A Lengthly Absence Explained

I have been a naughty blogger. I haven't blogged for so long I feel as if I have neglected an old friend. Oh woe is me.
The reason for my terribly long absence is that I have discovered StumbleUpon. If any of you know what this website is then you need to tell me how to stop going on it and get my life back!
The idea is that you select things that interest you and then you press the stumble button...and then you lose about seven hours of your life looking through random internet pages.
I've discovered instructions about how to make different craft items, great recipes, beautiful pictures, hilarious jokes, amazing artwork, inspirational quotes, awesome online shops....I could go on forever!
The only problem is stopping!
Here are some of my favourites:

This is an amazing panoramic view of Paris which you can move around. It's beautiful! http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/1QGIv5/www.gillesvidal.com/blogpano/paris.htm

This website has some beautiful photos of celebrities - both past and present. Some of them are lovely.
http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/2Zgug1/www.thisisnotporn.net/page/8

This photography concentrates on the faces of strangers. It goes to show how much beauty there is in the world.
http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/2c6Nea/www.dannyst.com/gallery/portraits-of-strangers

This video demonstrates how to make some incredible origami flowers - perfect for you crafty types!
http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/30UNMK/www.metacafe.com/watch/1173253/seven_flowers_awesome_pop_up

Here is a review written by a man who says it how it is - men don't like skinny women! A very interesting read.
http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/1gVfiZ/www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1359325/Gwyneth-Paltrows-skinny-figure-Men-turned-skeletal-chic.html

This list will make you feel good about the world, as opposed to thinking it's a place where only bad things happen (stupid news companies).
http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/1R7qtK/www.marcandangel.com/2011/01/03/40-extraordinary-things-happening-right-now

Absolutely hilarious doodles using one common picture.
http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/1mQwm8/www.digitalbusstop.com/do-it-yourself-doodler

Go check it all out - there is so much more to find but there's no way I could show you everything! Be warned though - this WILL take over your life!

MORE Red Carpet. Oh You Are Spoiling Us!

So as well as the BAFTA's over the weekend it was also the Grammy's AND the Elle Style Awards. Obviously with neither of these being big posh film award ceremonies the dresses were a lot more eclectic and not so elegant - just my kinda' style!
Here is the best (and worst *eek!*) of both red carpets for you to feast your lovely eyes on...

We'll start with the Grammy's.

Florence Welch - WOW! I love this dress so much! It's so beautiful - the swans, the symmetry, the femininity...it's perfect and quirky. I think that I'd have liked to have seen some bright red lipstick with this though, or even a deep berry shade. I think this needs dramatic make-up. Gorgeous all the same though!

At first I hated this, but now I kinda like it...it's growing on me. It reminds me of a mermaid. A mermaid perhaps covered in some kind of mossy seaweed? Nicole Kidman completely pulls it off though, I mean, look at that waist! The hair is also very VERY good. Regular readers will know I have an issue with red carpet hair and Nicole has passed. She gets a B+.

I used to love Kelly-O, like, completely LOVE her. I think it was because she was a Hollywood kid who literally did not give a flying fuck what colour her hair was, how little the style suited her or who she pissed off. Now she's all grown up I feel kind of let down - I thought the attitude was here to stay! That being said though, I do actually like this dress on her. It's not my style at all, but I think the colour really compliments her pale skin (which can only be a good thing in this horrendous age of fake tanning). I am dissapointed with the hair - it's very 'Hello, welcome to Stepford, if you need to borrow a cup of sugar from me or any members of my perfect family then please do drop by any time.' It's too old for her!

Oh Katy Perry, you beautiful woman. If I could trade my body for any other on the planet, it would be hers I'd replace mine with! Katy's style is so eclectic I'm always excited to see what she's going to wear (a fried egg costume? Skin-tight pink latex?) and if I'm perfectly honest, I'm kind of dissapointed with this. It's very bridal. Although saying that, she did perform a love song whilst her wedding video played in the background so perhaps this was a clue! The material of the train looks so nice and shimmery, I'm quite mesmerised!

All I'm saying about this is that anyone who is brave enough to wear top-to-toe leopard print has cool points in my book. Amazing.

Yes Rihanna, we get it, you are very sexual. Now put some clothes on or you'll catch your death. Jeez. (Kinda' jealous at how well she pulls this off).

