Irregular Choice: Mr & Mrs Clause

A little break from Muppets this week, to review the newest Santa character heel from Irregular Choice. There's been a lot of festive offerings this season, mostly mid-heels and flats, so I was thinking there wouldn't be any high heels this time and indeed no Santa. I told myself beforehand that if Santa heels were released, they would have to be pretty amazing to justify buying my 4th heel of this kind. Naturally, they were amazing and I had to get them!
So, on Mr & Mrs Clause, the heel is exactly the same as previous years and this mould is without a doubt one of my favourites of all character heels. I find there's a nice amount of detail (both carved and painted), but it's so practical; no annoying bits sticking out to look out for. It's still chunky enough to feel comfortable, but is definitely more of a heel than a wedge like the unicorns or bunnies.

Irregular Choice Muppets: Louder! Louder!

Hello! This week I'm reviewing the Animal themed heels from Irregular Choice's Muppets collection, called Louder! Louder!

Irregular Choice Muppets: Daredevil Bag

I feel like this post should begin with some sort of trumpet fanfare. Presenting "Gonzo The Great"; eccentric, performer, stunt-master extraordinaire! My first Irregular Choice Muppets bag review is my favourite of the bunch, Daredevil, featuring (if you haven't already guessed), Gonzo. Just what he is, nobody quite knows!  I said this in my first impressions post, but I'm so fond of this bag shape. It's the perfect size for me and what I need it for and is a lot roomier than it seems from the outside. So let's take a closer look.

Swatches: ASOS Beauty Box (November)

In September ASOS launched their very first beauty box to coincide with their new, own-brand makeup line and revamp of the current beauty department (now known as "Face + Body"). I've been tempted each time as there's 5 items inside, priced at £12 and there's no subscription, you just buy it outright if you like it that month. It's taken until this month for me to go for it.  This time it contained (all full-size) items from their own-brand range rather than other brands. I'm always keen to trial new stuff, so this seemed like the perfect ooportunity. The box is incredible value for money with the palette alone retailing for £12. Yep, the liquid lipstick, mascara, blusher and eyeliner are all free. The whole makeup line is affordable anyway, but it's still a £29 saving.  Read on for swatches and a closer look at what's inside the ASOS Beauty Box (November edition).

Irregular Choice Muppets: Haul First Impressions

Though it was very tiring and physically demanding, I had great fun last weekend photographing my entire Irregular Choice Muppets haul. It was like Christmas last Monday when it all arrived. One fabulous box of goodies after another. I was so excited to get stuck in and review it all, then something happened this week which was about to derail the whole thing and I thought it was going to be put on hold for a month. However that crisis is (hopefully) averted and I can get back to doing the stuff I want to do! I'm so excited for you to see it all, because the shoots worked exactly how I hoped and the actual items are just a dream to look at anyway. I thought in the meantime I'd put together a first impressions with photos I took whenever they arrived. I was going to chat about the launch and how I got on buying, but I felt I was blethering and minus a little glitch or two, it actually went well for me, so let's leave it at that and get onto the beautiful stuff!

Irregular Choice Disney Muppets: Fierce Piggy

I was elated when I heard the 7th collaboration between Disney and Irregular Choice was going to be The Muppets. I'm by no means the biggest Muppets fan, but the characters are such characters, with strong identities and lots of bright colours and wild textures, which I just knew IC would do justice. There's been pieces I've loved from every Disney release thus far, but this collection definitely appeals most to my tastes and I knew it would be a little a more 'out there' than previous offerings. Truthfully, Irregular Choice have gone beyond what I hoped for in their interpretations. There's lots of colour, furry fabrics, embellishments, glitter and sequins, lights and something I've spent years wishing for; an outfit changing character heel! They've managed to merge some classic styles (or some we've been recently introduced to) with instantly recognisable Muppets characters to produce this exciting and fresh blend which will hopefully appeal to Muppets fans as well as Irregular Choice followers. I think the pairing between the two brands is absolutely perfect and I'm just so thankful such a bonkers collection of shoes and accessories exists. This is exactly why I fell in love with Irregular Choice all those years ago and why I continue to be such a loyal devotee.

