Wednesday 28 July 2010

Happily ever after starts here...

WARNING!!! This post contains looooooads of photos! But I don't care cos I had a great weekend!!

Evening lovelies,

First up I have to apologise... I have been a very bad blogger of late :-( I haven't posted for over a week, and have so far failed to put up all my gorgeous pictures from the wedding I was a bridesmaid at at the weekend. But now that I have recovered from the amazing few days I can now put these things right, and share with you what was the beautiful marriage of Mr and Mrs Gordon!!

(I plan on putting up a YouTube video asap with loads more pics and me talking about the outfits I wore over the weekend, but I am still a bit of a dummie when it comes to editing videos, so will aim to do it as quickly as I can!)

So, on to the good stuff... the gorgeous pictures!! It was such a beautiful wedding and the bride had planned every detail so well - she planned it all herself, and with help from family and friends she pulled off an amazing event :-) Here's some of my favourite snaps...

This is the gorgeous barn the reception took place in. The day before we had started with a bare shell, so it was quite the transformation! There was a general pink theme, but it was really tastefully done and not too in-your-face. There was also a bit of a country vibe going on, with flowers in cute teacups, bunting outside and floral ribbon everywhere.

Just look at this cake! Instead of the traditional white tiered cake, they went for a profiterole mountain, with the occasional flower added for decoration... amazing!

There were no normal place names at this wedding, no no. Instead, we had our names tied on to big lollipops with bright pink ribbon. So cute. As I said, the bride really thought of everything - I think she should go into wedding planning professionally :-)

The day before the wedding we spent quite a while putting this sweetie table together. With old fashioned jars, bags and metal scoops, and all the favourites such as fried eggs, shrimps and love hearts, it was so in-keeping with the theme. I would like to say the kids loved it, but it was probably just as popular with the adults!

The reception was in such a stunning setting, which allowed us to get some beautiful pictures. Here's the blushing bride looking stunning...

Here's a lovely shot of the bridal party. You can see me second from left, and my boyfriend who was groomsman is on the right. Just wish I'd kept my shoes on for this pic!

Thought this was a really funny one...

After a looong day, which finished with a brilliant disco until midnight, I was absolutely shattered! Unfortunately the minibus had to leave without us, so myself, my boyfriend and the bride and groom were left behind waiting to be rescued! While the boyfriend rang round frantically trying to get a taxi for us all, I helped in the best way I thought possible!...

Although I admit I was pretty tipsy, I wasn't as paralytic as this picture might suggest! I was just so ridiculously tired. But hey, that's the sign of a great party!

Do you like these pictures? I think they are so gorgeous (apart from the last one!). Are any of you off to any weddings this summer?
(Just a quick note about these pics - the majority of them were taken by a professional photographer (I'm sure you can tell which ones are hers and which are my not-so-professional snaps!) who is absolutely wonderful. She works mainly in the Suffolk area, so if you are at all interested in using her for an event, just send me a message.)

It was without doubt the best wedding I have ever been to :-)

So please, ladies and gentlemen, raise your glasses...to the new Mr and Mrs Gordon, and the start of their happy ever after!

xx

Wednesday 21 July 2010

Oh I do like to be beside the seaside...

Evening all,

Thought I would write a quick little blog with a few cute piccies of my day at the beach at the weekend :-)

On Sunday it was my boyfriend's stepmum's 60th birthday and she wanted all her friends and family (around 40 of us altogether!) to celebrate at one of her favourite places in the whole world... Frinton-on-Sea!! She owns a beach hut there with 4 of her friends so that was the hub of the day's activities. The hut is sooo cute! I really want one, but with a price tag of around £20,000, I think they're a little out of my price range!

We were very lucky with the weather, as it didn't rain at all. Although it was super sunny, there was quite a strong breeze so it was a little chilly (hence why I didn't feel the need to put suncream on, so am now nursing very burnt legs!). Here's what I wore...

I popped on my straw hat from Primark to keep the sun of my face and tied my hair in a messy side plait to try to keep it out of my eyes.

Bag- New Look
Shorts (again!) - Dorothy Perkins
Belt - Primark
Strapless Top- Dorothy Perkins
Cardigan- New Look

I spent the day releasing my inner child; building sandcastles, paddling and playing games. After food, the birthday girl was presented with the most amazing birthday cake...

