Month: August 2015

Wrap up Warm.

The weather has taken a turn for the worst and I feel this wet and windiness might be here for a little while.The good thing to remember about this change in the weather is it gives you a chance to change your wardrobe. You can bring out the coats and knits from last year and start considering some new pieces.

Here is my low down on the best coats this season.

For me it has to be Khaki or Camel. These two colours are so on trend this season, very autumnal and both go so well with any outfit. There are four main styles to look out for; the waterfall coat, the trench coat, the duster and the boyfriend jacket.

Here are my affordable favouites.

The khaki trench coat £39.99 Newlook

Newlook trent

This coat is so gorgeous, its a midium to light weight coat perfect to dress up or down.

Waterfall Camel Coat Missguided £30missguided waterful coat

This shape is very flattering and feminine and looks so nice undone and relaxed.

Suede Duster £50 in Chestnut Boohoo.com

boohoo suede duster

Suede is a key fabric for this autumn so why not really get your 70’s on with this maxi duster.

Khaki Boufriend Jacket Newlook £29

newlook boyfriend jacket

This coat is perfect for adding a more formal feel to you look day or night. It looks so good here over a leather skirt a ribbed high neck knit.

This season is all about textures; suedes, ribbed knits, cords, leather. pair a leather A line skirt with a ribbed sweater under a suede jacket and you are away.

All the links are below. Let me know what you think in the comments section.

http://www.newlook.com/shop/womens/jackets-and-coats/khaki-drape-belted-trench-coat-_333499434

http://www.boohoo.com/restofworld/new-in/boutique-bonded-suedette-duster/invt/azz01713

https://www.missguided.co.uk/clothing/category/coats-jackets/belted-waterfall-coat-camel-camel

http://www.newlook.com/shop/womens/jackets-and-coats/khaki-textured-boyfriend-coat-_347282034

Doggy Date.

So, as some of you may know from my pervious posts. I signed up for borrowmydoggy.com -a networking site that connects dog owners with people who are interested in doggy sitting or dog walking. I’m here to sing its praises. I have met Charlotte through BorrowMyDogg, a lovely lady who lives only 5 mins away who is a dog owner of 5 beautiful dogs of which one is a french bulldog called Billie. We got in touch last week and met up for a dog walk on Saturday in the park. 

Billie is a gorgeous little fawn french bulldog who is such an angel. She came for a doggy sleepover on Saturday afternoon and we looked after her through till Sunday night. She was as good as gold, snuggled up with us on the sofa; so well behaved and just a great doggy companion.

I was a little sceptical about BorrowMyDog, I didn’t know if anyone would get in touch but I am so glad I have met Charlotte, I can give Billie some individual love and attention away from the 4 other dogs which is good for her and just as good for me too. 

We are now the proud weekend owners of Billie the french bulldog. 

Honestly if anyone is looking for a part time doggy, maybe you don’t have the time to commit to a dog of your own or you simply want a doggy companion I would highly recommend BorrowMyDoggy.com.

https://www.borrowmydoggy.com

Marble details.

Take a look at my gorgeous new marble phone case. It’s so simple and minimal it works so well. I love marble accents -they work so well to break up a natural decor in the house and now my phone adds that perfect accent to my outfits too.

 It’s monochrome simplicity will go with anything so for me it makes the perfect case for my phone.

This case is by Gmyle and was a reasonable price at £5.99. I like how it looks against my iPhone 6 gold, it doesn’t cover the entire border of the phone so the gold shows through along the top, bottom and buttons on the sides. Really pretty and cute.  I love this so much I think I might need to add a few more marble pieces to my collection.

Outfit bargains.

I can always find a bargain in Outfit. Outfit is a department store that stocks Topshop, Miss Selfridges, Dorothy Perkins, Wallis, Topman and Burton and conveniently there is one just round the corner from me. I often find that the piece pieces that are often out of stock from the independent websites are still in stock in Outfit stores. Topshop in particular -I find dresses that are out of stock on their website but there in my size in Outfit. 

This makes sales even better, there are always loads of hidden gems that would be out of stock long before they make it to the sale. The other day I popped in for a browse and I came across this gorgeous ace bralet. it was the only one on the shelf in a mix match of random things -it was marked down to £10 from £20 and being the only one and in my size I thought it must have been fate and I couldn’t help but buy it. 

When it came to paying for it, it rang through the till at £3!! That’s £3 marked down from £20. It was my lucky day, I couldn’t believe it, a gorgeous Topshop black eyelash lace, soft, underwire bra just £3. I felt so pleased with myself. 

Outfit is the best store for the most amazing sale stuff. And if a piece from Topshop, Miss Selfridges or Dorothy Perkins is out of stock on their websites, Outfit might just save your day and still have it in your size.

