Christmas Tag

Hello all, 

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! 

Christmas Gift-spiration for him | Under £20

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!

Beard Tonic, Drksoapcompany, £12.71 // Cottage Delight Ginger Selection, Lakeland, £17.99 // Scratch-Off World Map, Notonthehighstreet, £18 // Get Fresh With Gift Set, Soap & Glory, £20 // Two Tone Headphone, Blott, £15.00 // Skull Fairisle Beanie, Topman, £20 // Gentleman's Shoe Shine Kit, Lakeland, £14.99

Peg Leg

Hiyaaa,

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!

Blanid Sequin Trousers, Missguided // Monochrome Grid Slim Fit, New Look // River Island Zebra Print, ASOS // Mango Floral Print, ASOS // Nicole Jacquard Skinny Cigarette, Boohoo.com // Jenna 7/8 Tapered Trousers, Boohoo // 

Winter homes are happy homes

Helllllo,

If you've ever followed me on twitter (or low and behold met me in actual life) you will know I spend about 85% of my days moaning about how cold I am. I spend the other 15% moaning about how hungry I am.

But regardless of this, that cold snap between autumn and winter is probably my favourite time of year. I feel like it's the most interesting season for colours and sights and smells. I'm also quite a home-bird so the fact that it gets a bit colder and you're not expected to don a bikini and head to beach, or stay up all night eating undercooked barbecue food suits me quite well. I like a winter house to feel warm and cosy, like you just want to curl up with a book and eat marshmallows. (I'm not sure where I'm going with this - feel like I've slipped into some Beauty and The Beast alternate universe)

Anyway, basically I'm happy because winter home-ware is finally starting to emerge on the highstreet which means we can all stock up on blankets to get us through the harsh winter months! I've picked out a couple of things that I liked the look at in various winter ranges. I'm a big fan of candles, especially if they smell like Christmas and make the room feel like a little secret hideaway so that's definitely something I'm going to be investing in this season. Little touches here and there can make such a difference to a room especially when you're practically in hibernation.

Hope you like them, links in the caption as usual...

L-R Sequin Stag Cushion, Next // Tiffany's Gingerbread Cushion, H&M // Wooden Doily Coasters, Etsy // Stag Print Throw, Next // Stoneware Mug, Matalan // Foxy candles, Habitat // Fuschia Candle Holder, John Lewis // Polar Bear Duvet Set, H&M

I done dyed ma hurr

Heyyya,
The other evening my flatmate and I got a little bit bored so (as all normal people do) we decided to dye my hair! I'd already bought the hair dye ready for a rainy day when boredom struck but we were going out that evening so decided to do it for that!

I've always loved dying my hair, I think the first time I did it was probably when I was about 11 and I used one of those wash in wash out ones in a subtle red shade. I remember a boy called me "fire-head" for 2 days straight...so I kicked him. Luckily, I don't hang out with such intellectually-lacking children anymore so I usually dye my hair once a year with no name-calling.

Flatmate doing the dying - big thanks to him!

I decided for autumn I wanted to go a darker colour, usually if I'm dying my hair in the winter I go for a purpley shade but this time I went for a dark red. There's so many brands of hair dye all boasting vibrant, nourishing, long lasting, natural colour with bells on. In the end I settled for SuperDrug's own because I'm a massive cheapskate.

How scary is that model's face?!

The shade I used is from the 'Superdrug Colour Vibrance' range in '6:45 Maroon Red'. It was super simple to use, put it on dry hair for half an hour then wash out with normal shampoo and the colour enhancing conditioner provided.

I'm really happy with the colour, it's a lot brighter than I thought it was going to be but I like that. It's lasted really well, I put it in a couple of days ago and hardly any washes out in the shower so I'm hoping it'll last til Christmas!

Anyway  hope you like it. Lemme know (and if you've got any tips on how to make your colour last longer I'd appreciate them too - thaaaanks)

You old tartan!

Heeeey,
Tartan is set to be a masssssive trend for winter! Everywhere I seem to go I see it and the worst thing is...I ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT! I'm a massive sucker for the original red tartan pattern but also absolutely love the dark green style I've seen about on the high street.

Every time I walk into a shop I can almost hear my bank balance whimpering "No...stay away from the tartan Maisie...we don't think we'll survive it". Luckily so far I've managed to heed the cry of my debit card and refrain from any huge tartan expenditure. I don't think this inner strength will last long. It's freeeezing in Norwich and I've got my heart set on a tartan winter coat!

Alas, until I find one which will fit my student budget I'm stuck wasting my hours traipsing round shops and scouring ebay. Below I've made a little tartan covered wishlist all of which I'm adding to my 'When I Win The Lottery' list.

Hope you like it, and if anyone sees a budget tartan coat...let a sister know!

Red tartan faux fur boyfriend collar, River Island, £40 // Tartan and leather satchel, Cambridge Satchel Company, £140 //  Red tartan skater skirt, New Look, £17.99 //  Tartan ankle socks, Missguided, £3.99 // Tartan high wasted trousers, Urban Outfitters, £48 // Black and tartan contrast shirt, River Island, £15 // Leather collar tartan skater dress, Missguided, £14.99

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

20 days to go | Peplum Dresses

Peplum has been a really big trend this year. I really love it because it's what I call a "universal trend"(pantent pending - don't go stealing my pretentious terms). By this I mean it's a trend that can work in so many ways. In the spring it looked gorgeous in floral patterns, in the summer it was great in bold, block colours and now in the winter you can rock it in dark colours or even my beloved sequins! Also, unlike most trends it's one which I feel can suit all body types. If you're a skinny minnie lacking in the curves department the extra material can make you look totally Marilyn Monroe and if you're a curvier girl who has "problem areas" (I hate that term) the shape will help "hide" them (I hate that term too)

Peplum dresses are a go to for the office do. You can where them to work in the day with thick tights and then just remove said tights to party hard afterwards if you don't have time to go home and change. And even if you do then peplums guarantee that you look glam but keep up your smart workwear facade in front of the boss. Two birds one stone.

Black Bardot Peplum by Miss Selfridge, Contrast Peplum by Topshop, "Oh My Love" Jersey Peplum by Asos, Pearl Peplum by Rare at Topshop, Petrol Blue Peplum by Dorothy Perkins, Red Peplum by Asos, Embellished Peplum by New Look, Navy Velvet Peplum by Boohoo