Primark Haul- September 2013

For the past say.. 2 months, I've done a fair bit of shopping; the perks of having a part-time job now! I've been online buying a few things over recent weeks and then actually got up, went out and shopped in the real world and not on the internet. It is possible my dear people! This haul shall be just of the things I found in Primark, everyone's favourite bargain-filled shop of beauty, and there'll be another haul in the very near future showing you the things I bought from other shops. I actually couldn't find as much in Primark as I normally can- my primark seems to be in that nasty' transition between seasons' stage.. anyone else have this in their local primark at the mo?

 Blue Tribal Earrings- £2

Suppose these are slightly summery, but blue looks lovely all year round in my opinion. These are going to be used repeatedly to brighten up outfits over the winter I feel. 

 Gold and Silver Rings- £3
This set of three rings caught my eye when browsing the jewellery. Each of them looks rather vintage and interesting: the top one, a brassy gold with a band of flowers, the middle one, a silver woven pattern and the bottom one, a shinier gold with a band of gold daisies. Love them!

Floral Bow Hair Bobble- £1

This absolute steal is so pretty and girly. I apologise that it doesn't have the label on in the picture, I couldn't wait to wear it! The bow is made of a smooth, patent plastic material and it looks so cute perching on the top of a bun or a ponytail to add a bit of something different and colourful to what may look like a simple everyday hairstyle.

Tan Saddle Bag- £9

I've been looking for a brown 'day to day' bag for months now and thought this one was perfect. The cutout detailing gives it a little something different and it's perfect size. It even has the prettiest lining I think I've ever seen in a primark bag! Plus, it a separate zip up compartment in it, brilliant for keeping your phone safe when out and about.

Silver Stretchy Watch- £5

I haven't had a watch since I was about 12 and decided getting one might help get me into an organised mindset, at school especially. This one is so comfy to wear and the fact that it's stretchy means there's no buckling hassle. The hearts around the clock face give it a very girly touch as well.

 Monochrome Floral Oversized Shirt- £12

This shirt is stunning and has a gorgeous floral pattern, very topshop-esque I feel. The material is so smooth and floaty, quite sheer though. I love the dip hem- it dips right down to almost the back of my knees and I think it just feels so flattering. It's also VERY oversized; I got a size 6 and it still looks very oversized, but that's how it's supposed to look so I ain't complanining! I cannot wait to wear this with jeans, skirts or even just leggings and boots in the winter.

Dark Blue Pinafore Dress- £12

I recently found a dark blue denim pinafore skater dress in Topshop, the price of which is £38! I held back from spending this in the hope of finding a cheaper alternative. THANKS PRIMARK! This cheeky find obviously isn't as good quality as the topshop one, but it fits me so well and is exactly what I wanted. I'll be wearing this for months, most probably with tights over the colder seasons.

Cornflower Blue Cropped Jumper- £10

This has been my favourite colour for around 6 months now and so I couldn't resist this little number. I'm a very jumper person as I love being cosy and warm. This will also add a pop of colour to my winter wardrobe, a colour which I thought was very 'Bikini-so-teeny' don't you think?! Bring on A/W I say.

 

Forest Green Skater Skirt- £8

Primark skater skirts are an absolute dream. True, the belts aren't much cop but the skirts themselves are fandabbydozy (spell check loved that one!). It has quite a ribbed feel to the material, but it's not stiff in the slightest, still very flowy and soft. This is one of the most perfect Autumnal colours and can't wait to wear it with tights and ankle boots. 

I did get a fair few other little bits as I always seem to do in the land of Primark, but to be honest they're pretty simple things like tights and socks and travel liquids bottles, so thought I'd spare you the trouble of scrolling through the boring bits.

Another haul to come in a few days with some bits I've picked up from Topshop, New Look and H&M!

Thanks for reading and have a lovely day whatever you're up to :)

Charlie x 

DISCLAIMER

Everything in this post has been bought with my own money. All opinions are my own. I don't do hauls to brag; I do them because I, along with many other people out there, enjoy them and like seeing what's in the shops (especially primark).

