Rachel the Hat

Wednesday, 12 February 2014

Valentines Outfit Option: Meal & a Movie

Ladies, today i am bringing a smart/casual date night option to the blog. With Valentines day almost upon us George at Adsa set some blogger's an outfit challenge for the the Big V day date. I wanted to choose something that would be wearable again and surprisingly not red or pink (that's for another day;)
Date night to hubby and I normally entails a meal with a great shared mezze platter and waffles and ice cream deserts then on to a movie (normally something a little sci-fi, cos we are a pair of geeks) I wanted my date night outfit to be comfy and funky, so i chose this shift dress and a fabulous statement necklace to go with it which was chosen by the George stylists. I loved this outfit. I felt not to overdressed for our fairly casual pub meal and cinema, but smart and dressy for a Valentines type date.

The funky dress has this wonderful neon piping tot the edges and a colourful cheetah print all over, i added my faux leather/fur jacket as it always makes me feel smarty-pants, my booties and a pop of red with the clutch. Easy peasy, no stressing dressing... My favourite kind!

What are you wearing this valentines? Are you going traditional with reds& pinks or trying something a little different?

Ps: more Valentines outfit fun to come, watch out on Friday!!
And please excuse the soft images, rain plus dead batteries on the DSLR meant resorting to the camer phone. Soft focusing is the new thing anyway isn't it?! ;-) Besides its probably soft focused my face due to the fact that i still have this stupid cold and my face looks sorry for itself. soft focus thanks for being kind to me.

First Dates

With all the talk of Valentines Day being a mere few days away, i can't help but reflect on my first date with my now husband.
We are not overly romantic people on a ~~daily~~ weekly basis, but when we first got together.. well, i have to say it was the most romantic experience of my life.

Here's the thing, i loved being outdoors. He loved being outdoors. So we drove and drove and ended up at the coast (not hard to do in Wales!) We pulled up and parked at Ogmore By Sea.

We watched the sun set and talked and talked about everything, like literally EVERYTHING. it was the most open, honest and heart warming date i had ever had. I hadn't even noticed the sun had set, it was freezing cold outside but none of it mattered. I was happy. I could have stayed in that moment forever. He got out and took some night shots of the beautiful lights on the water and i watched, it was dreamlike.
After freezing my behind off we went over to the local little pub and sat talking more over a drink or two (alcoholic for me non for him). It was the most perfect date. At that point in time i did not know i would marry him, but i did know i was falling pretty hard for this wonderful man. I think a woman can tell when something special is happening, call it our 6th sense, but you just know.
What i didn't know was that a few years later he would also be proposing to me right there where we had first pulled up next to the sea. It was my perfect date.

all images

Now 8 years on and with kids in tow, me and hubs don't get much chance to go out for our dates as much as we used to, but we do try and still have our fun in the house. We still love Guitar hero (he's a legend at it!!me, i still need the practice), i've been looking at Cards against humanity too (would you recommend?)

and also for fun a bit of Take Me Out Bingo fun, you know just for kicks :)

What was your favourite first date? I would love to hear!

circa 2007

I've Got The Blues (and Passion4Fashion link Up!)

Got The Blues by rachel-the-hat featuring a pink lipstick

Shop the Look

I have got me some serious blues going on lately ladies. I think its a combination of this terrible weather, being right in the middle of winter and the 100 day shopping ban, thats making me feel more than a little down right now.

A full 31 days in to the shopping ban and i'm currently craving some new things. Infact all of the above. I am loving navy right now and would love some cigarette trousers instead of always wearing jeans. I love the grown up style that i've been dabbling with lately, but feel a lot of my current wardrobe doesn't reflect where my head is. Frustration central let me tell you. But such is life. I was only saying to my fellow non spenders yesterday, that this isn't just a money saving experiment but it appears to be quite the self discovery journey too.

So for now i get to pin till my hearts content and create polyvore sets of my current dream outfits. If you would liek to buy any of the above ans share with me, i'd be your best friend forever, k?

Fashion is for everyone.

Whether you're single in the city or a stay at home mum from the country...
we all have a passion for fashion!

Every Friday Lena & I will be co-hosting a fashion free-for-all linkup!

Anything fashion goes!

Link up your outfit posts, a fashion recap, a fashion wishlist, get your kids or hubby in on the fun... if you've got a passion for fashion, this is the place to be!

Celebrate your style with us every Friday!

We'll be pinning our favourite looks to our Passion for Fashion boards on Pinterest!
You can find the board HERE

Follow both hosts Lena and Me so we can come visit you!
If you could link back to us via text link or button and help spread the
Passion For Fashion word.
The more ladies the merrier!

Then go visit, blog hop, follow and comment on all the fabulous ladies you are meeting!

{this linkup is very NEW we would love for you to help us spread the word! }

Tweet us / instagram us with the hashtag #PassionForFashion

with your outfits,

Lets spread the Passion For Fashion word, the more the merrier!

get everyone involved!!

Fabulous Front Row Blouse

Having a large dress collection can be wonderful, but sometimes i just want a chic-looking, put together outfit consisting of jeans and a blouse and this Front Row Shop blouse adds just the hit of interest i look for in an outfit of late. I LOVE this blouse. Its baggy and comfy yet chic all at the same time. I can't wait to remix it with my coated skinny jeans and some animal print shoes for a night out. A simple item, can sometimes make a wonderful addition.

Apparently i have a thing for different coloured sleeves lately, a bizarre coincidence? who knows how my mind works, with its crazy thoughts. Lately i've been interested in things i would never have looked twice at this time last year, like sweet pastel colours and neons, both i would never have tried but am constantly pinning lately. Its good to grow and change and embrace different things. It helps broaden the mind. Now to just get this #100dayshoppingban over with then i can shop me some pastels and neons and let me tell you these past few days have been tough! I've been feeling a little low, and my usual pick-me up is shopping. Also taking my step daughter to New Look shopping (shes just about to turn 11 and has a sudden interest in style/fashion, its wonderful to watch) is sad when you can not purchase any of those pretties for your very own. But at least i got to helps style an outfit for my little clothes buddy. I can not wait for the day when we can share wardrobes (although i may regret saying that)