OUTFIT | #143

top: Zara; skirt: H&M; shoes: Converse; lipstick: Revlon 'Really Red'; nail polish: Barry M Gelly 'Blue Grape'

I'd wanted to take outfit pictures outdoors, in some fields near my mum's house, but the weather hasn't been on my side since I've been home. I got about 10 minutes down the road before it started raining so I decided to come home and eat lollies and watch The Walking Dead instead. I've just started watching it after hearing everyone rave about it for years and I like it a lot. My TV viewing has definitely increased since I've been home and the rain keeps ruining my fun. 

I shouldn't complain about being bored, really. July's going to be a ridiculously busy month for me. I think I worked out that I'll be home for a grand total of 9 days for the whole month. I'm going on holiday to Majorca with my mum, then I'm at Latitude Festival again. I went last year but the line up's even better this year so I can't wait. I even bought a tent this week especially. After that, I'm visiting family in the US so next month will definitely make up for being stranded indoors for days on end this month.

OUTFIT | #142

blazer: H&M; t-shirt: Primark; jeans, boots: Topshop; belt: Zara

Taking pictures back in my old bedroom is going to take some getting used to. This room's a lot smaller  than the one I had at uni this year so trying to set up my tripod and frame everything requires some interesting manoeuvring. Just another of those fun moving-home-for-the-summer things, I guess. Like your family waking you up at 10am because 'you've slept long enough' or seeing everyone you went to high school with anytime you leave the house. It's going to be an interesting few weeks. Luckily I'm travelling or going to music festivals a lot this summer, so I won't spend too long stuck in suburbia.

Dressing at home is also something that requires a bit of adjusting to. Mostly because I don't go anywhere. It's easy to just sit in my pajamas all day since only my family will see me and they don't care what I look like . I'm trying to keep myself busy with little projects though so I don't just sleep all the time. I figure dressing normally will help with the whole keeping busy thing. This is a pretty bog standard outfit that I pull out when lack of inspiration strikes, but it's a start.

OUTFIT | #141

t-shirt: Zara; skirt: American Apparel; shoes: Converse; watch: Casio; nail polish: Barry M Gelly 'Blue Grape'

I moved home for the summer on Sunday. It's kind of weird to be back and I've been unpacking all day, every day since. Who knew I owned so much crap? New summer project: cull all the useless stuff I've accumulated in my lifetime. I threw out my stack of super old copies of Vogue and Elle the other day. I haven't read them since in years, yet I kept finding excuses to keep them. Apparently as a teenager I was kind of a hoarder.

Speaking of old shit I've kept, this t-shirt is probably one of the oldest items of clothing I own. I bought it when I was 15, actually. It was the first purchase I ever made in Zara. You can't see, since I tucked it in, but it also says 'Are You Hungry?' across the front. The back reads 'A family united at breakfast is a family united'. Don't ask me what all that's about but I still like the t-shirt, even though I rarely wear it anymore. It suited my purpose of 'comfy unpacking outfit' today though so I decided to put it to some use, lest it join the pile of clothes I've set out for donation. 

OUTFIT | 140

top: ASOS; shorts: Topshop; watch: Casio; shoes: Converse

When I got back from Ibiza, I was worried the weather in the UK would be typically crap and give me a case of the ol' post-holiday blues. Surprisingly, it's actually been alright. Fairly sunny, pretty warm, can't complain. I even whipped out my favourite summery shorts and crop top combination to celebrate. These shorts always get mixed reviews, having been described as akin to an adult nappy previously. But fuck flattering and all that. They make me feel like I'm the female protagonist of some mid-80s John Hughes film, a.k.a. my ultimate dream realised. 

My life goal of being Molly Ringwald in the Breakfast Club aside, these shorts are super comfy. As is the rest of this outfit so I'm a big fan. I've mostly just been hanging out reading or going on walks in the park by my house this past week, before I move back home and say goodbye to this place. I'm not as sad to be leaving this room as I thought I would be. It's less bittersweet than when I moved out of my room last year. Probably because second year was so busy, I was basically only ever home to eat or sleep. 

