Coral Jeans

These are my new favourite jeans ever! They're really comfy, fit perfectly and the colour is epic! I need to get back to Zara and buy them in every colour going.

Jeans, top; Zara: Cape; H&M: Necklace; Topshop: Shoes; French Sole

Staple Summer Outfit

Hello, how are your holidays going? Mine are half way through (ergh) but have been having fun hanging out with friends and getting my home life and classroom organised. Next week I'm off to Portugal with Ben, yay! I thought I'd share a summer staple outfit of mine, it's so comfy and can cross that awkward line of smart-casual. I love a nice thick legging as a change from jeans or trousers. Anyway, I'm going to bed now as I'm up for a run tomorrow and then off to the gym.
Check back tomorrow for my latest fitness (or lack of) update and another outfit post.

Shoes; French Sole: Leggings; Topshop: Scarf & shades; H&M: Leather jacket; Zara: Top& Bag; gift from my Mummy.

Mind Over Matter

So it's taken me a while to compose this post. If I'm honest. I wasn't really sure if I wanted to share this or not...it doesn't really show me at my best, but then I figured no, this is something I'm interested in at the moment and this blog is all about things I'm interested in.
So what could I be talking about? Taxidermy of small animals, my new chewing tobacco habit? Nope - being healthy! Feel free to bugger off and go and eat a burger or 3 now if you so wish, I won't be offended. Up until recently I'd have done the same. Then you make some new friends who are really healthy and look hella good for it, you put on a bit of extra weight and crop tops are still totally a thing and before you know it your Instagram and Pinterest feeds are full of fit girls, healthy recipes and fitness quotes! You're buying Women's Health and have cut out sugar and alcohol for a week!

And there in lies my main issue, I start all these things and then life gets in the way. I started going to bootcamp classes after work but then I had too much work to do after actual work so I didn't feel I could legitimately spend any time on me. I kept up my non-sugar diet for a whole week, including eating out, but it was the most stressful week of my life thanks to epic stress at work, so when I got to the weekend and I'd made it through I sodded it all off again and didn't start again. Then last week I decided to kick start it again. I've recently discovered Chloe Madeley's blog fitnessfondue.com and her Instagram and she looks amazing! I even downloaded her 12 week fitness plan, I got up at 5.30 to do my fasted cardio on Monday, ate my meals that day and came home and did my circuits from her plan. You may have seen this on my Instagram, I was so proud of myself, lol!

Then life hit again, otherwise known as prepping for parents' evening on Wednesday and I gave in. I gave in so bad I ate this for my dinner:

See when I give up, I really give up! I've had fuck all healthy food this week. Including this most delicious monster on Saturday night:

Mmmmmmmmmmmmm...drooling just thinking about it now. See my problem is I'm one of the lucky ones who's always been able to eat and drink what I want and be pretty sedentary and not put on any weight, only this means I'm not actually lucky, just lazy. Real lazy. And I'm also very used to working on no sleep, which is not conducive to healthy eating and exercising.
Since coming back to the UK to teach my life has become 100 per cent more stressful, it's become 100 per cent more exhausting and 100 per cent less fun if I'm honest. During the week that is - weekends are my fun time to be spent working (ergh), with my boyfriend and seeing my friends. The week is all about making sure everything is done to just keep treading water and not drown under the pressure that is teaching in the UK, so no real time for taking care of myself.
But surely taking care of yourself should be your main priority in life? And I think that's the conclusion I've come to in this very rambling post that you have been very nice to indulge me in reading.
So as of this week I've already prepped my lunches (well 3 outta 5), I'm not getting up early to do cardio tomorrow as I;m going to bed late, but I will do on Tuesday. I'm not going to jump straight into a hardcore 12 week plan in my final week of work as work always gets in the way. But what I am going to do is go for a run at least 3 times this week, eat healthily this week and then I've started to form a habit. I'm going to take it a week at a time and use my summer holiday to take time for me and hopefully by the time term starts again I'll have a new habit of eating healthily and exercising instead of staying up late, drinking and comfort eating. Watch this space!

See I've really prepped my lunches - turkey breast in herbs roasted in water, quinoa, spinach, sweetcorn and sweet pepper. Nom!

In Hiding

So last week we had the hottest day of the year in the UK. It was like being back in Japan without aircon. I also had the joy of a ridiculous allergic reaction that covered me from neck to ankle in a very unattractive rash (are rashes ever attractive?)! This meant whilst everyone else was in lovely sleeveless tops and skirts or dresses I was pulling out the trousers and lightweight shirts I'd bought in Japan, desperately trying to style out a rash and a heatwave...fun! I've had it for about 2 weeks now and it's finally on the way out, yay! Anyway, enough of my moaning. Here is what I wore at the weekend to cover up my diseased body (lol, eeew).

