Portobello Road

Firstly i apologise for the lack of blog posts as of late, I have been ran off my feet at uni and can't believe I have less than three weeks 'til i go home for a whole month!! First term has gone ridiculously fast!!

I wanted to share some photos I took whilst I was away in London with uni this week, I went to lots of different places some of them I had never been to before so it was an amazing trip. We went to Covent Garden which I love every time I go, I especially loved it this time as it was FULL of christmas decorations!! (37 days to go and counting!!) We went to Camden Market which I have never been to before it was loads of fun and if I had any money I could of easily spent a fortune on handmade gifts and jewellery. 

However, my favourite place that we visited was Portobello Road, if anyone has ever been there they will understand, we went on Wednesday and apparently the streets are lined with market stalls selling all sorts at the weekend so I think it will call for a second trip!! There was so many boutique shops, lots of jewellery stalls, specialist antique shops and the cute houses we saw covered in ivy with different coloured doors made it feel very homely! 

Although not everything in my life is certain at the moment, one thing is, I want to live on Portobello Road.

Future car??

Really wanted one of these Shell Rings!!

Lust

Gucci 'Huston' Mary Jane pump £785

Anyone feeling generous and wants to buy these for me FEEL FREE!!

Clever Cards

In just a few weeks time we will be starting a new project at uni that I am quite looking forward to. The upcoming project is Self Promotion in which we have to visually express ourselves and our identities, branding ourselves if you like. This will include making a business card and a visual CV, promise I will share them once they are completed!

So today i started researching a few ideas! I found an amazing website that showcases business cards that people have created for their companies of for self promotion purposes. It gave me a lot of inspiration for my own business card so i thought i would share it with you!

Picked out my faves as well...there was quite a few.

Enjoy x x x

Love this pop-up element.

This guy wanted to create something memorable, 

i thought it was rather funny as well.

One of my favourites, created for a hairdressing salon.

Simple, yet an effective idea.

I thought this was a very clever way of promoting yourself,

unfortunately it didn't have the same impact with my name!

A graphic designer created this one stating that it symbolizes every bit of paper

 that a creative goes through to achieve the final product.

  

This pair said if you hand someone your business card and they 

don't say WOW your need to make a new one.

Just threw this one in at the end, not my style but an innovative idea?

(The bags are filled with sugar powder)

Vibrant Vintage by Victoria Claire

Whenever I'm at home one of the things i love to do most is trawl the Northern Quarter in Manchester with my sister. It's renowned for boutique charity and vintage shops and i LOVE a bargain! So imagine my delight this weekend just gone when i discovered that i needn't go that far as my hometown, Bolton, has its very own vintage scene!

On Friday i decided to take a spontaneous trip back home, whilst there my Mum suggested we went to a Craft and Vintage fair which was being held locally in the next town, being a fan of that sort of thing i was really excited! And i was certainly not disappointed once we got there.

Vibrant Vintage by Victoria Claire was established at the end of April this year they regularly host at Westhoughton Market 3 days a week as well as doing the odd fair (like the one i went to).

It was a really insightful visit and i cant wait to visit their market stall next time i'm home! If your in the area or just fancy a nosey heres their website.

I managed to get a few pictures of some of the stalls and vintage treasures that were on offer, also got a few pics of my sister modelling our purchases: a gorgeous vintage YSL trench coat, a rare (circa) 1930's fox scarf (which may i add none of us will wear but we all wanted to own!) and a cute vintage purse!

Enjoy x x x

Vintage Leather Purse

1930's Fox Scarf

Vintage YSL Trench Coat

Change is Gonna Come

In the words of Sam Cooke "change is gonna come", and it has recently arrived in my life, everything seems to have changed (hence why I've been slacking slightly on my blog efforts).

Exciting changes, don't get me wrong, but also slightly nerve-wracking at the same time! Firstly I moved back to Nottingham after four amazing months at home and I was really enjoying not worrying about money, some things don't last forever, obviously! So it has been a really nice week of catching up, partying and decorating. We've settled into our new flat making it as homely as possible, its lovely! 

