Ah, but if less is more, then just think of how much more "more" will be!

Nic and I are having a bit of a dropout Saturday, today. When we woke up this morning and saw the wintry sun streaming through the plans, the idea was to go for breakfast and then walk across the fields to the Saxon Mill. Instead, we went for brunch and have spent the afternoon lazing around which has been just peachy.

After such a crappy day on Monday my week thankfully did take a bit of an upswing. I had a couple of big things I needed to get done during the week and which were stressing me out, and I think that getting those done helped clear my head a lot. The other thing was reminding myself that, you know, having a job is no bad thing even if it does suck quite hard from time to time.  I'll have to keep reminding myself of that in the upcoming months, I think, but what can you do?

Wednesday night was the Sew Make Believe book group meetup. As always, spending time with like minded people was a tonic. The book under discussion was One Day by David Nicholls. When I read it, I quite liked it but found Emma and Dexter to be utterly intolerable. Emma in particular, I thought she was an insufferable prig. What was interesting about the discussion was how it made me reassess my position on the book. I wouldn't read it again, and I still think Emma was a bore, but my attitude towards the book definitely softened through the discussion. You can read the roundup post about it here, and Kate reviewed it here as well.

Thursday was a loooooong day, so I was really glad to get home, especially as there was some post waiting for me. In a fit of feeling sorry for myself earlier in the week, I'd bought myself another new pair of shoes. Sigh, I know. That makes me very predictable. In my defence, I'd been after them for a while so it wasn't just an impulse purchase, and I would have bought them anyway, but I admit that it's not a brilliant way to deal with stress. Still, seeing the shoebox waiting for me when I got home did cheer me up:

I know, more Vivienne Westwood Melissas. These are the pink cameo versions of the Ultragirl shoes, and were on sale. The wax seal pair I bought on ebay back in November have become one of my favourite pairs of shoes, which is bizarre for me. But occasionally I have a morning where I'm still not fully awake when I'm leaving the house, and my legs protest at the idea of heels, and the flats come in handy. I was working at home on Friday, and when I peeped my head out of the door at the end of the day to run some errands, of course I wanted to break them in:

Emily and Fin Lucy dress, yellow cardigan from H&M Vivienne Westwood for Melissa Ultragirl cameo shoes and Nica Lucy bag

I hadn't been expecting the shoes themselves to be quite as pink (I thought they might be more of a pale blush) but I like them a lot - they'll fit right into my wardrobe:

December and January have been a bit drastic for me, shoe-wise. My overall count has gone up by a fair bit. I'm pleased to say that I've been wearing them all, and although I may not have been obeying the letter of the Shoeper Shoe Challenge, I have been obeying the spirit of it. I haven't officially saved lots of my shoes, even though I've worn them (and even been photographed in some of them) which, by the rules, means they haven't been saved. But I'm going to give myself a pass on it, because I have worn them, and also the Shoe Challenge has been really good for me. Yes, I have more shoes now than when I started but I've been ruthless about getting rid of the ones I don't wear - the ones that hurt, or aren't my style, or don't fit correctly. So I think that's still not such a bad thing!

After dinner on Friday night, Nic and I headed out for a few drinks and a bit of dancing with some friends. Our good friend Rick had passed his PhD viva earlier in the week and the time was ripe for celebrating! It was too cold to contemplate getting changed, so I switched my shoes (to my cherry Lady Dragon shoes, which are fabulously comfortable for dancing in and tried something new with my hair:

A (very) mini beehive! I didn't get much height on it because I don't have enough hair, really! Still, it had good staying power even through a night of dancing so I'd do this again. The night of dancing was super fun. I didn't have much to drink (which rendered me pleasingly hangover-free this morning) and I enjoyed cutting loose on the dancefloor with my friends so much. Dancing away the cares of the week in the company of people who mean the world to me, well it just doesn't get much better than that!

