Día de Muertos

Yesterday I spend the afternoon carving and painting this beauty. They say you shouldn't blow your own trumpet but sod them, I'm very excited with how my Mexican-Day-of-the-Death-meets-Cath-Kidston-skull-pumpkin turned out. Thats a bit of a mouthful! This is the 3rd pumpkin I've ever carved and the second one this week, so I'm very pleased with myself! After getting over that not so yummy smell of pumpkin I had a great time doing this. I got my inspiration through Instagram, someone I follow was given a pumpkin with a cats face painted on which looked fantastic and instantly I wanted to give it a go, only I didn't want to copy, so I came up with my own idea. I opted for a day of the dead theme so I could make the skull look pretty. You may have noticed I have a floral addiction, so it was only natural that a floral print made an apparence. What do you think?

 

  

 

Vintage Dress- Ebay £11.16

Blouse - Charity shop £2.95

Boots- Primark £14

Yesterday was a glasses day (boo) which I think makes this outfit look a little too school girl or maybe I'm just not used to it? Either way this outfit is one of my favourites right now. I think the dress is so pretty, it has floral emembroidery that runs all over the tartan and I love the colours. It's not the best of fits for me, it's a little bit big on the waist but will be great for layering it up when it gets chillier. The blouse was a lucky find a few days later in my local charity shop, it's not often that I can go in and find exactly what I want, but on this occasion I did. The boots I've had for 2 years now and oddly unlike a lot of primarks items haven't worn out and I do wear them a lot - ok I don't walk much but still.

 

 

Sadly I've not got any plans that warrent a fancy dress outfit this year, maybe next year?! I Will be tucking into some sweets with a few friends though.
Happy Halloween lovely readers,

Emma Xx

Oh my darling, I will show you a blue Moon

This is the outfit I wore last Friday to see one of my favourite artists Passenger at shepherds bush empire. I was so excited, not only because I've listened to not much else for the last year, but because I hardly ever get to see live music any more. Going to gigs is something I did almost weekly before I got ill but it isn't something I can do very much any more without suffering badly with ME symptoms for days or weeks after. But as my occupational therapist says "sometimes you've got to do what makes your heart sing" and that lovely readers is exactly what this gig did to my heart.
Anyway enough soppiness - I want to share my outfit - I bought this dress recently from my local charity shop and this was the first time I got to wear it. I love the black and white polkadots and the way the fabric swishes around. I still can't get over how many compliments I received on it.

 

                                            

 

   

For those of you who don't know - this little yet chubby tiger striped cat pulling an odd face is my beautiful cat Pixie.

Dress: Charity shop £6.50

Leather Jacket : H&M £35

Shoes: borrowed from my mum

  My brother drove us the 16 miles to shepherds bush and armed with my noise cancelling earplugs we entered and found some great seats. Passenger was as amazing as ever and played some of my favourite songs. Afterwards we went a bit silly and bought a boxset of albums (I already have them, only digitally) and two cds by the support act Stu Larsen who's music I also really like. It was over far too soon and since then I've been pretty ill and unable to leave the house but I don't regret it.

Emma Xx

Fashion Rules

On the 9th of October I visited the Fashion Rules exhibition at Kensington Palace as my last outing of the year with Julie. I love the play on words in the title, fashion as we know does rule and also does a lot for our countries economics just like the three ladies who wore the dresses in this exhibition. As soon as you step inside the exhibition you're greeted by this amazing dress worn by the Queen. I was amazed to see how tiny she is especially her waist. The detail on these dresses is mesmerizing and the photos do not do them justice at all. I was surprised to find out that photography is allowed just without flash but I was pretty happy to get snapping.

The last two photos are of dresses worn my Princess Margret. My favourite is the first - I can see myself wearing that and spinning around in it to make the fabric swish around. 

These last photos are of dresses worn by Princess Diana. They are my least favourite of the collection as I'm not so keen on 80's style although I wouldn't say no to the midnight blue dress covered in stars.

