We Left Our Trousers By The Canal

song of the day - I Still Remember by Bloc Party

I love Manchester so much; it has to be my favourite city in the world. No matter how amazing London is, or how I'd love to visit New York, Manchester is the only place I can imagine living.
I love the busy streets, the amazing architecture and, or course, the shopping.
To me Mancunia is such a stunning city. On Monday I went to town and had a nice walkabout. It was a bit chilly out, but the sun felt glorious.
I took so many photos that I'm going to split this post into two. The second post will be out this time next week.

Where's your favourite city on this fine planet?
Rubi
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Soon As I See The Dust Settle

song of the day - Sticks n Stones by Jamie T 

It's been a long week in the world of Rubi. Even though I only worked 28 hours this past week I feel like I haven't stopped until today. This is partially because I've done a massive Spring clean at home. We were supposed to be getting a new boiler put in on Thursday but the guy who was doing it cancelled the day before. This was after I'd already moved all the furniture so he could have access to the radiators. I ended up with lungs full of dust, backache, and no new boiler. I hate Sod's law. Thankfully I'm not in work now until Tuesday, so I can relax a little. Maybe I'll do some retail therapy on Monday (Hello Trafford Centre, I've missed you).

I also had a little bit of a meltdown when my camera wouldn't turn on. It turns out one of the microswitches wasn't working properly, thankfully it just took a quick trip to google to realise, and fix, the problem.

 dress & leggings - H&M. 

top - Poizen Industries. lipstick - Manic Panic, shade: Deadly Nightshade. boots - Funtasma. (all available at AttitudeClothing)

I bought this dress months ago from H&M for less than a tenner, and just hadn't been able to figure out how to wear it until now. The straps are really long, and not adjustable, so the top wouldn't stay up by itself. I liked the pattern of the dress too much not to buy it though. Pinning it didn't work, and crossing the straps over made the dress hang weirdly. The mesh top is tight enough to keep the dress in place, so there will be no accidental flashing in my future.

Until it came to actually writing this post I didn't realise how much I was wearing from Attitude Clothing. All of these items were from an order I made last July. As you might be able to tell from the bottom of the boots I've barely worn those in that time. They have a 4.5" heel, so in them I'm just over 6ft tall. It takes a bit to get used to being that much taller than normal.

How have you all been? Hopefully less stressed than me!
Rubi
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I Walked With You Once Upon A Dream

song of the day - Once Upon A Dream by Aurora, Sleeping Beauty

"If you can dream it, you can do it" - Walt Disney

On Thursday my April MyLittleBox arrived. MLB is a monthly subscription service that mixes beauty, fashion and lifestyle in one box.

Every month the box has a different theme, and this months is Dreams. The illustrations that go with this months box has to be my favourite so far. They are just so cute.

There are always three beauty bits in the MLB's, they usually vary from box to box. First up this month is a Lip Balm Loved by Lou Lesage. It's a pretty tinted lip balm, nothing too exciting. 

Next up is the MLB own brand product, this time  a hair masque. This mask is a repairing mask for dry ends. Now, I don't have dry ends, so this product does not appeal to me in the slightest. I will definitely by donating this product to one of my friends.

And finally is the Invigorating body lotion from Cowshed. I've heard a lot about this brand, but I've never actually tried something from them. First of all this stuff smells amazing. It's so refreshing, I felt like I'd drank a nice cold virgin mojito after sniffing it. It feels great on the skin, makes me feel all soft. This has to be my favourite product from the box.

I love the stamp. You know that I want to put a stamp on everything now! My mum does card crafts, so I might let her have this, just to keep every blank space around me safe.

And finally is this little medallion. It came in the little cloud, which was such an adorable touch, you had to cut into the cloud to get the medallion out. I was so tempted to leave it be before I didn't want to cut the cloud. The medallion is sweet, but I'm not a fan of the cord that it's on. I'm either going to put it on a chain, or add it to a key ring.
I will admit that this is not my favourite box product-wise. Don't get me wrong, the products are lovely, but the usual wow factor just hasn't come up with this box.
Are you subscribed to any monthly boxes? Have you tried any of these products?
Rubi
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Sometimes I Gotta Smile

