Winter survival – Stay warm, stay pretty

Just an odd ball of a post here. With the bad weather I have decided to share some tips I find make my life easier during the darker times of the year.

Make the effort – I’m not going to lie to you, but during this time of the year if I’m at home, I will be most likely wearing some indoor velour track suit (indoor, being the operative word here. This items is NOT to be worn outside your front door, don’t make me repeat this ladies!). On other occasions I go for my beloved Garfield pyjamas, or some kind of multilayer ensemble rounded off by my leopard print robe… very sexy…not. However, depending on your lifestyle you may want to make the effort and wear something you would like others to see. For yourself, for your own happiness. Wear the expensive mascara or add a brooch to that thick jumper. The winter blues is a harsh bug and is very easy to catch. Avoid it like the plague, my dears.

Be realistic about your shoes – If there’s snow outside, don’t wear suede, and those thin business shoes, pack them away, dude. If there is ice, leave the high heels indoors. As much fun as watching other people slip and slide may be, it’s ultimately dangerous and pretty rubber boots, rough military style booties and anything else with a strong and thick gripping sole will work wonders. This winter I’m swearing by my New Look utility boots. Best buy this season.

 If raining, fake fur coats and bags are a pointless tragedy, because nobody should look like a wet dog.

If your “puffa” coat is more than 5 years old maybe consider that certain fluo colour combinations are best erased from this earth.

Finally, moisturise like there’s no tomorrow – add some perfumed oils to you bath, drink lots of warm tea, spice up the weekend with some chocolate and start planning some sort of spring break, you deserve it.

What are your tips for winter survival?

Pictures: Fashion Limbo

Merry Christmas!!!

It’s finally Christmas!!! Shopping frenzy over, travelling chaos hopefully too (God knows where I am now!) and hopefully you are with your loved ones. If not, love yourself more than ever and do whatever makes you smile. Treat yourself or treat someone else to a good time. Today of all days is the time to show some love and do it in style.

Thanks for reading, for commenting and being there. Christmas hugs all around and I hope to talk to you soon, xxx

Picture: Fashion Limbo

The small rant – A pet for Xmas

Please excuse the randomness my dears,

This is my dog. That killer beast up there. He is a mix, a mongrel, a cross breed. He has the face and ridiculous length of a miniature dachshund, but with longer legs, he is most likely crossed with a Manchester terrier. I adopted him 4 and a half years ago from the South of Spain. Since that day he has hardly left my side.
Why am I telling you about this smelly little beast? How is it that a four-legged creature is the subject of a post in my fashion blog? no, I’m not planning to make him into a bag or more likely a clutch (I told you he was a miniature). I just wanted to share with you what I got with €100 of adoption fees.

I got a huge responsibility. I got a pain-in-the-ass-dog that has to be walked at least twice a day, even if it rains or snows. I got a hairy child that will wake me up in the middle of the night if there is stormy weather, and won’t let me go back to sleep until I let him lie next to me. I got a stubborn creature that almost destroyed a framed picture signed by Alanis Morissette because he didn’t want to be left alone that day.

But mostly, I got a loyal companion that manages to make me laugh when  I’m sick, when I’m lonely, when I’m sad. He will lick my tears, clown around and nudge me in the face with his wet nose until I stop crying and start smiling. That’s what I got the day I adopted a homeless dog.

A dog is not just for Christmas. It’s for life – and that’s a true blessing.

And speaking of nice things, what is on your Christmas list?

Picture: Dieter Quaghebeur

The Rant – Christmas shopping, I hate you

I do, I despise you – but I know, I’m not the only one. Christmas shopping is one of those dreaded “festive” activities, together with wearing the sad jumper your mother bought you last year – you know the one, the red one with snowflakes on it. To be honest, I’m not one of those with an Excel spreadsheet to organise who is getting what, but every year there are some presents that “I have to get” and inspiration, energy and money are just too scarce.

I personally believe Christmas would be much better without the obliged gift exchange, because that’s what it is, obliged. If someone presents you with, some festive tea towels wrapped in some fancy paper, you must produce the expected “grateful”, albeit fake, smile and reciprocate with at least some oven mittens.

I know I’m risking being called the next Ebenezer Scrooge, but sometimes we tolerate some truly ridiculous behaviour in the name of Santa – and he couldn’t care less:

• The secret exchange of the perennial gift: When one relative gives you a hideous present, and you decide to pass it along to someone else, hoping THEY will appreciate it, but really just trying to get rid of the abomination. I’ve seen it happen. I’ve actually witnessed someone (no names here, although I should really out you) receive a gift from one sibling, when she once had given that same item to another sibling, 2 years before.

• The Christmas shopping rage: Because how many broken items can one find on a shop shelf? How many baskets abandoned in shop corners due to the last minute rush? Because how many ladies have exchange “I will kill her” glances when the one at the front of the queue demands for the gift to be preciously wrapped, 5 minutes before closing time, on Christmas eve?

• The Christmas shopping road rage: normally combined with alcohol, or way too many liquor-filled chocolates. It’s a true nightmare and so many of us contribute to it by ignoring public transport and having the splendid idea to drive to the shopping centre. Oh. Joy.

• The online delivery stress: this one is a new phenomenon as we also leave this type shopping to the last. Together with bad weather and an increase in demand makes us utter the “you gift hasn’t arrived yet” shameful excuse, and curse at the postman when he finally shows up with the parcel three days after New Year.

And to think all of this could be avoided if we did no Christmas gift shopping. We would have more money, more energy and be truly more relaxed. I say we ban it completely and make stores open for cocktail and cake hour every day on the lead up to Christmas. Now wouldn’t that be festive?

Now if you excuse me, I have some gifts to wrap… oh and don’t get me started on wrapping 😉
How about you, anything you’re dreading from the crazy yet jolly season?

Inspiration: Red is the colour

Now, not that I like to bring on things early, but with all the snow outside and the cold temperatures… is it wrong that I’m already working on my Christmas playlist? that all my decorations are up and that I’m planning my outfits for the festive season? Not really, because it’s December, my darlings, and the colour you should already be wearing is red, red, red.

Red as in the amazing editorial by Pierre Dal Corso for Zink Magazine US (Via TouchPuppet).

Red as in the dress I will be wearing tonight. I made this little sexy beast in the summer of 2009, and I haven’t worn it enough.

Red as in the richest of tones for two or three dresses I’m coveting at Mango. If you need a festive number in that shade this is the place to go. Did I mention that out of the Mango stores I’ve visited in Spain, the UK and countless other countries the one in Namur (Belgium) is the most stunning and deserves a Visual Merchandising award? If a store says “shop, bad girl, shop” that’s, ever so surprisingly, Namur’s – that’s Belgium kicking ass in the sexy store category.

Red as in nail and lip colour. As I’m quite poor these days, I stocked up at Hema, a Dutch store with a lot of pretty cheap things, and shall be wearing these rouge-inspired shades.

And finally red in its most gorgeous incarnation, a red Alfa Romeo. While we wished we had a Giulietta to drive around, we love our 147 and will surely shed a tear when we sell it. Sadly it seems we may be saying good bye to this gorgeous one soon. I think this calls for a minute of silence for the beautifully things we’ve all had to let go of, my dears.

Pictures: TouchPuppet, Fashion Limbo, Mango