NEW INK!!!

Really I should have posted this weeks ago. When I was down south me and the Fiancé decided to go and get new tattoos. Fiancé's sister V had been to a local place near a few times so she said we could go there with her.

Turned out fiancé's cousins partner M also a new tattoo so his cousin O said he would drive us all. The place we went Camberly Tattoo is a walk in only shop so we went for it opening. Fiancé and me knew what we wanted M and V were a little less sure, in the end the 4 of us all came out with new ink hehe O didnt but then hes not a fan. Safe to say it was an odd family day out, but fun.

Originally I wanted the design I got on my ribs but the lad pointed out that with it being round and having straight lines if I moved at all it would look awful. So I swapped to having it on my ankle opposite my cat. I can still cover it up if anyone says anything with either dark tights or trousers.

Fiancé went in first as he wanted his arm piece all re-done, in the end it took an hour and a half but it looks awesome.

Before - looks a lot darker in this pic it was actually a bit patchy

NEW INK! you can see its a lot more complete and coloured in much better. 

Here is my new mandala inspired ink!

I love my new mandala inspired tattoo. Took the guy barely any time at all. The middle is interlocking S's for me and the fiancé. 

This was us post tattooing, Fiancé looks like he was mauled by an animal, V went to give blood I got  sprained ankle and M well I'll let you decide on that one. 

So I finally got my new ink and I am thrilled. The only bad part was that we bought bepanthen cream to help with healing and it would seem that I am allergic because my ankle swelled up and hurt like hell. I had to keep cooling it down with cold water, in the end I washed all the cream off and just used a unscented lotion till I got home and could use some lavender oil. It was quite red for ages and took ages to heal which was a bit worrying as all my other ones healed much faster  but now its all fine.

When I looked it up it turns out allergies to bepanthen are quite common after tattoos so I would advise any reader to stick to either savlon or good old lavender oil.

I still want more tattoos but will have to save up big time for my back piece and any others ... well I think I am running out of coverable places to have them so they woul involve a bit of logistics.

xXx

Outfit of the Week!!

So I have been trying out a few new things this week as you will see in my post about SKIRTS!! but I have also had some non skirt outfits so I wanted to share a few of them here and crown my Outfit of the Week.

Inspiration from the Matalan collection. Blazer Next, shirt is H&M and skirt is Primark. 

Superdry t shirt, Topshop pencil skirt, Primark cardigan. 

It got a bit cold later on so I swapped the skirt for some Cream Primark Chinos.

Casual work look, Sainsburys cardigan, Primark dress, M&S leggings. 

NEW!! bought this in Matalan £12! 

New Look cardigan, Primark skull scarf, NEW! Leopard print Matalan pencil skirt. 

Gave in to the cold, Tesco jumper, Next blazer, Primark scarf & Jeans then went for Chelsea boots. 

Bit of a mixed week I was trying to mix it up with my work wardrobe, I am bored of wearing really casual stuff and get bored of t shirts and jeans so I decided to dig out the pencil skirts. Did have to concede to jeans a few times though, the weather is getting colder. Soon its going to be time to dig out the wool tights and boots. I like layering in winter but it can be a bit of a hassle. 

I love the new skirts and the shirt, think I am going to wear the plain maroon skirt and denim shirt to a wedding fayre tomorrow, thought about wearing it today but it didn't look very nice out. I love the colour of the shirt, I was really glad it fit as the next size up was a slightly darker colour which I didn't want as my other shirt is that colour. 

My Outfit of the Week though has to be the Emerald pencil skirt and Superdry T shirt. I threw this together by chance and I'm really glad it worked, I may try mixing up a few of my band t shirts with pencil skirts. 

Till next week :) 

xXx

SKIRTS!!!

There is no denying it I have developed a slight obsession with pencil skirts. It started at Uni when I got one for a suit then morphed from there. I love the timeless silhouette and the fit, you can be practically any body shape and the pencil skirt will suit you. There is also different fits within the term pencil. You can get high waist, banded waist, knee length with a loose fit, knee length with a tight fit, midi length loose or midi length tight fit. So many choices and just not enough money in the bank hehe

Over the last few years the pencil skirt has come into its own as a fashion staple, much like it did in the 50's, there are a much wider range of styles and colours available which is great if you have never tried a pencil skirt before.

