Floral Picks

I've never really been a fan of floral prints. My mind was changed when I got a floral dress about 6 months ago, and now it is my 'go-to' dress for most occasions. Now I find myself drawn to floral prints, both small and large, tops and bottoms. Now that Spring is just around the corner, I decided to have a look through the Evans site to see what floral pieces I could find.

I loved the skater style top in the first outfit, and thought it would look great with the grey marl leggings and a silver statement necklace. If I worked, then the second outfit would be right up my street. I like the style of trousers, and with the bubble hem top and court heels, it would be a great work/formal outfit. I really like the collar on the third top, and the nice big floral print is lovely. I matched these with a twisted silver necklace that would accent the collar on this top. Lastly, a more girly look. I love the pink and purple colours in this top, and mixed with some dark blue leggings and nude heels, would be great for a night out with friends.

Marks and Spencer Homeware

I am currently in the process of having a good old sort out of our house, and I plan to do some updating to our decor too. So, I want to add some little touches around the place as I plan a pretty neutral scheme and then add colours through accessories. I received an email through about some great home ware offers, so I couldn't help but have a look.

1. Laughter is the Best Medicine Frame Wall Art - £19.50

I thought this was so cute. It is a medicine jar filled with 'hahaha's' and 'lol's' and is such a great little way to add a bit of fun to a wall.

2. Small Heart Hanging Tealight Holder - £7.50

I love candles, and this is a great way to decorate and illuminate. I have lots of different styles and colours of votives and tealight holders, and this would be a great addition.

3. Bright Butterfly Bedset - £29.50 - £35

I think this is so pretty, and a great way to add a little something to our bedroom. we have plain walls and wood panelling at the moment, so it's hard to add too much. 

4. Letter Cushions - £10

These are great! They do the whole alphabet and an ampersand, so you can get your initials! I think this is brilliant. What can I say, I'm easily pleased!

5. Striped and Reversible Bath and Pedestal Mats - £12-15

Our bathroom is currently a moss green colour on the walls, and I want to paint the walls and tiles white, and add a multicolour accessories and these mats are a great way to do that.

Claire Richards SS14 collection from Fashion World

I was really excited to look through the new Spring/Summer collection from Claire Richards at Fashion World. I really loved their AW13 selection, and featured one of my favourite pieces here. I wanted to share with you some of my top picks from the new range. Here we go....

Lace dress £85

This immediately caught my eye as the page opened. I love the look of lace dresses, and I have one myself, but I really like the contrast between the aqua base and navy lace top is beautiful. This would work great for any evening out, and even to a wedding reception.

 Lace Sweat Jersey Top £45

I know, I know, more lace. But this is exquisite. I love it. I don't think I can actually describe how much. Just stunning.

Lace Trim Print Dress £60

This dress has such a lovely large monochrome floral print, and I really like the lace panel on the chest. It also has a fabric belt at the waist so you can pull it in to give you a great shape. This would be great for a summer garden party or a wedding reception in the spring.

Frill Sleeve Blouse £28

This blouse is so pretty and feminine. I love the colour and the neckline, and I really like the sheer floaty fabric over the top of the cami underneath and this makes the sleeves a great length.

High Waisted Skinny Jeans £45

I love a skinny jean, and these look great. I really like the stone wash denim look and they look really comfy with their high waist. These are a colour of skinny jean that I don't own as my collection is mostly coloured - red, purple and black - so I think this is something I need to invest in.

Woven Wedge £45

I think these look fab! I am a little gutted they only go to size 8 in these, but they do them in too width fittings which is great. I think these would go great with all of the items in the SS14 range.

Overall, a great new selection from Fashion World and Claire Richards, and I hope to own at least the lace jersey top very soon!! Check out the full range for yourself at Fashion World.

Welcome to the new me!

Hello!

As you may have noticed, I have changed a few things.... a few changes to things here and there, but you are now looking at 'The girl with the plait'. Welcome!

