Simply Be Arndale Store Opening

So, last Thursday I went to the Simply Be store opening in Manchester. It was my first blogging/fashion event really and I was very nervous to go, to meet bloggers who I love and to meet the Simply Be staff. I took my friend Steph, and we both had a really good time. The store opening was a great event, Kim Marsh was there, with her fella, and I met some lovely bloggers, whose blogs I've loved for so long. I met Rachel, Stephanie and Rosie and I know it's silly but they were like little celebs to me, for people's clothes I've ogled on the internet, they were really lovely and friendly and just wanted to say a quick thanks for their openness! Anyway, the staff in the shop were lovely too which was great and were always offering help and chatting which gave the whole shop a friendly, feel. Me and my friend were fed with alcohol and canapés. I feel like I'm really gushing, but it really was a great event.

Onto the shop itself. The shop was really well laid out and looked really full with lots of different styles and trends going on. As you can see I was mostly drawn to this 'gothic' trend wall really with lots of studs, leather and skulls. The great thing about the shop is it seems proud to be a shop catering for all sizes, it's bright and airy and catches your attention as you walk by. It doesn't apologise for catering for bigger women, which I feel some high street shops do. It provides lots of different styles for all tastes and a great alternative to straight size clothes. I seriously could have bought all the clothes in there. I did buy a shirt, which is coming soon to a blog post near you, and I received a wonderful goody bag which was shown on Rachels blog, which satisfied my need to buy. For now anyway! I've already scanned the website and put lots of things on my wish list. I think this shop is going to be terrible for my savings.

I just want to say a big thanks to the Simply Be team who made the event very enjoyable and go very smoothly, and the other bloggers who were a pleasure to meet!

Gem xo

Wants of the Week #29

Today I feel like a human being again, just in time for work. Perfect timing. Although I do feel like I've wasted my weekend off, definitely need to schedule some time off for myself soon to relax and eat copious amounts of food and recuperate. Anyway, I've gone for a bit of a military trend with this weeks wants, my mother picked me up a studded khaki shirt yesterday , and I love it so much, so I think I've got a bit of the military bug.

1. Jumper - George @ ASDA £16

This amazing jumper is made for autumn/winter weekends. This small bought of snow we've had means this will feel so snuggly. I love the khaki colour and the military gold stars. It'd look really cute with skinny black jeans and chunky boots.

2. Belt - ASOS Curve £6

Patent belts are so easy to wear, and this one with gold accents will pull any outfit together without being too overbearing. I'd wear this with a lace dress I picked up from ASDA last week for christmas parties to cinch me in at the waist.

3. Shoe Boots - Zara £69.99

Zara have some lovely shoes for winter. A lot of the shoes are perfect for occasion wear and so are these but I've chosen them as I think they'd be perfect for the office. I love the studded detail and the heel isn't too big for all day wear either. They'd look great with the khaki studded shirt I mentioned earlier.

4. Gloves - ASOS £18

It's been very cold this weekend and wet too. Solve both problems with a pair of leather gloves. These cute ones are a bit different with the heart and gold detailing. They have a button fastening too so I won't have to squeeze my hands into a too small opening.

5. Hat - Topshop £25

Still on the look out for a cute winter hat. Whether it be the pork pie or bowler style I really want one. I would prefer black as it would go with more items in my wardrobe, obviously. But this green one is a subtle change to the original. They also have dark red/ maroon ones in too which is another of my favourite colours this season.

6.Nail Varnish - Models Own £5 

Another winter staple is black nail varnish. Great for halloween and it goes with everything. I'm becoming more of a fan of Models Own nail varnishes so I would like to try this one out.

Gem xo

Painted it Red

A bit bummed out today as I was supposed to be heading out this evening but I have a big migraine. So instead I'll show you this quick outfit instead. This is a little skater dress I bought from New Look in Blackpool. I bought it specifically for winter and work as I love this maroon colour and wanted a dress in it. It looks really smart with a blazer over the top even if it is a little short for the office but I don't really care! I belted it with this studded belt and black loafers to keep it simple. I'm loving the dark red nail varnish too, it's a bit vampy and it compliments the outfit well. I have another blog post sorted for next week with the Simply Be event on Thursday, which for my first event I really enjoyed. I met some of my favourite bloggers, which was amazing too. Anyway, more about that next week. Hope everyone enjoys their halloween weekend!