On that note, let's look at the Elle Style Awards dresses, I bet no-one wore anything as awful there...

Oh...wait.

This hurts my eyes so I'm going to skip the long explanation of why I think Donna Air should look in a mirror, not LIKE a mirror and move on...

This is amazing. Laura Bailey is breaking so many rules here but she looks friggin fantastic! The black tights, bright yellow bag and heavy eye make-up totally rocks up this dress! I'm glad she kept her hair back, it doesn't distract from the statements she's making here. She's inspired me to rock up some pretty dresses I've got shoved in the back of my wardrobe.

Sophie Ellis Bextor looks so charmingly vintage here! The dress is perfectly demure, the shoes are so gorgeous that I want to eat them and that bag! Swoon! She's got everything spot on here. Even her hair looks great. It's so nice to see this look on the red carpet. She certainly hasn't bored me.

I have little opinion about the outfit underneath the coat, it's the coat itself that I want! It looks like it's been made out of a zombie cookie-monster. Jamie Winstone watch out, I'm coming to steal it from you! Amazing.

Courtney Love has also gone for a bridal thing. She looks wonderfully whimsical. Her skin is so gorgeous, I'm a huge fan of this. The red lips give it a bit of oomph, but perhaps she should have gone for really smoky eyes too, do you agree?  
Ooh I'm all red-carpetted out!

A Fellow Blogger Inspired My Valentine's Surprise!

Abou a week ago Madame G over at Baroque Boudoir blogged this about love locks all around the world. I thought it was very cute and showed my boyfriend who also thought it was cool.
For Valentine's day he bought me this absolutely gorgeous necklace from Bow and Crossbones.

Seeing as he's not a fan of Valentine's day I thought that this was the extent of my present, which of course I was VERY happy about. We walked back to my house this afternoon and as we crossed the river he says 'Do you want your card now? I did this instead.'

It's our initials engraved into a padlock! I totally cried - it's the most romantic thing that anyone has ever done for me. Ever.
We threw the keys into the river. Oh I'm feeling all mushy inside!
So thank-you Madame G for giving him the inspiration!
Happy Valentine's Day everyone xxx

To All My Lovely Followers...Here's A Valentine's Sentiment For You!

Cute, huh?

Happy Valentines Day!

The BAFTA's Red Carpet - Black and Midnight Blue Glamour!

Thank the gods for the BAFTA's. The Oscars seem like a lifetime away and I was beginning to crave some red carpet glamour!
I managed to watch the red carpet arrivals and the ceremony on TV last night which was delightful. The King's Speech did extremely well and everything was lovely and civilised; not a Ricky Gervais in sight!
But to be perfectly honest the thing I was most interested in was, of course, the dresses. The colours of the night were black and midnight blue. Let's get down to it, because well, there were a hell of a lot of good ones! Here are my favourites...

Of course the Bonham Carter awesomeness was in attendance. She wore Vivienne Westwood (again) and although this is wonderful it's pretty understated for her. I'm praying that she doesn't stay on this sliding scale or come the Oscars she'll be wearing something so boring that I'll cry. This is as normal as I will tolerate from her. She has been warned!! I LOVE the bag and I LOVE her hair and I LOVE her skin.

Julianne Moore looks delicious! I love a bit of crushed velvet, me. She just oozes elegance in this and the red lips give it an ultra glam edge. The midnight blue against her lovely pale skin is sublime. Top marks.

Olivia Grant has got it going on. This dress fits her perfectly - (there were so many instances of poorly fitting dresses last night that I can't even bring myself to blog about them) the length is right, the fit is right and it looks damn sexy. Her necklace is ideal; not too much and not too little. Gorgeous hair too!

Jennifer Lawrence - from the shoulders down you are an absolute glamour beast, but please do something with your hair next time! The dress is one of the most amazing corsetted wonders I have ever seen and yet you leave your hair looking like you just rolled out of bed in 1992. I would totally get married in a dress like this!

Again with the hair *sigh* I know it was raining but that's no excuse. Gemma Arterton had a gorgeous silhouette going on. At first I wasn't too sure about the big birthday present bow but it's totally grown on me. It gives her a lovely hourglass shape and the dress might be a tad boring without it. She's a safe 6/10. 

 Colin Firth (uber winner of the evening) and his wife, Livia just look so cute! She is stunning in that dress. The colour is spot on as is the fit. She outshone most of the women that people go there to see. Great hair (yay!), great make- up and a perfect dress. Colin Firth is a very lucky man!

