Sunday 31 October 2010

too many nice things.

This is what boredom does to me. I have a mountain of work to be doing, but for some reason, I just cannot function in the evenings (excuses, excuses!), so I'm occupying my mind by looking at pretty new clothes. I discovered polyvore through a friend, and it's so good, I love it. Most of the stuff on there is pretty damn expensive, which in a way is pretty sensible, as it means I won't spend any money. However, on another note, it means I want to go shopping and buy cheaper and similar alternatives. I love every single thing on this collage, especially the brogues, satchel top & aviator jacket. They are definitely going on my Christmas list! :)

so, what is everyone putting on their Christmas list? anything nice and super cute?

xoxo

I need a huge favour!

For my University assignment, we have to do a presentation for a new men's magazine. We have created a survey that we need loads of guys to complete for us, and seeing as all of my followers are girls, I'm hoping you'll all do this huge favour for me, and pass the survey on to all the guys you know? Please please please do this one tiny thing for me, as I will be eternally grateful :) thank you thank you!!

Take our Online Survey

xoxo

Things I simply adore.

Having the opportunity to go home so regularly and see my family/friends.

♥The thought that New York is only a month away.


My flat, and knowing there's still so much more we need to do to make it all homely and cosy.


Going to London this month coming, and interviewing someone from Cosmopolitan. Nervous!!



♥Finally getting some Work Experience on a magazine, after like a billion emails being sent out.


All the lovely winter clothes out at the moment, although it's not so good for my poor bank balance!

Twitter. I have a real addiction to it at the moment, and there are SO many cool people on there.

My new hair colour. My mum dyed it purple for me, and it looks lovely. I won't lie!

My friends. To be honest, their the best bunch of friends a girl could possibly ask for.


Gizzi Erskine. I'm super excited for her new show next year, it's going to be fabulous!


Christmas! This cold icy weather is really making me feel all christmassy. I love it too much.

The Editor Style Spy on Company Website. I check it out every day, & I love all of her outfits. Great inspiration for when I want to go out and spend some pennies on some lovely clothes!


What things are you loving at the moment? Anything in particular caught your eye?

xoxo

Wednesday 27 October 2010

X Factor: to mime or not to mime?

So, there I was watching this week's X Factor, completely absorbed in whatever act was strutting their stuff, when they announced that Cheryl Cole was about to sing 'live'. There are countless famous singers that actually do the decent thing and sing live, but Cheryl is obviously not one of them. It really infuriates me because she's supposed to be a judge of a singing competition, where live performances are essential. How can she perform on that same very programme, and just mime the whole song? Apparently, because her dancing was so action packed, she was unable to sing at the same time. Okay, so if it's that hard, how come Usher, Jason Derulo and many others manage to do it all without trouble? It just seems to me that it's all a load of bull, and because it's the "amazing" Cheryl Cole, she gets away with it. Michael Buble, who also performed on the X Factor, was accused of miming, but seriously, could anyone not tell that he WAS ACTUALLY SINGING LIVE? There are a hell of a lot of difference between these two particular acts, and it was quite blatant to see who was live, and who was miming. I honestly do not see the fascination with Cheryl, and after this shoddy, and quite pathetic performance, my hatred for her has continued to grow even more.

Well done Chezza, you've managed to prove JUST why I cannot stand you and your harsh little accent.

Work Experience

After about 100000 emails, and no replys whatsoever, I've finally bagged myself some on Zoo Magazine. Now, I know that many will be like "what? Zoo?", but hey, it's something different and any experience is good experience in my books. I'm just pretty chuffed that I've actually managed to get something after all this time, and I'm excited already. It's on the 28th March, and it's definitely going to be here before I know it. It'll be so cool though, actually being in a real magazine office. Whether or not I actually get to write anything, who knows, all I do know is that it's going to be one of the greatest experiences ever. Fingers crossed that I can now bag myself some more on other magazines :)

xoxo

Friday 22 October 2010

Daisy Lowe.





















Daisy Lowe is, well, beautiful. She's only 21 years old, one year older than me, and yet she's done so much already. Modelling for names such as Louis Vuitton, Vivienne Westwood and Marc Jacobs, Daisy is one of the most well known celebrities around at the moment. She also models for her mum, Pearl Lowe, who has recently designed more vintage dresses for Peacocks. As well as being super gorgeous, she's also far too fashionable for my liking. It seems that whatever she wears, she always manages to pull it off, and completely make it her own. Daisy is almost certainly one to look out for in the future, as it seems it's just going to get much brighter. Jealous? Me? Of course!

i want.

i am incredibly bored at the moment, so what better thing to do to pass the time then a bit of online shopping browsing? topshop has so many pretty things on there at the moment, so here are a few of the things i am loving :)

It's not something I normally go for, but this is just so beautiful. Teamed with black tights and either black heels or flats, you've got yourself a gorgeous outfit!


