The Weekly Wish List

Blogging has unintentionally fallen by the wayside for me lately; balancing full time work plus driving lessons, social commitments and general lack of inspiration when it comes to content means I just haven’t made time for it in the way I once did. In a bid to kick-start my constant promises to myself that I will get back to writing content that I’ve enjoyed creating I’m starting up a new regular feature- the weekly wish list. It’s hardly groundbreaking stuff, I know, but I’m hoping it helps re-ignite my passion and inspiration for this site- and also allows me to justify my general obsession with online window shopping that little bit more.

So, here’s what has caught my eye this week…

French Fries Top | Flock You Nail Polish Duo | Karl Lagerfeld cat bag | Floral Wrap Dress | Pleat Sleeve Top | Leather Ankle Boots

As the heatwave of recent weeks has well and truly ended my thoughts have moved to Autumn fashion and right now I am loving both Joanie Clothing [as always] and Topshop. The latter came as quite a surprise to me as it’s rare these days that I find anything I want from there- I feel like maybe I’m getting a bit too old for most of their styles, but the pleat sleeve blouse and leather ankle boots have both made their way on to my list this week.

On a more frivolous front I am so taken with the Karl Lagerfeld bag, and found my finger twitching dangerously close to “add to basket” when I saw it. Thankfully, and somewhat regretfully I saw sense and didn’t go through with it- I’m not a small bag kind of girl in reality, and with a house move looming I need to keep hold of my pennies.

The nail polish duo I could just about justify though, I’ve always been a Nails Inc fan, and at £15 for the set it’s less than the price of one gel manicure, which I’ve fallen in to the habit of this year. The colours are exactly those I’ve been favouring and I’m suspecting that once pay day arrives this will be my monthly treat.

What’s caught your eye this week? I’m so excited to see all of the new season bits and pieces arrive in store- less so about the odd bits of Christmas stock that seem to have reared it’s head.

Feeling Dreamy

Wow, never in the whole time I’ve been blogging have I had so little time to, well, blog. But then again, never in the whole time I’ve been blogging have I been working proper full time hours so it really shouldn’t have come as such a surprise to me.
I’m just heading in to my second week of actual full time, grown up job hours which may seem like nothing for most people, but to me, this is the first time in my life I’ve had the capacity to do it- I’m both physically and mentally well enough to handle a demanding job and I don’t have to factor in multiple weekly appointments and obligations that previously made full time impossible.I wasn’t even sure I’d have anything to post this week- taking photos and having time to sort them and write a post to go with them has been fairly low on the priority list (that and I’ve been exhausted every evening for the last seven days) but as luck would have it I found a set of photos languishing on my laptop, so ta-da…a blog post.

Top: Monki | Skirt: New Look | Boots: Wallis

I’m starting to find a routine and a bit of a work life balance now so hopefully I’ll be able to improve on my rate of blog posts in the not too distant future. I can’t wait for lighter evenings- both from a getting photos point of view and a feeling less like going straight to bed when I get home from work one.

It took my ages to get round to wearing this Monki top. It was a bit of an impulse buy and I wasn’t sure about the style once I got it home. I’m glad I didn’t return it though, now I’ve given it a chance it’s become a firm favourite and has taught me that I really ought to broaden my horizons when it comes to tops and jumpers.

Hopefully next weekend Mum and I are heading in to Bristol for a much needed catch up (I barely see her these days) and some retail therapy. I’m looking forward to a wardrobe refresh as we approach a new season, and as I can finally justify new clothes. I’m struggling to feel inspired by what I wear lately, my body confidence is through the floor, and my heart sinks every time I think of the weight I still need to gain…hopefully a good spell of girl time with Christmas money at my disposal will help give me a much needed boost on that front. As much as everything else in my life is falling in to place, my internal demons are going wild trying to drag me down and convince me I don’t deserve this. What better way to silence them than with a new set of flattering outfits? Safe in the knowledge that when I outgrow them as my recovery progresses I am now in a position financially to replace them guilt free.

Sorry for such a random assortment of a post, this is the trouble with infrequent blogging I find! Anyway, let me know what’s new with you guys in the comments? I’ll be doing my best to catch up with everyone’s blogs during my evenings this week.

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The New Pinafore

Look back at my outfit post archive and you’ll probably notice that I have a bit of a thing for pinafore dresses- typically of the mini dress, dungaree style variety that is ten-a-penny these days.

On a recent shopping trip with Mum we were browsing in Monki (of course) and found the perfect new pinafore for my collection- a step away from tradition with it’s midi length and over-sized cut this seemed like the perfect way to update my wardrobe whilst sticking to what I know and love.

Dress: Monki (here) | Velvet Tee: New Look (here) | Boots: Daniel Footwear

I’m always happy to see Velvet appear in the shops at this time of year, it’s one of my favourite textures to wear and this teal tee from New Look is a bargainous (£12.99) update for both smart and casual. I’m not really sure where I’m at with my personal style at the moment, it seems to have taken a bit of a back seat as I’ve been coming to terms with being at a very new health, and therefore weight territory in this journey called recovery from anorexia and most recently I’ve taken to hiding away in anything that, well, hides me.

In the mean time I’m really enjoying outfits like this as a bridge between wanting to hide and still wanting to look semi like I’ve bothered. I’m looking forward to layering this dress with some chunky knits now the weather is turning much colder. And I’m looking forward to a fresh attitude to my body, to my health and to blogging in 2018. I plan to finish this year by coasting through, meeting the last few goals that need to be met- next year is all about actually living, building upon who I am and increasing my confidence and hopefully getting more inspired with blogging to bring about some fresh content, a new look and a new attitude.

