OOTD: Bargain Hunter

Today I had a pretty lazy day. 
All my friends are back in Basingstoke, My Fiancé is at work and my mum has just had an operation on her hand, there was nothing on TV and I can't do much unpacking by myself with a bad back.

So, I was a bit lost for things to do today... until my mum suggested a little trip into the next village to have a look around and I thought 'why not?'.
(the outskirts of Southampton City Centre are actually made up of several small villages that are right on top of each other!)

What I Wore: Black leather jacket - Warehouse, Black Camisole - H&M, Nude Bandage Skirt - By Topshop but it's an eBay Bargain, Shoes and Birdcage necklace - both Primark, Nude Feather Earrings - Matalan, Tan Leather Bowler Bag - Asos

My Dad dropped us up there while he went to the gym and mum and I had a quick look in a couple of the charity shops there...

The first one, I didn't find much in there I was willing to pay for, I know it sounds stingy but in my opinion £5 for a second hand top from Primark is excessive for a charity shop. Especially as the top probably cost less than that brand new!

So we popped into the second one and at first I was a bit disheartened that there really wasn't much in my size but I kept hunting through.

I was really happy when I came across these lovely grey tweed style shorts from H&M that looked almost new in my size! 

I tried them on and it was like they were made for me! - and at a bargain price too!

So I had another look through the rails and found this beautiful light grey blazer with mother of pearl effect buttons also in my size! It really was a lovely jacket!

So I picked it up to check the price - another bargain - but instead i notice the make.

Calvin Klein.

Yup.

Calvin Klein...in a charity shop...for just over a fiver.

So, if you thought charity shops were just a place old ladies donate their flower painted cat ornaments - you're wrong.

I have found: Hollister, Laura Ashley, Fred Perry, Ted Baker, Ralph Lauren,  French Connection, Karen Millen and GUCCI in various charity shops in the last YEAR!

(I once found a brand new French Connection top in a charity shop marked up for ONE POUND!)

And now some advice from me to you:

DON'T BE A SNOB. 

Go in and take a look in every charity shop you see, you may not find anything designer or amazing on your first visit, but the more you look, the more you find! Charity shops are a hidden gold mine for the modern fashionista whose bank balance doesn't quite match their wishlists! You don't have to shop there because you're poor or on benefits either! That's pure rubbish! 

So tell me...What's been your best bargain buy? Was it from a charity shop, thrift store, car boot sale?

Tell us as we're dying to know!

Hailie

xo

Okay...Moving On...

Today me & my fella moved out of our first flat, and like most of you who have ever moved home will know - it's super stressful.

We literally didn't realise exactly how much stuff we had collected in our 6 short months living there until it rolled around to 2.30 a.m. and we still hadn't finished packing!

AND we ran out of parcel tape...AGAIN!

Seriously.

The worst part about this morning was, my parents were due to be at our flat at 8 a.m. to go grab the hired van to move everything...and waking up at 7 a.m. was torture! So working on 4 hours sleep, no breakfast (due to me accidentally packing all the bowls, plates and spoons etc) and a lot of driving up & down the motor way... we're shattered.

What I wore: Sugar skull tank - Miss Selfridge, Skinny fit boyfriend jeans - Pull & Bear London, Chunky Hoop Earrings - Bijoux Brigette. 

Subtle make up & a huge messy bun help with the relaxed feel of this outfit... 

or 

 'its 7a.m. & I can't be bothered with hair in my face'!

Unfortunately quite early on with all the moving etc, my back really started to hurt and I had just become useless in any sort of help at all...

On another note though, Gimli (our 1 year old bearded dragon) thoroughly enjoyed her road trip in the van! She did cling on to me for dear life but she loved watching out the window, and even fell asleep against my chest because of the gentle rocking...kind of like a baby in that sense.

 Meet the Inspiration for my Blog Name - Gimli the Citrus-Fire bearded dragon! She looks so dark here, but we were in a van & she was getting a little cold...even though she's lying on a leopard print hot water bottle!

You have to admit that she looks so adorable & stylish in her pink diamanté harness!

 A slightly better view of my jeans - they came with detachable braces which I love but on moving day they're impractical!

My chunky knit body warmer is from Zara, but from quite a few years ago now...

The hood has a faux fur cream lining which Gimli took full advantage this morning riding around in it!

Surrounded by my dissembled bed frame in my old room...which is now my new room again...I am so glad to have my HUGE wardrobe back though! 

