It's hard to beat a good bit of spring sunshine for bringing a smile to my face.
It was a fairly cool day last week when we went out for a healthy dose of fresh air and I was not looking forward to taking off my coat and scarf for a few pictures but the reality was that I actually felt warmer once the sun was shining directly on my bare skin. Much as we are warned of the dangers of the sun, I'm sure I must photosynthesise or something. It gives me nourishment of a spiritual kind.
The ground was pretty much dry back then, it had been a good while since the previous wet spell and so I was able to wear my long boots for a change which I think look much nicer with this ditsy floral tutu. All through winter I was determined to wear this skirt and yet after a bit of a head scratch I can't recall wearing it through the coldest season at all, better late than never I guess.
With a coat I got away with ¾ length sleeves on my green jumper – which is such a gloriously rich shade of green. It almost makes up for the fact that it crumples without being ironable, almost.
Did you notice the unicorn necklace I am wearing? I am in LOVE with it! It's part of the Eclectic Collection from Iced Rainbow jewellery. It's silver on one side and black on t'other which makes for two choices. Black stood out more with this bright coral top.
I hope the sun shines for you this week,
Sophie

I am thrilled to share these pictures with you from the weekend, they turned out to really represent both the changing of the seasons and my personal frame of mind. The sun was dancing through the canopy of the trees, just breaking through with golden rays before the clouds veiled it away a while longer. The grass is looking a little greener and all around the colours are noticeably getting bolder.

This dress was a purchase on a whim, a £1 charity shop buy if my memory serves me correctly. While navy blue is by no means a colour I particularly favour, the flared lace sleeves and neat unfitted body to the dress grabbed my attention. I love the lace overlay, especially the scalloped hem and how it's such a cute short skirt.

Seventies styling is going to be everywhere this summer, hurrah, and the sixties/seventies details are so 'me' it almost hurts. I love wearing my hair loose in unruly waves, with a little make up but not too much. I love a mix of jangly bangles and a handful of rings. I love my platformed knee boots which make me so much taller than I rightfully ought.

I'm also loving the new flare and flourish collection from Iced Rainbow which is perfect for summer! This retro art daisy charm necklace is brilliantly bright, cheerful and groovy; yellow and orange together are a match made in heaven to my mind.

Are you joining me for summer in the seventies?

Sophie

Biker boots, I love thee. After a couple of years of adoring everyone else's biker boots and yet never really considering making a purchase for myself I came across the perfect pair in TK Maxx (the place which holds both gems and junk – you never know what you may find but it's always worth a look).
This pair are 'Bronx' and are black leather with a quilted ankle and silver buckles, they are flat and wonderfully comfortable. I dithered after oiking them off the shelf and squirrelling them away in a pull along basket (genius invention), which has got to be done when they are the only pair – you don't want to risk someone else running off with them. I tried them on and paraded up and down the 5 – 5.5 aisle, beaming that they stayed on instead of getting left behind as so many pairs do unless firmly tied on. Then I ummed and ahhed a little more and consulted.
Buying footwear is always a big deal for me; investing in more expensive items is still something I'm not all that comfortable with. Sometimes you spend more and yet they never get worn, other times they never leave my feet and I pat myself on the back for making such a wise purchase. At £50 these are what I'd classify as medium risk, way more than I'd fork out for something I wasn't dead keen on but in this case I was smitten plus being flat boots they tick the practical box in grand style.
A jersey t-shirt style skater dress? Yes, in red no less. Never owned one before, it's not something I've really been drawn to until now. This autumn I'm all over more of a rock chick look, darker, rich colours, more leather and boots, all the boots.

Remember the days I never accessorised? Long gone. I found the beaded chocker in a bowl at a charity shop till for about 50p which has pleased me no end, these were the coolest thing to wear when I was about 10. Ahhh, the good old days of the mid nineties! It's also the first outing for my Iced Rainbow feather necklace* which is a really cute and being white it's going to go with so many things I want to wear.
Do you remember the nineties fondly?
Sophie

You've probably noticed by now just how obsessed I am with my Daisy necklace as I seem to wear it more than half the time at the moment. To be honest I'm slightly swept away by the whole collection of jewellery at Iced Rainbow, especially the autumn/winter new pieces.

