Author: girlintheprettydress

The Smoky Mountains Part 1

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I’ve been dreaming of visiting the Smoky Mountains ever since I first heard Dolly sing “In my Tennessee mountain home…” but none of the songs really do justice to their scale or beauty.

We picked up our rental car and wound our way into the mountains.

We headed to the highest point: Clingman’s Dome

It felt a little like standing on top of the world.

When I could finally tear myself away from that view, we headed back down the mountain and made our way to the edge of the Smokies – to Maggie Valley and Cataloochee Ranch.

When we arrived at the ranch, our lovely hosts fed us enough to put us into a food coma. We awoke the next day to this beautiful view.

After another feast for breakfast, we decide to spend the morning exploring Mingo Falls.

I have been lucky enough to visit some of the most spectacular waterfalls in the world on my travels, and while these didn’t quite match the scale of others, they were by far the prettiest.

After soaking up the beauty of the falls we headed down to the valley floor to a visitor centre and lost ourselves in a little bit of the Mountain’s history.

Before racing back to the ranch for our afternoon activity…

I have been riding since before I could walk, but while I’ve practised western riding once or twice it isn’t quite the same to experience it in the English countryside.

Riding this beautiful girl through the mountain trails really is something I will never forget.

So that brings the bucket list tally to three…

Sights and Sounds of Nashville

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When I was eleven, I discovered Leanne Rimes (thanks to Coyote Ugly) and Country Music became my guilty pleasure. (Believe me, for a teenager in the UK it was not cool, but I fell in love with it anyway.)

I love almost all genres of music, but Country is the clear favourite.

There isn’t much of a country music scene in the UK, so visiting Nashville has been on my bucket list for a very, very long time… and if you can’t do something special for your 30th birthday when can you?? 

We rose bright an early on our fist morning in Nashville (very early in fact – thanks jet lag!) and didn’t waist any time heading Downtown. I have been following Kelsey Montague‘s art on Instagram for ages, and literally stumbled into her famous wings not long after we left the hotel. 

I think this picture accurately sums up my feelings about being in Nashville for the first time…

Why can’t every city have bike stands in the shape of music notes?

After the obligatory walk down Broadway and a spot of boot-browsing, we decided to head for a lunch time treat with live music. 

Yes, it may be a little gimmicky but BB King is a musical legend so how could we not eat here?

We walked off lunch by heading up the hill to look at the State Capitol building.

Which had a great view past the war memorials and across the city.

Not long after this the top end of a hurricane hit Nashville and our afternoon activities were rained off. We retreated to our hotel where the jet lag caught up with us. After a quick snooze, we were refreshed (as was the city) so we headed out to The Station Inn. If you are ever in Nashville and want to hear some of the best live bluegrass go there – the Sunday Night Jam was brilliant. I’m not going to say more than that as it’s really the sort of place you have to experience for yourself.

Day Two dawned almost as bright and early as the first so we headed out to explore some more. 

As the weather had perked up a bit we headed to Centennial Park, which is a beautiful oasis of green in the middle of a very concrete-and-glass city. It also happens to be the home of a full-size and to-scale replica of the Parthenon from Ancient Greece…

For reasons that I still can’t wrap my head around, just over 100 years ago the state of Tennessee decided to spend lots of money it didn’t have, building this in the hopes of attracting visitors and boosting the local economy. It now houses an art gallery which sadly was closed on Mondays.

I’ll be completely honest though, Nashville was a bit of a let down during the day. If you aren’t day-drinking on a bachelorette party and/or don’t like country-music-themed-museums you might be a bit stuck for activities. We spent most of our 2nd day wandering aimlessly and doing a little shopping in 12-South.

Another way to pass time in Nashville is by queuing to get in to this famous place:

The concierge at our hotel warned us that people had been known to queue for up to 7 hours for a show at the Bluebird, but we didn’t want to spend all day sat on a wall so we took a chance and arrived just under 3 hours before the first show. Luckily we timed it just right and made it into the singer-songwriter showcase that evening. (Side note – since mu visit, the Bluebird has now started to allow online booking for some shows to eliminate the queues. More info here.)

