Truck Festival

Posted on July 21, 2014 by admin

Crochet Waistcoat – Marks and Spencers
Dress – Komodo
Baseball Boots – Ethletic

Headdress – Little Wings
Dress – SkunkFunk

On the weekend, we went to Truck Festival. It was the first time that we had been but it came highly recommended by some friends. We had a fantastic time and the pretty dramatic weather conditions didn’t spoil it one bit. On Friday night we had loads of rain but as we were tucked up in bed by that point, it didn’t bother us much except for the odd drip through the slightly leaky campervan roof.

On saturday, we saw Dodgy on the main stage (remember them, staying out for the summer!). The sky turned black and the wind suddenly picked up. Luckily the storm passed us by but not before I got the chance to take some pictures of the dramatic skies.

Once the skies had cleared and after much nagging by my daughter, I managed to put aside my fear of heights and for a ride on the ferris wheel. I will have to admit the views were pretty amazing even though I was terrified.

We chilled out with cocktails and watched the sunset and then headed over to check out Roots Manuva on the market stage. Finally I treated myself to a Truckers curry from the foodstall. It was amazing lentil dahl, chappatti and 2 freshly cooked onion bhajis for a fiver!

Overall I was pretty impressed with Truck Festival. It was really chilled out and whilst I hadn’t heard of many of the bands playing, I enjoyed listening to the music anyway. All of the food stalls were run by local charities organisations like Rotary so not only was the food great value but buying the food also meant you were helping a good cause. The festival was quite small and the campervan field wasn’t too packed giving us plenty of space. The tickets are pretty reasonabley priced too. Dare I say it, we had a trucking good time!

I love a festival as it gives me the chance to wear some of my more unusual clothes that I don’t often get the chance to wear at home. I treated myself to a necklace from ethical brand Made UK in the ASOS sale which I wore with a fairtrade cotton vest top from good old M & S with some cut off jeans. Actually I don’t want to keep this just for festivals though, I wonder whether it is possible to get away with neon for work!

Anyway we are home and back to work feeling pretty tired after such a busy weekend. Roll on next weekend!

What have you been up to? Have you been to any good festivals this year?

With warmest wishes

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A People Tree Dress for Work

Posted on July 10, 2014 by admin

I have blogged before about how I love People Tree dresses for work and the Evette Green Tree Dress (which also features in my new blog store!) is one which I am definitely getting plenty of wear out of this year. I bought it a month or so ago when I found that the temperature in the office was getting too much for me and I just needed something cool and comfy to wear that also looks quite smart. I love the print, I love the length and I love the collar, but most of all I love the fact that it is made from jersey so is lovely to wear. Comfort has to be my one of my main priorities these days or life just becomes to hard work and I end up a flustered mess.

I have had the shoes for about 10 years, they were from a high street shop that I would never step foot in these days as the quality is so bad and the ethics questionable but actually these have lasted me pretty well and it would certainly be wasteful to throwout a perfectly good pair of shoes.

The last few weeks have been relatively quiet, although I still don’t feel like I have had time to do anything much. I have been trying my best to get organised ready for phase 2 of my busiest summer ever!

I hope that you are having a fabulous summer. What are your favourite outfits for the warmer weather?

If you have been posting about any festivals,I would love to read about them. Also I am in desparate need of outfit inspiration, please link in the comments section so that I can check out your posts and outfits.

With warmest wishes

Vintage Nostalgia

Posted on June 23, 2014 by admin

Finally I have found time to post some photos of a Vintage Nostalgia that I went to back in May. Vintage Nostalgia is small but rapidly growing vintage event, show, festival, what ever you want to call it, held in Stockton in Wiltshire. This year was the first time that I had been to Vintage Nostalgia and I was definitely really pleasantly surprised. The sun shined, there was a fantastic selection of vintage cars, campervans and caravans. Most people had made a huge effort to get dressed up for the event but for those that didn’t want to, that was fine absolutely too. I could have just sat and watched the amazing outfits for hours, with a glass of pimms in hand of course. There was also some great entertainment for the children, dance lessons and enough vintage clothes and homeware stalls to keep me busy all weekend. The event was well organised with plenty of camping space, just enough toilets and a really friendly atmospere.

I took full opportunity to wear some of my vintage dresses and only wished it had lasted a little longer giving me the chance to wear some more of my dresses. For next year I would definitely try and get down a little earlier to allow me to enjoy more of the Friday evening.

Have you been to any other vintage events/ festivals, I would love to hear which ones are best?

