This week has been just horrible! 

You may have been reading in the papers/ seen on the news that Tie Rack is closing all its UK stores before the end of the year. Well I work in one of those stores and I've been made redundant. 

Not many people say they love their job, but i genuinely do. I'm absolutely gutted! It's been so hard to take the news and I'm really gonna miss everyone when we all leave. 

Of course now we are in closing down sale, the place has gone mad, especially with it being so close to Christmas! Therefore, please forgive me if there are very few posts between now and christmas! I'm working a lot of hours at the moment! 

So what is the point in this post you may ask? Well I've been reading lots of news articles about the closing of Tie Rack. Many people blame it on men not wanting to dress smart anymore. Other people say online competitors are killing us. And I've seen the tweet "who even wears a tie anymore?" about 300 times!! 

This has angered me so much! People don't seem to realise Tie Rack is not just a tie shop! We sell jewellery, scarves, hats, gloves for both men and ladies! And the accessories are all gorgeous and very on trend! It is so upsetting to see people who think it is just a tie shop! 

I'd love to know what you think about this! Have you ever shopped in Tie Rack? Do you think it's true that men don't want to dress smart anymore? And what do you think about the potential death of the high street due to online sales? Leave me a comment below! :) 

Giveaway time!

Okay so I'm going to do a giveaway for my lovely readers once I get to 50 bloglovin followers!

I promise it won't be a let down!

Follow me here : http://www.bloglovin.com/blog/10529547/katies-blog

Once I get to 100 followers I will announce the giveaway!

Get following people! :)

xx

2nd Anniversary Surprise!

This is a little bit of a late post, but on Thursday 31st October, my partner and I celebrated our 2nd Anniversary (not wedding anniversary, I'm still working on that!) 

He'd been taunting me with a surprise he had planned for weeks! In the morning he came through to the sitting room with a gorgeous leopard print suitcase and told me to pack enough things for the next day! Then we got in the car and drove about 30 miles outside of Edinburgh. 

This was me excited before we left! 

 

(I really need to learn to smile! ha ha!)

Then we arrived at the Macdonald Inchyra Grange Hotel and Spa near Falkirk! The hotel was gorgeous! It was in what looked like an old church which had been converted into a hotel. 

This was our lovely room for the night:

 

 

How amazing is this sofa!!? I was honestly contemplating buying it off the hotel, i loved it that much! I took this photo to see if I could find a similar one anywhere when we eventually buy a house! 

So, once we had put our things in the room we headed down for lunch in the restaurant. I had gammon steaks with chips and egg which was amazing. Full of flavour, which is not something you can always say about gammon! My partner had mushroom tagliatelle. I had a little taste of this and it was also amazing! 

After lunch, we headed to the swimming pool. It was lovely and quiet! Everytime I try to go swimming in Edinburgh, the pool is full of babies and toddlers screaming! We had a lovely swim, sauna and steam room, then we relaxed on the heated loungers before heading back upstairs for a shower. 

Then came my second surprise! He'd booked me 2 spa treatments!! My first treatment was a back, neck and shoulder massage which was amazing! That was the first time I'd ever had a massage but I will definitely be booking another one in the future! 

The second treatment as a 30 minute facial. The hotel used Decleor skin products and it was my first time using these products. The therapist told me they are all made using essential oils and natural products. After the facial my skin felt lovely and soft! It also got rid of the patch of dry skin I had on my forehead which was a bonus. My skin is still feeling lovely even 2 weeks later! You can buy Decleor skin products HERE

After my relaxing time in the beautiful spa, we headed out to dinner to celebrate our 2 years together! 

 

Please excuse my face! We took these photos before i had done my hair and make-up!

My dress is from Lipsy (£48). I also had a leopard print clutch bag from Accessorize, plain black tights from Primark and plain black court shoes from New Look. 

My other half is wearing Primark Chinos, M&S shirt, and tartan tie with matching pocket square from Tie Rack! 

We both had an amazing time and we can't wait to do it again some day! In January we will be heading off on our very special holiday which we have been saving and waiting for for over a year! I'm so excited about it! It has always been my dream, when I turn 21 to go to New York and we are finally going!!! 

