BIRDS OF A FEATHER.

You can tell that I like birds quite a bit. I like to watch them, I like to wear prints featuring them, I like to draw them, and I like to blog on a blog called 'babybirdblog'! You can imagine my excitement when I first saw feather hair extensions popping up on the internet. What an amazing way to accessorise your hair!



When I found these little feathered wonders I was dying to add something different to my hair. I had thought of dying, but I didn't much like the thought of extensive bleaching and repeated colouring to get the effect I wanted. Feather extensions offered me the perfect alternative - a splash of colour without damaging my hair! I sourced mine from the wonderful Feather Ray - a London based feather-extension boutique who are currently pride of place in Oxford Circus's Topshop.

The feathers are natural, dyed to a number of beautiful colours, patterns and shades, which you can check out on Feather Ray's shop, and are held in place by little silicone rings which are threaded into the hair along with the feathers and squeezed (by pliers) to crimp them into place. They're also very easily removed (when - or should I say if - you want to remove them) by squeezing the ring the opposite direction to open it back up again. They can be washed, dried, straightened and curled with your own hair, so they're incredibly versatile too!

I bought my first set (the Rainbow Festival Mix) back in September and had them in place from then til mid December, when I took them out in hope of getting my hair cut and dyed. The feathers are more or less as good as new, despite frequent washing, blow-drying, straightening and curling, and I've even recycled the older ones back in again with the new ones I had purchased (2x Tequila Sunset + 1 Autumn Blues Mix) - which are absolutely stunning! I'm in love with the turquoise colours.

I'm in love with my feathers - they're pretty unique and add something a little special to my hair. I can't see me taking out these ones until it's time to chop my hair again, and I can almost guarantee that i'll be replacing them soon afterwards. Highly recommended!

Check Feather Ray out on facebook + twitter

love, Jessica

CHOICE NOTES.

Yeah, I know, I did it again! Good intentions do indeed pave the way to hell, as they say. I had the very best of them to keep everything running smoothly, but unfortunately a few ill-timed assignments have kept me too busy for editing photos and writing posts. I still managed to snap a few photos along the way - and I've posted up a few WIWT instagrams over on my tumblr - check it out for slightly more regular updates!

These photos are from around 3 weeks ago when my hair got a well overdue makeover. My highlights had grown out, it was a little bedraggled and the split ends were becoming an endless distraction for me, and it had been begging to be chopped and coloured since before christmas. Finally, with the exams and placement over, I took advantage of a free afternoon and got it sorted.


 
Sheer cream blouse - River Island
High-waist denim shorts - Topshop
Super-cosy tights - Primark
Moccasins - Minnetonka
Wine coloured bowler - UO

Brown leather belt - Topshop
Tortoishell doe necklace - H+M

So happy with the results, and still loving it! I had the ends lightened considerably and a few more blonde foils put in so it's less highlighted and more ombre. I know that several beauty blogs have claimed that ombre is 'over' but I guess I'm not just there yet, haha! It's a great colour option for darker haired girls, because when it's done right, it gives a lot of depth to the hair and of course, is easy to maintain and a lot cheaper than getting a full head of highlights. I definitely recommend going to a stylist though - some of the home-grown attempts I've seen on tumblr make me wince, usually the dyed hair looks totally burnt out by bleach. Poor hair!

I'm still listening to Gotye, at least once a day! Somebody I used to know is becoming a little bit of an anthem in my house in Belfast because we all love it so much. It's a regular on our dish-washing soundtrack. This week I've been enjoying tunes from the ATG Spring Mixtape (2011). Here's one of my favourite tracks, hope you enjoy!



love, Jessica

SOMEBODY I USED TO KNOW.

Well hello there!

As you can probably tell, the first semester of my third year of Pharmacy in Queen's kind of took me by surprise with how much time it managed to absorb from my life. After the first fortnight, my blog was truly at the very farthest reaches of my mind, and photos I had taken over the previous weeks got tucked away in a folder within a folder within a folder - out of my sight and out of my priorities too. Between lectures, workshops, practicals, reports, learning French and Italian, helping out with AmnestyQUB, going to London for the Amnesty Student Conference and, I'll admit it, the occasional social event and gig, my blogging has been non existant.

The good news is I'm back now! I'm just finished the most stressful and demanding exam session I've ever and hopefully will ever have to experience again, and have a week of hospital placement coming up and finally a week of blissful rest and recreation to indulge myself with before I return to class again. I'm pledging this year to try and keep up my blog amidst the rest of my hectic life. My posts will likely be taking on a different format to the way they were in the past. I'll be continuing to post outfits, recommend music, share my photos and art and review events, though these will be condensed into a weekly review rather than individual postings for the forseeable future. However, I have recently started a tumblr - for the purpose of quick and regular sharing of my photos (including style/outfit photos) throughout the week - so if you've got one please follow me! I'll follow back, I promise!!

Today's photos were taken by the ever lovely Conor. 

