Shoe-gasm Part Deux

I think by now it's pretty obvious that I like shoes. Just a little bit.

I ordered these Sam Edelman bad boys for a date at the weekend, paid extra for Saturday delivery and everything, and guess what?! Didn't fit. Major sad face. It's my own fault though for thinking that I should order strapless shoes shoes in a smaller size so I don't pop out of them and embarrassingly fall into the path of an unsuspecting victim. Not the first time I've said this within the space of a month, but you live you learn eh?!

Pure filth! And at £180, I think they've got style to rival Louboutins and a Balmain kind of edge to them.

So now I have to send them back and re-order (obviously I cannot be without them). But now the question is...which ones do I go for?

It took me ages to reach the decision that black was a more sensible option since they'll go with everything, but I am head over heels (see what I did there?) for the putty coloured peep toes. And the boots are kick-ass, and winter is around the corner. Hmmm. The peep toes weigh in at £180, and the boots priced at £200 from http://www.coggles.com/

No Arms, No Legs, No Worries

I watched a fantastically inspirational dvd yesterday featuring motivational speaker Nick Vujicic, called 'No Arms, No Legs, No Worries'.

Nick was born without any arms or legs, and after years of being teased by children, suffering depression and dealing with the public's looks of pity, he has had the strength of character to look past his situation and start spreading positivity.

Nick is an inspirational speaker all over the world, spreading his message that we should learn to love and accept ourselves exactly as we are, and never give up on your dreams.

Please check out some of his stuff on youtube, this man is a hero and teaches us that we are responsible for our own happiness whatever the obstacles:

You can also check out his website at http://www.attitudeisaltitude.com/

Liberty Love

Oh. My. Days.

I am in love.

With this...

Barbour Classic Beadnell with Liberty Print Floral Lining, £219

As if I wasn't obsessed with Liberty prints enough already (not that I actually own anything yet), this little bad boy popped up on ASOS this weekend and it's love at first sight. Barbour, notorious for the classic waxed jacket, have collaborated with Liberty on a select few jackets in their collection to put a playful lining and injection of colour into some classic pieces.

I'm usually more of a fitted trench coat kinda gal - a few years ago I wouldn't be seen dead in anything that didn't fit tight around my figure like a bandage - but THIS...this is a deal-breaker. I actually really love the tomboy style and think it kicks any parka's ass as a Winter cover up.

Ahhh, here's the rub. Yes it is rather pricey at £219, but you're paying for a quality wardrobe staple that will only get better with age, as well as an iconic piece of Liberty magic. And as if I need to convince myself further with the lure of a detachable faux fur collar and hood...

Available now from ASOS at http://www.asos.com/

Epic Blender Fail

Well, boy did I get a good start to my Friday morning! In tribute to Wifey (who has abandoned me for 2 whole weeks to go 'home' to USA), I russled up a batch of experimental chicken soup last night and left it in the slow cooker, happily bubbling away till this morning. I was like a kid at Christmas when I woke up this morning to fresh soupy smells, so after my shower I plonked it all in the blender ready to whizzy it all up for lunch. And this is the part where it turned into 'epic fail'. Even with my hand placed firmly on the lid, the lid FLEW off and coated myself, Joben the cat and my walls, floor and ceiling in scalding chicken soup. I'm guessing that's why you're supposed to leave it to cool first? Luckily the burn marks on my arms, tummy and face have started to go down now, so I am a little more open to seeing the funny side of it! You live you learn eh? It was still fun to make, and more than mildly comical getting a second shower and hairwash done this morning to blast shredded chicken out of my hair.

Luckily, the experimental soup tastes pretty good!

Sent from my Sony Ericsson Xperia arc

Autumn/Winter in August

It's become something of a ritual of mine to check out my favourite clothes store websites on a daily basis, and I mean daily! Yep, Dorothy Perkins, River Island and ASOS get a cheeky morning visit off yours truly. So, I was somewhat surprised when I saw the fab new AW/11 collections flying into stores but couldn't resist the allure of some cosy knitwear!

After having a traumatic week (yes I'm being melodramatic) of doctors appointments, blood tests and the possibility of having intestinal parasites picked up on holiday in Turkey, I decided a cheery shopping spree would help mend the blues :) of course it worked.

From good old Dotty P's I picked myself up a pair of navy blue leggings (£18) seamed down the front, which are smart enough to wear to the office with an oversized white shirt or girly blouse, or will be great for weekends under new season knitwear and ankle boots.

