What I Wore June 24th

I popped into Evans in Sheffield a couple of weeks ago and was actually quite impressed by what I saw. There was a bright feel to all the clothes on show - not just black or purple but serious bright colours. I was also impressed by the age range aimed for - my mum and I both managed to pick up quite a few things to try on. She got a pair of linen shorts and I picked up two sleeveless tank tops.

They had these for only £6 in a range of gorgeous bright colours. I wasn't overly impressed at some of the other prices (I wanted a new nightdress but no way for £15-£20) but for £6 these are a bargain. I got a mint one and this lime coloured one.

I wore this yesterday for work. The skirt is my Yours Clothing one that I wear a lot, the cardigan is from New Look, and I love how summery and bright this is!

Jessica London Outfit #2

As I said last time, I was provided with two items of clothing from Jessica London. These black jeggings caught my eye as they're the kind of thing I love to layer with - thicker than leggings but not as uncomfortable as jeans.

This top is from Simply Be and I only wear it with jeggings. I love the colour of the pink and black together!

I love how fitted these are to my skin, and how they're not ridiculously long on my 5'5" frame, either

Jeggings were provided to me for review. 

Jessica London Outfit #1

A while ago I was contacted by Jessica London about trying a couple of their pieces, so I chose a lovely cobalt dress and some black jeggings. I could wear them together but you'll see how I've styled them separately.

I love the colour of this dress, foremost. I also really like the length - it would definitely be suitable in a professional environment. The length of the sleeves add to this, too.

Without the belt I felt this was slightly too long for a casual look on me, so I added a wide stretchy belt. I like how the cobalt looks against the black. I also like the wide neck, it's great for me.

I was given this dress for free but you can get it for $40 on the website. 

What I Wore May 27th

27th May was my mum's birthday and to celebrate she wanted to go to this restaurant near us that is really quite posh. So I thought I'd better wear something a bit posh and this dress that I got from New Look recently really fit the bill. I loved the colour and when it arrived I felt in love with the detailing.

I wore this with black leggings and my tattoo-print Converse which I got with a gift voucher after Christmas. I don't wear them often but I thought they set this outfit off and gave it a bit of edge.

The colour looks a lot more orange here than it actually is. The dress is coral underneath, with coral chiffon over the top and chiffon sleeves. 

This shows the colour better and also show the gorgeous ties on the sleeves, which come to my forearm. 

These are my lovely Converse! 

Trip to London

I recently had cause to go to London for a reason connected to my MA, which was an evening event, but I got a train that got me into Kings Cross just before 2pm, so I decided to have a little trek round and visit some stationery stores. I consulted google and found this post which was very helpful. I wanted to go to Chinatown market as I've never been, and I also wanted to go to Muji and Artbox. I was also told on Twitter to visit the Japan Centre.

I drew myself a map the night before and wrote down the addresses of where I needed to be in case I got lost and had to ask someone or use googlemaps. When I got to Kings Cross I got the tube to Piccadilly and came up just opposite the Japan Centre.

It's mostly food which isn't really my thing, but they do have Japanese books and magazines and a bunch of origami papers. I bought some Hello Kitty origami on the far left of the above picture.

I walked along to Chinatown market where I first had some lunch and then went inside the market to a place called Mr Panda. They had lots of stuff but some of it was quite pricey. I bought some stickers and some envelopes. I also found a Hello Kitty concession where I bought a new case for my phone.

I came out the Charing Cross road side of the market and walked along Long Acre to Muji. There's tons of shops along there if that's your thing. I like the 0.7mm gel pens from Muji and use them for work and I was running low on black and red so I ducked in there to buy some more.

I had a little rest on the steps of Covent Garden tube station, which is currently exit only while they do some work. It's the world's tiniest station and has 52465456 steps from the platform to the street and the world's worst lift to use instead.

I was a bit unsure where Artbox was, and came across a shop called Tea Palace where I decided my friend Gillian would benefit from a gift from. The salesman was really helpful (especially since I hate tea!) so I'd recommend it if you are into tea. Prices were reasonable, I felt.

I found Artbox, it's inside a little mall. The shop has a really nice feel to it and everything is set out nicely and clearly priced. I had a bit of spending money that was a gift, so I bought a few lettersets and cute notebooks that you can see above. They had a nice sale section, too.

As I was wondering next, I found a nice pedestrianised area where people were sitting on a roundabout in the middle of the street. There was an ice cream van so I bought myself an ice cream with a flake and sat in the sunshine!

It was a lovely day of doing what I wanted, and I was also impressed that I managed to navigate myself without getting lost or freaking out with anxiety!

Day trip to Bolton Abbey

This year has seen a rash of birthday parties with friends from uni and 6th form college turning 30 and they've all been unique and reflected the personality of the birthday person, and this trip was no different. My friend Gillian wanted a picnic by the river at Bolton Abbey which is near Ilkley in West Yorkshire. There were two of our other friends from college there, Michelle and Amy, as well as lots of Gillian's friends and family.

Lee came with me which was lovely as we rarely do stuff like this together (he isn't much of an outdoors person). There had been an accident in Ilkley so traffic was terrible but we eventually made it and spent a happy few hours in the sun chatting. Lee went paddling first and sat on a rock, and then I borrowed Gillian's river shoes (a beat up pair of trainers) and went in with Amy. It was LOVELY! On a different day/with different people I'd have been tempted to swim.

Me and Amy paddling

Michelle said this was my pin up pose

How beautiful is the river?

Lee on the rocks! Gillian and her niece and nephew are just behind. 

I recommend it for a day out!

What I Wore 14th May

I loved this dress when I was browsing Yours the other day and had to have it. It's so in your face because it's such a bright colour and the print is so much fun. It's sleeveless which is why I'm wearing my New Look shrug thing (I don't like to bare my arms). This is the type of dress that a lot of people would be put off by or think it isn't for fat women, but that's rubbish! It's FUN and I like fashion that is fun.

I wore this for my friend Philippa's birthday meal in Sheffield, and then two days later I wore it to travel home from London. I think this is going to get a lot of wear this summer! 

Palm print dress from Yours Clothing

Leggings and shrug really really old.