Dress- New Look

Rings - PIA and market

Tights - Tesco

Belt - Next

Shoes - George @ ASDA

Gem xo

Halloween Ideas

So, in a weeks time it will be Halloween, oooooh scary. I love this time of year, with all the different festivities and fun going on. Halloween is mainly aimed at little kids, but grown ups, like me like to get involved too. I'm a bit lazy when it comes to dressing up and never really do it very well to be honest. But this year I thought I'd create some quick, easy, and damn right stylish ensembles for girls to wear if they're going to a last minute party or whatever. These are very stylish, but luckily as gothic seems to be in this year, they were really easy to put together. BEWARE, humungous amounts of halloween related cheese in this post, that'll be sure to scare you off (already starting) Click on the links to buy the items now.

Shoes | Necklace | Knife | Bobbles | Dress

First of all is the Halloween Icon, that is Wednesday Addams. This is what I'm doing for myself. A black pilgrim style dress with simple courts and ghoulish accessories. I personally am accessorising my outfit with a creepy hand on my shoulder, AKA Thing. Don't forget the pigtails to create real scary little girl terror, finished with these cute bobbles.

Leggings | Necklace | Hair Clips | Jumper | Ring

Or how about the cute little skeleton at the party. Feel free to paint your face and go all out. These great leggings can be worn again and again throughout winter as a great alternative to black ones. Teamed with all the gothic accessories, you will definitely have some 'body' to dance with at the party (All these halloween jokes are just writing themselves, don't you think?)

Mask | Top | Necklace | Earrings | Trousers

Last but not least is the sexy, leather clad cat woman. I went with the Anne Hathaway version as I'm a big fan of hers but you could take inspiration from Halle Berry or Michelle Pfeiffer or the cartoon version if you so wish. The trousers and shirt, separate look great, but together would create an awesome leather cat suit look that even Halle Berry would be proud of. Paired with purrrrrfect accessories you can't really go wrong with this look. Don't forget a tail if you're feline even more daring (STOP ME NOW, I think I have a disease).

Anyway, have fun this weekend, whatever you're doing I hope you all have a good one!

Gem xo

Chelsea Girl

Evening all! How is everyone? I've been working for a long time today but I still have a bit of time to post this casual (see: boring) outfit for you! Mainly to show on these chelsea boots a little bit but you can't really see them. I wore this on Sunday for a lazy autumn day of walking and my boots looked very much the part amongst the autumn leaves. I love the tan colour and the chelsea boot style and think they're really easy to wear. When I saw them in Primark, the last pair in my size I knew I had to have them. They're a tad big but it means I'll be abe to throw some lovely thick socks on with them when it gets colder. I think navy and tan go lovely together so I wore these dark blue jeans and this stripy jumper. to keep comfy. I love collar necklaces too at the moment so I thought this was the perfect simple accessory for this simple outfit. I'm excited as I'm going to the opening of a shop in Manchester on Thursday so I'll report back with the great stock they have for us plus size girls!

Jeans - Dorothy Perkins

Boots - Primark

Jumper - H&M

Collar - Primark

Gem xo

Wants of the Week #28

This is a bit of a wintery feel to it, I didn't realise when putting it together, just now. It really is cold at the moment! 

1. Skirt - New Look Inspire £12.99

This tube skirt is a bit of a short pencil skirt really. I love the deep colour and the cable knit too. Its really wintery and will look lovely with a black sheet shirt and thick tights for a casual look.

2. Lola Perfume - Marc Jacobs £63 for 100ml 

I actually picked this up in work, a man comes in and sells the full size bottles. But I really like this perfume, it's another great fragrance from Marc Jacobs. I don't like Dot or Oh Lola, I think they're a bit too sweet but this one is a bit more heavy and grown up. A great winter fragrance.

3. Snood - Topshop £18

I'm a big fan on snoods and always pick up a couple every winter. I like this one though as it will go with all the colours I love to wear in winter including dark read, black, white and blue/purple. It's very pretty and feels really warm too, I'm just holding back for a Primark similar version as £18 for a scarf is a bit too much for cheapskate old me.

4. Advent Calender - Ciate at Selfridges £38

I am a cheapskate but I do think this set is worth it. It's a nail advent calendar and it's been featured on quite a few blogs now, I really want one though. I think it's a great idea and will offer the chance to try out different nail colours that I maybe wouldn't really try. As well as that it has some lovely nail caviar in there and some glitter polish. This looks like a great treat for fashion and beauty lovers.

