GUEST BLOGGER : rosiesaysrelax

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Hi, my name’s Rosie. I’m 20 years old and about to start my final year at uni. I’m from the North East. I love vintage clothes and finding bargains.

The shop I would most recommend at the moment is Small Change vintage shop ( https://www.facebook.com/SmallChangeVintage?fref=ts ). They’re closing down very soon, so they’re having a huge sale where you can fill a bag with as much as you want for just £7 !!!! There are some amazing bargains to be found there if you don’t mind a bit of rifling. If you don’t live nearby, don’t worry! They also sell their items on ebay for really low prices - http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/thrifty.beatnik/m.html?_nkw=&_armrs=1&_ipg=&_from=

I also love Primark for Autumn/Winter clothes, I think they’re the seasons it does best. Whereas H&M does its best work in the summer. I love all the cute little knitted things Primark gets in like mittens, bobble hats and snowflake jumpers. Me and my Mum have started a bit of a tradition of going for a Primark shopping spree just before the new uni year starts, so I can stock up on warmer clothes. I got a cute black knitted bodycon skirt this year, perfect for the cold weather that we’re starting to get.

The one thing I really want at the moment is the new baby pink Reebok classics, even though I realise they’re more of a summer colour and I’ve probably left it a bit late to start wearing them now. They’re more than I usually spend on shoes but they’re just so cute! I could get them as a Christmas present but then I wouldn’t be able to start wearing them until the end of December – dilemma!

They are sooo nice though!

Most of my favourite recent buys have been vintage things, but I have also treated myself to this super cute unif flower bag:

“I thought they were sold out everywhere?” you say, “I thought they were £90?”       I’ll let you in on a secret: it’s a look-alike! This one only cost me £26, I got it from a website called www.aliexpress.com which sells items from China. Just search ‘unif flower bag’ and you’ll find it. I absolutely love this site now; you can get so many great bargains there!

Here are a few of my other recent buys that I am absolutely loving at the moment:

I got this corduroy coat for myself at small change vintage (previously mentioned) and it worked out at only 30p because I got it in the fill a bag sale! It’s got absolutely beautiful decoration on the back. It’s covered in birds embroidered in tiny beads. I’ve worn this every day since I got it.

I recently went to a vintage fair in Gateshead and got the most gorgeous coat ever! The whole vintage fair was lovely and there were so many amazing pieces to look at, but this one really caught my eye. It was a bit more expensive than what I usually spend on clothes but I justified it by thinking that it’ll be Autumn soon so I’ll get a lot of wear out of it. I just love the pocket detail on it, it makes it look like the sort of tartan blankets your mum and dad used to keep in the back of the car.

 

 found this really cute Winnie the Pooh necklace when I was on holiday in Spain at the start of September. It’s so 90s looking! They had 101 Dalmatians, Spongebob Squarepants and Finding Nemo ones too and it was really hard not to just buy them all!

The last piece of clothing that I’m feeling over excited about is my vintage bodywarmer. This isn’t technically something new, I bought it last year, but it’s just had some refurbishing work done! When I first got this it was a coat, but the sleeves were too short (I think it might be a child’s coat?). I still kept trying to wear it out because I loved the pattern so much, but every time I would be annoyed at the sleeves. So when I was going through my wardrobe recently I decided to get it altered. I cut the sleeves off and my Mum’s friend (who has a sewing machine) sewed the seams closed. Now I have an amazing new bodywarmer! I can’t wait to wear it!

 

As the weather starts to change and you find yourself looking to update your Autumn wardrobe, I would recommend checking out the app: Depop.

