MessyCarla: A Fashion Blog In A Size 16

Circle Lenses: The Fumblings of an Amateur

2012-01-19T20:34:00.000Z

Hey everyone,

You may remember that one of my resolutions for this year was to try circle lenses.
Since I've finally had success with applying false eyelashes - I thought I'd try and continue with my winning streak and finally buy some!

Circle lenses are one of those things on the internet where there is an overload of information and it seems that everyone who wears them has a different opinion on everything from which choosing which brand, to care of the lenses themselves.

However right on cue, the fabulous Gazel from Bonjour Gazel wrote several posts recently about her experiences.
So saying as she gave these ones a great review, I ordered the same in blue from HoneyColor.com.

They cost around £11.60 plus postage, which I think is a reasonable price to simply try them and they arrived about a week later from Malaysia.

So what I got was the lenses both in little jars of saline solution, as well as a cute holder for them for free.
I think the little blue elephants look so sweet:

Again, the care of lenses and how to store them seems to depend on choice. Some websites say to store them in saline solution, others in regular contact lens solution.

Having never worn contacts before anyway, I had no experience in this area, so on his advice I stored them in some of Papi B's regular contact solution for about six hours before I was due to go out with my friends Sarah and Libby.

So about an hour before I was due to leave the house, I thought I'd tackle lenses after doing my make up.
I'm not going to go into how I applied them as there are a million tutorials on YouTube about how to do this - and of course waaay better than my first try!

I have to point out that I have incredibly sensitive eyes, and it doesn't take much for them to water.

(For example, I used to see a opthalmologist due to muscle weakness in the back of my eyes, and she wore incredibly strong perfume and as soon as she would put her hands up to my face my peepers would turn into waterfalls!)

So after fumbling around getting them in (I am incredibly clumsy) my eyes did go a little bloodshot.
However I put this down to it being my first time, and perhaps I hadn't washed all of the solution off properly.

Anyway, here are two comparison photos as to what my eyes looked like before and after applying:

I absolutely love the enlargement and colour, but you can see how my eyes went a little bloodshot.

However when I met my friends, they noticed the contacts straight away, but didn't comment on the redness at all - even when I asked they said they hadn't noticed!

I took two more pictures while I was out:

Without flash.

With flash.

So you can see in the first photo how much more enlarged my eyes look, and definitely look bluer than my normal green eyes.
In the second, you can really see the colour pop and I love how it clashes with my pink lipstick. Of course they don't really look natural - but that's not what I was going for!

You can also see in the above photos how the redness cleared up in my right eye, but is still quite bloodshot in the left. However they didn't hurt or itch at all, and I didn't feel aware of them.

Another comparison picture taken when I got home.
I wore the lenses for about five hours.

I used the last of my dad's solution and haven't been out to get any yet so I have left my contacts for the time being in water (boiled then left to cool completely) and I will probaly ask the pharmacist in Boots what they recommend tomorrow.

But out of curiosity, I popped them in today to see if my eyes went red - and they were absolutely fine!
No redness whatsoever:

NO MAKEUP. APOLS. BAD BLOGGER.

So apologies that this is quite wordy but I just wanted to share my experience of applying them for the first time as a lot of the contact online seems to be from people who have been applying them for years!

Have any of you guys tried circle/coloured lenses? I'd love to hear your experiences!

Muchos love,

MessyCarla.

DISCLAIMER: I paid for these lenses myself and was not asked to review them by the company. All opinions are - as ever - my own!

One Yellow Button

2012-01-13T13:09:00.000Z

Hey everyone,

Hoorah, it has been mostly lovely and sunny this week. Still freezing cold of course, but at least there is sun.
Where I'm from though in my small Northern town on the banks of the River Tyne, people give you a funny look if you wear sunglasses before summer.

Of course it's absolutely fine to remove nearly all items of clothing at the first signs of warmth (I once saw some guys sunbathing during a cardigan-weather day outside a pub last year...in Feburary) but if you wear sunglasses, people stare at you like you've suddenly sprouted an extra arm.

So alas, no glasses as of yet. My dear Marc Jacobs are still in hibernation for the time being.
Although this sun has made me crave Spring brights again like butter yellows and teals.

Whenever I wear warm colours like yellows and oranges with my black hair, I always feel a little like Biana from Goodnight Little Spoon.
Just monumentally less cute, bawww.

DRESS: Next.
CARDIGAN: H&M.
BELT: ASOS Curve.
NECKLACE: Christmas present.
BADGE: Ebay.
SHOES: Primark.
POINT OF FASHION: Hello, Spring?

Usually I don't like dresses that have that extra little peice of hem along the bottom - but you can't really see it here at all.
Unfortunately the dress is strapless and has some funny little frills at the sides and I don't really like either, but wearing a cardigan makes up for both. I think the frills will be easy to remove, but I'm too lazy to look into it right now. Cardigan wearing is fine.

Also the dress was only £15 in the Next Outlet sale at Royal Quays.
I'm trying to seriously curb my spending over the next few months as I have some big plans I'm trying to put into place - but I couldn't resist this! It's going to be perfect for Spring and Summer.

I'm also trying to share more of my makeup looks as with recent Outfit Posts.

However this wasn't the makeup I was wearing with this look - it was from my friend Marie's birthday night out.

You may remember from my before-last post I said I was going to try and apply fake eyelashes properly.

Well I tried and I didn't look too bad. It's a shame I took this before I flicked the ends up so they look wonky here. But they looked qute good and went on first time.

I'm not calling this one of my resolutions done already - but I'm close!

BASE: Chanel Illusion D'Ombre.
GOLD: Urban Decay Baked.
PURPLE: Urban Decay Psychedelic Sister.
EYELASHES: Claire's Accessories.
EYELINER: Barry M.

Marie's party was Horrible History themed - so I went in a Marie Antoinette inspired look with lots of lace and cake jewellery. Unfortunately all the pictues of me on the night are appauling - too much fizzy pop!
However I created a beehive with the use of a Bumpit and waaaa too much hairspray and backcombing.
I'm still combing out the knots!

Birthday girl Marie (middle) with Natalie (left) and Julia (right). Pirates, arrrgh!
Julia was Marie's housemate during their time at Cambridge and came over from Belfast especially.
It was so lovely to see her again - and we're all going to stay with her on 31st January! I can't wait wait wait.

I'm determained to get falses sorted, so ordered these from Ebay for a few quid.

After a few years absense, I'm on a bit of a Mighty Boosh kick so picked up The Scribblings of a Madcap Shambleton by Noel Fielding and The Mighty Book of Boosh in the Amazon sale.
I love them so much - though the centre pages of Noel's book are rather raunchy!
I'm also reading Different For Girls by Louise Wener which I can't put down.

A public service announcement from the patrons of Trillians in Newcastle...

I'm honestly sick to death of hearing about beauty boxes so I'm not going to say too much here - but I tried the January FeelUnique beauty box since I love the website.
I know the theme was 'essentials' for after the holiday blow out everyone has - but I was a little disappointed as the previous boxes seemed a little more exciting.
The cleanser is ok, but I didn't like the moisturiser (it's too heavy and perfumed - despite me ticking the box for 'sensitive skin') or the conditioner (my hair was unmanageable!).
I may try it for one more month though.

Every year my parents buy me a pair of Next's animal slippers. I already have pigs and bunnies, but this year I got some sheep - they're so cute and have a tartan pattern inside!
Also I think this is the first time I've shared my tattoo on my blog: peek-a-boo!

Riiiight, I'm sorry this was a little long but since I've been away for a week or so I thought I'd catch you all up! I'm glad this month is nearly halfway through - though I have managed to avoid the January blues this year, thank goodness.

However at the end of this month I'm going to Belfast as already mentioned with Marie and Natalie to stay with Julia in her house which apparently has a peacock on the lawn!
We're also going to squeeze in a day to Derry which is going to be aaaaaaaace as my twin Claire from French For Cupcake is coming along with us. Waaa I can't wait to see her face again soon!

It's going to be a busy week as no sooner as I'm home from Belfast, I'm going to London for the + London Bloggers Meet (aka: Plus London 2).
It's so nice not to be helping with the organising this year, and to just be able to just enjoy the event!

I'm going to be sharing a room with one of my favourite bloggers Nadia (who was one of the first ten people or so to follow this blog!) and also Mel who I discovered is a fellow Geordie!
No sleep (or coat) for Nadia, then. Hurrhurrhurr.

If you'd like to attend, please check out the Facebook event or Tumblr for information.

Finally I'll leave you with this song from Operator Please, which I named this blog post after:

Muchos love,
MessyCarla.

(Belated) Christmas Haul

2012-01-05T16:30:00.002Z

Hey everyone,

Apologies this is rather belated, but I thought I'd share what I got for Christmas this year since I didn't get around to sharing.
I know these types of post aren't to everybody's taste and there has recently been discussion about them on Twitter - however I'm really nosy and like reading them!

I also know I've done the New Years and Christmas posts in the wrong order, but you all know me by now, right?
Messy by name, messy by nature.

Topshop unicorn earrings from my sister.

Hello Kitty cushion from my parents. I collect bright, silly cushions for my bed - the others I have are either fluffy or have skulls on, rawr!

Maruaders and Julian Casablancas t-shirts from my parents.
(Mentioned in these posts)

Deathly Hallows, anatomical heart (see here) and floral necklaces from my parents.
Topshop lips brooch and skull ring from Daniel.

Chanel Illusion D'Ombre and Accessorize London bus necklace from Sam.

Asian candies from my sister (with a note attached "If you can't take the girl to Japan..." She's such a sweetheart!)

The hamster makeup bag made me laugh so much as the little face looks very much like my darling Brie!
Also love the kitty calendar as I'm going to be a crazy cat lady before soon, and I think the little owl decoration is from Accessorize.
My sister got me the Stila lip glazes. LOVE LOVE LOVE.

Illamasqua Freak gift set from my parents and uncle.
My new favourite fragrance - and Illamasqua REALLY do gift sets well as you get so many extras instead of just a matching shower gel.

If you're interested, Maxine did a brilliant video about everything you can find inside:

I absolutely love everything, and am very grateful for everyone for being so generous!

Muchos love,
MessyCarla.

Hola, 2012!

2012-01-01T18:24:00.000Z

Hey everyone,

Something a bit different than my usual posts, but first of all Happy New Year!

(Credit unknown - please holler if this is yours!)

I hope you all had a great time whether you spent it dancing and drinking too much fizzy pop, with your family eating nibbles and watching Jools' Hootenanny (like me) or sleeping.

Ever since I read The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole as a tween, I have written ten New Year's Resolutions every year on January 1st.

Resolutions for me are all positive - which is a bit strange coming from someone for who New Year's is my least favourite holiday.
Me and Daniel had a conversation about this recently, and for him a new year means new opportunities and adventures, when for me I have a horrible habit of immediately thinking "wow, another year and I haven't done _____, yet."

Is anybody else like this?
People sometime tend to feel like this moreso on birthdays, but for me it's always New Year!

To try and cheer myself up, I think of things that I would like to achieve in the coming year, away from the generic "lose weight" (bah!) or "stop drinking so much fizzy pop." (double bah!)

So, onwards and upwards:

1. Following on from Georgia’s guest post last month, I will attend a burlesque night for the first time in years.

2. I will see more theatre. With a west-end size stage, two Victorian theatres and countless other companies in the North East there’s no excuse! It’s no shame going to see a show by myself if I can’t find anyone to go with – which is the only real thing holding me back.

3. I say this every year, but I will try and be kinder to myself. It’s cliché but I really am my own worst enemy.

4. I will look into how to stop my Dr Martens from squeaking and start wearing them again.

5. I will make this year count. When my job ended a few months back I was devastated, but I need to see this as a positive sign. I’m still just 22 years old – this is a great window to do something I’ve never tried before such as a makeup course, or finally apply for an international internship.

6. I will have another London date with Sam, take her to see the Matilda musical or Les Misérables and treat her to an ice cream from that fantastic place Lillian took me to in Leicester Square.

7. I will visit Daniel in Le Mans and write him more letters and cards in the meantime.

8. I will learn how to apply false eyelashes. I’ve watched countless YouTube videos and I’m still no further – I think my big problem is I’m quite impatient and finicky things frustrate me, hmph! But those crystal lashes I got from Illamasqua for Christmas aren’t going to wear themselves…

9. I will buy a pair of blue contact/circle lenses – I think they’d look really cool with my black hair!

10. I will watch at least a few episodes of How I Met Your Mother, 30 Rock and Mad Men. I’ve never seen any of these shows and people seem to love them so I’ll have to get around to checking them out.

So how about you guys? Do you make resolutions, or do you see them as a bunch of hooey?

Muchos love,
MessyCarla.

Camp As Christmas.

2011-12-26T22:32:00.001Z

Hey everyone,

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas if you celebrated!

Ours was lovely and low key - we opened presents, had a big lunch and spent most of the day watching my Toy Story trilogy box set.
I couldn't believe my uncle hadn't seen any of them before - the first one especially reminds me of being a little kid!
Of course, I still wept like a child at Jessie's song.

Christmas for me is all about excess.
Not necessarily about material things (though nice as those things are...sorry, I'm a Taurus!) but I love things getting dressed up in a silly, bright, glittery outfit with theatrical eye makeup - despite the fact I didn't leave the house except to take these pictures...

There is a saying in this country if something is "camp as Christmas."
I think I was a bit too inspired by that phrase this year...

DRESS: ASOS.
CARDIGAN: H&M.
BROOCH: From Bede's World Christmas fair.
BELT: ASOS Curve.
NECKLACE: River Island.
HAIRBAND: Forever 21.
RINGS: Dorothy Perkins, River Island, vintage and World Market.
TIGHTS: Dorothy Perkins.
SHOES: Office.
POINT OF FASHION: Over the top...it's Christmas!

Apologies that the dress is hanging at a bit of a funny angle - a sudden gust of wind gave me a bit of a Marilyn moment.

I was worried that my tights are a bit too "matchy matchy" and I should have gone with a magenta colour instead, but I really don't care!

For the eyeshadow on my lid I used Baked by Urban Decay with some Goldilux by Sugarpill on top for extra glitter. I then put a little of Magentric by Sugarpill in the corner. I blended a little in the crease with a brown eyeshadow from my Wet N' Wild Ultimate Brow Kit.
I then used Elf liquid eyeliner and added my regular cat's eye flick.

Due to my heavy fringe covering some of my eyes, I am enjoying playing around with makeup under my eyes lately - so I used Stila eyeliner in Bora Bora (smudging it slightly and flicking out at the end) then Urban Decay Heavy Metal glitter on top.
I also put a little more of Baked in the corner and under my cat's eye flick.

Finally I lined by waterline with Sharkskin shadestick by MAC (Shadesticks are one my desert island products - they can be used in so many ways from primers to eyeshadows and liners!), used my Big Fatty Mascara from Urban Decay and coloured in my eyebrows using the Wet N' Wild Ultimate Brow Kit.

You may have guessed from some of the brands above, but some of these were presents I treated myself to in my favourite shop...Sephora!
My friends Jessica and Jaime got me a $50 gift card for Christmas which was so kind of them.
I'll show you guys properly when I get round to taking pictures!

Anyhoo I've had a great Boxing Day (what we in the Commonwealth call December 26th!) and in some ways I prefer it to Christmas Day as there's no pressure on anyone, you don't have to cook (hello, leftovers!) and can just sit around looking at your presents - I'm personally working my way through series 4 of The Big Bang Theory which I got on dvd!

Then the rest of this week is going to be amazing as I'm hanging out with my friends. I haven't seen anyone properly since coming back from holiday as we've all been so busy doing things with our family.

So I'm meeting Hattie and Megan tomorrow for dinner and drinks (I still have to give Hattie her Christmas present though I had to leave most of it behind in America...stupid luggage allowance, thank you Delta...), then on Wednesday is the annual gathering of all my friends from school - but for the past few years I've taken Sam along as my date (so more present swapping).
Also, I hope to see Daniel for a few cheeky fizzy pops and maybe a dance - though he poppped round on Christmas Eve before mass for a hug. I've missed them all so much!

Sorry if I've rambled on, but I do love this time of year!

Finally I'll leave you with the latest DJ Earworm song. At the end of every year since 2009, he has created mash ups of the top 25 hits of the last 12 months.
I quite like this year's mix entitled: 'World Go Boom':

Muchos love,
MessyCarla.

Signing off for the holidays!

2011-12-23T23:21:00.003Z

Hey everyone,

Just a quick "hello and goodbye" from me as I'm signing off for the holidays.

Holly trees at The Noland Trail, Newport News, VA.
Don't worry though I'll be back soon with lots of pictures from my trip to Virginia.
I hope you enjoyed all the lovely guests posts - and you're very welcome to browse them in case you missed any, simply click the Guest Post tag to catch up.

I had a wonderful time while I was away and thank you to everyone who tweeted me!

In the meantime, please enjoy this video me and Jessica filmed of us preparing a pumpkin pie!

I'll try to sneak in another post or two before New Years, but just in case I'd like to thank you all for supporting this blog in 2011.
I have a feeling 2012 is going to be a good 'un...

IF the world doesn't end. Fingers crossed, eh?

Merry Christmas, ~~y'all~~ everyone!

Muchos love,
MessyCarla.

Guest Post: DIY Tree Bunting

2011-12-20T15:00:00.000Z

Hi everyone,

One of the things I love doing in the holidays is being making things - whether it's baking cookies and cupcakes, decorating gingerbread houses or making cards (usually with offensive little poems inside...my friends are so lucky to have me in their lives).

However I can be a bit fingers-and-thumbs when it comes to crafting as I'm very clumsy and don't have a lot of patience.
Lauren from Fashion Looks North has created a wonderful Christmas bunting craft especially for this blog which looks so simple, yet effective - and is a brilliant way to rid yourself of all that leftover wrapping paper!

Also, I had to give space here for a fellow Northerner!
Lauren's blog was mostly street style for a few years, but she now has more of her own personal (and awesome) looks, lifestyle posts as well as beautiful photography.

So, happy crafting - if any of you make the bunting for yourself, me and Lauren would love to see your pictures!

Muchos love,
MessyCarla.

Well hello there, it's Lauren from Fashion Looks North here!

While the lovely Carla is away I thought I'd get into the Christmas spirit and share with you a really quick and simple crafty DIY, great for sprucing up your room on a budget.

I absolutely love making things look festive, from wrapping presents to decorating the tree and this is a great little 'infront of the telly' activity that takes minimal effort but looks really cute.

First of all, you'll need to get your mits on some ribbon, wrapping paper, brown paper, some scissors, a glue stick, a pencil and a hole punch.
You can use left over scraps from present wrapping if you like!

Start by making your templates. Fold over a sheet of paper and draw a small christmas tree outline on one side with your pencil.
Cut this out and then use as a rough template to draw another larger tree which will form the design for your bunting.

You then need to repeat the process and use your templates to cut out small and large trees using your two papers. You can make as few or as many of these as you like, I've just done four this time just to demonstrate.
These can then be stuck on top of each other, ready to be hole punched and threaded onto your ribbon.

Once you've threaded them on simply hang up and display!
They look really lovely around doorways, mantlepieces or even picture frames and can be made from any materials you happen to have lying around.

Merry christmas and happy crafting!

L x

Guest Post: What Olivia Did

2011-12-18T13:00:00.001Z

Hi everyone,

Next up from the wonderful guest bloggers is the gorgeous Olivia from What Olivia Did.

The blogosphere is a funny old place, as I've adored Olivia's blog for ages now (and is one of my favourites) but I had no idea she reads MessyCarla so was very pleasantly surprised when I she contacted me!

A mix of beauty, fashion, music, interviews and recipes - there's always something a bit different working it's way into her blog, so it is never monotonous.
And one of those blogs where I go "Eeep, you've posted!" when a new post pops up on my dashboard.

Olivia was very rightly so the winner of Best New Fashion Blog at the Cosmopolitan Blog Awards 2011, and if you don't love her already...you soon will.

Warning: girl crush imminent!

Muchos love,
MessyCarla.

