Rainbow Club Shoes || Unboxing and Review

It's no secret that I am a massive shoe addict and when it comes to shoes, you can never have too many pairs. I was recently contacted by the lovely people over at Rainbow Club who asked if I would like to pick a pair of shoes, a colour and a clip to design my very own custom shoes. Obviously I said yes, and now my shoes have arrived and I'm in love with them so I thought I would share them with you so you can design your very own pair.

Rainbow Club specialise in designing special occasion shoes that you can entirely customise through the use of their dyeing service and their removable clips. All the shoes are handmade using the best materials. The shoes range from around £50-£120, the dyeing service is free with the shoes and the clips range from £20-£50. They would be perfect for a prom, bridesmaids, a bride or a special occasion because of the wide ranging colour charts that you can choose from so that your shoes perfectly match your outfit.

The style of shoe that I chose was the Vivian Satin Court Shoes and I got these dyed in a really pale baby pink. I can't even explain how long it took me to decide on a style and a colour and how many various combinations I came up with until I finally settled on this one! I decided to go for the Vivian because it's such a classic style and I think it could be worn to a wedding or you could even pull it off for dinner or for wearing to a meeting. I stuck with the pale pink colour for this reason as I didn't want mine to look too bridal (since I'm not getting married anytime soon hahaha!) and I thought it would go best for daytime and evening wear. 

The clip that I paired my shoes with are the Callisto clips and the satin parts of the clips are dyed to match the shoes. You can wear the clips at the back, side or front of the shoes and I really love this because it's almost like having a few pairs of shoes in one. I really love the fact that the clips are removable too because it allows you to pull off wearing the shoe more casually if you wish. If you wanted too, you could also buy more than one set of clips if you wanted to be able to change it up even more.

The shoes are really high quality, the dye is perfect and even, they feel very sturdy and well made. They fit true to size and when the clips are clipped on they stay on well. A really lovely touch is that on the sole of the shoe they have a little signature blue jewel as the 'o" on the Rainbow Club logo. 

I would mention that if you were buying these shoes for a wedding or a specific occasion where you'd have them on for a long time, that you break them in first, as they were a little painful to wear the first few times.

Overall, I absolutely love my shoes and think it's a really good service that Rainbow Club offer, which would be absolutely perfect for any special occasion - especially a wedding! If you design your own pair of shoes then please tag me in pictures as I would love to see them!

Lots of Love,

A 

♥ 

Uncommon Goods || Home Inspo

Since I don't have my own house yet and still live at home, I love nothing more than pinning home inspiration pins on pintrest and looking at home-y things online for when I finally have my own place.

One website that I've been lusting after things on recently is Uncommon Goods as they have lots of quirky homeware that's right up my street. The first thing that I've seen on their site that I'm after is this cinema lightbox that comes with a combination of letters so that you can write whatever you want on the box. I don't really have a justification for buying this but I can't help but want it, I think it would be amazing for birthdays, parties, weddings and as a blogger for backgrounds of photographs. I'm quite tempted to buy it just now for my room and just have my name or my blog name on it, is that too far?! hahaha.

It's no secret that I love my two dogs more than I love most people (and I'm not ashamed to admit that hehe) so I squealed with delight when I saw that you can actually get a picture of your pet made into a cushion!! I think this would be so cute on an armchair or even to keep in your pooch's bed (if your pets are as spoilt as mine). One of the key things I think with house inspiration is personalising it to actually make it a home and what better way to personalise it than by having a cushion of your most loved four legged family members. You can get your own pet picture put on a cushion here or there's also really nice polaroid camera cushions which are perfect for any fellow bloggers!

I'm also a massive book lover so one thing I know for sure that will be on display in my home is books especially the books that I own with pretty covers. With having books on display, it can start to look a bit like a library and take away from that modern chic feel so I think it's important to have stylish bookends and pretty objects on the shelf to break it up. Uncommon goods have these stunning mother and baby giraffe book ends which I think would look amazing on a book shelf with some pretty books in the middle. You can find this and others similar here.

The Luna light is something that grabbed my attention right away (maybe it's the blogger in me that's obsessed with lighting), it's a little white ring that you can control the colour of by tapping it and you can set it to be one colour or switch between all the different colours. I think this would be fab for date nights or even when you're having a relaxing bath, being able to change the lightning can really affect your mood. The top part of the Luna light also spins round so that you can direct the light in whichever direction you please. Another thing I thought this would be good for is in a child or baby's bedroom to help them get to sleep.

Lastly, I am a quote lover and I'm all about positive prints and quotes to help me stay motivated and to keep a positive outlook. I absolutely love this print from Uncommon Goods, it's got gorgeous lemon prints on it with 'when life gives you lemons'. I think the colour combination is really nice and this would look lovely on a kitchen wall. Uncommon Goods also have other really nice prints if this one isn't quite your style which you can see here.