As you can see I have a wide range of pencil skirts from which to choose. They all have something different about them which makes them unique  and I can dress them all up or down depending on how I feel that day or what event I am going to.

If you have never owned a pencil skirt before I would suggest having a look online or spending a day at somewhere like the metrocentre which has a lot of shops you can look in. Dont just try on one skirt and write off the style you need to try a few. There are so many fabrics, patterns and cuts you can try before deciding its not for you.

At the minute I am in love with midi length, this comes just below the knee but is longer then tea length. I saw this online on Pinterest in maxi dresses and decided to keep an eye out for one, then got my two dresses from Republic in July and fell in love hehe Since then the summer is starting to wain and I have been seeing a lot of different ideas that use a pencil skirt so I have been keeping an eye out for a midi pencil. As it happens I got an email from Matalan that had two looks I loved in their new collection. I advise everyone to check it out as they have some really nice pieces in for Autumn and are amazingly reasonable. The first look I saw is below and as you can see I used pieces I already had to make my own take on it.

I then went over to our local Matalan to take a look at the two skirts and ended up with both. If I had the money I would seriously buy every colour they had in the maroon jersey one its amazing. The length is fab an its double layer stretch jersey with a really nice cut that hugs in all the right places without stretching out. Another great thing about these two skirts is the price ... both £10!! Bargain!

As for this leopard print one, well I couldn't resist, I have emerald green and cobalt blue skirts from Topshop and this is a brilliant addition to my colourful collection. As you can see I have already worn this one to work it was really comfy, there is a kick in the back for manoeuvring and I mat even dress it up for a night out this weekend.

Here is another look I threw together this week for work. I decided to pair a Superdry T I had with my emerald green pencil skirt and I think it works really well. I like the juxtaposition between the casual T and the smart fit skirt plus the pop of colour really brings it together. The inspiration for this was when I wore my 2 tank tops with my pencil skirts, this time I wanted to take it a little more casual.

xXx

Recently I've been wearing/Outfit of the week

So with all the hectic'ness that  has been happening recently I have not kept on top of posting about my recent purchases or outfits for the week. Therefore this will be a round up of a few different weeks and a few new bits.

First up is a new chunky knit cardigan from Primark! hehe I love the primark knitwear I have load of there big cardys. All the ones I have are really good quality and as they are cheap I dont mind if they only last one winter, by the end I have generally worn them more then a pound a wear so they have paid for themselves. This one above its really nice its was only like £12 and is actually double knit, 2 layers of knit so its really warm. I love he loose cut and tapered edge to edge front seam. The loose fit is not too boxy so as to drown your figure and there isn't too much fabric so you can easily put a belt round if you want it closed.
I am loving the aztec print at the moment especially in really earthy colours, I have seen some really nice dresses and stuff with it on but they tend to be printed on top which I dont like. Anyway as you can see I have basically not had this off my back since I bought it hehe
First look is with my new Primark blue skinny jeans (£11) and a cowl neck New Look top I bought a few years ago. I also had on the necklace from below and my Primark aztec print snood. Decided to go for clashing prints with the cardy and scarf to see how it looks and personally I like it, they similar enough that they clash in a good way, not an omg what are you wearing way lol
Second look was for brunch and brothers birthday tea, I've worn this base outfit before and decided that the burgundy on the cardigan would go well with the pencil skirt.
The last look is a mix and match from my last outfit post, this time I paired the blue (New Look) cowl neck with my plain blue jeans and the cardigan.

First up on this next row is a top/dress I bought from Sainsburys of all places. I love the paisley print and the dark teal colour, also the length its just right for me to wear as a dress over leggings. Being tall I sometimes have issues with length on shorter dresses. For this look I paired the dress with grey tights and my brown New Look moccasins. I also threw on the cream cardigan from the next pic as it was a little chilly. 

