Jul 11, 2013

The One Where I Flew a Plane…

Posted in Travel.

No biggie.

Last week I was asked to be part of o2’s latest advertising campaign, the quite oddly-titled ‘Be More Dog‘. The basic premise is we should all be a little ‘more dog’ – adventurous, excitable, willing to jump in and try new things. Makes a bit more sense now, right? You can find out more on their website.

A whole host of bloggers were challenged to be more dog and given the choice between a dog-like adventure into the unknown or a lazy, laidback weekend any cat would be proud of. After a little wobble (I’m not a huge fan of organised activity) I decided to do the dog thing and choose courage over scented candles. Which, after a long, hard week, was not easy.

So on Sunday, off I popped to Leeds Bradford Airport to fly a plane. Totally chill.

My experience involved jumping into this little fella with an instructor and taking to the skies. My instructor talked me through all the controls (terrifying) before we headed up, and when we were at cruising altitude I took over…

… for about 3 minutes. Honestly, flying a plane is bloody scary. And very difficult. I was knocking it about all over the place, dipping the wings down, veering off course, generally being a pretty pathetic pilot. But I did it! I was totally dog!

When I finally relinquished control back to the real pilot, I could just sit back and enjoy the views. It was spectacular to see the land sprawling out below me – we flew over my hometown, York and then back over Leeds and I spotted my high school, York Minster, Roundhay Park – all familiar places which made it all the more exciting.

My amazing instructor did some very scream-inducing stunts to ensure I got the best photos… at one point, all that separated me and the scenery was the perspex of the plane canopy. It was just fantastic and such an experience, although my stomach wasn’t quite so convinced!

A spectacular experience. Thanks, o2!

What do you think – would you #BeMoreDog or is it a cat’s life for you?

Back in Vintage

Posted in Daily Outfits, Fashion.

It’s been quite a while since I wore any vintage clothing. This time last year I would spend hours at charity shops and car boot sales, rifling through the rails for 1940s tea dresses and hand-knitted cardis. Fast forward 12 months and hardly anything in my current wardrobe is vintage. I’ve fallen into a high street hole and I’m only just starting to claw my way out.

That’s what happens when things get hectic, though – convenience wins over all, and although I do love hunting for hidden treasure, sometimes I prefer sleeping in on a Sunday morning and shopping online from my bed.

When the ladies from Mad Elizabeth Vintage invited me down for a rummage it felt like the perfect excuse to flex my thrifty muscles again. So I headed off to the Corn Exchange and spent a good half hour exploring. It’s a beautiful shop filled with multi-coloured treats, and it didn’t take me long to spot my prize…

I chose this cute athletics tee which has been customised for a hot summer’s day – the wide sleeves and slouchy shape matched my casual cut-offs perfectly. The ideal outfit for lazing about on the park while temperatures soared.

I think I’ve found my vintage mojo once more!

Summer in the City

Posted in Daily Outfits, Fashion.

It’s been quite a while since my last beach holiday. I’m not much of a sun, sea and sand girl – I prefer the smog, smoke and, er, sweat of the city. Alliteration aside (ha), my last few trips have involved more skyscrapers than sunbathers.

When TK Maxx challenged me to find a holiday outfit for under £100, I immediately panicked at the thought of appearing on the blog in a bikini. But then I realised that summer holidays don’t always involve two weeks on a beach reading the Spanish version of OK Magazine – city breaks are just as popular and much easier to dress for. Phew!

Dress, straw bag, belt and brogues, all c/o TK Maxx

So I headed off to my favourite TK Maxx store – Crown Point Leeds – in search of bargains. I’m not shy about my adoration of TK Maxx – it’s one of my absolute favourite places to shop and I never come away empty-handed.

