Posts tagged Entry
Travel Bucket List
8When I hit my 20s I decided to create a bucket list, and though I’ve managed to tick a few things off over the last few years, my list is still growing. Quite a few of the things on my list involve travel, and though I’m not yet very well travelled, I’ve been lucky enough to tick a couple of them off fairly recently, albeit the ones that are close to home. In 2013 My fiancé and I flew to Dublin for a fun-packed mini break, and last year we went to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival – something I’d been wanting to do for years. However, I’m still saving up to go on my three big bucket list holidays, so I thought I’d share them with you today.
(Copyright Naomi Willett, 2012)
1. Ontario, Canada
When he was young my dad lived in Ontario in Canada, and his stories of the hot summers and snowy winters of his childhood have had me longing to visit there for years. I’m a sucker for a beautiful landscape, and from what I hear Ontario has an abundance of them, especially during Autumn, when the rust coloured trees transform the mountainsides into glowing dunes. I’m a keen photographer and hope one day to hike through Canadian woods, and take a boat trip over Ontario’s lakes, so that I can photograph the natural beauty of the land.
I’d also like to visit Toronto whilst I’m there, as I’m not averse to the bustling city vibe either. I can just picture myself grabbing some poutine from a little independent café, before wandering the streets and browsing shops full of books and trinkets, before stopping for dinner in Hogtown Vegan, a fab little vegan restaurant that I’ve heard nothing but good things about.
2. Pennsylvania, USA
California, Florida and New York tend to be the American holiday destinations of choice for most people, but I feel more drawn to Pennsylvania. As well as Ontario, my dad spent some of his childhood in Pennsylvania, so one day I want to take a trip there to see where he grew up. I’d love to stay for a while, and treat the state more as a home than a holiday spot, blending in rather than doing the tourist thing, so that I can really get a feel for what life is like for the people who live there. I want to visit all the spots that my dad has told me about, and eat the food he used to eat. I’d also like to go to some NFL games, as my fiancé is a big NFL fan. It would be great if we could see his team (Minnesota Vikings) playing my team (Philadelphia Eagles)!
3. Oslo, Norway
Last but certainly not least is my ultimate bucket list travel destination, and that’s Norway. Or any Scandinavian country for that matter. Ever since I was a toddler I’ve been fascinated by space, and one thing that’s always intrigued me is the Northern Lights. Every time I see a photograph of clear night skies lit up with smudges of green, pink, purple and blue, like an oil painting, my heart skips a beat at the sheer, phenomenal beauty of it. It’s been a dream of mine for a long time to stay in a humble log cabin, in the snow, under the stars, next to a roaring fire, under a blanket with my fiancé, eating toast and watching as the magic of the sky dances above us. It would be amazing. Truly amazing.
Visiting Norway would also be a great opportunity to pack in some action, and create lifelong memories with activities like husky sledding, snowmobiling, reindeer spotting, and trekking through vast forests. Imagine the stunning photographs that I could take!
This post is my entry into Transun‘s #TransunLights Blogger Competition, and the prize is to win a trip for two to see the Northern Lights. Winning would help me tick a trip off my bucket list, which would be incredible, so I’m keeping everything crossed!
What destinations are on your travel bucket list?
Naomi x
Phase Eight Wedding Guest Outfit Competition Entry
9I was recently contacted by Phase Eight about their Blogger Wedding Guest Outfit Competition. The aim of the competition is to browse the Phase Eight website and put together an outfit fit for a fabulous wedding guest, using your favourite pieces from the site, and the lucky winner will win a £250 Phase Eight voucher! I always love a styling challenge so I jumped at the chance of creating a wedding look, and I had a lot of fun doing so. I decided to choose an outfit that I would wear myself, which would be suitable for all weathers, and here is what I went for…
Shop this look:
– Katrina Crush Dress (£99.00) – Madeline Shrug (£35.00) – Hope Bow Platform Peep Toe Shoes (£99.00) – Organza Rose Hair Clip (£25.00) – Hope Bow Clutch Bag (£49.00) –
Total: £307.00
The main reason I chose these individual pieces was for their textures. The crinkle effect of the dress combined with the feather shrug and satin and organza accessories is unusual, but that’s what I love about it. After all, everyone wants to stand out from the crowd! The fabrics are all so beautifully feminine too, which would really make you feel wonderful on a loved one’s special day.
I chose purple as the main colour as it’s my favourite colour and one which I’m told suits me well. It’s one of this year’s popular wedding colours as well, apparently, so it’s also bang on trend. I think the pale pink/shell accenting accessories add a soft, demure element to the boldness of the purple, as befits a wedding scenario. They’re all incredibly elegant, especially the shoes which I absolutely adore. The hair clip would look amazing with a side swept hair style too.
The Madeline Shrug I included is absolutely gorgeous and one of the highlights of the outfit – I think it adds a vintage-inspired glamorous touch to the look. It’s also a versatile piece, as it can be removed if the weather’s warm or during the evening reception, or snuggled into if it’s a rainy day or there’s an evening chill.
Overall, I love this outfit as the colours and textures are stunning and the whole look is just so chic. What do you think?
Naomi x
House of Fraser Blogger Style Challenge
0Yesterday morning I was told about the new Blogger Style Challenge by House of Fraser. The challenge is to browse the House of Fraser website and put together a look using their new arrivals, which incorporates next season’s trends. The lucky winner will receive £200 worth of House of Fraser vouchers, so I wasn’t going to pass up my chance of entering! The official rules for the challenge are as follows:
Step 1: Head over to www.houseoffraser.co.uk and pick your favourite new season pieces.
Step 2: Put together your look and post it on your blog. Tell us what you love about the pieces you’ve picked and where you would wear them.
