Just a mini shopping spree...

So yesterday I took myself to Dublin to hit up a few shops. For those of you who don't know, I am about 15 weeks pregnant. You're thinking, 'yay good for you, but why is this relevant?!'

Well, from what I have learnt, I am not the only one who, during this time, finds getting dressed in the morning a bit of a struggle. I don't have a full- blown bump, but I can't wear a lot of my regular clothes either. Combine that, with constant jet-lag style lethargy and moody outbursts that have been making me feel like I'm actually going insane, and you can understand why retail therapy sounded like a good idea! Now, bear with me throughout this post, as I always find these more personal ones difficult. I guess I find it hard to believe that anybody cares what I get up to in my free time! But, I am a blogger now, and this is all part of it, so here goes!
I always go to Dublin with gobus(gobus.ie). No particular reason why I choose them over citylink, but I've always found them reliable. I timed the bus to arrive at 12:15 just as the shops open- perfect too because I find that these days I enjoy a nap at around 10:30 :-)
I headed to Jervis first to check out forever 21. I had spotted some bits I liked online at forever21.com so wanted to suss them out. If I'm honest, I always get a little overwhelmed by the amount of stuff there. Their jewellery dept is amazing...yet I didn't get any!! Its just all so nice and all cheap- I couldn't narrow it down! But they do a great online store where I would recommend you take a look at their selection of statement necklaces, they had loads of nice ones going for between €8-€13. Here's a selection of ones I liked when I saw them in real-life! Nothing here is over €12.90(pics from forever21.com/eu).

 

What I did end up getting, was a really cute pair of sandals and a lovely sunhat. I'm always on the hunt for cute summertime accessories and these fit that bill perfectly...

hat: €12.90

flats: €21.90

After a quick refuel at Costa(the old reliable!) I headed to Penneys Mary street, which if you didn't know, is the republic's flagship store. There were loads of nice summery pieces, despite the rainy weather outside. I usually focus on accessories and shoes when u visit a 'foreign' Penneys, but this maxi did make me do a double take...

Penneys Maxi €15(pic from stealmystyle.ie)

At only €15 its a stunner...but alas, not for me- I am not a huge maxi fan on myself! I was very impressed with their swimwear range as well, which was huge! But it was quite padded out with rather tacky cover-ups. I managed to walk away fairly unscathed, spending only €18 on these lovely tan sandals. I am super fussy about sandals as my feet and legs ache if I wear dead-flat ones, these have just a nice little heel and I reckon they look more expensive than they were!

Penneys Sandals €18

Next to h&m. It was a bit of an unsuccessful mission to replace a broken pair of sunnies belonging to my husband John. I had no joy getting those for him, but I did get myself the cutest little granny-style bag for only €6.95! It will be perfect for toting my dance gear around or for bringing to the beach. I got a couple of little pressies for Sinéad's birthday too but I can't show you those! I got the bag in pink but there are other colours available- total bargain!!

 

While in the Ilac centre to use the loo(I'm preggers, when I gotta go I gotta go!) I stuck my head into a super cheapy(and in some cases tacky)shoe shop called motive(www.ilac.ie/stores/motive-shoes). Look, the shoes seem to be terrible quality, but some of them are super on-trend. And while I say terrible quality, I imagine its about the same as Boohoo or Missguided. No real leather in sight, but loads of nods to the 90's with chunky heels and hologram, as well as Topshop-esque dolly shoes. Nothing seemed to be over €45 so you get the quality you pay for! Here are a few examples of styles I spotted in there...

 

From there I armed myself with some fruit pastels for stamina and headed for Grafton Street. Like I said, I was on as bit of a mission to replace some sunnies, so I tried another h&m. No sunnies but I wanted to check out their maternity gear. I was super disappointed as they didn't seem to have any jeans left any smaller than a size 16. They lost a sale there because I was gonna invest in a couple of pairs! I couldn't help but look at their gorgeous baby gear- but no purchases allowed until we find out the gender in about a month :-)

I went to Zara next where I tried on this amazing dress. Unfortunately because of my growing tummy I was in between 2 sizes and it didn't sit right :-( But I had to share it with you all because its just beautiful!

Zara dress €49.95

The other thing I have to mention is their shoes! I always fall in love with a pair or 2 while I'm there and today was no exception! Check out these slides!

I can't remember the price of these but google tells me they are £39.90 so I put them around €50. Stunning!

After spending so much time on myself I thought I should get John a present. He needed some new thongs(flip flops!!) so I headed to Tribe in Stephens Green Shopping Centre(http://www.tribe-clothing.com/) and picked him up these by Quicksilver. He has been putting up with a lot from me lately so he deserved something- even something small!!

