Chain Reaction

Hey everyone,

So the beautiful weather we've been having has slowly turned to overcast and muggy.

However, my tan remains - it's half real, and half fake-bake after I sat out in the sun for an hour too long and ended up resembling a lobster.

DRESS: c/o AX Paris.

CARDIGAN: M&S via eBay.

BELT: Dorothy Perkins.

NECKLACE: Punky Pins.

EARRINGS: Dorothy Perkins.

BRACELETS: Various.

SHOES: Office.

POINT OF FASHION: Green, gold chains and red.

This dress was very kindly send to me from AX Paris and it is from their new Curve line which runs from size 16 to 26. 

I'd heard mixed reviews from bloggers on whether the line is true to size, so I ordered an 18 and it fits me perfectly with no clinging.

I'm only 5'4 however, and will probably take this up to just above my knee - I just feel more comfortable with dresses that length. But it's utterly gorgeous, with lovely lightweight material! 

The thing about having a bit of a tan means I have to break out my 'summer foundation' so I mix the darkest one with a bit of the others. I'm so used to being pale blue, it's a bit of an experiment to get the right mix.

So what else have I been up to in the past week?

1: On Friday night I went to see Avenue Q with my friends Lauren and David. I'd seen it in the West End, David had seen it on Broadway but it was Lauren's first time which was fun. 

We were in the front row, and Trekkie Monster kept pointing at David during The Internet is for P*rn so I ended up crying my eyeliner down my face, it was just hysterical! 

Afterwards we went for cocktails, and the above is the result of what happens when you arrive at 2 4 1 happy hour with five minutes to spare...classy lassies!

2: Tonight I went to my first Clandestine Cake Club meeting in Newcastle (I wanted to start last month but it was fully booked).  The CCC was founded with the sole reason to get people together to eat cake and have some drinks. Now it's turned into a national - and international - movement, with literally hundreds of clubs!

Every month there is a theme with a related venue announced to members only just a week before the event (for example, tonight's theme was "An English Country Garden" so it took place at Garden Kitchen). It is not cliquey, and there is no competitive element. Plus, any leftovers are welcome to be taken home!

I had a wonderful night (I made a sticky toffee date cake) and can't wait for the next one - be sure to check the clubs page of the website to see if there is one in your area. And if there's not - start one!

3: Finally, in rather exciting news one of my outfits I uploaded to Look What I'm Wearing (more information in this post) made it into Look Magazine this week! I was especially stoked as it's the special Jubilee issue, which is sparkly and full of uber-British fashion and kitsch. 

(The 'Jubillee Bingo' page made me laugh - it reminded me of something you might find in the Girl Talk Bumper Summer Issue I would get religiously every year!)

And that's all, folks!

I'm going shopping tomorrow for the first time in ages with Daniel (which funnily enough in ten years of friendship we've never really done - except when we have to cut through Eldon Square to get to a pub or a Nando's...classy!) for some more summer bits as I have two summers to buy for this year, one here and one in Australia! Eeep. 

Bring on the tropical florals, even if the weather is not so tropical anymore...

Muchos love,

MessyCarla.

DISCLAIMER: AX Paris dress sent for review. I was invited by Look Magazine to come and check out the launch of the Look What I'm Wearing segment of their website and to be one of the first uploaders, however all participation was completely voluntary. I have not received any money from either company. All opinions are - as always - my own!

Unprepared For Summer

Hey everyone,

So along with my fellow Brits, this mini heatwave has knocked me for six.

And as someone who dresses like it's constantly spring/autumn with my tea dresses, cardigans and tights - my summer wardrobe usually consists of stuff I've worn previously.
Although I love bright colours and prints, I never seem to buy a lot of new things during this time of year.

I also think with my silly hat, bright blazer (I call it my 'Graham Norton' jacket!) and hi-tops I do sort of look like an oversized child.
At the pub tonight an adorable baby boy kept pointing and waving at me. Kindred spirits, and all that.

DRESS: H! by Henry Holland.

BLAZER: River Island.

BELT: Dorothy Perkins.

BAG: River Island.

HAT: Primark.

NECKLACE: Present from Daniel, via Topshop.

BRACLETS: Various.

EARRINGS: River Island (two earrings worn in one ear).

SHOES: Nike.

POINT OF FASHION: Heatwave/Hot Mess.

I really need to wear this blazer more - I'm always put off as it's a size too big (but was on sale for only £17 down from around £40), plus it's so bright and brashy the only other time I wore it was to Pride a few years ago. 

(Claire also owns it and looks waaaay more chic than I do!)

