DAILY LIFE: A Trip to a Vintage Fair!

Hey guys,

Here's a quick post to feast your eyes on and it's all about a Vintage Fair that I recently went to in the centre of the city I'm currently studying in. Apparently it has been voted the best Vintage Fair in the UK and the entry was only £2.00 which was incredible for the beauty that you were allowed to gaze upon. 

These photos are 1/4 and maybe not even that of the Vintage jewellery that was there, there were countless other beautiful stalls that were filled with embroidered clothing, sequin dresses, beaded garments and classic designer handbags. It held all the clothes that were worn by those gone before us yet it still had that wonderful feeling of unity between generations of fashion held together and in tact by these wonderful people with a passion for the old. 

This Vintage fair had absolutely everything going on in it, I honestly felt like I had stepped back in time for a while. There were singers with beautiful voices that played classics that some of you may have had a chance to listen to in your childhood and there were beautifully dressed sellers with their jewellery stacked high and eyeliner flicked out. 

For those that are considering visiting a Vintage Fair I would strongly suggest trying it out, no longer will you have to be afraid that someone will have either the same outfit as you or the same outfit in a different colour than you each piece is unique and that is the beauty of Vintage.

Hope you enjoyed this quick post guys, 

God bless,

All my love,

"And this I pray, that your love may abound.."

Pinterest

Hey loves, 

A few hours ago I got in from meeting with my Church's small group, our homework for this evening was to read Philippians and after going through just the first chapter I felt so encouraged and inspired and I really wanted to share a bit of why I felt this way.

Read: Philippians 1

Paul's intense encouragement resonates throughout the whole of this chapter, his selflessness and relentless love for his situation, his location, his church, those around him and most importantly for Jesus encourages and motivates the people around him and those that knew him all from prison. From his chains he was able to defend and proclaim the gospel. This selflessness reveals a strong sense of humility within Paul and reveals a strength that could only come from Jesus Christ. At no point in this chapter does he search for sympathy or attention, instead he praises the fact that his time in prison is turning out "for the furtherance of the gospel" so much so that he even impacted the "palace guard". How wonderful a thought to think that we could make the exact same impact and imprint of Jesus in the lives of every single person around us. This selfless life that he is living is always, constantly thanking God and referring back to God, even his "chains are in Christ".

 I really admire his selflessness and humility as it causes me to think of my own life and convicts me into having the same attitude that he did towards life. For me, I haven't ever been in a position like Pauls, I've never been in prison and you can imagine back in Pauls day that the prison conditions probably were as far from prisons that we see nowadays so you can imagine rough living where your faith would be challenged the most. I admire that despite everything that he is going through he chooses Jesus everytime and I love how at peace he appears to be with it all, he has no fear of his outcome, he says that he would like to go and be with Jesus but he feels as if his encouragement would benefit others. Others. We are called to love God and to love one another. We are also called to serve and to help encourage, motivate and pray for one another so that in the trials and tribulations we can get through it by God's strength and God's strength in our friends. 

Paul gives us practical tips to live out our lives as Christians. We are meeting with people everyday, souls, lost souls are in desperate need for something to fill that void in their hearts and all they need is Jesus. Fear holds us back from a lot of things, one in particular is something that I struggle with and that is sharing the Gospel, physically speaking to people about Jesus and starting off a deep, theological debate and turning them off God completely has to be one of my worst nightmares. In all honesty, what have we got to lose? Christians are being martyred for their faith everyday, I don't live in nearly as much conflict as they are, if anything my life is comfort in comparisin and yet I can't even share the gospel without thinking "oh, they won't like me anymore" or "oh, they'll make fun of me" the fear of man has stopped me dead in my tracks one too many times. I believe that as Christians with an Eternal God, an Uncreated Creator, ruler of the heavens and all of the galaxies on our side, we can never truly lose. 

"For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain". - Philippians 1:21

Here are a couple of verses that I highlighted in my Bible maybe you coud meditate on them and pray to the Lord to open up your Spiritual eyes and ask Him for wisdom, knowledge and understanding of His word:

"And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment, that you may approve the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ, being filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God." - Philippians 1:9-11

"the things which happened to me have actually turned out for the furtherance of the gospel, so that it has become evident...my chains are in Christ; and most of the brethren in the Lord, having become confident by my chains, are much more bold to speak the word without fear". - Philippians 1:12-14

"that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death". - Philippians 1:20

"Only let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of your affairs, that you stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel, and not in any way terrified by your adversaries, which is to them a proof of perdition, but to you of salvation and that from God. For to you it has been granted on behalf of Christ, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake, having the same conflict which you saw in me and now hear is in me". Philippians - 1:27-30

STEAL HER STYLE: Selena Gomez at Charles-de-Gaulle Airport Outfit

Hey guys, 

Here's a quick "steal her style" post featuring Selena Gomez, whose style I greatly admire, so much so, when I was around 16 I saw her wearing a pair of blue converse, I begged my mum to me them for Christmas the following Christmas and she got me black ones instead and I was upset at the time but those converse are my go-to shoe and thinking back on all the times I've worn them it was so easy to pop them onto an outfit whereas had I received the blue ones it may have been a little difficult.

