Yearly Archives: 2014

Humbug

19th December 2014
Every time I wear this skirt I get told I look like a humbug, which kind of goes against my current festive spirit (and also gives me a craving for mint humbugs which I haven’t had in years!)

Blouse: ASOS | Skirt: Dorothy Perkins (last year) | Boots c/o Ikrush

Given that winter I wore almost all things monochrome this time round I have somehow avoided black and white…I don’t know if I’m more cheerful or feeling like standing out more but I find myself reaching for the brighter items in my wardrobe over those that tend to blend in. I wouldn’t really say that this outfit blends in though, and I do still love myself a simple colour scheme. I actually bought this blouse last year but didn’t get round to wearing it (despite thinking they look lovely I’m not really a blouse or shirt person), I’m trying to force myself to get some use from it this year though as it wasn’t the cheapest and I do love a bit of velvet.

The skirt is more of a Spring piece as it’s very lightweight, but I wasn’t in the mood for a short skirt that day and with some black tights and central heating I managed to avoid hypothermia, which going by the weather lately is some kind of miracle. As I’ve mentioned before, the Ikrush boots have barely left my feet- there’s something so endearingly ugly about them and I love them! Do you have any shoes like that?

Have fun if it’s your last day at work today, I’ll be working right up to Christmas Eve and then back in on the Monday but I wouldn’t have it any other way really (although I might say otherwise when it actually comes down to it!

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Posted in life, life stuff, outfits, shoes

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DressKode Denim

18th December 2014
Ok so these aren’t the most flattering of pictures but when it’s cold and drizzly outside the motivation to prance around and is minimal, but I really wanted to show off my latest pair of jeans.

Jeans c/o DressKode | Jumper: Primark | Boots: Georgia Rose at Sarenza

I’ve gone from being the girl who never wore jeans to having a sudden desire to own several pairs in various styles and colours. I’ve surprised myself by favouring the good old skinny jean over any other and this pair from DressKode are the latest additions to my catalogue. I’m forever a bit wary about wearing skinny jeans as I’m not the biggest fan of my thighs (what girl is?) but these do feel quite flattering and I love the mid-blue colour paired with a simple cream jumper and some brown heeled boots.
Primark has long been my staple place for picking up fluffy jumpers, for a tenner each and dozens of colours every visit seems to end up with me picking up yet another. They are the perfect piece for dressing down with jeans as I have done here or for wearing to work when you just know the office is going to be drafty.

What jeans cut do you favour? I’m after some flared ones next I think…a flashback to my teenage years!

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Hidden Gems

17th December 2014
What is Christmas without a little sparkle? The closer we get to December 25th the more glitter I plaster on- eyeliner, jewellery or my clothes it doesn’t really matter I just love an excuse to look like a disco ball!

Dress: Blog Sale (from the marvellous Terri) | Boots c/o Ikrush | Headband: Crown and Glory | Ring c/o QVC

I haven’t taken off this Christmas ring from QVC since it’s arrival as it just goes perfectly with everything I have been wearing lately. Don’t be fooled by it’s name though as it’s not just for Christmas, this is one piece I’ll be getting a lot of wear from! Less can be said for my Crown and Glory headband as really it only gets worn a couple of times a year but when they launched this design a year ago I just couldn’t resist treating myself and the novelty factor and unique design will last me for years to come. I’m not usually one to wear headbands but this one doesn’t irritate me or make behind my ears hurt so it was well worth the money for that alone!
I’m actually sporting a manicure for once, which I had done at Blog Club during my week off. It’s a rare occasion that I get to have painted nails as I can’t have them for work so I took full advantage of the skill at Bettie & Baldwins and went for a decidedly un-festive hot pink look. I usually begrudge paying to have my nails done but this was still going strong by the time I had to take it off to go back to work five days later. For me this is some kind of miracle and I could probably have got another five days from it easily. I couldn’t resist having some glitter added, I mean, it’d be rude not to at this time of year!
Only a week until Christmas Eve and I’m raring to go (kind of). Everything is done and I’m either spreading festive spirit at work or working at home from the comfort of my bed whilst wearing novelty jumpers or plenty of tartan (I just love this dress!) working on some freelance stuff before taking a few days off. I’ll be winding down the blogging a little over the next couple of weeks too as things are pretty manic, I’m pretty sure my daily posts are becoming a bit of a bore any way!
Do you like to sparkle at Christmas?

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Posted in jewellery, life, outfits

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Coping with an Eating Disorder at Christmas

16th December 2014

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Why I Use WordPress Instead of Blogger

16th December 2014
As you know, I have been running this blog for some time now, so I have built up quite a bit of experience of running a blog website. As a result, quite a few of my readers ask me for advice about running their own sites. One of the most common questions I am asked is why I do not use Blogger for my site. Here I explain why.
Both are reliable

The first thing I need to say is that I have nothing against Blogger, Webbly or any of the other blog publishing services. There are pros and cons of using a blog publishing service, but I feel you are better off hosting your blog independently and using a good quality CMS like WordPress to allow you to easily post content to your website.

You are in complete control

The biggest reason for owning your own domain is that you stay in complete control. If you use a blog publishing service, the firm that runs the service is in control.
It is possible for them to take your site down at any time. In theory, if you stick to the rules your site will not be taken down, but it happens. Understanding the rules, remembering them and sticking to them is not easy. Add in the fact that the rules can change at any time and you can see that following the rules to the letter can be quite tricky.
If you buy your own domain and host it independently, you are in control, at all times.

Easier to make money

In addition, many blog publishers put restrictions on how you can monetise your blogs. They may not let you put affiliate links on your website or ad banners. Adding a shop to your site is also usually not possible. If you have your own website, you decide if and how you make money with your website.

Endless site design options

WordPress is a fantastic content management system. There are endless themes, plugins and widgets to choose from. This makes it easy to make your site look the way you want and to add additional functionality to help your readers to navigate and use your website.

Languages

WordPress is available in 150 languages. Most blog publishing services are only available in a few languages.

A last word

If you do choose to go with WordPress I strongly recommend that, you find a company that offers WordPress hosting. Doing so makes it much easier to get the CMS up, running on your site, and keep it up to date. It is also designed to speed up your site. Given the fact, the speed at which your site loads is an important ranking factor how fast your website loads is important.
As I said at the start how you set up and run your website is very much up to you. There are pros and cons to both approaches, but I prefer to stay in total control of my website, which is why I have gone down the self-hosted route and recommend this approach to others.

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Posted in blogging

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