WHEN THE SUN SET: OOTD...

Hello all! It's been a pretty hectic few days - what first week back to school and not forgetting that I TURNED 18 ON TUESDAY!!!!! (which I still haven't got used to). As my new years resolution finally got the 'no no' (several slices of birthday cake later), I thought I'd post little outfit of the day featuring my lovely birthday present off my fab friends!

I couldn't have asked for a better 18th birthday, I had chance to see family and friends over the weekend at my party, and the day itself was well spent eating my favourite foods and sipping red wine (like the adult I am) while watching every chick flick possible with my mom and sister! My parents gave me a stunning antique ring with my birthstone in for my birthday, and are kindly paying for my exotic - exotic as it can be on my budget -holiday with my favourite girlie's!

Today's outfit was centred around my lovely new purchase from New Look. The dress is a black and white lace detailed dress, which shifts over an under layer. I loved the length as its perfect for a day out somewhere, and it because the material was so lightweight the ends floated in the wind! Because the pattern is so detailed, I could be a bit lazy and get away with simple accessories! I wore it with a George green cardigan, my all time favourite brogues and charity shop purchase handbag. I also tweaked my hair in a little experiment, by putting half back in a bobble, then sweeping the pony tail back through the centre of my hair to create a twisted look.

Talking of birthday presents, one of my favourite surprises was this lovely Daniel Wellington wrist watch. I've wanted a brown leather watch to keep me in time (kind of) for so long, so I was overjoyed when I opened the present, knowing my friends had all contributed to buy it for me! It has a gold framed ring with Swarovski stones on the face and brown leather strap - and called the 'Classy Cardiff' if you wanted to take a look at the watches for yourself. It's also water resistant - which means someone definitely had blonde's like myself in mind when designing it! All in all it was a fab purchase by my friends, who no longer have to cope with me asking the time every 5 minutes - so thank you girls!

That's all from me today - I need to get my ass into gear and start getting ready for another friends 18th tonight, and at the moment I'm heading there in my onesie!

Have a lovely weekend!

RAISE YOUR GLASS - THE BLONDE IS GOING 18...

Hello Everyone!
So guess what -!!TOMORROW IS MY BIRTHDAY!! As unfortunate as it is, my 18th birthday had come crashing into the first week back to school - however despite my lack of sleep and renewed stress levels, I'm determined to enjoy every second! Last weekend my parents kindly organised a party for me to celebrate with family and friends - which I let them take over, as I tend to be unorganised when it comes to arranging events. It was a lovely opportunity to have a toast and say 'hell yes, we've made it though the first step, here's to the rest'!

As I was so wrapped up with dancing the evening away, with party classics including: Barbie Girl and Cha Cha Slide (you get the picture) I didn't get chance to take many photos to show you. Instead I thought I'd post a special 'What I Wore' post, as I just loved my outfit that evening oh and a few snaps with my sister and friends before hand too :)

What I Wore: Dress - New Look, Shoes - Debenhams, Nail Varnish - Ciate 

Well that's all from me, I'll do a little birthday post tomorrow for you!
Until then... See you soon

NEW YEAR NEW ME..

Hello!
First off I'd better say 'Happy New Year' to you all. Despite the optimistic title of today's post, I doubt a 'new me' will really kick off this year. I've already broken my New Years 'diet' resolution - the nearest to which will be me drinking a can of diet Pepsi (sorry, not sorry). Oh and my wish to study even harder this year has already been distracted by TV and shopping sprees, oh and reading into history books that have nothing to do with my course topics..

My new year was spent with friends and family, with our traditional 'eat too much, drink too much' motto, so we never fail to have a good time! New Years day was along similar lines, though I was in bed before 10 last night! Anyhow today's post is a little glimpse at what myself and my sister wore for New Years - as we were being a bit lazy to do a proper post - he he!

So I wore a New Look Midi Dress, which I'd been saving to wear for a special occasion. I just love the pattern and the colours in the dress! It was £10 in the sale, and I'm sure will get plenty more use in the new year! I paired it up with a pair of heels from Dotty P and a chunky necklace from Primark! Lydia opted for her new peplum top (also from New Look) and black leggings! She probably had the best idea in terms of outfit choice, as playing Twister in a midi skirt is quite a challenge...

