Goodbye 2010!

Its the last day of 2010, wow! I have said it before but this year passed so quickly! I began this year on a low - A friend and I had a "thing", which ruined our friendship and caused all sorts of drama around New Years Eve '09. And here I sit on the last evening of the year reflecting on 2010 and I can say that I am fully happy with every decision I made during the year!

2010:
♥ My blog was born! I wanted to make a blog for quite a while and finally did so in May 2010. I am proud that my little blog has grown this big, I never imagined it would. While I appreciate every single comment, email and person that follows my blog - "followers" is just a number and I would still be doing this whether I had 5 or 50 followers. That said, it does make my heart happy to know new people discover and enjoy my blog enough to subscribe to it! (Thank you all)
♥ I took a break from photographing concerts. It turns out a little break was just what I needed to open my eyes and inspire me again.
♥ I got to see blink 182 in concert. I go to concerts all of the time and its not a big deal but seeing blink perform was incredible. They were a big part of my early teenage years and I was devastated when they split up!
♥ I proved to myself that you can do anything if you really want it. Or maybe it was just luck.. But I really wanted to work for Forever 21. I never worked in retail and was group interviewed in a room with 20 other girls who had years of experience, I got the job. (and later quit because they're not a great company but ssh!)
♥ Of course there was lots of other things too: I met new people, reconnected with some old friends and cut out the bad ones. Partied, found my first grey hair, joined a protest, had lots of great nights out, bought a new camera, discovered lots of great bands, lost 15lbs then gained it all back along with 2lbs extra, I gained more confidence, wore lots of pretty dresses and of course my teenage years came to an end - though I still feel much younger on the inside!

My top four outfits of 2010:



♥ a] in bloom, b] sailor chic, c] over the knee, d] nude is back ♥


I hope you all have a wonderful New Years Eve, see you all in 2011!

xoxo

OOTD (and a haul video)

♥ Cardigan: Topshop *** Top: Dunnes *** Shorts: Dunnes *** Over the knee socks: H&M


Say hello to my lazing-indoors-doing-nothing-all-day outfit! I picked up these shorts last week and this was my first time to wear them, I love them so much already. They had no size 18's left so I grabbed a pair in a size 16 and hoped for the best. God bless elastic waists!
Once again my outfit is very matched up. I love matching similar colored things together if you couldn't already tell! When I don't match my outfit it feels like a little OCD alarm goes off in my head and keeps bugging me until I fix it! Sounds rather silly but its true. I do want to change this in 2011, I want to be a little bit more adventurous with my outfits!

I made a quick trip to snag goodies for my blog giveaway. I found some lovely little things so hopefully i'll get around to photographing the goodies and making the post this weekend!
Speaking of shopping, it has been horrible keeping myself away from the sales this year! I haven't browsed any of the online sales (no ASOS, Topshop, Dorothy Perkins, Zara...boo hoo!) because I know I will just spend too much money. I'm trying to keep my pennies for my SS wardrobe. It's hard to tell myself no but I just keep thinking about all of the pretty floral dresses that will hit the stores in a couple of months. Did you girls do much post-Christmas shopping?

I did take a trip to New Look a couple of days ago to buy one essential item - a winter coat! I found the most perfect coat in New Look but also bought a couple of other things - cheeky, I know. I made a haul video and finally got around to uploading it on YouTube. I'll post it below incase you guys want to take a little look. Feel free to subscribe to my YouTube channel too if you like!




xoxo

Primark SS11 Collection

I somehow forgot to make a post about this when I first seen the collection a fortnight ago, but the campaign shots for Primark's Spring/Summer 2011 collection are too pretty not to share.


♥ My favorites. I would wear everything in these pictures, although the dresses in pictures 1 and 3 may look more like maxi dresses on me as i'm quite short! I love how everything looks so effortless but still so stylish.

♥ Some more pictures of the collection. I like a lot of the individual pieces in these pictures but I probably wouldn't wear them together. The shoes in picture 3 and dress in picture 5 are my favorites.

The clothes, the styling of the model, the backgrounds, I love it all. I love the colors they used too, I am almost tempted to re-design my layout with this color palette. Primark have been very impressive in recent years. I remember going in there in my early teens and cringing at most of the things on the rails but nowadays its hard to keep me away! I don't think I will be buying every piece from this collection but i'm sure I will pick up a few pieces once I spot them in my local store. I just hope the clothes look this pretty in real life.

