FLYING SAUCER

30 Day Clothing and Accessories Challenge Day 24 (and haul!)

    24. Your favourite pair of shoes

It's my birthday on the weekend and I'd love a new pair of shoes but there's not that many chunky heeled options out there! My favourites shoes are hands down the Forever21 Mary Janes which I got on eBay US, and the F21 UK site has been taunting me with the black floral version for months. Sadly they seemed to have never arrived so the option is to hunt maybe the plain black pair on eBay US or search for some new heels, as these are looking a bit worn now. Do you find that you see a fab pair of shoes but they always have a bad heel? I just don't buy stilettos because I'm worried I'll slip on cobbles or spilled drinks. I was quizzing Fritha on Bordello shoes at the Brum Blogger Meet so I might have a look into the alternative shops in Birmingham to see if there are any I can try on.

If you're a long time reader, did you think my favourites would be the Miu Miu Tea Cup shoes that I got reduced to £100 in about 2009? That post is so old, I can't even find it to link to it! I got them at the Manchester Flannels outlet in the Northern Quarter but I don't wear them enough to be favourites! These might have been good graduation shoes but I didn't want to wear heels and they are fine perched below my mantle piece (that also displays all nail polishes!). It annoys me that the gold curls are plastic and one broke off the first time I wore them, but the Miu Miu shop sent them to Italy to be fixed. Then they snapped again! There's just no way you're not going to knock the back on something so I'd only wear them to somewhere I'd be sitting at. If I'd paid £400 for these, I'd expect maybe metal curls?

I bought lots of makeup and hair bits on Thursday and did record a video haul, but I have a red hair video to put up before that if I can get my Mom to email it to me. Today I had a really lovely day wandering around town as I wanted to go to Poundland or Wilkinsons to get some house things. I'll have to go back to get the mini ironing board from Wilkinsons but I got 12 hair rollers, a Disney Princess bowl and a cute lunch box from Poundland. I also went by the better H&M in town with the Trend and Divided ranges and picked up the floral maxi dress that's been haunting me in the sale for ages! I picture it with a flouro coral lip and either no jewellery at all and just really long hair, or loads of tangled bracelets and big feather earrings. I got MORE feather H&M earrings too and two pairs of flats for every day work. I also picked up a little waist belt from New Look with a gold rose clasp as I only have plaited belts that I have to tie because they're too long, and some jegging from Miss Selfridge. The ones I have worn constantly this year are still super tight but quite worn-in now. They don't seem to have that style and they were only £22, so I got some that I hope are similar. I really want some coloured jeans and tried on a dark green and burgundy pair, but they didn't fit at all!

I almost forgot, I also went to the cinema by myself! I had lunch/dinner at YO!sushi as, if you fill up on the limitless miso soup and only get a few dishes + 25% student club discount (hehe), it's really reasonable. It was still the afternoon and it was one of those lovely relaxed Sundays, and the cinema is right by the Cabot Circus restaurants, so I just thought, 'Ah wouldn't a nice movie be great right now?', so I went! I very nearly saw Harry Potter alone but the lovely Leah invited me to go with her, but after discussing solo cinema with Fritha and Lil, I was confident enough to buy a single ticket (whilst also using my feminine charms to get a student ticket, even though I very much am not!), get some popcorn, and walk in alone. Horrible Bosses was starting in 5 minutes so it was perfect, and it was lovely and relaxing to just enjoy a movie. FYI, if you liked The Hangover, you'd like Horrible Bosses. It's that kind of 'average men go on a crazy adventure' type of film, and Jennifer Aniston is fabulous. 

I have no idea what I want to wear in the Autumn so I'm not making any big clothing purchases yet. September Elle landed through my (huge) letter box this week so I'll have a flick through that now. I know all the tribal stuff it going to be a transition trend as I got a thick black knitted poncho in the Topshop sale, which sounds random but it's lovely and I thought it would be great thrown over things! I'll have to show you. I also have lots of other treasured coats but I'll need to be buying up some thicker maxi skirts and trousers/jeggings, and I really want a felt floppy hat. I tried on two today in H&M and New Look (both were identical but H&M's was cheaper), and loved them but I'm not sure I'd wear a hat. However that's just because it's so hot right now; I might snap the H&M one up tomorrow in case I regret it later!

