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

Down the rabbit hole.

Yes, that was the theme of my 18th party - it was a joint one with another friend, and we both adore Alice in Wonderland so.. Naturally we told all our friends to come a little bit 'down the rabbit hole' and dress for a bit of a Mad Hatter's tea party. Of course, since it was an 18th party the only way to describe it is going to be 'amazing', 'insane' and 'messy'. I love my friends lots, and there are some amazing photos up on my facebook, but honestly, you lovely fashionable people checking out my blog just don't need to see me looking my least attractive.. You'll be seeing the early on photos. First of all here is what I wore..

Dress - D&G; Shoes - New Look; Bracelet - Pandora; Rings - Vivienne Westwood & Ebay; Crown - made by a friend.

If you can't quite tell, I am meant to be the Red Queen, but a slightly more fashionable version. Okay, okay, so in reality I was just desperate to wear my D&G dress and found a way to work it in with some gorgeous new red shoes, a crown that one of my friends made for me years ago and I still have, plus some red lipstick and a little heart on my cheek (a la Marina Lambrini Diamandis). Honestly, this dress is so gorgeous I can barely believe I own it, so there was no way I was not going to wear it on my 18th! I am now even more determined to keep it forever because it is super-comfortable, actually really good for dancing and will be in style perenially.

Here comes a few of the photos of the night - the good ones that my friends and I won't mind having put on a *fashion* blog!

The incredible cake the other birthday girl made!

Little face cakes that I made.

Holly, Ashleigh, Sammie, me, Alison & Reiss.

Me & Lottie as red queens.

Sammie & Alison.

Clare, Tristan & Sherri.

Martha, Claire, Jenni & Lucy.

Me & Jenni.

Me & Ashleigh.

The hangover-cure breakfast (just toast for me actually).

The carnivores' pile of grease.

The mess we were faced with.

Looking fresh as daisies in the morning, of course.

Anyway, that was my party and it was brilliant fun, I absolutely loved it. It feels so good to be 18 - grown up at last. I hope everyone else had as much fun as me, and that Alison's parents are still speaking to her. Being 18 is a big deal in England, because it is basically becoming an adult and I will admit that being able to vote is scary.. But as one of my birthday cards said "You may be an adult now.. but it doesn't mean you have to act like one!", and I intend to.

Not to drag this whole birthday thing out for too long, but tomorrow I will post my haul of presents (finally!), including those from my family, friends and even my little treats for myself that I picked up at the weekend, while being talked in to getting a Topshop store card..

Love and kisses, Tara xox

The start of something new..

I can't quite wrap my head around it, but it is now 2012! And how am I ringing in the new year? In the best possible way (in my opinion). I went to see New Year's Eve at the cinema with two of my closest friends, which was a lot better than I expected - yes, it was cheesy, but it was also hilarious, cute and infinitely feel-good. We then stayed at one of their houses, a night complete with drinks, cheesy board games, pizza, the countdown fireworks and cake & wine at midnight. Brilliant. We then talked loads, had a rather beautiful lie in and went our separate ways to crack on with 2012. Last night to the cinema/friend's house I wore..

Top & Skirt - H&M; Blazer - ASOS; Tights - Primark; Bag - Tous; Shoes & Necklace - Topshop; Ring - Accessorize.
This skirt is fast becoming my go-to item for any event where I want to look just dressed up enough, but not OTT. I love it because it's so sparkly, and it instantly makes me look like I've made an effort. I also decided to road test my new blazer, and I am pleased to report that it is just as good as my Topshop one ever was (which will be going to the big wardrobe in the sky soon), it is comfortable, fits well and is basically the perfect day-to-night jacket. What more could a girl want? Another new piece is my statement necklace, a sale buy that I am pretty pleased with! It gives just the right amount of drama to an otherwise simple top, and manages to look quite unique and edgy at the same time.
 

There is no better way to kick a new year off in style than with some gorgeous new clothes.. I am very pleased to say that my latest deliveries came through the post yesterday, making 2012 already brilliant. I know, I know, I now have an insane amount of new stuff, but I love new clothes - and surely a new year deserves new things!

My first new buy is this oh-so-Chanel monochrome cardigan from Dorothy Perkins. It's so simple, yet the classic colour palette and shape make it an effortlessly chic buy, perfect for making every day stylish. What makes it even better is that it is from the petite section - meaning it is actually made for people of my height and actually fits properly! I think my blazer may have competition..

Okay, so I will admit to buying these socks from DP just to qualify for free delivery... But still, they are very, very sweet. I love the little bows and cable knit detail - these are perfect for going with boots to keep my little feet warm in chilly old January.

I'll apologise now for the terrible photo.. The light in my room sucks, and also Blogger is just messing with me, uploading it the wrong way around. Sigh. But oh well, these Topshop shorts are still gorgeous! The raspberry colour is literally beautiful, it will go so well with so many things and is just a bit more interesting than the typical blue shorts I already own. My mum's first words when I tried them on were "you'd better wear tights with those", and I understand why. They are ridiculously short. I will have to dredge up some self-confidence and try and rock them like I don't care! They are also not very winter appropriate, but that won't stop me..

And the first thing I'll be teaming those shorts with is these super-cool Topshop tights! I saw them on a mannequin and was instantly drawn to how they are quirky, kooky and just a little bit weird - definitely my kind of tights. I'm not sure everyone could pull these off, I mean I'm not even sure if I will be able to, but they are just too awesome to pass up.

It's official, I love 2012 already. Not only was cake the first thing I ate, but I have ticked a couple more items off my wishlist and have loads of super-cute outfit ideas floating around my head, just waiting to be unleashed when I go back to college. That's one thing that's not so great - college starts up again on Tuesday. Urgh. But at least I will get to see my friends again, and getting a chance to work my new wardrobe will just about make up for the insane hard work and inhumanly early mornings..

Just finally, how has your first day of 2012 been? And how did you spend New Year's Eve? Now let's make 2012 our year! 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