IT'S JUST ROCK N ROLL

Hi lovelies! It has been a hot minute since the days of daily outfit posts on my blog, so excuse the minimal photos on this one, I promise I'll get back in the game soon!! Today though, I wanted to share one of my favourite trends with you all and how I'm styling it - band tees!

For someone as thoroughly obsessed with music as I am, seeing band tees making a comeback in mainstream fashion made my heart sing. I have to admit, I am definitely one of those people who will not wear a bands logo if I don't listen to the band at least a little bit, but I do understand that some logos are just too cool not to put on a t-shirt (looking at you Pink Floyd). I love that this trend can look super casual, but be dressed up also. I've lived in band tees since around 2008, so having them pretty much everywhere in high street stores right now makes me a very happy lady. 

Major bonus, the trend ties in with another of my favourite trends - denim! Almost all of the denim I'm wearing in the post was very provided by WearAll. I'm aware that in the second set of pics, I'm not actually wearing a band tee, but I figured the double denim was 'Bon-Jovi-esque' enough to pull it off as a Rock n Roll outfit, right? Right?! The blue denim skirt in this outfit is one of my favourite pieces in my wardrobe right now, I am honestly obsessed with it. I love how it looks so casual, especially paired with a simple tee like this one, but the distressed look makes the whole outfit just a little bit more edgy and a whole lot cooler! 

As for actual band tees, the first of the two is the super adorable ACDC bodysuit, which was a Primark bargain! I paired this with these distressed high waisted jeans which again, are a firm favourite right now and will definitely be a staple going into Autumn/ Winter which looks like it is well and truly upon us (sob), distressed denim really is something you need in your wardrobe right now and it's everywhere so go get you some! The other is a Ramones tee that I got in Luxembourg of all places, though you'll find similar all over the place. I paired this with this black lace up denim mini, this skirt is great as it's a kind of stretch denim material, which makes it seriously comfortable to wear while still having a nice snug fit. I love this with a leather or denim jacket in a contrasting colour. All about the double denim right now and I am not even sorry.

What do you think? Do you love the rock n roll trend that's going on right now? What are your A/W Wardrobe staples?

MAKING A HOUSE A HOME

Hi lovelies! Today, I wanted to share a quick little post all about our house and how we've made it out own on a budget. I’ve been meaning to do this since Darren and I first moved into our (not so new) home, but Wedding and life got in the way! When we moved, we moved from a rented house that was fully furnished when we moved in and our place was literally a blank canvas, so as we were starting from scratch, we decided to go very basic with our furniture (charcoal sofas, black coffee table and side table etc). I’m all about monochrome and keeping things minimal so while this suited me, it also meant I wanted to add a few touches to make our place feel like our own!


Honestly, when choosing where you're going to live whether you're buying or renting, I think making sure you love the actual space itself, a mistake we made with our last place, we picked the first rental we came by that'd allow a dog and while our little cottage served us well as our first home together, it so just not us at all, very old fashioned and with no garden to speak of and honestly it never fully felt like home like our place does now. When we first moved in here, it felt a bit strange as our place is a first floor maisonette, so while we do technically have a downstairs, it’s literally just a little hallway where our front door is, then you’re straight up the stairs into our open plan living room/ kitchen area. This was very different for me and initially, it felt more like a holiday apartment than our actual house (something I now love!!).  Probably my favourite thing about it is how light and bright it is thanks to several big windows – something our old house definitely didn’t have! The Kitchen area and bathroom both have roof windows, which is fab because it means the light floods the room, but no one can see directly in (though we’re surrounded by forest and trees on that side of the house so it’s not too much of an issue!). You can get Top Hung Roof Windows from Roof Windows Veluxshop – it’s an investment and luckily our house had them already but I’d thoroughly recommend them. It may seem like an odd one recommending windows, but because the room is so light and bright, it meant that we could have dark furniture, which I absolutely love.

As we went with black and grey furniture, that means we can bring in other colours as and when we fancy a change, this is particularly good for those on a budget as it's a really easy way to make a room feel really different without having to spend a lot of money. Try using Laura Ashley promo codes which would help you find furniture at economical prices Personally, I love keeping everything black, grey and white as much as possible as it's a look I love, but to make it feel our own, we've added little touches of things that fit our personalities, particularly in the living room area as it's where we do a lot of entertaining and I love that you can get a feel for who we are just by looking around our home.

