Holiday Shoes Wishlist: Ipanema

Apparently it's nearly Summer, not that the British weather has accepted that at all! And so whilst I'm probably not going to be wearing summer shoes for a little while longer here, it's just over a month till I head off to Croatia for a week so I've been trying to get together some sandals and flip flops to wear over there. Ipanema flip flops are made in Brazil and 100% recyclable, and it's nice to see a company being ethically responsible.
The soles of all Ipanema's shoes have a really unique feature in that they are inspired by the pattern on the walkways by Ipanema beach in Rio de Janeiro which is a really lovely touch!

My absolute favourite has to be the Ipanema Festival sandal in this nude/gold colour. The feather like detail really does add that festival feel to them and they look like they'd be really comfy to walk in with the ankle strap support as well. I would wear these when we visit Venice for one of the days I'm on holiday as they would look great against a tan and with a floaty summer dress.

I also love the Ipanema Fit, which have an ombre design which makes it a bit different to what you normally see around in high street stores. The black and white pair would be lovely in the evenings as they would go with most outfits, whilst the pink and peach pair would make a great addition to your beach side wardrobe.

Let me know which are your favourites from the Ipanema website!

Xx

Fitness Faves.

Fitness is a massive love of mine. I've taken part in pretty much every sport you can think of and they are really are my version of relaxing! Since being at Uni I've become a keen bean gym-goer, and particularly since January I've really stepped up my game and started lifting weights more regularly as well as eating clean. So to help motivate me (and you) to get gym ready, here are some of my favourite work out clothes of the moment. 

Nike flash leggings £90, Nike Pro training shorts £23, Adidas 'Train the world' vest £17.99

Forever 21 caged sports bra £10, Forever slouchy orange vest £10, H&M neon sweatshirt £5.99

I always find that mixing up specific sports wear pieces and high street pieces gives the best gym look, but brand wise I am definitely a Nike girl at heart. The 'flash' leggings are pricey but if you work out outside or in the evenings they would really come in handy- practical+ultra cool= winner! The sports bra has such a pretty back, and paired with either of the vests you'd be able to show off those back gains like a pro.

Where's your fave place to shop for sports gear?

Xx

Take 5| Christmas Jumpers

Oh hello again Christmas, how have you come round so quickly again? More to the point how has this cold weather come around so quickly again, I need sunshine! Sadly I don't think we'll be getting too much of that for the next few months so here are some of my fave christmassy jumpers at the moment, and if you want to work the trend without the commitment of the full on jumper, these nails will be right up your street.

Piste Off
£21.99 - missguided.com

Candy Canes
£16.99 - missguided.com

Filthy Animal
£15 - boohoo.com

Naughty List
£21.99 - missguided.co.uk

River Island Nail Wraps
£8 - riverisland.com

Why can't girls have it all?

It always baffled me growing up that once someone knew I liked sports, I was immediately classed as a tomboy and obviously couldn't possibly like anything 'feminine'. But it can't be just me that loves playing sports and getting sweaty in the gym some days, and still enjoy having nice hair and make up and having a love of fashion. So why do we still class girls as girly girls or tomboys and nothing in between? It seems bizarre that there's still the stigma that sports are for boys and taking care of yourself is for girls and even more bizarre is that we as females are almost pushed into picking one or the other. I, like many others, have a range of interests which has helped me to become a more rounded and broad minded person as I've been exposed to so many different situations through my interests. And I can most certainly confirm that no amount of strange looks when I explain that I'm a girly girl who loves sports and getting messy, is going to stop me pursuing my interests.

I recently came across this video and cannot agree more with the message it gives.
Are you the same as me? 

Currently Craving #1

1) Topshop Skirt - Featured in Topshop's new campaign modeled by Cara Delevingne this skirt has already completely sold out once but keep your eyes peeled as it's set to return in the near future!
2) Vimto Bon Bons - Literally in love. There's something about these that are the perfect sharing sweet and for £1 a bag from retailers such as Iceland, Tesco and Poundland you'll easily be able to get your mitts on these
3) Newlook Red Trainers - Very Kanye West, I may have had to order these already. I can't wait to wear them with black jeans, a jumper and my Topshop teddy coat.
4) Asda Pastel Blue Roasting Dish - Can someone remind me I'm a student and not a housewife? Asda's cooking range is just adorable and I need it all please.
5) Topshop Lurex Crop Top - This rose gold beauty is only £22 and is going to be your party season essential. Throw it on with a skater skirt and some heels and you're good to go, or pair it with some high-waisted jeans and ankle boots for everyday
6) Newlook Stripe Box Clutch - For only £18 this little box clutch looks far more expensive than it is and even comes with shoulder strap.

