Sweethearts Hold Hands

Smarty Pants

2011-07-04T14:50:00.000-07:00

For my annual progress review I decided that I needed to wear trousers. Grey trousers. Did I own any? Well, no. But I just knew that if I wasn’t wearing grey trousers for my progress review, the world would end.

Jumper: Zara (sale)
Shirt: New Look, via eBay
Trousers: Topshop (sale)
Shoes: Jonathan James
Bag: Max C, ASOS (broken zip fixed by Auntie Cheryl)
Bracelet: Oasis (sale)

The Topshop sale obliged, and I picked up these snappy trousers for £18, which is very very close to being half price. I also picked up the jumper on the same shopping trip, though I have mixed feelings on buying it. I’ve loved the jumper and wanted it for ages but thought it was a bit expensive, so was dead excited when I saw that Zara was having a sale. And hurrah, the Holy Grail of jumpers is in the sale! This is my lucky day! Oh wait, it’s only discounted by a measly £5. I don’t want to be ungrateful, and £5 is £5, that’s two university union shop sandwich meal deals (plus 2p change). But £5 off is not a sale. Everything in there had barely been reduced, it was rubbish. I obviously still bought the jumper though, sheep that I am. I just feel bitter about it.

Complaining over, I really liked the blue and grey together and love the fit of the trousers, so I think I’m going to wear the same outfit again next week for a work conference. Is that bad? I think that’s bad.

Oh, the important bit! The review went really well. Because I wore grey trousers, of course. Do you feel like you have to buy a whole new outfit for every interview or meeting? It’s a feeling that costs me a lot of money.

Nursery Rhymes/Sea Shanties

2011-07-01T12:32:00.000-07:00

I’m not sure what I resemble more, a giant toddler or a small sailor.

Top: Tesco (sale)
Cardigan, skirt: Topshop
Belt: Zara
Shoes: Office (sale)

So here I am in my boyfriend’s music corner. We live in the world’s tiniest flat, yet he still insists on having a music corner. Anyway, check out my brand-new-so-amazing-I-never-take-them-off shoes:

Well, I do take them off sometimes. To change my tights. But then I put them back on again. They were from Office, in the sale, and they come in navy too. Buy buy buy!

A man sang Lady in Red at me in Tesco while I was wearing this outfit. Four times.

Something Old, Something New (Part 1)

2011-06-29T06:48:00.000-07:00

I had planned to furnish my new flat in a socially responsible way, a la Jen’s Second Hand Home Challenge, but sometimes it just hasn’t worked out for me. TK Maxx is my downfall, and The Range haven’t really helped. So without further ado, I give you my car boot sale and charity shop buys, versus my cheap and cheerful new buys:

Second Hand

This fab mirror cost me just £3, though I did have to get up at 6am for it. Boo! (Check out the amaaaaaaazing ceiling rose. My flat is one quarter of an old house, so the front room has this mega ceiling rose, deep cornicing, high ceiling and huge skirting boards. Sadly the other rooms have been given the modernisation treatment.)

Acquired at the same car boot sale and costing just £2 and 50p respectively, these two cushions are just the beginning of what I hope will be a large mismatched cushion collection.

Not as old as they look (they’re from the 60s), but still the best scales I've ever seen. I shelled out £21ish on eBay for this Swedish addition to my kitchen.

Next into the ring, the £35 chest of drawers! (Ignore the bits on top of it, we’ll come to those.) Solid as a rock and all handles intact, you couldn’t get cheaper from Argos. The grain of the wood is so lovely that it’s even been granted a reprieve from the paint brush.

Wardrobe time! Also granted a reprieve from the paint brush (because it’s Ross’s and he’d kill me) is this cute wardrobe from a British Heart Foundation furniture shop, £50. I haven’t shown you the best bit yet… it has a little mirror inside the door!

My wardrobe is staying under wraps until it’s been sanded and painted, but I still have one more contender for the Second Hand team…

Last but not least is this cream drop leaf table with flowers painted on the underside of the leaves. Drop leaf (a godsend for the tiny flat), cream, flowers… but it gets better. This baby was FREE. A couple moved out of the flat above mine just after we moved in (coincidence, I hope) and piled a load of furniture in the front garden for Council collection. Yoink! I dragged this table back inside before anyone else could get their mucky mitts on it, and it’s now my pride and joy.

I think that Team Second Hand has won this thing hands down to be honest, but it’s only fair to let Team New have a go.

New

Up first are the deliciously decorative kitchen caddy and jam pot, both Linea, dug up in the House of Fraser sale. The kitchen caddy was £15 (half price), the jam pot £1.95, reduced from £6.50. I love a bargain. But what I love even more is not having a green Council-issue compost bin in my kitchen.

This ever-so-pretty dish rack was £12.99 from TK Maxx, and worth every penny. I’ve never seen one like it. The plate and bowls are a bit snazzy too, they have little hearts and crosses around the rim. The set of four plates, side plates and bowls were £19.20 from Tesco when they were doing the 20% off homewares promotion.

Cake stand, £8, and oilcloth tablecloth, £15, both from Dunelm Mill. A blue polka dot oilcloth tablecloth was the first thing on my list for the flat, shamelessly copied from the Robin Hood’s Bay cottage I visited earlier this year:

But anyway, I digress. My polka dot tablecloth did not come with a sea view and shutters, unfortunately. So, last up for Team New is a tag team:

Making up for the lost element of surprise with their sheer girliness is this mirror from The Range (£11) and missing-a-leaf-but-who-cares jewellery stand from TK Maxx (£7). (The hideous curtains reflected in the mirror won’t be with us for long, don’t worry.)

Place your bets ladies and ~~gentlemen~~ gentleman (hi Ross!), which gets your vote, Team Second Hand or Team New? And what swayed it for you? More importantly, should I get up at 6am again this Sunday for more bargain hunting? You decide!

Crafty Outfit

2011-06-26T06:34:00.001-07:00

Last week I went to a craft night, and I wasn’t really sure what to wear. It’s easy enough to dress for a familiar situation, like work or a night down the pub, but what do you wear for a craft night? Especially when you’re going straight from work.

Shirt, ring: H&M
Cardigan: Topshop
Skirt: Zara (sale)
Belt: Primark
Shoes: New Look (sale)
Bag: Bobbin Bicycles

Well, this is what I wore, anyway. I didn’t know whether it would be a total old lady fest or whether there would be younger people there, so I played to both with my chambray shirt (denim = young, shirt = old), grey pleated skirt of a very sensible length (old), and leopard print flats (young). I liked the result!

I also ~~like~~ love my new pannier bag from Bobbin Bicycles. It clips to my pannier rack, so I can carry my shopping, my books, or my crochet in style.

Check out my blanket-to-be! Have you ever been to a craft night? I loved mine and can’t wait for next month’s!

Mixed Up Outfits

2011-06-06T07:38:00.001-07:00

I return! While I haven’t been blogging (and while I was working three jobs, which may have played a part) I felt like I lost my getting dressed mojo. Not to the point of leaving the house with my knickers on my head and my socks on my hands, but I was boring. The demands of dressing for one job where I had to look smart indoors while writing quickly and silently (no jangly jewellery), one job where I had to look smart outdoors (sensible shoes), and one where they’re used to seeing me in more casual/girly clothing and would comment on any departure from this - all in one day, on weekdays - was exhausting. Oh, and factor in that I had to get between jobs on my bike. It was a constant stream of black, brown and grey. And definitely no pencil skirts.

I think this problem sent me round the bend. Guess which of the below outfits I wore on a family day out to the seaside, and which I wore for my last day of work for both job one and job two (hurrah!).


Shirt: Therapy, House of Fraser (sale) Cardigan: Topshop, via eBay Skirt: Topshop Belt, tights, brogues: Primark Bracelets: ASOS	Vest, cardigan, skirt: Primark Sandals: Peacocks Necklace: courtesy of Tesco Ring: Camden Market

Yes, you guessed it, I wore the almost funereal outfit for a day at the seaside. I mean, really. What was I thinking?! I need you to keep me on the outfit straight and narrow, dear reader. I obviously can’t dress for the occasion. Also, please save me from cleavage sunburn.

Moving In Bruises

2011-05-09T16:01:00.001-07:00

I’ve been mega busy of late. I had a big project due, started a new (and sadly temporary) job, and only went and moved bloody house. Phew. Look at my disgusting moving in bruise!

The picture is cropped so closely because it is too close to my pants to be decent for full viewing. It is the worst ever and it painful when I walk, sit down, and especially when I’m on my bike. Thanks stupid chair for making me fall off you and then stabbing me in the crotch on my way down, you’re AWESOME. The best part is that as well as bruising it actually bled (the cut starts at the bottom right of the picture and carries on for a couple of inches, you don’t want to see it), and I was wearing beige shorts, and it looked like I had had an ‘accident’. Which I had, but not one of those accidents.

Pity party over. This is what I wore today. I took the picture about two weeks ago, but I wore the same thing today, so it’s still true! Except today I wore sandals and my super snazzy Census job bag.

Top: Primark
Trousers: Zara
Satchel: vintage, via eBay
Shoes: Topshop

My life is in complete disarray at the moment, so normal service may be resumed in about 28.53 years. If anyone can explain to me why NPower thinks it’s acceptable to let people go without gas (and therefore hot water, heating and an oven) for six days and then demand that you stay home ALL day on a date of their choosing, please do.

Overconsumption

2011-04-22T09:14:00.000-07:00

This is my main wardrobe (yes, I have two):

As you can see, it’s fit to burst. And there are two rails. My favourite tops, shirts and cardigans are on the top rail:

And my work tops, T-shirts and skirts are on the bottom rail:

This… isn’t normal, is it? And this is after the clearout! Yes, seriously. This lot is currently on eBay:

And another two tote bags full have gone to charity. Can you believe all of that extra stuff managed to fit in my wardrobe? (Well, not the laptop case. That snuck into the pile.)

I’m going to have to get ruthless. I’ll have space for one normal wardrobe in my new flat, one that doesn’t have an extra rail. Clearly this lot isn’t going to fit. And apart from that, it makes getting dressed an ordeal. No wonder I can’t make my mind up when faced with that amount of choice.

So this is a bit of an SOS. How do you keep your wardrobe trim? (Do you?) And how many clothes do you need? How many day dresses, evening dresses, etc., does a normal person own? I think I need professional help…

Some outfits don’t translate

2011-04-20T07:58:00.000-07:00

In old photographs, women always seem to be dressed exactly right for whatever activity they’re doing. Example:

(Both pictures from A Certain Cinema.)

Yesterday I wanted to ride my bike, and I wanted to dress specifically for it. Here’s the result (don’t worry, I didn’t grin like a psycho all day):

T-shirt: Threadless
Cardigan: Topshop
Shorts: Dorothy Perkins (sale)
Shoes: Primark
Bag: H&M
Necklace: courtesy of Tesco

The shorts and brogues looked good while I was on my bike (I think), but I had forgotten that I would still be wearing this outfit in the Post Office queue. Suddenly it didn’t seem to be quite as appropriate. Also, the brogues gave me blisters on the TOP of my toes. How is that even possible? Bad form, Primark.

What do you reckon, have we lost the art of dressing correctly for all of life’s little excitements (like waiting in the Post Office)? Do you have travelling clothes? Food shop clothes? Trip to the dentist’s clothes?

P.S. I didn’t get the library assistant job, but today I passed the selection process to be an exam scribe (it was held in the library, an hour after the library had emailed me to say I hadn’t got the job – talk about throwing me off my stride), so every cloud has a silver lining.

Bike Surgery

2011-04-18T12:51:00.001-07:00

Eek! After an unpleasant meeting with the ground (not caused by me, I might add) Annie’s basket was looking very sorry for itself.

The front has no structure around the top, and more and more wicker kept snapping off. This is my second basket within the space of a year so I didn’t want to buy another, and in any case, I’m skint. So I did what any self respecting blogger would do: DIYed it!

Much better. I did envision a beautiful big bow at the front, but when I realised I didn’t have enough ribbon* I had to make do with a little one at the side. In any case I don’t think bows and rain mix, so maybe it worked out for the best. My colour choice was influenced by this video, obvs.:

I’d love to see this on a basket that wasn’t wrecked. I had to weave madly to cover up the broken bits and hold other bits in place, but on a decent basket you could get a bit of a pattern going.

