Meeting Alexa Chung!

Okay so, this is a post I can safely say I never thought I'd be writing, I mean ALEXA CHUNG!

Tuesday just gone, Alexa was in Liverpool (&Manchester the following day) promoting her brand new Snowglobe nail varnish. To be honest I didn't have the slightest idea about her visiting until one of my friends tagged me in a photograph of Alexa last week. I couldn't actually believe she was visiting Liverpool so of course I headed along, with my friend too! 

On the night Alexa was to be signing the brand new nail varnishes boxes however being the fan girl I am, I took my pretty little pink IT book along just on the off chance that she would sign that instead.. Ta DAAA, she did! She was honestly one of the nicest most genuine people & just as stunning in person. 

She even commented saying I looked lovely which was quite the compliment coming from her! 

I always remember being about 12/14 (the days of Myspace) and coming across the image of her in the cotton blue&white top&geeky glasses on, I had no idea who Alexa was from that image but it didn't take me long to become obsessed! I think she stands for a lot of positivity within the fashion world proving that it's not all about how much flesh you show but more about how you dress& what people will think of you for it. 

One of my most favourite quotes by her is this one.. 

My gripe is that a lot of young girls aspire to be super sexy and I don’t see why. What is attractive or alluring is not necessarily how much flesh you bare, but how good your brain is, or how much charm you have. Fake tan, fake tits - this porn thing has become embedded in our culture. It’s a shame. Maybe it’s because I’m a country girl, but I hate it when women only dress for men. I think it’s more exciting to reveal less. Maybe wear layers of smocks and then have super-sexy underwear on. Dress like a pilgrim on the outside and a whore underneath.

— Alexa Chung

&something I most definitely live by! 

Whilst at the Harvey Nichols, I picked up this BLUE, yes blue MAC lipstick (named Matte Royal) that I have had my eye on for a while. I've only tried it out once so far but I actually really like it. 

I think because it has hints of purple within the blue colour it's a little more Autumn/Winter and less Joey from friends! (thanks Soph haha). I'm sure I'll post an instagram image of this quirky blue addition soon enough.

Hope you're all well!

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Chanel Dupes?

So of course, me along with the rest of the world wouldn't turn down a pair of Chanel trainers if given half the chance, however it's not to likely that a chance like that is going to happen any time soon. 

After last years SS15 Fashion Week everybody seemed to go wild for the tweedy numbers from Chanel, but with a oh so extravagant price tag a girl can only dream right? 

Unless, like me it's not so important as to whether the well known Chanel label is actually wrote inside the shoe..

If you have no idea what I am on about then here's a few pictures of the original Chanel running shoes..

Now for my £9 bargain dupes from out of all places.. Tesco!

I'm not 100% sure if I'll even get round to wearing these pastel dupes but I spotted them and they instantly reminded me of the Chanel ones so I thought for under a tenner, why not pick them up as a just in case. Obviously these shoes aren't an exact copy& to be fair Tesco probably haven't even realised they are quite similar to Chanel but after swooning over the originals for so long they definitely caught my eye whilst doing my food shop, haha.

The only thing with these shoes is, I kind of feel like the colouring makes them quite tricky to style but I'm going to keep them in my wardrobe and hopefully the perfect outfit will come to me soon enough. All in all, a great bargain purchase in my eyes!

What do you think of dupes, or even just these ones? 

Are you to much of a label lover to ever buy a dupe? 

Let me know! 

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OOTD; Never to late for abit of denim..

denim jacket | topshop sale | £22.00

faux fur trim top | topshop | oldish

pink cropped trousers | topshop | £40.00

shoes | topshop sale | £10.00

bag | zara | £35.00

pom pom bag charm | eBay

Talk about a whole lot of Topshop, do you ever not realise just how much of one brand you're actually wearing.. I never thought about it but Saturday was obviously alllllll about Topshop.

I managed to grab this little denim jacket bargain in the sale last week & I know it's the Autumn season now but I kind of think as long as you aren't freezing cold then why not add abit of denim to an outfit? I have a big pastel pink faux fur collar which I think will look good with this jacket as well as keep me pretty warm this season too!

