Shopping At The Bullring.

As much as I love to shop in Nottingham it's very much outdoors, not great when its raining, and plus I get a little bored of the shops, so yesterday Freddie and I decided to go to Birmingham for the day and do a spot of shopping in the Bullring.

When it comes to going shopping I want an outfit that's quick and easy to get in and out of and that requires minimal pulling over the head. I also hate getting hot and don't want to be lugging around a jacket with all my shopping bags, luckily most of the shops in Birmingham are all inside the Bullring so I could wear what I wanted despite the horrible wind and rain.

On Saturday whilst doing a food shop in Tesco I came across this lovely simple black dress for just £10. What I love about this dress is that it's short at the front showing off a nice bit of leg but longer at the back so that you don't need to worry about it riding up as you're walking or everyone being able to see up it as you're going up the stairs. Of course I bought it and was desperate to wear it, but I needed to make it weather appropriate so I teamed it with my thigh high boots.

Now this dress isn't fitted at all so requires a belt to give it some shape and for this occasion I decided just a plain black skinny belt would do the trick. Of course that meant the outfit was very much one colour and as much as I love black it needed brightening up so I simply added this gorgeous grey elephant scarf which I think makes the outfit that little bit girlier and also makes it look slightly more summery.

I accessorised with my black H&M hobo bag, silver Marc Jacobs watch, silver bracelets and my engraved silver necklaces from etsy.

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Dress - Same here, £10
Scarf - Similar here, £6.99
Boots - Same here, £159
Belt - Similar here, £8
Bag - Similar here, £7.99
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I had a great day shopping in Birmingham and got some wonderful bits which I cant wait to share with you. We finished off our day with a delicious calzone from Pizza Express and just before we left remembered to take some pictures for the blog as we'd just been having too much fun to take them before..

So please excuse the messy, damp hair!

Flowers For My Valentine.

 Now valentines day isn't something me and Freddie really consider that important, but we do however think it's a good excuse to get dressed up and go out for some food and a few drinks.

For this occasion I chose to wear this navy floral shift dress from Newlook which I have only worn once. The pattern and fit makes this dress suitable for the day time whilst the length dresses it up. I also chose it because I thought the floral design was perfect for valentines day. 

I teamed the dress my Newlook camel dress coat as the longer length works well with the shorter dress, adding sophistication to the outfit. The coat also makes the dress look more suitable for this time of year. I then went with a bock heeled shoe boot as I wanted the outfit to go from daytime to nighttime. These were the boots I picked up from Next Clearance, down from £55 to £9. It was the first time I have worn them and they are so comfy. I can't believe how lucky I was to find them.

I accessorised this outfit with my Aldo bag, Marc Jacobs watch and Micheal Kors bracelet. You can dress up any outfit with the right accessories. For my hair I went with soft romantic waves, styled using GHD straighteners and then held with just a few section clips and a spritz of  Silverkrin. 

Dress - Similar here, £15

Coat - Similar here, £70

Shoes - Similar here, £69

Bag - Similar here, £18

Watch - Same here, £185

Bracelet - Same here, £69

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We had such an amazing evening and I finally got to try the Pizza at Zizzi. It was incredible. As was the Fonduta Formaggi, we had for our starter. Our view during drinks was of the Nottingham eye and on the way home my wonderful boyfriend treated me to my favourite flowers (I don't do big bouquets) and this super cute jar of miniature liquorice allsorts from The Treat Kitchen.

What did you do this Valentines Day? I'd love to know.

Frugal February.

Today I was browsing twitter and came across a post about Frugal February. For those of you who have never heard of it before, the idea behind Frugal February is to try and adopt as many money saving ideas as you can during the month, by eliminating all non-essential spending. It's a fantastic way to recover after Christmas and New Year.

Now, I have a holiday to pay off this month so I immediately knew that this was something I should participate in. However, I have a friend coming up at the weekend and we have of course made lots of plans to go out as we only get to see each other every couple of months. But why should that mean excessive, non-essential spending? I can go without dessert at a restaurant, I can substitute coke for water, I can cook rather than ordering a takeaway and just because she will be buying new clothes and make-up it doesn't mean I have to.

So if you hadn't already guessed, my main issue when it comes to trying to save money is that I just love to shop. If I see something I want, I buy it. It'a as simple as that. But not this month. Instead I've raided my draws, wardrobes and cupboards and pulled out everything with a label still attached and anything that has hardly been worn. There is a lot, but I'm going to make it my mission to wear them. My hard earned cash will not be wasted.

Upon rummaging through my belongings, both old and new, I found things I forgot I even owned. In the top picture are just a few of my favourite forgotton finds - Topshop Ballet Pumps, worn once. Next Heels, worn once. Clarks Shoe Boots, worn twice, Missguided Boots, worn once. Silver Ring, worn twice. Purple Topshop Dress, unworn. Lace Ark Dress, worn once. Dorothy Perkins Clutch, unworn. French Connection Purse, unused. Selection of Perfumes, used rarely.

