a passing cloud in the sky

Chick chick chick chick chicken…

I’ve actually scheduled this post because I just know that Friday is going to be an exhausting day. At work for 8am and not finishing until 5.15pm, plus it’s DBF’s day off so hopefully I’ll meet him after work to do something romantic (or if I step out of my fantasy head for a moment what I mean is that we’ll hang out after work)

As most of you know I’ve moved to Liverpool which meant making a new place a home, my kitchen is one my favourite rooms and I thought I’d share with you some recent accessories I’ve picked up.

Storage containers £1.99 each from B&M bargains

B&M bargains £1.99 for the pair of pourers and £1.99 for the butter dish.

Aw my chicken…my pair of chickens. We had one of thes brown ones when I was a kid and I’d forgotten all about it until a few months ago when I was watching reruns of the TV show Bread - an old BBC comedy based on a scouse family. Anyway they have one of these chickens which they keep their money in, it’s shown in the credits. I’ve been on the hunt since for a chicken of my own, I nearly partned with £29.99 in a well know department store. I’m glad I didn’t because I picked up these two beauties at the same carboot about a month apart for an English pound each, yes £1. Saying I’m over the moon would be an understatement. The brown one has been relegated to the top of the fridge and the white one is home to my eggs and lives on the work surface. Just goes to show, once again, that lie-ins are overrated and carboots are the place to be early on a Sunday morning.

What’s in your kitchen?

Ta ta for now

Queenie xx

Flower Power

Not at all dressed for the weather this evening but that’s ok with me, its summer and unless we have some very freakish weather I’ll be dressing ‘as if’. I didn’t go dressed to work like this, my last sentence doesn’t apply to work where it is sub zero temperatures all day with the air con blasting out. I went dressed it knee length boots, and a thick cardi (with a dress and leggings in case you were wondering), I must have looked like a loon at lunch time when I went out for a smoke but I’m way beyond what people think.

We popped out to nado’s for a spot of dinner – yes daharling high class diners we are – usually we have to wait ages for a table but we were in and out in less than an hour, which means DBF can go off and meet his friends and I get a rare evening having the TV to all myself without football (or highlights of football, or men talking about football, or skysports news, you catch my drift), haven’t looked to see what’s on, probably nothing!

So here’s what I’m wearing this evening:

Per Una Skirt - £2.99 Charity shop

Pink Halter Neck Jersey Top £1.80 charity shop

Denim Waistcoat 50p carboot

Birkinstocks £19.99 TJ Hughes

Cameo earrings £2.49 Matalan

I love this skirt, the way it swishes when I walk and how I feel when I’m wearing it. It always excites me when I find a piece that I truly fall in love with, and to think I nearly left it behind because I wasn’t sure!

Hope you’re all having a lovely evening

Ta ta for now

Queenie xx

Rejoining the rat race

Morning lovies,

I start my new job today, hurrah, 3 weeks after I was meant to, damn you government red tape. Cha ching, I can hear the money hitting my bank account already. The fantastic thing is that there is no dress code, I’m very excited at the prospect of freedom from the chains of boring black trousers, boring blouse and plain black courts every day. Okay okay, so not all office wear is quite that bland and even with a smart dress code dashes of individual style can be sneeked in with a vintage scarf, coloured/patterened tights, or statement shoes, but it's not the same as having free roam. I'm quite excited to see what I can come up with. I think I can spy a challenge on the horizon, perhaps.

So back to business, here is what I'm wearing for my first day, smart because it's my first but after today no holds barred: (No outfit photograph as my camera has run out of batteries grrr)

Black Topshop vest 99p charity shop
Black River Island knee length city shorts £1.50 charity shop (yes even after in an early post I said I'd neve wear them!)
Purple and white ruffled top £1.99 charity shop
Black Clockhouse waistcoat 50p carboot
Purple suede Mary Janes 50p carboot

You'll just have to imagine what it looks like, if I can add a photo later I will.

If you haven’t checked out her fabulous coats already get over to Disco Goth’s blog now for a gander. She sent me over this lovely award thank you, um so I’ve got to share five things about me…

1 – I once did a course in stand up comedy, apparently it’s not something that you can learn, (well not me anyway).

