Dancing On My Own

Blouse - Topshop / Vest - American Apparel / Skirt - So In Fashion* / Shoes - Barratts*
Necklace - Me & Zena / Bracelet - The Bohemian Collective

I've had a pretty nice weekend of relaxation after a fairly stressful week. I spent most of yesterday sitting around drinking iced tea and playing outside with Chloe. I've been enjoying the sun a bit too much as my shoulders are still incredibly sunburnt! I always wear SPF50+ on my face but I tend to neglect my body a bit. This top probably wasn't the best choice to protect my shoulders but it was far too hot to wear anything with sleeves. I got it from Topshop a couple of months ago and it's one of my favourite pieces to wear at the minute. The floral embroidery is too cute. I actually bought it when I got my black corduroy pinafore as I saw one of the mannequins wearing this shirt with it. I felt a bit weird copying a whole outfit off a mannequin but I just liked the combo so much haha.

I really love my new denim skater skirt from So In Fashion. I have a few of the American Apparel circle skirts as they're just amazing but of course being from AA, they were pretty expensive. This skirt is almost exactly the same as their denim circle skirt but at less than half the price! At first I wasn't convinced by all these American Apparel dupes that have been brought out by other brands recently (disco pants anyone?) but the cheaper copies are just too good to resist. The skirt is a bit on the short side though so if you're any taller than me you might want to stick to wearing it with tights! I think it's perfect for wearing on these precious few sunny days.

twitter / tumblr / youtube / instagram / bloglovin'

Monster Hospital

Shirt - Topshop / Skirt - Topshop / Belt - Urban Outfitters / Necklace - Topshop / Rings - Galibardy + Me & Zena

This is what I wore yesterday to run some errands. Sorting out adult stuff is horrendously boring. I was even on hold to NPower for 2 hours before they hung up on me. It was such a FML moment. Hopefully most of that stuff is sorted now because this has been such a boring week. Looking forward to doing some more exciting things next week. Leeds Christkindelmarkt starts tonight so I can't wait to go. They do this amazing Bavarian dumpling filled with plum jam and smothered in vanilla custard that I gorge on every year. Totally wish I had one right now!

My shirt, skirt and belt are all recent acquisitions. This shirt is amazing because it just goes with everything. My favourite part of my outfit is the cross belt from Urban Outfitters. I want to wear it every day! I really love the Model's Own Mirrorball collection. Here I'm wearing Disco Inferno on top of Stargazer 504 which is a lovely peachy nude. I never used to like glittery nail polishes but I'm definitely feeling the need to pick up the Wonderland collection too!

Twenty Four

Dress - H&M / Floral Headband - Crown & Glory / Necklace - Astrid & Miyu*
Rings - Galibardy, Urban Outfitters, Me & Zena

I'm back! Sorry for the major lack of blog posts last month. I had a terrible time healthwise and even had to go to hospital so blogging wasn't really my main priority. Infact there was probably only four days that I actually enjoyed during August. One was my 24th birthday on the 16th and the Leeds Blogger Meetup on the 18th. I wore this exact outfit for both of these occasions because I love this look so much and am also an incredibly lazy dresser. I'd wanted one of Sophie's gorgeous Whole Lotta Rosie floral headbands for ages and I finally decided to order the cream one. I just want to wear it everyday of my life from now on. The lilac and pink ones are definitely future purchases. My pink hair is sadly no more. I had my roots done last month and it all pretty much washed out with the toner. I do miss it so it might make a comeback. I'm tempted to go for something really different like baby blue or mint green.



My mum and sister came up for a couple of days for my birthday. They treated me and Chloe to some shopping in Manchester and a slap up Japanese feast at Samsi. I had a deluxe chicken bento box and it was absolutely delicious. I even ate some salmon sushi and I've refused to eat fish since I was 5 years old, thats how good it was! Chloe ate loads of vegetable tempura. I was surprised she had room considering how much of my cake she ate that morning. Andy couldn't get the day off work but he plonked my huge French Fancy cake on the bed before he left. That was literally all I asked for as a birthday present & it was definitely worth the infinite calories.