* Why is it that I never buy as much ribbon as I’ll need? I perpetually underestimate my ribbon usage. I even thought to myself in Hobbycraft “I reckon I’ll only need one metre, but I’ll buy two because I always underestimate. If I get two I’ll definitely be safe.” Uh… no.

I am Kreativ, donchaknow

2011-04-17T06:58:00.000-07:00

Lovely Llara tagged me with the Kreativ Blogger Award that has been doing the rounds lately.

I’m supposed to tell you ten things about myself, but I’m going to cheat and skip it because I did something similar recently. What I will do, though, is answer the questions that cropped up after that one. Namely: yes, I had a hedgehog! I have no pictures sadly. He was called Spike.

And here is a picture of me with metalface and dreadlocks. Enjoy!

Librarian Chic

2011-04-15T06:13:00.001-07:00

Sorry Helen, but I really was aiming for librarian chic today: I had an interview to be a library assistant.

Shirt: New Look, via eBay
Cardigan, shoes: Primark
Skirt: Zara (sale)
Bag: Henry Holland at Debenhams
Ring: Wedgwood, vintage shop

I’d really like to get the job, so fingers crossed! Also, I love these shoes. For a tenner you can’t go wrong.

Hope you’ve got something nice planned for the weekend! I haven’t, I’ve got a project to work on (assessment and feedback in higher education – massive eye roll), so I’m hoping to live vicariously.

Designer and Primark

2011-04-13T09:32:00.001-07:00

They go hand in hand, surely? I went to Specsavers for an eye test today and was really impressed to find that they could have my glasses ready for me within an hour. So while I waited, I went to Primark. I don’t know what came over me, while I was there I decided to dress a nerd who was going on a boating holiday I think.

I went in with the intention of buying those loafers, as soon as I saw them on Gem’s blog I knew I needed them. You want to see the glasses though, right? I went with popular opinion and chose…

The Missoni ones! Everything is so much clearer. I’ve been looking at things with them on, then with them off, then with them on again, and marvelling at the difference. I may have been heard to utter “How did I see before?!”

P.S. Goodbye bedroom! I’m being a big girl and moving out of the nest next month, so you may find that over the next few weeks I don’t crop my pictures as closely. I’m getting nostalgic for my room already, and I’m still in it!

Just Nerdy… or Super Nerdy?

2011-04-08T14:05:00.000-07:00

I bought some new trousers last week and haven’t worn anything else on my legs since.

Top: Clothing at Tesco
Cardigan: Max C
Trousers: Zara
Shoes: Blowfish
Bag: Mischa Barton via Tesco

I haven’t bought trousers in forever because I feel like they don’t suit me, but I’m happy with these ones. Even though they break all the rules. I checked all of the magazine tips, like pear shapes shouldn’t buy trousers with detailing at the front, then threw those out of the window and bought some with big puffy pleats.

And! Importantly! It’s silly to even ask this without providing pictures of these glasses on my face, but… which (reading) glasses should I get? These ones are nerdy, but the frame shape is my usual go-to frame shape, I haven’t had anything else since I was 18:

These ones make me look MEGA NERDY, but in spite of (or because of) this I’m drawn to them:

I have until next Wednesday to decide. The pressure is on! I’m going to go with my mum to get her opinion. Mums always know.

While we’re on the subject of glasses, Specsavers have amazing deals for anyone who can have their glasses paid for by the NHS. Earning 4 peanuts and a toothpick per month, this includes me, so I can get the above Missoni glasses (RRP £125) for £40. I think that’s mega generous. If you’re a student/are on a somewhat low income and haven’t already applied to the NHS for free eye tests, prescriptions, and tushy peg check ups, you should! (Unless you live outside of the UK. Then you’re on your own.)

Good teaching outfit… shame I’m not teaching anymore

2011-04-06T12:08:00.000-07:00

I’ve had a bit of outfit l'esprit d'escalier since I stopped teaching. While I was teaching I fretted over what to wear endlessly, and since I’ve stopped I’ve just thrown on outfits then realised that I look more teachery than I ever looked while I was teaching.

Top: Clothing at Tesco
Cardigan: Primark
Skirt: Zara (sale)
Boots: Schuh

I’m going to bear this one in mind for next semester. I actually wore it intending to go see some lambing, only it didn’t work out so we went to the newly opened Handmade Burger Co. and stuffed ourselves instead.

Do you have outfit l'esprit d'escalier? I hope it’s not just me. Also, do you love the phrase/concept? I do! I was watching a trashy French programme about a series of murders on Saturday (it was on BBC Four, possibly called Spiral) and everyone sounded so refined, even the homeless guys sounded like lords. I wish I spoke more French, at the moment I can ask for a cheese sandwich and say that I have a headache.

Camouflage

2011-04-04T04:12:00.000-07:00

I wasn’t going to show you this outfit because I didn’t like it and had just thrown it on for work, but then two things happened.

Top, cardigan: Primark
Skirt: Dorothy Perkins, via eBay
Shoes: New Look (sale)

1. My supervisor practically leapt on me when I walked in and said that she loved it.

2. I realised that my legs blended in with the floor of one of the classrooms at uni perfectly.

Can you believe that?! I do say I’ve been around for so long that I’m practically part of the furniture, but this is going a bit far.

Which is more embarrassing, turning up to a party and realising you’re wearing the same dress as someone else, or turning up to work and realising you match the floor?

Explosion in a Rockabilly Factory

2011-04-01T15:26:00.001-07:00

Cardigan, tights: Topshop
Skirt: courtesy of Tesco Clothing
T-shirt: George at Asda
Shoes: New Look (sale)
Bag: vintage, via eBay
Ring: Accessorize

I wore cherries, polka dots and leopard print all in one outfit. Madness!

Sadly, since taking this picture, my ring has died a death. It’s now in two parts and has resisted all attempts to superglue it, so I’m going to put a pin on the back of it and wear it as a brooch. If that works. If not, there may be tears.

In unrelated news, I’m not a cat person, but I’ve made a kitty friend! A very fast kitty friend. Even though kitty friend’s favourite activity is rubbing against my bike this is the best picture I’ve managed to get:

Here are a couple of failed attempts. Seriously, this cat is fast.

The streak of red on the pavement is plaster. My boyfriend has plastered our garage (he’s taking a short course at college), and while the walls themselves are very nicely done, the mess! Jeez. My new friend didn’t mind though, (s)he sauntered straight through the garage and into our garden, all while I freaked out because we have a dog who can access the garden at any time through a ~~cat~~ dog flap. Kitty friend ignored my polite requests that (s)he leave, and just looked at me contemptuously while I hissed and pointed and flapped.

Have you gone overboard on prints/made any feline friends recently?

Cut Price Clothes Weekend

2011-03-29T02:28:00.001-07:00

On Friday I had a pretty bad day, I go into a secondary school every other Friday to do some mentoring and sometimes the kids are little sods. So I took the only option open to me: shopped. I did the Topshop sale and the Zara sale, and then I wore almost all of my purchases at the weekend. Here’s my new coat (Topshop):

New skirt (Zara) and jumper (Topshop):

Blurry picture, blame Ross. My brother said I look like I’m in the war, so maybe Ross was just trying to create a blurry war time photo.

And a new top (Topshop), worn for a birthday meal:

Skirt: Love Label, Topshop
Belt: Zara
Bag: vintage
Shoes: Faith

I enjoyed my weekend of all new clothes! I have a new skirt left to wear too. It’s the same as the grey pleated one, just in black. I’m often tempted to buy the same item in different colours and usually stop myself, but in this case they were just £5.99 each. Bargain!

Did you have a good weekend?

Spring has sprung!

2011-03-25T02:06:00.001-07:00

I’m absolutely loving the summery weather we’ve been having. In fact, I’ve gone a bit mad with patterns and colours. I think the leopard print pumps that I bought from New Look recently have sent me round the hatrack.

Dress: Next, via eBay
Cardigan: Zara
Belt: Zara (sale)
Satchel: vintage, eBay
Shoes: New Look (sale)

Yep, I’m wearing a dark green cardigan with navy tights, and polka dots with leopard print. To work.

Spring means bikes, too. Every evening on my way home this week I’ve taken a detour around the park, because I just don’t want my ride to end. And yesterday I saw this beaut parked up outside my local Sainsbury’s and had to get a sneaky picture:

Isn’t it gorgeous? It’s a Pashley, and looks brand new. Another Pashley (a classic Pashley Princess) has popped up in the bike shed at work recently too, looks like cycle chic is finally catching on in Hull!

Is the sunshine sending you a bit crazy too? Or perhaps I should say, making you braver?

Sack of Spuds

2011-03-17T17:43:00.001-07:00

I bought this dress from eBay and I love it when it’s on the hanger. Unfortunately, as soon as I put it on it’s transformed into a sack.

Dress: Zara, via eBay
Shirt: Primark
Belt: Zara
Bag: vintage, charity shop
Boots: Schuh

I look particularly sack-like from the side. Or Amish. Maybe it’s the dress and boot combo that make me look a bit fundamentalist Christian?

If you have any other ideas on how to wear this dress I’m all ears, I just don’t know what to do with it! I tried it with a cardigan and it looked terrible.

On to more pleasant matters than my inability to dress myself: I finally finished my Kindle case! I’m really proud of it, even though it’s a bit wonky.

My Kindle is now mobile! Even though it took me an absolute age, I’m really glad that I made my own case. I have another planned, a flip-top one that I can leave on while reading. A flip-top one shaped like a fox. A fox wearing a burglar-style mask. I have no idea how I came up with the idea, but I can’t wait to get cracking! Maybe I’ll be done by the time my Kindle is totally outdated and ready to be replaced.

“That looks expensive!”

2011-03-15T19:48:00.001-07:00

I bought this blouse from Tesco for work, but I wore it at the weekend instead because I really like it. It was only £8, but my mum said it looks expensive, and mums know about these things.

Blouse: Clothing at Tesco
Cardigan, tights: Primark
Skirt: River Island, via eBay
Shoes: Blowfish
Bag: vintage, eBay

I’m sure my skirt wasn’t that short the last time I wore it. Maybe it’s those tights making my legs look chunkier, so it appears to be further up my thigh than it actually is. Those tights do give me chubby toddler legs. I need to stop wearing my grey skirt constantly anyway, at the moment I’m in a total grey skirt rut.

How about you, bought anything cheap that looks expensive lately? In a particular-item-of-clothing rut? I can’t be the only one…

Prague (Reprise)

2011-03-10T04:39:00.001-08:00

It was last November that I went to Prague, and while I posted my own pictures here on my return it has taken me months to wrest my boyfriend’s pictures from his grasp. He took some good ones though, so I thought I’d share them anyway. He took some that I actually like of me by doing it on the sly while I was busy looking at something else.

(Embarrassingly, everything I’m wearing is H&M. I got the coat via eBay, but the hat, scarf and bag were all direct from H&M. I hate it when that happens.)

Amazing shop!

A Good Day’s Charity Shopping

2011-03-03T05:46:00.001-08:00

As I was cycling to an appointment yesterday I went past my favourite charity shop and something in the window caught my eye. A whole lot of somethings. They had masses and masses of old Penguin paperbacks filling the window! I was gutted that I didn’t have time to go in right then, in my mind if I left them for even an hour someone would come by and snap them all up. But leave them for an hour I did, and when I returned there were still some left for me.

Plus an old M&S (St. Michael’s) skirt. I’m a bit disappointed to realise that it’s too tight. I can get it on, but sitting is going to be a problem. So I guess that gym membership I’ve been thinking about really should happen. The label is sweet, it gives the length as “extra short”. It’s past my knees! I also picked up another little cutie who doesn’t judge my biscuit habit:

I’m kind of in love. It’s total kitsch, and on the back the stamp just says “FOREIGN”, which makes me laugh. At the moment it’s hanging from my bureau, but I’m thinking about moving out of mummy’s house sometime in the summer, so maybe Bambi will adorn a hallway sometime soon.

Now on to lesser purchases. A week ago I decided that I’d like a vintage satchel, so I scoured eBay but didn’t find the perfect one. I did find a nice green satchel, so I went for that instead.

Big mistake. I was riding to work in the rain, satchel in my basket, when I looked down and saw that all was not right. The dye was running! When I touched it it came off on my gloves:

So the green satchel is going back. I used it for a couple of days and I thought we were friends, but it just wasn’t to be. At least it rained while the bag was in my basket and not touching my coat, I suppose.

