10 Forever Wardrobe Pieces

Hi there!

I've been browsing websites and magazines for the last 2 weeks whilst off and have been loving catching up with celeb gossip and changing fashions. It's got to the point when I read them and think 'who on earth is this?!' My celeb radar has clearly been off for a while!

Whilst browsing though i have come across an interesting article on Cosmopolitan called '10 Forever Pieces you need in your Wardrobe' It's pretty self explanatory but I wasn't sure about some of their choices.....so decided to make my own list.

1) Leather Jacket

There really is nothing better than a leather jacket. I would absolutely die and go crazy if I got my hands on a 100% soft buttery leather jacket in a timeless style from somewhere like All Saints. I'd love one, although I'd be wary that my long body would not allow one from there to fit me....sigh.
If I could pick though, it would be something like this:

Unfortunately I don't have £358 lying around tho. Sob.

2) Jeans

You absolutely cannot go wrong with some well fitting dark indigo jeans. I've found a perfect pair for me recently, having started my gym life a few years ago my glutes have suitably increased in size (Kardashian level not quite reached yet though). My current faves are therefore Levi's curve ID jeans in Demi curve which fit my derriere quite nicely.
I think in future a few more colours will be necessary but currently the dark indigo colour is perfect.

3) LBD
A Little Black Dress is a staple that no one would deny. Whatever your shape there's one to suit you, in fact there's probably 10 to suit you and that's the best part. I have a few faithful ones but it's going to be time for me to get a new one soon. A lot of dresses recently have been quite high neck so I think it's time to show a bit more cleavage, though I do really like a shift dress for simplicity and comfort!

4) LCD

Sometimes you just get fed up of wearing black. I've worn black dresses for about 10 years and I'm trying to add a bit more colour to my wardrobe, not least because it's boring to wear the same thing all the time but also because coloured dresses look awesome! not only that but as well as colour blocking which was what got me into wearing colour again, there are some amazing patterns to get your hands on.

The three above are all from Warehouse, would suit most shapes and are all under £50. Might have already picked up the bottom one....

5) Blazer

I'm in love with my blazer; a beautiful black Ralph Lauren military style blazer with emblem and gold buttons on the sleeves and the front. I couldn't be without it and it goes with so many things and gets me so many compliments - because it's so beautiful not because I'm wearing it. If it's good enough for Kate Middleton....

6) Handbag

The handbag is a tough choice for me. Having been a black leather lover all my life I've recently found myself branching out and had a dusky pink one for my birthday that has shown me the lighter side. Regardless, you need a fairly sizeable bag for daily life and here's a few on my wishlist:

 

You cannot beat simplicity.

7) Heels/Wedges
I could gaze at heels for hours, but as a lady of 5'9 and a very short patience span they just don't work for me. I found wedges about 2 years ago and haven't looked back. They allow me to gain some good looking leg muscles plus some extra chic points without crippling my feet (once they've been broken in obviously). They're like magic shoes!

 

Oh come on, who on earth wouldn't go for Louboutins by choice??

8) Flats
Following on from above it means I also clearly wear a lot of flats. I have an amazing pair of black brogues from Clarks that are so perfect for work and after a year still look new without any polishing whatsoever and I could cry with happiness at finding them. That aside, I love trainers too and am very much lusting over some new 'kicks' with some bright colours, or something that comes up with a high top like these:

I just need another spare £100 to snap them up!

9) Shirt/Blouse
Cosmo have a white shirt on their list. Whilst I love them....they don't love me. My boobs tend to get in the way of that and I can never find ones to fit, not that they're even that big which is why it's so frustrating. I've been wearing my black sheer loose fitting blouse for years and its so perfect for work, interviews and the pub with jeans. Sheer shirts like this are my haven, they skim over everything and flatter and hide in all the right places. Winning.

This ones from Zara for £30.


