Blogspired // What Olivia Did.

I read a lot of blogs. And when I say a lot I mean A LOT. I feel like it’s become somewhat of a harmless addiction for me, over the last few years. I mean reading blogs never hurt anyone right? ... Well except my purse (Sorry Purse!  ... yes I just apologised to my purse, errr lets swiftly move on ...). So I was thinking that it only seemed fitting to share some of my absolute favourites with you in a series of posts, because I've got a feeling you too might share my addiction! After all I found out about all of my favourite blogs through other blogs, so it would be rude of me to deny you my knowledge! However there is a one little twist, which of course you've already noticed ... Yes I shall indeed create an illustration of each blogger! Partially because you know I can’t resist drawing a pretty girl in a pretty dress, but also because I wanted to make an effort. After all who knows what I’d be wearing today if I'd never discovered the amazing world of fashion blogs ... Honestly I dread to think!...

To begin with I thought I'd start with the ever so delightful Olivia from What Olivia did, whose blog I have adored for a very long time now ... in fact It was one of the first blogs I ever read (2010 anyone?), so I guess you could say that I really have watched it grow in to something truly inspiring over the years! I have a feeling that a lot of you reading this have probably already seen (or read even!) the lovely Miss Purvis's blog, but just in case you don't I'll  give you a little insight on what to expect when you go and check and it out in a moment! Yes that was an order ... honestly I promise you'll love it as much as me, so just go and take a look!

Lipstick, The sixties, and that oh-so perfect beehive (how does she do it so well?!) are just a few of the things that spring to mind when I think of Olivia. She's like a modern day Audrey Hepburn who oozes grace and elegance in every outfit she wears ... yes there's no denying I have wardrobe envy too! However her impeccable style isn't the only thing that entices me to her blog time after time ... she's actually an incredibly talented writer too! Lets just say it's refreshing to see a blog that has amazing photography AND amazing content. Don't get me wrong however her blog isn't just about her amazing hat collection (yes guys I can only dream of looking that good in a fedora!), it also has lots of lovely reviews of places to visit in London, scatterings of music, and more importantly scrumptious baking recipes to try! Yes Olivia, like me, shares a love for baking or should I say The Great British Bake Off. Oh Mary why can't I be as talented as you? Whyyy? ...

So there you have you have it, I can just tell your itching to click through and read more, that is of course if you haven't already left me! Hopefully you will all adore Olivia's blog as much as I do. I'm 100% positive you will however, after all she has won amazing awards for What Olivia Did ... I guess it just goes to prove that hard work and determination really do pay off when it comes to blogging!

Hope your all having a lovely Wednesday so far!

UPDATE: I've just noticed that I've stupidly misspelt Olivia's name on the actual illustration! Seriously I feel like a complete idiot ... honestly Olivia if your reading this then I want to apologise as I know how annoying having your name misspelt is! ... what was I thinking???!

Moodboard // Ooh La Flamingo.

*Images sources from left to right // 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 *

If you told me last week that I would dedicate a whole blog post to a pink bird, I wouldn't of believed you. In fact if you told me yesterday, I still won't of believed you. However here I am today sharing with you my current "unlikely" inspiration, and possibly my new style icon ... the flamingo, I mean come on guys lets face it this bird has style! It all started late last night when I was gathering images to use in my scrapbook (Yes Ella's amazing post on "Staying Creative" , completely inspired me!), when I suddenly realised that sub-consciously over the last month I had saved/pinned (Yes you're looking at a Pinterest addict here!) loads of photos that were very flamingo-esque. This led me to the conclusion that I must have a thing for elegant pink birds that can stand on one leg! I didn't realise it till last night, but thinking about it now all the signs were there. Lusting over anything and everything pink, wearing pastel pink nail polish non-stop, me having a dream about wearing the most amazing fuzzy pink coat, and standing on one leg ... OK so not the last one, but I thinks its pretty safe to say that I've been wanting to be a flamingo for awhile now. So without further ado I thought I'd share with you a few items that will get you on your way to becoming in my opinion "the prettiest bird in all the land" ...