The middle look was one I wore to Roker beach, sounds daft but I live in the North its windy on the coast. This is an wardrobe dress I bought a couple years ago from Primark I love the cute and the chunky lace detail on the neck line. I also have it in royal blue with cream lace which is equally cute. I love this GAP cream cardigan it was a christmas present from my sister, its go a lovely chunky lapel thats great for snuggling up in when cold. 

Last look was a work look, I have had the top for a few years, hehe another Primark special. Hey I was a student for like 5 years I went for cheap and cheerful clothing that could be thrown away when used up. I haven't really worn it that much, its quite a loose fit and has frillyish sleeves but I thought I would give it a go before resigning it to the charity bag. Turns out I just didn't have the right stuff to go with it.  For this look I nipped in the waist with a tan skinny belt, which tied in with my tan moccasins then put a light grey waterfall cardigan over the top. Thats another primark cardigan, I have it in black too as they are quite thin but still warm so great for autumn also the waterfall has a natural nip at the waist so they look good with a skinny waist. 

Last trilogy promise and then I am up to date. First up is a casual look from when it was a little warmer. This is a mix and match look, grey long vest, maroon lace tube top, sleeveless denim shirt and some knee length black leggings. 

Middle is something I threw together to go round to mums for Sunday lunch. I really love the fit of this Primark dress  and the cute little flower pattern. For this lunch I paired it with my new cream pumps just to break them in, they are supposed to be my comfy post heel shoes no use if they hurt.

The last look was for my 4 year anniversary with the fiancé eek very excited its our last one before the wedding. We decided to keep it low key so we could save up for the big day and went down to a local gastro pub for a bite to eat and kept prezzies to £4. This is my new grey Republic dress I got in the sale for £5 down south but as we were going out I paired it with some plain black Topshop court shoes and my new aztec New Look necklace. Also threw on a giant pink print pashmina round my shoulders in lieu of a coat. 

hehe selfie time, first one is simply make up and natural hair for the brothers birthday, second is simple make up but with my hair blow dried with a roll brush to shape the fringe. Also been trying something new with the headband, this one is a strip of cream chiffon with little pearls just tied round. I like that its simple but still breaks up my hair without being distracting. 

Here is the afore mentioned New Look necklace, I bought this the other week in the sale for £3!! Bargain!! I love it, its a real statement piece and as you see above with the grey dress can really add something to a simple outfit. The only downside is that as with other large necklaces if you get warm it can start to stick to your décolletage area which cab be irritating. But hey thats the price we girls pay for fashion, and the reason I dont wear chunky jewellery in summer. 

Last but not least here we are ready to go out for our anniversary meal, fiancé is wearing Ralph Lauren shirt from T K Maxx and Next blue jeans, then Next tan boat shoes. Doesn't he look adorable! he really likes this casual preppy look at the minute and so do I but the I'm a little biased. 

Sorry it was a long one but that is me all caught up on what I have been wearing and anything new I have bought recently. Due to our current budget I will be sticking to the sales and Primark until after the wedding hehe 

xXx

Weight training ... time to get buff ...

With the wedding only a few months away I have decided to hit the gym hard in an aim to get buff for my big day. Part of that includes making sure that my arms are all toned for my strapless dress. This involves doing some weight training, I would do this at the gym but a lot of the machines are too wide for my shoulders so I cant get the right motion without it feeling uncomfortable. The other option is the weight room however this is usually filled with meat heads who are annoying as hell. 

So I decided that the best thing to do would be to make use of the fiancés weight gear at home. See he has a bar and barbells with lots of different weight, so I can reduce the weight to suit my needs and do stuff without feeling like I'm being stared at by a bunch of meat heads. 

As such this weekend fiancé has been teaching me a few exercises I can do at home with him spotting. First up was dead lifts, this is where you squat down with the bar in front of you then lift the bar up to your waist keeping your back straight. The next one was the squat, like it sounds you stand feet shoulder width apart then squat, only difference is that you hold the bar across the back of your shoulders. 

