Dressed for Success!

I've just got a really quick outfit post for you on what I wore for my interview in London town today.

I went for a much different look to the outfit I wore to my last interview (you can see my post here). Last time the company had no dress code and was quite a young, fresh company, so I wore something quite 'me' but still appropriate for the day.

This time round though, I didn't know too much about the company's culture/dress code. However, I did know that they are hugely successful, a market leader and that they deal with some of the biggest banks, law firms, investment companies etc in the country (actually, in the world)... all very impressive stuff! So I though it was best to go for something very profesh! I would much rather be over dressed than underdressed at an interview, so this is what I went with...

I am aware that my hair looks slightly red in these pictures, which I find a lil strange...

Blazer - New Look

Blouse - Next

Skirt - Tesco

Bag - Primark

Shoes - Asda

I've gotta say I felt very professional, and.. dare I say it... grown-up, walking past all the tourists wearing this! (I'm 22, so I know it shouldn't feel strange to feel grown up, but it does!)

I've got my fingers crossed I get through to the next round of interviews, and I'll let you know when I hear. If I do, that means another outfit to plan :-/

Hope you all have a lovely weekend :-D

xx

Oh I do like to be beside the seaside...

Evening all,

Thought I would write a quick little blog with a few cute piccies of my day at the beach at the weekend :-)

On Sunday it was my boyfriend's stepmum's 60th birthday and she wanted all her friends and family (around 40 of us altogether!) to celebrate at one of her favourite places in the whole world... Frinton-on-Sea!! She owns a beach hut there with 4 of her friends so that was the hub of the day's activities. The hut is sooo cute! I really want one, but with a price tag of around £20,000, I think they're a little out of my price range!

We were very lucky with the weather, as it didn't rain at all. Although it was super sunny, there was quite a strong breeze so it was a little chilly (hence why I didn't feel the need to put suncream on, so am now nursing very burnt legs!). Here's what I wore...

I popped on my straw hat from Primark to keep the sun of my face and tied my hair in a messy side plait to try to keep it out of my eyes.

Bag- New Look

Shorts (again!) - Dorothy Perkins

Belt - Primark

Strapless Top- Dorothy Perkins

Cardigan- New Look

I spent the day releasing my inner child; building sandcastles, paddling and playing games. After food, the birthday girl was presented with the most amazing birthday cake...

How adorable is it?! With the beach huts (notice how it's number 60 because it was her 60th), a lilo, crab, the sand, beach ball, and the lady herself asleep on a deckchair, every detail was perfect :-)

What makes it even better is that it was all made by one of her friend's daughters - very talented lady! Her boyfriend even got roped in and helped make the deckchair - he cut lollipop sticks, sanded them down and even drilled holes in them so he could stick them altogether... now that's a lot of effort! It was all worth it though, as she seemed to love it...

Just as we were leaving, the boyfriend, his dad and stepdad felt the need to go for a swim :-/ Now, I know it was a sunny day and we were at the beach 'n all, but let's not forget... THIS IS ENGLAND and the water was still freezing!! Ah well, I guess boys with be boys, whatever their age!

I had a really lovely day at the beach and, most importantly, so did the birthday girl :-) Now, where's the aftersun...

xx

Dress to Impress

Yesterday I took my little self off down to London for an interview for an internship at Channel 4.

I set an alarm for 5.30am (painful) and toddled off on the train. Luckily despite the train stopping for about 20 minutes because of a fire, I made it on time. It was a busy day full of interviews, group tasks and written exercises so I was a very tired girly on the way home. I find out next week whether I got the spot, so fingers crossed!

I was all ready to wear a suit for the day, but luckily I emailed beforehand and found out there is no dress code at Channel 4, and I was told to just wear what I was comfortable in. Here's what I went for (again I'm sorry for cutting off my face - I took this after a long, hot train journey home, because I forgot to take one before I went, and it's not a pretty sight!)...

Shoes - Marks and Spencer

Bag - Primark

Dress - Asda

Jacket - New Look

Belt - River Island

I got the dress in the Asda sale for £7 and think it is really pretty and I'll definitely wear it a lot. To make it a bit smarter I added grey heels and a grey smart handbag. The grey jacket is really lightweight and I thought it just made the outfit a bit cooler.

