It's beginning to look a lot like...

Christmas! Yep, there is no escaping the 'C' word now, everywhere you venture you are bound to be hit in the face with Christmas merriment and cheer. And I for one am loving it! Unsurprisingly, I have always been a fan of this time of year, birthday and Christmas all rolled into one, yippee.

Not to make you all jealous (she says smugly), but I have finished my Christmas shopping, it's all wrapped and ready to go. Yes I am one of those annoyingly organised people who sits smugly sipping hot chocolate while so many others run around trying to get their last minute shopping. Ho ho ho. I am certainly a Christmas elf, a smug, well organised Christmas elf! <polishes halo>

Enough of the smugness, I will, of course, continue to shop well into December.  I plan however to restrict my weekend hours in favour of evening due to the frankly mental conditions that greet us all at the weekend when we are insane enough to shop! That said, the husband and I did venture to Bluewater today, but it was bearable shopping, with a clear mission in mind. Hubby had some delicious leather converse to pick up and I had my new iPhone 5 to collect. Yum on both accounts. I also had to try on some watches as I am still trying to narrow it down and decide which one I would like the husband to purchase for me. Still undecided, bugger. Birthday is getting dangerously close. It may well end up as a Christmas present so I can buy myself more time to decide. Indecisiveness rules again. Grrrr.

And now for a round up of some outfits from this week. Nothing from yesterday due to a very lazy day relaxing at home (not sure joggers and hoodie constitute good style!):

 Work:

Long line black vest: Primark

Oversized black knitted top: New Cos purchase

Red skirt: Mango

Tights: Marks and Spencer

Biker boots: Dune

Zebra print scarf: Zara

Bracelet: Pandora

 Work:

Long sleeve thin top: Cos

Black and white spotted skirt: Forever 21

Long grey cardigan: H & M

Tights: Marks and Spencer

Biker boots: Dune

Brown jersey scarf: Cos

Work:

 Pin-stripe ruffle front shirt: H & M

Black peg leg trouser: Be Beau at Matalan

Long grey cardigan: H & M

Tan tassell pumps: Topshop

 Work:

Long sleeve thin top: Cos

Grey boxy knit: Topshop

Floral print skirt: Mango

Tights: Marks and Spencer

Biker boots: Dune

Brown jersey scarf: Cos

 Today:

Long line beige vest: Primark

Oversized black knitted top: new Cos purchase

Green skinny jeans: Zara

Sneakers: Converse

Leather bracelet: Mulberry

 

 Today:

Grey jacket: Antoni and Alison

Burgundy arm warmers: H & M

Checked scarf: H & M

Bag: Mulberry postman's lock hobo

And an outfit from last weekend:

Beige long line vest: Primark

Cream linen top: H & M

Striped jacket/cardigan: Zara

Scarf: Newly purchased Warehouse 

Dark denim jeans: H & M

Slipper shoes: Primark

Bag: Mulberry postman's lock hobo

Well, now my Christmas shopping is all 'wrapped up' (boom boom) I have no choice but to finalise my Christmas/birthday lists for distribution to the husband and my parents...a hard job if ever I heard of one...

More soon, I'm putting together a Christmas wish list blog for perusal and perhaps inspiration...

The best use of time on a Sunday

..Is to spend it queuing through the Dartford tolls, just to reach Lakeside, so some new vest tops can be purchased from Primark.

Poor husband. In fairness to myself, he wanted to use the opportunity to peruse the latest laptops on offer for his pre-Christmas splurge. (Let's skate over the fact that we could have done that much closer to home, ahem). Upon witnessing the horrendous queue resulting from the closure of the second tunnel, the husband suggested we head to Bluewater instead. Unfortunately for him, I was behind the wheel and too stubborn to give in. One hour of colourful language later and we were through. Bloody Lakeside, bloody shopaholic tendencies of mine and stubborn old goat personality.

I intended to purchase a good handful of the longer length vest tops that I love so much for layering beneath jumpers and sheer tops. Of course, after the 'trying' journey we had endured, the colours I wanted (black and white) were nowhere to be seen in my size. Why would they be? This is Primark after all. Grrrr. I did manage to purchase a navy and nude shade that fit seamlessly into the winter wardrobe so all was not lost. As this only brought me to the grand total of £4 I decided to add to my wares and snapped up some thermal socks and a blue and white print dress for work. Beyond chuffed until I arrived home, hung it up and noticed a hole underneath one of the armpits. Not. My. Day.

But, oh well, I have an excuse to return and rummage in more depth now (always difficult when the husband is tagging along, bless him, he is really very good and quite easily appeased with sweets and his kindle, but still).

