Summer in London oscillates between two extremes - the desperately hot, picnic-lunch, sweaty-Tube days, where people eat outside and make exclamations about how lovely/awful the weather is; or the cold, windy, dreary "summer" days, where people spend as little time as possible outdoors and make exclamations about how awful the weather is for June.
Right now we're experiencing a delightful mix of the two in which the mornings are absolutely freezing and the afternoons are scorching and deserving of an ice cream or two. I'm struggling with appropriate clothing for such weather, piling on layer after layer, then peeling them off as the day progresses. So when House of Fraser contacted me to see if I would be interested in styling up this spring jumper from Linea Weekend, I instantly began plotting how well this would fit into my current wardrobe!

To those of you who live in warmer, sunnier climes, a jumper in June may sound ludicrous but trust me it's not. This jumper, with its ladder insert and short sleeves, is practically perfect for chilly mornings or cooler evenings when the Pimms has been drunk and you're left reclining on the grass as the sun fades away. It was around this time six years ago that Jon and I got together over a late night barbecue, during which we drank Bacardi Breezers, debated the merits of Britney Spears' music, and Jon offered me his jacket to keep me warm. Just think, that touching gesture may never have occurred, had I only thought to keep a few summer knits on hand!

I chose to style it with a simple lace vest, my favourite warm-weather trousers (comfy as PJs, work appropriate, and covered in a pony print - perfection!) and my new sandals from New Look. A few choice pieces of jewellery, topped off by a flower crown for a touch of whimsy, and I was off, prancing around the field like the horses adorning my trousers.

I quite like the contrasts this outfit presents, with the cosy jumper offset by the flowers and sandals. Perfectly suitable for our unpredictable UK summers! I also adore the hazy sunny evenings we've been having lately - here's hoping they stick around for a bit! How are you styling yourself through this transitional weather?

Love Dani
xoxo


*this post contains an item sent for review

I can be a little bit of a geek sometimes. It's true - whilst I may be terribly confused by some aspects of the tech industry and still get headaches from HTML, I'm the go-to girl in our office for solving minor IT problems and I can natter about photography until the cows come home (quite literally - my hometown is a farming village and they used to walk the cows past our house every morning and evening... but I digress).

A quick sweep of our flat reveals an alarming number of gadgets and gizmos (aplenty, I got whosits and whatsits galore...) and I am often found waxing lyrical about my iPhone, so let's have a sit down and chat about our favourite tech bits!

Laptop
This was such an impulse purchase - as in, we literally went to buy some chocolate and ended up coming home with a laptop. In all fairness, we were in need of one (my old laptop needs to be plugged in to the modem, a keyboard and the charger at all times, so it's essentially a desktop...) and as we were shopping in Luxembourg the exchange rate meant we'd be saving about £150. It's such a luxury to be able to blog and watch Netflix in bed again, you cannot believe...not to mention having a working keyboard, albeit a French one!

Camera
I saved for months to get my Canon 1100d and eventually splurged in duty free! I've since added two prime lenses to my collection and I've become one of those people who trawls photography blogs for more advice and new releases! I've still got so much to learn but my camera is one of my most precious possessions, for sure!

External hard drive
Following on from the above... I take a lot of photos these days, and with such a dodgy old laptop I'm forever backing them up! This external hard drive is a lifesaver - it holds so much, I've not even used a tiny percentage of it yet! A must have for anyone with heaps of data like me.

Earphones*
I can't be the only person who abandons Apple earphones as soon as I receive them, keeping them only as a camera remote. Right? I much prefer little earbuds so I don't have to share yet another rendition of Let It Go with everyone on my commute (er, I mean, I don't listen to Disney music on my commute). These owl and flower earphones from Hawkin's Bazaar are just adorable and the beautiful bright colours instantly put me in a good mood! The sound quality is great too, and best of all, no one else can hear my morning playlist (there is literally nothing more uplifting than I'll Make A Man Out Of You, is there?)

