Gray Days

Gray Days

Since we have been having so many grey days recently (am I the only one that is done with this weather?) I thought I would share with you a little treat I ordered for myself the other week from The Gray Store, which has brightened up my days.

The Gray Store is a UK company based in Brighton who are passionate about British design and production.  They make the most gorgeous personalised items and they come delivered in beautiful packaging, which is perfect as a little treat for yourself or a gift for someone special.

The Gray Store have a range of products available including a kids selection of babygrows, blankets and t-shirts and some household items such as wash bags and storage sacks.  I decided to order a cosmetic bag, which I am so so happy with and at only £13.50, I think is really good value.  They also have pretty reasonable postage costs (about £3 I think), which is good, as extortionate postage is a huge bug bear of mine.

Personalised Cosmetic Bag £13.50 

These come in two sizes (medium and large) and two different colours (natural or black) and you can also choose the fabric for your personalisation. They have a range of six colourful fabrics; indigo web, hot yellow, blush, polar grey, dark washed denim and light washed denim. 

  
I was really tempted by the dark denim and the yellow, but I eventually opted for the indigo web as I thought this was a bit different, and I am really pleased with my choice. Each appliqued letter is hand cut and you really feel like the product has been made just for you and with such good care and attention to detail.

As a mum, I love storage bags like this, there are so many uses for them.  I have a range of different pouches or bags that I use to store different things, not just when I am travelling but on a day to day basis too. When my little boy was tiny, my nappy bag was filled with several pouches like these, which made my life so much easier as I knew exactly where to find the thing that I needed, rather than having to trawl through the whole bag to find that one little thing.  Back then, mine weren't quite as stylish as I had not yet discovered The Gray Store!
 

Finally, here I am putting my cosmetic bag to good use, even though it is a medium, it's still like a tardis and you can actually fit quite a lot in them.  I would say it would be great for either make up, day to day essentials (as below) or even for a weekend away.

 

Thank you for reading.  I would love to hear your comments and which (if any) of The Gray Store products you were tempted by. 

 NB. This is not a sponsored post and all thoughts and opinions are my own.  

 

Cheek Frills

Cheek Frills

Just a quick post today, but I couldn't resist sharing this delightful news that arrived in my inbox this morning

I had not heard of the Cheek Frills brand until recently, when bizarrely within the space of a weekend I was suddenly seeing them everywhere, not only did my friend Katie (aka The Eclecticity) mention them on Instagram, but I stumbled across a local stockist whilst out with hubby and the little man.  I have to say I was very very tempted to buy some there and then having heard such good things, and seeing them in the flesh (pardon the pun).  they come in a range of colours and they are amazingly soft.  Anyway grumpy hubby and grizzly toddler do not lend themselves well to shopping so I abandoned ship and to keep the peace we stumbled off to buy coffee and cake.  But I have not stopped thinking about them, so how pleased do you think I was when I got news hot off the press this morning that there is a 50% sale.  So, yes I may have made a little purchase, but in my defence you can also pay by paypal, so I am using monies that I have accumulated from from ebay selling which means it totally doesn't really count - right?? 

They have an amazing range of knickers in all different colours and prints and they also do bralets, pyjamas, robes etc.  I am sticking with knickers (as I'm not sure the bras would contain my boobs) but do please check out the rest of their range.  Here are my favourites...

 

Classic Black £15 (£7.50 with discount)

 

Basic Four Knicker Set £40 (£20 with discount)

Neon Long Weekender Set £40 (£20 with discount)

Neon Days of the Week £70 (£35 with discount)

Not only do they do days of the week and other fun captions such those on the bride to be set, you can also choose to personalise them however you want.  I for one love a bit of personalisation or mongramming, so I was definitely up for this.  You can chose the colour of your lettering and also whether you want it on the front or the back.  So I have placed my order and I am told that they will arrive within 48 hours with the standard delivery, which I think is pretty punchy for a pair of pants at £5, but given the discount I figured who cares. I have literally just placed the order so I cannot share a picture of my purchase yet, but I will try to do so once they arrive.  

Thank you for reading and happy shopping!  As always I would love to hear your comments and whether you made a purchase?

