Monday 29 April 2013

OOTN: tba Effie Dress



Effie dress by tba via Ebay £37.25
Gold spike necklace from Dorothy Perkins sale
Super cosy black opaque tights by Primark £3
Nails painted in Red Gelly by Barry M at Boots £3.99

This is outfit I wore on the night of seeing Daughter a week ago. I decided it was the perfect opportunity to wear a recent Ebay bargain - this beautiful silk Effie dress by tba. I have been lusting after this dress from the moment I set eyes on it and became a woman obsessed! I checked Ebay's newly listed regularly, until it finally popped up in my size. This is the third tba dress I have owned, and it doesn't disappoint. One thing I will say about it, is that the velvet doesn't feel as heavy as I'd have liked it - maybe this is because it's silk? - leading to some unfortunate moments when the wind felt like dancing with it! That aside, I felt wonderful wearing it and really love it. I wanted to keep it pretty simple and opted to wear opaque black tights (it is freezing don't you know) and my gold spike necklace, to give my girly dress a bit more edge. Although you can't see, I played it safe with footwear in my black suede brogue creepers, so as not to have aching feet by the end of the night. Is anyone else loving the Gelly paint by Barry M? It's such a gorgeous finish! I only gave my nails one coat of this colour and they looked amazing - best red polish I've ever had!

Wednesday 24 April 2013

Daughter & Bear's Den at Liverpool Anglican Cathedral 22/04/13














One of the things on my 25 by 25 list is to see more bands. So on Monday evening, Mark & I set off to Liverpool to see Daughter, supported by Bear's Den. The venue was the stunning and beautiful Liverpool Anglican Cathedral, which I had never visited before. Mark & I are making plans to go and visit in the day, as it really is the most breathtaking building. The scale of it is just unbelieveable, it is so huge! Bear's Den are a band that Mark & I had listened to a couple of times, and we hadn't realised that they were supporting Daughter. It was wonderful to hear and see them live, their music made me smile & they're definitely worth a listen! Daughter were all I expected them to be; hauntingly beautiful and enchanting. The echoes of Elena's eerily beautiful voice filled the high ceilings of the cathedral; the passion and pain of the lyrics could be felt in every heart present. It was really something very wonderful to witness, and I have to admit that I felt my eyes fill with tears often. There are lines in the songs that really hit home, and would resonate in anyone who has ever felt loss and hopelessness. In such an atmospheric place, it was an amazing experience. The Tracey Emin installation at the back just added to the atmosphere, reading 'I felt you and I knew you loved me' - something else I felt happy to witness.

The video above on YouTube is the recording I made of Daughter playing Youth, please give it a listen and experience their beautiful sound for yourselves :) I'd also just like to say sorry for the quality of the photos, I didn't want to use my flash! And a big thank you to anyone who sent me get-well wishes - it was very much appreciated and I am feeling myself again now :)

Wednesday 17 April 2013

popping by


Dear lovely readers, I have just popped by to say hello and to say sorry I've not been around. I have had a busy time of it with appointments, and yesterday morning I went in to the hospital for a 'biopsy of lesions on the floor of the mouth'. I had the lumps under my tongue cut out. It was unpleasant, but I'm recovering nicely (fingers crossed!). I won't find out anything for 8 weeks, and my fingers are firmly crossed that the lumps won't reoccur.

I have been missing posting, and reading all of your wonderful blogs. I hope to be back on form in the next couple of days, and look forward to catching up :) those lovely flowers from my Instagram feed were a gift from Sandra - thank you so much! They're so beautiful, all glittery and pink. Mark is doing a great job of taking care of me too :)

Bye for now xx

Wednesday 10 April 2013

my little space

















An unexpected gift, and some serious study procrastinating led to an upheaval of my desk on Sunday! This is the before photo on my Instagram, and these are the photos taken during/after. The photos are as follows...

1. A gift from Sandra (thank you so much!) to match our new galaxy print bed covers, 2. One of my bear cups (totally unwashable, but storage for various tablets), 3. Putting a mason jar to use as a new washi tape storage solution, 4. Juicy Lucy love notes, 5. My vintage teacup used for paint water, 5. My besties and my lover in a sweet Ikea frame, 6. & 7. My special photo purse with photos of my dad inside, 8. My trusty old favourite paints, 9. Our memory jar - mason jar complete with post-it notes handy to write little things about the day, 10. How Mark & I met card, 11. Mason jars, cloud stickers & bear postcard from Paperchase, my paints in their case, 11. Belle & Boo postcards from Paperchase and one from the lovely Heidi, 12. & 13. My whole desk! including a pretty bird printed tin from dear friend Lynn, the vintage lace doilie which was my great grandma's, my Marie Curie daffodil pin, a jar of pens & paintbrushes, my unseen but definitely there Luis Suarez coaster from Mark!!, and The Fault In Our Stars which my sister Willow gave me to read and I haven't done yet!

Does anyone else love organising and re-organising things? I love my little space :)

Wednesday 3 April 2013

day trip: Willow Tea House


















Last Tuesday, I went to the Willow Tea House with Sandra & Mary for a bite to eat and a drink whilst Mark was at work. As you can see, it is a lovely, bright place with shabby chic decor. The furniture is beautifully distressed white-washed wood, and the tabletops are covered in an almost sage green polka dot cover with glass over the top. It is very pretty indeed, with fresh flowers on the table in a vintage porcelain jug. Willow Tea House has all the lovely finishing touches, little doilies on the saucers and even a mint imperial each with the bill!. Families and folk of all ages are welcome, and there's plenty to choose from in the glass counter filled with delicious homemade cakes and scones! The food was delicious, I opted for good old beans on toast. Can't go wrong with a bit of beans on toast! It was so good, and presented so beautifully with the beans in a dish and perfectly done toasted triangles. Sandra opted for coronation chicken sandwiches, and Mary for scrambled egg & smoked salmon on toast. Drinks were equally as lovely, and Willow Tea House also serve specialty teas and alcoholic beverages. We all thoroughly enjoyed it!

If anyone lives on the Wirral or the surrounding areas, Willow Tea House is definitely worth a visit :) they also cater for special occasions (birthdays, weddings, baby showers - anything!). I will be taking Mark there very soon to sample the delicious looking cakes!