Bath!

I'm in Bath for a weekend of christmas shopping and admiring Georgian acrhitecture! It is really one of my favourite cities ever. These are some photos from when I came last year for a little break and fell in love with the city.

Do you have any favourite cities? Hope you all have a lovely weekend!

Wearing on Wednesdays

I'm afraid I was naughty and skipped last week's Wearing on Wednesday's. Oops! I'm not sure if it will return next week either because I'm just recovering from a sprained muscle in my lower back and trying to catch up on uni work I've been missing. However, I thought I'd do a slight 'remix', showing how I've worn one piece of clothing in different ways. I'm afraid mine aren't as exciting as some others, but I like to think that I demonstrate how a capsule wardrobe can work by having a few key favourite colours and items you can mix and match. This skirt from h&m is one of my favourites, but unfortunately due to eating too many cupcakes it's slightly snug on me now :( I'm hoping that after christmas it will fit me more comfortably!

boots - topshop, t-shirt - h&m, cardigan - m&s

shoes - uo, t-shirt - h&m, cardigan - topshop

shoes - clarks, t-shirt - h&m, cardigan - zara

shoes - uo, shirt - h&m, cardigan - zara


shoes - m&s, t-shirt - zara, cardigan - topshop

Anyone see a theme emerging? Yes, I love t-shirts and cardigans and the colour combination of red & blue. In a way, this makes it easy to get dressed in the morning because I have so many mix and match combinations. This black skirt is the perfect casual black skirt and I love the shape of it. It looks great with heels and coloured tights, boots, black tights - pretty much everything! Every girl needs a little black skirt.

Mi familia

Inspired by Meaghan's post of old photos of her mother, and also questions about my connection to Spain, I decided to do a post about my maternal grandparents. You see, they are originally from Spain, hence my Spanish connection. My Mum and Aunt were born over here, but technically I am half Spanish (I used to get into many arguments with kids at school who told me I was only a quarter Spanish because my Mum is really English although she's not, she's just born here.)

My Nana had this huge biscuit tin that was full of photos of my Grandparents and other family in Spain. I used to get so excited whenever we got to look at it and I'd spend forever asking 'who's this?' and 'where's that?'. My Spanish family seemed so intriguing to me as a child, rather exotic and mysterious compared to the little northern industrial town I grew up in. Now, that tin is in my possession because I loved it so much.

This is my Grandad Pepe. This photo was taken in about the early 50s/late 40s I think. Doesn't he look so suave? This is my favourite photo of him ever - when I was little I always used to think he looked so smart, he had to be a gangster or something.

And this is my Nana & Grandad together. My Nana and Grandad's story is quite romantic/sad. My Nana's own mother died when she was young and she had a horrible stepmother. When my Nana & Grandad started courting, my Nana's stepmother decided that Pepe wasn't good enough for my Nana. They still carried on courting despite this and even got engaged. However, under the regime of Franco, my Grandad was very unhappy and decided to emigrate to England. (Well, originally he wanted to go to South America, but it was too expensive and hard to get there, so after a stint in Paris, he settled in England). My Nana & Grandad were still engaged at this point, and were actually engaged for 9 years (a very long time back then!). They got married whilst my Grandad was in England and my Nana back in Spain. They didn't have a real wedding ceremony, but once the papers were signed, my Nana was allowed to move to England to be with her husband. They've been married for nearly 60 years now. Sometimes I wish I could see the love letters that they sent to each other whilst seperated. The closest thing I've got is a photograph of my Nana sat on a boat and on the back in Spanish she's written 'I wish this boat could send me to you'.

Once settled in England, my Grandad got a job working in the mines and my Auntie and Mum were born in the 50s. The photo above is a photo of my Mum & Auntie, on holiday in Spain. My Mum is the youngest one, doesn't she look cute? I really like my Auntie's coat too.

This is a photo of my Nana, Grandad, Auntie and Mum, on a visit to family in Spain. My Mum is the little baby on the left with a dummy in. The old lady in the middle is my great-grandmother, my Grandad's mum. My Mum says this is the only time that she met her and it makes me so grateful that I grew up so close to my Nana & Grandad.

I've been to Spain to visit family twice, and I am so excited because in March I'm going again. My Nana & Grandad don't go as much anymore, because they're getting old, so I am really excited about a big family holiday, with my Mum, Sister, Brother-in-law, Nana and Grandad (my Dad has to stay at home to look after the dogs!).

Do you have any interesting or romantic family stories?

Starred

It's a rollover! Yes, there was no 'starred' last week so this is a double helping of delicious treats, fresh from my Google Reader.

Calivintage is fast becoming one of my favourite fashion blogs. Can you believe I've only just subscribed? She is the cutest thing. This was one of my favourite recent outfits, the blouse is just too lovely.

Yes, I appear to be obsessed with book art. These wreaths made from pages of old books are just too pretty! They would be lovely for christmas decorated with some glitter and festive baubles. Found via Apartment Therapy.

