Lotte's Main Highlights: Key Moments from Recent Weeks

Well, this was supposed to be a weekly feature. And by “weekly,” I mean… “weekly-ish.” Thanks to a combination of other commitments, unexpected plot twists, and perhaps the occasional bout of procrastination, it’s taken me a bit longer to put this together than originally planned. So, instead of reflecting on just the last week, let’s call it key moments from recent weeks—because that gives me a little more breathing room and keeps things from feeling too rushed.

In all honesty, it’s probably better this way. After all, what if the last week didn’t have any worthy moments to highlight? You know, like how some weeks feel like nothing more than an endless loop of coffee and emails? By expanding it to recent weeks, I’m not limited to searching for moments that actually matter. So, without further ado, let’s dive into some of the highlights from my life (or lack thereof) in the past little while.

A TRIP OUT TO IKEA     

My daughter is looking to redecorate her bedroom and was looking at sliding wardrobes.  She asked if I fancied taking her to IKEA to see if they had any there.  

Now I've been to IKEA just once and I hated it.  Why?  Well, firstly because it feels cramped and claustrophobic inside but also because it's the exact place where I start to feel overwhelmed.  Being in the same cramped space with so many people and seeing women with their hairstyles, outfits and body shapes, it's becomes overload for me.
 
This visit was no different and before long I soon began to feel overwhelmed.  However, there was one highlight to the visit for me, a mock bedroom display.  Easy to see why it quickly sparked my interest too:

Lots of girly stuff in this mock bedroom and some of the stuff I really liked. A pair of pink patent platform stilettos, a pair of gorgeous silver heels and a matching handbag.  A silver sequin skirt and some metallic tops.

What's not to love about those! 

What Lotte would give to have her own unique space like that!
 
It wasn't a wasted trip in the end as my daughter did see something she liked and later that evening I helped her purchase it from the IKEA website.  Purchasing online was made really easy with their rather handy 'design a storage space' tool.  Basically all we had to do was pick the bits we wanted such as the sliding doors, drawers, rails etc and it builds a virtual image for you to see on screen.  Once you're happy with your selection you just click on the purchase button and everything is added to your shopping basket.

SHAPEWEAR AND PERFUMES IN MARKS AND SPENCERS

Whilst on our trip out to IKEA, we decided to pop into the nearby M&S store as I wanted to get some new black trousers and a pair of shoes for work.  As we past the women’s shapewear section, I stopped to check out some seamless bum boosting shorts hanging on one of the racks. 

I joked to my wife that if she wanted a bigger bottom she could get a pair and this gave me an excuse to stop and inspect them further.  Upon seeing them up close,  I began to think about getting some for myself.

The shapewear I already have is rather old and I'm not even sure it still fits so it's probably time for a refresh. It will come as no surprise that later that evening I did in fact treat myself and got three pairs, black, rich amber and rose quartz.

With work trousers and shoes purchased, we headed over to the perfume section.  It was my idea of course but my daughter and wife seemed more than happy to go along with it.  I wanted to let my daughter smell one of M&S's own brand fragrances 'Velvet Amber', as she recently bought Muggler's Alien perfume and this one is supposed to smell very similar.
 

We quickly located the tester bottle for the Velvet Amber perfume and a quick sniff confirmed that it did indeed smell just like Alien.  My daughter said she'd buy a bottle for every day use and then she could save her Alien perfume for special occasions such as going out.  I told her to get a bottle for me too and I'd give her the money later on but she said she'd get it for my upcoming birthday this month.
 
It was quite an enjoyable twenty minutes trying out all the different tester bottles but eventually we all became nose blind.  That's when we learned from the women behind the perfume counter what the jar of coffee beans on the shelf nearby was for.  It's to reset the nose, you simply have a sniff of the beans and then you're able to smell again.
 
My daughter ended up buying about four different bottles of perfume and I bought two for my wife, that she liked.
 
By the time we left the perfume section all three of us reeked of different perfumes!

A BRIDAL MAKEOVER BOOKED FOR NOVEMBER 

After my recent makeover with Femme Side Studio, I spoke to my wife about going back for a bridal makeover and photo shoot in a wedding dress, and after she agreed, I didn’t waste any time booking another appointment.  

I emailed Tracey at Femme Side and told her I was wanting to make arrange another booking to come and have a bridal makeover and photo-shoot.  I asked her if she had any wedding dresses that would fit me and she replied to say that she had one that would.  She even sent me a couple of photos to check whether I liked the dress or not.  

It's a nice dress but Lotte being Lotte decided she would purchase her own to be on the safe side. 
 
There are so many gorgeous dresses out there and so picking one for my big day wasn't an easy task especially with a limited budget.  I imagine it must be even harder for women to pick a dress for their big day too.  I only looked on eBay for a dress but how hard it must be seeing so many lovely wedding dresses in all those Bridal Boutiques and then having to choose just one for the big day! 

In the end I opted for the following:

It's an Anna Sorrano design and it's labelled as 'Carmela'. It is a lovely sleeveless a-line style dress. 

The Wed2B website describes it as follows: 

This beautiful Carmela dress is full of romance and the perfect example of a stunning sleeveless style. The super soft tulle features delicate floral corded lace appliqués across the entire bodice, which then trickle out down the skirt before meeting the luscious full lace hem.

At the back there’s also more of that delicate lace and a pretty row of covered buttons, which help to give the perfect fit. It’s an elegantly modest style with more than a hint of that iconic Grace Kelly glamour.