Next up, I am an absolute whore for stripes and picked up this beauty for £28. Light enough to wear through autumn and winter, stylish enough to avoid looking like it belongs to Grandma. I particularly love the little frills on the shoulders :)

Dorothy Perkins £29.50

I've seen a lot of other knitted lovelies on the high street that I'm dying to pick up...



Intarsia Cape, Dorothy Perkins £25



Cable Brushed Lace Top, River Island £25



Fairisle Jumper, Dorothy Perkins £32



Striped Poncho, Dorothy Perkins £35


...and just because they're too pretty to overlook:



Lace Belted Dress, River Island £35



Tapestry Brogues, Dorothy Perkins £32

I have absolutely no idea what I would wear these brogues with, but I LOVE LOVE LOVE them.

Time to save some new season pennies ;)

I already got some bargain cream crochet brogues in the Dorothy Perkins sale for £15 which I think would look cute with this dress and a denim jacket chucked on top.

cute huh?

You can find all of the above items on http://www.dorothyperkins.co.uk/ or http://www.riverisland.com/

GlossyBox

I returned from a wee holiday in Turkey on my own last week (not nearly as sad as it sounds!), and had completely forgotten that I’d effectively treated myself to a new present every month. Enter http://www.glossybox.co.uk/

I first heard about GlossyBox on another blog and thought it sounded like a fantastic idea. You set up a profile on their website where they ask questions about your skin tone, hair colour, make-up routine and skin concerns (etc.), you pay £10 per month for your subscription and then each month they send you 5 FULL SIZE brand new products to try based on your profile. Well, I’m sure you can appreciate that it didn’t take long for me to part with my £10 and sign up straight away!

I was so impressed when Mr. Postie presented the package to me that I think I may be guilty of letting off a small girlish squeal. Just look at the packaging!

When I opened it there was another beautiful gift box inside (which I will be saving to put Christmas presents in!), and in that box the products were delicately wrapped in sophisticated black tissue paper and white grosgrain ribbon. It really did feel like my birthday. Inside I found...

Illamasqua Pure Pigment eyeshadow in Involve

Ciate Paint Pot

Weleda Pomegranate Regenerating Body Oil

LP Skin Therapy Lip Rescue Gel

Ultrasun Anti-Ageing SPF for Face

L-R: Ultrasun Anti-Ageing SPF, Weleda Pomegranate Regenerating Body Oil, Ciate Paint Pot, Illamasqua Pure Pigment, LP Skin Therapy Lip Rescue Gel

The Illamasqua Pure Pigment came out way better than I expected. Having green eyes, I am personally a fan of purple eyeshadows but find it a struggle to find one that’s not the colour purple you find in a children’s paint palette. Yeps, definitely more of an aubergine/plum kinda gal. I would say that this is the perfect mid-point between a lilac and a plum, and really makes my eyes pop – the shimmering particles really help to brighten the eye area. The formula is soft and super blendable, and you can use it for a wash of colour or build it up to create a strong smoky catwalk look and coloured eyeliner. We all know berry tones are so AW11 ;) It has come out a lot brighter in this image than it looks in true light, so don’t be put off!

Next up is the Ciate Paint Pot. I’ve seen these being sold on ASOS for a while now, but given their low price I always suspected they would be one of those cheapy nail varnishes that are a waste of money. How wrong could I be! This bad boy puts my Chanel and YSL nail varnishes to shame, just 2 coats was all I needed for a flawless finish and it has hardly budged in 7 days of wear. The colour is fantastic, it’s bright orange and fits in perfectly with summer’s colour-blocking trend (and my Turkish tan of course). The only thing that lets this down is that I can’t find the name of the colour on the pot!

Equally impressive is the Pomegranate Regenerating Body Oil by Weleda. I find body oils such a pain in the bottom because they’re messy, greasy and can take an age to absorb into your skin. Luckily, given my peeling post-holiday skin I ignored my anti oil instincts and used this twice a day to keep my tan in tip top condition. It is ultra moisturising and you really do get the feeling that your skin is hydrated...plus it smells DIVINE. The scent reminds me of a clove and orange essential oil that I burn during Winter for that Christmassy smell. Another trick I’ve been using this oil for is as a replacement for shaving gel – seriously, this gives the smoothest legs ever!

