OOTD: Fly fly dragonfly.

♥ Dress: Topshop *** Top: Dunnes *** Belt: Dunnes *** Boots: Primark *** Bracelets: Primark/Forever 21 *** Ring: Topshop ♥

Ah!! It looks like I only have one, oddly shaped leg! I always stand in the most awkward positions. This is a non-smiling OOTD for once, not purposely..my battery died and I didn't have time to wait for it to charge so I could take better pictures. I found this tunic (which i'm wearing underneath) in Topshop recently. It was hiding behind lots of blouses but the pleated mustard skirt peeking out caught my eye. It was love at first sight, well almost. The top part of the tunic is made of this awful cheap/thin material, even wearing a nude bra underneath looks ridiculous. I will use it for layering until I find a mustard colored tank top. I bought this pretty dragonfly print top in Dunnes last week for €9! I love the little dragonflies printed all over and the peterpan collar is always a good thing. Paired them with my worn-out, old, favorite pair of boots which are from Primark two or three years ago. I would have preferred to wear brogues but the boots were a better option as I spent a lot of time in the garden which is a bit of a mess right now!

We had fencing put up all around the back of the house which makes me a little bit sad! I was looking forward to hanging out by the little creek more often, especially during the summer. I liked to sing the theme song from "Dawsons Creek" while I was down there! /dork. I wanted to spend time with the horses too but the garden looks much neater now. We had a choice between a metal or wooden frame and although the wooden one looks much better and would be darling with a coat of white paint, the problem we had with woodlice has put me off having wood around the garden! The garden is covered with ivy in most places so today was spent trying to remove it. I also found an apple tree at the bottom of the garden which i'm thrilled about! My favorite thing about going to my grandma's house as a little girl was walking through the fields in the countryside to go picking apples and berries so i'll get to re-live my childhood somewhat.

I was sorting through my vintage cameras and realized they don't get enough love lately, so I took out a couple today and snapped some photographs. I miss shooting film so much, its a lot more rewarding. I think I may turn the little room that the previous tenants used as a ~worship room~ into a darkroom, it would be perfect.

I just wanted to say that I haven't been feeling so great lately, and if my negative nancy-ness begins to rub off a little on my blog entries, then i'm sorry! The birth control my doctor put me on last month for my hair problem has been a rollercoaster ride. Some days I will be fine, others I just cry and feel depressed for no reason. I feel bad for the people who are around me in real life when I get my little mood swings! I don't think it has improved my hair (a lot fell out this morning) but i'm just hoping it will and its taking longer to work for whatever reason. I began my second pack yesterday so fingers crossed that it will begin to help soon.

Lastly, I gave my blog a mini-mini-makeover today! I changed the banner to remove "a fatshion blog" and added some little dots as the font looked a little bit lonely all by itself! I also moved my entries towards the center a little more, changed the divider between posts and changed the background of the titles on my sidebar to match the divider. Just lots of little changes but I think it looks much better! Hopefully you all do too. Have a great night ♥

xoxo

Weekly Wishlist #1

I have been wanting to make theme posts on a set day for a while and I figured what better way to start than with a "weekly wishlist". I have seen lots of other bloggers do the same thing so I don't know who I owe credit to, but I always have at least 10 things that i'm lusting after and making a post at the end of every week seems like a fun way to share them with everyone.


♥ Ditsy Strappy Back Playsuit - £40 ♥ White Photo Love Crop Top - £18 ♥ Vintage Rose Paperbag Shorts - £32 ♥ KIKI Peach Canvas Bow Ballet - £16 ♥ Peach Big Heart Ring - £6.50 ♥ Daisy Fabric Headband - £5 ♥

Everything I want this week is from Miss Selfridge. I tend to get bored of their clothes during autumn/winter but once spring rolls around i'm back to loving them. Although they're owned by the same company who operate Topshop, Dorothy Perkins, Evans, etc. I feel like Miss Selfridge clothes don't get enough love both in the blogging world and in real life. Although I shop in Topshop more often (just because there's one an hour away, the nearest Miss Selfridge store is almost two hours) I prefer clothes from Miss Selfridge as they're more "me". I think of Miss Selfridge as Topshop's girly sister.

The playsuit caught my eye instantly. As you all know, i'm a sucker for a nice floral print and Miss Selfridge always impress with their choice of ditsy floral prints every Spring. I love that its a playsuit rather than a dress, perfect for riding your bicycle on warm summer days or those times when you just want to pretend you're five again (I mean that in a good way!) The cropped top is not something I would usually pick out in a store as cropped tops generally look best on girls who don't have bellies However it reminds me of a top I had for one of my barbies when I was a child and the print is adorable - I can't resist daisies! Shorts aren't something I love but I hope to start wearing them more. There are days when I want to wear pants/trousers but just can't bring myself to do so, maybe adding some pretty new shorts to my closet will be a stepping stone.. or just a good excuse to go shopping. I probably don't need an explanation as to why I love those flat shoes, they are just very "me"..bows, pink and a lovely floral print..need I say more? As soon as I seen them I fell in love but sadly my size is sold out online, i'll be lurking eBay in the coming weeks for sure! I usually prefer fancy gold rings rather than the plastic kind but the heart ring would be a fun piece for summer, as would the pretty daisy headband. Have I mentioned how much I love daisies? They're my favorite flower!