Irregular Choice: Disney Muppets Shoe Box

It's always fun to see the box and tissue paper designs for each Irregular Choice collection as well as the soles and linings. So I thought you'd be interested in a sneak peek at the Disney Muppets box, if you're waiting for yours to arrive.  It is as beautiful as ever.

Irregular Choice: Disney Muppets Preview 3

I have the third and final teaser preview for you today of the Irregular Choice Disney Muppets collection, launching on Friday at 12pm!

Irregular Choice Birdcage: Maya Boots

To say it's been an expensive start to AW17 at Irregular Choice would be an understatement. There's been tonnes of releases so far that are right up my street. Gorgeous mainline stuff, my beloved perspex heels restyled, brand new heel concepts and of course the Disney Muppets collection launching on Friday!! The angel winged Eros were a surprise hit for me, then I thought the macaron heeled boots were the best concept heel we'd see this season, then came the adorable cut-outs which sent me bankrupt (Kir Royal in mint are one of the most beautiful pairs of shoes I've ever worn) and then these.  A modification of the perspex, music box heel into a birdcage. Needless to say, I was sold! It was quite a big launch with 3 colours of the oriental inspired mary-jane, Ava's Aviary (red, blue and black). The Ornate Agador courts came in deep plum or mint/green and there was a matching birdcage bag for the plum pair. Finally, a boot called Maya in black and red or blue and pink. You had me at "boot". I was love hearts in the eyes, open mouth drooling, emoji face over these. They are beautiful!

Irregular Choice: Disney Muppets Preview 2

This week, I bring you more exciting reveals from the upcoming Irregular Choice and Disney Muppets collection. Last week we had the very loud Animal and this time, it's fashion diva, Miss Piggy.

Irregular Choice: Bee Delicious (Pink)

It's been a while, but last time if you recall, I showed you the blue Bee Delicious from the Irregular Choice macaron heel launch. I mentioned there that I bought two colours to compare and decide which one to keep in person. I opted to keep the blue (see the beauties at home on their shelf here) and sent back this pair, the pink.  However, I took photos before doing so. I really wanted to, because they differed so much from the stock images online. Little did I know that they were sneaky, little boots that like to masquerade as pastel pink on camera and in print. Oh yes indeedy, but in reality, they have a warmer tone, are brighter, bolder with quite a neon flash. I had the same issues with the pink Trixy unicorns a while ago and so I've really had to play around editing these to a more realistic tone. From memory, they are still brighter than this (definitely more fluorescent toned), but the colour was starting to get a little too saturated, so this was as close as I could get. It's definitely something to be aware of if you aren't buying in person. No matter how many pastel pink 'real' photos you see online, that's not what you'll get in the flesh.

Irregular Choice: Disney Muppets Preview 1

After the announcement last week, I'm delighted to share with you a sneak peek of the newest Irregular Choice Disney collaboration, The Muppets! We've been told to expect "glamorous shoes and fabulous bags featuring the one and only Miss Piggy, the world’s most famous frog Kermit, The Great Gonzo, Animal and other much loved characters". I'm struggling to contain my excitement to be honest, it's such a terrific pairing between the two brands and we definitely should expect wonderful things. Starting with drumming extraordinaire, Animal.

Irregular Choice: Bee Delicious

The Irregular Choice Autumn/Winter range is steadily streaming into stores and a brand new concept heel launched last Friday. A rather tasty treat, the macaron heel came in 3 designs, each in 3 colourways, all beautiful. Immediately I was drawn to the only boot, because it was perhaps the fanciest and you know I love a boot! Still not discovered why, but they really do excite me! I think generally boots tend come in darker colours, with less decoration than shoes, because it's expected that you'll wear them in winter and be wanting practicality over anything else, but this does not apply to IC boots. I love my wonderful collection of their boots, which come in a range of styles and bright colours, glitter, pastels, prints.  They are just as exciting as my shoes. Just like these.