2 – I’m stubborn and will sulk, strop and tantrum like a toddler if I don’t get my own way – funny thing is that it rarely works and I just end up looking rather silly.

3 – I’m very creative but have real trouble putting my crafty ideas into practice, through procrastination and laziness rather than lack of skill or ability.

4 – I’m starting to realise that the biggest challenge in my life is being myself instead of who I think I should be (or who others think I should be) – living life like that can be exhausting and I’m not doing it anymore!

5 – My toes nails are ALWAYS painted, today they are hot pink but mostly they are jet black or ruby red. Bare nails on other people don’t bother me, but on myself they freak me out.

So there, perhaps you know me a little better now, or perhaps you’ve come to realise more fully the crank I really am. I’ll leave that with you to ponder, have a lovely day

Ta ta for now

Queenie x

Ins and outs

In's

Volunteering at BHF - Who knew that giving of my time for free could make me so happy? Whether I’m sorting, steaming, tagging, pricing books, tidying the shop of working on the shop floor there is always a massive smile on my face.

Playing soul music and singing along badly – who cares if the neighbours across the road can see and hear, it makes me feel happy.

Friends who are there for me, no matter what -I've leaned on them hard over the last few months.

On The Fence

Baco’s - They taste exquisite BUT they make me windy, and are full of crap.

Joining the gym again – um struggling to find the motivation to go, but know that exercise is healthy and actually enjoy it when I’m there. It’s just getting me there.

Hot baths in the summer – I love a long soak in the bath with sensuous oils and candles but getting out of a hot bath when the weather is warm somehow doesn’t feel right.

Outs

The world cup - To be fair I was over it before it began, it would be more bearable if it wasn’t for those vuvuzela horn things. Enough noise already! Grrrr!

Disclosure of Scotland - Hurry up already and process my form so I can start my new job. Grrr!

Being skint – well nearly, you’d have thought that would encourage me to stop spending money ha!

Popping out for a pint of milk

Traditionally Sunday is a day of worship and for me this Sunday was no exception, worship of all things second hand. Some people go to church, others have a much deserved lie in, I however was up at the crack of dawn to attend two, yes two, local car boot sales. Being up at the crack of dawn meant I wasn’t too focussed on my appearance, throwing on a pair of wide legged jeans, a black fitted t-shirt and a valour puma tracksuit top and I’ve slobbed about the rest of the day swapping the valour top for a denim waistcoat.

But shock horror, we’re out of milk and darling boyfriend needs at least two cups of coffee in the morning before he can function, so off I tottered to the corner shop catwalking some of my new purchases from this morning:

TopShop Linen Jacket £3

Leather sandals £1

Locket 20p

Jeans £1 (previous carboot buy)

Black t-shirt 25p (previous carboot buy)

FCUK sunglasses on my head 99p charity shop

Not a bad look for £6.44

There are a few other buys to share from this morning but I'll save those for another time

Ta ta for now

Queenie x

A return to blogging

So I've had some time away, what with moving and having huge wobbles about settling here and leaving Nottingham behind and looking for work, doing the odd contract, and generally living life from one day to the next.

I can't promise I'm back for good but I want to get back into posting on a more regular basis. I don't know which direction my blog will take but for today I'm going to post tomorows outfit.

All charity shop buys, hurrah, the dress is originally primark I picked it up for £2.95. I've actually got four of these dresses now (this one, a navy polka dot one, navy star print and black/white dogtooth, I love the style of them and they way they fit, they are so versatile can be worn with tights, bear legs or layered with jeans/linen trousers, dressed up or down. The jumper is an old m&s one, it's actually size 16/18 but it's got quite a oversized quirky style and I plan to wear it for layering tomorrow, it will come off when it warms up, it cost me a very measly £1.99. The shoes are also originally primark and were a steal at £2. £2 for a brand new pair of shoes from a charity shop, can't complain at that. The pearls were picked up at a carboot somewhere along the line. I might put on a pair of white linen trousers or leggings just for layering because it might be nippy in the morning when I'm walking to the train station at 5.30am!

