#brumbloggermeet and what I wore...

I’m sure by now you are all fed up with hearing about the #brumbloggermeet but I have to say, it really was a lovely day. I managed to meet up with Danni for a coffee and some shopping before we went on to meet everyone else. It was lovely to have a catch up as we haven’t had a proper chat since uni ended and I have missed her! After some initial nervousness we met up with everyone at Starbucks in the Pallasades shopping centre (who I’m sure were thrilled by us commandeering half of the shop :P) and it was so lovely to meet so many gorgeous girls whose blogs I love and I have to say you all are even more lovely in real life! I am such a fail as a blogger though as I took my ‘big camera’ (after much debate on Twitter) and didn’t take any photos...fail. Luckily I have managed to pinch some off Fritha because otherwise this would be a very sparse post!


We were very spoilt with the goodies that Fritha and Claire had organised and so we all posed with our bags from Max C... So many people asked about these when we were wondering around Birmingham and they proved very useful for locating bloggers in the crowds!


The lovely Sara also brought along some amazing Missguided goody bags and I have to say I was super pleased that they included a gorgeous floral wreath headband. I have been eyeing them up for ages and now I have no excuse but to wear one :)
I love the kid posing on the end!
The lovely Selina (who I was super chuffed to meet as she was the first blog I ever read!) had also organised some fab Motel goody bags which also contained some lovely goodies :) I have to say a special thank you to all of the lovely people who contributed some goodies too:Clothing at Tesco, Crown and Glory, Find Me a Gift, Jon Richard, Little Fille, Max C London, Motel Rocks, Missguided, Romwe, and So Charming. I had such a lovely day meeting some of my favourite bloggers (who Louise has listed HERE) and these bags were the icing on the cake!

What could possibly be better than name tags?!
Jumpsuit: H&M, belt: H&M, shoes: New Look, bag: ASOS
Now I know this will come as a bit of a shocker, but yes I am wearing a jumpsuit! I would usually veer away from a jumpsuit as I am not long limbed like Lil or Danni but this one called out to me. I have been obsessed with maxi lengths recently and the print on this meant that I was persuaded to try it on... [Let's just say that Danni is an extremely bad influence!] and minutes later I was sold. It is super comfortable and fits like a dream! I can imagine it being equally yummy in Autumn too and I have a few chunky cardis and shoeboots that would go very nicely... Originally I was wearing the infamous Venice dress but I loved the jumpsuit so much that I got changed straight away!



Flared trousers and sleeves...what more could you ask for?! (Look at my smug little face!)


And just for the lolz. In an attempt to show you just how freeing it was to wear a jumpsuit, Mark persuaded me to jump around and managed to capture me at my very best... Ah well, at least it shows off my jumping skillz again! ;)

Do you enjoy meeting up with other bloggers? Have you been persuaded to break out of your normal style?
Many thanks to the lovely Hattie who was my train companion on the way back, we had such a fab time chatting and I hope to see her again very soon ♥

Summer tart recipe with pear, summer berries and apricots.



On the day that Mark and I went to Stow, we also went to a cookery demonstration at Waitrose and were shown a variety of recipes that were both quick and delicious to make. My favourite was the pudding course (obviously) and this is a slightly adapted version of the summer tart recipe. It is easily adapted to whichever fruit you have available and very simple to make. For example, because we had a glut of apricots from our garden we had to use those up!

What I wore to graduation (and what I ate) ...

Now I have already posted about a million pictures from my graduation but I felt that the food was worthy of its own post. After my ceremony we went to Vintners in Stratford and it was absolutely fantastic! The food and drink were fantastic and it was obviously popular as the entire restaurant was full for the two hours we were there.



Mark and I shared king prawns pan-fried in garlic and herb butter and although they were messy, there were cooked perfectly.




For the main, Mark and I both had escalopes of pork fillet with free-range fried egg, caper butter & the crispiest French fries I have ever had!


This is the pudding of dreams. Marbled chocolate mousse cake with amaretto crème. It was so rich that I didn't actually manage to finish it but it was soon gobbled up!