This is not related to fashion, charity shopping, or anything really (except possibly my inability to fit into vintage clothing), but I know some of you are fellow Fry fans so I wanted to make sure that you knew about the Mortal Kombat style game over on Clash of the Comics. You can choose to play as Stephen or as a lesser comedian. Check it out!

He can punch! He can kick! There are three of him!

His special move involves two giant frying pans and what must be an ostrich egg!

But, uh… he can still lose and be flamethrowered by Jimmy’s chilli breath. Sorry Stephen. On the plus side, it looks like Jimmy has indigestion.

Edited to add: The satchel wasn’t a Cambridge Satchel Company one! Please don’t let my poor quality purchase put you off buying the real thing.

Crap I don’t need (but would really like)

2011-03-01T16:38:00.001-08:00

Pros:

Bird whistle!

Cons:

Costs £139

Pros:

CUTE

Cons:

For children

Pros:

Sausage dogs

Cons:

In America

Pros:

Keep your feet dry

Cons:

Out of stock

Were in America anyway

Being a semi-sensible adult with a budget is boring. One day I will have a singing bird kettle and a kiddie suitcase and a whole collection of novelty cruet sets that I will admire when I return home from splashing in muddy puddles while wearing boots that look like Mary Jane shoes. I will of course be accompanied by my two trusty sausage dogs, Archibald and Benedict.

We have some leftover budget to spend at work so I suggested getting an office sausage dog. Funnily enough, I don’t think my boss will be asking for my input again. Feel free to tell me your dreams.

Cheap and Cheerful

2011-02-27T20:14:00.001-08:00

The above being a description of the top I wore today.

Top: Primark
Cardigan: Zara
Skirt: River Island, via eBay
Boots: Schuh

I look a bit bedraggled because I had just woken up from a Sunday afternoon nap. Anyway, £8 for this lovely print:

Bargain. I mainly love it for the lady on the bike (bottom left), she’s wearing a dress and has flowers in her basket. It’s all very spring-like and cheery, it makes me even more desperate for summer days, picnics, and biking around with flowers in my basket (okay, even in summer that’s not a common occurrence, though I wish it were).

My absence last week was caused by unexpectedly having a few days off work, so I went to stay at my mostly internet free boyfriend’s house. I had such a good time, pottering around during the day then making a tasty tea in time for the return of the 9-to-5.30er. It was like being a 50s housewife, only instead of doing housework I spent my time charity shopping. (Unfruitfully, I’m afraid.) I even got some work done on my thesis. Hope you had a good week too!

The Big Reveal

2011-02-21T16:29:00.001-08:00

As I mentioned in my last post, I bought a new coat. I’ve worn it every day since, but today was the first day I took pictures. The pictures were crappy though, so here’s Topshop’s contribution:

I hope you like it, I really love it! I clocked it when it first went up on the Topshop website, but I didn’t have £95 to drop on a new coat. Luckily for me, I popped into Topshop last week to find it on sale for £40, and they only had it in one size… mine! The colours remind me of a private school uniform, and the Peter Pan collar is so far up my street that it’s gone past my house. The ‘bracelet length’ sleeves aren’t really doing much for me (who wants cold wrists?), but I’m dealing with that by wearing wrist warmers while on my bike.

Now that you’ve seen the beautiful coat, here’s me ruining it:

Shirt: New Look, via eBay
Belt: Clothing at Tesco
Cardigan: Zara
Skirt: River Island, via eBay
Super cosy tights, thermal vest: Primark
Boots: Schuh
Bracelet: Topshop

I wore this for a lecture given by Luce Irigaray. I dressed up a little bit, I’m not sure why as I went alone, but she’s an important person so it seemed right. As well as my new coat, I also wore the bracelet that I bought with the money saved on the coat thanks to my student discount:

(See my university get a mention on the blurb of the book I’m resting on? I didn’t notice that the author was a professor in my department at my uni until I went to crop the picture. The book was published in the year I was born, too.)

Even though today was bitterly cold I hardly felt it thanks to my fleece-lined tights and thermal vest. Thermals are a total old lady thing to wear, but actually, I’m just as warm wearing a thin vest, a sheer shirt, and a thin cardigan as I would have been if I’d swapped the vest for a hoody. Old people know how to dress, no wonder you never see grannies in shapeless baggy jersey monstrosities.

Enough about my thermals, have you bought anything amazing lately?

Stand by Me

2011-02-17T08:30:00.001-08:00

This is what I wore last week to go see Ben E. King (amazing and cute!) and Gary U.S. Bonds:

Dress: Asda
Cardigan, belt: Zara
Boots: Schuh
Bag: vintage, via eBay

I look like a mum! That was a day of weird facial expressions I think, I wanted to show you my new cartoon fisherman/Madeline style mac and look weird in that picture too:

Do you like? It’s from Gap, I bought it on eBay and when it arrived I found that it had black marks on it and the seam was ripped at the wrist. Of course, none of this was mentioned in the item description. I’m so British, I haven’t even said anything to the seller or left feedback, I’m just quietly seething.

I’ve had the busiest few days (which is why it’s taken me almost a week to get these pictures up). It’s my mum’s 50th today! I stayed up all night (literally, I went to bed at 6am) baking these babies:

Buttercream hides many a sin. The 5 is so wonky because there’s not a lot of cake under there to give it structure. I tried to get the cake out of the mould while it was still warm and half of the cake came out, half stayed in, so I just slathered layer upon layer of buttercream on there then tried to distract the eye with sprinkles. I’ve never used silicone moulds before, maybe a 5 shaped one wasn’t the best to start with. My second attempt came out better, though the 5 still broke in two parts. Shove it together, hide fault lines with icing sugar, done.

What’s going on at your end? This week I haven’t known whether I’ve been coming or going, I get mega stressed about stupid things (like baking The Perfect Cakes and who’s coming to birthday tea) and I’ve had a deadline at work that was actually worth stressing about, and tomorrow I’ve got a meeting with my dissertation supervisor. To cheer me up I bought a new coat and some Stephen Fry Ups.

You’ll have to wait for a picture of the coat! Trust me, it’s almost as delicious as Mr Fry. (Is it common knowledge that I LOVE Stephen Fry? Because I do.)

Happy Valentine’s Day Lovelies!

2011-02-13T16:02:00.000-08:00

(Vintage Valentine source.)

If you’re into Valentine’s Day I hope you’re celebrating it however makes you happiest, and if you hate it/are indifferent I hope you’re ignoring it successfully!

I’ll be spending my Valentine’s Day on the first day of a four-day course on teaching at university level. It’s going to be a total snoozefest. After that I’ll be pedalling to Ross’s, picking up something tasty to eat on the way (maybe an M&S ready meal, or the ingredients for my super special goats cheese lasagne). Jealous? Thought not. We’re not really Valentine’s kind of people.

I did buy myself a present though. These beauties were £20 in the Office sale:

I had trouble deciding between the black and the gold (it’s supposed to be peach, apparently, but they look gold to me). Black is more versatile, but the gold were my favourites. The gold are out of stock online (the black version can be found here), but they do have one last pair of 5s in my local Office. Resisting them is painful, but I fear I must.

Easing the pain is this little bundle of fun sent to me by Gem of Fat Frocks:

Sweet, right? This was a runner-up prize! Best runner-up prize I’ve ever seen is all I can say. I love the little postcard, it’s going on my collage wall.

Are you doing anything nice today? Doesn’t have to be Valentine’s Day related!

Amazing Bookshops Around the World

2011-02-11T04:06:00.001-08:00

Hey guys, just a quickie to let you know that I’ve taken part in Andrea’s Amazing Bookshops Around the World series, you can find my ramblings about a lovely little Prague bookshop here.

I think that Amazing Bookshops Around the World is the best idea for a collaborative blog project. It’s my favourite (semi-)regular feature on the whole of the internet, so if you haven’t been following it maybe you should! My favourite is The Book Barn.

Lipstick and Fish Feet

2011-02-09T16:20:00.001-08:00

On Saturday I was hung over, so the obvious solution was to go have my feet nibbled by little fish and then buy some lipstick. Three friends and I were given gift certificates for Christmas for one of those Garra Rufa fish pedicure places that are popping up everywhere, so we went along and were eaten.

It was horrible and I hated it. It woke me up though. And to be fair, my feet were smoother afterwards. I just hated 15 minutes of my life in order to have smoother feet for a few days, which I think is a rubbish trade. Also, in the picture, they look like leeches.

As a reward for sitting through the whole 15 minutes I went makeup shopping. In Superdrug you can get two Barry M lip products for £6.99, so I got a lipstick – sorry, lip paint – and a lip lacquer crayon. I’d like your thoughts on the lipstick, I’m not sure that it suits me:

Ignoring my spots, any thoughts on the colour? I loved it on my hand, but on my lips it’s a bit Barbie (in a bad way) I think. I love the lip crayon though:

It was dead easy to apply. I usually make a hash of lipstick, so that’s a big plus for me. It stayed on while I ate some Asda five bean mint salad and drank a cup of tea (oh, the glamour), and has a touch of glitter in it for extra fun and frivolity.

I’d like to show you accurate close-ups of the colours, but the Barry M site has the tiniest little pictures that don’t show you anything. Massively annoying, how can you buy makeup without seeing the colour? If you’re going to an actual real life shop you could check out the colours and see what you think, the lipstick is shade 147 and the lip crayon is number 3.

The nail varnish on my tootsies is also Barry M, it’s the red glitter one, which makes me look like a Barry M obsessive. I have a fair few Barry M nail varnishes I’ll admit, but this was my first foray into other Barry M products. Do you like Barry M? What’s your favourite makeup brand? And please tell me what you think of the Barbie pink lipstick, I’d rather have people tell me that it looks rubbish now than go out in it and look rubbish for a whole night!

Charity Find of the Year

2011-02-07T08:41:00.001-08:00

It’s maybe a bit early to be declaring that, but I reckon that Friday’s find will be in my top three for the year if it’s not my number one. I picked up a Whistles dress for £7! It feels like suede, but it’s actually silk. It’s lovely lovely lovely.

Pockets! I took a picture while getting ready to show you the whole dress (my tights were drying on the radiator at this point), but here I am ready to go with a cardigan on top.

Dress: Whistles, via charity shop
Cardigan: Zara
Boots: Schuh
Bag: vintage, via eBay
Necklace: Accessorize (sale)
Bangles: ASOS, gift

I wasn’t wearing as much blusher as that picture might lead you to believe. You can see the texture of the dress in this picture, it looks like suede, right?

I tried something new with my hair too. I was trying to follow this hair tutorial on The Freelancer’s Fashionblog but I’m not good at hair stuff, so I failed but in the process managed something else instead. I took the hair at my temple, twisted it, then added the next piece back and twisted again, then the next piece, until I reached the back of my head. Then I pinned it into a curl. Then I did the same with the next side, and hey presto, it looked like this:

It’s not amazing, but it’s decent (for me). I like messy hair. Here’s the side:

I was going out for tea with my boyfriend’s family, then out to a rock club. I was overdressed for the rock club, though the boots dragged the outfit back into rock club territory. I didn’t care by the end of the night anyway, let’s just say that I spent the next day in Hangover Hell.

Have you dressed up lately? Found anything of note in a charity shop? Invented a hairstyle that no one else would have if you paid them?

A Tale of Misfortune

2011-02-06T18:38:00.000-08:00

I had an idea for a post using my new Zara skirt. On one day I planned to wear it all smart and businesslike for a big meeting, and on the next I planned to wear it for a training session, then out for tea and a poetry open mic. Outfits were planned.

And then.

Pain in the backside number one, my skirt was too tight to bike in. I found this out pretty late in the game, so in total I biked 20 miles (over two days) feeling as though I had an elastic band around my legs. It gets worse. First, my boyfriend<self timer, so this is what my smart and businesslike picture turned out like:

Skirt, belt: Zara (sale)
Shirt, jumper: H&M
Slippers: George at Asda (children’s section)
Super cosy fleece lined tights: Primark

Putting aside my jaundice for a second, what’s with the pointy knee? So anyway, the next day I’m biking to work in my nice white Victorian-style blouse and new pink cardigan. Biking into the wind with an industrial strength elastic band around your thighs is tough and I’m getting a bit warm, so I take my coat off. About 30 seconds later a huge lorry speeds past and coats me with a fine spray of mud. Fuming doesn’t even cover it. I had to stop off at Tesco’s on the way and buy a jumper, then change in the toilets at work. Outfit ruined! Indignity suffered! The end.