Nic and I slept late this morning and did little other than potter around in town. We had brunch in Bread and Co, looked in the charity shops and picked up some groceries before coming home to lounge around on the sofa. Our next few weekends are busy, so it is pleasing to be idle. The sun came out and it was very pleasant in town:

 

Squinting! Ruby Belle Osaka pinafore, cardigan from Warehouse and Irregular Choice Cortesan shoes

I never thought to pair this dress with these shoes before, but I think they work so well together. I love the print on the frock, which was one I bought from the sample rail in the Fever shop:

 The shoes themselves also have a pretty sweet print:

And really, that's been the height of excitement for me today. It's been aces. On tonight's agenda is the Season 6 finale of The X Files (fragments of alien spacecraft washed up on the Ivory Coast, covered with Biblical inscriptions: SWEET) Robert Vaughn's guest appearance in Coronation Street, last night's episode of New Girl on 4OD, Moroccan chickpea curry, ice cream and chocolate sauce. Until tomorrow, my dears.

Spanish Leather: Chie Mihara Cometa court shoes

When the call came out for bloggers to write about a pair of shoes from Sarenza to be in with the chance to work with them as a brand ambassador, my thoughts went immediately to a gorgeous pair of Chie Mihara lovelies that I wrote about last year over at About Your Dress. Sadly, those particular babies are long gone, but luckily for me, Chie Mihara have brought them out again this season, in two new colourways:



Chie Mihara Cometa shoes in Caviar Gold stars  - now £134.10 from Sarenza

I'm a big fan of Chie Mihara's accessibly quirky designs. They are such a distinctive brand - each pair has that Chie Mihara look, and I like that. For me it's about marrying up individuality with classic design, and these shoes do this so well. These shoes are classic enough to work well with almost any outfit, but with that gorgeous starburst on the toe, they're not your average work shoes. The elegant court shoe shape and the high, but not too high, heel means that they'd look great with any of the (many) dresses in my wardrobe, I'd still be able to run for my train in them, and I'd be smiling at my feet all day because they were bedecked in stars. If that's not worth £134.10 of my money, I'm not sure what is!

Sadly for me, these will never be mine because they're sold out in my size. Sob! So are the gorgeous pair in the alternative colourway:

Chie Mihara Cometa shoes in Caviar Asfalto grey stars - £134.10 from Sarenza

What's a girl to do, except look admiringly on and hope that the next round of Cometa shoes are just as adorable. In the meantime, there are plenty of other Chie Mihara heartstoppers available from Sarenza...

Chie Mihara Cata shoes - £131.30 from Sarenza

Spring is nearly on its way, after all....

Disclosure: This post is an entry for the Sarenza Brand Ambassadors competition

Oh, I could kick myself for not bringing that Jackelope!

Evening all, my pretties! I hope you've been having a good day and that you had wonderful weekends. I had a great weekend but an almost completely sucky Monday. Work was so very stressful today that I ended up crying more than once, and right up until I got home I was in a thoroughly rotten mood. It's mainly work that's stressing me out - in my line of work this is a very difficult and busy time of year - but of course stress like this triggers anxiety for other reasons and I've been a bit of a wreck today. Sorry to bum you guys out, but I've been feeling really blue today. Still, I'm at home now and have a nice evening ahead of me and I'm sure I can pick myself up a little bit. Also, I had a lovely, lovely weekend and I think writing about it here will cheer me up too! Self-indulgent, I know, but whatevs.

I was working from home on Friday (which, work-wise, was another pretty sucky day) and one of the main perks was being able to pop out at lunchtime to see Lucy and Asher at Stone Monkey for a coffee. It was good to get out of the house and into the daylight, and I was rewarded with good company, good chats and a present from Asher:

One of the reasons why Asher is one of my favourite young men

To cheer me up (and to distract me from my angry ironing) Nic took me out to dinner at Kayal. I know I've written about Kayal here before, but if you live in Leamington, Nottingham or Leicester (and they might have a branch in Birmingham, as well) it's so worth a visit. The food is Keralan and it's delicious.The service is excellent and the staff are wonderful - I shouldn't have moaned before about Leamington not having any nice restaurants, because Kayal is amazing. I want to eat every meal there, basically!

Nic and I were off to London on Saturday. He had a meeting with his fellow Silkworms to discuss, among other things, their recently published collection of essays on Nick Cave. They were meeting in the East End, so I had a few hours to kill around Spitalfields Market, Brick Lane and Shoreditch. It was bloody cold, but it was lovely indeed. Although, the East End definitely looks nicer when the sun is shining. There are lots of pretty boutiques and vintage shops and markets and, while I didn't spend any money, I very happily window shopped and browsed away a few hours:

Old Spitalfields Market. I really love this building, and the way the newer buildings behind it fit in so well. This is a great place to while away a few hours.

