AleroButtercup

Fancy hats, bubbly and high tea 

... with the queen? You make me an offer I cannot refuse. For my non British readers aka Immigrants ( gosh I can't stand them ?) let me tell you a thing or two about Ascot. Ascot is a British horse racing ground and the poshest one may I add. It is barely two miles from where the Queen lives so that is her hood hood! Every year around June there are four days of horse racing where the Queen and many members of the royal family attend just to wave to us commoners and clear their conscience until next year when they rinse and repeat (no wonder they live so long ?). Out of the four days, one is called "Ladies day at the Royal Ascot", take out "Ladies", insert us, BAM we were gearing up ready to go.  Ascot has a strict dress code, naturally if you are coming to see the Queen, you need to dress appropriately. You let human beings do whatever they want, guaranteed there will be someone there wearing a mini skirt and a mankini, twerking to the tune of the national anthem. Some of the rules are, you must wear a hat and keep it on at all times (I was here for this), your dress must not be above knee length, off shoulder dresses not allowed, dress must be modest and so on but this year they added full length Jumpsuits to the list of acceptable dress which gave people a sense that they were relaxing the rules a little.  My first experience of Ascot was a wonderful one. The weather was beautiful. We spread our picnic not far from the race track so we were in the middle of the action. When I looked around, I realised it was as much about friendship as it was dressing up. People having a good time with their friends and making memories.  Although it was a glorious day, I would do some things differently next year. 1. Get there earlier than I did (12 noon), to have more time with friends 2. Arrange to all go together, we spent a lot of time waiting around and looking for each other.  3. Pack a full picnic. Contents of the picnic basket or cooler will consist mainly of Jellof  rice and ram suya ? 4. Arrange childcare for the whole day, please don't wait up for mama. 5. Lastly don't drive so that champagne and strawberries can be my diet for a good 6 hours. Lastly I would give myself more time for styling because there is a mad rush for hats that are not too expensive so I would like to take my time to dig around etsy to find a perfect hat. I changed my outfit a few million times depending on my mood that day. In the end I went for a dress I had owned for years. I knew I wanted a small fascinator because no one wants their hat blowing half way across the racecourse and eaten by one of the horses?. I wore a hat from Debenhams which cost about £40 and my dress is so old from Shein. My shoes are my precious Dolce and Gabbana. Me and my man dem below init ? So next year when you go to Ascot to feel posh for the day, hit me up for styling tips. Until next time Buttercups I leave you with a short video of the best outfit I saw on the day, STUNNER!

I have been living with out this for 3 months, you would never believe it

...A microwave!  About 3 months ago my microwave which I thought was leaking serious radiation finally keeled over and died after nearly blowing us up like it had a major score to settle. After much deliberation, we decided not to buy another. Let me give you a brief history of our relationship with microwaves over the years. We always buy the shiniest, techest, most cutting edge microwave. We never scrimp or try to save money because it was integral to the household. But it never seemed enough because they always give up the ghost in a short time. So the cycle was endless: We lose a microwave to old age (8 months to 2 years in the tech world) then we enter the world of Amazon reviews and begin studying again. "Baby they say this one can cook beans from scratch and even add pepper and Maggi for you " "Hunni, this one can melt ice and reform it back to ice again with its warming cooling technology" "Omd baby look at this one, IT CAN  TOTALLY BABYSIT" ? After days of trolling reviews, we usually get something that was similar if not identical to what we had before and the cycle continues. This time we had enough. We decided not to replace good ol betty. We were anxious though, pacing up and down making noises that oversized men make in the gym when pumping 3kg of iron.  'We are gonna do this. No microwave, no problem.' First week, yup, it was ok. We were feeling the health benefits already. My skin was glowing, nails were stronger and I swear I had grown an inch or so in height ?. Week two, as many pots were used to warm up food, I began to feel angry. I didn't subscribe to this mediaeval life, I am a modern city gal, ain't no body got time for this. Walking down the supermarket aisle, microwave meals became more appealing to me "This tuna, salmon, beef combo looks so lit" "Who knew that mango pasta went so well with pork scratchings" I was shaking from microwave withdrawal. What have I done and how can I survive this mighty feat I have brought upon myself? Into week 3. I had to survive somehow pipo. I found myself looking in the mirror and chanting affirmations ever so often in the day " You are beautiful, no microwave on earth deserves you" "You are enough, don't let the microwave tell you otherwise" "You deserve better, you deserve a high tech oven that can do dishes,  sing lullabies and cook soup ALL at the same time" After the third week, we pretty much adapted, utilising a lot of smaller pots and making a habit of giving a quick wash as soon as we were done to avoid a pile up. Three months down the line, we are pretty much in tune with our situation and we will never go back to using a microwave. One serious benefit is we eat less junk and plan way ahead of time for proper meals. Wasn't so bad after all. So now that I have inspired y'all who is giving up their microwave today, do like this ?‍♂️. Lol. Outfit time My top is a dress from ASOS worn as a top Trousers (old) also from ASOS Shoes from Zara Hat from TK maxx Until next time Buttercups.

