In Love With Zara

 

 

 

 

 

 



 

 

I was looking back through the photos on my camera the other day and noticed these on there. I took them at the end of December and then completely forgot about them.

 

This outfit is part of my Christmas present from Ben. He is so good at buying amazing presents for me (hello banjo!) and his strong point is fashion. He just knows exactly what I would wear.

He went on a Christmas shopping trip to Zara to get my gift, which ended up being a box full of gorgeous stuff. One thing was this shirt, it's one of two that he got me. I love the smart casualness of it. Then there's the skirt. Oh my God, this is one of those pieces that if I had seen it in Zara I would have bought it regardless of price. I absolutely love it. I'll have to show you the other shirt he got me some other time.

 

Well it was my birthday yesterday so I'm officially 25 now! I'll do a birthday post soon.

 

Happy Valentines Day

 

 

 

oxoxo

 

 

 

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Christmas Time

Hey guys, hope you've had a nice Christmas. I'm here to share a few pics from mine with you.

First of all is the photo above which is our haul from the Sheffield Jule Fest Christmas Market earlier in the month. There were so many lovely stalls and we ended up spending quite a lot that day!

These next ones are a few from our work xmas night out at the awesome Akbars curry house. Oh man the food there is so good and the naan bread was nearly as big as me! I could have gone out on the town with them all afterwards but I had to be at work at 7am the next day so I gave it a miss. I can't handle hangovers on a day off nevermind when there's a 5:30am alarm waiting for me!

Oh by the way did you guys know that me and my friend Beth are in a band together? Well where have you been!? We're Marble Orchard and we're a folky/bluesy duo. Anyway, a few weeks ago Beth went ahead and booked us to play our first gig at this place in Loughborough. I said yes straight away when she told me but then realised it was the same night as Ben's family Christmas meal in York! Shit! Beth was cursing me when I told her because it was too late to pull out. But here's the result. She felt the fear and did it anyway! I was so friggin' proud and what an awesome photo of her standing tall alone on stage. Kudos Beth.

Had my first ever eggnog this Christmas. Why did no one tell me there was such a thing as alcoholic custard!?!

Here we go then, Christmas day at Ben's parent's house in York. Yay food coma!

Check out my cape that Ben got me! He went on a huge shopping spree through Zara and got me loads of gorgeous stuff. Now I can swoosh around!

Hope you've all had a good time with your families again this year.

Happy New Year!

oxoxo

My Outfits #1: Solemn, Sombre, Grave + Serious

Old West by saltdeep featuring how to wear ankle boots

1. This planter hat of mine, I love it but it's really cheap. I bought it last year for Halloween and intend to wear it this year too (I'm going to be a dead Texan). I really would love a good quality planter with a flat crown.
2. This is one of two white shirts that I have and both are Gok Wan. I got this one primarily for the fact that it's collarless. I've got a thing for collarless shirts, especially on men.
3. My high waisted black jeans from Topshop are a little less black than they used to be! Very over worn but really create a good contrast to a white shirt.
4. I currently have in my possession but not in these photos, a long black blazer. It's my mother's and she's had it for about 15 years. She bought it specifically for a funeral. I love it and I think I may wear it for Halloween too.
5. Good old Timberland boots never let me down!
6. You can't really tell in the photos but I've got a dark burgundy nail varnish on. I'm digging dark colours at the moment. Must be Autumn.
7. A deep, dark lipstick finishes this look off perfectly, I've recently discovered what a difference there is between wearing just lipstick and wearing lip liner and lipstick. Canny believe it.

Ps Happy Birthday to John Lennon

The Creative Directory: Lily & The Lamplight

                                       

In a sentence:

Indulge in the sepia toned paisley paradise of the 60's with these handmade, vintage inspired gems from Lancashire!





Shop the goods:

 'JANE' ZIG ZAG DRESS

 'NANCY' TILE SHIFT



        

'NANCY' RED TILE SHIFT

'BETTY' TAHITI TWO PIECE

 'BETTY' TROPICAL TWO PIECE

'EDIE' DALMATIAN PRINT MINI

My Favourite:

If you've got a penchant for paisley this is clearly something for you. I really love the retro vibes you get from these pieces, they'll no doubt turn some heads down the street!

They're designed in Blackburn, Lancashire. The vintage fabrics are chosen and fashioned into a delicious mix of retro garments with a modern edge. Harmonise the look with big earrings and even bigger hair.

I'm trying to decide if I could get away with wearing one of those two piece bikinis, not sure I would with such pale skin though!



Where you can find them:

Website

Facebook

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Instagram

2014 In Outfits

Merry Christmas everyone! Crikey I've been so consumed by flaming puddings, fine port and finishing Breaking Bad (anyone else in love with Mike?) that I forgot this weeks Five Favourite Reads!
Anyhoo, onwards!
This year has seen the very beginnings of this blog. It's one year birthday is coming up next month and yet I'm still not sure what I'd categorise it as. Lifestyle most likely, I definitely had the intention of making it more of a fashion and outfits blog to begin with though, there's even been a what Ben wore.
They've been dotted here are there and I've learned a lot about how to set up an outfit shoot - preferably without the camera balancing on a drainpipe with the student neighbours watching out their windows!
Seeing as 2014 is coming to a close I thought I would round up my faves from this year, in lovely chronological order. I'm writing off the downright terrible ones and celebrating the alright ones.