10) The coat.
I'm quite a fan of a coat. There are so many styles that part of me thought maybe this also included blazers and leather jackets but lets not include it for now.... I always think that nobody of any age or body shape can go wrong with a trench coat style or any style where the coat is above knee length and belted at the waist.This year I'm on the hunt for an emerald green coat so hopefully one will appear in the next few weeks. I've spied this one from Nina Ricci:

Stunning green and a leather belt at the waist.
But let's face it; if I can't afford the £100 for some trainers the £1880 price tag for this beauty certainly isn't happening. But if I win the lottery......? First on my list!!!


So what do you think? Are your top 10 classics similar to mine?
The only category I'm doubtful on is the trainers.....but even those will come back around again in the vintage category!

If you make your own lists let me know, I love reading them!

L xxx

If I had £100...

Hello there!

I've mentioned many times that I'm a huge fan of lists, I've got so many notebooks full of them, mostly to do lists. Wishlists are always fun to imagine what you would buy or have if you could and so I've come up with a new series 'If I had £100'. It's pretty simple, every time I'll list whatever I'm lusting over at the time but ONLY to a total of £100, I mean it's a reasonable amount and a possible pay day splurge if I was very lucky!

Having picked up a few Nip and Fab bargains recently when all of their products went on sale I've found myself wanting more!

The Glycolic Fix Cleanser priced at £7.95 sounds like a winner to me.I'd like to start double cleansing but never seem to have the right products. I do love using a foaming cleanser with a muslin cloth so that my face feels like the day's grime has been removed and this gel cleanser sounds like a lovely affordable foaming cleanser with glycolic acid present at 2% to help resurface your skin. I NEED it and might even use my Boots points to nab it quick.

The Deep Cleansing Fix claims to be a 6 in 1 product and is priced at £7.95 for 300ml. This is a large pot of product with multiple uses; cleansing, exfoliating, hydrating, deep cleansing when used as a mask and specific application to spots. This sounds like a wonderful product especially for the price and I'll be hunting this one down too no doubt.

The Urban Decay Naked Skin foundation comes in at £27 which is pretty average nowadays. I have to admit i really liked this product as soon as I tried it though you do generally need to have good skin for it to look good! It's more of a blurring foundation as opposed to one that covers your skin with an opaque finish. Over the summer though I've found it has been essential as it doesn't clog my pores at all and doesn't appear to melt off my face too badly. I'd definitely like to purchase it again!

I first tried the Origins Ginzing moisturiser (£23)  from a Christmas gift set that I bought myself, as you do. I loved it and loved the smell so much. It's a really light moisturiser that sinks in so easily and is perfect for my ever changing skin, not overloading it in the oily areas and but hydrating it in the dry. Perfect! I hear its on offer too where you can get a sample of the eye cream and a mini mascara to try too!

Image from Liparazzi

UD Naked Flushed palette in Streak is something I've had my eye on for months now. Streak is the perfect colour for me as coral really suits my skin tone. The image above is from the lovely Laura who's blog is Liparazzi which you should definitely check out, her beauty posts are a particular favourite!
I'd love to get my hands on this and for £22 for three key products it really is value for money too.

Una Brennan Superfacialist Vitamin C Cleansing Oil (normally £10.99) currently on offer at Boots for £7.33.

As I mentioned previously I want to add double cleansing to my routine, and not just by using a micellar water to remove my eye make up. This cleansing oil has really been raved about and I desperately want to try it! For £7.33 I think I might have to run to Boots and pick it up as soon as possible!

So that bring me to my total this time of £95.23.

I'd love a splurge but having quit my job I need to keep all my pennies for the meantime....but maybe spending some of my Boots points wouldn't be such a bad thing right?!

What do you think of my wishlist? 

This one is beauty related but I'm sure there will be more clothes involved in the future too!

L xxx

25 Before 26 Update

As a list lover I've been writing a fair few of them recently in order get my ass in gear and get things done. Not only are lists a vital part of my every day life, i.e. the boring reminders to pay bills and phone people, I try and get things crossed off my 'bucket list' in a timely manner.

