Last Of My Christmas Sales Haul & A Gift From Mum

My whole body is aching today.  I did a massive workout session last night at the gym, did an hour of cardio and then 30 mins of weights and boy can I feel it today!  I'm walking around like an old wifey, I've got sore muscles in places I didn't even KNOW I had muscles!

So anyway, these are the last bits and bobs from my Christmas Sales shopping and again, I'm really happy with everything I got.  The first item is a cute little black velvet evening bag from Next with brooch detail...

You can either wear it with the strap or tuck it insided the bag, but I always lose patience having to clutch onto a bag all night and prefer to have the strap to sling it over my arm.  I really love the brooch detail and when you take a closer look at it, it's actually very intricate...

It also has a nice clasp with a faux jewel in it, which just adds to the luxury feel of the bag...

I also got these black, peep-toe studded shoe boots from Next which look fabulous with legging, skirts and jeggings...

I pretty much love anything with studs on it so this feeds my need for embellishment! The heel is easy to walk in and they are really comfortable too.  I actually didn't realise they were peep-toe until I got them but I don't have a problem with that because we will be in spring before we know it and I can always wear opaque black tights with them to stop my toes freezing off!

You may remember my Christmas Sales Wishlist post, where I went through the items I had my beady eye on and I'm glad to say that I managed to pick up the French Connection Iron Eagle Black Dress for £65 down from £130...

I actually think the wings on the front look more like angel wings than eagle ones and this has a deeper meaning for me because my mum is a practising Reiki master and also does angel therapy.  This dress has some serious detail...

The material of the dress is actually thinner than I thought it would be, it feels like cotton but this may be due to the fact that the embellishments add alot of weight to the garment so it would weigh a ton if they used a heavier fabric.  The dress is pretty short so I may resort to wearing it with leggings or opaque black tights for now.

The next thing I got from French Connection was this Queen Bee Jacket in Almond Cream which was down to £42.  It feels really luxurious because the fabric is so soft and it also feels very well made.  This will be perfect teamed with skinny jeans and a silk vest top.  The jacket is a little too big for me in the arms and waist though so I am going to take it to a tailor to have it taken in so it fits me perfectly.  This shouldn't cost too much money and it's worth it to have something that really flatters your figure.

My mum dropped over yesterday to come along with me to a bathroom showroom.  Me and Chris are having a whole new bathroom put in in 2 months time so it was my job to choose all the fittings and tiles etc.  Since Chris is offshore, my mum came along to help me out.  We went for a lovely lunch first and since we had loads of time before our appointment (I'm early for everything...it's my thing!) , mum suggested we nip into Next to have a look at the remnants from the sale.  I fully intended JUST to look at housey stuff but I got distracted by some pretty nightwear...

I ended up buying this pale dusky pink pyjama set with a cute sparkly bow on the top for just £7.  They are SUPER soft and now I can start throwing out my pyjamas that have seen better days!ha ha.  I also spotted  

this lovely grey nightdress with silk details made from the same material and this was also just £7.

So all went well with the bathroom stuff and everything has now been picked out with a start date of 7th March so I can't wait to have a whole new bathroom with loads of storage space!  I need it for all my crap!

We were just walking back to the car when my mum spotted a shop called The Design House, which I had never noticed before.  We saw lots of sparkly stuff and beautiful artificial flower displays in the window so naturally we had to go inside and have a closer look!  This place is like a treasure trove for all the things you would love to have in your house.  Gorgeous candle holders, amazing mirrors, chandeliers, little trinkets...endless fabulous things for your house.  We were in heaven!

My mum spotted this artificial orchid tree and she knows that I have wanted something like that for ages just to finish off the livingroom in the flat.  We stood and admired it for a while then looked at some other things.  Mum picked up some artificial flowers for one of her displays at home, then she stopped and said "you know something, I'm going to be very selfless, put these back and get you the orchid tree you have wanted for so long".  This is typical of my mum, she is so generous and thoughtful and she always gets me such lovely things.  As well as that, she gives her time and love generously too :)

I gave her a big hug in the middle of the shop and said thank you with a beaming smile.  It wasn't cheap but the tree looks so realistic and it will last forever.  Even in the close up pic above, you can't tell it's artificial!

