I was invited to compile a few of my favourite things for a #Nextmaswishlist - and believe me, it was hard! I love all the home accessories the most but I do find myself frequently browsing the sportswear section too, now I'm working out much more regularly. So what did I pick?
One | First up is the cutest concept for any kitchen. We usually keep our eggs in a little plastic rack in the fridge but why, oh why would I do that when I could store them in this little egg house?! Offering a roof to six little eggies at a time, this cute contraption is top spot on my wish list.
Two | So not exactly extravagant
or Christmassy, but I love the mint/black colour contrast and can you ever really have too many sports bras?
Three | This geometrically deceptive ring would toughen up even the classiest outfit and be equally efficient at adding a touch of sparkle to the straightest, blackest combination. A multi-tasker if ever there was one and a sure cert for my Nextmas wish list.
Four | I am all about wall art this year. Since moving home from uni I've taken every opportunity to put in place some permanent personalisation. I love putting my own stamp on things, so why should the four walls I live in not represent me as well? This tree design would bring any room back down to earth, but has the additional feature of lighting up for those cosy evenings in.
Five | I've always been a fan of the androgynous style and these shoes would pair perfectly with jeans or leggings and a boyfriend coat to give the impression of pure androgyny. Not to mention they're in that gorgeous berry colour that is so on trend for AW14.
Why don't you create your own #Nextmaswishlist?
Jade x
The festivities are my favourite time of year; that much is never in doubt. But instead of sticking up a tree and coating it in tinsel, I thought I would strip Christmas back a bit. I am quite (read: extremely) partial to fairy lights, so Christmas just provides me with even more reason to deck my walls with glowing globules of festive fun. Result. But I didn't want to stop there. I have restricted most of my decorating to one corner of the room, so that functional living can continue (and more importantly, most of my budget is being saved for Christmassy activities instead. Somerset House, I'm coming for ya.)
So, it's all a little understated at the moment, granted. But it's quaint and quirky, and really that's the kind of style I always aim to emulate. I'm still going to try and squeeze a little tree in somewhere but until I do, my mum bought me the cutest little light up snow globe from Tiger which currently has pride of place on my desk.
Happy festivities, people.
Jade x
As seems to have been the trend this year, we effectively had two Christmas days this year. Due to family commitments and weather problems and a whole host of other reasons, our usual family arrangements for Christmas couldn't go ahead so we rallied and had a celebratory get together on the 23rd as well as the 25th.
Both days were full of fun times spent with family but as always went far too fast. It was nice to know for me personally that this will be the last Christmas that I'll spend as a student! I know gift giving isn't the foundation of Christmas but I like treating those I love and it's hard knowing you can't afford to match what you have received. So although the thought that in just one years time I will have graduated and will (hopefully!) have been working for a couple of months is very, very scary, it's also going to be a pretty welcome change. Bring it on!
I could not have been happier with the gifts I did receive - a lot of which were to do with keeping me warm in my house at uni! Perfectly practical! I also received a few DVDs I've been waiting to buy for ages, some new little earrings as I keep losing mine and some little stationery bits (ever the writer!)
Here a few Christmassy snaps, including obligatory yet very appreciative present pictures:
I wish everyone a very happy festive period and a fantastic new year too! I have already decided on my new year's resolution - it'll be making its way into a blog post soon! Let me know any of yours
Jade :)
I paint my nails too often. This is a fact of life and one I am not at all ashamed by! With Christmas literally just around the corner, I thought I'd use some of my presents from last Christmas to create a simple Christmassy NOTD.
I've had a few Christmas related events recently, including a friend's Christmas party last Saturday, a day trip to Winter Wonderland and Oxford Street with one of my closest friends and an early Christmas day with family coming up on Monday. So I wanted some seasonal nail art that would work with multiple outfits and this is what I came up with: the perfect combo of glitz and glamour!
The Gold Mine Glitter and the Gold Foil varnish compliment each other perfectly and it isn't Christmas until there's a splash of glitter! Red is such a festive colour too, so two birds, one stone!
Have you any other Christmas nail art recommendations?
Jade :)
In fact, it would be just as wise
to have called me Lucky for the entirety of last three weeks. Family, food and
festivity: who could ask for more?
Christmas Day was quiet and
understated but I loved spending it at home. Skype is brilliant and we got to
speak to the family we couldn’t see on the day. All the presents I bought went
down a treat and I was incredibly lucky with what I received too (a leopard
onesie, 3 different perfumes and series 1 of Homeland on DVD.) Like I said, you
can call me lucky.
