Feather and Black Challenge - Phase 2!

I have been shopping to find complementary pieces for the Feather & Black challenge which you can read about here. Plus, I've added the reveal photo to Facebook, so you can hit 'LIKE' to vote for my room now.

As a reminder, here is the piece of furniture I'm styling up -  Olivia white wooden blanket box. 

My room is pretty much a blank canvas, but my style is quite feminine and I love having memories and trinkets on display. So when I went shopping, that's where I focused my efforts. I like to get the most for my money and seek out great buys, and that's exactly what I've been doing!

I definitely got a lot for my money and I went for a London theme and subtle colour palette. The small cushions were £12.80, reduced from £16 and the large ones were £20 reduced from £25. The Tea for Two London set was £18 and the 'Home' Scrabble Cubes were £19.50. The little white photo frames were just £4.20 each - all this was from Debenhams. 

The Breakfast in Bed tray was £7.99 from Robert Dyas - an unlikely place for pretty bits. Store Twenty One was where I picked up the Morrocan style lamps at £5.99 each.

 

Finally, I hit Haydens Home Style, the shop my parents run alongside their carpet business, for the half moon rug £12.99, wicker tea cup planter £8.95,  beach sign £4.95,  small wicker heart £1.75, larger wicker, heart £2.50, Shabby chic heart photo frame £8.95.

The next post will include the final room with all the goodies in place. What do you think so far?

The British Invasion - Debenhams Competition

Debenhams have just launched a competition on their website to celebrate their step in shipping internationally to USA, Australia, New Zealand, Sweden, Spain, Germany and France. So, using the marvellous platform of Polyvore, and with a focus on the brilliant designers at Debenhams (including Henry Holland, Ben de Lisi, Matthew Williamson and Julien Macdonald to name a few!) Debenhams have invited us to create some Polyvore sets to win some brilliant prizes... See more information below and enter the British Invasion competition here.

The British Invasion

Inspire us with a designer look from Debenhams

To enter the contest, simply create a set showing us your best designer look inspired by Designers at Debenhams. Each set must include at least 2 items from debenhams.com.

Winners will be selected by the style team for debenhams.com. Up for grabs is one grand prize of any handbag on debenhams.com worth up to £250 and four runner up prizes of jewelry from debenhams.com worth up to £50. The winning sets will be posted on the Debenhams Facebook page and Blog. Good luck!

Here are my entries for the competition... so get your creativity revved up and enter now!

Festivals By Henry Holland by abbiehayden featuring H! by Henry Holland

Rocha by John Rocha by abbiehayden featuring Oasis dresses

H! by Henry Holland range at Debenhams

My sister works For Debenhams on Oxford Street, so more than a few times I have found myself browsing the clothing aisles in the Oxford Street store. When the H! by Henry Holland collection was announced and unveiled at the start of the year, I was instantly in love with pretty much the whole range. I love that it is fun and vibrant, but with a cute and quirky twist. You can hear what Henry Holland has to say about his collection at Debenhams on the H! by Henry Holland blog Q&A.

love love love this cute purple square spot dress - now reduced to £15

black floral print dress - £28

Pink fox scarf jumper - £35

Pink sash t-shirt - £14

Purple polka dot shoulder bag - £20

The Curse of Inappropriate Footwear...

There is absolutely nothing worse than leaving the house with a long day ahead of you only to discover that those lovely shoes that you bought for the occasion, that felt so wonderfully comfortable when trying them on in the shop, are hideously uncomfortable and causing blisters on top of blisters with every step you take... I had a similar situation when I went to Italy, I had bought some cute little shoes, only, after walking for a full day around Rome in the summer heat I found the shoes horribly uncomfortable. I tried on my sister's Fit Flops and I simply must get some of my own.

Fabulous Fit Flops

Classic Pink Walkstar design Fit Flops - available for £35.95 at Fitness Footwear

Not only are these Fit Flops amazingly comfortable, they are also good for my posture and are a "workout while I walk". They are designed as a "micro-wobble-board" that slightly off balance your step so that it tones your leg muscles as you walk... Happy days! I always have had problems with ordinary flip flops in that after a day or two my calf muscles and toes are useless after over straining them to keep them on my feet. But I have had no such problem with the wonderful Fit Flops. I also have quite wide feet and they fit perfectly!

Simply Brilliant Simple Shoes

I have posted about the very brilliant Simple Shoes before, and they have become my staple, everyday shoes. I won a competition to win some a pair of shoes from the Simple Shoes website last year, and, after virtually continual wear they are still going strong. A pair of Simple Shoes is definitely worth every penny! What's more, they are eco-friendly to boot (pardon the pun!) The soles are made from recycled tyres, and almost every part of the shoe is made from some form of recycled material, so not only are you getting a brilliant pair of shoes, you are also doing your bit to save the planet, not bad eh?

Wheelies design Simple Shoes - £45

Delights from Dollydagger

Every girl should have at least one pair of beautiful shoes. I'm not very good with heels but if I were to have one pair of heels these would be it! These beautiful red heels and are from Dollydagger for £75. They are perfect for glamming up a gorgeous vintage dress for a night out or a posh meal.

Wedge Trainers from Debenhams

I absolutely adore these teal wedge trainers from Debenhams for £16. I can't wear them everyday as I'm not great with heels (even these easy peasy to walk in wedges) but they are great for a more casual look.

Footglove Dolly Shoes from Marks and Spencers

When I'm on teaching placements in primary schools I have to have something uber comfortable and smart to wear on my feet. When I am in nurseries and reception classes in particular I am always on my feet and flitting about here there and everywhere. So it is important to have something that can keep up with me and avoid the dreaded blisters that are so often synonymous with "smart shoes". These cute little black dolly shoe flats are from Marks and Spencer's Footglove range and are £29.50. Having slightly wider feet, the footglove range in Marks and Spencers are perfect. They are snug, practical and comfortable, all I need from a placement shoe!

What shoes are must-haves for your wardrobe to avoid the curse of inappropriate footwear?

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

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!