How are you? Hope you had an absolutely lovely Christmas. I certainly did although I've definitely put on about 18 stone (New Year Resolution is to definitely start running again).
Anyway, it's been long time no blog so thought I'd ease myself back in with a simply simple Christmas Day Outfit of the Day. I know it's really late and most people are getting out of the Christmas mode into New Years Eve mode but whatever I've been busy eating chocolate.
Actually, everything I wore on Christmas Day this year I got as presents. In my stocking I got this awesome "Fashionista" t-shirt from Studded Petals. I'm really into graphic slogan tees at the moment so I know I'm going to get a lot of wear out of this.
Then from my mama I got these beeeautiful sequinned harem pants from Missguided which I actually mentioned in my 'Peg Leg'post. I love them! They're like soft pyjamas on the inside and glam sequinned goddess on the outside. All my favourite things!
I didn't wear shoes because...I was inside all day. Duh! Kept all my make up minimal because I was too focussed on the ENORMOUS AMOUNTS OF FOOD!!
Jazzy trousers make me want to dance!
So hope you had a lovely, lovely day! What did you wear? What did you eat? What did you get?
Christmas is dawning closer day by day and I for one and extremely over-excited!! I literally turn into a child at Christmas and no one can dampen my crimbo cheer. I must be one of the few people who work in retail who still love it. I remember the first time I worked Christmas my boss ominously told me it was the last Christmas I'd ever enjoy because working in a shop full of Christmas shoppers ruins it for you! All lies I love it now more than ever!
Anyway, I spotted this lil tag over on Charlotte's blog, Hobbits and HairDye, which everyone should check out and thought I'd give it a go myself to spread a bit more of the xmas cheer! Here we go (this is my first tag, be gentle)
What time of the year do you start your Christmas shopping?
December. Early December if I'm lucky! Usually I don't get mine finished until a week or so before Christmas. I'm too indecisive and picky about what I want to buy everyone.
Do you have any festive recipes for food or drink you limit solely to the Christmas season to share?
I really hate most Christmassy desserts. Christmas pudding, Christmas cake, mince pies - they're all gross! I always have to make a replacement pudding so I can avoid Christmas pudding at all costs!
Tell me how Christmas goes down in your home.
I spend Christmas morning at my dad's house, we open our presents there as soon as we wake up. I usually have some kind of big chocolatey breakfast my dad has baked whilst my step-mum attempts to weigh a turkey! Always funny. Then I go round my mum's for Christmas dinner which is always served later than planned even though my mum insists "this year it will be on time". My grandma is always 2 hours later arriving than she said she would be. We open presents, eat dinner, veg for a bit then usually eat pudding and play cards.
Do you have any Christmas traditions?
Like most families we have a lot of stupid Christmas traditions that would take years to explain and wouldn't be funny unless you're a born and bred Anteney.
Do you have a favourite festive coffee?
I don't drink coffee because I am like a child and can't stand the sophisticated taste. This year Costa are doing a spiced Apple Juice which is my new winter obsession!
Spiced Warm Apple Juice. Get in ma belly!
What's your favourite Christmas song?
Christmas Wrapping by The Waitresses! Best Christmas song ever written (and I listen to it all year round). Let's all just take a moment to appreciate its genius!
What do you do on Christmas Eve?
On Christmas Eve I go round my dad's house. We either have a huge Chinese take away or my dad and step-mum will make a ridiculous buffet for us to pig out on all night. We also usually have a kind of 'family present' like a game or a film that we can all do together on Christmas Eve to pass the time until the big day!
What's your dream gift this year?
James Franco. With a bow on top. Or like...World Peace or whatever...
Describe your Christmas tree. How tall? Real or artificial? How is it decorated?
We've got a real one this year, it smells like one of those things that hangs in a taxi window! Me and my mum decorated it together with all the decorations we've had since I was little. It's not chic or sophisticated but it's definitely ours.
Our tree this year - understated as ever
Do you decorate just the tree or other areas of your house e.g. windows, bannisters?
Umm we're not massive on the window decorations in my house but we do have a few bits and bobs. Usually we have tinsel round the banister and a christmassy mobile hangs up in the hallway. We've also got a really tacky nativity set that gets put up every year - can't be forgetting the baby Jesus!
