It is ALWAYS time for cake.

Sunny morning, feeling poorly (kidney infection, boo), loads to do...

what else is a girl to day other than bake?

Really, there are a zillion other things I should have been doing on my day off, but the lure of flour, eggs and sugar were calling me.

I confess, I cheated a little. Chocolate and coconut are one of my favourite flavour combinations and I had this jar of coconut spread (a lidl special a couple of months ago) lurking with no real purpose....until it became instant icing that is! Mmm.


It doesn't look all that appetising but oh man it was good. I wish it was a permanent product!

It had to be cupcakes. I'm reading "Meet me at the cupcake cafe" and it's got me inspired.

These are now in my cake tin and ready to come to work with me tomorrow.

Well, all but this one.

xxx

Social Style; Garden Party

The currently smokin' hot with gorgeous dresses Missguided dropped me an e-mail the other day, with a challenge. The challenge was to create an outfit suitable for a Summer event.

Sad fact. I have no typical Summer events planned; no weddings, days at the races or garden parties (not even a BBQ) but never one to turn away a challenge, I decided to proceed anyway.

And because it's most likely that you'd find me at a garden party (preferably an old school TEA party), here's what I picked as my dream outfit for it.

I decided to keep it minimal and simple. I don't want to be keeping track of stray hats, sunglasses and other various accessories. I want to have fun and eat cake.

I picked a bright dress to make an impact...

The Aldara Tailored Lace Pleat Dress (currently sold out) in burnt orange has the fit and shape I love, whilst not being too "out there" in terms of colour and pattern. The lace keeps it girly and the colour reminds me of hot summer days.

On my feet you'll find Tropez Floral Print Super High Wedges because an all out floral outfit would be a garden party cliche, but an outfit for me, wouldn't be complete without some flowery action. The wedges add height (lots of it) without that awful "heels sinking in to grass" issue that plagues thousands of women all summer long.

And to accessorize? Nothing but bright polka dotted nails, using the Love Nail Polish set. The colours clash delightfully with the dress and there is plenty of scope for nail art goodness.

What do you think? Garden party worthy? What do you think of the Social Style range?

xxx

(please note, this entry will later be used as a competition entry so once again I will be pleading for votes!)

My Face

Pouring rain and chilly temperatures (well, it is a bank holiday) has meant a return to jumper dresses. So no outfit post today. Instead I thought I'd share my current makeup loves as I love nosing through what other people are using and loving right now.



Blushers! No, I don't wear them all at once, but I do tend to wear a different one each day depending on what mood I'm in/how deathly pale I look! I can't remember the shades of them all, but if you want to know I will go seek!



General face/eyes! I'm quite simple. Witch primer keeps my skin tamed. Barbara Daly for Tesco foundation, of which I have a love/hate relationship with. Love that it's pale enough for my skin and affordable, hate the smell and coverage. Rimmel powder. MAC Phloof and custom palette that is begging to be filled. L'Oreal Lash Architech 4D Mascara. I only bought the Mascara Saturday, after ignoring all twitter advice and getting distracted by a shiney silver tube and special offer price.

Sometimes impulse buys are good. I'm pleased.





One coat. Score.



Oh..and this is what lives in my palette; stars n rockets, aquadisiac, fade. I love how having a fringe has led to a return in bolder eye makeup!

What are you loving right now? Any other super pale girls got any foundation help?

xxx

Are you a Winner?

Thank you to everyone who entered my giveaway with the gorgeous StillWithYou

The three lucky winners of the gorgeous leather, feather earrings are...

1. Nic at Nic's Notebook

2. The gorgeous Lady Bug Says

3. Amazing Alex!


Congrats ladies, I'll be in touch asap x

sunday loving

Just some things I'm loving right now.

Zara dress...probably my best sales purchase ever. It always makes me feel good.







Leather necklace by StillWithYou (earrings giveaway closes at noon)





(on that note, I also love makeup...I'm feeling ill and without it I look like this)



Poorly face is not amused.



This perfume smells like sweets. LOVE.



My Aussie Army. Not that I'll ever be able to get my hair to behave like it did Tuesday. Ever.



This book is pure girly goodness, with some yummy recipes to boot.



And what would a love post be without this? Don't let the angel face fool you. He's been snoring and farting up a storm!

What are you loving?

xxx

Filofax Blogger Style-Off

This is the latest blogger competition I've got myself involved with. I guess I'm feeling brave, after taking the plunge with the Matalan competition.

This pink Filofax of wonder is going to feature in a special outfit post soon. This book of wonder is also known as the Filofax Apex, inspired by this season's colour block trend.

From 9th of June, voting will open on the Filofax facebook page and I will once again be canvasing for votes to declare me as the winner (trust me, it'll be worth it!)

I'll be posting my outfit on the blog some time next week (once I've actually decided). If any one has any suggestions or just wants to wish me love/wish me failure/declare their Filofax love, I'd be most grateful.

xxx

Snacking Saturday; eat natural

I've already proclaimed my love of bars, so when Eat Natural sent over some samples of their new toasted muesli bars (and more!) I was ecstatic.

Generous!

The new toasted muesli bars fall under the website "stuff for breakfast" category. Not one to break the rules, I dutifully tested these for that all important first meal of the day. Crumbled in to whole grain peach yoghurt, as you do.

Out of the two flavours; multiflakes and marmalade, the multiflakes was my favourite. But both were delicious and to be fair, I'm not really a marmalade kind of girl. These are brilliant for either a quick breakfast on the go, or as part of a more drawn out affair. The bars are 198 calories each, and contain lots of yummy dried fruit and nuts so really are a good start.

