Leather and Lace

It's nearly the end of my holiday so I didn't want to waste my last few precious days off work lazing around ... as I have done for nearly 2 weeks now!!  It was time to leave the couch and the dvd's behind and meet some friends for lunch and drinks.

Sweater Top with lace detail: Topshop
Faux leather skirt: H&M
Footless tights: Boots
Platform Boots: New Look

An action shot ... !

Everyone and their mother now owns this skirt but that's because it's such a brilliant find.  It has an exposed zipper detail at the back and is so easy to dress up or down.  If you are thinking about buying I would size up in it.  H&M are always hit and miss with their clothing and this is one of those rubbish items you need to go a size bigger in :( 

I actually bought the top because I loved the lace shoulder detail.  I love any detailing on shoulders ... I seem to be drawn to anything like this.  I picked it up in the Topshop sale and was paying for it before I realised it was from their Maternity range! Yikes, that's not an announcement by the way!! It actually makes the sweater really comfy as there is a bit more give in it without it looking baggy and mis-shaped.

As you can see I am still really struggling with posing! Try as hard as I can to lark about in front of the camera, I still look like a bit of a dork and can't really pull off the 'fashionista' look but hey, I'm only here to share my ideas and inspiration.  I now have another issue besides posing and that's how to re-size my photos and present them better.  One step at a time though.  

Gold & silver link chain: Topshop
Silver diamante link chain: Primark
Watch: Vintage seiko
friendship bracelets: Topshop

I also stole my husbands vintage Seiko watch for the day.  I have decided it suits me better ... wonder if he will let me keep it ;)

I go back to work tomorrow and the thought literally fills me with dread.  Back to the grind so they say ... it's going to be a long 3 days until Friday!!

Who else is struggling with being back at work?

x

Outfit of the Night - ROX Gold Moet Christmas Party

Since I posted my ROX party face of the night , I have managed to get a hold of a photo taken on the night that shows my full 'outfit of the night' ... such a naff title for a post really, don't you think?

Anyway, the ROX photographer was working the room and as guided by Toni he ended up taking some pics of a very reluctant not so style fairy!

The photo surprised me as my higglety-pigglety outfit turned out better than I expected.  Having had a complete dress dilemna before the party, I ended up just throwing something together last minute that was more comfort and practical than glam and dolled up although it did have elements of the latter.

I finally decided on my Christopher Kane for Topshop embellished dress which i have had for a while now with some thick black tights to keep me warm in the Scottish baltic weather conditions.  New Look platform booties were still comfortable even after an evening of standing around schmoozing and sipping (read: knocking back) cocktails at the bar.  I accessorised with a chunky silver/diamante chain necklace and bracelet, making sure to keep it as minimal as possible given the dress is heavily embellished.  Finally, a French Connection clutch finished the outfit off ... simply because it was the only black bag I could find as my taxi sat beeping away outside!

I find I can't handle bare legs and shoulders in the cold weather unless I have at least 3 layers to wrap in on my way home, which isn't always easy on a night out.

How do you look glam in the cold weather or are you just braver than me? ;)

x

Marrakech Outfit of the Night

Here is an outfit of the night I took while on holiday.  I managed to recycle this outfit and wore it twice, once in Marrakech then in Essaouira (something usually unheard of for me).

I wanted to make sure my shoulders were covered up and that I didn't expose too much skin.  I rarely take heels on holiday but I threw a pair of wedges in last minute and I'm glad I did as this jumpsuit had super long legs.

Despite having invested in a super new camera, these photos still aren't very good - I can only blame my photographer ;)

Jumpsuit: Primark (last minute holiday buy but it is a LOVE purchase)

Belt: attached to jumpsuit

Wedges (Unseen): Topshop

Clutch: Warehouse

Ring: Primark (yup another cheapo) 

Watch: Swatch

I love the wine shade of the jumpsuit, it looks so much richer than the actual price tag which is always a bonus when it comes to stores like Primark.  I also really like the 70's feel to this outfit which went with a new style of wearing my hair.

