Life

Soundtrack: Til the World Ends by Britney Spears

Dress: modified vintage

Cardigan: eBay

Scarf:  Tesco

Shoes: generic

I tried to take these pictures outside but got blown around a lot, and stung on the ankle twice by stinging nettles, so had to come inside. Which explains my windswept hair, ok?

I picked this dress up in a charity shop a couple of years ago, and it is literally my most worn item of clothing. It was orignally much longer, but my mum hemmed it for me (I love to show off my pins). It's modest enough to wear for work, light enough for summer days, great for layering, goes with any kinds of shoes, shapely without being tight - I just adore it. As well as the colour clash, I can't resist a little pattern clashing either. This leopard print scarf, worn as a pussybow, is my favourite way to jazz up an outfit whilst keeping it smart.

I've started reading like 4 books in the last few days, I want something I can get lost in but nothing has grabbed me so far. I really enjoyed The Hunger Games in the end. I thought I was being really clever in picking up 2 of the series at the library, so I could dive straight into the second one, but I pick up the third one by mistake, and now the second one is out so I've a bit of a wait. Boo.

Hubby and I are off to go and give blood tonight - well, try to in my case (I'm sporadically anemic) - and I'm terrified! Never done it before but I really want to. I'll try and be brave, but I'll definitely need Hubby to hold my hand. Wish me luck!

Currently obsessed with...

Soundtrack: Canopies and Grapes by Emmy the Great

Crop tops!

Left to right: £17, £9, £9, £11, £11, £12

All from Asos.com

When I get my six pack and my lottery win, I will buy all of these babies and work the hell out of them. It kills me because they're all so darn cheap! I was joking about the six pack btw, because anyone can wear crop tops and look amazing, obviously. They're perfect for a light cover up on hot summer days, or layering when it's cooler. I may snap and have to order the peach shirt because it is just too gorgeous.

What I wore/Nails/Journal

Soundtrack: Stella Was a Diver and She Was Always Down by Interpol

(one of my ultimate favourites)

I've been feeling a bit rubbish the last few days - the combination of going back to work after a nice weekend, the heat and general lethargy means I don't quite feel myself. So whilst we wait for normal service to resume, have some pictures rather than some words.

Skirt: American Apparel

Polo shirt: vintage Topshop

Cardigan: Ebay

Shoes: generic sporting goods store

I'm afraid my shoe choices will be distinctly uninspired on this blog, or not strictly representative of what I actually wore that day - I have to walk several miles to work, a distance most of my shoes don't hold up under - so whilst I would love love LOVE to wear pretty little heels and flats all day, for the most part, I wear fairly ugly trainers. I try to make up for this with my clothing choices :) And I love to add a pop of colour to any outfit via my nails. This week I'm sporting hot pink.

Nails: Be Vibrant by H&M

I also updated my journal last night - the latest prompt being to write a letter to yourself. I try not to come across as conceited, but I really have no time for low self-esteem. I was a very angsty teenager, and I'm just over it. I think I'm fabulous and I don't care who knows it!

Disclaimer: this is not me announcing a pregnancy - although I kind of wish it was! Hubby and I are desperate to start a family :) Soon though. Very soon.

30 Day Journal Challenge

Soundtrack: Patrick Wolf - Time of My Life

I'm really excited to share with you all the first few pages of my journal completed from the prompts of the 30 day challenge on Run With Scissors. I don't consider myself to be a hugely artistic person, so this has been a bit of an effort for me, but I wanted to challenge myself, and it's certainly done that. I'm really proud of what I've achieved so far - obviously my art and craft skills leave a little to be desired, but I don't care!

Day 1's prompt was to crate an introduction page... 

I included the titles of some of my favourite books and a little 'what the cat is really saying' bit :)

Day 2: Set some goals for challenge

 

Day 3: Things I want to do this month

Day 4: What I wish I wore 

- a little homage to my adoration of all things Cath Kidston.

Day 5: My summer traditions

 

I'm a little bit ahead, but like I said, I'm happy to do it at my own pace. It's been really fun trying to find inspiration for each page and coming up with the goals and tasks to accomplish and pulling out all my high school art supplies. Hopefully I'll get a little braver as I go on, I'm still a little scared to draw in case it looks rubbish, but so far so good :D

What do you think? Have you ever done anything like this before? I love looking at other people's interpretation of the prompts so please share if you have.

