Shoes: Pleasure and Pain

Hi Everyone!

Shoes. I think most women have a preference when it comes to high-heel versus flats.

I’ve always been a flats kinda gal for the most part, sticking on a pair of heels when I played a concert. The all black dress code for women if the reason for the vast number of black heels I now have in my possession! These will all be gone soon though, as I embrace my life with EDS & succumb to a life of flats in a bid to save my hips/back/ankles/knees from further pain/damage. I’ve one pair of wedges that are gorgeous & I can’t bear to part with!

Freya is such a girl!

I love the history behind our clothing & accessories, where it all started & how it has evolved. When I was sent this ‘The Short Shoe History’ infographic by www.farfetch.com I knew I had to share it with you all, along with a little peak into my shoe collection? wardrobe? under the bed? Not quite sure how to describe the shoes that I own, but I’ll be sharing a snippet of them with you all the same!

As we’re supposedly not in summer, let’s start with the sandals! I have two day-to-day sandals, a pair of Birkenstocks (‘scuse the feet marks!) & a cute black pair from New Look with gold detailing that look great with a coral pedi! I love the Birkenstocks as they have good support for the foot. This makes them really comfy & takes some of the impact experienced when walking.

These are the only ‘heels’ I just can’t part with - I love the detail on the wedge. I bought them as part of my ‘going away’ outfit for my wedding but we didn’t get time to change as so much was going on. They aren’t quite as difficult as heels because of the extra surface area on the ground, but I still wobble a lot!

My good ol’ faithful shoes. I love these as, like the Birkenstocks, they too have additional support that cushions the foot. Without these I wouldn’t have lasted as long as I did in my retail job! 

Then to my winter options - boots. Not only do these keep my feet warm, they give my ankle a teensy bit of support too. I’ve struggled to find boots with no heel, but these two are low enough to be comfortable. I love the Chelsea boot s & this black pair gives a nod to this style with an open section where the traditional boot would have elastic & a buckle to secure them in place & add an extra detail.

So now that you know a bit about how shoe styles have evolved over the last 90 years & my personal shoe loves I wanted to share another piece of exciting information with you all! The Victoria & Albert museum is currently running an exhibition entitled ’Shoes: Pleasure and Pain’. I know though my own experience with my EDS the pain shoes can cause but am intrigued by this exhibition that looks at 200 extreme examples of footwear from around the world! I’m going to try & get down to London early enough on the day of my next Botox treatment to check this exhibition out!

Are you a high-heel kind a gal or do you prefer flats?

Which decade is your favourite?

Tania Xx

Have you seen my Denim Days Lookbook video?

Beautiful & Inexpensive Jewellery from jewellerybox.co.uk

Hi Everyone!

I’m not someone who spends a lot of money on jewellery. The most expensive items I own are either 18th birthday presents, or gifts from my husband. I like dainty jewellery but don’t want to wear expensive items on a day-to-day basis as I’d most likely damage them in some way! Saying this, I do like to wear sterling silver pieces as they don’t loose their colour like costume jewellery can.

So when I came across the brand jewellerybox.co.uk - a brand with beautiful, inexpensive items, I was really excited! The first things that caught my eye were the enamel stud earrings, that reminded me of my teenage years. What’s more, they’re at an accessible price point for teens. I’m rambling now…

I was thrilled to be approached by jewellerybox.co.uk to receive some of their beautiful pieces & wanted to share them with you. First off let’s start with the a new launch from the summer collection - a sterling silver Abella Necklace. This beautiful piece features a silver leaf with a 18ct Dipped Gold bumble bee for just £14!

I love how dainty the cable chain is. It catches the light beautifully. Most of my necklace chains are shorter than this one (& the one coming up). I want to say that they’re 16inch & this is an 18inch… I really like the slightly longer length & have been wanting to get some to have a little variety!

With summer fast approaching, the lovely people at jewellerybox.co.uk sent me this lovely Bird Charm Anklet. I have a few anklets, but they don’t seem to come out all that often. I don’t know why. I’m going to use this anklet as an excuse to change that! Costing £8.80, this sterling silver piece, covered in little birds, is just right for the warmer months. 