It didn't take long to look at the exhibition. Personally I would have liked it to be a little bigger but I'm still very pleased that I went and would recommend it. 

After the exhibition I took Julie to my favourite cocktail bar. The Babylon. It's not easy to find unless you know where you're going. It's hidden off the main high street and on the 7th floor. I had intended to show Julie the roof garden which is below the bar and resturant but sadly it was closed. It's worth seeing just for the flamingos.

I ordered a Mojito which was the best I've tasted yet. You wouldn't need many of those to get you drunk. As it was early the bar was pretty empty which was lovely for us, we just spent some time hanging out on the amazing green and gold sofa.

I was sad to say goodbye to Julie, I won't see her until next year now. Hopefully she'll be back in spring time. Whenever we do meet again, I know it will be like I just saw her yesterday. Those are the best kind of friendships.

Emma Xx

Charleston House

A few weeks ago I visited Charleston House with my mum and Julie. I love nosing around old houses seeing how other people used to live and sometimes imagining living there myself. I've been wanting to visit Charleston House for a while, I knew that it was painted by artists in the Bloomsbury group who weren't conventional to art or tradition in the 1920's.

On the outside the house looks like any other old farm house but inside was a different story. The artist Vanessa Bell lived there with her husband and their lovers along with many visiters. They hand painted walls and decorated all surfaces to create a unquie home. Sadly photography isn't allowed inside the house. Just to give you an idea of what it's like inside I found the next five images on the Internet. 

All three of us were feeling hungry so we headed to the cafe for lunch before our tour started. Everything looked homemade and wasn't too badly priced. I had sweet potato, coconut and chilli soup which was delicious. I washed it down with a bottle of Dandilion and Burdock - a childhood favouite that my dear Granddad used to buy me, but now seems to be rare.

 After filling up we headed over to meet our tour guide who showed us around the house and told us many interesting and crazy facts about the people that lived at Charleston. We finished the tour in the amazing studio (I so wish I had an art studio at home!) that opened out onto the fantastic garden which I took loads of photos in. It's hard to believe this was only a few weeks ago now, with all the autumn leaves and colours that are around.

 

 

 

 

 It was an achievement for me to finally find a day that I felt well enough to travel and visit a place like this. I did suffer after but it was worth seeing the house and to be out with people I care about.

Emma Xx

All photography copyright Emma Anderson apart from the set of indoor shots and ones that I feature in.

Topshop Outfits

 

Today has been cold and wet, so I thought I would embrace Autumn with some window shopping all be it via the internet. I always like to check out what Topshop have new to offer and found some gems which inspired me to make this post. 

The first outfit is a day time look which I would wear with black tights and a black cross body bag.  I love all the peices but my favouite is the jumper, and for Topshop the price doesn't seem too bad to me at all. I think I might just have to order this!

This going out outfit is very me. I love dresses that have full skirts and I think this cropped jacket would work well with the shape of the dress. I really like the detail on the shoes and how it is simulair to the pattern on the dress. I like how the necklace has a vintage feel to it.

I did want to add bags to these outfits but I'm so fussy and didn't see any I would like! Anyway let me know what you think. :)

Emma Xx

Liebster award

I've been nominated twice for the Liebster award which I can't believe! Firstly by the beautiful Cara and secondly by the lovely Jade. 

If you're new to this like me you could be thinking "What is a Liebster award?" Well a Liebster award is an award given to a blogger, nominated by other bloggers, who has less than 200 followers. It’s a fun way to discover other blogs and build some fun relationships. Here are the rules:

  1. You must link back to the person who nominated you.

2. You must answer the 11 questions given to you by the person you were nominated by.

3. You pick up to 11 nominees with under 200 followers to answer your questions.

4. You cannot nominate the person who has nominated you.

5. You must tell the nominees that they have been nominated by you.

As Cara nominated me first I will be answering her queations which are:

1. What are your favourite musicians/bands? Or, if you're struggling to think, your favourite genres of music? I'm struggling to pick a few as theres so many but I guess Death Cab For Cutie,  The Arctic monkeys, Passenger and First Aid Kit

2. How has blogging been for you so far? Have you had positive experiences or negative experiences? I've really enjoyed my expericence with blogging so far. I find it's a great way to find inspiration. I feel like I've been accepted into a friendly community. Blogging also gives me something to work on when I'm well enough. 

