Grey Days

Happy Monday ladies! I've realised I wear too much grey! I have four folders on my computer containing grey outfits. But it's one of my favourite colours (or gradients?) to wear for when I'm feeling extra extra lazy! This peplum top is from New Look and I did buy it myself, but it's the only thing I've bought since buying the SimplyBe dress a week ago. It's a grey marl with a peplum frill. I think it looks amazing with black skinnies and boots with my trusty biker jacket over the top. Plus it's a bit different to the masses of other grey tops and jumpers that are on the high street. I've been having a bit of trouble with my skin recently, I've broken out around my chin and cheek area. I think it's due to the massive amount of stress I've been putting myself under at work. So, I tried to divert your attention away from the horrible spots by wearing this pale pink lip colour. It is a bit too pinky and pale for me I think I need something a bit warmer for my skin tone, but it is very pretty and girly and a great little pick me up. On the topic of stress and work, I'm being proactive about work and making sure I feel happier an relaxed in myself. The whole eruption of spots did nothing for this new sense of confidence, but hey ho, I'm on my way! Enjoy your week! 

Ooh I just wanted to check, I'm thinking of doing a post on plus size lingerie. Obviously I won't be posting photos of my bazoomas, but would people be interested in that, seeing my underwear?

Top - New Look

Jeans - Dorothy Perkins

Boots - ASOS

Necklace - Primark

Lipstick - Mac

Best Thing I Ever Had

 I actually have something to be very happy and grateful for today. I managed to get hold of some Beyonce tickets this morning for me and some friends. I don't know how I was so lucky, but I managed to get on straight away. I love Beyonce so much, and I must bring her up in conversation at least once a day. I feel really bad for everyone who didn't manage to get them, and I really, really hate ticket touts on eBay who sell the tickets for stupid amounts of money. It makes me so angry that there are genuine fans who are now being forced to pay stupid amounts of money because other people just want to make a bit of money. Anyway, moaning aside, I am very happy because I got some and I've been blasting Beyonce and Destiny's Child, all day and dancing around like a crazy person. Another of my favourites is the pencil skirt trend that  I cannot stop wearing. I love the midi trend in either dresses or skirts and think they're so so easy to wear and can be dressed up or down. I wore this   a couple weeks ago with a jumper and boots, but here I made it a bit more work appropriate. I wore this peplum top that I picked up in the  January sales alongside the purple jumper and small shoe boots. With a messy up do and  dainty silver jewellery,  I think it's smart enough for the office. I think it would look great with the pastel boucle jackets  that seem to be everywhere on the highstreet at the moment.     I hope everyone   has a lovely weekend anyway!

Skirt - Dorothy Perkins

Top - Dorothy Perkins

Tights - M&S

Boots - Office (old)

Necklace - Dorothy Perkins

New Favourite

I've always been a big fan of the Barry M nail varnishes. They have great coverage, and a great range of colours. But when they released these I fell in love very quickly. You can get them from Superdrug or Boots. They have a limited range of colours so far, but every single one has been on trend. From neon pinks, and muted nudes to sweet pastels and moody dark hues. I really have fallen for them. They go on thick after one coat, but dry super quickly. They're easy to use and opaque after one coat. I'd honestly recommend these to anyone. Another plus is they're very cheap too for such a good nail varnish. I have my eye on the dark red for my next guilt-free purchase! 

Gem xo

Green Sleeves

Really going to be a short post today. I'm having big problems with my job at the moment and I really want to post on the blog without bringing those problems into it but it's affecting other areas of my life too now. Anyway I thought I'd share that in case I just go missing for a while, but I have no plan too, I'm just soldiering on! I thought I'd share this outfit that I wore on Saturday to go to the Liverpool Tate with my Mum to take my mind off of the bad things. And it worked I had a lovely time eyeballing all the 70's paraphernalia and laughing at the genitalia with my Mum. Ooh using  big words there! I love this floral skirt, and I did a big clear out of my wardrobe and I was going to throw it out. But my Mum comes to the rescue and she suggested I hem it a bit shorter than the maxi length it was, and wear it with my trusty green jumper. It's very similar to the purple outfit I wore a week or two ago, but in a different colour. I'm embracing my florals just in time for Spring. But I'm looking forward to wearing this skirt with t-shirts in the spring and summer months, for sure! Anyway, I'm off to try and sort my life out a little bit. Hope everyone is having a lovely week!

