Nott a bad weekend...

No, that's not an unforgivable typo, it's my attempt to make an ultra smooth reference to the fabulous weekend I just spent in Nottingham (forgive me, it's late). For a good few months now I've been planning to visit my lovely friend who's currently at Nottingham uni, and finally I managed to get my bum (and that of another, equally wonderful friend) down (or up, my geography's awful!) to the wonderful city that we affectionately call Notts.

In all honesty, it was less of a city break, and more of a gigantic chill-out slash cocktail party but that was exactly what we all needed to take our mind off the stresses of university, and remind ourselves that it's okay to be unbelievably goofy and childish sometimes. Well, all the time really.
 Harriet, Emily and a few furry friends

Friday was lusciously filled with lazy journeys, leisurely strolls and a delicious pub lunch. When our bellies were full and exceedingly content, there seemed nothing better to do than have an aimlessly long (I'm talking four hours) chat followed by comfy viewing of Keanu Reeves in The Lakehouse. It was a good film actually, made all the more enjoyable by a constant supply of Galaxy chocolate!

Saturday gave us a chance to wander round the city itself, taking in all the sights which, given our seemingly tunnelled vision, were comprised mainly of shops, cafes and talking buses. Yep, you could practically hold a conversation with the thing. Now I can't quite convey just how cool these buses are, but we were ashamedly excited when a faceless voice told us what stops we were approaching...why can't they do that in Coventry?!

So anyway, after investing our student loans in toasted paninis and playsuits, we headed back to get ready for a girly night out. I have to say, it was one of the most relaxed nights out I've had in a while; plenty of natural chatter with just a smattering of dancing, and some of the yummiest cocktails I've ever tasted. If anyone is ever in Nottingham, I'd definitely recommend Coco Tang; an underground nightclub with nostalgic sweet-themed drinks! I went for Haribo, while the others opted for Love Hearts and Refreshers, all of which I'd have been happy to consume if it weren't for the lack of funding and potential excess of alcohol! Another highlight was the Pitcher and Piano in the city centre, it was a converted church and whilst we pondered over the appropriateness of partying in somewhere so holy, I couldn't help but stand there in awe. It was wonderfully atmospheric, and if you can get over the initial irony, it's a fab place to wile away the evening.

Sadly, it was time to head back home on Sunday [that extra hour was sorely missed!] but not after wandering over to good old 'spoons...again.

It was such a brilliant weekend, and it made me realise just how much I miss those girls. So I'll leave you with this...

Remember all those little chances that passed you by? Those friendly gatherings that you gave a miss? Well now's the time to take each opportunity as it comes, and savour these friendships because honestly, I'm beginning to realise that maybe these really are the best years of our lives. And I for one am going to fill them doing the things I love best with the people I love the most.

What are you waiting for?!


Making Easter plans? Let us know :)


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"Work that look"

Every Sunday, when Style magazine arrives inside our Sunday Times, I eagerly rip open the wrapping and get my weekly luxe fix. This week was no different except it was a business special with articles devoted to finding a work life balance, female business women such as Liz Hurley, female empowerment with everyone's favourite 'Queen of Mean' "Just call me bitch- if it stands for boss in total control of herself, says the business guru, Kelly Cutrone, peddling a 'balls out' approach" and of course making your working wardrobe work for you. This was of particular interest to me after I found out that I had got the summer internship last week. Since then, Mum and I have been looking for the perfect capsule wardrobe that can be remixed for the 6-9 weeks I am on my placement. Style has answered my prayers and supplied me with some inspiration from fashion high-flyers revealing the ultimate working wardrobe. 



Classic tailoring


Soft tailoring

Colour

This was helpful for me in a number of ways... I want to look professional, be comfortable and to retain a sense of individuality...i.e. I don't want to become just another office clone but look like a more professional version of myself. Have I succeeded? You be the judge...


This top was a bit of an impulse buy. It is from Warehouse in John Lewis but it's gorgeous dove grey colour and quirky lace collar made me fall in love. I am prone to being very warm so the fact that it is sleeveless is an added bonus. I will wear this with either black heels or flats and a black blazer.


