Quarter Life Crisis

Sequin Jacket - Vintage

Black Dress - Boohoo

Necklace - Primark 

Lipstick - Rimmel Kate Moss 107

Shoes - eBay

Rings - Biba and Bristol Silver Shops

It's been a while since I posted an outfit, over a month at least and it appears I have forgotten how to have my photograph taken, but after my little blogging break I am back and feeling super positive and excited about blogging again. I've made a few changes in my life over the past 6 months and can honestly say I am currently the happiest that I have been in a long time. My anxiety has almost completely gone away and I feel more like myself again after a very long and confusing period, which scared me and a lot of the people around me.

The biggest change I have made is I have a new job - yes again! When I finished University I felt an immense pressure to go into a career straight away and after interning and gaining experience in fashion retail management, I finally felt comfortable and secure working as the store manager for Motel Rocks. My heart was broken when they closed that shop, it meant so much to me and since the redundancy i''ve been wanting to care about a job that much again and wake up in the mornings looking forward to work. After the redundancy I did some temping and a few odd retails jobs but kept thinking back to how happy I had been whilst working at Motel and felt I needed to go back to doing something along those lines.

After a bit of a search during the summer I found a job with independent boutique Fox and Feather in Bristol; I am working 4 days a week in the shop as well as doing a bit of newsletter and blog writing. I feel really happy to have met Clare, the owner, I love helping her come up with ideas for the shop, and feel so lucky that we have such a great working relationship, it's great to feel like part of the company and not just an employee number.

Working part time means I might not have a lot of money but at least it means I am able to develop my other passions, I have time to practice bass guitar and am even part of a girl band now! I also have time to dedicate to this blog and to concentrate on another project which I can't tell you about just yet. I was a really unhappy person for a long time and if you suffer from depression you will understand quite how debilitating that can be, I feel as though i've finally come through it and understand how I want my life to be, sometimes you just have to do the things you want rather than the things you think you should be doing.

Sorry for the long and fairly deep blog post, I hope no one thinks i've lost the plot! I promise everything else will be light and chirpy from now on!

In Love With Fashion

Tomorrow is the day I start my new job so i'm afraid this is a very short post. I have an induction with Topshop and Love before starting properly on Saturday. I'm a little bit nervous as I guess most people are when they start a new job, but feel really lucky that i'm going to be on my feet doing something I enjoy rather than working in an office in something I hate! I'm really excited for all the new clothes i'm going to be able to share with you guys and if it's not a brand you've heard of or know much about then in a way I guess you'll be sharing the new experience with me!

I wanted to show you a few of my favourite pieces already just from browsing the website, and have no doubt i'll be setting a few pieces aside every delivery day as it seems the clothes are really my style! The jumper has a great 60's monochrome feel to it and I love the print of the second dress. I've seen images of my favourite blogger  Olivia wearing the wrap playsuit which feels like a real staple and I can already imagine myself wearing the lace crop with all my high waisted skirts! If you haven't checked out the brand yet here is the website and they also have a great bloggers affiliate program which might be of interest to some of you guys!

As for me i'm off to have a nice bath, wash my hair, do my nails all those sorts of things you do when you have something important on the next day! I haven't decided what to wear yet so no doubt that will take a while! If anyone has any suggestions please feel free to comment, and i'll make sure I do an outfit post of it!

Wish me luck ♥♥

Peter Pan Collars

As i'm unemployed at the moment, i've tried to spend my time wisely and limit lying in bed watching TV all day to once a week! I have been doing lots of organising of my room and my life in general, which I think has made me feel more calm and positive about finding a job. Today my lovely Nan wanted to take me out for the day so we decided to go to Frome, Somerset which is around a 45 minute drive from Bristol. Somerset is a really lovely place and Frome is just one of the beautiful areas along with Wells and Glastonbury. If you live in Bristol/Bath I would definitely recommend a visit or if you are visiting the South West for a weekend, a trip to any of these places would be well worth it! Frome is somewhere I have been meaning to visit for a while, ever since I read a great blogpost from Bristol blogger Niki about the large vintage shopping on offer!

We decided to stop for lunch first and found this great cafe just off the high street called 'The Garden Cafe'. I know it sounds ridiculously enthusiastic but this is probably one of the best Cafes i've ever been too! Everything on the menu was vegetarian and vegan friendly, plus most of it was organic and gluten-free. I chose a toasted cheddar sandwich with avocado and sweet chilli, which was so delicious, plus I was really happy to discover they sold their own fruit and vegetables on the side of the cafe...how sweet! 

