CHRISTMAS TIME

I hope all of you have had a very merry christmas with your family and friends! Being back in Luxembourg has been great. I have not met up with friends that much but I have spent loads of time with my family and the Manfriend. I have a little "what I got for Christmas" post for you so I hope you do not take this in the wrong way and think I am bragging/showing off the things I received this year. Click the Read more button at the end of this post to see the rest!

My Christmas celebrations started with Italian feast on the 24 December with the Manfriend and the 20+ members of his famiglia. It was insane! There was so much food and conversations flying about all over the place... I stuck with his cousin girlfriend a lot of the time because it was the first Christmas with the boyfriend for both of us. Midnight came around and this year it was the Manfriend's turn to be Babbo Natale (Father Christmas). We did not get back to my place until after 4am but we had such a good night.

The next day the Christmas festivities continued with my family's tradition of opening the gifts that Santa left by our beds. As old as I get, I still love this tradition because it not only reminds me of all the Christmases I have had growing up but it gets me excited for the day! The Manfriend and I then watched the first two Home Alone movies. Helping my mum with the turkey prep (and the rest of the dinner) is another one of my favourite parts of the day. It makes me feel like I will be capable of cooking my future family a decent Christmas dinner! All in all, I had an amazing couple of days and I hope you have had an amazing Christmas too. I love you all.

XOXO

Beautiful Luxembourg from the top of the ferris wheel 

HOME SWEET HOME

I flew back to Luxembourg on Monday and since then I have been simply enjoying being home. I was in Trier today to do some Christmas shopping and oh my gosh I just love popping over the border (it only takes 45mins to get there) because Germany is just so much more Christmas-y. They really go all out with the decorations. I wore my new coat from Zara which I believe you have not seen before! It is so much longer than my other coats but it keeps me so so so warm which I absolutely love.

Coat -Zara / Scarf - Oysho / Bag - River Island / Boots - Topshop

NEW SHOES

Well hello, it has been a while has it not? I have been in such a funk lately and I unfortunately let it affect my blogging which I am sorry about. I bought these shoes a while back and I am so in love with them. I have always wanted a pair of leopard print shoes but printed flats were not really my thing. Even further back, I had wondered into Primark and bought the black version of these boots because they were only £8. I sometimes felt my docs were too chunky for certain outfits and converse was just too casual so I was really glad to have this new and cheap addition to my famiglia of shoes. Imagine my excitement when I saw these leopard print ones for the same price. Do you guys ever experience that flutter when you randomly spot that item which just seems to gleam at your from the other side of the store? It seems a bit silly to be so passionate about a pair of £8 shoes but that basically sums up how I felt. For someone who loves black, this is definitely a great way to add a bit of "spark" to your outfit!

GUNMETAL EARRINGS

Hey guys, sorry for the major absence! I have been doing loads lately and I'm really not made for the cold so the majority of the time you can find me hibernating in my PJs or wrapped up like a chubby kid in 53456786543 layers of clothing. I do have decent boots to wear but not enough fluffy warm socks so that is definitely on my list for when I go shopping with my flatmate on Wednesday.

I also wanted to show these earrings which I am almost sure I have never shown you guys before. My best Danish buddy got them for me from Denmark (duhh...) and they kinda remind of some kind of badass gunmetal origami!

PS, my new article for the Surrey Scholar is up. I would really appreciate it if you could check it out! Click here.



KHAKI MAXI SKIRT

I decided to 'dress up' a little for uni yesterday. My boots, long top, cardigan, scarf + jacket combo is getting a bit too boring for me. wearing my tights with my boots actually kinda worked and worn under the maxi skirt it definitely kept me warm! I of course had to wear my favourite scarf and new Dahlia necklace to complete the look. Last night I had a super chill night with my uni girls, painting nails, splattering on face masks and watching Love Actually. Tonight I'm PJ-ing it up and i'm on my third cup of tea.



DAHLIA - 8 FOUBERTS PLACE, LONDON


I was in London again yesterday afternoon to go to the Dahlia Christmas bloggers event. As soon as we walked in, Kristiana and I had our eyes shooting off in every direction. So many pretty things, so little time! I don't even remember the number of times I said "Oh my god, look at this.."! When we walked in we had our polaroid taken and we each got one to keep which was awesome. I have already stuck it up on my wall.

