What I've Been Wearing Lately | A Busy Weekend

Dipped Hem Top - Cotton On

Leggings - H&M

Wedges - Matalan

Necklace - Diva

Cuff - Next

Peplum Top - River Island

Body Con Skirt - H&M

Wedges - Same as Above

Bag - Oasis

Belt - Missguided

Necklace - Dotti

Skater Dress - Cotton On

Blazer - H&M

Ankle Boots - Dotti

Necklace -  Australian Jewellery Shop

Aztec Dress - Missguided

Blazer - H&M

Ankle Boots - Same as Above

Necklace - Same as Above

Hey Guys! So you may have noticed that I have only blogged once in the past five days which for me is not a lot. I usually try blogging every other day or every two days at least to keep you all constantly updated with new posts. However, on Friday my friend Camille from the UK arrived in Australia so its safe to say it has been none stop. She decided to come to Australia and see me as she is going to her friends wedding in Bali which is on the way to Oz anyway so it made sense to do both. It was so lovely to see her as I haven't seen any of my family or friends in England for the past five months. My boyfriend and I drove down to Brisbane on Friday to meet her and we stayed in a gorgeous hotel with an amazing view on Friday and Saturday night. We had an absolute blast both nights eating nice meals, going on a boat ride, swimming in South Bank, sipping on wine and partying in swishy night clubs. We also had the funniest experience ever which involved a man riding a bike while we sat in a seat on the back. Apparently its the done thing in Oz to ride in these taxi/bike things but I had never seen them before. The guy who was riding us back to our hotel was slightly nuts too so at one point he was going faster than the cars around us. He was even blasting out a bit of Jay Z which made the whole situation even funnier. 

The first two outfits I have included above are what I wore for the two nights we spent in Brisbane. On the first night we went for a meal and drinks over at South Bank so I wore this dipped hem top with leggings. I absolutely love the top as it was comfortable to wear and looked dressy without being too OTT. On the second night I wore this gorgeous River Island peplum top paired with a body con skirt as we were going out to a night club and I wanted to look a bit more glammed up. Again, I loved the top and found the style very flattering on my curvy figure. Both nights I wore my tan wedges from Matalan as they are the comfiest shoes ever. They were cheap as chips and I have worn them over and over again. Yay for Matalan!

On Sunday we got up early, checked out of our hotel and set off on the drive back to my dads house which is in a town around 3 hours away from Brisbane. On our way home we stopped at a gorgeous place called Noosa for some lunch and a stroll along the beautiful beach. We then drove back to my dads house for a BBQ and drinks. We had a chilled night chatting and watching Aussie X Factor which was amazing by the way. I seriously urge all of you to Youtube Josh Brookes audition as UNREAL is not even the word for that guy. 

On Monday we had another day of chilling after our busy Brisbane weekend and then headed down to Hervey Bay in the evening which is a Queensland tourist destination with an amazing beach, bars and restaurants. We stayed down there for two nights and again had an amazing time. On Monday night we went out for a meal and drinks so I wore this cute floral skater dress with my ankle boots. I wasn't sure how they'd look together as first but my boyfriend assured me it looked nice. I think this outfit will look great in the winter too paired with black tights. 

Yesterday was Camille's last day here so we had a fun day riding down Hervey Bay esplanade on a three seater bike, sunbathing and swimming in the sea. We decided to have an early meal and a couple of drinks last night as Camille's flight to Bali was very early this morning. We went to an Australian cuisine restaurant and we all tried Kangaroo. I was pretty amazed at myself as I'm not very adventurous when it comes to food and I actually really enjoyed it. I wore this aztec dress to dinner and again paired it with my ankle boots. This is probably my favourite outfit as I am slightly obsessed with anything aztec and love this white H&M blazer. I always feel very Kim K when I wear it for some reason.

Overall, we have a brilliant five days and managed to squeeze a lot of fun things into such a short space of time. I realise this post is both picture and word heavy but I wanted to do one big post showing you all the outfits I have been wearing instead of four separate ones. I'm glad I can return to my usual blogging habits now too as I have actually missed it these past few days. Does that make me really sad? 8).

I hope you are all well and had an excellent weekend. Which is your favourite outfit?

Lots of Love,

Summer Must-Haves

Swimsuit - All Saints, Sunglasses - Ray Bans, Orange Sandals - Michael Kors, Maxi Dress - Topshop, Playsuit - Republic, Oversized tee - Celeb Boutique, Denim Shorts - Miss Selfridge, Bangles - Miss Selfridge, Wedges - Debenhams, Lace Skater Dress - River Island, Fringe Bag - River Island,  Floral crop-top - Topshop

Hi Guys! I just wanted to share with my very first Polyvore creation with you all. I've seen these wonderful clothing collages on lots of my favourite blogs but I never had any idea how to make one myself. I decided I would take to Twitter to see if anyone could help. Thankfully, lots of lovely bloggers offered their advice and I found Polyvore. Have I been living under a rock? How did I not know about this wonderful website? Anyway, I can already tell I'm going to love making these collages and this is my very first one called 'Summer Must-Haves'. My name on Polyvore is 'kayleighcouture' if any of you use it. The reason I did this is because I'm going to Australia next week and I have constantly been thinking about clothes I need to take and items I consider 'essentials'. Now of course I don't mean they essentials like food and water, but they are essentials for a girl like me and I'm sure many of you, who love clothes. I am going to go through each item and tell you why I think its a 'must-have' for my summer wardrobe.

Swimsuit - I absolutely love these kind of swimsuits. I think they are very flattering, edgy and make a nice alternative to a standard bikini.

