Wednesday 19 December 2012

Secret Sexy Santa

Ladies, when and where are we supposed to find time for our other halves at this time of the year?! When one finds time to settle down with one's man, watching films, sipping mulled wine... we need to round off the evening with a little Secret Santa of our own...

These are the top 3 kinky ways to wow your man this season:

1) Confidence-Boosting Lingerie



Where do you start? Well you have to be wearing something super sexy so you ooze confidence. Whether you like the Ann Summers Apron, the Floozie Frost French Matching Set or the more fitted Gossard Oooh La La Corset you can get saucy lingerie to fit any body shape or size; and your man will seriously appreciate your efforts!

2) Naughty Dress-Up!



Let him unwrap you by wearing nothing but a bow or be the sexiest Mrs Claus around; pay a quick visit to the Ann Summers Dress-Up Collection and your man will be so happy you can surely count it as an early gift!

3) Saucy Stocking Fillers



Secret little parcels hidden under the tree with notes saying, 'Open Alone ;-)' can spice up his Christmas morning! Check out the LoveHoney Sexy Gifts & Games available online for some fun ideas!

Have A Naughty Christmas & A Horny New Year
 
xoxox





Monday 17 December 2012

Sumptuous Soaks

Winter is a somewhat stressful season. One's main priority is to stay warm and dry, which isn't always easy. I don't know about you but at the end of the day all I want to do is light some scented candles, turn out the lights and lay in a hot bubbly bath until I look like a saturated prune.

A mediocre soak in the tub isn't the way I like my bath times to go. There can't be any rush, there can't be the possibility of someone disturbing you and there almost certainly must be either a) a fantastic book at hand; b) a soundtrack provided by a specifially chosen playlist of my choice or c) this week's More! magazine ready to read cover to cover.

Before all of the above is put into place you need to have all of the essential ingredients needed for such a delicious and stress-free soak:

1) Bath Gel/Oil/Creme
December is such a wonderful time to shop for bath stuff as not only do they make an easy and thought-free gift for that acquaintance of yours, it also makes an affordable Christmas treat for yourself too! Having seen Le Maison de Senteurs advertised in Marie Claire this month I fell in love with the collection without even having my hands on it. The bath stuff on offer at Marks & Spencer looks like bottled luxury and even I can shell out £7.50 for such wonders.
Jo Malone Bath Oils (available at John Lewis) are also a treat for your over-worked body. Red Roses, Orange Blossom and White Jasmine & Mint are among the scents on my wishlist. I hope Santa is reading this...
So we have luxury on a budget at Marks & Spencer and we are treating outselves at John Lewis but what if we wanted to lust after the big name labels just as we would when deciding on a new pair of shoes? Well, Givenchy Perfuming Bath Gel, Fendi Bath Gel, Prada Candy Bath Gel and Versace Vanitas Bath Gel can all be found at Harrods, of course, and all for under £30 a bottle. How good have you been this year?

2) Scented Candles
A bath is not a bath without the anti-stress atmosphere. The flickering of a few strategically placed candles can do wonders for the soul.
Busy Bee Candles are criminally under-priced and offer some delicious scents at this time of year. Cinnamon Buns, Hollyberry, Mistletoe & Mulberry can all be found in the Busy Bee Christmas Selection for only £1.25 each! That is definitely bath-time on a budget and leaves much more in the kitty for your Prada Bath Gel!!!
To treat yourself, The Melt Co. Scented Candle Collections are to die for. The Angel Collection, The Rich Cream Collection and The Blush Collection are by far my favourites. You could go mad shopping here.
Then again, if you've got the designer Bath Gel why not go all out and have just-as-designer candles? The White Company are the perfect choice to go on a spending splurge, especially if you opt for a couple of the Noir Large 3-Wick Candles which are £70 each!

