You're gonna hear me Roar

Firstly I would like to apologise for how utterly exhausted I look in this images - clearly life is catching up with me at the moment.

This was last weekend when The Boy and I had free tickets to the Ideal Home Show (courtesy of my lovely work colleague). 

At the weekends I love to dress as casual as possible but I am trying to move away from my leggings and jean shorts phase (alas, I am no longer a teenager). I've been living in these jeans from Next lately which I picked them up a couple of weeks back at the last Next sale. They were a steal at only £14 a pair (naturally, I bought them in both a light and a dark wash). They're a relaxed fit, feel really comfy and are somewhat akin to being able to wear pyjama bottoms all day long (it's a yes from me).

I picked up the jumper recently when I had some discount to use in H&M. I'd been toying with the idea of buying it for a while but, again, felt like it was maybe a bit too young for me. But who cares, it's just a bit of fun and I personally think it looks pretty good. And it gives me an excuse to run round the flat singing eye of the tiger all day long (much to The Boy's delight).

Jumper - H&M

Jeans - Next

Bag - Clarks

Trainers - Converse

(links can be found below)

Look of the day: black stripe, yellow paint

For my Grandad's ninetieth birthday party at my family home on the south coast last weekend I wore one of my latest purchases, and a favourite one at that. 

I picked up this little acid yellow number on one of my early morning runs to Primarni and when I saw it on the rails I literally could not believe how cute it was! Neither could the girls at work, particularly as it looked so close to a Whistles number some of them have had their eye on. I'm informed that leather trims are still going to be acceptable come Spring so hopefully I'll be able to get more than a few wears out of it in both cooler and warmer weather.

 Dress: Primark

Blazer: H&M

Belt: Primark

Tights: Primark (Super Cosy - literally, life changing)

Boots: New Look

LOTD: Friday date night

Firstly, I must confess, these pictures weren't actually taken this weekend (this weekend was much more of a sleeping in front of Gladiator kind of date night, as opposed to actually leaving the flat) but I loved this outfit so much I thought it still warranted a LOTD post.

Blazer - Dorothy Perkins

Top - River Island

Necklace - NW3 at Hobbs

Jeans - Dorothy Perkins

Clutch - Primark

Shoes - Primark

In my eyes, nothing beats a good blazer. Skinny jeans, a draped top such as this one (a favourite from River Island) a clutch bag, blazer and heels is my go-to outfit of choice for date night - perfect for a variety of places. 

The place on this particular occasion was Rossopomodoro in Notting Hill. Having been to the branch near Covent Garden and craving wine and carbs after a hard week at work, The Boy and I hopped on the bus and had a stroll about before dinner. 

I love Notting Hill, there's always something new to see (and plenty of perfect spots for a photo or two). Great pizza, great location, ultimately Notting Hill is the perfect place for a casual Friday night date with The Boy.

Find out more about Rossopomodoro here.

LOTD: Pretty in pink

Last week (for about five minutes) the sun came out so I decided to throw caution to the wind and wear my NW3 pink silk blazer that I bought last summer. Now, you may notice that in some of these images I'm cowering in a doorway, that's because it had inevitably started to rain again (don't you just love the British summer?) and I had to persuade The Boy to continue taking my photo whilst getting soaked through - I guess it must be love. I'm pretty pleased with this ensemble and hope to wear it again before we settled into Autumn (if that hasn't already happened).

Jacket - NW3

Vest - NW3

Bag - Hobbs

Trousers - Hobbs

Shoes - Dune

Belt - Primark

Look of the day: Friday

Dress: NW3

Boots: New Look

With a film crew trailing me around the office (don't even ask) I needed to look my best this past Friday so I turned to what seems to have quickly become my favourite dress: the parliament shirt dress by NW3 at Hobbs. I've only worn it a handful of times but whenever I put it on I instantly feel cool (that's right, me, cool). The dress is silk and has a really cute paperclip print which I love. NW3 are known for their quirky prints but this has been my favourite one so far.