On the plus side, those bunny slippers are dead cute. They have a tail!

BREAKING NEWS

2011-02-05T01:07:00.000-08:00

Has anyone been watching 10 O’Clock Live? Good. Have you noticed Jimmy Carr’s shirt collars?

It’s a Peter Pan shirt collar! Have you ever seen such a thing in your life? If you have, please tell me where, as even my boyfriend agrees that these are cute (possibly not his exact wording) and would like one.

More relevantly for a girly blog, are you loving what Lauren Laverne’s wearing? I am! Last week was my favourite.

I liked her coat this week too. I could also mention the library piece she was doing while wearing it, but that wouldn’t be frivolous enough. This post is all about pretty clothes, not issues. (Though I will say if you like things that are funny and relevant to your interests you should be watching this programme. That is all.)

P.S. Charlie Brooker is still my favourite.

Lucky (and Versatile) Girl

2011-02-03T14:00:00.001-08:00

Ren recently gave me the Versatile Blogger Award. Thank you Ren! I think it’s pretty neat that someone not only enjoys what I write, but thinks I’m versatile too.

I have to tell you 7 things about myself, so here goes:

I became a vegetarian late in life. I was doing my MA and ended up writing an essay about anti-vivisectionists in the 1800s, using archive material. So I read a crapload of reports on experiments, eyewitness accounts of public vivisections, etc. It was harrowing stuff, and it upset me how we take advantage of animals.

As a kid I took bible classes with Jehovah’s Witnesses. Any knowledge of the bible I have comes from that.

I once had a pet hedgehog. It slept in my bed until it got too big.

Due to a late teenage obsession with Threadless, I have about 50 T-shirts. I’m selling them off on eBay. Slowly.

I taught myself to swim about a year ago. I can now swim (gracelessly) for about 8 lengths before stopping.

When I grew up I wanted to be a spy, a magician, or a librarian. This was when I was about 10. Then I wanted to work with computers, until I did A-Level Computing.

I used to have three facial piercings and dreadlocks.

How boring am I? Ever so. I’d like to nominate Amy, and I hope her seven things will be more exciting!

I’m also lucky as I won a giveaway over on We Shop Therefore We Are. I won a bottle of Balenciaga Paris, but in a bizarre twist my prize had to be posted three times because it just wasn’t reaching me! It got here eventually, which makes me feel doubly lucky. First for winning, second for receiving my prize!

I’ve worn it for a few days now and I really like it. This is going to sound weird, but it smells like grandma perfume, updated. It makes me think of vintage clothes incorporated into a modern outfit. (This is why I don’t review perfume.)

Feel free to tell me seven things about you!

Resolution Review

2011-01-31T04:34:00.000-08:00

I set myself some New Year’s resolutions this year. Let’s see how that went, shall we?

1. Buy only one new item of clothing from the High Street per month: FAIL

2. Mend something from the overflowing alterations pile once a month: WIN

3. Knit/crochet/sew for at least an hour whenever I have a free evening: DRAW

4. Read at least one book per fortnight: WIN

5. Get at least five hours sleep every single night: DRAW

And now to explain my bizarre grading scheme. Fail and win are both obvious, but draw indicates that I either didn’t succeed but I’m okay with it, or did stick to the letter of the law but actually did a crappy job. (Boring explanation: I can’t say that I knitted for an hour every single free evening that I had, but I did most nights and I made lots of progress. And I did get five hours sleep every night, but because of my ridiculous sleep patterns that meant sleeping in really late some days. I’m not happy with that because I should be spending my days on paid work and doing my PhD, not snoring away.)

I’m going to keep trying. Even though I bought more from the High Street than I should have done, I still have a respectable amount of money left at the end of the month so that’s progress. On to the interesting bit of the post: my recent Primark purchases (yes, I definitely failed my first resolution).

I was looking for some brogues all through last spring and summer but never found the perfect pair. I don’t think these are the perfect pair either, but I do love the scalloping and I’m thinking about what I’m going to ride my bike in in the summer. Last year I had an awkward episode where my shoe fell off in the middle of the road so I’d like to avoid repeating that if possible. I love cameo jewellery, so I couldn’t resist the scarf, and sausage dogs are my absolute favourite ever. French sausage dogs? Sausage dogs in berets with tail bows and sailor outfits? Yes please. That little lot cost me £23.50, which is insane(ly good). I got a cardigan, a pair of shoes, a scarf, a headband, and some (sausage dog) pyjamas for less than the price of one pair of Topshop pyjamas. I haven’t bought a pair of Topshop pyjamas since we got a Primark around three years ago, by the way.

Have you been in Primark lately? I think they’ve got some nice shoes in at the moment, though the clothes aren’t anything special. I actually went in hoping for this dress:

Work doesn’t have to be boring

2011-01-29T15:49:00.001-08:00

I’ve been trying to jazz up my work outfits lately, because it’s easy to fall into a grey and black rut when it comes to dressing for work. Last week I managed to stay in the grey and black rut, but in a less-boring-than-usual way!

Dress: Zara, via eBay
Cardigan: Zara
Belt: Topshop
Necklace: Accessorize (sale)
Shoes: Topshop

POCKETS! Dresses with pockets, love them. This one cost me £6.42 on eBay (including postage!), how can you go wrong? I didn’t actually wear those shoes, I wore the same old boots that I’ve been wearing for three weeks solid. These are the Topshop shoes that I ordered on Christmas Eve, oohed and aahed over, then tucked them away because they’re too beautiful for winter. I can’t stop thinking about them though, so here they are:

Beautiful. More details:

The ladies at work said that I looked very smart. So this outfit was easy to throw on in the morning, made biking to work easier than a pencil skirt would, and still got my boss’s approval. Win win win. After work I went straight to a meeting with my PhD supervisor, then out for a pizza and a pitcher at Revolution with the girls. All in a day’s work for the eBay dress.

I can resist everything except temptation

2011-01-25T18:52:00.000-08:00

Once again, Zara has gotten the best of me. My New Year’s Resolution lies in tatters.

Oh well.

I bought this skirt:

£9.99, reduced from £25.99. All is forgiven, surely? I only went into Zara because Lizzy made me do it! Either when I tried it on I wore it lower than the model is, or I’m shorter, because on me it hangs just above the knee. I prefer it that way actually, but then I am boring. Speaking of which, I’ll leave you with this Hark! A Vagrant comic. I showed it to my boyfriend, because to be fair I am boring and would actually read Yarn News and Blasé: Sweater Issue. However, he went a bit overboard. He printed it out twice and stuck one copy on his mum’s fridge.

The Asda Dress

2011-01-24T17:49:00.000-08:00

Have you seen this dress in your local Asda?

(Yes, sadly, that massive crap pit is my bedroom.)

At a tenner, I couldn’t resist. The flowers are so lovely, and poppies are my favourite. They don’t have it online, or at least they don’t anymore/yet, so as a public service I’d like to remind you to check the George aisle while you’re next buying your beans/cat food/Lloyd Grossman pasta sauce.

With Care Lulu-ks after me.

2011-01-22T17:34:00.000-08:00

Worst pun ever.

I won a neat giveaway on superblog Lulu Letty, bagging myself a gift certificate for With Care. So I chose two necklaces, and then settled in for a long wait because they were being posted from America. They got here within a week! Here’s what my goodies look like:

Okay, you’ve already seen that one if you read my last post. Still exciting though. I have plans for the postcards too: one will go up on my collage wall, the other will be sent to my best friend in Hong Kong who was a Girl Guide until she was way too old for that sort of thing. She’ll love it.

Elizabeth of With Care also has a blog I noticed, and on that blog she posted this picture:

I love it! Of course I love it. I want a rabbit on a lead. (Elizabeth got the picture from here. The comments point out that the rabbit will have been eaten, which I didn’t want to know really.)

Anyway, my point was, it was the giveaway that just kept on giving. I’m really looking forward to wearing the shorter bar necklace! It’s an unusual shape, I’ve never seen one like it.

Autumnal Nautical

2011-01-20T16:41:00.001-08:00

In my head, this outfit was same old same old nautical. But when I put it on (after realising that I didn’t have any clean black tights, just brown) it felt really autumnal. A bit of a twist on the classic.

Shirt, cardigan: Primark
Skirt: Topshop
Tights: Clothing at Tesco
Boots: Schuh
Belt: Zara
Necklace: Etsy, With Care

It’s not overly obvious in the picture, but when I looked down at myself all I could see was the orange and brown of the belt, the red of the cardigan, and the brown tights. I’ll have to to remember this outfit and return to it later in the year. Just look how amazing this belt is, I love it:

When I put it on this morning I thought that people would mention it. Nope. Two people said that they liked my cardigan (Primark, hole in the sleeve) and not one person mentioned my beautiful real leather belt bought in the Zara sale for a third of the original price! That’s life, I guess.

The necklace I’m wearing is the longest necklace I own. I am normally afraid of long necklaces, I always imagined that they wouldn’t look right on me, but this one was so cute and quirky that I trusted it and it didn’t let me down. I won a gift certificate in a blog giveaway (I’m on a winning streak at the moment!) and chose this one and another necklace too, which is the shortest necklace I own. I’m all about the contrast. Full post on the goods to come, but here’s a close-up of the one I wore today:

A penny for your thoughts! The metal photographed oddly but the writing is actually clear as day in real life. They should sell these as souvenirs, I bet London tourists would snap them up (if they used one of our pennies, of course).

So how’s your luck been lately? Penny for your thoughts!

My Dream Home

2011-01-18T20:39:00.000-08:00

My boyfriend’s parents rented a cottage in Robin Hood’s Bay last weekend. It was his mum’s birthday on the Friday, so we went over for tea and stayed the night. When we got there I had to restrain the excited flappy hand thing (is it just me who does this?): the kitchen was so beautiful, the layout of the house was quirky and fun, and the whole place was filled with Cath Kidston! Some of the rooms looked like they had come straight out of the Cath Kidston catalogue. Our room wasn’t quite Kidston, but I still loved it:

Oh hi there vanity case! Hanging out with the cute wallpaper?

There were two living rooms, one of them I didn’t get pictures of because it was nice enough, but it just didn’t set my heart aflutter like the second one did. The first was more suitable for evening, and it was nice enough, but the second was light and airy and was introduced to me as being a good room for reading during the day. So… a reading room? I’m in! I didn’t manage to capture how lovely the room was, total fail on my part. But I had a go.

You could actually see the room below through a crack in the (white) floorboards. On to my favourite part of the house: the kitchen. It was love at first sight and I wouldn’t have changed a thing about it.

Amazing fire/oven/old school cooking thingy! Sea view! Cupboard that my boyfriend locked himself inside! (Oh how I laughed.) The other side of the kitchen was my absolute favourite though.

Those two units are seriously amazing, no? Free-standing kitchen units painted in different colours, who’d have thought that it would look so good? The sink looks lovely with that blue. The only reason I’m not getting all worked up about the sink is that we actually have one at home, but I do like a nice ceramic sink. If you’re anything like me, your beady eyes will already have taken in that huge rack of Cath Kidston plates and cups. And teapot. And jugs. I don’t even want to think about how much that collection would cost, but I want it. I ate birthday cake from a Cath Kidston plate while drinking tea out of a Cath Kidston mug, does life get any better?

Eventually I did have to leave my dream kitchen. I wasn’t happy about it, but we did have a walk around Robin Hood’s Bay. All of those cute little houses with their windy staircases and higgledy piggledy yards made me so jealous. Then we had to walk up the hill and my jealousy abated somewhat.

I haven’t shut up about that kitchen since we left. I don’t think I’ve ever entered a house that I wanted to live in more, though. If that’s the place that they rent out to holidaymakers, I’d love to see the owners’ actual home. Sigh.

Post on a Post (Building Fences)

2011-01-17T19:52:00.001-08:00

I don’t usually get serious on my blog, so I wasn’t sure what reception my recent post about Made.com would get. I identify as a feminist and don’t try to hide it, but I’ve so far kept that part of me separate from my ramblings about clothes. The F word complicates things, I find. Well, I’ve done it now.

