gladrags and handbags

Cos this isn't Paris, and it isn't London.

2012-02-29T19:45:00.001Z

Maxi Skirt (Worn as dress) - H&M

Belt - Primark

Shirt - Vintage

This outfit was born out of my resolution to start making do with the absolutely ridiculous amount of clothing I already own! My shopping 'ban' isn't so much a ban as of yet, I'm trying to ease myself out of it because I honestly have a really big problem with spending money on clothing... and I'm willing to admit that. Its getting beyond ridiculous now though and I'm often finding myself buying clothing just for the sake of it, online shopping is my downfall and they make it far too easy to just sit and click and before I know it I've just spent upwards of £50. I realised the true extent of my clothing addiction this week when I've gone to tackle the washing cupboard with my time off work, and seeing that I've got way more clothes than what is clean and hanging up on our rails, I've not even needed to do washing for the past month because of it, I could probably wear a different outfit every day of the year.

I need some lessons in will-power and being sensible with my money, I'm thinking of just having my wage paid into a joint account between me and my husband so I will maybe feel guilty if I spend anything. Does anyone have any suggestions that could help me? I'm talking some serious Spendaholics Anonymous stuff here.

Bygone Times

2012-02-29T14:56:00.000Z

1950s Magic Tricks, Fat Butler Statue, Vintage Signs, Gollywog, 1950s Telephone, Vintage Language Coursebooks, Rocking Horse, Cat Comic, Record Player, A real barn owl, 1980s Porn Magazines, Reproduction Tardis, Gaudy Cat Painting, Bush Radios, The penny arcade games, WWII displays, 1970s TV Set, Amazing vintage body-positive seaside posters!

On Sunday my mother-in-law and I made the long overdue visit we had been planning for a while to Bygone Times in Wigan. I'm not quite sure what I expected when it was described to me by my MIL but it definitely wasn't what I was met with on the day! As the website describes its a series of 3 warehouses full to the brim with collectables, memorabilia, curios and antiques and it promises a truly unique shopping experience sparking nostalgia for years gone by. I'm an absolutely massive fan of 1950/60's kitsch and boy did I get my fill of it at Bygone Times!

Things I lusted over included a beautiful duck-egg blue Bakelite 500 telephone (although they were actually rather cheap, adding the cost of converting to touch-tone capabilities so it would work on our landline made it pretty expensive for a gamble.) And an original Steepletone record player which was actually in perfect working condition. Everywhere I looked I was met with kitschy little cat ornaments and paintings so I knew I couldn't leave without purchasing something cat-like. As it happens I stumbled across a lovely wooden cat ornament for the bargain price of £1.50, I also added to my basket an ornate carved wooden trinket box for £4.00 and a working Brownie Box Camera for £10, I know its going to cost a lot more than that to buy the film plates and get the photographs printed but even if I just keep it as a collectable I'm excited. Vintage photography is something that has really interested me for years now and I would love to have a collection of cameras.

Also inside the warehouse was a reproduction of a seaside penny arcade featuring original arcade machines restored and still usable, I come from one of the most famous Northern seaside holiday destinations from 'back in the day' Whitley Bay, and it was amazing to see the posters advertising the beach I know so well as something so glamorous! These days its mostly old people walking their dogs and young people hanging round drinking unfortunately and I would of loved to of seen my home-town in the glory days of it being a tourist capital, with the beaches heaving with holidaying families all relaxing.

I had a really, really lovely day and even though I probably didn't look at half of the trinkets contained inside the warehouse was truly shopped out after the 3 or 4 hours we spent wandering up and down the rows, I am definitely going to plan a visit back there sometime and would totally recommend it to other vintage and collectable lovers like me.

Weekly Roundup.

2012-02-26T21:28:00.001Z

• This weekend had been a lot more action packed than usual, both me and my husband have thankfully had holidays to take from work left over so we've booked the next 7 days off and will be using that time to visit family and just take some time out to do not very much at all.
• First up was visiting my in-laws in Wigan, thankfully our car got us here this time! I was so nervous turning it on yesterday morning because the last few times we've really needed to use it it has totally given up on us. But we got here in one piece. Today me and my mother-in-law made a trip to the most amazing vintage/antique dealership called Bygone Times. It was three warehouses full to the brim with trinkets and cool vintage pieces that I probably could spend a whole week (and an entire wage packet!) in there. I took a load of photographs so I would like to write a bit more about the place in a separate blog post.
• Tomorrow we're heading off to the Lake District to use the hotel package my parents bought us as a Christmas present. I'm really looking forward to it because the lakes are such a beautiful place and we're hopefully going to make a visit to The Beatrix Potter museum where I went numerous times as a child, I'll even be able to complete a young-me/now-me photograph by posing with the barn owl (although wearing slightly more stylish clothes I hope!). Other than that I think we'll just be taking advantage of the spa and heated swimming pool in the hotel and maybe going for a few walks and taking in the beautiful surroundings and breathing in the fresh air.

