Blogger Of The Month: Lucy Jarvis!

It's once again time for my blogger of the month, albeit it a bit late and this month i've chosen Lucy from Fine and Bambi (used to be Champagne Diamond). Lucy is another person I met through Motel and was one of the other bloggers who inspired me to start my own blog. I fell in love with her blog because she shares my love of cats and immediately I wanted to get my hands on one of the cat print skirts from her own big cartel shop! I also loved her grungy style and liked the way she wore Fred Perry polos tucked into girlie skater skirts, dungarees and the way her tattoos toughen up her pretty dresses.

Lucy seems like someone who doesn't follow trends, she knows what she likes and has a massive obsession with Topshop, something else we have in common! Her style is really relaxed and I like how she always posts pictures of her beautiful cat Lana on her blog and instagram. I have ended up buying a few things after seeing them on Lucys' blog, my favourite of which is the Topshop black pinafore, something I fell in love with as soon as I saw her wearing it, and love seeing how Lucy styles it.

Apart from having awesome style Lucy is a really nice girl who i've spoken to through social networking, and she looks SO much like Alexa Chung it is ridiculous!

Let me know if you also love Lucys' blog or if this is a new one for you, I love how this blogger of the month introduces bloggers to new bloggers!

lovely little lana

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! 

Gimme Shelter

Hat - Tesco

Necklace - White Leaf

Jumper - H&M

Leggings - American Apparel

Boots - Dr Martens 

Today I am blogging for the first time in 2013, and didn't realise it had been so long since I last posted. The past few weeks have been a bit crazy, Christmas and New Year are super busy times for everyone and my new job and a few personal problems meant I neglected my blog a bit :( However now I am back and can't wait to get back into it! I only started my blog at the end of September and have already seen it grow, i'm a little bit shocked at how much and thank you all for following and for your lovely comments! I have a few posts lined up for the next few days including some beautiful bits and pieces from Christmas, along with a little Christmas sale haul. 

Today I have a day off and have spent it doing a few odd jobs and taking my dog for a walk. I wore my favourite American Apparel leggings along with a new jumper from H&M which I absolutely love! It's only £14.99 and is the perfect length to wear with jeans or leggings, I haven't stopped wearing it yet! I have also included a picture of my beautiful dog Chilli who is so pathetic, that when she saw another dog on the walk she stopped and refused to move! Tonight I will be cooking up something delicious and maybe going for a drink with a few friends! 

New Look Christmas Blogger Competition

Whilst looking at blogs recently i've found a lot of people posting about a competition that New Look is running for bloggers! You need to design a Christmas Party Outfit for your body type and could win £100 worth of New Look vouchers!

My body type is the classic pear, basically no boobs and big hips! I think it might be the most common body shape but I can't imagine it's the most coveted! It's easy to dress because you can wear most things on the top but generally looks best to wear an a line shape on the bottom, although it doesn't stop me wearing leggings or jeans! I decided to go for this gold dress which I thought looked quite 'Kate Moss' and styled it with some opaque tights, wedges boots and a fedora hat. I'm not a very 'glam' person so this is a dressed up as I could probably be! I do like it though and it's now making me want to buy the dress!

If you fancy having a go at creating an outfit click here and make sure you check out New Looks guide to body shapes here :)