Tag: Converse

A Sick Day & Not Taking Things For Granted

I’m sat up in bed, surrounded by an unwanted abundance of snotty tissues…and wow, do I feel exhausted.

There are so many things I love about being self employed that I hardly ever take time to dwell on the negatives. But it’s on days like today when I could easily fantasise about calling in sick and then spending the remainder of the day cocooned in blanked, drinking copious amounts of hot honey and lemon, whilst having the world’s smallest pity part for one. I guess this little mind dump of a blog post is the closest thing I’ll get to that, as today’s little pity party is about to be cut prematurely short.

This morning I have to head out and shoot and after about 4 hours of broken sleep, I couldn’t think of anything worse. Unfortunately it’s not a day where I can be flexible and change things around, as I have a deadline and needs must and all that. Thank goodness for heavy concealer, that’s all I can say! It’s not the end of the world, I know, and to be honest it’s time like this that make me feel grateful for all the other things that I do love about my job.

I always tend to find that when I get sick with something so trivial as a cold (where I feel horrendous yet deep down know it’s not actually the end of the world), it actually helps me to put things into perspective. Not only with work, but also with general life.

I’ve been jokingly saying for a while now how I need to stop constantly eating crap. As much as I love salad, fruit, veg and all the good stuff (which I do eat in large quantities), I don’t think it counts so much if you’re following it up with take out and junk food on a regular basis.

If I were to write a food diary, you (and likely myself included), would be shocked. Sometimes I blame being busy, having to eat out a lot due to a busy social life and having an irregular schedule, but really I only have myself to blame. You can’t burnt the candle at both ends, eat like you’re filming a new Super Size Me documentary, and expect to stay fit and healthy. Nope. And that’s most likely why, on top of everything, my body has finally said, ‘I’m not having it, I don’t feel good, you’re rundown, here’s a cold’.

So taking better care of myself (or at least cutting down on all the extra crap I put into my body), is up there on the to do list. Along with that, I always tend to get my best ideas and inspiration when I’m not feeling well and have little energy to do anything. It’s frustrating of course, but it makes you realise all the things you really want to get done, and for me, it makes me realise how lucky I am to usually be able to do them without a second thought.

Something so simple, like going for a walk for example. I was so desperate to get out and go for a walk yesterday, so Damien and I went for one and even though it was a beautiful evening and I was glad for the fresh air, it absolutely floored me. Things like that just make me think about those who maybe always have to deal with that feeling, and how I can sometimes take these things for granted. I’m lucky that (aside from this passing cold), overall, I have my health. I can do things that I want and enjoy to do, so I should do them.

So we’ll round up this little cathartic poor excuse for a rant, style blog post by saying that, although having a cold sucks (and through it I feel pretty sorry for myself), it’s actually one of those little tiny blips that helps you put things into perspective and really appreciate your health, abilities and time. So I’m going to get up, take a hot shower, drink as much hot honey and lemon as I can before leaving the house, glam myself up (because like they say, fake it till you make it, or in this case, fake it until you’re actually well again) and get this show on the road…

Samio x

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July 26, 2018
3 Happiness Habits

Shots by Rosie Butcher

When we think of happiness it’s easy to think of what it is to be happy in a particular moment. For example, right now I think what would really make me happy is a large Dominos veggie volcano pizza (hmmm pizza). Or someone else’s idea of a happy moment might be buying those designer shoes they’ve had their eye on for ages! The reality though, is that however nice that slice of pizza tastes (still drooling at the thought to be honest), or however beautiful those shoes are, this type of happiness is short lived. If we don’t feel good in other aspects of our life it doesn’t matter how good the pizza tastes, or how dreamy the shoes are, they just aren’t going to fix it. The reality is that (queue the cheesy cliche line) happiness is a journey, not a destination.

Now when I speak of happiness, I’m talking overall happiness. No matter how seemingly good someone’s life is, it’s impossible to skip around cheery and smiley all day, everyday, don’t let social media fool you. Overall happiness however, goes deeper than what’s on the exterior and it’s something that can take work and I’m not talking a quick five minute fix.

