GETTING INTO AUTUMN WITH ASOS

Asos Oversized Check Coat  | Asos Farleigh Jeans  | H&M Silk Blend Tee | Topshop Marbles Boots

 

 

I really, really am a summer baby. I live for the summer and for the sun. When I lay in the sun I swear I'm literally soaking up nutrients and droplets of happiness. When we get those first few hot sunny days of the summer and I've turned from a normal skin colour to kind of brown, I feel like Sandra Bullock when she's undergone her transformation in Miss Congeniality. I can't explain to you how much I love the sun and how much better it makes me feel. My only down side is that I completely loose my identity. I don't know who I am in the Summer and to be completely honest, I don't know how to dress. I realise for a fashion blogger that's not ideal, but it's all about being honest hey? Come July, I tend to dig out my vintage Levi shorts which I brought for about £5 on eBay 4 years ago and pair them with a vaguely appropriate top. So when the Autumn starts to draw in and I'm still holding on to my Summer tan, I'm secretly a bit pleased. Don't get me wrong, I hate waking up in the dark, coming home in the dark and being cold... but I feel like myself again when I can layer up in knitwear and coats and pop on a good pair of black boots. I click clack down the street with a purpose, like a woman who knows what she wants, rather than shuffling about in my Birkenstocks desperately looking for a sunny patch and a Pimms. 

I have invested in my winter coat quite early this year, but I got an Asos gift card for my Birthday from my lovely in laws and when I saw this bad boy I was sold. Guaranteed it was still about 21 degrees yesterday and I was trying not to get the ol' sweaty top lip when I shot this look. But lets just pretend it was one of those cold & crisp but sunny autumn days, which even I am ready for. Bring on home alone, Christmas songs & mulled wine nights with my gal pals.

 

 

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HALF HEARTED SUNDAYS

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Zara Jersey Jumpsuit  | Topshop Leather Jacket  | Adidas Stan Smith Trainers

 

 

So as I kind of mentioned in my last post, I have been super super busy with my illustration business at the moment. I'm eating, sleeping & breathing it, and I cant wait to share this project with you when it's done. But this morning, what with it being Sunday & all, I decided I needed a little break, so Josh and I went out for a massive brunch. When I say massive I am not lying, I feel like I will never eat again and I never want to see another hash brown as long as I live.

 I got this Zara jersey jumpsuit a few weeks a go when I had a little haul on their website, and this was the perfect outing for it. I am really tired (hence the sunglasses covering my make up-less sleepy eyes) and throwing on a comfy one piece was just what I needed. It also has a convenient elastic waist band which sits just above my bump. Food bump that is. Anyone that knows me will know I can pass as 6 months preggo when I've had a meal. Maybe even 7 months this morning. 

So I'm kind of sorry not sorry for this half hearted outfit, but I thought I'd share it with you anyway. The moral of this really short story is buy this jumpsuit, it's a bargain and is practically made for Sundays.

 

 

Over & out

 

x

SEASIDE DAYS

Zara Pleated Trousers | Topshop Leather Jacket | Asos Handmade Sunglasses

 

On Sunday Josh and I went on a good ol' seaside day out. As we both work so much we don't often get to have days out, and he was working on my Birthday. So this was my little treat. He took me rowing just like in the Notebook (minus the heavy petting), we looked round a vintage shop and then we went to the sea front for fish and chips out of a bag. I have not felt so English in a long time... except every time I cried at someone singing the national anthem/winning a medal in the Olympics like 2 weeks ago.

So these photos aren't very fashion & definitely are not chic, but it's nice to share with you what I'm up to. Murky water & all.

 

I had a bit of a Zara splurge recently and ordered quite a bit online, and for this first time in ages I loved everything and didn't send anything back. These cropped pleated trousers are one of them. Josh hates them, but what do boys know anyway. My best friend liked them and she knows her shit. Apart from the look of them, they're so god damn comfy. You don't get any of that wedgy business when you wear skinny jeans. I felt as free as a bird! They also do them in pink which I am absolutely going to invest in.

 

I'm dying to show you the rest of my Zara purchases, but I think it will have to wait for a couple of weeks. I have a super super exciting project coming up with my illustration business. I won't say to much now, but I'm actually pinching myself and cannot wait to let the cat out the bag when it's all finished. Needless to say, the next couple of weeks I'm literally not going to have a minute spare. Probably not even a second. I'm trying to smile through the stress at the moment and live by the old "dreams don't work unless you do" mantra. I feel like I literally need about 3 clones (minimum) of myself to get everything done that I need to do. Who needs sunlight and sleep anyway hey?