This Warehouse dress is made of a reassuringly sturdy material that is almost quilted in style. As regular readers of the blog will know, I am a BIG fan of the colour navy especially when paired with black. Although this may be a fashion 'faux pas' I am in love with the simplicity of this look. At first I couldn't find my black tights but nude ones show off my shoes better anyway :P


In this photo I am wearing my blue shoes from Peacocks. These have a mini heel that is somewhere between flats and a kitten heel.


They are an iridescent blue that seems to change colour, depending on the outfit I am wearing.


A cheesy smile from me again. These are my chunky, black Office heels that are so comfy to wear, it is unbelievable.


Despite the objections of my parents, I think the black tights make this dress infinitely more professional but I would be interested to see what you lovely people think. . . Is the dress too casual? Could it work in an office environment? The main problem I have is that I don't yet know where exactly I will be working and how smart or casual the office is. When I find out more I will let you all know :D I will leave you with a lovely picture of me awkwardly trying to hide the labels on my new purchases. As you can see, I wasn't successful as there is a label poking out of my top...OOPS!


Hope you have all had a lovely weekend, please let me know if you have any ideas regarding a working wardrobe :)

Summer Plans...

Do you remember I was preparing for an interview about a month ago? Well, I got the internship! It is a six to nine week placement for the Fast Stream Civil Service where you are placed in different government departments and are directly involved in policy making. It means that I will gain a LOT of experience at one of the the top five Times “Top 100 Graduate Employers” and hopefully narrow down which area I want to work in the Civil Service once I graduate. It is also paid, which means I won't be missing out on earning some money over the holidays... a win win situation? I would say so! :D
 
As you can tell, I am very VERY excited and absolutely terrified at the same time... although I don't know exactly where I am working yet but I should find out in the next couple of weeks :) Mum and I have been looking for some nice basics for a capsule work wardrobe (!) and so far we have managed to find some nice things...I will put some outfit posts up as soon as I have some full outfits :) In more news, I have been working at the plant nursery in my village and I start very early in the morning, 7.30 AM to be exact... It is very manual work and all of your clothes get covered in mud so I have been wearing trackies and old t-shirts, hence the complete lack of outfit posts. I can promise you that you aren't missing out on anything much though as I look an abolute state! This may sound vain but I just have to avoid mirrors wherever possible :P I have decided to give you a few pictures with a floral theme instead to save your poor eyes :P

My gorgeous playsuit which I have worn about a million times since I bought it :)

My bargainicious Tesco floral dress that is one of my 'wardrobe essentials' 
An outfit worn to a friend's birthday party... you can't see it in this photo but the top has a cut-out at the back which I love. It is fitted and almost corseted and is definitely a top that you sit up straight in ;)
One of my favourite outfits and one that I always feel happy in... this picture was taken back in November, as you can tell by the poppy on my cardigan. Apologies for the rubbish shots but when Danni is out I have to rely on ym phone and the mirror to capture my outfit for posterity. I have realised that these floral outfits are merely a fraction of the floral items I own... methinks I need to cut down?? :S

Happy Friday people! What are your plans for this weekend and Easter week? Have any of you had any good news recently? Please do tell... 

 

Making my [pri] mark

So on Saturday the Easter holidays finally commenced for me too, and I have to say it was a huge relief to come back to a warm, cosy house that I can comfortably call home. It's amazing how much you miss your natural habitat; even at twenty years old and having lived away from my family for nearly two years, I can't imagine myself feeling more welcome anywhere other than here!


I came back with an insistent urge to go shopping. Not just one of those 'let's go for a mooch' inklings, but an all-out desire to spend some dosh. It was a necessity... or at least that's what I kept telling myself and the poor changing rooms assistant in Primark. You know when fitting rooms have item restrictions? Well I may have had to go back to the woman twice... as well as asking my mum to take some stuff in for me too. We must have been in there an hour all told, but Iwas so impressed with their stock at the moment, I got a little triggerhanger-happy. They've got lots of vintage style prints, and some beautifully floaty tops and dresses which instantly reminded me of warm summer holidays and prickly Mediterranean heat.... aah what I wouldn't give to be in Italy right now!

Anyway, I certainly fulfilled my clothes-craving as it were, and bought a surprisingly co-ordinated array of things...

First up is the black blazer... it's only taken me about a year to realise I need one (in fact, it was Maria's advice in the first place!) but I think it was worth the wait. It's tailored enough to look professional, but slouchy enough to make me feel comfortable, and the shoulder pads are an added bonus :)
It's got really nice details on the sleeves too. Basically, it's a winnerrr.

