India Part Two - I'm on a Boat.

I've got to admit, looking back on photos and notes from my India trip is making writing my dissertation a lot more depressing.

The day I wore this outfit was my first full day in India. Still completely jetlagged and out of sorts, I managed to function somewhat like a human being and went on a house boat ride down the local waters. The houseboat however wasn't one with a motor or engine - it had to pushed along by the owner of the house boat with a huge oar. The owner greeted us onto his houseboat with a lovely smile and we soon after left the dock and ventured down the waters. It was probably the most serene thing I had ever experienced. The water was so still, the horizon was stunning. I actually got the opportunity to try and push the boat along - the owner made it look so easy, plus he was half my size, so I thought 'hey, why the hulk not'. I managed to get the swing of it, however after 15 minutes or so my arms gave in. I soon realised that he made it look so easy because he was pretty much all muscle, which I am not!

Whenever I was asked in meditation sessions before I went to India to think of a calm place, I usually made one up - it was usually one based on a stereotypical travel brochure with the standard 'sandy beach' picture on the front. If I'm ever asked again, I now know what the perfect location for it. Considering my impending doom dissertation deadline is looming, I should really start meditating more and get myself back to that place, at least mentally. I definitely want to go back soon.

Until next time, y'all.

xo

What I'm Wearing:
Bikini Top - Ann Summers (as an honourable member of the Itty Bitty Titty Committee, Ann Summers is my go to place for swimwear. 10/10 would recommend)
Dress - Asos
Sandals - Havaianas

(and here's the lovely aforementioned Houseboater! I wish you could see his face better in this photo, damn snazzy cameras and their lame manual light settings)

India, Part One (for want of a more exciting title).

I had been looking forward to this trip for so long; it now feels so weird that I'm talking about it in the past tense. But two weeks ago, I came back from the trip of my life: India. This entire experience was completely new to me - having only been to western countries in the past, I found India to be a beautiful culture shock.

I had always been interested in and admired the Indian culture as I have roots in India. My Grandmother is Anglo-Indian, this meaning that whilst she was born and raised in India, she was brought up Roman Catholic as opposed to Hindu or Muslim. Even though her upbringing wasn't traditionally Indian, I felt little influences of Indian culture as I was growing up - for example, when I started eating solid food as a young'un, my mum would give me curried rice. To this day, it's probably one of my favourite foods. Still can't make it like my mumma can, though.

I don't think I'll ever be able to describe how it felt being there. I was practicing yoga and meditation daily, exploring when I could. I even managed to go to a Temple Festival and an elephant casually just walked across my path. It sounds so cliche, but I found myself at total peace, at one with myself. My stresses all seemed to be put into perspective; I've come to realise that things will, as much as I stress about them, be okay. If I work towards something, I can achieve it. But for right now, it's okay to not be completely secure and have a lot of questions in your life. It's okay to not have all your shit together in your early twenties.

I won't bore you all with what happened on the day I wore this outfit, as all I did was travel for 10 hours. But I will say that I am so miffed that my waistband was slightly wonky in these photos! I absolutely love these trackies, I never want to travel in anything else.

Next week will be part two of my India series, stay tuned!

xo

What I'm Wearing:
Vest Top - New Look
Kimono - Topshop
Trakkies - Abandon Ship Apparel
Shoes - Nike
Sunglasses - Next (would you believe it!)

(I was given the lei upon my arrival at the hotel, and they blessed us upon arrival too. How amazing is that?)

Oh, and here's a picture of said elephant who walked right past me:

Backstreet's Back, Alright!

Okay that was an incredibly cool lame title, but I feel it gets my point across.

January, like May/June, is that time of year where every student wishes they had done everything earlier. I de-evolved into a hermit and hermitted (hey, let's make that a verb, why not) in my chilly flat with my housemates boiling kettle after kettle as we endured deadline after deadline. But it's finally all over and surprisingly, we all came out alive. Semester two is about to start and I'm sure that I will probably go through the exact same cycle when it comes to summer deadline season. Can't wait.

