Shopping. At This Time of Year?

Don't worry gang, it's not one of those posts about how to buy the perfect last-minute gift for your second cousin twice removed who's invited himself round for Christmas dinner. Does anyone even do that, or is just one of those things that the magazines would have us believe?

It's just about me and what I've been buying recently.

I'm not one of those people who subscribe to the school of thought that when buying Christmas presents you MUST get yourself something nice as well. For starters, I buy presents throughout the year and I'd be constantly skint if I went down the one-for-you-one-for-me route. Then you hit the issue that shopping in November and December is always dicey - don't want to ruin someone's beautifully chosen present by buying the same thing for yourself. Also, I'm not 6 years old any more. I don't automatically have to reward myself for getting things done.

It is extremely nice to have money spare in December though. For me, it means not having to stress about January (which is when I bitch and moan almightily at the prospect of spending upwards of £800 on car insurance). It means I can donate money to my favourite charities, especially those who are in extra need of it at this time of year. It means that whilst I'm doing fun things during my time off like visiting friends and popping out for lunch, I can mosey around the shops and if I wish to pick up a few things, there's nothing stopping me. Plus you know, the sales all start before Christmas now. I don't want to be sitting at home crying over my bank statement until payday.

A few things that I've been able to purchase recently:


This beautiful little necklace from a charity shop. It might just be an abstractly painted pebble but I look at it and think of lakeside scenes and the Chalet School books and smile.


Also from a charity shop, an old school scarf. Needs a spot of darning but that's easily done. Thanks Timothy, whoever you are!


Rather lovely Dune brogues, half price in TK Maxx. I had no plans to buy more brogues, having only recently bought the glittery M&S pair, but these are proper leather (I can hear my mum saying "they'll last you years if you polish them properly!") and were too nice to leave behind.


A big cosy stripy jumper from Dorothy Perkins. Not only was this half price in the sale, it was also buy-one-get-one-half-price on everything in store so I got another pair of my beloved skinny jeans for all of £7.50. Bargaintastic.

Also these two tshirts from Threadless:

Dandy Lions

M!aw

All stuff that I could afford, I'm confident no-one else will have got me and that is going to fit very nicely into my wardrobe. That's how December shopping should be.

Sequintastic

I don't really do glam.

Most of the time it's just far too much like hard work and so my efforts are limited to wearing excellent shoes and putting lippy on occasionally. Glam girls, I salute you. How do you find the time for all the hair and makeup shenanigans?

It's fun to try it at least once a year though and it was the work Christmas party this week, so the time seemed right. It's probably still extremely moderate on some people's glam scale but I felt fab (and quite pouty, but I'm blaming the lipgloss for that one).





I'm usually a little too frightened of a bodycon frock to even pick one up off the shop rail but Motel Rocks asked if I wanted to try something from their site and I couldn't stop looking at this beauty. Perfect for a party, isn't it? Super comfy to wear as well. There's none of that nasty itchy scratchiness you get from cheapo sequinned things. This is properly lined and feels lovely.

If you've seen it on other bloggers (and you may well have done because it seems super popular) then they're probably a lot skinnier than I am, but what the feck. I have a stomach and a bum: there's no point donning a sack and trying to hide them. Instead I covered them in sequins, drank a lot of wine and danced my ass off.

If you wish to follow my example and clad yourself in sparkles, or just generally to treat yourself to a nice pre-Christmas present, pop in the discount code SEQUIN15 at the checkout - valid until 18th December.

Just for Kezzie, another smiling photo.
Do we like the back?


If you don't like the shoes there's no hope for you. Gold heels, amazing sole...


Dress - c/o Motel Rocks
Shoes - Irregular Choice
Clutch - New Look
Earrings - Mikey (I think - I've had them for years)

As for the makeup, I could pretend that I did it myself but that would just be a giant lie. I took advantage of the fact that I needed some new products anyway and went to MAC to get it done. It was £25, but that cost was redeemable against anything I bought so really, it's a totally moneysaving way to do things. Honest it is. Now if only I could win the lottery and buy myself a makeup artist, I could have eye makeup this beautiful every day.

Apparently I have lovely eyelids. Who knew?

Not the best (or best lit) photo in the world but it is hard to take photos of your own face! I'd never make a beauty blogger, would I?

A Festive Frock

Gosh, apologies for the recent lack of bloggage! It has been an insanely busy week at work and I'm still not quite finished with it yet as I have to work Sunday afternoon as well. However... I am then off work until 3rd January which is going to be brilliant! I love my generous holiday allowance. When all the stress is out of the way, my thoughts can properly turn towards Christmas.




