Ahoy!

 Outfit:
Boat printed cotton dress: Asos
Wicker bag with flower: Primark
White plimsols: Vans
Red plastic watch: Toywatch
Ball charm bracelet: Tiffany and Co

It looks like summer has finally arrived - well at least for a few days! I wore this outfit on Saturday to bask in the sunshine. It was such a nice day. Can't really go wrong with pie, mash and liquor, a BBQ and an evening spent in the beer garden. I brought this dress from Asos a good month ago but the weather never been nice enough to let me wear it. I adore the print on it and the cheeky little cut out back. I was trying to channel the 50s look with this outfit, although the plimsols were none to kind my my blistered feet! They were in agony! I think this bag may be my new favourite thing - i haven't been in Primark for two months! I think i'm coming down with something...

Did you all have a nice weekend? Go anywhere exciting?

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55 Factory

The majority of these photos were given to me by the lovely Gemma - I always seem to spend too much time talking at events and completely forget to take pictures! Always the way eh?

Last week I was very kindly invited to the launch of of the second issue of 55 Factory, a cool magazine that focuses on music and fashion features. It's such a lovely handbag size which means it's perfect to pop in your bag and read on your commute into work - i'm always after things to make my commute go faster. TFL will be the death of me! The cover star was Pandemonia who is the rather fetching lady in the orange dress! The launch took place in Covent Garden's Rokit. Rokit is one of my favourite places to have a rummage, I could have spent a fortune on the jewellery if I wasn't so poor! The best thing about any blogger events is meeting old favourites and getting to know new bloggers. I met the lovely Gemma, Elodie and Laura - me and Laura spent ages talking to each other before we even realised who each other was! Thanks girls for giving me a really good night.

The final picture is the amazing Meat Market - i've been going on about this place to everyone. I can't get over how tasty the burgers were. Mcdonalds eat your heart out. They taste like cardboard in comparison!

Thank you so much to Lois of Carrottop PR for inviting and to all the sponsors for the lovely goodie bag. The lip balm is now one of my favourites!

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What would you wish for if you had one chance?

Outfit:
Peach dipped hem shirt dress: New Look
Nude heeled pumps: Primark
Gold coloured necklace: Car boot
Taupe nails: Next
Gold coloured knot earrings: Topshop

This is something that's completely not my style yet I love it. I decided to take the plunge and embrace the dipped hem trend after spotting this dress in the New Look sale for only a tenner. I wore this to a wedding reception last week and have never really felt more Essex my life. With my fake tan and gold jewellery I think I did my county proud! The necklace was a car boot find and it's the perfect piece to wear under collars. Car boots are fab places to find unique jewellery and it's always so cheap too - this necklace was only a £1!

How is your week going so far?

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A snapshot #16

001. I'm getting quite good at this baking lark. Instead of buying clothes i've been buying cookbooks and pots. I think I must have been abducted by aliens...

002. First piece of holiday shopping for a holiday I haven't booked! I couldn't resist this bikini for only £5 in ASDA. Tempted to go back and buy the other colours. I think we are going to go to Morocco this year, we've found a lovely hotel and will hopefully book it in June. Trying to leave it as late as possible in the hope the price will go down!

003. I'm getting well into the Jubliee spirit of things and have been snapping out bits and pieces, Granted I don't need the bits and pieces but i'm a sucker for themed things. These cake tins were a buy from Sainsbury's and will give my scones a good home when I get round to making them.

004-005. I finally got to pay Meat Market a visit when I went to a event (more on that in the week!). I went with a couple of my blogging favourites Hannah and Lily as well as the lovely Aisling and Elodie. I went for the Double Bubble and it was absolutely amazing. The burger was massive and it tasted divine. It was like a heart attack on a plate - which is the reason it was so nice ha!

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I put one foot forward and ended up thirty yards back.