I don't gravitated toward jewellery with clasps like this anklet, but I've found it to be really secure. These are clearly well made pieces. It does have a bell on it which, while it’s aesthetically pleasing, annoys me as I’m walking! I’m going to persevere with it a little longer but if it still annoys me I may resort to taking the bell off. 

I was also asked if there were any other pieces I would like! I felt like an overwhelmed kid in a candy store! Then I remembered the Winter Snowflake necklace I had seen on the website. While not particularly seasonal, the snowflake holds a special meaning for many spoonies (incase you don’t know, a spoonies is a term coined by Christine Miserandino for those with chronic illness). No snowflake is ever the same, in the same way that no two people, even with the same condition(s), experience the same symptoms. This meaning has been very poignant for me in the last year or so. 

Why are there so many symbols used for similar things!?! The Zebra for those with EDS, spoons & snowflakes for chronic illness sufferers… I digress.

The sterling silver Winter Snowflake necklace was £15.50 & is now down to £9.95! As I mentioned above, it is a slightly longer chain to most of my necklaces from Dan. This time using a foxtail chain, drawing the eye immediately to the snowflake itself.

Which is your favourite of the three pieces?

Have you bought anything from jewellerybox.co.uk?

Tania Xx

Mink&Stone 'Spring Has Sprung' Bracelet

Hi Everyone!

The idea behind Mink&Stone is that you can create your own pieces of jewellery (necklaces & bracelets) using their website, cutting out the need to scour the shops for the beads you want. When I met representatives from the brand I wasn’t convinced. Being a crafty person, I enjoy the physical action of sourcing, buying the elements & then making products. I was given the opportunity to design my own piece of Mink&Stone jewellery & decided to give it a try - I was so glad I did!

Your first decision to make is whether you want a necklace, & if so which type, or a bracelet.

From here, you can choose your beads from the categories of 'colour', 'use', 'material', 'collection' & 'size group'. By filtering through the beads you can see what you want (or don't), which can help give you great inspiration! I knew I didn't want wooden beads or anything large so avoided these. 

I started by scrolling through the entire bead collection & yes, this did take me a long time but I loved it! 

You can find out all the information on each of the by clicking on the 'i'. I loved that Mink&Stone are so specific about the price, size, colour, material, finish & even a suggestion of how the bead might be used. Remember I said that I wasn't convinced about this concept? These details completely changed my mind! It felt like I was choosing the beads because I truly was!

I got very excited & started putting all the beads I loved into trays to use when designing my bracelet. A + symbol appears when you hover the curser over the beads. 

Unfortunately there is a limit to the number of trays/beads in trays you can have. As a result I spent a LOT of time putting beads into trays which then had to be redone. It wasn't a complete waste of my time as I became more familiar with the beads available & began to form an idea in my mind of what I wanted my bracelet to look like. Note the 'Venus' symbols either side of the 'i', we'll come back to this later!

You can manage your trays in your account.

Now to the really exciting part - creating my bracelet!

Mink&Stone have a vast array of bead options. I really enjoyed the experience of choosing my beads, creating my pattern, not liking it, trying something else & seeing just how much, bead by bead, my item would cost. As we saw above, there are 'Venus' symbols either side of the 'i' symbol. You can use these to add beads onto the left or right sides of your necklace or bracelet. What I didn't realise was that you can click on the beads you have added to move or remove them. Instead I started over & over again each time I did something I didn't like!

Something I really like is that once you've added a bead, it becomes an 'added item', which you can then use rather than scrolling through the numerous available beads again & again! You also have a running total of what you're necklace or bracelet is going to cost. I love this feature of Mink&Stone's website.

I really loved the flower accent bead so wanted that to be a feature of the bracelet. I wanted to make my bracelet dainty & be something I could wear all day, every day! For this reason, I also chose the silver & pink spacers. I played around with the pattern & when I was happy, saved & named my bracelet!

One think I didn't realise was that my bracelet would come with a little Mink&Stone tag on the chain. This makes the bracelet look even more exclusive!

My 'Spring Has Sprung' bracelet* cost a grand total of £14.79 & I love it! You can go over & check my completed bracelet out here & even purchase it yourself!