Trainers – Converse | Jeans – Me & Em | Striped Tee – Cos | Cardigan – Me and Em | Watch – Cluse | Jewellery – Pernille Corydon

Spend Time With People You Love

Personally, nothing makes me feel more uplifted than surrounding myself with people I love. I’m lucky to have an amazing bunch of people in my life and to be quite honest I can’t get enough of them. Be it a long distant phone call, a coffee catch up, or even a sleepover with my besties (yes I’m a grown woman who still has sleepovers), I’m always left feeling in high spirits after catching up and spending time with some of my favourite people.

Aside from friends, family and partners, it doesn’t always have to mean spending time with people you’re close with. Obviously I’d recommend you do that as much as possible but sometimes you can find the type of people you love to be around in other situations as well. Finding like minded people is especially important. That feeling of being able to relate and share common ground/interests with someone can be just what you need. I love the buzz I get after having chats with like minded people about things that we are equally passionate about. And if you’re not sure about where to find these like minded people then think about what your main interests are and seek out clubs, groups and events where you connect with them. Be it through hashtags or even a quick google search, it’s easier than you think to ‘find your tribe’, so go for it.

Practice Gratitude

I’ve spoken about this before (particularly in this post here) and no doubt I’ll speak about it again, but practicing gratitude on a daily basis can do wonders for your happiness levels. When I wake up I like to take five minutes or so before jumping out of bed or grabbing for my phone, to just think about the things I’m grateful for in that moment. It can be as simple as being grateful for having such a comfy bed to go to sleep and wake up in, to being happy that you get to head out to a job you love, or maybe you’re even just grateful for the coffee you’ll soon be drinking. Whatever it is, take a mental note, or write actual notes if you’d rather. It can be whenever you like, not just in the morning. Just thinking about all the things that you’re grateful for can really help you to re-evaluate things and in turn, help to lift your mood. Do this on a daily basis and believe me you’ll see a difference.

Find Fulfilment

This is a weird one, as fulfilment can come is different forms for different people. You may find fulfilment in your children, you may find fulfilment in your job, or you may even find it in helping others. Sometimes the trickiest part is finding what brings you these feelings of fulfilment in the first place…but once you know what that thing is, you’ll know what to pursue in life in order to help bring you happiness. Of course fulfilment can come from a number of places, I know for me personally I find it in being able to use my creativity, in helping others, in spending time with loves ones and exploring different countries (quite a list there). For you it could be a similar combination, or something entirely different. Whatever it is, make time to work on or work towards the things that personally bring you fulfilment because quite often those are some of the things that will bring you the most joy in your life.

Those are my three happiness habits and just a few things that I find help me…Of course it’s normal to have down days here and there, we can’t be feeling super happy all of the time, but if you do find yourself constantly feeling down, then it’s always important to reach out and speak to someone about it. Here’s a link to some helplines if you do need more information – click here – or if you just feel like you need someone to chat to, I found out about a great little website where you can chat with trained listeners anonymously online, which you can find here.

Samio x

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April 6, 2018
Shooting In An Ugly Space & The Golden Hour

Making The Most Out Of A Space

I remember before Damien and I moved into our house, I used to get frustrated with the space I had to work in. When it came to shooting content for my blog, I would often have ideas in mind of the images I wanted to create and that didn’t quite seem to fit with my surroundings. Obviously doing street style shots has always been an option and something that I still love to do today, but when the weather doesn’t permit (which can be more often than not here in England), shooting indoors becomes the only option.

In my last blog post I talked about how I’ve been getting back into shooting self portraits, in order to improve my photography and editing skills and it’s something that I have been well and truly getting stuck into. I’ve been shooting almost daily in fact, when I can fit in the time and it’s true what they say, that practice makes perfect. I’m seeing my skills improving with each shoot and edit.

The problem with constantly using my space to shoot in however, is the fact that I’m running out of it. The idea of this ‘accidental project’, let’s call it, is that I want to push myself creatively and improve my skills when it comes to shooting and editing images for my blog and so I don’t want to repeat the same type of image over and over.

