31 October 2012

How to be a bag lady. Minus the bag...

Some days I look a  bit like a bag lady. It can't be helped. There's just some sort of edit thing missing in me. Like when whoever it was said that, before you leave the house, you should take off the last accessory you put on, I just can't do that. I'm just lacking in some kind of aesthetic vision. Therefore, I'll never be one of those dead chic minimalist folk (though, frankly, I wouldn't want to be) and it's more likely that I'll look ramshackle than put together - possibly because, regardless of what I've already got on, sometimes I just really want to wear a specific jumper or something and on it goes, without a proper thought about how it might look. So - here it is - my master class in how to get the bag lady look, without a single bag in sight...

Put on a pretty and summery vintage dress. Winterise with black tights...
...black shoes (Red or Dead from schuh)


...and a black belt. I can't remember where I got this but I enjoy the smoochy birds!
Whap on a giant shiny necklace. This one's from Primark.
And then...

Decide to wear a jumper (from ASOS) you love but that, with the dress, loses your waist and cuts you in half. Ideally you should have two, totally at odds, prints involved.
Then, for shits, giggles and warmth, cover it all with a parka (H&M). Ideally, if you can make like me and forget your eye make-up for that nice tired look, it works even better. I'm pretty fresh faced though and I'll take that!
How about we finish on the shoes again?



28 October 2012

Sunday shoe porn: embellishment

Sunday. A day of rest. And of shoe ogling. So sit back, relax, have a cup of tea (or a gin) and let your eyes enjoy this shit. It's all designer and unlikely to be in my life any time soon...

Alexander McQueen. Sigh. And for £700 and something for actual McQueen, not just McQ, it's really not bad. Here's the thing though - I like the shoe shape: classic peep toe with a chunky heel. Very practical. And I L-O-V-E the skull! But, I'm not wild on the colour and a really quite hate the little flower things. Here's the skull...
It is good.
And, on the topic of heads on toes - so macabre. Or religious in a kiss-my-feet sort of way - here's a leopard's head on the toe of a pair of Charlotte Olympias. The rules of my religion dictate that I must love a leopard/Charlotte combo. And if I was gifted these, I'd definitely wear them. Grr.

Do you know what I'd wear even more though? These Christian Louboutin stilettos. Red upper, soles and spikes? It's like blood and lipstick and fiery passion! I love a spike but I am a little tired of seeing them on everything. So this twist of having the spikes the same colour as the background gives me a reason to feel it again. And feel it, I do!
Speaking of which...
Killer. Just killer. That is all. 

24 October 2012

F*&k me, I baked brownies!

Apologies if you're easily offended by 'language'. I'm afraid I enjoy a good swear, ladylike though it may not be. Not just for the sake of it, mind. It has to be for emphasis or out of genuine exclamation. And me baking, definitely warrants a swear. Just ask poor Mr Scribbler who really didn't bag himself the most domestic wife. And so: fuck me, I baked!

Not only did I bake but I baked what are probably the best tasting brownies I've ever had. Ah modesty...

The basic recipe came from this one on My Baking Addiction (has this chick baked every conceivable cake one could possibly hope for?). But, instead of doing the salty caramel filling (I actually did attempt a salty caramel brownie with my own recipe recently. It was pretty nice too), I filled it with curlywurlys and fresh raspberries. The curlies did sink to the bottom but it just gave a nice crispy caramel bottom. And the brownie did eventually need to be served in a bowl due to it's sheer gooiness. But lordy it tasted SO good!

First, melt the chocolate and butter until it's smooth then remove from the heat.
Allow to cool to room temperature then add SHITLOADS of egg, plus a little bit vanilla.
Fold in the flour gently (no beating or too much air gets in). I added some ginger and cinnamon into the flour, salt and cocoa powder (oh OK, I only had options in the cupboard so that's what went in, not cocoa) too, to add some spice.
Put a layer into a greased, lined pan. I probably need a square or rectangle baking tine but I only have a oval one. Ah well. THEN... 
It's curlywurly time!
On the layer of brownie mix, pile on the curlywurly and some fresh juicy rasps! Fruit = this shit is healthy*! Next, pile the rest of the brownie mix on top. Bake. For the time/temp fact, please do refer to the actual recipe. I deal in haphazard "ish"-es when it comes to baking times, temps and quantities and wouldn't want to foof up your confections.
When the brownie is done and cooled (in an ideal world. Being a baking pleb, I did this bit when it was fresh out the oven then had to fire the whole lot in the fridge.), melt some white chocolate...
...and drizzle it all over the top. Eat any excess chocolate with a spoon...and any edges that look they just want to fall off. Oh, for goodness sake, just friggin' dig in!
*On account of all the chocolate, sugar and butter, this is, in fact, NOT TRUE.