I was brazen enough to take part in a late summer photo shoot of some really unique pieces, with cool local photographer Joshua Patrick who I've known on Twitter for a good while now. So many crazy opportunities have presented themselves to me since I started blogging in earnest and I couldn't be more excited or grateful. So I manned up; donned my favourite floral crown and went out with an open mind for a shoot.


The British summer let us down slightly; it was blowing a gale from the North (or somewhere else extraordinarily cold) and the cloud rolled in to cause a right nuisance but we made the best of the conditions (props to Josh, he knows how to get the best from each picture) and ended up with some great shots.


If you're looking for a photographer in Norfolk then Joshua Patrick Photography gets a thumbs up from me. As well as being a talented photographer Josh also happens to be great company; a happy chap and a proper gent (he lent me his jumper when I was freezing cold, a fashion blogger approved design of course, hehe). Josh is Norwich based and covers weddings, fine art landscape and family shoots, you should check out his work!

There are so many great pieces that I'd love to own; the feather charm necklace, personalised forever charmed necklace and the cupcake necklace have really caught my eye.
*** You can now grab yourself a 10% discount at www.icedrainbow.com with my code SITSB10 so let me know what you get! ***


I'm over the moon to be giving away one of these gorgeous butterfly necklaces as well as a set of oils I reviewed to one of you so go ahead with the rafflecopter form (of which there are no mandatory entries). Please note the 'leave a comment' option is specific read, visit Icedrainbow.com and tell me your favourite piece and why! The giveaway is open for one week and UK addresses only.


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good luck everyone!

Sophie

Make the most of this as it's not my usual style! In a swift departure from floaty dresses and casual shorts I present to you The Little Black Dress. I saw this San Diego dress from French Connection and was rather taken with the simplicity and yet quirky detail. The pinafore top is so unusual, yet perfect for me as I love a high neckline and a fitted waistband is rather welcome too; this dress does volunteer more of a suggestion of a nipped in waist than I rightfully deserve with it's special tailoring. The dress itself is pretty weighty, it's made of lovely thick material with a lining too; the real deal. By far the best quality dress I own and one that will remain a classic for years to come.

Worn with a thin gold belt, pearl necklace as a bracelet, Fiore velvet shoes, Iced Rainbow Daisy necklace (kind of obsessed with this) and heart earrings. The red bag is my absolute favourite from Aluna J, which is so bold yet seems to look right with everything. These pictures were a collaboration between me and the camera, I definitely am less comfortable trying to get shots on my own (and miss the camera expertise Chris has of course). There is something toe curlingly embarrassing about cars driving passed while standing by a field in, arguably, the most inappropriate outfit for the location. There really is no plausible explanation other than just taking pictures of yourself like a weirdo.


The golden hour glow that evening was absolute heaven, it lit up the freshly harvested stubble field as well as me, all very uplifting. Missing your countryside fix? I recommend you head along to Gnowangerup Cottage for a taste of all things delightfully rural, it's a new favourite of mine.

Ready for the weekend? I know I am. Take care everyone.

Sophie

Thanks to French Connection for sending me this dress to review, all opinions my own as always <3 font="">

Another whirlwind of a weekend behind us, things are running at such a pace at the moment I can barely keep tack of where I'm at. That said, we've been making sure we take plenty of time out at the weekends to chill out by taking walks in new places, spending time in the peace and quiet that the countryside has to offer. 
I like to think this is a pretty casual outfit, perfect for a summer's day; shorts, top, ankle boots and accessories. My beloved coral top has the worst tendency to crinkle unfortunately, otherwise I'd be wearing far more often. Under a blazer, with jeans and strappy shoes springs to mind. Floral crown and full blown arm party as standard this summer.
I'm feeling a bit under the weather today (wont bore you with the details) so as I wait for the NHS to take their merry time to squeeze me in for attention I'm hoping to make a bit of a dent in the backlog of admin that never usually finds it's way to the top of the priority list. 
I hope your week is getting off to a better start. 
Sophie