3) After-Bath Delights
So after your lush bath, you have to get out and dry. What a waste of time if you have to get out and dry yourself with your boring, everyday towels? The Dunelm Mill Hotel Collection Towels will be the perfect accessory to see you out of the bath in style and comfort, and are only £12.99!
Alternatively, treat yourself with The White Company's Hydrocotton Towels or go designer with Ralph Lauren Home Bath Towels available from Selfridges.

Once your dry you need to slip into some super comfy, super warm and super trendy PJs. See my blog on Kourtney Kardashian's pyjama style to get some nightware inspiration!

Then one last final touch to this perfect evening is the robe. Treat yourself to a Dunelm Mill 100% Egyptian Cotton Robe to get that hotel-fresh feeling or continue the designer feel by heading back to Harrods for gorgeous robes from Juicy Couture, Elle Macpherson Intimates and Stella McCartney.

Happy Bubbles!
 
 
Tweet me @sheldan2207
Comment Below
xoxox









Thursday 13 December 2012

Thrifty Thursday - DIY Christmas Stocking

Happy Thrifty Thursday everyone! Temperature is currently sitting at 1 degree here in frosty Herts but who needs to worry about the Arctic weather conditions when you've got a Christmas Stocking to make!?

After last week's delightful little wreath (still hanging proudly in the hallway) I decided to creep up the creativity levels. The main issue in making the wreath was literally building the thing, using those little tree branches and tying it all together with twine... I took an extremely long way around the problem.

Not this week though! I got an old PE shirt from school, some white craft glue and a load of pretty, shiny sequin-ny stuff to create my home-made Christmas Stocking, which I can present to you...NOW!


 
 
Bearing in mind it is still a little wet (this thing is going to take a minimum of a week to dry, that much is guaranteed. I should learn to sew!) and I still need to tidy up the edges and add the faux fur trim; I still think it's so pretty! The blue fabric was a bit of a let down, and the fact I had not one tub of paint in the house, but the finished result is my glittery, randomly French version of a stocking.
 
If this thing holds together, I am SO blogging a picture on Christmas Day when it is full of candy and other wonderfully delicious treats!
 
The inspiration for this stocking came when I saw Mooky Chick's Post online. There are so many kooky ideas on there that I couldn't keep my eyes of the page! I wish I had the materials to try the Faux Fur ones! Other than that, the post inspires you to make a stocking of your own using whatever you have in your house! I had an old shirt, she's used bath mats. Whatever you got!
 
Another new favourite blog of mine is Cookin' Cowgirl. Another creative lady getting all festive and fun this season; and her stuff is 150% a lot more polished than my amateur stuff! Check it out, she's funny, too!
 
 
 
Have you made anything this Christmas season yet? Or seen something I should attempt? Tweet me @sheldan2207 or comment below
 
xoxox

Wednesday 12 December 2012

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas!

Don't get me wrong, the majority of my Christmas Shopping is done online. I'm a solitary creature most of the time, so avoiding any sort of queue, crowd or rush is sort of my thing.
 
Today, though, I headed out into the big wide world, accompanied by Mother Dearest to do some Christmas preparations.
 
Final gifts were bought for friends of friends, work acquaintances and other people's partners, festive snacks were purchased and turkey crowns were investigated and measured.
 
To our surprise, we returned home happy and full of festive cheer. Yes, there were crowds and yes, there were queues but all was done to a happy soundtrack of Mariah Carey, Spice Girls and Slade. At this time of year the humans become sociable. Mum and I had a delightful conversation with a total stranger about out Christmas Dinner eating habits in the local Aldi. So not us. So not her.
 
"Thanks for waiting", says the happy-to-help sales clerk, "Buy one-get-one-free chocolates?"
 
How did she know I prefer two chocolates instead of one? It's that time of year when the retail industry has a huge employment surge and employs the happiest, dappiest little shop keepers who love a good sales incentive. Lovely!
 
