British Soap Awards 2013

Good evening Lovelies :)

I hope you have all had a lovely week so far and are looking forward to the weekend. This post should have been done a few days ago but I've been revising my butt off, so I didn't get the change, but here it is;

My low-down on the fashion from the British Soap Awards is here! Everything that is included in this post is my opinion and my opinion only, and will include my favourite dresses from the night.

Brooke Vincent

Although, this is something I didn't expect to see on the red carpet for such a formal event that usually means ball gowns, I am totally digging this white suit! I am a huge fan of the suit for women at the moment and this is one of the best I've seen. Although, you wouldn't see me wearing all white anytime soon, Brooke pulls this off incredibly and looks gorgeous. I adore the sandals and red lipstick too! The only thing I would change is the hair to something a bit more sleek and sophisticated to add/compliment the outfit. 

Mark Wright and Michelle Keegan

I love the fact that these two are an item! They are just ridiculously good looking, can you imagine what their children will look like? Beaut! Anyway, both halves of this couple look incredible, but sorry Mark, Michelle is my main focus for this post. The choice of dress is beautiful. I feel this style compliments the stars slender figure but doesn't take anything away from her natural beauty. Although, I have nothing against the dress it is also rather, safe! But Michelle could wear a bin bag and still look beautiful.

Tina O'Brien

The ex corrie star absolutely rocked the red carpet at the British Soap Awards! She has been featured in practically every magazine and newspapers 'best dressed' list and rightly so! This absolutely stunning Lambrini inspired dress was designed by the one and only Nadine Merabi and doesn't it fit Tina like a glove? Oh gosh, the envy I had when I seen how gorgeous she looked in this dress was unbelievable. This dress (and obviously the lovely lady wearing it) is my winner  from the British Soap Awards and rightly so, Bravo!

Shobna Gulati

I never realised how beautiful this woman actually is until recently. I have serious hair envy - so long and shiny! Nude was rocked by a lot of soap stars over the space of the night, which I can't say I blame them for that choice as you can't really go wrong with a nude dress, Shobna looks simply stunning and this nude/yellowish coloured dress really compliments the ladies beautiful skin tone. Simple yet elegant, well done Shobna!

Jessica Fox

I'm not a frequent Hollyoaks watcher but whenever I do I always love seeing this lady. I think she is absolutely gorgeous and is a great actress. I am SO pleased that she wore a red dress to the British Soap Awards - there is this huge stigma that stars should never wear red as they will clash with the red carpet! And if there was anyone who could banish this stigma and rock red like a true fashionista then my vote would have been with Jessica. She looks incredible and has showed off her figure beautifully. Also, this dress rocks the peplum style which I am a HUGE fan of! Well done Jessica and well done for proving that no one should be scared to wear red.

Claire Cooper

My second favourite dress of the evening! Sported by both Claire Cooper and the wonderful Lucy Pargeter and although I prefer Emmerdale as a soap to Hollyoaks, I think Claire looked incredible in this black number. Again, huge fan of black dresses - you really, really cannot go wrong! This shows off Claire's beautiful figure and is bang on trend with the mesh sides - showing off a lot of skin but in a classy way - who knew that was possible? 10 out of 10 for the Hollyoaks beauty.

Jorgie Porter

The Hollyoaks ladies were rocking the red carpet in style at the British Soap Awards, as well as, picking up 5 awards! I love, love, love Grecian style dresses and this one is no exception. I'm not a huge fan of the thigh high slit that most dresses seem to have these days but Jorgie looks incredible. Her hair is spot on and compliments the dress perfectly, as well as, showing off Jorgie's gorgeous, slender neckline. Very impressed!

Georgia May Foote

My favourite soap actress at the moment. I have the biggest girl crush on her, ever! She is absolutely one of the most stunning things I have ever laid my eyes on - pure beauty. Again, competing against the 'no red' on the red carpet stigma, Georgia opted for a orange number and well, I salute you and all your fashion glory! Perfect choice, fits like a glove and proves to all those cynics out there that red/orange can be wore on the red carpet! Beautiful Lady!

