Vintage ways to wear caged sandals.

Okay guys, as you may have seen caged sandals are now absolutely in fashion. I am in love. I bought these white caged sandals from New Look two days ago and I wanted to share with you two ways you could wear them!

Okay so an idea could be to wear them with frilly socks! This gives you a vintage fashion and you could match them with any kind of pair you like!

Another way I like is wearing them with thick black tights. The contrast really makes them pop and you could wear them with any dress/skirt this way!

High Street Haul 13/03/2014

Hey guys! Sorry I have negelected you for a few days, but I've had quite a bit of uni work to do.

Today I decided to do a bit of retail therapy to get a break from university life. I found some absolute beauties and bargains today!

            *A few of these items were bought earlier in the week, but I thought I would add them in today as they are equally as important/beautiful.

Okay so lets begin with the clothes. I got three whole outfits today for a 'tidy' value of £25! 

This first outfit includes a purple 'boyfriend' t-shirt from Primark for a bargain price of £4.00. This top however is kind of seethrough, so I would recommend putting a strappy top on underneath or to not wear a crazy patterned bra (like moi).

The skirt is actually from Oxfam! It doesn't have a brand but it only cost £2.99 and it will be great to dress up or down!

Next I have another Primark top! This one was also £4.00 and once again, it is very see through. In the picture I am wearing a cream coloured top underneath!

The skirt is a basic must have bodycon skirt. I have quite a few of these but they get worn away after a white. I always get mine from H&M because they last a while and they're only £3.99!

This dress is not my usual style. But I think that's why I like it! This dress was £29.99 but was knocked down to £10.00 in the H&M sale! Its great fitting and quite a thick material

Sorry about the quality of this picture, but the flash kept catching on some of the items!

Now accessories wise. 

On Sunday I will be going to a christening, and all I seem to own are black bags. So, Primark has saved the day once again with this cute little satchel for only £6.00! They also have it in a variety of colours including coral, which I was tempted to buy as well, but resisted.

Boots have a 3 for 2 offer on the majority of women's beauty products at the moment, so I thought it would be a wise decision to invest!

Lee Strafford has to be my most favourite hair care brand ever! Their products all smell beautiful, and they work so so so very well!

The two I invested in today as the 'Breaking Hair' treatment, and the 'Big Fat Root Boost' hair moose. 

Lee Strafford items range between £5 and £12 but they last forever and they're top quality!

The No.7 brush was my freebie so it was technically free, otherwise I believe it would be £7.20?? I'm not 100% sure!

And as spring is coming, I also purchased some thinner tights for the warmer weather - primark £2.00 a pair!

Okay, so I am not going to lie. i was really really really bad with shoes this week.

I rarely buy shoes, and for the past few weeks its all I have seemed to buy!

The Nike Trainers were essential because my running trainers are falling apart. They cost me £31.00 in Sports Direct and were retailed at £39.99. They are super comfortable and are actually from the kids section because I'm a freak.

The white chunky caged sandals - very similar to jelly sandals - were from New Look and cost £22.50 (£25 without student discount), you can buy them online from HERE

And the black pair of caged sandals at the end are actually from Primark, and they only cost £14.00, which is a bargain!

THANKS FOR LOOKING :) ENJOY YOUR DAY!

Pancake Power and How to Survive Lent.

PANCAKE POWER & HOW TO SURVIVE LENT.

Happy Pancake Day ya'll! Today I will be giving you the recipe we used to make American Gooey Banana Pancakes, as well as how to survive lent. :)

THE RECIPE

These are my pancakes! They have a banana center and have been topped with Nutella, bananas and whipped cream. Here's how to make them!

Ingredients

140g of plain flour.

130ml of milk

1 large egg

1/2 teaspoon salt 

1 teaspoon of baking powder

2 tablespoon caster sugar

2 tablespoons of melted butter. 

1 banana.

and Toppings of your choice!!

How to make!

1. First, sift the flour into a mixing bowl, then add the baking powder, salt and caster sugar into a large bowl.

2. In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs and milk together, and then add in the butter.

3. Preferably using a non-stick pan, melt some butter over a medium heat until fully melted. Then add a couple of spoons of batter to the pan. The batter will be quite thick. Add some thinly chopped bananas spread across the batter, and then cover them with another couple of spoons of batter.

4. Wait until the top of the batter starts to bubble, and then flip to cook the other side.

5. Top your pancakes with your favourite toppings and enjoy!!

Here are Katie and Rosie's pancakes.

Katie: Banana center, topped with banana's, strawberries and whipped cream.
Rosie: For an alternative, add more milk to the batter to make thinner pancakes. Rosie topped hers with Nutella, bananas and strawberries. 

HOW TO SURVIVE LENT.

So, tomorrow is Ash Wednesday, which means it is the beginning of the agonising 40 days and nights which is known as lent. 

I found this great article about how to survive the cravings of bad food, and I thought it might come in handy for lent! Here is what me and my two lovely flatmates plan to give up for lent.

Rosie - Chocolate
Katie - Chocolate and Cookies
Gemma - Chocolate and Fizzy drinks

Basically, sugar. Although I think that Katie should give up buying make up and Rosie should give up Dr. Pepper again. ;)

Now for some cheats!

