Pansy-monium

I'm not here to talk to you about a riot in an English country garden, or suggesting there's been an uproar at a flower show... I mean, there might have been, but I'm talking about my new obsession with Accessorize's range of pansy printed beauties.

I've loved pansies ever since I was a little girl. There's something so friendly about their little faces, and something so English. It's a flower that can be found in most gardens, and one I've always associated with the my childhood, and the classic childhood favourite Alice in Wonderland. They're instantly recognisable, but until recently pansies had rarely adorned anything fashionable.

So, you can imagine my delight when I came across these friendly multi-coloured accessories in the Accessorize sale. I think I let out a squeal and instantly found myself in love with them all.

How lovely is this beautiful little satchel? I asked my little Sister to order it for my upcoming birthday, and she kindly did. It's going to be such a cute day bag, and for just £15 a bargain, too.

I love this clutch bag so much, I had to have it, too. Well, I couldn't leave it all alone in a dark dusty warehouse, now, could I? Of course not! It was a steal at just £18 on sale. If it's as lovely as it looks it will get a lot of use.

I purchased this little mirror for my older Sister's birthday when it was still full price, and she loves it. I was sorry to give it away as it's so nice, and am trying to restrain myself from buying one for myself now it's down to £3.

And, I'm also loving this pretty floral scarf. It looks so summery and would look lovely over a dress with a denim jacket. It's now £18 on sale.

At these prices, I don't think these beauties will be around for long.

Which one is your favourite?

What are your favourite flowers?

P.S. My favourite flowers (besides pansies), are sunflowers, irises, and yellow tulips. The simple ones are the best.

Lady in red...

I fully intended to do an outfit of the day post yesterday, but I spent the day in a sorry state with a fever and stomach cramps and couldn't get out of my pyjamas. I did manage to read a lot of my book, though, (Stephen King's IT), and I'm finally nearing the end. Just 120 pages or so left of the 1400 page monster. It's been a challenge, since I didn't even enjoy reading it until I passed the 1000 page mark- which is unheard of with King's novels.

I'm thankfully feeling much better today, but my spine hasn't yet recovered from the missed medication. Thankfully the sunshine and heat have put a smile on my face today, along with a couple of my purchases arriving in the post.

Like my new ASOS shirt dress...

If you've been reading my blog for a while, you've probably heard me go on and on about how much I've wanted this dress. I've been admiring it since it landed online, and finally caved this week when it went in the sale. I wasn't waiting for it to go on sale (I almost bought it the day before it did); I just postponed making a purchase while I picked up the cheaper pieces I loved first. The dress was discounted on the same day I came in to some money, so I couldn't hold back any longer.

I personally love it, but got mixed opinions from family members. My older Sister (who is staying while she's on placement) loves it; my mother says it's "too plain for me". But that's just it. I've always wanted to own a classic shirt dress, and something away from my normal printed choices.

It's the perfect length for me, and has sleeves that sit up to half way down my upper arms (they're elasticated so move with me, as you can see in these photos they've pulled up). The waist actually has some stretch to it. I love the little details that set it apart from a boring basic: the peter pan collar, and the panel that runs from collar to hem to hide the buttons. And I also adore the colour. I think red is a colour that actually suits my colouring, but for some reason, I barely own any red clothing anymore!

A peek at the buttons concealed within the fabric. They're fully functional, as well.

I paid £22.00 instead of the original £32.00.

I don't like to wear too many accessories when the weather is hot and muggy like today. I dug out my green apple necklace, and my flower ring which my Mum informed me is actually Jade. I've had it for about five years and never realised! I'd also painted my nails mint, which matched the ring, but I didn't leave them to set long enough and wrecked them using the camera. Oops.

I'll admit I got too hot, and ended up removing the tights not long after I snapped the photos.

I think this dress is very versatile, and would work nicely with a nautical theme. I've already thought of another outfit for it involving my lovely striped satchel (on the door in the photos).

Dress: ASOS

Tights: Evans

Necklace: Miss Selfridge

Ring: From a local shop

Do you own the perfect shirt dress? Do you like to wear red?

