Frills 'n' Spills

For me, shorts are one of life's under-appreciated treasures. They are way more practical than a skirt but much more fun than a pair of trousers and finding a pair that were work appropriate has been on my mental shopping list for a long time now.  This navy pair were from my beloved NW3 by Hobbs and the length is perfect although I wish they sat higher on the waist as they just fall down on me. For work, I paired them with a plain blouse and simple accessories for a professional but relaxed look but I think these will also look awesome with my chunky knit tights and a jumper or two...

Every year certain colours come back around and burgundy/oxblood/berry/bordeaux,whatever you want to call it, is one that you can guarantee everyone will be wearing, come the winter months .  I must hold my hands up, I am a big fan of the colour and I seem to have acquired more than a few items in this gorgeous berry shade over the years...

I promised you a review of my (other) new glasses so here you go, these beauties from Gok Wan have become my 'everyday' specs as they are more subtle than my other pair and the slight Miss Moneypenny look to them works better in the office I feel ;) I'm still not used to my face with spectacles (any tips on how to get used to them would be much appreciated!) but Mark thinks they make me look older, what do you guys think?

Here is your first look too at my gorgeous new handbag! Part birthday present and part reward to myself for my promotion, this baby is a 100% leather bag from Radley in a (you guessed it!) lovely shade of burgundy that is the perfect size for an everyday handbag.

The focus of the outfit for me though was this gorgeous pair of patent Mary Janes (a bargain at Swindon designer outlet a few weeks ago) They are the kind of shoes that make you do a jig of happiness whenever you catch a glimpse of them. They are surprisingly comfortable considering the height and even I managed a whole day in them- total success!

Even my drink matched! My first black forest hot chocolate of the year went down a treat before I headed to Zizzi's, talk about an indulgent afternoon!

As you all know, summer in Italy is absolutely gorgeous, blazing sunshine and ridiculously hot, I don't think it dropped below 35 degrees until the very last day. I usually hate summer clothing, I never know what to wear when it is warm but I think I did a pretty good job of packing this time and I wanted to give my recommendations for what to wear...

The light here in the morning is beautiful, it casts a peachy glow over everything but it never seems to translate in photographs. I'm sure if we played around with the settings on our camera we could capture it much better but as with most things, a lack of time is what puts me off! I would love to have a variety of interesting backdrops for these photos, but working full time and leaving ridiculously early in the morning leaves me with literally 5 minutes to get these photos and it leaves me genuinely wondering, how do other bloggers in full time work do it?! It is so frustrating as I love blogging and I obviously want my photos to be as good as they can be but real life doesn't leave much wriggle room at the moment!

On Wednesday night, myself and other Aussie Angels had a virtual styling class with the wonderful stylist Eugene with the opportunity to ask questions as the session progressed. I was unsure how well this would work but I actually really enjoyed it and it was good to see how the hairstyle could be adapted to suit different hair types. The style I was attempting to follow was a textured side plait and I took pictures as the class progressed . Please excuse blurry pictures/gormless expressions... 

Around this time of year everyone ends up with more social events to attend than the rest of the year added together [well I do at least!] and it can be difficult to find enough outfits to wear without going out and spending a fortune. Hopefully this mini-series of posts will give you some inspiration on how to revamp your wardrobe for that festive feel! 

I first wore this playsuit to the Tabio blogger event and it is one of the easiest items to style up for an evening party. Just add some snazzy tights and a spot of blingy jewellery and you have an outfit that manages to be sexy without flashing too much flesh, always a win in my book!