21 October 2012

The EPIC cat t-shirt of awesome epicness

If you followed me on instagram (plug, plug @llarasnappedwhat. I'm bloody entertaining, as you'd expect) or Twitter (llara_has_2_Ls), you might already have met this chap...



It's a cat! With a crown, a red cape and a locket. I mean, he could be a queen, a superhero and a sorcerer all rolled into one by my reckoning.

But he's not real :(

He's just a print.

ON MY NEW T-SHIRT!

BAM!

cat t-shirt: eBay, coat: eBay, skirt: H&M, shoes: schuh
If I was you, I'd be so mind blown by its giant and immense epicness that I wouldn't bat an eyelid at the fact that Mr Scribbler's shoes are photo bombing me again or that I've barely a scrap of make up on, so drawn would I (as you, remember) be to the t-shirt. Cue pussy jokes.

I'd hoped it would be long enough to wear as a dress but it's not. And one pussy on display is quite enough, don't you think? I saw a picture of the t-shirt somewhere a few weeks ago and made it my mission to track it down. And track it down, I DID. It was only about £11 or £12, including delivery.

And, in the interests of not flashing anything inappropriate, I wore the t-shirt with a nice shiny silver mini skirt and stuck my belting H&M necklace over it:


And it seemed only appropriate to complement kitty with some interesting shoes. So I busted out these gorgeous gold wedges that I got for a song in the schuh sale last year. Stick on some socks (it's bloody freezing in Scotland, don't you know!?) and you are ready to rock and roll!


I think Mr Kitty approves...

17 October 2012

Storing my shoe collection - it's complicated

My shoe collection is pretty big. I haven't counted the pairs but it's safe to say there are a LOT. Ideally, I'd love a giant walk in closet a la sex and the city where the shoes are all out of their boxes and lined up beautifully and somehow staying dust free. That's the dream. Being that we're a little restricted space-wise and that I've spent all my money on shoes already, that's not really an option right now. Or maybe ever. However, this weekend, driven by desires to actually see my bedroom floor again and to not break my neck falling over rogue shoes, I decided to get it all sorted out. Here's how they all (just about) fit in...






Apologies for the truly shite blurry pic. I took it and didn't realise how bad it was until it was on the computer. And I am lazy! Technically, this wardrobe is Mr Scribbler's. However, I have wangled a shoe rack and a couple of jackets in there. This "hangy thing" came from Ikea and is ideal for squishing in flats and, to be honest, shoes that are maybe a bit past their best that you don't mind not being in boxes. You can get a prettier version here. At this point I should tell you that piles of shoes in the bottom of a wardrobe makes me cry on the inside and feel a bit sick. It's just so wrong! Care for thy shoes! Which kind of goes some way to explaining this...



The tremendous shoe cabinet of awesomeness. AKA the home of my favourite and designer shoes. I update the contents fairly regularly cause I'm fickle and change my mind all the time about my faves. If you've been reading a while, you'll have seen the cabinet before, so proud of it am I. If you haven't you can check out it's transformation from orphan rescued (for free! FREE!) from a rainy street, to tremendous shoe cabinet of awesomeness -> here. It's a touching story.

Observe though, that the storage above does not finish with the TSCoA. Oh no. We also have stackable transparent shoe boxes. These things are genius: they're clear(ish) so you can see what's in them, they stack and slot into each other so you can pile 'em high, they're smaller than a lot of shoe boxes so save space AND they fold so if you have spares they stash away neatly! Just google 'transparent stackable shoe boxes' or similar and do some price comparison. I think mine came through eBay in the end but do make sure you look for the ridgy ones that slot together!



Along with the TSCoA, I also do actually have a walk in cupboard that has boxes of shoes stacked up in it. It is called the shoe closet. Like the normal person's version of the SATC scenario. The washing basket lives in here too so it is a bit of a jam but it keeps this little lot out of the way. Some of the shoes aren't in their original boxes but in smaller boxes I have, with their name/description written on the front. Every centimetre counts! And so does ease of shoe finding. There's a shelf on the wall in there too that takes a surprising amount of shoe weight:



My, so tonal!

