10 things girls think when they're desperately shopping xox

So in the next seven days I have two graduations, two graduation meals, three birthdays and one birthday weekend. I'm not even sure there are enough days, but apart from being well and truly skint,(and counting down the days till payday) I've also spent a great deal of time shopping...in this heat! Wahhhh. Now, I'm not a 'new occasion, new outfit' kind of gal, (I wish I was, but lets face it, what grad has that kind of spare cash hanging around?) but with a post-dissertation wardrobe (aka zero 'going-out' clothes) I was more than excited to splash out! 

Except I couldn't find anything. Not one dress that I loved. My graduation is in four days and I am still without dress. And my favourite purchase? A Topshop boutique dress from last year which I found on eBay. So I've been doing a lot of desperate shopping, in other words, trying to convince myself I love something that I actually hate. Here's 10 ridiculous and unrealistic things I've thought this week:

1. 'If I eat nothing but salad and rice cakes for the next week, I reckon I will be able to pull this off.'

2. 'It's fine, I'll remember to make extra effort to suck in all night.' 

3. 'Hmmm...a bit low cut. I'll get one of the girls on boob duty - sorted!'

4. 'If I stand sideways for photos I'll be able to get away with it.'

5. 'Not 100% on this one but I'll make an effort to fake tan and then it will look fab.'

6. 'Yeah bright yellow doesn't usually suit me but maybe it's time for a change?'

7. 'It's only £30...even if you hate it tomorrow it's only £30, you'd probably just spend that on crap food this week anyway.'

8. 'It probably looks better than you think it does...'

9. *squeezing into a size smaller because they're out of your size* 'this sort of fits and I can kind of still breathe.'

10. 'Wow £100...but, if I make lunch for the next week and don't buy coffee, I'll save like £6 a day, that's £42 which means I would really only be spending £58 on the dress...'

Be honest with yourself ladies, you'll only regret it later! xoxo

The 5 trying tasks of staying at a boy's house

I remember being seven-years-old when I was first faced with the horror of staying at a boy's house. My parents had left me and my brother with our neighbour (who had two sons in my class) whilst they were away for the evening. 

When I spoke to my mum on the phone and she told me I might have to stay the night there because they were delayed, I nearly cried. I specifically remember not being able to get my head round staying at a boy's house. I had images of dirty socks and underwear all over the carpets and food hidden underneath their beds with spiders that would crawl out in the middle of the night and onto my face. Luckily we didn't end up staying there, but at that moment I remember thinking that I would never stay at a boy's house ever in my life. I couldn't risk the spiders on my face thing and in that moment I was confident that I would never want to anyway.

But fast-forward 14 years, skip past the ages of 15-19 when we delighted in the prospect of staying at a boyfriend's house because it was so new and grown-up and will-he-make-me-breakfast-in-bed, and I've realised, we had it right when we were seven. And why? Here we have it, the five reasons why staying at a boy's house (boyfriend or otherwise...) is a very trying task.

1. Toilet Roll - It had to be on this list didn't it? Don't they know we need it every time we have a wee?! It's almost predictable to stay at a lad's house and know for sure that when you go for a wee, there will be no loo roll, just twenty cardboard holders. Sigh. 

2. Showering - Showering at a boy's house is painful. And when I say painful, I refer to the torture of trying to get a brush through your hair after using 2 in 1 shampoo and conditioner. Or worse, having no conditioner at all.

3. Food - There are two food options in the typical lad's kitchen. Either he's being a classic boy, which means he can eat whatever he wants, whenever he wants (aka fridge and cupboard full of chocolate, chips, full-fat milk, burgers and beer) OR he's having some sort of odd, pre-Ibiza lad's detox week which includes the gym everyday and a fridge that consists of no carbs, spinach, lean ham and skimmed milk. Oh, and a grumpy boyfriend as a result! Fabulous. What happened to a happy medium?

