OOTD: London Fashion Weekend

As promised here is my OOTD from London Fashion Weekend. Photo courtesy of the Shop Style people

Navy and white stripped top: Gap

Navy, high waist trousers: River Island

Brown plaited belt: H&M 

Owl necklace: Accessorize

Leopard print flat shoes: Marks and Spencers (old)

Navy bag: Accessorize (old)

Everything apart from the items that I have labelled as 'old' can be found in the shops now. This is one of my favourite outfits at the moment. I also have an alternative which is with a plain white sleeveless top instead of the stripes. 

P.S You can vote for your favourite looks and the winners get prizes, so if you follow this link and look for my picture you can vote for me!

Mirror, Mirror, what's my Curve ID?

As you may have seen in my last post I went to London Fashion Weekend on Friday and stopped off at the Levi's 'stand' for a look at their Curve ID range. Although this is not actually the first time that I have tried this range.

Around the time that the idea was first launched I was shopping in Westfield and having seen a bit about it all in magazines I thought I'd see what it was all about. Now, I should tell you that I HATE shopping for jeans. I loathe and despise it. I am constantly baffled as to how so many jeans on the high street only seem to cater for woman that I can only assume are shaped straight up and down i.e. no shape at all. I'd say that I am an all round average size 10, however even though I do have a small waist and relatively narrow hips...I have an arse like J.Lo. From the front I look quite streamlined, but when I turn to the side that bad boy curves right out there! When I stand I have a very obvious natural arch at the bottom of my back which makes it more obvious that my derriere is of the curvaceous nature. Jeans never fit me, they are normally too tight on the bum and they gape at the waistband. So, when Levis launched this new range I was quite excited, could it be, could there be a range of jeans out there that weren't heart stoppingly expensive that were made for ladies like me?

In I went to go and see what they were talking about. After looking at the range for approximately 20 minutes with no sign of any staff someone finally came over and asked if I was ok. I said that I was interested in the Curve ID range and they went to get their fancy measuring contraption. Basically you have a piece of string round your waist and then they do the same around your hips and your bum and by looking at the differences in the measurements they can see if you are a slight curve, demi curve or bold curve. The girl took my measurements and told me I was probably a demi curve. This surprised me and I also thought she'd be a bit more confident in her answer. She also told me that she thought I would be a 30 waist (I'm normally a 28/29) She found a demi curve straight leg jean and told me to go and try them on, I wasnt asked what style or colour I was after. I got into the changing rooms and went about getting the jeans on, I got as far as just below the bum area and things started to get uncomfortable, I finally managed to get them over the bum (lots of jumping up and down, you know what I mean!) and do them up. These were a waist size larger than what I normally go for and they were cutting off the circulation around my hips and giving me some really attractive muffin tops, not only that but they STILL gaped at the waistband. I was seriously confused. I came out of the changing room and looked for some help, the girl eventually came over, looked me up and down and said maybe I should try a size 32, yes that would be a size 14. I was shocked. Needless to say I left feeling fat, big bummed and even more dejected about jeans shopping. I was also very unimpressed by Levis new range.

You are probably all thinking, why did you go back? Well, yes, I did in fact think the same thing. Something made me want to give it another go though, maybe it was the champagne cocktail, actually I'm pretty sure it was the champagne cocktail. So off I went with my friend (thought I'd see how someone else got on too) to give them a second chance. This experience could not have been more different. I would like to take this opportunity to say that the girls at Levis at London Fashion Weekend were brilliant. Thank you for restoring my faith in the world of denim.