When Carla said I was welcome to guest post a style post on her blog, my mind went into overdrive.
I wanted to bring something cool, interesting and preferably bright to Carla's blog, and with my somewhat conservative style I was determind to dive (ever so slightly) out of my comfort zone.

When I think of Carla and her style I think bright, fun, ladylike and well, damn right awesome.

Now, although I wanted inject a little fun into my post today I also, wanted to stick to my signature style- something you'll probably know Carla does with ease.

After rummaging into the depths of my Narnia like wardrobe, I realised two things: one is that my wardrobe is severly lacking in leopard print, and that I don't have that many bright colours (someone throw me something red or pink purlease?)

Anyway, after rummaging through spotted trousers, chunky jumpers it hit me.
What are the two things that I could wear to inject a little ladylike fun into my style?
A classic dress and some lolz tights! Simples.

These are also the two items I'd probably say Carla wears like a PRO.
No matter what the colour or style they suit everyone and can be worn with anything to any occassion. Versatile, huh?

Therefore, after scouring the internet I have dished out some of my favourite dresses and tights for the coming months, making a lust-wrothy list that I'd like to think would do Carla proud!

Thanks for having me over Carla!
For more wish lists, lolz tights and awkward posing you can find me at 'What Olivia Did'!

x

Guest Post: Frugal in Fukuoka

2011-12-15T17:00:00.000Z

Hi everyone,

I've always been fascinated with Japan and if someone offered me anywhere in the world to visit free of charge, I would definitely go there!
So when my darling friend Grahame won a scholarship allowing him to live, work and study in Fukuoka, I can't deny I almost died a wee bit of jealousy.

Since moving, Grahame has started his hilarious blog Japanter - a merging of all things Japanese and banter.
It features antecdotes from his trips outside Fukoka, diary-like entries abut his day-to-day life (my favourite being his ongoing war about where to park his bicycle), small posts about funny offbeat occurances (otherwise known as "Bite Sized Japanter") as well as some vocab thrown in for good measure.

When I called for guest posts, Grahame very kindly offered to do a peice on fashion in Fukuoka with his friend Ina, focusing especially on living on the cheap in a country with such a high cost of living.

Be sure to follow his adventures in Japan over at his blog.

Muchos love,
MessyCarla.

PS: This is a bit of a bumper post since he sent me so many wonderful pictures!

Your loving reporters, Grahame and Ina, were sent by the Messy One herself to Fukuoka in southern Japan. Our mission: to investigate all that is cool, kooky and crazy in the city that has, more than once, been called the world’s greatest retail city.

Fashion in Japan has some important social functions that are less accented in the West.
For instance, it is common to see women, young and old alike, bedecked in kimono, face painted white, shuffling elegantly. Not only is it gorgeous, but it’s a statement of Japan’s cultural identity and distinctiveness, something we in England rarely feel inclined to do.

Here are some pictures - from a fashion show we were invited to snap in central Fukuoka – of costumes designed for girls’ coming-of-age ceremonies. Pretty no?

Uniformity is important in Japanese culture and, as the wonderful and clever and cultured and enlightened among you may have read on my Japan blog (japanter.blogspot.com), it is not uncommon for schoolchildren to wear their school uniforms every day of the week, weekend included.
This is contrasted, however, with a (probably/possibly reactionary) love of all things weird, wonderful and, as we discovered, vintage.

Tenjin, in west central Fukuoka is the city’s beating heart: the place to go out, see and be seen. At the top of “Tenjin Core” one of the bigger department stores (actually, it’s the 8th floor, the very top, the 9th floor, has a Gothic Lolita fashion mega-boutique) is a gorgeous, oldy-worldy style vintage shop with a treasure-trove of a second hand section. We discovered shirts for 300 yen (around £2.70), accessories for less and dresses for as little as 100 yen (less than £1).

The most striking thing about ‘Hanjiro’, however, is the glorious décor.
Look at those changing rooms!

Just as in the UK it is popular to adorn one’s body and skin in Chinese characters, so in Japan English writing is a popular decoration for clothes and shops: except it’s not really English.

Our next destination was the fascinating, if slightly worrying, ‘Ace in the Hole’. They had some wonderful but pricey stuff:

Vintage is a big deal in Japan, and can range from the super-expensive to, as in Hanjiro, super-cheap. In general, living is very expensive over here, so cheap quality will always be popular.

As the Messy One herself is so fond of saying:

Muchos love,
Grahame and Ina

Guest Post: Burlesque

2011-12-13T16:18:00.001Z

Hey everyone,

Carrying on from Jess's fabulous theatrical makeup post, we're not straying too far into the wonderful world of burlesque!

I know the most popular burlesque artists such as Diva Von Teese and Immodesty Blaize - plus I was a bit of a fangirl for the Jeepers Peepers girls when the club night was still on at The Cluny.
But personally although I think they're fabulous - I reckon I'm still a wee bit ignorant about the stunning pin-up girls who shake their tassells!

Thankfully we have the beautiful Georgia Honey to tell us all about the different kinds of burlesque - as well as her favourite places to shop for the beautiful peices in her shows.

Hmmm I have a lot of leopard print in my wardrobe...reckon I could pass at a cheesecake artist?
I wish.

Muchos love,
MessyCarla.

PS: Just a head's up - there's a potentially NSFW (not safe for work) picture near the botton! ;)

Hello Fashion Starlets!

I’m Georgia Honey, international burlesque performer, and I am here to help you add burlesque into your style without taking off your clothes!

Just like there are different types of girls out there, there are different styles of burlesque.

I have listed my top 3 styles of burlesque and goodies to go with to help you add a bit of that shimmy, shake and striptease into your wardrobe- emphasis on the tease!

Classic Burlesque

Picture credit: Matthew Kitchen
You’re a seductress, you know your power and the entire audience (or the town!) is at your mercy! Think voluptuous ostrich feather boas and instant glamour because you are a Classic Burlesque Starlet! Love Burlesque offers a wide range of delectable corsets from ones lathered in Swarovski crystals to others perfect for the girl on a budget!

Corsets don’t always have to be worn with a frilly pair of knickers either! They look amazing with the perfect pencil skirt or even a pair of jeans if you’re going for a low-key night out.
Love Burlesque also offer Bordello shoes which are my favorite for any on stage performance and even more so for an off stage appearance.
The Glitter Bordello Kitten Shoes, Satin Burlesque Shoes, or even the Sequin Cabaret Shoes Bordello offers are the best to complete your classic burlesque themed outfit!

Cheesecake Burlesque

Picture credit: Rachel Saunders
You are a pin up beauty, and you’re sexy and you don’t know it! Comedy and the accidental ability to make jaws drop are your super powers as you are a Cheesecake Burlesque Starlet! Collectif have a fabulous selection of retro style clothes perfect for any pin up, including a few with leopard or tiki print and even military outfits!
We can’t forget to add a lil bit of that Cheesecake “ooops!” into our outfit now can we? How about sneak a pair of pasties or tassels underneath your top? Perfect in case your top is too low or a bit see through (and perhaps you didn’t realize it!).
Try Badbiscuit for a wide range of everything including sequined cup cake pasties to leopard fur tassels! They even do made to order goods if you’re looking for something in a special shape or color.

Fetish Burlesque

Picture credit: Roy Barry
You’re a girl that’s got a bit of an edge and a wild side! Whatever your pleasure or secret desires may be, I won’t tell anyone - but here are some of my favorite goodies to help bring out the Fetish Burlesque Starlet in you without venturing to the dark side!

In a lot of the fetish burlesque performances I have seen, latex is most often worn. A latex suspender belt is a must have! Be daring and wear it on its own over a pair of hotpants (latex knickers maybe?!) or have it peak out of a short skirt- either way it’s sure to get people talking! My favorites are by Mico Couture ranging from £18-£25 and are available in many colors!
For latex accessories, I’m a sucker for Arcanum Accessories, who have decently priced hair bows, collars and more! I own a red latex rose hair clip and I love it!
Remember if you buy latex, don’t forget to read the instructions on how to care for it as latex is very delicate.

Now that you have got ideas to help your inner burlesque starlet shine through no matter what kind of girl you are, I hope to see you doing a bump’n’grind in your new threads while waiting for the bus or even a shimmy at the local take away!

Don’t forget to add in that perfect pair of tights, stockings or hold ups to complete any look no matter what your plans for the day are.
As for me, my next plan of action is to perform on New Years Eve in Newcastle for RETROspective Events. It’s a burlesque show celebrating the anniversary of the Titanic so grab your sequins and your life jackets… it’s anchors away!

Picture credit: Anne Marie Price

Shimmy, Shakes & Cup Cakes,

Georgia Honey xx

Guest Post: Ice Queen

2011-12-10T17:00:00.000Z

Hey everyone,

As I've mentioned a few times in my blog I love makeup, I simply don't feature it enough here. Mostly because there are amazing professional artists on teh interwebz as opposed to a fangirly hack like myself.

So when Jess of Raffles Bazaar offered to do a creative, theatrical makeup tutorial especially for this blog, I practically bit her hand off!

I asked if she could possibly create a winter look as we're into December now, and it's absolutely fabulous.
It reminds me of a look in a winter ballet or burlesque show - as always, I have theatre on the brain!

As well as the links below, be sure to check out her amazing ventriloquist's dummy makeup tutorial - so simple yet effective!!

Muchos love,
MessyCarla.

When Carla said she was looking for guest bloggers I jumped at the chance, and figured this would be the perfect opportunity for another makeup tutorial. I wanted to do something perfect for this time of year, so here is my Ice Queen makeup tutorial.

STEP 1 - Base

- I started by using a white full coverage all over my face and sealing it with a white pressed powder. You can use a white greasepaint or foundation, even regular face paints will be sufficient but you may need to apply more than one coat. The powder evens it all out and stops the makeup smudging.

- Then I used silver to add some depth in the eyes, down the sides of the nose and to define my cheek bones and lips. You can used any silver eye shadow, I used a Mac pigment for this.

STEP 2 - Adding colour

- I've used a blue pigment here to add some colour to the areas I have already shaded, and a metallic, blue eye liner under the eyes. I wanted to create a frozen, fantasy style look so blue and silver worked perfectly together.

STEP 3 - Eyes

- First I used a silver mascara, with white mascara over the top on my lashes, I also used the white mascara on my eyebrows to make them more bushy and give the illusion of them being frozen.

- I used a white eyeliner and this brilliant stuff I discovered a few years back called Lash Jewels by Revlon. It comes out of the tube like a clear glue and you drip it onto your lashes where it dries. I think it works brilliantly for this kind of makeup when you want to create what looks like lumps of ice or water.

STEP 4 - Detailling

- Lastly I added lots of detail. I used mixing liquid to turn some glitter powder into a paste which I used on my cheek bones. Then I used plastic gems and mirrors in varying sizes and liquid and glitter eye liners for detail around my eyes, brows and the sides of my face.

FINISHED LOOK

Ta da! This is the end result. Obviously with a look like this you can go to town with gems and sequins and glitter.

If this was a makeup to go with a costume for an event I would do my hair in a dramatic style, maybe plaiting sections and adding crystals. I would probably spray it white first as well.

Also, I would extend the makeup down to my neck and chest and any other exposed body part, just to give the full effect.

I hope you enjoyed my little tutorial and am in the process of planning more for my own blog Raffles Bizarre.

Links
Blog: http://www.rafflesbizarre.blogspot.com
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/rafflesbizarre
Jewellery: www.rafflesbizarre.co.uk

A.W.O.L

2011-12-08T15:25:00.001Z

Hey everyone,

Just a reminder that I'm going to be away for most of this month as I'm headed back to Virginia to visit my friend Jessica - so I am leaving you in the very capable hands of some wonderful guest bloggers!

There's a lovely mixed bag of posts coming up, so please do keep checking back every few days.

(T-shirt from SleeveCandy.com)
BRB, lovers. Be good!

Muchos love,
MessyCarla.

Etsy Treats 003

2011-12-03T15:00:00.000Z

Hey everyone,

This is my final Etsy Treats post for the time being - I hope you've all started getting bits and peices together. But there's always SOMEONE who is a bit ridiculously hard to buy for...

Onwards and upwards:

Pink owl - from £3.95

Anatomical heart cameo necklace: £11.85

Raptor t-shirt from Ghost World: £23.04

Bow scarf: £9.88 (currently half price!)

Snowflake earrings: £7.00
(this store belongs to the wonderful Sarah of Essbeevee - so yes, I am a little biased here.
She has very kindly offered a 10% discount code to all readers - messycarla - valid until Christmas!)

Happy shopping!
I'll say it again - don't forget if you've seen anything you like and it sells out by the time you go to buy, simply ask the seller politely and they will usually be more than happy to make you another, or something very similar.
Make sure to get requests in quick however, as it's getting close to the cut off point for many international sellers.

Kudos to EvieTees (featured in Etsy Treats 001) who very kindly especially made me a shirt in a larger size than what she had on her shop.
She didn't charge anything extra, and even threw in a free gift - thank you, Elena!

However, Italian Catholic Mother has already swooped in before I could have a proper look and has put it under the tree until the 25th!

Muchos love,
MessyCarla.

Pink Leopard

2011-11-29T12:50:00.002Z

Hey everyone,

Another quickie today (ooh-err) as it's Italian Catholic Mother's birthday today and we're off out for lunch and drinks!

Of course one of has to be on I.C.M WATCH at all times - as she still attempts to rush around after everyone ever, even on her birthday. Eyes on her at all times!

Since my new haircut makes me look about eighteen (I've been I.D'd everytime I've gone out for a fizzy pop since getting it done!) you'd think I'd try to dress a little more mature to make up for it?

Hardly.

DRESS: Primark.
CARDIGAN: Hoi Polloi.
NECKLACES: Sunday Girl Accessories and vintage.
BELT: ASOS Curve.
SHOES: Office.
POINT OF FASHION: Pink, gold and black.

Gold eyeshadow: Goldilux by Sugarpill (again!)

My sister came home from school and I noticed that her folder matches my cardigan.
I'm a chameleon!
I swear, there's nothing better to cure winter blues like wearing bright colours.
I do feel rather like an extra from Jem in this get up!

Anyhoo I'm offskies for birthday luncheon.

This week, I have another Etsy Treats post coming up - and I've also been finalising the guest posts over December.
There are some AMAZING, creative posts coming up - I'm so excited.
I have a feeling you'll not miss me too much, haha!

Muchos love,
MessyCarla.

Etsy Treats 002

2011-11-22T17:00:00.001Z

Hey everyone,
Ready for round 2 of Etsy Treats? I thought so.
I'm loving...

Gold glitter headband: £13.66

Virginia necklace: £11.71
(All the other states are available too!)

Julian Casablancas t-shirt: £12.00

Owl brooch: £6.50

Cup cozy: £6.83

If any items are sold out by the time this posts, I suggest getting in touch with the seller - most are happy to make peices again for you and reserve them so you don't miss out!

Muchos love,
MessyCarla.

Florals and Pentacles

2011-11-19T15:00:00.001Z

Hey everyone,

Usually with outfit posts, I try not to re-use items over and over again unless there are long hiatuses inbetween.
That, and I have too many dresses anyway.

However, once in a while there is a dress that is so easy to style in many different ways - and this is one of them.
It's the perfect fit on me, suits pretty much all my accessories to create a completely new look.

DRESS: New Look.
CARDIGAN: H&M via Ebay.
NECKLACE: Urban Outfitters.
BELT: Next.
TIGHTS: Dorothy Perkins.
BOOTS: Bearpaw.
POINT OF FASHION: Florals and pentacles.

Apologies for the phone picture - I was rushing out the door and didn't have time to go and grab my camera.
But as you can see, the dress although simple is styled completely different than in this post.

1. If you follow me on Twitter you may have already seen this picture, but I decided on impulse to change my side fringe to a centre/block one. I absolutely love it - however I think it takes a few years off my age (I'm 22), so I'll have to remember to carry I.D. with me whenever I go out for some fizzy pop!

2. A close up of my belt - I loved the stud detail, and I'm actually wearing it back to front to get the full effect! You could never tell, could you? Also I'm wearing the pentacle necklace I bought in Urban Outfitters a few month ago - I've been watching copious amounts of Buffy this week, so I must have been inspired by the wonderful Willow Rosenberg!

3. My eye makeup. I haven't done colourful makeup in a while, and was in the mood for being creative. The eyeshadows came from Urban Decay's Fun Palette - the individual colours if you're interested are Psychedelic Sister (purple) and Baked (gold).

I'm coming to the end of my Christmas shopping now - how about you all?
I've also had three birthdays to buy for, and it's exciting that they're all coming up: for Italian Catholic Mother's birthday we're having a lovely meal and drinks, for my best-friend Sam's birthday we're going dancing in town, then for my sister's 18th we're going for another meal and then seeing Boulevard's Christmas show!

Then of course I'm off to America soon.
I've had an AMAZING response to the guest writers post and there's some wonderful creative posts coming up in December.

Muchos love,
MessyCarla.

Etsy Treats 001

2011-11-14T17:00:00.000Z

Hey everyone,

As it's coming up to the season-of-giving, I've found myself looking through Etsy for some beautiful, unique peices that would be perfect for gifts.

So I thought it would be a good idea to post some of my favourite things.
Since I'm from the UK, I'm giving all prices in GBP.
However conversions are easily made via the website or by using XE.com.

Hat with deer antlers knitting pattern: £3.54

Peanut butter and banana sandwich necklace: £9.00

Monarch Butterfly clips: £6.00

Marauders t-shirt: £12.83
(I love the Death Eater one too!)

Macaroon necklace: £7.72 (each)

I'm going to keep these posts quite short and sporadic, but I hope these have given you some inspiration for gifts - it can get quite difficult and stress-y, sometimes!

Muchos love,
MessyCarla.

Grey, Green and Hazelnuts.

2011-11-10T20:50:00.002Z

Hey everyone,

Just a quickie post today - I wore this whilst out Christmas shopping!
I bought the t-shirt and necklace from Forever 21 when I was in London last month, but hadn't worn the top yet, and the necklace only once.

And yes - the bottle green cardigan is back!

TOP: Forever 21.
SKIRT: New Look.
NECKLACE: Forever 21.
BRACELETS: Various.
BELT: ASOS Curve.
BOOTS: Bearpaw via NatureShop.co.uk.
POINT OF FASHION: Cool Autumn colours.

My boots were very kindly sent to review from NatureShop.co.uk who sell premium "nature inspired" brands and products that are kind to your body and to the environment.
They are committed to making a positive difference to the world, with a specific focus on preservation of the world’s natural environments. 10 % of all profits are donated to the World Wildlife Fund and children's charities: Heart Children (New Zealand) and Canteen (Australia).

The website recommends sizing up, so I went up from a 5 to a 6 and they fit me perfectly.
They are suede with sheepskin inside from the top to toes to keep my feet all snug - I really can't recommend them enough!

They're gorgeous as they are, but I can't wait to add some cute boot cuffs - Next have some great ones in at the minute!

In other news: it's a Princess Brie special today!
Basically, in this week's Graze box one of the punnets had a few Hazelnuts which I hate eating by themselves. So, I thought I'd donate them to Brie as they're fantastic for hamsters' teeth.

Prior to HAZELNUTFEST 2011.
Brie's quite slight for a hamster as she's got lots of toys and is very active.

However the Brie way is to stuff all six hazelnuts into her pouches at once.

SRSLY LOOK AT THE SIZE OF HER! ^_______^

The next challenge was getting into her little house, which she suddenly found herself too big for.
Her response was not to drop the hazelnuts, but to glare around at me as if it was all my fault.

And that friends, is the story of the hamster and the hazelnuts!

Muchos love,
MessyCarla.

DISCLAIMER: The boots were sent to me to review from NatureShop.co.uk. I did not recieve any money for writing this post. As always - all opinions are my own!

Guest Bloggers Wanted!

2011-11-08T13:55:00.002Z

Hey everyone,

As I've mentioned a few times I'm going on holiday for most of December so am looking for lovely content to put here while I'm away.