Quicksilver thongs/flip flops €12.90

Lastly but certainly not least, I headed for Topshop St. Stephens Green. As I work for Topshop in Galway, its pretty easy to justify a purchase or two, given I get a discount and because 'I can wear it to work!'. I have wanted these shoes for ages and constantly visit them online. After trying them on and deeming them comfy, I decided they were a must-purchase!

 I checked out swimwear too as I have my eye on this gorgeous one-piece. I decided to hold off on it though as I'm not sure when I will get on a sun holiday yet and the bump-size will be an important factor!

Topshop one-piece €55(topshop.com)

I did pick up some maternity leggings though in a lovely heavy jersey which I thought would be perfect for work(so I did get something practical...so practical I'm not even going to bore you with a picture!).
I decided to treat myself before heading for the bus so I went to Starbucks for a hot choccy and a slice of their new cranberry topped brownie. It was sooo rich, so be warned!! Its not just topped with cranberry, but runny caramel, white choc chunks and reg choc chunks! Talk about indulgent! But I did do a lot of walking...that's my story and I'm sticking to it!

Then I ran in the pouring rain for the bus, where to kill time I wrote this post!!!
Oh and as for what I wore? Well it wasn't super exciting. Lets be honest, it was all about comfort as I knew I would be doing a combination of gallivanting around the town and snoozing on the bus! T-shirt by tee and cake at Topshop, Topshop 'Jamie' jeans, Boohoo.com over-sized blazer, Topman necklace and sunnies, trainers from TK MAXX and Topshop handbag(converts to rucksack).

Apologies for the terrible photo- I was just off the bus, and I asked John to take another one but he said this one was fine...its really not!!
I hope that didn't bore you too much- I know I didn't exactly head off the beaten track, but I only had a few hours! All in all I had a great day and it was just what the doctor ordered. And if there's a lesson to be learnt here its that even if you have a growing bump(or you're just having a fat day!) you can always turn to shoes and accessories for that feel-good-factor...at least until your feet swell and go up a size...but I've got that to look forward to!
Toodles!
x Emily

Festival de Cannes 2014: Red Carpet Round Up

There are always hoards of beautiful designer pieces to be seen at the Festival de Cannes, and this year's event is no exception. This prestigious festival, an invitation only event, is an opportunity to preview new films of various genres from all over the world (and to strut your stuff on the red carpet of course!). Here's who we thought nailed the red carpet look and who missed the mark:

Clotilde Courau:

Sinead: I think this is rather pretty! The print adds interest to quite a classic 'ball gown' style.

America Ferrera:

Sinead: Anyone who can remain composed after having some creepy man climb under their dress deserves an award in my opinion! A cute princess dress and I love the plunging scallop neckline. 

Emily: I want to say something about her looking NOT ugly but it seems too obvious!! It's very princessy and I love the scallop detail- I've never really seen it used on a neckline like that before and I like it.

Ashlee: Well I'm not too keen on this, I just think it's a bit boring really. I feel like everything is all squished together but she is a beautiful girl. 

Kendall Jenner:

Sinead: Poor Kim is trying to be the fashion superstar in the fam, but it seems lil sis Kendall keeps stealing her thunder! 

Emily: I'm not buying Kendall as this fashion superstar. I don't know if I'm just cynical or because it seems like only yesterday she was just a little girl. Either way I think she needs to keep everything more youthful and stop trying to do Kanye's version of classy.

Sofia Coppola:

Sinead: Looking chic and stylish as always. 

Ashlee: I do like this shape dress but I think she could have had a little more fun with her accessories and shoes.

Karlie Kloss:

Emily: A lot of fashion folk were swooning over this but I think it's a bit too much. Too use a complete cliché, the dress is wearing her- she is not wearing the dress. 

Ashlee: Oh dear!

Nicole Kidman:

Sinead: This dress looked beautiful on the runway but I'm really undecided as to how it translates here. It all just seems a bit much really. 

Emily: It's a little bit too 'pale Princess Jasmine goes to the ball' for me.

Blake Lively:

1:

Sinead: I think she looks beautiful. Classic Serena Van Der Woodsen bombshell dress! I'll have her amazing long legs, please. 

Emily: It should be noted that I just don't like her- no reason, just don't. So yeah, she looks good but with what I think is her signature element of boring. And is her body just that ridiculously toned or is she always in amazing corset-type structures? Or both?

2:

Emily: I like this one more, but again, would love it way more not on her!! I have a problem. I admit it. 

3:

Sinead: I loved this dress on the runway with sneakers and I love it all glammed up on Blake. She's like a beautiful couture mermaid. 