I shop in Primark quite often, mostly because its the only store in my town that caters to girls under the age of 50 (well, not including TALLY WEiJL which I haven't been inside in at least 5 years!) and I like that they offer fashionable, affordable clothes. Some things can be quite tacky but if you rummage around for long enough you can find some nice pieces.

I'll end this post with a sneak peak at their SS11 swimwear collection, none of the pieces are very spectacular. That said, I do love the ruffled polka dot bikini and these shots have me excited for summer already!




xoxo

Merry Christmas!

I really wanted to post this yesterday but I was far too sick so apologies that i'm a day late! Merry Christmas everyone!
I didn't dress up for Christmas this year since I spent most of the day in bed. You can't see my bottom half but I was actually wearing my Rudolph pj shorts, ssssh!
Taking these pictures was quite a struggle - I was sitting on a stool on my bed and trying not to fall off! I really wanted to use my green wall to make the pictures look more "festive", it was a nice change from the pink too.

I hope all of you had a lovely Christmas (and got lots of nice gifts!) It didn't really feel like Christmas to me, it was the least Christmas-y Christmas yet! Watching The Best Chrismukkah Ever four times in a row didn't help either, sadly! A little Ryan Atwood usually makes everything better.

The snow has disappeared today which i'm not happy about! I will miss how it makes everything look prettier and how the sunset reflects on the trees. All good things must come to an end though, right?!

Speaking of things ending, 2010 is almost over. Can you believe it?! It feels like yesterday when I was celebrating the end of 2009. Are you excited for 2011? What are your new years resolutions?

xoxo

OOTD: I now own a pair of pants!

The snow has attacked our little country once again! So many people here are complaining -we LOVE to complain!- but personally I love snow. I hope its still here for Christmas! I think I am the only blogger who doesn't have pictures in the snow but I don't have anyone to take them for me (and I would look/feel incredibly silly trekking out there with my tripod!)
I tend to get in a rut of wearing black tights with everything during the winter so I stopped by Primark to find some pants, or trousers as most people here call them. About 40 minutes and 5 elbows-in-the-side later I found these dark grey peg leg pants. The fit is a little off, which is not Primarks fault but rather my oddly shaped body! Perfect on the waist but baggy on the legs, aside from that I think I like them.





♥ Blazer: Tesco *** Top: Tesco *** Necklace: Primark *** Pants: Primark *** Wedges: Primark ♥

The pictures don't capture how the pants look very well, whoops! I paired them with the blazer that I wore to a job interview back in September. The top is also from Tesco and I snapped it up for the mighty sum of €3.20, marked down from €18.50!
I have been trying not to spend too much on clothes this season, hence my whole outfit being from cheaper stores. I don't even remember the last time I was in my favorite stores. This whole outfit cost less than €65 which is about the price of one dress or cardigan from Topshop. I will probably buy a lot of my SS11 clothes from TS but I have put myself on a budget for the winter months!

Ps. Hello to all of my new followers! I have quite a few since my last post so thank you for stopping by my blog. I am thinking about having a little giveaway when I reach 850 followers as a "thank you" from me to my readers. ♥

I hope everyone is having a lovely December so far!

xoxo

Favorite winter 2010 trend: Peter Pan collars

♥ picture credit: topshop.com ♥

Most days when I look into my closet I feel like a little girl who never grew up. Everything inside (with the exception of "clubbing" dresses) is something I would have worn when I was a child. Back then I had a closet full of pretty dresses, if it was girly - I had it. Floral prints, lace, polka dots, ruffles, and peter pan collars were my favorites. So of course the peter pan collar is my top trend this season.

Unless you have been living under a rock this season, you will know what I'm talking about! That cute, round edge, flat collar (pictured above) that has been all over the highstreet in recent weeks and featured in many designer collections for SS11. The peter pan collar is everything I look for in fashion: feminine, innocent, and all around pretty!

The downside is that it hasn't made a huge appearance in plus sized fashiom quite yet. Stores such as Topshop, H&M, and New Look have had multiple pieces with the peter pan collar but its absent from most plus sized stores that I checked (Evans, Faith 21+, Style369 and Torrid) I can wear Topshop's largest size (UK 16) so I won't have to miss out completely, but I do hope more plus sized retailers embrace this trend. At the end of my search I found this ASOS CURVE Embellished Peter Pan Collar Shift Dress which comes in sizes UK 20-26. Embellished peter pan collar? Yes please! I am already thinking of ways I would wear this! Over the knee black socks and a side braid come to mind.
I'm keeping my fingers crossed that someone will make a nude colored dress with a lace peter pan collar and ruffled hem, that is my idea of perfect!