If you think a peice would look good on this blog, just email me a sample including a photo or two you will use.
Anything fashion, makeup, DIY, baking or holidays will be greatly appreciated!

It will be a great opportunity to promote your blog or website if you have one (of course this is not a necessity!) as well as any other channels such as YouTube etc.

If you're an online store, unfortunately I won't be accepting submissions for blog posts that are pure advertisement. However, you may like to consider being a sponsor instead!

I'll be looking for posts to go out around 9th-20th December.
So get submitting if you're interested - I'm looking forward to reading your stuff!

Muchos love,
MessyCarla.

Dear Santa...love MessyCarla! (2011)

2011-11-03T17:00:00.000Z

Hey everyone,

Now it's November, I think it's perfectly alright to compile a Christmas list, yes?

Especially as I'm going to be away from 9th-20th December, I need to get my letter to the big dude in the red suit nice and early this year:

I can't believe it's almost been a year since I sent off my last letter - 2011 really has flown hasn't it?

One of my favourite things about this season is the music.

Yes, I do mean the cheesy songs that are played year in year out.
("FEED THAE WOOOOORLD...")

I was in Swing Band at school, and I loved playing the Christmas concerts - I still have the peice of tinsel I wrapped around my saxophone's bell on my last show at a Methodist club.
Rock and roll.

One of the best one-liners I've ever heard was when Nick who played sax like me kept screwing up the melody of Frosty the Snowman.
So our teacher said: "Nick, if you do that on the night everybody will notice because everyone knows the tune to Frosty. Except you, apparently." Haha! Pwned.

However, here are some of my favourite alternative Christmas songs:

It's Christmas (And I Hate You) by Paloma Faith and Josh Weller.

Christmas is Cancelled by The Long Blondes

Maybe This Christmas by Rex Sexsmith

Baby, It's Cold Outside by Selma Blair and Rainn Wilson

Muchos love,
MessyCarla.

Happy Halloween

2011-10-31T23:59:00.001Z

Hey everyone

On a whim I decided to dress up in case we had any trick-or-treaters.
Alas we did not, so I figured I'll share with you guys!

One of my favourite lipsticks:
Demure by Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics

Muchos Love,
MessyCarla.

Viddy Well,
Alex DeLarge.

Not Quite Morticia

2011-10-30T16:06:00.000Z

Hey everyone,

Even though Halloween is one of my favourite times of year, for the second year running I haven't got any real plans.
Except for a big bowl of popcorn and a mini marathon of old B-movies.

However I used the occasion to wear this dress that Curvissa sent me a little while ago:

DRESS: Curvissa
BELT: New Look
NECKLACE: Vintage
TIGHTS: Dorothy Perkins
BOOTS: Dr Martens
POINT OF FASHION: Not quite Morticia.

I didn't want to go all gothed out, so wore bright pink lipstick.

EYELINER: No1/Barry M
EYEBROWS: Ash Brown/Wet N' Wild
MASCARA: Big Fatty Mascara/Urban Decay
FOUNDATION: NW15/MAC
POWDER: Illamasqua
BLUSH: Chased/Illamasqua
LIPLINER: 906/Kryolan
LIPSTICK: 62/Barry M

Ultimately, it's quite a nice dress but not the best fit on me.

I do love the top half, and the long sheer sleeves are beautiful with the lace cuffs.
However, I think it emphesises my lower half, and I'm not too keen on the frill at the bottom - it would have looked more chic if it was all lace.

Ho hum.

Anyway, this is just a short one today.
Although I'm not wearing a costume this time around, last year I posted a bit of a picspam from Halloweens gone by.

Finally, I'll leave the last word from the almighty queen of Halloween:

Muchos love,
MessyCarla.

DISCLAIMER: I was sent this dress to review from Curvissa. I was not paid any money for this post. All opinions are - as ever - my own.

Local Events

2011-10-27T17:00:00.000+01:00

Hey everyone,

As promised, here's a rundown of some awesome sounding local events happening in the run up to the festive period.
Christmas fairs and markets are a great opportunity to find unique gifts away from the high street, as well as supporting local and/or independent businesses.

Anyhoo, let's kick this off.
Be sure to add this page to your bookmarks so you can keep checking back anytime!

(♥)
October 29^th
Plus-Sized Clothes Swap

Although this event is based in Leeds - it's worth an honourable mention as it's being organised by Kirsty of Fatty Unbound.
Clothing swap event for sizes 14+

Upstairs at the Packhorse,
Woodhouse Lane

Leeds

50p Entry
FACEBOOK EVENT

October 29th
Designer's Marketplace - Newcastle

Showcase and sale of high-end wares. Fashion, art, photography, homeware, jewellery.

The Holy Biscuit
1 Clarence Street,
Newcastle
NE2 1YH

£1 Entry
FACEBOOK EVENT

October 30^th
Pink O’Ween Craft Fair Extravaganza

Halloween/Bonfire Night themed event with stalls and auctions.

42-50 Bell Street,
North Shields Fish Quay,
NE30 1HF

50p entry (Children free)
All proceeds towards Breast Cancer Care and Breast Cancer Survival Trust
FACEBOOK EVENT

October 31^st
Cake and Craft Stall

Stall run by 3rd year Ceramics students.
Asburne House is soon to be no more, and is a lovely old building (I took Photography classes there during my time at uni) so go and support some local Art students.

Ashburne House
Backhouse Park
Ryhope Rd
Sunderland
Tyne And Wear
SR2 7EF

All proceeds towards the students' final degree show.
FACEBOOK EVENT

November 5^th
Newcastle's Affordable Vintage Fair

Event which comes around to Newcastle several times a year - but also visits most major cities. Check their website for your local events.
Sells vintage clothes and accessories from 1920s-1990s. Also includes local jewellery designers.

Northumbria Student's Union,
2 Sandyford Road,
Newcastle,
NE1 8SB

£2 Entry/£1 NUS & OAP. Under 12s free
FACEBOOK EVENT

November 5^th
Make and Mend Market

Stalls selling jewellery, retro clothing and accessories, homeware and baked goods.

Grainger Market
Nun Street/ Grainger Street

Newcastle upon Tyne

Free entry.
FACEBOOK EVENT

November 6^th
South Shields Fireworks

No an event per-se. But I go to this every year and it's so much fun!
The funfair opens for a day off-season, as well as lots of yummy things to eat.
Be sure to wrap up warm, it's always freeeeeeezing on the seafront.

Sea Road
South Shields
Tyne & Wear
NE33 2LD

Free entry.

November 20^th
Bede’s World Christmas Gift Fair

Stalls selling homeware, cards and local produce.

Bede's World
Church Bank
Jarrow
Tyne & Wear
NE32 3DY

Free entry.
WEBSITE

November 20^th – 3^rd December
Continental Market

Bi-annual event held in the centre of Newcastle.
Stalls selling the "sights, sounds and smells of Europe". I recommend the Dutch pancakes and French guys selling cheese!

Grey Street
Newcastle
NE1 7AL

Free entry.

7^th – 11^th December
Christmas Market

Similar to the Continental Market, but has a lot more stalls selling 'gifty' things for Christmas.

Grey Street
Newcastle
NE1 7AL

Free entry.

10^th December
The Canny Comic Con

SO gutted I'm going to have to miss this. A small festival of comics and art.
Also includes talks, panel discussions and workshops.

Newcastle City Library
33 New Bridge Street West
Newcastle upon Tyne,
NE1 8AX

Free entry.
FACEBOOK EVENT

If you know of any more, please leave a comment or send me an email and I'll be happy to add it to the list!

Muchos love,
MessyCarla.

Treasure Hunting

2011-10-24T17:00:00.001+01:00

Hey everyone,

This Sunday I ventured with Italian Catholic Mother to Tynemouth Market to hunt for treasure.

I've never been back to Tynemouth since I was a teenager, when me and my friend Amber would spent our pocket money in Razberry Bazaar then go for ice cream.
My youth was such a rebellious one, as you can tell.

DRESS: Primark via French For Cupcake's selling blog
VEST (under): H&M
CARDIGAN: H&M via Ebay
SCARF: Ebay
BELT: Topshop
NECKLACE: River Island
SHOES: Primark
POINT OF FASHION: Leopard and floral.

RINGS: Accessorize and Dorothy Perkins
BRACELETS: Dorothy Perkins. (I got the wristband at Northern Pride)
NAILS: Barry M (see previous post)

FOUNDATION: NW15/MAC
POWDER: Illamasqua (unsure of shade - sorry!)
BLUSH: Chased/Illamasqua
EYELINER: Barry M
EYEBROWS: Wet N' Wild
LIPSTICK: Gash/Urban Decay

Don't worry if you don't appreciate my Face of the Day - this is pretty much what I wear everyday, so I won't post this all the time.
I do however adore makeup, so I'm trying to involve it in my blog more!

And of course, some pictures from what I bought:

Vintage silk scarves - £1 each

Vintage pendant - it also came on a lovely long chain.
It reminds me of a prop from a film or theatre production.
£2

Weird pink swan/flamingo. I'm going to keep my earrings in it.
£3

DVDS - 2 for £5

Vinyl - 50p each

So yeah I got some lovely bits and peices.
Even Italian Catholic Mother found some treasures - a lovely wire wine rack and a little silver cross for £2.

We also got some yummy chocolate orange cupcakes from Elizabeth and Oliver.
They all had Halloween wrappers on, which was sweet! As you can probably guess though, they were demolished before I could take a decent photo.

It's always this time of year I especially love markets and fayres - you can pick up some really unique gifts for the holiday season.
It's not for a few weeks yet, but my favourite to go to every year is the Bede's World Christmas Gift Fair on 20th November.
You can get everything from handmade cards and homeware to local cheeses.
One year we got my dad some Jarrow Ale and I treat us to some delicious mulled wine and biscuits.

Since I'm going to be spending quite a lot of Advent in Virginia this year, it's a great opportunity to stock up on local and unique gifts for my American friends.
And likewise - I'll be doing most of my Christmas shopping for my friends this year in the US.
International much, dwarlings? Haha!

There's other local events coming up you may be interested in, but I reckon I'm going to save those for one big post that you can bookmark especially.
I have a good list already, but any heads up would be greatly appreciated!

Muchos love,
MessyCarla.

Spots and Stripes.

2011-10-21T21:08:00.000+01:00

Hey everyone,

A few days ago I met up with my darling friends Natalie, Georgina and Lorna for some pints.
We met in Year 7 at school, so we've known each other for well over ten years now which is a bit scary.

All through school we were in the same band geek clique, where everybody was either in a band (I was 2nd saxophone in Swing Band - rock and roll!) or choir. We also organized charity concerts and took part in the musicals.

I left school at 16 to go to college, but they all stayed on at the sixth form.
Since then we've all made a real effort to see each other as soon as we can.
Life of course gets in the way, but within five minutes of being together we slot back into our regular banter and laugh about the same things we laughed about when we were thirteen.

We just organised a date to the pub, but I still dressed up a little.
I also broke one of the ultimate FASHUN ROOLZ - I wore spots and stripes together!

TOP: Dorothy Perkins.
SKIRT: Forever 21.
CARDIGAN: H&M.
NECKLACES: Dorothy Perkins and Forever 21.
BELT: ASOS Curve.
BAG: River Island.
BOOTS: Dr Martens.
POINT OF FASHION: Spots and stripes.

LIPSTICK: Maneater by Illamasqua
(I forget up close you can see my scar from when I had my labret peirced)

And of course, some extra pictures from the night:

1: Slightly shoddy nail art. Everything is by Barry M except the Models Own black nail pen.

2: Georgina and I. Georgina has just graduated from Oxford University with a degree in History, and is now back in the North East which we're both relieved about. Long-time readers may recognise her as my plus-one for Fashion Week last year!

3: Lorna and Natalie. Both my girls are still at uni - Lorna studying Medicine and Natalie doing a PhD in something that is waaaaay to clever for my teeny tiny brain to comprehend. I'm so proud that two of my friends are going to be doctors in a few years! Lorna even showed us the basics of how to take a reading using a stethoscope.

My poor friends were all in need of early nights due to long shifts in a hotel/hospital/lab - but I'm a bad influence and even got Natalie on the two-for-one cocktails.
Most of us ended up in McDonalds which was overrun by freshers and chavs. Classy lassies!

We've also now made a resolutions that we're going to make a special effort to meet up more regularly - especially now Georgina is home, and Lorna is finished travelling.
Can't wait for more fun times!

How about you guys?
Are you still close to your schoolfriends, or did you make your best friends at university/work?

Muchos love,
MessyCarla.

Indie Spotlight: Callooh and Callay

2011-10-18T16:28:00.002+01:00

Hey everyone,

You may have noticed on this blog that I am a bit of a fangirl for acrylic jewellery. I constantly find myself favouriting acrylic peices on Etsy, and last year I did a big feature on my favourite Carrie Bradshaw -esque name necklaces.

So when I discovered that one of my favourite bloggers, Lillian, was launching an acrylic jewellery shop with her lovely girlfriend Claire - my fangirling reached new heights.

Their venture takes the form of the Callooh and Callay.
Advocating themselves as "purveyors of fine acrylic jewellery. Our designs are influenced by our own obsessions from circuses to heraldy, animals to pop culture" I couldn't wait for the shop to launch last month.

Which it did, it all it's pinstripey-Brighton-beach-circa-1920s goodness.

As you can see, their wares come packaged in pretty striped bags, reminding me of the sort you get sweeties in at the seaside.
My order also included as well as a lollipop, a handwritten note and their business cards.

(I'm sorry for the poor quality of these pictures, but I only had my phone on me when the parcels arrived and I couldn't wait to go and grab my camera before tearing them open!)

I have a bit of an obsession with cameos, so when I spied this acrylic version I knew it just had to be mine, and I started drafting my Christmas list early just so I could add it to the top of it.

However, because Lillian is just adorable - she asked if I would like it to review for you guys, which I was completely over the moon about!

(You can see the rest of this outfit here)

The peice is made with two peices of thick cut acrylic - one white and one black, with of course the Victorian sillouette in the middle.
The cameo was designed by Callooh/Claire and her workmanship (or make that workwomanship?) to get the little intricate design of the frame is just fabulous.

Also, the girls sent me a peice from their Jewels For Gouls Halloween Collection.
Halloween is one of my favourite times of year, and they obviously know me well as they sent me the Sneaky Ghoul brooch, teehee.

There are a choice of five ghosts (Sneaky, Naughty, Morose, Perky or Gleeful) or you can of course buy the whole set.

This spooky dude was designed by Callay/Lillian and he reminds me of a character from a 1920s Mickey Mouse cartoon!

Of course I'm always going to be biased about these guys, as I love Lillian!
She's one of the only beauty bloggers I follow because I love her outlandish looks, and how she takes a theme - such as a Pierott or a sailor or a carousel (!) - and really runs with it.

Last year when I asked to be my plus one for an event, I hardly bothered getting dressed up as I knew it'd be the underdressed one either way. And of course she turned up dressed as an adorable wee sailor - complete with a little cap!

I then unintentionally got her drunkety-drunk on complimentary cocktails (my Geordie stamina stumps unaware Southerners...) and she then invited me to go with her for elaboate ice cream sundaes, which we consumed while discussing blogging and life.

(My favourite story was about her drama with a certain famous online personality who told Lillian she's the sole reason she's now on anti-depressants. Oh, internet!)

But in all seriousness, their peices are beautifully made and reasonably priced. So, please support two amazing artists - who also happen to be lovely girls to boot!

Visit:

CalloohandCalley.com
Twitter
Facebook
Lillian's blog
Lillian's portfolio
Lillian's YouTube channel
Callooh and Calley's blog

(Although the prices online are in USD, Callooh and Callay are based in the UK)

If you like anything, you can get 10% off using the code CARLA at checkout.

Muchos love,
MessyCarla.

DISCLAIMER: I was given these peices to review for free, however all opinions are - as ever - my own.

Everyone Deserves the Chance to Fly.

2011-10-15T17:10:00.000+01:00

Hey everyone,

I went to visit my friend Sam, who is living in Borehamwood (lovingly nicknamed "Boringwood"...though there's pubs and a Nandos which is all I need in life) and we had a lovely day in London.

DRESS: Dorothy Perkins.
CARDIGAN: H&M.
NECKLACE: Vintage.
BADGE: Ebay.
BELT: Dorothy Perkins.
SHOES: Primark.
POINT OF FASHION: Autumn blues.

1. I'm still in love with my bottle green cardigan. Definitely going to be one of those OMG-MUST-WEAR-EVERYDAY items in my wardrobe. I'm going to have to pick more up.

2. I convinced Sam to see Wicked. I haven't seen it since 2008, and it's still as fresh and fun as ever. It's a shame it was my girl crush Rachel Tucker's day off as Elpheba, but Nikki Davis-Jones was amazing!

3. We stopped off at one of our favourite pubs in Covent Garden, The Maple Leaf for some fancy overpriced beers and grub. I had my usual Dixie beer (I like to pretend I'm a character in an early Poppy Z. Brite novel) and tried the burrito and nachos, which were ace.

4. Sam has never been to Hamley's, so I did my usual act of running about taking pictures with all the cuddly toys like an excited child. There was a puppet show on, and they were doing The Gruffalo, which was so adorable.

5. Heee I love the Hamley's actors and salespeople, it must be such a fun job (though I suppose difficult sometimes to be cheerful 24/7). This guy was a toy soldier who rather randomly was waving a lightsaber around. Nothing says "come and shop here!" like accidental dismemberment.

Before I went home, I ventured back into London for dim sum and cocktails with Claire and Lauren for Claire's birthday - but unfortunately I didn't grab any pictures. We're such bad bloggers.

We went to The Drunken Monkey in Shoreditch, then on to a few bars - including this ace one where cocktails were served in Tiki tumblers instead of the usual glasses.
It's London Cocktail Week until October 16th - so when we went, so most were only £5 each.
Newcastle prices in London? Me likey.

The ones we chose tasted like Um Bongo. Nom.

As I've previously mentioned, whenever I come home I get the post-London blues. Gahh.
The rest of this week definitely hasn't been the best, but I don't really want to dwell on that all too much - don't worry I'll be back to my old self soon!

Coming up this week I have a review of two beautiful peices from Callooh and Callay (aka: MY NEW FAVOURITE SHOP EVER) so stay tuned for that.

Muchos love,
MessyCarla.

Now the leaves are falling and the sun won't be around.

2011-10-07T22:42:00.002+01:00

"Now the leaves are falling
And the sun won't be around
And the words that I am singing to the clouds."
- Autumn Shade III, The Vines.

Hey everyone,

Dear me - the weather has turned around a bit hasn't it?
It's blustery, chilly and damp.
Yep, sounds like Autumn.

I wore this outfit during the "crossover" day, where it was nippy enough for a snuggly cardigan and scarf, but just a wee bit too warm for a coat.
This is my favourite type of weather: I call it "cardigan weather."

TOP: Dorothy Perkins.
SKIRT: New Look.
CARDIGAN: H&M.
SCARF: Ebay.
BAG: River Island (borrowed from my sister).
NECKLACE: Dorothy Perkins.
BELT: ASOS Curve.
BOOTS: Dr. Martens.
POINT OF FASHION: Autumn punk.

I picked up this James Dean vest top for just £7 in Dorothy Perkins.
I bought it in a size 16, but it's very baggy on me, so will definitely fit larger sizes.

I'm also loving H&M's basics at the minute, especially their cardigans.
I bought this in bottle green as well as mustard yellow for around £10 each.

I am of course also in love love LOVE with my new patent Dr. Martens.
I've wanted a pair for years now and I'm so pleased with them. Of course they're a bit of a bother to break in, but mine are just getting comfy now.

Autumn is one of my favourite seasons in many ways, but it also has it's problems.

Firstly, the good:
I love cuddly cardigans, wooly jumpers and 80 denier tights with boots and socks.
I love lashings of hearty food such as home made soups and stews.
I love that cafes and coffee shops advertise seasonal treats such as spiced pumpkin lattes and turkey and cranberry paninis.
I love wearing deep red and purple lipstick.
I love the slight chill in the air stepping out of the house at the crack of dawn.
I love that the shops are full of rusts and mustards.
I love the build up to Halloween and Bonfire Night.

