Busy Bee

Top: Topshop

Cardigan: H&M

Shorts: H&M

Tights: Primark

Ring: Dorothy Perkins

This week has been a good one; 

I'm hopefully starting my new job next week, which I cannot wait for although am getting more nervous by the minute about. 

I've had an overhaul on my blog design, I'm a lot happier with it, but continue to tweak it...I'm a bit of a perfectionist and it's driving me insane.

I've set up a BLOG SHOP! Where I will be selling lots of clothing, jewellery and accessories. I've previously posted about my eBay account but I thought I'd give this a go! So stay tuned :)

I've been messing around with some Christmas card ideas and designs after seeing lots of inspiration on Tuesday. Being bored and alone sometimes pays off! So expect to see some of that coming your way soon. 

I've had an idea for a weekly post, every Monday I want to post about my weekend/my recent finds etc, a bit of a round up. I think it would help give my blog some stability and it's not called Sweet Monday for nothing!!

I've had two very lovely emails this week from a couple of major fashion blogs which has pleased me no end...a bit of another 'watch this space'. 

Oh and I've changed my domain name too finally incorporate Sweet Monday instead of my name! I hope it doesn't cause too much confusion or for people to miss my blog out.

Hope you're all having a lovely week and enjoy the weekend. x

PS

Hoody: American Apparel

Shirt: Miss Guided

Leggings: Primark

Shoes: Primark

Today's outfit post is a casual one. This rainy week has had me in joggers and a hoody lounging about on the sofa, mmm! So instead of dressing it up I thought I'd show you how I do super casual.

I found out recently that American Apparel is soon to be no more! :( I see at least one person wearing one of their hoody's every day, so it's going to suck when we can no longer get our hands on them. It's not a definite yet, but if you read this Guardian article it's not looking good for AA. 

The hoody is a classic, staple wardrobe piece and AA do it better than anyone. I bought two for £58 but with 40% off when they released a bunch of discount codes after all of the crazy antics at their rummage sale on Brick Lane. (Which by the way was rubbish!) 

I never normally spend a lot on clothing, being a lover of Primark and H&M, but their hoody's are well worth the money, it's the cosiest comfiest item of clothing I've ever bought, and I wear them all of the time! Not sure what I used to wear before I bought them now. I have experienced bobbling which is annoying but then I get so much wear out of them I cant really complain. So if you haven't already, go get one! :)

PS. Thanks to everyone for the continued support, it doesn't go a miss. I'm very grateful to all of my followers and can't believe how quickly my blog has grown in just over a month! x

PPS. I will be doing a discount code post this week and it's going to be a good one!! So check back soon. xx

Nailympics

Once a year the World's top manicurists battle it out in events including 'fantasy nail art', 'fibreglass tip and overlay' and 'gel sculpture'. Really only people involved in the nail industry would've heard of this event, but it's actually in it's sixth year. It took place this year at the Olympia Beauty Show at London's Earls Court. The nail industry as a whole is now worth an estimated £50 million a year!!

Nail art today involves glueing acrylic parts onto natural nails and then painting them as basic or wacky as preferred. In recent years nail art has stepped up it's game, with the use of airbrushing and embedding everything from gems to trinkets, proving very popular. 

The Nailympics takes the World of nail art to grand new levels, all of whch are completely impractical but absolutely mesmerizing. Fingers show stories, with fairies, forests and animals all taking place on the end of nails. 

And as I know many of my followers also love to decorate their nails like myself, I thought I'd share these little gems.

You can read the full article at the Daily Mail

Humbug

Shirt: H&M

Jeans: Topshop

Boots: Primark

Ring: Ibiza Market

Nail Polish: Models Own 'Feeling Blue'

Sorry for the lack of posting recently, I only got back from Ibiza yesterday morning. This outfit post is mainly of my new bargain buy, this H&M shirt. Only £14.99, it's a lovely item, a great fit and really well made. Considering something similar in Topshop would cost at least double, I couldn't resist buying it.

