Hollie-Anne Brooks dresses for late night shopping.

Well, not so much late night but 6pm onwards. There's something I adore about going shopping "after hours". I love taking the car journey to the shopping centre and seeing all the cars in a jam going in the opposite direction as they fight their way through rush hour traffic and try to get home. I love the stress of the day vanishing as soon as I have a shoe store on my left and a lingerie shop on my right. I love seeing people in office wear hurrying to pick up a few things before heading home as I take my time and enjoy every second. I basically love to shop!

I've had a blissful day. I woke early this morning and baked my heart out in preparation for my father coming over. And he did. On time. I fear if I blog about it, it'll sound more and more like a dream and the acceptance he gave me today will feel like a scene from a movie. But it was perfect.

This evening, as a family, we went out in search of some pretty purchases, or perhaps it's more fair to say I dragged them out so I could try on heels! Now, I made a purchase tonight that I've had my eye on for ages. And, I think I'm right in saying, it may well be a controversial buy.

I bought a pair of white jeans. I know, I know, I'm not a size 8 and I bought white jeans- they look vile on everyone, right? Well, it actually appears that that fashion rule may be wrong. With the right cut and confidence, white jeans are actually easy to pull off. I love my pair, they're comfortable and fresh and I feel it's one step forward for all those women with wobbly tummies and jiggly thighs- we can look good in most things, it's all about confidence and knowing your boundaries!

So, in joy of said white jeans, I've gone for this Roberto Cavalli pair. I've teamed them with a simple black vest from Dorothy Perkins, a purple Crumpet cardigan and purple flats from Charlotte Russe. The bracelet beads and sweet earrings are from Forever21 and the cross body bag adds a splash of clashing colour and is available from Topshop. Hope you've had a great day, everyone!



Late night shopping. by hollieanne featuring Forever21 earrings

Hollie-Anne Brooks dresses for mornings and evenings in the sunshine.

I beat the clock today. Rather than feeling gutted that I had- in effect- lost an hour of sleep, I woke two hours earlier than normal and jumped into some lounge wear and headed for the garden. I spent an hour drinking a few cups of herbal tea and reading my book as my toes touched the morning dew and my legs stretched out onto the cool grass.



I had to depart from my literary bliss to go out shopping for the afternoon but this only resulted in a chance to purchase more things for my reading pleasure. In the case of today, I bought a Sunday paper and Psychologies magazine.



When I returned home this evening, around 630pm, I put on my favourite H&M hoodie and ventured out into the garden once more with my new stack of reading material, a glass of wine and another mug of herbal tea. Sitting on the bench and watching the sun go down, it made me think of how I need to pull myself out of this little low spell I've been feeling for a few days. I hope it goes away soon.

The floral maxi dress featured here (perfect for sunny afternoons) is by Charlotte Russe and I've added some gladiator heels by Nine West and a Topshop straw clutch. The two necklace here are also by Topshop, the earrings are ASOS and the bangles come from French Connection. Finally, you all know I love a floral ring and this Betsey Johnson one is so cute!



Newspapers in the garden. - by hollieanne on Polyvore.com

Hollie-Anne Brooks dresses for stress.

Why is it that your day off always has to end up being a little bit rubbish? This morning started off fine, I had a decent sleep and went to watch my little brother singing Christmas songs at the local supermarket with his school- it was trés cute! Once I returned home and sat down with a cup of green tea, things went wrong.

Today I had planned to do one thing and one thing only which was to finish an essay. Knowing I had 1,500 words to complete by Thursday, I allocated myself breaks and times in which I could do various things such as e-mail MYB, chat on the phone to my best friend and flick through magazines. Before I got started, I checked my e-mail to find one by someone I rather dislike. She'd e-mailed out of spite. She'd e-mailed to make me sad. Today, rather than working really hard all morning and have the afternoon to do what I pleased, I ended up crying on the phone to MYB and stressing like mad. Why is that woman so obsessed, eh? It wasn't nice.

Still with panic, stress and upset on my mind, I realised I'd done none of my essay and time was ticking away. I had two choices: let Nasty Witch Woman get to me and mess up the essay or think of how proud MYB is going to be of me once I get an A for completing the essay. NWW lost and MYB's proud smile won.

I did the essay and have only just finished. I'm still waiting for an e-mail back from NWW about why she thought it would be fabulous to reveal some rather trivial but upsetting news to me. Never mind, NWW, you'll get over it...

Dressing For is comfort today but also cute. I'm all flowery to keep my mood upbeat and smiley, no matter what NWW tries to throw at me. Sadly, due to all the stress of today, I'm suffering from some horrible stomach cramps so that's why we have a cute little hot water bottle today which is available from DotComGiftShop.com for a tiny £6.95. From Charlotte Russe, we have some simple skinny jeans and Roberto Cavalli provides this pretty oval amethyst necklace. The rest of the outfit is Cath Kidston who, in my eyes, provide everything you need for comfort and style. The plain colour button tank is really cute and can be worn alone if working from home or paired with wide-leg trousers and a pretty shirt for days when you're in the office. I've gone all floral with some pretty plimsolls and a velvet tote to store all your essentials in if you just need to leave the house and get away from it all for a few hours. Finally, pin on this crystal brooch and tie hair back in an effortless bun with this rosy felt hair tie. Stay calm and carry on...


Stress. by hollieanne

Hollie-Anne Brooks dresses for comfort, hope and reminders of all the nice things in life.

On my way home from my lecture this afternoon, I witnessed a man sitting on the Tyne Bridge in Newcastle with police surrounding him. One cannot help but look and I felt so much sympathy for the poor man. However, what left me disgusted and shocked were the conversations of how the "man [was] being selfish for holding up the traffic". My fellow bus travellers, most of them aged around fifty, couldn't help but vent their own appalling views.

Today I'm dressing for comfort. I've selected this stunning La Garconne coat and Charlotte Russe cardigan to add a feeling of being warm, safe and wrapped up. The iconic Louboutin heels make us stand tall and stay strong and who can resist the luxury of this Gucci bracelet and YSL lipstick?

Sometimes we all need to be reminded things will be OK.