Whilst our living room and kitchen space have been come together quite nicely, as we near the end of our house renovation, the rest of our house is still somewhat more of a work in progress. That being said, it actually occurred to me that it’s still possible to make the most out of any space. With this also being about me getting creating, working with the unfinished, or ‘ugly spaces’, pushes me to do just that.

I guess it’s easy to capture pretty or aesthetically pleasing shots, when the location does most of the hard work for you but when working in a space that is a down right shambles (like my current hallway situation for example), it forces you to get a bit more creative.

I really managed to utilise the golden hour for these shots and as the sun shone through into my hallway, the lighting was just beautiful. As I’m someone who is still very much practicing here, I’m not a pro when it comes to lighting and how best to capture it, but I know that as a simple rule, natural lighting is great and during the golden hour (just before the sun sets). It’s a prime time for that gorgeous golden lighting.

Tripod to the ready and I quickly set myself up ready to capture my shots in the brief window I had before the perfect sunlight finally set. Whilst capturing my outfit and working with the stairs, I also had to capture a few close up beauty shots because the lighting was just too juicy not to take advantage of. The way the lighting and shadows fell, it really framed the shots nicely and considering this is an ugly space, I’m really happy with how these shots turned out.

As for my outfit, because it would be rude not to talk a bit about it whilst I’m here (this is primarily a style blog after all), I’ve pretty much been living in the same old favourites recently. I guess that’s why they call them staple pieces, because they are the items in your wardrobe that bring all the pieces together and that you wear the most. Well this is an entire outfit of staple pieces right here. The roll neck I purchased last winter from Tesco. I was doing a food shop when I spotted it and it’s been a go to item in my winter wardrobe ever since. The jeans need no introduction because they are a pair of my most loved and most worn (frequently featured here on the blog), from & Other Stories…and Converse, well they need no explanation really do they.

Oh and if you’re interested, this is a hair and makeup look I’ve been wearing a lot recently (mainly to protect my hair during the Winter months) and I’ve just done a get ready with me video on it, which you can watch here. Anyway, that’s all for today. Ciao for now!

Samio x

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Check out the hashtag #SamiosSelfPortraits on Instagram to see more of my recent self portraits. 🙂

December 13, 2017
Classy, Casual & A ‘New’ Pinko Love Bag

Oh hello there. I’m kicking off a new week with a new outfit post, which actually consist of nothing ‘new’ as such, but a bunch of pieces I’m loving all the same.

I say nothing new but I actually think I’m yet to introduce my newest Pinko edition here on the blog, which is this black and silver Love Bag with gold hard wear. If you follow me on Instagram you’ll already have seen that I’ve been using this bag a lot! I feel it’s a great alternative to my ‘Love Me Tender’ canvas Pinko Love Bag, which is great for more neutral toned outfits, where is this one is perfect for when I want to go for my more monochromatic looks, like with today’s outfit.

Talking about things I’ve been loving, the weather has been making me so happy recently, (I type this as it’s currently raining outside but the forecast says the sun will be back again later in the week thankfully). It’s been so nice not having to worry about jackets or layering for once and I’ve been making the most of every opportunity to go out without a jacket when the weather has been glorious.

I actually shot this outfit a few weekends ago when Damien and I were on our way to Castlefield to meet up with a friend for afternoon drinks and I’m glad to say we’ve had a good run of sunny Saturdays since, which has meant I’ve been able to wear lots of my favourite summer pieces.

I often like to combine an element of classy and casual into my looks when possible and I feel with this outfit I was able to do just that. I practically live in my Converse, which I think worked quite well with this look, but equally if you wanted to glam this outfit up for an evening you’d just need to pop on some heels and you’d be good to go.

Anyway, that’s enough outfit ramble. It mostly speaks for itself but I just fancied a natter and I don’t have much else interesting to chat to you about in today’s post but I’ll be back later in the week with a new post and another little catch up. Ciao for now…

Have a wonderful week!

