Liebster Award

I have recently been nominated for the Liebster award by Ashlie from Fashion is a Thief. Which is awesome, so thank you very much!

Liebster award

The Rules1. Post 11 facts about you.
2. Answer the 11 questions set by the blogger who nominated you.
3. Nominate 11 blogs under 200 followers.

4. Link your nominees to the post.
5. Create 11 questions for your nominees to answer.
6. Let the nominees chosen know they have been tagged.

11 Facts about Me
1. I am 22 years old, and I will be 23 on Boxing Day!! :( (Nobody likes you when you're 23 - guess the quote!)

2. I currently work as a merchandiser on the fashion department at John Lewis.

3. My plan is to find work experience/a job within editorial design.

4. I studied Writing Fashion and Culture at Southampton Solent University, where I got a 2:1 degree!

5. I AM GOING TO GLASTONBURY 2015! I also went to Glastonbury 2014 and it was amazing!

6. I love cups of tea, but they have to be made right!

7. My boyfriend and I have been together for just over 4 years!

8. I have a Japanese Akita called Millie and she is the best dog ever, but she is so soppy it's ridiculous. People often get a bit scared of her because she's quite big and looks like a 'wolf' apparently, but she wouldn't hurt a fly!

9. I live at home, in the middle of nowhere and it sucks - definitely a city girl not a country girl!

10. When I'm eating anything bread/dough based, you know I'm full when I start eating the crust.

11. I have mild dyslexia and dyspraxia, which makes my diary and spell check is my best friends.


Questions from Ashlie

1. Are you a nude or red kind of lipstick girl?
I actually don't know, I really want to get into lipstick!


2. Trousers, Skirts or Dresses?
Trousers, then dresses then skirts.

3. Do you prefer a flat shoe or heels? 
Heeled boots please.


4. What is your biggest pet peeve?
Hearing people eat and generally noisy eaters!

5. Pizza or Pasta? 
PASTA! Carbs carbs carbs <3

6. What career goals do you have? 

To become a successful editorial designer.

7. Fashion or Beauty? 
Fashion, but I would like to get into beauty more.


8. What is your favourite TV show?
New girl and Parks and Recs






9. What would your 3 wishes be?
To achieve my dreams.
For my family to be happy.
To have less money issues.

10. What's the best thing you've ever done?
Completed my degree, with a 2:1


11. What was the best holiday you ever went on and why?
Florida 2012, with my friend, it was our first holiday without our parents and it was just a fun filled two weeks.

Nominations

I couldn't nominate 11 blogs under 200 followers, so I have 5, hopefully you guys can think of a few more than me!

Daisy - Daisy Churchward
Elise - Style Standfirst
Conny - Floral Chaos
Gemma - Gemma Carey Fashion
Anna - Made Up Style

My questions for you are...

1. What is your favourite thing to do on a lazy Sunday afternoon?
2. Topshop or River Island?
3. Faux fur coat or leather jacket?
4. Name one thing in your wardrobe you couldn't live without?
5. What's your favourite holiday? (Christmas, Halloween, New Years etc)
6. Who is your fashion idol?
7. What item are you most coveting the most right now?
8. What is your most played song on spottily/itunes right now?
9. Vintage or new?

10. When did you start your blog?
11. Which Witch is which?

Hopefully you know more about me, and I hope to find out more about you too!

x

My European Adventure - What to pack

Welcome to the third instalment of my European Adventure Series, where I will be talking about what I packed in my backpack!

Months and weeks before I left I was frantically reading other blogs and websites on what I needed to take with me on this trip. However I found they were few and far between. A lot of the websites were full of things that I knew I didn't want to take (3 pairs of heavy jeans, 50 hoodies etc - this may be an exaggeration!)

Batiste shampoo - A MUST when travelling

So I've decided to put up this guide to help you work out what you want to take with you, but obviously I went in the Summer so if you're planning to go in Winter your list would probably be a bit different from mine.

It was actually really hard to pack for so many different countries as I had a feeling it would be colder in Paris, Vienna, Berlin and Amsterdam but obviously a lot warmer in Madrid and Florence etc. I only went for two weeks, but I managed to fill the bag 3/4 of the way!

Some of the bits I had in my backpack whilst travelling Europe

I took:
-A handbag
-A compact camera - Sony CyberShot DSC-HX50
-A pair of lightweight jeans
-A thick cardigan
-A lightweight shower proof jacket
-A pair of vans
-A pair of dolly shoes
-A pair of sandals
-A pair of flip flops (for the showers!)
-A bikini (for the showers!)
-A small towel
-A black maxi skirt
-Three dresses
-Seven tops
-An umbrella
-Two pairs of Sunglasses
-Miniture makeup bag - slimmed down make up (eyeliner and mascara)
-A mini pack of shower gel, shampoo etc.
-Underwear and socks obviously!

We didn't take as much as we could have done, as we thought we could wash some things during our trip. Often my friend and I would wash things in the sinks of hostel toilets with a bit of shower gel and it seemed to do the trick - well made them a bit fresher anyway!
Ok not the most glamorous of things to do but to be fair you're travelling around - IT ISN'T GLAMOROUS ANYWAY!

Wouldn't have gone anywhere if I didn't have my Passport. 

Remember you can always buy things when you are travelling, there is an H&M on every corner in most places in Europe (They have shops too  - Dur!)

My bag was quite heavy when travelling around the hotter places as I had a pair of jeans and a cardigan in my backpack but it was a godsend when I was in the colder places! You could of course take more with you but by the end of the trip your back will hurt so badly, you've just got to ask your self if it's worth it.