As soon as we arrived we were greeted by happy smiling people who asked if we were ok and if we knew about the range. I said I had heard about it but I left it at that, I wanted to see what they came up with. Both my friend and I were measured. I got to have the new measuring contraption that they were testing out, it looks a bit better. When she had taken my measurements I was told I was a demi curve. At this my friend shouted that they had to be kidding. Another Levis girl who had been watching came over and said that she actually agreed with my friend and was surprised as she thought I was more of a bold curve. Apparently the new contraption is not as good! So they re-measured using the old system and sure enough I was a bold curve...just! They asked what size I normally wore and I said 28/29 to which they said they thought I was more of a 27 and that I really had a great shape (loving these ladies more and more every minute!) I said I'd like to try some skinny greys and they gave me a 27 and 28 in each in two different lengths (I also am an annoying in between leg size of 33 inches). I would like to say that they were right about me being a 27, and although I could get them on and done up, I don't think I'd have been able to sit down and move all that much. I came out wearing the 28s though and they were perfect. My friend as well as the staff started handing out the compliments saying how good they looked and that they were a perfect fit. Hooray! I was so happy, I'd found them, the ever elusive pair of perfect fitting jeans! To top it all off they were offering 20% off (students make note, you can get this anyway) AND they were doing a photo shoot of people in their new jeans. So they sat me down to re-do my make up, gave me a pair of seriously high shoes and a hat to pose with and here is the result!

Thank you again ladies of Levis London Fashion Weekend!

Cocktails and Photo shoots: London Fashion Week(end)

Hello all

How is everyone enjoying their last week in September? I'm having another quiet week and actually can't wait for Friday as I have lots of exciting things planned next week that I shall no doubt be blogging about, including trips to Westfield and Ikea (yes, I AM excited about Ikea) so expect some haul posts.

The absolute highlight of my week last week was going to London Fashion Weekend on Friday with Naida. We had a brilliant, brilliant day. This may have been fuelled my lack of breakfast and consumption of alcohol, but by my reckoning that just made it even more entertaining.

We hopped on the train to a very sunny London town after the commuter rush and made our way to the beautiful Somerset House. I love this building, I came here at Christmas too when the ice rink was up and the pop up Tiffany shop (Tiffany cupcakes!). We arrived about 10 minutes before everything opened and there was only a handful of people in front of us. That was one of the things I liked about LFWE, it wasn't ridiculously busy. I didn't have to fight past people to look at anything or get constantly manhandled out of the way by greedy teens desperate to grab a bargain *cough* Clothes Show Live *cough*. Once we were in we got our bearings and tried to figure out where everything was and what we wanted to see. First thing on our agenda was our free Chambord champagne cocktail. Now, we thought this would be easy, it was not. As we were sent from person to person, information stand to bar staff clutching our email confirmations we started to wonder if it was all a set up and there was no free cocktail. Noone seemed to know who we should go to to get our token and so we thought we would give them some time to figure it out and went for a look around. First stop, shoe studio. I have to say now that I did a really poor job of taking photos. In fact...I took nothing of any clothes, shoes, accessories, nothing...I'm such a bad blogger! Instead we spent most of the day posing for pictures and generally being very silly. We got stopped by a Diet Coke lady on our way in to the shoe studio who asked if we wanted to have our picture on the front cover of a Diet Coke magazine. 'It's all free' she told us, 'it will only take a few minutes'. I was feeling a bit unsure, especially as there were various people walking past but she was so, well, enthusiastic, and I'm pretty sure was not going to let us past even if we tried. All I am going to say is that the pictures were awful! They were printed off there and then, the quality was pretty poor and you could tell I'd only had a handful of hours sleep the night before! Of course the ever enthusiastic Diet Coke lady cooed over the pictures and told us how lovely they were. Yes, easy for you to say love, with your waist length sunkissed blonde hair with a natural effortless wave, flawless skin and megawatt tooth smile, I bet you never take a bad picture.

After that experience we decided it was most definitely time for a cocktail (it was 12 by then and therefore acceptable) and yay for us, the event staff had found the illusive Chambord token.

On our way to the Chambord bar I was stopped by a lovely lady with a big camera who asked if she could take my photo. Me? 'Yes, could I take a photo to show what you are wearing for our street style' she answered. I'll admit, I got a little bit excited. You always see those girls in magazines who get stopped and asked what they are wearing, normal, every day girls. And here I was, having my picture taken for the very same thing! Ok, so I was at a fashion event which is not the same as being randomly stopped on the high street, but still, it made me feel special *stands a few inches taller*. The outfit in question was my feel good outfit that I promised to blog about, so I will do an OOTD post for you all to see it. 