This GlossyBox really has not let me down, because I adore the next product too. LP Skin Therapy Lip Gel (developed by TV psychologist Dr. Linda Papadopoulos) is a lip gloss that plumps, moisturises, softens and even contains a herb extract to reduce anxiety and calm you down! *It is my new best friend* I usually hate lip glosses for that ever seductive ‘hair-stuck-to-face’ moment, but this isn’t sticky at all – your lips just feel sort of waterproofed. It does exactly what it says on the tin, the packaging is grown up and elegant, and it tastes like orange Opal Fruits! (they will never be Starburst to me, only Opal Fruits!).

I must admit that given the somewhat dull Liverpool weather we’ve had since I got back from the 44-50 degree heat of Turkey, I haven’t bothered to test out the suncream. If we are ever awarded with the rest of our summer I’ll be sure to test it out and review.

All in all, I was massively impressed with my GlossyBox. Considering these are all full-size products and the Illamasqua eyeshadow would have been £14 just on its own I think this is fantastic value and means I get to refresh my make-up bag with new products every month. Plus, when you log into your online account and review the products, you get one ‘glossy dot’ per review – when you have collected 100 you qualify for a free GlossyBox. Winner!

In other news, I have just 4 short weeks left of my Invisalign Refinement! Given that my dodgy incisor has finally decided to move into place, I am confident that this will be the end of my treatment. So watch this space for before and after pictures when I get my retainer J

Sleep In-a-Box

No dear reader, this is not a suggestion or a command, but rather a review of a fantastic new line of products released as part of the Boots Sanctuary Spa range.

For a mere £12.75 in Boots, you can buy a gift box of generously sized samples of the recent additions to their already popular brand, and ‘Dreamtime Sleep In-a-Box’ is 4 products designed to aid restful sleep and recuperation. And we all could benefit from that I’m sure!

Each product contains the essential oils ylang ylang (for reducing stress and tension), frankincense (to calm and clarify the mind), and patchouli (to reduce anxiety). They smell DIVINE. From using the body butter right before I get into bed, I can still catch the scent on my bed sheets when I wake up in the morning. I MUST OWN THE CANDLE.

First up, we have the Soothing Bath Float. Basically, that’s a fancy pants name for bubble bath. A couple of dollops (love that word) of that under running water leave you with the frothiest bubbles fit for a princess – Kate Middleton, you heard it here first. It also suggests that you can rub the formula on your skin prior to getting in the bath for an extra luxurious skin treat.

Next, we have the Smoothing Silk Scrub, which is a nice thick cream with flakes of coconut shell in it to really shift those dead skin cells. I’m used to using a sugar body scrub with a higher concentrate of scrubbing particles compared to this one, but I was pleasantly surprised that my skin felt super smooth and nourished after use. The Sanctuary also recommends that this product can be used on dry skin prior to bathing/showering to polish your limbs to perfection.

The 4 in 1 Restoring Body Elixir is a cheeky treat in the range, since it really is as multi-functional as it suggests! It can be used as a bath oil, as a nourishing body oil applied neat to your skin, triples up as a hair mask applied to damaged ends, and can also be used as a massage oil. I think I’ve found a fifth use for this, because it works great rubbed on temples, wrists, and the back of the neck before bed time to send you into a deep slumber. Bonus, non?

Last but by no means least is the Cocooning Body Butter, which has an intensely thick formulation. The best way of me describing this is as a ‘balm’, but it sinks into skin quicker than I expected. I really think this is one of the best body butters I’ve ever used, and I can’t get enough of the smell...sometimes I undo the lid and steal a cheeky sniff for no reason, but that’s just me.

From what I can gather, in addition to the Sleep range there are also ‘unwind’ and ‘energise’ sets available. I would highly recommend this set to anyone, it really does help you get a good night’s sleep and I feel so much happier when I’m well rested. Since using the products I’ve become completed addicted to baths and had 4 in a row last week...United Utilities are well onto it!

Concert Review: Kings of Leon

On Sunday, with itching anticipation, I got to witness the event of the year I have been patiently awaiting since I bought tickets last November...Kings of Leon at Lancashire County Cricket Club! After rumours were rife that the last tour they performed would be their last ever, I was epically pleased when they released latest album Come Around Sundown and announced dates for this tour. With the threat that they may never perform live again, I would have sold my favourite arm to bag tickets (we all have a favourite arm, right?!). And I got them, without having to sell said limbs!

