I am back ♥

Oh Hey! Long time no blog! What a few weeks it has been. Ed and I went to Cyprus for our holiday last week, I am missing it already! It was so lovely and hot, and all the guests we talked to seemed to be going to a wedding over there, or booking a wedding. We were thinking after all this talk, are we doing the right thing staying in the UK to tie the knot? After a 5 hour non - stop pool chat along with a few other hotel guests, and much thinking, I honestly think we are doing right by what we are doing. I know that all our guests can come, well more so than if it was in Cyprus, I can tailor the room to exactly how I want it, and if it rains then we will just have to have some romantic rainy pictures. 

Here we are over there. It's all about the giraffe sunnies!

If you have read the previous posts, you may know that I ordered my little sisters bridesmaid dress. Well it came, and my Mom took that big tacky bow off straight away and it made the world of difference. Where the bright pink ribbon is, I think we are going to cover it with a slightly duskier/lighter pink just to tone it down a little. I'm also going to try and get an underskirt to flare it out a little. It's a really cute dress though, different with a vintage feel which is what I really like on it. 

Here she is with it on, it's just the right size to grow into over the next 19 months for her, and she is holding one of the little posies I have been making. It's not quite finished, but we just took the photo so we could get the full effect.

I spotted another wedding dress on the land of Ebay yesterday, which is a gorgeous lace and taffeta dress. I really love it, it's so elegant but still holds that vintage touch with the shoulders. I have broad shoulders so I thought this would work well to tone them down but others have the opinion that it may accentuate them, any ideas?

I do still love the dress I have put on here as 'the one', I just love how classy this is. 

The lace up back detail is stunning, and this looks so nice with a long veil. I also have a tattoo on my right shoulder, so this would also tone that down a little if I was going to cover it. That's another post in itself that I'll talk about at a later date. 

I hope everyone is well, next post coming very soon! Ooo and P.S. I gained 4lb on holiday, I went to weight watchers yesterday. I think it may have been more than that though because we moved house on Saturday and I must of dropped a couple then! I am really disheartened actually, because the people that joined around the same time as me who I was running alongside with weight loss, are now a few lbs ahead of me. I really need to try and get it off!

Tilly xXx

Making a little Posie Bouquet ♥

After yesterday's post, I was itching to get started on having a go at making a bouquet. I just really wanted to see what it would look like. I hadn't really got suitable brooches to put in it, so I just thought I'd see how it would turn out anyhow. My Mom and I popped down to Hobbycraft (a big craft store in the UK), and we found lots of goodies that could be turned into some pretty creations.

My Mom kindly treated me to all the bits and bobs to have a go with. I have been looking at real floral bouquets this morning, and they appear to be typically £50.00 or more! Daylight robbery yet again. I just can't justify it just to chuck them away. We got enough supplies to make two little Bridesmaid posies, and that came to just under £30.00 for two! I think they will be a nice keepsake for the girls if they wanted to keep them.

So to make them, we got: 

4 Bunches of artificial vintage coloured roses

3 Bunches of diamanté roses / sprigs

Floristry Tape and Floristry wire

Tools needed were scissors, and round nosed pliers if you are going to use brooches. Also, weight watchers chocolate brownie pudding top left - not optional =D

I began to assemble the flowers randomly so there were different colours mixed up. I then loosely wrapped one of the stem wires around all of the stems to keep them in place. It takes a bit of pushing and pulling to get them at the same level but it's worth it! 

I then added some diamanté roses and sprigs to complete it, just wrapping their wires around the base stems of the flowers. To secure, I just wrapped the floristry tape all around the stems to neaten it up. I have ribbon to wrap around the stem base, but it kept on gathering up as I wrapped it around. I'm now thinking of wrapping them in the thick brown vintage looking string - you know the stuff? And then adding the ribbon as a bow at the top. I'll show you once I have got the string.

This is a photo of it in daylight. I think it has turned out quite pretty, and I'm now thinking I may actually use this. I haven't fully assembled the other one, and that is one flower less than this so I might pop a brooch in it. I'm going to go back to Hobbycraft when I return off my holidays and grab the rest of these flowers, because I think I better get them before the Christmas stock starts invading. It will be great to have these done in advance, definitely one less thing to worry about. I've also got to figure out how to do the buttonholes, as they will have to match. I think Hobbycraft will have nothing left by the time I'm finished!

So there we go, a little bouquet for a fraction of the price, and something to keep forever. We're doin' the DIY!

Let me know what you think, I'd love to hear! 

