a break from the brights

Dress, Dorothy Perkins (£7), Tights, Superdrug, Shoes c/o Ellos

As temperatures dipped a little yesterday I took a break from the brighter colours and reverted back to my standard work colour scheme. This dress was yet another mid-season sale bargain and was perfect for keeping the chill out. Rumours are that we're getting a uniform for work, which suits me fine...that'll be more money to spend on "fun" clothes and less stress in the mornings over what to wear!

This week has dragged on forever, between hospital visits and general worrying to all round chaos at work, it was fantastic this morning to wake up at the time my alarm goes off and be able to roll over and sleep a bit more.

Here's hoping for a somewhat less traumatic weekend! I'm going to be visiting my Nan in hospital today, taking with me a childish yet awesome colouring book to keep her busy...and I'm getting prepared to be nagged from the moment I arrive to the moment I leave (a sure sign she's made improvements over the week!)

What are your thoughts on work uniforms? I think in some jobs it can be essential...where I work, at a doctors surgery, sometimes it's hard to tell the staff from the patients so I see it as a bonus (as well as the points I mentioned above!)

xxx

Snackaddicted

First there was my popcorn obsession (still going), followed by roasted chickpeas (also still going strong) and then Popchips had to go and launch themselves in the UK.

Long gone has my sweet tooth, these days I'm all about the savoury, and these things are just...AMAZING! I first picked up a couple of packs in my local Waitrose, but the kind folks at Popchips also sent me a box to review after I rather enthusiastically stalked them on Twitter...I intended to snap a photo of the box (it was awesome) but greed got in the way.

"you say crisp. we say chip.
we all say delicious.

never fried. never baked. our potato chips are popped (like popcorn). with all the flavour and less than half the fat of fried crisps and less than 100 calories per serving, you’ll taste why they’re winning awards (and acclaim) throughout america.

the magic of popping

popping is a way of making our naturally delicious chips. we start with the finest potatoes, add a little heat and pressure, along with a little snack magic and pop! it’s a chip. then we add all-natural seasoning for a snack so tasty you won’t even notice it’s (we hesitate to say) healthier. pop open a bag of popchips and try for yourself. everybody has a favourite. or two.

naturally delicious. nothing fake or phony.

our all-natural pledge: no fake colours, no fake flavours, no preservatives, no fluorescent orange fingertips, and no wiping your greasy chip hand on your jeans. no really. we only use ingredients you can feel good about eating and we leave out the bag stuff like hydrogenated oils and msg that give snacking a bad name. because popchips have no preservatives, make sure to get a good chip clip after opening the bag to keep our popped chips fresh. or better yet, just eat them all at once."

Out of the four flavours, my favourite is probably the salt and pepper variety, although all of them are really bloody good! somewhere out there exists and a salt and vinegar variety, but so far no luck with getting that one.

Have you tried these yet? if you have a Waitrose near you, hurry on down as these babies are on offer until the 10th of April...I've been buying (in bulk)

xxx

Daisy Chain Dreaming: Daisy Lace & Studs from Lola&Grace

How stunning is this jewellery from quirky brand Lola&Grace? It takes a certain something to make me want to post about something on the blog; if I shared every press release I recieved this blog would soon lose focus; and although my posts are eclectic, they are all things I truly adore. Jewellery is a weak point for me...I'm like a magpie, attracted to anything that shines. Traditionally I've always opted for more delicate pieces, especially when it comes to neck adornment, but I would happily wear each and every one of these pieces, and I suspect one or two will feature highly on my Birthday wish-list.

And how much for these wonderful creations?
Well, I was shocked...

From top to bottom:

Daisy lace necklace - £23.90

Daisy lace cuff - £29.90

Daisy lace earrings - £15.90

Spiral rebound necklace - £31.90

Spiral rebound ring – £23.90

Spiral rebound earrings – £23.90

Spiral rebound bracelet - £21.90

Gem petals necklace - £39.90

Gem petals ring - £31.90

Impressive!


