DIY Inspiration...

A few ideas to give simple items a bit of a kick...

Add some studs to your shorts 

Glue some gold buttons onto a pair of black shoes or boots

Scrub up like celebs: Dr Bronner's multi-use soaps!

WE all wash with soap (at least I hope we do) but have you ever thought about using your regular shower gel as toothpaste? or washing up liquid? Of course you haven't, BUT the USA's number one selling natural soap and leader in organic and Fair Trade skin care is claiming to be able to do all these tasks — and it's now available in Topshop!
Recently hitting the shelves of the high street hotspot, Dr Bronner's 'Magic' 18 in 1 soap claims to have 18 uses from one bottle of its organic liquid soap.

Award!

Just noticed I have been passed on an award from lovely Natasha at Silhouette Skies — thank you very much!!

As you can see it is a tell me about yourself award so I am going to have to think of seven facts you may not know about me.....hmmm.....
1, I live in a tiny little town in Devon (UK) called Tavistock which is filled with old people and is the hometown of Sir Francis Drake.
2, I have slight OCD about food - e.g different foods on my plate CANNOT be touching each other and I eat things in a certain order (weird I know).
3, On a similar note I have a bit of OCD about my bed - the duvet has to neat and over all corners at all times (my boyfriend really hates this)
4, I am a reporter on the local newspaper.
5, I am short - 5ft 2 and a half to be exact - my boyfriend is a whole foot and 2 inches taller than me!
6, I lived in New Zealand for a few years when I was younger.
7, My dream is to own a pair of Christian Louboutin's.

Now to pass this on to 15 bloggers: Steffani-Louise, Mo, Rachel, Halima, Lo Marie, Mercedes, Pebbz, Princess and the Pea, Twiggs, Rach, Jade, The Button Box, Kate, CXy and Where are My Knees?

Check all these lovely ladies out, they make up my daily reading!!

Manths xx

I'm in love...

Mr Louboutin, you've done it again....

These lion paw pumps might not be to everyone's taste but I personally think they are amazing.

The latest celeb to be wearing them is Blake Lively and I think she gets it right, these are the kind of shoes to make a statement, and she pairs them with a casual look....

                      (pics from Daily Mail)

One day I will get my hands on a pair of red soled wonders....

Manths x

Versace for H&M — yay or nay?

WE all love it when our favourite high street hotspot collaborates with top designers to allow us common folk to experience a touch of the high-life, so I was excited to see what the most recent designs from Donnatella Versace for H&M had in store for us.
Looking through photos of the collection from the show last night, I'm actually in love with all the studs, glitter and fringing that feature in a lot of the garments - not so sure I'm digging the neon jungle print though.....

                          (Photos from Daily Mail)

The collection also boasts a range of mens-wear, accessories, bags and jewellery (which are beautiful)...

(Pictures from H&M website)

The designs are available from November 17, I unfortunately do not live anywhere near a flagship store so there will be little chance of me getting my hands on any of these beauts but I will be rushing to a computer to shop online! Visit the H&M website to view the collection in full.

What do you guys think, is Versace for H&M a yay or a nay?

Manths x

Giveaway winner!!

A big thank you to the two lovelies who entered my Lush Skullduggery give away — Mo and Fannie!
Unfortunately there could only be one winner, so I went old school and wrote the names on paper and put them in a hat (cup)....


.... whizzed them around and pulled out a name....



MO! Well done I will be sending it off imminently! Check out Mo's blog - it's one of my favourites Ciao! Manhattan

I will be holding a BIG BIRTHDAY GIVEAWAY in the near future in celebration of my first bloggiversary to say thank you to all of you who take the time to read my ramblings!
(I hope a few more of you enter this time, haha!)

Manths xx

Lush is for life, not just for Halloween... (anyone for a giveaway?)

... At least these Skullduggery Bath Ballistics should be.




I am a sucker for anything with a skull on it and now I can take my obsession to the bath tub.
These bath bombs smell incredible - with lime, neroli and frankincense - relaxing in a warm aromatic bath tub and ignoring those pesky trick or treaters knocking on my door is definitely the perfect way to spend All Hallow's Eve.
What Lush say: 'Don't be deceived by this handsome fellow. Our homage to Mexican 'Sugar Skulls' are not delicious candy treats - they're fizzy, uplifting bath ballistics! Skullduggery is an eerie but magical celebration for your bathtub.'
And indeed they are, I just hope Lush continue to sell these past Halloween because at £2.75, these cheeky skulls could definitely become part of my weekly pampering session.
(The boyfriend even said it smelt really nice!)
For one of you lucky readers I will be giving away a Skullduggery Bath Ballistic!!
All you have to do is 1) Be a follower of my blog.
2) Comment below with your email adress.
This giveaway is open to all readers and will close at lunchtime on Friday November 4. Only one entry per person.
I will be going old school and picking the names out of a hat and the winner will be informed by email. (I will also name the winner on here!)
For those of you who don't win, pop into your local Lush to pick up one of these babies or check out what other goodies they have on offer online at www.lush.co.uk
(Warning, this could be bad for your bank balance - but totally worth it!) Good luck!
Manths x

Today is pay day which means.....

a mental shopping list of things I am considering buying!!

Just a few things I am lusting after at the moment! All these items are from Owntherunway.com

which has a lot of on trend items of clothing for decent prices. I was pleasantly surprised when I took my first look on the website the other day. 

As you can see from above, pictures of various members of the Saturday's wearing their clothing pop up every now and then on the website - the Saturday's are quite stylish ladies so it can't be a bad thing!

