The satisfaction of the sales...!!

I've been lusting after this Warehouse swallow dress for ages and ages:

Warehouse silk swallow print dress - link

I have already looked at the Warehouse sale and it is still full price so I was shocked to see it on ASOS at less than half price - £32! It was unavailable in size 8 at first so I stuck a 6 in my bag then had dinner and checked back and the 8 was available! They have a system where you can put something in your basket and it is reserved for you for a certain amount of time (2 hrs I think). This is great of course as it means you have time to think before purchasing but it does mean that "unavailable" doesn't necessarily mean permanently unavailable, I hadn't really thought about it before but it does make sense to keep checking back. I really really hope it is nice in real life!

Along with my utterly bargainous dress from ebay (£1.04 plus £2.75 postage - pics below), I will hopefully be sorted for patterned dresses. I'm not a big flowery person so I'm glad there isn't a flower in sight!

A bit of weekend DIY

This weekend, we have decided to paint the bannisters. They are in the lounge and at the moment are an ugly, rather dirty pine. They aren't very attractive as bannisters go, so I've decided they must be painted a blending in cream colour! Luckily, D has agreed with me!

This is how they looked before:

We painted (well, D did this bit!) first with primer and knot blocker stuff (otherwise the colour from knots shows through).

Then we painted in this colour:

B&Q Everywhere satin paint ivory - link

We wanted quite pale but thought white would make the carpet look even more dirty! 

Here is the finished product!

So, I'm really pleased with how they've turned out. Not so pleased with the painting blister I managed to pick up - D keeps laughing to himself at my having picked up a painting injury!

Black wedge boots

After lusting after some black suede wedge boots from Zara, which are now out of stock, I found these gorgeous black wedge boots on the Debenhams website. I love them, they make my feet look tiny and are really comfy.

Red Herring wedge boots - link

I think they'll look nice with jeans - skinny, straight-legged or bootcut or flared (for secret height boost!). Also with maxi skirts for a more dressy look than biker boots. They would go perfectly with this feather print skirt:

Warehouse feather print maxi skirt - link

At £36, the wedges are a great price so I should have enough money to buy another pair of sales boots. I'm thinking some grey low heeled ankle boots and love both of these from Carvela, I'm just hoping they are reduced after Christmas!

Carvela grey sooty boots - link

Carvela grey skin boots - link

I am hoping the height of these ankle boots would give me the illusion of legs long and slim enough to wear some skinny cargoes:

Oasis cargo jeggings in khaki - link  

Getting in the Christmas spirit...

Last week I went on a business trip to Germany. The work bit went well but wasn't all that interesting! The Christmas markets are amazing though, lots of Glühwein, sparkly lights etc. I'm still not feeling massively Christmassy but may get some Glühwein from Lidl tonight to see if that helps! Here are a few pictures (taken on iphone so not very good quality).

Cologne - a view of the Cathedral through strings of lights over the Christmas market.

A chocolate stand in Hamburg.

A Christmas market in Hamburg.

Father Christmas flying over the top of the Christmas market in Hamburg.

Christmas market in Hamburg.

Fashion blogs I'm loving...

I'm trying to be a bit more stylish and put together rather than just throwing on the first thing that I find! It doesn't help that work has a complete "anything goes" dress code. In a bid to inspire me to dress well, I've been taking a look at a few blogs. Here are my favourites:

9 to 5 chic - Anh is from San Francisco and totally gorgeous! Amazing, aspirational workwear and weekend wear.

The Doll on Fashion - beautiful wearable outfits on this beautifully designed blog.

Come over to the dark side we have Candy -  Gorgeous outfits from this Dutch fashion blogger, she inspires me to be more fashion confident and her outfits are useful if you aren't sure how to wear certain styles.

The Red Rosette - cool, quirky fashion and lovely outdoorsy photos.

Canned Fashion - striking fashion from London. And I want her hair!

Wearing it today -  a stylist posts her outfits (nearly) every day. Really inspiring for what will work on a day to day basis along with great tips for what to wear (eg she recently suggested 5 types of coat for everyone's wardrobe).

Cleeeaaaan teeth!!

A couple of months ago, I kept having a funny taste in my mouth and being paranoid about bad breath. So, as soon as I saw 3 for 2 on dental stuff and all electric toothbrushes 1/2 price in boots, I snapped up a pile of 'em!

I bought:

Phillips Sonicare toothbrush healthy white - link

Plus some extra heads for it and a few bottles of this:

Dentyl mouthwash - link

Both of these have been fantastic. The strange taste has gone from my mouth and I don't feel paranoid about my breath anymore! The best thing is it lasts all day. My teeth feel so much cleaner and healthier. At first the toothbrush did feel very tingly on my mouth (almost uncomfortably so!) but now I'm completely used to it, it isn't a problem. The programme goes for 2 minutes so you just brush for however long the toothbrush is switched on for. There is a whitening mode but I generally just use the normal mode. D is also using it and seems to like it.

