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. 

LIFESTYLE: New Purchases!

So last week me and the hubby took the week off to chill and get some bits done around the house. It can be really hard to get stuff done due to hubby working Saturdays so every now and then we take a few days or a week off together. 

During the past week not only did we do some home decor but we also went across to Cumbria to visit friends and then had friends visit us,  in between all of this I managed to mix in a bit of shopping. I got some really nice bargains!  

 These awesome piece were in the New Look SALE! The statement necklace was only £12 down from £30! I was a bit dubious about the sheer size of it but I've not had it off since, I love it, really adda a pop to an outfit. Also rather amusingly it jingles when I walk ... no sneaking up on anyone ha! 

I had to get the earrings as I love turquoise, not only is it my birth stone but its also a really nice statement colour and pairs nicely with silver which I wear quite often with my skin tone. Both sets of earring were reduced to under £5 each. 

NEW: New Look sale purchases

The other day I popped into New Look and checked out their ongoing sale. I didn't go in with any specific intentions of buying something or even looking for anything in particular but as always that is exactly when you find loads of cute stuff you really want. 

I picked up quite a few different pieces to try on but (luckily) not all of them looks quite right on me so I ended up only picking up a couple of pieces. 

First up is this black collar check coat, its a really nice structured coat that I can dress up or down depending on where Im going. Its also nice and thick but doesn't look too bulky due to the cut. Hopefully this will be featuring in some up coming outfit posts once I start styling it up so stay tuned.

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 

Yes its time for a new Wedding Outfit post ....

If you have looked at some of my old posts you will know that 2013/14 has been very busy Wedding wise for me and the hubby. Well we have been very fortunate to receive another 3 invites :) two evening receptions and another whole day invite. Unfortunately we can only go to one of the evening receptions are the other is the weekend we are having our own second southern reception.

To keep with tradition here is my latest What to Wear for a Wedding!!

First a quick recap, since July 2013 we've been guests at 3 weddings necessitating several wedding guest outfits and hair pieces: 

Ampleforth July 2013: purple Hobbs dress styled up with a few accessories. Grey pin stripe suit, lilac shirt and silver paisley tie.

Lumley Castle September 2013: nude Warehouse dress and accessories from Outfit. Grey, 3 piece pinstripe suit, blue shirt with contrast white collar and gold/blue stripe tie.

St Cuthberts Church/Durham Castle January 2014: Purple Hobbs dress, White linen Warehouse blazer and black leather knee high boots for in the church and walk to the castle. Grey three piece suite, lilac shirt with contract white collar and burgundy bow tie.

Following this there was obviously our own wedding in May:

Couldn't resist posting another picture, it was such an amazing day. 

The first evening reception is for some friends of the family at the local Chiltern County Pub and Hotel.

Hubby is in white granddad shirt H&M, tweed style waistcoat Primark, burgundy cords Burton and tan brogues TKMAXX

I wore blue chiffon dress Primark, cream cardigan Dorothy Perkins, cream sandals Dorothy Perkins, silver clutch and turquoise earrings New Look. 

Teamed this with smokey brown eyes and a bright red lip for a pop of colour. 

The next do is for our good friends from Leeds who got engaged just after us, they have just booked their wedding and we were thrilled to receive a save the date for next May. YEY!! I was going to just wear one of the outfits from the above but then I went up to Boundary Mill with my mum and sister last weekend and saw this gorgeous Kaliko dress. If you follow me on Instagram you will have seen the sneak peak of the print I posted the other day.

Kaliko dress, New Look handbag, Cream.Nude heels.

I know its a long way off but when choosing special occasion outfits you have to start looking early incase the 'in' style isn't what you were wanting or what suits you plus new season stuff comes in quite early and you don't want to miss out. So when I saw this dress set up on the mannequin, I just had to try it on. I am thinking of styling it similar to how they had it in the store, blue Alex & Co jacket my cream court shoes and maybe either this silver clutch or my blue satin Monsoon clutch. Also this dress was a real bargain, £120 down to £40!! I got the jacket from Boundary Mill about 7 years ago now when I had to go to St James' Palace to collect my Gold Duke of Edinburgh's Award then wore it again 3 years ago to my mums wedding with an all blue floral Kaliko dress (also from Boundary Mill).

Blue Alex & Co linen jacket, love the extra pop of colour and the frill on this jacket it really nice adds some detail when the jacket is closed. 

What do you think? Are any of you going to a wedding or other event in the next year. 

xXx

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

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

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