dress for the races

1 Top hat moustache watch - Asos 2 Nail polish - Essie 3 Cocktail dress - SWING 4 Lipstick - Rimmel London 5 Leather envelope clutch - Lulu Guiness 6 Daisy parasol/umbrella - Fulton 7 Ruffled fascinator - J by Jasper Conran 8 Regent Savoy boots - Hunter

I just saw this competition to win £200 worth of ASOS vouchers and I thought it would be fun to dream up what I might wear to the races if I ever went.. For starters, a pretty cocktail dress and an embarrassingly extravagant fascinator would be involved. And I know fancy, elegant footwear is expected, but knowing the great British weather as I do, I'd feel a lot safer wearing a classic pair of Hunter wellie boots.. And a pretty umbrella for rain or parasol for sunshine with a matching bag (how gorgeous is this leather clutch by Lulu Guiness?!) Finishing touches: hot pink lips and nails and a proper gentleman on my arm, aka this amazing top hat and moustache watch. Have you ever been to the races? What did you wear? I love dreaming up outfits.. In reality I mostly wear jeans and flip-flops wherver I go! Hx

on the canal

Gilet - Fatface | Cardigan - Primark | Flats - Red or Dead

Did you have a good weekend? On Sunday we went out on my auntie and uncle's narrowboat. It was SO good to get some fresh air and hang out with my family. It was a bit rainy and chilly but that didn't stop me rocking the nautical theme and gave me a great excuse to wear my new bodywarmer.. I bought it in the Fatface sale last month, ready for the Autumn, but it's come in petty handy over the last few dreary weeks! Also, how delicious is my cousin's babe? Hx

favourite sunglasses

1 Timeless sunglasses by J.Crew 2 Cat-eye sunglasses by Mango 3 Festival brow sunglasses by Topshop 4 Retro sunglasses by Accessorize

Summer is here! Or at least it was when I thought to write this post.. Now it's raining and I have the kind of headache that tells me there's going to be a storm any day now, but anywho.. Summer is sort of here. I love Summer for many, many reasons, one of them being that I get to buy and wear new sunglasses. I have found my perfect sunglasses (similar pair here), but here are a few more styles I wouldn't mind adding to my collection.. Do you like my picks? Hx

Ps, how awesome are these eyebrow sunglasses?!

we are cardiff : portrait of a city

When we first moved to Cardiff I discovered a blog called We Are Cardiff and have enjoyed reading various stories from the people of Cardiff.  Now I have just heard that the film they've been making for the past year and a half  - We are Cardiff : Portrait of a City - is complete and they are throwing a launch screening party. So if you're in Cardiff on Sunday 7th July, head over to Chapter Arts Centre at 12:30pm. Tickets cost £6.00 (buy here) and include tea and Welshcakes - win! - and you can find out more on the Facebook event page. Hx

daisy, daisy

Sunglasses - Urban Outfitter (similar) | Tunic - Vero Moda | Bag - Miss Lulu | Leggings - H&M | Flats - Fred Perry | Ring - Urban Outfitters

Hope you had a good weekend? Ours was divine. After a week of feeling super poorly, it was lovely to not be rushing around, getting things done and socialising(!) - it was nice to jut hang out by ourselves. On Friday we went out for dinner in Cardiff Bay as we had meal vouchers to spend (to start I had the biggest king prawns I've ever eaten, they were so delicious). On Saturday it was mega sunny so we hit the beach in Porthcawl. We read our books, paddled in the sea and devoured ice lollies - good times! On Sunday we stayed in bed all morning and I made French toast with maple syrup and berries, which is my new favourite breakfast, then we drove a little way out of the city to explore Taff's Well. We walked along the Taff Trail to Gelynis Farm to sample their yummy homemade ice-cream and then back to find out about Taff's Well Thermal Spring, the only thermal spring in Wales. I've been trying to find time to learn how to use my awesome big camera, instead of just switching it to automatic, and this weekend we had fun playing with focus/perspective, as you can see in these pictures from Sunday. I also just ordered these books, which I'm hoping will help me to develop my technique. If anyone can recommend any blogs/websites/books for getting to grips with a d-slr, I'd love it if you would get in touch to let me know! Hx

three things i'm currently loving

I said there'd be a film review and an event write-up this week.. But, I was ill on Tuesday so I didn't make it to the cinema, and I was ill on Wednesday so I didn't make it the party :( Sad times! But I did deliver on the curtain tutorial I promised, yay! Anyway, here are three things I'm loving right now..

1: Picnics in the sunshine! We live near some beautiful parks and botanical gardens, so after work it's so nice to take supper outside.. Last night it was spaghetti bolognese, salad and a bottle of red, followed by a cuppa from my Thermos and a couple of hours reading a good book.

2: benefit's triple performing facial emulsion. Seriously, this stuff is gorgeous. The kind lady at the benefit counter gave me a few week's worth of it and my skin has never felt so good, I don't want it to run out!

3: Knitting! I know I said I was taking a break from knitting, but I really couldn't resist stitching up a few cute baby things for friends' new arrivals. And baby garments are so quick to make, it's really very satisfying.. These sweet hats were made using Erika Knight's British Blue Wool and this Purl Stripes Baby Hat pattern. The booties were made using this crossover shoes pattern.

What are you loving right now? Have a lovely weekend, we have NO PLANS and I couldn't be happier about this! Hx

michael kors watch giveaway

I was talking to my sister-in-law the other day about how I'd like to invest in a really nice watch. The dream watch (if one can have such a dream?) looks a lot like this Michael Kors one! I think it's the perfect statement piece without being too showy and I love the chunky links. This one is up for grabs in a Tic Watches giveaway hosted by etailPR - to be in with a chance of winning just enter the competition on their Facebook page. Hx

easy curtain tutorial

As promised, today I'm sharing with you a simple tutorial for the curtains I made for my Room for Improvement challenge. These really are very easy to make as they don't require any specialist techniques or equipment, just basic sewing skills and the rail your old curtains previously hung from. Read on for instructions and more pictures..

a few things of note

Just a quick post this evening. I was sent home from work poorly today so I'm looking forward to getting back to snuggling on the sofa with Bluebell, my knitting (yes, I know I said I wasn't going to knit for a while) and a cheesy film. Oh and Mr. W of course, once he's cooked me up some nourishing stir-fry ;) So just a few things..

1. I was honoured to be a guest blogger for Cardiff blogger Chantele of Daisy Dayz. She is setting up business with her hubby and is a little busy to post so I happily wrote a post about one of my favourite holiday destinations and it was published today - click here to read, and have a wander round Chantele's lovely blog while you're at it :)

2. My post about Stockholm bedroom style was featured on the Next blog (click here to read what they wrote about me and see posts from the others who took part in the worldwide wardrobe challenge).

3. Thank you so much to all my new GFC followers, it's so awesome to know you care ;) However, it would be even more amazing if you could hop on over to bloglovin' and follow me there too (and any other new followers welcome, ta!), just in case GFC really is closing down in July.. In case you hadn't heard, there is now also a bloglovin' app for iPhone and Android, which I'm loving.

Have a lovely week dears, I hope to be back soon with a sewing tutorial, film review and event write-up. Hx

Ps, I promise there won't be tooo many cat pictures, but I really couldn't resist these ones. You see the middle photo? That is actually how she sleeps. It's a wonder I get anything done at all, she is just too cute.