OUTFIT: "Dibs on the Drummer"

I saw this jumper on Instagram and instantly had to buy it! A couple years ago I saw a vest in H&M which said I prefer the drummer but I didn't buy it and regretted it so this time I just had to snap it up. In case you hadn't guessed my husband is a drummer ... so you can see why I jumped at the chance to own this bad boy. It also helped that the jumper was on sale at Hollister for £10. 

I kept it really simple with this outfit letting the jumper speak for itself, so I paired it with ripped skinnies a black wool hat and this awesome Nikes. 

OUTFIT: Plaid love .....

This autumn/winter I have been suffering from a major case of plaid love. I have always been a big lover of plaid but somehow I found my wardrobe sadly lacking. 

It would appear that I have rectified this situation ... so far this autumn/winter I have acquired a new shirt, 2 new scarves, a blanket wrap and a pair of trousers all in plaid ... oops. 

Large mixed colour scarf from New Look 

Throw Back Thursday ..... What I was wearing..

As Thursdays are for throw backs and I have a stash of outfit pics from my blogging break I thought I would start to share a few of them. 

Starting top left: 

1: Night out: black skinnies Next, black leather shoe boots Deichman, grey vest Primark statement silver nacklace Primark 

2: work, theme floral: chambray shirt Matalan, circle skirt Tesco sale, scarf  & pumps TU at Sainsburys

3: work, tonal blues: denim shirt H&M, striped sleeveless vest TU at Sainsburys, white blue skinnies H&M, floral headscarf Monsoon

4: chambray shirt Matalan, grey crop jumper Soul Cal, dark pink skinnies Primark, grey plimsols H&M, statement necklace Moonsoon

5: print dress/top NewLook, grey skinnies Primark, grey plimsols H&M, black cardigan Primark

6: casual work, navy loose vest dress H&M, black leggings TU & Sainsburys, brown chelsea boots Tesco, hubbys denim shirt for that oversized look 

7: Nephews birthday, mustard crop jumper Soul Cal, pink leapard pencil skirt Matalan, Dunlop original canvas shoes Sports Direct, statement necklace Topshop

8: purple crossover front pencil dress G21 at Asda, maroon suede heeled boots Primark

9: casual work, grey crop Soul Cal jumper, light blue Primark skinnies, Dunlop originals, H&M leather belt

I think my favourites from here are probably 7 and 8. I love that dress from G21 its a really nice fit and the colour is nice on too. Also you can dress it up or down depending on your accessories, I also like the vintage vibe it has. As for 7 I love a pencil skirt, I find them really flattering on my body type and this one is really comfortable. Ive bought a few from Matalan recently they did a really nice range of stretch jersey midi pencil skirts thats are really comfortable and come in some great colours. If you are looking to try one out I would suggest looking in Matalan they are only about £10 which is really reasonable. 

What I've been wearing ... Mixing it up

So this week I have been trying to mix it up with my outfits. I sometimes get into a bit of a rut and wear the same stuff over and over, mainly because I know I like that outfit and otherwise its half an hour in front of a packed wardrobe insisting I have nothing to wear ... heheh.

With the weather looking a little bit more positive then it has been I decided to move into a more spring/summer themed wardrobe (as it write this the heavens have opened and it is now persisting it down ... oh well glorious British summer and all that)

Here are a few of my favourite looks from last week:

Black sheer shirt, statement necklace, rolled up  slim boyfriend jeans, waterfall cardigan and burnt orange sandals. Matalan, Primark & T K MAXX. Hair spin pined into a messy bun. 

Lace detail sheer shirt, rolled up green chinos, oatmeal slip on brogues, waterfall cardigan.
Nearly all Primark except the shoes which are Sainsburys and necklace which I cant remember. 

I don't usually wear this necklace or chinos but I quite like them like this. 

My favourite outfit: Light blue denim shirt rolled sleeves, blue and white strip elbow sleeve jumper, cream loose rolled chino and tan brogues. Statement necklace.
Matalan shirt, New Sainsburys jumper with the altered necklace, New Look chinos. 

I posted a couple of Instagram pics about the jumper above, its the only new item and I love it, found it half price in Sainsbury's, the necklace was clipped on to the shoulders but I altered it to wear as a separate. I like the mix of cream blue and tan in this look with a pop of yellow from the necklace. 

Black back detail vest tucked in behind the belt, slim fit boyfriend jean with roll up & my statement necklace. Keeping it simple. New Look, T K Maxx & Primark sandals. 

Casual pub look. all Primark again. Grey loose fit vest, studded slim belt, black jersey maxi skirt and eyelet detail black ballet pumps. You cant make them out but I added a pair of New Look statement earrings. 

Nearly all of these pieces I already had in my wardrobe from a few months to a few years ago but I decided to pull them out and mix it up trying them in new ways. I am liking a rolled leg on a loose fitting trouser at the minute to add a casual detail. Also I'm a huge fan of statement jewellery, in winter it was bling now for summer I am liking plain silver with lots of chains or bright stones.

If your feeling stuck in a rut why not try having a look on Instagram for OOTD posts or fashion bloggers so see if you can get some inspiration. 

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

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

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 

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

Outfit of the week ... 24th June

So these are my favourite outfits from last week. (hehe already taken some pics for this week) 

First up is a cute little dress I wore into town on Saturday. Sometimes I get bored of wearing jeans all the time or wearing leggings so I decided to mix it up and wear my pretty blue Primark dress. 

