A Beautiful Little Fool

"...that's the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool"

On my darker days I am inclined to agree.

I cannot resist jumping on the Great Gatsby bandwagon as the film launches tonight.  I am sure many of  us will feel sick of beading, fringing, opulence and all things Gatsby inspired by the end of the month but I have always adored the hedonistic appeal of the Roaring 20s. 

The Great Gatsby was one of the few novels my sardonic teenage self did not pretend to loathe in school.  I actually stole my copy and still have it on my bookshelf.  I realised something about the novel always stayed with me; even if it was just the iconic party scenes and a flapper girl falling into a fountain.  When I reread it a few years later, I enjoyed it even more and like many fans of the novel, get something different from  it each time I read it.

It is essentially a very simple story but I think it deals with more complex issues.  The whole Gatsby brand has inspired movies and tv shows before this more recent incarnation by Baz Luhrman.  We have seen Gatsby-esque cocktails, partys and fashion that ironically would appeal to the vacous party goers it depicts.  It's pull is hard to put into words.

From bathtub gin and creme de menthe, to murder and intrigue, I have always been drawn to it.  Tinged with sadness at the failure of the 'Great American Dream' and eerily prophetical about the Great Depression in America in 1929, perhaps its continuing resonance with society today explains in part some of its popularity. 

I am sure the film could never live up to this level of hype but I am looking forward to stunning costumes and set design, the performances from the actors and another Baz Luhrman / Leonardo Di Caprio collaboration that first created Romeo and Juliet - a film which in 1996 became a bit of a cult classic.

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A few weeks ago, I attended the ballet to see Northern Ballet Company's new production of 'The Great Gatsby'.  It was stunning; such joy in the dancers and on the faces of everyone in the audience surrounding me and such fun to see a swing/jazz element to the classical choreography.  I do agree though that certain depths of the story were difficult to convey through dance.  I fear that the film will have a glossy veneer too that doesn't allow us to see anything beyond the glamour.  However, in keeping with the sentiments of a 'little fool', here was my 1920s inspired outfit for the evening. 

In a further nod to the Jazz Era, my tights were nude fishnets, a new love affair of mine, from Other Stories.  I thought the beading on the skirt and it's fan shape design was reminiscent of a 20s dress and my rose stud earrings are actually from the 20s.  I kept everything else sparkly with my coat, bag and metallic tipped shoes and donned a bit of a 60s beehive to mix my genres a little! 

Dress - Warehouse     Coat - Primark     Fishnets - Other Stories     Shoes - Primark

Earrings - Vintage    Clutch - Urban Outfitters    Nailpolish - OPI - Her Majesty's Secret Service

 My hair trying to withstand the crazy wind...I usually never bother styling my hair but thought this look turned out ok.  Also, you can't really see it but I am wearing my new Nars coral velet lip pencil which I adore and must show more clearly in another post.  The dress is still available from Warehouse and a bit cheaper than other flapper beaded dresses I have seen on the highstreet. 

Today I bought a lovely fan shaped clutch from Dorothy Perkins that matches the coral pinks on the skirt and makes the look more 20s inspired.  Now to find some low heel, t bar shoes! As a long term 20s aficionado, I am all for this flapper girl resurgence. 

Tell me what you think of the film too if you see it!

xox

He Reminded Me Of Blue Denim

I think this is a blogging first…brace yourself, I’m in jeans!  I loved wearing these to work the other week.  I got a few sharp intakes of breath and even a congratulations because, you see, I had told these girls about my denim dilemma and they understood.  Jeans and I have had a love/hate relationship my whole life.  As a quintessential girly girl, I refused to wear jeans when I was little because I was convinced that the denim hurt my skin.  However, when B*Witched released C’est La Vie and hopped around in their double denim ensembles, I decided to join the 9 year old fashion masses.  I was taken to Belfast’s first Gap Kids store, a big deal as Dublin didn’t even have one yet, to get my Christmas clothes and found an epic pair of flares: bleached at the bottom for a 90s dip dye effect and resplendent with a diamante flower on the leg.  Paired with a pale blue gilet I was the envy of my class and felt like doing a B*Witched inspired jig in my new outfit. 

Since then, my foray into denim has seen dungarees, dresses, homemade jean shorts, wag style white jeans, a customised handbag and a favourite bleached out pair with cloud patches on them.  Aged 16, jeans were a uniform.  I couldn’t think of many occasions in which a good pair of jeans  wouldn’t look great and for this reason, I probably sickened myself.  I also became much more self-conscious in jeans and like many women struggled to find a fit to suit me.  Above all, I’ve still stayed largely very girly girl and live in my dresses and skirts most of the year.  However, there is about 6 days of the year here when it is warm enough to not require my black opaque tights and I really am loathe to wear black tights 365 days a year, especially when it  is supposed to be (almost) Summer.  This brings us back, full circle, to jeans.  Paige are my favourite for fit but haven’t been able to afford a pair since a trip to America a few years ago so these are an affordable Limited Collection from Marks & Spencer.  I already feel like they have stretched out too much since taking these pictures and don’t feel  they look quite right, so be kind to me… It is nice to have something to wear all my tops with though and it’s nice to feel more casual!  Can we ever stay away from jeans forever?