What has caught your eye in stores recently?
xoxo

OOTD: I'm back!

Hello everyone, i'm finally back to blogging! It has been 2 weeks since my last proper post although it feels like much longer.
I was pretty disappointed to learn that my home broadband isn't going to be installed for "up to" three more weeks so I popped down to my local o2 store and picked up one of these little gadgets. It just so happened to be on special offer (buy 30 days internet access and get another 30 days free) which was a nice bonus! So far, so good. I like that there is no contract and I can use it on-the-go instead of relying on my iPhone's browser.






♥ Polka dot dress: Awear *** Cardigan: Dunnes *** Suede Booties: Topshop *** Necklace: Forever 21 ♥

I purchased this dress a couple of months ago when I went shopping with my friend in Dublin. I hadn't worn it because the buttons on the front are slightly loose and I planned to sew them (which I have yet to do) but today I decided it had been sitting around, un-loved, for too long. Its quite figure hugging and side-ways I think I almost look pregnant thanks to my awkward belly, but its the perfect shade of pink and the little ruffles on the hips sold it for me. I know most girls prefer to wear clothes that "glide over" their problem areas but I can't resist a nice bodycon dress. Our weather has been beautiful this week and perfect for dresses without tights!

My new room is still a mess for the most part. I put some of my things away but didn't unpack everything as we had a little problem. A few days after moving in we noticed there were a lot of woodlice crawling around the house, every time I went into my room I would find a couple crawling around. I didn't mind at first as I thought they would disappear but I was wrong. I tried spraying the floors with insect killer, which seemed to stun them for a couple of seconds rather than kill them. Then I used an insect killer in powder form and it worked a treat - but there was still a LOT of them crawling around the house. One morning I woke up to 28 dead woodlice on my tiny bedroom floor! They aren't harmful but they're unpleasant to look at. I'm a complete baby when it comes to insects and other creepy crawlies! In the end we had Rentokil come and spray both inside and outside of the house which has sorted the problem. The house had been locked up for quite a while (6 months) and the previous tenants never heated the house in the two years they lived here, hence the large amount of woodlice.

Speaking of the previous tenants..I hope this house doesn't turn out to have strange things happening like my old one! There's a tiny room at the back of the house which has an odd history. The walls are white but they have burn marks where candles had been lit close to them often and there's a medal above the door (which I later found out is used in exorcisms!). I was in there with my landlord and he told me how the previous tenants used it as some kind of worship room. They had an alter from a church in there too although i'm guessing they weren't practicing a Christian religion as the town church is nearby and visible from the back garden. When they lived here they operated a little video store in my town and I remember having a conversation with one guy about Kevin Smith movies. He seemed nice for the most part so i'll just try to think about him in that way, rather than worshipping..whatever.

xoxo

Absence makes the heart grow fonder.

check out my sw33t art skillz!

Hey everyone! I am currently updating from my iPhone so fingers crossed that this will actually show up! It's taking a little longer than expected to get internet set up at my new house. For some reason the previous tenant snipped all of the telephone wires (who does that?!) The phone company are sending someone to fix it later in the week, so hopefully I'll be back to blogging soon! Not having internet access will definitely make me appreciate it more in the future. I can't wait to catch up with everyones lovely blogs and watch the episodes of "Jersey Shore" that I have missed (guilty pleasure - don't judge me!) Hope you all are doing great.

xoxo

OOTD: TGIF!

♥ Dress: Primark *** Shoes: Dunnes *** Accessories: Primark ♥

Hello pretties! Just a super quick post to let you all know that I am moving today so I won't have internet access for a little while and because of this there won't be any updates. I'm think we'll have internet set up at the new place in less than a week, so hopefully i'm not away from my blog for too long!
We completely flooded the "old house" when we were removing some appliances this morning, oops! More hurry, less speed! Unfortunately it was cold and wet today (spring, where are you?!) so I had to wear a black blazer over the dress when I left the house. This will be my last OOTD with my pretty pink wall, i'll definitely miss it a little bit. I hope you all have a fabulous weekend, talk to you soon! ♥

xoxo

OOTD: Midweek slump!