To tie in my red hair and lips I put on a little red skinny waist belt. Then to keep it casual put on my tan leather moccasins from New Look. I really want some more moccasins they are soo cute and look really nice with rolled cuff jeans. 

Cute and summery. 

To keep this outfit casual when I was out I paired it with a chunky oversized cream cardigan. I really want another cardigan like this, my sister got me this one the other christmas from GAP, going to keep my eye out for similar one this autumn (I'm a bit of a cardigan addict).

You will also note that I am switching it up taking pictures in the spare room/music room. The light is a lot better for during the day. 

Next up a throw on outfit to pop down the road. This sounds odd but when I'm sitting around the house I just wear slouchy stuff which really isn't fit to see the light of day. The furthest this outfit is suitable for is to get the post or run to the car to grab something out. 

Anyway so when we need to pop out I tend to throw on a t shirt or tank top with a pair of jeans and a hoody if its cold. This turned out to be quite cute so I promptly wore it for work the next day with a cardigan hehe Primark NERD t-shirt, skinny blue jeans turned up, little blue pumps and my Primark bag.

Next up is one I wore over to my sisters for tea. Keeping it casual with my grey skinny jeans, sugar skull T (think this one has paid for its self now), then just because they are awesome ...

My Nike High Tops!!! 

You just cant argue with awesome trainers like these!! 

As you can see I like to mix it up with my style, I dont really dress in any one style more what I think looks nice on me and suits what I'm doing that day. I can do anything from twinset and pearls to hoody and trainers. It really depends on how I'm feeling that day and what season it is ... wait till autumn then you will see a lot of scarves and tweed. I'm a bit of a country girl in the autumn ... would kill for a Barbour jacket!! 

Anyhoo thats the highlights of my week. What have you all been wearing this week? got any really cute thrown together outfits?? 

xXx

Whats in my handbag ...

After seeing Fizzy Peaches and couple other people post things like this I thought I would give you all a look inside my handbag.

As most people know, handbags and their content are very personal ... to the point that fiancé isn't overly keen on going into mine even when I tell him too hehe honestly you would think I kept a man eating monster in it.

So here goes .. from left to right ...

Filofax ... £15
Cath Kidston Purse ... £28
Primark Bag ... £9
Make up bag ... £free
Sanctuary Spa Eau de toilette ... about £6
Vaseline ... £1.99
Hairspray ... £1.50
Primark floral brolly ... £4
Kleenex ... £?? multipack
Pound coin ... £1
Hair pins ... £1
Keys ... probably upwards of £100 to get a new car key, 3 house keys and my mini memory card

Total - 167.49 then add in my iPhone £200 ish thats £367.49 yikes

Inside my makeup bag ...

I'm quite good on this front I dont tend to carry a lot of extra make up around with me any more.

Nail file ... £2.50
Coverstick ... £3
Eye liner ... £5 (a very battered Avon one I think they have stopped making :( )
Eye liner ... £2
Mascara ... £1.99
Lipstick ... £1.99

Total £16.48 .. now that is really surprising ... I think its the avon eye liner thats pushed it up.

So all together I am probably carrying around about £383.97 worth of stuff in my little cheap £9 handbag. 

Looking at whats in my bag I think the bits that really drive up the cost are my phone and my car keys. Which is to be expected as a new car key has to be matched to your car these days so is mega bucks, normal house keys run upwards of £5 each to cut. Then a mobile phone ... well unless I start carrying around a basic call and text model this is always going to push up the value of your bag. Hence why I try to keep a very close eye on it.

One thing this doesn't take account of is sentimental value or replacement time and energy... fiancé bought me that purse for a christmas present and inside it there are a lot of cards to call up and cancel, ooh speaking of which replacing your drivers licence can cost over £20.  

Then a bit like Fizzy Peaches I also carry my iPad round at times which is over £300 or our Nook £60, I feel like walking round with a personal body guard who's main job is to hold my bag when I'm busy. I dread to think of the price it would be if I was still at uni and carrying around my Macbook!!! 

What do you keep in your bag? considering leaving any items at home in future? 

xXx

Outfits of the week ...

Ever just throw together an outfit that really works but your not going anywhere for people to see! I do it a lot, but as I'm 24 I feel a bit old to just post it on fb or instagram #OOTD and dont quite feel the need to embrace what I wore today as most days what I wore is boring hehe

As such I have decided to start posting my top outfits of the week. Some weeks there might be a few, others there might be one or non, might even just be something I have bought that week. So here we go ..

This first post has some outfits from a few different weeks.

Primark sugar skull vest, skirt is actually emerald green, opaque black tights and black zip detail  boots. Skull bracelets, links bracelet and dream catcher earrings. 

Primark long sleeve grey crop top, Primark black maxi and sandals. With tripple strand East leaf detail necklace and tripple tear drop beaten effect earrings.

Primark paisley detail vest, Topshop cobalt blue pencil skirt with leather effect waist band, orange Peacock heels. With  teal chunky bracelet, skull bracelets and teal drop earrings. 

New black and gold sandals, I find it hard to find sandals I like in black these aren't too garish. 

Primark pink pleated maxi skirt, New Look black tube top, H&M crop vest, Primark red & gold sandals.

Skirt is Tesco sale £5, left is mustard Primark vest & hunter green New Look cardigan with barely black tights and hush puppies. Right is new look purple loose fit vest with back detail, black Primark cardigan, black leggings and zip detail ankle boots. 

Black Primark sandals with silver stud detail.

xXx