For auld lang syne

Happy New Year's Eve everybody! I hope you are having a fabulous day so far and have all your arrangements made to welcome in the New Year. 2015! Gosh how fast did that come around? For me 2015 is going to be a year of change. I know, I know, how cliche Katie! But 2015 will mean the end of my education, (hopefully) obtaining a degree, getting a job and becoming (shock) a grown up! Although I have complained over and over about having to do four years of uni, I am glad that this is the path I have gone down as I needed 2014 to figure some things out. Looking back on this past year, I think this has been one of my most transitional periods. I have learnt a lot from the ups and downs, and I think that has made it ever more clearer what I want from life and who I want to be. Is this getting a bit too deep haha? Sorry let's move onto the lighter stuff!

I wanted to share with you guys my New Year's outfit. I am heading to a small gathering/party tonight that one of my childhood friends is hosting, so I wanted to go for something pretty but not like my usual 'over dressed' self. Yesterday I hit the sales. Yes, it happened. It happens every year. My family kept asking me 'when are you going to sales' and I replied with 'I'm trying to be responsible with my money'. Hah! Liar! So clothes were tried on, cards were flashed and money was handed over. Oopsy? In my defence I did try to be good, the intentions were there, I just can't resist a spot of shopping (more like a Tsunami of shopping but oh well). This exquisite lime-green/yellow coat was an absolute find for only £30!! They only had one left in my size so I assumed it had to be fate telling me it was meant to be mine. I also bought these decadent, glittery heels for £25; they are so beautiful, they make my feet look dazzling. And 'where from?' I hear you ask: River Island. I purchased a few other items yesterday but I thought that River Island was the best value for money in the sales. 

My newest hair obsession is dutch braids after a friend taught me how to master them. I have noticed that many bloggers, fashionistas and celebrities have been loving the halo braid at the moment, so I have been styling my hair in this way a lot recently. Yesterday I picked up this pretty headband from Primark for £3. I thought it would look so cute if it was delicately placed in with my halo braid hairstyle. The results can be seen in the photos above. I think it looks lovely; what do you guys think?

Coat & Heels: River Island

Dress & Headband: Primark

Have an amazing time tonight cherubs xxx

This year's for me and you

Hello all! I am so sorry that I have not written in a long, long time. It has been a chaotic, but nevertheless amazing, term at uni. I've been so busy with assignments, placement and my hockey team that I've not had much time for myself. Over the Christmas holidays I've become a bit of a recluse haha; I'd rather sit in my room and become immersed in a book than see other human beings. Anti-social I know, but I've spent the last term organising so many social events that I think I'm getting a social overload hah (any friends reading this, I still love you, I'm just becoming a bit of a crazy cat woman)! So it has been nice to have some time off to myself and actually indulge in some of my hobbies such as blogging!

This sounds extremely cliche, but this Christmas all I have been wearing is glitter or sequins! I think I was a magpie in a past life or something because if I walk past a shop and see a sparkly item, five minutes later I'm at the till buying it. But there is nothing more festive than wearing a gorgeous party dress. I have had a lot of compliments when I have been working this fabulous sequined dress from Ark. The first moment that I saw it my thoughts were 'it looks like glittery mulled wine, I MUST have it'. Evidently, it is my favourite dress of the moment and I wore on Christmas day, proving my adoration for this frock! Luckily, we have had some snow where I live so it was an ample opportunity to take some festive photos. The dress looks superb on the backdrop of shimmering snow!

Anyway I hope you enjoy the photos and I will try to update more often over the Christmas break. In the meantime you can see more fashion and beauty posts on my instagram which is @katiejean48

A heart of steel starts to grow

Hello cherubs! It has been another busy week for me; I'm starting to feel like I'm running on a treadmill that never stops! There's a lot to think about with uni. My dissertation is constantly looming over me, as I imagine it is for most final year students! I'm trying to think of it as 10, thousand words essays. But that still doesn't help when I remind myself of the other 10 assignments I have to complete, wahhh! As well as that I am fully enjoying my sports committee role for Women's Hockey, it is keeping me well occupied! In fact, we have our first joint event with the Athletics team on Thursday, so if you are a Derby University student reading this then please come along to support us!