♥ Cardigan: Savida *** Top: Primark *** Skirt aka. dress: Primark *** Shoes: Dunnes *** Accessories: Primark ♥

I have been feeling a little under the weather the past few days so I decided to scare off my "midweek slump" with a colorful spring outfit! We had lovely weather for the past week but as of yesterday the rain is back and I now have a cold. It probably doesn't help that i'm wearing a lot of dresses without tights and its still early March (Ireland doesn't get warm until at least May) but I can't help myself. I long for the kind of days where I sit out drinking cold juice, reading a good book with my garden full of daisies and sunshine hitting my skin. So yes, I didn't let my cold stop me from wearing a dress today. I say dress because the "skirt" above is actually a dress folded to make a skirt. I don't know if I pull it off or not! Could you tell? I think a belt would have helped but none of mine matched unfortunately.
I bought the dress on sale in Primark a couple of weeks ago, it was marked down to €3 and the print was too pretty to pass up. Unfortunately its very unflattering and the crissed crossed straps remind me of being 9 years old, so this was the best I could do with it. I may cut it up and work some magic with my sewing machine some day. It wasn't too fun looking down at my waist all day to make sure it was still "in place".

I still haven't moved to my new house! I feel like I have been packing for far too long, but I finally finished this morning and my house is now in a box. I had to order my flooring as its not commonly used here, it will be arriving tomorrow evening and my new landlord is having one of his staff install it for me Friday (free of charge, huzzah!) so once that's done I will be moving. I discovered that there is a little creek in the back garden, two pretty horses in the field behind it and the locals are building a playground directly across from the house.. my inner child is beyond happy!

After much consideration, I have decided to change my blog a little. I will still be posting outfits as often as I currently do, but I feel like i'm restricting myself by considering my blog to be a "fashion blog". Especially when I don't have the time to post outfits every day. I enjoy fashion and have a great interest in it, but I am not a fashionable person. I have my own style which I would consider somewhat unique but I don't care about looking "on trend", I just dress for me. Fashion is not my first love, or my second, its actually probably my third. Whereas most "fashion bloggers" would considering it their main interest/passion.
What do I plan to do with my blog? Nothing drastic, don't worry! Aside from my usual outfit, inspiration and wishlist posts I plan to include some of my other interests. Maybe posts about musicians who I think deserve a new fan or two, inspiring quotes and photography, advice/confidence tips, etc. Maybe even some beauty and makeup related posts. I haven't planned any topics as such, but if I think of something that I would like to blog about, I will. Until now I would have an idea but later think "well, that won't really fit into a fashion blog..". So - as of today Pearls, Lace and Ruffles is more of an "everything" blog rather than a fatshion/fashion blog.

Thanks to everyone who entered my giveaway, I will be announcing the winners in the coming days!

xoxo

OOTD: A new dress and alopecia.

♥ Dress: Primark *** Shoes: Dunnes *** Accessories: Primark *** Legging shorts(underneath): Forever 21 ♥

This dress looks ridiculously short, and it kind of is, but I don't think it looks quite as bad in person. It has been sitting in my closet since December and i'm trying to wear my clothes that still have tags on, rather than leaving them sitting around! The ruffles and cute bow on this dress are what sucked me in, because the fit is off. I can't blame the dress though - I don't like to wear dresses that are fitted in the waist because my waist and midsection is awkward. I usually have to pull the dresses up much higher than they should be. Its a cute dress, even though my habit of buying things because they are cute (rather than because they fit good) is bad!

This week has been so hectic. I have turned into one of those bloggers who don't reply to their readers, i'm afraid! Its not on purpose, once I get settled into my new house I will have more free time to start coming online again. I haven't even began to pack my things yet! I painted my room twice earlier this week but I need to give it a third coat tomorrow. Yesterday I went to pick out my flooring, it only took trips to about 10 different stores but I found the perfect one eventually. We are *supposed* to be moving in on Sunday although i'm predicting it will be a few days later.

I went to see my doctor again yesterday about my hair. Before I talk about that - I don't like to get too personal on my blog (if you guys hadn't noticed!) I'm fine with sharing little bits about myself but I don't think the internet needs to know my every move or that I went out and partied and got so drunk I passed out in my friends house. It doesn't really have a place in my blog so I just don't write about it. I don't mind talking about this hair problem though because I have quite a lot of readers and i'm sure at least one person who stumbles upon my blog is going through something similar.
I mentioned my hair problem to my old doctor and she said straight away "its your diet and nutrition" - no tests, nothing. That was a couple of months ago and my hair isn't getting any better so I switched to a new doctor and boy am I glad that I did! Well, the news about my hair isn't too good but its lovely to have a doctor who doesn't blame everything on being overweight (infact we had a giggle when he weighed me and said "thats fine!" afterwards, I had to mention how impressive it was for a doctor to say that!)
So, my hair problem..its genetic, I have alopecia. He said we can probably reverse it short term, but we can't make it go away forever. He did lots of blood tests and I have to go back for the results in a month when I finish some of the medication he gave me. I was also prescribed Cerazette which is a form of birth control which will stop my "lady time" every month (huzzah! See, there's a positive side to everything!) The reason being that I may be losing too much iron. Hopefully there won't be any serious side effects with it.
I know the last time I mentioned my hair problems a lot of you ladies left sweet comments about how my hair looks fine, but I don't include closeups of my hair accessories on my head for a reason! Its very thin. Anyways, I will be sure to write about my progress with my hair and finding what works for me because it may help someone else. If anyone is going through something similar and would like to talk, my email address is in the sidebar!

xoxo