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| In case you needed a demonstration of just how much I love my onesie. |
On top of that, it was our first Christmas in a new house and I absolutely love my room. It's not quite finished yet but it's well on its way and I couldn't be happier. My dog has taken to sleeping under my bed more often than not and I think I'll miss the company when I head back to uni! But I know I have lots to do and lots to look forward to in the next few months.
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| My favourite wall in my new room. |
The luck didn’t quite stretch to
New Year and I came a cropper to what I’ve called festive flu. January will be
seeing me fight both festive flu and festive fat because I have, as I
suspected, overindulged terribly. But I figured since we all made it into 2013
(take that, Mayans) a few extra sweets wouldn’t hurt, right? Although karma is already fighting back. I woke up this morning and what was the first thing I saw in 2013? A spider. Not the nicest thing when you suffer massively from arachnophobia but I figured that it must mean that part of my annual spider quota over (please?!)
Not having internet and spending
the last three days in bed has meant I haven’t been able to blog as much as I would have liked to over this festive period but I have had the chance to spend a lot of time with family and friends nonetheless.
And to finish, a somewhat rare demonstration of emotion. I would like to take this opportunity to wish everyone a happy and healthy 2013 :)
I don't know about anyone else but I am seriously looking forward to the Christmas holidays. I finish university on the 14th December and I can't wait to get home! I think it's partially to do with the fact that between the 11th and the 14th, I have two tests and two essays to do but my family and I are also in the process of moving house which means I get to spend the hols decorating a new bedroom. Yay :)
But since I still have nine (looooong) days to go, I thought I'd spend a bit of time sharing a few of the things I'm most looking forward to during this festive break.
1. Proper food! Okay - so this is technically a chicken burger from a restaurant I had a few months ago but you know what I mean. I cannot wait to have one of my mum's roast dinners - yorkshire puds and stuffing balls make for one happy Jadey.
2. Winter warming. I'm led to believe that our new house has a cute little fire place in the living room which I'm hoping will actually work. If not, I will hit the fan (heater) and slowly freeze to death. My room at uni often feels quite chilly and as a naturally cold person, I can't wait to tuck up in front of a fire and pine about the revision I should be doing instead.
3. This little lady. (The dog, I mean, not the reindeer. Though I do love reindeer's too. Or I would, if my dog hadn't torn this one to pieces. Sorry Rudy.) She's excitable at the best of times but give her a bit of wrapping paper and she goes off the scale.
I'm also looking forward to whacking out the wellies, drinking hot chocolate if it snows and spending hours making paper chains to decorate my bedroom. Simple things, simple minds and all that.
Christmas, feel free to hurry up now.
Well I say spoiling.. what I bought my brother as an early Christmas present didn't exactly push the boat out at £12 but it's the thought that counts, right? Plus this is by no means all I'm planning to get him, I just saw this the other day and was compelled to buy it.
There's always a certain satisfaction with getting Christmas presents sorted early and I think this happens for a couple of reasons. Number one, everything you want is usually still in stock - always helpful. Secondly, it means you're aware of how much money you have left to blow spend wisely at the end of term Christmas night out at the union (if you're me, anyway.)
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| T-shirt: £12 | TK Maxx |
I bought this t-shirt from TK Maxx but the actual brand is Blood Bank who I haven't actually ever heard of but my brother's going through a printed white tee phase and since more than half have scantily clad women on the front, I wanted to ensure my brother stays as classy as it's possible for a teenage boy to be.
I genuinely really like this top too (I have a penchant for boys tees) so if my brother decides that he doesn't like it, I will be more than happy to take it off his hands..
Is anyone else a little bit keen for Christmas already? I heard (or rather Facebook informed me) that the Coca-Cola advert was on telly for the first time so technically I'm allowed to start thinking about Christmas already, right?
I think I've finally taken my organisational skills to a whole new level: I have already got half of my brother's Christmas present. And yes, it's still July.
My brother is a bit of a brands boy so when I saw the Jack Wills sale online, I figured I'd take advantage of it (very, very) early. I'm not a massive buyer of Jack Wills clothing (at my university, it appears to be the sole student divider - I don't know why!) but I've bought tops for my brother before and been very impressed: the colour's lasted and the material has kept its shape.
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| £14 down from £34 - bargain! |
As it'll be winter by the time he receives this (I just need to make sure I hide it well!) I was always planning on opting for a darker colour and I preferred this design to the more simple designs Jack Wills often offers.
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| The full design. |
Otherwise, it's been a pretty average weekend and I've spent a lot of it watching the Olympics! As the t-shirt implies - go Great Britain!
Where do you all stand on Jack Wills? And are you as obsessed with the Olympics as I am?
