CHARITY SHOPPING FINDS #1

CHARITY SHOPPING FINDS #1

I would just like to quickly say a big thank you for everybody who has taken the time to read my blog - my page views went up by 1000 the day I posted my "Body Image and Self Confidence" post and I had so many lovely comments from people! So, thank you! It means a lot! xo

Anyway...

Charity shopping... not everyone's cup of tea, but that's only because they've never done it properly! I absolutely LOVE charity shopping. Granted, some of the clothes are a bit tatty, they smell a bit funny and some of them have very questionable stains on... but don't let that stop you!

I have found some absolute beauties whilst charity shopping and I want to share them with you to encourage you that it's not "gross" or "cheap".

If you go into a charity shop looking for something, you will not find it; The key to charity shopping is to have an open mind. Another thing you will have to do it actually look through everything. I knoooow that is time consuming and 99% of the items you sieve through are not things you would buy, but that makes finding something even more rewarding! Obviously we are all human and the thought of looking through hundreds of items of clothing is not appealing, but when you're on a budget and you want to go shopping, you can go wild on £20!

I also love to mix cheap items I have found whilst charity shopping with some expensive items when planning an outfit. I think it makes it more unique.

Another good thing about charity shopping is that you will always find "one off" pieces in there. I have found some really unique shirts, jackets etc. and it's nice to know nobody else will be wearing the same thing as you when you go out! 

Finally, it's for CHARITY! So if you're feeling bad about spending money, don't! You haven't been shopping, you've been donating to charity! (That's what I tell myself anyway!)

CLOTHING

I found this genuine Levi's jacket in Oxfam for £3.50!
It's an absolute classic item of clothing and goes with pretty much every outfit.

You can chuck it on a "dressy" outfit to make it more casual if you're feeling over dressed.

In the summer it's nice to wear in the evenings over a summer dress or a floral shirt when it starts to get chilly and in the winter you can wear it with a dress and thick tights.

I also love wearing denim with a bold print to mix up the fabrics and not make a bold item of clothing look OTT!

A denim jacket is timeless and will never go out of fashion. Charity shops are full of them!

I found this AMAZING mohair coat in Cancer Research the other day. I was absolutely OVER THE MOON.

I'd had my eye on a few of the mohair coats in Topshop but they were pushing on £100 for one coat... I don't like to spend a lot of money on one thing so I always take my time when thinking about buying something quite expensive!

This coat is exactly like the Topshop ones that are on trend at the moment, but it only cost me £6.50! 

Again, it's another timeless piece and will never go out of fashion.

I really like the navy blue colour as I think it goes with my blonde hair quite nicely!

Now I realise not everybody will like this jacket, but I am obsessed with it! It's actually reversible and when I first saw it on the rail it was on the plain black side, but I was staring at it for ages trying to work out why the poppers at the top seemed strange! After a minute, it clicked that it was reversible and I turned it inside out and was SO happy!

I absolutely love the paisley pattern and it is denim material too which is just amazing.
This is also an example of a "one off" piece that can be found. I would just wear this jacket with a black outfit (I usually just wear black!) or maybe some white with it to match the paisley.
I usually wear gold jewellery, but with this jacket I would convert to silver to match the buttons.
This amazing jacket was only £6.50!

 

Now, actual clothing isn't the only thing you can get from charity shops, you can also get some amazing accessories! I have rarely found nice jewellery, I won't lie... but SCARVES. I think I have a slight problem! They are always so, so cheap which makes it all too tempting! Plus they usually have some sort of deal on scarves, like 3 for 2 or something like that. These two cheeky tartan scarves were found in one of the charity shops in my town. They were only £2 each, but I did get them separately otherwise I probably would have got some sort of deal.
Tartan is absolutely everywhere at the moment and "bang on trend" - I was completely chuffed with these finds. 
In the summer, I also really enjoy floral/vintage looking scarves to put in my hair. They are always soooo cheap and literally every charity shop has a basket full! So you're always going to find one you like! I've actually got 16 of these alone... slightly unnecessary!

