Ben de Lisi Home Delights

 

At this moment in time, I am searching for Homeware and finding myself falling slowly in love with Ben de Lisi's quirky items. Cheeky bulldog lamps, colourful pencil picture frames, cute record placemats and an essential barcode rug are tempting me far too much.

 

My ASOS Lace Number

A little bit late but here is my Graduation dress from ASOS. It's now in the sale at £21 down from £48!

I had my trusty gym shorts on underneath with the ruched wrap skirt,
 as I think it would have been slightly inappropriate to flash on stage! 
I liked this dress as I thought it was a perfect cocktail dress for weddings, etc... 
My mum is in a TKMAXX dress and I think she looked fab!

It's been an exciting week, as I've just started my internship at Secret D'OR! 

They are an AMAZING company that is a platform and a new global ecommerce marketplace. 

The website launch is in September so keep any eye on their facebook and twitter to keep informed.

Danny's Graduation

Danny's graduation was on Monday it was SUPER hot. But I thought I'd show you how suave he looked. It was such a lovely day and everyone looked so smart. Although they did say his name wrong to announce him! HAH! He walked out laughing about it, bless him! It's definitely made me excited for my graduation on Monday.

My mum treated me to a new dress for Danny's day. I got a floor length Matalan dress, with a thigh slit. I loved the orange embroidery against the paisley print. Sadly it's not on the website anymore but it is in store for half price! Danny's shirt and tie was from Next 

Have a cheeky look at some pictures...

MY DRESS DETAIL

ME AND DANNY

DANNY AND HIS PROUD MUM (also in a Matalan Dress)

The 5:2 Diet!!

• I've never been a dieting kind of person, with a healthy balance between salads and some naughty treats through out the week. I have a weakness for carrot cake and all things chocolate. However wanting an achievable diet I was seduced by the coverage of the 5:2 diet and decided to give myself a challenge. It seemed easy enough and the results from reviewers seem to good to not try.

  
  

  In simple terms the diet is where for 5 days you have 2000 calories and try and eat slightly healthy. Then on two days in a row you have 500 if you're a woman and 600 for men. Then reap the benefits of fasting.

  This sounded ideal for me planning for a bikini body where all the gym classes in the world only seem to be toning me up. (I recommend Fitness Pilates to anyone wanting help in that department.) Now as a dieter novice I looked for meals I could have, cos a girl's got to eat right?! 

  It sounded simple enough, a example of a day meal plan of mine is a sachet of Quakers Porridge or a Banana, Weight Watchers Soup for dinner with a slice of plain wholemeal bread and a Youngs Cod in Parsley Sauce (101 calories!!) it said on the meal plan with lettuce... but I went for green beans and some ground black pepper.

  Day one was a real test, the sugar tooth started craving all things good so I had a ton of water and no added sugar cordial to excite my day!

  Being me I didn't weigh myself before so I'm not sure what the verdict is yet but I'll keep you updated. However my boyfriends dad is braving the 5:2 diet with me and he lost 8 pounds in his first week!!

  It does get a bit tedious when your smug boyfriend sits there eating pizza in front on you. But in two days you can have pizza! (Maybe a few slices, not the whole thing)

   I'm still eating healthily on my 5 days opting for eggs and wholemeal toast for breakfast, salads in the day and a Mushroom Stirfry or Wholemeal Spaghetti Bolognaise minus the garlic bread for tea. And I have to say I'm feeling better..

              ... and dare I say it lighter?! 

  
  

  
  

  A  few tips for people struggling: 

  # Raspberries and blackberries are 1 kcal per one so if you need a snack, a handful of these are perfect on the 5:2 diet!!

  # There are some great meals on this link

  #Get yourself on the GRAZE hype, these snacks are a god send!

  
  

  Good Luck!
• 
  

NEXT Blogger for GFW 2013

Next had a competition to take bloggers to Graduate Fashion Week.

It was a great surprise and Ellie from NEXT and Tash from JAM were such great hosts.

The other blog winner was Amber and blogger guest Ngoni(NRC).

Both of their blogs are incredible and they are truly amazing ladies.

Although Ambers tales of motherhood have scared me!

We all met at Byron where we had the biggest feast!

I had an amazing Byron burger, which I recommend to all! And the biggest Oreo Milkshake!

We then rolled our way to Earls Court.

 

It was great to see my work at GFW, with my Uni Stand for the University of Huddersfield.

Here is some shameless promotion with our contact sheets created by Milly Mae Van Os.

Zara Martin and Henry Holland were the hosts for GFW and I must say Zara Martin is just flawless!

 The George Gold Award was won by Lauren Smith from the Edinburgh College of Art.

Roland Mouret stated it as an emotional collection.

The collection was beautiful with gorgeous use of colour, fabrics and silhouettes.

The structured fities lines with stylish prints and a Japanese twist.

  

 

The Winner of the Womenswear Award was Hannah Williams from UCA Epsom.