If you had to narrow it down, which piece would you pick? I'm erring toward the Gem Petals Necklace (and perhaps the ring!)

xxx 

Midi Adventure

Skirt (£3!) H&M, Tee Peacocks, Tights Tesco and Boots New Look.

I couldn't resist this bargain skirt in the H&M sale, swayed by the super cheap price tag and slightly daunted by the colour. It's actually turned out to be one of my favourite impulse buys ever and was perfect to add a splash of colour to a super sunny day!

I can't believe it's Thursday, this week has passed by in a surreal haze...how's it going?

xxx

Platform 51

Platform 51, is a charity that supports disadvantaged women and girls across England and Wales. On International Woman's Day they launched 'Glad Rags', a month long YouTube campaign to raise awareness of low-level mental health issues and empower women to come together in a positive way to share experiences and raise self-esteem and confidence.

They have been asking women to upload videos to our YouTube channel where they are wearing an outfit that makes them feel good about themselves - this could be them wearing their favourite dress, or the suit they wore to a successful job interview - to encourage them to engage with low level mental health issues in a positive way. It would be great if you'd contribute a video to the campaign, and you can style it in whatever way you like and make it as creative as you want.

Platform 51 has conducted some research showing that 33% of all women have taken antidepressants and more than half weren’t offered an alternative. 24% currently taking antidepressants have been on them for 10 years or more and 24% have not had a review of their treatment for a year or more at some point. We are therefore calling for a review (there is a petition being run as part of the campaign) in the way low-level mental illness is treated in this country and an end to the stigma that surrounds mental health.



You can find the petition here

Let me know if you upload a video; and please spread the word about this fabulous campaign.

xxx

life in an instagram

Just a few things that have happened lately

(or, jumping on the bandwagon to fill an otherwise empty post)

I've been donning my sexy polyester uniform and becoming overly posessive of my tourniquet since starting taking blood; anyone who uses one will understand!

Blogger treats at Bristol Fashion Week.

Sunny weather = perfect excuse to buy new sunglasses; one day I will own some Raybans but until then I will luxuriate in these £14 wonders from Accessorize (a step up from my standard £1 Primark jobs)

Couldn't resist these gorgeous metallic nail polishes when I was in Superdrug and the two for £5 pricetag sealed the deal.

Best friend and I.

Popcorn! Savoury and Sweet surprised me with this box of goods at the weekend. I reviewed their range on the blog a while ago and they were kind enough to keep in touch AND send me some treats in their snazzy new packaging.

Starbucks stop whilst in Bath last week after best friend drove me over so I could attend a phlebotomy course; I am loving taking patient's blood and having a whole new level of interaction with them!

Cherry Blossom. I love Spring.

Tough times = comfort food, for me that's a bowl of porridge (Dorset Cereals make my favourite oats, including the infamous Gingerbread ones!)


And there we go!

What's going on in your world right now?

xxx

Gone Green

This outfit is over a week old now, but I finally get to show you the dress that Madam Rage* sent me! I love this colour, it makes a brighter alternative to all the pastels that are out there right now, and I do love me a Peter Pan Collar!
I kept it basic with black tights from Tesco and suede Jeffrey Campbell brogues c/o Sarenza.

I've totally lacked in outfit inspiration lately, not being able to blog, and then sudden family illness has seen me living in jeans/denim and converse.

On that note, I'd like to take a moment to thank everyone for their kind words and support on Twitter; and extend that thanks from my family, too. Thank you.

xxx

What Makes you Happy? Win £50 Topshop voucher!

Oh yes, another giveaway for you lovely lot and this time I have a £50 Topshop voucher up for grabs (I'm not jealous, I'm not jealous!)

I have been given a £50 Topshop voucher to give away courtesy of the 360 degree feedback provider ETS. These employee surveys judge how happy you are at work. So with that in mind we thought we’d get in on the act. All you need to do to be in with a chance of winning this fabulous prize is to tell us what item of clothing in your wardrobe makes you happy and why! We’ll give the prize to the best answer! Make it meaningful, funny, happy...I don't mind...I can't wait to read your answers!