Expect many excited blog posts about this as we get even closer! 50 days to go! :) 

Mini Primark Haul // November

I've been a terrible blogger recently and haven't posted in ages! I've had coursework coming out my eyeballs, but it's all over now so I've got time for a quick post! 

And it is one of my favourites! A primark haul! 

Just a little haul though, because christmas is coming and I'm saving my pennies for a very special holiday just after christmas! 

 

Cardigan £6

This was very boring purchase but I'm always in need of black cardigans for work. This felt a bit thicker than my usual primark cardigans so it will do nicely for the winter months!

 

Super Cosy tights- £3.50

I've become a big fan of dresses and tights in the last few months. Because I usually walk to work I definitely need these to keep my legs warm! Especially when it starts snowing which, judging by the cold air, isn't too far away!! 

 

Sweatpants £3

Not the most fashionable of items, but I bought these purely for lounging about the house on my days off! (and running to the corner shop for my daily can of diet coke!) They were in the sale for £3 and are my favourite colour so they will do nicely for what I need them for. 

 

Fleece Nightdress £4

How amazingly cute is this?! I saw this on a sale rack reduced from £7 to £4 and I just had to have it! I love the reindeer print on it and the colours go so well together. Very cosy and christmassy! Even my mum loved it! So much that she bought one for herself too! They've got lots of other patterns of these at full price which also look lovely and cosy! 

 

Hat £3

And finally, I picked up this cute little hat! I really liked the colours of this hat and I've got a similar one is plain cream colour which I wear all the time so I know I will definitely get wear out of this. I'm really loving hats just now! They are so good for bad hair days, of which I have many! 

What have you been buying in Primark lately? Leave me links to your blog below :) 

Katie xx 

Lush Snow Fairy Review!

Christmas time is my favourite time of year. I just love cosy nights in, bright lights, big scarves and obviously, the lush christmas range! 

I was sooooo excited when this returned to the shops! Snow fairy is described as having the scent of candy floss and pear drops. When you open the bottle, be prepared for your whole bathroom to be filled with the scent. It is powerful and a little goes a long way! (as you can see I've not used much out of this bottle despite using it every day for 2 weeks). 

It sounds creepy but I find myself popping the lid on this and just sitting sniffing the bottle. I don't know why but the smell just makes me instantly happy! The scent clings to you for hours after showering. In fact, I've noticed I can still be able to smell it on my skin up to 12 hours later! 

In my opinion, this is an absolute must-have! You can purchase it HERE. Don't let the price put you off! It is worth every penny! 

Lush Bath Bomb Review

If there is one brand I can't live without, it has to be Lush! 

I was babysitting my little cousin a few weeks ago and I had nipped into Primark to grab some hair clips so my other half took my cousin to Lush to get out the rain! 

Whilst in there he treated me to this lovely bath bomb! (Direct Link)

 

It is probably just as well I wasn't with him at the time otherwise I would have bought this plus the rest of the shop! 

Anyway, I was feeling particularly stressed after a long day at work and uni the other day so I thought I would run myself a nice bath and try this out! 

 

From the appearance of the bath bomb, I totally didn't expect this lovely purple colour! 

It smelt great too! It was a very rich, fruity smell! The bathroom smelt amazing for ages after! And there was no stains on the bath after I let the water away either so my landlord can't complain!! 

The scent of the bomb stuck to my skin for at least 12 hours after which I would say is pretty good! Normal shower gel scents don't normally last anymore than 15 minutes on my skin!! 

I would definitely recommend trying this bath bomb! I am definitely adding these and other Lush items to my Christmas list! 

Have you tried any Lush products lately? I'd love to read your posts! Drop me a comment in the box below! :) 

Huge Autumn Haul!!

Firstly, I apologise for neglecting my blog lately! I've been so busy with work and uni that I've just had no time to post! Don't worry though, I have a long list of posts I want to get up so you can all look forward to those! 

This post was supposed to be lots of little ones but it's taken me so long to get them up that I've decided to merge them into one and show you all my huge autumn haul! 