Once again.. pink pastels are making an appearance. I spotted these pink trousers a few weeks ago and thought they'd be a great buy just because of how many ways you could wear them.. I'm thinking my Stan Smith trainers to go with them next to add a more casual look.

What do you think of denim or pastels this season? Let me know!

Hope you're all well. 

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These are a few of my favourite things - October Favourites

I actually can not believe we are so close to the end of the year already, it's literally flew by! 

Halloween is this weekend, then Christmas! ahh! 

Anyway, I thought I would post about a few things I have been loving this month.

First up, THESE Topshop bargains!

Last week I went out for a little afternoon shop, not for anything in particular (you know those day's that turn into you seeing all sorts you don't need& before you know if your hands are full&bank balance ran dry..) but Topshop was having a huge mid-season sale so I thought why not take a peek. 

I spotted these pink beauties and felt like it was shoe fate when they were actually my size! 

Wait for the best bit.. These only cost me £10!! Such a great bargain.

Next, Alexa Chung app - Villoid! 

Now of course anything Alexa does is pretty much perfect but her app, I honestly can't explain my love for it. 

Super simple to use & gives me so much inspiration for outfits in no time at all. 

If you don't know what Villoid is yet, imagine Pinterest and Polyvore tied together/ if those two websites had a child.. 

Basically you create boards with images, clothing items, accessories etc. and then save them to your personal profile which other users can see& you can also share them via. twitter, instagram etc. 

Here's a couple of style boards I have created so far.. 

You can also buy the exact items directly through the app, so if you're anything like me be sure to keep your bank card out of reach.. 

 

...There's only so many times I can swoon over Shrimps fur before I crumble!

Also I tweeted about putting together this post& Alexa favourited it, how amazing!? 

I feel like my 14 year old self would be dying over it nevermind me right now at 22!

Moving on, a shop I have been loving this month is Paperchase, seriously from their Christmas decorations to cute funny postcards, Paperchase is like heaven at the minute! I picked up these three decorations last week.. a pineapple, a Christmas ostrich and angel sausage dog, halo included of course! All their Christmas decorations are on 3 for 2 also which basically means you get a free one so why not buy more.. 

(that's a question I'm asking myself at the moment, as I'm sure I'll be heading back soon). 

I also have a photo wall in my bedroom which has lots of mix matched frames filled with photo's, quotes etc. so I wanted to find some quirky little postcards that I could pop into a few empty frames I had.. Ta Daa! 

Literally the coolest postcards ever, &they are super cheap too!

"you looked taller on tinder"

&&

"real unicorns have curves"

My very last favourite for this month is my Alex Monroe Bumble Bee Necklace, this is very much a favourite for me every single day not just this month. I bought it at the very beginning of the year using money I got as Christmas gifts from family. I went for the rose gold version just so it could suit my everyday jewellery a bit more, so far the chain has started to go a bit dis-coloured, but after almost a year of wearing it every single day I can't really complain. 

I love how the little bee adds just enough dainty detail to any outfit! 

Have you found something new that you're particularly loving this month? Or even an old fave? 

Let me know, I hope you're all well. 

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OOTD; You Can't Beat A Jumpsuit

jumpsuit | ASOS | £60

shoes | old | ASOS sale

necklace | alex monroe 

watch | olivia burton 

Jumpsuit's are literally the most easy of outfits to put together, (not so easy when going the loo, but none the less easy to style). Pop on a pair of shoes and your outfit is pretty much done. 

I spotted this one online last month and after taking a bit of length of the hem (it was way to long), I was good to go. 

I even bought another jumpsuit the week after because well, I pretty much can't get enough of them at the moment.. 

Is there any particular item you're loving at the moment? Especially with the change of season? 

Hope you're all well.

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Let's have a catch up..

"Life is what happens to you when you are busy making other plans" - John Lennon 

Here we are, pretty much a whole month since my last blog post. I don't want to keep saying sorry for breaks in blogging because I think it's just one of those things that can happen from time to time. But I'm back and kind of feel like I have the blogging 'bug' back & have plenty of idea's for posts too. 

