The Shopping Edit - September 2012

1. Rayban Aviator Sunglasses, Sunglass Hut £108.33 (Duty Free)

2. Grey Cardigan, Culture at TK Maxx £16.99

3. Red/Fuchsia Cardigan, Marks & Spencer £18

4. Navy Oversized V Neck Sweater, TK Maxx £12.99

5. Print Top with Lace Detail, Warehouse £32

6. Black Jeggings, TU at Sainsbury's £12.50

7. Wine Leggings, TU at Sainsbury's £10

8. Wine Skirt, Miss Selfridge £29

9. Animal Print Oversized Sweater, Oasis £38.40 (Sale)

10. Black Pumps, Miss Selfridge £28

11. Wine Court Shoes, Carvela at Kurt Geiger £55 (Sale)

12. Brown Leather Equestrian Boots, Jones £165

13. Slouchy Cardigan, Cynthia Rowley at TK Maxx £19.99

14. (Not Pictured) Nike Sports Socks, JJB Sports £6.99 (for 3 pairs)

Total: £553.19!!!!!

Ok, clearly at face value I am MASSIVELY over-spent however I have a disclaimer - at the end of August I had clear-out and sold a lot of lightly-used stuff on Ebay generating myself a tidy net-profit of £348.84 (after Ebay and Paypal fees). The main items I sold were my Nintendo Wii, Hunter Wellies, Dune Winter Boots and Chanel Perfume, plus some other bits that were lying around. I knew I was going to use the funds from Ebay to splurge on some new winter boots and designer sunglasses (I bought cheap ones at the start of the year). So take these off my grand total and you get:

£279.86 which is still roughly £30 over budget but it's not bad going. And I still have approx. £75 left over from the Ebay selling to put towards a winter coat. 

1. I've wanted Rayban's for ages!! I love them so much and am slightly scared that something may happen to them.....
2. This cardigan goes with everything, and I love the pop of fuchsia on the trim and the cute bows on the pockets.
3. This bright cardigan is for work. Now the weather is getting cooler I like to layer-up!
4. This sweater is made from the softest wool, and the fact that it's over-sized makes it perfect for chilling-out.
5. I love the lace detail on this top. Another work one, to be worn with the wine skirt from Miss Selfridge (style-post coming)!
6. I've needed some new black jeggings for a while. Last year I bought some from GAP but they faded pretty fast. These may do the same but at this price-point I'm not worried.
7. The first of my "wine colour obsession" pieces!  They are really thick and super-soft. I hate cheap leggings, you know when you can clearly see the print of someone's knickers through the material - it's just wrong.
8. This pencil skirt is great, love the colour and it's really comfortable for work because the material is stretchy.
9. I'm a sucker for Animal Prints and had my eye on this sweater for a while but just couldn't justify it's original price of £48. Luckily House of Fraser had a 25% off brand event and I grabbed it while I could for nearly £10 cheaper. Love it!!
10. I loved these pumps when I first saw them but sadly they are really uncomfortable, boo....they might be going on Ebay next.
11. My final "wine" purchase. Because of the low-heel these are perfect for work and add an on-trend pop of colour when worn with black trousers/skirts.
12. I feel like I could quote Shakespeare about these boots..... they are my favourite thing in a long-time. I love EVERYTHING about them. The detail, the colour, the style. I will be wearing them all winter long.
13. Great neutral slouchy cardigan for layering up as the temperature drops.
14. What can I say about sports socks???? Zzzzzzz.....

What are your style plans for Autumn/Winter? Are you embracing any of the trends out there? Mustard, Burnt Orange and Wine are the big-hitters apparently.

