I was discussing my make-up routine with a friend at work recently – mainly because I don’t consider myself very skilled at it and I was hoping to pick up some tips. We agreed that most girls learn about make-up from their mother, but that wasn’t really the case for us. Make-up for me has always been very much trial and error.
There are a few products I’ve tried in recent years that I’ve stuck with and they are nearly all French brands. So when a sudden fancy struck me the other weekend to try a slightly bolder look and invest in a properly-red lipstick I went to the one French brand I hadn’t yet tried: Dior.
The Dior counter at House of Fraser were incredibly helpful – and very patient with my trial-and-error approach. They picked out the perfect shade for me and taught me everything I needed to know to apply it properly – I’d been doing it wrong all these years – quelle surprise! (For some equally useful tips I’d also recommend this article.)
Here are some of my best French beauty buys:
Something For the Weekend: Tropical Butterfly House
Last weekend I stumbled upon this place, completely by accident. I was supposed to be meeting up with family for a celebratory birthday meal for my sister, but I spotted signs for this place en-route and at the last minute we changed our plans. I’m so glad we did. Whether you have children, or you’re just a big kid at heart like me, The Tropical Butterfly House Wildlife and Falconry centre is a wonderful day out. It is a little off the beaten track, but if you ever find yourself in the north of England I would recommend a visit.
We didn’t have long enough on our visit to explore everything but I will definitely be going back. Here are some of the highlights from our visit:
Pretty Prints
I’ve been re-discovering my love of Pinterest recently and it led me to thinking about mixing and matching my prints more. I bought this skirt last summer and I love how the lace border works in conjunction with the busy print on the skirt.
There’s something about lace that just makes me think of summer events and this would be the perfect outfit for a garden party. There are lots of gorgeous little details that just make it feel so feminine and fun.
Cinderella
One of my earliest memories is of Cinderella. When I was little my Grandma would often mind me while my Mum and Dad were at work, and sometimes – if I was lucky – I’d get to spend the weekend there too. It was the weekends I looked forward to the most. My grandma knew my favourite movie was Walt Disney’s Cinderella, but she’d only rent it from the VHS shop as a special treat for the weekend. My love for the film has stayed with me (and yes I’ve seen the live action remake and it’s wonderful).
Photos by @RachelOrritt (see www.rachelorritt.com)
Fashion on Film
We’re having a bit of a pre-summer-heatwave in the UK at the moment, so I’ve been taking advantage of the good weather recently, spending lots of time outdoors (follow me on instagram to see some of my mini-adventures) and sadly neglecting this little blog. But just incase the weather’s not so great where you are at the moment, I thought I’d put a few trailers together to inspire and entertain you!
I love a good fashion fairytale… so here are some of the best dressed stories out there.
Dior and I – due for release 10th April 2015
Yves Saint Laurent – 2014
The September Issue – 2009
Coco Before Chanel – 2009
All Black, Everything
Way back when I was a student, I spent most of my spare time binge watching ‘The Hills’ and desperately wishing I could move to LA and get a job working with LC and the gang. Then they brought Kelly Cutrone into it and I changed my mind – I wanted to be a tour de force like her.
I’ve always thought her ‘all-black’ dress code at fashion week was a stroke of genius. It’s smart, yet unobtrusive and it’s quick and easy to achieve.
I love this shirt dress from New Look Tall at ASOS. In fact ASOS is doing a stellar job lately of catering for us leggy lovelies.
However, if I’m going to be honest, this is one ‘tall’ item that falls a little ‘short’. In the tall blogging community I’m a bit on the short side at only 5’10” – and this dress only just fits me. But it does fit. Just.
Yay!
Dress: New Look Tall via ASOS (exact one here)
Tights: F&F
Boots: XTI via ASOS (exact ones here)
Four Leaf Clover Necklace: Orelia
Earrings: borrowed from my mum (sorry mum!)
Dark Chocolate Chip Banana Bread
As I’ve mentioned before, we have a penchant in our family for handmade gifts (as demonstrated here). So with Mother’s Day coming up this Sunday in the UK I’ve been mulling over what to make. I thought this recipe I came up with for Dark Chocolate Chip Banana Bread would be perfect, after all my mum is forever telling me I need to eat more fruit and veg… Unfortunately my mum has decided to give up chocolate for lent so it’s back to the drawing board for me but I hope you all get chance to try this delicious recipe for yourselves. If any one asks, it’s one of your 5 a day!
Recipe:
200g (1 cup) Golden Caster Sugar
120g (1/2 cup) Soft Margarine for baking
250g (2 cups) Self Raising Flour
2 Eggs
1/2 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Salt
3 Bananas
200g (1 cup) Chocolate Chips
1) Preheat the oven to 180°C
2) Grease and line a loaf tin
3) First, cream together the sugar and margarine (can be done with an electric beater). If you don’t have margarine you can use softened unsalted butter, but I’ve found it makes the mixture heavier.