Confessions of a shopaholic...

Well, it's that time of year again when the summer sales are in full swing. This annual ritual only makes me realise that Autumn is not far off, and soon the bright summer clothes will be replaced with dark woolen garments. I refuse to accept summer will soon be over, as so far it's been a wash out in England (how scary is all that flooding?!). I don't hate the cold; I just don't like the short Winter days.

Anyway, the discounted lines available are probably some of the best I've ever seen. I usually have no joy with sales, and always come across clothes which are in the sale for a reason. This season, however, I've had far too much to choose from.

This is what I've been buying:

ASOS

1. The red shirt dress I've been coveting for months. I'm sure you're fed up of me talking about it by now! I almost caved and bought it on Sunday; luckily I didn't, as the next day it was reduced from £32 to £22. It came this afternoon and I love it!

2. The Aztec skirt was just £17.50 (I think it was originally about £35). Again, it's another skirt I kept going back to look at. Coming to an OOTD soon...

3. I clicked on the black and pink gingham playsuit last night after scrolling past it all season. I never even realised it came in green, but how cute?! It was down from £40 to £14. I've never owned a playsuit before, and probably wouldn't wear one out of the house (leg complex issues), but I hope it fits and can be worn around the house.

4. Some of the Model's Own nail art pens are reduced to £4 from £6. I've been wanting to buy some so I can polka dot my nails, so I picked one up to try.

The Body Shop

I had a nice little return from the Tax Man, so I was able to take advantage of The Body Shop's new offers (after restraining myself on the weekend), and bought a lot for my money.

• They're currently offering 40% off all non-sale items using code FETE12.
• Offering 50% all 'Strawberries and Cream' products because of Wimbledon (ie all strawberry scented products, and face creams).
• Offering a free bottle of Earth Lovers shower gel when you spend £5!
• 
  

I've not been asked to promote The Body Shop in any way, I just wanted to share the good offers I found.

I spent about £37 and bought:

1. The shimmer waves blusher I've wanted for months.

2. My regular Vitamin E moisturise cream which I've just ran out of.

3. A watermelon 'Born Lippy' lip balm (which I can't decide whether to keep or add to my Sister's birthday box).

4. The under eye concealer/ highlighter 'Lightening Touch' I've desperately needed to replace.

5. Coconut Milk Body Lotion.

6. Coconut Shower Cream.

And 7. Is the free Earth Lovers shower gel I chose in Pear and Lemongrass.

And I also bought three or four other items to put away for my Sister's birthday in August. I literally can't wait for my haul to get here. It's been a while since I've splurged on cosmetics, but I saved a small fortune.

I later picked up these two from Amazon:

1. The Women DVD, as I've wanted it for ages.

2. Nail art tools. I've wanted to try my hand at nail art for years, but have never had the right tools. I was going to buy a few more Nail Art pens from ASOS, and suddenly had a brain wave. This set of 5 tools came to less than £3 with delivery, and it means I'm not limited to using just a couple of colours. I can use my entire polish collection to draw on my nails.

I'm actually amazed at how little I've spent on all these things!

And these are a few things I'm also loving:

Dorothy Perkins (non-sale items)

ASOS (sale items)

ASOS (non-sale)-- it has racoons on it! Racoons!

What have you been buying, and what have you got your eye on?

And the nominations are...

The lovely Rachel of A Dress is For Life has very sweetly nominated me for a blogging award. As she's my style twin, and has such a lovely blog, I'm very honoured to be thought of! Thanks, Rachel!

Here are the rules:

1. Each person must post 11 things about themselves.

2. Answer the questions the tagger has set for you plus create 11 questions for the people you've tagged to answer.

3. Choose 11 people and link them in your post.

4. Go to their page and tell them.

5. Remember, no tag backs

11 Things About Me...

1. I'm head over heels in love with New York.

2. I'm feel most comfortable in dresses.

3. I'm trying to work my way through every Stephen King novel.

4. I'm a big animal lover, and love most critters.

5. But not spiders or daddy long legs. Those I'm scared of.

6. I love the sea and wish I lived a surfer's life.

7. I love baking.

8. I love reading. (My Kindle is my new addiction).

9. One of the nicest, funniest, underrated, handsome men I've ever met is Mikey Graham of Boyzone.

10. I live for concerts with my girlies (and the madness that comes with them).

11. I listen to music every day.

Rachel's Questions, My Answers...

