Emily and Fin review.

I have eyed up Emily and Fin for some time now. After discovering them via modcloth I have quietly watched in the shadows wishing I had a fair few of their dresses.

The price tag for is a bit too steep for me, even though on a few occasions the sale prices have tempted me. One reason I always end up hesitating is because I have been unsure what size to aim for. With Modcloth suggesting to size up and the reviews saying that it is a little too roomy in the bust I have been torn between and 12 and a 14. I fell for this Lucy dressin Meandering Polar Bears back before Christmas and I have been keeping an eye on it in the sale since the New Year. When it dropped down to £26 from £65 I really couldn’t say no anymore. I decided to order a 12 and a 14 in case one sold out if it didn’t fit and now I was finally ready to take the plunge I would know for future reference what size to order.

Lucy dress in Meandering Polar Bears 

I have to say the postage is a little high, and with no free returns that always puts me off a little ordering online. I am always much more willing to give things ago if there is free returns, but as the dress was such a good price and look amazing I thought, let’s give it a go!

I ordered them on Friday afternoon and they arrived Tuesday. Because they send their parcels DPD I was able to have it transferred to Halfords as I would have been at work which was a bonus!

I was impressed straight away by the quality of the fabric and print. The fabric was slightly darker than it looked online but I really liked it and it was still really vibrant.

The fabric is a nice weight but still light enough to feel comfortable to wear, I can’t stand heavy materials but this was spot on. The reviews were correct in that the bust came up slightly big on me in the 14 but the waist fitted perfectly. The 12 the waist was too tight and the neckline cut in a little too even though the bust fitted better, so I decided that the 14 was the best fit!

I really adored the little crystal button at the top on the dress to do it up, it was a really lovely touch. As well as that it was fully lined and had pockets HURRAH! How we do all love a good pocket in a dress. The length on me was really comfortable. I prefer shorter dresses but as I am 5ft 8” sometimes they come up just too short! Bum skimming. This is longer than my other dresses but still short enough that it doesn’t give me that frumpy feeling with the added bonus of my bottom staying covered.

Overall this is one of the highest quality dresses that I own and £26 was a great steal of a price. I am also pleased with the fit, it is really complementing and although slightly loose in the bust it isn’t noticeable. I will defiantly be purchasing more in the future!

So this dress gets 2 thumbs up from me! More if I had more thumbs, so much so I am tempted by the Rose Dress in teal falling snowflake!

Rose dress in teal falling snowflake

So I would highly recommend Emily and Fin and I would say the sizing is pretty spot on! I am now gutted I missed out on so many previous sales!

Lets start again with a new week.

So I was unwell last week, struck down with a hideous cold. I was SO thirsty and tired and by Sunday evening my throat was hurting and I felt ill.

I went into work Monday and that was ok, I was late in because of an appointment but by the evening I felt pretty rough. I was off Tuesday and only did a half day Wednesday. No Gym and comfort ate all week! UGH! Did not need to get such a terrible cold right now.

I am however feeling much better and thank goodness my nose has finally stopped running.

This weekend has been usually busy for us, but a productive one. I started sewing again hurrah!

I've been looking for a year or so for just some plain skater skirts. I just want some simple colours that I can wear through the winter and summer. Can I find any? NOPE... they are either horrible colours or too short or too clingy or bunchy. Something so simple has been impossible to find. 

While in town I visited the fabric shop and this time I actually left with something. It was a spur of the moment buy, but I want to start sewing again this year so I thought why not start with a skirt!??

I followed a YouTube video and started to make my skirt. It was REALLY easy actually. I picked a stretch fabric that was a nice heavy weight so it will lay nicely and not cling too much. It meant it would be easy to make too no need for a zip. 

I really regretted buying the fabric, I was convinced I would screw it up. I did have a few hiccups along the way but I am SO SO pleased with the final result. 

I love how it looks with T-Shirt type tops, I love this kind of geeky yet girly look. It works so well with the grey and black too! 

I am also really pleased how it looks with jumpers too. The fabric lays very nicely and it isn't TOO clingy so if I wanted to tuck my top in I think I could! I usually end up untucking them though as I find them uncomfortable though. 

