You can get these in lots of different colours and Lindy bop sell lots of these retro style dresses for under £30. I love this dress and feel very feminine whilst wearing it. The fact that it has sleeves is a bonus so I don't have to cover most of the dress in a cardigan. I might have to purchase it in another colour...

Pen y Fan is 886 metres high – the highest point in southern Britain and the Brecon Beacons National Park. The prospect of walking up was a little scary because I'm so unfit. The last time I walked up here was a as a child on a school trip so I was looking forward to heading up again. My boyfriend is being supportive of me trying to be more active and healthy so suggested this as an activity we could do together.

If you want to walk this route take a look at this National Trust route for detailed instructions, this is the route I took and I think it is a little easier than the one which starts at the Storey Arms. It's around 4 miles long and will take you about 2.5 hours to complete.


Climbing Pen y Fan was the perfect way to spend my Sunday afternoon and it was nice to do something a little different with my boyfriend and explore South Wales more.

Have you ever climbed Pen y Fan? Which peak should I tackle next?

p.s. don't forget to enter my £100 ASOS gift card giveaway

L-R Frills And Spills, What Peggy Said, Kimi And Me, Polkadot Pink and Being Erica

The competition will run for 10 days and is open internationally. Winner will be emailed an asos gift voucher with an e-code worth £100 (approx $160 at current exchange rate) and announced on the rafflecopter widget.


  a Rafflecopter giveaway

After climbing loads of steps on my first day in Grenoble I took a more leisurely approach to day two. I headed to a few museums including a very interesting one about the French Resistance in that area which was rather somber but well worth a visit. I also headed to a few more churches and museums while taking in all the sights.

I'm currently enjoying a bit of downtime in my friends apartment in Grenoble before heading out to Lyon later today so I thought I would share some photos from my first day in France. My friend Meg is currently living and working here so I'm visiting with another friend Emma. I'm very lucky to have friends all over the UK and the rest of the world which means I get to visit a lot of exciting places.

We initially set out to hitch a rid on the pods to the top of the Bastille to take in the views of Grenoble and the alps but they were out of order. We had to clamber up 3km of steep steps and ramps to get to the top but I think you will agree the views were worth it.

I'm off to enjoy the rest of my trip now.

I bought my old hair dryer because it was cheap and I liked the colour which resulted in me spending forever trying to dry my hair and ending up with a slightly frizzy result. I've got naturally wavy, thick and coarse hair so I was looking forward to trying out the ghd air which promises 'gorgeous hair in half the time' 

1. The first step is to spray your towel dried hair with heat protector spray
2. Roughly dry hair until it's about 70% dry
3. Blow dry hair with brush
4. Pin top section of hair up and curl the bottom with either straighteners or a wand styler. If you're using straighteners take a small section of hair and place the straighteners towards the root of your hair. With your other hand, wrap the section of hair once around the iron and slowly drag the iron through your hair.
5. Continue to curl all of your hair from the bottom to the stop
6. Run your fingers through the curls to break them up for a more natural look and apply plenty of hairspray so the curls don't drop. 

I had great fun compiling Part 1 a few days ago and even more fun compiling Part 2. I'm amazed at how much I've crammed in since starting a full time job in January this year. Even though I'm a little exhausted at times I think all my train journeys and hours on the road are worth it. I've had such a fantastic time this year and I've already booked a few trips for 2014 so it's shaping up to be another good year.

July

August

September

October

October saw me visit a few cities in the UK. I went to Birmingham to see Suede with Claire which I thoroughly enjoyed as they are one of my favourite bands. I went to the AX Paris party in London and a trip to the Wallace Collection. I also stayed a little closer to home and took some time off to look after Sookie when my mum was on holiday and took her for lots of walks in the surrounding countryside.

November

December

I would have to say the highlights of my year were my trip to Norbury, a long weekend in Amsterdam and meeting Martyn (I know, so gross and soppy). I hope you all had a lovely 2013 but I hope 2014 is even better!