You were pretty, Queen of New York City

It's Boxing Day! Though I heard American's don't get it  so here's a good old wiki explanation on the history of Boxing Day..

In Britain, it was a custom for tradesmen to collect "Christmas boxes" of money or presents on the first weekday after Christmas as thanks for good service throughout the year. This is mentioned in Samuel Pepys' diary entry for 19 December 1663. This custom is linked to an older English tradition: Since they would have to wait on their masters on Christmas Day, the servants of the wealthy were allowed the next day to visit their families. The employers would give each servant a box to take home containing gifts and bonuses, and sometimes leftover food."

So yeah, this is really the time of year in Britain where we all eat leftover food, some people hit the sales early and others go see extended family. We're having a quiet day in. We just had our second Christmas dinner which was scrummy and now I'm thinking of taking a nap cos I'm quite dizzy today and I have a flight tomorrow at 7am to Northern Ireland so need to take it easy. We also remembered to get the crackers out toady so enjoy my obligatory Christmas cracker hat photo. I'm itching to start up my new sewing machine so might have a proper play later, if not, then I already have some projects lined up for my return in mid-January. 

I love my hair colour at the moment but as I'm away for almost 3 weeks tonight Mum and I will be getting the henna out and dying it. I'm nervous it'll go bright or not how I want too as it's currently subtly ombre and I really really like that. Plus it's natural red looking without it being overpoweringly ginger so idk. It's part of the fun with henna that you're never certain how it'll turn out and the 4 hours developing time just adds to the excitement. But whatever happens it's better than blonde roots!

Today's look has been a simple idea I've been saving for today to wear. I adore this bronze-gold faux leather skirt I got for a £5 a few years ago in H&M but the bow detail can be a little overpowering on some outfits. Also it's very short so not always suitable though I want to get more wear out of it this year. I dressed it down with my Isle of Wight Festival 2009 shirt I bought when I was at the festival. Whenever I wear it it brings back such good memories - though not the really nasty sunburn I acquired that weekend! 

Outfit Details.

T-shirt - Isle of Wight music festival 2009, Faux leather bronze skirt - h&m, black opaque tights - Marks and Spencers.

It's the most wonderful time of the year

It's the end of Christmas! I hope you've all had a wonderful day and you got what you wanted and ate lots of yummy food! I for one got my sewing machine from my Mum, sewing basic goodies from my sister and Phoebe, a toolbox to use as a sewing box from my brother and bath smellies from my aunt and uncle and family friends. It's not alot this year but I know my sewing machine cost quite a bit so I knew I was only getting that from Mum. I haven't had chance to properly give it a test run cos I've been quite tired after yesterdays cooking madness! 

This was also my first vegan Christmas dinner! Though I still have cheese and eggs to give up (this time next week I'll be full vegan!) I decided to just go for it this year and it was a tasty success! I made a vegetable pie with a rosemary encrusted pastry (I only put pastry on the top of the pie as to save the calories!) with all the trimmings, homemade cranberry sauce and my first attempt at yorkshire puddings. They need a little more experimenting until I perfect the recipe/cooking but they were still tasty! Then for dessert we had my homemade vegan Christmas pudding with soya custard and oh my goodness I will be making this every year from now on. If anyone wants the recipe it's here. I adapted it a little by adding nuts and not adding prunes or apricots and using amaretto instead of sherry. But I think that's the joy of making your own Christmas pudding, you can add more of what you like and take out anything you're not keen on. It's really easy to make as well, you just need 7 hours in total to steam. ^^; We have the same meal again tomorrow and I'm really looking forward to it! I'm trying not to worry about the calories today and tomorrow as it's Christmas but it's tough not to look! 

