The Bandwagon

• Jacket from Dorothy Perkins
• Top from Dorothy Perkins
• Jeans from Topshop
• Shoes from H&M

I’ve just got back in from a lovely meal with my best mate. I am very full of Tapas now. So good.

I have some hopefully exciting news. I viewed a really lovely flat today, and it’s looking positive for us getting it. It’s a really cute place with some lovely quirky details. I am keeping everything crossed at the moment for everything going through ok so we can get into our lovely new flat! Hooray!

The colours a little distorted here thanks to a couple of glasses of red wine, but I caved and bought one of the new Revlon lip butters that every blogger and their dog seems to have bought, This one is Raspberry Pie. I’d been avoiding them, as I thought they seemed a bit pricey for a tinted lip-balm, but actually I really like this one. The colour is very rich and wearable, and feels lovely and soft on my lips. The colour vanished pretty much totally over the course of eating and drinking, but faded rather than smudged everywhere like lipstick often does, so I didn’t mind too much. I’ll think I’ll be back for more. Anyone else cracked and bought these? What do you think?

Home Sweet Home

Homeware by caramellattekiss on polyvore.com

The Urban Outfitters website is dangerous. That's what I've learnt today. Gorgeous home stuff, but so expensive! 

I've got homeware on the brain. Myself and my friend Jenny are looking to rent a flat together at the moment, and I'm all excited at having a place of my own to fill with stuff. We went to look at a flat on Sunday, which was pretty nice but not really what we're looking for unfortunately. We've got a couple more viewings lined up already though, and loads more to ring about, so I think we're doing pretty well. 

I've always liked the idea of homes full with pretty clutter, so I am of course unable to help myself looking around for said pretty clutter. Unfortunately, so many of my finds might have to wait until I win the lottery. 

Polka Dot

LOOK! Look at the pretty! This gorgeous illustration was done for me by the divine Sarah of EssBeeVee. She writes one of my very favourite blogs, and I’ve always admired her beautiful drawings, so you can imagine my excitement at having one of my own. Now I just need to find a suitable home for my illustration somewhere on the blog. And someone who can make me a real version of this dress.

A couple of nights ago, I went to see Rich Hall at his gig at the venue I work in. He was brilliant. I’d actually never realised how much of his act is music, but he played keyboards and guitar, as well as singing songs about people he’d spoken to in the audience. Seriously talented man, and so funny. I would definitely recommend him. In a couple of weekends’ time, we’ve got Michael McIntyre, which I am so excited about. It’s going to be great.

This week has been a busy one already, with Rich Hall on Monday and an accidental night out last night. I went out for a cheeky drink, and ended up out until the small hours, with one of the girls from work crashing at my place. Brilliant night though. Tomorrow is the last day for one of our interns before she leaves us, which I am gutted about it. We’ve got to be very close while we’ve worked together these six months. We’re already planning to go to lunch and the cinema on Sunday though. I’ll be seeing plenty of her anyway, and we’ve actually started talking about sharing a flat together. Fingers crossed!

Who Needs Feminism?

This image is from an amazing Facebook page I stumbled across a few days ago. A group of students at Duke University created a series of images to display on campus, showing students sharing their reasons for calling themselves feminists. What began as a campus project went viral. At the time of writing ,Who Needs Feminism has 6914 likes on Facebook, 282 followers on Twitter and a Tumblr full of people’s experiences of sexism. I’m not going to start on another soap-box rant but I had to share this fantastic group. Please do take the time to look at the images on their Facebook. The students, male and female, have some great things to say.

It’s refreshing to see a Facebook campaign with something intelligent to say about the situation of women, without encouraging us to make sandwiches. It’s so needed.

Anyway, aside from looking through these pictures, I’ve been down in Frome this weekend with MrKiss. Helpfully, I forgot my camera and so have pictures to share, but we had a great weekend. On Saturday, he took me to Bath for an explore. I’ve never been before, but recognised some of the streets from Jane Austen television adaptions and such-like. Bath is so pretty! We avoided the Roman Baths, as the queues were bonkers, but there was plenty to look at without that, with the pretty streets, famous roads like Royal Crescent and the Botanical Gardens. I’m going to have to pay it a visit at some time without MrKiss though. I saw so many tempting signs for Vintage shops, but decided not to inflict an afternoon being dragged round shops on MrKiss. He is not a shopper!

What has everyone else done with their weekends?

60s Shapes

• Dress from TKMaxx
• Shoes from Marks and Spencer

This shift shape isn’t one I wear very often. I love 60s shapes on other people, but they don’t generally suit me all that well. It’s 50s all the way for me. Anyway, I wore this for a night-out with some work buddies at the weekend.

I’m all out of sync with what day it is thanks to being off work for the bank holiday. These things are too much for my simple brain.

I don’t have much to share in the way of news, I’m afraid. I’m having all sorts of battles with my phone, which sadly means it’s refusing to install Instagram. It’s finally on Android phones and mine throws a fit. I am gutted. Still, it’s pretty sharply cured my sudden addiction to Draw Something. Seriously, DO NOT get an HTC Wildfire S. Awful phone. Can anyone suggest a good Android replacement with some actual internal memory?

Right now I’m chilling out watching the Family Guy Star Wars. Funny stuff. I love Star Wars, although I don’t think I’ll be able to take it seriously now with the image of Stewie as Darth Vader in my brain.

