A Holiday Haul!

I’m sure I mentioned time and time again the past month (or two…) that I would write a holiday haul post when I’d bought all the goodies I wanted for my holiday. It now looks like I’ve bought all the goodies I’ll want (and need for that matter…) for my holiday IN LESS THAN A MONTHS TIME! Oh my, the days, weeks and months have gone by so damn quickly.

I’m not going to lie, I am hella excited for my holiday, but I’m also really nervous all at the same time. I know for a fact I won’t want to come home.

Anyway, I decided to be naughty as soon as pay day hit this month and bought myself quite a few bits and pieces for the holiday… As well as to wear in the UK as and when appropriate… I kind of used the holiday as an excuse to buy things. 😛

I don’t think I’ll be buying anything else for “the holiday” (hahaha :P) but if I do I can always make a second post about that! The only other thing(s) I can see me buying is a new bra for the dress I bought (you’ll see what I mean when I show it off) and maybe a choker.

Right, enough waffle. On with the haul! I’ll talk about things in the order I bought/received them.

• Sixty Seven Silver Tone Holographic Sliders (no longer available).

Oh sliders, such ugly sandals when covered in fur and pom poms. I’m not a huge fan of wearing sandals, flip flips etc and more than not often opt for Vans when on holiday due to how comfortable and lightweight they are. However, I had a little thing for sliders this year… The none fluffy variety, of course! I had a look everywhere for a holographic pair but couldn’t find a single thing and when I did SEEM to find something decent it was stupidly priced or the colours were a little off.

As I do at least once a week I had a nosey over on TK Maxx and found these beauties! I waited a while to order them, but as sizes below and above my own started to sell out I knew I needed to get on it and get my pair ordered! These cost me £12.99 and retail for £33.99. WOW! They’re amazing though and I’m so glad I bought them! They’re really sturdy and feel like they’ll last a long time. The holographic is sort of matte in colour and doesn’t look too shiny, which I like. They’re not 100% comfortable to be honest and I find they’re rubbing a little on the top of my foot, but I’m hoping this is just them breaking in.

I plan to wear these both in the daytime and the evenings. Everything I’ll be showing off in this video what I bought I’ll probably wear with these sliders. I have to say I hate that they’re called sliders… I know why they are but I dislike it so damn much! I can’t wait to rock these to the beach in my matching bikini! 😛

My camera just wasn’t playing ball with me when trying to take pictures! It looks pretty cool though and shows off all the colours of the glitter really well. 😛

My camera just wasn’t playing ball with me when trying to take pictures! It looks pretty cool though and shows off all the colours of the glitter really well. 😛

• Topshop Black Glitter Skater Skirt (no longer available).

I’ve been in need of a new skater skirt for quite a long time now but I just haven’t really seen anything I’ve liked. My previous skater skirt was from Topshop so I decided to have a look on their website for an upgrade, sadly I found nothing. I looked around various high street stores for a while and I remembered the one place I hadn’t even looked for a new skirt, a Topshop one at least. eBay, my holy grail and first place I often look for things I want at a decent price. I found this Topshop skater skirt straight away and I fell in love! It was bidding and considering there was only 2 of us bidding on it, it started on 99p and I did a ninja and bidded with 5 seconds left, I won. I only paid about £2.50 for this including postage.

It’s really gorgeous black skirt with pink, blue gold and silver pieces of glitter running throughout it. It’s a lightweight skirt which is nice as it doesn’t feel heavy at all when wearing it. I’m also glad to say that the glitter is embedded into the skirt itself so when wearing, washing, etc no glitter bits will shed anywhere. I don’t know how much the skirt originally retailed for, but knowing Topshop probably £20-£30.

I’m just so pleased I picked this skirt up as it’s amazing! It does make my bum look bigger than it actually is though due to the way it hangs and I’m not sure if I like this or not. It can be worn as a high-waisted skirt or normal. With my new crop top (which I’ll be talking about last) it looks gorgeous and works really well. If anything it has finally given me the push and courage to wear more crop tops. 🙂

• Pretty Little Thing Anaiya Multi Tie Dye Denim Short (available here).

