Charity Shop Cardi

Oh look, it's that dress again.

Dress: Clothing at Tesco, Cardigan: Next via Charity Shop, Leggings: New Look, Boots: Next

I love this dress, it's bright and summery, but a nice shade of pink for the autumn months as well and when I found this cardigan at the weekend I knew they'd be a good match.

There's a charity shop in our village which we try and go into whenever we're near but I've never bought anything, there's not a lot of clothes choice and my dreams of finding amazing dresses are scuppered on every visit. I once found an amazing maroon top which I thought would have been perfect for work and play, but unfortunately I had no money and was too proud (yeah, really) to ask Ryan for some change. That top will forever remain the one that go away.

This cardi is originally from Next and is a lovely fabric and a good fit. I've worn it buttoned today to give this dress a different shape, but I think it will work open as well. Good find I think.

What have you found in charity shops recently?

Daily Routine

Where do you find time to blog? Let's start with an outfit:

Top: New Look, Leggings: New Look, Cardigan: Primark, Scarf: Forever 21, Shoes: Clothing at Tesco

Right now, my day goes a bit like this:

06.00: Alarm goes off 

06:30: Get up - brush teeth, do my hair, get dressed etc.

07:00 - 07.30: In this time I have to feed the cats, feed myself and get my lunch stuff together. At the moment I am also putting eye drops in the kittens' eyes. Oh, I also take outfit photos in this time, like the ones above.

07:35: Train to work

09:00 - 17:30 (roughly): I'm at work, for an hour at lunch I try and catch up with blogs

18:16: Train home

19:00: Get home

Then I have the rest of the evening to eat, watch TV, play with the kittens, spend time with Ryan, blog, catch up on other blogs, and you know sometimes we go out and do stuff. I'm also always in bed for about 11pm. That's only 4 hours.

I'm feeling the strain a bit, and you may have noticed that my August blog posts have been quite sporadic and I'm not commenting on other blogs as much as I would like, which annoys me. Blogging is something I really enjoy and I'm just trying to make it work alongside my already hectic schedule. 

How do you find the time to blog? I'd really love to know how you fit it in - any tips are welcomed!

P.S. While writing this post I have been trying to watch WWE Raw and have had two kittens climbing on me. Yawn. 

Bank Holiday Monday

Who doesn't enjoy a bank holiday Monday? Three-day weekends are amazing, but I never get to spend my extra day off with Ryan as he normally has to work them (this doesn't include Christmas) - which means I normally spend the day doing not much waiting for him to come home, and today was no exception (maybe this will change when I can drive/have a car!)

Top: Topshop, Jumper: H&M, Leggings: New Look, Belt: ASOS

Today I wore my scruffiest lounging clothes, played with the kittens, did some washing and ate copious amounts of cornflake cakes. I also watched a lot of Man v. Food on Good Food. Productive, eh?

What have you been up to today?

Matalan Goodies

Now, I hope most of you will follow Vicki and will know what I'm talking about when I say I was super lucky to be chosen as a winner when she ran her amazing giveaway a month or so ago (if you don't follow her you really need to get on that, right now.)

I won a Matalan goodie bag and I was really chuffed with what arrived at my door a few weeks ago:

The candle has already taken pride of place on the bookshelves in our living room and the other bits are ready in case the sun comes out! Apart from the sandals which are unfortunately a few sizes too small for my boat feet, however, I'm sure I can give them to a friend or use them in a giveaway myself at some point!

Thanks to Vicki and Matalan for my wonderful prize!

My New Furry Friends

On Saturday Ryan and I headed to Haworth Cat Rescue to meet some kittens and hopefully bring two home. Everyone at the centre was lovely and after meeting a few different pairs our hearts were stolen by a black boy and a tortoise shell girl. They were called Guinness and Martini but we have renamed them Alberto (Alberto del Feline: The Mexican Aristocat, WWE Cat Champion) and Sookie (Stackhouse) and they seem to be settling in quite well.

Do you have any pets? I'd love to hear about them!

An Evening at Joe Brown's

When I received an invite to the launch of Joe Brown's A/W 11 collection I have to admit that I didn't really know anything about the brand. Ryan knew that they had a catalogue, but that was about it, so I had a look at the website and thought they looked unconventional and very unique.

I was looking forward to the event both to find out more about the brand, and to meet other bloggers, as this was the first bloggers event I'd been invited to! Everyone at Joe Browns was really friendly, the food was yummy and the warehouse looked really nice with all the clothes from the collection on display.

