Life | Merry Times

There was...

Yeap, it might be a bit early for a Happy New Year. But this was my concerted end-of-year effort and I doubt I'll raise my head again before 2012 has started. So BIG HUG, muah muah & ♥ ♥ ♥

earrings: monica vinader, sweater: zara, trousers: diy, bag content: to be revealed. 

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Life | State of Compliance

My 2 best winter buys must be the cashmere leggings I got in the COS sale (and have taken off so rarely that I fear they might have become a fluffy 2nd skin – meh meh) and the silk bathrobe I found in a jumbled vintage shop on my last trip to Berlin (together with a fur cape, but that's for another time)… All in all the perfect combination for starting a routine of playing cards, watching Harry Potter 1-7 and getting intoxicated on a cookies-turkey-tea-alcohol diet, ending the year in a flurry of resolutions – get lots of tattoos, be more sporty, sell 90% of my belongings, stop trying to paint my nails… which might see the light of reality, or not.

But before I sign off I want to say a BIG BIG Thank You to everyone who bothers to stop by. Whatever your plans for 2012… Wishing you a good one! ♥ ♥ ♥

silk bathrobe: yorn boutique (2nd hand), cashmere leggings: cos, body and bra: wolford

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Take 10 | House of Fraser Dress

'twas a bit like a premature Christmas when the parcel arrived, because I love everything about this winter dress: the architectural 60s cut, the pure wool fabric, the oxblood colour, the sweatshirt pockets, the impeccable finish – and that it leaves space for the soon bound-to-bulge-because-of-eating-masses-of-cookies midriff area.

So I've been wearing it a lot already – mostly just with a black turtleneck, opaque tights and the ol' Givenchy boots, but with Christmas around the corner I thought I'd lounge around and merry it up a bit with high heels and satin trousers.

With everyone receiving different dresses the organisation proved quite a challenge – for most of us the dresses worked out fine, but poor Ellie had a real struggle – which she explains on her blog. Also, don't miss to check out how the other Take Tenners Sarah, MJ, Sherin, Vicki, Susie, Paula, Harriet and Jen have decorated their Christmas dresses.

Big Thanks to House of Fraser for sponsoring the challenge.

dress: pied-a-terre, c/o house of fraser, sweater: diy, trousers: costume national, shoes: cesare paciotti

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Style | Neck in the Woods

Winter comes with some big questions.

Like...
How many turtleneck sweaters can you wear on top of each other?
Boots - ankle or knee-high?
& spotty tights - big dots or small ones?

What do you say? ♥ ♥ ♥

dress: next, bag: 2nd hand from beyond retro, turtleneck sweaters: zara, tights: pamela mann, shoes: jil sander

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DIY | Stripes & Errors

I could get myself some knitting patterns, but that would make life easy and deprive me of some strangely shaped sweaters… Still working on the perfect raglan sleeve, and created some stripy costumes along the way. ♥ ♥ ♥

skirt & sweater: diy, leggings: c/o matalan

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London | The Dita Teese

When the invitations to take part in an intimate cocktail making class with Dita von Teese were sent out I bet the RSVPs came back quicker than you can say 'Cointreau Privé' – which is the newest, time-limited, members only cocktail lounge* in London, styled after the art deco home and ambassadored by the owner of what must be the slimmest waist (22in, can be laced down to 16.5in!) in the world.

Meeting Dita was pretty cool. Not only does she look as perfect in real life as in pictures – tiny, dream proportions, expertly make-uped and dressed (Dolce and Gabbana, I asked her) – but she's also funny, soft spoken and relaxed, talking us (with the help of a flashy bartender) through the in and outs of preparing the Citrus & Spice cocktail** which was so delicious that I just kept drinking… becoming happier and chattier by the minute, leaving a perfect evening... (& now hoping there isn't a secret 'bloggers who cannot cope with alcohol' list created somewhere.)

1. Sarah 4. Jen from a A Little Bird Told Me 5. Dita's pretty heavy corset dance dress 7. oh look, Dita and I, chatting like good old pals.

*Cointreau Privé, 215 Piccadilly, London. Open 29th November to 17th December 2011. Guestlist only. Bookings possible through the Cointreau Privé website.

**Fresh ginger, a very generous amount of cointreau, fresh orange juice and a squeeze of lemon.

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