Day at the Beach!

We're just back from a beautiful day at the beach!  There is sand all over my face (Sina jumped on it when I was lying down) so in case you were wondering why my complexion looks a little off in some of these pictures, it's actually because there's about 5 cups of sand stuck to my forehead, nose and mouth.

Sina and I paddled, but Albi doesn't like getting wet (surprise, surprise!) so he hung out in the grass!  They look like little monsters when they get all sandy!

...and then Jonathan pretty much went insane.  Hahaha!

I love summer, sea and sand!  I can't wait for it to be proper summer which officially starts tomorrow, right?  Yay!  

What did you do today? 

Stay Stylish!
xoxo

Happy Birthday Albi!

My little boy is two today!  I can't believe it's going to be two years in August since we first got him!  It seems like just yesterday that we brought home that shy and scared little fluffball, and now he's all grown up :)  Albi was so different to Sina, he was always very sensitive and timid...afraid to do anything wrong or make Mommy or Daddy upset.  Sina is a little devil, she rips up shoes, toilet rolls and chews skirting boards, whereas Albi cowers in the corner with his ears down whenever one of us raises our voice.  When Jonathan and I argue, he sits on the staircase and shivers.  Sina grabs a toy and plays with it, oblivious to what's going on!  When I'm upset or cry, Albi slowly comes over with a worried look on his face and gently licks my tears away.  He is also afraid of strangers, and will bark if someone gets too close or freaks him out.  Sina craves attention and races up to anyone for cuddles and a possible treat.  She has even played football with two random men at the park while Albi looked on in absolute terror and disbelief.  When we first got Albi, he hated walks and wanted to be carried most of the way.  Sina needs about 20 walks a day just to calm her down... They are polar opposites and I love that about them.  This is why I am such a dog lover...they are the most amazing little creatures with such distinctive personalities and their intelligence continues to astound me.  I'm sure some people think I'm crazy for celebrating my puppies' birthdays but I don't care, I want to celebrate every single precious year that I have with them because they are two of the most important "people" in my life!

This morning, at the special birthday table!  Sina is in the background going crazy over her new treat.  We got them their first ever jumbones today...of course Albi chewed his for all of five seconds, then left it in his bed.  Sina has been OBSESSIVELY gnawing on hers all day long, determined to get to the centre "marrow" bit!

Om nom nom...

These pictures crack me up!  This is why we have so few photos of Sina, because she can never sit still!  Albi just poses like a pro, whereas she gets all crazy and lunges towards the nearest item of interest...in this case, the birthday cake!  

We had a really lovely puppy party and I'm pretty sure Albi had quite an exciting birthday.  His Oma and aunties came over for the party, bearing gifts and num nums, the sun was shining (very much so!), he ate a few sneaky chicken nuggets and he even got to blow out a candle on the cake (with the help of his mommy!).  Plus the best gift of all is that he now has a little sister and companion which I know is one of the best decisions we've ever made.  They are truly two of the happiest doggies alive!  

Watch what Albi got up to on his first birthday back when we lived in Dublin here!  Jonathan did take a sneaky little video with his phone of us today here, but you will have to wait till tomorrow to find out exactly how the day went! ;)  There are also more pictures on my Facebook if you want to check them out. <3

Stay Stylish!
xoxo

Almost Summer

Yesterday was our first lunch outside this year - yay!  I love eating outside, it really makes it feel like summer's coming!  This was taken on the patio of my parents' house with Erika (my sister).  My mom made a delicious salad for lunch!

I am really loving this sunny weather recently...hopefully I'll get a tan before my wedding :)  My mom even bought me a deck chair for our balcony in Dunnes Stores yesterday, it's actually super comfortable and we are lucky enough that our balcony faces south so we get a lot of sun during the day.  

Pink flowers in a cute little pail!

