My Big Fat Royal Birthday!

On Friday, while all eyes were on Kate and Wills, I was feeling a little left out as it was a big birthday for me and my limelight had been well and truly stolen ... hmmph! ;p

I started my birthday weekend at a delightful hotel and spa in the Lake District.  This was my first visit to the Lakes and it was just lovely, I definitely want to go back and explore more of it.  We stayed at the Swan Hotel and Spa, an utterly charming and gorgeous hotel with wonderful decor where shabby chic meets modern country chic.  Stags heads and horns adorned the walls as well as colourful upholstery and floral wallpapers.  It was just gorgeous.

our very cute and country room 

The hotel was covered in patriotic bunting in celebration of the Royal Wedding and they even had a special showing of it and served up afternoon tea with cake and scones.  So very British and quaint.

After a morning of drooling over the Royal Wedding .... 'that' dress was just amazing, it was the ultimate in fairytale nuptials and even had me feeling a little emotional.  All this from someone who wasn't that bothered about watching other than to check out the dress and who designed it.  Long Live McQueen!  Sarah Burton did a wonderful job.

I spent the rest of the day mountain biking which was a first for me and was as much fun as it was physically challenging for a novice like me.  It has got me pondering the purchase of my own bike as it's such a great way to keep fit.

chilling out with my first vodka of many ;) 

Hello Kitty cake... for the mature 30 year old ;) 

Later that evening it was time to chill and I was treated to plentiful champagne and cake.   Before I knew it my couple of days retreat in the Lakes was over and it was back to the big smoke for a surprise bash where friends and family had kept schtum for weeks giving me no clues as to what they had planned.
Needless to say I am tired and slightly hungover today so thought I would let you in on some of the photos from my birthday weekend and let you see what I wore to my surprise bash.

I wore a gorgeous navy strapless jumpsuit from Topshop which I bought many months ago, loving it for it's slightly 70's studio 54 vibe.  I teamed with minimal gold and brown jewellery and brown moc croc heels from Aldo (barely seen in photo below).   I finally got the chance to wear my vintage fur cape which I adore and have been dying to wear since I bought it on eBay absolutely yonks ago!  It has a gaga-esque/Dynasty look about it.

 I went for a bronzey/navy make up look, similar to what I wore at New Year.  This time I chose to wear Ardell Demi Wispies false lashes and I absoluely loved them.  They were soft enough to give a fluttery finish but had the right balance between fake and natural.  I don't want to look like I am not wearing false lashes but I also don't want them taking over my eyes like tarantulas.  Ardell lashes are made from human hair which I think helps create that softer finish that sets them apart from other false lashes.

Emma a.k.a Jessica Rabbit and I 

Stacie (who is also my hair fairy!)

Mr Party Planner and his Mrs

I now can't quite believe the recent influx of bank holidays are over and normal working life will resume as off Tuesday :( I am not sure how I will get back into a routine or how I will get over the high of royal weddings, royal birthdays and royal lazing about.

How have you spent the bank holiday weekend?  Are you ready to return to the rat race?! 

x

Holidays are coming ....

April is upon us which means one thing for me - my birthday! It's been a tough couple of months with stress at work, stress at home and moving flat being a much bigger job than I had ever imagined. I am very much in need of a holiday and there is no better time than my birthday to sneak off for an early spring/summer break.

Ibiza is the location in mind, just before the parties season starts, a relaxed, chilled out vibe on the white isle with plenty of time to explore without the pressure to party! With each holiday, I try and reduce my luggage more and more, I am determined to become a savvy traveller without the need for 12 pairs of shoes, 8 pairs of sunglasses and a bikini (sometimes 2) for every day of the holiday! My biggest problem is packing too many outfit combos ... I need to learn to pack versatile clothes that can transfer easily from day to night.

My holiday isn't far off, only a few weeks away so I need to get organised and be as sensible with my packing as I can. Here are a few things I am thinking of packing for my holiday. These will provide me with the essentials I need for day and night time dressing.

Ibiza Outnet options by saskiathesalsafairy featuring Antik Batik bags

* This American Retro dress is amazingly only £84 from £210 on theOutnet.com. It is a perfect day to night dress. It's perfect to throw on over your bikini after a day at the beach but equally cool enough to wear at night bar hopping.

* The sandals are Juicy Couture and are the perfect style of gladiator sandal for this dress. On holiday I find it hard to wear heels so these can be worn day and night, see I'm already saving space (and large luggage fees).

* I really wish I could stick to one pair of sunglasses on holiday but I just can't. My favourite sunnies are aviators like these Carrera's, they are my preference for daytime but late afternoon or a vino fuelled late lunch calls for something more sophisticated like these Nina Ricci oversized sunnies.

* My hair needs protecting during the day so a trilby will do the trick... keeping my hair neatly tucked away from the drying rays of the Sun.

* This Antik Batik bag is just gorgeous and is perfect for all the essentials - suncream, ipod, phone, money.

These are going to be added to my neverending list for theOutnet.com birthday £1 sale on April 16th however with the prices as good as they are - especially the dress - I may just put in an early order!

If you want to be part of theOutnet birthday celebrations just click HERE to RSVP by registering to the site. Then on April 16th you will have your pick of Designer goodies for £1 - Remember it is one day only and also one item per person due to the demand so be a savvy shopper!

What are your Beach holiday essentials?

x

New Shoes!! .... yes another pair!

This is just a quick post as I have such a stressful week ahead and I want to be cosied up in bed by 9pm!

As you all know it was my birthday this week and as part of my birthday treats, my husband took me into town at the weekend and bought me these kick ass shoes from Topshop!
I absolutely love them! They are so high yet so comfortable and easy to walk in. No pain even at the end of an evening.... which leads me to...

Last night my friend and I went out for some birthday drinks ... we thought it would be a really busy night as it was the Bank Holiday but we couldn't have been more wrong, everywhere was dead but it didn't stop us having some birthday fun!

Apologies for the horrendous quality of this photo, it was taken on my camera phone and my photographer was rubbish ;P (i know she will be reading this ;)!) I am mid pose so apologies for the gammy stance!
I wore my new shoes with black tights, a black sequinned dress (the same one Sophie Dahl wore on Jonathan Ross on Friday night), and a black blazer with the sleeves rolled up..... minimal jewellery, just some bangles and a ring. The photo is bad but you should get the idea!
I styled my hair pretty bad ... I used Chi volume boost which really isn't very good for my hair and think thats where it all went wrong! Shorter hair is not proving to be as versatile as I thought it would be ... maybe i just need some tips on styling?!

So any tips on styling my shorter hair are welcome. What are your opinions on my new shoes and my choice of outfit? yay or nay? Good, bad or just plain ugly?!

xx