song of the day - Follow Me by Usher

Sometimes I find it so hard to be inspired to do anything, especially after a long week at work, when all I want to do is stay in my pit. When that happens I have a few places I go to look for inspiration (after I've motivated myself into getting out of bed).
For me the easiest way to find inspiration is to just go outside with my camera and take photographs. It's one of my favourite things to do, because it can be so relaxing. You can literally find inspiration anywhere, from beautiful parks to cityscapes to your own back garden.
Sometimes I'll read a book (or 5), look at some old photographs, or have a gander at some of the art prints I have floating about. Every now and then it just takes a shufty through my wardrobe or makeup collection to get me moving.
Of course the most obvious place to find some inspiration is the internet. Reading blog posts, scrolling through twitter, and randomly searching things on Pinterest always gets me thinking.
And sometimes all it takes is to write a post about what inspires me.
What do you do when you need a little inspiration?
Rubi
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Punch Your Lights Out

song of the day - Lights Out by Mindless Self Indulgence

top - Necessary Evil. trousers - Zara. bracelet w/ skulls - Topshop. silver bracelets & rings - H&M.

Spring is here, and I seem to be doing things a little backwards. During the winter months I wore a lot of colour, and now I seem to have retreated back to the dark section of my wardrobe. Black is just so easy to wear, and everything automatically matches. No fuss, no muss.

I wear these trousers constantly, so it's a little surprising to me that this is only the second OOTD featuring them this year (fourth on the blog so far). Seriously, I wear it with everything. Graphic tees, jumpers, blouses;  I'm surprised I haven't worn them with a dress yet.

We're a third of the way through the month already, and time seems to be picking up for me. The first few months of the year dragged on, but now time seems to be rushing by me. Hopefully time will slow back down again soon (preferably before my birthday, 24? no thank you).

How has your April been so far? What's your go-to item of clothing?
Rubi
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They Will Not Fade Away

song of the day - Emergency by Paramore

Lipstick has always been my favourite makeup product. I can happily go out with a bare face, but a day without lipstick just doesn't exist for me. Because of this I'm forever lusting after a new lipstick. MAC have such a wide variety of shades and textures that the majority of my beauty wishlist is from MAC. 

1. Heroine - Amplified Cream

2. Girl About Town - Amplified Cream

3. Speak Louder - Creamsheen

4. Violetta - Amplified

5. Chilli - Matte

6. Velvet Teddy - Matte

I will probably end up buying these shades at some point (not all at once!). At the moment there are only 3 MAC lipsticks in my lipstick collection, I'm kind of proud of my restraint. It's the little things...

My favourite finish from MAC is the Amplified Cream; they have great pigmentation and apply so smoothly. The only finish I dislike is Satin; they just feel uncomfortable to me.

What are your favourite MAC lipsticks? Are any MAC lipsticks on your wishlist?
Rubi
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There'll Be Days Like This My Mama Said

 song of the day - Days Like This by The Shirelles

I love Rockabilly, and Lindy Bop do the best affordable 50's inspired dressed. So when Attitude Clothing had a sale on I had to get this. It is the Jeanette dress, and just reminds of a waitress in an American Diner. I was going to get a petticoat to wear under this as well, but I doubt I'd wear it (the petticoat) that much out and about. You can't really tell from the photos, but the buttons are heart shaped, how sweet!

I'm not sure if this is true for all Lindy Bop dresses, but the Jeanette does run small. This one just about fit me around the waist, so next time I buy from them I think I'll be going a size up.

A few years ago I got rid (aka lost) my curling iron and ever since I've been doing no heat curls. There are so many ways to do this, but for my hair I prefer to twirl and pin it while it's damp, and then let my hair dry naturally. This is day two hair, so the curls have dropped a little, but not my much. You can see how they looked the first morning on my instagram page.
Do you like vintage style dresses? What's your favourite clothing decade?
Rubi
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Feel The Need For Contemplation

song of the day - Soul Music by Everlast

 So March has come and gone. Now the days are longer, and we're that much closer to some warm weather. After the storms we've had the past few days I cannot wait for a bit of sunshine.
At the beginning of March I mentioned that I would be doing a photography challenge. I had to pick up my camera everyday ant take a photo using only manual settings. It was hard, I still get confused over ISO and Aperture. Hopefully I'll be sticking with Manual more now. I'm still learning, but I'm ok with that. I've always liked learning more, otherwise I kind of just get stuck in a rut.

Rubi
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