Monday.

Today is my half day - Yay! hence the super casual outfit for work, when I finish at 12.30 I have to go to the Post Office (with eBay sales) then to the supermarket and then I have an afternoon of household chores. I am all up to date with the washing, but I have the biggest ever ironing pile to get through! If i get the ironing done quickly then I plan to tackle my wardrobe.

It badly needs cleaning out and re-organising. There is just so much stuff that I do not wear and have not worn is such a long time and it is all taking up valuable hanging space.
My plan is to then sell on what I can on eBay and any money that I make I am going to turn into Dollars for our trip to Orlando!

I have a fantastic weekend, it was very quiet and I feel nice and relaxed. We stayed in on Saturday night and caught up with all of the things that we had saved on Sky +. We then got up early(ish) on Sunday had some breakfast and then headed to Ikea and Costco! We did very well we had 2 lists (one for each store) and we stuck to them and our budgets. After the Ikea trip or little living room/den is now totally finished and so cosy and nice to sit in. We use Costco to buy our large and expensive items, we can buy in bulk and store in the garage. We have been doing this for a year now and find that it does really help keep the costs of the weekly supermarket shop down!

Today's outfit is:

Skinny jeans - Vila
White t-shirt with silver stripe - Gap
Ugg boots - Ugg

Saturday.

The dress that I have on today is a style that I am currently selling in the shop, it was not something that I was going to take for myself, but yesterday a customer was trying it on and noticed that there was a small pull in the front. Better in my wardrobe and wearing at work to advertise the brand!

Last night after work I had a friend come over for dinner, a bottle of wine and a serious catch up. We met 3 years ago when we were the only 2 girls in the place that we worked, we have been great friends ever since. We try to catch up every few months, or as close to that as possible. I made us a simple tomato pasta dish, with a lovely Greek salad on the side. The wine and conversation are always more important that the food!

Today's outfit is:

Black satin dress with amber jewels - Blendshe
Black patterned tights - Tesco
Black boots - Topshop
Gold necklace - H&M
Gold acrylic bangle - Mikey

A close up picture of the jewel detail around the neckline of the dress! My bf asked me why I had army boots on with a dress, I told him I was channelling my inner Carrie!!! He replied "Uugh, bloody Sex and the City!"

They are here.

My pearls arrived this morning!!! I can not believe the fabulous service from the wonderful eBay seller. I got them on a BUY NOW yesterday afternoon, as always I paid immediately. About 15 minutes later I got an email to say that the item had been dispatched!!
I got into work this morning and there was a small envelope (padded) laying on the mat, I tore it open and inside were my pearls in a lovely organza pouch. What a fab service for £3.00 (including shipping).

I am so happy about this, as this is the type of service that I strive to give my customers (both in my shop and on eBay). If I sell an item on eBay I send it off the customer the same day that they pay (unless it is a Saturday as the post office closes before me) I wrap everything in tissue paper and then in a protective plastic bag, before wrapping in brown paper or a large envelope.
This is the first time that I have had this kind of service in return.

I now can not wait to wear them over a cute outfit - I think I might just know where I will start!!

My lovely (faux) pearls, they are about 40 inches long!! And the cute little organza bag that they goe sent in!

Friday.

Not sure about my outfit choice for today! I love the trousers and I thought that it was an idea to change the top that I wear with them - but I do not love the result. I do not hate it, I still feel smart and professional, but I think that it could be just too much grey!?

I have just bought a long pearl necklace from eBay (thanks Sex and the City movie) I have a pair of cream and black shoes that I rarely wear and thought that an all black outfit with the long pearls and the shoes would look fab! I would kind of like a black shift dress to wear in the look, but at the moment I can not see what I am looking for!

Today's outfit is:

Grey pin-stripe trousers - Blendshe
Grey vest (not seen) - Primark
Grey jumper - Vila
Silver necklaces - H&M
Silver, black & purple necklace - Bakers
Pewter wedges - Priceless

Thursday.

I love this little dress so much - it is so comfy and I love the shade of charcoal grey! Still keeping at the Sex and the City inspired look. I know that today is not as full on as yesterday, but I still feel polished and professional!

I am on the look out for a nice pair of grey shoes, oh and a nice bright pair in pink or red! However I do not want to spend too much (as much as I would love a bright pink pair of Christian Louboutin's) so I have been looking on eBay. But the eBay shoe market seems to be a competitive one!!

Today's outfit is:

Grey jersey dress - Forever 21
Black patterned tights - Tesco
Black wedges - Faith
Turquoise glass necklace - Primark

Barry M - Nail Polish

About 2 weeks ago I was in my local Superdrug having a little look before work, I was not really looking for anything, but I noticed that they now stock Barry M products.
I had never used anything from the range, but I am drawn to the wide range of colours available - a la MAC. As I am very happy with all of the facial cosmetics that I use I decided to have a look at the nail polish. I love Chanel Rouge Noir, but my nails chip so badly that I can not justify the cost! Anyway I have tried lots of cheaper brands that stock a similar colour and had not found a good one!

