All good things are wild and free...

I hope you all had a lovely christmas, ate your weight in yummy food and received everything you wanted and more! I'm officially never eating again...well not for another 20 minutes at least: I will post about the gifts I received once I've had Christmas with my Dad on Friday, I've been spoilt again and can't thank everyone enough :)

These are just some photos we took before a party this week (it was fancy dress) - Sian went as a leopard, I was a black cat and Molly was Cruella DeVille from 101 Dalmatians. I'm trying to get the purple out of my hair now so you'll have to forgive the odd colours in the ends! These girls are two of my bestest friends in the whole wide world, I love them to pieces and can't imagine life without them -plus, look how gorgeous they are!

Finally, woooooop!! 100 followers! I was thinking of doing a give-away...just need to get over the small hurdle of finding a prize...gotta love my organisation..

Lots of festive love, Ellen xx

Blogger Award!

Woo!! I'm all excited because I've been given my very first blog award by the ever so lovely Mona at Chipped Nails and Chapped Lips! It's so nice to know that she likes reading my blog and I'm totally treating it as a Christmas present :) 

Anyways, here are the rules...

1. You must thank the person who awarded you the award including a shout-out with a link on your blog.

                                                   2. Share 7 random facts about yourself.

3. Send the award on to 15 other bloggers whose blogs you like to read and let them know about it.

So for starters, thank you Mona!! Go and follow her because I love the way she writes and she's so gorgeous!

Hmm 7 facts...

1. I always wear heels, always. It wasn't intentional but once you start to wear them everyday people reaaallly notice when you take them off and you're a midget...

2. I kinda mentioned this in my last post but I have 2 untreatable illnesses - chronic aseptic osteomyelitis in my left femur and cyclical vomiting syndrome (CVS). These cause me to lose weight regularly and be a bit absent from the blogosphere, I've been to Great Ormond Street Hospital but doctors don't seem to know what's actually wrong with me or how to make me better...useful eh?

3. I have a boyfriend! His name is Joe and he is lovely :)

4. My dad and step-mum live in America, so I spend the best part of 2 months a year there.

5. I'm an only child but I have 2 cats called Poppie and Muppet.

6. I've always thought of myself as quite an independent person but I'm really not - I love having the support of my friends and am always more motivated to do something with their backing.

7. I'm fascinated by space, quantum physics and the idea of Mary Magdalene and the creation of the bible (although I'm an atheist) : I kinda like reading books on these subjects in my spare time...told you I was a nerd.

And now the fun part! I'd like to pass on this award to the following bloggers - as a little Christmas present just in time for the festivity! If you already have it, I hope the thought makes you smile anyways :)

Mollie at musicandmollie

Amy at Amy Valentine

Danielle at DKD Designs

Claire at Don't Eat Leather

Vicky at GollyGosh

Steph at this is british youth

Emma at Beauty and Rags

Erin at etc

Ellie at Freak on a Leash

Yvet at Yvetvdn

Sarah at Temporary Secretary

Isabella at Views of Now

Leigh at Fox Tales

Amy at BeautyFashionLife

I'm not sure if this one will count but ah well...my best friend has a tumblr so last but not least...

Sian at Rust and Petals

I can believe it's Christmas tomorrow!! I hope you all have a lovely time and get everything you want!

Love Ellen xx

Embellished Collars...

Look book photos from Regal Rose -- Collar 1: River Island -- Collar 2: Miss Selfridge

Wowzers I've been a bad blogger recently...it's been over a week since my last post, so I apologise to all of you who have been reading regularly. Although I do have an excuse: I won't go into too much detail on this post but I have 2 chronic illnesses, neither of which appear to have a known cause, treatment or cure - so I spent 5 days last week being ill! Ah well, enough with feeling sorry for myself, I should probably make a start on the topic of this post! :)

  Embellished collars - the trend has been around for a while now, but I've only just started to catch on and think of ways of incorporating one into my wardrobe - I love the idea of embellishing shirt collars with pearls, beads or crystals; images on tumblr can provide so much inspiration for this, but it's the necklace versions I can't quite decide on...

