OOTD: Rust

♥ Blazer: River Island *** Blouse: New Look *** Trousers: New Look ♥

I'm actually cheating a bit because this is the outfit I wore yesterday, not today. I wasn't going to bother posting it because I don't like how I look in them nor do I love the outfit (it was a lazy day outfit) and the sunset cast an orange glow over the pictures, but i'm going away today and probably won't get doing an OOTD until tomorrow or Monday so wanted to post something in the meantime. Gosh, I think that may be the longest sentence I have ever put together!

I'm not a pants girl, at all. I hate wearing them because 1. I don't like how they look and 2. i'm short so its hard to find a pair that don't swamp me! Yesterday was considerably cold though so it seemed like the perfect day to break them out.
I got the trousers i'm wearing in New Look for a measly €4! Right before Christmas the New Look store in my new town had a big sale on, even better than the sale that followed on St. Stephens Day. They had a lot of old stock reduced to €4. There were a lot of rails so I had to do quite a bit of digging but came out with a few new pieces that I probably wouldn't have bought at full price but could justify purchasing at just €4 each! Almost everything left that appealed to me was in a size 16 or 18, so I was very lucky. A lot of items I already own were in the sale too. I am considering not purchasing things from New Look at full price because it seems like everything I buy there ends up in the sale at some point and although my size is usually gone, its still annoying that I paid €35 for something that is now marked down to €10!
A part of me is beginning to miss featuring my shoes in outfit posts, especially because i'm a "shoe gal" and sometimes consider them the best part of an outfit. Do you girls prefer to see outfits with shoes or does it matter?

Thanks to everyone who entered my giveaway so far! If you haven't entered already then you still have a week to do so!

xoxo

Blog makeover

Hi everyone. Just a quick post to mention that I have given my blog a little makeover! I have been wanting to change the look of my blog for a while as it has remained mostly the same since I began blogging in May 2010. When I actually sat down to do it, I realised I loved the color scheme more than any other so I decided to keep my logo how it is and do other things to spruce it up a little bit! Theres still a few minor things that I need to fix/work on (mostly the navigation links above), which I hope to get done as soon as possible.
I would love to hear your thoughts on it and if you like this or the old one better!

xoxo

OOTD: Golden days

♥ Top: River Island *** Skirt: Primark *** Socks: Primark ♥

I had this entry all ready to go earlier and somehow deleted it - doh! I am still getting used to the new blogger interface. I do like it but I think the old one was easier to navigate, for me at least.

Today I was going for a girlier Wednesday Addams look but ended up looking slightly more like Pippi Longstocking, I always feel so awkward wearing my hair in braids/pigtails! The button up lace blouse was purchased in River Island a little while back, its completely see through so I had to wear a white vest top underneath - I don't think i'm brave enough to show off my undergarments! I decided I had to own it because the lace is almost exactly like lace curtains I had in my bedroom as a child! It didn't photograph too well but theres also metallic gold thread throughout. (I wore a black cardigan too but forgot to put it on for the photographs) Decided not to bother with accessories today as I thought the gold on the top and over-the-knee socks "jazzed" the outfit up enough!

I have misplaced a lot of my necklaces during the move. I *think* aka. hope and pray that they are in storage and I can get them back this week. They aren't too expensive and most were purchased in Primark, Topshop and Forever 21 - but I had built up a nice little collection and it would be such a shame to lose them all!

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend. Thank you to everyone who entered my giveaway so far!


 xoxo

3000 Followers Giveaway

Firstly, a super big THANK YOU to all of my wonderful followers. I consider all of you friends and words cannot express how happy it makes me that other people enjoy my little space on the internet as much as I do! Thank you to everyone who follows, comments, shares my blog, emails/tweets me, and everything else that has supported me and helped my blog grow to where it is today.


