Magic Mystery Tour - London Fun with the Megabus #MegaMysteryBus

(c) Matt Chappell and Search Laboratory

I think most people have used or know of the cheap and cheerful travel saviour that is Megabus. Whether ferrying yourself back to uni or off in search of a cheap weekend adventure, the wifi loaded blue and yellow chariot is often the starting point of a good time. However recently I had a different type of Megabus adventure - one with mystery and adventure whilst taking in the views of London.

London Calling - Gilda London Traffic Jam Print Swing Dress from Lindy Bop

Happy new year lovely readers, and I hope that you've had a wonderful start to 2017! ❤ If you follow my Instagram you'll have seen that mine has kick off with a new photography project so please do get in touch if you can get to London and would like to be shot for it.

With the start of the year now behind us, I always find that my colour palette drastically changes. Where as the start of winter is all about the dark reds and blacks for me, the latter half tends to move towards more spring ready hues. Maybe it's wishful thinking? Maybe it's my eagerness to run around London wearing lots of yellow, just like a chubby bumble bee. That's why I'm so excited to start the new year off with one of two fun and bright Lindy Bop dresses which are perfect paired with cardigans as we transition between the seasons.

Lipstick on Your Collar - Lipstick & Lipgloss from MYJ Beauty

A good lipstick discovery is like unearthing some sort of treasure haul. and as someone who regularly goes into Boots for one thing only to leave much later covered in make-up swatches, I really do enjoy finding new favourites. I was very excited when I discovered London based brand MYJ Beauty via their Instagram page, and even more so when a package arrived at my door with a selection of goodies for me to road test!

London Calling - Snow White and Skylines from Snapdragon Designs

I like my jewellery bright and bold, so completely fell in love with Snapdragon Designs the second I stumbled across them. Based in Kent, this husband and wife tag team create an incredible range of laser cut delights from both paper and perspex. With a whole selection of jewellery and greeting cards on show via their Folksy store, they combine intricate designs with a super kitsch cuteness.

With both city living and fairy tales at the core of their products, each item is filled with both whimsy and charm. They very kindly offered to send me a few pieces from their range to review, and what turned up certainly didn't disappoint - I audibly gasped with delight upon opening it.

London Cityscape Necklace - £20.

As someone who is very much a Londoner, there was no way I wasn't going to fall in love with this iconic skyline necklace. The London Cityscape captures a mixture of old and the new in black acrylic, and comes fastened on a silver plated, lead and nickel free chain. Every time I've worn this, someone has commented on it so it has proved to be a really excellent conversation starter! The London scene measures approximately 12.2cm across, and is the perfect size sitting across your chest.

Acrylic Snow White Ring Set - £12.

Who doesn't love a good fairy tale? This stunning Acrylic Snow White Ring Set will absolutely enchant you, with the set of three featuring a red apple, a black pick axe with lamp and of course, a golden crown. Designed so you can wear all together or individually, these stacking rings are laser cut and come in a choice of three sizes.

Both the necklace and rings have matching items within their collection, and Snapdragon Designs also feature other fairy tales including Alice In Wonderland, Cinderella and more. You can see it all in their Folksy shop here.

Until next time,

Diana xx

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www.fashionlovesphotos.com

(All photos (c) Diana Thompson / Fashion Loves Photos unless otherwise stated. Please do not reproduce without written permission.)

It's Beginning To Feel A Lot Like Christmas

I can't quite believe that the Christmas countdown has started - I am so excited! As Lord Dicely and I are heading off out of London a little early this year, my evenings this week has mostly been set aside to catch up with some of my favourite people. And of course - I've used every second of it to dress as close to human Christmas tree as possible!

I came across this horrific Christmas tree decoration, and instantly wanted to make into a hair clip for the festive season. The stem was hacked off and shortened to the same length as a curl clip and glued together so it could clip straight into my hair. I wore it to the Southbank Winter Festival earlier this week, and got so many compliments on it! Seems that everyone loves a good, tacky Christmas decoration!

Here's the full outfit in all it's tacky Christmas glory:

How amazing are the penguin leggings? I must have had cartoon style heart eyes when I first spied them in Primark, and teamed them with a Christmas Robin cardigan from last year's collection, a black Collectif dress and a vintage head scarf to keep me warm. Apologies for the terrible quality photos, but they were snapped just before we headed out!

If you've not had a chance to visit the Southbank's Winter Festival yet, it's worth a peek. The beautiful view of London all lit up is guaranteed to melt even the most Grinchiest of hearts, and with festive stalls filled with mulled wine and Christmas treats, it's a lovely place to meet with friends for a little festive cheer.

There's been a lot of baking going on in #TeamHylda towers too, with cakes for parties and cookies for friends ensuring our flat constantly smells like a Winter Wonderland. Whilst I'm no cake decorator, they certainly tasted yummy! I think our flat has broke our Christmas dinner record this year, squeezing in three "practice" dinners with all the trimmings since the beginning of November. Yep.

This is probably going to be my last post this side of Christmas, so I wanted to take this chance to wish everyone out there a lovely time with lots of fun, food and frivolity. ❤ I'll be sure to keep posting on my Instagram, so if you don't already follow me, head on over to stay in touch. 

Until next time,

Diana xx

Follow me on Instagram, Twitter, Tumblr, Bloglovin and Facebook.
www.fashionlovesphotos.com

(All photos (c) Diana Thompson / Fashion Loves Photos unless otherwise stated. Please do not reproduce without written permission.) 

Freeze Frame - A Mobile Photography Competition with Giff Gaff.

I'm never normally too far away from a camera, but have found myself using my phone more and more to capture those off-the-cuff moments when running from one destination to the next. As such, my Instagram feed is filled with lots of photos of London at it's finest so when I saw that GiffGaff were running a #nofilter photography competition, I thought I'd "give it a shot".

My entry is the image above - a shot taken on my phone as we pulled into Paddington station ahead of some almost apocalyptic storms which London experienced a few weeks ago. The sky was crazy, but utterly stunning and was definitely a scene which didn't need any sort of filter thrown on top.

The competition got me thinking about other images I've shot on my phone, so went through my feed and pulled out a few of my other favourites.


















In addition to those ones, here are a few images which have been taken on my phone but had a little tweak with the help of filters.











If you want to give the competition a go yourself, the rules can be found on the GiffGaff website here.

Until next time,

Diana xx

Follow me on Instagram, Twitter, Tumblr, Bloglovin and Facebook.
www.fashionlovesphotos.com

(All photos (c) Diana Thompson / Fashion Loves Photos unless otherwise stated. Please do not reproduce without written permission.)