A very special Monday

Okay, let me start off by apologising for my lack of presence here on my blog. I don't want to hit you with excuses but there just happens to be a few small things that have got in the way of me blogging over the last month. 1. it's Summa time and well, I've pretty much turned into a social butterfly. Every week is jam packed with plans - not like I'm complaining but it certainly leaves less time for blogging. 2. It was my birthday a couple of weeks ago and well, extra work is a no no throughout birthday week. I absolutely love blogging but it definitely feels like a part time job and something I don't like to rush. 3. I've been suffering from a burst of writers block. I honestly have whipped the laptop out on a few occasions but when it came to putting thoughts to keyboard nothing was flowing. So there you have it - three very acceptable excuses for my temporary departure.

Now onto the post. You may be wondering what this 'very special Monday' is all about so lets get started. A few Monday's ago I had a half day from work to see Rihanna at Hampden later that evening. While at home getting ready for the concert I received a phone call from one of my colleagues. Thinking it was a work-related question I un-enthusiastically answered the phone to a conversation I really did not expect. It went something like:

Me: "Hi, is everything okay?"
Colleague: "Have you checked your emails recently?"
Me: "No, what's happened?"
Colleague: "Well, basically, you've won a competition with Sheerluxe..."
Me: "WHAT?!?! ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?!"
Colleague: "Yes - you've won an Hermes bracelet and £500 to spend on a website."
Me: *screams with excitement* "Aghhhhhhhh. OMG ARE YOU  KIDDING ME ON. XPOE&$BDKF*T£$NF%NFWF*@DQY"$"FBSOSCS"
Colleague: *Laughing* "The girl has emailed you. Check your emails."

And off I go with the biggest grin on my face. I couldn't even really remember what the competition was or what the bracelet looked like but I was excited to say the least. After going back and forth with the lovely team at Sheerluxe it was confirmed that I had won one hell of a package! Not only did I win this lovely leather and rose gold bracelet but I also won a years supply of Biscuiteers boxes. These biscuits are to die for and are going to help me out massively with present gifting over the year. See pictures below (sorry they're just iPhone snaps!). I also won £500 worth of GHD products. So for the first time in my life I'm the proud owner of a very lovely white straightening iron. As well as a hair dryer, curling wand and an abundance of hair products to ensure I never have a bad hair day again. I also won a £500 voucher to spend on SpaBreaks.com - so if you have any spa recommendations I'd love to hear them! And finally, £500 to spend on the pre-owned designer website, Vestiaire Collective. I've already spent my voucher on a very exciting purchase that I'll share on the blog shortly. I think it's actually due for delivery tomorrow. EEEK.

I'm honestly still in shock that I won such an amazing prize. I feel like a very lucky girl indeed. Since winning my prize I think every single one of my friends has signed up to Sheerluxe and entered every one of its competitions. LOL. But honestly, if you've haven't signed up to the websites daily newsletter, do it! I've spoken about it here on the blog before because it honestly is my favourite website. If you want inspiration for fashion, beauty, food, and lifestyle then Sheerluxe will provide this daily to your inbox at around 11am everyday. I swear I've not been paid to promote this, I genuinely just LOVE it.

 One Biscuiteers box for myself - and of course I chose the 'Fashion Box'.

One for my little cousin and her future husband. AKA 'The Future Mr & Mrs O'Brien', just in case you can't read that icing. This is the wedding bells box. 

The 'Anniversary box' for my sister and her husband to celebrate two beautiful years of marriage together! 

It feels good to be back and I promise I won't be gone for as long next time.

I hope you all have a lovely Sunday, whatever you're doing. I'm having a relaxing morning before I need to pick up The Boy from a drop off point following an alcohol infused stag weekend in Dublin. I'm guessing it will be a movie and munchies evening for us. No complaints here!

Happy Sunday lovelies.

