BBQs in Bristol...



















A long overdue catch-up with some of my best friends this weekend, it's rare that we are all in the same place at the same time but a few of us made the trip to Bristol to see Cindy and Dan and celebrate their engagement which was really fun. We spent the whole weekend eating, drinking and laughing so much that I couldn't breathe- definitely the best kind of weekend and just what I needed after a pretty stressful week...

♥ Sophie and me
♥ Oli and me
♥ Chopping potatoes to make garlic and rosemary potatoes (which were beyond divine)
♥ Dan firing up the barbeque
♥ Brunel and the SS Great Britain
♥ Pegging up Mark...
♥ A nice glass of wine in  the sunshine
♥ Cindy & Dan's newly redone garden
♥ Mark falling off the hammock (after dying of laughter at Mark falling foul of the hammock, I also fell off but those photos are far too awful to share!)
♥ Oli nearly falling off...
♥ 'Very Pamp' wine- grapefruit laced rose- quite refreshing but the name was definitely the highlight of it- isn't pamplemousse the best word?!
♥ Cheesy pasta salad
♥ Barbecued chorizo- definitely my new favourite thing, barbequeing it, enhances the smokiness and I have to say, hot chorizo is just AMAZING. 
♥ Garlic stuffed olives
♥ My two girls ♥
♥ Every house should have magnetic letters!
♥ Mandarin and peach cheesecake

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What I wore to work (part 2)...

It has been a while since I posted a 'series' of outfits on the blog, but most mornings I manage to get Mark to snap a few photos so it seems silly not to use them, even if they don't get a whole post to themselves! 

Dress: Tesco, cardigan: Tesco, shoes: New Look, necklace: New Look
Seemingly I only shop at 2 shops by the looks of things! ;) Another Tesco bargain which I felt needed a bright colour to jazz it up a little and this coral cardigan (also from Tesco!) did the job perfectly. 

Blouse: Topshop, skirt: H&M, blazer: New Look, belt: New Look, shoes: Office
I felt very prim and proper in this outfit, which I blame completely on this blouse, the colour always feels like I am going back to school. I just wish my school skirt had been purple instead!

Dress: Mango via eBay, blazer: ASOS, tights: Primark, necklace: ASOS, shoes: Office
 This is definitely one of those outfits which looked better in the flesh- the combination of the blazer with the dress felt very 80s... I'm not sure what was happening with my hair here either- it's gone crazy! 

Top: Reiss via charity shop, skirt: Miss Selfridge, jacket: Hobbs, belt: New Look, shoes: Buffalo c/o Spartoo, necklace:ASOS
 Another Reiss bargain from the charity shop! I love it when someone my size decides to clear out their wardrobe and donate it to the charity shop, guilt free clothes for me!

Top: Gap, skirt: Marks & Spencer via Jazmine, blazer: Tesco, necklace: Dorothy Perkins, shoes: Office
I call this my eccentric granny look, I think it's the mixture of the midi skirt and the piles of pearls (oh how I wish they were real!) I am definitely an early granny!

What do you wear to work? 
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Smokey bacon and prawn salad...

Inspired by Gem's oh so delicious looking spaghetti recipe, dinner tonight consisted of rocket, watercress and spinach salad topped with home-grown French and green beans, king prawns, smoked bacon, tomato pepper and mushrooms.




Delicious. Sometimes simple really is best.

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Dressing like a 5 year old...

Whenever I wear this dress, I am always accused of dressing like a 5 year old and the fact that I wore similar pinafores when I was five (and the fact I look about 12) does make it difficult to disagree. Recently I have been obsessed with layers and this Autumn inspired outfit has been one of my favourites. 

Dress: River Island, top: H&M, jacket: H&M, belt: vintage, tights: Primark, shoes: Marks & Spencer
 This top is one of those which only works when it is layered under something- the fit is downright odd, especially round the hem, but I love the fluted sleeves and they are wonderfully swooshy! 


Wearing some gorgeous Crown and Glory bobby pins. I have written before about how much I love Crown & Glory and these bobby pins are so easy to wear. I never know what to do with my hair but these are understated enough to wear every day and add enough interest without being overpowering.


 Finished off with a pair of my most practical shoes- I think I need to invest in some more brogues for this Autumn!


How do you jazz up your hair? Where do you buy brogues from?
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Lilac dreams...

