Buying nice bags (and whats in mine)

This year i have been investing in a few things. Nice bags falls in to that category. I have been shrewdly saving pennies and not buying lots of cheap bags in lots of colours, and just buying some key pieces that really go with everything. 

Earlier this year i invested in a black Michael Kors bag, i also received a DKNY small red bag and a Fossil bag which i love.

But, there was a navy shaped hole in my bag armoury. I LOVE navy. My wardrobe is filled with a lot of it alongside the neutrals and reds. A navy bag was a must.

Enter Radley. 

Everyone and i mean EVERYONE (ok slight exaggeration, but you get the emphasis there) always recommends Radley Handbags to me. The ladies i work with, both my besties and lots of customers all own Radley bags. So i finally took a look.. 

...And i fell in love.

Navy, structured with a double zip, handles and a cross body strap.. Bag perfection right here ladies. As soon as i saw it , i knew it ticked all the bag boxes for me. Medium in size and perfect for me to haul my daily amount of crap around in it, without it being too overwhelmingly big that i freak out every time i go looking for my keys (anyone else do that? loose things in the enormity of their big bags and have a slight melt down when something 'isn't in there' only to find it waaaay down in the deepest darkest corner... I call it bag gremlins, lol!)

So yes welcome to the gang Navy Radley... you will be much loved.

As for whats in my bag... well this is the edited version shall we say, i am actually getting much better at this(this being keeping your bag clean and organised), nice bags deserve a little respect don't ya think? I used to have a bag load of crumpled up tissues, mass loads of receipts, some even with old chewing gum wrapped up in them.. eugh i know.. i blame my mum, she always taught me to take my litter home.. problem is it came home but never left the bag.. i know i know, disgusting. But like i said i have improved vastly. Only a few minor things needed removing (lego pieces.. #mumlife, and a couple of recent receipts and those pesky 'you've saved'.. supermarket vouchers)
So what i carry on the daily:

Purse (obvs) this is a lovely Ted Baker one, its my summer purse as i just loved the nude colour and mint lining (also it has dogs all over the inside! Mega cute overload)

Next up phone! Uber important, like a limb type of importance.I have the LG and i love it! I have tried every phone you can imagine (my husband is a gadget geek, we try lots of new techy stuff, what can i say, he has his gadgets i have my clothes; and all is happy in the Turone household) this one is by far the best. the customization is incredible and the battery life unbelievable.. i could go on, but i won't bore you, i'm aware techy things aren't everyone's cuppa tea:)
Then we go on to the peripherals shall we say.

Sunglasses.. major must have. I currently have about 6 pairs on the go, it sounds bizarre but i have really light sensitive eyes, as soon as i go out i have to have some shades, and obviously they have to be a bit snazzy. Currently love these New Look oversized angular pair.

Makeup. Very important for touch-ups through the day. I carry my Chanel compact for powdering down any shininess, a lipstick and a lipgloss (both Chanel again in this case) In all honesty i have been known to carry 7 lip products with me at any given time. I just tend to chuck them in in the morning. But these are my current faves.
Then YSL touche eclat for some major baggage (of the eye variety) covering up, some lip balm and some frizz ease serum to tame those pesky flyaways.

I always have a perfume on me cos no one likes a stinker... (haha i joke,sorta) I'm currently loving Ghost Eclipse, such a great scent for summer.
Then we have the obligatory hair band/tie and hair pins, of which i must go through approximately 8424254041520 in a year.. again i think gremlins get those too..

I keep forgetting a brush/comb lately too which i must invest in a small handbag one, 'cos man, in this windy weather lately, my hair gets sooo tangled #haystacklook
Next i have tissues, wet wipes and ibuprofen.. i am a mummy.. these are necessities. Headaches meh, sticky hands and snotty noses, the latter being the kids that is, not me i promise, all part and parcel of your average day i guess. Being prepared helps (as does wine i find, but it doesn't fit in my bag*winks*)

Then we have my boring life stuff. Small notepad for the copious amounts of lists i make and my diary telling me where i've got to be and when.. fairly important as i have a memory like a sieve.