Urgh. Just getting this out there that if you have read my recent blog post you’ll know how annoyed at am at Pretty Little Thing and how I don’t recommend them. If you haven’t, here is the link.

That aside I love these shorts, even if they are a little on the snug side. They’re high-waisted denim shorts with a tie dye affect on them. Although not 100% they do have rainbow colors on them. You can see where they originally dyed them blue, pink and yellow only for the colours to run to create green, purple and orange. They look amazing and very eye catching! They’re distressed too which I love, all over the front of the legs and a little on the one back pocket. The pockets in these are really big and deep, which I love! Means you can keep a phone and money on you if you don’t want to carry a bag around.

I’ll be rocking these with my crop top, as well as various t-shirts tucked into it. I tried on one of my black long sleeved t-shirts and I loved how it looked! I’m tempted to take said t-shirt on holiday so I can wear it in the evenings. I’d wear it with either my pair of Star Wars or 101 Dalmatians Vans. Maybe even my DC high tops. I’ll see what shoes I decide to take with me closer to the time. I’ve even looked at wearing my chunky 90’s looking heels, but I’m not sure if I will or not yet.

I know they’re very bright to wear in the UK throughout the whole year (come on let’s face it, our summer lasts all of a week…) BUT I will wear these throughout the year over here. I’ll rock them with band tees, tights and Dr Martens boots for a grunge look. If anything, I can’t wait to when I’m back from holiday! 😛

• Boohoo Manhattan Hologram Triangle Tie Bikini (available here).

I didn’t need a new bikini and in the end I bought two. Shit. For this holiday I have noticed a pattern of me lusting after things that are either holographic, mermaid scale print or turquoise sequins. This obviously caught my eye (like the little magpie I am…) when browsing around Boohoo. It’s a bog standard triangle bikini BUT OMG IT’S HOLOGRAPHIC AND SHINY AND PRETTY AND OMG! Breathe Nat, breathe.

You can’t go wrong with holographic and when it comes to a hot country where the sun is out most of the time, you definitely can’t go wrong! This is the bikini I’ll wear when tanning on the balcony. It’s the tie at the sides for the bottoms and at the neck and back for the top. As I said, bog standard.

These are still available on the Boohoo website as well as another here which is holographic too. I was tempted to order this one instead/as well as the one I bought but meh. Don’t need ALL THE BIKINIS! xD

I am seriously in love with this picture since taking it!

• Killstar Pheadra Skater Dress (available here).

The day that Killstar launched this dress for sale on their website I KNEW I had to have it. I’m a massive fan of Killstar and my love of them has grown dramatically this past year. I want NO NEED to own more pieces by Killstar!

This is a skater dress with a mermaid print on, and a pentagram strappy back. This IS NOT a dress I would wear in the daytime, only in the evening when the sun isn’t out and at risk of tanning the pentagram shape into my back. I do not want. 😛 The pictures of this dress don’t do it justice. To me it just looks turquoise on the website but when it arrived I noticed that in the light the dress will shift and go a purple shade. Also as you can see it has a mermaid pattern on it. Oh Nat, you and those mermaid scales! I do like the smaller scales though and it makes a change from the bigger ones I rock on Black Milk Clothing pieces.

My only issue with this dress is I feel it’s too big… But I worry the size down would be too small… Also as amazing as the pentagram shape is on the back, it isn’t practical at all when wearing a bra. As of yet I haven’t got myself a new bra to wear with it yet… I hope I can get one before the holiday.

I know it sounds stupid because with a back like that you’d want to show off the dress, wouldn’t you? Alas this dress actually looks better with a jacket or cardigan over the top. In fact it looks so cute teamed up with my burgundy cardigan! Who’d have thought? I can’t wait to wear this throughout the year in the UK. I’ll definitely have to wear Dr Martens or brothel creepers. 😛

• Killstar Arabella Halter Top (available here) and Posing Shorts (available here).

