London Haul- Primark, Forever 21, Victoria's Secret and Disney Store

What's a trip to London, without a little bit of shopping? 

When myself and Meg were in London we took it upon ourselves to buy so much stuff that we defiantly didn't, did need. 

Let's start with Primark. The Oxford Street Primark is both the most wonderful place, and the worst place. Wonderful, because of how much stuff they have there, and compared to my local Primark they have a hell of a lot of stuff. But its also the worst place, because of how busy it gets, and how cramped it gets, and how many clothes are thrown all over the floor. But me and Meg managed to look past all that and got some really cute bits. 

Starting with this pale green Summer dress. It has mesh parts on the straps, waist and hem of the dress. The back is also really pretty because part of it is cut out, but not the annoying kind of cut out where you can see half your bra. So I'm looking forward to wearing this in the Summer months.  

Pale green mesh dress- £13

For someone who hates birds (and believe me I do), I just couldn't help myself. It's so cute and for £3 it was a massive bargain! 

Flamingo canvas- £3

Primark's selection of plasic cups/ thermal cups is wonderful. I'd have them all if my Mum would let me. This cup will be perfect for me when I want to transport drinks during the Summer in my car. Plus its Frozen, so its super cute. 

Frozen cup- £2.50

Frilly socks are my weakness. I have a whole draw full of them, but whenever I see a pair its like; 'Well I haven't got this shade of purple'. But the ones with the sheep on are flipping adorable. 

Stripe frill socks- 75p
Sheer sheep socks- £1.50 

I'm someone who hates to have bare feet, so in the Summer pop socks become my best friend, because if you can't rock your cute ankle socks with your pair of shoes, then pop socks are my second choice. So when I saw these Lady and the Tramp ones I had to have them. 

Lady and the Tramp shoe liners- £2.50

Bit more Disney, because this is primarily a Disney blog after all. Plus I've been searching for these for ages. I love this style of Primark pyjama bottoms, because they are super comfy and cosy, and they have fitted ankles.  

Frozen pyjama bottoms- £7

Keeping with the pyjama theme, I picked up this pair of floral print shorts for the warmer weather, plus they were only £1. Bargain. 

Floral print pyjama shorts- £1 

They had a wide selection of shopper bags when I was there, they had a few Disney ones as well. But this one made me chuckle, and I thought it would make a good beach tote bag for when I go to Spain. 

Mermaid shopper bag- £1.50

Moving onto Forever 21. 

They had some lovely clothes, but nothing that I really looked at and thought 'I need that now', so I only picked up two jewellery items. One being this adorable little gold bunny necklace. Its really delicate and the rabbit reminded me of Peter Rabbit, so it was too cute not to buy.  

Rabbit necklace- £6

Then the second thing I brought was this princess crown ring, it is so damn pretty and looks like it should cost a lot more than it did. So Meg and I both got one. 

Meg's nails looking far more magical than mine

We then went to Victoria's Secret and they had a special offer on their fragrance mists, usually they are £13 each, but they were three for £24, so I got two and Meg got the free one. 

I spent forever trying to find the perfect scents, and these two were my favourite by far. Coconut Passion, smells how its sounds; of coconut. Then Pure Seduction is a mixture of red plum and freesia, and it smells SO GOOD. 

Victoria's Secret fragrance mists- £13 each, but discount meant
they were £8 each 

I've saved the most Disney for last. No London shopping trip would be complete without going to the Disney Store. We went to the Oxford Street one, and I show the store in a little more depth here. 

My birthday is coming up, so Meg was kind enough to get me one of my presents early, and that was the Alice in Wonderland soft toy doll. She brought me the Cheshire Cat for Christmas, and now I have an Alice to go with it. 

Alice soft doll- £16

When I went to Disneyland Paris in 2013 I brought a Lady soft toy, so I only felt it was right to buy a Tramp to go with her. 

My room is slowly turning into a five year old's room. 

Tramp plush- £18.95

That was everything that I brought from London, I am now saving the pennies for Summer.

Well attempting too. We will see how long it lasts. 

Cheerio!