And always, always a snack. I get a hangry (hungrry-angry) if i don't eat for prolonged periods of time. Prevention is a must ,for everyone's sanity. I've been trying to be healthy lately so apples are a great snack that can be carried most of the day (unlike say, a banana, shame on you soft fruit)

So there we have it.. my new lovely Radley and its current contents.
Do you have a favourite bag? And what are your everyday essentials? I'd love to know, i'm nosey so poking around in other peoples things is always like fun to me.. do share!

Channelling Parisian Chic with Petit Bateau

It's highly likely a version of this outfit may have appeared on this blog before. I've said it before and i will probably say it again (i know, i know, broken record much Rachel?!) but this is my uniform. My easy peasy throw it on and take on the world outfit. Breton tops have a lot to answer for on the parisian front (do Parisian's even wear breton tops? do let me know as i am actually very curious haha!) As soon as i don a striped top I instantly want to channel my inner tres chic mademoiselle, gracing the cobbled streets of notre damn. I mean obviously i'm not even close, i'm actually clomping along the paved streets of a little Welsh town in the hills. But what the heck, maybe i can look a little bit the part... just a smidge, right?

Speaking of breton tops, i did a quick count up recently of how many i own and i'm at the grand total of 16, different colours (red, black navy) but yes. 16. 

Well actually this new Petit Bateau  makes it 17. And this one is by far the nicest. Firstly its genuinely french, extra style points for that. But the whole fit and texture of the top is soooo nice. The quality is spot on too which i really like. Search for the perfect breton top is finally over! Nice one Petit Bateau.

 Just a quick note on the earring front... can you tell how much i am loving these Matador tassel earrings? Aren't they fun? They just add the best pop of colour to a monochome look. I love them, plus because they're basically thread it means they aren't heavy like some statement earrings. You can get them here!

 Also i mentioned on Instagram(are we instagram buddies? We should be.. gimme a follow and i love to follow along with you. Its my favourite social media network to chat to blogging buddies on!) that i am totally digging anklets. I bringing them back from my youth. They're just so pretty and remind me of holidays. Gimme a limb or appendage and i will happily decorate it haha! This ones from the new Yosa Simply range and they're only going to be about £5!

Breton Top: Petit Bateau

Blazer: New Look

Eva Girlfriend Jeans: River Island

Mules: F&F

DKNY Bag: c/o Harvey Nichols

Anklet & Matador Earrings both Yosa

So yes, Parisian chic is my uniform.. 

Do you have a uniform that you always default back to?

What to pack for a (Spring) UK holiday and My holiday #ootd

Slightly different post today, but this has been in the writing for 2 weeks so today is the day.(skip to the bottom if you don't want to hear me ramble about packing tips and tricks, where you will find the outfits i created whilst on my holibobs)
You see I used to hate packing, detest it infact. The thought of not having my wardrobe to hand each morning for me to peruse and casually pick out what i fancied that day, horrified me. There were two reasons for this.
Firstly i had a wardrobe of components that didn't intermingle with each other well. So each morning would see a new dress or a whole new outfit that i had specifically bought to go together.
Secondly i never used to have a 'style', granted its fairly loose now, but i know where i want to be and each time i make a purchase it enhances my wardrobe rather than working against every other piece in there.
My wardrobe is now filled with items that are friends. Pieces that love to play together and intermingle.
This makes packing a whole lot easier.
When packing i find it best to go with a colour scheme.
The key is to pick 3 colours that will all work well together.(i say 3, but there's no hard and fast rule here, its just colours you know will work well together)

Mine this time around was navy, white and red.
I also had pops of colour with yellow and a green, but each worked well with all the others so it worked.
If your a Brit you will know that the weather here is a smidge unpredictable(just a smidge..who am i kidding..?!), if you're an international friend then know, if you are visiting the UK you are going to need to have outfits that will cover every weather eventuality.
One day to the next you will not know what the weather will be like.
For our trip to Cornwall last week i had religiously checked the weather forecast daily to see what could be instore. And to my prediction, it was a bit of everything..so the norm then really.

So what to pack?
Here's what i took and wore


Knitwear
I took 3 out of 4 of these as my knitwear option (to be fair the green is more of a tee as has short sleeves). One chunky knit, one fine knit and one short sleeved. These all did the trick for me covering a range of temperatures, but in keeping with the colour scheme.

Tops
So this would be your standard tops and tees:

Stripes! I couldn't possibly go anywhere without ma stripes with me. Instant outfit maker right there. It was inevitable that stripes would be part of my packing as it really is a large (shamefully large) part of my wardrobe.

