Tattoo inspiration

I've wanted a tattoo for a long time and always thought that when I got to 18 I'd have an idea of what I wanted and enough money to get it done. I've been doodling bees and flowers and My Neighbour Totoro designs for a while but still not sure. So here's a little mood board type post (does that make sense?) of tattoo inspiration. 

Christmas things

Sadly, Christmas is over now and all we have to look forward to is New Year's Eve (which is never that great) and after Christmas sales. But at least I took a few photos this Christmas! 

Casual Christmas day outfit

First Term of Uni

I've finished my first term of uni and handed in my last assignment today (yay) so I thought I'd do a little post about what I've been doing and stuff. 

In September I left Nottingham and moved to Lincoln to study Journalism. On the way there I was crammed into the car with the whole contents of my room because I wasn't really sure what I should take with me. It was really scary on the way there but it didn't take me long to settle in at all. After a few days everyone was comfortable with each other and it all felt normal.

Lincoln is such a pretty city and it's small so no needing to get the bus anywhere ever! It also means it's really hard to get lost. 

This term I got to try writing news stories, filming news stories and recording news stories for radio, and I've realised I'm really not good with technology and should definitely just stick to writing stuff. I'm also learning shorthand which is really hard and repetitive but I'm sure it'll be fine when I've learnt it all.

I didn't realise how stressful all the assignments would be until it got to a few weeks ago and I had about 6 in for the same week. The end of term consisted of lots of late night library trips and not much sleep. It feels so good to have nothing to do until the 19th of January, I can finally relax.

Sorry!

I know I've been gone a while (sorry!)

In September I started studying Journalism at the University of Lincoln and since then I've been really busy with assignments and learning shorthand and trying to cook for myself etc. 

But I am determined that when I hand this assignment in tomorrow at 6pm, to blog a lot more because hopefully I'll have more time. 

Also, next term I have a whole blogging module (yay) so I'm sure I'll be blogging a lot more after Christmas! 

I'll try and do a proper blog post tomorrow with pictures and stuff of my first few weeks at uni.

Sophie x

Ps I dyed my hair blue 

Autumn wishlist

It's been raining loads recently and it's a little bit sad, but summer is basically over so I need to look into what to buy for it gets really cold. 

I'm in the mood for darker colours at the moment and even though I still love pastels, I would love a burgundy cardigan, I think they fit in better with Autumn.

Hats for Autumn

It's got a lot colder recently, which is good because it gives me an excuse to wear nice hats. I'm not really a hat person but I always think they look nice on other people. I've got a bowler hat and a fedora that was my Grandpa's, but I've only worn them a couple of times.

Alexa Chung has always been a big fashion influence for me and I love this burgundy fedora because the colour is perfect for Autumn. The hat on the right, that looks slightly similar, can be bought from Asos for £20.

I love bowler hats, because they're small and cute so don't stand out as much as wear a big fedora. The hat above is from H&M and is £8. The second hat is from Missguided and is currently on sale for £9, I really like pastels and the black sections make it more suitable for Winter.

  

I would never have enough confidence to wear a hat this big but I can still appreciate how lovely they look on other people like Vanessa Hudgens (left) and blogger Bonnie Barton (right). I like how relaxed they look and they're suitable for all year round. This hat on the left is £28 from Topshop and the one on the right is £15 from H&M.

I feel a bit more inspired to wear hats now.

Sophie x

ps. I just had an Oreo hot chocolate and I recommend that everyone else should try one too

Wedding outfit post

(all photos courtesy of George Swan)

Last Friday me and George went to a wedding and it was lovely. When we arrived at the reception we had afternoon tea with sandwiches and cake. Everyone had different vintage tea cups and plates which was really nice (mine had a pineapple on it).

Even though we've known about this wedding for months, I decided to buy my dress the day before in a panic. It's from a section of Outfit called Tenki and it was around £22, they don't have a very good website but you can find their dresses in Dorothy Perkins, Outfit, New Look and many more places. My mum bought me the necklace for my birthday and the shoes were £15 from the Dorothy Perkins section of outfit but they were in the sale and I can't find them on the website. The picture doesn't really show them properly but they are covered in silver glitter. I really want an excuse to wear them again.

So overall it was a lovely day and congratulations to Tim and Claire! 

Sophie x

How not to make marble cakes

Today me and my boyfriend George attempted to make marble cakes, and it wasn't very successful but it was fun. So I thought I'd let you all know how to not make marble cakes.

Noah and the Whale, Heart of Nowhere is my favourite album at the moment

George mixing stuff

We used  a basic Victoria sponge recipe, and up to this point everything was fine in the cake making process.