Today, my favourite shop of all was The Works. I thought I'd just pop in to get materials for tomorrow's Thrifty Thursday. The phrase 'to pop in' assumes I was going to be a few moments, popping in, popping out again. The crowd in The Works are a breed all of their own! The craziness that ensues when prices never really exceed £1-£2! They have a wonderful Christmas CD playing, thousands of books, stationery items, toys, decorations and calenders all hanging in organised chaos. It's my sort of shop.
 
Talking of tomorrow's Thrifty Thursday, I've decided to up the ante for tomorrow's DIY project! If I tell you the materials I have, you can guess what the finished product will be:
White Craft Glue
Novelty Embellishments
Thick Fabric
One Sock
Scissors
Glitter Pens
Candy Canes
Christmas Decorations
 
In the words of Rolph Harris; "Can you tell what it is yet?!"

Monday 10 December 2012

With A Hint Of Passion...

Manic Mondays are just not for everyone. The traffic at a standstill, cranky drivers tooting their horns, parents rushing to get their little darlings to school on time and buses running half an hour late; it's not the perfect start to the week. This is why Mondays are my day off!
Instead of all the hustle and bustle outside I'm spending my Monday investigating what to wear on my nights out this month. 'Tis the season to be jolly after all, and I want to look just ravishing this Christmas season.
Usually opting for a safe LBD, I was hoping for something a little more daring this year and happily stumbled across this feature in this month's Marie Claire;



'Winter's hottest hue' is a crowd-stopping, eye-popping shade of red.
I started early this year and already have these unbelievable shoes in my possession:
 
 
 
These are a perfect fit and were only £17.50 from JustFab.co.uk when you become a member! Simple! I have my shoes, I just need an outfit:
 
I usually rely on ASOS to get me through shopping dilemmas like these and I've seem to have found a lovely (and rather perfect) Red Lace Peplum Dress by Renee London. I don't want to settle for the first thing I find so...
 
A friend of mine told me about Karma Clothing not so long ago so I've been checking in there for some time now. If you're on a budget this is the place to go. They have Christmas dresses from only £9.99 and they don't look cheap or tacky; all dresses are on trend and there are casual styles and party styles to suit most tastes.
 
Krisp is another favourite of mine, especially when I've needed a decent pencil skirt in the past! Krisp have made dressing smart/casual into an art form and have a delicious aray of garments in their 'Berry Christmas' section! My favourites have to be the Tailored Red Blazer and the Krisp Wine Snake Pattern Metallic High Heels.
 
Newly launched at Dorothy Perkins is the Kardashian Kollection, which features this extremely flattering Red & Gold Dress and, just as gorgeous, this red V-Neck Dress. (Click on the links to see products).
 
If you don't want to go out dressed head-to-toes in red (like me) then I suggest teaming is with either gold, silver or obviously black for a grown-up, sophisticated look (like Kim Kardashian, Beyonce & Taylor Swift). I
 
I've got another plan, though, as I adore this Navy Cut Out Corset from ASOS. I plan to wear with either plain black trousers from H&M or just plain black leggings so the detail on the shoes can do all the talking!
 
What are your party frock ideas?
Comment below or tweet me @sheldan2207
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Beyoncé

Thursday 6 December 2012

Thrifty Thursday - My DIY Christmas Wreath

Good afternoon Bloggers, I'm full of pride and emotion as I present to you my first creation of what will be a weekly post, 'Thrifty Thursday'.

Popping to town this morning in freezing temperatures, I pondered to myself what to buy for this wreath. I've never done anything like this before and found myself quite bemused at where to start.
Plodding around the pound shop I realised that my wreath could have whatever my little heart desired on it; pink stars, glitter, rainbow tinsel, etc, however I decided to start small.
I really wanted my little wreath to match the standards of those in the other blogs; I wanted to be just like the big kids!

With glitter glue, shiny baubles and gold-sprayed mistletoe in my basket I didn't feel very advanced. But I was happy, so I continued to the supermarket. As soon as I walk into Asda I spot a delightful little bargain in the shape of a 2ft 'Smartprice' Christmas tree! At £1.97, I'd be perfectly happy chopping it up.