1.Whats your favourite print ? Polka dots, obviously! Although I can't resist bird prints, either.

2. Lipstick or lipgloss? I love lipgloss, but as my hair always gets stuck to my lips when I wear it, my answer is lipstick with a glossy look!

3. Zoo or theme park? Zoo, without a doubt. I love them, and even did work experience in two.

4. Whats your favourite drink? Alcoholic... I can't say no to a cocktail; daiquiris and woo woos always go down well, as does vodka with lemonade or coke. Non-alcoholic... I'm bad; I love Pepsi and Coca Cola.

5. If you could only have one meal for the rest of your life what would it be? Either home made chicken fajitas, or house special chow mein and a little egg fried rice from my local Chinese takeaway as it's amazing.

6. Whats your favourite place to shop? I love Cath Kidston, Accessorize, Dorothy Perkins, and anywhere with make up counters like Selfridges or Inglot.

7.What is your favourite film? Titanic. I've had a bit of an obsession with it since I first saw it aged eleven.

8.Where is your favourite holiday destination? New York! I've only been once but I'm hook, line, and sinker in love with it. I also love staying by the sea in Cornwall, and La Palmyre in France.

9.If you had a super power what would it be and why? I'd have a power to heal anyone in physical pain, because, being in pain is awful.

10.Whats your favourite animal? I love tapirs, giraffes, beluga whales, and have a soft spot for rabbits, guinea pigs and dogs, too. I love most animals, if I'm honest.

11.What do you like to do with your spare time? Read, shop, go to concerts, listen to music, travel, watch movies, go to the cinema, write, and blog, of course! Many are on hiatus while I'm injured.

My 11 nominations are:

It's really hard to short list all the wonderful blogs I enjoy reading regularly, as there are so many of you that inspire me, and who have great style. I'm sorry if I haven't chosen you, because if I follow you, I love your blog.

I know it says not to tag the tagger, but I'm breaking the rule as Rachel has such amazing style, and I love reading her blog, and the lovely comments she posts on my own.

A Dress Is For Life

Pashteit

My Stylisms

Wait Until The Sunset

Diy Fatshion

Linzerello Fatshion

Doodle Heartx

Forever Fabulous in Bows

Gorgeous With Curves

Not So Little Gem

Molly Pocket

And my 11 questions for you lovely ladies are:

1. Polka dots or bird prints?

2. Dresses or jeans/trousers?

3. Do you have any tattoos, and if yes, how many and what are they of? If no, do you want any?

4. Who's your favourite band or musician?

5. Who would you like to be stuck in a lift (elevator) with?

6. What's at the top of your bucket list?

7. Where is your favourite place on Earth, and why?

8. Bags or shoes? Why?

9. Have you ever met a celebrity, and if yes, who and how?

10. If time, responsibilities, and money weren't an issue, how would you spend your ideal day off?

11. What's your favourite book?

I'm already looking forward to seeing your answers :). I hope you've enjoyed this scheduled post...

Les Poissons

Well hello there, stylish people,

I hope you're all having a great week.

You may remember my indecisiveness over two AX Paris dresses on Saturday evening. I fell in love with the fish print fabric, but couldn't decide which style I loved more. Eventually, I concluded the zipped dress would probably be too short on my frame, and ordered the peplum one instead.

The dress came this morning, and I wasn't disappointed...