Anyway, ramble over, I have been meaning to do another one of these posts recently but I didn't get round to doing it. 

I loved this outfit on her because it's an awesome quirky, chic outfit that can be casual and comfy as well. She has such a way with fashion I admire these simple pieces, it makes me hopeful that casual can look well put together as well.

Cruise 2015 Bubble Print Top - Louis Vuitton (N/A ONLINE)

Signature Western Fringe Jacket - Saint Laurent (SOLD OUT)

Soho Skinny Jeans - DKNY ($69.50/£44.00)

Saffiano Medium Executive To Be Bag - Prada ($2,500/£1,592)

Bike Ankle Boots - Balenciaga ($1,175/£748)

- taken from Steal Her Style - Selena Gomez Style

= roughly $3,744/£2,385 minus the Crop Top and the Jacket

Suede Feel Fringe Jacket by Rare - £39 - Topshop

Geo Bralet - £36 - Topshop

Blue Premium High Rise Skinny Jeans - £30 - New Look

Black Leather Handbag - £14.99 - H&M

Black Knitted Cuff Lace Up Boots - £28 - New Look

=  £147.99

Click here for Polyvore set and links to all items.

Thankyou for reading this far guys, I hope you enjoyed this quick post,

God bless,

All my love,

DAILY LIFE: Coffee, Cake and conversation with Maddie

Hey beautifuls, 

Here is the beginning of a new series that I'm going to be starting called DAILY LIFE. It was previously called Personal but I feel like that word is exactly what it is, personal and I want to share my day with you guys, so I felt like Daily Life was a tad more inviting. 

I am starting to fall even more in love with the city I'm living in, every week or so I find an amazing cafe or cute shop that I find adorable and I love that about this city. There are so many more places to explore and I'm having an incredible time discovering them. This week I went for a day out with my good friend Maddie and we had a little explore in a part of the city that I hadn't yet visited. We came across a gorgeous bakery that I will have pictured below, countless charity shops and stores. It was such a bonus having everywhere decked out in Christmas decorations. 

We were actually on our way to find Maddie a new Bible from a Christian bookstore that she had found before called Acorn & Vine, which I have now visited a whole 3 times but have only been  inside twice, the second time it was at 3:57pm but it was closed! (It shuts around 4pm, we were so close). Anyway this was a delightful Christian bookstore filled to the brim with Bibles, Devotionals and bookcases of encouraging writings. I honestly could spend the rest of my life in there just reading everything. 

On our way back from the bookstore we had a peek into Knight & Lee which I believe is a partner of John Lewis which I actually don't have back at home so it was lovely to explore what they had to offer. It was also Christmas in Knight & Lee and I was so tempted to spend all of my money on just everything, their stationary, their giant gingerbread men, their jelly-bellys, their candles, their mugs - just all of it. BUT you will be pleased to know that I didn't and I haven't...as of yet.

Lastly we wanted somewhere to just chill out and unwind a bit and.. basically we needed coffee sowe remembered that on our way there we had found a cafe that looked gorgeous from the outside and there were so many beautiful cakes in the window that we vowed to end our little shopping trip there. So we did, Maddie and I ordered a coffee each and chose a Peanut Butter Cake which was absolutely divine, better believe it was such a hard choice and it and the waiter didn't help saying that every cake was good! I would definitely recommend sharing though because even though we were sharing we didn't even finish it, it was so lovely if a tad dry but not too dry, the peanut butter cream icing in the middle layer and on the top surpassed the dryness and gave it that moist texture, all in all it balanced out wonderfully. I would definitely return. After I've recovered.

Here is a mini photojournal of our day:

I hope you enjoyed this Daily Life post, comment on the wonderful places you've been to recently!

God bless,

All my love, 

Fall Moodboard: Fashion, Decor, Nature photos from Pinterest

Hey guys, this is my Fall Moodboard, fix your eyes upon beautiful fall fashion, decor and nature photos because this is me trying to hold onto Fall as long as possible. Don't say the word Winter yet.

I take no credit in these photos I simply took them from my Fall and Fashion/Style Inspiration Boards on Pinterest. Credit to the beautiful people that took them and could you lend me some of your photography skills. Thankyou.

I hope you enjoyed this quick post guys, if you haven't already you can follow me on Pinterest, I do have little buttons on the right side of this post and a Social Media page that you can follow me on but if not here's a link PINTEREST. Be warned I repin a lot, but in medium to long bursts.

All my love,

God bless,

The Autumn COAT Edit

Hey wonderfuls, 

I'm trying to pick up the pace with blogging this month so this is the second post of the month, I was going to attempt to blog one post a day but that didn't go to plan. I will try my hardest to blog often!

I have a few friends that have been in search of a good winter coat. Coats in England are essential especially this time of the month so it is important to take into consideration a few things, for example - colour, endurance, thickness and style. 

