happy new year!

one little teeny tiny post before 2009 bows out.
and while I get ready to hit town.
boohoo, it was a good year, a much better friend to me than some of the other double Os.
and bloody hell, I feel like I've grown a lot too.
so, to all of you, A VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR my lovelies!
have a splendid night whatever you do and most of all enjoy it without ridiculous expectations.

I'd also like to send new years vibes and cuddles to my dearest abby. christmas has been mad and it's been hard to find the time to catch up with her, so darling, have a fantastic one whatever you're doing. champagne in the bath again, perhaps? here's to 2010, I haven't told you this yet, but this time in around 3 months, I think I'll be by your side!

and now a little something for the rest of you, some wise words, these were from my chinese fortune cookie last New Years and I've had it blutacked to my bathroom wall since so I may mull it through my head while I brush my teeth: 'don't give up. don't lose hope. don't sell out.'

HAPPY NEW YEARS!

up north

i'm going to be spending a couple of days in the lakes with my dad and his dysfunctional side of the family. this should be interesting...

rather looking forward to the train journey up though; 5 hours of eating sandwiches parcels (turkey, gherkin and mayo, undefeated best combination), listening to the mix cds I received for christmas, finishing my book and starting the next one and watching the countryside whiz by.

back in a couple of days!

wow

i think lara stone has competition in the brigitte bardot lookalike stakes..
toni garn as the kitten in germany vogue jan 2010

images, fashionising.com

shortcuts

julianne moore in robert altman's 'shortcuts'

merry christmas!

advent season: day twenty three: girl crushes

advent season: day twenty two: admitting defeat

I think it's high time I admit that this years 'advent calendar' didn't quite go according to plan.
yes, working a stupid amount (topshop is exceedingly busy over christmas, don't you know) combined with bro daycare has taken it's toll and as a result all of those fabulous seasonal posts I had on my mind didn't quite come to fruition.

ever wish you had a hermione granger style multitasking machine? my to-do lists are never completed, no matter how hard I try! I know everybody is in the same boat, things get mad in the run up to christmas so this post is partly me talking aloud to myself and partly a reminder to all of you that people work themselves too hard these days. we can't do everything, so put some things on the backburner this christmas and give yourself a chance to really relax. properly relax-turn off the computer. sit, lie, think, clear your brain, stop stimulating it.
'ommmm'.
lecture over.

advent season: day nineteen: velvet dress

So a few weeks back I found this velvet dress in one of my local charity shops.
It was floor length, but after a couple of snips and rounds at the sewing machine from my lovely Granny I now possess a matching minidress and skirt.

Working at Topshop I am accustomed to seeing body conscious Velvet dresses on a daily basis, and I've been kind of over the whole super-tight-super-sexy velvet look look, but the loose fit of this one is so very cosy and I like that it is quite Cranberries-esque in that simple, slightly baggy way. It's a great go-to outfit during this cold weather when paired with 120 denier tights (brr!) and a slouchy cardigan.

advent season: day eighteen: christmas do

here are some snaps from the Topshop Christmas Do a couple of weeks back.
I have to say, this party had nothing on last year's.
drama was restricted- no throwing of flower pots, no boss passed out on the sofa and being ever so elegantly carried out at the end (oh dear..)
I bowed out pretty early on and felt smug to be all curled up in bed just after midnight.
I hear that I missed the conga and some tears from one of the managers though.

advent season: day seventeen: ink

i've never had myself down as much of a tattoo kind of person. I was always of the view that if something was important enough you shouldn't need it tattooed to your skin as a way of proving it's significance because it was part of you anyway. And I considered how tattoos must 'date'-how could you be sure that you wouldn't feel the same way about a tattoo as a haircut from ten years ago; that you loved the style so much at the time but in hindsight dislike the aesthetic? however, of late these little thoughts have become less important and I've been thinking about tattoos. nothing serious, but they've certainly been on my brain. one of my best friends is really into them and has religious iconography planned for her arms. she's also just settled on some Hole lyrics to have inked onto her as she's just split from her long term boyfriend. here are some of the tattoos that tickle my fancy. all small and minimal as the armful of ink look isn't very me. a simple line drawing of a deer, maybe an initial behind the ear or the nape of the neck, perhaps three words across the inside of the arm.

i've been fantasising with the idea of getting something teeny tiny inked onto me when I go to america next year. something on the road to signify an important year maybe.

when it comes to tattoos, what are your views?