Mid squat - push down through your heels 

Gotta keep that back straight

It was a lot of fun, I've been doing squats at the gym with a kettle bell or with the weighted bar thingy but it was good to do them with a proper weights bar and weight. Fingers crossed after doing a few months of these along with my normal gym routine I will be all toned up and ready for my dress fitting in January. 

Think I am going to stick to doing these at home with the fiancé spotting me for the time being, never know in a month or two I might be strong enough to try doing some at the gym.

Next up I need to start doing bicep curls and maybe see if I can find something to do flys on to help tone up my upper arms. The pulldown is good at the gym but its always best to switch up your exercises so you tear different parts of muscle and so you don'g get complacent, your muscle starts to remember the movements so it becomes less effective this is when its time to switch up the weight and the exercise. This is why I have been trying to rotate through some different exercises for my muscle groups, keep them guessing and when it starts getting easy ... up the weight!! 

Go Hard or Go Home!! 

xXx

Clean skin, Clear skin

With the wedding just under 9 months away I have decided its time to find a good beauty routine and stick to it. This includes  a complete skin care routine, I'm quite good with my skin but not overly consistent which is where my downfall is. 

So to try and improve my skin care routine I have been doing some research into different techniques and came across the facial brush. This works a bit like a body brush exfoliating and rejuvenating by sloughing off dead cells whilst stimulating the skin underneath. See when you use a bristle brush to slough off cells you are also manipulating the underlying cells in your sub dermal layer this promotes increased blood flow and gets all you other fluids moving through your skin so keeps it... well fresh. This is the same principle as using a body brush on your legs to stave off cellulite and improve your pins. 

The main difference is that on your legs you use long strokes towards your heart to get all your lymphatic system draining, where as with your face you go in small circular motions all round your face to gently rub off the dead skin. 

 After deciding on a facial brush I needed to decide which one to go for. I liked the look of the No7 Beautiful Cleansing Brush available at Boots as it was only £25. But at the same time I didn't want to jump straight in with a product that I might end up not liking or not using very often. So I looked for cheaper alternatives to trial first then might put the No7 brush on my birthday list. 

I found there are a lot of manual alternatives my favourite was this little one from the Body Shop. Its about an inch and a half wide and has a nice little handle on the top, best part is the price ... its only £4. I like the handle on the top as it allows you to rotate the brush nicely on your face and the size means it can get right in around your nose.  

 Review: 

The bristles are just rough enough to stimulate and exfoliate without being too scratchy or irritating. After using it my skin felt nice and tingly but that could also be from the Tea Tree in the cleansing wash. I have been using it nearly everyday for about 2 weeks and my skin feels really nice. The lady in the shop recommended using their own brand tea tree cleansing facial wash. Its really nice, very refreshing and the tea tree is obviously good for clearing up your skin. 

After I finish my current exfoliant, a Boots tea tree and witch hazel one, I think I am going to try the Body shop one. The lady recommend trying to use the brush and cleanser everyday and an exfoliant once a week. So for the past two weeks I have been giving my face a quick wash off with some warm water to remove the thick of my makeup then using the brush with a squirt of cleanser. Like I said above my skin is starting to look really nice. It looks healthy and refreshed afterwards, and it feels really smooth. I think this will be £4 well spent, I will write up another short review in a few more weeks as you have to give new skin care regimes at least a month to start working and three to really take effect. 

So if anyone is looking for a good skin brush and cleanser but doesn't want to or have the money to shell out on the electric ones I would highly recommend the Body Shop £4 facial brush. 

xXx 

Tea!!! ... I love a pot of tea ...

If you have had the good fortune to meet me in person and visit my house you will know that I am a big fan of tea. There is nothing more soothing then curling up with a nice warm cup of tea.

I think its a family thing, my whole family loves tea, if you visit my aunts house she will offer you a second cup before you are half way down your first!! My mum always offers tea when we pop round or more accurately I will have been in the house for 10 minutes and will hear 'emma run and put the kettle on' hehe 

Then there are my friends who also enjoy a fine cup ... or several. If you visit A or Ns house you are offered a variety of teas from their cupboards usually an earl grey or lady grey. In contrast fiancé's friend L offers tea by the ever filling mug full, he's a big fan of tea after Uni and follows the same rule of thumb as my aunt ... if you are half way down a cup its time for another. 

