Budget shopping tips

Budget shopping tips

Thursday, 10 June 2021

Travel was always my priority in the past, so much so that the idea of even spending £5 on a new top bothered me quite a lot. But now that travel isn't an option and I've spent the best past of the last 12 months locked up inside, treating myself to some new clothes doesn't seem like such a bad idea. 

With everything opening up again, I've gone a little bit crazy when it comes to buying new clothes. I want to make the most of every opportunity to leave the house and with meals, bars, and picnics booked in every week, there are now a whole bunch of occasions to get dressed up!

That being said, I am still trying to be as thrifty as possible when buying anything new - especially with the prospect of more travel on the horizon soon! Here's where I like to look for a bargain when on the hunt for something new:

Amazon 

A couple of times, I've spotted people wearing things - dresses particularly - on Instagram and when I've gone to see where they got it, it was Amazon. I was a amazed because it was definitely not somewhere I would have thought to look for clothes but I had a look for myself and found loads of bits and pieces I liked. I love the print on this dress and instantly ordered one for myself. 

Supermarket brands 

I've always been a fan of the supermarket brands for picking up plain, knitted jumpers although they seem to have caught my attention for the summer this year. There was the red gingham dress from F&F that took over the internet and this awesome cropped blazer set that I'm waiting to come back into stock in my size - much cheaper than the high street versions but just as nice!

Depop

I'm not one for mindless scrolling but Depop has always been awesome if I'm on the hunt for something specific - especially when it's been discontinued! I found two amazing dresses, that were no longer avaliable anywhere last summer for less than a quarter of their original price. 

Birthdays or bank holiday sales 

It's that time of year where I've noticed that I'm filling my basket and then waiting until the next bank holiday before  I even consider purchasing anything online, there seems to be at least 20% off almost every other weekend at the moment which is a nice chunk. This is also helpful if you've got a birthday coming up so make sure you sign up for newsletters from your favourite brands. I've been putting these codes through their paces at New Look and ASOS this month.

Miscellaneous

Then there's all the weird and wonderful ways to find cheap clothes online. Whether that's a strange Chinese website selling questionable clothing for 10p, or a catalogues with credit selling the basics for low prices. With a little bit of research, it's very possible to find nice clothes for very low prices online - plus anything that involves a package of new clothes turning up at your front door all adds to the excitement. 

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Valentines Day Gift Ideas With Brent Cross

Valentines Day Gift Ideas With Brent Cross

Monday, 5 February 2018

February already!? All I've seen is people moaning on social media about the longest January in history but mine was actually a blast; by the end, I found myself actually wishing it wasn't going to end. But now that it has, Valentines day is the next big thing right? In a relationship or not, I have always loved Valentines day. Heart shaped chocolates, all the lovey dovey stuff in the shops and a good excuse to go and buy some gifts.

Last year, I hit up Brent Cross Shopping Center in North London to go on a pre-valentines day splurge & bought all that my heart could desire at this time of year: chocolate, underwear and avo toast for lunch. Obvs; that's all I ever want for lunch.

As you guys may already know, I'm in Vietnam this February so I couldn't make it to the centre for another splurge. Instead, I'm going to share with you what I would have liked to buy this time if I had been able to pop in.

Date Night Dress

This cream dress from River island really caught my eye. I love the hem and combined with the boning and long sleeves, I think it looks really sophisticated. A bardot neckline can also be really flattering and a different way to show off some skin. Like it's been styled here, I'd add a pop of colour with the shoes, maybe pink for the special occasion?

I also spotted a lot of longer, chiffon style dresses when I was looking online and I think they are really perfect for valentines day. A long floaty dress can be so romantic; especially in lighter tones, I think they have a kind of  dreamland feel to them. This maxi dress from Topshop is a really beautiful piece with a bit of a self portrait vibe about it. Sophisticated style, beautiful layers and lace details. 

And for something a bit brighter, this ochre colour seems to be everywhere so if you're feeling brave enough to try it out all over, this front tie dress from Miss Selfridge would be my choice. It's super floaty again but with such a bright, block colour, it works much better as a mini dress.

