Life Lately

Hey All

A bit of a late post from me. This week has been an up and down for me. Last weekend saw a sore throat turn into a painful chest and cough to stop me sleeping and finally into an ear infection on Thursday which despite antibiotics is still persisting. I've not felt so wiped out in ages (the late post is due to me falling asleep on the sofa)

It has been a good week workwise. I'm now off to London on Friday for an LTG meeting and my boss has recommeded me for membership which I'm really excited about and I'm finally getting the support I need to complete my portfolio of competence.

I've also been sorting and organising my make up. I had a bit of a make up sort out and got rid of some of the old stuff I knew I wouldn't use. Some of it I was holding onto even though I didn't like it or it didn't suit me colourwise. It feels so much more productive to have a tidy make up area! I also got my hair done. It's finally back light and is now an icy white with darker routes so hopefully I won't have to dye it for a while. I love new hair it always makes me feel so much better!

The most exciting part of my week was finally getting my other half back after 45 days, despite feeling ill the excitement to see him takes over! After flight delays due to strikes and other problems with him getting back I ended up jumping on a train to meet him and catch up with his parents. If you're with someone who works away nothing beats that first hug! He even came armed with macarons!! With the dude being back we also tucked into a lot of chocolate and hot cross buns. My easter kinda waited until he was home.

OMG!!! These were the best one's I've tasted yet. You definitely taste the difference between cheap ones! They were perfectly crunchy on the outside and chewy in the middle!

This weekend we spent it at my parents them at a friends wedding. I actually did the bride and bridesmaids hair and make up which was a terrifying responsibility but the brides appreciation made it all worth the stress of the morning and she looked beautiful. It was such a great fun wedding with a tea party, pig roast and tower of cheese!! Hello perfection.

After I persuaded the bride's niece to draw on him he proceeded to rub his face into mine! Which resulted in me having a blue face!

For a wedding present we got them some pots from a local ceramicist who was at the Cardiff Christmas Markets, It was great to chat some a local seller and hear about it and it definitly makes me want to shop local more! His name is Dean Bolt if you're from South Wales and after some great bits! I love the colours he uses!

So that's a little life update from me. I'm really hoping this week I can finally kick this illness!!

Love M

xxx

Wedding Guest Outfit Inspiration

Hey All

I'm reaching the age where I seem to have lots of weddings to go to. I tend to be really bad at reusing dresses and love the excuse to buy a new one. I always have the best intentions to re-wear a dress but it never seems to happen so when the other half asked me to be his plus one for a few weddings in November I instantly started browsing sites.

When I saw Asos had a sale on I started browsing and accidentally ended up with 12 items in my basket making their way to me!

Here are my top picks and I ended up keeping three of these dresses. I had the best intentions to only keep one but they were such bargains I needed to keep a few more.

This is my favourite of the dresses and most likely the one I'll wear. I love the green colour with blonde hair and think the neckline is interesting. It's also really comfortable as while it's tight it skims everywhere. It also comes in petite range too. It comes in at £31. (link)

I love mint green and I'm yet to own much in this colour. I love the length and fit and it's a little booby but think the length still makes it ok for a wedding. For me I wasn't sure if this was too summer wedding due to the colour but it is available in a few other colours. It is a bargain £19 and is great quality. (link)

This one is the other half's favourite. I know he's biased to it though as he loves red dresses. I love the tone of this as I do find red sometimes looks cheap but as it's a bit more on the burgundy side it looks nicer. I love the touch of lace. I'm a lace fan but I do think it's hard to find lace that doesn't look cheap sometimes. It is a very tight dress so this one may only be worn if I lose a pound or two so I'll feel comfortable after eating. Another bargain at only £18. (link)

Lastly is this Lipsy one. I rarely find anything in Lipsy I like. I find it can be chavy, or way to short for a tall girl. I'm also not a fan of an exposed zip. All of that aside I love this dress. It's a thick quality fabric so doesn't bunch on the body and just skims. It has padded cups so a bra isn't necessary, no exposed zip and a fair length. I love how the lace contours the waistline to help it appear smaller. This one is also only £19. (link)

Unfortunately this dress didn't fit me when it arrived. If it did I think it would have been a favourite. I think it's so simple but cut really well and stunning. It also comes in a cornflower blue. I think with pretty jewellery it would be amazing. (link)

With such bargain dresses who am I to resist a new one!

