Unfinished business

Have you ever had a piece of clothing or pair of shoes that you didn't buy at the time and have never forgotten?

I do. 

The Emma Cook for Topshop creeper boots, A/W 2008. 

I can't even remember why I didn't buy these originally. I think I didn't really have much money (do I ever?), and these were about £150 which seemed absurd to pay for some shoes I'd probably not be able to walk in... Plus they sold out so quickly, by the time they were on eBay they were more like £300-400. 

Over the weeks, especially after seeing bloggers regularly parading in theirs, I realised how badly I wanted them. But a size 7 has never crossed my path (at an un-eye-watering price) since. 

I did buy some later versions Cooky created in an attempt to fill the void, but as much as I love them, it's just not the same. 

Not owning these boots is probably my biggest fashion regret.

What a downer of a post! But sometimes fashion is CRUEL. Or, in this case, I was just stingy and then missed the boat. Or should that be 'boot'? 

Have you got any sartorial unfinished business?

Maybe we can read each other's comments and keep an eye out for things for each other on eBay hunts! Or maybe one of you own someone else's fashion regret and fancy selling? (Sorry if eBay is coming up linked for you. I didn't put that link there and I'm scratching my head trying to figure out why it's there?! Emailing Blogger as we speak! Mysterious...)

Who knows? It would be nice for there to be a happy ending to this post,  so please share!

♥

New Look Style the Nation party

Last week I went to London to attend a couple of events, one of which was the New Look Style the Nation launch. I met up with the lovely Lily (am not just being polite, she is truly lovely company), and we had a funny day including getting interviewed for Radio 1 about driving legislation changes,  me popping the boob button off my dress and having to grovel to a hotel receptionist to give me a freebie sewing kit ( Note to self: don't wear Primark to events!), and having some in-depth conversations about the wacky world of blogging. 

Before we get down to the goss, here's what the event was actually promoting. Channel 4 say it best on the website: 

'New Look Style The Nation' is a brand new Channel 4 show hosted by T4's Nick Grimshaw, each week two would-be stylists will compete in a head-to-head catwalk competition. It's also jam-packed full of celebrity guests, music acts and plenty of fashion tips.

If you're good at whacking outfits together and would like to win the chance to be a stylist for New Look (that's the prize), you can apply on the Channel 4 website. Good luck! 

Here's a few pictures from the event:

Red carpet! Eep!

Karl Coke!

I got bang on it. Photo courtesy of Lily's post about the event. A bit like this one but with far better photography!

Lily on the booze

Outfit photo! My dress is Primark, Lily's is Topshop.

T4 presenter Georgie O'kell

The back of Nick Grimshaw's head (was too nervous to approach him!) 

The front of Nick Grimshaw's head (never too nervous to stalk someone through a crowd)

Lauren from TOWIE being interviewed and papped by many. They were so busy fussing over her,  Jaime Winstone wandered in unnoticed! Except by me...

I went straight back in the venue and asked for a pic! Not the best one but to be frank she didn't seem very nice so I didn't want to bother her for a second photo...

Other funny celeb moments included: 

- Sadie Frost's children seeing my Karl coke bottle and pointing at it and whispering all excited. Saw them all holding one shortly after! 

- Me grabbing Lily's arm in shock and alerting her excitedly that I had spotted Stacey Solomon... Turns out it was a randomer. Celeb fail. Did I tell you about the time I was at The Look Show with Lily and was zooming in to take photos of Olivia Palermo who was sitting on the opposite side of the catwalk? Wasn't her. 10 photos of a random brunette. 

- Spotting the Canadian guy from The Model Agency AND one of the guys from The Wanted on the way to the bus stop. I don't know why I get so excited by 'celebs' I don't even care about?! It's so embarrassing. 

It was a really fun night. And whilst I didn't really come away from the event with any grasp on what Style The Nation was actually about (a guy did a speech but his mic was too low! Had to check the Channel 4 site to find out what it was about!), they put on a fab party and filled the venue with enough booze and celebs (Lily included!) to keep everyone happy. And that, my friends, is the key to publicity!

Joking aside, the show does sound fab, and if Uni hadn't scared me off styling for life, I would totally be entering!

♥

Tuesday tip: tin lanterns!

Happy Tuesday everyone! 

I handed my FMP in today and it is such a weight off my shoulders. Although, after 2 all-nighters in a row, I am feeling decidedly dead. We're going for dinner with Alex's parents tonight which is giving me the will to survive. I have had a few hours sleep now so hopefully I won't fall asleep in my dinner!

