Sun

We've had glorious sunshine in the UK for the last week or so and I've been making the most of it with BBQs, ping pong in the park, ice cream, mini golf, eating out and plenty of other good stuff.

Here's a few photos from along the way...

 Sunbathing in the garden. Nail polish by Essie.

Trying new designs on my nails (I achieved this with the end of a hair slide dipped into polish)

Homemade strawberry lemonade 

Photo c/o Xue Tintin

 Birthday BBQ

Photo c/o Xue Tintin 

Getting last minute pieces before I go away next week. This hat is H&M.

 Nostalgic ice lollies - remember these? 

The pattern on my new maxi (New Look)

Half Tucked

And just as you've given up on good weather, it arrives! 22 degrees and sunshine! Hoorah!

I only just packed away my lighter clothes but any excuse to wear them you have to take in this country.* I think my eagerness to do this has awakened me to the fact that I'm not quite ready for the colder weather and the layering it brings. But hey ho, I'll be ready with my jeans and skinny knits when I need to be.

My favourite skirt once again, with my loose white cotton t-shirt half tucked in and cork and beige leather sandals. They look uncomfortable but are actually one of the most comfortable pairs of heels I own. I didn't even realise till I looked in the mirror that I'd paired two striped pieces together, but since the top is subtle, I quite like the combination. And then I even stood in front on my Anya Hindmarch dust bag which also happens to be stripey.

Top - ASOS, skirt - H&M, shoes - a market in Spain, necklace - Tiffany, ring - my Grandmothers

*Just as I type this the sun once again, creeps back behind a cloud. Sigh.

New Jeans

I ordered this pair of jeans from ASOS late last week and because of the bank holiday and delays to the post, I am still waiting for them.

Like with all new purchases, I've envisaged in my mind the plethora of combinations I can create from my existing wardrobe and with a good pair of jeans, the opportunities are endless. The last time I bought jeans was two years ago, an excruciatingly skinny pair from Hollister. And they've served me well. I still love them. But I was in need of a little denim injection so have gone for a different shape this time. We'll see how it works out but as with any new relationship, I intend to be with them as much as possible.

With that in mind, instead of sitting peering out the window, waiting eagerly for the postman, I thought I would at least try to be constructive with my time and play around with some different looks.

Now all I need is to get them...

Jeans - A/Wear at ASOS, jumper - H&M, boots - H&M, necklace - Halleh at net-a-porter.com, clutch - Anya Hindmarch

Jeans as before, shirt - Topshop, bowling bag - Zara, gold cuff - ASOS, cork wedges - Christian Louboutin

Jeans as before, t-shirt - 3.1 Phillip Lim, Chelsea boots - ASOS, leather belt - Dolce & Gabbana, bag - Coach

Twisted

T-shirt - Pepe Jeans, skirt - H&M (although its actually a top), sandals - Zara, watch - vintage

On my day off last week, we ran around doing the usual chores - food shopping etc but the difference was we got to do it all in a car! I could hardly contain myself that we actually had a boot to fill rather than lugging it all home like donkeys. We've bought an old Nissan Micra to help with the everyday things but also to go and visit family further away more easily. I also can't wait for our first countryside outing as I'm feeling a little sick of the city at the moment.

I needed to be comfy because it was the first day of getting used to the new car so opted for a stretch cotton skirt, white T and my red twisted suede sandals.

Holiday Looks

Finally my brand new, fully-functional camera cable arrived today so I've been able to upload my Spain photos to my computer.

Following on from this post, I've been dying to get them on here so without further-a-do, here are 3 of my brief getaway outfits (number 4 was just a bikini!).

I bought this dress from Zara that day so paired it with my new Zara heels for drinks in the evening. I kept the hair and make-up simple, with just a red lip to keep the look clean.



I wore this ensemble to visit my old college to see what the current fashion design students were up to. The top is from Tkmaxx, skirt from ASOS and sandals from River Island (also mentioned here and here).

