Where them girls at.

I am currently in Jakarta, abusing some free wi-fi to post - so here comes one of my pre-written posts about some English shenanigans. I am creating some more so that when I can`t upload pictures I can still keep the blog ticking over and keep you all interested. I haven`t quite disappeared off the face of the earth! All I can say about my holiday so far is that the flight was hell! Oh and traffic in Jakarta is killer. 

I love all my best friends, especially my closest girls. Of course, my very best friend lives too far away which is sad, but some of my other besties were close enough to go out with me last Thursday! We hit our local town after some pre-drinks at mine while getting ready, dropped in by my lovely parents before drinking, dancing and generally having an amazing time. I love nights out, and these girls were perfect to go out with.

Small confession.. I got so carried away with the good times that I didn't take an proper outfit photos, but I have cropped in on myself in the group photo to give you an idea of my outfit.

Top - River Island; Skirt - H&M; Clutch & Shoes - New Look; Ring - Miss Selfridge.

For going out I always like to dress up - the more glitzy and glamorous, the better. Metallics and sequins like this gorgeous top and skirt combo always look good on a night out because they just scream party, and look good under the lights at a club! The peplum shape of this top was also super-flattering and really comfortable, which I love. Next time I will try and style it up for day..

Here is the group picture in full of all of us dressed up and ready to roll!

My girls are stunning.

And here come some more snaps of me and my girls - love them all!

Heather & Claire.

Me & Ashleigh - pre-drinks!

Alison, Sammie & Ashleigh flicking through Vogue.

Sammie, Georgia & I.

Only 18 but we walk the streets so mean.

Minus the straw this would be beautiful.

Georgia & I - love this one.

Love and kisses, Tara xox

Paris Day Two!

Waking up in Paris was a pretty beautiful feeling, and that sensation was only improved by croissants with nutella and some good coffee! Day Two was our cultural day, so we went to the Sacre Coeur, then the Notre Dame (followed by a picnic in a nearby park) and then the Louvre, where we found a funfair and went on a chairswing. For dinner we found possibly the only vegetarian food (two of us are veggie!) and had a good old curry, before continuing the culture with l'Arc de Triomphe, a stroll down the Champs Elysee and crossing the Seine. I'm not going to lie, we did an awful lot of walking!

The weather on the second day was gorgeous, so I really dressed for the sunny weather!

Skirt - River Island; Bralet, Bag, Shoes & Ring - Topshop; Sunglasses - ASOS; Earrings - New Look; Bracelets - Pandora, Lola Rose & Accessorize.

Like a true British tourist, as soon as I hit vaguely sunnier climes I start to wear as few clothes as possible. I have wanted to put these two pieces together for quite a while, but was waiting for the right opportunity.. Paris was perfect. I love how the silhouette becomes like a classic retro prom dress (aka uber flattering) while the prints complement each other well. This daytime look was surprisingly comfortable, especially thanks to the flat shoes and gorgeous cat-eye sunglasses to keep out the sun's glare, even if that bralet did not allow a lot of room for pastries.

And here are some of our photos from Day Two...

It's not all serious here..

Do you like my shades?

One of my fave pics of the whole trip!

The Sacre Coeur from below.

Getting touristy.

I would quite like to live here.

Pont Saint Michel.

Writing postcards apres picnic.

Myself & Claire outside Notre Dame.

These made up a large proportion of my Paris diet.. BNs!

Oh my beloved BNs.

Here we are now, entertain us..

Myself and Claire at dinner. (yes, I changed shirts)

The poppadoms disappeared too fast to photograph!

My very yummy rose lassi - so French, I know.

Haagen Dazs for dessert.. nom nom nom.

Imploding with joy at the LV store.

On the statue of Charles de Gaulle.

City lights on the Seine.

Okay wow, that was quite picture heavy.. The trip continues in the next post with Day Three!

Love and kisses, Tara xox

Paris Day One!

I had been excited for my trip to Paris for ages - I went with two of my besties and it was the best end-of-exams celebration I could have asked for! Day one didn't consist of very much time in Paris itself since our flight didn't land until 6pm local time, but it was still pretty good. Most of the day was spent in England packing and then in the airport drinking coffees, before being up in the air for a ridiculously short time and then touching down in the evening.