Depop is a buying and selling app, similar in some ways to ebay. I sell lots of my stuff on there, but I’ve also come across (and bought) some really unusual and interesting items too! You can search for the item you’re looking for, just like on ebay. One of the best things about it is that you can search for peoples ‘wishlist’ and see if you are selling any of the items that they are looking for.  Unlike ebay, you can send people messages asking if they would take a lower offer and negotiate on prices! Perfect for any fellow bargain hunters! My username is: rosiesaysrelax

If you’ve liked my opinion on clothes and vintage fashion you might like to check out what I’m selling on my depop (previously mentioned) or the online vintage shop I run: www.rosiebits.etsy.com

Thanks for reading! oxox

WHERE TO FIND ROSIE
Blog
Instagram
 

 

 

#OOTD - Packing For Uni

Hiya lovelies,

If any of you follow my instagram, then you will have seen this is what  I wore today. My initial thought at the start of the day was that I would not be going out of the house and due to the amount of packing that I had left to do, I would just chuck on some old comfy clothes that I wasn't planning to take to university and nobody would see me. That plan failed however, as I went for a hot chocolate in town with my cousin so in fact a lot of people saw me.

 

WHAT I WORE:

The Sweater was once upon a time from the Next Back to School range however I appear to have wore it more since I left school and it still fits perfectly 2 years later.

The skirt was originally my mum's and try as I may to find the brand, alas I cannot.

The bag is by the brand Vida Vida and was purchased at the Joe Cornish Gallery.

 

I hope you enjoyed this post and I'll see you again shortly.

Thank you for reading

Eleanor Rachel

xo

#WannabePhotographer - Flowers and Garden

 

What To Take To Uni - Kitchen

*All photos from Pinterest*

 

Hiya lovelies,

So today I'm going to talk through everything that I have bought for the kitchen element of my university experience. Usually kitchens can be shared with between 4 to 12 people so it is important that you do not take items such as toasters until you get there and suss out what you have between you. This is of course not counting on the fact you get items as gifts. I happened to get a toastie maker as a present but I am an actual toastie fanatic... Oops. Anyway, read on for the list.

• Mugs- Bring more than you think is necessary in my opinion because you can offer everyone tea when they visit and even if you don't use them to drink from, you can use them as pen pots otherwise.
• Glasses x 2
• Bowls x 2
• Small Plates x 2
• Large Plates x 2
• Cutlery
• Baking Tray- Great for cooking everything from oven chips to flapjack
• Saucepan- Use it to heat beans, super noodles and even boil vegetables
• Sieve- Great help when draining pasta, rice and frozen peas
• Tupperware- to store leftovers in; helping to save time and money and reduce waste
• Food bags- another one for leftovers or even to pack lunch when you have a full day of lectures.
• Cloths- To wash up with or wipe down surfaces
• Washing Up Liquid
• Pan brush- Another help with Washing Up
• Can/Bottle Opener
• Sharp Knife
• Chopping Board
• Wooden Spoon

And that's all folks. If you think of anything massively important I'm missing, Please be sure to leave a comment down below. I hope it has proved helpful to those starting university this year or even just those preparing early.

Eleanor Rachel

xo

 

What To Take To Uni -Bedroom / Dorm

 

 

*All Photos are from Pinterest*

Here's a bit of inspiration on how to decorate your room :')

 

Hiya lovelies, So as you all most definitely know if you read my posts regularly, I am going to university in around a week's time (Crazy I know!!!) . As I previously mentioned, I am going to write a list of everything that I am bringing and would advise you to bring to University. I have done a lot of research and a lot of browsing lists to get here although it may be different slightly depending on which university you are going to. The list was so long however that I've had to split it into categories. Today is the first and I bring to you the 'bedroom/dorm room' section. I hope it becomes useful.

• Duvet and Pillows
• Bedding- Most of the rooms I went to look round have single beds (I know mine definitely is!), make sure you bring at least 2 sets for when you're washing the other.
• Mattress Protector- As gross as this sounds, you do not know who has slept on that bed previously or their level of cleanliness.... lets leave that there.
• Cushions and Blankets- Although they my be great for when it gets cold in the winter, they also make the place look a lot more homely and will help you to feel more comfortable with where you are living.
• Teddy- You will not be the only one.... trust me
• Towels- Bath and Hand Towels
• Sleeping Bag- If friends come to stay- they'll want somewhere to sleep
• Laundry Bag or Hamper
• Coat Hangers
• Decorative items- this could include photos from home, fairy lights, anything that helps you to feel comfortable
• Alarm Clock- For early lectures
• DVDs
• Books
• Door Stop- Especially in the first few days, it's a great idea to get to know the people you are living with. By leaving the door open it also gives off a friendly vibe.
• Extension Lead- I know that in my room there is an extreme lack of plug sockets

I hope that list was helpful,

Thank you for reading,

Eleanor Rachel

xo

THROWBACK #1 - Being Cute With The Twin And Cousin

 (I'm on the right!)