The fashion on the red carpet this year has been on top form! Kudos to all the amazing designers, stylists and stars who wore all the dresses effortlessly. Slightly jealous.

Who or what dress was your favourite from this years British Soap Awards?

Hopeful

xxx

Outfit Post #15

Evening Lovelies,

Hope you have all had a lovely day and enjoyed the amazing weather!

I am really enjoying doing my blog posts at the moment, not that I haven't before, but I think it's the fact that I know once I have finished University for good I will have more time to dedicate to this blog and my other adventures, so I guess, I'm just getting myself excited already!

You lucky people are being treated to another outfit post, simply because,

1) I can

2) It's a brand new outfit so I wanted to show it off!

I have a ridiculous addiction at the moment to ordering clothes online, especially from ASOS! It has become my favourite hobby and as soon as pay day come around I already have planned what I'm going to buy. How bad is that? But I guess it means I have new material for my blog and an always up to date wardrobe - swings and roundabouts. 

This has to be one of my fave purchases this month (other than the dress in my previous post) It is perfect for summer with a denim jacket but I plan to take it on holiday too. At first I was a bit sceptical as I hardly ever wear colour and if it does, it's only a small amount. But I love it! I love the whole vintage, summery feeling to it and it's also super flattering and comfy - what more could you want?

 

Dress - ASOS - £35

Shoes - Office - £62

The dress fits like a glove, like most of my purchases from ASOS, and is perfect to be worn with mid heels and sandals in the day but with wedges in the evening too. I order this dress and as soon as I seen it I knew I just had to have it. I also teamed it with yellow nail polish and coral lipstick (I put that on after I had taken my pictures!) So, overall I am a very happy customer and would recommend this dress and style/length of dress to everyone!

I love how tiny my waist looks in this picture - big headed much?

I'm not usually one for highly patterned clothing as I feel it makes me look bigger than what I am but this dress is really flattering and I felt very pretty and summery all day! I have utterly fallen in love with the floral design and wish I could wear it every single day :)

Hope you like my outfit Lovelies!

What did you wear this Tuesday?

Hopeful

xxx

Outfit Post #14

Hello Lovelies,

Hope you have all had a marvelous bank holiday weekend and aren't feeling too rough this morning!

I had a really good weekend but it's gone far too fast for my liking. On Friday I spent the evening with my lovely uni friends and went to the cinema to see Evil Dead - horrendously, gory film and one I wouldn't really recommend if you're squeamish. Then on Saturday, I had a busy day running errands before a BBQ for my friends 21st and a big night out with work. I can't tell you enough how in love I am with my new dress!

At the beginning of last week, I had gained a few more followers on Twitter, and when people follow me I always click on their page and read their bio to see whether they're the kind of people I wan to follow back. This lovely lady with the username, @RMWLondon, followed me and she was interested in fashion etc... so I followed her back. I then found myself on her website and came across this beauty.

Black midi dress - RMW - £28.99

How amazing is it? And how amazing does she look in it? It's not something I would usually go for as it's rather sexy - and I feel like I can't pull off sexy, BUT I am a huge fan of a midi dress and black so I thought I would give it a go! I ordered it on the Tuesday and it was here by the Thursday - amazing service and delivery. The lady behind the website is so lovely, if you have any questions about her website, products or just want a chat she is the perfect woman! I have fallen in love with her, her website and her products and will definitely be ordering from the website again!

So, here's me in the dress...

It fits like a dream! After my hard work and recent weight loss I thought I would give it a whirl and ordered a S/M! I'm usually a small to medium in most midi dresses but as I had never ordered from here before I was a bit nervous - but I had nothing to worry about. Not only did I feel amazing and felt confident in a tight dress for the first time in ages, I also got LOADS of complements throughout the night - which kept me smiling!

This is definitely my favourite dress atm, and I can't wait to find another excuse to wear it!

I kept the outfit really simple with dark, burgundy platform heels (Miss Selfridge), Michael Kors Rose Gold Watch, Crocodile skin clutch bag (Matalan) and bright yellow nail polish to match the sunshine we've been having (Maybelline).

This was my face for the evening too - excuse my rollers! (haha!)