Bragging rights and lillies 

This is not a drill, it's the real deal. An exercise for everyone : Brag about yourself in the comment section. Why are you so fly? What sets you apart?  What are you the best at?  Or just randomly say everything you are low key slaying on a daily basis.  I will wait.... Still waiting.... *glances at watch* *taps feet* *stares around the room* Ok guys, this is becoming awkward. Why are you so shy? Why arent you bragging about yourself? I am just the same pipo, I find it so difficult to big myself up especially in informal situations. But when it comes to job interviews, you need to be in the room to believe it. The bragging begins in full force and continues for so long that without  the shadow of a doubt I know a security button somewhere has been triggered and in less than  10 seconds I will be removed from the premises by four hefty men in black suits and shiny patent shoes ?. Interview goes something like this  Interviewer: What are your strengths? Me: Two million pounds  Interviewer: What does that mean? Me: I will make this company two million pounds in 2 and a half weeks.  Interviewer:... Me: Next question? When do I start I hear you say? ? Cocky as hell in interviews but in real life I feel shy to tell people what my strengths are and why I am special? I am asked in social situations "so what do you do?" And it is easier to say I am a Business Analyst but my inner me is screaming - "I am also a blogger, style consultant and photographer, I am a really really interesting person only if i had the courage to say it all to you". While I can talk about blogging passionately for hours, I am wary because I don't want to be faced with questions like : "what exactly is blogging",  "Do people even read that stuff?",  "Where do you find time to blog?".  It is easier for me to stick to what people understand. But today was a turning point. I was on the way to my shoot and a train attendant complimented me on my jeans, I must say I was taken aback, "why is this man talking to me in public trying to give eye contact, does he know this is forbidden in London? Or did he not read the election manifesto " ? . To my surprise I started telling him all about my blog and why he should be reading it. He immediately took out his phone and started checking out my posts. I really pulled a fast one on my own damn self there, this is not me usually,  who are you? and  what have you done with Alero Buttercup?  ?.  Can you believe what I told him next? (You gotta sit down for this pipo) I told him to "spread the word" ??. Sharrap dier !!! Lol. I gave me a damn hi 5 and started a full on twerk - in my mind of course. For once I was actually expressing, promoting  bragging about myself and it felt so good.  Please guys try this out one day and then the next and the next and before you know it, a habit will be formed.  I can totally see you guys pushing your security buttons because I am talking too much ?. You can stop now because I am about to talk about this outfit and gerra ra here.             Victoria Beckham for Target I love the feel of this trouser co-ord from VB for Target. It is a thicker material and it feels amazing on the skin. Although I must say I lost 2 buttons during the shoot which was a let down. My hat is from a retailer @TKsales on Instagram, feel free to check them out. *so now you kicking the panic button like mad* do you boo boo, I am out ?. Until next time Buttercups ?

From this day forth, I will never buy another dress AGAIN. 