When I found out about Hygge, thanks to Harriet, I fell in love! I was so glad there was a word for making yourself all cosy in the winter and making the most of the shorter days. It's a Danish concept but I think even here in England we can all do with a bit of Hygge. It gets dark here at about 4pm now, and you even need the lights switched on from about 2pm, which gets so dreary and depressing, but if we try to bring a little Hygge into our life we can enjoy it more! Harriet lists some wonderful ideas, including long hot baths, baking cookies for friends and lighting candles.

Absolutely beautiful art installation by Shane Waltener, found via Pia Jane Bijkerk.

I am so jealous of Chelsea's super cute Swedish holiday cottage! I love the brightness of it and how fresh it looks. I really do love scandinavian style.

Illustrated guide for what to pack to Paris. Stylish and practical! I have the same conundrum with shoes and always end up packing far too much and never end up wearing the party shoes that I take with me haha. Found via The Paris Blog, which makes me swoon over Paris everyday.

I really loved this girl's huge oversized cardigan, especially how colourful it was. Then, I spotted this rather similar version on Miss Selfridge! However, at £60 I think it's a bit overpriced so the search for a great oversized cardigan continues...

Sesame Street turns 40 and Bakerella celebrates with cake pops of course! How adorable are these at all? I loved Sesame Street growing up and so do most people I know, so I was really confused to see this article, claiming that Britain 'fell out' with Sesame Street and got bored of it. How can you get bored of it?! It's amazing! The fact it's still going today shows how amazing it is. Did you love Sesame Street growing up? I have fond memories of going home from nursery school to my Nana & Grandad's to watch Sesame Street.

I loved this post by Bug, of In Bug's Drawers. She demonstrates 3 different and interesting ways to wear cardigans. I love cardigans and pretty much wear one every single day, but it is usually just lazily draped over me. I need to start experimenting! This has definitely inspired me. I think buttoned up was my favourite, but they also look very cute tucked in.

A self-stirring tea cup!! Perfect for when you get those horrible bits of dregs at the bottom or ensuring there is no sugary-tea syrup mush at the bottom of your cup. However, as Bobby points out, it's only a matter of time before someone swallows that ball, plus it has no handle which is bad for hot drinks. Nice idea, could be better executed.

An outdoor library!!! I love this idea. Not sure how well it would work in England really, with all the rain and stuff. This library in Magdeburg, Germany, was originally an experiment but the locals loved it so much they made it their own. Found via That Unreliable Girl.

This weekend I think is going to be spent mostly working and catching up on uni work - a bit less exciting than the past 2 weekends but hey. Happy Thanksgiving to all your Americans out there too! Have a slice of pumpkin pie for me. Hope you all have a great weekend, anyone up to anything more exciting than me? Ha.

London - A Very Foodie Weekend

So yes, I went off to 'The Big Smoke' (as us non-Londonders like to call it haha) last weekend. To be honest, I have been to London quite a few times growing up so I wasn't going with the intentions of doing touristy things or shopping on Oxford Street (although I am sure there are more touristy things I haven't done and want to do - like go to the V&A and The Globe!). One of my best friends has recently moved to London for a new job so I was going to visit her mainly. She informed me she had a surprise planned for me and when I got there, she presented me with tickets for MasterChef Live! As a bit of a geeky foodie I was really, really excited! Celebrity chefs! Free food samples! Free alcohol samples! Tasty foods to buy!

It was HUGE. So many stalls. We had so much fun, eating strawberry chocolate fondue, trying flavoured liquers, spying on James Martin (I got my book signed! We nearly touched!), eating so many sweet things, and buying probably too much tea.

If you love food and celebrity chefs, you should really go. Lots of the stalls sell items at trade prices so you can get them cheaper there than in the shops. I bought some teapigs tea, vanilla green tea, Beanies flavoured coffee and delicious stem and crystalised ginger.

Then on Sunday we decided to head to the Hummingbird Bakery. We went to the Portobello Road branch because it was closest to Emma's house. After walking around for nearly an hour, admiring houses in notting hill and generally being lost, we finally found it! It was the first time I've been to Portobello Road and for a Sunday it was very lively. It was kind of like a more grown up Camden I thought.

I brought home a box of 9 cupcakes and they were all polished off by Tuesday, they were that good. Below is the red velvet one that I had on Sunday night, after the tiring train journey home. I then took the black bottom cupcake into Uni with me for my packed lunch and oh my! It was AMAZING! It is one of the few recipes I haven't tried out of the Hummingbird Bakery cookbook but I MUST! SOON! I'm starting to drool a little just thinking about it...

So yes, it was a very very foodie weekend! On Portobello Road there was also an AMAZING Spanish food shop, called R Garcia & Sons. I ran around it squealing at all the things reminding me of my childhood and bought some turron for christmas (because it's so hard to get here we save it for special occassions, the soft almond one is our favourite), amazing chorizo and morcilla. I wish they did mail order.

How were your weekends? I hope they were as full of lovely food and good company as mine was!