I was given this little card after

We finally made our way to the bar and got to enjoy a very delicious Chambord champagne cocktail. We may have also then had another free prosecco version after some fluttering of the eyelashes and a bit of tipsy banter with the waiter. We then had a look around the various stalls and lusted after scarves and belts and other pretty things. Got given a free sample of texturising salt spray from Toni and Guy (review to follow).

Our next little adventure found us in the Levi Curve ID room. I'm sure most of you will have heard about Levis new jeans and how they are made to cater for all different shapes in women. I actually have a fair amount to say on this area so I'm going to save it and dedicate a whole post to it later this week. All I'll say is that we had A LOT of fun in this room. As a result of which we also ended up with a voucher from another free cocktail at the Hoxton Gin bar (it's about 1pm now and we STILL haven't eaten).

Now, I don't like gin. I've tried it a couple of times, and I just don't. Hoxton has been developed by a guy who is quite high up in the bar tending world who wanted to make gin more fun and also a bit different. With this in mind he added Coconut and Grapefruit. Every devout gin drinker who I have since mentioned this too has balked at the idea, and I have been told by various people now that 'That is NOT gin'. However, as a well known gin hater, I'm sold! Maybe it's because I don't actually like normal gin, or because I bloody love anything coconut based, who knows. All I know is that it was the first time that I have had a drink with gin in it and I have happily and easily finished the whole glass. 

Feeling, more than a little giddy, we decided that we should probably call it a day and find ourselves some food. Although, not before stopping off at the Vintage stands and swooning over the beautiful vintage dresses at Fraubraun. The very nice ladies there also told us that we could try on anything we wanted and have our pictures taken. Well, after two cocktails and no food we didn't need telling twice! A far cry from the apprehensive girls at the Diet Coke stand, we got ourselves into some gorgeous black evening gowns and away we went. I'm still waiting for the pictures to come through on email but once I do I'll post them up.

And that was the end of our little foray into the fashion world. We skipped off into the London sunshine, planning our trip to the next LFWE and heading towards the nearest Byron Burger for some well needed sustenance. 

Autumn Days, when the grass is jewelled...

As of today Summer is officially over. Not that it ever really felt like it arrived. Yet again we were offered a mediocre, average at best, 'sunny' season from the weather gods. If news reports are to believed it was in fact, the coldest summer in 20 years. But let us not dwell on the past, lets face it, we knew it was going to be awful, we have come to expect so little from our British summers.

Instead let us look to the future, to Autumn. Ah, Autumn, I have always felt there to be something magical about this time of year. The changing of the leaves, a slight change in the air, a crispness and the promise of excitement yet to come (mainly in the shape of Christmas). Lovely, lovely Autumn/Winter fashions; chunky knitwear, tights in all the colours under the rainbow, comfy boots and cosy coats. I for one cannot wait to really get in to my winter wardrobe, I have missed my hats and scarves.

Bonfire night and Halloween, chilli with jacket potatoes, roast dinners and stodgy sponge puddings with lashings of custard. Mulled wine and cider or hot chocolate with marshmallows. All of which are best consumed in a pub in front of a big log fire. I love a good sunny but cold day in Autumn when I can get myself wrapped up, sunglasses on and go for a walk along the river with my friends and finish off with a nice pub lunch or hot drink.

I noticed the other day that the side of my house is no longer covered with greenery, but has instead turned the most gorgeous deep red, it looks great when the sun shines on it, it practically glows.

Unfortunately the sun was not shining when I took this picture

To finish off my ode to Autumn, I leave you with one of my all time favourite Autumnal memories of childhood. This song used to be THE song of choice in my school assemblies at this time of year (and in fact any time of year if we were allowed) and it sums everything up perfectly. If you know the tune then sing along! Note: last line of the last verse MUST be shouted. All together now...

Autumn days, when the grass is jewelled

And the silk inside a chestnut shell

Jet planes meeting in the air to be refuelled

All these things I love so well

So I mustn’t forget

No, I mustn’t forget

To say a great big thank you

I mustn’t forget.

