I've certainly changed a lot this year. Weekends used to mean wild nights out, cocktails and getting dressed up but now my weekends are completely different. A mixture of settling down and my friends being busy with their dissertations means you can usually find me in on a Saturday night in front of the TV with my family. I've swapped the vodka and diet coke for hot chocolate and glam dresses for my PJs. Saturday nights are all about Strictly Come Dancing for me. I can admire the glitz and glamour but by sitting comfortably at home and not out on the town until the early hours.


Gala Bingo recently set some bloggers a challenge to create some posts inspired by the style on their favourite Saturday night show. While Nicole Scherzinger always looks amazing and the contestants on X Factor get to wear some lovely outfits I had to pick Strictly. Who doesn't love some old Hollywood style glamour and thousands of sequins?

You're not going to be able to buy a ballroom dress perfect for the Viennese Waltz on the high street but I've found plenty of Strictly-inspired outfits on the high street. Here are a few that I think are the most accessible and wearable:


This very glamarous dress by Frock and Frill channels the 20s vibe perfectly and reminds me of all the great beaded dresses the female contestants wear when they attempt the Charleston. The tiers and sequins would look great on any dance floor when you're strutting your stuff.

Abbey Clancy is definitely my favourite contestant this year the black dress from her Matalan range reminds me of the sophisticated dresses the ladies wear for the Argentine Tango.I really want Abbey and Aljazto win this year but I also have a soft spot for Susanna and Kevin.

The final dress is from Collectif and is the perfect dress to recreate that 50s jive look. I love the full skirt, perfect for swirling around on the dance floor.

To finish the look you need the right shoes and these Dune dancing shoes are great. They look pretty similar to the ones I had as a kid when I used to have dancing lessons except mine were covered in gold glitter. Loved those shoes...

You need as much glitter as possible to sparkle on the dance floor and this snow glitter polish by Illamasqua will certainly help with that.

Finally, we all know you can't hit that Strictly dance floor without lashings of fake tan being applied ;) I love that Sophie Ellis-Bextor has refused to wear any this year, not even a little bronzer.

I'm Team Abbey this year but who do you want to win?

*This post is in conjunction with Gala Bingo and their X Factor slot game.

With the weather turning distinctly chilly and weather warnings issued for this weekend a biker jacket really isn't going to cut it anymore. I've finally caved in a dug out my hats, gloves and chunky knits to keep out the cold.

This rather lovely coat comes from F&F at Tesco and features contrasting sleeves, hessian and wood toggle fastenings and a hood. I'm always on a look out for winter coats with a hood as it's hard work trying to get an umbrella out of your bag when you have gloves on. The reason I really love this coat is because it reminds me of Oliver Tate from my favourite book and film Submarine. He wears a rather lovely navy coat with toggles in the film and I've been on the hunt for one just like that for ages.


I'm off to the #BathXmasMeet on Saturday and the Clothes Show Live on Sunday. Will I be seeing any of you guys there? I'm really looking froward to getting all dressed up and having the chance to do some reading on the train back from Birmingham. Hopefully I will have time to squeeze in some Christmas shopping too as I still have a few gifts to get. I've found a new site which has helped me save loads on Christmas presents with discount codes called Voucherbox. I have signed up for ASOS discount code alerts on there which I have made full use of. The more I save on presents means the more I can spend on myself right? ;)

After a rather stressful couple of weeks I was glad to have a weekend at home, lounging about in my PJs and spending some quality time with my mum. I'm usually in some other UK city at the weekend or spending time with my friends or boyfriend so it was nice to bond with my mum and snuggle up with the dog. Spending hours getting dressed up and staying out until 4am just isn't my style anymore and in a recent survey by Ladbrokes Bingo 70% of women said they preferred a night in with the girls to a night on the town so I know a few of you feel the same way as me. 

After baking a few weeks ago I wanted to try something a little more challenging so my mum suggested we bake an old family favourite, banana and walnut loaf.

This cake is perfect for morning or afternoon tea. It's light and moist and very easy to make. For the  best results, make sure the bananas are overripe. For me this cake is a great comfort food and I serve it with a little butter spread on top.

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/160 fan. Line a loaf tin with baking parchment or grease and dust with flour if you don't have any. 
2. In a bowl, beat the butter and sugar with an electric hand whisk until pale, light, and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time and add a tablespoon of the flour after each one. This will stop the mixture curdling.
3. Peel and mash the bananas in a small bowl with a fork, then stir into the loaf mixture, along with the sultanas and walnuts. Fold in the remaining flour, then spoon the mixture into the tin. Smooth the top, pressing well into the corners. 
4. Bake for 1 hour/1 hour 15 minutes, or until risen and firm to the touch. If the top of the cake starts to brown too much before it is fully cooked, cover with foil. Leave to cool on a cooling rack then cut into slices.
   

I'm starting to get really excited about Christmas. I've got Pinterest boards dedicated to it, I've been baking Christmas treats for friends and I've started to tick things off my Christmas food shopping list. You're meant to grow out of this I suppose but even thought it's only the 1st of December I've already bought and wrapped most of my presents and I'm acting like a big kid. I'm going to watch Muppet Christmas Carol tonight and I might even sport a Christmas jumper whilst doing it.

I get a lot of joy from planning, wrapping and seeing someone tearing open their gift and most of all that look of excitement on their face. But with Christmas in mind I can't help thinking about a couple of things I would like Santa to drop off for me. Some gifts on my list are far too extravagant but it doesn't hurt to browse, right?

Don't worry,  I'm not coming over all twee like Jess from New Girl because I've wanted a bike so badly since hiring one in Amsterdam a few months ago. Viking make very similar bikes for around a third of the price so I may treat myself to one in the new year when I've bought everyone else their Christmas presents. To be honest I could stick a bell and a basket on any red bike and be pretty happy with it. I'll be total hipster cliche riding around on one of these...

Some gifts are more practical like the GHD's because my old ones have died and I've lost my favourite Alpha ring from Daisy and would love that to be replaced. I really don't need another dress but this Ted Baker one is so soft and silky and I always go an have a little look at it when I'm in House of Fraser, it's very pretty. Zalando currently have the dress on sale down from £205 to £145.

The little Pandora charm is not only super cute it would also remind me of my trips to Nash Point lighthouse and Portland Bill this year. My final pick had to be some books. I always get books for Christmas and these are extra special books. Each book is bound in cloth with covers designed by Coralie Bickford-Smith. I think books make the perfect gift because as Moz once said 'There's more to life than books, you know. But not much more.'