Year: 2012

Motel Rocks – NYE Glitter Ball

New Years Eve is a fabulous excuse in the calendar year to get inordinately merry on champagne and a chance to wear whatever highly over dressed glamorous outfit you’ve been sitting on all year for the first time ever. I do enjoy a good NYE shin dig, but i’m afraid to say i’m not one for braving the town and nearest discotheque … no no. I am a grandma at heart and so my new years eve is most frequently spent having cocktails with my dearest buddies at whoever’s house is up for grabs that year.

This year we’re having a chinese buffet, cocktails from around the globe and no doubt plenty of wine and dancing. My friend Kat (jemimaandted) is having all us girls over and our boyfriends too and i’m in charge of Mojito’s. But despite the fact it’s a dinner party esque evening, we’ll all still be getting glammed up to the nines and partying the night away in the lounge :)

. Motel Rocks Sequin Playsuit £55 (NOW £25) (c/o) .

I can’t say i’m fully decided on an oufit for the evening yet, but this Motel Rocks playsuit is certainly high on my list (that and my gold knee length Topshop midi dress). I got this dress as a gift from the Christmas party Motel hosted this year and I absolutely love how glamorous it is.

I actually have worn this once already, to my work Christmas party as the theme was ‘hot hot hot’ so I styled it as if I was a carnival girl. And yes, it did take me a few glasses of wine to get some dutch courage to parade my buttocks around like this.

What will you be doing and more importantly wearing this new years eve? I’d love to hear your plans & see your outfits.

And on a cheesy little end note, seeing as it is the end of 2012 which has been a very exciting year for me with starting my blog & seeing it grow so much, I wanted to say thank you. To anyone that reads my blog, comments on my posts, likes my outfits or chats to me on twitter. I know everyone probably says it, but I truly am so grateful for all your support & interest :) Here’s to a fantastic 2013 … CHEERS

December 31, 2012
THE Warehouse Horse Jumper

Sales are a funny old entity, we love them – if they go our way, but hate them dearly if they don’t. Realistically the heaps of clothes, the untidy displays, the pushy people and general lack of ease makes sales shopping a right old nightmare. BUT, if once every now and then you decide to brave the high street storm and find yourself a little gem, it sort of puts all the bad sales thoughts to bed for another year. Because YOU, clever little savy shopper, picked yourself up a right deal.

So clearly times have changed and we do have the benefit of online shopping to help us avoid the dreaded high street, but every now and then you do feel the need to join the hustle and bustle, and you know, actually try the clothes on and win that tug of war on your dream jacket.

This year, I STUPIDLY found a jumper online that I just adored, put it in my basket in my size, and then thought, you know what let’s just pop to the shops first. DOH. They had the jumper in town, but in a size too big (sob), so after our mission I resigned to just buying the jumper online. But wait, everything had only gone and freakin’ sold out online. This then became a challenge … I like a challenge. A game for me to find my missing treasure. I preceded to checking every warehouse stockist (HoF, John Lewis, Asos, Net a Porter etc etc) – to absolutely no prevail), phoning stores (no where had a 6 or an 8 in stock, grr) and haggling the likes of ebay and amazon … all to leave me still with NO jumper. This clearly made me want it a lot more (do you get this too?) and so in one last ounce of hope I phoned back the store from earlier that day and asked them if the (now, trendily ‘oversized’) jumper was still available.

It was put by. I sprinted there the next day & purchased. Hooray.

. Warehouse Horse Jumper £25 (sale) . Topshop Burgundy Baxters . AX Paris Ankle Boots .

Plus a cheeky appearance of my new cream fur hat

So yes, here’s my new beloved (meant to be) ‘oversized’ horse jumper. It’s super cosy, pretty cute, fun and my new best buddy. It cost £25 in the sale – down from £45, and I was fortunate enough to be able to use Christmas pennies to buy it. So a real bargain. It is a tad too big, but I decided i’d rather have it than not at all, and my sisters always one for wearing different sizes to create oversized or ‘cosy’ looking outfits.