OUTFIT | #139

top: H&M; belt: Topshop; skirt: J. Crew; shoes: Converse

It's less than a week until I move out of this bedroom and move home for the summer. I've been moving out in stages and slowly sending various items home. The most recent loss was my full-length mirror. Why did no one tell me how hard it is to dress yourself without a good mirror? I woke up this morning and stood before my wardrobe, at a complete loss, for a good 5 minutes. How do I know what anything looks like on? I'm tempted to just give up and wear leggings and big jumpers until I finally move out. Trying to look at outfits in my tiny make-up mirror is a complete pain in the arse.

At the risk of looking like I got dressed in the dark, I attempted real clothes today. While I feel much less confident in my ability to dress myself sans full-length mirror, I guess this looks alright. The belt, I'm in two minds about however. I'm just never sure about belts at the waist. Usually I'm a strong advocate of saying no to waist belts. They remind me of cheesy makeover shows and being a teenager, stocking on cheap stretchy cinch belts in Primark. This skirt and top looked a little weird to me unbelted though. Or maybe that was just the tiny make-up mirror distorting my outfit perspective. Help. I don't know how to dress myself anymore.

TRAVEL | 5 Days in Ibiza

slush puppies by the pool are the one

chicken tacos at Café Mambo

a cloudy sunset at Café Mambo

keepin' it classy in San Antonio's west end

incredible bacon, avocado cheeseburger at Ibiza Rocks Bar

ribs at Ibiza Rocks Bar

Ibiza Town's old town

dinner in the old town

You've seen what I wore in Ibiza, now enjoy a few holiday snaps. It's mostly food, I won't lie. I went to San Antonio for 3 things: the nightlife, the sunshine, and to eat as much good food as I could afford. I think I succeeded. I would recommend, above all else, that if you're ever in San Antonio, you get a bacon, avocado cheeseburger at Ibiza Rocks Bar. It's the perfect burger combination. If humans were allowed to marry food, you bet I'd put a ring on it. Too good. Not included in the pictures: the gorgeous beach at Cala Bassa - only €8 to reach by boat, ordering patatas bravas and being presented with a plate of oven chips with ketchup and a meagre sprinkling of herbs, various hungover mornings by the pool hiding in the shade on sunloungers.

I won't miss constantly being hassled by ticket reps to buy 'exclusive packages' to their overpriced club nights, or the horrible heat rash I got. But the sunset by Café Mambo, the ready availability of Fanta Lemon at every restaurant, and the beautiful sunshine were pretty hard to beat.

On a side note, Google Reader will be no more in 2 weeks time so if you read my blog that way, I'd recommend switching to Bloglovin'! It's simple to use and a lot prettier too.

OUTFITS | #138

top: Forever 21; shorts, clutch: H&M; sandals: Topshop // dress: Forever 21; flats: Topshop

top, shorts: H&M; sandals: Topshop // top: Primark; skirt: H&M; sandals: Topshop; sunglasses: Ray-Ban

I got back from 5 days in Ibiza this weekend. It took 1 plane, 3 buses, and 5 trains to get me home from San Antonio but I made it. While there, in true irritating blogger style, I forced my friend to take pictures of my outfits whenever I remembered. Or whenever I was wearing something worth taking a picture of. The majority of the time, I was wearing a bikini since we were by the pool or the beach pretty much all day every day. Of course, all I had was my little point and shoot camera so the pictures aren't amazing quality but whatevs. 

Excuse how burnt I look in the last picture. I swear I was a good girl and wore SPF 30 every day. I just look especially lobster-y in that picture for some reason. After we'd finished reading on the beach or swimming in the hotel pool, we went for some amazing meals and then hit San Antonio's west end for some cheap drinks and general debauchery. I'll try and delve through the various pictures I took and make a post with pictures of places we went and, most importantly, what we ate. Ibiza may be the clubbing capital of the universe but I won't lie, when I go on holiday - all I care about is the grub.

OUTFIT | #137

dress, necklace: Topshop; jacket: H&M; shoes: Converse; watch: Casio

I've probably said this a thousand times (Sorry, I do tend to repeat myself. It's a bad habit.) but I find it really difficult to wear dresses in new, interesting ways. It's not like with separates where you can mix and match and layer, especially in the summer. If it's warm, I can't exactly stick a sweater over all my dresses but I get so bored of just wearing the same old dress, the same old way. It gets a bit dull and repetitive. I think it's why I prefer skirts these days.