I'm in desperate need of a winter coat, as at the moment all I have is a Mac, and they are not warm whatsoever! This is super cute, and looks so cosy and warm. LOVE the pom poms!!
I've a thing for Brogues, and they look good with any outfit. Although these are £50, and there's no way I'll ever be able to justify paying that, they are beautiful, beautiful shoes.

Loving leopard print at the moment, and this would be perfect for a night out. Only £30, so maybe I can justify paying that? ;)


What I wouldn't do to be a millionaire, and be able to afford EVERYTHING!! Anyone else seen anything lovely that's caught their eye? :)

xoxo




this really is one of the most beautiful photographs I have seen in a long time.

where dreams are made, and where dreams will always come true.

Sunday 17 October 2010

Put into perspective

There is always going to be certain things throughout our lives that will put everything into perspective, and make us stop and think how lucky we really are. We may moan sometimes about a stressful day at University or work, or if it's raining outside and our hair will get messed up, but I can honestly say that I've never had anything worthwhile to moan about. The only dreadful thing that's happened to me was when my parents split up this February just gone; I felt like my world had caved in and I honestly didn't know what to do, but it's okay now. I've gotten through it, and I've come out the other side. I guess the reason I'm writing this particular post is because there are times when I just think to myself, 'are we taking things for granted more than usual?'.

I guess I've had times where I've taken what I have for granted, but not to the extent where I walk around like a little princess, and have no consideration for where it was from, or who gave it to me. I fully believe in treating people how you would like to be treated, because manners really do cost nothing. It infuriates me when I watch 'My Sweet 16', because I find it unbelievable that parents give their daughters/sons everything they ask for. If they want a brand new car, they've got it. If they demand a new wardrobe, it's there in a flash. There are no thank you's, no please's, and certainly no gratitude. Where the hell is the respect?

Do these parents really think that their children are going to grow up to respect them?! They will continue to treat them all like a piece of rubbish, and it really wouldn't surprise me if they didn't move out until they were 30. I believe that you should move out of the house when you are fully independent, and start to learn to stand on your own two feet. There is nothing wrong with learning to cook, clean, pay bills, and live by yourself. It paves the way for when you get married and have children of your own.

If you are continuing to live with your parents until you are an adult yourself, then you will never learn to move on. People like this take things for granted way too much, and I definitely think it's time for it to stop. When I am a parent, I will certainly be making sure my children learn how to look after themselves. There are thousands of children all over the world who are not as lucky as us, and would die to have a decent meal, let alone a brand new car bought for them.

If these princesses started to think about others, instead of just themselves, then maybe this world really would be a better place. Give to charity, volunteer, and donate. With all the clothes, shoes and handbags that half of these girls have, well, I'm sure they wouldn't miss one or two.


My new love..

Don't get the wrong impression and think I've fallen head over heels in love with some cute guy, because you'd be totally wrong; unfortunately! Anyway, after reading a blog post about Barry M's instant nail effect varnish, I knew I had to go out and purchase some for myself, and bloody hell, I'm SO glad I did! It's totally amazing, and looks super cool. All you need is one coat and then bam, your nails are transformed into something so unique; definitely a winner in my books! & for £.395 you really can't go wrong.

I used my free nude nail varnish from this month's Cosmo as my base colour, and even if I do say so myself, I think they both go really well together. Definitely a match made in heaven ;)

I would absolutely recommend it to anyone, and it just manages to transforms boring nails into something much more magical!

Another thing I purchased this month was these cute earrings from Peacocks. I never shop in there normally, but my friend persuaded me to go in there, and I was nicely surprised. I haven't worn earrings in AGES, so I thought I'd better start again before I'd have to re pierce them myself (too squeamish for that!!). Anyway, these were £3.50, but they had 20% off so I got them for a very cool price of £2.80!

Aren't they just the cutest earrings you've ever seen? I know they're pretty large, but that's why I love them! The bigger the better (no dirty jokes please!).


Oooh, before I forget, I went to IKEA last week with my flatmate and picked up the NICEST decorations for my wall ever. Seriously no joke, I fell in love with them straight away.


(£12.99 for a pack of 4, totally makes a room look a hell of a lot more interesting! Random, but I had to show you how cute they are!)


Sorry for rambling, but I have been neglecting my blog for like a week now, so this was very much overdue! Hope everyone has had a lovely weekend :)


xoxo

Saturday 9 October 2010

This month..