Secondly, and this is the major change of the past few weeks (and the reason for this blog post), as you may or may not know I study Fashion Communication and Promotion and although i have loved the majority of the course, there are some aspects, mainly the really creative aspects, that i have felt are really not for me and i was not performing particularly well in them. However the other aspects, like the marketing reports, i was doing really well in which was bringing my grade up! 

I decided to speak to a tutor before we broke up for summer but not make any decisions, giving me time at home and advice from my mum (always the best advice may i add) to think about what to do, when i came back to uni a week ago before the term officially started it was recommended that i switch to another fashion course that has more focus on the aspects that i am good at, it is called Fashion Marketing and Branding, taking the advice i switched and today was my first day. I loved the course break down and the seminar activity, can't wait to really get my teeth into such a refreshing change, there is also a chance to go to MILAN!!! Which i am already excited for even though we haven't had any info!

So anyway, bit of a useless post but I wanted to share the news as it has been a very impacting week on my life and i cant wait to see what exciting things happen next! Keep you updated, promise for now heres Sam...

x x x

D.I.Y

Only a quick-ish post today as i am going back to uni on Friday and still have yet to pack my life away into many boxes, in just two days! Eek!

So i discovered this amazing new beauty trick whilst out shopping for some nail varnish, something i like to do when money is low, as i still satisfy my need to purchase something without breaking the bank (genius). I wanted the perfect glittery nail varnish to compliment my new autumn wardrobe, however on this particular day i was rather unsuccessful.

Instead, when i got home, i decided to raid my own nail polish box and see what i could come up with, i found an old blue Rimmel nail varnish which i had not used since, well, probably this time last year, so i thought why not give it a go? It looked good but there was a bit of sparkle missing...

I then found some old glitter at the bottom of one of my drawers and thought... HEY PRESTO!!! There was a perfect blue glitter that matched my nail polish to a T. Sprinkling some over the top of my wet nail polish a satisfied smile started to appear on my face. I LOVED IT!! 

To finish off i applied a thick layer of Sally Hansen top coat  to give it an extra shine and to ensure that it didn't chip. To my delight my nails lasted chip and flake free for about a week until they started to peel, but i loved them that much i decided to re-do them... best thing is whatever colour you want is achievable, glitter can be bought from your local craft store or from specialist beauty shops. If you don't have a matching nail polish to the colour of glitter you want to use, just use clear it works a treat. Here's a few pictures i took of my most recent D.I.Y manicure...

Try it out yourself!

Enjoy x x x

Ben Howard

I don't usually post about music and i may be late on the bandwagon here; but i've only recently been introduced to the delights of Ben Howard by my wonderful friend Lizzie.

And i've got to say I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE HIM.

Strumming on to the scene in 2008 in Devon, his first studio album Every Kingdom is released on 3rd October this year (I will certainly be buying it). He has such a calming tone to his voice and a lovely demeanour that you cant help fall in love with almost instantly.

I have had a lot of trouble choosing a song to share with you all, really really recommend you YouTube him if you like what you hear as he's quite the lyrical genius! My favourite has to be Under The Same Sun, but I thought i would give you a sample of some of his newer stuff too.

When i checked out his European tour dates, i was truly disappointed to discover that they are almost all sold out. (Check if your one of the lucky ones still with a chance to see him here). Unfortunately both my hometown venue, The Ruby Lounge in Manchester and The Bodega in Nottingham where i go to uni are both sold out! It would have been great to see him at either venue as i bet the atmosphere is electric when he plays live. Hopefully he wont leave it too long before he graces us with his presence again. Until then i will have to make do with my iPod...

Ben Howard - Under The Same Sun

Ben Howard - Every Kingdom (Album Teaser 2011)

Enjoy x x x

Ben Howard | Facebook

Ben Howard | Twitter