Big City Dreams.

Hello my dear readers!

I must firstly apologise for the absence of my posting, I feel so guilty for abandoning my blog  for nearly 2 months but as some of you may know from before I have moved to another country!

So, yes I am now currently living in Madrid. I moved here on 21st September so have been here almost 3 weeks now. The weather's been glorious, about 25-29 degrees everyday, although it has now got to the rain stage booo.

Me and Phil at the Sol Metro

I'm here on my year abroad for university on a placement through the British Council teaching kids english in a bilingual primary school. The level of the kids english is insane to think how young they are. I'm teaching Years 1,2 and 3 (ages 5-8) this term and will be moving to the older kids after christmas. The kids are really cute, fairly well behaved but they do get excited easily!

Madrid itself is beautiful, there's so much to see, but is is SO expensive! Nights out here are a laugh too, always something going on! Finding a flat was a challenge, it took me and Alex 2 weeks to find somewhere decent. Everything seemed to small, too far out, too expensive or too minging! Now that I have a flat I feel I have abit more stability and can get myself into a proper routine. The hardest challenge for me really is being away from my boyfriend, I miss him so much and would love to be sharing this experience with him but I know we can go back and forth to see each other. I've booked my first trip home for November and I can't wait to go back and see him and my family and friends for some home comforts!

 Heres a few snapshots from so far!

By far my favourite find here!

 Parque del Oeste

 So many pugs in Madrid, I'm in heaven!

Templo de Deblod

Huelga General in Retiro

♥

officially now 21

Hello my lovely dears !

Again, sorry for the lack of updates, I've had a very busy past few weeks what with it having been my 21st birthday and also my boyfriend's the following week ! Unfortunately I didn't manage to get my beloved dress from my previous posts from Nasty Gal as when I went to order it, it said SOLD! As you can imagine I was hugely disappointed as I'd had my heart set on it. Fear not I found a wonderful replacement in this little number from Topshop, that I purchased in the Oxford Circus branch in London.

I was lucky enough to receive not only one, but two gifts from Tiffany's for my birthday. The 'return to Tiffany's heart tag charm bracelet' and a Tiffany's heart key pendant. It was so great to receive such classic presents as I didn't previously have any special pieces of jewellery before and it made me feel pretty special! I also received a gorgeous angel wing's necklace from Thomas Sabo from my best friend which she informed me signified hope and light, I will definitely be thinking of her and our great friendship when I wear it!

These are the two Tiffany's items below in case you wanted to have a peek!

excuse the scar, I burned myself on a baking tray like a fool!

I had a great week of celebrations, starting with a meal with my bestest friends at the Italian restaurant, Bibi's where we all ate, drank and were merry, and enjoyed some entertainment from an Abba tribute act (hilarious i might add). The following day I went to a Japanese restaurant called Little Tokyo's in town with my mum, stepdad, auntie and my boyfriend. The food was amazing as always, I love a good bento box. Then the following night I had drinks and a buffet at my house along with my amazing birthday cupcakes that I made with my mum before heading out into Leeds for a night out with my friends, from which most of the pictures below are from. After that I spent the weekend at my dad's in Wilmslow and had a great time over there, I feel that this truly was a special birthday.

The princess cupcakes that me and my mum made ourselves completely from scratch !

Oh and a tip for the girls, I used the Nadine eyelashes from the Girls Aloud collection for Eyelure which I must say are FANTASTIC. I received so many compliments about them, and the best one was that they looked so natural. A definite reccommended product !

So now I feel that I've reached the all important age. An adult. A decision maker for real this time. At this moment it only stands to be just over a month before I move away to Madrid for 9 months for my year abroad for universirty. I'm feeling somewhat unprepared and feel I still have a lot to do.. one being checking out what shops there are for me to spend my hard-earned money in whilst I'm there !

I'll leave you with some pictures from my birthday, next post following soon!

♥

Summer of Love ♥

Summer is well and truly in full swing as we all know, so what better way to feel good about the gorgeous weather and the great clothes that summer brings, than reading the latest issue of online based Cellardoor Magazine!

 The Summer of Love issue is the 4th production by the Cellardoor team and is full of great reads for a hot summer's day, including an interview with Wildfox! It has a great girlie vibe to it and definitely does not disappoint if you're looking for fashion advice, choice and something intellectual to read. The girls have worked so hard on producing such a great read it is a must for every girl to check out this summer!

Take a look at the issue right here !

Look out for the next autumn issue coming September 2010!

♥

soon to be twenty one..

So guys, it's exactly 14 days til my 21st birthday, yep 2 weeks how scary!!