This outfit is what I actually wore yesterday but shall be sporting today, albeit with leggings and chelsea boots and a big cosy fur stole instead of my burgandys. I’m heading back to Winchester today for my last few days of holiday before going back to work. I’m hoping that we may go and see The Life of Pii tonight – i’ve heard amazing things and bought the book yesterday too.

What do you have planned for the rest of the Christmas break? Have you picked up any bargains this year in the sale? What do you think of my sale find?

December 30, 2012
A Weekend in Clothes

I can’t believe how fast Christmas is flying by, i’m having a hoot and don’t really want all the fun to end. My time post Christmas is being filled with dinner parties, brunch and sales shopping, and this means i’m looking for cosy day time outfits to help me brave the sales jungle. This outfit is a fave ‘throw on’ outfit of mine for casual weekends or any chilled out days.

It’s really nothing uber special, but feels comfy, looks presentable (we all know we’d love to shop in our PJ’s if we could) , and is a nice wintery look. I’m loving burgundy at the moment, it makes for a really nice Autumnal shade and I find it counterbalances the cold weather and my translucent skin. I wear these jeans a lot as I find they’re a perfect fit and a very comfortable fit (Baxters from Topshop).

The jumper is one I got from AX Paris a month or so ago and has rapidly become a favourite winter jumper of mine. I like that it’s a little different in that it’s not your standard knit fit – slightly off the shoulder, not too long, wide fit. It’s also a really warming colour and actually goes with most things. I nicked this cute hat from my sisters wardrobe for the day – I LOVE a good hat and this one is super cute and the colour is so vibrant it instantly cheers up a winter day (plus keeps your head warm).

. Topshop Baxter Jeans . AX Paris Knitted Jumper . Zalando Boots . Francesca Pina Bracelet (c/o) .

The boots are my Zalando Chelsea boots which again, I find go with EVERYTHING and I wear all the time. They’re great with day dresses and tights, leggings, jeans, whatever it is they seem to go perfectly. The bracelet i’m wearing is from Francesca Pina jewellery – I’ve been loving this bracelet ever since I got it. It’s gold plated beads with a gorgeous daisy and a gold feather. Very delicate and pretty and all hand made.

Tonight we have Jase’s family coming over for a Christmas dinner feast, it’s bound to be a good evening and I’m still deciding on my outfit for the evening. Perhaps my Boohoo playsuit from my sister (featured on my instagram yesterday – mediamarmalade). Then tomorrow we’re heading back down to Winchester to prepare for NYE celebrations.

What do you think of my weekend shopping outfit? What’s your go to cosy outfit?

December 29, 2012
Oh My Love …

I wasn’t going to post this outfit today, but I’m too excited about this dress not to share it with you all. I received this dress from Oh My Love before Christmas and picked it up on my way back to Winchester for the Christmas break. I opened it as soon as I got home and haven’t taken it off since.

I wore this dress out for our Friday night Christmas meal (I can’t believe that was a week ago today – how time flies) and I also wore it to a family Christmas event on Christmas Eve. I’m going to wear this tonight for another Christmas event we’re having with Jase’s family and friends. It really is non stop at the moment and this dress makes a really easy but pretty outfit.

. Oh My Love Velvet Dress (c/o) . AX Paris Chelsea Boots .

Today we’re heading into town again as I’ve just found out (after buying myself a new Iphone 4 when mine broke last week) that i’m due an upgrade and can get the Iphone5 free. I’m so inpatient that things like this always happen, although i’m hoping to sell my new iphone4 as it’s only a week old. I’m also determined to find a Warehouse jumper (horse print in UK Size 8) which is in the sale for £25 … i found it online yesterday but by the time I was back from shopping it had sold out and I couldn’t find it in any stores – DOH. I did manage to find a suede Warehouse coat in the sale for £60 which I bought with a voucher I had – I’ll be sharing it all on the blog soon.