Once again, it's time for the glossies to come out, and I get so excited! I could seriously spend all my money on my favourite magazines, and not feel guilty about spending between £5-£10 on them. It's my little obsession, and I always tell myself "It's helping me for my degree", so it's fine!

My friends and I were discussing our favourites recently, and we came to the conclusion that although Glamour can be good to read, it's almost definitely aimed for women that are much older than we are. Their features are mainly focused on careers, the future, and how everyone got where they are now. Cosmopolitan mainly focuses on men, sex, and how to get a fantastic sex life. My friends aren't particularl
y keen on Cosmo, and although it's considerably more expensive, I have a HUGE love for Cosmo! However, my favourite is Company and it's perfectly aimed towards me and my friends. Serious love for it!

What's everyone else's favourite magazine? Are you a Company/Cosmo girl like me, or do you steer more towards Vogue, Elle? :)

Ooh, before I forget, THE cutest nail varnish came free with Cosmopolitan this month. Three different ones to choose from, and seeing as this one was the only one left, I went with it. I applied last night, and it's super cute and lovely. Very understated but that's what I love about it! Gotta love a freebie ;)

How gorgeous is the colour? It's not too much, yet it's still noticeable and super cute :)

Also this week, I went into New Look and bought a new knitted jumper. It was one of those moments when you try it on, absolutely love it, buy it, take it home & then decide you don't like it that much. I took it home and now I'm really not sure about it. It's quite cute and that, but I just don't know whether it suits me, and whether or not I will wear it. It was only £20, and it was 20% discount, but I'm in a bit of a pickle at the moment.

What does everyone think? Okay, I admit it isn't a GREAT photo, but you can kinda see it, right? I'm steering towards taking it back? :/ You can't see it in this picture, but there's a zip down the back, and I think that's why I bought it, because it makes it look 10x better than it would without it. I'm so indecisive!!

Anyway, enough of my ramblings about clothes. Hopefully going to be doing another post soon with pictures of my room in my new flat! Fingers crossed though that I can take a photograph with all of it in, my room is too big!!

for now lovelies,


xoxo

Sunday 3 October 2010

My new website find

I go through stages of coming across different websites that are right gems, and Through the Cottage Door is no different. I have a real love for all things vintage and shabby chic, and when I first clicked onto their website, I instantly fell in love with everything they had to offer. Ranging from union jack printed cushions, huge vintage styled clocks, to super cute and adorable mirrors, there really is the most amazing stuff. It's also nice to see that it isn't majorly over expensive either, which is an added bonus for a poor student! Seeing as I'm still trying to find cosy and homely stuff for my bedroom, it seems that I couldn't have found this at a better time really. I definitely think everyone should go and take a browse through their beautifully designed website, as I'm 100% sure that you will love it as much as I do already. Or, follow them on Twitter (thecottagedoor) where you can keep up to date with everything they are doing, and whether there may be any new changes/new stock to the website!

here are a few of the most beautiful items i really want to purchase; pennies permitting!!














































(aren't they just so gorgeous?!)

so, what are you waiting for? go visit
www.throughthecottagedoor.co.uk now! :)

xoxo

Saturday 2 October 2010

True Inspiration

Everyone has an inspiration throughout life, and whoever it may be, they make a pretty big impact upon us. I've been thinking about who mine is, and although I have a few, I've decided to just write about the main one; Gizzi Erskine. Now, you've probably already read previous blog posts about her, such as her fashion, cookery book, etc etc, but in this particular blog post, I just want to focus on everything. So, I might ramble on a bit, and for that I apologize, but sometimes, we've just got to go with the flow!

Gizzi Erskine is a bit of a culinary legend in my eyes, and ever since discovering what she does, and being given her beautiful cookery book for my birthday, I've grown to like her even more. She's one of the very few celebrity chefs around at the moment that is still so incredibly down to earth. She's still got her feet planted firmly on the ground, and she certainly doesn't seem to have lost sight of where she's come from, and it's so refreshing to see. Our world has become so scarily stuffy recently, and Gizzi is a true breath of fresh air, which is so needed right now.

I've never been one for cooking mega complicated and long winded recipes (I'm a student, give me a break!!), but her recipes are so easy to follow, and even I can understand them! Her book is deliciously beautiful, and even though I'm so very fussy with food, there are recipes in there that I absolutely love. It's one of the best cookery books I've ever come across, and for such a small price to pay, it's worth every single penny. Now I've moved into my new flat, it's perfect for me and flatmate to follow. There will almost certainly be many cook offs for the next year, which I'm so excited about! Ranging from creamy mashed potato, chocolate brownies, southern fried chicken and salads, there really is a huge variety of choice for everyone.