What do you wear to Christmas parties and what do you wear on Christmas day?
For Christmas parties I like to dress as ridiculously as possible. I feel like December is the only month you can really get away with head-to-toe sequins so I always exploit that. Last year it was gold sequinned shorts for every occasion! On Christmas Day itself I like to be cosy, cosy, cosy. Usually just a big jumper and jeans so I can eat as much food as possible without restrictions! So if you're reading this - I TAG YOU! I wanna know all about your Christmas! If you do this tag, leave me a link so I can read all about your festivities!
So I've got a bit of a confession to make...I'm a cheat. I know, I'm just as shocked as you. Last week when at work we sorted out our Secret Santa. I'm rubbish at Secret Santa, I always end up picking someone I don't know, I get ridiculously over-stressed and I can't stick to a budget. So anyway, I picked out a name and shock horror...I got the only male member of staff on the whole team. "Boys are hard to shop for" my brain screamed "Can't do this". So when no one was looking I promptly put the name back in the box and picked another much easier name.
When I was putting together this little gift guide I realised what a nump I'd been! There's loads of things to get boys at Christmas. There's all sorts of obvious choices, my little brothers get Lynx every year (and they still don't get the hint). All the boys in my life love nothing better than showing off so these 'World's Hottest Chilli Powders' are perfect for testing what they're really made of! If you're feeling a bit kinder then a nice mug for tea or lovely fancypants Rococo chocolates are a good choice. I went to the Rococo shop a while ago and it really was the fanciest chocolate shop I had ever been to!
If you're still at a lost just indulge the hipster that lurks inside everyone with the fish eye iPhone lens. Make their Instagram even more pretensh!
So that's my last gift guide...hope you've enjoyed them! Have you finished all your shopping? I've still got a few little bits and bobs to go - nothing quite like leaving things to the last minute!
How's your shopping doing? I'm sure you've done most of it by now but there's still times to get a few little bits and bobs.
I kind of prefer getting people a few little gifts rather than one big gift. If you're struggling with presents for someone this year then it might be an idea to make them a little goody bag or a stocking and just fill it up with smaller cheaper gifts. This year I'm particularly skint so I'm definitely going to be stocking up on small presents.
Nail varnishes and mini cosmetics like this mini perfume from Soap and Glory are pretty easy to get hold of. There's also loads of stuff on Etsy like the cute shell candles and mojito lip balm which are a bit more unusual...
P.s how awesome is the Harry Potter picture? I'm not even a Potterhead and I think it's cool! Definitely know a few people who would love to find that under the tree...
So I've had a bit of a break from posting for a while. The end of the semester got super crazy busy with work and essays but I'm back home now. Ready to relax and eat too much food.
Boys can be so hard to shop for (believe me I've got 4 half/step brothers!) so I've picked out a couple of little bargain presents to buy the men in your life. I've got a real love for personalised presents. Things like the pen knife below or the bicycle notebook are extra special if you get something engraved or printed on them. It just makes it look like you've put in that extra bit of effort. I like the idea of getting someone's name on a present but I think it's even nicer if you can get a nickname or a little personal joke on them.
If they're someone you don't know so well then a nice pair of socks like these from Topman is always a solid choice. I also think this Cider Selection from Boots is just a ridiculously good deal. How often can you get 4 bottles of cider for £8?! Might just buy it for myself...
Hello,
Hope you're well. Been turned into a big festivity-induced stress ball yet? My plan this year is to ignore that I have my own body weight in shopping yet to do and just enjoy the Christmas lights and the mulled wine!
I've put together another little gift guide for the "her"s in your life. Being a massive cheapskate £10 is usually my starting price for everyone at Christmas time, unless they've been extra good that year! I've got a lot of step/half relatives in my family who I don't actually know that well so I don't really like to be an extravagant spender. I'd rather save some of my pennies to spend on my mumma and papa!
£10 is a good starting price, you can often get a lot for your money and end up looking super generous. I think this "Be Mine Boxset" from The Gobstopper is a perfect example of that! You're getting a good deal for your money and give this to one of the kids in your family and you'll be popular all year round (although maybe not with their parents).