Clouds that look like familiar faces

And a winter’s moon with frosted rings

Smell of bacon as I fasten up my laces

And the song the milkman sings.

So I mustn’t forget

No, I mustn’t forget

To say a great big thank you

I mustn’t forget.

Whipped-up spray that is rainbow-scattered

And a swallow curving in the sky

Shoes so comfy though they’re worn out and they’re battered

And the taste of apple pie.

So I mustn’t forget

No, I mustn’t forget

To say a great big thank you

I mustn’t forget.

Scent of gardens when the rain’s been falling

And a minnow darting down a stream

Picked-up engine that’s been stuttering and stalling

And a win for my home team.

So I mustn’t forget

No, I mustn’t forget

To say a great big thank you

I mustn’t forget.

Autumn Days

by Estelle White

Prawns with Tomato and Feta

Another day, another recipe!

I made this for dinner tonight and it was delicious. I have made it before but I made a few adjustments this time and it was even better. The original recipe is from the 101 Low Fat Good Food recipe book, but the recipe I will give you today is my slightly adapted version, as it is the one I used tonight and it tasted scrummy.

Ingredients

Serves 4-5

1 large onion, finely chopped

2 cloves of garlic, crushed or finely chopped

2 peppers, deseeded and chopped (doesn't matter what colour)

2 x 400g cans of chopped tomato

400g large prawns (preferably the pre-cooked ones and remember to thaw beforehand if you are using frozen)

small bunch of parsley

50g of feta (you can be generous with this, I am, depending on how much you like feta)

rice or pasta to serve

Method:

Cook the onions and garlic on a medium to high heat for 3 minutes.

Add the peppers and cook until they and the onions are soft.

Add the cans of tomato and simmer for 5 minutes.

Add the prawns and cook for at least 5 minutes, if you are using raw prawns make sure they are completely pink and cooked. Season to taste.

When cooked serve over rice or pasta. I normally use pasta but I used rice this evening and it was a pleasant change, I may actually prefer it.

Crumble the feta over the top, if you can, use the good quality creamy stuff. Then sprinkle with the parsley. 

Voila! This meal is ridiculously easy to do, it is cooked and ready in 20 minutes and requires very little effort. It tastes great and for all those health conscious bloggers out there, it's only 168 calories per serving (not including the rice or pasta, but they hardly come to anything anyway!)

I really do love this recipe for the fact that it takes so little time and still tastes good AND is good for you. What more could you ask for in a dish?

Red Onion Soup with Goats' Cheese Toasts

I have come to the conclusion that over the next few weeks this may become a bit of a foodie blog. Having this time off, I have come to accept that I cannot keep going out and spending money just to keep myself occupied (for starters, there is no money to spend!) and so therefore my love of cooking is going to take centre stage. Normally when I cook to entertain myself, I bake. If I was to spend every day of the next 3 weeks baking, I, or various members of my friends and family would get very fat. Although I don't think either my Dad or my boyfriend would complain too convincingly that they didn't want any more of the baked goodness. I already have a fairly dominant role in the family kitchen and love finding new recipes to try out on my family. They are very easy going with food, the only stipulation at the moment being that, during the week, the food is healthy and wholesome. So I am going to be sharing with you my selection of healthy, yet fulfilling meals. Of course life would be dull if we only ate 'good' stuff, so I'll also be throwing in a little bit of tempting naughtiness too.

With the days of summer rapidly feeling like a distant memory and the excitement and expectation of autumn becoming more apparent it has become 'soup' season in my kitchen. I love having the time to be able to put together a wholesome, warming soup from scratch. Last week I tried my hand at 'Simple Tomato and Roasted Garlic' and 'Parsnip with Apple and Calvados', both of which I was very pleased with, particularly the last one. It conjured up images of chilly sunny days, sat reading a book with a fire and a blanket or planning bonfire night parties and other winter time festivities.

This week I wanted to try out the Red Onion Soup with Goats' Cheese Toasts by the Covent Garden Food Co. The original recipe serves 6 but I halved it which made just enough to feed Mum and me for lunch today and tomorrow.

