Frills 'n' Spills

Picking a Christmas outfit is always tricky, you have to be able to eat insane amounts of food (I can't be the only one to have eaten 10 tons of cheese over the past few days, right?!) but still look (relatively) dressy. My family have always dressed up for Christmas and Boxing Day but Mark's family are always slightly less OTT so this year I had to tread the line between smart and casual which I always find really difficult. I had been planning on either wearing this dress or this dress but when Mark and I were in town on 23rd, I spotted this lacy beauty in one of the charity shops in Tewkesbury (yes I may have a bit of a thing for lace dresses!)

I was originally a little unsure of the colour as pastels can make me look really washed out but with the black belt and strong make-up, I think I managed to pull this blush pink/ lilac colour off. I really love the lace overlay and it was an outfit I felt really comfortable in, even after eating my own body weight in mince pies.

The dress was originally from the Debut range at Debenhams and I think it shows in the cut and fit of it, this was clearly designed for a special occasion and it made me feel really elegant when I was wearing it- a very strange feeling for someone as clumsy as me!

I imagine this would look really lovely with nude tights or bare legs come the warmer weather but the single digit temperatures convinced me to wear my trusty black opaques instead. These cosy tights were a Tesco bargain and I have been wearing them non-stop. 40 deniers just don't cut it in this weather but unless I am outside for a prolonged period of time, the Primark fleece lined tights are just too warm for a radiator like me so these 60 deniers are perfect!

Mark and I have concluded that it is pretty much impossible to get a picture where we both look nice- I'm not sure what is happening with my face here! 

Me and my two sisters- can you tell that we are related?! 

When it comes to party dresses, I am pretty fussy, it has to be comfortable enough to wear all day (and night), not be too short or revealing, have some kind if interesting detail and it HAS to make me feel like a million dollars. If I can also dance in it, then that is just the icing on the cake! When Marks and Spencer got in touch recently about featuring a party look, I was ecstatic, "good old M&S" are one of my favourite brands and they certainly know how to make a fantastic party dress! I chose this beautiful lace dress but strangely I chose the black version rather than the red - definitely an unusual choice for me! Although I loved the red, I agreed with Mark that 4 (!) Little Red Dresses may be excessive and actually I thought that the black looked much more elegant (does this mean that I am growing up?!) I actually wore this dress to my work's Christmas do last week and not only did it manage to pull off the infamous work to bar switch, it got so many compliments- definitely a winner in my eyes!

As soon as I saw the gorgeously detailed lace and slightly higher Victorian inspired collar, I was sold. Although the dress looked relatively short on both me and the model, the high neckline meant it didn't feel at all revealing. Not to sound too smug but I think I have pretty nice legs and this dress gave me a chance to show them off! It was really difficult to try and get a photo of this but my tights are actually a dark charcoal grey rather than black, much more interesting than my usual 40 deniers but not overpowering... I was originally going to wear heels with this but actually I think it looks better with flats, another plus for me! 

I wanted to show off the sleeves and collar so I kept my hairdo simple and fuss-free; a messy bun only looks better as the day wears on! I decided to attempt liquid eyeliner which was a total success despite it being about 5.30 in the morning and paired it with a glossy red lip, simple but still suitably festive! 

I kept the rest of the accessories simple and as I didn't have a chunky collar necklace to wear with this (any recommendations?) I added this skinny gold belt to break it up a bit which matched perfectly with my nails (Angel's Fire by Max Factor FYI)

This cardigan is another one of the hardest working pieces in my wardrobe, it was originally hip length but I somehow managed to shrink the body of it in the wash (weirdly the rest of the fit stayed the same!) It is 100% wool so massively warm but with temperature being so variable in the office, it is a really good layer to have around, especially as it scrumples folds down into nothing in my bag! 

The dress has a knot detail at the waist (which actually  sits at waist height on me- rejoice!) which normally offers enough decoration but you know how much I like to match things and so out came my trusty leopard print belt! I really like the draping on this dress, it doesn't look too much like it is trying to disguise my lumps and bumps which some ruching can. Ruching is supposed to skim elegantly over my love handles, not cling to them unforgivingly! 

These French Sole shoes are so comfy and the red trimmed leopard print is just tacky fun enough to put a spring in your step. What's the use of a blank canvas if you don't jazz it up a little?! 

Where is your favourite little black dress from? How do you jazz up work outfits? 

Models Own make some of the best nail varnishes around and I love the range of colours and finishes that they have - their stall was INSANE and even had a giant glittery nail varnish in the middle of it. Definitely my favourite stall! They usually have all kinds of good deals on and this year was no different - you could choose 3 polishes for £10 (usually £5 each) and then you got given a goody bag with £65 worth of products including the official Clothes Show nail varnish 'Show Stopper'. 

This gorgeous chunky bluey-green glitter polish was designed to match the dress worn by the CSL ambassador Jade Thompson and it is a really lovely shade, even if it is impossible to photograph! I can't wait to try this properly and I imagine it will breathe a new lease of life into my pastel coloured polishes...

Can you tell that I am a bit of a magpie?! As you can see, I honed in on ALL THE SHINY POLISHES and picked up some of the 'Velvet Goth' range to try too. I was really tempted by the navy and I would have loved the Absinthe green but I went for shades I knew I would get the most wear from (how boring!) The Hedkandki one is a lot less yellowy in the bottle but I just could not get it to photograph properly!

