Back From The Grave

Jumper: Zara

Jeans: Urban Outfitters

Shirt: Primark

Shoes: Vintage

I know I said I wasn't going to be back until I had finished all my deadlines but turns out that blogging is a great procrastination activity and I'm looking for those everywhere at the moment. I'm finally on the last stretch of work now. One more 3000 word essay, a 1000 word evaluation of my film and a redraft of the 4000 write up to go with the film. It's all seeming more manageable now but I'm still freaking out inside that university will be over forever in a month. I can't believe that it's so close to being the end, it went dangerously fast and I'd like to go back to first year and do it all over again please.

Once I've handed in all the work I've got plenty of look forward to with parties, film screenings, my birthday, volunteering at Sheffield Doc/Fest and a trip to New York in August. Being a graduation might not be so bad after all.

Seventeen

Dress: Vintage

Cardigan: H&M

Shoes: Ebay

Necklace: Gift

I kind of accidentally gave up blogging again but now it's half four in the morning and I've finally got round to posting these outfit photos from weeks ago. Life has gone ridiculously busy with the last push of uni work before graduation so I probably won't be back until May 17th when my university career ends and I will finally have my life back.

Until then, come keep me sane on twitter!

Everyone Feels That Way Sometimes

Dress: Vintage

Cardigan: H&M

Belt: Zara

Shoes: New Look

On Saturday I spent the day dashing around the venues of Leeds in the name of Live at Leeds. It's a solid day of bands all over the city with a wristband giving you access to whichever bands you want to see. I had a fully packed day catching the bus back and forth with Molly. We managed to see only good bands and it's always such a good atmosphere. I went last year too and I'll probably end up going again next year as well. I always find some really good bands I never would have heard of before. 

This year those bands were Cloud Control, Adult Jazz, Young Liar, Fixers and Paul Thomas Saunders. Also saw a few old favourites in the form of The ABC Club and Loose Talk Costs Lives.

I've been trying to decide which festivals to go to over summer but there's so many choices I always end up changing my mind ten million times. Which festivals are you going to?

Tomorrow is my last hand in of second year. I've only got two exams after that and then the freedom of summer. I'm searching desperately for work placements for summer as well as working on a few film projects of my own and my friends. If I could just forget about the exams, it'd be all plain sailing from here on out... Silly exams!

Swim Until You Can't See Land

Top: Forever21

Cardigan: Peacocks

Skirt: ASOS

Bag: Vintage

Shoes: Primark

An unintentional patriotic outfit from earlier in the week comes in handy when you need something to post on the royal wedding day. I'm not massively patriotic or interested in the royals but after years of fighting it, I really do love being British now and the hype of the wedding was quite contagious. I had managed to avoid most of it because we were so busy on set all week but I did manage to watch a bit of the wedding today with some friends. I think I've enjoyed all the memes and gifs popping up this evening more than the actual wedding though.

What were your thoughts on the wedding?

We've wrapped the film now and I'm going to put a little post together about the experience because a lot of you expressed an interest in hearing more. Once we'd wrapped I got this weird sad feeling because as much as I was happy it was all done, I really enjoy making films and to go back to revision and essays is not as exciting as being behind the camera, ordering people around and basically hanging out with a bunch of your friends for a solid three days. Oh well, I better get writing another one to get back to it.

Sister Wife

Shirt: Vintage

Skirt: ASOS

Shoes: Primark

I call this my referee shirt. While playing a game of pool at the pub that evening someone on the opposing team commented that I should be refereeing the game instead of playing. We won so he's the fool! I like the monochrome mixed with the bright tights. If I could wear coloured tights everyday, I definitely would. I'm getting quite the varied collection in my drawers now.

I wore this outfit to a BBQ that I was suddenly put in charge of which resulted in dropping sausages on the grass and then onto the pub. Because I live in such a small town going to the pub results in seeing everyone you ever knew from school or socialising in one place. I bumped into old best friends, old boyfriends and people I wish I got to see more often.

Today was the first day of the film shoot for 'Segments' and it went great. We were shooting in this lovely cafe that has walls covered in clocks and vintage mirrors and comfy booths to chill out in. They were so friendly and let us have the run of the place while we were filming and filled us up with delicious breakfasts for lunch too. Fingers crossed tomorrow runs as smoothly.

Clothes, Friends, Photos

Dress: Tesco

Necklace: Modcloth via Tieka

Shoes: Urban Outfitters

Tights: ebay

I'm becoming more and more attracted to simple dressing. Less pulled to florals and more drawn to stripes, block colours and simplicity. Don't get me wrong, my style will remain revolving around floral and school girl inspiration, I'm just feeling like something new.

While I was at home the weather was beautiful which meant the neighbours were always in their garden which didn't lead to many blog photos. I took these in my kitchen on a particularly sunny day and you even get a glimpse of my mum's crazy decorating choices. A penguin picture isn't normal for most kitchens but different stokes for different folks and all that.

Hope everyone had a nice Easter and bank holiday. I spent Sunday having a big dinner then travelling back up to Leeds and today in the company of friends with Pimms. Truly cannot wait for summer to kick in permanently.