5. Love/ Hate Ring - Topshop £6.50

Everyone needs a ring where you can subtly tell people how you really feel about them by turning a disc. No? I think it's cute anyway!

6. Coat - ASOS Curve £90

Ahhhh perfect coat alert! Seriously. I've been looking for a leather and material coat for a couple weeks now and then ASOS released this one. It is perfect. I know I keep saying that but look at it! I have looked at this every day whilst freezing at the bus stop. Should I just take the leap and buy it?

Gem xo

Velvet Pattern

Another week another tribal patterned tunic. If you have a good eye, you'll notice I have the red/orange version of this shirt. I prefer those colours a lot more, I'm not a massive fan of the green, but when I saw this on the sale rail for £2 I had to pick it up. It's really easy to throw on over blue skinny jeans or leg gins and boots like this. It goes really well with a thick blue snood that I've picked up from TK Maxx. I meant to photograph it but I realised i already have a very similar one from last year, from the same place. Today I've not done much apart from tidy my wardrobe, sort it and put a lot of summer clothes into storage. I'm thinking of doing a blog sale, if anyone was interested, I have quite a few things I've never worn and would love to see on other bloggers really. I also threw my new boots on as I really will put them and wear them with everything in my closet if I can get away with it. Anyway I hope everyone is having a lovely weekend!

Tunic - ASDA

Skirt - Primark

Leggings - Primark

Boots - ASOS

Gem xo

Perfect Boots

I mentioned these in my last post when I wore them to walk around Blackpool. But I thought they deserved their own special post. I have been looking for some chunky heeled ankle boots for winter for a couple of months now. Routinely stalking Topshop, ASOS, New Look, Office and Schuh for any cute boots that came in. I had my eye on quite a few, mainly from Topshop as they always seem to create the ultimate boot for Winter that everyone has. Last year it was the Allegra, this year it's the Alvin or Jeffrey Campbell Starburst. I'm more a fan of the tan Alvin over the black. But I needed some black average heeled boots. Then, I was browsing the ASOS sale and these lovelies came up. They're leather with buckles, and a sturdy chunky short heel. They were perfect. I have barely taken them off my feet since, and since I saved money on these I may even be able to afford some tan heeled boots now! Yippee! Anyway I'm hoping they will last for a while and they'll look lovely when I finally wear them in.

Have you found your winter boot yet?

Boots - ASOS

Gem xo

I Do Like To Be Beside the Seaside

I really need to get used to taking photos outside. I felt so self conscious of these, but I'm proud of myself as I did it! As I mentioned in my last post, me and my mother ventured into Blackpool to see the illuminations and do a bit of retail therapy. It's supposed to be something that all of my family do, including my brother and dad ,but it's just me and my mum left now. Which is good as we get to go into as many shops as we like without hassle. We grabbed some food in Pizza Express and treated ourselves to some clothes. I've grown up visiting Blackpool as my Grandad had a caravan not far from there and I still like coming back. It's full of great spirit and the illuminations and lights are always good fun. They're on until November ( I think ) so go with a group of friends, wrap up warm, grab a few drinks and go and look at them for a great alternative to a boozy club night. I initially wore a shirt buttoned up over this lace top but I soon realised it's so cold on the coast I needed to wear something warm so I picked up this lovely thick knitted jumper from New Look. It was a matter or me being very cold! I needed to buy it. I wanted to be comfy so I threw my favourite jeans on and the new boots. This jumper is a lovely material and I like the simple look of it, I'm looking forward to wearing it with a grey pencil skirt I picked up in Primark. I hope you like these photos of me looking very awkward. And now I leave you with the best bit! 

Jeans - Dorothy perkins

Lace Top - Dorothy Perkins

Shirt - Peacocks

Jumper - New Look

Leather Jacket - Very.co.uk (old)