Jewellery

While jewellery is a good idea all year around, Valentine's day is a great excuse to treat yourself, your girls or your loved ones. Fraser hart just reopened at Brent Cross after a big extension so there's even more choice in there now. They hold all sorts of brands from Rolex to Swarvoski which is usually my go to when it comes to jewellery because of the simplicity of their pieces and also, they're pretty affordable! Yes, I already have a small collection of their skinny bracelets but this Crystal Rhodium Plated Round Tennis Bracelet has really caught my eye. I just think it's so dainty and classy.

Talking of classy and simple, I love this Kate Spade watch that can be found in Ernest Jones in Brent Cross. It's part of the Holland collection and just so simple; for me, less is always more when it comes to jewellery. Whilst I'm not usually a navy person, it is also really pretty in navy and rose gold.

 And anyone who already has a Pandora bracelet is super easy to buy for because a new charm is always going to be appreciated. These are a few of my current favourites.

Cute Gifts 

I got given a scrapbook as a gift last Christmas and even though it was a very simple idea, it was honestly one of the best gifts I have ever received. I spent my whole year working through it; filling it with photos of happy memories and now that 2017 is over, it's still something I look back over all the time. Paperchase is the best place to get one, I'd go for something simple like a brown or black one (you can  get these personalised) and gift it along with some fun stickers and colourful washi tape.

Chocolate. Because what's a special occasion without chocolate?! John Lewis or Fenwick is where I usually go for it at Brent Cross. I love Hotel Chocolat or Charbonnel et Walker. Pink Marc de Champagne Truffles are my absolute fave but as long as it's either valentines day coloured or valentines day shaped I'm usually happy.

I know last year, I spent most of day in Victoria's secret. While underwear is a very personal thing, I thought this backpack was the perfect thing to add to my gift guide. Anything with patches, sequin ones at that and I'm done, look how cute it is and practical too.

As you can see, they have it all covered so for all your Valentines gifting needs head to Brent Cross!

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Shopping in London: Brent Cross

Shopping in London: Brent Cross

Thursday, 23 June 2016

This year, what my parents described to me as the original shopping center, Brent Cross, turned 40 and the lovely team there invited me along for the day to celebrate!

I've written a post over on their blog all about my trip; which involved a little bit more than just shopping so if you want to see what I got up to and what I came home with you can check it out here!

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My May Day Bank Holiday

My May Day Bank Holiday

Sunday, 8 May 2016

I've been really interested in trying a diary style post for a couple of weeks now. The first one I wrote never made it out of my drafts but I thought I'd try again and write about my May Day bank holiday weekend. Let me know what you guys thing yeah?

I finished at 4 on Friday and although that should have been a good thing, it was a bit of a pain because Andrew didn't finish until 5.45. I was pretty exhausted but I decided to make the most of my spare time and go to the gym, on my own for the first time ever - I'm still a gym newbie remember. We go to one locally so I got on the tube back to Essex and went straight there from work. I took my new Ivy Park shorts for a spin and actually got loads more done on my own and felt so awake by the end of it that I decided to get back on the train and meet Andrew for cocktails!

We went to Searcys at Westfield because it's not too far into town, the prices are really good and so are the drinks! It's such an easy place to spend the evening and it means we have a huge choice for dinner afterwards. We picked YO Sushi. Obvs but I was a bit drunk to think about taken any photos before I stuffed it in my mouth.

The next morning, we were up bright and early! After spending a whole year saying that we dont want to get on the train again at the weekend, we decided that, that was the wrong way to look at things and going into London at the weekend to do something fun rather than work was a good idea.

So on Saturday morning we jumped on the train to Oxford Circus for breakfast! I'd been to The Riding House Cafe for a meeting a couple of weeks back and it was absolutely delicious. So I was super excited to take Andrew there. I ordered near enough the same thing as last time but with a different smoothie. I loved how they arrive in cute little old school milk bottles so I definitely wanted another one of those - this time I went for Racer, chocolate and banana, my favourite smoothie combo - hold the espresso. 