I want to make a grey skirt too, so I might look for some fabric in the week to do that. Then I will have a nice selection to wear with different outfits! 

I haven't sewn in YEARS and my machine was so dusty and dirty, but I was surprised how quickly I picked it up again! I am hoping to show off some handmade dresses at some point this year!

So although this weekend WHIZZED by and I feel like I missed most of it, at least I have been super productive woo!

Goodbye weekend. Hello Monday

Yeah so it is Monday yet again *cry* how does this happen so quickly. Since Christmas I have taken to hibernating. I am been pretty against putting on my clothes and leaving the house. Saturdays are cinema nights so I do have to put pants on at some point, when will it be acceptable to wear my PJ's to the cinema, huh?  We saw The Revenant and it was super enjoyable, and explained why it was up for so many awards.

It is surprising as for years Matt and I would get very aggravated and try and get out every weekend. Since Christmas I am quite happy to stay inside and not get dressed and pretend the outside world doesn't exist. I'm at the moment feeling very comfortable and content with life and I think I am just enjoying some quiet time.

I have however been looking forward into the year ahead and making some plans. We have now made arrangements to go up to Nottingham at the end of April/beginning of May to stay with Laura and Sammi. EM Con is on and we are also hoping to go to that as it has a great line up! I am also super excited to stay with Laura and Sammi, it is a bank holiday weekend too so we should get 3 full days with them hurrah!

We were looking at a trip to Cornwall, but I think adding up all the costs it would be a lot. I found a bargain place to stay but by the time you added up petrol and £50 just to get into one attraction down there it all started to add up. I really want to save for Florida and I have a year and a half to do so. The idea of a weekend with friends I hardly see and doing things we love seems much more worth while and money well spent!

Other than that we have a few cons planned for 2016 and also Video Games Live which should be amazing! I think this year I really do just want to enjoy myself at a slow and steady pace.... although can you believe we are over half the way through Janaury?? eep neither can I!

I did however have a nice evening out on Friday night with my Grandma though. I picked her up at 6ish and we went to Pizza Express and enjoyed a lovely meal. We then headed to the Miller Centre to watch the Hounds of the Baskervilles and barking spoof.

It was a great show and I THROUGHLY enjoyed it. I thought it was really funny and the actors were great in it! It really had me laughing from start to finish! I have driven past the Miller Centre more times that I could count in Caterham, but I was unaware how nice and big it was in there! 

The show was performed by 3 actors in total and they played countless characters which they did in a brilliant and at times hilarious way. Even with a simple stage and few props they filled in the blanks and set the scene very well. It is a shame it finished on Saturday as I would highly recommend it!

It was lovely spending time with my Grandma, I know times are tough for her since my Grandpa passing and it really makes you appreciate the time you have with family. I think she had a lovely evening out too and I would really like to do it again in the future! 

That was the highlight of my weekend which i very much enjoyed! I just cannot get over how quickly the weekends come and go! I can't wait to hibernate away next weekend!

Enjoy your week.

January blues and Friday Favouites

January blues are in full swing now for me. Monday was a really tough day going back to work and I headache all day. Well actually to be honest with you I have had a headache all week. On Sunday I had planned to go get up early so I would be tired that evening and get a good night sleep. That failed horrible and I eventually fell asleep around 2am. I then missed the gym and ordered pizza as I felt so crap. FAIL!

I am however back on the clean eating and gym and I am so excited about the weekend!  I just need to stop picking at the chocolates at work ugh!

I am looking forward to the year ahead; although I don’t have any life changing plans like I did last year I also don’t have a desperate need for the year to go as quickly as possible to achieve them. In actual fact I hope this year just plods by and I can enjoy it.

I am hoping to hit a few cons this year too, with the ‘spring’ comic con and the Brighton comic con too, I hope to go to these as well of course as the big Summer London Film and Comic Con! Hopefully there will be some exciting guests that I am interested in!

After the Christmas break and being content with staying indoors in my jammies all day I am also hoping to take a couple of weeks off to do the same again during the year. I might even take a week off for Matt’s birthday in March as we are going to see Video games live and it might be nice to take a week off or at least a few days around then.