But now I think it's going to be one of those things I'll end up taking with me to Sydney for chillier evenings.

I kept my face quite neutral with only using Beijing shadestick by MAC (I seriously can't recommend these enough - they've been a staple of mine for years!) for some highlighting, along with  my usual black cat eye flick (Barry M) and shaded eyebrows (Wet N Wild). 

I've really fallen in love with the Wake Me Up Foundation by Rimmel in True Ivory I've mentioned previously - it's the perfect coverage for summer!

Also included is some messy 'nail art' - although I hasten to use that term as I was unfortunately not born with the mad skillzzz gene. 

However all the polishes I used are by Barry M, except the gold tip which is by Love Label from our Plus London goodie bags this year. 

The bold pattern of the blazer drowns out how pretty the dress underneath it - and it's absolutely gorgeous, one of my new favourites. I especially love the 1980s-esque shoulders!

(Hola, changing room pic!)

So I hope you've all been enjoying the sunshine, if it's had it's hat on in your area!

It won't last of course, so best to break out the barbecues ASAP!

Finally, I will leave you with this ad I saw on TV the other day and made me smile so much! 

Awww Harvey is so cute:

Muchos love,

MessyCarla.

Tropical Florals

Hey everyone,

Wow, two outfit posts in a row - I'm on a bit of a roll!

Nail polish is Shade 2 by Accessorize - my ring fingers also have a coat of Blue Glitter by Barry M.

DRESS: Primark.

CARDIGAN: New Look.

BAG: Primark.

BROOCH: c/o Callooh and Callay (more here)

BELT: eBay.

NECKLACE: Cinsational Baubles.

HAIRBAND: New Look.

BOOTS: Dr Martens.

POINT OF FASHION: Tropical, punky florals.

Apologies for the 'coy blogger pose' on the last photo - I'm just getting over a cold which has left lots of dry skin on my nose and my lips are ridiculously chapped. 

However I wanted to show a close up of my awesome new hairband which was only around a fiver from New Look and reminds me of my goth days when I'd be covered in spiky silver accessories!

My friend Daniel is back in the UK from his year abroad in France and is a bit down in the dumps as his lovely boyfriend Nik has returned home to America so I'm doing my best to cheer him up.

On Thursday night we went out for some drinks, then when they called last orders he came back to mine and we ended up drinking huge mugs of tea and chatting until 4.30am.

We haven't had a lunch date in a while, so today we went for to Zizzi's and I had calamari and a pizza - with of course yet more wine. 

Hey, it's the weekend - and we're Geordies, remember!

After we'd finished we had a wander along the quayside to work off our lunch (that weird thing behind Daniel that looks like a silver slug is The Sage building) where I haven't been for ages. 

It definitely did my poor asthmatic lungs the world of good. 

So yeah, it's been a really fun few days - and don't forget to give Daniel's blog a clicky if you haven't already!

In other news - you may remember last month I went to London for a secret project?

Well, I am one of the initial contributors to Look What I'm Wearing - a new section of Look Magazine's website where anyone can upload their outfits for a chance to be in the magazine itself!

For example - you can click my name and see all the looks I have uploaded.

Looks are also categorised by Hottest Looks (looks with a lot of 'likes' and links) and Latest Looks (most recently uploaded).

The website is moderated by the (incredibly lovely) online team (mostly to keep out unsuitable photos and trolls), although nobody is discriminated against - everyone of any size is welcome to upload their look! (This was my first question, haha!) 

This coincides with the new look of Look which had a bit of a makeover this week and is just £1 during the re-launch. So be sure to check it out - it's awesome!

(I was cheeky and lifted the title of this post from this page - shhhh!)

So I hope to see lots of you getting involved with Look What I'm Wearing - remember, anyone can upload - it's not just for bloggers!

Muchos love,

MessyCarla.

DISCLAIMER: I was invited by Look Magazine to come and check out the launch of the Look What I'm Wearing segment of their website and to be one of the first uploaders, however all participation was completely voluntary. I was also sent a free copy of the latest issue of the magazine, with the option to blog about it if I wish. I have not received any money from Look Magazine. All opinions are - as always - my own!

"Nobody Likes You When You're Twenty-Three..."

Hey everyone,

It was my birthday yesterday, and I turned twenty-three. Hoorah!

Although I didn't plan on buying a new outfit as I'm trying so hard to curb my spending for Australia, I just couldn't resist this gorgeous prom style dress from Red Herring for only £45!
(Though I also fell in love with this dress too with a cool chilli pepper design - but I behaved myself.)