Anyway, I’m babbling on now.

What do you think of my new Oh My Love velvet dress? Do you have a dress which you just love which is an easy go to dress for events?

December 28, 2012
Print, Fur & A Leather Trim

Well Christmas is sort of over, but I do plan on celebrating and making the most of every day I have off work over this Christmas break. Today we’re leaving my dad and heading to Jase’s family for a few days of celebrations and Christmas parties before heading back to Winchester for NYE and London for work on the 2nd Jan.

I thought I’d share my outfit from yesterday today – this is what I wore for our boxing day celebrations. Quite a chilled outfit but it features my new River Island cardigan. I got this from my mum and step dad and absolutely love it. I wanted it for a while and love it even more now it’s mine :) It’s sadly now gone into the sale- always the way, but I don’t think it’s actually available in any sizes anyway.

I decided to wear the cardy with my leather trousers and platform boots. I think leather trousers can make the simplest of outfits look chic and a little more glam and I love these ones I got from Topshop a year or so ago.

. River Island Cardigan £48 (now in the sale) . Topshop Leather Trousers . H&M Bracelet .

I really love this cardigan as not only is it really soft and cosy, it’s also a really unique design, with two different woven prints and leather trim around the collar and front. It’s one of those super cosy live in items which would look great with skinny jeans and a simple T, but also over a nice leather dress or simple shift.

Today I’m wearing my new Gala Gonzolez mango pumps and my new suede and leather jacket from Jase, it’s pretty rainy out but I’m determined to get a few outfit pictures to share with you all on the blog sometime soon.

I’d love to hear what you all got up to this Christmas and have planned for the remainder of the festive break. What do you think of my new cardigan too? How would you wear it?

December 27, 2012
Boxing Day

Today is my second Christmas which I spend with my Dad, his girlfriend and my boyfriend. This year we’re having boxing day in the Cotswolds at my dads girlfriend (I say girlfriend, they’ve been together about 18 years). We’ve had an amazing roast, lots of vino .. some Jager (;O) and have just settled down for present opening and a boxing day buffet this evening.

. I’m wearing my leather trousers and my new River Island cardigan which i got for Christmas from my family :) .

. Here’s a quick round up of all my presents – I’ve done very well .

. Jase got me the Gala Gonzalez pumps from Mango – SO CHUFFED .

. Here’s some of the little treats my dad got me, The Bobbi Brown Caviar Eye Palette, Dermilogica Microfoliant, L’Occitane Bath Set & some sweeties .

. I got a fab Moleskin diary and a 36 hours in Europe Travelling Guidebook which I wanted .

. Jase also got me this amazing Zara suede and leather jacket. He also got me the travelling book which I’m going to swap for another one – perhaps the book Grace or the new Coco Chanel one .. My dads girlfriend bought me an amazing Morrocan Oil set which I can’t wait to use .. My sister got me this gorgeous Boohoo playsuit and my Nana got me this Benefit beauty set which looks amazing .

. This is my new River Island cardigan (it’s so soft and cosy) and my fur hat from my nan – this was in yesterdays post too .

I got lot’s of other gifts, I was very fortunate. Lot’s of sweets which I love, I also got a book by Celia Ahern, A reindeer wall mount and Jean Paul Gaultier perfume from Jase’s family. I got some gorgeous bath sets from my little sister and a very cool (and distinguished) ski jumper from my dad by the brand Kjus – very lucky me :). I should also mention my amazing santa sack which I got yesterday – full of lots of little treats such as photo frames, hair brush, nail vanish, home treats, socks and lots of sweets and goodies.

Wow – a long babbling post. Sorry about that. I’m rushing as we’re about to watch a Christmas movie and i’m being very unsociable. I hope you enjoyed seeing my christmas time and pressies. I’d love to hear what you’ve been up to and what you received this Christmas?