That's all for now

Lots of Love

Queenie xx

Is Shopping an addiction? More to the point am I a shopping addict? (Scroll down for outfits)

Hello pretty people,

If you don't want to read my blurb there are outfits in the second half of the post xx

Well it’s been put to me by a very close and loving friend that I might be developing a serious shopping habit, (and also today by my darling boyfriend) and although I’m not spending hundreds of pounds on the high street each week, I’m buying lots of things I don’t need for the sake of buying them. I love buying second hand but I have to agree that buying 2 pairs of boots and a pair of shoes in one sitting is a tad excessive, and if I count up the amount of footwear I’ve bought since moving to Liverpool is ridiculous. There are lots of pairs I haven’t even worn yet, but that wouldn’t stop me from buying more if I see them. I justify it to myself in two ways, firstly it’s not a huge amount of money that I am spending so therefore it’s ok, secondly that the charity shops, car boot sales and flea markets are helping me to settle in up here and to some extent it is, but it’s detracting away from what’s really happening on an emotional level. I often feel lonely, I’m struggling to leave my life behind in Nottingham and start a new life here, I find it difficult that me and my lovely boyfriend spend less time together because life has changed, also that I have to share him with his family – something I never had to do because they lived so far way; and I’m struggling with the transition from being a student and now looking for employment in a slow market – I have got an interview tomorrow, and if I don't get that will be starting another role temp to perm on Monday, so it's not all bad. And I'm not a victim here because I too made the choice to relocate, and a big transition takes time to adjust to.

So anyway, the bottom line seems to be that I am either a shopping addict or verging on becoming one. I shop to escape reality, I've been to the charity shops Tuesday, Wednesday and today and bought things each time. I love the chase – the excitement I feel on the way to a car boot sale or charity shop, the anticipation, it’s almost a thrill. I am careful when I’m there, only buying things that I like, I don’t buy things that I’m unsure about, but there always end up being lots of things that I like, so I always end up coming back with bags full of stuff – well you can see from my past blog posts how I like to shop. And the thing that sets me apart is that as soon as I get home from one stint, I’m already planning and almost fantasising about the next. I still love the stuff I've bought, ok the odd thing I look at and wonder what I was thinking but for the most part I love everything I buy. I feel sad if I can’t go to the charity shops, I want to factor it in to any activity that I do, every day out, any day off…. *cringe*

What does the dictionary say?

Addict:

1. To cause (someone or oneself) to becoming dependent one something Query
2. A person who is addicted Query
3. A person devoted to something er Yes

And the Thesaurus

Addicted:
• Hooked Query
• Absorbed Yep
• Accustomed Yep
• Dedicated Yep
• Dependant Query
• Devoted Hell yeah
• Deposed Query
• Fond Yup
• Habituated Most certainly
• Inclined Yup
• Obsessed Absolutely
• Prone Yup

Um moving swiftly on…I’ve been quite lax and blogging since I got my internet connection up and running, in fact I’ve hardly been online at all since I got it back, not that I’ve been doing anything else really, I’ve just not been online. Here are a couple of outfit posts from the week:

I wore this combo on Sunday:

Dress Primark via Charity Shop £2.89

Red Tights Primark £1

Leopard print cardi H&M via Carboot sale 50p

Red Belt 50p Flea market

Office Cowboy Boots via Charity Shop £5

And I wore this combo today:

Dress Primark via Charity shop £2.99

Mustard Cardi H&M via Charity Shop £2.99

Grape Tights Primark £1

Office Cowboy Boots via Charity Shop £5

I must be the only person who buys Primark via the charity shop, I don’t mind paying £3 for something Primark from a charity shop if it’s worth £3, mostly the charity shops over price Primark stuff but I thought these were worth buying and hopefully because Primark turn over their stick so quickly no one else will be wearing them!

Just realised that most of my blog outfit posts feature my Office Cowboy boots, they were one of my best ever buys from a charity shop and I’ve lived in them over the last year and half…I have no idea why I keep buying all these other shoes when all I wear (pretty much) is these boots. But if it’s not shoes it’s dresses…I have got so many dresses no in my wardrobe there is hardly room for anything else!

Oh well there is always more self searching to be done I guess.

Lots of Love

Queenie xx

Hurrah an outfit post!