And you haven’t let me down. I received some lovely intelligent comments, and have been linked to in unlikely places. I’m a little bit overwhelmed by how many people have read (or skimmed) what I had to say about a subject that’s very dear to my heart. It’s more important to me than anything I’ve ever said in public, either online or off. Nailing your colours to the mast is daunting, and I don’t do it often.

Just to be clear: that was a one-off post, very different to the rest of my blog, and I have no intention of changing how I usually do things. Because of that I’m aware that the extra traffic won’t stick around. So I’m not pleased about the reaction to that post because I’m thinking about followers and page views, I’m pleased that a few hundred people have seen what kinds of advertising strategies companies can get away with because all too often no-one comments on it.

So thank you to everyone who read and thought about that post. Thanks to anyone who commented. Thanks to the couple of people who left very thoughtful comments, but then deleted them (I read my email notifications, donchaknow.) And thanks to anyone who got to the end of this boring post about how pleased I am because I spoke my mind and wasn’t shot down in flames for it, or worse, ignored. I’m gladdened to know just how many of us are on the same wavelength here.

Normal service will be resumed shortly. Sneak peek of where I’ve been hanging out:

(I wish I had moved that milk before I took the picture.)

Robin Hood’s Bay

2011-01-14T09:58:00.001-08:00

I’m off to Robin Hood’s Bay tonight and have to pack some clothes now now now. I’m putting it off because I hate packing. We went in February of last year and had a lovely time, here are a couple of old pictures (I didn’t have a blog back then!):

Coat, hat: Topshop
Gloves: Accessorize
Scarf: gift

The amazing B&B where we stayed, it was so cute and… floral:

Floral pattern overload, even for me. The downstairs of the house was so sweet though, I could have lived there without changing a thing (except the family photos). See you soon, have a good weekend!

Made.com: Sexist Advertising

2011-01-11T11:22:00.000-08:00

Spot the difference.

These advertising images from Made.com are selling bikes. One to men, and one to women. One shows a man sensibly dressed, looking like he's riding a bike. He's not looking at the camera, he's looking straight ahead. The other features a naked woman, covering herself with a bag, and smiling at the camera. She's not riding a bike, she's being displayed for the viewer.

Is this an acceptable way of advertising your products? I don't think it is. Women are to be looked at, while men get on with their lives. Men ride bikes, and men look at women. Women are looked at. This is the most bizarre example on the site because of the direct comparison, but around half of the products available are advertised with naked female models. This is the only other product advertised using men that I came across (and I looked):

Again, men are active. Men wear clothes and do things.

Women sit around, naked:

You know what's being advertised in the last picture? The print on the wall.

I've done a bit of ~~Googling~~ research, and Made.com received a bit of press when they launched. They got a write-up in the Guardian, and the Telegraph even included a screenshot in their article:

Why is it that sensible newspapers have provided free advertising to Made.com without asking why they are using naked women as props to sell their chairs?

This is sexist, and I do find it offensive. Not only does Made.com think it's acceptable to use women's bodies to sell their furniture in this way, no one has called them on it. They're reinforcing the idea of men as active, women as passive; men being the observers, women being the observed. And no one thinks that there's anything wrong with this.

I'm angry about the prevalence of sexist advertising, and if you're angry about it too, please feel free to get in touch with Made.com. I did, I sent a pleasant email asking why Made.com uses naked women and fully clothed men to advertise their products. I got this reply:

Dear Nicola,

Thank you for your email and my apologies for the delayed response.

With regards to the pictures of the naked ladies, they are not displayed in any provocative way and are in no way explicit.
The naked lady is only a metaphor in order to illustrate our "no middleman, no over-rated marketing" (No middleMAN) business model and manufacturers prices, as we "strip" down the High street prices.

With some of our products such as the Mens Hollander Bike and the Table Football etc, we required men for the pictures and we therefore had one of our staff model.

We apologise if you find these pictures to be offensive in any way and take all feedback into account accordingly.

Bolding mine. I think it's interesting that when they needed a man to model, they didn't pay a model but used a staff member instead. It would be more consistent to have a naked man modelling these products, surely? In fact, men sit on chairs too, perhaps they could consider splitting the modelling duties.

It's a considered response, and if anyone's interested it was signed by a woman (I haven't included her name). But the apology rings hollow, and why shouldn't it, when they know that very few people give a shit. If you care about sexism in advertising at all please consider getting in touch with Made.com. And put your money where your mouth is: sex sells, but not to me. Yes, even though that bike is what my cycling dreams are made of (the skirt guard, the dynamo lights, the sturdy kick stand... swoon), and the price is so good, I can't in good conscience consider buying it.

If it’s in the sale it doesn’t count, right? (Resolution Fail)

2011-01-09T18:33:00.001-08:00

Seven days into January – a mere week, esteemed reader – I succumbed to the high street again and bought two items of clothing in one day. As my resolution was one purchase per month, this is a total fail. Unless I conveniently add the clause ‘sale items count as half an item’, which I am doing right now.

T-shirt,bag: H&M
Cardigan: Gap, via eBay
Shorts: Zara
Boots: Schuh

I needed these shorts. They’re practical. I ride a bike a lot and I don’t like to wear trousers. But also, corduroy reminds me of Lord of the Rings and I really am nerdy enough for that to be a positive. I like them, and they were reduced from £22.99 to £9.99, AND included the belt! Next.

This was more frivolous, but I liked it and it’s real leather and reduced from £29.99 to £9.99. Bargain! Also I’d had a bad day (in Goole: feel my pain).

So there we go. I confess to my sins, but I’m back on the straight and narrow now. My debit card will go unswiped until February (unless I’m buying a sandwich or something. Even failures have to eat).

Sale Outfit

2011-01-04T15:25:00.001-08:00

Coat: Topshop (sale)
Skirt: Zara (sale)
Tights: c/o Clothing at Tesco
Shirt: H&M
Boots: Schuh
Bag: vintage, via charity shop
Ring: Accessorize

I don’t know why I’m smiling like a serial killer. Look out for the first picture on Crime Watch. Anyway, here I am in my sale bargains. I was really pleased with this outfit at the time, but I don’t think it photographed well. The tights didn’t, here’s a better look at the pattern on them:

They still look better in person, I fear.

Happy New Year, all! I’ve been thinking more about resolutions, after reading some very good ones. I already outlined my new shopping rules, but limiting myself feels a bit negative, so I decided to add some positive ones to make the whole thing more fun and easier to stick to:

1. Buy only one new item of clothing from the High Street per month.

2. Mend something from the overflowing alterations pile once a month.

3. Knit/crochet/sew for at least an hour whenever I have a free evening.

4. Read at least one book per fortnight.

5. Get at least five hours sleep every single night. (I love staying up late, and it’s my best time for working, but when I stay up until 5am and have to get up at work the next morning at 8am… what the hell am I doing?! I’m so useless the next day.)

I’ve started well. It’s the 4th and I’ve already finished two books this year. I started Patrick Gale’s Notes on an Exhibition before Christmas, so maybe that doesn’t count, but I did finish it on New Year’s Day. I didn’t like it, it just didn’t seem to go anywhere. It got really good reviews though, so don’t listen to me. I started reading Pride and Prejudice on my Kindle after that and couldn’t put it down, I read for about six hours straight last night. I loved it, the old ones are the best.

I’ve also been working on those bloody Penguin mittens. I’ve discovered that knitting the same thing twice isn’t a lot of fun. I gave my friend the finished mitten for Christmas with an IOU, total fail, so now I’m struggling along knitting something that I’m not really interested in anymore, desperate to finish so that I can move on to my Kindle case. I have two worked out in my head. The one I’m most excited about is a cover shaped like a fox. I know, weird. The closure may even be shaped like a mask, to give me a little bandit fox.

Expect little updates like this on my progress throughout the year. I’d like to be a lot more productive with my spare time but I’m naturally quite lazy, so I need an incentive. Having to admit publicly that I haven’t been doing my reading/knitting may well shame me into actually doing it.

Braving the Sales

2010-12-30T19:07:00.001-08:00

I didn’t manage to drag myself out of the house until December 28. I love a bargain, but I love mooching around my house more. So I was surprised by how well I did in the sales when I did eventually get there. Zara was brilliant.

I since took the trousers back because my massive thighs make the ankle-skimming trouser look impossible. But everything else I bought was only a tenner, so I’m still very pleased with that shopping trip. Unfortunately, after braving Topshop and Zara (massive queue!) I was so fed up that I went home. Further sale shopping had to wait for the next day.

The day after I tried my luck in Beverley. The charity shops weren’t up to much, but in Lakeland I got myself a knitting needle roll with bamboo needles (£4.99) and a sewing box (£9.99). They’re still at my boyfriend’s, so enjoy these pictures nicked from the Lakeland website:

Day two successful, I had another go today. I wish I had gone to Accessorize earlier, I always love their sales, but I did still pick up a gorgeous necklace (£3.50) and a bracelet (£6):

Not a bad haul considering how late I left it. Here’s what I wore for Day One:

Top: Oasis
Cardigan: Primark
Skirt: River Island, via eBay
Slippers: Emu, Christmas present

Necklace: c/o Clothing at Tesco
Brooch: Past Times, Christmas present
Donald and Daisy Duck sticker: c/o my niece

I didn’t actually wear my slippers to go shopping, but when I went to grab some shoes I did nearly pick them up. I’ve become so used to wearing my slippers over the last few days!

As the New Year is nearly upon us, I’ve been thinking about resolutions. After the materisalismathon I’ve just subjected you to this is going to sound beyond silly, but I’ve decided to cut back on my shopping. I’ve set myself some rules:

1. I’m only allowed to buy one high street item per month. Hopefully this will mean that I give a lot of thought to each purchase.

2. I have no fixed limit for charity shop buys, but I’ll be spending more wisely here too. Key questions I’ll be asking myself are ‘Will I use this? If it needs altering, will I get round to it? Am I just buying it because it’s cheap?’

3. Make do and mend. I have a huge alterations pile that I spend most of my time ignoring, so I pledge to fix at least one thing from this pile every month.

4. Can I make it? My first money saving project is a Kindle cover, but I’ll be taking on more projects throughout the year.

I’m also considering a clear out. This is a phrase that strikes fear into my heart, but we’ll see…

Did you get anything in the sales that you want to brag about? Any new year’s resolutions that you’d like to share? I don’t really celebrate new year’s eve, but for all those partying, have a good night and stay safe!

Christmas Swag

2010-12-29T08:00:00.000-08:00

I hope you like seeing what other people got for Christmas as much as I do, because I’m about to show you my Christmas goodies! As usual I was spoilt.

You see the Lindt reindeer? That is ONE KILOGRAM of chocolate! Or in old money, 2.2 POUNDS. What am I going to do with all of that?! Next to the reindeer is a snazzy little gift from a friend: teacup and saucer shaped cupcake moulds! I’ve seen them before and loved them, so I’m very excited to have my very own.

So… I got a Kindle! Ross got me the Kindle and the Zara cardigan with elbow patches. Both are amazing, obviously, though the Kindle is just a tiny bit more amazing. I love the screensavers, how I can highlight text and make notes and it stores it all for me in a handy-dandy file ready for me to look over later, how it can search my entire Kindle library for a word or phrase, how light and tiny it is, and how I can even put knitting patterns on it. It’s the best! For a long time I hated the thought of an e-reader (ereader?) because I love books, actual physical books, but when I started teaching I realised how useful one would be. I have to carry a LOT of books. And since playing with the Kindle, I’m blown away by it. I expected it to feel impersonal and unbooklike, but I think that Amazon have done a very good job of making it feel friendly to book lovers. The screensavers are such a nice touch. After I added my books I really felt like it was mine, very personal to me, and I wouldn’t want anyone else touching it. I’ve also enjoyed looking for cases, and patterns for cases. I can’t wait to properly outfit my Kindle, until then it’s housebound because I’m so scared of damaging it.

Anyway. The felt rectangle with the bunny on it was a gift from my boyfriend’s parents, it’s actually a make-it-yourself kit for a bag. As soon as I got it I knew what I was going to do with it, it’s going to be my knitting bag for current projects. At the moment I have a ratty tote that I got for free a couple of years ago hanging from my bed post. Not for much longer! As you can see I’ve already stitched on the decoration, now I just have to sew the bag together and put the handles on. It’s been fun to make, and I’m looking forward to being able to use it. They got me the jar with the gingham on too, it’s cupcake mix in a jar. I was really pleased with my presents from Ross’s parents, I love making things and baking. I expected a bath set or something, the kind of thing you can give to anyone, so to receive such well-thought out gifts was a really pleasant surprise. They liked the homemade hamper that I gave them too, though the seal on the apple chutney was so tight that it took twenty minutes to open the jar!