As you can see on the poster we are also donating 10% of our profits to Alzheimer's Research UK. Alzheimer's is an issue that is very personal to me, and I believe with more support and awareness we can make life easier for those suffering with the disease and support their families. So if you do come along to the event some of the money you use to buy your ticket will be going to an amazing cause!

Anyway on to the fashiony bit: I think you're all going to get sick of me banging on about how much I love tartan and plaid, so I'll just shush this time. However, I love this dress that I recently got from Ark (yes I am predictable). It's still available as part of their Autumn/Winter line so if you're a fan snap it up soon! I'll also add here that students can get 20% off at Ark with Unidays, so it is well worth snapping up this bargain. My fave feature of this dress is that fact it has a smock-like structure, so it looks kinda oversized. This also makes it super comfy! I paired the dress with some chunky sandals and this adorable, dark green bag that I got from Primark for only £8! 

Dress: Ark

Handbag: Primark

Shoes: Redbox in Derby

Little lights in our hearts

Hello darlings! I am sorry it has been awhile again, it's just been so so manic. I can't believe I've only been back at uni for two weeks, it feels more like two decades with the workload I've been managing. I'm feeling very excited and slightly daunted by this academic year. It's my final year before I officially become a teacher and thinking about the future has me a little anxious. I've also got some extra responsibilities this year at uni because I have taken on a committee role for one of the sports teams, so it's all busy, busy, busy!

Anyway, I have begun to slip into Autumn fashion over the last few weeks; cue tartan, plaid, tweed and rich tones and colours. I think my favourite trend of Autumn/Winter are the adorable little squares of tartan and plaid. The cosy, blanket-reminiscent fabric has been seen to be a key piece on the catwalks of Tommy Hilfiger, Stella McCartney and Marc Jacobs, some of the most uber-cool designers. I actually got this black and white plaid dress from Ark (no surprise) in Spring, showing that this style can be worked throughout the seasons, using the right accessories. As I was going for a look that would transition well from Summer to Autumn, I chose to pair the dress with a denim jacket and jellies (a popular item of the summer) to still maintain some of the Summer fun! I hope you enjoy the pics and let me know what you think!

I also made a video to go with the outfit post. Check it out!

Denim Jacket: Levis

Dress: Ark

Handbag: Accessorize

Socks: Topshop

Jellie shoes: Redbox in Derby

Scrunchie: Primark

OOTD Winter Coats - River Island and Primark

They think they're from the 60s, but they were born in 1991

Hola my amigos! The weekend is over, but I hope everyone had a good break! I have now finished work just in time to jet off to Majorca, and then straight back to uni the following week. I was quite sad to finish work as I will miss the people dearly, but it was an extremely tiring job so I am ready to relax for seven days in the sun!

Despite talking about the sun, this blog post is about winter coats. Recently I have had the same conversation with many girlfriends about how we prefer Winter fashion. Strangely enough the English weather has suddenly decided it's Summer in September and it's too hot to wear coats! I feel like saying 'England, you had your chance to give us a Summer, it's gone now so let me wear my Winter clothes'! I love everything about Autumn/Winter fashion; the coats, the wooly jumpers, layers, tartan, hats, scarves! Thinking about it gets me excited which is rather sad haha. Anyway, the main trend I have picked up from my high street inspections is that oversized coats are the business this season! Great! Cause I love oversized; it means there's more room to layer clothes underneath! I picked two coats from the high street over the last few weeks and I completed adore both of them! One was very, very expensive and the other was a BARGAIN! I wonder if you can guess which is which from the pictures cause I think they both look high quality. I shall reveal how much they were and where from at the end. 

So drum roll please! And the more expensive coat was the tweed number from River Island at a bank-busting £80 (well it certainly left me skint for a week). The gorgeous frosted-pink coat is from Primark for £25!! 

Tweed Coat: River Island

Pink Coat & Scarf: Primark

Black and White Shoes: Redbox in Derby

Bag: New Look

Dress: Topshop

See ya laters! xx