Freak Out.

WARNING: this blog is one of the scattiest ones ever written to date by me. Apologies.

Today, as I blog, I am in the midst of a freak out that I am actually turning 18 on Wednesday (and therefore an adult and apparently responsible); that I may have a cold (I blame boyfriend who's just had flu for over a week and still insisted on cuddling me -_-); and finally freaking out that I can't get an appointment with my hairdresser on Tuesday because it's his day off and I desperately want my hair cut, and want it done BEFORE I'm old.

Other than that, in a fairly reasonable mood. Received my first birthday present yesterday, an orchid, from one of the guys at Ede and Ravenscroft. He's going on holiday next week, thus the reason I'll be working, so gave me a present early. Woo!

Alsoooooo, I saw Lady Gaga's video for "Bad Romance" this morning, and omgosh, I'm in love with her costumes. Those shoes she wears, I still haven't quite worked out how your feet are supposed to sit in them, but they're fascinatingly weird. I also enjoy the song, which is quite strange considering through the first few lines I was thinking "what has she done? she's RUINED her music". But it quickly grew on me and I couldn't help but be absorbed by the outfits in the music video.
Check it here:


Finally, on Tuesday, as my birthday present, fellow blogger Jennily, to see Kevin Devine. I'm massively psyched for this. :) Even if I have absolutely no idea what the hell I should wear because it's gonna be freezing outside, but warm in the venue. Bugger.

Not a lot else to say for now, I'm hoping normal blogging will eventually return to normality; but I can't guarentee when. Sorry!

Diet Coke

I've decided I love the outfits on the Diet Coke adverts.
They're absolutely gorgeous pieces that they put their puppets in, even if the "girls" wearing them are kerazyyyyyy.
That said, isn't that the best way to be?

In other news, only 8 days til I turn 18.
The day before my birthday my fellow blogger; Jennily; is *hopefully* taking me to a good old gig in Oxford. Shall be vair vair good, but I have NO idea what the hell I should wear.
I know it may be forever away, but hey, it's how I'll be bringing in my 18th, so I think I should celebrate the night before in style. Will probably either end up going for shorts, tights and top orrrrr maybe, just maybe my favourite strapless dress.
OOoooo! That or I could wear the new top I bought the other day with leggings. Argh, muchly to think about.

Anyway, not much else to say, distinct lack of inspiration at the moment. Today Ugly Betty is distracting me; damn I love that programme. But in general, there is minimal inspiration in my mind.
Also it's back to work at Ede and Ravenscroft tomorrow and until Friday; so will be back in uniform of suit and shirt.
I'm also doing Thursday night at L.K. Bennett for a charity event. So mucho busyness on the work front. Also have boyfriend home now, so have to sort things for him because he has man flu. All fun and games.

Back at the weekend biatches =]

Crazy Busy

Currently I am crazy busy. When I'm not working, I have stupidly long lists of things to do. When I'm not doing these longs lists, I'm visiting boyfriend who's grumpy. And when I'm not visiting boyfriend, I'm working.

Crazy busy, yes.

Anyway, yesterday, on one of visiting days to grumpy boyfriend, I went to Birmingham. It chucked it down with rain, I was not impressed, but we took shelter in the manic busy Bullring. It was packed full of Christmas shoppers. We, however, were looking at rings. No, we're not getting engaged, instead we were look for a ring for him to buy me for my 18th which is in a few days.
We ended up deciding that H.Samuel was best place for my ring. I'd love to show you a picture, but it's not on their website =[.
It is stunning though, and I really hope he decides to buy it for my birthday, or can get it for my birthday.
If not, here's some others I'd love:

This second ring is very similar to the one that we saw in the store and that I tried on (god, it felt so good). The only difference is that one of the two stones is blue topaz.

I'm in loveeeee with rings. And I adore my boyfriend (:

Productivity

Today I was temping back at Ede and Ravenscroft, the gentleman's outfitters. I adore working there as, bar the workwear, it's a very relaxed attitude. If there is nothing for me to do, they are quite happy to just let me perch on the edge of the table or sit on the stool and have a natter with them. Today I decided to doodle at the same time as having this natter with one of my favourites there.