This is the first in a series of tin crafts I've been loving lately! I first saw this tip here, and was so surprised at how simple it was! To think of all the tins I've chucked in the bin without knowing their adorable lantern potential! I never have money to jazz up the flat so I do love free and easy ideas like this to add a bit of character.

You will need

A tin, a freezer, a hammer and a nail (although I don't have either so I improvised with a skewer and a boot - it worked like a charm!)

Start by washing out a tin, peeling off the sticker and washing off the glue.

Fill it up with water, and bung it in the freezer for a few hours.

Pen on a design, take your nail (/skewer) and hammer (/boot) and start punching holes along the lines. Rest the tin on a towel whilst doing this to keep it steady.

Leave to thaw, bung a tealight in it, and you're good to go!

My heart went a bit wonky at the end, but I love it all the same. You can paint your tin too, but I'm not sure what paint would work best (if you have any idea, speak now or forever hold your peace!)

This makes a cute decoration for  a special occasion too. I punched '17' into a tin when we had a little birthday celebration for my sister a few weeks ago. I envisage a christmas tree looking sweet too! 

I'm off for a long bath and to plan getting back to normality! Bye bye deadline diet of sugary drinks, cookies and crisps. Hello healthy regime and maybe running... And hello regular blog posts!

I've missed you!

♥

Breaking my back but it's all good

Eurgggghhhh kill me now PLEASE.

My Final Major Project is in on Tuesday morning and I am feeling the pressure. SO much still to do, and I'm sure I won't get it all done, but I'll just have to do my best. 

Whenever I'm feeling under major pressure, this song gives me some motivation. 

Lykke Li - I'm Good, I'm Gone from Lykke Li on Vimeo.

FMP, YOU WILL NOT DEFEAT ME! I know there's a lot of people with deadlines and exams coming up, so maybe you'll find some inspiration from this little ditty! 

I went to London the other day for the F+F Tesco press day and a New Look party. I haven't got time to post about it right now (OBVZ), but luckily Lily is a better blogger than me so head over to her blog if you want to see a snippet of F+F and what we got up to! 

Miss you awf'ly. 

Not long to go until the blog can be the top of my to do list again!

♥

No place like home

I am attempting a scheduled post today, as I'm off in The Big Smoke (London) attending a couple of events. Keep up with any goss on my Twitter!

I wanted to show you some photos from a lovely feature in the brand new issue of Cellardoor magazine of blogger/crafter Claire Donovan's fricking delightful home. Minty painted walls, adorable bunting and fresh flowers... It's all I dream my own home might look like some day in the future.

This recent snapshot of my trashed side of the bed implies I have a long, long way to go... 

I've pencilled in a thorough stalk through Claire's blog when I have some free time, as it looks right up my street!

Thank you Cellardoor, for being a truly lovely magazine and for providing the homespiration I desperately need to lift me out of my lifelong rut of being a slut. I am of course referring to the dictionary definition! 

♥

Getting shirty

*** This is my 500th post! Eeep! ***

I've acquired three new dresses this week, and there's a theme emerging. They're all shirty.

I'm not sure why I'm having such a button-y collar-y moment, as these styles of dress usually gape at the boobs, but I can't resist. I'm even planning to buy my first minimiser bra so I can full embrace the trend! Any recommendations?? 

Ignore my awkward appearance in some. Alex took these pictures and I'm always telling him off between shots so my expression/stance can be odd! (He finds it fun to 'accidentally' take my outfit photos from the neck down'. Nonlolz.)

First up, is the new Primark purchase. It has a Kingfisher print on it and is absolutely the loveliest shape.  It is tight on the waist (well, my waist at least! Probably due to my deadline diet of sugary snacks) and has a full skirt so it balances out my boobs. £9 VERY well spent. Well it was an exchange, so it was free!

Next up was part of a lovely big jiffy bag of goodies from Dorothy Perkins - a thank you for taking part in their Denim challenge. I love the print on it (here, and the lovely coral spotty version here). It is a bit longer than I'd usually wear, but I think without leggings and with some nice sandals, it'll look lovely when the weather's hot again. 

Here's a close up of the dress print and my sweet little name necklace, courtesy of My Name Necklace. The 'font' is really quite small, which I like. You an get a silver one on the site for less than £20 and the gold plated once cost more.