25 Facts About Moi

Bonjour mes petit pois!

This week has been non-stop- I've been at work for 5 days- so to try and catch up a bit I'm pre-writing a few posts tonight and tomorrow. Earlier this week my darling brother Sam put a '25 facts about me' on his youtube channel and I thought it might be something quite fun to delve into on here to share some random things about me. Let's delve then.

1. I'm 16 and am just about to start sixth form (next Friday). I'm so excited but it's so nerve racking at the same time starting A-Levels!

2. When I was about 7 I choked on and then swallowed a 5p coin while fighting with my older brother. That was an interesting experience.

3. I've been indoor skydiving in Manchester. It was one of the most scary but at the same time incredible things I've ever done! The adrenaline rush was just amazing and now I want to properly skydive (like many other people)

A bit blurry but that's me!

 4. I have a collection of about 40-50 theatre programmes. It ranges from Wicked to Dirty Dancing to Birmingham Royal Ballet to Shrek the Musical. I'm determined to collect as many as I can throughout my life. Sad I know but I just love theatre!

5. In year 4 at primary school (aged 8) my friends and I created a game called 'The Vampire Game' where one person was 'the vampire' and everyone else had to run from one end of the playground to the other, avoiding the vampire. If they were caught, they were put in prison and had to be rescued before they were killed. Cheerful. I was usually the vampire.. I got so into the role every time!

6. Leading on from that, I LOVE The Vampire Diaries! I started watching it while I had a free month of netflix and now am on series 3 after buying the DVD of the series. (I'm team Damon).

7. I work in a local restaurant/ cafe as a front of house waitress type person.. Isn't that great. I don't even know what to call my job.

8. I have watched friends for years!! I could beat anyone and I mean ANYONE in a quiz about friends. I watch it while I iron, I watch it while there's nothing on TV and I still find it funny, that's the brilliant thing.

9. I broke my collar bone on the school field when I was playing at lunchtime in year 7. I got flung through the air and landed on my side. I did cry but didn't hear a crunch or anything. Odd.

10. I don't like gravy. Many people turn against me when I tell them that... please don't hate me for that- I'm allowed to have an opinion!

11. One direction are my guilty pleasure. I never used to like them, I'd wince when they came on the radio and take the piss out of them. Now I sing along to their songs and think Harry Styles is beautiful. I do still feel guilty for liking them though for some reason!

12. I started watching youtube videos about 3 years ago. I used to watch lookbooks for outfit ideas, as my style used to be diabolical! That eventually lead me to people doing hauls (Zoella being one of my first subscriptions). I'm now subscribed to over 100 channels and read at least 50 blogs. Addict right here!! 

13. I had to make this number 13! I have loved Taylor Swift for at least 5 years. I have I think every song she's made and know all the words to every single beautiful one. I went to see her Speak Now tour in 2011 and wrote '13' on my hands and face. If you don't know why the number 13, it's because it's her lucky number and she writes it on her right hand when she does a concert so you can see it when she plays guitar. Enough Swifty geeking now let's move on.

Me on the right.. I have no shame

14. I have never smoked a cigarette or taken drugs. And I want it to stay that way. DON'T DO DRUGS KIDS.

15. Nearly every day when I came home from pre-school I would strip off, fill up a small, square washing up tub with water, put it outside and sit in it. Not run around or watch afternoon telly, just sit in a tub and think deep thoughts I suppose!

16. I have a number of fears: talking on the phone, swimming in lakes/ the sea (which I conquered over the summer), jellyfish, moths and ducks. Aren't I a strange one.

17. I am a self- confessed drama queen! If I get a paper cut I will whinge and whinge. If someone taps me on the arm, I shout OW and claim that it hurt. This annoys the hell out of my friends I've gathered.