I have been wearing my hair in a middle parting a lot recently since my fringe is growing out.  It's a painful process and I am not convince a middle parting suits me but it helped to wear it like this on holiday as I managed to forget all my kirby grips and couldn't find any in Morocco to buy!

Tonight I finally managed to complete the upload of over 1000 photos I snapped in Marrakech and Essaouira so will try and share a few with you in some separate posts.

x

OOTD & Celeb Slim update

As usual with any of my (rare) OOTD posts, they are never actually todays outfit .... this was from Saturday.

I would really love to do more OOTD photos but alas I hate posing, it takes at least 60 shots to get a decent photo, it's difficult to photograph yourself, I am quite body shy and at least 5 days out of 7, I wear nothing of much interest.

However I am tempted to start them up more regularly thanks to a new found confidence that has only been assisted by Celebrity Slim.

Back at the start of Summer when I started Celebrity Slim, my progress was steady and pretty quick. In around 8 weeks I had lost a full stone in weight. For the last 4-5 months I have managed to keep the weight off which is fantastic.

But I don't want to stop there, I want to lose at least another stone and a half so thats why this week I will be re-starting the celebrity slim process. Back to my 2 shakes a day, protein snacks and healthy dinner.

It's been easy to maintain the weight but I have got a little lazy and I know it would just take an extra bit of will power and perserverance to lose a bit more. I go on holiday in 4 weeks and would love to lose another stone but I will be a little more realistic and would be happy with at least 7lbs. Wish me luck!

In the meantime though, I have regained confidence in my appearance now that I have lost a little of the blubber. I still have my moments when I literally feel like nothing looks good on or moments when i look at photos of me and think, Urgh! But for the most part I am feeling pretty good again, hence why I am happy to start posting more Outfit posts.

So here is Saturdays ... I was doing a little shopping, going for some lunch then heading down to Newcastle for a party. There was a slight chill in the air but quite a sprinkling of sun ... LA was what I thought of when putting this outfit together. (excuse the messy dressing room in the background)

Here we have:

Grey zara t-shirt (with embellished shoulders)

H&M Fur stole (favourite winter accessory EVER!)

Aldo Aviators

Primark Jeans (shameful you may think but I should really do a seperate blogpost about these)

New Look wedges

If only I were in LA. I was actually in Newcastle for a Halloween party so I will posting some photos of that later to show you what my finished Queen of Hearts look turned out.

Anyone else trying to lose some extra lbs just now? How are you all doing?

Country style OOTD

It's not all that often you seen outfit of the day post on this blog.

As much as i'd like to do them everyday I a) don't have time and b) look like

i've been dragged through a bush backwards most days.

It was a bank holiday weekend so hub and I decided to take a trip to the Highlands for some relaxation, fresh air and amazing scenery.

We ended up staying in Glencoe but did a little mini tour of some lovely places a little further

north like Arisaig and Mallaig. The beaches near Arisaig are particularly gorgeous, in good weather you would probably think you were in the middle of the Carribean!

Since I was headed to the great outdoors, I decided I wanted to go for a Lady of the

Country Manor look. I needed to be casual, comfortable, a teensy bit glam, warm and prepared for any weather.

This is what I went with ... it was all a bit accidental but I liked how it turned out.

Starting from the bottom up:

Riding Boots from Kurt Geiger; Long cable knit socks from House of Fraser; Leggings from Stradivarius; Long vest top from Topshop; Cotton jumper with military detail from Zara; Leopard print scarf from Warehouse; Fur hood gillet from Primark; Sunglasses Oscar de la Renta courtesy of TK MAXX.

Make up was kept pretty low key with some bronzer, blush, winged liner and a bit of Ever Hip lippie by MAC.

And just incase you have never ventured to the Scottish Highlands, here are some snap shots of the weekend ...

In other news, I also purchased my very first pair of hill walking boots at the weekend so I am planning more trips up north and possibly considering the 3 Peaks challenge at some point. I just need to think of how to jazz up my hill walking outfit but that's a whole other blogpost!