I'm so pleased with my bracelet & love that I designed it myself!

What do you think?

Would you design a piece for yourself or as a gift?

Tania Xx

OOTN for #BLFW

Hi Everyone!

If you've seen my recent post, you'll know that I attended the second day of this season's #BLFW. If not, you can catch up on all the goings on of the event here.

What I haven't yet shown you is what I wore! So, are you ready?

I was rather fatigued by the end of the night, but still wanted to bring you an outfit post. So I found somewhere to flop & Rhianne obliged by taking some photos for me!

Hat: H&M, £12.99

Denim Jacket: Purchased in America 10 years ago!

T-Shirt: Plain White 'Fruits Of The Loom' t-shirt that I decorated myself (video to come)

Culottes: Primark, £14

Shoes: TKMaxx, £10 clearance

I wore my hat as earlier in the day I had attended a hospital appointment to discuss coming off my medication & also to have my next course of Botox injections. I wanted to cover the injection sites on my forehead & cut out some of the light I would otherwise have seen to make it easier for me to make it through until the end of the day.

I wanted particularly to get a pair of pointed shoes - I can't wear heels anymore because of my EDS, but being short I still wanted to create the illusion of height against the length of the culottes. I thought this pair worked really well & were a steal at just £10. I should have worn them round the house though as a day in London wearing a new pair of shoes is never a good idea!

What's your favourite element of this outfit?

Tania Xx

Center Parcs Day 4: Just Keep Swimming!

Hi Everyone!

We mixed things up a bit on our last day at Center Parcs (see Day 1, Day 2 & Day 3 if you’ve missed them). We still followed our formula of swim, eat & nap (I think Dan planned the napping in for me!), but this time we chose a different pattern…

We decided we wanted to go to the the Subtropical Swimming Paradise during the evening, so had booked an early dinner at Huck’s (5pm). We had an early lunch, before heading off for our first swim of the day.

We retired to our apartment for a nap, then headed out for dinner.

My 4th OOTN:

Top: Primark, from more than a year ago

Scarf: Dorothy Perkins, last winter

Skirt: Primark, £8

Tights: Primark 300 Denier

Shoes: TKMaxx, purchased a year ago

The pool was wonderful in the evening! We were a little concerned about me being in water with the pool being lit up by coloured lights (I have Basilar Type Migraine that causes me to loose consciousness & am photosensitive). I did really well though & not only did I not loose consciousness/coordination/speech, my headache score (a scale between 0-10 with 0 being no pain to 10 being most pain ever experienced) didn’t increase!

We headed back to our apartment after about 2 hours.

Though we didn’t have to be out of our apartment until 10am the next morning, we got up, packed the car & left by 9am. You do have the option to make use of the activities, including pool, for the entirety of your departure day, we decided to head home.

We had an absolutely fantastic time at the Longleaf Center Parcs. Staff were helpful & friendly & we really couldn’t have asked for more! We will definitely be returning! I am planning a post with some pics of the pool once the film has been developed & want to write a post on our favourite eatery - Huck’s. Keep your eyes out for those!

Have you been to Center Parcs before? Which one?

Tania Xx

Center Parcs Day 3: Starbucks & A Selfie

Hi Everyone!

Our third day at Center Parcs was a slower one (find out what we got up to on Day 1 & Day 2). We started out in the pool but left early as Dan was experiencing stomach pains. While Dan spent the rest of the morning in the apartment, I ventured out to take some pics of the inside of the Plaza as it was fantastic!

WARNING: Lots of pics!

After we’d had lunch, we ventured out to the plaza to have a Starbucks & sit on one of the little islands surrounded by fish. It was one of the things I got excited about - it’s the little things that please me!

We then went back to our apartment for a nap, followed by dinner, once again at Huck’s!

My 3rd OOTN:

Jumper: Primark, £10

Wrap: Primark, £9

Trousers: 'The Girls' at TKMaxx, £14.99

Shoes: TKMaxx, purchased a year ago

Ring: Pandora, £45

Necklace: Primark, last season

Tania Xx

Please note: I will now be posting Monday & Thursday.