Samio x

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July 10, 2017
Pants & Weather

I’m really starting to love my Spring/Summer wardrobe after having felt in a bit of a style rut not so long ago. I decided to mix things up and and now non-denim pants seem to have become ‘my thing’ at the moment. I’ve talked about wanting to move away from wearing jeans so much and I’ve really kept to that self pledge by incorporating a few new (non denim) trousers into my wardrobe, with these awesome Native Youth pair being the latest addition.

I feel with a few new clothing additions I’ve been able to have a total style refresh and I’m excited about my outfits once again. I’m still keeping things pretty simple but it just goes to show that you can still keep your wardrobe relatively mix and match whilst trying something new.

I’m very pleased about these new pants. They are versatile whilst still being a little bit quirky, as the print reminds me of a butchers apron. Weird association, I know but I think these are a type of love them or hate them trouser and I personally, love them! I wore them for the first time on Saturday on a glorious day in Manchester, whilst heading for lunch with Damien. We really got our own little ‘golden hour’, whilst it not actually being golden hour, when we decided to snap these shots on Saturday morning. When the sun was out from behind the clouds the lighting was just fabulous (bloggers dream) and I love how the shots didn’t even need editing because of it. We did however have to battle with the wind towards the end of the shots, as you’ll notice in the video clip below.

Anyway enough pant and weather waffle, I’m sure you’ll be seeing plenty more of these both here and on my Instagram (where I post outfits daily FYI). Let me know your thoughts on these down below. Ciao for now.

Samio x

Top – Rock On Ruby | Pants – Native Youth | Bag – Matt & Nat (here in black) | Trainers – Converse | Sunglasses – Vintage Christian Dior

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Some of the items may have been gifted to me for review purposes, however this does not affect my opinions – check out my disclaimer for further information.

June 1, 2017
Lately

Most Worn

It’s probably a tad bit inappropriate to post an outfit of me wearing a sweater when it is in fact (for once) boiling in England at the moment but in today’s post I wanted to share some of what’s been going on in my life lately, and this pink jumper is one of those things. Now I realise this jumper doesn’t fit with my usual style but my whole point for buying it was to have something super cosy that I could throw on when travelling or on those chilly early mornings when I’m heading to a shoot and want nothing more to be comfortable. I thought if I’m going down the cosy/comfortable route, I may as well make it fun and so I went for this bold oversized 80’s style sweater from Topshop. I believe it says ‘I am happy’ on the back in French, which I think is très appropriate as I’m often smiling my head off.

Eating Out

I’ve been eating out A LOT. This is something that at the start of the year I said I’d sacrifice somewhat in order to fund my travel addiction but alas that one didn’t last very long and I find myself eating out more than I dare to admit BUT with so many amazing new places forever popping up in Manchester (along with many old favourites), it’s hard not to!

A recent new spot I visited was the Brasserie Abode in Manchester, where I went along with my friend L’Oréal for dinner last Friday. The food and service was excellent. And although I may have gone for one of the least photogenic dishes on the mains menu (fish and chips), I have to say it was really good. My starter was the winning dish for me though, as I went for the Tuna tartare, spicy avocado and it was absolutely delicious! Just thinking about that dish makes my mouth water…after that we were too full to even think about desert but we did manage to wash it down with a tasty champagne cocktail which was the perfect way to start our Friday evening.

Music

I’ve been listing to some new(ish) music recently. I say some and by that I mean the same three albums on repeat, quite literally. I listen to music almost everyday but I must admit I easily get stuck in my ways listening to my firm favourites. Some current tracks I’ve been particularly obsessing over from from of these albums are:
Big For Your Boots – Stormzy
Sweet Dreams – The Last Shadow Puppets
PRIDE. – Kendrick Lamar

I have quite the eclectic taste in music so I never find myself listing to just one genre. Now I’m greatly anticipating the new Lana Del Rey album. So far I’ve been obsessed with every one of her previous albums so I can’t wait to get this new one in my life. Unfortunately it looks like we will have to still wait until the 21st of July for this one but at least we now know the release date.

