May Marvels

This month I've been:

1. Listening to Born This Way by Lady Gaga
2. Reading Frankenstein by Mary Shelly after seeing the play
3. Wearing my new ASOS creepers which I can not get enough of
4. Going mad over my new white iPhone and how it matches my MacBook
5. Obsessing over these adorable ASOS bow neck ties
6. Loving Blair's perfect work wardrobe

7. Starting my new and exciting job as an eco toxicologist today

How was your May x

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Elephants prints

You probably all ready know that I have a slight obsession with animal print, whether it be in the form of actual prints i.e. leopard/zebra print or the actual shapes of animals as a print. Do you get me? Anyway, when I saw the elephant print top a few weeks ago I knew it was destined for me. Elephants, bows and lots of colours - perfection in a garment!

Top from River Island
Skirt from Topshop
Necklace from Gogo Philip via Topshop
Pumps from Vivienne Westwood c/o Daniel Shoes

I wore this outfit when I went to meet friend S for lunch on the Strand. We opted for Mexican and I had a delicious steak burrito at Benito's Hat which I would definitely recommend. After lunch I popped along to the London Transport Museum because I wanted to visit the bus shelter art exhibition but when I discovered it was £10 I decided against it. The reason I love museums and galleries in London is because they're free unlike most places so when it comes to forking out money for the actual museum (and not just a special exhibition) I'm often put off. However, I'll probably go back and pay eventually and after you've paid once you do get in for the rest of the year no charge.

I did go the National Portrait Gallery and spent a couple of hours immersing myself in the many wonderful sketches, paintings and photographs. Because I'm more of a fan of modern art I stuck to the 20th Century portraits and avoided anything pre 1900. Some of my favourite displays included the self portraits by Sarah Lucas, sketches by Michael Landy and photographs by John Swannell.

Sarah Lucas - various self portraits, this fried egg one is pretty hilarious


Michael Landy - the comments Landy has made about each of the sitters are hilarious, it's almost worth visiting the sketches just to read what he wrote


John Swannell - Susan Boyle and Victoria Beckham

One of my favourite set of portraits in the gallery is Julian Ope's illustrations of Blur for their 2000 Best of album. I'm a big fan of Blur so I'm kind of biased toward this image but I really do love the simplicity of it. Alex James (top right) is my favourite member FYI!

Source

I also really enjoyed the Ballet in Focus and Eighteen by Twelve exhibitions. The old ballet pictures were incredibly beautiful with the 2 below by Bassano being a couple of my favourites plus it was also nice to see portraits of recognisable people including Prof Brian Cox, Benedict Cumberbatch, Tracey Emin, Ronnie Corbet, M.I.A and Princes William and Harry.

Bassano

Before leaving I quickly checked out the Andy Warhol portrait of Elizabeth Taylor which is a must see. I had a great time at the gallery and would really recommend it, I know I'll certainly be going back. I really like portraits compared to other art forms, I find them extremely fascinating plus I think it's possible to tell a lot more about a person than what they look like from the portrait as long as it's done well. It's almost kind of mesmerising looking into the eyes all these people in picture, I definitely need to learn about taking good portraits!

My eBay is running out this evening so take a look see x

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Feeling blue, clothes

Not feeling depressed in case you were wondering but embracing the colour instead. I couldn't resist buying this dress; the colour is lush and the lace is lovely plus it's really comfortable. The dress is pretty short though and I'm not even that tall but I'm not complaining, I like my skirts on the short side.

Dress from Topshop
Vintage jacket from eBayLoafers from ASOS

Necklace from ASOSRings from ASOS and Topshop

I wore this yesterday on one of my many London adventures. I went over to Hoxton to see the Friedrich Kunath exhibition at the White Cube Gallery. Below was my favourite painting from the exhibition, I love the use of colour. You know when you stand in front of a picture in a gallery and you can see your reflection on the picture? Well your shadow completes the headless man in the middle of this picture thus us the onlooker completes the painting. I like that.

Almost Summer: Source

I stopped for a cheeky but delicious brownie in the Hoxton Square Bar and Kitchen before heading over to the gallery's second site in Piccadilly to visit the Georg Baselitz exhibition. This was my favourite image but I can't find a big enough picture to put on here so a link will have to suffice. One of the interesting things about this collection were how the paintings were all displayed upside down.

