Lady Bug Says ...

Lady Bug Says ... His & Hers Masks

2012-02-13T20:32:00.003Z

Evening Lovelies.

A little review for you tonight, the Mr and I were recently sent some face masks from the range of Montagne Jeunesse skincare products.

The Mr was sent the 'Zap Them Peel Off' mask from the men's range and I received the 'Passion Peel Off' mask.

The Mr was reluctantly persuaded to give this a go after I told him it was green and he may look like the incredible hulk once it was on. Though he was a bit disappointed that the mask was in fact a slightly green tinged gel rather than bright green! He commented that the mask had a very fresh pine smell and that it was strange feeling his face getting colder and tighter! Boys hey!

I must say I preferred the scent and colour of my mask! Again it had a fresh smell and was nicely cooling. I do like peel off masks, but think they are probably more suited to the summer months. Both of us sat on the sofa saying how cold our faces felt!

I was going to include photos of the masks in use but quite frankly we both looked like we had odd slimy skin conditions!

We had a little 'who can peel off the biggest bit' (kind of gross I know!) competition, which the Mr clearly won as he managed to peel nearly the whole mask off in one. I think I would of stood a better chance if I had given the mask another 5 mins as it was still quite tacky come peeling time! We both felt that the masks left our skin tighter and brighter, mine was left a little red but I do have quite sensitive skin so kind of expect it when trying out a new product.

Overall we would both give both the masks 4/5.

Lady Bug Says ... Simple Triangle Nails

2012-02-12T21:09:00.003Z

Evening lovelies :)

A quick nail post from me tonight, I saw a nail art tutorial that Clare over at Rainbows & Fairy Dust posted and knew I had to try it straight away!

I used my 2 current favourite polishes, Models Own 'Champagne' for the base colour and Models Own 'Slate Grey' for the top colour.

Armed with some scotch tape I was ready to go :)

Apply base colour.

To make the scotch tape less sticky I had the squares stuck to my hand whilst I painted on the base coat and wait for it to dry. Then I stuck the not to sticky tap to my nails.

Apply top coat.

Allow to dry then carefully peel off the tape.

I will definitely be trying this again as it didn't really take much longer than a standard manicure and looks a bit more special :)

Lady Bug Says ... Circus Ringmaster?

2012-02-09T17:20:00.005Z

Evening lovelies!

Nearly the weekend :) I won £10 on the lotto the other day so I think I am going to go to the little village near me for a charity shopping trip to spend my winnings!

Another outfit post today, I like this outfit but I feel a bit like a circus ringmaster with the red blazer!

Stocking detail tights, Primark £2, Leather shorts, Courtesy of Very.co.uk, Black tshirt, Primark £3, Red blazer, Forever 21 £19, Leopard Necklace, Me & Zena £12

Wedged boots, Courtesy of Matalan

Outfit total - £36

I love these boots! Fab colour, a wedge heel I can actually walk in and great lace up detailing. They have become my go to shoe when I need a bit of height without the wobble!

Lady Bug Says ... Pretty Mugs :)

2012-02-06T19:51:00.003Z

Evening Lovelies.

Hope you have all had a lovely weekend :)

Back before Christmas I won a giveaway that Lauren over at Lauren Loves Blog hosted.

I was very excited when this package turned up in the New Year!

And I was even happier to see the little personalised detailing. I picked to have the our nicknames printed on them, I have no idea how or why we call each other 'bug' but we have for years. We only seem to 'first name' each other if we are in front of family or having an argument!

I'm just slightly afraid of using them in case they get broken!

Lady Bug Says ... Winter Knits

2012-02-02T17:21:00.003Z

Evening lovelies!

It's bloody cold and I hate it!! The Mr went to de-ice my car this morning (thank you!) but 10 minutes later when I left for work it had frozen up again. Cold weather (-3) and early mornings do not mix!!

I've been going to work bundled up in chunky knits and relying on the little heater under my desk keeping me warm. The only plus I have seen to the stupidly cold weather is I have actually been taking lunch to work as I don't want to have to venture out during my break!

I love this jumper, I just wish it had longer sleeves!!

Burgundy trousers, Next £12, Vest top, Primark £3, Draped knitted cardigan,

TU at Sainsburys £6

The Mr was making my laugh whilst taking photos, doing his best 'photographer' impression, 'more pout darrrrrling'!

Leopard loafers, Next - Christmas present from the in-laws.

I love these shoes, but boy did the smell when I first got them! I spent hours on Christmas day convinced I could smell a bonfire/burning kind of smell and then everyone telling me I was going mad! I eventually tracked the smell down to these shoes! After a few days 'airing' they seem to have lost the worst of it!

Leopard necklace, Me & Zena £12 , Ring, Primark £2

Outfit total - £35

Lady Bug Says ... Gluten Free Banana & Chocolate Muffins

2012-01-31T19:57:00.004Z

Evening Lovelies.

I thought I would share with you a super yummy recipe today. Since changing to a wheat free diet I have been testing lots of baking recipes out to see if they are just as yummy made with wheat free substitutes.

This has to be one of my favourites, adapted from this recipe

Ingredients

200g Dove's Farm Plain Gluten Free Flour

1/2 teaspoon Dove's Farm Gluten Free Baking Powder

1 teaspoon Dove's Farm Gluten Free Bicarbonate of Soda

1/2 teaspoon Salt

3 Large Mashed Bananas

150g Caster Sugar

1 Egg

75g Melted Butter

75g Chocolate Chips or Chocolate Chunks

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius and line a baking tray with 12 muffin cases

2. Sift together flour, bicarbonate of soda, baking powder and salt

3. Combine bananas, egg, sugar and melted butter in a bowl. Add the sieved dry ingredients and mix until smooth.

4. Mix in the chocolate chunks

5. Spoon into the muffin cases and bake for 25-30 mins or until golden.

They are my favourite breakfast treat at the moment :)

Lady Bug Says ... A Midi Moment

2012-01-29T17:18:00.003Z

Happy Sunday!

Hope you have all had a lovely weekend and the obligatory relaxed Sunday. Mine has included birthday celebrations with my Dad and family and a yummy brunch with the in-laws today. Basically a lot of food! Now that its freezing and raining I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to blog my outfit from Friday.

I love this knitted midi dress but I don't wear it nearly enough, in fact the last time I wore it was nearly a year ago in a practically identical outfit! If it ain't broke why fix it!

Steve Madden boots, TK Maxx £35, Black cami, Primark £2, Black body con skirt, H&M £3, Knitted midi, H&M £7, Faux fur gillet, Primark via charity shop £2

Necklace, Jewellery shop in France £12 & Ring, Primark £2

Outfit total - £63

Lady Bug Says ... Nails Inc Magnetic Polish

2012-01-27T17:43:00.003Z

Evening Lovelies.

Hope you all had a fab week and have some great plans for the weekend. It is my Dad's birthday tomorrow so I'm looking forward to going out for a yummy meal tomorrow night and celebrating with him and the rest of my family :)

Just a brief post from me today, I recently won a lovely little Twitter giveaway that Zoe over at The London Lipgloss was hosting and received a Nails Inc magnetic polish. I've been wanting to try a magnetic polish for a while now so pretty pleased with it!

The effect is really pretty and does happen instantly, almost like magic! The only downside would be the tip wear, after less than 18 hours (most of which were spent sleeping) there was real noticeable wear.

Lady Bug Says ... My Sarenza Favourite

2012-01-25T20:28:00.005Z

The answer to all the above would be a big YES!

The lovely people over at Sarenza recently announced that a spot on their much coveted ambassadors programme had become available and they would like interested fashion bloggers to apply to fill the space!

Of course being slightly shoe obsessed I couldn't miss out on such a great opportunity so here goes with my review of one of my favourite pairs of shoes (many made the not so short shortlist!) from the Sarenza website.

I've made a fairly practical choice, but I guess I'm a fairly practical person! If I'm going to have a lovely pair of shoes I like to be able to vaguely walk in them!

Hence why I love wedges! The perfect combination of comfort and that extra bit of height (lord knows I need it!) wins me over every time. Largely because anything over a 3inch heel leaves me doing a damn good Bambi on ice impression!

These camel lace up booties are pretty much wedge perfection and you know they will earn their keep! Simple enough to wear to work with your trusty skinny jeans and blazer, dressed up with a pretty dress for the evening and not going to kill your feet wandering around the shops :) Oh and the hint of leopard print is guaranteed to raise a smile and stand out from all the other booties! I'm also slightly in love with how the boots are cut, thank you for not emphasising my cankles!

I can see the gorgeous camel suede lending itself to being worn throughout the Spring and into Summer (a British summer anyway!), I like to get a fair bit of wear out of my shoes!

Off I go to buy suede protection spray and dream of camel clad feet!

Lady Bug Says ... Comfy Weekends

2012-01-23T18:47:00.004Z

Evening lovelies!

Hope you have all had a fabulous weekend. For once I feel like I had a productive one, usually I get to Sunday evening and think 'what on earth did I achieve this weekend?!' but I managed to get a load of things crossed off my to do list which is a great feeling.

I was mainly organising things at home, so comfy warm clothes were in order, but presentable enough for a little trip out to Dunelm Mill which has just opened up dangerously near my work!

Excuse the moody look on my face, it was bloody cold outside! I'm also trying to get used to seeing photos of myself in glasses, I have been a contact lenses wearer for many years, but have recently changed lense type and they don't seem to agree with my eyes!

Suede booties, Primark £12, Leggings, H&M £7, Rust tunic, Primark £6, Chunky knit cardigan, Primark £8

Necklace, Christmas gift from the Mr, Ring, Matalan £5

Nails, Models Own 'Slate Grey' with Models Own 'Champagne' tips

Lady Bug Says ... Matalan SS12 & Their Biggest Ever Giveaway!

2012-01-19T18:25:00.004Z

Evening lovelies.

Hope you are all well and looking forward to the weekend, I have a massive to do list all ready for it, I am determined to be productive.

Anyway, recently Matalan sent me their gorgeous SS12 look book and I thought I would share with you the pieces that I am sure will end up in my wardrobe!

I have already been stalking the Matalan website waiting for this top to be available to buy!

Matalan are also currently running their biggest ever giveaway, you have the chance to win your energy bills paid for 2012 plus a £600 Matalan shopping spree! All you have to do to enter is shop either in store on online at Matalan and make sure to swipe your Reward Card, simple as that! You can find out all the details here.

Don't forget to enter my blog birthday giveaway!

Lady Bug Says ... New Years Resolutions 2012

2012-01-14T15:04:00.003Z

Afternoon lovelies. Hope you are all having a nice weekend so far!

I am one of those cliche people that make up (and largely don't stick to) New Years resolutions every year and this year will be no different. I think its nice to have realistic things to aim for!

Last year I set myself the following resolutions, this is how I got on with them!

Get Fit - Well I did do a fair bit of cycling and attended zumba classes for 3-4 months. Once my body decides to behave itself I hope to get back into a routine and exercise more.

Take part in a charity sporting event - Unfortunately not :( I did make a fair few charitable donations last year though so pleased I still contributed in some way.

Become more organised - My filofax got used alot! I seemed to slip with being organised when it came to blogging though, another thing I hope to improve on this year.

Get a proper skincare routine - Ummmm, not quite! Though I did get the Liz Earle cleanse and polish kit for Christmas so hopefully that will kick start me in the right direction!

Sort out my wardrobe - Yes! I had a much needed clear out and 3 massive bin bags full of clothes went off to the local charity shops and I have a big box of items to photograph and list on Ebay.

Worry/stress less - Well this hasn't been the greatest year for me worry wise! I think having bad health that I can't seem to control has made it a lot worse. But I am determined to work on this is 2012

This year I am going to TRY to do the following!

Eat my 5 a day! - I eat fairly well and do like fruit and veg, but realistically only get maybe 3 of my 5 a day. So lots more healthier snacks at work for me!

Worry less/ more positive thinking - I failed on trying to overcome this last year and really want to work on it this year. I need to stop thinking of the worse case scenario and start being more positive!

Read at least 1 book a month - I used to be a complete book worm, but recently I don't seem to have time for reading. I received a Kindle for my birthday back in October and still haven't finished the 1st book I downloaded on it!

Take a photography course and learn how to use my camera properly - I have had my new camera for a while but still haven't really ventured away from the auto settings! Seems such a waste to have all those extra functions and no idea how to use them!

We will see this time next year how I got on!

Lady Bug Says ... 2 Years Ago Today! Blog Birthday & Giveaway!

2012-01-10T09:04:00.008Z

*GIVEAWAY NOW CLOSED*

Evening lovelies!