 

The first item is this lovely batwing leopard print top! This was £5 from Primark. It's a little short on the body and I'm only 5ft 1 so I'd imagine it would be more like a crop top on anyone tall but it looks nice with a little black cami under it so I'm keeping it :) 

 

This beautiful fairisle dress is from everything5pounds.com (obviously it was £5). I've been looking for a dress like this since last winter and I'm so glad I found this. I can't wait to wear it with chunky tights and boots! Expect an outfit post when I finally get the chance to wear this! As an added bonus, when this arrived it had a label on it saying £15.99 so I got an absolute bargain with this! Go check out their website, they've got some really cute knitted dresses on there just now! 

 

Now I am not usually mad about heels, I'm more of a boots/flats person but these really caught my eye. These were also from a bargain website called justfor5pounds.com! I bought them to wear to a blogger event I attended in Glasgow 2 weeks ago (Post about this coming up next!) and I loved them! I don't know how, with them having such a chunky heel but I did manage to go over on my ankle in them unfortunately! 

 

Don't you just love this cardigan!? It is just so cosy and fluffy! And if you are not mad on the faux-fur collar it is removable! This was £28 from Peacocks and I just love it! (Direct Link) I can definitely see me wearing this all winter! 

 

This is another peacocks item! This lovely burgundy bag was only £14 and I have to say it's exactly what I was needing for carrying my Uni things in! (Direct Link) It may not look like it but I can get my 13 inch macbook pro in here along with a textbook, my purse (stuffed full of 1 and 2p's!) and a pencil case! And because it has a long strap, I can wear it across my body to avoid getting a sore shoulder! 

 

As you will probably be aware from previous posts, I am a sucker for cat socks! These were £4 for a pack of 3 from peacocks which is not too bad. (Direct Link) I've worn and washed them a few times now and they are still looking as good as new so I'm very happy! 

 

Every time I go into Primark I can't seem to leave without buying a pair of Pyjamas! I went in the other day and they had so many tartan bottoms, I must have spent at least 20 minutes trying to decide what ones to buy! I finally settled on these but every other pair they have are on my christmas list!! These were £6. The only thing I would say is the flannel material Primark pyjamas tend to go bobbly very quickly (after 1 wear most times!) which is quite disappointing! The fleece material ones are much better! However I don't mind too much as it gives me an excuse to go back and buy more! 

 

I bought these lovely scarves for wearing to work! I've been wearing the same scarf for weeks and I managed to get permanent marker all over it when doing sale prep so I had to get new ones! Obviously I couldn't settle on just 1 so I bought 3!

Burgundy Paisley (Link) The other 2 are not on the website but see store locator to find your local store! 

 

These are square scarves and I like to wear them rolled up and draped round my neck. They are £9.99 each but they are on 'buy one get one half price' just now so if you like what you see, go grab some! 

 

There was one item I didn't already own and it was a tartan shirt! I was browsing in the hollister sale the other day and this jumped out at me! I don't know why, but I was really drawn to the colour. It's a gorgeous jade green colour. This was only £16.99 in the sale and I just had to have it. It is a floaty, silky material and it looks great with skinny jeans and converse for those long lectures at Uni! 

 

The lovely people over at very.co.uk phoned me up and offered me £30 off if I made an order of £60 or more on my credit account! So obviously I couldn't resist this and snapped up these uggs! (Direct Link) I've been deliberating over lots of different uggs over the last few weeks, and I already own the chestnut colour in these boots so I decided on the chocolate colour as I don't already have a dark brown pair of boots. Obviously I was delighted with these especially as I got them for £120 instead of £150! 

 

I used my very credit account a bit more when their sale started a few days after I bought my uggs! I couldn't decide on which colour I liked best but since there was a special offer on sale products when I bought them (extra 24% off for 24 hours), I got these for just £3.90 each!! The material is gorgeous on these, so nice and soft! I've worn them both with skinny jeans and boots and they look great on too! (Direct Link)

I also got this lovely metallic cardigan in the very sale! (Direct Link) It was reduced to £10 and I love it! It's actually a golden colour (sorry the lighting is rubbish in my room). It is one of the few colours of cardigan I didn't already own so I had to have this. And I just love sparkly things! 

