Thank Goodness for Primark

Now there's a sentence I never thought I'd say...

But oh sweet Jesus and all the angels, Primark has come to my rescue this week. I spent the majority of the week visiting every shopping centre within a 50 mile radius to try and track down some cheapie  flip flops for around the pool, some summer shortie PJs and a couple of throw-over-a-bikini dresses for wearing down to the pool and to lunch. So far so simple. But oh the demoralisation of coming home each and every day with sweet sod all to speak of. Every day that passed was another day for the shops to clear out their summer stock to make way for their annoying and frankly not needed right now thank-you-very-much winter stock. Humph.

So you can imagine my delight when I came across a whole load of beachy/summer items in a Primark near my work place that I visited on Saturday. Thank feck for that. And they were in my size. (Have I imagined this? Primark have items I need, and in my size? I must be delirious).

So anyway. Items purchased, sweet joy, one step closer to holiday ready!

Slip-over-a-bikini dresses, half price, something like £3 and £5! 

And now for another little beauty I spied on Saturday while at Bluewater on a smash-a-grab holiday shop with the husband (aka men shopping- visit the 3 stores he likes, pick stuff up, and buy it). Anyway, I was returning something to Topshop when I spied a most fabulous little beauty glinting in the deep dark dregs on the final sale items rack (normally avoided like the plague). The print caught my eye so I had a quick look and almost did a double take when I saw it was a size 8. Faint. Tried it on in double quick time and hey presto, another little number for the holiday, all for the princely sum of £15 (reduced from £55).

Little Topshop number. 

And to end with a quick round up of what I wore yesterday. The husband and I had tickets to the BBC Proms which was most fabulous all round.

Gold sleeveless shirt - Zara
Tapered leg trousers - Zara
Bag - Mulberry
Sunglasses - Missoni
Bracelets - Pandora and Thomas Sabo

Haha stupid pic, but the shoes are visible here! Toe-post sandal from M & S.

And tomorrow, back to London to see the men's hockey! Loving the Olympics so far, more than a few tears shed during the opening ceremony... I'm blaming the weather... (yep, my broken record and most convenient excuse for just about everything!)

Stack 'em high

Hello ice cream sundaes, happy happy Thursday to one and all : ) I am pretty hyper tonight which is a bit odd as it is Thursday after all! I am so super busy at work at the moment, lots of my pupils have the first part of their GCSE exam in January so it's a busy old time, thankfully I am coping well although it may be a different story come the end of term! Still, I have that glorious 2 week holiday to look forward to, and hubby has a similar amount of time off so we're all set! : )

Today I thought I would blog about something that I love love love and cannot get enough of... I am talking about gorgeous, glittery bracelets! It's funny because I didn't really like wearing bracelets until a few years ago, preferring earrings and necklaces. These days however, I am always drawn to bracelets, and love wearing a range of higher end brands stacked up together, I think that makes such an impact. Here are some of my favourites ...

Jinkksy gold and crystal Bonita bracelet £65. The Jinkksy brand only came to my attention recently, but I really love the gorgeous, glittery styles, favoured by lots of UK celebrities. I like the gold tone of this one.

Pandora bracelet, £60 for bracelet and £25 upwards for charms. I absolutely adore Pandora bracelets, and love the idea of building up the charms and linking them with special memories and events. I had a gorgeous Pandora bracelet with lots of beautiful charms mostly bought by hubby but (oh my it pains me to say this!) I lost it when I was shopping... : ( I hope to replace it in the new year and start building up my charm collection again.

Pink Thomas Sabo bracelet £25. I have this bracelet and wear it everyday, it was a present for Christmas last year from hubby. I also have an engagement and wedding ring charm on the silver part.

Nomination bracelet. This Italian brand only emerged in Britain just over a year ago but I like the sleek style and the idea of adding charms over a period of time (very similar to Pandora). I plan to add one of these bracelets to my collection in the near future.

Jinkksy Love bracelet £42. I like the style of this Jinkksy, a little less bling, but still shiny and gorgeous. 

Does anyone have any of these bracelets?? I just can't get enough of them! Well that's everything for today, I'm off to bed for a little bit of marking and reading : ) Sooo excited for tomorrow, Twilight eeee XOXO

Christmas wishes

Upon arrival home today I had a rather nice surprise waiting for me on the doormat... the Lush Christmas catalogue! Lush is a shop that I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with. I love lots of their products and think they work really well, however I can't spend too long in the shop as the strong smell starts to give me a headache... all hail online shopping! I remember a couple of years ago hubby bought me 3 different gift sets for Christmas from Lush... I was a bit puzzled and asked him why, and he replied that he had seen a product in our bathroom and assumed that I loved the shop! Lucky for him I do love a bit of pampering, and the products were put to good use throughout the year.