When we were finally in Paris we navigated the trains successfully & found the hotel, only to be moved to another hotel since they were "full". I suspect some easyjet style overbooking had gone on.. Anyway, the evening picked up when we started to explore, discovering first a Carrefour in which to stock up on BNs and insanely cheap wine, then a bar to drink wine and limoncello in. We did get a little lost afterwards though, wandering through a slightly dodgy district of Paris -  we had to get the metro back again to find our hotel!

Here is my outfit of the day...

Shirt, Ring & Cuff - H&M; Skirt - River Island; Bag, Shoes & Cross Bracelets - Topshop; Necklace - New Look.

I love the bright summery feel of this look, especially the pop of neon colours in the shirt. I always say that I dress a little OTT for my quiet corner of England, but heading into France really made me see how much of a Brit girl I am - their style is so classic, chic, simple and elegant, whereas I am all about the brights! Oh, and that suitcase next to me was my carry on bag.. travelling light doesn't really work for me.

Here are some snaps from the first day..

Packing.

Claire & Alison on the train into Paris.

Close up of Alison's cute braid - how SS12!

Alison & I before going out.

Day Two is coming up next, so until then..

Love and kisses, Tara xox

We are in the Christmas spirit!

It's been a few days since I inundated you with my absolute love & adoration for the festive season, and that's a few days too long in my book.. Especially when I couldn't have been provided with a better excuse than today - the day my gorgeous group of friends and I got our Secret Santa on & swapped prezzies! First Christmas present of the year - woohoo! The thrill of presents buoyed me through the first half of the day until lunchtime, and even managed to make me get up in the morning and get dressed without too much inner grumbling..

Dress - Internacionale; Coat & Tights - Primark; Shoes - New Look; Ring - Accessorize; Earrings - present from a friend.

Although this looks quite simple, finding a coat to go with this dress was quite stressful. Originally in my head I had just pictured the dress, tights, shoes combo and couldn't shake it from my brain, because I really wanted to wear it - outerwear just didn't figure - and then it was so nasty outside that I simply had to find one. This is why the first picture is sans coat, it is how I wanted to look, and the second is how I actually looked. I am quite fond of my blue trench though, it may be a cheapie, and a bit of an oldie, but it is a classic - classic style, classic colour, classic chic. It also fits pretty nicely, nipping in at my waist, unlike my other coats which create a vastly different silhouette. I will just say that what with the fit-and-flare dress, red lipstick and bow-seam tights I was trying to channel my inner Marilyn.. not sure if it came off, but in my head I was strolling around like a vintage movie star. Reality may have been vastly different, but that was the character I was today - screen siren on a casual day (meaning you still don't leave the house without your trusty red lipstick). 

I said there was Secret Santa, and while it didn't remain so secret in the end (we all fessed up to who we had after the presents had been distributed and loved by all), I think it was just what we needed to perk up this penultimate college week. Everyone is getting bogged down in exams, coursework and depressing weather, so a little bit of love goes a long way. I also chose today to give out my Christmas offering to my beautiful friends (whom I love VERY, VERY much)...

Merry Christmas my lovelies! Yes, I continued my trend of cake for gifts, indulging in some intensive baking last night to produce some lush little cupcakes, vanilla & chocolate, iced in white, chocolate, green & red, adorned with edible glitter in silver, white, green, red & gold. Sense the festive colour scheme here. Edible glitter is my new dessert obsession - I believe it was the great Kylie Minogue that said "when in doubt apply more glitter" - and it really made these cupcakes look Christmassy and special. They went down well I think, so I am glad to report that my Christmas present was a success! I decided against actual presents for several reasons (1 - money is tight. 2 - would rather make a big deal about people's 18th birthdays. 3 - I just love baking cakes.), but cake is a good way to show you care.

This is neither fashion-related, nor cake-related, but I just wanted to put this out there - I love my bestie Florence SO SO much, and just wanted to share this beautiful picture of us in the midst of the Secret Santa joy...

Isn't she gorgeous! And I even look tolerable here.. Love you loads Flo! Now just a few little extra comments to be made...

Credits to akikik for the first cake picture and the picture of me & Flo - amazing blogger, amazing friend, awesome photographer. Also just a quick notice of love for all of my friends, you are all brilliant, you get me through the day. In friends, I am coming to include you my little band of followers/readers/commenters - there may not be many of you, but seeing that people are actually reading what I write and taking the time to comment really makes my day! Finally, this marks the official, official start of this festive season for me, so MERRY CHRISTMAS!! Love and kisses, Tara xox