Source

Well doesn't time fly! 2 years ago today my little blog was started and has slowly grown into something I am really proud of! I honestly appreciate every person who takes the time to read my ramblings and am grateful for all the opportunities blogging has given me.

As a little thank you to all my lovely readers and commenter's I will be doing a giveaway in the same style as I did on my 1st blog birthday :)

1 lucky reader will receive a surprise bag of goodies that I personally love and think you will too! There will be a small runners up prize too :)

The Rules!

1. All you have to do to enter is be a follower of my blog and leave a comment on this post with the words 'Please enter me!' and your email address.

2. For a further entry you can tweet the following ' It's @ladybugsays 2nd blog birthday and she is having a lovely goody bag giveaway! http://bit.ly/w6TJ9K '

3. Please leave an additional comment to let me know you have tweeted.

4. The giveaway will close on Friday 10th February at midnight GMT.

5. The winner will be drawn randomly using http://www.random.org/

6. The giveaway is open internationally!

Best of luck everyone!

Lady Bug Says ... Clothes Show Goodies

2012-01-07T15:31:00.005Z

Sorry for the continued blog silence!

I am still ill though hopefully I will be on the mend soon. Will be a lack of outfit posts for a while, being ill has made me completely lose my appetite and therefore I have lost weight and none of my clothes fit properly! At least now I have a good excuse to eat lots of chocolate to get the weight back on!

I thought I would finally show you all what I picked up at the Clothes Show back in December.

Snuggliest jumper possibly ever! Internacionale, £13

Faux leather a-line skirt. Apparently destined for Primark, £5

Me & Zena necklace, £12 & Chunky silver necklace, £5

Models Own were offering a goody bag when you spent £10, so I picked up a few nail varnishes (one for my blogger secret santa) and a loose eye shadow. The goody bag was better than I expected, think the only thing I wont use is the orange liner!

Barry M were also doing a £10 goody bag which I split with my Mum

Glossybox were offering 2 boxes for £10 so my Mum and I got a box each and picked our favourites to keep. The also gave out discount codes for a free box which I used to pick up the Christmas box, worth getting for the nail varnish alone!

Just a selection of random things put in some of the many goody bags that the magazines and various people hand out.

I was fairly restrained this year!

Lady Bug Says ... Comfort All The Way From Australia

2011-12-16T19:53:00.004Z

Evening Lovelies

Hope you are all enjoying the run up to Christmas!

A little while ago I was contacted by the marketing people at the Nature Shop asking whether I would like to review a pair of shoes from their website. The Nature Shop specialise in nature inspired products and brands, they also donate 10% of their profits to charitable causes.

I picked these amazingly warm and comfortable Love From Australia Cozi Caramel Boots which retail for £98.97. They are certainly not 'cheap' but they are really good quality. I have lost count of the amount of bargain pairs I have purchased and in hindsight it probably would of been wise to of bought a decent pair in the first place!

Now, Ugg style boots are certainly not everyones thing. I think they are the perfect boot for this time of year for cold wintery days. The lining is so very soft and a love the knitted detailing. The sole is thick and pretty durable, I can't imagine these having the attractive 'side collapsing in' look that you are pretty much guaranteed to get with the cheaper boots.

Boots, courtesy of Nature Shop, Jeans, Primark £10, Mustard knit jumper, Clothing at Tesco £10

Another pair of boots that definitely need the suede protection spray treatment!

Lady Bug Says ... The Clothes Show 2011 Outfit

2011-12-14T19:24:00.003Z

Evening lovelies!

Back at the beginning of December I was lucky enough to be able to take a trip to The Clothes Show in Birmingham. My lovely little Sister had very generously bought me a ticket and train tickets to get there for my Birthday. So despite, to put it politely, feeling like a bag of crap, I decided to go. I would of felt so bad if she had of wasted her money! Luckily I was going with my Mum so she was more than happy to spend a lot of time sitting in the fresh air when I got to hot and overwhelmed by the crowds! Thank you Mum!

I will do a separate post on what I bought on the day, I was pretty restrained this year! It was crazy seeing the crowds of teens who had obviously gone to a)be 'spotted' by the scouts and b) to spend all of their money on any offer going!

This is what I wore, I was so glad I opted for comfy flat boots and short sleeves, it was beyond hot in the halls!

Tights, Primark £1, Shorts, Forever 21 £15, Metallic knit jumper, Primark £5

Ring, Primark £2

Suede flat boots, Primark £12

Outfit total £35

These boots are the comfiest boots I have EVER owned! Now I just need to get some suede protection spray so I can wear them in the ever lovely British rain!

Lady Bug Says ... I'm Back!

2011-12-11T15:48:00.004Z

Well hello lovely ladies! Remember me?

It has been an absolute age since I last posted :( I have been pretty ill and therefore have not been taking any outfit photos or feeling up to spending time constructing decent posts! But the good news is I am finally starting to feel myself again :)

Right, lets start with some lovely festive sparklyness!

Recently I was contacted by the lovely people from George at Asda, asking whether I would like to be sent a beautiful evening dress to style up for the Christmas party season. Of course I agreed, every girl always needs a new party dress!

I picked this gorgeous navy blue jersey skater dress with sequined collar.

Evening Dress, Courtesy of George at Asda £16, Patent heels, Matalan £5

Necklace, Accessorize £1

I decided to add even more sparkle to the collar with this gold necklace, if you can't go a little over the top at Christmas then when can you?!

Ring, Accessorize £4

A Christmas party season outfit wouldn't be complete without a cocktail ring :)

Outfit total - £26

Now I just need a party to be swept off to!

Lady Bug Says ... The Birthday Post

2011-11-06T16:27:00.004Z

Afternoon lovelies, hope everyone has had a good weekend!

I asked in my last post if people would be interested in a post about my birthday and the response was positive so here is a slightly belated birthday post!

My birthday was on Tuesday the 25th and the Mr and I took the day off work to have a day of fun. Unfortunately the horrible weather meant our plans were abit restricted but we still had a great day.

The day started off with flowers and breakfast in bed, I was certainly spoilt!

Then the Mr whisked me off to Dartmoor to escape the rain and have a yummy lunch in a gorgeous pub in front of the log fire.

Birthday steak lunch, those chips were the most amazing chips I have ever eaten! Could of eaten a whole mountain of them!

When then went off into Plymouth and did some shopping and headed home for a curry. Perfect lazy day spent with my favourite person!

I was lucky enough to receive some amazing gifts :) Definitely a very spoilt girl!

Cath Kidston shower gel & body cream, Dirty Works gift set & Lush goodies. As soon as the Mr's mum handed me my present I could smell that amazing Lush shop smell!

Obligatory Hello Kitty gifts :)

Pretty jewellery organiser & some cute decorative hearts

Kindle (yay have wanted one of these for so long!), Kindle cover & Sophie Kinsella book

A ticket to the Clothes Show Live & train tickets to get there! My little sister is the best and knows me so well!

Camera tripod (no more balancing my camera on books!), Alexa style bag and cosiest knitted snood

Thank you all for the birthday wishes!

Finally just a little reminder, you can still vote for me in the Sarenza blogging competition and also be in with a chance of winning £800 worth of shoes too! All you need to do is tweet:

'My vote for the @SarenzaUK comp goes to @ladybugsays #SarenzaUKstyle'

Lady Bug Says ... Chocolate Overload!

2011-11-02T19:32:00.005Z

Evening lovelies.

Now I am abit of a chocoholic. Desserts, chocolate bars, hot chocolate, ice cream, cake I'll take it all please! So when the lovely people at Montagne Jeunesse contacted me to see if I would like to review their new hot chocolate self heating face mask I jumped at the chance!

As soon as I opened the sachet I really had to resist the urge to taste it! It looks and smells EXACTLY like melted chocolate orange! Once applied it immediately starts to heat up, I was a little concerned as it got really hot really quickly but after about a minute the mask was just nicely warming!

I left the mask on for about 15 minutes and jumped into a Lush Ma Bar bubble bath, ultimate chocolate overload!

Once removed my skin felt all soft and warm :) The Mr commented that I smelt like a giant chocolate for hours afterwards! Plus I didn't break out the next day which I was slightly concerned might happen with such a sugary sweet mask.

I personally love these Montagne Jeunesse sachet face masks, you get to try lots of different scents/mask properties without committing to a whole bottle of the stuff! Their products are suitable for vegetarians, they always try to use natural ingredients where possible oh and a sachet is only £1.09 perfect for a girly treat!

Finally just a little reminder, you can still vote for me in the Sarenza blogging competition and also be in with a chance of winning £800 worth of shoes too (it really would be all of my Christmas's coming at once!). All you need to do is tweet:

'My vote for the @SarenzaUK comp goes to @ladybugsays #SarenzaUKstyle'

Lady Bug Says ... Wear It Pink!

2011-10-28T20:45:00.003+01:00

Evening lovelies!

As most of you know today is Breast Cancer Campaign's 'Wear It Pink' day, so I of course had to don a pink frock and take part! I picked up this pink beauty in the Dorothy Perkins sale and thought today was the perfect time for it's first outing.

Dress, Dorothy Perkins £15, Blazer, H&M Kids £8, Tights, Primark £1, Shoes, Primark £10

Outfit total - £34

Barry M 'Mushroom' with Models Own 'Champagne' sponged tips. Rings, Matalan £3

Also a little reminder that the lovely Essbeevee is hosting a bloggers breast cancer awareness raffle which closes tonight! A chance to donate money to a very worthy cause and be in with a chance of winning some fab prizes!

Lady Bug Says ... Leather & Grey

2011-10-27T19:45:00.005+01:00

Evening Lovelies!

Hope you have all had a fab week. It was my birthday on Tuesday so I have had a few days off work and spent time with friends, family and the Mr :) Was lovely to just have a break from work/the internet/housework and spend quality time with loved ones! The Mr even treated me to flowers and breakfast in bed! Spoilt girl :) I don't know if anyone is interested in seeing what I got for my birthday? I personally like reading those kind of posts but I don't want to come across as though I'm showing off or anything!

Anyway, onto the outfit! I bought this leather skirt at the end of last winter but it has taken until now to a) get the musty smell out of it and b) actually wear it! So glad its finally getting an airing as it is the perfect a-line shape, fits like a glove and has quirky detailing like the hand cut hem. Oh and did I mention it's vintage and only cost £4.50!

Tights, Primark £1, Leather skirt, Vintage via charity shop £4.50, Knitted jumper with elbow detailing, H&M £15

Models Own 'Jade Green' with 'Juicy Jules' on the ring fingers :)

Suede buckle detail boots, Primark £12

Outfit total - £ 32.50

I found out today that I have been shortlisted in the Sarenza blogging competition :) I would really appreciate it if you could possibly take a few minutes to read my review entry and if you like it tweet the following:

'My vote for the @SarenzaUK comp goes to Lady Bug Says #SarenzaUKstyle'

The winner gets £800 worth of shoes (Eeeeeee!) and 1 of their voters also receives £800 worth of shoes!

I'm off to iron my pink dress in preparation for Breast Cancer Campaign's 'Wear It Pink' day tomorrow!

Lady Bug Says ... A Little More About Me

2011-10-20T20:16:00.003+01:00

Evening lovelies.

Sorry I have been rather absent, various ailments seem to have struck me down all at the same time! But I'm soldiering on, don't you worry!

I thought tonight I would show you a little more of my life outside of the blog. As much as I love fashion, beauty & baking my job means the world to me. I can talk kitchens for hours and tend to bore people with my incessant chatter of traditional vs contemporary and granite vs solid surface!

I work for a bespoke joinery and shopfitting company as a kitchen planner, though as we are a small family company I also cover various other roles such as reception and payroll.

My favourite part of my job is receiving a 'list of dreams' from a client and being able to create their dream room :) Plus I get my vicariously spend a fortune of gorgeous joinery through my customers!

Traditional in-frame painted kitchen with granite and timber worktops.

Oak & cream shaker kitchen with granite worktops

Traditional sage in-frame kitchen with oak block worktops

Cream framed doors with solid surface worktops

Oak shaker doors with solid surface worktops

Cream in-frame kitchen with slate worktops

So what's your dream kitchen? Every time I design a new one my personal dream seems to change!

Lady Bug Says ... Camel, Grey & Burgundy

2011-10-13T20:17:00.004+01:00

Sorry for the completely unimaginative post title! It was all my brain could conjure up!

I'm kind of liking the more autumnal weather, means I finally get a chance to wear some of the knits and tights I have been buying. Though with the nights getting darker I am going to have to work out some indoor lightish space to take outfit photos soon!

Also really need to figure out the self timer on my camera so I don't have to keep hassling the Mr to take photos of me! Always end up pulling slightly odd faces when he is behind the camera!

