Wednesday 28 December 2011

HOME SWEET HOME #2





STYLE CRUSH #6: Olivia Palermo

Olivia Palermo: Absolute perfection. Not only does she have some beautiful clothes, she also has the shiniest hair with that perfect wave that I can never get. She sticks to clean lines with the occasional quirky print or texture. I have some serious shoe envy right now.







I would probably look pretty pleased with myself too.

Love love love

Sparkly dress and handsome man. Yes please!

BOOKWORM #5: The Contortionist's Handbook

The Contortionist's Handbook was my Christmas read this year. Admittedly, it's not very Christmassy. Infact, it's a story about identity, drugs and struggles within society. This novel was recommended by a friend during my 'self improvement' bid, in which I decided I would read a book a month. I'm always reading but it's mostly for work and I wanted something for pure escapism.

It follows the story of one man in America who is a kind of anti-hero. He's dark, full of issues and has questionable moral standards but there's still something that I liked about him. As it continues, we learn about his fascinating background and how his life questions the nature of truth and reality. The psychological aspects of the book were gripping as we see how John Dolan Vincent considers his next move and works as a conman to avoid the system.

I'm no book reviewer so I'll leave it at that.

I'll be searching for more of Clevenger's novels and hoping they're as good as this one. My next read is The Road by Cormac Mccarthy. Equally as dark (if not more so) but it does make you appreciate your own life.

Tuesday 27 December 2011

FASHION FIX #18

I love nail art but only on short nails. Maybe that's strange but I think it looks a little scary on long talons. I've had a go at some nail art on my own nails but it took so long and I don't think I'd have the patience to do that all of the time. It was a dark and light blue version of these:



The idea was that they were supposed to look Christmassy and as though snow was falling in the sky. Here was my attempt:


It was so hard to get the blobs to be perfect circles because I didn't have a specific nail art type pen to do it with. I'm also not very patient so I kept smudging them by accident because I couldn't wait long enough!

I painted a base coat onto fake nails first and then when they were dry I added the lighter blue blobs. Once they were stuck on, they were really hard to budge and a week later it hurt to get them off! If you're looking for strong fake nails then I used Nailene Full Cover 200 nails and I filed them down. I can't do anything with long nails so it was necessary.

If I was going to do them again then I'd definitely buy some nail art stuff to do it with so that it looks a bit more professional.




Here are some much better examples of nail art. I love the red and white snowflake ones! 









FASHION FIX #17

Christmas boredom has meant that I've been looking at lots of blogs and fashion images. I've picked a few of my favourites to share. I had never really thought about the type of clothes I was attracted to before but there seems to be a trend here. Most of the clothes I'm drawn to are simple with a twist. I like quirky, but not too quirky. I like expensive looking, but not overdone. Oh, and the bottom photo? That's going to be my life one day.
























Images taken from Studded Hearts (all sources on her blog)

Monday 26 December 2011

Stylistpick

I love shopping but even I hate the January sales. Frantic shopping is the worst kind. I don't like the idea of battling someone for that last dress or deciding that if I buy a size 6 it will be fine if I just diet into it. Neither of those things are acceptable! I woke up this morning to an email from Stylistpick informing me that all of their products are currently £15 with a discount code. I've been signed up to them for a while and not bought anything yet. They work on the idea that each item is priced at £39.95 and that each month you have a new 'showroom' which has been picked for you. You might have heard of them because Cheryl Cole has just created a new, more expensive line for them. Anyway, I logged onto the site wondering if I could find myself a bargain and ended up finding three things I desperately wanted!

Here are the three:




The bright red shoes are so beautiful that I really had to talk myself out of it. The £15 bargain was only valid on one item so I had to choose. I do need a new clutch bag but I have been looking for some black boots like these for months and so they won. The boots are on their way to me and I'm hoping that they'll last right through the end of winter and spring. I feel boring for ordering those over the gorgeous high heels but I was being practical for once!

Stylistpick works with a variety of stylists who create your profile and then select items according to that. My favourite stylist is Louise Roe. She never gets it wrong. Here are her December favourites.

My new 2012 girl crush. 


Just something to note if you sign up to Stylistpick: Once you have ordered your first item, you then become a VIP member. This means that each month they take £39.95 out of your account as a membership fee and you are then free to choose an item to be sent to you each month. If you don't choose something then that will count as a credit and you can use it the next month. However, if you don't want to pay the fee then just skip each month before the 5th and you don't have to pay. I'll definitely be doing that as I don't think I can justify spending £40 on shoes a month!

x

Saturday 24 December 2011

Christmas 2011




A bid to round up my year, feel the festive spirit and celebrate achievements:

January saw a reunion trip to London to see old university friends. A trip which saw me getting very confused with the London underground map and a night of drinking following by racing around in the pouring rain trying desperately to get back to our hotel. Who has tofu as a drunken meal? I will never know. I also was living with my difficult ex housemate/landlord and desperate to get out as soon as possible after his famous garlic bread ban.

Sunshine arrived in March and it instantly made me want to head out for lunch and cocktails. It was also the month I handed my notice into the old landlord and began hunting for a new place to live. This was followed by some fantastic GCSE results from my classes and a few proud tears from me.

In May I moved in my new flat and also went to Aberystwyth for rugby sevens to catch up with old friends. It was lovely to see some old favourites and perhaps a time when I should have left some other old 'favourites' in the past. Something which has once again proved that I should definitely listen to my best friends! I also went to Birmingham for lunch with some of those best friends. The people that will undoubtedly be friends for life. They know who they are!

June saw lunch with the PGCE ladies, booking tickets for an outdoor theatre experience watching Macbeth (which was brilliant) and a staff night out on a boat followed by an enlightening experience in Oceana. Tip: If you go somewhere which sells 3 drinks for the price of 1, then there IS a reason.

My birthday in July was spent in Cyprus where I also went to a lovely wedding and came back with a tan that lasted much longer than other things.

In August I had a party at my new flat which saw it being covered with jelly vodka and food but which was also kindly cleared up by my lovely friends. I also saw Kim for a boozy lunch just to remind myself that I definitely can't keep up with her! I then saw Lauren for a hilarious struggle with a bottle of wine which eventually involved a sieve. A few nights out with Tait as standard, which always culminate in something ridiculous one way or another. At the end of August, Wiseo and Scotty arrived to firmly drink me under the table and create all kinds of havoc in town! Incredible night!

The day after the epic night with those two fiends (yes, I missed a letter out deliberately), I then headed off to Strawberry Fields Festival with Tait to indulge in some tent dancing, James Bond rolling and porta loo hating fun. Not to mention glow in the dark teeth! On return from the festival, my new car had arrived and term was ready to start again. In October I headed off to Goodfellow's party in London and it turned into some old school university reunion. Lethal flip cup and a wine bin were the main stars of the evening.

October and November saw many nights out with various people and a trip to see The Maccabees, Incubus, a big fair for Bonfire Night and Rosie's birthday night in Stealth. Ofsted hit school in November and here we are in December where I've been up to Birmingham to see my best girls again.

My resolutions for 2011 were to see my friends more, appreciate people and get the work/life balance right. I think I managed it! Not every single social event or person I saw has been listed here but these were some of the highlights I could think of. Although I worked hard throughout the year, I still managed to see my friends and show them how much they mean to me. I moved into my own flat, got my own car and have finally begun to feel truly independent. 2011 was a year in which I realised that it's up to me to make my own happiness and it's also up to me to make sure that people in my life feel valued.

Merry Christmas xx









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