Love,

The Shopping Edit - August 2012

1. Red Bikini, Sweaty Betty £32.40 (Sale)
2. Dress, Reiss £60 (Sale)
3. Cream Dress, Miss Selfridge £39
4. Black Sheer Shirt, Miss Selfridge £25 (Sale)
5. Grey Feather Top, TK Maxx £14.99
6. Grey Rainbow Flecked Jumper, New Look £17.99
7. Grey Leather Jacket, New Look £39.99
8. Sand Wedge Boots, New Look £24.99
9. Green Ring, Earrings, Feather Necklace, ALDO £25
10. Neon Bracelets and Hair Flowers, H&M £7.98

Not Photographed:
11. Knickers x 3, Marks & Spencer £10
12. Triumph Bra, TK Maxx £8.99
13. Socks x 3, TK Maxx £4.99

Total: £311.32

I had great fun shopping in August, although it doesn't look like it - I bought so much grey/neutral clothing!! Thank god for the neon accessories! I love my red bikini and enjoyed wearing it on holiday in Sardinia. I've worn the cream dress so much but it has now been packed away for next summer! I was over budget this month but under budget for the past couple of months so I think I'm doing ok in the grand scheme of things. I've also had a massive ebay selling spree which has generated some extra cash for things like winter boots!

What have you been buying lately? Are you starting to pack away those summer clothes in favour of warm winter layers?

Love,

Holiday Accessories

Um, did I mention I'm going on holiday in 5 days.....???!! So excited to be heading off to Sardinia.

Normally a pre-holiday shop would consist of buying a load of new Summer clothes but seeing as we're heading into Autumn and all the shops have bought in their Autumn/Winter Collections this is a bit of a no go. I decided to just update my summer wardrobe with some new accessories and a new bright red bikini!

Anyone that follows me on Pinterest will see that I have a massive crush on anything with a neon vibe. H&M have just bought out a load of neon styles and I tried some on but just don't feel brave enough to rock that look in full. A little pop of neon is definitely the way to go for me!

Green Ring - Aldo 
Nude/Peachy Earrings - Aldo 
Leaf Necklace - Aldo
Pink Flowers (on a clip) - H&M
Bracelets/Bangles - H&M

I think I picked all this up for around £30 (proper pricing when I do the August Shopping Edit post).

I'm going to start putting some holiday outfits together today....watch this space!

Love,

Places to go........ The Pier House, Westward Ho!

New blog feature alert!! I'm lucky enough to usually be able to eat out once a week and lately I've been trying to make sure it's somewhere I haven't been before. Just thought I'd give my thoughts on the places I've been.....

Last week I was in Devon seeing Scott's grandparents for a few days and we wanted to take them out for dinner. We had a scout around online and found The Pier House. 

Now ordinarily I would show you some photo's of the food that we ate, but well....I didn't take any because it was horrible!! I felt embarrassed and initially thought that I wouldn't blog about it but then thought I'd be honest with you - it's just my opinion afterall.

For starters I had Prawn Cocktail (£5.95), it was quite literally the biggest starter ever but the quality left a lot to be desired. Frozen prawns with iceberg lettuce and a blob of tasteless marie-rose sauce on top, hmmmm. I wish there had been less of it (a lot less) and that it had tasted better.

For main course I had Crusted Cod Fillet (£13.50) with braised leeks, new potatoes and a white wine and dill sauce. The "crust" was parmesan and crab. Overall this wasn't too bad. I didn't like the crab and parmesan crust (this is just my preference) but the cod itself was cooked well. The leeks were very well braised and the sauce a strange orangey colour which was off-putting. I didn't try the potatoes.

I think the worst part was watching Scott trying to get through his main. He had ordered the Hake "special" and if by special they meant burnt-to-a-crisp, then yep, it certainly was special!! He didn't want to make a fuss in front of his grandparents but if it had been just us it would have gone back to the kitchen. It was so bad it made him gag. Granny had a steak (she asked for it well-done but what came out of the kitchen you could have used to re-sole your shoes) and Grandad a gammon steak. The portion sizes again were HUGE, so we didn't get desserts.

So what did The Pier House get right? It's in an amazing location, pretty much anywhere you sit you get a wonderful view of the sea and the decking outside is lovely. The service is also great, the waiter we had was attentive. 

