What's in my evening bag?

What's in my evening bag?

I love reading blog posts and watching YouTube videos of girls showing off their bag and the contents inside of it. I have really wanted to do one for a while, therefore I thought I would but I wanted to show you what I pack in my evening/clubbing bag. Just because I have fallen in love with my new evening bag from Primark. They have some truly, gorgeous evening bags in Primark at the moment. I prefer to have plain ish evening bags so that I don't have to struggle trying to match my outfit to my bag. This black, croc detail faux leather bag was perfect for what I wanted with the tiny detail of the gold and tassels on the front. Believe it or not, it was only £5! Fabulous!

Now I haven't put everything in the photograph of what I would take out as I thought they were the obvious ones; money/purse, phone and keys! Other than those obvious essentials, these are the other things I like to take with me in my evening bag..

The first thing, which again is probably obvious, is your ID. Yes embarrassingly mine is my Passport. If you forget your ID your night is basically ruined from your first steps out of your door. Next I make sure that my iPhone portable charger is fully charged to put in my bag. When you are trying to find your lost drunken friends, taking hundreds of selfies and then ringing for your taxi back home the last thing you need is your phone dying on you! Another item I always pack is the lipstick I am wearing. Unfortunately when drinking, unless your lipstick is magical, it doesnt seem to stay perfect all night. Which means that you need to take it with you so that you can quickly just put some more on. I always take my favourite lip balm out with me as well just in case I don't have the time to redo my lipstick. Other items I would advise packing, if you have room in your bag, is a packet of chewing gum and a small hairbrush.. or my beloved Tangle Teezer in my case. You might want to take other makeup with you, but you don't want to be spending all of your time when you are out in the ladies! 

- Kat Melladay x

Mini Primark haul & OOTD 15.07.14

Mini Primark haul & OOTD 15.07.14

Primark has always been one of my favourite shops. Sometimes I find I go through phrases with the shop where I will see lots of different items that I love, and sometimes I don't really see anything that appeals to me. Having said that, there is not very often a time where I leave empty handed from shopping in there. Recently, I have found that they have so many items that I simply must have! From blouses, kiminos, shoes etc they have got a lot of either simple or statement pieces in that look a lot more expensive than the price tag. Of course that is mainly why I love Primark, I can find things to wear that I adore and I don't have to spend a fortune to own them. 

The other day I picked up a few bits that I thought were either really different, or simple and could wear them with anything. This summer, kimonos are a big must have. Whether you are lucky enough to go on vacation or not, they are a great alternative to a jacket (because summer in England can still get a bit chilly) or just the statement to your outfit. I probably have a few too many of them now, but this did not stop me in purchasing this dusty blue coloured one from Primark. I thought the colour of it was gorgeous and pulled me in straight away. Even though it isn't one of the more bright and bold kimonos in the shops right now, I think it is just perfect for if I want to wear a more casual outfit to sling on and it make it look that bit more interesting. I think that the colour also is an ideal colour that I can wear with dresses and tops which have a lot of colours in them. At £15 it was the first item straight into my trusty Primark basket. The next thing I got was one of their many, beautiful blouses that they have brought out since spring. This one appealed to me because its base colour is black. Black will always be my favourite colour to wear.. Miss boring. I have already been asked by people where I got this from because I think it is quite usual with the pops of yellow and red. It is perfect for summer for any of you especially, that are in love with black still and don't want to look too bright. Speaking of my love of all things black, I could not believe it when I saw this hat in Primark! It was the last one in store and I grabbed it immediately. I have seen so many people wearing this style of hat, so I thought I would see if I could pull it off. It was amazing at £8, as I was going to get one from Topshop and they wanted £28. This is why Primark is fabulous. I made sure to pick up some elastic bands for my hair for £1 and then I got a pair of cream and gold detailed ballerina shoes. I get most of my shoes from Primark because I find that even though the price is always cheap, these were £6, they always seem to last me for a long time. The last thing I purchased was an over-sized acid green/grey tee for £4. I am a typical size 6, however I got this one in a size 12 as I wanted it to hang off one shoulder and look very relaxed.

I appreciate this isn't one of the best OOTDs but I am wearing my new, loved kimono so never mind. I just decided to wear it with a plain black cami top and my signature black leggings. Teamed with my grey Converses, my old Ted Baker bag and some necklaces.

OOTD: Kimono - Primark, Cami - New Look, Leggings - Primark, Bag - Ted Baker (old design), Shoes - Charcoal grey Converse.

- Kat Melladay x

Birmingham shopping haul.

Birmingham shopping haul.

The other day I actually had a quite spontaneous moment, which is rare for me. Things at home in my life were starting to all get on top of me a bit and overwhelm me. I was desperate for some time just to myself. I wanted to be alone for at least a day without having to think about friends, family, career related issues anything. Just myself, alone with my own thoughts, a bit of independence for the day. What better excuse did I need to go for a shopping day? So I decided to do some research on shopping centres in different cities which I had not been to before. The "Bullring" shopping centre in Birmingham appeared, and had many shops that I would love to browse through. Therefore I booked my train tickets for the next day, and off I went!

