Bicester Village Cath Kidston Haul!

I realised a few weeks ago that it’s been months since I’d been to Bicester Village. I usually go a few times a year, so I decided a visit was long overdue.

Cath Kidston Overload! - Cath Kidston cowboy mug, towels and cowboy notebook

Heading out on the train to Bicester North, we took a taxi from the station and started off in Dior in search of a designer discount. 3 hours later we’d been into almost every shop there! With stores including Prada, Gucci, Fendi, Ralph Lauren and Jimmy Choo, you could literally spend the whole day there and come back with some heavy bags and a light wallet.

I’m sure you’ve all heard the stories from lucky people who have nabbed shoes for £50 or a bargain T Shirt for a tenner, but sadly I didn’t manage to join them.  Despite my determination to take home a designer bag or pair of shoes, in the end I only splurged in Cath Kidston.

Although there were some beautiful purses in Mulberry, Dior and Burberry, all with huge discounts, I decided I didn’t need anything just yet as I’m still using my Michael Kors set. So instead I got everything in the picture from Cath Kidston for £20!

I wanted some new towels for my bedroom and the hand towel and face cloth were just £9 and £2.50. My favourite Cath Kidston print is the Cowboy so I had to get the mug for £3.50 and notebook for just £5!

We stopped off for lunch at Villandry and treated ourselves to a lovely meal as we wouldn’t be home till late. It was so nice to just relax and enjoy a leisurely lunch and we decided to push the boat out as we’d been so good and resisted the urge to splurge!

Even though we didn’t buy much, I still had a great day and really enjoyed some mother daughter bonding whilst eyeing up some seriously gorgeous bags, shoes and clothes!

What was the last thing you bought at Bicester?

Selfridges Treats: Christmas Comes Early

Longchamp Le Pliage and Cath Kidston Cake Stand

To make a change from makeup and clothes, here’s just a few little treats I got from Selfridges during the 20% off week way back in November.

First up is the classic Longhamp Le Pliage fold up handbag. I used to have a smaller version of this bag but much prefer this one as an overspill/overnight bag rather than a day to day handbag.

I go this in the large-ish size in navy to make a change from standard black.

The second is this lovely three-tier cake stand from Cath Kidston. I love cake stands and have amassed a bit of a collection to complement all the cupcakes I end up making! I’ve been looking for some real vintage ones for ages but they’re so hard to find, so in the end I went for this Cath Kidston one.

Did you get anything in the 20% off week?

Birthday Shopping Spree - Zara bag, Paul Smith and chocolate!

On my actual birthday (which was a whole week ago now) I went into Birmingham for a wee shopping spree. I was very well behaved though and here’s what I came back with. 

The tan Zara bag has been on my wishlist for ages and was a snip at £39.99! I know everyone’s got one but I really love it and can’t wait to use it. Whilst I was there I also picked up the Zara floral perfume (£10), which I’ve wanted for ages. I now have far too many perfumes so I’d better get through them fast before I run out of space!

There’s a fabulous little chocolate shop in the Great Western Arcade called Chouchoute which sells handmade chocolates, so I got a bag of chocolate covered candied oranges called orangettes from there. The remaining gifts were from Selfridges; a Cath Kidston handbag mirror and star print zip up purse which I couldn’t resist. 

Finally I bought something which is really out of my comfort zone; neons! This little fluoro pink bracelet is from Paul Smith and was on sale. I’ve just ordered a fluoro pink watch to go with it so I’ll be dipping my toe into the trend this summer.

I’ve just added in this great book which I bought for myself last week. It’s called Vintage Style: Iconic Fashion Looks and How to Get Them. This is an inspiration goldmine for vintage looks from stars including Audrey Hepburn and Elizabeth Taylor. It's also inspired me to put together a blog post on all my favourite fashion books, so keep an eye out for that.