Double bobble hat!

I was helping a good friend of mine hunt for a decent winter jacket when we visited the new River Island store in Cardiff. I don't know whether it's the shiny new fixtures and fittings, but I'm sure the stock is nicer than any other branch I've ever been in.

While we waited for someone check the stockroom for another size I spotted this cute double bobble hat. I had to try it on. It was love at first try. I have an unusual taste for cute and odd hats. I have a rather large head, so I was extra pleased that this fit and felt right.

I look forward to turning up the cute on a few outfits this season with this bad boy. 

You can find it on on the River Island website HERE for a fair £13.

xoxo

Cross earrings.

I just had to do a little post on these. I've loved crosses for a while but I've never been compelled to purchase any. That was until I found these while I was in Primark desperate for a quick pair of tights because mine had laddered.

These little gold coloured metal beauties were only £1! They also came in a dark silver too.

Well it would have been rude if I didn't buy them both.

xoxo

Calamity Jill.

So I always tell people I'm clumsy. But I rarely divulge the extent of my wobbly little problem. 

It's a daily fight with everything, moving and stationary.

For example, today in the airport, I managed to pick the only wonky table in the cafe which sent my scolding Americano flying. I was so embarrassed, but the nice bloke made me a fresh cup.

Queuing to go through security, the little clear bag with all of my small toiletries burst, scattering the tubes and bottles everywhere. Getting ready last night I managed to trip over nothing in my apartment and I ended up launching myself face first into my open suitcase.

I clearly have some kind of calamity death wish. 

xoxo

Pay day girly meal.

Thank god for pay day!

I think it's okay to splurge on one little treat at least. 

I say splurge, we had vouchers for "2 courses for £10" for Prezzo! Hardly crippling. 

Just a spontaneous dinner gathering after work. 

I had a lovely time with the girls. 

Must do more often.

I went for the mushroom risotto and the chocolate fudge cake. 

Am I the only one who eats the mint leaf that comes with your dessert? I mean, if it looks a bit limp and old, then I obviously wouldn't, but this was crisp and fresh. 

xoxo

Studded slippers.

I've been searching for the right pair of studded slippers for about a year now. I have stubby feet and I can safely say that they are not slim and dainty. It's not that I need a wide fit, but every pair of these shoes I've tried on for months have been painfully narrow. Next launched a line early this season which again, to my horror were just as narrow as all the others, but then they brought out these beauties. As I prepared to try them on all I could hear was my inner monologue laughing at me, 'you know these aren't going to fit, idiot'. To my surprise they were perfect. 

xoxo

Happy 5 years to us.

This weekend marks the five year miles stone for me and Boyfriend.

I think it's nice to take a moment to look back at what you have been through together.

Consider how much further you can still go. 

Back in March we'd been in Cheltenham, in a cute home accessories shop called Vinegar Hill, where Boyfriend had spotted a mug with a nice quote on it. He took a photo on his phone.

Three months later I was in Newcastle, shopping with my Mam.

Through a shop window as I walked past, the same quote was jumping out at me. 

Is it corny to say, I think it's because he was thinking of me, or I was thinking of him?

So I bought the card. And held on to it for another four months. 

Just for this weekend. 

Because this is how he makes me feel.

Don't wait for a sign, for an excuse, for a chance to ask why me. 

Just get up and do it. 

xoxo

How I Met Your Mother.

For the last month and a half I have been on a HIMYM marathon. I can safely say that I am smitten! I am nearing the end of the seventh season and I am so excited about the eighth starting at the end of the month. Those of you who have followed it from the beginning will understand that I couldn't live if anything happened to Lily and Marshall. I get it, we're supposed to feel like you would kill some one to find out how Ted does meet their mother. Seriously, I can't take it anymore. How many other insignificant women must we endure?! What is this reference with the yellow umbrella?! Make it stop. But I'm completely obsessed with Barney and Robin. It's the best love story ever. I'm also a weeny bit obsessed with Neil Patrick Harris (have you seen Dr. Horrible's Sing Along Blog? Watch it here). Getting back to Barney. Why he is legen - WAIT FOR IT:

Suit up.

High five. 

(Self-five, tiny-five, phone-five).

True story. 

Bro code.

Dibs.

Awesome.

Haaaaave you met Ted?

Wait for it. 

Play book.

Scotch and cigars.

Challenge accepted.

                                                                                                              - dary!

If you haven't already watched it, I suggest that you do. 

xoxo

Street Fashion Week.

Listen up Cardiff. 