I just thought it could be a good idea to let you know what I've been up to since my last post.

one - work, jobs, intern

The past three months I was completing a design internship with a jewellery and accessories brand, I seriously loved my time there but as it was located about three hours away from my house, I decided to turn down a job opportunity there when they offered me it. For me this was a huge decision because it was a job I loved but I just wasn't ready to move from home yet, plus a lot of other reasons to however moving was the main one. 

After saying no I thought I was going to have to start all over in a new place, interviews etc. 

But luckily for me the company offered for me to work from home a few days a week! I honestly can't say how happy I was and just how much I'm loving the job role. It's a lot of social media, PR design and even blogging too, so right up my street! 

I'm planning on doing a post all about working from home& how to keep motivated etc. 

I really do believe it's so so important to be in a job which you love, no matter what that job is or how you find it, just try!

two - a shop : no frills, just fluff

Working with an accessories company obviously inspires me a lot & although I love working for somebody else, I'm not quite ready to let go of all my uni experience and own individual work just yet.. hence No Frills, Just Fluff

For my final collection in university I created a collection based on Granny Chic.. think all things fluff, faux fur and pastel colours. With the collection I made bags, shoes and accessories to match, I also made a few pairs of fluffly earrings for myself late last year. When I posted a image of myself wearing them on Instagram I got so many comments saying about selling them/making them for other but at the time I wasn't to sure. Cut the long story short.. it's happened and I'm happy to say pom pom earrings have been introduced to my little Etsy shop.

If you fancy taking a peek you can shop the earrings here

or follow the No Frills Just Fluff instagram account here

three - life

The thing is life doesn't stop and wait for anyone, some days really great things will happen and other days you'll hate every second. You just have to keep going I guess.. 

I hope you're all well, &let me know if you have bee up to anything exciting recently? 

I also have a Instagram and Twitter account for Bird Bloom now after feeling slightly guilty about spamming my friends none stop with blog pictures on my personal account haha.. 

instagram

twitter

Look out for a outfit post later this week too!

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OOTD; Dreamy suede skirt& a huge elephant..

white blouse | vintage shop | £6.00

turquoise suede skirt | asos | £60.00

patent boots | topshop | £40.00

bag | dune | £35.00

Last weekend me and my boyfriend took a quick trip to a place called Fargo Village, it's kind of a independent/ vintage place that host's a whole heap of shops and food/drink places. Whilst we we there I bought a cute Dolly Parton t shirt (there's a cat on the top to, so that was a necessary buy of course..) as well as some bath bombs which are the shape of eggs and in a egg box!

The place also has a brewery which my boyfriend was obviously quite the fan of.. beer all round!

Some of the shops are even in old creates which I think is such a fun idea to do, I think there really is something for everyone there and some of the graffiti is so amazing (as you can see from this huge golden elephant in the outfit photos).

I am loving the whole suede trend for Autmn and seriously can't get over this zipper front skirt from asos, I spotted it and also had a 20% off code which made it even more of a must buy. I loved the colour and then the fit was just really nice, I've worn it so much already and don't plan on stopping anytime soon. 

Outfit repeater right here, I'm the first to admit it with this skirt!

Have you found anywhere a bit different recently or have any recommendations? 

Thanks, & I hope you're all well.

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OOTD; Comic Books & Pastel Shops

dress | asos | £25.00

fluffy coat | topshop | £80ish

patent boots | topshop | £40.00

bag | dune | £35.00

 Last Friday night me and my boyfriend headed to a individual restaurant called The Drawing Board in Leamington Spa, the restaurant was very 'indie' with comic books all over the wall's and our bill came in a vintage Mr Men book, so cute! 

However this place was not your typical 'pizza and chips' indie restaurant, the food was amazing! & of a very very high standard.. 

I had 'corn fed' chicken with a kind of paisley mash.. very fancy I know.. (plus the food was so good we even stayed for desert).

I loved the place and the whole atmosphere.. sometimes it's nice to just head out for a meal or a drink etc.. everyone does love a date night after all.

 

Have you been anywhere abit differnt recently?

Let me know!

Hope you're all well.