Here's a close up of my belt which is new and I love! I got it from River Island in the sale for £8 reduced from £20. It will be perfect for making an 'ok' outfit a bit more special :-)

Oh, and thought I'd show you this cute little purchase. I got this card holder from Accessorize, and it's perfect for my Young Persons Railcard and means I can travel in style!

If you haven't ever seen the Channel 4 head office (which is not far from Westminster) then take a look at how cool it is...

Yep, that's a big '4' made from umbrellas - awesome!

Even after just one day I can tell that it is just the kind of place I want to be. I had a really enjoyable day, but the other candidates were all really strong, so I'll be keeping my fingers crossed and waiting for the fateful phone call!!

xx

Animal Instincts

Hola Chicas!

I was in town yesterday posting a few ebay items I've sold in the last few days and, as usual, I got distracted and did a spot of shopping myself :-/ There's so many sales on everywhere at the moment I find it hard to resist!

Then last night the boy and I headed out for a meal at good old Frankie and Benny's - I love it so much there. Here's what I wore... (I've cut my head off cos let's just say I wasn't looking at my most radiant!)...

Shorts - Dorothy Perkins

Navy vest - New Look

I bought the cream cropped tee I'm wearing here yesterday from New Look. It was reduced from £22 to £6 in the sale so I was a very happy girly! The detailing at the top is loads of little faux pearls sewn on which is so cute :-)

It's my gorgeous new shoesies that were my favourite part of my outfit though...

I got them from Tesco of all places! They were £12 and I am actually in love with them :-) The leopard print in kinda shiny, then there are black bows with big chunky silver jewels on...

They wouldn't normally be my style cos they're quite in your face, but they make me smile, so I figured what the hell :-)

Hasta Mañana

xx

And The Results Are In...

Good afternoon all, on this beautiful day!

I have some GREAT news that I just can't keep to myself so I'll share it with anyone who is reading if you don't mind! Well, I got my degree result today, and...

I PASSED WITH FIRST CLASS HONOURS!!!

I am so happy that all the hard work paid off, and now am really looking forward to graduation next month :-)

In a celebratory kind of mood the boyfriend and I headed off to the pub (as you do!) and had the best nachos ever!! I'm not exaggerating. Seriously, look at them...

And I can confirm they taste as good as they look! I did share them though - I thought the boyfriend deserved some as well, after getting a 2:1 himself :-)

Here's a quick pic of what I wore...

My dress was from Primark a couple of years ago and I tend to live in it in the summer, and my flip flops are also a whole £2-worth of Primark goodness! I'll show you close ups of my jewellery in a haul that I plan on doing soon.

I'm now off to settle down in the sun to watch Andy Murray for a while, before heading out again tonight for some more celebrating and a couple of cheeky drinkies!

xx

It's the Final Final Fling

Last night was a monumental occasion - officially my last night out as a student of Aston University :-(

All this week has been what we at Aston call our 'Final Fling' - the last week of term where we have different events every night before heading our different ways for the summer. Only this time we weren't heading different ways for the summer... but forever... (well this may be slightly dramatic but you know what I mean!).

So last night we headed to our Students' Guild, where Tim Westwood(!) was the guest DJ for the night. Here's a close up of me before I went out. Sorry it's black and white and so not that great to see my make up, but I was playing around with PhotoBooth at the time! I used curlers on my hair but went for a more tousled look than tight ringlets.

And here's my outfit. I wore a dress from New Look, that is navy blue at the top with frills, and then the bottom half is a floral print. Some people think it is a skirt and top. I like wearing its cos it's supper comfy, lovely colours and cute and girly. I wore my gladiator type sandals as I wanted to have a good old dance to celebrate my last night at uni, and didn't want any heels to ruin my time with the dancefloor!

I had a great night dancing, drinking and chatting with loads of the amazing people I've met during my time at Aston. When I got home it was time to cut off my Final Fling wristband and, as silly as it sounds, I really didn't want to do it. I've had the most amazing time and can't believe it's finally come to an end.

