Wednesday, 30 January 2013

Make a beast of myself

The other thing that has been stopping me from blogging as much is the fact I'm having trouble with one of my friends here at uni.

In uni, I have two very close friends. I'll call them A and B. Neither them are like any friend I've ever had before. They're both loud, in your face, not scared to say what they think, and they've brought me out of my shell so much over the past few months. They're like friends I've had for years, and I do honestly love them both a lot.

My main problem is they're both...damaged, for lack of a better word. A has had a lot of problems in her past but she's dealt with them, in her own way, so it's not as much of an issue. B, on the other hand, hasn't. Not at all. And it's terrible, what happened to her, but the way she is starting to behave is starting to wreck everything.

She's having problems with her boyfriend because they can't communicate, she's taking it out on her friends by being aggressive, she keeps on getting drunk, she's being very funny with everyone in general and not really talking to anyone.

And it's sad, because she's a lovely person most of the time. It's just lately, she's been very...off. It came to a head a couple of weeks ago on a night out when she got very drunk and completely freaked out on us all and actually became violent (she bit me). We all received apologies but she's just got worse since then. It's like she's trying to push everyone away. The only ones who are really trying to make sure she doesn't do that are me, A and her boyfriend, and even he is beginning to waver.

It upsets me, because I don't want to lose B as a friend. But she's not the sort of person you can talk to - not about her problems or how she treats people because it will never be her fault, she will never accept blame, it will always be you, you being oversensitive, dramatic or misunderstanding her. Even though enough of us have begun to lose patience and if it carries on, she's not going to have many friends left.

It's a shame. But you can't really help someone who won't help themselves, can you?

Online shopping is dangerous!

I finally received some pieces I ordered online, which, on the whole, I am very happy with. And I've promised myself, no more internet shopping after this!


Dress from New Look

I'm not sure if dress is accurate here...As you can see from the picture, it's very short, more like a top than anything else. But it's still very comfortable and I think it'll be good for lazier days when I can't be bothered putting in as much effort. At £12.99 I think it's a good price for something I'll get a lot of wear out of.

 
Dress from ASOS

I am so happy with this! It's something I saw ages ago on ASOS but never bought it, then saw it again recently and thought, to hell with it, I might as well! They only had it in a size 14, whereas I'm usually a size 16 from ASOS to be on the safe side. But it's made from a really stretchy, soft jersey fabric so the size 14 fit quite well and was still comfortable. I just think it's very pretty and I don't have much in this shade of red. I can't wait to wear it properly.



I've wanted a typewriter key ring for ages but I've only just got round to buying one. I got a '7' key because it's special number for me. I've worn it a couple of times now and I really like it. Plus I love it's an adjustable ring - so many high street stores just have them be Small, Medium or Large and they never fit properly, but this fits just nice.

 
Dress from ASOS Marketplace

So I decided to brave ASOS Marketplace once more...And was slightly happier with the results. Quite pleased, actually. I do like this dress. It is comfortable, and I like the pattern. Again it's not what I was expecting - I thought it would be a lot shorter, but I guess the height of the model was different? Anyway, I do like the dress, just not on its own, like above. So I dressed it up a bit...


The belt pulls the hem up a little bit, so it's not so long, and gives me more shape, plus I just love cardigans. I much prefer it worn like this and when I wear it in future, it will be like this. Worn like this it's not too dissimilar to a few other dresses I already own, actually. So my trip to ASOS Marketplace was a lot more successful this time!

And now, I really do need to stop online shopping...

Black velvet if you please...

Boo, lectures started again on Monday. So it's back to work, hard work, I'm afraid. I've just been so tired and lacking any inclination to do anything! But I have an outfit post, a purchase post and just a general update on my life and thoughts...