  I have to say, I'm a fan of anything with sparkles or embellishments, so I like the idea of the necklaces above. I'm in love with the Regal Rose collars in these photos, on their own they didn't seem like much, but with these outfits I think that they really add an edge; they're such simple accessories but they make a bold statement and an interesting change to a regular necklace.

  The fabric collars from River Island and Miss Selfridge I'm not so sure on, I love them on other people and they're really cute, but they might be a bit too twee for my style...however I now keep picturing them with a little jumper and sun-ray pleated skirt, ooo and 'over the knee sock' tights with the little hearts above...aww I wanna wear that now...

What're your opinions on embellished collars - edgy and cute versions alike? I'd love to hear your opinions :)

Love Ellen xx

My week in nails...

Monday/Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday ---- Friday

Saturday

Sunday

I've been wanting to do a post like this for a while now, so I decided to work on it this week for you all :) I love painting my nails - my timetable at college revolves entirely around academic subjects so I like to do more creative things at home sometimes; going without nail varnish makes me feel really bare! Plus, nail art can really add to an outfit: I find that people are often impressed and take notice of my nails a lot - the designs aren't too challenging either, although I regularly mess up my right hand! If you'd like to know any of the nail varnishes I used or how I did any of these, just let me know in the comments and I'll reply on your blogs or in the comments below!

Love Ellen xx

Get In My Wardrobe #3

Shoes - Sam Edelman

Lipstick - Pink Nouveau by Mac

All Jewellery - Regal Rose

This post is more or less just a huge wish list from an awesome jewellery site I was introduced to this week - how amazing is all this!? I'm completely in love, I can't help but imagine how perfectly they'd fit amongst my wardrobe: the semi-precious stones, feathers and tiny skulls are just...there are no words. The best part is, all prices are around about £10 - I was so surprised by their affordability, these kind of items can be seen for so much more on other sites, I was so excited and I can't wait to make an order!


The Sam Edelman boots are just plain awesome, a favourite amoung bloggers and they'd be so versatile - looking cool with both jeans and shorts! Lipstick would be a new thing in my beauty regime, but I tried some on in Leeds and loved the extra pop of colour it adds to an outfit - the pink apparently suits me as well, so it'd be nice to get a bit brave and try it out!

Love Ellen xx

Leeds - Christmas Shopping!

 I love living in Britain - I honestly believe that as a nation we offer the most amazing shopping experience, our highstreet has to be one of the best in the world; filled to the brim with a vast range of affordable, original and lust-worthy pieces that allow you to express yourself no matter what your style or budget. 

   Leeds is one of my favourite places to shop here in England, the architecture in the Victoria Quarter arcades is so beautifully European, marble and mosaics just add to the elegance - as you wander round the higher-end high street shops you could be anywhere, from Paris to Milan. The last photo in this post is of a gorgeous little shop called Rose & Co, it's so cute and has some of the loveliest soaps, bath bombs, bath and skin products - downstairs is even home to an array of vintage style underwear and 1950's clothing! I would definitely recommended a visit - even if it's simply to gawp at all the pretty things and soak up the French loveliness!

  The quintessentially British aspects of these arcades however, happen to be some of my favourites - there's a little cafe just down from the Harvey Nichols' restaurant, that serves some of the best vanilla scones I have ever eaten - their afternoon tea, complete with cakes and sandwiches is seriously yummy! Harvey Nichols is of course an attraction in itself, the restaurant is amazing and wandering round lusting after designer pieces that I can no way near afford is surprisingly fun, especially as the staff in Leeds talk to you without an ounce of pretension, a welcome oddity in such an expensive store. 

   At Christmas time, the festivity only brings more magic to the arcades, I love walking around whilst daydreaming that I've wandered straight into a scene out of a fashion-filled movie...

I would show you all what I bought, but that would ruin the Christmas surprise for a few people!

I hope you're all having a great week :)

Love Ellen xx