Oh and I wore my hair extensions (alas, my hair did not grow overnight).

Look of the day: Thursday

Blazer - Primark

Top - New Look

Belt - Primark

Skirt - Marks and Spencer

Last week the sun came out (finally) so I took advantage of this and cracked out one of my new maxi skirts. As a fan of all things animal print, I love the pattern, and the colour of this skirt makes it really easy to pair with other items in my wardrobe. Hopefully soon it'll be warm enough to team with a vest and flip flops (here's hoping).

I left my heart in Tokyo

Last night The Boy and I spent a cosy night in eating pasta, drinking wine and just generally enjoying each others company. It was a lovely lazy evening that followed on from a pretty uneventful day (saving money is boring but sometimes a weekend at home is just what the doctor ordered).

We seem to have watched many a film of late, mostly chosen by The Boy; Unknown, Drive and many an episode from The Wire box set (a Christmas present, what was I thinking?!), so I put my foot down and declared that I wanted to watch Memoirs of a Geisha. This was not The Boy's first choice that's for sure, but I love this film, the storyline, the scenery, the outfits; pure cinematic bliss.

 

The film got me thinking about when I visited Tokyo in 2009 and what an absolutely amazing place it is. I'd love to go back someday and stay for a while longer (we were only there for a week) as I love the culture and would like more of a chance to explore.
 

Watching the film and looking back through some of my old pictures inspired me to take some pictures for my look of the day today next to some amazing trees I saw in the cemetery yesterday when I went for my run. I'm not sure what trees they are but to me they have a similar feel to the Japanese cherry blossom and I really love the colour.

Jacket: Tesco

Scarf: H&M

Top: New Look

Trousers: Matalan

Pumps: Marks and Spencer

Belt: Primark

Bag: Hobbs

Date day dissected

Last weekend I was lucky enough to be treated to a "date day" with The Boy, as for once we had nothing else planned for our Saturday, so we hopped on the tube and ventured over to Greenwich to spend the day exploring the area. I'd only ever visited Greenwich once before, years ago with an old school friend and her family, and I was pleased to find that it had lost little of it's charm. I think one of the things I like most about the area is that it's easy to forget you're in London at all, more that you're in some quaint town in the heart of the English countryside. I love the old houses, cute shops and fish and chip restaurants that litter the winding streets, whilst finding the contrast in the view of the skyscrapers of Canary Wharf across the river truly awe inspiring.

We spent a while wandering around the food and craft market where I discovered a wonderful homewares shop called The Home Front (basically I wanted to buy EVERYTHING), got some great Christmas present ideas (I know it's early but I like to be organised) and shared a delicious Malteaser cake from one of the food stalls. 

My main reason for wanting to visit had been to go to the Titanic exhibition, so after we'd had our fill of art and food based treats we wandered along to the Maritime museum. Having seen the 1998 film four times at the cinema, countless more times on DVD and watched many a documentary on the tragedy, the sinking of Titanic has always held my interest. To be honest I was a little disappointed with the size of the exhibition as it only filled one small room, although I did enjoy reading the letters and looking at the artifacts documenting the tragedy. It could be because we decided to visit on a Saturday coupled with the recent ITV drama on the sinking but the exhibition was very busy and battling through the crowds to get to each display cabinet didn't make for a particularly enjoyable experience. That being said, I did love seeing the clothing which had been worn by survivors on the night the ship sank, as it made the tragedy seem more real, and not just the work of the Hollywood film directors.

We rounded off the day with a visit to what is fast becoming our favourite local pub, The Cumberland Arms, with some friends, followed by a mezze style dinner at home watching Breaking Dawn (the less said about this part of the day the better: what a truly awful film that is).

I also decided that this would be the day that my Topshop rainmac got it's first outing. I bought it a few years back but had never worn it (I know, this is becoming a habit) and I must say I was pretty pleased with the result even if, due to my shape, I'm not really supposed to wear anything double breasted.

Coat: Topshop

Jeans: Dorothy Perkins

Ballet Pumps: Tesco

Bag: Hobbs