Emily: I think this looks yucko! I've loved Chanel's silhouette distorting frocks when done in a high fashion way, but this (esp when combined with that hair!!) just distorts her into a weird porn-star Barbie shape that makes the whole thing look tacky. 

Cate Blanchett:

1:

Emily: I can't say anything bad about her. Even when she wears something a bit boring like this. Plus it's nice to see an actual bone fide movie star on the Cannes red carpet! 

2:

Sinead: Beautiful. Queen Cate still rules. 

Adele Exarchopoulos: 

Sinead: I think she looks lovely. It's quite similar to Leighton Meester's frock at the Met Gala.

Ziyi Zhang: 

Emily: Something different without looking home made. I like it!

Ashlee: She's so beautiful. I like this dress but I'd like it even more if it didn't have that bit sticking out to the right hand side. I'm like is it the wind or was it made like that?!

Lupita Nyong'o:

Emily: I don't get why designers keep doing this unflattering length- especially with those shoes! It's fashion 101 people! Past the knee + ankle strap= short and stumpy legs!

Ashlee: Everything about this is wrong, for some reason the colour is most offensive.

Julianne Moore: 

Emily: Julianne NEVER looks boring and we must applaud her for that! 

Naomi Watts:

Sinead: I'm pretty disappointed with this. Naomi normally always looks flawless, but this is a touch underwhelming. I'm also fearing for a nip slip!

Zoe Saldana:

Ashlee: I know this is very simple but I love it, she looks so elegant and fresh. 

Jane Fonda:

Sinead: Man if I can look HALF that hot at her age, I'll be a happy lady! 

Emily: So Angelina wore pretty much the same frock earlier this year. Angelina managed to make it look frumpy! Yes, THAT Angelina. While Jane on the other hand looks smokin'! Well played Jane!

Laetitia Casta:

Sinead: This dress is so cute! It may not be the most flattering (if you've seen the back angle) but I love it. And she's a model, so I'm sure anything's flattering on her anyway!

Emily: This is super cute. It's young and fun without being too in your face. I like it.

Elena Lenina:

Sinead: I actually laughed out loud when I saw this picture. Soooo many childish 'ball' jokes come to mind...

Emily: She had the balls to wear it?! I love that there's still people wearing stuff like this to give us something to talk about! 

Ashlee: This is awful, why, just why would you do that to yourself? 

Liya Kebede:

Sinead: I think this dress (minus the plunging neckline) would make a great little performance costume for one of my Irish dancing gigs! It's probably a tad out of my price range though...

Audrey Tautou:

Ashlee: Not a fan of this at all, she's looks very frumpy, like she's drowning in a sea of vile fabric. The thing with Audrey is she has a very small frame and when she wears these kind of dresses she falls into the background and looks like a little girl playing dress up. She wore a red Prada dress last year and I think it had a similar effect.

Sinead: I think it makes her look bigger than what she is. She's so tiny and cute that she almost makes this style of dress work, but not quite. She's so adorable and could do so much better! 

Paz Vega:

Sinead: She looks very polished and ladylike. 

Rooney Mara:

Sinead: I want this outfit. Really simple, but there is just something striking about it. The length of the skirt is probably not that flattering in theory, but maybe that's another reason why I like it? Whatever, I still want it.
Emily: I have to agree with Sinead that despite not being great in theory, this just works! Super sleek.

Home on the Range: My Australian Diary part 4

I'm finally at the end of regaling the tales from my journey to the homeland. It's been fun reliving the adventure and sharing some of the best bits of my hometown. For our last week of holidays, we tackled some more touristy activities (had to make sure the boyfriend saw some of Brisbane's great sights!)

Our first trip was to the Queensland Museum to check out the Deep Sea exhibit, as well as some native flora and fauna on display there. Sound boring? It was actually really interesting seeing and experiencing the enormous depths of the ocean. The giant squid and submarine simulator didn't hurt in drawing me in either!

(Yes those are real snakes!) 

It was a bright, sunny day so I took the opportunity to bust out my new Bardot fedora. Here's what I was wearing: 

Top: Topshop

Jeans: Sportsgirl

Sandals: Penneys/Primark

Necklace and Bracelet: Penneys/Primark

Sunglasses: Found in my drawer at home ;)

The next day, the family took us for a road trip to the top of Mt Cootha to view Brisbane City from it's highest point. Afterwards, we hit up The Emporium in Fortitude Valley for some luxurious desserts at Freestyle Tout.

The view of Brisbane from the top of Mt Cootha

I'm wearing a Penneys top and sunglasses, vintage Levi's shorts and vintage belt. 