I thought this Owl purse/bag from Accesorize was a great steal for £10 too. Defnitely looks more important and really versatile so whoever you buy it for would definitely be able to find a use for it.
Again, I've had a little hunt for some independent creatives this Christmas. I absolutely love this camera lens necklace from The Pendant Garden. It's got a totally cute vintage feel to it which would go down well with your "too cool for their own good" friends!
Hope you find this useful. How are you getting on with your Xmas shopping?
Helllo,
So recently I've started a little series of Christmassy gift guides to offer a teeny bit of help in this, the most stressful of seasons! (I am very reluctant to call it a 'series' because I am notoriously bad at finishing or keeping up with series but let's give it a go!)
I find shopping for men nigh-on impossible! I have 4 brothers of varying ages and interest, plus dad, step-dad, brother-in-law and any other male relation who decides to pop by. None of them provide a list of course they're all particularly useless which means I absolutely hate shopping for them!
This year I've been trying to look a bit more outside the box for presents, having a good search on Etsy and smaller independent websites with the hope of finding some unusual things...which I think I have! My personal fave from the presents below is the Beard Tonic and Brush which I think is a brilliant idea, especially as after Movember more men are rocking the facial fuzz (and rightly so - I love a good beard!)
I also really liked the headphones I picked out, we sell them at work and despite the cheap(ish) price they are very good quality! They've got 2 jacks as well so you can share your music with other people, great idea for little brothers who you might be stuck for.
The links for all the other presents I've included are below in the caption as usual. Hope you find this helpful. Lemme know how you're getting on with your shopping!
Tis the season to be jolly falalalalala...la. It's nearly Christmas, I've got my christmas jumper on, my Bieber Christmas album blasting, my house covered in tinsel...and absolutely no Christmas shopping done! Woohoo big cheer for lack of organisation.
This happens to me every year. I spend hours and hours as soon as November starts looking at possible Christmas presents online. I never actually buy any of it and by the time I get round to it...it's too late and it doesn't arrive in time! Well this year no more. I'm going to get it done in time and everyone will be super happy and I shall be the star of my family!
This year will be an extremely budget Christmas for me because I am a sad, cash-strapped student (cue violins and emosh close ups). No really, I always like to do Christmas on a budget. I'd much rather buy someone something small and nice and know I haven't broken the bank than splash out on something gratuitous and have no food for the coming year. Maybe it's my selfish side coming out...but I like to think of it as thrifty!
Anyway, I've decided to do a couple of little gift guides this crimbooo. First of is my "for her under £20" guide. I think "for her" can be a struggle sometimes, there's a big difference between what you'd buy your best friend and what you'd buy your grandma. Hope I've covered most bases here.
Lemme know if you like this, find it helpful, have seen something similar. Need all the help I can get with my shopping this year, I am a disaster.
So it's officially December. How did that even happen? I'm pretty sure it was only just my birthday and now it's already Christmas. I'm never ready for the winter months in any sense. For example, at the moment I have absolutely no food in my house, very few jumpers and one pair of shoes. If I was a hibernating animal, I would die.
Anyway I always feel like winter is quite a hard season to fashion up. I know you can go all out with layers and knitwear but when it really comes down to it you're just going to plonk on your same old winter coat and cover up all your hard outfit-planning work. That's why this season I really want to get into trousers. I usually just stick to my trusty black skinny jeans but that's getting thoroughly boring and difficult to smarten up or look interesting.
At the moment I'm totally loving peg leg, skinny fit trousers. They look really great in patterns or as a statement block colour (like the beautiful colbalt blue pair from Boohoo I've included below). I also think they're a great alternative to boring ol' denims especially in a season where (if you're anything like me) your obsession with keeping warm limits your outfit choices. I am desperately searching for the perfect pair that I think can work for me.
So here's a little collection of some of my faves from around the tinternet. I absolutely love the patterns on some of these espesh the bold zebra print of the River Island pair. Because I'm quite short I sometimes worry about bold patterns like that but I definitely want to go try them on in store. As we are entering the festive season I couldn't stop myself from including a sparkly sequin pair. Believe me you're about to see a whole heap of sequins this December!
Lemme know what you think, or if you've seen any nice ones around for me to try on heehee!