Make It Work

2012-02-23T19:59:00.000Z

(Images by Kirsty)

I think I mentioned a while back that I was creating a submission to a Zine curated by one of my fav blogger babes Kirsty. Her philosophy for the Zine was fat-positive crafting/thrifting/shopping and I thought I would submit a piece detailing my experiences of the 'make it work' ethos whilst shopping on the high street in 'straight-sized' stores.

Details as written by Kirsty:

Make It Work is a radical fat positive zine centred around DIY fatshion and craft projects. It contains a mixture of personal pieces, tutorials, craft tips, guides to pattern upsizing, event organising and some fairly bad art. Contributors are awesome people from the fat-o-sphere including me (from Fatty Unbound), Bronny (from Fat Aus), Brenda Jean (from The Busty Traveler), Charlotte Cooper (activist extraordinaire!) and lots more.

“Make It Work” has been a mantra within fatshion communities since I can remember, and I’m interested in exploring it as a radical premise of fat positive politics. Fat people have and have always had very limited options in ready-made clothing, and, whilst retailers are starting to produce more on trend pieces, the process is slow and in the meantime, we have to come up with our own radical alternatives – whether it’s making clothes, thrifting, altering clothes or making straight sizes work for us. This zine is about sharing the resources, skills and knowledge that we’ve gained, and for it to provide strategies for people to move forward with.

Half size (A5) with 48 pages total. The zine is hand typed and has a medium pink card cover. Staple binding.

I want to share my piece here on my blog and I will eventually but would love it if you could support Kirsty's venture by getting your hands on the beautiful physical copy of the zine first, not just for my words but the submissions by other much more important and influential babes of the fat activist movement (and because its just really awesome.) You can purchase a copy over on Kirsty's etsy page or by contacting Kirsty via her email fattyunbound@gmail.com.

Who will survive in America?

2012-02-23T17:17:00.001Z

Lace Top - New Look

Shorts - New Look

New Look Inspire have got things so right recently, I pretty much cut the store out of my shopping habits because it was so unreliable but its slowly coming back into my radar. I'm still angry that my local store in Leeds made the decision to stop selling the Inspire line altogether, but even when it was there they didn't pick any of the nice pieces... choosing to stick to the boring basics, its no wonder it wasn't popular enough for them to continue stocking it. So now I have to settle for ordering online and using click and collect, which isn't that much of a chore I just wish I could have a nice shopping experience where I get to pick out things I like the look of and try them on in a changing room like every other straight sized person gets to!

I've wanted a lace shirt forever so when I saw this one on the website I just knew I had to pounce on it. Its a really soft cotton and a lovely peach colour, which will be perfect for summer outfits. It's also just the right amount of see-through meaning I don't have to wear a vest underneath. The polka dot shorts are another must-have pattern for me and they fit great, sitting just above my waist on my hips which for me is perfect.

I told you that I was trouble, you know that I'm no good.

2012-02-20T16:00:00.003Z

Dress - ASOS Curve

Lipstick - Revlon 'Pink About It'

This is what I wore to go out for my friend Frankie's 21st Birthday, yellow is absolutely one of my favourite colours to wear so I pounced on this dress the second I saw it in the ASOS Curve S/S 12 collection. More like this please ASOS! It's absolutely perfect, just can't wait for summer now for the chance to get out all my lovely little dresses.

Weekly Roundup.

2012-02-19T17:52:00.002Z

It really sucks that I'm only getting one day off this weekend, I desperately need a break from work and am counting down the days till the holiday's we've booked on the 24th March. We're making use of the amazing Christmas gift my parents got us for a weekend away in the Lake District at The Hydro Hotel in Bowness, really looking forward to it.
This week we've also booked a March getaway to Amsterdam with our best friends, managing to secure a really beautiful private apartment just on the outskirts of the city centre. I'm really looking forward to it because last time we visited was one of my favourite holidays, it was so great to spend time with our best friends and I even enjoyed the ferry trip over there massively. We're so much like each other it was just perfect because we all wanted to do the same things, and if we didn't we just agreed to go off on our own and meet up later. This time I am absolutely determined we're going to make a visit to the Cat Boat (the name explains it all really, a boat full of cats!)
The return of that glowing ball of light in the sky otherwise known as the sun has heralded much joy from me today. Even if the warmth hadn't quite returned with it just yet, just seeing it shining down through our windows this morning instantly boosted me into an amazing mood. With spring just round the corner I suggested we pop to Waitrose and treat ourselves to some nice food for an indoor picnic, and we've spent this afternoon gorging on sandwiches, crisps and chicken wings.

