'Life is better in rose gold'

'Rosefield watches are a tribute to the great vibes, the energy and the tolerance for free thinking that is typical for both Amsterdam and New York City*.'
Watches have always been a big love of mine. I've never been a jewellery kind of girl. I'm not really sure why as my Mam absolutely adores her jewellery but I have just never been that interested. However, when it comes to watches, I'm in my element. I always feel that a watch can really complete an outfit, and if you do wear other jewellery, can tie every piece together. For my 21st birthday, I was mainly looking for a present that I could keep as a memory of this milestone. I was given a Daniel Wellington watch for my 18th birthday and thought it was time to invest in a new one. I found the online store, Rosefield Watches, which I had actually seen across Instagram and Facebook so I thought I'd give it a browse and found my PERFECT watch: The Mercer. I subtly sent a picture of the rose gold watch to my amazing boyfriend with many hints saying how much I loved it and here it is. The little beauty.

Background
Rosefield claim that they make 'fashion-forward watches where classic meets modern*' where they aim to combine both the style of Amsterdam and New York and create fashionable, functioning watches. The brand combine both Dutch minimalism with the contemporary aesthetics of New York fashion to produce beautiful pieces. They very much value the quality of their designs with high quality materials, for example luxurious leather and stainless steel mesh straps. These straps are also interchangeable, giving you the option to pair your watch with your style. With a range of colours and styles, Rosefield really do give you a range of watches to choose from.

The Mercer
"Paying tribute to an exciting street in one of NYC's signature shopping destinations, the MERCER collection features stainless steel mesh straps for an exquisite look that suits this fashionable neighbourhood*."

I decided I wanted a metal strap in rose gold, as my previous watch was brown leather and felt like I needed a bit of a change. I am a massive fan of rose gold and always have been, so it was inevitable that my choice would be just that. I picked the Mercer because I had originally seen it advertised on Facebook and loved how it looked but I also found that compared to the other similar watches on the website, the face was the perfect size for my wrist. I have quite small wrists so I have to be careful that watches aren't too oversized and are the perfect fit. I also chose to go with a black face rather than white. I chose this because it was a lot different to the watches I've had before and I thought it looked extra classy.

Details:
The diameter of the watch face is 38mm, making it just the right size for my tiny little wrists. The strap is rose gold-plated stainless steel mess and can be easily adjusted to minimum of 15cm up to a maximum of 21cm, according to the Rosefield website. The strap can also be interchangeable, allowing you to change your style. The dial is black with rose gold detailing, including the hands and indexes and also includes the Rosefield logo in small print.

All Rosefield watches include a 2-year warranty from the date of purchase just incase anything goes wrong with your product which is fab! I absolutely love my watch and I've had so many compliments on it, especially from customers when I'm at work. Everyone seems to want to know where it's from and where can they get one from. I haven't taken my watch off since my amazing boyfriend gave it to me, I am literally in love with it. You can buy it from the Rosefield website, John Lewis, Topshop and many other stores. The watch itself cost £89 which, in my opinion, isn't actually that bad! Feel like another purchase may be on the horizon...

All my love, Charlotte Rose x


*All quotes are taken from the Rosefield website.

New York: The Best Bits

New York. The American dream. The Big Apple. The city that never sleeps.

For years I've been desperate to visit this amazing place and not so long ago, I returned from my once in a lifetime trip to New York City. Every year, my parents would get me a New York calendar with prints and pictures of the beautiful city and every year I wondered when I'd get the chance to go. I've been to America before but New York was always top of the list. So, on the 11th September 2017, my parents and I woke up at a lovely 2:30am and were on our travels. It was safe to say, by the time I was on my first flight I started drifting off. A 3 hour sleep was not for me.

So after a long day travelling, we eventually arrived in the city of lights. We checked in to the Westin Hotel in Times Square, an amazing hotel, perfect for our stay. The rooms were lovely and the view was amazing. It was right next to Times Square so the location was just right for walking around everyday and getting to places easily. I'm going to admit, we were typical tourists. We wanted to see EVERYTHING! Five days just wasn't enough, which means I can book another trip back, right?

