I've been talking about it on here for months now but on Wednesday evening I finally saw Marina and the Diamonds on her Lonely Hearts Club Tour. I was already in love with Marina but she completely overwhelmed me and lived up to all my expectations. I have seen her perform before but only at festivals and I couldn't wait to see her with her own staging and amongst her fans. It was also lovely to see her on her home turf, she's from Abergavenny and her Mam was there to cheer her on.

There was such a great atmosphere and the venue, Cardiff Coal Exchanage is a beautiful and historic place.
I went with my brother and some friends and chanelled the Electra Heart look with pastels. I loved the pre show music which was a mix of early Britney, Madonna, Garbage and Euro-pop, just my thing.


Marina performed loads of her songs and was on stage for around an hour and a half. Mowgli's Road, Lies and Radioactive were set highlights and I managed to get the setlist at the end of the night like a proper fan girl.

My recent purchase of these bargain Vivienne Westwood sunglasses (£10 in ASDA!!) has prompted me to have a look at what is on offer by other designers and high street stores. I really want a pair of sunglasses for Reading festival this summer, so I want something on a budget incase I lose them but also a little fun and on trend. I'm also looking for another classic pair of sunglasses that I can wear for years to come.



The first place I look for fashion inspiration is my muse Marina and I love these round glasses she is wearing here:


Round glasses are a huge trend this summer and are in collections by YSL and Erdem and were seen all over Coachella paired with denim shorts and cropped tops. They also really remind me of Lennon, Gaga and Elton John and who doesn't want to feel like a star? My favourite pair of roound glasses are these ones by YSL


Sporty glasses like the ones by Bolle and Serengeti sunglasses, cat eye and quirky shaped glasses are also bang on trend this season so I'm keeping an eye out for these styles too. I would love a pair of heart shaped sunglasses, I lost my last pair in New Zealand :(

I would also love a pair of classic wayfarer sunglasses like Ray Bans. I love my pastel ones but they don't really go with everything.







Do you get a new pair of sunglasses for holidays or get the same pair out every year? It's not like we get much sun in the UK so I wont get to wear them much but I want to make in impact when I do.

I've never tried fake tan so can't wait to give that a go and the eyelashes will be handy for the weekend. I've never had a beauty box before and I think £9 is quite good value. Some of the products are a great size and eyelashes usually cost about £3-4 alone.

Term is finally over and it's eerily quiet in work. All the students have gone home so Cathays is like a ghost town, very odd. It does mean that I work 9-5 instead of 10-6 so I have more time in the evening to myself. I have joined the gym (shocking behaviour) and I've been reading some great books (some trashy ones too). Got any book recommendations for me?

I feel like I can be a little more casual in work over the summer because there aren't many people in so I wore some shorts and converse today, nice and comfy.








I'm going out with some lovely people from work this weekend to Jamie's Italian in Cardiff and I've got a 30th birthday party to go to. Just need to decide what to wear now...

p.s. got lots of ASOS Curve things on ebay

I got another chance to go to my favourite conference venue this week. I stayed oer night in Gregynog Hall for the Library colloquium that is held there every year. It lasts all week but I went for the first two days that were all about web 2.0 and new professionals.
The house has a very interesting history and lots interesting people have stayed there like Gustav Holst and George Bernard Shaw. The Davies sisters that owned it were also enthusiastic collectors of French Impressionist and Post-Impression paintings and drawings. William Blake, Paul Cezanne, Stanley Spencer, Monet and Renoir feature amongst the collection of 260 works, which was bequeathed to the National Museum of Wales in 1951 and 1963, and is the largest collection of Impressionist works outside of Paris. There is still a lot of art work there but most of it is now in Cardiff which is handy for me because I work on the same street as the museum.



The gardens are grade 1 listed, very pretty!



The gorgeous weather meant that I could get my bargain sunglasses out for their first outing. I picked these up in ASDA for £10!! Bargain of the year or what? I also got a pair of Gucci ones because I'm awful with sunglasses and always lose them.

My first pick is from Cath Kidston, it's cute but also has a hood and is nice and long to keep my legs dry too. Not sure how waterproof this would be, maybe only good for light showers? It's light and I could roll this up in my bag and get it out when I need it.
Have you got any tips for staying dry and warm at festivals this summer? I know I'm being a little pessimistic but I'm from the UK and always expect a rubbish summer where the weather is concerned.

