2011 sign off

Happy last-day-of 2011 to all my lovely followers! Today I have been reminiscing a lot on the year, and I cannot believe how quickly it has gone! This time last year I was frenetically planning my Wedding ready for April 7th, now I am rapidly approaching my first anniversary! Nuts!

Thinking back over the year, and the many experiences and achievements of 2011, I decided to put together a photo story of some of my favourite moments, days out and adventures : )

March 2011: My hen weekend in Brighton. I had such an amazing time with some great friends, we shopped, rolled down massive hills in zorbing balls and danced the night away in Brighton's amazing clubs!

April 7th: My Wedding day aka the best day of my life so far! I spent the majority of 2010 planning my dream day,  with no stone left unturned. We married in a gorgeous old church near our home and held our reception at the 17th century Jacobean manor, Boy's Hall. We had exclusive use for three days and could not have been any happier. The sun shone, every little detail was taken care of and everything was just perfect : )

A shot of us in our Wedding finery and our gorgeous cupcake tower. My father sourced all of the Vintage china tea cups, plates, saucers and cake stands for my big day : )

April 2011: For our honeymoon, we took the trip of a lifetime to Thailand for 2 weeks. We stayed in a luxury 5 star resort and spent our time sight seeing, swimming, sun-bathing, trying out as many restaurants as possible and as the shot shows, meeting new friends! We were so excited about our elephant ride, and we were not disappointed.

Beautiful clear sea in Thailand

'Our' pool, right next to our room. One of the many we were able to use.

May 2011: Overnight trip to London to see Legally Blonde. An amazing show!

July 2011: Trip to Hever Castle. We took advantage of the good weather we had this Summer and went on lots of trips to National Trust and English Heritage properties.

Another sunny day enjoyed in July, picture taken at Littlestone beach.

Hubby's birthday weekend in August was spent in Herefordshire at the Big Chill festival. We had a fantastic day and enjoyed so many amazing acts.

Picture of Kanye West performing at the Big Chill festival, our ultimate favourite : )

September 2011: Night out in London with the girls, to say goodbye to Anna (left) and good luck for her work placement in Moscow. Girls nights have remained so important to me this year, for all their support, fun and laughter, I could not be without them XX

October 2011: Purchase of my first Mulberry bag, the East West Bayswater. Gorgeous, classic Mulberry.  A love affair has begun!

November 2011: Christmas begins! I went to the Country Living Christmas fair in London with my best friend and our mums. Perfect for festive spirit and pre-Christmas purchases!

December 2011: 4 day mini-break to Berlin with hubby. A perfect way to celebrate my birthday and finish off the year nicely. We saw so many sights, shopped and had an amazing time.

Just a selection of some of my highlights, 2011 has proved to be a very good year for me for so many reasons! Work has gone from strength to strength for me and hubby, I am officially 'outstanding', we have spent another year in our amazing house, and our baby rabbit Woody is healthy and happy! We have travelled, seen a great deal, married, made some big purchases and stayed blissfully happy and in love! I am so excited about 2012 and all that it may bring, so all I can say is, watch this space!

Here is to a happy and healthy New Year for all my lovely followers, may all your dreams come true in 2012! XOXO

All about a dress

Hello twinkly icicles, hope everyone is well this Tuesday : ) Today was a very long day for me, full teaching day and then parents evening until half 6, home at half 7, pyjamas on, takeaway and Eastenders! Good times ; ) Today's post is about a mini-obsession of mine, an item which I think epitomises glamour and femininity, but can be easy and carefree too... I am talking about the not-so-humble wardrobe staple, the dress!

As a historian and fashion fanatic, the history of fashion and clothing style has been of interest to me for many years. One of my favourite past-times is visiting art galleries and gazing at the beautiful detail and sheer opulence of the full dresses, as well as the change in necklines, fabric, bodice style and colour as time has passed by. I particularly enjoy studying fashions of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the transition from the full skirted, puff-sleeved dress to the lean and lithe silhouette of the early 20th century. Add into the mix the beautiful beaded, above the-knee gowns of the Flapper girls, the Conservative and thrifty looks of the 50s, swinging into the 60s with the birth of the mini-skirt, fashion has advanced and evolved in clear and definitive ways.