However:
I hate that I have Seasonal Affective Disorder.
I hate that I want to sleep all the time.
I hate how grumpy I get.
I hate how it's dark when I leave the house for work and it's getting dark when I come home.
I hate wind.
I hate rain.
I hate snow.
I hate hate hate ice.
I hate having to wear a coat and covering up a carefully constructed outfit.
I hate having to put all my sunglasses away for another year.

So yeah, apples and oranges.
Mmm. Apples.
In pies. With lots of cinammon.
What was I talking about again?

*ahem*

Now without further ado, what I've been up to lately:

1: I forgot to post this picture with my last blog as it's from around that time, but one of my best friends Daniel is now living in La Ferté Bernard for a year. This was from his going away party where I drank some potentially lethal cocktails mixed by his dad.
I thought it was cute that most people there were wearing berets for the occasion!

2: We had a lovely American guest who was staying with us at work. He had a little trouble with his booking, and when I helped him out he asked if I'd like something from the USA.
I half-jokingly requested he pack some Reece's Peices into his bag, never thinking he'd remember - but he turned up this week with this HUGE bag, which our office devoured in a matter of hours.

3: Autumn is the time where leaves begin to wilt and fall as plants prepare to sleep for the winter. This does not faze Italian Catholic Mother who has stocked up on cheap blooms. "It's alright, I just throw the dead ones away!" She said.
If nothing else, I love her enthusiasm for a bargain.

4: Lazy Brie is lazy - it's a pretty special thing that during these months I operate on the same sleeping patterns as my hamster. As I first time pet owner and concerned parent, I'm currently obsessing over torpor hibernation. It can be risky for Syrian hamsters to get into this state, so I'm doing my best to keep Brie away from drafts, and (as always) providing her with plenty of food and fresh water.
At the minute though, she's just being a typical hamster having a snooze - so cute!

Finally, I'll leave you with the song that inspired the title of this post:

I think A.S. III is my favourite, but we sure to check out Autumn Shade, Autumn Shade II and A.S. IV too!

One more thing: I think you'll appreciate this duhhh moment I had at work today:

JAMES: Where abouts is Sicily?
ME: Uhm, it's at the bottom of Italy.
JAMES: Carla, I meant the Sicily takeaway in Newcastle.

See, that is what Autumn does to me.
Forget Brie, I'm the one who needs to go into hibernation.

Muchos love,
MessyCarla.

Autumn Sun + Two Years Old!

2011-10-02T00:09:00.000+01:00

Hey everyone,

Jeez Louise, where did this sun come from?!
Have all of my fellow Brits been enjoying the beautiful weather?
It's apparently the hottest Autumn day in over 100 years!
God, how hot much it have been under all those petticoats?

I've unfortunately been working for most of the beautiful weather, however a few days ago the afformentioned Ann Summers Roadshow hit the Metro Centre and I was invited along as part of their Ask The Stylist section.
More on that later.

It was a fantastic opportunity to FINALLY wear the gorgeous floral shrug sent to me by the lovelies at Ella-Tino:

DRESS: Dorothy Perkins.
SHRUG: Ella-Tino.
BELT: Stolen Borrowed from sister.
NECKLACE: Primark.
SHADES: Marc Jacobs.
SHOES: Office.
POINT OF FASHION: Summer dark.

Despite it being absolutely roasting hot - I still decided to wear dark colours.
Once a goth, always a goth!

The Roadshow was primarily a model search for the new face of Ann Summers for their Valentines Day shoot, with extra activies dotted around.
It was really enjoyable, but unfortunately wasn't as big a turnout as some of the others, probably because of the beautiful weather outside.

There were some really striking would-be model grrrrrrlz though - my favourite was a girl with red hair and bright fuschia lips who was so naturally gorgeous and sweet.
I'm sad I didn't get to nab a picture of her!

My part was the 'Ask A Stylist' section, where I selected my favourite peices and talked a little bit about it.
I assumed this was going to be just in front of small groups at a time - however I found myself being strapped into a Janet Jackson mic by the gorgeous promo girl Kate and my annoying Geordie voice suddenly boomed to unsuspecting shoppers.

It was so much fun though - my last job involved speaking in front of large groups of teenagers, so it wasn't too intimidating.

The final picture shows my three favourite peices for the party season.
The leopard balconette bra will look so cute underneath a sheer black (or even white if you're feeling daring) blouse and little skirt. I love the underwear as outerwear trend.

The cami in the middle is perfect for underneath little black dresses - especially for girls who need a bit of oomph given to the chesticle department. It has little gel 'cookies' hidden in the cups which can be inflated as desired with a sweet little pump.

And finally the dusty pink vintage-inspired balconette bra and pants. They're the NEW Briget Jones knickers which are both practical and gorgeous. The bra is great to be worn alone and as an everyday bra, but the zip in the middle adds some extra fun!

I know with some curvy bloggers, pull in pants can be a bit of a minefield.
Some girls find them restrictive, some girls love them.
Personally I'm in the LOVE catagory, as I'm very sensitive about my middle area - my least favourite part of my body! And pull in pants give me that extra confidence to wear something a little more figure hugging than I usually would.

I can't wait wait wait to wear these under my party frocks when it comes to holiday season.
The cami and the pink bra and pants are not on the website yet - but as soon as they are I'll update this post with links!

IN OTHER NEWS:
I COMPLETELY forgot to mention yesterday that my blog is now two years old.
I can't believe two years have already gone since I first sat down in my bedroom in my student house and started typing away.

I don't want to get all Gwyneth on you all, but I've met some wonderful people - some I've been lucky enough to meet in real life.
The past year or so has been especially amazing, as I've got to meet some of my favourite bloggers - some like Lauren and Claire have turned into wonderful friends.
And I've shared beds with them both, booyah.

(FYI: Lauren snores.)

So thank you to everyone who reads my blog, sends amazing emails, tweets me funny animal videos, offers to meet up when I'm in London (shout out to my favourite monkey, Claire for this! Can't wait to see you soon!), comments here and generally projects general awesomeness my way.
In short, I love thee all.
Snogs for everyone!

Here's to two more years...

Muchos love,
MessyCarla.

Ann Summers Roadshow: Metro Centre

2011-09-27T21:39:00.001+01:00

Hey everyone,

Just a short heads-up to local lovelies about the Ann Summers Roadshow which is making a stop at Metro Centre this Thursday 29th September.

It's part of their Sexy Uncovered campaign, which is launching Ann Summers' brand new look - as well as a modelling competition to be the new face of the company.

Everyone of all heights, shapes and sizes are welcome to try out - so pleae come along and shake your little touches on the catwalk.
Everyone who does get a goodie bag and discounts.

If you're not up to being a model grrrrl, you are very welcome to come along to the pop up party and see all the new Ann Summers products for yourself.

I'll be there all day writing up the day for you guys - but I'm also getting involved in their Ask A Stylist section which is so exciting and terrifying, so if you come along and see me - please say hello!
I'm nice, I promise.

If you're not from the North - fear not!
There are two more roadshows happpening in Thurrock, and I believe you can meet the lovely Devon of Fat Nurse.

Hope to see plenty of you on the 29th.
Comment or tweet if you're thinking of coming along, and I'll look out for you!

Good luck to everyone entering the competition.

Muchos love,
MessyCarla.

DISCLAIMER: I am an Ann Summers brand ambassador, however I recieved no money for writing this blog post and am not being paid for my attendance on their roadshow. I am occasionally sent items for review, which are clearly marked as gifts. All opinions are - as always - my own!

Peek A Boux

2011-09-27T15:13:00.001+01:00

Hey everyone,

Earlier this week, I was kindly invited to the launch of beautiful lingerie shop Boux Avenue at The Metro Centre.

Owned by retail giant (and dragon) Theo Paphitis it is the first of it's seven stores to open in the North East.

We all got to meet Theo, who is absolutely lovely and passionate about what he does.

He explained to us how underwear shopping shouldn't come hand in hand with everyday shopping - in his own words: "You shouldn't need to buy the most intimate clothing you own in the same store as you buy frozen chicken."

Boux Avenue is warm, welcoming and aesthetically beautiful - inspired by Parisian boutiques, with displays of overflowing suitcases and drawers full of their wares in a large range of sizes.

Also sold are beauty products such as hand creams, body polishes and lip balms (more below), pyjamas (all added to my Christmas list) and even beautiful vintage-inspired greetings cards.

The girls working there are clued up about underwear, and all wear matching Audrey Hepburn-esque black shift dresses.
I LOVED that the staff are however able to wear their choice of footwear - we saw everything from skyscraper bubblegum pink stillettos to sensible black ballet flats!

I was so happy to meet some fellow Northern bloggers, as all the events I have attended so far have been in London.
They were all adorable, and later went for coffee to discuss blogger-y things further while we munched our free cupcakes.

The Boux girls with Daniella from Madame Gourmand and Katie from Lady From a Tramp.
We also met Victoria from The Window Shopper but I didn't get to snap a picture - next time, definitely!

We were all given very generous goodie bags with White Chiffon hand cream (lily, jasmine and elderflower), rose lip balm, a pair of frilly french knickers, lemon cupcakes and a gift card.

With this I treat myself to a Blossom Balconette bra - I even bought another with my own money and I loved it so much.

I'm not going to give away my bra size - but put it this way, I can sometimes struggle to find lifting and supporting bras which are also very pretty.
This one fits me perfectly, and Boux Avenue even have a deal on at the minute where for every bra you buy, you recieve a pair of matching knickers absolutely free!

Oh yes, matching undies for everyone: no excuses now girls!

Most sets come with the option of (Keep your filthy paws off my) silky drawers or a tho-tho-tho-tho-thong!

Right, now I've got songs from Grease and novelty R&B from the early 00s stuck in my head I think I'll sign off. It's for the best methinks.
Be sure to give Boux Avenue a look if you have a local store - and they're also available online.

There's another big event coming up at the Metro Centre this week, but hang tight - I'll do a separate post about that! For a hint though: be practicing your model grrrl walks.

Muchos love,
MessyCarla.

DISCLAIMER: I recieved no money for writing this post. As always - ALL opinions are my own!

Virginia is for Lovers.

2011-09-21T21:54:00.000+01:00

Hey everyone,

I am in dire need of a holiday after working hard all year, so on a bit of a whim I've booked flights to visit my friend, Jessica, in Norfolk, Virginia.

I last visited in 2008, so I can't wait to see everyone again!
Last time, I went in summertime - so it'll feel like a different place in the winter.
Even though I'm not a very Christmassy person ("Bah, humbug!") I'm looking forward to seeing everywhere I fell in love with three years ago all done up in tinsel and fairy lights.

I've just been looking through photos from my last visit, so thought I'd share some of my favourites with you:

1: From the treetops ride at Busch Gardens. Lots of Virginia's greenery is protected by the government.

2: Looks like a scene from Pocahontas, no?

3: Big pretzel stuffed with cream cheese at a Ocean Breeze Water Park.

4: Butter Pecan ice cream with sprinkles at Virginia Beach.

5: Colonial Williamsburg.

6: Glowsticks for 4th July whilst watching the fireworks on the beach.

7: Grilled cheese at Colonial Williamsburg.

8: I'll definitely be dragging Jessica back to Hooters for hot dogs and pictures with the waitresses. I really am the worst feminist ever!

9: I intend to spent two months wages here...

10: Boating in a kids play area. We later ended up chasing around a YMCA group.

11: The pier at Virginia Beach.

12: Being originally from South Shields, I have such a love for other coastal towns!

13: The last picture we took outside her house before I went home. I sobbed for three hours at the airport, freaking out families either side of me.

There is one wee person I'll be missing seeing - a few months ago, one of Jessica's cats - Mommie - passed away.
She was the cutest little kitty, full of beans and personality.
When I used to write my emails home if I didn't pay her any attention she would sit on top of the laptop and gaze up at me.

Still, I took this short video of her one day when I was waiting for Jessica to get changed for the pool.
I love how she follows me about!

On a more positive note, I do hope I get to hang out with the friends I made during my last visit - especially Jaime, Jessica's twin sister and their friends Sara and Charlene (who took me to see The Dark Knight and bought me the biggest box of popcorn I've ever seen in my life).

Also Nicky who took me to an amazing independant vegan cafe, and Jenna for Ihop pancakes!

Are any of you guys from VA? What's your favourite part about living there?
Gahhh I'm so excited to go back. Can you tell?

Muchos love,
MessyCarla.

Costa Del Shields.

2011-09-18T22:08:00.000+01:00

Hey everyone,

I think Autumn is well a truly here. I've taken to wearing my coat on a near-daily basis which is pretty much unheard of from someone from Newcastle, so you know the sun has definitely took his hat off for the year.

However, there was a really nice sunny day this week - so me and Italian Catholic Mother decided to make the most of it, and go to South Shields for pub grub and pints.

Ready for location shots...?

DRESS: ASOS.
COAT: New Look (2009).
BELT: Dorothy Perkins.
SHADES: Marc Jacobs.
NECKLACE: Accessorize.
PIN: Vivienne Westwood.
SHOES: Primark.
POINT OF FASHION: The last day of (Geordie) summer.

I love love love that ASOS dress - it was only £15 in the sale and fits perfectly.
It'll be a good one to carry through to autumn with a nice thick cardigan - I'm not going to lie, shooting the first picture was bloody freezing!

And some more adventures from this week:

(Picture by my sister, Nadia)

1: I have such a weakness for Claire's Accessories, and I picked up these fab tea and biscuits earrings for around £6!

2: Papi B made amazing tapas! We had chilli prawns, Moroccan chicken, tortilla, chorizo, battered white fish with aioli and (of course) patatas bravas. Nommmm - best meal I've had in ages.

3: My sister is taking Photography for A-Level and is using the work of Rankin as inspiration by using paint in photographs.
Her friend Eleanor painted this fantastic heart and muscle design on their friend Claire and Nadia took the snaps (I just photoshopped this one myself out of quickness, she still has to do the rest herself).

The rest of the week has gone quite quick.

It was the Great North Run 2011 this weekend, and therefore our busiest few days of the year at work with thousands of people suddenly landing in Newcastle.
I of course was my usual nosy self, and loved hearing people's stories as to why they were running.

As for this week, I have one final Nandos date with Daniel for a whole year as he leaves for France next week.
I fully intend to sob into my chicken pitta.

Muchos love,
MessyCarla.

A/W 11 Wishlist.

2011-09-14T18:48:00.004+01:00

Hey everyone,

Just a short one today - I haven't done one of these style posts in a while, so thought I'd revive it now all the shops are full of A/W goodies.

And what I've been up to lately:

1: I bought a new bottle of my favourite perfume - Boudoir by Vivienne Westwood. I've missed it!

2: During the last days of nice weather, my uncle had his annual BBQ. Unfortunately I wasn't feeling up to it after working two long shifts in a row, so I woke up after a long nap to a big plate of leftover food my family brought home. Nom.

3: I treated myself to some new DVDs: The Inbetweeners Series 3, Spirited Away, Me and You and Everyone We Know and My Neighbour Totoro. I can't believe my sister has never seen Toroto - this has to be rectified soon!

Speaking of Autumn/Winter - you know that new Facebook feature where it groups various topics your friends are talking about? The main one today on my feed was 'Christmas.'
Gahhh, it's only September!

Mind you, Italian Catholic Mother's Christmas cards and wrapping paper did arrive today from the Studio 24 catalogue.
The Santa is a bit too skinny for my liking, though.

Muchos love,
MessyCarla.

Rock and/or Roll.

2011-09-03T21:52:00.001+01:00

Hey everyone,

Just a quick outfit post today.
I've been a bit 'off' all week and spending most of my free time sleping.
However I'd been looking forward to seeing The Flatliners at Trillians, so perked up for a few hours.

It seems like a few bloggers are experimenting with their looks at the minute, and going for a darker look (notably my blogger twin, Claire and also Georgina) which has inspired me to go for a more rockabilly look for the gig.

TOP: Steel Wheels.
SKIRT: New Look.
CARDIGAN: H&M.
HAIRBAND: Marscapony Handmade Goods.
BELT: ASOS.
NECKLACE: Dorothy Perkins.
SHOES: Office.
BAG: Primark.
POINT OF FASHION: Rockabilly-ish.

1: The hairband was very kindly sent to me by the lovely Donna of Marscapony Handmade Goods and I absolutely LOVE it. Due to having quite fine hair I sometimes find hairbands which tie at the top slip away from my hair unless I use lots of bobby pins and hairspray the whole thing in place.
However, Donna's hairbands have wires hidden inside, making it easier to bend into shape. I now want every pattern available!

2: I'm still addicted to leopard print nails.
The blue is 291/Cobalt Blue and the sprinkles are 210 both by Barry M. I drew the print freehand with the Models Own pen.

The Flatliners were absolutely awesome, and I love gigs where everybody dances.
You should definitely check them out:

Finally, you win a (virtual) cookie if you got the reference to this blog.
I named it after one of the greatest moments on The Simpsons.

Muchos love,
MessyCarla.

Advertising.

2011-09-01T17:22:00.000+01:00

Hey everyone,

I've given this some thought, and I'm now opening sponsorship/advertising on the right-hand sidebar of my blog.

For bloggers, I am offering a flat rate of £5 for 30 days.

For small businesses such as Etsy sellers, I am offering a flat rate of: £10 for 30 days.
Any other companies are welcome to contact me for an individual rate.

In both cases, you are responsible for producing your own button (not exceeding 210 x 90 px) as my Photoshop skills are very limited.

Eg:

(I did warn you about the Photoshop skills...)

More information, such as my stats are available on my main PR & Advertising page.
If you are interested, please send me an email.

Any other questions, just holler!

Muchos love,
MessyCarla.

Pinkie Pie and Polka Dots.

2011-08-24T20:30:00.004+01:00

Hey everyone,

I told ya'll I was mixing my black hair up a little - so today I got Cinderella extensions from the lovelies at Salon M in Newcastle.

I had delicate little strands of purple and blue weaved into my hair, and for extra fun - they added some exquisite glittery peices.
I now feel like a My Little Pony!
(There's a better picture near the bottom of this post!)

I was also wearing my new Dorothy Perkins dress today.
Their online sale is absolutely cracking at the minute - loads of dresses marked town, and then if you buy a sale item you get an EXTRA 20% off when you put it in your basket.

Absolutely amazing deals - I got seven dresses, a belt and a pair of glasses for just £80!

"Cant stop Julie and her synthesizer
She's got more fizz than a bottle of Tizer."

- Helen Love, We Love You.

DRESS: Dorothy Perkins.
JACKET: Primark.
PINS: Heidi Seeker.
NECKLACES: Vintage and Ebay.
BELT: Dorothy Perkins.
BAG: Primark.
SHOES: Dorothy Perkins.
POINT OF FASHION: Retro rock and roll.

Someone commented on my last post suggesting I perhaps give up wearing my faithful black tights since it's summer - and you know what, she has a point.
So baring that in mind, I took the plunge and showed off my milk bottle white pins.

It's funny, I'm always wearing tights or socks, so sometimes forget I have a tattoo on my foot!
It was nice to see it for a change.

I wore this shopping today with my dear friend, Chris.
Because we're both so busy with our jobs we don't get to see each other as often as we like - but when we do get a day, we always go for a cheeky Nandos, have a few drinkies and go shopping until the effects wear off.

And pray silence a moment for my new shoes...

Oh yes.

1: I really love my new extensions - they're bright enough for me to still feel like Carla, but subtle enough for work.

2: I always loved the perfumes from B Never Be Too Busy To Be Beautiful and I'm so happy they've tranferred over to Lush. I finally bought 100 Kisses, which is light, floral and perfect for popping in my bag.
Chris is really into fragrances too, so he bought The Breath of God which is smokey and very similar to incense.

3: I know I'm like 100 years too late to the party, but I finally managed semi-decent leopard nails. I used 47/Milkshake by Collection 2000 and the Models Own nail pen.

