'It's beginning to look a lot like... M&Co Christmas Party Collection'

Hello! It's another week closer on my Christmas countdown (sad I know)! Only 6 weeks left till the festivities really begin and in celebration of their new Party range, M&Co contacted me to let me know about they're recent blogger challenge to style a piece from the new Party wear collection. With the chance of winning £75 in vouchers, and my keen eye for something a bit sparkly this year, it didn't take me long to choose a favourite from the collection...

Pricing the Outfit:

Sequin Dress - M&Co - £99, Fur Jacket - M&Co - £79, Stiletto Heels - House of Fraser - £70, Black Clutch - M&Co - £15, Necklace - M&Co - £8

The dress chosen to style from the collection, was a 1920's style embroidered shift dress. If you watched the film 'The Great Gatsby' this summer, you'll understand why the 1920's have been so influential in fashion over the past few months. If you didn't (though I strongly recommend it as a Saturday night in treat) then let me explain how I was inspired myself, by the beautiful 20's, in selecting an outfit from the M&Co collection. First off the 20's were all about the dancing, and being a passionate dancer myself, this dress looked both practical (for dancing) but stunning with all it's embroidery too! If there's one thing accepted only at Christmas - it's dancing with two left feet - and I felt this dress would really let you go wild with the Charleston...The 20's were also about the contrast of dark and light, so this dress fit perfectly with its deep purples and gold sequins.

I've styled this dress with an M&Co silver lined, black clutch, which is perfect for carrying along the essentials. I also chose a black fir coat - also from M&Co - for keeping warm on winter evenings. Fur coat's were also a popular choice during the 1920's, so I felt it was very fitting with my initial inspiration for the outfit! Finally I chose a pair of Aldo Stiletto Court Heels, from House of Fraser, as they added the feminine touch to the outfit and a lovely long necklace from M&Co's jewellery collection!

If you fancy styling your own outfit, in a bid to win a lovely treat of £75 in vouchers, head over to the M&Co blog: http://blog.mandco.com/2013/10/29/blogger-challenge-style-a-christmas-party-dress/#.UoEspid8sxx 

That's all for today's rambles! I hope I've given you some inspiration for your own Christmas Outfits... Let me know what you think!

Lots of Love,

Fun in the Kitchen - Halloween themed cupcake ideas...

It's officially half term holiday - hooray!
If you know me well, you'll understand why so many people would be shocked to hear I've been baking (and managed not to set the house of fire). However, with the kind assistance of my (not so) little sister and a kind gift of icing supplies, which I'll be reviewing from Baking Mad, I've taken my cooking experience a step further with some Halloween themed cupcakes!

Placing myself as head decorator, I let my sister work her magic with the cake mixture, using this recipe (part of which is below) from the Baking Mad website. It was easy to follow and definitely suitable for baking with younger children too. 

The website also had great inspiration for Halloween Baking Recipe's and designs, which were really helpful when deciding how to decorate our cupcakes. My favourite gift was the chocolate icing pen, as it had a number of different shaped funnels, which I enjoyed experimenting with. First there was a larger piping tube, which was effective in creating a base for decoration, a thin tube which added detail and a lined tube which created interesting patterns. The purple colour of colour creator particularly stood out as it worked really well in contrast with the chocolate icing. 

The Recipe we used:

150 grams - Butter
150 grams - Golden Caster Sugar
3 - Free Range Eggs
150 grams - Self Raising White Flour
0.50 tsp - Baking Powder + Lemon Zest

1. Heat the oven to 180°C, 160°C fan, gas 4. Line a cup cake tin with 12 paper cupcake cases.
2. Place the butter and sugar in a mixing bowl and beat with a wooden spoon or electric mixer until light and fluffy. Gradually beat in the eggs a little at a time until smooth, adding a little flour if the mixture curdles. 
3. Stir in the flour, baking powder and vanilla extract until smooth
4. Place heaped dessertspoon full in each cupcake case and bake for 20-25 minutes until golden brown and just firm to the touch. 
5. Leave in the tins for 5 minutes, then place on a wire rack to cool

For the all important decoration, we decided to use the supplies of icing from Baking Mad, to add the Halloween touch to our cakes. This included two icing pens, that came with various sized ends for different areas of decoration, three colour creators used to add colour to icing, and almond flavouring, to add flavour to the cake.