With warmest wishes

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Gusti Leather Bag Review

Posted on June 2, 2014 by admin

Bag – Gusti Leather
Jacket – Nancy Dee
Dress – SkunkFunk
Boots – Dream in Green

I was recently contacted by Gusti Leather (www.gusti-leather.co.uk) to see if I would like to review one of their beautiful leather bags. Of course I jumped at the chance, especially as I could do with a new handbag for work, my satchel is great for the winter but a little too chunky for summer clothes and the strap has begun to fall apart on another bag that I have had for many years. I picked out the H2 Katy shoulder Tote bag, which is the perfect size for my work essentials including purse, phone, make up bag and diary. The bag is open at the top making it really easy to reach in and grab what I need but also has 2 zipped sections for a little added security for my keys and phone. They also have a lovely selection of satchels, backpacks and luggage on the Gusti Leather website.

My bag turned up with a pot of natural coloured polish and a bag to keep in perfect condition. As you can see from the photographs, it is beautifully made with lovely natural looking leather and a luxury lining. The bag smells a little but it isn’t unpleasant, one of the children described it as being like play dough.

Gusti Leather aims to create unique ad stylish leather products using natural production and fair, controlled working conditions. The natural production method is what gives the bags their vintage style. The bag that I chose is from the Gusti Leder Natur collection which used leather that is vegetable tanned using natural elements of Babool tree bark and oil dyed using saffron, indigo and poppy. This cuts out on the dangerous chemicals usually used during in the tanning process which can be hazardous to both the people living and working near tanneries and the environment. The leather using in Gusti Leather products is also sourced from free range animals and their sustainable production method ensures that all of the animal (bred for meat) are used cutting out waste.

In order to ensure that bags are made in fair conditions and without the use of child labour, the producers used by Gusti Leather in Morocco, India and Italy are small, family-run businesses with which they have formed long term working relationships to ensure that their workers can live comfortably.

What do you think of Gusti Leather?

With warmest wishes

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Camping, Van West and a Mud Fest!

Posted on May 22, 2014 by admin

Jeggings – Oxfam Fashion
Happy T Shirt – People Tree
Shoes – Ethletic
Scarf – Everybody Warm

The last bank holiday weekend, we managed to get out and about with our first camping trip of the year. We only went just down the road to Bath to try out the campervan and caravan together, but we always feel like we could be a million miles away when we go camping. We spent an afternoon at Victoria Park and then on the Sunday went for a wander round Bath and followed by tapas.

The following weekend we went to our first festival of the year, Vanwest, A VW festival in Brean, Somerset. All credit to the organisers and stallholders it was a fab event as usual despite the appalling weather. It was such a shame to see so many people with broken tents or awnings and eventually due to the torrential rain and high winds on Saturday night many people, us included, packed up and went home on the Sunday morning. We then spend an hour hosing the mud off everything. The theme for Van West was super heroes and we certainly felt like superheroes camping in that weather although we were reletaively snug in our campervan/ caravan combo so no where near as superhero as those staying in tents. There were some fabulous superhero costumes unfortunately I was too busy drinking and my beer and listening to the music to take many photos but there are a few instagrams below.

Anyway here’s hoping for some more fab festivals and camping this summer minus the mud, rain and wind.

Do you have any fun plans for this bank holiday?

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Ethical Fashion – What to Wear for a Birthday Trip to London

Posted on May 13, 2014 by admin

Ethical Fashion
Hat – Pachacuti

Jacket – Rokit Vintage
Dress – Komodo
Leggings – People Tree
Silk Scarf – Oxfam Fashion
Baseball Boots – Ethletic

A few weeks ago it was my birthday so I decided to treat myself to a little trip up to London with my eldest daughter. We met up with Faye my best friend of 27 years for Dim Sum at Ping Pong followed by a wander round the Tate modern. Living a distance apart and both so much going on, I don’t get to see Faye nearly as much as I would like but when I do it is always just like old times again. Getting to a girly day out with my daughter is always a treat too. It was interesting to see the Tate modern although I will have to admit I was pretty puzzled by what is classed as art. It was great to see some of my favourites like Picasso and Monet there though. What can I say, it was an amazing birthday, I hope I don’t have to wait until next year to do it again.

I decided this trip would be the perfect opportunity to wear my lovely hat from Pachacuti, despite Mr S warning me that it was pretty windy out. Just as he warned a sudden gust of wind managed to flip my hat right off my head and much to my daughters amusement, it went rolling off down the street with me in hot pursuit shouting “stop that hat” to a slightly bemused looking passerby. Anyway I managed to catch the hat and I my daughter finally managed to stop laughing. The moral of the story ‘don’t wear you favourite hat on a windy day’ or ‘always listen to what you husband says’ but i’m so not going to do that!

I treated myself to the Ethletic baseball boots form Ethical Superstore with some of my birthday money. They are easily one of the most comfy pairs of shoes that I have ever owned and I know I am going to wear them loads. Ethletic is an ethical fashion shoe brand that make fair trade baseball boots using organic and Fairtrade certified cotton, the rubber soles are FSC certified and sourced responsibly, and the rubber is fairly traded.

Here are just a few instagrams of my birthday

Birthday flowers from Mr S

Birthday cards flowering tea Ethical Fashion What to Wear for a Birthday Trip to London

Flowering tea and pud at Ping Pong (my new favourite things)

A cake sale at work to raise money for upcoming TrekFest in the Brecon Beacons

What have you been up to lately? Have you had any weather related clothing catastophes?

