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,

Clothes Show Live 2013 Review - The Catwalk...

As promised, I'm currently catching up a an exciting weekend at the Clothes Show Live. Being part of the press, gave me the ultimate FROW (or 'front row' to my friends who despise that word) experience, which was a little crazy when the (half-naked) male models strode past! Today's post is a selection of photos from the various catwalks that were running during the day, and some all important shots of the main show event!

The main show was brilliant - it tied in dance choreography with the models catwalk, to create different themes and settings, which flowed really well. The show was 45 minutes long in total, with a guest performance from Kingsland Road! I have to admit for the price of the entrance fee, it seems rather expensive in light of a 45 minute show. However, when you compare it to a cost of a night out, it really is worth the money to have a catch up with friends and shop till you drop at the same time! 

If you didn't notice, winner of Britain and Ireland's Next Top Model 2011 Jade Thompson, who was the face of Clothes Show also appeared on the Catwalk! I also got chance to meet with this years winner Lauren Lambert after one of her shows - but more about that in tomorrows post!

I also saw some other fantastic catwalks throughout the day. My favourite was the university graduates collections - they were so creative!

 

 

 The above winter collection was one of my favourite's, as all the glitter reminded me on Christmas! Tomorrow's post will show you a little of what I got up to while I was at the event!

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...

Stray Decor: Vintage Collection Review...

Hi! Today's post is a little introduction to a new online shop called StrayDecor. The company sell affordable passport, bus pass/Oyster card holders in a variety of lovely designs.

I've chosen a few patterns from the Vintage themed collection to show you. Since recieving the holders, I have realised that they are a necessity to every handbag. 1. because they are always handy and 2. I no longer need to worry about leaving my bus pass at home again (hallelujah)! There's over 200 different designs to choose from, and my personal favourite was the Union Jack design, as it'll be difficult to miss that pattern no matter how stuffed your handbag is! 

The Passport holder is sized; 93mm x 135mm when closed and will fit all UK/most international passports! All the products are weatherproof thanks to the plastic covers, and help you identify which passports which when travelling with friends so there's no last minute dramas.

 As for the Oyster card holders, I'm always running out of room to put bus, student and rail cards. Rather than bulk up purses, the card holders are a great idea to keep your cards handy and easy to identify! 

I particularly liked the great quality for an even better price moto, which makes Stray Decor such an appealing website. With 3 for 2 currently running on all holders, you can treat yourself on a student sized budget. One of the annoying facts of being a teenager is loosing everything and never remembering where I've left them. Well at least loosing my bus pass will be one less problem on a very long list...

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,

I heard it from a Little Birdie: Review...

I really did 'hear it from a Little Birdie,' as today's post is a little review of a recently opened jewellery emporium Little Birdie London. I was so excited when I was kindly invited to review an item from the website - as I'd already fallen in love with a few special pieces!

Little Birdie was founded earlier this year, and sells jewellery pieces for every occasion. It offers unique items, that will add the finishing touches to any outfit and I've now added a few friendship bracelets (oh and the rings, earings and necklaces) to my wish list...

This bunting necklace was a clear winner, when selecting an item to review. Bright colours are lots of fun this Spring and the shape of the necklace looks great with high neck tops! The necklace was surprisingly heavy, which made it a great piece, as it helps to shape the necklace around the neck. The gold finish adds sophistication to an outfit, while still keeping it low key and fun!

I wore mine with a white collared shirt, and a very bold and striking flamingo jumper (oh yes, I went there). I thought the necklace complimented the jumper really well, and added a contemporary twist to the outfit. The necklace was also adjustable, which means you could re-size it to suit how you want to wear it!

 

Candy Bunting Necklace in Pink - Little Birdie London £9*

 If you fancy having a look at the Little Birdie London range, check out the website here, and let me know your favourite items from the website!

Lots of Love,