They also have really nice home and garden furniture which would be perfect for people wanting to add a quirky touch to their home which you can find here.

What sort of things would you put in your home?

Lots of Love,

A 

♥

* This post is a sponsored advertorial but as always all items are selected by me and opinions are my own.

Ted & Muffy Fairytale Fit || Winter Boots 15

Ted & Muffy are a luxury boutique that sells gorgeous shoes and has expert fitters to make for an excellent shoe/boot shopping experience. The brand used to be called Duo but they have rebranded everything from their name, to the packaging, to the actual store inside. Ted & Muffy pride themselves on designing what they love, using top quality materials and they have three boutique stores in London, Bath and Edinburgh. If you don't live nearby though, fear not because they do also have a website that you can order from!

Recently I got invited along to the Ted & Muffy event and got a chance to look around their beautiful new store and eye up all the gorgeous shoes, I'm such a shoe girl so I really was in my element! I was then lucky enough to be asked to choose a pair of boots to get fitted on and sent out to me. I think the hardest part for me was definitely choosing which pair I wanted! I was torn between a sensible riding boot or a gorgeous over the knee suede pair. In the end I narrowed it down to an over the knee suede pair because who needs to be sensible?! (eye rolls) but then I had the choice of Acantha which is a stunning dove grey pair or Empress, a jet black suede pair. I decided I would at least be half sensible and go for black because I reckon I could pull these off in more 'every-day' situations than the grey pair.

I got to try on all of them with my lovely fitter who was so helpful, she measured my leg and literally all the boots fitted on perfectly. I think Ted & Muffy would be perfect for those who have either really skinny legs and find boots fit quite wide on them or those who have wider calves and struggle to get boots to get up over them.

One of my favourite things about the Ted & Muffy rebranding is the fairytale feel of the experience, it all feels very luxurious, from the stores interior to the feel of the fit on. The advert that the store used included real live wolves, I did insert the advert into this post but it didn't work but definitely Youtube it, it's worth the watch! The photo shoot they have done for their boots as well is simply stunning with the use of clocks, shattered mirrors, dark feathers, owls and snow.

I loved that they had a little tree with tags on that had our blog names on them and attached to each tag was a rustic key...very fairy tale like again.

Their prices are expensive, the boots that I chose are £400 but they do have slightly cheaper ones and I think when it comes to shoes and boots it's worth spending a little bit more money on them because they last forever and who doesn't want their Cinderella fit?! With the price you've also got the fitting experience included and I do believe they quite often have 20/25% off offers online!

I have worn my pair loads, they're really comfy and instantly make a simple outfit look really dressy. I've loved wearing them with black tights and dresses or if you wear a shorter dress they look lovely with bare legs for a night out. They also look stunning with jeans and a nice top for going round the shops or for day to day. I haven't worn them in the rain yet because I'm too scared that it would ruin them but I think they would be okay if you used a suede protector on them regularly. I have already included these in my Winter Boots post but I thought I should give them a post of their own since I've worn them so much this Winter!

What are your opinions on over the knee boots?

Lots of Love,

♥

November || Instagram

♥ Nars lipglosses

♥ Peach Adidas Superstars

♥ Smiley face firework 

♥ Coco white- full blog post coming soon

♥ Terry's chocolate orange and oreo milkshake

♥ Caddy Belle boots from Clarks, more pictures and info in my Winter boots post here.

♥ Malteser mcflurry

♥ Justin Bieber Purpose on repeat

♥  MAC goodies from Amsterdam

♥  Snuggles with Luca

♥ Personal planner, I will do a whole blog post on this soon

♥ Early morning swim

I hope you enjoyed seeing some of the pictures that I posted throughout November, sorry it's a little late, university has been super busy but I'm finally finished up for Christmas! If you want to follow me on instagram then my instagram is @whatabbyloves.

Lots of Love,

♥ 

Winter Boots || 2015

One of my most popular posts on my blog is my winter boots post that I did last year and because I'm a total shoeaholic its something I really enjoy writing about. So this year I thought I would do a repeat and share with you the boots that I've choosen for the Winter weather this year.

The first pair are 'Caddy Belles' from Clarks and they are these gorgeous riding boots with a leather front and an elastic panel at the back which makes the boot super easy to slip on. I love how elegant these look and the fact that the front of the boot comes higher than the back is super flattering. These come in a gorgeous tan colour as well which I'm definitely going to be picking up soon and I'll  post pictures of them when I get them and they come in a navy suede also. The one thing I would say about these boots are they're extremely difficult to fit so its definitely worth popping in to Clarks to try them on rather than ordering your size online because a five in the black 'Caddy Belle' fits me perfectly but in the tan even a four and a half is slightly big on me. They have a tendency to rub really badly at the heels as well but top tip -  if you flex the back of the heels with your hand before you wear them it should break them in enough to stop any blisters forming (works for all shoes)! However, they are a really good one for any ladies who struggle to get boots to fit their calfs or ankles because of the elasticated back. These retail at £140 but because they're black leather you can be sure they'll last you for many Winters to come.

