I am one of those girls who, as J would often proclaim: “don’t seem to have sensible shoes”.

And it’s become even more apparent over the past few weeks that he is right! I get blisters from my Steve Maddens after a night out. I get knee/back aches from my DUO boots after an afternoon of shopping and most recently, I freeze my toes off in 5 minutes and slide all over the pavement regardless of which footwear I’ve got on.

Which brings me to the fact that I haven’t got good proper, warm & sturdy snow boots.

Surfing the web over the past few days brought me into a world of “Removable inner Thermoplus lining”, “Bonded felt frosted plugs” and “Seam-sealed waterproof construction”. Not forgetting “thick rubber midsoles” and “non-loading outsoles”

Woah! I bet they are warm.

I mean, some of these boots are rated to keep your precious little toes warm up to -40degs! However, they don’t come cheap. With the cheapest going at £74.95, you can be sure that this would be one purchase you won’t be taking lightly. However, based on the various reviews online, it would be a long-term investment as these boots were build to last. Now, I just gotta decide on which one….

This year, I knew I got THE gift for J – a MARSHALL MG50DFX.

However, it took 2 men to load it into the boot of my car when I picked it up and an extremely exhausted me to sneak it into the 3rd bedroom. The snow & ice between my car and the front door made the what would have otherwise been just a 30 sec journey…a lifetime.

Furthermore, we were spending Christmas day at his Dad’s – which meant me having to risk breaking my back once again to move it. After much contemplation, I was fairly confident that since it was such a great present anyway, maybe a picture of it will do. It was a gamble. It was risky. But I took it.

I placed the amp in a good spot. Dressed it up a little. Snapped. Tweaked it a little with Photoshop. Popped into Jessops and got it printed within the hour, wrapped it an envelope and voila! Under the tree it went.

And this was what greeted him on Christmas Day.

And it paid off! The huge smile on his face was all I needed. He loved it! (And totally understood why I had to do what I did).

Merry Christmas everyone. Hope you all had a fabulous Christmas and best wishes for 2010!! xxx

December is such a busy period for everyone. On top of the Christmas parties, cooking Christmas dinners, sending out cards, visiting friends and family and shopping for gifts, it’s no wonder why most people don’t try to make Christmas a little bit more personal and intimate. This year, I thought I would buy the girls a little something for Xmas. I bought them each a ring and a pair of earrings and decided to wrap it up in a unique little parcel all cut, pasted and wrapped by me, myself and I. And this was the final result (see image on the left):

Side Note: On uploading it onto my computer, I decided to play around with the image and inserted a simple text “Merry Christmas” at the top left hand corner and thought it looked very much like a Christmas card! I just might have these printed out as our Christmas cards this year…(2 birds…1 stone!)

Anyway, creating these little delightful cone shaped parcels were dead easy. All the materials I needed were:

1) Metallic card

2) Organza paper (Mine from last year had little sparkle dots on them which made them look even better)

3) Shredded paper (to fill the cone up inside)

4) Ribbon (had some leftover from last year)

Instructions:

Cut out a semi-circle from the metallic card.

Wrap the semi-circle round till it formed a cone and secure with tape.

Stuff the cone with shredded paper.

Insert gifts

Cut the organza paper into a square 40×40cm in size.

Wrap the cone in the organza paper and finish off with the ribbons.

Voila!

At the risk of sounding like I’ve been living under a rock these past few years, I have to confess that I have never heard of Missguided. Until now. I was randomly flipping through a magazine one day and chanced upon an online discount code for Missguided. I went onto their site and was pleasantly surprised. Great clothes with a well-mapped out website. Good clean pictures and best of all…very very reasonably priced clothes!

To give you an idea of how cheap it is, the Lace Dress with Gold stitching was only £27.99! At first, I was afraid the items I bought wouldn’t be of good quality or may even border on looking like something off the shelves of QUIZ. But I was pleased to find that that wasnt the case! The multi-coloured sequin skirt which would have easily costed me in excess of £40 somewhere else, came in at a very reasonable £21.99. The most expensive of the lot I bought was the Natasha Square Panel Dress retailing at £33.99 and it looks different from anything else I have in my wardrobe and also oh so chic!

One thing you do have to note is that the sizes are rather small. I reckon a Missguided UK 8 equates to an ASOS UK 6. Deliveries are at the standard £3.95 which rivals ASOS’s new Super Saver of £1.95. Returns are a little complicated than I would like it to be as it’s not as straightforward a process as ASOS and you have to pay for returns (unlike ASOS who have now recently offered free returns).

However, all in all, despite the delivery and returns issue, the low prices and the on-trend fashion it offers, I still think it deserved to be another bookmark addition to my online shopping tab.

P.S: I do apologise for the lack of posts in recent days. I am back and ready to blog!

