Happy Holidays

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Have a great bank holiday my lovelies and I will be back online in a week

I will be around on twitter still depending on reception :)

Cream Delight

I have been dreaming of this day for weeks now... I am on holiday!! YAY.  It couldn't come soon enough and I cannot wait for a week of walking, relaxing, eating and generally doing anything other than work.  Bliss.  I am also really happy as I have just managed to order the Missguided dress in blush, at only £24 it would be rude not to buy the full set!  I can't wait to see what the sleeved version looks like.  The cream one again is the same fabric as the Topshop version and is thankfully a couple of inches longer.  Only downside is that the lining is thinner so you can tell I am wearing a black bra under it whereas I can totally get away with it under the Topshop dress.

 Dress: Missguided

For those of you wondering what the length is like in comparison to the Topshop dress I have popped the Topshop one over the Missguided one:

It's approx 2-3 inches longer and really does make a difference.  I just wish the Topshop ones were this length, especially the blue one which is definitely my favourite.

Clash, Bang, Wallop!!

I had a bit of palaver getting this dress as I'm sure those of you who follow me on twitter will have seen but I am over that now as I love this dress!  I love the clash of the red and pink panels and the shape is just perfect :) So glad it's finally mine!

Dress: asos

I'm so happy that today is my last day at work for just over a week, Wales here we come!

Wednesday Wants

How are your weeks going? I can't believe it's only Wednesday, that's how bad mine has been so far!! But off on holiday on Friday so that's keeping me going :)

A few gems to share with you this week...

Dress: River Island

Love the colours and the stripes but not sure about the length, really want to find this instore so I can try it on but I never seem to be able to find the good stuff in any of the stores near me.  Where do they hide it all?! I've got a thing about orange at the moment.  I love how it works with tan and maybe if I had one an actual tan too!  Need to get myself a nice orange nail polish I think.

 Dress: asos

Very pretty dress in a gorgeous colour but awful, awful photo asos! How did this one slip thru quality control?!  I've loved this dress since it was first available last autumn and I think this colour makes it perfect for summer.  Only concern is the fabric, I've not had much luck with their dresses unless they are either ponti or lace.  They crease so badly so that's the only thing putting me off ordering what is otherwise a beautiful dress.  I say only thing obviously the crap service I have received from asos also puts me off but I am trying to ignore that whilst looking admiring the dress...

Dress: Dorothy Perkins

I've seen this dress on little photos around my local Outfit recently and have been trying to track down the dress, it's a bargain price and I love the candy rock colours and stripes.  Out of my three wishlist dresses this is definitely the one I must own!

The Missguided dress I blogged about on Sunday/Monday is back in stock in the cream in all sizes if you were wanting to order it.  I've already ordered mine to replace the Topshop one that I swear has shrunk in the wash.  It really wasn't quite that short when I first got it!!

Point me to what you're currently coveting my lovelies :)

It's In The Bag!

Thought I would give you a heads up on another little Primark treasure, their bags are spot on this season!  It's the perfect shade of pink and I am hoping it will compliment my new asos dress...

I think this little lovely will get a lot of use this summer (if we get one!!) It's not big enough to fit my iPad into but I guess I shouldn't really take it everywhere with me anyway!

Missguided love...

I blogged my new Missguided dress yesterday and I have to say I absolutely adore it.  I really want both the blush and cream versions as it is an inch or so longer than the very similar topshop dress that we have all been loving but they are currently sold out.  I tweeted Missguided and they have informed me that some more cream ones will hit the website this week and that they will also be selling a red version and ones with sleeves soon too! RESULT!! Still want a blush one though ;)

I thought I would do a little comparison for you with my orange Topshop dress against my orange Missguided dress...

Light Orange: Topshop     Burnt Orange: Missguided

Apart from the sleeves there really isn't much difference, they are both of a similar quality and the fabric feels the same to me.  The pattern on the lace is the same too which leads me to believe they have actually used the same fabric.  The Missguided one is an inch or two longer and that's a blessing in my opinion.  I personally prefer the colour of the Missguided one but also like the Topshop one enough to keep that too!

Spot the difference?!

The main difference is the price.  The Topshop one will set you back £48 whereas the Missguided one is a purse friendly £24. The hardest part is choosing the colour you want most, I have the Topshop one in Orange, Blue, Red and Cream and want the Missguided one in Blush, Cream and Red when it comes back into stock.  My Topshop cream one is ridiculously short and I swear it has shrunk in the wash as it now only just covers my bum and my red one is now too big so I want to replace them with the Missguided versions asap :)

Burnt Orange

I'm rather late today, sorry!  I had planned taking the photos before I started baking my sisters 3 tier wedding cake but it didn't happen.  Really struggled to get out of bed today.  The final tier is still cooking as I type but I am glad that's now out of the way.  They will be packed up to mature now and iced a week or so before the wedding.  I'm nervous/excited about icing them, I can't wait to see how it turns out and I hope I do the design justice. 

