A yearning!

I have a yearning! Ok, I'll admit I have lots of  yearnings but right now it's a bag shaped yearning! I'm after something quite specific here! I'm looking to add a black crossbody style to my collection but it must have silver hardware. I already have a lovely Marc Jacobs nylon satchel type bag but it has gold trimmings. I confess to being on the mix-y match-y side.... I don't like to mix metals though?! Silly isn't it?! But it's hard to break the habit of a lifetime and yes I really have it that bad that it warrants adding another bag to the already heaving collection! So the research begins. First stop......Longchamp. I want quality but I don't want to spend a fortune. I want functional....but still fashionable. Lets dive straight in! I have the Planetes tote which I love This one is a nylon messenger with leather trim which I know will be lightweight and it fits the rest of my criteria perfectly so it is topping my list at the moment!

Next up are a couple of leather offerings from Longchamp, this one looks lovely and soft.

Love the silver toggle on this one! This has a more structured feel about the shape and is perhaps a bit more formal than the first 2!

This Coccinelle one at House of Fraser has also caught my eye, I love the simplicity of this one! It's got that wallet on a chain....well....ok.....wallet on a strap thing about it!

I stumbled across this little collage on Pinterest which made me peruse the Zatchels website and oh my, do they have some goodies! Love this outfit......one to re-create me-thinks?! Sorry, I digress but it's all in a good cause!

Onto the classic Zatchel satchel style.... very old skool cool!

Also loving the saddle bag style which is probably a better size and shape for me

This quilted saddle has me swooning....just gorgeous! 

I also found a couple of more reasonable high street options from Mango. Professing to love all things quilted here! 

Yet more quilting....gorgeous tassel on this too!

On the whole I have found it fairly hard to find silver hardware out there so my choices are very limited.....which can only be a good thing right?! Decisions, decisions!

Any favourites amongst this little selection........which one would you go for? If you were a betting woman which one do you think I will end up with? Would you happened to have stumbled across any other black messenger bags with the elusive silver fixtures and fittings?? Dare I ask what are you yearning after at the moment?

Here's what I've been sporting these past few days......I've been dressed down a fair bit as have spent most of half term at home. It's been lovely to just have lots of lazy days! Back to normal now though!

First up I'm trying the new Primarni baseball jacket with navy as opposed to black....the body part of the jacket is navy wool like fabric and the sleeves are black pleather.

Primark Baseball jacket

Gap top

Gap skinny's

Office brogues

Experimenting again with the bomber after finding some super Pinterest inspiration again here

Trying to steal the style!

Primark Baseball jacket

Zara top

Gap original straight jeans

Converse trainers

Half term day at home outfit here!

Hobbs sweathirt

Primark vest

Dorothy Perkins coated jeggings

Nect skater shoes

Here I am donning my new Kurt Geiger Laurel's from my last post......all ready for a round of Saturday chores!

Topshop coat

Pull & Bear sweatshirt

Gap jeans

Kurt Geiger skater shoes

New Look hat

Marc Jacobs bag

Snuck out for a lovely steak on Saturday night......still playing around with the baseball jacket!

Primark baseball jacket

Frank Usher vintage top

Gap original fit jeans

M&S courts

Chanel bag

Zara sweatshirt

Gap original fit jeans

Kurt Geiger skater shoes

I have promised myself no more purchases until next month.....luckily there are only 4 days to go! Lol! Can't believe it is almost March, where has the time gone?!

As always I look forward to hearing your thoughts and responding to them!

Wishing everyone a great week :0)

Michelle x

All things Spring!

Truth be told I've already made a Spring purchase or 2 and stashed them away ready for a spell of better weather. I have a feeling I could be waiting a while but hey-ho it's good to have something to look forward to! I managed to snag a couple of great bits for the new season during the sales in the way of my Whistles Embroderie Anglaise top and a fab mac from Gap (see here).....both of which I look forward to getting loads of wear out of......eventually!

After weeks of hankering after the Kurt Geiger Laurels I finally got my hands on them thanks to the 25% off discount card in Elle magazine this month. They appear to be selling out as I type this so it would seem I got there just in the nick of time!! Love them in this colourway.....I can envisage them with so much of my warmer climate clothing.

