Sunday 23 September 2012

baby it's cold outside


River Island always have an amazing AW collection and this year is no different. I love almost everything in store right now and theres more coming every single week! It's so hard to resist not going and spending all my wages when I'm near a store. These are just a few of my favourite bits in at the moment (if anybody has £531 they want to lend me for this little lot all donations would be gratefully recieved ;] )
I love this parka coat, it's so practical for winter and something that always seems to come back in fashion for festival season. I've tried on the tube pants last time I was in Leicester and they seem like good dupes for AA disco pants...theyre SO tight though, I had to go up 2 sizes!

What do you think of River Islands AW12 offerings? Will you be stocking up on your winter warmers here?

Instagram Post #3

rainy sunday - my tart of a pooch - posing before work
motorbike shopping with the boy - my babies - saw my gorgeous nieces for the first time in a month
en route to milton keynes - wearing eyeshadow for the first time in yonks - wicksteed park
carbooting - northampton from above - bulmers because they didnt have koppaberg 
ebay bargains - kara being a cutie - best friend curling her hair at kings cross
strawberry macchiato - arsenal on a sunday morning - spa trip with the bestie 
just a few healthy snacks - kettering train station - diy project (post coming soon)
trying to embrace my natural curls - surprise 3 year aniversary present from ollie - abby <3
favourite sweets - helpston - cafe nero catch up

Such a big post today as I haven't posted in a while. I've been so busy lately and have swapped my shifts around at work which has somewhat messed up my body clock. I have had a few emails about contests people have wanted me to enter which I was meaning to do but its proving hard to find a internet/real life balance right now. But I do have posts planned for the next few weeks and will definatly be doing some competitions! I have been thinking about doing my own giveaway soon, maybe once I get to a certain amount of followers? 
Me and my boyfriend are going to Spain for a week in 10 days time which I'm BEYOND excited for. I haven't been out of the country for 2 years now and it'll be so nice to finally have a break and get away from home for a bit. The only problem is my luggage allowance as we have only got hand luggage, 10kgs each. Still, I am counting my lucky stars that it will be boiling hot so I won't need to take any heavy clothes, fingers crossed :)
I hope everybodys had a wonderful weekend!

Tuesday 4 September 2012

M&S Very Vintage Dress Challenge‏



I recently recieved an email from Marks & Spencer asking if I would like to participate in their Very Vintage Dress Challenge. The task is to show off your favourite vintage dress with the chance to win a vintage themed weekend in London. I have to admit, I am not very good at hunting for vintage. I have been to Brick Lane so many times to try and throw myself into the culture of vintage stores but I actually really struggle to know where to start and I think you have to have an eye for an items potential, something that may look awful on the hanger may look fabulous once you take up the hem and team it with things you already own. As the rules state the dress you show can be from any era, so long as it has a vintage style, so I thought this would be a great oppurtunity to show off my fail safe winter outfit.
New Look Ditsy Floral Tunic Dress [Old]
River Island Belt [Old]

I bought this dress as one of the first items of my staff uniform when I worked at New Look back in 2009. It's probably one of the oldest items in my wardrobes because I get bored of clothes quickly and sell them on eBay a lot! This dress is sooo short but I love it with thick black leggings and a brown belt. It's perfect for the cold weather because it actually looks okay to wear with uggs and a winter coat and is something I go back to time and time again. It's just so easy to pick out with some dark accessories for an everyday winter outfit.


Marks & Spencer isn't somewhere I normally shop (except their food hall, LOVE it!) so entering this competition has given me a chance to browse their womenswear collections. Obviously because M&S is aimed at an older target audience there were quite a few bits that didnt appeal to me but I really liked the Limited Collection range, which is where I spotted this dress:


This abstract dress features the mega flattering panelling detail to give the illusion of a perfect hourglass figure and the abstract print is really on trend. Although this is quite a trend-led design, a prefectly fitting, flattering dress will stay in your wardrobe for years. I personally would probably look into getting this dress shortened, as you can tell from the pictures of my New Look dress I like my dresses to be super short.You can browse more M&S dresses here.

Thankyou so much to Marks & Spencer for giving me the chance to enter this competition. Knowing a big brand is aware of my blog is such a boost when you're just starting out and I've loved being able to show off my favourite dress!

Weekend Wishlist


Louise Gray for Topshop Lipstick - I've gotten so lazy with my make-up lately, never applying primers etc and completly missing out my lips, so I'm trying to build up a collection of nice lipsticks to encourage me not to neglect them! Louise Gray has just touched down at Topshop and I love the entire collection! Gorgeous shades and beautiful packaging, I love the cream blusher duo too. While stocks last if you buy two items from the Louise Gray Collection you get a free compact mirror so get shopping!

Topshop Helium Sandals - I've seen these countless times when I've been in Topshop recently and have always been tempted but now my holiday is drawing closer and I still don't have any black sandals the need is even greater. And they're only £10 how perfect!

Topshop Studded Holdall - My faithful H&M bag is starting to look a bit tatty so I'm on the hunt for some new arm candy. This bag is perfect for most of the items currently in my wardrobe and I love the triangle design!

Paul & Joe Cat Collection Blusher Stick - Okay I will admit the main reason I want this is because of the cute cat detail but I really love the idea of a blusher stick! My makeup bag is crammed full and my 2 fail safe blushers (Natural Collection in Peach Melba and Topshop Cream Blush in Head Over Heels) take up quite a bit of space so to have a blusher stick would take up far less space! I do think I'd be too scared to use it though, the packaging is just too pretty!

ASOS Backless Body - I only own one body, a plain vest one from New Look that I bought a few years ago and don't really wear unless I'm wearing a sheer top, but after coming across ASOS's beauties I really want a new one! This design is so simple but so striking, it would look lovely with the maxi skirt I've included in this post. ASOS have such a wide range of statement bodies that I definatly want to get my hands on. This one is in the sale at £9 now! The only downside is that they don't have my size but I'm watching one on eBay that I can hopefully nab on payday! (Or if anybody knows of any lookalikes send them my way!)

Steve Madden Xcess Wedges - When I took part in the New Look Holiday Hop Blogger Competition (see my entry here!) I discovered my favourite shoe brand, Steve Madden had a concession line at New Look Online. I love these wedges, they are quite basic but would look great on so many occasions. Need them in my life!

Coco's Fourtune @ Topshop Ombre Maxi Skirt - I have a love hate relationship with maxi skirts. I absoulutley adore how they look on other people but as my hips are the widest part of my body they just don't look quite right on me. However I love this skirt so much. It's so tempting to order it just to try on! Who knows it could be the one maxi skirt that suits me!

**edit: i had scheduled this post for last week but somehow it didn't post so it's a late one!**