Boots - ASOS

Gem xo

Maroon

Good evening :) I hope everyone is well. I just wanted to show you this outfit. This has become my quick go to outfit for my days off when it's cold. A thick jumper and a pencil skirt. I didn't think I'd be able to pull off the pencil skirt, but I've been seeing them everywhere this season, they're a big trend, and I think they're a really nice shape. They look sophisticated and more grown up, and they make an outfit seem alot chic'er (sorry about that word) and smoother which is something I've been wanting to pull off more and more recently. I wear mine knee length or just to midi length, and prefer a stretchy ponte, or jersey type material so I feel comfortable. I really do want to buy some brighter coloured ones now, like the other maroon one I have. I bought this jumper last year in a Primark sale and it's the first time I've got to wear it really. I'm really glad I picked it up, I love the colour and it will look really cute over a button down shirt and slim pants for the office when it gets very chilly. These are my new boots, I need to devote a whole post to them so I won't spend too much time on them now, but they really are the perfect boot for me. I'm just including the photo below so you can see the real colour of the jumper a lot more. I'm heading to blackpool tomorrow for our annual family outing to see the lights, but just me and my mum can go this year, which is good and I'll get to actually have a shop. I'll try and take an outfit photo if I don't feel too self conscious in front of the tower! I'll probably bail out though truth be told!

Jumper -Primark

Skirt - ASOS Curve

Necklace - Primark

Boots - ASOS

Tights - Tesco

Gem xo

Top Rings

 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Hello, and good evening. We're over Hump day, and as a little treat to myself I bought two rings from a little stall that was visiting work. It gave me inspiration for a little post centre around my jewellery. I thought I'd share my favourite rings with you, this week it's silver and in a couple of weeks (or whenever I pull my finger out and get round to it) I'll do a gold ring post. I love wearing lots of rings and people are always asking me where I get my rings from. Okay, saying ring this many times, and finger, is weirding me out a little bit. On with the show!

1. This is one of the beauties I picked up today and I think it might become my favourite ring. It's sterling silver with a turquoise polished stone. It was the last one the man had and I can see why, it's so pretty. Unfortunately I have to wear it on my ring finger as it's the only one that fits properly soooo, it might be unlucky, as well as warding off potential suitors. But what you can't see is the pretty, intricate cut out detail on the sides. It really is very pretty.

2. This is a cheap ring I picked up in Brighton. As you can see it's not silver but it does hold a lot of memories for me as I picked it up on my 21st weekend when I was visiting from Snoopers Paradise in the lanes. I'm thinking about painting some clear nail varnish on the inside so it doesn't keep turning my fingers green.

3. This was one of the first rings I got and it really set me off into making a bit of a ring collection for myself. My mum bought it for me from M&S. It's a bit of a statement piece and I know not everyone likes it but I think it always looks lovely and simple when worn.

4. The third blue stoned ring in this set. I bought this from Pia one of my favourite shops for rings. They do really pretty and special rings. This rings a bit big for me and always flies off. Again, it's sterling silver, but has opaline set in it instead of turquoise. I think this ring is very pretty and one of the more feminine rings I own. It looks great with bright coloured nail varnish that brings out the different colours in the stone.

5. The is the last ring, and again one I picked up today. It's black onyx and again is set in a great detailed sterling silver ring. It's very large and fits my middle finger, and is quite bulky too, a bit like wearing a knuckle duster. But as a big fan of black, I like the stone and think it's a bit different from the other precious stone rings that you can buy. 

Hope you enjoyed this little post, and have a lovely week! 

Gem xo

When You Touch My Hand.

Hope everyone had a lovely weekend. I had a nice lazy one apart from the stress of those tickets yesterday, but not to dwell on that for too long! At least Monday is over, it's nearly the weekend, sort of... I picked up this pretty tunic a couple months ago from Next, and I meant to show it you then, but I hadn't found a way to wear it. I like to wear this with simple thick shiny leggings and boots for a laid back look. I really like the cut out shoulders and the pattern on the material. It would have been lovely in summer if it were longer. But the burnt orange colour means it still looks nice in Autumn too. The overlap of fabric at the front is a great feature too, it means the silhouette of the outfit is very flattering and covers my problem area. It's very short, so I think it'll look lovely over skinny jeans too and with a chunky cardigan as it gets colder. I've been wearing this nude colour a lot on my nails it makes them look really natural and it goes with every outfit too.  I hope your week is lovely. Just a side note, I've reached 140 followers! Very happy and grateful. I'm planning a little give away as a thank you so keep an eye out!

Tunic - Next

Leggings - Primark (old)

Boots - ASOS

Necklace - ASOS

Nail Varnish - Nails Inc Basil Street

Gem xo

Wants of the Week #28

Okay, so this week it's a bag special. I feel the need to treat myself to one as this morning I didn't manage to get me and my friends a glastonbury ticket. And I'm feeling very, very sorry for myself. Anyway, I want to spend the money I would have spent on the festival on myself, as a sort of 'It's okay Gem, you didn't need that brilliant lifetime experience anyway, sniff' present. If any companies want to send me and a couple of my friends I would be eternally grateful. No? Noone? Okay then? As you can see they all have little things in common, like they're structured and simple.

