Going to a town

Blouse - H&M.  Shorts - Asos.com.  Shoes - New Look.
Ring - Present from Dhany.  Scarf as belt - My mother's.  Earrings - Diva.

What I wore for a quick journey to do some errands in town - easy, breezy and um, yellow.  I'm particularly enamoured by this kitchsy new three-finger ring as I've never owned one before, and not being able to separate your last three phalanges is more comfortable than it looks. 

Back in business

So it's been a while.  I went on unplanned hiatus because school work, university goodbyes and a roadtrip to Wales all happened in the best way possible, and in a manner that is far too exhausting to cover at length.

But I'm back now, and I bring something from the lovely Paperchase who, apart from carrying beautiful stationery and notebooks that make my heart go thump, stock an amazing range of cute, cartoony bags that will be right up your alley if you like Tokidoki or Artbox.

Shriya and I really wanted to buy a bag, but at £19 pounds, the (still gorgeous) bigger ones were still too expensive for our student budget.  That's when she had a great idea - to buy a lunch box to use as a purse!  I got really excited, and even more chuffed when we discovered that the lunchboxes were £6.50 a piece.  I know, right?  No one else believes it either.

I got one in this adorable monster print (though no one needs to know Shriya has the exact same design) and when I brought it out for a farewell dinner and drinks, loads of people asked me about it, and teased me good-naturedly about my lunchbox-bag.  As a mini train case, it works just fine, and at a 20cm length, it's more roomy than one would think.

So here's what I had inside it:

1)  Thick yellow scarf
2)  Ipod
3)  Cards
4)  Cash and change
5)  Eye drops for my contact lenses
6)  My £2 Body Shop lip balm that has been used by practically my whole class.  I'm like some crazy lip balm lady with three or four pots on me at all times and since half the class struggles with chapping, I dole them out during the break like some kind of soup kitchen person.
7)  The Body Shop moroccan rose perfume
8)  Not pictured: my phone

And that's really all you need, isn't it?  A quick tip for those wanting to try the tin-box-as-bag route: put in something soft like a scarf, or something heavy like a big wallet, to stop your stuff from clanging around in a very unbecoming way at the bottom.

Check out the other patterns - they have some adorable food ones - and feel free to share if you've recently done a what's in my bag as well!

Finally, I don't know what this says about me, but I was just as entranced by the packing the lunchbox came in.  I mean, look at it.  You can't say this doesn't get your pulse racing:

Wordless details: Fringe bib

Fringe bib - Forever 21.  Shirt - H&M.  Jacket - Primark.

Jeans - Uniqlo.  Shoes - H&M.  Belt - Ganked off a dress at Primark.
Earrings - Swarovski.  

Details: Terracotta jewellery from Anjuly!

Anjuly came back from India a couple of weeks ago and she brought Shriya and I presents: really cool terracotta jewellery sets!  I just wanted to share them because I thought they were very unique-looking and I had also been secretly looking for a bib sort of necklace for ages and Anjuly read my mind.  I've never had terracotta jewellery before and it looks really different from all the plastic and metal that you get, much more organic.

Aren't the colours on the set amazing?  I love the little details - like the diamond shaped pieces have an arrowhead look going on in the corners and the little swirly things actually look like hamsas.  Also, the necklace is adjustable so it can sit like a collar or a lower bib.  I just think it's super cool.  So, thanks very much Anjuly!

Shriya and I played a game where we each took a box and looked into it without showing each other and then decided whether we wanted to swap or keep the jewellery set we'd look at.  It was like the Monty Hall dilemma because we'd both seen what we were holding, but couldn't guess what the other had and we amused ourselves by trying to convince each other that ours was better.  In the end we swapped and kept the one we hadn't seen!  Shriya's set was equally great though, all these beads in bluey-green colours.

I'm not really the kind of person to wear earrings or necklaces in matching sets, so I just wore the necklace by itself for coffee with a friend earlier this week.  Here's a quick look at the full outfit: I wanted to keep it simple and almost monochrome because the necklace makes a bit of a statement already.  The uber cool crystals were a present from my mother when we went to Portobello.

