Hong Kong Continued // Hotel ICON

Day two in Hong Kong began, as any good holiday should in my book, with an amazing breakfast at our hotel, the Hotel ICON. An assortment of juicy fresh fruit, pastries and some light fluffy pancakes with fresh berries and maple syrup. Oh, and an incredible view over Victoria Harbour! 

It's a bit sad to admit this, but breakfast is always one of my holiday highlights. Usually, I don't have time to enjoy breakfast, I occasionally manage to grab a cereal bar on my way out to work, so I think this could be the reason why. And also, since I'm on holiday, calories don't count either! You knew that, right?!

So, after I'd indulged in lots of totally calorie free, delicious breakfast treats, we hopped in a cab (managed to forget my camera battery though so the photos come courtesy of my phone) to a place called Stanley. It's a beach area on the south side of Hong Kong island with a great promenade lined with British style pubs, cafes and restaurants. There's also a fairly popular market and a small mall built on the hillside overlooking the bay. It seems like anywhere you go in Hong Kong you're never far from some shopping, which suited me just fine!

The view at breakfast, does it get much better than that?!

I wish I could start every day this way.

Taxi to Stanley

Stanley promenade complete with British pubs, just like home except much better scenery!

From the top of the mall overlooking the bay.

We browsed the market, ate lunch at one of the many cafes on the beachfront and wandered along the promenade. It was so lovely there, it had an air of England to it, something as expats we really enjoy the novelty of. A thunderstorm rolled in late in the afternoon so we headed back to our hotel to get ready for dinner.

I wore a dress I was recently sent by Sugarlips, a new women's clothing site that has started shipping internationally. It's nice to wear something that doesn't come from Zara (the clothes from all the Korean stores are way too small for me sadly), I fear that everything I own could end up being from there! The dress is good quality and works both for the day and evening if you pair it with a white blazer as I did.

Dress - Sugarlips (here).  Pattern Blazer - Zara (here).   Pink clutch - Mulberry.  Patent Wedges - Dune

Saturday Shopping & Speedy Snapping

Ladies, how was your weekend? Mine's been pretty hectic! Dressed casually and comfortably (the only way in my opinion when facing an entire day shopping) I headed to Seoul on Saturday. I went to try and find sandals and the bits I'd mentioned in my previous post but of course, because it's what we brits call 'sod's law', I couldn't find any of those things. Not one!

We actually began the day by going to get my diamond set in my engagement ring. My fiancé proposed with a stand in ring (maybe he knows I'm fussy) and then we chose a diamond and had a setting custom made. As such, it's taken a little while to get it sorted but now it's done and I couldn't be happier! I absolutely love it! I'm thinking of doing a little post sometime if you guys would like to see it properly?

We followed that with a pit stop for coffee and cupcakes at my favourite cafe in Seoul. Yummy! After, we took a short stroll along a stream in the city then on to the shops where, despite not finding anything I needed, I picked up lots of other things. 

Come on now, you didn't think I'd be leaving empty handed did you?!! 

I snapped some shots on my phone whilst on the go through the day. So here you have a day shopping with me:

One thing guaranteed to get me excited - cupcakes! Far too excited in fact!

Three of my favourite things - my ring, cupcakes and my nails.

Walking at Cheongyecheon in Seoul.  Beige Linen Blazer - Zara.  Orange ruffled vest - Dorothy Perkins.

You haven't seen busy until you've seen Myeongdong, Seoul's main shopping district!

Purchase 1 : Lime green bag, my nod to the neon trend - On&On

Purchase 2 : Hot pink blouse - Zara. I also picked up a couple of tees and a rather snazzy necklace too!
 I knew I should have stuck to my new rule of avoiding Zara! Dang it! 

See that cute bear in the middle? He'd have been Purchase 3 if the fiancé hadn't got in the way of things. 

Taxi to dinner : I'm happy because I got new things, he's happy because he made it out alive.  

Distractions & Blog Awards

Yesterday evening was so nice here that my fiancé and I decided to head out for a coffee and yummy gelato followed by a lovely walk in the park again. So, since I'd not been able to blog yesterday, I came home today with the strict intention to write a great blog post. Now, sitting here at 11.30pm I'm wondering what happened? Where did my time go and why is it that I get so dang distracted sometimes?!

I often imagine how much more could I accomplish in life if I didn't allow myself to become distracted but rather focused on the task in hand.

Continuing the procrastination (because it's what I do), I've come up with a list of common hinderances to my productivity levels:

eBay Finds: Rhinestone Collar Necklace

eBay is like a treasure hunt to me. I know there's good stuff out there I just have to find it. I've got to admit I waste a lot of time searching through the endless array of other people's unwanted items and the cheap junk straight from China that you just know will fall apart within a week! Once in a while I hit on something that makes it all worth while though.