My first stop was the Collectif shop, which had a mega sale on and a sample rail! I took a ruck of clothes with me to the fitting room but wasn't in a dress-buying mood - most unlike me! The clothes are fab, though, and the reductions were very tempting!

 The mannequins in this car outside the Traffic People shop freaked me out a bit, but I did like the car!

I think Dolly Dare may be my favourite ever shop. Or at least, it would be if I was fabulously wealthy. I wanted to buy every single thing in this shop and loved the way they displayed their enormous collection of Irregular Choice shoes! Next door was Author shoes, another place where being filthy rich would be a distinct advantage.

From there I dandered across the road to Brick Lane and browsed the many many vintage shops. My one regret of the day was not buying the amazing floor length wedding dress crinoline that Rokit was selling for £10! It's criminal that I left that baby behind.

 Street art off Brick Lane

I stopped for pie and mash at Square Pie before going to find Nic in the Pride of Spitalfields. He hadn't eaten so I took him to one of the places I spotted on my travels - Poppie's of Spitalfields. I was full of tasty pie, but who am I to resist a 50s-themed chip shop?! I loved how the waitresses were dressed in matching headscarves and pretty floral aprons, and while my photos don't do it justice, the decor was fabulous.
 

We stopped off at Angel on our way back for a browse around in Camden Passage before everything closed up for the night, then hopped on the train back to Leamington. I was tired out after a day of wandering around and so, so cold - but it was really good to go to London for a reason other than work!

Sunday was a day of chores and grocery shopping, but Nic and I had an enjoyable potter around town. Having pretty much devoured The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins on my train journeys to and from London, I was keen to get going on the other books in the trilogy and as they didn't have them in the library (I borrowed the first one) I had resigned myself to buying them in Waterstone's. I hate spending money in Waterstone's, so I was overjoyed to find all of the books on offer in The Works. For £6 I managed to get all three books AND a copy of The Return of Captain John Emmett by Lizzie Speller - neat-o. I also indulged a bit in my latest addiction - Lego Minifigures:

 Eskimo Dude!

Sassy Zookeeper. Although, I don't know what a little monkey is going to do with a banana that is bigger than he is.

I thought I'd save another pair of shoes while I was at it...

Jasmine Guinness Queen of Hearts dress, yellow cardigan from H&M and Irregular Choice Flick Flack shoes

I hate this photo of me, but I adore these shoes so, so much. Just look at them:

I mean, aren't they incredible? Just on the border of fabulous and hideous, which is what I like. I ended up giving the dress to a friend, though. I love it in theory, but I just don't think it works on me. It's just a wee bit too long, but it will look amazing on my gorgeous, tall friend.

I spent Sunday evening tidying the wardrobe and sorting out my charity shop bag, before going to the pub for a drink to round off the weekend. Just because, here's a wee shot of the wardrobe:

Anyway, Nic has just cracked open the champagne I gave him to celebrate passing his viva, and I've bored you with enough photos. Onwards and upwards, right? With any luck, this week can only get better! Oh, thanks to all of you who commented and emailed about the V&A meetup - I'll be emailing you all soon with more details. Goodnight, all!

Ballgowns: British glamour since 1950 - the meetup

As I mentioned in a previous post, I haven't made New Year's Resolutions this year, not as such. However, in 2011 I think I got into good happiness habits and I'd like that to continue in 2012. One of these habits was a simple, but powerful one, spending quality time with excellent people. So, to that end I am proposing another meetup. It's going to be in London, again, but this is unavoidable. Check this out:

Alexander McQueen ballgown: image from V&A

From 19th May, The V&A are hosting an exhibition of eveningwear from their collection. You can read about the exhibition and what it contains here. I love the V&A and any excuse to visit it is magical, and I'm proposing to take myself along one Saturday in June. The dress lover in me can't resist it. The seamstress in me is tremdously excited. Tickets aren't yet on sale and I haven't planned a date. It isn't even essential that it's in June, but London is very beautiful in June. For anyone who feels like joining me, I'm thinking of a day out to include the exhibition, maybe some shopping, and definitely a bit of drinking. Who's in? You can let me know your thoughts in the comments below, or do feel free to email me thestreak@gmail.com

Linda? But that's not how my name is pronounced!

