Primark Bargain as seen in Dorothy Perkins!

Earlier this week I posted about my new purchases from primark, including the £5 pretty floral cami below.

So I was quite surprised to spot this blouse made from the exact same fabric when I was shopping in Dorothy Perkins at a more extravagant £22. I actually prefer the Primark top too as I think the simpler style is more versatile.

Primark Summer Haul ♥

My local Primark has finally started getting some new summer clothes in, and having popped in for what was meant to be a quick look around, I ended up leaving with a full carrier bag!

My favourite purchase is this gorgeous floral print string top, which was just £5! It has such a pretty floral print and a silky feel, and I have a pale blue cardi which I bought from Primark last year that matches perfectly.

(The pictures are rubbish and not only do they not show the print of the top very well but the colour of the cardi doesn't look right either, but until I find my camera I'm stuck with taking photos on my blackberry!)

I also bought a pair of navy linen trousers, which are on offer at £6.90 down from £10. These are much better fitting than their previous designs and consequently more flattering too. They're quite casual but I thought they'd be good for when it's too hot for jeans but I am just doing chores/calling in to town quickly and just want something easy to wear.

These caught my eye over in the pyjama section and were £7 i think. The top has 3/4 sleeves and is a nice soft cotton material, but the trousers have quite a high waist, so i'm not sure if I'll keep them yet.

These pretty flannels were an impulse buy, but they were only £1.50 and are very soft, so now I'm tempted to get the rest of the set to match!

And finally these men's socks were on sale for just £1!

Seventeen Off the Wall Graffiti nail effects in "bluetone" Review

My nail varnish collection has suddenly doubled in size in recent weeks, and the latest additions to my collection are two blue varnishes from Boots (where all make-up is currently on a buy-one-get-one-half price offer, and they're giving out £3 off No7 make-up with purchases of £5 or more). The first is a deep french blue with a hint of metallic shine called "Betty Blues" by No7, and is the base coat in the picture below. The second is the nail varnish I'll be reviewing, a translucent blue polish by Seventeen densely packed with silver and black glitter pieces. It's part of their new "Off the Wall Graffiti Nail Effects" range and available in two shades, "bluetone", which is shown below, and "monochrome", which has black and white glitter.

I applied two coats of the No7 stay perfect varnish for the base, then a layer of Seventeen's glitter polish. If you shake the bottle well then one coat is enough to give an even coverage of glitter across the nails, but for the one or two that were left a little sparse I just let them dry and then added a second coat to make it more even. I really liked the overall look of the varnishes together, and although it is not very clear in the picture, the glitter reflected light to give a really pretty sparkle to my nails and it would be ideal for evenings out.

Ted Baker Dress ♥

I've spent the past hour window-shopping online and came across this gorgeous dress by Ted Baker. At £399 it's a little out of my price range but a girl can dream!

Fathers Day Kiwi Cake!

I've been busy baking this weekend, and following on from the raspberry chocolate cake success I've made a cake for fathers day. My dad loves kiwi fruit so the "kiwi cake with citrus icing" from my new cake book seemed the perfect recipe!

I was a little sceptical at first that the kiwi fruit would be too bland or hinder the texture, but I was pleased to see that it held together nicely when I took it out of the tin (although it did take over an hour in the oven to cook!) and it smells delicious, I can't wait to try it later!

Chocolate and Raspberry Cake

I recently bought a new little baking recipe book which is packed full of so many pretty cakes and desserts. Keen to put it to the test, yesterday I tried out the recipe for a "Valentine heart cake" - (it was meant to be made using a heart tin, but as the only heart moulds I have are quite small I stuck with regular cake tins) - a light chocolate sponge filled with a rich ganache icing and  fresh raspberrys.

The fresh raspberrys added a lovely burst of flavour to the sponge, and the ganache icing was rich but not overly so. It's already become one of my favourite cakes and according to friends it's as good as any you'd buy in a cafe or restaurant, so I'll upload the recipe over the weekend!

May/June Shopping Haul

With the warmer weather finally here, I've been shopping for a few new summer updates for my wardrobe.

1. This navy dress is from Tesco and is only £12, but you can currently double up your Tesco Clubcard vouchers which I did, so I only paid £2 and used a £5 Tesco voucher for this, and I think it's a great dress for summer. I'll be wearing it with tan sandals and my Topshop satchel bag.
2. The peter-pan collared top is from the last Marks &Spencer sale (which seem to be more regular than the must-end-sunday DFS sale these days!) and was also £12. It has a pretty daisy print and looks nice with skinny jeans and ballet pumps for a smart/casual day time look.
3. This is my latest purchase and hasn't actually arrived yet so I'm not sure how it looks on yet! But the iris print is lovely and I think it could be worn with flats in the day time or dressed up with heels and jewellery for the evening. This is from Topshop and was also in the sale online at £20 down from £42.
4. These black heels are exactly what I've been looking for for ages now to replace a similar pair I bought from Topshop a few years ago and have since worn out. The picture isn't very clear but they have a gold chain on the front which the bow is threaded through and are ideal evening shoes. These were also in the sale in New Look and were £15 down from £22.99

Laura Ashley Room Refresh Competition!

It's been quite a while since I last posted as I'm in the middle of redecorating which is taking so much longer than I thought it would! So when I saw Laura Ashley Room Refresh Competition, in which you have to pick your favourite items that you'd love to refresh a room with from Laura Ashley, I wanted to enter immediately as I already have a long list of items on my wishlist!

The room I'd most like to refresh is the currently completely empty spare room, it's been needing redecorating for so long now but because it's out of use it's a case of "out of sight, out of mind".


 It's about time it was redecorated and I'd absolutely love to style it with a feminine, but classic, french theme. I love damask prints, french furniture, creams and subtle pinks, so below I've put together a wish list of items that I'd love to refresh the spare room with, to create a gorgeous french boudoir!

My favourite item out of this collection is the Provencale Dressing Table Set, it has a french charm and is so pretty! And of course the matching Provencale Wardrobe would be a must! I'd love to have one wall covered in the Josette wallpaper, as a statement wall, against which i'd put the pretty bed, complete with a lovely off-white duvet cover and completed with the Cameron throw. I also love the pretty little glass bottle, which would sit nicely and add a finishing touch to the dressing table!

Fingers crossed!