Outfit:
Scalloped collared embroidery anglaise sleeveless white shirt: Next
Black tapered smart trousers: Clothing at Tesco
Pink 3/4 length cardigan: Next
Black gold buckled smoking slippers: New Look
Cameo pearl necklace: Topshop
Topshop gold floral cuff: Gift
Conflower blue nail varnish: Nails Inc Bluebell: free with In Style

This is what i'm wearing to work today to my retail job. The shirt is a new buy on uniform and it's safe to say i'm in love. The collar completely captured my heart and I had to have it! Since i've been losing weight i've started to get my confidence back and am finding myself more and more drawn to wearing trousers. I've always loved how effortless trousers look but have always been too scared to wear them. Child bearing hips do not like trousers! These are without a doubt the most comfortable pair of trousers I have ever worn and I don't have to wiggle to pull them on. Result!

Going down to visit my grandad for dinner today and i've been a very good grandaughter and baked him a treacle tart. Although i'm not too sure it'll be that nice as the pastry is a bit thin and it blistered! Still it was only my first go and I now know I need to invest in some baking beads.

Have you got much planned or are you having a lazy day?

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Weightwatcher recipe: Spanish Cod with Paprika Rice

Another weightwatchers recipe - this time I found it in the magazine. The magazine's a great buy if you're getting a little bored of your meals, they have some amazing recipes. It's well worth the money! I've never eaten so much fish in my life. It's less points than meat on weightwatchers so i've been stocking up.


Ingredients:
1 fish stock cube
Pinch of Paprika - I used about half a teaspoon as I like flavouring!
I diced onion
110g pack of chorizo, cubed
200g of paella rice - I used normal rice as it was what we had in the house
4x 125g pieces of cod fillets
20 cherry tomatoes
2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
125g of frozen peas
Teapsoon of dried parsley - it says to use fresh but use didn't have any!

11 propoints per serving
Serves 4
465 calories per serving

The orginial recipe used Saffron but we already had paprika in the house.

001. Crumble the fish stock into a  jug and add 600ml of boiling hot water. Add the paprika and leave it to steep.

002. Cook the diced onion and cubed chorizo together in a non stick pan on a medium high heat. Cook for around 8-10 minutes or until the onion is golden.

003. When the onion is ready, stir in the rice for a minute and slighty turn the heat down. Add the stock to the mixture and leave to cook, uncovered for around 15-10 minutes or until the rice is tender. Make sure the mixture is bubbling slightly. If it drys out, add a splash of hot water from the kettle.

004. Preheat the oven to gass mark 6/200 degrees/ fan 180 degrees. Pop the cod fillets in an overproof dish and add the tomatoes. I wedged as many of the tomatoes inbetween the cod fillets so they'd soak up the juice. Drizzle the fillets with oil. They need to be cook for around 10-15 or until the fish flakes.

005. Add the frozen peas and parsley to the rice and stir in. I left it all in for a few minutes before serving onto four places.

 006. The finished product! It was amazing and one i'll certainly cook again!

Let me know if you try out the recipe!

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This isn't goodbye, it's a see you later

Outfit:
Gingerbread print mint dress: Asos
Black thick tights: Primark
Gold buckle smoking slippers: New Look
Black cardigan: Primark
Black Marc Jacobs solid perfume Daisy ring: Gift from grandparents

My nan sadly passed away on Thursday, exactly two weeks to the day she was diagnosed with cancer. Thank you all so much for your well-wishes, it really does mean a lot. I feel surpisingly ok to be honest, i'm just so glad her suffering's finally ended and she died at home surrounded by the people who loved her. She would never have wanted to live like that and she was in so much pain. I won't remember her like that, it wasn't my nan. My nan used to make the nicest mince pies in the world, used to sit on the floor so her beloved dogs could sit on the sofa, always sit in the garden as soon as the sun came out and who always had a house full. Not many people can say they made a difference in someone life but my nan could numerous amounts of times. As a foster parent she gave so many children a stable home often when they had no one else in the world. Glad you're finally at peace Nanny Dogs. 