The one item in particular that got me very excited is the black and red lace dress from Ark. I love the colour, neck line and the fit but no longer like the midi length. My solution? I'm going to take it up to just above the knee. 

Along with shopping, I also spend a lot of money on food. So that is going to be the other big spend I put a halt to this month. Frugal February is definitely going to test my will power, but I think it will be such a good thing for me to do, as well as saving some pounds I may shed a few Christmas pounds along the way.

It's been great to declutter and see that I do sometimes buy things I have enough of, such as perfume, dresses and shoes.

I know this won't be easy, but who's joining me?

Little Red Dress.

Shopping. I love it. I could spend hours looking around stores at all their clothes, shoes, accessories, beauty products, ornaments, anything and everything really. I also love getting dressed up for shopping. As I've mentioned before I don't get to dress up for my job so at the weekends I like to make the most of it.

For this shopping trip I decided to where my Topshop Shift Dress, £45, which with the right shoes and accessories will take you from day, to evening, to night. It's a very versatile dress and I just love the fit and colour.

So, to make this dress suitable for shopping and lunch I decided to team it with my Dune, Real Leather Thigh High Boots, £159, not the cheapest I know but they are great quality and look absolutely stunning, a pair of plain black tights, my Longline Primark Blazer, Plain Black H&M Shoulder Bag and my Ralph Lauren Sunglasses, again not the cheapest, but sunglasses like these are going to last you a good few years, so why not treat yourself.

When I'm shopping I don't like heavy makeup, especially when the sun is shining, so to create a thinner foundation and add that glow, I simply mixed my Rimmel Lasting Finish 25 Hour Foundation with a pea sized amount of Clean & Clear Dual Action Moisturiser.

Dress - Blazer (similar here) - Boots - Bag (similar here) - Sunglasses (similar here) - Foundation - Moisturiser

Right, my hair didn't go exactly as planned. I used my straighteners to curl it, then when I brushed them through they went slightly larger than usual so I simply used my fingers to push it over to one side and then gave it a spritz with some hairspray. This isn't a style I would usually do, but after pinning it to one side and trying it on with the evening dress I found, I think I may try to recreate it this Friday.

I was lucky enough to my dress in the first shop I went in, but that of course meant I just had to continue looking around the other stores to make my trip worth while and in the process ended up picking up a few more treats. 

Keep an eye on my blog to find out what's in these bags.

Lights. Camera. Dresses.

Freddie Wears: ASOS Suit & Tie.

I Wear: TFNC Dress & ASOS Shoes.

The party season may be over but that can mean only one thing, it's nearly wedding season and if you're like me you'll already be on the search for that perfect day to evening dress. Plus you'll be after getting the best snaps of you looking hot to trot, and of course the beautiful bride.

When I started this blog there were a few reasons behind my decision to do so, my love for writing, my ever growing list of hobbies and of course the fact I love all things fashion and photography, so my friends glamorous birthday bash gave me the perfect opportunity to write about both of these. 

So first of all a little bit about my camera, the Samsung DV150F. With dual LCD screens, perfect for selfies, this pocket size camera is great for taking with you to any occasion, no matter how small the clutch bag! I love the fact it has wifi, meaning I can upload my pictures to fb at the touch of a button, you can also activate multishare so that any snaps you take go straight to your phone. The photo quality is great and so is the zoom, the only downside to this camera is that when it comes to taking photos in dull or dark lighting it can be a bit temperamental if the flash in inactive, something which I must say I have experienced with a lot of cameras. Now I don't want to bore you with all the specs, half of which I don't understand, so if you would like to read more about this camera here is a link to PCmag. However, I think there review is a bit harsh.

Time for the fashion. For this Hollywood themed night I bought this gorgeous Grecian style TFNC Dress from Topshop. The style of the dress shows off just the right amount of flesh and the wrap allows for a bit of over indulgence on the party food, which after this Christmas and New Year I definitely needed. The beading and fabric on this dress is simply stunning but be warned, due to the style, on some photos this dress may make your bum look huge as it did mine! 

Now for me, an all day wedding requires an elegant yet fun dress to take you from day to night, something that I think this particular dress does well. The length, colour and beading keeps it all very classy and sophisticated but the split gives it that element of sexiness and fun.

Finding the perfect dress is no easy job so I thought I'd start it off for you.

Fitted Dresses.

Ginger Fizz Pencil Dress £39 - Lipsy Lace Panel Cami £60 - ASOS Blossom Print £70

Floaty Dresses.

ASOS Fit & Flare £55 - Little Mistress Bandau £58 - ChiChi Floral Midi £55

Wrap & Peplum Waist Dresses.

Lipsy Shift Dress £60 - Asos Floral Peplum £55 - Lipsy Wrap Dress £55

Those are just a few of my favourites.. I hope you like them.