University Socials

Every year around September/October time when new students are taking in their first experiences of uni life, there always seems to be wholly negative news coverage of sports and society initiations. For those of you unaccustomed to this, in simple terms, most sports teams and some other societies at University require freshers to take part in their initiations before they are viewed as fully fledged members of the group.

Doing a drinking boat race at my initiations last year

Onion munching

Out in our lovely granny pants after initations

Of course there are some that take these initiation processes to the extreme, however I believe they have been given a bad name and tarnished by those few who have taken their initiation 'games' too far.

From my experience as a fresher to the tennis team last year, I can honestly say it was of the most memorable evenings of that year, but for positive not negative reasons. A 4th year told us that the approach the team always took with initiations was that the night was for everyone to have a good time, to be a bit silly and whilst there would be things that I probably wouldn't choose to do on a regular basis, there was going to be nothing too extreme. By that I mean we would be asked to be involved with a game where all the freshers selected an egg from a box where all were hard boiled apart from two, and to find out whether you had a hard boiled one or not, you had to crack it on your head. Pretty amusing to say the least, and I even got the runny egg. There were drinking games galore and other things that went on during the night; eating an onion and all the freshers wearing very large granny pants over our clothes to name a few. But the games were designed to get to know us and lightly poke fun of us as we were the new ones, not to humiliate or force us into things we didn't want to do.

From what I heard of other teams at the University, everyone seemed to have a similar experience of having fairly embarrassing tasks to do but nothing over the top or unsafe. So I would be interested to know your opinion on initiations, are you looking forward to yours or do you know of any that have been far too extreme?

Georgie X

Am I an adult?

So I'm finally here, after all the stress all the panic all the exams and revision and packing.... yeah. U N I V E R S I T Y. I'm all unpacked, kitchen is done, photos up and now I've finally had a second to sit down and it's suddenly just hit me how strange all this is. After 18 years of living in one house in one small town I'm in a bigger town about 3 hours away living in student halls, strangely with 6 other girls when I think I would have preferred a mixed flat but on the plus side every seems lovely, tidy, and most importantly, not about to nick my food. I've had the tearful goodbye with mum, the texts and photos sent to my friends about what it all looks like and the 'hellos' and 'where and you froms' with everyone in the flat.
Freshers is supposed to be the best week, or two weeks in my case, of your life and I have everything crossed that it will live up to expectation, I cannot wait to get out there and take those first tottering steps away from a child into being an *ahem* responsible adult.

Topshop cami

American Apparel leggings

Michael Kors Rose Gold watch

Messy room courtesy of official student

DIY Christmas Crafty Presents Part 3

I mentioned www.tescophoto.com on my last post but now I want to tell you in a bit more depth about one of their items, the Tesco Photobook. Now when you think of a photo book, you probably think of personal, printed photo album. And while you can use the Photobook builder for that (which would also make a pretty nifty gift), I used it to create my own recipe book.

01. When you go onto the photo books tab you'll see three options of design; Easy Builder, Advanced Builder and Photobook Creator, of which I used the creator option.
02. You then download and install their free Photobook programme which opens to kind of resemble and work similarly to Microsoft Word- simple, easy and clear.
03. Then you can start to build your book. Think of a name and a theme, mine was cupcakes and desserts but you can do anything you want. All the photos used apart from on the front cover are my own cakes which I made, decorated and photographed for the book. If you haven't got enough time/patience to do that then just search for your favourite recipes online and use pictures from there.
04. The detail of the book takes a bit of time but not because it's difficult, just because there is so many options to choose from! There's a library of backgrounds and clipart pictures which are brilliant, a range of fonts, sizes, colours, anything you could want.
05. Once you're done you can have your book sent to a nearby Tesco store or to your house and are the perfect gift for any food lover or if you just want to keep all the recipes you cook with in a nice place. I don't think I can rave enough about this, I was a little unsure how the quality would come out with the pictures since I didn't use a a top of the range camera or anything but I was ridiculously pleased with how it turned out.

