FASHION: A Weekend In Birmingham

At the weekend, myself and Scott went to a ball for his work and it's quite possibly the biggest thing I've been too. I found the entire process leading up to the event really stressful and it definitely tested my anxiety. Firstly, it's a ball and I was told that it wasn't the kind of occasion where you wear a long dress so opted for something in between where it was longer on one leg than the other. Whilst many did wear long dresses other wore shorter ones too. I initially felt a little out of place but in reality I felt really comfortable and confident in what I was wearing that I didn't actually care in the end.

Dress - River Island (similar) / Shoes - New Look (similar) / Bag - Whistles 

Before we left to go to Birmingham (about an hours drive for us) I was so anxious and there was a moment when I wasn't sure on whether or not to go. But I decided that I didn't want to miss out on this opportunity and ruin the day for myself and the event for Scott. So I swallowed the nerves down and got in the car and got myself ready.

The event was really lovely. The people were nice, and the entertainment was brilliant. I also felt myself relax a lot throughout the evening and the nerves and anxiety quickly went and I was soon back to my normal self.

We stayed at The Hyatt in Birmingham and it's the nicest hotel I've ever stayed at. I asked Scott several times if we were in the right place. It was also lovely because it was connected to the ICC where the event was so we only had to cross a closed bridge when everyone else got wet through walking over from different hotels. The breakfast was amazing and there was a wide selection to choose from and the staff were really friendly. I was gutted when we had to leave Sunday morning. However, we did go shopping and I may have treated myself to a 21st birthday present, you'll see it on Friday.

Anyway, whilst you can see what I wore, I also wanted to write this post just to remind you that anxiety is a daily battle and it's not something that you can ever be cured with. But you just need to keep pushing yourself. Whilst this was a big deal for me in terms of anxiety (because I had to travel, stayed in a hotel without my parents, met lots of people I didn't know, stayed in a place I didn't know) I managed to get through the day without it ruining my plans. Even the little victories are still victories.

♥

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LIFE: Brozer, Summer Shoes, and The Intern

So it's that time of the week again to round up a few of my favourite things from the last week. It comes around so quickly. I've been on my own a little bit this week with Scott working away so most of my spare time has been spent catching up on TV shows, watching movies and indulging into my beauty stash again.

First off, I've felt really productive this week. I've had some good days at work which left me feeling really good about myself and I've been tapping away at my keyboard a lot lately getting posts written which always makes me feel good, though I still need to get my pictures sorted at the moment something I always put off to the last minute and I'm not sure why because it's probably my favourite part of blogging.

I've been delving into the world of bronzing up this last week. So two products I've been loving is the Benefit Hoola bronzer which I picked up with my boots points at the beginning of the week. I've wanted this product for a while now but always put off purchasing it so when I had enough points I thought why not. Its the perfect shade as it's not too dark and it's matte so works well as a contour too. I can see why it gets raved about so much on the internet. There's a lot of pigment in it but blends really  nicely to create a natural bronze. I've also been tanning my legs ready for this event I've got coming up like I said yesterday. I'm not one to just fake tan as I know it'll end up in a disaster for me so I've been using the Palmers Cocoa Butter Natural Bronze whilst it does initially make you think what the hell have I done once it's dried and everything, once I had a bath it left me with a really lovely glow to my legs and a natural colour. The smell isn't brilliant but I think you find that with a lot of products, but I've found this to be the easiest self tanner that I've used. It doesn't leave you looking patchy either which is always a bonus.

Continuing on with the theme of tan, I've been loving wearing my New Look cut out shoes from about two years ago now (similar). I originally bought them in black suede and wore them to death but the tan leather look ones have lasted me so well. Though the weather has been a little awful this last week I've still loved putting these on. I have heel shields in the back of them to prevent blisters but other than that they are super comfy and go with pretty much any outfit.

Finally, I recently watched The Intern which has Anne Hathaway and Robert De Niro in and absolutely loved it. It's a chick flick but even Scott enjoyed it. The two actors work so well together, it  had me laughing and welling up which to me makes the perfect movie. Definitely check it out.

♥

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FASHION: The Khaki Shirt Dress

I've been after a shirt dress for a little while now but I hadn't found one that really took my attention, however, I was at work the other day when this khaki shirt dress came in and I just had to have it. I've been really loving a lot that's come in at Dorothy Perkins lately and couldn't wait to share this dress with you.

