Blog Sale

I'm always trying to downsize my wardrobe and as I'm preparing for my big move, I'm more determined than ever to get rid of things I no longer wear or don't fit me any more. I have tried eBay but as a new seller I'm only allowed to sell 10 things a month which is no good to anyone! I love blog sales, I think they're the perfect opportunity to pass things on to people who will love them just as much as I did, and it's always a cheap way to pick  up some lovely bits!

Click here to visit my blog sale tab, or select from the menu above to see what I've got going at the moment :) all directions for purchasing are on that page! 

Excuse the proud Mum post, but...

I've been on the hunt for a nice looking iPad case for a while, but I'm very picky so finding the perfect one has been a bit of a struggle! I wanted eye-catching but not garish, feminine but not floral, slim but still protective and something a little bit different. All my prayers were answered by this beauty...

It is everything I wanted and has the added bonus of being able to be used for other purposes such as a clutch on a night out or a makeup bag. An even bigger bonus being it was made by my best friend Zara who is a graduate of UCA in London and promises huge things, check out her gorgeous final collection here if you're interested, it really is worth a look!

I'm actually in love with my case, and my Mum already has put in an order for a sheepskin version! I'm also debating buying a black one too, is that too much?! I have a kindle that needs a new home...

I paid £25 for it which I think is really reasonably considering the effort and materials that went into it and the quality of the bag! 

Such a sucker for some hot pink leather, who can blame me though?! It makes me smile everytime I reach into my bag and fits my iPad perfectly.

Luckily for me, the pink was a one off, but she's got lots of black and sheepskin if you're interested in one of your own! Tweet her @zaox13 and when she's big and famous you'll have an original one off piece that could be worth thousands ;) 

Zara didn't ask for this post and will probably be pretty embarrassed by it, but I thought I would sing her praises being as she is so talented and dear to me and deserves some recognition!

(Also bitch, gimme your clothes when you go to Aus!) 

Do you like my new case? 

xx

What's in my bag?

These posts are some of my favourites to read, the nosey git in my just can't resist getting the chance to do what I've always wanted and rummage through strangers bags! Having had some great news this morning (*cough* 2:1 *cough*) I decided I would treat myself, and I've been after a new bag for some time. Browsing in Outfit, this Topshop beauty caught my eye and it was lust at first sight.

Black pleather with gold harware, I just couldn't resist. Roomy enough to hold my essentials but not so big I feel weighed down by it all the time! Quirky details such as the two edges coming out at an angle and the lovely added extra of a shoulder strap for when my hands are just too full, I must admit I didn't think twice about the £40 price tag...I probably should have done, but that's what store cards are for...right?!

I couldn't wait to get home and transfer all my stuff. I've taken a picture of the inside so you can see it's just one big roomy pocket with the standard little zip section for 'lady bits' (what else would you carry in here?!) and a phone slot, although I never find these keep my phone protected enough. Interestingly there's also a card slot on the side of this bag, presumably for travel cards and the like. I would also like to keep this photo as evidence of how lovely it looked before it got stuffed full of crisp wrappers, receipts and empty bottles. I'm such a messy Jessie!

The essentials are: My purse (Old Topshop), my Cath Kidston diary (an absolute lifeline if you have a head like a sieve like me. I love this diary because it has plenty of space for lists, and hell knows I love a list or seven!), My sunglasses in their old battered Topshop case (I don't imagine I'll get much more use out of these *sob*) my phone (with it's lovely shiny screen after the smashing debacle!) and my lovely Ted Baker makeup bag...

Not too full at the moment, but trust my this is the one that gets weighed down! I'm not one to carry a full face of makeup with me but sometimes you just need to top up. My MAC studio fix concealer is always on my person incase a pesky spot pops up in the middle of the day. It's a heavy coverage and a good match for my skin tone although I don't really like the tub format of it- I find it hard to apply and pretty unhygienic so I don't think I'd repurchase this one again!

My lovely friend picked me up a replacement stick of the Nuxe Reve de Miel lip balm on her latest rendevous to Paris, which was lovely of her as I'm almost out of my first one! I love this lipbalm, and since being on Roaccutane last year which made my lips so, so dry I never go any where without one. Usually I have about 4 or 5 lip products floating around but I'm trying to be good with my new bag so I restricted myself to just the one!

Talking of lip products, No7's answer to the Clarins Lip Perfectors is also chucked in here. Unfortunately the writing has worn off so I can't tell you the shade but it's nothing special, just there to liven up any existing lip colour I've popped on that day- you know you always get to that point when your lips are needing a bit of oomph but you're sick of digging out a mirror to apply your lipstick? whack some gloss on top, job done! (this is why I'm not a professional beauty blogger!)