I also picked up this new ring whilst on holiday at a 'Hippy Market'. It's plastic but looks like glass and I think looks a lot more expensive than the €4 it cost. My holiday was a great chance to relax and take some time out. I will post up some photos some time this week :)

Evergreen

Playsuit: Urban Outfitters

Cardigan: H&M

Tights: Primark

Shoes: New Look

Ring: Topshop

Lipstick: Models Own 'Pinky Red'

Did a little bit of shopping today, seems to be all I do these days. Off on my hols tomorrow so popped to town with the boyfriend for something to do. 

Ended up buying this lovely ring from Topshop, only £5! Which I thought was pretty cheap considering the price of most of their jewellery. 

Also popped into H&M, which I have to say I am very impressed with at the moment. They've got some great items in their, at really affordable prices. I bought a lovely black and cream stripe oversized shirt, which you just know would be around £35 or more in Topshop, but was only £14.99 in H&M! :) 

I also bought the following dress, it was £24.99 and I just couldn't resist. It's not my usual type of dress but I've seen so many friends wearing this style recently and it looks so nice dressed down or up! 

What do you all think? Does it look ok on me? I think I might wear it out for a friends birthday when I'm back from Ibiza, see what they think of it. I'm thinking this dress plus some killer wedges?! 

Aztec Night

Top: Motel

Jeggings: Topshop

Shoes: Irregular Choice

This is a little outfit I wore out the other night for a meal, been meaning to post it just to show off my shoesies ;) They are the love of my life. 

When I was studying art foundation I met a girl who had them and I knew from the moment I clapped eyes on them that I HAD to have them. But sadly Schuh and any other site had discontinued them. So I spent 2 years searching eBay for them and then one day a size 5 popped up :D

I love Irregular Choice, just wish I could afford more of their gorgeous shoes. 

If any of you have any I'd love to see them! x

Brighten Up These Dull Days

Models Own: 'Nude' and 'Beth's Blue'

These dull Autumn days haven't stopped my love for brighter polishes. My purple's, grey's and deep red's are still on hold for now, mainly because I've only had my Models Own goodies for a few weeks and want to try them all out properly. So this week I've gone for a simple design that I've tried before. It's so easy to do, yet jazz's up your nails nicely! 

These two colours were a bit of a rash decision, but I think they work well together. The brightness of the blue compliments the dullness of the nude lovely, I really like this colour palette. 

Just a little tip of mine, after receiving a few comments from bloggers who don't have the patience. Firstly this design is simply one coat of Nude, left to dry and then a sweep of Beth's Blue diagonally across the top. I tend to start the sweep in the middle so that the main bulk of polish is in the centre and you can then drag it out to the edges. Other wise you get a huge blob of polish on the edge of your finger which can get messy to clean off afterwards. Luckily Models Own polishes create stunning colours with just one coat! But I do not wipe the brush a lot to get rid of excess, maybe once or twice on the one side of the brush, and then I go straight on to the nail, so the polish is quite thick. You may think this would be easy to mess up afterwards, and will take ages to dry. But it doesn't, and then once you've applied the topcoat everything is secured! Plus a thicker layer means no need for two coats and perfect colour coverage. When only using one colour I do always apply two coats though. 

My top tips for any kind of nail art, even just painting your nails standardly with one colour, ALWAYS apply a top coat. It does wonders!! Believe me. I work almost every day and my nails still last with no chips for at least 2-3 days.

Also, invest in some Nail Varnish Remover Pads! You can pick them up in Wilkinson's for less than a £1. They are thin greasy circular pads and are great for cleaning up the skin around the nail, getting rid of any excess. And they won't take off your nail polish from your other hand, unlike cotton wool which sticks immediately to any polish. So gone are the days of chipping off the excess for hours. Also they are great for when you're going away, you can still change your nails whilst on holiday :) no need to take a bottle of nail varnish remover and a bag of cotton wool balls! So I can now safely wear polish on holiday and not have to worry about it chipping and looking a mess for the rest of the week OR worrying about remover leaking in my suitcase.

:) x

Autumn Cosy

Headband: Topshop

Top: River Island

Jeans: Topshop

Boots: River Island

Nail Polish: Models Own 'Purple Grey'

A couple of weeks ago when the weather turned bleak I bought a couple of items from my Autumn/Winter wish list, including this furry pom headband. :) It's super soft and cosy, can't wait to wear it every day during the Winter.

