Dressed Down

Sparkling clothes don't have to be reserved for special occasions.

I'm the kind of shopper that hates buying things that you can only wear for one occasion. I want to be able to wear my clothes day, night, brunch, dinner, summer, winter, really whenever the mood takes me. I generally avoid having clothes that are reserved for 'going out' and like to be able to wear them during the day too. But this sparkly little skirt caused a little dilemma!

This was a gem I found in Mango last Christmas. I'd wandered up and down and up and down Buchanan Street searching for the perfect outfit for a work Christmas do and then I realised that I'd forgotten about Mango! I'm really bad for doing this. Whenever I go into Mango I always come out with something I absolutely adore and wear loads, but it's always the last I think of for some reason.

Any way I digress, so I bought this skirt for a Christmas party and yes, we're feeling proper Christmas, tinsel sparkle. But this went against my any season, any occasion shopping rule and I couldn't let this happen. I decided to crack out the skirt again for a catch-up lunch with my sister.

With a sparkling 'fancy' skirt the easiest thing to do is wear a top that you wear constantly and is just easy. So in my case a breton top. This is something I wear almost every week and it goes with every single thing in my wardrobe. Because I wear it so much I feel like I'm not all dressed-up when I pair it with a spangly skirt.

A breton top goes with absolutely anything and everything and I love how easy it makes this skirt to wear in the daytime.

Do you ever get something new and then wonder how you survived without it? For me it's this 'shacket'. I'd been on the hunt for the perfect one for a while and I couldn't have found a better one than this Dorothy Perkins version. I wear it so, so much and it's just so easy to throw on. It's just perfect for any easy daytime jacket. Perfectly casual, but still fashionable, the finishing touch that this outfit needed.

Add on some peep-toe boots that you love and your favourite daytime handbag and eat lunch being as sparkly as you want to be!

Jacket - Dorothy Perkins
Top - New Look
Skirt - Mango
Boots - Primark 
Bag - Miss Selfridge

x x x 

T2 Tea - Scots Breakfast

Pop the kettle on and get yourself a cuppa - this is one for all you tea lovers out there.

If you love a good ol' cup of tea, but you've never been to T2 Tea you need to get yourself there pronto! This place is created for tea-lovers all over the world.

"All we do, all we are, revolves around our love for reimagining and reinventing the humble tea leaf."

Welcome to the world of tea. As soon as you walk through the doors of the T2 shop your hit by all these amazing smells that fill the air. And these delicious smells come from the insane amount tea that lines the walls. The shelves are piled high with bright orange boxes filled with all kinds of flavours of tea, anything and everything you could imagine. With over 200 teas to their name you could, or I know I could, spend hours and hours browsing and tasting all the different concoctions on offer.

Plus if you're a fan of pretty teapots, cups and mugs their beautiful tea-ware is really hard to resist...

We were really there to celebrate the launch of a new brew - Scots Breakfast.

Designed to warm and brighten up a drizzly Glasgow morning the blend combines rich black tea, a big handful oats, a sprinkle of cinnamon and some sweet caramel notes.

It really is just a hug in a mug. I get Tunnocks teacake vibes and wholesome porridge-y goodness. Just warming, comforting tea-bliss. It'll be just perfection on a cold winters morning or a drizzling Sunday afternoon tucked up with a book. We added a drop of honey which made it even more delicious. The perfect cosy brew to warm you up, its just heavenly.

It's not like any tea I've ever tried before. It's tea to suit a mood and a day. You can take your time drinking this tea, it's an indulgent moment and tea to be shared and talked about.

We were also treated to some amazing freshly baked treats from the Big Bear Bakery that had been infused with the tea. The Glasgow bakery is a family-owned business where everything is made by a small team of skilled bakers. They baked us up some tea loaf - which I could've eaten slice after slice of. So good.

I for one am absolutely delighted that the Australian tea company had landed in Glasgow. The enchanting store is like an Aladdin's cave of tea and everywhere you turn there's something to delight you. It's all bright and vibrant colours and makes tea just a touch more exciting!

T2 Tea - thanks so much for having me! I can't wait to go back to stock up my tea cupboard, one of those mugs may also find its way into my shopping basket...

x x x