Unpadded bras might not be for everyone but they are so on trend right now, they work perfectly peering through a baggy tshirt or vest and are so cute and super feminine.

Check out my Pintrest board of my favourites.

Rimmel London Nudes.

I am a real fan of Kate Moss’s lip stick collection for Rimmel London. They come in such a great range of colours, they are really long lasting and costing only £4.99 from most dug stores -they are my go to lippy. Kate Moss recently brought out a new Nude Collection and again I was not disappointed.

This new collection features 5 gorgeous lipsticks in a range of beige shades, a clear lip conditioner and 5 nail polishes in an irresistible range of nudes. The collection is so on trend for this season and will see you through the summer and well into autumn/winter. For me it’s their lipsticks again that have caught my eye. I have purchased shades 43 and 48, 43 is a buttery caramel colour, it’s not far off my natural lip colour but just takes away the pink tone so it works really well against my olivey skin. 48 on the other hand is a rich dark beige almost chocolate, which would made a perfect nude against dark skin but for me it works as a chcocolately statement lipstick -I love it because it is still defiantly a beige shade and not a red or plum tone. There is a colour to compliment every skin tone and with its same long lasting finish as in Kate’s previous collections they will last. Perfect against your summery skin.

Brownies.

So Bake Off started again last week, god I love this show. Zac isn’t a cake kind of guy but he loves the show too, so we decided to do some baking of our own this weekend. We thought brownies would be the perfect solution to satisfy the baking bug. I found this brownie recipe on Pintrest, it is really simple and easy to make. Find the recipe bellow.

These brownies are quite rich so I thought a simple berry sauce would help cut through the chocolatiness -I think it works really well, maybe even a little Black Forest Gattoesque 😛 Greek yogurt or cream also goes extremely well with these brownies if you want to enjoy them more as a dessert.

brerry brownie brownie pieces

Ingredients

155g unsalted butter

150g sugar

2 eggs

15g cocoa powder

1 tblsp corn flower

3 tblsp pain flower

1/4 bar chopped dark chocolate

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

Method

Preheat the oven to 160 degrees C and line a deep baking tin with paper.

Combine the sugar and butter in a microwave proof bowl and melt in the microwave for 1 minute on a high heat, stir well and leave to cool for 5 minutes.

Add the cocoa powder and vanilla to the butter mix.

Add one egg at a time to the batter and stir with a whisk.

Next combine the plain and corn flour, and baking powder to the batter, to create a thick rich mix.

Carefully fold in the chocolate chunks.

Spread the mixture into the lined baking tin and put in the oven for 20-25 minutes.

;eave to cool for 30 minutes and then cut into 12 pieces.

While the brownies cool make the berry sauce

Ingredients 

100g of frozen/fresh berries

20g sugar

20ml water

Method

Combine all the ingredients in a microwave bowl and cook in the microwave for 2 minutes.

Ta- dah! these are so easy to make.

Borrow My Doggy.

For those of you who know me or have seen my past posts, I absolutely and completely love and adore french bulldogs. I can’t describe to you my complete and utter excitement towards them. I go all goo goo when I see one and hysterical when I cuddle them. I think I have now convinced Zac that he loves them too. Anyway we live in a house share in Greenwich with our amazing friends but its just not practical for us to have a dog at the moment so I continue to look longingly at all the frenchies in the park but then last week I was scrolling through Facebook and came across an Ad for a discount for Borrowmydoggy.com. I had some time to kill so I looked into. It’s a networking site for dog owners looking for people who could look after their dog for an afternoon,  a day or a weekend. Maybe the owner is away or perhaps they feel their dog isn’t getting as much attention as they need. Whatever the circumstance, dog owners can create a doggie profile and borrowers (such as myself) can get in touch and make a furry new friend.

This site it perfect for people such as ourselves who can’t own a dog of our own just yet but would love some cuddle time with someone else’s. The site is fully verified and secure, each profile is checked and legitimate so I just couldn’t wait to sign up. There is a small subscription fee which gives you third party insurance as well as 24 hour Vet line which gives me piece of mind not that anything would ever happen.

I have created a little profile about myself including why I have signed up, a bit about myself and my availability. After this you get to find a doggy. You can scroll through doggy’s profiles that are closest to you, then contact the own to arrange a time to meet. 

Batpig & Me Tumble It

Me being me messaged every french bulldog and pug (because they are also almost as cute) in my local area and sat back and tried to contain my excitement. I received replies from 2 doggies already!! Im going to arrange a meet up with Billie the frenchie this evening. I think it is a really good scheme, it’s safe and secure helping owners who feel their dogs need a little extra TLC and perfect for borrowers who get to give it. Maybe this weekend we’l have a super cute french bulldog to snuggle up with on the sofa. eeeekkk! 🙂 

French bulldog

If you are interest in a part-time furry friend then go check them out https://www.borrowmydoggy.com/

Please leave a comment if you have found a doggy friend on Borrow my Doggy

Intimates.

