7 days to go | Winter Warmers

No one told me that Norwich was cold. This meant that when  I got there, bright eyed and bushy tailed, for the beginning of university in September I had packed mainly the wrong clothes! I only had my grandma to thank for the 5 jumpers I had packed - other thank that it was all leggings and t shirts. This meant I had to go out and buy lots of lovely knitwear hats and scarves within my first week. Since then I have developed quite a love for the knitted beanie!

I particularly love the navy, flecked one from New Look below - I think pompoms are the cutest things ever on hats. The same goes for the pastel beanie from ARK. Whilst out on my knitwear purchasing hype I bought an infinity scarf from H&M (the one below is from Asos) and have since converted several of my flatmates to them! No more one-long-ended scarfs or that odd scramble for the other side of your scarf when you're trying to take your coat off in a hurry! Another time saver are the hand warmers being sold by New Look - these are great if, like me, most things you own are touch screen and you don't want to be stuck listening to the cringey music on your iPod whilst hammering your gloved fingers into the screen! Moving onto the fur. I first saw faux fur collars similar to the H&M one below in a video by Sammi aka BeautyCrush and thought they were an awesome alternative to the Peter Pan Collars which were popular this spring! Also, I'm very tempted to forray into the world of earmuffs and these ones from River Island (which are not only ear muffs but bear ears) are too hilarious to not love! Although I have recently been warned to stop buying clothes for comic purposes... hmmm some people are no fun!

L-R Pompom scarf, TopShop. Bear-ear Ear Muffs, River Island, Chalk Bobble Hat, ARK. Navy Bobble Hat, New Look,  Navy Handwarmers, New Look, Faux Fur Collar, Burgundy Infinity Scarf, Asos

8 days to go | LBD

Hear ye hear ye! Let us all gather round and praise the wonders of the LBD! Stuck for outfit ideas for the office christmas party? Trying to one-up the ex at a friends festive bash? Or simply spending a lovely wintery evening with the girls? Then look no further than the LBD!! For those of you who live on mars, the LBD, otherwise known as the Little Black Dress, is the ultimate wardrobe essential for all girls! I commit the cardinal sin of only owning one...but I do wear it constantly!

I love LBDs because they're simple yet usually gorgeous! Also, just because they're a classic doesn't mean they have to be boring. For example, you can go for the classic H&M one shown below which can then be jazzed up with accessories. Or on the other hand go for something completely different such as River Island's baroque take on the LBD! I also really love the galaxy detailing on the collar of the TopShop's dress, although the shape of this probably makes it more of a day time dress. To liven up a little black dress it's all about altered tailoring, cut-outs and mix-match hems! If you ignore the scarily skinny model, Asos's ice-skater style cut-out dress is really pretty and the studding detail on ARK's dress is very 'in' (also it's worth checking this out on the website just to admire the beautiful back-detailing)

L-R Asymmetric Chiffon dress, New Look . Digital Splash Collar, Topshop, Skater Dress, Asos,  Velvet Cut-out dress, ARK, Baroque Prom-style dress, River Island, Simple LBD, H&M

10 days to go | Christmas films

Christmas is a totally stressful time of year, I think I way overestimated my abilities doing this Christmas advent calendar! Firstly...I can't count so all my days are numbered wrong, secondly I forgot how much shopping/working/socialising happens in December. There aren't enough hours in the day! Only 10 days left I can totally do this!!

As I said, Christmas is totally stressful. Barging through massive queues in the shops, hunting down gifts and trying not to spend to much money are all things I am not good at meaning I get massively anxious at Christmas time...still love it though! So what's better, on a cold winter evening, than making yourself a nice hot drink, snuggling up with a loved one or a nice box of choccys  (more often than not the same thing in my case) and watching a classic, cheesy, Christmas film?