First of all, colour - if you're like me and will opt for a black coat because I have a "black goes with everything" mindset then that's wonderful. Inded black does go with everything but sometimes it can appear as if I'm attending a funeral so don't be scared to experiment with colour. 

Take note of the colours of the clothing that you wear most often, this can help you find an autumn/winter coat because you'll have little colour-clashing problems. 

Navy, burgundy and military green seem to be making a lot of appearances this year as well as pastel colours I've found! So be sure to try coats that initially you wouldn't have pictured yourself in before - you could be surprised! 

Next up - endurance which could tie in with thickness as well, I don't know whether that is the right word to describe what I want to say but basically, let me break it down. You've got to invest in a coat that's going to last. A coat that grants warmth as well as a protection from the rain. It defeats the point of a good winter coat if the rain just soaks into it making your clothes all damp. Which brings me to another point, it might be a good idea to purchase a coat with a hood, it's not essential but it sure does help out a lot when those rainy days hit you on the day you forget your umbrella!

Last of all style, choose a style that you feel most comfortable in because coats, like handbags can be used everyday and if you don't like the style of your coat you're not going to enjoy wearing it. For me, I prefer coats that fan out into an A-line shape because it skims over my curves and cinches in at my waist. In terms of sizing I find that it could be advantageous to get a coat one size bigger than your usual size this is because it is something that you're always putting on top of  your clothing so when you wear big fluffy jumpers you have enough room within your coat to do so without feeling like a sumo-wrestler.

Here are winter coats that I have chosen to show you guys hopefully you guys find these all affordable:

1. New Look - £26

2. Matalan - £35

3. Matalan - £30

4. Matalan - £20 

5. New Look - £37

POLYVORE LINK

1. Double Breasted Black Coat - H&M - £35

2. Green Padded Parka - H&M - £40

3. Red Coat - F&F - Tescoes - £39 

4. Biker Jacket - F&F - Tescoes - £25

POLYVORE LINK

1. ASDA - £32

2. ASDA - £32

3. ASDA - £32

4. ASDA - £30

POLYVORE LINK

I hope you guys enjoyed this coat post, leave comments below on your favourite or your own winter coat!

All my love,

God bless,

LIFE: Day Out with Viki and CAKE!

Hey beautifuls, 

In order to really get going on taking this blog more seriously what better way then to update you on a few things that I have been up to while being here at University!

I have been incredibly blessed with meeting incredible people at University, God has enabled me to cross paths with not only genuinely wonderful and kind people but friends and family for life. I must admit, it was ashamedly a fear that I had before getting here, I prayed and asked for prayer on the friendships that I would make here and that they would be ones that inspire me everyday and help me on my journey with God. Not only has he blessed me with wonderful friends but he has also planted me into a Church that I love surrounded by people I love. I am now more excited to see how the rest of this year pans out in light of the awesome times that I have already been able to share with friends. 

So, rambling aside I wanted to share a few pictures that I took when me and my good friend Viki went out to explore by the seaside. The weather was lovely by the way if I could just add that in right there, I mean I am British anyway and we are accustomed to talk about the weather since birth. 

I love the sea. It reminds me of home. 

Now, living in the city I find the air a little too thick, too polluted and too smoggy. But by the sea, the air gets thinner, the winds hit your face in a liberating manner and the pressure of pollution falls away.

We found a bandstand! There is irony in this photo although it remains unseen until I tell you why. We were talking about bandstands holding potential for getting married under before we reached it, Viki said it would be a lovely place to get married one day if one was by a Church and I totally agreed! The bandstand was beautiful if not a little rusty it would be perfect to hold a wedding under. 

We also found a castle, it had an awesome bridge but, whether it used to hold water or not I feel like the vibrant green grass would be better replaced with water to create a moat around the castle because moats are cool.

The imprisoned look we were going for is part annoyed with the fact that the castle was closed on Mondays and part-snapchat potential.

Can we just take a moment to bask in the delicious amazingness that this cake has to offer? Yah, it's even more amazing than it looks. In fact it looked so amazing sitting there in front of me that I couldn't wait until I had taken a photo of it (notice the slither of missing cake).

This cheesecake had the perfect balance of biscuit base so that you got that satisfying crunch as well as the smooth yet thick consistency of the Cream cheese. The cherry, or more appropriately, the fruit on top of this wonderful concoction was the mixture of berries and wonderful sauce that inhabited the top of it. I still can't get over how big those blackberries were...

The decor of this little cafe was gorgeous, pastel and floral crockery galore. My favourite parts are the floral touch and the beautiful quotes they have lying around the shop (as well as the cake). This cafe is known for its cake and it does not disappoint!

The wonderful Viki everyone, she ordered a Victoria Sponge which looked amazing :)

In conclusion to this blog post I leave you with an A.A Milne quote that was hanging up in the cafe and was something that took me and Viki a while to understand in which, after saying the quote with different voices and emphasis on different words she then replied "yeah, I still don't get it" and I'm not too sure if I do either...

God bless,

All my love,