Girl In The Pretty Dress

I grew up in a part of England that constantly comes alive with quirky traditions. Yanks Weekend is one such tradition. I'm not sure it can be explained all that succinctly but I'll try... In 1979 Richard Gere made a movie called 'Yanks'. It was about a group of American soldiers stationed in Britain and was set in the English countryside. The little villages (where I grew up) played a starring role in the film and for the last 16 years this fact has been marked with a 2-day celebration. For one weekend a year we step back in time to the 1940s. There are fairs, aerial displays and parades through the streets. A lot of people get into the spirit of things by dressing up vintage style - and there's an awful lot of swing dancing. Last year was one of the best and busiest yet - and the first time I've been able to experience it for quite a while so I thought I'd give you all a little taste. You can find out more about this brilliant and bizarre event here a...

*Update: A/W '16 Pop Up Shop dates for your diary can now be found here .   Summer's arrived... how did that happen so quickly?! Time seems to be flying by. I've been very aware lately that my poor blog has been a bit neglected this year (I blame the small fluffy one!) but I'm hoping to turn that around a bit now. Several (oops) weeks ago I went to the TallGirls.co.uk pop up shop in Warrington. I wasn't sure what to expect, I'd heard a bit about the brand but I'd never yet seen the clothes on my favourite tall blogs and no one I know had ever purchased from the site. So it was a bit of a shopping adventure into the unknown... I'd also never attended a pop up shop before and wasn't sure what to expect from the experience. While not everything was my personal style, the selection was huge and catered to so many different tastes. I spent hours trekking to and from the changing rooms trying on different things. In the end though I behaved myself...

Quarry Bank Mill has fascinated me for a while. It's the most beautiful setting, but sadly it has a very dark past. It's story was recently told across two series of a Channel 4 drama called 'The Mill' - and it didn't always make for pleasant viewing. Filming of the drama took place at the mill itself - making it all the more realistic. On a Summer's day it's hard to imagine how tough life must have been for the occupants. The grounds have been transformed by the National Trust into stunning gardens which were a riot of colour during our visit. The nearby woodland and village of Styal are equally charming. Cali and I spent many happy hours exploring it all...

Yesterday, Cali and I ventured to Harewood House to sample the delights of their food festival. Cali had such a great time and we've both decided we'd like to move in - she has expensive taste! (Having Cali is somewhat like I imagine having a child would be - she's into everything and very sociable. I've started walking her on a harness so I don't lose her!) I'm not going to waffle on with this post because Cali and I are heading out for our next big adventure today and we can't wait to make the most of the bank holiday sunshine! Details of the food festival here . It runs today and tomorrow. Entry is £10 (seems a little steep but you do get access to the gardens and grounds included in that.) Dress: Tallgirls.co.uk (bought from their pop-up shop and seemingly not available online) Shoes: Primark Sunglasses: F&F Don't knock it until you've tried it!

The by-line for this blog has always been 'Country Chick, City Chic' - I came up with this because half of the time I can never decide what I like best. Recently it's a dilemma that's affected more than just my wardrobe - but more on that later. This post is most definitely for the the country bumpkins out there. I've rounded up 10 of my favourite checked pieces. It's a trend that I adore. It's cute without being too young and has a fresh, clean summery feel to it. I always associate this style of fabric with summer picnics. Sadly the weather in the UK is nowhere near warm enough for any of these items - but a girl can daydream right? 1st Row Dress: Whistles / Dress: ASOS / Top: Warehouse 2nd Row Dress: ChicWish / Crop Top & Skirt Set: ChicWish / Shirt Dress: Oasis 3rd Row Dress: ASOS Tall / Shirt: Lee / Shorts: Mango / Dress: ASOS

Truth be told, I'm not the richest of girls, and those of us who know what it's like to count the pennies know that sometimes the real deal isn't necessary - imitation will do just fine. For that reason I own very little in the way of precious metals or stones. Almost all of my jewellery is costume jewellery. There are 3 brands I absolutely adore for their unique items and I thought I'd share them with you today. The first is Orelia - a brand I discovered in Topshop stores, but which is also stocked by ASOS . (I'm a bit obesessed with it as you can probably tell from the many photos below.) Their pieces tend to be dainty and delicate, there's something very lady-like about them. The second is Handmade by Emma . I met Emma at the Castlefield Market last Summer and she made me the silver diamond-shaped necklace below in the space of about 5 minutes. What I love about her designs is that they are all designed to work as single pieces or can be combined in ...