Category Archives: life

A Skin Care Wishlist (save my skin!)*

25th October 2016
Every year around this time my skin goes haywire. It starts as soon as we have the heating on for any length of time- all of a sudden my skin becomes tight, sore and dry and my eyes itch. I’ve also been suffering from break-outs thanks to stopping the pill and letting my body readjust so I’m in a serious need of a skin care overhaul. I’m on a very limited budget right now so have been stocking up on high street staples like Simple but having seen that Charlotte Tilbury is now stocked by House of Fraser I decided to check out their skincare and as such have ended up with a bit of a wish list of some old favourites I wish I could afford and some new to me products (that I also wish I could afford!)
The Charlotte Tilbury Goddess Skin Clay Mask (£45, eek!) particularly caught my eye even though I’m not usually a mask kind of girl. Wether it was Charlotte’s eloquent product description or the promise of baby soft skin I’ll never know but this is something that I would definitely like to try. Likewise with the Magic Cream (even more eek at £70). Anything that claims it can work magic on my tired and dull complexion has instant appeal to me.

I’ve never been the best at looking after my skin, perhaps because in my younger years I was always very lucky and didn’t suffer with acne or any other teenage skin complaint. I’m paying the price now though as I’m noticing lots of fine lines and wrinkles around my eyes especially so Estee Lauder’s advanced night repair and Kiehls powerful wrinkle reducing eye cream both seem like worth additions to my slowly expanding skincare army.

The last two products on my list are to hopefully combat the break outs. Clinique has always been my fall back brand for skin care when money allows and I’m yet to meet a product of theirs that doesn’t work for me. I definitely want to get my hands on their clarifying lotion sooner rather than later, and at £16.50 it’s not beyond the realms of possibility. I’ve also been putting strong consideration to caving in to the hype and saving up for a Clarisonic Mia for that added cleansing boost.

Talk to me about your skin saviours, both high-end and high street. What’s on your skin care wish list?

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Posted in beauty, life, shopping, wish list

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Bristol Life- Vintage Kilo Sale with Bristol Textile Recyclers

14th October 2016
It’s been a while since I last going involved in anything happening in my home city of Bristol. I could throw out dozens of excuses about being busy with life and such but actually I’ve been struggling a lot with anxiety and doing anything outside of my social comfort zone has just been too much. Still, with a renewed motivation for life when an invite came in to attend a vintage kilo sale run by Bristol Textile Recyclers I was determined to attend, and I did. A couple of weekends ago with Mum at my side I headed in to the city to see what it was all about.
For a bit of background Bristol Textile Recyclers is a massive warehouse that diverts 20 tonnes of unwanted textiles from landfill sites each day (that’s a LOT of clothes!) They pick out the best pieces of vintage and high street garments to put to one side and once a month they open up to the public in one of their vintage kilo sales. What does a vintage kilo sale look like I hear you ask! Well, much like this…
The clothes and accessories are placed in large containers around the factory. Guests are encouraged to roll up their sleeves and get digging through, placing their finds in to a bag ready to be weighed up at the end- with scales dotted around so you can weigh as you go too. There is a £1 entry fee to get in which is nothing really- especially as you could easily spend half a day there going through the goods!

Clothing is priced at £6 per kilo (cash only) which drops down to £5 per kilo if you get 10kg or more. For a rough guide you could pretty much get a skirt, top and a scarf within one kilo so it really is excellent value. Mum and I had such a good time rummaging through and came away with quite a haul at the end of the two hours we spent there. I’ve photographed a couple of my favourite finds to show you but stay tuned for more popping up on the blog soon.

I’ve pretty much lived in the quilted jacket and vintage jumper since I got them home. I did grab some dressier pieces too which I’m hoping to wear over the party season as well as some great denim. It’s worth paying close attention as there are plenty of brands around if you can find your size…lots of Levis for example and I did grab a fabulous pair only to find I’d slightly underestimated just how small they were when I got home!

This was one of the best Saturdays I’ve had in a long while and I’m planning to go to at least one more sale this side of Christmas and plenty in the new year! Bristol people check out the website and facebook to find out more about upcoming events and let me know if you plan to attend, I’m all for broadening my social horizons and actually interacting with people for once- the next sale is on Saturday 5th November.

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*Disclosure- Mum and I were guests of BTR and received free entry and a 5kg allowance each. 5kg is a LOT of clothes, we didn’t even manage it between us and came away with so much stuff! Opinions are honest and I will be attending future sales as a paying guest as it was just brilliant and an excellent chance to try something new and add something extra to my wardrobe- I’ve always loved vintage and this is such a bargainous and fun way to build up a collection.*

Posted in bristol, life, shopping, social life

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The Statement Ankle Boots

12th September 2016
I’m not usually one to jump straight on a trend. Usually I’ll let it pass me by for a while (read, wait for key pieces to go in the sale) then tread cautiously in to it. I do make exceptions sometimes though and when statement ankle boots started hitting the stores I knew that sooner rather than later I would need to own a pair.