I'm off now to demolish the lovely cupcakes that I hear calling my name. If you fancy making your own cakes, for Halloween or another occasion I definitely recommend taking a look at the Baking Mad website - I particularly like their cheesecake recipes.

 Get Baking!
Lots of Love...

you'll find me chasing the sun...

Hello,

I’m currently writing today’s post from my lovely (tidy) desk, feeling like a proper journalist, in my work placement, where I've been hiding the last few days! 

Most students my age, will be spending every second of their summer, eating, watching TV and sleeping. With the exception to watching the White Queen (because I love it) and my usual 8 hours dosage of sleep, my summer is somewhat hectic! At my work placement I've had the opportunity to write articles (make of that what you will) visit clients and answer the dreaded telephone! While picking up on the daily running’s of a magazine, I've managed to get lots of tips for working in the industry, which I found really helpful! And I only have my little blog to thank for it.

But before I bore you, lets get to today's post!

As you know, I'm a proud member of the OASAP blogger program (check their awesome website out here). Each month I get the opportunity to review a product, and this month I've chosen to review a b-e-autiful boho skirt, that's perfect for summer holidays and festivals!

Today's outfit was a little combination I put together, after happily receiving a parcel from OASAP this morning. The skirt, is currently $29.93 in the sale - You can find it here. It's a beautiful boho style chiffon skirt, which is perfect for holidays and days in the sun. It's a really diverse dress, and you can style it in many ways. It would look beautiful with some high wedgies, or stay casual with some converse (why not?). I love the pattern - it's fab, but  OASAP also have the same skirt in a few different patterns. 

I combined the skirt, with a crop top from New Look (which is on offer at 2 for £8) and a wardrobe classic denim shirt from Primark - that's great for covering up on a chilly evening! The Sandals were from Clarks and are amazingly comfy, and the necklace was also from New Look - and just adds a finishing touch to the outfit. My leather bag was a thrifty market purchase (and a kind present) from my Auntie, and is the perfect size to carry a few necessities in. 

What I'm Wearing: Skirt - OASAP, Top - New Look, Shoes - Clarks, Jacket & Sun Glasses - Primark, Necklace - New Look, Bag - Market Purchase. 

My sister's improving on her photography skills, so if anyone needs a photographer - I'm training her up well! So thank you Lydia for today's photos!

I've also been a little bit brave (for me) with my choice of makeup for summer. I'm touching up my eyes up with a bit of blue eye shadow, to prove I'm not always painting my face in the same way. However, I can't promise this will last...

Before I bore you with my rant's, I'll sign off for today,

Lots of Love,

Travel Essentials with #Inspectagadget

Hello!
The UK weather was perfect for my post today! With summer fast approaching (and many of us looking forward to summer holidays) we all like a budget shopping spree before hand, so we can make the most out of the few months of sun the UK offers.

Being a penniless teenager, I was really excited to be asked to take part in the MoneySupermarket project called 'Inspect A Gadget.' Basically, MoneySupermarket choose 5 examples of 'budget gadgets' including: a potable DVD player, MP3 player, Kobo Mini eReader, Android Tablet and a HD camcorder. I was offered the chance to select one to review - and I chose an affordable Phillips Camcorder. I was then supplied with the money to purchase the item from the retailer...

To evaluate the Camcorder from Expansys, I've tried to give my own honest opinion of the product, which all in all was 10/10! Unfortunately, I haven't got much video footage yet, this is because I had to separately purchase a Micro SD card from Amazon (which hasn't yet come). 

Features...