I'd had this image in my mind for quite a while - at one point I was wanting it tattooed onto me until I discovered I won't physically be able to have tattoos probably (*cry*). Recently though I had been thinking of doing this image on a page of my A3 sketch pad, but kept putting it off as it would be a big project and I haven't had the attention span of late. This afternoon though, I found myself sat on the stool with a decent pencil and a scrap of paper. So I started sketching it out and watched it grow from some crappy pencil lines to the full anchor. Then I just popped in some truly horrendous pencil-line anchors. I wish I had managed to get them more equal, but no such luck.
Needless to say though, I was quite proud of this effort, and considering all in all it took me about 3 hours to do, I don't think it's too bad.
By.The.Way, only reason it took me so long was because every time a customer came in to the shop, I had to stand up, leave the drawing and stand to attention as such.

Not a lot else to say. I'm going up to Birmingham tomorrow for the day to see le boyfriend. Might even be picking the ring he's *hopefully* buying for my 18th which is in 12 days! Excited.

The Sartorialist.

So there's lots of blogs I'm crazy for; The Sartorialist being one of them that I often forget about, then re-remember and spend ages browsing it again.
I wanted to try and minimise chance of forgetting the blog, so went to follow it. Only thing is, once a blog reaches 10,000 followers, no one else can... And guess what, The Sartorialist has reached that magic number.

It's not difficult to understand why though. So many blogs, mine included - I'll admit, are focused in one direction - be it in menswear or womenswear. Rarely to they cover all ages and both genders. None the less The Sartorialist manages to achieve this; giving good and fair coverage to both male and females and a wide range of ages.
Even on the main page that I was flickering over today, there's right through from a kid to a guy who's grey haired and I'd say probably in his 50s...

Another thing I adore about this blog is that there isn't a particular style he picks out to follow. Some of the people are polished to within an inch of their life; others look like their clothes have seen better days. None the less it's a fantastic concoction of real people in real life in real settings.

After all, that's what everyone needs. Reality.
Keep it real.

Picture This.

Here are some pictures of my bag. I'm in love with it.




To be honest. I don't have a lot else to say. I'm gonna be really busy tomorrow, but I intend to try and find some time to blog about all my fabby-fab purchases from today's shopping in Reading.
I took the Jimmy Choo bag with me on the shopping trip, and oh my gosh, it just felt right. I was in heaven all day. :)

Jimmy Choo!

Dear Diary,
As I mentioned the other day, the Jimmy Choo for H&M collection was launched yesterday.
Today I ended up going on a last minute trip to London to visit boyfriend aaaaand as I was early I thought I'd have a quick browse over the shops.
I may, possibly, have ended up in one of the H&M branches around Oxford Circus.... and I may have immediately located the Jimmy Choo clothes, then may have spent about 15 minutes hunting for the bags and shoes....
Then I may, or may not, have found the bag that I had majorly been lusting after on the 13th.

Ok, so delete all the "may"s out and you have what I did today. I then realised that this wasn't a decision to be taken lightly considering this is most likely the MOST amount of money I will ever spend on a bag unless I end up super duper rich (one can hope).
So, I was faced with a difficult decision - think "sod it", buy the bag and then be stressed over money related issues and a look from my parents that said "that was a waste of money" OR not buy the bag and face regretting it for... well... ever basically. So what did I do? I rang my Mum of course! She is the worst and best influence on me. When I'm there faffing around over whether I can really justify another £20 on another shirt, she's the one who gives me the justification, or not, for it. This is why my Mum is wonderful.
So after spending a good five minutes on the phone discussing it with her; I went and bought the bag.
Best. Thing. Ever.

I will put up pictures tomorrow or something, I just felt the need to blog tonight that I actually had the bag in my hands. And it's beautiful. And it's worth every penny of the £69.99.
And I have used the word "and" far too much tonight. It's disgusting, this post is appallingly written. I'll probably look back at it in a couple of weeks and die of shame, but I suppose that is what excitement does to you :).

