From the head down

Yesterday the 3 of us had a busy day. Up bright and early, Seb went to Phils parents while me and Phil went into Leeds for some lunch and shopping as its Phils birthday next Thursday but he'll be working right the way through next weekend.

It was beautiful yesterday, totally perfect weather. After shopping we met Phils parents(and Seb) at a family friends birthday BBQ.

Face shot first, i'm growing out my fringe, i liked it but i always end up clipping it back.

Brown and cream polka dot scarf in my hair- Charity shop

Cream lace dress-Primark

Mirrored heart necklace-Vintage

Popped this on to show my sandals as i forgot to take a photo

Red bow sandals(Marc Jacobs rip offs)- Garage shoes

Sebs modelling H&M and some random demin shorts from ebay.

Did you have the lovely weather too? xxxx

Afternoon in the park

We were lucky enough to have beautiful weather yesterday so as Phil was on a late shift we decided to go to the park and have a impromptu picnic.

I forgot to take any outfit photos so you'll have to make do with a picture of my shoes, i have no idea where these are from but i found them in my old wardrobe at my parents house, they have a nice 3 inch heel too.

I thought i'd take the chance to post some photos of Seb, hes going to be 8 months old tomorrow!

Eating sandwiches

Chewing on some melon

Ice creams!

Sebs first try of an ice cream(naughty me!)

Is it me or does Seb look like a giant baby in the photo?!

Our neighbour put an envelope containing this through our door to say thank you because we looked after her 3 cats for a month while she went away. I'd told her we didn't want anything but she wouldn't take no for answer.

We are really lucky here, we have lovely neighbours.

Have you got any weekend plans?

Seb is going to Phils parents for the afternoon tomorrow(for the first time on his own, he's only ever been to my parents) while me and Phil go for lunch as its his birthday next week but he's working. Then we have a BBQ to go to tomorrow evening.

xxx

A little bit of shopping

On Monday i did a little bit of shopping alongside my wedding dress trying on session. The saless all seem to be coming to an end now and i managed to get a few bargains.

In Topshop i picked up this cream dress for £10, i love the mesh panel.

These cute earrings were reduced to £1.50

Then in Primark, i grabbed these earrings because i loved the tiny pearl studs and the pink roses

Red cardi for £5

This cream lace dress was reduced to £5! I really like cream in aw, it goes so nicely with chocolate brown and navy.

PJ's

And i stocked up on biscuits in Marks and Spencer

What have you been buying? xx

AW 2011 what will you be wearing?

Well we're fast approaching the Autumn which is my favourite time of year. This year will be a bit different as i won't be working or heavily pregnant, so i need things i can wear for trips to the park and chasing a lively baby around.

After browsing a few shops new collections i think i'll mainly be shopping in Matalan and H&M.

I received the Matalan lookbook a few weeks ago and quite a few bits caught my eye, including

Love the colour and sleeves on this dress

Cute shoes

How cute is this squirrel dress, fab with tights and boots in winter

Quite a few bits caught my eye in the new H&M catalogue.

I really want this polka dot dress

This skirt is a lovely shape and i can see it with various tops tucked in and with tights and boots.

So what are you going to be wearing this AW? Has anything caught your eye?

xxx

Thank you!

Two posts in one day!! But i just wanted to thank the people who commented on yesterdays wedding dress post, its nice to get advice from such stylish ladies.

I actually went to Debenhams and Monsoon yesterday and tried some wedding dresses on and i think a shorter dress is definately the way to go. Although there were no 50's bridal dresses for me to try, i looked much better in the 2 shorter dresses i tried on the long ones made my hips look unflatteringly huge(and they are big anyway!).

I'm going to go with my mum in a couple of weeks and try some more on with her to advise and i will be keeping you all updated!

Homemade cheese pasta bake

I'm sure we've all seen or used the jar pasta bakes or had a ready made one but this is one is yummy and easy to make! Plus it used things you tend to have in the house anyway.

I've given measurements but i generally cook without measuring and do it by eye so feel free to play around with it. This amount serves me, Phil and Seb.

25g butter

25g plain flour

400ml milk(i use semi skimmed for us but whole if making it for Seb too, both work fine)

200g cheese( i use a mix of Extra Mature Cheddar and Red Leicester usually, but you can chop and change them)

200g cooked pasta

breadcrumbs(i use ready made)

Preheat your oven to 200C

Pop the flour and butter into a pan on a medium heat, and as the butter is melting mix into a paste, then add the milk a small amount at a time, i tend to do about 100ml at a time, keep stirring it! Once all the milk is in add just under 3/4 of the cheese, stir it in and turn the heat up so the sauce begins to simmer around the edges, still stirring, as soon as it starts to simmer turn the heat right down low or even totally off and it will start to thicken, you can stop stirring now! I tend to leave it to stand with no heat for a few minutes so that it had a chance to thicken up.

Now add the pasta into a baking dish and then the sauce over the top, stir it in so its even, Then sprinkle over the rest of the cheese and add a sprinkling of breadcrumbs over the top to give a bit of crunch.

