01.05.2011- My Month in Pictures: April

Happy May Day everyone! I hope you've all had a lovely day and have something wonderful planned for the Bank Holiday tomorrow. As we wave goodbye to April, here's what the last month has been like for me in pictures:

6th April- My mum and I made a spontaneous little trip to London Zoo at the beginning of the month as the weather was so nice. We got to see a lot of the animals, including the beautiful tigers and the cutest baby gorilla! It was lovely to be out and enjoying the sunshine.

19th April- Again, because the weather last month was so glorious, my mum and I made the most of it by enjoying a picnic just a short walk away from where we live. The old quarries have been transformed into a nature reserve, and one is home to a family of swans who seemed to be enjoying the sunshine as much as we were.

28th April- Along with my friends Liz and Sarah, I went along to the National Theatre to see the sold-out production of Frankenstein, which I'll be reviewing on here soon. Of course this involved some obligatory snaps by the river, and I was amazed by this drink, called 'The Experiment', which was on sale at the theatre bar in celebration of the performance. When we were on the way home, we saw that the London Eye was lit up very patriotically in red, white and blue in anticipation of the events which were due to unfold the following day...

29th April-...which leads me nicely on to the mini-tea party which we threw for the Royal Wedding on Friday. After making my own bunting, I proudly displayed it in the front room as we tucked in to finger sandwiches, homemade cupcakes and homemade scones. Lovely stuff!

What did you get up to in April?

(Image credit: Sarah Farrell, please do not reproduce without permission. Images edited using Picnik.)

29.04.2011- Weekend Wishes

This week's Weekend Wishes is a special royal edition! So, in a bit of a departure from the norm, this weekend, I'd like to wish the new Duke and Duchess of Cambridge congratulations on their marriage and best wishes for the future. The ceremony was wonderful, Kate looked stunning (such a beautiful dress!) and it was so lovely to see the whole country enjoying the day. However you watched events unfold I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did!

Did you watch the Royal Wedding? What did you think?

(Image credit: BBC. Photo edited using Picnik.)

29.04.2011- Wedding Dress(ed)

The Royal Wedding is upon us! This time tomorrow, Prince William and Kate Middleton will be married and I will probably have eaten twice my body weight in cake, scones and finger sandwiches in celebration of the big day. In a fashion focused celebration of Kate and Wills' nuptials, my lovely best friend Sarah of City Girl's Fashion Box set myself and a host of other bloggers the challenge of coming up with two outfits for the wedding, which we would wear if we had been invited (I still maintain that my invitation got lost in the post!)

Outfit number one is a dream designer look- what we'd wear if money was no object:

Round Frame Sunglasses, Tom Ford £108, Feather and Flower Hairband, Tarina Tarantino $163, Saskia Lace-Trimmed Silk Chiffon Dress, Erdem, £3920, Single Button Blazer, Paul by Paul Smith , £202, Satin Platform Pumps, Miu Miu, £340, Flower- Appliquéd Leather Ballerina Flats, Valentino, £370,  Arty Gold-Plated Glass Ring, Yves Saint Laurent, £120,  Lovebirds Ring, Alex Monroe, £155, Pink Champagne Alexa, Mulberry, £868.

I created this look around this stunning Erdem dress, which I've admired since I first saw it on the catwalk at London Fashion Week last September. As is routine with me, I've included a choice of two pairs of shoes- a high heeled pair of Miu Miu pumps and these gorgeous Valentino flats, as I'm hopeless in heels (and who needs sore feet when they're dancing, right?!) In view of the chill in the air at the moment, I've popped in a lovely blazer and kept the accessories simple with a much-lusted after Mulberry Alexa, some pretty rings, a cute hairband and the obligatory paparazzi-proof sunglasses. I haven't added up the total cost of this outfit, but suffice to say that it's probably a small fortune! Which leads me on to outfit number two....

Fleur's Penna Dress, Nadinoo, £145, Double Corsage Hairband, Debenhams, £9.60, Cream Jewelled Maribou Shrug, Debenhams, £52, Cyphert Bag, Aldo, £36, Powder Rose Ballet Pumps, H&M, £12.99, Spot Lace Glove with Frill, £10, Accessorize, Nude Knot Court Shoes, £33, Dorothy Perkins, Paul & Joe Lipstick, £15, asos.com, Marbled Stone Ring in Rectangle Case, £8.50, Topshop, Enamel Flower Earrings, Urban Outfitters.

On the lower end of the price spectrum, this pretty little lot was selected from the cream of the high street, as well as some online shops. I only discovered Nadinoo last week, and I'm already head-over-heels in love with their beautiful dresses. I love the pattern and cut of this dress, and put together a vintage inspired look around the cinched in waist and classic silhouette which it creates. I would wear this beautifully detailed shrug from Debehams over the dress, along with these elegant gloves from Accessorize, giving the outfit a 1940's flavour. Again, as with my designer picks, two pairs of shoes are essential, so I settled on these heels from Dorothy Perkins, and some cute flats from H&M. Accessories wise, I chose this cream bag from Aldo (which I've been lusting after for ages), corsage hairband from Debenhams and jewellery from high street favourites Topshop and Urban Outfitters. Add in a pop of fuchsia pink Paul & Joe lipstick, and you've got an affordable, vintage inspired outfit which I think is more than fit for a princess. 

I've really enjoyed putting this post together, and would like to say a massive thank you to Sarah for asking me to get involved, and for giving me something lovely to fill the post-dissertation boredom! Check out the picks of the other bloggers here:

Sarah, Emma, Lucy, Michelle, Hannah, Lucy, Hannah and Gem.

Happy Royal Wedding everyone!

(Image credit: polyvore.com and Sarah for creating the banner.)

24.04.2011- Make It Yourself: Royal Wedding Bunting

As you are probably all well aware, this coming Friday is the Royal Wedding. Although opinion on it seems to be divided, I'm really excited (which I put down to the fact that I've never been to any wedding, let alone a royal one!) and my mum and I are planning a little tea party in front of the telly for the day itself. Everywhere you look, whether it's on Regent Street or your local high street, signs of celebration are everywhere. In preparation for Friday and in an uncharacteristic fit of creativity, I decided to make my own bunting, and share with you what I came up with:

Royal Wedding Bunting

You will need:

• String
• Scissors
• Sellotape
• Printed patterns

Step One: Find some lovely floral/pretty/patriotic patterns online, and pop them into Word. Then place the triangle template on the pattern (you should be able to fit two on one page) to make the flags for the bunting. Once you have enough (I made mine with about eight flags), print your patterns off.

Step Two: After printing your templates, carefully cut out each triangle and arrange them in an order you like along a length of string. 

 Step Three: Once you've cut out your triangles and placed them, you can then attach them to the string. I found that the easiest way to do this was using very thinly cut strips of clear tape, which you stick on the top of the triangle, fold over the string and then attach to the back of the paper. 

Step Four: When finished, display your bunting!

So there you have it, a really easy way to get into the spirit of the Royal Wedding without breaking the bank! 

Are you looking forward to the Royal Wedding? How are you going to be spending the day? And are you going to make your own decorations?

(Image credit: Sarah Farrell, please do not reproduce without permission. Images edited using Picnik.)