Shoes: Green With Envy?

Hi guys,
I love a good shoe sale: it means you get so much more shoe for your money! The Spartoo sale has started with discounts of up to 50% off, which means these incredible green wedges from Terry de Havilland are just £159.50 (reduced from £318.99!)

I love the unusual green colour of these: because I wear so much black, I like introducing colour with statement accessories.I'm a big fan of Terry de Havilland shoes, but they're always slightly out of my budget, so being able to afford them at 50% off is fantastic (and just what you need to brighten up a gloomy January!)

Have you had any sale bargains so far this year? I'd love to hear all about them! I've managed to spend around £400 on all the sale bits and bobs I wanted for Wilbur, and got Mike a new coat, but I haven't actually bought myself a single thing so far!

Love Tor x

*Post written as part of a partnership with Spartoo shoes

The ASOS Sale has Started: On Your Marks!

Hi guys,
Just a little post to say that the ASOS sale has started: and I've already ordered my first 'January sales' frocks! Long gone are the days when you had to wait for Christmas day to pass before the sale shopping could begin: in fact, if you're really savvy you could even wait until the last minute for the sales to start before you do your Christmas shopping! Here are a few picks of some of the things I've got my eye on from the sale (and a couple of the things I've already ordered!) After Christmas itself, shopping the January sales is one of my favourite times of the year:

Floral smock dress, was £36 now £14.
Sheer black dress, was £35 now £17.50.
Check skater dress, was £42 now £21.
Angel midi bodycon dress, was £100 now £50.
Full skirted embroidered dress, was £325 now £195.
Floral maxi dress, was £65 now £39.

If you don't have your New Year's Eve outfit organised yet, then it's definitely worth checking out: there's still time to order now for NYE delivery!

I've got just one more post to share with you (full of Wilbur in all of his Santa-y glory) before Christmas!'Tis the season and it's very nearly the big day: I'm already home at my parents and indulging in a host of festive treats!

Love Tor x

Shop the Sarenza Mid-season Sale!

Hi guys,
Exciting news - the Sarenza mid-season sale has started! I need very little excuse to get excited about shoe shopping, but a sale at this time of year gets me doubly excited. I am definitely a winter girl, and I much prefer shopping for boots to sandals.

Christmas is also a great reason to get excited about shoes, as far as I'm concerned. Not only do you get to shop frivolously for heels (with the excuse of Christmas parties) but I also think shoes make fabulous Christmas presents: I've got shoes for both of my sisters this year, and I think they're going to be delighted with my choices! I've also got a pair of shoes (and a handbag or two) on my own Christmas wishlist.

The Sarenza mid season sale has discounts of up to 50% and is running until 24th November, giving you plenty of time for virtual browsing and wish list creation! Here's the link.

Are there any sale shoes you've got your eye on? And will you be putting any shoes on your Christmas wishlist? Hubby asked me to compile my Christmas wishlist this morning, so I spent a very pleasant hour looking at all sorts of lovely and almost completely pointless trinkets! If you'd told me 18 months ago that cheese knifes with rabbit shaped handles would be one of my hearts desires I would've laughed at you. Completely pointless! But isn't that what Christmas is for?!

Love Tor x

July 2013, According to my iPhone...

Hi guys,
I can't believe how fast this year is going: we're already halfway through the summer, and it feels like it's only just started. And with all the events we've got planned for August, I just know that the second half is going to fly by too! Here's what July looked like:

This has been a busy month on the 'doing' front; Mike and I went to Crazy Bear for our anniversary (check out the gorgeous afternoon tea and the London bus reception!) I had an amazing spa day with my sister and my first post-baby night out (mmmm, cocktails!) and, with the addition of the new border, I've finally finished decorating Wilbur's bedroom: the first room in the house that's finally completely completed!

Wilbur has suddenly had a very fast development spurt. He crawls, he stands up and pulls himself up on the furniture, he has two teeth and he steals rice cakes whenever I leave them unattended! This morning I found his attempting to paint my wooden living room floor with a nail varnish - he's going to be such a handful!