Burgundy snood, Primark £4, Grey jumper, Primark £4, Camel dress, c/o Select, Tights, Primark £1, Steve Madden Boots, TK Maxx £35

Outfit total - £44

Barry M Racing Green & Models Own Champagne

Leather feather earrings, giveaway prize from A Daisy Chain Dream

Lady Bug Says ... A Bit Of A Ramble

2011-10-10T20:30:00.009+01:00

Evening Lovelies!

Going to be a little bit of a rambley post this evening and basically some reasons(excuses) why I have been a bit absent recently!

I did have every intention of photographing some outfits from the last week when I got home tonight, but by the time I had done the food shop(such a glam life!) it was already dark! Really not liking the dark nights arriving so suddenly! Certainly not looking forward to the day I go to and come home from work in the dark!

I thought I would share a pretty photo from the summer, bring back sunshine and bright flowers please!

Over the past few months I have been ill on and off which is increasingly frustrating! I have been diagnosed as wheat intolerant(big thanks to Alex for making me realise that being wheat free isn't actually the end of the world!) and having Costochondritis, which is inflammation of the chest cartilage which is bloody painful. So painful I ended up at A&E on Thursday night as I was slightly concerned that there might be something wrong with my heart :S One ECG and a few hours in hospital later I was reassured that my heart wasn't giving up on me but I do need a course of strong anti-inflammitories! I don't want to sound all 'poor old me' but feeling generally rubbish each day is getting me down!

Recently the lovely girls over at Select contacted me and offered to send me something to review. I picked this pretty skater style dress and so far have worn it to the Look Show. I have honestly never received anything from a company so prettily packaged! I will be doing a proper review once its had a few more outings.

(I have no idea whats going on with the spacing of these photos! Though with the way blogger is being at the moment I am just thankful that they are the right way up!)

Very.co.uk also very kindly offered to send me something from one of their Autumn/Winter collections. I originally picked this pretty yellow dress from Fearne Cottons range but unfortunately the sizes seemed to come up really big :( Luckily they let me send it back and pick something else so I went for these Love Label suede shorts. Highly impractical, I have only worn them once and was fearful of eating anything whilst wearing them, I can't afford dry cleaning bills!! I do love these shorts though, can't wait to wear them with thick tights and boots :)

Finally, like most bloggers I have attempted galaxy inspired nails! I think they might look slightly more like sparkly bird crap but hey!

I think that is about it for my rambling! This post has taken bloody hours to write after my laptop decided to blue screen of death and restart no less than 10 times in 30 mins! I am now on the Mr's computer after much swearing and giving up on mine! I have lots of posts lined up so hopefully Lady Bug Says will be updated a little more frequently! How you ladies manage to post daily I will never know!!

Lady Bug Says ... Getting My Culottes On!

2011-10-03T20:53:00.003+01:00

Evening Lovelies!

Hope you have been enjoying the unexpected sunshine! I certainly wasn't expecting to wear shorts without a nice thick pair of tights in late September/October! If this Indian summer weather wants to stick around I am not going to complain!

Whilst doing one of my 'pop in to Tesco for a pint of milk, come out with clothes trips' I was browsing around the sale section and picked up what I thought was a lovely rust coloured a-line skirt. When I saw the price was £2 I had to pick up the cream version too! It wasn't until I tried it on when I got home I realised they were actually culottes. Wearing them I feel a little like I should be in the Brownies (something I was deprived of as a child!) but I can definitely see them becoming a wardrobe staple!

Red heels, Primark £12, Rust culottes with plaited belt, Clothing at Tesco £2, Red vest top, Primark £3

Necklace, Forever 21 £3.50

Swallow ring, Matalan £3 & Anchor ring, ASOS £6

Outfit total - £29.50

Lady Bug Says - Sarenza Picks

2011-09-28T21:25:00.011+01:00

Recently the lovely people at Sarenza contacted me and asked if I would like to write a review of some of my favourite Autumn/Winter picks from their website based around the theme of Pure British! They will be selecting their favourite reviews with the winner receiving £800 in vouchers! Couldn't turn down the chance to win pretty shoes!

I decided to base my review on some of the big British trends for Autumn Winter!

Androgynous

Sapia by Latinas Tattoo £30.60 & Elegant Studs by Jeffrey Campbell £94.90

I am a big fan of stylish flats, as I will more often than not go for being comfortably short than painfully tall! I am easily won over by a stunning loafer (love the unusually dark reddy brown colour) and now feel like my wardrobe is majorly missing out by not having star studded shoes in it!

I would pair either of these gorgeous flats with tailored shorts and a detailed blouse for the perfect masculine/feminine look!

Blouse Shorts

Heritage

Donna Keira C by Geox £119 & Pastora by Latinas Tattoo £35.70

I am possibly in love with both of these pairs of boots and may NEED to get the in my wardrobe somehow! The platform detailing on the first pair make them stand out more than your average tan boot and who doesn't need some warm lined boots in their lives!

In my mind these boots lend themselves to being worn with rich autumn colours and a hint or heritage check!

Jumper Shirt Trousers

Sixties Mod

Joan by I Love Shoes £58.65 & Jago by I Love Shoes £50.15

I am a sucker for the quite impractical suede shoe! But when they look this pretty how can anyone say no to them! I would like to think I can walk in 'Joan' height heels, but truth be told 'Jago' sized heels are definitely more in my comfort zone! I love the colours in both of these pairs!

I would wear this with a cute colour block shift dress and chunky statement ring :)

Dress Ring

Tailored

Secretary by Shellys £82.44 & Moracee by San Marina £76.42

I love a good loafer and an even better brogue so a heeled version is perfect for a tailored work look. These autumn toned shoes are a nice change from black or tan and I love the little punch out and buckle detailing. Plus a chunky heel means they are so much easier to walk in, yay!

For a work appropriate tailored look I would pair them with a cute detailed shirt and a leather effect skirt.

Blouse Skirt

Trench/Mac

Verona 8563 by Pikolinos £144.50 & Tol by Ara £78.20

A British winter would not be complete without the return of the beloved trench coat and I think these boots will compliment a beautiful jacket perfectly! I love the contrasting buckle detailing on the Verona's and just need the classic black ankle boots!

I would wear them, with a fun bright winter trench!

Trench Coat

Sarenza have got some amazing products in for the new season and I am really pleased to see that there is a wide range of price points to suit everyone's budget without compromising on the quality.

Lady Bug Says ... A Little Berry Inspiration

2011-09-26T20:14:00.003+01:00

Evening lovelies!

I'm sure you are all aware that I have more than a little bit of love for Glee and Rachel Berry in particular! The new season last week and I spent the majority of the episode texting my sister about how much I wanted Rachel's wardrobe!

Love the fitted shift dresses!

Had to recreate this look!

Heels, Tesco £5, Pleated Skirt, Next £12, Long Sleeved Tshirt, Primark £4

Swallow Ring, Matalan £3 & Coral Ring, Matalan £5

Outfit total - £29

Nails - ELF 'Mango Madness' & Models Own 'Golden Peach'

Lady Bug Says ... More Shorts!

2011-09-24T20:12:00.003+01:00

Evening Ladies!

Another quick post from me today I'm afraid. After being migraine free for the last few months today I was struck down by a blinder of a headache and ended up spending pretty much all of today asleep in a dark room! I still don't feel brilliant but at least I can stand to look at the TV/laptop!

I thought I would share with you an outfit I wore out for dinner for my Mother In Laws birthday. We went to La Tasca which was yummy, I love tapas style food, get to try everything and don't end up with food envy!

I wore my new Forever 21 shorts, I am a little obsessed with shorts and now Forever 21! When attending The LOOK Show we were given a discount booklet including a 10% off Forever 21 voucher and it would have been rude to not use it!

Steve Madden booties, TK Maxx £35, Shorts, Forever 21 £15, Striped tshirt, F&F at Tesco £4, Cardigan, Primark £5, Necklace, Matalan £4

Outfit total - £63

Time for X-Factor (thank goodness for being able to fast forward adverts) and maybe a girly romcom!

Lady Bug Says ... A Little Lottery Giveaway!

2011-09-21T11:55:00.005+01:00

Morning lovelies!

Just a very quick giveaway from me today :) After attending The LOOK Show at the weekend we were given some fab goody bags which for some reason I didn't properly go through until I got home! Wish I had looked whilst I was there as right at the bottom was a Miss Selfridge lottery style gift card which can only be used at the new Westfield Stratford. What with living 4 hours away I doubt very much I will be back there before the 2nd October expiry date!

Now there is a very good chance this card could be worth £0 but then again it could also be worth £100! So if you are planning on visiting Westfield Stratford before 2nd October and fancy the chance of taking this gift card along with you to see if it is worth anything then please just leave a comment below with your email address and twitter name so I can contact you!

I will be picking a winner at random at 9am on Thursday 22/09/11 so you have just under 24 hours to enter!

I will post the giftcard out on a special next day delivery so the winner will have it by the weekend!

Lady Bug Says ... The Look Magazine AW11 Show

2011-09-19T21:16:00.009+01:00

Evening Ladies!

Hope you have all had a lovely weekend! Mine was certainly a busy one as I travelled up to London and attended The Look Show!

It was a manic day, I think the only time I really relaxed was the hour I was sat down for the show, the rest of the time was spent rushing around and struggling through the absolutely mental crowds as Westfield Stratford City! It made Oxford Street look quiet, literally every square inch of standing space was occupied with thousands upon thousands of people! Very overwhelming!

Whilst I felt very lucky to have won tickets I must admit I was a little underwhelmed by the experience. After seeing blog posts of the SS11 Look Show I was rightly or wrongly expecting a little more. I was disappointed to be turned away from the champagne reception (apparently I had the wrong type of ticket) so didn't have the opportunity to meet any bloggers before hand.

The actual show itself was fab and I was really happy with the seat I was placed in, great view! After the show I only had 30 mins before I had to leave to catch my train, so again no time to meet anyone! I literally dashed into Forever 21 then jumped on the tube!

Here are some photos and my favourite looks from the show :)

Me & Caroline

Urban Outfitters

Dorothy Perkins

Oasis

New Look

Forever 21

H&M

River Island

Miss Selfridge

The lovely Dionne Bromfield performed, amazing voice!

Sarah Harding made an appearance on the catwalk, loved her hair!

Spotted Kelis sitting on the FROW opposite

and Kimberley Wyatt flashing alot of leg!

I wore Steve Madden boots, TK Maxx £35, Sheer tights, Primark £1, Camel dress, c/o Select, Vintage belt, Charity Shop £1, Vintage Scarf, Charity Shop 50p, Leopard bag, H&M £10

The goody bag was fab! Wish I had looked through it properly whilst I was there though as I didn't see the Miss Selfridge lottery gift card. I will be doing a quick 24hr giveaway of this tomorrow as I won't be in London to see if it has any funds on it!

My favourite item from the goody bag was this amazing chocolate slab with artwork printed on it! As soon as I came home and saw it I told the Mr that when we get married I want chocolate invitations!

Overall I had a great day, loved seeing what all the brands have in-store for us over the next few months!

Lady Bug Says ... Summer Flowers Still Holding On!

2011-09-13T18:23:00.003+01:00

Evening Ladies

Sorry my blog seems to be lacking on new posts at the minute! I am still trying to figure out how to make my camera stay on self-timer mode rather than resetting after each photo! Having to set it up each time makes outfit photos pretty painstaking!

The sun has made a reappearance recently so yesterday I decided to make the most of being able to wear a summery dress without freezing!

Brogues, Primark £8, Dress, Matalan £20, Cardigan, Primark £6

Flower hair clips, Crown & Glory £3

Outfit total - £37

I managed to pick up these sweet hair clips at a vintage and handmade fair I went to a little while ago, but forgot I had them! Will definitely be wearing them more often now to prolong Summer a little more!

Lady Bug Says ... A Sewing DIY!

2011-09-08T17:59:00.003+01:00

Evening Ladies

A little DIY post from me tonight. The other evening I decided it was about time I crossed something off my to do/to make/to repair list, it was getting far too long! Me being me I picked the simplest thing, though it was nice just to cross something off the list and to get my sewing machine out! It needs to see the light of day more often!

I purchased this cute ladybird print fabric back in April from Lucy Loves Fabric when I also bought the fabric to make my first dress. As soon as I saw it I knew I had to buy it, yellow and navy ladybirds, how could I resist!

Seeing as I am still relatively new to sewing I thought I would keep it simple and use some of the fabric to make a cute tote bag. A girl can never have enough bags to carry around extra 'stuff' in after all!