Dress - Camden.  Necklace - Present from Anjuly.  

Blouse - Dorothy Perkins.  Flats - New Look.  Earrings - Portobello.

By the way, I haven't been reporting estimated temperature for a while.
Here, it's about 14 degrees!

What about you guys?  Do you wear necklace/earring sets together and how do you do it without looking too matchy matchy?  I'd love to know!  And finally:

Tattybye!

Detail: Brilliant Primark bags

Primark's quality isn't always great, but you really can't fault their prices and often, they turn out real gems.  If you haven't seen their bags this season, run, don't walk, to the nearest Primark and have a gander.  Bold tones, colour blocking, really pretty stuff that looks like it belongs on the arm of a model on a yacht.  (Did anyone have trouble spelling yacht when they were young and go around like, "YATCH!  No, YATCH.  No, YATCH!!!")

There were some purses in bold yellows and royal blues and really cute, quirky prints in big bright swathes that I really enjoyed.  Enough of this staid black and brown leather for now!

I really wanted to share this one that I bought yesterday on a small shopping trip with Shriya.  I honestly don't need another bag, but it was £6!  And I thought, Shuli (not really, I don't call myself Shuli in my head), you're a fool if you spend that £6 on something else you don't like as much just because it's not a purse, am I right?

I thought I'd share it in detail first, but I also styled it with an outfit today (are there any style bloggers out there who feel incredibly pretentious when using the word "styled"?  I mean, we're just wearing random shit together in a way that makes us happy.  It's so fartsy.  From now on, I will say wore).  Ahem.  I wore it with an outfit today that I'll share shortly!  I hope you enjoy the pictures!

Lions and tigers and zebras, oh my!

My mother is not the best person to pick my clothes on a regular basis.  Often, the designs are strange things that she wouldn't mind wearing, but that send me running for cover.

When we recently met in London though, she brought me the most spectacular gift from Bangkok and it's fast becoming my favourite shirt.  The crazy zebras, the hearts and the navy colour are all to die for, and I'm wearing it so often that the colour has already started fading around the buttons, making it look more hippy than ever.  What's not to love?!

I wore this (sans heels) for some fun in the sun with my awesome flatmates!

 Shirt - Bangkok.  Bag - Asos.com.  Clogs - New Look.

Jean leggings - New Look.  Necklace - Spitalfields.  Earrings - Accessorize.

I can't get over these beautiful flowering shrubs on campus.  I spent so much time getting cosy with them, that I was still pulling little white flowers out of my hair when I brushed my teeth for the evening.

These jeggings are the only leggings I own that can actually be worn as pants sans cameltoe - a danger that is becoming imminent on campus as the weather warms up.  We were treated to a spate of beautiful days last week and I was able to wander out wearing just this in the afternoon with a tank top under to keep my chest cosy.

And now that we're all thinking of my chest, let's move on, shall we?

Here is my Claddagh ring as promised - I wear it on the first finger of my left hand with the crown pointing towards me, which I think indicates that my heart is taken.  Taken by what, you may ask?  Well, have you ever eaten Lindt truffles?  Just sayin'.

Finally, I found a site I'm really excited to share!  It's called Everybody, Every Wear and it runs based on a really great idea.  Every month, they propose an outfit theme - say polka dots or stripes, and people from all over the world dress up and do fashion blog posts in outfits centering on that theme.

Then, you basically "pin" your outfit to that post on Everybody, Ever Wear, and voila, a massive post of people modelling polka dots (or whatever) from around the world.  It's amazing and I love the sense of community, the great photos and outfits and the inspiration you can get.  I immediately threw caution to the wind and joined the fray (how's that for two cliches in a row?) and sent in this picture for the maxi dress/skirt entry, from this 30 x 30 post. 

Go ahead, feel free to join in, and please let me know if you do!  I just love the idea and you also get this cute little button to put on your blog for each post that you contributed to.  I can't wait for next month's theme, and I'm seriously considered suggesting a nutty theme of my own to the site: Pajamas!

I mean, who doesn't want to see the various cuddly and printed things that bloggers snuggle down to bed in!  Am I right or am I right?