Outfits Outfits Outfits

I have not been able to post as much as recently as I wanted because my internet is attempting, in it's own frustrating way, to ruin my life. 

I have therefore a back log of pictures that have been taken of outfits that I thought were cute enough to bother the world with. 

Without further ado (unless 02 has other ideas)...

The first outfit was something I wanted to post on look.nu, but none of the pictures were of a decent quality. Thus is life. Hope you like it as it's made almost exclusively from hand me downs. Shorts courtesy of a friend 

Flick, cardigan from my sister, blouse from my Ma Shoes from Bershka (How I love you all)!

This one was taken in Westfield shopping centre in Stratford- affectionately nicknamed 'Stratfield'. The skirt is from New Look, Boots are Doc Martin and the top is ancient from Hnm. I love maxi skirts. They make me feel so elegant, except of course when I trip over them- the joys of 5'3"!

This here was clumsily inspired by a girl I saw in a shop and the Devil Wears Prada- I wanted to look expensive- doubtless I failed. But I believe it was a valiant try, and that's what counts right...right? 

And yet again another attempt at a suave-ish look.

Well that's all for now!

Until next time. 

Flattery

I am a little free with my compliments. If I see someone in the street with a jacket I like I will tell them, stranger or no. I think sometimes though, it can make things a bit awkward. Like this poor East Asian girl I met briefly while working. Firstly I remarked how cute her jumper was, then I started gushing about her eyes (I have a thing for eyes).

She left with one of those 'please-don't-follow-me' smiles that you wear when you pass someone on a tube platform screaming into their tote bag of eggs-crazy cat ladies. You know what I mean.

 I was livid when I realised how I must have come across to her. Usually I am quite secure, not at all a 'no homo' type of girl but I could help for her and even more so for myself.

The reasons why I give compliments are numerous. Mainly though, I like when someone looks good and enjoy the fact that by acknowledging that I can make them feel good too. When someone compliments my hair or my shoes it gives me a spring in my step. I like passing that spring on to as many people as I can.

Of course I sometimes pass people who are dressed in a way that doesn't appeal to my tastes. But so what? If my opinion is negative, I should keep my mouth shut. Nothing positive or helpful is going to come of my expressing it. Who the hell am I to tell anyone what they should or shouldn't wear? That's what guru's are for, I'm just a humble appreciator.

I used to see people all the time who were well put together, quirky or cute but not say anything even though I was foaming at the bits to tell them the goodness I saw. It's part of my shyness that can sometimes be crippling. Frankly, it sucks. Talking to strangers can e pretty daunting at times. But complimenting strangers or saying good morning to arbitrary locals has taught me that most people are nice and wear the same mask of apathetic indifference and borderline aggression.

A positive reaction helps boost my confidence in people, as fundamentally as kind hearted and social as me. A negative reaction like you standard blank stare or worse the old 'cross to the other side of the road' thing, can easily be brushed. After all, they don't know me personally, so why take things personally?

All it takes to peel away the negative 'f*** off' persona of your average Londoner is a compliment, a greeting or even a nod and a smile.

Try it, give someone a boost and in the process boost yourself! Most of us city folk aren't as bad as you think!

Until Next Time!

Charity Shopping!

There is a trend cropping up that everybody probably already knows about but I want to talk about it anyway. Do you remember when you were in Primary School, you know runny noses, ghost stories, POkemon, that kind of thing. Well, in my day we used to use charity shops as an insult- 'Did you get your uniform from Oxfam' and so on. You may have noticed, it's not so much an insult anymore. It's cool to buy second hand, to hop in and out of Oxfam with a fist full of pearls for a fiver. And you know what, I like it.

I've never been dead set against charity shops, but until about a year ago I didn't really consider them. The be all and end all of affordable fashion was always Primark and at a stretch Peacocks. I didn't really have enough imagination back then.

It's strange though because sifting through my summer stuff I always noticed that I had a soft spot for hand-me-downs. In fact, I would go farther and say that loads of my star wardrobe pieces previously belonged to a member of my family.

My denim lederhosen (see previous blog post 'a new look') were a hand-me-down from my sister

My punk man shirt, a Japanese hand-me-down from my friend Erika who stayed out there for a week.

The kimono I used for a costume used to belong to my friend Emi's Dad.

So it would only stand to reason that I should start hunting for other peoples hand me downs too.

Admittedly, I am fairly inexperienced at charity shopping but I am definitely interested in becoming an expert. The only item I picked up from a charity shop was a cute plaid winter skirt I fell in love with. That would have easily sold for about thirty-five in NEXT or Zara but only cost me £3.95.

A lot of my friends shop in charity shops or buy second hand and I got testimonials and everything!

Stephanie, Indie Chic extraordinaire (and Songstress)

“there is a more random (therefore interesting) selection of items and also its good knowing that the money is going to charity

also things are very cheap sometimes in charity shops”

  

And Gyaru Goddess Emi is an big Ebay enthusiast who gets some of her lovely things second hand!

'Ebay is opened to world wide fashion, I can get my hands on something cuter that suits my needs.'


(check the blog for yourself emi-doll.blogspot.com)

Give it a go- second hand shopping is fun a lot cheaper than shopping brand new!

Read! Read!
http://www.live-magazine.co.uk/2012/05/why-shopping-second-hand-is-cool/

Until next time...

More Deliciousness

I love making food for people. Whether it be chopping up as salad, making tea or cooking a curry- I love it. People are happy when they enjoy food, and I like sharing that happiness with my friends. Especially when I get to add a little creative flair to whatever I'm creating. Nevertheless, my skills aren't quite as great as I would like them to be.

So I've set myself a task. I intent to try something new every week. It could be something as simple as flapjacks or as complicated as goulash! Whatever it is it'll be fresh. Whatever it is it will be home made!

Hopefully the majority of these well meaning experiments will turn out more like this....

than this....

But I'm prepared for the disappointment of a culinary disaster. Heaven knows, I've had my fair share already.

In the meantime though I want to share with you some nice things I've managed to make (albeit with little effort and even less skill). Healthy and happy meal options- on a bit of a budget. 

Breakfast!

A salmon, onion and sweet pepper salad with my beloved Wakame. I added a Ryvita biscuit (with olive spread) and an iced Latte! Delicious no? To top it off I had a kiwi and orange fruit salad. 

Lunch!

Okay so I went to a placement during the week and decided to bring with me a big packed lunch to help me through it all. 

I made my 'quick tings' pasta sauce because I was in a bit of a hurry this time. I'll  show you my proper pasta sauce- one of my few gems when I have the time and the drive to whip up a proper batch!

Chicken wings, spicy tomato pasta (with dice  tomatoes and onions) and for dessert a fruit salad, with cherries, kiwi and oranges. 

Dinner!

I can't take credit for this, it was my fantastic mother's doing!

Spinach mash, roasted jack fish, and carrot, chilli and tomatoe salsa. Yum!

Okay so I went to a placement during the week and decided to bring with me a big packed lunch to help me through it all. 

I made my 'quick tings' pasta sauce because I was in a bit of a hurry this time. I'll  show you my proper pasta sauce- one of my few gems when I have the time and the drive to whip up a proper batch!

Until then!