Easy peasy tomato soup...

Tomato soup is my favourite thing to eat.  I love it with a handful of grated cheese on top! It is so easy to make which is a bonus. Here are my ingredients:

Balsamic vinegar, olive oil, passata, tomatoes, chillis, garlic, stock cube, onions

I take a load of tomatoes, roughly chop and throw into a baking tray with a roughly chopped onion, a couple of cloves of garlic, a chilli or two (optional), and a slosh of olive oil and balsamic vinegar:

Stick in a medium oven (160-170 degrees) for half an hour. When you take them out they should be softish:

Put the cooked tomato-y mix in a saucepan, add the passata and some water (I used around a pint, best to not add too much and add extra if it is too thick once blitzed) and a stock cube and simmer for 10 minutes or so just to make sure everything is soft, then blitz in a blender.

If you wanted it to be posh you could put it through a sieve to make it extra smooth, then swirl cream or olive oil on top. This is how I ate mine:

 

A few variations: add herbs (basil would be great - add at the end and stir through), add red pepper to the baking tray or try frying a piece of smoked bacon and add to the pan then blitz in for a rich smokey taste. You could also fling in any limp looking veg from the bottom of the fridge to use them up! If you don't have passata you can either use a tin of tomatoes or just leave it out (I just added it to bulk up the soup really!). If you leave the passata out you might want to add a squeeze of tomato puree.

Time for party dresses!

Unfortunately, I don't have any dressy parties to go to over Christmas but it doesn't stop me looking at dresses! Here are my top 10 high-street party dress picks:

1. Lace strap dress - Vero Moda at ASOS
2. Gold wrap dress - Mint Velvet
3. Purple one shoulder dress - Oasis
4. Silver satin tunic - Matalan
5. Abstract print dress - Warehouse
6. Black lace skater dress - Matalan
7. Rose prom dress - Oasis at ASOS
8. Pink lace panel dress - AX Paris at Fashion Union
9. Purple tassle dress - Phase Eight
10. Red frill dress - AX Paris

Five ways to relax...

Here are my top 5 ways to relax:

1. Watch TV, cuddled up with the husband or dog.

2. Go for a walk alone with the dog and just empty my mind

3. Go out somewhere with D - just to a garden centre or to the shops and have a relaxed wander around

4. Read a good book while lying in bed

5. Cook something easy yet satisfying and healthy like soup then eat!

Seriously...spots AND wrinkles??!

My skin is so so bad at the moment. Even at the age of 31, I still have spots AND I have the beginnings of wrinkles plus I'm a picker so spots end up turning into flakey scabs ... I know, I know... I really shouldn't but I just can't help myself.

I loved this Soap and Glory cleanser when I last used it but stopped because I was trying to be good with the budgeting and there are cheaper options out there. I have now gone back to it as I just haven't found an alternative budge product that really helps my congested skin without being too harsh. It leaves your skin beautifully soft and feeling super clean!

Soap and Glory Fab Pore Hot Cloth Cleanser - link

I also use Boots No 7 blemish control serum in the morning and No 7 Protect and Perfect serum at night, followed by this fabulous Flexitol oil at night. The oil is really great - I wake up with less oily skin and it should help with any scars/marks from blemishes. I also use a Boots Time Delay eye cream in the morning and night, Sainsburys Skin Therapy eye cream.

I have an Elemis mask and a Bliss one (expensive but worth it), I really need to use these more. The Elemis one is meant to be good to dab on spots, leave overnight and it should sort them (so said a beauty therapist when I had an Elemis facial, anyway).

Elemis Herbal Lavender Repair Mask - link

Bliss Steep Clean Pore Purifying Mask - link

So, here is my unmade up, scrubbed clean face - eeeek!!

And with makeup

Over the next month, I will use the above products and try my very best not to pick. Then in a month, I'll update you with another bare faced photo, to see if my skin has improved at all.

A little Wednesday night pick me up...

I found Gluhwein in Lidl and just had to buy it. I'm so pleased, it tastes exactly like I remember in the Christmas market in Nuremburg.

It is fabulous microwaved for a minute. Now I just need a mince pie!

Fashion difficulties - winter wedding wear...