I started buy marking and cutting out 2 large panels, 2 smaller side panels, 1 base panel and 2 handles allowing 1.5cm all around for the seams.

I then pinned the 2 smaller side panels and the base panel to one of the large panels.

I then sewed it all together, added the other large panel and hemmed the top edge.

I then added on the handles and turned it all the right way round!

Tote bag done! Granted it did take me over 2 hours to make, anyone else get that terrifying feeling before first cutting fabric?!

I have got plenty more projects on my list so am hoping with the Autumn weather setting in I might have a few more wet weather weekends to get indoor projects done!

Lady Bug Says ... Autumn Is A Coming!

2011-09-05T21:09:00.003+01:00

Evening Lovelies!

Hope you all had a lovely weekend :) I had a nice wander around town on Saturday whilst the Mr got some new clothes and managed to not buy anything! Saving my pennies for when I go up to London for the LOOK magazine show on the 17th.

Saturday evening was spent catching up with our fab friends, one of whom is home from Afghanistan on R&R so was really nice to see him after such a long time!

On Sunday we decided to go for a walk with our friends and their Labradors, was great until it absolutely poured down! Needless to say I did not look like the photos below by the time I got home, think absolutely drenched and covered in muddy paw prints!

Loafers, Primark £8, Burgundy trousers, Next £12, Gap tshirt, via charity shop £1, Striped cardigan, TK Maxx £17, Scarf, Vintage 50p

Outfit total - £38.50

I am practically living in these burgundy trousers at the minute, they seem to be the perfect in between Summer and Autumn trousers! Anyone else finding they are reaching for more autumn clothing already? I couldn't believe it when I had to turn the lights on in the house at 7pm because it was already getting dark!

Lady Bug Says ... Models Own Bargains!

2011-09-01T19:44:00.005+01:00

Evening Lovelies!

I imagine that the majority of the beauty/fashion blogger community indulged in the fab Models Own 50% off sale! Having only ever owned one Models Own polish before I thought it was a pretty good time to get my hands on a few more and give them a try!

I managed to restrain myself and only purchased 5!

Jade Stone, Golden Peach, Pink Fizz, Juicy Jules & Champagne

Jade Stone is a very pretty dark mint green. The consistency is quite thin, the above photo is with 2 coats, but I think with 3 coats it would be pretty opaque! It's definitely one that needs abit of patience to apply!

I love how this polish changes from peach to coral to golden depending on the light, plus is applies so easily, 2 coats and your done!

Pink glitter! Instant love! There is so much glitter packed into this that 2 coats is enough to get pretty much full coverage! Not looking forward to having to remove it though!

Slightly less glitter than Pink Fizz but I think this would be so pretty over the top of another colour.

My absolute favourite! Champagne is like molten metal in a bottle! It looks bronze, gold and silver all at the same time!

Pretty pleased with all of these, certainly not bad for £2.50 a bottle!

Now all I have to decide is which one to use first!

Lady Bug Says ... 100 Things That Make Me Happy #10

2011-08-31T13:54:00.005+01:00

91. Snow

92. Walks in the sunshine

93. The OC, specifically Seth & Summer!

94. Damn You Autocorrect

95. Fairy Lights

96. Dinner dates

97. Moussaka

98. Cooking

99. Holidays

100. My Blog!

Lady Bug Says ... Its A Ring Thing!

2011-08-23T20:19:00.003+01:00

Evening Lovelies!

Hope you are all having a lovely week so far! I am, as always, already counting down to the Bank Holiday weekend! Fingers crossed for some sunshine please!

As it was pretty sunny on Sunday I thought I would take the opportunity to photograph my ring collection in the sunshine!

Out of all the jewellery I own I probably wear rings the most.

My little collection!

My favourite most sparkly ring! This was given to me for my 21st birthday from my Mum & Sister. I had been lusting after it for ages and was so pleased to get it! It is definitely reserved for special occasions!

I love double finger rings! Leaf ring, Primark £2, Bird ring, Primark £2, Anchor ring, ASOS £6, Flower ring, Matalan £2

Statement rings! Blue stone ring, Monsoon £4, Coral stone ring, Matalan £5, Gold swirl ring, Primark 2, Turquoise ring, Primark £2

Silver faceted ring, H&M £1, Flower ring, Republic (gift from the Sis!), Turquoise ring, Primark £2, Black stone ring, Primark £2

Dainty rings! Red bird ring, Craft fair £2, Swallow stacking rings, Matalan £2, Silver & Opal ring, gift from my Mum, Aztec ring, present from my Dad, Silver band ring, present from my Mum, Silver swirl ring, Xmas present

Now I just need some way of storing them! Anyone have any good jewellery storage ideas?! My collection is currently dotted around the house, usually next to the sink!!

Lady Bug Says ... New Toy!

2011-08-19T21:06:00.005+01:00

My little Sony point and click has certainly seen better days! It has served me well though and survived many falls and being buried in snow, but I thought it was time that it was retired to be used on the odd night out rather than my main camera.

I was searching for something a bit more substantial, but knew that a full on DSLR would be wasted on me! I settled on this little beauty, a Fujifilm Finepix S2950 for the bargain price of £123.99 :)

The bank had kindly credited my account with £100 after they caused me a whole load of trouble (not sending me a new bank card because my name is too long and leaving me without a debit card for 2 weeks!) , so I basically got a new camera for less than £25!

I have had lots of fun testing it out and I'm pretty pleased with the results!

Love the panoramic setting! Can see a lot of fun being had with this!

Sorry it's been so long since my last post! I've been ill for the last week (stomach if you would like to stop hurting me that would be great!) and the screen on my laptop helpfully decided to die! But the Mr has kindly bought home a rebuilt laptop for me today so hopefully I am back for good!

Lady Bug Says ... LOOK at me!

2011-08-12T17:29:00.004+01:00

Hello Ladies!

Today's post is going to be a little different from usual, as this is my entry for the Look Show Blogging Competition! So fingers crossed, here we go!

I have been thinking what to write for this post for quite a while now (this is draft number 5!) so I am just going to keep it simple!

Why should I be given the chance to report live from the front row at the AW11 Look Show?

I have been blogging for nearly 2 years now, starting after being influenced by some of the girls on a MSE fashion forum. I quickly began to enjoy photographing my outfits, creating posts and receiving comments from followers. After a few years of working in a largely male environment I loved finally having a place and discovering a community within which to discuss fashion, beauty and my life!

My blog has become my little corner of the Internet, an outlet for all my fashion decisions, good and bad! I love that I can look back and see what I was wearing this time last year and how much my style has evolved since then!

Since starting blogging I have been lucky enough to have the opportunity to work with some amazing high street brands on a variety of projects and I have always strived to be as professional and honest as I can. Anyone who knows me or reads my blog will know that I am a big high street fan, especially of the bargains that are to be had! Thanks to the great British high street everyone can create an amazing wardrobe on a purse friendly budget :)

Having the opportunity to preview all the high street has in store for AW11 before it hits the shops would be a dream come true. If I were to be one of the lucky winners sat on the front row I would work my hardest to report on the show and try to provide coverage so good that people at home will almost feel as though they were there!

So if you are looking for someone who would truly appreciate and make the most of being on the front row then please pick me!

Lady Bug Says ... Dainty Prints

2011-08-07T17:37:00.006+01:00

Evening Lovelies!

Hope you have all had a lovely weekend! The Mr & I have been trying to make the most of the little bursts of sunshine inbetween the torrential rain! It has meant that we got a lot of boring 'housey' tasks done that we have been putting off! Defrosting the freezer is a very dull task!

Last night we went over to our friends house for a green Thai curry and some ciders :)

I wore

Beige wedges, Matalan £18, Burgundy skinny trousers, Next £12, Floral top, Tesco £4

This was a little top that I picked up on one of my little 'Pop to Tesco for a pint of milk and come back with a load of clothes' trips. In my defense they were items that I liked at full price and got for half price in the sale :) Much more interesting that than dairy aisle! I was sold on the dainty floral print and the cute peter pan collar.

Coral ring, Matalan £5 & Turquoise ring, Primark £2

Nails done with ELF 'Mango Madness' & Barry M Nail Effects on the tips :)

Lady Bug Says ... Popping My OPI Cherry!

2011-08-03T21:38:00.003+01:00

Evening Lovelies!

Just a quick post tonight, at the weekend I got my first manicure and pedicure and had my first experience of OPI polishes! Lets just say I now feel the need to purchase some, anyone know the best place to buy them from, preferably with a good discount!?

I got Shim-merry Chic on my hands, love the little holographic fragments :)

Cajun Shrimp, the perfect lobster red!

Lady Bug Says ... My Home, My Pride & Joy!

2011-07-29T21:49:00.007+01:00

Evening Lovelies!

A while ago I asked you lovely people what you would like to see on my blog and a few of you said more lifestyle posts. So I thought I would show you the main thing I have been spending my time on for the last 18 months, my house!

We first started looking for our first home in April 2009 and very quickly realised that even though we liked older properties we couldn't get a whole lot of room for our money. So we started looking a new build properties and for us they offered a lot of what we wanted, a decent sized house, with a garage and a good sized garden. Plus they offered good incentives for first time buyers which certainly helped us get our foot on a decent rung of the property ladder!

In May 2009, at the tender age of 20, I co-signed on the dotted line and made the biggest purchase of my life so far! Now all we had to do was wait until the end of August for our house to be completed!

Every few weeks we would go and look at the progress! When it was just the foundations and concrete pad we were worried that it was tiny!

But as the walls started to go up we could get a much clearer idea of the size of the rooms!

As is the way with house builders, they were inevitably running behind and we didn't actually get the keys until November 2009!

One of the upsides of purchasing a new build was being able to pick finishes such as the kitchen cabinets and bathroom tiles. We could also choose exactly where we wanted electrical sockets, light switches and telephone points which was really useful! As I design kitchens for a living I did try to convince them to sell us the house without a kitchen but unfortunately it is illegal to sell a new house without one!

As house builders like to charge crazy amounts for any extras (£20 for a toilet roll holder anyone?!) we decided to go for the bare basics. Luckily due to the industry I work in I was able to call in flooring contractors, plasterers, plumbers and electricians to do any works we needed, at a lot cheaper than the house builder would charge us! After all our solicitors fee's and deposit we only had a few thousand pounds left to do any works, so ended up doing the majority of the work ourselves.

Despite purchasing a new home, we knew that there was a lot we wanted to do to make the space work better for us. As soon as we moved in the Mr took 2 weeks off work to get a big chunk of the 'messy' work done before we properly moved in. One of the first jobs was taking down part of the stud wall between the kitchen and hallway to make a narrow room a lot wider. We also got a plumber to take the toilet out from under the stairs (we definitely did not need 4 toilets in a 3 bedroom house!) and install the washing machine to turn it into a small utility room.

My Dad moved the doorway for us and we got a plasterer in to make good the walls and the ceiling. Once the wall was down the Mr chased out a lot of the floor to run cables under it as we were pretty keen to not have sky/network cables visible. We spent many a night routing cables under floors and through walls!

As the kitchen was fairly small for a 3 bedroom house, with very limited workspace and no where to put an under counter fridge and freezer (seems house builders don't think of this!) I got my work to build and extension piece for the kitchen to house the appliances and have a much need wine rack!

We purchased the slate tiles online for a load cheaper than we could in any tile shop and the Mr taught himself how to do floor tiles by watching a lot of YouTube videos! It was a long tiring job but I am so glad we did it ourselves and saved a load of money! He also extended the tiling over the new worktop in the kitchen.

We didn't really have any money left for new furniture so we had to get a little creative. The table legs were rescued from a coffee shop refit my work did and resprayed silver, the table top is a sheet of veneered mdf with solid oak lippings. The chairs were also from the same coffee shop and we sanded them down and painted them to match our colour scheme. Our 8 seater table and chairs ended up costing us about £45 which wouldn't of even bought us a new 2 seater set!

In the bathroom we wanted to install a shower and tile to full height ourselves. Unfortunately by the time we got around to doing this the existing tiles had been discontinued so we had to take them all off and start again!

The Mr had to build out the wall so we could get a plumber to install the shower.

Whilst building out the wall we decided to take the opportunity to build in a little cubby hole. We managed to save money by using a fairly cheap limestone effect tile for the majority of the walls and just purchasing 3 'special' large tiles as a focal point. As the ceilings we so out of level (thank you house builder!) we had to finish it all off with a wooden trim. We tiled all the bathroom floors ourselves, I definitely discovered that tiling was not my strong point, but I'm not too bad at grouting!

In the lounge we decided to mount the TV on the wall, which as the wall had no substance to it the Mr had to take down the centre of the wall and build a wooden frame to support the TV. We then decided to wallpaper a feature wall (oh how I hate wallpapering) and we have finally found a light that we like (£25 in the B&Q sale!).