Here is the original recipe for 6:

1.3kg red onions, finely sliced
4 tablespoons of olive oil
25g butter
3 gloves of garlic, crushed
1 tablespoon of thyme, freshly chopped (we had none so I used dried, worked fine)
100ml marsala or port (I went for marsala)
1.2l beef stock (use vegetable if you are a veggie)
300g goats cheese
half a french stick cut into round slices

Method:

Heat the oil and butter in a wide, heavy based pan (I used a normal saucepan as you can see in the pictures), fry the onions on a medium heat for 25-30 minutes, stir frequently so that the onions do not stick or catch on the bottom.

Add the garlic and thyme, then fry for 2-3 minutes. Add the marsala (or port) and continue to cook until the liquid has reduced my half. This happened really quite quickly.

Add the stock, cover and simmer for 20 minutes.

While the soup is cooking you can make the toasts. I used a part baked mini french roll for this. Slice the bread into circular pieces and toast under the grill until they become slightly golden. Put a slice of goats cheese, ideally the same size as your bread on top. You can crumble the coats cheese if you prefer. Place under the grill for a few minutes until the cheese has melted and started to colour. 

Serve in bowls with a couple of toasts on top.

This soup was delicious and very filling considering that I didn't have all that big a portion. I was also pleasantly surprised by the goats cheese toasts. Originally, I was not going to make them as I've never really liked goats cheese, but I was feeling adventurous and went for it. They were great! I may have to brave other recipes with goats cheese now as I have always avoided them in the past. 

This soup was ridiculously easy to make, however it does take a while, mainly due to the fact that the onions need to cook for so long and you need to stir it regularly. It was worth the effort though and if you have the time I would recommend you give it a go. 

Happy cooking

OOTD: That 70's show

Some of you may have seen on twitter that I've been a bit, um, bored, of late and have been trying to entertain myself as best I can (lemon drizzle loaf cake making, magazine reading, chopping off of hair, make CHRISTMAS presents). This week the weather has been really quite lovely. This is my kind of weather, sunny but with a hint that autumn really is on its way. On Wednesday I decided that it was high time I got myself out of the house and so I got myself dressed and headed over to Marlow for a leisurely wonder around the shops and a spot of lunch.

Spending the last week and a half with myself as company for the majority of the time has meant that, well, I've not really made any effort. So, when I do venture outside the walls of my home, I have taken to 'dressing up a bit'. You know, taking time over my hair, accessorising and generally paying more attention to what I'm putting on. In all honesty I wish I did this more. I love making an effort, but as I spend most of my time either working with small people, at uni or working with paint, it is not always practical.

So here is my outfit for my venture out:

Dress: River Island 'Chelsea Girl'

Tights: H&M

Boots: River Island (very old!)

My dress is a new addition to my wardrobe and is from the Chelsea Girl collection at River Island. I love the 70's vibe it has, and also the fact that I had to go down a size in it (much needed confidence boost, thanks). To try and channel the whole 70's/60's feel that most of the Chelsea Girl collection embodies I teamed the dress with some very pale pink/off white tights and tan boots. The tights really remind me of my old ballet tights, they are the exact same colour, I was slightly scared of their paleness, but I actually really love the look they create. These ones are from H&M and were about £3. 

To complete my outfit I added this ring from Accessorize:

It used to have a diamante in the middle of it that I didn't like so I took it out and closed up the 'prongs' to form a new centre. 

This outfit is one of two that I have worn this week that have made me feel really good about myself. I love it when you find an outfit that just makes you feel happy and confident, that you know you can pull out of the wardrobe and rely on when you are having 'one of those days'. I'll do a post on my other new feel good outfit next week.

Do you have any favourite feel good pieces?

I'll just have a quick look in here...

A few weeks ago I made an impromptu stop in Accessorize while out and about. I'd been avoiding the place as I knew I would inevitably be drawn to some lovely new season piece that I really shouldn't get. I was not wrong, as soon as I placed one foot into the little treasure haven (the one in Reading really is quite teeny) I had to stop myself from literally grabbing out at things that I wanted. Gorgeous silk scarves, shiny jewellery and soft leather bags. It's been a long while since I've treated myself to any jewellery and so I decided that day would be as good as any for a bit of retail therapy and I knew exactly what I wanted to get.

