Happy New Year

Black Velvet

Dress Ronit Zilkha, Cardigan Topshop, Boots Topshop, Gloves Spartoo

This dress was on ebay last month as I wanted to sell it luckily it did not sell as I have found a new love for it. I love the depth of colour of the embroidered roses on the black velvet background it also looks great teamed with a piece of chunky knitwear I love how you can add knitwear to an evening dress and it automatically works for daytime. I took these pics last week when the snow was still around.

Wow we will soon be saying goodbye to 2010 and welcoming in 2011. I have work tomorrow so it is going to be a quiet one for me. What are you guys up too????

Happy New Year chickens have a good one xoxo

My Turn

It has been super busy at work people have been shopping like crazy in the Christmas sales but yesterday the town was a little quieter and I actually managed to get a full lunch break so it was my time to have a shop I brought this stunning kimono from Topshop check it out here, the gorge tassel bag from Label Lab ohh and the necklace which was not in the sale from Dorothy Perkins they have awesome pieces of jewellery defo worth checking it out here.
I decided to buy bits that I can use in the summer too I am also into feathers at the moment I think they will give a cute boho twist to summer outfits. I am buying every kimono I can find I think they will look fab teamed with cut offs in the summer and I am relying on Toppers for some great ones.

I want to leave you with some inspirational pictures from the Topshop Christmas 2010 Campaign I find these images a great inspiration for my S/S wardrobe even though they are for winter.

Images from Marie Claire

Have you guys brought much in the sales??

Some Sleeve Action

The sleeve is almost complete! A week from today will be my very last sitting for my right arm. And I'm so ready. It's been a little over a year in the making, and it's even better, brighter, and more beautiful than I ever imagined it could be.

Grimm Vinn, my artist, is phenomenal. Besides having massive talent, he's become a pretty good friend, too. I mean, I've spent at least 25 hours or so with him driving a needle across my arm, so we were bound to talk about something. We talked about lots of somethings and found out we have a lot in common.

It's been a fantastic experience. I had a lot of hours under the gun already before going on this new adventure, but this has been different. In so many ways. As much as I'd like to express my visions of art on my own, I can't. I'm a mediocre artist at best. BUT my tattoos help get my message across. They are me. They tell my story.

Home Sweet Home

Some of you guys have been asking for a tour of my home and I am happy to share it with you I am also flattered that you want to see it. This was always going to be a blog about fashion and I suppose the way I style my house is still about my style and tastes. I find my home really comes to life at Christmas time and weirdly enough it was the thought of decorating it for Christmas that made my final decision to buy it. It has some amazing original fire places which I thought would be perfect to hang stockings from. I have designed and painted every part of this house myself. I am going to redecorate the living room this year as it is looking a little tired.

I was also asked where the wallpaper is from all the wallpaper in my house is from Laura Ashley.

Do do do do dee do

I believed in Santa until I was 12. TWELVE! And the only reason why I stopped believing was because one of my mom's friends totally screwed up and told my sister and me. I fought kids tooth and nail for years about Santa, sticking up for the big guy in red. He was REAL. I had seen him with my own eyes when was I was 3 and a half years old. I didn't care what all my friends thought; I knew the truth.

Then in one fell swoop, one sentenced uttered by an adult changed it all.

I recently read a blog post about the possibility of how "lying" to your kids about Santa will affect them. Will they be angry with you? Will they no longer believe other things you talk to them about, such as sex, drinking, and drugs? Will they no longer trust you?

If I'm any indication, the answer is no. I wasn't pissed at my mom in the least bit for keeping the magic, the spirit of Santa alive. I was pissed at her friend! How dare this woman crush my happiness, my hopes, my love of Santa and all-things-giving? Who the hell did she think she was?

For me (and for my husband as well), Santa is the embodiment of giving. He signifies generosity, caring, and compassion. Santa is magic, and we could all use a little magic in our lives.

This year, Santa was a huge hit at our house. It was the first year Ellie really got into it. Santa sent her a voice message and even a video! She went to visit him when we went to my sister's for the day at the Christmas Village in her town. We watched movies about Santa. She told us she knew Santa was watching, so she was trying to be on her best behavior. It was really sweet to see her so taken by the dude, just like I was when I was a kid.

Christmas Eve, we put out cookies and chocolate milk for Santa (because she KNOWS Santa prefers chocolate) and 9 carrots for the 9 reindeer. Ellie said she had to brush her teeth and go to bed NOW or Santa wouldn't come (and I swear we didn't tell her any of this; she got it from all the movies we watched). And the next morning, she asked if Santa had stopped by. Her face opening up each gift and exclaiming, "Just what I wanted!" even when it was a package of socks and underwear (seriously, she did), was just awesome.

It made my heart happy that she was so appreciative. She couldn't believe her luck! Santa really listened to her. She got her Singamajig, the one thing she really, really wanted. And she got a few things she didn't even ask for, like a couple of Barbies and some books. And Mom and Dad got her a bike! How cool! We didn't really go overboard (the bike was under $50!), and that worked out perfectly in the end because she wasn't overloaded and overwhelmed. We were able to open up the toys she got, and she's been playing with all of them the past few days. In fact, they've seen a lot of action because we were snowed in most of Sunday and yesterday.