This final outfit was for a relaxing day by the pool. Easy to strip off with my black Vitamin A bikini underneath (see here and here), but making a bit of a statement with the super bright skirt. Top - H&M, skirt - ASOS, sandals - River Island

Maxi

Top - H&M, skirt - Belle and Bunty at ASOS, necklace - Tiffany & Co

I decided to wear my new maxi skirt today. Wasn't totally convinced before I put it on but I actually loved wearing it. It's so bright and flowing - really makes you smile. Since it's so outfit-dominating, I wore it with a plain, black tank top, black cardigan and simple gold sandals. Some gold bangles would have worked perfectly but unfortunately I don't have any.

I took a cheeky trip to New Look today to deliberately go and buy some flat sandals. Well that didn't work out so well but I did walk out with these tan stacked wedges (with my student discount - £20). Not sure if I'm going to keep them yet or not - will probably wear them round the house a bit until I decide. Why is it always that I end up keeping the item when I say I might return it??

Cinema

My boyfriend and I decided to go and watch The King's Speech at the cinema on Saturday. I was fed up of seeing my newly purchased blazer hanging in the wardrobe so decided it was about time I wore it. It was quite a dull but mild day and I was grateful for the cover up in the air conditioned cinema.

I was feeling really lazy and it's long enough so I just wore it with leggings and my trusty leather boots.


Blazer - Vero Moda at House of Fraser, black vest - H&M, leggings - Mango, boots - a little shoe shop in Camden, watch - my Grandmother's, ring - ditto, necklace - Tiffany & Co.





Maria

Sunday Lunch

Since I won't be home till late on Valentine's Day, we decided to go out for lunch on Sunday instead to a little Italian bistro on the high street. I bought this blouse on Friday since I felt a blouse/shirt void in my closet. My wardrobe is lacking a little in smart/casual pieces so I went to Zara (the go-to shop for smart/casual clothes) to try to fill that void. I also bought a black cross-over dress which I'll show you later in the week.




Blouse - Zara, top - H&M, jeans - Hollister, shoes - New Look, purse - Bimba & Lola, watch - my Grandmother's





Maria

Take Me Out to the Ball Game

At one time or another, if you have a boyfriend/husband who likes any type of sport, you are bound to find yourself in the position where you are to attend a game.

My boyfriend is a big fan of Chelsea FC so every couple of months or so, I get pulled along to a match. Now, I don't really like football and I'd rather sit and watch paint dry than watch football on TV but going to a live event is a bit different and I actually enjoy going. However, what's a girl to wear to a football game? Obviously it's freezing to sit outside for 3 hours hardly moving so you need to wrap up. But I despise the 'I need to keep warm therefore I shall wear a tracksuit and UGG boots' attitude so I always try to make at least a bit of effort in the style area.

So this is what I wore this weekend. The only piece of advice I would give is if you think you have far too many pairs of socks on, put on another. Oh and take a bag that you can wear accross yourself!


Dress- TFNC at ASOS, top- H&M, bag- vintage, trainers- Converse, necklace- Tiffany





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PS. I realise I'm overdoing the Converse a bit but I haven't worn trainers since August because I had left them in Spain and only recently got them back! Normal stylish footwear will resume momentarily.

Wrapped Up

It's not often I post an outfit so thought I'd make the effort to take a photo and post what I wore on a Saturday visiting family for lunch.

Skirt- H&M, coat- Zara, suede gloves- H&M, trainers- Converse, bag- River Island (although I wouldn't recommend it because the colour stains and scuffs easily due to the suede fabric), snood- H&M

A little day trip

On Sunday, the girls and I took a little trip to Estepona. I've posted some photos I took there amoungst a few more I've taken in the garden. Yes, I know, more photos. But I promise that as soon as I get home I will find a fashion post!








I've kind of included an outfit post into this.
Jumper and skirt - H&M, shoes - New Look, purse - Bimba & Lola, sunglasses - Marc by Marc Jacobs.











Me and my other half are going to watch the Britain's Got Talent auditions on Thursday so I'll hopefully make a post about that come the weekend (once I have finally got some uni work done!).





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