Affordable Winter Coats

If like me, you'll be on a budget this winter, finding a decent winter coat for under £100 is always very stressful.

Here I've pulled together my favourite winter coats:

Matalan £35

Miss Selfridge £79

Peacocks Duffle Coat - £30

River Island Waxed Jacket - £60

River Island Pea Coat - £55

What I'm lusting over this week

Denim jackets are back in fashion. This one is on offer at the moment for £25.50. Tempted to order this now! I tried a denim jacket on in Tesco yesterday, but it was really, really short, like a cropped denim jacket. This put me off buying this one too, as I don't want something that sits around my waist - I don't have the right figure for that!

In love with these tan sandals from White Stuff. At £38, they're a bit out of my price range after all the shopping and weekends away I've just had! Still, a girl can lust!

This Maxi Dress is SOOOO cute and with a £228 price tag, it's no wonder!! Does look very similar to a shorter navy dress from Dorothy Perkins that I keep seeing popping up on blogs!

I love the rich, jewel purple of this peplum dress. At £99, it's not a cheap find either! This colour suits me well and I think it would look great with some mismatched bright accessories for my friend's wedding.

At the moment, this is one of my favourite colours and it suits me very, very well. It's not grey, it's not lilac, it's not purple - it's sort of a mix of all three. Looks much better in the flesh, but not sure what I would team it with? The fabric is also very sheer, so I'm unsure if you could get away with a bra underneath. Because of this, I picked it up and put it back on the shelve in Oxford Street topshop last week.

What am I lusting over this week...

In love with this simple t-shirt with the bow back from & other stories. I hadn't come across this website before until I read about it on someone's blog. At £19, I don't think it's too bad for a t-shirt with a little bit of a twist. Love the gorgeous plum colour too.

Another lust from & other stories. This lovely, rich red purse. Amazing. On the lookout for a new purse at the moment, although I'm not sure this is big enough. For £19, it's too cheap for real leather, and I'm a bit of a snob when it comes to purses and handbags - they have to be leather!

How pretty and stylish is this box bag from Zara. Only thing holding me back is that it's not leather! Would prefer it to be £80+ and real leather than £25.99 and a man made material. Still gorgeous though and pondering on whether to buy it...

This blouse does not look at all flattering from the photos, but after seeing it styled in Stylist Magazine, I fell in love with it. They pair it with a bright, colourful paisley skirt (which was £250!!) and it looked lush. Top three buttons undone and it looked stylish and very on trend.

What do you think? Should I bite the bullet and make any purchases this week? Is there anything you can recommend?

Laura xx

Wishlist - Clothing & Shoes

£55 from joythestore.com

This dress is perfect for me, simple and covers the area I hate most - my stomach! I love this colour, it's gorgeous and perfect for summer. I'd pair it with some wedges in a contrasting, pastel colour. I'm looking for a new dress for an evening out in June, but not sure if this is a bit more wedding/cocktail evening than night out on the town!

In LOVE with these shoes - how amazing are they!! £50 from Topshop. Minus student discount - £45 then I have a £20 gift card making them £25... BUT... My local large topshop have ran out and they're out of stock online too in a size 39. DAMN YOU TOPSHOP!!

I really can't decided whether to buy this or not... Any ideas?! It looks very similar to quite a few at Primark, but this is three times the price £30, Topshop. Debating on whether to get it. In real life, it looks a lot more HOT orange, than coral orange. I would just pair this with black jeans as I'm not daring enough to pair it with a crazy printed skirt!

Staying on the bright, sunny colours - I've fell in love with this top from Warehouse £26. I have never worn yellow before though, so have no idea how it'd look at me. They had free next day shipping yesterday, I should have just taken the plunge and brought it!

Student Discount

I start studying two weeks today! At 25, as a mature student, I feel a little apprehensive about going back to study. Especially knowing that I'll be surrounded by lots of little, giddy 16 year olds. I've been through that 16 year old stage and I'm over it. I'm not interested in their giggles, not being friends with x, y and z because they're not wearing this seasons hot pants from Topshop, or low and behold, they actually have a backpack, sitting at the back of the class, rolling their eyes at the teacher! Once you're 16, you can choose to continue your education in the UK, so if they don't want to be there, move on!

Anyway, now I've stereotyped the typical 16 year old for you, I think I'll move on!!

I'm very excited about my course, meeting other similar people to myself, going out a bit more, drinking a bit more, partying a bit more! But seriously, I'm going to be terrified in two weeks time. Sat on my 90 minute journey into our 'rural' world...

One thing I'm going to LOVE about being a student again is Student Discount, wahoooo!! I had an email through from Topshop this morning mentioning My Uni Days. 

Basically, you register your details with them, log into your college or Uni portal to confirm you're a student and away you go with your discounts. Sounds pretty simple to me, and no need to wait until I start in two weeks time for my NUS card ect.

Here is a screen shot of my portal when I log in.

Limited retailers at the moment, but I really think that this will take off! Includes Asos and Topshop - my two favourites!

Go check it out and let me know what you think.

Recent Competition Wins - Wahoooooo!!

Okay, as I said in a previous post, I've been entering lots of competitions lately. A lot of my friend's and family laughed at me and said 'you'll never win anything'. But I have!! My two top prizes are as follows:

I got to pick a dress from the Oasis Website. I picked this one as it's very pretty and very me. A lot of their dresses were quite posh, and something I'd need an ocassion to wear. I choose this one as I think I'll be able to dress it up or down. In winter, I can wear it with tights and black boots, or tights and heels to go out in.

Heritage Bird Dress

Price: £55.00

Oasis currently have 15% off using code WHYNOT15

My next AMAZING and favourite win of ALL time was thanks to The Daily Mail. I won a trip to VALENCIA!!!!!!

This is taken from a website advertising the competition, as The Daily Mail have now removed the details from their page:

'You’ll travel to Valencia with Ryanair from London Stansted, to watch a match at the prestigious Valencia Open 500 tennis tournament (past winners include Andy Murray, David Ferrer). The tournament is held in the Agora, part of Valencia’s futuristic City of Arts & Sciences. You’ll stay for two nights in the nearby four-star Barcelo Hotel. Your stay also includes a meal at the popular La Lola Restaurant, famous for its authentic Spanish cuisine, entry to Bioparc, Valencia’s unique natural zoo, and a guided tour around the old city centre with Green Tour.'

WOW!!!!!!

I will certainly be posting about all of this when I arrive back. Me and one of my best friends, Sam, fly out on Saturday 20th October and I can't flipping wait! As a POOR student, I didn't think I'd be having a holiday again for a long, long time. So I thank The Daily Mail from the bottom of my heart!

Other recent prizes during August have consisted of:

Garnier Summer Body Lotion

Cadbury Bubbles Chocolate Bar

JOHNSON’S Exfoliating Wash

I will write a post soon with some comping tips in it for people who are interested. These include details of applications which you can download to Google Chrome to make the whole entering process easier and quicker.

Good bye for now! Have a lovely Friday night.

Laura xxx