Good afternoon my lovelies, and how are you all doing on this cold and grey Thursday afternoon? The view from my office window is grey but clear so I have a beautiful panoramic view of the city centre. I had my first rejection today, my CV didn't even make it through the application stage, um I'm hoping it's not going to be the first of many but I guess it's to be expected when travelling the arduous road of job hunting. Hopefully I'll be kept busy with temp work while I'm looking. Although I’m only into my fifth week here I expect myself to be able to already have the power job, a shiny new bustling social life and be settled in fully…I need to give myself a break. Plus I don’t even know if I want a power job or a bustling social life. I’m something of a fantasist me thinks.

Please excuse these photographs, I’m trying to find the best place to take outfit shots in the new apartment, these were taken at lunchtime so I was in somewhat of a hurry – less of a hurry than trying to take them before work this morning though!

So today I’m wearing my new H&M floral skirt that I bought from the car boot sale for a measly 50p at the weekend, teamed with a Black top from Mexx £3 something from an outlet store, and faith shoes £25 in the sale. The pearl necklace is from a car boot 50p and the earrings are real pearls bought for me by my darling boyfriend at Christmas.

Keep your fingers, toes and anything else you can think of crossed that my internet is connected when I get home, please Sky, get something right for a change. I'm looking forward to catching up on all your blogs and following those of you, who are following me and commenting.

Oh one last thing, if you’re a fan of Nails Inc grab bag yourself a freebie with this month’s InStyle magazine, there are 3 different shades to choose from, I’m wearing the pink one today and feel exceptionally feminine, and I haven’t chipped it once yet which is pretty good going for me!

Lots of Love

Queenie xxx

Shopping, Shopping and more shopping

Morning beautiful readers,

I'm blogging from work again but all going well my internet connection should be live by the end of the day tomorrow, hurrah! It's amazing how much space and time I've discovered in my life without it - not that I have filled it with much else other than self pity and grief at not having the internet. Ok that's not exactly true but I have missed it, and it has surprised me how much.

It's a dull day here in Liverpool, the view over the mist covered city looks a little eerie, and despite the weather attempting to drizzle I'm sporting some peep toe shoes I recently gave a home to, charity shop of course. I've teamed them with black trousers and a white shirt. No outfit pic today but it really is all about the shoes, where do you ladies find the time in the morning to pose for photographs before rushing out of the door to get to work. You'd think that working 5 minutes away from where I live I'd have plenty of time, but the earlier I get up the less time I seem to have, how does that work??!? So bizarre law in physics? Or rather more likely bad planning on my part.

I've got a pic of the shoes if that helps? and I'll work on being a better blogger in future *nods head*

As promised here are some pics of my weekend hauls:

Dress - Charity Shop - £3.99

Topshop Skirt - Charity Shop - £3.99

Oasis Shoes - Carboot - £1.50

Spotty Top - Carboot - 50p

Monsoon Suede Boots - Carboot - 50p

Brown Knee Length Boots - Carboot - £1.50

H&M Pink Floral Skirt - Carboot - 50p

French Connection Skirt - Carboot - 50p

Bootcut Jeans - Charity Shop - 99p

Check Dress - Carboot - 20p

Oasis Slim Jeans - Charity Shop - £3.99

And I've been quite naughty on the shoe front lately, we're struggling for shoe storage as it is - please help...how do you shoe addicts store all your shoes? All my boots and in the bottom of the wardrobe (just) and my shoes are just all thrown together in two big boxes (as well as a few pairs in shoe boxes). I was thinking of investing in lots of those plastic shoe boxes and just stacking them up against the wall. The alternative of course is to just stop buying shoes, um let's be honest here...I can't see that happening any time soon, can you?

New Look Wedges - Brand New - Charity Shop £4.99

White Floral Peep Toes - Charity Shop - £2

Green Slingbacks - Charity Shop - £2.49

Black Pointy - New Look Sale £10.00 (shocking price for me!)

The Sunday before the one just gone (still following?) I went to a little flea market in the south of the city, I felt quite brave venturing out on my own with an advert I'd cut from the local paper and my AtoZ. It was great, I got talking to some of the stall holders and managed to find out about a few other similar events in and around the city which are held monthly, well if anything they should keep me busy.

