A surprisingly calm Christmas Eve

{ Wearing: ASOS  shirt, French Connection skirt, M&S tights, Jones brogues, Casati hangbag via TK Maxx

Today, Chris and I got up relatively early (for a day off anyway) and headed to the West End for some last minute shopping. We expected the fabled huge crowds of last minute shoppers – I’m looking at you boys – but it was a surprisingly quiet day, particularly for a Saturday, and we managed to get everything we needed to.

As in recent years all of the sales have started early so I also ended up buying a couple of little presents for myself: a classic trench from Banana Republic (I feel like I’ve been searching for one forever and it was only £49.99 instead of £149.99!), plus a gorgeous oxblood skirt.

We’re going to midnight mass at St Paul’s later – I’m not religious but we just thought it’d be a nice festive, community-spirited thing to do and of course the church welcomes everyone. We just realised public transport will have finished by the time it’s over so cross your fingers that we make it home easily…

Have a lovely Christmas Eve however you’re spending it. I hope there is chocolate and alcohol involved!

 

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Party dresses at TK Maxx

When I was invited to browse the party dresses available at TK Maxx it didn’t take much persuasion: I am openly a huge fan of the discount shopping chain.

Granted, if you’re not really in a shopping mood and need to buy in a hurry it’s not going to be a place you enjoy shopping in. But if you’ve a spare hour-or-so to dedicate to a really good rummage there is plenty of treasure to be found – here’s the evidence in the form of 3 party outfits I’ve pulled together just in time for New Year’s Eve …

White Christmas

This empire line dress feels so feminine and pretty! The fact that it’s made from floaty silk makes it feel innocent but the flash of décolletage keeps it flirty. The sequins add that little bit of edge and make it more party appropriate.

The dress costs £39.99 (RRP unknown) and the shoes cost £24.99 (RRP £69.99).

Little Blue Dress

This dress is very classy but the lace makes it it oh-so sexy. I also like that it’s navy blue as opposed to black: it’s less harsh on pale skin tones like mine, plus it’s different to the LBD a lot of people will be going for! I thought a shaping undergarment would be the perfect way to cinch in the inevitable mince pie and Baileys pot belly ;)

The dress costs £59.99 (RRP $158) and the shoes cost £24.99 (RRP £69.99). The label has come off the shapewear sure I’m not sure what the TK Maxx price is but the RRP is $48.

Night Fever

Reminiscent of a certain dress worn by fashion doyenne SJP in the second Sex And The City Movie, this is one of those things that looks better on than it does on the hanger. The dramatic silhouette makes it perfect for parties, and when paired with matt suede accessories the fabric really shimmers!

The dress costs £39.99 (RRP unknown), the shoes cost £39.99 (RRP £85)  and the bag costs £12.99 (RRP unknown).

All of the items above (plus thousands more!) are available at TK Maxx.

So what do you think of my outfits? I genuinely love them all and believe me it was actually really difficult to narrow it down to just three dresses. I hope I’ve managed to show you just a little peek of the amazing selection available – they also have some incredible brands in the Gold Label section at the moment so do take a peek if you fancy saving up to 75% on some gorgeous designer pieces!

p.s. Don’t forget to enter my Christmas giveaway!

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Please Santa, I’ve been so good!

iPhone case / stag head necklace / Archie Grand notebook / Westfield gift card / London fact book

pug print cushion & bus print cushion / Michael Kors watch / dog lamp

Just a few bits and bobs I’m hoping to find under my Christmas tree in a couple of weeks … what are you hoping for this year?

  

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Some rather lovely recent purchases

A quick post as I need to get ready for the Windows Live party I’m going to this evening, I’ll be back with all of the shenanigans later this week!

I’ve seen quite a few of these posts and thought it’d be fun to do one of my own, especially as I’ve bought some lovely little bits and bobs recently if I do say so myself.

If you’ve ever done one of these please leave a link below! (I do love that blogging allows me to be unashamedly nosy.)

M&S earphone tidy

I actually despise wires of all kinds because of their tendency to tangle. This £2 purchase is cheap, practical, and so bright it’s easy to find in the bottom of my bag (although it does come in other colours too).

Click to buy: M&S earphone tidy

iPhone bunny case

Another cheap and cheerful buy. You may think it sacrilege to dress a gorgeous phone in such clobber but now and again immaturity takes over.

(FYI: I am also on the hunt for a sleeker leather alternative …).

Click to buy: iPhone bunny case

Nars blusher in “Orgasm”

I finally bought this cult product to see what all the fuss was about. I usually find products this hyped to be disappointing – not in this case. It might look too sparkly in the compact but when you put it on it just gives a gorgeous shimmer. I love it.

Click to buy: Nars Blush in Orgasm

Panda nightlight

A silly little purchase but one that makes me smile nonetheless. eBay was invented so we could all buy cute crap like this. It’s possibly the best 99p I’ve ever spent.

Click to buy: Panda Night Light 

Adele “Live at the Royal Albert Hall” DVD

My Adele obsession only grew after I saw her live in Manchester in September. As I stood amongst the crowd I couldn’t help but feel overwhelmed at the audience’s reaction to her: you could literally feel love pouring out of them towards her.

I pre-ordered this as soon as it became available and curled up to watch it late on on Sunday afternoon. I was slightly disappointed in that you can tell she wasn’t 100% well when they recorded this but of course she still sounds phenomenal.

Click to buy: Adele “Live at the Royal Albert Hall” on DVD

Camera necklace

After hearing many good things about Battersea Car Boot Sale I wandered down there on Sunday lunchtime. Ha, I wish! It took me over an hour to get there and it was pretty rubbish in all honesty. This cute camera necklace was the only thing I bought (it was only £1.50). I know boot sales can be hit-and-miss but I don’t think I’ll bother dragging myself all the way to Battersea again for this one.

Vintage Levi cut-offs

I finally found my dream vintage Levi cut-offs! These were a bargainous £10 from Judy’s at Spitalfields and the stallholder had scores of pairs in all sizes so if you’ve been looking for some too get yourself down to the next fair on 7th January :)

Vintage jar

Another purchase from Judy’s Vintage Fair. I’ve developed a bit of an inexplicable fascination with old jars and bottles so I grabbed this lovely embossed one when I saw it. The stallholder confessed it had been part of a family of 3 but she’d just dropped and smashed the other 2 so she let me adopt this remaining survivor for £5. I’ll be using it as a tea light holder and vase.

Sam Edelman “Parley” boots

Another long-standing member of my ‘must-have classics’ list, I can now tick off chelsea boots. These are butter-soft, the ideal heel height, and I love the added edge the (faux) zip gives. They’re also available in the wonderfully-named whiskey brown.

Click to buy: Sam Edelman “Parley” boots

And not pictured …

I’ve also booked a little day-trip to Paris!! I’ve not been to the city of lights for almost 3 years and that was also my only visit to Paris so far. The benefit of living in London is that you can hop on the Eurostar and be there in just over 2 hours. No trekking to and from suburbian airports, no long-winded checking-in times, no flight terrors, no fuss. Me loves it.

 

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