I used a combination of products ranging from, MAC, Illamasqua, Maybelline, Rimmel, BeautyStore and Eyelure - These are my facourite eyelashes ever, they're 140 by Eyelure.

I did order a yellow clutch bag off ebay to go with my nails and this outfit but unfortunately it didn't arrive on time but I'm hoping what I teamed it with anyway was more than satisfactory!

Here are some more pictures from my night :)

Me and my gorgeous friend, Jo!

Me and the lovely, Sam!

My Girls - Harriet and Jo <3

Hope you all liked my bank holiday weekend outfit! What trends/outfits did you rock?

Hopeful

xxx

Outfit post #13

Good Evening Lovelies!

Hope you have all had a great day today. I officially finished all my lectures for third year which means I'm well on my way to graduating - how exciting! I seriously cannot wait to finish and just get stuck into the real world, pretty bored with education now.

There are a lot of trends floating around SS13 and one of those is the dungaree. At first, I was uncertain on my feelings on the come-back of the jean dungarees as they reminded me of something you wore when you were a child and always feel embarrassed about when you look back on pictures. However, I then came across the pant suit dungaree and, well, fell in love!

I first seen them on Lucy Meck from TOWIE at a fashion event and had to have a pair. The lovely lady's suit was from Zara but unfortunately, after weeks of searching online and in-store, they were sold out everywhere! I was absolutely gutted, but determined to get my hands on a pant suit dungaree, so searched high and low and eventually found an identical version on Missguided!

 

I am SO pleased with it. The only problem I had was that the sizing was a bit difficult so I would recommend ordering two sizes - your usual size and the size above because the suit can feel a little restricting depending on your height and has a bit of an awkward zip. However, other than the sizing issues it is extremely comfortable, flattering and goes with practically everything! This particular day I decided to team it with my floral over-sized River Island blouse and my Office heels. I felt really good and for once slim! Which is always a bonus. I have also wore it with a black and white polka dot crop top with converse and a dusty pink patterned shirt buttoned to the top with dusty pink loafers - the outfit options with this dungaree suit are endless! I seriously think everyone should get on... Although, I'm still not 100% keen on the jean dungarees but maybe I'll have to give them a try!

Enjoy the rest of your evening :)

Hopeful

xxx

Motivational Monday #12

Good afternoon Lovelies,

Hope you're all having a good day so far!

I am fully aware I haven't blogged in a while, especially when it comes to my motivational posts, which is awful and I am very sorry. 

I have had a lot of people come up to me and ask when my next one was going to be as with all the assignments and exams over the next few months, many of you are feeling bogged down, stressed and unmotivated. Well, I've listened to you all and I am here to help (as best I can anyway!).

I too am feeling the strain of last minute assignment/exam preparations and the excitement of nearly finishing uni forever is being masked by the panic and anxiety of moving on and no longer being a student. Fear not you lovely, lovely people because there's nothing to be scared of.

Although, the consensus seems to be that many students, near graduates, are feeling the pressure of finding a new job, especially one that is in the field they have studied, and unfortunately are finding it extremely difficult and time consuming. So, in the famous words of Dory;

"Just Keep Swimming!"

Life is too short to get stressed out about job applications and wondering when your career will start and you'll start living the lifestyle you have always wanted. I have heard many people say things like "I can't do it", "I'm unemployable" and "I haven't got time/I've got too much work to do". That's not positive now, is it? If you couldn't do it and were finding things THAT difficult then you wouldn't have got this far in the first place. In order to 'do it' and achieve it, you have to put the work in - and although it seems like a hard slog now, we all know how amazing it is going to feel once we've done it and we're free!

