Latest purchases / bidding

Here's what I'm buying / bidding for today.
I saw a girl wearing what I think was this dress in London on Saturday and it looked really nice on. I don't have anything green in my collection of dresses to wear with leggings so this will do nicely.

Today I wore a cream short sleeved topd from next with a black ruffle embelishment on the front. It was from Next and I tried to get a picture on their site but it doesn't seem to be for sale anymore. I've spotted the purple version in my search for a picture (it would have been quicker for me to take a snap I'm sure) and I think I may need to make it mine.

I also spotted this one when looking for the other one (iyswim) but I'm not sure if it's got enough of a sleeve for me. To be honest the ruffley one is a bit short on sleeve coverage too. This is about the smallest sleeve I would wear. I wouldn't go out in a strap top unless I was on holiday. Even then I'd think twice!

And finally these earrings. I've wanted something like this for a while and saw these when I was at the airport a couple of weeks ago. There's a matching necklace, but it's on a cord / string as opposed to a chain, so not really me.

Actually, I've said 'and finally' but I just remembered something else I'm in the process of getting... Juicy flip flops. Here are the little beauties.

The ones with the bow are just so cute. The come in baby pink and lime green too which looks cool but what would they go with?! I really like the starfish ones. They come in white, pink and orange too. Iwas originally going to get them in white, but I've got quite a lot of pale flip flops and realised I needed some blacks ones. The ones with the bow are navy blue - not sure if they might look black in the picture.

xoxo g

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I'm not alone!

Just a quick note before bedtime to say hello to my very first followers! I have really been enjoying starting up my blog but it did feel a bit sad to be talking to myself! I really appreciate you taking an interest and if you have you're own blog I'll follow you back! Thanks and I hope you like.

xoxo g Pin It Now!

Summer summer summer time!

Damn it's been hot today. It was a gorgeous weekend and it's set to be scorching hot all week, but what's the point in that when I have to be inside a stuffy and sticky office? Dressing for the heat isn't easy - I got told my Bikinstocks were illegal last week. Crazy health and safety rules.

So today I wore a tunic dress with leggings and gold gladiators. It felt a bit too casual, but was about right for the heat. This is the tunic dress, it's from a previous Next collection but you can easily pick it up on eBay.

It was so hot my feet felt slippery in my glads. Eeeeurgh. Maybe that was too much information. It's also just too hot to have my fringe down otherwise it just sticks to my head and looks thoroughly unattractive. I've never been able to perfect the side fringe look, so I've been opting for clipping it to the side instead. I'm going to have a new attempt at getting a side fringe when my new slim GHDs arrive. V excited for these, they have glittery plates!

These type of short sleeved dresses with leggings are my absolute favourite look right now, and are perfect for this hot weather. They're not too clingy or revealling and the leggings mean I don't have to get too much of the legs out whilst being much more summery and comfortable than trousers. I have this one in purple and I think I'm going to order this pink colour too and bling it up with the gold glads and a long gold necklace. It's £23 from Per Una @ M&S.

xoxo g

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Shoe lust - Kurt Geiger bow sandals

I actually stopped a girl in the street to tell her how beautiful I thought her shoes were when I saw these. She was very pleased by the compliment, my purse was not so pleased to hear they were from Kurt Geiger.

I looked them up and they're £55. They're gorgeous and I want them, but I'll have to hold out for a sale.

(I also spotted them this morning when I was reading Look Magazine on the feet of Pixie Lott)




Prior to spotting these I had my eye on these simple but pretty bow sandals from french connection but they're also £55. There's more to the KG shoe for £55, I think the FC one is quite over-priced.


I've noticed ASOS are doing they're own version of the above, but the bows and straps look too shiny and it gives a cheap feel. Maybe they're nicer in real life. The KGs are my fave.




xoxo g Pin It Now!

And the not so flattering...

I like to think of it as a public service, that I make these mistakes so you don't have to, and this one is a doozy. I had seen this dress everywhere in varying colourways and decided I needed one for myself. It's a vest dress and generally I don't where anything sleeveless, opting to keep the bingo wings disguised, but I planned to wear a short sleeved top in the same colour underneath.

So I ordered the dress and was pleased to see the navy of the vest part of the dress and that of my planned short-sleeved top were a good match. I really liked the colours of the skirt and planned to wear the dress with leggings and some tan platforms.

The skirt is what I think is called a circle skirt which means it puffs out and has volume. It didn't feel right on - I wanted to keep patting the skirt down the reduce the volume and felt I could have done with making some alterations to reduce to amount of material poofing out. I felt really self-concious in it and ended up getting changed into something safer before going out. I'm glad I didn't go out in it, I thought about it, as I'd bought and planned the outfit, but as I didn't feel that I looked good I would have been paranoid and couldn't have enjoyed the evening.