So we have
2 x Breton tops, one red one black
1x Navy tee
1x Crochet pretty top, nice for day wear or dressed up for an evening.

Bottoms:

I opted for 3 jeans
1x M&S cropped jeans
1x White skinnies
1x Warehouse Girlfriend jeans
Again nice to be able to work any of these for an evening or all to be worn for day wear, each can be worn with any of the tops and knitwear.

Wildcards:

I added in to the mix
1x Navy jumpsuit
and
1x Navy maxi
I've classed these as the 'wildcards' for the simple fact of i didn't know if i would wear them. The maxi dress is perfect for a sunny day if for if the temperatures became warmer, which is always a possibility. The Jumpsuit i actually ended up wearing as my travel outfit, so comfy, it's liek wearing a tracksuit, yet a leetle more stylish;)

Outerwear

 Coats and jackets. Verrry important part for a UK holiday

I decided to cover off both sunny days and rainy days with just two jackets.
1x Next red soft biker style jacket. Perfect sweatshirt material, comfy yet looks good with all the tops i had packed.
1x Raincoat. My Seafolly Jacket from Seasalt Cornwall has been going strong for 2 years. Its the best rainy day coat i have ever owned and well worth the investment. I had previously purchased some rain macs that were as much use as a glass hammer, totally wet within 5 minutes of being out( i passed that coat on to my mother, i'm a nice daughter like that ;) But this baby makes rainy days ok (good job really as we do have a lot here in ol' blighty!) If you're on the hunt for a rain-coat.. look no further. I highly commend and recommend Seasalt Cornwall with their life (or outfit) saving rain-coats.

Shoes (EXCUSE THE PHOTO.. you're not drunk i promise, i was rushing at this point to actually pack the damn stuff in to the holdall)

 3 simple pairs
1x Sneakers
1x Footbed Sandals (slippers birkie equivilant)
Boden Alice smart lace up , yet comfy, flats
For this holiday i knew that heels weren't needed. It was a family holiday to the seaside,with lots of activities and fun things to do. No heels required, long gone are my days of floating around a marina with a  cocktail in hand in a swishy dress and heels.
So the above 3 pairs were all i needed. Again, each worked with all the bottoms and tops and even the wildcards for if i needed to get a bit dressier one night (and i use the term dressy there very lossley) the Boden Flats would work perfectly.

Extras:

 So my extras just included
1x swimsuit for pool antics with Neo
1x scarf of same colour scheme as above. I went for my lovely Yosa anchors away scarf that i thought would be very appropriate for a seaside holiday
1x beach bag, for carrying towels etc..
1x leopard print belt;practical and pretty.
and my day to day bag that i used the whole time; Classic tan, goes with everything.

And the only other things were me undies.. which i will save you the photos of.

Lastly: Makeup & Cosmetics

I am a makeup tart. I have drawers and drawers of the stuff and have been known to go from brand to brand  without a care, then hoard it all and still by more. It's a problem, i know. But it's something i am trying to stop. 

With minimizing my wardrobe i also am trying to standardize my makeup. Years ago i would wear bright blue eye-shadow or green and purple. Now i am happy with the same makeup routine daily of neutrals that work for me.

I pack a simple CC cream, concealer, mascara, eyeliner, brow pencil, powder, blush, bronzer and 3 lipsticks.

Its sounds a lot when i say it out loud, still slightly excessive? Possibly, but its an improvement for me, plus i use the items all the time. This is my war-paint. 

And then finally the mini's, which i love about holidays. I always try a new brand of shampoo in trial size on holidays.
I have here
Dry Shampoo(my saviour)
Sea Salt spray
Hairspray
Mouse
Shampoo & Conditioner
2 small body wash and my eye drops.
I also missed out, my Simple face wipes to remove makeup (i usually use micellar water but for holidays i find wipes easier) and my Vichy night cream i apply religiously.

So there we have it. This all folded down to fit in one half of a holdall (hubs had the other half, actually he had a quarter, Neo packed his games in there which were of the utmost importance, obvs.)
All eventualities covered in very little packing.
And the outfits i made whilst there?