Anyway I wanted to write up a little post about some of my favourite teas.

This is my current collection: 

PG tips was on offer so who can turn down a giant box - it will keep us going for a while an keep my work draw stocked. 

Peppermint - I discovered the joys of peppermint tea after I developed a bad stomach last year. My stomach would get really bloated and hurt after I ate, didn't know what was wrong but a pharmacist suggested  I try colpermin peppermint tablets, they contain pure peppermint oil which settles the stomach. I did a bit of research and discovered that mint has been used for years to settle bad stomachs and ease bloating, peppermint in particular is really good. So after that I bought some peppermint tea, this way I could take a little bit of peppermint throughout the day. 

Both the tablets and the tea really settled my stomach. Now I keep peppermint because a) its nice and b) its great if you are having a 'fat' day, it soothes my stomach and makes me feel normal again. 

Green tea and Green Tea with lemon - This was bought for the fiancé when he was still loosing weight as it helps to increase your metabolism. Green tea has been drank for centuries by the Chinese and has been found to help increase metabolism a bit like chilli. Its really nice if you want  a light tea for an afternoon or for with your lunch. Fiancé isn't a bit tea drinker and found it a bit sour so did a little reading and discovered that if you add a little lemon it gives a bit of a lighter taste. Hence why we also have green tea with lemon tea bags, stops him having to add lemon juice. 

Red berry - I got this one after trying some different fruit tea at the coffee stop next to fiancés training sessions. I wanted something fresh and light to drink but a bit fruity so picked up this red berry one from Tesco to try. I looked at some of the expensive brands but didn't want to shell out on tea bags to find they were too sour or sweet for me. This turns out to be really nice its fresh and fruity but not too strong that you feel like you are drinking warm Ribena hehe 

English breakfast - this is a fairly light standard tea which can be drank when ever you fancy it really. You can add milk or drink it black depending on how you feel. I find that some normal or breakfast teas can taste a bit bitter but this one is really nice with or without milk. Personally I don't take sugar, I used to take loads when I was little but slowly stopped taking it at all. All my immediate family are milk only even the fiancé and sisters partner, but that wasn't really their choice hehe the rest of us just forgot to put or offer any sugar to them. We offer guests sugar ... but family you have generally been making them tea so long that you just make up a load of cups and hand them out normal for everyone then black for my sister in law. So now neither of them take sugar either hehe probably a good thing as we generally don't have sugar in the flat, if you want any it has to be caster sugar out of the baking cupboard. 

Now for my Twinings  teas: 

Lady grey - this one I love either black or with a splash of lemon. Its a bit lighter then an Earl Grey so a good starter tea hehe if you feel like branching out from PG tips etc. I couldn't tell you how it tastes with milk as I only ever take it black. 

Mango & Strawberry - this is my latest tea addition I picked it up on offer in Tesco the other day. I wanted something similar to the red berry but with a bit more citrus so thought I would try this one. Its turned out really nice, fresh like the red berry but with a little something sweeter from the strawberry and a hint of tropical from the mango. 

I tend to drink my fruit teas a little cooler then other tea as I feel like you loose some of the flavour when they are very hot. Might just be my taste but if you find that you cant pick up the flavour very well leave it a few minutes. 

The last little gem hiding in my tea stores is the little balls in the baggie on the left. These were from my mum they are tea flowers. You might have seen them in some Asian restaurants, they are awesome. You out the little ball in the bottom of a large wine or other big clear glass then fill with warm water, the little ball opens up to reveal a flower which flavours your tea. I cannot wait to try them they look so pretty, this one is jasmine, I might even try it this weekend. I will be sure to write a post about it and no doubt will take loads of pics. 

So there you have it my little tea collection. I thought I would finish with a little pic of my other tea love .. tea pots. If I had more space I would have loads of tea pots you can get loads of really fun ones but always check the spout no use having a pot that pours terribly. 