I have been trying to be good this January as well. I find I end up buying a fair amount of ‘junk’ in the January sales. Things I wouldn’t usually look at but hey it is such a good price who can say no!?

After investing in BB-8 I made an agreement with myself to avoid the January sales as much as possible. The only things we have picked up were a new jacket and work shirts for Matt, and another naughty Silly Old Sea Dog dress in the sale reduced to £30! HECK I wanted to so much and it sold out in my size alas, but they have one back in stock in my size reduced to £30... I really really couldn't say no!

However as per usual there are plenty of things I wish I could afford so I will join in on the Friday favorites and make a little ooh I wish I could win the lottery list!

1. Malcolm Reynolds Pop Funko

2. Kaylee Pop Funko

3. Jayne Cobb Pop Funko

4. Will Riker Pop Funko

5. Worf Pop Funko

6. Deanna Troi Pop Funko

7. Data Pop Funko

8. Futurama complete boxset

9. Sterl​ing Silv​er Harr​y Pott​er Gold Snit​ch Ring

10. Clarks brogues

So I am glad it is Friday, I cannot wait to chill out this week and we are seeing 'Daddy's Home' at the weekend... it was that or Star Wars again but might wait a couple of weeks to see that again so it has more impact! I want to make sure I see it again before they take it out the cinemas.

I hope your weekend is peaceful and enjoyable too!

Silly Old Sea Dog

Back in August I believe I enter a competition with Marry Me Ink 'A wedding blog dedicated to the decorated bride' spend at Silly Old Sea Dog. I was SOO EXCITED as I had admired their dresses since seeing the Nutcracker dress on thesoubrettebrunette's blog back in 2014!

I decided to hold off until Christmas to spend it as I had wanted a Christmas dress for a few years now.

They announced the Christmas dresses and I was so excited which one to pick. The prices are quite high at around £100 for a dress. I do completely understand and appreciate why they are higher in price. As someone who has made clothes before I can appreciate the time and energy that goes into making these clothes and also the price of fabric.

Saying that and understanding why they are the price they are; unfortunately still left them slightly outside of my price range (with the new flat and Christmas coming)

So I waited until Black Friday in a hope that I would be able to get a dress and luckily they did do a discount. However I wasn't able to use my gift card and the discount code. I have to say I was a little disappointed with that, as to me a gift card is money not a voucher. As I had won the gift card I didn't say anything else. However had I bought one or had one bought as a gift for me I would be quite disappointed.

Anyhow my patience paid off and a few days before Christmas I managed to nab one in the sale and I was super excited when it arrived on the 23rd December just before Christmas day.

I had misjudged the sizing and went with measurements I had taken some time ago . Sometimes I still find it hard to order smaller sizes as I still have the mindset of 'GOD THAT WILL NEVER FIT ME!' but I misjudged it this time and a 14 was swimming on me.

I contacted Silly Old Sea Dog and they said ship it back and we will send you a new size. So after much remeasuring and checking the size guide (happy to report my waist and bust measurement have gone down since I last measured them!!) I ordered a 12. The 14 was so generous I was a little skeptical if this one too would be a little large also.

BUT then on the 2nd January my lovely packaged arrived and it fitted like a glove!

Firstly both dresses arrived in ADORABLE little polka dot bags and were both wrapped in green paper and ribbon with a little note that made me smile! There is just something about receiving your items like this that makes it all the more personal and special.

And you know what I do look fabulous! The dress is a beautiful material, it feels very durable but still soft and flows nicely. It is well finished and put together very well to a very high standard. 

As you can see the 12 fits perfectly! The sizing is definitely very generous and very true to their size guide so if in doubt I would size down! 

They do such adorable patterns and use really unusual fabrics. The cut of the dress is spot on and is really flattering. It hangs very nicely and I am GUTTED I have to wait 11 months until I can take this baby out for a proper spin! 

I am impressed with Silly Old Sea dog and I would highly recommend them! I really hope that maybe next year I will financially better and be able to pick up a halloween dress and maybe another Christmas one!