And it seems her favorite part of the entire holiday weekend was being able to stay home with Mom and Dad and seeing almost the entire family over the course of a few days. She loves having so much family. She gets a kick out of going to everyone's house. It used to be a chore to go to so many places, but now, it's fun. She's no longer a fussy baby, and we don't have to watch her every move. She tends to disappear with her cousins within minutes of us arriving at whatever destination we land, and she emerges a couple of hours later, ready for the next house to hit.

She also got to play in the snow yesterday and go sledding for the first time. Dude, the sledding. She freakin' loved it. She ran in to tell me all about it and how Daddy said when she's 5, she can go on the sled all by herself. Her eyes were shining and her nose was all pink from the cold and her smile nearly ran from ear to year. I love to see that excitement.

This Christmas was the best so far.

Perfect Match

Dress Miss Selfridge, Kimono Topshop, Leggings Topshop, Wedges Blue Inc, Ring YSL

Christmas time is a time to be girly dont you think. I brought this dress so long ago I cant even remember when but I do know that I have never worn it. I knew I wanted to wear my kimono and I also knew that I did not really want to wear pleather trousers at Christmas then I remembered this dress I had to dig it out of the bottom of the cupboard and iron it I think they were made for each other.

I am back to work today the last couple of days have been so wonderful I hate the come down of Christmas oh well at least there are plenty more to look forward too :)))

Christmas through my eyes

Dress John Zack, Jacket Miss Selfridge, Shoes River Island

Dont you just love Christmas such a magical time of year. I got my YSL Arty ring I was so excited to open that NAP box and even more excited when I saw the YSL box looking back at me. As well as the ring I got money, Topshop vouchers :)) some awesome mittens on string and lots more. Cant wait to hear what you guys got.

I so did not know what to wear so I went for my John Zack lace dress kind of fitted my theme.

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Top Thifted, Skirt Ronit Zilkha, Boots Topshop

Christmas Eve is my most favourite time of the year I enjoy it more than Christmas Day I still do not know what I am wearing tomorrow I dont know if I want to get dressed up or just throw on some knitwear and be cozy what are you guys wearing??

So far today I have been listening to Christmas songs and snooping under the tree and look what I found :))).

Anyway guys I want to wish you all a Wonderfully Stylish Christmas full of your favourite things

xoxo

Giselle

Reunited and it feels so good

Back in high school, I was a thespian. Yes, a thespian! Complete with jazz hands and jazz shoes and all that jazz (baaaad joke). We were an unusually large group of individuals ranging from band geeks (oh, how I love me a band geek) to artists to writers to football players (for realz yo). Here we are circa 1995:



This is our production of Jesus Christ Superstar done in period dress (weird since Superstar is normally a portrayal of the last 7 days of Christ set in "contemporary times" AKA late 60s/early 70s a la tie-dye, afros, and bell-bottoms). We're all sporting some extremely unflattering togas, and a good majority of us are barefoot. I'm the fat chick in the red shawl, just right of center. The makeup is heavy for stage effect; I swear we didn't normally go around looking like that.

It's been years since some of us have seen each other, 15 years in fact. We've managed to stay in touch through email and facebook, but we haven't had a gathering for a long time. This year I decided to remedy that.

I set up a reunion at a local bar where a couple members still tend. An event was set up on facebook and about 50 people were invited. Alas, the day arrived at the tail end of November, and we had a wonderful turnout:




Friggin' look at us! We're gorgeous! Seriously, we look fabulous for over 30. It was absolutely fantastic seeing everyone. We all had a great time. And now we're hoping to set something up (reoccuring) this summer. I've already offered my house for a shindig, so I'm gonna make it happen. A few people that live out of state said they may be able to make a summer meetup, so that has me super excited, too.

I'm so glad I decided to do this. I never got a high school reunion of any kind, and in the end, it was this group that I really wanted to see. Since we're all from different graduating years, there was no other way we would have ever been at a regular reunion together. This, THIS, made me happy.

Let the festivities start

Trousers Topshop, Top New Look, Hat Claires Accessories, Boots H&M

Getting excited for Christmas today is my last day at work then I am off for three days which believe me is really rare so I am going to enjoy them, then it is back to work for the busy rush of the Christmas sales. Oh and I have finally finished my Christmas shopping. I brought these thigh high boots last year from H&M I am a little gutted as Stefenal had the most amazing pair of black thigh high boots and I am a big fan of thigh highs well I was going to wait for the sales as I knew that they would not sell luckily living in a town devoid of fashion means that I get my hands on some fab pieces but sadly they did not sell but got transferred out arghhh. The Michael Kors vest has gone into sale at 40% I am going to wait for a larger discount I want at least 50%.

Some of you guys have been asking who takes my pictures I do with my trusty tripod and self timer that is why location pictures are few and far between would feel mega stupid in public with my tripod.

