5 Ingredients for a Grown Up Sleep Over

Remember the days of sleepovers? Those occasions when you got to have a group of your friends over for the night. You'd get to stay up late, have a midnight feast and play truth or dare. Just because we're grown ups now doesn't mean we need to miss out on those girly fun times. With just a few simple changes a childish past time can be transformed into a grown up girls night in.


1. Cocktails and Wine
Now we're old enough, we can enjoy a few drinks in a responsible and slightly classier manner. We've learned a bit about what constitutes a good wine and what combinations make classic cocktails. It's all done with ladylike flair and some extremely stylish LSA glasses. Just pretend you didn't notice that our cocktails came out of cans.

2. Flashback Films
Now that we're a bit older we have a larger film catalogue to reminisce over. We recommend picking something from the following list:

• Classic rom-coms - You've Got Mail, Pretty Woman, Sleepless in Seattle, When Harry Met Sally
• Childhood favourites - Labyrinth, Wizard of Oz, 
• Teenage crushes - for us that's Ashton Kutcher and Sean William Scott in Dude Where's My Car.
• Current crushes - got to be Ryan Gosling in...well, anything.
• Girly fashion filled films - Confessions of a Shopaholic, Devil Wear Pranda, Clueless.

3. Goodies, and lots of them
We're in charge of the shopping list so we get to pick what we want. We can go all out on a theme, be healthy with humus and carrot sticks or just pick a selection of our favourite cakes and have our own afternoon evening  tea.

4. Classic Tunes
You've had a few wines and you're in the company of your best girls, it's now time to chill out to some of your favourite tunes from yesteryear. On our playlist you'll find:
TLC | No Scrubs
Wheatus | Teenage Dirtbag
OkGo | Get Over It
The whole of the Dirty Dancing Soundtrack

5. Lots to Catch Up On
Something that will never change about sleepovers will be staying up into the wee hours of the morning gossiping. The topics of conversation may have changed- now it's all work, weddings and blogging- but it's always great to catch up. And at least now your mum won't bang on the door and tell you all to keep the noise down.

Styled by Kimberley: Florals

Dress | Oasis

Jacket | H&M

Shoes | Clarks

Bag | Zara
Belt | Dorothy Perkins

I always wear quite preppy outfits so I wanted to put together something much more casual for summer days.

I bought this dress and denim jacket so long ago that I'd pretty much forgotten I had them! There wasn't much of a summer in Scotland last year so they didn't have an outing. Not this year, though! I'm determined to get them out- even if it is on a slightly damp day in May with tights and a bit of a shiver as accessories.

It's a real shame our weather is even wetter than usual because this dress has such a beautiful back to it- I want to show it off!

I suppose if the bad weather persists I can still twirl around inside my house wearing it.

Styled by Helen: Florals

Dress | Topshop
Coat | Charity Shop
Boots | Zara
Hairband | Topshop
Necklace | Charity Shop
Watch | Urban Outfitters

Ahh... Scottish summer. You are forever up and down, in the morning the sun is out but by the afternoon it's raining. And so it is that every summer outfit must come with emergency layers. My plans were to wear this flowery dress and hairband combo alone but the chilly breeze meant I had to add my sludge coat to keep a bit of heat in. It's amazing how a coat and boots can completely change the look of an outfit. These additions meant my outfit went from summery to autumnal in a matter of minutes. I then decided it was best to just role with it and added the most wintry necklace I could find. If you're going to mix seasons you may as well combine as many as possible.





Do you have any tips for dressing appropriately for changeable weather? Or are you lucky enough to live in a more steady climate?

What Helen Wore: Shopping

Coat / Warehouse
Tshirt / Brat & Suzie
Jeans / New Look
Bag and Scarf / H&M
Shoes / Clarks
Cat Ring / Lazy Oaf
Pencil Brooch / Rock Cakes
Pin Badge / Vanilla Ink Kickstarter reward

This is what I wore to do a spot of shopping around Edinburgh. Comfort was key, so I picked my Clarks shoes and some casual separates  I also went for a few easily removed layers to keep me warm while outside but also so I didn't have to faff too much in the changing rooms.

A big handbag is a shopping essential for me. It means I can carry all the crap I need (such as purse, bottle of juice, camera, etc), store those extra layers while in shops and still have room for any purchases. Carrying any new buys in my bag means there's no chance of me leaving them on a train or in a cafe. It's never happened to me yet, but I do like to take preventative measures where ever possible.




Do you have any tips for easy shopping style?