You're not unemployable. No one is really unemployable. You're just not what they're looking for right there and then. I know it is easy me saying this but it's the truth. Although, I believe we have to work hard for everything we do and achieve in order to reap any benefits, I also believe that it has to be the right time and place. I am fortunate enough to have a job in an amazing company with the role of 'Trainee PR and Social Media Account Executive" and I constantly sat there analysing and trying to understand 'Why me?' out of everybody who has been in and out of that department during work experience,  why was I the chosen one?But, one day I realised I shouldn't be questioning why because I am the why. Not only have I worked hard and managed to achieve many different skills over a number of different work experience placements, I am also willing to work hard, work as a team easily and jump as high as I need to in order to impress somebody. But, you know what the other thing is? You could be the hardest working person in the world and still not get a job - but it's not because you're unemployable, it's just that no one has given you the opportunity you need or deserve in order to stand out above the rest... Yet! It will happen, for some it happens sooner than others, you have to keep the faith and keep working hard because one day someone will notice that you don't give up and will want you to be part of their team in no time. Keep going! Don't give up because if you do and you stop trying how is anyone going to realise or notice just how good you truly are and how much of an asset you would be to said company/employer.

Another point I wanted to make during this post was about weight loss. I know a lot of my posts recently have been about me losing weight and achieving my perfect bikini body. However, this part of the post will look at YOU guys! I have had the most positive feedback from my last weight loss post and was overwhelmed with happiness. Another thing, many of you have been asking for my help on how to achieve YOUR summer body and what sorts of things I'm doing in order to lose the weight, tone up and keep it off. If anyone would have told me I would be helping people with their weight loss and keeping them motivated I would have laughed and said you were joking - but here I am and I couldn't be more happier to help. I know I'm not the skinniest girl in the world, nor do I want to be. I just want to be healthy and happy, so the purpose of this post is to help you lot feel the same :)

They say it is 80% what you eat and 20% how you exercise - When I first heard this I was so shocked and slightly disheartened as I love my food and thought exercise would have been the main route to take in order to lose the weight. But, the first thing I have to say before I say anything else, is that you MUST MUST MUST be in the correct frame of mind. There is absolutely no point trying to do this if you can't be bothered or are not too serious about it as it will completely backfire and not work - believe me I've been there. It took me a long, long time to get motivated and in the right frame of mind, but again it's about the right time and place, and things just start happening! I joined the gym and have been going 3 times a week as well as eating a lot healthier - living off jacket potatoes, salad and water! So, if I can do it, so can you! It's as simple as that. But it doesn't happen over night. 

I've heard this all too often, in my own head aswell, how we want results straight away and want to feel/look good as soon as we start. I'm afraid to say lovelies, it doesn't work like that. It would be amazing if it did don't get me wrong, plus, You'll have good days, and you'll have bad days BUT you can't beat the feeling of working hard for so long and finally seeing results, it's the biggest adrenaline rush ever! I have had many people tell me I look slimmer and congratulating me on doing so well so far, plus, I know I'll get there as I have set realistic expectations of how I will look/want to look by the time June comes along. The one thing I will stress to you guys is don't worry so much! Enjoy it, make it part of your routine and go and make yourself happy! If you have a bad day (and believe me, it will happen!) don't beat yourself up about it, use it as fuel to start your next day with a much more positive and go-getting attitude! Always remember;

A new day is a new start!

Every single day provides us with another opportunity to either make the wrong things we did right or better ourselves even more than yesterday. You can do this, the only person who needs to believe it is, you!

Hope you're feeling much more motivated today Lovelies!

Don't forget; you CAN do this!

Hopeful

xxx

Mission: Beach Body is a go!

Good Afternoon my Lovelies :)

I can't believe how much I have been neglecting my blog recently - so so sorry!
I have a dissertation, 2 assignments and 2 exams before I finish uni next month so it's all missions go and I'm trying to get as organised as possible. However, another mission that has been continuing for a couple of months now is my Beach Body mission - to lose weight and tone up before my holiday with the girls in June and I am VERY pleased to say that things seem to be paying off. I still have a long way to go before I'm at my ideal body shape/size but its a positive step in the right direction, plus, I joined the gym this week and have been hammering it ever since and will be for the next 62 days until my holiday! I am determined to look HOT in a bikini this summer!

One of the first differences is in the shape of my stomach - I can finally see things starting to take shape and tone up nicely :) I'm really pleased with the results so far considering I haven't been doing for too long. I have lost over half a stone now but I know my weight will change the more muscle I gain - I've never been one to obsess with my weight, only with what I look like. As long as I'm happy and healthy, that's all that matters :)

 

There isn't a huge difference between the two but there is a noticable difference which is good enough for me at the moment - its the positive results I need to keep motivated and keep on top of what I'm eating and how much I'm exercising!

