Holiday Shopping and a quick update

Hello,

I'm back from a well deserved holiday with my boyfriend and the dogs. After a week in a beautiful secluded cabin in the woods (cue horror movie title), I am back to the real life smog that is Derby and back to work.

I had such a lovely week, we did very little, which was strange but I was more than getting used to it. We also had very limited 3g whilst we were in our cabin which again, was both infuriating but also really nice to just be with each other. The hours were mostly passed playing N64, Scrabble and discovering my new love of Nothing to Declare.

We did visit some small towns whilst there around Lake Windermere. After spending alot of my childhood there, it was strange to be back but also lovely and weird that nothings changed. We visited Windermere, Ambleside and Bowness which is my absolute favourite place. Jamie liked it too, which I was happy about as a London guy hes not used to so little signal and so much nature unlike me who adores all that.

It did mean my blogging got a bit short (I literally waited til we drove to a small town and was straight on blogger to get my posts up).

Anyway...I did get a tiny bit of shopping bits whilst in Bowness, its not the biggest shopping district but I did find one shop with some of the nicest things. On the plus side, I spent less on holiday than I do when I go to work.

A short and simple post today but here you go....

Maybelline 24Hr Superstay Concealer - Boots - £3.05 - BUY

I actually bought this in the clearance section as Boots are no longer stocking this as a main range product so I've linked to the full price item on Tesco instead. Its in an Ivory shade and as I recently bought a new Maybelline Foundation, I thought this would be a nice little purchase.

Muppets Coasters - £4.99 each - BUY

These are technically a gift I bought Jamie. As mentioned, we found a shop full of everything we love. It wasnt huge but it was like a dream of Baking / Handbags / Vintage Pieces / Rock (ACDC etc) merch / TV merch (think doctor who / big bang / muppets).

He didn't want to spend a tenner on two coasters which I can completely see why, and the shop was pretty pricey but thats the Lake District for you. However, we went back to Bowness on our last day and I went in alone and couldnt help but buy him something after he wanted them so much.
Plus we're making these our kitchen coasters now (we're so cool).

Music Note Necklace - £7.50
Typewriter Letter Necklace - £4.99

I saw these behind a cabinet in the lovely shop (again) and there were so many things I wanted. I had my eye on this music note necklace and knew that was something I needed in my life. To my lovely suprise, Jamie bought me both these bits so I got a really lovely gift from the holiday. I don't think I said thank you enough to him on the day hhaa!

Standard Holiday Souvenirs. I also bought a magnet but I forgot to take a photo of that.

You can't go to the Lakes without buying Kendal Mint Cake. If we go up again my plan is to visit Kendal, as Ive heard its lovely.

The penny press is one of those things I've always done and they're that few and far between that when I do see one I have to buy it. Infact, Jamie spotted it and offered to get it me cos he knows I'm sad when it comes to collecting them.

Heart Bag LYDC - £21.25 - BUY

My 2014 obsession seems to be heart shaped bags. Ultimately my goal is to buy a Vivienne Westwood one, I posted my Feb Lusts with a Floozie Heart bag I spotted, but this one stole my heard (no pun intended) I saw it whilst we were leaving the shop the first time and I talked myself out of it as £22 was good, I didnt know if I should. However, visting Bowness a second time I made up my mind I wanted it in my life and I do not regret it. I've used it every day so far and its such a babe. Its nice to actually have a lightweight bag for once.

so there you go..my holiday purchases. We also bought ALOT of sweets in an array of traditional sweet shops but those are long gone!

Have you bought any purchases on holidays?? Whats been your favourite buy on your travels??

xXx

Girl Meets: Statement Necklaces

Every month I'm going to try make an effort to push myself into a fashion piece I've not delved into / I'm adament I think I look silly in.

With the approach of Valentines day coming my way, I decided to opt for a new LBD (coming later this week) but when I tried it on, I felt slightly lacking that bit of something...enter my confidence to try a statement necklace.

I have a ridiculous amount of necklaces but minus one (that i never wear surprise surprise) they are long with one pendant and as I rarely wear just 1 plain colour, Necklaces always look a bit stupid with my outfits so in fairness, a statement piece is just something I don't feel the need for / I don't what actually looks okay.

But now this fear is finally being tackled (and I seem to have fallen in love with every statement necklace I've seen). The ones featured here arent all ones I'd buy personally but I think its good to show a variety because if I had my way you'd just have a page of gold plated necklaces.

1) First up comes this beautiful embelished piece from Topshop for £12.50 - BUY. The colours are great for up and coming SS season and would look so nice for both day and night wear.