HOMEWARE

For those of you that just can't bring yourselves to wear second hand clothes or purchase a hat that used to rest on the head of an elderly woman, we have HOMEWARE.

Every charity shop will have a section that is just full of "bits and bobs" that you can use around your home. Sometimes you can even find furniture if you're in a big enough store, but if that isn't an option, there will ALWAYS be homeware and most of it is brand new. (Sometimes high street shops that haven't sold their stock will give it away to charity shops)

I absolutely love 'vintage' looking, floral things but I just couldn't have it as the theme for my entire bedroom because I'm not very girly! So, I have a white bookcase in my bedroom that holds all of my girly, floral things!

Most of these things are from my Mum (cutie) who knows I have this little theme for my bookcase and she always keeps an eye out!

This is the most recent little gift from my Mum - I am forever collecting cute little boxes to keep trinkets, hairbands and jewellery in; My Mum saw this and thought of me straight away.

It's a heart shaped little box with a really cute, old looking floral pattern on it.

At the moment there are some Haribo tangfastics in it that I still haven't eaten from Christmas!

I'm not entirely sure how much this cost as my Mum bought it, but little boxes like this are usually around £2. Bargain!

Something else I like to collect is little glass jars! They are always ridiculously cheap in charity shops and they can be used for anything! My Mum also has a few of these in her room and we both use one to keep cotton wool in.I also have a few that I put bobby pins in (hair pins, I know people have different names for them!) and hair bands.

Again, very cheap. This cost me 99p!

Another little floral box below, this one has my guitar plectrums in! This cost me 99p too.

I think this little floral bucket is the cutest thing ever!

Story time...
I was in town with my Mum charity shopping and I was suffering from really bad anxiety that day. I hadn't been into town for a long time so I was feeling nervous and clinging onto my Mum the whole time!
When I was in Cancer Research I found this little bucket and I fell in love with it! (It was only £1.75!)
Unfortunately, anxiety got the better of me and I felt like I was going to faint so I had to put the bucket back and quickly leave. My Mum took me home and I was really upset that anxiety took over again!

A few days later I was sitting at home and my Mum told me to close my eyes - she had gone back to get me the bucket to cheer me up! So sweet of her! Definitely cheered me up.


I wasn't sure what to do with this when I first got it, I just knew I liked it! I toyed with the idea of putting flowers in it, but it didn't seem to be waterproof as it has a bit of wear and tear on the bottom. In the end I decided to just use it to put bits and bobs in there! I've got some hairbrushes and scrunchies and for some reason, a packet of make up wipes!

Well that's just a few charity shop bits I've picked up, I have a lot more but I didn't want to drown you all in charity shopping!
I will more than likely make another charity shopping post in the future as I'm always picking up new bits.
Thanks for reading! xo

BEYONCE ALBUM REVIEW

BEYONCE ALBUM REVIEW

                                     

Beyonce. One of the most powerful and influential women of my time. I have been a fan of her for longer than I can remember! She comes across as a genuinely lovely person, on stage and in her interviews. I was watching one of her shows the other day a fan was so excited he pulled her off the stage and she didn't even kick off! She just told him to calm down and she shook his hand! Amazing.

Firstly, I would just like to say that her newest album, self titled "Beyoncé" is absolutely incredible. Every single song is enjoyable and I can honestly say I have listened to the album all the way through without skipping any songs! 

It's a very sexy album... in her song 'Partition' she actually sings about having sex in the back of a taxi! Yet, only Queen B herself could have a song like that and not sound like a slut! It just makes my girl crush for her stronger.

Each song seems to have a story line and some sort of meaning and I think she had a lot of fun with this album, but there's still Beyoncé's feminist views behind it, girl power etc.

There are so many things I love about this album - one being that although she's made a video for every single song, you don't NEED the videos to enjoy the music. The songs are amazing on their own, but when you add the video it's a completely different feeling. Every video is creatively done and you can tell how much work has been put into it all. 

