The Camel Coat.

 My second day with Jess was spent helping her buy new things for our night out whilst I window shopped. Frugal February isn't as hard as I thought, but I'm still counting down the days till I can buy something new. My list of saved items on ASOS is ridiculously long.

It was a pretty cold day and most of Nottingham's stores and restaurants require an outdoor walk so I decided I was going to wear my stunning New Look Camel coat. Camel is the 'It' colour at the moment and goes with most skin tones and hair colours. Hooray! I then based the rest of my outfit around the coat. 

I wanted the coat to be the focus point of my outfit and I'm not one for lots of colours anyway, so I decided to go for my new black Topshop boots. They're comfy, flat and keep my feet warm so I thought they would be perfect for a day of walking around town. I then chose to wear my black skinny jeans, and my white, oversized, boyfriend shirt. Again keeping the colours to a minimum.

The style of the coat is smart yet casual so can be dressed up or down. With this particular outfit, which is rather casual, I think the coat adds that needed touch of elegance and sophistication by adding shape to the loose fit top. The colour of the coat also helps to brighten up the outfit.

I accessorised with my black H&M hobo bag and Ralph Lauren sunglasses.

Jeans - Same here, £22.99
Shirt - Similar here, £28
Coat - Similar here, £70
Leather Chelsea Boots - Similar here, £39.99
Bag - Similar here, £30
Sunglasses - Similar here, £118

I was so warm and comfy for shopping and lunch in this outfit whilst still feeling dressed up. We had a lovely day and enjoyed some delicious food at Zizzi. If you've not been before its an Italian restaurant and I highly recommend it. My favourite dishes are the Garlic Bread with Mozzarella, Ravioli Di Capra and the Penne Della Casa. I also hear the Pizzas and Calzones are incredible, unfortunately I am yet to try them.

Are you loving Camel as much as me? I'd love to know!

Gorgeous Views & Vintage Shops.

I have had the most wonderful day today in Matlock, Derbyshire with my partners mum, her friend and auntie. We started off by doing The High Tor which is a lovely, but steep, walk through the countryside. The views are beautiful and we were so lucky with the picturesque snow on the ground. I dressed sensible but couldn't resist adding that touch of glamour.. hooray for the sunshine.

So, I knew I needed to wear my Next Clearance wellies, £4 and a decent coat.. bring out the Berghaus. This coat isn't the most glamorous but it's not too bad, it fits nicely and I like the grey and silver detailing, plus its super sensible, warm and waterproof. From there I just wore whatever I felt like. I went for black wet look jeans, Newlook, a plain vest covered up by my mottled grey turtle neck from River Island and then on top of that, but hidden by the coat, was my plain black work cardi.

I detailed my outfit with natural make-up which included Elizabeth Ardens Beautiful Colour Moisturising Lipstick in Breathless, a simple half up half down hair do, pinned back with a small clip to keep my hair off my face and a pair of silver aviators from Urban Outfitters.

Waterproof, similar here - Jeans - Turtle Neck - Wellies, similar here - Sunglasses, similar here - Lipstick

After our walk we went and looked around all the vintage and antique stores, something I haven't done before. In the first one we went in I found a copy of The Tatler Magazine, dated April 1957 for £8.50, which Freddie's Mum treated me to. This beautiful magazine is in great condition and features exquisite fifties fashion, french debutantes and the queen. If you know me, you'll be aware of how much I love the fifties and the sheer elegance that surrounds it. This magazine is a lovely and interesting find, particularly as it informs me of what was happening on April 19th 1957, my birthday.

These shops are simply wonderful and hold so much history that I could barely contain my excitement. The jewellery, the clothes, the hats, the suitcases, the typewriters and my personal favourite the cameras, were all so fascinating I could have spent all day in there. I definitely think that this is the start of some serious collecting for me as I already cant wait to get my hands on some more magazines and will hopefully go back to Matlock soon and pick up some of the vintage cameras.

We finished our perfect day at a little cafe where I had a delicious jam scone.

Where are your favourite places to visit?

A Very Happy Shopper.

Today I saved £100 at Next Clearance! My four purchases should have originally come to £138, of course with it being a clearance store, most of their products are reduced. Luckily for me, the items I fell in love with had major discount and upon arriving at the till to find out two were even cheaper than the labels showed, I was over the moon to walk away with a floral blouse, a camel touch of cashmere polo neck, a pair of black wellies and some gorgeous tan open toed shoe boots for just £38. 