#brumbloggermeet

Hello! I unconsciously took the week off the internet so I've been itching to blog! I went to a very interesting (and crazy at one point!) blog meet up for dinner with Hayley, Lil and Leah during the week where I really appreciated the lovely girly gossip and company, and also saw Harry Potter as Leah kindly invited me to go along with her and some friends; it was great! I am slightly in love with Neville Longbottom for being so awesome and Dean Thomas for what looks like many hours down the gym. On Thursday it was my first payday so I went late night shopping and ate at YO!sushi, which is my secret single shopper pleasure as you don't need to sit at a big table by yourself and the conveyor belt is so entertaining! I think I have sampled every vegetarian thing on the menu now, but that's not too hard. Then last night I went out with some of my housemates, which is always super crazy to say the least, even Pancho from Dirty Sanchez was at our house!

 

But I've absolutely loved reading all the posts about the Brum Blogger Meet organised amazingly by Fritha and Claire so it's about time I did mine! I felt super spoiled by the blog meet because along with all the freebies and goody bags, it was right on my doorstep. I headed home to Birmingham on Friday after work with a load of Motel goody bags and was so excited on Saturday morning! The blog meet was at 2pm so it was really refreshing to have lots of time to get ready and only have to travel into town. I thought I was early as I approached the Starbucks meeting place but then I walked around a big pillar and saw loads of girls looking super fabulous; it could only be a blogger meet up! I've been to lots before as my blog is such an oldie but I knew some people were nervous before it so I tried to talk to everyone and chatter away. Even throughout the whole day I didn't manage to properly speak to everyone, there were so many of us! 

 

Fritha and Claire organised such amazing sponsors that we all felt like superstars with all the goodies! Max C London gifted the huge yellow tote bags so we all felt like we were on a school trip as they were so noticeable! Lots of people asked us if they were being handed out anywhere, and we also had name tags so random people kept calling us by name! We got a Max C belt and gorgeous dusky floral top in the bag as well as a John Richard silver skull necklace, Crown and Glory hair pins personalised to our blogs (mine were hearts!) and at the meal later in the day we got to pick out an item from Clothing at Tesco and I got this soft peach dress.

There was also a whole Missguided goody bag too with nail polishes, lip glosses, a blinged up nail file, a skull scarf, Lovehearts, and a floral head garland which I forgot to picture as it's on my wall; it looks so pretty! A HUGE thank you to all these brands!

I kept reminding myself at the start of the day to take photos but I only took one! Unless you're taking photos of each other or food, there's not really many you can take at a meet as the point is talking and meeting people, but we had some lovely group ones. We broke into two groups and the one I was with headed to Forever21 and Topshop, where we were eyed suspiciously by the staff, probably due to the huge yellow bags we all had! We browsed for ages and then Lily and I got a bit lost in Selfridges and failed at spotting the yellow Max C bags as there were so many yellow Selfridges bags! After we found everyone again, we made our way up to the Mailbox (stopping at many shops along the way) for a gorgeous meal at Red Peppers, where I had my 18th birthday meal! I had a couple of starters as a main, which is a good idea when you have only so many vege dishes on a menu, and they were lovely. We couldn't fault the meal, what great service as there were loads of us! We had lots of funny challenges and competitions throughout the day and I won best dressed!!!!! I was so embarrassed and shocked but so pleased, thank you to whoever voted for me!! I won a $50 Romwe voucher, which I am having a VERY hard time deciding what to get as the site is HUGE! I also got a beautiful Lulu Guinness lipstick and lips necklace from So Charming which I'm so grateful for, I don't have any fancy jewellery and I LOVE it! It's a bit ridiculous that I don't even have a picture of my outfit and I actually had a mark on my skirt that must have appeared across the day, but I wore my coral River Island maxi skirt with a River Island knotted white cotton sleeveless shirt.

 

After a meal full of friendly chatter, we all headed off and I popped home to get my glad rags on for the night out. It consisted of a LOT of drinks, Fritha and I loosing track of time nattering in the loos (such a girly thing to do!), and dancing all night to really great music; it was such a good choice of place! All the girls looked gorgeous and it was so nice to have a proper girly night out, I really miss my girlfriends!! Living with so many boys is so different!