That said, I really like this dress so I've been wearing it a lot lately. I've posted about how comfy it is before. Today I went for lunch with a friend and stuck a denim jacket over it, since it was warm but a little bit windy. (Side note: flowy skirt + windy day = many narrowly avoided Marilyn Monroe knicker-flashing moments.) Also, I sent most of my shoes home last week so I've been living in my Converse or ballerina flats, in lieu of the perfect summer sandals I can't afford this summer.

OUTFIT | #136

dress: c/o soinfashion.com; boots: Topshop

A little while ago, So In Fashion contacted me to ask if they could send me something to feature in an outfit post. After a quick look at their website, I happily obliged. They've got some really nice, affordable stuff but what caught my eye was this tye-dye midi-dress. Confession: I've never ventured into midi territory before. I've always been a bit wary of whether it would make me look really short and odd. You know me, I love my short skirts but after this, I'm definitely warming to the midi.

Tye-dye is another new addition to my wardrobe. Again, it wasn't something I was sure I could 'pull off' (although I hate that phrase - with enough confidence, I figure you can wear whatever the hell you like). But I figured black and white was a safe bet, stick to what you know and all that. It's pretty figure-hugging, in a good way too so I'm looking forward to wearing this dress on a night out sometime soon. Definitely longer than I'm used to but sometimes it's good to be forced out of my comfortable little uniform of safe black mini-skirts.

INSTAGRAM | #5

post-exam pitcher lovin'; obligatory 'I found my name' snap; a few feline friends took up residence in my garden

gratituous selfies when my make-up turns out great; Race For Life '13 was a great day; ugly jacket, won't you be mine?

tostatis for dinner; official mermaid hair status; summer finally appeared in Norwich

You can also follow me on Twitter or Instagram for more pictures of my life, or just general ramblings.

DAYS OUT | A Rare Sunny Day

I'm feeling pretty sad about leaving this city to move home for the summer but that's not what this blog post is about. The past 2 weeks of post-exam life have been pretty great and reminded me why I love living here all the more. Yesterday I had the nicest day. It was sunny. One of my best friends was visiting. We went to one of my favourite cafés. It was pretty great. (By the by, if you're ever in Norwich, I cannot recommend No 33 Café enough.)

jacket: H&M; t-shirt, skirt: Topshop; bag: Zara; shoes: Converse; watch: Casio

My outfit was pretty comfy and basic. Mostly because I've sent the majority of my clothes home already in preparation for when I move out of my current house in a couple of weeks. I threw in a candid mid-laugh photo because whenever I show people my blog, the first thing they say is how grumpy I look in my pictures. Look everyone, I do smile sometimes. I swear! Seriously though, do you know how weird it feels to be taking pictures of yourself alone in your room when you're fake-smiling like an idiot? The grumpy face at least makes me feel less like a creep so soz guys, it's here to stay.

WISHLIST | Sandals

l-r: Whistles Chi Chi sandal; Pied a Terre Jutte sandal; Aldo Kalika sandal; Topshop NANO sandal

If I wasn't really poor right now, I'd be looking into buying a good pair of sandals for the summer. I am too poor to even contemplate shoe shopping though, so I'm just going to window shop instead. When it comes to sandals, I'm ridiculously picky. I hate gladiators. Flip flops make me cringe. I hate the kind of sandal where there are posts in-between your toes - nothing belongs in between my toes. Also cringeworthy. Generally speaking, I loathe most sandals. Which is why I wear ballerina flats and Converse all summer.

If I had money, I'd probably buy a pair of those low block heel style sandals that are popping up everywhere. I've decided I'm a fan of that look. I wear heeled boots all autumn, winter, and spring long so ditching the heel for the summer months feels kind of weird. Plus I look a lot shorter. For this wishlist, I picked out a few pairs of sandals that exemplify what I would like in a sandal. (This is beginning to sound like some kind of sandal dating profile.) I'm particularly into the whole lucite heel thing that's happening at the moment. It has a wonderfully tasteless vibe that I am rather partial to.