Funko Vinyl Vixens: Batgirl

So excited to add this to my little Funko collection. I've really, really tried to not collect too many of their Pop! Vinyl (PV) figures over the years (because I already hoard collect enough stuff).  They've really taken off though, you can collect practically any movie, TV series or pop culture character.  I have a handful that I really couldn't resist and then came the Rock Candy (RC) line. Oh my gosh, I love RC's. I wasn't restrained at all when they brought these out.  Totally different from the simplistic, button eyed, big-square headed PV, RC were more in proportion and I loved their scale and detailing. I bought almost the entire Barbie line (the 1980 Afro Barbie is one of my favourite things ever). Then I went onto collect the Barbie Mystery Minis (MM). Well actually my sister did and she didn't get the one she hoped for (blind box), so kept giving me them! They are cheekier, smaller, with cartoon like faces-not nearly as cool as the RC's in my opinion.  I also have bits and pieces I've gotten as gifts, like a Dorbz (smiley, happiest things ever) Ariel, MM Villains Ursula and now loads of Disney MM, that my sister has collected doublers of!

Beauty Lately...

So, a few weeks ago Mum and I went out for lunch (if an ice-cream sundae qualifies as a meal!) and I'm making a point of wearing makeup when I leave the house now (rare occasions, but I'll take that). I didn't have long to get ready but used a few new things and thought I'd share my thoughts, alongside some other new items I've been playing with.   

Irregular Choice: AW17 Sole, Box and Insole Design

It's funny the things you get excited about, but each season, I'm always really eager to see the new Irregular Choice shoe box and soles. It thrills me just as much as seeing the shoes.  I haven't bought anything from the AW17 stock yet (my Barnacle Betty had new lining but the striped bunny sole from SS17), but I do have photos for you along with something that excites me even more.

Danielle Nicole: Disney Bag Collection

A few months ago, I shared my collection of Danielle Nicole Disney bags and I have a couple more to show you today. To begin with, they were an exclusive to QVC in the UK, but now several other retailers stock the brand, so they are even easier to get your hands on here. I've updated the links in that original post to show the newer retailers.

Irregular Choice Disney: Chip n Dale Bag

Hello, I finally made it to the last of my Irregular Choice Mickey & Friends reviews! It wouldn't usually take me this long to get through everything, but as I've said before, it was really unfortunate that my gallbladder surgery coincided with this release and put me out of action for a little while. Though I'm extremely happy that it happened as quickly as it did and it's all over now! I bought another Disney bag a couple of weeks ago, which I haven't had time to photograph and for once, my sister got a pair of shoes from this collection too, so the Disney reviews aren't totally over yet.  I have quite a few other IC things that have sneaked their way in over the past couple of months, so there's all that to follow.  

Irregular Choice Disney: Whoa Bag

Following on from Oh My last week, I have the second of my Irregular Choice Disney Mickey & Friends bag reviews, Whoa. Now, we saw this one in the previews before the release and I hinted then, that it was one I wanted to buy. I managed to find this along with the Chip n Dale purse, as both of those items were selling very quickly from the retailers I saw stocking them.  I actually recall having the bag in my basket on three other sites while searching for other items and being in a bit of a panic once all of them sold out.  Thankfully I found an undiscovered source (at that point) and didn't hesitate when I saw they were stocking the purse too.  

