Girls Catching Up

Last week me and my friend Yasmin met up for a girly chin-wag, and I decided to actually take my camera along for once. We decided to head to Gallimaufry's, one of our favourite spots on Gloucester Road. We cosied up with a pot of tea and a pint of coke to discuss baking, boyfriends and birthdays for an hour or two, before Yasmin had to head off to help out at a local after-school club (Good Samaritan alert). I then found myself wandering up Gloucester Road, traipsing in and out of the various charity shops, pondering over why I spend 80% of my life on this one road. 

For those of you who have never been to Bristol, Gloucester Road is a mile and half of independent businesses (bar one Co-Op, a Boots, a Sainsbury's and a steadily going out of business Peacocks). Home to 20 pubs and bars, 10 charity and vintage shops, various fruit and veg shops, florists, fishmongers, jewellers, butchers, bakery's, a couple of dodgy off-licences about a million café's and hands down the best late-night chip shop in the world, it's no wonder me and my friends seem to find ourselves practically living there. 

Over the past couple of months we have holed ourselves up in at least half of the pubs with a deck of cards to fuel our unhealthy addiction to Rummy, and enjoyed playing Snooker at a rather amateur level. We've indulged in burgers at The Bishops, cheesy chips at Blue Lagoon, chocolate fudge cake at Cider Press and tackled "Dirty Fries" and the "Old School Triple Bypass Burger" (3 burgers, 2 hash browns, bacon, cheese, salad and a gherkin) at Hobgoblin. Not to mention the fact that a third of my wardrobe has been sourced from the charity and vintage shops, and you can find everything you would ever need for fancy dress in Katz. 

Anyway, enough about my weird obsession with... a road. Here are a couple of pictures I took in Gallimaufry's, next time I may venture outside and take a few more!

Minnie Mouse Buns Tutorial

After posting a picture of my "Minnie Mouse Buns" on my InstaDiary last week, I was asked to do a tutorial on them, so here we are! I personally find this quick and easy, however I am a bit of a ninja when it comes to hair styling, so if you're a beginner you might find this takes a little practice. 

January Sales Purchases

 It's that time of year again; the magic of Christmas and New Year's has died down, and the only way to avoid succumbing to the January Blues is to spend an indecent amount of money on reckless purchases that you certainly don't need. 

"It might be two sizes too small and a rather offensive shade but it was 70% off, so how could I resist?!" The fact that I say things like this to myself is probably the reason why I have never had a successful January sales shopping experience. I always find myself buying a semi-cute t-shirt or an ill-fitting dress, purely because they're so cheap, and then never get round to wearing them. 

This year, I took a different approach; I tip-toed around Topshop and Urban Outfitters, careful not to be sucked in by the "amazing" deals. I tried everything on before looking at the price tag so that I could purchase items based on whether I actually liked them, as opposed to how much it was discounted by. I have to say, I am very pleased with all my purchases this year, and I have already worn each one at least once! 

InstaDiary: Week 13

Super proud and showing off my award // Present from Joey // My friend celebrating getting in to Oxford with "The Triple Bypass"; 3 burgers, 2 hash browns, 4 rashers of bacon, cheese, a gherkin and fries // Sherlock and sandwiches// January sales purchase from MissGuided // New Years Eve costumes; Mitt Romney, a farmer, a gentleman, Annie and a nun... // Practising Mickey Mouse buns // My new babies

KJ xo

ModCloth: In the Key of Chic

Being a huge fan of both vintage clothing and wasting my life away creating outfits, I couldn't resist taking part in ModCloth's weekly Polyvore challenge when they approached me. For those of you who don't know what ModCloth is, it's an American online vintage store that stocks everything from pretty dresses to toilet paper holders in the shape of polaroid cameras. (They ship worldwide too, so us British vintage lovers have no excuses!)

Having been given the challenge of styling this "In the Key of Chic" dress, I instantly began scouring the site for pieces that caught my eye. What with the dress being quite loud, I knew I wanted to keep everything else neutral so the dress could act as a statement piece. 

I instantly fell in love with these brogue-style flats as they are so dainty (and definitely not because when paired with the dress the whole outfit is somewhat Taylor Swift-esque... whoops!) Personally, I adore white shoes but they are also available in brown for those of you who, like me, can't really wear white shoes due to your inability to avoid puddles... and mud... and grass.

 Seeing as puddles and mud and rubbish weather in general are quite common in England, it was a necessity to find an appropriate coat to protect the dress. This raincoat is probably the definition of perfect; my pet peeve is spending hours preparing the perfect outfit only to look out the window and realise that my hard work is going to go unnoticed as I cover it up with frumpy Winter coat. So, what could be better than a waterproof, see-through coat?  Answer: nothing. Whoever's idea this was deserves an Oscar or a Nobel Prize or something. 

Finally I chose a practical satchel as I'm one of those people that needs a decent sized bag to carry all their crap around in, and an array of rings to add some detail to the look.

In the Key of Chic Dress - $124.99 (£75.88) // Marina Ballerina Flats - $32.99 (£20.03) // Winsome Wayfarer Satchel - $112.99 (£68.59) // My Fair Festival Raincoat - $89.99 (£54.63) // Classic Cocktails New Heirloom Ring - $13.99 (£8.49) // Dazzling Modifier Ring Set - $12.99 (£7.89) // Commanding Attention Ring - $24.99 (£15.17) // Antler to Your Questions Ring - £15.99 (£9.71) 

I hope you like this look; will you be checking out ModCloth now?
KJ xo

Pesto-Stuffed Chicken

 On New Year's Eve me and my friends had a little meal to start the evening off; after realising that 95% of the guests had provided Doritos I was eagerly awaiting the unveiling of the main dish and almost peed myself with excitement when Charis revealed a tray succulent chicken breasts stuffed with pesto and wrapped in Parma ham. I had never thought of stuffing chicken before, and so I was super excited to try out the recipe for myself.

One of my New Year's resolutions is to eat healthier (the same as last year's, and the year before's...). This chicken is great for anyone who is trying to eat healthier as it is a tasty and easy alternative to plain chicken, and is interesting enough to just be served with salad, making for a nice light evening meal. 

You will need: Chicken breasts (1 per person) // Parma ham (2 slices per person) // Sundried tomatoes // Pesto // Olive Oil

Let The Magic Begin

After months of wistfully perusing the Hogwarts collection on the Black Milk website, I finally purchased the First Year Swimsuit in their Cyber Monday sale.