With warmest wishes

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Ethical Fashion and Butterflies in Paphos

Posted on May 6, 2014 by admin

Over Easter we went away for a much needed week away in Paphos, Cyprus. Of course when I am on holiday, I wear ethical fashion, the same as I do at home but with the sun out I decided to take the opportunity to wear some of my favourite printed dresses. Here are just a few of the outfits that I happened to take photos of. I was certainly spoilt for colourful backdrops with the beautiful flowers and butterflies (there were loads of them!) there and the amazing garden on our apartment.

Earrings and Dress – The Feather Tree
Denim Jacket – swapped
Bag – Reclaim Bags

Dress – Ruby Rocks
Leggings – People Tree

Holiday was the usual round of over indulgence with far too much sun, food and drink, but I did manage to brave the fairly cold swimming pool to do about 50 lengths each day. We got back a few weeks ago but it feels like ages now. I have been super busy since I got back with a birthday trip to London, lunch out with friends, our first camping trip with a new caravan and some training walks in preparation for my 27 mile Brecon Beacon trek.

What have you been up to? and are you feeling ready to wear some bright colourful summer clothes?

You may notice that I have a new sponsor on my blog Bibico. There are some really beautiful and ethically made clothes on their website for spring and summer which you can check out here – www.bibico.co.uk

With warmest wishes

Ethical Fashion – What To Wear To A Birthday Party

Posted on April 4, 2014 by admin

Dress – SkunkFunk
Leggings – People Tree
Glitter shoes – TOMS (available here)
Clutch bag – Junky Styling
Earrings – vintage shop

Here is an outfit that I wore for the birthday party of a very good friend a few weeks ago. The dress is by SkunkFunk and I wear it with either tights or leggings depending on the occasion/ temperature. If you are a regular visitor to this blog, you will have probably seen me posting about SkunkFunk before. It is definitely one of my favourite sustainable fashion brands. I treated myself to the TOMS shoes for spring as I needed a new pair of casual flats, I hope to write a review about them very soon. The bag was a reward from project that I funded on Kickstarter.

Now spring has finally arrived, I am pretty much flat out keeping up with all of the plans that I have been making throughout the colder months. We have decided to upgrade our camping this year with the addition of a cute little caravan, an Eriba Puck and can’t wait to get out and about and using it.

I have also signed myself up for TrekFest where I will be walking 27 miles across the Brecon Beacons in aid of Naomi House childrens hospice, a charity that has provided a huge amount of support to members of my family. The hospice has recently launched a the Caterpillar appeal to raise the 4 million pounds needed to refurbish the hospice. If you would like to donate, you can do so through my Just Giving page here. I have already begun training with an 11 mile (uphill walk) last weekend. I have been spending quite a bit of time online researching which clothing/ equipment to buy for the trek and which brands are most sustainable. I hope to share my findings soon.

This weekend looks to be busy with lots of fun things planned? What will you be up to and what plans do you have for the spring and summer?

With warmest wishes

Ethical Fashion – What to Wear for an Early Dinner Out

Posted on March 8, 2014 by admin

Hat – Pachacuti
Dress – People Tree
Scarf – New Look
Leggings – People Tree
Boots – Clarks

Last Saturday I went out for an early dinner with Mr S and the children in Bath. It was probably one of the first outings where I haven’t encountered extreme wind or rain since Christmas, so I took the opportunity to wear my new hat by Fairtrade and ethical fashion brand Pachacuti.

The last week has been super crazy not only with work but with choosing a few new pieces to go in my newly decorated lounge (more on that in a post soon!) and planning and booking up lots of amazing stuff for the spring and summer, I can’t wait. With a little bit of sunshine over the last week and more forecast for tommorrow, I definitely feeling bright and happy. Amongst my plans I have signed up for a charity trek across the Brecon Beacons, booked a music festival, a vintage event, a day in London as well as some holidays and weekends away. Spring and summer are going to be super busy but I am definitely going to be sticking to my new years resolutions to live life to the full this year.

Do you have any fun plans yet for spring and summer? Have a lovely weekend!

With warmest wishes

What to Wear on a Sunny Day

Posted on February 20, 2014 by admin

Dress – the Feather Tree
Leggings – People Tree
Shoes – Melissa
Cardigan – second hand from a friend.
Necklace – Etsy

We had a lovely sunny day on the weekend so I decided to grab the opportunity to wear my new dress from Feather Tree. If you are interested to learn more about the brand, you can check out my story behind the brand post here.

Life has been pretty crazy over the last few weeks and I have been struggling to find the time to blog. I have now been struck down with a cold and am struggling to find the energy to do too much other than work. Instead of a lengthy post, here are a few instagrams from the last week or two.

Red Roses from Mr S on Valentines Day