Stella and Dot evening

Tomorrow evening I'm hosting a Stella and Dot Trunk Show at my house.

I'm really looking forward to it - I will have to get all of the food ready tomorrow and clear the surfaces in the living room for the jewellery to be displayed.  But what I most wanted to share with you was my favourite piece from the new season.

This lovely charm necklace ticks a trend - charms are big this season, and it's a trend I want to get in on!  Plus the gold and the charms remind me the spring is indeed on its way!

SS13 trend: Monochrome

As is evident by the amount of ladies wearing it at the SAG Awards, monochrome is a big trend at the moment and this is set to continue. I find it a classic look that suits work or a more formal evening do. To brighten it up and give it a unique spin, add a splash of colour - I like to wear a bright pink t-shirt with the shoes and skirt pictured. Alternatively, wear with a white blouse and red lippie - perfect!

Pretty things!

I had to share these pretty buys of mine with you - I got them in 'Tea and Cake' on Wellfield Road in Cardiff on Saturday. A cup of tea of an afternoon suddenly got more glam! I could really get into buying vintage style, pretty crockery but I don't have enough cupboard space, do I?! Since moving to Cardiff a year ago, I've loved discovering independent businesses like 'Tea and Cake' and I will feature more pretty things here :-)

Meet Ruby

This is Ruby - out for a walk, and that's her cosy basket by her side. For those of you not aware, she is a guinea pig. Ruby lives under the stairs in our house, which is a light, open space, not a dingy corner, fear not! She is a few months shy of being five years old, and she's been with me since she was 6 weeks old. She has lots of character - she squeaks and purrs, chews the cage bars when she is hungry, and runs around and plays when the mood takes her, or curls up for a wellearned nap. She is one of the family and everyone who meets her adores her.

Beautiful dresses at the NTAs

Awards season means one thing - lots of gorgeous frocks to drool over! Having trawled through the pictures from last night's National Television Awards (someone's got to do it!) and consumed copious amounts of coffee whilst deliberating my decision, I've decided my favourite dress of the night was Michelle Keegan's. See it here.

I quite like the fishtail look, but this is a sedate version of it, and the pinkish colour is very on trend; pastel shades are set to be big for SS13.  The croc print gives it an edge, taking a bit of the girliness out of the look.  Michelle looks sexy without showing skin and her makeup and accessories don't swamp the dress, leaving the gown to do the talking - and rightly so.

Nail art novice!

I love manicures and painting my nails, but I'm not very good at advanced nail art. I have tried lots of looks - croc, magnetic, glitter, french, false - but nothing as impressive as drawing flowers or faces! So for this look, of which I am quite proud, I used one coat of a silver No 7 polish, and drew the dots on with a Topshop nail art pen, to create the domino effect. A top coat finished it off. This little challenge has made me feel a bit more adventurous so I will be trying out new looks soon!

It's the second half of January...

First of all, welcome to my brand new blog!  I am so excited to be doing this, I have lots of exciting projects going on this year and my blog is a big part of that, so stay tuned.

What I want to address in my first post is... how are everyone's new year's resolutions going?  Have you given up on them yet?!

I have set myself some goals for 2013, and here they are:

Set up my own business - this has long been an ambition of mine and finally, I feel confident enough to take the next step.  This is actually happening.

Get out, meet people, enjoy - I love living in Cardiff and I want to enjoy the city and meet its residents as much as possible.

Do more cooking and baking - I enjoy making cakes and I want to learn new recipes, I will share my creations with you.

Sort out my crafting - I dabble in lots of projects; candle making, soap making, calligraphy, card making, jewellery design.  I want todecide which I enjoy most, and which I am best at!