All the girls were SO lovely and I could write a paragraph about how superb each person was but that would make this post even longer! So here is a shout out to everyone, please do check out these fabulous blogs: 

Char (AMAZING heels and outfit!), Claire (a WONDERFUL host!), Clare (one of the first I spoke to yay), Danni (so modelesque!), Elizabeth (a fellow redhead, we both failed on our shopping bans!), Elouise (who wore a beautiful blue lace dress), Emma (we were saving each other from unwanted male attention in the club by saying we were lesbians haha!), Emma (we both headed off to an afterclub, haha what dirty stopouts!), Florrie (you must check out her blog posts of the day, they are lovely), Fritha (an absolute blogger and host goddess!), Gem (looking damn fabulous in a Motel dress in the club!), Gem (also looked so lovely that night with a hair bow to die for!), Hattie (lovely sharing cocktails and chatter over dinner with you!), Hayley (another fellow redhead and lovely train companion), Joy (we had a lovely gossip in Starbucks as Birmingham residents), Lily (fab to meet again and get lost with!), Louise (the sweetest and loveliest person), Maria (damn fabulous and looked SO good in a jumpsuit), Michelle (who I only got to speak to briefly but SUPER pretty lady!), Rebecca (what a fabulous lady and absolute babe), Sara (absolutely beautiful and thank you for the Missguided goody bag Sara!), Sarah (very, very interesting and thought-provoking conversations at the drinks stop at EAT), Selina (oh wait, that's me!) and Tasha (again only got to speak to briefly, definitely not enough!!). Thank you ladies so much for a non-stop day of fun, I am so honoured to have been a part of it!xxx

P.S. Join Hayley's genius blog map to meet bloggers in your area too!

30 Day Clothing and Accessories Challenge Day 23

    23. An article of clothing/ accessory that you consider lucky

This has been the fastest week ever! I still haven't packed for the Midlands Blogger Meet, although I'm not too worried about what to wear as I think it's much less nerve-wracking to be simple and comfortable and feel fine all day than wear something super cool to live up to your 'fashion blogger' status and feel a bit awkward, if you see what I mean! I am so excited! But I want to get the train from Bristol to Birmingham straight after work so I'll have to pack at lunch or get up super early. I went into town after work and fiiinally Back-2-MACed for Ravishing lipstick and had a trial of bareMinerals with a Cosmo coupon. My foundation is just sliding off my face and getting super oily throughout the day right now so I was thinking of switching to a powder foundation, although the coverage wasn't as heavy as I like. Do you have any recommendations? I'd be really grateful!

Now I don't really have any item that is lucky, as though I'd wear it to an exam, but for a night out I do consider the fate or karma attached to my dresses. If I have had a bad night in a dress or an especially good night, I always remember! For some reason if I make videos before a night out it never seems to go great, which is a very scary superstition! These two American Apparel dresses are at least three years old and they are my ultimate lucky dresses as, if I'm visiting a friend or home, I'll always pack them as a safety as I know they'll look fine if my first outfit choice fails. The purple one is for more special occassions as it's very figure-flaunting but the long sleeves of the black one are SO flattering, and it's understated as it's one colour but still feels great as the material is quite sturdy even though it's thin. I'd wear the black one to a party or club!

30 Day Clothing and Accessories Challenge Day 22

    22. Something you only wear in the summer.

Uh oh, my bad luck continues! I went into town in the pouring rain to find Debenhams shut at 6pm so I couldn't Back-2-MAC some used up things, and then my phone accidentally posts a picture to Twitter 19 times! Big apologies if that spammed your feed. Haha not all bad luck though don't worry! Today's challenge is a bit ironic because of the pouring rain but I definitely have summer and winter wardrobes and wouldn't wear a flowery summer dress in any other season; maybe Spring though! I know you can 'warm up' summer clothes with black tights and cardigans but that always makes me feel a bit messy so I retire my summer dresses every autumn and revisit them later.

Pull&Bear dress, New Look belt, H&M sunglasses

This is a Pull&Bear dress that I wore at to the P&B party in Spain; I think it's a little bit Scarlett Johansson as it's fitted at the waist with elastic and has a mini ruffle along the bust and thin straps. I wore this the other week but didn't post it as I thought it was a good idea to wear sunglasses and it really wasn't! I never wear sunglasses as they usually leave a mark on my nose, and who wants that?! So I didn't truly look like this as I wore the sunnies for a few mins on the quick walk to work, but the thought was there!xx

30 Day Clothing and Accessories Challenge Day 21

    21. Something that you only wear around the house

I've had a very weird day! After all the bad luck last week, I did manage to get back my email account thanks to a very clever guy (aww), and had a good graduation. It was much less scary than I thought it would be, super quick, and I wasn't too stressed or worried. As I walked on stage I just smiled really brightly, and it was cool because my name was announced separately to my coursemates along with my friend as we both have 'with study abroad' at the end our degree names (I did Management and Marketing of Textiles BSc Hons). I had no time to get ready for 8am so wore really simple makeup and a £15 River Island dress I got in the sale last summer! I've seen a few bloggers post or link to pictures but I'm not sure if I'll put one on here; you might notice that sometimes I don't even announce my birthday, I'm very modest!

