IM BACK

Wow. Last post? 22nd February. WHATTTT?!

I don't think I've actually ever gone this long without posting on my blog, and for those of you who read my blog regularly, I apologise! I have totally neglected my blog, but don't worry, i'm back!

There have been many reasons as to why I haven't been posting. However, the key reason is as many of you know I am in my final year of university, and for any of you who have gone through university and come out the other side, you will know just how hard final year really is. Therefore, I just haven't had the time to put content together! I'm all done and dusted now, so I pinky promise to get back into blogging!

When I actually came to writing my comeback post, it made me realise how long I've actually been away, I didn't know where on earth to start, so much has happened! So I thought, we may as well have a catch up...

1. I FINISHED FINAL YEAR... I may not have graduated yet but final hand-ins and exams are done.and.dusted. I am 100% free and it feels so good.

2. I did an intensive short course in fashion marketing at London College of Fashion. I can't even describe how amazing this opportunity was and how glad I am for attending. Their tutors and resources are unbeatable, and the experience was simply brilliant.
3. I got my heart broken, twice. Yep, stay away from fuckboys ladies. 4. I focussed my efforts on becoming an 'insta-blogger'- see, I didn't completely leave the blogging world! Please follow @eleanordanksx
5. I started applying for 'real' jobs. Any graduates out there, I am currently terrified. I finished university and now I'm thinking "what's next?", there are just so many opportunities, travelling? Jobs? Interning? what to dooooo. I have always wanted to break into fashion marketing, so wish me luck on the job hunt...
6. I started driving lessons. Put it this way, I started lessons at 17, I've had 50 hours of lessons, including 4 instructors, 6 cars, 1 failed test and a theory test expiration looming. This calls for "pass n go" ASAP
7. I started wearing trainers. For those of you who read my blog often, you will know a few months ago I didn't even own a pair of trainers, let alone wearing Gazelles on a daily basis and getting in on the Yeezy raffle hype.
8. I realised I needed to focus my efforts back on blogging as soon as university was over. No joke, I have lost ONE THOUSAND TWITTER FOLLOWERS due to my inactivity... actual tears are falling.
9. I realised the importance of blogging not just for my career, and friendships in the blogging community, but also for myself, as an outlet to share my passions and let my creative side thrive.
.... so, once again, my apologies for being a slacker on the blogging front! I hope you will continue to enjoy my posts, and I would love to know what's been going on with you guys while I've been away, I hope to see you all in the comments, ciao for now!

STATEMENT SLEEVES

PETITE Trumpet sleeve top, £12, Topshop So, another trend I am absolutely loving at the moment is statement sleeves. I would be the first one to admit that my style can be boring at times, I'm not very adventurous, and I am an absolute worshipper of all things monochrome. So, me wandering around with massive flappy sleeves is kind of a big deal. I think it's such a feminine design, and we need more of that right? I feel like their has been such a focus on boyish fashion that we've all lost sight of what constitutes 'girly', so yep, I'm all for frills, ruffles and flappy sleeves. Of course, Topshop made the perfect combo, making this a bardot crop top design in the process. I actually wore this outfit for an interview, if you were wondering why I am unusually dressed in all black, however this top would work as a perfect combo to an denim skirt or even dress it up for a cocktails mate date. Love them or hate them, statement sleeves are here for the season.

BARDOT

Long Sleeve Jersey Bardot Crop Top White, £8, Missguided Every girl goes through fashion stages of obsession, so far I've had my choker, high waist jeans, suedette, camel coat and knee high boots stages. Now, i'm on to bardot tops. Myself and one of my best friends were talking about this at the weekend, I love how 90's fashion is slowly creeping its way back onto the scene, along with other eras. The 90's being by far my favourite fashion era. Of course, the 90's encompassed the bardot top. I find this off the shoulder design so flattering and I can get enough, not only did I pick up this white top for £8 from Missguided, but also a burgundy ribbed version. Personally I love to wear these with a pair of high waist jeans... so I can actually get away with wearing this top in this awful weather! In the spring, I will definitely be wearing this with a denim skirt, or shorts in the summer. Yay or nay?