What do you girls think of the "peter pan" collars? Love them or hate them?

xoxo

ASOS CURVE review part two: Embellished Smock Dress

Last month I posted part one of my ASOS Curve review, this post is part two and I will be writing part 3 in the coming days. Incase you haven't read my other review - my favorite online clothing store ASOS asked me to review 3 pieces from their "Curve" range and of course I said yes! ASOS Curve caters to plus size gals (UK size 20-26) and is both trendy and affordable!

The second item I am reviewing is the ASOS CURVE Embellished Smock Dress which is priced at £65. (ASOS describe the dress as: Soft jersey smock dress * Sequin embellishment at neckline and cuffs * Loose fitting mid length smock, with keyhole neck, also available in main range)



(Not the most flattering picture of my face - whoops!)

Why I chose this item: I originally picked out this dress in the pretty light pink color you see on the site however it wasn't available in the size I wanted so ASOS sent me the blue one instead. I was a little disappointed, the gorgeous color was a huge part of what initially stood out to me! A few days later when the dress arrived I was VERY impressed.





Quality: The dress is 100% polyester. A lot of people (myself included) don't like polyester for many reasons - Most of the time its uncomfortable, makes you feel hot and drapes awkwardly over your body - not the case with this dress! It feels very luxurious and the sequin detail is even more stunning in person.
I thought the embellishment detailing along the neckline and cuffs would be actual sequins however they are little metal discs which are sewn on! This really makes the dress stand out. You can probably tell how much I love them from all of the close up pictures!




Sizing/fit: I'm actually a size UK 16-18 but since the smallest size in the Curve line is UK 20 I ordered that. I would say the dress is true to size. Its a little big on me around the bust and shoulders as to be expected!
The length was a letdown for me. On the model its above her knee but as you can see from the pictures it ends in a really unflattering place below my knee - I felt a little like Whoopi Goldberg in Sister Act! To be fair, ASOS do give the measurements on their website (Size 20 length measures 37in (94cm) – Side neck to hem) so its not something I can fault them for. I'm short (about 5'3") and I regularly have to alter the length of my dresses. Plus I often forget that the models on clothing sites are probably 5'9+!





Overall thoughts: I didn't expect to like this dress at all but once it arrived I couldn't put it down. Its a very high quality piece and apart from the length issue I love it. I'll definitely be digging out my sewing machine to alter it so I can wear it more often!


xoxo

My Christmas wishlist.

♥ 1. Style369 Leopard Print Panel Basque, £35 ♥ 2. Topshop Chiffon Leaf Wristwear, £10 ♥ 3. Topshop SAKURA Nude Patent Platforms, £62 ♥ 4. Topshop Cream Tiny Heart Seam Back Ankle Socks, £3.50 ♥ 5. ASOS Love on Cubes Bracelet, £6 ♥ 6. Topshop Angora Pearl Mittens, £16 ♥ 7. Topshop Taupe Embellished V-Back Blouse, £70 ♥ 8. Dorothy Perkins Flower Multiband Ring, £7 ♥ 9. Topshop Camel Peter Pan Collar Spotted Blouse, £38 ♥ 10. Topshop Lace Ruffle Panty, £14 ♥ 11. Dorothy Perkins Tan Plait Skinny Belt, £6 ♥

Its finally December so I can talk about Christmas!
As you can probably see my wishlist is mostly a Topshop wishlist! Topshop is not really a plus size-friendly store considering their largest size is UK 16 (US 12) and I just about fit into it, but even their shoes and accessories are to die for this season! How incredible are these slightly ridiculous (but very cute!) sequin hot pants?! I'm in love.
The company that owns Topshop (and also DP, Evans, etc) launched Style369 recently. Style369 is aimed at young plus sized women. I heard many people say it would be the Topshop for fat girls so of course I was beyond excited to see what they had to offer. So far it has been a disappointment. One look at their dresses page makes me depressed. Do they really think that most young girls want to wear those dresses? Not only are the prints awful but the cut of most is not flattering. Why can't they just extend Topshops sizes? Overall I think Style369 looks like the lovechild of Evans and Dorothy Perkins, nothing new, fresh or exciting. That said, beneath all of the granny print dresses and 3 inch heels I found a few gems, including the leopard print basque above!

I hope Santa is good to all of you girls this Christmas!

xoxo