My top was a birthday present and is Maison Scotch.  I love how bright it is and the scarf came with it.  All Maison Scotch tops seem to come with a scarf or necklace or brooch, its a great idea.

I love my blue Captain Birdseye type mac.  One of my best purchases last year to ensure that it doesn't rain on my parade (even if we have summer floods again!)

Have a great weekend...I'll be back in blue jeans and watching Nashville.  I come over all country when I wear denim now! xox

April Favourites, April's Adored!

April is one of my favourite months.  It usually is the first month where we start to see Spring in Ireland; the baby lambs have been born, the daffodils are cheering everyone up, it rains a lot but then 'April showers bring forth May flowers', or so I hope!

This April was colder than any I remember and I am longing to feel the sun's warmth on my skin.  We had a few days towards the end that gave me hope and today, 1st May, I am optimistic for a long hot summer in Ireland (well...one can always dream!)

Here are some of the things that I favoured this month...

Ursula Celano

I have wanted to share some of these prints from Dublin designer Ursula Celano for a while now, but almost wanted to keep her a secret!  When I was given this notebook with the Irish Cottage print last week, I knew it would be included in my April favourites alongside my beloved Irish dancer purse which I got for Christmas.  She is like a cooler, Irish version of Cath Kidston.  There is something so humorous and wonderful about the Irish dancers and something so tranquil about the cottages that I adore. I literally want everything in her online shop!  My monthly favourites are becoming a bit of an Irish favourites of late, I have been enjoying finding new crafters and artists in pop up shops and local markets the past year or so.

Exploring Wales

I had to work in Wales, specifically Cardiff, last week.  It was a long, stressful amount of travelling on boats and in vans but I quite liked the opportunity to see somewhere I probably would never have visited without the purpose of work.  Welsh bloggers and tweeters pointed me in the right direction for some lovely vintage shopping which I did in my free afternoons.  I particularly liked Hubbard's Cupboard and Hobo's in the Duke Street Arcade and came home with a few mementos of my trip.  Some of the scenery on our drive was just beautiful and helped make long, impossible days a bit more possible.

Farewell Gifts

I like this tradition of cards and little tokens at the end of a job.  From fish shopping bags and amethyst crystals to my favourite Doris Day keyring and novelty sunglasses that endeared us to the hearts of the Welsh!  Silly, fun and sentimental.

Darjeeling Tea

I am a herbal tea addict as regular readers will know.  After my birthday afternoon tea where my boyfriend (finally!) discovered the luxury to be had in loose leaf tea, he bought me this little tin of loose leaf Darjeeling for us both to enjoy.  Delicate enough to be drunk without milk so I really enjoy it, and strong and black enough to be palatable to his builder tea acquired tastes!  A nice memory of my birthday every time I drink a cup.

The Great British Sewing Bee

Much like the Bake Off, this BBC series proved to be another weepy when Ann was crowned the winner in the final episode.  Personally, I always thought our Brendan was robbed in the Bake Off last year so I was thrilled to see 81 year old Ann get her deserved 1st place.  The haberdashery layout of the studio was so colourful and their creations inspiring.  I have been meaning to learn how to sew for what seems like my whole life and it's definitely time I put my foot to my Singer pedal.

a 50s sewing bee!

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How does your garden grow?

Taking time to watch the flowers grow this Spring with my little nephew who has such a love of being outdoors.  He delights in this watering can and giving the plants a drink but isn't so sure about planting seeds yet as he doesn't like the idea of getting his hands dirty in the soil so his pea shoots have been planted for him and he can watch them grow.  It's nice to be out enjoying the start of better weather and watching him get such joy out of nature and our silly nursery rhyme songs whose words seem to have been stored in my brain all these years.

Have a wonderful May.  I hope it brings sunshine and warmth back to all our lives.  I can't wait for day trips, and fresh salads, and summer planning.

xox

If You Go To Sleep Tonight, You Will Be Older When You Wake...

Thank you for my birthday messages! 

I am not usually a fan of my birthday.  I love celebrating other people's, eating their cake and giving them wee gifts but when it comes to my own I tend to have a problem being the centre of the festivities and shy away from them.  Ultimately I end up regretting that I am getting older in the blink of an eye and should enjoy these birthdays while the number I am turning doesn't completely terrify me!  So, I tried with gusto this year to embrace my birthday and allow people to celebrate it with me and I really enjoyed it.  I had a day off work, I was surprised with an afternoon tea date and cocktails and I got gorgeous, generous presents.  Cake, gin, presents, if that doesn't spell birthday I'm not sure what does!