I think it looks and feels a lot more expensive, especially as it has pretty petticoats and tulle underneath.

It's one of those dresses which feels like it's been made especially for me - it fits my waist perfectly, is low-cut without being too revealing and the hemline hits my knees in just the right spot.

I was planning on wearing heels, but since we had standing tickets for Boulevard I didn't want to be worrying that my feel would hurt after 3 hours of solid standing.

DRESS: Red Herring.

CARDIGAN: M&S.

BELT: Dorothy Perkins.

NECKLACE: Birthday present from my sister via Topshop.

BROOCH: eBay.

SHOES: Office.

POINT OF FASHION: Grown up girly.

To go with the 1950s feel of the dress, I kept my makeup quite minimal for a party look with my usual cat eye (001 by Barry M) and false eyelashes (eBay), a strong brow (Wet N' Wild brow palette) and bright pink lips (Touch of Magic by Barry M).

I also tried a new foundation, as it's always good to try new things - Wake Me Up Foundation by Rimmel in True Ivory which I believe is the second lightest shade. 

It looks a little too orange for my skin tone in the bottle, but I really love the consistency, and it goes on my face much paler. I think it also gives me a bit of a more dewy look than usual - when sometimes I worry I look a little too matt!

To celebrate my birthday, I had a cat themed night out with my friends (as you do...). 

We went to Twist for a few cheeky drinks, then saw Boulevard's late show which was awesome as ever. 

Like myself, most of my friends aren't into proper 'clubbing' anymore (not that I've ever been the world's biggest fan in the first place) and it was lovely to have a night out with lots of singing and dancing, but without the blaring house music, dance floors so crowded you can hardly move and hour-long queues for the bar and bathroom. 

It was such a laugh, so I thought I'd share a few of my favourite photos:

I loved my bestie Sam's fluffy ears, as well as her new outfit from Miss Selfridge.

Marie and I demonstrating 'the Autumn Shade dance' from our school days.

During a PE lesson in Year 9 the class was asked to pair up and come up with a dance to a song inspired by the artist and lyrics.

While the other girls came up with sexy moves from various Top 40 tunes, we chose the slowest song we knew - Autumn Shade by The Vines - and sort of just swayed about like Craig Nicholls. 

I'm so glad my darling Daniel is home from his year abroad in France - I've missed him so much!

I love this picture so much!

Natalie (I LOVE her 'Soft Kitty' t-shirt), Sam, Lorna, Marie, Libby and Sarah.

Thank you again to my friends for such a wonderful night - you're the best!

And also to everyone who sent me such lovely tweets yesterday, they were really appreciated - thank you thank you! 

Muchos love,

MessyCarla.

Sydney, I'm Coming!

Hey everyone,

Remember a few entries ago I mentioned a personal project that's going on in my life?
Now that plans are more finalised, I can let you into what's going on.

In Autumn, I am temporarily moving over 10,000 miles away to the other side of the world.

The title of this blog post may give some indication as to where I am headed, but just in case...

From late September 2012, I will be living in Sydney, Australia.

This is not a decision I have made lightly.
I originally planned travelling in late 2010 when I still couldn't find a job after graduating from university in the summer and discovered internship opportunities online.

I gave myself until Spring 2011 to find a job -  but when I got the job at the hostel, this obviously came first on my list of priorities.
(I did have an awesome boss from Brisbane however, which softened the blow!)

Working in a hostel was one of the most rewarding things I've done with my life - I'm naturally a nosy person, and every day I saw people from all walks of living going on adventures. 

Memorable guests included: a large group of German high schoolers who played Soulja Boy on repeat, a middle aged couple cycling across Europe for their anniversary, three girls who'd flown all the way from Texas to see Kate Nash at The Cluny, a nervous first-time inter-railer who asked for advice on how to make friends, an old Glaswegian man en route to London who described me as "like my son's second wife - pretty and chubby", a Dutch football team who left us lots of team flags to hang in the office, a group of "stags" dressed as superheroes who stopped to take photos with a little boy on holiday with his dad, as well as countless backpackers who would ask everything from what Newcastle is famous for, to which bars have the prettiest girls. 

When my job ended a few months ago, I've once again been questioning what I should do with my life - and the obvious answer is to have an adventure of my own.

I've been doing some hardcore research for the past month - and I've finally put down the deposit for flights, my visa and the programme.

I've decided to travel with Bunac, as it seems to have lots of perks for first-time travellers especially as you get grouped together on your flight from Heathrow, as well as the Hong Kong layover (hotel, tour etc.) and first week of hostel accommodation included in the price, as well as continued support from their Sydney and London offices. 

