Blog Crushes 02

Kimberley is crushing on..... Glasgowfashiongirl

You would hardly believe that Glasgowfashiongirl has only just celebrated her blog's first birthday. She is a girl with inimitable style that oozes fun, colour and print. I guarantee you cannot out- pattern this girl! I adore the way she layers and always enjoy seeing what she puts together next. 
In fact I follow her on Instagram too for my daily fix <3


Helen is Crushing on......Honey Pop

I've decided to go with another Glasgow based blogger for my pick. What can I say, I love a theme. I also love catching up with Honey Pop, aka Amanda's, awesome blog. I mean, just look at that hair! A fellow Karen Mabon scarf lover, Amanda uses her blog to big up Scottish designers and independent brands with wishlists, event coverage and outfit posts. I love her three ways to wear posts and her extensive collection of fabulous accessories. 
You can also catch her on Twitter and Instagram, #pinkhairdontcare all the way! 
 

What Helen Wore: GSA Degree Show

Tshirt dress | Hayley Scanlan
Sunglasses | Giant Vintage
Boots | Charity shop
Eye ring | Cheap Frills
Hand rings | Made by me

I made a quick visit to Glasgow at the weekend to see the Glasgow School of Art degree show. I thought such a cultural afternoon deserved a fancy outfit so I broke out my new Hayley Scanlan tshirt dress. I love it so much and already have a tonne of different ideas of how I want to style it. For this outfit I went for plain and simple monochrome to really show it off. It was so perfect for the nice weather as the fabric is super light and airy. The boots, on the other hand, weren't the best choice for the heat but at least they were comfy to walk in.

After a look round the exhibition Ross and I headed out to the Riverside Museum to snap some pictures. The building is pretty impressive, with it's shaped roof and reflective surfaces, and it worked very well as a back drop for these amazing sunglasses. I was lucky enough to win them in the Dear Thirty birthday giveaway and have been waiting for the perfect opportunity to wear them ever since. I finished off the whole look with some awesomely creepy rings. I am obsessed with eyes so I love this Cheap Frills one and the hands were made as part of a jewellery class I attended. One of the jewellers at the degree show had some similar (but infinitely better) pieces on display, which I absolutely loved. I really wish I had a bottomless pit of money for attending these shows!








Been to any interesting exhibitions or shows recentley? Do share...

Photo kudos to Ross Bull, always on hand to capture my silly faces.

What Kimberley Wore: Mademoiselle Macaron

Top | Topshop
Vest Top (underneath) | New Look
Skirt | Primark
Handbag | Zara
Shoes | Primark
Earrings | Cheap Frills

It is finally, finally hot and sunny in Scotland. Hooray! I am living out my dream of dressing like a tropical holiday ad. Got my oversized palm leaves and pineapples in various incantations- throw me a watermelon and a couple of coconuts and I'm ready to go.

I have had this pineapple- in- sunglasses crop top for a few years now but I always felt self conscious wearing it. Now that crops have crept into everyone's wardrobe I feel it's a shame to put it to waste. It helps that this seasons waist lines are higher to balance out the belly. This skirt is a pretty simple shape but it's actually a comfortable length and make my legs look looong. Yay!
I doubled up on pineapples- because you can't have too many pineapples!- with my glittery Cheap Frills earrings. I wore them to the Etsy Craft Party too.

I wore this Zara blogger favourite handbag a lot last year but I love it so much I dragged it out again. It's the perfect size for all my girl crap.



I wore this outfit to the seaside, but also on a trip to Mademoiselle Macaron in Edinburgh. It was the perfect girl date outfit and room enough for extra treats.
It was the first time in about 7 years that I ventured outside without any kind of jacket.. so of course it rained. A lot. This did give us the perfect excuse to spend a good 4 hours eating cake and gossiping with Vicky from Vivid Please and Mademoiselle Macaron herself- see our review from Friday here!

Madamoiselle Macaron

The day after the Etsy Craft party, we met up with Vicky from Vivid Please over cake and coffee and we decided to check out Mademoiselle Macaron's new boutique just off Lothian Road in Edinburgh. The premise is simple- a little of Paris in Scotland. It's such a sweet, stylish little shop with every flavour of macaron your heart could desire, as well as some pretty fancy cream eclairs. You can also check out the lovely designs of the dressmaker in residence, La Robe a Caro. There is a mini Eiffel Tower and plush chaise longues to recline on while you daintily fill yourself with treats. You can also take home a selection of treats or an amazing macaron tower!



As the Scottish weather did its favourite trick of turning from sweltering heat to monsoon rain in a matter of hours, we hid inside drinking gallons of tea- and sampling all the flavours- to keep us going. We tried pistachio, chocolate, raspberry, gingerbread, earl grey, salted caramel, and the legendary chocolate and passion fruit. It is a dream combination!
Mademoiselle Macaron is a delight herself- a real pro at patisserie and also a dab hand at Tinder app, giving us plenty of swiping tips during our afternoon of gossip!



This shop is a gem of a find and you will definitely find us there again soon!

