Chelsey Prentice

Yesterday the Poplar and Blackwall Rowing Club held 3 races, one of which was dedicated to my late grandad, so I joined some of my family to watch the races and spend the day together. It was an unexpectedly beautiful day which was really enjoyable. I helped my nan and uncle hand out prizes to the winners then we went for a meal in a local restaurant.

I wore a floral shirt dress from Zara (£40)  which was just about light enough for the warm weather. My loafers are from Linzi and my bag is from Forever 21

Last week me and my boyfriend went to our friends’ wedding reception in Tunbridge Wells. The venue was stunning and provided the perfect backdrop for the wedding. We arrived at 7pm but the sun was still shining so it would’ve been rude not to sip a Pimm’s and toast to the newly married couple.

I chose my outfit the weekend before as I originally planned to wear a grey jumpsuit from asos but I had to send it back as it was too baggy around the stomach area. (the joys of having a short torso) I popped into Topshop and picked up a loose, smart pair of grey trousers which are unbelievably comfortable and a mint green off the shoulder top.

My shoes were around £30 from Bershka and they are also really comfortable. We had a really fun evening, catching up with friends and attempting to dance. I do like a good wedding.

I’m not going to lie, sometimes compiling blog content can feel like a chore – especially when life is busy and I don’t have the chance to get a decent outfit photo. I’ll admit that I’ve been pretty lax with my blog recently. Blogging in general just isn’t what it used to be and now it’s mostly a popularity contest. I feel like there is too much gloss and not enough grit – the realness that makes bloggers so relatable. If I wanted gloss and glamour I’d read a fashion magazine but I feel that most of the successful bloggers look like they’ve stepped straight out of the pages.

I don’t want to sound critical but for me, that’s not what blogging is truly about. Of course it should be a labour of love and demonstrate that you have actually made an effort but I think it’s gone too far and the relatability factor is lost. I constantly feel pressured to take great quality photos, post regularly and look into shelling out money for a header and template to make my blog look ‘as good’ as everyone else’s. So much so that it isn’t really enjoyable anymore. I also have no interest in constantly analysing my stats because I’ll only be disappointed and I’m not exactly going to become the next Zoella. For me, blogging has always been just a hobby.

Does anyone else feel the same? How do you push on and carry on blogging? I’m hoping that when I have more free time next month that my blogging will pick up again but I do wonder when I’ll eventually stop blogging completely.

I do like a bit of contouring, even though it’s a bit passé now! I just love anything that makes my face look a bit slimmer and brings out my cheekbones so when I saw this sculpting product in boots I thought I’d give it a whirl.

To my disappointment, I couldn’t find the brush, which you have to buy separately anywhere so had to resort to using a brush from another palette which isn’t best suited to the job. I applied my usual foundation and concealer then followed the instructions included for each face shape working away, attempting to sculpt my round face. I didn’t use too much product Kim K style as I prefer a more subtle, natural look and I found the consistency to be slightly waxy so if you use too much it’ll just slide off anyway. Please excuse my ill looking, post foundation and concealer but pre bronzer face, scary!

I set it with some powder from Smashbox then applied my usual bronzing powder over the top on the areas where the sun naturally hits followed by eye make up etc. Below is the finished result and it has made a difference to my natural face.

I don’t use it too often but its good if you want to give your contouring and highlighting a slight boost. I would just make sure you use a decent powder to set it so it stays on and also the correct tools to apply it such as a contouring brush.

Last Sunday to escape London I jumped on the c2c for an hour to Thorpe Bay to meet my mum and her partner as they had been to a party there the night before. We are hoping to move to that area in the summer so it was a good opportunity to explore. Despite growing up in London, I am drawn to beaches and water so I felt quite relaxed walking along the seafront, even if the wind did play havoc with my hair!

It was a bright, sunny day which helped and lots of people were out; walking, running and riding bikes. We then walked around some of the streets which were much cleaner and quieter than where I live in London and finally enjoyed a late Sunday lunch in a traditional country pub called The Angel Inn, which structurally, dates back to 1650.

Moving there will probably be a big adjustment but I am looking forward to getting away from the stress and crowds of London and starting a new life.

Yesterday marked the day that me and my boyfriend have put up with each other for a whole six years! (I can’t believe it either) I love any excuse to wear a half decent outfit and eat nice food so we decided to try CAU at St Katherine Docks for a change. It’s an Argentinian restaurant with really tasty, quality food but a laid-back vibe and the staff were really friendly and chatty. We were sat by the window and here is our lovely view below.