And that’s it, just a little bit of what I’ve been loving and been up to lately. I’m happy to see that the weather has hotted up here but it probably won’t last long so I best go and make the most of it. Have a great weekend!

Samio x

May 26, 2017
What I Wore In Eindhoven

interchangeable pieces

I’m coming at you with a bit of an epic outfit post today, as I’m sharing not one but four outfits in today’s post. I’ve been a bit awol over the past couple of weeks here on my blog but if you follow my instagram you’ll know it’s because I’ve been super busy, as last week I was abroad twice: At the start of the week shooting for a job in Portugal and at the end of the week/over the weekend in Eindhoven for a bit of a different city break. A photo heavy travel guide on Eindhoven will be coming very soon but I thought that first I would share what I actually wore on my trip to the city.

Damien and I were in Eindhoven from Friday to Monday and I seem to have mastered the art of travelling light, as once again we managed to take one carry on case between us – the joys of having an interchangeable wardrobe means that you don’t actually take up that much luggage space.

I hadn’t expect Eindhoven to be quite the little shopping destination it was, with a few stores that were right up my street, including Hotspot which is now a new found favourite and I only wish they had one of these in Manchester!

Being one to keep my shopping to a minimal, I only purchased a couple of things whilst browsing round the shops, which included the stripe T-shirt featured further down in the post (which I bought at Hotspot) and the polka dot trousers (also in this post) from Monki.

As I steer away from wearing jeans quite so much I’m constantly finding myself on the look out for trouser alternatives. I spotted the polka dot trousers in Monki and had to try them on right away and I have to say that I am in love with them, so much so that I’ve barely stopped wearing them and am in fact currently wearing them as I write this post.

Anyway, I’ll let the pictures do the rest of the talking before I risk waffling on too much, so scroll down to see what I wore last weekend whilst in Eindhoven.

Samio x

Outfit 1

Trainers – Converse | Jeans – Asos | T-shirt – Cos | Biker Jacket – Zara, old (similar here) | Jewellery – Pernille Corydon | Bag – Kate Spade | Watch – Kartel

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Outfit 2

Trainers – Pinko | Trousers – Monki | Top – Topshop | Biker Jacket – Zara, old (similar here) | Jewellery – Pernille Corydon | Bag – Kate Spade

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Outfit 3

Trainers – Pinko | Trousers – Topshop | T-shirt – Selected Cotton | Denim Jacket – Old (similar here) | Jewellery – Pernille Corydon | Bag – Kate Spade | Watch – Kartel

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Outfit 4

Trainers – Converse | Trousers – Monki | T-shirt – Rock On Ruby | Denim Jacket – Old (similar here) | Belt – Asos (similar here) | Jewellery – Pernille Corydon | Bag – Kate Spade | Watch – Kartel

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May 19, 2017
What To Wear In Lisbon

Today I’m sharing the final look from my Lisbon trip, which I feel is long overdue, considering the trip was almost a month ago and now my next trip is in less than a week!

Anyway I’m still excited to share this look, as it was my favourite outfit of the trip and in this spot we found the perfect setting, with the blue tiled walls in the back, which complimented what I was wearing perfectly.

Before our travels I’d wondered what to wear in Lisbon, and more so, what to wear in Lisbon during the winter? I knew the weather was going to be milder than in England around this time and I was also aware that a lot of European cities tend to keep it pretty casual, which of course was fine by me.

I did pack heeled boots for the trip, just incase I wanted to step things up a notch in the evenings, however I found myself repeatedly reaching for my trusty Converse. In fact my friend L’Oréal and I both didn’t stop wearing our Converse and found ourselves ‘twinning it’ for the majority of the trip. We even wore our Converse for a night out, which was just as well, as we ended up dancing away until the early hours of the morning, which made it sheer bliss being heel-free.