As for me and my answer...

My Yumi shoe print dress; both for the fact my parents chose it for me and got it spot on, and that you just cannot wear a shoe printed dress without it lifing your spirits a little!

Good luck!
The giveaway is open to UK blog readers and will close at 8pm on Monday April 2nd

xxx

Sarenza A-Z: K is for Kenzo

Finally after a loss of mojo and a few technological hiccups I'm back with my alphabet tour of Sarenza. Somehow we've made it to the letter K; and for this I'm focusing on an "in my dreams only" brand...Kenzo.

I do try and make the items I feature on my blog afforable, but sometimes heart rules over head and I cast my principals aside. At over £150 a pair these aren't the most expensive of shoes out there, but they aren't exactly every day affordable either; I think you'll forgive me when you see how damn pretty they are though *nods*

SEE? I introduce you to Antonella Cuir, Zen, Risy Melisse and Femminile

...if you want me, I'll be drooling by my laptop.

xxx

Daisy Chain Dreaming: Gwynedds

I do love discovering a new brand, and Gwynedds didn't dissapoint! Thinking back to the clothes we loved as children and focusing on soft fabrics and banishing black what we get is a bright and fun collection that is perfect for this Spring weather we've been enjoying here in the UK

All of the prints and embellishments are handmade and exclusive to the range, making sure they stand out from what it already available. The comfort and colour of this brand really appeals to me, and I can't wait for them to hit the UK soon!

For more information you can check out the website where you can also view more of the amazing collection! Is this a brand you've heard of before? What's your favourite piece?

xxx

Bristol Fashion Week; What I Saw

Bristol Fashion Week is an event put on twice a year by the Mall at Cribbs Causeway to showcase the seasons hottest trends; and unlike the catwalks of London or New York, the items are available for you to purchase right there and then, even handily labelled within the shops for some pre, or post show browsing!

Despite living in Bristol all my life, I'd never actually attended one of the shows before, never quite sure what to expect. When I was invited along to take part in the Live Blogging Event however, I jumped at the chance; you can see a replay of the blogging action here

The folks at The Mall (Amy and Gina, you get a special shout-out here) couldn't have been more welcoming, and before the show started we were treated to pink fizz and cake laid on by M&S (blogger heaven!). The show itself lasted an hour and ran through some of the seasons hottest trends from retailers such as John Lewis, Hobbs, Marks and Spencer, Miss Selfridge to name just a few...I had Best.Friend. Trudi on one side of me (and the gorgeous Bristol Beauty Blogger on my other side) and she snapped some photos whilst I tweeted away; mainly plotting kidnap of the gorgeous male models and cooing over far too many outfits; a stunning printed jacket from M&S instantly pops to mind!


It would have been impossible to capture everything on camera, or blog everything that happened, but you can grab more information from the Mall's facebook page and the Bristol Fashion Week Blog . It was a great experience, and if you ever get a chance to go, then I urge you to do so! It was also fantastic to put names to many gorgeous blogger faces, although I wasn't as sociable as I'd have liked, shyness took over and I left shortly after....blogging ladies, this means a South West meet/non meet soon, yes?

Were you there? Have you ever been? What were/are your views?

xxx

Smarten up your Style with Concrete Cases

Concrete Cases, makers of hand crafted laptop computer cases and accessories; today announced its first line of designer cases in EMEA. Concrete’s new series of laptop cases are made from the finest Italian leather and handcrafted by artisans making each one unique. In addition, all the cases are protected by a 4 year warranty.

Tony VandenBerg is a Creative Director at Concrete and he designed the Hook Case and the Original
Case. As a top designer he is involved in the selection of all aspects of the cases such as stitching, the industrial design of the corners carbines and choice of materials and manufacturers. Tony's Hook Case is a vision of style and protection. The result is a multifunctional design, protected by a design patent.
"Concrete Cases understands the need for bags and accessories that protect valuable assets yet also allow people to express their personal style," said Axel Lucassen, CEO at Concrete Cases. "Our new range demonstrates our obsession with excellent design, our desire to use high quality materials throughout the product development, but also by incorporating practical functionality across the range to help protect valuable laptops and resources."

