The weekend before last I headed down to Devon to see my family and also celebrate one of my best friend's engagements! One late afternoon I decided to take my boyfriend to a place in Plymouth where I used to "hang out" loads as a teenager. It's called "The Hoe", weird name I know… I hadn't been there for a couple of years so not only was it nice and nostalgic but I really enjoyed showing Matt around - he got some fab photos of the seafront!
After exploring Plymouth's coast, we met my parents and went to an amazing hidden-away mexican restaurant by the docks. I wore my tartan Mod Dolly dress with my new(isn) vintage blouse, which I bought online from Beyond Retro. (I know you're probably all sick of seeing me wear this dress, what can I say, it's my favourite dress!) I don't usually like clashing outfits, but I love this faded floral next to the heritage tartan! What do you think?
HAT FROM TOPMAN
GLASSES FROM SWAG & STARE
VINTAGE, FLORAL BLOUSE FROM BEYOND RETRO
DR MARTENS SHOES
On Saturday not only did I get up late and miss a presentation, (darn), but I also received a last minute invite to the Orla Kiely presentation, which I also missed. What a bad start to the day!
I wore my new Zara dress, which I got for just £12.99 in the sale, (it's two sizes too big so it's a really loose fit). I wore this underneath my black, PU sleeve coat from Warehouse, (also a sale purchase), and with heels from Topshop. As always I was sporting my favourite beanie hat from Topman and glasses from
Swag & Stare. The bag is from H&M and was a gift!
Luckily the afternoon Xiao Li show lifted my spirits! With blue a key theme throughout, (my favourite colour by the way), Li sent a pastel parade with pops of cobalt down the runway in rubber and woven structures. Dusty pink hair also made a comeback, complimenting the design palette perfectly and adding an extra "toy-land" feel to the overall show. Favorites included a baggy pair of rubber dungarees, (who wouldn't want a pair of these in their wardrobe?), and a light up jacket!
XIAO LI AW14
Following the Xiao Li show we went to Somerset House to do some street style for a few hours before returning to Freemason's Hall where the queues were relentless and tempers were tested! We didn't actually get into anymore shows because the venue couldn't fit everyone in! Boo :(
Finally I've found the time to tell you about my little Scottish adventure! I went back to work last week and I'm not yet used to the early mornings so haven't really felt like blogging if I'm honest, hopefully I'll get back into the swing of things soon!
Any way, before last week I'd never been further South in the UK than Lincoln, so the idea of going all the way up to Aberdeen was very exciting! Matt and I got an early morning flight from London and we arrived in Aberdeen around 10am where we spent our first day exploring the city in the pouring rain. We ate out in a cafe that was also a book shop, went to a store that sold tartan everything and ended our fun in a bar that had every flavour of beer that you could think of!
Our week was then filled with walks, spectacular views, delicious food and board games. On day two, which just so happened to be new years eve, we went for a walk around Dunnottar castle, a beautiful castle wreck right on the coast. Although a little cold and wet at times it felt fabulous to be outside in the fresh air and the scenery was breathtaking.
That night we went to the fireball display,
which you can read about here. I also need to add that on our way to the festival, (I guess it was a festival of sorts), we also stopped off at "The Carron", which claims to be the first chippie to serve battered Mars bars! Mm, delicious!
On our last full day before flying home we walked, (or shall I say ran as I was trying to keep up with Matt), up Bennachie mountain! About three quarters of the way up, I think it took about an hour to get to the top in the end, I was pretty sure I was going to die as I couldn't breathe. But alas, I made it and got to enjoy the beautiful view and burn some of the battered Mars bar off to!
Before disappearing to the countryside for two weeks over the Christmas period, Matt and I decided to take a break from work and our laptops and go for a walk in London's beautiful Shoreditch. One of the things I love about this area of London is its diversity; one minute you're walking down Brick Lane surrounded by graffiti, the next you're on Columbia Road, which has a very quaint, small town feel about it.
After getting the train to Old Street we headed to Columbia Road to pick up some last minute Christmas presents, unfortunately the gallery that I wanted to visit was closed so we had a wander around the other shops instead before heading to Byron for a burger! We also met a friendly squirrel on our travels!
Here's a photo of me looking super happy whilst walking to Columbia Road! I do apologise if you're sick of this coat by the way; it's one of my favourite items of clothing and I tend to live in it through winter! I paid just £8 for it in a charity shop about three years ago…. merry Christmas eve by the way! I hope you're all having a wonderful time with your friends, families, boyfriends, girlfriends and/or pets! I've had a lazy day of eating, playing board games and watching Christmas films, I also got my hair cut this morning and took the dog for a walk!