So I'm either going to attempt to reduce the poofiness of the skirt or put the dress on ebay. If you are interested in the dress you can get it from Topshop but other stores are making copies. I've seen one in New Look and Peacocks and also shops which sell the cheaper brand copy items. It may be worth shopping around and comparing as the skirt style may be fuller on some brands than others.

If I make some successful alterations I'll update you with the results.

xoxo g

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Pretty and flattering dresses

These dresses arrived this week and after being a little unsure of how they would turn out from looking at the picture I have to say I'm delighted (the picture doesn't do them justice). They are the type of dress which creases very easily, so need a damn good iron as soon as they arrive but they look amazing on. Definately made for complimenting curves, this is one of the most flattering styles I've found in a long time. I got the red and the yellow because I'm greedy =) and thoroughly recommend you get your iron out and buy them! (The bows on the sides can also be tied much neater and prettier than in the pictures.)

ASOS £22 (red) and £18 (yellow)

I also got another dress which I thought I could never wear... it has a gathered waist! Now I am not advocating gathered waists for curvy ladies, I don't think they do us any favours. I bought a gathered waist dress just before Christmas which looked very cool in the picture, but on me I felt like a sugarplum fairy. So, having learned a lesson from this unfortunate experience, when I saw a cute bow dress on ASOS (I'm a real sucker for bows) I knew I needed to steer well clear.

Having recently started this blog, I've been checking out lots of other people's blogs too and happened across one where the bow dress was being modelled. It looked lovely on the girl and not so much like a gathered waist at all - it turns out it's actually a faux gathered waist if there is such a thing. So immediately I ordered the dress, it arrived and I fell in love. The top is a jersey t-shirt type material with a flattering scoop and the faux gathered part begins just below the bust. The skirt part is that lovely hip skimming jersey material in a beautifully flattering cut. I got it in beige and black; it also comes in another colour and I'm currently sitting on my hands to prevent the placing of another order...

ASOS £29.50

The jeggings have also arrived and are eagerly awaiting a trying on session with the rest of the planned outfit. News on this coming soon!

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A random round-up of what I'm loving this week

Derren Brown
I went to see the new Derren Brown stage show - Enigma - last night at the Adelphi in London. It was amazing, he is so clever and really funny too. I'd watched his channel four shows and also a dvd of the live show he did last summer and it was even better live. I have no idea how it does it all, but it was just surprise after surprise! Each time you were impressed with what he'd just done, he'd reveal something more impressive about how well he can manipulate us. Mind boggling stuff. I'm planning to read his book next. Also he has some new shows filiming / coming out in September on channel 4 called The Events. Can't wait!

My new laptop
It's pretty and pink and I love it. I'm still getting used to it and getting all set up the way I like it but I'm so pleased I got it. I'm planning to take it for a little spin in the garden this afternoon as it looks like it's going to be a great day for sunbathing.

Miso noodle bar
I've eaten here too much lately but I'm just so addicted to the noodle dishes, especially the ones with pepper or black bean and chilli sauces. The starters are delish too - seaweed, deep fried prawns with salt and pepper and deep fried squid with chilli dip are my faves.

Strada
I ate out at Strada for the first time last night and it was really lovely. In some ways it's similar to Zizzi but much nicer food, more choice and a little posher. I went to the one at the Royal Festival Halls on the south bank and it was really nice place too be, busy but lots of interesting things going on and great people watching!

Slimming World
I wouldn't say it's something I'm 'loving' but I've decided to have another go at this. SW does work if you stick to it. I've lost weight on it twice before - the last time I lost 23lbs but I managed to gain 9 of them back over Christmas and then lost the motivation to get back on the diet. I'm utterly useless with diets and have been doing nothing at all for several months, but I'm going on holiday in September so I'm going to make an effort. I'll possibly do a seperate blog on this.

Michael Jackson

I'm not usually one for jumping on band-wagons, but I can' do this without mentioning MJ. I had tickets to see him on 18th July and am gutted that I never got to see this legend live. When I woke up on Friday morning it was to the usual sound of my radio alarm, and it just so happened that the news reader was confirming Michael Jackson's death - it was a very surreal moment where I wasn't sure if I was awake or asleep. I had to turn on the TV to find out if it was true and was shocked to see it was. He's the undisputed king of pop and his music will live on for generations.

RIP MJ

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Net-A-Porter Sale

Now, don't be put off - I can't afford to shop at net-a-porter.com and I don't think I know anyone who can, but it's a fascinating site. There's a sale on right now, but this makes me no more likely to part with £400 for a pair of shoes, even if they are Jimmy Choo. Maybe I'll aspire to owning a pair one day and some Louboutins too for good measure, but not right now.