Fortuna: Source - Source

Despite the terrible rain I had a lovely day out visiting some new places. I popped into Fortnum and Mason on the way home to pick up some marmalade for Dad, cranberry sauce for Mum and a bottle of Fluff for little sister H and I.

Don't forget to check out my eBay store x

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Sheer

After discovering the Photographers' Gallery on Oxford Street was closed until late 2011 the other day, I ended up going for a dash around the shops instead. When I go shopping I try to make a mental note of things I actually want to stop me just pick up anything and everything. Sheer clothing has been on my list for a while with a black skirt taking the number one position so I was very happy to finally get my hands on one that wasn't too expensive.

Shirt from Topshop
Sheer skirt from Sparkle & Fade via Urban Outfitters
Body con skirt from H&M
Creepers from ASOS

I also picked up this shirt which is only slightly sheer and not too revealing which is perfect for me. I love sheer because it is really easy to dress it up or down. It's the perfect material for adding a bit of luxe to an outfit as long as it's worn tastefully.

Another new item would also be the creepers. I've wanted these for ages but did not want to pay 75 quid for them. Last week ASOS had a shoe sale and they were reduced to £52 and then £45. I had one of those £5 Diet Coke can vouchers so in the end they only cost me 40 quid which was a much more reasonable price, anyway I love them and their chunkiness!

What's number one on your shopping list x

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Pretty Ballerina

When I was in Leamington Spa a few weekends ago I picked up the most perfect ballerina skirt I'd ever laid my eyes upon. It was so perfect that my friend T even got herself one. Then last week I saw Susie wearing the same skirt and loved the way she had casually styled it so I umm copied her haha!!

Top from ASOS
Skirt from H&M
Necklace from Gogo Philip via Topshop
Pumps from Topshop

I love how the sporty top makes the skirt a lot more wearable plus I couldn't resist the cut out details on the shoulders. I wore the pumps to give it more of a ballerina vibe but still remaining quirky with the funny faces. I mentioned a few posts back that I barely ever wear pumps because I find them really uncomfortable and these cuties are no exception, they cut into my ankles and make me want to cry!

I love how fun and princess like this skirt is x

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Museum of London

I start my new job next Tuesday which means I'll be doing the whole Monday to Friday thing, which also means I'll only have the weekends to explore and one thing I hate is doing 'touristy' stuff at the weekends. Museums are at their most busy on a Saturday and Sunday so I'm trying to squeeze in as many week day outings a possible before I start my new job. I've made a list of things to do which included visiting the London Street Photography exhibition at the Museum of London and also checking out the Photographers' Gallery. Annoyingly the Photographers' Gallery was closed until late 2011 so I went shopping on Oxford Street instead, spending money I really didn't own but haha oh well! Fortunately I had better luck at the Museum of London and really enjoyed the small but interesting exhibition on street photography in London during the last century.

You weren't allowed to take any photos but did mange a few sneaky shots of my favourite images. The exhibition was free and if you are ever in the St Paul's area of London I would definitely recommend paying it a visit, especially if you're into photography (and London)!

Because I knew I would be rushing about all over the place I decided to wear something simple and easy, whilst also discovering a new favourite colour combination; camel and navy.

Tee from Topshop
Skirt from H&M
Necklace from Rock n Rose Jewellery
Plimsolls from Cath Kidson

My little sister H told me I looked like a school girl in this outfit. I would have been so lucky if my old school uniform had actually been these decent. Instead we were made to wear hideous grey jumper with orange and white checked shirts!! With the potential chance of me moving this weekend I really should be saving my pennies instead of swooning over these espadrilles, Aztec top, bicycle top and grey marl top I discovered which searching for the clothes I'm wearing above on the Cath Kidson and Topshop website!!

I'm selling some stuff on eBay if you fancy a look x

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Denim and Lace

Feels like I haven't done an outfit post in ages. My trusty photographer (i.e. my Mum) is away on holiday so my little sister H has had to fill in. Who knows how I'll manage when I'm living on my own.

I bought the denim spot tie shirt from my summer wish list last week but I decided it looked terrible on so I swapped it for this little lacy number instead, I love the contrasting collar! I'm still on the lookout for the perfect tie up denim shirt though.