The pot it's 'planted' in even has fake soil and moss in it! It's taken pride of place in our livingroom and it looks gorgeous.  So thank you again to my wonderful mum who always thinks of others before herself.

And to round off this post, I just wanted to post a clip from YouTube of Jessie J performing her song 'Price Tag' live on Later With Jools Holland.  I liked her debut single 'Do It Like A Dude' and I was shocked whilst watching this clip that she actually has an AMAZING voice.  There's alot of 'pop' stars who are very popular but it's obvious they are there more for their looks than their singing talent.  This girl has got LOTS of attitude...

New Year, same old Kim Kardashian cleavage

It’s a funny thing, New Year’s Eve. The New Year symbolises a fresh start. A new beginning. A chance to put any misfortune and misadventure behind you and start again.
Trouble is, as the New Year cometh, you’re drunkenly mumbling most of the words to Auld Lang Syne and belting out the “Should auld acquaintance be forgot… And auld lang syne!” bit at vociferous volume to compensate.
You’ve resolved to be a better person this year, so what better way to christen it than by tongue-wrestling a girl whose name is a mystery and whose body looks like she’s smuggling a human-sized chewed marshmallow under her dress?
You’ve decided to transform yourself from gym-shy rotund donut-loving wobbler to a super-ripped specimen that makes Ronaldo look like he should “lay off the carbs”, so why not make the first meal of the year an undefined meat kebab monstrosity with all the trimmings?
We could go on, but you get the picture. New Year for the win.
Lustrously-haired envy of butchers dogs everywhere Kim Kardashian suffers just the same.
She may have resolved to spend less time looking like a waxwork of herself in 2011.
She may have decided that it’s time to reign in the cleavage so she can finally be regarded as the serious actress/designer/producer/model/presenter/perfumier/writer [delete as appropriate] that she really is.
She may have decided to ditch the old faithful ‘right leg forward, left leg back, left hand to hip, right arm relaxed, shoulders back, chest out, stare into the distance like you’ve just seen two fawns copulating’ pose and stand in a different way.
But, when someone gives you a big Jiffy bag full of money and asks you to host the New Year’s Party at Tao in Las Vegas, it’s kinda hard to kick the old habits.
Still, if it ain't broke...

New Year, same old Kim Kardashian cleavage

It’s a funny thing, New Year’s Eve. The New Year symbolises a fresh start. A new beginning. A chance to put any misfortune and misadventure behind you and start again.
Trouble is, as the New Year cometh, you’re drunkenly mumbling most of the words to Auld Lang Syne and belting out the “Should auld acquaintance be forgot… And auld lang syne!” bit at vociferous volume to compensate.
You’ve resolved to be a better person this year, so what better way to christen it than by tongue-wrestling a girl whose name is a mystery and whose body looks like she’s smuggling a human-sized chewed marshmallow under her dress?
You’ve decided to transform yourself from gym-shy rotund donut-loving wobbler to a super-ripped specimen that makes Ronaldo look like he should “lay off the carbs”, so why not make the first meal of the year an undefined meat kebab monstrosity with all the trimmings?
We could go on, but you get the picture. New Year for the win.
Lustrously-haired envy of butchers dogs everywhere Kim Kardashian suffers just the same.
She may have resolved to spend less time looking like a waxwork of herself in 2011.
She may have decided that it’s time to reign in the cleavage so she can finally be regarded as the serious actress/designer/producer/model/presenter/perfumier/writer [delete as appropriate] that she really is.
She may have decided to ditch the old faithful ‘right leg forward, left leg back, left hand to hip, right arm relaxed, shoulders back, chest out, stare into the distance like you’ve just seen two fawns copulating’ pose and stand in a different way.
But, when someone gives you a big Jiffy bag full of money and asks you to host the New Year’s Party at Tao in Las Vegas, it’s kinda hard to kick the old habits.
Still, if it ain't broke...

Christmas Clothes Haul & A Review...

As promised, here's more of what I got in the online sales over the Christmas period.  Even though I didn't get exactly what I wanted from the Next sale, I was really happy with the stuff I ended up with! 