Then, we split the mixture into thirds, and used two thirds to make the marble cakes. One third, we made green and the other third we made pink, using food colouring. 

Then we put a spoon of each colour into each cake case. Then used a cocktail stick to slightly mix the mixture in the cases. 

We put the cakes in the oven and probably left them in too long because they were more like cake shaped biscuits.

So as you can see the cakes aren't really that marbled, however they were a bit green on the inside.

I made mini Victoria sponge cakes! (I put jam on a cake and squashed another cake on top)

George's attempted at 'art'

The other third of cake mixture turned out a lot better.

This photo makes them look really nice when really they aren't that great.

So we have both learned from this experience that when making marble cakes...

• Add more pink food colouring
• Take the cakes out the oven a lot earlier

We'll just try and give them away to siblings. 

Best bit of cake making.

Also, I thought I should mention that I did get into uni (woo!) so on the 15th September I'm moving to Lincoln to study Journalism, which is kind of scary but I'm excited too. 

And on Monday I passed my driving test! So I can finally drive the car I got for my birthday/Christmas in December. 

Sophie x

Vintage denim skirt

 

Hello!

On Monday I went to a friend's gig (they're called Restrooms and you should have a look at their Facebook page) and this is what I wore. 

Denim skirt - Cow Vintage

Maximo Park tshirt - Maximo Park merch website 

 Boots - Dr Martens

Necklace - Turkey

So tomorrow is the most important day ever because it's results day (ah). I'm really nervous but trying not to think about it too much.

Good luck to everyone else getting results tomorrow!

Sophie x

Summer Pastel Gingham

Hello!

I am wearing...

Pastel gingham dress - Oxfam charity shop in Hockley, Nottingham

Plum desert boots - Wild Clothing, Nottingham

My Neighbour Totoro necklace - My Etsy shop

I've had this dress ages and it's one of my favourites because it's pastel and has pockets, I love it when I find out clothes have pockets. I bought it for £9 from Oxfam. I buy a lot of stuff from charity shops now because I love how you can find something new and never worn but for less than half the original price. But I also like the vintage stuff they have because it's often a lot cheaper than vintage shops like Cow and Wild. And of course, it's always nice to help a charity.

I've also put this look on Lookbook if you want to give it a hype!

Sophie x

Black lace and denim

In this outfit I am wearing...

Black lace dress - Matalan

Brown leather belt - Cow (vintage)

Denim jacket - second hand

My Neighbour Totoro necklace - My Etsy Shop

Plum desert boots - Wild Clothing

Me and my boyfriend recently made some My Neighbour Totoro necklaces for our Etsy shop. I love them and they go with everything! They're £5 each and we only have 5 (at the moment). If these go well, we might carry on this Studio Ghibli theme.

I've put this look on Lookbook too if anyone wants to hype it!!

Lookbook

Sophie x

Summer wishlist

So unfortunately, I'm not going on holiday this year. I've got to that age where my parents no longer take me and I can't afford to take myself on holiday. But this doesn't stop me from lusting over bikinis and beautiful beach wear. I suppose I could wear a bikini round the house?

I wanted one of these bikinis for so long. I love the bold colours and sharp edges, they look almost cartoon like. They are from a website called Triangl, and although they are an American company, they ship to the UK. 
The bikinis are around $90 / £52. 

This is the beach poncho by Lisa Marie Fernandez. It's like a towel that you can wear, so when you get out of the pool and want to go fetch something from your hotel room, you don't have to awkwardly wrestle dry clothes onto your wet body, instead you can just throw on a towel, which also won't fall off like normal towels do. 
Poncho is around £345



I don't have any white dresses, I still wear black in summer. But it would be so much more practical to wear dresses like this, also it's not completely white which is nice because it isn't too bright.
Alice by Temperley - £180



I'm really not a fan of Birkenstock style sandals being 'in', I still think they look like Birkenstocks, no matter who wears them with what outfit. These Topshop sandals are what I need but whenever I go out to buy any sensible summer shoes I come home with chunky shoes that aren't that practical and are difficult to walk in. I love the colour of these, even though most of my clothes are quite dull.
Topshop - £26
(I might have to buy these when I have enough money they are quite lovely)



Along with the rest of the female population, I recently watched Orange is the new black and I am now obsessed, so I would love to read the original memoir by Piper Kerman, just so I can see if the things that happened in the TV programme happened in real life.



Anyone that has met me (even only briefly) will know about my obsession for On the Road by Jack Kerouac because it's basically all I talk about. 
(it's amazing and everyone should read it)
Now, I want to read everything Jack Kerouac, but I'm not really sure where to start.
This fits into a summer wishlist because reading outside in summer is a nice thing to do.

Hope everyone's having a nice Summer!

Sophie x