Hannah

Mothers and Daughters do it best

Saturday 15th of November- 

It's 7:30 am and I'm astounded that my Mum and I are actually leaving the house on time to go to the station, because we are renowned for always being late. I guess it just goes to show how you can be on time if its to get cheap Wicked tickets. 

So after catching our train and having a shortish journey we arrived at Liverpool Street, and went straight off to catch the tube to get to Victoria. Now several hilarious moments happened throughout the day, one of them occurring on the tube. Where me and Mum were so busy nattering I wasn't paying attention to what stop it was, and I looked out of the doors and saw 'Circus' and thought we were at Oxford Circus, turns out we were actually at Piccadilly Circus. So I go to step off the tube and in my Mums efforts to stops me she grabs my hood from my jacket, and this was a detachable hood, so it just popped straight off into her hand. We were cry laughing, well I was, for a good 3 minutes. It was just so funny, I'm sure people around us thought we were insane. 

So we finally get to Victoria tube station and after a quick walk we're at the Apollo Victoria, (the theatre for Wicked) and there is already a few people waiting outside, but I still had high hopes. It was only 9 am, so we still had an hour until the box office opened so Mum popped over to a nearby McDonalds and got a tea and a hot chocolate, and some snazzy ginger bread men from M&S as well. 

The wait went surprisingly quick and we soon found ourselves at the front, and the guy at the box office said he had two front row stalls left and asked if we would want those. Well it took me a nano second to think about that, Mum had no say in the matter before I was replying 'YES PLEASE'. I mean it was front row stalls for £29.50 each?! How could you have to think about that. 

After buying our tickets I was literally on cloud nine, nothing could dampen my spirits. So we made our way back to the tube to go back to Oxford Circus to do some shopping. 

It was around quarter to 11 now and all we'd had was a hot drink and a biscuit, so we were feeling rather peckish and decided to go straight to Selfridges to get something to eat, before starting our shopping bonanza. 

So we make our way to Selfridges, popping into the Disney Store on the way, in hope of finally tracking down an Elsa Christmas decoration. No such luck though. But anyway, on our travel to Selfridges we got to admire all the lovely Christmasy window displays. But I have to say Selfridges was one of, if not the best. They've gone for a fantasy/ fairytale theme which is right up my street and it was so beautiful and unique. 

We also had to take a few selfies, because why not? 

We went inside and it was literally like a maze of cosmetic counters, we found our way to a map and went in search for a place to eat. Amongst all the posh frocks and shoes there were a couple of restaurants, but after looking at the menu we thought that it was far to early in the morning for lobster, so decided we'd go else where. We managed to find a Starbucks, which was more our kind of scene (and price), so settled on two panini's, which were delicious. 

After feeding and watering ourselves we felt that it was time to begin some serious hardcore shopping, and made our way to the Christmas department.  

I was literally in Heaven with all the Christmas decorations, there was so many gorgeous decorations, and some not so gorgeous ones... But to each there own.

While wandering round the Christmas department we then managed to find ourselves amongst all the cuddly toys, which was when hysteria started to set in. Selfridges is a fancy shop, therefore they had fancy large animal soft toys, like a giraffe for £1000 (total bargain), a tiger and an elephant. Now after looking at all the toys for a good 5 minutes I didn't realise but some of the bigger toys, like the elephant and the giraffe, had plastic bags on their feet something which after noticing I found incredibly funny. So I stood there cry laughing amongst all the toys with plastic bags on there feet, apart from the tiger, he didn't have plastic bags...

After eventually paying for our two Christmas decorations, which were adorable wooden bunnies, we made our way back out into Oxford Street and shopped until we could shop no more.

After a slight paddy in Primark because they apparently buy stock from a place where size 4 doesn't exist, we made our way to New Look and had a further boot search. After purchasing the most perfect pair of boots, and refusing to pay £17 for a super flimsy top we had to leave, otherwise we feared our brains would explode from the terrible brain numbing music they were blaring out.

