Sun, sea and scuba

It's been over 2 years since I last donned a wetsuit and scuba tank and my gosh do I miss it! Scuba diving is a huge passion of mine but unfortunately it's a hobby I don't get to partake in that often. Gliding through the quiet ocean surrounded by fish, sharks and beautiful coral is an other worldly sensation that is very difficult to describe. It is beautifully peaceful and liberating experience and is the closest way to feel like you're on another planet.

Considering the earth's surface is approximately 70% water there is an awful lot to be seen in the deep dark blue. I've been very fortunate to have scuba dived in many wonderful places during my travels. Highlights have included swimming with sharks and turtles in Sipadan, Borneo. Getting friendly with clown fish and leopard sharks in Ko Phi Phi, Thailand and exploring the beautiful marine life in the red sea. I learnt to dive when I was a teenager during a family holiday to El Gouna, Egypt and completed my Open Water PADI the following year in Mauritius. On my travels through SE Asia in 2010 I completed my Advanced Open Water PADI in Nah Trang, Vietnam and spent the rest of the trip tallying up as many dives as possible. It's been 2.5 years since my last dive in Borneo and now I am getting itchy fingers planning on where I can go next.

Diving in the UK is a possibility but I'm a wimp when it comes to the cold temperatures and for now I'm more interested in warm oceans full of colourful coral and fantastical fish than shady ship wrecks and murky waters. However, a lot of the best locations to dive are in really far flung parts of the world that are not only expensive to get to but also require more than a weeks stay to make the journey worthwhile. This is where Egypt comes into play, not only does it only take 5 hours to get to from London but the diving is world class. With the help of Latedeals.co.uk and their terrific holiday deals I am planning a trip Sharm el Shiekh with some of my non scuba diving friends who are desperate to learn. I can't wait to share the beauty of the underwater world with them. Follow Latedeals.co.uk on facebook and twitter for even more fantastic holiday deals.

Have you ever been diving x

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Tie Dye

Dress - Topshop Boutique

Shoes - Vivienne Westwood x Melissa *

Watch - Michael Kors

Necklace - Primark

Silver bracelet - Black Tied

Blue bracelet - Bohemian Collective

I really adore this dress, it's the perfect fit for a hot summers day. I bought it a couple of weeks ago and as soon as the sun comes out it's my go to clothing item. It's made from silk and is very delicate so I have to be extra careful when I wear it. I think the tie dye is quite unique but the blue and white print makes it more wearable than the pink/orange tie dye items you see. I haven't worn my jelly shoes in such a long time because they started to hurt my feet but on a gorgeous summer day it's nice to get them out for a spin.

I've had a lovely bank holiday weekend relaxing in the sun, visiting a few museums and celebrating my Granny's 80th birthday with the rest of the family. Really not looking forward to work tomorrow but the thought of going to NYC in less than 2 weeks is keeping me going.

Have you enjoyed the bank holiday sun x

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Creepin

Top - ASOS

Skirt - Topshop

Watch - Michael Kors

Socks - Primark

Creepers - Barratts *

I've been wearing creepers for a while now, they're my go to shoes and I honestly think they go with 99% of outfits. Some people would grossly disagree with this outrageous statement but I like my footwear ugly and chunky so I'm going to stick with it. However, I'm the first to hold up my hand and say I'm a shoe snob though! I don't like doing fakes whether it's Converse, Jeffrey Campbells or even (excuse my language) Uggs. I would just prefer to fork out the money for the real deal and know that I was getting good quality footwear. The same can be said for creepers, with so many cheaper alternatives around, cos hell these bad boys ain't cheap, it's tempting to go for a more purse friendly alternative. However being the self confessed shoe snob that I am this has never been the case, until now...

Barratts asked me to choose a pair of shoes from the website and when I saw these grey creepers I knew I wanted to check them out. I'd been after a grey Underground pair for a while but couldn't really be bothered to part with £90. The Barratts pair have the real deal look about them with the stitching and D rings. I have been so impressed with them since they turned up I've been wearing them nonstop, they are so comfortable and really excellent quality. At a fraction of the price I can honestly say I am no longer a creeper snob and would happily buy another pair of the Barratts alternative in many a different colour.

On another note, how weird and spacey is this top? I love the quilted pattern and the zips and mesh panels give it a pretty random futuristic vibe.