The whole day was fantastic. Unlike gigs I have been to in the past, the venue opened at 4pm and support acts commenced from 6pm, meaning that we had a full afternoon and evening of entertainment and to bask in the sunshine of the grounds. What glorious weather we had! First up was a band called Mona. I hadn’t heard of them before, but after watching them play the only way I can describe them is as ‘Kings of Leon wannabes’...not that that’s necessarily a bad thing. Next up was White Lies, which I was really pleased about, but missed all but the first song of the set due to a 40 minute wait for the toilet queue. Angry face. When I returned, it was Zane Lowe on stage doing a DJ set, which I thought would be promising, but instead turned out to appeal to the army of chavs at the concert. You know, the ones who recognise that one song Sex on Fire and think they’re die-hard fans. If you played them my favourite track Milk I’m sure they’d have a seizure. So to be honest, was not impressed with Zane Lowe!

Finally, the band we had all been waiting for graced the stage at 8:30pm, and I was more excited than a kid with a cardboard box. They belted out tunes Molly’s Chambers, Radioactive, Crawl, Be Somebody, Closer, Fans, Use Somebody, and many other favourites. I nearly died when they played On Call – my chest aches with how much I love that song. While the band did not have much banter with the crowd, it did allow them more time to play songs and every performance was flawlessly executed. Every time I saw Caleb’s little face pop up on the big screen I fell ever more in love. If I could’ve swapped my cat for a cheeky wink off him I SO WOULD.

Kings of Leon came back on stage for an encore, and rounded off the evening perfectly with roars from the crowd as loud as the fireworks that accompanied their last performance. Best £52.50 I ever did spend!

WOLFMOTHER Rocked!

With that cheeky Bank Holiday thrown into the mix, I've been so confused about what day it is that I've ended up blogging a day late *big slap on the wrist*

Hope everyone had a lovely weekend anyway! I spent some quality time with my younger sisters 'the twins' (I don't know why I feel the need to put that in inverted commas since they actually are medically classified as twins). Took them for a fancy meal and cocktails at Chaophraya, where it was fruity curries and deep fried ice cream a-plenty, and then we had an enjoyable night out in town. The following morning we mopped up our alcohol abuse with a bang tidy breakfast from Moose Cafe (my all time favourite place to eat), and then went to see The Hangover Part 2. Happy days!

After months of patiently waiting at home, e-ticket in hand, Tuesday 31st May brought me the heady delights of Wolfmother live at The 02 Academy Liverpool!

I love music, I love discovering a new favourite band, and more than anything, I cannot think of a thing in the world that beats the buzz of watching a live band rocking out on electric guitars and the heavy bass vibrations in the core of your chest. So yes, seeing live music always makes me happy :)

This video is looking a wee bit small, but it gives you a sneaky peek of their hit Vagabond which is featured on the film and soundtrack of 500 Days of Summer.

Oosh, what a lovely little week I'm having!

Sick Day

Being ill sucks face. The End. I have been ill for 10 DAYS now with a pesky cold, of which I'm experiencing some most unsavoury side effects - sparing you the details!

Buuuut...here are a few things I think are particularly awesome about being forced to take the day off work:

1. Watching David Bowie in The Labyrinth - my fave children's movie. Although, there is something more than a little bit suggestive going on in the trouser department, which was mildly distracting to say the least!
2. Eating Ben & Jerry's Cookie Dough (for medicinal purposes of course) until you feel more sick than you originally did. Case in point.
3. Becoming feverish and having a lengthy conversation with my new Siberian goose-down feather pillow. Ch-yeah!
4. Lift! Instant Lemon Tea with a big old dollop of manuka honey in it.
5. New Covent Garden Chicken Soup...oh my days, this is THE NUTS.

All in all, I didn't have a bad day off work yesterday despite some obvious 'vom' issues. Probably cookie dough induced, so I'm not complaining!

In other news, I am now at the refinement stage of my Invisalign treatment and have been given another 10 whole sets of aligners! I can cut down to wearing each aligner for 10 days, so fingers crossed, I should only have 93 days left of brace face ;)

And...got another cheeky tattoo at the weekend to show my love and support for my beautiful younger twin sisters - our family are separating, and I am going to miss them like hell when they are moved back down to London. Keeping my chin up, we will be celebrating by going for a meal and a hella messy night out in town on Sunday! Whoop!