The same brand and the same print as the Killstar Pheadra dress. I couldn’t resist not getting this top and shorts. I don’t 100% know if you can swim in them, but damn I’ll give it a go! Nah if anything these won’t be for tanning in due to the top being the way it is, but more for popping out to the beach in for a walk with the shorts or even a pair of shorts over the top. I also wanted to pick these up for pole dancing in as I think they’d be gorgeous!

I do feel a little self conscious in this set due to how out there it is, but at the same time I actually feel really good about my body! I ordered both the top and shorts in the same size as I ordered the dress and whilst I don’t feel they’re too big, I do worry that the top part is a little baggy. I think I just need to get used to the style of it. I plan to try it on a few times at home before we leave for our holiday. I’d gladly wear this with shorts or a skirt with a little jacket over the top for if it’s chilly.

• Black Milk Clothing Mermemerald Crop Top (no longer available).

Finally we have my last piece of clothing I bought in this haul and to be honest it’s by far my favourite! Everyone knows it, I love Black Milk Clothing and I especially love their mermaid printed pieces. I now own 3 mermaid pieces, including this new addition!

This is a size up from what I usually buy from Black Milk but it doesn’t matter as it fits lovely. It’s the Mermemerald crop top and guess what? It’s discontinued and now a museum item SO IT’S WORTH A FORTUNE! I picked this up second hand off of eBay for about £24.00, which I’m really chuffed about.

I didn’t expect it to be such a bright green when I took it out of the packaging though, but I adore it. At first when I tried it on I put it on the wrong way around. When I worked it out though and put it on properly I just fell in love. I paired it with my shorts, which looked amazing and then I paired it with my skater skirt. A part of me died and went to heaven for how lovely the two looked together. I haven’t felt all that great about my body the past month and more so the past week so to feel confident and nice about myself, I’m so happy. Black Milk seems to always have that affect on me. 😛

I already know I’m going to be wearing this most evenings when out with Dane for drinks and even for a day of shopping! I can’t wait to wear this back at home though to be honest. It’s such a stunning piece and when the weather is crap and gloomy over here, I can see this perking me up. It shifts from green to turquoise in the right light. How amazing!

One of my favourite pictures I’ve taken for such a long time! FYI I’m covering my face because I had some nasty zits on my cheek. YUCK! xD

PLZ DO NOT LOOK IN THE BIN. Nothing in there to hide, but still! xD

I was going to try and merge these four pictures in with the items themselves but it would have just been a mess… Sort of. SO I thought I would add said pictures at the end of the post, so you can see how I would wear some of the pieces together, as well as with other items. 😀

So that is everything I picked up for my holiday! I have so much more crap that I could buy and a part of me still wants to pick up a few more things to grunge up my outfits in the evenings. A choker being the main thing right now really. We shall see…

Have you guys been on your holidays yet? Where did you go?

Also, are there any items in this post YOU own or want to? Let me know all your thoughts and answers in the comments!

Until next time all, take care and I hope your weeks are going well so far.

My Pandora Bracelet

Image taken from weheartit.com

I told you before 2014 started that in the future I would do a post about my Pandora bracelet and finally, nearly 2 months later, it’s here!

Before I kick off with this post, I just want to add how I am not meaning to show off which charms I have, or for that matter how many I have. I know I love seeing and reading about other people’s Pandora bracelets and I thought it’d be nice to share mine too! So if you feel I AM showing off, then this post obviously isn’t for you…

I’ve been excited about writing this post up for a while, so without further ado, let’s get on with it!

So here it is, my Pandora bracelet! I have the bangle instead of the usual charm bracelet that most own. I’d always set my heart on the charm bracelet, but when my Mom brought me this bangle back from her holiday in November last year, I was pretty pleased about it! She has the charm bracelet and I’m really not a fan of it, but I guess that’s just me! The clip for this opens with a bit of force and due to that it closes firmly and stays that way, so I never have to worry about it undoing whilst I’m out and losing any of my charms. I don’t know how much this cost her to buy me from abroad, but these in the UK cost £55 and of course this is in silver too.