LtoR - Nana's teapot older then me, Cow from my bro (ornamental as its got a broken spout :( ), Red spots from fiancé, Butterflies from fiancés parents. Can't have tea with out a milk cow then my tea spoon/tongs and teabag dish. 

As I have been typing I am sure that my mango & strawberry has gone cool so I will have to put some more in from the pot ... oh dear ... what a shame hehe 

Let me know what your favourite teas are and if you find any fun tea related things like the tea flowers. I hope this may have inspired you to try some new and different teas.

xXx

What a wonderful weekend ...

So this weekend was full of good friends and good food. 

Friday: 

Our friends from Cumbria travelled down for a quick visit. They had been to stay a few weeks ago but unfortunately fiancé had to work both days so this time it was nice for him to be able to see them during the day. Hehe it was also nice that there wasn't an lengthy gap between visits like there had been for the last visits. As anyone will tell you its hard to organise visits as you get older as life gets in the way and everyone has conflicting plans so it was great to get to see them so soon, also good as S is one of my bridesmaids hehe 

For dinner fiancé served up a delicious chicken, prawn and chorizo paella, it was delicious as ever. Boy makes a mean paella. We try to serve something different whenever we have friends visit to make sure we mix it up, having friends over is also a great opportunity to try new things and experiment/expand your repertoire in the kitchen. 

Along with our paella M brought ingredients to make raspberry mojitos ... yum. They were awesome, he used fresh raspberries crushed in the bottom with the mint and sugar. Really fresh and fruity, they were a delicious cuban treat with our spanish paella. 

Giant paella pan, check, crusty bread, check, mojitos, check ... 

After dinner we sat and watched a film whilst drinking more mojitos, the drinks and company were excellent the film however was not. Got off to a good start then failed miserably but oh well. 

Saturday: 

On the morning we took our friends up to Lumley Castle to have a look as they had not seen the venue for the wedding, then we had a spot of lunch. Roast chicken submarine rolls and crisps. Then they had to get home as M was going away on business Sunday so needed to pack (last minute packing is such a boy thing) 

Saturday evening we went round to some local friends for a chilled BBQ. Unfortunately it was rained off so we did indoor BBQ hehe you have to be prepared in the UK, bloody temperamental weather.

Good night chilling with friends and catching up with come people we haven't seen in a while.  Lots of wedding talk from the girls, the hosts got married just under a year ago, I am nearly finished my wedding planning and our other friends have just booked their wedding so started the planning in earnest. So of course we were looking at dresses for C and I got to see L's finished wedding album, its really nice to chat with other people who are getting married or who have recently got married as you get to compare and swap ideas. 

Sunday:

Today is full of busy, its the last day of our holiday :( sad face back to work tomorrow, we started with brunch, then home for fiancé to watch the first game of the season for Spurs then round to my mams to car pool up to my brothers for a family birthday tea. 

So brunch ... it was awesome!! 

I was chatting with a friend from LA last night and told her we were having US style brunch she replied by asking what we considered a US style brunch ... I answered honestly with I wasn't sure but thats how our Texan friend had described it. My friend then described some of their brunches and I have got to say us English are lacking on the brunch front, the Americans know how to brunch! 

As this was our first visit to N's house for food so I took along a hostess gift, brunch appropriate boxes of Twinings fruit tea. Usually when we visit friends for food we take a bottle of wine and a dessert but that didn't seem appropriate. 

N then introduced us to Texan style breakfast tacos. It was amazing, homemade flour tortillas filled with huevos rancheros (scrambled egg, chorizo and pepper mix) topped with cheese and salsa!! It was delicious, these are apparently available at Texan schools pre wrapped in foil for the kids to eat for breakfast ... I would have loved to have these before school. We also had bowls of greek yogurt with fresh fruit and some granola with Earl Grey tea. It was amazing, we shall definitely be stealing the recipe for  the eggs and trying it again. 

After brunch we came home and the fiancé sat and watched the football while I blogged. (he is very happy as his team, Spurs, won) Now we are off to my mams to head up to my brothers for family birthday tea. Its a family tradition we have, and since my brother and his wife's birthdays are close together we tend to have a joint party either between or when its convenient ie best weekend around them for a family get together. Well I best be off. Blog later. 

xXx  

Ever growing nail varnish collection ....

