This month's theme of 'Summer Loving' is made even more appropriate by the fact that my performing arts students are performing parts of Grease this afternoon!

Now personally for me, summer means florals. OK, I wear them all year round, but now they are no longer covered up by layers. Summer florals are cheerful and fun, whether it's a pretty ditsy print tea dress or a bold print maxi dress.  It always amazes me just what a variety of 'floral' prints there really are. And if you're feeling adventurous why stop at just one print?

So many of my own outfits unclude florals, in fact I'm far more likely to be wearing one than not. Which brings me to the fact that my own blog, Intrinsically Florrie will be one year old this week!

Considering my wardrobe obsession I'm having a floral themed celebration with a contest: Florrie's Floral Festivities. So I would absolutely love to see what floral pieces are lurking in your wardrobe waiting to get out into the sunlight: http://intrinsicallyflorrie.blogspot.com/2010/07/florries-floral-festivities.html

So, are you a fan of full on floral chic? Or maybe just a hint at the trend with a corsage?

Festivals, festivals, festivals.

Hippie headbands, cool hats, floaty florals and Hunter wellies.

Portaloos and muddy fields...

OK, I'll just get it out and say it; the type of festival that's in fashion at the moment, where the celebrities are photographed and end up on the style pages, just isn't 'me'. Sure there's the whole fashion experience and maybe it would be nice to use my Cath Kidston print tent and even my fellow debutantes of 2010 are festival mad! But the fact remains that my knowledge of current mainstream music is completely pathetic and I'm fine with that. Besides the fashion, and to be honest despite being a country girl I'd rather be in heels, dare I say some of the experience just sounds a little icky?

Mulberry is getting in on the festival scene right now. I could hardly not notice the huge 'GLASTONBURY' in the window whilst walking in Bond Street yesterday. Photographer Venetia Dearden has collaborated with the brand to creat a book of Glastonbury related photographs; the scene, the revellers, the performers. It is available for £30 online, at Bond St and New York Madison. Both Bond St and Madison Avenue are also exhibiting a selection of the images.

Having said all of the above there is one festival I regularly go to though and it involves to tents at all! The Lichfield Festival this year lasts from 8th-18th July and hosts a huge variety of acts. Now this is very handy as Lichfield is about half and hours drive away from where I live and my uncle lives there! There are all kinds of events each day. One of my very favourites was The Puppini Sisters at the Lichfield Garrick a couple of years back, their music is in the style of the Andrews Sisters and is just fabulous. My joint favourite opera (with the Magic Flute) is the Bartered Bride and it is so rarely performed so it was extra nice that last year the overture was played, most beautifully, on the last night which is always at Lichfield Cathedral.

Although there is a dress code as with all theatre trips I adopt a ladylike approach- well I am a debutante and a little glamour never goes amiss. For afternoon events a skirt and blouse are lovely. And for evening a dress with heels. On the last night there are fireworks and entertainment in the park so a change of footwear might be in order and a cardigan makes for a good cover up. As for the men a jacket is always smart and if you like ties, now here I must say my own Dad doesn't so it's a personal preference or whether you like them or not, it highly suitable, but it's not quite the occasion for the very best suit. 

So there you have it, an elegant festival with no worries of hygiene or sinking into the mud never to return. =)

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It is much easier to write about 'Keep calm and carry on' post-exams for me, because in practice it is something I am absolutely awful at! I have the type of personality which despite having gotten things started in plenty of time (revising on Christmas day of GCSE year? Yep, that was me) I am absolutely sure the majority of the time that I am going to fail!

However I am fortunate to have parents who are lovely and I know will be happy as long as I've tried my best.

OK so Emily just did a super-duper post with her exam time tips but here are mine. I love her tip on getting nice pens, it just makes revising a little nicer don't you think?

Things that got me through the week of hell exams:
Hello Kitty. Which is also a fabulous one because many items of this theme are under £1 and so a daily dose of Kitty cheerfulness is not too expensive. :) Lots of little treats along the way definitely help.

Regular food and drink. I personally had a supply of strawberry milkshakes and caremel waffles (the latter's from Starbucks, I wonder what the guy who served us thought we were going to do with them all!) for an exam breaktime treat to keep my brain going.

Exercise. At GCSE I actually revised from my notes on my exercise bike. It was quite calming and I have the kind of brain that works from writing out once and then reading, and reading until I've remembered it all and could churn out volumes on the topic. To quote Legally Blonde 'Exercise gives you endorphins, endorphins make you happy!' and this will not only stop you from shooting your spouse but maybe prevent a breakdown or two.

Go outside. Fresh air and a stroll can do the world of good.

Regular hugs with my guinea pigs! They're little cuties, sadly Vuitton was ill during exams which didn't help, but they just have a calming effect when I have one on my lap and they're chuntering away.

Keeping to a regular sleep pattern. This isn't a waste of vital revising time as it will make your revision sessions more efficient!

Not becoming completely anti social. Facebook is marvelous and spare an hour or two every so often for an actual meet up. 'The best friend' is a blessing at times like these.