After going around a few more shops we started to lag a bit and decided we needed some sugar, and decided to have a snack and a milkshake at Ed's Diner just off Oxford Street. I opted for an Oreo milkshake, while Mum had a chocolate one, and we shared a bowl of chips, the milkshakes were so delicious and were served in silver jugs, which was different. Cue next hilarious moment, while we were sitting there chatting a waitress walked by with a mug of tea, and out of the corner of my eye I saw her deliberately slosh some out of the mug and onto the floor. It struck me as really funny because I could then just imagine her taking it to a customer and it just really made me laugh. It was the fact she did it deliberately, and not by accident that made it even funnier. Mum didn't see, so through the tears and gasps of air between laughing I managed to tell her what I saw. We were also laughing because I had said that she had her hair in 'teddy buns', I think the proper term might be 'double buns', but either way Mum found the words teddy buns hilarious also. So all round it was a rather funny dinning experience.

After our rest stop we then headed over to House of Fraiser in search for some Yankee Candles, but no such luck, so we just enjoyed the Christmas section instead, and Mum found this fabulous black felt reindeer. We were then served by the slowest man ever at the till, whose brain seemed to have disappeared, perhaps he'd been to New Look and the music there had numbed his brain cells.

We then spent a while in Next admiring all the Christmas jim jams, and I also found an orange jumper that helps me channel my inner Cilla Black, and a lovely Christmasy top too.

If you either haven't seen the John Lewis Christmas advert, or haven't heard of Monty the Penguin then WHERE have you been, but I for one love the advert and Monty. So seeing loads of London shoppers with John Lewis Monty carrier bags made me feel like I 'needed' one, so we headed into John Lewis. They had a whole section dedicated to Monty and Mabel, which I found amazing and of course while I was there I had to take a picture with Monty...

Mum very kindly treated me to a Monty pillow, which has taken pride of place on my bed, and when we paid I made sure we got a Monty carrier bag... How much of a loser am I? But Penguins are just so adorable.

John Lewis' window displays were also adorable, I guess the whole world has just gone Monty mad?

We then headed back to the tube and made our way over to Victoria to get back to the Apollo Victoria, because it was nearly time for Wicked!

After waiting at the bar for a life time we finally managed to get some drinks and I, of course, had to get a program, and a Wicked bag for life, because how couldn't I? I'm practically making my way through all the memorabilia. We then made our way to our seats, which were amazing! We had such a fantastic view! I thought that because we were seat numbers were 30 and 31 we would be much further over and have more of a side view, but we were literally just off the centre of the stalls! So I was very happy.

This was my seventh time seeing Wicked, but as I watch Elphaba (Jennifer DeNoia) fly up during Defying Gravity it still gives me chills and brings me to tears, its just such a powerful and moving song I can't help but cry. I have to say that Jennifer may be my favourite Elphaba that I've seen (along side Rachel Tucker). I loved the fact she kept her American accent, even though everyone had British ones, I felt it really worked for the character and her portrayal of the character was just brilliant and I felt the American accent really worked well with that. Not to mention her voice is absolutely incredible! Savannah Stevenson was also wonderful as Glinda, her version of Popular was just hilarious, she gave the right amount of ditsy blonde, with heartfelt moments too.

After the performance had finished, and we were about to head off  I noticed the stage door and  gave Mum a look as if to say 'I really want to wait'. I've waited stage door with Mum a few times now, one time to meet Danielle Hope and another time to meet Idina Menzel, and just like Idina, Jennifer is American, so my reasoning to Mum was that because she's American this is a once in a life time opportunity. So we waited. Mum also made mercy dash over to the shops in search for a sharpie as we both realised neither of us had a particularly decent pen. But we needn't  had worried because when the two leading ladies themselves came out they were both equipped with sharipes.

Me and Jennifer DeNoia- (Elphaba) 

Me and Savannah Stevenson- (Glinda)

They were both so lovely, and it was great to meet them both and to have pictures with them. 

After our encounter with the stars we then headed back to Liverpool Street to get a train home. I was absolutely knackered and was dying to have a little snooze, but the train carriage was quite full and it made me feel un-easy closing my eyes and not watching our bags. So I came up with a solution... 

