I have to say that stripes are hands down one of my favourite styles and patterns to wear, they always look so effortlessly cool and just make me feel so good about myself. I've always been a big wearer of stripes, and so when the sweethearts over at farfetch contacted me saying they’d created a new infographic to help their readers pick their perfect stripes for this spring/summer season and if I wanted to share it with my readers, I couldn't wait!

I personally think that everyone can pull off stripes in some shape or form; it’s all about finding what is best suited for you. It’s also about what you like and want to wear; if it makes you feel good then ignore what anyone else may think. If you prefer wearing monochrome clothing, then you’ll probably be the same as I am and rock a good old fashioned black and white stripe. One of my favourite tops that I've ever owned was a black and white loose material v neck t-shirt, it was so flattering and went with whatever I paired it with (I then stupidly dyed my hair in it one day and it went EVERYWHERE and now I use it to dry my hair) so it’s all about finding what works for you. If you find that you wear much brighter/ colourful clothing day to day then you should definitely try something that bit ‘louder’ in terms of stripes, look at the example in the infographic and if it gives you all the feels then you know you’re heading in the right direction! I personally find that coloured stripes are the most daring and so if you’re braver than I am (most people are) you should give them a go.

The last ‘Audrey Hepburn’ style stripes are admittedly not something that I've ever personally considered, but after really looking at them I have to say I’m really intrigued to try them out myself. They definitely are what I’d consider as spring/summer stripes, the fact that they aren't too in your face but are a lot lighter than a lot of the clothing I own really does appeal to me. It’s certainly something I’m going to keep my eyes open for the next time I go shopping!

So although I’m fully aware that the classic black and white stripes are my idea of stripe heaven, the infographic has made me aware of all the different stripes there are and ways that you can wear them which means I have no excuses not to experiment a bit.

What type of stripes do you love? 

If you have read my blog for a while, then you might remember last year, when the lovely people over at farfectch.com contacted me with an infographic they had compiled on blogger information,you can  still see that post here. I still love looking at the infographic as it’s all so helpful and interesting (and the design makes me swoon). So when they contacted me about a competition they are running and asked if I’d like to enter, I thought why not share it with you all as well? If you win though, I expect some sort of gift in return. I’m kidding obviously (definitely not kidding).

Farfetch are offering a competition that if you are the lucky winner, means that you’ll get a £2,500 shopping spree on their website and the best part of this is that the four friends you get to sign up will also win as well! So you and your friends will get to shop to your heart’s content, so everyone’s a winner. If you don’t win though, by signing up you’ll still get  10% off of your next order which is still a really nice offer. To enter it really is super simple; all you have to do is introduce four of your friends to Farfetch and get them to sign up at this link http://www.farfetch.com/refer-a-friend. So even if you aren't overly interested it’s still a great little competition to sign up to just for just for the fun of it.

Once you’re all signed up, you’ll receive your 10% off your next order, as will the friends that sign up and you and your friends will be automatically entered into the £2,500 prize giveaway! So it really is just as easy as entering your details and hoping for the best. The competition will start first thing tomorrow morning and finishes 9 am GMT on February 18^th, so you better act fast!  I already know exactly what I’d get if I won, what would you treat yourself to?

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This is the second segment of my 3 part new year’s series and it’s about all the main things that I've learnt throughout 2014 that I think are pretty important to remember from now on.

Is there anything you’ve found out about yourself this year?

I’m doing this as a little 3 part new year’s series. This is the first one and is my favourite memories of 2014, the second is the lessons I've learnt this year and then the last one is my new year’s resolutions for 2015!

Well, 2014 has been a bit of a weird year really hasn't it. In all honesty there have been some stupidly low points which were really hard to get out of, but in general it’s actually been such an awesome year. It’s the first year in a while I can honestly say the good has definitely out way the bad; that sounds really awful and like I'm moaning but I promise I'm not. I know I've had it easy but some years have obviously just been big challenges but 2014 really was a fabulous year. So I thought I’d do a highlight of my favourite memories of 2014.

Obviously I have had hundreds of other cool memories this year with all my family, friends, Adam and my work colleagues but these are some of the ones that I want to keep etched on my brain forever because they were just too good!

When I was asked what my must-haves are for a comfy day/evening, I could honestly think of a million and one different things! There’s nothing that I enjoy more than deciding to take some time out for myself and just chilling out really. So the fact that I can actually share a post with all you amazing readers about how I wind down is something that really appeals to me. 