I love statement bags that bring a bit of glamour to an outfit so this heavily studded oversized clutch bag was a no-brainer for me.  It was down to £15 from £30 and the best thing is that it's big enough to fit all my bits and bobs in it without sacrificing on style.  The studs are on on the front of the bag and the interior is a lovely royal blue colour.  I love that you get a flash of colour when you open it up.

I'm a sucker for sparkly shoes and these embellished gold sandals struck me as the perfect footwear for one of the weddings I am attending this year (there's 4 so far!).  The heel is a decent height without being too high, I love skyscrapers but not when I have to stand around in them for more than 12 hours!  These sandals were reduced down to £20.

These sandals are really comfortable due to the wide straps so there won't be any bits digging into my feet.  Next is always a good bet for pretty shoes that will last a long time.  I always seem to find something I like there even when their clothes are not always the best.

I got this belt from River Island and it was originally intended for my lovely mother-in-law, Maddie.  She had spotted it in Ireland but they didn't have her size and it was so much more expensive over there.  I spotted it in town reduced to £7 in the sale so I picked it up as a surprise.  BUT she text me a few days later saying that she managed to get herself one so I had to spill the beans.  She told me to keep it for myself if I liked it and I definitely do! 

It's a combination of pearls, intertwined with suede lace and diamantes.  I've tried it on with a few of my plainer dresses and it finishes them off nicely.  I think it was originally meant to be worn on the hips but I have made extra holes so I can wear it high on my waist.

I also got a couple of dresses from the Rise website.  I got this 'Georgia' black pleated mesh dress with a nude coloured lining for £17, down from £35.  These are the first items I have bought from the brand and at first I was a bit disappointed.  BUT that was because I had just received my items from Reiss and was so impressed by their quality.  When I compared my Reiss stuff to the Rise clothing I had bought, it just didn't match up and the fabric didn't feel as expensive.  However, I stopped myself and thought "get a grip Laura"...how could I expect to buy a dress that was originally £35 and expect it to match up to something that would cost over £150 from Reiss?  Rise is competing with the likes of H&M, Primark and New Look and as such the quality of the clothes is akin to those brands.  So with that in mind, I tried the dress on and you know something? The size 12 fitted REALLY well and was very flattering on me.

The striped pattern on the dress is very slimming because it directs the eyes away from the stomach area which, in my case, is far from flat!  The design on the chest area is really flattering for bigger chested girls too because it accentuates what you have without anything spilling out! That's not classy.  It basically has the same effect as a balcony bra.

This dress was a copy of the dress that Lauren Conrad wore in this pic....

The second dress I got from Rise was the Hayley ivory bandeau dress with jewelled embellishments, which I bought for £25, down from £45.  Once again I got the size 12 and I was impressed that this brand is true to what you would expect your size to be.  This dress is also very flattering for curvy girls (for your reference I am a 34E so it's hard to get dresses to fit sometimes!). 

This is the dress I was wearing in my last post about NYE so you can get an idea of what it looks like on me from those pics.  Because I had the blazer over the top though, it hides the embellishments.  The material on this dress does feel quite thin but it's not see through.  As I said, the quality is the same as the items in New Look or H&M.

Now onto a review of a product I spontaneously picked up while food shopping yesterday in ASDA.  I had seen this mascara on a few blogs and it's had great reviews so I had to try it out for myself since it only costs £4.99! It's the Collection 2000 Big Fake False Lash Effect Mascara in Black...

They claim it "provides sensational lashes that really stand out from the crowd. The unique 3D lash coating tube technology will plump and stretch each individual lash without clumping or smudging... New Collection 2000 Big Fake False Lash Effect Mascara is set to re-create the false lash look with the mere wave of a wand. Achieve phenomenal length and volume!".

I don't usually buy anything from Collection 2000 because it has been a big disappointment in the past...I kind of just assumed it was a brand for young teenagers given the price range and previous media images.  However I was impressed with the packaging, it looked alot more expensive than the price tag.  I won't beat around the bush...the wand is HUGE.  It's probably the biggest wand I have ever used so if that's a big bug bear for you then you should probably just give this a miss.  I actually found it easy to use though when you use just a little more care.

