Category Archives: life

Home at Christmas

23rd December 2014
I think my favourite part of the festive season is finishing work on Christmas Eve and heading home knowing that for the next 48 hours I don’t even have to contemplate leaving the house unless I really, really want to. This year because of the way Christmas falls I have four glorious days off work, two of which will be spent slobbing around the house and the other two will be spent with Ben and his family up North (probably slobbing around their house!).

Seeing home decorated with festive friends and twinkling lights makes me undeniably jolly even when I don’t really feel it, so I thought for my last post before Christmas I’d show some of my favourite things knocking about the house right now (plus an outfit I’ve been living in).

My mustard swing dress from Joy is perfect for lazy days pottering about the house, especially when paired with these cosy cable knit tights from Primark and faux fur lined boots for when I do brave the elements. It’s such a laid back outfit, perfect for sprawling out on cushions, such as these beautiful hot air balloon one c/o Graham and Brown who have become my number one place for interior inspiration.
Our Christmas decorations come from all over, we seem to collect new ones each year as we browse the shops on the frantic hunt for gifts. The gold owl bauble was picked up this year in Wilko, the whole family has an affinity with owls as they were my Nan’s favourite animal and it brings comfort to have a piece of her with us.
Much to Mum’s disgust I couldn’t resist the inflatable Santa and Snowman in our local 99p shop, as much as she likes to keep things elegant and colour co-ordinated I just can’t resist a bit of festive tat- and Mae loves falling asleep on these inflatable friends!
What does your home look like at Christmas? What do you think of my cosy new cushion? I love hot air balloons as they remind me of Bristol and my home town- honestly, there’s no place like it (or home) at Christmas.

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Humbug

19th December 2014
Every time I wear this skirt I get told I look like a humbug, which kind of goes against my current festive spirit (and also gives me a craving for mint humbugs which I haven’t had in years!)

Blouse: ASOS | Skirt: Dorothy Perkins (last year) | Boots c/o Ikrush

Given that winter I wore almost all things monochrome this time round I have somehow avoided black and white…I don’t know if I’m more cheerful or feeling like standing out more but I find myself reaching for the brighter items in my wardrobe over those that tend to blend in. I wouldn’t really say that this outfit blends in though, and I do still love myself a simple colour scheme. I actually bought this blouse last year but didn’t get round to wearing it (despite thinking they look lovely I’m not really a blouse or shirt person), I’m trying to force myself to get some use from it this year though as it wasn’t the cheapest and I do love a bit of velvet.

The skirt is more of a Spring piece as it’s very lightweight, but I wasn’t in the mood for a short skirt that day and with some black tights and central heating I managed to avoid hypothermia, which going by the weather lately is some kind of miracle. As I’ve mentioned before, the Ikrush boots have barely left my feet- there’s something so endearingly ugly about them and I love them! Do you have any shoes like that?

Have fun if it’s your last day at work today, I’ll be working right up to Christmas Eve and then back in on the Monday but I wouldn’t have it any other way really (although I might say otherwise when it actually comes down to it!

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Hidden Gems

17th December 2014
What is Christmas without a little sparkle? The closer we get to December 25th the more glitter I plaster on- eyeliner, jewellery or my clothes it doesn’t really matter I just love an excuse to look like a disco ball!

Dress: Blog Sale (from the marvellous Terri) | Boots c/o Ikrush | Headband: Crown and Glory | Ring c/o QVC