The light here in the morning is beautiful, it casts a peachy glow over everything but it never seems to translate in photographs. I'm sure if we played around with the settings on our camera we could capture it much better but as with most things, a lack of time is what puts me off! I would love to have a variety of interesting backdrops for these photos, but working full time and leaving ridiculously early in the morning leaves me with literally 5 minutes to get these photos and it leaves me genuinely wondering, how do other bloggers in full time work do it?! It is so frustrating as I love blogging and I obviously want my photos to be as good as they can be but real life doesn't leave much wriggle room at the moment!

Dress: H&M via charity shop, top: Warehouse via charity shop, jacket: Principles, belt: Topshop vintage, shoes:Office
In the spirit of full matchy matchy-ness I dug out one of my favourite blushers, Summer Rose by Mac and my pinky violet lipstain from Max Factor (I ruddy love those lipstains!)


I came up with the idea for this outfit after Warehouse had a lilac skirt and white top combination on the mannequins in their store when I visited a few months back. I was tempted to buy the skirt and recreate the look myself but remembered I had this H&M dress to try it with instead. This top is so versatile, I love wearing it and it looks equally good with jeans and  shorts as it at does with skirts and would definitely recommend getting a top with an interesting hemline! 


Slowly trying to soften these shoes up, they are absolutely gorgeous but the leather is still very rigid, any ideas about how to soften them slightly? I want them to be as comfy as possible for when winter arrives again!


How do you make your photos as good as possible with very little time? Any ideas about how to soften my shoes up?
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Navy and black...

 This outfit was shamelessly inspired by the lovely Amy (whose wardrobe and figure I want to steal!) I really love navy and black together and when I saw this top in my favourite charity shop, I was sold. It incorporates all of my current loves, navy and black, sheer panels and sleeves (glorious sleeves!) so buying it was a bit of a no-brainer really!

Top: Limited Collection from Marks & Spencer via charity shop, vest top (worn underneath): Primark, trousers:  Topshop, loafers: Office
 For some reason the top looks really bright in this picture but I can promise you it is a true navy! The black lace detailing on this top is so pretty and adds a bit more coverage over the chest area (always a bonus with a sheer shirt!) Usual make up with 'Berry Blush'  by Natural Collection, my favourite 'natural' lipstick colour 


As you can see, without the added panels, it is very sheer so I was glad that I wore the vest top underneath. I loved the attention to detail with this though, each shoulder has a slight puff to give it some shape and is topped off with these adorable little buttons...


My favourite 7/8 trousers- never underestimate the versatility of some slim black trousers, I have worn these to so many different occasions as they just seem to go with everything, I guess that's why they call them wardrobe classics, huh?! ;)

Audrey Hepburn, eat your heart out.
Just as an added bonus, me looking like a garden gnome whilst trying to keep dry, I definitely need to get a chauffeur to ferry me around in the rain! 


What are your wardrobe classics? Whose wardrobe do you want to steal?
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"Look at you with your red shoes!"

Thank you Mr. Drunk Man, I hadn't noticed what I was wearing until you said! This dress is my favourite thing to wear at the moment, I picked it up for £1 (!) off our clothes rail at my work's summer BBQ and I couldn't be happier.   I have always wanted to try a clothes swap and this really worked as loads of people brought in clothes for me and my colleague Matilda, to sell and we managed to raise £20 for  our nominated charity (not bad considering everything was £1!)

Dress: Isabella Oliver (clothes swap), blazer: New Look, belt: vintage, shoes: Accessorize 
I love the length and monochrome stripes will always look good, I can't wait to layer it up this autumn. I was very grateful of the little sleeves on this too, perfect for covering my slightly sunburnt shoulders (courtesy of the aforementioned BBQ) and much more professional too...

This dress is pretty similar, and it's in the sale!
 A slightly better and less strobey look at the stripes, they made me feel very French, I felt like I should be carrying a string of onions around with me! Also wearing my current favourite combination of accessories...


A slight outtake but a better look at my make up and hair, I'm still loving this red lipstain, especially now the weather has gone gloomy again! 


Have you ever tried a clothes swap? What are your favourite accessories?
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Roasted peaches...

Now we finally have some hotter weather again, I felt it was time to share one of my favourite summer puddings: roasted peaches. I love peaches cooked on BBQs but these are a fab alternative which you can cook in the oven, indulgent and yet vaguely healthy because it contains fruit- that's my kind of pud!



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