DAYS OUT | Spring Walks

The weather has been so lovely lately and all I want to do is go for walks and spend time outdoors. This time next week it'll likely be freezing and raining again, so I'm trying to enjoy it while it lasts. Luckily around where I live are a lot of nice fields and forests with pretty walks to go on. 

Last weekend my sister and I went out and I used my 50mm lensa bit to try and capture how pretty everything looks now Spring's here.

 

 

 

 

 

blouse: Topshop, cardigan: River Island 

 

Now that I have more free time, I've been reading a lot too. Last week, I finished 'A Room with a View' and now I'm speeding through 'Rebecca'. So far I really love it and at this rate, I'll finish it within the week, which bodes well since I'm trying to read 50 books this year.

RECENT FAVOURITES | March 2011

Every now and then I go through phases where I am just in love with certain things. Be it a new product or even something older I'm just using more often of late. I figured I'd share a few of the things I've been all about for the past few weeks, although I'm sure to be into something else before I know it. Fickle is as fickle does..

satchel: White Stuff

1. The New Bag

After wanting a good satchel type bag for a while, I finally got the push I needed last week when one of my favourite handbags started to fall to bits. I don't know whether I'm tough on bags or if it's just bad luck, but they never seem to last very well with me. So I popped into town and snapped up this one that I'd had my eye on for a while now. It has the prettiest green lining too that I didn't take a picture of so you'll just have to trust me on that one.

2. My Hair

Ever since I started growing my hair out from a very short cropped style (I'd been going for Mia Farrow in Rosemary's Baby and just ended up with an unruly mess) in early 2009, I've been obsessed with watching it grow out. More recently, I've ditched the regular haircuts I used to get and just let it do its thing and the difference has been rather remarkable. Although I'm still not 100% sure what I will do with it when it reaches the length I want, I love taking pictures of it so I can document has fast it's growing.

lipstick: Rimmel Colour Renew - #180 Vintage Pink

3. Versatile Lipstick

I've had this lipstick for a while; I think I asked for it as a birthday present after seeing Kate Moss wearing it in the promo pictures. It doesn't look quite the same on me, but it's still a firm favourite. Fantastic packaging aside, the colour is gorgeous and totally unlike any other lipstick I own. If you fancy it, you can sweep it on straight from the tube and wear it as a lovely dark mauve-purple. A fan of the bold lip myself, I think it looks great. But on a more day-to-day basis, when I feel like toning it down a bit, I'll blot a bit on and smudge it all over the lip with my pointer finger. It's much more subdued but still as effective. Definitely one I'd recommend.

TRAVEL | Stratford-upon-Avon

This past week I was in Stratford-upon-Avon for a few days. As a bit of a history nut and a lover of Shakespeare, I thought it was a really fantastic, beautiful place. I dragged my family round all the Shakespearean exhibits and houses in town and was even lucky enough to see a performance of King Lear (one of my personal favourites) at the new Royal Shakespeare Theatre, which I would highly recommend.

Sadly I don't have as many pictures of my trip as I would like; I entrusted my camera with my family which resulted in a lot of blurry, out of focus pictures. The moral of which is:If you want something done well people, do it yourself!

coat, blouse, bag, boots: Topshop, skirt, scarf: H&M, tights: White Stuff

I dressed rather simply while I was away, basically repeatedly wearing the same skirt with different shirts and my comfiest boots. I like to pack as light as possible - an effort that by now I have down pretty much to an art. Perhaps I'll share a few of the tips I've accumulated in a future blog post.

RECENT PURCHASE | 50mm Lens

Sometimes good things come to those who wait, or rather those who limit themselves from impulse purchases. My self-imposed spending ban at the beginning of this year meant I could finally buy myself a new lens for my camera, something I've been wanting for about a year. I've been playing around with it for a weeks now and thought I'd share a few pictures I've taken. (This is not to say that I think I'm any kind of camera whizz. I certainly do not/am not. I just learn by trial and error and mess around with it when I feel inclined.)

Recently I've been trying my hand at cooking. Sometimes what I make is even edible, which is a plus.

Sometimes I wake up early enough to wear make up, something else I'm not the best at doing despite the ridiculous amount of it I own.

Also I've started using Bloglovin' a little bit. I'm still not sure if I prefer it over Google Reader but it seems pretty popular. Follow my blog with bloglovin'!

OUTFIT | #18

The past few weeks have been very hectic. On top of coursework, trying to figure out what I'm doing with my life, relatives I haven't seen in years visiting and getting a stinking cold, posting once a week kind of went out the window. I won't bore you by blathering on about it though.

cardigan, belt: Topshop, tunic: H&M

Here's a quick outfit shot from just before I got super busy and had no time to think. No, it's not very exciting, but I do have several ideas for more interesting future posts that I should be getting around to shortly.

nails: No7 'Totally Teal'

In case you weren't convinced about just how busy I've been, here's a picture of me looking pensive and thoughtful. Hopefully that helps. In the mean time, I'm off to tackle my Chinese History coursework. See you in a week.