Of the other bars, well, I have several favourites! They are all so good and FRESH tasting (ya know how some bars can taste...stale?!) The dried fruit was sticky and sweet and the chunks of nut were huge and generous.
If I had to narrow it down, I'd put my top three as:

Almonds, Apricots and yoghurt coating. Three of my favourite things in one bar. WINNER.

Cranberries, Apricots and yoghurt coating. This is the only nut free bar at the moment, and it made the perfect afternoon pick me up, instead of the handfuls of chocolate fingers I have been eating. Even without the nuts, it was a fairly substantial bar.

Dark 70% Chocolate, Brazils and Apricots. Described as Tropical Heaven....it really is so.damn.good.

I'm now on the hunt for the newly launched little bars so I can mix and match my snacks. Decisions are not my strong point. This way I can eat three at once!

Who else is an eat natural fan?
What's your favourite?

xxx

pixie party

Ok, this outfit post is kind of a cheat as the vile weather yesterday didn't allow for anything so...pale (I walk across a playing field to get to work, imagine the mud?!) but I wanted to post it regardless and show off my latest piece of Pixie Knitwear (thanks!) ((I would wear a longer top under it for work, promise))







I'm loving how pastels make my hair stand out!

Oh, and meet my new addiction. Just like a screwball...but better; none of that hard gum stuff at the bottom, just chocolate goodness!





A-ma-zing.

And just because, a photo of what I wore to a leaving do last night.



This is probably the hastiest, most slapdash post ever, sorry!

xxx

Pay as you go pet?

As most of you know by now, I have a cat called Flash (seriously THE most un-fitting name in the world). He’s an old man now and over the years has had a fair few ailments that have left us with large vet bills.

When we first got him we never really thought about pet insurance, I mean no-one plans for their beloved animal to get ill or injured right?

Hindsight is a wonderful thing, taking in to account jabs, medications, a few surgeries/overnight stays and other delights, insurance would have been kind of handy! It’s quite a double edged sword though; do you want to pay monthly for something you may never need (I don’t think animals come with a no claims bonus!) and swallow the bills are they come (I’ve coined the phrase “pay as you go pet” for that one), or would you rather be prepared and set aside x amount per month to cover anything your pet might need?

I’d say, if we were just getting Flash now I would be taking out insurance. Treatment for animals doesn’t come cheap. I think we’ve had bills run in to about £500 at times with a combination of operations, tests and follow ups. And you know, for peace of mind and instant access to treatment for my baby, I think I’d rather just set up a direct debit (err, forget about it) and know that it’s there, and I’m sure if I shop around I’d find the perfect balance plan. I can’t imagine how distraught I’d be if I found myself unable to pay for his care.

What do you think? Do you have insurance for your pets? Have you ever needed to use it? Did it cover every aspect of your pet’s treatment?

this is the last post on my hair, promise.

I promise promise promise not to bore you with any more hair posts after this one! I wanted to share the photos that Emma (Aussie extraordinaire) took on the day.



gratuitous before shot.



this is Hayley, she is awesome.









(not pictured; the random old man telling me to smile)





I have much jealous for Hayley's gorgeous blonde locks.



and finally, with Emma in the middle.



Flash now owns the wigs. He rotates between wearing them and growling at them.

More on the events here...check out the other blogger's transformations AND the gruelling bootcamp some braved!

post doomsday survival

Clearly I survived yesterday. It was infact really rather awesome.
Ok, the dentist part wasn't awesome; the filling/injection didn't hurt but I did have a funny turn after. Whatever. Coffee and a sit down and I was a-ok.
Managed to squish in a visit to the garden centre where I managed to pick up a couple of cards I needed and squee over the bunnies!

I won't write too much about the afternoon. Other than my lacking sense of direction everything went PERFECT!

I would like to send shout outs to Hayley who is awesome and lovely and takes us to amazing places for a drink. And to Emma for arranging the whole experience and being downright gorgeous. My final mention goes to Jon Hurst hairdressing. Warm greeting, extra attention to check I wasn't feeling too overwhelmed or anxious, wonderful atmosphere and a friendly team. Although it is quite a trek for me I think I am over my salon phobia and will be making regular trips here. It is truly worth spending that bit extra if you find somewhere you love!
I had the pleasure of Jon doing my hair, dear lord, show that man a photo and he creates miracles!



This is the only photo I have...but I know Emma took some, so watch this space!

xxx

doomsday

I am declaring today doomsday. Why? Well, I'm facing two big challenges.

1. I am off to the dentist shortly for my first filling. I am scared of the needle. Very scared. Which considering how many blood tests, injections, tattoos and piercings I have is highly odd. I just really don't want a needle in my mouth. Thanks.

2. Later on I am off to get my hair done with Hayley and Aussie. What is it that scares me most? Certainly not meeting people for the first time, or the fact I am hopeless at locating my way around the city which I've lived near all my life. It's the hair dressing itself that scares me. I am a fidgeter, and not very good with people in my personal space. I am also hideously ashamed that I have a flaky scalp that no amount of washing, primping and general taking care seems to fix (please don't judge me).
However, my hair is in dire need, and well, sillyness aside I am quite looking forward to a bit of pampering and girl time after such a manic few weeks.
((don't ask me what I'm having done, the simple answer is "not a sodding clue"))

I'm wearing a dress from Clothing at Tesco (that I purchased with a very generous gift of a voucher)
Tesco are killing it right now with some amazing and affordable pieces..I wasn't able to make the A/W press day but I hear it's INCREDIBLE.







At some point yesterday I also had really awesome nails. I picked up this nail polish sticker things in Superdrug on clearance for £1.49 and tried them out. They were so easy to apply and looked amazing. Sadly for me, they were also easy to remove, and mere hours later I had joyfully peeled them all off. FAIL Laura, FAIL.





My hands need serious TLC!

How's your week kicking off guys? I hope no-one got blown away by that hideous wind we had yesterday

xxx