Daily wear: Black and grey (again!)

Black and grey is my favourite colour combination, both for winter and for summer - in the summer the grey just gets lighter! When I put together this outfit this morning my main incentive was that I wanted to show off my new Luella dress. There were so many options for my hard earned cash in Luella, but I choose these soft cotton dresses because they're so easy and versitile and I can wear them all summer long (rather than once or twice in an evening like some of the silk dresses!)

Dress from Luella, Leather jacket from River Island, Snood from H&M. I teamed this with my tassled loafers (which were a bargain at £10 from Primark) and my bat skull necklace.

I am aware I could've done so much more with this outfit which is pretty boring! The dress is versitile though, so i'm thinking of loads of things I want to do with it! I've also stopped wearing my winter coat and my boots this week - I know it's still cold outside, but i'm sick of the sight of them! The winter just lasts too long- especially when you have two new pretty cotton dresses to wear!!

Love, Tor xx

Beautiful wonderful Bicester Village

On Monday Mike and I took a day trip to Cadburys world: it was a chocoholics dream and absolutely no good for my diet, but a very fun day out! On our way home we passed through Bicester and after much nagging from me, stopped off to explore Bicester Village (well, it would be rude not to!)

Did you know that the top two search terms on this blog are "topshop outlet" and "outlet shopping"? I didn't even realise I wrote about those two things so often, but apparently my reputation preceeds me; I love outlets and bagging a bargain!And if it's outlet shopping you're looking for then Bicester won't let you down!!

Without meaning to sound like a bad advertorial, Bicester offers something for everyone, and the range of stores means you can pick something up whatever your budget. In French Connection there are tops starting from £6 and dresses starting from £10. I got a lovely black smock dress with a thick waistband for £14. So you can get something for under a tenner or blow hundreds of pounds in Vivienne Westwood or Alexander McQueen or Gucci/Dior if you like the more "traditional" brands. And either way you'd be getting between 50 and 80% off!! There are over 150 stores so there's something for everyone; I especially loved the Cath Kidson store in all its floral glory; Mothers day is coming up!

I have written before about how much I love Luella, and in the Luella outlet I got two casual summer dresses that had been £300 for £49 each; that's pretty much Topshop prices. Yup, my shopping ban is officially failed and over. I've never bought anything from Luella before, and didn't want to miss my chance now the label is no more! There was another dress, a bag, and a pair of shoes I wanted, but I was being sensible; how I regret that now!! I also got a lovely black 100 silk dress from Monsoon with lovely beading and tassling at the neckline for under £25. All in all I spent less than £150 (including the price of a cup of tea) and had a great afternoon out!

I love Bicester village; its like an American outlet experience, set on a faux street with al fresco drinking and dining and its pretty compact so its easy to hop from one store to another (and then back again to ultimately purchase when your willpower fails you!) I wish i'd taken more picutres to show you guys, but I was so busy thinking about shopping that I forgot the think about the blog!! There were so many other things I wanted to buy; lets just hope that more nagging and the lure of the Superdry store means the bf will take me again soon!

Oh, and because I seem to always be thinking about weddings (my sister is getting married) its worth mentioning that they had a great selection of wedding and bridesmaids dresses in Monsoon at 70% off: bargain! Actually I think it would be a fun day out for any bride and bridesmaids - my sisters and I are planning to go with our mum to pick up some bits for the wedding and raid Jimmy Choo for wedding shoes: 70% off and an occassion to wear them! What more excuse do you need?!

Love, Tor xxx

Happy Birthday......to me!

Hey hey,

Yesterday was a momentous day. I handed in my 5,000 words on Muriel Spark, and I reached the grand old age of 24- I am officially in my mid-twenties (and very aware that i'm faar too old to still be a student.) To celebrate this momentous occassion my sister came to stay for a few days, and joined a merry crew of party goers and karaoke stars!

My beautiful sister Amie-Dave. Her magic make-up is from Dior and I am infinitely jealous. Her dress was in the Topshop sale for just £5: bargain!

Obviously Miss Wigmore was there for the occassion, and not only did she look stunning, she also baked a cake: a hazelnut filled chocolate-nutella delight, which I am eating for breakfast as I type this very word. Yum! Becky wore the Christopher Kane for Topshop dress she pined over in this previous post but didn't think she could afford; it was reduced to £60 (£56 with student discount) and Becky grabbed at it the way I grab at chocolate cake: quickly and with much greed. Yum again. Teamed with black ballet pumps and Topshop bling (apparently there was a Topshop "thing" going on last night) little Miss Becky looked lovely:

I'm scared that Becky will kill me for not letting her photoshop this before I put it up but I think she looks awesome!

Bucking the Topshop trend, I opted for a Primark floral dress (£14) with a puffball type skirt: there are layers of tulle underneath which give the skirt all the volume. My earrings are topshop, my bracelet is from river island, and (because it was my birthday) I wore killer black wedges.I like to think I look like a curvier, slightly drunker version of a Luella model:

And as well as the drinking (see above) there was singing. Oh boy, was there singing!

We were singing Dolly Parton like we really meant it. Oh yes

With birthdays come fashiony gifts, and I received so many pretty things I just can't wait to show you all. But I'm pretty sure my active high is ebbing out fairly quickly, and I just dont have the energy to change out of my pajamas. I'm going back to bed to sleep and nurse this hangover.....

You know your drunk when you're taking pictures of yourself in the ladies

Lots of love,

Tor xx