Hello blogosphere (does anyone other than journalists ever use that word? Probably not…), how was your weekend? Full of loveliness, I hope! Mine was pretty good. I started off by getting a manicure on Friday, using shellac/gel colour. It was excellent because it dried under the special lights incredibly fast and meant I could leave sooner and not worry about smudging. Let me just say, I love this manicure. It’s been three days and there are zero chips. I have used a metal wool pot scrubber, without gloves, moved furniture and have done general everyday things. I’m definitely not careful with my manicures so they usually only last (in perfect condition) for a day or two, but this one is still going strong! Worth the extra money ($45 instead of $22) though, especially because I don’t get professional ones very often.

Saturday morning I spent reorganizing my half of the sunroom/my office. Last weekend I bought a large wooden desk which I sanded, repainted white and varnished. I moved the damn thing by myself, with the help of a blanket, because Josh was out and, honestly, it’s less stressful to move furniture by myself (men…). Below is what things are looking like at the moment.

Next I’m going to be making an on-the-wall pen and supplies storage system and lowering some of the stuff on the walls. When I’m all done I’ll share some proper before + after photos (maybe a DIY if my storage system works out). There is something so wonderfully fresh about white furniture. I’m pretty much obsessed lately!

The rest of the weekend was chilled out and we mostly hung out at home, watching movies, internetting and snuggling.

Hope your Monday is going nicely, or will be nice if you’re not in my timezone.
xox

My birthday is in 19 days so I decided to buy myself some gifts. Mostly because I am sad about not being able to get a dog so I’m compensating with impulse shopping. As you do.

Plush Hello Kitty slippers from Amazon.

Kello Kitty onesie PJs from Amazon. Yep, I bought a onesie.

Two of these kraft magazine holders from Typo, from the physical store in St Lukes, but you can buy online here.

And a recipe folder, also from Typo, which I don’t have a picture of because it was on sale. Once I start putting recipes in it I will post some photos!

Have you bought anything lately? Do you comfort shop?

fox ring & antler necklace, Elizabeth and James | gold bow ring, Mallarino

gold geometric skeleton ring & square spinner ring, Solange Azagury-Partridge | gold plated leather cuff, Gucci

Hi guys, Weekly Goals is going on vacation to somewhere warm and expensive for a while. Things are getting ridiculously busy around here and I don’t find making uni-oriented goals for this feature at all thrilling! There’s not much time for other sorts of goals, either, hence why I’m sending her on a holiday.

Before she goes though, I do want to share progress from last week.

I aimed to try my hand at scrapbooking my Instax photos and read something from each of my textbooks every day, but both of these just didn’t happen.

I did, however, get a professional pedicure so that my toenails no longer had chipped apple-green on them. Honestly, sometimes I thought I had some kind of tropical toenail disease… Now they’re pearly, like tropical Mother of Pearl toenails instead. Inlaid with shell or something fancy like that.

On a completely unrelated note, I urge you to purchase a bottle of Johnson’s Baby Bath before you have your next bath. It is a thousand times more awesome than pink-grapefruit-scented-skin-conditioning-anti-wrinkle-moisturising-bath-milk, or whatever. I smell so great right now.

Is there such a thing as too many cardigans anyway? I ask because earlier today while browsing the mall I had a thought:

Gee, I could use another cardigan.

I didn’t buy one though. I bought jeans and a belt instead, which is a different story and too traumatic to write about at this point.

Just before I was putting my laundry away and had to rearrange some cubbies in my wardrobe because my cardigan collection was exploding out of their alotted space. This was when I decided that perhaps it would be a good idea to count how many of these knit and buttoned items I actually own.

The total comes to twelve. Is that normal? I have:

• 2 solid black.
• 1 3/4 sleeve black with pink trim and pearl buttons.
• 1 leopard print.
• 1 purple.
• 1 turquoise.
• 1 beigey-pink.
• 3 gray; 2 dark, 1 light.
• 1 3/4 sleeve white.
• 1 hand-knitted chunky white from my eldest sister’s mother-in-law, all the way from Iran.
• 1 cream that is button-less but used to have a tie and now doesn’t but it still awesome.

What else could I possibly need in the land of cardigans? Nothing, really. I have something for virtually every outfit, except maybe a  grandpa cardi. I don’t really have any slouchy and grandpa-esque that screams newspapers, spectacles and Antiques Roadshow.

The only other items of clothing I have more of are dresses and undies. I am exceptionally brilliant at buying both of those. I actually need to buy more knickers because almost all of the pairs I have which are not too small (ahem, weight gain) are heading toward the thread-bare department which isn’t very useful.

Do you have an abundance of a particular clothing item? Do they leap out at you when you open drawers/closets?

