I seem to be on a near constant hunt for the perfect maxi dress to wear for work, so when the new season Very catalogue dropped onto my doormat not long ago and I saw this dress, I knew it was an instant buy.

It's a soft jersey fabric and has a number of really nice details - soft collar and placket buttons, breast pocket, tie belt and 3/4 length sleeves and the soft A line shape isn't too revealing or restrictive for work.

I've worn it a number of times already, accessorising it a little differently each time. At the moment, with decent(ish) weather, I'm keeping it simple with a statement necklace or a skinny belt but as Autumn takes hold I'll be wearing long sleeved t shirts underneath and adding a scarf or two. In Winter thick tights and long boots will be just perfect.


How would you style this dress?

I do not own any orange shorts and I definitely do not own any orange leather shorts. I had thought that any pair of shorts would have to do, I thought about wearing these, worn for an Inspiration Monday last summer, but whilst in town on Saturday I saw this cute skirt and decided that this would be better. It's not orange but it's close enough. This will be my last purchase until September as I'm on a spending ban for the duration of August and have set myself a little challenge to keep me occupied.

I actually wore this on Sunday as I have a 'no thigh' rule for work, but I can be forgiven for that, right?

I mentioned last week that I'd organised a Clothes Swap, I just thought I'd let you know that it went well. We raised just shy of £170 for the charity and a number of people have asked if there will be another one and, you know what, I think there will be.

Thanks to Two Birds for another great inspiration, see the others here, and as I type I'm wondering if Baby Bird was welcomed into the world this weekend?

Hope you all have a fabulous week.
Love

I've decided that August is to be frugal, meaning only essential shopping is allowed (food, that sort of thing). I took part in Frugal February back in, erm, February and found it to be a really positive exercise.

To take my mind off the fact that clothes shopping can't possibly be seen as essential spending, no matter what angle you look at it from, I'm going to be shopping my wardrobe.


Can you sense a challenge coming on? To make it a little more interesting I'm only going to wear items once, a mini Wearing It All challenge, focusing on the less frequently worn items in my wardrobe and starting with the never-been-worn.

I'll try to do a weekly round up post every Wednesday.

Do you fancy joining me? If you do leave me a comment below and if you don't leave me a comment anyway ;o)

Love

At around about the time that my current BB cream (Boots 17) came to an end I heard a buzz about the arrival of Dr Jart's BB creams at Boots, and loving a new product in the way I do, I decided to give it a try.

Boots gave very little product information on their website but it was enough for me to chose which of the four creams was best for me - Dr Jart+ Premium Beauty Balm SPF40. Sadly, it was the line '...particularly suitable for those over 30' that sealed the deal *sigh*. At £24.00, it's the most expensive of the range (typical!) but it's the only one (I believe) that has a pump dispenser, which I rather like and the packaging is really nice.


It gives a light coverage and has a pinky beige pigment, giving the illusion of a light tan but I am very pale so this may not be the case for everyone.

It softens blemishes, covers redness and smoothes skin tone leaving skin feeling really soft. Catching an occassional glimpse of myself as I go about my day, I have to say I'm pleased with what I see. My skin just looks better and I find I wear less make-up as a result.

It creates a 'slightly glossy' finish which gives a lovely dewy look to cheekbones but I found this to be more a case of  'someone pass me a blotting tissue' on my T zone. I normally prefer a matt finish so I decided to use a beauty staple of mine - the Avon MagiX Face Perfector - on my T zone to counteract the shine. I love the result.

I tried and reviewed Garnier Miracle Skin Perfector but I think I must have been the only person on earth that didn't like it. It just didn't work for me. I mentioned the 17 BB Blemish Balm in a post, it was an improvement, but it's Dr Jart+ that has pursuaded me that BB creams are the way to go.

Do you use a BB cream? Which ones have you tried?

Monday rolls around so quickly, especially when the sun has finally started to shine and you want the weekend to last just a little longer...

I had a fabulous weekend. I shopped for the week's groceries (all on the high street), found my second charity shop purchase of the year (could my charity shop luck be changing?) and spent Saturday evening having a long over due catch up with my best friend.

Sunday consisted of lots of relaxing in the sun and some pottering in the garden.

Tomorrow I have a day off work as I have organised a clothes swap for a local charity and want plenty of time to make sure everything is set up and ready. It's the first time I've done anything like this so I'm a little apprehensive. I really want it to be successful, and maybe even become a regular thing. I feel a little like I did as a child in the run up to my birthday party... will anyone come?

Anyway, today's outfit, another fab inspiration from Megan and Nora (aka Two Birds). These jeans have made a number of appearances lately, but the top is new. It's from a website I stumbled upon called Wandering Minds. I received my order within 48hrs, with it came a gift of a hairband and a hand written note. What's more, I didn't take advantage of a 15% discount, so I was emailed by 'Digitial Mechanic' James with a new discount code to use within the next three months. How good is that?! I ordered this top and a basic white t-shirt and I'll be going back for more... I have my eye on this parka - perfect for Autumn, and these tan brogues, cute huh?

See all the inspiration outfits here.

Love

I've really started to love the neon trend, which came as quite a surprise. After living through the 80's I didn't think that neon was something I would ever re-visit. I wore fluffy neon ankle socks - one pink and one yellow, and rubber bangles in huge numbers and had a scrunchie in every neon colour available *cringe*.

And yet, here I am, several years on, being lured once again by the mesmerising glow of neon.

My most recent neon purchase was a necklace found on eBay (whilst searching for 'that' H&M necklace). It had been hand painted, which triggered my inner DIY-er and had me heading off to B&Q for a can of spray paint.

I chose Rust-oleum High Glow Paint in yellow and here is what I did with it…


I chose an old, neglected necklace and asked Tinker nicely to step aside so I could photograph it.


I rather liked the contrast between the colour and texture of the wood with the utterly man made garishness of fluorescent yellow, so I decided to spray just a few of the beads. I used masking tape to mask the first few beads and sealed the rest in a bag.


I built up the colour slowly by spraying a thin coat and letting it dry before applying another. I did two coats a day until I was satisfied with the result.


I really rather like it and am currently eyeing up other potential neon projects - Tinker had better not sit still for too long...

What do you think? Have you embraced neon?
Check back soon to see how I've been wearing it.

Have a great weekend guys!

Love