I made another fair weather purchase last week with this Topshop denim shirt which I think will look fab with white skinny's or boyfriend shorts come Summertime. I have already worn it as I had a night out and I slung it on with a statement necklace, coated trousers and heels (see below) thus already proving that it will be very versatile indeed!

Marks and Sparks are really having a moment with their shoes and accessories and after my recent success of the leopard print heels acquired from there I purchased these silver courts knowing they would be brilliant with a vintage dress that I have. Of course as metallics are pretty neutral there is a whole host of other stuff they will go with too! I managed to get these in one of the M&S 20% events recently so they only set me back about £15.....happy days!!

I am feeling a bit of casual dress love at the moment and I saw this little number from Uniqlo and so ordered it! It looks great with tights and loafers for now but will be just as lovely later on with bare legs and flat sandals!! A great basic.....you just can't beat classic stripes!!

Last but not least of my purchases is this baseball jacket from Primark. I actually read about this jacket in the comments of a post by Eve's of All Worn Out blog from a lovely lady called Melissa.....proving inspiration and ideas really do come from everywhere!! Anyway I decided to check it out whilst I was in town today and have to admit that for £10 (in the sale) it's brilliant.....I would have worn it home had it not still been lashing down although it did fit under my parka nicely ;0) It's navy with black pleather sleeves, is long enough to cover my tush.....so a winner on every level for me!

Sorry about this next shockingly bad photo but it's purely to show the jacket from a different angle!

I am done now.....no more purchases until payday. Can I do a more frugal March I ask myself?? I certainly hope so! I am thankful that it is half term this week and the opportunities to shop and surf the net are more limited so I can stay out of trouble!

Here's what I've been wearing of late!

First up I fancied a change so found myself in a blazer for the first time in ages!!

Gap Blazer

H&M top 

Gap jeans

Adidas Stan Smiths

Here's the outfit from my night out......comprising of another cheeky little purchase, Zara chinos

Topshop shirt

Zara chinos

M&S leopard print shoes

Primark necklace

The morning after the night before ensemble.....say no more!

Zara top

Gap real straight jeans

Next skater shoes

All I can say is that I feel like a 'Mod' Quadrophenia style-y in my parka here! Lol!

Topshop parka

Zara shirt

Gap sweater

Gap legging jeans

New Balance trainers

This here is an outfit that I having being trying to re-create from Pinterest for yonks!

Zara jacket

Topshop T

Zara chinos

Next skater shoes

The original inspiration!

And finally today's outfit

Whistles biker jacket

Gap top

Gap skinny's

Office brogues

Warehouse scarf

So.....in summary I am officially spent out!! Is there anything left on the wish list I can share with you next time? We shall have to wait and see!

Love seeing your thoughts and replying to them!

Back soon! Michelle x

Battling the elements!

It would seem that the weather we have been having lately is here to stay a while longer.....until Spring I'm told so I'm guessing with the way our seasons go we probably have another 6 weeks or there abouts!! I think it's fair to say we are all fed up with the rain and the gales......it makes it hard to get excited about the Spring stuff in the shops!! Just as well there are still a few bits & bobs out there for the transitional period!! Lucky for me as I have recently been looking for a replacement for the H&M parka that I bought back in August (featured on my first ever blog post....here). Unfortunately the zip was faulty and it broke beyond repair just after Christmas. I have to take my hat off to H&M and their customer service as they they took it back no qualms even though I had it for some time!!  However....this did leave a bit of a hole in the coat collection as it was the only one I owned with a hood.....and boy have we needed a hood of late!! A hood is a must when you have zero chance of keeping an umbrella up in these blustery gusts and as much as I love my beanie.....a soggy hat just does not cut it when it's lashing down!! The shopping fairies must have been smiling down on me as I managed to stumble across this Topshop parka in store. It was love at first sight!

I did dither....I kept thinking 'isn't it a bit late to be buying another coat??' I do already own a black waxed Whistles parka (sadly no hood though) and I had just about convinced myself I could manage until next Autumn. Especially since the Topshop one was double the price of the original H&M one!!  That was until last week when I got caught out in a deluge....then I decided it was time to take action and so I ordered the parka and blimey am I glad I did!! So thrilled with it! It is oversized and there is plenty of room for sweaters and jackets underneath. I love the fur-lined hood....it is really cozy and really pleased with the colour which is a bottle green, nice bit of leather look detailing on it too!! Of course it has already had a couple of outings as the minute it arrived I whipped it out of the packet and wore it straight away! Sign of a great buy!