1. Scallop Shopper - ASOS £75

This cute bag is a lovely colour. A nice difference to black or brown. I like the scallop detail as well it's really pretty. Of course its practical as well and has lots of handy compartments in side.

2. 14" Satchel  - Cambridge Satchel Company £81

The only bright colour in this little collection. A big fan of this red. This iconic satchel looks great with any outfit and will look classic and on trend for years to come.

3. Doctors Bag - ASOS £75

The doctors bag shape is quite 'on trend' this season. I was looking on Net-a-Porter and there have been lots released by designers. This one from ASOS is just as good and will last as long as it's leather and looks really sturdy.

4. Bayswater Satchel - Mulberry £595

I think I'll always lust after the mulberry brand. I think they're iconic bags and will stand the test of time, definitely an investment, but I just can't bring myself to buy one! I think it would have to be a present from someone else really. This style is a simple one that really would last the longest time.

5. Bucket Bag - Zara £79.99

This bucket bag has been doing the rounds for the longest time. And I even snaffled the plastic fantastic version from Primark but this bag is really a statement piece. I like this dark red colour and think it's great for winter. It's very large and will fit lots of stuff in which is great for me. It doesn't have a long strap but I'm sure I could fashion one.

Anyway, I'm off for a sulk and to eat the cinnamon twirls I made this morning!

Gem xo

Blueberry Muffins

I've not done one of these posts for a while. But I love baking. As my weekends are very much time for relaxing and not raising my blood pressure levels, the one thing I love to do is bake on a Sunday Afternoon. I meant to post this yesterday but I got carried away doing boring work stuff, blah. This recipe for Blueberry muffins is really simple, and easy to make especially with kids as it is just a messy, easy, yummy recipe. Note, these aren't majorly sweet, as the blueberries, or whatever filling you are using, are supposed to give it a bit of sweetness, so I'd use a bit more sugar if you're looking for something that will hit that sweet tooth. This recipe makes 12 and they're a great breakfast muffin to have in a tin, if you're in a rush some mornings like I am.

What You'll Need:

150g Fresh Blueberries

100g Caster Sugar (or more to taste)

100g Butter

300g Self Raising Flour

1tsp Baking Powder

2 Large Eggs

2tsp Vanilla Extract

150ml Milk

How I Did It:

Firstly set your oven to 160 degrees celsius, so it's nice and warm for the muffins!

1. Cream the butter and sugar together until pale, light and fluffy, preferably with an electric whisk or if not, sheer muscle power.

2. Pour in the milk, then the vanilla extract. This gives a very wet mixture, don't be alarmed!

3. Gradually add, and fold in the flour and baking powder. It's better to add these together so you do not get little nasty surprises of baking powder. This will thicken the mixture, quite substantially, so if needs be you can add a drop or two of milk, but not too much!

4.  Fill a large muffin baking tray up with the cases, this one was cheap from Wilkinsons. Then spoon in the mixture. These rise a lot so be careful not to fill them too near the top.

5. Pop them in the over for 30 minutes, or until they are an even golden colour like the ones below.

Leave them to cool, so you don't burn yourself, then eat!

I hope you enjoy them if you make them! 

Gem xo

I Was Standing

Hello!

Well how awful is this weather in old blighty? I feel as if I'm constantly wet or drying different parts of my body. It's made me retreat into my black/grey/dark outfits even more. But luckily these jeans are a bit more fun than black jeans (not by much though!) I grabbed these online a couple weeks ago when I was buying a few pairs or jeans as my others are looking quite worn. These are the jegging variety but they are so much more than that, let me tell you! They are very thick denim and feel like very good quality jeans. They have a great structure to them and suck you in, very flattering indeed. In these style jeans I'd definitely stick to your regular size, I size down with the others but these are just not as stretchy. Which is a good thing as I doubt they will wear quickly at all. I wanted these to be the centre of attention in the outfit so I wore all black with them, but I can't wait to wear them with button down shirts and chunky knit jumpers when it gets even colder! Again I'm off to watch the Great British Bake Off in an hour. I baked some goodies at the weekend so I have a cookery post which I've not done in a while! 

Jeans and Boots - Dorothy Perkins

Top - ASOS

Necklace - The Lanes in Brighton

Gem xo