I gave myself a promise this year that I would radically buy less clothes this year as I've got tonnes of it and not very much space since Mike and I live in a small studio flat. So instead I'm going to re-discover my wardrobe and also do a lot of alternation to clothes I already own instead of wasting money on something I think I might like and that never end up being worn.

But right before the new year Mike bought me a couple of things from New Look that I loved and knew would become firm favourites of mine. He called it a getting better present since I was in hospital and needed a little cheering up. He is so sweet to me and he has been the best support while I've been in hospital.

Picture from Pintrest

I've been a huge fan of Manic Street Preachers since I was 17. Their glamorous style always was something I loved, but never dared to adopt living in Norway. So now at the age of 41 and a half(it's important with the half!!!:D) I'm finally the proud owner of a Manics coat!!!! And I love it! It's so warm and nice for these very cold days we have in England at the moment. Since I got it, I've been living in it.

It's so lovely out there now and I love all the signs of spring around me. Trees are blooming, birds are singing and collecting twigs to their nest, people come out on the streets and parks for socializing and it is very inspriring. I love spring. It is probably my favourite season. I love the smells, colours, the temperatures, the birds are singing so beautifully in the morning when I go to work, the days are longer, I can pack away heavy boots and coats and wear a dress with bare legs. Finally my favourite, I can roll down the window of the car and have my hand out the window to feel the warm, but not too warm air.... luxery!! :)
I love walking around in lighter clothes and shoes and maxi dresses is my go to in the sun. I never used to like them, but the last couple of years I have found out that shorter girls can wear them too. I'm 5'6, but it works!! I love wearing them to work as they are airy, but still smart enough for the office.

This is my favourite maxi dress. It is from New Look last year and I think I have shown it on the blog before, but it is such a great dress that it  deserve to be showed off again.



I wear this dress  all the time and when I got it down from the attic I had to wear it the day after. I guess everyone has a dress that is there go to dress and this is one of the ones I come back to all the time.

Here is a few other must have spring pieces I have on my wish list. Payday please come quickly!!



Outside our house we have these two amazing blooming trees and coming out the door to go to work in the morning is just the best this time of year. It lifts your spirits. It's all about the little things in life and spring surely makes me happy.




What season is your favourite?

The lovely Katie over at ToodalooKatie started a challenge where we would wear lace, leather or fur and this sounded so exciting as I wanted to join. I love leather and fur (or faux leather and fur as I don't want to buy the real thing and I'm a vegetarian) and also lace so I thought this was very me.

We were doing two looks. One day time and one night time look and here is how I did it.

My Day Look









I'm wearing
Coat from Junarose
Jumper from Dorothy Perkins (Old)
Skirt from Primark
Leggings from Dorothy Perkins (Old)
Shoes from Marisota (HERE)

I loved this outfit. It combined the leather and the subtle lace on my jumper nicely. I love my new coat from Junarose that I won in a competition. It's so lovely and I have got so many compliments when I have worn it. It's brilliant quality too. Love the leather pockets as they make the coat so different. Also the collar or lack of it appeals to me. This is a coat I will be getting a lot of use out of in the years to come.

It was a beautiful spring day that made a beautiful backdrop to my photos. It was nice to bea out and about and I hope the nice weather continues.

My Night Look






I'm wearing
Lace Blazer from Zizzi (Old)
Cami from Primark
Leggings from Dorothy Perkins (Old)
Shoes from New Look (Old)
Handbag (Ebay)
Ring (gift)

I wore the same leggings from Dorothy Perkins for my night look as the day look as they are so comfy and yet so sexy. My other half loved this outfit so much that he wants me to wear it for Club Indulge next weekend. We will see as I have ordered some things specially for this night, but it is definitely an option as I felt very glamorous in this.


 

When I went down to Hastings and met Leah from Just Me Leah we went to New Look and we saw this amazing animal print jumper in the inspire section that we both wanted to buy. I first picked it with me, but changed my mind and said that I would get it online when I get paid. It was so soft and pretty, just perfect for winter. I don't normally wear jumpers that much as I'm a cardigan girl, but this one was so pretty and tempting..

I got paid and I bought it straight away, but haven't had chance to wear it until yesterday when it was dress down Friday. I wore it with red jeans also from New Look and I love this look. Red and grey match each other so well, I love that combination.  The jumper itself is so lovely and soft. It's warm and very cosy. I bought it in size 24 and this is a little bit too big for me, but it doesn't matter cause I can wear another jumper under if it gets really cold later in the winter. It's made of an Angora Mix and it is so soft on my skin and feels very luxerious. If there is one jumper you want to buy this season and you like animal print then this is a winner. You can find it here, and they also have it in burgundy with bow print which is fabulous too.

I also wore my Primark brogues that I wear a lot and they are so comfy. I bought them last year and I have wore them so much and there is still lots of wear left in them, not bad for a pair of shoes that cost me £11. I like Primark for basic shoes and some of them are real treasures. They normally have a huge section of trendy and affordable shoes. My feet are wide, but in most cases I haven't had any trouble finding shoes that fits me, so don't rule out Primark. It is all about looking around and see what they have. You might be surprised.

Back to the jumper. This will be an item that I will mix with skirts and boots for a relaxed look for work or wear with my faux leather skirt and fishnets for a night out.

Do you like jumpers?

