Transitional outfits

What's this weather all about?! One minute it's literally monsoon rain and the next it's gorgeously sunny - it does not make for an easy life when dressing in the morning....

Luckily the past few days have been pretty laid back for me. Morning coffee with a gal pal, popping into a couple of art galleries (more on that later) and few (too many) drinks with my fabby friends. All in one day and all of which required a fair amount of walking too. It called for 'cute casual comfy'!

This pic is from Wednesday - I've been very tardy with my uploading. Bad Claire!

Granted, it's not my most inspiring of outfits but the light weight tea dress teamed with my slouchy Minnetonka boots and layered with my army green parka meant I was dressed for all eventualities - and I needed to be. The weather was just plain weird. As always, I was also lugging around my faithful Zara bag from here.

I've included some inspo from ladies who do it better though!

Whether you're out on the town, working or enjoying a day of leisure, these ladies have got the transitional outfits nailed. Light weight coats, cute knits and funky jeans (I LOVE Ciara's leather ones) and how amazing does Gwny look?!? Bravo to her stylist.

Give it some Welly

Today was the first time it really felt autumnal to me. Not only does this mean I get to wear all my favourite hats and scarves again, it also means we're creeping closer to seeing all city dwellers donning their Hunters.

I say this with a hint of humour in my voice. Having been brought up in the country and not only owned a number of Hunters, but also worn them out, I find it funny to see the shine of never worn wellies pounding the city slabs.

However, this was not meant to be a country vs. city bitch - I love each equally. I actually wanted to share with you what I think is the next trend in wellies..... yes you heard me right!

For the more discerning welly wearer, I introduce you to Le Chameau. A French brand which is set to be the boot of choice very soon - I'm sure of it.

I was introduced to them last winter and I wouldn't usually suggest moving away from such an iconic British brand as Hunter, but since the manufacturing went elsewhere I’m simply talking about quality and the Chasseur boot from Le Chameau is built to last. But with a hefty price tag (around £295 – ouch!) they're reserved for the seriously style conscious country chic connoisseur (and those who actually do wear them every single day of their lives, out in the countryside). I must add that my budgets sadly don't stretch to this.

In terms of design, they're leather lined, and shaped especially for the curves of a ladies leg - Hunters are designed for men's rather less shapely calves. I'm not usually seduced by such functional footwear, but these are seriously nice (and quite sexy for a wellington boot - they are French after all!).

But if I haven't convinced you - just ask Kate what she thinks.....

Exclusive Photos by Radcliffe/BauerGriffinOnline.com

Browmance

Recently I've taken to using a eyebrow pencil - probably not ground breaking news for most of you. However, I've always been a bit scared of them. After a rather over zealous plucking moment last week, I've sadly been left with no choice!! This is why I have been getting them threaded for the past two years......

I. Can. Not. Be. Trusted. With. Tweezers.

Especially my Tweezerman tweezers and handy magnifying mirror (that is one scary reflection looking back at you - no one needs to see that up close!). They are so blummin good that I get over excited!

I must also admit that after seeing the gorgeous Billie Piper at V Festival with her beautifully groomed eyebrows, I have been feeling inspired.

As you'll see from the pics below - I haven't gone too crazy (or even slightly), but hey you gotta start somewhere and I'm new to this... Pretty pleased with them though. I feel much more groomed. I would go as far to say that I really REALLY like it. Right - me and my new brows are off to find some work - wish me luck!

Today's Inspo

Very quick blog to share with you some of my fav images from some amazing bloggers I follow. They're mostly all in my blog lovin section but for your ease (I'm so good to you!) this particular snap shot includes:

• Sofis Snapshots
• Olsen Anonymous
• Angelica Blick
• Style by Kling
• Ulrikke Lund

If you don't already know them (shame on you!!) then what are you waiting for. Get googling and check them out.

I love all these looks and really do draw upon their styles for inspiration.

Told you it would be a really quick one! Need to get some snooze in.......

Living outta cardboard box!

Who knew I had so much crap! Saturday, Sunday and most of Monday saw me partake in the big move of 2011. It took one van, two separate loads, 17 hours, eight pairs of hands, 12 cups of tea, two bottles of wine and around 300 miles, but we're in - and mostly unpacked now. WoooHooo!