Sunglasses - If only I had the money going spare to afford these beautiful Ray-Bans. I adore this style of glasses and I think they complete any summer outfit. Oh, and they keep the sun out of your eyes of course. Sensible and all that.

Sandals - We all need a nice pair of sandals in the summer don't we? I think these are amazing but again, out of my price range. They are Michael Kors but you can find cheaper high-street alternatives. I actually have a black pair which are very similar from matalan. 

Maxi Dress - For me, maxi dresses are an essential summer item. I own a fair few now and I just love them. They are so easy to throw on and look instantly stylish. This one from Topshop is gorgeous and can be dressed up or down.

Playsuit - Isn't this the cutest playsuit ever? Playsuits are much like maxi dresses for me. Easy to throw on and effortlessly stylish. A summer staple. I totally love the aztec/tribal print of this one from Republic and it would look perfect on a hot summer day.

Oversized tee - Again, tops like this are so easy to throw on in the summer and look great with denim shorts. I own a variety of printed tops and I especially love the aztec print on this one from Celeb Boutique.

Denim Shorts - I think denim shorts are the biggest 'must-have' summer item for me. They go with literally anything and can be dressed up or down. I love this cute high-waisted pair from  Topshop with the tribal print. Can you tell I love tribal/Aztec prints yet? A classic summer item.

Bangles - When it comes to accessories, nothing says summer more than a selection of chunky bangles. I have many gold/wood style bangles like these Miss Selfridge ones as the colours go with any outfit.

Wedges - Again, a classic summer item. For me, it's all about the tan wedges in summer and I love these ones from Debenhams. I know I keep saying this but they can be dressed up or down and are a really versatile item to have in your summer wardrobe. I have some very similar to these and I wear them all the time in the summer months.

Skater Dress - I absolutely love skater style dresses as I find them really flattering on my figure. They cinch you in at the waist and look pretty and girly. I love this pastel blue one from River Island and I think this would be perfect for a summer BBQ or beer garden.

Fringe Bag - Fringing, what can I say? I love it. When it comes to summer, I love anything fringed. Don't ask me why but I think it screams summer. I love this tan bag from River Island and the colour will go with anything and it will glam up any summer outfit.

Crop-Top - I love these style crop-tops in the summer time. I own one quite similar to this from Topshop last year. It seems they have continued the trend this year and brought out a few more colours and styles. I love how these look with high-waisted shorts and body-con skirts. Perfect for a night out with the girls.

Anyway, that's enough from me. If you managed to read all of this mammoth post, congrats! I hope it didn't bore you too much. 

What are you summer essentials? Is there any more 'must-haves' you can recommend for my trip to Oz?

Lots of Love,

My New Favourite Dress - Republic Aztec Maxi

Hey Lovelies. While I was at home last week, I was trawling through every clothing website going in the hope of finding some lovely new summer items to spice up my drab winter wardrobe. As you all probably know by now, I go to Australia next month so this has made me want to buy summery clothes even more than I already did. Whilst looking on the Republic website, this Crafted Mullet Maxi Dress really caught my eye. It is short and the front and gradually gets longer at the back. It has cute rope straps that cross over at the back, with a matching rope belt around the waist. I have seen a lot of dresses/skirts in this style at the moment and I think it is such a pretty trend. I am also a huge fan of Aztec/Tribal print so throw the two together and it's a must-have in my Summer wardrobe.

Anyway, I hesitated for a while as I am massively skint but as soon as I clicked off the website, I couldn't stop thinking about it and kept toying with the idea of buying it. I always try and justify my spends so I kept telling myself 'just get it, it will look perfect in Oz'. I dithered around for a few more days and when I returned to Newcastle I showed my boyfriend it to get his opinion. Straight away, he said he loved it and that he'd buy me it. I was over the moon as it was a very unexpected treat. Obviously, I jumped at the chance and popped the dress into my online shopping bag with no hesitation. To be honest, I know I would of bought it no matter what, but not having to spend my own money on it was a brucey bonus.

The dress arrived today, three days after ordering, which was pretty quick. When I opened the parcel it was love at first sight and before I even tried it on, I knew it was going to fit and look absolutely lovely. I am so glad I ordered this dress, it is gorgeous. I'm a huge fan of maxi dresses as they are easy to throw on and create the perfect summer look. I believe you can look effortlessly stylish in a maxi dress. Plus, they can be dressed up or down which is an added bonus. I love items that are versatile and maxi dresses are definitely one of them items. In the pictures above, I quickly threw on my New Look tan wedges which I think work well for a casual look. I would pair it with sandals and some chunky wooden bangles for day wear. For an evening look, I would swap the black rope belt for a thin tan waist belt and my super high tan Kurt Geiger heels. Jewellery wise, I would probably go for gold bangles and a chunky ring. I can think of so many ways I would wear this and I'm sure it will feature in plenty of OOTD and OOTN posts while I'm in Australia.

This dress cost £36.00 which I think is very reasonable for a dress I know I will get a lot of wear out of. It is still available of the Republic website here if any of you love it as much as I do and would like to snap it up. I would love to get another dress and a skirt in this style before I go away. I have my eye on a few from River Island and Missguided and It is definitely a trend I can see myself wearing a lot in the summer months.

Do you like this new take on a maxi dress? Do you have your eye on anything similair?

Also, I have just put a few things on my Ebay page so if any of you are interested, feel free to have a look here.

I hope everyone is having a lovely Thursday. I've come down with a horrible cold so Im going to snuggle on the sofa watching Mary's Bottom Line and Celebrity Juice with a cup of tea. On a brighter note, I won a Missguided dress on Twitter today. I never win anything so it was a lovely surprise when they tweeted me saying I'd won their style comp. 

Lots of Love,