So here I am sporting it!! Happy to report that it has kept me both warm and dry!!

Topshop parka

Gap Skinny's

Nike Free Trainers

New Look beanie

Here are the rest of my looks from these past few days.

Hobbs sweatshirt

Uniqlo Shirt

Gap Real Stright jeans

Converse trainers

Ahem.....another sneaky little purchase from Pull & Bear in the way of this sweatshirt.....well I did fail Frugal Feb on day 1!!

Pull & Bear sweatshirt

M&S loungewear trousers

Next pumps

And finally......don't faint....a dress!! Thanks to the wonderful Susie So So for helping me to get my mitts on this little number from DP

Dorothy Perkins dress

Jaeger coatigan (courtesy of ebay many moons ago!)

Office Brogues

So am I alone in still buying weather led items?! Have you had to dash out to stock up on any clothing essentials to brave the elements?? Or is everybody now head long into planning their Spring must haves?? 

Hope you are all keeping warm and dry people and that you have been fortunate enough not to suffer any awful circumstances during this weather madness! 

Love reading your thoughts and responding to them!! 

Until next time, Michelle xx

My bomber jacket bargain!

So Frugal February went out the window on day 1! No resolve whatsoever here! It's all down to an exceedingly good bargain as always! I've been hankering after a bomber jacket for a while......inspiration as always thanks to Pinterest!! Please let me look this cool in mine!!

And so onto my bargain purchase! I spotted this Topshop bomber in Outfit at my local retail park last week but they only had a size 14 in stock....however I popped back in there on Saturday and they had a few more sizes so I snapped it up! Nothing left on the website so I have had to picture it myself........

This one is black quilted nylon and was reduced from £48 down to £25. I love the quirky red lining and the chunky silver zip! Had a little try on over some boyfriend jeans and skater shoes!

Topshop did have a couple of other fab choices. I also tried on this one which is navy nylon and priced at £55

This floral one looks lovely too and would be great for Spring

Gap have a good selection too....this one is very pretty, love the china blue

I was considering this in navy quilted one until I found the Topshop one as I think the black will be more useful for me.

Found some great versions whilst perusing ASOS! This French Connection one has leather sleeves and been greatly reduced from £125 down to £75

This Mango one is also reduced from £59.99 down to £32.50

This ASOS gold jacquard bomber would be great for an evening with a leather look pencil skirt, coated skinny's or boyfriends.....see I'm talking myself into this one too!! A brilliant bargain at £24.50!

This ASOS one is in sweatshirt fabric and is a steal at £22....that's full price!!

So this is just the tip of the iceberg on the bomber jacket front....there is literally something for everyone, feminine or sporty, day or evening!! Is this a look you would go for?? Do you have a favourite?? How will you be wearing yours??

A quick reccie of what I've been wearing this past week! The new Nike Free's have been out in force! They are so comfy and I love 'em as they make my size 6's look tiny!!

H&M coat

Whistles Cardigan

Gap skinny's

Nike Free trainers

Trying to keep cosy in my fleece!

Uniqlo fleecy coat

Gap sweater

Gap skinny's

Nike Free trainers

New Look beanie

Trying out something other than jeans for once!!

Gap sweater

Uniqlo shirt

Primark trousers

Adidas Stan Smiths

A girls night out and back in the jeans!

Jaeger tux jacket

Topshop cami

Gap original fit jeans

M&S leopard print shoes

New Look tusk pendant

Sunday comfy look

Gap sweater

Gap original fit jeansk

Next pumps

And last but not least yesterday's school run outfit

Topshop coat

Uniqlo long line sweatshirt

Gap skinny's

New Balance trainers

New Look beanie

Zara scarf

Marc Jacobs bag

Anyone else like me and already failed miserably with the Frugal February challenge?? I fear it could be down hill all the way from here on in!! Look forward to reading and responding to your comments!

Be back soon! Michelle x