the yorkshire soap company

A few weeks ago I visited my Grandma in West Yorkshire and had a day-trip to a little town called Hebden Bridge. I've never been before but have heard it's good for shopping, particularly for gifts. Unfortunately the town has been badly hit by flooding in recent months and a good proportion of the shops were closed for refurbishment. However there are still plenty of beautiful, unique gift shops and vintage boutiques. I was in heaven!

One of my favourite shops there was a little place called The Yorkshire Soap Company. Enticed by their amaaazing window display and the delicious smells, me, my Mum and my Grandma wandered in. My Grandma was a little confused, bless her, and thought for a minute we were in a cake shop. But you can see why!

They make a selection of soaps, bath bombs and other luxuries - all disguised as beautiful cakes and delicately wrapped making them perfect gifts. I couldn't leave the shop without buying something so I bought their Yorkshire Rose Soap Cupcake and a beautiful Bath Truffle (the smaller one). They're now taking pride of place in a little dish in our bathroom, I'm not sure if I'll ever have the heart to use them to be honest but they do smell amazing.

This is their website if you fancy a peek. I'll definitely think of them next time I need a present for a girly friend or relative and it might be a rather large order at Christmas! I often head to Lush for this kind of thing but I think these are just that bit more sophisticated.

P.S. Just thought I'd point out that I certainly haven't been asked by them to write this, it's all from the heart :)

haul: h&m, primark and new look

Cardigan, New Look, £22.99

Burgundy Trousers, H&M, £14.99

Cream Jumper, H&M, £12.99

Levi Shorts, Vintage, £20

Denim Shirt, H&M, £14.99

Key Necklace, New Look

Hat and Gloves, Primark

Bag, H&M, £29.99

I'm so pleased with this little shopping trip. You know when you have those days where you try hundreds of things on and ALL of it makes you feel fat/frumpy/just plain wrong. Well I certainly didn't have one of those days. Infact, I had to put quite a few things back that I just couldn't justify. I like to think most of the things I bought will be key pieces in my Autumn/Winter wardrobe. I basically gave in and purchased 4/5 of the items I put on my lust list the other week. H&M is so good at the moment! I'm totally in love with this bag too - it reminds me a little of the Alexander Wang Rocco, except obviously the studs are on the sides rather than the bottom. It might not sound like a lot of money to some of you but I haven't bought a handbag from anywhere other than Primark for a good while so parting with 30 of my hard earned pounds was a little painful but you get what you pay for and the quality and weight feels a lot nicer than Primark. How sad is that - can't wait for the day that designer handbags are the norm. <3

How cute is this hat and gloves? I often look abit daft in hats but I actually think this one suits me. I probably shouldn't say this but I'm quite looking forward to a bit of colder weather. A/W fashion is my favourite - layering, boots and snuggly hats - what's not to love?

And finally, I got some new (old) shorts. I did have about 5 pairs of denim shorts but I've lost some more weight and they're all hanging off me now so a new pair was desperately needed. I've been seeing vintage Levi shorts all over the place at the moment but was searching for the perfect pair. After trying a few pairs on in Ark to no avail, I bought these from a vintage shop in Sheffield but get this - in the changing rooms there were no mirrors! I didn't fancy parading around the shop in my tiny shorts so I just went off how they fitted. I felt like they fitted fine so I bought them and tried them on again at home. It was definitely a risk because the shop didn't do receipts so I couldn't have even returned them but it paid off and I love them. Reckon I'll be wearing them with opaque black tights now until next summer.

Sorry for the rambling - I do love talking about shopping :) Alex and I are off to York for three nights tomorrow so I'll be putting together a few outfits and I might do some OOTD posts.
Hope you're all enjoying the bank holiday weekend.

weekly ups and downs #6

dalmation outfit, new shorts, new disney pjs

bye-bye blonde, hello ombre, fotd

home-made chicken korma, chinese takeaway, favourite cookies

mannequin hands, new key necklace, can't wait to go back

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Ups

+ Bought lots of lovely new clothes this week - haul post coming soon.

+ I had a job interview for some casual work at my students union - I think it went well and I'll find out this week if I got it!

+ Feeling very excited for our 3 nights in a luxurious hotel in York this week. Outdoor pool, jacuzzi, steam room and a spa too - can't wait! Fingers crossed the sun will shine for a spot of swimming. 

+ I've been for 3 runs this week and feel like I'm slowly regaining my fitness. 

+ I can't decide if this is an up or a down but I go back to university 4 weeks tomorrow! I am getting a bit bored really so I'm looking forward to the social side but not the workload!

Downs

- Although I've been running a few times this week I still don't feel ready for my first 10k race next sunday!

- I need to really appreciate this week with Alex as from next Monday he'll be a 9-5 man! I know that's normal for a lot of people but having both been students and having had the whole summer off together I'm going to miss him just being around the house. 

I hope you're all enjoying your Bank Holiday weekends - we aren't doing anything special. I guess when you're unemployed/students it doesn't make much difference as every day is a day off! Not for long though!

just call me cruella

Top: Primark

Leggings: American Apparel High Shine Leggings

Shoes: Dorothy Perkins (old)

Apologies for the ridiculously cheesy smiles - Alex was taking the photos and he likes to make it his aim to make me look as silly as possible!

I wore this outfit for a trip to Meadowhall Shopping Centre yesterday. I've had this dalmatian top in my wardrobe for a few months now but hadn't got round to wearing it before. I think the brown/gold colour suits me more now my hair is dark. I ended up buying so much more than anticipated, including some lovely items for Autumn and most of the stuff I put on my H&M wishlist post the other day! I think I'll do a haul post later this afternoon - I'm procrastinating as I really should be preparing for a job interview tomorrow. It's just some part-time work at my universities union but I really want it so fingers crossed.