Would I go again? Yes, but not to eat! I would go for the location and maybe a low-key dinner like Scampi and Chips (£9.95). I'm not sure I trust the chef there with anything more complex than re-heating frozen food, harsh? Maybe, but fair.

View 

Love, 

Product Review - Benefit Hello Flawless

Lately I've been finding that my skin has a little "extra-shine" than normal. In the summer months I've been trying to steer away from using foundation every day and have been using BB Cream instead. I like the BB Cream I use but just need a little extra coverage, which is why I bought "Hello Flawless" by Benefit. I've been using it for a couple of weeks now so thought I'd do a little review.

I generally really like Benefit products. The packaging and marketing is great but as we all know the product has to step-up too. I find most times Benefit products do exactly what they say on the tin, and Hello Flawless is no exception. 

I like the fact that it comes in a variety of shades to suit all skin-colours. I bought "Champagne" which suits mine perfectly. I love the fact that it has SPF15, I think all products should these days,  and it comes with a little instruction booklet and two application methods, brush and sponge.

I use my larger powder brush to apply Hello Flawless first thing and then use the sponge/smaller brush it comes with for top-ups throughout the day.

If you're in the market for a powder you can carry with you to keep shine at bay, I would fully recommend this one. On the skin it's light and doesn't feel "cakey" at all, and it's also really easy to apply, you can't go wrong with it (trust me, there's many "fail" stories I could share!!).

Do you change your "base" make-up products depending on the season? What do you think of BB Creams?

Love,

Happy erm.....Friday???!!

This is the Friday round-up on Sunday... because, well I've just been too busy!!

1. On Monday I headed to London with my Dad, we were staying in Euston and as a treat he took me to Searcys Champagne Bar at St. Pancras Station. It was amazing. I believe every home should have one of these buttons!!

2. I went to the Olympics on Tuesday morning to see the Mens 3m Springboard Semi-Final. It was unbelievably cool to be part of it all (bigger blog post on this to come!). I won't know what to do with myself later on tonight when it's all over. Boo.

3. My boyfriend and I cycled approx. 22 miles of the Tarka Trail in Devon on Thurs morning. I haven't been on my bike in literally 3 years (if not more), it felt great to get back in the saddle and re-introduce my body to cardio post-op.

4. Actually experiencing some "summer"!! This past week it got HOT, amazing. We're now back to rain, standard.

5. This weekend I headed up to Nottingham to see my godson, Harry (and obviously the rest of his family.....). At 16 months he's still super-cute which is reassuring! I had a lovely time playing with the kids, catching-up with Anna (Harry's Mum) and watching the Olympics. Anna and I decided to sign ourselves up for the Crossdale 10k in Keyworth, nr. Notts, 6 weeks to go! Eek.

What are your highlights from last week? My two-week post-op recovery period is now over, back to work tomorrow!

Love,

The Shopping Edit - July 2012

 

1. Gold Butterfly Earrings, Warehouse £62. Quicksilver Jeans, TK Maxx £12.99
3. Polka Dot Top, TK Maxx £14.99
4. White Billabong Hoody, TK Maxx £16.99
5. Neon Hilly Sports Top, TK Maxx £12.99
6. Black Capri Trousers, Warehouse £36
7. Grey & Yellow Top, Warehouse £17 (Sale)
8. Stripy Pyjama Bottoms, Tesco £6 (Sale)
9. Black Pencil Skirt, Tesco £7 (Sale)
10. White Vest Top, Marks & Spencer £17
11. Stripy Blue Jersey Dress, Marks & Spencer £45
12. French Connection Jumper, TK Maxx £16.99


My total for July is £209.45, which is great - I have £40 to carry over! I've highlighted in pink the items I'm planning on using for work. I like to clearly separate work and play clothes, there's very little cross-over for me. 


I wore the Stripy Blue M&S dress for a meeting the other day and got lots of compliments, it's just one of those dresses that fits really well and is super comfy. Definitely feel like I could run around all day in it.


The French Connection Jumper has the cutest back, I just have to show you!

Bows! I love them.


Have you made the most of the Summer Sales? 


Love,