Tuesday 28 January 2014

January Sale Clothing Haul

OK, so I can only but apologise for the shoddy photographs and non-existent uniformity that is about to ensue but I'm a little out of practise these days! All of these things have been purchased over the last month from Primark, H&M and New Look, and mostly sourced from my visit to Liverpool. Isn't Liverpool just fantastic for shopping?? I had been to Liverpool prior to my latest visit however I decided I actually really loved the place this time round and could even imagine myself living there. I don't think it gets the praise and recognition that it deserves as a city but I am a fan.

Without further ado here are my bargains...

H&M

 
I was a bit unsure about these shorts when I saw them as we are all aware of how hit and miss H&M's sizing can be... but they fit me and I had a voucher to spend so these were in fact not a £7 bargain but free! Can't get much better than that. Plus they're black and flocked velvet baroque print. Perfect!
New Look
 
I very nearly didn't even see this dress seeing as it was in an entirely different store! I didn't realise there was more than 1 New Look in Liverpool but it ended up being a happy accident when I stumbled into the store. I thought this dress was going to be too good to be true - a gorgeous deep wine red (my favourite) with lace and ruched goodness and even pearl beading detail! Oh  be still my beating heart. This dress is basically my ideal of perfection and is virtually me down to a T. So as I prepared myself for the worst of it not fitting it ended up doing just the opposite and fitting beautifully. I am so happy with it. £15 well spent in my opinion.
 
I'd had my beady eye firmly set on this Cameo Rose dress since their online sale began but didn't want to commit to buying it online, especially since they had a no store collections policy around then so I just waited it out. Luckily I found it in my size and it fits well and has a gorgeous sweetheart neckline. My only gripe is the boob area is so padded that it's better not to wear a bra but I don't think it gives a great deal of support. But you've already seen from the shorts that I couldn't leave this be, what with being flocked velvet. Yum! It was £10 and I hope I'm able to get some good wear out of it.
 
I nearly said no to this top but being deep red and lacey (there's definitely a theme here isn't there?) I couldn't put it back down. It was £4 so not too bad at all and it will go with tonnes of stuff.
Primark
 
Words cannot even describe how happy I am with this blazer. It was randomly dumped in front of a load of other things and I thought someone must have plonked it down from elsewhere but no it was reduced from £23 to £7! However it was a bloody size 8. I tried it on anyway, even though I am a definite 10, and it was a bit of a squeeze but it actually looks gorgeous on. I might not have full motion of my arms but it isn't like I'm going to be doing full body workouts wearing it. It's stunning. So hard to photograph though! It's basically a purple tweedy, structured kind of fabric.
 
Pencil skirts don't really suit my figure but I'm determined to hang up my greens and get a proper job this year and this skirt with it's beautiful floral print was just looking at me. I'm a sucker for florals too. Especially when they're grey and black. £3 down from £8!
 
The infamous £5 cotton skater dresses! They fit well and this one had gone down to £2. Sorted. I also got a green one with black polka dots but seem to have forgotten to take a photograph of that one.
I actually have a skirt similar to this one that someone gifted me for Christmas last year from River Island but I couldn't resist this one. I'd had my eye on it for absolutely ages when it was £8 but they'd sold out of my size and I didn't really want to size up. However when I saw it in the slightly bigger size down to £3 I was hardly going to sniff at that was I? It fits fine as well so it looks like it was fate.
What do you think of my bargains? Did you manage to get any good sales bargains? Please link me to them I'm very nosy ;)

Monday 13 January 2014

Hello 2014

Well it's been some months since I last touched this blog because I haven't been going through the best of times with my health but blogging is an outlet that makes me happy so instead of leaving it to wilt and decay, I figured I'd give it another bash.

I thought I would include some of my goals that I'd like to achieve over the course of the year:

  • See friends and family more often.
  • Get out of my comfort zone and do new things to meet new people.
  • Move out of Lincoln.
  • Go abroad.
  • Create more things and actually invest time and effort in doing so. It's one of the things that I feel most passionate about and I've left it to dwindle and thus I am not as practiced as I once was. I need to get back up to speed!
  • As above, stop procrastinating and actually finish half-done projects for my Etsy shop.
  • Learn how to properly use Photoshop type programs to excel my skills.
  • Read more.
  • Bake more.
  • Go to more places and take long walks.
  • Get a new job or life vision. Since being so ill over these past few years my capabilities have changed and I doubt I will be able to go so strongly into my desired career choice now. I have been doing a lot of thinking though and there are only so many things that I can do but to get there I really need to buckle down and strengthen my skill set. 
  • Volunteering at a gallery or museum will be one of these things as well as the above; throwing myself deeply into my passion of crafting.

"Intelligence without ambition is a bird without wings." - Salvador Dali