autumn jewels

My mum and sister came to visit this weekend, and I got this lovely Zara jacket as a birthday present from my Grandad (hint: he didn't pick it out). I love it so much and it's really complimented by the autumn colours in this picture and the fallen leaves all over the city. And, since most of my clothes are black, I can wear it all the time! I've wanted a baroque print jacket like this for ages and I love the way it fits as well. The gold chain is from Primark and the heeled shoes are Topshop. 

I'm wearing my new lipstick as well, 'starry eyed' by Rimmel. I think the colour ties in well with the rest of the outfit and is a great colour all round for Autumn!

The last picture is of a gorgeous little bracelet my sister made for me for my birthday. I love the jewel tones of the beads. What a great addition to my already oversized jewellery collection!

cats and sailors

excuse my face in this one

and the blurriness of this

woolly hat Zara // white shirt Bershka // denim jacket Levi's (my boyfriend's) // black shorts Zara // boots Zara

On my second day here, we walked down to the port through this derilect street. Twenty years ago it was home to prostitues and sailors, but now the population is mainly made up of cats. Apparently the whole street burned down and no one ever bothered to rebuild t, but just painted the outsides pretty colours so it wouls look a bit nicer. Altough it makes for a cool place to take pictures, being on the street was pretty eerie. The vegetation slowly taking over the houses, and abandoned warehouse with shelves still piled high and cats eyes watching from the dark interiors all add to the uneasy feeling. I'm just glad we waited until after Halloween to come here!

I love the way this jacket looks with the clean white shirt. How upsetting that I have to leave it behind today! I'll also attempt to dress less head to toe in Zara in my next post...

windswept travels

black leotard Penneys // side split maxi skirt Zara // brown leather boots Zara // necklace second hand // rings Topshop, vintage

I'm falling in love with this colour (burgundy?) for Autumn. It's so lovely that I bought a skirt and then some nail varnish and lipstick to match . It's a great versitile colour to wear with other rich Autumn/Winter colours, and of course, the biggest component of my wardrobe, black. The skirt is such a great piece to layer over opaque tights in the cold. It's really windy here and I loved the way the wind made the skirt biloow out behind me as I walked; it makes the cold weather more exciting.


This weekend I'm visiting my boyfriend in Galicia. Where I live is pretty far inland so it's great to be near the sea agiain. Yesterday we visited this little park near the harbour which is home to some nice greenage and lots of peacocks. These are just a few quick snaps of my outfit and the skirt which I'm sure will become a staple in the coming months :)

venus in furs

A few a few days after my arrival in Valladolid the weather started getting colder and colder, which was actually quite nice as I love getting all wrapped up- as long as it doesn't rain! I also got a chance to wear some of the lovely things I'd picked up at Camden Stables market in London.

I absolutely adore this faux fur coat from one of the vintage shops. The fact that it has a zip makes it a little more casual so I can wear it every single day and it is just so cosy. Beautiful and practical, an elusive but winning combination! 

The candy apple shoes are also a favourite. They're probably the comfiest things I've ever had on my feet. I got them in a little shoe shop in the middle of the market from an old man who was just too nice to say no to. They were the only size 5 pair on the stall so it was probably fate or something. They are Church's which (I was told) would usually be around £300 but whatever deal the guy had with them I picked them up for a lot less! They're perfect with jeans and dark colours for winter and I think they compliment my jacket very well!

This vintage silk head scarf is a cute and colourful alternative to a hat, keeping your ears nice and toasty when worn like this but also versatile as it can obviously be worn around your neck like a normal person wears a scarf. How good am I getting at making practical purchases!?

london and goodbyes!

I've been really crap at updating the blog because I've been making the tough but exciting transition   from Ireland to Spain and my last couple of weeks were spent rushing around trying to say goodbye to as many people as possible. I'm moving to Spain for a year to study in Valladolid and I arrived here on Saturday. The weather was gorgeous but it's been getting steadily colder ever since.

I spent two days in London with my mum and sister before I left which was lovely but we stupidly forgot to bring a camera so here are some poor quality pics of me overlooking the Thames :) 

I absolutely love these shoes that I got in Dublin last week, and was over the moon when I found out they were reduced from €55 to €25; what a bargain!

navy shirt dress french connection // black blazer shore leave @ urban outfitters // silver space shoes river island // bag white stuff

collar and crosses

collared shirt awear // navy sweatshirt penneys men's // necklace newlook (my sister's)

Very tired after a day entertaining children. My ears hurt.

some cool things.

 I ripped the sleeves off an old Penney's denim jacket, dyed it black and studded the collar. Looks groovy but I find it difficult to wear because of the constant need for long sleeves in an Irish summer. Hopefully it will get more use in Spain!

I got these bad boys for 1.99 in a knick knack shop in Westport. Originally bought them for my 6 year old sister who's a stylish gal, but had to get another pair for myself. Why? Who knows. Plus they have UV protection according to the sticker, so the tiny portion of my face that they do cover will be protected. Yay!

So basically this random middle aged guy in work called me over and smiled and winked as he offered me something from his closed hand. Obviously I thought it was a tip and said a big over the top thank-you-so-much, only to discover my tip was in fact this tiny little Canada flag-badge. I don't know what he meant by it but it's still pinned to my jacket. Maybe I should collect more from different countries and stud the jacket like I did with the one above. New mission.

fairy dust

So I once again go bored of a pair of shoes. I bought these when (I thought) I was rolling in it but never really liked the colour. I liked the shape so got them anyway. I've worn them about 3 times so I decided to change them! Because I'm having a bit of a gold moment I thought that would work nicely, plus I love using this amazing gold paint. It's like using fairydust. You sprinkle some gold dust into the tin, mix it with their special 'Judson's medium', which sounds very mystical and interesting, and it turns into liquid gold! The best part is, because of its oil base you can use it on almost anything. Even 'TV and radio grills' boasts the box. So that's how old it is. Anyway, after an hour of fiddly painting, tah dah! My crappy coral shoes were transformed into shining gold wedges! Thank you Judson, whoever you are!

...after writing this, I realise it sounds like a shitty ad for Judson's gold paint. I assure you it's not, I just get way too much enjoyment from using old fashioned products like this. What, you have to mix it yourself? Oh how darling and quaint and VINTAGE!

lazy days

My boyfriend got me this Banksy-ly clad jumper as a present from a stall in London a couple of years ago. The leggings are from the boringly accessible New Look. Perfect comfy clothes for lying-on-the-couch-chic.

On a somewhat related side note, I can't stop buying leopard print. Am I going to look back in years to come and think 'wow what a stylish and fashion forward individual I was' or wonder who the let me spend THAT much money on various types of animal prints printed onto various fabrics on various items of clothing. I don't think I care. I'm gonna keep working it until I look in the mirror and mistake myself for a jungle cat. That's when I'll know.

lost

Mad women

Being an unemployed student on holiday has inspired me to take pretty pictures instead of sitting at home all day waiting for everyone to come home 40s housewife style.