British Designers Collective

I am back from my Holidays for 2013 and on the drive back from Southampton we stopped into Bicester Shopping Village. They now have amongst all the wonderful designers they already had the British Designers Collective. Which I felt was a wonderful addition to the Village. A small store full of young British talent from Henry Holland, Mary Katrantzou, Jonathon Saunders and Holly Fulton. Since there is a small selection of all the designers work there is bound to be something for everyone. For me I think it’s a great was of making new designers more accessible and creating a new following for them at the same time. The store holds clothing and accessory designers so if you are ever that way i would recommend you go check it out.

Lookbook: Summer Denim

Denim Jacket - Moto @ Topshop

White Lace Dress - Primark

Gold Watch - Michael Kors

Leopard Bow Flats - Marks & Spencers

Back from my Travels and the weather in the UK has decided to cheer up and shine finally! I wore this yesterday while running errands to keep cool. The Denim jacket I have had since I was maybe 15 so its getting a little old now but is always a classic. The Dress I have had for a few years too and always seem to pull back out in the hot weather as it isn't too clingy in fact I wore it this time last year while visiting a friend in Scotland. I've been pulling out a few old pieces and revamping them recently as you will see over the next few weeks. I spent the afternoon sorting out photos from my travels and they will be hitting the blog soon, so stay tuned adventure lovers!

Nails Inc

I am a bit of a nail polish fanatic and a few weekends ago I picked up a few new Nails Inc polishes from House of Frasier Nottingham while they were on offer. I don’t know why I love nail polish so much, it probably has something to do with my having to wear black at work it’s a small way of brightening up my outfits.

I chose Brook Street, Belgrave Place, Tate and Warwick Way as to me they oozed classic spring-time colour. I got all four for £22! Which is half price on the RRP which I thought was incredible considering Brook Street is one of the new season shades. I do like Nails Inc because I find that even though my hands are in water all the time it still takes a few days to a week for it to chip. I have a feeling I will be coveting Brook Street this summer as its such a lovely pinky-coral it will go with everything.

What polishes do you like?

Lift Vertige

Lift Vertige is from Kérastases new ‘Couture Styling’ collection of products fronted by Kate Moss. I got this product last week and will admit that I was a little sceptical about a gel product for root lift. The thought of it being heavy and weighing your hair down worried me, however I found this really wasn’t the case. You can’t actually feel the product once it is on and it doesn’t make my hair greasy any quicker than it would get usually. It has a pleasant smell and a light gel texture which is easy to work into your hair with your fingers.

I used 1 pump of the gel and spread it between my fingers and palms before working it into my roots blow drying my hair upwards with a flat brush, though I imagine you would get a lot more lift from a round heat brush if you can use them. The hold, described as ‘medium hold’, lasted really well even after I had slept on it, which is rare for my hair. I think I may be coveting this product for quite a while. 

Teacups - Manchester

Last weekend I went up to Manchester to visit a friend and he took me to this Café/Tea House in the Northern Quarter called Teacups. He recommended it highly and to be honest I can see why. It’s a sweet almost industrial styled interior which was busy and bustling, the staff were incredibly friendly and helpful and the food is so moreish I think I could happily eat it every day. I had the Eggs Benedict with their ‘Aretha Franklin’ Smoothie and we followed it all with a piece of cake or pudding. I chose White chocolate and poppy seed, which was delicious however the slices are so big I couldn’t finish it and had to ask for a bag to take it away in. I'll definitely be going back again.

Shoes, Shoes, Shoes

So I am off on holiday {Vacation to my friends across the pond} on a cruise up to the Baltic and I may have been going a little crazy on the wardrobe spending. I wanted to get myself some nice new things for my travels so I decided to treat myself to some new shoes to wear with older items of clothing for the evenings but so I feel like I'm not wearing the same as last year. First I picked up these black ASOS beauties {also available in coral and white} which I thought made a nice change from my usual choice of court shoe especially since they have a really high heel. But I Love them. They look chic with my dresses and jeans so I can dress up my casual attire for evenings if I want.