It's Sunday again and I can't believe how quickly this week has sped past. I think it's because it's been such an excellent week, you see. I've had a very, very good work week but Nic had an even better work week. If you follow me on twitter (just like my blog but more swearing) you'll know that he had his PhD viva on Thursday and he passed, so he's Doctor Nic now! I won't get all soppy here and embarrass everyone but I couldn't be more proud. After four years of extremely hard work it was most deserved, and as such we've been spending the weekend celebrating. I decided not to go to London on Friday so when I got home on Thursday night we were able to go out for dinner and a few drinks, and it was just lovely:

Two lovely glasses of vino tinto. I'd bought some champagne too, but house red was good enough for a school night

I was working in Coventry on Friday so was able to sleep until a decent hour and even come home early - my work computer randomly stopped working part way through the day and after a pub lunch with my colleagues I wasn't really doing that well on the concentration front. After an afternoon nap and an early dinner, Nic and I headed off to the Somerville to celebrate in earnest.We were joined by a good number of our dear friends, and it was a really great night. I love going to the pub and the really cool thing about the people we were out with was how well everyone mixed together. It was a late night.

On Saturday, Nic and I had planned to go to Banbury to have lunch in the Pinto Lounge. It was all going well when I woke up, I was hungover as all getout but functioning, and looking forward to Banbury. But it all went downhill after breakfast. And look, I know, it probably seems like I've been talking about boke a lot on the blog recently, but I boked BIG STYLE on Saturday morning. Not my finest hour, and I had to go back to bed for a long time. I felt better after that, but still. I suppose having the odd really horrible hangover is part of adult life. I dragged my sorry hungover ass out of bed in the early afternoon to try to catch some of the lovely winter sunshine, and to do a wee shoe save. 14th February is creeping up on us, after all...

Fever Emma dress, belt from a Bettie Page dress, pindot tights from Boots and Dorothy Perkins boots

I wanted something comfortable and slouchy to wear and the Emma dress fitted the bill perfectly. I love the colour of this dress and it has pockets, but without a belt it's very tentlike! The boots were a gift from my friend Lucy, who was having a clearout. She said they were comfortable enough for a night out dancing and I can totally believe it, and like my Harlot boots, they fit my birdy wee legs. WIN.

Cute boots. Thanks, Lucy!

Nic's hangover started to kick in later in the evening so instead of cracking open the champagne, as we'd planned, we went to bed really early to watch DVDs and eat ice cream. Sometimes it's the little things.

Poor Nic is suffering with a horrible cold so today has been very quiet too. I've been tidying up the flat and doing a LOT of ironing, while poor little Nic has been cuddled up with a hot water bottle on the sofa. We did go out for some groceries and to go to the library earlier, and it was really nice to get out into the beautiful, frosty day.

Colette Patterns Peony dress, blue cardigan from H&M and Irregular Choice Mighty Monster shoes 

The last time I wore my Peony, I accessorised it with yellow. Today I wanted to go for bright blue, because this cardigan matches perfectly with the blue flowers in the fabric and the vintage bias tape I used to hem the skirt and the sleeves:

Matchy matchy? Me? Yes. Okay, I am.

 The shoes aren't an exact match, but what can a girl do? They're blue, at any rate:

Wearing the Peony was part of a plan to spur me into doing some sewing this week. I'm feeling the notion, but not necessarily the motivation just now, but Lysy and I have a sewing date at the weekend and it might be just the time to attempt something from the Colette handbook, or maybe to get the fit right on a second Peony. I'll see where the mood takes me as the week progresses.

Tonight the plan is to have delicious (hopefully) vegetarian lasagne for dinner, and to watch Sherlock on the iplayer, and to get ready for what is going to be another very busy week. So with that I'm off. Good night, my lovelies x

I'm not sure, but I'm pretty sure I'm in a dance-off. All right!

It's been back to work with a thump for me this week! All week I'm commuting between Leamington and London, which means that I'll have clocked up 20 hours on the train by Friday! It's madness, but I guess it means I'll have a few days of flexitime to use up by the end of the month. It's all making me extra grateful for my extended Christmas break, which admittedly is feeling further and further away. I'm feeling pretty mellow about it now, let's hope I'm not feeling totally disillusioned with the world by Friday night.

