Free as a freelancer

It's been a little while since my last post and since then a lot has happened! I've turned 23 (sob), moved house and got myself a little job. Saying farewell to Epsom was an emotional blur, mainly because I was still intoxicated from the night before's farewell drinks, but I have now moved in with my beautiful sister, her husband (or my super, duper big brother as he would rather be known as) and their two little cherubs. Not only do I have a glorious new boudoir, but I have also got my own dressing room. Yes. A bloody dressing room. But more of that another time, I'm still in the process of filling it with all my belongings. Living in the country side but still being able to do the commute to London is perfect and as a bonus I am closer to my boy, Jimmy Willy. Dreamy.

As for my little job, I am now officially a freelance copywriter at my favourite place in the world ASOS. I say little job because it's not a full time position currently but it's very exciting nevertheless! In celebration of the gig, I thought I'd share what I wore on my first day...

Twosie: Vintage Reclaimed @ ASOS

Kimono: Noisy May

Shoes: ASOS

Bag: River Island

Sunglasses: ASOS

Chocker:ASOS

I'm such a floozy when in comes to a twosie, but I couldn't resist this Vintage Reclaimed number. I'm loving culottes and longer shorts as we go from summer to autumn and these are ideal for the change. This was so comfy for my first day behind the desk and then was cute to meet James for a stroll around Camden afterwards. 

Look at my rucksack bulging like a stomach in need of a gastric band. 

Oh look, it's the moon. This new addition was my birthday pressie from James, isn't she a beauty? She was done by the lovely Cassandra Frances at Black Garden Tattoo in Covent Garden, London. For a better picture, check out my Instagram @soniaflower. 

Now, I love these shoes a lot but don't underestimate how difficult it is to get a nice picture of them on my feet. My finger like toes just ain't alluring at all but they insist on being in the spotlight and scramble to escape from the tight lacing of the shoe. Little buggers. 

Hope you're having a lovely evening/afternoon/morning/middle of the night and don't forget to follow my instagram accounts, either @soniaflower or @theglitterden, or both if you really like me. 

Ta ta for now. 

Home Sweet Home

This weekend James and I galloped off to the South to see my mum and friends and to indulge in an early birthday treat. My mum had treated us to tickets to go see The Lion King on stage. It was so amazing and she bought me baby Simba to snuggle with during the second half. James got a bit jealous. Along with our theatre trip, we also took James down to Sandbanks at sunset to see how beautiful it is. It made quite the glorious backdrop.

Sunglasses - MinkPink

Crop top - Vintage reclaimed

Skirt - Lavish Alice

Shoes - Birkenstock

It was rather blowy and my skirt acted as some sort of wind sail, I thought I was going to go flailing like a rag in to the ocean. However, I did have my own Marilyn moment... 

I love a pocket and luckily this skirt has two as that was the only way I managed to preserve my modesty from the elderly dog walkers bumbling past. 

As you can expect from a windy evening by the seaside, it was a bit nippy but luckily I had come prepared with this scarf. It might look like I picked up a dog blanket from the back of my mother's car but I promise this was manufactured for the use of a chilly human. 

Tartan scarf - ASOS

Turns out the photographer wanted a snuggle with the scarf as well. Who's the better pouter?

I reckon James is. 

What a glorious evening and a glorious weekend. Thanks to everyone I saw for making it so good! Love and miss y'all. 

Hey Ya!

Normally when I'm hungover I like to roll around in my own filth surrounded by pizza, an assortment of fruit juices and piles of candy. I like to drift in and out of sleep, occasionally prying my eyes open to see the time/watch a film/eat more pizza but this hangover I was dragged out of my sty like an reluctant little piglet. Sundays are my glorious housemate and her lover boy's only day off together so each week they partake in what they call 'Super Sunday'. Except she sounds like Johnny Vegas so it's more like 'Soo'er Soondey'. She's going to kill me. HI LOZ. 

Anyway, this Super Sunday turned into a double date situation and my guy and I tagged along for a day of fun. We went to The Power of Summer Street Feast at Battersea Park for some grub. Each week there's a selection of pop-up restaurants to dine at in the sunshine. The area itself is decorated cutely with giant Jenga, directors chairs to relax in and a trampoline to play on...

There's me being a little froggy. 

After we fooled around on it we saw a sign saying it was for 12 years and under, woopsy. 

We were spoilt for choice in terms of grub to indulge in. We couldn't decide what our poor hungover bellies were craving the most. In the end we made a wise choice in Le Bun. A very wise choice indeed. 