In total I have 7 charms, 3 of them came with the bracelet when I received it, 2 were Christmas presents from my Dad, 1 was from my boyfriend for my 24th birthday this year, and 1 was from my Dad for my 24th birthday this year. As you can see they’re all silver, only one containing some sort of colour, which is my Waving Cat charm. Another thing you can see with my charms is that apart from my N charm, they’re all animal related! This wasn’t intentional, but I really do need to break out of the animal charms pattern.

I’m going to talk about each charm in detail, but not too much detail! Just about who bought it me, what occasion and why they bought it for me, I guess my family and boyfriend know me well! I’ll be talking about these in the order I’ve received them.

Owl

This is the first charm I received on my bracelet and because of that it’ll always be one of my favourites. I don’t know what made my Mom pick this out for me, but I have a feeling it’s due to my owl lamp in my room. Either way it’s so cute and the detailing on it is lovely! In the future I can see me buying my Mom the same owl so that we have matching charms, but this being said, the Camera charm is on my wish list, which she was bought recently, so that could always be our matching charms. Who knows!

Charms R-L: Cat, N, and Mrs Hedgehog

This Cat charm is cute and whilst it wouldn’t ever be on my wish list, it’s the thought that counts and the cats little face is rather cute! Apparently my Mom had bought this for herself, but ended up giving it to me as she thought I would like it more, which makes this charm even more sweeter! The cat does just look all snuggled up and comfortable on its cushion. This charm reminds me of my Mom and it’s definitely something she would pick up for herself, which is why I like it so much.

I rather like this charm. As regular readers will know or if not, you’ll see my name at the side of this post, my name’s Natalee, so of course the letter N charm had to be bought for me! My Mom got me this when she bought me the bracelet and it’s a nice charm to have and probably one everyone should have on their bracelet. At one point she did contemplate getting me the rest of my name, but I said it was a tad on the tacky side and that the N was good enough for me. 🙂

This is one of my favourite charms, my Mrs Hedgehog charm. My Dad bought me this for Christmas 2013 and it has a big meaning behind it. As a child Mrs Tiggy-Winkle reminded me of my Gran, I don’t fully understand why but the cute little hedgehog by Beatrix Potter has always reminded me of her, maybe the way she acted, what she wore, even her cute little face! Sadly, as old readers will know, my Gran sadly passed away nearly a year ago, so when I saw this charm, I knew I had to have it on my bracelet. Every time I look at it, it reminds me of my Gran, so it’s lovely to have that feeling whilst I wear this. As well as that the detailing on this charm is beautiful! The little rounded dots for her spikes, her little toes, and even the detailing on her handbag! It’s a beautiful charm and I’m glad to have it on my bracelet.

Charms R-L Bunny, Waving Cat, and Elephant

This bunny charm was also another Christmas 2013 present from my Dad! He knew he was going to buy me Mrs Hedgehog, as he knew how much I wanted it, but whilst we were in Pandora he asked which other charm I wanted. I had a look in the display and asked to have a look at the Bunny. My boyfriend had commented a few months previous of how I reminded him of a bunny too, so that was rather cute. ANYWAY! I just loved the look of the little Bunny charm and although it is obviously a Bunny to symbolise Easter, it’s still really cute and another of my favourites. The detail on this charm is amazing, maybe even better than the hedgehog, thus being the most detailed charm on my bracelet so far! He has his cute little face, long ears, and paws, but as well as that he also has a basket on his back full of Easter eggs! The basket is really detailed and is shown to be a wicker basket, and there are two eggs inside of it, one with swirled patterns all over and one with zigzags and dots. Amazing quality, as well as being adorable, a very girly charm!

