green tea and a book: August 2014

I recently entered a competition to win a pair of designer sunglasses from Valley Optics, who have teamed up with Jones and Jones to run the competition. To enter, you had to put together a summer outfit - worth up to £500 altogether, and with links to the items you selected (including a pair of sunglasses and a dress). My final outfit selection is completely different to what I had expected it to look like before I started, but I do like the final result. It's quite a flexible outfit - suitable for wearing in a range of different ways and at a range of different places!

I chose a pretty cream lace dress as the basis for my summer outfit. I love lace, and cream, and this dress is so pretty. I especially love the collar and the floaty skirt.

Jones and Jones Poppy Cream Dress £60

My initial thought was to pair the dress with a light and floaty shawl or kimono - there are some really beautiful pastel and floral printed pieces around lately, and something light would be just enough to keep your arms warm against any nippy breezes without being too hot or heavy. In the end though, I decided against that completely and went with this contrasting black leather biker jacket! I love the black, and the rougher style against the cream and delicate lace. The angled zippers and studs also add to the overall effect. This jacket takes the outfit to new style areas and makes it suitable for a wider range of events... for evening-type events as well as more casual day-time ones. It would also look good just resting over the shoulders when it's a little warmer... and it would help with keeping warm on those not-so-summery summer days here in the UK! It's quite rock-y, I really love this jacket paired with the pretty dress!

Black Ripple Leather Biker Jacket £120

Gant Sunglasses Roger £80

The sunglasses I chose were these black 'Gant Sunglasses Roger' from Valley Optics. There were lots of really nice designs and styles to choose from! They had a few pale green tinted ones I really liked, but they had larger shaped lenses and I really prefer the smaller styles. The trends lately have been for huge aviator styles, which isn't really me. These rounded rectangular ones in black go really well with the jacket and dress, I think, and would be perfect for summer days and evenings.

These black studded boots (below) have been on my wishlist for such a long time! I love the buckles and studs, and the design of them. I have also seen them in a dark/mid brown colour, but they only seem to be available in black at the moment. I like these in black for this outfit anyway - and would look great with the dress, with or without the jacket! They would work with this outfit with some lacy cream coloured socks, or perhaps a pair of novelty star-printed tights (Sheer Star Tights £4).

I also really love this watermelon clutch purse. I wasn't sure whether it would work with this outfit, but I think it looks quite nice. I absolutely love watermelon and have really liked seeing all of the funky fruit prints around lately! I like quirky things, so this fits pretty well!

Joe Brown's Stunning Studded Worker Boots (£49.95) Watermelon Clutch Bag £9.99

Accessorize Enchanted Floral Bib Necklace £25 Cream Hair Flower £1.15

Good to be Home, a new online home and garden magazine, has launched a competition to win £750 of John Lewis vouchers in partnership with Heart Home and LittleStuff.

To enter, you simply design your dream room with pictures and details of the things you love. You can choose between a bedroom and a living room. I choose to design my dream living room, as I've not long redecorated in my bedroom! I had such a fun time looking around online and finding lovely bits and pieces to gather together and I really love my final room. It's quite easy on the eyes, but with lots of personality!

My style in general is quite natural, I think. I love earthy colours, florals, prints, plants, wildlife and animals. I love great big windows that look out onto big green views. I would have so many leafy plants in my home if I could. I also love slightly quirky things, books and fruity scents. My favourite colours are pink, yellow and grey. I have so many books and tidbits... so storage is always important for me.

My main three features for a room are

Comfort. It has to be comfortable to be in and spend time in.
Practicality. It needs to be well thought out (eg. lots of storage, be suitable for my 6 pets, easy to maintain, etc).
Aesthetic. It needs to look nice!

Lara wallpaper - taupe (£12.99)

Mellow Green paint (£26.99) Dove Grey paint (£18.99)

Golden Oak flooring (POA)

Arctic Cream Rug (£159)

Maharani Coffee Table (£225)

There is also a smaller End Table in this same style, sideboards, bookcases, other tables, and much more. You can see the full range at John Lewis here. I really like the dark wood, the details on the sides, and the rustic design! As well as this coffee table I'd definitely have a couple of the matching end table, the larger sideboard and a few bookcases.