In other news I'm off shopping tomorrow with my mother in Reading. I need new clothes, as does she. She needs her personal shopper (that's me, in case you hadn't guessed); and I need my justification for all the pretty things I'll inevitably lust after.

Coffee and Rain

I think that it is safe to say the weather outside today continues to be truly horrendous.

So today I threw on skinny jeans (Baxter fit @ Topshop; modified slightly by moi), white t-shirt with red lines (H&M), boyfriend blazer (Florence + Fred @Tesco) aaaaaand a necklace that I picked up time ago somewhere, but do you think I know where?
It's been a nippy noodles day, so I've worn this all day, and on the one time I actually had to venture out of the house, I threw on my gorgeous boots.
Now I'm sat here cuddling a Latte Macchiato from my Dolce Gusto Nescafe coffee machine (which I love ♥) and trawling through the photos I took whilst I was procrastinating from tidying my room this morning. The one below I decided was the only worth while one to show.

The shoes above are my "work" shoes that I bought a couple of years back in New Look to wear with my suit. Much like my mother did, I thought I'd never wear them apart from for interviews, but as I adore them, I have found ways to wear them in other setting. They're gorgeous and I wear them so much. I am going to have hunt for a replacement soon though as the covering of the main part of the heel has started to peel off in both, exposing the cheap white plastic or whatever it is that forms the heels. Although I have had the shoes re-heeled, this didn't long term fix the problem of the peeling bit so I do believe I need to go on a new hunt for shoes like these.

That's about all for now; I'm going to run away and wish I could curl up in bed and hibernate. But alas, I cannot due to commitments like having to sort things in the house, and the need to stay awake to text boyfriend who is away for 10 more days.

Two in ONE day?

It's absolutely shocking, I know. BUUUUT, I just had to show you what I bought whilst doing food shop with my mum:

The perfect boyfriend blazer (Florence + Fred @ tesco), at an even more perfect price. Now, I know what you're probably thinking - an item of clothing from a supermarket? Cheapskate much? Well, yes. But when I keep seeing boyfriend blazers that I sort of like and they're £40 to £50, and I sort of like them, it's a bit much. Finally I find one that I lust after completely, and it's reduced from £25 to £18... and on top of that, 20% off. Bargain much? I think so.
I am aware that my picture makes it look bordering on velour, but I assure you it's not. It is polyester, but with the way I get bored of clothes or ruin them *woops*, it doesn't matter. Plus it's doing a fairly efficient job of keeping me warm whilst heater (a.k.a boyfriend) is away.

In other news. I just realised that tomorrow is the day Jimmy Choo for H&M is released. I knew it was this month, and in the back of my mind knew it was the 14th; but being a bit slow, I have only just realised that that means it is tomorrow. Majorly wishing I was able to be at one of the branches where it's being released, but alas this is not a possibility for me. Even more frustrating when I have fallen in love lust with a gorgeous handbag. And it's at a reasonable £69.99.
I know I say reasonable, when I regularly whinge that things are more than £30+, but for a Jimmy Choo bag, I am not going to scoff at a £70 price tag, it is much better than it being without the decimal in middle....
I am truly praying with my heart and soul that this collection will become available at stores nationwide by Monday perhaps *please please please* as I'm going to Reading for a shopping trip with my Mum aaaaaand there just so happens to be an H&M there. However, it is not a branch currently listed as stocking it for tomorrow's grand unveiling. Gutted at me.
Dear Diary; please please please let Daddy Christmas bring me some Jimmy Choo for H&M. Please.

And on that note I'm going to head off to drool uncontrollably over the clothes, bags and shoes that will become available to the lucky lucky people in the queues tomorrow.

L.K. Bennet and other pretty things.