Or not as it may seem!

I turned 26 last week and had a few tasks I was trying to complete to tick off some in my 101 things in 1001 days list (see here). I chose 25 tasks and tried to get them ticked off by my 26th birthday, lets see how well I did shall we?!

1: Visit another place in the UK, my aim is 5 and I've ticked off 2 - Visited a friend in N.Wales. Edinburgh and Glastonbury booked to complete my 5! 

2: Read 4 Classic Books. 20 was my aim and I've only read 1 so far. First is Robin Hood

3: Second is Frankenstein, I've heard its a great story and a complete classic

4:I also plan on reading the real Beauty and the Beast

5: The real Jungle Book

6: Wuthering Heights

7: Treasure Island

8: Dracula

9: and lastly the Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. This is quite a list.....fingers crossed I get some time off soon! -

So I read the Hobbit, and also Beauty and the Beast which was a lovely 20 pages or so! Absolutely failed the rest.

10: Try 2 new foods. My aim is 10, surely 2 more can be done over Christmas! - Mushroom Pate and Watercress done!

11: Visit an art gallery; cannot think where this will be but I'll have to find one - this has not happened!

12: Give blood - did not happen, feel awful.

13: Work harder at toning up - Lost 3lbs of fat at my weigh in, hurrah!

14: I'd like to try rock climbing - Money killed this plan, maybe in a few months.

15: Start yoga/pilates - Never got round to it.

16: Gorge walking - Also didn't happen.

17. Running 10k - I ran 5 miles the other day,  I feel like this is good enough!

18: Go ziplining - booked for April!

19:Go to a gig - Nothing specific planned, apart from Glastonbury.

20: Learn to cook something new, one of each sweet and savoury. This won't happen any time soon, I'm so awful in the kitchen

21: Continue to plough through the excess of 'stuff' in my possession - Progressing!

22: Learn basic things to fix on a car - I think i can tick this one off now after running out of oil, lesson learnt!

23: Go to London over Christmas - This was AWESOME! Me and my mum had such a great time having an indulgent wander, we will definitely be going again next year.

24: Visit an Antique or Vintage Fair - Need to find one!

25: Write a short story. Not happening either!

Time has been a serious issue for me in completing these, not to mention I seem to have thought I'd won the lottery somewhere along the line to afford it!

But I have completed around 10 of these so at least I've progressed slightly!

I think training for Tough Mudder has taken over my life, I'm far too tired to read in the evenings any more after exercising for 5 of them.

Do you have any tasks you'd like to complete in the near future? Do you have any 101 things in 1001 days lists?

I'd love to see them!

L xxx

25 Before 26 Update

Good morning!

A few months ago I wrote a post about me wanting to get a load of things off my 101 things in 1001 days list checked off. I've been a bit rubbish and now that there's only a few weeks of March left (my birthday is on the 26th) it's time to panic!

I've copied my list below and crossed off what I've done and edited a few things....

Here's my 25:

1: Visit another place in the UK, my aim is 5 and I've ticked off 2 - Visiting North Wales next weekend to catch up with friends. She's just bought a new house up there so technically I've not been there before, this can be checked off!

2: Read 4 Classic Books. 20 was my aim and I've only read 1 so far. First is Robin Hood

3: Second is Frankenstein, I've heard its a great story and a complete classic

4:I also plan on reading the real Beauty and the Beast

5: The real Jungle Book

6: Wuthering Heights

7: Treasure Island

8: Dracula

9: and lastly the Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. This is quite a list.....fingers crossed I get some time off soon! - Basically I've read none of these, but I have read the Hobbit which counts as a classic!

10: Try 2 new foods. My aim is 10, surely 2 more can be done over Christmas! - Mushroom Pate and Watercress done!