We have a duty to fashion, a responsibility to ourselves to ensure we are named The Most Stylish City. GRAZIA Magazine in association with Toni & Guy HAIRMEETWARDROBE are hosting:

Street Fashion Week. 

This September seven style hunters are branching out across Britain to find the most fashion forward city in our Island Nation.

Saturday 22nd - Liverpool

Sunday 23rd - Birmingham

Monday 24th - London

 Tuesday 25th - Cardiff 

Wednesday 26th - Manchester

Thursday 27th - Leeds

Friday 28th - Edinburgh

Our very own Cardiff girl, Lucy from STYLE BY SMITH will be scouring the streets in search of our best dressed in the marathon that is Street Fashion Week. 

Tuesday 25th Sept. from ten 'til seven starting at Warehouse in Saint David's 2 shopping centre. 

Come down and see it for yourself with a hair make over courtesy of Toni & Guy between eleven and three. 

You can keep up to date on all of the goss on the Grazia website here as photos of the style queens start rolling in, live from each city. You can also upload your own photos from 22nd Sept, with the most stylish five winning a £250 Warehouse voucher! 

Surely, street style is fuel to the fashion industry. We sway trends and influence each other through our staple choices. Without texture, colour, hemlines and silhouettes life would be bland, let's face it. Let's celebrate our wardrobe prowess and show the nation our true colours. This would be fashion war, but that's not the nature of fashion. We do not tear away the beautiful ensemble of another should it appear better than our own. 

We coo and lust after our opponents wardrobe. 

Join the conversation on twitter with #StreetFashionWeek

and don't forget to vote for your favourite city from 1st October!

xoxo

Images // graziadaily.co.uk

Rome.

Instead of going straight home after our cruise we stayed in Rome for just over a day. 

I've enjoyed my first Italian espresso. If you simply order a coffee in Italy, you get an espresso! In your face milky coffees of the world! I love this. An Americano is my usual beverage of choice but if I'm on the move and if I'm on holiday or with Boyfriend I should be, then it's too big to drink quickly and an espresso is ideal. Actually I prefer a double espresso. Anyways.

With limited time I headed to my favourite sites, the Spanish Steps and the Fontana della Barcaccia, Saint Peter's Square (I saw the Pope's house!), the Piazza Navona, the Pantheon (I nearly died of excitement when I realised the ceiling is a giant sun dial!), the Fontana di Trevi (I threw a coin in over my shoulder), we saw the Colosseum but didn't have time to go inside, or explore the Roman Fortress so we headed to the church of Santa Maria in Cosmedin before lunch, for one last sight. 

La Bocca della Verita. I thought really hard about how much I like ice cream and I shoved my hand in the Mouth of Truth and low and behold I didn't lose my hand. 

On our way back to the hotel to pick up our luggage and head to the airport we stopped for late lunch. We had already been to the Hard Rock Cafe on the Via Veneto but I convinced Boyfriend to have something a little less common and we walked further up the street to something a little more Italian. 

We had pizza and pasta and it was awesome. How could we not in Rome? 

This has been the best summer ever. 

xoxo

Athens.

During our cruise I was lucky enough to get Boyfriend off the amazing ship to visit the Acropolis in Athens. All I could hear as we got off at the port was music from the Disney movie Hercules "Who puts the glad in gladiator - Herculeeeeees, from zero to hero, and that's a fact". I was so excited to see the ancient Greek ruins. Giant old monuments seem really peaceful to me. Not sombre, but they certainly command a certain respect.
For those of you who don't know what the Acropolis is, it's a peak in the middle of the city of Athens, on which the ancient Greeks constructed temples for their gods, the Olympians. The site overlooks the city and the panoramic views are incredible. It was absolutely boiling though! Hello sunburn.
Instead of booking an expensive excursion with the cruise company, we just went on our own. I think this is a safe enough option unless you're a total idiot who can't tell the time. It's worth it, as a basic tour with the cruise can cost £40 each. We took the well known 'Hop on - Hop off' sightseeing bus. You know, the red ones, open top. If you book with Viator they guarantee to get you to the next port of call for your cruise if you miss the boat because of their services.
It's a great way to see the city in a day. It's also a great way to say you've been around Athens when you've already seen what you came for. ;)
The Acropolis is amazing, go check it out. My favourites were the Temple of Olympians, Odeon of Herodes and the Temple of Athena. Then down in the city there's Hadrian's Arch, the Temple of Zeus and Panathinaiko Stadium (the site of the 1st Olympic Games in 1896).
Yeah, go check it out. Ancient stuff. Awesome.

xoxo