Irregular Choice Disney: Oh My Bag

In the fourth Irregular Choice Mickey & Friends review, I have the first of my handbags. I mentioned to you in previous posts that it was the bags I was eager to get and I ended up buying three (and have a 4th on the way, but I'm not sure I'm keeping that yet). This was the first Disney collection to have bags and accessories alongside footwear, so that was a big deal.  Especially as so many of us had thought for Star Wars, Alice or Cinderella "wouldn't it be cool IF..." and here we are! I didn't necessarily try to match the bags I bought to the shoes, I just got the ones I liked most and it was a bonus that a couple go really well with the 2 pairs of shoes I have from this collection.  Generally (and because the collection was so big), there were several shoe styles that could be 'matched' up to each bag.  The darker coloured ones, tended to have more 'matches' than the others.  All of the handbag styles are based on shapes we've seen in the mainline collection over the years, which I see no problem with. My IC bag collection started off quite tentatively, but now I own a lot and have several shapes that I like so much, I'm keen to buy in new variations each season. All of the Mickey bags seem to have sold really quickly everywhere, so I think they've been popular choices.

Makeup Revolution & MUA: £1 Lip Swatches

I recently had to order replacement toothbrush heads, exciting I know (!) and while doing so, I thought I'd check out the makeup. As you know, I'm a big beauty buff, but rarely manage to wear makeup these days, though I have maintained my usual skin and body care routines. For the past year, I've been aiming to wear makeup on the rare occasions I do leave the house and am starting to buy makeup again. It seemed so wasteful when I was very ill, to buy stuff I'd never get the chance to use at the time. It's an area I'm still hugely interested in though, so I've been keeping an eye on new releases (GWP's are still my ultimate weakness), but I'd say I've been spending more on skincare and less on makeup, when it used to be the other way around. I'm also keen to get back into blogging regularly about beauty and hope this is something you'll be interested in seeing here. So back to the toothbrush head order and I saw it was 3 for 2 on makeup with these lipsticks priced at £1 each. It was such a bargain, I was able to order guilt-free! I partly ordered these as an inexpensive treat and partly out of curiosity for blogging purposes! Naturally I gravitated towards the nude colours and for the third item, I picked up a lip liner, as it was also £1. Both Makeup Revolution and Makeup Academy, have really made names for themselves with trendy, quality but affordable items and I was genuinely interested to see how they fared.

Irregular Choice Disney: Chip n Dale Purse

Hi gang, I have another review for you today from the Irregular Choice Mickey & Friends collection. Right off the bat, I wanted the Chip n Dale handbag. Pre-release it was probably my favourite thing from the whole range (yep, even over the shoes), so it made sense if I was to get that, I'd need the matching coin purse too. Well, not need need, but you know what I mean!  Add to that the fact, my Sherbet Ice Cream heels were made from the same floral fabric, this triple combo could complete my life! The day of the launch for me, wasn't a good one. I spoke in my previous post about the hospital ringing right beforehand, telling me my surgery was scheduled for the next week. To be honest, I put that to one side to concentrate on the shoes, because I'd been gearing up for this for months! I was home alone (might just be me, but I like someone there to stress with, I like to share that emotion!), however it was the online queue system that really failed for me.

Irregular Choice Disney: Oh Boy

Alrighty, I'm back and with another epic Irregular Choice Disney review. It was extremely unfortunate timing that my gallbladder operation coincided with the release of the Mickey & Friends collection. I literally got the phonecall to say I was going in the next Friday, right before this range launched (definitely caught unawares there). I wasn't sure how physically able I would be to take photos after the operation, so photographed all my orders as they came in (smart move), before I went into hospital. Pictures don't edit themselves though and posts don't write themselves (wouldn't it be cool if they did?), so after taking a few weeks off to recover, I'm tackling the backlog! 
I'm not sure if I mentioned in my first review for Sherbet Ice Cream (SIC), that I was quite restrained when it came to buying shoes in this range. Purely because for once, the collection involved more than footwear and I was after several bags, so I couldn't really go overboard on the heels. There was a lot to choose from in terms of everything (colour, heel height and style) in this collection, so I chose two pairs that were quite different to one another.