Also grabbed a denim shirt and it led me to commit the ultimate sin today.... yup. I double denimed. I'm still not convinced [or at least not of my ability to pull it off!], but I figured that as this shirt is a grey shade, it's just like wearing a grey cardigan right?!
Hmmm, what else? Well I suppose my favourite thing would have to be the forget-me-not blue blouse. It's floaty and light and just makes me feel like i should be dancing in a meadow with flowers in my hair....ahem. Back to [virtual] reality, it was a bargain- under £10!
Blue was a definite theme and I also bought a navy top [also floaty and equally as dream inducing] which looked pretty plain in amongst everything else, but just seems to hang perfectly...
I have to admit though; I may be a little biased towards this plain-jane top and all because of this little hole in the shoulder...
Before you ask, no, I don't normally get emotionally attached to clothes [at least not straight away!] but this little flaw right here allowed me to get £2 knocked off the original price! I felt super cheeky bringing it up at the till, especially as it was Primark-cheap anyway, but the woman couldn't have been nicer about it; she even gave me tips on how to stop it fraying.

If you're still reading, I'm impressed..this is proving to be an extra long post... I think I'll let the pictures speak for themselves now!
The striped dress was from Dorothy Perkins, but everything else was bought in good ol' Primark. Plus, they've brought out a range of shoes which are wide fit and size 9!!! Hooray for Primark recognising that having big feet and a tiny budget aren't mutually exclusive. Woop!

All in all, it was the most succesful shopping trip I've had in a while; probably since the clothes show, and I can't wait to try it all out. Now however, I'd better go and remove said items from the conservatory before mum starts to wonder if I've set up shop!

Has anyone else had a big spending spree lately? Let us know... it'll help stem that guilty feeling in the pit of my stomach!

Home sweet home


Once again it is the holidays and we are both back home for 5 weeks (!) for Easter trying to sort out our plans for next term. Both Danni and I have exams but the university hasn't yet told us when they will be. As you might have guessed, this makes revision more difficult to organise. Ah well, I will just have to adjust my colour coding on the revision timetable I am yet to make... OOPS. I also have to write a Roman economy essay which I am NOT looking forward too...ah I wish I was more organised! However, to help me in my constant struggle to make plans (and then stick to them) I have bought a beautiful diary from Paperchase that has little owls on
 Hopefully this will inspire me to become as organised as Danni :) It is so nice to be home again, I always forget how pretty it is, especially in comparison to Coventry!
My sister has a German exchange student staying with us at the moment so our house is pretty much full to the brim with people at the moment, especially with me home :) On Saturday, I went to the outlet store in Swindon with Mum, Dad, Isobel and Alistair and had a really nice day out. I bought a pack of 3 pairs of grey tights from Marks & Spencers that were 99p from £8 but I got them for 49p as Mum also got some tights and they were buy one get one half price... I was literally like YES! :) I also treated myself to some Mac make-up- a beautiful pink blush called 'Summer Rose' (which has a beautiful rose embossed on the blusher) and an eyeshadow suite in 'Counterparts' - a lovely gold and green duo that will be perfect for sultry summer make-up. (I will put swatches up A.S.A.P) 
I wore the blusher on Sunday, when I met up with Mark, Pete, Cindy and Dan (who you may remember from New Year's Eve) at the local pub in my village. It was lovely to see them all as it was the first time I had seen them since Easter, and much hilarity ensued. I also got my very late birthday present off Pete, but it was SO worth the wait...
A copy of 'Blogging for Dummies' and a DVD I have been wanting for ages. Thank you Pete for such a thoughtful and useful present! I have already been avidly reading the book which is full of useful tips that Danni and I will try to use on here :) Although I would have liked to have seen everyone for longer, it was amazing to catch up and to see each other face-to-face. Thank you to everyone for making the effort to come to the village where I live as well, I know it is a real trek for everyone :) I had a really lovely day so thank you again guys ♥
True love ♥
 I really can't believe that I have known Pete for eleven years...ELEVEN! Crazy times.
As usual, we were all laughing ourselves silly, hence why we all have super smiley faces :D As you can see from the photos, I wore my blue shorts again, They are from the Garden Collection at H&M and I am absolutely in love with them, they are so comfy.
 
What have you all been up to? Have you got plans for Easter?