Dahlia has a small, cute boutique just off Carnaby Street so it is super convenient to get to. I love how the clothes, accessories and bags really cater to different tastes. There are studs, lots of gold and sequins, but there are also a few antique style pieces. It is very feminine and quintessentially British. Statement necklaces seemed to make a very prominent appearance and I even won a voucher in the luck dip to pick an accessory of my choice! (see below for more photos). Beautiful collars are another main focus of Dahlia so there were plenty of embellishments about.

We were all allowed to try on clothes and so I tried on a two-piece embroidered lace top/sheer shirt. I never thought that the combination would go well but it totally works! I loved it so much that there is no doubt that I am going to head straight back to store as soon as its out. They said it should be about 10 days - I cannot wait. Sadly, we eventually had to get our train out of London and I had to leave that  beautiful dress behind but we each received a beautiful goodie bag with so many useful things! Kristiana and I ended our day with buying sushi and completely buzzing over everything that we saw.

The first of many outfits that made me go all google-y eyed 

Isn't it just gorgeous?



 Burgundy. Studs. Satchel. Oh hello there...

SHAKESY

It was another very gloomy and shakespearean day yesterday so I opted for a super cosy outfit. I got this pullover yeeears ago and it actually keeps me so warm! I was almost breaking a sweat on my way to uni! I have come to realise that I do not actually that many pullovers so I think a sneaky trip to primark is in the books.

Still one of my fav bags! I stopped using it for a while to give it a break 




MOTEL CHRISTMAS BLOGGERS EVENT

Hey guys! I've been super stressed with assignments (three to hand in in the space of two weeks..) so it was great to let loose a little at the Motel Rocks Christmas showcase at Floripa with Kristiana. The venue was very chill and had a strong tropical feel to it - a place which I would certainly like to return to. With Christmas and NYE parties coming up (way too excited for Xmas right now), it was great to have a chance to check out their up-coming pieces which feature A LOT of sequins, which will make any girl feel absolutely sassy and fabulous. Their Wonderland  trend (which you can view HERE) was something that immediately caught my eye. My favourite piece from that category (pictured below) was a pair of high-waist shorts/hotpants featuring a b&w psychedelic print and a leather detail down each side.

Although a tad short for me taste I wonder how they would look with super opaque tights and a pair of Litas? (photo via Kristiana V)

 Motel Rocks now stock Jeffrey Campbells!

 Just when I thought there was nothing else I could use cinnamon for, I discovered this Apple Strudel cocktail which they were serving... WITH CINNAMON


Lee Stafford and his team were doing hair for the night and I decided to get some loose waves. Aaron gave me some really useful tips to help the waves last longer because my hair is just so long and carries a lot of weight


Another favourite from the pieces they had on show. The jacket felt really really nice and the studs were sturdy. 


Velvet was also a strong feature


They also had a little stand with jewellery from Rock n Rose

One of the many sequined dresses featuring an off-the-shoulder look

The more I think about this cropped pullover the more I love the idea of wearing it with a high-waist black skirt

KÖLN

I flew out to Cologne over the weekend to see the Manfriend and to celebrate our 5 year anniversary together. I arrived late on Thursday and left late on Sunday so we pretty much had three full days together. We went around the city centre, saw the dome, ate bretzels, went to the chocolate museum and the zoo, and just spent loads of time snuggling and having movie nights and watching American Dad over breakfast and dinner. I unfortunately missed out on the Karneval celebrations but I plan on being in Cologne for the huge parade in February! A quick bit of googling tells me that the Cologne Carnival is the largest and most famous - oh this will be good... 


Blazer - Zara
Boots - Topshop

Best breakfast ever

CHRISTINE XUAN B/W

Christine came to visit me back in June and we could not pass up on a chance to have a mini shoot  - especially considering how long my hair had grown! We have a few exciting shoots which are still in the early stages of planning but they are going to be awesome. Please do check out her work on her WEBSITE or FACEBOOK PAGE.