One thing I am not modest about is my luuurve of Chuck Bass/Ed Westwick and I got to be a metre away from him at the Chalet Girl premiere! Oh Ed, that made my life. I haven't even watched Gossip Girl for the past season but it may be my daily viewing after I get through every Gilmore Girls series. I did actually wear this Yatt tshirt outside when I lived in Sweden! But I'm not sure what would happen if I rocked up to work in it and it is very much a fan girl thing, but I now wear this in the comfort of my own room. It seems on the grapevine now that only one girl is moving in, so the house might be a bit quieter!

Today was weird because I was rushing around all lunch time and had a bad hair day and tried to film a video this morning that really didn't work, and then as I picked up some posters from the Motel shop for work, I bumped into a random boy that had started talking to me in the street (???) the other day again, which was a bit stalkery but now I know his name is Jamie (I think). When he spoke to me before I thought he looked about 18 and was like I think I'm a bit old for you byeee but he was like 'Why, how old are you? I'm 23,' so I was like 'Oh...er... byeeee!'. And then I was going to go into town because I have a to-buy list for Superdrug and have some things to Back-2-MAC but it was drizzling and I felt gross so I grabbed some dinner from Tesco but when I got home, got settled, put something on to watch and came to eat it, it turns out I'd bought something with salmon in?! My head is not screwed on! Oh and before that, I accidentally shut myself in the loo with no door handle and my housemate had said a girl who came to stay with him did the same thing on Friday and climbed out the window above the door, but that looked insanely high to me so I contemplated staying in there until someone came home but managed to pull the door open! OK so that is a day in the life of me, obviously not the height of cool! I had to go back out to buy dinner after all this too, how annoying!

I got the Chuck Bass tee as a bit of a joke but Yatt still have it online if you like it. I really like the tops below as I love cute tees right now; my Wildfox ones are firm favourites.

P.S. We're running competitions every day on the Motel Facebook page to win dresses so check it out every morning as I usually upload the photos to tag :D

P.P.S I hope you all know of the Midland Bloggers Meet Up by now! I don't want anyone missing out if you haven't heard of it and I will be there with Motel goody bags!xx

30 Day Clothing and Accessories Challenge Day 20

    20. All your earrings, rings, necklaces and/or bracelets. 

This doesn't seem like very much to me but it manages to fill up a few makeup bags; this is all my jewellery! Actually this isn't my necklaces as I momentarily forgot I even owned any because I never really wear very much jewellery. I've trained myself to add one thing but that's enough for me. My necklaces hang off my TEENY wardrobe; it's like the width of half a wardrobe! I'll have to do a room tour sometime soon as this is the best room I've had since living away from home, and I hear on the grapevine that three boys are moving out and three girls are moving in. I'm still a little bit restless in Bristol as I don't really know anyone so don't have anything to look forward to after work, apart from cosying down with my laptop! I might start an exercise class or join a gym but I've never been to one before so have no idea what it would be like, and I'd have to buy some trainers or something, eek! Where can I get a pair of trainers that aren't much money? Not Primark though!

I've been looking at Zumba classes though that might be too much for me, I am very unfit! I also have no interest in loosing weight or body shape or anything, just want to have something to do. I'll google around a bit and maybe try a free day at the gym.

A maxi from a mini wardrobe

Oh nooo my email account is blocked?! Maybe it was hacked! I just changed all my passwords but now I'm not quite sure what they all are now! So if I get my account back, it will probably take about seven days, so my apologies if you email me! Every night I do rounds of email/twitter/googlereader/youtube over and over, I really want to check my emails!

However there are a million things that could go wrong this week what with having to head down to graduation the night before straight after work, so I'm sure I'll forget something vital! Mine starts at 10am and I have to collect my 'robes' by 8.30am so it will be an early start! And probably a bad hair day. But I figure the possible loss of a six year email account is a chunk of bad luck to last for a while! I also bought a lipgloss with a tester sticker on at the weekend, but I'm sure I'll be able to return that. Eeek maybe I'm tempting fate? Oh lordy I just remembered my email confirmation for my train to Manchester was sent to that account and I don't remember the password to sign into the train website! And a password reminder goes to that email address, argh!