On the website, the dress is described as being peplum, but personally, I'd call it a tiered skirt. It's got a 'hint of saloon' and the shape makes me think of something Dolly Parton would have worn in Steel Magnolias; (which, by the way, is one of the best films in existence). I adore the frilly, floaty shape; even if my Sister thinks I ''look like a five year old on the way to a birthday party''.  I'm in love with the print; it's so different to the usual bird prints and polka dots I lust after. Perhaps my love of sea life and animals on clothes made this one jump out at me. I've been mesmerised by fish every since I studied animal care at college; I even have a four foot tropical fish tank which I've spent a small fortune on over the years.

I kept the accessories to a minimum today, as the style of the dress is a statement on it's own. I paired it with black tights, a skinny belt, a bright red nail, and a small charm necklace.

Dress: AX Paris

Tights: Evans

Necklace: Accessorize

Belt: Dorothy Perkins

Nail Polish: Barry M Bright Red 262

I've been having a good browse through the sales online, and I have to say there's some great bargains to be had out there at the moment. I may have given in to one or two of them...

I'm going to do a seperate post to share my purchases and my favourite online finds.

Have a great night,

"I've drawn regret from the truth of a thousand lies..."

Listening to Linkin Park's What I've Done... such powerful lyrics! The video always makes me sit back and think about what's really important.

I woke up this afternoon to a very welcome surprise from the postman; HMV had sent the new Linkin Park album 'Living Things' out to me, arriving two days before the official release date! I usually preorder new music from my favourite bands from them as they almost always reach you two or three days before they hit the shelves. And when you have to wait two years for a new album those extra days can feel like an eternity; especially with bands like Linkin Park who I've loved since my mid teens. Their music keeps evolving and getting better and better, and the new album is another winner! I love that their albums always have a mix of strong rock songs, and softer melodic tunes (such as Iridescent, Leave Out All The Rest, Valentine's Day). It's part of what sets them apart from other rock/metal bands. If you ever get the chance to see them live, do! You won't regret it.

Anyway, I spent the afternoon having a LP listening session, and browsing through online shops. I spent all of last night, and this afternoon deciding whether or not to stock up on Body Shop cosmetics, but decided it was frivolous to treat myself to make up when I'm house bound. I'm going to leave off spoiling myself for a while. I did, however, snap up a skirt in the ASOS sale which I've been going back to time and time again over the last few months...

It was only £17.50 and I've justified it by telling myself it can probably work in A/W, too.

I'm currently trying to decide if I should buy this white Matalan midi; which is the same as the navy skirt I blogged about a couple of days ago and fell in love with. I don't usually wear white, so I'm not sure if it would suit me.

I also logged on to AX Paris, and discovered that many of their clothes are now on sale! I know many of you were admiring the navy and yellow polka dot dresses I recently bought, and they're now just £17.99 each! If you create an account and use 'WELCOME20' you can get another 20 percent off!!

 This lovely yellow bird print zip dress is also on sale. I wouldn't wear it with bare legs, but I don't know if I'd find the confidence to wear it over leggings or jeggings either as much as I love the colour and pattern.

The navy fish print one is sadly not on sale, but I prefer it to the yellow, and I'm in love with the fish pattern. I'm debating whether to just try it, but I really can't convince myself either way if it'll suit me or not. I'm assuming it wouldn't be so short on my 5'6'' height...

EDIT: Now I can't decide whether I prefer the peplum dress to the one above...

What do you guys think? Opinions please!!

Clothes or cosmetics?

Hey guys,

Hope you're having a great start to the weekend.

My Friday afternoon was spent curled up listening to the wind screaming and the rain lashing down outside while watching a couple of movies (The Time Traveller's Wife, and The Holiday FYI), and catching up with a few magazines.

It was particularly refreshing to read this week's body-positive, curve-celebrating issue of Look magazine, and to see normal bodies being loved instead of criticised. Well done,  Look! I personally would have loved to see more curvy ladies of all shapes and sizes featured, but I commend them for focusing on something most wouldn't.

From reading it, I learned that a few brands sold larger sizes than I realised (Zara, Oasis and Wallis go up to an 18, and Gap to a 20- who knew)?! and I picked up a few tips from fashion bloggers like Sian who were also featured in the magazine. Well done, Sian, for being featured in such a great issue!