 

These cute little ankle boots were also in the Very sale! (Direct Link) I got them for just £9.88! I've worn them all week at work and they are sooooo comfy! I'm delighted with these! I like to wear them with tights and a black midi dress, but I'm going to explore other ways of wearing them next week! 

 

I finally managed to find a cat print dress that I like! I bought this on ebay and I got it for a bargain price of £2.58! Obviously because it was burgundy, I just had to have it! I've not had a chance to wear this yet, but I've tried it on loads and I love it! 

 

And finally (I bet you are glad to see that word!), I got this cute leopard print dress in the New Look sale for £12. I bought this to wear to the blogger event I was at 2 weeks ago! I love leopard print and it was long enough to wear with tights so I was very happy with this! 

So that is everything I have been buying over the last couple of weeks! Which item is your favourite? 

New twitter!

Hello All! 

I've just set up a new twitter account for people who want to follow my blog postings and other fashion/beauty/lifestyle related tweets! I don't want to keep boring all my friends with my blog posts! Ha Ha! 

Add me on katiemccann92 ! 

xx

Primark Haul! (October 2013)

Eeeek! My favourite kind of post! 

Last weekend my mum and I went into town for a little spending spree! I had just been paid so it was the perfect time for a primark haul! 

 

This was the first item I picked up. This was £4 and has a lovely chiffon back with a big loop cutaway! I plan on wearing this to work with leggings or with a black skirt and tights! 

 

I'm an absolute sucker for Primark Pyjamas and these were only £5! I love how cosy and soft they are! 

 

I absolutely fell in love with this cardigan the moment I saw it! It was £14 which is more than I normally pay for a cardigan in Primark but I just had to have it. It is burgundy (my favourite!) and sparkly (another favourite!) with gold and black detailing. I wore it to Uni today and it was warm enough to run from the car in the rain and also cool enough to prevent me overheating in the stuffy classrooms. 

 

Next up is these burgundy leggings. I really liked the quilted panels at the top and I think these will look nice with ugg boots in the winter. They are also a nice thick material which is a bonus! These were £6. 

I then got this lovely sparkly black skirt. I probably won't wear this much but I'm possibly planning on wearing it at Christmas time as it looks very festive! This was £6. It feels quite thin and flimsy though so I'm hoping it will be okay to wear with just tights! 

 

Now on to the accessories! I'm not planning on buying a new winter coat this year so I'm buying some new accessories to go with it. My coat is burgundy tartan and it's bum-length wool coat, So this wooly hat will look awesome with it! And a bargain at only £3. The knitted headband was £1.50. I bought a few of these last year and I never wore them as I thought they looked a bit silly on me. However I've had them on a few times in the last few weeks (mainly to keep my hair out my way) and they look so much better now I've grown my hair a lot longer! 

 

Next, I got these sparkly studded shoes for £4 in the sale. I have to wear black shoes to work so I've been buying lots of patterned black shoes and so far I've not been told off! These are actually very comfy for primark shoes! The pants were £1. Anyone who knows me will know I'm obsessed with anything cat print! I'm definately a self-proclaimed cat lady! So when I saw these I had to get them to add to my cat-clothing collection! 

 

And finally I picked up these hair accessories! I've been wearing my hair down a lot lately but clipping back the front bits as they are very frizzy and NEVER sit right! So i grabbed this set of 2 hair clips for £1. Then I got these 2 hairbands in the sale. The cream one was £1 and the black fake-hair braided one was only 50p! I saw a girl at Uni wearing a similar hairband the other day so I thought I would give them a try! 

So that's everything for this Primark Haul! What's you favourite item? Have you done a primark haul recently? I'd love to see your posts so drop me a comment in the box below! 

New Look Sale Finds!

Lots of shops are beginning to have mid season sales already, and New Look is no exception! 

I've been looking for a few nice tops to wear with leggings/jeggings at uni. I picked up these two tops for just £5 each! 

 

I really love the aztec print just now. The grey one is more fitted and could even be worn as evening wear, dressed up with some heels! And I love the burgundy one purely for the colour! If you've been reading my blog you will know I've been obsessed with this colour recently! 

Have you found any bargains in the new look sale? 

x

Wardrobe Clear out!