We have still got a lot of things we want to do, mainly decorating (magnolia everywhere is a little dull!) and finishing off lots of DIY projects we have started!

Purchasing a new build was the right thing for us, but it was not without its problems, everything you hear about new house builders is true! We have had an 18 page long list of snags and so many various issues ranging from leaking showers to having to have the house re-roofed! But thankfully with new builds you are covered for 2 years so we haven't had to pay out for anything.

Sorry this is a very long wordy post, but the last 18 months has largely revolved around sorting out our house. We are very proud of what we have achieved and are glad to now be getting to a point where we can sit back a little and enjoy the fruits of our labour!

Lady Bug Says ... 100 Things That Make Me Happy #9

2011-07-25T20:49:00.004+01:00

81. Shopping

82. Baking

83. Grand Designs

84. The Beach

85. Panacotta

86. Post Secret

87. BBQ's

88. The Shawshank Redemption

89. Sudoku

90. Lanterns

Lady Bug Says ... Autumn Colours In Summer

2011-07-21T18:13:00.005+01:00

Evening Lovelies!

As I look out of my window it is very hard to believe it is 'Summer'! I always thought summer meant sunshine, warm temperatures and long evenings?! As we seem to have fast forwarded to Autumn I can't help but feel the need to indulge in some warm 'seasonal' items!

Steve Madden Suede Booties, TK Maxx £35, Black Pleated Skirt, Next £12, Striped Tshirt, H&M £4, Belt, Primark £1, Rust Cardigan, Primark £6

Necklace, Temporary Secretary, Christmas Gift From The Mr

Turquoise Ring, Primark £2 & Anchor Ring, ASOS £6

Outfit total - £66

Lady Bug Says ... Matalan Style Project

2011-07-19T19:02:00.004+01:00

I was recently asked if I would like to take part in this months Matalan Style Project and now the project has gone live on the Matalan blog.

The theme we were given was 50's glamour :)

I would be very grateful if you would head on over to the Matalan Style Project and vote for me :)

Lady Bug Says ... Mustard & Peaches

2011-07-18T21:37:00.004+01:00

Evening Ladies!

I have had to go back to good old inside outfit photos thanks to the weather (anyone else think its turned a lot like autumn over night?) putting pay to outside photos. Also for a change I am actually posting an outfit the same day I wore it! The joys of having time to take the photos in the morning (hence the tired eyes!) before work and also time in the evening to post!

Today's outfit incorporates two of my favourite colours (not foods as the post title may suggest!), mustard and peach. I purchased the lace tshirt & the cardigan at the weekend. The tshirt was a Next sale bargain, £22 down to £10, it is a size 18 but as I like my tshirts a little over sized it fits pretty well. The cardigan is from Primark and is a new style they have started doing in their basic range, it has really cute little pearlescent buttons and comes in loads of great colours.

Brogues, Primark £8, Skinny Jeans, Matalan £10, Peach Tshirt, Select £4, Lace Tshirt, Next £10, Mustard Cardigan, Primark £6

Brooch, Charity Shop £3

Swallow Ring(set of 3), Matalan £2, Coral Ring, Matalan £5

Outfit total - £48

Just a quick note to let you all know about a couple of things I have been lucky enough to be involved in!

Firstly I have guest posted over at the Most Wanted blog on the voucher codes website. They are currently running a series of 'What are you Wearing' posts with various fashion bloggers, so head on over and check my post out!

Also I am one of four bloggers taking part in this months Matalan Style Project. This months trend was 50's glamour, so please check it out and vote for me if you like my outfit :)

Lady Bug Says ... Summer Trends

2011-07-15T17:35:00.003+01:00

Evening Ladies

Recently I was invited to guest post over at the Most Wanted blog on the Voucher Codes website about my view on this summers trends.

This is one of my favourite outfits I posted about :)

Chiffon Blouse, New Look £15, Pleated Skirt, Vintage £3

Ring, Lucas Jack £46 & Red Platform Heels, Primark £12

Please head over to the Most Wanted blog to read the rest of my post :)

Lady Bug Says ... Grow Your Own!

2011-07-14T21:22:00.003+01:00

Neither the Mr or I were born 'green fingered' by any means! But once we had our little patch of land to call our own our gardening instinct seemed to kick in!

The Mr has done the majority of the structural work and I have concentrated more on the actual plants! When we got our house I knew that I wanted to grow lots of fruit and veg, for no real other reason than because I could!

The fruits of our labour(please excuse the pun!) are now starting to show :)

Hugging carrots! I'm sure the neighbours thought I was more than a little strange when I let out a squeal when I discovered these!

Chilli's, Raspberry's(munching on a bowl of these as I type) & Peppers

Runner Beans & My 1st Tomato :)

The first gladioli of the year, sunflowers and lilies!

I hope you all find these kind of posts interesting :)

Lady Bug Says ... The Finished Dress & A Wedding

2011-07-11T20:31:00.003+01:00

Evening Lovelies!

Sorry for such a big gap between posts! Last week was beyond busy, I don't think my Filofax has ever had so many appointments and deadlines written in it! But thankfully this week is looking a lot clearer and less stressful!

At the weekend I attended my Dad's wedding and finally got to wear the dress I have been slaving over. I am so glad I got it finished in time and didn't have to wear the back up dress!

It was a very different kind of wedding, they got married in an old steam railway station, then we got on a steam train and travelled to the reception which was on a boat on the river. Finally our transport back to the cars was a tractor!

Here are a few photos from the day, I don't have too many, I was mainly relying on the professional photographer to get some good ones!

My sister wore - Maxi dress, H&M £15, Coral sandals, New Look £17, Coral Clutch Bag, New Look £8, Necklace, New Look £5, Cardigan, TU at Sainsbury's £6

Outfit total - £51

I wore - Dress, made by me, fabric £8 :), Nude Wedge Heels, River Island £25, Nude Clutch, Matalan £6, Coral Ring, Matalan £5, Gold Feather Earrings, Matalan £2

Outfit total - £46

Us with our mad Dad, who for some reason is holding the bouquet in a lot of the photos!

Us 'kids'

The Mr and I on the boat

Our tractor transportation!

Lady Bug Says ... A Pleating Trend?

2011-06-29T18:12:00.002+01:00

Evening Lovelies!

The sun has appeared again, so I made the most of being able to take photos in the garden :)

After weeks of uhmming and ahhring I decided that it was probably about time I gave the pleated midi skirt trend a go! I was a little hesitant as my 'lovely' sister says I should not wear anything that draws attention to my cankles!

Whilst wandering around our local antiques centre(I can spend hours and hours in that place) I stumbled across a rail in one of the far corners filled with some fab, and some slightly dodgy vintage pieces! This yellow pleated beauty was sat waiting for me and if I wasn't already convinced enough the 1/2 price tag attached certainly won me over!

Wedges, Matalan £18, Pleated Skirt, Vintage £3, Sleeveless Shirt, Tesco £4, Belt, Primark £1

Ring, Accessorize £4

Necklace, Accessorize £1

Outfit total - £31

Are you all aboard the pleated train? Or is it just a passing trend?

Lady Bug Says ... Wedding Season Has Arrived!

2011-06-26T21:42:00.003+01:00

Evening Lovelies!

The sun has been shining in Devon all weekend :) Happy happy! We had our first wedding of the summer on Saturday, love a good wedding and a chance to dress up!

It was a beautiful day with lots of sunshine, family, friends, hog roast & wine!

Dress, H&M via Ebay(NWT) £13, Bag, Primark £3, Shoes, Tesco £5

Outfit total - £21

The happy couple (plus a little baby bump :) )

Lady Bug Says ... 100 Things That Make Me Happy #8

2011-06-20T21:01:00.005+01:00

71. Coca Cola

72. Getting A Bargain!

73. Adam Sandler Films

74. Chocolate Cake

75. Antique Shops

76. Pasta

77. Maxi Dresses

78. The Circus (I get CRAZY excited about going to the circus, in fact I'm going tomorrow!)

79. Sewing

80. Sweet Peas

Lady Bug Says ... Matalan AW11

2011-06-16T18:39:00.004+01:00

Evening Lovelies!

With all the rain and horrible weather we have been having lately, when the Matalan AW11 Lookbook landed on my doormat, all I wanted to do was wrap up in layers and knits!!

Here are a few of my favourite pieces!

I'm more than a little excited for Autumn now, though I wouldn't mind just a month or so of Summer if the weather gods could arrange it!!

Lady Bug Says ... Sewing My 1st Dress! Stage 2

2011-06-14T20:23:00.003+01:00

Evening Lovelies!

Now I don't want to blow my own trumpet, but I am bloody proud of myself! The truly horrible weather on Sunday meant I was stuck indoors all day so took the opportunity to make a bit more progress with my dress!

5 hours, plenty of pinning and re-pinning, lots of scratches and a fair bit of swearing later this is how far I have now got!

My first zip!

Plenty of seams!

It's by no means perfect, but I am beyond happy with it!

All I have to do now is the hem, slightly adjust the neckline and take it in a little under the arms.

I have got over my fear of clothes making and will definitely be using the pattern I made for dresses in the future! Next on my list, the perfect maxi dress!

Lady Bug Says ... A Foody Post

2011-06-12T19:57:00.004+01:00

Evening Ladies!

Hope you have all had a lovely weekend, mine has largely been food and dress making (so proud of myself, next post on this!) filled.

On Thursday one of the guys at work retired so we finished early and had a bbq :) Thankfully the rain stopped for the few hours we were outside! As has become a tradition at work whenever there is a special occasion, I bake cakes! Having seen this idea for Oreo Stuffed Cupcakes I knew I had to make them! They turned out even yummier than I imagined, biscuit and cake combined in one, whats not to like! I used my fool proof sponge recipe and sandwiched an Oreo cookie in between 2 dollops of cake mix. I finished them off with cream cheese icing but the recipe I used was really runny :S Anyone got a recipe for a less runny, more pipeable one?!

On Saturday the Mr and I went on our first date day :) We realised that since we bought our house we have spent the majority of our time together doing DIY/gardening/house stuff and hadn't actually done anything like go out for a meal or to the cinema just the 2 of us. So we are going to take it in turns to organise dates for each other every now and then, the Mr is taking me to the circus next week, beyond excited!!!

I managed to snap up a voucher on Groupon for a restaurant near us so we went for a lovely lunch then a wander around the antiques centre and farm shop :) Lovely afternoon out!

Now I love seeing pictures of yummy food on peoples blogs, so here is what we indulged on!

Pan Seared Brixham Scallops With Rocket Pesto

Plaice Goujons With Alioli

Chargrilled Westcountry Rump Steak

With Homemade Chips and Rocket & Parmesan Salad

Pan Fried Free Range Chicken With Chorizo & Wholegrain Mustard Mash

Hands down best scallops I have ever tasted! Plus the chicken was a piece of melt in the mouth, moist amazingness! We will definitely be revisiting :)

Lady Bug Says ... A Little Beauty

2011-06-09T18:38:00.004+01:00

Evening Ladies!

I thought I would do something a little different today and do a beauty post. Now I am no means a beauty expert, I long to find the perfect foundation that works on my terrible skin & I want to learn how to do a great smoky eye!

I have seen a few of the 'whats in my make up bag'/'how much is my face worth' posts, so I thought I would do something a little similar and show you what products I use pretty much all the time!

Moisturiser - Lacura Shimmering Day Cream

Concealer - Benefit Erase Paste

Foundation - Collection 2000 Perfect Finish 'Ivory 2' & Bourjois Healthy Mix '51' applied with a sponge

Powder - Rimmel Clear Complexion 'Translucent' applied with ELF Kabuki Brush

Blush - Eyeko 'My Coral Crush', Jelly Pong Pong Cheek Puff 'Fluffy', ELF Mineral Blush 'Coral' applied with Jelly Pong Pong Blush Brush

Eyes - Chanel Fly High Palette, MUA '3 & 12' applied with Jelly Pong Pong Brushes

Mascara - 17 Wild Curls & Eyeko Magic Mascara

Lips - ELF 'Nicely Nude', 17 Mirror Shine 'Beehive' & Body Shop Lip Butter 'Papaya'

Make Up Bag - Cath Kidston(its actually supposed to be a coin purse but its far to big for that!)

Please let me know if you enjoy these kinds of posts!

Lady Bug Says ... Summer Patterns

2011-06-06T20:39:00.004+01:00

Evening Ladies!

Hope you all enjoyed your weekends :) As usual I gave myself far to much to do and nowhere near enough time to do it!