	What you're craving Carbs. What you need Protein and Fish Oil What you substitute it for Fish, Red Meat, Nuts and Beans.
	What you're craving Sugar. What you need Superfoods What you substitute it for Kale, Blueberries, sweet potatoes, fish, nuts and seeds.
	What you're craving Caffeine What you need Micro-nutrients What you substitute it for Seadfood, lamb, turkey, lentils, milk, brocolli, cauliflower, red meat, onions, garlic, leafy greens, beans or dried fruit.
	What you're craving Salt What you need Salt... but not table salt. What you substitute it for Sea Salt, leafy greens and berries.
	What you're craving Chocolate What you need Magnesium What you substitute it for Nuts, Seeds, Fish, Cucumber and unrefined sea salt.
	What you're craving Meat/Fat What you need Healthy Fats What you substitute it for Olive oil, coconut, red meat, avocado, nuts and seeds.

I hope this helps anyone who is giving up any of these foods! Much love!

Thank you to Katie and Rosie for allowing me to take pictures of their pancakes and include them in this post.

A Charity Shop Myth Buster and Haul.

Okay, so me and Katie went on a charity shop prowl today, and although we went to quite a few shops, we didn't actually find as much as we usually do. Nevertheless, we did find some beauties today!

Whilst I know you are eager to find out what we bought today, I want to start with a small myth-busting session on charity shops as I know a lot of people are quite skeptical about them.

CHARITY SHOP MYTH BUSTING!

Myth: Charity shops are full of clothing previously owned by dead people.

Truth: Whilst there may be a chance that some items were previously owned by the recently deceased, the majority are not. Many people donate items after having a clear out (like me for instance).

Myth: All the things in charity shops are disgusting and unwashed.

Truth: Actually, every single item of clothing that charity shops receive are checked for their quality. Anything which does not seem up to a certain standard will be thrown away, and all the items which are sale worthy are cleaned, or in the case of clothes, washed. But if you are extra suspicious you can always re-wash items once you have bought them.

Myth: There is never anything in charity shops for young people, it is all 'granny' items.

Truth: There is a respectable amount of 'granny' items, yet there is also a fair amount of younger generation clothing too! I have found countless items from Topshop, River island, Asos, Primark.. etc. As well as this, some 'granny' items are actually in fashion right now! So you could get something vintage and in style for the price of 2 jagers in Weatherspoons. 

Myth: Charity shops are dirty.

Truth: Actually, they are pretty clean. Like previously said, everything is cleaned and displays are changed regularly! Ever been to Primark on a saturday afternoon? Charity shops are ten times cleaner than that, and if you can buy things that have been tried on by 10+ people, then a charity shop, where items are rarely tried on by buyers, you can handle. 

Myth: It is too much hassle going through charity shops, its too hard to find anything

Truth: Every charity shop I have ever been to has had a very organised structure to it. They put all the t-shirts/dresses/jeans together, in size order, with little squares on the hanger telling you their size. Pretty easy to find something actually!

Myth: Charity shops don't have anywhere to try items on and I cannot return the item.

Truth: 90% of charity shops have changing rooms, and all of them accept exchanges! But c'mon, who would ask for a refund at a charity shop anyways? 

THE BEST THING ABOUT BUYING FROM CHARITY SHOPS IS ALL THE MONEY GOES TO A GOOD CAUSE!!

THE HAUL

I am not sure if you would class this as a haul, as we only managed to buy 4 items in total. But there were quite a few things which were really nice, but weren't in our sizes!

Okay, I am going to start with the star buy of the day from Katie. I am really jealous that this shirt did not fit me or I would have had to battle her to the death for it. But check out this absolutely gorgeous, vintage style shirt she got for £3.00!! Do you guys want to know whats even better about this shirt? We did a wee Google search of the label inside 'David Neiper' and found out that a very similar shirt to this would cost you £115 brand new!! Seriously?!?!

(Thank you to my beautiful torso model Katie)

Next up we have my buys of the day. Firstly, I found this beautiful Miss Selfridge dress, which I think I actually owned a few years ago, for £4.00!! Now, anyone who shops at Miss Selfridge will know the expenditure of their items (very similar to Topshop prices if anyone has never heard of them) so getting this beautiful dress, which goes with my favourite coat extremely well, for less than a fiver was like a dream come true. 

Okay so this is something I am so happy to own in my life. I love skirts, and I love pokadots and I love ASOS. So to find a pokadot skirt from ASOS for a bargain buy of £4.00 was like looking into your student food cupboards and seeing you stashed a chocolate bar right at the back. I loves it I do.

And the final item which I found was this 'Silver Linings Play Book' Book. Now, I loved the movie. Jennifer Lawrence (love) and Bradley Cooper (love) and I love reading (love), so to find this was a pleasant surprise! Now this is actually the most I have ever spent on a book in a charity shop, because I usually get 2 for 99p. But, I am not complaining at all. :)

Thank you all for reading today's post! I hope it has changed your mind about charity shops! 

Big thank you to Katie for letting me drag her around the shops today and for letting me force her into taking pictures of her wearing a top. 

P.S. It's PANCAKE DAY TOMORROW.