I'd had a crappy day at work today, one of those Monday's you just will to be over. It doesn't help when I know all my friends and family in England will be enjoying a nice bank holiday today either. On returning home my spirits got lifted though when I saw that a package had arrived. 

Cue excitement! 

It could have been any number of things (lately I've been doing a lot of treasure hunting - usually on my phone in bed when I should be sleeping!) but I was surprised to find it was this necklace that wasn't due to arrive for another two weeks. 

Unlike most things I buy on eBay, this necklace didn't spend any time on my Watch List. As soon as I spied it I had to get it, even if it was coming from Shanghai. 'Buy It Now'... click!

I knew the quality wouldn't be great especially since the price tag was under $20 but the mix of cream enamel, rhinestones and cute collar design won me over. Despite loving the look of the detached collars that are everywhere at the moment, for some reason I just feel ridiculous whenever I try one on. Does anyone else feel that?! 

This necklace is a great alternative to those but still has a similar aesthetic. I love how it looks a little bit vintage but the chunky cream enamel keeps it bang on trend. As expected the quality isn't great, the chain seems a little lightweight, but I think it'll survive the summer at least. I can't wait to wear it! Collar necklaces are already available in a lot of different stores and I'm sure they're going to be huge by summer.

Here's a few more (not from eBay) that I wouldn't mind wearing:

1. Miss Selfridge 2. Modcloth 3. Topshop 4. ASOS 5. Dannijo 6. Dannijo 7. Topshop 8. Miss Selfridge

If you like then one I found on eBay you can click here to see the listing. They also sell it in black and the postage is free worldwide.

Have you found any treasures on eBay? Tell me where, I'm always on the hunt for more! 
What do you think of collar necklaces, do you own any?

A Beary Good Friday Night

How great are weekends?! The only complaint I have about them is how quickly they always pass. On Friday nights, even though half the time we'd love nothing more than to just crash out on the couch with a bottle of wine, my fiancé and I always try to go out and do something. It really helps to make the weekend feel a little longer. Last night, since it was a really nice evening here, we went for a stroll to the park and then for a few glasses of wine and dinner al fresco! 

I really struggle to dress appropriately when it comes to doing something like that though. Dinner and drinks calls for smarter attire than the walking around the park part, don't you agree?! Anyway, after a lot of uming and ahing about it, I opted for my new floral skirt from F21 with my beige linen blazer from Zara. A white vest, some gold flat sandals and one of my favourite vintage clutch bags to pull the look together. 

The quality of some photos isn't fantastic, sorry...but that's because they were all snapped on my brand new iPhone!! Yeeeeeaaaah! :)

Floral skirt - F21.  White watch - DKNY.  Nails - OPI 'Shorts Story'.

Gold Sandals - F21 : Only place currently stocking my size in Korea :'( Steve's trainers - Salvatore Ferragamo.

Hello Sunshine!

After weeks of waiting for it to warm up here Spring finally came and in the blink of an eye, summer has too. The seasons in Korea always seem to change very suddenly, no more than two weeks ago I was wrapping up with jackets and scarves, now I'm peeling off layers and exposing some seriously pasty legs to the world. 

Apart from feeling like I'm almost glowing white, I couldn't be happier about the arrival of summer!

I'm excited about dressing for the warmer weather. Winter is layers, dark colours, wrapping up against the weather and feeling constricted. I'm ready for summer now, the florals, the bright color combinations and easy feminine styles. Summer dressing is somehow more effortless and relaxed. I can't wait to delve into my wardrobe and start wearing my floaty blouses, long and flowing maxi dresses, cute camis and wedges with frilly skirts. 

I welcomed in the first of the hazy summer days by going for a picnic in the park wearing the easiest, most timeless summer classic, the blue denim skirt. 

No, it's not cutting edge fashion. No, it's not a 'wow' piece. Actually, it's nothing special but that's where the beauty of it is, in it's simplicity!

It's relaxed, dependable, comfortable and versatile. You can wear a denim skirt almost any way you want. Since we were only heading to the park I paired mine with a white embroidered blouse, some bright accessories and picked up the handbag that happened to currently have all my junk in it. 

Casual and easy.

Bring on the warm summer evening strolls, fun weekends spent at the beach, dining al fresco, lazing around in the park with a picnic and a bottle of wine... Oh, and a tan....please!

Spring Haul: Wardrobe Re-style

Cherry blossoms below my apartment. 