On Saturday the Mr and I went for a little retail therapy at Clarks Village, amazingly it was actually the Mr's idea to go (I can count the number of times we have been clothes shopping together on 1 hand)! We both got some great bargains, so it was a nice afternoon out!

Ever since seeing the lovely Louise from Sprinkle of Glitter wearing this lovely River Island top

I have really wanted a top cut in the same style, so I was very pleased to come across this top in Fat Face :) I has even happier when I realised it was only five pounds!

Loafers, Primark £8, Skinny Jeans, Primark £8, Top, Fat Face £5, Necklace, Primark £2

Ring (and matching earrings), Present from my lovely sister :) Oh and leopard nail are back!

Outfit total - £23

Lady Bug Says ... Sweet Polka Dots

2011-06-02T17:56:00.003+01:00

Evening Lovelies!

How happy am I that the sun is back!? Very is the answer! And even happier that Mr Weatherman says its going to be sunny for the next week!

Last weekend I went shopping with my sister to help her pick a dress for my Dads wedding and also get her her first pair of heels! I think the last time she wore a dress she was probably about 7, and has never had a pair of heels so it was nice to help her pick things! She got a beautiful maxi dress from H&M(which I need to take up and put some straps on for her) and some cute coral low wedges and matching bag. Very proud of her for making such an effort :)

I decided to have a swift look in the charity shops whilst we were out and managed to find a couple of bargains, including this rather cute shirt! So I took the opportunity to make the most of the sunshine and bare my legs again!

Lace up heels, Primark, present from my sister, Shorts, Primark £10, Shirt, Charity Shop £3, Necklace, Little Jewellery Shop In France £12, Ring, H&M £2

Outfit total - £27

This necklace has to be one of my favourites, the only downside of it is that it is so damn noisy! Every time I move it sounds like someone is shaking maracas!

I attempted some cherry blossom style nails a few days ago, they are abit chipped now, but still pretty :)

Base - Barry M, Mint Green, Branches - Barry M, Mushroom, Flowers - Barry M, Racing Green and Models Own, Baby Blues.

Racing Green has become my favourite polish at the moment, it reminds me of spilt petrol!

Lady Bug Says ... Sewing My 1st Dress! Stage 1

2011-05-31T19:42:00.003+01:00

Evening Ladies!

Hope everyone didn't find the 1st day back after the Bank Holiday too bad! It is only made slightly better by only having 4 instead of 5 sleeps until the weekend :)

Seeing as the weather was utterly rubbish on Monday I decided to make a start on a project I have been putting off for a while now! My Dad is getting married in 6 weeks time, and I decided months ago that I was going to make a dress for the occasion.

I already have 2 dresses that I love the shape and style of (they are also my back up dresses in case the one I make doesn't turn out right!) that I decided to use as a pattern for my own dress.

Ditsy Floral Dress, Matalan £15 & Large Floral Dress, French Connection(new with tags) via Charity Shop £8

I decided to (hopefully) use the top half from the Matalan dress and the waist band and swishy skirt from the French Connection dress. So yesterday I spent hours and hours (I seriously underestimated how long it would take!) making pattern pieces and eventually very nervously cutting out my Lucy Loves Fabric material!

Here are all my pieces cut out and laid out, hopefully it will look pretty similar once its finished! I am pretty scared about the next step of pining and sewing it all together :S Any one have any tips?!

Lady Bug Says ... Braving It In White

2011-05-29T17:48:00.003+01:00

Afternoon Ladies!

Hope everyone is enjoying the Bank Holiday weekend! We have had our friends and their very young children around today, has definitely reinforced my belief that I don't want children for a good few years! They are so tiring!

I thought I would share with you an outfit from Friday. I bought this now seemingly infamous hummingbird print Primark dress around a month ago, and then it has proceeded to rain/be cold ever since. Not perfect weather for wearing a white summer dress! But on Friday the sun decided to shine, so the dress was getting an outing! I finished work early on Friday so decided to take a few photos in the garden when I got home :)

Dress, Primark £10, Shoes, F&F at Tesco £5

A simple and cheap outfit, just the way I like them :)

Lady Bug Says ... 100 Things That Make Me Happy #7

2011-05-26T18:16:00.005+01:00

61. A Summer Glow

62. Cinema Trips

63. Phone Calls With My Mum

64. Puppies!

65. Board Games

66. French Restaurants

67. Creme Brulee

68. Bones!

69. Costume Jewellery

70. The Smell Of Onions Cooking

Lady Bug Says ... Uniform?

2011-05-22T15:07:00.003+01:00

Afternoon Ladies!

Hope you are all enjoying your Sunday! After a morning of joyful activities including a visit to the recycling centre and stocking up on household cleaning items at Makro, I am more than happy to be having a lazy afternoon whilst the Mr watches the Grand Prix :)

Recently I have found myself abandoning my much loved dresses for my new favourite combo of loose tshirt, shorts, tights and heels! I am loving my new 'uniform' look, certainly makes getting dressed in the morning easier! But I am hoping that we get a little more sunshine so I can crack out the dress collection and possibly even bare legs!

Wedges, Matalan £18, Tights, Primark £1, Paperbag shorts, Primark £10, Breton tshirt, H&M £4, Scarf, H&M £2, Anchor Ring, ASOS £6

Outfit total - £41

Do you ever find yourself going through a certain clothing combo stage?!

Lady Bug Says ... Introducing Dee-V

2011-05-19T17:39:00.004+01:00

Evening Ladies!

Two blog posts in as many days! It's verging on a miracle, my laptop may be temporarily forgiven! The internet here is still painfully slow though ( I am pretty much convinced it is powered by hamster on a wheel, an old hamster too!)

I received an email from the PR people over at Very.co.uk letting me know all about their new collaboration with Diana Vickers, creating the Dee-V range.

Now I was never much of a Diana fan whilst she was on the Xfactor, but I have always liked her carefree vintage style. And it is safe to say I am pretty much in love with all the items in the collection! I am a sucker for bird prints so the skirt is perfect for me! I was also impressed with the price points for the items, a little bit higher than I would normally spend(I am a Primark/charity shop girl after all!) but nothing that made me scream 'I would never pay that much for a skirt/playsuit!'

Bird Embroidered Skirt - £39

Wide Leg Jeans - £35

Dog Print Playsuit - £49

Contrast Collar Dress - £49

Midi Length Dress - £79

What do you think of celebrity's branching out into fashion?

Lady Bug Says ... Pretty Shorts

2011-05-18T17:42:00.003+01:00

Evening Ladies!

My laptop seems to be having a rare moment where it actually works! So I thought I would post a quick outfit post.

I have been after a pair of lace trim shorts for ages, so when I spotted these Miso pair in Republic I had to have them, for £15 it would have been rude not to!

Brogues, Primark £8, Tights, Primark £1, Shorts, Miso at Republic £15, Vest top, Primark £2, Cardigan, H&M £15,

Outfit total - £41

I completely love the ditsy vintage floral print and the cute lace trimmings :)

Right, off to zumba I go!

Lady Bug Says ... I'm Still Here!

2011-05-16T21:23:00.003+01:00

Just a super quick post to let you know that I am still here!

My laptop seems to have pretty much reached the end of its working life(even the IT geek Mr says it's pretty much beyond saving). It has taken to displaying nasty 'Internet Explorer cannot display this page' on pretty much every blog I try to go on, hence the complete lack of comments! So I am currently saving up and on the look out for a new laptop that may be slightly less temperamental! If anyone has any laptop recommendations please let me know!

So a big sorry for the lack of comments, I am trying to sneak a few in every time my laptop decides to cooperate/I have some spare time during my lunch at work! I am still reading every ones blogs on Google Reader though :)

Fingers crossed it won't be long until I am back to my blogging best!

Lady Bug Says ... Matalan Swimwear 2011

2011-05-13T20:46:00.004+01:00

Evening Ladies!

This post has taken ages to do! Between my ancient laptop that seems to hate the internet, Picnik not uploading photos and Blogger being down it has been abit of a nightmare!

The lovely Matalan PR people kindly sent me their swimwear lookbook recently and I am now holding them personally responsible for making me want to buy lots of bikinis and go somewhere with turquoise waters and sandy beaches!

Here are a few of my favourite pieces, I am so getting my hands on those amazing heels!!

Lady Bug Says ... 1st Legs Out Post Of The Year!

2011-05-09T20:40:00.003+01:00

Evening Ladies!

Thank you for your kind comments on my last post, I am feeling 100% better now and finally have my appetite back :)

Hope you have all enjoyed your weekend! Mine was spent making sure all the veg we wanted to grow this year was planted and wallpapering one of the walls in our lounge. Am pretty glad to have it all sorted now and I'm hoping next weekend will be a little more relaxing!

I decided to make the most of the sunshine in the garden when I got home from work and take a few outfit snaps!

Loafers, Primark £8, Navy skirt, Primark £5, Belt, Primark £2, Tshirt, Primark £2, Key necklace, Xmas gift

Outfit total - £17

I have been looking for some cute loafer style shoes for a while and these are pretty much perfect, plus they don't rub! Yay!

Lady Bug Says ... Keeping Busy!

2011-05-05T20:23:00.004+01:00

Evening Ladies!

I'm trying to be a better blogger, promise! I managed to catch a stomach bug from my friends little boy on the Royal Wedding day so have spent the last week feeling pretty awful. Today is the first day I have felt almost back to normal!

I haven't been taking many outfit photos recently due to mainly wearing pyjamas, which probably wouldn't make a very good outfit post! But I did find this photo of an outfit from a few weeks ago which I thought I would share with you all :)

Ankle boots, Primark £8, Tights, Primark £1, Dress, Primark £5, Cardigan, H&M £5, Necklace, Primark £2

Outfit total - £21

Whilst looking through recent photos I found some from some days out that I hadn't posted about!

Back in March my sister and I were supposed to go away for a long weeked to France with our Dad, but unfortunately he was ill so we were unable to go. So instead we went for a day out and a pub lunch on the moors, I very rarely get to spend time with just my sister and my Dad so it was a really nice day :)

Just a little collage of our day, complete with my Dad being a loon :)

For Mother's Day we took my Mum to the Eden Project. She had been saying for a while that she wanted to visit so we decided to suprise her. Both my sister and I were not expecting to enjoying it as much as we did!

My lovely Mummy and me :)

My sister and I doing our 'perfect daughters' pose!

The Mr and I took 11 days off over the Bank Holidays recently and managed to go on our first bike ride of the year! 12 miles later and oh my goodness my legs were hurting, definately going to take some getting used to being back on the bike! But I did purchase a basket for my lovely bike so we took the opportunity to take a picnic and a few ciders to have down by the river :)

I am starting Zumba classes next week so hopefully that combined with regular cycling should help towards my 'get fit this year' resolution!

Lady Bug Says ... 100 Things That Make Me Happy! #6

2011-05-01T14:29:00.005+01:00

51. Clean bed sheets

52. Programmes on MTV

53. New haircut

54. Disney films

55. Pringles!

56. Cute babies

57. Pain au chocolat

58. Lazy days

59. Classic Cars

60. Vintage fabric

Lady Bug Says ... Summer Wish List!

2011-04-24T12:44:00.004+01:00

Evening Ladies!

I have been a little bit slack on the blogging front so far this year, but I am hoping to put a stop to that! I have a massive list of posts to do and lots of DIY's, yummy baking recipes and hopefully more day to day things to share with you all!

So I should be around a lot more, and please let me know if there is anything you would like to see more of on my blog! I'd love to know what kind of posts you most like to read :)

Now lets get the new motivated blogging ball rolling! I haven't done one of these wish list type posts for a while, but the sunny weather and the looming 'wedding season' (not my own!) has got me longing for pretty dresses and more!

I seem to largely be craving more formal style floral dresses and lots of pale rust/nude colours! But I like to think that I am lusting after items that can we worn throughout other seasons too, I do have some practicality about me(despite what the Mr might think!) I think I might need to whack out the credit card if I want everything though! :S

What's on your wish list for the summer?

* This is a sponsored post

Lady Bug Says ... A Little Catch Up!

2011-04-22T16:18:00.003+01:00

Afternoon ladies!

Sorry its been such a long time since my last post, life has been abit hectic but today is the first day of 11 off work for me :) I have a massive list of things I want/need to do during my time off. But my first day has been spent sleeping off drinks from last night and generally relaxing!

I thought I would do a little bit of a catch up post as I don't really have an outfit to show you all!

I finally got my hands on the Models Own/WAH Nails nail art pen and it is fab!

I bought it with my ASOS/Groupon voucher and ASOS were doing a fab deal where you could purchase the nail art pen and a spring nail polish for £8, bargain :)

Of course as soon as it arrived I had to try it out! Base colour, Models Own Baby Blues, Dots/Leopard Print in Models Own nail art pen and Barry M Mushroom.

