Inspirational...

I have found a new style icon. Her name is Linley and her blog is called Dwelling and Telling. www.dwellingandtelling.blogspot.com
She lives in Alabama (where I went for my Christmas holidays to visit family) and her style is easily achievable.
Here are my favourite looks of hers...

Isn't she gorgeous? I think that last look is quite achievable with what I have in my wardrobe. I also think she manages to cover the whole "looking age appropriate" dilemma! She's fashionable without being too obviously on trend. I could spend hours looking through her blog pictures.....and that's what I'm going to do....

Writers' block...

I haven't been doing much recently....except continuing to do up my house for sale! I did find time to try out a new nail painting technique - using scotch tape to do stripes. Here are the results:

Tape off sections to paint a different colour.

Ok, so they aren't amazing but not bad for my first attempt! I think next time I will stick to one colour for the stripes and make them wider.
It thought you might be interested to see my epic garden so you can understand how much time it has taken to clean it up!!

This is my boyfriend clearing the brambles in the bit of the garden after the decking...

 

And this is it AFTER we have cleared it! It's more noticeable in real life...

This is the decked area which is lovely for bbq's. We spent Monday scrubbing the wood clean so it's not this colour anymore!
And lastly is my beautiful shed which we painted blue to give it a beach house style!


 The roof could do with a bit of work but as we're moving I don't see the point!
In other news, Urban Outfitters has an offer for 20% with the code spring11 - I found this through Look magazine. They have some lovely lomography cameras and gorgeous, vintage style home wares.....If only I didn't have to save my money :(  
All monetary donations will be gladly accepted..... !

Sell sell sell !

Sorry for my absentness! I have been in the process of selling my house :(   It is now officially on the market so I have been spending a lot of time cleaning and tidy and chopping down my 180ft garden!
Also, because I have been doing all this stuff I haven't had time (or the money) to shop or look pretty! Well, today I am making a special effort. Lucky you.
Reading through all my facebook wall posts, I found one from LOOK magazine advertising Barry M's new colours of Crackle Top Coat.....You may have seen my previous post on Models Own's new crackle glaze nail polishes so obviously someone is copying someone! The article says that these Barry M ones will be out in June..

 

I already have the black one which is a little bit severe but I really like the look of the pink and the blue for summer. Can't wait to paint my nails in pastel shades again! Just waiting for my tan to start appearing!
Hmm....what else is on my radar? I have just found out that Topshop are having a flash sale! Why do shops do this to me when I have no money? Maybe because I am so often broke or saving for something!

I quite like this Emma Cook t-shirt....now £25 down form £65..

And actually that's about all I found! The 2 other things I liked were only available in a size 16. Not my size. I have to say, I'm not actually a huge fan of Topshop. I find most of it pretty unwearable.
If you are more into your designer fashion, then theoutnet is having a sale! www.theoutnet.com
Unfortunately it looks like a lot of the best stuff has sold out already as it's only a 4 day sale. Worth a look anyway!
I'll be back with more soon. Promise!

Weeks of work...

As promised, I found my buried camera so here are quite a few recent outfits I have been wearing. I'm slightly concerned by how cross eyed I look in some of them! I am not cross eyed!

 

This is my favourite picture! The weather was so good that day that I was able to make my outfit a bit more summery!

My second favourite outfit. This is what I wore to go to a vintage fair last week.
They get progressively worse from here on in!

See, both a little bit dodgy!

These are as above but without the leather jacket :)

That lace dress again...this time with a 70's vibe and brown leather boots.

I might have already posted this picture? That's my new leather biker jacket in action!
I probably should have broken up some of my future posts with these pictures but hey, I'm not perfect! I'm working for the next 4 days so there will be no good outfits coming up! Anwayz....as usual I have to go as it's getting late and I have to prepare for work tomorrow!

Just a quickie!

Only a quick one tonight as I've left it all a bit late.....
I just wanted to share some cute things I found on the Topshop website:

Beautiful and only £55. What a shame that I have too many bags and I'm poor....

These are £62 which seems a random amount? Pretty......

Mini straighteners - £12. Useful for holidays?

And time for a quick look at some gross things I found on their website which would alert the fashion police..

This minging jumper is in the "designer" section...Right...

This hideous dress is also in the designer section....if you've seen Never Been Kissed, this looks like the terrible prom dress Drew Barrymore is wearing as a teenager!!!

This jacket is £160!!! Yuck.
Anywayz, Topshop is probably a favourite with most people so I'd better stop slating them!
Toodles x

Here little camera.....

I wanted to post a few pictures of my looks over the last few days and also to show you the reality of having to decorate your house to make it suitable to sell...Yes, I will be having to sell my house :( 
Unfortunately, in the minefield that is my bedroom, I may have buried my camera under all my clothes that I had to take out of the wardrobe (in order to paint behind it!)
Trying to stay positive at the moment when things are all a bit rubbish...Going into town to hand in my CV was a bad idea as I moped around the shops not being able to buy anything! To be fair, I have bought things recently but I can't really buy anything else for a while. It's just a bit rubbish to look around shops which suddenly have LOVELY items in them and not being able to buy them! And to top it all off I can't have chocolate to cheer myself up because a) I'm on a bit of a diet from my recent wait gain and b) it sets of my migraines and I suffer for it!!