I've decided to start looking for a dress and came across this gorgeous dress by Nasty Gal.
I'm thinking of getting it but want some of your lovely fashionista opinions to spur me on!

Dress, Nasty Gal

I love the draping effect, and the combination of tye-dye and grey completely won me over.

You can check out Nasty Gal's latest collection right here!

Let me know what you think! Feel free to share your alternatives/suggestions/accessories to go with it!

♥ Francesca.

Style Icon: Nicole Richie

One of my all time style icons growing up has certainly been Miss Richie. Ever since I was a teenager I always thought she was cool, and dressed great.

Nicole always manages to pull off such effortless style, even when pregnant she has always looked stunning in my view. Nicole frequently is complimented on her boho style, her long healthy locks and her girl next door looks.

Despite Nicole's hectic life and ups and downs she can always be proud of one thing at least, her great outfits (and her gorgeous jewellery collection)!

Who are your fashion style icons?

♥

total eclipse of the heart.

Hey guys!

So last weekend I was fortunate enough to attend one of the preview showings of The Twilight Saga: Eclipse at the Odeon, Kings Road, London.

Th film itself was visually stunning, followed the plotline of the original book fairly well but obviously still left quite abit out. As my favourite book of the 4, I had high expectations of what it was going to be like and whilst it didn't disappoint, at the same time I wasn't completely blown away.

In Vanity Fair's July issue, the lovely vampire ladies were featured in an interview joined by the one girl member of the wolf pack.

Stunning picture I think.

Read the whole interview and watch the video online here!

4th July Fever ♥

 

Yesterday, millions of Americans celebrated their independence day, with it being the 4th July but the celebrations did not stop there!

As I was kindly informed by Alice @ Alice through the Looking Glass there was an American Independence Day Themed Event running at the Whiteley's Shopping Centre in Baywater, London.

The main feature of the event was the Wildfox Sample Sale in the Pop Store, the first of it's kind to hit the UK, with lines at upto 75% off their original prices, I was too excited about this to miss it and had to go and check it out seeing as I am in London this month only !

After speaking to one of the guys at the Pop Store, he told me the event will be running for another week, so I definetely wanted to make sure you guys are aware it is still on so get yourselves down and snap yourself a little treat up!

Whiteleys Shopping Centre

151 Queensway
London W2 4YL

There are some great pieces to be had at such a great discount! It also featured some LnA items, and a few other brands that have been discounted too.

I snapped up this little beauty for myself, as I've wanted one for ages I was rather pleased with my purchase!

I hope you all had great 4th of July's! Until next time, ♥

Ukrainian Standard.

I'm sure i speak on behalf of everyone when I say we are all partial to a cheeky drink or two, so bear in mind how a young gentleman living in the UK felt when he discovered he was an heir to a vodka factory!

Upon discovering his historical background through reading his grandmothers diaries, filmmaker Daniel Edelstyn is putting together a series which is destined to become a full-length feature film scheduled to broadcast in the UK on More4 at some point in 2011.

With short reenactments and a humorous voiceover, Dan Edelstyn’s journey is fascinating, as he attempts to import, brand, and then distribute his vodka worldwide. Already in talks with heavyweight distributors Zorokovich 1917 Vodka is destined to become a brand recognised on both sides of the Atlantic.

Definitely worth a watch, Dan's journey provides entertainment on all levels, especially with his passion for his roots and the faith he manages to restore in the locals with the wealth and personality that he brings to the village, and the bridges he is building towards the future.

If you're a sucker for a feel good story, this is definitely for you!

Check out all the full details and catch the first episode where he begins his journey and more on the Babelgum website...

HOW TO RE-ESTABLISH A VODKA EMPIRE

DAN EDELSTYN

Big Love ♥

Hello my gorgeous readers!

I'm really sorry I've hardly been posting/commenting on your blogs as of late. I've had a crazy past month with sorting out arrangements for next year and my laptop still hasn't been fixed :(. As some of you may know from previous posts I'm going to Madrid at the end of September to go and teach english in a primary school, as part of my uni degree! Also, I'm currently in London doing some PR work experience too, based near the Shoreditch area, which is pretty cool! Busy busy, I will be doing some outfit/beauty posts when I get back to Leeds at the end of the month!

So, to update you all, I've now had my confirmation email for Spain and am feeling pretty nervous/excited now!

The nearest place to where I'm going to be is a little place called Alcala de Henares, a historical site with a university, (this is good as I have places to visit now yippeee) which looks a little something like this:

Cervantes Square

I also very luckily was able to visit the gorgeous place that is Barcelona in June! As an early 21st birthday present my mum bought me a ticket to go to the famous Sonar festival, which for those of you that don't know is a dance/electronic kinda festival.