Are you a fan of creeper alternatives x

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#100London - April Update

I'm going to keep this short and sweet because April has been an appalling month in terms of museum visiting. I actually only made it to the Science Museum and that was for their April lates session last Wednesday. I'd been meaning to check out one of the lates for a really long time now but something always came up, however last Wednesday I made sure I kept the evening free. Because the theme was Climate Change it meant the museum wasn't actually that busy which is a good thing as there's more space to explore and less queues. I loved the fact there weren't any screaming kids around and there were bars all over the place, being able to drink in a museum definitely makes up for the fact the drinks are crazily overpriced. I went to a talk in the IMAX cinema, the venue was cool but the subject matter of the talk was a little on the tedious side. I am really interested in climate change and was looking forward to hearing about how we can make a difference in our lives but the talk was more about stupid jokes than hard facts, still it was an enjoyable 40 minutes. There was tons of other stuff going on as well so I would definitely like to go back again and get more involved, maybe try the pub quiz.

So that bring my grand total to 15 museums which considering it is April that is appalling. I’m determined to make up for it over the next couple of months though. I’m checking at the Bowie exhibition at the V&A on Saturday and I’m going to pop into the Hayward Gallery to see the Light Show before it closes on Monday. I also need to pop into the British Library, Courtald Gallery and lots of smaller museums as some stage as well.

Where have you been this past month x

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Return of the floral dress

Dress - Warehouse *

Denim jacket - Tesco *

Creepers - Underground

Necklace - River Island

The sun comes out and so does a floral dress. It may be clique but I do enjoy a floral dress once the weather gets a little warmer. I'm particularly fond of this ditsy number from Warehouse and I especially like the balloon style shape of the skirt. Of course any floral dress looks good with a denim jacket and there I go again adding an element of grunge with my trusty creepers. This dress has a cute cut out detailing on the straps as well and for once I'm not finding it too ridiculous short which seems to be the case with a lot of dresses I've bought recently.

This is the first time I've ever made a GIF and I think I turned out all right. Took me ages to figure out how to adjust the speed and size, the first one I made was moving so fast it made me feel sick!

Have you bought out your trusty floral dress yet x

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Hyperlink: On shoot with Rankin

As you can probably tell from these pictures, yesterday was the most surreal and best day I have ever had thanks to my blog. Elodie and I were invited along to Hyperlink at the Tate this weekend which is a 3-day long festival celebrating art, music and fashion. After browsing the programme I saw that there was a Rankin workshop and knew the 2 of us has to get a place! During our 2 hour slot we got the chance to work with Rankin on his Destroy project where we had our pictures taken and then had to destroy the prints.

In all honesty this was an exciting but terrifying experience. As a fashion blogger one would think I'm easy breezy in front of the camera, well I am when it's my Mum taking my photos, stick me in front of Britain's most famous photographer and it's a whole other story. That being said as soon as I stepped into the studio (after hair and make up of course) in front of the big bright lights all my anxieties slipped away. Rankin has the amazing ability to make a subject feel instantly at ease and relaxed in front of the camera that I was able to soak up the blaring music and just enjoy my 5 minutes of being snapped. He directed me and told me I was doing a great job which made the whole experience easy. I absolutely loved it!

Once the photography was done Rankin choose a picture to be used in the Destroy project and after all the photoshop business it was time to play around with paint and glitter to our hearts content. It felt wrong to destroy such an incredible photo but once I had an idea of what I wanted to do I got down and dirty on the crafts table. I went for a bit of a Ziggy Stardust theme with lots of bright colours and way too much glitter. The end results was totally OTT but I love it.

After the work was done we chatted with Rankin and goofed around taking photos of each other. I got him to snap a few shots of Elodie and me on my camera which he said was very nice despite the massive crack in the screen. He even posed for a few shoots in my glasses which totally didn't fit him! All the prints were hung up on the wall with the Destroyed versions underneath which will be on display throughout the festival. I'm not sure what is going to happen to them afterwards but hopefully they'll find a good home.

Hyperlink is still running today and there are plenty of art, fashion and music related workshops going on for free so if you get the chance to go down to the Tate I thoroughly recommend it. This experience is something I will never forget and am eternally grateful to the Tate for inviting me along. It's not everyday you get to work with one of your favourite artists and now I have a lovely photo hanging in my hallway taken by the one and only Rankin that I will cherish forever.

Have you attended Hyperlink this weekend x

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