Where to buy from left to right  // 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13

OK OK OK! Yessssss I'll admit I've simply just selected all the beautiful pink things my heart desires ... And yes you're right I'm using flamingos as an excuse to obsess over pink yet again! I have a problem, I know! But honestly, you can't deny that there's something ridiculously flirtatious about wearing pink that's hard to resist! ... no? Only me? OK then! I should probably confess however that I actually don't wear much pink ... I know shock horror Aimee doesn't actually wear much pink, yet she declares her love for the colour ALL THE TIMEEEEE! Take a moment to let that sink in, because sadly it's true! (contrary to popular belief my wardrobe doesn't resemble Barbies! ... although my 5 year old self wishes it did) Perhaps that's the reason I decided to write this post ... to sub consciously inspire myself to "embrace the pink"! Well I can tell you girlie's (or guys?) its working. This time next week I'll be a walking talking flamingo ... either that or I'll look like Barbie's thrown up all over me (such a strange visual image for you there!), either way I'm definitely going to be investing in some pink for my wardrobe soon ...

... The question is will you? Have I tempted you to embrace your inner flamingo? ... or does the thought of wearing pink still make you shudder with horror?

... Hope you all had a lovely Tuesday! 

* For a lot of these images I was unable to find the exact original source (so annoying when that happens!), so instead I've linked you to the images on Pinterest account.

Photos // A Little Bit Of (A Belated) Christmas.

So I'm pretty sure its safe to say that Christmas is well and truly over for another year. I try not to dwell on that thought for too long as it makes me rather sad ... As usual it flew by!!! Oh well I guess I only have to wait another 356 days to relieve it all again (I should mention maths isn't my strong point, so don't quote me on that one!) On Christmas night I found myself quietly reflecting the reasons as to why I love Christmas so much, and to my surprise I realised that it wasn't the obvious things I had always thought. Of course there's the present giving, and as much as we all love it (despite how "stressful" buying for certain GENDER can be!), as your parents probably always say "its not all about getting presents!". Of course as much as I love presents, their absolutely right! Then there's the being allowed to eat your own body weight in food, yes I totally did that (Or least that's what It felt like later that night when I was suffering from the consequences ... hello Gaviscon my new best friend!). Honestly It's not my fault the Quality Street tin seduced me! But in all seriousness I think I've worked out what I love the most about Christmas ... It's that everyone's happy or at least they appear to be! Of course I'm well aware that not "everyone in the whole world" is happy (I'm not that naive!), but I just mean the people I'm surrounded by. Even strangers in the street walk past and smile or say "hello", or "Merry Christmas" at this time of year ... seriously things like that are rare in England! I walk past these people everyday without even a glance, but at Christmas everything changes! I guess Christmas spirit really is infectious after all!

As always I received lots of lovely presents this year, which I truly appreciate and am genuinely so thankful for. Honestly sometimes I think I take for granted how generous my family are. That's something else I love about Christmas; showing the people you care about how much you really appreciate them (OK, cringe worthy moment there). As you can see from above I've decided to share a few photos of just some of the lovely thing's I got this year. I know post's like this are sort of a love/hate thing (I personally love them), so I decided to keep it minimal, because I would hate to appear to be "bragging" in any way (Trust me, I'm not that kind of person!). In other words I'm not going to list every single item, because honestly I don't want to annoy you ... and also because my bath awaits me!

Also I want to say a massive thank you to everyone who has read, followed, or commented on this blog! Honestly I never excepted anyone to read my blog let alone actually leave a comment. Your lovely words truly mean a lot to me! Hopefully this year I'll make an effort to post more than in 2013 (18 posts ... seriously?!?!). I can honestly say I'm excited to spend more time on this little space this year!

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas this year, and of course I hope you had a happy new year! (2014?!?! How did this happen so fast?!)

Beauty // Winter Nails.

When it comes to beauty I am for all intents and purpose a complete novice. Despite wearing make-up everyday I have somewhat of a "slap it on and hope for the best" attitude , in fact that's pretty much my motto. This of course results in me looking a complete mess 99.9% of the time. FACT. I therefore do not at all consider myself to be a "Beauty Blogger". In fact if I do decide to ever post about actual make-up in the future, take my advice and don't read it! I'm the last person you should listen too when it comes to make up! However despite all this there is one beauty product I feel confident enough to talk about with you all ... Nail Polish!

A few weeks ago I briefly mentioned that this winter I was obsessing over all things sugary and sweet on my nails (hello pastels!), and whilst I could of just posted about the "50 shades of pink" I seem to have acquired in my nail collection lately, I decided to share the other somewhat "neglected" colours that I'm loving this festive season; as even though I hate to admit it, not every one loves pink!

//The "Neutral Oh-So-Sophisticated" Nail //

Over the last few years as Its approached winter wearing neutral shades on my nails has become my default. Perhaps its because they simply go with every outfit, or perhaps its because it makes a refreshing change from the incredibly bright colours I wear throughout the summer (yeah I'm that girl!) ... whatever the reason all I know is that I'll definitely be wearing a "sophisticated" neutral nail again this winter (Apparently there is no sophistication in having bright blue nails ...) Above I've selected a few that I've been enjoying lately, and hopefully you might too...