Where is your go to shop for wedding guest outfits? Which is your favourite?

Love M

xxx

Cyprus

Hey All

A lack of posts from me this week as I'm busy sunning myself in Cyprus.  I was hoping to blog more whilst I was out here but super slow Internet and google, blogger, flickr and hotmail all requiring verification texts and things just aren't working.

After arriving super late on Sunday night we grabbed a quick pint and went off to bed!

On Monday I woke up put on the bikini and slapped on some sun lotion from my mum. Immediately after the legs sting and I've now got a nasty rash still covering them. Thankfully I packed some la roche posay anthelios xl which seems to be ok. Monday really wasnt my day.  Let's blame a lack of sleep. After deciding to ignore advice on wearing flip flops to the bar as the stones were hot, I thought walking along the water edge would be the best thing so my feet didn't burn. For a clumsy person not a great idea. Que me taking a rather dramatic fall into the pool and smashing my leg against the side. At this point I'm beautiful covered in a rash with massive bruises developing to add to it I got burnt.

After dinner we all went for some drinks.  My oldest brother was staying with us this night (night before the wedding) so when he put his girls to bed he was free. It was lush to drink was my brother's and dad. We enjoyed a fair few and got asked to keep the noise down ooops.

Tuesday arrived along with the big day and the reason we were out her.  We all woke up with slightly fuzzy heads! My brother seemed reasonably relaxed although he did start to pace.  After picking up his daughter's the beautifying starts. It was a hectic two hours. My hair and make up, my mum's make up and my little niece's hair and nails. My dress luckily covered the giant bruise.

Seeing my big brother get married after 14 years with his partner was amazing. I did cry as she walked down the aisle. It was an amazing day lot's of champagne, cake and amazing food.

Their amazing view from the wedding venue

Yesterday was a chill out day and my dads father's day surprise. We took him parasailing. The rest of us spent the hour chilling in the sea. I seem to have attracted my sister in laws niece and nephew and every time we see them they now want me. I do love little one's but days spent with them remind me I love giving them back!

My oldest brother (much to my mum's worry and dad's dislike, he walked away as he couldn't watch!) took me cliff jumping for the first time. It was amazing!!! I loved the rush. It was only about 12ft though so he's scouted out higher for us today! I'm such an adrenaline junkie but it was scary jumping and having to push yourself forward so you don't hit rocks.  Bring on the higher jumps!

Another evening with great food and pina coladas. We've not done a family holiday abroad in probably over 10 years so it's been really great to spend so much time with everyone. No arguments so far.

This evening me and dad are going wine tasting before some of us head into ayia napa for an amazing fish meze around the harbour.

The next few days for me include a pirate ship, water world and beauty treatments.

So far the holiday has been amazing. I already don't want to leave.

love M

xxx

   

Wedding No.1

Morning lovelies!

I mentioned last weekend that I had the pleasure of going to the first of my friends weddings, and it was absolutely beautiful!
It was such a nice day and everything was exactly how she wanted it so that's all that matters.

Here's a few pictures from the big day, I hope you enjoy them!

I curled my hair with a wand and then brushed it out so it looked big and bouncy and a bit more natural than perfect ringlets. I prefer my hair to look like this and wish it looked like this always!

I had a bit of a heart attack/dance around the room when I cut the label off my dress. It was a bit of a splash out for me a few months ago when I picked it up and i was so excited to wear it!