I spent most of yesterday in my parents' house/garden actually and even ended up giving you guys a little mini room tour of my childhood bedroom (you can watch it here), when Albi surprised me by rushing up the stairs to it and jumping on my bed!  What a clever boy, he knew which mommy's room was :)

Are you looking forward to summer?

Stay Stylish!

xoxo

Shoe Haul! (ASOS)

Finally, the shoe haul you've all been waiting for!  Well, okay maybe not all of you...but certainly some of you :)  I went on a shoe purchasing rampage last week when I wasn't feeling so hot and bought 5 pairs from no other than my beloved ASOS.  I love each and every one of these babies...check them out!

ASOS Lexie Embellished Bow Ballet Pump - Pale Pink - €32.80

These are absolutely adorable, high quality material and very comfortable.  One of the sequins did fall off upon opening the package though :(  But it's not noticeable and can probably be glued back on quite easily!

Lacoste Savoye Ice Skate Mid Heel Ice Skate Boot - Black - €39.36

I got these on sale at a considerably reduced price...and they are amazing!!  I know it's a winter/autumn boot but as soon as I saw them I fell in love.  These are perfect for anybody who's dreamed of being an ice-skater but has never actually skated before...hahaha!  You can live your dreams through these shoes!  Plus they're ridiculously comfortable as they're lined with jersey material on the inside.  Wow!

River Island Teak Kitten Heel Slingback Shoe - Beige - €32.80

I'm not usually a fan of slingbacks because they tend to hurt my feet but these are pretty comfortable so far.  I think they're a great basic and especially if you're on your feet all day! 

ASOS Soul Bow Detail Kitten Heel Shoe - Multi - €45.92

Considering these were the most expensive of the bunch, I'm not hugely impressed!  One of the shoes came with a dark stain on the side of it (probably black dye from the bow detail) and one of the bows was bent upwards.  Having said that the material is nice and soft and I think these will look really cute with black! 

ASOS Saucy Kitten Heel Court Shoes - Nude - €39.36

These are the shoes I wore on Easter Sunday and they're probably the ones I'll get the most use out of being that they're so classic!  I absolutely love them, they make your legs look longer and are such a versatile, neutral colour.  Plus they're so easy to wear without killing your feet!

Let me know your favourite pair!  

Stay Stylish!

xoxo

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter!

It's okay to say Happy Easter on Easter Monday...right?!  I hope all of you had a lovely, chocolate-filled Sunday and that the Easter bunny came to visit!  Mine was very different than the Easter I'm used to, as we were travelling and I was away from my family.

Shirt - InWear, Skirt - ASOS, Shoes - ASOS, Bag - Chloe, Watch - Phosphor
We had an absolutely delicious home-cooked meal at Jonathan's aunt's house, who lives in County Wicklow.  The weather was nice enough to sit outside, and the set-up was beautiful!

A little so 'n so looking for scraps!  

Unfortunately I couldn't get a proper photo of Sina, she was in an extremely hyper mood as she had never been on a farm before.  Hahaha!  Jonathan's aunt lives on what used to be a farm, but as far as I know they don't keep animals apart from chickens anymore.  Her house and garden are amazing...she lives in an old barn that has been renovated into a truly gorgeous house.  I wish I could have gotten some pictures of the inside but instead here are some of the outside!

Albi and Sina had the time of their lives.  The excitement of that much land to run around on was enough to conk them out for the whole drive home that evening!  They even found the sacred "ham water" (the water from the cooked ham that Jonathan's aunt had thrown into one of the fields) and I'm sure that's all they dreamed about tucked up in their little beds all the way to Cork :)

How was your Easter Sunday?  Did you do anything different/special?

Stay Stylish!

xoxo

On the Road Again...

We're on the road again!  Well, actually we're not right now...not since last night but at that point I was too tired to blog!  We are spending our Easter weekend in Dublin.  Easter Sunday is actually Jonathan's grandmother's birthday so we are going to dinner at his aunt's house.  In fact, we have a video of that day last year!  You can watch it here :)

Before we left Cork I got my ASOS order...here's a sneak preview of my upcoming haul!  How cute are these shoes?!?  Ughh...I love them! :)  You can buy them here.