THE SURREY SCHOLAR

I thought I would show you a mini snapshot of what I am wearing today: My favourite scarf from Oysho, my top from Ingni (Japan) and my new cardigan from H&M which my obaachan got for me when we went shopping in Luxembourg. I also wanted to let you guys know about a news site called The Surrey Scholar of which I am the current Fashion Editor and one of the writers. You can go to my first article by clicking HERE. I would love it if you could check out the other articles under the Fashion section and even have a browse in the other ones! Have a fabulous day everyone.

MIDI BODYCON

I've been really love the idea of a midi bodycon lately. I really would like to wear more figure hugging dresses but I feel a little too naked in the mini strapless bodycons and I am really not up for showing off my legs - not that I have much to actually show off... I found these three Missguided ones which all vary in style and colour - and all under £14! - but I think I'm leaning towards the plum one on the far left. The colour is just so pretty and I love that it slightly covers the shoulders. I have also been eyeing a galaxy print one but it is a lot shorter than these. 

HAPPY HALLOWEEN

These are the cupcakes I made a while ago with my uni girls. We put so much effort into these and they were so yummy! We're probably going to have a Christmas cupcake making sesh soon haha. Are you guys doing anything special for Halloween?
xoxo

STUD

I was in zara and when I saw this I knew I just had to buy it.. I had my eye on it for ages but I'm pretty sure that there is a long one and a short one or is that just me? Well, I got the longer one because I want to wear it as a jacket and it's getting chilly so I'll definitely need to wear a cardigan underneath. Ahhhh, I'm just so obsessed with studs, it's unreal haha. There was this bag that I really wanted as well but I ended up not getting it because it was kinda pricey to get both things.. I maaay, go back tomorrow and check it out again because I can't stop thinking about the bag haha.

PLANET EARTH TURNS SLOWLY

Haha, yes, another outfit with gold! I bought this skirt over 2 years ago and I've only ever worn it once or twice but I'm glad I kept it because I think it goes well with this studded zara top. I've been getting such great feedback from you guys these past two posts that I'm really convinced that it's worth buying the 50mm.. The more photos I look through (both Kristy's and mine) I fall deeper in love with it and taking photos with the basic lens that first came with my camera just doesn't satisfy me anymore. I think I'm ready to take it to the next level haha.

It's my first full day back in Luxembourg and we couldn't leave the house because the gardeners were around but I'll be heading out soon with my grandma and mama to go shopping. Mostly so that my grandma can buy gifts to take back with her to Japan but I'm also in need of a desperate browse of zara and essie polishes!


Top - zara
Skirt - h&m
Shoes - R&E (japan)

Photos by Kristy

GOLDEN I

This is the awesome gold dress I got from River Island about two weeks ago. How gorgeous is it! Some dresses, when they are this detailed, get a bit itchy but this one is amazing. I really want to wear a gold choker with it but I thought it might be a bit too much. An emerald green gem stone choker might go well with it though. What do you guys think? I would love to know how you might style this.

Tomorrow is going to be a very exciting day for me. I am heading back to Luxembourg to see my family! My obaachan is visiting from Japan so I could not miss out on seeing her. It has been a while since she has been here, so I wonder if my little dog is going to remember her? I am almost 100% sure that he will because dogs just do not seem to forget.

xoxo


Dress - river island
Shoes - jeffrey campbell


Bracelet - somewhere in Japan



Photos taken by Kristy

LOVIN' THE FIFTY

I met with Kristy after my lectures today and we experimented with her friend's 50mm lens. We both fell in love with it immediately! It has climbed to the very top of my list of the things to save up for. We took a few outfit photos but more on that later.

This past weekend was one of the best I've had so far. Two of my good friends came to visit and we had a girls night out with homemade sushi and predrinks at mine, followed by greek night at my SU. One of them had to leave sunday afternoon but we had in enough time for crêpes - miaam. Sunday night was also super chill, N and I had a total fatty night. Sometimes there is nothing better than a cosy snuggle-night in with a good friend and devilishly yummy food.


Top - missguided