First things first, here's what I'm wearing today:

In case you hadn't already guessed, I absolutely adore this shirt - a fab buy back in September on a shopping trip in London (River Island). Today for some added warmth I've layered it over a grey tee (primark) and added to it my black skinnies (Criminal Damage @ Blue Banana) which aren't that much of a skinny fit at the moment. Also, to make a bit of a change from my usual accessories for this outfit, I decided to pull out the pale blue stitching and lines in the check pattern by popping on a blue button bracelet and pale blue hoop earrings (Both birthday presents). Finally to keep me warm whilst I'm out, I've been throwing on the old faithful boyfriend cardigan. Yum!

Now, as I mentioned in my last post - which was forever ago, sorry - I worked at L.K. Bennet this week on a temporary assignment. Originally it was only supposed to be the one day, but it ended up being extended to 3 days. I got mixed messages about what I was supposed to wear - one email saying wear my suit (which is a dark grey), and another saying I had to wear all black and look smart. Sooooo, in the end I decided to wear black trousers and black shirt for my first day; suit trousers and a black top with white shirt insert on the second day and finally; on my third and final day I wore this dress with the jacket featured in the picture below.

It has to be said that I love this dress. I don't get to wear it that often though because it always ends up looking to formal due to the colour - but when faced with the choice of a white one or a black one in the shop, I had to go with black because our dog at the time was black haired and I just never wore white! But yes, so I decided this dress (Cult) would suffice for the last day and teamed it with a belt that I got from somewhere at Swindon Outlet Village, black tights (Debenhams) and simple silver jewellery.
The jacket featured below is a buy from New Look a while back. I love this jacket a lot, it fits me wonderfully in my opinion and always pulls an outfit together well.

P.S. I apologise for crap photography, camera did not want to play ball last night. It's being better today.

Whilst working at L.K. Bennet, I came across a problem. I fell in love with some of their clothes... which are just a wee bit out of my price range =[

The dress, called Peppa, is £395, and the top, called Darlene is a £155. Considering for the 12 hours I worked there, I only earned £72, I don't think I can really justify these yet =[
Damn.

Crazy Mad

These last 8 days have been crazy manic for me; I've barely stopped with this job that I've been doing. But it's been worth it; I've been wearing my suit to death (I love that thing) and took a couple of snapshots of the shirts I've been wearing it with, etc.



The suit (trousers and jacket) were a fabulous buy from Warehouse about 18 months ago. Up until recently it hadn't had much love, but the last few months have resulted in it being worn lots. The white shirt is a Topshop buy again, I found it nearly a year ago in the Topshop concession at Debenhams where I had not long been working. I couldn't really justify it's cost, until I got birthday cheques from my aunts, which paid for it; since then it's been difficult to get me out of it if I have an excuse to wear it. :) It's great. I adore the contrast of the black buttons against the white fabric; and the black tie belt helps create a waist that otherwise wouldn't exist.
Also, this week the temperature has gradually dropped and I was forced to pull out my winter coat to keep me warm - this gorgeous red one that I got last winter at BHS. It may be last season in buying terms, but in all honesty, despite its bold colour, I believe it is truly a classic.
Finally as the week carried on, I realised I wouldn't be able to wash my white shirts quickly enough to have them ready again, so was forced to pull out this black shirt which I wasn't sure about on it's own, but with the jacket - I think it really works. I chucked on my scarf to travel to and from work and I'd like to think it pulled the whole thing together.

So for now I am done at Ede and Ravenscroft. However, they have expressed a great deal of interest in getting me back in a couple of weeks when one of the members of staff goes on holiday for a couple of weeks, so they'll be short handed again. Wahey :)
This week I am instead doing one day's work at L.K. Bennet which could well be interesting. We'll see how that goes.

Oh, and by the way, I apologise for the lower quality of photo - please bear in mind these photos were all quickly snapped at half 7 in the morning - an hour I have not seen in a long time unless I was just waking up. It's been a bit of a system shock to be getting up at 6 and leaving not long after half 7.

