Thursday 27 May 2010

Retro toys! My childhood summed up...

Following a conversation on Twitter with LolaKitty and The Style PA about Polly Pockets... I decided to write this post about the toys from my childhood. I was born in '87, and I watched a lot of cartoons (including Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles, Care Bears, Gummy Bears, etc). Looking back I think I spent my entire childhood either watching cartoons and crazy 80's films, playing computer games and playing with weird and wonderful toys. Here are some of the toys that I had as a child... which ones did you have?

If only I didn't give away my Polly Pockets my collection would probably look a little bit like this one! sad times...

My favourite Polly Pocket, I remember buying it from Woolworths (RIP) after my birthday, it's a Snow White's Cottage Polly Pocket complete with Snow White herself, the seven dwarves, the wicked witch, and a revolving floor that made the little dwarves dance in circles (it blew my mind as a young child!)
I was absolutely obsessed with Puppy in my pocket... the extend of my ridiculousness stretched to memorising every single puppy's name, and I had a LOT!

I was a MASSIVE fan of Care Bears, I had all the videos, watched the cartoons religiously and even had Care Bears wallpaper in my bedroom! Oh I was cool :D

I had quite a few My Little Pony toys, although it was more my older sister that had these. I do remember having a big pony that had a saddle that I could open with a key and hide things inside it, which was one of the most exciting things ever for a child!

Lego was the staple toy for me and my sisters as children, we had huge tubs of the stuff and often spent hours making tall towers, making houses and restaurants (for some reason). To this day, one of my favourite childhood memories was when me and my sisters had been playing with our Lego all day, and after we had gone to sleep that night, my parents stayed up til the early hours of the morning making a huge Lego town! It was magical! We refused to put it away for ages and it took up the whole of the front room.
When I got a little bit older I got myself a Furby, in hindsight one of the most annoying toys ever! They wouldn't ever be quiet and I had to put it in my wardrobe to stop it making noise quite a few times only to hear it squawking "NO.. LIGHT".... *shakes head* my poor parents!

I absolutely loved my game boy! I only had a few games including Tetris and Batman.

Last but not least the wonderful Sega Megadrive... This happy little gaming console ate up most of my childhood with platform gaming delight! In fact, I still have my Sega Megadrive and over 50 games!

The classic Sonic the Hedgehog with his trusty little foxy sidekick Tails. I could probably play this game from start to finish with my eyes closed!

Loved this game, even though I think I only ever finished it once. Before the novel idea of being able to save game progress came about, I remember my dad playing Fantastic Dizzy continuously for about three days to finish it, leaving the Sega on pause overnight!

What toys did you have as a child?? feel free to share!

Tuesday 25 May 2010

Dotty About Polka Dots!

Anyone who knows me will be well aware of my love (verging on obsession) of polka dots. Over half of my wardrobe is full of them in every colour. There is just something about polka dots that I just love and find irresistible! When I go shopping, whether it's for clothes or home-ware, I an inexorably drawn to dots, I just can't help it! So, to fuel my ever increasing obsession with polka dots I made a few little Polyvore polka dot delights :D



Trainee teachers just a-wanna have fun!

Seeing as the weather has been so lovely, and I'm turning 23 on Sunday, I decided to have a little soiree in my back garden. My fellow Leeds friends and I are all trainee primary school teachers, and are all big kids, so naturally we decided to have a children's themed birthday party...

Every good children's party... and any other kind of party for that matter!... needs cupcakes!

For that sugar-high, lots of cherryade, cream soda and lemonade was had by all.

Scrummy burgers and sausages! Delish!

We played party games and pass the parcel, and of course, we all had party bags filled to the brim with sweets and a party blower :)

Even the bunnies got to join in with the fun :D

Saturday 22 May 2010

Summer Garden!

I have been inspired by the beautiful weather to write a summer garden blog post. To prepare for the summer weather I have given our garden a good tidy and sort out. I started thinking... there is definitely something missing from our garden... colour! For me summer is about bright colours and sunshine. But my garden, (lovely as it is) is green, green, and more green. So I made myself a little visual wish list on Polyvore to help brighten up my garden this summer.