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OOTD; A Trip To Nottingham

sunglasses | miu miu

striped t shirt | asda | £8.00

faux leather skirt | zara | £26.00

bag | vivienne westwood

shoes | asos sale

Last Saturday me& my boyfriend headed to Nottingham for the day, we have only been once before which was for my birthday but we both really wanted to go again to visit a few places we didn't have time to on our first visit. We mainly spent the day shopping and wandering around, as well as having a bite to eat. I had looked online and came across a bar called Daskino which was a place to play ping pong whilst having a drink or two, we both thought it looked quite fun so headed there before making our way home. 

I'm so glad we stopped off at Daskino because it's honestly one of my favourite places I've ever been, it had the lot from coke float cocktails to a vintage style photo booth and even film quotes on a cinema style board as well as films projected onto the roof for you to watch. I hate to use the word 'cool' but it honestly was a place that I would call 'cool'. When ordering my cocktail I though it would just be your usual 'comes in a glass, gets you a bit drunk' style drink however when it arrived I was a bit shocked to see a kind of wooden board of 'ingredients' to make my own.. I had a dandelion and burdock with amaretto and vanilla ice cream, topped with cherries of course! 

 I think you could only describe this bar as very 'Instagram-able', anywy I would definitely go back, even if just to improve my (awful) ping pong playing skills.

I hope you're all well!

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OOTD; Bardot Dress

dress | asos | £30ish

shoes | primark | £4.00

bag | vintage

This is my very last outfit post from my holiday, which means the sad realisation that all that holiday excitement is well and truly over. Autumn is most definitely on its way.. saying that I do love the autumn season mainly because of the clothing and been able to layer most of your wardrobe all at once.. but maybe that's just me and my over the top coat obsession!?

More about the outfit.. I bought this dress off ASOS just before heading to France, I really loved the floral pattern as it was quite muted with the hints of black making it not too summery but still just enough.. I'm also a huge fan of the bardot style shape too, I love how showing your shoulders can completely change the shape of a dress.

How do you feel about it being August already? 

The year is flying by if you ask me.. 

I hope you're all well.

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OOTD; Palm Playsuit

palm / banana leaf playsuit | h&m | £29.99

The banana leaf / palm print / the whole topical trend has really hit heights this summer and I am obsessed! I blogged about my palm tree trousers a few weeks ago, (you can see that here), 

&I think every single leaf print item I've seen since then, I have had to buy. 

So far just this month my palm themed purchases were; this playsuit and the matching print blouse (also h&m) .. a Lavish Alice cape (which I wore for my graduation) as well as a phone case. Now I know that probably doesn't sound a lot, but when they are all hung up together on my clothes rail (minus the phone case of course) it kind of looks like I'm planning on a trip to the jungle or just really really love the colour green. Three weeks into the month and 'ta da' I've bought myself the items to create a camouflage wardrobe. 

I seriously do love the whole palm trend& certainly won't be stopping any time soon.

Are you a fan of this trend? Or just not your 'cup of tea'? 

Hope you're all well.

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OOTD; Slightly Overdressed Zoo Trip

dress | topshop | £50ish

sunglasses | miu miu

watch | olivia burton

leopard print sandals | topshop sale | £15.00

weird monkey pose face .. my very own, unfortunately 

Today's post is another holiday style OOTD, whilst away we headed to an animal reserve which was so lovely, mainly because most of the animals were endangered or had been rescued meaning it was even more special to see them in such a natural kind of habitat.Also each of the animals had sooo much space.. not a single tiny cage in sight which made me one very happy visitor. Whilst there my boyfriend even managed to touch one of the cute little lemurs which was definitely an exciting moment!

Abit more about my outfit.. I probably (most certainly // 100%) did not wear the most suitable outfit for climbing around a uphill zoo whilst in the boiling heat however I love this lace dress so very much! I bought it quite a while ago now but I wear it so often& can't see myself stopping any time soon, I think the bell sleeve detailing is one of my favourite features of it.

The leopard print sandals were a real steal getting them for just £15.00 in the Topshop sale, although if you are planning on buying a pair I would say give a trip to the zoo in them a miss.. maybe. 

Hope you're all doing well! 

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