What Jen Did

I know these posts are a bit overdone by bloggers, especially on a Sunday, but hey. My addiction to Game of Thrones has reached such levels that I can’t bear to be parted from my Kindle for more than 30 minutes. So, just enough time to show you life through my Instagram lens before I rejoin Arya, Robb and Jon Snow.

1. I’ve been in London with work quite a bit recently – I always try to make time between meetings to have a wander round, and Liberty is one of my favourite places to visit. The flower shop is always beautiful to see and I had to get a shot of all the blues and purples as I walked past.

2. Travelling between Leeds and London means a lot of waiting around at Kings Cross, which used to be an extremely dull pastime… but since the ‘new’ Kings Cross opened, it’s been slightly more interesting. There are lots of new shops (and a Leon café, which made me very happy), and the beautiful ceiling, complete with multi-coloured light show, definitely makes waiting for the 19.10 to Leeds more bearable.

3&4. Easter seems a distant memory now, but it’s always been one of my favourite times of year. Granted the religious side of things means nothing to me, but it’s just nice to spend time with my family, eat good food, watch TV and devour chocolate like the calories don’t exist. My mum has hidden our Easter eggs for as long as I can remember, and even though there’s not quite as much chocolate these days, she still sends us on a hunt around the living room to collect our delicious treasure.

5. Benefit’s Porefessional has been a makeup must-have since I first picked it up about a year ago. It’s a smooth and silky primer that really works – I have quite oily skin and have tried a plethora of primers to try stop my makeup from sliding down my face. This one smooths out pores and provides the perfect base for foundation. Plus it’s totally cute. I love it!

6. I spotted these amazing platform sandals at the Exposure press day – they’re a collaboration between shoe designer Terry de Havilland and designer Anya Hindmarch, two stars of British design. The ‘All Singing, All Dancing’ shoe is based on Anya’s FW12 ‘Quality Street’ collection and incorporates those rich Quality Street colours – I love the Big Purple One!

7. My old MacBook had started to slow – not bad after 4 years of perfect performance, but frustrating all the same. I’d also never realised how heavy it was until I started lugging it to my studio and back every day. So I went along to the Apple shop and bought myself a MacBook Air. Best. Decision. Ever. I got the 11in style – it’s so light, so easy to carry and the screen resolution is amazing.

8. Jamie’s Italian Leeds has been open for ages, but I’ve only been once, and was quite drunk at the time. So my friend Clare and I went along for a late lunch and had the Italian Feast (I think?) – a selection of the best starters and mains to get a taste of everything. Delish. And I’m such a sucker for a food gimmick so loved the wooden planks held up by tinned tomatoes!

9&10. Rob and I drove over to York last weekend – I’ve said this many times before, but York is one of my favourite cities in the world. I grew up just outside and we go back often, to see friends and family or just to wander the cobbled streets. York’s charity shops are great but a bit expensive for my liking – the first image is from the vintage section of Sue Ryder on Goodram Gate, which has rails of vintage dresses, piles of fabric and patterns and lots of interesting nick nacks.

The second image is of the vintage rocking horse I very, very nearly bought – my auntie had one just like it and my brother, sister and I adored it when we were younger. I remember my sister and I plaiting its tail over and over! This one was in the window of the BHF shop (also on Goodram Gate) but at £100, it was just a bit too much for me. Plus I don’t have children, or any space to store it. But what a beauty!

11. The perfect Sunday afternoon – my Kindle (loaded with Game of Thrones, obviously) and cheese on toast with balsamic vinegar.

12. My photos of Travis get more Instagram ‘likes’ than any others I post – here he is wrapped up in a blanket, doing a great impression of a fishwife. Cute.

13. My new favourite shoes! I got these Hummel hi-tops with my Sarenza ambassador code and have worn them almost every day since. They’re so comfy – see how I wore them here.

14. An outtake from a recent outfit post – the cardigan and jeans are Topshop and the t-shirt is from Zara.

15,16,17&18. I’ve already written about my trip to Paris with Cointreau, but here are a few Instagram snaps of my journey to and from the city. We travelled in Standard Premier on the Eurostar which was brilliant – the seats are bigger and more comfortable, the carriages are smaller and the food is delicious! The view from my hotel window was a bit sodden but inspiring none the less. And even though we were heading home, the Gard du Nor was no less beautiful. I have a real thing for train stations!

What have you been up to recently?

PS – I usually make my Instagram collages in Photoshop or just post the images straight into Blogger, but this time I followed Lily’s tutorial and used Mosaic Maker, which was so much easier! Then I added the numbers in Photoshop just to make the descriptions clearer.