Bank Holiday Bliss

Hello readers! I know it's only wednesday but I'm exhausted! I'm currently in my second week of placement at NME magazine in London, and as amazing a time as I'm having (you can read my first article here!), the commuting is really taking it out of me. Luckily I had a Bank Holiday weekend to recharge.

Which my 21st birthday coming up on the 11th, I was well and truly spoilt over the three-day weekend. Firstly on the saturday, I finally got to visit the Cath Kidston factory shop! Anybody who knows me knows I love a floral and a bargain, so where better to visit that the discount store of the absolute godmother of prints. It's not too far from us in St Neots so we had a sneaky peek, and I was sold. Ignore the rubbish phone picture: I wasn't too sure whether taking my SLR was a bit cheeky in a shop so these ones were my best pap efforts.

I was in absolute awe, there were so many goodies on offer! Nothing was really crazy cheap, but if you had your eye on something from last season it was well worth a look: my mum bought a beautiful day bag for £22, reduced from £50. I decided to be good and snap up a few cheaper buys: a pretty pink travelcard holder for £3, and a passport holder for just £1, because it had a bit of a stain on the front. Lots of the more reduced things had slight faults, like bags with broken zips or chipped crockery, but most damage was fairly superficial. I could have gone mad in that homeware section....

In the end, with my birthday coming, my brother decided I might as well have something I really wanted, and bought me this lovely backpack from last season. At first I wasn't too sure if the colour was a bit too rowdy, but having had it in my room for a couple of days I'm ready and raring to pack it with my summer essentials and hit the beach.

My brother's treats didn't stop there - what a spoilt sister I am! On Monday he took me to Jamie's Italian in St Albans for a three course dinner which was seriously impressive. I rarely eat three courses so was stuffed by the end, but it was so worth it!

My Tuscan Bean and Mozzarella on Sourdoughbread toast - poshest beans on toast ever!

Look at the size of Taylors burger!

Prawn and Fennel linguine... I'm now seriously considering adding fennel to every meal I ever have.

Topped off with lemon meringue pie with pistachio crumb - serious food baby.

Every single mouthful was incredible, and the service speedy and polite. Even the apple juice I had with my meal was freshly squeezed and delicious. Would thoroughly recommend.

What did you get up to on your Bank Holiday?

 

Lust List: November

Sorry it's been SO FREAKING LONG since I did one of these! I'm afraid what has been threatening for years has finally occured - academia has taken over my life. Still, I will post as and when I can and come April, I shall be free as a bird. Well, sorta.

Anywhooo, here are some things I have been lusting over recently. From the practical to the simply 'I wish' end of the spectrum, I hope you like my picks!

Gisela Graham Peg Garland – I have no real need for these, I just think they’re really pretty. Maybe I could pin polaroids up on them or little note-to-selfs…

Europe On A Shoestring- With uni stress at an all time high, I think I need to buy this book to remind myself of the lad and I’s summer plans to go interrailing. It might be a long way off but it’d give us both something to look forward to.

Denim Skater Skirt – After buying my first skater skirt for work off ebay a little while ago, I’m really impressed with how flattering they are and am on the look out for some thicker ones for winter.  Denim is definitely the way forward!

Cath Kidston Fluffy Stan Jumper – Like every other girl who runs a blog like mine I have been a long time luster of C-Kiddy clothes, but this is the first time I have genuinely contemplating parting with £70 for a jumper – it looks so cosy! Perfect with some snuggly boots and tights.

Orla Kiely Lilac Wool Trench – Undoubtedly my favourite designer at the moment, I would kill to have every single thing from Orla’s clothing, homeware and stationery collection. I can imagine anything much more elegant than this coat over a big frothy evening dress. So fun but so effortlessly chic.

Fujifilm Mini Instax 8 – Autumn means pretty colours right? It would be ace to capture the change in the seasons not to mention my last few months of uni in the most hipster of ways. I still think there is something so romantic about the Polaroid – no opportunity for retouching or photoshopping, just a moment caught in time. I’ll stop now before I start to sound too emo.

Kate Spade Watch – I seem to have the Worst luck with watches. Being honest, it’s probably to do with my insistence  on always buying cheap ones. I know this might be a thifty blog, but I guess there are some things you just can’t scrimp on. This Kate Space watch not only boasts a dainty soft pink strap, it also has a mother of pearl face which I think is absolutely beautiful. I can’t imaginee it not going with any outfit.

Burgundy Brogues  - I’m really annoyed that I didn’t buy these when they were on sale in New Look a little while ago as I love the rich colour and I think they’d look great with jeans for dressed down days.