Heading home I calculated what I've spent for my wreath. Total was literally £5. A fiver. Happy days, just had to get this thing together...

Laying out my materials in front of me as I sat cross-legged on my living room floor, I felt a little bit lame. I powered through though...
What I used: branches from a 2ft christmas tree (cut off and held together in the shape of a circle with twine I had in my cupboard), gold bead from Asda, bit of cellotape to re-inforce some terrible tying of mine, pretty fake flowers from the pound shop and silver glitter glue. That is all.

45 minutes later my Thrifty Thursday creation is complete! I have superglue all over my fingers and glitter in my hair:



It's not exactly the steadiest looking thing in the world, nor does it look like an adult has put it together but the main thing is... I like it. And so does my Mum. So it shall hang loud and proud in my hallway!

What do you think? Do I deserve a pat on the back or should I start over? Considering equivalent styles can be bought for up to £20 a piece, is it worth the saving?

Comment below or tweet me @sheldan2207

xx

Wednesday 5 December 2012

DIY Decorations & One Of A Kind Gifts!

One of the best things about christmas is the fact that you can clutter your house full of flashing Santas, glittery tinsel and brightly coloured hanging things, and no-one can tell you otherwise! Of course, every year we spend absolutely thousands on new decorations, trees, candles, etc, etc, etc. What if we decided more food, less decoration this year? What with most families having to reign in their spending at the moment I thought I'd test the waters with some DIY Christmas decorations, starting with a wreath. I'll come back to that later!

Unfortunately, the holidays are somewhat tinted with stress, with the giving and the cooking and the preparing. With everything going on it's hard to keep up with what everyone actually wants for christmas. Instead of being the one that always gets exactly what's on the family's wish list, I've always been the one to pull a random on them all and get something they didn't even know they wanted themselves! I don't know about you but I still like to have a few surprises on Christmas Day! Today I've put together a small collection of niche music boxes, a fabulous gift for those close to you who love music and quite the conversation piece to have at home too. Click on the links below for an array of beatiful musical gifts.

Lastly, today I woke up to a magical dusting of snow. Although not as much as the kids were hoping for, just enough to melt quicker than the rate it fell at, which is good news for anyone else! All this means, though, is that more is almost definitely on the way and what better way to prepare than to get yourselves a handy pair of Snow Boots! No excuses for the morning commute now!

DIY Christmas Wreaths
Christmas wreaths are never something I've invested in over the holidays, and I've always pondered over the high prices of some of them, which is why I'm going to attempt to make my own this year! I've found really helpful blogs online that I'm going to use to help me! Tomorrow, I'll be getting all the bits and bobs I need for my wreath and will post a step-by-step commentary on how it went on Thursday! It will be a Your Desirables version of Art Attack! In the meantime, if you want to join in the festive fun, check out MidoriSourPatch, Caroline Inge's post on Home Depot, Jewels For All, Amalia Misc and (my personal favourite) Clouds Of Colour for some Wreath-spiration! Check-in on Thursday to see my efforts! Make sure to show me yours on Twitter @sheldan2207!




 
 
Music Boxes
Something I stumbled upon Monday evening when researching my Vintage Bird Cage pick of the day! I never thought of something so perfect until I saw the Gold Plated Singing Bird Cage at Magical Music Boxes. Granted, the price tag is more for the wealthy among us, however, a couple months saving up for this thing and I guarantee it won't be a waste of time! Garden parties, lunches in the conservatory, afternoon tea in the lounge, this beautiful home accessory is not only a stunning addition to any house, but also quite the conversation piece. When I'm a millionaire, this WILL be in my house. I love it! I'm also very aware that I am not a millionaire, just like the majority of you! So, I set about looking for a much more affordable music box for my own humble abode. The Music Box Shop has music boxes that are also... wait for it.... jewellery boxes! From pink teddies for the kids and wooden for the mature, from red roses for the girly and floral for the trendy, there are patterns to suit all and prices start from a slight £12.50! American company Mr Christmas has tree symphonies, musical wreath eggs, musical pumpkins and seasonal clocks! All prices are in US$ dollars though. If that's a problem head to Music Box World where fun musical stocking fillers start from £5.99!
 
