Forbidden Fruit

Forbidden Fruit by sleepingviolet

So Modcloth approached me and asked if I would like to take part in what they call their Polyvore Outfit Challenge.  The uber giant blogger's favourite brand had noticed my little blog, cool!  The brief was to take this dress and style it from a combination of no more than seven items from the Modcloth site.

I have had a Polyvore account for years but haven't used it in almost as many so I thought I'd give it a go.  Little did I realise that every time I created or edited a set it was now being automatically pubished as a blog post.  Doh!  I apologise for all the dead links that have appeared on your dashboards.  I am clearly not social media savvy.

The other obvious drawback is that while searching through all the wares on offer on the site you are presented with an overload of droolworthy items you can only ever dream of owning.  Especially now that they're doing plus sizes, hells yeah!  So here I am passing on the envy and wardrobe dissatisfaction,... yeh, er, sorry about that folks.

I had fun though.  Hope you like my little rainbow ensemble.  Those tights may just have to become mine.  They reminded me straightaway of this advert which for some reason absolutely fascinated me as a child

Anyone else remember these?

Ah well, happy weekend

xxx

Academically Yours

I don't know what it is about glasses, or eyeglasses as they're called in the States, that people associate with intelligence.  Particularly these days when glasses are more fashionable than ever before.  These days when names like 'geek' and 'nerd' are plastered proudly across the chests of fashion conscious teens everywhere.  I am just glad I had an eye test quite recently which revealed I did actually need prescription glasses cos now I have a legitimate reason to wear them as I'd always longed to.  I spent my childhood cursing my perfect vision.

GlassesUSA.com recently got in touch and asked if I would like to review of a pair of glasses from their site.  The deal was that I got a discount code for a certain amount to put towards a pair of glasses of my choice.  

 I must admit the selection process was hard.  I have a freakishly large head with a PD of 63 so I am used to having a more limited selection of large frames to choose from on online glasses stores.  Plus, there was not a lot of extra money in the budget for glasses with my ongoing house renovation nightmares and all so I was trying to stay within the gift card limit.  This proved quite difficult.  The first pair of glasses I really liked but they had already been marked down and I wasn't able to purchase them with my gift card code.  After some deliberation I eventually opted for this pair 

Dicaprio 80 black with silver

I found the website a little busy at first.  Lots of text and links and pop ups etc and lots of different ways to navigate to the same areas.  Once I got my bearings I was fine.  Apparently Glasses USA do have a try on mirror feature which looks like this 

I didn't find this on the site but I did use the try on view which was very handy.

These glasses cost $68 (roughly £41).  If you want the special anti scratch, anti reflective gubbinsy package attached you need to add a further $29.95 (£18).  I personally opted not to go with this and I haven't had any problems.  Shipping to the UK also costs an additional $21.95 (£13).

There are lots of discount codes and promotions on the site which I think would be worthwhile checking out if you live in the States as you also would get free shipping and could probably get a good bargain.

So what do you think, do I look bookish?

Sorry these photos are so blurry.  I really liked today's outfit as well.  The weather here as been so damn overcast and the light is always bad in my tiny backyard anyway.

The midi dress is new from Asos, I got a code for 40% off so decided to splash out.  The Docs are also secondhand new.  I got a great deal on Ebay.  Even though I already have a pair of Dr Marten mary janes and zip up knee boots I thought it was high time I bought a pair of classic 1490's again.  I gave away my last pair after I inexplicably went up a shoe size after my last pregnancy.  Necklace and bag both charity shop finds.

Boo to crappy weather and bad light.

Til next time

xxx

There is no order in my room

At the moment I am stuck in renovation hell.  The master bedroom is currently in the process of having a false ceiling fitted due to the existing ceiling becoming unstable.  This follows hot on the heels of 6 weeks of fitting out the attic and a full replastering of the bedroom walls.  Needless to say my home looks nothing like the above picture of fragrant vintage darling Pearl Lowe in her perfect vintage bedroom in her perfect vintage home.  My house is dust ridden and in a continuous state of upheaval, putting paid to my increasing urges to nest. 

I am trying to overlook my personal frustration by focusing on the end result.  To that end, I have spent many a spare hour on Pinterest, Tumblr, Flickr etc, seeking out inspiration.  Those of you who have followed this blog for a while will know I can't resist a bit of bad taste.  The look I am aiming for could be described as 'kitschy boudoir stripped down' or 'kitschy boudoir lite' if you will.  I want the best of both worlds.  I want flamingos and lurid 70's florals set against a backdrop of pure white walls and furniture.   I want clean lines and lightness accented with candy pink, turquoise and orange.  I haven't found any pictures that are exactly what I am after so I have put together a collection of images that have inspired me in different ways* Hopefully putting them together in one place might give me a coherent 'moodboard' to work from.

Any further sources of inspiration/links you think I might like would be gratefully received.  I can't wait to share the finished product with you.

*All photos found on Tumblr apart from 6-9 found here, 10 & 11 found here & 15 found here

If any of these images are yours please email me and I will be more than happy to credit you :)