I really like the formula of this mascara because it doesn't dry instantly when you apply it so it gives you the chance to layer the coats and build volume without it going clumpy.  It definitely lengthens your lashes to the extreme but it took three coats to get the volumised effect shown in the pics above.  I don't mind having to apply three coats though because the mascara is so cheap, you can afford to go to town with it!  I must say, my lashes did look almost fake when I had finished and because the mascara is water resistant, it didn't smudge or flake at all during the day.  Normally water resistant formulas are a nightmare to remove at night but this is really a doddle to take off.

So my take on this mascara is that it is great value for money and it has now taken it's place in the top five mascaras in my collection which includes Rouge Bunny Rouge Amplitude, YSL Singulier, MaxFactor Calorie 2000 and YSL Faux Cils.

Now onto something I have been meaning to do for a while.  I REALLY need to get my wardrobe sorted out, especially since I have accumulated alot of new clothes over the past few months.  I might sound like an OCD freak here but I find it hard to feel relaxed when my wardrobe is a complete bombsite.  It's a nightmare trying to find anything in there.  I really want to look into some organisation solutions like the one below so I can neatly file everything I have...

At the moment, I forget about alot of the things I have and overlook them when putting together outfits because they are hidden away under mounds of shoes, bags and other stuff.  I really need to sort it out once and for all and I will start tomorrow by checking around a few different hardware stores to see if I can get some flexi-shelving as shown above to build a custom shelving unit for inside the built in wardrobe I have.  I want somewhere to clearly display my shoes, a slide out drawer for jewellery, a couple of rails for my dresses and delicate items and a couple of slide out basket shelves for my bags.  I think I could buy some individual shelving units like the one below (which is down to only £5 in B&Q!) to slot in to this system and these will house my scarves, belts etc.

I actually feel excited about creating a new storage space for all my things because it will make choosing what to wear a hell of alot easier!  Wish me luck in my search and I will update you guys when I have finally transformed my wardrobe!

Belated NYE Post and a Saga!

Sorry I have been AWOL for the past few days, I've had an eventful time of it so haven't had the time to post anything.  So this post is a little late given it's the 4th day of 2011 but I'll ramble on regardless as always!  Myself and Chris hadn't thought much about what we would be doing for New Year's Eve because to be quite honest, we weren't that fussed and agreed that it's often the biggest anti-climax of the year.  We were invited to a friend's new house for drinks and general NYE goings on and it seemed like a nice way to bring in 2011.  Since we would be in a relaxed atmosphere, I didn't want to dress up too much but I still wanted to look smart since it was an occasion...

I just opted for a nice neutral dress (this is from Rise...post to come soon), belted at the waist with my oh-so-loved black Warehouse waterfall blazer, black tights (it was chilly pops outside!) and my zara peep-toe sandals with gold 'keyhole' detail on the front.  Sorry about the crappy quality of the photos...I will be looking into getting an SLR camera but more about that in another post!

I wasn't in the mood for faffing around with my hair because we had been rushing around all day so I opted for a quick and easy option.  I just popped in a couple of my Foxylocks hair extension wefts, back-combed the crown slightly, pulled back the top section of my hair and held it in place with a teeny clip, then put on a thin gold hair band. 

Voila!  I didn't want it to look perfect so I left it a little messy with hair falling down to frame my face.  Does anyone else find it weird seeing pics of their face side-on?...I know it's a stupid thing to say but I always think I look so different from that angle.  Probably because I only ever really see my face straight on!ha ha.

My hair is definitely in need of highlights and a trim in the next couple of weeks.  I can always tell when I should book in with the hairdresser because my hair just doesn't fall properly around my face and it tends to look really flat.  It's weird that we all go through these stages between hairdresser appointments where you first get your hair done, you get home and do things to it to make it look more like your normal hair, you're happy with it for about a week, then you spend the next few weeks getting frustrated with it before you get it done again.  So out of a whole year, there's probably only 6 weeks in total when I'm completely satisfied with my hair!ha ha.

Because I was in a rush getting ready, I didn't think much about my makeup so it's really not going to set your world alight! I just grabbed my Urban Decay Baked Palette and used all the bronze/bronze shades and black gel eyeliner to create a neutral eye.  I just went for an easy nude on the lips with Mac Angel lippy and Nars Turkish Delight lipgloss over it.