Danielle Nicole: Disney Handbags

If you follow my Instagram, you'll probably be aware I began collecting Danielle Nicole x Disney handbags last year, when they first launched in the UK. As well as making 'regular' bags, accessories and jewellery, Danielle has the most wonderful (officially licensed) Disney range. You know I'm a long time fan of the novelty handbag and they don't get much more fun than these. Princess heads (my favourite) or other Disney characters adorn these cute bags and I've built up quite the collection already, so thought I'd share them with you.

M.E. On: The Gallstone Journey

I haven't kept you updated on the (possible) gallstones thing like I promised, because I've not been able for blogging and I keep half writing M.E. On posts but never find the time or energy to finish them (there's so much I want to say though!). I'll go into more detail about what's been going on during this time, but this post will summarise the process and appointments I've been to since I was first referred for my ultrasound scan (which follows on from my last post on the subject).  I initially wrote this post a couple of weeks ago, but it's taken until today to finish, so I've edited a couple of dates and also added an update at the end.  
I did indeed wait just over 6 weeks for my ultrasound (story for another post). I worried a lot during this time. What if it isn't gallstones? What if it is, but it doesn't show up on the scan? What if they find nothing at all and after all these months, I just get sent home? What if they find something really sinister? It's just natural I suspect, to have all those thoughts flowing through your mind. Having gone through months of these 'mystery' attacks, I wished my life away to hurry that scan along! It eventually came and involved a good 10 minutes of contorting myself into strange positions, realising my boobs get in the way of everything (right on the bra line is where she needed to get into and it wasn't budging for anyone)! She wasn't particularly chatty, but did say she saw some small gallstones and that this would be passed onto my GP, who could then proceed to the next step. My GP had initially said wait a week before making an appointment with him, but I didn't see the point. We had a definite answer of what it was, so why not get the ball rolling?  Getting an appointment with my GP these days is like getting blood out of a stone, so there was a lot of faffing about and eventually (after popping out for breakfast and back again) we made a phone appointment with a random doctor (because that was all I could get). I'm struggling to get out of the house, so it's silly to physically go back to say "have you seen I've got gallstones? What next?", that could be done over the phone (especially as I was going to be waiting about 10 days for a face-to-face appointment, still with a random). I'm so pleased I chose this, because I was shattered after the scan. It must have been the awkward positions, but I was really sore for about a week afterwards and generally more tired.

Irregular Choice Disney: Sherbet Ice Cream

I'm so excited to share my first pair of heels from the new Irregular Choice Disney collaboration, Mickey & Friends. The collection is live right now and at this moment I'm in the queue online (hopefully) buying the rest of my wishlist!

Irregular Choice: Disney Mickey & Friends Box

The Irregular Choice collection we've been eagerly anticipating is out! Mickey & Friends is the latest collaboration with Disney and if you're already an avid IC fan, you'll be aware of the little extras that make buying a pair of their shoes so special. If not, then let me tell you that the soles, insoles and boxes are often just as fancy as the outside! With each new season or special release, such as these Disney collaborations, we see new fabric linings and patterns and pictures on the soles and boxes. I've already mentioned the linings in my teaser posts over the past few weeks, but I can tell you the images on the soles vary between styles (like we saw with Alice). For now, I have photos of the box.
Collectors of either brand, I'm sure are going to love this design. The box has a glossy finish with tropical (gorgeous) Minnie on one side on a lilac and white background. I'd totally wear that whole outfit and you know it!

Irregular Choice: Mickey & Friends Preview 4

It's here, your final teaser before the launch of the Irregular Choice Disney Mickey & Friends collection tomorrow. Details at the bottom regarding online and in person shopping, but before that let's see the first heels of the collection.

Irregular Choice: Mickey & Friends Preview 3

Hi, I'm back with your favourite Friday post, another Disney teaser! The limited edition Irregular Choice Mickey & Friends collection will launch next Friday (26th May) at 12pm and will be available worldwide, online and in stores. The preview this week is Minnie inspired...