Thanks Aston. It's been awesome.

xx

End of an Era

I have a rather special OOTD to share with you all today so I really hope you like it!

Last night was my Graduation Ball held at the beautiful Botanical Gardens in Birmingham and it was (I know I use this word a lot) amazing!

For those of you that have been following my blog you will know that I have been panicking so much about finding a dress over the last few weeks but, lo and behold, I managed to find one eventually! So please forgive my self-indulgence, as this post contains a lot of photos, but I had such a great night and as I don't get dressed up like this very often I figure I might as well make the most of it.

Here's the dress I finally went for...

I love it so much. I got it from a Karen Millen outlet where it was reduced from £200 to £55, which I don't think is too bad at all. I have tried so many on over the last few weeks, and I know that in most of them I would have had to have breathed in all night or kept pulling them up, and I really didn't want that. This one was great because it was floaty it I didn't have to worry about any of that. I also love the dress because of the colour. The orange is really eye catching and the gold detailing (sequins, beads and chains) around the top adds a bit of interest. I think I was one of only a couple of people out of 800 wearing orange, so I felt different which is what I really wanted. I thought maybe the dress wouldn't be 'ball-y' enough, but as it was, dresses ranged from simple summer dresses to full on ball gowns, so I fitted in just fine!

I planned on selling the dress on ebay after I'd worn it, but I enjoyed wearing it so much that I think I'm going to hang on to it for a while!

I had my make up done for free at the Clinique counter in Boots. I only really went in for them to try out foundation on me, but the lady ended up doing the whole thing! I really loved the foundation she used. The 'Superbalanced Make Up' covered up all my blemishes and gave a really even finish, but still felt really light and my skin could breathe. I loved the look at a whole, because it was really fresh and pretty, and still subtle (I'm not really a fan of garish make up).

Here's a close up of my eyes. The lady filled in my eyebrows, which I have never done before but it made such a big difference, I will definitely do it again. She used mainly bronze colours, but a hint of 'Indigo Quickliner' on my bottom eyelid. When she first suggested indigo I was horrified, but I actually think it looked really good, and brought out the blue of my eyes.

Here you can see my eyelids better. Look at my eyelashes - they've never been so long!

I wasn't sure what colour nails to go for so I asked my boyfriend who suggested grey, and I have to say it was an inspired choice! (Not that there was any real thought behind his suggestion - I know he just guesses and hopes for the best). I used Collection 2000 Hot Looks nail varnish in 'Wham!' It gave quite a matt finish and I think it went really well with the orange of my dress, although I would probably have never thought of it myself (Erin 0, Boyfriend 1).

Because my dress was pretty bright, I kept things simple jewellery-wise. I just wore a bracelet I got in the Miss Selfridge sale for £2 which has a pearl, gold heart and black bow, and my mum's old engagement ring which she gave to me which I think is gorgeous and only wear on really special occasions.

So that's pretty much my whole outfit! What do you guys think? What are you planning on wearing for any balls / proms / parties you've got coming up this summer?

I have to say I loved my whole outfit sooooooo much! It was one of those rare occasions that I really felt good in what I was wearing and wanted lots of photos taken! I've put a few more pics below just in case you fancy taking a look at what my friends were wearing and what the place was like. As I've already said the Botanical Gardens were really beautiful, with so much to explore and great backgrounds for photos!

Here's me and my boyfriend. I think he looks rather dapper!

This is me with 3 of my best girl friends who I think all looked really pretty. How well does my friend Dani on the right's bag match her dress?! (And it was from Primark - bargain! - but sssshhh, don't tell anyone!)

The boys found a play area! They may have nearly graduated but they are still little boys at heart!

I have loads of photos from last night and know that in years to come they'll bring back such great memories. I'm starting to get a little bit emotional just thinking about it! The night finished off with a beautiful fireworks display as the class of 2010 made their way home.

All in all a crazy, emotional, funny night out (with a nice outfit) - what more could you ask for?!

xx

My Uni Life In Fancy Dress

I'll try and say this without shedding a tear - I now have only a few weeks until I leave university for good (sob!).