I wore this outfit for my 6 hours worth of lectures on Monday:


Dress from New Look - Cardigan from New Look - Tights from Primark - Boots from Peacocks - Necklace from Primark

I was originally going to wear this dress with a red H&M cardigan, but when I bought this green one in a sale I wanted to wear it as soon as possible. Now I'm really glad I did because I love how it looks with the velvet! The dress is going to become a real staple item for me, I can already tell. I don't have enough plain black dresses anyway but the velvet makes it really special in my opinion - it can be casual and dressy - I wore it on New Year's Eve to a party, for example.

My only regret is that I didn't have some different shoes to wear. Since my favourite boots finally gave up just after Christmas, I have to wear these Doc Marten-style boots because they're the only really sensible shoes I have that don't let my feet get wet (I live in mid-Wales and it's pretty much muddy all the time). I do love these boots and I find them very versatile, I just...I don't know, I just don't like them so much with this outfit. I really want a pair of plain black creepers, so if I ever buy them I'll probably wear them with this outfit.

Sunday, 27 January 2013

Red and blue

First things first: I apologise for the crappy quality of some of these photographs. My camera is new, it's just not a very good one...Anyway, this is the outfit I wore yesterday when we went shopping:

Dress from New Look - Cardigan from George @ ASDA - Tights from Primark
 
 
The dress was a complete impulse buy a couple of weeks ago, but I'm already fond of it. I love the pattern (you can't see it too clearly here but there is another pic of it further down). It's also very comfortable and at £12.99 I think looks more expensive. The cardigan was a Christmas present. It's a size 18, bigger than my size 14/16, but it just makes it even more comfy.
 
The socks I'm wearing in this pic, also a Christmas present, are navy blue with lace around the tops. I didn't wear them up like this when I was out, but pushed down so only the lace was visible. I'm not so confident about wearing knee-high socks properly - I think it makes my legs look stumpy. But I'd like to get into wearing them more because I do like the way it looks on other people.
 
 
The same outfit, but this time wearing my new red cardigan and my Doc Marten-style black boots. I didn't buy the cardigan with the dress in mind but it matches nearly perfectly.
 
Now for the details you can't see in the picture...
 
 
Headband from New Look
 
So cute! I'm loving wearing headbands at the minute as I'm trying to grow my hair out and when my hair is being pretty awkward it's nice to put something in my hair that makes it look more like a bob than a scruffy mess.
 
 
I love these earrings. I'm sure you can find similar in loads of places but I bought these from an indie shop in Manchester, for £3. The woman that owned the stall makes all of the clothes she sells there by hand as well as a lot of the jewellery, so I don't know if that's the case with these.
 
 
 
I love Harry Potter, and I love necklaces, so this is perfect for me! It's very sweet. Also, you can see the pattern on the dress properly in this shot :)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 



My haul from the weekend

I describe it as a 'haul'...I only bought three things this weekend, but trust me, I could have bought a lot more if I hadn't been worrying about money. There were a lot of lovely clothes in shops and the antique place we ended up in had so much to choose from - I think my brother and sister-in-law were in heaven!

Today we went to Camarthen. Our intention was to see Life of Pi, but the only showing we could have seen without me being home ridiculously late was subtitled for the hard of hearing, and my brother gets annoyed by subtitles because he finds them distracting. So we didn't go and see a film at all because nothing else on appealed to all three of us as a whole.

But we did go in New Look where I found an item I've been wanting for ages in the sale, making it the third thing I've bought this weekend.



This is the throw I mentioned in yesterday's post. It was £12, and is brilliant quality. Plus it adds a much needed splash of colour to my rather bland university room. I wasn't really sure how it would look when it was on my bed but I'm so pleased with it and happy I bought it.



And this is the cardigan I bought from the same antique/vintage shop as the throw. It was £6.50, which, compared to a lot of highstreet stores, is really cheap for knitwear. It's also really warm and cosy and I've been wanting a cardigan in this bright a red for ages. Plus I like the buttons. So, this buy was a winner all round in my opinion!


