Mary, Mawi and Mangalore

Last Christmas was special. It was the first time in over ten years that I was able to spend it in Mangalore and with my closest people. It was quite unusual too, considering it was my first hot Christmas in a long time (after too many wintry and white Christmases in the UK). I chose to celebrate it wearing two of my favourite designers; Mary Katrantzou and Mawi.

Mangalore, despite being quite similar to neighbouring Goa and Kerala, is rarely on the tourist map. I think it often gets overlooked which is a shame; it has lovely beaches, wonderful green spaces beautiful churches and temples and a culturally diverse population. Christmas is good time to be in Mangalore due to the the numerous parties and religious celebrations that are on in the city. Ed was quite keen that we re-create an 'English' Christmas meal and when that proved tricky (sourcing and roasting turkey, brussels etc. required a bit too much effort and we hadn't planned it well enough), we decided to go out for Christmas lunch. The meal out wasn't anything to write home about but we had a lovely time together as family.

For our meal out I wore a beautiful Mary Katrantzou number that I stalked on eBay with a *wonderful* Glitterbug Clutch by Mawi.  I wore the latter literally every time we went out. Shoes were a challenge as my size 4 shoes felt too small for my heat expandable feet. Instead I bought these sandals from a local store ( Metro) and was pleasantly surprised! It was such an easy to wear outfit and the colours and sparkles made me (and those around me) happy!

Now, I'm back to wearing multiple layers, woolly socks and hugging hot water bottles. Hope you are all having a lovely weekend. Ann x

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DIY Embellished Jumper

For me, 2014 was a year of streamlining life. Moving house twice might have influenced that a little bit. Over the last year, I've been analysing the clothes I have got the most wear out of (whilst making me feel good). As I've literally lived in my Isabel Marant and Etre Cecile sweatshirts all through Autumn, I figured adding another good statement version would be a sound idea. I've lusted after a Markus Lupfer embellished version for a long time but instead of shelling over a £150 on one, I decided to make an embellished version of my own design for a fraction of the price.

To create your own embellished version, you will need:

-A good quality plain sweatshirt. I bought my navy one from Gap for £9 and it's great.

-Fabric glue

-Embellishments:  sequins, diamante or stick-on designs. I found mine in a tiny little haberdashery in Mangalore

-Outline design

-Sewing pins

Method:

-Arrange your design on the sweatshirt. Sewing pins are useful to accomplish this. 

-Lay the sweatshirt flat and map out your design on it

-When you are happy with the arrangement, you fabric glue to stick the embellishment on to your sweatshirt.

-Press and hold each adhesion for about ten seconds to allow it to set.

-Leave it to dry for 24 hours

Your embellished sweatshirt is now ready to wear! Fancy giving it a go? Ann x

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Pentland Hills in Etre Cecile

Edinburgh's like a fridge right now, albeit a very beautiful one. I especially love the views of the Pentland Hills from my office, now draped in a few layers of snow. It reminded me of my blog backlog and in particular the shots taken from a walk in the area back in November. 

The Pentland Hills act as Edinburgh's largest outdoor gym. Despite being so close to the city, the area has a micro-climate that is often a few degrees cooler.

 

There are numerous walks and cycling routes around the 22,000 acres that comprise of the Pentland Hills Regional Park. You can also go camping, orienteering and fishing around here. Whilst Ed and I are not hardcore walking types (or at least not anymore anyway), there were plenty of easy options for us to amble around.  And as picnics aren't really ideal for this time of the year, there are a couple of cosy pubs where you can grab some post-walkies grub.

  

As our walk back in November was a lot less chilly, I wore my rather unusual Etre Cecile jumper (without too many other layers). I've mentioned Etre Cecile previously and I love the brand's aesthetic. They are well made, comfortable yet so unique! So despite feeling a bit windswept, I thought an outfit shot was required!

I hope you are all wrapping up warm and enjoying the positives of Winter! Ann x

Wearing: Uniqlo polo neck top, Etre Cecile sweatshirt, Gap skinny jeans, Michael Kors puff coat and Longchamp neo bag.

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