So what about me? Well I've been wearing my new Miista sandals from Sarenza on an almost daily basis, shopping for hats for the two weddings we've got coming up, and I've refound my obsession with painting my nails! I'm now back to freelancing fulltime, which I'm loving, even though it's good fun juggling the work with looking after Wilbur! And other than that I've just been enjoying the new found sunshine with my family and friends.

What have you been up to this month? Has anyone got any really exciting plans coming up for August? I'd love to hear all about them!

Love Tor x

Sales shopping: My Topshop jumper is Great!!

Hi guys,
It's sale season, and the Topshop sale has started! I never 'pop in' to check out a Topshop sale without buying something, and this season was no exception. With a better than 50% discount, I picked up this (probably Kenzo inspired) tiger motif jumper. And I think I look, in the famous words of Tony the Tiger, grreat: I know it's not technically the right time of year to be buying jumpers, but with the small amount of summer we've had so far I think it's probably a safer and more wearable investment than a floaty frock.  My jumper was reduced from £38 to £18, so it was a total bargain.

Want a tiger jumper of your own? Here's the clicky link!

Have you checked out the Topshop sale yet? And have you done any other sale shopping? If so I'd like to know where you've been shopping, and what stores you'd recommend I check out next!

Love Tor x

Sale shopping: Embellished jelly sandals from Primark

Hi guys,
The summer sales are popping up everywhere: today I got two gorgeous dresses from Oasis (pictures to follow) and a cheapy top from Peacocks (because I have no summer clothes for my holiday!) . But my biggest bargain purchases of the day were from Primark: two pairs of embellished jelly shoes for just £3 a pair.

They shoes came in five different colours with five different animal embellishments. Black or yellow with a bumble bee , coral with a toucan, mint green with a butterfly, and neon pink with a flamingo. I got the yellow ones purely because they didn't have the black in my size, and I love insects, and the coral ones because my bikini is coral, and they'll be perfect for schlepping around the pool in:
Thanks to Melissa shoes, jelly shoes are hugely popular at the moment. And although normally I will only wear leather shoes, they're surprisingly comfortable and perfect for wearing around swimming pools and beaches because they wipe clean and dry so quickly. I currently have my toenails painted black, so they bumble bee sandals look incredibly effective against them at the moment - I'll be wearing them with skinny jeans and a silky black tee tomorrow.

Have you had any sale bargains so far? And are there any summer sales you're looking forward to starting? I always like to keep an eye out for the Topshop and River Island summer sales: perfect for when you're taking sunny holidays later in the year!

Love Tor x

Shopping: Looking for lovely luggage

Hi guys,
I've heard that good luggage should last you forever. But I don't think anyone has ever told the baggage handlers at Heathrow that! Because the good luggage we bought for our honeymoon just two years ago is completely ruined thanks to the severe battering it has received from those baggage handlers: and we've only used it about a dozen times!

Now that we're trying to organise our first family holiday in October I'm on the hunt for new luggage to replace our last set: a necessity given one of the suitcases has lost a wheel! I also need a new weekend bag, as we have two wedding weekends and a romantic anniversary weekend coming up this summer. My preference is for something lightweight, sleek, and something that feels very fashionable.

Debenhams have just started their half price summer sale, meaning you can get some excellent quality luggage, but at very affordable prices. And (for the inner fashionista) some of it is so damn pretty! Here are some of the best options and discounts I've found: Tripp yellow holiday four wheel suitcase: Reduced from £150 to £69. Available here.
Tripp blue and raspberry floral suitcase: Reduced from £140 to £42. Available here.
Tripp petal flower wheel duffle suitcase. Reduced from £139 to £35. Available here.
Grape light travel suitcase. Reduced from £105 to £59. Available here.
Tripp star lite carry on suitcase in Mulberry. Reduced from£140 to £69. Available here.
Samsonite aqua four wheel suitcase. Reduced from £175 to £140. Available here.

