>> NEW LOOK EVENING DRESSES << PERFECT FOR BUDGET SAVVY BRIDE OR GUEST!

What to wear to a wedding, the age old debate! New Look have a beautiful selection of evening dresses perfect for bride, bridesmaid or guest and at fantastic prices. Great for the budget savvy bride or guest!

They have a range of gorgeous dresses, from prom, to maxi, to lace shift dresses...you're sure to find a style to fit you perfectly.  Below I've picked out a few that stood out in the crowd and would suit various styles of wedding.

City Bride

White Off The Shoulder Scuba Dress £24.99

Vintage Bridesmaid

Parisian Pink Sequin Cut Out Flower Strapless Dress £29.99

Chic Guest

Lipstick Boutique Monochrome Dress £39.00

What style of wedding are you thinking of? Are you a budget savvy bride? Comment below and let us know your favourite New Look dress! xo

STUNNING VINTAGE INSPIRED LINGERIE FROM MYLA

Today I'd like to introduce to luxury lingerie brand Myla.  Capturing and celebrating the power of women is at the heart of Myla's lingerie.

Decadent fabrics, including pure silks and lavish laces, and investment into the perfect cut have allowed Myla's garments to be as supportive and comfortable as they are arrestingly seductive.

The current collection includes a delicious set of forest green silk and black lace bras and knickers – some with cheeky suspenders, playful baby doll dresses and innovative underwear with unexpected edgings. The range is all at once powerful, seductive and forward thinking.

They also have a gorgeous bridal range of lingerie and sleepwear.  These are a few of my favourites, loving the 'something blue' sleepwear! Soooo pretty.

 And how amazing would you feel on your wedding day, with these gorgeous sets on, love the blush version!

You may not wear your dress again but you'd definitely wear your underwear again!  I also wanted to pick out the below set, not wedding day appropriate but stunning never the less!

Click HERE to look at more beautiful Myla underwear. Thanks! xo

>> BUDGETING << MAKE MONEY WITH MUSICMAGPIE TO GET THE WEDDING OF YOUR DREAMS!

Organising a wedding is an expensive task and the first thing we all do is start to budget. As well as saving pennies, you can also make some extra money by selling things you no longer want.  Clothing is a great start!

We have come a long way from prehistoric fashion, where warmth was the main penchant for dressing. Now it is about the latest item that hangs in high street stores, awaiting the individual to pick it out of obscurity and into their wardrobe. The truth is clothes are more than just what you put on your back, they are a statement. No matter what they describe what sort of a person you are, whether you like it or not!

That is why when it comes to clothing, we collect, collect and collect, in the hope that we keep up with the latest trends and stay away from fashion faux pas. From denim jackets to skinny jeans and bubble skirts to the latest ‘it’ print, there is a lot to choose from when it comes to high street trends.

It is understandable then why we collect so many items of clothing that sit in our wardrobe, steadily creating a material mountain of garments from trends past. Ever had that moment where you open your bursting wardrobe yet can’t find anything to wear? That sparkly vest or that paisley shirt has just lost its pizazz and is now just taking up precious wardrobe space!  I am most definitely a culprit of this and am in need of a major clear out!!!

Sites like eBay are a great way to sell clothing but with all the fees this can work out costly and time consuming.  A great little site I'd like to introduce you too is musicMapie which is a clothes recycling for cash website, you can also sell other unwanted items such as CDs and Electronics. You can get cash for your unwanted clothes and de-clutter your home at the same time!

It’s really easy to sell clothes with musicMagpie, just enter the brand & type of garment you want to sell into their valuation engine and you get an instant price!  They'll even send a free courier to come and collect everything.  Sounds great to me! xo

>> LIFETSYLE << TIPS FOR FINDING A PERFECT COFFEE TABLE

I'm on the hunt for a new coffee table and have realised in looking around these come in zillions of shapes, sizes, materials, styles etc.  Round and wooden? Brass legs with a glass top? Drawers or no drawers? A coffee table can make or break the look of a living room, so it's something that takes careful consideration.

Here's a few pointers if you are considering a new coffee table purchase...

Size & Shape
Round coffee tables can work well in a smaller boxy room, where as a rectangular coffee table will look best in a long narrow room.  Also think about the visual impact you want to make.  Books stacked on a coffee table can look stylish, but you'll want a wide low coffee table for this look.

As a general rule aim for your coffee table to be 3/4 of the length of your sofa and allow plenty of space to walk around it so that the room doesn't feel cramped.

Style
Glass coffee tables can give a more spacious and contemporary feel to a living room. Or if you are looking for a more traditional feel then opt for a wooden table with decorative features.

Moveability
This is particularly important for me with a small child, I like to move our coffee table to the side of the room for playtime in the day. Light weight or wheeled coffee tables suit me perfectly!

Built in Storage
Definitely something to consider if you have a small living room and you're strapped for storage.  Perfect for storing unsightly clutter such as remotes, magazines, newspapers.

My first stop for anything for my home is John Lewis, they always have affordable and stylish homeware. Check out their coffee tables here.

I particularly like this bronze one, I think it would compliment the orange accents in my living room perfectly! It has a very sleek, contemporary feel to it.

Good luck with your hunt! x

RAINBOW CAKE RECIPE!

Thought you guys might enjoy this post from my personal blog www.something-about-nothing.co.uk. Great for a deserts table too!

A few of my mummy friends commented on how much they loved Cai’s Rainbow birthday cake and would like to do the same for their babies birthdays, so I wanted to share the recipe and my tips for making it.

First big tip is to buy the gel colours not liquid colouring, you won’t get the bright colours with liquid colourings more of a pastel effect.

