This whole outfit is exactly what I have been looking for. You probably won’t believe me but this look cost me a grand total of £25. I know, you are all looking at the screen in awe? Yes, a whole twenty five English, Stirling pounds!
My shoes were a brilliant find on eBay and cost me only £20. They are perfect for sprucing up any outfit. Although the more I wear them, the less I can wear them. So that’s leaves a mere £5 for the dress, which is indeed correct! I picked up this dress in the Primark sale very recently and could not believe my eyes when I saw it hanging there.
I love the outfit because it has a really cute and feminine. I felt fabulous in it, quite sassy as a matter of fact! I will definitely wear this out to dinner next time the husband decides to wine & dine me. Which I do hope is soon as it’s my birthday this month! Wahoo!
Have you picked up any bargains recently that you are particularly proud of? I can’t wait to hear from you!
I was lucky enough to be invited to a VIP Launch evening at a local attraction, Stockeld Park. It is right on our doorstep and for some reason I have just never thought about going as I have heard that the entrance fee’s are quite high, so we have always steered clear. I’m so glad they invited me along because I realised that it was worth every single penny that warranted the £12 ticket.
Blue Fluffy Jumper, Miss Selfridge (eBay) || Skirt, H&M (eBay) || Shoes, Birkenstocks || Leather Bag, Gloves (Italy)
I was really excited because I got to bring along a guest so I decided to bring along my little sister so we could act like big kids of course. I’m sure you can see from above just how much she enjoyed it.
We made our way round Enchanted Forest first of all which took a good 45 minutes to walk round. At each corner as you can see from the photographic evidence, there was something exciting lurking and awaiting our arrival. From musical tree’s to a belching Ogre, not only was everything visual it was a delight for all the senses too!
The best way to describe it would be that it was a slightly lesser version of Forbidden Corner. I was surprised to find ourselves keeping busy for the 2 and a half hours we were there and we didn’t even take part in all the activities!
We made our way round the Maze which was a rather bad idea. Navigation is not my strongest point. However, we came across some fun little treasures and also a Tardis (or two!) which made my sister VERY happy as a Dr. Who fan.
When we eventually managed to work our way out of the Maze (I promise it wasn’t because I took a photo of the map to help get us out. Brownies honour!) I was desperate for an ice cream so we headed over to the Ice Cream Parlour before we headed home. On site you will find a cafe, picnic area and toilets for all your amenity needs.
Alongside the Enchanted Forest (which, you can motorised scooter around also!) and the maze, there are also go karts, various play parks in and around the Enchanted Forest and also a Skating Rink! You will be spoilt for choice.
Tickets cost £12 per person or you can purchase a family tickets for £42!
If you are thinking of heading to Stockeld Park, click here!
So, here it was. My first ‘’OFFICIAL’’ Blog Meet. As the wedding took up a lot of my time and effort I had slightly forgotten about my wee, little blog! So I have been determined to ramp up the volume and get involved in the ‘’Blogosphere’’ (Ah yes, I just pulled the ‘’B-BOMB!’’)
The lovely Carrie-Ann of Beauties Unlocked & Faith of Music and Eyeliner decided to create ‘’Blog Yorkshire’’ to showcase Brands with us lovely Bloggers, and thus it was born. They had an amazing response to tickets with people clambering to get one for the event & I was lucky enough to snag a ticket, making it officially my first little outing as ‘’QueenBeady.’’
The theme was (my favourite theme of all!) FESTIVAL. So out come the flower crowns, the sparkle, the glitter, the kimonos & everything in between. Dust it off, because it was welcome at this event. In the morning I thought to myself, ‘’Am I nervous?’’ and the answer was a resounding NO. I was so looking forward to meeting some lovely, lovely people who all shared a common passion with me.
The venue was Revolution Bar on Call Lane & I couldn’t help fall in love with this little piece of gorgeousness! I want one. It’s pretty awesome, right? I think we should try and fill one of the frames with a snap shot of the event!
So after mingling and saying hello, meeting new faces it was time to get down with the brands that were showcasing at the event and we were not disappointed with what was on offer. I of course had a personal favourite which was Country & Attire a typically english, out in the countryside type of company. As soon as they mentioned Hunters & Barbour to me, I was there! I spend a lot of time on Mr C’s parents farm so these brands are a must when you rolling up your trousers and wading through mud frequently.
Gee, thanks Faith! Gosh, I do love your macaroons!
They hosted a bit of welly croquet later on in the day which was so much fun! And, they even contributed a pair of Hunter wellies to the raffle. If you didn’t win, you could win with my giveaway here!
Because I am more in to Fashion & Lifestyle blogging, Quiz Clothing were another firm favourite at the event. They brought along some super cute dress (albeit some were a little too glitzy for me!). A firm favourite was a colourful, tropical dress and the metallic heels.