The Concrete range of cases comes in styles and colours to suit you:

Hook Case– The cases have incredible leather exterior made using the finest Italian materials and superb padded suede lining in colours that compliment the exterior. The four unique colour combinations include:

Forest Green Grey Hook Case with purple blue lining

Antelope Brown Hook Case with Cobalt blue lining

Red Brown Hook Case with black lining

Charcoal black Hook Case with orange lining

The combination of aluminum and chrome makes each Hook Case a unique item. The fasteners and refined stitching are very durable. There are three types of handles available in various lengths that can easily be attached to the chrome corners with specially manufactured carbine hooks that can be detached. One standard handle is included small, medium or long and additional handles can be purchased separately. Hook Case from only £149

Original Case– The Original Case is handmade from Italian leather on the outside and soft, padded suede on the inside. Beautiful colour combinations and stunning design make this irresistible.
Two pockets on the inside provide space for your mobile, other small accessories and a pouch for your mouse or adapter. What really makes the Original Case stand out is the flexible handle. Tony wanted it to look stylish but also be comfortable to carry. The leather top handles are designed to ergonomically fit each other perfectly. The top handles can be adjusted so that you can decide to use the case as a sleeve or stow the case into a bigger case or your backpack. Original Case from £89

Your Case Your Way – Bespoke solution – If you really want to express your own style we offer a bespoke service. A perfect present or simply a treat for yourself we can design a bag to suit your specific requirements. Send us the external measurements of your laptop or notebook and choose your color combination. We will custom-make your Hook or Original Case. Tailor Made Hook Case £234 or Tailor Made Original Case £174

All of the cases fit 11” to 17" laptop computers and Mac Books and include generous user friendly pockets specially designed for stowing items. Backed by a two year warranty and the option to extend to four years for free, Concrete Cases new laptop cases will be available worldwide from February 2012.

For the full range please visit www.ConcreteCases.com

As a blogger who (very occasionally) travels with her technology, I really see the appeal of these, and if I were a richer girl I would be investing!

Do you carry your laptop in a case? Would you consider one of these, or what is your go-to?

xx

Bristol Fashion Week; What I Wore

And I'm back! Thank you for all the responses and well wishes on my last post, I am pleased to report that things very much improved; and my laptop wasn't too expensive to fix!

I believe I mentioned in my last post that I was attending Bristol Fashion Week, a fabulous affair with a pink fizz reception, catwalk shows and a chance to meet many other amazing bloggers taking part in some live blogging action. I'll keep this post brief as I have a full re-cap to come, this is a more of a "what I wore" post to ease me back in (I'm sorry your going to be bombarded with posts this week as I have about a million to write!)

The jeans are another pair of the infamous MotelRocks.com Jordans, kindly sent c/o Motel. The blouse was a bargain £6.99 affair from H&M and the boots are old ones from New Look.

And that's that, for now!

xxx

(I lack) patience

How many things can go wrong in one week? I think I've lost count over the last seven days (someone send my family some luck, please!) To add insult to injury, my laptop decided to defy my hefty anti-virus protection and get itself infected past a point where I could fix it myself and is therefore taking a little (costly) holiday to be repaired. I'm borrowing the laptop time forgot, an ancient Dell that, no joke, takes ten minutes to load one page. Needless to say it cannot cope with updating a blog with more than one photo, and my patience is wearing thin enough writing this one post...so I guess I'm going on a little hiatus until I am reunited with my computer, which, if things go well should be mid-week. Barely a hiatus really, some bloggers only update once a week, but I'm a daily addict and I have a list as long as my legs of posts I want to share. Frustrated, but really, it's the least of my worries!



A little reminder to us all.