One of my latest storage solutions is this over the door (hanging into the shoe closet) hanging thang with pockets from Argos. It fits 10 pairs of shoes in (mine are mainly size 7s) but you could probably get pairs of flip flops or smooshed up flats in one pocket if you felt the urge. I got it today for £6.99 (here it is - man I am helpful with my links) and am pleasantly surprised by it as a few of the reviewers said it only fit kids shoes in. It doesn't. Yay! You wouldn't get heels in or anything but it does the job for flats.



And finally, in a rare glimpse into the man side of my life, here are Mr Scribbler's shoes:


Yup, he's nearly as shoe daft as me these days (which makes my habit SO much easier to justify) and I finally had to get him some more rack space. The ones on the left we got today in Argos. It's actually two stacked together and they were £4.99 each. Bargain! They're nowt fancy but totally do the job. And, as I type this, he's actually filled them up.

So, now we don't have shoes lying about the bedroom and living room but we do have them on racks in the hall, in the wardrobe in the spare room, in a cabinet in the bedroom, hanging over a door and inside the shoe closet. Neat, non? If you have any space saving shoe storage tips, feel free to share them with me. Otherwise, I hope some of this was useful for you if, like me, your collection is somewhat unruly!

14 October 2012

Anyone for a cliche? Yes? Presenting Sunday shoe porn: glitterMiu

I know, I know, shoe type posts are a total blogger cliche. BUT. I. Love. Shoes, I'm a total shoe girl. And some cliches are cliches cause they're classic. So let us go forth and enjoy some pictures of friggin' expensive shoes. Yes, today I am mostly living in fantasy land...

This lot are all off Net-a-Porter, one of the sites I have to settle for ogling fruitlessly. What a waste of time, eh? Still, at least now I know what shoes I'll be buying if I suddenly come into money. This weeks footly confections have a glittery theme. The magpie strikes back...
Charlotte Olympia. I love the signature Charlotte Olympia shape. A classic pump with an almond shaped toe, slim heel and disjointed platform. Trim it with turquoise ribbon and cover it in a multicoloured glitter storm and you have a winner!
Miu Miu. These are so classic and pretty. Platform, peep toe, Mary Jane, black suede. Add a dash of glitter on the back only and they suddenly get that little bit more interesting.
Miu Miu: I am a Miu Miu fan. As the double appearance of the brand here might suggest. They do pretty-glittery so well  but they aren't afraid of an interesting ugly shoe either, which I kind of enjoy in a brand.  Plus, they're one of the few brands of designer shoes that I own. Check mine out here if you're interested. Anyway, back to these beauties. I've gotten back into a pointy stiletto of late and, while I'm not a kitten heel fan per se, I find a smaller heel more acceptable with a pointy toe and I would love to dance about all the town in these. I also have a thang for electric blue so these do the double for me.
Oh dear lord. The face I pulled when I saw these. It truly wasn't fit for public consumption. I thought about recreating  and snapping it for the purposes of this post but a mix of vanity and knowing I couldn't possibly accurately capture such a spontaneous reaction in a staged format meant that I didn't. Instead, I just have the shoe from two different angles.
Nicholas Kirkwood. Nicholas Kirkwood is one of the designers whose shoes I covet the ass off and would dearly like to own. I'd already spied these in gold and had a right randy swoon at them. And then I saw these. Being something of a muddly person, I am attracted to a mix of colour. And being a magpie, I enjoy the glitter. So multicoloured glitter works for me. Add in the jewel tone purple, the multitude of straps, the disjointed glitter platform and the dancing-shoe-esque t-bar and you have Llara pulling one special-ass face. Santa, if you're out there and you're listening, you know what to do...

10 October 2012

Tell me a-boot it...stud.

Ahahahahaha! That's me laughing at how funny I am. Cause I'm wearing studded boots in this post. Anyone for an ironic ass MEGALOL. When it comes to LOLZ, I only ever do them with lashings of smug and superior irony. It's the only way. Do you want me to stop chatting shite and show you the shoes? OK then.

Boots from schuh
They're probably one of the best boots ever. They're called Bob, they're from schuh, they're a belting ringer for the Chloe ones and pretty well everyone has a version of them this season. I couldn't give a crap about my mainstream-ness though because they look so good and they're so friggin' comfy. I've worn them an absolute crap tonne since I got them. And, they have taken a battering so far and haven't shed a single stud.

One day I wore them with this lot:

Dress: Primark | Jumper: H&M

Gawd, I am looking a bit pasty. Best starting upping the blusher - I'm not likely to pick up any flush of colour (unless you count a ruddy cheek) between now and June. And in keeping with the cold theme, I went for blue nails. I am not a nail art girl. I have neither the skill or patience. If I can get a colour on and not chip it, I'm happy.