It's 2.5 Metres high by 2 metres wide & has a pull out shoe rack...

(yes you're allowed to be jealous!)

Once it's re-stocked & tidy I may give you a sneak insider peek!

Now I'm enjoying a nice relaxing sit down, with a cool glass of diet coca-cola and chilling with my spiked princess before the process of unpacking EVERYTHING i spent all of last night packing...

Ugh!

Do any of you relate to the stresses of moving house or into student digs?

Hailie

xo

Ding Dong I Hear Wedding Bells!

I am so excited to be writing about my wonderful day out today!

Be warned though - it's a LONG one!

My fiancé, mother-in-law to be and myself took a nice lazy afternoon trip to Newbury's beautiful historic Donnington Grove for a wedding show and it was brilliant.

Not only are the grounds a golf course in the most perfect condition, the building is a mansion, much like that you may have seen on 'Downton Abbey'.

It's stunning.

The weather wasn't too bad today either, with Mr. Sunshine himself even making an appearance on our way home.

 What I wore: Denim waistcoat, Black jersey t-shirt & Black & white polka dot skirt - All H&M,

Magenta flats- Miss Selfridge

 A view from the back, just showing off the zip detail on my skirt & the buckle detail on my waistcoat.

I know I've worn these shoes 2 days in a row, but as I explained before I have literally packed everything else I own into boxes - that and the plain fact I love these shoes.

 My earrings are from Brigette Bijoux in Basingstoke - but I did buy them nearly 2 years ago!

 My bracelets - Love heart waved open bangle - 1,50 Dina from a stall in a Medina in Hammamet, Tunisia (that works out at about 75p!!!) Memory stretch bracelet with large beads - part of a set of 3 from Warehouse (again I bought these years ago & can't remember how much I paid but I'm sure it was a deal!)

My necklace pendants consist of an open love heart as a Christmas present from my mum from years ago, the Bearded Dragon & the Peacock Feather were presents from my fella.

I was casually browsing around some of the vendor's tables and I took a few photos as examples of the type of thing to expect at a wedding event.

 These lanterns add a very romantic and relaxed feel to an Autumn/Winter wedding.

 I love the vintage feel of the old books stacked - just goes to show anything can be used as a centre piece.

 The lace detail on this dress was absolutely stunning but personally I would have like to see some more shape around the waist.

Just an example of a table setting, something so simple as some candle sticks can really dress up some flowers.

I was so excited to know that my good friend Claire was also attending the wedding show as she was the one who initially told me about this amazing venue - but I was disappointed not to grab a cheeky photo with her before she left!

At 1 p.m. there was a wedding fashion show of a selection of dresses from a bridal boutique in Hungerford. I did get a few snaps of some of the dresses but I'll have to apologise for the blurriness of some of the pictures - and the fact that some of the photos have Claire's Parent's Heads in them! OOPS!

 

 

These Dresses are actually the same 1 dress except in the first few photos the bride is wearing a short sleeve lace jacket the buttons up at the back - very beautiful silhouette.

 

 This again was another beautiful example of shapes and materials that can be used.

 

A Gorgeous Princess style gown.

 

This dress was lovely too - so many choices! 

The detail on the back of this gown was gorgeous and just enough of sparkle to make it special.

 This gown was HUGE - and looked very heavy - but it was apparently not that heavy to move around in & had plenty of space for foot movement.

 I wasn't so keen on this dress, it was a bit boring in my opinion, however the veil was beautiful...if only it was on a hair comb or alice band - that head band screamed cheap festival hippy bride!

 I totally adored this dress - the embellishment was stunning! Very chic & caught the light perfectly! that shrug was to die for...I was tempted to sneak into the changing room and 'long term borrow' it!

 If I had unlimited funds... this would be my dress! it had pearls and diamonds all over it! (Not real diamonds obviously but a girl can pretend!) it was stunning, moved perfectly with every step and was bling enough with out making you think 'big fat gypsy wedding'!

 Totally Gorgeous!

 Stood outside the front with my future mother-in-law - it was ridiculously sunny by this point & hard to see anything let alone smile!

 some of the golfing grounds out the front of the building...

 This summer house is really sweet & has a great view!

 I wanted to steal this beautiful Bengal cat we saw running around the building...not exactly wedding related but he was amazing!

 This little ruined building is nicely tucked away just beside the gorgeous hump-back bridge near the entrance to Donnington Grove grounds.

I am mega excited to start shopping for my own dream dress in the next month or so!
What would yours be like?

Hailie xo