BAD TIMES!!
Got any suggestions?

Down in the dumps....

Well, I have to say that I'm feeling pretty rubbish again today. Went to the doctors- he thinks I am having "tension headaches" as apposed to migraines. What this means for me is taking lots of painkillers and sitting around with a heated lavender bag around my neck. Far from glamorous....

I was excited to get an email from Models Own this week telling me about their new shatter effect nail polishes. I already have a black one by Barry M but these new ones come in awesome colours!

I just know that I'm going to want to buy all of these! I then discovered from Gem Fatale's blog that they have produced loads of new colours in a range called Models Own Pro - available exclusively at Boots here: http://www.boots.com/en/Models-Own-Pro-Nail-Polish_1189616/?cm_mmc_o=-uubkbzfwlCjCKww5kbELCjCvi%20i9%20niioCjCC

They are £8 each which is still fairly reasonable and they have something in them which will help your nails grow! I need that at the moment as mine are still splitting like crazy - another sign of my ill health this year!

I'm continuing my girl crush on Rachel Bilson and her style with this picture:

One of the reasons I picked her out is that she is only about 5ft tall like me! Unfortunately she is quite a bit thinner and a lot more gorgeous but at least I have something to aspire to! She wears a lot of blazers and tailored outfits so I think my wardrobe is going to be getting a major overhaul. I particularly need basics like a plain white t-shirt and some new dark denim jeans that actually fit - hard to find when you're a short ass!

I might even have to start shopping in some new places - Oasis seems like it's aimed at the slightly more sophisticated market, although I usually have to pick shops for their price rather than their style. French Connection and Kookai look like alternatives - although again they can be pretty pricey....Maybe Next is the way forward? I have only ever bought one thing from there and that was years ago!

This Oasis dress is surely the epitome of classic chic...

I like the idea of having a slightly more fashionable alternative to the plain white shirt:

Also from Oasis. Apologies for the white on white background look...
That's going to have to be all for today as staring at this screen is not helping my headache. Sorry about the slightly bland blog content...xx

On the subject of age...

I've hit a wall. I no longer know what is age appropriate fashion wise. After a brief discussion at work it has been confirmed that I should no longer be wearing a denim mini skirt at my age!! (30 this year)
I'd like to know if there are exceptions to this unwritten rule? Is it ok if I look younger than my actual age? Is it ok if I'm thin and have great legs? (I'm not saying that I have!)
I gave up slogan and cartoon picture t-shirts a while ago but am I ready to give up my fail safe fashion style? (FYI that means denim skirt, tights, a preppy shirt and boots.) And if I give that up, what do I wear instead? I honestly have no idea. I've recently realised that all the girls I look to for fashion inspiration are in fact just girls and not women my age! I mean, blimey, I take fashion tips from school girls! Does fashion stop being accessible when you hit 30? Do I have to go and buy plain basics?
This post will hopefully explain my new fascination with finding a "late 20's something role model".......I don't know whether there are just not many of them out there or if I've just been ignoring them in favour of anyone under 25! I don't recall seeing many fashion blogs by women over the age of 30? Well, the hunt starts here.....

Do you think there are certain things that shouldn't be worn by women over a certain age?

After doing a little research on google, the first post/article I have found gives this rule:

Rid your closet of cut-off mini skirts, tattered jeans and message tees. I like to ask myself this question: Would this land me on "What Not to Wear"? If the answer is yes, it's buh-bye!

Read more: How to dress like a 30 year old | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/how_4521982_dress-like-year-old.html#ixzz1G8TlRziZ

Well that answers the mini skirt question then!!!  The general consensus seems to be "invest in wardrobe classics" and then funk it up a bit with coloured handbags and jewellery. That seems a bit dull to me!
Trying to find a suitable celebrity style icon is proving hard too.....Looking at a list of celebs who are about my age has only turned up Christina Aguilera (tacky), Gisele Bundchen (never going to look like that!), Jessica Simpson (tacky) , Kerry Katona (creepy), Paris Hilton (tacky). The pickings are slightly better for 29 year olds...

Nicole Richie:

This is such a gorgeous picture. Age appropriate? Maybe? I love Nicole Richie's style but it's hard to find pictures of her that aren't just focusing on how thin she is!

Rachel Bilson is another favourite of mine:

I think she is going to be my new style crush!!!
This post has taken me an amazing 2 hours to research and write!!!! I hope this helps other late 20's somethings.....

Exclusive interview with Hannah Banana Bakery!