 Hiya lovelies,

This is one of them days where I look back on moments in time that meant a lot to me in the past. The photo above captures me, my twin brother and my cousin sat waiting to go for a picnic to the beach. These holidays meant the world to me and I think that as a child, they were my favourite times of the year. Just to the left of the car shown in this photo there used to be a ramp where we staying and we would spend hours on our scooters having races down. Every day we would go down to the beach and build sand castles and go paddling in the sea and we were like best friends and spent all our time together. I miss being a child.

Thank you for reading

Eleanor Rachel

xo

I AM A TERRIBLE BLOGGER

Hiya lovelies,

So as you can tell from the title, I've started to fail slightly at this daily blogging malarkey. We all knew it would happen and it didn't really take long to be honest. From now on, I have no plan. I've mainly been spending my days packing and sorting for university which is scarily in under 2 weeks time. If you would like a list of what to take, I shall sort that out for you. I have also come across some photos which I haven't seen in a while so I might do some throwback posts. But other than that I have no idea what to post. I need to buy some batteries for my camera so until then, you may be stuck with diary style entries with poor quality photos a few days a week.

I'll try and take some photos of my day tomorrow even if it isn't very interesting just to give you an update of what's been happening. Once again, I apologise for my lack of motivation and I'll see you soon.

Thank you for reading,

Eleanor Rachel xo

Lifesaving tips: Scarf Hanger

Hiya lovelies,

So one thing I've learnt from Pinterest is how to modify certain items in your home to create new ones with new purposes. For today's blog post I am going to show you how to hang your scarves in your wardrobe without spending money on a special hanger. This is a great trick to use when going to university as there is a limited amount of space in the rooms and you also have a limited budget.

 

WHAT YOU WILL NEED:

2 Coathangers (or 1 extremely sturdy one!)

Shower Curtain Loops

 

I own a vast amount of scarves and its great to have them on display in my wardrobe when putting outfits together. I have currently made 1 howevera lot of my scarves are still scattered around so I may have to repeat the process. I hope you enjoyed this post. Below you will see how it looks when done and I hope this inspires you to try it yourself.

Thank you for reading,

Eleanor Rachel

xo



A Long Ramble- You Don't Have To Be Happy

Hiya lovelies,

So today I'm going to share with you a part of my life that probably doesn't belong on the internet being shared with you but I'm embracing it. The truth of the matter is I'm not a happy person a lot of the time. There are a large amount of days such as today where I do not want to get out of bed almost out of fear of what the day holds. It's now almost 7pm and I feel super drained although I've not done anything in the day.

I feel like there are constant expectations in life that you should either be super happy and bubbly or you're labelled as depressed, when that's not the case at all. Depression is a serious illness which means you constantly feel down or have low self worth and to me, a couple of days a week where I don't want to face the world is nothing in comparison. I think everyone should have days when they don't have to socialise and can focus on resting their mind and getting themselves up to top form.

In my honest opinion everyone is different, things affect people in different ways and that's what makes a human special. The way I live my life may make other people tut or think of me as lazy but at this moment in time I'm not going to go and set myself unrealistic goals that mean my good days are worse even are there are more of them.

I know this was a rambling post for today but I'm just sick of judgemental people. I apologise for the rant and I hope you enjoyed (probably not the right word) reading my point of view.

Thank you for reading,

Eleanor Rachel

xo

Bake With Me- American Muffins

Hiya lovelies,

So today I am here with a recipe for American Muffins. I am yet to give these the taste test so don't hold me to them tasting fab.

