Cake and Cocktails

I'm officially a year older now and spent the day getting thoroughly spoilt by my amazing family and friends (thank you!). I let myself have a day off and a bit of a breather from recent madness, starting off with a delicious home cooked breakfast.

This cardigan is a present from my bestest, I love the length of it and it's so comfy.

Safe to say I spent the day all snuggled up and relaxed wearing this and my new Boux Avenue slipper boots. Normally I slide all over the place in these kind of slippers but these fit perfectly and I'm love with the design.

And then there was cake... lots and lots of cake. Which is never ever a bad thing, birthday or otherwise.
My fiancé spent the evening before baking cakes to surprise me with when I got home from work. To say these were the first cakes he'd made, they look and taste pretty damn good!

My family couldn't get down to Plymouth to come visit but surprised me by sending some gorgeous flowers and getting a box of cupcakes delivered from Choccacino. How brilliant do these look?!

I have been after a leather jacket for ages now and finally came across the perfect one in Superdry a few weeks ago, so this was my present to myself. I don't normally splash out on stuff but this jacket ticked all the boxes of what I've been looking for, it fits gorgeously and the leather is so soft, I just couldn't walk away.

After a pretty lazy day, we got dressed up and headed out to The Village, a lovely little Greek seafood restaurant in the Barbican. We indulged in tiger prawns and scallops in garlic butter, pitta bread with taramasalata, crab and calamari, followed by a plate of lemon sole and john dory accompanied by chips and Greek salad.

A wander towards the sea was in order after the extravagant amount of food - one of my favourite things is seeing the sea in the dark with just the twinkles of the boats further out, everything around so calm and quiet.

We then headed to Annabel's to check out the music and burlesque acts on for the evening, while hanging out in the cabaret-esque bar, sipping on strawberry daiquiris (poor quality photo I'm afraid).

I drifted home, sleepy and happy, and above all for grateful for the amazing people in my life who always put a huge smile on my face.

Butterflies and a Winter Wishlist

New year at uni of course means new additions to my wardrobe. The weather is changing; student discounts are everywhere and my loan has just come through - the list of excuses goes on. I don't go clothes shopping that often and I know to be careful now, not if I don't want to end up living off dried pasta and Tesco value sauce in a couple of weeks (ahh isn't student life bliss?). But there's a lot of hard work ahead so a few treats are ok, right?

I found this top in New Look for £12.99 and felt the brightly coloured butterflies on floaty burgundy fabric were perfect for the transition from summer to autumn.

The pink vest top (worn underneath) and shorts are also from New Look. I've had the shorts for a while now and absolutely love them; they're perfect for a smart casual look.

With the weather getting steadily colder I've been looking forward to getting cosied up in oversized jumpers, coats and boots. These are the some of the things I've been lusting over recently:

I've been wanting a leather jacket for ever, and this one from Victoria's Secret is gorgeous. The fit is what I'm looking for in this kind of jacket, and the faux fur trimmed hood gives it a cosy edge perfect for chilly days.

Long jumpers are my best friend in winter. The design on this one from Republic is super cute and I'm liking the fitted sleeves, giving it practicality for days when there's more than cups of tea and old films on the agenda. 

I'm not one to follow trends much, but my inner goth is loving the studded look at the minute. A lot of items seem to be a bit over the top and tacky looking though to be honest; I love these boots, also from Republic, because the studs are subtle and overall they seem to be decent quality. 

These Plum skinny jeans are from H&M. I adore this denim in deep reds and purples at the moment; I have some high-waisted deep red shorts that I wear constantly. I would definitely be wearing these a lot; you can't go wrong with skinny jeans at any time of the year!

For me though, the most important Autumn/Winter clothing is of course snuggly nightwear. I haven't yet gotten hold of a onesie, but my friend recently introduced me to this website (http://www.kigurumi.ca/) and it's so tempting to start a whole collection!

How cute is the Fox?

I really wish they had a UK store!

Any particular pieces of clothing you've been wanting recently?

Butterfly Playsuit

I thought I'd share one of my favourite items of clothing, that's ideal for the gorgeous weather we had last weekend. I bought this playsuit last year for about £20 from Ark.

I love this playsuit, the design is so pretty, without being too 'young', and it's so comfy! It's elasticated at the waist giving it some shape but otherwise the fabric is quite loose, perfect for hot days (and great for hiding any barbecue overindulgence!) It's made out of a sort of silky material which is fab for staying cool in.

It's versatile too; the navy colour means it goes nicely with black tights and heels for an evening look at cooler times of the year.

Ark don't have this one in stock any more, but they do have a decent range at the minute here.
I'm particularly tempted to get this one!

Boux Avenue Order

I received my first order from Boux Avenue recently, and I think I've already fallen in love with this shop. I usually buy lingerie and the like from La Senza, but have been on the look out for somewhere new as La Senza generally don't seem as good as they used to. I came across Boux Avenue online and as the prices are similar I thought I'd check them out.

My order arrived in a huge box, filled with lots of lovely pink tissue - don't worry, there is a more environmentally friendly option, but as it's free and my first order I thought I might as well. I must admit, it's always nice when something comes in pretty wrapping, makes it feel that extra bit special. 
I'd ordered a bra, knickers, and a purple petticoat that was on sale and came in the pink box. 

How gorgeous is this?? I have a black dress that I'm hoping this will be the right length for. 
I had to return the bra as the sizing wasn't right, possibly a mix up because of how different it is to all my others. I don't know if this is the case with all their sizes, but they offer free post on returns and exchanges so it's not too much hassle trying them. I'm hoping the exchange will fit better; I'll edit this post when I receive it.


Edit (26/02/12): I received my exchange within a week of returning the bra without any fuss, and was happy to find it's a much better fit. The packaging was also really pretty again; I wasn't expecting this as it was an exchange!

So overall, very happy with this purchase. The customer service has been excellent and I've fallen in love with their products, definitely converted!