4: After breaking the stem on my last pair of Bas Relief earrings, and realising that no jeweller will touch them I just bought a brand new pair. I used to wear these practically every day and it's taken me six months to get new ones, so I'm rather excited.

5: Oh, the shoes. THE SHOES. My favourite blogger Nicolette has been posting photographs of her gorgeous glitter oxfords, as well as these pumps from Miu Miu FW11 - so it feels like fate when I stumbled upon these by Red or Dead for just £65. I want them in red, too!

Finally, I want to give another shout out to the girls at Salon M who did my extensions as I really do love them.

Tori did the block colours, then Maxine egged her on to add the glitter.

I've loved Maxine's YouTube channel for a few years now so I was a bit excited to meet her!
Her beauty channel is slightly more offbeat as she also vlogs about body modifications - from tattoos, peircings and plastic surgery, to more outlandish ones such as extreme dieting and her tongue split.

Definitely worth a subscribe!

Muchos love,
MessyCarla.

The Queen's Tea Party,

2011-08-13T20:46:00.000+01:00

Hey everyone,

Have you got over the initial shock, yet? No me either.
Believe me it was a big decision going back to black hair after being red for around 18 months.

But it's time for a change.
Mind you, the moment my red locks slowly turned ebony is one of the moments I'd like slow-motioned when they eventually make the made-for-TV movie of my life.

(God that'll be dull. I recommend watching whatever is on the other channels).

Anyway...

Last week I took a few days annual leave and went to visit one of my dearest friends Hattie, who moved to Leamington Spa this year when she got a job as a camera operator on a shopping channel.

We also managed to squeeze in trips to Stratford Upon Avon, the hometown of William Shakespeare.
I loved it a lot, but I thought it was funny how EVERYTHING was related to Shakespeare in some way - from Marlowe's Restaurant to Ye Olde Internet Café.
Hmm sort of.

I also suggested we go to London on the second day, as it was only £12 return I could hardly say no to having a fleeting visit to my boyfriend of a city. (Newcastle is my husband)

We wandered around Camden market, before heading back to Kensington to browse the expensive boutiques (I've started a savings account for a Chanel bag) and museums.

We ended up sitting in the garden of the V&A for a few hours, sipping rasberry iced tea (me) and lemonade (Hattie), just chilling.

This is where I took this photo of my outfit.
It's also the last photo you'll be seeing in the near future of me with red hair.
Adieu.

DRESS: Evans, via Lauren's selling blog.
BELT: Dorothy Perkins.
CARDIGAN: Asda.
NECKLACE: Vintage.
SHOES: Primark.
POINT OF FASHION: Ladylike.

I like to dress up whenever I go to London, it's just a silly wee thing I do - and even though this is really an evening dress, I dressed it down with my favourite tan belt and some flats.
The black cardigan still keeps it chic.

Thank you so much to Lauren, who sold me it for just £8 with shipping!!
I'd loved it ever since I saw this post, where she looks like an absolute babe.
(Yes even in the last picture!)

OH I actually found my cardigan at Hattie's house! She was wearing it all day during Stratford when I spotted my Epoxies badge on it.
"Oh yeah, you left it at my house like two years ago. You've obviously really missed it!" She said.

Hmmph!

Anyhoo, some more pictures of our adventures:

1: Outside the birthplace of William Shakespeare.
We were there in the height of tourist season, so there were lots of folks outside doing typical poses. Hattie proceeded to be immensely Northern and shouted "GET THEM OUT FOR THE LADS!!" I swear I need new friends.

2: Nommy toffee milkshake at Docker's 50's diner in Leamington. I've wanted to go here ever since I saw it on Frills N' Spills!
Maria deserves a shout-out here too, as when Hattie first moved to town and knew absolutely nobody, Maria offered to take her out for lunch and show her some of the sights...yet another example of the fantastic things that happen simply due to blogger networking!

3: Hattie couldn't decide between stuffed French Toast or the pancakes drenched in maple syrup...so ordered both. Then helped me out with the rest of my fries I was struggling with.
How she stays so skinny is beyond me as she daily eats the same amount as the average horse.

4: Post-gorging wander to Leamington gardens which are so beautiful. Hattie bought her dress the day before at Camden market for just £15.

Even though I was only away for four days, it was lovely to just hang out and 'be' with one of my besties again.
We spent the rest of our time watching Disney films, drinking tea and eating shortbread.

Muchos love,
MessyCarla.

"We only said goodbye with words..."

2011-08-10T18:16:00.000+01:00

Hey everyone,

Notice anything different?

"...and I go back to black."

What can I say, sometimes a girl just needs a change!

Muchos love,
MessyCarla.

Just Visiting.

2011-08-03T11:59:00.001+01:00

Hey everyone,

It's gonna go quiet for a few days again as I'm off visiting my friend Hattie in Leamington Spa.
We're also managing to squeeze in a cheeky date to London, which is going to be ace!
I hope the weather stays lovely.

So it's going to be a few fairly chilled out days with pints, parks and pasta shapes on toast (Hattie's speciality*).

1992

2005

2009

2011
And finally, I leave you with our favourite song:

Be good, everyone.

Muchos love,
MessyCarla.

* Hattie is actually a good cook. Her chilli is especially amazing and she also makes these awesome chicken encheladas ("I just use stuff from a packet") with loads and loads of cheese. How she isn't the same size as me, I'll never know.

However she did once make a apple pie, and instead of 'five spice' she added 'mixed herbs.'
She only realised when Mama Hattie asked why the pie tasted like Sunday dinner.

My Room.

2011-07-26T18:58:00.001+01:00

Hey everyone,

I've seen posts like this popping up here and then, so thought you may like to see some pictures of my room.

Just like sneaking a peek inside somebody's fridge (What? You all do it!), bedrooms can tell a lot about somebody.

I like to think mine says 'a princess's messy chamber with an abundance of geekery and organised chaos.'

Hmmm.
Maybe it's just a big pink mess.
My dad still sometimes calls me Stig.

Anyhoo:

The chair came from my great Auntie's house when she moved. It was originally an ugly browny-pink, so I painted it neon green and added cheap and colourful cushions.

The penguin is called PomPom and the hot water bottle was a Christmas present from Hattie.

Enter, please.
Keyring of my favourite band and the Plumbob came with my pre-ordered copy of The Sims 3 - it's really a USB!

My mantra.

My friends thought I was going cuckoo when I told them I installed shelves just to house my nail polish collection. I got these from the kids section of Next.
Hello Kitty was a present.

AAAAARGH, ZOMBIE!
Oooohhh, macarons!

I bought these kitteh hooks for super-cheap at an outlet shop, and it's where I hang all my necklaces.

My favourite necklace.

The Vines guard my bags. The hatstand also came from my Auntie's house.
Spot my vintage bowler hat I bought when I was obsessed with A Clockwork Orange...

My favourite clutch bags. The leopard print bag holds my non-essential makeup.
The boxes have my favourite shoes inside, and can you spot the latest GlossyBox...?

Bunny and Betsy!

I NEED MOAR DRESSES.

Love love love these guys.

My inner goth loves my black chandelier.

Books, DVDs and music.
(The bear was a 16th birthday present from my friends - they named him Craig Molko after my two favourite frontmen.)

Care to take a closer look...?

My middle shelf is full of knick-knacks - mostly gifts from over the years.

The babushka and sequinned pig are from Italian Catholic Mother.
The cupcake art was made by my friend Amber.
Daniel gave me the framed photo of us out clubbing for my 21st birthday.
The picture of Cliff Richard in the 1960s was from my last boyfriend.

I collect snowgloves from major cities I've visited.

I must confess though - I didn't buy the NYC one myself.
The one I did buy broke when I moved to my student house, so my dad was very kind and got a work colleague to buy another one for me when she went on holiday!

Walle-E stands champion over my arty coffee table books.

The mini came from a shop in York.
The postcard was from Claire for my 22nd birthday this May.

I'm off work today, so moved some furniture around and gave the place a bit of a clean.
This was not taken too kindly by Brie, who was most displeased at being woken from her nap:

"GTFOOOOOO!!!"
So does your bedroom say about you?
Are you a minimalist, or are you like me and like to have lots and lots of junk on any available surface?

If you'd like to do a post about it (or you've already done one) PLEASE send me the link - I love being nosy!

Muchos love,
MessyCarla.

Belt, Bag and Brogues.

2011-07-21T19:58:00.001+01:00

Hey everyone,

Check me out back to blogging on a semi-regular basis!

I'm currently obsessed with tan leather.
When I was in London I had to tear myself away from a pile of delicious vintage satchels knowing that I already have a mini one, plus a larger out I bought from Claire last year (that sadly I don't wear as much as I should!).

Then there's my love for brogues.
I had a pair I got for a tenner or so from New Look lurking in my wardrobe for about six months before I started wearing them properly.
Now I'm all about the granny shoe-love!

I wore this when I was going for a pub lunch date with my bestie, Sam:

(FYI: Me and Sam seem to be together all the time lately, but she's leaving to work in London for a few months in two weeks! Bawww!)

DRESS: Dorothy Perkins (RISE).
BELT: Dorothy Perkins.
NECKLACE: Present from Daniel (from Topshop).
BAG: Primark.
BRACELETS: Dorothy Perkins.
SHOES: New Look.
POINT OF FASHION: Tan belt, tan bag, tan brogues.

And nowwwww what I've also been up to this week:

1: I couldn't sleep one night due to feeling stressed, so I went downstairs around midnight and make a delicious banana loaf cake then left this note for my parents to find in the morning.
It turned out lovely, but next time I'll use a lot less sugar than the recipe suggests as it was very sweet.

2: This Saturday was Pride in Newcastle. Unfortunately this year I missed the parade due to work, and in the end we didn't even make it to Leazes Park for the festival due to the crazy rain.

We ended up meeting Daniel and going around the scene, which was packed and had an amazing atomosphere - people even started dancing around 5pm!
I loved my outfit, and wish I'd got to take a proper picture - but I'm sure I'll wear it again soon.

3: On my day off I went to the pictures with my friends to see the last Harry Potter film. Having been disappointed with the last one, I really enjoyed the final installment (big groan around the cinema when the epilogue began, haha!).

It makes me sad though seeing my stub from Philosopher's Stone and Deathly Hallows Part 2 together though - especially as the first is waaay back in 2001, and I'm in on a child's ticket.
Do I really have to grow up now?

4: It's been over a year since me and my sister went to New York, so I treat us to some peanut butter and pretzel M&Ms which we practically lived on during our trip. I also found myself adding some of my favourite American snacks to my basket (Goldfish crackers and Combos GET IN MAH BELLEH) as well as some newbies. NOM.

Finally, just a heads up that I've created a new Facebook page as my last one was annoying me. Feel free to 'LIKE' it and get updates straight to your news feed!

Oh, and lest I forget - I'll leave you with this lovely little picture from my house after the pub.
As I was running upstairs to grab my camera, I waved to Sam from my window, then started singing like Giselle in Enchanted.

Too much fizzy pop during the day probably.
Proper Geordies, us like.

*Troll voice*

Truuuuuue loooooove's kiiiiiiiss...

Muchos love,
MessyCarla.

Where Burlesque Meets Broadway.

2011-07-14T17:00:00.000+01:00

Hey everyone,

Last week, me and Daniel had a night out at one of our favourite venues in Newcastle (or anywhere!): Boulevard.

Boulevard is a fabulous cabaret bar nestled in the city's 'pink triangle.'

Forget cheesy drag queens you know from 1970s working mens clubs - instead, think Vegas-style costumes, West End caliber dancers, and an award winning cheographer.
Not to mention tabled seating with waiting service throughout the night.

The leading 'lady' Miss Betty Legs Diamond has even performed for the Queen at the Royal Variety Performance.
Impressive, non?
(She's also appeared as her less sequinned self in an episode of Come Dine With Me!)

The best thing about a night in the pink triangle, is you can pretty much wear whatever you want without fear of judgement - there will ALWAYS be somebody more overdressed than you.

For example, a few months ago we were at the Bank bar and there was an impeccibly dressed gentleman in a sharp suit.
However when I peered under his table, he was wearing fishnet stocking and red stilletos.

If he has the courage to express himself, surely I can step away from my current comfort clothes of floral empire line dresses...?

TOP: River Island.
SKIRT: New Look.
JACKET: New Look.
BAG: Topshop, via Lillian's blog sale.
SHADES: Marc Jacobs.
BELT: Dorothy Perkins.
NECKLACE: Lipsy.
HAIRBAND: Primark.
SHOES: Office.
POINT OF FASHION: Kind of 1980s.

It was as to be expected a wonderful night out.
The entire place was packed due to Pure Leisure (who own the majority of Newcastle's gay pubs, bars and clubs) staff night out, so the atomosphere was great!

The DJ and compare - the divine Miss Rory - spotted me and Daniel in the audience and we had a bit of banter.
She is witty and sharp, but never cruel to anyone.

(Except to the cast of Geordie Shore who were also in house. She asked one of the girls to get off her phone as "it's just someone calling you a slag on Twitter!")

Anyway, she said about me: "Carla is the only person I know who accessorises her bag to match her hair!"
Haha, how true!

"Please pick up one of our heavily photoshopped flyers!" - Miss Rory.

The summer show for Boulevard is currently in full swing.
Tickets start from just £7 (standing) and are available by calling the box office or online.
I also suggest that you keep an eye out on Groupon who frequently sell discounted seating tickets.

I won't give too much away about the actual show contents, as I'd hate to spoil the surprise for any locals wanting to go.
But what I will say is that it's a fabulously different night out in toon!

I will however leave you with this teaser video:

Muchos love,
MessyCarla.

Shopping In London.

2011-07-10T13:30:00.003+01:00

Hey everyone,

It just occured to me today that I never actually posted any of my pictures from when I went to London with my friend, Sam!

Sam and her cousin, John who was kind enough to put us up!

I've visited London quite a lot within the past few years, as I've been lucky enough to go to some lovely events and meet fabulous bloggers.
However, having to zip to the capital and back (over three hours each way) within 24 hours leaves little time to smell the roses.

Or more to the point, go shopping. Of course.

So this is what I picked up whilst visiting my favourite city in the world:

1: Betsy Johnson earrings.

2: Dinosaur mug from the Natural History Museum.

3: Flamingo also from the Natural History Museum. I have named him 'Ken,' after Kensington. I think my unicorn, Brian fancies him...

4: Marc Jacobs shades. NEW FAVOURITE THING EVER.

5: Macarons from Laduree.

6: Dress from a shop in Notting Hill.

7: Vivienne Westwood orb necklace. I'm still looking around for somewhere that will fix my earrings (apparently nowhere will touch stainless steel...?) and I needed my fix from wor Viv!

And some more pictures from our adventures...

The trip turned out to bring good luck to Sam, who found out two weeks after she's successfully got a job on one of the biggest reality TV shows in the country as a logger, and will be living in London until November!

Although I am of course so proud of them, it's rather scary though having my three best friends move away mere weeks within each other.

Sam is going to London, Daniel is living in Nantes for a year (he'll be teaching English in a French secondary school) and Hattie has already moved to Leamington Spa (she works as a camera operator on a shopping channel).

It does however mean I can have nice cheap trips away, whether my friends like it or not - muahahahaha!

Muchos love,
MessyCarla.

Cake, Mint and Brie.

2011-07-08T03:01:00.001+01:00

Hey everyone,

I hope you're all good in your hoods.

Everyone enjoying the sales?

If I'm completely honest, the idea of sale shopping gives me a bit of a headache.
Trailing through racks of slightly off-season stuff that's often pulled out of shape by somebody frantically trying to force it over their head, to save standing in the maaaaaooosive queue for the changing rooms which is more than likely wrapped around the entire store like a snake.

However, I was in the mood for treasure hunting, and the lovelies at SoFeminine.co.uk set me a challenge of finding the best sale bargains - and I've tried my very best!

River Island has always been BY FAR my favourite shop when it comes to sales.
Their prices are fantastic - often everything is around half price, instead of lopping a few quid off and attempting to masquerade around as a 'sale!'

It helps that they section everything - sale tops, sale skirts, sale dresses, sale bags and sale accessories are put together (sometimes by size if you're lucky!) so you don't have to go rooting around big piles of stuff.

Many a time I have picked up an item and not sure if it's a skirt or a top. I NEED GUIDANCE AS I AM A BAD FASHUN BLOGGER DON'T YOU KNOW! Hehe.

One of my favourite things I bought in the River Island sale was this pretty mint green dress for only £15!
The top does keep coming undone slightly which is rather indecent, so I'm for the moment wearing the top buttons undone, and a vest top underneath.

DRESS: River Island.
CARDIGAN: Forever 21.
VEST: Dorothy Perkins.
NECKLACE: Vintage.
BELT: Dorothy Perkins.
BAG: River Island.
SHOES: Primark.
POINT OF FASHION: Mint and cream.

Annnnnnnnyway, I ended up walking away with about £100 worth of stuff.
It isn't all photographed yet as my sister has taken my camera to London with her, for her Photography A-Level work (also the reason why the above picture is not as nice quality as usual).
But I promise to do a post all about my bargains soon.

I haven't worn pastels a lot this year, as I think I tired myself of them slightly last year.
But I was flicking through one of my favourite blogs the other day - French For Cupcake - and was inspired by this post of a fantastic pastel coloured cake, which inspired me to team this with my beige cardigan.

So yes, I indeed felt like a big cake.
Mmmmm, cake.

(Picture shamlessly schtolen from Claire's blog!)

In other news, if you follow me on Twitter you'll know that there is a new member of the family.
Yes, at twenty-two years old I have bought my very first pet.
She's a six-week-old Syrian hamster, and I've named her Brie.

I was originally going to buy two gerbils, and call them Brie and Bacon (my favourite sandwich).
But Italian Catholic Mother instantly vitoed TWO rodents, so I went for a hamster, who like to live alone.
*hums Independent Woman*

She's such a clever little thing.
Quite the acrobat too - she loves climbing along the wire railings of her cage like a monkey. D'awwwww!

Anyhoo, that's all for now.
Stay tuned though, as I've got my second - and probably third - parts coming up with all my lovely sale bargains.

Muchos love,
MessyCarla.

Dark Eyes and Beehive.

2011-06-24T00:21:00.001+01:00

Hey everyone,

How on earth have you all been?

I've missed blogging so much - my laptop has finally been fixed, and has stopped sounding like it is constantly coughing up phlegm. Ew.

So what have I been up to?
Well, working. LOTS. My hours have been reworked into eleven hour shifts, but I am still enjoying what I do. (NB: I'm a receptionist in a hotel)
Bit of a shocker yesterday when our boss announced he's leaving to go home to Australia in November.

It's a bit like The Office cliffhanger where we're all wondering who is going to take over.
My money is on Jim Carey. For us I mean, not Dunder Mifflin. Hurhurhur.

I've also managed to squeeze in yet another cheeky trip to London for three days with my best-friend, Sam. As much as I love going to events and meeting other bloggers, I've missed visiting museums and doing some much needed shopping.
I'll save my photos for the next post, although you may have seen some of them on Tumblr.

Anyhoo, onto my outfit from tonight.
As you all know, last Sunday was Father's Day - and yesterday was Papi B's birthday, so this week has been all about him really!

So tonight we went to our favourite Indian resteraunt (shout-out to Zeerha in South Shields!) and this is what I wore:

DRESS: New Look.
CARDIGAN: Evans.
BELT: Dorothy Perkins.
NECKLACE: Vintage.
SHOES: Vintage.
BAG: Accessorize.
POINT OF FASHION: Happy birthday, Papi B!

1: I did my eye makeup properly for the first time in ages. The greys and blacks are from my 120 Pro Palette (about £25 from Ebay), and the liner on my lower lid is a MAC shadestick, slightly smudged. My brow shadow is by Wet N' Wild. I use brushes from The Body Shop and No7.

2: I found these pair of shades I bought recently in Dorothy Perkins hiding in my clutch! I love them!