After much contemplation, I decided to purchase the iPhone 3GS and oh my god…is it amazing! Sexy, chic and does everything I want it to and more. Being an SLR user, the camera on the iPhone doesn’t do it for me. But other than that, the iPod function, 3G access, checking my e-mails on the go and not to mention the various Apps there is on offer with the iPhone…far outweighs the horrid camera capabilities available on the iPhone 3GS.

The more I explore it, the more I’m falling in love with it.

Personally, the best thing about the iPhone for me is the ability to Skype with my mum hundreds of miles away at my convenience. With a Skype phone over that her end and my Skype application permanently switched on in my iPhone, calling and speaking to my family at no cost is a huge plus point for me. I reckon I’ve already saved a few quid on calling cards this week…

I am so loving the Snake Strapped Heels by Steve Madden (far left) and the Bourne’s Corsage Peep Toe Shoes (far right). Unfortunately, my bank account wouldn’t allow me to purchase a £160+ pair of shoes as pretty as they may be.

If you’re as stretched (financially) like me, the Ted Baker Bow Back Court Shoes (middle) retailing at £90 might be easier on the wallet. I would personally wait for sales…

As if I haven’t got enough little black dresses (LBDs), they just HAD to come out with a gorgeous number which I just have to have….

I kinda treat myself to something nice during the month of September ; mainly due to the fact that my birthday falls in September. It’s also the time when you know Autumn’s just round the corner. I love autumn fashion…the short skirts and winter leggings…boots and blazers…it’s getting cold…but yet still warm enough that you can get away with wearing that micro mini dress just one last time.

Which therefore brings me to my number one purchase for this autume…boots.

I’m not sure about everyone else but I’ve been dying for a pair that fits me perfectly! I have quite skinny calves and none of the boots on the high street fit me. Why should I succumb to always wearing my jeans in my boots just cause I can’t find one which fits around my actual calves?!? And no…I don’t want UGGs. Can’t wear those to work now can I?

Thankfully, I found DUO BOOTS. These guys are absolutely brilliant. My life saver. I bought my first pair off eBay a few days ago and for the first time ever, I feel it cup round my calves! Bliss! With 21 Calf sizes to choose from, you can find your perfect pair for those skinny calves (like me) or bigger ones. Prices range from £120 upwards. Granted they aren’t cheap. But these babies last forever! I couldn’t believe that the second hand one I got off eBay was 2 years old! The leather was still in a very good condition and with a quick heel repair and shoe shine, my second hand DUO BOOTS looked as good as new!

I think I might treat myself to a brand new one soon…. (since it’s gonna be my birthday and all…)

I’m a huge fan of online shopping. There is nothing I hate more than being amongst huge crowds in shopping malls trying to put an outfit together. Trying on countless outfits while queuing endlessly for changing rooms only to discover that it doesn’t fit is utterly pointless. Besides, removing 5 layers of clothing and putting them back on again over and over again gets pretty exhausting ( if you’re shopping during the winter season).

I get probably 75% of my clothes online. I buy a few at a time, pay for postage, it arrives at my doorstep and I try them on in the luxury and warmth of my bedroom. Granted, for some online boutiques, I would have to pay for the return postage should I decide that something’s not for me. However, over the years, I’ve grown to like or dislike a particular brand or style and know which size from which brand would fit me.

I don’t know…maybe it’s the whole hype around opening parcels and packets left at your doorstep. Or waiting eagerly for the postman/courier to deliver your pack of dresses on a Saturday afternoon. It’s just so much more exciting!

Anyway, Lipsy is currently having a massive sale and urm…me being me..couldn’t stop myself and bought myself these gorgeous beauties:

I just hope the sun stays out long enough for me to get a chance to wear them all!

P.S: A few of you have e-mailed me and suggested Dartmouth (from reading my previous entry about my impending week away in Devon ) A quick google search later, and it’s perfect! Just hope J feels the same way I do about where we should go…

THIS is what happens when I’m banned from shopping for a whole month. The minute I got paid a few days ago, I went online and clicked “Add to Basket” a couple of times…(well, allright…more than a couple of times…but who’s counting!?)

The result? 6 dresses, 2 skirts and a sandal.

1. ASOS Floral Tulip Dress

2. Lipsy Colour Block Tulip Skirt

3. Pepe Kuna Bandeau Dress

4. Lipsy ColourBlock Dress (with waistbelt)

5. Motel Wild Lily Selina Dress

6. Motel Seagull Bandeau Dress

7. Asos Corsage Detail Flat Sandals.

8. Gestuz Fit n Flare Cotton Sundress

9. Asos Floral Mini Skirt

Oh…..shit.

Well, they haven’t arrived yet and I reckon I would need to return some of them in order to get my bank balance back to a healthy level again but even so….boy am I looking forward to trying them on!!