So, I thought I would give the Barry M version, 115, a go. I am so glad that I did. In my honest opinion it is just FAB!! And it is only £2.95!


The polish is a lot thinner than OPI or Creative etc but I think that may be what works??
I applied the first coat (in work - as you do) and was not happy at all with the colour or finish. It was an uneven colour that looked nothing like the colour that I was expecting. Anyway, I had some customers etc and an hour or so later when I sat down to paint another coat I was delighted with the result. It was a deep glossy colour - just what I wanted! From that first application I got 2 days without a single chip to my beautiful coloured nails (oh and I used not top coat!).
I have used it a few times since and it has been just as good.

This morning I bought shade 272 - I have just pained my finger nails and I am very happy with the result.




This is a brand that I am definitely going to continue to buy - I think I am going to go for a bright orange next!

The entire range of products are available from the Barry M website!

Wednesday.

Today has been a very quick day for me! I had arranged for a rep to come in with some Christmas lines and I had also arranged for an electrician to come out - I have a few lights out and the problem is not the bulb! They have both been to see me but while both have been in there has been a continual stream of customers. This is good (well except for when a customer was in the fitting room and the electrician switched the lights off and she was plunged into darkness!!!).


I have been watching the Sex and the City movie in my very quiet moments and the fabulous outfits have made me want to make even more effort with my daily dressing. So much so that I had to wear my favorite boots today - I am so glad that I did!

Today's outfit is:

Black (with grey polka-dot) dress - Blendshe
Black leggings - forever 21
Black cropped cardigan - Primark
Black belt - New Look
Black boots (with patent toe and heel) - Nine West
Black cape style jacket - Vila
Wow, that is a lot of "black" in the one outfit!



My new jacket ( I love the cape style and the waist belt, the jacket has a really nice fine silver thread running through it that you can not see in the pictures) and my favorite boots!

Tuesday.

Early post for me today as I have to nip home this afternoon for the Sky man! As we are moving the living room around a little for the winter months I need him to come out and drill some new holes and put some new cables in so that we get our full TV coverage (it would be awful to miss any of my favorite shows). So, as these companies do, I have been given a 3 hour window in which I have to sit in the house and wait. Thankfully my mum is not working today and she is going to man the shop for me!

I have still not managed to get my chore totally under control after the busy week last week, but I am getting there! I was putting some things away last night when I came across this scarf (my mum brought it from Forever 21 for me) so I took 10 minutes and planned today's outfit around wearing it!
It is another lovely bright and crisp day - but it is definitely getting cooler, time to start the proper layering I think!!

Today's outfit is:

Skinny jeans - Vila
Khaki cami (not seen) - Topshop
Beige knitted tunic/dress - Topshop
Scarf - Forever 21
Leopard print ballet flats - Primark
Acrylic bangle - Ebay
Silver jewellery - Tiffany

Monday.

Monday again - is it just me or are the weeks coming round so fast?
Yesterday was not a good day for me, I had a headache (hangover) and had to go off to bed for a few hours in the afternoon!! I got nothing done and I did not manage to plan or even have a think about outfits for this week!

I was still feeling a little tired this morning so, I had a rummage about (through the clean clothes) and found something nice and bright. Today has been the first day that it has felt like autumn - it is fabulous, it is bright a little cooler and there a beautiful fresh smell to the air! Long may it continue!

Today's outfit consists of:

Yellow & black print tunic - Primark
Black long sleeved t-shirt - Primark
Black footless tights - H&M
Black patent ballet flats - Nine West
Silver jewellery - Tiffany

Should I????

It is a local holiday here, the schools are all off and most of the offices and shops around me a closed. So far I have had a quiet day, I decided this morning that if I had no sales by 2pm I would put a sign in the door to say that I would be closing at 4pm. I have had 2 paying customers - Great!

So, new deal with self - as I am here for the rest of the day I am going to make myself as comfy as possible and watch "Sex and the City". I was walking to the bank this morning and could not help but nip into Woolworths and buy a copy!! I do not think that it is bad to watch a (fashion) movie on a quiet day? I mean I will turn it off if I get a customer!!

The week ahead!

A new week, thank goodness last we was mega hectic!!
As well as the shop turning a year old we also had plans to go to a friends 60th birthday party (it was a good friends mum). But early on last week we also got a lovely surprise from my bf's sister, she went into labour a week early and had a beautiful baby boy on Tuesday.