This was a special present.  Chupi is an Irish designer and her pieces are delicate and lovely and not too expensive.  I got Chupi earrings for Christmas (pictured below and worn solidly the past few months) and I think the loopy little bow will look nice with my By Boe heart ring as they are similar in styles.

Look at this for a spread! I feasted on earl grey tea and banana bread, something I love, so I hope its making a comeback.  There was macarons and charlottes and this little tart was lemon, pistachio and raspberry with a dollop of meringue.  My favourite though is always a perfectly baked scone with clotted cream and jam.  They even had lemon cream!

Before I moved in for the kill.  These are the Chupi earrings I mentioned earlier.

I love how they box up your leftover cakes and then you can slip next door for really good cocktails.

I was completely spoiled with Nars makeup, Chupi necklace, some pyjamas, champagne, notecards to write and lovely cards to put up, By Terry nailpolish in Vintage Coral and this exquisite Acqua Di Parma perfume.  I love blue glass so the bottle is perfect on my dressing table.   It is from Acqua Di Parma's Blu Mediterraneo range and called Bergamotto di Calabria.  Bergamot, flavouring the earl grey I drank, is one of my most beloved notes in fragrance as well as in tea.  This smells like lemon trees and blossoms and sunshine in Italy.  My Mum said my recent reminiscing of Italian summers inspired her to pick this for me.

Dress (under coat) - Celia Birtwell for Uniqlo   Mac - Primark  Shoes - Other Stories  Jewellery - Chupi

 

Brace yourselves!  The first bare leg of 2013 following our Easter snow.  Mind you, they were encased in nude fishnets and haven't been flashed since due to torrential rain!  I caught my hair and scarf on my coat but I can now imagine what I might look like with shorter hair and I have to say, I am really contemplating a long bob style now!  What do you think?

 

All in all, a gift of a day; filled with luxury and love and relaxation.

xox

March Favourites

Thank you all for the get well soon wishes, I am still pretty low but getting there! 
I thought today, a bright April day. was as good a day as any to look back at March and do my March favourites!

Celia Birtwell for Uniqlo
I already raved about this collection and can be seen wearing a scarf and dress from it in my last post.  I really like the price and quality of Uniqlo and I adore Celia Birtwell prints and the 60s/70s feel to them.  I was away with work when the collection launched and enlisted my boyfriend to fill many virtual baskets with blouses and culottes for me and I am forever indebted to him because I adore everything he picked.  The blouses flow, the dresses have lovely prints, the scarfs contrast with everything beautifully and I am charmed by the culottes shorts.  They are silky, fully lined, not too short, oh so comfy and something a bit different!  Someone should tell Uniqlo to hire me as their PR!

Easter Gifts - Handpainted Bowl
My mum gave me this as an alternative to an Easter egg.  I had bought one in a local boutique for a friend's birthday and just really loved them.  Each bowl is hand painted so each one is unique and I love their vibrant colours and design.  I think they are from Eastern Europe, judging by the artists name on the bottom of the bowl and do remind me of some of the things we saw in Croatia/Bosnia last summer.  At the minute it is holding some earrings on my dressing table.  It would be gorgeous with cotton wool etc. and Mum thought it would be just a nice addition to my china crockery collection.  A girl can never have to many delicate hand painted trinket bowls!

Colour Pop Manicures
I love accent nails in my manicures at the minute.  My nails are hideously broken from work but on my Easter break I got to do my first Spring polish: Essie Chinchilly with Chanel Orange Fizz on my ring finger.  As opposed to coral all over, it was like a slow warming towards Spring - I love the power of nailpolishes, lipsticks and scarves this time of year to brighten you up while it's still cold.  My nails being shorter seemed to make the manicure last longer as well.  I adore Orange Fizz as one of my favourite corals but I had found it chipped so easily on me last year.  I kept it in the fridge and have my nails much shorter and it worked a dream this time around as did the Chinchilly so I really want to try some more Essie colours!

Birchbox and Mini size products
Endless overnight bags have been packed so I have a new found appreciation of my beauty box subscription.  My Birchbox (by way of Boudoir Prive then Jolie Box) travel size products have come into their own with Korres showergel, Taaj micellar water, endless handcreams, lipsalves and bodycreams and my favourite Taaj micellar cleansing water. providing a little luxury the past few weeks.  I've even had a mini cinnamon Marvis toothpaste to take away from a Birchbox last year. These pampering treats help me feel relaxed and nice after travelling.  The subscriptions have saved me many trips to Boots as well!