The wide sleeves here give plenty of coverage while showing off attractive arms to the full.

https://www.wed2b.com/blog/sleeveless-wedding-dresses-with-wow-factor

I have purchased the following heels to go with the dress too:

And some stockings, two pairs of Charnos Bridal lace top hold ups, one in ivory and the other in champagne.  Not sure which colour will be best but at least I've got a choice:
 

I just need to order a garter now and then try to wait patiently for the big day in November!

MAKEUP BOOKS AND DVDS:

After my recent makeover I started thinking more about makeup and started to give serious consideration to a makeup course at College one night a week.  I discussed it with my wife and I asked her would she like to do it with me too.  She agreed but unfortunately it turned out we were too late to enrol on the course this September.  The course will be running in January next year too, so hopefully I can apply in November for that and book a place.
 
In the meantime, I purchased a few books which will hopefully provide some useful guidance and tips.  Also, I bought some second hand makeup DVDs from Music Magpie and for a couple of pounds each, if they're rubbish then it's no big deal.

 

As you can see I've plenty of reading material now so hopefully I'll soon be able to do a decent job of applying my own makeup and may even be able to do my daughter's makeup for her when she's going on her night outs.

 STICK ON FALSE NAILS

Having seen my Wife's French Polish Nails I wondered if it might be worth looking at some false nails for myself.  I've had false nails before, a long time ago and only in a solid colour, but I know you can get them in all sorts of colours and styles.  

The idea of some stick on French Polish nails soon became an obsession and it wasn't long before I found some on Amazon.  Like a toddler in a toy shop, I was mesmerised by the endless selection.  Every set of nails seemed to sparkle with possibility, and I couldn't help but be drawn in, each one vying for my attention as if it were the most exciting thing I'd ever seen.

In the end I opted for the following sets: 

My favourites have to be 'Be Elegant' and 'Chrome Nude'. Which do you like best? 

I purchased the adhesive tabs shown in the last image to use with the nails and I must admit I was very impressed with how sticky they were.  They'll definitely be good enough for me when dressing at home and seem a lot better than the sticky pads that were used to keep on the false nails during my visit to Femme Studio. 

 ANKLE BOOTS

It was while having a Sunday morning breakfast at Morrisons that I saw one particular outfit I really liked. A woman sitting nearby was wearing a cream-coloured top, black leggings, and a pair of chunky-heeled black patent Chelsea boots with a buckle on the side. Being a massive fan of black patent leather footwear, my mind was occupied all day with the image of her wearing that outfit. 

That evening, I was on eBay looking to see if those particular ankle boots were listed anywhere. I saw some that were pretty similar but couldn’t find an exact pair, even after searching on Google.

It took a few days before I got that image out of my head! 

Nothing special, I hear you say, but for me, it’s the type of outfit I see myself wearing on a day-to-day basis if I could. Also, those boots were very nice, and if I had seen them online that evening I probably would have made an impulse purchase.  

In fairness, I probably have too many pairs of black patent ankle boots already!

THE MAYA DELUXE DRESSES SPENDING SPREE

Almost a tongue twister that title isn't it!

I've known about Maya Deluxe Dresses since 2019.  I'd helped my daughter pick a dress for her school prom party and that had been a a Maya Deluxe dress.  I'd always liked her dress and thought about getting something similar to hers one day.

With an upcoming Bridal makeover and photo-shoot appointment coming up, there may well be an opportunity to to perhaps have some photos taken in another dress too.  This got me thinking about those Maya Deluxe dresses again and it wasn't long before I was on eBay looking to see what bargains they had. 

I found the following three:

Taupe Blush

 

 
Berry

 

Navy

https://www.mayadeluxe.com/

One of these would be ideal as it wouldn't be too bulky to take with me on the day.  The problem was which one to choose! I liked them all and I always hate having to choose, it's never just as easy as saying "I'll have that one."  In the end I chose to purchase all three.

Now it's a bit of a gamble purchasing online at the best of time and even more of a gamble when it comes to purchasing from eBay as you're relying on the seller to be accurate with their descriptions.

The taupe blush dress came and it was a completely different style dress to the one listed when making my purchase so that had to go back.  Luckily I was able to find the dress listed again on eBay and even better that this time it was actually cheaper than the original purchase.

Soon after purchasing the navy dress I received an email from the eBay seller saying they'd mistakenly labelled it as a Maya Deluxe when in fact it was a Joanna Hope dress.  In terms of likeness it was very much similar and after some communication with the seller I decided to go ahead with the purchase.  In fairness the seller was very apologetic and offered to refund me but she sent some photos of the dress that I'd purchased and despite it not being the same as the Maya Deluxe I thought it would make a nice alternative.

REMEMBER THAT SILK SKIRT

You may recall that I blogged about a silk maxi skirt that I'd seen and liked (post HERE).  Well, not that long after seeing that outfit, I happened to be having breakfast in Morrisons one Sunday morning when I saw a very similar outfit that i looked too.  A woman who looked like she was in her late twenties possibly early thirties wearing a grey vest top, black silk maxi skirt and white training shoes out for breakfast too with her husband and their young child.  It was a casual look but it was smart too and very much the type of outfit I'd want to wear myself. 

Wow that was a long post wasn't it.  If you made it to the end then thanks for reading.

Thanks for reading,

Lotte x