I went for the Sirloin steak with skinny fries and a CAU cooler to wash it down with and the other half tried an Argentinian roast dinner, complete with onion rings.

For dessert I fancied something light so I tried grilled pineapple with rum caramel and coconut ice cream which was delicious and very summery.

As the weather was pleasant during the day I wore a pastel blue skirt from H&M with a lace shirt from Primark and a yellow jacket from Zara which you can see in one of my previous posts. I would definitely visit CAU again, maybe during the summer and try some of the small plates and a cocktail or two.

Afternoon tea has become one of my favourite ways to spend an afternoon which is surprising for someone who doesn’t actually like sandwiches! But then again, I do love cake. I’ve wanted to combine my love of cake and fashion and try the Prêt-à-Portea at The Berkley, which is based on designer collections from the current season for a while now and it certainly didn’t disappoint.

Everything was pretty tasty but my favourites were the salted caramel eclair inspired by Simone Rocha’s collection and the iced biscuits based on pieces by Fendi and Dolce & Gabbana. Unfortunately, the Caramel Room where the tea is usually held was being refurbished so we had our tea in Kauffman’s but it was still a quiet, chilled atmosphere and a pleasant experience.

This year is whizzing by and it’s already Easter but I can’t complain as I love time off work and chocolate! I haven’t been able to lie in for the past two days though which is so frustrating as I love my sleep but I just know when I have to get up for work on Tuesday that I’ll suddenly have no problems falling back to sleep. It’s always the way.

I’ve spent 6 days in my new job so far and it’s going pretty well. (I hope so anyway) The people are really nice but I still feel like I don’t have a clue what I’m doing and I think it’s going to take a while to all click into place. I’ll always struggle with early mornings so that’s nothing new but I do feel better mentally now I have purpose. I’ve also started weaning myself off my anti seizure medication and if all goes well I should be off it completely by mid May. I still don’t have any desire to drink alcohol though, probably because it gives me headaches and affects my precious sleep. I think I’ll just save booze for special occasions or when I really fancy a drink, like a cold Pimm’s on a hot summer’s day which I love.

Today I went to The Royal China at Canary Wharf with my boyfriend for a pre anniversary lunch. It’s not our anniversary until next sunday but I will use any excuse to stuff my face. Here I am (above) attempting to pretend that I’m trying to eat a giant Easter egg, as you do.

I plan to relax round my boyfriend’s tomorrow after hitting the gym to try and burn off all the food I ate today then I’m going for afternoon tea on Monday with my mum and her friend. I hope you all have a lovely Easter and long weekend.

Last week I went for my first job interview in years and I actually managed to get the job! The role is for a charity so less corporate than my previous jobs and places that I’ve interviewed at in the past but I still wanted to look smart. Zara is great for stylish work appropriate pieces that stand the test of time so I turned to my trusty grey zip pencil skirt that I’ve had for about 6 years and threw on a boucle jacket (both from Zara) over a pussybow shirt from Dorothy Perkins. My loafers were from Linzi which is one of my favourite places for reasonably priced but decent quality shoes.

The interview was quite informal, the contract is for 3 months and the team seem really nice but I’m still very nervous about starting a new job after being out of work for nearly 9 months. I suffer from fear of the unknown and I’m really hoping that I’ll be able to get the hang of things quite quickly and that it won’t trigger bad head pains. It’s certainly going to be a shock to the system for the first week or so!

I am often inspired by other bloggers and the way they put outfits together. They sometimes remind me of long forgotten pieces that I have in my wardrobe and that I can revive by wearing them with something that I wouldn’t usually put them with. This outfit was inspired by a recent blog post by Georgia Hathaway as it reminded me that I had a pair of skinny monochrome gingham trousers that I bought from primark last year. She wore a similar pair from Zara with a polo neck top, leather jacket and nike trainers which made me see a pair of trousers that I’d always worn for work with brogues and a blazer, in a more causal light.

Obviously, with my quite slim but stumpy apple shaped body I look like an oompa loompa in comparison to Georgia with her model’s physique but it pushed me out of my style comfort zone and got my creative juices flowing. I plan to do a few more ‘inspired by…’ posts like these in the future.

I’m just chuffed that I managed to fit into these size 8 Primark trousers but they were so tight that the button left a mark on my stomach for a few hours after taking them off! I made the look sightly sportier with a bomber jacket from Stradavarius and my Nike Air Force Ones. My chunky polo knit is an oldie from Gap which I’ve had for about 8 years. It shows that you can create a new and different look from items that you already have in your wardrobe without the need to go shopping.