Although I'm ready to leave, I've had the time of my life and will always look back with such great memories. So I thought it would be a nice idea to do a couple of blog posts over the next few weeks to take a peek back over my time at Aston.

As the first post, I can't think of a better way to start than with... (drumroll please)... FANCY DRESS!

Anyone who goes to or has been to uni will know that fancy dress is one thing you can't escape... And I LOVE IT!!! It's an excuse to be someone you're not, get creative and in the case of some of my outfits, wear something skimpy you wouldn't dare to wear under normal circumstances!

So, I'll talk you through some of the outfits I have worn over the last four years, finishing off with my favourite three. (I apologise now for dodgy camera work - many of these were taken before starting a blog even entered my thinking, so most are a result of a drunk friend on an awesome night out!).

Well, we have a 'Skool Daze' party every term, so I've been to nearly 10. School uniform is pretty standard and I always wear the same kinds of thing, but maybe mix it up a little with shorts or skirt, vests, accessories etc. I can tell these pics are from different nights cos of the changing hairstyles!

There are a few different ones below...

- First I went for a kind of bat, spider person kinda look for halloween in second year! Don't really know what I was aiming for, but I reckon if you mix a lot of black and purple you can't really go wrong for halloween!

- Then there's me as Pocahontas (sp?) for the 'Fairytale Ball'. I remember this being a real last minute outfit, which involved me running to Birmingham indoor market about 5 minutes before it closed, buying £2 of material and hoping for the best! I think it worked out pretty well in the end!

- The third one was more of a 'challenge' than an event! On cricket tour in Torquay, we each had to find the worst (or should that be best?!) outfit for £5 in a charity shop for 'Bad Shirt Night'! I found this awesome skirt and jacket combo. I felt like Carol Vorderman on Countdown back in the day! And all for just a fiver - bargain!

Here's a two more...

- The first one was for 'Heaven and Hell' night and I went as an angel, although all you can see of my outfit is the fluffy halo! But hey, that was the best bit - I would definitely add it to my everyday wardrobe if I could!

- Every year we have 'Freakers', the sexual fantasy ball - not as kinky as it may sound, I promise! It's one of the biggest nights in Aston's calendar and everyone makes a real effort. This year I went as a sexy policewoman, in a VERY skimpy outfit - much smaller than it looked on ebay... ah well, you're only young once! (And yes, that's my boyfriend in the morphsuit, but the less said about his outfit the better!)

And finally the last two before the big countdown:

- On the left I am dressed as an air hostess for a friend's 'Mile High Club' birthday. In hindsight I now think I looked more like a cleaner...

- On the right is my second year Freakers outfit (see above) which I went to as a footballer / girl in their boyfriend's football shirt! I loved it at the time, but I won't be getting my abs out like that anytime soon - need a few more stomach crunches til that happens again!

So, here goes, now we get to the big three...

My third favourite fancy dress outfit... ARMY!

In first year we wore the army theme for a friend's birthday. I love the army theme for a fancy dress and its perfect for when there's lots of boys and girls, as it suits both sexes. I went for a brown bikini, under a netted top, with combats on the bottom. I think I may have got the facepaints a bit wrong though as I ended up with more tribal stripes than army war paint! Ah well. Another good thing about this outfit was that I got to wear combats and trainers, so it was much easier to bust a few moves on the dancefloor!

My second favourite fancy dress outfit... CAVEGIRLS!

For a friend's birthday we all dressed as Cavegirls. We bought loads of material from the markets in Birmingham city centre and had great fun ripping, cutting and tying our little hearts out! I think cavegirl is such a good outfit cos it is really cheap, and you can go a bit crazy not only with the outfit, but with the hair and make up too.

And finally, my favourite fancy dress outfit.... CHAVS!

In second year we had 'Chav Night' and it was amazing! I wore a velour tracksuit, huge hooped earrings and even had my 'ASBO' round my neck! (I'm third from left). It's my friend Sarah on the left who I think looks amazing though - the gelled-down hair, thick lipliner and teddy for a baby was perfect! You'd be surprised how much people's behaviour changes when you are dressed like this - it all got a bit lairy!