I bought this cardigan in the sale in New Look. It was in my size and is the shade of green I've wanteed a cardigan in for a while now. It was reduced from £17.99 to £12. I'm planning on wearing it tomorrow when my lectures begin again, because it's very comfortable and warm which is important when you've got 6 hours of lectures!

Now I really need to stop spending before I run out of money...

Saturday, 26 January 2013

My weekend at my brother's

I went to stay with my brother for the weekend :) I've had a good time so far...There'll be a post about it properly soon, because I bought a couple of things and wore an outfit I'm pretty proud of, but I'll just start by telling you about the weekend...

Last night we watched Trevor McDonald: Inside Death Row, which was a fascinating documentary that I reccomend. It was very creepy in some parts, and very odd to watch, but it was definitely interesting. It reinforced some beliefs I have on the subject, but also opened my mind to other things.

Then we watched the film Wild Bill, directed by Dexter Fletcher. I really, really, really liked it. It was a proper British movie, funny and sad and violent all at the same time. I'd definitely watch it again. It was amusing to see so many familiar faces in the same film as each other, too, and I've developed a slightly odd crush on Charlie Creed-Miles. Is that weird? I don't know. Maybe it is. Seeing as I fancy the majority of the cast of Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, I'll just assume it's some kind of pattern...

Charlie Creed-Miles in Wild Bill. An odd crush, or not? I don't know!


Then today we got up late, had a fry up for breakfast, then went shopping in a small town not too far from where he lives. There were lots of lovely shabby chic shops but the best one was this massive shop that sold antiques, second-hand things and vintage clothes. I bought a throw for £12, and a cardigan for £6.50.

When we got back, I finished the essay I have due in on Tuesday and sent it off for marking whilst my brother and his wife pottered about the house doing other things. Now I'm watching the first Pirates of the Caribbean film. I've always thought it was better than the other three but I had forgotten how much I like it as a film.

Tomorrow I'm going back to uni but we're stopping in Camarthen on the way to wander around the shops and get something to eat. Aside from that, tomorrow is going to be a completely lazy day where I prepare for lectures beginning again on Monday morning!

Wednesday, 23 January 2013

Wishlist post #1

Wishlist post! Because I'm a poor student I can't go on many more spending sprees this term, so I'll have to satisfy myself with wishful thinking I'm afraid...

This dress from Topshop is right up my street. I love blue floral patterns on white, I just think it looks so pretty. This would be good for cold weather as well as warm and everything in between but in my head I'm wearing it on a beach with flipflops...Can you tell I'm wishing it was summer already?


I want this so badly! I'm really loving dresses of this style right now and I've seen so many gorgeous ones in plain colours with white lace collars, but I really like this one. I don't own many red clothes, so it'd be a nice addition to my wardrobe. I also think I'd get a lot of wear out of it, but, sigh, at £48 it is slightly out of my price range. Maybe I should just bite the bullet and get it, need to eat be damned?



I love a midi skirt, and this one from Miss Selfridge is lovely. I am particularly in love with the lace. Yep, I am definitely looking forward to summer!


Now, I just think this vest top is lovely. So pretty. I love the detail, the fact it sparkles, the fact it reminds me of the 1920s...It'd be gorgeous on a night out. It's a shame it's £45 :'(



I love suspender tights anyway but these ones from ASOS are particularly cute. Who doesn't love polka dots, after all...?


So that's it for now. Expect more wishlist posts and possibly some posts about recent purchases soon :)


Saturday, 19 January 2013

Tonight, we are young, so let's set the world on fire

I went out last night and decided to play about with my outfit. It was a bit different to what I normally wear, but I think it looked all right in the end...