I have recently been thinking about the subject of role models and noticing that all the stylish girls I like to look at are only about 18 years old. As I'm going to be hitting the big 3-0 this year, I thought it might be more appropriate to look for role models that are more my age! (More about this later)

My first "role model" (in what might become a regular subject post) is Hannah Pinchin of http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Hannah-Banana-Bakery/113780655363042 Hannah Banana Bakery.
Hannah has been one of my best friends for as long as I can remember and is the same age as me - but somehow manages to achieve soooo much more! She has recently set up her own Vegan/ gluten free cake business, is currently completing a Phd in something sciencey and also manages to fit in Roller Derby and a cake decorating course! Where does she find the time??

She has kindly agreed to answer some questions for me:

Me: When did you become a vegan and what inspired you to change your diet?
Hannah:  I became vegan in 2002 after having to cook for all my vegan friends all the time and only having veggie food in. I started reading up about the dairy industry and disagreed with it and how its messing up the planet and decided I didn't want to support that. I still miss cheese every day!

Me: How did you get into baking and when did it become a career choice rather than a hobby?
Hannah:  I've always baked since I was tiny as my mum used to make all our cakes for our lunch boxes but it wasn't until I became vegan that I started playing with recipes as its so hard to buy vegan cake in Southampton and I have a very sweet tooth! I noticed that a lot of bakeries provide vegan cake on request but it always costs more and its typically made by a non-vegan using recipes that haven't been perfected which I don't think is right. I've been studying cake artistry at Eastleigh college since September and veganising all the techniques and learning all the tips and tricks and thought why don't I give it a go? 

Me: What tips would you have for someone wanting to start their own creative business?
Hannah:  Brace yourself!! The paper work for an 'edible' business is unbelievable!! Registering as a business, kitchen inspections, changing your home insurance, your car insurance, getting public liability insurance, tax forms, website, logo, packaging and then there's working out your prices and making sure you don't want to have ANY spare time ever again! Aside from that I think you should follow your dreams and give everything a try!

Me: What inspires you when you are designing a new cake or recipe?
Hannah: I like veganising typically non vegan food like french fancies and chocolate eclairs. I like a challenge!
 
Me: What else rocks your boat apart from baking?
Hannah: Roller derby! I play for the Portsmouth Roller Wenches under the name Hanoffee Pie. Come support us and laugh at me getting battered!

Me: What item are you lusting over at the moment?
Hannah: I dreamt of having a huge Kenwood mixer to make huge batches of cakes and I got given one last week!!!!! Its bigger than me but I would marry it if I could :)

Me: How do you find time to pursue all your hobbies?
Hannah: I pretty much never sleep..! Life's too short anyway! :)

Me: If you could invite any 4 people to eat your cakes (dead or alive!) who would it be?
Hannah:  Jon Bon Jovi. I wouldn't need anyone else..one day Jon, one day...GUSH!

A yummy cake pop

Beautiful decorated cupcakes

Both if the items above are available as Mothers Day presents (in limited quantities so be quick!) from the following website: http://iammagpie.co.uk/iam/cupcakes.html
She also finds time (does this girl have a time machine???) to post vegan recipes for the Last Hours website ( http://www.lasthours.org.uk/content/blogs/cookery/ ) Even I am tempted to try some of these!


I wanted to put a few more pictures in here but I'm having a bit of a technical FAIL today! Maybe some more later...
I hope you've enjoyed reading this....I plan to follow this up with other inspiring late 20 somethings!

Cute or cruelty??

I just found this picture on Coco Celine's blog:

Haha. So cute yet so wrong....

Leopards, not spring chickens!

I've been a little bit absent recently - mainly because I'm broke from buying the leather jacket and partly because I've been suffering from migraines and have been rocking pyjamas instead of dresses. I did spend a bit of time on my appearance the other day, doing some spring inspired leopard print nails. I have a great tip for anyone who picked up the free Models Own kit that came with Fabulous magazine about a month ago.....
Quite a few people mentioned that the liquid eyeliner was a bit stiff to use but it works amazingly as a nail art pen! Here are the results:

The polish is a pale purple colour and the eyeliner is black. I added white dots to the middle of my leopard spots but that picture came out all blurry!
I went to Gunwharf Quays in Portsmouth again today with my mum. Didn't buy anything but had a nice lunch! Here's what I wore...

Wearing the new Muubaa leather jacket. It was really comfy but not very warm! It was bloomin' freezing outside today!
In other news, I bought Glamour magazine as it was only £2 and because Elle isn't out til the 9th this month....It had a free lipstick on the cover which I love - it's by Clinique and I think it would suit everyone.
Inside they had a picture of their glitter iced Krispy Kreme donuts to celebrate their 10 year anniversary. I just saw them in Tesco and they are so pretty! (If a donut can be pretty?)

They look like they have glitter lipgloss on the top! Nom. Unfortunately I'm on a donut free diet right now...

Whilst surfing the net quickly I came across some lovely packaging in the form of Love and Toast lip balms on asos.com. This one is my fave:

It's only £4.95 in the sale at the moment! I'd like to find out how you can make a lip balm taste like prickly pears! They also do a cherry lemonade flavour which sounds yummy. If you order one let me know how it tastes!