Chocolate bread and butter pudding (made with brioche)
Eton Mess
Banoffee pie


Isn't this the cutest?! A miniature version of Vintners! It was lovely to spend some quality time in good company and the restaurant did not disappoint. If you are ever in Stratford, I would definitely recommend it :)

Dress:Topshop, shoes: Hobbs, tights: c/o MyTights



Necklace: originally from Rock Lobster as my 18th birthday gift from Mark
Although the only guidelines that Warwick gave were 'no jeans or trainers' I decided to go fairly smart and wore my Topshop shift dress with my gorgeous cerise Mary Janes from Hobbs. I am not a big fan of heels but these were perfect and so comfortable, even after a day on my feet. The nude fishnets I am wearing were a gift from the lovely Emily at MyTights.com. I love the look of nude fishnets and they add a bit of texture to any outfit without overpowering it so they were perfect for my graduation.

What did you wear for your graduation? Are there any restaurants that have really impressed you?
P.S. Apologies for the lack of posts recently, I have been at Mark's over the past couple of days and I am off on holiday tomorrow so my posts may be a bit sporadic!

Graduation, a VERY picture heavy post!

So this is it, university is finally over. My graduation on Monday started off very rainy but ended up sunny and warm, lovely for my parents, not so great for me sweltering away in my robes. I swear those things are like ovens! Apologies for the picture heavy post but it is easier for me to send this link round to all of my relatives than email all of these photos ;)


Luckily Mark graduated on the same day as me so we got to take our photos together which was nice. He got a BSc Hons in Physics... he is far too brainy!


Some of my coursemates waiting for our department photo...



Obligatory hat throwing shots...


I think this may be my favourite part of the day, my parents bought me a Warwick graduation bear and he is seriously the cutest thing ever, you can see how excited I was! 


Mark's family and me.

My parents, who do you think I look more like?


Mark and certificate...



More hat shots!


Bachelor Bear off on an adventure with the Koan in the background...


Just look at his little mortarboard and scroll!





Mark and (some of) my family.

I call this my 2.2 hat! ;)
I had a really lovely day and I will show my outfit and food (it is worthy of its own post!) in another post as this is already far too many photos for one blog post! It was so nice to spend the day with Mark and it was a fitting goodbye to a wonderful three years. 

How did you celebrate your graduation? 

Florals and stripes...

This dress is one of the key pieces in my wardrobe and I have already raved about the pattern and fit but I always try and find different ways to style it and I really like the blue for a more summery look and when the weather warms up a bit more I will definitely be pairing it with my favourite New Look sandals!
Dress: H! by Henry Holland, belt: charity shop, shoes: Nanette Lepore for Keds.
I have had these shoes for about 4 years now but I have never actually worn them outside of the house. I bought them on a whim for £4 in the Office sale because I liked the pattern but have never actually managed to wear them. They have been on my 'to sell' pile for years now but I have been loath to get rid of them because they are just so pretty!


I finally decided to match them with this dress as the blue is similar enough that it doesn't clash too much. Jen has talked about mixing prints before and I love stripes and florals together! I am definitely going to wear these shoes more often though as they are the most comfortable pair of shoes I have ever worn. My parents are big fans of Keds shoes and these may have persuaded me to check out some of their newer ranges...


These shorts from H&M have become a cult favourite in the blogosphere and they have proven themselves well worth the £6.99 I spent on them. It means that I can wear all of those dresses that are just that little bit too short without tights in the summer too. 

What are your summer staples? Are there any items in your wardrobe that you find difficult to wear?

As you are reading this I will be on my way to my graduation, I just hope I don't fall flat on my face or make a fool out of myself...wish me luck!

Coral stripes...

It is always lovely when you spot a gorgeous pair of shoes that look cute, give you some height whilst still being comfortable and only cost £5. It sounds like I am talking about the impossible, but I found them in New Look the other week. I am always really impressed with New Look shoes and I love these but I cannot work out a way to tie them so that they stay on my feet without feeling like they are going to fall off...any ideas?

Dress: H&M, bandeau top: H&M, shoes: New Look, necklace: charity shop
I love this H&;M dress and it has been featured on here before but I have always found it difficult to know what to wear underneath it as the drapery is lovely (and it reminds me of the drapery on the East pediment from the Acropolis!) but far too low cut to be decent. I bought a pack of two bandeau tops in black and white from H&M a while ago and they have proven themselves invaluable when tops or dresses are more revealing than you might like, I really cannot recommend them enough! 



I was really impressed with the colour match with the dress and the shoes, especially as they were from different stores. I normally find it impossible to match things but these shoes seem to have ticked that box too!
How cute are the little bows?!
Coral has to be one of my favourite colours, it works whatever the season and looks particularly good in the sunshine... so this dress is definitely one of the cheeriest items in my wardrobe!

Do you find it difficult to find matching accessories? What colour is your favourite?