You have probably noticed I love bags Mulberry and Lulu Guinness are my favourite designers. I know they are expensive but I used to buy lots of cheap bags, I had hundreds of them, they never lasted.I was forever changing my bag each day which was a pain in the arse when having to sort through all my stuff I had in it each time!
I purchased my first Mulberry bag four years ago it was a black mitzy hobo I have been using that bag as my every day ever since. It has been my best bargain buy it still looks great the leather is such good quality and it goes with everything. If you go for a classic shape and colour then its a perfect investment piece as you will own it forever.

If I am looking for a fashion trend handbag then I will buy a high street cheap version as I don't want to invest a lot of money on something that I will only use for one summer season. I have been looking for a large tote shopper handbag for the summer, it has been a huge trend for a while now everyone has the Zara version and although I like the Zara ones I really wanted one that I could hold but also easily put on my shoulder too.

Olivia Palermo was the first to start the mass trend of the Zara tote bag which is still available in tan and black and at £79.99 it's a great price for real leather. I really want a summer coloured one that I can take on holiday as they are perfect for the plane and also the beach etc.

I was very pleased to find this white leather tote shopper bag from Clarks they are not known for their fashion hand bags but in the last year their designs have really come on. It is perfect for the summer (which I'm really hoping comes soon) the long shoulder strap is so handy, the leather is very good and the price is amazing at £69.99!

Happy bag shopping

xxx Stacey

Green fingers

Since moving into our new house in December the garden has been the only thing we haven't yet had a chance to enjoy. It's only been recently that we even ventured out there (grey,cold and wet) to see what's going on down in the (small) garden and as you can see by the photographs below not a lot!
It's fair to say the previous owners weren't into gardening, which is fine as not all of us are.

I do not have a clue about gardening, I know nothing about plants and how to look after them. What I do know is that our small garden needs some interest, it needs a focal point and it needs more plants!
We had a little drive around the garden centres a few weekends ago to get some inspiration and I picked up a great book on how to design a small garden for £6.99 it was worth every penny as it has loads of practical advice and got my mind buzzing with ideas.

If you follow me on pinterest you will see I've been very busy pinning garden ideas which has been lots of fun and I think I have finally come up with some good designs

This is where you step up onto the lawn from the small decking area, the bark on the left hand side we had to put down as our lovely little dogs have been digging up the dirt and eating the plants what ever plant it was they found it very tasty! I'm not loving the big drain cover in the middle of the lawn, so I started to come up with some ideas to hide it but still make it accessible.

The pup's love having a new garden to explore and despite it being small it is still bigger than our previous one. The lawn is full of moss which Alfie loves to kick up with his back legs which means he is normally covered all over his back in little bits of moss which then ends up all over our house.

This is the mood board I put together inspired by my Pinterest boards it features all the elements I would like to have in the garden.
We need an outside light for the decking area and this lantern style one has a really lovely antique feel to it.

Guy loves cooking on his two BBQ's yes I did say two! one is coal and one is gas and we love having people over for dinner in the garden so having an outside dining area is very important.

I fell in love with this seating area on the veranda probably a lot grander than we can achieve but I like to dream!

To add a focal point and to make the garden feel bigger I want to hang an arched mirror that looks like a gate to make it look like there is another garden beyond ours.

The sound of water is so calming and this little old barrel is small but perfect for a water feature.

Lavender is one of my favourite flowers and is pretty maintenance free so I want flower beds full of them.

On our travels around the garden centres we saw a very pretty painted arched bench seat which we think will look great in the garden especially positioned where we get the sun last thing in the afternoon. Guy is very good at building things so he wants to make it.

I've always loved cottage gardens just bursting with flowers, they always feel so romantic and very English I really want lots of flowers that grow out over the flower borders.

Hydrangeas and lilac's are amongst my favourite flowers my mum has two lovely lilac trees in her garden they smell and look so pretty.