Whilst I'm "away" don't forget to enter my giveaway with Madam Rage on the post below!

And to anyone else struggling through tought times...don't ever give up hope. I'm a form believer that things turn out ok in the end, and already the week ahead promises to be better for me, at least.

xxx

As one ends...*giveaway with Madam Rage*

First things first, the winner of the £50 to spend at FYFO is...

*Lil*

Congratulations m'dear, I shall be in touch shortly!

...and now, I'm excited to announce I have teamed up with Madam Rage (another online shopping haunt I love) to bring you another exciting giveaway!

Madam Rage are kindly giving the chance for one of you lovely readers to win any dress of your choice from their extensive range! They were also generous enough to allow me to pick one...

*sneaky preview, outfit post to come*

For your chance to win, all you need to do is...

1. Pop along to facebook and like Madam Rage's page

2. Be a follower of this blog

3. Comment on this post to say that you've liked Madam Rage's facebook page and also let me know which dress you'd pick

4. Leave a way for me to contact you

5. For an extra entry you can like adaisychaindream on facebook and let me know you've done so.

The giveaway will run for one week, closing Friday 23rd March at 10am.

Good luck!

xxx

post contains affiliate links.

further adventures in floral

The second the weather shows signs of Spring I can't help but break out the floral dresses. This one is a New Look number passed on to me by a friend and I've paired it with teal tights from the now defunct Ethel Austin and Clark's shoes that were a gift from a truly epic diva friend.

I made it back to work yesterday, I thrive on routine so I was in my element. I text a friend on my lunch break and got a response along the lines of "it's wrong how much you love your job!".

I'm shattered now, that post lurgy fatigue that lingers for a few days...roll on the weekend and next week; it's a short week at work for me next week as I have a training course on Wednesday, and I'm off Friday 23rd March for Bristol Fashion week!

How is your week going? SO close to the weekend now!

xxx

Fresh Flames for Day and Night

A few weeks ago the gorgeous Lois got in touch asking if I'd like to pick a dress from Fresh Flames and style it for night and for day. Initially I was going to say no...the dresses on offer were bodycon, and it's a well known fact now that Laura doesn't do bodycon...
also, I had never really heard of Fresh Flames and wasn't familiar with the store.

After taking a closer look at the Fresh Flames website, I decided to overcome my phobia and take on the challenge. For those that haven't yet checked it out, Fresh Flames is an online Boutique with a cool and quirky range of clothes and accessories for men and women.

I picked the Abstract Wide Sleeve bodycon dress, which retails at a super affordable £30. For day I paired it with plain black tights, suede Jeffrey Campbell lace up flats and a plain but practical jersey cardigan from New Look

 

 

 

For my evening look I didn't go wildly different; if, on the rare occasion I go out after work, I tend to just jazz up whatever I've worn during the day to save time when I get home. I swapped the black tights for some F21 Sparkly ones, and the flats were exchanged for Irregular Choice sparkly boots. I am minimal when it comes to jewellery but did add a stacked bangle.

 

 

Overall, I'm quite pleased with how I made a dress that I would previously never have considered as an option for any occassion work as something I'd wear for both work, and for a night out with friends. Now to loose the fear and actually wear this. For real. Thank you Fresh Flames for helping me take a step forwards!

Do you have staples that you make work for day or night? What are your top tips?

spring fever

Tee; Peacocks, Skirt; Yellow Shop in Bath, Tights; New Look, Scarf c/o Republic, Boots c/o Ellos.

How cute is this scarf? It was kindly sent to me via the folk at Republic last week and cheered up one of the days I was off sick...
speaking of which...I'm STILL stick, this bug has far out-stayed it's welcome. Off for a checkup with the GP today, and fingers crossed I'll get back to work tomorrow...I am the worst patient! I'd far rather be out doing things and working than coughing and spluttering away in front of day time TV!

I hope everyone else has managed to stay well! How's your week starting off?

Don't forget there is still two days left to enter my giveaway!