Spot the Difference

Spot the Difference

Another pair of shoes ladies.

I absolutely love these Whistles Ankle Tie Shoe, and I really should have included them in my previous Whistles haul Wolf Whistles Post.  If you hurry you may still catch the 25% discount (last day for using it is Monday the 7th March) using code WH25SS16.  The Whistles suede shoes are always fabulous quality and oh so comfortable, so worth the extra pennies I think.  These are priced at £165 (pre-discount)....

 
...but for those of us on a more limited budget, I have found these beauties from Topshop, which are oh so similar and a snip at £50.  I absolutely love these, and think they are slightly edgier than the Whistles ones, which is a look that is appealing to me at the moment.  I am trying to justify this purchase in my head, because I think I could wear these with loads of things, but I've been spending a little too much recently and with an impending house move I am trying (and failing miserably) to be good.

 

Wolf Whistles

Wolf Whistles

So it's that time of year again and the lovely people at Whistles and Grazia are offering a 25% discount both online and in store.  I love Whistles, in fact one of my fail safe go to wedding/event dresses is from there, as are my most comfortable pair of heels that literally go with anything, but I do sometimes find it a little pricey for my limited budget, so I love love love it when that special time comes around but twice a year.  The magic code to get your 25% discount this time is WH25SS16 and it's valid until Monday 7th March so hurry hurry. Sorry, I know I'm a little slow on the uptake with this (busy work week so no blogging), but they do seem to have restocked and there are still many lovely things to be had and here is my pick of the bunch (all prices are pre-discount).


So first up, given my love of leopard, how could I not include a little animal print.  This dress looks really versatile, and could easily be dressed up or down. I know they say blue and green should never be seen but I'm loving the navy and khaki combination.

Animal Print Dress £95

This dress reminds me of the self portrait one that has been all over Instagram. This would be perfect for spring or summer weddings.

Lace Dress £220

I am waiting for the warmer weather, but then I am getting me an off the shoulder top. I think this would be a really great piece with jeans, or with a patterned midi full skirt.

 Long-sleeved Bardot Top £50

Nude shoes are great for creating the illusion of longer legs, and whilst my legs are not that short, at 5ft3(and a bit) anything that may possibly make me look less vertically challenged is good with me. I have some black suede heels from Whistles that I bought ages ago and they are literally my best purchase ever, so so comfortable I can walk for miles and go with anything. I would love to add the nude version to my wardrobe as I think they will be equally as amazing.

Nude Suede Pumps £140

I have the black croc effect clutch from Whistles that again is a staple in my wardrobe, but I also like this woven version, which is slightly bigger and comes with a chain strap (although if you're purely looking to a clutch they also have a smaller version without the strap here).

Woven Clutch £95

Finally a little bit of sparkle. I love the Lulu Frost jewellery you can often find at Whistles, it's so unique. This was the only piece I could find online, so you may find other pieces in store, but I really like this one as it tempts my inner magpie.

Lulu Frost Bracelet £85

There are many other wonderful things to use your 25% discount on, so I shall leave you to it - Happy Shopping!

Thank you for reading. I would love to hear your comments and what you have found with your discount code.

Mama Love

Mama Love

This one is for all the Fabulous Mama's out there.  Whilst we should show our love and appreciation to our mothers (and other important people in our lives too) everyday, sometimes this just isn't possible.  I live far away from my family, and I don't always contact them as often as I should, but that's not to say I don't love them very much and think about them all the time.  So as we all have busy lives, I think it is nice that we have dedicated days to make sure we set this time aside, so I for one join in and thank the special ladies in my life.

Now we know that Mother's Day should not necessarily be about the gifts (and I would also be quite happy with a homemade card, a lie in and a cup of tea in bed), but c'mon ladies, let's be honest, who doesn't love a little present now and again...so here's my pick of what I think are fabulous mama gifts.

