Wardrobe Weekly Pre-Christmas Edition

The last Monday before holiday

 I LOVE THIS DRESS!

It's so comfy and lovely and I look forward to wearing it every Christmas!

 We had our annual department bonding session and went to see the Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition in the Natural History Museum. It was amazing, I recommend it very very highly. SO beautiful!

 One of my favorite buildings in London.

 Ahhhhh carousel!

 Ice rink Christmas tree!

Dress 20 - Primark (old old old!)

Leggings 20 - Primark

Boots - Asos

The last Tuesday before holiday

 This is another one of those dresses that I didn't realise how much I love until putting it on this month. Oddly it's also from Lovedrobe!

 The colour is just beautiful, a sort of pale mint green.

 The crochet bodice is what I love. I think they had this style in black and blue too, if you see one on ebay then snap it up because it's ace - size up at least once though!

 Dress 26 - Lovedrobe

Cardi 18 - Dorothy Perkins

Leggings 22 - Very / South

Boots - Simply Be

The last Wednesday before holiday

Daytime!

 Ahhhhh the last day at work until January 5th! So so SOOOO very good! Over 2 weeks with no commute!

 So this was a two outfit day. We went to Meat Liquor for lunch so I wasn't going to wear my party dress during the day (I always spill in Meat Liquor - it's so fecking dark in there that I can barely see my food let alone get it in my mouth!) so here is OOTD-1.

We had cocktails! Henrietta Fizz is the best one. We tried the XXXmas burger and XXXmas dog. The dog was okay but the burger was yummy - like the best Christmas left-over bap ever!

 T-shirt & Cardi 20 - Primark

Trousers 22 - Dorothy Perkins

Boots - New Look

Evening!

 I finally have this dress! It seemed like a good choice for my works Christmas Party!

 It quickly got silly....

 Then I started dancing.....

 Look how jealous my boyfriend is of my moves.

 I always run towards the camera like a maniac. I don't know why!

 I had to include Sam because I loved her outfit. Her dress is from YMC (she LOVES ymc), and I wish I could get this kind of dress in plus size!

She is so damn HOT!

Dress 26 - Lovedrobe via Simply Be

Bracelet, tights, clutch - Primark

Shoes - Ecco

Thursday FIRST DAY OF HOLIDAY

Wrapping Christmas presents and watching Christmas films was my main job today!

I bummed around in one of my new Primark jumpers! 

 Well warm and snuggly!

 I made my first ever spinach and feta pie!

It came out rather well considering I made up the recipe and have never cooked filo pastry before!

 Jumper 20 - Primark
Jeans 22 - Dorothy Perkins
Trainers - Nike

Friday

 

I'm afraid that there are no outfit pics from now on because I've been busy making a stupid amount of Christmas food! This is our faux Christmas Eve meal - Devilled eggs, black forest ham & cream cheese canapés, cheese and pickle sausage rolls and maple pecan salad. All of this is so easy.... 

• Devilled eggs are just boiled eggs - take out the (fully cooked) yolks and mash them up with mayonnaise, Worcestershire sauce, English mustard, pinch of salt and a touch of agave syrup (or a tiny bit of something sweet for balance, pich of sugar would be fine!) then put the mixture back in the the eggs.
• Sausage rolls are just pre-rolled puff pastry (unfurled and cut down the middle length-ways) filled with a mixture of good quality sausage-meat - I buy Sainsburys taste the difference myself - which has been mixed up with a generous grating of cheddar cheese and a generous tablespoon of Branston pickle! I spread it out thinly in a (surprise surprise!) sausage shape down each half of the pastry then you can wrap the pastry round the meat to make two massive long sausage rolls. Chop them up into sensible sizes then bake them at 180 for about 20-25 minutes. So good. SO much better than bought sausage rolls and totally mouth watering when they're still warm from the oven!
• The Salad is from the Nigella Christmas Kitchen book but I can't find it online so I'll just put it up here... well easy! Bit of Garlic oil in a frying pan, cook up some pancetta, add in some pecan nuts when it's started to crisp, then splash in some maple syrup and let it coat everything. Take the pan off the heat and leave it for a minute or two then put in a dash of vinegar - cider / white wine / sherry vinegar is best but whatever you've got I reckon! *If you put the vinegar in when the pans still very hot it will evaporate and trust me, vinegar fumes will choke you, so let it cool just for a minute or two!* Stir it all into a big bowl of spinach just before you serve it. Best salad ever!