Tremble little lion man.

2012-02-19T12:49:00.000Z

Dress - Fearne Cotton for Very

Collar - Romwe

Flatforms - New Look

These are the amazing photographs taken in the pop-up studio at Plus London by the very talented and very lovely Diana. I didn't really think about it all night but this is dress is actually pretty short, I wasn't sure if it'd fit me properly only being a size 20 but because its polyester with elastane its stretchy enough. I had an outfit change half way through the night though when I found the beautiful vintage dress at Red Bows Boutique.

God only knows what I'd be without you.

2012-02-16T20:44:00.000Z

Muu Muu - Vintage via a clothes swap.

Lipstick - MAC 'Russian Red.

I can't wait for summer so I can wear this properly again, this is the muu-muu I mentioned I'd scored from the fat clothes swap Kirsty organised in Leeds months ago. It was hers originally and I fell in love with it when I saw someone else trying it on.. she wasn't so sure about it so rather unceremoniously I swooped in and took it for myself, a girls got to do what a girls got to do to get pretty clothes though. There's going to be another swap happening at the end of March sometime which I'm really excited about.

Valentines

2012-02-15T00:32:00.002Z

T-Shirt - Monki

Jeggings - New Look

Cardigan - M&S

Cross - eBay

This is my attempt at double denim because I really don't think I can pull it off, I'm cheating as the t-shirt is just 'denim look'. I'm really into dark colours at the minute though, I think its because of the weather. I'm totally breaking fatty fashion rules here by wearing something high waisted so you can see my VBO, but I'm loving it. In make-up news I'm really a fan of mixing together my lippies to create new colours at the minute, I'm wearing Revlon 'Pink About It' with a slick of MAC 'Russian Red' over the top, its nice to have a totally unique colour.

I've had one of the most wonderful Valentines ever, and we didn't even do anything massively special! Just stayed in, cooked some nice food and just spent time together as a couple. I'm the first to admit I'm not the biggest romantic in the world but I couldn't help myself from decorating our table with rose petals and fairy lights, I'm all about setting the scene! We have a habit of coming straight in from work and sitting down in front of our computers most evenings, which we're totally happy to do but its nice to have a bit of time offline just to spend really 'being' together. Our relationship has its ups and downs and we ride them with little to no bother, but this evening has done wonders to really re-connect us and bring back a bit of the excitement we had in the beginning, which I think is naturally lost as you get into a relationship routine.

I hope everyone else has had a nice evening, even if you don't celebrate Valentines.

We are who we are.

2012-02-13T18:28:00.001Z

Blouse - Vintage

Collar - Romwe

Skirt - Primark via a clothes swap

I actually found this shirt at a clothing stall tucked away in a corner of the Bestival music festival last year, it was only a fiver and it was another one of those 'wow a vintage piece that actually fits me' moments! This collar goes so absolutely perfect with it that I'm almost tempted to attach it permanently. I've not been up to much today, I had an unexpected day off work because I thought I was going to be in today but my manager text saying I wasn't, so I had an epic lie in then got my chores done, expect the dishes because I absolutely hate doing them and usually leave them for Phil to do!

We've recently got a free trial of Netflix to see what the service is like and I have to admit I spent until the early hours of the morning watching (read: drooling over) Billie Piper in Secret Diary of a Call Girl.

Plus London - Evening Event.

2012-02-13T02:14:00.001Z

Doing the 'touristy' bit and visiting Abbey Road, The National Gallery, Trafalgar Square, My favourite part of the night the Red Bows Boutique store (photograph taken by Sarah), Me and Kirsty, The pop-up studio photographs taken by Diana featuring my new bloggy friends Carla and Nadia!

After the amazing morning event with Anna Scholz I decided to take myself back into central London to do a bit of sight-seeing and playing tourist, I didn't have all that much time so first and most definite on my list was visiting the infamous Abbey Road crossing and the studios. Thanks to TubeMap I found my way into the outskirts of London and was finally stood outside the spot where one of the most influential bands in the world worked their magic. It was a great decision and I was actually pretty humbled to be standing there and to make my way across the zebra crossing just like the band did, much to the annoyance of motorists going past at the time I'm sure! I'm aware that the crossing had been moved since the photograph for the album sleeve was taken but it didn't rub off any of the magic for me. The walls outside the Abbey Road studios were decorated with lots of inspirational graffiti and it was actually a really lovely sight. After waving to my husband and friends via the Abbey Road Webcam, I made my way back to the tube and down to Westminster to catch a glimpse of Big Ben and The Houses of Parliament, then it was onwards to Trafalgar Square where I wanted to go for a look around The National Gallery but it was slowly shutting down for the evening so I decided to head towards the Travelodge we were booked into to meet Carla and Nadia thus completing my extensive travelling on the tube!