It has been nearly a year now since I started blogging on a regular basis on Stuffy Stuff, and that year has been the best yet. I got to meet some amazing people, great friends and experienced things I had never thought possible. I have learnt so many things, enjoyed living my life through this blog and sharing everything from days out with the kids, to recipes and fashion and beauty finds. I have grown in confidence, not just socially, but mentally and finially accepted who I am, and not having to be someone who I am not just to please other people. I want to say a big thank you to everyone who has supported me, given me advice and just been a good friend over the last 12 months.

So why a change?

I was sitting looking at my blog a few weeks ago and thinking that, in a way, I have changed. I have become, what I think, is a better version of me, in all the ways I have said above. And I feel that Stuffy Stuff was my previous life. It was started as an escape from real life. Somewhere I could be that person I wanted to be, and hide behind the words. Now that I feel more settled and happy with my life, I wanted to mark that with a new beginning on here too as I feel this blog is me, and everything I love.

The type on content I will be doing won't change much, maybe a little here and there, but I am still a fashion lover, cosmetics fan and a mum of two....so I hope you will join me on this new chapter in my life, and on the blog.

Friday Find - Jewellery

Last week whilst I was perusing some online shops, I visited Sister Vintage for the first time.. I have been following them on Twitter for a while as friends have posted some pictures of some lovely pieces, but I had never taken a look myself.

There are so many great pieces on there, and and some amazing prices! I had to hold back from ordering so much stuff, but in the end, I focused on their rings as I can never find any pretty rings that fit my large man fingers! So when I saw that a lot of their statement rings are adjustable, I was really pleased. Then I had to make the decision of which ones to choose, but in the end I went for these lovelies..... 

I love them all! They have only arrived today, and I can't wait to wear them all. Being adjustable, they fit great, and look good too.

I have a few more pieces that I love the look of, including these beauties....

Pink Triangle Statement Necklace

Gold Black Disc Triangle Earrings

Love bracelet

Vintage Gold Owl Ring

Bronze Jewelled Statement Necklace

Christmas homeware

I got a few lovely homeware presents for Christmas from Mike and my family, and I wanted to share them with you. The first present I got was a lovely set from Next consisting of a vanilla scented candle and a matching reed diffuser. I'm a sucker for vanilla!

I couldn't wait to get these open and try them out! And they did not disappoint. They give such a lovely vanilla scent, and look pretty too. The candle claims to burn up to 30 hours which is pretty normal for candles, and is in a nice thick glass votive. The reed diffuser has a strong smell, and good sized reeds which diffuse the scent really well.

 Up next is some canvas prints I chose from Homebase a few days before Christmas. They were having a sale on their homewares, and we were looking for a present for one of Mike's family and these really caught my eye. I love art like this, and hearts are so lovely. So, as you can see, it is a set of 3 prints, and was half price, reduced from £14.99 to £7.99. They measure 20 x 20cm and I can't wait to put them up! I am going to decorate my dining room before I do, so watch this space!

This is one of two lovely gifts we got from my brother and his wife. We were really excited about trying this! It is from Rubis and is called Chocolate-Velvet-Ruby. It is chocolate flavoured fortified wine which is infused with luxurious chocolate essence. The port also comes with two gorgeous wine glasses which are the perfect size for port. 

The second present we received from my brother and sister-in-law was this cute little jar with some amazing bits inside...

This is a jar containing the ingredients to make a 'Dotty Road Baking Mix' which is like a rocky road style chocolate bar. The kit includes dark chocolate, marshmallows, rice krispies and raisins. All you need to add is some butter and golden syrup, and you can make 12 bars of Dotty Road.....I'm so looking forward to using this after our little healthy eating is over. This mix is from a company called the Dotty Bakers from a Suffolk based company, who also do a large range of other mixes and products. Check out their website here.