Ciate "Pocket money" // This shade oozes understated elegance, and because of this I'm completely in love with it. Its a very girly colour (in subtle way though!) , and has a soft creamy fudge appearance to it which I think is perfect for Christmas.

Ciate "Cookies and Cream" // This is perhaps the most easiest colour to wear ever. FACT. Its a very light nude, that's almost bordering on being a pastel grey. Due to its versatility it can honestly be worn with anything. Seriously what more could you ask for!

Maybelline Colour show "Mauve Kiss"// I would consider this one of my all time "go-to" colours. If in doubt wham it on ... not literally though as that could be a disaster (Trust me, I've been there!) Its very similar to Barry M mushroom, but I would say slightly lighter. The colour itself is more of creamy beige with undertones of pale mauve ... honestly  I don't know what else to say, over than It's perfect!

Maybelline Colour Show "Winter Baby"// A white nail polish is an essential. Despite this however I've always shied away from wearing pure white personally, in fact I quote "white nails look ridiculously tacky" (me, 2009). Things have changed though, and this year I 've found myself being drawn it. Although it takes around 3 coats to perfect the smooth snowy finish, its definitely worth it for a cold winters day. Also with a name like "Winter Baby" it seemed almost rude not to include it!

//The "I'm a little bit obsessed with Gatsby" Nail //

In the past I've always had this hatred of sparkly nails, in fact I've always hated anything remotely sparkly (glitter, metallics, sequins, diamonds, ... and don't get me started on tinsel!). I'm not sure why this started,  it's just something I've always found aesthetically displeasing ... however things have changed (only slightly though!). This year I've weirdly started to embrace a more Gatsby-esque nail. OK, so as fickle as it may sound watching The Great Gatsby perhaps made me fall in love with the more shiny embellished things in life. So like before here are a few "sparkly" nail polishes that I've been wearing ...

Barry M Instant Nail Effects Foil "Gold"// Its gold. And I mean gold. To many that may seem perfectly normal, but to me its a colour that I never imagined wearing ... and I mean ever! Despite all that I'm completely in love with it. I adore the colour, the finish, and the way it catches the light. It has a luxurious foil like finish to it which I think looks sooo ridiculously festive ... now If only I was going to one of Gatsby's parties!

Barry M Glitter Nail Paint "Hologram Hexagons" // This is the first glittery nail polish I've owned since the 90's. FACT. As a child I remember owning these little kids glittery nails polishes, and I would only ever really wear them if I was going to a birthday party. (I'm pretty sure they were peel-able ... anyone else remember those?) Like I've already mentioned a million times, I'm not a massive fan of glitter so me purchasing this was somewhat peculiar. I'm not sure what initially attracted me to this, but seriously it looks really amazing worn as an accent nail. What I love about it is that its has really big hexagon pieces in it, rather than your typical glitter. Lately I've really been enjoying it over the top of pastel shades .. yep I'm addicted to pastels!

Ciate Caviar Manicure // The Caviar Manicure is ridiculously beautiful, and despite what you might think incredibly easy to apply. Instead of rambling on about it again, you can read my full post on this polish "here".

// The "One" //

In my opinion Christmas isn't complete until you find the perfect deep red nail polish (and lipstick to match too!). Each year I find myself searching for a new perfect shade! Of course I could just repurchase the same one I obsessed over the year before, but well there's no fun in that! However when you find the "one", you know instantly ... as cliché as it sounds it's almost definitely "love at first sight". And without further ado here's the "one" for me this year ...

Maybelline Colour show "Downtown Red"// The number of times I've already worn this is unimaginable (perhaps a slight exaggeration, but you get the idea!) I feel that my nails look at there best when I'm wearing this colour, which might seem a little strange, but I think its because I love the contrast between my incredibly pale white skin and the richness of this colour. (OK so that is strange.) This colour is the perfect cross between an intensely rich burgundy and a vivid ruby red, and for that reason alone I will be wearing this polish for a very long time. For me this is definitely the "one" this year! And in the words of "Buddy the Elf", "I'm in love, I'm in love, and I don't care who knows it!"

Phew! And finally we're done! This is by far the longest post I've ever wrote. Perhaps too long. If you've actually managed to read though all that with dying of complete boredom than I salute you! (Note to self: Write less.) 

Feel free to leave any nail polish recommendations of colours you've been loving lately ... as well lets face it I'm slightly obsessed! ... and perhaps slightly nosey curious!