Monday: Travel outfit, navy jumpsuit which is sooo comfy and my red jacket and Boden flats

 Day 2: At Lappa Valley Steam railways, Red jacket again as was a lovely sunny day but a bit chilly in the shade, breton top, Warehouse jeans and comfy sneakers.

Day3: White jeans and my little green knit, added some jazz with a funky necklace and the leopard print belt. Finished off with comfy sandals. This was what i started the day out in, but managed to spill coffee all down my white jeans (the exact reason why i fear wearing white jeans.. i should honestly not be allowed to buy them let alone wear them) So then changed in to my stand-by outfit (which consisted of something i made up, blue jeans, white and navy striped jumper above and navy tee)

Backup Outfit:

Day4: Fistral Beach
The day started off a little grey and chilly, so my Seafolly jacket was the perfect choice. It turned in to a pretty blue skied day but still a little chilly and windy, so the lightweight jacket was a great wind breaker against the elements.
I paired the coat with my M&S kickflare cropped jeans, boden lace-up's and the anchors away scarf.

Day 5: Homeward bound on a rainy miserable day, so  the Seasalt jacket was perfect once again. Such a worthy investment. Paired it with a simple red breton, boyfriend jeans and sneakers and the scarf again.

So there we have it, my holiday outfits made up from a little bit of well planned packing.
I loved my holiday outfits, which is the sign of good packing.

Are you a good packer?
Are there any essentials you always like to take?

An InLinkz Link-up

Just call me your accessories enabler...

Because i have some BEAUTIES for you, i really do.
The summer stock is landing each week for Yosa, and nearly a year in i feel like the site has grown and the stock is more fabulous than ever.
I've honed my jewellery skills and with that i feel i have the most fantastic pieces that i'm super super proud of.
We have some AWESOME top secret news being announced on July 1st, but for now go fourth and shop my lovelies!

The Imperial Collar

This is the sister necklace to The Majestic and The Heritage, a gorgeous summery version.. how lovely would this be for a wedding guest outfit?

Very popular, sold out the first time, but she's back! Featured on Becky of Talk Becky Talk 

The Show-Stopper really is a full on beautiful Statement

The Matador Tassel earring I LOVE these fun and on trend earrings... i'm thinking they would look awesome with loose wavy hair and a breton top (spoilers.. outfit post coming up soon haha!)

Sublime Lime Necklace

I'm thinking with some khaki this could love gorgeous

Its all White Necklace, wedding perfection non?

Full Blue Circle

Simple, but plenty of punch.. Just how i like it!

Golden Feather Necklace boho perfection, wear with some floaty tops and cut off jeans...ahh iI can almost feel the summer warmth.

Aztec Bib is a real statement, on a black vest top this looks awesome.

New scarves too:

 Spirals and Grids Scarfavailable in Blue and cream, coral and cream and black and white.. my favourite is the coral

Anchors away scarf.. i wore this all the time on my Cornwall holiday. Its seaside perfection, whether your in Marbella or Tenby, this is a great summer holiday scarf.

Grey and Pinkscarf

Soft voile this lightweight scarf is summer perfection

 Say Hello to the Gypsy Rose, love love love this D&G esque floral print.

 We also have the new Simply collection which is just stunning. Full of delicate simple pieces that are super easy to wear.

 Triple Chain Drop

Concise Tassel Earring

Simple Star Necklace

Simple Star Earrings

Circle Lariat

Black Clover

We've also introduced the new Sales category where you can pick up some bargains from as little as £4.00.

And last but my no means least, our new Yosa Cover Girl

Angie from Reasons To Dress purchased the Pretty Posey and it looks stunning on her. I love her blog and its an absolute pleasure to have her adorn our front page and to be Junes Cover Girl.
She has totally made me fall back in love with the pretty posey necklace again having seen her style it multiple ways. LOVE getting inspired by Yosa's customers!

Pretty Posey Necklace

We have a new Yosa Cover Girl every single month, so don't forget to get in touch if you're interested in being on the Yosa Homepage with links back to your blog/twittter.

This is just summer phase one, we have SO many other amazing pieces landing over the next couple of weeks, so keep checking back or be sure to sign up to the newsletter for all the latest info and goss.

I'll be back tomorrow with Passion4Fashion Linkup... see you then, but for now.. Happy Shopping :)

xxx
Ps don't forget there's a free Yosa gift with every order.. a little surprise present from us to you!