I first came across this dress thanks to Sarah - that girl does find some right gems! I immediately had to have it and went a bit mad selling on ebay until I had the cash. Gingerbread Men are my favourite cake to eat - as a child my mum always used to bring me back from shopping. In fact she sometimes does now! It's a lot shorter than I would usually wear but that's nothing a pair of tights doesn't solve. Asos is really starting to suck me in, every spare penny I make on Ebay is currently going on dresses from that site - why did I never really discover it before?!?

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A snapshot #14

001. I was treated to dinner tonight by the boyfriend. We were orginally going to the Toby Cavery but the queue was massive so we opted for a local pub. What a good choice it, these mini burgers were amazing! We popped to see the new American Pie film after dinner which is absolutely amazing! Go see it!

002. Pretty new shirt i've aquired recently as work uniform. I can see myself getting a lot of wear out of this!

003. I tried by hand at baking for the first time and attempted a Victoria Sandwich. It came out a little burnt on top but this didn't put anyone off. As you can see it soon got eaten! I think I much prefer cooking actual dinner than baking. Baking makes my arm ache!

004. New shoes! I seem to have gone a bit mad recently and ordered 6 pairs of shoes in the last couple of weeks. I am one of these people that will wear shoes until they literally fall off my feet so I should be stocked up for a good few months - it was well overdue.

005. What online shopping addiction eh? I've had to curb down my spending for this month but on the plus side I have lots of lovely new things to blog about ha!

006.  Just a few things i've picked up in a charity shop recently. I don't quite know why I needed to own some sherry glasses but I figured they'd look lovely on display in my future home. Plus they were only a pound for six so it'd be rude to leave them behind.

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In the leopard's den

Outfit:
Black woolly roll-neck:
Primark Leopard print midi dress: Topshop
Black tights: Primark
Heeled leather ankle boots: Topshop
Gold coloured necklace: H&M
Black sparkly cocktail ring: Primark

Sorry for the large gap in between posts. I've had some bad news recently so blogging's not really been top of my agenda. My nan's suddenly been taken seriously ill so i'd much rather spent my time visiting her then taking pictures of myself. Posting will be a bit sparce over the next few months but please do stick with me guys! Enough of that depressing news and onto the outfit.

I usually wear this dress with a cardigan but had been looking for different ways to wear it. Anyone else wear the same outfit combinations over and over again? I never seem to mix and match. Given that we've suddenly experienced dreadful weather - i'm thinking of building an ark - i've been needing to 'winter' my clothes up. Complete rubbish beens I have so many summer dresses taunting me everytime I open my wardrobe up. I'm quite happy how this has worked out and it's the perfect outfit to keep warm at work. I've been running scared of polo necks recently in fear that they make me look like frump. Kinda ironic given my love of granny clothes.

Are you running scared of polo necks too?

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Neon

Outfit:
Neon coral cropped jumper: Topshop
Navy pleated midi skirt: Closet via market
Navy tights: Primark
Navy suede stacked heeled loafers: Next
Red plastic watch: Toywatch
Pastel floral necklace: Random shop in Brick Lane
Cream flower earings: Primark

Sorry about the dark photograph but I really liked what I wore to work yesterday and wanted to get a snap of it. Cropped jumpers are so far out of my comfort zone it's unreal but I managed to snag this in the Topshop sale for a tenner and thought I could try and make it work. I love the way it sits with my midi skirt although it does make me feel quite bulky as it's a box shape - the reason why my arms are down like a soldier! I love the colour of it so much and have an idea to pair it with my white chiffon dress when it gets a bit warmer. For something that's such a bright colour i've got a feeling it's going to go with a lot of outfits! I picked up the skirt from a market, think it's a second as the zips a bit funny but that's fine with me as the rest of it is really good quality plus it's a brand i've heard off!

Not much to report on this week, it's beeen a quiet one and will continue through to the weekend. I'm skint to the max so shall be hiding out in my house until payday.

Quick question, do you like outfit posts like this? Or would you perfer them outside? I do try to take them outside but don't always have time to fit them in. I post indoor ones so I can post more often. Quality over quanity? I'd love to be able to do full on photoshoot in exotic locations! Shall I go for an adventure and take some photos?

