Birmingham Break

 This weekend, we had a little pre-holiday mini break to Birmingham. Although we only live about 50 minutes away from the city, we were going to see Krept and Konan on Friday night and thought we might as well make a weekend out of it!

Hotel La Tour was absolutely gorgeous; big rooms, modern technology and right in the middle of everything. I would highly recommend staying there if you find yourself in Birmingham for the weekend!

Friday night was great. We went for a meal and had some cocktails, before heading to The Institute for the gig. I bought the tickets for Ollie's birthday and I'm so glad I did, it made the perfect weekend. Krept and Konan were amazing, their new album is so so good (check it out if you haven't already!), and bringing out Yungen for a couple of songs made it even better.

Shopping on Saturday was as busy as ever. The german market is now up and which was lovely, but we didn't get much time to look around. I saw so much that I'd have loved to buy, but coming up to Christmas I thought it would be better to just hint!! We managed to get quite a few presents and bits for ourselves, before heading back home.

Here's just a few pictures I managed to take over the couple of days:

How to wear white in Winter

There is nothing more summery than a lovely white, button-up, denim skirt. The colour shows off that golden holiday glow, is light and cool to wear and most importantly, goes with everything.

So, what exactly do we do when winter comes?! Instead of banishing those white statement pieces and hiding your style in black and navy jumpers, here's 5 ways you can bring back your white wardrobe in winter:

1. Oversized jumpers

Jumpers are a huge fashion statement around winter time. Whether it's a fluffy sweater or a turtle neck jumper, an oversized white knit will always be the perfect partner for a pair of black skinny jeans.

2. Layer it up!

You can get away with anything in winter. What's an extra 3 or 4 layers to anyone when it's this cold? White jeans can still make a comeback throughout winter, just pop a pair of knee length boots over the top and team with warm shades and a statement tote!

3. On-trend with faux fur

This season, just like every year, faux-fur is massive. For me, teddy-bear coats are the perfect way to stay warm but look great.

4. Accessorise 

For a subtle way to add pops of white to your outfit, try a furry snood or knitted scarf. My favourite accessories of the moment are pom-poms; on shoes, bags, gloves and scarfs!

5. Feet first

There's nothing I enjoy more than a gorgeous pair of shoes. My favourite white pairs to wear in winter would be Adidas superstars and Nike thea's, or just a classic pair of Converse.

Jumper - Zara
Headband - M&S
Watch - Marc Jacobs
Purse - Ted Baker

Next: winter wish list

There's nothing better than Christmas shopping; the excitement in the air, Christmas songs playing and the warm feeling of buying other people gifts that they'll love.

This year, Christmas shopping has suddenly become a lot easier. Next's 'order by midnight' service means that you can now take advantage of those late night shopping sprees, and know that they'll be in store the next day! Christmas shopping for other's (and yourself!) has never been easier.

From faux-fur fashion to on-trend accessories, home furnishings to winter essentials, Next has it all!

I decided to take a little look for myself and put together a 12-piece winter wish list:

1. Boucle Coat £75

2. Sophia Heart mirror £18

3. Warehouse black tinsel sequin dress £52

4.  Ecru fisherman pom pom scarf £18

5. Letter filled scented candle £4

6. Rib roll neck £16

7. Structured tote bag £34-£35

8. Anita & Green denim A-line skirt £17

9. Silver tassel necklace £12.50

10. Leather casual Chelsea boots £55-£58

11. Alphabet A-Z cushion £10

12. Abercrombie & Fitch fringe tote bag £60

Film review: Spectre

It starts in Mexico City. The tracking shots of 007; swerving through the crowds, leading a mystery woman up the stairs into the hotel room, walking along the rooftops. Explosions grip us from the start, the storyline yet to unfold.

Bond is most definitely back.

Charming and courageous, Daniel Craig’s performance is everything you imagine it will be. Capturing the essence of Bond time and time again, 007 uncovers the secrets from the previous three films in the series in one thrilling masterpiece. With gadgets and humour, girls and cars, Spectre plays on the iconography of Bond, but with an edge. The wondrous performance from Craig leaves you with hope for the next film, surely they won’t get rid of him?

Every scene in Spectre is anticipated, but with twists and turns that make it enthralling to watch. The thrill of a fight-scene, Bond’s determination and forward thinking which Craig portrays wonderfully. The typical sex-scene, heart racing and expected. But, in the shadows of a boardroom, Bond is lurking. The eeriness and quietness from the scene make it one of the most tense, yet, intriguing scenes from any of the Bond films.

The exotic locations are typical to James Bond films, and these certainly did not disappoint in Spectre. The ancient city of Rome, the bitterness of Austrian mountains and the familiar backdrop of London all serve their own purpose and certainly bring a glamorous, luxury element to the film.