I thought I would literally cradle all the bags until me got off the train, good idea huh? 

We then got home and went to bed. I had such a brilliant day and I'd like to thank my Mum for making it so funny and special. 

Love you Mum! 

Hannah  

'You're a Wizard Harry'- London weekend; Harry Potter Studio's and Camden Market

Back at the beginning of August I went on a little weekend trip with my Mum, Meg and her Mum. We went to the Harry Potter Studio tour, then on the Saturday we went into London and went to Camden Market for a bit of shopping, and managed to squeeze in a cheeky show as well. I fancied doing a post about the weekend as it was so lovely. 

If you didn't know I loveeee Harry Potter, so finally getting to go to the studio tour was a massive deal for me, the word excited doesn't even come close. 

The gang- Look how excited we all were

Nicola, Meg and I 

Obviously I had brought a Hogwarts top prior to going, because what better place to wear your Hogwarts t-shirt from Primark than the Harry Potter Studio?? I also wore my Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets book necklace, and with the top I wore my black body con skirt from Topshop, with my black sandals from New Look. 

Loving life on the Knight Bus 

The studios were AMAZINGGG, I took soo many pictures, but I don't want to include too many because I don't want to spoil it if you haven't already been. But here's a few;

Outside number 4 Privet Drive 

On the Hogwarts bridge 

Mumma Drake and I with the model of Hogwarts 

Obviously while I was there I picked up a few souvenirs...

Programme- £9.95
Post cards- 95p each
Chocolate Frog- £7.95

I got a Chocolate Frog, because how could I not? I also got 4 postcards to put on my wardrobes, and a programme of the studios, as it has all the nice glossy pictures, as well as information about the sets and stuff.

Photo and memory stick- £37

While you're there you can also 'fly' on a broomstick, by fly I mean how they do it in the films with a green screen, so I obviously had to do it. We chose a deal where we got one picture and also a memory stick with a short video of you flying through London on the broom.

The next day we ventured into London and went to Camden to have a look at the shops and also the market there near the docks.
On our way to the market we found some fantastic street performers who had set up a tea party and were dressed as the Mad-hatter and the White Rabbit.

I brought some lovely bits from the shops and stalls there, so maybe I'll do a look book to show you? 

But while in the lock market we decided to have a break from shopping and have some tea in the cutest little tea shop/ cafe, (we also went here when we came to Camden for my 16th). It's just the loveliest little place, so quaint and sweet.  

I also opted for a brownie, cheeky cheeky.

Excuse my Rudolph looking nose, my allergies decided to
kick up a fuss that day.

 Then this was what I wore;

Skirt- Topshop
Strappy crop top and sandals- both from New Look

After a full afternoon of shopping we then headed over to Leicester Square in search for some theatre tickets, as we fancied seeing a show to finish the day off, and I also had a cheeky look in the Covent Garden Jack Wills.
We managed to  get tickets to see the musical Once, which is on at the Phoenix Theatre.
I didn't know what to expect as I knew nothing about the show, but it was funny, the music was very good, and everyone in it was very talented. The people in the show were also actor-musicians, which meant that they played the instruments on stage and sang, as opposed to having an orchestra, which was great to watch.

So that was my weekend in London! I had such a lovely time, have you been the the Harry Potter Studios? If so what did you think and what was your favourite part?

Cheerio!

Hannah

'One man's trash is another man's treasure'- Recent Charity Shop Gems and Tips

So for anyone who didn't know I am a massive lover of Charity Shops, I think that not only are they a good cause, but you can also find some hidden gems in them as well. So I thought I'd share some bits that I've picked up recently, and also some tips that I find useful when I shop around as well. 

Tip 1- You need to have an open mind! Don't go in there thinking 'oh everything in here is old and smelly, I won't like it', because a lot of the time they do have some really quite modern stuff from places like Primark, River Island, New Look and Topshop! I've even brought things before and they have still had tags on. Plus what you can think is that you will wash it before you wear it yourself. 