With all that in mind, I tried to have as lazy and relaxing a Sunday as possible. Nic was working, and I pottered around and tried to organise my thoughts for the week ahead. Nothing very exciting, but it was important. I'm also conscious of a deadline looming for the Shoeper Shoe Challenge, so I saved another pair of shoes:

 

Emily and Fin Delilah dress, belt from a Bettie Page dress and Irregular Choice Flick Flack shoes

Flick Flacks! I have three pairs of these shoes which, I admit, seems excessive. I'd consider buying more in different patterns, though. Maybe. I just think the little foldy cuff detail is darling:

These were the first pair I bought and although they're a smidgen too big (which I think you can see in the photo) in some ways they're my favourites. I think it's because of the pinstripes - they make me feel like a 20s gangster, or some shit like that. It doesn't do to overanalyse this stuff. The dress is by Emily and Fin and I like it a lot, but I'm also a little bit irritated by it. Something about the neckline doesn't sit right so I'm going to have to do a little bit of an alteration to it. Anyway, I love how it looks and it's really nice to wear, so I'm sure I'll get over my little snit at it. Also: POCKETS:

I was dressed up anyway - but then, I'll happily get dressed up to sit around and knit and watch The Office - so when Nic suggested taking me out for dinner we thought we'd like to go somwehere really fancy. And Leamington totally FAILED us, on that front. Leamington is a lovely place to live, with a few cool places to eat but it has no really fancy restaurants. It has every bog standard, boring chain pizza place from Ask to Zizzi's, but if you don't want to eat pizza you don't have much choice. First world problems, eh?! We went to Sabai Sabai on Regent Street, which to be fair, was delicious. It was just good to go out for dinner and a lovely way to end what was a wonderful holiday.

Now, I have to be up very early in the morning but before I go - at Lucy's request, here's a picture of the heels on the Serpintime heels I wore in my last post:

Goodnight, all!

It is on like a prawn that yawns at dawn

Why hello there my dears, happy Saturday! Nic and I are back in Leamington now after a truly wonderful Christmas and New Year break in Northern Ireland. We had a very quiet last few days in Dungannon because the weather was so horrible, which kept us indoors. Still - it gave Nic time to get some work done, and it gave me time to finish reading one of the books about Fred West that my mum lent me. I didn't bother with the second one - there's only so much festive reading one can take! On our second to last day in Northern Ireland it finally stopped raining for half an hour, and we were able to have a wee dander round Dungannon, and I took my new Harlot boots out for a spin:

River Island Paris dress and Hard Hearted Harlot Reply boots

You can't see them in this photo, but I was also pretty happy with my earrings. I bought these for £2 in the sale in Sainsbury's:

Aren't they cute? They reminded me of a gorgeous pair of Pilgrim earrings that I once bought for a friend (and ever regretted not keeping for myself) but they're also a little bit mysterious because they are by F&F at Tesco. I bought them in Sainsbury's. As mysteries go, it's not the biggest - but why were Sainsbury's selling earrings that were labelled as being from Tesco?!

That evening my brother brought a box of old family photos down from the attic and we spent ages going through them - and I spent almost as long sending picture messages of the least flattering ones of Baby Sister to Baby Sister. I discovered that, even as a child, I had a thing for hats:

This is one of very many baby photos of me in hats. Of course, it may be less a matter of personal taste and more the case that my mum enjoys putting hats on small creatures that can't answer back:

On our last day, I had to make a quick stop at the post office - due to acquiring a few more pairs of shoes (ahem) I ran out of room in my hand luggage and had to post all but one dress back to myself in Leamington. Hey, it worked out pretty well though because it was cheaper than checking a bag into the hold and I didn't have to carry them, and they arrived this morning. We had a bit of time before our flight, so stopped in for lunch at Little Wing pizza and had a dander around Belfast. It was really lovely and I was so, so sad to say goodbye to my parents at the airport. The holiday at home was just wonderful, and I feel relaxed and refreshed and ready for a busy 2012.

