Summer Sales

The Summer Sales are a fabulous way to buy next season clothes at reduced prices. I refuse to buy any more Summer clothes as I bought loads of new things for the Summer and have hardly worn them due to the Scottish weather.

I went in to Urban outfitters and purchased a couple of tops for Autumn from the sale stock, awesome!

I bought this bird printed blouse which will be a fab piece for the Autumn, it will look great with a pencil skirt or woolen shorts:

It was reduced from £40 to £20, there are none left online but the stores should have some left.

I also got a lovely peach lace jumper, which with a top under will be great for Autumn since nude colours are really hot:

It is reduced from £38 to £18, what a bargain!

Some other great bargains I noticed that would be great additions to any autumn wardrobe:

River Island:


Beige hooded cape now £15

White mini skater skirt now £15, this has sold out online but the stores still have some.

Cream polka dot blazer now £20, this is out of stock online but the stores may have some left.

This Topshop pointelle knitted dress is a steal at £15, it comes in other colours but I like the apricot best:

Warehouse have these trousers and skirt in the sale both for the bargain price of £25, these could easily be transformed into Autumn clothes:

 

Autumn Trends 2011

Summer is not even over yet and I am already getting excited by the Autumn collections! I was spurred by my August issue of Elle arriving through my door a few days ago with the lovely Autumn/Winter Runway Edit, and the emails from Topshop with a preview of their Autumn trends.

I find it so easy to to spend away all my pay on clothes, socialising, and any other things I may want. Last month it was a new digital camera, a Lumix FS35 no less which is 16 mega pixels and has a 8x optical zoom, I got the violet one so it is very pretty. The month before that it was the True Blood box set season 1-3. I also use the best makeup, Clinique for my skincare and foundation, YSL for my concealer - Touche Eclat, Benefit for blush, mascara etc. I also always end up going on two holidays a year - this year I have Dubrovnik and Amsterdam to look forward to. Then there's the concerts - Take That, Kings of Leon, Kylie I have been to so far this year and I still have Rihanna left.

So the thought of the new season fashion is exciting but I know I have to calm myself down and just buy a few key pieces.

There is always a version of the rock chick trend for autumn which is fab cause I already have leather jackets and a lovely fur coat I got last year - faux of course! i also have other pieces such as leather buckle boots with faux fur inside, lace jumpers, denim skirts with funky zips so plenty to work with.

There is always a boyish look for the Autumn also, so again easy get out the blazer and the brogue's easy! I am unfortunate to be slim everywhere except my legs which are very curvy especially for my 8/10 dress size, so skinny jeans are out completely! Topshop seem to be going all Mod, I don't think I can pull this off:

Haha some things only look cool on models, I love fashion but only take inspiration and am no victim!

I am excited by the 'Eccentric Ladyland' trend in Elle, it is edgy but pretty and feminine at the same time. I really want a cheesy Novelty jumper - I like this Topshop dog one, I don't think it is in stock yet but I like it:

If I could buy anything I wanted, I would go for this green tweed/wool jacket from Chanel, it is beautiful but not affordable to me, damn it:

I want a parka, and I would wear glamorous clothes underneath, cool but chic at the same time. So I am on the hunt for that and in this country lets face it, it would be practical. I love the Altuzarra one here, but again not in my budget :

My afternoon tea party

I hosted my own afternoon tea party recently as I have really got into baking and think it is a fabulous way to spend an afternoon with friends! It was a lot of work but totally worth it. I went all out, I decorated the table with a floral table runner and all my nice china. I baked cupcakes, scones and whoopie pies. I also made some yummy sandwiches. I served the afternoon tea with a pot of tea and some pink lemonade.

Later I decided to make a lovely jug of pimms!

Tapa Hanover street

I went to tapas restaurant tapa for the 2nd time on Saturday, after a little shopping. I booked a table for 6.30pm just in case it was busy. When my friend and I walked into the restaurant there was nobody else there! My friend said I don't really want to eat here if there is no other customers and I said the food is amazing though so we sat down anyways. After we had ordered two couples walked in but still why is this place so quiet. I know that 6.30pm is very early to eat but still! The food was yummy and the portion sizes are generous. I enjoyed my meal as did my friend, but it will be hard to convince her to go back. It is no fun sitting in an empty restaurant. I really hope they are not in trouble, it would be a real shame if they went out of business! It had filled up a bit since we left but still wasn't major busy. Everyone I know who has been has said the same.