We had some time in the hotel to get ready and we discussed blogging, clothes and make up whilst we gussied up for the big event. Unbeknownst to us about 3 inches of snow had seemingly appeared from the sky during our getting ready time and we decided to order a taxi to get us to The Strand Gallery instead of walking. Due to delays we arrived a bit late and missed the fashion show put on by OneStopPlus (although I later learnt that this was a bit of a controversial subject as Claire describes here) so I guess the less said about that the better! It was a bit of a whirlwind of an evening once we arrived, I was shell shocked to be in the same room as so many truly beautiful, stylish and confident people and was sad that I only got the chance to chat to a few of them. Once we had filled our glasses with wine and checked out the beautiful cupcakes (which I didn't get to taste unfortunately!) we headed downstairs and straight into the pop-up photo studio hosted by the lovely Diana who is a true genius behind the lens. I've showcased a few of my favourite snaps of me, Carla and Nadia and will be doing a separate post with my individual outfit photographs. We all look stunning and I'm so happy with them.

After photographs I couldn't help but notice that also tucked away in a corner downstairs was the rails of vintage beauties sold by Red Bows Boutique who I have been following on facebook with interest for a while! I had a good rummage and was delighted to a plethora of beautiful vintage pieces that would actually fit me, I've mentioned before that shopping 'vintage' is a love of mine because of the knowledge that the item would be truly unique to you and I find it interesting to consider the story of the item, like who was its previous owner(s), but sadly its very rare that I find anything that I would be able to fit my left toe in here in Leeds as the 'vintage' scene (much like the high street) is very much geared towards the straight-sized people of the world. Amongst the treasures on the rails I saw peeking out a bright red pleated skirt which I instantly made a bee-line for and plucked off the rail to reveal that it was in fact a dress with a black lace bodice and a really interesting look. I wasted no time in whipping my clothes off to try this beauty on, and was delighted to find that it looked really great on me, I had never felt more amazing than I did receiving compliments on how great the dress looked so without even taking it off I made the purchase and completed my diva personality by having an outfit change mid-way through the night! Other things to get involved in on the night were a complimentary bra fitting by Elomi which I missed out on due to overwhelming demand for it, but due to glowing reviews by the ladies who were lucky enough to get a fitting I will be checking them out myself in future! And having a sneak peek at the S/S12 ranges of ASOS Curve and SimplyBe which I also missed out on due to being so caught up in chatting with everyone.

Despite missing out on a few things I had a truly amazing time, the evening was rounded off by a very generous raffle with some amazing prizes donated by the brands sponsoring the night. Being the totally unlucky person I am I didn't win anything but it was great to see everyone else get some joy, including Nadia who won the grand prize of a years supply of Elomi lingerie (you have no idea how long that took me to spell haha.) I would like to once again extend my greatest thanks to Claire of A Monkey Fatshionista for organising and hosting the event, I think she did a truly wonderful job and I was so grateful to be invited along to meet my blogging idols despite my blog only being a tiny little corner of the internet.

Weekly Roundup.

2012-02-12T18:04:00.003Z

This week has been 'back to reality' after the amazing time I had over the weekend in London, I was back to work on Tuesday and its been a really tough week because we were audited on Tuesday (something which will strike fear into the hearts of any of you who work in the hospitality and retail industry) the woman who came in literally picked apart everything we did and I have been so glad for the break I've had today to just not think about work.
The professional photographs taken at the Plus London evening event by Diana at Thesecond Floorstudio were finished this week and I am totally in love with them, I'm going to be making a purchase of the prints and will hopefully be able to showcase them on my blog along with the write up of the exicting evening event. I've left it so long because I want to remember it for as long as possible and getting the last write up published will mean its really done with! I guess I have the potential of another event to look forward to (rumours floating round that it'll be in the North, bonus!)
As part of my Project Zero pledges I've recently started up another 365 photography challenge, I've chosen the self-portrait one again in the hope of documenting a years worth of my face and the changes it goes through as well as getting more to grips with my camera and the art of taking self-portraits and outfit photographs for my blog. If you happen to want to keep up with my challenge than you can follow my dedicated Tumblr page or I upload all of them to my Flickr account too. I got pretty into it last time round, finishing 96 days altogether but then sadly my interest waned and I abandoned the project. I am absolutely determined to finish it this time, not only because it's something fun to do but to prove to myself that I'm not as much as a flake as I think I am.
I had a blog makeover recently, done by the amazing Lauren of Noir Nouvelle. I think her services are more than worth the money and she was a really polite and courteous person to deal with.