3: My sister needs to stop being so bloody pretty. Isn't her kissy lips dress cool - it even looks a little like leopard print from a distance. Nadia's just finished her AS Level exams, and has a new boyfriend with the coolest name ever - Padraig.
(It's not quite Patrick and not quite Craig - and you all know how partial I am to men named Patrick and Craig...)

4: HAHA I love how dads almost always look miserable in photos! I inherited all my dad's genes look-wise - the doctors even called me 'Little George' when I was born!

Once again, I can't promise to blog as regularly as I used to due to work - but as always I will try my very best. I'm always keeping up with my blog roll - I just need to get commenting more, again. Sorry!

I've got all my London pictured ready to go though, so expect that post soon!

In other news, this Saturday is the North East Bloggers Meet Up in Newcastle.
Give Claire and Bryden's post a read for more details! Please let us know final numbers within the next few days. We have a few little surprises planned for you all, but we're keeping schtum until then. SO EXCITED!!

AND FINALLY, I'm going to leave you the new video from my favourite band, The Vines.
It's my favourite of their videos in YEARS. I like how they look like they're having a laugh and not taking themselves too seriously. Sometimes they come across a little pretentious in print interviews, and they're not really at all!

Muchos love,
MessyCarla.

AWOL.

2011-05-30T13:24:00.001+01:00

Hey everyone,

Just a heads up I may be disappearing for a little while again, as my laptop is once more on the blink!
You're all very welcome to follow me on Twitter in the meantime.

Muchos love,
MessyCarla.

Catching Up.

2011-05-23T16:58:00.001+01:00

Hey everyone,

Gosh I take a 20-day hiatus, and it feels like I've been gone forever!
May has unsurprisingly been a very busy month - I've been working hard while squeezing in a birthday and trip to London (just!).

So I return with an outfit post, which I'm trying to get on top of posting again.
Especially as I've been shopping a lot lately. Naughty.

I don't know why I haven't posted about this dress before.
I've had it for about a year, and it's from Primark via Ebay for a fraction of the price.

It's another of those magic dresses that seem to go with anything and everything!
So easy to dress down with a cardigan for shopping or a cheeky trip to the beach (see below) - or to dress UP with heels and lipstick:

DRESS: Primark.
BELT: New Look.
NECKLACE: Dorothy Perkins.
SHOES: Primark.
POINT OF FASHION: Shopping.

As I've been away for a few weeks, I figured I'd post some pictures from my 365 Days mini blog to give you a crash course in the not-so-exciting life of Carla:

1: After a particularly hard shift at work, I made one of my favourite comfort foods: Mac N' Cheese.

2: Me and Sam went for a wander around South Shields, as she'd never been back since being born there. We went to the beach, and caused havok in the arcade.
I love how the funfair hasn't changed since the mid-80s. It's quite charming and kitsch.

3: I love my new green belt from ASOS Curve with my flamingo necklace from Topshop. Flamingos are one of my favourite animals (alongside pandas, penguins and seals) and while browsing YouTube I came across a video of their mating dance which is the animal world's equivalent of a mosh pit. I actually couldn't stop laughing!

4: It was my birthday on May 12th, but as I was in London I got to open my presents a day early! My parents were very kind and bought me some fugly/amazing platforms from Office, baking stuff, The Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook, an Alexander McQueen-esque scarf, a necklace from Dorothy Perkins and some chocolate covered popcorn.
My sister got me cocktail themed presents - including a shaker and a mini bottle of Cointreau.

5: I spent my birthday in London with some fabulous bloggers for the Evans Press Day. We found out a very exciting secret mission, but it's all a bit hush-hush at the moment, sorry! Afterwards we went to Fire & Stone for amazing pizzas then me and Lauren went to Claire's to chillax before I got my train home.
Claire's house is ace - she has so much cat memorabilia which I approve of, being a crazy cat lady myself, plus of course lots of relics from her years living in Japan! Her husband is adorable too.

6: I finally saw Despicable Me, and like Agnes I love unicorns too - so couldn't resist snapping a picture with my own unicorn, Brian. Yes, I really am 22.

7: I tried making sushi for the first time, and although it was yummy it of course all fell apart when I picked it up. My dad had another go and was of course a bloody natural. Cleverclogs.

And finally I leave you with a blooper from today.
I like to call this one: "Wind. I Hate Thee."

FUFUFUFUFUFU.
Also check out my hawttt roots!

Muchos love,
MessyCarla.

Newcastle Bloggers Meet Up!

2011-05-03T20:29:00.003+01:00

Hey everyone,

Credit

I'd just like to let you know about a meet up I'm helping to organize with Claire of Trebles and a Mixer.

There are now so many lovely Geordie blogger girls, and we often chat about meeting for cocktails and cupcakes over Twitter.
But a few of us decided that we need to set a proper time and date, which is:

Saturday 25th June!

We picked this date, as hopefully those wishing to attend who are still sitting exams and assignments will be finished by then.
Plus for anyone on a 9-5 schedule.

We'll be meeting at 11.30 at Central Station, in case anybody is making a dramatic entrance by train.
Absolutely anyone is welcome to attend - please just let me or Claire know so we'll have a vague idea of numbers.

The initial plan is to grab some food, then shopping and perhaps doing touristy things - as Newcastle really is beautiful in the summer!

Then on to the the evening is cocktails and dancing for anybody who can keep up with the Geordies!

You are welcome to just attend the daytime or evening if you wish, that's not a problem at all.
Also, please let us know if you are under 18 and attending - if there's a good few we can adjust some of the daytime activities accordingly.
(Of course, please let a parent or guardian you are attending as well!)

We are also planning some little surprises, but you'll just have to come along to find out what now won't you?

If you are looking for somewhere to stay, we can recommend some lovely cheap-ish places too - just ask!

Finally, please don't feel daunted by blogger events.
I've been to a few now, but still get butterflies. But I've never had a bad experience at any of them - blogging people have a tendancy to be awesome people. I'm sorry, but it's true!

So I hope to see plenty of you in Geordieland very, very soon!

Muchos love,
MessyCarla.

Outfit Post: The Magic Dress.

2011-05-01T17:29:00.000+01:00

Hey everyone,

Today I wore my 'magic dress.'
I got it in the sale last year at River Island for my 21st birthday, and is the peice I picked out of my wardrobe whenever I'm having an 'UNGHHHHHHH!' day when it comes to everything else I own.

It's magic in the sense that it's suitable for basically any time of the day.
I've dressed it down with a denim jacket and flats during the day, a crop cardigan and brogues for a pub date (see below), and with high heels and a sweep of lipstick for night time.

There's holes on the waist where I've been overzealous in putting my belts on (aren't we all...?) and the dainty buttons at the back are fraying and coming off.
But it's a tough little cookie!

(However if anybody comes across a size 16 or 18 in a blog sale or Ebay - do let me know. Y'know, just in case...)

DRESS: River Island.

TOP (underneath): Topshop.
NECKLACE: Dorothy Perkins.
EARRINGS: River Island.

BELT: New Look.
SHOES: Primark.
POINT OF FASHION: The Magic Dress.

River Island earrings.
Hello, my name is Pat Butcher.

My bestie Hattie was home for Easter, so we got up to our usual shenanigans.

We had a few cold frosty ones at our local, then we both had cravings for chicken wings so we heading into town for a the Nando's wheel of wings. White trash, much?

1: Hattie got her nickname because she used to come to college in a seemingly endless selection of hats. She seemed to have taken a break from wearing them, but turned up in a green baseball hat that made her look what would happen if a mermaid came to shore and got a job as a trucker. (Hattie's real name is Rachel, FYI.)

2: The Only Way Is Hebburn. Keepin' it classy as per usual. With my Beth Ditto cardigan thrown over my shoulders and my new shades from Dorothy Perkins.

3: We are all still working our way through the mountain of Easter treats that has been leftover. I like that around this time of year, chocolate comes in the shape of various woodland creatures.

In other news, the country (and the rest of the world?) is still reeling from the Royal Wedding.
I'm not usually into anything to do with the Royal Family, although I did get to watch most of it before I went to work.

The lovely lovelies at TeaPlease.co.uk know how much love I have for a certain ginger prince - so they were kind enough to send me this necklace:

I really, really do!

Seriously, everywhere has exploded with the Harry love, right? Especially on Tumblr...

Finally, I'm sorry it's taken me so long to draw a winner for the Modalu handbag, but I honestly haven't had a spare moment to count all the entries properly until today.
So I'm happy to announce that the winner is....

*drumroll*

Miss Katie!

Congratulations!
I've popped your details over to the girls at ShopALike who will be happy to get your prize out to you soon!

Thanks for everyone who entered - I'm so pleased there was a fantastic response.
I already have a few more giveaways in the pipeline, so stay tuned!

Muchos love,
MessyCarla.

Outfit Post: Betty Suarez.

2011-04-23T14:59:00.004+01:00

Hey everyone,

Wow, I've missed your faces!

Earlier this week, me and my friend Sam finally had non-clashing schedules so went out in the sunshine for a catch-up and few cold frosty ones.

I'm still rather obsessed with clashing prints, so prepare yourself for yet another outfit which is teetering (and probably wobbling over the edge and hanging on for dear life...) on the verge of poor poor taste.

I blame my recent craving for bright bold colours and a mish-mash of textures and patterns on the fact for work I'm in a black shirt, black black cardigan, black skinny jeans and black Converse.
So I'm going OTT at any chance I can get.

That and I'm currently on a heavy diet of re-watching all four seasons of Ugly Betty...

Anyhoo, on to the outfit:

DRESS: Dorothy Perkins.
SHRUG: Primark.
BAG: River Island.
NECKLACE: Vintage.
SUNGLASSES: Dorothy Perkins.
BELT: Dorothy Perkins.
TIGHTS: We Love Colors.
SHOES: Office.
POINT OF FASHION: Hello, my name is Betty Suarez.

Also check me out with an 'on location' photo, like A PROPER FASHUN BLOGGER!

I'm in Times Square in Newcastle, which is the heart of the gay scene in town, and the best place to go for an ice cold beer on a hot day.
The deck you can see behind me is attached to a bar called Twist, one of my favourites!

If you'd like to read some more, Daniel wrote a peice last month for SoSoGay.org about the Newcastle scene.

1: If you follow my 365 Day Tumblr you may have seen this already - but yeah, I'm currently spending a lot of my time at Mode Magazine with Betty! It's such an inspirational show.

2: Nommm, the deck at Twist is the best! There's always such a mix of characters, and a pretty even gay/straight divide.
On that day, it was full of boyish wrestling fans heading for an event at the arena!

3: Sam is so beautiful, she hurts my eyes sometimes. She recently got hair extentions and kept swishing them about in the sun!

Speaking of Sam, I mentioned that she was recently awarded a Royal Television Award for her short film Not Enough Time, which is based on a true event in her life.
The film is now in for the National prize, which is so exciting!

This week, local news North East Tonight even did a peice on on her and the film.
Believe me, the word 'PROUD' does not even come close.

It's still on the website, so please give it a watch and support an amazing local film.

Finally, the Modalu Giveaway closed this week, and I'll be announcing the winner within the next few days.
I haven't had a spare moment to count the entries properly - so I promise to let you all know soon, now I actually have some time on my hands!

Muchos love,
MessyCarla.

North West Blogger Meetup

2011-04-15T21:50:00.003+01:00

Hey everyone,

Just a small post today to let you all know about the North West Blogger Meetup which Helen and Helen are organising.

It's going to be in Manchester, and the date is set for Saturday June 11th!

Picture Credit

Anyone is welcome to attend, if you can please join the google page to join in the discussions.

Though knowing the majority (if not all...) of us have a love of hot beverages and cake - I'm guessing there will be a cheeky stop at a tea shop.

I've only been to Manchester twice, and only for events at the GMex Centre (Collectormania Con in 2007 and Placebo in 2009).
So, it will be nice to explore the nooks and crannies of the city.

Other bloggers attending include:

Jen of A Little Bird Told Me
Kate of Earth vs. The Wild Heart
Sarah of A Million Dresses
Maria of Frills N Spills
Selina of The Flying Saucer
Alex of Odd Socks and Pretty Frocks

Anyone is welcome to come along, please just RSVP in the group - or let one of the Helens know.

I hope to see plenty of you there in June!

Muchos love,
MessyCarla.

Outfit Post: Goth-tastic!

2011-04-11T16:06:00.001+01:00

Hey everyone,

It was Daniel's 20th birthday on Saturday, so we went for belated drinks yesterday.

I was in one of those moods where I didn't fancy wearing any of my usual get-ups, so I peiced something together from bits and bobs I've had for a while.

The only thing new here is the lace top for just £8 in the ASOS sale.
Someone braver than me could wear a crop or even a bra underneath, but I played it safe with a black vest. I love that is has a peter pan collar, too!

The only thing I'm not too sure about is the skirt.
It's officially my 'formal/interview' skirt as when worn on the waist it come down to my knees. Even though I hitched it right up to under my bust, it still hangs funny on me.

Granted it's from ASOS Curve, and their smallest size is a 20 - making it a few too sizes too big for me anyway - but still, if I didn't need it on standby for things like meetings and interviews I'd take a few inches off the length. Hmmm.

LACE TOP (over): ASOS.
VEST (under): Dorothy Perkins.
SKIRT: ASOS Curve.
BELT: ASOS.
CAMEO: A present via Topshop.
LEGGINGS: Primark.
SHOES: Office.
POINT OF FASHION: A little teeny tiny bit goth.

Haha I do feel like a bit of a goth girl, again.
(Either that, or a cheap knock-off version of Fashion Hayley...)

It doesn't help my case that the book you can see to the bottom right of the picture is The Complete Tales and Poems of Edgar Allan Poe.

Eventually I decided this look was slightly too intense for a Sunday night dancing, so I changed the belt for my favourite butterfly one, and draped my bright floral shrug over the top.
You can see both in my last outfit post.

I do wish I'd had a darker lipstick, though. I rummaged around trying to find one I have from Urban Decay (Gash), but had to make so with a plum colour from Benefit (Fruit Cocktail).

Anyway...

1: Hahaha I thought you guys would appreciate this - I was a bit of a goth when I was eleven/twelve. What a mess! Here, I'm surfing a fansite for Trey Parker and Matt Stone, and listening to Take Off Your Pants and Jacket by Blink 182. Rock and roll!

2: My cameo necklace (a birthday present last year from Daniel) goes with everything.

3: We went to The Bank Bar for some drinks. We used to really love it, but it has gone sort of downhill recently.
However, it was back on top form last night - their new drag queen Raunchy Rusty is dead funny, plays some brilliant tunes (Part Of Your World followed by Heart Of Glass? - YES PLEASE!) and performed a surreal, filthy and hilarious cabaret act. I'll never watch The Sound of Music the same way again...

In other good news, my best-friend Hattie returned for a visit this weekend.
She's recently moved 300 miles away to work as a camera operator on a shopping channel, so I was really excited she'd decided to drop back home unexpectedly.

It was especially fun as the weather was so beautiful, we sat in her garden for most of the day having a catch up, with a few beers and a few Cornettos!

The Only Way Is Hebburn...

So yeah it's been a great weekend.
I hope all my fellow Brits have been enjoying the lovely weather - I wonder if we'll see it again soon...?

Don't forget if you haven't already to enter my giveaway to win a Modalu satchel bag worth over £100!
(UK/Europe only, sorry).

Muchos love,
MessyCarla.

GIVEAWAY: Modalu Satchel.

2011-04-04T21:05:00.009+01:00

Hey everyone,

Sorry again for doing a bit of a disappearing act (and I didn't even get to wear a glitzy outfit - sob!) but I come hosting a lovely giveaway!

The lovely lovelies at ShopALike.co.uk recently got in touch with me, and asked if I'd like to host a giveaway.
Of course I said yes, and this is what I chose for a fabulous prize:

As you may know, I'm loving my satchels at the minute (I have three currently on rotation...), and chose this Modalu satchel which has a RRP of a whopping £115!

"And how can I win, Carla?" I hear you ask.
Well I'm glad you did...

RULES:

You must be a follower of my blog on Google Connect. Simply comment below and this will give you one entry. (Please be sure to include your email address, or another form of contact eg. your Twitter) And for extra entries, you can:

Tweet: I entered @messycarla and @shopalike_uk's giveaway: http://bit.ly/g0LqfP (+1)

'Like' my Facebook page. (+1)

'Like' ShopALike's Facebook page. (+1)

Link to this giveaway in a blog post. (+2)

Display a link to this giveaway (for the duration of the contest) on your blog - such as the sidebar. (+3)

Please leave a seperate comment for each extra entry, with a link to your extra entries.
It just makes it easier for me to count!

PLEASE NOTE: Since the bag is being shipped directly from ShopALike, this giveaway is open to UK and European entrants ONLY.

This competition will last for two weeks, and will close at midnight on Tuesday 19th April 2011.
The winner will be chosen with Random.org.

So best of luck everyone, and be sure to check out ShopALike.co.uk in the meantime - they stock loads of great brands including Dorothy Perkins and even more satchels!

Muchos love,
MessyCarla.

DISCLAIMER: I recieved no monetary compensation in return for hosting this giveaway. As always, all opinions are my own!

OUTFIT POST: Clash of the Clashes!

2011-03-27T21:29:00.001+01:00

Hey everyone,

Has it really been less than two weeks since I last blogged? It feel like a lot longer!
I'd just like to update you on everything that's happening since I'm still getting lots of lovely comments and tweets asking how the new job is going.

It's actually going really well.
The past week few weeks have been training, and the doors open to the public tomorrow - which is very exciting, but also nerve wracking.
But it's nice that everybody is in the same boat.

It looks like I'll be working a lot of hours, and I said to my new boss that's good as I like having lots of money for clothes.
"Oh good," He replied. "Then you'll be able to afford a decent outfit for once!"

Charming! Heehee.

Another great thing is that everyone seems really nice.
It helped that we all had drinks after three days, so everyone got laughing and chatting.

However it means that I'm having to give up co-presenting my radio show with Daniel, as I'll be working most weekends.
Today was my last show for the near future, and as I've been living in jeans and t-shirts all week I dressed up a little.

It was also a lovely day, and I've been looking for an opportunity to wear this gorgeous shrug from Primark (their stuff is SO good at the minute - I need to start going there more!).

I originally planned to wear it with a plain black dress to make the print pop, but as I was feeling quite summery I wore it with my favourite dress from Domino Dollhouse.

I've never really experimented with clashing prints before, and you know what?
I rather love it.

DRESS: Domino Dollhouse.
SHRUG: Primark.
BELT: New Look.
NECKLACE: Dorothy Perkins.
SHOES: Primark.
POINT OF FASHION: Clashing prints.

I also recently bought a new pair of brogues from Primark.
They have a heel on them, which is a welcome change when I live in flats.
Which I love, but does anyone else get sore feet after a while?

1: Afformention drinks at work. The bar next door is serving cocktails, and as I may have a few shifts in there we learnt how to make them properly by a mixologist. Yummm.

2: We had a family date to Beamish last weekend. We're never usually one of those "OMG IT'S THE WEEKEND, LET'S DO A FAMILY ACTIVITY!" kind of family, so it was a nice change.

3: I broke my Lent pledge to give up chocolate yesterday at Marble Slab. Meh, if I'm going to cheat I might as well do it properly.

Anyhoo, I just wanted to update you all on how I've been.
I can't promise to blog as much as I usually do at the moment, but I've really missed you all!

I'm still doing my 365 Tumblr, and tweeting as much as I can.

Also, I'll try my best to answer your questions from the Q&A post sometime this week!
So if you have any other questions, please just leave a comment.

Muchos love,
MessyCarla.

PS: OH, and before I forget, this week's excitement is also brought to you by The Vines!

My all-time favourite band are releasing their new single Gimme Love tomorrow (although you can stream it for free here), have a new album in June, and released this promo for the music video a few days ago.
Epic fangirling happened, I tell thee.

I can't believe the original members are in their thirties now!
Time flies, innit?

B.R.B!