The Leeds blogger meetup organised by Ray & Tor was so much fun. It was great to meet some new bloggers & be reacquainted with the familiar faces I met at the meetup last year. Unfortunately I didn't get round to meeting everyone, probably because I was too busy propping up the bar with cherry vodka cocktails. Mook is my favourite bar in Leeds. Their cocktails are ridiculously strong & the 2 for 1 offer is too good to resist. I enjoyed the presentation from Xen Tan a lot and might possibly lose my fake tan cherry soon if I'm ever feeling brave enough. I just can't imagine myself with a darker face, maybe I'll look normal for once? So excited to try out the Glam Glow mask too. We got some really fab goody bags and I'll be posting about some of my favourite items soon. The day ended with a much needed Nando's trip with Ray, Jo, Tor & Sinead. I can't wait for the next one!

Celebrate Your Mother

Cardigan - H&M / Top - Republic / Shorts - Missguided / Tights - Primark / Necklace - Me & Zena

Happy mother's day! Don't think we're up to much today, I think we're going to the park later & if I'm lucky I might get treated to a nice meal or something! Went for something casual but cute today. I'm fully ready to embrace bright colours. Pink is one of my fave colours so last week I picked up this cardi from H&M. The shirt is from Republic, its the other thing I got with my £50 voucher. I love these scallop edge shorts from Missguided. I've wanted some like these for ages and the ones from Missguided are a lot cheaper than the ones I've seen on the high street.

Smiley / Feeding the ducks / Being chavvy in H&M
Looking cute / Pretty ballerina / Eating at Yo! Sushi

Mother's day seems a bit more special when you are a mother yourself. Heres some recent pictures of Chloe. I can't believe shes 2 next month, she seems so grown up already! I sent the first one to my mum with her card & she said she cried when she opened it! She's such a softie in her old age haha. I got some flowers yesterday because Andy's at work today but he says theres another present for me when he gets back. It can be stupidly difficult sometimes but I do love being a mum <3

Hanging On The Telephone

Dress - American Apparel / Jumper - H&M / Necklace - Me & Zena / Rings - Urban Outfitters
I've gone a bit jumper mad lately. For years I didn't own a single one, favouring cardigans instead. Now I own at least five, all bought in the last couple of months. H&M and Primark are my two favourite shops for knitwear because they both make some great stuff thats also super cheap. I've had this American Apparel shirt dress for years but I don't really wear it that much because it is so short. It is a cool dress though because its one of those pieces that looks totally different depending on how you tie the ribbon on it. I got this necklace when Me & Zena had 50% off all their jewellery at Halloween. I love that you can take the receiver off, Chloe has lots of fun pretending to chat away on it haha.

I wore this today when Chloe & I went to watch the Chinese New Year celebrations in Huddersfield town centre. We got there a bit late so we were only able to see the Tai Chi demonstration as well as one of the worst magicians ever. I only wanted to go because they said there was gonna be proper Chinese food there. I was hoping for some Dim Sum & bubble tea but all they had available was fortune cookies & pocky, epic fail. So instead I had a Whopper meal in Burger King followed by a maple pecan plait which left my dress feeling a lot tighter than it did this morning!

Cosmo Blog Awards 2011

Dress - Topshop / Jacket - Primark / Bag - Mulberry Mabel / Belt - Primark / Badges - Stolen Thunder & Helpless Romantic / Necklaces - Girlprops, Topshop, Urban Outfitters & This Charming Girl / Rings - Urban Outfitters, Me & Zena, Galibardy & Topshop
Not quite sure why its taken me until now to write this post but I didn't want the year to end without acknowledging this event. I took these photos today because incidentally I'm wearing the same thing sans more gold jewellery than Mr T owns. If you compare them with the pictures below you can see how bad my roots have gotten! This outfit is literally comprised of my very favourite items of clothing. Fave jacket, fave dress, fave bag & fave lipstick, which is Tramp by Illamasqua. Its probably safe to say that this outfit represents me in a nutshell. Of course I love bright colours, polka dots & peter pan collars as well but I often find myself going back towards my gothy tendencies.