Tilly xXx

Pre-Weigh in Thoughts ♥

I have my third Weight Watchers weigh in tomorrow. Feeling a little apprehensive about it this week, I'm not sure why as I've eaten the same as the last two weeks so I haven't had anything bad. I think it's just the fact that I know weight loss slows down after the first few weeks so I'm worried about feeling disappointed with the results.

Last week I hit 13st 12.5lbs, which meant I'd lost 5% of my weight, and I had only got 3.5lbs to go for me to hit a total weight loss of a stone. I was really hoping that I'd manage to do that this week but I think I might be half a pound out. It's quite irritating, but I guess I'll definitely hit it by next weeks weigh in. So for this week I'm aiming for about 2 and a half lbs. More would be nice but I'm not going to push my luck! 

I've done more exercise than I usually would this week too. I've managed to go on two walks, which I should also do tonight, a bit of a run, and spent the whole weekend cleaning the house, which really boosts up the activity points. So I have just over 24 hours to go to loose about half a lb. Achievable? Not so sure!

~~~

My little sisters bridesmaid dress has now been dispatched! I should receive that next week. We have now hit 20 months to go. It feels like it's going pretty quick now, and I'm starting to worry about it all. Should just take every day as it comes really! 

Right, I shall update on Wednesday morning about my official weight loss this week! 

Have a great day.

Tilly xXx

Little Bridesmaid Dress ♥

I have just purchased my first actual item for the big day. I know, I'm mad but better to do it now so I can pay for things gradually and steadily. So, I've been having a scout round for a bridesmaid dress for my little sister, who will be 8 at the time of the wedding. I wasn't looking for something to neccessarily match the adult bridesmaids, but something that is individual and follows with the vintage theme. After not much scouting really, I came across this gorgeous little dress, that seemed to tick all the right boxes. 

There were three of a similar design, so my Mom showed my little sister which one she liked best and she chose this one! She has good taste! However, we are going to alter it I think because that it one HUGE bow. I love the fabric and everything about it, that is flouncy but not too over the top, which is why we shall probably remove that particular bow. We shall see anyway when it arrives.

How much was it then? Well this blog is all about DIY, bargains and thrift, and it was on Ebay from a Hong Kong shop, so a brand new dress for £11.99, with £3.99 P&P. Ooo we do love a bargain. That is why I have bought it so early, I'd well and truely kick myself if it had been taken off.

This is the back of the dress.

It's so girly and floral OoO I just love it. I think with a nice tousled uppy downy hair do, with some little rosebud clips subtly in it, it would look so pretty.

For example!

So that's that sorted, and little Lucy loves it!

Tilly xXx

Bridal Shoes & Bridesmaid Dresses ♥

It's never too early to start thinking about the aesthetics of your wedding! At least, I don't think so...

So I always have a mooch around the bridal sections in Debenhams whenever I'm passing, or a sneaky look in a few shoe shops around Birmingham. I'm not particularly a shoe person; they aren't an item I gravitate towards if I'm out shopping really. However, I have been briefly thinking about the style of shoes I'd like for my wedding day. I'm not a big spender as you may have gathered, and I'd love a pair that are a bit 'wow' under the dress.

My initial thoughts were to go for something turquoise to match my hair if the dress was long enough, but I don't want it to look totally nuts. In Birmingham, I went into Kurt Geiger for the first time, and have fell head over heels (like what I did there?) for these badboys!

They are called 'Guess' by Carvela, and are currently on sale from £120.00 to £49.00, but they don't have my size! I did see them in the shop and they were lovely but I couldn't justify spending even the £49.00. I've since been back in and the buggers have gone. I just love them, the crystals are clear, but multicoloured in the light, and the base colour is a grey, dusky pink. I just love them, and I think if they were available online now at my size I would honestly get them. They do have alternate colours in Kurt Geiger, but they are at full price, so I'm keeping my eyes firmly peeled over the next year.

As for Bridesmaid dresses, my immediate thought was that they will be floor length, as I'm not a fan of short bridesmaids dresses, they look so much more classy long (because you know, I'm full of class ;) ). I just think they look pretty, and I feel better in a long dress so that's that. I also am thinking of a one shoulder dress, because I don't want my girls feeling uncomfortable or irritable due to their dress. 

I particularly like these dresses, they are the three main colours in our theme and they are available in all of those colours. They are around £75.00 each which is a little on the pricey side I guess, but for a custom made dress it's not too bad. I have no idea what colour to choose, unless I have one of each...

I love the material, they are one shouldered and have lovely beading detail under the bust. They fit the bill, but it's still early days, and I guess I have to consult the ladies who shall actually be wearing them!

Tilly xXx