Tag: Kate Spade

The Need For Balance & A Social Time Out

Maybe There Is Such Thing As Too Much Fun

I well and truly feel like I’ve burnt the candle at both ends. You know that friend that will say yes to social plans 95% of the time, even the super last minute ones, well that’s me. The problem is, not being one to say no means I’m like this even when I have a thousand other things on my plate and eventually it often leads me to grinding to a complete and utter halt. I say this, but obviously work still needs to carry on, previously made social plans are still in the diary and meanwhile my mind is ready to switch off, I’m left feeling unmotivated and the most appealing option is to go into hibernation.

I think a big part of this comes down to not wanting to disappoint and trying to always be there for the people around me. When I say no to something or have to cancel plans I’m always left feeling so guilty, when in reality I know my friends and loved ones would understand, but I just can’t help feeling bad. There’s also the occasional fear of missing out and for the most part I just love having fun, so will rarely pass up the opportunity.

And that’s the thing, I do have a lot of fun. I can think of so many memories from this year alone that will set me off giggling just thinking about them. I’ve been able to spend some quality time and make great memories with some of my favourite people and I’ve had a lot of pretty cool adventures.

Whilst I sometimes do well with juggling it all, I need to remember that I occasionally need to stop in order to prevent me from eventually dropping everything. Saying no and easing up my social calendar is something I’ve never been great at and I absolutely love making plans, but it’s vital I get better at it in order to allow myself to have some rest and recuperation.

They talk about the work/life balance but I feel like I need ‘time out’ thrown in there too. I don’t mean stopping everything altogether, I just mean giving myself periods where I take a step back from social engagements and focus on work and me time, instead of trying to fit everything in all at once and eventually burning out altogether. This is just a reminder to myself that it’s okay to say no, it’s okay to not be available for everything and it’s okay to have those days that you might not have other plans but that you keep free anyway, even just to have a day for yourself.

Samio x

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September 1, 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
Winter Wardrobe Upgrade With The 3 In 1 Coat

If you’re a regular to my blog, you’ll know how important versatility and wearability is when it comes to any new pieces that I allow into my wardrobe. When searching for a coat I can often find it overwhelming as there are so many styles out there that it can be hard to find ‘the one’, especially when wanting to invest in something good quality that can endure a number of seasons…

As soon as I saw the Navy Three In One Trench Coat, from Mint Velvet’s new collection, MINT, I instantly fell in love…Braking all my rules and saying yes to navy, I definitely managed to tick the box for versatility, as what’s more versatile than a coat that can be worn three different ways!? I can’t wait to keep re-styling this over the coming Autumn/Winter months. Can you tell how excited I am about this coat! Anyway, enough babbling, I’ll let the images do the rest of taking, and don’t forget to check out my mini Lookbook video at the end…

One

Shirt – Y.A.S | Skinny Scarf – Asos (similar here) | Skirt – Asos | Belt – Asos (Similar here) | Boots – Office |Bag – Kate Spade | Coat – Mint by Mint Velvet

Two

Three

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Samio x

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

October 17, 2016
Pretty & Practical – My New Go To Accessory

I used to be obsessed with owning lots of bags and shoes and ended up owning so many that the majority would get neglected and really I was focusing on quantity rather than quality, often acquiring pieces that wouldn’t really stand the test of time. These days I much prefer to own a smaller selection of really versatile accessories that I love and are easy to regularly re-style with lots of different outfits.

I feel the right accessories can really help to elevate an outfit and my most recent bag addition works perfectly to do just that, even with this simple jeans and t-shirt combination I wore on Sunday.

This gorgeous little Kate Spade Tassel bag is from Tessuti where they now stock Kate Spade NY in store. With its long adjustable strap it can be worn on the shoulder or across the body with ease and at just under 8 inches wide and 2.5 inches deep, it is the perfect size for fitting in all my everyday valuables and keeping them safe when out and about.

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I didn’t think a bag of this size would fast become my go to bag for everyday. The size is surprisingly deceptive and I actually manage to fit a fair amount in it, which is something you’ll notice if you check out my new ‘What’s In My Bag’ video here:

Samio x

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

September 14, 2016