This is making me want to lick the screen because I'm really hungry and this was phenomenal. We all went for the same because we're sheep and get serious food envy, this is Le Duck Frites Bun. Let me explain to you whats underneath that naughty, seeded brioche bun. Pulled confit duck. Yes. Pulled duck. I am a massive pulled pork fan but Jeez Louise pulled duck is on another level. Unless you hate ducks, then I guess it would be on a rather low level for you... anyway. On top of the pulled duck was crispy little straw fries, a Bearnaise spread, a champagne slaw and the drizzled over that was a duck sauce. It was like a party in my mouth. 

The fries, oh my Lord the fries. Now, I don't know exactly what they fried them in (tell us Le Bun) and I don't know if it was because we were hungover but the fries were unreal. It left us all so quiet and wide eyed as we munched on them. What you can see laying on top of the fries was the most amazing truffle mayo. So bloody yummy. If you ever stumble across Le Bun I urge you to try this wonderful creation. That naughty guy in the background is just my tequila slushy, he was also rather splendid.

After all the eating, we just chilled and then had a wander. It was one of those days where I just wanted to be relaxed and so comfy and I threw on this outfit without much thought and I ended up really liking it. 

Pretty much everything is ASOS apart from my trusty Birkenstocks and my Noisy May kimono, which is going to perfect in seeing me through the transition between summer and autumn. 

Sheer tops and blouses can be tricky to wear. People literally stare you down as if you're an escaped mental patient if you wear them with a cute bra underneath. I don't mind really, but if you're a little more shy then I'd wear a cute printed bikini top like this popcorn one, a bralet or a crop top underneath. 

I call these shorts my PE shorts. They kind of look like they were made to run cross country across a muddy school field but they're so comfortable and versatile. 

All in all it was a fabulous day finishing with a delicious Eton Mess Froyo.

Such a beauty. 

Until next time darlings. 

Voodoo Child

Twosie - Textile Federation x ASOS

James has got himself a new job in Dalston so I met him on Friday night after work to go for some pizza and a wander. Every day on his voyage to work he passes Voodoo Ray's and starts to salivate. It was finally time to go check it out. They sell pizza by the slice and have many different topping combinations to choose from. We were very much excited. The slices were bloody huge and the toppings were different and interesting. When we finally got our sloppy tongues around one of the ginormous slices, we did think it was delicious but we were expecting a little more. All the flavours seemed to merge in to one and I couldn't make out any distinct toppings which was disappointing. The little dipping sauces, however, were bursting with flavour and the secret recipe chilli sauce was our favourite. I don't know if I'd make the trek to Dalston for a Voodoo Ray's again but it was cute inside, the staff were nice and if you're in the area it's probably worth it. 

If not, you'll make the mission across London and start to feel a bit like this...

James was creative director for this set of blog photos. He told me to give him lots of 'tude.

After flipping him the middle finger, I decided enough was enough and went back to my usual bashful ways. 

This little two piece is by Textile Federation in their recent collaboration with ASOS. It's so cute and comfortable and would work as individual statement pieces or together like this, which reminds me of a little vintage playsuit. I teamed it with my usual white Birkenstocks. I just can't get over how comfortable they are, especially for a day walking around London which we then did after gorging on pizza. We wandered down to Convent Garden for some delicious Italian ice cream from Gelupo and then moseyed on back towards Waterloo to come home. In the summer I love walking around the city, you don't realise how close everything is, you avoid smelly tube people and you get to see things that you would miss when you're deep underground. 

For picture of pizza related things and the rest of our night follow me on instagram @soniaflower or for more fashiony/OOTD pictures follow @theglitterden. 

For now I'll leave you with Mr Hendrix. 

Lilac Mermaid

Originally I had planned to wear this outfit whilst frolicking through lavender fields, breathing in fresh air and drinking homemade lemonade but Saturday was one of those days that just didn't go to plan. For the past three weeks me and Jimmy Willy have planned to go to the lavender fields not too far from my crib for a relaxing day of prettiness but each week something has always got in the way. This week it was a mean lady on a bus who wouldn't let us get on without an Oyster card, despite us handing over our pennies. Sigh. Epsom isn't even an Oyster zone.

After our hearts were broken for the third week in a row, we decided we'd still do something with our day and headed to the big smoke, Covent Garden to be precise. We thought we'd head to Rokit, and then mosey around watching street performers until hunger kicked in and then we'd find somewhere to dine. A great plan it would seem but everyone wanted to rain on our parade on this fine, Saturday afternoon. Let me explain...

Bralet - ASOS

My Little Pony jumper - ASOS

Skirt - Monki 

Bag - River Island

Sliders - ASOS

(Excuse my claw, I get all bashful and don't know what to do when James takes my blog pictures). 