No one man should have all that power.

2012-02-09T18:32:00.001Z

Dress - Primark

Cardigan - Monki

Belt - New Look

Stylish cat accessory - My baby Lily

Does anyone else think that clothing from Primark makes their breasts look twice as large? I don't know if its because of the cut but I get this quite a lot. I swear my boobies aren't that big normally! I spotted this dress hidden away in the workwear section of my local Primark, I think its a bit bright and short to be considered as workwear though! It's got me dreaming of summer sun again, sigh. I think Lily missed being in my photographs as she was hovering round my feet as I was taking these so thought I'd give her a bit of the limelight as well, I think she's quite a good accessory for this dress actually! Check her out looking straight down the lens as well, such a poser.

The sun is shining and I'm feeling fine.

2012-02-07T12:00:00.002Z

ASOS Cat Eye Sunglasses £15 / Ray Bay Wayfarers £108 / Mango Retro Look Oversized Glasses £18 / ASOS Bridge Detail Tortoiseshell Sunglasses £12

I've totally had it with winter now, in fact my patience had begun to ware thin way back when the clocks changed. I'm 100% not cut out for the cold weather, a sun worshipper I am and always will be. Maybe I should migrate to warmer climates because the 'summer' we get here isn't even enough sometimes. I'm dreaming of the ability to leave the house without 5 layers on and not having to worry about winter-appropriate footwear, the thought of seeing the sun for more than a few hours a day has got me excited and I've found myself browsing for my absolute favourite accessory, sunglasses. I seem to have an unhealthy obsession with them and already own more than enough pairs but its something I really look forward to the finishing touch a pair of sunglasses puts to an outfit. To keep me going through the harsh weather we're experiencing at the minute I've been compiling a wishlist of the various beauties I've seen dotted around the internet. Obviously most of them are budget friendly but I couldn't help but include my "if money were no object" desire of my own pair of Ray Ban Wayfarers.

Plus London Blogger Meet - Anna Scholz

2012-02-06T15:09:00.001Z

Anna Scholz, Beautiful printed dresses part of the S/S12 range, Blogger ladies heading straight for the clothes, Poodle print shirt and dresses my favourite, Me trying it on and falling in love, A bit ofAnna's studio space, Mini cupcakes from the Hummingbird Bakery.

After arriving in London on Friday afternoon to get myself acclimatized to being in the bustling city I spent the evening getting to grips with the tube and then getting an early night in my hostel for the big event the next day. The morning of Saturday saw me getting the chance to visit the studio of Anna Scholz plus-size designer and extremely inspiring lady. I met up with Val, Gina, Mouna and Kelly at Piccadilly Circus so we could navigate our way across London together, something I was very grateful for because I don't think with my dire navigational skills I could possibly of found the studio on my own. The journey went without hitches though and we chatted about our blogs and clothing whilst we braved the freezing cold outside waiting for the other ladies to arrive.

On entering Anna's studio space I was immediately impressed at how inspiring (and how warm!) it was, the wall with pictures of beautiful plus-sized ladies dotted around on it was fabulous and I really want to re-create something similar in my own home. I particularly enjoyed the inclusions of Ruth Jones and Beth Ditto, two of my personal heroes. We wasted no time in getting down to business and made a bee-line straight for the rails of luxurious clothing hanging there so enticingly. I have to admit before the visit I hadn't really checked out much of Anna's line because it was mostly out of my price range, but after seeing up close the brilliant quality, cut and design of her clothing as well as the love and care that goes into every garment from Anna herself I will definitely keep it on my radar and would absolutely love to invest in some of her pieces, I definitely have my eye on the Poodle Print shirt I tried on and instantly fell in love with. Anna takes great pride in designing well-cut clothing that is made to be comfortable and stylish, listening in on a conversation about how she works with different factories throughout the design process was very interesting, she understood that needing extra room in the bust doesn't mean that the shoulder width has to increase where so many plus-size retailers go wrong. It was truly wonderful to hear her passion and expertise in the area, something which I'm sure has come with the years of experience she has as she explained she had been creating her own clothing since she was 13 due to the huge lack of options out there for plus-sized women.