The items for this giveaway are little bits n' pieces I have been collecting over the past couple of months. Nothing extravagant (sorry, a gals gotta eat and pay bills!) but everything represents me, my style and my blog. Infact, I own one of everything i'm giving away already! Don't worry, yours will be brand new with tags! You may have spotted a few of the items on my blog in the past. Instead of giving all of the items to one person I have split them into five lots. So 5 lucky readers will each win something. The prizes:


♥ [one] ♥ Floral print overnight bag - I purchased my own one of these bags at the beginning of summer and have been using it at least once a week since then and it has held up wonderfully. I have used it as my hand luggage on airplanes, to carry all of my things to the beach (i'm not a light packer), as an overnight bag on trips to the city, etc. Its so roomy and the beautiful floral print is one of the nicest I have seen in a while.
Benefit "Bad Gal" eyeliner - My favorite black pencil eyeliner.

♥ [two] ♥

Cath Kidston lip balm - Forget the lipbalm for a second, the packaging alone is so dreamy! These little sticks are perfect for popping in your purse and keeping your lips moisturised throughout the day.
Cameo bracelet - Vintage style light pink stretch pearl & cameo bracelet.

♥ [three] ♥

Soap And Glory set - Mini versions of some of my favorite Soap & Glory products. Comes in a cute pink cosmetic case.

♥ [four] ♥

Layered necklace - Layered pearl and chain necklace with an adorable locket.
Nautical themed charm bracelet - One of my favorite bracelets! Stretch pearl bracelet with little nautical themed charms. 

♥ [five] ♥
Bottle necklace - Long necklace with a cute little bottle charm. The bottle is filled with tiny pearls which are held in with a cork stopper.
Owl Hairclips - Set of antique style Owl hair clips.


♥     ♥     ♥     ♥     ♥     ♥     ♥     ♥     ♥     ♥     ♥

"RULES":
- The giveaway is open to everyone - worldwide!
- You must be following my blog via google friend connect (in my sidebar) to enter this giveaway
- Giveaway closes on 4 February 2012 at 9pm GMT.

"HOW TO ENTER":
- Leave a comment with your name and email address (1 entry)

"ADDITIONAL ENTRIES":
please leave a separate comment for each entry or it will not be counted, sorry!
- Mention my giveaway on your blog (2 entries)
- Add my giveaway to your sidebar (2 entries)
- Tweet about my giveaway (1 entry)
- Mention my giveaway on tumblr (1 entry)
- "Like" PearlsLaceAndRuffles on facebook (1 entry)

That means you can enter up to eight times! Please remember to leave separate comments for each entry. Good luck everyone.

xoxo


(please note: all of these items were bought by me, with my own money)

OOTD: Under the stars

♥ Dress: Primark *** Belt: Dunnes *** Shoes: Primark ♥

Just a quick outfit post before I go to bed, i'm beginning to fall asleep as I write this, eep! This will be the last outfit post from my old room, which is kind of bittersweet. I disliked the house overall but still had a soft spot for my teeny-tiny room. I am still trying to figure out the best place in my new room to take photographs for my blog - is it weird/pathetic that where I will put my furniture depends on which wall I need to keep free to take photographs? It feels rather silly! In my old room I had to move my furniture every time to take outfit photographs, I promised myself I would leave a little wall space free this time to make it easier.

The dress I wore today is from Primark a couple of months ago, although stores near me still have it in stock. I bought a couple of similar dresses from there about two years ago (in solid colors/animal print) which I loved, so when I spotted this soft pink, star-printed dress I knew I had to have it! Unfortunately at the time they only had small sizes and one size 20, so I decided to buy it even though I usually wear a size 16  in stretchy dresses like this one. Its a little too big, mostly noticeable on the bust where it slowly slides down after a couple of minutes - I still love it though. My local Primark has just marked it down to half price so I think I might pick up one in a smaller size if they haven't all sold out!
The necklace i'm wearing was one of many Christmas gifts from my boy friend (i'm spoiled!) I really love it, its very "me". Its also so small and delicate that I forget i'm wearing it and i'm terrified that i'm going to end up breaking or losing it!

I reached 3000 followers today, just wow! Thank you all so much. I will be posting a giveaway tomorrow to ~celebrate~ so be sure to watch out for that.

xoxo