I loved the Great Gatsby style of this dress!
I was lucky enough to get the chance to style an outfit with the dresses, shoes & accessories they had brought along. Everyone had to vote for their favourite outfit, and guess what? Little old me WON! Yes, the unluckiest person, who never wins anything WON! So, I now have a £50 voucher to spend with Quiz. If you can think of any options for me, feel free to suggest.
Because I’m not really a beauty addict I had absolutely NO IDEA about ESPA & I am so glad that they were there because Danielle gave us a run down of their products and taught us that depending on our skin type we are swayed to certain smells. 95% people are drawn in to a particular scent and I fell in to that statistic. I technically chose the dry skin smell!
They also gave us the most gorgeous goody bags depending on our skin type & it has tempted me in to actually creating a skin care regime for myself. Let’s see how my trial run goes with these little beauties.
Pastille Leeds were also there on hand to create the perfect mani. I so would have had my nails done, but I already had them painted & couldn’t bear to part with my own Ciate Mani that I had created the night before. But I am sure you will agree Jenna from Hepcat Blogs nails looked amazing in a matte finish.
The wonderful Georgina from She Might Be Loved another super, talented blogger was also offering the services of a beautiful make over. No amount of pretty can fix my ugly so I didn’t take up the offer, but, the makeovers she did were incredible & I really hope this has encouraged her to get out & just DO IT!
The amount of prizes in the raffle draw was just ridiculous! I bought a strip of tickets but failed to win any prizes! Like I said, I’m terribly unlucky (bar my earlier win!) so a big congratulations to all the winners, you are so so soooo lucky! With prizes from Zatchel Bags, to Nair products to the penultimate prize of a pair of Hunters from Country Attire there was literally something for everyone!
The sweets, biscuits, cupcakes & even strawberries kept our palettes happy. A bit of indulgence is always acceptable and I have to say, whoever baked those buns is nothing short of a genius.
I met so many lovely people & quite frankly the blogging world is lovely. It’s inspirational to meet people who are just as passionate as you are about reading and writing (our little babies!) Like my new Blogging BFF Frances from Then Let’s Begin(She has probably hit block or delete once she reads that!) it is like a Solidarity, Sisterhood and it’s empowering that we are kicking ass and showing the people out there that we are a voice & you better well damn listen to it!
I am so looking forward to our next meet which word on the grapevine is not going to be until November! But, it something for us to look forward to when I get a serious case of ‘’Winter Blues.’’ I’d love to hear if there any sporadic Yorkshire Blog events in the future, keep me posted.
Now if you know what it’s worth, go follow all the lovely people mentioned and also head over to Blog Yorkshire and find some amazingly, talented bloggers/writers for all your fashion, beauty, lifestlye needs!
It’s the little details that mean a lot to me at weddings. I want to feel like I am taking a glimpse in to the Bride & Grooms life. Our special day was no exception.
James family are die hard farmers, we rear chickens and love the outdoors. So what was more fitting than a ‘’Countryfied’’ Wedding. My family are very crafty and creative so it was even better that there was so many home spun features on our big day.
The old potato chitting trays welcomed our guests on arrival. Despite the rain we managed to get the ‘’Mr & Mrs Clayton’s Wedding This Way’’ Sign out so everyone knew where they were going.
I think everyone was shocked when they walked in to the hall and saw just how amazing it was and how much love had gone in to decking it out. I have always imagined what peoples faces would be like when they opened their invites & saw that we were having our wedding reception in a village hall.
We managed to get a lovely shot the day before of the venue before chaos ensued. I’m sure you will agree it look PRETTY amazing, if I don’t mind saying so myself.
My mum sewed plenty of bunting to wrap around a few of the tables, like the top table and the Cake/Photo/Post Box table. It gave it just that extra pizzazz (is that even a word, it hasn’t got a squiggly red line under it?!) of colour to compliment the ivory marquee lining.
The ‘’Mr & Mrs’’ on the top table was a Hobby Craft special & so was the red post box that Mr C and I painted at his work. My mum paper mache’d the ‘’Mr & Mrs’’ too, she is so super clever!
The napkins are from the Cath Kidston sale that I picked up right when we got engaged so we have always known that this was the type of wedding we were going for
The centre pieces & flowers were very natural and country garden style. We didn’t want a huge centrepiece on the tables that people could not see one another! The ceramic jugs were an ebay find, we had lovely duck egg blue, blush pink and cream jugs. Each Table was different. We were a little boring with the table numbers and stuck to ‘’1, 2, 3’’ (you get the picture!) but we bought so cute chalk board table number stands which looked great!
I loved our little place settings, simple brown luggage labels that my mum decorated with doilies and the ‘’Mr & Mrs’’ ribbon. It was so simple but so effective. And I love how ours said Mr & Mrs Clayton on them!