Skirt - Primark (old)

Jumper - M&S

Boots - Office (old, I proper squidged my feet into them!)

Tights - M&S

Gem xo

Update on Shopping Ban

Okay, okay, okay I've failed the 50 day shopping ban. I had a terrible week again with my job, I'm under a lot of pressure at the moment, it even ended with my crying in the loos on Friday! And I've been feeling down about different things, and on top of everything else I've got the terrible ol' catholic guilt because I failed the shopping ban. I set out to do something and I failed. I'll tell you the old tale of how I failed my mission! 

Yesterday I went into Liverpool with my Mum and we went to the Docks, to the Tate Museum, to see the Glam Rock exhibition. It was a lovely day and I'd recommend anyone to go and have a wander around the Museum if you have an interest in David Bowie, Andy Warhol and various other not so obvious 70's Glam Rock icons. Anyway we popped over to Liverpool One and whilst I was there went into the Simply Be shop. Now this is where I fell down the shopping hole, never to return. I felt a bit like Alice in Wonderland. I was so amazed at the beautiful clothes, I even indulged in trying some of the new season stuff on. BUT I resisted. I came away feeling triumphant, screaming 'NOT THIS TIME SIMPLY BE, YOU FIENDS, I WON'. 

THEEENNNN, I logged onto my computer and saw the dress online I'd tried on. I ended up ordering it last night. Plus a bit of underwear so I can feel pretty underneath the dress, obviously. So I went 30 days without buying. As I said before, I think I've had a lot of pressure piled on me at work this week, and it just ended up taking it's toll on my will power, and money out of my account. I did well, and I'm going to carry on with the ban until the fifty days are up because I've definitely saved myself a bit of money. 

But there we go, that was my blip! I thought best to own up to it and be honest to myself more than anything else!

Let's Make it Happen

I hope everyone has had a lovely week, and a Happy Valentines Day. It's been two of my favourite days of the year this week. Pancake day (nom nom nom) and then Valentines day. Whilst I don't have anyone to spend this time of year with I still think Valentines day is a great way to show anyone how much you love them. This year I received some chocolates from my friend at work, and my mum, multiple work valentines emails on why my colleagues love me, and a flower that was hand drawn to compete with the multiple bouquets being delivered to the office (well it's as good as a bouquet of flowers, isn't it!?). I'm not a fan of people who claim Valentines Day is stupid, and people should be romantic everyday. I mean it would be lovely if we could afford chocolates and flowers for loved ones every day, but we're not all millionaires, and it's nice there is a day dedicated to lurrrrrve. Anyway, still on the shopping ban, I've been recycling my clothes to try and make some 'new clothes' and brand new outfits. I recycled this grey lace skater dress, I wore not long ago, and layered this t-shirt over the top. I wanted to recreate the skater skirt look a little bit and tucked the t-shirt into a belt. I also wore this 'Your lips but better' sort of colour that my Mum got me for Christmas, it's real pretty to wear with pink blush cheeks and simple eyes for a natural, english rose look. Anyway it's been a busy week so I'm off to have a boring Friday! Hope you all have a lovely weekend ladies!