So I have already circled a few products I want, the good thing about Lush is they sell some amazing bath bombs and soaps, perfect for cute stocking presents. As well as the Sabo necklace and Pandora charm that I blogged about yesterday, I thought I would share a couple of other items from my ever-bulging wishlist...

Tricolour ring earrings, Armani Exchange. Love the glamorous style of these earrings, they would be perfect for both day and evening looks.

Lulu Guiness top zip purse £55. I love the cute design on this, it would be a perfect home for carrying my day to day bits of make up.

Vivienne Westwood studs £60. I also like a few nice pieces of jewellery for Christmas, I love these iconic Westwood studs, a good match for my Westwood purse!

I sniffed this fragrance the over day and thought it was gorgeous. I always like to receive a perfume for Christmas so this one is definitely on the list!

Snow fairy gift set £10.95. Love the cute pink box and the gorgeous, girly products!

Just a few little bits and pieces, now I just have to resist temptation and not buy any of this stuff before Christmas for myself! Have any of you started to plan your wishlist or do you think its way too early?? I think I may be excessively early but I just love Christmas so much!! xoxo

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

Happy Thursday cupcakes, hope you are all well, I am finally recovering from my sickness bug thank goodness. I went back to work today which I enjoyed, I do get bored sitting around at home when I'm ill! Today is my lightest day of the week so I taught a triple and then was free for the rest of the day. I say free, I obviously spend the day planning and marking books! Still, a lot slower paced which makes a nice change.


Today when I was writing my usual list of tasks to be completed today and tomorrow, I flicked to the 'Christmas' section of my notebook, checking what I have done so far and what still needs to be completed. As with all areas of my life, Christmas is tightly controlled and organised which I gain a great sense of achievement and sense of peace out of, as I know exactly what needs to be done and when. For example, my earliest preparations for Christmas begin in January, when I stocked up on cards, tags, beautiful tree decorations and wrapping in the sale. This is carefully stored away until Christmas time. I buy a few gifts throughout the year, as I see things that I think people will enjoy, and these are also carefully stored away. I do not do all my Christmas shopping throughout the year though, as being an absolute shopaholic, I adore Christmas shopping, on my local hight street, at Bluewater, or in London, with all the twinkly lights and festive music. I cannot wait for the lights to go up this year, it is something I really look forward to.

Twinkle twinkle little star... Christmas lights on London's Oxford Street

This year, hubby and I have already planned our Christmas shopping trip where we will get the bulk of our presents, for each other and other people. We will go in November, and spend the whole day browsing beautiful department stores such as Harrods and Harvey Nichols, perhaps a little trip to Westfield and an outdoor Christmas market. We will have a Christmassy afternoon tea in Harrods or somewhere similar, and finish off the day ice skating at Somerset House. I did this 2 years ago with my best friends and loved it (despite the fact that I was pretty useless and had to grip my friends arm the entire time!)

One of my favourite things about ice skating at Somerset house... the Tiffany tuck shop!  Cupcakes and jewelley, what more could a girl want?!

Me and Clare at Somerset house. Thinking back, one of the reasons I think I may have struggled to skate was because my hat was so huge I could barely see! It did keep my ears nice and snug though ; )

I have already written my Christmas list and know exactly what I want from hubby. Obviously, hubby has paid for Berlin and the Nutcracker tickets as my joint birthday and Christmas presents so I won't ask for too much more... I do have my heart set on a Thomas Sabo necklace though and some new pieces for my Pandora. Then of course there is the usual perfume, pyjamas, make up and beauty products for my stocking... I know what I am getting for hubby and have written a list and have already starting ticking it off. It would be nice and a bit special to get some presents for each other in Berlin so hopefully we will find some nice stuff. I have also written lists of exactly what I am buying for family members and have started to tick this off too... satisfaction indeed!

I want the long silver chain and a selection of charms (not necessarily the ones above but you get the idea!

Maybe a cute little handbag charm for my Pandora?

What are you guys looking forward to most about Christmas? Have you started to plan yet? I have already bought some magazines with ideas for Christmas recipes, card and all other things festive, sooo excited!! xoxo

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

Saturday Style

Hey cupcakes, happy Saturday to you all, hope you have had a great day! I have had a fabulous day, I had a bit of a shopping marathon with best friend Clare which was so fun. We shopped all day and I bought some great stuff, a few tops from H & M, some makeup and a little treat for the house from one of my homeware stores, Dwell. We had a good look around one of my favourite jewellery shops, Thomas Sabo, and I spotted some bit and pieces for my Christmas list! So excited it seems to be getting closer and closer, nearly October now! We had lunch in one of my favourite restaurants, Cafe Rouge, I opted for a dessert and hot chocolate instead of a starter and thoroughly enjoyed their chocolate tarte and hot chocolate. Yum : )

Sleek Make up eye palette in Oh so special.  This is my second Sleek eye palette, I  have  had  the 'Storm' palette before and absolutely loved it. The eye shadows are highly pigmented and mineralised, meaning excellent results. The quality is fantastic too, they last all day long.