These photos were actually taken a couple of weeks ago, sorry, the light has just been crap recently to take fresh outfit photos. But I thought this outfit was appropriate for todays weather conditions. 

Sorry for the lack of blogging recently, I've been caught up at work and seeing friends. I promise this week I will get back on top of things!

I'm off to Ibiza on Friday, hopefully for lots of summer sun! One last batch of rays before the Winter really does set in. So before I go away I'm going to try and schedule a few posts, fingers crossed it'll work!!

Hope you all had a lovely weekend. What did you get up to? I went to Bristol on Saturday to visit some friends who I haven't seen in months. Was so good to catch up :) And we went to a club called Bunker, which I've never been to before. If any of you are out in Bristol for a night out I would definitely recommend it. On a Saturday night it's only £5 entry, and doubles are only £3! Absolute bargain, especially for the weekend! x

LOVEFiLM

For a while now I've been signed up to LOVEFiLM, in fact apparently I've received 41 titles. That's quite a lot. I've recently changed my package to a cheaper one, a maximum of 3 DVDs a month for £5.99. Not bad really and I found on the unlimited option I was rarely having time to watch/send back/receive more than 3 to 4 a month anyway.

But the point of this post is basically to ask all of you what films should I rent? What films do you love, or think I NEED to watch?

I'd really appreciate your suggestions, and will let you know if/when I watch them, what I thought of them :)

Hope you've all had a great week, sorry for my lack of blogging! x

Back to Basics

Models Own: Nude

This weeks nails are a little bland I guess, but I've fallen in love with Models Own 'Nude'. It's such a pretty colour that goes with everything! Last week I also ordered some nail stickers off of eBay. They came yesterday so I thought I'd add them to jazz the 'Nude' look up a bit. I was going to use a few flowers together but they were bigger than expected and I didn't want to cover the whole nail. So for now I've just used one. I'll try and get a bit more adventurous next time. Also I thought they'd be great for a wedding. Very delicate and decorative. 

I've now finally ordered a Konad Stamper, and I'm watching a few Konad plates on eBay. I really want m57, with the leopard print effect. They're quite expensive though. £6 for just one, and there's quite a few I like the look of. But I suppose if they last ages then it's worth it. 

Anyway hope everyone's having a great week!

I'm working lots this week, hence the lack of blogging. Sorry. x

Howl

Blouse: Motel

Jeggings: Miss Guided

Boots: River Island

Ring: Florence

Nail Polish: Models Own 'Beth's Blue'

Todays outfit post is inspired by this Wintery weather we're experiencing. The weekend was pretty good, with lots of sunny spells. But as soon as the rain sets in it feels a lot like Autumn/Winter again. My wardrobe is so up and down at the moment, I never know what to wear for the best. One day it's really mild, almost warm and the next it's freezing! Just these last few days I've gone from my Summer Lovin' outfit, consisting of barely anything to this!!

I bought these boots a couple of weeks ago in Oxford but forgot to blog about them They are gorgeous! After posting up my Topshop Wishlist, I tried the Topshop boots on that I loved, but after a lot of thought I didn't end up buying them. They were made from a very thin leather and had gaps where they laced up, definitely not practical for any rainy weather! And their soles were really thing too, so I doubt I would've been able to get a lot of wear out of them. So after browsing around the shops I found a lovely pair in River Island, which I'd already seen on a few people's blogs. After really wanting the Topshop Aviator Jacket, I didn't want these boots because I wouldn't be able to wear them together, but the jacket has been put on hold due to lack of funds, and the boots were needed ASAP. 

They're a bargain at £39.99 and are really comfy with the fleece lining. Very snug :)

Here's a better photo of them...

I also ended up buying a pair of boots from Primark too, for the really horrible days, the muddy/snowy kind of days. I only really bought them because they were only £15 but actually they're also really comfy and I've been wearing them more than these beauties! Oops! You can see the Primark ones on my previous outfit post Playsuit TakeTwo.

Hope you like!

Models Own #2

Models Own - Lime Green and Beth's Blue

With my voucher, that I picked up in the 50% sale, I bought these two lovely colours!