This little fella jumped out at me as soon as I saw him. So I thought I'd share him with you.

I have since worn him with almost everything and he gets a lot of attention and admiring comments too.

I also picked up this lovely pair of earrings.

I love turquoise and I thought these were a great little addition to my collection. Get your own here and here for the necklace and if, like me, you are lucky enough to have an NUS card you can get 10% off. Lovely.

It's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas

...ok it's not really, in fact the weather today is rather lovely and the forecast for the next few days is sunny with temperatures in the high teens. However, I am taking this opportunity to inform all you lovely bloggers of a Christmas based purchase that I will be making as soon as it becomes available. The 'She and Him' Christmas Album! 'She and Him' told us a little while back that they were producing a Christmas Album and last week the release date was announced (25th October) along with a track list. 


For those of you who don't know who 'She and Him' are (shame on you) they are the musical genius duo of the lovely Zooey Deschanel and Matt Ward. Some of you may be aware of my serious girl crush on Zooey, I actually love her, I wish I was her, the boy and I have to fight over her! So anything she does is good with me but even if I didn't think she was so fantastic, I'd still want to buy this album. Zooey has the most amazing, unique voice, some of you may have heard her singing 'Baby, It's Cold Outside' on the film Elf. On another note, I cannot wait for it to be nearer the festive period to be able to watch that film. 

The track listing for ‘A Very She & Him Christmas’ is:

1. The Christmas Waltz
2. Christmas Day
3. Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas
4. I’ll Be Home for Christmas
5. Christmas Wish
6. Sleigh Ride 7 Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree
7. Silver Bells
8. Baby, It’s Cold Outside
9. Blue Christmas
10. Little Saint Nick
11. The Christmas Song

image

She and Him-why do I not look that cool in a santa hat?!

Now all I have to do is hope that this is actually going to be available in the UK as well as the USA, if not I'm doing some importing! 

Help, I'm an Instagram addict

I felt like I was a bit late on the uptake with this one, although it turned out that I was not the last person to have used Instagram, one of my friends had never even heard of it. I was a bit skeptical about the whole thing too. Being really in to my photography and spending a lot of my hard earned time making sure that my pictures look beautiful, I was a little bit miffed that an app had come along that meant that any old person was churning out creative and arty photos at the press of a button.

After a while though intrigue got the better of me and having discovered that the app was free, I thought I'd give it a go. Well, now we have hit a bit of a problem, it would appear that I can no longer take a picture on my iphone without tilt-shifting and filtering to make it look more appealing and professional. This wouldn't be such a bad thing as the quality of iphone pictures is not exactly at its best and it doesn't take much to improve them, but I've now started uploading photos taken with my actual camera, photos that I was really pleased with already and giving them and instagram make over. The thrill and excitement of trying out all the different filters and then waiting for it to be processed is becoming some what addictive. It's just so quick and easy, a few buttons and your image is transformed. How did this happen? How can one little app take over like this? In reality I know it's just a phase, like fruit ninja and the moron test, the novelty will eventually wear off and I'll go back to using my creative brain and spending hours with my beloved canon and photoshop editing packages making everything look perfect. For the time being though I will continue to enjoy the cheats way of creating beautiful photos at the touch of a button and debating over whether Walden or Brannan is the best filer...

Taken with an iphone:

Taken with a camera:

Lovely juicy plums

A few weeks ago I went fruit picking with Naida, her sister and my little goddaughter, Amira. We went to Peterley Manor Farm in Prestwood to pick raspberries and plums. Amira loves fruit and was in her element trying to eat everything that she could find. It's very hard to tell an 18 month old that they aren't allowed to eat it yet because it hasn't been paid for.

Amira eating a plum

I got myself 600g of raspberries, 1Kg of plums and 6 carrots for the price of £4.50, bargain! It would cost me more than that just to get that quantity of raspberries in the supermarket and these are freshly picked.