 

I hope you too had a lovely New Year - lets make 2014 a good'un!

Lots of Love,

Clothes Show Live Event Review + a little Giveaway..

 Hello! It's Friday, which can only mean one thing - THE WEEKEND!

First off, as promised I'm showing you what myself and my sidekick/photograper/much cooler friend Emma-lee, got up to at the Clothes Show Live 2013 a few weekends ago. As its such a huge event on the UK Fashion calender, I split my posts into several interests - including an OOTD and Catwalk snaps. To finish off, I've selected a few photos of the stalls and talks that were going on during the day...

 

 During the day I got lots of opportunitys to do some christmas shopping (not just for myself) and meet a few celebrites - meeting Britian and Irelands Next Top Model winner was so exciting! It was a really great day, and I'd definitely recommend the show as a great day out with your friends. A few of my favourtie stalls was the Ciate London nail varnish stand, and Oh my Love clothing. I also managed to get my latest copies of the Company Magazine - horrah!

Finally, I've got a Christmas giveaway to tell you about! If you've heard of Dressale.com, before then you'll know they sell the best selection of evening dresses for every occasion! With Christmas on its way, they're giving 10 dresses away every week!

To be in with a chance of winning all you need to do is....

1. Register on Dressale:http://www.dressale.com/
2. Like Dressale on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dressale

3. Follow Dressale on twitter: https://twitter.com/dressale

4. Leave the comment under this post with your email address

5.Apply the dress you want to get here>>>http://dress.cm/Z1Zu5M
6. Follow my blog on GFC
7. Follow my blog on Bloglovin
8. Follow my blog of facebook
Once entered please leave your email address, Facebook name, and twitter handle bellow! And let me know how you've entered.

 Giveaway will expire on January 15 and there will be one winner for each dress..

That's all from me, keep a look out for my Christmas themed posts!
Lots of Love,

Outfit post: Oasap Shirt Dress

Hello! Hope you're having a lovely weekend wherever you are. The sun has been out today (which makes a change from all the rain this week), so I took the opportunity to take a few photos of my latest purchase from Oasap!

I've been looking for a while for a little dress to wear for something casual during the day. I chose this little number as it looked adorable on the Oasap website. I particularly liked the collared shirt as I knew it would look great with a woolly jumper over it. The dress came up quite large for a size Medium, and could have brought it in a small, but the thin brown belt that came with it helped to shape the dress. For this look I wanted to go minimalistic, so I covered up with a teal blue cardigan from New Look and wore my favourite Clark's brogues. My necklace was brought a few weeks ago from Primark, and I felt it added the finishing touches to the dress.

What I'm Wearing: Dress - Oasap, Cardigan - New Look, Bag - Charity Shop.

That's all from me today. I'm eagerly anticipating the season finale of Downton Abbey this evening - as you know my love of period drama's never changes, so I can't wait to see how it ends!

Lots of Love,

OOTD; Florals in Autumn..

Hello, it's been a quite half term for me so far, however my excitement for HARRY POTTER STUDIOS next week cannot be contained!

Today's post is a little outfit I put together for 6th form, but thought I'd share it with you anyhow. I recently brought a floral dress (yes in Autumn!) from Dorothy Perkins, for an Autumn wedding I was singing for, however I've formed an attachment with its beautiful colours! 

 

I wore the dress with a green blazer from H&M, which really brought out the autumn colours of deep purple in the dress and one of my many pairs of brogues! The dress comes in several styles and patterns, and is so comfortable to wear. This dress was around £18, which I think was a great price considering the amount of wear I've had out of it!

What I'm Wearing: Dress - Dorothy Perkins, Blazer - H&M, Brogues - Clarks, Necklace - Top Shop, Belt - Primark.

Well that's all from me for now, might put a sneaky halloween post up later!
Lots of Love,

Return of the blonde... floral prints X

And blondie has returned - no the aren't exams over - but I was fed up of revision...
So, I told myself I wasn't going to spend any money until AFTER the exams. However, retail therapy is proven to be a great 'anti-stress' remedy, so I thought I'd give it a try. I can say, that it works brilliantly.. but I'm now in debt to my parents (whoops).