Second tip is when baking the cakes open the oven from time to time to make the cake flat.  Normally we wouldn’t want this but as this is a layer cake and we want the layers to be as level as possible to get that seamless effect.

I used 2 cake tins and cooked 2 layers at a time.  Found this worked well with giving enough time for cooling. Also allowed time for colouring of the mixture for next two layers whilst the other layers were baking.

Right now for the recipe, very simple to make…

CAKE

500g butter, softened // 500g caster sugar // 10 eggs // 500g self raising flour // Wilton colour gels // 2.5 teaspoons of vanilla extract

BUTTERCREAM

150g butter softened // 300g Philadelphia (must be full fat) // 900g Icing sugar // 3 teaspoons of vanilla extract

INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat oven to 180C / 160 fan / gas 5

Cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy (3-4 minutes) using an electric whisk

Add egg a little at a time to avoid curdling

Add flour bit by bit to stop the egg splitting

Add vanilla extract

Mix well but don’t over mix

Grease and line 2 cake tins. Divide mixture into 6 portions, weigh to ensure equal weights. Add Wilton colour gels to each bowl, a little bit at a time as colours are strong. Use a cocktail stick to prevent dying your hands

Put 2 tins at a time in the oven for 16-18 minutes.  Put a piece of greaseproof paper over the top to prevent browning. Test with a cocktail stick in the middle to check cooked well.  Set aside to cool and reuse tins for the next 4 colours

Once all layers are cooked and cooled you are ready to put them together to make your cake.  Place purple layer on your cake stand ready for buttercream. Use a whisk to mix all of the above buttercream ingredients together. Use very thin layer of buttercream between layers. Put weights on top to compress layers together for about 30mins. This helps give the effect that its one whole cake

Once your layers are all buttercreamed together you are ready to cover the cake in buttercream. Best to cover with a thin layer of buttercream first, known as a crumb coating and then refrigerate for 30mins

Once refrigerated the buttercream goes harder and is a good base for a thicker coating of buttercream. Use a spatula for a smoother finish

Now your ready to decorate. I used mini Smarties around the base and edged with rainbow coloured sprinkles. I made a cardboard number one that I glued the same sprinkles too, this gave the effect of the 1 being made of cake too :)

That’s it top with candles or sparkles and get ready to wow people when you cut it open!

NEW PERSONAL BLOG

Hi Everyone

I've been really missing blogging so to fill the void I've set up a personal blog.  There won't be any wedding loveliness but you will be able to keep up with mine and Cai's day outs (:)) and other bits like fashion, food, interiors, music etc etc.  I won't be updating numerous times a day but will hopefully get to update it every few days or so when Cai takes a nap :)

Anywayz you can find me here for the next few months >> www.something-about-nothing.co.uk

Hope you come by and say hi!

Adelle xo

TAKING A BREAK FROM P&P

So sorry for being away for longer than I promised.  Whilst on holiday I received some good & bad news and have been doing a lot of thinking since.  The news - my hubby who is a dancer has been picked to do the Olympic Torch Relay Tour in the UK for 3 months. GOOD, as it's an amazing opportunity for him and certainly helps with our house fund.  BAD, as I'm going to miss him like crazy and I'll pretty much be a single mummy (with some help from relatives) for a few months.  Due to this news I've decided to take a well earned break from blogging for the next few months.  When Cai was born I continued (I was blogging through contractions!) and haven't had maternity leave as such, so I've decided now is the time with Cai being that much older and more interested in the world.  I'll be sad to not be involved in the wonderful world of weddings ( :-( ) but I'm excited about making the most of the summer with Cai before I return to my day job.  Plus it's not forever!

I've run the blog for nearly 2 years now so there's a huge amount of content to go through, so go explore and don't forget to come back in a few months time ;-)

Bye for now,

Lots of Love

Adelle xo

PLANNING A VINTAGE WEDDING

With the craze for all things vintage, it’s no surprise that an increasing number of couples are looking to celebrate their nuptials in 20^th-century style. If you’re looking to take your theme from the 40s, the 50s or even the 20s, then here’s how to make sure you get it right. 

Make a mood board: Start with buying a scrap book or a cork board and cutting out and keeping anything that gives you inspiration – whether that be pieces from interior magazines, fashion pages, scraps of material that you think might work for a wedding dress, or old photographs. This board will inspire your theme, so look for colours, textures, materials and objects that take your fancy. Once your board is complete, sketch out your theme. This could be anything from an afternoon tea party to a ‘twenties ball.

Do your research: Make sure you’re familiar with the period you want to replicate – including the fashion, themes and wedding customs of that era. Decide which aspects you want to adopt and which you want to scrap, bearing in mind what’s practical and realistic given your budget. Then make a list of everything you’re going to need for your perfect themed wedding, including venue, flowers, table decorations, a wedding dress, bridesmaid dresses and crockery.

Get fashion forward: The clothes are at the centre of any vintage wedding, so start looking into your wedding and bridesmaid dresses early. There are plenty of online vintage outfitters, but it’s also worth scouring the vintage shops near you and checking out eBay for second hand dresses. Some high-street outlets, such as Coast, offer vintage-style dresses, so don’t discount the possibility of finding your perfect bridesmaid dress new either. Finally, check with older friends or relatives – it might be that your grandma has the perfect wedding outfit languishing at the back of her wardrobe.

Choose your music: The final finishing touch at a vintage wedding is the band. This is your opportunity to dance all night to your favourite music, so make sure you identify and book your musicians early. Tribute bands are a favourite for these kind of events, but there are also plenty of fantastic bands that keep a vintage style while managing to remain original.