1900s evening dress, velvet, chiffon, satin, lace and chenille embroidered and decorated with applique.

Flapper girls of the 1920s, shorter hem-lines and shorter hair!

Mini-skirts of the 1960s, out in force.

One distinctive feature of women's fashion throughout the ages though is the perpetuation of the dress. It is certainly true that strong-willed women fought for many years to quite literally,  'wear the trousers', however, within this, the right to choose remained stead-fast and constant. So the dress has continued to dominate, both the catwalks and the everyday lives of women the world over. As a 21st century woman I am grateful to my ancestors for this battle, for their gutsiness and determination to allow women to decide how they wish to appear, whilst retaining control over their everyday lives.

Going back to my former most point, I absolutely adore dresses. I love the ease at which a dress can be literally 'thrown on', styled with some chic accessories and heels, and off you go. I wear dresses to work on almost a daily basis, I find it quicker and easier in the morning, and love the simplicity of the look. In the spirit of celebrating this fabulous fashion item, I am going to post some of my favourite dresses from recent occasions for your perusal : )

Cream silk dress with cut out side panels from asos.com.  I wore this dress on honeymoon in Thailand. I loved the look of the dress, particularly against tanned skin, and styled the dress with an oversized gold necklace and bangles. 

The picture quality is terrible as it was dark and hubby took this on my iPhone, but I had to post this because I LOVE this dress! I bought this in Primark and wasn't massively impressed when it was on the hanger... I completely fell in love with it when I tried it on though, and was complimented so many times on holiday in this! The bodice is covered in tiny chintzy style floral patterns, and I love the black straps which match the full black skirt. The tan belt is a gorgeous finishing touch.

Another not-so-brilliant quality picture (blame the iPhone again!)  I loved this dress, it was a bit of a honeymoon splurge from French Connection and was a black, pure silk dress with a low neckline and ruffle detail... alas I did not wash this correctly when I got home and it went an odd grey colour with little bobbles over the front... RIP dress, dearly departed...

Classic Charlotte night-out dress... I still have this grecian style dress from Rare, love the classic one shoulder style and how it looks with my (natural!) tan (had just returned from Turkey!)

I bought this Zara dress this Summer, I love the clean lines and tiered style, I paired it with gold earrings and  emerald green Zara wedges.

And last but by no means least, how could I leave out my princess, uber-glamorous, crystal and swarovksi studded Wedding gown by Maggie Sottero? My ULTIMATE dress, worn on the happiest day of my life
: )

Well dolls, that's just a little selection of some of my favourite dresses, hope you enjoyed my picks XOXO

Today I turned philosopher

Hello cupcakes, hope you are all well and happy on this fabulous Friday! (All Fridays are fabulous in my opinion, best day of the week!) Today was another fun day at work, I had my year 13 class for a triple this morning and they always make me smile. It was Dan's 18th birthday today so we had cake which was very welcome of a Friday morning! I did a lot of planning today which always makes me happy too. I have had a rather philosophical day today, perhaps due to the slightly slower paced day I have on Fridays. Some days I am in such a rush for the whole day my thought processes simply revolve around my actions, what I need to remember, what I need to take note of, and how much I need to achieve before I can go home. Thursdays and Fridays are a lot slower for me though, so I have a greater chance to just think. Today, I thought a lot about life in general, dreams and hopes, and how much I have to be grateful for.

Life is so fast paced it is so easy to forget at times everything we have in life that we should give thanks for. I often find myself zipping from one adventure to the next, planning what I next feel I need to acquire, own, do, see... I feel truly grateful that I am in the position to make these sort of plans, and be comfortable in my lifestyle and standards of living, and I am trying more often to slow down, enjoy it, and be grateful. When I hear things on the news about natural disasters and tragedies in the word, or simply some bad news from a friend, I feel humbled, and almost selfish for worrying about the more superficial things in life. So I am trying really hard to be thankful for the things we so often take for granted: food, shelter, warmth and our good health.