Music is a huge component for any film, especially James Bond. The anticipation of ‘Writing’s on the Wall’ gave us the first glimpse of what the film would be like and alike any Sam Smith track, was outstanding. Throughout the film, the music is brilliant; carefully selected and paced, building up tension or slowing it down, it is evident that Mendes’ selections for every second of this film were thoroughly pondered – something that definitely doesn’t go a miss.

The writing is as always, brilliant. Using the humour and sarcasm that, in the last film, made the Bond series’ really come alive worked just as well again; carefully placed and brilliantly delivered. As well as the humour bringing Spectre to a new era, the scripts don’t hold back on the one-liners that we all know and love. Together with incredible performances from not only Daniel Craig - but Christoph Waltz, Lea Seydoux, Naomie Harris and Ben Whishaw - just to name a few, the 24^th film in the series is no doubt the greatest film of the year so far.

This is the perfect end to a much-awaited sequel, one that I can’t wait to watch again.

Autumn days

It's begun. The cold, dark nights are officially upon us and the winter coats are coming back out! 

I know that the winter isn't for everyone and it never really appealed to me, the bitter-cold winds and having cold toes in bed is not particularly enticing to anyone, until I thought a little bit more about it.

The autumn is probably one of the best times of the year. However cold and dark it may be, it's cosy. Blankets out and fires lit, all wrapped up on a Sunday night, it really does make everything a lot better. 

It reminds us of our childhood. The assemblies, harvest festival and playing in the snow.

Not even to mention what autumn eventually brings. The laughter of Halloween, the awe of bonfire night and finally, Christmas. The best time of year.

All the events over the autumn and winter months makes it go so quickly, which I love.

I've not been up to much since my last post. Trying to find some decent running trainers is my main struggle at the moment - never mind the constant pile of uni work and finding some time to be remotely sociable, even for just a couple of hours.

Izzy came down from Manchester to see myself and Soph and we went out for the afternoon. It was lovely having a catch up and talking about everything that we've been up to and even better that we could all see each other before Christmas!

Exercise inspiration

At the moment, all I want to do is get up and start running. Go to the gym, cycle or swim but unfortunately, I've damaged my knee and can't.

While I'm resting and waiting for my knee to get better, I've had a little look at the latest sportswear that's available. There's nothing that will motivate you more to do exercise than lovely sportswear. For me, blacks and greys are the best option, minimalist effort but still looking great all year round.

There are so many options out there right now. From the original Nike, Adidas and Reebok brands to the new high street looks, with New Look, Boohoo and H&M bringing out sportswear lines, for a cut of the price.

My personal favourite will always be Nike. The patterns and quality will always be the best and you'll always look great, even after a 5 mile run!

Exercise inspiration for me comes from celebrities and celebrity personal trainers. There is nothing more encouraging than logging into Instagram or Twitter to see the likes of Millie Mackintosh, Ellie Goulding or Rosie Fortescue training or at the gym. Their exercise tips and videos are so driving, you can see that they put so much effort into doing it for themselves and creating a healthier lifestyle for the better.

I can't wait to get back up and exercising through the winter!

Trainers - Nike

Sports bra - Lulu Lemon

Sweater - Boohoo

Destination deliberation: My holiday list

With the best of the summer behind us and the dark nights looming, I can't help but think about holidays. What I would do to be back in the sunshine with a cool cocktail in my hand, taking in every moment of a new place.

I spent the other night researching into which places I would love to travel to. Not only typical beach holiday destinations, but places of interest and something's that are that little bit different.

It didn't take me long to come up with a well-constructed list of the destinations that would be a dream to visit; from the temples of Angkor Wat to the sand dunes of Dubai, every place would be a  completely different experience.

As much as I enjoy a two week beach break and looking around resorts, taking a trip to somewhere more cultural and becoming part of a country for a period of time is a lot more inspiring. 

Specific European cities that I have always wanted to go to hold a top spot on my list, the architecture and feel of a city is so different to anything else. 

Travelling further afield to Asia and Australia is something I have always dreamt of doing, spending time around different locations, throwing myself into every experience possible and being able to live every moment would be incredible.

America is a huge dream for me. In less than 11 weeks I will be taking my first trip there to see the sights of New York and I can't explain how excited I am. It will be the biggest holiday I have ever been on and one of the places I have always dreamt of visiting. There are a number of places in the USA that have made their way onto my list, all for different reasons, and I can't wait to cross my first one off!

Obviously my dream list doesn't come cheap, some of the holidays would cost thousands, but they're not places I would think about going twice to. Once in a lifetime opportunities that I know would take years of saving, but who wants to go through life not fulfilling their aspirations? I want to travel. As far as I can and experiencing as much as I can.