 If you don't already know I am a sucker for all Soap & Glory and this hand cream is no different- delicious smell, great product that does exactly what it says on the tin. I wash my hands a million times a day, especially at work, so this is a total life saver for me and I never leave home without it.
Tissues and Polos are self explanatory (no-one likes a sniffy gal with bad breath) and the Cath Kidston card holder houses my rail card and oyster card for whenever I stray it to a large city via public transport. Tres useful.




So there we have it, my attempt at imitating the wonderful What's in my bag posts that are forever floating around the blogging world! I hope you enjoyed it, I can guarantee you this bag will never be this neat and tidy again! oops. Let me know what your essentials are, and if you've got a favourite WIMB post, or you've written one yourself, please link me to it as they really are my favourite to read!


Abigail xx

Something's changed around here...

Incase you didn't notice, or you haven't visited my blog before- I've had a makeover!

Thanks must go to Ana of Peaches and Cream designs. She listened to exactly what I wanted and made it exactly within my budget. Her service was personal and professional at all times and I highly recommend her if you need anything! 

I realise that, with under 50 followers and about 3 weeks blogging experience that getting my blog designed professionally may be seen as a little extravagant or a waste of money, but there was a simple reason for doing this; I'm a perfectionist and if I'm not happy with something it bugs me. I knew nothing about blog design and all the tutorials on google went straight over my head! I knew what I wanted and it was specific and my old design seemed clumsy to me. First impressions make a huge difference and whenever I find a new blog if I like the layout and pictures I'm more inclined to read on and follow, aesthetics are important! I also wanted Tuesdays Girl to be something I was proud of, which I can now say it really is. I'm looking forward to filling these beautiful pages with lots of things now! Eeep. 

Thanks again to Ana, I really hope you all like my design too :) 

Abigail Xx

PS. If you don't follow me on twitter you won't know but today I got my degree classification and I managed to bag myself a 2:1!!!! I'm SO SO happy and really proud of myself and the lovely responses I got from people on twitter made me so happy to be a part of the blogging scene right now! I'm a very happy lady.

Keep your head, heels and standards high...

OH jesus. You know that scene in Confessions of a Shopaholic when the mannequins beckon her in to the shop? and then she's inside and she's imagining a whole new wonderful life and with that scarf between her fingers she's someone different and it's amazing and magical and gorgeous and totally worth it?! Completely materialistic and shallow, I hear you say.
Except I don't because I know you do it. I do it too.  I did it with these shoes. In the middle of New Look...on my own.

I'm almost ashamed that I spent literally my last pennies on these babies, but then I look at them again and I'm so not. Send me right now to shopaholics anonymous, I need help.

Bang on trend pointy toes? check.
To die for gold hardware? check.
Coveted ankle straps? check, check, check.

I've already got a hundred outfits in my head that these shoes are going to work so well with. First on my list is black skinnies and a crisp white t-shirt with some big statement jewellery and curly hair.

Please tell me I'm not the only one who plans outfits like this without an appropriate event?!
What do you think? was it an irresponsible purchase?! What would you wear them with?

Abigail xx

Girls just wanna have fun.

Ok so I'm not a regular blogger as yet, I'm working on the time management thang so thank you if you've stuck with me!

In school my friendship group was of about 10 girls and we were as close as anything...sadly, 5 years on (hell no, I'm old) I'm not in contact with all of them...except 3 very, very special girls who are dear to my heart. In the last three years it's been super tricky to see them due to us all attending different unis and balancing work, boyfriends and studies however we always get together on our birthdays and celebrate. So recently we got on our glad rags and celebrated the first one to turn 22!

It started with copious amounts of Pimms and lemonade in the garden, soaking up the late afternoon sun and catching up. We've all got huge plans and big changes coming up so we had a lot to chat about! We were at my oldest friend Oriane's house in the country side (this isn't MIC, we are just country bumpkins) and it was a treat to chill with friends and watch the hundreds of dragon flies flit round! I tried to catch them on camera but it just wasn't happening.

(How adorable is this dress, a dead ringer for some White Pepper ones I've seen Lily Melrose wearing!)

Once we'd finished off the Pimms we dolled ourselves up and hit Prezzo. Oh god, carbicide ahead.

It was so good. I had the baked carbonara. We had a bread started with balsamic and olive oil, italian food is my most favourite in the world. 

We followed up dinner with drinks and dancing, naturally. 

We laughed so hard and we danced even harder, I think nights like this are so precious. There are more pictures, but they're not appropriate for a public forum ;) outrageous.

I really loved catching up with my girls again, and even managed to slip a few compliments to strangers in to my night a la No Bitch September :) it felt really good! 

