Hollie-Anne Brooks dresses for getting her bottom in gear.

So, the lack of blogging over the past two days has been for a very worthwhile reason. Of course, I cannot reveal a word but I can let you all know that I've never been happier, more inspired and nor have I felt more successful.

Sitting comfortably in my Ralph Lauren-esque cardigan and jeans, I find myself realising that the things I have in life are all the things I didn't want when I was 13/14. My father and I had some hysterical plan to travel together and my father- a slight wannabe hippy- always encouraged "free thinking" meaning that he would rather I avoided the "middle-class bore" side of life and spend my years studying art, dating men with long hair and travelling until I reached fifty, settled down on my own in a cottage in France and made a living from selling home-made wine.

However, my now stands that I vote Conservative, drink red wine in those wine bars my father hates, work hard to be a success in the media industry and plan a future with a short-haired broadcasting boss. I know A LOT of people would find that dull and boring- a life like any other- but I love the normality, I love the substance of my life in the form of love and success and life is only as dull as one makes it. I can still have a mortgage and have fun, right? Actually, I'll get back to you on that when I do have a mortgage- sure I won't be saying that than!

But today has been spent relaxing after the most beautifully successful week of my life to date (probably). I'm energised, excited, I feel alive and more than ready to double my load of work. I've never felt better.

I'd wear the outfit for today for dinner with MYB- my one and only love, the man who- and I never thought I'd say this about anyone- comes before career success. The Elizabeth and James satin blouse featured here is such a lovely colour for spring, I've gone for K Karl Lagerfeld waxed skinny jeans, some amazing cord heels by Stella McCartney and a pretty floral clutch from Topshop. The feminine daisy necklace is by Coach and the earrings are vintage. Finally, a STUNNING diamond ring by Cartier.


Stepping up. - by hollieanne on Polyvore.com

Hollie-Anne Brooks dresses for booking dinner online.

MYB is a clever bloke. He knows stuff about the web and such like but I, on the other hand, am at a bit of a loss. I use social networking sites but I'm only just using Twitter, I clearly blog and I've become a little too accustomed to shopping online. But that's about it, that's about all I can manage. In actual fact it's not that bad but I still do find myself a little lost when MYB talks about podcasting and rubbish like that.

You see, the Internet scares me. I feel I can never trust it and although I booked both my Britney and Beyoncé tickets through the web, there's always a feeling it never went through. I always feel nervous that train tickets haven't booked or an order I've placed on ASOS won't arrive because the Internet swallowed it up or something equally as silly.

I'm old fashioned, right? Considering I'm both a print and web journalist, I'm still not totally clued up and even if I am, I don't use it as much as I should. But I'm the girl who will send a love letter like your granny would rather than a love e-mail. And, in actual fact, I think MYB probably finds it refreshing.

But I trusted the web tonight and booked a dinner reservation online. Two, in actual fact. One for dinner in Angel on Wednesday with a dear friend and one for a pretty French place for the following evening with a few friends of mine. A few clicks and I have tables booked and confirmation e-mails. Am I going to call up both places tomorrow just to check? Probably. But I'm going to try and resist and put my faith in the Internet. I'll report back and let you know if it actually all goes to plan!

I've picked out an outfit which represents my excitement at the upcoming week. It's a very 'Hollie-Anne' outfit. My mother recently described my style as "pretty hippy" and I'm likely to agree. I like blush tones, flowers, flat sandals and the feel of the air on my legs. I've fallen in love with this dress by Roksanda Ilincic, it has to be one of the most beautiful pieces I've seen lately. I've added some gold flat sandals by Coach, a pretty pink leather Balenciaga bag and I've finished off the look with a Versace bangle and some sweet earrings by Christian Lacroix.


Booking dinner. - by hollieanne on Polyvore.com

Hollie-Anne Brooks dresses for getting back to normal.

Very productive day in my little world. Woke this morning and booked two Beyonce tickets, went back off to sleep for a little while whilst wishing MYB was there to spend a lazy morning with me and then I spent the afternoon in town catching up on the much needed feeling of contentment which has been missing due to illness these past few days.

It was nice getting back to the normality of skinny coffee, Marks and Spencer, daily newspaper buying and freshly blow-dried hair. I devilishly read pages of the book I'm currently reading as I sat in Starbucks and I lost myself in daydreams of MYB and I chain smoking in Paris. I haven't felt like this all week; illness just makes me feel stupidly depressed and I cry more than most because I feel helpless and hate not being up and about and going at a million miles an hour.

My mother finished her first week of her new job so I met her at the hospital with a card and the biggest and most expensive bouquet of flowers I could find- she really deserved it.

The outfit for today is very sweet and I love the navy shades with the clashing pinks, oranges and browns of this Forever21 dress. Over the top of the dress I'd throw on a relaxed trench like this Mike and Chris one. I've added some navy flats, a pretty glitter beret by Coach and a clashing 3.1 Phillip Lim clutch. Lastly, I've added some flower rings with the neon pink one being from Topshop and the other from Forever21. Happy Friday!


Starbucks and flowers. - by hollieanne on Polyvore.com

Hollie-Anne Brooks dresses for feeling really low.

My eyes are a little sore from crying. That makes me sound like an emo, right? Hope not! Haven't had the best of days, mainly induced by my father as mentioned in yesterdays blog.

I've spent today lazing on the sofa and feeling totally exhausted after a disturbing night filled with nightmares. I wore my comfort hoodie today, it's the only one I own and is about 3 sizes too big and from the mens section in H&M. I feel like a slob. Yuk. Never will I start the day by eating Marks and Spencer New York cheesecake again; it'll only make me feel fat and yucky for the rest of the day. No fun!

MYB, bless him, had the pleasure of hearing my moan at him this evening and then hear my cry as I recalled how low I've felt today. We got through it together- like we always do- by giggling and pointing out how much of a typical silly girl I actually am. I adore him.

I'd wear this outfit to take the train to MYB's place and get ready for a night of cuddles and hot chocolate. Shame it's not happening tonight, right? C'est la vie. This outfit is really different from my own personal style but I'd love to be able to dress more casually and feel really comfortable. The checked shirt is a snip from Forever21 at around £7! I'd wear the shirt a size larger and wear it with some bootcut jeans like these by 7 For All Mankind. To add a slightly more girly touch, I've gone for blue sequin Converse and a pretty bow ring by Miss Selfridge. The satchel bag is Cath Kidston, the necklace is by Juicy Couture and the pretty pink watch is by Coach.


Feeling low. by hollieanne