I officially leave in September.
The plan is to find work and accommodation in Sydney for a few months before moving along the east coast, which means overall I'll be gone from six months to a year.


So where does this leave the blog?
Well, although obviously I won't be packing my entire life into my scarily-small-for-me bag, I'm not the stereotypical spaghetti-straps-and-combat-pants traveller.
I'm taking my camera and laptop, so although my posts will get even more sporadic (that really seems to be my word of the moment doesn't it? I need to invest in a thesaurus...) I'd love to keep you all up to date with what I'm up to - and yes, this includes what I'm wearing!

Right, so that's you all caught up.
Have any of you guys been travelling, or suddenly moved sticks halfway across the world?

Oh, and if any readers are from Sydney, please comment or tweet me with recommendations on what I should see and do outside the usual tourist stuff?


Muchos love,
MessyCarla.

"In an old house in Paris that was covered with vines..."

"In an old house in Paris that was covered with vines

Lived twelve little girls in two straight lines

They left the house at half past nine

The smallest one was Madeline."

~ Madeline, Ludwig Bemelmans.

Hey everyone,

I was bored last night, so tried putting my hair in rag curls. 

It's really easy to do - try YouTube for a quick tutorial video, but basically all you need to do is dampen your hair, put some mousse in to set, then curl your hair around rags (I cut up a pair of old tights) and leave in for a few hours, or overnight. Some tutorials even use socks for larger curls!

I'm hoping the curls make me look rather whimsical and European (I'm a bit of a Francophile) instead of "Why hasn't that girl put a brush through her hair today?!"

DRESS: H&M.

VEST: H&M.

CARDIGAN: H&M.

NECKLACES: Presents from my parents and Sam.

BRACELETS: New Look and SOPHIE.

BELT: Dorothy Perkins.

BERET: eBay.

SHOES: eBay.

POINT OF FASHION: Je suis Français! (Although my "French" is remarkably similar to Joey's...)

When I was about sixteen, my "thing" was I wore a beret every day, and I still have a bit of an extensive collection. 

Black hair and red accessories is still one of my favourite combinations - especially with my glittery shoes I picked up on eBay for a fiver years ago!

Lipstick: Revlon 725

One of my favourite necklaces my best-friend Sam bought me when she was living in London.

Nails: Gold from Next with a gold sequinned top coat from Black Poppy.

GET THE LOOK:

Right, now the title of this blog has made me want to watch Madeline. 

It was definitely in my top ten favourites as a kid, and one of the films I watched on Sundays as I rushed my homework (usually as a double-bill with Paws - does anyone remember this film?!)

OK, I've just Googled and bought it in a box set with Matilda included for £5.99. 

I love the internet.

Muchos love,

MessyCarla.

Black Bean Brownies

Hey everyone,

Once again I apologise for the sporadic posting.

One of these reasons is I'm working towards a personal project, completely unrelated to blogging/fashion etc.
I won't say what I'm up to until everything is set in stone, but for now I will say that extensive planning is happening.
This includes a particular curbing of "frivolous spends" - for the first time in a long while, dresses aren't the first thing on my mind!

Don't worry though, I'm not going to completely drop off the face of the Earth - but please expect more scattered posting for the time being.

However, last night I tweeted that I made some healthy brownies for Italian Catholic Mother and my sister who are on a healthy eating kick.
Although not on a diet, they have been depriving themselves of chocolate, so I found myself googling healthy recipes for them - and I came across a recipe for brownies replacing flour and butter with beans.

I've heard of putting vegetables into sweet baking before - such as Zucchini Cake (that's 'Courgette Cake' to my fellow Brits...) and Harry Eastwood's infamous Beetroot Chocolate Fudge Cake so I was definitely curious to try it myself.

Last night a few people asked for the recipe which I didn't have to hand, so figured I'd post my version of this recipe here with some little tweaks I changed for myself:

Black Bean Brownies
(Recipe yields 16 small, or 12 large brownies)

Ingredients:

• 1 tin black beans, rinsed and drained. (I only had rosecoco beans handy, so used those and they were fine. Pinto beans will work very well too!)
• 3 eggs
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/3 cup dark cocoa powder (I used Bourneville cocoa powder)
• 1 pinch salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1 teaspoon instant coffee (Don't worry if you don't like coffee - you don't taste this at all!)
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips (I was out of chips, so put a few squares of 70% dark chocolate through my food processor)

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Or Gas Mark 4.
2. Lightly grease an 8x8 square baking dish. 
3. Combine the black beans, eggs, baking powder, oil, cocoa powder, salt, vanilla extract, sugar, and instant coffee in a processor. Blend until smooth (If you don't have a blender - just mash everything with a fork)
4. Pour the mixture into the prepared baking dish. 
5. Sprinkle the chocolate chips over the top of the mixture. 
6. Bake in the preheated oven until the top is dry and the edges start to pull away from the sides of the pan, about 30 minutes.