This charm is actually the reason why this post wasn’t written up and posted more sooner! I would go into details, but there’s not much point about that, all I’ll say is that he was sold a fake version of this charm… A terrible one at that! After a crap day at work a couple of weeks ago, my boyfriend and I ventured to town for some yummy food and to possibly buy some nice things, where he ended up buying me this charm. He had originally bought the fake for my 24th birthday this year, but due to that he sent it back, got a refund and a month or so down the line, he bought me the real charm! This charm is beautiful and my boyfriend did well in the reasons as to why he chose this one. I’m not sure if he had seen my wish list that I posted about just before the end of 2013, or if he had just been good and paid attention to what I’d been talking about before Christmas. I know I’d mentioned to him before about wanting this charm, but also how I would really like a Chinese Lucky Cat whilst we were out shopping. EITHER WAY the thought was lovely when he gave it to me and said, “I know how you wanted a Lucky Cat, so I thought this would be perfect for you!” which of course, is so sweet! I love this charm so much and it’ll always remind me of him and I especially love that it has that little bit of colour of it, as this is the first charm on my bracelet to contain any colour. Love it so much!

We finally have my last charm and most recently bought. My Dad bought me this gorgeous Elephant charm for my 24th birthday this year. He didn’t know which charm to get me and whilst I looked in the display box it was a choice between this charm and the Turtle charm and whilst I still want the Turtle, I’m really glad I asked for this one, as it’s now been discontinued! It’s such a cute cartoon looking elephant and out of the 3 charms my Dad has bought me to date, this one will remind me of him more than the others! Elephants are said to be old and wise, which is exactly what my Dad is. I just love how this Elephant looks, it’s another of my favourite charms for sure!

So that was my Pandora bracelet and the charms I have on it!

They all mean a lot to me but the one flaw I have with my charm so far is that it has no colour on it, which people keep commenting on! I’ve seen two coloured charms that I would like to get, but I’ll be saving those for another wish list post.

Do you have a Pandora bracelet? If so, which charms do you have on it?

If you don’t have a Pandora bracelet, would you like one? If so, which charms would you want on it?

Let me know all your answers and questions down below!

Until next time, take care all.

P.S. Sorry I’ve been quiet the past 3 days, I’ve just been pretty tired and lazy, but also I’ve just wanted to spend time with my boyfriend without writing getting in the way. 🙂

Pandora Wish List

Image taken from weheartit.com

After recently having Christmas, and as you may have seen on my Christmas 2013 post you will have seen I received some charms for my Pandora bracelet, as well as my actual bracelet. However if you haven’t, here’s a picture of all my charms, including the two I received for Christmas.

As I always do with wish lists I always create a massive image full of pictures of things I would like and as I did that for this post today, I came to realise there are only 5 charms I REALLY want and one safety chain I would like too.

I love Pandora already and I’ve only owned my bracelet since the start of November 2013!

So whilst the wish list isn’t long, every charm on the list has a reason of why I would like it on my bracelet, so stay tuned and I hope you enjoy this wish list post!

Image taken from pandora.net/en-gb

Hearts Safety Chain – £35.00.

The hearts safety chain features and adorable design which is the perfect way to show your love for someone special. Made from sterling silver, the charm is designed to keep all your charms safely on your bracelet.

As you would have seen my bracelet is a bangle and I simply slip it on and off whenever I’m wearing/taking it off as I’m left-handed and find it fiddly to undo the clasp and do it back up as I also wear it on my left wrist. My friend Poppy has a Pandora bracelet and recommended I get myself a safety chain as it means you don’t have to worry about losing your charms if you do put it on the way you actually should! Either way not only would the charm give my mind some rest it would also look gorgeous and I really like the hearts version, I just wish they did a star version really.

From L-R:
Top Row: Camera, Turtle & Mouse in the Cup.
Bottom Row: Waving Cat & Ghost Charm.

• Camera Charm – £30.00.

Photography is a very popular hobby amongst many people so there couldn’t be a more appropriate gift than this camera charm. Made from sterling silver, the camera charm can represent photos from those unforgettable moments you have shared with friends.

I’m a photographer and it’s a hobby I’ve been enjoyed for nearly two years now! My Nikon SLR is my pride and joy and something I take with me if a moment or chance rises for me to. I’m hoping this year to start an exciting project to do with my photography so keep your eyes peeled for that. 😉 My friend Poppy has this camera charm and the detail of it is gorgeous and everything a photographer would want in a charm really. I would proudly wear this with pride.