After such a lovely weekend it was hard to come home to dreary wet weather and work. Oh well, another day another dollar ...

x

Scottish Fashion Awards: What I wore & FOTN

So when I was initially invited to the Scottish Fashion Awards asides from jumping up and down yelping like an excitable oompa loompa ... I made a conscious desicion not to panic over what to wear.

At the end of the day, no one would know who I was or be interested in taking my photo. There was no need to worry. Honest.

Well fast forward to Sunday 20th June, sitting in a hair salon having my hair lacquered into oblivion as I gulped back tears of regret. The thing is I wanted to turn up on the evening looking effortlessly chic ... not high from the fumes of hairspray with a contrived but bedraggled barnet. To be fair I did ask for a messy up do so I had only myself to blame for the stiff birds nest I left with.

With an hour left to spare I had to get home, tweak the barnet and apply my face. With 60 short minutes everything seemed to take so much longer than usual. An eyeshadow disaster (thanks to a dirty make up brush) and some botched false lashes later, I turned out this...FACE:
Mac Strobe Cream as a base
Estee Lauder Double Wear in fresco
Bobbi Brown Creamy Concealer in warm ivory
CHEEKS:
Nars Laguna Bronzer
Bobbi Brown Apricot blush (my hg)
Topshop highlighter in sunbeam
EYES:
Urban Decay Shroom and Madhatter from the Alice in Wonderland Palette
Mac Vanilla to highlight
Clarins Mascara
Mac false lashes No.43
Bobbi Brown gel liner in caviar
Benefit Eyebright on waterline
LIPS:
Mac Angel
Dolce & Gabbana lipgloss in Candy

Also after some twitter debate, it was decided that Mac Vintage Vamp would be the nail colour of choice for the evening. It took about 4 coats but it looked lovely in the end.

As for my outfit - I made a decision to wear this French Connection dress right from the start. FC can always be trusted to turn out a stylish dress or two ... and this is no exception. It is quite new but I believe it is now on sale for half price, sods law eh? It's basically a classic LBD with a little twist of lace inserts on the chest, back and sleeves. The shape of the dress reminds me a little of Roland Mouret and is very flattering. Insert photo of very awkward posing:
I teamed the dress with Christian Louboutin Titi's which absolutely crippled my feet! Sob Sob. After long deliberation and twitter advice, I opted for a plain black leather bag. Nothing else seemed to look right. The only accessory was a large russian cocktail ring as the dress does most of the work itself.

When it was time to go, I forgot about the dodgily coiffed hair and mucky eye make up - I was just too damn excited! Can you tell?
x

Celebrity Slim Update & OOTD

So, I have been in the Celebrity Slim zone for a week and a half now and I am happy to report it is going very well.

I have lost 5lbs and so far I haven't been tempted to stray and haven't had any cravings strong enough to cave in to the lure of sweets and burgers! Although, I did allow myself a cheat night last night and had a cherry bakewell tart and some doritos and wine - classy! ;)

Now I have had a few people tell me they don't believe Celeb Slim is a healthy diet but let me fill you in on my diet pre Celeb Slim and after.

A normal days intake PRE celeb slim:

Breakfast: A bag of Walkers prawn cocktail crisps and bar of chocolate. Diet coke.

Lunch: Greggs sandwich/chips/baked potato. Bag of crisps or chocolate bar snack. Diet coke.

Dinner: This varied it could be anything from takeaway to home made chicken fajitas. Chocolate treat. Diet coke.

Horrendous, huh?

A normal days intake on celeb slim:

Breakfast: A celeb slim shake or meal replacement bar.

Mid Morn Snack: Celery with philadelphia light

Lunch: A celeb slim shake or meal replacement bar.

Mid Afternoon Snack: An apple

Dinner: Trout with salad & poached egg/Tuna salad/Steak & Veg/Ham salad

After dinner snack: A piece of fruit/celery & dip

You can see the difference can't you?