Blouse, originally £22 I payed £10 - Saving of £12

Jumper, originally £35 I payed £15 - Saving of £20

Wellies, originally £26 I payed £4 - Saving of £22

Boots, originally £55 I payed £9 - Saving of £46

How good do those savings look?

If you've never been to a Next Clearance, like I hadn't until about two years ago, they're basically a normal Next store during the Christmas sale all year round, different items in different sizes all dotted about everywhere, just with a lot less people!

Now, I'm not one for sales. The pushing, shoving, long ques and disorganization just doesn't do it for me, I would rather find bargains online or simply go without. But if you fancy a browse and have a little time to rummage in almost peace and quiet, the Next Clearance stores might be your cup of tea.

The stock doesn't change that often and I find that my size is hard to come by, so I rarely go there, but when I'm in the area I always like to have a pop in just to see, if like today, I can find some good bargains. The downside to my particular Next Clearance Store, and I don't know if it is the case with all of them, but they don't have changing rooms and I like to try things on. Luckily for me I'm quite good at wiggling in and out of clothes whilst keeping everything hidden! If you're not, there's no need to worry, they have a 15 day return policy and you can return the items to any Next store.

Now about my goodies! The lovely blouse has a v-neck and no sleeves. The mid-grey colour makes it perfect for all year round, I'm thinking black jeans and blazer in the colder months and nice white jeans when it's that bit brighter. Also the light dusky blue and pink flowers help make it suitable for both day and evening, smart enough for dinner at a restaurant but pretty enough for a walk down the canal.

The camel Jumper, which can I remind you has a touch of cashmere, is as you can imagine super soft and feels really good quality. The fact that this jumper isn't very thick makes it perfect for layering, you can simply team with a nice trench/duffle/faux fur coat for whilst you're outdoors and then when you take your coat off indoors, you'll remain snug but not too hot. I think this will look stunning with my black thigh high flat boots and black jeans but also dressed up with the tan shoe boots for those dinners at the pub. Whilst on the subject of these boots, they are very comfy with the heel being chunky and not too high and lets face it, they're gorgeous too? I shall be wearing these for those walks to my little country pub, family gatherings, dinner and cinema dates with my boyfriend and perhaps those short little shopping trips to town, in which i'll probably buy more shoes.. Oops!

Finally, the welly boots. I love going out on walks and don't want to ruin my best shoes, but still like to look nice. My job doesn't require any sort of beauty products or nice clothes which means at the weekend I enjoy dressing up. So when I saw these plain black wellies with their knitted top I simply couldn't resist. They're cute, go with everything and practical. 

What do you think of my bargains? I'd love to know.

I Don't "Snow" What To Wear.

Ok ok, not that funny.. But how often do we get to crack snow jokes in Britain? My point exactly. It's not very often we get snow in England and when we do, everybody goes into a panic! It's cold, it's icy..  We want to go out without falling over and freezing but what do we wear? We can't buy new clothes just to be worn 3 days of the year, so here are my top tips on what to wear when "walking in a winter wonderland."

Scarves. I love them! They complete an outfit, adding that perfect pop of colour and guess what? They keep you warm aswell! This gorgeous purple and navy scarf was a Christmas preset off my wonderful boyfriend from Dorothy Perkins, £16 in Black Friday sale, but I have seen similar ones in primark and tesco recently which are probably abit cheaper.

Boots. I'm not one for having my feet covered but at this time of year it is a must! These were £20ish from Tesco last year and they're so comfy and great quality. Plus the colour and style means they're not just for snow, these can be worn all year round when our British summer isn't so sunny!

Layers. Now I love a great big faux fur coat and own a couple, but they're not that cheap and I'm the type of person who likes to whip off my coat and carry it if I get too hot! No one wants to be carrying a huge coat in their arms whilst they're walking! So to beat that winter chill I went back to those days as a child and wore a vest! Not a scruffy old fashioned one but just a normal vest! Then I layered up with a long sleeve tee, my cream knitted jumper, £25 H&M, and this lightweight all year round faux leather jacket also H&M. 

Last but not least what to do with your hair when it's damp, windy and you've hit snooze one to many times on that alarm clock?! Lucky for us tucked in hair is all the rage so give it a brush, wrap around that scarf and you're ready to go! Or go for a slicked back look which is also in fashion, I opted for a French plait on the way home which my cousin ever so kindly did for me.

Hope you're all enjoying winter and I'd love to Snow what you think ;)