11: Visit an art gallery; cannot think where this will be but I'll have to find one - this has not happened. I'm going to have to find one near me!

12: Give blood - this is simple and I have to fit this in somewhere; maybe on a week off - Week off at the end of March I will make sure this happens.

13: Work harder at toning up - Attending the gym 5 times a week and have my weigh in at the end of March with my trainer....eek!

14: I'd like to try rock climbing, it's supposed to be a great way to tone your upper body and I'd love to give it a go. There's an indoor climbing centre in Cardiff so I think I'll start there - Money is an issue here, think I'll have to drag my family along and maybe they'll pay...if only!

15: Start yoga/pilates - Still haven't tried a class now either! Easy to rectify this though.

16: Gorge walking - a fun day out that my dad and brother also want to do, winner! Family time will always be a good thing. Think this one is for the summer instead of February!

17. Running 10k is something that terrifies me but i have to get there to complete other challenges! The original challenge for this got cancelled but by the end of March I plan on running more than once a week as it will be light enough when I get home from work.

18: Go ziplining - courtesy of a Groupon deal me and M have bought tickets and will be booking in for April / May time.

19:Go to a gig - Still nothing planned but fingers crossed something fun will come along.

20: Learn to cook something new, one of each sweet and savoury. This hasn't happened yet but I plan on learning to make lasagne and a kind of cake that I can take into work for my birthday.

21: Continue to plough through the excess of 'stuff' in my possession - This a slow and painful process, it's not going well!

22: Learn basic things to fix on a car - The winter has been a learning curve with my first car; snow, ice, window chips, torrential rain, flooding and fallen trees. Still learning....a lot!

23: Go to London over Christmas - This was AWESOME! Me and my mum had such a great time having an indulgent wander, we will definitely be going again next year.

24: Visit an Antique or Vintage Fair - am yet to attend one of these too, maybe one of my friends who has just bought a house would like a wander.

25: Write a short story. I don't think this will ever happen if I'm honest but I would still love to do it.

What do you think of my list? Achievable?

Do you have a list of tasks you'd like to achieve by a certain date?
Do you have an tips for achieving them all??


Send me any links you have to your own lists, I love reading them!

L xxx

25 Before 26

Morning!

Bit of a lifestyle and list post for you today.

I keep seeing lots of these doing the rounds, they're like mini bucket lists and as lover of lists I think they're awesome. I have quite a large list of things I'd like to do/complete over on my 101 in a 1001 page here, but most of these are expensive and probably completely unachievable in the time I have left; things didn't go quite as I'd thought.

Instead I'm going to start breaking it up and aiming to tick off a few things in smaller installments. I'm 26 in March next year, so I'm giving myself the target of ticking off one task for every year that I've existed so far.

Here's my 25:

1: Visit another place in the UK, my aim is 5 and I've ticked off 2. Another one should be achievable in this time; suggestions below please!

2: Read 4 Classic Books. 20 was my aim and I've only read 1, I can surely manage to get a few of these read over the next few months as I have a lot on my kindle for free. I'm going name a few specifically to ensure they're read and fill up more of my 25! First is Robin Hood

3: Second is Frankenstein, I've heard its a great story and a complete classic

4:I also plan on reading the real Beauty and the Beast

5: The real Jungle Book

6: Wuthering Heights

7: Treasure Island

8: Dracula

9: and lastly the Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. This is quite a list.....fingers crossed I get some time off soon! 

10: Try 2 new foods. My aim is 10, surely 2 more can be done over Christmas!

11: Visit an art gallery; cannot think where this will be but I'll have to find one

12: Give blood - this is simple and I have to fit this in somewhere; maybe on a week off

13: Work harder at toning up - I've put on a few pounds recently and am feeling a bit too pudgy for my liking. Need to drop 7lbs and I'd be happy, this sounds easy but my diet is pretty good and I exercise 3/4 times a week as it is. If I work harder though it can happen!