2011-03-16T21:35:00.000Z

Hey everyone,

Just a heads up that it may get a little quiet around here for the next week or so.
If you follow me on Twitter, you'll know I started my new job today.
(Thank you to everyone who sent 'good luck' tweets - you guys are the best!!)

I'm working within a brand new company in the city, which officially opens it's doors in just under two weeks.
This means there is a lot of ground to cover as everyone is new, and we even have extra qualifications we need to study for outside work hours!

So just while I get into a new routine, I just wanted to let you all know why I won't be around for a little while.
(But not too long, I promise!)

Thank you so much for your questions in my last post - please keep them coming!
They're absolutely great, and I'll do my best to get them answered very soon.

I'm also going to be hosting a lovely giveaway soon, so be sure to keep an eye out for that, too.

And finally, just so this post isn't all word-y:

I know I'm something like six months late to the party, but I finally got some Barry M Instant Nail Effects polish.
I also bought two more Nail Paints this week (119 and 210) - taking my collection up to nineteen bottles!
One more and I can have a different colour for each of my fingers and toes...

Muchos love,
MessyCarla.

Ask Me Anything/Q & A?

2011-03-13T21:53:00.000Z

Hey everyone,

Recently I've seen a few of those 15 things about me/30 questions memes and tags floating about the interwebs, and I'd really like to take part.

However, I was thinking it would be fun to make a an Ask Me Anything - so I'm really killing two birds with one stone! (Poor birdies...)

Your questions don't have to be fashion related at all - anything and everything you'd like to be nosy about, I'll try my best to answer!
(Nothing rude though, minds out of the gutter please! ;))

So feel free to comment below with any questions you'd like me to answer - and when I've got enough, I'll compile them into either a written post, or a vlog.

Muchos love,
MessyCarla.

Style Icon: Minnie Mouse.

2011-03-10T19:47:00.001Z

Hey everyone,

Ever since I found my Minnie Mouse ears, I've been on a Disney kick - re-watching old favourites and swotting up on lots of trivia. Because I'm just that cool.

Anyway, today's outfit is based around someone who never goes out of style:

It dawned on me when I'd finished making this, that I should have includes some pretty white lace gloves. Gahhhh!

Because Minnie has always had massive eyes, I'd go with heavy eyeliner with a flick, and some extravagant falsh eyelashes.

Putting this look together has made me miss wearing red so much - I can hardly wear it anymore as it clashes with my hair and makes me look like a big tomato! *le sob*

I've always been a massive Disney fan, ever since I can remember. Especially when I was about five, my room was covered in anything vaguely Minnie Mouse related.

I especially remember a print I had of her in a neon pink bow, long beads, trainers and a cropped stonewashed denim jacket. Ahhhh, the 90s...

I love that even a cartoon character's wardrobe can be ever evolving.
When Minnie first made her appearance in the 1920s, she had a style inspired by the flapper girls - wearing a bowler hat, gloves, and a mini-dress.

She went more conservative in the 1940s, when her hat was replaced by a bow and the hem on her dress was lengthened.

I like that her bloomers, however, have always been on show!

Circa 1992 at the opening of The Disney Store in the Metro Centre.

So like I said earlier, I've always been a massive Disney fan - and serious dvd watching has been happening.
Me and my friends were discussing our favourites the other day - and I think my shortlist is:

1: Aladdin.
2: Basil The Great Mouse Detective.
3: Pocahontas.
4: The Hunchback of Notre Dame.
5: Beauty and the Beast.

Which are your favourites?

I'm so jealous I never got to study the Animated Cinema module whilst at university. I didn't have any credits free in second year - boo!

Oh and before I forget, I'm sorry for the lack of Girl Crush Wednesday this week!

I planned on having a free day tomorrow which would including writing the post up, but my friend Sam came round and we just chilled, listened to music and baked cupcakes.
So apologies - it will be back next week, promise!

Muchos love,
MessyCarla.

Outfit Post: Daisy Dares You.

2011-03-08T21:32:00.002Z

Hey everyone,

Goodness me, where did Spring go?
Yes it's still nice and sunny, but I found myself rummaging around in my scarves drawer for a winter wooly!

However, I am British.
Therefore if I see the sun - I assume it's ~~spring~~ SUMMER already.
Which is affecting my wardrobe choices and making me leave the house without a coat like a typical Geordie girl.

DRESS: Topshop.
CARDIGAN: Forever 21.
BELT: Miss Selfridge.
NECKLACE: Present from Daniel.
SHOES: New Look.
POINT OF FASHION: Daisies = spring. Ergo, spring is here...right?

Since my last few outfits have been quite loud and bright, I wanted to slightly tone things down today. I love the nude colour of the cardigan, and the pattern is stunning (They're regency ladies - scroll down near the bottom of this entry for a closer look!).

The daisy dress is also my favourite at the moment!
I did play slightly more than what I usually do for a day dress (about £30), but Primark currently have a very similar design for about half that price. Hmmm.

1: It was St David's Day last week, and I made some yummy Welsh cakes for elevenses. Thanks to Beth for the heads up - I hadn't even heard of them before!

2: I keep being inspired by blogs on Tumblr with stunning nail art. However, I am incredibly inpatient so end up giving up halfway through and scrubbing everything off.

3: Today is Shrove Tuesday, better known as "Pancake Day" in the UK. I usually favour the bigger, fluffier American-style pancake, but Italian Catholic Mother has always made delicious crepes which we had with Nutella. Nom nom nom.

I have one week of freedom left before I begin my new job next Wednesday.
I'm really looking forward to starting, and everyone so far seems friendly. Plus, it's nice that it's a completely new place, so I don't have to go in as "the new girl" as we'll all be in the same boat!

See ya'll tomorrow for Girl Crush Wednesday!

Muchos love,
MessyCarla.

Outfit Post: Fun and Fashion at the Museum.

2011-03-05T15:38:00.003Z

Hey everyone,

As I've mentioned in a few posts, when me and my friend Sam are a bit low on funds we like nothing better than having what we call 'cheap days' in Newcastle.
This usually involves us going to a museum and acting like excited children.

I do really love museums - I have ever since I was a child.
On school trips, when other kids would drag their feet and only perk up when it came to the gift shop, I was fascinated by old greek pots, Roman weaponary and the stuffed animals (although the model of a bird caught in an aeroplane wheel would always give me the creeps!).

So yesterday we went to the Discovery museum.
I hadn't been there since I was a kid, and my dad would take me around on some weekends.

I always found the local history a bit of a yawn-fest (the area is rich in Roman history and my home town was even invaded by Vikings - which sounds exciting to learn about, but it's all we heard at school), but I liked the fashion displays featuring regency frocks and tuxedos.

My favourite bit was of course the science floor, which had all sorts of exciting interactive things to do. It was also there that I used my first PC!

We found a new part recently added, which was a 'dress up' room in the fashion section especially for kids. There was a big wardrobe with play clothes like we used to have in nursery school (kindergarten).

Sam put on a spacesuit and chose the moment a group of textiles students were passing through to yell: "Carla, look! I've always wanted to be in NASA!"

Heh.
Anyhoo, I had to get a picture in my regular clothes now didn't I?

DRESS: Vintage.
NECKLACE: Dorothy Perkins.
BELT: New Look.
SHOES: New Look.
POINT OF FASHION: Granny chic.

And here's some more pictures from our adventures:

1: In a maid's costume - I think I'm missing my vocation! Of course I loved the Peter Pan collar.

2: Sam meeting her clones in the kaleidoscope mirror.

3: I loved these hats painted on the wall - the little fez is so cute!

We also found the most amazing little café tucked away, but I'm saving that for another post where I'm going to write about my favourite hidden gems in Newcastle.
So stayed tuned for that!

Muchos love,
MessyCarla.

Girl Crush Wednesday: #3.

2011-03-02T21:11:00.000Z

Hey everyone,

Everyone get ready to hop into a cold shower. It's Wednesday, so of course it's:

So Carla, who is up this week?
Well I'm glad you asked...

Kaelah of Little Chief Honeybee.

I know there's quite a few Kaelah fangirls out there, and rightly so. Her blog is a mix of outfit posts, photography, music and more.
She also hosts some of the most generous giveaways I've ever seen, which have featured peices from indie designers to cameras.

She sometimes posts vlogs and her Southern accent makes me melttttt and miss all my American friends very much!

Ke$ha.

I know what you're all thinking. WHUT A HOT MESS! And yes, she is - that's why I love her.
I've already written a post professing my adoration of all things Ke-dollar-sign-ha, but she had to make an appearance for Girl Crush Wednesday as well.

What I really love about her, is she doesn't take herself too seriously. Her new video for Blow features unicorns and an altercation with "James Van Der DOUCHE", acts like a small child at the zoo and her Disney princess spoof is the funniest thing I've seen in ages!

If you're still not convinced, at least promise me you'll check out The Harold Song. It may surprise you!

Laura from That's So Yesterday.

One of my favourite blogs at the moment is That's So Yesterday, which is a fabulous mash up of fashion and makeup. It's run by the gorgeous Laura (who could get a part time job as Juliet Landau's stunt double...?) whose dress sense I just love - mixing bold prints and block colour.

She also has a YouTube channel (everybody go "awwwww" at her bambino in the background!), so be sure to check that out as well.

And that's your lot for this week.
Get clicking and show your support for some fabulous ladies! (Yes, even Ke$ha!)

Also before I forget, I've been on a bit of a Spotify kick this week, and have created a playlist with a bunch of songs I'm really loving at the minute. So feel free to give it a clicky-clicky!

Muchos love,
MessyCarla.

Outfit Post: No Excuses?

2011-02-28T17:05:00.003Z

Hey everyone,

Yesterday, Italian Catholic Mother came back from visiting my Aunty Dolly armed with pictures of my aunties as young ladies that had been recently unearthed.

I love old pictures of my aunties, as they were all so glamourous with wide eyes and dark curly hair (my sister inherited their genes!).
One of these days I'm going to have to post some pictures of them here, as they're an inspiring bunch.

Having very little money, they often had to improvise with making their own outfits.
My Aunty Mary for example worked in a theatre, and would often copy designs directly from what the stars were wearing.

I'll save more interesting anecdotes for a whole post about them, but there was one photo that stood out of Aunty Dolly posing in a fabulous pale coat, hat and heels.

Italian Catholic Mother had asked where she was going, dressed up to the nines, and Aunty Dolly replied simply: "Just to the shops. I didn't need an excuse to dress up!"

So feeling inspired, today I dressed up a little more than I usually do for just a shopping trip:

DRESS: Dorothy Perkins.
CARDIGAN: Vintage.
BROOCH: A present.
NECKLACE: Accessorize.
SHOES: Vintage.
POINT OF FASHION: No excuses!

I finished off the look by having smoky dark eyes, and applying a slick of my favourite red lipstick - Fire by Chanel.

So what else have I been up to over the past few days?

1: Miss Selfridge has some gorgeous peices in this season, and I'm especially in love with this 1970s inspired shirt.
I felt very chic with it buttoned up to the neck, but I'm struggling to find anything to wear with it as I don't think I suit the cut of cigerette trousers, I never find jeans that fit properly and I rarely wear shorts anymore as I used to live in them during college and university. Hmmm.

2: "Oh Mickey, you're so fine! You're so fine you blow my mind!" I was rooting around a cupboard and found my Minnie Mouse ears from a trip to Disneyland as a child. Can I incorporate them into my everyday wardrobe, please?!

3: Shock horror, I actually painted my nails this week! I'm far too clumsy and impatient to do nail art, so this is as exciting as it gets. The colours are both by Barry M.

Finally, I've just this minute finished watching Lady Gaga's new video for Born This Way.
It's interesting to say the least!
I especially liked the introduction, which is incredibly theatrical and over-the-top (if pretentious) but the song still hasn't won me over. Of course the message is a lovely one.

I really do respect her though for promoting individuality and constantly pushing the boundaries, especially as such a mainstream artist.
For example, I really liked her egg stunt, and I guess the video is carrying on the (re)birth theme, right? Hmm.

Muchos love,
MessyCarla.

PS: I've added some new items to my shop. Please check them out? xoxo

Girl Crush Wednesday #2

2011-02-23T19:58:00.002Z

Hey everyone,

Oh, is it that time of week already? HOORAH!

So who are we going to be squeeing and fangirling for over the next seven days?

Amandah Wilkinson from Operator Please.

I LOVEEEEEE this band so much - all of their songs just instantly cheer me up.
Amandah is the curvalicious lead singer and guitarist, with a cracking fashion sense and the CUTEST Australian accent.

Songs to check out: Get What You Want, Just A Song About Ping Pong, One Yellow Button, Volcanic, Back And Forth.

Milly from Milly Darling.

Milly is a gorgeous blogger and part-time model from Leeds (via London).
When I discovered her blog, it was a case of INSTANT girl crush! She has a fabulous rockabilly punk look, and I love all of her body modifications.
Funnily enough when I commented revealing my undying love (sort of), I discovered that she reads this blog too! Small world, the blogosphere.

She's also just had her birthday, so go and wish her many happy returns. Teehee!

Willow Rosenberg (Alyson Hannigan) from Buffy The Vampire Slayer.

I'm just starting to rewatch my Buffy boxset again from the start, and my favourite series are definitely the first three, which are set at Sunnydale High School.
Willow is Buffy's loyal best friend who eventually makes the transition from promising science and computer nerd to a powerful (and sometimes dangerous) witch.

Some of the funniest Willow moments are when she interacts with her vampire self from a parallel universe. ("That's me as a vampire? I'm so evil and skanky. And I think I'm kinda gay...")

And that's your lot for this week - if you have any suggestions, as always I'd be love who you're girl crushin' on!

Muchos love,
MessyCarla.

New Haul Video.

2011-02-22T20:16:00.005Z

Hey everyone,

I found out this week I made YouTube partner, so I'm going to try my best to make more vlog-style videos for my channel.

This one is a recent haul video featuring Urban Decay, NYX, Stila, ASOS and Domino Dollhouse (you can see the dress better in this post).

If that doesn't entice you enough to click the video, I've also included some bloopers at the end, as I AM AN AWKWARD TURTLE.
For example you'll be able to see this face:

That's me being "x_SCENExCORE_x CARLA". Oh yes.

Sorry for the short post today, but I'll be back tomorrow for Girl Crush Wednesday!

Muchos love,
MessyCarla.

EDIT: Whooops! I put the link to the website where I bought the makeup in the underbar, but forgot to pop it on here too - it is Love-Makeup.co.uk. xoxo

Outfit Post: Polka Dotty.

2011-02-18T19:50:00.001Z

Hey everyone,

I'm really pleased so many of you liked the Girl Crush Wednesday idea so much - it's going to be lots of fun methinks!

Earlier this week I went with my friends Sam and Ashley to see the band Mike TV who had a free show in Newcastle.

This is what I wore:

DRESS: Primark.
BELT: Topshop.
SHOES: Vintage.
POINT OF FASHION: Black, white and red.

Apologies for the rather rubbish quality picture - I feel like I'm taking it back to old school outfit posts as I would nearly always pose next to my door!

But it was late and I had to shoot this with my light blaring, then try and sort out the white balance in photoshop - which has also made my hair look really dark. Booo!

Anyway though, even though it was a punk gig I went for a bit of a cutesy mod girl look with clunky vintage heels and red lipstick.
I'm not used to wearing long sleeves though, so I ended up rolling the sleeves and wearing a crop black cardigan on top.

My friend Sam turned up wearing a similar dress (although her polka dots were actually teeny tiny white apples - so cute!) which the band noticed and told us we reminded them of The Pipettes!
Best compliment I've had in ages, really - teehee!

I met the guitarist Jhon afterwards, and he was really sweet:

I love Trint from the support band Uncommonmenfrommars photobombing!
They were really ace too, especially when they did a Screeching Weasel cover.

See, I told you my hair is still bright!
Although my sister's camera made me have a crazy eye - I didn't feel like lugging my DSLR around when there was dancing to be done.

In other news, if you follow me on Twitter you'll know I've had a few job interviews the past week, and I was told today that I got it! Hoorah!

I've been unemployed since Autumn, so I'm absolutely chuffed.
Daytime TV is actually destroying my life!

Finally, you may have noticed I completely side-stepped on talking about Valentines this year - I did however give this card to Daniel before our radio show last Sunday:

I'm such a charmer.

I'm very excited for our next show this Sunday, as we're broadcasting from one of the presenter, Lee's house and we're calling it Come Mince With Lee.
(Working title: Mince And Dumplings. Daniel's got a repertoire of filthy innuendo waiting and ready to go.)

Please be sure to listen live if you can from 2pm GMT on http://www.prideradio.co.uk/.

Muchos love,
MessyCarla.

Girl Crush Wednesday #1

2011-02-16T20:55:00.005Z

Hey everyone,

I've been looking forward to telling you all about the new series staring on this blog.
From now on, we'll be curing our mid-week blues with Girl Crush Wednesday!

This is basically a celebration of fabulous women I'm majorly girl crushin' on - and hopefully we'll all end up crushing and fangirling together.
Sounds good, right?

Thanks to Rai who did a great job with the graphic!

So, here we go:

Claire of French For Cupcake.

The real question here is when am I not crushing on Miss Claire?
We've been online buddies since Ye Olde Days o' Livejournale, and started our blogspots around about the same time!
Her blog is full of beautiful outfits and delicious cake - amazing combination.

Angelina of albinwonderland.

Angelina has recently started updating her hilarious YouTube channel more often - giving hilarious yet completely on the money commentary on body modifications, "real women" and inapropriate Katy Perry album tracks.
I love how she always makes references to a fictional hater called Laquisha!
"LAQUISHAAAAAAA!"

Lily of LLYMLRS.

D'awwww who doesn't love Lily? Even Madonna's daughter is a fangirl!
I just adore her style, and am way jealous of her dollygirl looks. Grrrr.
I bumped into her at The Look Show last year and she's just off-the-chart adorable.

I'm always going to be open for suggestions for this new feature.
Think there's a girl everyone should be crushing on?
A blogger, youtuber, musician, fictional character? Just let me know!

Muchos love,
MessyCarla.

Welcome To The Dollhouse...

2011-02-13T13:00:00.001Z

Hey everyone,

If you've been living under a log for the past few months, you may not have heard of the fabulous Domino Dollhouse - an affordable online boutique for curvalicious ladies, run by the fabulous Tracy of Chubble Bubble, whose sassiness simply floors me.

Me and Lauren were recently having a discussion about plus-size fashion, and how sometimes it feels like the majority caters for an older demographic to us in our early twenties.
Yet if you turn it around, sometimes unique boutiques can be vastly out of our price range...

Enter Domino Dollhouse - all their peices are cute, punky and reminds me of how Torrid used to be when it was BFFs with Hot Topic.
And affordable? VERY. With dresses starting at just $18.

Tracy was kind enough to send me this Flora dress to review, and I absolutely adore it - it's easily one of the best fitting dresses I've had in ages.
It fits perfectly over my chesticles (with no squishing occuring - the girls can breathe!), nips my waist and flares out over my hips without clinging at all.

DRESS: Domino Dollhouse.
BELT: New Look.
NECKLACE: Accessorize.
SHOES: Dorothy Perkins.
POINT OF FASHION: A punky tea party.

If you'd like to try Domino Dollhouse for yourself, they very kindly sponsored Plus London and are offering a voucher code to EVERYONE!
Simply type in PLUSLONDON at checkout to recieve 20% off your order, worldwide.

In other news, I mentioned a few weeks ago that I am getting my MODEL GRRLZZZZ on for local photographer Mandy Charlton for her 'Dressing Up' project.

She simply asks her subjects to come "dressed up" with no other instruction, and it's so interesting to see how this is interpreted!
Some people have turned up in fancy dress, others top-to-toe in 1940s vintage.

I went for my favourite outfit of a 1950s style polka dot dress, faux pearls, crop cardigan with corsage, and high heels.
The reason I haven't shown you these pictures yet?
Why, I wore this to the evening event of Plus London of course!
And it would not do for me to turn up in an outfit you'd already seen now would it? Teehee.