My cousin is getting married this Saturday. First of all (in true budget style!) I bought a gorgeous red dress from ebay. I was really pleased with paying £40 for a Karen Millen dress (albeit used). However it is tight. I mean, the zip does up but really is very clingy (I'm a few pounds above my usual weight at the moment!). Here is is (excuse the dodgy hair and no makeup!):

I figure I can use the red one, just when I'm slightly lighter and don't have to be in it all day. So I then bought another dress from ebay, this time from Oasis (£17, brand new with tags!). This one fits better and is less "glam" and as I can wear it with opaques and my shoots from French Connection (as yet unworn), it feels slightly more appropriate for winter (even though it has a low back!). Here are some pics:

Sorry, all these pics were taken on my iphone so not great quality but you get the idea. I will either wear the purple dress with a navy flared coat (depending on whether the dress looks weird poking out, it isn't very long) or a longer cream coat. I'm thinking a messy side bun, dangly silver earrings (would wear gold but I don't have any!) and a bronzy clutch.

I'll try and take a few photos at the wedding! D is planning a black suit and purple and white stripey tie, he likes to match me!!

Weekend highlights

Some highlights of my weekend:

A sneaky beer at lunchtime with friends

Cuddles with my friends lovely little baby

Hot chocolate and marshmallows
 

Fajitas and Friday night cuddled on the sofa with the Husband (D) and watching our favourite TV programmes

D having a brilliant time watching American Footie with his mate and his team winning!

Arranging a catch up with a friend, R, for tomorrow :-)

A long walk with the dogs

Helping my friend, H, wet her baby's head with some pink champagne

Budgeting

After we got back from our honeymoon, I decided some serious belt-tightening had to be done. Small things had been stuck on the credit card in the pre-wedding chaos and they really added up! Since then we've paid everything off apart from one new card which is 0% interest for 16 months.

So, here are my 8 money saving tips:

1. Do a budget spreadsheet. Check your internet banking every few days and update the figures. Here is a link to the spreadsheet I use (sheet 1 is for our joint account - where the bills come out of and sheet 2 is for my personal spending).
Budget spreadsheet

2. Build in a buffer. On your budget spreadsheet, put decent, reasonable amounts for each category. Don't think "oh, I'll just put down £50 a month for food..." unless you are willing to seriously scrimp! You can always reduce the figures if you find you are coming in under budget. If you are consistently going over budget in a lot of areas it is depressing as well as confusing and you could end up spending money you don't actually have.

3. Budget for treats. If you can afford it, make sure you budget for a few treats. You are less likely to fail if you know you can still have the odd takeaway/nail varnish/pair of shoes (delete as appropriate).

4. Lidl! I have recently discovered Lidl and I love it! The queues are shorter/quicker (in my local one anyway), the fruit and veg is fantastic, the meat is British. There are only a couple of things I've found which aren't as good - their soup brands and their version of ryvita. There are a few things they don't stock of course. I particularly love their organic yoghurts and Oatso Simple type sachets. They do great value vitamins as well.

5. Ebay. Both to buy and sell. If I need a dress for a wedding or party, I nearly always go to ebay, there is so much less chance of turning up in the same dress as someone else!

6. Quidco. This site gives you cashback on online spending with lots of stores.

7. Discount codes. I never buy anything online without having a good look around the internet for discount codes (just google "discount codes").

8. Review your budget. Every few months go through and amend any figures that aren't right (you will know the figures you have to juggle every month!).

Winter fashion wishlist

I'm doing pretty well on the budgeting front at the moment but there are a few gorgeous things I've seen around recently that I would love. I think I'll just have to save up for the sales and hope they are on sale and have my size!

I'd love some tan boots. I'm trying to buy boots with a heel and calf length as they seem to suit my legs best. I would prefer these slightly longer but I love the chunky heel. They are £92 from Office:

Accessories wise I could do with some more patterned scarves, these are gorgeous:

The top scarf is Marks and Spencer and the second on is Oasis (but unfortunately out of stock).

I'd also like plaited belt like this one from Zara:

I'm loving so much Mint Velvet stuff at the moment, in particular this leather jacket:

I'd also love a delicate gold necklace - etsy has some lovely ones, I especially like this one:

I think that is all for the moment! What is on your Winter wishlist?

A better version of me...

There are so many things I'd like to do. I used to be so determined that I could do anything I set my mind to. I still have that inside me but as I grew older, rather than increasing in confidence, at times I've felt less determined, less confident.

I love my job but sometimes feel demotivated and disorganized. I love wearing nice clothes but sometimes lack the confidence to try new things. I love my home but sometimes neglect it so it is messy and cluttered. I love my husband but sometimes don't give our relationship the time and energy it needs. I feel better when I exercise but often other things get in the way of it. I have lots of positive things in my life but sometimes I forget what they are. There are lots of things I know I can do, I just need to set my mind to them.

In this blog, I'm going to gradually make some changes in my life and keep working towards being better, happier and less stressed. I'll let you know about pitfalls along the way and what has worked and what hasn't. I'll cover all aspects of life from fashion to finances, relationships to relaxing.

Thanks for reading :-).