As it was Christmas and I don't have much of a social life at the moment I wanted to wear something pretty for Christmas so I wore one of my favourite special dresses. This navy polka dot dress has a sweetheart neckline which I think is so flattering on most women. It also has a heart cut out on the back which is a cute detail that I think was the deciding factor for me buying the dress! I also like how the waist is structured and the tulip skirt is also another flattering cut. I paired this with my flesh coloured heart patterned tights (you can't see the pattern as it was hard to get on camera due to it blending in), a simple birds on branch long necklace and the beautiful silver owl earrings from my friend Alex for Christmas. It was comfortable and made me feel more festive as I've really struggled to get into the spirit this year. I think it's because my Mum had to work yesterday and my Mum has never worked Christmas Eve because she prefers it to Christmas Day, but yesterday she had no choice so I think her not being around made it not feel like Christmas. Also we had to wait til the evening to open presents when Phoebe and my sister arrived from her boyfriends families house. It's been an odd Christmas for sure. 

Outfit Details.

Polka dot heart cut out dress - newlook, flesh coloured heart pattern tights - primark, bird necklace - etsy, silver owl earrings - gift.

There is no crime in being kind

So yesterday was a big day travelling to see my grandparents and to deliver a few gifts of vegan shortbread for my friends. (so far all the reviews of my shortbread have been really good so I'm pretty pleased. :)) It was amazing seeing people, albiet briefly, and it's reminded me who the important people in my life are. Presents wise I actually did quite well! I got £60 cash, a Squirtle pokemon beaded art piece, £20 Waterstones voucher, a cute owl magnet and some dog shaped paper-clip/filers. :) Everyone knows me so well and I'm very lucky. :)

Being such a long day in the car comfort was a necessity. I tend to get really hot in cars so I didn't want to wear layers and layers incase I did get a bit stuffy. What I chose ended up being perfect and I got a few comments from family about how well I dress - yay! 

I also managed all day without fainting until we were almost home and then I went twice. I'm really feeling the effects today (I couldn't even go Christmas food shopping with my Mum) and so all my last minute projects are on hold while I take a day to just rest. I'm about to watch the Supernatural season 5 finale and then I'll finish reading volume 1 of Les Miserables. I've had a lavender and jasmine bath as well so I'm pretty relaxed for once!

Outfit Details. 

Tapestry tan brouges - Urban Outfitters, Black socks - Dunnes Stores, Leggings - h&m, velvet bodycon dress - New Look, Oversized Cardigan - Charity Shop, Stag Necklace - etsy

Bye bye baby, don't be long, I worry about you, when you're gone

I've not been posting cos I've been struck down by a hideous virus. Started feeling a bit run down Tuesday night but by Wednesday morning I felt awful. It's since cleared up but since having a diet coke in town (I haven't had a fizzy drink in over a month) I got home to spend half an hour in the bathroom. ): My tummy hurts now so much! 

But I got my haircut today! In love with my hairdresser because she does exactly what I want and curls it for free (she's meant to charge an extra £5 but she didn't <3). Also got some make-up basics: mascara, pressed powder, foundation and I got a smokey eye palette for free! :) Also, I popped into the supermarket for some flavoured water and they have loads of cd's for £2 so I picked up a Pulp album and a Savage Garden album. Bargin! 

Today's outfit was based around 'I love these trousers and I want to wear them'. I got them in the Topshop sale last month for £25. That's alot for me to spend on clothes but I adore them so much and they're just so funky! I didn't need a cardigan today as the weathers gone really mild so my coat was enough so I just paired with a oxblood shirt. It was simple and comfy and I don't tend to wear trousers so it made a nice change. 

My final news is that due to being ill I've lost another 2 pounds (though whether I can keep them off remains to be seen) so I now weigh under 10 stone! This has put me in a good mood and has set me off for my next target weight perfectly. :)

Oh, and the world didn't end so that's good. Seriously though, the people who totally believed it are pretty naive! :/ 

Outfit details: 

Oxblood shirt - Topshop (found in charity shop), Pattern tailored cigarette trousers - Topshop, Silver cut out brouges - Office, 'A' necklace - urban outfitters. 

