The story of a girl who lives above her means

Hanging on the telephone

Outfit:
Black sheer blouse with heart cut outs: Primark
Black skinny brocade trousers: Primark
Black and white tweed coat: Next
Black and white spotted pony skin loafers: Next
Black cameo brooch: Bootsale
Statement large gold flower earrings: Topshop
Kate Spade eyelash iphone cover: c/o Three Mobile
Pink pout: Topshop All About Me - Dream Team birthday present :)

When the lovely people in charge of the PR at Three mobile asked me I wanted to review a case for my iPhone, I jumped at the chance. I am quite literally one of the clumiest people around so a case is on the agenda if I want to keep my phone intact. I picked this one as I thought it was a little fun and as we use our phones everyday we might as well make a statement eh? Lots of people seem to coomment on this one. It feels so solid which is very handy if you drop your phone after a few too many glasses of wine. Moi? Never!

This is my favourite outfit at the minute. Probably because I brought these trousers last year and can now fit in them. Thank you Weightwatchers! It's pretty simple but I think the shoes kinda make it. I like shoes that are a little different - who wants to wear black pumps all the time?!

I'd like to say a massive thank you to Lauren for sending me this - it arrived the very next day and I was extremely impressed.

Do you like to switch up your phone cases too?

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Thrifty Finds #5

The charity shop gods have been my friend recently. I've been finding lots of lovely junk!

001. I absolutely love glass jelly moulds. Admittedly I don't really like jelly that much but they look pretty snazzy on display. The words of a true hoarder right?! This one was only a £1 and was calling my name.

002. This was the find I was most excited about! I dream of finding the perfect dressing table set. Alas there was only the mirror available but the pattern is so pretty. It's a great size and looks beautiful on my shelf!

003. A little treasure my mum picked up for me. She started to turn in me, unable to walk away from a charity shop if she sees on on her travels. I don't think this is vintage but it'll be a lovely addition should I ever entertain guests around breakfast time.

004. This cute sugar bowl and milk jug set caught the eye of my mother and she brought it home for me. It's going in the wedding collection if I ever should get married. I'd love to have afternoon tea instead of a three course meal and am also keeping my beady eye out for teacups and saucers.

005: I'm addicted to finding these little men now - it's the first thing I look out for when i'm hunting around charity shops. I think he's by far the cutest one I own. He was a little expensive at £4 but I think he was worth splashing out for. The red cabbage fellow is next on my list! I can't wait for the bootsales to start up again.

Have you had any luck in the charity shops recently?

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Eating out on Weightwatchers

If you're anything like me eating out will be the highlight of your week. If I had the money - and didn't mind getting to 30 stone - i'd eat out every night. Many people dread being asked out for dinner as they feel it's hard to be in control of their food if in a restaurant. Don't fear as you'll still be able to enjoy a meal with friends if you're on weightwatchers by following a few simple tips.

001. Stick to diet soft drinks. Wine might be a perfect choice to drink alongside any meal but it's not very kind to your head the next day. I always have diet coke if i'm out for dinner during the week as it still feels like you're treating yourself and it's only 0 propoints. You might as well use the propoints you'll waste on wine to feed your hungry belly in my opinion.

002. Never go out for dinner absolutely starving if you can help it. This will cause you to over order. Half the time you won't actually need all the food you order but if you're anything like me you'll eat EVERYTHING. I hate wasting food when i'm out for dinner - someone say squeaky bum - so i'll scoff everything down until I feel sick. Not the best thing if you're trying to lose weight.

003. This book can be a god send. While it doesn't have every single food establishment listed it gives it a good shot. Have a little flick through it and plan what you're going to eat so you can leave enough points to cover it. Nothing worse than coming home and realising you've eaten a 28 propoint dinner by accident....

004. Use your common sense when ordering. Tomato based sauces tend to be so much better than creamy ones. Cheese although it likes to lure you in is actually the devil when it comes to weight loss. If you desperately want a dessert, why not ask your dining partner if they want to go halves.

005. Finally get your backside moving. Build up your activity points the day before your meal so you can order a starter without feeling guilty. Sometimes life's too short to not throw caution to the wind.

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If you go down into the woods today

Outfit:
Faux fur leopard print coat: Next
Khaki skinny jeans: Primark
Sheer black blouse with a leather collar: New look
Black vest top: Primark
Purple wellies: Hunter
Gold chain crossover bag: Zara

The boys decided they could strike a better pose than me! I think I was and truly overshadowed. My boyfriend in particular has a pout down to a tee. London Fashion Week is his calling!

As part of my new walking plan i've decided to take advantage of the surrounding scenery and take a trip to the forest. I roped in two of my friends who live within 10 minutes of the forest. Despite being muddy and miss-judging how deep certain piles of leaves were, it was a lovely day out. I think once the weather warms up we'll start with the hardcore stuff and bring out the bikes. I'm going to try and make a regular weekend occurence. After all this weight won't shift itself for my holiday in May!

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New Look Fashion Week

On Friday I was very kindly invited along to recharge my batteries at the New Look refueling lounge when the hustle and bustle of Somerset House got too much. I put on a faithful dress and trotted along to the Waldrof with Sarah. To be honest we would have been more than happy to stay there ALL DAY. Delicious nibbles were on display - I can confirm the brownies were very tasty indeed - along with bubble tea. I'm still not quite sure what to think of Bubble Tea. I'm not sure if I like it or not! I managed to get my hair lovingly curled with a hint of purple sprayed on the ends. I liked it so much i'm thinking of trying it out myself with a wash out dye. It was sutble yet made a statement. We may have hogged the photobooth and both struck our best model poses. Kate Moss eat your heart out!