Here are a couple of bits I picked up:

I bought the dress, bag and a 50's floral apron for a fiver, I also picked up some cameo clip on earrings which are gorgeous for a quid. I always get in and have a real rummage around, asking if I can go in bags full of goodies behind the stall, when I'm at car boot sales going through things that are still in boxes in the boot of the car, I'm always polite about it and ask first and people are always happy to oblige, the best bargains are often found that way.

Me and my darling boyfriend ventured out to Southport a couple of weeks ago, it is an absolute haven of charity shops, one after another after another, I honestly think that is what heaven will be like for me (I certainly hope so anyway!) and I came across this beautiful parrot dress in the YMCA charity shop. It's so garish but I absolutely adore it, someone has made it from scratch and although when I tried it on it was way too big I had to have it. My lovely mum is going to alter it for me, sadly I seem to have lost my foot pedal for my sewing machine in the move (there were tears, but apparently it can be replaced for about £20 grr but yay at the same time)) but she's taken it home with her so I'm going to have to wait a while before I can indulge in wearing it.

Right I think that is more than enough from me...I'm sure I could have spread all this over several posts but here it is all in one, aren't you lucky :)

I'm off to check out a local gym later today to see what classes they offer and whether it's affordable enough, I'm looking for ways to get out there and meet people. It's too easy to fall into the trap of living in an online world and speaking to my friends around the country on the phone, I'd like to connect with people up here and it's only going to happen if I put myself out there. I'd like to join some sort of craft class too but my hunt for that continues.

Lots of Love

Queenie xxx

Just popped in to say hello

Hello lovely people,

I bet you all thought I'd forgotten about you? well I haven't, I've just had very limited and sporadic access to the internet, I'm still waiting for Sky to send me my broadband equipment for my connection at home, apparently they have to put the TV in first, then the phone and then we can set up the broadband. They seemed to have installed them in the wrong order of importance for me :( but hey I don't control the way sky operate their business so I'm just having to try and be as patient as I can...but I'll be honest it's rapidly running out, but I know that venting my frustrations at someone in a call centre won't make it happen any quicker.

So the physical move to Liverpool went smoothly the emotional one has been a little more tricky, there has been more than a few tears to say the least but I'm very slowly starting to begin to settle a tiny bit, it's going to be a long journey.

True to form I have been investigating the local charity shops, car boot sales and flea markets and when I'm back up and running I've got lots of pretty things to share with you. Doesn't seem to be many jumble sales up this neck of the wood but I'm going to keep searching. My wardrobe and chest of draws in packed to the rafters so I really shouldn't be investing in any more pieces, even if they are a complete second hand bargain, will it stop me, nope. A colleague at my crappy temp job (yes it really is but more about that in a minute) was shocked when I told her that my whole outfit yesterday, including coat, bag and shoes was second hand, she commented that she wouldn't even be able to buy one top for the cost of my whole outfit. I smiled inside, I love being frugal.

Today's outfit is nearly completely second hand, with the exception of my handbag which was bought from a charity shop but it was brand new. I'm wearing Black boot cut trousers from Next £3 from charity shop, brown sleeveless River Island top 50p from car boot, Oasis Brown leather flats with sequins £1.50 from car boot, H&M Tan coloured mac £3.99 charity shop, accessorised with some wooden bangles which I've had for years.

This weekend has been no exception for bagging some absolute bargains. My mum came to visit and after showing her some of Liverpool we caught a bus up to Allerton (?) to check out the charity shops well it was like a little window of heaven. I spent a total of £16.95 and bought...

Topshop Skirt £2.99
Oasis Slim fit jeans £2.99
Oasis Dress £5.99
Strapless Dress £3.99
Dark Blue Boot cut jeans 99p

Yesterday morning we ventured out to a car boot and despite the sun shining as we had breakfast, it was absolutely freezing! We had a fantastic rummage and my total spend was £6.70:

Floral H&M Skirt 50p
French Connection Summer Skirt 50p
Asos Grey Dress £1
Monsoon Suede Knee Length boots 50p
Oasis Flats with sequin detail £1.50
Brown Brogue style knee length boots £1.50
Next Brown work trousers 50p
Black and grey checked sheer dress 20p (thinking I could use it for layering)
Silky Spotty work blouse 50p

I know it's not the same without pictures...I'll take some pics and post them up at a later date.