Another Wednesday Wants dress to share with you today, these weekly wishlists are not helping my bank balance!  I can't resist most of them :)  This one was an absolute bargain at only £23.99 from Missguided.  I have ordered from them about a year ago but was really disappointed with both the dress and it's tiny sizing that I sent it straight back.  I couldn't not try this one though so ordered anyway and am glad to report that both the quality and the sizing are spot on.  I need to order the other colours too but am sad to find out they have both sold out in a 12 :(  Oh and if you join their mailing list you can save 10% off your first order :)

Dress: Missguided

I cannot get enough of bright colours at the moment, maybe one day I will be brave enough to go bare-legged and not spoil some of them with black tights/leggings!

Cobalt Blue

Good morning lovelies :)  Today's outfit is a bit different, rather than share what I am wearing today I thought I would show you what I wore last night to see The Cribs.  This dress isn't really something I would wear to work due to the length but it's so pretty I need you to see it!

Dress: Topshop

I ended up buying both versions of this Wednesday Wants dress and I am so glad that I did, can't wait til I can share you the other colour way.

I'm now off to a family party, have a great day whatever your plans are :)

Sugar Rush

Thought I would share with you the reason I am just way too tired to snap an outfit post today...

I have really, really missed baking cupcakes! I had a ball making and decorating these til late last night ready to take to my Cousins 25th Wedding Anniversary celebrations tomorrow.  Shame I won't be able to eat any of them, got to be good if I want results on the scales on Sunday :(

I'm off to see The Cribs tonight so am planning to burn as many calories as possible dancing and singing along at the top of my lungs.  God I love The Cribs!

Have a good Friday my lovelies xx

Button Bouquet

Some of you may remember my previous post from when I first started making my sisters button bouquet for her wedding in July.  I have made good progress and wanted to share the results so far with you all.  I am just waiting on a swatch of fabric from my sisters dress so I can add a matching lace frill and cover the wires to create the handle.  We are visiting family on Saturday as it's my Cousins 25th wedding anniversary and I still need to add some buttons from my Aunties button box so a little part of my Auntie can be there on the day :)  Wedding days are always bittersweet reminders of the people who are no longer with us but much missed.

I will write a tutorial when it is finished if anyone is interested in making their own.  The hardest part for me was sourcing all the buttons but we got there in the end.  I can't wait til it's finished and I can tick one item off my wedding to do list!  I am making the fruit cakes for the wedding cake this weekend too so that will just leave me with the cake to ice and 300 or so cupcakes to make the weekend before... argh!!

100 stems and I am ready to start the assembly...

 I put the stems together in bunches and wrapped them around each other until it began to take shape...

ta-da! I am so happy with it so far, a few gaps to fill then I can finish it off

My sister will have a permanent reminder of our Grandmother once she is married, our Mum has given both my sister and I my Grans wedding rings.  We are going to use the gold from my Grans rings to create our own wedding rings!  I cried when my Mum put the idea to me, I can't think of a better reminder of my Gran than having the honour of wearing her wedding ring.  My Gran was widowed and married again so we get a ring each.  I am the only one who could actually wear her ring without having it adjusted, guess that's where I get my man hands from then!! 

Wednesday Wants

I do seem to buy most of my wishlist items so maybe I should treat it more like a shopping list than a wishlist?!  Saying that I haven't been able to find the first dress on last weeks yet and I have tried on the other two and didn't like them in reality!

I have managed to find some more lovely dresses that I am lusting over this week, there are just so many gorgeous dresses around right now :)

Dress: asos 

This dress is the same shape as the leopard one I wore the other day and absolutely love.  The leopard one is very flattering and makes me feel really confident so I am hoping this one will be just as nice.  Needless to say I have actually already ordered this one and it should be arriving very shortly :)

Dress:  Missguided

This gorgeous lace dress from Missguided is very similar to the Topshop one from a previous wishlist. I have actually purchased the Topshop dress in both colours shown but haven't yet worn the orange one.  I am hoping that the missguided one might be a little longer and if it looks the same minus the sleeves then I can take the Topshop one back and save myself some ££!  The Misguided one is only £24 whereas the Topshop one is double at £48.  I am most likely to wear it with it with a cardigan anyway so you won't even notice that this one is sleeveless.

Dress:  Dahlia

Isn't this dress just beautiful?! I really love it but the length has so far stopped me from placing an order.  Coral is such a mood enhancing colour and combined with the black peter pan collar I think it is just perfect!  Kinda like a less quirky but way more sophisticated version of my last keep or return dress.