After trying on the clothing we had a wander round her space chatting to each other, Anna herself and her business team, completely unlike me I realised I'd missed that there was food available haha! I got to sample my first taste of a Hummingbird Bakery cupcake and believe me when I say it was heaven in my mouth. Then came the time for a Q&A session with Anna where she picked out her favourite pieces from both her Black and White Labels for the coming season and we got the chance to ask her questions which she answered expertly, she is inspired by patterns and prints in her everyday life and often scours eBay and vintage stores for influence. The snake print of the purple dress she wore herself and that many of the bloggers favoured was created by scanning in and blowing up a real life snake skin, truly fascinating! The conversation then turned into an interesting debate regarding the state of the plus-sized clothing industry and how we can support individuals like Anna, it was really exciting to hear everyone's opinions and agree with what everyone was saying and it really made me feel empowered, as a consumer of the plus-sized fashion industry its often very disheartening to see the limited choices for me out there but we do have power in numbers and contacting brands to let them know what we want is highly important and something I will be undertaking myself.

Anna's Spring/Summer 2012 range was full of bright colours and bold prints, something I could only dream that could be available for us. Anna is a very gracious, inspiring and talented businesswoman and the fact that she almost exclusively wears her own clothing goes a long way in saying that she truly believes in what she is offering. I'd like to thank her and her team for extending the invitation for us to invade her studio, the generosity was second to none and I had a truly amazing time.

Weekly Roundup.

2012-02-05T23:04:00.003Z

(After my 4.5 hour coach journey down to London, relieved to have a bed in a relatively nice hostel.)

So as you may know I've been in our countries capital city this weekend for the Plus London Blogger Meet 2012, I've been so excited about it for weeks and weeks and it seems of totally flashed by (just like Christmas always does.) I had an absolutely amazing time though and I honestly couldn't of been happier to finally get to meet the real life women behind the inspiring blogs I have read for so long. Despite lugging my camera half way down the country and all the way round London I took very few pictures as always happens, but I will be writing up few review posts of the day just so I can look back on it all and reflect.
On the same subject I am so proud of myself for braving London all by myself, I'm first to admit I'm not the city's biggest fan, a true Northern girl at heart it is way out of my comfort zone. But I put on my brave face and was determined to get through it without too much stress and worry, and that I did! I have to thank the creators of the TubeMap App for their truly amazing piece of technology, it really did get me through the travelling side of my trip with absolutely no problems!
It's back to 'normal' life now, I have missed my husband and our stupid cat more than I thought I would to be honest and have spent this evening cuddled up with both of them, it's made me truly realise that the little space we have here in Leeds really is our home. I have one more day off work tomorrow which I'm going to dedicate to getting the chores done (I'll save going off on one about 'typical men' not doing any tidying while I was away) and catching up on the 100+ unread blogs I have in my reader as well as a few hundred pages of Tumblr... having such a large online presence really bugs me when I'm away from the computer for so long because I miss so much. I've also been drafting out some ideas for content on my blog, I've started taking a notebook everywhere with me for when inspiration strikes and its really helping me!

Godzilla doesn't give a crap about France.

2012-01-30T18:10:00.000Z

I finally did it, after months of thinking about it, I bought my first ever pair of Dr Martens. And I couldn't be happier, I've had them on my feet all day and they're the comfiest shoes I've ever owned (contrary to the belief that it takes months of pain to break them in, are my feet just immune or something?)

Expect to see these babies in a lot of my future outfit photos from now on!

Weekly roundup.

2012-01-30T00:10:00.001Z

• It's been nice getting back into blogging these past few days, I'm so happy that I now have all the bits and pieces for my camera set up, I think I'm going to have a proper play around with all the furniture in our living room so I can create enough space for me to manoeuvre around in when I'm trying to work on a timer shot. A remote is something on my wish list for some point when I get paid
• I've had a really nice day today with my best friend Charlie, we spent most of it at Ikea where we shopped till we well and truly dropped, putting things in our trolley left right and centre, then getting buyers guilt the closer we got to the till and putting most of it back! I still get the shopping excitement doing that though and there's no better place to play house than in Ikea, picking up things you think would be great in a 'proper' home and dreaming of being owners one day.
• I've done quite a lot of shopping this week actually, after spending hardly anything on myself all December I've got into a late New Year sale frenzy, I've made three orders on Monki and found myself browsing eBay for hours on end, finding treasures such as Revlon lipstick and a discontinued ASOS curve dress that I'd had my eye on for months beforehand. I'm going to have to reign in my spending for good soon, I'm going to put myself on a clothes shopping ban for the month of February and beyond if I can (which is going to be a massive feat if I accomplish it.) I just have proper responsibilities now like paying for my car to be fixed and it's general upkeep. That and I really want to make a start on some savings for our future, I'm getting quite a reasonable wage each month for only working part-time but so far I have nothing much to show for it.