4. Forgetting something - If the boy lives with a house full of other boys, this is far more annoying because there is no way you will find a substitute to whatever you've forgotten. With so many things to remember - like toilet roll, shampoo and conditioner and food (see above)...it's no wonder we forget the simple (but essential) things such as make-up wipes, face creams etc. Equally annoying is leaving something there - will you ever see your Bobbi Brown bronzer again? Probably not.

5. Midnight Snacking - Men can get away with eating more than women. So we have our dinner and try not to give into temptation a few hours later. It's one reason why we try not to jam pack our cupboards with snacks. But come midnight when your fella suggests peanut butter on five pieces of toast, or twenty chocolate digestives with that full fat milk you spotted in the fridge, or even a casual pizza takeaway, temptation can become a little too much. 

I wonder what they hate about staying at our houses? xoxoxo

4 Reasons Why Women Love Baking

Baking. From scones to shortbread, cookies to cakes, there are very few activities that fill us with such joy and anticipation than an afternoon dedicated to covering the kitchen (and ourselves) in flour and accidentally eating half the cookie dough - or maybe that's just me? 

Even in Primary School, part of the curriculum was to bake. Wednesday afternoons were reserved for a lesson on fairy cakes, which we would eagerly carry to our mums in the playground to await their equally delighted response. In fact, according to Dr Alan Hirsch, founder of the Smell & Taste Treatment and Research Foundation in Chicago "the smell of baked goods was the number-one odour that made people nostalgic for their childhood".

And there the infatuation begins. For some of us, it evolves into something much more. Think Nigella or Delia. And you don't have to be particularly good at baking to enjoy it either. But why do we love it so much? Apart from the fact we're cooking up delicious treats, there's surely more to this.

1. Accessories. So yesterday when I baked above cake, I took a trip to the shops, you know, the kind where you buy pretty much ALL the ingredients which you already had in the cupboard, but forget the one thing you don't have (which in case you're interested was strawberry jam). Somehow after 30 minutes, I found myself in the midst of pretty aprons, floral oven gloves, (what looked like) gold plated muffin cases and a 'vintage umbrella cake cover'. Seriously I could go on. And on. And on. Needless to say I wanted to buy them all. So here we have it. Reason number one: it's just an excuse for us to accessorise, and shop, obviously.

2. Competition. A few months ago I sat in bed with my boyfriend and watched as he devoured a chocolate brownie that a work colleague had made. Having made him chocolate brownies on numerous occasions, I pretended not to hear when he said, 'this is the best brownie I've EVER had'. Well. What happened next was the kind of awkward silence that would follow after saying the wrong name in bed and I think I would have been less hurt by that. Needless to say a few days later, after numerous 'best brownie recipes' and 'brownie recipe secrets' google searches, the dynamics were restored. 

3. Diet-breaking excuses. For some reason, if you're on a diet/eating healthily, going to the shop and buying a cake seems far naughtier than baking your own and having a cheeky slice or three as a little treat. The only real difference is you don't have a calorie count on the front of your own cake so perhaps blissfully unaware springs to mind? Maybe it's because it feels like we've earnt a treat, having been productive and actually produced a delicious snack instead of nipping to the shop and ripping into a cardboard box.

4. The way to a man's heart...Should I say this one? I'm gonna say it, but only because I think it's true. At one time in every gal's life, she will wanna impress a guy by cooking. And of course, we're all fabulous, independent women, times have moved on and we don't live in the kitchen like our ancestors may have, HOWEVER, men love food and when you wanna impress a man, it's actually a pretty straightforward hassle free option. Actually, when you want to impress ANYONE, who doesn't love a cup of tea and a slice of cake?

HAPPY BAKING XOX

ELEVEN ELEVEN

There's nothing I love more than finding a fab new boutique on ASOS Marketplace. It's definitely up there with a Gossip Girl marathon and a pay day shopping spree. Which is why, when I stumbled across ELEVEN ELEVEN, I was excited. ELEVEN ELEVEN is ran by two gorgeous girlies from Chessington, their motto: 'For the wardrobe you have always wished for'.

Here are some of my favourites at the moment. Check them out here! Happy shopping huns xox