Top shop are refunding me for the necklace that arrived in pieces so I decided to try to make something out of the remnants - It's not long like the original, but wearable I think!

Saturday

Today was the big faux day! I defrosted our little Turkey in it's brine bath overnight and then opened presents with my boyfriend before making Christmas dinner!

 I got some Simply Be leather knee-high boots, the Asos Dress I once sent back and then regretted sending back (you'll see both of these as an outfit post soon!) and these earrings that have pretty much been on my personal wishlist for two years! They're estrogen molecules, so very very cool. I also want one of her chocolate molecule necklaces!

I made stock with the turkey giblets (simple - fry the giblets in butter for a few minutes, add an onion, some celery, some carrots and a bay leaf then add water and leave to simmer for a few hours..... or you could just use a stock cube!). P's anything that goes in the oven gets it's own foil tray so we don't have to wash up too much on our holiday!

So there we have the feast!

• Turkey
• Cranberry sauce
• Bread Sauce
• Pigs in Blankets - good quality chipolatas wrapped in smoked streaky bacon!
• Devils on horseback - Prunes soaked in sherry, stuffed with stilton and wrapped in pancetta or bacon! baked for about 25 minutes with the pigs in blankets, both of which are so good dipped in the bread sauce that I kept eating them while cooking everything else!
• Stuffing - Small Pantone blitzed into breadcrumbs (I use the sort that has fruit in it and you can get a small one for £1 in Lidl!), 1 onion, 1 stick of celery and 1 eating apple finely chopped (I do it in my food processor), mixed with good quality sausage meat and some pancetta & chestnuts that have been fried off in some butter. I've tried many home-made stuffings and this is by far my favourite!
• Red Cabbage - chopped red cabbage, one apple (cubed) and one sliced onion. Splash of water, generous glug of balsamic vinegar and a spoon of sugar - in a pan with the lid on, cook low for 1-2 hours, mixing occasionally!
• King Edward potatoes, parsnips and carrots all par-boiled then roasted in goose fat.
• Brussel Sprouts - halved and boiled for about 4-5 minutes so still crisp.
• Gravy - Turkey juices mixed with flour / tomato puree / dark soy sauce / allspice / redcurrent jelly / mustard, splash of port and the turkey stock I made in the morning.

Blimy, I'll need to eat nothing but fruit and veg in January to recover from this, but it's so worth it!

My next post will be my family Christmas, in which I will be doing no cooking, but I will have to get properly dressed for!
xx

Wardrobe Fortnight

 Monday

A bit of classic Bet Lynch leopard print number to start the week!

 

 I curled my hair a bit and thought I'd take  picture before it all went a bit limp!

 I managed to find a day that wasn't to rainy to wear my old suede shoes. I hate going to work in the morning in the rain, I hope the crisp winter days arrive soon and leave the gloomy grey rain behind!

 Dress 22 - E1 from Simply Be

Leggings 20 - Very / South

Shoes - New Look

Tuesday

 Casual Tuesday! I wanted to wear the vintage tweed jacket i picked up in my local charity shop recently. I like the masculine feel of it, but I have to admit that it looks better with my hair up!

 Jacket size? - Vintage

My little pony jumper 20 - Primark

Jeggings 22 (tall) - Dorothy Perkins

Boots - Asos

Wednesday

More Vintage!

 I did my hair in plaits then pinned them behind my head for a lady-like look!

 My colleague took these pictures, which is why I have so many silly pictures....

 Great skirt......

 Getting silly......

 Still silly.......

 Crisp me, blurred background?! SKILLS Sam!

 Rediculous.

Dress Size? - Vintage

Leggings 20 - Primark

Boots - Asos

Thursday

 I totally forgot to take a picture of my outfit at the Anna Scholz sample sale, but Basically I was head to toe in Asos Curve!

SPOOKY FRIDAY!

 Fangs - Scarecrow (best fangs you can get, they look pretty real!)

Jumpsuit 24 - Boohoo

Flips - Crocs

 Fangtastic.