I didn't want to write a post describing every single thing we did on every single day, because I thought I'd probably lose you all by the second point. So, I thought I would summarise my 5-day stay into 6 best bits. In my opinion, these are the most essential things to do in New York, especially if it's your first time in the city or just want to do a bit of sightseeing:

1. Times Square
I mean, it's pretty hard to miss, but you have to walk round Times Square. The main place for all the lights, and of course, to get that perfect Instagram. Wandering round both in the day and night is amazing. In the day, it's packed full of tourists, shoppers and people on their commute to work. It's full of yellow cabs and some weird and wonderful people. The shops are fab. The Forever 21 is about 4 floors and there's a Sephora on every street corner so that was me sorted! At night, it feels like its still daylight. The lights are so bright that you would think you're walking out at 10am, when it's actually 10pm. But it is definitely a sight worth seeing.

2.  Rockerfellar Centre
We visited both the Empire State Building and the Rockerfellar Centre, however if I had to choose the best out of the two, I would recommend going to the Top of the Rock. The views are incredible. You can see the entire New York skyline and what is even better, is that you have an amazing view of the Empire State. I would advise either going early in the morning, especially when it's a bit quieter, but also at night when New York shines bright.

3. Central Park
I mean, it's inevitable. Central Park is probably one of the biggest names associated with New York and believe me, you will not be disappointed. The park itself is huge, much bigger than you'd think. We didn't have a specific path to follow which was actually the best way to do it as it allowed us to explore the park and all its nooks and crannies. If you go in the Summer, the weather should be perfect for a nice sunny walk. However, I imagine it would be just as beautiful in Winter when it snows. The Met Museum is also situated in the park, which we actually visited so if you have time and are an art lover, definitely give that a visit. There's so much to do that we just didn't have time to do it all!

4. 9/11 Memorial
I feel like this is a very sensitive topic. Something that reminds us of the horror that occurred on this particular day. However, I could not praise the museum enough for how well they have paid tribute to the many lives lost all those years ago. The memorial is quite an eery place, but nice. It's really hard to explain. I really wanted to visit this, not only to pay my respects but to see the the area and get my head around how this awful attack happened. There are two waterfalls, which represent the two towers, and on each waterfall there are names of each and every person who lost their life on 9/11. The atmosphere changes as soon as you walk into the memorial. It's quiet and you forget about the busy streets around you. Definitely something worth visiting.

5. Circle Line Cruise
A MUST! In my eyes, this was up there as one of my favourite parts of the trip. We took the cruise from Pier 83 and chose to do the best of New York cruise. The cruise lasted 2.5 hours and took us all around New York, even to the Statue of Liberty. We went past Brooklyn, the Bronx and literally every famous landmark of New York. So, if you have time and want to see every part of New York, this is perfect for you, particularly if you want to take loads of photos which we certainly did.

6. Broadway and SHOPPING
I'm pairing these two together because this is what we did on the last day and it was the best way to end our trip. Of course you have to do shopping whilst you're in New York, it was the thing I was most looking forward to! If you're a make-up lover like me, Sephora is everywhere, and I'm not even exaggerating. I went into 3 out of the 5 days I was there. I would definitely recommend going to Macy's, just to experience it. Every shop you could ask for is there and if you're a shopaholic (yes I am one too), this will be heaven for you.

Even if you're not a theatre person, please go and see a Broadway show. They are something else. I can't explain how amazing they are and compared to home, they are on a different level. I am a massive theatre girl so I LOVED it. We saw Kinky Boots, a musical set in Northampton, England. I won't give the storyline away but the whole musical itself is absolutely fabulous. The costumes, the dancing, the singing and oh my days the SHOES. I can't even describe how out of this world it was.

Overall, what can I say. From a person who has been dreaming of going to New York for years now, I was not disappointed. To be honest, I could've spent more time there because you really can't fit everything into five days. I want to thank my parents for taking me because it really was one of the best holidays I've had. Maybe I'll be back soon? (Fingers crossed).

All my love, Charlotte Rose x

21 things I've learnt in 21 years

Being a summer baby means I have to wait nearly a whole year after all of my friends for my birthday. I mean, I can't complain as I never spent my birthday in school and in the future, I will be glad that I have to wait just that little bit longer to turn a year older. As it was my 21st birthday a couple of weeks ago, I started to reflect on the past 21 years and thought about all the things I've been taught by friends, family and every single person that has walked in and out of my life. It's interesting to see how much these people, whether they are no longer here or you still see everyday, make a difference on how you live your life. I'm in my early twenties now, even though I don't feel like it, and I'm starting to get older (and maybe wiser). Even though I'm meant to be an adult now, there are still times when I need to ask an older adult what the heck I'm doing but there are also times where not everyday goes just the way you want it to. And that's okay.