OK all these things will be sorted I'm sure! It's not looking like graduation will be sunny either, but the start of the week is still very warm here. Every day I take a little walk by the docks to get to work and am really enjoying wearing something smart and nice, but not too smart! I got this dress from Bershka in Spain and it falls from right below the bust but that makes me look a bit like a tent, so I hide that bit and belt it lower! I really need a thick waist belt but I don't have one! In fact, sorting out my wardrobe about ten times over the past years has left me with a very small amount of clothes; you guys would be shocked! Although the washing machine here has been broke for a while so I've worn a new outfit every single day for nearly three weeks. Just shows how little clothes you really need!

I also wore my H&M lace jacket, which is fab for covering up the tops of unflatting dresses, a New Look belt knotted at the side, and a gold cuff I got from H&M which much be missing a huge stone as I got it half price. It still looks fine though!

And while I'm dilly dallying about all this email failure, here's a video I made on Friday before I went out with some housemates. I'm not here for the next few weekends because neeext weekend I'm going to the Midland Blogger Meet! I think we are going to a club too so that should be interesting and probably not something for our blogs! Also I will be bringing some fab Motel goodie bags, though I'm not sure how many to bring as you never know with these blog meets how many people will be able to come in the end. I'm wearing my favourite Motel dress below which is only £25 in the sale now! I'm torn between buying up all the dresses I love in the sale at the moment or waiting for the amazing things coming in the next few months!

Nails of the Week 15

Hi all! Ah these were my nails a week ago and they are growing out fast! I have my graduation on Friday so might try to go to a salon after work to get my gels soaked off and go the next day to get new gels on. I haven't bought a new dress or shoes or anything, I just want nice nails!

This is my favourite polish ever, W7 Fluorescent Pink 2. The '2' is important! I would look into their polishes further but I really do have about 75 already. Not healthy! However I have my eye on some Konad plates and just ordered some brushes so there are other ways sneak in a few new things. On my ring finger is GOSH lavender and some roses off eBay. Any seller will do, I just order off the cheapest.

It is a '70s summer

Maybe if you're a long time reader (which isn't hard because we're almost at the 5th year of Flying Saucer, OMG!), then you might know I have a soft spot for '70s style! Not exactly ABBA platforms and white disco suits but I love the tight denim but carefree styles in films like Dazed and Confused. If you like old American teen movies, check it out! The '70s were actually a really sexy era in my opinion because the jeans were super high waisted and tight, and there was all the free love of course! Watch that movie and I'm sure you'll agree, '70s girls were hot!

I had a huge obsession with flared jeans and lusted after a brand called 18th Amendment who made a bunch around 2007 and named them after old movie stars. They were super expensive but I randomly found a pair in a mall in Gothenburg when I studied in Sweden, knocked down to £45 from £240! I hadn't bought jeans in a while so I should of got them tighter, but today was actually the first time I've ever worn them! It took me a while to get the length altered and then there was no way I would wear heels to a lecture in final year as it wasn't worth the effort, and these look best with height. Mine are the Bacall jeans with heart pockets and Cheryl Cole even wore them once! You can still get them on eBay for bargainous prices.

They're quite hard to photograph but they are tight at the top and do flare out! I wore them in more of a '50s way I think, with a Forever 21 bodysuit, a New Look belt and white heart earrings which you can't see. I also wore my Weekday leopard wedges, also bought in Sweden! Now I really want to be asleep for midnight so I must quickly get ready for bed! I want to film my June Favourites video in the morning. Here's a video compilation of this outfit and two others from my YouTube channel; one outfit I didn't post on here is in it!xx

30 Day Clothing and Accessories Challenge Day 19

    19. Your jewelry box.

My Nan just rang me and apparently the white cat has returned! Yay, so happy! She was meowing like crazy and super hungry, who knows what happened! I don't really have a jewellery box as I don't wear a lot of jewellery at all. At the moment I store bangles and bracelets in the Milly Clinique makeup bag, some random things I don't wear in the little draws from Wilkinsons, rings and earrings in a Disney Princess tin from B&M, and more rings and earrings in a Hello Kitty holder from Taiwan from my friend Vivian who I met when I studied in Sweden! Not ideal as I can't view many things at one glance; maybe I'll get one of those jewellery trees or hands. Now I must get ready for bed, I'm determined to be asleep by midnight!