Dress: Boohoo

This dress is so adorable, I really, really love it.  The only thing I don't love is that it is from boohoo.com.  I have found the quality of their items poor and it takes up to a month to get a refund from them which together make me very reluctant to place an order with them.  The last time I decided to take and chance and give them another go I received a dress with a big hole in the waistband and then had to wait just over a month to get my money back.  Not cool.  Have you ordered anything from boohoo.com recently? Do you think the quality/service has improved at all?

I can't stop thinking about the missguided dress... have any of you ordered from them before?  What are they like for sizing and service?  I have signed up to their news letter so I can get 10% off my first order :)

A few of discount codes for you:

DPVIP - 25% off everything at Dorothy Perkins til Sunday 22nd May

VC15 - 15% off at Boohoo til Sunday 22nd May

style2011 - 20% off at Warehouse til Thursday 9th June

20CODE0511 - 20% off at Oasis til Thursday 19th May

Link me to what you're currently loving :)

Keep or Return?

I really am not sure about this dress.  I love the idea and I love it on the asos model but I just don't think it works on me.  It's too much of a cross between a school girl and a french maid on me and there is something off about it.  Maybe its the collar? Maybe it's the neck tie? Maybe it's because it's a good size too big on top but would be too small round the waist if I downsized? Maybe it's the fact that I can already tell it will crease like a bugger and will sit around in the pile of dresses needing to be ironed that I can never find the time for?!  I think I would love it more if the top section was all white with the black detailing seeings as I will always want to wear it with a black cardigan.  What do you guys think?  I can't link you to the dress on asos as for some reason it's been removed since I ordered it last week :(

Dress: asos

One thing I do love is the way the black band round the waist works wonders and makes my waist look tiny! If only a black belt had the same effect hey?!

Animal Magic

How is it Monday already girls?! It always comes round way too fast.  I have two days of overseeing group training at a hotel to look forward to starting today :-/  I am hoping that they fly by quicker than a usual day at the office and that I don't fall asleep whilst trying to listen, don't you just hate that?!

Another Wednesday Wants dress for you today.  I finally gave in and made an asos purchase.  I still haven't forgiven them for their shoddy service but I had to return a faulty item and had a replacement groupon code to use.  Luckily this dress is just perfect and I am glad it's mine.

 Dress: asos

A little close up of the birdie brooch I made using a cheap ring I found in New Look, it was only £2!!

Tangoed

If one more person asks me if I have been tangoed I will scream!! Seriously.

This is what I wore yesterday to meet Maria, Danni and Hannah for lunch.  We had a lovely long gossip and lunch and were very bad bloggers as none of us took a single photo even though we all had cameras... oh well!

 Dress: Topshop

I dug out my favourite ever brooch, it's amazing isn't it?!  I've had it for about 10 or so years now and knew it would look perfect on this dress :)

This orange dress featured in my Wednesday Wants a few weeks ago and you may have caught a glimpse of it in my Paris photos.  I adore it, the colour is just perfect and the shape is spot on for my body, hides all the bits I want it to :)  I actually only bought this dress on Thursday as I had bought it in a size too big but then couldn't find my size anywhere.  I NEEDED the dress so wore the first one twice and was going to get it taken in when I found a 12 :) Very happy. 

I have a size 14 that I am going to sell on eBay unless anyone wants to make me a decent offer for it?  It was £40 new and as I have already said I have only worn it twice.  It sold out straight away online and I haven't been able to find it instore until I spied a random lone dress last week.  Don't you just love it when you find the dress you have been hunting for and its your size?!

After having a little twitter chat last week I am seriously considering a blog sale.  I have a rediculous amount of dresses and shoes that I no longer wear ranging from size 8-14 and shoe size 4-5.  I would rather not have the hassle of eBay and know that they are going to a good home but at the same time I would like to get a decent price for the items... what's your opinion of blog sales?  Would you be interested?  I also have a load of Tatty Devine jewellery that I no longer wear looking for a new home ;)

Finally if you haven't caught it already our latest Sunday Summary has been published on Where Are My Knees.  I am so proud of myself as I have now managed to lose 9lbs and a total of 12 inches since I started Slimming World a month ago.  This is amazing for me and I know that it's because of WAMK and the support from you guys, especially on twitter, I can't thank you all enough.  I also cannot wait for the day that I can tell you I've lost my first stone, hopefully it won't be too long now :D

Ooh La La! Another Little Giveaway Winner

Wowzers! Sorry for the delay in this guys but as I am sure most of you blogger has been down for the best part of two days.  Absolutely ridiculous. 

Anyways on to better things like revealing the winner of my little giveaway :)

A quick reminder of the prizes:

The winner was picked at random using random.org and the winner is...

Hannah from Bow Dream Nation

Well done Hannah :)

This actually made me laugh out loud as I am meeting Hannah for the first time tomorrow along with Maria and Danni so no need to contact me Hannah as I will bring your prize with me tomorrow!