So more about the crappy temp job...well I'm archiving paperwork for a charity via an agency. It isn't the most exciting job in the world, in fact it's one of the most boring jobs I've ever done but having said that it's only a week and a day, so I've just got the rest of the day and and maybe tomorrow to get through because they might need my services for an additional day. It's a 5 minute walk from my apartment so no bus fares, it's close to the Docks so I get to have lunch by the water when it's warm, I have a beautiful view over the city, the people are lovely so it's not all bad really...just mind numbingly boring, but I spose I should enjoy the lack of responsibility while it lasts, I hope to be in full time permanent employment soon and life will change again.

I hope to be with you all again every day soon, I miss reading your blogs, I think I'll have to take a whole week off to catch up!!

Queenie xxxx

I’ll meet you on the other side; I’ll meet you in the light

So that’s pretty much it for Nottingham, the many boxes are backed and the suitcases are crammed. I’ve neglected blogging recently due to the fact that I’ve mostly been wearing jeans and an old t-shirt to pack and clean. The move feels like it’s been a long time coming but really we only decided 12 weeks ago that it was time to part the shores of Nottingham and to relocate to Liverpool. I feel scared and excited all at once, more excited than scared right now but there have been a number of times of the last couple of weeks where I’ve just had to take to my bed and pull the duvet right up and make strange whimpering noises – usually still fully dressed. Me and darling boyfriend are creating a vision – vision not fantasy – of our future together in Liverpool, starting with our apartment, and then with our lives. We’re planning together and it feels incredible to have such a commitment and intimacy with one person; especially when I’ve spent a lot of my life living like an island.

So what has this got to do with fashion I hear you cry? Well nothing really, this isn’t the direction I’ll be taking my blog just an expression of why I haven’t blogged recently and why I won’t be blogging again after today until I have an internet connection up and running.

A couple of exciting things to share (well exciting for me) I recently took the giant leap to become part of the smart phone generation and during up upgrade went for a blackberry. Oh my, how did I live without one before? Fabulous little thing, which although I’m still getting used to certainly seems to be melting my heart. I’ve been a Sony Ericsson girl for years and was told/warned during the upgrade phone call (read sales pitch) that once you’ve had a blackberry you never go back. I don’t think my curve is a newfangled all singing all dancing model, but it unquestionably doing it for me. My only two tiny gripes are that mobile internet is very very slow unless you connect via wifi and my model doesn’t allow for skpe, other than that I’m an extremely happy customer. There was another exciting thing I wanted to tell you but I’ve forgotten, so I’m sure it can’t have been that exciting to begin with.

And just to tie up lose ends, I set myself a challenge for March to spend £25 on clothes/accessories etc which was only to be increased if I sold things on ebay/made them spend neutral. Well I have no idea how I did, I’ve ended up with lots of new (second hand) pretty things in my wardrobe (currently suitcases soon to be in shiny new wardrobes) and lots of money in my paypal account, so I think it was a win win situation. I might set myself another new challenge soon, we’ll see.

Anyway enough of my drivel, please all think of me tomorrow (move day) and over the coming week and I hope to be with you all again soon.

Lots of love

Queenie xx

Are you hoping for a miracle…it’s not enough

I’m really loving Bloc party at the minute, there is something about putting it on really loud and singing along, unless of course just as you’re belting out the chorus – totally out of tune and key – someone walks in on you. Yup that happened to me at work the other morning, how embarrassing.

Well it’s been a few days since I blogged, simply because I’ve not really had much to blog about. I’ve mostly being working (as a cleaning, early mornings and afternoons) and packing for the big move which takes place a week tomorrow; I can’t believe that it’s come round so quickly! Scary but very exciting all at once. So anyway, getting back to business, I’ve mostly been wearing jeans and a nike hoodie all week; not exactly blog worthy; and I’ve felt shabby about myself as a result. There is something about dressing up which gives me a confidence I never knew I had, mostly these days I’m not self/body conscious (read: obsessed) – although I do have the odd few days where I have ‘fat days’ and nothing in my wardrobe works - and it’s such a freedom to be able to wear clothes which are pretty and feel comfortable. I’ve been to spend some time today with some very good friends who love and support me in such an incredible way and I feel spurred on for the final push towards the move this week.