We shot these at Leazers Park in Newcastle, a place that always makes me smile as during my last summer with my friends before I left them for college (they all stayed on at the sixth form) we basically lived here - making dens in the bushes, climbing trees and terrorising the children in the play park. Good times!

The first was taken in the play park, and is me trying my very best (and failing miserably) at being nautical pin-up chic.
The second is at the fabulous Victorian bandstand, and that's me hanging on for dear life. I'm not used to high heels...

It was SO much fun though, and it was ace how Mandy and I clicked straight away - we even went for a coffee afterwards as we had so much to natter about!
North East creatives are the BEST!

Finally, if you are reading this between 2pm-4pm today (Sunday 13th Feburary), you can check out mine and Daniel's radio show over at http://www.prideradio.co.uk/.
This week, the theme is Independent Anthems, as we're both single this year!
There's going to be lots of fun pop tunage and our usual witty (on his part, anyway) banter - so please listen and feel free to get in touch during the show.
We'll be happy as ever for any shout outs and song requests!

(Also be sure to give his blog a clicky-clicky as it really is hilarious!)

It turned out at Plus London he has legions of fangirls, so go and give him so love. Somebody should, really.

Muchos love,
MessyCarla.

PS: Oh, and thank you to everyone who has followed my 365 Tumblr - I've been very good and updated every day so far. Thank you for your support!

Dear Emily...

2011-02-11T16:45:00.000Z

Hey everyone,

A week or so ago, I got an email from a lovely reader called Emily who was sending out an SOS:

Hey Carla...

I really need your help... It's a bit cheeky but I'm desperate now!
It's my 18th birthday next month and I'm completely stuck on what to wear...So I was wondering if you could help me?

I'm a size 14/16 on top and 16/18 on bottom and 5'4 too! I always wear baggy tomboy stuff like hoodies, jeans, t shirts, boyfriend cardigans, nothing very exciting.
But it's my 18th, we're going for a meal, and I just want to look really nice for once. I'm thinking something different to what I usually wear... like a dress or top and skirt?

I really love what you wear on your blog so I'd really appreciate if you could give me any advice or tips.

Anyway, thanks a lot!
Emily

I completely and utterly understand, Emily.
Until I was about seventeen, I was very much a tomboy! I lived in jeans and grubby band t-shirts, and rarely wore makeup at all.

So making the transition to a more grown up and glamourous new look can be a bit daunting.

I'm not really a believe in 'capsule wardrobes' - I'm more of a 'have lots of clothes and have fun with mix-and-matching' kind of girl.

But I do think if you are updating your look, there's a few key peices that will be suitable for lots of occasions:

When you're so used to wearing jeans and t-shirts, suddenly having your arms and legs on display can be a bit daunting - so start off with a simple black dress.

I love this structured empire-line dress from New Look. It will nip your waist (my waist is the smallest part of my body - surprisingly - so I tend to go for this shape a lot!) and flare out, making it seem a lot fancier than it actually is.

The neckline is sweet and demure and will look fabulous dressed up with some short or long faux pearls (most high street stores stock these!).

If you're unsure about baring your arms, you can wear a cute cardigan on top. I'd suggest a cardigan cropped at your waist for an evening event, which looks very Chanel chic.

However don't throw away your boyfriend cardigans - you can pair them with your new dress and ballerina flats for more laid back look.
Perfect if you are planning on a cheeky pub date with your friends to celebrate turning eighteen?

A nice pair of black high heels will go with lots of outfits - you don't have to go as high as the ones on the pictures, don't worry!

Finally finish off the look with some black eyeliner and red lipstick.
My favourite black eyeliner is by Barry M, and my favourite red lipstick is Fire by Chanel.
But if you'd like to experiment with a 'drugstore' brand, Revlon do some lovely red shades.

Remember first and foremost than experimenting with your look should be fun - try not to stress out too much, and I do hope you enjoy your eighteenth birthday!

As for everyone else:
Have you ever taken a big plunge with the way you dress?
Do let me know!

Muchos love,
MessyCarla.

Plus London!

2011-02-07T17:43:00.007Z

Hey everyone,

I'm very sorry if all I've been blogging and tweeting about lately is Plus London, but it was this weekend - so you can all breathe a sigh of relief and wait for your blogroll to fill with lots of lovely pictures! ;)

The daytime was pretty chilled with shopping on Oxford Street and delicious sushi for lunch
before a party at The Strand Gallery in the evening.

But instead of doing an epic write-up, I'd figure I'll just share my favourite photos:

1. Me and Miria have a fabulous taste in cardigans!

2. Finally getting to meet the darling Maria who I feel like I've known forever online!

3. Pre-party cocktails with us girls who are always nattering on Twitter - we later christened ourselves 'Team Redhead' (with Jade an honourary member)...
From L-R: Claire, Amy, Sarah, Ellie and Jade. EPIC FANGIRLING on my part!

4. Katie, Deena and Valerie - all completely dwarfing me with their fabulousness...

5. Devon looking gorgeous - and her fascinator was made by local designer Jayne of The Libertarian. She had a bit of an unconventional way of carrying the delicate peice - ask her nicely and she might share the story! :)

6. I was SO excited to meet Nadia, as she's been a follower of this blog from the very start - and I was one of her first readers too.

7. Miria and her sister - they're so cute, and my fellow Italians! (although I'm only 25%...)

8. Mel and her sister. They're so beautiful - and very sweet!

9. Amy is so bloody gorgeous and I loved her oversized bow. I fangirled a bit, too!

And of course my favourite photo of the whole event...

Claire, Amy, Georgina, Wendy and Lauren - with an EPIC photobomb from Naomi!
It was also Georgina's 21st birthday!

(FYI: If you'd like to use any of the photos - please feel free, but link back to my blog!
There's also some bigger/better quality versions on the Plus London Tumblr. If you'd like any larger versions sent directly to you - please just get in touch! :))

There's going to be some more photos surfacing as people begin writing their posts about the event - plus we also had official photos taken by Geoff and Diana of Fashion Loves Photos (who I developed a MAJOR girl crush on!) and The Second Floor Studio.

At the end of the evening, I was elected to make a speech about Lauren and her general fabulousness, but I was a bit wobbly on my heels and afformentioned fizzy pop - so I passed the flame to Miss. Ding, who made a bunch of us well up.

Oh us writers are such an overEMOtional bunch aren't we?

Honestly, the event could not have gone any better - everyone got along so well, and I've never been so proud to be part of such a tight-knit community.

Events like this make you completely forget about the drama that sometimes surrounds the blogosphere - such as snide comments, jealousy and of course the looming shadow of Anon and the Keyboard Warriors! (Wouldn't that be an awesome name for a band?! I bet they make angry music.)

Amanda told me at one point, how she feels like part of a sisterhood - like we're all for one and one for all.
I also found it interesting when she said how the event felt less about a celebration of plus-sized women, but more as a celebration of women of all shapes and sizes.
And that's a thought to keep a hold of!

Thank you to everyone who attended the event, it was amazing how everyone clicked straight away and hearing everyone's stories and thoughts about why they choose to blog.
Even if you didn't attend - thank you to everyone who wishes us luck and tweeted - believe me, you're a part of this, too.

In the words of my friend, Daniel (who had an obscene amount of fans at the event...) - Arms in the air, everyone!

Muchos MUCHOS muchos love,
MessyCarla.

EDIT: Oh, I'd also like to post this video in honour of Anika.
We treated the lucky surrounding bloggers to a rendition of Fairytale by Alexander Rybak, the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest winner for Norway...

Who's That Girl?

2011-01-30T21:53:00.005Z

Hey everyone,

WOW it's been quite a while since I've been this M.I.A from the blogosphere, right?
I've just needed a little break from it - just as I was getting on a bit of a roll too!
No major reason, just lots of little ones. I'm feeling a lot better now though.

I've been up to quite a lot - and thought you'd like to see some photos? Well, alrighty then!

1. Me and my friend Sam are a bit low on funds at the minute, so we keep having to think of creative ways to have fun - as such, we've been frequenting our local museums. This is me and some monkeys at the Hancock museum in Newcastle. (My boss from Pride Radio asked "Why are you behind the glass?" when I showed him this picture. Cheeky.)

2. We love meerkats, so we performed a rousing chorus of the Compare The Meerkat jingle to the displeasure of the other patrons.

3. My nickname at school was Carla Koala as 'Koala' "almost rhymes with Carla" (I sometimes wonder how my friends got into the red brick universities...) and I used to carry a koala-shaped backpack. I was that cool, everyone.

4. Last weekend I ventured to London with my friend Megan, and I had a few hours spare to have a spot of lunch with Lauren of Pocket Rocket Fashion. It was nice to chat about Plus London in person! We had mochas, macaroons and the best brownies I've ever had!

5. I *heartttt* Lauren! :DD

6. Me and Megan went to London for the opening preview of The Children's Hour starring Keira Knightley and Elizabeth Moss. Very gloomy plot, but Keira was just wonderful - what else would we have expected, really?

7. I whipped up some fluffy buttermilk pancakes with crispy bacon and maple syrup, like me and my sister had most mornings when we went to New York. Nom nom nom.

8. There's only six more sleeps until Plus London. I'm sooooo looking forward to it, and love that everyone is getting as excited as I am! :DD

I do love meeting bloggers, as Georgina said on her blog about meetups: "This is one of the best parts of blogging - forget the negative comments, the haters, the weird creepy photoshoppers, having the opportunity to be part of a day like this really makes blogging worthwhile."

There's a few girls who have commented on the events page that they are worried about being shy - and if you're reading this, really don't worry about it!
I've only met a few of the bloggers that will be attending (Lauren, Kat, Steph, Amy and Becky) and there's going to be over SEVENTY of us altogether - so we'll all be in the same boat.

Having said that, me and Lauren will be on the lookout all day for people looking like they're by themselves, so please don't worry!

Also for those attending, I must warn you all I'm not really 'shy' but I'm a bit of an awkward turtle.
Take for example this very accurate interpretation of what happened when I met Lily Melrose:

Teehee!

Anyhoo, I promise I'm going to try my best to get well and truly back on the horse this week.
Yes, by 'horse' I of course mean 'blogging'. I'm a bit scared of horses, actually...they're too big.

Muchos love,
MessyCarla

All American Girl

2011-01-18T19:02:00.005Z

Hey everyone,

It's been a lovely sunny week, surprisingly - which is getting me in the mood for spring!
I do love winter, but I'm sick of covering up carefully co-ordinated outfits with coats and scarves.

I'm absolutely loving that pastels are coming back, as I really fell in love with them last year.
But this time around, the look is more refined and 'grown-up' girly rather than lots and lots of florals.

Also last year saw the return of 1980s crop tops and cut offs, but this year is again more old-fashioned and modest with high collared tailoring and longer lengths. Very chic, very 1950s.

I absolutely adore Topshop's collection, but my favourite this year is by ASOS.

Everything is just adorable and I would buy everything if I could.
My favourite peices however are the heart cropped jumper, striped midi skirt and the embroidered flower chiffon dress.

I'm also looking forward to contasting the pretty pastels and beiges with bright lipstick, like postbox reds and deep purples. Yum.

Also, if you're worried about looking too dressed up during the day - you can always sling a varsity-style cardigan over your shoulders. I'm especially loving New Look's range.

I love pastiche looks, and always think it's fun when old fashions come back around.
I also like the return of 1970s boho, but personally I'm a sucker for sharp tailoring.

Muchos love,
MessyCarla.

Outfit Post: A Not-So Rainy Day.

2011-01-15T15:39:00.002Z

Hey everyone,

I'm so sorry that we're over a fortnight into the new year, and I'm only just posting my first outfit post of 2011!

My sister is studying AS Level Photography and asked me to pose for her as "I can't find anyone else to do it!" Charming.
So we went around the corner to our local park to take some photos:

DRESS: New Look.
COAT: New Look.
NECKLACE: Vintage.
BELT: New Look.
UMBRELLA: Ebay.
SHOES: Primark.
POINT OF FASHION: It's supposed to be raining!

The theme of my sister's project is "Rain" - but as our luck would have it, the only day we were both free was one of the sunniest days we've had in ages!
But that didn't deter us, I just popped on my raincoat and dusted off my favourite umbrella.

1. My shoes ended up covered in mud. Ended up getting a telling off from Italian Catholic Mother for trailing it into the house.

2. I whipped up some yummy cupcakes. This modelling biz is hungry work, I tell thee.

3. I got caught in a big gust of wind and my fringe got ruined. Bah, welcome to the North.

It was a lot of fun, I love impromptu photoshoots - though we got some bewildered looked from dog walkers and mothers pushing prams since I was running around like a madwoman in a pretty dress at noon. All in a day's work.

I have a few things planned this week, including having my picture taken for local photographer Mandy Charlton's 'Dressed Up' project, which she kindly asked me to take part in.
It's going to be a lot of fun - but again I'm going to find myself in a flouncy dress at 10am on a weekday.
I'll have to pop a change of costume in my bag, methinks...

I'm trying not to go far this week though, as next week I'm off to London for the opening night of 'The Children's Hour' starring Keira Knightley and Elisabeth Moss.
Being such a theatre geek anyway I'm SO excited - but I've never been to an opening night before.
Last time my friend Megan went to one, she said she saw a fair few celebrities, so I'll get spotting!

Also, it's now three weeks until the Plus London meetup.
I'm super super excited to meet lots of you, and we're working like busy bees to make everything run as smoothly as possible as amazingly there's now OVER 70 people attending!

Finally I'll leave you with my favourite photo from yesterday.
(Though if you follow my 365 Days Tumblr you may have seen it already...)

Muchos love,
MessyCarla.

What's In My Makeup Bag...

2011-01-12T19:09:00.002Z

Hey everyone,

I'm sorry the posts have been a little sparce this week!

For some reason I'm asked quite a lot via email how I do my makeup, especially on my YouTube videos.
I'm flattered, but my makeup is usually quite simple (black eyeliner with a flick and lipstick), and I really don't have a steady hand so I'd be useless at any sort of tutorial.

There's so many fabulous makeup gurus anyway I'd find it a bit pointless.

However I do love talking products, which I don't think comes across a lot in this blog - as again, there are so many fabulous makeup bloggers who are much more clued up than I am.

I thought you might be interested however in checking out my favourite products from my makeup bag:

1. PRIMER: Smashbox.

2. LIQUID FOUNDATION: Illamasqua.

3. PRESSED FOUNDATION: Illamasqua.

4. BLUSH: Illamasqua.

5. EYE MAKEUP: MAC.

6. LIPSTICK: Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics.

7. LIP GLOSS: Stila.

8. LIP BALM: Burt's Bees.

9. NAIL POLISH: Barry M.

10. MASCARA: Urban Decay.

11. EYELINER: Barry M.

12. BRUSHES: The Body Shop.

13. MOISTURISER: Purity.

14. MAKEUP REMOVER: Simple.

Of course I always love trying new things, but these are pretty much my to-go favourite products.

Who are your favourite YouTube makeup gurus/beauty bloggers?

My favourites are What Style Is To Nickel, Lauren Luke, xSparkage, and Funny Face's Place amongst lots more!

Muchos love,
MessyCarla.

Selling Blog.

2011-01-10T23:11:00.003Z

Hey everyone,

Just a heads-up I've put a lot of lovely new things up on my selling blog.

I ship internationally, so if there's anything you're interested in no matter where you're from - just comment the post directly!

There's lots of dresses going for £10 and under, so grab yourself a bargain.

Muchos love,
MessyCarla.

Pay It Forward 2011

2011-01-06T19:44:00.013Z

Hey everyone,

This meme that was passed around Livejournal a few years ago has popped up again on my newsfeed on Facebook - the Pay It Forward challenge.

I loved it last time around, so thought I'd resurrect it on my blog, as I do love making things.

(Photo by Brooke Martin)

"Pay It Forward 2011.... I promise to make something handmade for the first ~~five~~ TEN people who comment.

They must in turn post this and make something for the first five who comment.

The rules are it has to be handmade by you, and they must receive it before 2011 ends."

The original post says five - but I thought I'd up my game and make it ten as I do love you guys!
I used to make things and swap via SwapBot for years until I found myself signing up for six or seven swaps as a time, and couldn't keep to the deadlines.

If you'd like to take part:

Be one of the first ten to comment.
Please leave your email address so I can contact you directly.

Be sure to repost this to your own blog if you do comment, as that's the whole point of Pay It Forward afterall!

~~PLACES AVAILABLE:~~
FULL!

1. Katie of What Katie Found.
2. Franceta of Frantic Dreams.
3. Shanis of Tenoli.
4. Rai of Blargle Fargle.
5. Chloe of Fashion Junkie.
6. Nichole of NikStar.
7. Ariana of Fatale Fashion.
8. Duvessa of One of Beauty's Daughters.
9. Anika of Sweet Faced Style.
10. Natasha of The Chic Curve.

Unfortunately I'm all out of places - but do check out the bloggers above, who are also taking part!
If you're in need of a graphic to use for the challenge, Rai has very kindly made one for use!

Muchos Love,
MessyCarla

Girl Crush: Ke$ha

2011-01-04T16:55:00.002Z

Hey everyone,

My favourite pop star by a MILE at the minute is Miss Kesha Rose Sebert...aka KE$HA!

Although she constantly makes a show of herself, and always tops 'Worst Dressed' lists I just love her.
A lot of her outfits are based around something very simple like a band t-shirt, with lots of layering and textures - especially glitter, studs, fringe and feathers.

I know it's so easy to write her off as a bit of a sleazebag, and of course her album is autotuned to death, but I really love how she doesn't take herself too seriously - isn't that what pop music is all about?!

Do you have an artist/celebrity figure who is your real guilty pleasure?

Is there somebody who always seems to have a hard time in the press, but you love them anyway?

In other news, this is my first post of the year - hoorah! Happy 2011!
I hope you all had a lovely time whatever you did.
Mine was pretty low key, spent with my family in front of the TV with cocktails and nibbles.

I haven't made many solid resolutions yet - except I've started one of the 365 Days projects over on Tumblr. Please feel free to follow me if you'd like!

Oh and one more thing: if you are intending to come to the London Blogger Meet next month, we're going to need a definite confirmation by TOMORROW on the Facebook event, so we can book the lovely venues.

Muchos love,
MessyCarla.

PR & Advertising.

2011-01-01T16:00:00.008Z

PR & Advertising Enquiries.

MessyCarla: A Fashion Blog in a Size 16 is a blog by Carla Benstead, a 22-year-old Media graduate from Newcastle, UK.

Regular features of the blog include Outfit Posts, Indie Spotlight and wishlists as well as commentary on upcoming trends.

More information can be found on the Frequently Asked Questions page.

STATS:
(as of 09/01/2012)

MONTLY PAGE VIEWS: 14,900
FOLLOWERS ON GFC: 1547+
FOLLOWERS ON BLOGLOVIN': 237

ALSO ON:

TWITTER: 1440+ followers
YOUTUBE: 381 subscribers, 70, 231 views.

FEATURING AN ITEM:

If you are interested in having me review an item in an Outfit Post or Indie Spotlight, please email me directly.
I only accept items which I would ordinarily purchase with my own money - for example:

Clothing

Accessories

Jewellery

Beauty/hair products/makeup.

Please note that all reviews featuring donations will contain a disclaimer, for complete transparency.

ADVERTISING:

BLOGGERS:

For fellow bloggers, I am offering advertisements on the right-hand sidebar for the flat rate of:
£5 x 30 days.

Please contact me directly if you are interested!

(Please note you are responsible for creating your own 210 x 90px button for display - my photoshop skills are very limited!)

COMPANIES:

For small companies such as Etsy sellers, I am currently offering a flat rate of £10 for 30 days.

For larger companies, please contact me directly for individual rates.

Please note that I will only accept offers for advertisements which I would ordinarily be interested in.

For example, I am NOT interested in:

Paid text links/"anchors" anywhere on my blog.

A third party writing on this blog on my behalf - paid or otherwise!

Advertising weight loss products.

If there is anything else which you feel has not been convered on this page - just ask!

Please get in touch with me via email.