Sorry for the posting hiatus, I have lots of things planned so hopefully I can get back on this little bandwagon as I really do love my blog and the people I've met through it!

Let me know what you've been up to, how no bitch September is going for you and any other thoughts you have on twitter @_tuesdaysgirl. 

Recovery and planning.

Settle in, this is going to be a long one.

After a heavy weekend of abusing my poor body at yet another wedding, I'm making some choices. Mainly those that aim to improve my health and general well being! Hopefully you've read my post on being kinder...if not have a look here and let me know what you think. I started today by complimenting my Mum on her outfit without prompting, which made her smile and made me feel happy. See, easy peasy! get involved!

I think when you've had several late nights, bad food and more than a little alcohol you feel crappy inside which inevitably shows on the outside. I hate that awful hungover sluggish feeling you get after an extravagant weekend, and I always have to have a little session in which I treat myself and try to get me feeling back to normal again! 
I started a lovely soak in the hot tub and followed it up with a long hot shower using some of my favourites to scrub away the horrible hungover feeling I had. I love showering, is that odd? Using mainly Soap & Glory products I scrubbed and lathered and shampoo'd and conditioned myself back to a human state, then I settled myself in my room with this lot...

Dressed in my holiest and most comfortable pjs (after a good slathering of that body butter) I got to work on my face. I don't know about you, but several days of wearing heavy makeup, drinking anything other than water and (shamefully) sleeping in my makeup, the first place it shows is on my skin! Firstly, I wanted to cleanse my skin of any nasties, so I applied the Sanctuary 5 minute thermal detox mask. This is so satisfying - it heats up as you apply it and it's like you can feel it drawing the impurities out of your skin. Lovely. 

Next, after washing away the detox mask I popped on the REN glycolactic radiance renewal mask, which feels weird but smells lovely and again, you can feel it tingling away as it works. I love using this once a week to boost the radiance in my skin, and I'm sad that its nearly run out! 

While waiting for this to do its thing, I busied myself sorting my nails out- I think I'll do a separate post on this if people would be interested? let me know! My polish of choice was OPI 'I don't give a Rotterdam' which is a gorgeous grey/lilac with gold shimmer running through and is possibly my all time favourite polish...what a claim.

Once the REN mask is done, I rinse and have a quick spritz with the nspa Revitalising Vitamin toning mist which wakes me skin up and gives it some much needed moisture. I love nspa, I find it really good quality and surprisingly affordable...their hot cloth polish is definitely a contender for the Liz Earle cleanse and polish in my eyes!

I lock this in with an old favourite- Origins Drink up Intensive which I leave on overnight- so over indulgent but when you've spent a day lounging on the sofa feeling sorry for yourself it's exactly what you need!

While all this is going on, I have my James Brown intense moisture mask on my hair ready for a quick rinse before bed, and the Nuxe Reve de Miel lipbalm on to give some intensive moisture to my lips until the morning! I've started using bio-oil on my face in an attempt to clear up the acne scars which are my main concern at the moment so I'll let you know how I get on with that, I'm hoping to see some improvement soon as it is something that bothers me a lot. I also popped a pill ( not that sort) of the vitamin kind to give my skin a little boost from the inside. I really should take these more regularly as I always notice feeling better when they've been in my routine a while!

I love this little routine for whenever I'm feeling run down. I think a bit of 'me time' is always lovely, especially on a sunday night when you're preparing yourself for the week ahead!

Now, if you're anything like me the start of a new month and week always bring motivation to get stuff done! I've got a long list of things I want to accomplish this month and by writing them down here I feel that I can't really chicken out! So, this is my to-do list for September...

1. To work out again- I went through a stage of running and working out every day and then it slipped, and I lost my motivation. This month I'm allowing no excuses and I'm signed up to Results with Lucy and I'm ready to exercise out those bad feelings.
2. To eat better- what is the point in working hard in the gym (or front room in my case!) if you're just going to ruin it with pizza that evening? 60% of abs are made in the kitchen so this month I'll be binning the crisps and chocolates and embracing meat, veg and green tea!
3. To improve my blog- My blog is a few weeks old now and I love every second of working on it! from writing posts to taking pictures to taking part in the #bbloggers chat every sunday and wednesday. I've had such a great response and met some lovely girls, I want to carry this on and keep building my readership and improving the quality of my blog- there's lots planned this month so watch this space!
4. To continue my clear out- I've put lots of things on ebay recently (look here if you're interested!) and I still have loads more to go, I can't take it all with me when I move so I'm determined to get rid!

I think that's a good enough list to be getting on with, don't you? What plans do you have for September? What are your ultimate treat products? Typically all my favourites are due to run out at the same time so please let me know! xx