Youre not the boss of me now.

2012-01-29T13:51:00.001Z

T-Shirt - Tesco Mens (thinking of doing an iron-on transfer onto it)

Skinny Jeans - New Look

Cross - eBay.

Think I'm back into blogging for sure now, I'm so vain taking pictures of myself is something I really enjoy and its great to see my outfit from another perspective. I'm really loving these jeans, I've always loved leopard print and they are the perfectly skinny fit despite having chunky thighs. I think this is going to be my 'casual' outfit for the Plus London meet next weekend.

I've not got a lot planned for today, so far I've had another lazy Sunday starting with a sausage butty and big mug of tea in bed brought for me by my lovely husband. I'm taking my friend to Ikea today so we can have a wander round and I want to buy the shelving unit to go with the desk I got last week as I'm really missing the drawers to shove all my crap in!

Dream of Paradise.

2012-01-27T12:19:00.001Z

Shirt - Monki

Leggings - ASOS Curve

Bow - Dorothy Perkins

Lipstick - Revlon 'Pink About It'

I've finally been pro-active about taking outfit photographs! I'm not in work till half one today so I got up early and dressed up to do my chores. After re-arranging the living room and moving my work space into another corner I finally have a blankish wall to take photographs against, and my set up is all complete now I've found the bit that attaches my camera to the top of my tripod. All I need now is a remote because its so much effort trying to get the manual focus correct.

This shirt is lovely, whilst shopping in the Monki sale I thought I'd have a look at the Spring/Summer range and it was totally love at first sight. I'm still so enthused that things from their range actually fit me and I think I'll be a customer for a long time to come. I thought I'd go a bit dandy and add the neck bow, and it actually goes pretty well.

The lipstick I'm wearing was bought via recommendation from llymlrs, after seeing the lovely shade I headed over to eBay to get my hands on it. I think it looks a lot pinker in the tube than it does on my lips, it has a bit of a coral undertone when I apply it but I think that's probably because of the natural tint of my lips, it's a really nice formula though and is matte in just one application and not drying at all.

Graze - Nature Delivered.

2012-01-24T19:40:00.000Z

(Graze Box - £3.79 including P&P)

Blurry iPhone pictures because I couldn't wait a second longer to dive into the goodies contained in my Graze Box. The premise of a Graze box is a really great idea, their are over 100 varieties of snacks ranging from nut & seed mixes to freshly made artisan breads. You are able to create your own personal profile where you rate the products to give the people at Graze an idea of what you like and don't like and every week the hand-picked goodies are delivered to your door in 100% recycled packaging, I think the packaging is really well designed and looks really cute, and I enjoy the fact that it is the perfect size to fit through your postbox meaning I don't have to make a trip to the depot office to collect it like I do with pretty much every other delivery I get.

Inside my box this week was:

Sticky Lemon Dippy with sponge pieces, sultanas and lemon curd to dip everything in.
Banana Split with milk chocolate covered puffed rice, cashew nuts and dried banana flakes.
Bounty Hunter containing milk chocolate drops, flakes of dried coconut and cranberries.
And my favourite After 3.30 mint containing mint flavoured sultanas, almonds, and dark chocolate drops.

If anyone is interested in subscribing to Graze, or if you just want to try it out and see what the fuss is you can use the code FM9LMHD to get your first box for completely free! There is no obligation to stay subscribed after your first free one but I reckon you'll be as enamoured as I am.

Hair Wishlist

2012-01-22T17:58:00.000Z

1. Enrapture Amplify Jumbo Waver £75 2. Tangle Teezer £9 3. HD Brows Palette £19 4. OSiS+ Style Shifter £8.99 5. Moroccan Hair Oil 100ml £30 6. Tweezerman Slant Tweezer £20

A general hair care wishlist, I evidently have very expensive taste but I have seen these products recommended all over the many beauty blogs that I subscribe to so I know they come with great praise. Part of the reason I'm growing my hair is so I can wear it down & wavy more often, I used to have natural curls when I was younger but I really hated them so got various chemical straightening treatments, since then my hair has never been the same and settles at this weird inbetween not-quite curly not-quite straight stage which just really annoys me. The Enrapture waver looks like an amazing product and I think it would create the absolute perfectly waved style that I have always dreamed of, it looks super easy to use too, which is great for someone who isn't all that enthused by hours of hair-styling. A Tangle Teezer has been mentioned to me many times, and I feel that despite a few niggly problems people have mentioned that it would be a great product for me to own, I loathe brushing my hair (and have hated it since being young) and I do anything to avoid it, but as mentioned in my last post this has caused my hair to tangle itself into a big dreadlocked mess.