JIMMI JAMS

Stripe pocket vest and short set, £12, Boohoo.com
Okay so student loan day was what, a month ago? Being the shop-a-holic I am, you can imagine I went a bit wild. However, in my defence I haven't actually spent that much, with ASOS and Boohoo fast becoming my go too online stores for absolutely everything.
Call me a snob. But haven't we all been guilty of turning our nose up at cheaper clothing just because of the perception of low quality, tacky products? That's what I assumed. A top for £8, a coat for £30, PJ's for a tenner, surely we can't expect much? Wrong. Despite being a religious spender at Topshop for as long as I can remember, I have found some absolute gems at Boohoo, Missguided and ASOS. So, this is just the beginning of my series of shopping haul posts.
Okay, ima point you in the right, and only direction for new jimmi jams, pj's, jim jams, slobby clothes or whatever you wanna call them, Boohoo.com. They have the most amazing range of pyjamas you could hope for, this adorable pink stripey set only cost me £12. Also make sure you keep your eye out for delivery offers and discount codes!
You may notice my lack of Valentines Day joy in this post, but even though i'm not celebrating this year, I hope you all are having a wonderful day with your other half's!

LA LA LAND

LA LA LAND, so what's all the hype about? I'll tell you, its AMAZING.

I'll be honest with you, I absolutely hate musicals. I fully appreciate that they are absolutely excellent for anyone who is a fan, but I definitely don't fall into that camp. So, I was staying with a friend this weekend and we decided to head to the Gunwharf Quays designer in Portsmouth, and as per usual, we ended up at the cinema.

Yep, we are those people who will go to the cinema, not really to see anything in particular, but just to see a new film. So, it was either La La Land or 'Sing'. I'm not going to lie, the prospect of a singing and dancing pig almost had me, but of course I had heard people raving about how amazing La La Land was, and with Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling you can't go wrong.

Right, so here's the thing. We bought our tickets, and then of course we remembered it was a musical... first impressions, they weren't great. The opening scene features a huge traffic jam and everyone jumping and singing around the cars, at this point I looked at my friend and apologised. The next scenes were also not promising, Emma Stone flouncing around her bedroom singing with her friends, it was just not for me.

To my delight, the film thereafter fell more into the rom com/ chick flick genre, which not only told the beautiful story of a couple trying to achieve their dreams, but it had some hilarious comedy moments and the use of music to tell the story was enchanting.

Overall verdict? GO SEE IT NOW.

MARIAH CAREY FOR MAC

  Bit Of Bubbly, MAC, £17   I am waaaaaaay behind on the Mariah Carey hype, of course I heard when the collection was announced, but I never even bothered looking as i'm never really bothered about celebrity collections for MAC as I tend to just stick to my MAC faves.  However, I quickly started to see Instagram posts flooding into my feed about how great the collection was, and most importantly, I noticed that the lipstick packaging was glittery.... that sealed the deal for me.   How beautiful is it?! I just had to have one, so I instantly looked online, of course they were sold out. However my amazing friend managed to pick me one up from the MAC store at St Pancras in London, so although there is limited availability online, definitely check in store!   The lipstick is shade is 'Bit Of Bubbly', which I absolutely love as I tend to wear MAC cremesheen lipsticks, and it is a lovely nudey pink shade. Personally, out of all of the Mariah lipsticks I prefer this one, as apart from 'I Get So OOC' a shimmering brown shade, the lipsticks are gold or peach which I tend to find do not flatter my skin tone at all. The lipstick also has a beautiful flower engraved in it, sooooo girly!   Apart from lipsticks, Mariah has an array of other products in the collection including eyelashes, eye shadow, lipgloss and bronzer. Have you got anything from the collection?     

BLUE MONDAY

   Today is Blue Monday. Exactly what we all wanted to hear right? I mean seriously who comes up with these things?! If its not kiss a ginger day, its short girl appreciation day, what next?   Anyway, this is one of my more unusual posts, in fact, I don't think I have ever even done a recipe post! I tend to bake over Christmas and New Year, and this year I've been obsessed with gingerbread. It is so simple to make, and tastes absolutely delicious, so if you are feeling the January blues, a relaxing bake and a gingerbread snack is maybe exactly what you need...   Ingredients 100g Light muscovado sugar 85g Golden syrup 100g Salted butter 1 Tsp  bicarbonate of soda 350g Plain flour, plus extra for dusting 1 Tsp ground cinnamon 1Tsp ground ginger 1 Egg   To decorate Star cookie cutters Ready roll icing Tub of royal icing   Method

1. Sift together flour, bicarbonate of soda, ginger and cinnamon and pour into a bowl and mix together. Add the butter and blend until the mix looks like breadcrumbs. Stir in the sugar.

2. Lightly beat the egg and golden syrup together, add to the mixture and blend until the mixture clumps together. Knead the mixture briefly until smooth, wrap in clingfim and leave to chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.   3. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4. Line baking trays with greaseproof paper.   4. Roll the dough out to a 0.5cm thickness on a  floured surface. Cut out the gingerbread shapes and place on the baking tray.   5. Bake for 12-15 minutes, checking regularly. Leave on the tray for 10 minutes and then move to a wire rack to cool.   6. Decorate with icing.