The 'Lime Green' I wasn't quite so sure about but my boyfriend loved it and it matches one of my bracelets perfectly! I think I will definitely wear it but probably not as much as 'Beth's Blue'. This colour is amazing! It's like a really pastel shade of lilac, and is just gorgeous! It makes quite a statement, and the colour goes on great, could be worn with just 1 coat. I've really fallen in love with it! Along with 'Feeling Blue', that I reviewed in my previous Models Own post, I will be wearing them both non stop I'm sure. 

American Pride

Last night my Anty threw an American themed party for her 40th birthday. In keeping with the theme and my current obsession for nail design, I chose to paint a few flags ;)

As I said in my last post, I went as Super Woman, my boyfriend went as a Basket Ball player, my Dad as a Blues Brother and my Mum as a Cow Girl. My Anty (pictured below) went as Snow White and my Uncle (also pictured) as a Cowboy. 

Others include a surfer, carrying an ironing board as a surf board! A saloon girl, Minnie Mouse and the biker from the Village People. 

I think though the best dressed of the night was my cousin Tia who went as Jessie from Toy Story. Doesn't she look the cutest! Complete with all the best poses! 

The night was a great success, with lots of Budweiser, Wine and Tequila flowing all night, accompanied by a great BBQ and Chilli. Mmm! My Anty was a little worse for wear by time we left, after having one two many Tequila slammers! Haha, we would be a lethal pair if she was my Mother!

Hope you're all having a lovely weekend! x

Summer Lovin'

Playsuit: Urban Outfitters

Ring: Miss Selfridge

Sandals: Primark

Bag: H&M

Sunglasses: Urban Outfitters

So this week I've had a lovely few days off work and for once on my days off the sun has been shining :) This makes me very happy! To make the most of it I decided to get out my most adored playsuit, probably for it's final showing this Summer :'(

I bought it when I was in Bristol, I saw and thought it was gorgeous, but I'd never worn/bought anything like it before. So I tried it on and the sales assistant loved it on me (she was so good at her job. HA!) And my boyfriend loved it too which gave the deciding vote :)

It was in the sale with a lot of others yet some were £25 and some were £17....this one being the latter, so an absolute bargain! Especially for Urban Outfitters.

The ring is another favourite, but is slightly to big for me so I usually wear another gold band ring infront of it to keep it on. It's very bling! A great statement piece.

All of the accessories were all bargains. Those sandals were a great summer buy! At only £4 I don't care if they fall apart before next Summer, but they are kind of annoying with all their little buckles. But I like the fact they don't have a toe separator when all of my others do!

The bag was a steal from H&M and was so on trend last year with it's tassel effect!

And finally the sunglasses were another sale bargain from Urban Outfitters, for only £7. And they look EXACTLY the same as Raybans which I saw shortly after for a cool £120..pssh!

The weathers meant to stay lovely all weekend! Can't wait, as I'm going to my Anty's 40th American style garden party tomorrow, so I'm hoping it will be nice!

I'm dressing up as Super Woman and the boy is going as a Boston Celtics player. I'm sure there will be photos to come :) x

Water Marbling

So this week I decided to get some new inspiration for my nails. I googled nail designs, and a lot came up! There's a lot of good tutorials on YouTube. 

I found one called 'Water Marbling', which basically makes your nails look like they've been painted in water colour...or petrol!

All of the videos said it was very easy to do!! So I tried it.

My first attempt wasn't the best. I think I used a few too many colours, and they all kinda clashed a bit and made a big mess.

Models Own 'Feeling Blue' 

Sparkle & Fade 'Peach'

Sparkle & Fade 'Mint'

Models Own 'Silver Fox'

So now I've attempted the technique again using three shades of the same colour...purple. I think all worked together a lot better and the over all effect looks a lot neater. You can really see the swirling colours. But I'm still unsure about the whole thing. From a distance, it kind of makes my nails just look like they haven't been painted properly?! Maybe practice makes perfect, but I'm not sure if I can be bothered to do it again! Some nails came out great where all the varnish and water flowed together well and dried smooth whereas some dried lumpy from where there was too much polish in places. 

Models Own 'Nude'

Models Own 'Purple Grey'

Rimmel 'Blue My Mind'