#BEDM Day 26: dinner party..

dress: clothing at tesco

heels: carvela

 I know I've pondered the subject of my perfect dinner party in the past. It's one of those questions which seems to come up a lot, isn't it? Plus, I've always quite fancied throwing a Come Dine with Me style dinner party. I don't mind cooking now and then, I quite enjoy it if it's for a group of us or someone is coming over.

I guess I could take the easy way out here and say that I'd want to invite my best friends because I don't see them often and it's rare that we are all together and that makes me sad.

However, if we're going for the more exciting, "famous" option, I'm finding things a little more tricky.

I guess we'd want some live entertainment, so I'd ask Paloma Faith so that she could sing for us and we could play dress up together as I know she's a fellow IC fan!

I'd have to invite Mila Kunis, mostly because I have a giant crush on her. Plus she's hilarious. 

I'd want someone funny like Jeremy Clarkson (well, I find him funny, although I'm aware he's not to everyone's taste), to keep the conversation going.

Also, I have quite a lot of respect for Obama, so he'd get an invite. Definitely well ahead of any of our current political figures, anyway. Then I guess we'd need someone to ogle at, so George Clooney, Jon Hamm, Gerard Butler, sometimes Bradley Cooper, Robert Downey Jr...oooh, and Carmine Giovinazzo from CSI: NY. That's probably enough to be going on with.

I'll need to get the emergency chairs out!

#BEDM Day 25: Music

This is going to be like the book post; I find it hard to pin down "favourites" in a definitive list, but I've given some thought to albums which bring back particular memories for me, although aren't necessarily my favourites.

001: P!ink: M!ssundaztood

002: Lostprophets : Liberation Transmission

003: Gabrielle Aplin : English Rain

004: Enrique : Escape

005: All-American Rejects : When The World Comes Down

001: I think this is the first album I remember listening to on pretty much repeat, all of the time, and thinking that I could totally associate with all of the lyrics and songs. I'd say I was probably 12 or 13?

002: I almost didn't put this one in the list, if I'm honest. I loved this album and for a long time it was the only thing I was playing in the car. I've been to quite a few of their gigs and really liked the band at one point, but I have mixed feelings about them these days, mostly disappointment and I haven't really listened to them in a long time, but this album still conjures up memories of summertime road trips to the beach.

003: This hasn't been on my iPod for that long, but the whole album has racked up a crazy number of plays already. I love Gabrielle Aplin and she was the absolute highlight of my trip to Bestival last year. At the moment English Rain is getting played more than most things, and I'm not getting tired of it at all.

 004: OK, you can laugh at this one. But it's this album which brings back all of the time I spent on family holidays in the villa in Spain. We would literally have it on repeat and stay in the pool all day and all I remember is sunshine and happy times when I hear any of the songs from it.

005: This, and any other AAR album would be on my list of favourites. I know it's not so cool not to let go of the bands you grew up loving, but All-American Rejects have been my favourite band for about ten years now, and I don't seem to be getting tired of them. All-American Rejects reminds me of college days spent in the local park playing football, whilst Move Along makes me think of uni, and weekend spent in Manchester. When The World Comes Down is the most emotional for me, but mostly reminds me of being so in love on the loveliest London trip and seeing them in the Empire. Shortly after that trip my world came down, so now when I listen to it, some of the songs are a little bittersweet.

There are actually lots more I could add, now that I've started thinking about music and nostaligia...

#BEDM Day 24: fridge..

Today's #BEDM topic is a bit of a non-starter for me. Usually, there is nothing in my fridge, other than butter, some jam and maybe some cheese.

There's a fairly simple explanation. I never go food shopping. It bores me, I can't get excited about it and so get easily distracted. Usually by the clothes section.

dress: clothing at tesco

shoes: primark

cardigan: clothing at tesco

This cardigan was a Clothing at Tesco sale bargain last year, when I had some time to kill waiting for the rangers to finish their kayaking lesson.

The dress is a much more recent Clothing at Tesco purchases - I took advantage of their recent summer clothes promotions and discount codes a couple of times at the end of April! Already, it's up there as a front-runner for my favourite dress of the year, so far. I love the shape and the fact that the bodice is shaped so that it's not gapey at the top, which is what I've found with so many dresses lately.

I can't be the only one who finds food shopping thoroughly dull, surely? 

#BEDM Day 23 : compliments

dress: h&m

 patent heels : barratts*

cardigan: h&m

coat: primark

Sorry to be such a predictable bore, Becks.

 Compliments fluster me. I can talk about most things until the cows come home. Not that I share my home with a cow. (Or anyone anymore, thank goodness - I like my space). So I can often find myself merrily conversing away with someone, and then they'll say something like "your hair looks nice" and I'll suddenly lose all train of thought.

I seem to have an inability to accept that anyone would be saying anything nice because they actually think it; if I'm complimented on something I'll usually just say "no, I don't" or whatever. I shrug most things off like that, despite knowing that it's much more polite to say "thank you", graciously, then to engage your complimenter in the conversational equivalent of an alligator-wrestling contest until they retract whatever it is they'd said.

I'd like to compliment Barratts on these shoes, though. (See what I did there?!) I ordered them with a voucher they'd given me in my goody bag at the NW Bloggers meet up, which was waaay back in February. I chose these along with another pair but hadn't worn this pair until now. They were £10 in the sale, and I think they are fab. I don't think this exact pair are still on the site, but these are similar..

