Tired of Winter Weather and My Winter Wardrobe

Luckily there hasn't been any snow this winter (yet!) and we're finally coming into spring! Still this grey British weather we've been having has been very dull. I went to Bicester this weekend in the hope of finding inspiration and new clothes to liven up my winter wardrobe. It was cloudy and cold but their flower walls were a nice reminder of things to come.











On the shopping front,  I only ended up buying a Michael Kors watch. It was quite a disappointing trip really, The Cosmetics Company had sold out of everything I had wanted and I couldn't see much that I liked, even with the bargain prices. I think I'm just bored of wearing my winter clothes now and I don't feel like I should buy anything new for this weather because spring and summer are hopefully just around the corner. 

How are you finding the seasonal transitions? Let me know in the comments below!

List of Christmas Sales 2013

If, like me, you have been saving your hard earned money for some bargains in the sales you'll probably be wondering when all of the sales start.  So to help here is a mini sales directory of some high street and designer store sales I've heard about so far.For my top tips on how to shop the sales check out my list of things to remember when sale shopping.

Asos    -    Now on

BHS    -    Now on. Up to 50% off selected items.

Debenhams    -    Dec 26. Preview now on!!

Dune    -    Now on

Forever 21    -    Now on

French Connection     -    Now on

Top Tips - Shopping the Sales

It's so easy to get carried away with sale shopping. So many times I'll buy something just because it's less than half price and later on when I'm either looking through my day's purchase or clearing out my wardrobe a few months down the line I wonder why I bothered spending my money on something. Here are my top tips for smart sale shopping:

1. Ask yourself - 'Will I wear this?'

Seems an obvious one but think, do you have an outfit to go with your new dress/top/shoes/bag? Or will it stay in your wardrobe unloved? Or is it really your style or is the price just too tempting? No matter how much you'd love to wear sky-high heels or brightly coloured skinny jeans think about whether you'd actually wear them. Be honest and it'll save any regret.

2. Ask yourself - 'Do I need this?'

If, like me, you find yourself drawn to certain colours, shapes or styles make sure to think about whether you have something similar at home and whether you could better spend your money.

Sainsbury's Raspberry Macaroons

Macaroons are everywhere at the moment and Sainsbury's have cleverly cottoned onto this and produced an easy do-it-yourself kit to make them at home. I tried the raspberry flavoured kit but there is also a chocolate macaroon kit available.

I love macaroons. I've tried to make them and whilst my own efforts have tasted great they've never looked like the perfect macaroons. In the past I have religiously followed recipes [see Stella's Macaroon recipe] but they take a lot of time and effort and for someone like me who likes quick results, not always practical.

So, enter the Sainsbury's Raspberry Macaroon kit. It comes with two sachets, one with the macaroon ingredients and one for the icing and a ready made piping bag. All I needed to add was two egg whites, 50g of butter and 1 tbsp of milk.

The kit was really easy to follow, for the macaroons:

Review: Kiko White French Manicure Pen

With all the bright nail varnishes around lately I've forgotten about the humble (and classic) French manicure. I was reminded when I walked into Kiko and looking at their nail varnishes I found their White French Manicure Pen. I bought one a few years ago when I was in Paris and thought it was great then but sadly lost it. So, picking one up I remembered how good it was and thought I'd do a review on it. 

I love a French manicure it just makes my nails look so fresh and I'll definitely be carrying on throughout the winter to go with the ladylike trend for A/W13. Whilst you can go to a salon to get it done properly it's easier than you think (and a lot cheaper!) to do it yourself.

So to create my manicure I did two base layers of O.P.I Nail Envy, a single layer of Nails Inc. Soho Silk, used the Kiko pen for the tips and a top coat of Nail Envy
.

Soho Silk is actually supposed to be a base coat but it has a nice creamy colour, not too pinky or peachy which makes it look really natural (I don't like to see ridiculously fake looking French manicured nails). 

The Kiko pen makes it so easy and quick to do the tips of your nails. I used to use the Bourjois French manicure white tip polish which was good but required a very steady hand and seemed to dry out quickly, going gooey and thick, and hard to apply. With the Kiko pen you simply click the top of the pen a couple of times and then draw onto your tips. My hands aren't that steady so I went kind of slow but being able to see exactly where I was drawing helped me to be neat with my nails.

I've found that without a top coat the pen can last around 3 days and with a (good) top coat up to 5 days, very respectable! 


The pen is £8.90 in store (in the UK only at Westfield Stratford and White City). Alternatively you can buy on the Kiko website for a discounted price of £6.70.

Ready For A Rainy Day

With the British Summer you can guarantee any good weather isn't going to last very long and sure enough looking ahead to this weekend's weather forecast, it's going to rain, a lot. So being prepared as always I'm already planning rainy day outfits.

In summer when it rains I always go bare legged - skin dries quicker than material. Especially in the summer as it's still going to be warm when it's raining you need to keep cool. So I'm thinking a skater skirt and plain t shirt. Simple but you can still dress it up with accessories. This plain white tshirt from H&M is a steal at just £3.99 and this mint skater skirt from Topshop in mint will take you right into autumn (£34).

To Die For........Malteaser Cake

Oh. My. God. I'm in love with a cake. If that's possible. On the recommendation of a friend I had a go at making one today and would recommend you do the same! 

Its so simple and so delicious, read on for the easy 4-step recipe!