Watch, c/o Daniel Wellington | Rings, various

After a quick rifle through the rails I came across this beautiful embroidered dress. Black is one of my favourite summer colours – it looks so good with a tan, which I’m clearly demonstrating with my lily-white legs (they are actually quite tanned but I was standing in direct sunlight!). This pretty piece was £39.99 down from £70 and is the perfect relaxed fit. It’s also made of a crinkled cotton, which means you can scrunch it up in your suitcase without worrying about creases. The care label actually advises you DO NOT iron – amazing.

Black and tan is a classic summer colour combo, so with my LBD in the bag I went on the hunt for tan accessories. I do often struggle with shoes in TK Maxx – I’m a size 8 and the selection for big-footed ladies (holler at me) isn’t always as great as it is for you neat little size 5s. But luck was on my side, and I found these beautiful leather brogues for £29.99 down from £69.99. Comfortable shoes are a must for city summers and these have padded insoles – great for exploring on foot.

Last stop was accessories – a plaited tan belt to nip in my waist (£5.99) and a cute straw shopper to add a beachy vibe to my city outfit (£10). A full summer in the city look for £85.97 – done! #Summer4Keeps

What would you wear for a summer city break?

Our Wedding Invites

Posted in Weddings.

It’s been a little while since my last wedding update, so I thought I’d come back with a bang and share one of my favourite parts of the whole planning process – the invites.

We started thinking about the invites really early on. For me, creating a beautiful, personal and unique invite was one of the most important aspects of the wedding planning and I was determined that they wouldn’t be cliché. It was bloody hard work getting them right, but I’m so glad we persevered…

The wonderful Kris Atomic created this beautiful illustration of me, Rob and Travis for the front of the invites. We had this done pre-Lilian (our other kitty!) so she doesn’t feature here, but she’ll be making a special appearance in illustrated form on the day itself.

The reverse of the invites was designed by my awesome brother, Patrick. He used the colours and font from Kris’s work, mixing in handwritten text and cute little symbols for a friendly, cheerful look. I can’t show much of the back as it has all our location details on, but the two sides work so perfectly together.

Patrick also designed smaller RSVP and ‘Where to Go’ cards to sit alongside the main invites. He created a little map of the journey from our ceremony venue to the reception, and I hand-wrote all the names on each RSVP slip. We included an A5 envelope for the slips to be returned.

I arranged little bundles including each element of the invite and tied them up with some natural twine. Then everything went inside these parcel paper-style envelopes and each one was sent off to its recipient. Hooray!

It took a long time to get the invites right – I wanted them to feel really expensive and luxurious, but because the design is so colourful, a lot of print options were actually expensive. In the end we went for a duplex print on a flecked white card for the main invite – that’s where two pieces of card are printed separately then stuck together for a thicker finish. It added to the cost but made such a huge difference to the feel of the invites. The smaller pieces were just a normal digital print on the same card, and everything was done by Evolution Print in Sheffield who were fab.

I bought the envelopes from Ideal Envelopes who have a huge range and will send out a book of samples so you can match your colours – it was so helpful to see the shades in ‘real life’ rather than just on a screen. The natural twine was from Homebase and the pens (I used gold for the names and silver to address the envelopes) from Paperchase.

We’re so pleased with how they turned out. It was an important part of the planning and even though I’m glad they’ve all gone out and I don’t have to self-address another envelope EVER AGAIN, I still get a happy feeling when I spot the one lurking on our coffee table or stuck up over my desk. They look great framed, too!

Colour on Colour

Posted in Daily Outfits, Fashion.

It’s no secret that I love a bit of colour coordination. I’m not one for clashing – I just like to match. There’s something so pleasing about matching your necklace to your jacket, and you know you’re in great company when The Queen does it too.

Trousers, c/o Boden | Blazer, New Look | T-shirt, Cos | Necklace, Miss Selfridge | Heels, Whistles

This is a Jen version of that slouchy, simple separates thing the Scandinavians do so well. Primary colour basics, a grey marl tee and neon heels – I’ve got every base covered. I don’t think I pull it off quite as well as a 6ft, ice-blonde beauty… but it is nice and matchy-matchy.