Nice to be Nice

Top: H&M

Shorts: Zara

Cardigan: H&M

Shoes: Urban Outfitters

Mel hung around a few days after France so this meant the inevitable trip to Brick Lane aka my favourite place in London. We spent far too much money on vintage but justified it to ourselves as it was money left over from our trip. I managed to somehow buy even more clothes and shoes that I don't need including leather shorts that I adore. 

I've decided to head to London again before I go back to Leeds on Sunday. London is only a half an hour train journey from my small town and I have an unlimited oyster from when I worked at the bus company so I'm going to take advantage of it and do some of my favourite things. Filming starts on Tuesday for my film 'Segments' and it's going to be a full on hectic 3 day shoot but hopefully it'll be worth all the hard work. 

My head is all over the place at the moment trying to finish off to-do lists before I run out of time. Lots to do, lots to do.

Slow Dance to Soft Rock

Shell: Tesco

Skirt: Urban Outfitters

Cardigan: H&M

Shoes: Urban Outfitters

There are parts of Toulouse that have more of Spain vibe over all. 

On our last day in France we soaked up some culture with a walk along the canal leading to Les Abattoirs. Les Abattoirs is a modern art gallery in what used to be an abattoir and we managed to get in for a ridiculous 2 Euros each because it was so quiet. It was a scorcher of a day so we wandered down to the river after the gallery, lying in the sun next to a mini waterfall and all turning a lovely shade of pink. Or red if I'm honest.

We had to spend the rest of our afternoon hanging out in cafes, sampling coca lites all over the city and trying to cool down. After a quick pick up of macarons and chocolate for gifts, we headed back to the airport. Toulouse has one of the nicest airports I've ever seen, filled with modern art installations and so fresh, clean and airy. I've been in some horrid airports but Toulouse gets a big thumbs up from me.

I'd definitely recommend Toulouse for a short city break. It's small and quaint with enough to do if you look for it. There is an abundance of restaurants but if you're vegetarian, a more metropolitan city might be for you. The weather was lovely and I can strongly say I love the South of France.

Let You Break

Dress: Vintage

Lace shell: Tesco

Socks: ASOS

Shoes: Urban Outfitters

Due to the size of Toulouse, we decided to go on a day trip to a nearby town called Carcassonne while we were in France. It was only an hour and a bit by train there so we hopped on board, after some serious translation issues with collecting our tickets that involved us seeing a dog wearing a scarf, and went on our merry way. 

Carcassonne was a really pretty town with cobbled streets and quaint squares. There was a castle that we trekked up to (might be exaggerating with trek) which had amazing views all over the town. We ate crepes in the square and bought strawberries from the market. It was all in all a very french day. We spent the afternoon on a boat trip along the canal where I soaked up the sun and made our own entertainment because we couldn't understand a word of the heavily french accented tour guide. We finished our time there by laying next to the river, a repeated activity throughout the trip, before jumping on the train home. 

The outfit photos were taken outside a church that was stunning inside. Unfortunately in the group photo we only managed to capture scaffolding but take my word for it. I wore my staple floral vintage dress that I wear all the time but made it into what's becoming my staple school girl style with a lace top underneath and knee highs.

You Can Fight The Fire That's Inside Your Head

Top:H&M

Skirt: Topshop

Socks: ASOS

Shoes: Urban Outfitters

Cardigan: H&M

Rucksack: ASOS

Another thing I learnt from France was men will stare at you unashamedly if you wear knee high socks. This didn't stop me though and even wore them again on the trip. Day two in Toulouse was lovely and warm so out came the legs. I liked the decidedly 60s vibe to this outfit and it was perfect for a day of wandering, shopping and relaxing by the river in the sunshine.

Toulouse is quite a small city, despite being the fourth largest in France, and was strangely devoid of any tourists. We didn't see a single shop selling berets, much to my dismay, and most people only spoke miniscule english, if at all. This gave us a chance to flex our french conversational skills which led to many red cheeks when we forgot what we were meant to be saying half way through a sentence.

We found this wonderful carousel in one the squares that scattered Toulouse. We let go of any inhibitions and posed proudly in front of it, followed by more posing by a fountain and later even more posing on the Pont Neuf. I got my new camera just before leaving, literally two days before, so I was eager to try it out at every chance. I'm hoping to put together a little video from all the clips I shot so you'll hopefully have a nice french adventure sometime soon!

I Want Back The Years You Took When I Was Young

Dress: H&M

Cardigan: H&M

Shoes: Urban Outfitters

Lessons learnt from Toulouse, France:

• Anything sounds sexier in french
• Moustaches are still infinitely funny
• Baguettes everyday is a good staple diet (jambon et fromage is a winner)
• Don't expect the french to be accommodating to vegetarians
• Learning a few phrases will make you feel like a bilingual master
• I can actually pack efficiently
• It's fun to talk about things that no one around you will understand
• Toulouse on a Sunday is no fun if you're female
• You will fall in love with at least every typically french man that passes you on the street
• Macarons are tasty and addictive
• A gazillion photographs is obligatory for any trip
• French women will try and pimp their sons out to you if you tell them you live in London
• Three pales girls in the south of France heat will get sunburnt faces
• Toulouse has lots of nice knockers... on their doors
•  I don't think there's nothing wrong with a little bump 'n' grind!