I've already got cards and presents sorted and posted, the tree is going up tomorrow night and in an extreme fit of organisation, I've even picked what I'm wearing on Christmas Day. Tis a tradition in our house that you have to have a new outfit for the big day (and also new pj's the night before - does anyone else do this or is it just us?). You'll probably see about 90 million "dressing for Christmas" articles and features at this time of year but here's my take on it.

It's not exactly complicated. Go on a hunt around the shops (High St/online/charity/supermarkets) and look in their party dresses section. Pick one that meets the following three rules:

• Number One - it must be comfy. Nothing bodycon (that can be the Christmas party outfit), nothing tight. It's not Christmas if I don't eat my own bodyweight in roast potatoes and pigs in blankets and I don't want a stupid waistband making me uncomfortable.
• Number Two - is a fairly simple design that doesn't need too much dressing up. If I'm lucky enough to get fun accessories and jewellery as presents then I want to try them on straight away and not have to wrestle off a cardigan and 3 necklaces first.
• Number Three - Looks good with a pair of excellent shoes you already own. If that's a pair of Irregular Choice then all the better.
  

Chuck in some simple but pretty accessories and that's it all sorted. Sparkly tights! Amazing, yes?



I don't wear gold jewellery very often but this bracelet was my grandma's and I like to wear it on special occasions.


Dress - c/o George
Tights - Marks & Spencer sale
Shoes - Irregular Choice
Rings - Dorothy Perkins sale and Next sale

I think I picked well with this one. Not only is it awesome, it also goes surprisingly well with a jaunty pair of jingly reindeer antlers. You know I'll be busting these out on Christmas Day.

Fighting the Elements

Summer seems like a long, long time ago doesn't it? Well maybe not if you're lucky enough to live in Spain or somewhere equally warm and sunny, but I live in Liverpool. Today it was 2 degrees and when it wasn't hailing, it was pissing down with rain. By all rights I should have been in galoshes and oilskins but I refuse to give into such things. Instead I whacked on the red lippie and the red shorts (Shorts: Not Just For Summer) and debuted a new pair of boots. They aren't exactly galoshes but they are waterproof.

Now don't fall over in shock, for I know I am not renowned for practical shoes. It took work to track down black wedge boots that weren't a) suede or b) hideous. I like them lots, even if I did get confused by the zip placement and put them on the wrong feet when I first tried them on...

Jumper - Gap sale
Shorts - H&M
Boots - Aldo, via ASOS
Necklace - market stall in Dubrovnik

November Scavenger Hunt

It's the end of the month and that means it's time for the November scavenger hunt. Thanks as always to Kathy for picking the categories. You can see everyone else's posts here.


Something that you have made

Not the tree, obviously (although I did decorate it). The beaded bauble.


Silhouette

I'm not ashamed to admit I own this book despite the epic mullet on the cover. It's about a wrestler! There's another thing I'm not ashamed to admit: I love wrestling. Mock me at your peril. I will bodyslam you.


A lucky charm

Lucky Ducky.


A poppy

This is how I wear my poppy: in my hair. I have a terrible habit of losing them when they're attached to my coat so this is safer all round.


A self-portrait

I hate taking photos of my own face. This was the best I could do.


Memorial

It's a memorial to the Potato Famine, in the grounds of St Luke's church in Liverpool city centre. I suppose the church is a sort of memorial too. It was bombed out during WW2 (hence it being known as the "bombed-out church" now) and has been left that way.


Polka dots

A selection from the sock drawer.


Warmth

Yeah, my fire is retro. None of those flickery pebble things for me.


Something that lights up

One of the Christmas decorations in Liverpool. I don't think the lights are up to much this year but I love this reindeer.


Staircase

At the Bluecoat. It's a stunning building anyway but I am especially fond of this doorway. Check out the little Liver Bird on the pediment.


Something purple

The last remnants of colour on a hydrangea bush.


Comfort food

Nothing better. My Magic Roundabout egg cup must be used.

A Hat (and the giveaway winners)

I don't often wear hats. I bought this one on holiday over a year ago and it's been languishing on the hat rack ever since. It's not so much that I'm shy of wearing them, just that I have a really large head and they don't often suit me. You know that lovely sort of woolly-beanie-on-the-back-of-the-head look? Yeah, I can't do that. I just look as if my head is so big it's burst out of my hat.

I like this one though. It fits, which is always a good start. It's green, therefore I automatically love it. It has a floppy brim which I can hide behind when I'm feeling bashful about wearing a hat - bonus marks!








Skater dress - H&M
Cardi & belt - Primark
Shoes - New Look
Rings - Primark (snake) & Dorothy Perkins (green)
Hat - hat shop in Dubrovnik


Anyway, here's the bit you've all been waiting for: the winners of the giveaway, as decided by random.org.

