One of my friends are throwing a surprise 30th birthday party for her husband, and she is making us all wear t-shirts she sent us that she has had printed up with pictures of her hubby when he was little. She used a t shirt printing to make them after finding the perfect picture that was not too rude, (older family members and children will be there) and not too embarrassing (hubby would never forgive her).

At least being provided with a t-shirt to wear means I don’t have to worry about what I’m wearing, all I need to worry about is whether to bring a coat or not, seeing as the weather of recent has been quite hit and miss. I hope it stays dry this weekend, as my friend has organised a full spread for the 30th party including BBQ, so fingers crossed.

I hope everything goes well and her hubby appreciates the effort she has gone too, and I also hope he likes the t-shirts we will be wearing! At least bulk buying printed t-shirts from Adlogo didn’t cost her too much, they give discounts for bulk orders and with over 30 people coming it could have ended up being quite costly.

Since the Royal wedding, well actually since William and Kate announced their engagement really the fashion world has been obsessed with what Kate and also her sister Pippa wear. Many highstreet stores have in fact been cashing in on this by selling ‘look-alike’ items seen on both girls, probably to the annoyance of the actual clothing designers.

To be fair I don’t really follow much of what either sister wears and would say I haven’t been drawn into buying something similar to what they have worn, however that changed last week after I was drawn in by an email. I have to admit my inbox is usually full of emails from various clothing retailers from designer to highstreet and it was one email from a highstreet store which caught my eye. They featured a picture of Kate wearing a dress on her recent trip to the States with William and their own version of her outfit.

Now normally I’m not drawn into things like this but the dress Kate was wearing was a great style that would be perfect for my father’s 65th birthday celebrations coming up soon. So I couldn’t resist. Although the highstreet version is an exact match to Kate’s dress it looks great all be it a bit short, but that’s more to do with my leg length being longer than average and a problem I find with most dresses!

I now wonder if I have been caught by the media spell where I find myself looking at what Kate wears for fashion inspiration? Well maybe for smart clothing for those occasions where you can’t look like a tart but the rest of the time she is a bit too safe fashion wise for me!

I’m hoping the weather for this weekend is going to be okay as I am throwing a summer party for my friends and family, to celebrate a couple of birthdays and a wedding anniversary which are all around this month.  At the moment the weather seems to be looking like it could be sunny however it’s not looking too warm. Still just in case I have hired a small marquee for the food and drinks to shelter under and guests.

The summer wouldn’t be the same without a BBQ so I have dusted mine off after a year in hibernation and pre made lots of burgers as well as sorting out and par cooking chicken bits that I have marinated. I also bought lots of little nibbles and dips for people to snack on, as well as traditional party favourites; sausage roll, cocktail sausages and mini quiches.

I will also be serving some deserts too, such as jelly and ice cream and my favourite trifle. I have also borrowed my friends chocolate fountain so I am looking forward to seeing how that goes down with everyone.

For drinks I have asked everyone to BYO; however I will be serving some Pims as well as a non-alcoholic fruit cocktail. I’ve learnt in the past not to use my own glasses, and hiring is expensive so I have bought a load of plastic glasses for the occasion. Don’t worry though I will recycle them after the party.

I have also bought some summer bunting for the garden which is made out of recycled paper as well as some cute paper lanterns. My DIY lighting includes jam jars with tea lights inside, for the tables and also to hang off branches, which required some wire around the top of the jars. Nice, simple and effective, especially when the rest of the decorations are provided for by the flowers in my garden, so I haven’t had to spend too much money.

One of my friends turned 30 this weekend and as a celebration of her 31 years of life a group of her closest friends and I went out for a meal to her favourite restaurant. There was one surprise she was not expecting and that was for us all to be wearing t-shirts adorning her face through different stages of her life, proclaiming her 30th!

We had different t-shirt made, using an online t shirt printing company with each t-shirt featuring a different picture from her past. Some with cheeky, childish pictures, courtesy of her mother, some with the difficult teenage years on which feature plenty of bad hairstyles and finally some with the best pictures from her 20’s on.

It was quite a hard task getting these t-shirts made, considering all the different pictures to go on and different sizes for needed, however Adlogo provided an excellent service that was quick and conscience. I will defiantly be using them again in future for any t-shirts I may need printing up!

This month seems to be a month of birthdays, weddings, births and anniversaries and I am starting to run out of ideas (and money) in the gift department. I start to struggle for ideas when its people I don’t see all too often who are always thoughtful gift givers. After the success of the bay tree flower gift Glasgow to my aunt and uncle I have decided this would be a good option for people that I struggle to buy for.

There is a huge choice of gifts you can choose from which I have mentioned before as well as gorgeous bouquets for every occasion, all of which can be delivered. I really do enjoy looking around my florist in Glasgow for gift inspiration, for friends and myself.

It’s my brothers birthday coming up so I’m currently looking at what to get him, he is two years younger than me and if it’s possible he has more clothes than me (shopping must be a family trait). He has however more expensive tastes and likes designer menswear rather than the standard TopMan and Burtons, which would better fit my wallet!

Now as much as I am an expert in designer when it comes to women’s clothing, menswear I am not so sure of so I have decided to look at many clothing websites for menswear, without getting too distracted and looking things for me, to see what I can find. Now some brands I have heard of because they also sell women’s clothes too, but some others I haven’t, one that has good choice is Firetrap which I know because I like their jeans, I like their selection of polo shirts and jumpers in a classic style which would suit my brother, (if he was born a decade or so earlier he would defiantly be a Mod). Speaking of the classic Mod style Fred Perry which was the main clothing brand for that style is great even now with many of their designs featuring that classic style but with a modern twist.

So I think I know what style to go for, classic with a modern twist, just need to decide on what item of clothing, polo shirt or stylish light jumper……..?

Tops