So that’s another item I can cross off my bucket list!

Pembrokeshire

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Last month we took a little time out and headed to Pembrokeshire for a few days R&R.

Driving south we took the scenic route through Snowdonia and along the Pembrokeshire Coast before arriving at our destination: Slebech Park

Slebech really is a haven away from the rest of the world (no mobile signal). The building itself isn’t much to look at, but the converted stable-block rooms are a modern twist on country comfort.

The main thing I loved about Pembrokeshire was that virtually everywhere was dog-friendly and Cali was positively encouraged into every restaurant and shop with us. (It’s a good job the rest of the world isn’t like this or I fear she’d have a terrible shopping habit and I’d have an empty bank account!)

We visited Pembroke Castle on our first day and enjoyed a free guided tour. Followed by a look around the town (and in Cali’s case, a chance to scoff all the yummy biscuits people offered her) and an afternoon on Tenby beach. We ate at the South Beach Bar and Grill while the sun set over the sea outside.

The second day was spent tiring Cali out walking around the Slebech Park estate and later exploring Picton Castle and Gardens. The gardens were the real star there – I’m aware I’ve probable middle-aged myself by saying so, but they were very special.

On our way home we stopped off in the Pembrokeshire National Park and spent a happy couple of hours exploring it on horseback. Later we ate dinner in Aberaeron before heading home.

Pot Au Chocolat

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This is a super simple recipe for little chocolate pots that will rival anything you can buy on the desert aisle in the supermarket.

It’s no-bake, no-hassle and uses only 4 ingredients.

Make 8 when using ordinary sized ramekins as pictured.

1 standard pack of Oreos (154g)
Unsalted Butter (50g)
2 packs of Dark Chocolate (300g)
1 tub of double (heavy) cream (300ml)

Step 1) Blitz the Oreos in a blender.

Step 2) Melt/soften the Butter and add this to the Oreo-mix in the blender. Blitz again.

Step 3) Using a teaspoon, line the bottom of your pots with the Oreo mixture (approx 4 teaspoons worth) and compress it.

Step 4) Warm the cream in a saucepan until it just bubbles.

Step 5) Break up the chocolate and put in a heat-proof jug. Pour the cream over the chocolate and allow to sit for 30 seconds.

You’ll need to work quickly for this next bit…

Step 6) Stir the chocolate/cream mixture until all the pieces have disolved.

Step 7) Once you have a smooth creamy mix it will begin setting so quickly pour it into each of the pots – distributing evenly so that you have at least the same amount of cream as biscuit base.

Step 8) Smooth out the surface then leave to set in the fridge for at least 2 hours.

If you prefer a softer, less rich mixture add more cream in or decrease the amount of chocolate. Alternatively, leave the deserts to stand for 5-10 minutes at room-temperature before serving and the ‘set’ will loosed up slightly.

A Year In The Life Of

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As some of you may have noticed it has been a bit quiet around here for the last 12 Months. I wanted to put together a post that explains a little of my journey over the past year. I hope you’ve got a brew and a biscuit because this is going to be a bit of a long one…

I started Girl In The Pretty Dress approximately 5 years ago after I was introduced to Laura’s blog.

At the time there wasn’t much of a blogging scene for tall girls in the UK. Even so, I knew I wanted to be involved with this growing community of tall, confident, supportive women…but I wasn’t sure about putting myself out there.

So I started small. I made myself a little Tumblr page and started sharing photos of outfits I’d put together, alongside a collection of other pretty things that caught my eye. I didn’t tell anyone I knew that I was doing it. When no immediate backlash occurred, I got a bit braver and sent a photo or two (below) into AllTheTallThings.com for the ‘Tried It On’ series. That was a really positive experience for me and my confidence started to grow.

Fast forward to the next Summer.

I was in the middle of two big things at this point: a new job and a house renovation. As things with my house progressed I found Pinterest a huge source of interiors inspiration – and eventually it led me to lots of blogs that weren’t just about fashion. I hadn’t been brave enough to start a fashion blog, but I found the idea of lifestyle blogging much less daunting.

At this point the idea behind starting ‘Girl in the Pretty Dress’ was evolving for me. It became less about the Pretty Dress and more about the Girl who was wearing it.