A good old maxi dress and shirt saved the day. Also had my new shoes on from Topshop but will have to get a pic of those soon, they're sooooooooooo awesome!

Dress; gift from friend: shirt; Zara: visor; H&M.

Fringe Benefits

Hello! Sorry I've been gone for so long. My job took over my life, I no longer had a life that wasn't related to my teaching, however the good news is I've finally pulled it off and qualified, yay! And with one week left before term ends and the summer begins...I'm starting to get my life back, including wearing nice things that I can post here. So thanks for sticking by me in this long, long absence!

I love the fringe and Navajo type print on this top, it's so perfect for summer! Also loving these jeans I got from my friend who didn't want them anymore! She's hella skinny so beyond chuffed I actually fit into them!

Shoes, top; Zara: jeans; gift: necklace; street seller in Cyprus.

Anniversary

My boyfriend and I celebrated our one year anniversary on Wednesday so we made sure we cleared our very busy work schedules so we could go to dinner. It was lovely and I was very lucky as he bought me several amazing presents that included clothing and a ring. It's so pretty! Anyway, this is what a wore; a skirt he also bought me! He's soooooo sweet. This skirt is a huge divergence away from what I would normally wear; for a start it's pink, then there's the length - ankle length is so not my scene, and it's all girly and satiny. However...I love it! It makes me feel like a princess and I was drawn straight to it when I saw it in H&M! I am definitely in love! But decided to dress it down a bit with my favourite white jumper from Topshop. Oh yeh, I chopped my hair off btw. This is it in it's wavy style. I keep having moments of love and loathing with it though. I think over all it's love...what do you guys think?

Skirt & necklace; H&M: shoes & jumper; Topshop

En Vie November

Just in case you missed it! Here's November's En Vie . I've just been putting the finishing touches to December's edition so I will let you know when it's time to take peek. Lots of trends you can buy for a friend for Christmas....or yourself! Some more outfit posts coming soon,

J xxx

Holiday

Sorry I've been missing for a while, work is taking up aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaall my time :( A couple of weeks ago however it was half term and the boy and I managed to get away for a few days. Here's one outfit I wore to a cute pub for dinner, followed by yummy cocktails in the hotel bar :D

Yup, wearing my favourite skirt again, lol! I really, really love this skirt so you will probably be seeing it a lot this winter...sorry!

Boots & necklace; Topshop: skirt and jumper; H&M: T-shirt & leather jacket; Zara.

Matching Leopard

Yet another piece I wrote about in September's En Vie. Here I put the top in the magazine but loved the matching skirt so much I got both! It's quite a thick neoprene-esque material so definitely autumn/winter proof.
I wore the crop top separately with jeans a few weeks back to go karaokeing with some dear friends from Japan. It was a great test to see if the top could last an entire night of drinking, dancing, crashing out at a mates and still looking respectable the next day on the journey home. The verdict? Definitely!
I also wore the skirt with my neon orange crop top to a show at London Fashion Week. Basically, these pieces are so versatile I will definitely get my money's worth.

Unfortunately the Zara bag does not contain goodies for me, although it does contain a very cute jumper for the bf that I am totally borrowing!

Crop top, skirt, ring; H&M: ballet flats; Zara: watch; Guess

Lion Print

I wrote abut this skirt in the trends section of En Vie's September issue and here's me wearing it. I LOVE this skirt and am wearing it all the time, so I guess that's kind of boring but...well I love it! It's quilted and I love the mix of oranges, browns and sky blue. I also am in love with the jumper I'm wearing here, which is quilted too. It works with everything from skirts to dresses to jeans to shorts! I've nearly worn these flat pumps to death now but they were a bargain from H&M and so comfy. Hope you're all having a good weekend! My Saturday is being spent planning so I can enjoy Sunday with my boyfriend so I suppose I should get back to it...think I'll do history next as the Romans is a fun topic!

Skirt, jumper, shoes; H&M: necklace; River Island.

En Vie September

Hey guys, the September issue has been out for a while in case you haven't seen it. Check out the animal print trend - I have both items and will be posting pics soon. I also wrote the article Boho Babe on the latest take on the bohemian trend. Read it here.

Last night I was lucky enough to be a FROWer at London Fashion Week, it was awesome. Check back later for the write up and October's En Vie for pics and a more in depth look.

Off to finish marking literacy as am up early to explode a volcano tomorrow!