I know my favourite three are quite standard fancy dress outfits, but I had such great fun wearing them that they just had to top the list.

I hope you've enjoyed looking at these pictures - reminiscing has definitely bought a HUGE smile to my face! When I meet up with my friends from university after we leave I am going to ensure it is fancy dress, cos I think I will miss it too much in the 'real world'!

Which of my outfits from the photos is your favourite? Do any of you have any cool fancy dress ideas, or have you worn any in the past?

xx

Sex and the (Birmingham) City

So yesterday I fulfilled my duty as a member of womankind and went to see Sex and the City 2... and I loved it!

Personally I thought it was much better than the first film, although a lot of the reviews say otherwise. I went with the girlies for my friend Connie's birthday and we all had a right giggle. There are sooooo many good looking men in it that I recommend you go to see it asap if you haven't yet just for the fitties! I thought on the whole it was really funny and a good 2 hours and a half of escapism.

The outfits in it were also amazing! I might do a blog on here in the near future about how you can get some of their looks for less on the high street, as although they were stunning I hear the wardrobe budget for the film was $10,000,000!!

I went to see the film at the cutest cinema ever! Its called the 'Electric Cinema' in Birmingham city centre. Apparently its the oldest working cinema in the UK (in the 80s it went through a phase of only showing horror and porn!). Although I should clarify that its not like this any more, and is a lot more mainstream, although it does still show a lot of arty, independent films too. Our tickets were little old fashioned ticket stubs, and in the actual cinema there are comfy sofas you can sit on behind the normal cinema seats. It even has a bar, and if you want a drink mid-film you can text a waiter who will bring you one - its amazing! And after all this, it wasn't even particularly expensive - our student tickets were £4.50, which if anything is cheap.

I would definitely recommend a visit if you are around the area - it made going to see SATC 2 that little bit more special!

About 10 minutes before I was about to leave I got a text from my friend saying everyone was wearing dresses so I quickly had to change! As we were going to see the film at midday I didn't want to be too dressy, but I wanted it to be kind of special because we were going for a meal afterwards. My dress is from New Look with ruffly black and white stripes. I love it because it isn't fitted so if I go out for a meal and stuff myself it doesn't show - always something I consider! My boyfriend does say I look like a giant humbug though! My blazer is also from New Look and its so useful that I wear it all the time. My scarf is H&M which I used just to add a bit of colour to the outfit.

My shoes are black t-bar heels from George at Asda of all places! They were only about £15 and they are soooo comfy. I wore them to work all the time last year when I was on my placement from uni, and I wouldn't normally wear them out, but hey, I was in a rush and I actually think they looked ok.

My bag is one of my favourite things I own, which I got in the River Island sale. I love all the zips and studs, and its pretty big which I need for all the stuff I carry around with me on a daily basis. I know I need a new handbag that is a bit more 'summery' than this one, but I can't tear myself away from it!!

What do you think of my outfit? Not perfect, but not too bad for 10 minutes notice!

I'm in Ipswich for a couple of days now and am off to the Suffolk Show tomorrow, so I'll definitely keep you updated on my time in East Anglia!

xx

Celebrate good times

So, after a 4-year slog... or to be more honest 3 years of averagely difficult work and 1 year of work so hard at times I wanted to kill myself... (ok, that was a little bit dramatic)... last night it was finally time to celebrate!

The university had hired out a bar in the Arcadian in Birmingham for all the final years to party. I wanted a new outfit for the occasion, but because I didn't know what other people would be wearing, having never gone there before, I wasn't really sure what to go for.

I traipsed round the shops for ages and eventually settled for an outfit that was mostly from New Look. I thought it would be fine as if people were dressed quite casually I wouldn't look too OTT, but it would be dressy enough if people had glammed-up for the occasion. As it were, there was a whole range of outfits from the rest of the final years so I fitted in just fine.

(I apologise for the state of me in this picture - I forgot to take one before I went out, so this was taken at 4.30am after a rather heavy night!)