I took the plunge and with absolutely-not-a-clue what I was doing I used Blogger to start a ‘proper’ blog.

During that first summer I found I could post once a month with almost no effort, and that trend continued for a while. At some point over the next couple of years my blogging goals changed and I decided to increase this to twice month and from there I decided it wasn’t too much of a leap to post once a week.

(Let me tell you though, when you work full time and don’t have a photographer/willing partner around this can be a bit of a stretch!) 

I found though, that in setting such defined goals, I started to experience ‘blogger’s guilt’ if I wasn’t posting so often… and occasionally the quality of the posts suffered as a result. I always want my content to be visually great and to inspire/interest people. Over time I have come to think that’s a much more important goal than the frequency of the posts. 

So at the end of 2015 I made the decision not to practise quality over quantity and to only post if I was enthusiastic about sharing the content. A much more realistic goal and vision, right?

Almost.

Over the past year I’ve had lots of great content ideas that have sadly never made it onto the pages of this blog. In fact I had a lot of ideas about how things might pan out in the past year, which were turned completely upside down almost as soon as the year began.

The reason? I fell in love.

Those who have followed this blog for a while know that I was previously single for a long, long time. So as you can imagine, this change in my personal life took a little bit of getting used to…

Not only did I have to get used to being part of a couple, I also had to adjust to a long-distance relationship. If you have ever been in a relationship like that, you know the struggle. If you haven’t, then just know that it takes a lot of time, effort and expense (but for the right one, it is completely worth it).

My other half is a fairly private person and very camera-shy, so for that reason I don’t imagine he will ever feature on the pages of this blog (or be involved behind the scenes). That being said I felt the time was right to share a little about our journey because ‘Girl in the Pretty Dress’ is about to take on another meaning…

We’re engaged.

The Scottish Borders

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Two months ago Cali and I took some time out and spent it with family in the Scottish Borders.

We stayed in this house, which is what I would call ‘unusual’ and ‘unique’. It’s extremely spacious which makes it excellent value for money – but (I’ll be honest) not quite to my taste.

The house is not too far from Kelso which is a perfect town for a touristy day out shopping for knick-knacks. It’s also only an hour and a half from the coast. We visited Eyemouth – which has a small but perfectly formed beach and a great coastal walk (past the smugglers bay!)

If you do get chance to visit Eyemouth, I would also recommend this lovely pub.

But the main draw of this house is that it’s very much off the beaten track and the best of the Scottish Borders is right outside your front door – waiting to be explored.

On another note… this post is, as usual, a little late. I’ve been getting into bad blogging habits over the past year and you may have noticed that the number of posts has dwindled a little. I have all the best intentions of remedying that but all is not so simple as it would seem! I’m going to share a little more about my journey over the past year soon, but for now, let’s enjoy Scotland…

Black Friday Rundown

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I’ve been absent (again) from the blogosphere for a bit but I am making up for it today with a rundown of the best Black Friday Fashion deals out there… I’ll be updating the list as the week goes on so remember to keep checking back.

You all know by now how much I like a bargain… but I find Black Friday is best when experienced online, away from the madness of the high street so here are my top tips:

Adidas – Up to 50% off in the sale + an extra 20% off on Black Friday + Free Delivery
Amalli Talli – Various discounts until 9pm. Use code ‘BLKFRIDAY’ for 15% off sale items.

And Other Stories – 50% off selected items

Anthropologie – 20% off with code ‘GIFT’

ASOS – 20% off everything with code ‘GOGOGO’

Avenue32 – 30% off selected items

Banana Republic – 50% off 5 regular priced items site-wide

Boden – 30% off and Free Delivey with code F6P8

Boohoo – up to 70% off + Free Delivery

Chicwish – An extra 25% off with code BLK25

Chinti & Parker – discounts on selected knitwear

Coach – 30% off selected styles with code ‘THANKS2016’ / 20% off wih ‘BLACK20’

Debenhams – Up to 50% off

Dorothy Perkins – Up to 50% off

Dune – Up to 30% off selected bags and shoes

Finery – Offering 30% off everything from Thursday 24th – Monday 28th November

French Connection – Up to 50% Off

GAP – Deals running from Friday 25th – Monday 28th November (details TBC)

Hbe Jewellery – 20% off with code ‘BlackFriday’

Hobbs – 20% off everything

Hollister Co. – 50% off selected styles + Free Delivery

House of Fraser – Up to 50% off

Jaeger – A range of discounts

J.Crew – 40% off with the code ‘HOLIDAY’ (thanks to thelondoner.me for the tip!)