 I was home on Friday to take delivery of this - the greatest bed in the world. Drawers at the back, ottoman at the front and a proper massive mattress. Silentnight for the win! This came from Carpet Right and it's the first time in history that the purchase & delivery of a bed has gone smoothly. I recommend them!

Saturday

 So frigging dark that you can see the trousers, but just a super comfy outfit for a lazy day!

 Top 22 - Barbara Hulanicki for George

Trousers 20 - Swan / Evans

Monday

 I had a bit of a low key work event to go to on Monday night so i wanted to look smart.

 I wore my brand new Anna Scholz double silk dress. It's goddamn delicious!

 These are the boots I got last year from Yours clothing. Their XXL size knee highs are a great fit but they have zero padding so I will put insoles in before wearing them again.... MEGA sore feet by the time I got home!

 Dress 22 - Anna Scholz White Label

Leggings 22 - Very / South

Boots - Yours clothing

Tuesday

 So it seems like Tuesday is my casual day?!

 To be fair, my feet were so achey after wearing those boots yesterday that I wanted to wear my most padded footwear, so I had to dress to match my hi-tops!

 Again, it's hard to see because of the lame lighting, but the jeggings are the new look high-waisted acid wash ones. they ride down a little bit, but they're generally comfy!

 Jumper 20 - Primark

Jeggings 24 - New Look

Hi-tops - Nike

Wednesday

 I had totally forgotten about this skirt.... I decided to wear the jumper and then wasn't sure about which skirt. Went to the wardrobe and was like LEATHER!

Jumper 20 - Primark

Skirt 26 - Asos Curve

Legings 20 - Primark

Boots - Asos

 I was at the V&A on Wednesday morning to see the Horst Exhibition

 I really enjoyed it, definitely worth a look. The huge collection of vintage Vogue magazines are very cool!

I want this dress please!

 It has become a tradition for me to buy some cheap jewellery from the V&A shop every time I visit. They always have cool stuff for under a fiver. I couldn't resist the cutlery earrings (this other one is a spoon!

 In other (important) news, Marks and Spencers have outdone themselves with this years Christmas sandwich selection!

Thursday

 I still love this shirt, it's so frigging awesome!

 Brilliant Asos Curve Jeans. SO glad I bought these!

 Comfy casual!

 I thought I'd actually include my coat in this too, because I don't wear it very often - just because the sleeves aren't full length and there's no collar so I can't wear it when it gets properly cold, but it's quite thick so I can't wear it in the warm weather! Love it though, it's beautiful!

 Shirt 24 - George

Jeans 22 - Asos Curve

Shoes - Asos

Coat 20 - Anna Scholz

Bag - Dorothy Perkins

 I accidentally bought another Christmas t-shirt from Primark. whoops!

Friday

 Granny chic!

 Pretty vintage dress for a mild Friday.

 This is an old favorite that I got in my hometown.

 Dress size? - Vintage

Leggings XL - H&M

Shoes - Charity shop

Saturday

 On Saturday I did something that I very rarely do - I went to a blogger event! TK Maxx are working on their plus size offering (I bet some of you didn't even know TK Maxx sold plus size did you?!) and wanted to discuss our wants and needs as plus size customers. It was so nice, and I think we put forward a compelling argument as to why they should put plus size into more (hopefully ALL) of thier stores! Here are the lovely Caroline and Leah!

 Georgina.... drool-worthy hair huh?!

 I wish I could remember what Naomi was gesturing about... it was a funny afternoon! You can also see the lovely Hollie and Georgina!

 The always fabulous Mrs Bebe took my outfit pics for me, which is why I'm pissing about again!

 We had such a lovely afternoon, and It has to be said... we pretty much all had the same opinions about what we want to be able to buy on the high street!

 The ladies from TK Maxx were genuine and lovely. Sometimes you can tell when people are really working hard to make their customers happy, and I really look forward to being able to shop in TK Maxx again.... something I haven't been able to do since I was in my early 20's (before they removed the plus lines from loads of the stores!).

 Dress 24 - Anna Scholz Black Label

 Necklace - Black Heart Creatives (bespoke!)

Boots - Simply Be

 3 bloggers and a big mirror. It was bound to happen!

 I went home to my love, full of afternoon tea treats....

 .... and changed into boohoo joggers and a Primark jumper almost immediately! Lush day.