The Return of the Shoe

I came home this afternoon (empty-handed, save for a bottle of Anbesol to numb my poor gum where an abscess has developed around my very slowly emerging wisdom tooth - ouch) to find the Topshop package containing the shoes waiting for me in my porch.

As expected, they were indeed too big; oh, the heartbreak! It also has to be said, they were bloody uncomfortable. So, they've been packed back up, ready to be returned...

Looking pretty in their box as I sadly prepare them for return...

The dustbag is placed on top of them. Bye bye, shoes...

Finally, the lid goes back on the box...

I'm aleady planning what to spend the money I've just 'made' on. A supply of American Apparel basics, I'm thinking. See, very sensible.

An Unprecedented Passion for Pastels

It's weird how lifelong fashion prejudices can change just like that. Trends don't dictate my wardrobe, though of course they seep into it, but it's odd how, when there's a proliferation of a certain thing that you've always been completely averse to, you can see it with brand new eyes, so to speak.

Case in point, pastels. I'm the least pastel-ly person ever; it's a whole colour palette that's always made me shudder and has never been spotted in my wardrobe. The pastels that are around for this season, though, I'm finding truly delectable. There's a freshness, a vibrancy and just a general ice creamy loveliness about them. The current issue of Fashion156 is dedicated to them, and it's a real treat for the eyes.

Pairing pastels with nude tones works for me, as does teaming them up with pure brights.

Any outfit featuring an ice cream works for me.

It's hard to believe I'm liking candy pink trousers, but I do...

All images taken from the current issue of Fashion156

The Shoe Shakes

Oh God, I literally feel as though I'm going to heave. I involuntarily (seriously!) clicked onto Topshop this morning (it's right there on the tool bar; my cursor just goes there all by itself every day) and they had the shoes. The shoes I've been dreaming of for weeks, since I first saw them posted on Style Bubble. There they were, available to buy. My brain disconnected from my hands and I found myself clicking Add To Bag, putting in my details and bam! I'd bought them. Yes, I'm not supposed to be buying anything right now (I've just bought a new computer; I'm going away for a few days soon; I have to pay for the cat's booster shots this month)... Yes, they're too expensive, really... YES, THEY DIDN'T ACTUALLY HAVE MY SIZE!! But clickety-click, I bought them anyway, in one size too big (Goddamn you, Topshop, I'm a 38 everywhere else, why am I a 37 in your shoes?!)
Okay, so I'm rationalising this unplanned purchase thus: a) I can actually afford them. I don't like the dive the figures on my bank page have taken, but financially, it is okay; b) I have a wedding to attend in the spring for which they will be perfecto, and of course I would have had to have bought some shoes for the occasion at some point; c)I'm pretty sure the sizing won't be that out - I'll stuff cotton wool in the toes if I have to; and d) they're so pretty!
It has to be said, also, that they are not the only totally killer shoes they have right now - it's a dangerous place to browse onto today, that Topshop shoe section. (The Emma Cooks are amazing).
So, here they are. So beautiful. So giving me the shakes.

I'm so off to barf now.

EDIT: In an act of attempting to appease my concience, I've popped a few bits up for sale on Ebay. If you live in the UK (sorry, can't post abroard), please check them out. Only a couple of bits right now, but more things will appear in dribs and drabs over the next few days.

Oh, You Pretty Things

So, I'm imposing a little bit of shopping abstinance on myself for a while to compensate for the impact a couple of clickety-clicks on Amazon will have on the numbers on my bank statement after I buy my new netbook (and I'll be going on about said netbook for some time yet, I predict). But as clothes buying is not a priority right now (and I'm still waiting for purchases made in the last couple of weeks to arrive in the mail, anyway), my web-browsing became focussed on beautiful things that weren't clothes. These are all definitely things that would make Holly Pop World that much more of a pretty place to live in.

Tea. I cannot get enough of it. If I had a cup this beautiful to drink it out of, I don't think I'd ever be without my favourite beverage in hand. The cake plate and dessert stand are equally lovely.

Tina Tsang Blaue Blume Teacup, £32.25, from hiddenartshop.com

If there's a cooler way to carry around a laptop, I haven't seen it.

ab-irato Computer Bag, £78, from Beyond the Valley

If I have to wear glasses (and believe me, I do), getting to store them in this would make it way more fun to be a specs-wearer. I still say hooray for contacts, though.

Owl Design Glasses Case, £6, from Paperchase

Kris Chau's illustrations and paintings are all so wonderful but it's this one, entitled Sweet Anatomy, that I'm particularly drawn to. I've never seen such beautiful insides before.

Sweet Anatomy by Kris Chau, $55, from krischau.com

As a self-confessed mad cat lady, I would be very happy to have this cushion residing on my daybed, I think.

Milk Thief Cushion by Ashley Thomas, £54.76, from hiddenartshop.com

Neon pink hands on a cream base. Need I say more?

Rose Clock by Mr Kaliski, £73.36, from hiddenartshop.com

A complete waste of time to buy pretty toys for my own beloved cat because the amount of money I've wasted on 'fun' toys for him already is enough. His disinterest in any (non-living) thing except cheap ping-pong balls, food and feet is palpable. But this mouse... so pretty!

Pink Felt Mouse Cat Toy, £6, from Mungo and Maud

Exploring ASOS

I may be about to make my first purchase from ASOS (well, aside from some polka dot flip flops and a cliched skull-print scarf circa 2005). It's rather annoying that the spotting of this blouse took place approximately 0.35 seconds after deciding that I was going to halt all fashion-related purchases for the time being to aid the procurement of a Samsung netbook. I thought to myself, should I really even be here, when I am emphatically NOT buying any new clothes for at least a few weeks? But I reasoned that I've never been taken with anything on ASOS enough to buy it (though the odd thing does take my fancy now and again), so I was safe. I didn't bargain on this pretty peach double-breasted blouse.

It's in my colour of the season and ripe for pairing with a nude palette a la Christopher Kane S/S09, or maybe sleek and shiny black.

I browsed on a bit further to see if I could find anything else covetable; predictably, most of these came from the accessories departments or the designer collections (which I tried to exclude for the most part, because that seemed like cheating).

(L-R, Top - Bottom: Woven Track Pant/ Neon Trim Across the Body Bag/ Body Con Mini Pencil/ Markus Lupfer Corset Shadow Applique T-Shirt/ Bow Front Sandal) - You can click on the image for a bigger version.

Hmm, slightly regretting my further foraging, because as well as the blouse I want the shoes and bag now, too. Oops.

All pics from asos.com

EDIT: Can't decide now whether I like this blouse, or actually think it's gross. Either way, I'm really holding up on the not buying any new clothes - it's been a couple of days now! I'm much more excited about making a visit to Comet this afternoon to futher investigate the purchasing of the netbook! (I'm a computer geek, and I just don't care.)

A Grey Day

Despite the craze for colour (well, it's a craze by my standards) I've been exhibiting here lately, today it's all about the grey (to match the day outside, rather than try to inject some colour in to it).

The view from my back door at lunchtime today.

Okay, well, a lil flash of colour, then, in the form of my favourite colour to combine with grey (and taupe and cafe au lait and cream...). It's coral, of course!