This was my ensemble for the day. As you can see I'm all lilac-ed up for a day of dancing amongst the lavender but instead I'm being shifty in a Covent Garden alleyway. Prior to these photos, James and I were minding our own business in Rokit, admiring some vintage gems when I stumbled across a stunning Japanese kimono in the most glorious of baby pink shades. As a bonus it was reduced to £23! Excellent, I thought to myself, and went skipping through the store to show James. After putting it on for him to swoon over, a member of staff storms over. Ah, it's the miserable looking chick that gave me a death stare as I walked in. 

"The changing rooms are over there," she announced. 

"Yes I know, I was just trying this on," I said to her, confused.

"You can't get dressed here, we have customers," she continues. 

"Um, I'm wearing a top. This is my top," I reply. 

"Well it looks like a bra," she insisted and looked me up and down as if I was some sort of lost prostitute, finding my way back to my pimp. My pimp, I mean James, then backed me up, proving I was wearing a top. 

I don't know if I'm being silly but I was so shocked someone could be so rude to a potentially paying customer. (Needless to say I put the kimono down and shuffled out of the shop like a kicked puppy). It's the middle of the summer and most girls own/wear bralets and crop tops with nothing else. I don't have big, offensive breasts that are jiggling around with the risk of knocking someone out so I don't see the big deal. Boy, she was a nasty piece of work. 

Anyway, I was feeling a bit down after that and scurried into Urban Outfitters with my tail between my legs when a lovely lass came up to me and said how amazing my skirt was, after this I had quite a few compliments throughout the day about it so a bit of confidence was restored...

I swished that thing around like there was no tomorrow! I am in love with this skirt and it makes me feel like a mermaid. 

Jeez, I'm so bashful in these photos. 

There's nothing like a purple fluffy bag for some comfort. Oh, and tapas of course, which is what we had for dins. To see where we went check out my instagram @soniaflower, it was amazing food! And give @theglitterden a follow too. 

Bye chickens!

Namaste

Imagine being in Thailand, the hot sun warming your completely relaxed back, the soft white sand between your toes, the crystal blue waters gently lapping the shore and a beautiful temple in the background....

If I concentrated really, really hard yesterday I could almost fool myself that I was in Thailand gazing at a stunning buddhist temple when in actual fact, I was in London. Wimbledon to be specific, at the Buddhapadipa Temple. Situated in the middle of a wealthy residential area, you'd never know it was there unless you went looking for it which is exactly what me and one of my ladies did.

The white temple with the gold and red detailing made it a rather glorious location for some blog photos. 

As we were blessed with blue skies and hot sun, I wanted to wear shorts and a crop but not wanting to be too nakey at such a spiritual venue, I covered up with this duster style kimono from ASOS. If you don't know already, I'm obsessed with anything co-ord or twosie so this matching short and kimono combo is a nice version of the trend and the print is simply divine, darling. You can get both gems here and here (P.S the shorts are now reduced, hurrah!).

I went all 90's/naughties/sporty spice with my Nike crop and accessories. I had to get these ASOS heart-shaped sunglasses because they took me back to my youth, except I'm pretty sure the ones I had when I was 10 had a diamonte heart on them...cute? My latest choker addition has a virgo pendant on which I love. It's from depop, search @jewelleryboxcreations. It was only £4 with free postage! Lovely. 

I had to do a little temple dance and swoosh my cape, I mean kimono, around. 

We decided to explore the gardens of the temple which were so lovely. As you walk through there are little placards dotted around with quotes on them and buddhist statues everywhere. There was also this adorable little bridge to cross over the river. 

This bridge reminds me of a scene in Mulan and I thought I was her for a second. I nearly burst in to song but settled for gazing in to the horizon reflectively... 

Oh and I almost forgot to say, my shoes are just the New Look staples that I've worn here and here. 

The inside of the temple was breath-taking. There's a sneaky picture of it on my instagram, @soniaflower. 

Let's take a look at the dreamy building from afar. 

So incredible, isn't she?

If you're ever in or around Wimbledon and want to escape the hustle and bustle of the city I definitely recommend going on a warm, sunny day and just sit in the peace and quiet and drink in all the beauty. 

I'll leave you with my favourite Mulan song (it was hard to choose) and don't forget to follow me on instagram @soniaflower and @theglitterden. 

Farewell, all!

Howdy partners! 

This weekend I went to Buckinghamshire to visit my family and get some fresh country air. I dragged along my boyfriend, James, as it was his second round of the boyfriend approval interview process lead by my wonderful brother-in-law, Ian. Needless to say, my boy passed with flying colours and we had the best weekend, got very drunk, ate lots of yummy food and just generally slobbed out in our sloppies.

After collecting James from the station, we went to a little village festival in Bodicote which was super cute. It had loads of stalls selling little handmade things so we had a browse and indulged in some 99's (which are now £1.50, say whaaa?). You can see some more pictures from the weekend on my Instagram, @soniaflower, but for now I scouted a church's graveyard for some outfit pictures. 