What Helen Wore: Hayley Scanlan Pop Up

Scarf | Karen Mabon
Playsuit | Miss Selfridge via Ebay
Boots | Zara
Bag | New Look
Necklace | Me & Zena
Skull Ring | Datter Industries
Brain Ring | VeraMeat

Here's what I wore for my trip to Dundee to visit the Hayley Scanlan pop up shop. I love this playsuit because it's so colourful and really rather comfortable to wear. Unfortunately it does tend to get a little wrinkled if I've been sitting down for a while, which is something I tend to do a lot. I really must learn to take outfit photos at the start of the day!

After treating myself to something from the pop up shop, Ross and I headed for a little walk up by the observatory. Unfortunately Kimberley couldn't make it trough for the event so Ross was my stand in blogging partner for the day. We clambered through a graveyard and sauntered across a bright blue bridge, snapping photos along the way.



I paired my playsuit with some black tights and boots as there were a few clouds and drops of rain to contend with. I also added one of my Karen Mabon scarves, worn as a hat thing (or at least that's what Ross named it). It was supposed to be turban style but it went a bit out of shape after trying stuff on at the pop up shop. I do love experimenting with different ways to wear my collection of pretty scarves, even if some experiments work out better than others.



Adorning my nails are some awesome decals from DIY Nails and Nancy Mc collaboration. Such a cute set of randomness and so easy to use. Perfect for when I want something extra on my nails but don't have the time to do it myself.

Hayley Scanlan Pop Up

On Saturday I nipped through to Dundee for Hayley Scanlan's one day pop up shop in Debenhams. It's really nice to have events happening so close to home and, being a fan of Hayley's designs, I knew I couldn't miss out on this one. Hayley is a fashion designer from Dundee and I love that she's stayed in the city rather than heading off to the bright lights of London. Having creative people like her about really helps to give this small city a buzz and, with the V&A coming to town, things can only get better.



Christina Miller was hosting a Q&A with the designer where Hayley shared her story so far, along with the inspiration behind her newest collection 'Love me Tender'. Her muse was the amazing Alabama from the movie True Romance. I love this film and Alabama, played by Patricia Arquette, rocks some fabulous outfits in it. Hayley's collection takes elements of the characters wardrobe and mixes them with some stunning fabrics and the perfect spring/summer shades.


   

After the Q&A I headed down to have a closer look at some of the items for sale and fell pretty hard for the polka dot mesh pieces. The polka dot frill skirt was the perfect figure hugging shape and the frill top was ever so pretty. I didn't think I could get away with these pieces, what with my shorter, rounder physic, but I found an armful of other items to take to the changing room. I ended up treating myself to a lightweight tshirt dress that will be great for summer. I cannot wait to style it up so I'm sure you'll be seeing it on here soon.

I really enjoyed this event and getting a chance to see the designer and their clothes in person. I've been following Hayley's collections online for quite some time. I've loved them all but I'd never thought of ordering anything from her online shop. I'm a big fan of  independent designers but when it comes down to it I end up buying most of my clothing from the high street. I rely on being able to try items on before handing over my cash and enjoy the excitement of taking a new purchase home rather than waiting for it to arrive in the post. This is where pop up shops come into their own and create a great opportunity to try more unusual and unique designs in a way that suits my shopping style.  I would love to see more of this in cities across the country and really hope I can make it along to few more this year. If you know of any please do give me a heads up.

Edinburgh Etsy Craft Party #EETCraft

This time last week we were all excited about attending the Edinburgh Etsy Craft Party. This was part of a worldwide event where crafty types gathered together for creativity, cakes and wine. This years theme was all about bringing new life to old photos with embroidery and embellishment. The Edinburgh soiree was held in The Haven, an adorable little cafe that was all ours for the evening. The decor was so pretty with vintage mirrors and suitcases adorning walls and shelves.





Upon arrival we were presented with a fabulous goodie bag, a glass of fizz and all the supplies we'd need for the night. The event was expertly organised by the leaders of the Edinburgh Etsy team - Vicky, Zyzanna and Fiona. They made us feel super welcome as we got comfy at our table, where we were presented with an excellent array of vintage photographs to choose from. After we'd decided which ones we wanted to embellish most of the evening was spent deep in concentration as we tried to bring the images to life, while not stabbing ourselves with needles or pins. We didn't quite succeed at the last part but we did manage to find time to eat tasty cake and chat with the lovely ladies at our table. Just look at their awesome handiwork. That mermaid tail is amazing!



The excitement didn't end with the crafting and the company though. There was also the thrill of opening up all the little parcels in our goodie bags. For starters the bags themselves were rather special, featuring the poster from the event with this rather sassy lady.



Then inside there was all of this!!



That's one super special Etsy tee, a bag of Vivid Please stationary, teeny tiny bunting by Fiona Heather, some Jolly Good postcards, a tasty mallow by The Marshmallow Lady, a parcel of prettiness from ClaireabelleMakes, adorable jewels by Paper Bureaucracy and an illustrated brooch handmade by Zyzanna. Phew! What a lot of treasure!

And if you didn't make it along to the party you don't have to feel left out. Vivid Please are holding a giveaway with a chance to win your very own goodie bag.