What Kimberley Wore: Shopping

Jacket / Vero Moda at Swish Edinburgh

Blouse / Zara

Jeans / Primark

Shoes / Clarks

Bag / Zara

Scarf / H&M

Rings / Topshop

Nails / No 7  Tangy

I love this simple outfit for a miserable wet and windy day like this one. And it's the perfect recipe for shopping; easy separates for trying on tops with your own bottoms (and vice versa), and slip on shoes. It's all about the turn- around time in the fitting room!

I despise jeans shopping so if I find a pair I like I buy multiples. My sister is the same size as me and introduced me to these Super Skinny jeans- she bought me three pairs. It's the best gift ever but I do think people assume I'm wearing the same pair every day!

There's Always Time For Tea

Shopping can be hard work, so a little break to refuel and relax is always welcome. Kimberley had promised to take me to a very cute French style tea room and I was not disappointed. Délices de Mademoiselle is located on Grove Street and has a lovely shabby chic interior. It may be that little bit further away from Edinburgh's main shopping areas but it was definitely worth making the trip.

Everything on the menu was very reasonably priced and there was a great selection of lunch time treats. I opted for a basic tuna sandwich, while Kim went for the fancier Croques Monsieur. I accompanied my lunch with a latte, which came with a straw. A little bizarre but it tasted good. I loved all the little touches, like the antique looking label around the water bottle and the pretty plate of french biscuits in the window.

For afters (there should always be afters) we went all blogger cliché and opted for macarons. We got to pick our choice of flavours and they even came with a side of cream and sprinkles. Sprinkles are always a winner in my book. I can't remember what flavours I opted for but they were both very tasty.

I enjoyed the atmosphere and how friendly this quite tea room was. The food was great value for money and both Kim and I left feeling refreshed and ready for shopping: round 2. More on that tomorrow...

Have you tried Délices de Mademoiselle's? Where are your favourite places to rest and refuel when shopping?

Funk Fair

Last weekend the Funk Fair was in town, at Cafe Camino in Edinburgh, and these two ladies couldn't help but skip along and check it out.  There was a great mix of vintage and handmade treats on offer and we had a lot of fun looking around all of the packed stalls. So many bright colours and jazzy patterns!

Each stall offered something different and it was great rummaging in the vintage suitcases and ohhing and ahhing over the pretty jewellery. Helen was especially drawn to the Eclectic Shock stall and loved the large bee ring. While Kimberley was attracted to the beautifully curated vintage stall which featured a rather fabulous flower bag.

While these items didn't quite make their way home with us (unfortunately), we did find some other wonderful wee bargains.

Helen treated herself to this lovely spotty blouse. An absolute bargain at only £3 and it will be perfect for warm summer days (if we ever get any). Kimberley splashed a bit more cash and bought a very cute apron by Mhairi Gray, to help her fulfil her dreams of being a domestic goddess.

As you can see, there's nothing we love more than rifling through piles of clothing and jewellery. But we definitely have two very different styles of searching:

-Helen methodically roots through racks for hidden gems and carefully considers every purchase. And then reconsiders, and then considers some more. Even if it is a £3 shirt. It's very important that each purchase will fit into her wardrobe.

-Kimberley makes a magpie-like beeline for anything patterned or sparkly and sees potential in even the outrageous. Sometimes too outrageous.
Often too outrageous.
She needs to be restrained. This is why she has Helen.

What's your fair shopping style?

Styled by Kimberley: Monochrome

Top / H&M

Skirt / H&M

Blazer / Amsterdam

Shoes / Office

Rings / Topshop

Seven tops in my wardrobe suggest that I like a Breton stripe. So when I saw this striped skirt, I thought it was the perfect alternative. However, it is also far too easy for me to wear it with a black top, black tights, black shoes, black, black, drab, drab, drab.

Spots, stripes, animal print- monochrome makes any pattern accessible. Forget accents though- I'm going for bold blocks of each colour. What I think separates monochrome as a look rather than just a drab black outfit is an unusual use of the white. In my case it was my masculine white shoes:

Along with the graffiti-style t shirt, the shoes toughen up the look and stop it being too office-y. Not that I won't be wearing this to the office- it's too good to save for weekends!

Another reason I'm championing monochrome is how easy it is to mix and match! As long as you have a couple of key items you can re-wear it with any items of black and white you like.

I think next time I'll dial it up a notch with a punch of vibrant fluoro or splash of spring pastels.

In the meantime, keep up the monochrome love, fellow Hamburglers!