And she gave away the secrets of her past, And said I've lost control again

Today was physio day! I go to see my physio about once every month to help with the movement disorder of my neurological condition. Today I was shown a graph of my balance today compared with six months ago and the difference is amazing. It's really shown to me how much difference has been made from my exercises and how my work is paying off. There's still a long way to go but it's really inspiring to see the progress physically in front of me. :)

Because of the physio, which is mainly low key as it's balance based not running around or anything, I need to dress appropriately  But I also knew afterwards I was meeting a friend for coffee so I wanted to look good for that too! So I went with leggings and black socks, my eternally faithful black ankle boots, Joy Division 'Unknown Pleasures' vest and an tarten boyfriend blazer. I kept the accessories simple with just a black beret and no jewellery  Even with the chilly weather this was actually quite warm and I didn't feel the cold at all, which is pretty unusual but I wasn't complaining! 

I've got a few busy days ahead of me with the final preparations for Christmas and finish making some of the presents. I could do some sewing tonight but even though it's only 10pm I'm pretty tired so I think an early night is called for and then start tomorrow early after my haircut. :) (btw, please excuse my bad fringe in these pics! Getting it cut tomorrow!)

Outfit details: 

Ankle boots - Urban Outfitters, socks - Dunnes Stores, Leggings - H&M, Joy Division vest - eBay, Boyfriend blazer - River Island (found in charity shop), Beret - Primark. 

Yuletide business

Probably not going to be many updates this week, I'm not sure.
I have a busy week ahead with preparing for Christmas.
Cooking, baking and finishing DIY presents and trying to manage my condition.

I'll do my best as I have to leave tomorrow for physio and seeing my friend in Bath and then hairdressers Thursday so I'll be wearing nice outfits for then. :)

I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas if I don't have chance to blog alot. :)

Take my eyes and paint my bones, Drill my brain all full of holes

It's been a few days but I've been wearing boring, comfy clothes cos I've not had much reason to get dressed properly. Until today! Today I had a blood test (seeing how many antibodies that cause allergens are in my blood to see if my asthma medication needs adapting), and so this involved getting dressed. :)

It's been cold out, even hitting the minus figures at times, and there's sometimes been odd patches of ice so I needed to make sure I dressed appropriately as I don't want to fall over! I have enough trouble keeping upright at the moment. Although I haven't shown it in the pics I took but I decided to wear my black, laced up ankle boots. They don't really have any grip but they're perfectly flat so I find them easier to walk over ice on. Luckily, there was no ice! I did have a disaster at the hospital, had my blood test and then fainted. But had the paramedics called out, and my Mum picked me up and took me home so I've slept all afternoon. Just had some yummy egg and chips and now I'm going to watch Grey's and try and get an early night.

Also! I've reached my first weight loss goal! I now weigh 10 stone (which sounds heavy but I am 5'8!). I couldn't tell much difference until I took these pictures and I can see a slight difference on my arms and waist. It might just be angles but I'm hoping it's not. Now to get to my next goal..

Outfit details: 

Floral blouse - charity shop, Gold rose waist belt - Uttam London, Black corduroy skirt - h&m, tights - Tesco, socks - Dunnes Stores (northern ireland), ankle boots (not pictured) - urban outfitters. 

When you try your best but you don't succeed

I don't think I can apologise enough for how bad the lighting and quality of these pictures are. I'll look at my actual camera tomorrow and play around and see if it's any better. As soon as the light starts to fade then my iSight quality drops to almost non-existant. ): But I'll get working on that. 

But! This is a big day this week, I've had bundles of bad news and it's knocked me sideways. I'm still not over it (and probably won't be for a long time) but today was the first time in three days that I got up, showered, washed my hair, put make up on and clothes. It was only for a trip to Tesco but little victories and all that. 

I don't own any jeans that actually fit me properly, I recently found out this is because I should be buying from Tall sections as I have longer than average legs and a longer pelvis. How it's taken me this long to figure that out is a little beyond me. So when I'm feeling a little down or can't be bothered as much I usually throw on one of my two pairs of jeggings as they're comfy and warm. Today was one of those days. I think I used all my energy actually getting up that I put on the first things out my closet but it worked. Yay!

Outfit details. 

