Outfit of the Day ~ Winter Sun

I dreamed of the snowmaiden,
white and soft,
of endless warmth

her face was veiled
her mind cleared
of prejudice and hate

worry became my boast,
that the love we shared
would fade like snow 

- Len Webster

The main reason I wanted to do this outfit post was because I wanted to show you all my amazing new (relatively, got it about a month ago) hood. I am such a supporter of buying handmade stuff (which is why Etsy is such a common haunt of mine) and when it turns out to be local as well then it's doubly awesome. 

The hood was made by JeSuis Hoods who I first found out about whilst perusing a little vintage shop above a much vaster antiques and  knick-knack shop (Snooper's Attic in Snooper's Paradise for those of you who are familiar with Brighton). There I found some of the pre-made hoods and decided I wanted one but when I came back later the one I wanted was gone so I took a business card and emailed Jessie, who makes them. She provides about a million different colour choices, including different lining materials and optional piping as well and sizes (S, M and L).  

It took me ages to decide what I wanted and in the end I just had to get the boyfriend to make some of the decision for me (as you can see we settled on black with white fur lining in medium, for just £26, which the boyfriend offered to pay for, bless him). If you're interesting then either (if you're near Brighton) go to Snooper's Attic and have a look or go to the JeSuis Facebook page and contact her through there (you can also see some other hood combos and material swatches). It's so snug and warm and perfect for the cold months.

Me and the boyfriend went to Nymans, which is a National Trust place for this shoot. We both have National Trust memberships which means there's always somewhere close by where we can take a walk around some nice gardens, even if at this time of year most things are dead.

I can't believe this is the only photo of my tights! I layered burgundy ones from Tye Rack with white, lace ones from New Look, I quite like how it looks.

This hood makes me feel so freaking cool, like some kind of arctic nomad. It's was pretty windy and pretty chilly that day but it kept me warm, which was nice, 'cause my ears always get so damn cold.

So that's about it, sorry I haven't posted much recently but I'm getting back into now that my life has become less hectic. Coming up will be a quick book review, some product reviews and a few other things. Watch this space!

As always all photos were taken by the talented Harry Tilsley (a.k.a the boyfriend), you can find more of his stuff (which is beautiful) on his Tumblr.

New Additions ~ A Bundle of Kittens ♥

I know. That title makes no sense.
Basically.
Last week we bought home 2 new kittens (making the sum of felines in my house a grand total of 4). My one is called Mr. Bunny and the other is called Perl; my dad named her after his favourite language to write computer programs with...what a dork. It beats the other possibles: C (or C++) or Java. Those names are just horrendous. Now do you understand my still slightly nonsensical title?

This one is Perl and in real life she likes so like a gremlin it is untrue. She's very very tiny for her ages because she's the runt of her litter (in this photos just 8 weeks), compared to her brother she looks about 5 weeks. She has huge eyes and a teeny weeny rat like tail. She can be a little grumpy when you try and pick her up but once she's one a warm body she will sleep for hours (provided big brother Bunny is there too.)

And this one is Mr. Bunny. He looks a lot like one of our older cats when he was a kitten. He never stops purring and he's all mine! Look how adorable and perfect he is!

And here they are together. Bundle of kittens!

So, this post was basically just to gloat about how unbelievably cute my new kittens are and to say sorry for not posting for what seems like an ages, but life is being a bit crap (exams, laptop breaking, car accident etc) so I haven't been able to keep up. Do not fear, I am still around and I have many things lined up!
I hope you're all enjoying the holiday season!

Vintage Bonfire Weekend.

I had a very busy but very awesome weekend last weekend.

Just the most amazing teacup stall at Brighton's Frock Me.

As always, all photos are taken by my super talented boyfriend, more of his stuff can be found here and on his tumblr.