We had actually booked a hotel in Dublin for the weekend, because I got a voucher from the post office when I bought a book of stamps (for the wedding invitations...hahaha I never buy stamps!).  We were going to stay at the D4 Berkeley, and I called ahead about the puppies.  I was told that if they were under 5kg, they're welcome to stay with us.  The D4 Berkeley is advertised as a 4 star hotel, and you can't see much from the website as there isn't a gallery of pictures on there but I'm familiar with the area and we both figured it would be a pretty nice place.  Upon arrival we were immediately charged with an added hidden cost of €61 for Albi and Sina (€20 per pet, not expressed to me when I had phoned ahead!) and an added €10.50 per night for parking.  We actually ended up paying way more than full price, so the voucher was totally useless!  Added to that our room was filthy, grotty and definitely not 4 star quality...I've stayed in B&B's that are nicer than this place.  We were so disappointed...and pretty angry about having to pay such an obscene amount of money... We then found out that we had to pay extra on top of that for BOTH breakfast and dinner.  Needless to say we left the hotel and thankfully we got a full refund.

These were our faces after that whole ordeal.  Haha!  So we ended up having to drive out to Jonathan's sister to retrieve a key to get into his mom's house...what a trek!  The poor puppies were quite ratty at that stage, but I think they were happy to arrive on familiar territory...their grandma's house complete with a nice garden to run around in :)

Today we're going to meet the illustrator of my book, Tarsila Kruse!  I'm so excited...we've never met before and I am in love with her work, she did such an amazing job on the book and I can't wait to meet her in person!

I hope you're all having a nice and relaxing Easter weekend! 

Stay Stylish!

xoxo

Jeans for Your Body Shape!

As a follow-up to my "low rise or high waist?" jeans post, here are my tips on which styles of jeans suit what body types!

The Skinny Jean - Zara

Looks best on: Anyone who is confident about their legs, thighs and hip area!  

Not the best on: Apple shapes, as it can over-emphasise their top-heaviness!

Shoes to wear: Anything!  Heels, flats, tucked into boots.

The Bootcut Jean - Mexx

(okay no, this is not actually a pair of jeans...these are dress pants ;)

Looks best on: Anyone and everyone!  Most flattering style for girls with bigger hips/thighs or short legs.

Not the best on: No-one!  This is the most versatile and easy to wear style of jean.

Shoes to wear: Boots or heels.  

 

The Boyfriend Jean - ASOS

Looks best on: Boyish and apple shapes.

Not the best on: Pear shapes, as they can make your lower body look bulky.

Shoes to wear: Gladiators, caged heels, ballet flats or shoe-boots.

The White Jean - FCUK

Looks best on: Apple shapes, boyish shapes and anyone who isn't afraid to wear them!

Not the best on: Pear shapes and full-figures who are self-conscious about their lower body.  These will make them look bigger.

Shoes to wear: Gladiators or ballet flats in the summer looks cute, but you can wear these with anything depending on the cut and style!

The Jegging - ASOS

Looks best on: Anyone who is proud to show off their lower body!

Not the best on: Apple shapes, again because of the top heavy effect.  Also, anybody who isn't comfortable with their legs/hips/thighs.

Shoes to wear: Ballet flats, heels, oxfords or tucked into boots.

The Flared Jean - Miss Anna

(okay I lied...this is actually just another skinny jean because I don't own a pair!)

Looks best on: Apple shapes, as it balances out the shape wonderfully.  Also boyish shapes and anyone who is tall.

Not the best on: Petite girls or anyone with short legs.  Flared or wide leg pants make the legs look shorter unfortunately :(

Shoes to wear: Wedges look amazing with flared jeans!

I hope this helps!  Don't forget to...

Watch the video here :)

Stay Stylish!

xoxo