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 ;)

Bake Sales & Butterflies

Sorry for the lack of blogging. Nothing substantial has happened in the last couple of weeks other than having to work and the possible answers arising as to why my health is how it is. If you're interested you can read more of that on my other blog which I created specifically to talk about my health.

And to make this post a bit more interesting, here are some lovely things I've found on H&M's and Wilkinson's websites.

  Wilkinson's £12   H&M 14.99   H&M £6.99
This weekend has been good, despite me being ill. Well Friday and Saturday were good anyway! On Friday my friend Hannah came to stay overnight to help support our Bake Sale we held at my place of work in order to raise some more money and awareness as to why my other half is running 1000km for the National Eczema Society. We had every intention of making all of our goodies gluten and vegan free to entice more people but we were so rushed on Friday that we only managed to make a couple of things. It was a fantastic day anyway and we managed to raise a whopping £152.77!!!

Pictured: Me, Shane and Hannah

As you can see from the picture, it was torture for 3 cake fiends to be sat in front of a table full of yummy cakes for 6 hours and not being able to eat any of them. We did however take a trip to Bunty's tea rooms for a much needed cup of tea and slice of heaven (cake). Delicious irony.

Tweet Tweet

I've been after the bird print tea dress that came out in H&M a couple of years ago for absolutely ages now. At the time I believe it retailed for £29.99 which I'm too cheap to fork out for so decided to wait until it went into the sale or at least on eBay. Well that didn't happen because that person from Glee wore it and BOOM everyone wanted my dress :( I've been periodically stalking it on eBay but it's always gone for ridiculous prices or been in the wrong size. Well finally it's mine. Nabbed for £6 something including P&P and it's sooo pretty!

Not the most flattering of angles (thanks boyfriend) but it shows the dress in it's beautiful glory. Also do note the safety pin, despite the nice fit, it has button fastenings all the way down the front which means that there was a little gap. Not brilliant when with your boyfriend's family but I'd forgotten to bring a camisole top with me and so I had to basically make do and mend :p
It has the mostly lovely puffed sleeves and I like the shape of the hem, not that you can see it here, but it kind of dips and curls. I felt that as the dress is such a statement piece it didn't need to be outdone with any accessories, so I didn't. Though if I was going out on a night I'd probably wear a cute necklace too. It's also a lovely length to go without tights.
  Dress: H&M via eBay, Cardigan: Primark, Boots: Barratts, Tights: Primark, Bag: Nica

My Purchases

Thought I'd post some of the things I bought when I went shopping on Monday in York.

I don't normally buy anything from Topshop. Not because there isn't anything I like but I usually find it so overpriced and the sale stuff is usually disgusting but I spotted this diamond in the rough for £15! It's by a brand called Miss Patina and will need taking up and it is also sadly hand wash only but I thought it was a pretty little thing, with a spandexy texture. The collar and the sleeve length are fantastic, and the colour is a lovely mauve/grey colour... and polka dot hearts!! Managed to get it for a mere £5 as I had been gifted some vouchers for Christmas.


I went into H&M and ended up taking back the green dress I bought which can be seen in my vlog haul a couple of entries back. I just didn't think the shape flattered. This is one of the dresses I didn't buy initially because I wasn't sure how the colour would be with my skin tone but it is a beauty. I can't believe it's only £14.99! It fits so nicely and definitely flatters! The fabric used is also so, so soft. I feel like a princess in it! It also comes in a darker antique pink colour. Yummy!


Lastly is this stunning notebook from Paperchase. I decided to treat myself to it to use for my Masters course in September. It's really thick and each of the pages has a lovely pattern on too, which I wasn't able to photograph because my phone camera likes to hide details by giving all my photos a smoothing appearance annoyingly. It was only £6 which I found very reasonable for Paperchase.

So not a bad shopping trip seeing as I only ended up spending £11 on these items in total :)

Falling Snow

I hate snow. Grumble.

But aside from that, I've had one of the best weekends I've had in a long while. It was much needed and thanks to brilliant company was very relaxing and generally lovely. On Sunday the boyfriend had a race in Sheffield, or rather, Rother Valley Country Park, so we decided to make the most of it and stay over in a hotel. On the Saturday, after stupid road diversions in Lincoln, we spent the day with friends in Meadowhall until 10pm when it closed. I bought quite a bit which you can refer to in my 'vlog' at the bottom of this post.

I brought a present for one of my friends who suffers from a chronic illness. I just wanted to make her happy, so I put together a little kit for her, for when it gets her down. It consisted of heart shaped hand warmers, which I stupidly didn't take a picture of but are basically this:

A mug which I tried the Sharpie DIY on, with a quote which was quite fitting after all she's been through. I then put some of her favourite sweets inside it :) Alongside this, I bought a little chest from the Lincoln Christmas Market which I filled with mini spoons that I got from an Ebay seller. For anyone who doesn't know the Spoon Theory go and have a read here. It's so helpful in explaining chronic illnesses to others, and will hopefully help you to see the joke :p


The next day I drove the boyfriend to his race. It was so cold that I opted to stay in the car and instead was distracted by taking photos of birds in trees because I have something of an obsession XD And last but not least, here is my shopping haul video. I hope you like, and please leave feedback :)