Speaking of modern makes I got these two Summer tops recently, the mint green top which has Seagulls and boats on is from a make called 'Limited Collection' which I believe is from Marks & Spencers, but correct me if I'm wrong. It's such a lovely colour and perfect for the Summer. Then I also found this Summer vest top, which was originally from H&M. It is navy with Daisies all over it, and it has hook and eye fastenings down the front, which was a different look, rather than buttons. 

Mint Green tie up top from Havens Hospice- £3.50
Daisy print top from pdsa- £2.99

This next top I got by a complete stroke of luck, because where the staff in the shop put clothes out throughout the day my Mum caught sight of this top just as a lady had put it out on one of the rails, so she snapped it up quickly as she thought it would be perfect for a character I'm playing in a show in September. The character is Mrs Wilberforce from the show The Ladykillers, and the lace detail on the neck is so fitting its fabulous. But I'll wear this in and out of character as I think its a lovely top. This top sadly doesn't have a label in so I don't even know where its originally from, but I think that sometimes makes it even more special and unique. 

Lace top from Havens Hospice- £4

Tip 2- Don't always just look in your size. What I tend to do is look in all the sizes, depending how much time I have, as you can sometimes find some really lovely bits in sizes a couple of sizes bigger than your actual size. As where different shops have different sizing systems its always good to look.

For instance the other day I was looking at all the sizes and came across this adorable Elephant printed shirt. It was in the XL section but when I tried it on its no bigger than a size 14, which suits me as I like my tops a little roomier for my bust at times haha. It's just a long sleeved sheer shirt with silver buttons all the way down, and little round silver studs on the collar tips. Again this doesn't have a make inside, but I can imagine it coming from a little clothes boutique that isn't well known, since I've not seen this print before. 

Elephant shirt from pdsa- £3.99

 When I saw this in the shop I imagined wearing this tucked into a black skater skirt, or a pair of chinos, or something high waisted, so as to define a waist as the shirt is quite loose fitting. 

The print is just so adorable! 

Tip 3- Look everywhere! Yep that's right, everywhere. In all the little cubby holes and shelves, you never know what you may find. 

I found this lovely Vintage looking tapestry clutch bag, it was hidden among lots of other bags but I spotted it and knew I needed it! I think its so beautiful and once again where it probably is Vintage I bet no one else will have it. 

Clutch bag- £3.99

Then when I was rummaging through a basket of bits I found this actual Cath Kidston shopper bag! I couldn't believe my luck. Its only made of thin material, so not the well known shiny oil cloth Cath Kidston  bags, but this would probably retail for around £4, and I got it for 50p! Bargain or what? Plus it meant I could carry the rest of my bargains in it, rather than use a plastic bag. Nice and eco-friendly.

Cath Kidston bag from Havens Hospice- 50p

Tip 4- Don't underestimate the shoes. Being a shoe lover I always look at the shoes, but very rarely do I buy any, one because they never usually have and in my size, and two I'm a little funny when it comes to shoes, because with clothes you can wash them and you know they are totally clean, where as shoes are very hard to get, in my words 'completely fresh' haha. But in this case I found some very cute shoes, and what do you know they were brand new! They were from H&M and they still had the labels on and you can tell they hadn't been worn at all. They are just some lovely nude/pink lace up brogue styled shoes. I also got this pretty navy and white striped scarf, as I'm really into the whole Nautical style again and thought this would be perfect for that style. Its from the brand TU, which is the clothing brand at the super market Sainsburys.

Shoes- £5
Scarf- £1.50

Then the last thing I got was this beautiful Vintage broach, with a rose in the middle and then an almost gold frame around it. I thought this would look cute on a blazer pocket, or even on a shirt collar.

Broach- 75p

So there are some things I've picked up recently, so my final and 5th tip for Charity shop hunting is to have fun and don't expect to find amazing things every time you go in one, because sometimes you won't find anything, then sometimes you'll find tons of stuff, its literally just pot luck and is like a treasure hunt. But that is the fun of it after all, buying little gems at super good prices and also doing your bit for charity, what could be better?

I'm off to Spain in two days, so I'll be uploading my 'What's in my holiday bag' post tomorrow, but till then...

Cheerio!

Hannah