All posts in category Shopping

Snow, sniffles and a bit of sparkle

This weekend we had our first snow fall of the year. It was a light dusting but as usual everything turned to chaos. I made sure I stayed in the warm though as I caught a cold and couldn’t face playing in the snow. I did go out Saturday morning whilst it was still sunny to cheer myself up and ended up with some sparkle because I’m worth it!….

I spent some time revising my manuscript. I want to develop some parts before I submit it again and I’m actually quite excited about the improvements I have in mind. I just hope this cold goes quickly so I can crack on with it!

I also watched “Crazy, Stupid, Love”, which I really enjoyed – it’s funny and romantic and cemented my girl crush on Emma Stone.



What did you guys get up to?

Victoria

xoxo

29 Comments
by Victoria-writes on February 6, 2012  •  Permalink
Posted in Personal, Shopping, Writing
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Posted by Victoria-writes on February 6, 2012

http://victoria-writes.com/2012/02/06/snow-sniffles-and-a-bit-of-sparkle/

I will become a money saving expert …. well, I’m going to try anyway

This weekend, I popped to the shops. I only needed a few bits from Boots and some food shopping but I ended up adding to this with a T-shirt and hoodie from New Look, some make up from Body shop and 2 CD’s from HMV’s buy 2 for £10 (Train and Ryan Adams if you’re interested :) ) This was on top of last week’s shopping trip that ended up with a new pair of skinny jeans from Topshop, 3 pairs of shoes from New Look and leopard print scarf.

As you know, I love shopping but when I leave my full-time job, I can’t pop out and end up with a bunch of new stuff. I might -gasp- have to start budgeting or even avoid going to the shops full stop so I’m not tempted. I admit that usually I’m pretty lazy when it comes to finding deals. Not that I have bags of money but when you have a good job, you just get used to being able to treat yourself.

However, I did recently pull myself out of my laziness to negotiate my car insurance quote and ended up with a better deal that the previous year yay (thanks Tesco!) so I know that I can do it when I try.

Here’s what I need to do from now on:

1. Use web sites which do things like compare home insurance to find the best deal out there for me. I tend to stick to current suppliers for things but I will need to get off my butt and search through my options.

2. Look online before I go out to eat and see if there’s any food vouchers. For instance, I often end up Pizza Express and they are always doing deals but I always forget to check for them.

3. Make a list before I go out of things I need and not things I want. There’s a big difference! This is especially true if I go to the supermarket, I need to stay away from the extras. This may also have a good effect on my weight :)

4. I need to find a new laptop so I need to do some serious research first though to make sure I find the best deal. I must not get seduced by a pink one again!

5. Play the lottery. Because you never know!

What money saving tips do you have for a beginner?

Victoria

xoxo

40 Comments
by Victoria-writes on January 24, 2012  •  Permalink
Posted in Personal, Shopping
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Posted by Victoria-writes on January 24, 2012

http://victoria-writes.com/2012/01/24/i-will-become-a-money-saving-expert-well-im-going-to-try-anyway/

Weekend catch up

I had a three day weekend and spent most of it helping my mum celebrate her brithday. Thanks everyone who sent Birthday wishes, she was really grateful! On Friday, we went shopping and out for lunch at Pizza Express. I must stop using Christmas as an excuse to shop as I’m buying more for myself than anyone else :)

I picked up these two cozy jumpers along with a sparkly watch and earrings:

For those that were concerned :) I also managed to find a sparkly top to wear on Xmas day yay!

On Saturday, we went out with some friends to a lovely French restaurant The French Table, which is run by a family friend. The food is amazing, this is what I had:

Starter – vension tart

Main – lamb with mash and vegs on the side

Dessert – gingerbread and butter pudding

They also brought out a special dessert for the birthday girl, which she almost ate before I could take a photo!

We were so stuffed and a little tipsy from the wine. I would have added a photo of us but they were all shocking! We still managed some fo the cake I got her –

Phew I think I’ve put on a stone over the weekend :)

Hope you all had a lovely weekend!

Vix

xx

32 Comments
by Victoria-writes on December 19, 2011  •  Permalink
Posted in Personal, Shopping
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Posted by Victoria-writes on December 19, 2011

http://victoria-writes.com/2011/12/19/weekend-catch-up/

Friday Finds

This week, I’ve been listening to Birdy’s album.

It’s a beautiful, relaxing collection of cover versions with a folky twist and Bridy’s voice is amazing especially considering she’s only 15. It’s very chilled so you need to be in a certain mood to enjoy it and as you know it’s been a reflective week for me so it’s been on my iPod while I commute to work.

Here’s my favourite song on there so far, Terrible Love:

I also watched Transformers: Dark of the moon this week. Sometimes my film taste edges into teenage boy territory and I loved the first two films for being fun action popcorn movies. The third outing is pretty much take three of the same although there’s a more definite ending and a change of girl. The bluray edition has amazing sound and picture quality, yes I am a geek :) so this got a thumbs up from me!