Pinafore: New Look (black version) | Top: New Look | Boots: ASOS (keep a close eye out for more stock!)

Most high street retailers have a version of the statement ankle boot (or six) available but it was the ASOS Emilia that won my heart in the end, although there are several other pairs that I wouldn’t say no to should I come in to some money. I did wonder at first how on earth do you style such a piece but since their arrival I have found them surprisingly versatile, they go with denim and block colours perfectly- I’ve not braved clashing patterns yet but it’s only a matter of time.

These days I tend to go for flat shoes and boots over heels and I was worried I wouldn’t be able to walk in these but they are really comfortable. I’m quite literally head over heels for these beauties and have absolutely no guilt about owning yet another pair of boots.

This New Look pinafore dress is another relatively new arrival in my wardobe, before the news that I wouldn’t be back to work quite as soon as I thought. It was a steal at £14.99 though and can easily be smartened up for work or dressed down for a causal look so I anticipate a lot of wear from it and it has plenty of layering potential.

Have you braved the statement ankle boot yet? Which trends have caught your attention?

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Posted in life, life stuff, outfits, shoes, shopping

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Branching Out

07th September 2016
Look at me on a roll with the outfit posts at the moment, I suppose I’m starting to feel a bit more like myself again & feeling like actually getting dressed rather than sticking on the same denim pinafore or skirt every day. Getting signed off from work dented my confidence somewhat, but with a new resolve to get well and some good news in that I’m finally starting to turn a corner I hope it’s not too long before I’m back now. In the mean time I’m enjoying spending time with my nearest and dearest who have all rallied around to support me over the last few months. The perfect example of this was when Mum and I packed up a little picnic last week and went to visit a favourite park of ours near to where my flat was to make the most of some late summer sun.

Dress c/o George at Asda | Sandals: Primark (last year)

We decided to take my camera along on our picnic as the park is really pretty and I was having one of those days where I felt like moving away from my bog-standard denim. Actually, I really pushed the boat out here and put sandals on instead of trainers which has been almost unheard of for me this year.

I don’t know how much of my personal life/eating disorder recovery people are actually interested in reading about here. I’ve always been open about it as it’s taken up half of my life so far so if anyone would like to know a bit more about how I’m doing and follow the journey to health then let me know. Alternatively, if you’d rather not…then let me know that, too!

Do you have a favourite picnic spot?

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Posted in life, life stuff, outfits, shoes

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Last Days of Summer

02nd September 2016
I’m still in firm denial that it’s September and that the next bank holiday we get will be Christmas. I’m not ready to give up on the summer months, I feel like it’s been yet another “blink and you’ll miss it” season especially as mine has been somewhat chaotic and out of the ordinary with me not being in work among other things. Thankfully the last few days have been glorious weather-wise and I’ve had a chance to get some wear out of my strappy dresses at long last. This is an outfit I popped on for a day trip to Bath with family- the print certainly attracted a lot of attention (and by some miracle I managed not to spill any food or drink down myself whilst wearing it).

Dress c/o Lavish Alice (a couple of summers ago) | Converse: Schuh exclusive (similar)

I first featured this dress just over two years ago and I’d give anything to be back at that point in my life again. I remember being so happy and confident with what lay ahead of me, I’d got to a healthy point where I was proud of my body and I kick myself multiple times a day that I ever let that slip. But with a new season comes a new start. I’m back on the recovery wagon, receiving excellent care and support and whilst sometimes I look at myself and wonder what all of the fuss is about, that I’m still the same girl physically as I was two years ago it’s these moments of reflection through the blog archive that shows me that I do still have a way to go and my focus now has to be myself and my health. I’m hoping to make September my last month signed off work. To truly embrace life again and learn to love food not just as fuel but as something that needn’t be feared or linked to any feelings of guilt. Anorexia has stolen 15 years of my life and I have a lot of catching up to do. Why delay it any further?

I’m sorry to get so personal in this post, it wasn’t actually my intention but having looked back and having a rare moment of clarity I thought it worth writing down as a reminder to myself above anything else. I’ve always been up front and honest about my battle on the blog and if any one has any questions or could do with a listening ear themselves then do feel free to get in touch, my inbox is always open to anyone.

Here’s to fresh starts and good health. For everyone.

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Posted in fashion, life, life stuff, outfits

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