As my next exam isn't for 2 weeks, I thought I'd take the opportunity to put down the work books and get blogging. Today's outfit was a little floral number I wore for a meal out with my nan, over the weekend. It was her 88th birthday last weekend - so happy birthday nan!

 I think it's about time you met the number one fella in my life - ISSAC; the big fat cat! Technically he's my neighbours, but he likes to stop by for an occasional visit.
He's also a CAT PHOTO BOMBER! If there was prize for the most photogenic cat - he'd win it. So, as you can see, he was keen to get in the photo and well he made them a bit more interesting as well!

 What Blondie's Wearing: Dress/Top/Belt - Primark, Socks - Dorothy Perkins, Bag - Charity Shop, Cardigan - Next, Bracelet - Fat Face.

The dress was a Primark steal for £10. I have a weakness for floral clothing and this dress reminded me of Cath Kidston! I added a black collar to create a neckline, and added a belt to gather the dress at the waist (it's my little trick for clothes that aren't tightly fitted).

The shoes were an old pair of sandals I dug out from my moms wardrobe (so thanks mom!). As I'm still awaiting a 'half term' shopping spree, where I'm hoping to purchase some new sandals, I thought I'd style up an old pair with a cute pair of frilled socks (well, you know me...).
 My cardigan was also stolen from my sister's wardrobe! The first signs of sun, over the weekend, have got me attached to everything pastel, so this outfit was no exception.

Well that's all from me, I'll be blogging over half term!

From a very 'glad to be back' blonde...



P.s. Make sure you follow me on Facebook or Twitter

The sun came out to say, hello...

It's my 100th post - hiphiphoray!
I am pleased to say to sun finally made a appearance yesterday!
The UK weather has been a real disappointment so far this year, but fingers crossed, things may be looking brighter! (and now I sound like something off the BBC weather report)... As I couldn't resist the opportunity to finally wear my new sunglasses, I grabbed my camera and a bottle of bubbles for today's outfit post!

Today's outfit, is a purchase from one of my recent high street hauls. I was slightly disappointed with the Top Shop sale! So, in desperation, I followed a few sale signs and drifted in and out of endless shops. I found this paisley dress is Warehouse. I wasn't keen on the shape to begin with, but it looked far better on and I fell in love with the pattern...and the price tag of £12 (whoops). I'm hoping to dress it up for collage and down for sunny days this spring, as it's so pretty!

My sun glasses were also a recent steal from Primark. Every girl needs a few pairs of fun glasses for summer and the cheep and cheerful price tag of £1, has got me hooked on them! Problem is my sister now has her eye's on them... oh no!

The bag was yet another thrifted purchase  I persuaded my sister to buy in a local charity shop. Lydia hates charity shops, so it was my way of showing her that you can find loads of in season accessories for half the price. This pastel blue satchel (a colour I'm obsessed with right now) was initially from TU at Tesco, but was only £3 in the charity shop - Bargain? I think so...

Like I said, this shoot consisted of me mainly blowing bubbles at my camera lens - NOT AS EASY AS IT LOOKS! Not only did my sister face get covered in bubbles (I may post a photo on twitter later - @blondiegrace), but I soon ran out of breath; so it's time I hit the gym! However, it was lots of fun! As I see it, I have a year and a half before I got to university to cram in lots of childish fun - though I doubt I will stop there..
Follow @blondiegrace

In case you didn't notice, I've also finally got my hair cut.. (drama I know). I've never been a fan of hairdressers, I love styling my own hair and always feel no-one can ever do it, like I want it. However, my local hairdresser knows me well, and knows when I ask for a dramatic hair cut, I'm only asking for a trim! They also provide you with lots of UP-TO-DATE magazines to read; saving my poor piggy bank, and I love the hot chocolate machines - forget coffee shops, just go to the hairdresser and get a hair cut thrown in too! And as Forest Gump says 'that is all I have to say about that'...

What I'm Wearing: Dress £12 - Warehouse, Jacket/Pumps - Primark, Necklace £3 - New Look, Shoes £4- Primark, Belt - H&M, Braclet/Bag/Socks - Charity Shop.

Well that's all from me!
Anyone else spotted the sun yet in the UK? Let's hope it keeps on shinning!

Make sure you keep up with me on: Bloglovin, GFC, Twitter or Facebook...

Lots of Love,