18. If someone inadvertently says a line from a song, I sing it. If someone says something that sounds like it could be made into a song, I make it into a song. If someone is talking to someone else, I just start humming or singing. This also annoys the hell out of my friends!

19. I have never been invited to a wedding. I sang in a choir at the wedding of two of our school teachers and showed up at the church (not actually invited), but never have I received an invitation to a wedding ceremony and reception. It will happen at some point and when it does I'll be so damn excited!

20. My favourite foods are strawberries and pineapple. They're both so juicy and sweet and fresh and now I want some. My mouth is watering.

21. I used to have an enormous Joe McElderry poster on my wall which I did not used to kiss when I went to bed and I did not almost cry when I found out he was gay....

22. I used to watch Annie repeatedly with a friend and force her to take it in turns singing the songs, even though I was the only one who liked singing. What a cruel child I was.

23. I whacked my brother round the head with a plastic broom when I was about 18 months old and he had to go to hospital. What a little troublemaker I must have been (I still am hehe).

24. In preschool, this boy and I constantly used to tell each other we would get married when we grew up. Said boy is now my boyfriend!

25. Last one!! I have taught myself how to play guitar. I'm not very good yet.. but I'm getting better gradually. Practise makes perfect and all that jazz. (I just started singing the song oh dear).

Phew! That took longer than expected! I'm sorry if those facts all seem really boring- it's surprisingly hard to think of 25 interesting things about yourself. Some people do 100 facts about me so I respect you if you're one of that mighty bunch.

Thanks for reading and have a lovely day whatever you're up to :)

Charlie x

OOTD- Comfy Jeans and Cardi

I do apologise for being absent for the past few days! Things got a bit crazy and I haven't had time to just sit down, relax and blog. Saying this, I did start writing a post on Sunday but didn't get to finish it. Still, I'm here now!

On GCSE results day last Thursday (one of the most nerve wracking days I've ever experienced), I obviously went into school to get my results, then went to get some snacks and spent the day with my group of friends. So this is my quite casual and comfy outfit that I chose to wear:

 (My brother let me use his camera and tripod. An outfit photo not taken in a mirror YES!)

Cardigan- American Eagle Outfitters

Top- H&M

Bandeau- New Look

Jeans- Topshop

Shoes- Primark

Necklace- Tiffany

Bracelets- Thomas Sabo (Pearl and turquoise), Accessorize and Tiffany

Nails- Bourjois 'Orange Creation'

This was so nice to wear on a sunny day that was still a bit wind. Layering is always the best thing to do if you're not sure what the weather's going to be like I find. Any items in the outfit that are still available (and that I could find) I have linked above in case you do want to look at them. 

Hope if you got results you did well!

Thanks for reading and have a lovely day whatever you're up to :)

Charlie x 

Autumn/ Winter Fashion Wishlist

I'm one of those people who is constantly on clothes shop websites browsing anything and everything, adding things to my basket, realising how much it all comes to and promptly deleting everything while internally sobbing. So as one of these people, I always have wishlists of things I'd love to splash the cash on. I'm also an autumn lover; it's definitely my favourite season. I love cool Autumn days where you can go for a walk and kick the crispy golden leaves around. I get rather giddy when shops start having pages saying 'Autumn Preview.'

1. Topshop Tan Chelsea Boots - £65 

Chelsea boots are such a classic style. I have some lovely black ones with a chunky heel and love them. I've been eyeing these ones up for about 6 months and now I actually want to buy them, they're out of stock in my size! Typical! These will be perfect for wearing with jeans or even skirts and tights.

2. River Island Blue Colour Block T-shirt -£12

I always try and get some colourful bits for autumn and winter as it gets boring if it's all black, white and grey for the whole season. This top is an absolute steal considering it's river island and it's blue... A colour I seem to wear rather a lot!

3. Topshop Knitted Fluffy Shawl Cardigan - £45

I'm in need of a big chunky cardigan and I can just imagine wearing this one on cold winter nights all cosied up on the sofa with a hot chocolate. I have to say it would be a bit of a splurge though- £45 on a cardigan. But it is topshop so I can't be surprised really.