The flat is already feeling like home but there's still a stack to do - like setting up the broadband!!! Luckily (or unluckily, depending on how you look at it), we're just a hop skip and a jump away from my favourite coffee shop (Boston Tea Party) complete with free wifi so I can try and get on with life as normal until we're up and running. Great coffee, friendly staff, walkable in heels and free wifi - what more can a girl ask for??

On to less domestic things (and much more fashionable) - In between all the packing, unpacking and making home I have managed to track down one of my fav magazines - Women'sHealth.

It's American so not that easily available everywhere here, so when I manage to get my hands on a copy I like to make a coffee and give it my undivided attention. You can imagine my joy when I opened this month's copy to find a fashion shoot with Cat Deeley (one of my fav fashion follows) - how amazing does she look. I have to share it with you. The leather jacket and jersey skirt has already provided inspo for my outfit today. I'll try and get some pics later. In the meantime check out the images below.

Apart from the amazing fashion spreads, it also has loads of really healthy tips for exercise and food which really does fit into your lifestyle. It's been my little secret read for a while, but i'm in a sharing mood!!

All  pics courtesy of www.womenshealthmag.com

Moving day

Picked up the keys to mine and Mr M's new home today. Yiiipppppeeeeee!!!

So exciting but super busy. Haven't stopped all day and now must hit the hay. Early start tomorrow so time for snoozeville.

Night night possums and sweet dreams,

xoxo

Paws for thought - Leopard print nails

What do we think of these bad boys?! The jury is out for the time being, but they are kinda fun and didn't take very long to do either. Can't wait to see the hubby's face when he get's in..... not sure they're his kind of thing!

Nails Inc 'Candy', H&M Nail Polish 'Check Me Out', Leighton Denny 'Supermodel' (possibly my favourite polish of ALL time) and Barry M 'Black'

One of those days

Having a REALLY frustrating day..... I'm putting a plea out into cyber space. If anyone knows how to put a twitter feed within a blog, please please get in touch :(

I used to have one and it worked fine - then all of a sudden it has disappeared and I can't remember how to get it back. Deep breath.......... Cup of tea.

Anyway, I've continued clearing out today, mostly through my make-up draws. Can't believe how many lipsticks I have. I don't even wear lipstick! Most upsettingly, they all appear to be the same (ish) colour... Error!! Don't even get me started on the lip glosses!!!

Right - having successfully wasted most of the day messing around with twitter/my blog with no success, I’m dragging my coldified butt off to do some work.

It's so hard to say goodbye

I've just returned from the dump :(

Before we move later this week, I decided to take the opportunity to go through all my clothes and shoes with a ruthless attitude...... I'm now less 14 pairs of shoes and five bags of clothes. Makes me feel nauseous just thinking about it!

RIP shoe shoes!

Does that make me Crazy?

It never rains but it pours! Following on from my last post, things have not slowed down.

Mr M and I have found a new home which we move into on Thursday. I'm so excited and can't wait to start doing it up and my scrap book is already full of ideas for what we can do with it - I'm loving the below

 However, it is tinged slightly because three days after putting a deposit down, I decided to quit my job. EeeeeK!!!

This is completely uncharacteristic for me. I am not a 'fly by the seat of your pants' kinda girl and it feels like a completely crazy thing to have done. But it just felt like it was time for a change. So having worked out my months notice and left on a massive high note (V Festival Louder Lounge), it brings me to today - day three of unemployment......

I would be lying if I said I wasn't a little apprehensive, but I'm really excited too and have everything crossed for some very exciting ventures that I've been putting off for way to long. It also means I can spend a bit more time getting my head around the blummin wire frame for this blog! Surely it can't be that difficult (famous last words).

I'm also going to take the opportunity to upload some of my favourite bits of 'fashpiration'..... Whilst clearing through loads of stuff on my laptop I found some of my old 'inspo' folders. It's clear to see whose style I really admire by the number of times certain famous faces pop up! I've also selected the ones that seem most fitting for this unseasonably autumnal day!

Can't remember where I sourced them all from, but I'm guessing they are mostly from InStyle.com and Olsen Anonymous (http://olsensanonymous.blogspot.com/) - one of my fav blogs for 'fashpiration'. 