Sarah, Lauren, Olivia, Jazmine & Me

Lyzi, Olivia, Lauren, Jazmine, Gem & Me

Me & Gem
I'm not gonna go on about the awards themselves because they were months ago but I'm sure you all know by now that I didn't win. I don't think anyone was more deserving of the honour than Zoe so they definitely chose the right winner. The main reason I made the three hour trip down to London was because this was going to be my very first blog event and I was so excited to get the chance to meet some of my favourite bloggers. I was feeling ridiculously shy at the time & was relying on the much needed free cocktails to ease my nerves. I think they only used about one shot of vodka per ten cocktails so even though I chugged that amount back I was nowhere near drunk enough and remained my awkward self for most of the night. Luckily Gem put me totally at ease. She really is one of the loveliest girls you could meet. Everyone I met that night was so nice & I can only hope I get to meet some more of my fave bloggers next year.

Being nominated for a Cosmo blog award this year has opened up so many doors for me. I've been to a few more events since this one, made some PR contacts, gained loads more followers & best of all I can now say that I count some bloggers as my friends. I'm not really sure how I made the shortlist but I'd like to once again thank everyone who nominated & voted for me. Thanks for supporting me this year & I'll see you all tomorrow in 2012 ;)

Putting On The Glitz

Dress - Motel / Ring - Me & Zena
Every year I find it a struggle to decide on the perfect Christmas party dress. My search has come to an end thanks to Motel sending me this beautiful sequin dress. Anything sparkly or velvet normally goes right to the top of my list and this dress ticks both of those boxes. I sometimes have to avoid sequined clothes because they make me itch but this dress has such a thick lining it feels really comfortable and warm. It slightly makes me feel like I could be a member of The Supremes, which is never a bad thing. I love the low back on this dress, I think it looks dead sexy and it stops at exactly the right point so you don't end up flashing your bra. As well as the black dress it also comes in gold and charcoal. I think I'm probably gonna wear this to the Illamasqua event in Leeds on Thursday. I heard that Drew from My Transsexual Summer has got a job there so it would be really awesome to meet her!

Motel have also given me a discount code for all of you to use! If you enter SEQUIN15 at the checkout you will get 15% off anything on the website. This code will be valid until Sunday 11th December leaving you just enough time to get something fabulous for a Christmas party or present.

Mermaid

Dress - Missguided
Belt - Primark
Tights - New Look
Rings - Topshop, Me & Zena
Hair - Foxy Locks Extensions
Another day, another scandalously short dress from Missguided. I wore this yesterday to my nephew's christening (or christianing as a sign in the reception said). It was a lovely day, I'd never been to to a christening before so didn't really know what to expect but it was nice. A bit too god-centric for my liking but it wasn't really gonna be any other way! My nephew looked adorable in his little suit as did Chloe in her dress. Then there was a buffet afterwards which meant me spending time with loads of people who hate me so I had a bottle of magners, a vodka & coke & a smirnoff ice all before 1pm. Certainly made things more fun haha. Wish I could be that drunk every day!

