All I want for Christmas is you

Happy Boxing Day! Hope you all had a blast yesterday!

I spent Christmas with my family and it was pretty standard – alcohol first thing in the morning, big lunch time feast, hours of presents after lunch and then eating some more (despite everyone moaning they’re still full from lunch and couldn’t possibly eat another bite - yet still managing to somehow!)

Later in the evening we all sat down and watched Michael McIntyre's Christmas Comedy Roadshow and sampled some liquors I'd brought back from Paris:

It's not milk, I swear!

I’m not a liquor drinker and I can’t stand Baileys – but these are amazing! I brought two bottles of the stuff – chocolate and biscuit. Lethal but majorly tasty!

I decided to wear my trusty French Connection dress (the gold not the silver - felt the gold was more festive) which has just the right amount of sparkle for Christmas

... with obligatory festive underwear 

Photographed from the worst of angles – 

knickers look ma-hoo-sive and they’re really not!!

... and my block heels which were first mentioned in this post here

Tonight I’m off to the pub for a mate’s birthday and

first thing tomorrow morning I’m braving the sales!

Hope you’re all enjoying the festive season! 

Shoes for Show: The Sculptural Art of High Heels

A couple of weeks ago I attended the “Shoes for Show” exhibition in London. It only ran in Brick Lane for a few days and being the shoe-a-holic that I am, I jumped at the chance.  

It all sounded good on paper so a couple of weekends back, I travelled into Central London to go and perve on the pretty shoes. Except the pretty shoes were nowhere to be found. My Google Maps led me to the wrong location – a charming, secluded area where I had visions of being knifed so got back onto the main road ASAP. I finally found the right number but when I got there, the Polish security guy sighed a loud sigh (I guess he had this a lot) and redirected me to another part of Brick Lane. Which I couldn’t find.

I was confused. I was lost. I was smelling amazing Brick Lane food and was damn hungry. I very nearly gave up. But thank goodness I didn't!

Finally found it. It was like a little abandoned warehouse, very simple and minimalist. One thing I’d worried about is that it’d be uber strict with lots of security personnel and photography prohibited. Not the case at all. There was one male “guard” who stayed out of the way and didn’t seem too bothered about anything. And people left, right and centre were snapping away. So I had no qualms about getting my camera out.

Manolo Blahniks. Oh my.

The charm wrapped around the heel, the lattice 

detail and the colour all make me melt a little inside.

These Vivienne Westwoods are not my cup o’ tea but 

they do remind me all of the Creepers all over 

the blogsphere at the moment.

Nikes! Can you imagine Nike Town selling these? I can’t.

Perhaps the weirdest shoes I’ve ever laid my eyes on. 

Not one, but two elevated heels so in theory, quite a 

sturdy pair of shoes. But then check out the weird shape 

of the heels…  And bath shoes? Really? I can’t imagine 

anyone wearing these by the poolside. 

Not even Lady GaGa. 

And that’s saying something.

No explanation needed here! 

Have already shared my thoughts of the Armadillo.

Don’t know about anyone else, but in these I see Litas. 

But really funky, velvety, glitzy / sparkly ones.

These are art. ‘Nuff said.

Simple, classic and yet, no less worthy of interest.

And these? I was lost for words then. And I still am now.

An artsy revamp of the gladiator sandal

A print like this would be amazing on a dress. 

And my favourites:

Alice in Wonderland shoes!

The delicate tea cup charms, 

the key, the fob watch, the 

foliage… all a bit OTT but at 

the same time fabulous 

for this very reason.

Get a load of these! Stunningly beautiful with 

the embellishment detail but just not practical. 

But even those who don't "get" shoes would 

have to admit that these are pure art. If 

Louboutin sell these as flats, I would 

snap these up in a heartbeat,

 no questions asked.

I actually liked these! A good mix of “hard” meets 

“soft” with the glitzy champagne-like colour 

combined with the spiky / studded exterior. 

These would get you noticed!

And now over to you! Do any of these fill you with horror? And which of these are love at first sight?

And for the latter, to wear or to have displayed in your home as expensive-but-totally-worth-it art?

Paws for thought

Animals are huge right now.

With animal print once being seen as "tacky" and a "bit Bet Lynch" (from the British soap Corrie back in the day... ), it is being smiled upon by fashionistas once again. 

The animal theme has since developed even further. Topshop Unique featured show-stopping dalmation inspired designs for its A/W collection. Last winter we saw an abundance of those cute little knitted animal hats where it become possible to have a panda / bear / cat / whatever sitting atop your head. Spirithoods takes it one step further and allows you to actually transition into one of many animals. Be it wolf, fox, owl, husky, leopard, skunk, panda or bear. 

Whatever could be next?

Well I'll tell you...

    

Yes, that's right. Animal paws in shoe form.

And Blake Lively is not alone. SJP has also been sighted with these gracing her feet:

Bit confused about this particular look. What look is she going for? A gender confused wolf that has eaten Little Red Riding Hood and stolen her attire?

You need not an explanation of the designer behind these shoes. The red soles say it all.

Five inches high with skinny heel and studded with crystals, these Louboutins are known as the "Lion Paw" and have apparently completely sold out.

What do you think of them?

I'm undecided. There's something cute about them but at the same time, they are a little weird... Would definitely choose these over McQueen's Armadillos though! 

All images + source: http://www.graziadaily.co.uk

The devil makes work for idle hands

I’ve decided that working full-time is healthy for my bank balance. And not for the obvious reason of more hours = more money. But because I’m usually too knackered to trek around the shops after work, and too lazy to trawl through pages and pages of online fashion. I think my folks have been impressed with the lack of parcels gracing our front door.