So here we go, don't worry it probably wont be a very long post.

Peach Tea

Vintage Inspired

A Touch of Turquoise

Tularosa Lady

OK In The Woods

It's Cold Out There

Raiding Mum's Wardrobe

I do love a good outfit post. It's so satisfying to plan it, set it all up and actually take the photos and then be able to share what you've done afterwards. I'm constantly inspired by all your fashion posts aswell so I'm looking forward to seeing what else you've got. I hope you've all had a wonderfully merry time so far, I'm sure we'll all have loads of new gear to share with the world, I know I've got a very attractive pair of Timberlands coming my way!  

You can see a collection of my outfits on my Lookbook.  

oxoxo

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Five Favourite Reads

Hey guys, you no doubt need a break from all that buying, wrapping and card writing so have a sit down and check out some of these.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Mousse Pie by John and Dana at Minimalist Baker

I love a good food blog. I must admit I pine for and plan to make far more recipes than I actually ever do. I'm still hoping for the Great British Bake Off book for Christmas though! Minimalist Baker has so many awesome dishes, such as this mousse pie. Mousse in the form of a pie. Of course.




Wish I Knew by Rachel-Marie at Jag Lever

Not the first time you've seen Rachel-Marie on here and no doubt the last with outfits like these. I love these shorts, not sure I could pull off those shoes though, they are craaazy!




Outfit: High Waisted Suspender Pants with a Striped Shirt and Silver Oxfords by Jamie at Petite Panoply

This is such a great example of Jamie's fun, laid back style. Very cute trousers and perfect with the striped top. Very glam.




Take A Risk by Mira at Yliarvostettua

I don't even have the words for this one. I can't get over this coat, I would absolutely LOVE one for myself. This look is so sophisticated and bewitching. She really pulls off glamourous gothic.




The Spam Comment Diaries by Kerri at Crumbs In The Bed

Oh man. If you missed this post then here you go, read it now. I laughed out loud to some of these spam comments that Kerri's had. There are some absolute gems in this list. I've never seen anything like them before. I hope one day my blog will be worthy of comments like these!

Now get back to wrapping, not long to go now!

oxoxo 

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Five Favourite Reads

Here we go guys, get comfy and check these out.

Rain Fall by Desirae at Tennessee Rose

Love the shirt, love the skirt, love the knee highs and then wham! - love the shoes the most! Very cute, 60's vibes going on here.





Citrus by Jo at Lost In The Haze

The gorgeous Jo of Lost In The Haze looking as cute as always. More 60's vibes from this one. I think since I got all bee-hived up at Halloween I've been noticing them all over. I think it's a really awesome hairstyle. It's an everyday kind of dressed-up look. Jo here pulls it off perfectly with this dress and oh my god THE BAG!!





Festive DIY - Hot Chocolate Stirrers by Emma at Oh Gosh 

Who doesn't love a good recipe post? Especially when it's freakin' hot chocolate on a stick! She's got a whole tag dedicated to DIY projects. Some of them are homey, some are foody and others are boozey. I especially like the cakey ones.





Postcards From Prague by Nancy at The Nancy Wilde Experience

There are some really amazing photos in this post. I love architecture especially art nouveau architecture and Prague is somewhere I definitely plan to visit at some point and to be there when the Christmas markets are on must be wonderful. There's a real sense of liveliness captured in these photos that I think is worth sharing with you all.




Tennis Skirt & White Blouse by Thelma at Thelma Romu

I'm really digging shirts tucked into something high waisted at the moment. This one comes complete with white hair and a big hat so I'm sold. A nice touch of vamp in this one.

oxoxo

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Snapshots from November 2014

Well I didn't manage to get all my christmas shopping done by the end of November. In fact I got exactly no christmas shopping done. So far I've bought one bit of Ben's present and I've literally just bought it five minutes ago. Spent a hell of a lot on myself though. Damn you Cyber Monday! Only joking I love you really.

November just went so quickly don't you think? I'm excited about December though, it'll be our first Christmas together in our own home. 

Anyway here's November's snapshots!

Finally got myself a new coat because it sure is cold out there now. This one, like all others before, will most likely be worn until it's falling to bits. 

My friend and old colleague from back in the day came to visit and brought as a gift a really cool screen print of.... cacti! We had a lovely day out and about in Sheffield and had pancakes with bacon and maple syrup at Lucky Fox. So good.

Got crazy inspired at the annual print fair! How sweet are these tiny tote bags by the way!? Both Alex and I came away with lots of printed goodness. 

Ben graduated! Frank Gallagher from Shameless was there!

Someone pointed it out to me recently that I have a doppelganger in GTA V! She looks like a badass, I can dig it.

In other news

I'm carrying on a kind of family tradition of sorts. A hobby my mum and aunty used to do. I'll show you all when I've got my first one finished but until then I'm gonna keep it under wraps. It's looking good though!

Oh yeah and I'm also still in the middle of going blonde gradually. More on that later, not got it right yet.

What plans have you got for December?

oxoxo

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