Spring has finally sprung here and I've been turning my wardrobe upside down trying to put together outfits suitable for the suddenly warm weather. Of course, even though I have more than enough clothing, somehow I feel like I have nothing to wear, it's all old! I'm sure you've all stood and looked at your wardrobe and thought that at least once or twice right?!

If you saw the room that has become my walk-in closet you'd know I really don't need to go out and start buying a whole new spring wardrobe though. I decided to go out and pick up just a couple of new items to try and shake the idea of doing just that. The aim being to re-invigorate what I already have instead. Sometimes I find that just by getting a few new things I suddenly have so many more options incorporating older clothes.

Since Zara always has a habit of sucking my bank balance dry and is 20-30% more expensive here in Korea (talk about adding insult to injury!), I made a pact with myself not to go near it. Instead I headed to H&M and Forever 21, both much more wallet friendly. Turns out there's a fair amount of stuff I liked in there too...surprise, surprise!! I managed to exercise a little restraint though, a pretty amazing feat for me!

Here's the items I decided could re-invigorate my wardrobe for spring:

Cream Dipped High Low Hem Dress - F21. This is my favourite buy, I'm sure it'll become my 'go to' summer dress.
It'll work for evening or dressed down with sandals and tan accessories for a summer day.

Black Short Flared Skirt - H&M. A basic staple that'll work with so many tops and jackets, again day or night.
Big floppy hat - Forever 21. These babies add glamour and style to just about any outfit.

Purple and Blue Floral Skirt - H&M. Bright, summery and a very cute option for day with sandals or dressed up with some wedges for a summer evening out.

Accessories can absolutely make or break any outfit so of course I had to pick up a few new options.
Turquoise Headband, spiked bracelet and gold bangles - F21. Long tassled necklace - H&M.

These few additions have really helped to refresh my wardrobe and the way I'm looking at it. I feel like I can combine the new items with older pieces to make lots of brand new outfits now!

The Ugly Duckling

I'm camera-less currently (it's in the service centre) and I found out yesterday that I'll be staying this way until Monday, unless anyone has a spare one laying around?!

As a result I haven't been able to take any new photos this week and it's put a bit of a dampener on my blogging. Nothing too fun about a picture-less post is there?!

Well, this evening I decided to have a little dig through some of my old pics and see what I had. Boy oh boy that was a treat!! I found a couple of real gems, many of which aren't fit for the blogsphere to be honest. The pic above was a bit of fun Steve and I had with Photo Booth when I first got my Mac. It has to be done once! I'm going to put together a little selection of some of my favourite old snaps and post that tomorrow.

In the meantime, I have a one time photo treat for you lovelies! I actually don't want it polluting my main screen. To be honest, I'm not even sure why I'm going to show you! But here I am doing it anyway... if you're curious, click below to see the photo in question.

I Wore: Sporty Sundays

Since we moved to Songdo, a city with a lot of outdoor space and some beautiful parks, located just an hour away from Seoul, I find myself having to dress casually more often than before. Of all the days I have to get dressed for, the ones I struggle with the most are the casual ones. Dressing to go out for a long walk with the possibility of an impromptu bike ride, or (god forbid!) a jog, is more of a challenge to me than dressing for just about any other occasion. 

Lilac hooded sweater - GAP. White canvas pumps - Vans. And a giant teacup, yep.

Loose fit 'love' tee - F21. Glasses & scarf - Korean stores. 

And The Winner Is... Deborah Lippmann Giveaway

The Deborah Lippmann Giveaway is closed now and there is a winner! It took me a while to get one because for the sake of being fair I had to write everyones names down to give you all the entries you'd made. That's because, once again (you'd really think I'd learn!) I forgot to go about my giveaway in an organised fashion. Somebody pleeeease remind me to use Rafflecopter for my next giveaway!

I'd like to say a huge thank you to everyone who follows me and to those who have entered! Even though there can only be one winner I'm still so grateful for each and every one of you who make blogging fun and worthwhile for me with your comments and opinions on my posts! Thanks for taking the time to stop  by my little piece of internet! I wish there could be lots of winners but there'll be more giveaways in the not too distant future!

Without any further ado, I am so pleased to announce the winner of this giveaway is Jasmine from  La Bella Vita! Congratulations sweetie!!

If you don't already know who Jasmine is make sure you take a look at her blog. She's such a beautiful, friendly girly who writes lots of cute posts and also very inspiring and motivational ones too! Go check her blog out!

Jasmine - please drop me an e-mail with your postal address and your favourite two polishes then I can get them sent to you. I understand that it could be a hard choice to make (so many pretty colours to choose from!!) so if you need to, take your time ;)

xxx

PS: I think Candy Shop (above) could be perfect for you, it's very pink and sparkly... it's still my personal fave! :)