I loved the outfit, and had quite a few comments from people who thought it was 'cute'.

The shorts were my favourite item, new from New Look for £20. They are lilac and look kind of like a skirt but are actually the loose fitting shorts that seem to be everywhere at the moment. They have a bow at the front which is stitched in place so you don't have to think about tying it nicely. I have to say though that they did crease very easily, but they were so comfy and will be very versatile, so I think it's a small price to pay.

The top is just a simple white strappy top with some embroidery and silver stitching, again from New Look for £8. It is really useful and I think I will wear it a lot this summer.

The cardigan is also from New Look and they have it in loads of colours. Wearing this over the top and shorts gave the outfit the casual, summery look I was going for.

Finally the shoes are my old personal favourites, tan heels from Dorothy Perkins. Perfect as they are quite high but really comfy.

I kept my nails 'Sherbet Lemon' and wore my new ring from Miss Selfridge, as well as an older blue heart ring also from Miss Selfridge. I think that adding chunky, clashing rings to this outfit helped make it look a lot more eclectic and less 'put together', which was good as it avoided me looking too matchy matchy, which I could easily have done with the lilac shorts and cardigan.

All in all, a brilliant time was had by all! Drinks were flowing, sun was shining and music was pumping - what more could you want?!

Next stop is to find an outfit for my Graduation Ball which is in less than 2 weeks. I don't just want to go to somewhere on the high street as I will probably end up in the same dress as someone else, but on the other hand I don't have too much money floating around at the moment! Any ideas?!

xx

Two is better than one

With all the lovely things in the shops, I don't know why I do this so often...

Because I am loving my new Miss Selfridge ring I bought a few days ago so much, I decided I just had to get it in the other colour too!

This one is silver as opposed to gold, and the disk has a purple background with blue flower. Again it was in the sale, reduced from £6 to £2, in the Bullring in Birmingham.

If I really like something I often end up buying it in more than one colour. It seems a bit silly, but I figure if its not broke don't fix it, and if you get your wear out of the first item, you'll probably find the same with the second one.

(My nail varnish is 'Sherbet Lemon' by 17 which is in the same 'Candy Collection' as the 'Mint Choc Chip' I reviewed in March.)

I'm loving Miss Selfridge's jewellery at the moment. These are a couple of my favourite pieces...

These 'Filigree Fan Earrings' are £9. The subtle colours mean they would go with everything, and as they'e not too plain nor too 'in your face', I think they'd take you from day to night perfectly.

I think this 'Pink Flamingo Brooch' is absolutely amazing, priced at £5. The bright colours would add a 'pop' to any outfit and I think with this on your blazer, scarf or even hat, you'd feel instantly ready for summer! They do the same flamingo design as stud earrings if you're not a brooch wearer.

So if you're shopping this week I suggest you take a look in Miss Selfridge as you might just find a little treat for yourself!

xx

Time for a change

With exams over at uni I have been able to address all the pressing issues in my life that have somewhat fallen by the wayside recently, namely wardrobe, nails and hair! I dealt with nails and wardrobe myself but felt the hair needed more professional input, so I headed to the salon.

I really felt like a change in the hair department. My natural colour is light brown, but after Christmas I decided to go blonde. Although it was done really well, I just wasn't very keen on it. I just didn't think it did anything for me. So this time round I asked to go dark. However, as in the past when I've had dark hair it has looked a bit dull, I wanted a hint of red to make it a bit more interesting.

Here are before and after pictures:

I am soooo pleased with it! I love it so much! It is just the change I was after and I think it suits my skin tone much better and is far more flattering! I think changing your hair to whatever colour just makes you feel so different it gives you a new lease of life.

I'm still at the stage where I have to keep looking in the mirror because I love it so much! Does anyone else do this or is it just me?!

I had it done at Big Apple in Birmingham. I've been there for my last three appointments and think its great. It has a nice atmosphere, friendly staff and each time they have actually given me what I wanted (which based on many other hairdressers I have been to, this is quite rare!). If anyone is looking for a good hairdressers in Birmingham I can highly recommend it.

xx