How adorable is it?! With the beach huts (notice how it's number 60 because it was her 60th), a lilo, crab, the sand, beach ball, and the lady herself asleep on a deckchair, every detail was perfect :-)

What makes it even better is that it was all made by one of her friend's daughters - very talented lady! Her boyfriend even got roped in and helped make the deckchair - he cut lollipop sticks, sanded them down and even drilled holes in them so he could stick them altogether... now that's a lot of effort! It was all worth it though, as she seemed to love it...

Just as we were leaving, the boyfriend, his dad and stepdad felt the need to go for a swim :-/ Now, I know it was a sunny day and we were at the beach 'n all, but let's not forget... THIS IS ENGLAND and the water was still freezing!! Ah well, I guess boys with be boys, whatever their age!

I had a really lovely day at the beach and, most importantly, so did the birthday girl :-) Now, where's the aftersun...

xx

Sunday 18 July 2010

Livin' Life on the Wild Side!

I've been a very lucky lady recently, as the day after winning an item of Tesco's gorgeous couture range on a Twitter competition (see previous post), I won a Wild Curls mascara from 17 at Boots :-) Cue cheesy photo!...

Before I review the mascara, let me show you how I won it. On Twitter, 17 (@Official17) asked their followers to tweet a picture of them with 'fierce eyes', from which they would pick their 10 favourites to win. As I wasn't really doing much that day, I had a bit of a play around. Here's what I came up with... (please ignore the rest of my face which I didn't do at all- I only did my eyes)...

I know some bloggers are brilliant with make up, but I'm actually quite a novice and actually don't really own that much. However, I really enjoyed experimenting and was pretty pleased with the look I created. Here's a close-up of my 'fierce' peepers!...

And closed...

The products I used to create the look were:

17 Eyes Trio - Pretty In Pink (on brow bone)
17 Eyes Trio - Smoky Quartz (on eyelids)
Rimmel Glam Eyes Liquid Liner
NYC 'Show Time' Volumizing Mascara

What do you think? I was pretty pleased with myself and it made me what to experiment a lot more :-)

Anyway, the lovely team at 17 sent me a Wild Curls mascara really quickly and I couldn't wait to try it out. Firstly, the all important packaging!

Let me just say that I categorically LOVE leopard print, so the shiny gold and leopard print packaging is right up my street! Also, when you do the lid up, it clicks gently into place as it closes. I know this is only a very little touch, but it just makes it seem a lot more expensive than it actually is, as I believe it's on sale for only £5.99.

Here's a couple of before and after pictures so you can see the difference it made (I don't have any other make up on here, so you can really see the effect it had clearly)...

These pictures are both with two coats, and as you can see it really gave my eye lashes a great curl. Also, the size and shape of the brush, which is straight and not too fat, meant I was able to get into the corners of my eyes really easily and it did not clump at all.

The packaging claims that Wild Curls 'holds for up to 10 hours'. If I'm honest I didn't have it on for 10 hours, but I must have had it on for about 5 or 6 and it didn't run at all - I was very impressed :-)

So overall, what do I make of it? Well, in three words, I love it! I recommend you give it a go, and if you get to boots quickly you might still be able to get an awesome freebie when you buy one - a Wild Curls Eye Kit, which contains tweezers, curlers and eyeliner. Can't ask for much more than that!

Have any of you tried 'Wild Curls' yet? If you have, what do you think of it?

(Oh, and they also sent me a nail varnish as a little extra which made me smile! It's called 'Amaretto' and is part of their Lasting Fix range. It's a gorgeous deep maroony kinda colour which I haven't had time to try out yet, but it looks lovely and will be particularly cute in the winter)

Thanks 17!

xx

Tuesday 13 July 2010

F+F Couture and My Competition Win :-)

Just a quick update because I am a very happy girl right now!

I follow @ClothingatTesco on Twitter and today they ran a competition to win an item from their F+F Couture range and... you guessed... I WON!!