Velvet Goth Amethyst, Velvet Goth Sardonyx (which would be an amazing name for an Asterix character!) and Hedkandi Disco Heaven

This was the contents of the goody bag (along with a silvery eye shadow which I have already lost in the depths of my bag!) I haven't tried much of their make-up but I have high hopes for the chunky kohl! I was really pleased to see the 'shape it buffit' too, I got one about 18 months ago but I broke it recently and hadn't got round to buying a new one so this couldn't have come at a better time!

I have always had fairly problematic skin and although I don't tend to have as many flare ups any more (now I've done it!) my skin still needs a lot of TLC and I am always looking for the holy grail products that will give me glowing, spot free skin. Clarins are renowned for their skincare and I was super excited to try out their Multi Active Collection. I paid £15 for this which is amazing considering the amount of product you get! 

Inside you get a 50 ml pot of the Multi Active Day cream, 15 ml of the Multi Active Night cream and 10 ml of the Multi Active Skin Renewal serum, more than enough to try it all out properly!

This weekend I spent a rather frantic Saturday in one of my favourite cities; Birmingham. Echo Falls very kindly invited me along to the Clothes Show Live in Birmingham along with a bunch of rather lovely bloggers and I had the best time! I really like the Clothes Show although it has been a while since I last went- Danni and I both went in 2009 and 2010 but I haven't managed it the past couple of years! After getting on a very busy train full of excitable tweenagers and getting completely lost at the NEC (one day I will learn to read signs!) I managed to make my way to the Echo Falls stand where I collapsed into a rather ungainly heap. Poppy Dinsey of WIWT was co-hosting with Echo Falls and I had a major fan-girl moment when I met Poppy! (didn't she look awesome?!) 

Luckily, despite running around like a headless chicken, I was still in time for the first fashion panel of the day with Poppy, Caryn Franklin, Karl Willett and Becca Dudley which was really interesting. I totally agree that you should only work with nice people- work makes up a huge proportion of your life and it is no fun if you are miserable! I did lug my SLR to the show and tried to take photos but I realised afterwards that it had been on manual focus for the whole time so please excuse my blurry pictures :( 

I'm not sure who the guy on the end was but 3/4 of the panel and their awesome outfits, I loved Becca's dress!

Caryn being interviewed- just check out those awesome hair-fringed sleeves! 

The best thing about going along to blogging events is meeting new people and despite us never meeting before Caroline was absolutely lovely! We had a really good natter on our way back to the train station and it just reminded me how awesome the blogging community is- there's not many places on the Internet where you will find people who agree with you about so many things! I just hope I am as cool as Caroline one day, just check out her amazing shoes!

Me looking much less glamourous! I knew that I would be on my feet all day so I paired my beloved teapot dress with some burgundy tights and my new Clarks loafers which I  absolutely love. I have actually been breaking these in recently which could have been a really bad idea but actually the shoes are massively comfy and I haven't had any blisters (yet)- WIN! 

The bar was absolutely HEAVING- just look how long the queue was!

Many thanks to Echo Falls for taking me and the lovely Caroline and Selina for keeping me company! 

P.S. I was at the Clothes Show as a guest of Echo Falls

It just goes to show how even just a few months can give you a fresh perspective on something. I have achieved so much even in the last year and I should at least try and remember this when I start to freak out about something! ;)

Any tips on staying calm?!

Anyone who has spent any amount of time with me will know that I am not an outdoor kind of person. I love the idea of spending balmy summer evenings sitting outside with a glass of wine or taking long walks through Autumn leaves but until now, you are much more likely to find me skulking inside doing everything I can to avoid the terrible trio of weather, bugs and exercise! Recently though, as part of my great exercise strategy/ weight loss programme, Mark and I have been spending any free time we have at the weekends going on walks around the beautiful countryside where we live and I have to say (whisper) I have been quite enjoying it! I have been walking to my lift in the morning and going to the gym at least once a week and I am pleased to say that I have lost about half a stone! :D Obviously I still have a long way to go but I have been quite motivated recently which is quite unlike me. I never believed the people who kept saying how exhilarating exercise was but recently I have definitely been getting 'the buzz' which has kept me going whilst my muscles are screaming out at me to stop...

Like most people, the thought of any kind of exercise is enough to put me off but by ignoring my grumbles and bribing me with promises of Fringe marathons, Mark has convinced me to get outdoors.

As with most things, I was most concerned with what the most appropriate things to wear were. The first time we went, I wore my beautiful Nike trainers and they ended up covered in mud so now I prefer my old trainers, my wellies or my new DMs (wipe clean rubber FTW!) paired with my rather snazzy new exercise gear. I love all of the various jazzy patterned running leggings you can get but I held off ordering any as I am hoping Father Christmas will be reading this blog! ;) Obviously it is getting pretty chilly out there so wrapping up warm is pretty important. If I am running, I tend to just wear my H&M hoody (I love the bright pink colour but I always feel like Elle Woods when I am wearing it!) as I warm up very quickly! Who would have thought that one day I would be feeling so enthused about both exercise and exercise gear?! Maria, you have changed!

What do you wear to exercise? How do you stay motivated?