It all started with seeing Essie’s Turquoise & Caicos colour on Elsie and some other websites. Turquoise is one of my most favourite colours at the moment and I’d been looking for a decent turquoise nail shade but with no luck until then. I had to have it.

Image via Polyvore

Then I found an Essie colour called Borrowed & Blue, part of their 2011 wedding collection. It’s the perfect baby blue and I am in love with it! I would marry it.

Image via Polyvore

And then while perusing online auctions for the above polishes I came across Not Just A Pretty Face, another Essie colour, this time a dusty pink. Hello gorgeous! Add that to my cart.

Image via Polyvore

The auction seller the other colours came from had a combined shipping deal for up to four polishes. So obviously I had to make the most of that and snagged up a nail care product, OPI’s Avoplex Cuticle Oil To Go:

Image via YourSecretSalon.com

Oh well, at least I will have really pretty nails by the end of the week. xx

I should be studying for my biopsychology exam tomorrow afternoon but I am too busy having a break (until my headache medication kicks in) and daydreaming about babies (hormones) and these freakin’ amazing moccasins. When I heard that Katie Kukulka of Darlingtonia Moccasin Co/I Go By Katie/Shop Collected was collaborating with Elsie Larson of Red Velvet to make three moccasin designs exclusively for the Red Velvet shop, I nearly peed my pants.

Because I am poor, I will waiting until August before I order a pair. This will also give me time to decide on which design I will get. Am thinking blue with hearts or the foxes!

I’ll be honest, I’m having trouble coming up with goals I can realistically accomplish this week, knowing I will be spending the majority of my awake time studying for exams. Overhauling my personal style is not exactly super-high on the list! Having said that, I was so pleased to see this theme and read the wonderful guest post by Elsie over at Sometimes Sweet. I have admired her style (and all-round awesomeness) for over a year now so it was cool to read some great tips from her!

Okay, this week I aim to:

1. Have a think about my personal style, to see if I can really define it. My tastes are very eclectic, I can go from 50s housewife to 90s grunge in a heartbeat (I have the dresses and plaid shirts to prove it). I fluctuate between simple feminine classics to tomboy-with-a-pinch-of-lady. Sometimes I’m just a good ol’ jeans and t-shirt/shirt/tank kinda girl. My style is kind of bipolar! While I find this confusing at times, I would like to think about how this is actually a good thing and embrace it more. Create my own definition.

2. Make a list of a few of my favourite kinds of outfits. The one’s I feel the most comfortable in, for different situations. This can be my go-to list for reining in my crazy shopaholic, impulse-buying self. It can also function as a reminder on days when I think all my clothes are rubbish and look horrible!

3. Contemplate selling some of my shoes, to make room for quality pairs that will last a long time. I’m a shoe obsessive. It runs in the family. Both of my sisters are afflicted and so is my dad (I know, he is awesome). The thing is, I buy shoes when clothes shopping goes badly, i.e., I buy shoes to make myself feel better when my clothing size has changed and I don’t look good in much! Shoe size does not change once you reach my age, therefore I can always be sure that my feet are a size 9 and those damn awesome boots will fit like a charm. Unlike jeans. Trouble is, I don’t always wear many of my pairs, and I don’t see the point of owning them if I don’t wear them…

Love and hugs!

Here are some of the things that have been making me happy online this week.

1. 10 Simple Ways to Organise Your Home at Belle Maison. If you like your home to be orderly then this post is for you. The ideas are also simple to implement and won’t empty your bank account.

2. Gorgeous scarves with horses, zebras or big cats in yummy colours.

3. Ellen Rogers fashion photography at Miss Moss. How stunning are these? They remind me of beautiful vintage postcards from the early 1900s.

What are you loving this week?

1. Eastland Falmouth Oxford / 2. UO Tan Navajo Bootie Slipper / 3. Minnetonka Kilty Moccasin / 4. Minnetonka Tramper Boot / 5. Dolce Vita Suede Tassel Loafer / 6. Eastland Lug Lace-Up Boot / 7. Free People El Paso Suede Moccasin / 8. Vans Wellesley Hiker / 9. Vans Hollie Plaid Authentic Lo Pro / 10. Vans Suede Zapato Del Barco / 11. Vans Sophie

1. BDG Twill Lady Carryall / 2. Ecote Coated Canvas Hiking Backpack / 3. Free People Somerset Backpack / 4. Deena & Ozzy Straw Geo Weekender / 5. Loop Decoupage Checkbook Wallet

My style is usually pretty eclectic. At the moment I’m drawn to Native American influences and comfortable flat shoes. Even tomboy styles, which is unusual for me since I’m definitely a dress lover. Maybe it’s the cooler months calling for warmth and layers?