 I went with my very good friend Charlotte and we managed to find a very cheap lovely hostel which turned out to have very camp decor inside much to our amusement!

This is the view from our balcony:

Mary Anne Hobbs

 

Flying Lotus

 Caspa&MC Rod Azlan

 

Placa Espanya

I had an absolutely brilliant time even though I was only there for 4 days!! I reccommend Barcelona to anyone, but make sure you go for long enough and take enough money to go and do all the touristy things! I did have more pictures but these were the best really as all I'm using at the moment is my iPhone!

Has anyone else been to any festivals this year or has plans to? 

Ta-ra for now! ♥

tell us your story..

 Hola fellow bloggers!


This is a little blog post to raise awareness for the Tell Us Your Story campaign lanched by Aviva. 
Please if you can, make an entry or post a link to the campaign on your blog too, it would be greatly appreciated ! The link to the website is included in the post :) 

Showing support for this type of cause is so important in helping out those who are less fortunate than ourselves.


Thanks for taking the time to read, until next time !

The Campaign
Tell Us Your Story is giving people the opportunity to recognise and reward others who have made a positive impact on their lives or in their community over the past year. Entries are submitted online at http://www.avivatellusyourstory.co.uk/ <http://www.avivatellusyourstory.co.uk/>
Launched by Aviva, for every entry they will donate £1 to the Street to School Programme - a global initiative with the aim of reaching 500,000 children worldwide, helping them get off the streets and back into education.
A weekly prize of £1000 will also be awarded to the local hero that captures the hearts of visitors to the site and receives the most votes.  One overall winner will be chosen by a celebrity judging panel for a prize worth £10,000.
We have a widget available that you can place on your blog to show your support for the campaign and encourage your readers to enter.


Further Information:
About Street to School:
Railway Children is the UK charity partner for the Street to School programme.
Railway Children is the only charity working across the UK with vulnerable children.
Every year in the UK, 100,000 children run away because they’re unwanted, unloved or abused and many are never reported missing. 

Day Out

Hello my lovely readers! First of all I must apologise for my lack of posting, my laptop is currently broken and has been for the past 3 weeks so getting on here isn't as easy as before !

Just a small post on a wonderful day out I spent with my amazing boyfriend Gavin for our anniversary celebrating 4 years together !

Gavin decided to take us to the gorgeous little city of York. For those of you who have never been or haven't heard of it, you definitely should check it out given a chance. Its a small university city in the north of England which boasts a fair amount of historical sights and attractions.

We spent a fair amount of time looking around the shops where i was bought a Cath Kidston cover for my iphone which is so pretty! As you can see from the pictures it was a gorgeous sunny day with  clear skies in some parts!

York Minster

As you can see, there are some gorgeous gothic looking buildings to be seen in York, the minster being one of the main ones !

We also stopped for afternoon tea and toasties :)

 We also visited the York Dungeons which is fairly pricey, but still worth one visit! The hosts take you around little dingy corridors and through darkened rooms to get the feel of historic times in the city of York. Its quite a fun experience unless they pick on you!

Even though i do want to move to America eventually, i really do think England has some great little places to visit, with great views. It really makes you appreciate what is around you and the history of places you have grown up near to. I definitely feel I haven't seen enough of England despite living here for 21 years! Travel is something I definetely believe in and can't understand why some people have never left their hometowns? Strange.


Next post will be on the nail polishes and lip products as previously promised!
Until next time my lovelies! ♥

every vote counts... or does it?

Well well, today the general elections arrived and it's the first time I have been able to vote. I'm not saying who I voted for because it's always going to have opposing opinions and I'll probably end up causing an online argument haha.

I found it extremely difficult choosing a party that I feel is going to salvage this country from the appalling state the economy currently finds itself in, and also one that is going to benefit my future. There's downsides to all of the parties manifestos. 

After a little difficulty locating my polling station (I went into the wrong one and was turned away in front of a line of students haha) I marked my 'X' in the box and prayed it makes a difference and gets rid of the tool that is Gordon Brown.

Pixie Geldof voting today, image from Love Magazine.

Days like today make me think about how so many votes are wasted, from people not caring or from people randomly choosing simply because they genuinely don't know who to vote for. It's such a massive change, all down to one mark on a piece of paper. Politicians have bad reps for not being trusted so how on earth are you supposed to know who to vote for?

I'll be watching the channel 4 alternative election night for a laugh and to stay positive, and we will all see by tomorrow whether it will be a Labour, Conservative or Liberal Democrat government !

Hope you all voted !