Wearing on Wednesdays

boots - topshop
skirt - vintage
t-shirt - zara
cardi - zara

This past week has been a bit crazy - I had 2 assignments due in last week, combined with terrible cold which had me in bed all day last Tuesday and going to London at the weekend - I was feeling slightly frazzled. Still, on Wednesday I made the effort to actually get dressed (unlike on Tuesday, my duvet day). I did feel better, but I went for practicality over prettiness. I wore my trusty old boots to protect my feet from the rain (I HATE getting wet feet so much!) and my old vintage polka dot skirt which is the comfiest skirt ever. I carried myself along to the library to finish off my last assignment, still dosed up with cold relief tablets. I do hate this time of year because of all the colds I seem to get.

Anyway, yes. I am all better now, recovered from my cold and a busy weekend in London and today I'm going to spend catching up with blogs, sorting out photos, drinking tea and catching up with some uni work too.

What do you like to wear for practical reasons? Do you ever find yourself wearing less-pretty clothes in the winter? That's what I feel like sometimes because the weather rules out certain items of clothing! However, I know some people prefer winter because of layering. What do you prefer?

London bound

I'm off to London today! I am so excited. I'm going to visit my friend Emma, who is currently living there. She also says she has a surprise planned for me on Saturday, as a belated birthday present. I am so excited to find out what it is!

All of these photos are from the wonderful flickr Lomo group. London to me always reminds me of the colour red - probably because of the buses, underground signs and red telephone boxes. I don't think I could ever live in London (I'll always be a northerner at heart!), but I am rather fond of it.

Do you all have any plans for the weekend? Do you like London or love the north?

(P.S. I'll be back on Monday with another 'starred' post for you all and, of course, an update from The Big Smoke!)

Wearing on Wednesdays

Last Wednesday I had a rather productive day in the library (despite annoying fellow students chattering away). I went to the Victoria Gallery & Museum for lunch with Scott. The building is absolutely beautiful! I was upset I didn't have my camera with me. The last time I was in that building was over 3 years ago on my first day as a student at The University of Liverpool, when I had to go into one of the halls for an introductory talk. It amazed me then, but it was run down and in need of repair.

The building is the original university building and is also the root of the term 'red brick university', as it is built out of red bricks and terracota. It was mostly unused except for a few lecture halls, until in the run up to the Capital of Culture, it was restored to it's original glory and was used to house the university's art collection and other historical artefacts.

Luckily I did manage to find some photos on Flickr, courtesy of Ronramstew, who has some wonderful photos of the rest of Liverpool too. The cafe is situated in the grand hall and on the right hand side of the huge fireplace, there is a memorial to all of the students and staff of the University who died in World War One. The original features in the building are amazing - the glazed tilework was especially beautiful. Oh and to top it all off, the food was rather good too! I highly recommend it if you're in the area.

Starred

I don't know about you but I love the 'starred' feature on my Google Reader. I am always starring things that inspire me or make me giggle. So I thought I should share some of my favourite posts of the past week with you all instead of just keeping them to myself!

Amazing baby animal photos by Sharon Montrose, found via Unruly Things

I love books (of course, being an English graduate and Library student), but I also like pretty things, so pretty things made from books are pretty good in my opinion. I love these book installations by Jan Reymonds, found via Black Eiffel (I highly recommend this blog, I star so many things from it)

I also starred these great book photos from Diane of Darling Darling. Perhaps I find books too aesthetically pleasing?


This really just amazed me and left me with my mouth wide open. After a 20 minute helicopter ride, artist Stephen Wiltshire managed to draw the Manhatten skyline exactly perfect and to scale. Utterly amazing. Found via A Cup Of Jo.

Mocha Brownie cupcakes. Yum. I love chocolate and I love coffee so of course I love Mocha. These are on my neverending 'to bake' list, that expands pretty much every week. I sometimes wish I could just bake and try new recipes everyday! Recipe available at Annie's eats.

Rebecca, aka The Clothes Horse, always impresses and inspires me with her remix posts. She takes one item of clothing and shows how she would wear it in a myriad of ways. They're always so inventive. I particularly loved this one because the Betsy Johnson dress is so beautiful.

Oh and Happy Friday! I hope you all have a wonderful weekend. My plans for the weekend are celebrating my friend's birthday tonight in Manchester and then finishing off my assignments for uni, a mixture of good and bad!

Wearing on Wednesdays

So, I've decided to come up with a new 'feature' for my blog, where I will post an outfit every Wednesday of what I have worn the previous Wednesday. Lately I just haven't been bothered much about what I wear - partly because I've been so busy and partly because I've been so poor I haven't bought any exciting new clothes really. But one day a week I will try to wear something nice and share it with you all.

I haven't worn this dress much at all, I don't know why. But it's really lovely. I like the buttons down the middle and the frilly details and of course, the colour! I wore this with rather thick tights and ended up regretting it as we had an 'indian summer' last week (does it annoy anyone else how the weathermen call it an Indian summer if it goes just a few degrees above average for more than 1 day?!). It was hardly 'summer' weather, but it was hardly thick wooly tights weather either. What are you all wearing this Wednesday?