Doc Martens 1461 in Crazy Horse – Having loved my cherry red docks for over a year now, I feel it’s about time I get them a little brother or sister. I really like the mottled brown of these and think that being low top, they might go better with some of my longer dresses – being  only 5’’7 or so, I do worry that a knee length dress paired with my ankle boot docs makes my legs look a little too stumpy.

Vanille Noire Laurence Dumont for Women  - I’ll let the blurb do the talking on this one shall I? ‘Vanille Noire is a pure and natural scent of intensive Mexican vanilla mixed with spicy accords of pink pepper, cinnamon and pepper at the top notes that are loomed over the heart of clove, rose and ylang-ylang and vanilla background.’ Sounds amazing right? Vanilla and Cinnamon are my two favourite scents and I ran out of my last perfume (Lacoste Touch Of Pink) ages ago so this will definitely be making it onto my Christmas list.

Gig Tickets - There are way too many people going on tour that I really want to see. I've got Los Campesinos and (rescheduled) Arctic Monkeys tickets in the bag and I think I'm going to treat myself to Elbow too in April seen as it is the night I finish uni. But if anyone wants to treat me to Justin Timberlake, Wild Beasts and/or Drake, it would be much appreciated...

Passport – Hardly something to lust over, I know, but stupid Huddersfield and it’s stupid rain on my backpack on my way into uni has made the colour leech out of my passport, meaning a £72 replacement. I can’t say I can afford that right now, so lets hope Santa is feeling generous next month…

Pack It Up, Pack It In - The evolution of the backpack

Hello all! Just one last cheeky little festival themed post before I head off to Beacons for the weekend. I've spent the evening feverishly trying to cram my clothes, belongings and my tent, sleeping bag and camp accessories (all kindly provided  by The Lazy Camper, review to come soon!) into 'bag for life's and have now realised that I could do with about four more pairs of arms. This got me thinking: whatever happened to the humble rucksack/backpack? Neatly storing all your bits and bobs, leaving your arms free?

Growing up, the rucksack was the only practical option for me. I was one of those overachieving Hermione Granger sorts in school - I liked to have all my books on me at once, so a flimsy tote or the handbags that all the cool girls seemed to take to school simply wasn't in question. Oh no. Jenessa has always been a very practical girl. In fact, the evolution of my school career can probably be tracked via the following backpacks.

First off was the bubble pack. A 90's classic, mine was metallic gold and looking back, frankly hideous. I remember the strap breaking and resolutely tying it in a makeshift bow in an attempt to lengthen it's life, but alas, a puncture in the plastic sent that one to the graveyard. 

Next up was a lime green Donnay. About the same length of my entire torso at the time, it matched my Gameboy colour perfectly and stood out on the year 5 coatpegs at the end of a busy school day. Is Donnay even a brand anymore? I hope not.

The Donnay was succeeded by a Hello Kitty rucksack that I kind of wish I still had now, Precured on a holiday to America, it was bloody massive, lasting me through year 6 all the way up to Year 7, the year where supermassive backpacks seem to be an absolute prerequisite. What with Hello Kitty having made somewhat of a resurgence, I think I could probably make good use of it now.

The last backpack I can remember came during my emo phase of '07/'08, where skate brands were law and everyone ran bebo accounts with My Chemical Romance background and with 'super random' in their 'About Me' section. This Dickies number with multi-coloured stars still lives on now, although the strap is frayed to hell and it appears to have been inherited by my boyfriend who likes to take it to gigs to carry his camera.

Which brings me nicely up to now. Now, I know these slouchy brown boho leather ones are back in fashion, but they just never look that BIG to me. Like really, what can you actually fit in there? If it doesn't accommodate at least an A4 notebook or folder, a lunchbox and a jumper or cardi then I'm just not that game. All through sixth form and since starting uni, I have always ended up toting round my stuff day to day in a satchel, far from ideal when you realise it's heaviness is making you walk lopsided and the strap is straining for freedom.

It's a bit late for me to order one in time for Beacons, but I shall definitely be contemplating a nice pretty backpack for uni in September. I think it's about time their connotations of nerdy cyclists or overloaded schoolkids became a thing of the past. Here are some of my favourites from around the web (well, mostly Asos). 

1)Roxy via Asos, £14.00
2)Mi Pac via Asos, £20.00
3)Asos, £20.00
4)Cath Kidston, £42.00
5)Mi Pac via Asos, £20.00
6)River Island via Asos, £20.00
7)Asos, £32.00
8)Kanken, £50