Though it was nice a sunny when Scott took these pictures for me, it was still quite cold so I paired it with tights and kept it quite smart and grungy in style. However, I can't wait for it to warm up so I can go bare legged with some brown sandals. I like the gold detailing on the dress such as the buttons and on the end of the belts there is a gold hardware cuff to it. The dress is really flattering and comfortable (hides a food baby wonderfully). It's easy to dress it up or down depending on the occasion too.

Jacket - Miss Selfridge / Dress - Dorothy Perkins / Shoes - New Look / Bag - Topshop 

♥

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FASHION: Winter Walks

Like I said in my previous post, I've been really into going on walks lately. Myself and Scott had a day off together and so we decided to take a wander around Vicar Water which isn't far from where we live. We've gone for a few walks lately and I just love them. I really relax and though we don't always talk loads when we go on them, I love watching Scott taking pictures of the ducks and trying to capture the perfect shot. Plus going off the 'tracks' and discovering other places and capturing cool pictures even though I feel incredibly scared at the time.

Forever taking pictures of Scott when he's not looking 

Hat - Vans / Coat - Primark / Jumper - New Look / Jeans - Topshop / Boots - Primark / Bag - Asos

I would definitely recommend having a wander around Vicar Waters if you're in the area, though it was a dry day when we went it was incredibly muddy so I wouldn't recommend heeled boots like I wore. We even saw a rabbit which I got a little too excited about. 

♥

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FASHION: Work Event

The other day I was invited to a work event in which the dress code was formal and to wear pearls because of our team name. I was really struggling on what to wear but my outfit came together when I found the most perfect pair of pink/nude shoes in the New Look sale.

I wanted a nude shoe that would go with pretty much anything that was a closed shoe at the front. I saw these and instantly fell in love with them immediately, plus they were the last ones in store and were my size, if that's not fate I'm not sure what is. I love the colour the front is more nude faux suede but the straps and the heel are more pink. I love the straps and think they look really pretty and elegant. The heel wasn't too big and so were quite easy to walk in and they were such a bargain at £8!! How could you say no! 

I teamed them up with a pink printed shift dress from Dorothy Perkins and wore a Missguided belt so that I had a little more shape in my outfit. I also wore my black River Island blazer as it was a little chilly and my Asos fringed suede bag. I was really comfortable all evening and received lovely comments from some of the ladies I went to the meeting with. I actually enjoyed getting dressed up and fancy for an evening and if you win a bottle of wine in the process it's all good. 

What are your go to style staples for a night out? 

♥

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FASHION: OOTD River Island Blouse

Last Saturday I needed some serious retail therapy after being a bit down in the dumps before I went to work. When I finished my shift I phoned my mum to come and meet me in town. My town is only really small and we have one shopping center with about 15 shops in total this includes everything from HMV, Boots and Primark. Really there isn't that much in their so when shopping it can be a little hit and miss. However, I did find an absolutely gorgeous blouse in River Island.

(Sorry about the 'selfie' approach but this is the best that I can do at the moment)

The top is a really light weight cotton material which is perfect for the summer as it won't be too warm. The front top half of the blouse is lined as it is slightly see through but the rest isn't which again helps to keep you cool on warm days. You can also just about see that there are some little cut outs in the shirt. I thought that this was really cute. The print has flowers and birds within it and the print is bright pink and orange. I loved the colours as soon as I saw it but I struggle to wear bright pinks and orange as they tend to wash me out. With the shirt itself being white though this meant that I could wear this and it was bright without making me look incredibly pale.

The blouse was right at the front of the store and it sort of called out to me as I walked past. I simply had to try it on. The shirt has buttons down the back which I really like, I also find the high neck is quite flattering on my small figure. I did pick up a size 10 in this as the size 8 was just a little tight to get on and over my head (I'm too lazy to faf about with the buttons in the back). I thought that this blouse would be a staple for me this summer, as it'd be nice for BBQ's or going out for meals with jeans. I just thought that I would get a lot of wear out of this and I haven't got anything similar to it in my wardrobe all my tops are quite plain. The top was about £25 it's a nice quality and I can see me wearing it an awful lot, so I thought the price was reasonable.

I wore this to the pub with my work friends the following Monday with my Topshop Leigh Jeans in a light blue wash and my New Look Tan T-Bar Shoes. My friend Tracey and Sarah both said that I looked very summery which meant that I achieved my goal and I was super comfy. 

What are your summer staples? 

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