The ring was also an ASOS/Groupon purchase for £8.

After spotting this cute elephant snack box on Laura's blog I knew I had to purchase it. I love elephants plus I need all the help I can get eating healthy snacks whilst at work!

So here is my Graze style healthy snack box for work complete with grapes, yoghurt coated raisins, cheese thin biscuits and dried fruit! Pretty healthy for me!!

I made loads of Easter cakes for work yesterday, my first attempt at using a piping bag didn't come out too bad! But I think I need a larger star shaped piping nozzle. They were pretty yummy and none were left at the end of the day so I think they went down well!

I purchased some gorgeous vintage fabric from Lucy Loves Fabric :) It arrived within a few days and was even prettier than the images on the website. I am ambitiously hoping to make a 50's style shift dress with the floral fabric and a tote style bag with the cute lady bug print one! Fingers crossed it all goes to plan!

Finally if there is anything you would like to see more or less of on the blog please do leave me a comment and let me know! I really appreciate each and everyone of my followers that take the time to read and comment on my blog, so a big thank you to you all!

Lady Bug Says ... Spring Garden Update

2011-04-12T21:14:00.003+01:00

Evening Lovelies!

Hope you all enjoyed the sunshine this weekend! A few people have said they would be interested in seeing a Spring garden post, see here it is!

Since getting my own house 18 months ago and being presented with a big patch of mud for a garden my interest in growing things has gone from non-existent to very green fingered!

I am still very much a 'stick it in the ground and hope for the best' kind of gardener, but it seems to be working! I don't really know the names of alot of things, so if you do know what any of the plants are in the photos please let me know!

Raised beds with tulips and a silver birch tree

Funny spiky tulips!

And fluffy edged ones!

Something that looks abit like a raspberry but isn't!?

Tulips and some other pretty things!

No idea what these are?!

My magnolia tree!!

I've got lots of veggie seeds growing in the greenhouse and a gazillion(ok like 30) sunflowers starting to grow(I am secretly hoping I will break a world record with how tall they will grow!

Lady Bug Says ... A 70's Summer!

2011-04-06T20:36:00.004+01:00

Evening Ladies!

Hope you have all been making the most of today's sunshine! For me it was definitely the day for the flares, wedges and sunglasses to make an appearance!

I finally managed to get my hands on my perfect summer wedges thanks to the lovely people behind Matalan's twitter account :) They were able to find out that these amazing shoes would not be making an appearance in my local store and exchanged the voucher they had very generously supplied me with for an online voucher! They get a big thumbs up for amazing customer service and fab blogger interaction from me :)

Now apologies for the not so great photos, I think I must have left my camera on in my bag today as when I got home I managed to solely take these 3 photos before it promptly died. I think it may be on its way out as it seems to take forever to charge the battery to only half full :S

Wedges, Matalan £18, High Waisted Flared Jeans, Matalan £16, Top, Topshop via Charity Shop £2, Cardigan, Primark £5, Sunglasses, Gift from Mum :)

Outfit Total - £41

How pretty are they?! I love how they make me tall as well, think it scares the Mr me being nearly eye to eye with him!!

Would anybody be interested in a little spring garden update? As you can catch glimpses of in my photos the spring weather has made a lot of things start to bloom!

Lady Bug Says ... 100 Things That Make Me Happy! #5

2011-03-31T18:53:00.004+01:00

The next installment to hopefully bring a smile to your faces :)

41. Spending time with my friends

42. Reading a good book in the sunshine

43. Beautiful views 44. Chocolates

45. Ice cream vans

46. Afternoon naps

47. Fresh flowers in the house

48. Completing a to do list

49. Christmas

50. Picnics

Lady Bug Says ... Spring Has Sprung

2011-03-27T21:43:00.004+01:00

Evening Ladies!

I thought tonight I would show you one of my outfits from last week. I think I have found a new photo spot in the garden(well weather permitting!) I am so happy that my garden is now full of tulips and other pretty spring flowers! A nice little reminder that summer is not to far away!

The lovely Alex commented that my new fringe makes me look abit like Rachel Berry on Glee, oh my days biggest compliment ever(I am abit Berry/Glee obsessed!) so thank you Alex!

The equally lovely Lizzy also commented on how she had these brogues but wasn't sure how to style them, so here's another idea for you :)

Brogues, Primark £8, Skinny Jeans, Primark £6, Camel Tshirt, H&M £5, Draped Blazer, Primark £10

I thought it was about time to bring out the Gem inspired leopard nails again!

Base is ELF Desert Haze, spots in Barry M Mushroom finished off with a H&M glitter eyeliner and a ELF clear topcoat.

The ring was a bargain £2 from Primark.

Outfit total - £34

Lady Bug Says ... Getting A Little Serious

2011-03-22T16:05:00.004Z

Today I wanted to take the opportunity to talk to you all something very serious and close to my heart, womens health, in particular cervical cancer. There seems to be a stigma attached to talking about womens health, but we are all essentially the same and there shouldn't be any shame in being able to openly talk about something so important and potentially life changing!

I am sure many of you will be aware that today is the 2nd anniversary of the death of Jade Goody, reality TV star, mother of two, cervical cancer sufferer. To many people Jade Goody was just one of those wannabe TV stars, with bad geographical knowledge who wanted to make it big, and when she first made it onto our TV screens that was probably pretty accurate! But when she was diagnosed with cervical cancer in August 2008, and subsequently died a meer 7 months later she was credited with being the biggest influence on the sudden influx in women requesting to be screened. In late 2009, it was reported that the number of women going for smear tests in the United Kingdom had grown by 12% during the last year, after the figures had declined since 2002, no doubt saving many women's lives.

I personally credit her story to encouraging me to go and see my GP when I felt that something wasn't right. And after a year of being repeatedly told that I was to young to need a smear test as the chances of anything being wrong were so slight, I was finally tested. With the results coming back as 'borderline changes' I was sent off to the hospital for a colposcopy where I was diagnosed as having 'mild precancerous cells'. I now go for a colposcopy every 6 months where they monitor the cells and check for any changes so they can treat it hopefully before it develops any further. I am due to go again for the 3rd time in 6 weeks, fingers crossed there have been no changes!

People are currently campaigning to have the age for smear testing lowered from 25 to 20, which I 100% support, after all prevention and early treatment is better than trying to cure a disease that is already advanced. If you have any symptoms(abnormal bleeding/discomfort) I urge you to go and see your GP and request a smear test, if there is anything wrong it is so much better to know about it earlier rather than later!

Sorry if these wordy serious posts aren't your kind of thing, but I honestly believe that subjects like this need to be spoken about to increase awareness. I am in no way posting this to try and get sympathy for myself.

“#AussieLight – Put a spring in your spring! Tell us how would you lighten up your life?”

2011-03-17T18:01:00.005Z

Evening Lovelies!

I thought I would take the opportunity today to show you my new hair and do my entry for the Aussie Lighter Life competition!

I had my hair cut on Saturday and for the 1st time in around 10 years I had a fringe cut in! So far I am really loving it, the Mr says it makes me look like a doll, especially when I have blush on!

Now then, Aussie have been asking how I would lighten up my life, and I quite simply thought that the following things would definitely lighten up my life and world!

Well to kick things off getting a good few inch's cut from my barnett has definitely lightened my life and taken a weight(all be it quite minimal) off my shoulders!

Candles, lots of pretty sparkly candles!

Balloons, they never fail to lighten your mood!

Yummy healthy food, perfect for lightening your life and your waistline!

Deliciously light sponge fairy cakes! Speaks for itself really doesn't it!

Lady Bug Says ... 100 Things That Make Me Happy! #4

2011-03-15T21:21:00.007Z

31. Cherry Blossom

32. Fireworks

33. Perfume

34. Cosy Slippers

35. Neat Handwriting

36. Rom Coms

37. Weddings

38. Magic Stars :)

39. Cooking

40. Books

I am really enjoying putting together these happy posts, puts a smile on my face searching for cute pictures of happy things!

I am going off on a little jolly to France for a few days with my Dad and Sister, so I will be back after the weekend with hopefully some outfit posts in locations other than my kitchen and possibly a post on packing lightly, something I usually struggle with!

Lady Bug Says ... Thrifted and DIYed Skirt

2011-03-11T18:22:00.003Z

Evening Ladies!

I thought tonight I would share with you a great charity shop find! Whilst skimming through the rails of overpriced Primark and questionable out of shape tshirts, I caught a glimpse of pretty coral colour and vintage-esque floral print. Grabbing it before anyone else could get their mitts on it I was even more delighted to find that it was a) handmade and b) only £3!

I still can't believe someone would give away an item that someone had obviously taken a lot of time and care to make!

It was a little bit long for my midget legs so it was a good opportunity to get my little sewing machine out and attempt to shorten it. For my first time I don't think I did too bad! Plus I managed to pick up the right colour thread in the charity shop for 10p :) I do love a bargain!

Much better after don't you think? I now have a small pile of skirts to get the shortening treatment, now just to find the time to do it!

Lady Bug Says ... Wild Horses

2011-03-09T20:45:00.003Z

Evening Ladies!

Hope you all thoroughly enjoyed pancake day! The Mr is the Pancake King in our house so made me my favourite classic lemon and sugar pancakes for dessert last night, yum! I am of the opinion that pancakes should be eaten everyday!

Today's outfit features a blouse that I bought last year at the Next Clearance store at Clark's Village(yes it is one of my favourite places to shop, I love a bargain!) and for some reason this is the first time I have gotten around to wearing it!

I was instantly drawn to it when it was on the rail, sheer, horse print, pussy boy, little shoulder pads, button detail to back and cute 'tab' fringe detail. I was slightly concerned when I couldn't find a price tag, but decided to take it to the till anyway. If it was under £5(told you I like a bargain!) I would buy it, if not I would leave it behind. So I was one happy girl when it scanned through at £2!

I had a few client meetings at work so needed to smarten up a little more than usual, so this is what I wore.

Blouse, Next Clearance £2, Black vest, H&M £4, Bodycon skirt, H&M £3, Tights, Primark £1, Heeled brogues, Primark £12

Perfect pussy bow, shoulder pads and little tab fringe detailing!

And I couldn't resist the fab button up back!

Ring, Matalan £2

I picked up this ring last weekend in the reduced jewellery section in Matalan, they had some amazing bargains, definitely revisiting for a jewellery fix soon!

Outfit total - £24

Lady Bug Says ... A Bit 70's Inspired

2011-03-04T20:16:00.003Z

Evening Ladies!

Finally an outfit post from me! Granted I am wearing my faux fur gillet again(it seems to be almost surgically attached to me at the moment!) but hey, its warm and furry!

Love the 70's trend that seems to be appearing for SS11 can't wait to get my hands on some flared jeans, fab maxis and great big wedges!

Here is my little 70's style outfit of the day!

Jeans, Primark £6, White long sleeved top, Primark £3, Pussy bow blouse, Next Clearance £2, Faux fur gillet, Primark via charity shop £2

My first pair of brogues! Can't believe its taken me this long to get some!
Outfit total - £21

I will never tire of leopard print nails!

Are you going to be embracing the 70s style?

Lady Bug Says ... 100 Things That Make Me Happy! #3

2011-03-02T20:13:00.003Z

21. Shoes!

22. Family

23. Candles

24. Gingerbread men

25. Blogging

26. A new page in my notebook

27. Cheese!

28. The Mr saying 'I Love You'

29. Holiday photos

30. 10 Things I Hate About You(best film ever, FACT!)

Lady Bug Says ... Want To Know A Secret?

2011-02-28T20:36:00.003Z

My friends/family/lodgers all think I am a organised tidy person. All the areas of my house that are viewed by the 'public' are pretty much spotless and OCD tidy!

A bit like this...And I love how I know where everything is and how my favourite items/furniture look so much nicer in an uncluttered environment.

But for some reason, behind closed doors(i.e. my bedroom) the organisation seems to be left at the door! As soon as I know no-one is going to see the messy madness just seems to take over!

Exhibit A - My wardrobe!
An explosion in a clothes factory much?!

Exhibit B - My dressing table

Organised chaos? Hmmm who am I trying to kid!

Yes, I am a secret extremely messy person!!

Now, one of my New Years Resolutions was to become more organised, and I think this needs to extend to my bedroom! If I don't I think the Mr might kill me, I did promise him that when we moved to this house, as we would have more storage space I would become tidier!

Anybody have any organisation tips, if anyone needs them I think its me!!

Lady Bug Says ... Cheesecake Time!

2011-02-23T20:02:00.002Z

Evening lovelies!