Then my contract at work ended... *cue shopping marathon*

An ASOS sale purchase - this satchel should hopefully 

add a pop of colour into my (mainly black) wardrobe!

H&M sleeveless white shirt

 H&M mocha chunky knit - which looks very Alexa 

Chung with the shirt collar poking out underneath

Not one but two pairs of H&M denim shorts 

- they fit so well, I couldn't resist!

You can never have too much denim!

+ a free H&M gift card that I was handed by a member of H&M staff

... which I exchanged for these:

A lint remover - which is clearly being put to good use(!)

And stockings... you can never go wrong with stockings!

In good news: I got a new job! I’m now working in publishing / the media and hopefully will get to do some geeky IT stuff *rubs hands together*

Had a week free before my start date so took off for a few days – why not? Found me a last minute deal and hurriedly threw some things into packed a suitcase. Holiday summary to follow! 

Make your mark, Primark

Occasionally in my spare time I do market research to generate some extra cash. Every little helps right? I usually apply for the ones I like / am eligible for however this time a lady approached me: how would I like x amount of pounds and free clothes from a well known high street store? Er… yes please!

They swiftly sent me some vouchers asking me to go forth and spendeth. At a later date I would need to attend a focus group where we would need to do a show and tell on our purchases and talk about the brand.

So far so good.

I then learnt that the well known high street store was in fact Primark and had mixed feelings about it. On one hand I was happy as I knew the vouchers should go far there - but then on the other hand, I was a little disappointed. Primark isn’t one of my favourite stores. The crowds and queues just kill me.

Another kick in the proverbial balls was that I had been told to shop in the London Oxford Street store. The stuff of nightmares. The crowds, the queues… and not all that impressive stock wise considering it’s a flagship store.

So one Saturday morning, I got up at the crack of dawn, gritted my teeth and got my game face on. I was amazed at how expensive Primark seems to be getting. It’s not crazy expensive but it’s pricey for the quality you’re getting. I found it so hard to make my vouchers stretch. In the end I had to fork out a little bit of my own money just so I could afford my basket(!)

Here’s a sneak peek of my purchases:

I didn’t even stop to think about the bag. It was tan. It was fairisle. DONE.

The top I initially loved but am considering returning as I’m not sure about the keyhole neckline. Maybe I’ll do a bit of DIY and cut the neckline lower.

These stacked heels were an absolute bargain for a mere £18. 

Boohoo, Topshop and New Look sell similar ones but they are quite a bit more.

I got the royal blue ones but they also had some in burgundy. I tried them on and had quite the audience of women around me ooh-ing and ahh-ing. After being told numerous times that they looked incredible on me, I couldn’t ignore that voice in my head screaming “buy them!” any more. Those bad boys went back into my basket and that was that.

I must add that later after having paid at the tills, I did spot some of the aforementioned women clutching the very same pair of shoes and heading to the tills. It did make me laugh! I'm a terrible influence! ;)

The actual survey was fine. The last minute kick in the teeth was that they paid us in Primark vouchers rather than £££ :( I found that the heels and bag I purchased helped me get over this annoyance very quickly. Here they are in action:

Next time I’ll be heading to a far quieter branch me thinks!   

Is it chocolate? Is it a necklace? // presenting the KitKat necklace

This week I received a lovely little parcel in the post from Anouska of Junkie Lovers Boutique. 

With the tissue paper packaging wrapped that neatly, it seemed a crime to rip it open - but boy, am I glad I did!

Joy and behold this beaut I found inside. I am somewhat of a chocoholic so this necklace was the perfect choice.

This handmade KitKat creation, you could tell it had been crafted with care. And so realistic too – it will take all of my strength not to nibble at it at some point(!) Junkie Lovers Boutique also offers two other mouth-watering designs for all chocoholics out there – Toblerone and Dairy Milk:

 Images from the Junkie Lovers Boutique website

Stocking a variety of necklaces, brooches, bracelets and rings, Junkie Lovers Boutique has something for everyone.

The positives

• Shipping is offered at an astounding £1.50 – bargain!

• Fast delivery – I was so impressed with how quickly I received the parcel

• The chain is a good length. It’s not too short so it won’t choke you – but at the same time, it’s not going to get in the way like some of the insanely long necklaces on sale out there.

• Just how much it looks like chocolate. There are a few patches of colour variation like what you would get on an actual bar of chocolate:

Any negatives?

Not necessarily a negative, but a valid enough point... I like a lot of things on the website but at £10 or so a pop, I wouldn't be able to afford many things in one go.

To conclude this review, I always think it’s nice to see how things look on. Yes, my photos of the necklace artistically draped over flowers were awesome, but they won’t give you an idea of dimensions, how it hangs and etc.

Apologies but I don’t have a “photographer” at / on hand nor do I own a tripod, so you’ll have to put up with a pretty awful self taken photo. Here goes…

As well as the necklace, I'm wearing my trusty shorts, tan wedges and a light weight knitted top that I got in Republic a few years ago. A bit of a silly idea really what with the Indian summer we've got in the UK at the moment. I did change into a short sleeved sheer blouse very soon afterwards!

I love the length of the necklace – it tucks into the scallop detailing on my top beautifully. Also the fact that it stands out is great – I find that most necklaces tend to get lost in my hair (I have lots of hair).

I would just like to take the opportunity to thank Anouska for sending me this delight. I adore it and will be wearing it every chance I get 

Please note: Other than the Junkie Lovers Boutique stock photos of the Toblerone and Dairy Milk, all of the photos / pictures used are my own. Please do not reuse / circulate without my permission first.