Grey-black jeggings - New Look, Purple floral blouse - Urban Outfitters, Cream Cardigan - H&M and silver brouges (not pictured well) - Office. 

The air we breathe is thinning the words that we speak

Woo, my first outfit post! As I said on my first post I'm only able to use my iSight at the moment but I'll  start learning how to use the timer on my camera to see if that's any better quality. This was from last Sunday (gosh, almost a week ago! how time flies!) when my Mum, sister and niece went out shopping. I was pretty late getting up so it was a quick throw on anything and get make up on fast! I bought the oversized dark green blazer at the charity shop earlier last week so I was dying to wear it with something. I wanted the focus to be on the blazer so I decided a black mini-stretch skirt and a black strappy top would do the job. Paired with a pair of tights from the Birmingham Rag Market, black ankle socks (not shown) and cute black shoes with gold fastenings that I forgot to take a picture of! Jewellery was a bronze-gold owl necklace with emerald gem eyes and a stars and moon drop earrings.

All in all, this was a perfect quick outfit and I love it. I think with the colder weather really setting in here I could wear a black cardigan under the blazer and add a scarf to keep warm; I have a vintage floral one that would look perfect. I'd dyed my hair the night before to create a red ombre look, which is so subtle and I adore it. I'll do a post on my hair at some point as I dye it with henna and I know I struggled to find information and tips when I started online.

Outfit details: 

Oversized blazer and shoes (not shown) - charity shop, black strappy top, mini stretch skirt and black patent skinny belt - h&m, striped tights - birmingham rag market, owl necklace - gift, earrings - so old now I can't remember. 

Hi :)

I'm notoriously awful at introductions so I'll do a brief intro of what I want this blogspot to hopefully turn into (I am also notorious at starting at stopping blogs) and some about me things. I think that's a reasonable plan! 

About me. 

I'm Amy, I'm 22 and I live on the Somerset coast in England. 

I'm a history and philosophy graduate, and I hope to eventually have a career as a early modern historian. 

I have a boyfriend, Jonathan, who lives in Northern Ireland and I frequently visit for about 2 weeks at a time. It's those times this blog may go a little awol but who knows! 

I currently am unable to work due to a neurological condition, and despite the many physical and emotional difficulties that has created I'm trying to go on with my life. 

Due to all this free time, when well enough, I am an avid baker and bookworm. 

I'm vegan so all my baking and cooking is vegan friendly and I'm very conscious of nutrition and try to pack as much goodness into my dishes! 

The rest of my time is mainly spent reading, I currently have a collection of over 300 books (most of them read). I am a fan of all genres, bar fictional romance and new-agey stuff. I am learner and I love nothing more than relying interesting facts or plot points to my friends and family. I rarely buy books new and instead spend hours in second hand bookstores and charity shops hunting for interesting finds! There's a store called Bookend's in Bangor, Northern Ireland which is one of my favourites as they have a non-returnable 50p section of hardbacks! Another favourite is the Bookbarn just outside Bristol in England. It is HUGE! Every book is £1 and it's not really organised so you can find some really quirky surprises in there. 

I am also very interested in fashion and personal style. Since I went to uni I've had lots of compliments on my personal style which is a strange combination of current fashions, vintage fashions and quirkiness. Being ill, I do spend alot of time in pj's so whenever I have to go out, even for hospital appointments I like to make an effort with my style. Somedays I want to be covered head to toe in black and other days I want to be like a rainbow; I can't even name my style as it varies so much! Except that it is me. 

This blog. 

I kinda want this blog to be about my personal style, cooking and baking, crafts and the adventures I go on. I don't have a good camera and most of my personal style pictures are currently taken with my macbook's iSight webcam! Maybe eventually this will change and I'll be able to show more detail in my images but for now I'm afraid it's all I have. 

I want to inspire people to maybe try vegan recipes or to break out a new style. I want people to learn to enjoy life and the choices they make. I'm a very panicky person so I'm trying to learn to do this as well, it's a learning curve for us all. I hope any readers do stick around and email me any questions or anything. You can also check out my twitter or my tumblr.