December 26, 2012
* Happy Christmas *

Happy Christmas everyone, I hope you are all having a fantastic day and are being spoilt rotten. My sisters and I have opened up our Santa sack and we’ve all just had some salmon eggs and champers for breaky. Now is the big Christmas present opening extravaganza followed by mass Christmas dinner consumption and merriment.

. Here’s my outfit for the day – my Rise Fashion sequin dress .

. I’ve DIY’d this slightly and taken out the shoulder pads to make it slightly less big. . A little mischievous present from Santa .

. My sister Harriett .

Short and sweet post from me today – it’s time to open presents :)

Have a fabulous day everyone and I can’t wait to hear what you all get & get up too. I’ll no doubt share some of my gifts and pics from the rest of my day shortly.

Merry Christmas

December 25, 2012
Christmas Eve Festivities

It’s Christmas Eve and so I thought for today’s post I’d share with you all that’s getting me excited for the big day. I’m back home and we have been decorating the house creating some festive cheer. The Christmas films are on TV, the classics are booming out over the stereo, the mulled wine is ready for brewing and the mince pie ingredients are awaiting mixing. We’re all set and feeling merry.

Here’s a few pics of my house & our decorations …

We love Christmas in my house hold, and after a mad rush around Winchester today to finish our present buying, the evening will be spent sipping baileys and wrapping a ton of gifts. We’re also visiting a friends for a few mulled wines and then it’ll be back home and an early night awaiting Santa’s visit ;)

I hope you’re all set for the festive day too, and are looking forward to it as much as we all are. I’d love to hear how you’re planning on celebrating Christmas Eve and Day.

I’m planning on posting a cheeky blog tomorrow – perhaps with our day in pics or a few sneaky present teasers, but just in case I get carried away with the day, have an absolutely wonderful day & I hope Santa brings you lots of treats and excitement.

Merry Christmas

December 24, 2012
Time Stands Still

So today is most definitely not my usual type of Sunday blog post – there’s absolutely nothing casual about todays outfit post, and that’s because today is the day of my family annual Christmas party – and I have a special dress for the occasion.

It’s a Christmas event I always look forward to all year round, and it’s hosted by family friends of ours in their (unbelievably amazing) house (which used to be the old Mint of England) in Winchester. They’ve been friends of ours for many years initially through my Nan and Grandad and they host this event everyear to bring in the festive season with plenty of wine, canapes and live music. They used to own the Hotel Du Vin chain and so have all the hotel chefs in to prepare the food – it really is an absolutely beautiful evening and my family and I always like to get dressed up for it.

. Gorgeous Couture Evita Dress £194 (c/o) .

This year I’m unbelievably fortunate enough to have a stunning dress to wear to the event. It’s actually a design I’ve been lusting over ever since I saw Taylor Swift sport a red Ellie Saab version to an awards show this summer (see here). Gorgeous Couture have the dress available in 4 colours and especially make them to suit each order. I was lucky enough to be able to have a dress made for me and I naturally chose this Evita dress as it’s a spot on replica of the one i’ve been lusting after for so long, and decided the black version would make for a classic versatile dress that I could wear on multiple occasions.

Not only was I beyond excited about the prospect of having the dress, when it arrived it out did all my expectations. Packaged in a smart black dress box, with Gorgeous Couture branding embellished in silver on the top, I opened the box to find gorgeous deep purple wrapping and the dress of my dreams packaged beautifully inside, with a velvet hanger all ready for it to be hung up for all to see.

The dress is so beautiful and makes me feel a million dollars when it’s on – I will be wearing this outfit this evening and will be feeling oh so very decadent :) It’s also one of my best friends weddings this summer and I’d absolutely love to wear the dress for that too – how do you feel about black dresses at weddings though?

What do you think of my stunning new Gorgeous Couture Evita dress? Are you obsessed with their collections too? I’d love to hear your thoughts about wearing this to a wedding too?

PS: Keep an eye out for me being featured in the Gorgeous Couture bloggers edit too :)

December 23, 2012