Friday
I went to see the film "In Time". Unfortunately I did not enjoy it. I really liked the concepts about time it put forward but the actual storyline, plot and characters were all lacking. It was like a cheap, wannabe Chris Nolan film (I'm sorry I even have to mention his name next to this film). Honestly would not recommend seeing it. I mean, it wasn't shocking, it was just very disappointing and slightly frustrating. The only highlight was Cillian Murphy who did what could with a potentially interesting character. Mini review over! Have you seen it? Did you like it? I'm happy to hear a positive opinion about the film!
On a brighter note I also did some firework inspired nails which involved a lot of glitter! You can see the end result here.

Saturday 

Some mushrooms we saw on the way to the woods.

Me and the boyfriend went for another walk in the woods to take some photos for the outfit of the day (which can be found here). Unfortunately the spot we initally wanted to use didn't look great so we ended up making it up as we went along. It was still an enjoyable walk, the leaves are finally starting to change colour which is always beautiful.
After that we (along with my mum) went to see a woman about some kittens. I am SO excited to be getting two more in Decemeber (we already have two, but we just want more!). They were just so sweet, but that's to be expected really. There was a really beautiful tabby but it had already been vouched for. We're torn between 2 gingers ones and the runt of the litter which was ginger and white. The lady was amazing, quite old but so full of life!

Later we went to the local firework display. I really love the little village display, it's always full of so many different people and age groups. Fireworks will never get old! Naturally I bought some candy floss which was delicious.

When we got home me and the boyfriend decided to play around with some sparklers in the garden like we did last year. You'll be able to see more of those once I've uploaded the outfit of the day post (which like I mentioned earlier can now be found here). We also did 2 sky lanterns, one of which got stuck in a tree. Typical. We got the hose out but it burnt out before we have to take any drastic action.

My dad and I trying to unfold the lantern without ripping it too much.

What did you do for bonfire night?

Sunday

The outfit I wore, skirt was my mum's, shirt and brogues are New Look, pendant is vintage (great-grandmother's).

On Sunday me, the boyfriend and one of my close friend Nic (a.k.a Wife) went to Frock Me in Brighton. It's a vintage clothing fair (more info here) that goes around the country and I was lucky enough to stumble across it one day whilst looking for Brighton fashion blogs (there is a lacking of them). It was actually a really good event!

Only £2 entry and there was such a variety of stuff and in a great range of prices. Even though most of it was vintage there were also a few carfter stalls with handmade stuff, I loved in particular Humdrum hats, I'm pretty sure at some point in the future I am getting one of their cloche hats. Nic bought 2 amazing silky headscarves (£3 each) and a really nice white and navy dress (£10!). I wish we'd taken a photo of it so I could show you all.

Whilst wandering around we came across the most amazingly elegant woman who looked liked she'd fallen right out of the 1940s. She was kind enough to let us take a photo. Just look at how perfect she looks, even her pose is so authentic!

There were so many amazing things and loads of accessories that I wanted to buy. In the end I bought 2 things, a dark green velvet jacket (£12!!) and a mohair cloak. Yep, a cloak. Sometimes I buy things on a whim, but it's so comfy and amazing! A nice alternative to the highstreet options. Plus I got it for £40 even though the original price was £60!

There was so much to look at that even now as I look at these photos there are things I didn't notice before. There were so many gorgeous broaches, I wish I had bought one, luckily Frock Me will be back next year at some point! When it returns my aims will be to buy a nice broach, a pair of gloves and maybe a hat. Garanteed I'll come back with something completely different, but that's all part of the fun of it really, isn't it?

~ lilac laces ~

The first item I am going to share with you is, tragically not from a cute, quirky shop in Brighton, but from a highstreet shop, namely New Look. However, this is the only unfortunate thing there is to say.

I love these shoes.

Last month I decided I needed a pair of white brogues in my life. Lucky for me, they were in the clearance sale on the New Look website for £15! And actually comfy!
Originally they were laceless (they have elastic behind the tongue for a snug fit) but I have a small fetish for ribbons and an obsession with lilac at the moment so this happened.
Even my boyfriend (the one who also took all of these photos and most that will be on here, you can find more of his work here.) says he likes how they look on me, which is a massive achievement, let me tell you.
More photos from this "set" can be found here ♥.