Some of the videos are "Beyoncé classics" I would say - Pretty Hurts has a clear story line about the pressure women are under to look good and focuses on Beyoncé as she takes part in a beauty pageant. It reminds me a bit of Best Thing I Never Had. Other videos are more creative, such as Ghost which is has a white background throughout and concentrates more on editing techniques.

I can't help but concentrate on the lyrics in 'Mine' as they seem to relate to Beyoncé and the recent stories about herself and Jay Z's relationship being on the rocks...

"Been having conversations about break ups and separations, I'm not feeling like myself since the baby, are we gonna even make it, or?... We're taking this a little too far"

The song also features Drake - this could be a technique to disguise that it's really about Jay? If they used Jay Z I think it would have been too obvious...

Overall, the album is very sexy, powerful and upbeat. I have danced around the kitchen numerous times and I genuinely have it on repeat every day!

I strongly recommend it - it is by far, the best album I have heard, if not ever, then in a very long time!

If you don't believe me, then look at the sales of it. Beyoncé didn't even advertise it, she just released it one day and it still went to No. 1!

Queen B succeeds, yet again. Love her.

PURCHASE ALBUM HERE

BODY IMAGE AND SELF CONFIDENCE

BODY IMAGE AND SELF CONFIDENCE

This blog post is probably going to be a bit of a rant as it's something I feel very passionately about and I just want to get it all out... So, very sorry if I ramble! (which I will)...

Every single day I go on the internet and every single time I see something written about confidence, body issues or "the best body type" - It drives me mental! 

I find it completely bizarre that in this day and age we are STILL debating on what shape or size a woman should be and some of the comments on public pages are absolutely ridiculous.

First of all I want to point out that no matter what shape a woman is (or a man for that matter) if you are HAPPY, that is all that matters. If somebody is overweight, but their weight doesn't bother them, why should they be told to lose weight by complete strangers on social media sites, or by their friends or family for that matter? But at the same time, if somebody is slimmer than the average body shape, again, why should they be told to change themselves? 

The media obviously use slimmer models, and as a larger girl I'm not going to pretend I am offended or try and kick up a fuss about it - obviously we would all want to look like it and I think a lot of the comments people make of models being "too skinny" or "unhealthy" are simply made out of jealously. Obviously there is a difference between being slim and being unhealthy and yes of course sometimes the models we see are actually unhealthy and are too slim. But again, who are we to judge? People often make comments about models starving themselves or having eating disorders, but where is the evidence of this most of the time?

Obviously all these points have been made before and I am not the first one to address such a subject, but recently I have seen so many ridiculous comments, I just wanted to write my own opinion on my own webpage. I am not forcing anybody to read it, I am simply getting this off my chest.

Secondly, I would like to address the "quotes" and certain pictures I see splashed all over the internet. I'm sure I am not the only person who has seen such quotes as "Only dogs go for bones" or pictures of Marilyn Monroe with people commenting on how she is a "real" woman. I see a lot of people referring back to the 50's when obviously curvier women were used, but why does this mean women aren't "real" now?

I've recently seen slimmer girls sticking up for themselves, but not by simply saying that their body shapes are nothing to be ashamed of, but by saying that curvier girls should be ashamed and should lose weight! I think the main issue here is girls. WE NEED TO STOP COMPETING WITH EACH OTHER. We are all in the same boat - everybody is self conscious about something, whether you feel your thighs are too big, your eyes are too close together, or you have a mole you don't like! Nobody is perfect.

I'm not entirely sure what my main point of all this is... I am just writing down a thousands thoughts I have in my head... 

I just want everyone to stop putting so much pressure on other people and themselves about how you should look. I have recently lost 2 stone and although I know I am still overweight, I feel SO much better and I don't feel ashamed about how I look. I went through a stage in my life where I would be embarrassed to see people I hadn't seen in a while and I would HATE the thought of going to a family event because I usually only see my extended family once a year and I would feel under so much pressure. I would even feel embarrassed to see friends even though they would never judge me.