I love train journeys. I haven't met many people that agree with me on that, but I find them so relaxing. I love looking at all the countryside and buildings out the windows and reading my book. I thought that I would be really nervous and perhaps, quite frightened travelling all the way to Birmingham by myself. Having to change trains and have no one around who knew me. However, to my great surprise I was absolutely fine! I was amazed by how big the Bullring centre is. There are three floors of many great shops inside, but there are also hundreds of shops outside as well which is classed as part of the Bullring! 

My first stop was my favourite, Topshop. Compared to the sale section in my Topshop back home, it was incredible. Even though I didn't find anything in the sale there this time that I fanced, I will be sure to go back there again when I know there will be a big Topshop sale. I did purchase some lovely green, flowered trousers. I thought they would be great for any occasion, whether it is going out at night, going for a meal or just for casual wear during the day. I could dress them for both the warmer and colder months and they can be worn with quite a few different colours. I also picked up an elephant top. This was one of those moments where you see something in a store, and instantly HAVE to have it. So that wasn't questioned. During the day I went into the Disney Store, which was wonderful as always. Sadly we do not have one of these stores where I live so I always get a bit too excited when I find one. Of course I had to buy an adorable Dumbo elephant to take back with me! When I went to explore what was outside, I discovered the massive Primark. I only got one top but I think it is totally me. The colour really seems to suit my skin-tone and hair colour and it is a top which, like the Topshop trousers, can be worn both dressed down and up. As always it was a classic, Primark bargain at £6.

I went to so many stores there, the store I spent most of my time in was Waterstones. At first I did not realize that all of the store was Waterstones, I thought the top stories of the store might have been accommodation. When I went inside I soon realized and then I spent most of my day in there. As you can see I only purchased one book, "Anna and the french kiss" by Stephanie Perkins for my train journey back home. However there were just so many books to look at and discover in there. Again, in my hometown the Waterstones is not very big so this one was something else to me. Birmingham is very busy, full of so many people. Being inside Waterstones was so peaceful and quiet, just what I wanted from this day.

It is safe to conclude that I spent quite a bit of money on my day in Birmingham, however it was a fantastic day. I did not think that I would be able to have so much fun on my own, but I really did. It is definitely a great place to visit, especially when the sales are on. I know where I'll be going when it is Christmas shopping time.. or when I want to have a book haul!

Topshop Green Trousers: click here to buy!
Topshop Elephant Top: click here to buy!

- Kat Melladay x

OOTD 23.06.14 & 2nd visit to Twycross Zoo.

OOTD 23.06.14 & 2nd visit to Twycross Zoo.

Top - Topshop Sale, Jeans - Joni Topshop, Jellies - Primark, Bag - Urban Outfitters, Choker - Amazon.

Family photo!

Singing?

I mentioned in my previous blog post about visiting Twycross Zoo that I wanted to go again real soon as one of the Asian elephants had given birth to a baby girl called Esha. I was feeling a bit down recently about different things, so my parents decided to surprise me by taking me out for the day to meet her! As a huge elephant lover, it automatically cheered me up!

When we got to the zoo, I just ran towards the elephants. Baby Esha is everything that I imagined and more, she was gorgeous and everything about her was utterly adorable. She is fluffy and so tiny compared to the adult elephants. She already, obviously, has a large fan club! Everyone there was gathered around taking photographs and videos of her, "awwwing" at her cuteness. I myself came away with about 100 photographs of her on my phone, but just selected a special view for you to see. Throughout our day, I think we must have gone back to see her about three times. One of the times was to see the keepers feeding the elephants (cabbages and carrots!) and a talker about the elephants and their lives so far which was really interesting.

Again, as well as my favourites there were many other lovely animals to see. When I previously visited the zoo, it was winter time so the Flamingos weren't out but they were this time and my mum loved them! We also saw the penguins being fed this time walking around so that you could be literally, cms away from them! They were swimming and just chilling, looked so relaxed. There was a new arrival at Twycross, introducing the Zebras! There was four sassy zebras in their new big home that they seemed to be enjoying.

I love going to Twycross Zoo, it is always a wonderful day out. Already looking forward to the next time I can go, I will obviously have to see baby Esha again...

OOTD: Top - Topshop sale (cannot find a link unfortunately as I don't know if every store will have it), Jeans - my favourite "Joni" jeans from Topshop (click here to buy!), Jellies shoes - Primark, Bag - Urban Outfitters (they don't stock the red anymore, however they do have it in black: click here to buy in black!), Choker - Amazon (click here to buy!). 

Twycross Zoo info: http://twycrosszoo.org/ 

- Kat Melladay x