Here it is on me:

I love the colour and style, it was so simple and perfect for the wedding I was going to.
I was a bit uncomfortable in it after wearing it for so many hours though, the material doesn't stretch at all and wasn't the most comfortable for breathing....which is a bit vital!
I'd already bought the dress in a bigger size to do up over my boobs so I knew it wasn't tight anywhere else, obviously I'm not used to wearing dresses made from material as good a quality as LK Bennett!

One of my favourite things was the really cute sweet stand! I helped myself to some nougat and jelly sweets!

They also handed out welsh cakes after the ceremony which was a really nice touch.

The bride had gone the extra mile to add lots of extra touches including making her own confetti from love stories, putting tissues wrapped up in ribbon on the church pews and flowers EVERYWHERE.

The table decorations were these huuuuuge candelabras surrounded by flowers at the bottom and there was copious amounts of wine and champagne flowing.

The bride even provided flip flops in a basket for all the girls to change into from heels! Mine even matched my dress ;)

And not only was there a sit down meal but later on there was curly fries and a bacon butty! I loved how normal that was as it was perfect for a few hours of drinking!

The venue was stunning too, huge ceilings, massive chandeliers and gorgeous decor.

This is a full length picture my friend took of me on the night, it was such a great day and I am so pleased my friend enjoyed her day as much as she hoped.

Do you have many friends getting married this year or next?

This wedding was a big budget one, I have a second wedding coming up in September which is a lower budget and I'm so looking forward to it!

What would your ideal outfit be? Are you planning your own wedding?

I'm so far away from getting married but I do love hearing about other peoples plans!

L xxx

Recent Buys

When I heard Benefit were releasing a new blusher for one day only before it comes out in September I knew what I was going to spend my birthday vouchers on soon. So I took a trip to Swansea on Saturday. As Debenhams had there offer on where if you spend £40 you get 500 points. I originally wanted the Mac Pro Longwear but after one of the Benebabes tried the World Famous Neutrals Sexiest Nudes Ever one me I was completely sold. It's perfect for when I'm a bridesmaid in 2 weeks.

I then popped into Cardiff hoping to spend the rest of the vouchers I got on a dress for a friends wedding. After I didn't see anything I headed to Illamasqua as I wanted to try skin base. I love how it looked in the shop but can't seem to apply it as well myself. Any tips? I also picked up a small de slick spray. I'm hoping I love this. As I still needed to spend a bit to make it up to £40 I picked up some Urban Decay lashes to try. They had some amazing ones.

After having no luck in Debenhams I headed to House of Fraser who have a brilliant sale on. I picked up this beauty from the Warehouse section in there reduced from £80 to £28. I really love the back detail on it and the colour. I actually found 3 dresses I liked but returned the other two after. Now to decide on shoes and a bag. 

It seemed like I couldn't stop spending. I went to meet L on Sunday to have a coffee and a catch up as we know won't see each other till the 16th August. It's a long time for us ha! I couldn't resist picking up this midi dress in sale. It was only £10. I've wanted one for ages but my shape has put me off. I'm actually really glad I picked it up. I even wore it to work yesterday and felt comfortable in it. Now I want more.

Have you been shopping the sales?

Love M

xxx

Wedding Fever!

Hi all!

I hope you're having a lovely weekend!

Today I will be off to my friends wedding and I'm so excited!

It's the first wedding out of all of my friends and I think all of us are really looking forward to it.

I've been getting ready pretty much all week, as you can imagine! I've been scrubbing and scrubbing so my skin is buffed to perfection before my tan was applied last night so fingers crossed it won't turn out to be patchy or streaky!

I had a pedicure the other week that I am hoping will still be in tact by Saturday. I went for gold glitter for lots of sparkle as choosing an actual colour was so hard!

For my fingers I have been playing all week with different nudes and effects. I am sure I will be tweeting a picture of my nails if you'd like to see the end result...

I previously wrote about my dress choices in my post here i you'd like to see them, but I eventually picked this pink shift dress from LK Bennett:

It's such a classic cut in a bright colour and I think it will be perfect!