 

 

Fur-trimmed coat - Topshop

Striped long-sleeve top - Primark

Paper-bag waist shorts - H&M

Tartan scarf - vintage/thrifted

Chunky chain necklace - Dorothy Perkins

Super cosy tights - Primark

Shoes - Minnetonka Moccasins 

 

This outfit contains quite a few recent additions to my wardrobe that I won't have blogged before. The coat was purchased around the end of October and has been a staple of mine throughout this winter. I love the textures in it, with the open weave wool and extra soft fur of the cuffs and collars. The shape is akin to a swing coat, which along with the rounded collar, gives it a vintage feel, and the details of the scalloped mac-like overlay and strap on the back give it extra character. It's safe to say I love it and will likely be wearing it for the next few years! Those neutral tones just go with everything!

 

 

The top is an old favourite that I've been wearing for years, while the shorts are a Christmas purchase! They're a beautiful charcoal grey faux-silk and have a great loose tailoring style. So comfortable and so wearable! They're also a perfect colour with my wine tights, which are another Primark buy which has been a savior during the winter for me. I wear jeans so rarely that tights are an every day necessity for me, and when the wind blows cold my legs suffer the consequences. These tights are less tights and more leggings - they're fleeced on the inside and are a delight to wear, and succeed in keeping your legs toasty warm.

 

 

My shoes are my most recent purchase, and I'm already in love with them. I really love moccasin shoes - maybe I watched Pocahontas one too many times during my childhood, but the style has certainly rubbed off on me. These are from the kings and queens of moccasins, Minnetonka. I've been looking a pair for about a year now since finding them online. They recently came in to my local Urban Outfitters in the Thunderbird II style, and this inspired me to have a 'window-shop' online at their other styles - and I discovered to my delight that they had a sale on! I scored these studded beauties for £36 and am so glad I did. They fit like gloves and feel like I've been wearing them for centuries. Extremely well made little things. I'd definitely recommend Minnetonka if you're planning to go down the moccasin route - and their sale is on-going to the end of January with a few other lovely styles included in it!

 

I'd also like to share this beauty of a song with you. I've been listening to this a few times every day during and since my exams, and I think I'm in love with both of these talented people:

I'd also recommend checking out Kimbra's other stuff, especially Cameo Lover - altogether more pop-based but nonetheless extremely listenable and danceable! (And isn't she just too gorgeous for words?)

I hope you enjoyed this post! If you have any suggestions for things I should blog about more, leave them in a comment below and I'll see what I can do. Finally, I'd like to wish all of you a somewhat belated new year!

Thanks for reading!

love, Jessica

SING THE GREYS.

These photos have been sitting on my desktop for several weeks now, making me feel guilty about not posting at all. Sorry, photographs! This outfit was comprised almost exclusively of new clothes, and it's almost totally from H+M, one of my favourite shops! I can always find an armful of clothes I love in there, and despite it's good value, visiting it can be unhealthy for my purse and bank balance!

Hat - UO

Jumper - H+M

Skirt - H+M

Tights - H+M

Faun Necklace - H+M

Pumps - Topshop

This jumper is the ultimate in cosy comfort! It's soft and perfectly oversized and can be thrown on over dresses, skirts, shorts and jeans - I know, I've tried it - to keep you toasty warm. I'm a big fan of layering, so it's a perfect addition to my wardrobe this autumn. My skirt was a mega bargain at £3.99, another basic that, thanks to it's neutral tones sits well with pretty much anything!

Gubbins stalked me around the garden while I was taking out my photo kit, so I thought it would only be fair to take his portrait too!

I'm planning on spending quite a while tomorrow writing up notes from uni, but hopefully I'll get the chance to write up another little wish-list to satiate my retail desires!

love, Jessica

TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN.

HI!!! So glad to be sitting here writing this blog right now! I've been M.I.A. for quite a few weeks while I've been trying to move back up to Belfast into our new house, and settle into the whole balance of classes, studying, and socialising! I've missed talking nonsense on here. I've thought up a few little ideas for posts that I'll be sharing across the coming fortnight, including the usual style posts alongside inspiration and maybe another wishlist (it gets longer every day), but for today, I thought I'd make your tuesday tuneful with a magical music recommendation! Boy, the alliteration's really flowing here!

If you haven't heard of The Civil Wars already, I feel sorry for you, because you've been missing out! I even feel bad for myself because I've only listened to them properly for the past month. They've been hiding out in my iTunes library, just waiting to be discovered! The female counterpart of the duo, Joy Williams, has also been chilling around there, her solo work having been featured a number of times on Grey's Anatomy (yeah, I'm in love with it too!). Her familiar vocal was a welcome introduction to their music.

As you've gathered, I'm a pretty big fan of folk music, and harmonies go a long way towards charming my heart. I just love (trying) to sing along with them. The Civil Wars have both folk stylings and harmony in abundance, and the simplicity of the accompanying music makes their songs all the more addictive to listen to. Both William's and John Paul White's vocals are stunning - every single note seems to come right from the heart, and together, they fill your ears with their haunting, romantic lyrics. Since their music really speaks for itself, I'll leave it here, finishing with my favourite track from their debut album, Barton Hollow, which you can (and should) purchase on iTunes or Amazon.

love, Jessica