The Day I Said I Do

I mentioned in my last post that LOTS had been going on with me lately, hence the sporadic posts and I wasn't kidding - I GOT MARRIED!!

The big 'I Do' was on April 30th 2011 and it really was the best day of my life. I still can't believe that I'm a 'Mrs' - It's literally the weirdest thing in the world. I'm not sure when saying 'my husband' will stop feeling strange. Hopefully soon.

Here's just a few of the early stages, as captured by our lovely and amazing photographers Penny and Cam McKinley-Rodgers. I honestly can't recommend them enough. Not only are they both genuinely lovely people, they have an incredible talent to capture those special moments when no one else is looking and put everyone around them instantly at ease. I simply can't wait for our album.

New found Blog

There's so much to catch up on since my last blog.... Including my new name!

But for the time being I thought I would start with this. It's a new blog I've been reading and I think her style is very cool. Her name is Angelica Blick and she's from Linköping in Sweden. Strangely, most of the bloggers that I'm loving at the moment are.

A dress fit for a McQueen. Is Sarah Burton the woman for the job?

How exciting! The Sunday Times announced that Alexander McQueen is to design Kate's dress for her big day - front page news.

Sarah Burton, McQueen's successor, has apparently been tasked with the job. However, we'll have to wait until the day to find out for definite because she's denied it all.

Needless to say that whatever Kate wears she's going to look amazing. I'm very excited to be sharing my wedding weekend with them and can't wait to watch it all unfold the day before I say 'I do' too..... wonder what it will be like?!

Megan Fox's new ad

She clearly did well in the genetic lottery....

Today's Inspo

images courtesy of instyle.com

Girl Crush

images courtesy of instyle.com

I love Diane Kruger's style. Is there anything this girl can not wear?

Miss Dior

Two things..... How amazing does Natalie Portman look in the new advert for the perfume, Miss Dior Cherie?! Very Audrey Hepburn - beautiful.

Secondly - Does this mean everyone will be rushing out to buy it...... It's my chosen wedding smell. Noooooooooooo.

Anyhoo, I am back in the land of the living (well I'm back at work) but feeling a bit groggy after much migraine medication. Also wearing the most boring outfit in the world today which is going to make anyone feel sad :-(. Note to self. Must try harder and make an appointment for a spray tan! Life is better with a tan.

Cx

Ick!

Follow my blog with bloglovin

Woke up this morning feeling awful :-( Was looking forward to test driving my new woolly tights too.... Alas it will have to wait. Cx

Beauty Buys

Having received some very generous donations to the bank of Claire for my birthday last week, I thought it was high time that I stock up on some beauty bits. A trip to Space NK is calling too……. So exciting. Love that place, and now that I have my new N dulge card I can see I’ll be there even more.

Am an avid fan of Yves Saint Laurent Touche Éclat but the H&M varnishes and lip-gloss are new ventures for me - I'll let you know how I get on.

Have eventually picked a new perfume after much deliberation - Smells are so hard to buy! Just nice to have a bit of a change sometimes - eh?!

The DVD is a tip that I picked up from one of my fav bridal blogs http://www.rockmywedding.co.uk/. It received rave reviews and I'm hoping it's going to transform my life (and my ass!). Please not that it will not be in its cellophane tomorrow.......

The whitening paste is..... well it’s a follow on from my whitening trays in the hope it will keep my nashers pearly white ahead of the big day (66 days left, but who's counting?!).

Anyhoo - so tired so hitting the hay. Am manically busy at work and it's already 12.09am..... How did that happen!

Night night Cx

Ada Zanditon - sneaky peak!

The girls at Ecover have kindly sent me a sneaky peak of Ada Zanditon's show, which is happening this Friday.

You're probably wondering what's Ecover got to do with LFW, but it's very straight forward... Ada Zanditon is an eco-fashion designer and Ecover is an ecological cleaning brand. They partnered up sometime last year to show consumers that there is more to eco-fashion than choosing the right fabric and designer, it is also how you care for your clothes that matters. They're also my preferred choice when caring for my clothes. I love their non-bio laundry liquid.

This is just a little taster but I'm proud to be one of the first to show you all.