The Gray Store Mama Bag £20

 Missoma Gold Boy Bracelet £79

  

                      

Biscuiteers Personalised Card £11.50

Sipsmith Gin £16.25-29.45

Bloom and Wild Flowers £30

  

Charbonnel and Walker Sea Salt Truffles from £13.50

Miller Harris Candle £40

Afternoon Tea at Liberty's 

Thank you for reading and Happy Mother's Day to all the fabulous mamas out there x

From Scruff to Buff 

(Part Two - 15 minutes)

Following on from part one, for those of you who have a reduced going out wardrobe, fewer opportunities to get dressed up and/or less time to get ready when you do, here are my top tips for freshening up your look so you don't waste that little bit of time you may have on trying on one hundred outfits and then going back to the first one you tried on (or is that just me?).   In my last post, I talked about when you literally only have five minutes, and how a little bit of lippy, some perfume and some sparkle can do the trick to take you from the park to the party.  Part two is for when you may have a little bit longer to get ready, but not quite long enough for a full outfit change... 


...If you have 15 minutes
Whilst there may not be time for a whole wardrobe change there are a couple of minor changes you can make to your everyday outfit to jazz it up.  So let's start off with a typical outfit.  Here are some key pieces from my go to weekend mamma uniform.

Topshop Ripped Jamie Jeans £45

Boden Long Sleeved Breton £29.50

 

Topshop Jacket £45

Converse All Star £47.99 

Now if you do want to change your whole outfit, you probably can do this in 15 minutes but only if you've planned in advance.  If you do have a night out coming up I would suggest that you test out outfits in advance, so that you know what will work (and then have said outfit ready to go).  Whenever I have attempted an outfit change without proper planning (i.e. trying it on in my head as opposed to physically trying an outfit on) it usually ends up as an "I have nothing to wear" disaster, with all my clothes then scattered on the bed or floor and reverting to that which I was already wearing, by which point I am usually running late.  So if you have an impromptu opportunity to go out, and have not planned in advance, these are my quick and easy tips for smartening up your look...

...I've already talked about the first five minutes in my previous post, and these tips still apply so follow steps one to three and apply that lippy, spritz a bit of perfume and pop on that sparkle and then follow steps four to six.


4) A Pair of heels

I rarely get to wear heels now, with a mammoth commute and doing the job I do, there is little call for a high heel.  But I do still love my shoes, and have some beautiful pairs which need to be worn more often.  It is quite nice to get out those heels now and again, and what better excuse than a night out.  You can always go safe with a classic black pair, I have previously shown you some fab Aquazzura look-a-likes here, but I am also loving these topshop courts which whilst classic black, have a different shape.  The other option is to chose something a little more exciting and perhaps add a pop of colour, like these gorgeous orangey red courts.

                   

                Topshop Gallery Courts £50                       Tophop Curve Tab Court Shoe £59

5) A smarter jacket

I would typically throw on my leather jacket at this time of year, I have a gorgeous grey/khaki coloured biker jacket that I picked up in Whistles for half price in the January sales a few years ago.  I have worn it so much, that I'm sure price per wear it's one of my most cost effective purchases.  A leather biker jacket really is a classic in your wardrobe and worth investing in.  Another option for when it gets a little warmer would be a blazer or tuxedo jacket, which would work equally as well.  I have a selection of black jackets that I have gathered over the years (mostly from Topshop) and they are great to just throw on over an outfit as they work so well with so many things. 

                                

                 Whistles Leather Jacket £325                          Topshop Girlfriend Blazer £49 
 

6) An evening bag

Now I love my bags, but now that I am a mama I often only get to use a handful of them.  The bags I mostly end up using are typically the large tote bags or cross the shoulder bags that are big enough to hold all the random stuff I insist on carrying around that I may need as well as all the stuff our little boy may need, and all the stuff he wants to take but decides shortly after leaving the house that he doesn't want to carry (i.e. usually several toy cars).  So when I go out sans child, I like to use what I call my non-mum bags.  This is either a pale coloured leather bag that is just asking to have felt tip pen scribbled all over if it were to go within a five metre radius of my little boy, or a small clutch that could possibly fit all the rubbish I need when on mama duty, but most definitely will hold the essentials (money, phone, keys and lipstick).  

 

 Whistles Black Clutch £45

 

 Anya Hindmarch Gold Clutch £495

So there goes my top tips for getting ready to go from a play date to a hot date and how just a few minor additions can take you straight from the park to the party.  Have fun ladies!  
   


