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!

Happy Birthday Grandad.

First of all I want to say a big Happy Birthday to the most amazing Grandad in the world. Secondly, I want to tell you all about this gorgeous place in Staffordshire. Barton Marina has some lovely little shops which sell jewellery, clothes and food plus an art gallery and a fantastic Pub Restaurant called the Waterfront. You can walk along the promenade admiring the narrow boats or take a walk around the lake which when the sun is shining like it was today looks simply beautiful.

Living in the city I love visiting places like this. I adore being by the water and watching it glisten in the sun, plus I'm a sucker for old fashioned lampposts and cute little benches and flower pots. I could have spent hours here just walking around going in and out the shops, one of which sold gorgeous little gifts and things for the home. I of course had to buy myself something and picked up a stunning pair of earrings.

As I knew we were going to be walking around in the cold wind I chose to wear something comfy and warm, but of course I wanted to still look nice for my Grandad's birthday meal. This is a chic and simplistic outfit that I don't really have much to say about except I picked my Next roll neck jumper and Warehouse coat as I knew they would keep me warm and my Dune thigh high boots because they're super comfy. I chose this outfit because it was suitable and I liked it. It's as simple as that.

Today may have been really windy and cold but I had a wonderful time and if you get chance to go here then you definitely should. I've had the perfect day in good company and enjoyed a delicious meal in a place filled with character. I shall definitely be coming back here in the summer with my boyfriend.

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Jumper - Similar here, £25

Boots - Similar here, £119

Skinnies - Same, £22.99

Coat - Similar here, £70

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Happy Birthday Grandad!

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?

Lazy Sunday.

So in bag no.2 were these gorgeous black ankle boots, £15, Topshop Sale. Now this won't be a long post as its quite a simple outfit for my Sunday of visiting family and also because I'm off out again in a moment.

I've teamed these affordable and comfortable boots with my ripped Topshop skinny jeans, which I bet you're all sick of seeing by now and my grey baggy jumper, also Topshop. I chose this outfit because it's super comfy yet still stylish.

Of course I needed to glam up my oufit a bit so I detailed it with my new tassel clutch bag from Next, my Tiffany sunglasses and this gorgeous Etsy engraved initial necklace which my boyfriend got me for Christmas. I always feel plain V-Neck tops require a necklace just to spruce them up a bit.

When I saw these boots I immediately fell in love, a pointed toe is something I just adore, the stitch detailing is so subtly stylish and the small heel is just the right height. Also for the price what's not to love? 

Petite Moto Blue Jamie Jeans, £42, same.

Seam Front V-Neck Jumper, £38, similar.

Leather Chelsea Boots, £39.99, similar.

Clutch Bag, £18, same.

Sunglasses, £194, same.

Necklace, £17.75, same.

I hope you all have a lovely Sunday.

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.

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.