Because we didn’t have ‘’favours’’ as such we created buckets for the children at the wedding that had sweets, magazines, colouring pen and pencils. One even had a set of fake moustaches which went down a treat! It kept the children happy during the speeches and throughout the meal and it was something we were so happy that we did. Thanks to my super Aunty Kate!
Like I said, we didn’t have favours so instead we opted for a cute Kandy Kart that kept guests entertained all day/night, rather than taking something home that they were going to stuff in a cupboard to never see again or, throw in the bin and never see again. Plus, it was a nice talking point for people to have a laugh & a joke about how many sweets they were getting.
Donna was fabulous & even sourced some material that matched the bridesmaid dresses. How’s that for service?
We got to choose 10 different types of sweets and we also got to keep what was left. So, we are currently wading our way through LOTS of sweets!
Our beloved ‘’R & J’’. I had seen these all over pinterest and thought, ‘’I HAVE TO HAVE THEM’’ and so I did. My uncle is super talented as he is a joiner by trade. I asked him nicely if he would mind doing them for us and he made sure they were perfect! They looked amazing when the lights were turned off. Again, it just added that extra little sparkle to our wedding!
Now, let me bring you on to the food. It was to die for! When we decided on a DIY wedding the first people we thought of were our local pub, The Fox & Hounds. Their food is amazing, delicious and locally sourced. They did not disappoint with their fairings.
The Chicken Liver Parfait is my particular favourite starter, add that to the succulently warm olive bread you have a winning combination.
Now, with James’ family mainly all farmers, meat is something of a task to them when they aren’t eating their own field fodder. So it was a welcome surprise that they were all saying it was some of the best beef they have EVER tasted.
Food was so important to us, because most weddings you go to, the food is just ‘’okay’’ and you want to feel full. I hate to blow our own trumpet but I think we got it spot on, 100% with the caterers, so a MASSIVE thank you to Alan and his team.
What made your day feel special and set you apart from other weddings you’ve been to? I can’t wait to bring you our other instalments of the big day, it is keeping the memory alive for me.
Now that June is slowly coming to an end I thought it was only right to post a Lust List.
June has been an exceptional month for me as it was the month of the wedding & honeymoon and we couldn’t be happier with how everything panned out! Some people have even said it was THE BEST wedding they had ever been to, which was testament to the hard work that James & I put in to the making of the day.
So we will now have money! Which means one things… SHOPPING. I am a free woman with no constraints on my purse strings (except for my driving lessons) so I can spend, spend, spend!
Coco Chanel Mademoiselle: I had always dreamed of wearing this delicious scent at our wedding but sadly at £98.50 a 7.5ml parfum bottle that would have paid for a few bits & bobs. You can find it here at The Perfume Shop along with lots of other beautiful perfumes too!
Links of London XS Sweetie Bracelet: I have teeny tiny wrists (I wish I could say that about my hips!) so this bracelet is perfect for my delicate little wrist bones. Priced at £120 on Links of London you will not be disappointed with the selection of jewellery on offer here.
H&M Floppy Hat: What’s a sunny day without a super elegant floppy hat that oozes Hepburn-esque style? A really rubbish one that’s what! It’s in the H&M sale for £9 which is a steal, find it here at H&M
New Look Co-Ord: Who doesn’t love this co-ord style at the moment? It’s chic & sassy at the same time. Everyone on Capri Island was wearing them. So if it’s good enough for the super rich Italians its good enough for us. I love the vintage, floral design! Each piece shown is priced at £17.99 and can be found in store or online at New Look.
Birkenstocks Madrid Style: Ahhhhh, my lovely Birkenstocks! Having started suffering with a “dropping in step” I have had to act quick to find a few pairs of shoes that help lift it & these are just perfect. Especially for just slipping on and off on a Summers day. I for one, will always be buying these sandals from now on! Stylish and orthopaedic (see that big word I just threw in there, yeahhhhh enjoy it!). You can buy your Birkenstocks at Cloggs UK where you will find an array of brands and unknown footwear that will keep your eyes entertained all night!
John Lewis Picnic Hamper: What’s a picnic without a picnic hamper? Well it would not be a picnic. FULL STOP. Now we have a super duper new John Lewis at York Retail Park & we have John Lewis vouchers I can see myself getting sucked into that middle class values type of life! Everything is just so pretty and beautiful that you can just stare at everything 24/7. Not good for the bank balance, but totally ok for the picnic scene! This hamper along with the cutlery and glasses etc it is priced at £100 but so totally worth it, right? You can find it in store or online at John Lewis
So what would you wear for a picnic or why would you pack for your day out in the glorious sunshine. It would have to be ham salad and tuna & cucumber sandwiches and then plenty of strawberries/raspberries with lashings of cream and sugar (plus a bottle of prosecco!) PERFECT!
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