XoXo

Monochrome

A few weeks ago, The Boy and I headed up North to visit our favourite double-daters for a weekend of countryside fun. After arriving late on Friday evening, we enjoyed a chilled night to ensure we were fully rested for a day of food, drink and dancing on the Saturday. With my cousin and her boyfriend moving down to Glasgow in a few months (FINALLY!), we took the opportunity to go for high tea at Muckrach Country House Hotel – something my cousin has always wanted to try.

With the sun splitting in the sky, we got dolled up for a sophisticated afternoon of teeny tiny sandwiches and fizzy liquid (AKA prosecco). I won’t go into too much depth about the hotel as I’m working on a ‘what to do’ style post for a weekend in Aviemore, so more on that soon. But what I will say is that we had a brilliant afternoon catching some rays and well, catching up.

Before we left we had an impromptu shoot to share our outfits with you all, here on the blog. Normally outfit shooting for me is a lonely affair so it was nice to have someone by my side for a change. We honestly didn’t plan the monochrome look, it just kind of happened. Great minds eh…..

I am wearing:

Top and blazer - H&M 

Skirt - Primark 

Boots - Primark

Bag - Love Moschino

Sunglasses - a prezzie all the way from New Zealand

Naomi is wearing:

Top and boots - Primark 

Shorts - Topshop Boutique

Bag - River Island

Sunglasses - Miu Miu

I hope you liked seeing two people’s outfits as opposed to one. I personally love all of the double blogs that are kicking about the blogosphere atm.

XoXo

Seeking Sunrise

Setting my alarm for 3:45am you’d be right to presume I was either 1. jetting off to a tropical island, 2. on a VERY early shift at work or 3. just darn crazy. And well my friends, I have to say I believe most will think 3 is best suited to this story. The reason I was actually rising before the birds were chirping was in search of a sunrise. 

Let’s just say I have this thing for sunrises. In fact, I have a thing for that big yellow ball in general. I’m basically obsessed with everything the sun brings into my life. Warmth on my skin, BBQs in the garden, day trips to the beach, happy faces EVERYWHERE and of course picturesque sunsets. But one aspect of the sun that I rarely get to enjoy is the sunrise. Not because I love lazy mornings in my bed (quite the contrary actually) but because most people around me love a lie in. So after much persuasion I managed to convince my bed-loving boyfriend to join me in an early morning adventure to catch the sunrise.

After throwing on our clothes, and a quick brush of the teeth, we were on the road to Loch Lomond. We thought we might’ve missed the beginning of the sunrise but after choosing a spot on the loch that was surrounded by hills, we had plenty of time to spare. Before we knew it the sun was peering above the hills, instantly warming up the pretty baltic morning (I swear, it was about 2 degrees!). We then walked along the pier and really soaked up our surroundings before returning home for a warm breakfast in bed.  

I love how the images turned out and think they really capture the magic of a peaceful morning. This isn’t my typical style of blog post but I really loved trying to capture beautiful pictures as opposed to just an outfit or event.  

I really love the pictures and hope you do too so let me know if you would like to see more of this style of post.

It looks like the sun is beginning to peek through the clouds for another scorcher of a day in Glasgow. I seriously can't get over how lucky we've been with the weather over the last two weeks. It just makes ALL the difference. Long may it continue!

Happy sunny Saturday folks!

XoXo

Events round-up: Armani, Topshop, The Body Shop and Remnant Kings

Over the last month I've been blessed to be invited along to some pretty awesome events! Knowing what was ahead I thought I would gather up snaps from each event and do a round-up of all the best bits. From the Armani launch party to personal styling at Topshop and some sweet smelling (cocktail-esq) beauty products at The Body Shop there's a lot to get through so before I ramble on about how sad I am that the sun has disappeared (which FYI, while we're on the subject, I really am!) I better dive right into it.

First up was the Armani store launch party. As you can imagine, this was a pretty exciting event to be invited along to for obvious reasons: worldwide name, my first high end designer event and of course, sleek white interiors that make Instagramming easy peasy. Jokes. Well, not really.

Not one for shopping designer (not by choice but through a lack of funds, OBVS) I have to say I was highly impressed by the staffs attention to detail. There was never a moment we were without a drink or canapé and my coat was seamlessly taken off me and returned to me. If you're planning a designer splurge in the near feature make sure you include a visit to Armani (on Ingram Street), even if just to see the beautiful store in real life.