Now as for the food, rather than just the usual avotoast and poached eggs that you know very well, I love, I had avocado benedict which is a dish I search for everywhere and rarely find, so when I did find it, I ordered it large. And stepped it up another notch with feta. It was honestly delicious and my favourite breakfast dish so far.

After breakfast we went for a little walk down to Oxford Street but soon regretted that - London is a nightmare when you dont know how to dodge tourists but I do, so we retreated back up to the empty back streets - it was absolutely empty and a pleasure to wander down to Selfridges.

We somehow then ended up drinking champagne in the sun on their rooftop before deciding that, actually, we don't like the trains and getting an uber home.

After a little nap, Saturday night was spent on the sofa with a big duvet and all of Tesco's (think chocolate crispy bites, mango juice, and a 2 liter tub of mint choc chip) stuffing our faces some more whilst watching Britians got talent and catching up on first dates. It was pretty chilled.

On Sunday morning I went home and just relaxed with Molly because on Monday, I'd planned a long awaited trip to Lakeside with my Mum and as usual, that meant leaving at 9 and doing Primark before anyone else arrives! We bought alot, and we ate alot and it was a great day! I think I'll leave what I bought for some upcoming outfit posts!

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LIFESTYLE: Valentines Day Shopping At Brent Cross

LIFESTYLE: Valentines Day Shopping At Brent Cross

Monday, 8 February 2016

Last week, I got an email from the team at Brent Cross inviting me along for a day of Valentines shopping which was really super exciting! 

Where I went to school, it was a mix of Essex or North Londoners so you either spend your weekends at Lakeside or Brent Cross. Obviously for me, I grew up going to Lakeside so I was actually really excited when I got Andrew to agree to drive us there this weekend. Funnily enough, it  took exactly the same amount of time to drive there as it does lakeside and as a spoiler I actually liked it just as much.

We started our trip by having a little wander around, not buying anything just yet, I wanted to see what the place had and I was very pleased to spot all the usual suspects in New Look, Topshop, River Island, LUSH ect but I was also very pleased to spot a rare Victorias Secret, Yankee Candle and even the Bad Brownie Co stand.

I've never been to a Fenwick before so I didn't really know about all the cute little places to eat inside! It wasn't exactly a food hall but with a Cafe Nero and Patisserie Valerie along with THREE, it was pretty well equipped for a little hour break from shopping. THREE was all done up last year and it was still looking very fresh, clean and as good as new from what I could tell. After I saw the menu, I was very excited to eat there so we stopped off for lunch.

You might know that last week, I went a bit crazy for avo toast, I had already had it twice but this time, I had my avo toast with smoked salmon which was a nice change, not just because I haven't done it with salmon recently but also because of the incredible quality of it there. Ask Andrew, I am super picky when it comes to smoked salmon and if it's not perfect, I just wont eat it, but I finished off the whole plate - it was delicious. As for the avo? Creamy, chunky mixed in with chopped tomato for that extra freshness - super! 

Andrew (like Juanita) is also very predictable (and easy) when it comes to breakfast. Scrambled eggs.

I was pretty stuffed from all the food but after I spotted this strange hot chocolate menu, I couldn't not try one! I went for the raspberry dream. The whipped cream and marshmallows were a treat but I'll be honest, I wasn't a huge fan of the drink, it tasted a bit to herby for me and I just didn't get the hit of raspberry that I was hoping for.

After fueling up, we were ready to take on the shops. The center is small but seemed to have everything I needed, there was a really good selection of shops which also meant Andrew went for a good 5 hours before he got bored and started moaning. There was also alot less hustle and bustle than what we are used to with other London shopping locations. It was nice to be bit more relaxed as we wandered around rather than jumping out of the way and spending 20 minutes in line at every shop.