Tuesday was a mad day, there was lots and lots of phone calls and message passing going on. And on Tuesday evening we both left work a tiny bit early to drive through to Edinburgh in time for evening visiting. It was a 3 hour round trip - but so worth it to see the brand new bundle. The rest of last week pretty much passed in a stressful blur, finishing up with a hangover (on my part) yesterday!!! Not good for your only day off - but the champagne the night before got me in my vulnerable state! It was pointed out that I could have just said no!?

So, this week should be a much more chilled out affair. We have no plans until we are off on our trip to London and we are both looking forward to quiet evenings in.
We have been turning one of our spare bedrooms into a small sitting room/den and we have the final stages to complete this week. We have been spurred on to do this by the rising energy costs, the room that we are moving to is smaller and is positioned between two other rooms, it also has less windows than our main living room. We hope that we will be able to turn some radiators off and save on fuel bills.

My bf is working away for a couple of days this week too, so I will get a chance to get the household chores up to date. It was only the bare essentials that got done last week.
As for work I am expecting to start taking deliveries of party styles - Christmas sparkly outfits, it is very exciting! It will not be long and I will be getting the Christmas window done!

Saturday.

I am back!! I made a huge (well compared to the disaster that was yesterday) effort for today - I am still very tired but I feel so much better! The blouse that I have on today I had forgotten about! I was putting washing away the other night when I spotted it. I find that grey can sometimes be a bit draining, so I added colour with a bright necklace!

We are off out to a 60th birthday/garden party this evening and I am going to be wearing the navy dress from Thursday night (fingers crossed I will get a picture this time). It should be fun and it is so close to where we live that we can walk to and from the party (saving in taxi fares). Plus I have been told that there is going to be a chef cooking and serving food all evening!!

Today's outfit is:

Black wide leg trousers - Vila
Black cami - Primark
Grey chiffon blouse - Primark
Multi colour necklace - Bakers
Black & white peep toe shoes - Nine West


A close up picture of the ruffle detail of my blouse and my very cute necklace - I love the fun colours and how they work with so many outfits!!

Friday.

I have not taken a picture today. The reason for this is, it is quite possibly the worst outfit I have ever worn to work (I suppose it is not that bad, but my messy hair and no make-up added into the mix makes it a bad work look).

My party went very well, lots of people turned up and celebrated with me. Lots of people also made some purchases. There was a lovely atmosphere in the shop everyone was chatting and offering advice to each other about outfits.
I did get changed out of my jeans cardigan combo of yesterday. I put on a lovely navy silk mini-dress (over leggings). I am currently selling the dress in the shop and it is from Mina. It was so comfy to wear and I got lots of nice compliments (and that always feels nice).

Unfortunately I did not get a picture of me in the dress, but I do have pictures of the dress! I love the detail in the back!




It turned out to be a late night, we went for a wind down drink after finishing up. However, I did not do the clearing up before going home!!!! (hence the bad outfit today, as there was lots of cleaning and clearing to do this morning).
Today, so far, has been pretty quiet, which is a good thing as all of the stress and excitement of the last few days has become a migraine which has kindly set up camp right above my left eye! If things stay quiet I may just treat myself to a bit of an early finish!

Thursday.

Yay - I made it!!!!! My shop is one year old today!!
Tonight is my party, I have decided to throw a little thank you evening for all of my customers. I am giving them all a gift bag filled with chocolates, money off coupons, vest tops, compact mirrors and a lovely little key-chain. I am also having champagne cocktails and a competition for a chance to win £50 and £20 to spend in the shop!

The last few days have been all go and today is just the same. I am dressed very casually today as there is still lots of moving and cleaning to be done! But I do have another outfit for this evening!

Today's outfit is:

Skinny jeans - Vila
Cream vest top - Hollister
Red & cream striped cardigan - Vila

Oh, and I decided a change in the hair department was needed to mark the occasion!!

Wednesday.

Wow, what a busy day I had! I had to fill 100 gift bags (to give to my customers!). I am having a birthday party for the shop (a thank you evening for my loyal customers) and I had lots and lots of organising to do!

Wednesday's outfit was:

White silk tunic - S'nob
Black leggings - Vila
Black cropped cardigan - Primark
Cream & black ballet flats - New Look

Monday & Tuesday.

Sorry for not posting yesterday - I had an appointment with one of my suppliers in the afternoon and the morning just vanished!

MONDAY


I went for comfort as I had to drive to the appointment and the weather was yucky! I am still trying to limit my wearing leggings, so I went for my super comfy skinny jeans.

Monday's outfit was:

Skinny jeans - Vila
Black T-shirt - American Eagle
Leopard print scarf - Blendshe
Black patent jewelled ballet flats - Nine West

TUESDAY


When I was at the appointment I had all of the items that I wanted for the shop hanging on the rail. We were about to start putting the order into the computer when an assistant came through with a list of out of stock items. We went through it and found that the jumper that I have on was on the list. I was very upset (I almost had a tantrum - but I managed to keep it in!!!!) I had a lovely mental picture of wearing this on a spring day. Anyway, the lovely Karen could see my distress and gave me the sample. I never get samples as they are always tiny! This is a small (I have not been a small since I was 6 years old) I am not - it is just a very stretchy (free) jumper! So, as you can imagine I had to wear it today, then I will try to put it away until Spring!

