Friday, 4 July 2014

"It just 'fell' into my basket..."

I'm here, I'm alive! know I've been away awhile, I've been so busy though. I'll be doing a few posts about the things I've been up to over the last month or so, including walking coast to coast, attending Buckingham Palace for the Queens garden party (as you do!) and more! 

But for now, let's talk clothes & shoes..!
It's now July and it feels like the great British summer is finally here (*puts umbrella in handbag*) and I've been scouring the internet for some fabulous summer outfits and, of course, a bargain! 
Dorothy Perkins have a fantastic sale on at the moment and here's what 'fell' into my basket! 

Tan cork sandals. Not in the sale but still a bargain and perfect for summer


Multi floral print scarf


Dusky pink midi skirt. Perfect with the above sandals and scarf. Will be teaming it with a plain white tee or cami


Floral midi skirt. Again, with sandals above and plain white tee or cami


I love this! Will be wearing with black mini skirt, midi skirt and jeans! 


So there's my bargains, get yourself over to the website and get yourself some, quick!
www.dorothyperkins.com

Love Alexene x

Tuesday, 13 May 2014

An adventure (or so they say!)

This will be my last post for a few weeks!
This is because on Monday (19th) I'm setting off on a 209 mile walk coast to coast (Cumbria to Scarborough) in aid of Sport Relief. 
This sounds absolutely mental...and it is. It absolutely is. But it's for an amazing charity who do outstanding work all over the UK and that's why I'm doing it. Well, that's the main reason.

The fantastically charming Richard Curtis did in fact NOT call me and say "we love all these celeb types doing crazy things but we thought we'd ask a normal person" No, in fact it was my (just as charming) sister who instructed that I join her in this trek. I felt it only fair that I then instruct my best friend that she will also be joining us. 

So the 3 of us are doing it! 

We are walking for 12 days and camping (oh yes, camping..!) for 11 nights. 

Now i think it's important to mention that I am, in no way, shape or form, an 'outside' kind of girl. Unless of course it involves high heels, large cocktails and a funky tune...which this, does not. I haven't been camping since I was a child and I'd much rather go to the pub than the gym. Saying all that, I've packed my sparkly heels aways, worn in the walking boots and actually had a go at putting a tent up. I'm definitely getting there!

I'll be updating twitter (@alexenesn) and Facebook (Coast to Coast - Sport Relief 2014) as often as I can and have also enlisted in friends help to do this for the days when we have no signal (tents come with wi-fi though right?) 

I have the number for mountain rescue and I'm praying I don't end up being hoisted off a cliff by a helicopter (it could happen) 

Please wish me luck, check out my Facebook and twitter and I'll be posting again in June; when I'm back, safely in my stilettos. 

Love Alexene x




Tuesday, 6 May 2014

Love & Hate


I thought I'd let you know a little more about me and what makes me tick so this post is dedicated to my likes and dislikes or as I have called it Love & hate
We'll start with hate first because let's face it, they're more fun!

Hate
Flesh coloured tights

For some reason the thought (& look) of tights that are disguised to look like your skin freak me out. I just don't understand their purpose. If you don't want to look like you're wearing tights, don't wear tights! Slap some fake tan, tinted moisturiser etc on and face the world with your beautiful legs. If you're not brave enough to bare all (or it's just not that warm enough yet) go with a pair of black opaque instead. Much classier.


Rain or shine?

It's at that perfect point in the year for the weather to change at least 6 times in a day. Which thinking about it would actually be quite something to witness; sun, rain, hail, snow, wind, thunder one after the other. However, most of us have to actually go outside these days and so we take the morning weather as gospel for that day. If it's sunny, surely it's going to be sunny all day...right? Oh no, how wrong we are. It'll be chucking it down and freezing come lunchtime.
The best advice I can offer? Check the weather forecast the night before, plan your outfit and always chuck an umbrella in your bag, just to be safe!

Love

Walking

In less than 2 weeks, my sister, my best friend of 14 years and myself will be setting off on a 209 mile walk all in aid of Sport Relief.
My sister has always roped us in for fundraising activities over the years so when she mentioned a 209 mile coast to coast walk we said “of course, we could do that” and carried on drinking our vodka.
As reality started setting in we began to realise just what we'd let ourselves in for.
I wouldn't say any of us are particularly sporty. We don't have gym memberships, although the local takeaway does know our names..!
We've had to buy a whole new (fit for purpose) wardrobe, swap lazy weekends for hikes and stock up on more blister patches than we know what to do with. However, I'm actually really enjoying (gasp) getting out and about and I've come across some amazing views that I would never have known existed
The thing is, while we moan, groan and grumble, we've actually raised over £1300 for a fantastic cause that helps people both here in UK and in Africa and that's why we're dong this crazy, crazy challenge.
If you want to sponsor us visit http://my.sportrelief.com/thecoasters (thank-you)

Block heels

I'm loving the block heel that is taking over at the moment. I've invested in 2 pairs, so far. Firstly, (bought by Mum for Christmas) purple platforms with thick ankle strap and chunky buckle (Fearne Cotton, very.co.uk ) They're quite high but with the ankle strap for support and the block heel, they are one of the most comfortable pairs of shoes I've owned.
The second pair (also very.co.uk ) are a very small block heel, with black leather ankle strap are perfect for the office during summer, and drinks with the girls on a Friday night. As soon as the summer sets in, I'll be wearing these a lot!