• Price - Definitely Affordable! It's now only £51.99, which is definitely worthwhile!
• Size - This product is pocket size, making it easy to carry around in a small bag. 
• Delivery of Product - I opted for a 3-5 days delivery, but the product arrived the next day.
• Resolution - It's full HD, producing high quality videos - winwin!
• Editing - You can add video effects while filming, which helps make your videos a little bit different easily!
• Easy Sharing - You can directly upload your image/video's directly to Facebook/Youtube/other websites - which is great for recording your summer holiday quickly!
• USB - Built in, so need to worry about loosing your USB lead (which I usually do...)
• Swivel Screen - allows you to film from different angles, and even get the screen to face you, so you can film you and your friends at the same time!
• Battery life - around 2 hours (which isn't ages, but is still long enough and easy to charge up, once plugged in via the USB). 

 I found the product worked much better outside than inside; as it tended to be more pixelated when filming inside. However, this shouldn't be too much of a problem, as during summer, I'll use this product more outside anyway!

I would also recommend purchasing a good memory storage SD card alongside the camcorder, as it doesn't have much internal memory, and a USB plug, so you can charge it from the mains!

Overall, this is a really great product. I can't wait to use it, for both my blog (yes, that's right I'm branching out into the vlogging world [help] - so watch out...) and to capture summer moments with friends and family! I'm heading to Germany in a few months for a school trip, and this will DEFINITELY be coming with me!

 It's light weight and easy to use, and definitely on my 'top budget gadget' list!

Lots of Love,

What's in your handbag? - Money Supermarket...

I've got something a little bit different, for today's post - courtesy of Money Supermarket! Basically, I was set the challenge to post the contents of my handbag after a typical day in 'Blondie's Shoes' (so, I obviously chose the day I'd been shopping..)

The aim of this challenge was to calculate how much an average handbag is REALLY worth. As a savvy student (who has no money what-so-ever) I was like 'maybe this isn't for me', but I was surprised to find out, after a quick 'market research,' a.k.a referring to Google, that an average woman's handbag is worth around £200 -300!!!! So, I thought it would be interesting to see how my handbag matched up to these figures. 

If you want to take part in this competition too, head over to Money Supermarket and you could win a handbag prize worth £1,000! And 6 runners up prize's of £25 vouchers for Asos, thanks to Fashion Perks- Yes PLEASE! (it's about time I treated myself)...

Here's my little handbag that I'm usually carrying with me wherever I go. It's small, because I end up filling large tote bag's with endless junk, when I'm shopping. So sometimes smaller really is better! However, It doesn't stop me from obsessing over tote bags when I'm shopping! As you can see, I don't really hold my bag at much value, but this could still be interesting..

(p.s. my phone is ollllllllllllllllld. and yes, I wish I had the I Phone...)

 I'm very optimistic when it comes to UK weather, so my Primark £1 sunnies are always packed and ready for wearing.

I this little make up bag my 'first aid kit'. That's because it has everything you could possibly need (and fit) into a bag of this size for a beauty emergency. It's got: nail file (50p), mirror (£2), lip balm (£2*), bare minerals concealer (£16),  plasters, tweezers, and obviously a small packet of sweets for when lunch isn't soon enough! I also carry around £10 worth of additional makeup (whoopsie).

 Then there's even more essentials. I don't know what I'd do without my diary. I take is EVERYWHERE, and although my phone has a calender, I always refer back to my little book of notes! My purse was a vintage charity shop purchase and my phone is well... old, but still in working order. Diary (£2) + phone (£32) + earphones (£7) + purse (£5) = £46

 Some more of my handbag favourites... A bottle of impulse (£1) goes with me everywhere - it's lightweight, well priced and smells lovely! Also my ted backer body souffle (£2), is great for summer days and Jack Wills hand cream (£5) was a little treat - but has lasted me ages!

Finally, my bag, was £8 from a local charity shop!