As for Valentines Day shopping, they have that covered, lets just say they are very well prepared for the big day. The shops either had their own Valentines Day ranges all set up with hearts like LUSH, LOLAS & John Lewis for example and the others settled with Valentines Day picks from their current range which really did make shopping for it really very easy.


 I spend most of my time in Victoria's Secret and ended up spending a cheeky £100 just in there but I am very please with my new purchases. VS is seriously the perfect valentines day gift. I also picked up another box of Charbonnel truffles and with them being in a red box, I had a great excuse to try a new flavour and I couldn't help myself when I found the Kate Spade stand in John Lewis as well.

 I'm hoping just to get a cute photo of what I bought so maybe I can show you guys what I got in my February roundup post later this month!

Anyway, very successful shopping trip if you ask me. When I can convince Andrew that the ten minutes of traffic that we hit of the way home really wasn't such a big deal, I'm sure we will be back for our next splurge.

Dress / Converse / Michael Kors Bag

Huge thanks to Brent Cross to providing a gift card for some shopping and THREE for the complimentary lunch. All Opinions are 100% honest and my own

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FASHION: Christmas Party Outfit Shopping At The Liberty, Romford

FASHION: Christmas Party Outfit Shopping At The Liberty, Romford

Monday, 30 November 2015

When I went to school, Romford was the place to go. We were lucky enough to finish at 1.15pm on Fridays and we'd all pile on to the 247 bus after school and make our way to the Liberty for chocolate cream frappuccions followed by an afternoon of Primark, La Senza and Claires Accessories, finished off with a 12 box of Millies cookies.

 Since then, The Liberty has been completely updated with lots of new shops and although I have no time to ever go shopping anymore, I do spend many a Sundays wandering around the shops with my grandparents. My nan loves looking in River Island and Topshop at all the sparkles and we spend hours in Lush taking to the girls about our favourite scents of course making sure to stop off for a coffee at least twice during the trip.

So of course when the girls at The Liberty got in touch and asked if I would like to work on something christmassy with them, I was very excited! I made time last sunday to for a speedy trip around the shops before meeting Andrew and his family for lunch! The Liberty sorted me out with a gift card and sent me on my way to look for a Christmas party outfit!

So what did I get? Have a look for yourself.. 

The two piece came to a grand total of £19 from H&M (£6 for the top and £13 for the skirt) and also came in black! I might have also picked up the black top while I was there! The boots are from New Look and have the perfect size chunky heel for me - they were only £25! And what did I spend the remainder on? Well I got a little treat form Molly in the Disney Store, since she now has a tsum tsum collection to rival any disney loving child and lastly, I popped into Lush to pick up a treat to relax with after a long day of shopping!

Have Your Bought This Years Party Outfit?

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FASHION: White Stuff At Bluewater

FASHION: White Stuff At Bluewater

Thursday, 11 December 2014

Last week, The lovely ladies at White Stuff invited me along to Bluewater to celebrate their new shop opening!

The shop itself was lovely - rather that just a normal shop front it was themed on a Georgian house with big white pillars and brickwork outside. The theme carried on inside with the most lovely looking staircase covered in tinsel for the festive season! 

Now on to the clothes! I could tell straight away that they were all great quality. All the jumpers were so soft and everything was very well made! I loved that they had expensive cashmere jumpers in bright pink and green haha. Plus lots of dresses, shoes and jewellery! One of the looks is called Gypsy Caravan and all the clothes were the prettiest greens, blues and purples! Upstairs they had a loungewear section which I fell in love with - Fairisle lounge pants in the thickest cosy material and a pyjama set that consisted of shorts, a vest top and a kimono!!

 At the end of my visit the girls let me pick something from the store and sent me home with a little goodie bag! I had to go back to the beginning and pick one of the snuggly jumpers! As well as loving the design, I knew that I was going to get much looaadsss of wear out of a new jumper, although I was just browsing though the site and spotted these boots which I didn't see in store and have now fallen in love with as well ahah 

Jumper* - White Stuff

Jeans - Primark

Boots* - Clarks

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