I was a bit late (missed the train from work I wanted to get) so I didn't have time to have a chat and meet all the bloggers before the Joe Brown's team started talking to us about the brand, how it started and their vision for the collection. The the buyers for the womenswear and menswear spoke to us about the theme for the season and their inspiration, which is something I found really interesting. I like to know how brands decide on the direction of their collections, and it was really great to hear about their travels and the method they use when buying.

Now to the clothes, I must admit that there were some items that just weren't my style, some pieces were slightly too embellished or the patterns just weren't to my taste. However, there were some dresses, knitwear and that fur coat that I just fell in love with. The team were very generous and our goodie bags contained a voucher for us to spend on anything we like, I've decided to wait until the full collection is available online, but flicking through the catalogue I think I should look at a dresses and knitwear instead of the coat. And OMG I loved that coat.

I'd like to say thank you to the Joe Brown's team for inviting me along and paying for my taxi to the event and back to the train station (much appreciated) and for the amazing voucher, I'm excited to spend it! Plus, another big thank you to all the bloggers I met, I had a fab time and it was great to meet you all!

I'm crushing on you... Grace Woodward

You probably know her from Britain's Next Top Model, or maybe from the X Factor, but to me she is the ultimate fashion icon. Grace Woodward is quickly becoming one of my biggest style crushes, and although I may not like every single piece of clothing she chooses, I still love it because it's all her.

When I first thought about writing this post (ok, last night) I wondered if there were any interviews I could read to give me an idea of what inspires Grace and what makes her so creative an individual, and I found this gem on the guardian website, in it she discusses styling for The X Factor, her views on the fashion industry as a whole and what gets her creative juices flowing. Aside from her amazing wardrobe she speaks very intelligently about a whole host of issues, such as the weight of models and interns in the fashion industry - she is someone who you love or hate when you see her on shows like BNTM, but she is very articulate and just has strong opinions, and I have a huge amount of respect for that.

Recently watching BINTM (Britain and Ireland's Next Top Model) I have become more and more inspired by Grace's outfits, and I know I'm not the only one, Jen and I have exchanged tweets about how much we are loving her style. Her ability to mix prints, to absolutely rock bright pink eyeshadow, and the way she carries beautifully draped fabrics all contribute to my love for her (her awesome glasses help to). One thing that I also realised that makes her so relateable and so likeable is her 'normal' looks. I think she's stunning, but she has glossy brown hair which is cut in a relatively 'normal' style and although her makeup can be bright, it is done in a 'real life' way. It's not all about unattainable looks, her hair, makeup and clothes can easily inspire a casual weekend look or a going out 'party' look.

I know I've been gushing, but you know, I love her. The end.

Images from ahlanlive.com, guardian.co.uk and fridja.com

Coyne-Operated Cookery: Nectarine Crumble

I realised this week that I had some nectarines in the fridge that I'd had for about a week and were going a bit soft. They looked fine, no mould or anything, so I asked Twitter what I should do and the lovely Alex suggested a crumble. I googled a recipe and then kind of made it up as I went along but it turned out really well! I'm sure this would work pretty similarly with peaches too, but maybe double check some recipes before you try.

You will need:
- Nectarines (I used 4, but I think 5 or 6 would be good as mine is crumble-heavy)
- Lemon juice
- Honey
- 225g flour
- 100g butter
- 100g demerara

...and that's it! It's really simple. You then have the optional instruction of sitting in front of the oven for 30-50 minutes at 200°C watching it turn golden brown or you could go and do something productive with your time, like the washing up.

When it's all golden and the fruit is all bubbly take it out of the oven and maybe leave it to cool down for a bit...? I don't know, I panicked that the fruit was burnt and so cut my piece straight away. It hadn't burnt so I ate it.

I'd recommend serving with custard, cream or vanilla ice cream. All we had was a scoop of the chocolate from a Neopolitan, which was surprisingly nice. I didn't take a photo though, as I was slightly embarrassed. Have a nice photo of my enormous serving:

Let me know if you try it, or link me to your favourite recipes!

Colour Pop My Mood

Yesterday the weather and my mood made me choose all black, today the weather and my mood made me crave some sunshine and therefore colour from my wardrobe:

Dress: Clothing at Tesco, Cardigan: Forever 21, Leggings: New Look, Boots: Next, Necklace: Forever 21

I took these photos in my dining room (we only have one room, but it's the dining room end of it) at 7am with the rain drizzling down outside. I was tired, my hair is flat but I was up to go to work and this is what I wore to brighten up my day. Funnily enough Rachel said she put one some white trousers this morning to combat the poor weather, we were really brightening up the office.