Where our conservatory is positioned in the garden down one side is a small pathway and along this is the fencing which looks rather plain and a bit boring so I have been looking for ideas to give it some interest. The old window frames hung with the flower boxes is such a clever idea. The fencing I want to paint in a soft green/grey farrow and ball colour to brighten it up.

The lawn really needs breaking up its just this big rectangle that just looks very boring and with the drain cover slap bang in it drives me nuts! I had an idea to put a curved gravel pathway that leads from the steps, then curves across the drain cover and branches off to the left to the arched bench and then off to the right towards the fake gate and water feature. By doing this we create bigger flower beds, it leads the eye to the fake hidden garden, water feature focal points and the drain is covered up but we can still get to it.

Here is my little (not great) sketch of my ideas

With Easter fast approaching we are hoping to get stuck into transforming the garden, we need to start reading up on plants and finding out what soil we have as apparently this dictates what flowers will grow in it! See I am learning stuff already!

I will blog with some updates

Happy Gardening xx Stacey

Phase Eight Wedding Guest - Tuscan Dreams

I was contacted recently by the lovely people at Phase Eight to see if I would like to enter their competition to put together an outfit for a Wedding Guest.
I was immediately drawn to the Collection 8 dresses which is their limited edition collection of eight evening gowns. Each one is beautifully designed and looks like a stunning couture piece but thankfully not at couture prices!

I couldn't take my eyes off the Margherita Criss Cross Fishtail Dress in the most striking cypress green. It made me think of Tuscany where I have spent many wonderful holidays and would have been the only other place I would have considered getting married. Last year we went to two friends weddings abroad and I found it extremely hard to find an outfit, trying to find something that was formal but could also withstand the heat was not easy.

I think the Margherita dress would be perfect for a summer Tuscan wedding. Taking you from the ceremony in a romantic medieval hill top church, to sipping champagne watching the sunset go down just as the fireflies come out to play in the glow of the hanging lanterns.

I took my inspiration for the mix of the cypress green dress and raspberry in the accessories from a photograph I took whilst on holiday. The green of the shutters on the arched window, combined with the climbing lush green plant with beautiful raspberry flowers is such a striking contrast to each other. I would keep the rest of the styling very simple maybe a fresh flower on the side of a tousled up do hair and raspberry coloured lipstick to finish it off.

Margherita criss cross fishtail dress £250.00

Yasmin slingback satin shoes in raspberry £99.00

Yasmin Pleated satin clutch bag with detachable strap in raspberry £49.00

I wish I was there now dancing the night away in my elegant outfit!

Phase Eight has some truly beautiful outfits for all your formal occasions.

Shades of Spring

I've just discovered the fashion label Mint Velvet I know I'm a bit slow since it's been around since 2009. Started by three talented modern working mothers who had been in the fashion industry for 15 years they wanted to create stylish sexing clothing range that reflected the needs of real lifestyles.
The collections consists of beautiful textures co ordinated to work cohesively together, stylish but wearable and above all comfortable.

I have fallen in love with all of their latest collections I love the muted soft colour palettes. The mink and grey combination is so pretty and works really well with my hair colour. Their fit is perfect and so comfortable, sizes range from an 8 to an 18. Being able to co ordinate the knitwear with shirts and tops makes dressing for work so easy.

It's no secret that blue is one of my favourite colours their latest sky blue pieces are so striking but soft.
The sky blue panel long sleeve top feels amazing on and the scoop silk front panel is very flattering £49.00

The open asymmetric back detailing on this sky blue metallic knitted top is very sexy and works great with jeans £59.00

You can't go wrong with a v necked jumper there is nothing sexier £49.00

Stripes are another one of my addictions they were huge last year and seem to be still staying around
There is nothing like a classic stripe to make any outfit look fresh

This navy and ivory stripe light weight jumper drapes in all the right places £55.00

How pretty is this shell pink and ivory stripe fitted jumper? I love the combination of the different sized stripes £49.00

This two piece top is perfect for the (hopefully) warmer weather coming our way the navy striped vest with sheer over chiffon top would look stylish with cropped jeggings and ballet pumps £59.00

Now I am having a bit of a love affair with these trousers!
These black coated jeggings are SO flattering they have a side zip and they hug on the hip I absolutely love them! I have been searching for the perfect pair of trousers for so long and at £59.00 they are worth every penny.

