I'm kinda over getting told to throw my hands up in the air

Kimono: Primark         Sleeveless shirt: Topshop         Jeans: Next

Necklace: Warehouse

First of all, apologies for the quality of these photos - I really wanted to post this outfit, but I've been so busy all day that the only time I could find to do a shoot was at night! There just aren't enough hours of daylight at the moment.

The reason I've had such a full day is that all of my cousins, aunties and uncles on my Dad's side of the family have been up to stay with my Taid (welsh for granddad). Normally we're scattered around the country, but every now and then we all meet up, so the last couple of days have been a sort of Christmas gathering! Last night we went for a lovely meal (all 13 of us!) and this morning we all got up early to go bowling. Well, I say early... early by student standards!

I used to be quite good at bowling, but I was pretty terrible today! It gets embarrassing when your younger cousins start to beat you! I'm feeling very old. After the bowling, we went back to my Taid's house for a Christmas dinner... somewhere around my 5th or 6th of the festive season (definitely gonna have to go on a diet when this is all over). Later, my uncle revealed that he had another activity for us all to do - he'd bought three sets of an "egg challenge" game, and we were to split into three teams! The challenge was to build a parachute like structure, using the materials in the box, that would hold an egg and stop it from smashing if dropped from a great height. The winning team would be the one who's egg withstood being dropped from the highest point. I'm not sure I've explained this very well, but it ended in hilarity and one of my uncles standing on the garage roof to drop the parachutes!

Since it was such an activity-heavy day (although I only knew about the bowling beforehand), I decided I'd better go with jeans rather than a skirt or dress!

I could pretend that I wore the kimono because it was a light layer, would allow for ease of movement and would stop me from getting too hot whilst bowling... but really I just love the pattern and hadn't worn it in a while! It was useful for all of those reasons, though. I'm a huge fan of kimonos, they add a certain bohemian charm, and it's no secret that I'm a sucker for all things boho!

Both the white shirt and the purple jeans I've had for a couple of years, but they still serve me well as great casual separates. Although, after wearing my Topshop "mom" jeans so much recently, it felt very weird to be wearing jeans that weren't high-waisted! I may have had slight withdrawal symptoms!

 (I didn't, I'm just been overdramatic).

Helen xx