I love the mini BBQ perfect for a garden that is short on space, and of course no BBQ should be without this gorgeous floral apron!


What I am looking forward to most is tea parties in the garden this summer, and what tea party is complete without cupcakes, tea pots, cake stands... and bunnies!

Friday 21 May 2010

Summery florals and sunshine!

Is the summer finally here!? I'm not going to waste any time and I'm going to make the most of the sunshine while it's here... after all who knows when it will show it's happy face again!? So I have put on a floral summer dress, pretty little bow shoes and I'm going to put on some sun cream, go out and enjoy the sunshine! I suggest you all do the same! Here is my summer outfit for today:

Pretty floral buttoned dress from River Island for£21.99
Cute black polka dot bow pumps from Debenhams for £12

Thursday 20 May 2010

The Baseballs - my favourite new band


I have officially found my new favourite band... The Baseballs. I have been eagerly awaiting their debut album, and I have not been disappointed! I love everything fifties, especially the music, and these three charming gents take modern songs and give them a fifties inspired make-over, with brilliant results!

The three rock and roll singers met in tea room in a heavy metal rehearsal bunker in Berlin, noticed their shared hairstyle, started jamming and formed The Baseballs. With pomade in their hair and the king in their voice they easily make their fifties styled cover songs sound like originals. Simply put this album is great fun! And I defy anyone to listen to the album through and not want to don a fifties circle skirt dress, red lipstick, heels and dance around the room! (if you are a man: substitute the dress, lippy and heels for a checked flannel shirt, comb in the back pocket and sideburns... unless of course the dress is your thing)

Their debut album 'Strike' is out now and available on Amazon now. As the band have said, "we take good songs and lead them to their true calling"... The track listing is:
1. Umbrella
2. Love in This Club
3. Hey There Delilah
4. Bleeding Love
5. Hot'n'Cold
6. I Don't feel like Dancin'
7. Don't Cha
8. Let's Get Loud
9. Angels
10. Crazy in Love
11. This Love
12. The Look

All that remains now is for me to eagerly await their tour and visit to the UK so I can get on my finest fifties gear and see them live! I am jealous that Germany gets to keep them all to themselves! Needless to say, the second the tickets go on sale, I'm there!

Rose & Co - Vintage boutique treats in Leeds

Last year I wrote a guest blog for The Style PA about this delightful shop, Rose & Co. It is quite possibly my favourite shop in Leeds so I thought it only right to write a little post on my blog about it too. The next time you visit Leeds to buy a few vintage and quirky treats, be sure to head down to the County Arcade off of the Victoria Quarter. There you will find Rose & Co, a beautiful little shop that sells equally beautiful things. The upstairs level is a gorgeous Victorian styled apothecary shop that sells a wide variety of beautifying products and cute gifts. They sell some lovely handmade and hand wrapped soaps, balms, candles, lotions and potions, all packaged in traditional tins, jars and French glass bottles. I have bought several wonderful lip balms from the shop, each with polka dot pin-up style packaging, (which I must confess did sway my decision to buy them!) and the rose tinted gloss-balm that I got was a particular favourite of mine. It made my lips feel great!

By far the best part about this, arguably already great, shop is what you find when you go downstairs! They stock vintage revival dresses and lingerie. The dresses range from £30-100, they stock sizes 8-24, and have dresses of styles inspired by 20's, 30's, 40's and 50's original designs. I have tried on quite a few of their beautiful polka dot, halter neck, 50's styled dresses and have officially fallen in love with them! So I suggest, if you are in the area, and like a vintage treat, get yourself to Rose & Co now!

Cute pinafore style dress - love the buttons and slouchy pockets!

One of their stunning halter neck 50's style dresses!

They also sell some cute ad quirky home-ware and gifts. I want this polka dot picnic set! Perfect for the sunny summer days ahead!

One of the shop's Christmas displays - I know it's the wrong time of the year for it, but it is just so pretty!

Monday 17 May 2010

Paperchase - easing the pain of essays and exams!