As you will know from my previous posts, I am a big fan of nail varnish and a big fan of a bargain. This week I popped in to Durham with the fiancé and had a cheeky look in Superdrug I wasn't looking for anything in particular but ended up coming out with 2 lovely new nail varnishes. One of them I could have done with the other week for our friends wedding when I was frantically searching round Boots for a nice light pink colour and couldn't find a decent priced one.

The two colours I bought are Late Night Latte and City Blackout. I love the pink its really shimmery and you cant beat a good black in prep for autumn/winter.

These were £2.49 each or multi-buy 2 for £3 bargain for polish bottles this big.  

I currently have the Late Night Latte on. I used Avon illuminator base coat then two coats of the colour followed by a clear top coat. Going to see how long it lasts, supposed to be long lasting 10 days but we shall see how it fairs with my typing at work, which tends to rub the ends of my colour off and see if it chips from wear and tear. 

Here are the colours in person, sometimes I think website images can blow out the colour a little so you really need to see them for yourself before you buy them. 

You can see in this pic how much the pearl quality catches the light. Its a really light natural colour which I think will work with a lot of different colours. I think it will also work as a shimmer top coat over some of my other colours but I will try that at a later date. 

As this colour is so light but still shimmery I am thinking of wearing it to the wedding in a few weeks time. As that outfit is neutral and blush this colour should work really well. 

Hehe last pic is my toes, I currently have NYC Raindop blue on them, as I wanted a pop of colour. The weather isn't quite bad enough for socks all the time yet so I am making the most of having my toes out in sandals hehe plus I don't see the need to always match hands and feet, I will sometimes but other times I like having a contrast. 

What do we think? Do you have any new colours in your nail varnish collection? 

xXx

Footies!

This is a bit of random post but I had to share these with people. As any girl knows you cant really wear socks with ballet pumps or some little slip on shoes .... here is where footies come in. They are basically the younger brother of the trainer liner, covering just your toes and heal. 

I have a few different types of footies mainly black sock material ones but also some thin skin coloured ones and some lace ones. The lace ones are great but a bit big at the front so can be seen a bit more which isn't always what you want. The main problem you have with footies is the heal, if your shoes move a little on your heal then they can have a tendency to slip down which means you end up stopping and fiddling with your socks. The advantage to them is that your feet don't get as sticky in your ballet pumps, or if your wearing vans you dont make your shoes nasty inside and they cant be seen. 

So the main point of this isn't to introduce footies but to tell you all about these really cool ones I bought in Primark the other day. I picked them up in the queue for the tills, £2.50 for 2 pairs. 

What I really like about these is that you can see how shallow the front is so they fit under most of my ballet pumps. They are also make from a really thin slippery material that is light and breathable so they didn't make my feet very hot at all. The stitching is also a plus, this might seem daft but the fact that the bottom and sides are actually stitched means that they don't slip about under your feet. Speaking of slipping one thing I hadn't spotted when I picked them up but is a main reason I would recommend these is the little gel dots. The first lot in the bottom left pic are under the foot so stop your shoe slipping around then the next blob is on the heel. This is great as it stopped them from slipping under my foot which was awesome as its a real pain to have to fish your sock up all the time. 

I would definitely recommend anyone who wears ballet pumps a lot invested in some. 

xXx 

Outfit of the week - w/c 22nd July

Here are a few little bits that I piked up the other week:

From left to right: Superdry T bought as a present from the fiancé £10 in the sale, Maxi skirt from Primark for £11, Skater dress from Primark £5. 

I really like the t shirt as the pattern isn't too bright, I'm not a fan of bright white patterns on t shirts as they can look a bit too in your face. I also really like the short almost cap sleeves. 

As you know I'm a big fan of a Primark and a big fan of a maxi dress so when I saw this one I just had to buy it. The best part about this one is that the pattern is actually dyed onto the fabric not stuck on. There are a lot of pattern dresses out there at  the moment and the patterns are stuck on the fabric I'm not a fan of this as the pattern doesn't stretch with the fabric so it looks like it will start to tear. 