3. Apart from blogging, do you have any particular hobbies or something you enjoy doing regularly? I love being creative and at the moment I'm taking some art classes for a few hours a week.

4. What's your favourite item in your wardrobe? My favourite item in my wardrobe is a 1960's pastel yellow dress which I've owned for three years but never worn out yet - maybe a blog post on that soon...

5. Who is your ultimate fashion icon? I know so many people will say this but Audrey Hepburn. I just love how elegant, sophisticated and timeless she always looked.

6. What inspired you to start blogging? A friend suggested that I try blogging to share my outfits.

7. Which high-end and drugstore makeup brands are your favourite?  Clarins. - I can't live without my Clarins foundation and they do amazing lipsticks. I like Barry M too - I've got so many of their nail varnishes.

8. If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be? I'd love to live by the sea, I'm not sure where though. Italy? Bali? Cuba? Cornwall? I can't pick!

9. Name your top three favourite blogs at the moment. My top three favourite blogs are by - Megan - the fairytale princess with such lovely hair, I really enjoyed reading and seeing photos about/from her dreamy wedding. Cara - not because she nominated me but because I love her style and that she blogs about different things that interest her not just outfits or reviews. Adora - I love how Adora always has beautiful backgrounds for her amazing thrifty outfits. I also meet her recently and I can tell you she is just as lovely as she seems on her blog.

10. What's your favourite breakfast? This is the point where I'm struggling to think of questions, and I REALLY love breakfast. Hahaha Oooh Cara I do love a good breakfast! One of my favourites at the moment is graze porridge boxes... They taste so much better than normal porridge.

11. How comfortable are you with your presence on the internet? Sometimes I feel a bit paranoid about it so I'm curious about what other people think! This is something I struggle with - how much should I give away about myself after all I can't pick who can see my posts. I got pretty paranoid after reading about a girl who blogged and found out her photos found their way into an adult website. That's got to be rare though. 

I also have to write eleven facts about myself which are:

1 I love to sing when I'm home alone often rediculous songs that I make up.

2 I talk to my cats in meows

3 I never stop day dreaming and still making up different worlds for myself

4 I once fell off a horse on a carousel mid ride and can't bring myself to get back on one even though they used to be my favourite ride.

5 I started Christmas shopping in January to avoid being stressed in December 

6 I love animals and I used to have a pet rabbit and pet rats.

7 My favourite perfume is daisy by Marc Jacobs

8 I used to live in black skinny jeans, black hoodies, checkered vans, and had a blue streak in my hair. I hated floral prints which now make up 70% of my wardrobe.

9 I believe in Karma.

10 A few years ago when I was 18 two friends and I checked into a very well known cheap hotel chain. We got drunk and jumped on the bed with our hair up in towel turbans.

11 I buy 70 % of my clothes from eBay and charity shops 

 The 11 blogs I nominate are:

quirks of a flower

style and skates

starla says

heart heart hooray

stephie in wonderland
quirks of a flower
a classy state of grace
tea cups and cake
alligators apple
wonder of dreams
lanie cakes beauty

My questions for you if you chose to accept are:

1 what is you're favourite aspect of blogging?

2 What's you're favourite thing to do with friends?

3 If you could be a fictional character who would you be any why?

4 what's your favourite book?

5 if you could travel anywhere where would you go?

6 Whay is your favourite item of clothing?

7 what is you're favourite holiday?

8 Do your friends and family know about your blog, do they read your blog? How would you feel about this? 

9 Who is the most inspirational person in your life?

10 What is you're favourite thing to do on a Sunday?

11 You're stranded on a desert island, you can chose one person and three items to be with you, what would you chose?

Emma Xx