America's Next Top Model - Daniella Issa Helayel

I have just watched the latest episode of America's Next Top Model, it is one of my fave shows! It is fun to watch and I love to learn more about the fashion industry and watch the photo shots. This week the photo shot was set in a Moroccan market, their outfits were by Issa London and they were lucky to have famous photographer Friedemann Hauss to photograph them. See outfits below they are all beautiful.

Alexandria struggled, she has all the way through the competition to really let go and has been very controlled. She looks great though but it is not the kind of photo that would really interest me if I saw it in a magazine. I do feel sorry for her though, all the girls hated her and thought she was a bitch but I think she was really misunderstood!

Brittani did a good job, she is very high fashion and understands how to twist and shape her body to make art. She does annoy me a bit though, she complains a lot and in the past as not always been professional.

 Molly was awesome and she looks the most striking and interesting, that photo could be in Vogue right now. She is a very angry person though and if she can sort that out and come across well she could win this thing. She is definitely very talented.

Hannah looks beautiful but she really did not know how to pull this one off. Sometimes she performs amazingly well but other times like this she gets lost. She perhaps doesn't have as much experience as the others and hasn't learnt her angles yet. I do really like her though, she is the girl next door, the only girl left that has a sweet, happy personality, that could go in her favour as America's Next Top Model needs to be approachable and personable.

Well Hannah and Alexandria were in the bottom two and Alexandria is out. Hannah's body of work was stronger so that's that then. I can't wait for the next episode. I am not sure who is going to win, but I would like Hannah to get it, I am always in favour of an underdog, especially a nice one!

Places I must visit before I die

I love going on holiday to visit new places, meet new people, try new food and just learn about the cultures of interesting places.

My list of places I must visit before I die is a long one but I am slowly getting through it, it is as follows:

• New York (visited in 2009)
• Paris (visited in 2007)
• Cannes (visited in 2008)
• Puerto Banus (visited in 2009)
• Dubrovnik (visiting this year)
• Amsterdam (visiting this year)
• Las Vegas
• Los Angeles
• San Francisco
• Boston
• Miami
• Hawaii
• Jamaica
• Sydney
• Melbourne
• Barcelona
• Athens
• Madrid
• Lisbon
• all of Italy
• Copenhagen
• Vienna
• Prague
• All of Germany
• Hong Kong
• Toyko
• Seychelles
• Morocco
• Dubai
• Abu Dhabi

My favourite place I have visited so far is New York, there is just so much to do, it is a truly exciting city. But I love France, both Paris and Cannes are lovely, I would love to go back.

 I am excited to be visiting both Dubrovnik and Amsterdam this year, bring it on!

Afternoon Tea

Afternoon tea has again become very fashionable, there are loads of lovely places to go in Edinburgh. In particular I love eteaket (http://www.eteaket.co.uk/). There are loads of yummy teas and the food is delicious too.

I decided to start baking myself, I have never been a good cook but if I follow a recipe exactly I seem to do OK. Cupcakes are simple to make, I just bought the Hummingbird Bakery Cake Days book and their cupcake recipe is easy to follow and the sponge is the best I have ever tasted! I also tried to make their Whoopie Pies, I went for the chocolate flavour but they were too thin and sticky like they didn't rise enough. I am not sure where I went wrong, but have ordered a special Whoopie Pie tin from Amazon in the hope that will help! They were yummy none the less and I had to even order some Marshmallow fluff from Amazon for the filling!

Once I have mastered my skills, I plan to host an afternoon tea party for a few friends. I have started collecting pretty china just cause eating cakes and drinking tea without the china is not as fun. Ebay is great for real vintage pieces, by Royal Albert, Sadler and many others. This is very similar to the Sadler teapot I have just ordered.

On the high street there are a lot of lovely vintage-look pieces, I bought this amazing Kirstie Allsopp cake stand from Marks and the teapot is V&A which I bought from John Lewis.