After my many shopping sprees in the last few weeks, my wardrobe was looking a little bit too full so on my day off I decided to have a big clear out! I'm going to be selling some of the clothes I'm parting with, on ebay over the weekend so I'll post a link to my ebay at some point this week! 

Here is what my wardrobe looked like before my clear out! 

This is a highly embarrassing sight, I'm sure you will agree! I can't believe I let it get so messy. 

Below is how it now looks, after filling 3 bin bags of unwanted clothes! 

Much Better!! You will notice I have one whole shelf full of just scarves! I love scarves and think they can completely change a plain outfit. During my 5 years working in Tie Rack I've built up quite a collection, as you can see! 

Hopefully my wardrobe will stay looking this tidy from now on! 

When was the last time you had a good wardrobe clear out? 

New Look Haul + 25% voucher link!

I managed to come across a little voucher for 25% off at New Look until 24th september, so this was the perfect opportunity to pick up a few new items for wearing to Uni.



The first thing I picked up was this cute deer vest top! It is quite a long vest which I really like so I can wear it with leggings! This was £7.99 so with 25% off I got it for £6 which is verging on Primark prices which is just great! I can tell I will wear this lots!



You can't really tell from the picture (Sorry, the lighting in my bedroom is terrible) but these are denim look leggings! I used to have a pair of these a few years ago but I managed to rip them so I threw them out! I like wearing leggings as they are so comfy, especially when you are stuck sitting around in classes all day so I will definitely wear these lots too! And because they are denim effect, they will go with all my navy clothes too! These were £9.99 reduced to £7.50 with my voucher!



I've been looking for a comfy pair of black flats for wearing to work for a while! I need something with a substantial sole as I stand for up to 6 hours at a time on a tiled floor which is a killer on my feet! New look have definitely made lots of improvements to the soles on their shoes for A/W as these have a much thicker sole than they used to! These are just basic flats but they will be perfect for work and with 25% off, I got these for just £6! Bargain!



And finally, I found these colourful studs in the jewellery section. I've had my ears pierced 4 times but I can never find any plain studs to wear so I only ever wear one set of earrings at a time. However these will mean I can wear more now! I couldn't believe how cheap these were! They look much more expensive than they were. And with 25% I only paid £2.99 for them!

So if you have seen anything you like in new look, print off the following voucher and you can claim 25% off like me!! Hurry though, it is only valid for a few more days!

Friends and Family 25% off Voucher- Valid Until 24th September

B1G1HP beauty at boots!

Today I used the last of my favourite foundation so I popped into boots after work to grab another one. I thought this would be a quick in-out situation but no, I spotted an offer not to be missed! 

Right now boots have Buy 1 get 1 half price on mix and match across all beauty products. So here is what I picked up from this offer! 

I

Maybelline Baby Lips Lip Balm- £2.99

I've seen these lip balms on lots of blogs recently so I really want to try them out! The purple one is tinted a slightly nude colour so hopefully it will be a nice alternative to lipgloss (which my long hair always sticks to in the lovely Scottish wind!) The yellow one is just a plain hydrating balm. 

 

Collection 2000 Mascara- £2.99

Maybelline Dream Matte Mousse Foundation- £7.69

I don't wear a lot of mascara but the one I had was all clumpy so I took advantage of the boots offer to get a new one! I just wanted something cheap so this suited me perfectly. The foundation is the same one I've been using for about 3 years! It works really well with my skin so I don't want to try anything different! I like that it is a mousse too as it makes it a lot easier to blend! 

 

Rimmel Nail Polish- £3.99

I absolutely love Rimmel nail polishes! They always look really nice and don't chip as easy as the cheaper brands. This one is a sparkly orange colour and I just loved it the second I saw it! It goes with my handbag and all my orange clothes I've been buying! I've just finished putting it on my nails and I have to say it looks really nice after only 2 coats! 

 

Barry M Nail Polish- £2.99

I also really liked this colour! It is a cerise pink glitter! I'm looking forward to trying this one out once I'm done with the orange sparkles! 

That was all my lovely new make-up purchases which, including a £1.65 bottle of hairspray, came to £21 which is not too bad for all these goodies! 

What have you been buying in this boots offer?