Getting ready for wedding season? What outfits are you going to Slay in Summer 2017. Well I have a ritual that happens most summers. I take out my summer and occassion dresses around May and see which ones I can reinvent and which ones need to go on eBay.  I realised that the more glam and expensive ones are the first to go into the latter pile because they were just too extra to be rocked again. I got fed up and declared that I will not buy a dress again. So what do I do when shopping for a wedding outfit? Buy separates. I shall reveal to you my secret that has saved me millions of hard earned cash.  My outfit here cost me £33, T-H-I-R-T-Y   T-H-R-E-E  P-O-U-N-D-S? I hear you say. YELS, I say back to you. I am wearing a top from asos £20 and a skirt from Boohoo £13. If I bought this as a dress it would have cost nothing less than £120 so I saved myself a fortune. This top I shall rock with jeans for a night out and a full skirt for another occasion. *throwing in a pic of my Christian Grey for effect* ? An alternative outfit I purchased just to have options and to illustrate different ways to wear are below. Sequin top from Newlook and 3d skirt from Asos. Going to a wedding, I would pair it with metallic ruffle shoes and a floral clutch bag like this. For a simple day look, I would pair the skirt with a white tshirt a back pack and Stan smith's.  For a night time look, pair the top with black skinny jeans and some black pointy shoes. So your separates have worked well for you rather than a dress that is pretty much everything useless after you wear it once.  My tips when buying separates 1. Miss match the top and bottoms slightly, similar colours but different textures and fabrics so it still looks like a dress.  2. How can you can wear both items either dressed up or down is something to consider at point of purchase. There is no need buying a skirt with a train because you will not be able to wear it again. 3. Stick to classic shapes. A very distinctive top might be more difficult to pull off a different way in similar crowds. 4. When wearing with another outfit think outside the box and wear with confidence.  I really want to know if anyone is really reading this. If you are please drop a comment, make my day ??. Until next time buttercups.

Wild weekends in shorts

Standing on a table jirating to "gangsters paradise" sounds like something a drunk uncle will do at a wedding just before peeing himself and passing out.  Minus the drunkenness, this was how my weekend was spent twerking to a surprisingly banging live band. I partied hard and got to my peak at the ripe time of 11.30pm when my uber who was probably 20 minutes away was claiming only four Uber minutes from pick up. I was prepared for this night, and I knew that my 6 weeks of cardio and strength training before hand AND my array food supplements would get me over the 9.30pm mark. Two hours later I was still going if not for that running man move that nearly robbed me of  my knee caps?.  As the live band continued to give hit after hit, I looked around the room estimating people's ages by the songs they knew the actual lyrics to. Ma'am you are singing gangsters paradise from start to end, you are 40 years old, oga mi how do you know that MJ song that only came out on record?you were in high school in 1983 when the album came out therefore you are  53 years of age gbam. It was a great night and I have scheduled another for May 2018 which I have a year to prepare for so I am not worried in the slightest *flicks hair and starts to twerk then pulls back so has to sit ass back down* I look back at my youth, not very far behind me (I am a millennial may I add) and I think of the late nights I kept, I think of the 3 hour dance cardio at the club, the precise coordination of dragging 20 (yes TWENTY) friends to the club for your birthday all at their own risks.  Now to get 5 friends out will be met with excuses like "I am still recovering from my gym class from last week", "my child ate my entire outfit,yes, sequins and all", "my passport has just expired this morning " (HUH!). I am not excluding myself from this as I am as guilty but from this moment I promise to do better, to say yes more, to make memories and to enjoy my life.  Let me get into this outfit. I call this summertime fly. I have always known blues suit my skin tone. Royal blue, turquiose, aqua, baby blue have all been my colour. I saw this tailored look and knew it was for me.  Although I wouldn't wear this to work but I will show you how tailored shorts can be worn this summer in a sophisticated way. My tips and tricks 1. Make sure the shorts are at knee level  or not far above. Preferably a bit loose round the hips and thighs to show off the tailored look.   2. Wear with a covered up look on the top, either a blazer or oversized shirt or a blouse.    3. Kitten heels or flats are best to show off your shorts and play with colour. Outfit deets  Shorts and blazer- Dorothy Perkins Shoes- Dorothy Perkins Blouse Mango Sunglasses Celine Don't say I never did anything for y'all ?. Until next time buttercups. 

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