See? Easy peasy!
I love fudgy, sticky brownies, so these were perfect for my taste.

Even my sister, Nadia, who hasn't got a sweet tooth ate two of these last night, and just now when I went downstairs for a cup of tea, she was at the microwave warming up another one.
("I'm addicted!" She said.)

Please let me know if you try them!

So in other news, I thought I'd share some more pictures about what I've been up to this week:

OK, OK you've got me. I did treat myself to a new lipstick!

This is Touch of Magic by Barry M, which is more like a lip balm/tint - the colour of which depends on the alkali in your lips. It went a bright fuchsia on me one day, another day it went almost red. So cool!

I'm about five years late hopping on the hi-tops bandwagon, but could resist these cool pink ones. 

These are my first pair of trainers in about ten years - and just £30 from the Nike outlet shop at Dalton Park.

(Oh and this wasn't a "frivolous spend" - I genuinely needed a new pair of trainers, hehe!)

I was going through my cosmetics drawer giving it a tidy up, and thought I'd take a picture of all my false lashes. I think I have quiet enough for now, non?

(Links as to where I bought them from are in my last post)

So yeah, a bit of a random post - but honestly, my mind has just been elsewhere for the past week or so.

Is everyone who celebrates looking forward to a nice relaxing Easter weekend?

Unsurprisingly, it's one of Italian Catholic Mother's favourite times of the year (she's one of those people who sends Easter cards to the family) and she's in her element. 

I'm in my element as my three friends are home for break - Daniel is home for his birthday this weekend, so I get to see him for the first time this year as he's still working in France. 

Hattie is also landing for Easter weekend so let's hope the weather perks up so we can go for our usual wander.

And finally Sam is home next week from Mexico and is looking forward to a trip to a good old Hebburn pub. I think she must have had too much sun...

But anyhoo, even if you don't celebrate I hope you still use the opportunity to eat chocolate. 

Lots and lots of chocolate.

Muchos love,

MessyCarla.

Pops of Yellow

Hey everyone,

The sun is shining and the grass is green, under the three feet of snow I mean.
(If you got this reference, you are a BOSS. Factoid.)

The weather here has been an absolute pleasure this week - sunny but not stifling hot, and with the slightest breeze.
I think it's also getting to that acceptable time to start breaking out my summer brights:

DRESS: New Look (around 2009 I think)

CARDIGAN: H&M

BELT: Dorothy Perkins.

SUNGLASSES: Marc Jacobs.

NECKLACE: River Island.

SHOES: From a cheap outlet shop when I was around 15.

POINT OF FASHION: Floral brights...is it summer yet?

This is one of my favourite dresses, and it's really a shame I don't wear it often enough! I absolutely love the two different layers of the skirt, it looks so structured and cute - not to mention a lot more expensive than what it was! (Around £25)

I last wore it in January last year for my sister's AS Photography shoot - yep, definitely need to start wearing it more.

Also a quick FOTD - apologies I'm half wearing my shades, the sun was just too bright without them!

FOUNDATION: Colorstay in 150 Buff by Revlon 

EYELINER: No1 by Barry M

EYEBROWS: Ash Brown by Wet N' Wild

MASCARA: False Lash Effect by Maybelline

FALSE EYELASHES: Ebay

POWDER: 135 by Illamasqua

LIPSTICK: Fire by Chanel

I'm on a real false lash kick at the minute, and have worn them most days this week.

I've only ever bought my falsest from eBay as I was still practicing and didn't want to pay around £6 a pair for me just to mess up (as I have done in the past!)

Victoria recently recommended this seller - and they're nice enough. 

The bands are very thick, but wrapping them gently around my finger makes them a lot more workable. Note that they took over a month to arrive to the UK from Hong Kong, but for 99p for 10 pairs you can't really grumble! 

I believe the ones above are 057 - but I also purchased F-6, Y-7, 018 and 106 if you're interested.

Finally, I'll leave you with some lovely summery tunes - I always think that music sounds better in the sunshine!

What are your favourite songs for dancing around the garden on a sunny day?

Muchos love,

MessyCarla.