If you want any other tips on travelling, check out the rest of My European Adventure series, one on the way to get around Europe - Interrailing and another post about the backpack I took with me.

x

Haunting Halloween

Halloween is the end of the week, so I'm getting ready for the big night! I have decided to dress as a Zombie obviously, because how much more scary can you get? 

Even though my outfit will be zombie-fied I've made a little inspiration board for an outfit fit for a Witch. I actually quite like the look of this outfit for everyday life - except the tights they are very halloween! 

And what kind of Witch wouldn't have a cat? I've added in a cat iPhone case I found on Asos - love it. 

What have you decided to dress as for halloween?
x

Lola Wide Brim Felt Hat in Black -£24

Black Tattoo Choker Necklace - £4.50

Black Webbed Tights - £8.50

Black Waffle Textured Balloon Midi Skater Skirt£ - 19.99

Essie Nail Polish Thigh High 15ml - £7.99 

Essie Nail Polish Power Clutch 13.5ml - £7.99

ASOS iphone 5 Jelly Case In Cat Mask - £10

Dr. Martens Assange Hardware Boots in Black - £120

Embroidered Placement Tee - £28

Lip Bullet Bewitched - £8

Leather on Leather - Outfit

I haven't done an outfit post in ages, but I braved the ex-hurricane today with camera in hand! I was a tad worried my tripod would fall over and break my camera, but thankfully no damage was caused by the pesky wind! 

I'm getting a bit bored of wearing jeans on my days off work, so I decided to wear my green pencil skirt from H&M, just for a change. 

Jacket - Escandelle Top - River Island Skirt - H&M Necklace - Primark Bangles - New Look Boots - Topshop

I paired it with a pleather t-shirt I bought from River Island ages ago. I think it looks really good with the skirt and gives it a bit of much needed texture. 

Contrast between the pleather top and the sleek green skirt.

I love the black with this shade of green, and how it looks casual but you could also wear this to the office - not that I work in an office right now, but for future reference! 

Love this Escandelle Faux Leather Biker Jacket, with gold hard wear 

I also wore this black and white pleather jacket, by a french brand Escandelle - which I have never heard of but I found this amungst my mums coats - yes it is my mums jacket. But I may have to sneakily wear it from time to time.

Statement necklace from Primark

I added this gold and burgundy necklace to my outfit, as I think it gives the outfit a bit of a colour pop. I love the burgundy as it is my favourite colour to wear in the colder months - well all year round really! 

I bought it from Primark and I think it was around £5-£8, for a statement necklace I think it's pretty reasonable. 

My trusty Astrix Boots from Topshop

Finally I wore my trusty Topshop Astrix Boots and a pair of black tights, as it was pretty cold today! 

Hello Autumn.

x

My European Adventure - The Backpack

This is my second instalment of my European Adventure Series, where I will be writing advice about my travels, as I felt that I didn't have enough information before I went.

This post is all about which backpack I took and what was right for me. When travelling around different countries and cities it is vital that you pick the right backpack for you.

My friend and I took very different approaches to what we were going to wear on our backs, my friend took the cheaper option which she was happy about and it worked for her. She bought a bag off of eBay for around £12, it had a lot of room and didn't cost the earth. She knew that she wouldn't be using it again, so it worked for her to buy a less expensive bag.

Deuter backpack

I, on the other hand bought a more expensive typical backpacking bag, as I love a good festival and would like to go travelling again in the future. It was important to me that I was comfortable and all of my stuff was safe and it was easy to carry around. I wasn't into buying a suitcase I would have to wheel around.

After trying a few on in a local sports store, I realised it was going to be more expensive than I had thought to get a good fitting bag with the space I needed. As I am short (5"3) a lot of the bags I tried on just didn't fit me right, so I went on a mission to find a perfectly fitting bag.

I didn't get perfection but I got very close with a Deuter backpack. I chose the ACT Lite 35+10 SL, which is a backpack from their woman's range, where they have changed the shoulder straps from their usual range so they are slimmer and the hip fins are also angled differently to suit a woman's shape. However you could probably use this backpack if you are a male, as long as it was comfortable for you.

Deuter ACT Lite 35+10 SL Backpack

I bought this backpack from Outdoor Kit for £88.99, it's usually £105 so I shopped around for the best deal. £90 is a lot to pay for a backpack, but I would recommend it if you are short like me and will 100% use it again and again - I'm using mine for festivals next year!

As you can see this backpack looks like any other backpack for travelling, however there is a few adjustable parts, such as the shoulder straps which is adjusted in the centre of the bag, this is helpful to make sure the hip fins are in the correct place.

The back of the Deuter Backpack - ACT Lite 35+10 SL 

The backpack has one main compartment, which connects to the front compartment via a zip at the bottom. This is helpful if you need to get something right at the bottom of the main compartment. Both compartments are large and you can fit a lot into them.

Inside the main compartment of the Deuter ACT Lite 35+10 SL

The bag has many different compartments as well as a secret pocket, which is in the inside of the hood - perfect for keeping your money or any other things. It goes without saying you should always keep your passport on you and store your money in many different places.

The secret pocket in the hood of the Deuter ACT Lite 25+10 SL

Another pocket is the one at the top of the backpack, this is another good pocket for things you need to access quickly. The zip is close to your head, which makes it difficult for other people to access, but easy for you to get out that rain mac when it starts raining etc. 

I hope this helped you find which backpack is right for you, and for anyone going Interailing check out my first post of the series, which will enlighten you, as from experience the company don't like telling you how much it will actually cost - but don't let that scare you!

The next post in the series will be on the clothes that I took with me. 

x