This dress is a lot better fitting than the orange one in my last post. If you're on the larger side you need to stay away from any of Missguided's dresses marked S/M or M/L and get one thats labelled with an actual size number. I must admit I felt like a bit of a whore wearing this to a church but oh wells. I didn't wear my hair like this though, thats just todays added sluttery. I ordered some of the new platinum blonde extensions from Foxy Locks Extensions and they arrived this morning so I couldn't wait to try them on. I'd previously ordered the light ash blonde ones but they were just way too yellow for my hair. The platinum blonde is only a tiny bit yellower than my actual hair so its a great match. I felt the need to curl them though because I'm such a novice with extensions and couldn't get them to blend properly with my short hair. I used a Jose Eber curling wand which is really amazing, so quick & easy to use. My mum bought it for me years ago but its a similar model to this one. I'm well aware that I look a bit ridiculous but I've always wanted really long mermaid hair. My desire for white blonde hair means that it can never really grow past a certain length without looking like utter crap so extensions are a great alternative. I think I'm going to give these a bit of a trim though.

23

Dress - Missguided / Tights - Primark / Boots - Topshop
Necklace - Gogo Philip / Rings - Me & Zena
This is what I wore to celebrate my 23rd birthday on the 16th. I got this dress from Missguided. It is indecently short, quite possibly the shortest dress I own. Also its quite tight considering its M/L, so if you're ordering from their website always size up! I decided to get the orange one in an attempt to imitate my number one style icon/fave actress/girl crush Chloe Sevigny. This outfit is pretty different to her normal style but its always stuck in my head as one of her best looks. I wore my pair of Topshop Allegras with the dress. I bought these last week in Leeds before I had my hair done. They were the last pair of size 5s they had so I was ridiculously happy to get them. The girl who served me did that annoying thing of trying to get me to take out one of the Topshop cards to get the 15% discount. I asked her how much I would save so she worked it out on the till then after umming & ahhing about it I decided not the take the card but she left the discount on. Gotta love a sales assistant who just doesn't care haha.

I wasn't expecting to do anything on my birthday, infact I'd planned to just take Chloe to Eureka, the children's museum in Halifax. On my 21st I ended up walking around the railway museum in York so I figured I would carry on the tradition of going to shit museums on my birthday. Luckily I didn't have to. On Tuesday Andy bought me the ingredients to make a birthday fry up. I had to make it myself which was a bit of a pain but it was nice nonetheless. He also decided that a tub of Carte D'or was a satisfactory alternative to a birthday cake (wtf). He made up for it by taking me to Leeds to buy me a pressie. I chose a 100ml bottle of Flowerbomb which is something I'd asked for every birthday, Christmas, anniversary etc. since we've been together. Then he treated me to a meal at Yo Sushi. Japanese food is my fave so he did good, especially since they had some chocolate mochi on the belt. On Wednesday my mum and sister came up from London for the day. They brought me some more presents then we went for a meal at Eric's in Lindley. It was really good, I went for the rump steak sandwich and the best onion rings I've ever tasted. Not the most exciting birthday anyones ever had but it was nice anyway.

Chevy Thunder

Dress - H&M
Leggings - H&M
Belt - H&M
Necklace - Gogo Philip
Bracelet - Urban Outfitters
Ring - Me & Zena
This is what I wore yesterday for a trip to the pub and today for a baby group. I bought this dress from H&M in Sheffield on Saturday. I love the shape of it more than anything, very flattering even though its a bit short! I decided to get the train over there because the Tramlines festival was on. Its basically a weekend of free music in pretty much every venue around the city. There were quite a few well known acts such as Los Campesinos, Ash, Pixie Lott & Olly Murs so not bad for free. I stayed at the Nando's New Music stage as thats where all the indie bands I like were playing. It was during the day so I had to take Chloe with me but she had fun dancing about to the bands with me haha. It was during Tramlines two years ago that I found out I was pregnant with her. I remember being disappointed I didn't get to see KASMs or Preston (megalolz) and just rather scared & in shock that I was gonna be a mum!

Tomorrow I'm off to the park as they're turning it into some kind of faux beach for the week. Looking forward to building some sandcastles and eating some whippys. Hopefully the weather will be a bit more Summer-like so I can actually pretend I'm on holiday.

