Wedding Guest Outfit - New Look, AX Paris & H&M

Hands up, most of the time, I dress like a bit of a goth. 

My favorite color is black (it goes with everything), my cat is black (to reiterate the fact that I'm really a witch) and I have constant resting bitch face (I promise, I'm not angry).

Last year, two of my dear friends got engaged and they thoughtfully decided to invite me to their big day in June this year. I couldn't (probably could have) have worn black to a wedding in the middle of June?! Even I thought that was bit too goffy for my liking.

But after 7 months of searching for the perfect dress I found nothing, nada, niente! I felt as if the Universe was toying with me. However, 1 week before the wedding I was at breaking point. I hadn't found one single dress that fitted me or which wasn't black, white or red. I had given up. I quietly said to myself "buy any dress, any dress that fits, buy it quick and end this madness".

So off I popped to Westfields in Shepherds Bush on my 400th dress shopping expedition and moseyed around New Look which is where I found this beauty.
 

After what felt like an eternity hunting for a dress, the universe had quite literally handed me this perfect little navy floral number from AX Paris (a concession stand in New Look). It wasn't too jazzy, it was a little bit summery, it fitted like a dream and it didn't cost an arm and a leg (it was £30); it was exactly what I was looking for! 

I’ve never bought a single thing from AX Paris but I'm so thoroughly impressed that I've stumbled across their shop. The flower print is placed perfectly to highlight and accentuate curves whilst the material almost feels like soft scuba suit material, in a good way! The weather was absolutely boiling on their big day but I felt cool as a cucumber! AX Paris seem to do similar dresses to this one but in different styles, so you have the choice of this print in either a skater dress or a plunging midi dress! Good job AX Paris! Who doesn't love a choice?

I paired my dress with these open toed sandal/shoes from New Look and also decided to continue the summery floral theme but putting some faux flowers in my hair from H&M.

It was probably the most perfect wedding day I've ever attended and I'm so glad I found this wonderful dress just in time. Have any of you shopped with AX Paris before? Do you know of any other non-high street shops that create quality clothes? Let me know in the comments below.

The Power of Kind Words

A growing trend that has been getting a lot of press lately on the big world wide web, is people writing about or filming random acts of kindness and posting it online. There are an assortment of Youtube videos containing people approaching homeless people and giving them money or food, whilst others compliment complete strangers as they pass them by.

Ok, ok. So maybe I’m a tiny bit cynical thinking they’re doing it for the views or hits but let’s just set that aside for a second and focus on the words their speaking and the true potential of kind words.

In this day and age I think it’s very easy for us to forget that there is a sea of people surrounding us. I know I'm guilty of gazing down lovingly at my smart phone rather than interacting with the people around me, I think we all are, it's a very easy thing to do. Another sad fact is that we live in a society where we tend to judge each other very quickly on appearances; we’re targeted by websites, adverts and magazines that pick at our insecurities and fears in hope that we will buy their magical products that will supposedly fix all our problems. 

But something that can really make a difference in someones life is just a few kind words. 

Kind words don't cost a thing, yet they do wonders for the person receiving them. Not only that, they also make the person giving the compliment feel great too.

It’s a win win situation.

Kind words don’t have to be forced, futile or faked. You can compliment someone’s clothes, perfume, attitude, manners, way of life or achievements. Heck, you can compliment someone on how their toes are perfectly aligned because kind words have no limitations!

You don't just have to just compliment someone to give kind words. Saying something that's honest and from the heart is always a welcomed gift.

As of late, I was lucky enough to receive some kind words, some were from strangers and some from friends but all of those words had the same effect on me; they made me incredibly happy.