Pop into the oven for around 30 minutes and you're done!

xxx

Wedding dresses

Since i was tiny wedding dresses have seemed magical to me. When we went shopping into places like Debenhams, me and my mum would always go to the bridal section to see if anyone was trying dresses on and i loved it. Even as an adult, if we go shopping we still look in the wedding dress section and coo over bridal shops when we walk past.

I always thought i would have a really traditional dress but now i'm actually looking at buying a wedding dress i realise that i may not end up with that at all! I haven't been to try any on yet(i'll be honest, it kind of scares me!) but i have been looking online and i just don't really fancy any of the long strapless dresses with diamante etc

Being only 5ft long dresses tend to drown me so instead i've been looking at other options and i keep coming back to this.

Its from an online shop who do lots of 50's style wedding dresses along with sashes and petticoats in various colours to go with them.

I love the length, the neckline and the corset back. Our colours for the wedding appear to be hot pink and white(as i ordered some bridesmaid dresses in pink last week) so with this i think i would have white petticoats and a pink sash.

Along with a birdcage style veil like this

And some knockout shoes with very high heels(possibly irregular choice?), Phil is well over 6ft so i need the height!

I'm going to try to find a shop with similar styles for me to try on before i even think about deciding to have this let alone ordering, but i want to know what you think?

I need honesty please!!

A weekend of ups and downs

Floral dress-Asda, Jeggings-New Look, Navy cardi-La Redoute

Navy belt-Primark, i'm not even sure if i like this but none of my other belts looked right

Gold glitter flats-Topshop
Ohhh some face shots!! I look super tired, but i have a baby, thats my excuse. I wanted to show you my lipstick, its MAC Impassioned, i need to wear it more

Ups
Paying the deposit on our reception venue. So exciting. I've also ordered bridesmaid dresses for my 2 little bridesmaids, they were such a bargain it would have been rude not too.

Receiving nice post rather than bills, yesterday in the post i received, my first Love Film disc, my new Shopaholic book and some pretty bows i ordered to stick to my save the date cards.

Sunshine today

Food shopping being delivered, i get stupidly excited about this every week. I love having a full fridge.

Downs
Phil being admitted to hospital yesterday after having a funny turn at work. He had to stay in overnight but is home today.

The awful things happening in the world, this week has seen a number of horrible things happening, each tragic in their own way. I wish the world was a nicer place.

This one now seems trivial but lack of sleep. Not getting to bed until nearly 2am and then being woken up at 4.45am by Seb full of beans and wanting to play is not a good combo!

What have you been upto this weekend? xx

A few new bits

I've been very much lacking in haul posts recently. This is due to 2 things, a lack of disposable income along with a loss of interest in high street shops, i want to see something different out there. I have seen a few nice bits creeping in though and also Urban Outfitters have some lovely sale bits that might tempt me.

The things i have been buying are here for all to see.
Bird print vest-New Look

Lace swing top and sandals-H&M

Lush cupcake facemask

Yankee candles in my favourite scents, i'm building a stock of these
Paperchase wrapping paper and ribbons and bows

I got sent this book for free from O2 for topping up my phone(yes, i still use pay as you go, seeing friends get into debt via phone bill at uni scared me for life!)

I've also ordered the new shopaholic book from Amazon, can't wait to get it!

xxx

Its been a loooong day

We were all up bright and early this morning to get to a hospital appointment for Seb. When we got there we had a two hour wait for our appointment(yes they were that behind!) and the appointment lasted a total of 3 minutes. The main thing is Seb is all ok(its a personal thing that was being checked on) and will just need a check up when he gets older.

The weather was freezing when we left our house this morning but by this afternoon i was boiling.

Red jumper-TK Maxx(not sure what brand this is as the label has no name on?), Skirt-H&M, Black cardi-La Redoute, Black opaques

Mirrored heart necklace-Vintage

Floral tie on the back of the jumper

Jewelled pumps-TopshopIt then took forever to get home, including swapping buses when ours broke down. So i had a well deserved cup of tea and gingerbread man.

xxx

Stuck for gift ideas?

I love buying gifts for people, nothing beats planning the perfect present and finding something that you know will be appreciated. I'm one of those annoying people thats already started her Christmas shopping. However there are always certain people who are awkward to buy for and theres where the internet comes into its own.

Find me a gift is a fab website that has something for everybody and every occasion, so its brilliant place to shop rather then spending hours aimlessly searching. I was recently contacted and asked to try out some of their new beauty and fashion gifts.

I received a parcel containing Bomb Cosmetics Butter Be Good gift set, and also a MeMeMe Summer Brights Nail Varnish Set.

The Bomb Cosmetics gift set really appealed to me. Its very similar to the Lush sets but in these you get alot more for your money. It came gorgeously wrapped and inside there was a range of bath bombs, bath melts and soap to try. So far i've used a bath melt and a bath bomb and both are really good quality leaving me smelling and feeling lovely. I can't wait to try out more of the items.

The Me Me Me set is actually a bit of a bargain, it retails at £14.99 and for that you get 4 really good quality nail polishes presented in a nice box. I loved the colours in this box especially the blue and orange and they are nice creamy polishes and take no time to dry.

They also stock this in other colourways.

Do you shop online for presents? Have you used find me a gift before?

xxx