I really like the square pattern on the yellow suitcase, which comes in a variety of  sizes and is also available in black, pink, and purple. You wouldn't be able to miss that coming towards you on the carousel would you?! I also really like the ultra-glossy star lite suitcase in the vibrant mulberry shade: I'm clearly having a bright colour luggage moment for this season. Which makes a change from my usual obsession with black!

Have you bought new luggage this season? How long do you find a suitcase tends to last you, and do you think the price you pay affects it's quality and longevity? I'd love to hear all your luggage thoughts. It's my current obsession!

Love Tor x

Bag a Bargain in the River Island sale

Hi guys,
The River Island sale started yesterday, so of course I immediately popped (read: ran!) down to my local store to check it out. I tried on seven dresses but eventually left with a classic Breton striped jumper (£12) and a huge black leather bucket bag (£40): Both timeless investment pieces, rather than the frivolous sale purchases I usually impulse buy and never wear!

However there was much more on their website than I found in my local store: there weren't any of the goodies I had been lusting after in the Norwich branch! So rather than show you pictures of everything I bought like I usually do (because a picture of a bag and a jumper isn't much of a post!) I thought I would create my picks of the best stock left online. There are some amazing bargains to be had if you're quick, much of it from the River Island new S/S13 lines: Lime tweed oversized biker jacket: was £70 now £30
Cat moustache T shirt: was £18 now £7
Black Aztec print skater skirt: was £20 now £10
Blue tribal waterfall cardigan: was £48 now £25
Navy and cream knit jumper: was £22 now £12
Space invaders jumper dress: was £45 now £15
Tres over it jumper: was £38 now £15
Brown leopard print dress: was £35 now £15
Red ditzy print blazer: was £45 now £20

The stripey jumper is the jumper I picked up! It looks great on and has a really great fit, so it comes heartily recommended. I also really love the lime green biker jacket, and can't resist the moustached cat T shirt: I'm half glad they didn't have it in my local branch though. That's exactly the kind of thing I would impulse buy without thinking and then never wear because, let's face it, I'm way too old for cat clothes!

Have you checked out the River Island sale yet? Had any bargains? I'd love to hear all about them!

Love Tor x

Shoes: The perfect studded boots from Topshop

Hi guys,
Am I allowed to change my mind and have a new favourite purchase from the sales? Because if I am, it would definitely be these studded boots from Topshop:
And they were a serious bargain! The original price was £80. They were reduced to £50, and having tried them on I decided to snap them up straight away. Then, when I got to the till I discovered they'd been reduced again and I ended up paying just £30 for these babies: you wonder if that even covers the cost of the leather!

It just goes to show that even though the sales are dwindling down, it's definitely worth popping in to some of your favourite shops to see what they have left and further reduced: you could be pleasantly surprised.

Here are some of the best sale offers still on right now:
Debenhams Blue Cross Sale -Up to 70% off (also available online)
Boots 75% off all Christmas gift sets
Matalan 70% off (also available online)
Warehouse 70% off
Topshop: Further reductions (discounts vary)

These boots are going to look great teamed with my gold studded leather jacket. And the best thing is, they look just as good when they're worn with tights and skirts as they do with jeans and trousers. Could they be a contender for the crown of my new favourite boots? It's too early to tell. But lets just say my beloved H by Hudson boots should sleep with one eye open....

Love Tor x

Matalan sale: Buy now, wear all spring

Hi guys,
When shopping the sales it's easy to fall into the trap of buying chunky winter coats and sequins perfect for Christmas: no doubt bargains, but not exactly sensible purchases for the warmer months that will be here before you know it.

For obvious reasons, you don't see a lot of spring/summer clothes in the January sales. So imagine my surprise to find these fully lined jersey blazers in the Matalan sale reduced from £25 to just £5:
I picked up the jersey grey and pastel green versions because I can't resist grey marl, and because when spring arrives, pastels are always in fashion. If these colours don't float your boat though, my local store also had the same jacket available in electric blue, red, fuchsia, burgundy, aubergine and black: all £5 regardless of the colour you chose!