Tonight I thought I would share with you the recipe for the cheesecake I made the Mr for his birthday last month. He is a bit of a cheesecake obsessive and will always pick that over birthday cake!

I adapted this Good To Know recipe.

Here is how I made it

Ingredients

For the base:
150g (5oz) plain chocolate digestive biscuits
60g (2oz) unsalted butter, softened

For the topping:
150g strawberry's
2 level tablespoons caster sugar
300g carton cream cheese
200ml carton crème fraiche
60g (2oz) caster sugar
200g bar white chocolate, melted
Cocoa, for dusting
20cm (8in) loose-bottomed cake tin, lined with baking parchment

Method

- To make the base, crush the biscuits finely, either in a plastic bag with a rolling pin, or whizzing them in the bowl of a food processor. Stir the butter into the crumbs and then press the mixture firmly into the base of the cake tin and chill to set.
- To make the filling, chop the strawberry's into small chunks. Heat up the strawberry's, 2 tablespoons of caster sugar and 2 table spoons of water until the strawberry's are soft and the sugar and water has turned to a syrup.

- Whisk together the cream cheese, crème fraiche and caster sugar. Fold in the white chocolate and pour the mixture over the base.
- Chill the cheesecake for at least 4 hours, or overnight. Remove the cheesecake from the tin and remove the lining paper. Dust some cocoa powder over the top.

It turned out pretty yummy even if I do say so myself!

Lady Bug Says ... 100 Things That Make Me Happy! #2

2011-02-20T20:33:00.005Z

Evening lovelies!

Here is the 2nd installment of 100 things that make me happy!

11. Pretty nails

12. Lie ins

13. Cocktails

14. Cuddles

15. Rings

16. Glee

17. Charity shops

18. Floral prints

19. Comfy Pjs

20. Wavy hair

All images from We Heart It

Lady Bug Says ... Can Spring Hurry Up!

2011-02-17T17:46:00.003Z

Evening Lovelies!

Anyone else got that thank god it's Friday tomorrow feeling?! Have been just so tired and not up for work this week! Plus still being plagued by dull headaches, thank you all for your lovely comments regarding my frustrating migraines. Still not noticing any improvement yet, but hey it's early days!

This outfit is from Monday, when Mr Weatherman promised some much longed for sun. It seemed like a perfect day to crack out this floral skirt I got in the H&M January sale!

Little bit annoyed the Mr Weatherman predictably got it wrong and the heavens did poor down on my suede Steve Madden booties!

Steve Madden Booties, TK Maxx £35, Tights, Primark £2, Skirt, H&M £5, Tshirt, Primark £2, Cardigan, Primark £7, Necklace, Temporary Secretary, Xmas gift

I couldn't resist the seam detail on these tights!

Ring, Primark £2

Outfit total - £53

I finally got my hands on the Barry M Nail Effects and I am already obsessed! Such an easy way to get really interesting nails!

I have a few things up on Ebay at the moment including this pretty Monsoon dress and tea club tshirt! Please take a look and see if anything takes your fancy!

Lady Bug Says ... The Midi Maxi!

2011-02-14T20:01:00.004Z

Evening Lovelies!

Hope you have all had a lovely Valentines Day! The Mr and I agreed to only do cards this year as we are a little on the skint side, though he did surprise me with some lovely flowers :) We celebrated with a takeaway and films on Saturday night which was exactly what we needed after a hectic few weeks!

This is my outfit from Friday. I bought this dress from H&M a few weeks ago, a little uncertain if I could pull off the midi maxi length and the tight fit on my curvy hips! But I think it just about works! The photo doesn't really pick up that it is actually a striped knit, with sheerer strips(not in a Rhianna Grammy's kind of way though!)

I love this faux fur gillet, it makes me feel very Rachel Zoe!

Steve Madden boots, TK Maxx £35, Leggings, H&M £7, Black cami, H&M £3, Black knit midi maxi, H&M £7, Faux fur gillet, Primark via charity shop £2

Necklace, Matalan £3

Outfit total - £57

I haven't really bothered painting my nails in far to long so I decided to do a little but of a Valentines inspired nail art!

Base colour - 17 Fast Finish in Pink Grapefruit

Black hearts - Konad image plate M3 & ELF Black Polish

Heart Sequins - Primark Nail Art Set

Lady Bug Says ... And The Winner Is :)

2011-02-13T20:16:00.002Z

Evening Lovelies!

Just a quick post from me tonight to announce to you all who the winner of my Blog Birthday Giveaway is...

Lizzy from EA Beauty

Congratulations Lizzy and a big thank you to everyone who entered!

Lady Bug Says ... My First Sewing Project!

2011-02-10T20:47:00.002Z

Evening Ladies!

I'm sure with my lack of posting you have probably forgotten who I am, but I am back!

I have had a crazy few weeks, before Christmas our lodger moved out, so in the New Year we had the task of finding another one. Finding someone we felt comfortable with took a lot longer than we thought! But now we have 2 new lodgers moving in within the next few weeks, so we have been spending our evenings and weekends getting both of the rooms and bathrooms ready for new people!

Also over the past few months I have been having extremely bad migraines and after a particularly bad one at the weekend I decided to go and see the doctor on Monday. She was lovely and has given me a great migraine management plan so hopefully I can finally get them under control!

Anyway, onto the point of this post! I actually made these cushions way before Christmas, but I also made 2 for my sister for Christmas so I didn't want to post them on here in case she saw.

I got my little John Lewis sewing machine for my birthday back in October and wanted to start out with something easy. So some union jack cushion covers seemed like a good starting point!

I used navy jersey, red cotton and white lace. The stitches might not be the neatest or the straightest, but every time I look at them I am very proud that I made them! Plus my sister loves the ones I made for her :)

I think I am next going to attempt to alter a few skirts I have recently bought from the charity shop, fingers crossed it goes well! I will be sure to show you all the results!

Lady Bug Says ... Glee Storm SAG Awards 2011

2011-01-31T20:42:00.004Z

Evening Lovelies!

I am sure you have all seen lots of coverage from the red carpet at yesterdays Screen Actors Guild Awards. Now Glee may not have picked up any awards(which it really should of!!) but they certainly topped the red carpet for me!

The girls are looking glam and very happily not fake tanned within an inch of their lives!

Lea Michele - Rachel Berry

Oscar De La Renta

Naya Rivera - Santana Lopez

Aurelio Costarella

Jenna Ushkowitz - Tina Cohen-Chang

Badgley Mischka

Jayma Mays - Emma Pillsbury

Jenny Packham

Heather Morris - Brittany Pierce

Romona Keveza

Dianna Argon - Quinn Fabray

Chanel

Amber Riley - Mercedes Jones

Anne Barge

I think you will agree they all look amazing! I wouldn't say no to any of these dresses!

Who was your best dressed at the SAG Awards?

All photos www.dailymail.co.uk

Lady Bug Says ... 100 Things That Make Me Happy! #1

2011-01-25T20:28:00.003Z

Evening Ladies!

I know its been a while since my last post but I have been enjoying a bit of an internet break! Spending all day on the computer at work and then a lot of the evening on my laptop was taking it's toll and probably contributing to my endless migraines!

Well I hope you haven't missed me too much! I have lots of post ideas so hopefully I will get a few written up over the weekend!

I recently saw that the lovely Lizzy over at EABeauty had done a series of posts called '100 things that make me happy!' and really loved the idea! Plus I'm hoping that concentrating on things that make me smile might help me to worry and the bad things a little less!

So here goes! All images are from We Heart It!

1. Weekend Bike Rides

2. Hello Kitty Cuteness

3. Sunny Days

4. KITTENS!

5. Bubble Baths

6. Spaghetti Bolognese

7. Road Trips

8. The Seaside

9. Gladiola Flowers

10. Elephants

Lady Bug Says ... New Year's Resolutions

2011-01-14T19:31:00.003Z

Evening Ladies

Well I have finally come up with my New Year's Resolutions! Hopefully they are ones I can stick to!

So here goes!

1. Get fit!

I have done literally no exercise since I left school 5 years ago(and when I was there I wasn't exactly little miss sporty!). The Mr laughs at the fact that I can't run up the 2 flights of stairs in our house without being out of breath! So to kick start my get fit plan I went and bought some trainers! I kind of figure if I have spent money on them I will probably use them!

I have been very inspired by Victoria's recent post, including the Couch to 5k jogging program! I will be able to run without feeling like I'm dying!

I am also going to invest in the Your Shape: Fitness Evolved for the Xbox Kinect. Hopefully it will keep me active when its rainy or cold and I don't want to venture outside!

2. Take part in at least one charity sporting event

Last year I took part in Pedal It Pink sponsored bike ride and really loved being active and doing something for a good cause! Definitely something I would like to do again this year!

3. Become more organised

I desperately need bring some organisation into my life. My lovely sister bought me a Filofax for Christmas so now I have no excuse. I have nice little 'To buy/To do/To blog' sections all set up so hopefully I will be able to plan my life a little more!

4. Get a proper skincare routine

I am 22 and I really don't look after my skin. At the moment I am pretty much a face wipe and occasional facial scrub kind of girl. No wonder I have pretty bad skin! If anyone can point me in the direction of some good skincare posts/products for combination/oily/acne prone skin I would be so grateful!

6. Sort out my wardrobe!

I am very lucky to have a walk in wardrobe and work for a company that specialise in fitting out dressing rooms/bedrooms etc. Despite having lots of space and it fully fitted out it is still full and a state! I have things I haven't worn in years/haven't worn at all/will never wear again! It is so disorganised I can never find what I want to wear! So I will become ruthless and sort it out!

7. Worry/Stress less!

My Mum has always said I am a natural born worrier. I worry about everything from did I lock the front door at night to what would I do if I lost one of my family members. I am one of those people that finds it hard to get to sleep because my brain won't switch off and gets all emotional over things I have no control of. I need to sort this out! Again if anyone has any links to blogs/posts to help with stress and worrying I would be very grateful!

I think that will be enough to keep me going for the year! What are your New Year's resolutions?

Lady Bug Says ... Rusty Love!

2011-01-11T19:45:00.002Z

Evening Lovelies!

How is every ones January going so far? Mine has been an eventful mix of being ill, lacking in sleep and attempting to work! I am finally feeling better so I am now ready to start my New Year! A little late(when am I not late?!) but better than never!

Tonight I plan on having a relaxing Lush bath(Ma Bar or Comforter, decisions decisions!), have a little read of one of my new books and get thinking about some New Years resolutions!

So, on to today's outfit. I have been on the look out for some rust coloured pieces to add to my wardrobe. I spied this tunic at Primark and knew it must be mine! Similarly I have also been wanting a faux fur gilet, so this Primark one waiting for me in the charity shop must have been fate!

Leggings, H&M £7, Black body con skirt, H&M £3, Rust tunic top, Primark £6, Faux fur gilet, Primark via Charity Shop £2

Outfit total £26

I got another key necklace for Christmas, hopefully one day I will be able to add a Tiffany one to my little collection!

Don't forget to enter my 1 year blog birthday giveaway!

Lady Bug Says ... Happy Blog Birthday Day & Giveaway!

2011-01-10T20:53:00.004Z

GIVEAWAY HAS NOW CLOSED! THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR ENTRIES!

Evening Lovelies!

Well today is a big milestone for Lady Bug Says! I have been uploading my ramblings, outfits, baking and general chatter for a whole year today!

So 365 days, 166 followers and 174 posts later here we are!

This has truly been one of the hardest years of my life, and my little slice of the blogosphere has been an escape for me. Losing myself in reading and commenting on other peoples blogs, taking pictures and writing my own posts has truly been a joy!

I may not be one of the big names in blogging, but knowing that people are interested in what I post has really made me smile! So I want to take this opportunity to thank all my readers, followers and twitter lovelies!

So as a big thank you I have decided to do a birthday spirited giveaway!

Now I know this isn't especially conventional but I will not be telling you what the prizes are(well maybe the odd sneaky hint on Twitter!)

But I will be filling this rather pretty gift bag with lots of goodies for one lucky winner! All the prizes will be purchased by myself and will all be things I have loved over the past year :)

Now for the rules!

1. All you have to do to enter is be a follower of my blog and leave a comment on this post with the words 'Please enter me!' and your email address.

2. For a further entries you can;
- post a link to my giveaway with the picture above on your blog side bar
- do a blog post about my giveaway
- tweet about my giveaway

3. For each further entry please leave an additional comment.

4. The giveaway will close on Thursday 10th February at midnight GMT.

5. The winner will be drawn randomly using http://www.random.org/

6. The giveaway is open internationally!

So get entering! And good luck to you all!!