Getting the Maths right...
An average woman's estimated handbag value = £200-£300
My handbag value (excluding cash etc) = £93.50

This is a great experiment, to see how much your actually carrying around with you! Just because It's not a shinny new I Phone, it's worth considering the value of your other items in your bag, and whether getting insurance is wise. Even if you don't fancy entering the competition I'd advise heading over to Money Supermarket, for more tips on insuring your handbag!

That's all from me, I'm going to spend my evening planning outfits around the Mulberry Bag prize (did I say that..) and wishing I had more money!
You can enter by writing your own "What's in my bag post" (see all the details and Ts&Cs here) and emailing competitions@moneysupermarket.com with "What's in your Handbag" in the subject line. You can also check out other entries and plug your own on twitter with the hashtag #whatsinyourhandbag! GOOD LUCK!
 
Lots of Love,
 

P.S. If you do enter, drop me your link in a comment, as I'd love to see some other entry's too!
P.P.S. I promise not to hate you if you win, hehe ;)

Betrousse Beauty Kits Review...

I hope you've all enjoyed your weekends! 

Today's post is a review of a beauty box I was sent from the lovely people at Betrousse. Betrousse is a French company, currently reaching out to the UK, selling monthly beauty kit's! 

 For girlies who love a surprise when it comes to beauty treats, Betrousse is the perfect treat for you! (oh and did I mention its FRENCH)...

The latest box out is the 'Glitz and Glamour' kit. The kit is now £10*, with around £70 worth of full sized beauty products, and loads of advice on how to make the most of your treats!

 I was so excited by the beautiful wrapping when I saw my package on my doorstep! I love a company that goes to the extent of making their products beautiful in it's packaging...
Because Betrousse mainly supplies it's service in France currently, a lot of it's products are made in France too. It was so exciting to use brands that haven't properly been introduced into the UK yet, and were full sized products - so you can use them again and again!

The products included in the beauty kit were:
1. Mango and Sun flower Body Moisturiser - usually £3.99

2. Tulecos tonifying oil - usually £33.00

3. Jason Hair Shampoo - usually £7.29

4. Benta Berry ex foliating facial cleanser - usually £14.00

5. Make Believe enhance shimmer lip gloss - usually £10.00
My favourite item was the tonifying oil, as I've never used anything like it before - the instructions were really helpful. Also the shimmer lip gloss is my newest addition to my handbag essentials

I've sampled a few beauty box's and sometimes feel you don't get your moneys worth with the products. However, not only do Betrouse provide full sized products, they also provide you with products suited to your skin condition etc. What more can a girl ask for?
Have you tried the Betrousse Beauty Kits? - let me know!

That's all from me!
Hope your all making the most of the mid-march snow - crazy I know! Who's been snowed in?
Lots of Love,

A little Blogging Opportunity - Daxon; try it for yourself!

As We survived 2012, lets look forward to 2013 - with a little blogging opportunity I've got for you!
I heard from a fellow blogger, about this opportunity with Daxon, to become a part of the Daxon blogger network! Not only this, but if you sign up, you can also recieve a £50 Amazon voucher to spend on some 'new year goodies' of you own!

This gorgeous bangle in the Daxon sale, was only £7, and is a great accessory to add some definition to an outfit - the texture is lovely too! This would look great with a cream blouse for work/collage.

This was a favourite piece from the Daxon collection, and it was more than affordable too! This lovely  Ellos Ladies Jacquard Knit Cardigan, is now only £13.00, and will look great dressed down with a pair on jeans and knee high boots in winter months! 

This lovely Tan bag caught my eye, as it's simple design looks great and is practical too! It's only £27 in the sale, which makes it a total bargain! A second advantage is that it's a great size - so I can fit in all my 'handbag essentials'...

Here's just some of the lovely pieces I found on the website:

Simply, Click here and follow the simple instructions on the Daxon website! What could be easier?

I don't know how long this brilliant offer is available, but it's great to be part of new networks - and this looks like a perfect example!

Enjoy!
Lots of Love,