 

x 

BEING 27

 

On Thursday it was my 27th birthday. The day I went from being mid twenties to late twenties. I had a little freak out about it the month leading up to it, but then I had a good think about it and was actually pretty ok with it.

 

Granted, I'm 100% not where I thought I'd be at this age. In my teens I had a really strict schedule for myself that I was sure I would stick to. I was going to finish school with good grades, go to uni, get a good job, be married at 21, have my first child at 24 and the other at 26. A boy and a girl obviously. That all seemed really sensible and realistic to me, but now the thought that I would have already been married for 6 years and be responsible for a 3 year old makes me want to shed a little tear with laughter. I have really beaten myself up about all these age goals before, and what I should have been doing each time I hit a Birthday. It's only now I'm starting to cut myself a bit of slack. Don't get me wrong, sometimes I wake up in a cold sweat at night freaking out about the fact I'm 3 years off 30 and do not have my shit together, but who really does?

More than anything, I've learnt not to give a fuck what other people tell me I should and shouldn't be doing. I'm not going to beat around the bush and pretend I'm a cool cucumber mind you, I'm super worried about peoples opinions of me... but much less so now. Especially since I got engaged. People around you, some who are supposed to love you, are really quick to get their two pence in. I've become really used to the miffed look you get when you say you have no plans to set a date. One time, after grabbing at my hand to see my ring, someone (whose never touched me before) asked me how old I was. I said 26 and explained I'd be waiting a few years to get married... "but you don't want to be an old Bride!" she said with a horrified look on her face. I was speechless and equally as horrified. Looking back I wish I would have said "actually, yes I do... I want to be an old Bride who has brought a nice home, worked hard on my career and knows what the hell I'm doing". Jennifer Aniston (my mega idol) wrote a big piece recently about the constant questioning she gets about not being married and having children at the age of 47, and why should those things have to define her happiness. It was literally spot on. I felt like raising my hands to the sky and letting out a big "HALLELUJAH." Give it a cheeky Google if you haven't already read it.

Saying all this, another thing I have learnt is that for all the people who like to have an opinion about what I should be doing, there's the friends who support me regardless. The handful that you can let you guard down to, admit you don't have a clue what you're doing and they will nod knowingly and tell you it's ok. Hold on to these ones.

 

So in my next year on good ol' planet Earth, I am absolutely not going to beat myself up. I'm not going to listen to people who want to tell me what to do, I'm going to wing it and only listen the opinions of people who want to support me in doing what's right for me.

I am still alive, I have my own growing business and I can make a lasagne sauce. I think I'm doing ok.

 

 

x

DATE NIGHT (BIRTHDAY EDITION)

 

 

 H&M Trumpet Sleeve Blouse | Asos Farleigh Jeans | Zara Bucket Bag | Asos Tipped Belt | Mango Sandals

 

 

TODAY IS MY BIRTHDAY!

 

Last night Josh and I went to our favourite sushi restaurant in Cambridge (which may I add, is closing down on Sunday... devo'd). This is what I wore and It's my favourite outfit I've worn in a while actually. Probably because, dare I say it, it's more Autumny than what I've been wearing lately. Although I love Summer, I feel like a lose all my identity and don't have a clue what to wear. So it's nice to pop on a pair of jeans rather than shorts and a top with some sort of sleeve. I got this blouse yesterday while having a little mooch round the high street. As soon as I saw those flared, pleated sleeves hanging amongst some basics on a rail in H&M, I was in love. I did that thing where no one was around my but I frantically grabbed at them looking for a size 10, like a mob of people were going to sneak up behind me and snatch them from me. It didn't happen. I safely and quickly found a 10 and all was well.

 

I'm obsessed with anything with a fluted sleeve at the moment, and I've always been partial to a high neck. It makes me feel like a Victorian, in a good way. I'm not a very elegant person and I feel like Victorians would have been. So I can channel my inner Queen.

 

I'm off out for a spot of coffee and cake now, I'm also wearing a huge badge like a massive child, I shall not be taking it off until tomorrow morning.

Living the dream

 

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