Last picture, how amazing is this fold up bag? It folds away into a strawberry, open it up and it’s bows and polka dots! My three favourite things all in one. This was one of my gifts from my friend in Hong Kong, she always comes up with the goods. She also sent the soap shaped like a poo (in the box underneath the hairdryer), a keyring of a bowl with a Chinese soup in it, a ringpop, pick up sticks, a bracelet, Chinese sweets, and doughnut flavoured hand cream.

Other highlights include the Emu slippers (which I’m wearing in my Christmas Day post), the Kokeshi doll, and the silver sausage dog brooch, all of which were from my mum. I love sausage dogs! I forgot to include the QI annual I got from a friend too.

Amazing stuff, right? I did so well. My final present was the return of my laptop. It came back all fixed the day after Boxing Day. I used it for a bit of online sale shopping, and picked these up from Schuh:

I wanted them in the summer but decided that they were too expensive, then they went out of stock and I never thought I’d see them again. Then up they pop, half price in the sale! I can’t wait for them to arrive, even though I won’t be able to wear them for months.

Materialism over, I had a lovely Christmas Day, one of the best I can remember. I stayed over at Ross’s on Christmas Eve so it was just us for the morning, which was really nice. We had a lie in, exchanged presents, then rushed around because we were late heading to his mum and dad’s. I spent an hour or two there and really enjoyed myself. I liked watching Ross get a bunch of really practical gifts that I would have hated but he loved. Seriously, who wants a sander and a torch for Christmas?! Then it was time for me to go home, and we ran out of petrol on the way. The less said about that the better. Ross’s sister and her fiancé rescued us. I arrived home a little later than planned and we all opened our presents Then it was time for dinner, a nap, and some drinking. Ross came round and opened a couple of presents from my mum, then we all sat around in the living room like The Royle Family. I ate my own body weight in cheese and crackers and pickled onions. The end. Nothing exciting, just a nice quiet Christmas. I hope yours was similarly enjoyable. x

Christmas Day

2010-12-27T14:49:00.001-08:00

I hope you all had a lovely day!

Here’s what I wore:

Top: Zara
Cardigan: Gap, via eBay
Skirt: River Island, via eBay
Slippers: Emu, Christmas present from mum
Necklace: c/o Tesco
Bracelet: Christmas present from my best friend, bought in Hong Kong

Not wanting to sound weird, but I loved what I wore on Christmas Day. I’m planning to show you my amazing Christmas loot in a couple of days (though look to the right for a very big clue), but for now here’s something that I made for my boyfriend:

It’s Bruce Springsteen. And he has a goatee, not a hairy arse crack on his face. I fully realise that it’s crap, but I like to think of it as endearingly crap rather than just crap crap.

Did you give any handmade gifts? Did they go down well? x

Happy Christmas!

2010-12-25T07:00:00.000-08:00

I hope you're all having a lovely day. You watched Santa Claus: The Movie, right? That's a Christmas essential.

Here are a couple of silly gifts that I would have loved to unwrap this morning. Except I didn't because I neglected to tell anyone about them.

But never mind, the Topshop sale started online yesterday and I picked up a coat that I've been wanting for half price! It was a bit of a fluke, I got up at 8.30 to talk to my best friend on Skype (she lives in Hong Kong) and found an email from Topshop in my inbox. Some quick clicking meant that I picked up my favourite coat of the season in both grey and black (though I'll only be keeping one, I just like to make an informed decision). Both were out of stock two hours later!

Sweet, right? I also picked up a pair of the shoes that have been haunting the right side of my blog for a few weeks now. In both black and camel. Best Christmas present to myself ever. (I got paid on Thursday, by the way. It's already gone. With budgeting like this, no wonder I'm permanently skint.)

Now get back to your family/friends/pets and enjoy yourself! xx

And for anyone reading after Christmas Day has passed... did you get anything exciting? I love hearing about other people's presents.

Christmas Dress

2010-12-23T03:00:00.000-08:00

This isn't a great picture, but it's the best I've got.

Dress, necklace: c/o Clothing at Tesco

Cardigan: Zara

Tights: Debenhams

Shoes: Topshop

Brooch: vintage

Ring: Miss Selfridge

Bag: Etnies, waaaaaaay old!

So there we go, that's what I wore for my boyfriend's work do. Despite wearing all black it did feel like a Christmassy outfit, maybe because the brooch is of a fawn. The dress is only £14, so I reckon it's a bit of a bargain even if you have to pay for it.

Are we all feeling Christmassy yet? I made apple chutney last night, and wrapped up this super sweet cardigan for my four year old niece:

I'm horribly jealous and if it came in my size I'd probably wear it every day for the rest of my life.

Presents Presents Presents!

2010-12-21T19:52:00.000-08:00

I got a lovely surprise this morning when I came home to find a package from Alex. It wasn't a total surprise as I did win day eight of her Twelve Days of Christmas giveaway, but I did think that it would take longer to get here.

Bunting is my second favourite thing ever (behind sausage dogs), so I was dead excited to win this. I loved the themed Christmas card too, clever clever! Here's my bunting in action:

The lavender hearts are hanging by my bed because my mum reckons that lavender is soothing (and one of the hearts got rid of my stepdad's mild headache, so it must be true). Thank you Alex!

It was evidently a good day for presents, as when we did our Secret Santa at work I got the best one. Check it out:

I couldn't help but read a few pages when I got back to my desk. Anyway, all of that excitement put me in a festive mood, so when I went for a trim today and my hairdresser asked if I'd like a jazzy little Christmas updo I said yes yes yes.

Green sequins! Silver glitter hairspray! (It's not dandruff, honest.) A little mistletoe thing! I love it.

Have you had any early presents? Before you think I have the willpower of a toddler I don't open all of my presents early, I do have some presents under the tree that arrived last week from a friend in Hong Kong. I can hardly wait though!

P.S. Tesco party dress picture coming soon!

Merry Christmas (to me) from Clothing at Tesco!

2010-12-19T18:57:00.000-08:00

It's probably not news that I am waaaaaay skint. After all of my looking around for pretty party dresses and clothes to wear on Christmas Day I was really disappointed when I realised that I couldn't afford to buy myself a single thing.

But then!

Clothing at Tesco emailed me with a very nice Christmas gift: a voucher to spend on clothes. One of the things that I chose helped to keep me warm this snowy weekend:

Hat: c/o Clothing at Tesco
Coat: Topshop
Scarf: Matalan, via charity shop

Another was something that I have been lusting after for two or three months, and which is currently £6 in the sale (mega bargain!):

Jumper, tights: Topshop
Skirt: c/o Clothing at Tesco
Boots: Schuh

I'm planning to wear the skirt on Christmas Day. I love it. However, this isn't all. Tesco gave me the biggest present a blogger could have asked for: a new party dress! My boyfriend's work Christmas party is tomorrow night, so you don't have too long to wait to see.

Update on Project Homemade Christmas:

Some poor sod at work is going to be subjected to my tangy onion chutney. The spending limit was £5, I hope whoever gets it (we didn't pick names beforehand) isn't disappointed. That gingerbread latte bath syrup is from Asda and smells divine, plus it was easy to sneak it in with the weekly shop. My mum also bought me the jar, so the actual cost of this Secret Santa to me was a bottle of grenadine and some onions. Being skint isn't so bad when you have a mum and Tesco's to look after you.

Christmas Party Dresses

2010-12-18T12:02:00.000-08:00

My last post was about Christmas Day wear, but what about Christmas party wear? A different beast all together. Here are a very pretty few that I've come across:

Most of them are surprisingly dark for a Christmas party, but I guess I'm just in a dark dress kind of mood this Christmas.

Update on Project Homemade Christmas:

This knitted phone case was more trouble than it's worth, and the second Penguin paperback mitten has been a nightmare. I made a stupid mistake early on and didn't realise until about three hours later, so I had to rip it all the way back. I watched Christmas-related videos on Youtube to get me through it. I've also been collecting vintage baubles from charity shops this year and last night someone smashed one in a drunken accident, which has impacted on my Christmas spirit way more than it should have. Bah humbug.

Back to the important part, are you getting a new party dress? Are you going for sparkle and glitter, or keeping it a bit more sedate?

P.S. To the reader who asked me where I got my fabulous shoes from, I can't find a way to get hold of you. I got them from Topshop a few years ago. You could try eBay, I've seen them come up on there once.

Christmas Clobber

2010-12-13T18:04:00.000-08:00

In the last ten years, I've probably gotten dressed on Christmas Day maybe twice. I do have a little bit of an excuse. My mum works until 2 on Christmas Day, so we wait until she gets home to open our presents, and of course you've got to be in your pyjamas to open presents. Then straight away we have our dinner. After that it's getting pretty late, and... y'know, I'm full, and sleepy...

Anyway. This year it's going to be different because I'm staying at my boyfriend's on Christmas Eve so I'm going to have to get dressed. I've been giving quite a bit of thought to my Christmas Day outfit, and I've decided that it has to be a dress. Here are some of the dresses that I'd like to prance around in on Christmas Day:

Zara

As you can see, I tend towards the childish for Christmas. Always really, but especially at Christmas. The only grown up dress (the Zara one) was chosen because it looks comfortable. I'm thinking of the inevitable post-(Quorn) turkey, post-Quality Street bloat.

Have you got an outfit planned already? Am I overthinking this? Here's an extra dress just for good luck, I think it's absolutely gorgeous but I can't wear dropped waist dresses:

ASOS

Drool!

A Homemade Christmas: Update

2010-12-12T16:35:00.000-08:00

I've really taken to the idea of making presents for my nearest and dearest. Here's how my Penguin paperback mittens are looking:

Yes, there is only one of them, which is a problem. It's a very attractive one though, don't you think? Here's the back:

There are lots of mistakes, but I really like it. Hopefully the second will turn out a little better. Even if it doesn't, a whole lot of time and effort has gone into these mittens and I hope my intended recipient appreciates that at least. Though the mittens are so big that they could be oven gloves (they do have a nice thick lining).

I'm also planning on putting together a homemade hamper for my boyfriend's parents, which will include tangy onion chutney, apple chutney, and truffles. If you have any other foodie ideas, send them on over this way.

Last year I tried my hand at these really pretty snowflakes, found over on Katy Elliot:

Needless to say, mine didn't come out looking anything like that. Here are mine:

Decoration fail. I sort of like the one on the far left, but the rest... not so much. I have kept them for a whole year now though, which maybe indicates that I should just hang them and then bin them after this Christmas. I can always try again next year.

Have you been making anything? Would you like to have a go at the snowflakes? I'd love to see some other goes at the garland!

Oh Dear.

2010-12-08T17:44:00.000-08:00

Spoiling my day somewhat is the demise of my laptop. For a couple of days the power cable has been falling out. This is the point at which I should have started worrying and backed up my stuff. Did I? Of course not. So when the bloody thing fell out and wouldn't go back in again, I had 4 minutes before the battery ran out to back up everything I've done in the last 6 months. I had to choose between the irreplaceable (pictures) and the replaceable with some bloody work. So I have some work to do.

Making this sorry tale even worse are The Tech Guys. Because my laptop is less than a year old (just) I rang them expecting a cheery "of course we'll fix it!" No. The guy said that the fault is usually caused by rough handling, which is not covered by the warranty, so I'd have to take it into a Currys store to see what they thought. Has he seen the weather out there? If I tried to get my laptop into town there would definitely be some rough handling, when I fell on my arse and dropped the stupid laptop. Anyway, I then told him that the CD tray won't open and he said that that is covered by the warranty, so they're going to take it in for repair. I'm hoping that they'll take pity on a struggling postgrad student, notice that the power socket is broken. and fix it while it's there.

Anyway, wah wah, woe is me, etc. I do have a reason for this post that isn't related to my complaints. Earlier today while doing a bit of charity shopping I found a bag that I quite like.

I originally bought it for myself (£3!), then I had a thought. What are your feelings on giving second hand/vintage items as gifts? My friends know that this year I'm doing handmade gifts because I'm skint, so there's no issue over how much I'm spending. So is it acceptable to charity shop for presents? Would you be pleased to receive this bag? I would be, and I have a friend who has very similar taste. But is it the done thing? I have given her a vintage bag once before, but that was from an actual vintage shop in Liverpool. I feel like I'm cheating the system by bypassing the vintage shop and going straight for Dove House.