I also set to thinking about the future today. The one thing I don't like about the future is that I cannot predict it. As a hugely organised person, I like to know what is coming next in a sequence of events, so I struggle with uncertainty. I am happy in my present, I have ticked so many things off my list that I feel proud of: I bought my own home at 23, I have graduated from a good uni with a 2:1,  I have completed a Post graduate certificate of education and qualified as a teacher and feel that my career is sorted. I have met the love of my life and saved for an amazing wedding to him. Hubby is sorted in his career too and that makes me happy and secure also. Dreaming of the future is a pleasant way to pass my time when I am driving home, or in bed waiting to nod off. I like to think about moving closer to our family and friends and work (although this will be at the detriment of being near my sister and niece and nephew which makes me extremely sad), advancing in my career, travelling further around the world, buying my Mulberry Bayswater (in tan brown, no other colour!), buying hubby his fancy surround sound and projector screen, having a baby... (in a few years time!). I think its a good thing to have ambitions, hopes and dreams, it helps you to continue growing and progressing in life, as an individual and as part of a couple.


Sick bucket moment now... hubby and I often just look at each other and say 'we are so lucky... we have so much to be grateful for. Life is so good. We worked hard and wow look at us now. And it will just keep getting better... isn't that an amazing thought?? If life stayed exactly as it did now for the rest of our lives, we'd be pretty happy and satisfied... but guess what, its only going to keep getting better.... so my message to all blogger's is be happy, be grateful, take a second to count your blessings. Be fiercely proud of your achievements and pat yourself on the back for your hard work, tenacity and patience. Don't undervalue yourself and everything you have achieved because you deserve to be proud of YOU. Peace. xoxo

Today's inspirations

Hello dolls, hope you are all having a lovely weekend! I have had an amazingly productive day which makes me a very happy girl! To start off, I went into town and had a little wander while hubby was at hockey training. I bought a couple of little bits and bobs which is always nice on a Saturday! When hubby arrived home, I immediately put him to work (lol jokes, I let him have a cup of tea first!! ) and we set to work clearing our spare room.

Now when I say this room was a mess I am not exaggerating... this room has become my 'Monica' room (remember the episode of Friends where Monica will not let Chandler in her secret cupboard, and when he gets it open he sees it is a place where uber-tiday Monica has been storing all her junk??!). This room has become my shameful secret, swiftly opened in the morning for me to visit my wardrobe, and closed just as abruptly with a shudder. The room has become a dumping ground for hubby's tools, paints and equipment left over from decorating, old clothes intended for the charity shop, my ever-growing ironing pile and all of the wedding stuff (vintage cups and saucers, plates and cake stands, bunting, sweetie jars and photo frames). I realised a few days ago that we have lived in our lovely new house for appromixately 1 year and 8 months and therefore enough is enough! We have 3 bedrooms, ours, hubbys study and the junk room. The junk room was always intended as a spare room for guests (and one day a baby's nursery) so it was time to clear out!

Ta-da! Ok so it is pretty bare but you have no idea how much that pleases me! Its a pretty big room and now I can walk about! The floor is clear! The possibilities are endless! Hubby put some pictures on the wall for me, and I am planning on keeping the airer in there for the time being, but the room is now sorted, I am filled with calm when I walk in, and I no longer feel the need to escape! Happy : )

Other news from today: I bought this dress this morning from Topshop for a very reasonable £29. (Am now praying the weather holds out so I have a chance to wear it!) I really like the print, and the buttons down the front. The crotchet detail in the middle reminds me of the Topshop dress worn by Alexa Chung to Glastonbury that I blogged about here

My new MAC lipstick in Politely Pink. I am mostly flitting between coral and stronger pink shades this summer but I couldn't resist this shimmery pink tone - will be perfect for played down lips with heavy eye make up.

I bought some fun cards from New Look today for my card drawer (my manic organisation extends to a card drawer oh yeah!)