Irregular Choice: Mickey & Friends Preview 2

Hello! I have another little sneaky look for you from the upcoming Irregular Choice Mickey & Friends collection. As you saw from my post last week, the latest Disney collaboration kicked off with Mickey and Minnie shoes and our first ever limited edition bag. This week, I have another bag and pair of shoes to discuss.

Irregular Choice: Mickey & Friends Preview 1

As announced last week, Irregular Choice are once more collaborating with Disney for a special, limited edition range featuring Mickey Mouse and friends. I'm delighted to share the first teaser(s) with you and I think you're going to be super excited about this!

Irregular Choice: Two Different Coloured Shoes Day

Today is National Two Different Coloured Shoes Day. Yes, there really is a national or international day for everything! So I've put together a very short video of (some) of my odd but matching Irregular Choice pairs.  I was actually surprised by how many I had, then remembered another and another...but it's been a tough day today, so these were all I could manage to photograph.  All styles names listed in order below the video, all shoes Irregular Choice (though I did discover another few matching pairs from other brands that I didn't include), unicorn jammie bottoms Primark.

Irregular Choice: In Search Of?

I've put together an extensive list of stockists of limited edition or harder to find Irregular Choice styles that may have sold out quickly that you thought you'd missed forever. There's around 60 styles here including character heels, Alice, Cinderella, Star Wars and even some bags.  Be warned a lot of the styles are the last in that size so if you want them, act fast.  I haven't included Australian, US stores etc, because this list took so long to put together at it was.  I'll also add Amazon have a lot of the character heels and Disney releases (though some are sold by US sellers and the sizing is US NOT UK, so watch out for that) but I haven't linked to those either.  While on the point of sizing, double check with the place you are buying from how their sizing works.  Sizes 40 upwards get called different things along with a 36 sometimes referred to as a 3 or 3.5, so it may have gotten jumbled between what they think or I've written.  You'll find size charts with corresponding sizes on all of these sites I would think, so it should be easy to check.  If you want to share this post to help someone find their perfect pairing, please do just that, share the whole post and don't lift segments or the entire text as you can probably appreciate this took a long time (all last week actually) to compile, so it's only fair to credit me for it. All links will open in a new tab, so you don't need to worry about losing your place if there's a couple you want to click on.  That's it, read on to hopefully find the shoes you've been waiting for!    

It's Back: Formula Absolute Ultimate Sleep Cream

In the Marks & Spencer beauty advent calendar my Mum kindly bought me last year, was this rather inconspicuous looking tube of sleep cream. Now, I do plan (have been planning for months actually, but crappy health got in the way), mini reviews of each of the products in this calendar (because there were some real gems). Anyway this cream, I liked the sound of, but the plain packaging wasn't doing much for me, so it's likely not the type of thing I'd be attracted to try normally. How wrong I was! I would actually buy this for it's divine and dreamy scent alone. Applying it makes me all warm and fuzzy and I feel like I'm proper pampering myself, it feels so luxurious. I was hooked from the first application, so before I'd even finished the tube, I went online to buy more. I had to have it! I couldn't, it was sold out. This stuff has since been impossible to get hold of, like it's gone from everywhere and has a waiting list of thousands apparently! If you read the reviews, you'll see many similar stories to mine, having searched for the full size after trialling it and not being able to get hold of it. Weeks turned into months and I'll be honest I'd kind of given up hope that I'd get my hands on it.

Irregular Choice: Rainbunny (Jelly Bunny) Heels

Hot on the heels (sorry!) of the mermaid wedge, Irregular Choice released a brand new version of the bunny heel that kick-started the character heel genre exactly 4 years ago. Perfect for Easter time, the new heel came in an array of bright candy colours and was entirely see-through. With two styles and five choices overall, I opted for Rainbunny in pink.
Much like the Aquata mermaids I chose, Rainbunny have extremely detailed uppers. There's so many extra little trims and things, so I'll point them all out.  The shoe itself is a slip on style with a small (3/4") concealed platform that we're accustomed to seeing with these heel heights. The uppers have that oil-slick finish we all love so much and it's a very warm and sickly sweet shade of pink.