Summer sunshine

Soundtrack: Portions For Foxes by Rilo Kiley

 Dress: H&M

Sunglasses: Primark

Yesterday was absolutely gorgeous. A perfect summer's day. Hubby and I went to the local library to stock up on books (I picked up the first two Hunger Games books because I keep hearing such good things about them, will have to wait and see what I think about them as I've only just started), stocked up of veggies from the local market and ginger ale from the shop (we honestly can't get enough of the stuff at the moment). The afternoon was spent doing odd bits around the house and I worked on my journal a bit - I'm going to post what I've done so far tomorrow, really pleased with how it's going! We even found time to watch the first Harry Potter film (for the hundredth time) and niggled over all the differences from the book. I still love the films to pieces but they don't even come close to the books for me - I should probably point out I'm a massive 'Potterhead' - I just adore the stories and am no less a fan than I was when I first started to read them at the tender age of 10 years old!

Weekend Wishlist

Soundtrack: Tyrant Song by FOE

As I previously mentioned, I don't have much money for luxury items at the moment, but that doesn't mean a girl can't look, does it...

I've been cruelly tempted as most places seem to have sales on, taunting me with their cut-price beauties. I did crack and order a few small pieces from Asos on payday, but these are remaining firmly 'lust-haves', very, very sadly.

1. Zara - £29.99

2. Zara - £19.99

3. Asos - £22

4. H&M - £3.99

5. H&M - £12.49

6. Asos - £19

Those shoes. Those shoes! So gorgeous. I'm looking to incorporate more orange into my wardrobe (it's not really something I wear) and that tea dress is super cute. The flares are gorgeous, and I'm in love with the colour, but I don't really wear trousers because they make me look short and stumpy :( Just imagine them with the blue clog style heels though. Heaven! I'm all about the colour clash.

July, July.

Soundtrack: Calgary by Bon Iver

And so begins the second half of 2011. It's been a fairly uneventful year for me so far, particularly compared to 2010 - where I bought a house, graduated from university (I studied Environmental Economics at the University of York) and married the love of my life. But uneventful works for me! I like the quiet life :)

I only work part-time, and I have had part-time jobs since I was 13, but this has been my first experience of being "employed", rather than a student with loans to fall back on - and whilst I can't say I love having to get up and go to work everyday (who does right?), it's a refreshing change of pace after the stress of full time education. No deadlines, no late nights in the library, no exams! For the most part I can leave my work at work and just enjoy being at home with my hubby. Since we're saving we can't afford to travel and shop as much as we'd like, so we make our own fun at home.

With that in mind, a craft/writing project has just caught my eye. The 30 Day Journal Challenge was actually run over the month of June by Janel over at Run With Scissors (and I missed it, opps), but I figure I can work at my own pace this way. I really love to scrapbook and I have a severe case of notebook-lust which has led me to amass a rather enviable collection that are woefully underused - so it seems perfect.

The notebook I've selected for this project is a really beautiful one that I got as a present from my eldest brother for my birthday a year or so ago after his trip to Iceland - the cover features Moomins and is actually made of really thin wood! I'm super excited to get started with this project and share my progress with you, probably in 5 or so day recaps.

What I wore

Soundtrack: Experimenting With Rugs by Florrie

Skirt: vintage

T-shirt: H&M

Cardigan: New Look

Belt: Primark

Necklace: Azendi

Since I started working at a primary school at the start of this year, I've had to adapt the way I dress quite dramatically, and on a very tight budget. There's no dress code as such, but I want to dress appropriately, so gone are the days where I can where teensy tiny mini skirts (at least not in summer anyway, tights make things a little better) or low-cut tops, both of which I'm not ashamed to say, I used to greatly favour. Ebay has been a godsend for helping me adapt my wardrobe. With the canny purchase of a few midi length skirts and some shorts (I don't do trousers, ever), I've managed to create lots of new, work-appropriate looks.

This skirt is such a gorgeous shade of turquoise, I just fell in love instantly.

Only for it then to arrive in the post and be a little tight around the waist. A tragedy, given how perfect it was in every other way. So I put it to one side, thinking I'd just sell it on again when I get around to restocking my ebay account, until today when I thought I'd chance my arm, since I've been doing a pretty hardcore workout DVD (the 30 day shred anyone?) most days this last week, and my stomach muscle were definitely feeling worked. And it fit! Still a little tight but a marked improvement (which made me feel quite impressed with the DVD and my efforts with it so far).

I adore eBay but it can be a little hit and miss so I wasn't too upset when it didn't fit the first time, but I'm pleased as punch I can wear it now. I get really into the bidding wars and the strategy of eBay (sometimes getting a little carried away, I'll admit it now). Do you love eBay or do you find it too confusing/hard to get the hang off? I'd love to get to know more people through the blogosphere (such a lame term, but you know what I mean), so I'd love for you to leave me comments - as long as they're friendly :)