You can find some more pictures on my facebook page :)

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London Fashion Week

Outfit:
Aztec body con midi dress: Primark
Long sleeved cardigan: Primark
Black tights: Primark
Heeled shoe boots: Primark
Bling statement necklace: Primark

Well looks like I was channelling Primark at London Fashion Week this season! I wasn't really planning on popping down but I recieved an invite to head to the New Look refuelling room on the Strand - more on this later - and thought i'd pop to Somerset House with Hannah. I obviously had to have my picture snapped! If you look very closely you be able to see tinges of purple at the ends of my hair supplied by the very generous New Look lounge. I felt like I should have been in an advert with the amazing bounce.

I had an absolute blast at New look and got to spend time with the ever so lovely Sarah and Hannah. I bumped into the gorgeous Elodie at Somerset House which was perfect as we managed to persuade her to come out for my birthday that night. Hannah and I popped along to Bills for a bit of dinner and a cheeky bottle of wine. This set up our evening very nicely indeed. Lily and Elodie joined us at a pub in Covent Garden and the night got very jolly from then on. I had an amazing night dancing to all my favourite indie tunes at the Borderline and finally stumbled into bed at 5am. Perfect birthday night out!

Are you planning a trip to Somerset House?

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Berlin

At the beginning of the month my boyfriend whisked me away to Berlin as a birthday present - he's a good chap isn't he? Berlin has been on my list for quite some time as a complete history geek. It was everything I expected and more. I completely fell in love with the city and can't wait to say hello again. I feel like we only just touched the surface. We did all the tourist things but now I want to experience the "real" Berlin. We went on an amazing free tour on the first day which I can't reconmend highly enough. It gave us such a good starting point and really helped us figure out the key points of the city. We stayed near to the TV tower above so that was like our guiding star whenever we got lost. I can't wait to plan even more city breaks - Lisbon and Prague are next on my list.

Have you been to Berlin? If so, what was your favourite part of the city?

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I like to move it move it

Part of the reason I participate in Weightwatchers is so once in a while I can induldge in a meal like the above. Those chili cheese fries are making me dribble. I know I can't eat like this everyday as I truly will get to the size of a house. But with the tools that Weightwatchers have equipped me with, I can stuff my face and still mantain my weight or maybe even lose a cheeky pound. You really don't have to give up your meals out as long as you're prepared to keep moving.

Here are just a few tips that I use in everyday life when I know i'm having a over-indulgent day - lets face it life would be very boring if these didn't exist! The extra 49 points prove to be a god send but sometimes they just aren't enough!

001: This was very kindly gifted to me by Weightwatchers and it's became my new favourite thing I wear it religiously and love to see the activity points building up. It really does make you more conscious to get your feet moving. It may sound silly but I always make sure I go to the toilet on the top floor at work as I have to climb two sets of stairs. It doesn'ty seem like much but it helps the numbers tick by. When I was in Berlin last week I clocked up 14 activity points!! I didn't feel to guilty about that shortbread!

002: These last few weeks my boyfriend and I have decided to go walking after dinner. It really does help your dinner go down and it's quite a nice time to put the world to rights. We only really pop out for half an hour but usually I earn about 3-4 activity points which always come in handy. I always find walking doesn't really feel like exercise and it's so easy to get carried away and walk for miles. Always good when you're trying to lose weight!

003: As many of you know I work in London so I like to make the most out of my lunch hour and have a wander around. I'm only a 10 minute or so walk from Covent Garden so I tend to head here. There's so much to explore that I visit a different part each day. It's always a great way to exercise - see a theme here? Once again it's a fantastic way of building up activity points.

Source

Last week I ate out several times in Berlin and scoffed that huge burger and still managed to mantain my weight. All because I decided to move more and sit less. Just think how much weight I could lose if I managed to control my eating habits at the weekend?! I'm on it like a car bonnet. Wish me luck as i'm hoping for my first loss since the beginning of December!

If you're on Weightwatchers, how do you earn your activity points?

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You're the one that I want

Outfit:
Off white sheer dip hem blouse: H&M
Black skinny pleather trousers: Next
Leopard print collared coat: Topshop
Leather heeled ankle boots: Topshop
White stoned brooch: Primark
Red lips: Rimmel Apocalips in Big Bang
Rose gold watch: Next Birthday gift

I'm living a childhood fantasy in these skinny trousers. I remember watching Olivia Newton John in Grease and complety being in awe of Sandy. I was over the moon when my mum came home with an amazing pair of faux leather trousers for me. Sandy who? So when I spotted these beauties in Next, I just had to have them. I still don't feel 100% confident in them but hey ho fake it until you've got it right? I always think a red lip looks so glam so had to snap this shade up when I saw it in boots - Apocalips seems to be doing the rounds on all the blog.

I'm treking all the way to Notting Hill tonight - it better be worth the trip! - to see some of my favourite bloggers for a spot of dinner at the Electric Diner. As always I'm sure it'll be a lovely evening putting blogging to rights and stuffing our faces. Always the best types of nights out.

Hope you all have a lovely evening whatever you'll be doing!

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This girl is on fire

Outfit:

Black midi lace dress: Primark

Grey fur trimmed cape: Marks and Spencer

Black suede pointed pumps: Topshop

Black tights: Primark

My nan was given a voucher for High Tea for her birthday so I tagged along - never miss out on scones with clotted cream and jam! It was in a lovely venue called Mulberry House not far from my house, proving Essex is far more than Oompa Loompa tans and Sugar Hut. For just over £13 we were given a tray of sandwiches - smoked salmon always get a thumbs up from me - and an assortment of different cakes and scones. I can confirm that the mini carrott cake went down very well as did the mini eclair. Anyone else think cakes taste so much nicer in miniature form?