London Nights

I'm recovering still from last night, but I'm nearly there, hah! I went out for a delicious burger with my boyfriend then joined my flatmate for his birthday drinks on top of a car park in Peckham. Gotta love London! I was a little chilly on top of the car park but luckily I had my trusty leather jacket with me. You can just see in the second picture my new gold metallic temporary tattoo from Flash Tattoos. I love it and can't wait to try out all the others I got. I will show you some more close up pics soon.

Shoes, vest top; Zara: jeans; H&M: necklace; Oasis.

Red Suede Legs

Yay! I can fit into my skinny trousers once more! You know how we all have a pair of trousers that used to fit once upon a time and we wish we could fit into them once more? Well these lovely faux suede leggings are mine. I bought them at H&M in Japan a few years ago now and haven't worn them for well over a year. But now they fit again and they are so comfy! And who doesn't love bright red trousers?! Sorry I've been AWOL I've been crazy busy trying to get a new job and I finally got one today, yay! Got a few more outfits from the past few weeks to post so keep an eye out.

I've finally figured out how to get my hair wavy without waiting for ages for it to fry naturally, yay! What do you guys think? I love it like this for a change.

Shoes, leggings; H&M: T-shirt; T by Alexander Wang: denim shirt; Zara.

Autumn is Approaching

Now the weather is getting cooler, well it was...I started to dig out some of my Autumn clothes. I do get quite excited when I can go back to long sleeves, jumpers and scarves! Although it's just got really hot again so I guess I'll have to wait for Autumn a bit longer.

Shoes: French Sole; jeans and top; Zara: hat, scarf, shades; H&M. 

Summer Holidays

So...I'm poor and my boyfriend is hella busy at work so there's no summer holiday for me, booo! Although maybe there will be one in autumn and talk of such a holiday got me thinking about Miami and then.....I was perusing Topshop.com as I can only window shop atm, sad times, and well...THIS!

How perfect? With some sports luxe little black shorts and some sliders? Ergh, holiday heaven! Ah well, I can but dream! 

Check back soon to see what I got from Topshop with the voucher I got from work! (Hint it's sports luxe and I wore it to the Common Wealth Games - theme dressing love!)

I've been applying for jobs all day so going to make some scrambled eggs and smoked mackerel for my lunch, nom! That is if I can move...my British Military Fitness (BMF from now on) class yesterday has left me stiff and sore....means it must be working!

Family Gatherings

Wore this a while ago when I lived in Wimbledon still. We went to a big family party for my boyfriends uncle. It was the first time I met most of his family so the pressure was on! I was going to wear a dress but they can be a  bit floaty and blow up in the wind so didn't want to risk it. Instead I went with a pencil skirt and t shirt combo. Obviously because it's me my pencil skirt is colourful and patterned, lol! I decided to do something a little different for me with my hair as I always wear it down and it's starting to get boring! Anyway I had a lovely day and this outfit has totally entered into my summer staple rotation.

Sandals; Zara: Skirt; ASOS: t shirt, shades; H&M: necklace; Topshop

August En Vie

Can you believe August is here already? How crazy? Well here's the August edition of En Vie! Check out the news and trends as well as my article on how to do some sheer makeup this summer (Pastel Princess).

Check it out here.

Orange Crush

Went for dinner in town last weekend and after we took a stroll along the river and chilled in the warm night air, it was awesome. Just a gratuitous picture of me and my man at the end there as I'm missing him this weekend! Sorry about the picture quality had to use an iPhone; nowhere near as good as my usual Samsung :(

Dress; New Look: scarf; Zara: necklace & bracelets; Topshop.

Carrie Crush

I was slightly hungover and very, very hot on Saturday so I took my inspiration from a Carrie Bradshaw outfit to go house hunting with my man. Here's Carrie's version followed by mine, please ignore the hungover face!

I'm slightly more tubular and significantly less tanned than Carrie, but I quite like it, what do you think?

Shoes & skirt; H&M: T-shirt; River Island: bracelets; Topshop.

Under the Bridge

Wore this out to dinner with my man last weekend. Note the skirt and top were bought for me by my boyfriend....and they were his choice! I'm so lucky that not only is my boyfriend awesome he's got great taste in clothes and he buys me way too many :D 

We went out to dinner on the South Bank as I live a mere 15 minutes away these days which is amazing and I intend to take full advantage of this! We also randomly walked onto the set of Legend, but Tom Hardy wasn't there filming till the next week, sad times.

Skirt, top, shirt; Zara: dance shoes; French Sole: necklace; River Island: watch; Guess.