I haven’t taken off this Christmas ring from QVC since it’s arrival as it just goes perfectly with everything I have been wearing lately. Don’t be fooled by it’s name though as it’s not just for Christmas, this is one piece I’ll be getting a lot of wear from! Less can be said for my Crown and Glory headband as really it only gets worn a couple of times a year but when they launched this design a year ago I just couldn’t resist treating myself and the novelty factor and unique design will last me for years to come. I’m not usually one to wear headbands but this one doesn’t irritate me or make behind my ears hurt so it was well worth the money for that alone!
I’m actually sporting a manicure for once, which I had done at Blog Club during my week off. It’s a rare occasion that I get to have painted nails as I can’t have them for work so I took full advantage of the skill at Bettie & Baldwins and went for a decidedly un-festive hot pink look. I usually begrudge paying to have my nails done but this was still going strong by the time I had to take it off to go back to work five days later. For me this is some kind of miracle and I could probably have got another five days from it easily. I couldn’t resist having some glitter added, I mean, it’d be rude not to at this time of year!
Only a week until Christmas Eve and I’m raring to go (kind of). Everything is done and I’m either spreading festive spirit at work or working at home from the comfort of my bed whilst wearing novelty jumpers or plenty of tartan (I just love this dress!) working on some freelance stuff before taking a few days off. I’ll be winding down the blogging a little over the next couple of weeks too as things are pretty manic, I’m pretty sure my daily posts are becoming a bit of a bore any way!
Do you like to sparkle at Christmas?

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Oh Christmas Tree

15th December 2014
With only ten days left until the big day I am feeling more and more festive. I’ve completely caught the Christmas bug this year, having spent previous few years feeling more like scrooge. As such I’ve been embracing all manner of fancy get-ups and outfits that might bring more a little more attention to myself than I’d normally like. Case in point:

Hat and Jumper: Next | Dress and Tights: Primark | Boots: New Look | Necklace c/o Sushilla Jewellery

This hat, oh this hat! I fell in love with a very similar one at the Marks and Spencer magic and sparkle event and instantly regretted not buying it there and then because when I went back to get it a few days later it had sold out online and in all of the Bristol stores. I chalked it up to fate, a sign I really didn’t need a Christmas Tree bobble hat in my life…someone clearly disagreed though as a few days later Mum tracked down this look-alike from Next…complete with light up star bobble!
I may or may not have been living in this ever since I got my mitts on it, I just can’t resist anything novelty and knitted this close to Christmas. I do try to keep the rest of my outfit plain though- I’m loving these knitted cream tights from Primark (£3 and oh so warm, I need more!) paired with denim and neutral tones.
I’ve always been one to be drawn to more obscure items, but until a year or so ago I was always too afraid to wear them for fear of what other people might think. I suppose it’s all part of getting older, but these days I don’t really care, if what I’m wearing puts a smile on my face then that’s all that matters to me!

Anyone else sporting some festive headgear?

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Pop That Collar

12th December 2014
Happy Christmas Jumper Day folks! I’ve been anxiously awaiting this fundraising day in aid of Save the Children for weeks, any excuse to break out some knitwear and raise money for a good cause is a winner by me! No novelty knitwear in today’s post (although I am sure there is plenty of that to come) but the outfit does feature a rather snazzy jumper dress so the link is there, kind of!

Dress c/o La Redoute (last year) | Tights: New Look | Boots: Betty London

I can’t get enough of the stunning collar on this dress, I’m a big fan of details like this, meaning I don’t have to remember to put on a necklace as well as getting myself out of the door in the morning (it’s not an easy task!) and the colours in this mean it lends itself well to all manner of other accessories. I wore this outfit during my week off for a day spent pottering around the local shops and spending two hours on a driving lesson- they seem to be going on forever! I picked up these tights last year but New Look still sell them, I’m on a kick with tights again at the moment and ended up buying four pairs in colours other than black last week from Primark, oops!
Despite my promise to myself to put less pressure on myself to blog daily I seem to have been on a real roll lately. With Christmas less than two weeks away I can’t promise how much longer that will last for though- I think in the New Year I’m going to implement a stronger “quality over quantity” approach though and put more effort in to perfecting photography and writing posts that have actually got something interesting to say for themselves…
Are you taking part in Christmas Jumper Day? Don’t forget to share some pictures!

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Posted in life, life stuff, outfits, tights

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