This is my boob of the night. Sarah Harding from Girls Aloud went all Marilyn-esque on us and this dress so could have worked but she has let it down. In every picture I have seen she is flinging her leg out of that slit like there's no tomorrow. Seriously, you look like Porno Barbie. If you're going to wear a dress slit to the thigh then you need to pose like Megan Fox:

So there you have it, the BAFTA best and worst. Who rocked your style socks??

Dead Birds Aren't My Idea Of Style

When I got to work this morning I was greeted by my smiling boss and a dead bird. Not one that had flown into the shop and died - oh no - but one that I had to wear.
Head office had sent down these headbands for staff to wear.

Now, I understand that sometimes fashion goes in strange places but this is a little far for me! I don't agree with fur; I'd never wear it. I also avoid any accessories that have feathers involved because, well, where do all these feathers come from? I'd rather not know. I wore this for about 5 minutes for a laugh, but wouldn't wear it again! What were head office thinking?!
It reminded me a little of Carrie Bradshaw's bird on Sex and the City. I'm not being funny, but how did she think that wedding was ever going to work when she turned up with a bird corpse stuck to her hair?!

At least hers has a touch of elegance. Mine just looks like it's about to shit all over my shoulder.

My Half Sleeve Story - The Beginning

So today I went and sat in the tattooists chair for four hours and thus began the epic half sleeve. I've wanted this for so long and I'm chuffed that they day has finally arrived, although I've got to wait 2 months before I can get anything else done on it! Argh! The torture!
It didn't hurt very much at all - it was just a little stingy around the elbow and in my armpit. All in all it's gona rather well - I'm itching for it to be finished though! Here's some pics...

'Bye-bye naked arm!'

Close up of the detailed parts that Toni managed to fit in today.

Here it is from all angles!



Oooh I'm a happy lady!

Work Uniform - Let's Make It Retro (+ Cheap)!

I finally own a camera (yay!) so I'm going to be posting up pictures of some selected retro outfits from now on. This is how I went to work today...

I'm wearing:
Traffic People Geiko Dress from where I work - £FREE
Fur Collared Cardigan from Ebay - £3.50
Red Bow Shoes from Ebay - £7.20
Red Bow Belt from Ebay - £0.99
Opaque Tights from Marks & Spencers - £2.50
Hair Flowers from Accessorise - £4.00
Heart Earrings from Claires Accessories - £1.00

Here's the outfit without the cardigan -

I ended up taking the belt off when I got to work because it didn't sit well with the dress! This is pretty much one of my cheapest outfits I've put together so far - although I'm always on the hunt for a bargain so I may beat myself yet. The heart earrings are some of my favourites at the moment - the fact that they were only £1 in the sale is a nice bonus!

UK High Street Fashion - TV inspired Outfits

Every time I turn on the TV or read the listings (which, if I'm honest, is not very often!) a new retro/vintage style television programme or series seems to jump out at me. The American series Mad Men has almost single handedly brought back late 50's/early 60's fashion. The womanly silhouette has never been more fashionable and luckily for us here in the UK our high street shops have become full of lovely clothes. I'm using the three big ones in this post; New Look, Topshop and River Island to show how you can get the retro TV show look.

Mad Men

I've got to start with this show. It's pretty much the most stylish programme I have ever seen. Christina Hendricks (far right) has become my #1 jealousy fuel. That body is insanely feminine!

A belted in waist, collar details and cute patterns/use of colour are a key look here. This is what I found on the high street...

New Look (apologies for the awful picture quality!!)



This dress has the classic 50s/60's neckline AND the nipped in waist...result!



The Peter Pan collar on this lovely shift dress really gives it an early 60's vibe. Love the colour too.

No retro siren is complete without a good wiggle dress!

River Island

This one almost matched Christina Hendricks' one. And the bow is so cute!

This print is the cutest!

I love this neckline. The bold print is spot on too.

Topshop




This dress would be PERFECT with a nice big underskirt. Pure style.



This dress would be ideal for a summers day.

Capped sleeves - check. Cute collar - check. Flared skirt - check.

I'm going to be hunting for a lot more things on the high street that mimic the styles of our favourite retro TV dames. If you've got any suggestions for TV shows that you think would work then let me know!