Today's outfit to the office I went for quite a plain style as I chose only two colours, red and black. It is my favourite colour combination. I wanted my outfit to be quite simple as I wanted to show off  two of my newest animal print buys. My black animal print skirt from River Island and my lovely necklace from lovely Abigail from Glitz and Bobs.

I saw this skirt online and instantly loved the subtle animal print in the skirt. I would actually be able to pull off wearing this skirt for work without getting too many strange looks. Some people has got an aversion for animal print, but I absolutely love animal print. The more the better! My only concern ordering this skirt was that it only went up to a size 18 and since I'm normally a size 20/22 in bottoms I was a bit worried while I was waiting for it to arrive.

It arrived yesterday and I tried it on and it fit!!! I was so happy. The skirt looked so nice in real life and the pattern was very subtle, but still gave the skirt edge to it.Elasticated waistband helps the size 18 to fit my tummy;)

I chose to wear it with a plain black top and a red long cardigan and leggings as the skirt is very short, so it is too short for me to wear with just tights. I thought that this outfit would be the right canvas to show off my new necklace and let that be the centre piece of my outfit today. Isn't it gorgeous??? It is bought from a shop over at Etsy called Glitz and Bobs and Abigail that hand makes these lovely necklaces she had a half price offer on right after payday so I made the most of that and ordered a couple of necklaces. I have ordered a brooch before and that was so nice that I decided to try some more. The necklaces comes wrapped in this cute little box and nice wrapping with sparkly bits inside and yesterday Abigail had even added a candy lolly in the box. The special little touch that makes it so much personal and nice. Like a special little present. If you like my necklace head over to her store and get yourself some lovely jewelry for a bargain price!

Do you ever buy things from Etsy?


Mookie xx

I went to Hastings this weekend to meet up with lovely Leah from Just me Leah and to do some sightseeing and shopping as well.

Hastings is a lovely town and meeting up with Leah was great! We went for a bit of shopping as well and New Look in Hastings was really good. Great Inspire section. Best Inspire I have visited. So of course I used the opportunity to buy a few things that I will be blogging about very soon. They had a sale on so I got a really stunning animal flocked dress for £11. Bargain!! Looking forward to showing the dress on here as I love it.

 I also bought some new make up. I bought this absolutely stunning nail polish from Miss Sporty for a bargain price of £1.99. Isn't it stunning? I saw it as soon as we came into Superdrug and I said to Leah that it was the most beautiful nail polish ever. I am into the whole metallic theme now with metallic nails, metallic eye shadows and shiny jumpers and dresses, so it really caught my eye. I tried it on tonight and I love it. Here I'm wearing two layers as one did not cover it good enough for my liking, but at that bargain price it doesn't matter using more. You can buy it here if you like it as much as me.

Leah, me and my husband went for a walk around in Hastings and Leah kindly was our guide. She also took us to the quirky nice pub in old Town called Ye OldePumphouse which was really nice and we had a nice lunch.

It was so nice to spend a bit of time with lovely Leah. She is just as I thought she was. Happy, very friendly and so easy to speak to. Already looking forward to next time we meet!!!

 After Leah had gone home to nurse her poorly husband, who I hope to meet next time, Mike and I went to see the big bonfire and fireworks as it was bonfire night in Hastings on Saturday. Leah had said it would be spectacular and she was absolutely right. First it was a big procession with town criers, people dressed up in all kind of outfits and uniforms. We kind of followed the stream of people and ended up in a square near the beach where we waited for the procession to get there. They had built a large bonfire that we saw earlier in the day and when that was lit on fire all the people cheered and clapped. The bonfire was impressive, but what was most impressive was the fireworks.  It was the best fireworks display I have ever seen. Tried to take some nice photos, with mixed result. It kind of felt like fireworks you would see at an event of national proportions like the Olympics or the Royal Wedding. Really lovely. It was my first bonfire night(for those of you not English or don't know what bonfire night is please read HERE)  as well since I moved to England so Mike said I couldn't expect a show like that at other bonfire nights from now on. 

The B&B we stayed in wasn't that great, but it was just a place to sleep so I didn't care that much. I had a lovely time and I will definitely be visiting Hastings and Leah again.

What did you do over the weekend?

 






  When I was on holiday I thought I would try and wear things that brought me out of my comfort zone as I tend to opt for the safe dresses and things I know I feel good in. But since getting into the whole plus size blogger community I have become better at trying new things that I have not worn for years and years because I haven't felt comfortable in it. The thing I have dreaded the most to wear is the denim shorts. I have not ever owned a denim shorts and have not worn shorts that short for over 20 years. I bought these Denim Shorts with Fringing  from Asos before I went to Spain. I tried them on before  I went and wasn't sure whether I liked it or not,but chose to bring them. In Spain it was very warm so it was the perfect opportunity to wear them. I paired them with an animal print top from George as Asda that I picked up for a couple of pounds. My trusted sandals from F&F was the safe bet for my feet since we were going to be out and about all day. Wanted a casual look with a Spanish twist so added a red flower in my hair, my lovely sunglasses from Asos and my signature lippy from MAC  and some new earrings I bought in Spain.  I have to admit that I loved the look and I felt very comfortable and stylish all day. Will definitely be wearing them again. It also felt so good that I had overcome another one of my "fears". Do you have anything you don't feel comfortable wearing?