Have you found a new fashion label you are loving?

Happy Spring Shopping

xx Stacey

Be Mine

Valentine's day, what do you think?

Love it or think it's a naff waste of money?

I think it can be nice to celebrate it, especially if you actually put some thought into it, I don't mean have a thousand red roses delivered followed by an expensive meal squashed in a restaurant with a loads of other couples. It's not all about how much money you spend, something inexpensive but incredibly thoughtful is worth so much more. 

Having a lovely meal cooked at home with a beautifully laid table some good tunes, followed by a great film to cuddle up to can be more intimate than a night out.

I really like this simple but beautiful table setting finding some lovely photographs of yourselves can bring back memories of the great times you have spent together
Spell out your pet names or a lovely word with scrabble pieces or you can print some out

The little red heart paper looks so cute you can make it yourself on your computer and print sheets of it out to make a place mat, write a little love note and wrap it up with a chocolate and place it on the plate

Love a bit of cooking then show your love with this heart shaped home cooked pizza

How about a bit of fizzy with edible flowers, I totally love these wild hibiscus flowers we had them at our wedding  not only do they look amazing they taste good available from Lakeland £9.99 for 11

If you want to show off a bit then strawberries dipped in chocolate do the trick they are relatively easy to make, these strawberries have been stuffed with soft cheese which are not difficult to do but look like you have spent hours making them

Cupcakes are the easiest cakes to make and I love how simple but pretty these pink lovelies are, pipe a bit of pink icing on top and place all over with love hearts brilliant!!

If you really want to bring out the romance then you can't go wrong with a few sprinkled rose petals and some tea lights.

Happy Valentine's 

xx Stacey

Going dotty

It's January its bloody miserable weather here in the UK so I need some cheering up, what always makes me happy? well shopping of course! I'm not loving shopping on the high street as I can never find my size only the tiny sizes are available in store but if I buy on line I can always get my size which is some what annoying as I have to pay for delivery etc.
One of my favourite on line shops is ASOS they have an amazing selection of clothes and they are constantly updating their site with new pieces. Their Curve collection is one of the best for curvy woman who want fashionable clothes.
So last week I did a bit of a shop and found these lovely dresses, yes I am a bit of a dress addict but at their amazing prices it's hard not to get carried away!

I'm going a bit dotty mad at the moment I don't know what it is but I just love them this cute little dress has a very naughty zip up! The combination of the blue and rust colours makes this great for spring worn with some coloured tights.
The second dress I fell in love with the boho style of it the pleated detailing on the front really makes this dress and I like the hat and boots styling makes me think back to the 90's when I was in college

The colour oxblood has been huge but I've never seen anything I liked in it but this very simple dress from the Curve collection with the black dots (see I told you I'm in love with them) is so flattering on and the colour works really well with my red hair.
This fourth dress I just really liked the pattern I am definitely having a thing for patterns at the moment and I am a huge blue fan. This is another one from the curve collection the length is just right and worn with a belt is again very flattering

Happy Shopping

xx Stacey

The Lady needs help.....

Am I the only one out here in blogger land that feels very self conscious about the posts they write?

Do I sound like a complete twat?

Is my writing worse than a five year olds?

Am I boring the fuck out of anyone that happens to stumble onto my blog?

I read a lot of other peoples blogs and they are all amazing and I look at my little one and think should I even bother?

I do like writing it but it's hard to find the time especially when I am busy with work and now I keep thinking should I just give it up?

Do you ever feel this way? Do you even like my blog?

Any feed back would be very much appreciated

xxx Stacey

I wish I looked this stylish when I write at my computer  image found here