How adorable is the print on this dress? I love cami dresses but they don't normally suit my silly bod with my big mumma hips and butt and smaller waist. They are definitely normally best reserved for willowy model types but I sized up and it fit like a dream once I chucked a belt around it. If you're a bootylicious babe then I definitely recommend this technique if you just can't say no the cami trend. This one is from Lavish Alice and it's on sale here!

My absolute favourite type of bag is the faithful backpack and this baby is my newest addition. 

Oh French Connection, you kill me! I wanted to let the bag do all the talking in this monochrome outfit so my white Birkenstocks were the perfect companion. 

Let's zoom in on the hot pink bag of glory. 

So delicious, ain't she?

The two G's, giraffes and gold chainz. Belt is from ASOS. 

I am obsessed with bloody chokers at the moment! This one from ASOS came with one that said 'boy' on it too, but James wouldn't wear it. Sob. 

Before I could do anything to save myself, a little monster that was lurking behind one of the tomb stones leapt out at me and scared me to death. 

Wait, doesn't she look familiar?

It's my beautiful niece Lucia! She hasn't made an appearance on the blog for a while (remember her posts here and here?) but she insisted on joining me. She just had to wear her adorable little Peruvian backpack to match me, and she fell in love with my Rock 'n' Rose choker so I let her have it for the day. She's too cute!

Don't forget to follow me on instagram - @soniaflower and @theglitterden

Until next time!

Shake your whammy fanny at Wireless

On Friday the sun was lavishing London with love. A few of my gal pals and I headed to Finsbury Park to go dance in the sunshine to Pharell and Kanye West at Wireless festival and they were everything we wanted them to be and more. Not only did they play some of their new stuff, they also treated us to some old school tunes. We got She Wants To Move, Frontin' and Beautiful from Pharell and from Yeezy we got Can't Tell Me Nothing, Runaway and All Of The Lights. I thought Kanye was going to stick to the Yeezus album but he spoiled us, that's for sure. Even if he did have a rant for 15 minutes... All in all it was a super day! 

As always, on to the outfit. 

I'm in love with all things crochet and all things co-ord so this twosie was a little dream. ASOS have done me proud. 

This River Island kimono is the perfect cover up if you're not wanting to flash too much flesh in a little crop and shorts. Now, I was going to write about how I got this bag from eBay a few years a go and how although it was so cheap, it has only just started to fall apart despite using it pretty much everyday. However, as I walked out of my front door in a rush to catch my train, the bloody strap gave way and dropped to the floor with a tired thud. I was distraught and wanted to mourn my loss but my housemate told me to get over it and get in the bloody house to get a new bag. You'll see the chosen one later. 

It was a sweltering hot day but luckily the ol' 'mono looked just as cute tied around the waist. My faithful shoesies are from New Look, I wrote about them here. 

Plaits are a failsafe way to do your hurr if you're going to potentially come across a sweaty neck situation and I definitely did. Also, my hair frizzes like no other with any bit of dampness. Damn the curls. My choker and necklace are from ASOS and my super cute round glasses are from River Island. I love these as they have a Wildfox/Chanel vibe without the price tag. One day I'll have a real pair. 

My replacement bag for the day from Aldo did the job and I am in love with him but still can't get over my poor rucksack. It's just so hard to say goodbye. 

I didn't let it dampen my spirits though and I was ready for a day of boogying. 

Meet my besty/housemate/little puddin'. 

Isn't she a dream? Her adorable tutu and shoes are from ASOS and her bralet is Topshop. SO CUTE. 

The beautiful Georgia...

And the glorious Charlie. 

We started the day by chilling and having a few drinks. I was naughty and sneaked in some gin in my cunning hip flask from Urban Outfitters. It's so cute!

We went and had a boogie to some Iggy who had so much 'tude and her body is ridonkadonkdonk. We obviously needed to refuel and get some energy for our boys Pharell and Kanye so we went on a quest for some grub. 

This place grabbed our attention with both hands. 

Who doesn't love a punny food cart? There was so much choice, I literally wanted everything, so that's exactly what I got.

Let's take a closer look at the bad boy...

SO GOOD. I would have snapped a picture of the naughty guy but I stuffed it in my face pretty darn quickly and before you know it, it was half devoured and covered in my lipstick. It was pretty sexy. You could definitely say we had sky-high energy levels after this. We did Pharell and Kanye proud. 

Yeezus Christ!

Completely unrelated to the day but when I was writing this I had this song stuck in my head from Sabrina the Teenage Witch. Does anyone else remember it because I feel I'm the only one and it's always playing on the boom box in my brain. I hope you enjoy this little blast from the past as much as I do. 

For more pictures from the day follow me on Instagram - @soniaflower and @theglitterden