What I'm trying to say is that, if YOU are not happy, then it's time to make a change. If somebody makes a negative comment about you and it genuinely offends you, that means you are not happy with that aspect of your life and you should do something about it. I know how it feels to be constantly targeted about your weight/how you look and how it feels to think it will never change. Well it does. 

I didn't lose weight for other people, I did it for myself because I wasn't happy. Now that I have lost even just a small amount of weight, I feel so much better in myself mentally and physically. I actually enjoy seeing people I haven't seen in a while and I don't dread trying on clothes in shops or going shopping! (I literally used to cry in the changing rooms in shops because I hated myself so much!)

Overall: be happy. If you're happy in yourself, nobody can put you down.

How I used to look (not even my heaviest in that picture) to how I currently look.








Still a long way to go, but you can see a real difference.

(Sorry this was such a ramble, I have been falling asleep all evening) xo

THE PEOPLE OF CHATROULETTE

THE PEOPLE OF CHATROULETTE

I already know what you're thinking. Chatroulette... it has a bad reputation... You're not wrong, but you're not right too. 

One evening I was bored out of my mind and I was curious to see if it still existed. Well it does and it's not as vile as it used to be! 

I personally think Chatroulette is a brilliant idea. Yes, you still get the occasional lonely fellow... (you just skip past them) but there are some absolutely lovely people on this site that genuinely have made me smile. 

I thought it would a really interesting idea to write down some of the people I have met. They have their own lives, jobs and hobbies, yet here we are in the same place at the same time even though we're in completely different countries.

Some people are on there to show off their talents - I have seen musicians, magic tricks and had my mind read. Some people are there to learn about other languages and cultures. Some are simply there to chat. 

Rik, 18, Netherlands

Just broke up with his girlfriend and was feeling down. He had headphones on and was singing to himself to feel better. I encouraged him that they were plenty more fish in the sea.

Pierre, 32, Paris

Had a very nice house (obviously had money, which made me wonder why he was on Chatroulette in the middle of the day on a Wednesday...)
Pharmacist at his local hospital. He goes on Chatroulette to learn about other languages and cultures. 

George, 31, Germany. (George the German)

He is a technician and repairs machines. Speaking German with his friend in the background and laughing hysterically - no idea what about. He was also listening to Katy Perry - Roar. He was just there to chat.

Kamel, 22, Paris

Works in a bank. Wants to teach me French. Kamel has dimples. Taught me how to say "I can't speak French" - Je ne sais pas parler en Francais!

Orkun, Turkey, 28

Graphic designer. Smoking weed on cam with his "clients" - so, so high...

"J", Liverpool, 20

Guitarist in a pop punk band called "Neck Deep". Gave me advice on my singing - to be confident and not care what people think. Originally from Wales. Wants to move to Brighton funnily enough.

Francisco, 20, Portugal

Student studying marketing management. Likes Bon Iver, Arctic Monkeys and Kasabian. We discussed how perfect the guitar at the start of "Underdog" is.

Cameron, 19, Perth, Australia

Discussed the weather and how houses in Australia have aircon but no heaters, but English houses have heaters and no aircon. He has very bad eyesight, anything over 4ft away is completely blurred. He is head of the Australian youth choirand has toured Europe. He used to be a Chef. Ends every sentence with "whatever" but with a higher pitch like every sentence is a question.
He also informed me that in Australia, the Aboriginal community have a huge drinking problem. He donated blood and plasma this week.

Tala, 22, Birmingham

Only has 3 fingers on his right hand because he went swimming with dolphins once and a dolphin bit his finger off. Has a guitar but can't play it.


DISCLAIMER: As you've probably noticed, only men wanted to talk to me. Every girl I tried to start a conversation with clicked "next" - girls are so weird.