Step 3: Leave a comment below with a link to your post so we can take a look.
Step 4: Check back to see if we choose you as our favourite!
I really enjoy doing posts like this (who doesn’t love a bit of window shopping?) so I didn’t waste any time in putting my look together. A little bit of research revealed that, this Autumn and Winter, purple, Goth, leather and mini bags will all be very popular, and for me this is very good news! Purple is my favourite colour and I’ve always had a slightly dark/Goth side (someone once described me as a cross between Marilyn Manson and Bambi, which is apparently a compliment), so I had no trouble putting together an on-trend outfit that I would love to wear myself. This is what I came up with…
— Whistles Naomi Leather Jacket — East Pintuck Detail Ggt Blouse — Victoria Beckham Power Skinny Jeans in ‘Berry’ — Bertie Prang Biker Boots — Jacques Vert Grape Tailored Clutch Bag — Azendi 8mm Sterling Silver Purple Cubic Zirconia Slider — Guerlain Rouge Lipstick in ‘Gigolo’ — Clarins Kohl Eye Pencil —
I’m really into purple skinny jeans at the minute, and since purple will be big this Autumn/Winter, I thought this would be a good starting point. Luckily, House of Fraser are stocking newly arrived Victoria Beckham Skinny Jeans in the stunning shade of ‘Berry’. I then teamed the jeans with a long-sleeved, floaty black blouse. The layered, flowing fabric is reminiscent of the feminine Gothic clothing that I’ve been seeing on the catwalk, so it seemed like a great choice.
When I saw the zipped, strapped and buckled boots and jacket, I knew they were perfect for my outfit. Not only do they follow the leather trend, but they instantly reminded me of the protagonist of my favourite Gothic love story, Edward Scissorhands. The jacket also shares my name, so I just had to include it!
To carry the purple theme through, I went for deep purple accessories – the Azendi necklace and the Jacques Vert Clutch Bag. The bag picks up on next season’s trend for mini bags as well.
Finally, the make up… To match the accessories and to give a further vampy, Gothic edge, I chose a dark purple lipstick by Guerlain that I have now fallen in love with. If I win the £200 vouchers, it will definitely be on my ‘to buy’ list! The Clarins Kohl Eye Pencil is the final Gothic touch, for dark, smoky-eyes.
I hope you like my final look! I would happily wear this casually in the day whilst out and about, and then in the evening with the necklace and clutch to a bar or for a meal with friends. What’s better than an outfit than can be carried from day into night?
Naomi x
Sinfused Clothing Giveaway WINNERS!
2Hi everyone!
The time has come for me to announce the TWO lucky winners of my Sinfused Clothing Giveaway. The giveaway ended last night and the winners were chosen at random earlier today. And the moment you’ve all been waiting for, the winners are…
BeautyNTheBrains
and
discodollhouse
Congratulations ladies! You have won a rhinestone tee of your choice from Sinfused Clothing. Please can you visit the Sinfused website to choose your tee, then once you have decided, email me at [email protected] with your choice of prize (including the size that you would like) and your postal address I will then pass your details on to Sinfused, who will ship your prize out to you as soon as possible.
Thank you very much to everyone who entered! I will hopefully be hosting another giveaway very soon, so keep an eye out for that.
Naomi x
My First Giveaway! – CLOSED
46Hello everyone!
Today I hit the big 100 subscribers with Bewitchery so it is finally time for me to launch my first ever giveaway! Thank you to everyone who follows my blog… I really do find it amazing that so many of you read and enjoy what I write The prize is small and humble (just like my wage haha), but I hope you like the look of it and will enjoy trying to win it. As I am an Avon Representative, this first giveaway is Avon themed. This is what you can win…
- NEW Colortrend State Of Mind Lip Gloss in ‘Romantic’ – a delicate opal gloss with a hint of pink shimmer.
- NEW Colortrend State Of Mind Nail Enamel in ‘Romantic’ – a lovely pearly pink polish which is almost a dupe of Models Own ‘Pearly Queen’!
- Planet Spa Japanese Sake and Rice Facial Duo.
- Outspoken Intense by Fergie fragrance vial.
- NEW VIVA by Fergie fragrance vial.
- And a small bag of Haribo sweets thrown in for good measure!
The giveaway is open internationally, so anybody can enter! New and old subscribers can enter too, so if you’re not yet following, you can still enter once you’ve done everything to gain your entries! So how do you enter? Well, here are the rules…
- You must be a Bewitchery subscriber to enter. If you are a WordPress member, just hit the ‘Follow’ button, but if you’re not you can enter your email address to the right of the page and follow that way (Comment with the name of the account you used to subscribe – +1 entry).
- Follow via Bloglovin’ (Comment with your Bloglovin’ name – +1 entry).
- Follow me on Twitter. My username is @Bewitchery_, then Tweet about my giveaway, saying “There is an Avon giveaway happening over at @Bewitchery_! Visit http://bewitchery.wordpress.com/2012/05/10/my-first-giveaway/ to enter!” (Comment with your Twitter username – +2 entries).
- ‘Like’ me on Facebook here, and leave a message on my wall! (Comment with your Facebook name – +2 entries).
- Put a link to my giveaway in the sidebar of your blog. (Comment with a link to your blog – +1 entry).
- Blog about my giveaway and link back to this post. (Comment with a link to your blog post – +3 entries).
That’s a potential 10 entries per person! Once you’ve done everything you can to earn your entries, comment below with your proof of each entry and an email address for me to contact you on if you win Also, to make the comments a little bit more interesting, please give me a nail art idea to try out
The giveaway will run for 30 days and close on the 9th of June. I will announce the winner a day or two after that. Thanks again everyone and good luck!
Naomi x