Topshop nail polish.
And finally: can I remember where this necklace is from? Can I heck. I don't think it was high street but I truly can't remember. All I know is that I don't much fancy smelling of Paris. Whenever I've been, it's been something of a whiffy place. I imagine Paris scented perfume would be a bit of a pumps and flowers type mix. Maybe folk would go for it...


7 October 2012

An awesome jumper from Oxfam

 I visited the Lake District recently. While I was there, I popped into an Oxfam shop in Ambleside and man did I get a good jumper! Look.At.It.
 

Black, gold, silver and lurex all in one item. The plain black bits are super snuggly and the rest is disco jumper supreme! The poufy shoulders and batwing sleeves are ever so 80s, but in the best possible way. And it was a mere six quid.

Here I am wearing it with other shit and P-O-S-I-N-G like a muthfucka. Boobs out, belly in. Good girl.

Necklace: Wolf and Moon | Jumper: Oxfam Ambleside | Skirt: Primark | Boots £20 down from over £200 Urban Outfitters *smug*
The jumper's label reveals it to be by a brand called Mondi from West Germany. How very pre "The Hoff bring down the wall single-handedly". A quick Google turned up this on Mondi: "Mondi actually started out as a knitwear house before it spread it wings into a full range of clothing and gained a faithful following, including Diana, the late Princess of Wales". That is according to a random on Etsy though, so it could be utter piffle. Either way, all the stuff I found by them is selling for way more than £6 and is way less amazing than this wooly winner.


I'm off to finish my Croatian Muscat. Mmm!

2 October 2012

Bestival - yay!

Gawd, I'm late to the "I went to Bestival" bandwagon aren't I? It was only, er, about a month ago. Jeez Llara! What can I say? I'm a busy chick and I don't always have time to do the blogging.

Something else you should know about me is that, when I've had a few, I find it acceptable to pull this face in pictures...


Note the long since faded and very much past its best rainbow on my face. I'm obsessed with rainbows lately. We've had SO many recently in Edinburgh. Don't believe me? Check out my instagram @llarasnappedwhat (plug, plug).

So, once we'd made the journey to Southampton (taxi, flight, train, bus) ferry terminal, we hopped on the ferry. They had cider in the car park and everything, which was nice. Another thing you should know - not about me this time: it seems that everyone, everyone on the south coast owns a boat. Regardez (I can say that cause it's so close to France):


Boats, boats, boats everywhere!

And so to Bestival. It's an ace festival. A tiny bit big for my liking, if anything, but so visual and captivating and stuff going on everywhere. You could spend the whole weekend doing stuff that didn't involve seeing bands at big stages. Like...going to the cinema, starring in your own film, going on a helter skelter, climbing up the inside of an odd wooden house, watching the fancy dress parade, polka-ing to a crazy Romanian gypsy sounding DJ in the polka tent, mooching about the forest, tobogganing, shopping and generally filling your face with all kinds of delicious food. I love festival food these days!

Cinema | tents | swan on a stick, obvs | Africa bar | make your own blockbuster | amazing view across the festival
At night, the festival becomes so atmospheric with parties in what look like ramshackle houses, the smallest bar ever (in something resembling a garden shed), faux abandoned cars peeking out of mist and all kinds of other goodness!

All kinds of neon crap. By crap, I means AWESOMENESS. I climbed to the top window of the little house. How I didn't do myself a mischief, I do not know.
In spite of there being some huge acts at the festival (hello Stevie Wonder. Totally brill, as it happens), my favourite ones were Scroobius Pip and a random flamenco band with some guy Sadie Frost used to shag in it. Scroobius was just mesmerising and SO much fun. Ditto the flamenco band. We danced our asses off to those guys! Give me that lot over Florence and her wailing ear splitting machine any day! Sorry Flo fans...
Left: flamenco guys | middle: Scroobius Pip. I wonder if that's his real name | right: spooky shit.
Absorb the colour and strangeness...I'd like to hang glittery stars all over my house. I'm not sure how Mr Scribbler would feel about that.
And finally (cause everyone loves and 'and finally' story, right? Especially ones that involve small animals or local initiatives. This involves neither.), here I am promoting the ass off the schuh Welly Exchange in my specially-customised-so-as-to-maximise-warm-sun-on-pasty-Scottish-skin t-shirt. It was such a warm weekend. I miss the warmth.

Who's got orange glittery fingernails and a message for you guys? This gal!