Wednesday Wants

Dress: Topshop

Dress: Topshop 

Dress: Topshop

Another week another wishlist full of Topshop dresses!  They are making some serious Sarah dresses at the moment and I cannot resist.  Unfortunately I've been trying to be good and have put off ordering the top dress and it has now sold out online in my size :'-(  I've tried out the new store stock check option and it looks like I will need to make a trip to Birmingham to make it mine.  

I love everything about the second dress apart from maybe the length.  I just don't know if I can pull off a midi... being relatively short combined with heavy legs doesn't make for a great midi combo.  If I see it in any of the amazing colour options I will try it on! 

I love the shape of the third dress and the colours but am not completely sold on the print, cherries always seem a bit childish to me although I am always drawn to them.  Could eat a whole punnet of cherries right now!

A Brief Intermission

Good morning my loves.  You might have noticed a lack of outfit photos recently and the truth is all this exercise has totally zapped me and I am struggling to fit in taking photos as an extra 30 minutes in bed is far more tempting at the moment.  I am hoping that as I get used to being more active I will actually end up with more energy not less but we shall see!

Today will be day 9 of the 30 day shred but there is no way I am any where near ready to go up to level 2 yet!  Although I haven't ached once in the 8 days I have completed I am absolutely exhausted whilst doing it and the thought of stepping up to the next level makes me want to pass out!  I can't wait til next Sunday when I am going to measure myself again as well as weigh in and share the results on WhereAreMyKnees.  I know its working, I can visibly see a difference already so all the exhaustion is worth it!  I can't believe this is my fourth week on Slimming World and I feel so much better for eating so much fresh foods and hardly any preservatives.  Although I could kill for a packet of walkers ready salted right now!

I have also made a decision not to buy as many dresses until I have lost more weight... SHOCK!!  This is going to be so hard for me as if I like it I buy it but I am trying to be good.  I only bought two dresses last week which is really, really unusual for me.  Lets hope there isn't much in my weekly wishlist tomorrow hey?!  On the plus side I have two wardrobes worth of dresses that I might be able to fit into again in a month or so and there must be many favourites that have been cast to one side once the zipper won't go past half mast!

Thank you for your comments on my brooch quest yesterday, I am busily checking out your suggestions.  I did find a couple of nice rings yesterday that I have converted into brooches but I am guessing as I am not meant to be buying many clothes I will end up with a fair few brooches instead ;)

I do read each and every one of your comments and although I no longer reply as blogger doesn't offer a decent reply option I do try and track you down and answer your question personally.  I haven't been able to do this with one question though....
Cat, I can't find a personal blog or twitter account but you wanted to know how tall I am - I am 5ft 5" Some of the dresses I wear are probably too short for both my age and weight but I wear them with either thick tights or leggings and a smile!
I'm also curious what makes readers leave a comment?  Do you read the text or just look at the photos?  I have noticed that as my reader number has gone up the comments haven't but I personally am a reader and not much of a commenter and feel almost awkward leaving comments on other blogs, am I alone in this?!

I also wanted to add that I will do a wardrobe post once I have tidied my wardrobes!  My main wardrobe is tidy but my spare one is a tip!  I have to keep moving dresses from my main one to make more room so they are rammed into the spare one which doesn't make for a pretty picture.  Most of the dresses that don't fit me are also in storage boxes on top of the wardrobes/under the bed.  I think I would really scare myself if I saw all my clothes together in one place and the boyfriend might march me off for a bit of therapy - unfortunately not of the retail kind ;)

Help Required - Brooches

Hey guys can any of you hit me up with any cute/unusual brooches please?  It seems that no where seems to bother making brooches anymore and although I have made a few of my own recently I am craving more!  I have tried all the high street stores I can think of to no avail and the choice on eBay/etsy is so mind blowing I just don't know where to start.

In my quest to make a few of my own I found some adorable earrings in Miss S that were just perfect so I snapped them up and glued a brooch pin to the back.  Now as you know earrings come in pairs which means I have one spare so I am going to add it to my little giveaway which closes on Wednesday...

 

To enter the giveaway you just need to leave a comment on this post.

When I'm Cleaning Windows

Happy weekend guys!!  I picked up this dress from the concessions at New Look a few weeks ago and it makes me feel like I work in an old fashioned launderette or something as it's got a synthetic full apron vibe to it, very widow twanky!!  Not sure if that's a good or a bad thing... I loved the print and of course the peter pan collar and massive pockets, perfect for all those cleaning products! haha.

Dress: New Look

I've just got back from having my hair chopped so have had to have a change of outfit as I am covered in little bits of hair :(  Makes me feel really itchy but I have resisted the urge to shower again and am currently trying to ignore any remaining hairs!  What have you got planned for the weekend?  I'm hoping this rain holds off long enough for me to do a bit of shopping without having to worry about it running my new hair do!