Let’s get a bit deep shall we? Let's address the fact that I have realllllly low self – esteem; I always feel that I don’t really fit in anywhere and I’m always berating myself at everything I do; I’m essentially my own worst enemy. Yet the other day, when I returned from work after having a week off on holiday, a colleague told me she missed me. She recently announced she was pregnant and after looking at the first scan, I was adamant she was having a girl. However, whilst I was away, she found out the sex of the baby and guess what? I was right. Once she told me, I was over the moon and began looking at baby clothes with her (we’re obviously very busy at work) but she explained that she wished I had been around for the announcement last week 

The moment my colleague told me she missed me; it struck a chord with me. Someone from work actually missed me? Actually cared that I wasn’t about to squeal about the new baby girl? Unbeknownst to my colleague, her words really resonated with me and made me feel so bloody happy. Those tiny little words that she probably didn't even realized she said, made me feel wanted and appreciated.

Now why am I mentioning this situation? To brag? Maybe (JOKEZ). I'm just trying to explain the impact kind words can have on someone. 

Kind words can help someone through a bad day, week, month or year

Kind words can highlight positive traits in someone that they didn’t even know they had
Kind words can create friendships
Kind words can stop arguments
Kind words can build relationships
Kind words can stop sad or depressing thoughts
Kind words can stop someone from feeling lonely
Kind words can show someone you care
Kind words can highlight just how important you really are

I know, I know I'm getting a bit lovey dovey and yes, sometimes it is a bit awkward giving someone a compliment or sharing some nice words with them. But I'm not asking you to run up to everyone in your street and tell them that you love them! (That would be a bit odd and there is a slight chance you may be considered a nutter). But hey! You lot are smart, intellectual human beings, you're aware of positives of being nice! I'm not trying to lecture you but I'm just trying to highlight that by doing something so small for someone, can really make a difference in their day or life.

You could be the reason a bad day is turned into a good day, wouldn't that be an amazing achievement?

Heck, I'm not usually this bloody nice, maybe I'm feeling a tad emotional but, hey, there's no harm in trying to spread some positivity, right? 

In other news I got ID for the lottery today. The woman thought I looked 16 years old. S I X T E E N ! 

It's official, she's my new best mate.

Tell me about a compliment you received that was out of the blue but you really appreciated. I'd love to hear about them!

Tall Girl Problems

As of late, I’ve read quite a few posts about short girl problems. I can wholeheartedly sympathize with shorter people and the problems they face, heck, I was short once as well, but as a very tall woman (nearly 6ft) I thought I would share the absolute hilarity that I have to endure on a daily basis and all the other tall girl problems I could think of, so I hope you enjoy.

Clothing

Nothing fits and I really mean nothing.

I can understand how hard it is for shorter people to buy clothes; having access material hanging all over the place, having to alter trousers, dresses and tops to fit properly but spare a thought for us dear ol’ tall birds, who have to wear clothes that look as if they’ve all shrunk in the dryer.

Crop tops = Bralets
Normal tops = Crop tops
Dress tops = Normal tops
Mini dress = See what I had for dinner last night
Midi dress = Hey, look at my butt cheeks
Maxi dress = THERE'S NO SUCH THING AS A MAXI DRESS WHEN YOU'RE THIS TALL
Long sleeved tops/coats/jackets/etc = Jack ups
All trousers = Jackups
Playsuits/jumpsuits/rompers = Lots and lots of camel toe

Men

Do you know what’s hard? Finding a decent man. 

Do you know what’s really hard? Finding a decent tall man. 
Do you know what’s even harder than that?! Finding a decent tall man, who also likes tall girls! 

Those types of guys are the stuff of legends.

Short girls who only date tall guys

I get it. 

We're brought up thinking the ideal man is tall, dark and handsome but if you are short, I'd just like to remind you that you have a plethora of men to choose from. By all means, have all the men up to 5.11ft, have them all! I'll even put bows on them for you, but I beg of you, please leave the 6ft and overs alone. Do you know what I look like holding the hand of a guy who is 5.8ft? 

It gets real creepy, real quick.