I spotted these in Dwell a while ago but they sold out so I've had to wait for them to come back in. Three wise monkeys set in white ceramic. Not a brilliant picture but they can be viewed in their full glory here. I am completely in love with this shop, everything is so cool and contemporary, I have my eye on a floor lamp next... ; )

I saw this top in H & M the other day when we went to town to get hubby's hair cut ,  I really like the  smart style but think it can be dressed up for work with a skirt, but just as easily worn with jeans at the weekend. Love the colours.

I really liked this little cardi as it's a bit different with the red stripes, plus I love the suede elbow patches!

Well that's everything for now, hubby and I are now relaxing with an Indian takeaway for dinner, X Factor on the telly and a nice new stack of magazines... bliss : ) xoxo

Sunday Beach Style

We are currently enjoying some beautiful weather in the UK, which is lucky, as I was starting to worry about when I was going to wear all my new summer clothes, still hanging in the wardrobe with their labels on! Yesterday, the sun was shining and the sky was blue, so after returning home from my friends house, I decided that hubby and I should spend the day on the beach! We packed a bag of stuff (picnic rug, books, magazines, snacks, suncream and shades!) and set off for Littlestone beach in New Romney. We are lucky to live so close to an amazing stretch of coastline, and we always try to visit different beaches rather than the same one.
For our trip I decided to wear my Hollister denim shorts and brown belt from River Island. I matched these with a new colour block yellow and white t-shirt from H & M. I tucked it in a bit at the front and back cos I think that looks cooler : ) I finished off my outfit with the feather H & M necklace I blogged about here, my Thomas Sabo bracelet, Warehouse sandals and my black satchel.

I am super excited for the rest of the week because we are driving up to Hereford on Friday for a 3 day mini-break, and our festival on Saturday! I pretty much have my outfits planned and ready now (and packed!), can't wait to show you all when I get back!! Oh and I have decided against wellie boots - I really do think I will find them too heavy and hot (although I may live to regret this if it rains!!)


Until next time sweeties xoxo

Precious Jewels

Pieces of jewellery, like bags, are best served oversized, shiny and in large quantities, all shapes, colours and styles! I love jewellery, and find it a simple yet effective way to update an outfit, providing the vital finishing touches, sense of flair and individuality. I have to admit, when shopping, jewellery is often an afterthought for me, as I tend towards the clothes and shoes in the first instance. I do love buying jewellery though, and the way it can transform a simple outfit into something so eyecatching and unique.

I really like high street shops for jewelley, Freedom at Topshop, H & M and Miss Selfridge do jewellery really well, with an ever changing stock at pocket money prices. I also like higher end jewellery ranges such as Swarovski, Thomas Sabo, Pandora and Links of London. I enjoy treating myself to luxurious pieces of jewellery from time to time, and I love receiving such pieces for birthday and Christmas. I have had my Pandora charm bracelet for 2 years now and it still remains one of my favourites that I wear every day. I also own a Thomas Sabo charm bracelet, bought for me by hubby just before our wedding; the '2 rings' charm was also from hubby as an extra wedding gift (my other being white gold diamond earrings). I like these bracelets so much, and the way you can change the charms depending on your mood, that I treated my 3 bridesmaids to one each on my wedding day. Lastly, vintage and antique shops are brilliant for seeking out unusual pieces of jewellery you will not see on anyone else. One of my favourite necklaces came from the vintage shop Rokit in Covent garden, and it gains me many compliments whenever I wear it.

Today, I thought I would show case a few of the bracelets I have bought recently:



From top:

Snake bracelet - Primark

Studded bangles - Aldo

Turquoise perspex bangles - Freedom at Topshop

Large mirrored bangle - Primark

Stack of thin glittery and metallic bangles - Local asian craft shop, Gravesend

Pink stone bangles- Market in Thailand

Tribal bangle - Dorothy Perkins

Mirrored bangles - Dorothy Perkins

Glittery bangles from a vintage shop in Rochester
Silver heart bracelet from Urban outfitters

How cute is the little trinket box they are in??! One of my dad's charity shop finds, this is really old and I love it : )



My prized Thomas Sabo bracelet...

So ladies what are your thoughts on jewellery? Simple and discreet or stacked high and proud?? xoxoxo