I’m currently reading Heist Society by Ally Carter. I love her spy school stories The Gallagher Girls and will let you know what I think about her new series, which is about a teenage thief.

I found a fab new nail vernish for Xmas from Barry M - red glitter, perfect for the festive season! But I’ve been on the lookout for a sparkly top to wear and I can’t find one so let me know if you spot a nice one in the shops or online!

Also on my buying plans this weekend, is the DVD of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, can’t wait to see this again!

Check out my blogroll too over on the right as I’ve added in some more favourites!

Any recommendations for me from your week?

Vix

xx

14 Comments
by Victoria-writes on December 2, 2011  •  Permalink
Posted in Beauty, Books, Fashion, Films, Friday Finds, Music, Shopping
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Posted by Victoria-writes on December 2, 2011

http://victoria-writes.com/2011/12/02/friday-finds-10/

Autumn colours

A large proportion of my wardrobe is black especially for autumn / winter and I can usually be found wearing jeans. So I went shopping on Saturday and decided I needed to brighten up my wardrobe this year. I’ve always stuck to black or blue jeans but these stood out to me in Topshop and I thought they would be a fun way to inject some life into my outfits:

Then I spotted a scarf on a mannequin in the window of River Island and snapped it up. I love the fact it has three block colours so will go with lots of different outfits plus it’s soft and snuggly, just what I need when the weather turns chilly.

Throw in a trip to Nandos and an evening watching Doctor Who and X Factor and I had a great Saturday :)

Do you tend to stick to certain colours / items of clothing?
Vix

xx

32 Comments
by Victoria-writes on September 19, 2011  •  Permalink
Posted in Fashion, Shopping
Tagged ,

Posted by Victoria-writes on September 19, 2011

http://victoria-writes.com/2011/09/19/autumn-colours/

Friday Finds

Here’s what has popped my cork this week ….

I brought ….

Tickets to see Evanescence and The Pretty Reckless in November at Hammersmith Apollo. Yay something to look forward to!

I watched …

The series 4 boxset of Gossip Girl. Everyone is so pretty and glam on that show it makes me sick but I love all the drama and taste of New York life! It ended on a great cliffhanger so bring on series 5! Until then, I’m going to crack on with Vampire Diaries series 2 and Fringe series 3.

I embraced the start of September …

I got my first boots of the winter from River Island (£40) and then the sun came out :) Oh well, at least I’m prepared!

I crossed my fingers…

Laura (http://laughteriscatching.com/) alerted me to the Cosmo blog awards 2011 (http://www.cosmopolitan.co.uk/blogs/cosmopolitan-blog-awards-2011/cosmo-blog-awards-2011). You can either nominate yourself or your favourite blog to win an award!

Here’s a bit of shameless hinting for you …

What did you find this week?

Vix

xx

*** new playlist on the music page – road trip songs ***

12 Comments
by Victoria-writes on September 2, 2011  •  Permalink
Posted in Friday Finds, Fun, My fave things, Reviews, Shopping
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Posted by Victoria-writes on September 2, 2011

http://victoria-writes.com/2011/09/02/friday-finds-3/

Saturday Shopping and Sunday Songs

Yesterday I hit the shops and got my first Autumn clothes haul – all in Gap surprisingly. I got two light jumpers in blue and tan, a pair of dark blue bootcut jeans and a black and white scarf.

I also went into TK Maxx and across the shop a bear caught my eye. Yes I’m 28 and I still have some cuddly toys in my room, I think I’ll always have a soft spot for them! Anyway, I went over to this bear who colour coodinates with my room – brown and cream. He looked like a reject bear – his eyes are lop-sided and his stuffing feels too thin. I couldn’t help but pick him up – he was £4.99 and was just calling to be taken home! I promise I’m not crazy :) Anyway here he is …

Any ideas what I should name him?!

Okay here are this week’s songs that I’m loving, enjoy!

Charlie Simpson – Parachutes

Will Young – Jealousy

Leona Lewis – Collide

Don’t forget to check out my playlists on the music page!

Have a lovely Sunday!

Vix

xx

17 Comments
by Victoria-writes on August 21, 2011  •  Permalink
Posted in Fashion, Shopping, Sunday Songs
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Posted by Victoria-writes on August 21, 2011

http://victoria-writes.com/2011/08/21/saturday-shopping-and-sunday-songs/

Friday Finds

I thought I’d try out a new weekly post to add to my Sunday Songs so here is the premiere of Friday Finds!

This post will be an opportunity for me to talk about things that I found during the week – books, films, TV shows, clothes, products, music etc and hopefully talk them out of my system before they become an obsession :)

Ok so this week…

I listened to …

Charlie Simpson’s album Young Pilgrim

Charlie started out his musical life in boy band Busted before joining a heavy rock band. This is his debut solo album and it’s far superior to any of his previous musical journeys. Heartfelt, mostly acoustic and solely written and performed by Charlie, it’s a gorgeous record and well worth picking up.