I had to include a picture of this little kids seating area, how lovely!

After the delicious food we headed up the road on the look out for St Catherine's Hill, an area renowned for vintage and second hand shops. Beautiful independent stores lined the classic cobbled street, and victorian style lamps hung on the sides of the stone clad buildings, it really was beautiful. The first shop I encountered was 'Roundabout' the clothes weren't really my style, but my Nan fell in love with several beautiful dresses. I was however really impressed with the layout of this shop, upstairs the building had been preserved in its original room set and all the clothes were merchandised around bedroom furniture. It was really unique!

The rest of the shops however were perfectly my style! First up was Truly Sopel, unfortunately the shop was closing down so there wasn't much of a choice, but the brand has been set up by an LCF graduate, who has created a unique brand mixing girlie styles with colourful fabrics and childhood classics. I fell in love with all of the prints and waffle cardigans, but sizes were limited and I was gutted to leave with nothing. I was assured however that the brand would continue online and if you are interested in seeing some more check out the website Truly Sopel.

My favourite find of the day had to be Poot. A classic vintage shop, full to the brim with bags, dresses and shoes. I got chatting to the shop owner, who was absolutely lovely and she showed me a load of new vintage she had just received. After a good 45 minutes of trying on shirts, shoes and dresses I settled on a gorgeous pair of toe capped shoes and a blouse which could have been created from my own mind; black with a white peter pan collar..my favourite! Sorry for the photo of the blouse, it would not photograph well because of the contrast in colours! The owner also told me she would be running a stall at Glastonbury Festival in the Avalon field, which i'll definitely be going to find!

Finally there was 'Make and Mend Vintage' which I was super excited about as soon as I spotted it! It has a fantastic entrance with large windows and an art deco style exterior, and a huge array of vintage dresses. I fell in love with a gold 70's dress but it was a bit too expensive for how often i'd wear it (me being sensible!) I did find a couple of great pairs of chelsea boots, some 60's dresses and a few jackets - I would definitely recommend a visit if you're in the area. 

As you can tell I had such a lovely day and if you live in Bristol, definitely take a trip out to Frome if you get the chance, the shops are all lovely and the people were so friendly! Even if you don't love vintage shopping as much as I do, I would definitely recommend a trip to the 'Garden Cafe' they are open late and have a full bar ♥♥

Street Teamer

After the unfortunate end to my job at Motel Rocks, I decided I still really love the clothes and the company so it made sense to become a street teamer! I talk about the clothes a lot, and always have one or two items popping up on my wish lists, so what could be better than offering you guys 20% off anything that I mention, or anything you have your eye on! In order to get your 20% off all you need to do is click on the banner below or just go to the Motel Rocks website and at the checkout enter the code 'sophiepalms', it is only valid online at Motel so you can't use it on any other online stores like ASOS or Topshop, but throughout the year I will be able to give you guys extra discounts and promotions so it's a winner for all of us! I also picked the button that had the 'Penny Dress in Black and White Stripe' as the image, a dress which you all know I am besotted with! It's back in stock now too so get it before it's gone!  

I'm still really friendly with the team at Head Office and during my time as an intern become good friends with Lora; who has recently photographed the 'Valentines Collection' imagery. 

I love these images, I love the models hair it fits so perfectly with the styling and graphics, and I love how simple they are. At the moment there is a competition on to win two very different Valentines nights both including a £50 Motel Rocks gift card! I've entered them both, and really want to win the night in because my boyfriend is going to be away for Valentines and I really do love Dominos Pizza! 

Louis XIV

Jumper - H&M

Shirt - Vintage

Skirt - Primark

DM's - Urban Outfitters

I look a bit strange in these photos, I love the outfit but i'm not sure if I look a bit baggy? This is a new skirt from Primark it cost £7, what a bargain! It's a waffle style material and is a midi length which is something I would never usually go for, but I love the look of it with a baggy jumper - it feels quite grungy, especially with my Dr Martens! I decided to team it with this cute vintage shirt to soften it and it's definitely my favourite outfit of the moment. My hair has finally decided to go a bit more silver, I had a bad dye job and the first two inches of my hair was a horrible yellow colour while the rest was the silver I like. I put a toner on it over the weekend and it has lifted so much, I am so much happier with it! 