Selfie stick*
My first selfie stick experience resulted in my mum's brand new iPhone 6 taking a nosedive next to the Bridge of Sighs in Cambridge ... thankfully this is a much sturdier contraption! It arrived just in time for a trip to the Harry Potter Studio Tour and my friends and I found it such a lifesaver for getting our must-have group selfies! It's a long way off yet (4 months and counting) but this is also going to be perfect for our honeymoon selfies as we mooch around Disney. I also think it would make the perfect gift, I'll probably be buying my mum one to replace the one that died in Cambridge... you can find them in the gadgets for men/women section on Hawkin's Bazaar!

iPhone 5S
Yep, I have to be surgically separated from my phone these days... I use Whatsapp, Snapchat, Twitter and Instagram constantly - such a social media addict! It just does everything I need it to - YouTube, music, all sorts... I did a run through of my favourite apps last summer if you fancy taking a look!I also find it super handy for jotting down blog ideas and posts on the go, although I prefer to do all my final edits on the laptop.

iPad
Ours is the oldest iPad version, kindly passed on by Jon's mum when she upgraded. Although annoyingly a lot of apps have made it impossible to use them on old iOs systems, YouTube still works perfectly so I use the iPad to watch all my videos! It's great for lounging in bed and catching up on vlogs, or propping against the wall for my yoga workouts. I've also recently developed an obsession with Outlander (anyone with me??) so have been loving the fact I can sit and watch episodes using the Amazon Prime video service.

ghd Eclipse stylers
Could I complete a gadget post without mentioning my favourite electrical item of the moment? Of course not! These ghds have revolutionised my hair straightening routine - it stays straight for longer, meaning I use less heat, meaning my hair is in a much better condition. I've been using ghds for years but these knock the original styler out of the park! I'll do a full review soon!

What are the gadgets you can't live without? Let me know in the comments!

Love Dani
xoxo


** this post was written in collaboration with Hawkin's Bazaar and contains gifted items, marked with an asterisk **

Isn't this the cutest beauty box ever? I was so pleased when this popped through the letterbox and doubly pleased I got the pink and rose gold design - it's sitting happily on my shelves, matching perfectly with all my rose gold paraphernalia!

Hi my loves,

Despite the fact I'm still bundled up in snuggly jumpers and over-knee boots (my fingers turning blue as I type this), I'm feeling rather hopeful that spring is just around the corner, ready to make an appearance any moment now!
Way, way back in November, the lovely team at House of Fraser invited me down to their spring and summer preview, to check out the new collections and trends prepped to hit stores about now! I was all set to post my thoughts back then but got caught up in the muted aesthetic that is winter fashion, and looking at images of brights and pastels just seemed a little alien to me at the time. Not so now! I've put together a selection of my favourite pieces, that I will certainly be keeping an eye on now spring fashion is hitting the shops...

Which are your favourites? Anything jumping out for you?

Love Dani
xoxo

Autumn & winter fashion has long been a favourite of mine - I'm always the first to whip out tights and snap up new boots as soon as the trees begin to show signs of dropping leaves. Dark and cold nights just seem to demand sumptuous fabrics, glistening metallics, duochrome shades and witchy lace. Ong-Oaj Pairam feels no different, it seems, as his stunning autumn/collection appealed to all of my senses - including smell with one of the most inventively scented invites I've ever seen! Fast becoming a favourite of mine, I could hardly contain my excitement when I was invited to attend his autumn/winter catwalk show as the Grand Connaught hotel last night.

Above are just some of my favourite looks, but in truth I could have happily shared all of them, I adored them all. The collection just brought together everything I enjoy about sumptuous autumnal dressing, but I also thought a lot of it was quite wearable, especially the more streamlined silhouettes and midi lengths - I only wish my work wardrobe could be half as elegant! Also my penchant for a nice faux fur coat has now trebled, especially given the chilly temperatures we're still experiencing in London...

Beauty-wise I had major hair envy, the 70s-inspired float ethereal curls were simply beautiful on every model. As a perennial red-lip-lover I fully appreciated this look and I can't lie, part of me kept thinking of Taylor Swift's current look as the aesthetic was very similar. Also pleased to see sharp brows worn throughout, I do appreciate a good brow!

I'll pop some of my other photos up on my Pinterest later as I was so pleased with my position, I sat right where the models came out so got a first glimpse of every look - what more can a girl ask for?

What do you think of these looks? Have you got any Fashion Week faves?

Love Dani
xoxo