Irregular Choice: Aquata Mermaid Heels

Last Friday saw another Irregular Choice character heel released, a brand new mould and theme for Spring 2017, mermaids! I feel like I've been very lucky in that almost everything I've ever wished for in such a heel has been released. Deer, unicorn, teacups, flamingo (actually thought this one would be too tricky to do, so might not happen) and I even hoped for some texture, which we've seen on the bunnies, swans and squirrels. Mermaids were of course another dream of mine (like we're soooo on the same wavelength), so I'm just putting it out there that an Eiffel Tower, snow/glitter globe and a doll heel that comes with changeable fabric outfits need to happen!
I found choosing particularly easy this time, because let's face it, I've not been the sharpest at decision making lately (made all the more difficult by the fact everything is always so lovely), but there were just two colour schemes and two styles. Once I knew I preferred the blue over grey, I just had to decide on the style and I was leaning more towards Aquata than Siren Of The Sea, so decision made.

Irregular Choice: Rosie With Love

Last week I showed you Irregular Choice Rosie Cheeks that I bought from the recent re-collaboration (if there's such a word!) with Rosanna Gault. Today I have the other pair I bought, red Rosie With Love (they also came in white). RWL are a variation of the Rosanna boot I loved so dearly from the first collection. I'll be totally honest and say the floral still makes my heart flutter more than these, but this new variation is still pretty awesome and definitely eye-catching.

M.E. On: Being Ill On Top Of Being Ill

I haven't updated you with a M.E. On post since last year and there's many reasons for that. I have a half written post regarding the outcome of the scary meeting, which I can't quite finish and honestly have had so much on, I haven't had time. It's hard to write and my feelings regarding it, still aren't straight in my head, so it's difficult to explain to you, when I'm still unsure about the whole thing myself. Instead today I wanted to talk about being ill when you're already ill. I could make it short by saying "it sucks" because that sums it up frankly!

Over Christmas everyone in my house had a cold of some sort. It was most definitely "going about" and I was hoping I wouldn't catch it. I did and actually mine turned out to be the flu, which was even worse. Obviously with M.E. I have symptoms every single day, which are actually quite flu-like (the aches and weakness and tiredness), so when you get another dose on top of that, it's hell. I had to totally take time-out (and actually enjoyed doing absolutely nothing) and it took a good 2-3 to recover fully. I had the shivering body while boiling hot, absolutely aching, coughing and I slept a lot. I had to go 12 days without showering, because my body wasn't up to doing it. None of it was pleasant, so I was glad to be rid. On top of this though (because y'know I need something else to go wrong), I've been taking funny turns. I spoke about the first one a while back, you may remember. It happened in November last year. My parents had been away for a few days and Mum brought me back the most adorable unicorn cupcakes from Selfridges. I ate one that evening, then a short while later was in agony. Stomach pain like nothing I've felt before. We joked it was the cake! It moved up towards my chest, I was struggling for breath because it felt like someone was pressing down on my chest and I was crying out in pain, which is major considering the pain I go through on a daily basis. I came over hot, thought I was going to be sick and could not get comfortable or ease the pain no matter how I sat, lay or stood. It's the most uncomfortable thing to watch, as I'm flailing about all over the place and groaning and nobody can do anything to help. My family made the decision to call an ambulance and I didn't stop them. I knew it wasn't normal for me to feel like this and I felt like something was about to rupture inside, it just escalated to the point I thought I might explode.