4) Beat the eggs and add them to the mixture, then fold in the flour, baking powder and salt. (Plain flour can be used but you will need to add an extra tsp of baking powder to help it rise as this is quite a heavy mixture.)
5) Mash the bananas then add them to the mixture.
6) Finally, stir in the chocolate chips (I tend to use a mixture of Milk and Dark)
7) Fill the tin by 3/4 and bake for 45 minutes until a skewer comes out clean.
This mixture is also great for cupcakes/muffins – just reduce the baking time to 20 minutes.
Soft Focus
Self-shooting is hard. Sometimes, for whatever reason, it just doesn’t come together like you hoped it would. This is one of those times… I struggled with the exposure and focus on all these images, but I’m taking comfort in the fact that in the 1950s all the images of actresses were in shot in soft focus, on purpose. It was considered flattering. Today people expect more and more of the images they consume. Well… here’s hoping you find this nostalgic and not annoying…
I’ve been investigating and investing in more and more tall clothing recently. This super snuggly cardigan is from New Look’s Tall range (via ASOS). Unfortunately it came out a little oddly coloured in each image – the close up (5th image down) gives a more accurate idea of the colour and material.
But the tall item I love most at the moment has to be my long length skinny jeans from M&S (the unsung hero of many an outfit of mine). In addition to being tall, I’m also pear shaped – so finding a pair of jeans that fits both my waist and my hips is a tricky business… somewhat like self shooting…
This is my unimpressed face (after seeing the last image)
And this is my ‘well this clearly isn’t working’ face
My Very Own Valentine
If you’re single, chances are you’re not looking forward to this weekend as much as you’d like to. I use to hate this holiday for it’s commercialism and focus on couples (I mean, why can’t I buy a valentine for my best mate? Why do they only come in ‘boyfriend’ variety?) but 3 years ago I changed the way I thought about it. I started treating myself. I went out on Valentines day and bought myself an oven. Ok so I was in the middle of fitting out the kitchen at the time but still… I loved that oven, it was exactly what I wanted. And no one else could have got me a valentines present to match it.
Because here’s the thing, if you’re going to spend an obscene amount of money for one particular day of the year, you may as well spend it on yourself. That way you benefit from you.
My presents to myself in recent years haven’t quite lived up to the oven but then what could?
So, in summary: Treat Yourself.
Top Row: Kelloggs Bath Milk, Cookie Cutters, Mini Nail Files
Middle Row: Oasis Clutch, LED Rose Lights, Pieces Necklace
Bottom Row: Paul & Joe Tote, Turtle Necklace, Cath Kidston Make Up Brush Set
Carrying It Forward
(Jumper Dress: F&F | Leggings: Topshop Tall | Boots: Debenhams | Mittens: Next)
This time last year I wrote about my ‘14 for 2014‘. I’ve never been one for resolutions, but I’d suddenly found myself with a lot of spare time on my hands and it seemed like a good way to organise my spare time into something more productive and enjoyable. So far so good-intentioned…
I started as I meant to go on with Number 1: Blog more – and managed to do this for the first few weeks. Then in March something rather wonderful and unexpected happened… I got a promotion at work. And all of a sudden my spare time started to shrink. So number 1 had to be re-assessed whilst I adjusted to my workload.
A few of the other numbers were also neglected whilst I was enjoying my new role, so this year I’ve decided not to make new resolutions, I’m just going to carry some forward:
1) Blog more
2) Keep a Journal
4) Get back in the saddle and go Horse Riding
5) Dust off the Violin and start playing it again
6) Swim
12) Learn to play Poker (it really can’t be that hard)
2014 was still pretty darn great though. Here are some of the things I did achieve!
Number 3: Read more books. I’m going to post about this soon because it’s something I’ve done with a great deal of enthusiasm.
Number 7: Bake more. I particularly enjoyed June’s Coconut and Lime Cake:
Number 8 (Pay it forward. Do more random acts of kindness) was easy to achieve. I started taking my baked goods into work, I fundraised for my favourite causes, and every time I saw a charity box I put any spare change I had into it. I also succeeded with Number 9 & Number 10.
Number 13: See more things at the theatre. I’m so glad I set myself this goal – it’s so lovely to get dressed up and go to the theatre for an evening. Here are some of the shows I’ve enjoyed this year:
Number 14: Try one new thing, especially if it’s outside your comfort zone (I’m particularly proud of this one) This year I abseiled for the first time – 66 metres! Stepping off the edge was enormously daunting, but ultimately such a rush. As a bonus I also raised a lot of money for my local Mountain Rescue Team.
Girl In The Pretty Dress 