2) HOW BEAUTIFUL IS THIS!! I'm not usually a pastel kinda girl but this is so cute. If I could pull off Peter Pan collars I would so put this popping out from under one. I found this on ASOS.com from the brand Johnny Loves Rosie, its quite ridiculous how much I want this in my life. You can view it on the site HERE but at £26 I don't think I can buy it just yet :(

 3) If I havent mentioned this store enough this week, I spotted this gem in New Look today and I am so so tempted to get it. At only £7.99 its an absolute steal and I won't feel as guilty if it doesnt get worn as much as it should! The tribal pattern still gives it enough of an impact without it being too boring. So far (mainly for my bank accounts sake) this may be the necklace of choice. You can see it on the site HERE

4) If theres one shop I always feel abit sorry for, its Miss Selfridge, It never seems to get the high street impact it deserves. Mainly because its Arcadia sister Topshop always steals her limelight when in actual fact they sell pretty much the exact same stuff. I spied this super cute daisy chain necklace - BUY - in their Debenhams concession stand and thought it was adorable. I then saw it in Topshop 5 minutes later. Theres also a matching bracelet for this so it'd make a great add on to a wedding outfit this year!!

5) Given this is a necklace post, I thought Acessorize would be the most obvious place to go. I'm usually a huge fan of what they have to offer and even when I saw they had a 'statement necklace' section, I thought I was asking for trouble but to be honest, I'm a bit dissapointed with what they have on offer. This piece isnt personally for me as I'm not into too much sparkle and at £29, I think unless this is for maybe a prom dress, its not worth the hefty price tag. You can always get a better look HERE and check out the others on offer.

6) Shall we just all take a second to forget about everything else I've mentioned and just awe at this beauty! I get its not complete 'statement' but I think a pearl chain with a sparkly orb is bound to get some attention, Its just so pretty and for a Vivienne Westwood piece, £95 isn't a ridiculous price. If you happen to have the money feel free to buy me on HERE.

Topshop Sale Haul

So if you haven't noticed yet, the summer sales are well and truly under way on the high street and at a time when I can't be spending a single penny due to moving in with my boyfriend in a few weeks time and scraping together a deposit, this is killing my inner shopper.

However, I did allow myself to have a cheeky trip to Topshop - one of my favourite high street stores (and nicely getting cheaper these days - if anyone else has noticed). I find that their clothes have always been really nice fitting to my figure, despite being of the curvier variety I can always get away with buying a Size 10 which I'm not going to cry about.

I also find as a brand, the range they offer for different women is continuously getting better with the Petite section being an absolute god send to 5foot1 me.

Anyway, I got the 'pre shop' email off them and thought I'd have a cheeky look to see if I could grab myself a bargain and of course I did. I never spend more than £15-£20 on an item in the sale, purely because I love a bargain and I've got to be a little bit careful now the days of Student Finance are over.

Besides the online shop - I did pop into store (I'm a terrible person) and buy a few more bits.
 
Here's my own Topshop Summer Sale goodies....

Lipstick Case - Was: £6 Now £3 -

This one has sold out but you can buy the Glitter one here

I've been after a lipstick case for months and thought I'd have to do an antique shop run to get my hands on one but for now, I'm pretty happy I've found this one.

                                       Pink Lipstick in Bombshell - Was £9 Now: £5 - Here

I'm fairly new to pink lipsticks normally settling with the standard red shades. I've also read alot of      reviews about Topshop lipsticks - some bloggers loving them and others hating them so I think its time to have my own opinion - Review coming soon.

KAPOW Tights - Was: £8.50 Now: £4 

The BANG tights can be found here

I'm a massive sucker for novelty tights - I'll probably upload my Henry Holland collection one day. But sadly I don't have HH money at the moment so these comic book style tights are perfect for now.

Petite Studded Bralet - Was:£18 Now: £5 - Out of Stock

I couldn't resist this from the online sale for a fiver. Plus I got the last one which is always a result.

Star Bodycon Skirt - Was: £22 Now: £12 - Here

I've been after a long bodycon skirt for ages (although being so short, I can wear this as a dress). I bought it in a size 10 so its going to be my target skirt.

 Long Skull Necklace - Was: 16.50 Now: £8.25 - Bought in store

Anyone that knows me, knows I love a good skull and this is beautiful. With coloured crystalled all over it, its so so cute.

Peel Off Nails in What'Up - Was: £6 Now: £3

I bought this by accident as the sale sticker was covering the 'peel off' and there's a reason its in the sale. Its awful. I don't understand the concept unless you suffer from varnish allergies. I literally applied this and it had completely wiped off an hour later. If perhaps you cant wear nail varnish for work and worry you'll forget to remove it its ideal but if you want lasting colour, don't buy this. 

I want to know what you guys have been buying in the sale???!! This is one of my favourite times of the shopping season and I'm so curious as to what others have been buying!

Stevie-Leigh X