Always in the way

Gigs: *stands right at the back of the gig* Shorter person – ‘Can you not stand there, I can’t see’ *moves somewhere else* ‘Hey, I can’t see now! Can you move!’ *sigh*
Public Transport: ‘You’re legs are really long and are taking up a lot of room, can you move seat or stand?’
Photos: ‘You’re the tallest, get to the back’
Cinema: ‘Your head is in the way, please move?’

We stick out like a sore thumb

There's no hiding us!

Feeling like a massive manly man...

...all the time. 

Nope, we're never going to feel like a delicate, feminine flower anytime soon.

"WOW, YOU’RE TALL!!!!"

People stare...a lot

 

Oh, did I mention?! YOU'RE REALLY TALL!!! :|

I hope you enjoyed this light hearted post. I'm sure I've missed out some blinding examples of tall girls problems but for now this will do! Whether you're small or tall, tell me in the comments below what problems do you face when it comes to your height! Thanks for stopping by!

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Bubbledogs || London

As you may have seen from my May updates post, I recently visited Bubbledogs in London. If you aren’t familiar with the concept of this restaurant, I’ll break it down for you in two simple words: 

Hotdogs & Champagne 

I know, I know, ladies. Calm yourselves.

As it was my sisters birthday (and because she loves hotdogs and I love champagne) I decided to bring her to this wonderful little gem just off Tottenham Court Road.

Throughout the week, Bubbledogs has two opening times. From Monday – Thursday the restaurant is open from 12pm – 4pm and then again at 5:30pm – 11pm, whilst from Friday – Saturday the restaurant is open all day from 11:30am – 11pm.

As we were heading off into London during the evening, we decided to head over at 5:30pm on a Thursday afternoon to ensure we had plenty of time for our plans later on. Let me tell you, this place gets packed up fast! We arrived at around 5:35pm and the place was almost completely full!

Environment

When you first enter Bubbledogs, you are met with a smallish sized room with exposed brickwork and iron beams, workbench like tables and funny dachshund artwork dotted all over the walls. It’s a very intriguing ‘industrial’ space, but perfect for intimate conversations over a glass of champagne or two.

Intimate, now that’s a great word to describe Bubbledogs; once filled to capacity it’s a hub of wonderful smells, chortled conversations and closeness with strangers (whether you like it or not). It is a tight space and watching the waiters and waitresses maneuver around each other and customers was like watching a intensely choreographed ballet. 

As it was so busy, my sister and myself were sat on a 4 seater table along with two other young ladies. I personally don't mind sitting with strangers, so we carried on our chitchat whilst secretly eavesdropping on the conversations around us.

Service

As previously mentioned, the place was packed so I can completely appreciate why the service was lacking. This was my first time at Bubbledogs, so I was unsure how to place our orders; do I go to the bar? Do they come to us? Goodness knows as no one told us or even really addressed us after we were seated.

I would have appreciated it if we were acknowledged by a waiter or waitress, even if we were told 'I'll be over in five minutes’, but alas, we sat waiting for nearly 10 minutes without even a drinks order being taken. Thankfully we weren’t in a hurry and we had many topics to gossip over, I just hope this isn't a reflection of their usually service.

Food

My sister ordered the Mac Daddy hot dog which consisted of macaroni & cheese, crispy onions and bacon bits coated all over a pork hot dog (you get a choice of either pork or beef). I went for the José hot dog which had fresh tomato salsa, avocado, sour cream and pickled jalapeños dolloped on top of a pork hotdog. We also got a side of Tots to share.

Even though their customer service was in short supply that day, we thankfully didn’t have to wait too long for our food and once is arrived it was piping hot and looked delicious.

One thing I should mention is that cutlery did not seem to be the done thing at Bubblebdogs. As I looked around the room, I could see everyone eating with their hands and not one knife or fork in sight. Don’t get me wrong, I’m no princess, I’m usually fine with eating with my hands but our hotdogs were covered in a lot of messy ingredients which hindered our chowing down. It's my own fault I didn't ask for some, in hindsight I probably should have and not been so embarrassed.