Awww I found our kitsch cake topper when I was sorting through the wedding stuff in the spare room. This little item brought back so many happy memories and I immediately had to sit down with a cup of tea and our wedding album to relive some more : ) This beauty is going to sit on my living room shelf I have decided as a nice little reminder whenever I fetch a book.

Hope your weekends have got off to a good start and the weather is being kind to you. I am not sure what tomorrow will bring but at the very least, I will be able to visit my wardrobe at a lesiurely pace tomorrow morning!! xoxo

The wedding of my dreams

Like most little girls, I dreamed of my perfect wedding day as I was growing up. I flitted between ideas of castles, stately homes, summer and winter weddings, big cinderella dresses and sleek gowns. I always knew that I wanted my wedding to be a grand affair, requiring meticulous planning with no stone left unturned. Luckily, I am a very organised person, so planning my dream day came easy to me, and I enjoyed many happy hours planning the tiny details that would make my wedding stand out!

Firstly, fashion and beauty. I have always had a very clear picture in my head of my dream wedding gown: strapless, covered in crystals and sparkle, with a massive full cinderella style skirt. When it came to it, I ended up preferring slightly less dramatic skirts - in terms of fullness that is. I must have tried on a good 30 gowns, however, like the old saying goes, when its the one you just know! My chosen gown was the 'Rowena' by the award winning designer Maggie Sottero. It was indeed strapless, covered in crystals with pleating and a caught up skirt that artfully draped and swished - it really was my perfect princess dress, and fit my venue perfectly. I wanted my shoes to be equally as dramatic and princess-like, and went for the super-sparkly 'Spyra' sandal from Moda in Pelle.

Like with my dress, I had a very fixed idea about my makeup. I love makeup and creating new looks but I also wanted the luxury and stress free option of a make up artist on my wedding day. I was very lucky as I found a fantastic make up artist called Emily Rose who understood my vision perfectly. I don't really do the 'natural' look even on a day to day basis, so I definitely did not want to go down this road on the biggest day of my life! I wanted flawless skin, defined cheekbones, dramatic smoky eyes, big eyelashes and glossy lips! In terms of hair, again, I have always had a very fixed idea about how I wanted to look - none of this soft curls and waves, I wanted a proper bridal up-do, high up on the head and dramatic! I have always been told I have good cheek bones and can carry off this look so I felt quite confident about picking this style. To get the dramatic style I craved, my hair stylist used some hair extensions which I loved. Finally, I completed my look with a dramatic cathedral length tiara and beautiful sparkly tiara.

This shot shows off a bit of my make up and hairstyle. My veil is still on but I removed the tiara after the pictures were taken. How cute is our magician?? (A pupil from my school and very talented : )

Lastly, our wedding venue, style and a confession. I bought EVERY single wedding magazine on the market during our one year engagement. I dread to think how much I spent on magazines alone (The majority retail at £4.99 or thereabouts). I just loved looking at all the different decorations, themes, styling ideas and DIY ideas. I was determined to emulate the beautiful weddings I saw in these magazines, and to make every little detail count (I even wanted bride and groom loo roll but hubby said no!)

Boys Hall, our beautiful wedding venue

We chose the beautiful 17th century stately home Boys Hall as our venue: the most expensive place we looked at but one we simply fell in love with. Both of us adore antiques and historic houses, and we really wanted a building that had original details and a story to tell. Our venue was everything we had ever dreamed of: breath taking, luxurious and original. We were very lucky to have a gorgeous sunny day, so our guests were able to enjoy drinks and canapes on the lawn, and mingle outside in the sunshine. In keeping with this look, I styled the venue in a shabby chic style, spending hours designing table plans, purchasing bunting, antique jars for our candy bar, bird cages for the centrepieces, antique tea cups, saucers and cake plates... so much fun! I loved the overall look and would not change one single thing!

My wedding day really was the best day of my life and made all the hard work and expense worth it! Hope you enjoy the pics and thank you for all your lovely comments, I really love reading them xoxo