Top - Simply Be

Dress - Dorothy Perkins

Belt - Dorothy Perkins (Old)

Boots - ASOS

Necklace - Primark

Tights - Tesco

Lipstick - Ted Baker

Gem xo

All The Staples

My plans to stay in bed all weekend did go to plan really, I barely moved all weekend except to pop out on Sunday afternoon for a couple of hours. And I must say the bed is amazing. It's like having a husband at home, waiting for me to come home from work with open arms and lots of love. Am I taking my love for my bed too far? Yes, probably. This is what being single for a long period of time does to you. I'm warning you now. My perfect bed has caused a bit of trouble though, meaning it's not-so-perfect really. Because of it's hugeness I've (when I say 'I' what I really mean is my lovely father) had to move my bedroom around and this has meant I have hardly any blank wall space to take my photos for my blog on. I've come to a compromise for the moment as you can see above, but I need to get used to the angles and lighting again. It's becoming Spring, so hopefully I might try to take some photos in the great outdoors! That'll be a welcome change for us all! Anyway, onto the outfit. This shirt is the beauty my mum got me from Marks and Spencers that I mentioned last week. I am in love with this crisp white shirt, it's oversized and looks great with skinny jeans and ankle boots for a weekend shopping trip. But looks equally as good and chic (hate that word but it suits this shirt so well) tucked into a pencil skirt with shoe boots for the office. I paired it with a few other classics that every girl should have in her wardrobe, in my humble opinion anyway. The indigo skinny jean, tan boots and red lipstick. I don't think I can really go wrong with this combination. Now, if only my fringe would do what I wanted it to do...

Shirt - Marks and Spencers

Jeans - Dorothy Perkins

Necklace - Old Primark

Boots - Old Dorothy Perkins

Red Lips - MUA lipstick

Gem xo

Round the Block

Hello! Hope everyone has had a lovely week. My week went better after the initial blip on Monday. I went out last night because a girl from work was leaving. It was a really good night with really good company, I've said how much I get on with the people at work before, and it was a nice send off for my friend. And now I'm planning on spending most of my day in my new big bed in comfy clothes and just pretending I'm a queen really. Getting my new bed was definitely the best thing ever. And I know I'm on a shopping ban but I don't care! I've never been so excited to get home and into bed. Even if I knew Gordon Ramsay was waiting for me naked as the day he was born, with a slice of chocolate cake, I still think I'd be more excited about the bed! Anyway, strange fantasies aside, onto this outfit, this is what I was planning on wearing out yesterday but I didn't as I just popped on a floral tea dress to be easy. But I do love this outfit. If you'll remember I picked up both these items in the Christmas sale and they are fast becoming one of my favourite outfits to wear together. I love the colour purple, and this jumper and skirt go lovely together. I can't wait to wear the skirt in summer with bare legs and t-shirts, British weather permitting of course! Anyway I'm off to roll around in my bed to cure this hangover, enjoy your weekend!

Skirt - Dorothy Perkins

Tights - Tesco

Jumper - M&S

Boots - ASOS

Necklace - Primark

Gem xo

Gem's Sponge

So I bet you're thinking 'What is a Gem Sponge, Gem?' Well I'll tell you a secret. It's a Victoria Sponge, made just for me. Only me. No, I did share this really. Only under duress though. But this is my favourite cake to make, and I won't like, it's my favourite cake to eat too. This was actually my birthday cake last year for my 22nd, with a fancy pants dusted icing 22 on the top. Ooh posh. I think it's a lovely, easy cake to make. It's even tastier in Summer with fresh cream and summer, sweet berries so I tried to recreate a summer's night with this little concoction. I got this recipe from the Mary Berry complete recipe book, it's a handy book for all your baking and cooking technique needs. 

Ingredients:

4 free-range eggs
225g/8oz caster sugar, plus a little extra for dusting the finished cake
225g/8oz self-raising flour

2 tsp baking powder

225g/8oz butter or margarine

Vanilla essence

Whipping cream (I used a term which is commonly known as f**k loads)

Any fruity jam

Any summer berries

1. Turn the oven on and preheat it to a toasty 180C/350F/Gas 4. It also helps to grease and prep two cake tins so they're ready for your mixture.

2.Cream the butter and sugar together, if you want to work those upper arms with a wooden spoon, if not an electric whisk is my preferred method. Just because I'm a lazy one. Do this until there is a fluffy light mixture. 