Watch this space – a promise or a threat?

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3 in 1 with LOTD

One of the major perks of being a blogger is being asked to collaborate with new and exciting brands. This is something I definitely don’t take for granted- even after almost ten years of blogging I still find it hard to believe that people would want to send me things, or pay me for content. Blogging for me is a hobby and always will be. The perks that come with it are just that- whether they came along or not I’d still put my thoughts out here on the internet for anyone who fancies it to have a read.

Recently I was asked if I’d like to collaborate with up and coming fashion brand called LOTD (which stands for Look of The Day). I was given the chance to pick a few pieces from the site to see what they’re all about, and from the second I clicked through on the link I was smitten- it took me a remarkably long time to make my decisions and my wish list for future purchases is six miles long at this point in time.

The website it packed full of on trend pieces at great prices. With everything from cosy basics through to the perfect party dress (and everything in between) I happily spent near on an hour just looking through everything before being able to come even close to making a short list.

I’ve put together three outfits from the items I was sent- I’d love to know what you think of them and also, how you’d style them too.

This dress from LOTD was the first item I clapped eyes on and fell in love with. It’s an absolute bargain at £15 and I’ve already got it ear-marked for the festive season. I was pleased I checked the size guide before ordering as I probably would have ended up getting a dress that was far too small for me, but fit wise it’s perfect and I finished off the look with my pewter ankle boots from New Look.
This navy jumpsuit is my favourite item from this haul- I was so close to not getting it thinking it’d be impractical for every day, but I took the plunge at the last minute and I’m so happy I did. Again it’s an absolute steal at £20 and the tie up front detail is great (although I need some practice with tying it!) Here I’ve paired it with my metallic converse for a casual vibe, but I’m planning on picking up some burgundy loafer style shoes and wearing it for work too- a welcome addition to my office wardrobe. This is something I never would have thought of trying before, or been brave enough for- sometimes it pays to take a risk!
This grey jersey tunic (£20) is the softest top I’ve ever owned. The LOTD website has it listed as a dress, but as you can see it is a bit on the short side and when I left the house I did stick some jeans on in place of tights. That aside it’s a great casual basic- I’d recommend going up a size for ultimate slouch though.

My final item were these kick-ass studded boots (£35). Ok so this is the second pair of studded boots I’ve added to my wardrobe in under a fortnight but who’s counting? I’m obsessed with snazzy flats and this pair have an extra badass feel.

All clothing items in this post, and the studded boots were sent to me c/o LOTD for blog consideration. I can hand on heart say though that this is a shop you want to be checking out, and I will be placing further orders from in the future. Once again I am thankful to the blogging world and the opportunities it brings me to discover new places to shop- I am not quite so sure my bank balance would agree though…

Which shops are you loving right now? Which of these pieces is your favourite?

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How to Successfully Launch Your Business*

Setting up your own business is both extremely challenging and hugely exciting- we understand the huge amount of time and effort that setting up a new business requires, it is all too tempting to get carried away and to want to launch and show the world our new business before it is quite ready.

Here is our simple list of things that you should be checking just before launching to make sure that you have everything under control and that you can head into your launch confidently and with everything in its proper place. Whether you’re a blogger, crafter or launching some other exciting venture make sure you read this post.

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It All Starts With Your Brand

Before you can launch you need to take one final step back and look at your brand to make sure that it is all good to go. You need to make sure that you have found the best way to ensure that your brand is going to connect with your customers and inform them what you’re all about. Take some time to make sure you are happy with how you have positioned your brand. Do you stand out and does your brand successfully tell a story? Do your products or service create customer desire? How does your brand make customers lives easier? Think about these questions and only move forward into launching your company once you’re happy with all the answers to these questions.

Look at the Areas You Can Save Money

When first setting up a company there really is no need to be too frivolous with money. Looking at the areas where you can keep expenses low is essential in order to focus on the more important areas that need investing in to ensure the growth of your company. You shouldn’t be worrying about impressing new clients with expensive gestures and gimmicks and slap up lunches. Generally clients are just looking for a service or product that delivers at a fair price. So all the money that you have at the beginning of your company should be put into proving that that’s what you offer.

You can also think about the infrastructure behind your company here; using Managed IT Support ready made for you can save you a lot of money in building a working company. It can cost new small businesses upwards of £1000 to set up their own servers and network, which is a huge cost you shouldn’t try to manage at this stage of your business development!

Look at how you can also keep things tight with the new suppliers and providers that you are going to need to work with to move forwards. If you need to use the service of companies such as couriers then make sure you are putting the research into the cheapest and most cost effective options to avoid shelling out unnecessarily large amounts of money. Look for companies like https://www.shiply.com/ who offer a shared courier service which not only is so much more environmentally friendly- it also means you can pay anything up to 75% less than more traditional courier service provider.

Financial Advice

Before you really even think about launching your business you are going to need to receive some advice from a financial specialist who can help you plan for the first few months of your business. You must also protect your initial finances in order for them to grow with you as your company develops. There are are huge amount of companies that specialise in the set up, launch and initial phase of new companies so it is highly recommendable that you seek professional advice and put in some research on business advice sites like https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/250812, in this area to make sure that you feel confident that all your finances are in order so you can avoid any nasty surprises in the future.

If you launched your own business and would like to alleviate stress and tension then why not try an NLP Course or if you have any additional tips or advice then leave them a comment below.

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