Next up was a personal styling event at Topshop hosted by Sheri Scott (aka Forever Yours Betty). I've always known that personal styling was available at Topshop but if I'm frank I thought it wasn't suited to me. I'm definitely not the most stylish person in the world but I've always felt confident that I dress well. Uneducated on the service, I thought personal styling was a completely clueless shoppers service however after this event I gotta say I've been converted. 

Not only was I in love with every outfit the team pulled together I'm also feeling reassured that booking into personal styling doesn't mean you HAVE to spend money. I think that this is probably an off putting factor for a lot of people but this couldn't be further from reality. The personal styling team are there to simply enhance the Topshop shopping experience and this is a perk I'm hoping to give a whirl in the near future.  

With sans-jacket temperatures creeping onto our weather gauge this weekend (fingers crossed), The Body Shop launch feels very fitting. Say hello to the brands new very yummy scented Pinita Colada range. Available in everything from body scrub to body butter this new scent ticks all the right boxes for me. I'm hoping to plan a last minute holiday and the body butter from the range is fo'sure making its way onto my holiday packing list. 

While I was at the event I also picked up the Instablur primer which I'm loving so far. I'm hoping to do a beauty haul of my fave products soon so stay tuned! 

Last up but certainly not least was the 70th anniversary for Remnant Kings. For anyone who lives in Glasgow and has ever dabbled in DIY, or even a makeshift Halloween costume, will know the store well. To celebrate the milestone the brand collaborated with London's biggest and best fabric store - Liberty of London to create their very own print. You can see the new print below (named 'Kings Meadow') which is available exclusively at all Remnant Kings stores. 

What I loved most about this event was seeing how much the stores and brand meant to the family who run it. The store has stayed within the one family for the entire 70 years and it's clear to see how passionate they are about their store and customers.

I'd love to know if you liked this type of post or prefer I keep events separate. 

I'm feeling pretty smug today as I've got a long weekend ahead of me with lots of exciting plans. It's a chilled one today but then The Boy and I are heading up north to visit my cousin and her BF. I'll be sure to take lots of snaps and share our weekend with you soon. 

Happy weekend folks!

XoXo

Young Scot Awards 2016

One sure way to spice up any working week is to slip on a sexy dress, hit the capital and attend a black tie event with one of your besties. And that's exactly what I did this week as I headed along to the Young Scot Awards 2016. After pulling a quick office change, my friend Ashley and I set up our glam station on the train and got face ready for the red carpet. Already cutting it fine, partnered with a delayed train and unexpected walk (thanks roadworks), we missed all the red carpet glamour by just five minutes. So what do you do when you're dressed to the nines with a few hours to spare on a casual Wednesday evening? Head to a local Italian to enjoy a romantic meal for two (and a little too much wine), of course.

After fuelling for the night ahead we were finally on our way to enjoy the awards. Not really sure what to expect I was completely blown away by the truly inspiring kids that hit the big screen. From young successful authors to transgender advocates and inspiring entrepreneurs I was honestly stunned at the determination and dedication these young kids possessed. We don't often hear a lot about Scottish talent in this way so it really opened my eyes and made me feel so proud to be Scottish. Of course, the kids were the true stars of the evening but there was also a few celeb appearances from the likes of TOWIE/Made in Chelsea stars and even Scottish wrestler/Ayrshire funny guy, Grado. Be sure to check out all the nominations here.

With nothing black tie appropriate in my wardrobe I borrowed this gorgeous LBD from my friend Lesley and I'm in love! It's a total bargain as well costing a teeny £28 - fur real! I then paired it with a small studded belt and my trusty black lace up heels from Public Desire, et voila, red carpet ready in under five minutes.

Me

Black dress - ASOS

Shoes - Public Desire 

Bag - Love Moschino

Ashley

Jumpsuit - ASOS (similar) 

Heels - New Look

Thanks to Young Scot for hosting such a lovely evening.

XoXo