Wearing nice clothes. This is a little tricky for me as a lot of my exam prep and actual exam time was spent oil painting and so it wasn't the time to get out my very favourites, but when you know you look nice, you feel nice.

The London Season. I'm a lucky girl in that I have being a debutante to distract me. This is a really wonderful year in my life so I concentrated on that during exam caused low points.

A nice big reward at the end. At GCSE it was a Louis Vuitton bag, last year it was Chanel shoes and this year it was a retro game console & games. Yes seriously- it was what I wanted. And some light hearted gameing which takes me back to the happy days of primary school is the perfect opposite of dreaded exams.

Summer plans. This is a good one for collective group spirit as well. If your brains' aren't dead from all the revising get together and compile a list of all the things you want to do. Personally this means a trip to see S&TC2 next week when the best friend's exams are also over and I'm really excited about an upcoming trip to Manchester. The good thing about being tied down for a while is the savings to be spent at the end!

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Well it just so happens that I look more to fictional characters for my personal style inspiration and I really admire the wardrobe of Blair Waldorf in Gossip Girl. However silly the story gets I stick with the show just to see her next outfit. Make up wise Blair's hair is always pristine and curling tongues never go amiss, plus lots of lip gloss. Fresh blush or I suspect at times they opt for bronzer instead and eyes contoured in natural eyeshadow colours and defined with a black eye pencil. Now my hair's a bit more 'Serena-y' and to say that kohl eyeliner doesn't suit me is a mjor understatement.

 I adore the way Blair Waldorf, a character from Gossip Girl dresses. I must admit (please don't all come after me with your stilettos!) I'm not loving Season 3 at all but Blair keeps me turning to ITVplayer, maybe it's our shared headband addiction. Still it's not the same now she's not living in her family apartment with it's regular supply of beautiful flower arrangements! In the first two series she's still at school and the basic uniform guidelines seem to be a navy skirt and white blouse. In general at this point Miss Waldorf favours a nautical colour palette, adding in red and always topped off with a headband.

 Outfit one: If Blair was put on the British high street and favoured slightly softer colours, but also saved up for a bit and managed to get to the Luella store for her headband fix. Topshop skirt, New Look top and shoes, Oasis tights, Marks and Spencer skirt. As it happens the sixth form at the school I went to had a uniform guideline of a navy skirt suit with a white shirt or blouse, but sadly everything else had to be black. Accessorize always have a fabulous selection of headbands at not unreasonably prices.

Some clothes for the day:

I personally love it when Blair branches out colour palette wise and goes for something soft and pretty:

Outfit 2: Miu Miu headband, Luella blouse, Moschino Cheap & Chic skirt, New Look shoes.

In season 3 Blair also has some lovely though quite bold shoes, I particularly adore a pair of pink strappy Louboutins she wears. In this series she is also at university and though she hasn't quite got the hang to dressing to fit in with the other college students, but then again to a lesser extent neither have I, her style does change to fit in with that of her businessman boyfriend Chuck.

 In the evening Blair's style is still classic with lots of black and monochrome with some metallic tones and the occasional jewel colour.

And to complete the look? Why a beautiful headband of course!

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'You might be standing in the queue to pay at the supermarket when you suddenly notice that someone is staring intently at your child and nudging their companion. You might be walking down the street when someone just comes right up and asks about your child’s appearance. Young children are incredibly curious, they look intently at things and ask very straightforward questions. Some people are genuinely concerned. Others may be familiar with your child’s condition and may want to offer a friendly word.    This sort of casual encounter is often difficult for parents because it is unexpected and it can often feel very intrusive. Many parents we speak with tell us that they often feel completely unprepared to deal with this sort of curiosity and it can leave them feeling angry, upset and powerless'

These are the sad but true words from the Changing Faces website offered to the parents of children with facial disfigurments. Looking different from everyone else brings with it a body image battle. On the whole we all want to be different but ironically also wish to conform and be part of a group, and I can only guess at the struggle people with facial disfigurments have. Naive children are always prone to stating what they see and don't understand which must make the early life of these children difficult but what is terrible is when adults cause problems.

Changing Faces is a wonderul charity that challenges our attitudes and educate from an early age, their Face Equality campaign 'is about being treated fairly and equally irrespective of facial appearance. It is about creating a society in which everyone is valued for the unique contribution that they can make to society.

The campaign aims to:

• Raise awareness of our unconscious beliefs about disfigurement that can result in prejudice and discrimination
• Encourage people, organisations and the government to tackle such beliefs and attitudes and make a commitment to face equality
• Help everyone learn new ways of thinking and behaving towards people with disfigurements'

They have recently chosen four children to front their campaign in which they are presented as just normal people. For a wide variety of reasons people may look different from you or I but they did not ask for it and should not be made to feel ashamed.

This morning 'This Life', a programme on the BBC featured the inspirational children, Harry, Max, Lucas and Lauren, and the episode can be found on iplayer. I wish I could tell them 'Good for you.'

Links:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00rfmyc/My_Life_Billboard_Kids/

http://www.changingfaces.org.uk/

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