Dress to Impress

It might be over a month away but trying to find a dress for my Grad Ball is far more entertaining, if just as fruitless, than my revision at the moment! I've been trawling the world of Internet shopping for days now and making pretty slow progress, I've put together my current shortlist below to get your opinions and would massively appreciate any suggestions of websites to look at! Ideally the dress wouldn't cost much more than £100 but as you'll see below I could definitely be persuaded upwards by a pretty frock!

1. Coast £130

2. Zara £50

3. ModCloth £100

4. Coast £180

If I'm honest I think that number 1 is my favourite at the moment! And I know I'll be tempted when my loan comes in at the weekend!! 

What do you think??

Any suggestions of where else to look? (the more obscure the better!)

Home Comforts

So, you may have noticed, it's Easter time, which means that Caroline and I have journeyed to places far and wide (Cumbria and Northern Ireland) for a week or so with our respective families. This means, for me anyway, that I've mainly been sitting in my room blogging while mum thinks I'm revising so I though I'd show you about a bit and tell you what I've been up to (not a whole lot)...

- Roast Beef dinner - The Easter egg that once was - Dad's boat, chillin' on the drive, as you do

- Riveting study materials - Fabulous bath - My bed and bears

On Tuesday after 3 days of not leaving the house I decided I needed to get out so scampered down the road to our village pub. The Wheaty (Wheatsheaf) does cracking food and a pub quiz every week so I called up a couple of my school friends and headed down. We didn't win the quiz, we rarely do, but we had a scrummy dinner and excellent chat...

Goats Cheese burger with Red Onion chutney and the chunkiest of chips

Me and Lucy reunited for the first time since Christmas

And here's my outfit deets - had to do the photos by myself so sorry they're not the best!

Top - Forever 21

Chords - River Island

Cardigan - Topshop

Flats - F&F at Tesco

So that's it. Home. Not much going on but it is nice and warm for a change!

A Buy That Changed My Life #3

Not so much a buy this week as a freebie. I picked up the March edition of Cosmopolitan magazine for my hideously long train/bus/boat journey from Glasgow to Belfast, which had this little gem as a free gift. At the moment i am using the Garnier Ultra Lift (because Davina McCall told me to), and haven't been very impressed with it. I know, i know, i'm not exactly the target demographic as it's an anti wrinkle cream and i'm only 22, but with all of the hype surrounding it, and it's no nonsense packaging (complete with crows feet chart), I at least expected it to firm my skin, or generally do something more than a standard moisturiser. So taking a break from my Garnier cream, I have been using this Elemis Softly Softly one and find it taking immediate effect. It's light weight formula and non greasy texture, absorbs rapidly and leaves skin feeling soft and not in a clammy way like other, thicker creams, meaning that my makeup also applies more flawlessly over it. Lacking strong perfumes, the cream smells faintly of lavender, lovely and soothing when applied before bed. Despite being slightly pricey at £19.99, it is genuinely worth the money as I have already felt the benefits having using it for less than a week.

Sorry Davina, i'm a convert.

Jamie's Italian

Staying up ALL NIGHT trying to finish my 4,000 word English essay, Italian food was the light at the end of the tunnel. Having had our valentines plans to visit Jamie's Italian foiled thanks to my failure to complete yet another essay on time, the boyf and I decided to celebrate the end of uni coursework with some of Jamie's goods. Appropriate considering watching Jamie's 30 minute meals has lead to countless wasted, essay-less hours.

Blouse: Forever 21

Skirt: Topshop

Necklace: H&M

Bracelet: Forever 21

Ring: Kukee

Bag: Topshop

Boots: H&M

All dressed up, albeit with my red eyes and dazed expression, off we trotted to Jamie's restaurant in the heart of George Square.

Large and open plan, the setting was simple and elegant with a lovely mellow atmosphere. Seated beside a rogue child, waggling his tongue and jumping around was an irritating start, however once the starter came all focus was on the food. We ordered garlic mushrooms in a pastry dish to share which was amazing, so good in fact that I forgot to take a photo of it. For the main course, the boyf had the Wild Rabbit Tagliolini and i opted for the pumpkin and squash gnudi, a delicious sweet and savoury dish with a surprising mixture of flavours in every mouthful; from pear, to walnut, to cheese and pumpkin.

Having stuffed ourselves to breaking point, the boyf accepted his limits whereas i kept on truckin' and ordered my favourite desert, Tiramasu. This was definitely the best I have encountered, with it's multiple coffee saturated layers, masses of cream and with the addition of orange mascapone it was an utter delight. 

Having eyed up many, many other creations on neighboring tables, i will definitely be returning with a vengeance (and maybe a looser fitting waistband).

27.03.13

Dress: Forever 21

Cardigan: Topshop

Bag: H&M

Boots: Primark

Bracelets: Topshop, Forever 21 & Gift

Nails: Rimmel 60 seconds Sun Downer

Forever 21 Haul

Ok this is the laaaast post about Forever 21 (for a while at least) we promise! But its just a sneaky look at the things we bought on friday. We were on a tight budget (end of term student problems) so had to hold back quite a bit but between us got a few nice things!

Blouse - £18.75 here

Jewellery: Silver bangle £4.90 in store, Necklace £5.90 in store and Spiked gold bracelet £3.90 here

Aztec Vest Top - £8.75 in store 

Knitted Top - £12.75 in store

I also got the black and white dress in the first picture and you can see it in tomorrow's OOTD post!

What we wore 22.3.13

What we wore to the opening of Forever 21 in Glasgow on Friday (we might stop talking about it soon... but it was pretty amazing if you haven't heard!)

Ellie: Boots New Look £25, Blouse Primark, Cardigan Topshop - similar here, Joni Jeans Topshop £36, Hat Topshop £25 similar here, Necklace Primark.

Caroline: Fur Coat Vintage, T-shirt stolen from the boyf, Hat Accessorise, Handbag Topshop, Boots H&M, Joni Jeans Topshop £36