New New New

Dress - Pilot
Tights - Primark
Shoes - New Look
Necklace - Miss Selfridge
Bangle - Urban Outfitters
Rings - Edinburgh Woolen Mill / Me & Zena
Heres a quick look at some stuff I've bought recently. I've gone a bit mad with shopping lately so these are my last splurges before I go on a spending ban. I'm not gonna deny myself completely, if I really want something I'll still buy it but I do need to be a lot more careful with my money. I'm not gonna browse through clothes shops, I'll only go in if I know theres something specific I want or see in a shop window. Boring I know but I hate living off my overdraft so something has to be done!

Anyways onto the nice things I got. I bought this pink cape dress from Pilot. I never normally go into Pilot but I saw this in the shop window and bought it immediately. Not too bad for 20 quid I'd say. They had it in loads of colours including coral, black and white but as my wardrobe was lacking a pretty girly pink dress, I bought the pink one. The platform shoes from New Look cost £25. I'm so impressed with all the shoes in New Look lately. Theres some really gorgeous pairs in there. I decided to get these as I had wanted those Sugar platforms from Topshop but they'd been sold out for ages and were over double the price of these beauties. God knows if I'll be able to walk in them outside of the house but they seem pretty comfortable so far.

My last splurge was the Jimmy Choo perfume. It smells absolutely divine! Very much like Flowerbomb but less sickly and longer lasting. Its very fruity and floral so rather appropriate for Summertime. Its described as having green top notes, tiger orchid, sweet toffee caramel and Indonesian patchouli. Not sure I can smell all those things but it sure smells good!

Worlds Apart

Jacket - Primark
Blouse - Primark
Skirt - H&M
Tights - Primark
Badges - Stolen Thunder & Helpless Romantic
Ring - Me & Zena
This is what I'm wearing tonight to see ...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead at The Cockpit in Leeds. I am so so excited! I've not been to a gig since 2009 which was either Art Brut or Patrick Wolf, both also at The Cockpit. Its my fave venue ever as I have loads of wonderful studenty memories there. I also got really into Trail Of Dead when I was a student. I rinsed their album Source Tags & Codes whilst doing the millions of design sheets required for my course. So yeah, hopefully it'll live up to my expectations!

I bought this jacket a few years ago from Primark and its something thats really lasted though lots of wear. The lapels never stayed in place so I pinned it down with some badges. The heart one I bought years ago from Helpless Romantic and the 'I Heart Gin' one was a recent purchase from the Stolen Thunder secret sale. I fully intend on drinking lots of gin tonight haha.

One

Dress - Topshop
Cardigan - Oasis
Tights - Primark
Belt - In Love With Fashion
Rings - ASOS / Me & Zena
Necklace - Argos
Last Monday was the 4th of April which is a special date for me because it is my daughter's birthday. Its so weird to think about how much my life has changed over the past year. Its even weirder to think that instead of a tiny helpless baby I now have a one year old who can do so much. We decorated the house with garlands, cards & balloons and loads of family members came over to give Chloe her presents. We also made some vanilla cupcakes instead of a big birthday cake which were really delicious.

Needless to say I wanted to look nice for the occasion. Considering I looked absolutely atrocious this time last year I wanted to show myself & everyone else that I'm still my own person and can actually look vaguely pretty once in a while haha. So I wore my new red polka dot dress from Topshop. Can't beat a good polka dot dress I always say! I can see myself wearing this a lot over the Summer. Just need an ice cream, a pear Kopparberg & a nice little denim jacket now and I'm set. Theres one in Miss Selfridge that I really want so probably gonna buy that next week. I'm wearing the Girls Aloud Sarah lashes in these pictures which are definitely my favourite out of all the Girls Aloud range, proper full on glamour. Loveeeeeee them.

I think Chloe had a lovely 1st birthday, she deserves it because shes a wonderful little girly really. All the family members who visited seemed to enjoy themselves too, so that was good haha. It was a bit daunting being the one in charge of everything but hopefully I'll get better at it in time! Heres to many more wonderful birthdays together <3