Today's outfit is:

Skinny jeans - Vila
Cream Cami - Primark
Coral striped jumper - Blendshe
Coral suede shoes - Topshop

Saturday.

I have another evening on my own tonight (my bf is not home until late tonight) so I have decided to head straight home at 5pm and have a quick tidy up. I have a few things needing ironed, so I will get them out of the way. I found a recipe for toffee apple muffins yesterday, and I plan to try and make a batch later. We have the most beautiful big apple tree in our garden and I really want to make use of the huge amount of apples that it gives us. Last year we used a tiny amount and hundreds of great apples went to waste.
I am also going to treat myself to a Chinese take away while I watch the X Factor and Desperate Housewives from the other evening! I can not wait.

Sunday I will be in work! i am..... turns one year old this week and I am having a birthday party/thank you night for all of my customers on Thursday night, but I have lots of preparation to do that I can not do when customers are in! I have to clear a passage in the stock room so that customers can get to the toilet. It is ok for me to scramble and climb but not the paying public! There are also a few little places that need a little lick of paint, plus the windows need washing, bathroom needs a good clean etc.

Today's outfit is:

Black chiffon dress - Vila
Black cropped cardigan - Primark
Black patterned tights - Tesco
Multi colour disc necklace - Bakers (gift from mum & dad)
Black patent shoes - Christian Louboutin

Friday.

My feet were a little sore last night after walking, to and from work and then to meet my friend, in my boots - my feet are too used to flats! So, I planned my outfit around flat shoes and my new scarf!

Today's outfit is:

Skinny Jeans - Vila
Black V-neck t-shirt - H&M
Black half sleeved cardigan - Vila
Multi colour scarf - Coach (gift from Mum & Dad)
Red ballet flats - Tod's

My parents brought me this beautiful Coach scarf (along with a lovely cream leather coin purse) home from Orlando (I am a very lucky girl). My mum knows how much I love everything about Coach. For me it is not a label thing, I love how well made the products are and classic they look, and a Coach bag signifies a point of change in my life.

My love affair with Coach started nearly 4 years ago, I was going through a very difficult time in my life (and had been for a few months) and I was on holiday with my parents in Orlando (they had kindly paid part of the ticket to help me get away). In the run up to the holiday I worked 4 jobs (1 full-time and 3 part-time) just to get by, and every spare penny I saved for my week away.

The exchange rate was great and my money went far and lots of shopping was done. Half way through the holiday I came across Coach (outlet store) I was in there for hours, looking, feeling, trying over my shoulder - but I left feeling that it was just too much to spend on a bag or wallet. Anyway I went on and on about the bag that I loved and we went back another couple of times, to look at it. On our final night (I still had a little money) we went back and my mum talked me into buying the bag (small black shoulder bag with white stitching). I would use it on the rare occasion that I was going out somewhere nice.

The first Coach bag signifies my life changing for the better, I met my bf soon after my trip and used the bag on our first date! Four months after the trip, I was only working 2 jobs and by one year later it was only 1.

Since then I have added to my collection and still love the products and the stores. I still very much see the goods as a lovely treat. Last year my bf bought me a larger shoulder bag and this year I HOPE to get myself a leather organiser.

A closer look at my latest Coach item.

Thursday.

OK, OK I know that I said yesterday that it was still too early to wear boots, but my bf had gotten these ones re-heeled for me and brought them home last night and I just had to wear them this morning.
Weather is wet and dull again today so the boots are not out of place!

My bf is working a lot at the moment and he is working away for the next few days so, I am home alone. This evening I am heading to Beanscene to meet a friend for a catch up and a coffee. I will then head over to my parents and catch up with them (not seen them properly since they got home). I have no plans for Friday at the moment and if it stays that way, I think I will do some household chores and give myself a mani/pedi.

Today's outfit is:

Plum sweater dress - Vila
Grey tights - Primark
Grey cami - American Eagle
Grey boots - Topshop
Star necklace - Plume

Wednesday.

Horrid wet weather today, so I dug out my cowboy boots for the walk into work - I still kind of feel that it is a bit early for boots, but needs must! I was really un-sure of what to wear today - I am trying to wear leggings a bit less than I did last winter as I did not feel my jeans get too tight (leggings grow if you do). But when I got my new scarf from my sister yesterday I decided I wanted it to feature in my look today!

Today's outfit is:

Skinny Jeans - Vila
White half sleeve t-shirt - Tesco
Silk scarf - Present from Zante
Cowboy boots - Topshop (Faith)
Cardigan - Topshop