Then I spotted these tan ALDO shoes on ASOS and I was going to wait until I came back to try them but I caved an got them before and I am so glad I did. They are so comfortable and the leather is so soft they feel amazing on my feet. I can’t wait to wear them. I really like how ASOS does the free returns as it means I'm more likely to try things like these shoes knowing that if they aren't right for me I can just send them back without spending a small fortune on postage.  When I get back I’m sure I’ll be posting some OOTD from my various stops and evenings and more than likely these shoes will feature.

Lookbook: Fade Into You

Sweater - TU at Sainsburys

Cami (just seen) - Topshop

Necklace - H&M

Jeans - Topshop

Court Shoes - New Look

I wore this on a night out with a friend. They sweater hides a white cami underneath and was just the perfect size when folded to fit into my clutch while we were out so it was perfect for when I left and it was cold. The weather over has still been so strange in the UK over the last few weeks and even

though its warming up it’s still cold at night and I am far to sensible to leave the house without anything to keep me warm at the end of the night just yet {I catch colds far too easily}.

Primrose Bakery

Earlier in the year I mentioned I had set myself challenges for the New Year, my 13 for 2013. Well I had been taking the ‘Learn some new recipes one quite seriously until my college work took over and had been learning some new cupcake recipes. It’s a well-known fact throughout my friends group that I have a very sweet tooth and with a love of baking I figured it was an excellent place to start.

My Nanna brought me a cupcake baking book in January as a late Christmas present called “Cupcakes from the Primrose Bakery” and they were quite a different mix from what I had tried before be everyone has come out perfect and absolutely delicious, especially the chocolate cupcakes. So far I have made Vanilla, Earl Grey, Chocolate, Rosewater {which are my work mates’ favourites}, Lemon and the Honey and Granola breakfast cupcakes and been really pleased with my results. So I decided while I was in London a ‘Must Do’ of the trip was to head to come of their bakeries {I chose their Covent Garden Bakery for convenience} and buy a couple of cupcakes to see if my efforts matched their master chefs.

The Store was adorable, everything from the chairs to the décor was sweet and vintage inspired. The girls working there couldn’t be any more helpful and were so patient with me while I umm-ed and aaah-ed over which treat I would take and gave their recommendations of their favourites. Unfortunately on that day they didn’t have any of the ones I’d baked as I’d gone too late in the day and had sold so I decided to try the Red Velvet and Salted Caramel Cupcakes. 

All I can say is they were amazing and I will be making the bakery a regular stop while I am in London, they wrap the take away boxes so sweetly and the atmosphere is so relaxed and friendly for central London. And yes… mine did come out to a good standard so for anyone wishing to start baking I highly recommend their book. The icing isn’t over sweet, the batter not heavy or greasy and the qualities of flavourings just right for the perfect amount of taste.

For more information on Primrose Bakery including addresses to their stores visit their website and to try their recipes buy the book, you won’t regret it.

Lookbook: Buckingham Palace Road

Jacket – Warehouse

Necklace - Asos

Tee – H&M

Jeans – Topshop {Leigh Dark Wash}

Shoes – Converse

Bag {just seen} – H&M

Outfit of the Day post from when I was down in London. Unfortunately Britain has been a little unpredictable recently and even if you get sunshine it’s not been warm which is why I chose this outfit. The tee is a thin material which is perfect if it is warm and my jacket is two layers in one which is just enough to keep any wind off me, though it doesn't do much if I get soaked in rain. I topped it with my new white Converse for comfort as I knew I'd be doing a lot of walking.

I'll be posting a few more mini posts of things I did while I was down there over the next week or so, though I'll be honest most of it was food, I'm surprised I didn't put on loads of weight with all the patisseries I visited.

What is your favorite thing to do in London?