So what should you look for when trying to find bargains for next season in the winter sales?
- Well, the first thing to look for is lighter colours: anything in pastels, white, nautical-style stripes and bright flouro colours is always going to work nicely for spring: that fluorescent pink jumper that looked so amazing in December with black leather trousers and a fur coat, for example, will look just as good come spring teamed with pale boyfriend jeans and new sandals.

- Secondly look for lighter weight fabrics. Chiffon and silk are always popular at Christmas because they're seen as luxury fabrics. But they're also so lightweight that they look great and glamorous worn on warm summer nights.

- Finally, think outside the box. Could that trophy jacket work for a summer wedding if you wear it with a brightly coloured dress? Will you wear coloured jeans in the summer as well as the winter? It's amazing how many items you'll find that overlap all the seasons, that you can wear again and again.

But back to my bargain jackets. It's not often you find such an amazing and versatile sale bargain that you could buy now and still be wearing in 6 months where the reductions are higher than 50%: if you live near a Matalan then my advice is to snap one up before they're all gone!

And if you're quick then the Matalan sale is available online, and you'll find the jacket on the site in the grey, green, and navy blue colours right now! Here's the link!

Love Tor x

River Island sale shoes: Check them out now!

Hi guys,
The summer sales are starting to wind down. When I went to check out the notorious Next sale today there was almost nothing left! But one department of my favourite sale, the sale I always make a beeline for, is definitely going strong. I have never seen so many pairs of amazing shoes as there are currently in the River Island sale!

There were leather sandals and flip flops for £10-£15. An amazing selection of heels and wedges for around £20. And three pairs of the most stunning flatforms I have ever seen: River Island have the best high summer shoes I've seen on the high street this year, and they're a damn bargain!





The bottom pair are beyond and above my favourites: and they're just £15! How can you possibly argue with a price like that?

If you don't live near a River Island store there is still a pretty good selection available on the website too. Check them out now: believe me, they're definitely worth a look!

PS - River Island also has a great selection of winter accessories in their sale at the moment too: I think it's left over stock from last year. But if you're looking for fur or knit hats or scarves then you can pick them up for under £5 in their sale right now: a bargain if you like to plan ahead!

Love Tor x

Shopping: My Sarenza sale picks

Hi guys,

Long after the January sales are over and everyone is starting to talk about their new season wardrobe I have good news: The Sarenza sale is still going strong! And frankly, there's something for everyone. It's not just the left over winter boots or sparkly heels that are on offer either. There are perfect spring-like pumps and sandals to get your hands on too!

I can't resist a good sale (especially when it comes to shoes and accessories) so was delighted. Here are the amazing bargains I picked up from the Sarenza sale this month:

The 'wear now' ankle boots

I got these clog-style ankle boots to replace my tan clog ankle boots from Topshop: The heel has fallen off them! I am a huge convert to clogs. They are the most comfortable heels I've ever worn because they have such a high platform at the front (in relation to the height of the heel).

These will look amazing teamed with skinny jeans and my favourite leather panel leggings to ride out the rest of the winter months.

Studio TMLS boots, reduced from £109.70 to £43.90

The snake skin pumps

Apparently snake print is the new 'in' skin! I love animal prints in their many different forms, so I just couldn't resist these. They'll be perfect for livening up my majoratively black work outfits, or clashing with pretty floral dresses when spring arrives.

Eden Kawi pumps, reduced from £72.50 to £29

The classic-with-a-twist heels

Another Sarenza Ambassador Jen actually picked these up last month, and as soon as I saw them I knew I had to have them! These heels are timeless and seasonless and they really could be worn almost anywhere but the stud detailling on the heels stops them from being boring. I got these to team with a simple tea dress for my nephew's Christening next month.

Ravel Heidi heels, reduced from £75 to £52.50

What do you think of my picks? And what shoe trends will you be looking out for this spring/summer?

Love Tor xx

River Island sale part two: The changing room edition

Hi Guys,

This morning Mike and I popped to Brent Cross to get his hair cut, and whilst he was being primped and pruned how could I resist another pop into River Island to check out the sale? (last week I went to Oxford Street, so I reasoned the stock might be different) And I was right: it was! The extra half price off sale ends tomorrow, so if you're interested in checking it out you're running out of time! Alot of the clothes in the sale are summery, but that's a bonus for me as I need supplies for the honeymoon. There's also a lot of stuff perfect for Christmas parties if you're looking for something new on a budget.