If you have any more questions about this or my own book then email/tweet/leave a comment and I'll get back to you! Also, until the 16th December with the code XMASBOOKS you can get a second one free= more money saving= more money left to spend after Christmas in the sales. If that isn't win win I don't know what is.
GeorgieXO

DIY Christmas Crafty Presents Part 2

A great site for unique and personal gifts is www.tescophoto.com where there is literally a plethora of different gifts you can make for people. Phone and laptop skins with your own photos on, canvas prints, notepads, diaries, clocks, calenders..... literally everything you can think of which can be personalised to however you want. I previously ordered a photo book from tesco photo (more on that next post!) and was honestly so pleased with the quality of it, so if that reflects the printing quality on their other items then you're definitely in safe hands. 

The instructions are really simple and easy to follow and you know with a company like Tesco you're getting good quality at a good price. The range of things you can print on is mad, there literally is something for everything and would make ideal gifts for those who have everything.

GeorgieXO

DIY Christmas Crafty Presents Part 1

It's so easy nowadays to run to the shops and fill your basket with Christmas presents for people, and to be honest I don't really like that. I really think a present should have thought put into it and worrying about spending too much money at Christmas can be completely avoided through lovely, personal gifts. So first up on my prezzie guide is a cookie mix that you give as a really versatile gift to friends or family. 

Cookie Jar 

*For note, this isn't my picture, just my inspiration*

01. Go to your nearest Wilkinsons and pick up one of their jars. Mine isn't the one in the finished picture but for £3 or less you can get really nice vintage feel clip top storage jars which are perfect for this 

02. Stop in at hobbycraft (literally my fave place in the world) or any crafy place and get two different pieces of nice card, perhaps textured, for your recipe to go on. You might want to get some ribbon to decorate it or a cookie cutter or two to attach to the jar

03. Last stop is any food shop. You can either buy a dried cookie mix like the Betty Crocker one or if you're feeling clever, the dried ingredients to a cookie recipe you may already have.

04. Now for the fun part. Whack the ingredients in the jar and add your ribbon or any decoration you may want. Cut your paper/card so that there is a smaller rectangle on a large rectangle. Write in your best handwriting what your gift recipient needs to do to make their cookies (either follow the directions from the packet mix or if your own recipe, all of the wet ingredient steps)

05. Hole punch one hole through the reciepe and tie some ribbon through it and round the jar.

06. And you're done! Personal and easy present for under a fiver. Why run around the shops fighting off others to get that pre-packaged biscuit box for your nan when you can set aside an hour or so to do this; much more fun, much less stressful.

I've got a few more of these type of posts planned so let me know if you like them!

GeorgieXO

We meet again

As per usual I've been a bit very MIA, I love reading blogs but getting round to writing stuff is such an effort when 6th form dump real exams, mock exams, ucas, coursework...... Yeah. Not so fun, soo I thought I'd do a quick fire update:

01. After much crying/frustration/anger my UCAS was finally sent off, and to my amazement I got all my replies within less than a week which was amazing! Finally feels like I'm getting somewhere. If anyone else is applying for Public Relations in Bournemouth, Leeds met or uclan let me know!
02. My room is slowly being re-done so I've been collecting loads of ideas and inspiration for when its done. I'm going for white walls as my room is pretty small so I wanted something fresh and bright, and then vintagey kind of accents, like bunting across the wall above my bed. Unfortunately I'm living in my brothers old room until it's all done...
03. Hattie the guinea pig has officially moved indoors and is a room pig, if you don't know about guinea pigs you need to educate yourself on their cuteness!

04. My driving test is in two weeks and I'm not ready.
05. Being a poor student means I can't really splash the cash at any time of year and so Christmas is always a tad difficult! I have the kind of family who have everything already so I love making things so that its a bit special. So I've been thinking of ideas and planning all that so hopefully soon I'll have up a few easy DIY present ideas!
06. And I have such a love/hate relationship with working in retail over Christmas, it's the best feeling when you help people and they're appreciative but it majorly sucks when people think they can be rude to you even when you've gone beyond everything you have to do to try and help them, and they still have the cheek to insult you. Not cool guys.

Room Inspo.

UCAS offer!

Heya Hattie

XO

Essential Christmas Outfits

I don't know about you but in between buying presents, working, cooking (then eating...) and decorating, I can hardly spare a minute to plan what I'm going to be wearing over Christmas. So when Barratts contacted me about their blogger comp to style up some shoes for the Christmas season I knew I had to do it! Each outfit is for a different occasion, when you're xmas shopping, the party, the winter walk and Christmas day itself.

