Christmas shenanigans

Oh man. So. Much. Food.

Me and Lloyd flew to Stockholm the 22nd and have since then eaten every 2 hours. And we're not talking snacks or "fika" here - we're talking Christmas smorgasbord and kebab pizza. My dad even fired up the barbecue last night! Yes outside haha! Don't get me wrong - that's what Christmas is about and food is mine and Lloyds biggest hobby anyways hehe. 

Christmas Eve was celebrated at my mums house with my lovely little nieces and the rest of the family. It's so cosy having kids around on Christmas again! I was Santa and Lloyd couldn't stop laughing. I know red isn't my colour but I didn't think I looked that bad.

The 26th it was time to go see my dad (hello 'divorce'-child!) so me and Lloyd took the train to Vingåker where my dad's+finance's lovely country house is. Soo cosy to be out here for a few days in the middle of nowhere. We've played card games and Lloyd was introduced to Yatzy. The game I was brought up playing throughout our super Swedish caravan holidays. Sentimental.

When in Vingåker, do as Vingåkerians do; Vingåker Factory Outlet! Today we went to this outlet which has loads of big brands at madly discounted prices. I found a gorgeous black long sleeve maxi dress from Tiger of Sweden and a nude coloured dress from Whyred. Will show you later!

Today we finally got some snow as well. It makes you wanna lie inside and eat even more haha, so that's the plan for the next few hours... Speak soon and here are a few snapshots from the weekend:

Lloyd looking merry ❤️

Christmas ham.. You legend.

Coffee stop before our train.

Christmas jumpers on!

Right now; me chillaxing in front of the fireplace and Lloyd passed out in the sofa. God jul ❤️

Two wardrobes become one

With a new job comes an updated wardrobe. With two days left in hospitality (HOPEFULLY FOR ALL ETERNITY!!) I can't help but walk around thinking that I no longer have to wear shoes that can get me through a 16-hour shift running around on my feet.

I can wear big obnoxious branded jumpers (probably won't - but I COULD if I wanted to). I can wear sandals that aren't completely covering my feet in the summer. I can have my hair down.

Most importantly - I no longer have to divide my wardrobe in two - work vs. not work. Can you imagine?! I don't have to buy mediocre-looking shirts on sale because "I can wear them to work". From now on I'm gonna build up ONE wardrobe where every piece is a qualifier. The small things in life.

LOVE a nude shoe. New flats for work - Primark £12

HIRED!

Yesterday was a beauuuuuuuutiful day my friends. I was invited back to a final interview for a job I've applied for. I was asked questions like;

- What's the biggest project you've ever planned?

- How would you plan your wedding?

- Tell me 3 bad things about yourself?

Haha.. To question no 2 I said that 'the top three priorities would be the venue, the food and my jaw-dropping dress. Later down the line I would worry about trivial things like the colours of the flowers, invitation cards and finding some average looking, ill-fitting bridesmaids dresses' (giggles).

To question no 3 I was just completely honest and said 'I work too hard, I take too much on, I live and breathe my job, I don't do anything else than working, I am too ambitious, too much of a team-player...' :) I couldn't think of anything to say (I know I should have as it's the most common interview question ever!) so I just said a few of these pretentious clichés  with a smile (giggles again).

It went really well and the two directors just seem like the nicest, most genuine people. It was one of those interviews where you just sit and have a casual chat for 40 minutes and then you leave thinking 'Hold on did I really sell myself there?'. But in the end (Nacho quote LOL) I think that the ultimate purpose of an interview is to determine whether a person would fit in with the team or not.

I've been crossing my fingers for this job since I first got in the loop and I was just over the moon when the woman said "you're hired!" when I asked if it's possible they let me know before Christmas. I mean how perfect is it: I leave The Roebuck the 20th, go home to Sweden with Lloyd over Christmas and New Years and then come back January 5th to start my new job. The timing couldn't be better!