I don't want to live on the celeb slim plan forever but until I am at a happy weight I will continue to take them and through the plan I will continue to educate myself about how I eat, when I eat and portion sizes. Slowly but surely I will also re-introduce carbs. Eventually I will be able to replace the shakes with a healthy breakfast and lunch option.

I want to chronicle my weight loss through photos but I am not brave enough to do the underwear challenge so it is fully clothed photos - you can all breathe a sigh of relief! Hopefully when (not if) I meet my target weight I will show you the photos that encouraged me to start losing weight but for now they will stay under wraps. So here is today's Outfit of the day (OOTD) ....
I hate badly taken OOTD photos, so just to bug myself here's another 2!!
Jeans - Primarni (good for slobbing in, not so good for looking glam in)
Tartan Shirt (half tucked in half out)- Topshop
Shoes - Seychelles at House of Fraser
Belt - Mango

Will keep you posted on Celeb Slim and hopefully my next OOTD will show some weight loss results! :)

x

FOTD, OOTD and Candyfloss hair!!

Last night I was out to play so thought I would show you my look for the night. I literally got ready in about 40 minutes and instead of going through the usual routine of styling my hair down, I went for a back combed updo and also went for a quick smokey eyed look - sticking to what i know when in a hurry! (I always seem to be in a hurry these days!)

So here's the face!

Face:
Bobbi Brown Pro Stick (this is a fail safe for me as mentioned in a previous post and i'm loving it!)
Prescriptives mineral foundation (a light dusting to set the foundation - it's a night out after all)
Mac Select Cover up
Bobbi Brown colour corrector

Eyes:
Mac All that Glitters
Mac Glamour Check
Mac Beauty Marked
Mac Fluidline in blacktrack
Dior Show Mascara

Lips:
Mac Cremesheen in Partial to Pink

Cheeks:
Nars Laguna
Mac MSF Redhead
Illamasqua blush in Unrequited

.... and the hair:I basically hairsprayed and back combed all of it then started pinning it at the back with bobby pins so in the end it had a candyfloss french roll effect. In the end i think it could have looked a little 'fluffier' as bedhead was the intention with this hair do.

And finally, what I wore:
Apologies for the whited out photo but I was trying to hide the wonderful backdrop that is my bathroom!!!

Sequinned dress from H&M - this reminds me a little of a 1940's flapper dress, I love it but my husband think it hides my waistline. This can only be a good thing for me as it is expanding at such a rate, why would I want to show it off?!!

Topshop platform shoes

Mango bubble ball bracelet

I kept accessories low key as the dress was sequinned and I don't like to overgild the lily as they say. I teamed this with a black blazer and I was good to go!

What was your Saturday night ootd/fotd?

x

Outfit of the day ...

Things have been pretty busy this weekend, it's my husbands birthday today so we have had a few days of festivities!

Today, we were nursing the hangovers and decided to go for a trip to the shops. I opted for a comfy but colourful outfit so thought I would show you all. I am not sure how interesting or inspiring anyone finds posts like this but thought I'd give my first official outfit of the day post a go. You can let me know what you think ....
Catalogue posing at its best ;P. Please excuse my peely wally (pale) legs ... they had been st moriz'd but my legs never take too well to any tan.
What i wore:
Pink multicoloured kaftan dress from Mango. I bought this in the sale last week for around £15-£20.
'Vintage' French Connection denim jacket (I bought this about 10 years ago ... does this constitute as vintage?? ... i think so ;) )
Matalan Multicoloured gladiators ... these are a great copy of the much pricier Aldo versions. I'm sure these only cost around £12.
My hobbit feet do not look their best here and my nails are very badly painted, I was in a rush when i did them!

I also wore these Topshop beads I picked up in the sale for about £10. It is actually one necklace with reams and reams of beads. I love it!
Finally I teamed with a vintage belt that cost me around £3 from a vintage store.
So what do you think of this colourful, casual combo?

x