Are books different? I'd like to give the book to a friend who is about to become an auntie for the first time, but can I give it for Christmas alongside a handmade gift or should it be a 'present for no reason' kind of gift?

Decisions, decisions. Here's a giant mince pie I made, recipe courtesy of the BBC. I had already started making the pastry when I realised that our bun tray had gone walkabouts, so I settled for a pie tray instead. The kind for making meat pies. So I ended up with four huge mince pies. They were lovely though, if you're planning on making some but haven't got a recipe yet I'd definitely recommend that one. Just make sure that you have a normal sized bun tray before you begin.

More Snow!

2010-12-06T16:32:00.001-08:00

On Friday when I woke up this was the first thing I saw:

Isn’t that beautiful and amazing? My house backs on to a Victorian cemetery, which is pretty amazing year-round, but when it snows it turns into a Winter Wonderland. So I headed out with my camera to take some pictures. Spot the robin!

When there was a slight breeze the snow fell from the branches as powder, way finer than it falls from the sky. It was lovely. Here’s how I wrapped up for my little expedition:

Coat: vintage, via eBay
Multicoloured scarf, hat, jeans: Topshop
Red scarf: handmade by me
Gloves: TK Maxx
Boots: Topshop, via eBay

My face indicates how cold I was. I’m still not sure about the coat, I’m too wrapped up here for you to see but it’s oversized. Very oversized. I tend to go for fitted, but because I was buying on eBay I thought I’d better size up, just in case the size ran small. My mistake was believing the seller when they described it as a size 12. Silly me.

If you’ve got snow, are you still enjoying it? I’ll admit to being bored now. It’s making riding my bike a very nerve racking experience. And walking is worse.

How do you solve a problem like tinsel?

2010-12-03T17:23:00.000-08:00

Me and my boyfriend are fundamentally different. In lots of ways, really, but the most important difference is this: he thinks that a Christmas tree needs tinsel. I do not. We went shopping for decorations and put up his tree this week, and this was the result:

See the gracefully draped beads, totally overwhelmed by hideous tacky… red? To be fair it looks better with the lights on, but at the moment only the top half of the tree has lights because we made an error of judgement (namely in assuming that one packet of fairy lights would cover a 5’ tree). The only think I can think to do is add more pretty decorations, old looking ones, that will look so wrong with the tinsel that Ross will realise the error of his tinselly ways. So I went charity shopping:

Aren’t they beautiful? The baubles on the right are glass, that mushroom one is too cute, the pearl garland is beautiful, and the angel dog… looks like my dog, in colouring at least.

All of them are lovely, but I needed more. I went to Tesco’s and TK Maxx:

How sweet is the tin gingerbread house? It has cookies inside, and it’s decorated on all sides.

Birds! Pearls! Sausage dogs! (I have a minor obsession with sausage dogs. I got the matching cat one for Ross. He’s a cat person.)

So what do you think? The tree will be too cute for tinsel, or, Heaven forbid, are you a tinsel lover yourself?

(I’m going to stop talking about Christmas soon, honest. I go through a phase of getting excited at the beginning of December, but it doesn’t last. While I’m excited though, does anyone have any good craft blogs to recommend? I feel like doing some Christmas crafting.)

1 December

2010-12-01T16:53:00.001-08:00

Snow day! I was supposed to go into work for an afternoon/evening session of training today. I hate training. I will do anything to get out of training. Well today someone else (thank you God) did the dirty work for me: the whole campus was closed! It was beautiful. It may be closed tomorrow too, so I’ll have to listen to the radio in the morning, secondary school style, to see whether I have to go in to teach my class. Does anyone else remember listening to the radio with bated breath, hoping that their school would be closed?

This is my boyfriend’s garden (okay, yard) covered in snow:

It actually looked thicker in person. Look at that table full of snow, though. That is a big ol’ heap of snow. And down the street:

Not only did I get out of work, I got to open my advent calendar too! Oh, happy day.

Top: Topshop
Cardigan: Zara
Skirt: Dorothy Perkins
Socks: H&M
Boots: Topshop, via eBay

I’m wearing my Christmas top, by the way, in honour of the day. I’ll show you in a sec. Here’s my advent calendar:

Cute, right? Though I can’t work out the purpose of the little charms. I’ve stuck my Christmas tree one on the ribbon of the box that it came out of. Am I supposed to do that? Do I put it on the Christmas tree? It’s tragic that the drawers are too small to fit a chocolate. That’s why there are boxes of sweets nearby, I just have to have the willpower to only eat one each day. Christmas top:

It reminds me of the Babycham deer. Because this post was a total ramblefest I’ll save the pictures of what I bought today when I went decoration shopping for another time.

Have you got snow? Have you got an advent calendar? Are you excited for Christmas yet? Tell me, tell me!

Topshop Student Shop

2010-11-29T09:27:00.000-08:00

It’s been quite a while now since the Topshop Student Shop. I was wondering what had happened to the pictures taken by the street style photographer who was supposed to be prowling around (not that I saw anyone at the Hull event). A bit of fishing led me to the Topshop Facebook, where I found these lovely ladies who had been snapped (names given where known):

Hannah Sharmini Lawrence

Delving deeper, I went a bit further back into the archives. Here are some pictures from the 2009 event in Liverpool:

Lucinda Quinn

How cute are the last pair? Judging by the (admittedly small) sample that I saw, I reckon Liverpool is the best dressed city in the UK, or at least has the best dressed students.

I hope you enjoyed the cream of the student crop without having to dredge through hundreds of pictures of the indier than thou/heels and tousled waves brigade. That’s what I’m here for, to do the style legwork. You’re welcome.

Buy Nothing Day

2010-11-27T09:04:00.001-08:00

Today is the UK’s Buy Nothing Day, and yesterday was the US’s. I did go shopping yesterday: charity shopping! I believe that charity shopping fits in with the aims of the day perfectly, though I’m sure purists will disagree.

Here’s what I got:

That sweet tote was 75p, and the jumper is from River Island and still has its original tags! Utopia is one of my favourite books, so I didn’t hesitate to pick up this lovely old copy. It’s an Everyman’s Library edition, so has this lovely illustration inside:

While we’re consuming (though thoughtfully, I hope) the button necklace that Clothing at Tesco sent me is finally online. I’ve worn mine every day since I got it.

Did you decide not to shop on Buy Nothing Day? Or if you’re an American reader, do you look forward to the Black Friday sales?

Crafty Gifts (or, ‘How I Spent my Weekend: the Steep Learning Curve’)

2010-11-23T06:02:00.000-08:00

It’s that time of year again. Time for peace on Earth, goodwill to all men, and… presents. Lucky for me that I saw Katie’s ‘Literary loves’ post then, she linked to this amazing pattern from Ravelry (login required):

After I stopped hyperventilating over how much I need a pair of those mittens, I remembered two things: 1. I have a book-loving friend with a December birthday. 2. I haven’t knit in years. This crappy laptop case is the last thing that I knit, and it was over two years ago:

You see the massive leap in difficulty, and the lack of knitting skills to begin with, and how these combined should prevent me from providing my good friend with a pair of these mittens, of course. It’s obvious. To everyone but stubborn ol’ me. I can’t tell you how many times this weekend I ripped out and re-did whole sections of this, but I’m getting there!

This weekend I’ve relearnt how to knit (thanks Youtube), and have learnt how to knit a hem, how to change colours, and how to follow a chart. I’ve never felt more accomplished.

Are you planning to make any gifts this year? Are you going to make any that are so out of your current skill level that it’s unreal? If I can do it, anyone can!

Dressing Up and Dressing Down

2010-11-21T18:37:00.001-08:00

This weekend I went to a rock club that I haven’t been to in years. I used to go almost every week when I was 16-17 (they’re known for being very lax on IDing).

I got ready, then realised that I was too dressed up. My solution? Throw on some boots.

Dress: H&M
Cardigan: Topshop
Belt: Dorothy Perkins, via eBay
Bag: George at Asda
Boots: Schuh
Bracelets: Topshop, Miss Selfridge

How sweet is that bag? £5 well spent, I think.

Don’t Want to Go to Work. Pout.

2010-11-16T05:36:00.001-08:00

I got back from Prague on Thursday, and on Friday I had to go into work for a replacement office hour because I missed two while in Prague, and my ~~kids~~ students have an essay due today. This was my ‘do I really have to go to work?’ outfit:

Shirt: H&M
Cardigan: Topshop, via eBay
Skirt: Topshop
Shoes: Peacocks

It was a little too ‘cute’ for work I think, but none of my students came to see me anyway so I guess it doesn’t matter. I bought the chambray shirt after I went to London for a conference a couple of weeks ago and there was an American girl there who was wearing one with a black skirt. She looked lovely (also due to her hair and face, which sadly I can’t buy). After the conference was over I went straight to Oxford Street and bought myself this shirt from H&M! I love it, but it doesn’t make me look like a radiant American college girl…

Prague

2010-11-13T09:14:00.001-08:00

I jinxed myself with my last post. I set it to publish at 11.45 on Monday morning, precisely when our flight was due to depart. So of course I found myself running through East Midlands Airport at full pelt at 11.35, aware that the gate was due to close at 11.30. I couldn’t have ran faster if a sniper had been trained on me, and it was only due to the kindness and lack-of-jobsworthiness of airport staff that we made that flight.

It did get better from there, though. On our first morning we went to Prague Castle and saw St. Vitus Cathedral, which I loved (even though I feel awkward in churches).

I won’t show you all of my holiday snaps (I know there’s nothing more tedious), but I really fell in love with the Charles Bridge. Our hotel was at the foot of it, and we walked across it every day. It was impossible to take a picture of the bridge that did it justice, so here’s the next best thing, a picture taken from it, with a little bit of the bridge poking in on the left side.

And here’s me, with a big old Czech beer.

I’m wearing a Tesco necklace and an Asda dress, surely someone out there is offended.

Off!

2010-11-08T03:45:00.000-08:00

This is just a quick note, as at this moment I am (hopefully) in the air! I’m going to Prague for four days, I’ll return on Thursday with lots of pictures and tales to tell.

Bye all, take care of yourselves!

Tesco’s Post it On

2010-11-07T12:52:00.001-08:00

A couple of weeks ago I was contacted by Tesco Clothing and asked if I would like to take part in Post it On. I decided to get into the spirit of things and make it a bit of a challenge, so I asked Tesco for a pair of trousers. You may have noticed, I never wear trousers. But I’ve been noticing a lot of peg leg and ankle skimming trousers around lately and I’ve been wanting a piece of the action, so I was brave and asked for a pair of trousers without even getting to try them on. Scary, right? I hope you like how the look turned out.

Trousers: courtesy of Tesco
Top: H&M
Jacket: Topshop, via eBay
Scarf: H&M
Bag: H&M
Shoes: Schuh, via eBay
Brooch: gift, Joan Rivers for QVC

They also very kindly sent me a little something extra. You want to see, right?

How sweet is that? It’s as though Tesco’s know me! I know they can figure out a lot from your Clubcard, but that you have a thing for buttons is a bit much. Shame the clasp had spun round to the front without me noticing before I took the picture.

Anyway, enough chat, I get to nominate someone! I choose Alex. Hope you have fun Alex.

Fab Vintage Coat

2010-11-07T06:29:00.000-08:00

I scored myself an amazing winter coat, for under a tenner! eBay, naturally. That tenner includes postage, by the way. And it fits me perfectly.

Coat: vintage, via eBay
Shirt: Primark
Belt: Oasis
Skirt: Boxfresh, via eBay
Cardigan: Primark
Shoes: Schuh, via eBay

I love it. Here’s the outfit without the transformative powers of the Old Green Coat:

Nowhere near as fun! Though it did look better with the sleeves pushed back, which I did when I got to work. Unfortunately I can’t teach in my coat, so this is what my darling didn’t-read-the-book students saw. (The students who did read the book saw the same outfit. But they haven’t stuck in my craw as much. How can you admit that you didn’t read the required reading without a hint of shame? Kids these days.)

In conclusion, I totally love my new coat. I quite like the idea of wearing it with a faux fur stole, so that’s on my to-buy list.

How are you keeping warm this winter?