Karen Millen – 25% off everything from Wednesday

Kate Spade – 20% off with code SKYLINE

La Redoute – 40% off absolutely everything
Long Tall Sally – 15% off everything + free delivery (UK, Thursday – Monday)

Matalan – up to half price sale

Matthew Williamson – Up to 50% off + gift with purchase with code ‘LONDONER’ (thanks again to thelondoner.me for the tip!)

New Look – up to 50% off all ranges (including Tall) in the Black Friday warm up

Net-A-Porter – sale items up to 50% off

Nike – Up to 40% off plus an extra 30% off Sale items with the code ‘XMAS16’ + Free delivery

Oliver Bonas – Up to 30% off selected lines

Prism – 70% off EVERYTHING (Friday only)

River Island – 50% off selected lines

Roland Mouret (a favourite of the lovely Duchess of Cambridge) – 20% off selected pieces

Selfridges – 20% off with code ‘SELFCCE’

Style.com – 20% off selected designers

TallGirls.co.uk – awaiting details
Tall Order Clothing – 40% off

Temperley London – 25% off with code ‘BLACKFRIDAY’

Topshop – up to 50% off everything from Thursday 24th – Monday 28th November

Urban Outfitters – Buy One get One 50% Off on all apparel with code ‘CYBER40’

Very.co.uk – variety of deals (not just clothing) – a different one launched each day at 8am this week

Whistles  – 25% off selected lines for a limited time

Young British Designers – 30% off everything

In an English Country Garden

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Summer seemed to run really late this year, but it’s looking like Autumn has decided to roll up her sleeves and get to work at last. So I’m saying Au Revoir to the warmer temperatures with a quick post featuring my favourite dress of the Summer.

This dress from Joy has everything. Pockets, pleats, a twirly skirt and that gorgeous floral pattern. I was in love as soon as I saw it. And even better it’s now on sale – snap it up here.

As usual, my little self-made photoshoot was invaded by animals. Shadow came to say hello, and was swiftly followed by Milo. In typical cat fashion, Milo mithered me for ages and then as soon as I picked him up he couldn’t do enough to get away. He likes me really… I think.

Tall Girl, Small Dog

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I promised a while ago to show you the miracle jeggings I bought at the TallGirls.co.uk pop up. However, that turned out to be a bit more difficult than anticipated – you’ll see why when you scroll down.

It’s been that long since I visited the pop up that they’ve already released the dates for the A/W pop ups – you can find more info on these here.

The jeggings are a brand called e d c and you can find them on the TallGirls.co.uk website here. They are not only a great fit for my hips/waist but the perfect length for my legs (which sit somewhere between 34″-36″ in-seam, depending upon where I shop).

Top: F&F
Necklace: HBE
Sandals: Primark

With one thing and another though this post became a bit less ‘Clothes’ and a bit more ‘Dog’. Or to be more specific, ‘dogs’ – two of them.

Shadow and Cali make the best double act. She has adored him since day one and he got a new lease of life when she showed up – it was like he became a puppy all over again. He though, is more content to chill out in the back ground, whereas (as you can see below) she likes to be the centre of everyone’s attention…

Something for the Weekend: Hampton Court Palace

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Hampton Court Palace is a little off the beaten track – as London goes. You can’t reach it on the tube so I never really ventured out that way before. It’s very easily reached by car though if you’re staying west of the city.

It was a favourite palace of the Tudors and the Georgians and as such it’s teeming with history. Though it’s perhaps most famous for hosting the romance of Henry Tudor and Anne Boleyn.

The decor is a visual picnic – there’s a little bit of everything as so many royals have put their stamp on the place over the centuries.