From the front, I am very pleased! The pockets of fat that had formed at the tops of stomach and around my rib cage area have decreased in size by quite a bit which is AMAZING! This was the one area I was desperate to tone up and get rid of the stubborn fat - and I'm bloody doing it :D It just shows if you care enough and work hard enough things really do start to pay off! Like I said, I stil have a LONG way to go before I am at the size and shape I want to be but its a great start, even if I do say so myself :) Another bonus, most of my clothes are starting to become loose and rather big (a great excuse to go shopping!)

I've recently brought a couple of crop tops which I have always been a bit conscious about wearing and when I did I felt so uncomfortable and wanted to cover up my stomach with a jacket or bag/clutch but for the first time I actually feel pretty damn good! :) 

I hope this post doubles up as one out of interest but also a motivational one - if any of you are stuggling to motivate yourselves or just don't see the point! When get your ass up and do something because I'm telling you it certainly pays off and the results will leave you feeling incredible :D I'm really pleased to share this experience with you all!

Have a good, productive day<3

Hopeful

xxx

Mission: Beach Body is a go!

                                         

Hello Lovelies,

I realised the other day that I said I would blog about my progress with the dieting and exercise I have been doing over the past few months. So, I'm here to fill you in on what has happened throughout my journey.

If you have read my blog before you would have seen that I was on the Juice Plus diet - which consisted of drinking shakes to replace meals in order to speed up your metabolism as well as supply you with the healthy stuff, like vitamins etc, that are in the shakes. When I started I was feeling really positive about the whole thing and couldn't wait to start seeing results like what everyone else had or seemed to have.

I did the Juice Plus diet for a month and didn't see any progress whatsoever. Considering I had flipped my whole lifestyle on its head  by eating a fraction of the amount I used to eat because I was replacing my meals with shakes, only eating meat, vegetables and fruit, and exercising 3 times a week and more, I assumed the weight would fall off me pretty quickly - because I'd changed and because I was trying and working really hard. But nothing. I would constantly go onto the Facebook page and feel so disappointed with myself that I hadn't managed to lose as much weight as all the other woman had who are on the same thing. I felt a failure. It was awful. It wasn't as if I was trying to lose a lot of weight I just wanted to lose a stone to start off with just to see what I felt and looked liked after. I wanted to be and feel healthy, as well as, look really good and feel so much more confident. After talking to one of my close friends who was also on the diet the same time as me, she also felt the same way and together we decided to stop with the diet as it clearly wasn't working for us. Which was a huge shame as it seems to be 110% successful for everyone else, just not me.

After having a week off from dieting and exercising to try and figure out what I was to do next, my mum suggested that I try Slimming World. I have and had heard incredible things about this diet. My mum was on it and lost a stone just from eating healthily and being more careful. Numerous women from work had had dramatic weight loss from the diet and the best thing? They have kept it off the entire time since starting dieting till now which is exactly what I want and need. So, I thought I would give it a try.

It's possibly the best diet I have ever been on! The guides are so helpful and have step to step pages on what you're allowed to eat and what you're not (which isn't a lot which is great) I'm allowed 3 meals a day, which means I am never hungry and I am always left completely satisfied with what I have had and do not crave any bad foods - which is fab! I'm still early days yet as its only been my 2nd week on the diet but I feel great and I am positive this one will work this time.

Do you know how I know? Because I've already lost half a stone!!! How amazing is that? I reckon that is the two diets combined, as I can't imagine I have done that in just a week but its great to finally see and feel results. I still have a long way to go and I am heading towards losing at least another stone if not a stone and a half which will be a total of 2 stone! I am continuing exercising throughout, swimming, aerobics, boxfit and even the 30 day squat challenge! So, fingers crossed I will get there before my girls holiday in June! But so far so good :)

I will try and keep taking pictures of my progress to show you all that it really does work :)

Keep the faith!
Hopeful
xxx