Thank you very, very much to MJ, Very and Natureshop for donating such lovely prizes.

The winner of the beautiful ring from MerCurios is... The Girl (who has excellent luck in my giveaways!)
The winner of the £50 Very voucher is... Maddie
The winner of the boots from Natureshop is... Feeneyfoofoo
The winner of the Persephone Books voucher is... Mrs Bossa

Ladies, I shall be in touch with you all very shortly to arrange your prizes.

Culture Vulture

After the craziness that was most of October, it's been a relief this month to take some time to do fun things instead and, if it doesn't sound too wanky and pretentious, to recharge my cultural batteries a bit. Ok, that does sound quite wanky, doesn't it? I just think writing the novel sapped a lot of my creativity and it's been nice to sit back and soak up other people's creative efforts a bit. So here's a mini round-up of things I've done/seen recently:

Cinema

The Ides of March


Is this where I finally get on the Gosling bandwagon? Possibly, although I didn't go and see it for him, nor for George Clooney. I went because I am a political nerd and The West Wing is probably my favourite drama series of all time. When I say that this was like a decent episode of that programme, that's a compliment. I like political intrigue and shenanigans and the fact that no-one is actually a nice person. Shades of grey, not black and white. It was good. Not outstanding, but good.


Weekend


Word of warning: don't go and see this with your dad. Even if he is quite cool and liberal and hippyish like mine, it's still a tad uncomfortable to sit next to him during gay sex scenes. That aside, I really liked this film. I'm very pleased it got a decent cinematic release as the subject matter isn't usually considered mainstream enough to get shown outside LGBT festivals (don't even get me started on how criminally underrated A Love To Hide is). It was just very honest and real. A little bittersweet, but isn't that how life is?


Immortals


In 3D. Uck. I hate 3D. Not only does it not work properly with my eyes (and having to wear two pairs of glasses is never a good look), I massively begrudge having to pay inflated ticket prices, especially when it's a film that's been retrofitted and wasn't even meant to be in 3D in the first place. Grrr. But such is my devotion to Henry Cavill. I kinda dread the new Superman film coming out because he'll be all mainstream and I have had a crush on him for YEARS don't you know? Um yeah, the film... Entertaining enough I suppose but not that good and also quite a lot gorier than I was expecting! He's beautiful though so I don't really care.


Theatre

Star Quality by Noel Coward


Fun, fun, fun. I do enjoy a bit of mid 20th century drama - the dialogue is generally very snappy and witty and that, my friends, is just my cup of tea. It's a play about a play and I always think that's good fun if done well because there's so much potential for bitchiness and melodrama.


Lovesong by Abi Morgan, performed by Frantic Assembly



People, go and look at their list of dates for the rest of the tour. If they're performing near you, go and see them. Please. I've been going to see them since 2006 when my friend Lee took me to see pool (no water) and haven't missed a show since, even if (as in this case) it means going to Leeds to watch them. Not that I have any object to Leeds you understand, it just adds to the cost of the day when you have to buy train tickets as well.

Anyway, the play! Superb. Frantic Assembly put on the most stunning pieces of physical theatre I've ever seen. This play perhaps doesn't have quite so much of it but that's due to the age of two of the four actors and when it is done, it's brilliant and perfectly in keeping. The play is about the beginning and end of a relationship and all I'm going to say is that there wasn't a dry eye in the house when it was finished.


Comedy

Jack Whitehall

Oh Jack, how I love thee. I went to see him in London last year when I think he was working on the beginnings of this show so I'd seen bits of it before but I still bloody loved it all. I thought Lee and I were safe sitting in the front row with Jack not being the sort of comedian who pokes fun at his audience...yeah, he asked us a question, didn't he? I had to very bashfully squeak "we're not a couple, we're best friends".


Milton Jones


I'll say it straight off: I like comedy but I don't like one-liner merchants, I prefer story tellers. So why did I go and see him? Um, cos someone else bought me a ticket? He was great though. Yes, it's a constant stream of one liners but it's surreal and really cleverly done wordplay rather than just reeling off joke after joke after joke. His warm-up act was dire though and would have completely died on his arse had he not involved some audience members.


Mitch Benn


This was a bit of a speculative one to be honest. I've heard him on The Now Show (Radio 4 FTW!) and I love this song so I thought it was worth snapping up a ticket. I honestly didn't expect it to be as good as it was. He absolutely rocked through two full 45 minute sets of fricking hilarious songs. I thoroughly recommend going to see him.

So that was the cultural month that was. Do you have any recommendations for me?