For any student out there, you will no doubt be feeling the stress and strain of assignments, essays, research projects and looming exams. I definitely feel like I have spent the majority of the past two weeks with my nose in hundreds of books and articles armed with a polka dot notepad and a neon-yellow highlighter. There was only one thing for it... for me to take a little trip on the train into Leeds city centre to check out the new Paperchase shop that has opened to beautify my meagre stationary collection.

I love these cute little robot pencils, perfect for doodling in the margins when the reading and essay writing gets too much!

Paperchase Pink Zipped Pencil Case. Food Friends Design

These cute little highlighters are perfect for exam preparation and assignments, when I will be wading through tons of reading... (and trying to make sense of it all!)
As a little treat to myself, when I do get to the light at the end of the tunnel, after assignment deadlines and exams, I'm going to buy myself this lovely little "travel buddies" scrapbook to document all the wonderful things I will be doing on my little Italian road trip!

Sunday 16 May 2010

Beautiful Bras from Debenhams

Being a woman with a bigger bust (*whispers*..... 36F) I find it really difficult to find a bra that fits properly and is comfortable - well, as comfortable as it is feasibly possible for a bra to be! With the added disadvantage of being a poor student, my options are limited even further by the price. Any bra that I have bought from cheaper clothing shops have left me disappointed and decidedly unsupported, so I decided to invest in a slightly more expensive bra. I turned to Debenhams for my answer...

I bought myself a plain black plunge bra, and this lovely chocolate retro plunge bra by Freya. They were both very reasonably priced, and well worth every penny! They are the by far the best bras I have owned. I had my doubts as to whether or not they would be comfortable and support my larger bust - after all, comfort and support is often a diametrically opposed concept when it comes to bras! But I'm glad to say that I was very pleasantly surprised. They fitted perfectly and the difference between those and the cheaper alternatives was amazing!

Now I have finally managed to find somewhere that has some beautiful, comfortable bras that fit perfectly all that remains is for me to save up my student loan pennies to build up my collection... this beautiful polka dot balcony bra is next on my list!

Thursday 13 May 2010

Beautiful Bedspreads!

I have been wanting to jazz up my bedroom with a new bedspread. After having a little search on the internet I came across this cute patchwork double duvet cover from Urban Outfitters. Unfortunately for me I decided that I loved it before looking at the price label of £125. One day, when I'm not a poor student, I will be able to buy this beautiful bedspread. But until that day comes it will have to be Primark or Ikea for me... doesn't make me love this lovely duvet cover any less though! There are also a few other lovely things below that I am coveting as a result of visiting Urban outfitters website...

Patchwork double duvet cover, £125, at Urban Outfitters. Find it here.

Very cute owl cushion - also available in green, £24, at Urban Outfitters. Find it here.

Pink polka dot bird hook, £5, at Urban Outfitters. Find it here.

Vinyl bookends, £20, at Urban Outfitters. Find it here.

Fuel for my polka dots obsession...

I had the day off from uni today so I decided to pop into Leeds city centre for a little perusal of the shops. I ended up buying a cupcake cookie jar, some polka dot soup bowls, and this lovely rain mac from New Look. I have never actually owned a rain mac before, I have never managed to find one that doesn't make me look like I am wearing a two-man tent. So imagine my delight when I find this little gem in New Look! I love the big slouchy pockets, the option for shorter sleeves, the toggles at the waist make it much more flattering... and of course... it is polka dot!
All I need now is a little bit of rain!

Wednesday 12 May 2010

Little Doodles - delightful illustrations

I recently started following Kate Wilson AKA Littledoodles on twitter and following her lovely blogs... and I'm so very glad I did, they are a source of delight! plus, I have totally fallen in love with her illustrations (she does sell her work, so check out her Etsy shop here). I am a particular fan of her bird themed series of drawings. They feature a lot of things that I love: cakes, chocolate, ice cream, teacups, fashion, and a little bit of humour too. I think that the french fancy and ice cream ones below are my favourite, but I love them all so much it is difficult to choose! Here are a few of her brilliant illustrations for you to enjoy (and fall in love with!)...