Her collection was simple and exaggerated. 
Muted tones mixed with strong silhouette shapes created a contemporary collection.

 The Zandra Rhodes Textile Award Winner was Kirandeep Bassan of Northampton University.

Her collection was bold and hypnotic with bright colours.

The Menswear Award Winner was Shauni Douglas & Olivia Creber from the Edinburgh College of Art.

Their memorable collection was emphasised with the playful, long moustaches.

 

The Stuart Peters Visionary Knitwear Award Winner was Thea Saunders from Nottingham Trent University.

Hilary Alexander presented the incredible Suzy Menkes with the Lifetime Achievement Award.

I'm just going to have a quick DAVID GANDY moment!!

The man, the model, the vision. And it has to be said he is one handsome chap.

FROW - Zandra Rhodes, Hilary Alexander, David Gandy, Todd Lynn,

Fiona Lambert, Suzy Menkes and Roland Mouret.

Zandra Rhodes left in an humble manner, driving herself in Peugot 106.

I left on a train, occupied with my George and Company goodie bags.

 A last thankyou to NEXT for making it such an unforgettable day! Thanks Guys :)

George at ASDA did such an amazing job at gfw this year!

Unfortunately I didn't leave with David Gandy but his loss, ey ;)

 WARNING:

Unfortunately, I only found my camera half way through and I apologise to you for my awful photography.

Head over to http://www.iamnrc.com/ for some genuinely good images.



GRADUATION OUTFIT 2: THE SUMMERY DRESS

 

 ASOS @ PRIMARK £17 / TOPSHOP £48 / HOBBS £299

 

Furthering my last post this is the next outfit choice.
The Summery Dress, is if we're EXTRA lucky this year to have amazing weather. The dresses I have chosen are a range of styles and cuts, all abit different. My favourite is the Budget Topshop option. 

Also all of thse option are perfect for wedding season and any fancy occasions you want to WOW at ;) 

 

GRADUATION OUTFIT 1 : LADY LUXE

 ASOS £22 / LAVISH ALICE £38 / TOPSHOP £55

 MISSGUIDED £13.79 / NEXT £50 / TED BAKER £169 

 

Graduation is slowly creeping forward. YAY!

And congratulations to us all :) I can't believe how these last three years have sailed by.
 

So in celebration, this week I'll be picking different styles for graduation outfits with a range of budgets.

 

My first is the simple pencil skirt and blouse, a firm favourite for graduates wanting a outfit that is simple, effortless yet ladylike. An outfit that won't be (lets say) inappropiate on the day.

 

I chose a delicate pink pencil skirt and a white top, so you can mix it up with your favourite ...or just the cheapest ;)

Budget is for those of us coming to the end of our student loans!

Blow out for those nearing a pay day or begging their parents to treat them!

I know I'm wishing for BLOW OUT!!

 

 

Understated Opulence

Sorry for the lack of posts, I'm happy to say I have finally FINISHED my University degree with a crazy two weeks of deadlines. It is so surreal and I'm not quite sure it's kicked in yet.

I thought this would be a great time to show you my latest photo shoot at Bar Maroc in Huddersfield. A real intimate setting with Moroccan settings creating a stylish cool place to hang out, share cocktails and snack on pizzas or crepes.

Shooting again with the amazing Nicole Jopek was fun and this time we created a glossy editorial. For the styling I was given a brief of a ladylike style in the form of suit trousers, sheer blouses and midi dresses in vibrant colours combined with a Middle Eastern twist in the form of statement jewellery which gives a sophisticated finish.

The beautiful make up was by Aisha Queeum and the model, Justina Gunina was just so stunning with a polished look which suited the clothes perfectly. Hopefully this shoot will inspire you to create some stylish outfits from a handful of high street stores.

Sheer White Blouse by H&M

Trouser and Clutch by River Island

Navy Blouse and Trousers by H&M

Coral Blouse by Matalan

Pink Trousers by H&M

White Blazer by H&M

Embellished Top by Topshop

Trousers by Matalan

Graphic Dress by ASOS

Black Midi Dress by ASOS

White Blazer by H&M

Trousers by Matalan

Graphic Dress by ASOS

All Jewellery from Asian Markets and Photographer's Friends

CHARLOTTE OLYMPIA ZODIAC SHOES

If anyone has £495 to spare, you have to purchase a pair of these gorgeous Zodiac flats by Charlotte Olympia.

 

 

Leo Suede Slippers

 

 

Virgo Suede Slippers

 

 

Gemini Suede Slippers

 

 

Which are your favourite?

 

 

Floral Dream

Another photo shoot that was SOSO fun!

This featured alot of floral suits and bold colours.

The photographer is the talented Jayne Barri check out her page here. She had an amazing vision and supplied the most amazing head gear!

 

 

 

H&M trousers £14.99

 

 

 

My favourites are below, taking a grungey take on the trend with a gorgeous rose band by EmilyElisabeths

Also this model had the most beautiful hair, serious hair envy!