Shoes....

Now...whilst I think it is fine to spend alot of money on vintage dresses, underwear and make-up, I don't actually spend alot of money on shoes.

I am a Primark pump sort of girl. I wear these shoes come rain or shine....although after a couple of trips in the rain they start to smell.....bad!!

So after I awoke on this fine June day to rain of biblical proportions I realised that I need to fine some more solid shoes (I am currently typing this whilst wearing wet shoes....it is not fun).

So I am on the hunt for shoes....but a few things you need to understand first.

I have legs of the tree trunk variety so shoes like converse and brogues do not do me any favours and only make my legs look dumpier. I need to have flat shoes as I can't walk in heels for long periods of time and I don't have the wardrobe to compliment lovely heels. And last but by no means least they need to be on the cheap side as I have many other addictions so expensive shoes can definitely not be one!!

Unfortunately I paid no attention to the last rule and have now fallen in love with these beauties....

French Sole...

GOLD BALLET PUMPS....who could resist...??

Sadly these gorgeous creatures cost £98 and that is slightly more expensive than my usual £4 Primark pumps so I am unsure I can justify it both to myself and the boy who is unlikely to approve of expensive shoe purchases when we have a wedding to pay for.

So sadly these French Sole shoes of delight are going to have to stay in Topshop for now until I either save up enough money by not socialising as much (unlikely) or until I convince the boy that these are an integral part of the wedding and therefore I have to have them immediately....I like the second option a lot more!!

Today I am loving....

This amazingly beautiful lingerie set from ASOS.....

£20

£12

...and Stevie Wonder.....

I am not loving the fact that after practically starving myself for a week (ok, yes I fell of the wagon in spectacular fashion on Sunday but still...) I am no lighter on the scales and have now bought the lingerie set above and a new camera to take the edge off.....retail therapy I LOVE YOU xx

Life is too short....

I always knew that I would get to an age when bad things would start happening to both my family and that of my friends.

And now...it would appear that I am at that age.

Last year Mother Hummingbird was diagnosed with cancer (she is doing ok and is loving her wig collection) and last week the Mum of one of my oldest friends was also diagnosed......totally rubbish.

It does make you realise that life is too short to worry about the crap that doesn't need worrying about and also too short not to do the things you really want to do.

So I have decided that one afternoon a week I am going to go off and do something I really want to do...whether it be...

Afternoon tea with the girls

A random tourist attraction....I have always loved the crown jewels

a dance class

....or just going out for an afternoon of gin in a fine London establishment..!!

I am going to have a purely selfish afternoon every week as I am sure there will be a point soon where this will be impossible and also...I have decided that life it waaay too short not to have the odd selfish moment.

The Wedding Diet...

As I am sure most of you know by now I AM GETTING MARRIED....not until next year but still very exciting to say the least.

However this year I also have another big event....my 30th....eeekkk!!

I have always said that on my 30th birthday I want to have my dream figure. I have achieved this figure twice in my life....once after going travelling and living off of nothing apart from rice and vegetables for six weeks due to lack of cash and once due to an extreme starvation diet....three weeks of pure torture!!

I have not however managed to achieve again in the past eight years, so after the two weeks of weddings and celebrations that just occurred I decided to put myself on a VERY strict diet to start me on my way to my 30th birthday dream figure and hopefully keep that figure for the wedding (although this is very doubtful).

Sadly the boy has also embarked on this so this week has seen alot of shouting in Casa el Hummingbird due to the fact we are so bloody hungry.

So...after four days (I started on Monday) things were going really well. Yes there were times at which I felt light headed but it was all for a good cause. Then last night we went out for a dinner that we pre booked a while ago. I say dinner but infact it was a seven course tasting menu at a Michelin Star restaurant (Ristorante Semplice) that we got an internet deal on!

So there I was....determined not to throw away all my hard work..and then the bread basket came out. I practically inhaled three pieces of bread within the first minute (even the boy was impressed). The seven courses then started to come out....although they were small they were totally gorgeous....however by the fourth course something odd happened...I couldn't eat anymore.

Now I am an eater...I love food and especially love going out for dinner so the fact I couldn't eat everything both shocked, upset and made me angry (according to the boy from that point on I was throwing around filthy looks to anyone who dared look at me).

I was so full that the boy had to practically carry me home and then I had to lay very still for a long time.

After having a good old think I have decided that I love food too much to not eat it so am now going to exercise like a crazy woman instead to get the dream figure/lollypop head look so that I can eat what I want when I want. And on that note I am off for a bacon sandwich....yum!!

Three times a bridesmaid...

I have a very good friend who is getting married this year....it is going to be the wedding of the year due to it's quirkiness and general feel good festival factor.

The bride is wearing a gorgeous dress (can't say too much) but it has a vintage twist. However the bridesmaid (also a very good friend) is having trouble finding a dress that fits with the vintage look but isn't a. too expensive and b. too gorgeous (can't outshine the bride!!).

So I put my vintage hat on (not that I really take it off) and off I went set with a budget of £100 to find the perfect dress and here they are.....

To be honest it was harder than I thought to find a fabulous dress within budget and not too glam as a lot of vintage prom dresses could easily be worn as an actual wedding dress..and...lets be honest two girls looking bridal at a wedding just isn't a good look!!

Another way around this is going down the high street route. Thanks to Mad Men the 1950's style is very much in at the moment so a vintage style dress is relatively easy to find.

Here are my faves....

Oasis £150

Monsoon £65

Monsoon £130

Oasis £125

And the fab thing about all the vintage/vintage themed dresses is that people can actually wear them again...!! All I need now is for someone to ask me to be bridesmaid so I can bag myself one of these fab dresses!!

Loss of Faith...

As some of you will know the past few weeks for me have been crazy...!!

I have had two weddings....

...and my own engagement to the boy...

...and it has made me less focussed on the business which is bad. It has also made me think that maybe I am not suited to all this 'work for yourself' lark and not all that good at it.

Looking back now I think it is less to do with my capabilities and more to do with a three week hangover....as....lets be honest...the morning after a night on the white wine is never fun!!

However it also made me realise that time away from twitter peeps who are all going through the same thing is not good as it can make you feel like you are the only person in the world going through business worries.

So I have given myself a good talking to and I am back and ready to go....HURRAH....so watch this space people!!!

Business Brain...

This is a little tip for all you lovely people trying to run and online business....

Now I have been running the lovely Hummingbird Vintage for around six months and it is going rather well....we have branched out into undies and wedding dresses and all is fabulous even if I do say so myself.

One thing I found when I started was that I had no idea how to run an online business...and lets be honest...for a novice it is quite complicated.

I thought I had done everything correct..I had my Google Analytics, my Adwords and I was all set for an influx....sadly this wasn't to be and I spent alot of time staring at my 'stats' page willing the numbers to go up wearing a vintage dress (of course) and a sad face.

About three months ago I came across a lovely company who help little business's like mine get off the ground and do all the tech stuff for you...and then they send you lovely (they do mine in pink) presentations telling you what else you should be doing to increase sales....and....IT WORKED.

It has allowed me to not work as many hours in the real world and have time to do more vintage fabulousness....totally amazing.

If any of you need a helping hand let me know and I can put you in touch as their website is being re-done....!!

For those of you who are not interested in tech stuff then here is a gorgeous vintage gentleman for you to enjoy on this lovely sunny Friday....

...Rhett Butler...YUM!!