Now for weekend outfits, last night I had a catch -up with friends over dinner. First opportunity to wear my TK Maxx Antoni and Alison bargain:

Nude long line vest: Primark
Cream linen mix top: H & M
Grey jacket: Antoni and Alison
Zebra scarf: Zara
Oxblood coated skinnies: H & M
Black wedge heels: Faith
Bag: Mulberry East West Bayswater
Leather cuff: Mulberry

And again today:

Beige long line vest: Primark
Burgundy boxy jumper: H & M
Horse print scarf: Dorothy Perkins
Leather cuff: Mulberry
Light blue jeans: River Island
Shearling cuff boot: Red or Dead at Schuh

Grey jacket: Antoni and Alison
Grey wrist warmers: H & M
Bag: Mulberry postman's lock hobo

Now obviously I am a completely pap photographer, although in my defence, taking pictures on an iPhone in a dimly lit room at night is quite a challenge. The day pictures are slightly better but still leave a lot to be desired. May have to purchase the new camera before Christmas, have mentioned to the husband but he is knee deep in laptop research right now so it may be a few more weeks... could just purchase one myself but ultimately that is a recipe for disaster, I will probably end up picking on on how shiny it is. Hmmm, will have a think.

Enjoy the rest of the weekend, Downton soon. I am not moving from the sofa!

If you kiss enough boot frogs you will eventually find your boot prince...

Or you will instead end up consuming copious amounts of wine/gin/vodka (pick your poison) when it becomes ever apparent that the black boot you are searching for does not exist, and the hours you have dedicated in this search have been for nothing.

Bugger. Let me backtrack. I need  would very much like a new pair of everyday black boots. Leather of course, flat to very low heel, mid calf biker style with perhaps a buckle or two for extra je ne sais quoi. No studs, stars, laces, strange colours mixed in, just an everyday biker boot, perfect for wearing with skinny jeans and dresses alike. Am I asking too much here?? It certainly seems so. Double bugger.

But I digress. Having spent the day searching in my usual shopping mecca (Bluewater), I have found nothing that a)fits b)looks half decent c)doesn't hurt/pinch toes. The few pairs that I had narrowed the search down to on the iPad this morning were all in stock (a miracle in itself), but were just not quite right for a plethora of reasons:

Pair 1: Dune Riff calf boot £120. This pair was item number one on my agenda, the leather looks divine in the pics and the buckles a nice touch. In reality, the size 5 were too big, my heel would not stay flat inside the boot when I walked. The 4 were of course too small. Sob.

Pair 2: Label lab biker calf boot £111 House of Fraser. This time, the boots were too big around my calves, think a small child in a much too large pair of wellington boots. Damn my slim calves.

Pair 3: Lauren by Ralph Lauren Saphira boots, £161 House of Fraser. I had high hopes for these but once again they were too big around the calves. An old lady sitting nearby tried to convince me that they looked good but I was having none of it. 

Pair 4: H by Hudson Kepler £180. I also tried on the H by Hudson Horrigan £145. Both were too big, same problem as with the Dune boots, my heel would not stay put. I even had thick socks with me to see if that made any difference, It didn't.

In desperation, I headed to Clarks to see if they had anything similar. Fail. They all looked a bit, dare I say it, mumsy. Which is a shame, as the summer season at Clarks was pretty good this year. Having already persused M and S online, I knew there was nothing there either.

So. All in all today I have concluded that my feet have shrunk a bit, and must be a pretty odd shape as nothing anywhere seems to fit me properly. Short of taking a shoe making (cobbling?) course and stitching my own, I'm going to have to keep trying until I reach the holy grail, the boot prince. I am set to order the following two pairs tonight, and hopefully, something there will fit. (She says as she begins researching shoe making courses in the south east area).

Dune Rallie boot £95. This seem worth a shot, definitely the style I am looking for and with cosy shearling inners. Couldn't find these in store today but they have size 5's online so I'm ordering away.

Radley leather buckle biker boots, £127, John Lewis. These could be another contender. Not quite as high up on the leg but long enough not to leave cold ankles. 

So that's pretty much the whole boot adventure from today. When I relayed this mini-saga to hubby over the phone he was extremely confused and pointed out that I only bought two new pairs of black boots last winter. 'Well yes, but they are heeled boots dearest. And don't you want me to have nice sensible walking boots, you always moan when I have to walk slowly in heels'... he's still unconvinced. Men never understand sensible shopping logic anyway, I may as well be explaining myself to the rabbit. (Love you really S x)

Finally what I wore today to go on my long and arduous adventure:

Leather jacket - Zara
Beige long line vest - Primark
Stripy long sleeve tee - Cos
Horse print scarf - Dorothy Perkins
Black leather double rivet cuff - Mulberry (a little purchase I made at Cheshire Oaks designer outlet on Tuesday)
Khaki skinny jeans: Zara
Sneakers: Converse
Bag: Mulberry

Apologies for the lower quality photos, our camera gave up the ghost on our recent trip to Yorkshire (more on that shortly) so I have been using my iPhone. A new camera has been added to our joint Christmas list (which is growing longer by the day), so I will have good quality images fairly soon, hurrah.