3. Beat the eggs a little, and add to the mixture a bit at a time. If it starts to curdle a tad just put a spoonful of flour in and continue to mix.

4. Sift in the rest of the flour and baking powder and mix together with the electric whisk again. I've presumed you've binned the wooden spoon as it's hurting your arms and you've started to chant rhythmically, 'who needs toned arms anyway!?' as you whisk the mixture together.

5. Now, Mary Berry says this 'The finished mixture should be of a soft ‘dropping’ consistency – it should fall off a spoon easily.' So I'd do that as she is the baking god. Then divide the mixture between the two greased cake tins, and pop into the oven.

6. I'd keep an eye on the cakes then for a little bit and after 20-25 minutes check them, they should be of an even golden brown colour and when you stick a knife in the knife should be clean. When done take them out and allow them to cool.

7. Now you want to whip the cream. I would use the Elmlea whipping cream as it's the easiest to whip up to a stiff consistency. And as I've already pointed out I'm super lazy. When the cake is cool and the cream is stiff put this on the cake, and put jam on the top layer and sandwhich together.

8. I like to have some fruit with the cake. I think traditionally it's Strawberries but I think any berry you have to taste is a lovely addition.

Go forth and bake!

Gem xo

I Would Too

So I've had a very bad day, missed alarm, people at work being annoying, and car breaking down in the car park. But all that was forgotten the minute I saw Beyonce's performance from the Super Bowl last night in America. I seriously love Beyonce (if I don't get tickets for her up coming shows I will honestly go into a state of mourning) and that performance made me forget all about my recent woes, and the hailstones melting in my cleavage. It spurred me on so much so that I felt that I wanted to sing, dance, and well, write a blog post. I snapped these photos this weekend whilst running a few errands and I really liked this jumper. I picked it up in a H&M sale as it was a bit plucked. I was particularly looking forward to wearing it with my trusty, grey pencil skirt, but unfortunately not twenty minutes after these photos were taken I snagged it on an exposed brick wall in my house and it laddered all over the chest. I let out a cry and it's been banished to the bin. But for four pound I got at least four hours wear out of it. I really liked the shape and colour of it and thought whilst being casual and easy to wear, looked a tad smarter than your regular jumpers. Oh well it's gone to the jumper gods now. Day 18 of the shopping ban and my mum picked up a shirt for me from M&S where she works, and *technically* I did not buy it so I'm still in with making it to at least, the half way point. Onwards and upwards for this week anyway, and in the immortal words of D:Ream, things can only get better.

Jeans - Dorothy Perkins

Jumper - H&M

Necklace - Primark

Boots - ASOS

Gem xo

Only If For a Night

Pinch and a punch it's the first of the month! Just thought I'd share this outfit post I snapped earlier in the week. I was going to wear it to work, but we have to say a motto now when we look in the mirror every morning. And that is 'Would I wear that to an interview?' and for the majority of things in my wardrobe unfortunately I wouldn't. So I couldn't really wear this as it was a bit too casual. I think if I dressed it up with a blazer it would be fine, but I didn't really think that through and just swapped it for another dress. But I really do like this dress. My mum picked it up for me for Christmas and it's lovely. It's a grey lace, with a rose pattern, and a slip or little dress needs to be worn underneath to cover your modesty. But it's very comfy and stretchy but looks really pretty on. I really rate Dorothy Perkins for their simple day dresses, they can be dressed up or dressed down. I wore the sheer shirt over the top and belted it in at the waist with a simple belt. In other news, I had a tricky day in the shopping ban yesterday, I had a bad day at work and all I wanted to do was lift my spirits. I was good though and I only bought some false nails, which technically is a fail, but I didn't really take into account the supplies I held. And honestly, in the self-pitying mood I was in, it could have been a lot worse! At least I've told you... It's the weekend anyway, so time to relax a little bit. Hope you all enjoy yours! 

Dress - Dorothy Perkins

Tights - Tesco

Shoes - ASOS

Shirt - New Look

Belt - Dorothy Perkins (Old) 

Necklace - Primark

Gem xo