14: As a sub list I have a number of new things I'd like to do to make this happen. Firstly, I'd like to try rock climbing, it's supposed to be a great way to tone your upper body and I'd love to give it a go. There's an indoor climbing centre in Cardiff so I think I'll start there

15: Start yoga/pilates - still haven't tried a class and I think it's about time I tried one. Body Balance is the class at my gym that combines a number of stretching and poses so I think I will try one of these and start there!

16: Gorge walking - a fun day out that my dad and brother also want to do, winner! Family time will always be a good thing

17: Run 10k - Initially my aim was to run 5k but I do that regularly now. Running 10k is something that terrifies me but i have to get there to complete other challenges! My friend has recently signed me up to do a 10k at the beginning of March. I have no excuses now...

18: Go ziplining - there's a Go Ape near me that does this kind of thing, definitely need to go!

19:Go to a gig - no idea what one yet but something!

20: Learn to cook something new, one of each sweet and savoury

21: Continue to plough through the excess of 'stuff' in my possession. Capsule wardrobe be mine!

22: Learn basic things to fix on a car - this is ongoing having just bought my first car. The winter will bring lots of issues that I'm sure will be a learning curve for me!

23: Go to London over Christmas - this might seem easy for some of you but I've never wandered around London at Christmas just to soak up the festive spirit and see the shop windows in Harrods and Selfridges. I've booked my train tickets for December so will definitely be going!

24: Visit an Antique or Vintage Fair - hopefully I can find one of these in the next few months. It would be great to wander around one of these and see what gems can be found!

25: Write a short story. I'd love to write a book but it is such a mammoth task involving so much free time that I just don't have at the moment. I'm sure I can stretch to writing a short story, even if it's something based on my own experiences!

What do you think of my list? Achievable?

Hopefully I can get a load of them done over Christmas and then I can check off more! I have a week off coming up so fingers crossed I can get some reading etc done then, and maybe an outdoors task.

Do you have a list of tasks you'd like to achieve by a certain date?
Do you have an tips for achieving them all??


Send me any links you have to your own lists, I love reading them!

L xxx

Spending Ban Update (3)

My spending ban hasn't been too bad this week.

I did cave and buy myself a new sonic toothbrush, but I feel that's not really a bad thing to buy.

In fact I'll be doing a post on it soon as I think an electric toothbrush is really important and there are currently some great offers on in Boots.

I picked up the Philips Sonicare Whitening toothbrush which currently has £63 off so is an obvious bargain.

It makes me think that because I'm not buying unnecessary things like clothes and make up i am actually buying things that are worth the money.

Unfortunately for me, my DVD player has broken. And although I don't really 'need' a new one, I reeeeeeeeeeally miss watching my films and I'm a little lost without it!

I am tempted to buy one when I get paid tomorrow and I've found one for £50 that has everything I need, but even so. Will have to see how much money I have left!

In other thoughts, here is my first wish list of items I am currently lusting over and cannot buy:

1) Macadamia oil hair mask. Having used a sample of this it is quite honestly one of the best and I need to get my hands on it and make my hair feel like silk again!

2) An Origins serum. I feel as my 25th birthday looms ever nearer that I need to take better care of my skin, as mentioned in lots of previous posts. I would like to invest in a serum to prevent further wrinkles and damage to my skin so hopefully I can pick up one of these soon.

3) Benefit boxed blushes. I clearly missed out on a few years of new products and now feel like my blush collection needs updating and revitalising with additional Benefit products.

4) A number of DVDs. I really want to update my DVD collection having not bought many in the past 5 years, I'm thinking Game of Thrones TV box sets along with others as well as ones like Magic Mike for some eye candy!

5) A new dress to go out in. I have my birthday coming up so I will be needing a new dress! No idea what type as op yet.....but I'm sure something slinky and figure hugging will be just the ticket!

How are you getting on with your spending bans? Link me to your wishlists if you have one!

L xxx