Another thing I absolutely adore about Gizzi is how lovely she is towards her fans. Follow her on Twitter, and there is no doubt that she will always reply to anything anyone has to ask her. Nothing is ever too much trouble for her, and she will always do her best to give you an answer. I've been following her since I signed up, and she's always replied to me. There are so many celebrities on Twitter that just cannot be bothered to speak to their fans, that it's so lovely to see someone that takes the time to actually be nice. Some celebrities need to realise that their fans are half of the reason they got where they are today, which Gizzi certainly does.

Gizzi has endless talents to her name, and it's actually quite amazing how many talents she does have. Not only does she cook and present, she also writes for different magazines (so jealous of her writing for Company Magazine!!), DJ's in her spare time, and she's just recently hooked up with Innocent and created a pop up restaurant in London. How cool is that?

Not only is she super fashionable and majorly talented, she's also exquisitely beautiful and incredibly lovely. She's a true inspiration to everyone I think, and she is certainly one to look out for. Her future seems to be very bright, and I definitely think we'll be hearing more from her.

Oh, and she also loves Percy Pigs. Legend.


xoxo

Friday 1 October 2010

fantastic tips to take on board

I've recently been trying to gain some advice from the best people about work experience and all things magazine related. As you all know, I'm looking for work experience (which isn't going well!!), so all summer I tried to get advice on what I could do to up my chances of actually getting somewhere. So, this is what I found out:

  • Be persistent: I know more than anyone how annoying it is sending copious amounts of emails out, but seriously don't give up! Send them out literally every week, and they'll soon see how determined you are. It's a great nugget of advice, and one I'll be doing all the time now.
  • Twitter: Odd I know, but Twitter really is one of the best social networking sites to gain some fantastic contacts. Flick through any glossy magazine, and you're bound to see the famous "follow me on twitter", under many Editor's Letter. Trust me, signing up to Twitter will be one thing you won't regret.
  • Stand out from the crowd: When sending out emails, say something completely different. Make yourself appear a little unique, and get them thinking. Instead of just writing about yourself, and attaching a CV, also write about how you're the best tea maker in the world, and how many magazines you've collected since you could start reading! (ha!). It'll be a refreshing change for the people that have to read them all!
  • Don't get jealous: Okay, so your friends have all managed to bag some work experience, and people on Twitter are forever going on about that fantastic month spent at Company Magazine, but seriously, don't let it bother you! Everyone is different, and everyone has different luck, so just rise about it. Your time will come, so don't see this as a sign that you will never be in their position; because you will!!
  • Blogging: Probably the best advice I've ever been given. Blogging is the one chance to show off to everyone how good a writer you really are, and to show what you can do. You never know who will come across it, and who knows, someone might be looking for something, and you could fit the bill perfectly. Don't see blogging as a chore, or something like homework/coursework. It's fun, exciting, different and super fab for your future career!

I know how hard it is to get work experience, and to actually get a reply from someone, but after getting all of this advice, I'm definitely going to keep trying! Fingers crossed, and if anyone else manages to get some, let me know :)

xoxo

It's Friday!

Firstly, a HUGE apology to everyone for not posting for a couple of days. It's been my first proper week back at University, and it's been so hectic it's unreal. Manically long days, and stupidly intense lectures, I just haven't had the time (or the energy) to post anything worth reading. But, I'm now back home for the weekend so I'm going to try and make up for my absense!
Secondly, I'm nearly at 40 followers, and this makes me incredibly happy! I just love that all of you are interested to see what I blog about, and it always encourages me to keep it going, even when I don't really feel like posting anything! So once again, thank you thank you thank you!

Anyway, back to my original post. It's finally Friday, which means it's the weekend! Uni is over, and I'm back home for the weekend. I love going home and catching up with everyone, and even though I have to work tomorrow and Sunday (hey, it's good money!!), it's something I just get on with now. All that lovely dollar goes towards rent, bills, oh, and lovely new clothes ;)

Speaking of new clothes, I've been naughty and bought a couple of things this past week. Seeing as my student loan went in on Monday, I thought it'd be rude not too spend some of it! So off to Primark I went, and came away with the most adorable grey wooly dress (£11!), and a super cute cream cardigan for only £7!! I was extremely happy with this one, because there was one exactly the same in Topshop for £48! I was definitely the cat that got the cream that day!

I seriously have a true shopping addiction, and it doesn't help living so close to a huge shopping centre! It's great though where I live, because it's so close to University. So excited to start my second year though, it's going to be fabulous!

Anyone up to anything exciting this weekend? Bought any new clothes? :)

xoxo