Moroccan Oil is a product that really intrigues me, I can't imagine oil being all that great for my hair seeing as I suffer massively from greasy roots.. I can't go one day without having to wash mine unless I enlist the help of dry shampoo, but from reading reviews I can tell that it does wonders to deep condition hair and keep it looking healthy and shiny, at close to £30 for 100ml I think it might be a product that is on my wishlist for a long time to come, reserved especially for when I'm feeling super flush with my money or possibly as a birthday present request in June. I first read about OSiS Style Shifter products on my friend Jade's blog, who was very lucky to be the winner of their Style Shifter competition... she actually gifted me a bottle of the product when I attended her birthday back in December, but me being the forgetful person I am left it there (along with a bag of make up and my pleather skirt!) so I'm waiting for another chance to visit her so I can pick it all up.

The other items are less to do with the hair on my head but the hair on my face, my eyebrows. HD Brows palettes are absolutely everywhere, and I still can't wait to get my hands on one so I can truly learn how to fill in my brows, the few times I have experimented with my cheaper ELF version I haven't been very successful but I have been impressed with how much my face changes. I used to have a pair of Tweezermans and they are without a doubt the best tweezers on the market, the slanted design picks up even the finest of hairs quickly and easily, I need to get back into shaping my brows on a regular basis, I have been trying to grow them out so I can create a more defined arch.

Weekly Roundup.

2012-01-22T16:37:00.003Z

This week I finally decided to tackle the mess that was my bonce, I've been trying to grow it long for about a year now but I've never really had long hair because I'm really lazy and don't make much time for caring for it. I had managed to procure two rather big dreadlocks so after spending the evening massaging copious amounts of conditioner into the knots and carefully picking them out I can finally run a brush through my hair! I've been busy compiling a 'hair care' wishlist to try and encourage me to do more with it.
On Friday I got to meet my teenage literary hero Louise Rennison doing a Q&A session at Waterstones in Leeds, she is the author of 'The Confessions of Georgia Nicholson' series, the first one entitled Angus, Thongs & Full-Frontal Snogging. It was quite a surreal experience considering I was the oldest in the room by about 10 years... but I was definitely justified in being there considering the first book was released in 1999 when I was 11 years old. She seems to of picked up a lot of new fans because of the release of the film. Anyway she signed my book and I was shocked to learn that everything in the books was actually true (and Robbie The Sex God actually married Wet Lindsey!)
I'm going to try my best to get some more outfit photographs on my blog, it's just that I don't actually wear my own clothes very often any more! I'm at work so often in my uniform when I get home I just climb into my PJ's and veg out. Even at weekends we don't get up to much beyond a bit of food shopping or hanging out with our friends where I can also stay in my PJ's!

Weekly Roundup.

2012-01-15T22:40:00.001Z

I've done absolutely nothing exciting today, Sundays are usually my chores day so after getting the housework done and a few loads of washing I've lounged around all day like a true lady of leisure, I've not even got changed out of my PJs. I think that's a sign of a truly successful lazy day. After a visit to Ikea on Friday and a very impulsive purchase of some flat pack furniture including a very cute little computer desk I got to set it all up this afternoon (leaving my husband to assemble the flat pack, I'm horrendously bad at it) and I'm pretty pleased with the results. Not only is sitting at a desk going to improve my posture but I think I'm going to turn it into an inspirational work area where I can get into my blogging adventures more.
It's getting so close to the + London Bloggers meet, I'm so excited. I'm going down to LDN the day before to get myself acclimatised to being in the capital because it actually makes me a bit nervous but I'm being so brave by going on my own, so I think I'm going to do a bit of shopping and maybe a bit of sightseeing before the big event on Saturday! I'm really looking forward to meeting some of the inspirational blogger ladies that encourage me to challenge my own fashion morals every day, but I'm also freaking out about what the hell I am going to wear! I'll be staying with Carla and Nadia who I hope will become new blogger friends!
I recently made the resolution to try my absolute best to stop biting my nails and picking at the skin on my fingers. I don't know how successful this endeavour is going to be because I have tried (and failed) countless times before, I had a mild success for the month of my wedding but straight after I returned to my old ways. It's a stress/boredom problem for me and its so ingrained in my subconscious that I often don't even realise I'm doing it. I just realised the other day that I have quite a nice collection of nail polish that I can't even use because I don't have enough nail to paint. I'll hopefully blog about my challenge so would love some support!