Sunday night: my desk

I've been painting all weekend, mainly pieces of furniture (and my new desk). It started with my freezer on Friday and I couldn't stop! I will do little posts on those things when they are finished.

I'm doing some Etsy sticker shopping - Sandylion and Bebe The Bear. Thinking I might decorate a plain phone case as you can never get good ones for the Google Nexus.

I picked up this white bunny night light at Berts in Brighton for £4.99 (came with batteries, whup whup) but I'm sure they can be picked up online just as easy.

The face pot is an Etsy find, I fell in love with it straightaway, its from an artist called Kinska I want all her things!

The white pot and plant are Ikea and the flower tin is Orla Kiely (picked up in Berts)

Oh you can't see much of the desk but it is Ikea (it should feature fully in daylight at some point )
I wood stained the top as it looked a bit unfinished, was a lot easier than I thought it would be

Dogs Trust Update

Since April this year 10% of every Jurassic Pug item sold on eBay has been donated to The Dogs Trust (UK Dog Shelter Charity) So far thanks to you guys over £300 (and rising) has been made. I think I might keep this running through Christmas and update you again.

Odie isn't a pug but would like to pose next to the cheque to say thanks on behalf of all doggi's

Tribal Print Vintage Dress

Dress is from VintageHoards on Etsy

Bag is from SwayChic

Dark green fur stole is from H&M

Shoes are Swedish Hasbeens in "Nature" 

My hair is tickly and annoying at the moment so I have braided it into two plaits and pinned them up semi princess leia style.

Sally & Moon's Wedding

Yesterday I came up to London from Brighton for my beautiful friend's wedding. It was held at Strawberry Hill House and she wore an amazing secondhand dress.

"Sally is the only person I know who has degree level knowledge in medieval literature and Pokemon"
Groom's speech

Emerald Nails

These were done at home using:

- Clear/transparent stiletto nails 
- Nail glue
- Nail drill
- Barry M 'Green Glitter' (298) 

It helps to get the stiletto shape pre-made, so far I've been spending ages shaping square nails into this shape but then realised you can get these cheap and only have to do a little shaping yourself. You can pick up a nail drill for about £15 on eBay but these can be cheap imports so won't necessarily last very long. If you want to save on getting a drill get a high grit file instead.

It takes about 40-45 mins to do this, be really careful with the glue, it runs like water and damages surfaces!

What I've been reading

I've got through about 4 books recently, its all been good, here they are in order of preference

Every Day - David Levithan

"Sometimes memory tricks you. Sometimes beauty is best when it’s distant" 

This is one of my favourites since The Rosie Project. Judging by the reviews on Good Reads some people got a little too caught up with the technical issues of 'body hopping' which would mean they were concerned with the wrong thing. Every Day is a clever Young Adult book about human experience, what negotiates identity (body or mind) and how we view gender and sexuality. It's about a character called 'A' who wakes up in a different body every day and is able utilise and experience that body but still retain his memory and mind. He falls in love with a girl and tries to maintain a relationship whilst starting each day in a new body. At first I wasn't sure but quickly got into it.

Eleanor & Park - Rainbow Rowell

“Eleanor was right. She never looked nice. She looked like art, and art wasn't supposed to look nice; it was supposed to make you feel something.” 

E & P is about a romance between two young misfits that develops on the bus to school, the characters are colourful and created really well by Rainbow and there are some great lines. Its quite a harsh story towards the end and I found it a bit slushy at points but a good bit of young fiction. I used to read Goosebumps and Sweet Valley High so its not hard to take a step up from those! 

Fangirl - Rainbow Rowell

“In new situations, all the trickiest rules are the ones nobody bothers to explain to you. (And the ones you can't Google.)”

I think in a way I preferred Fangirl to E&P but the story had less of a purpose. I must admit I started skipping the actual fan fiction pieces (which are loosely based on Harry Potter) but when I read the final one it came together nicely. Its easy to get into and very of the time for those who have a preference for living online and nerding it up.  

My Sister Lives On The Mantlepiece - Annabel Pitcher

“I stared up at the sky and raised my middle finger, just in case God was watching. I don't like being spied on.” 

I've only just started this one so its not fair to put it at the bottom. It has a fast paced narration due to it being based in the busy mind of 10 year old Jamie as he observes his family in the wake of his sisters death. It's very sharp, blunt and darkly comic due to his inability to feel empathy. I'm interested to see where it will go.

Hologram Clam

I bought this Silver Hologram Seashell Bag from the SwayChic website (although it appears they have since sold out). It's also available from a site called Koshka. I normally prefer big bags so I was pleased this was a large shell! It was sent from the US so ended up costing me a fair bit to ship (to the UK) but I became a bit obsessed with it once I saw it on tumblr.

50's towelling stripe Dress: current season from H&M trend
Shoes: Vivienne Westwood x Melissa Jelly Pumps
I have just 3 pieces from my FoxyLocks extension set in. I find with the premium set that you can get away without wearing all the pieces as its so thick, feels lighter too. I curl them with GHD's and brush them out a bit

OOTD: H&M Floral

TopShop 3D sequin top - eBay
The White Pepper Sunglasses - The White Pepper
H&M pleated floral skirt (trend) - H&M

Patent & Fur Haul

These items were all bought earlier this year so there is a chance you can find them on eBay, links are to help you find a bit more info on them.

L-R

Baby blue furry Topshop Jumper - eBay
These came in a few different colours, I recently picked up a lilac version too which can be seen in one of my posts. If you invest a bit of time searching under just 'Topshop jumper' on eBay you might be able to find one on the cheap. Sometimes people don't make use of the keywords and miss out on people being able to find their item.

PVC Caramel Brown Midi Skirt - H&M
This skirt is from the H&M premium 'Trend' range which I have loved for a long time. Here it is being worn on chictopia. Its not so easy to find online, but I've seen the 'nude' version on eBay.

'Mardi' Patent Shoes from Topshop
Here is an old listing from eBay with a few keywords to help you track them down. You can often pick up shoes quite cheap on eBay. I have a UK 7 pair and found them true to size, albeit...squeaky!

Soft Furry Blue Bomber Coat - Topshop
Boyfriend style zip up jacket as seen here very Monsters Inc

Silver/Grey knitted snood from H&M

Foxy Locks Hair Extensions

I normally wear hair pieces when shooting pictures as I'm letting my hair grow out after much bleaching. I've got a natural shade of Dark Brown 400 in my hair at the moment and have invested in some clip in extensions for when I'm feeling a bit impatient.

Today I got my Foxylocks Hair Extensions in 'Darkest Brown' cut to fit with my current hair. They come in 20" pieces which some like to wear as they are. However my natural hair is about 14-15" long at the moment so I got them cut down to suit. I think it makes extensions look a bit more 'believable' if they are shorter and easier to manage too.

My hairdresser Paul at Uber gave me my usual trim and clipped these in for me. Considering I didn't want to feather my actual hair at the ends to suit the extensions he managed to blend them really well. Thanks Paul!

The best way to keep them looking natural without sacrificing your cut is to opt for curls and waves and consider putting them over one shoulder or styled half up if you want piece of mind when you are out and about.

The formation I've gone for is:
Nape of neck upwards
3 clip
4 clip
3 clip
Sides of head:
2 - 2 clip (left)
2 - 2 clip (right)

which left one 3 clip unused.

The extensions are really soft and great quality, these are 230g 'superior'. I have owned 2 sets in the past (other brands...can't remember the names) and these are the best so far I reckon, comfortable enough too.

Bell x

Before & After

Phone camera used: Google Nexus 5
Black and White striped dress is from Monki
Green dress is second hand River Island (eBay)