My 21 years have been a rollercoaster, but this has allowed me to learn many lessons and realise the important things in life. So here's to the good and the bad times, the real and the fake friends, the do's and the don't's. Here is 21 of the most important things I have learnt in 21 years:

1. It's okay if you don't have your life figured out yet. I have just finished a 3-year English Language degree and have come out of it still unsure about which direction I am heading in. You're still young, 21 is not old.

2. Everyone has bad days. You're allowed to cry, you're allowed to have bad moods. Not everyday has to be a perfect day.

3. Spend quality time with your grandparents. They're getting on. They won't be here forever. And they have a lot of wisdom to pass down to you.

4. Say yes more. You've got to make memories, right? These are the years to do it otherwise regret will kick in.

5. We don't deserve dogs. Cherish them.

6. It's okay to not feel your age. Believe me, I still think I'm 18 sometimes and am about to start university all over again. Acting like an adult can wait another day.

7. Just buy the coat. Stop worrying about money, it stops you doing things and getting the stuff you love.

8. Not everyone is nice. Manners cost nothing but unfortunately not everyone has them.

9. Realise who your friends are. When you're going through difficult situations, you find the people that go through them with you. Don't let them go.

10. Stop making the effort with people who clearly don't make the effort back. If they don't want to spend time with you, they won't (brutal).

11. Be positive. Always hope for the best. Believing in yourself and believing that you will be successful will get you to where you need to be.

12. Work hard now to help your future self.

13. Tell the people close to you how much you love them on a daily basis. Life is short, there's no harm in expressing your feelings.

14. It's okay to choose lying in bed in your pyjamas with a cup of tea over going out in a glittery dress with a vodka lemonade in hand. Being a granny at 21 isn't a problem, I promise you.

15. Coffee is an essential part of life. I don't whether its an "I'm now in my 20s, I need coffee to survive" kind of thing but getting through the day has proven difficult without a caffeine rush.

16. Drink lots of water.

17. Be kind to people. Kind people are my kinda people.

18. Dogs are everything.

19. Laughing is essential in relationships. There's no better feeling than uncontrollably laughing with the person that you love.

20. It's okay to still ask your parents 50 questions a day.

21. Love yourself. It's not just about keeping your heart healthy but your mind healthy too. Don't put yourself down. Think better of yourself. The more and more you grow to love yourself the more happiness you will bring to your life. If you're unhappy, talk to someone. Don't bottle it all up. You're amazing and you know you are.

All my love, Charlotte Rose x

A Fresh Start

Hello.

I'm Charlotte. Charlotte Rose to be exact. The girl behind the blog.

Surprisingly, I started a blog 5 years ago when I had just finished my GCSE's and found myself struggling to stay busy during my verrrrrry long summer holidays (not going to lie, I was definitely not complaining at the time). I created a little blog called 'That Girl With Brown Hair' where I wrote about fashion, beauty and life...pretty much the same as this blog. I had a love/hate relationship with my blog. There were times where I would post constantly and then go a good 5 months without posting. It was a vicious circle.

This year, I decided something had to change. I have just finished university after 3 years of doing an English Language degree at Sheffield Hallam University. The best three years of my life. However now, I have to step in to the big wide world of becoming a proper adult. I say 'proper adult' because let's be honest, through the ages of 18-21 are you really ready for the adult world? I always said that when I finished uni I would pay more attention to my blog, give it a makeover and create better quality content as a way of growing myself and giving me something to focus on.

I was umm-ing and ahh-ing over whether or not I should continue with 'That Girl With Brown Hair' or start completely from the beginning again. This is where 'Charlotte Rose' began. I decided to use a different blog name and create blog posts that have never been seen before, with high quality photos and more entertaining and interesting topics for you all to read. With the help of Pipdig, I was able to find a blog template that I was extremely happy with (I am USELESS with computers), in the hope that it would motivate me to post regularly.

So here we are, Charlotte Rose has begun. I hope you enjoy reading it just as much as I enjoy writing it.

All my love, Charlotte Rose x