Here's what I tried on:

Sequinned jacket: original price £59.99, price today £12.50

I really loved this jacket (yes, I bought it!) as it's the kind of thing you can throw over a plain boring cotton dress, such as above, and turn it into a party look: it jazzes up anything! I also liked the matt-ness of the sequins and the soft cotton lining.

Embellished dress: original price £49.99, price today £10

Loved this beautiful dress with the embellishment on the waist. It fit beautifully and had great gold thread running through it. (Yup. I got this one too!)

Blue dress: original price £34.99, price today £7.50

I had such high hopes for this Alice in Wonderland blue dress, but it looked awful on: it was far too short, and tight on the boobs: as soon as i'd zipped it I had to unzip it straight away. A shame, as it was a bargain!

Leopard print dress. Original price £34.99. Price now: Still £34.99!

OK, so this wasn't in the sale, but I liked it so much I had to try it on! Loved the pattern, the skater skirt, and the fact that it had sleeves. This would be the perfect dress for my work Christmas party, which is a lunchtime affair: you can't throw on your finest party frock for lunch!

Have you checked out the River Island sale yet? What did you buy? Tell me all about your bargains!!

Love, Tor xx

Shopping haul: The River Island sale

Hi guys,
The River Island sale has just gotten even better: until Sunday there is an extra 50% off all sale prices! I am on a self-inflicted shopping ban throughout November and December (apart from for Christmas presents of course!) so I decided to have a last fling in River Island, and even managed to pick up a couple of gorgeous party dresses!

Here's my haul (more pics to be added shortly!):



Grey seude shoes (were £59.99, reduced to £25, I paid £12.50)
Black one shoulder party dress (was £39.99, reduced to £20, I paid £10)
Peg leg trousers (were £29.99, reduced to £15, I paid £7.50)
Shoulder padded space cardigan (was £34.99, reduced to £17, I paid £8.50)
Pink floaty dress (was £39.99, reduced to £20, I paid £10)
Black gypsy dress (was £44.99, reduced to £15, I paid £7.50)

So if we do some fun fashion maths, that means I got six pieces worth £249.94 for just £56.

The shoes, black dress, and cardigan all look great together, giving me a perfect Christmas party outfit for less than I would have normally spent just on the dress. The pink dress will be teamed with my tough black wedges and trusty leather jacket giving another festive outfit: I love having new things for special occasions, so this is the perfect way for me to make that an affordable option.

These prices are considerably cheaper than Primark, but of course the cuts and quality are better! If you're thinking of checking it out remember the sale ends on Sunday! There's plenty of stuff on the River Island website, but in my experience, there's lots more variety of stuff in store than there is on the site.

Happy shopping!
Love, Tor xx

Topshop sale: My shopping picks!

The Topshop mid-season sale started yesterday, andI got straight in there to see what I could find! I actually got really lucky because alot of the stuff had been wrongly priced on the tills (according to the guy serving me this happens on the first day of every sale) and so I got a top for £5 (today it's £25) a top for £10 (today it's £20) and a pair of black leggings for £7. Leggings never normally go in the sale and I wear them every single day so I was chuffed with my bargain there!

Here is a quick outfit shot of the top I got for £5. I'm wearing it simply with the black leggings and a long line black vest teamed with my ASOS wedges. With hingsight the top makes me look broader than I am, and really needs a belt!

There are still loads of bargains to be had from the Topshop sale: if it wasn't the week before payday I would be going crazy! Here are my picks of the top five bargains from the sale that are currently available on the website:

Moths and bugs print blouse, was £35 now £15 (I loved this and tried it on but it cut too high on my bust)
Mesh tunic, was £28 now £12. (This has massive layering potential and is something you could do so much with whatever the season)
Horse sweater, was £28 now £12 (They didn't have this in my size or I would've snapped it straight up!)
Danielle Scutt dress, was £50 now £25
Shoes, were £22 now £3. Yup you read that right, now £3: and they're 100% leather. How much of a bargain is that???
Belt was £25 now £12. If nude tones don't really suit you this would be the perfect way to jump on the massive nude trend without having to go overboard. Plus it's really cute!

