A Delivery from Matches

A lot of people (myself included) shop online but say that it'll never really give the enjoyment that actually rummaging in the rails gives. Digging around to find a bargain, being able to try something on, and most importantly getting the item straight away without having to way 3-5 days is all very appealing. But you know what? If every online retailer provided the experience Matches do, my fling with online shopping would turn into a full blown love affair.

After spotting a bargain JW Anderson t-shirt in their sale (thanks to WIWT's Lust List), I made my first purchase on Matches on a lazy Sunday night's browsing. By Tuesday it had arrived, and I was confused by the size of the box considering I'd only bought one small item. Inside wasn't a delivery, it was a present, something that somebody had lovingly crafted and designed to make my purchase special. I'm a complete pushover for fancy storage and nice boxes, and so this is completely up my street. How beautiful is this?

I was so excited to reveal each layer of the perfectly wrapped box, I almost forgot that my amazing bargain was actually in there too!

And here's a hint of what my top looks like. I'm sure it'll appear in a post soon!

DIY: Finishing a Scrapbook

I'm such a sentimental person. I keep concert tickets, letters, cards, magazine cut-outs, anything that takes my interest, is too pretty to throw away, or has any sort of memory attached to it. I used to stick everything onto my bedroom walls and it would drive my mum insane but I loved it all and wouldn't dare contemplate getting rid of my careful selected treasures. 

But I got older and realised I couldn't carry on living in an Aladdin's Cave of my own personal history, and when I moved out of home I decided to take it all down but not stop collecting those little gems that caught my eye. Instead I started scrapbooking. At the end of 2012 I finished my first scrapbook which has taken a few years to fill up, but as it's all carefully curated it makes it so pretty and means anyone can flick through and find something quirky to peruse.

Left page: Concert tickets and Bestival passes
Right page: My appearance in This is Fake DIY magazine, a pic of one of my fave bands Ladytron, an old railcard, and random magazine clippings

Left page: Beautiful Christmas cards - bought and handmade,  cinema ticket stub and clothing tags
Right page: VVVintage, photos and more clothing tags

  

Left page: Yup, that's a key card to my old university halls!
Right page: Amsterdam tram ticket stub, Euros, homemade program by Josie Long, flyer for a great boutique in Affleck's Palace in Manchester

I used the scrapbook to save some genuinely personal things too. I like mixing up the things I find inspiring with genuine memories as it makes for more interesting browsing.

My uni friend wrote my name out in Russian and below that a note from my old housemate telling me to help myself to homemade scones

The personalised wrapper for my grandparents' Diamond wedding anniversary

The picture of me that my Grandad put on the homemade bottles of wine he sent me off to university with (I still have the dinosaur teddy but not the fireman's hat sadly!)

Interviewing bands for university radio

Homemade birthday cards

A true Bajan rum punch recipe from our trip to Barbados in 2008

So now this scrapbook is sitting on my bookshelf but it's not relegated to be forgotten about, and it certainly won't gather dust. It will be looked through regularly and I'm looking forward to starting this new one.

Explore: Hollywood Costumes at the V&A

I gave an actual squeak of excitement when I first read about this exhibit. I'm a massive film obsessive, and my bedrooms have always been covered in posters of my favourites. There's still a Breakfast at Tiffany's one in my hallway and I'm on the cusp of ordering the Harry Potter one I featured in my Wall Art post a while ago.

The Hollywood Costumes exhibition is at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, the only museum in the South Kensington tourist hotspot that I've actually never been to. 

Scarf: Oasis
Coat: Warehouse

Hat: Portobello Road market
Blazer: River Island (now in the sale!)
Shoes: Zara
Vest top: H&M

 Photography is not allowed in the exhibition which is such a shame as we saw some amazing costumes. It's hard to believe that they are the real ones that have been worn by such famous stars in huge films. There were dresses from some of the most glamorous stars on the silver screen including Audrey Hepburn's Givenchy dress from Breakfast at Tiffanys, Vivien Leigh's red velvet gown from Gone With The Wind, and the dress Sugar Kane (Marilyn Monroe) wears on Shell Oil's boat in Some Like it Hot. 

There were more contemporary outfits as well, including Harry Potter's Gryffindor uniform, Jack Sparrow's pirate garb, and the Blue Brothers' suits. The piece de resistance is the real ruby red slippers worn by Judy Garland in Wizard of Oz (which my clever friend got a sneaky pic of). As it's one of my favourite films of all time I was so excited!

The exhibition is on until the 27th January and tickets are really limited (hence why I was there on New Year Day, helloooooo hangover!). But if you can't get tickets, don't worry, they have a David Bowie exhibition coming up soon, hooray!

What I Wore to... New Years Eve 2012

2012 was the year I finally moved out of a shared house with strangers and moved in with one of my best friends who I've known for over 10 years. We moved in in August but never got around to having a housewarming, so we decided to have a New Years Eve gathering instead. We may not have been going out, but that didn't mean I wasn't going to dress up!

Dress: Topshop (similar without sparkle here)

New Year is all about sparkle! This year I had it on my dress, jewellery and nails. I don't always wear long sleeves in dark colours as sweat patches are my common enemy, but the stretchy material of this dress didn't let that happen! I've never worn a midi length dress either as I worry about looking a bit dowdy, but with glitter I figured that wouldn't be the case. What do you think?

Ring: Vintage
Nails: Avon Nailwear Pro+ in Midnight Green and Avon Colortrend in Gold Flecked

I brought out my new favourite Tatty Devine necklace that just seems to conveniently go with everything, and it allowed me to wear a completely different coloured heel as they matched one of the colours in the necklace.

Necklace: Tatty Devine

Stilettos: Dorothy Perkins

 I think next time I will try pairing the dress with a belt, and if I'm going out then with a clutch bag too. 

I hope you all had a great new year!

Life: December 2012

The last month of the year was pretty busy, with lots of food and drink. I had the worst cold after Christmas but as you can see, a Wonder Woman onesie cheered me up to no end!

Making gingerbread
Caryn Franklin at Clothes Show Live
Champagne on New Years Eve
Upgraded to a better room while working in Birmingham

Team Onesie on Christmas day
Treated myself to an early Christmas present
Mulled wine in the slow cooker
Reindeer in Finchley (of all places!)

Amazing dim sum and adorable spoon holders at Hakkasan
My parents and grandparents on Christmas day
The amazing Dr Who fabric my housemate bought me for Christmas
6 nail varnishes for £10 from Models Own at Clothes Show Live

Scallops and bacon at Hix Soho
Trying a new skincare regime with Dermalogica
Christmas jumper nail art
Good question in Soho

Christmas dinner
Baubles on our tree
Teamwork!
We found a chaise longue in the toilet on our Christmas do!