Pearls Before Swine

Shirt - Charity Shop // Jacket - Topshop // Leggings - Topshop // Belt - Primark // Earrings - Charity Shop // Shoes - Faith

I have had a lot of success in charity shops this Easter. This little beauty was £2! I was on a family day out to Falkland last Thursday and we stopped in the Leslie Christian Charity Shop on the way back which is a treasure trove of clothes, shoes and curios. I got a few other pieces but I want to save them for a "charity-shop-only" post. I am suffering from last day of the holiday blues. Ah well... back to work and reality tomorrow.

Monochrome

           

Dress - Urban Outfitters // Blazer - Topshop // Shoes - Dorothy Perkins // 
Bangle - Topshop (old) // Lips - Revlon Black Cherry

Aztec and Monochrome - Ticking two trends at once! The dress was a purchase from my recent Edinburgh shopping trip. I swithered back and forward over buying it because the material is wafer thin and I was in two minds as to whether my pull-in panties would have the power to deal with such a dress! However, I'm glad I bought it. Urban Outfitters only has two branches in Scotland so you're guaranteed to find something a little different from the crowd and at £32 it was a bit more reasonably priced than some of their other items. I also managed to get the shoes in an online flash sale £45 down to £31 - now that's luck. I kept seeing them featured on Miss High Street's website and knew they were the type of shoe that would go with everything.

P.s. Please excuse the background in this picture but this is what happens when you put four girls in a tiny room and expect them to get ready for a night out. Despite the lack of glamour in this picture we had a fantastic and glamorous night out in Glasgow (that is until we carried our McDonalds back to our room at 4am - oh the shame!)

Mint Choc Chip

Jumper - Warehouse // Earrings - Warehouse // Necklace - Charity Shop // Bracelet - Topshop (old) //
Nail Varnish - Rimmel Peppermint

I fell in love with this jumper the minute I walked into Warehouse. I was on a shopping trip to Livingstone to return a dress and hit Wagamama's with my mother when I caved in and bought this. It just happened to match my nail varnish which I deemed to be fate. Although it's not obvious in the pictures there is a floral pattern across the chest and down the sleeves. (I threw in a picture of my cat for good measure. She's a babe. She is actually a he... This was discovered recently at the vets. So Bonnie Blue is now Ollie Blue. And one of my good friend Leigh and I sharing a cocktail in TGI's. She is also a babe.)

Polka Pan

Shirt  - Charity Shop // Leather Jacket - Topshop // Shorts - Warehouse // Earrings - Urban Outfitters // 
Lipstick - MAC Russian Red

I am sticking to my pledge to blog everyday during the holidays My bank balance is not thanking me this week but Easter holidays are for shopping, eating, drinking and being merry - all of which I am most definitely indulging in! I had a rare Wednesday night out last night. I always feel so rebellious being out on a school night. Much fun was had and I wore my converse which was a liberating experience and made it much easier to shuffle! I decided to have a quick look in the charity shops of Dunfermline today before heading home and managed to bag myself two items - both with Peter Pan collars. Jackpot. The above shirt was £.295 and is originally from Marks and Spencers. It is massive but I have a crush on over-sized shirts at the moment and I love the collar. I also bought a sundress but it's ankle length and not very flattering as a maxi. DIY project number 2 - convert to a playsuit or short(er) dress!

Peppermint Dreams

I absolutely adore this Peppermint nail polish by Rimmel. It's the most gorgeous, dreamy pastel shade of green and compliments so much of the high-street's S/S12 range. It is part of Rimmel's professional finish range and the maxi brush makes application really easy.


The above photo also features a Cath Kidston style duvet which I got at Tesco the other day. Kingsize and under £12 bargain. It's also double sided (the other side is pink polka dots!)

Frolicking in the Snow... H&M Hightops

Fur Coat - Costume Cupboard // Harem Pants - River Island // High-tops - H&M

So I am officially on my holidays and lo and behold it has decided to snow. Last week I was considering cracking my sun dresses out of my suitcase and now I am yet again reaching for my beanie hat. The above pictures were hastily taken by my little sister. It was in the midst of one of the many blizzards that have peppered the day and resulted in a sisterly duvet day with a Disney DVD. I am wearing my first ever pair of high-tops. I have always secretly lusted after a pair and at £14.99 you can't go wrong. Plus they are my favourite colour - go with anything nude. Yes... my obsession with all things pink continues.

I am hoping that because I am on my holidays my blogging will be a tad more prolific. I have a number of purchases, both fashion and beauty, in the post queue and I am determined to throw a few baking ones in there as well. I'm also thinking about performing my first DIY fashion project. Wish me luck.

The Human Condition

There are some things we never say out loud because we don't like the way it sounds. Things like "This isn't working." "I live with my parents." or the biggie... "I'm lonely." But are these the very things we need to start saying aloud? Do we need to acknowledge the negatives in our life in order to turn them into positives? Are we simply being protected by pride or held back by vanity?

This onslaught of heavy-thinking was brought about after a weekend in bed with the flu and a session with my Sex and the City boxset. In the episode All or Nothing, Samantha; the strong, independent, man-eater of the group, also catches the flu. She says "There are two types of guys out there - the ones that hold your hand and the ones who fuck you. And the ones that fuck you aren't worth a damn. We're alone."  This struck a particular chord with me dear readers (and not only because I had neither a man to hold my hand or... well... you catch my drift!). Looking in the mirror, in the midst of all the sweat and snot, I finally understood the phrase, "She has a face only a mother could love." and gazing at my ghastly reflection I doomed myself to an eternity of life in the boxroom, alone and lonely. Because, despite being dutifully nursed by my mother, that is exactly how I felt - lonely. I am definitely at my most maudlin when I am ill. I played Jeff Buckley on repeat and stared into space until my eyes hurt. 


Now that I am back to full health I can attribute my feelings of loneliness to "just feeling sorry for myself." But should I? I hark back to my original quandary: Are we protected by pride or held back by vanity? Pride will mean I'll brush off my feelings from last weekend, smile and soldier on and in doing so I'll save myself a lot of difficult conversations. Cue reactions from friends, "Oh you're lonely... Emmm, I'm not really the hugging type of friend." or even worse "Your loneliness is pathetic." 

However, determined not to be held back by vanity I voiced my loneliness and I was not greeted with awkward responses but genuine concern and some cheer me up flowers and a card. Once I'd said it, I felt better. My cold subsided, the weather changed and I felt positive again. March has been an interesting month. Unfortunately I am another year older and the older I get, the more contemplative I become.  It has been one roller-coaster of a year and I cannot begin to express how much has changed. I suppose part of that change has been recognising myself as an individual again; spending a lot of time alone with my thoughts and asking myself what I want from life. Nearly a year on from the break up and the birth of my quarterlife crisis I am still asking myself those questions and learning to accept that I may be asking those questions for some time... And p.s. yes, sometimes I get lonely. 

Why is admitting you are lonely so taboo; the fear of failure? I know so many people who are unhappy or unsatisfied yet they soldier on, keep up appearances because they'd rather be unhappy than be lonely. A lot of people this year have said I'm brave - I wonder if it's because I have faced their biggest fear? This has been the most difficult post I have written. Partly because of vanity and partly because I wasn't exactly sure what the point of this post was but I think I see it now... while pride has its place, it is definitely okay to feel lonely, or sad or lost. Nobody is strong all of the time; we're only human after all.