Finally, the wonderful products that have got me through this week without looking like I've given away all of my blood (yes, I get very pale when I'm tired)? Well, no foundation for a start! I rarely wear foundation now-a-days. Instead it's just been a strict regime of Clean & Clear face wash morning and night, followed by Johnson's baby moisturising cream, to tackle the dry spots that the cold weather and central heating give me. Add to that plenty of Vaseline/boot's own mint lip balm and we have a refreshed face. On top of that in the morning I've been using No.7 eyeliner in brown and mascara in brown. I have also been using a bronze-y-brown eye shadow that was actually a freebie on a magazine forever ago... yet it does what I need it to by adding a bit of colour and definition.
Finally to keep my hair vaguely alive; it's been head & shoulders shampoo and tesco's own tea tree & mint conditioner (it smells gorgeous! And considering how cheap it is, it actually really works). This I follow up with a good spritzing of Tresemme heat defence spray and to finish a good sharp spray of Sainsbury's cheap hairspray. Again, despite the price, it works fantastically. The main reason I ever started using this hairspray is because I used to get through a large can every couple of weeks with the amount I used to keep the back of my hair spiked. The habit of the brand never left me. It does, though, go to show that you don't need to spend masses on product to look ok.

Won't scribble much longer; will simply say that hopefully normal blogging will return soon.

Just a quickie...

Okay folks, super duper tired at the moment as have a full on week of temp work. Thus blog is falling into neglect until Saturday, possibly Sunday depending on whether I pick up another day or not.
So, I just thought I'd pop in a quick filler blog to rid myself of the guilt a little bit, whilst I checked in on the blogs I follow.
Pictures to come of some of what my outfits have consisted off this week, what I've been doing and my round up of the current world.

xx

Gentleman's Outfitters

To date, I have never passed a great deal of comments on menswear. This is changing today though as yesterday, and all this coming week, I am working in a gentleman's outfitters called Ede and Ravenscroft.
When I was first given this temporary position through my agency, I accepted it mainly because I needed the money. Yesterday morning when I got up I wasn't looking forward to it at all as I had had a browse through their website and had gotten the impression it was a very well to-do shop.... The thought of having to be posh and properly spoken for a whole day always fills me with dread. When I got there, however, it was incredibly interesting. Although they are by no means a fashion label, their classic pieces are stunning. None of the trousers are finished off at the bottoms properly as they get sent off to be adjusted to the right length for each person. They do the gowns for Oxford university, and the parliament gowns; and also the gowns and wigs for the judges. It's absolutely fascinating. Watching the measuring be done and such like.

From this coming week they also are running a special deal on all their bespoke suits. It's truly fascinating, and I'm hopefully going to learn more as this week goes on. It's certainly something I'm keen to learn as it will help me towards my eventual goal of being a personal shopper/stylist. Exciting stuff.

In other news, major work has now begun on a business idea I came up with a few months ago. The business plan is slowly being written up, the website layout slowly designed and the savings are starting to be made to make this a feasible project. Excitement. Will keep this place updated as much as possible without divulging too much as it is still in it's highly confidential stages. Including me, there are currently only 4 people in the entire world who know about this project in detail, and that's the way it's going to stay for now.

To keep me entertained in my hour lunch break at Ede and Ravenscroft; and to also help increase my passion for this project; and finally refresh my business knowledge from GCSE level and upwards; I'm currently reading the book "Boo Hoo" all about "boo.com": a fashion store on the internet that went bust. It is a true story and is from when the internet was in it's earlier stages, as Amazon and eBay and the likes were simply start-ups and it was all a very new concept.
I've tried reading the book before but always got side tracked by other titles, so finally decided to start again on it and read it solidly. It's been in my collection for a good 3 or 4 years now I believe, so by no means is it a new book out, but I would certainly recommend it if you have any interest in business, start-up companies, internet and clothes websites.

Not a lot else to say; will hopefully try and get some pictures of my smart work outfits for the week; having to be quite controlled and non-showy. Suit trousers, shirts and polished heels. All fun things; but I'm actually quite enjoying the change from jeans and t-shirts uniform that I usually get away with wearing.