Have you all had a good week?

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Top five charity shop buys

I thought i'd put together a mini series of my top five starting with charity shop buys. Much to my boyfriends disgust I love to have a rummage in a charity shop. I don't go that often - maybe every couple of weeks? But i've found some goodies, I should think i'd find more if I made it a more regular thing.

I have no idea if any of these things are actually from another era, if any of you know please let me know! I'd love it if i've brought some genuine vintage!

001: This necklace is a little grubby but I think it just adds to it's charm. Plus it was only £1.99 so it was a winner all round. I've found it's quite unusual to find silver cameos so was quite lucky to pick this up. It's fairly big so it makes quite the statement when it's around my neck. I don't know what it is about cameos but I just think they're so beautiful and elegant.
002. I brought this jar just because it was pretty and I had no idea what to do with it! I've ended up storing all my bangles in it on my chest of drawers so it came in handy after all! I think this was £2. I'm pretty sure it originally came with a lid but it was nowhere to be found in the shop!
003: I love this and am trying to find the perfect coat to pair it with! It's just plastic - i'm still waiting to find a real cameo in a charity shop - but it's still so lovely. At £1.99 it would have been rude to leave it behind! Brooches and jewellery are my first port of call in a charity shop.
004: I brought this for about £3 I think. Not actually used it yet as I brought it around October last year and it's much more of a summer bag. I'm planning to get it out quite a lot as the weather warms up.

005: This is one of my more recent purchases. I just love the colour of the stone in the middle, it's so pretty. Complete bargain too at only £2.50. I can imagine it would look lovely under a collar - just need to buy some clothes with collars! I don't think it's real gold which is fine by me!
What's been your favourite charity shop buy?

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A snapshot #13

001. I sold quite a bit on ebay and treated myself to a few things on asos. I've became quite addicted to Asos recently, I think it's because you know that when you go out ,hardly anyone will look the same. Everyone seems to shop in Topshop in my town so everyone looks like clones! The dress was only £19 in the sale. Result!

002. The said dress modelled by moi! I don't know if you can see but it has a cut out waist. Midi dresses can sometimes look a little frumpy if not paired with the right thing but this quirky detail gives it a little extra. I can't wait for the sun to reappear to I can wear it out.

003. I met up with Hannah and Lily for dinner one night after work to go to The Diner, just of Caraby Street. I was so impressed! My first time and I love it! I went for the Californian burger with chilli cheese fries. Delish! Well and truely enjoyed stuffing my face with great company!

004. This is what I had for dinner when I met up with a few old school friends. The pub really does do the nicest food. They have this rock grill where you get to cook your own steak (or cheese in my case) how you want it. Paired with roasted veg, chunky chips and sweet chilli sauce, it makes an amazing meal!

005. This is hail stones! Crazy right?! They came hammering down one day like a beast, it was so so loud! Come back beautiful sunshine!

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Black and white

Outfit:
Black and white striped jersey dress: Primark
Black tights: Primark
Black 3/4 length cardigan: Primark
White plimsols: Vans

Chunky pearl necklace: Passed over by the best friend

Why do I look like a duck in the first picture...

This dress is hands down one of the best things I have ever brought. It was £8 and I want to wear it everyday! It's so comfy and makes me look like i've made some sort of effort even when i've just rolled out of bed! Primark needs to make it in every colour! My best friend donated this necklace to me, she said it seemed like my sort of thing. Knows me so well!

Off out for dinner tonight with one of my oldest friends, she's back for a week from Uni in Leeds so it will be a well deserved catch up. I don't see her nearly enough! Mad to think that after 19 years of friendship - we met at school aged four - we still have things to chat about. It's one of those friendships that although we may not see each other for months at a time it's like we've never been away. She's a keeper eh?

Nearly the weekend yet again, do you have any plans? I'm being a fatty and going out for dinner twice. Standard.

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