Dress: 30p jumble sale

Tights: 75p internationale

Shoes: £4.99 charity shop (brand new too!)

Pearls: 50p car boot

Pearl Earrings: real ones, a pressie from boyfriend

Flower (in hair) - £1 Primark

I’ve blogged this dress recently but I love it so much I wanted to wear it again, so I added different coloured tights and shoes, people have been very complimentary all day. It never ceases to amaze me how the items of clothing I end up loving the most usually cost me the least amount of money, I think this dress is going to be a staple for the spring/ summer.

I’ve decided not to get up at the crack of dawn tomorrow to go carbooting as the clocks go forward I’d have to be up an hour earlier and to be honest I could do with a big long rest, so that’s what I’m going to do, Hurrah! (and not only that I’ve been very spend happy lately, I dread to think how much I’ve actually spent (everything I’ve bought has been second hand from jumble sales/carboots/charity shops), thankfully selling on ebay has meant it’s all spend neutral.

(but a small part of me wonders if I'm missing out and it would be my last carboot in this city before I move)

I feel that I need a blog challenge or something extra but feel like I’m having a creative block at the moment. I’d like to blog on those days where my outfit really isn’t up to scratch but unsure what to write about. Suggestions on a postcard to the usual address please.

Lots of Love

Queenie xxx

I’m your biggest fan I’ll follow you around if you love me

Hi everyone,

Well I’m slowly making my way through wearing all my new purchases and trying really hard not to buy anymore…for now. Today I am wearing a skirt which I bought from Laura at adaisychaindream which is really cute, but perhaps a tad short? The downside is that it kept riding up when I was walking and disappearing up my coat, just a touch embarrassing and I forgot I was wearing such a short skirt when I bent down in Age Concern to try on a pair of shoes and if it hadn’t been for the opaque tights would have flashed all to the pensioners enjoying a cuppa. But like everything in life I think wearing this skirt is going to take some practice. I’m also thinking that it would work better with heels rather than riding boots but it was only after I’d left the house and caught my reflection in a shop window (ok I was looking for my reflection but we all do that secretly right?) and thought that heeled courts would have been better but alas.

Skirt – via Laura @ adaisychaindream

Jersey poloneck Asda £3

Tights Primark

Hobbs boots £5 via charity shop

Pearls and matching earrings years old I think they were from Asda

So there you have it a little bit of spring in my outfit for a typically british spring day, bright start with lots of promise but ends up a bit drizzly and the sky threatens to empty itself on you at any moment just as you’ve tried to predict the driest brightest window to leave the house.

I’m off to ~~play scrubber~~ work now

Lots of Love

Queenie xx

The indie kid is back…well almost

Hi everyone,

Hope everyone is well, just updating with a quick outfit post and latest purchases (I’ve really got to stop spending, well maybe). I’m cleaning in a primary school this week in the afternoons so outfits need to be suited to that, although tomorrow I’m going to get dressed earlier so then I can get changed for work, instead of getting dressed with work in mind.

So here is what I wore today: (sorry about the pics my camera flash was being mardy!)

Diesel Jeans £30 from TK Max – I love the way they feel even though they are a bit too big now.
Star Print T-shirt – originally Primark but bought second hand from the lovely Laura at adaisychaindream
Velvet Jacket – recent charity shop purchase I previously blogged about
Converse – £6.50 via ebay

And here is the most exciting part of my day, a friend recently told me about a little second hand shop, I’m not sure if it’s a charity shop or not but it is STUFFED with bric-a-brac, clothes, books, household stuff, I didn’t have much time today to properly rummage but had a good rummage through the clothes and shoes. There was a bin bag full of old shoes in their original boxes. Now I’m not an expert when it comes to vintage but I think these are vintage shoes? The red ones are Holmes and the white ones are Rolucia. Either way they are gorgeous and at £1 a pair I couldn’t resist.