Thank you for reading and as always I would love to hear your comments and tips.

From Scruff to Buff 

(Part One - Five Minutes)

Now that we have a small child, my wardrobe has changed considerably.  There are fewer occasions to get dressed up and have a night out, and I'm often running around after the little man, so heels often aren't really an option (which when you are a little vertically challenged is not ideal).   When we do have babysitters and there is a chance to go out for a meal or grab a quick drink, I no longer have hours to get ready so I need a quick way of freshening up my look so that I am good to go in a matter of seconds.  As a busy mum, I like to find ways of smartening up that are quick and easy and thought I'd share my tips with you

If you have 5 minutes...

1) A little bit of lippy

I find that red is often best and has the most impact.  It's also a really cheap way of updating your look, more so than buying a new pair of shoes for example (at least that's how I justify my cosmetic purchases).  There are so many shades of red, and it's important to find one that you are happy with, that suits your colouring and looks good on application.  My favourites are Mac Lady Danger; a gorgeous orangey red shade that really does suit most complexions, and Nars Red Square Lip pencil, which is another orangey red shade and just amazing to apply.

                                                   

Mac Lady Danger £15.50                                 Nars Red Square £20

2) A quick spritz of perfume

It's always good to smell nice, and a quick spray of your favourite perfume not only covers up any lingering hint of baby sick, but makes you feel good.  I have a couple of favourites and I think this is such a unique choice that you really need to find one that you love. But I thought I'd share my favourites with you, as I often get complimented on them. Hermes Eau Des Merveilles, love love love this, not cheap but smells gorgeous and very unique. It is quite a strong smell, but not in an overpowering way.  I don't think many people know about this as I don't smell it very often so Shhhhhh don't tell anyone.  Although it could of course be that it smells like dog turd and no one wants it, but I am hoping not as I love it and have had lots of compliments.  I have literally just used my last drop today though, so I need a new one (hint hint Mr Smith, mother's day is approaching!).  The other one is also a closely guarded secret and I have only seen it stocked at Anthropologie.  It's from the Royal Apothic Conservatory Collection in Peony.   I am a little worried that they may not be stocking the larger size anymore, as I can't find it on online.  This one is a little subtler, and I often wear it during the day, but it really is a beautiful smell and translates well to evening wear too.  The beauty of this is that it also comes in a handy little travel size that is really easy to carry around with you and reapply if you need to get ready on the go.

                    

            Hermes Eau Des Merveille £41          Royal Apothic Conservatory Collection £18

 

3) Bling it up

Even if you are in your jeans and breton (my go to mamma uniform), just a little bit of bling can easily update your outfit and take you from the park to the pub in seconds. I love my more delicate jewellery, but this is what I tend to wear on a day to day basis, so when I go out I often like something a little more striking.  This is particularly the case if I am dressed down, a little bit of sparkle will always jazz things up.  I am a bit of a magpie though and so do have to be careful, and would only recommend wearing one thing at a time.  I tend to apply Coco Chanel's rule of removing one accessory before heading out, so as not to overdo it - you really don't want to be wearing all of these at once so pick wisely!

Necklaces - I have some beautiful statement necklaces, most of which I have picked up from J Crew whilst in the states.  There are cheaper options, but the quality is really good and they are a little more unique.  I have bought cheaper options, but have often found myself having to glue the jewels back on (or losing the jewels before I can do this), so if you're likely to get lots of wear out of them I would suggest investing in these pieces wisely.  Here are a couple of statement necklaces that I am currently loving.

J Crew Midnight Floral Necklace £150

 

H&M Necklace £12.99

Earrings - I don't really wear earrings anymore, after almost having had my ear lobe pulled off by my little one when he was a baby, I learnt my lesson and now reserve my ear bling for nights out sans child.  As per Coco's rules, I would probably only go for necklace or earrings and rarely both.  Here are a couple of earrings that can add that extra bit of sparkle for a night out.

J Crew Pearl and Crystal Earrings £68

Missoma Bisou Hoop Earrings £195

I'll be back soon with part two, for when you have a little bit longer to get ready...

Thank you for reading and as always I would love to hear your comments and tips.