Picking these wedge ankle boots was a no-brainer, I'm used to seeing this style in black but there's no better way to perk up an outfit than with a bit of colour and these are just to die for. The shape of the dress looks really flattering and I bet it will cover any food babys that appear from eating the whole tin of Roses (is that just me?). Annoyingly, I don't think I really suit these style of hats but I still love them, puts a nice laid back feel to an outfit but that horse belt from Matalan is for sure on my Christmas list, such a bargain for £1.50!

I'm one of those people that are always ridiculously cold so not wrapping up in winter is not even an option for me! Fallen in love with this Matalan coat which looks so much more expensive than it is with the cute fur collar. Hat and gloves are a necessity, as is the classic Christmas jumper with obligatory animal design. The wellies look so snug with the knitted detail at the top and could easily pass as designer, (*cough* hunters *cough*) but at a much more reasonable £20.

When Christmas shopping I want to be able to freely move, have a bag big enough for all my shopping and shoes that won't kill me so this outfit is definitely a winner on that. Topshop Leigh jeans are so stretchy and comfortable that they feel like leggings and are my go-to jeans at the moment. I like that these ankle boots have a slight heel as sometimes I find walking in completely flat shoes hurts my ankles and back and I love the stud detail at the back to match the bag.  

I absolutely love these JC style shoes and the sparkly finish is perfect for taking you from the Christmas party to the news years eve party, and for £35 I think they're amazing value! This Matalan clutch is a steal at £4 and is big enough to fit in a large style purse (think the standard River Island design) meaning you won't have to rummage for your pennies as you can just whack your purse in and go! And don't get me started on Jones & Jones dresses, I want every style in every colour; v. tempted to get this one now!

You can see the full details of where everything is from and its price by looking at my Polyvore account. What do you think of my picks, have you started to plan your outfits yet or are you more spontaneous? And if you fancy giving this a go and being in with a chance to win £70 to spend in Barratts then be sure to post a link from your blog with how you'd style a pair of Barrats shoes for Christmas, to Kel Love's blog.

XO

Christmas challenge

I've decided that for once I will be organised this Christmas, and what better way to start to organise ideas than to enter the www.giftvouchers.co.uk competition. These 5 presents are all under £35 and are all pretty adaptable which is helpful when you just know there's going to be someone you have to give a present to very last minute! 

1- Benefit 'How to look the best at everything box'- £24.50
Brill for mates, mums, aunts or just a treat for youself, this set comes with the hello flawless oxygen wow foundation, the POREfessional, two boi-ing concealers and the hello flawless concealer. 
2- Yankee candle in Christmas Cookie- £17.99 for large
Candles are a christmas essential and this one smells like a dream
3- Matalan knife and fork clock- £14.99
Perhaps not the classic christmas gift, but instead of giving the obvious gift of food to a foodie, how about this kitchen clock to take pride of place
4- BHS chilli vodka challenge- £16.00
Brothers are notoriously difficult to buy for, especially, if like mine, yours is a typical student. I can imagine this being a great way for him and his housemates to prepare for a night out
5- Accessorize furl stole- £22
Judging by the weather now, we're going to have a pretty cold winter but with this fur stole the harsh winds will be a little more bearable. 

What do you think of my picks, has it given you any inspiration?
XO

Summer bucket list

I'm really into making lists, I have no idea why but as someone who isn't very organised writing a list is as organised as I get. So I thought I'd make one so I could get down all the things I want to do over the summer and hopefully by September everything will be checked off.

Sort room out
Finish EPQ
Make holiday scrap book
Start/finish driving lessons
Research more unis
Book more uni open days
Save money
Read all thirty shades books
Do as much of advanced sales advisor book as possible
Get a level results and cry/party
Go to London shopping
Give lotte her camera back
Maintain my tan/sunbed/spray tan etc
Get lots of clothes
Get organised
Meet someone
Party
Spend lots of time with the pigs
Take lots of pictures of the pigs
Work out more
Go swimming every week
Find out about gosling tennis
Get everything in shopping list
Get top of ear pierced

What's your summer agenda?

Outfit

Got this black skater style skirt and floral blouse from Topshop with my uniform allowance and I'm in loooove with both. Since the weather is so up and down I wanted something that could be summery or would be fine in the autumn and I think these fit the bill.

Topshop Jersey Skirt

Festival

Work

Casual