I watched ….

Absolutely Fabulous was a 90′s sitcom starring Jennifer Saunders and Joanna Lumley as heavy drinking and heavy smoking best friends. I’ve been re-watching the box set and this show still makes me laugh out loud. Completely crazy and utterly over-the-top. Rumours persist a new series is on its way, fingers crossed!

I brought …

Boots was offering a free Rimmel eyeliner if you spend over £6 so I ended up with two mascaras, blush, eye shadow and lip gloss oops! But at least I got my free eye liner :)

I read …

Bree Despain’s The Lost Saint – the second novel in the Grace Divine series. I thought this was a solid book, as good as the first novel combining romance, mystery and some great action tied in with religious mythology. Worth a read.

What do you think of this theme? What have you discovered this week?

Vix

xx

18 Comments
by Victoria-writes on August 19, 2011  •  Permalink
Posted in Books, Films, Fun, Music, Reviews, Shopping, TV
Tagged , , , ,

Posted by Victoria-writes on August 19, 2011

http://victoria-writes.com/2011/08/19/friday-finds/

Bargain loser

I am completely hopeless at getting a bargain. I’m so envious of people who jet off on their cheap holidays or who come back from a clothes sale with a pile of great finds. Everytime I search for something I usually end up paying full price or buying the more expensive version of something as I like it better or it’s in my size or I just give up like I did a couple of weeks away and stayed at home for my holidays instead of researching an amazing late deal.

I actually think being good at spotting bargains or not depends on your environment growing up. If you’re around a thrifty person then you’re usually great at it because you know all the tricks, the best places to go or you’ve just inherited the bargain gene. Unfortunately my mum is just like me. If we walk into a shop with a sale we inevitable walk out quickly usually because it’s so hard to search the racks being jabbed by elbows and tripping over stuff on the floor and because they usually only have really small or large sizes of anything decent.

I’m not even good at going into cheap clothes stores like H & M and Primark – I find them overwhelming and poor shopping experiences. However, I recently went into the first UK version of American store Forever 21 in Oxford Street and got pleasant surprise – although everything is reasonably priced, it’s well laid out and the store itself is large and well air-conditioned. Of course, it was busy and I was in a hurry but I’ll pop back another time and maybe manage to get at least one bargain :)

I don’t know why I struggle so much. Unless it’s handed to me on a plate like a money off voucher in a magazine or a friend downloading a 2 for 1 restaurant meal deal, I just don’t bother. Maybe I’m just useless or too lazy or I do lack a bargain finding gene.

How good are you at finding bargains?

Vix
xx

Post in association with Direct Holidays

28 Comments
by Victoria-writes on August 16, 2011  •  Permalink
Posted in Musings, Shopping
Tagged , , , ,

Posted by Victoria-writes on August 16, 2011

http://victoria-writes.com/2011/08/16/bargain-loser/

The peak and the pit

I stole this idea from the Kardashian family who discuss their day over dinner each talking about the peak i.e. the best bit and the pit i.e. the worst bit of their day. So I’m going to apply this to my day yesterday.

The pit was getting a call back to the doctor after my blood tests. I was really nervous as I dislike the doctor’s at the bets of time and I was worried about what he would say. turns out I have a slight iron deficiency so need to take supplements for 6 weeks. Could have been a lot worse so I’m grateful that was all that came up. Hopefully they will make me feel a bit less tied but he thought it was my pace of life that was mostly to blame. Commuting is evil :0

The peak of my day was getting a certain package through the door …

After all your votes, I decided to splash out on the bag. I ended up buying it online, which is always a gamble but I love it!

The second peak of the day was receiving another blogger award yay! Thanks to Jenna @ http://werejumpin.wordpress.com/ for passing me the blog loving award:

I’ve only just got to know Jenna so I’m super flattered she has given this to me and I’ve added her to my blogroll, check her blog out guys!

After the doctors, I went shopping with mum and got a few tops and a butterfly necklace. I might be obsessed with butterflies :) I also got the newest Glee Cd and I am Number Four on DVD – I’ll let you know what I think about it after I watch it. The weather is bad today so it’ll be nice to curl up with that! We also popped into a tattoo parlour as I’m considering getting one but I’m really indecisive about what to choose and scared about the potential pain so we shall see if I end up going through with it or not, I’ll keep you posted!

Have a fab Saturday everyone!

Vix

xx

30 Comments
by Victoria-writes on June 25, 2011  •  Permalink
Posted in Achievements, blogging, Fun, Personal, Shopping
Tagged , , , ,

Posted by Victoria-writes on June 25, 2011

http://victoria-writes.com/2011/06/25/the-peak-and-the-pit/

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