Winter Warmth Wishlist

2010-11-02T03:46:00.000-07:00

I have no money. It’s a very sad state of affairs. So for the last few weeks, I’ve been saving everything that I would like in a wishlist folder. Then I decided that it was a shame to leave all of those lovely clothes languishing in a folder on my hard drive, and I know that you’ll appreciate them.

And after I’ve gone out splashing in muddy puddles, I want a hot chocolate and bed.

Isn’t that the most beautiful bed? Sigh.

Happy Halloween!

2010-10-30T10:09:00.001-07:00

Because my life is boring I’m not going to any Halloween parties this year. However, 2008’s costume was so good that it deserves to be dragged out year upon year.

Can you tell what I am? The picture frame is part of the costume, it’s attached to my hat.

My costume was totally high street, by the way. The jacket was an old one from Oasis or Warehouse I think (it was chopped up in the making of this costume I’m afraid), I think the shirt was from Topshop (ditto), and the cravat was from Primark. It wasn’t actually a cravat, of course.

Are you going to any wild parties? What as?

Channelling Alexa Chung…?

2010-10-29T06:02:00.000-07:00

There’s a picture of Alexa Chung that has been doing the rounds recently and I love it.

I know that Alexa is always well dressed, but there’s something that I particularly like about this outfit. Beautiful skirt, beautiful shoes, paired with a plain grey jumper and a polo shirt? It shouldn’t work but it does.
So anyway, I gave it a go myself.

Jumper: Primark
T-shirt: Asda (from the kids’ school section)
Necklace: Dorothy Perkins
Skirt: ASOS
Shoes: Peacocks

And on me, the result is ‘meh’. How does she do it?

Young Professional

2010-10-27T15:15:00.000-07:00

I wasn’t teaching today, but I was going into uni for a lecture from a visiting academic, so I needed to look presentable anyway. Enter my new skirt from eBay!

Top: Topshop
Cardigan: H&M
Belt: Oasis
Skirt: Boxfresh, via eBay
Bag: Henry Holland at Debenhams
Ring: Accessorize
Shoes: Primark

I’m not sure what’s going on with my hair, so let’s ignore that. This blouse is one I bought a couple of years ago in a sale and it straddles casual and smart so well, I’ve worn it an awful lot in the last few months. It’s one of those items of clothing that languished in the back of my wardrobe, unworn, for a very long time. And then I rediscovered it! Hurrah!

Do you have any clothing that you rediscovered after a period of neglect?

Happy Birthday to this Little Man

2010-10-26T05:20:00.001-07:00

It’s my boyfriend’s birthday today, there he is above. Happy birthday superface! x

In other sort-of-present-related-news, I’m really excited to have won the Balenciaga Paris perfume giveaway over on We Shop Therefore We Are. I can hardly wait to get my hands on it!

Primark Anticipation

2010-10-25T02:32:00.000-07:00

I don’t think I’ve ever cared about what was coming up in Primark before. In my mind Primark doesn’t have any plan behind it, clothes just appear every now and again and when they’re gone, they’re gone. Not this season apparently, I just looked at the A/W collection and there are a couple of things that I really like!

I love the lily print dress. At least I think I do, from this tiny little picture. Now my only worries are that my Primark won’t have it, or when I do see it in the flesh it will look cheap and badly made.

Pictures shamelessly pinched from InStyle, is there anything that you fancy in there? The camel coloured coat with the fur collar is rather nice…

Federal Bureau of Indresstigation

2010-10-23T15:05:00.000-07:00

As I still can't get over how lovely my new bureau is, I've decided to show you some pictures. Maybe this will get it out of my system.

I chose this one because it has shelves at the sides, and I'm running out of space for my books again. It's only been a year since I got a huge six shelf bookcase, but I've filled that already. I also liked the cream, and the shape. In the eBay listing pictures the shape looked a little severe, but it fits perfectly with the rest of my room.

The shelves on the left side are filled with books for my PhD, and the shelves on the right side hold the books I'm using for teaching plus a few pretties. In this shot you can also see my wardrobe erupting. It's perhaps fitting that from now on while I'm blogging my favourite dresses will be right there. Watching.

So there you go, the first piece of non-flat pack furniture I've ever bought. I'm planning to take it with me when I move out. I'm bizarrely proud of my purchase and want to keep it forever. Is it just me who is stuffing their room to breaking point with things that they can't wait to install in a place of their own?

Smart brights

2010-10-21T15:02:00.000-07:00

I was teaching today and had a couple of meetings. Now that the first few weeks of term are over I'm gravitating towards clothes that are smart, but are also a bit more me. This pink shirt has fine stripes and mother of pearl buttons, and the mandarin collar is a bit more casual. I don't know what I'm looking so cheery about though, these shoes are really painful.

Shirt: J by Jasper Conran at Debenhams

Cardigan: H&M

Skirt: F&F at Tesco

Shoes: Peacocks

Ring: A market somewhere, I think

Oh wait, I know what I'm so cheery about! See the bureau behind me, eagle eyed friends? I've been wanting one for a while and I finally picked one up on eBay. Apparently buying furniture is even more satisfying than buying clothes, who knew?

Nautical but Nice

2010-10-18T16:17:00.000-07:00

Sorry, bad pun. I did like my outfit yesterday though!

Dress: F&F at Tesco, via eBay

Jumper: H&M

Cardigan: H&M

Belt: Topshop

Shoes: Tesco

Rings: Topshop and H&M

Blurry picture of my bird and deer knuckleduster:

We went for a walk on the riverbank and I wanted to take pictures there, but it was too cold to take my coat off! Sorry I'm such a wimp.

Charity Shop Treasures

2010-10-11T16:54:00.000-07:00

I recently found myself in Beverley with a bit of time to spare, and not expecting to find anything so soon after my last visit, but ever hopeful, I decided to check out the charity shops again. Someone was smiling down on me today, because I found this amazing bag in the first shop I went in:

It's even lovelier in person. It's rough, heavy leather, and I wonder if it was handmade, because there are no tags inside and the only closure is the slot-through bit at the bottom.

Okay, enough pictures of the bag. It's super roomy inside and I love it, the end. And the character of the thing! (By 'character', I may also mean 'smell'.) It was £6.50, which in charity shop terms is a leeeetle bit steep, but then how much would this be on the high street? Topshop have got a similar satchel in at the moment for £38:

Sorry Topshop. I would take my bag any day.

I also picked up a little scarf clip, which I have plans for:

And a plastic beaker, modelled by my sleepy bluebird Reginald:

How lovely and colourful is the bird pattern? It was only 49p, and I love birds, so I really had no choice. Reginald is a garden ornament by the way, but he doesn't like the cold so he sits on my boyfriend's kitchen windowsill and watches the place for us. I saw him in the Range and casually mentioned him over and over again, until he appeared in a cupboard one day. It was only after he arrived that he decided that he much prefers it indoors, which was perhaps a little bit naughty of me him.

Call of the Wild

2010-10-09T14:59:00.000-07:00

Look at this amazing jewellery I managed to pick up in H&M! This is a bit of a Public Service Announcement because I'm sure that at least one of my readers will share my love of animal jewellery. Everyone loves wearing metal animals, right?

I practically squealed when I saw these. My favourites are the fox ring and the rabbit earrings, but it's such a close call. The reindeer will be coming out at Christmas time for sure.

(Weird aside, the owl with the glint in his eye reminds me of The Rescuers, you know where Penny has to go down the well and she finds the diamond in the eye socket of the skull?)

50s Fringe and Layering

2010-10-07T10:41:00.000-07:00

I had my hair cut today, and my usual hairdresser was off sick so her partner in crime cut my hair. They are both really cool and have cut both my mum's and my hair for years. My hairdresser helped me dye a bit green, helped me dreadlock it (seriously), and bleached it white blonde for me. Anything I ask for she's excited about and if you're looking for a super cool hairdresser, let me know and I'll pass on the name of the shop.

Anyway, that's by the by. Today I went in just wanting a trim, but suddenly while I was in the chair mid-cut I had a hankering for a fringe. "A short one," my hairdresser asked, then threw in the magic words, "50s style?" YES. She knows how to convince me. She said this while I was looking at her gorgeous 50s style simple up do. So this is what I look like now:

Top: Topshop

Cardigan: Topshop

Blazer: Topshop, via eBay

Jeans: Topshop

Belt: Topshop

Boots: Schuh

Snood: Primark

Outfit notes: I went to a refresher training session today as a student, so I dressed down. I love it when other people layer and get it right, but aren't very good at it myself usually. I think that this outfit was a step in the right direction. Considering how much Topshop I'm wearing, it's hard to believe that I went to the Topshop student night tonight (20% off everything) and bought nothing.

It's Stationery Day!

2010-10-05T05:57:00.000-07:00

I feel like I've been waiting for this day for months, and now I'm finally doing it. I've chosen what to wear for my first day of teaching, put it on, and I'm about to head out into the big wide academic world!

Shirt: H&M

Cardigan: Primark

Belt: Topshop

Skirt: F&F, Tesco

Shoes: Primark

It doesn't look like much at all, but I thought really hard about what impression I wanted to give my students. I tried on heels and a blazer with my outfit, but losing the colour of the cardigan made me look severe, and the heels just didn't work either. They made me look more formal than I wanted to. Maybe if I had worn a more informal top they would have ramped up the formality to an acceptable level, but as it was, I'm wearing a white shirt. I haven't worn a white shirt in an age! So for now I'm happy with what I'm wearing. Maybe when I get to class I'll realise that I made a horrible mistake.

Wish me luck!

Harry Potter Cardigan

2010-10-04T03:29:00.000-07:00

This is what I wore to a friend's birthday nibbles-and-Wii night. We played Just Dance, which was hideous, and Knockout Party, which was really fun.

Top: Topshop, via eBay

Cardigan: Topshop ('Harry Potter Cardigan' because of the lightning bolt)

Skirt: Topshop

Tights: H&M

Shoes: Topshop

Bag: H&M

Yes, I am embarrassed that my whole outfit came from Topshop. Moving on, I would like to reveal why I am grinning like a Cheshire cat... I'm getting my teeth whitened! I'm halfway through the two week process and I can already see results. More details (and a before and after picture, if I can bear it) to come.

I heart American Slang

2010-10-02T07:13:00.000-07:00

I guess that no one who reads my blog (apart from my boyfriend) will know or care about my love for The Gaslight Anthem, because I don't talk about music on here. But in order to get a free acoustic version of Boxer I have to post this picture, so if you're not interested then feel free to go look at something else and I won't be offended:

Okay, anyone who's still with me. This is my favourite song from the new album:

And this is honest to God the best video on Youtube:

Other top picks from me: We Came to Dance, Señor And The Queen, and Casanova, Baby! (Exclamation mark theirs, not mine.)

If you're not converted after watching those videos and listening to those songs then there's no hope for you and you have no soul. I'm possibly saying that because some of the lyrics are woven into my life, but if you give them a chance they'll weave their way into yours too.

Charity shop bargains

2010-09-24T07:38:00.000-07:00

On Saturday I went charity shopping in Hull and got nothing, so on Monday I decided to try my luck in the more affluent (and reachable by bike) Beverley. Apart from a wasp falling on my head, I had a much better day. I picked up three books, and two gorgeous little bargains. An M&S scarf, branded St Michael:

And this amazing blouse, the story of which I will tell to my children and my children's children:

I saw a couple of things that I liked on the High Street Rack in Oxfam, but they were all hideously overpriced. Trying my luck on the general tat rack, I saw this pretty blouse. I didn't recognise the brand name, but I liked it so I bought it. When I got home I Googled the brand name, Edun, and it turned out to be a Bono-related venture. This top would have cost at least €200 new! It doesn't make a difference to how I'll wear it, but I'm impressed with my unwitting bargain finding anyway. And I thumb my nose at the Oxfam High Street rail: just because it originally came from Topshop doesn't mean I want to pay £10 for it when it's all bobbly.

Alexa Chung for Madewell

2010-09-17T16:42:00.000-07:00

Apparently with every purchase you get some free ribbon printed with one of three of Alexa's favourite quotes.

I quite like the idea, especially as one of Alexa's favourite quotes is "better than a poke in the eye". My mum says "better than a kick in the crotch" and it always makes me laugh. I've also heard "better than a punch in the chops". It's so British. Mustn't grumble, it could be worse. Could be better, but could be worse.