Wish me luck with the boots... gulp.

A sprinkling of glitter and sparkle

Happy Saturday strawberry cupcakes, hope this is finding you well. Sadly, I am not well still : ( Last Saturday I blogged that I had been ill and this has got worse this week, culminating in a trip to the out of hours Doctor at the hospital today. Trying to remain positive though, I have new drugs now and am hoping to feel a bit more normal soon!

While I've been ill and off work this week I have been putting more thought into my Christmas wish list! A few new bits and pieces have come to my attention that I feel very sure I must have... : )

Liz Earle skin set £41. I love the Liz Earle cleanse, tone and moisturise routine, I don't think I have ever used another brand that has made my skin feel so clean and soft. I am running low on products now so this would be a good chance to stock up.

This would make a good little stocking filler (must try hard NOT to purchase before Christmas!) Facets of Fuchsia nail polish by Revlon. I love the deep dramatic colour of this and the gorgeous glitter.

A selection of soap and glory cosmetics. I really like  the soap and glory toiletries range so am looking forward to trying out their cosmetics!

Mulberry iPhone case £65. I saw these the other day on the Mulberry website and think they are gorgeous. Plus the chocolate brown will match my new bag : )

Jinkksy heart on my sleeve bracelet £35. This brand has come to my attention recently as many UK celebs have been spotted wearing the gorgeous pieces, particularly the bracelets.

Well that's everything for today, has anyone else started writing their Christmas lists yet? Hope everyone is having a nice weekend : ) xoxo

Dans mon sac il ya...

Happy Friday lovely ladies!! Hope you have all had a fabulous week, I have had another nice relaxing week, and on Thursday I picked up my A Level results for my class which were very pleasing so I am a very happy girl : )

Today I decided to do a 'whats in my bag post' as I am always fascinated by other peoples similar posts (guess I am just a bit nosy!!) : )OK so the main items I carry on a daily basis are (from left to right, top to bottom)

1) My D & G sunglasses - I have lots of sunglasses but my favourites are my D & G pair, they are classic tortoishell, oversized and very glamorous.

2) My Vivienne Westwood purse - I bought this for myself as a birthday treat last year and I love the monogrammed style and gorgeous gold Westwood logo on the top.

3) Bottle of water - I always carry water, my favourite is Evian, or sometimes I use my bobble bottle (a water bottle with a filter) although I tend to keep this for exercise.

4) My keys - Hehe obvious one here, I have my own car key, a key for hubby's Audi, a glossy pink 'C' and a diamante 'D' (Now I am married, I need to get a 'B'!)

5) My butterfly notepad and swarovski pen -My notepad is my daily lifesaver and completely essential! I use my notepad for writing daily to do lists, monthly to do lists, ideas for blog posts, ideas for days out, appointments, anything really! It keeps me organised and makes me feel sorted and calm. My pen is pretty and filled with little swarovski crystals : )

6) Elizabeth Arden eight hour cream -Essential! This product has won so many awards, Elizabeth Arden originally designed it to soften her horses hooves, and it is now a must have for softening chapped skin and lips. I use it all the time.

7) Calvin Klein 'Beauty' perfume - I always carry perfume, this is a current favourite, it smells delicious!

8) Lipglosses - Lancome juicy tube, Maybelline color sensational lip pen (blogged about here), Bobbi Brown lipgloss and Elizabeth Arden eight hour cream lip balm. I always carry a good selection of lipglosses and lipbalms as I like to be spoilt for choice! Every bag I own has about 4 lip products in, plus I have lip balms stashed all over my house too... : )

9) Iphone - Another cannot-live-without item! I use my phone for organising myself, facebook, emails, checking the news...

10) Lancome palette - As well as lipglosses, I like to keep an eye palette in my bag too. This one has some really nice neutral colours, and the added bonus of a lip cream tray below the eyeshadows.

11) Nail products - As I blogged about here, I have been trying to improve my nails after wearing acrylics for many years. I therefore use the award winning Leighton Denny crystal nail file which is really kind on nails and lasts a lifetime. I also carry a hand cream and another award winning product, CND Solar Oil, which come in a nail polish type bottom, but is an oil that is painted onto cuticles to soften and strengthen them.

My bag is a Jasper Conran slouch bag that is very roomy so perfect for my day to day life!

Before I go, can I just ask for you to vote for me in a facebook competition? I have entered a 'family portrait' picture (me and my bunny!) and I would love you to vote for me! To make this easier I have added the picture at the top of my blog, if you click on it it will take you to the facebook page where you can vote. I think you may have to 'like' the Westfield stratford city page first, and then you can vote for my picture! Thank you so much xoxo