Long Weekend

• Necklace from Lady Luck Rules Ok (I think, I’ve had it ages)
• Dress from Motel

Friday night was all about this lovely lady. No, not me being arrogant, my best friend. Three of us went out on Friday to celebrate her new job, and the fact that all three of us are now employed. Actually being employed is definitely worth celebrating; so many people I know who graduated when I did are finding it next to impossible to find a job.

We decided to have an actual grown-up, lady-like evening for a change and go for a dinner in a swanky wine-bar and bistro in town. The food was gorgeous, as was the wine selection. We then decided it would be rude not to sample of their new cocktail menu.

I of course had to pretend to be in Sex and The City and order a Cosmopolitan. Sadly this glass wouldn’t fit in my handbag (not that I’d do a thing like swipe cool glasses from bars anyway, obviously), but isn’t it cool? I definitely want some pretty cocktail glasses to fill my cupboards with. We also test-drove a Strawberry Daiquiri, a Mojito and a French Martini. By the way, we didn’t all drink all that, we just ordered different ones and swapped them about to try.

After that, we decided that was enough class for one evening and set off to the pub down the road, which has a pirate ship for a bar to drink Jack Daniels, and then to Wetherspoons to drink cocktails that come in jugs instead of pretty glasses.

This is a Woo Woo and a Blue Lagoon mixed together, also known as a Woo Lagoon, or a  Blue Woo. I learnt this concoction back in my days as a Spoonie, and it’s much nicer than the individual cocktails. 

Otherwise, my Easter weekend has been spent with family, eating lots and out with work friends. I came home on Saturday night to find this laid out on my bed:

The toy rabbit has been with me for a while, but the rest if Easter presents from my Mum. Isn’t that sweet? Sadly, one of the MaltEaster Bunnies did not survive the night.

Has anyone eaten their weight in chocolate eggs yet?

Samantha Brick–Do You Hate Other Women For Their Beauty?

I’ll be honest, there was a large part of me that wanted to write a Samantha Brick parody, but I’ve read three already today, so I decided it was maybe best I didn’t.

Lucky enough to not know who Samantha Brick is? Allow me to enlighten you, Samantha Brick writes charming articles for the Daily Mail, with titles like ‘Why a magazine for large women is just a big, fat con (and I should know, I used to be a size 16)’, ‘Why my husband says he’ll divorce me if I get fat’ and ‘I use my sex appeal to get ahead at work…and so does ANY woman with sense.’ Her latest contribution bewailed what a terrible time she has because of her extreme beauty. Using Daily Veil, you can read her article here without giving the Daily Mail site any hits. Of course, Twitter exploded. The article generated 30 million hits. People suggested that perhaps woman do not like Ms Brick because she has a giant ego, not because she is a great beauty (which she isn’t. She’s pretty, but not so beautiful that she deserves her inflated opinion of herself). Ms Brick then wrote a second article, claiming this only proved her point and her detractors were jealous women. She chose to ignore all the men who poked fun at her.

Now, good for Samantha Brick if she has so much self-confidence, but the idea that women are such jealous creatures that we hate anybody who is more attractive than us made me a touch pissed off. Of course we don’t, what utter nonsense.

I know girls who turn heads. I lived with a cheer-leader who was into pole-fitness at university. The year we lived together, I had a sudden increase in my male friends wishing to visit me at uni. They’d never seen this girl, but she became the stuff of legend. As it happens, she’s gorgeous as well. Do I hate her? Not in the slightest. I adore that pole-dancing cheer-leading beauty. She’s one of my dearest friends. The only time I’ve ever been jealous of her was when she had more interesting food in the fridge than I did. That’s about it.

I won’t pretend that jealously is something I don’t experience, but I’m fairly sure I’ve never felt jealous over another’s looks. There are certain girls I’m less than fond of, but I can honestly say, looks play no part in it. I hope I’m never petty enough to dislike someone because they are prettier than me. I’d rather stick to dislike caused by personality clashes! Jealousy is an ugly quality. So is vanity.

Did anyone else read the ‘I’m so beautiful’ articles. What did you think of them and following madness?

Warwick Castle

• Trench from H&M
• Jumper from TKMaxx
• Jeans from Topshop
• Shoes from H&M
• Bag from Nica
• Sunglasses from Accessorize

Mum and I went to Warwick Castle on Sunday, and the sun came out for us again. It actually turned out pretty hot, which was lovely for sitting out in the grounds in.

Warwick Castle is gorgeous. They’ve got a few different exhibits set up, as well as the standard state rooms you get at most castles and stately homes. Mum and I were both seriously impressed in their Edwardian suite of rooms.

The rooms are set up as an Edwardian house party, hosted by Daisy, the Countess of Warwick. The rooms are beautiful, and filled with waxworks of the well-to-do of the time, including a 23-year-old Winston Churchill! Daisy seems to have been quite the scandalous woman. The notes around the rooms reveal, that despite her marriage to the Earl of Warwick, she was a mistress of the Prince of Wales for some years, although she ended that affair and went on to have children by two men other than her husband!

You’re met at the start of the exhibit by a butler, who greets you and explains the set-up, before formally ‘announcing’ you to the room. Slightly odd, but good fun, and a nice extra touch, we thought.

Warwick itself is so pretty, but a lot smaller than I realised. Our exploration of the town didn’t last very long!

I’m loving the prospect of the four-day weekend for Easter this week. I’m really looking forward to having a few days to just relax. I’d been hoping to get down to Somerset to see MrKiss, but our plans just didn’t fit together, so I’ll be down there next weekend instead. He’s in Aberystwyth right now, for an impromptu visit, which is giving me some serious Aber envy!

Who else is more than ready for the Easter bank holidays?