INGREDIENTS

• 150g Plain Flour
• 1 1/2 level teaspoon Baking Powder
• 1/4 level Teaspoon Salt
• 1 Medium Egg
• 40g Caster Sugar
• 110ml Milk
• 50g Butter

METHOD

1. Prepare muffin tins with paper cases.
2. Preheat oven to 200 deg C/ Gas Mark 6.
3. Sieve flour, salt and baking powder into a large mixing bowl. Add sugar and stir well.
4. Gently melt the butter in a saucepan and leave to cool slightly.
5. Beat the egg in a small basin.
6. Stir in the milk and the melted butter.
7. Pour all the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients
8. Gently stir in any other flavourings.
9. Spoon the mixture into paper cases so that each case is no more than 3/4 full.
10. Bake for 20-25 minutes until tops are light brown and will spring up when pressed gently.

I hope you enjoyed this post.

Thank you for reading.

Eleanor Rachel

xo

Bake With Me- Buns

 

Hiya lovelies,

So today I'm going to show you a cheap and easy recipe which is perfect for students as it can class as pudding for many meals in the week. This recipe can be used to make 12 buns.

INGREDIENTS

• 100g(4oz) Self Raising Flour
• 100g (4oz) Margarine
• 100g(4oz) Sugar
• 2 Eggs, Beaten

METHOD

1. Cream Margarine and Sugar.
2. Fold in Egg and Sugar a little bit at a time.
3. Bake at 190 degrees C, 375 degrees F, Gas Mark 5 for 15-18 Minutes

VARIATIONS

Cherry, Walnut, Chocolate, Chocolate Chip

I hope you enjoyed this post,

Thank you for reading

Eleanor Rachel xo



Nothing Worth Reading ...

Hiya lovelies,

I think it's safe to say I'm already starting to fail at this whole daily blogging thing. It's hard because I always have all these good ideas but putting them into happening is a whole other ball game. I'm writing this just after midnight on the 2nd of September and I think it's safe to assume I'm regretting saying I'd blog everyday. There will be days when I have something planned for you to read and I'll be ahead in the game and have billions of posts scheduled to keep you going. However, like today, there will also be days where I just natter about rubbish.

Monday (yesterday) was one of them days where you just sit on sites like Facebook and Instagram and actually enjoying playing games like Criminal Case.... I kid you not, it's addictive. I also spent a long while taking photos on my laptop, so this post will probably just be me sharing them photos.

There we have it guys, my wonderful face..... I joke. I'm sorry for the lack of quality content but I will make sure to have some written in the upcoming days.

Thank you for reading

Eleanor Rachel

xo

Instagram Overview- August 2014

Hiya lovelies,

So today I'm going to talk through all the photos I took on my instagram in the month of August and explain what they are, why I posted them etc etc etc. If you enjoyed this post, please do share it with your friends and give me a follow on instagram here. I am generally one of the most addicted person to that app so I must warn you, I post a great deal. Anyways, let's jump right in.

(From Left to Right , Top to Bottom)

 

The first picture is the latest one I have posted and was taken before I went out with my college friends for a meal at Uno Momento. I did however change my outfit before I went as everyone was dressing more casual.

 

The second and third photos are throwbacks to when I was a child. The first photo was me thinking I was so badass on my brother's action man bike and the second photo is of me and my cousin being 'mermaids' on one of our holidays to Filey.

 

The fourth and fifth photos are from Results Day. The first one is where me and Abbie were celebrating as we'd both got into Teesside University and the second is our last selfie in the toilets.... How to be classy ft me.

 

On the bottom row, the first two pictures are of the day before results day and we went to the beach. You can read a post about that here. The next two are featured on this post.

 

The last photo shows the positivity that was felt by one of my best friends about our results... 'I'll have the vodka ready'

 

I hope you enjoyed this post and to see what I've been up to this past month of August. For September I'm going to try my hand at daily blog posts.... We'll see how that turns out.

Thank you for reading,

Eleanor Rachel

xo