Listening to: Icona Pop - I Love It
This song.  Swedish, catchy, makes you want to dance. I heard it on an episode of Girls Season 2 and I guarantee you will be singing I don't care, I love it!

Reading, Watching
I didn't read as much as I would like in March, so I have lots of books to catch up on this month.  I did read 'The Innocents' by Francesca Segal that someone passed along to me.  A modernised 'Age of Innocence' that took me a while to get into but was absorbing by the end.
I am in the same boat with movies but I enjoyed 'The Constant Gardener', a film I saw at long last on TV a few weeks ago.

So far, April has been great.  Yes I am sick and exhausted but I am having fun too.  Yesterday was my birthday and I got some lovely gifts and cards and will celebrate it this weekend.  I am looking forward to reading more, watching some new boxsets, seeing my beloved cherry blossoms bloom, enjoying longer brighter evenings and making summer plans.

Have a great month!

xox

I Could Write A Sonnet About Your Easter Bonnet

Happy Easter!

I have had a really awful throat infection (or something that causes deaf ears with swollen glands and inability to swallow) all day BUT it has not dampened my spirits!  I really love Easter and everything it symbolises; from a spiritual point of view and a more basic bluer skies, lambs in the field, flowers in the garden kind of way.  Easter is a time of hope and rebirth - we seek it in our lives once again and we see it in nature around us.  My birthday is always very close to Easter too so I have always had great memories of this time of year with celebration!

I remember shivering most years but braving the chill in the air for the sake of wearing my Easter finery; sandals and once a particularly sophisticated lemon chiffon A-line skirt and holding ribbon strewn wicker baskets stuffed with chocolate.  I also remember a few Easter Sundays celebrated on family holidays to Portugal; being brought to hear mass in Portuguese and in what my 7 year old self considered blistering heat compared to the rain at home and standing outside on ground that seemed impossibly red because there was never any room left in the church. 

Today the sun shone after weeks of dreary skies, the church was filled with heady white calla lilies, my Mum had made a gorgeous meal of fresh soup, chicken, seasonal vegetables and mounds of champ and all seemed right with the world!

I had lots of fun decorating our table.  I bought these cheerful yellow tulips for my Mum as I just loved the ceramic milk churn they came in and they seemed like a lovely centrepiece!  I also lit these speckled pastel egg candles I found in Laura Ashley.  Not sure what provoked my Easter decorating spree this year but decided to follow it through with a Pinterest inspired bunny rabbit napkin!  The best instructions for folding were on the Good Housekeeping website in case you are dying to know! 

Dress and Scarf - Celia Birtwell for Uniqlo        Shoes - Other Stories       Bag - Limited Collection Marks and Spencer

I think I look exhausted in these pictures, it has been a long 2 months but I forced on my gorgeous new Other Stories heels (sprained ankle now paying for it!) and my new Celia Birtwell for Uniqlo dress and scarf and went to the lovely Victorian Palm House in the Botanic Gardens to warm up!

 

I topped the day off with glutinous amounts of chocolate and, as I gave up fizzy drinks for Lent, this beautiful rose lemonade (which I may or may not have added gin too...)

I hope this Spring awakens hope and new life in you all.  After a long Winter, we all need the Spring, literally and metaphorically.  I am fighting off illness and tiredness but seeking out every blue sky, gap of sunshine or spring flower I can to keep me going!

xox

The Easter Snow, It Has Faded Away

A week from Easter Sunday and snow on the ground.  It is bitterly cold and it has been a long week but I love Easter regardless and I'm hopeful Spring warmth is just around the corner!

Besides, some snow was the perfect excuse for a lazy Sunday baking brownies...

I bought this tunic from Darling in a sale over a year ago and when I saw it hanging in my wardrobe this morning I felt ashamed!  I have thought about putting it up on Ebay but I always loved the colour and how I hear a Fleetwood Mac song in my head every time I put it on...for some reason batwing sleeves have that effect!  I just wasn't sure how to wear it, not being a huge trouser fan, but have aired my Uniqlo black skinny trousers again to give it a go and really loved wearing this today.  I just couldn't look at more knitwear when it should be Spring!

Have I ever mentioned this ring in a post here before?  I think I've shown it lots at least but it's very special to me as it belonged to my Granny.  The necklace is a wee cheap one from Forever 21, I love the opalescent crystal in it.

 As for the brownies?  My first batch were yummy and dense and chocolatey (if I say so myself!)  The Hummingbird Bakery recipe book hasn't failed me yet.

Now I have to not eat any more chocolate in preparation for Easter Sunday.  I gave up fizzy drinks for Lent and it hasn't been that difficult but I am looking forward to a rose lemonade at the end of this week very much!

Have a lovely week.

xox