To enter you had to tweet your best summer fashion tip and the nice people at Tesco would choose their favourite. My tip was:

I guess that at the end of the day you can't please all the people all the time, so you might as well just make yourself happy. And in the summer you want to enjoy the nice weather (if we ever have any!) and do fun things without being too concerned about what you're wearing.
Now on to the fun bit - I get to pick an item of my choice from their couture range :-)

I have to admit I never even knew that Tesco had a couture range before today, and I am really pleasantly surprised - there are some gorgeous items. You can check them out at:http://www.clothingattesco.com/brands/F+F-Couture/icat/f-and-f-couture

These are a few of my favourite pieces...

So now I need to make my mind up and tell Tesco. Decisions decisions. What do you think I should go for?
xx

Saturday 10 July 2010

Dress to Impress

Yesterday I took my little self off down to London for an interview for an internship at Channel 4.

I set an alarm for 5.30am (painful) and toddled off on the train. Luckily despite the train stopping for about 20 minutes because of a fire, I made it on time. It was a busy day full of interviews, group tasks and written exercises so I was a very tired girly on the way home. I find out next week whether I got the spot, so fingers crossed!

I was all ready to wear a suit for the day, but luckily I emailed beforehand and found out there is no dress code at Channel 4, and I was told to just wear what I was comfortable in. Here's what I went for (again I'm sorry for cutting off my face - I took this after a long, hot train journey home, because I forgot to take one before I went, and it's not a pretty sight!)...

Shoes - Marks and Spencer
Bag - Primark
Dress - Asda
Jacket - New Look
Belt - River Island

I got the dress in the Asda sale for £7 and think it is really pretty and I'll definitely wear it a lot. To make it a bit smarter I added grey heels and a grey smart handbag. The grey jacket is really lightweight and I thought it just made the outfit a bit cooler.

Here's a close up of my belt which is new and I love! I got it from River Island in the sale for £8 reduced from £20. It will be perfect for making an 'ok' outfit a bit more special :-)

Oh, and thought I'd show you this cute little purchase. I got this card holder from Accessorize, and it's perfect for my Young Persons Railcard and means I can travel in style!

If you haven't ever seen the Channel 4 head office (which is not far from Westminster) then take a look at how cool it is...

Yep, that's a big '4' made from umbrellas - awesome!
Even after just one day I can tell that it is just the kind of place I want to be. I had a really enjoyable day, but the other candidates were all really strong, so I'll be keeping my fingers crossed and waiting for the fateful phone call!!

xx

Thursday 8 July 2010

Animal Instincts

Hola Chicas!

I was in town yesterday posting a few ebay items I've sold in the last few days and, as usual, I got distracted and did a spot of shopping myself :-/ There's so many sales on everywhere at the moment I find it hard to resist!

Then last night the boy and I headed out for a meal at good old Frankie and Benny's - I love it so much there. Here's what I wore... (I've cut my head off cos let's just say I wasn't looking at my most radiant!)...

Shorts - Dorothy Perkins
Navy vest - New Look

I bought the cream cropped tee I'm wearing here yesterday from New Look. It was reduced from £22 to £6 in the sale so I was a very happy girly! The detailing at the top is loads of little faux pearls sewn on which is so cute :-)

It's my gorgeous new shoesies that were my favourite part of my outfit though...

I got them from Tesco of all places! They were £12 and I am actually in love with them :-) The leopard print in kinda shiny, then there are black bows with big chunky silver jewels on...

They wouldn't normally be my style cos they're quite in your face, but they make me smile, so I figured what the hell :-)

Hasta Mañana

xx

Wednesday 7 July 2010

Hoola Hoop Your Heart Out

So I'm addicted to nail varnish if you hadn't noticed and my latest fave is this little beauty by Collection 2000. It's number 34 and is called 'Hoola Hoop':

The picture on Collection 2000's website looks a lot more purpley that it really is, which is quite strange...

All I can say is that it is proper pink!! Unquestionably, unsubtly, most definitely pink! I have two coats on in this picture, but one would have probably done, and it dried really quickly.

On Saturday I'm off to a Hen Party and the dress code is pink and black. As my outfit is mostly black I think I'm gonna wear this on my nails to make sure I adhere to the rules!
I'm still loving my cute little birdie ring which I got in the TopShop sale for £2.50 (I spoke about it in my first ever YouTube video that you can see in the post below if you fancy a laugh at my expense!).
What are your favourite nail varnishes at the moment? I usually stick to Collection 2000 and 17, so I think I need to try some other brands...

xx