Tropical World in Leeds - Butterflies, Birds and Bearded Dragons!

If you ever find yourself in Leeds needing something to do, I recommend visiting Tropical World just on the outskirts of the city in Roundhay. It is right at the edge of Roundhay park which is absolutely beautiful and well worth a visit in itself! It is the best value for money attraction in Leeds (apart from the free museums and galleries of course!) at only £3.25 for an adult ticket and me and my friend Joanne (who I was showing the sights of Leeds for the day) spent over and hour in the butterfly house and miniature zoo. Here are some of my favourite photos from my visit...

The Butterfly section was absolutely boiling (Hence the "tropical" bit of Tropical world I guess!) but had some beautiful species of butterfly and moth fluttering around our heads. I managed to get a few photos of them as they settled on the flowers and hand rails.

This gorgeous little one's wings have seen better days...

Meerkat watch tower - this little fella had the duty of keeping a lookout while everyone else snoozed... someone got a bit of a bum deal!

All of the birds (like the butterflies) flew freely around the exhibits and as they were obviously very used to having humans around them they posed happily for my photos not in the least bit frightened.

A very sleepy and lazy iguana.

A very cute tree shrew.

Can you spot the stick insect? :)

Dresses, Cardigans & T-shirts on DollyDagger

There's some new stock in over at the fantastic DollyDagger... here are some of my favourite things from their website! I'm definitely coveting this beautiful red floral dress (available for pre-order at the moment)

Gorgeous Scarlet English Rose Print Dress - £130
I'd love to swirl around on the dancefloor in this lovely dress!

I Heart Geeks T-shirt - £25
I LOVE this t-shirt!

Hello Sailor T-shirt - £25

Yellow Bluebird T-shirt - £25

Jojo and Mac Angel Cardigan - £52
Love the laced neckline!

Jojo and Mac Nautical Betsy Cardigan - £52

Judy's Affordable Vintage Fair - Leeds

I have been looking forward to Judy's Affordable Vintage Fair for quite a while because I visited the event last year in Leeds Student Union and I thoroughly enjoyed it and bagged myself some mega bargains - two gorgeous polka dot dresses for a fiver! But I hate to say it, as I'm usually 100% positive about most things I blog about, but I was completely disappointed... and I'll tell you why...

The Marvellous Tea Dance Co provided cupcakes this year, (four measely little stands) compared to the variety of hot drinks served in mismatched vintage cups and saucers, huge slices of delicious cakes and cupcakes from the year before. I had saved myself and skipped lunch so that I could enjoy a nice slice of cake and a sandwich and I was very disappointed that they had down-sized the cake stands - something that made it so special last year.


Although there were a couple of nice polka dot dresses that I spotted, they were few and far between and when I picked them up the price labels were £25+... now I don't know about you, but that doesn't really scream *affordable* to me. Especially considering the brilliant bargains I got last year from the £5 rails. The venue wasn't as good this year either. Last year it was in one of the downstairs bars complete with split levels and a disco ball, this year it was all squished into a hall and felt more like a jumble sale. I think if I hadn't of visited the same event the previous year I wouldn't have been so disappointed and would have enjoyed it more but unfortunately all I could do was compare the two...

One thing that was great was the range of quirky vintage accessories, jewellery and brooches. I loved the old keys - they would make brilliant customised pendant necklaces.

The Alphabet of Abbie - D is for... Dresses!

...DRESSES

One thing that makes me very happy is a pretty dress. There was a time (not too long ago!) when I didn't own a single dress, I didn't know what would suit my body shape and didn't feel like I was "girly" enough to wear dresses. But after going shopping with my older sister who encouraged me to try on things that I would otherwise have walked right past, a whole new world of clothing was opened up to me. So thank you Jenny! She is The Style PA after all :)

In recent years my dress collection has grown quite a lot, I have an entire wardrobe dedicated exclusively to housing my many dresses and I'm at my happiest when wearing a pretty dress. Even when the weather is rubbish, I pull on a knitted dress and it puts me in a good mood for the day. One shop that I can always rely on to have a myriad of gorgeous dresses is JOY! My friend works in the Leeds store and whenever I go into it I fall in love with every dress in sight! So here are some of my favourite JOY! dresses currently on their website...

Autumn Outerwear at Anthropologie

That time has come around again... it's Autumn. It's cold, there's that horrible drizzly rain and it's getting darker in the mornings and evenings. But to ease us nicely into the new season, Anthropologie have provided us all with some beautiful coats to keep us warm and cosy, and looking and feeling great even when the weather isn't at it's best...

Gorgeous Alice in Autumn Knitted Coat - £138

Pattern Maker's Coat - £178

Blurred Fresco Coat - £178

Phlox and Coral Coat - £178

Boucle De Souffle Coat - £98

Double Dose of Polka Dots - Rose and Co Lip Balm

Here is your Monday Double Dose of Polka Dots from your resident polka dot addict... me! I don't know about you, but I seem to have some form of polka-dot-sixth-sense whenI go shopping, I have a radar sense that can more or less only see polka dots. If there is a single item in a clothes shop that is dotty, then chances are I'll see it almost immediately upon entering the shop...

Dotty dose number one: My latest polka dot purchase. This lovely little lip balm is from my favourite shop in Leeds, Rose and Co. The shop is decked out as an old apothecary shop and filled ot the brim with delightful cosmetics, soaps, perfume, homeware and gifts. The "Strawberry Crush" lip balm comes in a cute pin-up style tin and smells so good you could almost eat it!

Dotty dose number two: Every good polka dot make-up purchase deserves to be stored away in in a pretty little polka dot make-up bag, and I found this handmade floral and polka dot make-up bag in SewLush's Etsy shop.

Double Dose of Polka Dots - Fascinators and Teapots!

This week's Double Dose of Polka Dots comes from one of my favourite websites, DollyDagger. They have a really good range of polka dotted items ranging from gorgeous dresses, shoes, handbags, earrings and cardigans to birthday cards, light switch covers and door stops...

Speaking of which... I adore the first dose of polka dots: a beautiful red polka dot teapot door stop - £16.99. The perfect thing to hold the door open at a tea party. It's fabric and features a little embroidered teacup and "time for tea".

Dose of polka dots number two: Blue heart polka dot fascinator - £29. This gorgeous fascinator was handmade by Lilly Lewis exclusively for DollyDagger. Perfect for hosting a very glamorous, vintage inspired, polka dotted tea party!

Apothecary Cabinets and Vintage Furniture

I absolutely love apothecary cabinets. I think it's something about all those drawers, it's just so practical and functional. I could imagine storing all my art and crafts bits and bobs neatly away in a beautiful antique apothecary cabinet. Think about all the buttons, sequins, ribbon, beads and pretty things I could store away in those drawers!

I was coveting a gorgeous old apothecary cabinet in a local junk shop, much like the one pictured above from Linda Rosen Antiques But one day when I was merrily walking home from work... it had disappeared, much to my dismay. I'd like to think it has found a happy home somewhere storing away life's little essentials...

In my search for beatiful antique apothecary furniture I came across a lovely website, The Old Cinema, that sell antique, vintage and retro furniture, home accessories and jewellery. Although it is far from cheap and cheerful, they do have some really unique and unusual items that I would love to have in my home... like this 19th Century Collectors Chest.

Vintage Painted French SideBoard

Industrial Vintage Bank of Drawers

Upcycled Vintage Industrial Bank of Drawers