I know I normally do my sales reviews from the shop but it was madness yesterday and I didn't even queue for a changing room - just threw the tops on over my dresses on the shop floor! Now all the summer sales are starting to get into full swing I will do some more proper reviews over the coming weeks: it's a good excuse to hit the shops!

Love, Tor xx

PS -Tadaa! Above is the inadvertant unveiling of my new hair colour - i've had lowlights put in to take away some of the harshness of the blonde. I'm not sure how I feel about it yet, but I do think it suits my complexion more. It is weird to be darker whilst everyone else is going lighter for summer though!

Online sales.... it begins!

Without meaning to sound like an octogenarian, the sales seem to start earlier and earlier each year, don't they? The truly savvy (and with nerves of steel!) could save a fortune if they waited until a couple of days before Christmas to do their shopping - I think it would give me a nervous break down though!

If you haven't done your Christmas shopping, and you don't feel like fighting the masses you could do your shopping online, and there's a massive selection of online pre-Christmas sales to choose from:

• The official my wardrobe sale starts on 23rd December. All products currently marked with a Snowflake will go into sale with a 30% off and then the discounts will escalate as time goes by.

• The style compare sale starts on Boxing day (so not quite in time for Christmas!) allowing you to browse the sales from dozen of stores all in one place.

• New Look currently has a fashion sale on with half price party wear; I particularly like the sequinned blazer which is now half price at £20 and would be perfect for Christmas day.

• Starting yesterday, Evans has a half price sale on shoes, lingerie and accessories: this includes their boots, so perfect for those with a slightly larger calf.

I already have all my Christmas shopping, and all my outfits planned for over the festive season, so I don't need to do any shopping until January (when I will be finishing perfecting my capsule wardrobe) but i'm sure there are some great deals to be had if you're still looking!

Love, Tor xx

Something for nothing: Outlet shopping in the UK

Hi guys,

I don't know if it's the recession, or if you're all just as bargain crazy as I am, but since my last post on the accessorize outlet, combined with my continual chitter chatter about the topshop outlet, I have been barraged with emails about outlet shopping.

I have replied to you all (I always reply to all my mail!) but for those of you who didnt message me but are still interested in saving some money on your shopping, here is my definitive list of the outlet stores all over the UK that I have visited and enjoyed:

Topshop outlet - This is located in the Broadwalk centre in Edgeware, London. Everything in the store is sale priced, and everything is buy one get one free, including the jewellery, shoes (although they dont often have shoes in stock) and underwear.

Accessorize - This is located in the Trocaderoc centre in Leicester square, London. It is quite a small store but has a wide variety of stock with discounts from 50-70%

New Look - The only New Look outlet in the country that I know of it in Princess Quay in Hull. Everything in the store is in the sale with discounts from 20 to 80%.

Lipsy - With dresses from £5 I am told that if you like Lipsy (i'm not a massive fan, they dont cut for my bust) then the outlet store on Fonthill road, London is a must-visit. The sign at the front of the store is old, but the stock certainly isn't!

Next/Karen Millen/French Connection - If you want a day out full of outlet shopping, try Gunwarth Quay in Portsmouth. I have been there 3 times and always come back with a bargain! It is a very big American style complex literally full of amazing outlet stores. Alternatively if you live a bit further north, the closest outlet mall to my hometime is called Springfields in Spalding. It is small but perfectly formed, and the underwear section of the Marks and Spencers outlet is always worth checking out.

I'm sure there are more to add, but these are ones I have personally visited and picked up some bargains from. Enjoy!

Love, Tor x

NOTE: these are all sourced from my own personal experience. None of this is sponsored, nor can I guarentee the shops will still be there when you visit (although I can say I have been to all of them in the past 12 months!)