Naida and I decided that we wanted to make some jam with our piles of yummy freshly picked fruit and we found the following recipe on the internet Plum and Mulled Wine Jam. We halved the recipe and added a sachet of Tate and Lyle pectin as comments on the website said that there had been issues with setting and when I have made jam in the past I have left pectin out and have also had setting problems.

It worked perfectly! This was the most successful jam making experience I have ever had and it has inspired me to make even more. Not only did it set and take no time to make, it tastes delicious. It's like Christmas in a jar, which felt a bit odd in August but will be perfect for Christmas presents (yes, I'm already thinking about that). We bought spice jars from Asda for £2 for 4 and managed to just about fill 8 jars with the quantity of jam we had. The jars aren't big but they are great for present giving. We then raided Naidas fabric and ribbon selection (I must by more) to cover the lids of our jars. Here are my finished products:

Next time I want to make little homemade labels too. This got me really inspired to make more edible gifts for Christmas so I hope all my friends and family are aware that I'll be making all your presents this year!

A return to blogging

It's nice to be back bloggers. After a bit of a blogging break I am now back with a whole lovely long list of blogging topics. During my time off I have also been thinking about what I want to mainly blog about and generally how to present my blog to the world. Hello World! So there may be a few changes over the next few weeks. My main focus areas are going to be food, photography, interiors and travel with a bit of beauty and fashion still thrown in for good measure. It is still a 'little bit of everything' blog but I want to try and make more of my cooking and photography so that is what you are going to be seeing more of. Hope that's ok with everyone!

So in my first blog back we are going to be having a little look at my living room. The lovely Sarah over at sarahs-scribbles was wanting some inspiration on a feature wall and it just so happens that I have one of those! Well, it is still a work in progress but I said I'd share a few pictures with her and then I thought, well why not blog about it too.

I started this wall about a year ago and I am pleased with how it is developing. Like I said, it is very much a work in progress and my aim is for it to be completely full of little bits and pieces. The other walls in this room are an off white/cream colour and this wall sits at the 'back' of the room. Most of the things on there are pictures that I have collected over the years, greetings cards and postcards I liked the look of, fashion drawings and copies of old black and white photos of my family from the 'olden days'. All of which are showcased in a random selection of photo frames. I have no criteria for a photo frame other than that it be black or white, it can be any size, shape or pattern as long as it 'works'. I have a few pictures that are ready to be used but I am still hunting for the right photo frames. I have discovered a lot of photo frames in Ikea. Urban Outfitters, charity shops and car boot sales can also unearth some great finds.

Here are a few of my favourite images from the wall:

This one is actually attached to the wall using 'stick on' frames from ikea. I love the look of them but they aren't very sticky and have a tendency to fall off, but they will do until I have more real frames.

This card was from my mum, there are lots of ballet references in my house

A friend sent me this postcard when I was 15 because they thought I would like it, they were right

I can't decide whether to leave this with the white mount or frame it. Perhaps a white box frame?

I took this on my old mobile phone in Santa Monica when I was travelling, not bad for a phone shot!

I loved this card, I like to imagine that it is me and my friends

My nana when she was younger

As we are already in the lounge I thought I would also show you the other feature of this room. My shelving unit:

The idea of this was to showcase some of the bits and bobs that I have gathered over time and also the 'coffee table' books and reading material that you like to show off a bit (trashy novels and such as safely stashed in the bedroom).

I love Audrey Hepburn, I normally get something Audrey related every birthday or christmas

My first pair of pointe shoes and a book of love notes

A shoe horn designed by Manolo Blahnik for Habitat and a Rob Ryan book, love his work

A year of Elle Decoration and a ceramic E (part of a set that spells Love)

Cooking books, these get a lot of use

Fashion, art and interior books

I love stationary, a selection of my favourite notebooks-most of which are still to be used!

And to finish of, as I have no where else to store it, I stack my art work from Uni behind the sofa, conveniently one of the pieces fits in perfectly with the colour themes of the room so that one is always on display.

 It's been lovely blogging again...sorry for the slightly large amount of photos, but I hope you like looking at them as much as I like looking at the real thing every day.

See you again soon