainbow Stairs

Somewhere over the rainbow, skies are blue
And the dreams that you dare to dream,
Really do come true.

Love
Lorraine
Lacroix

Please Forgive Me

Dear readers (if there are any left),

I've been neglecting my blog again...I have a lot of excuses for my absence from this interactive world, some are big excuses like the rehaul of my three storey (nearly fabulous) home and others are small (I wanted to watch New Girl or Homeland or I was just feeling too lazy to turn on the laptop). My point is that I'm sorry and am therefore making a Brownie promise to be more dedicated to my expressive alter ego Lorraine Lacroix and to the art of blogging.

So you can expect to see posts galore about fashion, music, art, decor, books and films...afterall these are a few of my very favourite things!

love
Lorraine
Lacroix

Goedemorgen Amsterdam!

L'Homme and I are just back from a short break to the European city of canals and bicycles.

Temperatures were low so wrapping up was essential and I was glad I packed my new Chelsea Boots for all the walking.

We had a quick stroll through Vondelpark to the Van Gogh Museum and saw the Beauty in Abundance exhibition of Parisian prints which I just adored. I will most certainly be getting myself a copy of the new Printmaking In Paris book and possibly even my very own Toulouse-Lautrec print for my humble abode.

We went on a tour of the city http://www.newamsterdamtours.com/, their concept is that basically the tour is free... it means everyone can afford it no matter how small or non-existent their budget is. The guides work on tips only so you just pay what you think it's worth but these guys are really good. Our guide Ged was so knowledgable and a fantastic story teller, by the end of the tour we were happy to part with our Euros.

Coffee at home for me is always a skinny sugar free affair but sneaking into an old bar in Amsterdam it was impossible to resist the pure dark espresso with a dash of cream and a sprinkle of sugar, so bad but so so delicious...

The trip was short but we're looking forward to visiting again some time, with a visit to the Pancake Bakery, hiring a bike and having a beer outside (too cold on our trip) being top of our to-do in Amsterdam list!

Love

Lorraine

Lacroix x