If you've enjoyed reading this, follow me on twitter for loads more love, hate and general ramblings @alexenesn

Love Alexene x








Thursday, 24 April 2014

Party, Goose & Walks!

So, as i said in the my last (very brief) post, I’ve been away from the blogging game for a few months and have recently been inspired by my friend’s blog.

I’ve been up to so much in the last few months and there’s no way i can fit it all in here without you getting completely bored and giving up reading this (please don’t). So I’m going to try and pick out the main things.

I turned 30 in November (gulp) and did so in style by throwing a huge ‘Mad Hatters Tea Party’ themed party, complete with hats, tea cups and scones. It was an amazing night, of what i can remember, and was so lovely to see so many of my friends and family all in one place.

I went to Dawn O’ Porters book signing at the beginning of April. This was to launch her new book, Goose, a follow up to Paper Aeroplanes following the ups and downs of best friends Renee and Flo.
I really enjoyed Paper Aeroplanes and finished it within a few days, it’s safe to say that this process was repeated with Goose.
It’s a lovely read about 2 very different best friends and all that goes with being a teenager in the 90’s. I found myself laughing out load, cringing at the familiarity of the some of the situations the girls found themselves in and urging myself to pick it up at any given time.
If you haven’t read it, read Paper Aeroplanes first then jump head first into Goose.
Meeting Dawn was lovely too. She’s such a ‘normal’ humble girl and i loved listening to her stories of how these 2 characters came about.
I’m a huge Dawn O’Porter fan (Dawnie? O’Porter’sPal?, I’ll keep thinking!)  and really looking forward to her new vintage clothes programme ‘This old thing’.

Oh, and I’m also in preparations to walk Coast to Coast for Sport Relief!
This is huge for me. I’m not a walker, I’m not a camper, in fact, I’m not a sporty person at all...ever, yet here i am walking from left to right of the country, with sister and best friend in tow all for charity.
We set off on 19th May (that’s just under 4 weeks by the way!!) and walk for 12 days (that’s 209 miles) and yes, I’m getting very nervous.

Hope that’s enough to keep you going for a few days, I’ll be back very soon!

Love Alexene x


Where have I been?

So after my first (and only) post I kind of stopped the whole blogging thing. Having the time to sit down and write was the main problem! But having read my friends blog (http://www.notesfromcaroline.com/?m=1 ) which I love, I've decided to get back into the blogging game!

So this is just a short post to say that I'm back to blogging and am making a commitment to blog more and hopefully, keep you all entertained!

I'll be back very soon, promise!

Love Alexene x

Sunday, 29 September 2013

Getting started...

So, here we go!

Welcome to my very first post in my very first blog "There's something about Alexene" Not the most original of names but hey, I'm just getting started.
This blog is going to be dedicated to the things in life I love. Things like clothes, shoes, shopping, food, movies & everything in between.

Autumn really is my favourite time of year. The sun is still shining yet there's a cold nip in the air. Red, gold & brown leafs crunch under my gorgeous new 'autumn' boots and as the nights get darker, it reminds me of the C word. No, not that one...Christmas! Too soon? I'll come back to that later then.

Autumn is also the best time to stock up & revamp my wardrobe in preparation for those chilly days & nights. As I said, I've just purchased my autumn boots. Beautiful brown suede ankle boots with pointy toes & a chunky heel. An absolute bargain from Next at only £35!

I've got a fab grey wool blazer from Next that I picked up last year. It's perfect for the transition from summer to winter & teamed with my new boots, a skater skirt & a tartan scarf I'm good to go! Think I'll be wearing that outfit tomorrow for work
We've all got our 'go to' high street shops & mine are Next & New Look so I'll be mentioning them a lot!

Sunday TV has been great today. I've caught up on GBBO (gutted Howard left!) then enjoyed some 80s classics in the form of Close Encounters of the Third Kind & now the original Superman! I'm a sucker for an 80s movie could spend all day watching them (sometimes I do!)

Superman is just about to whisk Lois Lane off her balcony & around the starry sky so it's time I left. I'll be back soon though.

Hope you've enjoyed my first post?

Alexene x