T-shirt from ASOS Marketplace - Belt from New Look - Necklace from Not on the High Street - Shoes from Peacocks - Leggings from Primark


I bought the T-shirt a while ago now, intending to wear it at an 80s themed night (which I missed), but I've only just got round to wearing it. Honestly, it wasn't what I was expecting and it did need a few washes (smelt a bit musty) before I felt comfortable wearing it. It's one of those things that really needs dressing up. Wearing it on its own, with no belt, it looks like a nightie, and not a very attractive one at that...But I like it with this cute owl belt:

 
 
The necklace is an Alice in Wonderland themed one, a bottle saying 'Drink me'. I've searched and searched the site for an exact link but I can't find one, although Not on the High Street has lots of very, very similar ones that are just as nice (some of them even a bit nicer, just a bit more expensive than the £7 I paid in the sale for it):


The shoes are incredibly comfortable - they're chunky and look quite high but are actually only a couple of inches. Brilliant for nights out!

I'm going to be a bit more careful about buying 'vintage' clothes from now on...Whilst I will wear this again I wouldn't pay the £15 I actually paid for it, not considering my mother has T-shirts similar to this one at home in the loft! The seller had dressed it up beautifully in the photographs so I was expecting a very different item of clothing to what I got. It also seemed longer, so I was expecting to be able to wear it with tights. Actually, it is long enough when you wear it without a belt but cinching it in at the waist makes it ride up - I couldn't have bent over at all, so I had to wear it with leggings instead.

It was a very fun outfit to put together and a nice one to wear - I did receive compliments on the top, which was nice :)


New shorts!

So I've been guilty of some impulse online shopping lately. One thing I bought is a pair of high-waisted shorts from New Look:


The vest top is from H&M, but it's more than three years old and has now been relegated to pyjama wear (it's been a firm favourite for all those years though). I was just so excited to try on my shorts haha. I was distracted when I got home after picking them up and then remembered at about half-nine when I'd put my pyjamas on...

Sorry there aren't more photographs, but I plan on wearing these as soon as it gets a little bit warmer (it's snowing here!). And by that I mean in the next couple of days...


Tuesday, 15 January 2013

Nail varnish review #1: Rimmel London Lycra-Pro, Celebrity Bash (391)

One thing I do love is nail varnish. I have quite a large collection of nail varnishes from all different brands, of a lot of different colours, price ranges, etc. So when I haven't got anything else to blog about, I'll be reviewing nail varnish :)


First is this Rimmel London Lycra-Pro nail varnish, in red (or Celebrity Bash, 391). I don't remember it being too expensive, but all sites I can find this range on are putting the price at around £4.50. Here it is on:



I think this is possibly the favourite in my collection. I love red nails, and this shade looks lovely on. It's a little bit darker than other red nail varnishes I own and that's why I like it. It's bright enough to be colourful but dark enough to go with a lot of different outfits.

It also goes on easily, dries very quickly, has a nice shine and lasts quite a while without chipping, depending on what you do with your hands of course. I've had it for nearly a year too and it hasn't gone tacky yet which is more than can be said for some nail varnishes I bought only a few months back! It was definitely worth buying and I highly reccomend Rimmel London in general for their nail varnishes - they're all good quality and are nice colours too. This is definitely one I'll be buying again when it runs out.

A day in the library

So today I went to study in the library a l l day. I wanted to be comfortable, but look nice too..without overdoing it, which is something I have been accused of in the past haha. This is what I came up with...

 
Jumper from H&M - Skirt from George @ ASDA - Shoes from George @ ASDA - Necklace  

This outfit was very comfortable in the end - I just didn't bank on how cold the library can get! But I was very happy with the outfit overall. The jumper is so soft, it's lovely, and it's light enough to wear in summer. The black skirt is a staple item for me - it goes with most things. I bought this one for £5 to replace a similar one I'd bought for £12 a few years back, and I get a lot of wear out of them.

I also love the necklace, given to me as a birthday gift last year:


I love owls, and pocket watches - this doubles up as both. As I said I got it as a gift; they used to sell very similar ones in Claire's and they still might do. I've linked to an identical one on Amazon, for £9.99.

Welcome

Hey :) I used to keep another, personal blog on this site but since I've started uni I've felt very dissatisfied with that blog..So here's my new one. It's a combination of different things, including posts about clothes, my life, things I buy, things I want, etc. So, that's all really...