The second pair of boots I have for Winter are these gorgeous suede, thigh high boots by Ted & Muffy*. These beauties are going to have an entire post of their own very soon to tell you about the amazing experience I had at their store but I couldn't miss them out in this post too. They're slightly less practical than my Clarks one with being suede but wow are they gorgeous! These ones retail at £400 so are definitely a luxury purchase but every girl needs their own pair of fairytale boots!

These 'Busby Fresh' ankle boots I've shown in a haul post previously, they were more my Autumn boots because of the cut outs but on dry days I've still been wearing them in Winter and I think they'll carry me straight through to Spring too. They're fab because you can wear them with frilly socks to keep warm and when it gets warmer again they can be worn bare foot and because they're taupe they add something different to an outfit. These were £75 but are now in the sale down to £55 and also come in a black colour too.

The last new pair of boots that I got were also ankle boots and again these are in a black suede finish. I love the chunky cleated soles of these and they're surprisingly comfy too and the inside is made of the softest material which makes these really comfy to wear with or without socks. They're super versatile as well, I've worn these on a night out to a club because they're still dressy but not a full on heel and they're great for going out for meals but are still casual enough that you could dress them down and wear them to the shops. I choose the black suede because they're dressier however it does mean that they aren't as good in the rain and my dogs fur attaches to it constantly (as you can probably see).

I still have my black Clarks chelsea boots from last year that I love to death and wear on rainy days where I want an ankle boot rather than a knee high boot and theres still some left in store this year if you like those. They're called 'Mariella Busby' and retail for £80. The second pair from last year that I still have are my tan chelsea boots from Clarks, these are slightly more battered as they're not the type of leather that you can polish up but I do still wear them occasionally if I want a tan boot. These aren't in stock any more but they do have other tan chelsea boots fairly similar.

What Winter boots do you have this year?

Lots of Love,

A

♥

Lipstick Haulin' || MAC Mondays

If there's one thing I love, it's lipstick, especially MAC lipsticks. The formula, pigmentation, wear time and scent of them are all incredible and although they're on the pricier side for lipstick, they're worth it because you don't have to re-apply them as much. I actually won one of these in the lovely Kizzy Hearts giveaway as well so check out her blog! 

The first shade that I picked was Sin because it'll be absolutely perfect for this time of year. It's a gorgeous deep burgundy almost brown toned reddy purple and I've already worn it so many times, I actually wore it on Halloween as well so I'll insert a few pictures of me wearing it below. 

Close up, this was actually at the end of the night so it's worn off a bit but you get the idea!

Another A/W inspired shade that I picked up is Rebel because every single year, around this time, I always say to myself that I need to buy it so this year I've eventually done it. The colour is a berry toned purple, it does show up a lot lighter and brighter than it looks in the bullet but on me it still looks quite purple.

Slightly different from the other two I bought is the third shade that I choose which is the nude shade Patisserie. It's just another shade that has been on my wish list for ages because so many bloggers and YouTubers rave about it. It's a lustre finish which isn't my favourite finish but it's a typical nude shade that just adds a nice nude sheen to the lips. It reminds me of a browner version of Pure Zen which we all know is a massive favourite of mine.

The last one that I ordered was another nude favourite which is the classic Kylie Jenner lip 'Velvet Teddy'. I put off buying this one for ageeeeees because I didn't think it would suit me and I'm not that interested in the Kardashians (I know, I'm the only girl out there who isn't, pls don't hate me) so didn't really feel a need for me to own it. However, when I tried it on in Mac, I really liked it as an everyday nude shade so picked it up. It's a matte formula so will be really long lasting and it's a brown toned nude, definitely one to pick up if you like the nineties lip trend.

The final lipstick is the one that I won and I picked Kinda Sexy because it's another nude shade and at the moment if I don't want a dark, Wintery lip then I just want a nice nude shade. Kinda Sexy is also a matte lipstick and it's very similar to Velvet Teddy but lighter and more peachy/orange toned.

Swatches R-L- Rebel, Patisserie, Sin, Kinda Sexy, Velvet Teddy

P.S apologies the lighting in these pictures isn't fab, I had to work with the best light that Winter would give me!

Have you got any of these shades? What ones do I need to pick up next?

Lots of Love,

A

♥