I'm off to spend, spend, spend...who's with me??

Manths xx

EEEEEEK!!

Well, what a surprise I had when I checked my blog this morning.... the beautiful Twiggs from Slightly Oblivious to the Obvious gave me my first ever blog award!!

The Liebster blog is to recognise blogs with under 200 followers and I'm so grateful for this - thank you Twiggs!! You should definitely check out her blog!!

And now to award it to five more lovely bloggers who deserve some recognition...

Jenn at Lotus and Pie (for yummy recipes and fitness inspiration)

Zhing at Little Projects in Style (for her projects the letters from her cute little doggie Musashi)

Natasha Marie at My Makeup. My Photography. My Dreams. My Thoughts. (awesome photos and make up)

Pebbz at Pebbzblog (regular pinner on pinterest)

and

Krystle at Skinny Jeans Dreams (follow her on her journey into skinny jeans)

You should check out all these lovely ladies they keep me amused every day!!!

P.s check out my other blog Lost in the Woods for my personal journey through life!

Rock the ring

I saw this picture of Krystal Glynn on Maria's blog Coffee, Fashion and Magazines and think she is absolutely beautiful.
But what mostly caught my eye was her nose ring. She can rock the nose ring without looking like a punk wanna-be and I love it!
Now I'm thinking I want a small nose ring instead of my crystal stud at the moment, but not sure if I'll be able to pull it off without all my friends thinking I'm going to start wearing tartan and sticking safety pins in my ears a lá Johnny Rotten from the Sex Pistols.........
Hmmm..... what do you reckon?

Manths xx

Super foods to help your skin

IT's coming to the end of September which means summer is officially over and Autumn is setting in *sigh*
I'm sure most of you, like me, gave your poor old skin a good sun bashing over the last few months, which, although you can't see it at the moment, has probably caused a lot of damage to your largest organ (the skin) in the long run.
But never fear, there are certain foods you can eat to rejuvenate your skin and even help prevent further sun damage — skin superfoods.

Tomatoes — These little babies are possibly the best food to help skin damage. Tomatoes are filled with  a powerful anti-oxidant called lycopene, which especially when cooked, helps to combat the damaging effects of UV rays. Tomatoes can be used in so many different ways when cooking so why not try to incorporate tomatoes into your meals a few times a week? (or indulge in a Bloody Mary!).

Colourful fruits and vegetables — yes we've all heard about needing our five a day but there is reason behind this. A rainbow of fruit and veg have a number of substances in them to add protection against the sun's harmful effects, such as apigenin (found in broccoli, cherries and celery) and resveratrol (found in grape skins). These are not only anti-oxidants but they also have structured water, which penetrates cells better to better hydrate you when you drink water. Eat Fruit and vegetables in their raw form as often as possible as they lose nutrients when cooked.

Coffee — Yes rumour has it that coffee not only gives you an energy boost but it also may help to protect your skin. Research has shown that the anti-oxidant in coffee destroys sun-damaged skin cells before they turn cancerous. But before you start bouncing off the walls after drinking copious amounts of coffee - I did say it was rumoured. But it is nice to know that our favourite mid-morning beverage could be good for us!

Even if you eat all these super foods, it is best to remember that prevention is better than cure so ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS use sun cream to stop your skin cells getting damaged in the first place! And sun cream isn't just for the summer, as the winter sun can be just as harmful, be sure to use moisturiser or foundation with a decent SPF to avoid sun damage and prevent wrinkles and sun spots.

Manths xx

(images from google)

This week I want....

Strong, long, healthy looking nails

lacey tights for the autumn

a bum like this (please?)

I NEED these rings in my life

I want to go here (wherever it is)

her tattoo down her arm and the style of her hair

Thinking about getting a fringe like this? (I don't know whether to or not yet!)

And I want to try this Bridget Bardot hairstyle this week, looks simple but chic!

(images via weheartit.com)

Manths xx

DIY Day: Leather feather headband

Welcome to the second DIY day! I hope everyone had a go at making a skirt? (if you missed the post you can view it here).
Today's DIY comes after seeing so many types of headbands at the recent festival I went to. I wanted one but didn't want to spend nearly a tenner on one so I thought 'I'll try to make one myself' and I'm pretty pleased with the results.
Here is what I was aiming for...

 

Asos £8

Primark

 and mine!

So WHAT YOU NEED is about 2 to 3 metres of leather or suede (cost me around £1) and I used a pair of feather earrings from H&M which the boyfriend told me looked like I had dead birds hanging from my ears....charming.
(I only used one earring by the way)


Start off by folding the leather into three...



leaving a loop at the top and snipping the loop at the bottom so you have three ends...



Then start plaiting!




When your plait is complete, get a needle and corresponding colour thread and sew the ends to make sure they are secure so the plait won't unravel...



Then, get your earring and take off the ear post from the joining loop like this (you will still need the post so don't throw it away)....



Get the post and, keeping the loop at the bottom, bend the rest of it into a twist. Use the loop at the bottom of the post to attach onto the top of the plait (where you didn't snip the end)....



Then get the rest of the earring and use the joining loop to attach it to the other end of the plait...



So both ends should end up looking like this.....



and Voila! You have your very own leather feather headband!
Just wrap it round your head once or twice, depending on how long you want the drop, and twist the free end into the plait.

I want to see pictures of everyone who has tried this please, email is on the right hand side of the blog!! Good luck!
Manths xx