I'm a big ol' romcom fan so films like Love Actually and Four Christmases, which combine slushy love and Christmas get a big tick in my book! Is there actually a single person out there who doesn't love Love Actually...even if it's just for Bill Nighy's singing?! Muppet Christmas Carol is a classic in my house, we watch it pretty much every year, Miss Piggy is my idol!! There's also films like Elf, The Grinch and Home Alone big kids classics that are always on the tv! We watched Elf in my flat the other day and everyone was sat there with a huge grin on their face!! A personal favourite of mine is Tim Burton's masterpiece The Nightmare Before Christmas. Although it may have been commandeered by misunderstood emo kids it's still a beautiful film! I always wrestle with this one because I can't decide whether you're meant to watch it at Halloween or Christmas...I usually settle for both...

L-R Love Actually, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Home Alone, Four Christmases, Elf, The Muppet Christmas Carol, The Grinch

17 days to go | Gadget Cases

Imagine the clumsiest person you have ever met. Then double it. Now you are picturing me! I drop absolutely everything. Last year alone I broke 2 cameras, a phone and an iPod. So this year, I did what every notorious clumsy person does and bought and iPhone and a MacBook Pro. As I was signing my new phone contract my mum said to me "I give you a month til you break it". This was when I realised the importance of gadget cases! They protect all your treasured possessions and with the amount of variety you can get them in there's literally no reason not to get one!

Below I've given a little selection of cases. I really love the Marc Jacob's case, I think it's really chic and sleak at £33 it's not totally extravagant but it's a little pricey. I also really love the studded iPad case from Accesorize, nearly enough to make me go out and buy an iPad! If you're planning on buying someone a gadget case as a present why not go personal? VistaPrint have got some great offers on personalised iPhone cases (as illustrated by the creepy photo of the couple). For your mum you could get her favourite family photo or for a mate you could get a little joke or quote printed on it. I love personal presents so I think it's a super cute idea.

L-R: Radley Blackberry Case, John Lewis, Studded iPad Case, Accessorize,  Laptop Case,  Marc by Marc Jacobs, Owl iPad Case, Zazzle, Personalised iPhone Case, VistaPrint, Fox iPhone Case, Accessorize

25 days to go | Nail Varnishes

I wish I could say that I get invited to totally glam parties during the Christmas season but unfortunately all the parties I get invited to are very informal, jeans-and-tshirt affairs. Whilst I love to dress up I know that if I turn up head to toe in sequins I'll get a few odd looks. I like to make a little compromise with myself; dress casual but then up the Christmas glitz with nail varnish.
I honestly believe nail varnish can really change a look. You can be wearing a really cute, babydoll dress but pair it with a rocking, dark nail varnish and you've added a whole new element of contrast.

I've been lusting over these lush nail varnishes for a while, they seem to just exude Christmas miracles...and who can go wrong with a good glittery nail?! I know Ibiza Mix by Models Own was the colour of the summer but I think it can work as a winter glitter as well. I especially love Show Me The Ring by Essie, I think it looks just like snow on a wintery morning (God, I'm so poetic). Also, Nail Constellation by MUA is just another new innovation in the world of nail art, I really like the mix of colours in Scorpio and can't wait to try it out...

L-R: Running in Circles by China Glaze Cirque Du Soleil Worlds Away, Gold by Barry M, Oil Slick Ultra Marine Green by Accessorize, Leading Lady by Essie, Ibiza Mix by Models Own with Hed Kandi, Scorpio Nail Constellation by MUA, Show Me The Ring by Essie

Blog Post Advent Calendar

At Christmas I am like a small child! I run round excited throwing tinsel at people, hastily wrapping presents and demanding more fairy lights. One of the most exciting things about the build up to christmas is peeling open each door on your advent calendar, staring at the chocolate and trying to work out what the hell it's meant to be...

So I wanted to transfer that excitement onto my blog by writing a post for everyday of advent - like opening a flimsy cardboard door but with less cheap chocolate and more countdowns of all things Christmassy. From jewellery to cakes I'm going to try and cover all aspects of the Christmas party season. I've currently got enough ideas for 16 days so any suggestions would be really appreciated.