I also decided that I'd post this outfit today, as when I wore it last week I was told I looked lovely in it, by the man in the sorting office. I didn't say anything.

BEDM Day 22: 13 year old self..

dress : laura ashley (vintage)

waistcoat: miss selfridge

court shoes : chinese laundry

 Given how emotional this week has already been, I don't need any excuse to tap into my emotions to write this.

Dear 13 year-old Char:

When you are nearly double the age you are now, you'll look back and think that things weren't so bad back then. Yes, it may have felt like the end of the world when you fell out with your best friend, and although the particular friend may have changed over the years, that feeling as though it's the end of the world is always the same when you fall out. If you thought you'd had your heart broken then, think again. That was nothing. You'd do well to control your temper better; driving through someone's garden gate in a fit of rage was never going to be the best idea.

You do (finally) lose some of the weight you'd always dreamed of losing. It doesn't solve all of your self-confidence issues. If anything, it makes them a lot worse. I'm not sure how best to advise you on that one as it's a battle you're only just beginning as I write this.

You still don't know what you want to do in life but that hasn't held you back. Your career has opened up a lot of possibilities and taught you valuable lessons. It's been tough, but you'll come out on top. Most people still don't know, so don't let the Career Advice lady give you any crap next year.

The vow you've made to never speak to your father again doesn't last forever. Things get worse before they get better, but one day you may look back and think he isn't so bad. Something happens to make you realise that things aren't always as black and white as they seem when you're in school, looking up at the adult world.

The friends you make when you're in school might not last. People say that the friends you make in Uni are the ones who stick, and they're sort of right. It's fine if not all of your friends are the same age as you. Most of them won't be. You meet the person who will become your best friend when you're walking back to Uni one morning from the train station.

Ah yes, you went to University. Against your better judgement. It will teach you to see things through, if nothing else. You'll rebel in the most unbelievable way. And it's fine not to want to go backpacking around the world on a 'Gap-Yah'.

Enjoy those few perfect months, because they lead to the most pain you will ever experience (I hope, anyway) and something happens which still haunts you to this day. You might never get over it, but in a few years you will have learnt to accept it for it's not something you could have predicted or ever changed.

Learn that it's OK to let go of things. Learn that you will (and do) make yourself ill if you try to say yes to everything. Learn that you can't fix things by trying to relive what used to happen. People change, and it's part of growing up. Please don't let yourself get dragged in to that cycle of sadness again and again.

Most of all, learn that it's not OK to change who you are to suit someone else, and that it's OK to like different things to everyone else. Your best friends will (and do) accept you for that, not despite that.

(almost)26 year-old Char.

p.s Stop leaving everything to the last minute. And your collection of shoes has grown.

#BEDM: Day 21 (and a catch up..)

dress: laura ashley (vintage)

court shoes : iron fist

(Iron Fist Women's Black Sheep Peep Platform Open Toe )

I've fallen a little behind with just about everything over the last few days. I've missed out a few of the #BEDM topics as a result but here's a little round-up.

And an outfit post, because I seem to be building up quite a few sets of photos which haven't been posted yet.and I wanted to show off these shoes. I know that Iron Fist can be a little too goth-y for my liking, but these had lambs printed on them. And polka dot bows. So I kind of clashed them with this dress, which I'm rather pleased about, because the last time I wore it I could hardly get the zip done up.

In fact, the last time I wore it was for a BBQ with my very best friends (see how nicely that linked in with the topic for #BEDM Day 18!) where one of them told us she was pregnant. Eep. I've said it before, but I don't get to see my best friends as often as I'd like to. I think I need to start managing my time differently, so that the things which *should* be more important, get the time and focus they deserve, instead of being crossed out and postponed in order that the things I feel*obliged* to do get space.

I miss these girls all the time.

As far as the other days go, I don't have a lot to say.. I could just about walk to work, but I never do because I swim at the gym which is about 10miles away, before heading to the office every morning, and usually rush off to whatever meeting or spinning class I have on that evening - I don't very often get to go straight home from work.

I don't have any complaints about my job, I enjoy going to work every day and think that the last few years, although tough, have provided me with some very valuable experiences. If we are talking pie-in-the-sky dreams, I might like to start a dress shop one day and sell some of my designs, but to be honest, I firmly believe that you should keep your work and hobbies separate; I actually wouldn't want to have to make a living from something I like to do for fun.

I don't have many traditions, if I'm honest. I keep a diary, which I write in every day, which is something I used to resolve to do every New Year's Day, but never managed to get more than a couple of months into the year. The past few years have been a lot better, though. It seems firmly part of my routine, these days.

And finally, I haven't had a lot of time to catch up with the news, although know there's been a rather sad story this week which has affected some local friends.

#BEDM Day 16 - pampering..

Well this is going to be a short post. I might have approximately one trillion shoes and more handbags than I know what to do with, but when it comes to anything else you'd usually expect girls to be into (make-up, hair styles, pampering, etc) I'm a bit of a lost cause.

I think I own two lipsticks (both cheap, one pink, one red and neither worn very often), and a long bubble bath is my idea of Hell.

I suppose the best way to relax, other than in spinning classed or at the gym, is to spend some time with my family or friends, get dressed up and go out for a meal or a drink and a catch-up..if I'm spending my time with someone else, at least I'm not beating myself up or feeling guilty about all of the things I haven't yet done and should be doing.

dress: dickins and jones

owl brooch: vintage street fair, manchester // cardigan: matalan

clutch: dorothy perkins // coat: vintage fair

scarf: charity shop

shoes: Betty London