A Floral Fancy

One of the many things I love about being on the taller side is that I can wear maxi dresses, more specifically I can wear them without the need for skyscraper heels to keep it off the ground. Going arse over elbow is a high enough risk for me in any long clothing without the need for added obstacles!
I recently added THE most beautiful dress to my maxi collection, the kind of dress that just instantly makes you feel a bit like a princess. I admit I don’t have much occasion to wear it, but I’m thinking of just throwing caution to the wind and rocking it for doing the weekly shop. Some things are just too pretty to save for a special event or a holiday.

Dress c/o House of Fraser (get it here) | Sandals c/o George at Asda

Isn’t it stunning? I’m not usually one to go for something so frilly and flouncy but on this dress it called out to me. Coupled with the gorgeous pale pink and floral material and the shoulder exposing details I just couldn’t resist.

Are you a fan of maxi dresses? Where would you wear this beauty?

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The Making of a Shoeaholic

My love of shoes goes way back, some of my earliest memories involve footwear and over the last 29 years I have fallen in and out of love with countless pairs of (usually highly impractical) shoes so when a website called Shoeaholics got in touch asking if I’d like to share my shoe obsession story (and pick out a pair of sandals) I was more than happy to oblige.

It’s a fond family tale, that time I threw a tantrum in the middle of our local Clarks shoes store. My Mum, my Nan and myself were shopping for school shoes- not easy when you’re blessed with feet more like flippers and were severely limited in choice. I had tried on a pair of red shoes, fallen in love with said red shoes but I believe red shoes were either deemed to be not a good fit or not what the adults had in mind for me. No other shoe was good enough for me and I threw a pretty epic tantrum (I should point out I had only just started school here) and you know what? I might just have won that battle as there were some photos knocking around at some point of me wearing red shoes with my school uniform.

Shoes were actually a key feature in many of my childhood photos and if I was better organised I would have dug some out for this post. There’s the ones of me attempting to walk around the garden in Mum’s fuchsia kitten heels, one of me in my first ever pair of (red now I think of it) wellies and one quite hilarious one of me sporting my Grandad’s walking boots when I can only have been about two years old. I also went through a phase of being obsessed with jelly shoes and it still saddens me now that I could never quite squeeze my flippers in to a pair like these.

Dress: H&M | Carvela sandals c/o Shoeaholics

If there’s one thing I love more than shoes then it’s a pair of bargain shoes so Shoeaholics is pretty much my dream website as it stocks brands such as Carvela and Kurt Geiger (to name just two) at up to 75% off their original price. You’ll also find handbags for sale- hugely tempting- and you can get an extra 15% off of your first order when you sign up to the newsletter.

I really am kicking myself now for not having photographic evidence of my childhood shoe escapades but I’m pretty sure there are plenty more to come in my future. Are you a shoeaholic? Make sure to share your memories with me in the comments, or on social media with the hashtag #imashoeaholic.

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Kate Spade & Space Cats

Despite owning many, many watches there has up until now been one designer who’s wrist wear I have been on a mission to obtain. Call me a blogger cliche but there is something about Kate Spade’s watches that makes them instantly covetable so when WatchShop.com got back in touch and offered to send me one to say I was over the moon would be a hell of an understatement.

Watch c/o WatchShop.com (get it here) | Dress: Cutie | Trainers: K Swiss (available here)

Polka dots and rose gold (artfully matched to my trainers, of course) are two of my favourite things so it was a no brainer that I went for this subtle statement piece. Everything about it is just perfect, from the beautiful packaging to the size of the dial. I am pretty sure I say this about every new watch I get but this really is a new favourite and will barely be leaving my wrist.

I thought it would be fun to do a couple of outfit photos as well, making the most of an overnight stay at my parents’ place and having mum willing to play photographer. I’m not really doing much in the way of outfit posts at the moment, not until certain areas of my life improve but there’s gonna be the odd exception and I had to make one for my favourite Space Cat print dress and new rose gold K Swiss trainers that are so ugly that they are beautiful (and I just had to have them).

Are there any watch designers that you’re seriously coveting right now? I feel like I’ve ticked a major box on my “things I wish I owned” list with this one and I shall be forever grateful to WatchShop.com for hooking me up.

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Etsy Introductions: The Catkin Boutique

Hot on the heels of my previous Etsy feature comes another, also discovered at the HAVE market a few weekends ago. This time I present to you Nicola, owner of The Catkin Boutique who I fully admit to being drawn to for the name alone! Of course I came away with a purchase in the form of some adorable cat earrings as well as a rather sizeable wish list of Nicola’s other creations.
The Catkin Boutique is full of cute handmade animal themed accessories. Nicola, the cat lady and general animal fanatic behind the label draws all her images in pencil and transfers them to plastic to make one of a kind pieces of jewellery. She also hand silkscreen prints her illustrations onto fair trade totes and cards. She loves to make beautiful jewellery and totes that are a bit quirky with a sense of fun and all inspired by nature. Keep an eye on her ever growing collection of earrings including narwhals, hedgehogs and platypuses (and of course cats!)
I’ve popped some of my favourite items from The Catkin Boutique below but as always I strongly suggest you pop over to the shop yourself and let me know your favourite pieces in the comments.
It’s only a matter of time before a tote bag finds itself in my possession.

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Father’s Day Inspiration with Look Mate

I’m on a bit of a role with my Father’s Day gift ideas this year having previously barely touched on the subject due to lack of inspiration. Today I’m introducing perhaps THE funkiest sock brand I’m yet to come across, Look Mate.

It might be a bit of a cliche or even seen as a bit of a cop out but I happen to think that socks make an excellent gift, especially when they are super quirky and fun (and let’s face it, who doesn’t need more socks?)

Each pair of Look Mate socks costs £10 (and don’t worry, they cater for us ladies too!) or you can sign up for the monthly sock subscription at a cost of £9.00 for one month, £8.50 per month for three months or £8.00 per month for six months. I think the idea of a sock subscription as a gift is a great idea and something I’ve bookmarked for future present purchasing!

I’m a bit of a sock fiend, I can never resist something bright and bold. I’m not quite sure my Dad shares my extremely bright tastes but socks always seem to go down well with him and I have high hopes for these!