Tuesday Trend - Leggings

I have been an avid wearer of leggings for the past year now, but my collection consists of black and a couple of navy blue pairs. So this year, one of my aims is to expand my selection of leggings, and I found some great colours and pattens on the Yours website in their sale.

I instantly loved the Coral Rose print top, and I think it goes really well with the red leggings, which are currently on sale for £4.80, reduced from £8. My favourite colour has to be purple, so it's only natural I would find a pair of purple leggings somewhere, and I think they would go great with the skull print top and spikey necklace for an evening out with friends.The third set is a way to stand out form the crowd! A mix of two lovely colours, and a pop of leopard print with the pumps. All three of these leggings are on sale at the moment for £4.80...bargain!
The last set is showing off my grungy rock side. I really like the pattern on the leggings, and they are a great statement piece for £15. I've matched it with a dip hem 3/4 length sleeved top and some gorgeous studded ankle boots.

I love leggings and there are so many ways to style them for both casual and formal occasions. And there are so many different colours and patterned pairs out there now, so I can't wait to get a lot more over the next few months.

Juicing Week 1

Today is day 6 of my Juice Fast and I had my first weigh in last night. And I was pleased, if not a bit surprised I lost 14lbs! I was so pleased that the effort I put in had paid off. I had started to enjoy the juices and getting into the routine, and doing some much needed exercise too. I have found some great recipes in the Jason Vale Juice Master Keeping It Simple book that we got with our Philips Juicer. It is brilliant, lots of great juice recipe ideas, a 3 day detox plan, and also some smoothie recipes that I am yet to try out. 

I plan on keeping this up for as long as I can, and hope to lose 100lbs in total. I know that sounds like a lot, but I have it to lose! I know that it is going to be tough, and that I am not going to lose a stone each week, but it's something I'm committed to, for as long as it takes to get healthy. For mine and my family's future.

Here are some pictures from my first week :)

Juicing Day 5 - Keeping Busy

I'm onto day 5 of my juice fast.......

...and I'm over the first hurdle. I had read and heard that day 2-3 were the hardest as your body is getting used to your new diet, and I have definitely found that! Day 2 (Tuesday) was really hard. I had lots of cravings and had a bad headache, but now I am on Friday and I'm feeling good. I'm not missing food as much, don't get me wrong, it's still a little tough getting the kid's dinner ready! But my brain now knows that I don't need it.

I've managed to do a bit of walking over the last few days, but I haven't been able to get out on my bike as the rain and wind have been crazy. Hopefully I can do more of that next week. We have now settled into recipes that we like. I have been experimenting with new vegetables and am into sweet potato, and parsnip juices at the moment. 

We have decided that we are going to have light meals tonight, Saturday and Sunday evenings this week. We are going for this routine for the next few weeks and see how we get on.

Juicing Day 1 - Let it begin!

It's Monday, and it's time to start to #committogetfit! 

I have blogged about what my plan is for 2014 here, and I have also put up a vlog on my YouTube channel about it all too. You can find that here...

So, I am currently drinking my first juice of this journey, and I am quite pumped about it. I am not so pumped that it is pouring outside and ruining my plans for a nice walk after dropping Jack at school....boo!! But I have a few things to pick up today, so I might do that first, then hope it clears up lunchtime and I can do a walk then. I can't describe how hard it is raining!!

Let me know if you are doing anything this year to get healthier, and check out our tweets under #committogetfit.

So many pretty colours.....

One of the great presents I got this year from Mike's parents was a beautiful set of nail polishes by the label Technic. This is an own brand by the company Badgequo which I have not heard of before, but taking a look on their website, made me giddy with joy. So many pretty things!

So far I have only tried a few of these lovely polishes, but they are so good.

Calypso with Party Girl accent nails

 Midnight with Moon Dust accent nail

Coral

I can't wait to try out more of these great colours, I'm loving the look of Potion and South Pacific. And the selection of glitters are really good.