So to the role before you ask - I'll be the PA to the Director of a wed design and development agency. They build and design e-commerce websites for all types of companies in all types of industries but mostly in - hold on to your chair - fashion. How good!! And there are great possibilities to grow within the company, something they also encourage. I honestly could not be happier. If I put in as much effort into this as I do in serving drunk people food and drinks - then the sky is the limit.

Can I also say that the office is in the middle of Richmond which is my favourite part of London and also a 15-minute bus-ride from where I live. There's also a sushi place in the same building. I mean COME ON...

High views & high boots

This might be a shit picture both in terms of quality and especially as my brilliant outfit is not made justice, but it's the only decent picture I have from the other night when we went to Galvin at Windows on the 28th floor.

When I took my coat off Lloyd burst out "BABE half your shirt is hanging out". I replied thanks BABE I'll let you know when I want your fashion advice. If you saw me from the front you would have thought it made sense.

It's bloody hard to pull off the thigh high boots with bare legs in December. To be fair it was 15 degrees warm last week so you can't really call it winter can you. Back to the boots - you just have to go by the good old rule: legs or boobs. If you're wearing a mini skirt make sure you're covering your boobs with a long sleeve top. If you're wearing a buttoned up shirt make sure to show some leg. If you're wearing a loose high waisted pant it's allowed to show some cleavage. You get it.

These are the thigh-highs I ended up with in the end; from Daisy Street. Unfortunately they're all textile and not leather so I assume they will only last for one season. But the only other ones I liked and that didn't leave a massive gap between leg and boot were from Kurt Geiger or Russell & Bromley and they were all way to expensive for my current account. These are a winner though, so comfortable!

ASOS - £45

Also available in beige.

The pineapple has arrived!

Here she is! You guys have no idea how heavy this thing is haha.. I haven't even put it up on the wall yet as I'm scared the walls won't handle the pressure.

All the leaves both above and below the fruit are super adjustable and the guy at the store told me to bend them myself once it is up on the wall to make it look a bit messy. I'm gonna put it up in our bedroom straight opposite the bed so that I can see it when I wake up, or light the candles when I'm reading in bed. Can't wait until it's up and running!

From Abigail Ahern for you who missed that. xx

Return

So the Balmain x HM bag has arrived and I don't like it at all. Blah. It's waaay bigger than I imagined and the gold details just look as of any crap-quality H&M bag that costs £15. Disappointment. Well well, it's just to send it back. Or actually I'm going to go to H&M in Hammersmith and return it, quicker that way. So if you want to buy it - you know where there's a spare one!

BTW in my next post I'll show you my pineapple that has finally arrived... I's soooo goldenly, fabulously, stylishly amazing :)

Back to Basics

"A girl should have 80% basics and 20% fluff in her closet."

How often do you go out clubbing? And how often do you want to leave the house looking sharp i.e. not wearing a super short mini dress in sparkly sequin? I KNOW it's a lot more fun to buy a party dress but let's get real, it's the item in your wardrobe you probably use the least.

To have good basics mean that they are also interchangeable - you can mix and match and wear them all together some way or another. To me that means black, black, black, white. Maybe a splash of colour somewhere but it would have to be in a really good material. Coloured clothes to me often look very cheap and the same goes with print. I think it takes a trained eye to spot what could be a good print and I have to admit I'm not quite there yet. I love it when girls mix print with print but I just tend to look like a clown when I make an attempt. Which brings me to another point; all clothes and trends are not for everyone and if you don't know how to pull it off - just don't.

Here is my complete list of basic wardrobe essentials that I feel lost without:

Crisp white tee

Loose black suit trousers

White loose-fit shirt

Black pencil skirt (preferably ribbed to get those nice cuuuurves)

Black leather biker

Super skinny, high waisted black jeans
Black or nude pointy heels
Clutch suitable for AM & PM
The perfect black blazer (still on the hunt for this myself)

Other than these wardrobe essentials, all you need is a red lipstick, red nails and silver stud earrings.
You are good to go my friend.