4. New Look Grey Marl Boyfriend Jacket -£34.99

My trusty New Look coat that I've had for about two or three years looks a bit sorry for itself now. I loved a coat like this from topshop last year but one of my friends snaffled it before I could. Luckily this one is practically the same and half the price so I'm a happy girl!

5. Zara Navy Mini Office City Bag - £29.99

I've never owned a properly good quality handbag, I've always been a sucker for the cheapy ones in Primark. I thought though that since I have a job now, I could maybe afford to buy a reliable bag that will last a while. Zara handbags are raved about nowadays, and this one looks the perfect size, perfect colour and the price isn't too shabby either.

6. New Look Grey Fairisle Fluffy Jumper -£24.99

Who doesn't love a good old cost jumper. I love the pattern on this one and it'll look perfect with my joni jeans from topshop. It's one of those pieces you could just throw on on a chilly, lazy day and still look like you made a bit of effort. It would also look lovely with a nice collar peeking out of the top.

I love reading wishlist posts as it gives me ideas to start brainstorming with in my little mind, so if you read this and you've written a wishlist on your blog or have seen any good ones, please give me a link!

Also, I haven't said this before, if you're kind enough to read my blog and have a blog yourself, please leave a link to your blog below and I'll be sure to have a nose around! 
Last thing I promise. I've had a few new followers recently. If you have followed my blog, thank you so much I really appreciate it! It's such a lovely feeling knowing people are listening to my ramblings.

Thanks for reading and have a lovely day whatever you're up to :)

Charlie x

P.S- I emailed the websites asking if I could use their pictures and the general answer I got was that they couldn't answer my question! I do not take credit for these pictures. All pictures shown have links to where you can buy/ view them on their names above.

Bucket List #4 - Carriage Ride in Central Park

Just a quick post today- I have about half an hour to write this (it's currently Friday night) and I have work all weekend, so thought I'd speedily write this now to post on Sunday.

This fourth post in my bucket list series is a little bit different. Same as usual, it's on my bucket list (obviously) but I've actually been able to cross it off! In America I ticked the first thing off my things to do before I die list... I went on a horse and carriage ride in central park! 

Horsing around (get it!) with my big brother Sam

In so many films set in New York, this is always something you see! It's always looked like such a relaxing and enjoyable experience to me and for about half an hour, I felt like I was one of the Royals, being transported around by a huge horse trotting along happily in the afternoon sun. I'd sooo recommend this if you're in New York. True, it's a bit pricey, but it really is one of those classic things that everyone should get to do once in their life!

Thanks for reading and have a lovely day whatever you're up to :)

Charlie x

America Haul

At the end of July and into the start of August, I was in America for two weeks and had the most amazing time (If you'd like to read about it click here). I went with the intention of spending quite a bit of money but I was more restrained than I thought I could be, given that a lot of things are cheaper across the pond when you take into account the conversion rate. Still, I bought a few bits and thought I'd share them with you.

I'm one of those people who will go into boots, stare lustfully at the essie nail polishes and how dazzling they look, pick one up and think 'do I need to spend £7.99 on one nail polish?' and proceed to place it back and walk away feeling glum. However, in America we went to target and they had so many essie polishes. AND they were $7.50.. converted that's around £4.80! So I thought, I'll grab this chance and get two! I picked the colours 'butler please' (don't you love the names they give them) -which is a very vibrant royal blue colour- and 'e-nuf is e-nuf''- a bright corally pink. I cannot wait to try them out.

I went to a mall in New Jersey with my friends and was shocked by how expensive the clothes seemed! I found the most amazing dress in a shop I can't remember the name of now, but it was $54! That seemed a bit extortinate really in my opinion. However, I went to a shop soon after that called 'Love Culture' (I think) and bought this top. I never seem to have enough basic, casual t-shirts and thought the stripes on this were very classic and easy to style. This was a mere $6.95 or thereabout. (I can't find the link for it sorry).