First off I’ll have a really hot bath, I’m like my mum and I've been blessed with the fact that I can tolerate really hot water and then I’ll use whatever bubble bath I have at the time. One of my all time favourites is the Radox sleep easy bath soak which is just from ASDA and is super cheap but it smells divine and makes my skin super soft and when I've gotten out I just feel 10x calmer than when I got into the bath.  Depending on how I feel at the time (and how much make up I have on) I’ll use my ASDA skincare range and remove all my makeup and clean my face of all the days grossness and makeup and I just feel so much more refreshed when I have a clean face. Comfy clothes are also an absolute MUST if I want to reach maximum comfort; this will usually involve some leggings and a baggy jumper with some slipper boots. I found all these on New Look and I absolutely love them, they all look so snug.

Once all my comfy prepping is done this is where I really get down to the good stuff, if I’m winding down particularly I need some sort of drink and snack whilst I’m curled up on the sofa. My favourite warm drink to unwind with is definitely a milky coffee or a vanilla latte (vanilla lattes are the absolute bomb) and if I’m snacking then I've always wanted twirl bites because they are just the type of food that I can munch away on constantly and get through a bag in less than 10 minutes, I have got a serious problem that requires help when it comes to twirl bites. I’ll then curl up on the sofa with whatever I can find to use as a blanket or a throw, at the moment I’m on the hunt for the perfect sofa throw as a dressing gown doesn't really cut it. I found this stunning cashmere throw on the parachute homes website which would be absolute HEAVEN to curl up in and watch telly with.  I’ll then either watch TV or a film depending on my mood; at the moment Adam and I are really heavily into our Lost so we’ll probably watch about 5 hours of that.

What makes this more perfect than it already is would have to be having some candles on the go, I never really understood the hype of candles until about a year or 2 ago and now I’m hooked on them, so I’d probably choose to burn my favourite Yankee scents at the moment that is cranberry ice, which smells so wonderful and just makes me feel even more peaceful and snug.  

So by now I’m in pure comfy mode; curled up in my make shift throw with my vanilla latte and twirl bites whilst watching LOST and burning candles and I’m usually pretty close to falling asleep. So this is when I’ll drag myself downstairs into bed, and this Venice bedspread from parachute homes looks like sleeping paradise *heart eye emojis* and then I’ll have passed out in about 30 seconds. Perfect.

So that’s my ideal comfy evening, just thinking about it is making me feel all calm and sleepy! 

What is your ideal comfy day/evening?  

I’m back at work today after 4 days off, but only have about a week and a half left until I finish work for Christmas! If I’m honest I’m just excited for the time off to eat my weight in roast potatoes, because that is what the holiday season is all about. 

I think I've actually managed to finish all my Christmas shopping already which is insane to think about as I’m usually still buying for people a day before Christmas. I’m worried I haven’t got enough for people, but it’s obviously the thought that counts and that’s what I need to keep telling myself. I've also managed to get them all wrapped and I've done pretty well this year if I do say so myself! People always mock me because in the past my present wrapping skills are pretty poor: a fish could probably wrap a present better than me and they don’t even have hands. If you think I’m over exaggerating- I promise I’m not, but this year I really tried hard to wrap presents so that I wouldn't feel embarrassed to give them out and some of them still aren't great. However, some are actually pretty good! Maybe by this time next year I’ll be a superstar wrapper.

The decorations have finally gone up for our ‘heaven’ themed Christmas and they look amazing! I’m literally so in love with how they look, my step-dad and mum have done such a brilliant job with the decorations this year. I’m actually trying to persuade my mum to keep the fairy lights up (because we all know how obsessed I am) but it’s just nice to have something a bit different to everyone else and still have some elements the same. We still have lights and tinsel etc., but we don’t have a Christmas tree it’s just something a little bit different and I think it’s great and so cool. It feels so nice and cosy when you sit in the room surrounded by all the fairy lights, it’s really relaxing and now I basically want to do it to every room in every house I ever live in now.

Tonight is my last night of a class I've been going to for the last few weeks and I’m still undecided on how helpful it’s actually been. Some elements have been better than others and some have just been really common sense, but it’s been a great first step for me in getting the strength to get the help that I need and for that I am proud of myself in a way! So I’m interested to see where this now takes me.

I hope you have all had a wonderful Monday!