I'm back in my crazy altered Aztec dress today. The pattern is totally mad but I love it! It originally hit mid-calf on me, but I had it shortened to work better for my shape. I finally picked up some black tights to wear with it; all I need now is a biker jacket to give it an edge. I've teamed it with black accessories to tone the madness down!

The dress has an unusual crochet collar; perhaps something I should avoid wearing in the sun to prevent an elaborate patterned sun burn! From a distance it just looks like a black panel, but up close the detail is intricate and pretty.

I thought it was time to give the Topshop studded slippers another appearance, and to stack lots of black bracelets on my wrist. Most were part of a set from Dorothy Perkins, but the two silver ones were a gift. I also added a pair of black studs, and a black skinny belt.

Dress: ASOS

Tights: Evans

Belt: Dorothy Perkins

Earrings: Accessorize

Silver and black bracelets: A gift from my bestie

All other bracelets: Part of a set from Dorothy Perkins

Shoes: Topshop

I'm trying to decide whether to buy a new dress OR to take advantage of The Body Shop's buy 3 get 3 free offer that's currently running, to buy make up and toiletries. The items currently in my basket come to £44 instead of £78... I do need the moisturiser, and have wanted the blusher and under eye concealer since I ran out months ago. But I can't decide whether or not I can justify it.

Do you splurge more on clothes or cosmetics?

Oh, and does anyone know if there's a way of following Blogger blogs when they don't have the Google Friend Connect button, but in a way that adds them to the reading list? 

My hunt for the perfect skirt...

I used to own the perfect skirt. It was a classic black A-line/flared skirt that sat just below the knee on me. It had beautiful broderie anglaise detailing along the hem; the top layer was scalloped. I felt great in it, and even felt so comfortable in it that I had no worries baring my legs when I wore it! Then... the zip broke. I set it aside, intending to buy a zip from the haberdashers to repair it... yes, I loved it so much I was going to resort to sewing- something I'm completely useless at. Unfortunately, before I'd even had a chance to try, I found out my Mum had thrown it out. I was devastated. If I'm honest, six or seven years later, I still am!

I just haven't been able to find a skirt that fits me so well, flatters my legs, and made me feel as comfortable and confident since. And believe me, I've tried.

But... I think I'm on to something special with this one...

For weeks I'd browse the Matalan website, and take another peek at this navy cotton skirt. It didn't look like anything special, but for some reason I was intrigued. I panicked when I saw 'last chance' stamped across the listing last week, and ordered it before I had time to change my mind. I wasn't expecting much for £12, but thought I'd at least have a basic skirt for comfy days lounging around the house.

It came yesterday... and I fell in love with it immediately. It fits comfortably (though perhaps just a little bit loose on the waist), skims over my curves, and falls below the knee! It's good quality and it's even lined! And, even better, there are no zips to bust! I feel so good in it... dare I say I may even feel confident enough to bare my legs in this little beauty?

I'm not sure what's up with my camera, so apologies for the quality of these pics. I thought I'd brave sharing another glimpse of my face today.

I've dressed down with a yellow and navy cherry print vest I picked up from Next last summer but haven't really worn, and an old white cropped cardi. It might seem like a really drab outfit to most, but I kinda like it.

Just for fun...

I've accessorised with my mint floral ring, which came from a local department store, as well as another of my Abilu Creations charm bracelets. The charms are all seaside related and are everything from lighthouses, to flip flops, anchors, and fish. For a small town girl, I'm such a water baby. I've always loved the sea (honestly, I'm obsessed), so it's the perfect bracelet for me.

I've also popped a little bow in my hair, and a brooch on my cardigan.

Skirt: Matalan

Vest: Next

Cardigan: ? I've had it so long I'm not sure

Bracelet: Abilu Creations (bought in Camden Lock Market)

Brooch: From Camden Lock Market

Bow: From South Street Sea Port in New York

Ring: From a local store

Nail Polish: Barry M

Do you own the perfect skirt? If yes, where did you find it?

What's your ideal skirt?