What do you wear to improve your mood?

P.S. Excuse our messy room! The light was best here because of the patio doors but the background is NOT my favourite.

Lust-have #7: Chelsea Boots

Before I begin, I just want to say that my thoughts are with everyone and anyone affected by the riots of the past week, I've been seeing my home town destroyed and it's been very difficult. Hoping all my followers and your loved ones, and their loved ones are keeping safe.

Anyway, today I woke up and saw winter outside my window, the floor was damp, there were dark clouds above and I wanted to put my dressing gown on because it was a bit chilly at 6.30am. I dressed (pretty much) in all black today, potentially a subliminal nod to my mood over the past few days and how depressed this dark weather tends to make me, but it got me thinking about my winter wardrobe.

One of my favourite things about winter is being able to wear boots, I maybe don't like it as much as Christmas, my birthday or wearing my fur coats, but I definitely prefer them to the infinite amounts of snow we seem to be getting in recent years. I have a small but varied collection including Cowboy, Knee Length and Wellies but the Chelsea Boot has always evaded my affections due to the fact I have a real pair of riding boots upstairs which are covered in mud and smell a bit (a lot) like horses. I've never thought of the style being fashionable, just practical, but I don't think my brown and worn in pair are right for outdoor wear for a budding fashionista like myself. Ahem.

I've been mainly obsessing over Topshop pairs, they definitely have some great variations on the traditional style and I've chosen these three which are really making me lust:

Don't you just love them? Sigh. Let's just pause for moment to lust over their classic beauty. I think I would really like to splash out on a pair of the Aldgate's in black, and I have a £20 Topshop voucher ready to spend so it could happen?

Do you like Chelsea boots? Point me in the direction of your favourite pair!

The Bag Dilemma

I don't buy much online and I rarely buy anything from ebay as I much prefer seeing items in real life, having a touch of the fabric/material and checking the size. However, I was lured in by the amazingly cheap satchel bags that have a hint of the Mulberry Alexa about them and when I saw this one for £20 and checked the measurements I thought it would be a good bag for work.

However, I have an inability to measure things apparently, because this bag is NOT suitable for work, and I therefore have a dilemma. What do I do? It isn't fit for the purpose I bought it for, but it is a very nice bag. I'm not sure if I want to sell it, but I'm not opposed to the idea - if you're interested let me know and we can discuss!

Do you enjoy online shopping? Do you have any advice for me as someone who apparently isn't very good at it...?

Iron Maiden

 

Dress: H&M, Leggings: New Look

Off to go and see Iron Maiden tonight with my dad and Ryan, wearing florals because I wanted to look pretty in hospitality (oh yeah!).

What are you up to tonight and what are you wearing? (not meant to sound creepy)  

From Day to Night with One Dress

Yesterday I had my first day at my new office (I was out with clients on my first day on Tuesday) and in the evening me and Ryan went to the cinema to see Captain America. I didn't have much time to get changed so simply added some different accessories to change the outfit, and I think it worked quite well.

For the Office:

Dress: Clothing at Tesco, Leggings: New Look, Shoes: Barratts, Belt: ASOS, Necklace: Asda

For the Cinema:

Dress: Clothing at Tesco, Leggings: New Look, Sandals: Primark, Necklace: ASOS, Hairband: Primark, Ring: vipxo

I took these photos inside (due to aforementioned lack of time) but the lighting is so rubbish, so apologies. I'm not sure what I'll do in winter, as I'm never at home when it's light... that's a depressing thought, I forgot how much I HATED last winter. Any advice on taking photos indoors and not then ruining them with editing would be very much welcome.

How do you take an outfit from day to night?

The Band T-Shirt

Between the ages of 15 and 17 I lived in band t-shirts, skinny jeans and converse and I loved it. I stopped wearing t-shirts for a while as I just preferred dresses to jeans and they gradually worked their way to the back of my wardrobe. Now I like to combine t-shirts with shorts and skirts to create a more girly look, so today, to celebrate my last day at home before I officially start my new job tomorrow I wore this:

T-shirt: HMV, Shorts: Primark, Shoes: Primark, Necklace: c/o Forever 21

I fell in love with this t-shirt when I saw it in HMV this weekend, and it was on 2 for £10 so I got The Kids Are All Right on DVD as well. I don't think you can go wrong with a Lady Gaga t-shirt for £5 as I'm sure they must be about £20 when you go and see her on tour, or when buying from her official website.

Do you like wearing t-shirts? Do you think they're a bit masculine, or do you make them more feminine with shorts and cute shoes?