• Turtle Charm – £25.00.

This sterling silver charm has been crafted into a cute little turtle. The attention to detail on this charm is amazing and its way too adorable to resist. Add to your bracelet to represent beach holiday memories.

I LOVE turtles and this charm is just adorable! The detailing of the shell is amazing too, as when you see this charm in store it is rather tiny. Turtles are just such wonderful creatures but this being said, turtles have flippers and live in the sea, whilst tortoises have four legs like this little fellow. This being said, turtle, tortoise, either way they both remind me of my best friend and my last year of university when we had a private joke about turtles, so much so she bought me a little turtle teddy for my 21st birthday. I still have it to this day and love it so much.

• Mouse in a Cup Charm – £30.00.

The mouse in the cup charm is made from sterling silver and features an adorable tiny mouse peeking out of a teacup. The mouse is wearing a crown and next to it is a love heart with the words ‘be mine’ engraved into it. The cup has been beautifully engraved to reveal a gorgeous pattern.

This is one of the first charms I ever laid eyes upon when I first looked on Pandora’s website and I instantly fell in love with it! It’s just so cute isn’t it? It reminds me of Alice In Wonderland with the little Dormouse who sleeps in the tea-cup and tea-pot. The only thing on this charm that does put me off a tad is that it says, “Be Mine” on it… Only a partner could be me this, or if I bought it myself! My Dad offered to buy me this once and I had to say no straight away as it would just be inappropriate! Either way this is number one on my wish list, it’s just adorable and a must have for me to be honest with you.

• Waving Cat Charm – £30.00.

This waving cat charm is so adorable! It is made from sterling silver and has an intricate design. The detail is incredible, from the expression on the cat’s face to the paws. A tiny red enamel heart sits on its chest.

 This is meant to be a Lucky Cat but of course the name of this has been changed, but I’m not bothered either way. For YEARS I have wanted a proper Lucky Cat, whether it be gold or white in colour, it would need to wave its arm, which I assume is where Pandora got the name of this charm from! Lucky Cats are Chinese and are there for the obvious reasons, to bring you luck. After 2013 being one of the worst years of my life, I could do with some luck for 2014 so I hope to get one of these at some point in the year, as I need all the luck I can get!

• Ghost Charm – £25.00.

A spooky sterling silver charm that has been crafted into a ghost. Why not create a spooky themed bracelet for the run up to Halloween? This would be the perfect addition!

I love Halloween, it’s one of my favourite times of year and nothing shows that better than a cute little ghost charm! As well as that I do personally believe in the after life but I wouldn’t like to think that ghosts are out to hurt us or bring us harm, but that they are just lost and trying to make their way around whatever world they seem to be stuck or trapped in at that time. This little ghost is just the cutest, can’t NOT want this little guy!

So that is my wish list for Pandora! Altogether it comes to £175.00… Well that’s a hell of a lot of money now isn’t it?! It’s my birthday tomorrow so who knows, I may receive some more charms, I’ll soon let you know.

As well as that I will be writing a post about my Pandora bracelet soon. It was due to be written and posted for the start of 2014, but with my birthday just around the corner, I thought I would publish this post out-of-the-way and just post about my bracelet after my birthday, as I know I have charms for my birthday too (my Mom and Dad have both been talking about it and my boyfriend has hinted on and off that he might have bought me a charm).

If you have a Pandora bracelet, what charms do you have and what charms would you like? Let me know in the comments down below!

Until next time take care and I hope the New Year has already started great for you!

A note from the boyfriend: She doesn’t know this but I have got her one of these. Let’s see if she sees this and works out which one!

A note from Nat: My boyfriend informed me of what he had written above a day or two after writing up this post. He seriously makes me realise how damn lucky I am. Thank you Dane. ❤ OH and FYI I think it’s the Mouse in a Cup charm. ^_^