Lingerie is integral for every women. It’s the first secret to feeling confident and sexy. Lingerie is so intimate and therefore needs to be right for you. There are so many different styles for every occasion and body shape and it can take a life time before you find the perfect piece for you. I don’t have the largest bust at 34b and for me I am loving these soft triangle bras, I find them so comfortable and easy to wear.

IMG_1664

IMG_1651

This bra is now a couple of years old but is still one of my absolute favourites, I wear it all the time and am looking for a new piece. This one was from Topshop, unfortunately its no longer available but I have just discovered this absolutely gorgeous little company that sell stunning lace bralettes and intimates, all handmade in England.

http://ohsolovelyhandmade.bigcartel.com/category/main-collection

I really like this company their pieces are so sophisticated and elegant I particularly like this delicate black lace piece, it is defiantly on my wish list for the near future. Oh So Lovely Intimates are such a great brand go check it out 🙂

If you want some inspiration go check out my Pinterest board of my favourites

What’s in my makeup bag.

I recently had a sort out of all my makeup. It was such a mess -eye shadow dust and black liner splodges everywhere. The other morning I had a rummage for my tweezers my hands got so covered in makeup, I’d had enough. From that point I knew I needed to have a sort out. I had all sorts in my makeup bag, things I hadn’t used in ages and all just taking up space and making it even harder to find what I am looking for.

It is always good to have a sort out, make up is expensive and you don’t want to be chucking everything away but most makeup products have a 12 month use by date on them so it is important for hygiene to throw away old products. It is best to invest in products you know you are going to use everyday to make your money go further. I cleaned up all my makeup and washed my brushes and then sorted them in to the products I use most often and ones that I might use again in the future.

This little beige makeup bag was an absolute bargain from Newlook it was £3 in the sale. It’s a nice size as it fits all of my essentials with out take up too much room in my hand bag if I need to do my makeup on the go.

I would probably say I buy most of my makeup from Boots as your points add up quickly on my Boots card and their products are often on 3 for 2. Here is a list of my must haves right now.

Maybelline Lash Sensational Lah Multiplying Mascara £7.99

Maybelline Fit Me! concealer £5.99

Boujour Smokey Eye Trio £7.99

Boujour Healthy Mix Foundation £9.99

Maybelline Eye Studio Lasting Drama Gel Liner £7.99

Rimmel Professional Eye Brow Pencil £2.99

Rimmel London Good to Glow Highlighter £4.99

Rimmel London Lasting Finish Lipstick by Kate Moss £5.45

Makeup bag -Newlook £3

Brush set -Amazon £6

Maybelline Fit Me Concealer Sand 20. Maybelline Lash Sensational Mascara Very Black 1Rimmel Professional Eyebrow Pencil Black/BrownBourjois Healthy Mix Foundation Beige 54

Bourjois Smoky Eyes Trio Eyeshadow Nude Ingenu 4Rimmel London Good To Glow Highlighter Notting Hill Glow 1Makeup Revolution Matte Concealer Stick 01 FairestMaybelline Eye Studio Gel Liner Black

Rimmel Lasting Finish Lipstick By Kate Moss 38Body Collection Eyelash Curlers

If you are interested in how I contour my face. I have the quickest and simplest steps for everyday contouring, link bellow -Complexion Perfection.

https://katielouisaclarke.wordpress.com/2015/07/28/complexion-perfection/

Tube Strike.

Good morning everyone. If you are in London I hope your commute hasn’t been too disrupted due to the tube strike. This is the second time the union has walked out due to dissatisfaction over the night tube scheme due to commence next month. Drivers are not happy with the working standings of the new service. The chief operating officer Steve Griffiths explains the latest offer is a 2% salary increase to night shift workers, an introductory additional £200 per night and a £500 bonus. But this was rejected. “We are recruiting 500 new members of staff specifically to run the night service… No was is being asked to work extra hours”. So what is the problem?!

Tube drivers require a higher skill level than some other transport services, the working conditions are not ideal and the new night hours should require compensation, according to employees.

Is striking the right thing to do? It’s all well and good suspending the tubes to make a point. It defiantly gets everyone’s attention but with no tubes commutators are forced to find other ways of getting around which puts strain on all the other transport services. Extra buses have been put in place making the roads even more congested while over ground train services struggle with over crowding and engineering problems causing delays and some services to be cancelled.

Myself and I am sure many others have had to set off even earlier than usual and fight over crowded trains. My advice is walk where ever possible today and avoid central stations were possible.

Have a good day everyone.