Polka Dots and Flamingos

I go through phases of wearing a particular piece of clothing on a regular basis, and at the moment that's my blue AX Paris polka dot dress. I love everything about it; the shape, the fit, the colour, the length, and the design. It has everything I love in a dress, and I feel great when I'm wearing it- so it's pretty much perfect.

On Tuesday, the sun was shining for the first time in what felt like a fortnight, and it was reasonably mild outside. I managed a short intermission from confinement which resulted in a purchase of some banana scented Body Shop conditioner that smells amazing! I wore the dress with black leggings and a cardigan, but when I returned home (to my Sister's), the house was so warm I spent the rest of the day with my legs out.

I wore the dress with my cream flamingo print cardigan which I bought from George at Asda last Summer, but hadn't worn. I think I purchased it when the weather was much too hot for long sleeved knitwear, and late in the season when the design had started to look out of place. It still had the tags on and everything when I packed it to take to my sister's. It cost me just £15, and for the price it's a pretty decent cardigan. It's quite thick and warm, and the coral flamingo print is lovely.

I accessorised with my Abilu Creations charm necklace which I bought in Camden several years ago, and clipped my new Fossil View Master charm on to it, which I think goes so well with the other charms. The Abilu charms are red, pink, and silver and include flowers, strawberries, leaves, a guitar, shoes, a key, a poodle... and lots of other quirky little things. Their jewellery is all handmade, and many contain vintage charms, and I love 'em. They used to only be accessible for me on trips in to London, but they now have a website, so you can find them online here.

And I finished with a couple of faux pearl Matalan bracelets, and my rose Cath Kidston bracelet which I'm kinda obsessed with.

Outfit Details

Dress-AX Paris // Cardigan-George at Asda // Necklace-Abilu Creations // View Master Charm-Fossil // Pearl bracelets (part of a set)-Matalan // Rose bracelet-Cath Kidston //

I was hoping to be able to bring you more outfit posts whilst I've been staying with my sister, but unfortunately, I had surgery on one of my big toes on Wednesday, and the recovery is going to be a little tougher than I was anticipating. The hospital appointment was tough on my back, and I'm advised to keep off my feet with my foot elevated as much as possible over the next week, which means bed rest for me. The pain is pretty much making me immobile, anyway, but I've got a big stack of magazines to read, and lots of ideas planned for the blog to keep me occupied!

I'm not allowed to get my foot wet, but if I manage to wash my hair (somehow), I'll at least attempt to dress and shoot a few photos, but we'll see.

I hope you all have a great weekend. What have you all got planned?

Monday you can fall apart...

Monday was a bit of a write-off day for me. I spent half of it getting organised with various bits of paperwork I had to fill in and send (go me!), and the rest lying in a foetal position traumatised by all the questions I had to answer.

Okay, that's only half true. I actually found myself with a very angry back from pushing myself too far. Apparently even simple tasks like cleaning up a spilled drink are more than I can manage these days. I wrecked a few unread glossy magazines, and sent Mum out for replacements. At least I've gained another Ciate nail polish and a Benefit mascara to show for my wasted pennies (so, they're not really wasted, right)? I also asked her to pick up the latest issue of Company for me; it's my favourite magazine, and I buy it every month without fail.

I woke up to a couple of parcels from New Look and George at Asda. The bright candy coloured cardigans I ordered certainly brightened up my dull and dreary day. I'd also ordered a parrot-print jumpsuit from Asda, but unfortunately even though it fit it wasn't very forgiving on a few curves so I had to return it. It was at the smaller end of the spectrum I fit in to, and the next size up is sold out. I'm a bit disappointed as it was a gorgeous jumpsuit, and I think another size up would be too big on me. I am, however, in love with the flamingo cardigan that I also bought at the same time.

I thought I'd give you a sneak peek at all the cardigans I ordered. They're the one thing I've been lacking since my last clear out where I got rid of so many old ones. They're all from New Look, except for the flamingo one which came from George at Asda. I throw cardigans on over practically everything I wear, and you'll be sick of seeing me wear these pretty soon.

I've been window-shopping online for cute cardigans over the last few days to fill those gaps in my wardrobe, and I haven't come across all that many that are patterned. They all seem to be plain basics. I came across a few lovely designs by Forever 21, though...

I've never ordered from Forever 21 and I will admit the American sizing confuses me, but I love these four designs, and in particular the floral bed jacket and military cardigan on the top row.

And I'm also liking these inexpensive cardigans. The top two are by George at Asda; the mint cropped cardi is from Matalan; and the pink one is by F+F at Tesco.

I came across this giraffe print jumpsuit on the Asda website today, and I think I'm falling in love with it! Not bad for £20, I have to say.

And I'm also coveting these two dresses from Dorothy Perkins. The white one has penny farthings on it for goodness sake! Penny farthings! It's so different. I must make it my own!

I did allow myself another treat today. I've been milling over whether or not to purchase this Matalan hi-low hem skirt for well over a week, and today just decided to go for it. I wanted to try something a little different, and have held off ordering dresses this time for things I actually need or don't have. I must be getting old to be thinking so sensibly!

I do still have my heart set on the red shirt dress from ASOS, but I'm still planning on buying it soon!

Well, it's half three now. I'm going to attempt to wind down, and hopefully after reading IT for a while I might fall asleep. Night night.

Oh this old thing? I've had it for ages...

Well, as you may have already noticed, I've given the blog an entire revamp (yet again). I've been struggling to come up with a design I was happy with, and as a perfectionist, I continued to improve it until I was. And I finally think I'm there. What do you guys think? Can you read and see everything easily?

I've spent the last couple of days curled up in bed browsing through all the online shops that came to mind. I decided to put off buying the jewellery I have my eye on, and stocked up on lots of cardigans, a new dress, some underwear, and a jumpsuit instead. It's been a little while since I've had any money in my bank, and it seems unlikely it'll be in there for long!

You're probably sick to death of seeing me wear these cropped cardigans, but they're so versatile and just the right shape and style to wear over dresses in the summer. I already have them in four colours from last summer, but picked up another three, and got the yellow to replace my existing faded one. I was only going to get two, but couldn't decide between the three pastel shades, so took advantage of the two for £18 offer and the free delivery New Look were offering the other day. I also picked up the coral Lovedrobe crochet shrug as I'm loving the colour at the moment.

My Ax Paris yellow polka dot dress came yesterday; less than twenty-four hours after I ordered it from them! It's gorgeous! I'm going to hold off using it for an OOTD until the pastel cardigans and belts I ordered arrive. I'm thinking mint would go perfectly with it.

I've also been browsing through Asda's clothing line 'George'. I only realised they had an online shop a couple of months back, and I can assure you this is a wonderful thing! I bought the parrot print jumpsuit and the flamingo cardigan, along with a few bras which only cost £4-6 each!! The bras came this morning, and they're unbelievably lovely and pretty, and I just can't believe the price. I'm sure anybody above a 38 knows how difficult it is to find pretty bras that don't cost the earth.

Continuing on my hunt for pretty cardigans; I stumbled across this cute polka dot one by F+F at Tesco this afternoon. I've been searching everywhere for nice patterned cardis the past few days, and they're few and far between. There are a couple on the Forever 21 website I'm coveting, though! I snapped up the polka dot Tesco cardi, and then headed over to ASOS where I bought these pastel belts. I'm just hoping they're not too big on me as I love the colours!

I can't wait for all my purchases to be delivered so I can update a few outfits!

There are still lots of other things I'm lusting after, but I will hold off for now or I'll be back in my overdraft quicker than you can say 'shopaholic'. I'll put together a few of my new favourites finds for another post.