Got lots of good things to share with you today :)



You can get early access to the Motel sale with 50% off. The sale doesn't officially start until next Wednesday but if you follow the link to the secret selection of items on MotelRocks.com that will be in the sale, and use the code SECRETSALE50 at the checkout, you can take 50% off them all. There are some lovely things on there that are great for summer and festival season so worth checking out.



AX Paris have started a huge promotion - 40% off their Summer collection category. Including lots of pretty pieces from their current range. Playsuits, summer dresses, maxis, jeans and tops are available. Simply enter code SUMMER40 at checkout. Valid only on this category, offer ends 29th June.

Weight Watchers are hosting a twitter party and there will be lots of opportunities to win Debenhams vouchers. You can read all about that on my other blog Where Are My Knees.

Let me know if you treat yourself to anything with the discount codes!

I didn't just spend my bank holiday weekend eating cake and drinking rum, I did some cultural things for a change too! I visited the lovely Hay on Wye which I have been to many times before but the world famous literary festival was on this time and I had an amazing day. I actually ended up spending most of my day at HowTheLightGetsIn, the world’s largest philosophy and music festival which was at the other end of the town from the main festival site.

I went to a discussion called What's Left Now? with Phillip Blond, Peter Tatchell, Diane Abbott and Jamie Whyte. They talked about lots of issues surrounding 'The Left' including its successes and failures and where it needs to go in the future, all very interesting!


I also managed to visit many of the towns book and antique shops before we left and picked up a book about which is a selection of letters that the six Mitford sisters sent to one another. I have always found the sisters fascinating so I can#t wait to get stuck in. I also bought The Earth Hums in B Flat and a book of poetry by Keats.


I could have come home with so many more books, I had to restrain myself. I also managed to go to Shepherds for an ice cream (if you ever go to Hay you HAVE TO try it) and some freshly made Welsh cakes mmm.


Me and my friends stopped off on the way home for a walk, they all climbed to the top of the hill but I was slipping and sliding my my pumps. I'm not suited to the country and have no sensible clothes but the views really were spectacular and I would love to go back. I think this was somewhere in between Abergavenny and Brecon, not far from my home at all. I really need to explore my surroundings more.





So sad that all the celebrations are over now and it's back to work like normal. Just spontaneously planned a trip to Manchester to see Maximo Park to cheer myself up after a bit of a post Jubilee/holidays come down. 

The playsuit is from the new Kelly Brook range at New Look and I love it! I had some money left on a gift card and used a mates student (ID very naughty or me) so I only payed about £20 for it. It came with a lovely belt but unfortunately the same size belt came with all the playsuits and was way too small for me. Don't you hate it when that happens? so I added a Primark belt which I got for £1. The shoes were super high wedges that I picked up for £16 in Primark and I manged to walk in them all night.








I took lots of left over food to a friends house and had another picnic, I didn't realise it was possible to eat that much food in one day.

I've been fretting about what to wear to the Cardiff Blogs Jubilee Big Lunch for ages (if you live near Cardiff you should come!) I wanted a 50s style dress but nothing with a Union Jack or London type print on that I wouldn't be likely to wear again.

AX Paris recently contacted me to let me know that they have now launched a curve range which sells clothes from a size 16-26. This was great news for me because I always see their clothes on ASOS or in New Look stores and like what I see but they only stock up to a size 14. I was able to pick something from the site to try out and I went with this navy dress .




I wore the dress to work when it was really hot a few days ago, it's nice and long so it's suitable for work and it is very light and cool. I wouldn't bare my legs in a short skirt or sit down for a picnic in one so this is the perfect length. I'm going to wear the dress with some red pumps, my Vivienne Westwood earrings that are red and a splash of lipstick (red, of course) when I'm celebrating the Jubilee.

AX Paris currently have 15% off some lovely dresses in red, white and blue for the Jubilee until the 6th of June and I think they are offering 20% of your first order when you fill in the form that pops up when you open the homepage.

I'm really looking forward to this weekend, it will be a blur of Pimms, dancing, picnics and cake. My friends have all finished their exams today and we are going to celebrate in style! I'm also heading to the Hay on Wye book festival on Monday, are any of you going to be there this year?

Are you doing anything for the Jubilee and what will you be wearing?