I'm teaming it with nude heels and bag and this jacket for when it goes colder in the evenings:

What do you think of my wedding outfit choices?

I've also got a diamante comb for my hair, I always curl it but never do anything else with it so am planning on pinning it half up with the comb so it's a bit more special.

Any tips for weddings?? Do you have any friend's weddings to go to coming up?

I have another in a month or two after so I'll be planning my outfit for that one soon enough!!

L xxx

LK Bennett Spree

Well girls, (and any gents!) I have officially got to the age where my friends are getting married.

I am currently single so talk of weddings is a) not on my radar, and b) getting a little too much sometimes.

A lot of my friends have been very fortunate in that they've got jobs straight out of uni and haven't had to do Masters etc and so as a result are considerably better off than myself.

Because of this weddings and mortgages are a constant topic of conversation, and whilst I love my friends and am happy they are getting everything they want out of life it's difficult when you can just about make ends meet. 

I have 2 friends getting married this year and as I have now got myself a new job I decided it was time to splash out a little and get myself some really nice dresses to wear to the weddings as I really am excited for them and will have the photos forever!

Wedding 1 is a big fancy city affair with lots and lots of guests and she is spending absolute thousands on it, whereas in contrast Wedding 2 is a more home made and country type celebration and done to a budget. This meant it was going to be a challenge to find something that could be worn for both weddings (we all knew I was going to have to buy 2 in the end though don't we!)

I'd been to Swindon's designer outlet many times and never seen anything in my size in LK Bennett, so was absolutely astounded when I went there recently and found not 1, not 2, but 7 dresses all in my size.

It was like I'd won the lottery.

I legged it to the changing room, stripped off and tried on each dress one by one, twirling around in front of the mirror with a borrowed pair of LK Bennett court shoes that the lady kindly lent me.

It was amazing until I whittled my choices down to 3 dresses and had to make the important decision which to buy and which to keep.

Originally I'd planned to get one dress because the weddings are for friends from different groups and I could get away with wearing the same dress, but after this decided it had to be 2.
I thought I'd made my decision until my mum insisted one looked better so i was stuck, until she caved and offered to buy me one THANK YOU SO MUCH MUM. She won't ever read this but all the same, I appreciate it so very much, and keep looking at my purchases every now and then!

Without further waffling on lets get and show you my most prized posessions!!!

This is for wedding 1:







I had to get a bigger size so that it would do up over my boobs but luckily it doesn't look baggy, even though I can hold a considerable amount of the material around my lower half.
I own those magic pants with padding in to make your bum appear more like Beyonce's so I think I'll wear those seeing as no one will be seeing me undressed and I can look more proportional!


The next two are actually the same dress in 2 different colours. This was what I was having trouble choosing between as they're multifunctional and can be worn both ways round.
I absolutely love both colours and was finding it hard to choose!










Love this one as, I'm not afraid to say it, I felt like Kate Middleton in my navy LKB dress!

This one is so comfy and flattering with the ruching it's not hard to see why this was so popular. Especially as it can be reversed as shown below.
The only issue with wearing it with a low back is finding a bra, but I'm sure i can find one that will do.

I love the shape it gives me and this is the one my mum insisted on making me buy so bought it for me herself. It was also the cheapest so she did well there ;)
Her argument was that I could wear this to many things including work if there was an occasion and I'm hoping one day she's right.


This is the same dress in coral.







This one didn't seem as flattering as the navy one the second time, mainly as I could see my underwear through it so I'm going to have to be careful, but I just love coral and can't get enough of it!

These styles are all classic so hopefully as long as I don't gain any weight I'll be ok to keep and wear them for a few years to come! I imagine I'll be going to more and more weddings now as more of my friends get engaged and have another to go to next year already.

Which do you think I should wear to wedding 2? It's in September, so could be wholly dependent on the weather! Also, which way round should I wear them??

What do you think of LK Bennett? Do you shop in the discounted designer outlets?

I'm a huge fan!

L xxx