At the airport, I was in a little tourist type shop and at the till, I found this little treat- the Burt's Bees Replenishing Lip Balm with Pomegranate Oil. I've ummed and aahed about buying a Burt's Bees lip balm for ages now but in the UK, I've always thought they're a bit pricey for a lip balm (can you tell I don't really like spending unnecessary money). This was about $4.99 (£3) so it worked out cheaper buying it there. I've used it every day for the past week now and love it- it's very nourishing and really hydrates my lips. Can't say I'm too keen on the smell of it though.

As I've mentioned many a time before, musicals are my number one love in life. There were tonnes of stands around New York with pictures of musicals like the one above, and one of the musicals that I'm desperate to see is 'Once'. I've seen the film and it's incredible, but I bet the show is just mezmorising. So I bought this frame with the picture in for $5, meaning I can now gaze at it every day.

With my family, I went to this amazing book store called Barnes and Noble. It had tonnes of books, DVDs, games, magazines, stationary and gifts. It was so fun to just look around all the different sections and have a glance at loads of books. I found this cute decorative quote ornament in there. It's very shabby chic and very me, and since I'm so into performing arts, it's quite applicable to me in my everyday life! It was only about $8 as well. It has pride of place on my set of drawers in my room now.

 Also in Barnes and Noble, on an overcast miserable day, we decided to buy some films to go back to the house and watch. My Mum, being the wise woman that she is, insisted on getting 'Dead Poets Society'. I had never seen this, nor had either of my brothers, and it turned out to be an incredible film- well worth a watch. 

I said I wanted to get 'The Host' which I saw at the cinema and fell in love with! You can tell it's by the same author as twilight -*cough* two guys in love with the same girl *cough*- but it's such a great story and Saoirse Ronan is perfect. 

(We knew when we bought them we wouldn't be able to play them on the TV in the UK, some technical thing, but we can still play them on laptops and plug them into the TV.. so doesn't really matter!)

When mooching around Cape Cod, we went into a surf shop where I thought 'there'll be nothing in here I'll like'. But then, out of the corner of my eye, I spotted this beauty. It's from Billabong, never a brand I thought made such pretty items. I bought this to wear on my birthday and wore it for around 10 hours and felt so comfortable and floaty. The top part is a very soft cotton that looks a bit like a bralet. It has adjustable straps which came in very handy as I'm quite small. The floral pattern was what drew me in. It's so beachy and summery and very very me colours. AND it was $49.50 (£31)!

The final thing I bought is this dusky lilac/ pink/ beige cardigan. It's very slouchy, soft and cosy and I can tell it will be worn to its bitter end. It's from American Eagle Outfitters and I spotted it at an outlet mall (the best creation ever might I add), tried it on and was so snuggly and warm that I had to buy it. This little treasure was $33 (I can't remember what the RRP was sorry), which is around £22. I was one happy girly after that purchase.

So that's everything I bought in the US of A! I had intended to buy some MAC make-up at the airport in duty free.. but can you believe it. THERE WAS NO MAC AT AN AMERICAN AIRPORT! I was most disappointed. Still, it means I can use the dollars I had left over, convert them back to pounds and buy some here (shopping spree alert. Expect to see another haul in the near future).

Thanks for reading and have a lovely day whatever you're up to :)

Charlie x

DISCLAIMER- I don't do hauls to brag. I do them because a lot of people (including me) enjoy them. Everything here was bought with my own money.

Sam on YouTube

Just a quick little post today!

A couple of weeks ago, my 18 year old brother Sam uploaded his first YouTube video! About a week later, I found out about his channel and we agreed to do the sibling tag together. It would mean a lot to him if you'd give it a watch, a thumbs up, comment or subscribe if you enjoy!

LINK TO SAM'S CHANNEL

Thanks for reading a have a lovely day whatever you're up to :)

Charlie x