Snow Boots
Sure, snow is pretty. It's magical and it gets people talking and together and gets everyone feeling very festive! That's the first day. After the light dusting, it snows again and again until the British people become fed up and at a standstill. Planes, trains and automobiles are told not to move. Getting to work is one long slog up a very sludgy hill. How many times have you fallen over in front of a total stranger? NO MORE! The style and market gurus have finally taken note of our struggles, teamed up and snow boots are now finally a winter fashion must have! Even Aldi have a pair of £15 snow boots up for grabs! Other bargain outlets for snow boots this year include Sports Direct, Wynsors & Amazon! Click the links for their ranges. If you want to step out in style check some hot faves of mine: ASOS (for Juicy Couture, Kurt Geiger and See by Chloe), Selfridges (for UGG) and John Lewis (for Hunter, North Face and Helly Hansen).
 
That's all for today, I hope I've inspired a few of you on such a cold evening! As always get in touch on Twitter @sheldan2207, it's always a laugh over there! If not comment below, I love to hear feedback.
 
Check-in on Thursday for my step-by-step guide to my DIY wreath and what my next festive DIY accessory is going to be. Share yours and I'll post those too! Any seasonal DIY ideas? Let me know!
 
 
xx
 
 
 
 











Monday 3 December 2012

What Are Your Desirables?

Walk into Accessorize and how do you feel? Open a Bombay Duck catalogue, are you just as excited? Does the organised chaos in Paperchase make total sense to you?
 
Then you've found the blog for you. After spending almost 35 minutes in H&M deciding between the beige beanie hat or the red rib-knit hat with the ickle bow detail (and then checking out with both) I realised my need for accessories has gotten a little out of hand.
 
Ornamental bird cages, Thomas Sabo and Christmas Ribbon are among my Most Desired Items today and I'll tell you why...
 
The vintage, Victorian bird cage image has forever been used to 'pretty up' an item, from bedsheets to hanging ornaments, it has always been a popular pattern between the frenzied accessory-holder. With the likes of  Lydia Bright and Dawn Porter consistently looking flawless in quirky, unique styles the vintage style flag is flying high again: 






Today's Vintage Bird Cage 'Pick of the Day' is
this stunning Lulu Guinness Birdcage Umbrella from Brollies Galore:

 
 

My next most desired items come from the Seasonal Thomas Sabo Collection.

 Diamond encrusted polar bears, prefectly detailed snowflakes and a super stylish snow-doll are just some of the lust-worthy collection at Thomas Sabo at the moment. Which is your favourite?


 
My Thomas Sabo fave, and therefore my pick of the day, is a proud looking, sparkling penguin perfect for every lady's christmas list. Absolutely adorbs:
 
Whilst we are on the subject of Christmas (22 sleeps!), have you seen what's on offer in Paperchase's christmas section this year?
 
Let your gifts stand out from beneath the tree by using some of their delightful 'Scandi' patterned boxes and gift wraps, or use their plain brown gift wrap and complete the look using their wonderful selection of ribbons, stickers and patterned tape!



 
 Today's Paperchase Christmas Pick of the Day:
 
 
Their wonderful gift wrap perfect for every present this christmas.
 
Have a stylish one this year!
 
 
 
Tomorrow on Your Desirables:
 
 
Niche Music Boxes
 
DIY Christmas Wreaths
 
Snow Boots
 
 
 
 
Feel free to leave a comment or tweet me @sheldan2207
x All feedback/suggestions welcome x