And so, after a moderately long hiatus due to deadlines and general busy-osity, I am back.

This look is from a simpler/better time - summer. I'd like to thank the gorgeous Bridie for taking these shots. On the night these photos were taken we were in the South of France, and saw a 'battle of the ports' firework display on the beach. Let me tell you, I would much rather be there right now than sitting here in my flat chillin' in my kigu.

(As a total side note, I am as happy as can be at the moment; my superwoman sister gave birth to a beautiful healthy bubbala last night, making me an aunt for the third time. Yay!)


What I'm Wearing:
Top - Urban Outfitters
Skirt - Missguided
Belt - Asos
Sandals - Oasis
Necklace - Topshop
Bag - Port Grimaud Market

My December.

For me, December is my busiest and most exciting month - my birthday, Christmas and New Year are all in the space of a couple of weeks. This year however, my December was massive; it was my 21st!

My first party was on my actual birthday at the Islington Metal Works in Angel - if you have any kind of event that you need a venue for, I couldn't recommend this place enough. The owner, Dette, is such a pro, and caters to every single detail to make your shindig awesome. Plus, look how sick the venue itself is:

(this was before everyone arrived, I swear I'm not a loser with no friends)

It was absolutely incredible - open bar, food, and the awesome Chris Campbell of DrDr DJ'd. Such a sick night! 

My next party was a cocktail party with my family and friends; it was initially meant to be relatively smart and classy, however things soon got a little crazier when my uncle started handing out jager shots. Never thought I'd see the day where I'd have to keep up with my family members, but there you go!

I've been looking forward to my 21st for so long that now it's all over I can't help but feel a little sad. And old! I am so lucky to have such awesome friends and family who celebrated with me, I feel well special.

Two birthdays meant 2 dresses (of course). Here's what I wore:

Part 1:

Dress - Freak of Nature (hands down my favourite brand ever!)
Shoes - Nike

Earrings - ASOS

Not gonna lie, this is probably one of my favourite items of clothing I own. Wearing it made me feel like Iggy Azalea!

I also totally recommend these Nike Sky Highs if you want a snazzier pair of trainers to go clubbing in. I was literally non-stop boogying for a good 5 hours and, despite them having a bit of a heel, felt no foot pain at all. Plus they're beaut. Liberty has recently done a new range of limited edition Sky Highs with sick patterns on if you don't want just a block colour.

Part 2:

Dress - ASOS
Shoes - Iron Fist (I want every pair of Iron Fist shoes ever made)

Didn't manage to get any individual shots of me with this outfit but I love this dress/shoe combo so much that I wanted to share anyways! I love the mesh/thigh split in this dress. These shoes were bought for me by my lovely boyfriend for my birthday a few years ago. I pointed them out to him saying that they would be the shoes I would wear to my first ever film premier - he remembered and bought them for me! I'm crap at heels and yet I managed to last pretty long in these - the platform definitely helps. Plus, they have frickin' wolf teeth on them. Sick as.

I hope you all had fab Christmases/Hanukkahs/Holidays - there'll be many more posts to come in the New Year!

xo

Baby It's Cold Outside.

So I was lucky enough to do a shoot with the lovely Katy Cummings last week. I absolutely love her style and concepts so when I saw her tweet about wanting to do some testing I seized the opportunity immediately and we organised a shoot.

It was completely different to anything I have done before - I think if I were to tell my 16 year old self that a) I would become a plus size model and b) I would do a shoot in just a jumper and heels, my 16 year old self would probably laugh in disbelief! 

Not only was this shoot awesome because of Katy's sick shooting skills, but it has also reminded me of how far I've come. I used to be so unhappy with my body and my self image when I was younger; I forever felt like I wasn't good enough. I've now finally learnt how to love myself and the skin I'm in, and even have some self confidence. 

Here are the results of the shoot - it was so difficult to choose just a couple to show you all.

Have a look at Katy's website here: www.katycummings.com

I hope you like them!

What I'm Wearing:

Jumper - Boohoo.com
Shoes - H&M

xo