Anyway I’m off for a shower and to curl up, darling boyfriend has got work at 6am so it’ll be another early morning in our house.

Lots of love

Queenie xx

A mothers love

I’m staying at my mum’s this weekend and mum said those magic words “shall we go to the carboot in the morning?” Those 9 little words were like music to my ears. So off we drove at 7.30, her in her wellies and me in her walking boots - jeans tucked into socks of course being the stylish fashionista that I am – and much needed they were, the mud was horrendous, not that a little mud is going to get between me and my bargains!

Topshop blouse - £1.50

Black Bag - 50p

Pink Topshop Vest Top £1

Orange Tweed Peep Toe Shoes £1.50

Red Herring Dress £2

H&M Culottes 20p

Brown River Island Sleeveless Top 50p

And last but not least, my fave purchase of the day...

Floral Strapless Dress £1

The jumble sale yesterday wasn’t very good, but I did buy a real fur coat for £1 – I’m not sure what I was thinking! And a floral skirt for 20p which my lovely mummy is currently shortening for me. Aw fanks mum. The fur coat is at home so pics of both to follow.

As the sun is shining I’m going to help mum dig her vegetable patch this afternoon, I’d love to have a space to grown my own but alas city centre living means a lack of green space...perhaps I’ll get an allotment in a few years time if I put my name down now!

Hope you’re all having a lovely Sunday

Lots of Love

Queenie xx

The good the bad and the ugly – cleaning outfit just for fun

Evening all,

Well it’s been a pretty busy day in our house today, as I’ve shared before we’re moving house really soon and today was the day the Landlord was taking viewings for the next tenants. Now don’t get me wrong we don’t live like total slobs, but are comfortable with a little dust and clutter. Today the house was deep cleaned from top to bottom (and thankfully it didn’t go unnoticed by the Landlord) so my outfit consisted of the dress below which is actually a size 18 (I'm holding it in at the waist to try and give it some shape) bought from the jumble sale for 30p because I like the pattern and thought I could make something pretty from it, but having got it home I realised it was covered in stains that won’t come out, even with a heavy duty stain remover, so it was relegated to throwing out pile but was rescued today to wear while I was cleaning. I styled it with a pair of black leggings and my scratty black ugg boots, no accessories and not even a scrap of make up. I’m a classy bird at times.

And time for the big reveal…

I love being able to laugh at myself and boy did I laugh when I saw this photo. No poses, no duplicates or trial runs…just this one single photo to capture my wonderful Mrs Mop outfit.

Still a long way to go then to achieve that aspiration of 50’s housewife class

Lots of Love

Queenie xxx

"I'm just chasing rainbows..."

I often find it difficult to blog my outfit when I’ve not made a huge effort or when I don’t think it’s that interesting, but as discussed recently on the MSE forum I think I need to make the effort to blog it every day anyway. I often think that unless I think an outfit is super interesting and stylish it’s not worth blogging but I think by having a photographic diary of what I do wear on a daily basis that will show me where I could make little tweaks or changes to jazz up an ordinary/plain outfit or the ruts I can find myself falling into when I can’t be bothered.

One thing starting this blog has done is made me think more about the outfits I pick out and instead of having a wardrobe full of clothes I never wear I’ve been making much more of an effort to pull them out and showcase them. It’s also given me much more confidence about my appearance and style, and by reading other blogs and seeing what other people wear has given me the courage to experiment a little bit more. (eg I’d have never worn coloured tights in the past), so a big thank you to everyone who blogs regularly and comments on my blog.

So here is my outfit today:

Black jersey Dress – Ethel Austin £2.50

Black Treggings – New Look sale £7

Blue Office Pixie Boots - £5 charity shop

Blue Primark Cardigan - £10ish

Necklace 99p charity shop (bought yesterday)

And my latest charity shop find, I found this beauty for £2.99 (excuse my PJ’s thrown on the bed!)

I love the indie look, there’s something about that 90’s Britpop look that makes me feel sqidgy inside. I’ve got a bottle green jacket like similar and now spring is coming am looking forward to dusting it off and strutting my stuff. ooooOOoo I feel inspired to dig out some Shed 7 and have a sing along.

Ta ta for now

Queenie xx

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