The dress is really cute and for £5 a mega bargain. The only down side is that because its a skater dress when its windy it does fly up a bit hehe think I will need to get some cheap little shorts to wear under it like when you were a kid. 

Next up some recent outfits I have worn: 

Here is my maxi skirt paired with a cream cami and blue cowl neck top from New Look. Next up is my new Hollister crop top paired with a pair of dark pink skinny jeans. I like that these two looks are really casual and comfortable.

The last one is more of a summery look for with my maxi skirt. Here I paired it with a loose fit tan tank top from H&M and some sandals. Then just tied my hair back and added some dangly earrings to keep it casual.

What have you all been wearing recently. Find any good bargains, let me know? 

xXx

What to wear for another wedding ....

This is a sort of follow up to my previous posts about wedding attire, you see this year I am fortunate enough to have been invited to 3 weddings! The first was the other week in Ampleforth, the second is at Lumley in a few weeks then the last is at Durham Castle in January.

This of course requires wedding outfits, for the first I chose a gorgeous purple Hobbs dress with Laura Ashley cardigan and pashmina and an Accesorise handbag. The day its self was gorgeous, Ampleforth College is a stunning venue as was Byland Abbey for the reception, the bride was an absolute vision and the groom was very handsome. One of the best parts of the day for me was seeing the look on the grooms face when he looked at his bride, the only way to describe it is utter joy.

Before I start on outfit two, here are a few pics of our outfits from wedding one.

Me and my handsome Fiancé. 

Decided to keep my hair simple, down with the side pinned & fascinator.

At the gorgeous Byland Abbey.

Now after a quick round of that wedding outfit on to the next. The next wedding is at Lumley Castle in a few weeks, I was just going to wear my purple dress but then I found a nice dress in Laura Ashley that matched my pashmina. It was in the sale so I bought it, but after getting it home decided that actually it wasn't really me so I returned it. Mum said we could go up to Boundary Mill where I got the Hobbs dress to have a look but then she found a sale in our local Outfit. Outfit is new to our local retail park, its one unit but has Warehouse, Miss Selfridge, Topshop, Dorothy Perkins and Wallace in for the girls then Burton and Topman for the boys. Basically the different shops that make up part of the arcadia group its really good, the different sections are about as big as you would find in a Debenhams but still have loads of things in and you can look at all of them in one shop. 

Anyway mum went in and found they had a sale on, there were a few dresses she liked so I met her after work and we had a look. I think I ended up trying on about 6 different dresses, most of them were really nice but just weren't quite right. You know how it is when you are looking for a specific outfit when you try it on something clicks and you think yes this is it. So we ended up with it down to 2, one from the normal collection and one from the sale. In the end I have gone with the sale dress, not because its in the sale but because its the one that said yes. The other dress was really nice but part of me felt it was a little to work wear, I could see my self wearing it to an interview etc. 

So here is my outfit for wedding two. I first saw this dress in the Warehouse in Selfridges Manchester and the first thought in my head was that it would make an excellent wedding guest outfit. 

Here is a breakdown of my new outfit: 

Dress - Warehouse - Organza Embroidered Tulip - £75 down to £45 

Cardigan - Dorothy Perkins - Petite Stone Diasy Mesh - £16

Heels - Dorothy Perkins - Hilda Nude Gem Sandals - £40 down to £22

Pumps - Nude Gem Bow - £23 

£106 down from £154, not as much saved as before but still a good saving. I'm sure the pumps should have had money off but I think it was a one day thing so no point taking them back. 

Also bought new earrings from BHS for £2.50 and already had my fascinator £1.80 (customised).

I love the lace detail on the dress and the see through organza neck line is really nice on. The heels are for day time and pumps for evening incase my feet are tired. I love how it all tones in together and it looks great with my current tan hehe 

Here is me in my new outfit ready for another wedding: 

These are my new earrings, cute and sparkly so they will tone in with the rest of my clothes and tie in to the shoes. 

Think I'm going to go with my little cream bag from Acessorise. 

What do we think? 

xXx