Whilst browsing the wonderful, amazing, beautiful (and some just plain odd) shoes on offer I spotted one which looked a little familar. You can't imagine the size of the grin which spread across my face as the realisation dawned that the vary same pair were nestled comfortably upstairs, jostling for space amongst many friends. Okay, not the very same pair but a very similar looking pair which I had picked up at Primark two weeks ago. I had no idea the cute be-bowed shoes I snapped up for £15 were inspired by a Chloe pair costing £435!

Cat + creme = moi :)

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La Senza Sale

All realfourteens know that to really look and feel your best in an outfit you need the right underwear, so hoorah for the La Senza sale!

Here's what I'm picking up.

                

The red and black/pink are reduced from £22 to just £6.60 and the green (how cute is it with the pink straps?) is only £7. They still have a huge range of sizes available, but for some odd reason, hardly any of the matching pants! No worries for me, I've never been organized enough to worry about matching my underwear.

If your underwear drawer could do with a little lift, check out the sale - http://www.lasenza.co.uk/

xoxo g

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asos kate jeggings outfit

Okay so the jeggings have only just been ordered and won't arrive for a few days (get free delivery on orders over £75 with code junedelivery) but I'm already planning their first outfit combo. You like?

Grey longline loose fit cardigan - ebay
Rose and stripe long vest - ebay
Kate jeggings in indigo - asos
gold gladiator flats - ebay

Anyone sensing an ebay theme here? lol

xoxo g

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Nail varnish lustings - OPI paige denim collection

I like to watch the make-up / beauty related videos on youtube. The girls that post videos are sometimes referred to as gurus and they review products on provide demos on how to get a look. I love it.

One of the videos I watched recently was from juicystar07 and she was reviewing the new paige denim collection from OPI.

These are the colurs. The ones I really like are the orange and the blue. The coral colour is nice too and the pink but I have something similar. I was looking for a purple like this for ages and found one from GOSH.

Now what I find interesting is that looking at the colours in this picture, they're not super exciting and I passed them by, but when I watched juicystar07's video you get a true look at what the colours are like and they really pop! She's doing some great advertising for this product!

I am going to post a link to her video, I hope that's ok. I'm new to blogging so I'm not down with the ettiquette yet!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Dw6TARq7vU

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Recent purchases

I'll be having a regular 'what did I buy this week' section on the realfourteen blog, but for now I'll just do a recap of some recent buys.

One of my favourite places to shop is asos.com I really like their clothes and they always have new items in all the time. I like asos veen better when they is a sale or special offer or when I can get a discount or free delivery! Always check with a quick google before you place an order as

you could get free delivery or maybe even 10% or more off your order.

These codes were widely and regularly available when asos first started up, but became more of a rarity as it grew in popularity. I think the credit crunch is the reason that we're seeing more and more asos codes, or discounts which don't even require a code of late.

So, onto the haul! This dress is called 'retro print dress' and I think it's fab. I love the colours and the unusual and kooky pattern. It also came in a drak blue with the pattern in coral which was gorgeous, but it sold out really quickly.

This is on sale at asos now for £27.50. If you usually wear petite like me (I'm 5"2) you're in luck as the dress is also available in that range and it's on sale at £18!

I wore the dress with black mid-calf leggings and some great tan and wedges from Matalan. I'll show you those another time when I can take a picture.

ETA: I just found a picture of the blue version on this dress, so I'll show it to you so you can see how lovely it is, but be warned it is sold out! I'd love to get the blue too so I will keep checking back on the site or one day I might be able to pick it up on ebay!

Here are another couple of dresses I picked up from asos recently too.

The ditsy floral was £22 and the striped one was £18. I really like the print and patchwork look to the ditsy dress. I wore it out with black tights and raspberry pink shoes. It doesn't sound too good put like that, but it seemed nice at the time. The black and grey striped dress is brilliant and I think it will become a real staple in my wardrobe as it's just so easy to throw on and wear. The top mart is a nice jersey stretch material and the skirt is a heavier knitted type affair. It hangs really nicely and I think you can dress it up or down. Definately a keeper.

xoxo g

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Leggings

Leggings are just my complete saviour right now. I always find it had to make that spring transition from black tights to skin colour / bare legs. Or if you've got chubby little legs like me, you may feel that bare legs just aren't an option with skirts and dresses. This is where leggings come in! I'm wearing them with everything and I think they give some girly dresses a bit of an edge too.

I am buying mine ankle length and mid calf length, mainly from Primark but I also have some from UniQlo which have lasted really well.


http://test.skimlinks.com

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Swarovski Erika and Elvis pendants

Well these just made me swoon this week! I was at the airport looking at some Swarovski pieces and when I got home I went onto the website to have a look. It was some earrings I had seen at the airport, but I found these Erika and Elvis pendants on the site.

Aren't they just too cute? They're a little pricey at £142 each so I won't be rushing out to buy any but I do love them! I'm hoping to see something similar on the high street!

xoxo g

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