The loafers in these outfits were also in my lovely Dorothy Perkins package. Sold out at the mo, but here are the black ones. Roxy has a bit of a foot fetish, and these shoes definitely got her snuggling seal of approval! 

Now for the wildcard. My local (and FAVE) charity shop has this crazy fancy dress rail out the back, and I saw this fab dress on the rail. Age 9-10. It was in such good condition, I figured I could sell it to some stylish skinny minny on eBay.

When I got home, I realised that due to its batwing cut on the armpits and elasticated waist there was an outside chance I could shoehorn myself into it. I put on my most compacting bra, hoisted my boobs up and apart towards my shoulders (to minimise button gaping).. Rolled the sleeves up a bit... 

And I got in it!!!

(I really look like I'm breathing in here, but it isn't that tight at all!) (Now I sound like I'm lying to you and myself, but I'm not!)

Look at the cute underskirt!

(DM's - c/o Very)

It's a bit of a workout to get in and out of it, involving a lot of flailing and swearing, but it pretty much fits! This dress is what motivated me to look for a minimiser bra, as it is a bit gapey between the buttons. AND the 'waist' is more of an empire line, which always makes me look preggo (as if I need the assistance). But whatever! I love it despite its flaws! 

On another note, let me tell you one good thing and one bad thing about my week. 

Bad: I got accidentally punched in the head in Primark by a grade-A Chatham chav! She was turning around whilst pointing her arm out (apparently with great force) as I was trying to get past her and she accidentally socked me in the head! I have a bruise! It was quite a shock, but we all had a good lol about it. 

Good: I got my dissertation grade back. I got a 75!! Completely unexpected, and utterly heartwarming. But now it seems I'm on course for a first-class degree (what with the 81 I got in my Topshop Marketing project - will show you this soon) which piles the pressure on in an epic way for my FMP! It's going to be a long 10 days...

Oh and an extra bad thing (because it was so funny it comes full circle to being a good thing). Yesterday night, I was rooting around the kitchen cupboard for a snack, and I knocked the tub of gravy granules over. In a freak twist, the lid decided to fall off, and the whole tub fell directly onto me, covering me head to toe in gravy granules. Then I had the ridiculous task of clearing it all up off the floor. How completely absurd?!

I shouldn't tell you this stuff. How am I ever going to seem cool? 

Love love love ♥

Tuesday Tip: No-sew bunting!

I'm not sure what the point of bunting is exactly but I've been seeing it evvveerrryywherrree at the moment, and finding it seriously cute and summery.

I decided to make my own the other day out of paper and a bit of pretty fabric. My little sister Shannon was coming over for her 17th birthday (hence the '17' on the bunting!) so it all kind of tied in with the festive theme.

You know I hate sewing machines and generally making an effort, so I found my own lazy route to Buntingsville. The nice thing about this tutorial is that you can use scraps of pretty paper and fabric that are too small to do anything else with and destined for the bin. Eco brownie points!

(Bicycle and blue floral paper - Paperchase, red floral fabric offcut - C&H, brown paper - Topshop packaging. Lol.)

You will need:

- Thin cardboard (eg. Pizza box) to make a template

- Pretty paper / magazine cuttings / fabric

- Hole puncher

- String / Ribbon

♥ Make a template out of cardboard.

♥ Prep your paper. If it's all curled up or creased, use your hair straighteners to iron it. Gotta love using straighteners as an iron.

♥ Trace around your template and cut out out all of your pieces.

(EDIT: Yona just added a great tip in the comments section. "So that the fabric triangles don't fray you can add a little bit of hairspray on the back (in case it's too shiny so that it won't show). It's a lot quicker than clear nail polish". What a fab idea!)

♥ Punch holes in the corners

♥ Thread the pieces onto some string or ribbon. Et voila!

You have reached the final destination of your journey: Buntingsville!

The other benefit of this easy peasy technique is that you can change your design at any time in the future, unlike if we'd glued it onto the string. For example, if you want to make it birthday themed like I did, whack a couple of numbered triangles on there. When the birthday's over, whack a couple of patterned triangles back on.

So there you have it. I'm seriously loving the bunting (it's still up in the lounge - 17's in tact - oops!).

I can just tell I'm going to become the type of freak that irons out all of their gift wrap after birthdays to reuse it!

What do you think of this week's tip?

I have loads of lovely home-y ones to share at the moment. More on that next week!

Big ♥