I had a great weekend, it was a friends birthday on Saturday so me and my friends went out in Bristol for it; I felt suitably horrible on Sunday. I haven't really been out since New Year so it was fun to go out drinking with all my friends and have a good time. Today I applied for 5 jobs! So proud of myself i'm feeling really positive job wise and am just waiting for the next thing to come along. As for the rest of the week i'm just gonna try and relax and carry on filling my day with seeing friends and doing blog posts!

You're A Wild One

The Wild One- Motel Rocks

I am basically in love with this dress! I've seen it loads of times on the internet whilst working at head office but it came in today with the shops delivery and I am head over heels! You know when you need to see something and feel the fabric in order to decide what you think of it? It's so unique and just lovely, I think i'm going to wear it to the Motel Bloggers Party on Monday! It's not my usual style because it's maxi length but for the party i'm thinking bare legs, a simple gold necklace and maybe red lips?  Just not sure which shoes yet, any suggestions? The bodice is so dramatic I think it needs to be simply styled but I can't wait to wear it! It's £65 on the website which is quite a lot but is £45 in the shop because the prices are lowered for the flagship store. We had a great delivery today with loads of off the shoulder items and Christmas dresses so if you live in Bristol I would definitely recommend a visit!

1 Month Old

Today is one month since I started the blog! I've enjoyed posting so much and can't believe I’ve only just got into blogging I definitely should have started earlier. I also can't believe how it's grown even over the past 4 weeks I have almost 50 followers and love reading all of your sweet comments. I've found some of your amazing blogs, which I love to read and the only downside is I have managed to spend lots on new clothes because I keep seeing nice stuff on your blogs! 

Yesterday was my boyfriend’s birthday so we went to watch 'Crossfire Hurricane' a film about the Rolling Stones and it was unbelievably good. I love every single song and watching footage of them just being themselves was great, after we went out for drinks and ending up going back to a friends flat and dancing to their songs for a good few hours. Mick Jagger is sexy even as an old man seeing him shake his hips is too good and Keith Richards is just the definition of cool, I really enjoyed it and don't think I even realised I loved them that much! Today I am a bit hung over and am just going to spend the evening eating pizza and watching rubbish TV :)

This week I have had a mini spend and wanted to share my new purchases with you guys. Sorry for the photos just being taken on my bedroom floor, I need to find a nice piece of fabric or something to use as a background! First up on Monday I bought this bag from Accessorize after seeing it on Annalises' blog (http://pastelbokeh.blogspot.com) I’m not a huge bag person but I do love a good satchel and just couldn't resist this one with the deer head detail on the fastening! It's a really good size and means I can take it on a night out or use it in the day, I tend to use the same bag for a few weeks then swap over to another one I don't have a day or night bag I just use them all for whatever! It was £32 and you can find it here.

As I mentioned before I have recently got a new job working in the Motel Bristol Store, it's the only store they have so it's exciting to be working there and means I get a good discount on clothes which makes me very very happy! This week I decided to get a few things to update my wardrobe and decided on the Kadie Skirt in blue and the Carla playsuit in black. The skirt is a really unusual colour and I decided to get it because I wear the black one all the time and thought this would look really nice in the Winter just adding a splash of colour, to my usual black winter outfits. I really love the style of skater skirts as they're flattering and just look cute and school like! This colour isn't actually on the website I have only ever seen in the store but it was £20 (without discount) which is a good price and if you live in and around Bristol I would definitely recommend a trip to Park Street to have a look around the shop!  

I wasn't able to take a picture of the playsuit because it is a silky material and doesn't photograph well at all so thought I would just use the picture from the website. I find playsuits quite hard to wear sometimes because I’m quite tall and find they can sometimes be short in the body. This playsuit is very soft but I would recommend getting a size bigger than you usually would because it's tight fitting. I went for a Medium, which was a little tight when I tried it on but I can tell it's going to stretch out a bit when wearing it. Black playsuits are a bit of a staple item, they can be worn casually in the day or dressed up on an evening with lots of gold jewellery so decided this was a justified basic!

  

Saving the best till last I have finally bought the Laynie!! Big news as I have been lusting after it for ages and decided as I’m going out again for Toms' birthday on Saturday I would wear it then. As it's a baby doll style lots of people have recommended going down a size, I bought the small and I LOVE IT! It's so pretty and flattering and I can imagine myself wearing it a lot throughout the winter. I'll make sure I get some photos on Saturday so I can do an outfit post on it so you guys can see how I’m wearing it.