On that note, I've been thinking a little bit about resolutions. This is partly because I read lots of sewing blogs and have read lots of sewing resolutions (I'm not going to do the pun. I hate puns) and it got me thinking about what I want to achieve for 2012. There are a lot of things - not all sewing related, and not all easily articulated. I won't list them all here. I really enjoy participating in the online sewing community and although this blog isn't a sewing blog, I find it helpful and enjoyable to post about the things I have made. I'm inspired and motivated by my favourite sewing bloggers and I'm so much in awe of their output, particularly those like Roobeedoo, Scruffy Badger, and Jane, all of whom are endeavouring to create a wardrobe of their own handmade creations. I think that is so cool. I'm genuinely full of admiration for their dedication. But I've come to realise that I'm a dabbler, and that's cool too. I love sewing - it excites me and fulfils me, and I love wearing the things I've made. So I'm not going to make sewing resolutions. 2011 wasn't an especially productive year for me, sewing-wise. I had a few false starts and I have a few unfinished makes but I've always enjoyed the sewing. So I'm going to carry on as I have been and dabble - I'll sew when I feel like sewing, and sew the things I fancy sewing. Certainly, I want to learn new skills and I'm sure I will along the way. I want to try my hand at some of the beautiful patterns in the Colette handbook, and I'd definitely like to get the fit right on the Peony pattern. I'd like to sew something for Nic. I'm sure I'll do some of those things, if not all, and I'm looking forward to that. Something I will definitely do is to carry on being part of this wonderful community.

As I said in my previous post, 2011 was a really good year for me and Nic and I have lots of exciting things happening in 2012. I'm pretty psyched about the year ahead and I think that the best way to make it as good as and better than 2011 is to keep up the good work. Seriously. So for me, this means spending time creatively - sewing and knitting and crocheting, and reading and writing. It means going to the pub, going dancing, spending time with my friends. It means seeing as much as I can of my family and Nic's family. It means walks, and tasty food, and trips and adventures. It also means working hard, reading lots and learning. It's going to be an interesting year!

So, anyway. Yes. Nic and I got back fairly late yesterday evening and after switching the heating on and making about twelfty hot water bottles to try to take the chill out of the little flat, we settled in with dinner, a bottle of wine and the DVD of The Talented Mr Ripley. Nic is going to be writing about the film, and while I've read the books I'd never seen the film. It was enjoyable but holy shit, it was grim! I'd underestimated quite how much. Still - while I was missing my parents' house it was definitely good to be curled up on our little sofa once again.

This morning I was awoken by the postie bringing me my clothes, and a pair of shoes I bought last week in the Aspire sale. I have to say a quick word about Aspire at this point, and about their customer service in particular. It's excellent. I tweeted Aimee, who runs their website and twitter account (@aspirestyle) last week to say I had my eye on the shoes, but would have to wait until the following day to place an order. She made sure there were a pair in my size, and when I ordered them agreed to delay posting them until I was back in Leamington. She tweeted me yesterday to let me know she'd posted them and they arrived this morning. It might sound like a small thing, but it is really good to have such personal service and I've never experienced anything less than this from Aspire. And the shoes are super sweet!

Today has mostly been about dandering in town, running errands and enjoying the sunshine. Now, I'm usually a bit loath to save a pair of shoes on their first wear but, having acquired a number of new pairs recently and only having a month left on the Shoeper Shoe Challenge, it had to be done.

Fever Detroit Chiffon dress and Irregular Choice Serptintime shoes 

And for good measure, a wee close up of the shoes:

They're not as gaudy as the last pair of Irregular Choice shoes I bought but they do what I think Irregular Choice do so well, which is to bring a touch of gaudy to classic design. In this case it's the off-centre t-bar and the strange foliage, but I think the shape and feel of the shoes makes them wearable. In any case I adore them.

Now I must depart, because there is a glass of wine on the table with my name on it, and dumplings to be made. I shall be back anon.

Happy New Year!

Dressember Days 30 and 31: Congratulations Emma and Adrian, and Happy New Year!
Happy New Year to all of my darling readers! I hope you all saw in 2012 in a manner that pleased you. I've been having a wonderful few days and I think I can say I said goodbye to 2011 in style!