I wore OPI Let Me Entertain You on my nails which I got in the Show Stoppers set for Christmas and I must say that I am in love with it!  I tidied up my nails with the OPI Crystal file in the set and I had forgotten how much better they are than your run of the mill cardboard file.  It makes filing your nails so much easier and it has a much finer grain so there's less chance of leaving any annoying snags.

Let Me Entertain You is a Fuschia colour with cool toned reflects and it gives great colour after just one coat.  I went lightly over my nails with a second coat just to intensify the colour though.  It actually stayed put pretty well and I only saw the first chip after 4 days, which for me is very good because I always end up making a mess of my nails!

I did apply the OPI Nail Envy top coat to ensure my nails stayed looking perfect and I will continue using that product on my nails on the days in between wearing coloured polishes because it's supposed to really strengthen your nails.  Everyone has their own preference on nail length/shape and my favourite is to have a little bit of length with the edges squared off softly (I think it's called squoval!?).  I just prefer longer nails because it makes my fingers look longer and more elegant and it also makes me feel more feminine. 

I will now tell you about a horrible experience we had on Sunday.  We spent New Year's Day at my parents house and had a lovely meal of Beef Wellington and it was heaven!  We had left Wolverine at the flat since it was only one night we would be staying away.  We don't like to leave him for too long on his own because he drinks alot of water and if he ran out, it can be very dangerous for hamsters.  Plus, he has a history of escaping from his cage.  This is no ordinary hamster you see.  He has worked out how to unscrew the tops of the towers in his cage...

So we now have to put masking tape over EVERY conceivable escape hatch in his cage to make sure he stays put.  He also worked out pretty quickly how to unlatch the top of his plastic ball he runs around in.  So we have to keep a close eye on the little blighter.  So when we left him at the flat, we checked and double checked his cage to make sure it was secure, then we closed the kitchen and livingroom doors so if he did escape, at least we would know which room he was in.  Well we got back on Sunday and on checking his cage...he was gone!  The weird thing was, there was NO sign of how he got out.  Nothing had been left open.  Also, the livingroom door was slightly ajar and he had chewed the very bottom of some of the doors in the hallway so we knew he had been out there.  So we started searching for him and after a few hours, we started to get really worried because normally we find him within a couple of hours.  It got to around midnight on Sunday and I was almost in tears by this time. 

I know alot of people will be thinking "What? It's just a hamster!".  But the thing is, when you have looked after and nurtured an animal from a being a baby, you really do get attached to them and hamsters are very entertaining and smart creatures.  Wolverine is extremely tame, loves being handled and has never bitten anyone.  So it's hard not to love him.  So there's me, crying on Chris' shoulder, imagining Wolverine had gotten in behind the bath and fallen down the wall cavity to the very bottom of the building which would mean he was either dead, wounded or would starve to death down there.  All that going round my head just made me feel awful.  I was sitting watching a film in the livingroom, unable to sleep and feeling really down when suddenly I heard shuffling behind the wall.  I narrowed it down to behind the wooden unit, so I pulled it out of the way and looked at the socket in the wall where the Sky cables go into the wall.  Chris pulled off the socket, it made a right mess but we weren't bothered about that...

We got a ripe banana and put it by the hole in the wall, more shuffling was heard! We could hear him making his way towards the opening.  I was SO relieved he was still alive.  We eventually coaxed him out and he didn't look as well groomed as normal...

He was all dusty and covered in fibre glass insulation - not sure what that stuff will do to his life span but at least we got him out in one piece.  I gave him a rub down with a wet cloth so that he didn't ingest too much dust or fibres because he spends half his day cleaning/grooming himself normally.  The poor little thing was really thirsty after being out on the run for more than 24 hours and breathing in all that dust so he spent quite a while guzzling water.  He has been well and truly spoilt since then with hazelnuts, bits of banana, dates, hamster chocolate drops and fresh greens. 

I know it seems silly to get so upset over such a small animal but I'm the type of person who cares about all living creatures, no matter how small they are.  We want to give him the best possible quality of life because he really is the cutest little thing and he always makes me smile, especially when he's all curled up sleeping in cotton wool in his bed...

And as for how he escaped in the first place? Well that will forever remain a mystery!

Kim Kardashian Twitter Picture with cat from Australia

Kim Kardashian Twitter Picture with cat from Australia