I'd like to be under the sea (Ladybug Creations Review)

Hello! I have a jewellery review for you today...that sounds so typical and bloggerish I know, but last week I received some beautiful pieces from the lovely Ria of Ladybug Creations and I couldn't help but share them with you guys. Ladybug Creations are an online emporium of fairytale-esque, vintage-inspired jewellery that is handmade and customised for the individual customer. New designs are uploaded onto the site frequently, with jewellery being limited in stock so you are likely to end up with a rare or one-off piece that is no longer available for others to purchase. The owner Ria is lovely and very helpful, and is more than happy to edit the design to suit your individual tastes, from changing chain lengths to designing and making whole custom pieces. The prices are fantastic and the website is really pretty and easy to use, with jewellery grouped into collections such as 'Beside the Sea' and 'Jingle  All The Way.'

The first piece I have to show you is the 'Twisted Tentacles' necklace from the 'Beside the Sea' collection. I absolutely adore the pearl detail and two octopus pendants, and love the way is changes a simple collared shirt into a statement piece. It would also look gorgeous on bare skin over a low necked or strapless top or dress, however I just love the way it sets off a shirt - who needs little collar clips when you can achieve the same effect with a necklace?!

The second piece is this gorgeous pair of 'Ocean Whispers' earrings. Despite being quite big and bold,  they are also incredibly light and sturdy...a really good quality pair that I'm sure will be gracing my earlobes for many days to come.

I really recommend that you check out the Ladybug Creations shop, and look at Ria's blog to keep up to date with her awesome designs. Thank you so much Ria for such beautiful pieces!

ellie xo

there's dancing behind movie scenes

Hello! Yesterday evening I was lucky enough to be able to attend photographer Eleanor Hardwick's exhibition and duo zine launch 'Twenty Thirteen' at Doomed gallery in Dalston. I first discovered Eleanor through Rookie, and have since been an avid follower of her work and commissions for magazines such as Teen Tatler, Bullett and Vogue, along with work for two of my favourite designers Meadham Kirchhoff and Orla Kiely. I met up with Opi, Ella, Rachel and Maya (which was awesome because I would have been so shy on my own).

The gallery itself was a small room just down off of Ridley Road in Dalston, with the works on display printed on paper and stuck on the walls. Visually it encompassed everything the zines were intended to - the busy room and lively atmosphere bought back the excitement that comes with first parties and hang-outs with friends; the single snapshots on show demonstrating the fleetingness of youth with all it's bright colour and brilliance. Everything on display was so aesthetically pleasing in it's own right, but together produced a sickly sweet explosion of youth that stayed with you long after you left, like the taste of sugar that remains after devouring a stick of candyfloss at a funfair. I absolutely loved it, and am so pleased that I have physical copies of both zines that I can keep and pour over whenever I need a boost or some inspiration. 

We met so many cool people, lots of whom I knew of or had seen in photographs. It was so surreal to be surrounded by such interesting and artistic people, and I found myself spending about 99.9% of the night being completely in awe of everyone around me. I even got to meet Naomi who writes for Rookie's dear diary section...she was so lovely and I still can't really believe that we met (I mean she works for my favourite magazine and I've been reading her diary for months. How awesome is that?!) We also got to speak to Eleanor herself for a bit too, which was lovely as often you don't actually get to chat with the people behind exhibitions. She is such an inspiration, and made the evening so perfect by simply being there and being her awesome self. 

It was so lovely to see my rookie girls again - summer seems like such a long time ago. I also got to finally meet Maya, who I've known about through mutual friends but hadn't until last night had the chance to meet in person. As usual they were all dressed to perfection...I went for my typical granny-on-drugs kind of aesthetic, with a skirt and cardigan from Beyond Retro and shirt from Brighton.

It was so busy, but not in a bad way as everyone was so friendly and so freaking cool. I picked up so many style tips and have come away with a longing to cut myself a micro fringe and dye my hair a radical colour (not that I ever would because I'm too much of a scaredy cat).

I had such an awesome night with some of my favourite people, and am now so inspired to take some dreamy photos and find out more about the other photographers who had work on display. I also am super inspired to journal properly again after almost breaking down over the perfection of the collages in Eleanor's zines. I hope you are all having a good week,

ellie xo

Check out Eleanor's WEBSITE to see her work and also B-RAD MAGAZINE because it's the coolest

haven't had a dream in a long time

Hello again. It feels like ages since my last post (which was only saturday?!) but I had a really busy weekend and thought I may as well share some of these photos with you, while I have some time at last. Mock exams have literally worked me into the ground, but as they're all done and dusted for this year I can relax a little and get back into blogging more frequently.

As I mentioned in my last post I went to Birmingham for Clothes Show Live on Saturday morning, and then I went to a sleepover party for my friend's birthday. We ate classy kebabs and chocolate brownies and popcorn and watched movies and made a music video to one direction...it was awesome. After a lovely pain au chocolat for breakfast I ventured out to Oxford Street and Covent Garden on Sunday to try and do a spot of Christmas Shopping...which didn't exactly go to plan as I ended up just spending my birthday vouchers in Beyond Retro and Topshop and getting squat for my friends and family. Oops. 

I wore my new shoes (they're camper bowling shoes omgomgomgomg), cardigan, shirt and bag from Clothes Show, with leggings, and my teddy bear socks from Topshop. Taking these pictures was really awkward as halfway through shooting a man decided to pop out from the door behind me, which was totally unexpected and made me completely jump out of my skin.

I absolutely adore this 'Talented Tote' bag from http://www.doodle-bag.com/...it's really sturdy and oh so cute at the same time. The robin logo makes it perfect for christmas too.

We then had dinner out in my favourite place ever (Maxwells in Covent Garden) where I discovered the best restaurant dessert I've ever had...warm apple pie with icing sugar, caramel sauce and cinnamon ice cream. It was like heaven and I wish I had taken a photo to show you but unfortunately it didn't last very long. Afterwards we decided to walk around Covent Garden for a while and soak up all the christmassy atmosphere. I spent forever in the Moomin shop and would have bought lots and lots of cute tin mugs if they hadn't of been so expensive.

That's all I've got for you today...I have a review coming up shortly, and then I'm going to Eleanor Hardwicke's zine launch on Thursday and will probably have a post from then. Hope you're all well,

ellie xo

get on your dancing shoes, there's one thing on your mind

Hello guys! Today I went to Clothes Show Live in Birmingham for the second time. I went last year and loved it, but this year it was definitely more organised with more quality and vintage stalls, so I had a fabulous time rooting through all of the things they had on sale. The show itself isn't really what I'd imagine to be my sort of thing, but there was a whole section of the NEC hall devoted to vintage and secondhand clothing, all at really competitive prices (one-off denim jackets for £25 etc). I thoroughly enjoyed myself and managed to get a good few bargains, all of which I'm sure will be on this blog soon.

I wore a sunflower dress from camden market with a Beyond Retro cardigan, rokit boots, topshop socks and a charity shop shirt. The pin was my mum's from when she was a teenager.

It was too busy to take good pictures in the actual hall but I managed to do some awkward posing just outside. I got a few weird looks but you know, it's all for the greater good right?

I actually had a really nice day out, and am now relaxing with tea and yoghurt before running out again to a friend's birthday. I hope you are all having a good weekend...I can't wait to get this busy week done so I can post a little less erratically again! hugs,

ellie xo