Book List

I have a healthy list of books I've read in 2010. Most fall in the sci-fi/fantasy/horror category, but that's my meat and potatoes. Here goes:

1. My Sister's Keeper - Jodi Picoult
2. A Lion Among Men - Gregory Maguire
3. The Talisman (reread) - Stephen King/Peter Straub
4. Unaccustomed Earth - Jhumpa Lahiri
5. The Interpreter of Maladies - Jhumpa Lahiri
6. The Time Traveler's Wife - Audrey Neffinegger
7. Dune Road - Jane Green
8. Different Seasons (reread) - Stephen King
9. The Dark Tower: The Fall of Gilead (graphic Novel)
10. Dead and Gone - Charlaine Harris
11. Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins
12. 20th Century Ghosts - Joe Hill
13. Horns - Joe Hill
14. Odd and the Frost Giants - Neil Gaiman
15. American Gods (reread) - Neil Gaiman
16. Dear John - Nicholas Sparks
17. Houses Without Doors - Peter Straub
18. A Dark Matter - Peter Straub
19. A Touch of Dead - Charlaine Harris
20. Catching Fire - Suzanne Collins
21. The Gates - John Connelly
22. World War Z - Max Brooks
23. Skeleton Crew (reread) - Stephen King
24. The Living Dead - John Joseph Adams (editor)
25. Slaughterhouse Five - Kurt Vonnegut
26. Blockade Billy - Stephen King
27. Dead in the Family - Charlaine Harris
28. The Lost Symbol - Dan Brown
29. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? - Philip K. Dick
30. Queen of Babble Gets Hitched - Meg Cabot
31. Marley and Me - John Grogan
32. Frankenstein - Mary Shelley
33. The Tenth Circle - Jodi Picoult
34. Full Dark, No Stars - Stephen King
35. Bloodwork - Michael Connelly
36. Pork Pie Hat - Peter Straub
37. Mockingjay - Suzanne Collins
38. Lovecraft's Legacy: A Centennial Celebration of H.P. Lovecraft - Robert Bloch (editor)
39. The Wailing Wind - Tony Hillerman
40. Black House (reread) - Stephen King/Peter Straub

Not bad. Not my standard book-a-week, but I remember trudging through a few. Some were excellent, others have now sworn me off some authors (I'm lookin' at you, Nicholas Sparks). I'm hoping to hit 50 for 2011. I think I can do it.

My lettter to my 16-year-old self

Hi there,
I'm you. And I'm more than twice your age right now. That's right, I'm old.

You're pretty angsty right now, and well, that's ok. You're 16. You're supposed to be. I'm trying to think right now what you'd like to know, and well, since you're me, just younger, I think you'd want to know everything. Right? Right.

So. Next year, you'll start hanging out with this really great guy. You become extremely good friends in an extremely short amount of time. He helps you get over that other guy, the one you've been pining away for all year (who, by the way, you're still friends with - crazy). He's got some baggage already at a young age, but he's amazing. He really is. And even though he has a girlfriend, it ends up he likes you. Only you don't find out until it's too late. Yeah, it sucks.

You end up dating this other guy with the same name. He's also part of the theatre troup. And, unfortunately for you, you marry him. At the age of 20. Because you're stupid. Sorry but you are.

When you finally get the guts to leave him, you're already in love with someone else. Don't act so surprised. You know it's possible. You fall hard for guys. You know that. Especially the ones that want to help you.

He's a good guy. He's got some baggage (they ALL have baggage, Hon). It doesn't work out. It ends badly. You don't really speak to each other for years. And that sucks because you were both REALLY good at being friends. The upside is you find your way to each other again, and you end up with a great friendship.

The reason why it ends badly though... that's your fault. You totally fuck up. You do something so monumentally stupid I don't even want to talk to you about it. I wish I could stop it, but I think it's going to happen no matter what. I think it has to happen.

A couple of years later, you meet this other guy. His name is Harry. Yes, I'm telling you his name! Know why? Because you end up marrying him. And you have a child with him. And you build a wonderful life with him. But the only way you meet him is because of all of this other crap. So you can't change anything. You don't want to change anything. Because I'll tell you right now, your life at the age of 33 is fan-fucking-tastic. You have a wonderful husband, you live in a cute little house (dude, I didn't even tell you about having to live with your sister for 11 years - my condolences), you have a good job (you're not teaching - surprise!), and you have the most amazing little girl on the planet. You still cannot believe how fucking lucky you are.

And sometimes you take it for granted. Most people do. Now and then though, you sit back and think about all that you have. And you're thankful. So very thankful. Today is one of those days. Today I sit and talk to my 16-year-old self, and I condemn you to a few really crappy years because I want you to really understand what you end up with. Can you do that? Are you strong enough?

I think you are.

Love you girl,
Me

Snow Day

Jacket H&M (old), Jodpurs Blue Inc, Boots Topshop, Bag Gucci, Gloves Spartoo, Hat Linea

I have been working through all this snow and walking into work and all I have been wanting to do is have a play. Finally my day off has arrived and thankfully the snow is still here I walked past this church last night on my walk back home from work and decided I would pop down there today and take some outfit pics. So glad I did as it is beautiful.

I picked these jodpurs from the Blue Inc website check them out for yourselves here and I have to say I love them I have been looking for a pair of jodpur leggings and these ones are perfect and fit like a dream I love the colour too.