CASUAL STRIPES

I'm really into stripes this sunny season. I've paired a simple top from H&M with my Zara trousers and bag, and my GEOX shoes.

Flying in 2 days!

Much love xoxo

IT'S A SUNSHINE-Y DAY

It's one of my days off from work again as you may have guessed! I utilized my time efficiently (ahem) packed away all my baking utensils and some bits and bobs. I found some 'agar-agar' ingredients (jelly that's made from boiling seaweed - it's really not as bad as it sounds) and decided to make some jelly! Added in some winter melon and grapes for some colour.

  

To match the weather I opted for my bright yellow Zara puffball skirt. For my hair, I'm currently loving Charles Worthington Front Row - something that I've wanted to try a couple of years ago but never got to it. Currently using the dry shampoo and forever lasting hairspray to give my already voluminous hair that extra boost factor.

I had my last flute lesson with my teacher Hazel - she's one of the loveliest teacher's I've had and I'm definitely going to miss her when I leave. If anyone is interested to learn music, the Yorkshire College of Music and Drama is conveniently located opposite Leeds University  which offers music lessons for beginners to more advanced levels. I'd recommend my teachers Hazel (flute) and Iveta (violin) - they are amazing :)

I met up with Hai Choo and her adorable little son Shern for a late lunch at Dare Cafe in Headingley. I ordered the spinach and ricotta cannelloni with a glass of pineapple juice - lunch meal deal of only 5.95 pounds. I originally wanted to order the vegetarian lasagna but they had run out (how convenient), so I had to settle for this - talk about cheese overload!

A rather unhealthy vegetarian option

We then went to have some coffee at The Heart Cafe down the road. 

Hyper-active Shern :)

Unfortunately we had to cut short our meeting as Shern wasn't feeling too well today - failed to get a pretty picture with him, maybe next time. 

The weather was just too good to head home straight away so I wandered round town to have a browse.

Spotted some cute colour block bags and just couldn't resist taking some happy snaps - this one totally matched my outfit today! There were two others that were also quite attractive - I'm loving colour blocks at the moment.

It was truly hard to resist buying the bag, at least I have some photos as a keepsake. But I did get another pair of GEOX comfort shoes! My feet needed some loving after some leftover sand from the beach that was stuck in my shoes made quite a mess around my heel area that I didn't notice it until I saw a huge blotch of blood when I took it off. I think I was a bit too distracted by the sun to feel the pain on my 30 minute walk to the college before.

Time to catch up on the latest episode of Desperate Housewives x

ANOTHER DAY OFF = MORE COFFEE & SHOPPING

As predicted by BBC Weather (which sometimes lies), the weather today was lovely, exactly what spring should look like. Ditching my dreary clothes, I rummaged for something more vibrant and picked my bright yellow Forever 21 dress to get into the mood.

My bedroom looks a bit like a warzone at the moment as I started packing away most of my clothes - years of shopping have resulted in a rather unhealthy heap of clothes, some with the price tags still attached (oops).

I've also started building up my (not-so) mini pile of clothes which I have labeled as the 'eBay pile' - basically stuff that I'm planning to try auctioning off on eBay. I don't think I'm going to manage to get through the whole pile before I leave, so I may try looking into the car boot sale option later on!

Dropped off a couple of winter coats at Johnsons Cleaners to get them de-germed before I pack them away during the summer months. I was a bit hesitant to leave my lovely Vivienne Westwood coat in the hands of a stranger - they better hand her back to me in pristine condition!

Good times together :)

Being off work is obviously not doing my credit card any good. As all my shopping ventures seldom end with me empty-handed, I bought a pair of GEOX casual comfort shoes - the shoe that breathes! I think mum would be pleased with my decision as she was nagging about me not wearing 'practical shoes' last time. And I only paid a fraction of the original price for it at one of my favourite shopping outlets which you all should know by now ;)

I have really broad feet and wearing my numerous pairs of cheap New Look pumps aren't really doing them any good, so it's important to invest in good quality shoes.

While heading to the cashdesk, I got distracted (as usual) by the dress aisle and picked up a slinky black Michael Kors dress - tried it on and as predicted my credit card got another beating. My excuse: a potential wedding dinner dress? x

Essential tan leather shoes for summer

I popped back into La Bottega Milanese for a quick coffee before I headed back home, this is probably going to be one of my favourite spots in the very short time I have left in Leeds. Today I tried the cappuccino, usually priced at 1.95 but because it was happy hour it was only 1.25 (woohoo!). 

I also packed home a 'Rum baba' which I wanted to try the other day - a yeast cake soaked in rum which also had some nutella filling. 

Random food bargain blurb: Yogurt lovers, if you think 2 for 3.00 pounds is a good offer, Rachel's Organic Yogurts are only a pound each at Morrisons!

Yummy

Ok, fun-time over, I better get off and practise my violin before Iveta kills me!

If only I looked this enthusiastic all the time!