Out of the two, the Mac Daddy won (with a name like that, of course it did). Don’t get me wrong, the José was tasty as heck and seemed very popular that day with other customers as well, but common, bacon and crispy onions with macaroni & cheese?! Of course it was the best out of the two!

Drinks

We opted for two glasses of the Gaston Chiquet, Sélection Cuvée which was around £6.50 (I think, don’t quote me on that) and it was delicious! Light, very bubbly and went down a treat. I'm no champagne expert (REALLY?!) but all I know is that this was good, why? Because it tasted good. Simple.

Overall

I have wanted to visit Bubbledogs for some time now and I’m glad I finally got to see what all the fuss was about. Would I go again? Yes indeed I would. Though it initially took us a while to get seen to, our food came out very quickly and both hotdogs were tasty little numbers. I would only recommend going to Bubbledogs if you have a bit of time of your hands, as it may take you a while to be seated or seen to if you go during their peak times. The prices were quite reasonable as two meals, one side and two glasses of champagne came to around £36. If you haven’t been and you love champagne and hot dogs (who doesn't?) make sure scoot your little butt over there and try it for yourself, I don’t think you’ll be disappointment. 

Have you ever been to Bubbledogs? If so, what did you think? If you haven't, is this a place you would like to visit?


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It's gonna be May

Well, bloody hell. Where did May go?! 

Maybe it's because I've been looking forward to this month for so long that it just flew by quicker than usual. 

Bugger. I didn't want it to end.

So as usual, every few weeks I do an right royal 'life blogger' post about all the jazzy jazz (jazzy jazz?) I've gotten up to. Now, I'm positively certain that no one else cares about these sort of blog posts, but I absolutely love them! Who wouldn't like a little sneaky peek into other peoples lives? (I know, I'm one nosy little bitch, aren't I?) But you know, without seeming like a complete weirdo, I love reading peoples blogs like these, as they give me ideas & inspiration for new places I'd like to visit and new things I could get up to. I can only hope my blog inspires you to do the same!

This time round I've even included a few short clips from the month because you know, I'm so hip and down with the kids. Honestly, give them a watch, they're only about 20 seconds each but I really feel they add a lil sumpin' sumpin' to this post.

But hey, even if no one else cares for these sort of posts, I for one love going back and looking over these blogs months down the line and reminiscing on what I got up to. So even if no one else reads this, hello to future me! This is what May 2015 had to offer!

PS. If you're not singing NYSNC's song 'It's going to be me' because of the title you ought to be very ashamed of yourself right now.

16th - 19th May: Sandy's Hen do in Budapest

Along with four days in this beautiful house (vlog & blog to come!)

Sunday 24th May: Celebrated my mums birthday and took her to dinner at Miller & Carter steak house

Monday 25th May: Met my sisters new squeeze. He even treated us all to a meal at Byron in Westfield (he’s a keeper)


Wednesday 27th May: Caught up with old friends over more burgers at Five Guys

Thursday 28th May: Celebrated my sisters birthday at Bubbledogs in London

Thursday 28th May: Saw RX Bandits live at the Electric Ballroom in Camden

Friday 29th May: Went to my friends birthday celebrations at the Aeronaut in Acton

Completed several high intensity workouts and actually lost 3lb :O 

(Also won these leggings from Active In Style from a competition hosted by Organic Burst on Twitter. Thanks you lot, I love them & they fit like a dream!)

Started dressing like an adult


Bought these beauties. 
Estee Lauder Double Wear in Ivory Nude and Relvon HD Lipstick in Petunia & Rose

Laughed at Stephens Hawkins dark humor

It has definitely been one jam packed month but I'm also so excited for what June has to offer. I'm also quite excited to share my first ever vlog with you guys very soon (I just have to edit the bloody thing first!) so keep a lil eye open for that beauty.

How was your month of May? Have you any exciting plans for June? Also, if you do similar styled blogs to this one, send me your link! Inspire me to do new things!

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