Shirt and skirt from Topshop
Belt from Primark
Necklace from Me and Zena
Pumps from Vivienne Westwood c/o Daniel Shoes

In my opinion denim works really well with lace as it stops it from being too dressy and also stops the denim being too casual. I imagine I could almost get away with something like this for work, maybe just through a black blazer over the top. I've been wearing my new Viv pumps to death and they're still super comfortable which is saying a lot because I'm not really a pumps person.

last 2 working days at my old job this weekend x

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Treasure

I've been super busy these last couple of weeks with sorting out things for my new job, looking for a place to live in Reading and catching up with friends. I went to Leamington Spa again at the weekend for a couple nights out which were bags of fun as usual. On the Saturday I met up with Sarah, Maria and Danni for a bloggers lunch in Dockers; a brilliant American diner. We chatted for hours and had a really lovely time. It was ace getting to meet you girls but unfortunately no one took any photos!

Even though I've been rushed off my feet recently I've somehow managed to win a bunch of giveaways so I thought I'd share my winnings with you and say a massive thank you to everyone. I've also bought a few bits and bobs in the sales too.

I won this super cute bunny necklace from Ji Ji Kiki thanks to SJ


I won this set of Parisian treats thanks to Sarah. This was quite an amusing one because I found out I'd won the day before we met for lunch which was handy!


I bought this necklace a while ago from Maria Allen but in clumsy manoeuvre I managed to break the pendant off the chain. I contacted the Maria on twitter and she was more than happy to fix it for me free of charge so I couldn't be more delighted as it's one of my favourite pieces at the minute.


Bought this cameo locket from the Rock n Rose jewellery sale


I got these wooden gems in the Stolen Thunder Mad May sale


This geeky necklace is from the Me and Zena sale

I've been quite the lucky one with all these treats recently plus there are lots of online sales at the minute which makes it the perfect time to buy yourself some goodies. I'm waiting for a few things to arrive from ASOS too as I'm starting to put together a work wardrobe for my new job which begins on May 31st.

What have you been buying this May x

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One

Today my blog turns 1 and what a year it's been for Bow Dream Nation. At first blogging was slow for me being a student and then going off to Asia for 3 months but since the start of this year I've really hiked things up a notch. I've meet some wonderful people thanks to this little space of internet and I'm looking forward to meeting even more. If you've been reading for a while you'll know I studied science at university and because of that I never thought I was one of those 'creative' people but since I started blogging I've really fallen in love with writing and discovered that there is a bit of creativity buried underneath all that biochemistry nonsense!

I just want to take this opportunity to say thank you so much to everyone who reads my rambles, looks at my pictures and leaves lovely comments, it really means so much to me. If you'd told me a year ago there would be almost 300 people reading Bow Dream Nation on a daily basis I wouldn't have believed you.

I've learnt so much over the past 12 months including photography skills, web design (to an extent) and having a personal voice on the internet. I'm really happy with the way Bow Dream Nation is coming together and I hope there will be even bigger things to come.

Of course an occasion like this deserves to be celebrated with a treat and nothing beats a treat like a new pair of shoes. Last week I won a £50 Daniel Shoe voucher thanks to the giveaway Sherin was holding so I got my self of some Vivienne Westwood jelly pumps which I'd been lusting after for years. I LOVE them plus the bows are just fantastic!

I'm so annoyed that Blogger deleted this original post in their crazy melt down last week and didn't get it back up after the weekend because now my blogiversary is over and gone but oh well, I'm posting it again.

Thanks for reading me x

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Flash Paradise

Last Thursday I headed up the Northern Line to Brent Crossing Shopping Centre to check out the Flash Paradise event hosted by Lucy, Carrie and their university peers. The evening consisted of a fashionable raffle, tropical cocktails, colourful cupcakes and nail painting with all the money raised going to Japan. I got to hang out with Jazmine, Amy, Sherin, Susie, Lizzy and Kat plus briefly meeting Fiona, Lexie and Charlie which was all very lovely. We were meant to dress in something tropical but after a busy day I couldn't really be bothered with that. I did wear orange lipstick though =)

Top from Pins and Needles (via Urban Outfitters)
Skirt from H&M
Wedges from Topshop
Belt from Primark























Amazing Aztec nails

I had my nails painted in this wonderful Aztec design which I adore. I know I could never do a design that intricate myself so it was really nice having it done by someone else. I've never actually had a manicure so now I really want to get my nails looked after more often. In the raffle I won a kick ass pair of green trousers from Zara plus we were given a pretty cute goodie bag with the Flash Paradise log on it!

Getting my nails done - by Lizzy

Have you been 'tropical' recently x

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