Irregular Choice: Rosie Cheeks

Last Friday a very exciting collection launched at Irregular Choice. You may remember back in 2010, IC teamed up with London College Of Fashion and the winners, So Yeon Sarah and Rosanna Gault, had their designs made into shoes that were sold in very limited numbers. I bought the So Yeon Sarah pair with all the attachments and had to decide between Rosy, a court shoe with removable cuff or Rosanna, a floral ankle boot. I bought the former and the latter have haunted me ever since! No joke, I've been desperately seeking these for the past 7 years and have come close, but not close enough!  Which brings us to last week, when it was announced that Rosanna had worked on some more colours and styles and we were treated to 6 new pieces. The Rosanna boot was reworked in two colours (now called Rosie With Love), which I bought in red (you can see me wearing them here for Shoesday Tuesday). The Rosy cuffed shoe was newly titled Rosie and there were three more court shoes (without cuffs), Rosie Posy, Ring O'Rosie and Rosie Cheeks, which I'm showing you today. They are my absolute favourite of the collection, I've been pawing them like crazy, they are just so pretty.

#Febshoeary

For as long as I can remember I've always hated February! Nothing good or exciting ever happens in February. People appear to die more often in February than any other month*. Valentine's Day, my most disliked celebration, takes place in February. It's a dark and gloomy month, I hate it and dread it's arrival every year.

Irregular Choice Cinderella: Faith In Dreams

Today I have Faith In Dreams, another pair of Cinderella shoes from the Irregular Choice collection to review. I do have one more after this, though I didn't keep those and then I took the opportunity when I had all five to photograph them together and compare. I took these photos last year after the collection launched, so it was quite nice to familiarise myself with them this week. Faith In Dreams (FID) along with Call Me Cinders (which I reviewed here) and Believe In Magic all came in the same fabric, which was also used as the lining for all styles in this range, along with a small portion of the sole repeating the print. It almost turns the shoes into optical illusions with the outside blending with the inside! FID are a court shoe in the typical IC cortesan shape with wide toe box and bulbous, upturned toe which comes to a point.  It perhaps sounds like an oxymoron, but is a shape synonymous with IC now.  

NOTD #1

Seeing as I rarely manage to wear makeup these days, but still enjoy beauty blogging, I thought I should begin documenting my manicures. It's something that in the past year at least, I've tried to regularly maintain (every couple of weeks or so). I'm also training myself to blog something that doesn't involve screeds of writing and tonnes of photos! Surely I can manage a couple of photos and short paragraph? So, these were my nails for New Year. I'd prioritised too many other things (as you do) that by Christmas my nails were all chipped and I didn't have the energy to do anything about it, so although I wasn't going out anywhere, I decided to make them nice for Hogmanay.

Irregular Choice: Mermaid Storage Chest

An Irregular Choice themed post today, but not shoes or a bag as you'd expect! Last October, I finally took the plunge and bought one of the amazing giant, shoe box style, storage units from Irregular Choice. I say "finally" because it all started ages ago, when I saw a video doing the rounds, of what looked like a standard Christian Louboutin beige box. However someone walked up to it and lifted the lid up to reveal several shoes inside and a drawer underneath housed even more. It was actually a piece of furniture (the size of a table), designed to hold shoes. It looked absolutely amazing and we all got to thinking how cool it would be if the fabulousness that are IC boxes, were made into something similar. Given how stunning those boxes are, could you just imagine how pretty they would be? A company in Nottingham (Unique Walls) began custom orders and then a while later they became available through IC. This is when I decided that I should really invest in one, after all those months of drooling over them on social media!

DIY Tinsel Shoes Tutorial

Do not adjust your screens, these are real shoes people! Firstly, happy new year to you all, hope 2017 is a brilliant one! I set myself a little DIY project before Christmas. Well actually as is the usual way, I thought it all out, then left it for weeks and weeks and last minute decided I should do something about it or the moment would be gone until next year. My background is in fashion, so obviously back then I was extremely creative and it's not something I've been able to indulge in since being ill. In an ideal world, I'd sit and sew and design and craft things all day long, but my brain doesn't work the way it used to and I know I'm not physically up to it either. However, I got this thing in my head that I wanted to make tinsel shoes.