Honest Chat – Life Is Hard

Evening you lot, I’ve been wanting to write a post along these lines for a while now, but was a little unsure of how to do it and get it right.

The blogging/Instagram world is an overwhelmingly positive place. People support each other, follow each other’s lives, celebrate the highs and commiserate the lows, together (for the most part). Yet comparison is often inevitable, and when your feed is full of successful, beautiful people loving life, it can become a strange place when your own circumstances and feelings fail to mirror those staring back at you from your screen.

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Winter Is Coming. But First, Autumn.

Ah Autumn. It’s here.

I love Autumn. The Autumn – Winter seasons are my favourite. Whilst I love the summer sun, I’d take curling up by an open fire, long walks in the crisp cold morning air, hot drinks and candles, any day. I’m sure my bias in favour of the colder months stems from A) my love of Christmas and B) my birthday, but regardless, I’m a sucker for all things cozy and snuggly.

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Granted, fewer daylight hours is a major setback for A/W, and I can fully understand why people hate these months. When it’s windy, rainy, cold AND dark, it can be grim.

And yet, there is something that warms the cockles of my heart about a Saturday evening in mid-November, open fire roaring, the smell of warm soup and toasting bread wafting in through the door from the kitchen, blankets piled high, fuzzy socks, massive jumpers layer upon layer, with a warm mug of something in your hands, and the tea candles flickering.

Nothing beats it, and it’s what I love about living in a temperate country. I’m not quite sure how I’d feel about 30 degree weather come December, it just doesn’t feel quite right!

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Today I took a walk around the city centre, and for the first time in a while (thanks to the brief Indian Summer a couple of weeks back), it really felt like Autumn. I was glad to be layered up, glad I had brought my coat with me. The leaves are starting to turn to that deep orange colour, mixed in with shades of brown and golden yellow. They littered the pavement and made a great contrast to the bleak grey sky.

Every season comes a change. A transition. What I’ve experienced in recent years is that often, somehow, with each change of season comes a feeling of transition for me personally. Whether it be from student to graduate, London to Leicester (though not for too long I hope) or even in relationship to single, all of these things at different times in my life have coincided with a change of season.

This season the most prevalent one is by far going from a student to an unemployed graduate, and having to move from such a bustling, sprawling, massive city like London to relatively slow paced life of Leicester.

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Anyone who has to move home after uni will tell you the same thing. It’s bloody hard. All that freedom and independence (not to mention student loan) is gone. And it suddenly becomes necessary not just to find a job, but more broadly speaking to find some way of bringing purpose back into your life, and to your days.

This is no small task. And to be frank, I’m struggling a little!

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If anyone has any advice, inspirational stories, or just wants to sympathise with me please let me know!

My only hope is that it’ll all be okay in the end. That counts as a plan right? Well in any case, I’m glad I have an open fire, a near constant supply of hot drinks and a mountain of knitwear to turn to this autumn. Because there’s nothing like burrowing down under those layers to make all your worries feel far away.

Jeans – And Other Stories
Shirt – Vintage
Jumper – Zara (old)
Shoes – Asos
Bag – Vintage

E x

Winter is Coming

Winter is basically upon us. The first days of November have certainly felt icy to the touch. Drenching rain and icy winds that seem to attack every ounce of bare flesh it can find. Brrr. With that though, comes warm hugs in the form of chunky knitwear and failsafe boots. This outfit is my take on dressing to suit the season.

Firstly, lets address the knitwear. Erm Hello jumper of dreams. This number from a great online site called He Official is perfect for keeping that wind at bay. The wide roll neck lets you feel wrapped up warm without feeling too tight and oppressive, its suuuper soft and the fit – its a one size only item – means its oversized enough for you to reach for it in the event of having to actually go outside – yuck – but fitting enough that it can be worn in a multitude of ways.

I’ve styled it with my Black plisse Culottes from Boohoo which I love as they can be styled up or down – for me its usually down – with minimal effort and they don’t fall too short, which is perfect when trying to keep the cold out.

I’ve adorned my feet with these, frankly, fabulous boots from Ego. They’re a dark brown velvet with this floral/brocade pattern covering the entire body and heel of the shoe. They have a small but chunky heel which is perfect for when you want to add something extra to a pretty simple outfit such as this, without you having to worry about going headfirst into the pavement thanks to all those soggy leaves!

To finish off I added my Monki cat eye sunglasses from Asos– as it was in fact sunny – if only for about 5 minutes. Sunglasses are a great way to style up a simple outfit and its something I’ve been trying to do more of lately – to really finish off a look.

So there you have it, a pretty simple outfit perfect for getting used to these oh so chilly winter days. Add colour and flare to a plain/monochrome outfit and bam, You. Are. Set.