Although we mostly kept it casual, that isn’t to say that we didn’t put some effort into our dressing. Being able to ditch several layers due to slightly better weather, got me excited to re-work some of my outfit favourites. You will see me repeatedly rocking my Mint Velvet 3 in 1 coat back home but it had been a while since I’d be able to wear it sleeveless. It worked perfectly with this Topshop shirt. Although I’ve been wearing this shirt quite frequently, I haven’t had much chance to show off the wonderful sleeves on it whilst out and about, as they are usually covered up by the sleeves of my coat. I felt the two pieces worked perfectly together and I can’t wait to team them together agin when the weather starts to warm up a little at home.

Finally, a quick note about the jeans. They are of course my favourite go to Farleigh style from Asos (which I wear repeatedly) but you may have noticed the slightly lighter shade of denim. That is of course because I decided to add a third pair to my wardrobe, which I actually featured here. However I since decided to cut the hem off the bottom, which I’m very glad I did because I think it changed them up a little bit.

Anyway, that’s all for now. It’s surprising how much you can waffle on about one outfit but if you’d like to hear more about my Lisbon trip you can check out my travel guide here.

Samio x

Shirt – Topshop | Jeans – Asos | Coat – Mint Velvet | Bag – Kate Spade | Trainers – Converse

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February 8, 2017
A Not So Blue Monday & A Lisbon Look

Oh hello first blog post of 2017! I’m a little late to the party, I know, but sometimes it takes me a while to get back into the swing of things…Anyway, today I’m feeling very contented (however tired) after a weekend away in Lisbon with my friend L’Oréal.

Today is apparently meant to be Blue Monday (supposedly the most depressing day of the year for us Brits), but for me I’m feeling very much the opposite and I have to admit having just had one of the most fun city breaks away might have something to do with it.

I’ve realised that one of my favourite things to do is travel. Strangely not in the sense of leaving home for six months to live somewhere afar (I’m far too much of a lover of my home for that), but I definitely enjoy the excitement of hopping on a plane for a weekend, or a week, or two away, to experience a different part of the world and try somewhere new.

After returning home from a trip abroad I’m always left feeling so happy that I’ve been able to experience another part of the world and make memories with some of my favourite people as well as meeting new people along the way.

This year I plan to do a lot more travelling and I’m happy to say that I already have a few more trips planned out, which is ideal because nothing sparks wanderlust in me more than a trip away in the first place.

Lisbon certainly kicked off the first trip of the year on the high and you can expect to see a photo heavy blog post all about my trip here once I’ve gone through all 915 photos on my camera, and how ever many more I took on my phone (yes, we got very snap happy).

For now I’ll share with you one of my outfits from the weekend away, which is this (you guessed it) casual and comfy ensemble…and I have to say I’m very glad that I made my Converse my footwear of choice for this trip because Lisbon has a lot of hilly cobbled streets, so practical footwear was a must!

Samio x

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January 16, 2017
Something For Everyday – The Burnt Orange Blazer

I have been on the hunt for the perfect blazer for the longest time ever! Okay, slight over exaggeration there but I have seriously searched high and low for what feels like months and I’m glad to now say, I have finally found what I was after, although not necessarily what I’d been looking for…In my mind I’d originally had the idea of a black or grey blazer that would be great for day to day but when browsing online and hunting in a few shops, I wasn’t really finding the type of thing that fit with my current (super casual) everyday style. It was just by chance that I stumbled upon this burnt orange colour blazer and to my own surprise, I instantly feel in love with it.

The first time wearing my new blazer I of course had to throw it on with my all time favourite Asos Farleigh jeans and a pair of Converse. It was the perfect outfit for a Saturday afternoon as Damien and I headed out for lunch and a few drink before meeting friends later for a BBQ.

This blazer definitely gets the thumbs up for the high wearability factor as I’m already finding myself reaching for it each time I head out. I also love that it’s a great Autumnal shade, which makes it a great transition piece as the seasons change.

Blazer – Asos | T-shirt – Asos | Jeans – Asos | Bag – Whistles| Trainers – Converse (in black)

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Samio x

September 7, 2016