I have no outfit photo from Day 29 of Dressember, but it was a repeat anyway. The 29th was exciting, because Nic was arriving that evening. His flight was a little bit delayed, but he finally landed in Belfast and it was time for fun. My parents and I collected him, and we headed into Belfast for dinner at Little Wing Pizza before heading down the road to Dungannon. I was so happy to see Nic - we're not used to spending long periods apart and I had missed him. Dinner was delicious, and I think the lovely social evening helped my parents to feel less sad about my Baby Sister having moved out. Thursday was her last day at home, and when we got back she'd moved the last of her things up to her new home.

We did a bit of running about on Friday, visiting family and visiting Baby Sister in her new home. I wore one of the dresses I bought in the sale:

Fever Salzburg Dress and Firetrap Desire shoes

It's not quite as impressive as Jane's Joan in red dress because, you know, I didn't make this. But, it has a similar feel, I think. The detailing around the waist and cuffs is petersham ribbon and you've got to love a dress with sleeves. I'm slouching a wee bit here so you can't see it, but this dress is a lovely fit and I couldn't be more pleased with it. Good old TK Maxx!

Friday was a bit of an emotional day. It's strange for my parents and my siblings that my Baby Sister and her fiance have moved out of home. Their new house - which Sister's fiance had built - is absolutely gorgeous but I think it's going to take a while for her to get used to being mistress of her own home. We got back late and after dinner went to bed - Nic and I had a big day ahead of us on Saturday, as we were guests at my dear friend Emma's wedding.

We were up early on Saturday morning to get into our finest feathers for the wedding. Amongst other things, it was a nice way to end Dressember. A dress I bought on ebay a few months ago got its first outing:

Fever Escala Dress and Vivienne Westwood for Melissa Lady Dragon shoes

The camera didn't catch me at my best, here! But this dress is lovely. I have it in blue - and when I spotted it on ebay for under £15 the magpie in me went for it. It's perfect for a wedding, because it's smart and it's fun to dance in. I love the subtle pattern on the fabric, too:

Doesn't Nic look handsome in his tweed?!

I won't go into masses of detail about the wedding but it was a beautiful and emotional day. Emma is one of my oldest friends, and it was an honour to be a part of her day. When we were teenagers her house was my second home, and her family have always been a big part of my life. I've known her fiance Adrian since they first met and it made me so happy and emotional to see two people I care about so much marry one another, and look so happy! The wedding itself was fabulous. The service was in Emma's parish Church and the reception was held in the gorgeous Merchant Hotel in Belfast. It was a wonderful chance to spend the day with old friends and new, and in such a beautiful setting!

Here's Nic by the fire in one of the Merchant's Victorian inspired bars. Everything about the day was wonderful - the food, the company, even the wedding band and disco were good! Best of all, though, was seeing Emma look so radiantly happy:

Here I am with the beautiful bride - in our inadvertently matching shoes!

I've always thought myself to be quite cynical about weddings but I spent so much of yesterday crying happy tears. From the moment Emma walked into the Church, right up to when I said goodbye to her parents at the end of the night, I couldn't stop myself from tearing up. As I said, though - they were such happy tears. It was a truly special way to see in the new year and I wish Emma and Adrian the happiest life together.

Of course, the wedding was great fun too as well as being very emotional. Nic and I threw some shapes on the dancefloor and it was so much fun to count down to 2012 in a room full of happy people:

With Nic - all danced out towards the end of the night

Nic and I were staying in the beautiful Tara Lodge on Cromwell Street and after saying our goodbyes we walked through the mild night to our hotel. We breakfasted early and spent the morning happily pottering around Belfast while the sun shone, before catching the bus back down to Dungannon.

It is natural to be reflective at this time of the year and, of course, I have been thinking back over 2011 and looking forward to 2012. After a tough year in 2010, I had high hopes that 2011 would be better, and it's been really wonderful. I've been so lucky. I've had ups and downs with work, but I have a job that (usually) pays the bills and I work with brilliant, funny, dedicated people. I'm proud to call a few of them friends. My family have been awesome as ever, and I'm lucky and happy to have been able to spend lots of good times with them. I have excellent friends and I've had so much fun this year and so many good times. Nic finished and submitted his PhD thesis, and I couldn't be prouder of him. He's achieved so much and he continues to surprise and delight me. So, basically, 2011 has been a blast. And we have so many good things coming in 2012. I feel excited to have started a new year!

With that, I'm off to spend time with that beautiful man of mine, in our pyjamas, watching Sherlock. Happy 2012, everyone!