I got the Globe from Home Sense and I am obsessed with it. We both love to travel so that was a no brainer for sure! The guitar speaks for itself, both Darren and I play guitar and our love for music was what we bonded over when we first met. I love that little things in our house reflect this. We're not an overly soppy couple in general, but keeping things like the little collage of gig tickets gives a little nod to the early days of our relationship while also providing a reminder of some of our best memories together! We've got a real mix of the both of us with the dream catcher and plants with the Star Wars figures. That particular little corner of the room is a work in progress, but it's definitely one of my favourites! The little marble pots were Primark bargains for those wondering! Another favourite of mine is our Movie Camera lamp, which we got from The Range. It's nice to have something a little different from a standard lamp and at only £14.99, this was a really inexpensive way to add a statement piece to the room.

I think what made this place feel like home so quickly was just filling it with our favourite things and things that reflect us and really that would be my biggest tip for those moving into a new place. Put photos everywhere, stick silly toys on the shelves, get some big fluffy cushions and make it somewhere you're excited to come home to every day.

I hope you enjoyed this rather random post, I've wanted to share some snaps from our home for a while and thought this was a good way to start! If you'd like to see any more interior themed posts, please do let me know!

BLOGGY BRIDES: OUR PRE-WEDDING SHOOT AND WHY YOU SHOULD HAVE ONE TOO

Hi lovelies! Welcome to another #BloggyBrides blog post! As you may know from previous posts on here and my socials, I'm married! Our Wedding Day was just perfect and I'm so excited to tell you all more about it, so if you have any post suggestions, please send them my way!

Before I get into this post, please don't forget to check out last week's #BloggyBrides post on losing your Wedding mojo from 'Lady Law Student' Catriona!

Today, I thought I'd post all about mine and Darren's 'Pre-Wedding' shoot. I call it this and not an Engagement shoot as we literally got engaged over a year ago and to call in an Engagement shoot feels like milking it, even for me! So pre-wedding it is.

As part of our package with our amazing photographer Alice, we got to do some practice shots before the big day arrived. Pretty perfect as Darren and I are more of a peace and pout/ dab like it's not totally uncool kind of couple in front of the camera (I'll let you guess who's who), so needless to say, cutesy poses didn't initially come naturally to us! So, last weekend, we headed off with Alice to Down Hall Country House, which is near where we live to get snap happy. We decided to go for a casual, yet vaguely coordinated vibe with our outfits (I decided, Darren got briefed before getting dressed), so we'd look like we didn't totally clash, but weren't too matchy-matchy either. I also decided to wear my wedding hair extensions, which if you're planning on wearing anything like this for your big day, I'd totally recommend as it gave me a feel for how my hair may look and feel on the day/ if I'd want any length off etc. Of course, I styled my own hair for these photos and I'll have a pro do it on the day, but like I say, it gave me an idea.

Really, the point of the entire session, other than to get some cute photos of the two of us together was to get us a little bit more prepared on the day. Alice said it'd be a good idea for the two of us to go through and look at the photos and decide which poses we did and didn't like, or what side we prefer, basically, figure out which photos we think we look shit in and avoid doing those things on the Wedding day. Not only will it save bitter disappointment when you realise your Bridesmaid has been blocking your good side in 75% of all your wedding photos, but it'll also save time on the day, as you can skip right to your fave poses.

Another reason that I'd totally recommend doing this if you can, is that you and your photographer can get to know each other a little better. I was lucky in that I found Alice through work, when we first got engaged, I was working as a beauty therapist and Alice was a client. So I'd already spoken to her a good few times. However having these photos taken meant that she got to know Darren and I a little better as a couple and we learned a little about how she works. Alice is a total sweetie anyway, so we're very lucky, but whoever your photographer is, I think it's so important that you feel comfortable around them and you feel like you can really tell them what it is that you want.

So to sum up, my top reasons why you should definitely have a 'pre-wedding' shoot;
You get to know your photographer
They get to know you as a couple
You'll get to see your photographer's style and request any slight changes (though hopefully you'll know and like their style before you book them!!)
You get more comfortable in front of the camera
You learn which poses do/ don't work for you
You'll have pretty couple photos that your Nan will want to frame.

So that's it! Would you consider a pre-wedding or engagement shoot? I'd love to know your thoughts!

Don't forget to check out the other Bloggy Brides, Clara from Utterly Feral, Catriona from Lady Law Student, Rebecca from Rock&Roses Mama, Lianne from Mrs Mummy Harris and Sophie from A Beautiful Ride

OUR WEDDING DAY: A SNEAK PEEK

Hi lovelies! I'll keep this short and sweet as I just wanted to share a few snaps of our Wedding day! I will do a full post when the professional pics eventually roll in, but for now (exactly four weeks later would you believe!!) I wanted to share a few of my favourite moments with you all!

If you have any Wedding themed posts you'd like to see, please do let me know as I'm so not ready to stop talking Weddings yet!