A delicious hot fudge brownie at Freestyle (50/1000 Ann St, Fortitude Valley)

Fergal and I decided to hit the water and do a day trip over to Moreton Island. I'd actually never been before, despite only being an hour away. 

Our first activity was a guided snorkel tour through the Tangalooma Wrecks. After we were kitted out with wetsuits, flippers and snorkel gear, we took a short boat ride over to the ship wreck. Not going to lie, I was a bit nervous jumping into the water, but once you adjust to breathing through the snorkel, it's all smooth sailing. There are scores of colourful fish and coral and we even saw 3 sharks! Don't fret, they were Wobbegong sharks and aren't interested in eating us for dinner. They're actually pretty cute with their little hairy beards! However, when one is swimming towards your head, you suddenly start to doubt their intentions!

Aerial view of the Tangalooma Wrecks (photo from comegliding.com.au)

Snorkelling through the wrecks (photo from daytours.com.au)

Snapshot of a Wobbegong shark (rtseablog.blogspot.com)

After our snorkelling adventure, we learned to sail a catamaran. We nearly had a domestic during our first five minutes on the water, but once we hit the wind correctly, we were flying it! There's plenty of other activities to choose from such as kayaking, paddle boarding, fishing and sand boarding. Of course, with a beach that beautiful, it's nice to take the time to just chill out and enjoy it. 

So this concludes my Australian adventure. It was so amazing to catch up with my family, friends and reconnect with my beautiful hometown. I love and miss you all very much! Thanks for having me back and showing me a great time! I'll see you all soon... 

- Sinead xx

The MET Gala 2014

Ok, firstly, I'd like to get the boring stuff out of the way...

What the heck is the MET Gala??

For those of you who don't know, its formally called The Costume Institute Gala, and it is an annual fundraising gala for the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute. The timing of the gala also coincides with the opening of the institute's annual fashion exhibit.

Why is it such a star-studded event?

Blame Anna Wintour. She has been chair of the event since 1995, and this year the Costume Centre was officially named after her(The Anna Wintour Costume Centre). Every year, together with the staff at Vogue, she oversees the official guest list. If you weren't on the list this year, you could still go, but it would set you back $25,000. But I imagine Anna still has a pretty big say in those tickets as well. Sarah Jessica Parker is also on the board.
 

What do guests have to wear?

Every year there is a theme. Last year's theme 'Punk: Chaos to Couture' led to some pretty horrendous outfits (I'm looking at you Miley and Madonna). This year, the celebrated exhibit was 'Charles James: Beyond Fashion'. Without getting into who he was too much, essentially James was a British-born couturier who is most famous for his sculpted ball gowns made of lavish fabrics. He is also remembered for his capes and coats, which were often trimmed with fur and embroidery. Because of James' exhibit being this years 'theme', the dress code was stricter than ever. The code was officially 'White-tie and decorations'. According to Women's Wear Daily this translates to "full evening dress—a black tailcoat, waistcoat, a wing collar shit and a white bow tie". Basically, a level or two above your average black-tie. This dress-code, combined with the gala celebrating James, would lead you to expect to see grand ball gowns and men dressed like Prince Charming... but not everyone played by the rules. According to Wintour, Benedict Cumberbatch was pretty much the only man to dress truly to the code(and I must say he did look dashing!)

What does the MET Gala mean for designers?

In short, designers often custom-make outfits for their 'muses' and it's one of the few places you will see amazing couture gowns- other than on a runway. It's like a real-life catwalk, and because it's all about fashion and not about movies or TV shows, celebs are more likely to take risks and go all-out. This always leads to some pretty exciting looks!

Now for the fun stuff... the pictures!

Dita 'Even-I'm-a-little-bored-of-this-retro-look' Von Teese.

Selena Gomez.

Rosie Huntington-Whitely.

Neil Patrick Harris and David Burtka.

Leighton Meester.

Hayden 'I-probably-had-to-pay-for-my-ticket'
Panettiere.

Funny lady Sarah Silverman looking not-at-all-funny in Zac Posen. Posen's designs perfectly meet the criteria of the night's theme, and he was responsible for many of the night's best dramatic ballgowns.

Georgia May Jagger.

Adriana Lima.

Gisele Bundchen and Tom Brady.

Lea Michele.

Rihanna.

Amy Adams in a retro-inspired Oscar De La Renta.

Adele Exarchopoulos
(Nope, I don't know who she is either- I just thought her dress was interesting)

Anna Kendrick looking absolutely stunning-
one of my faves by J. Mendel.

Anne Hathaway looking rather boring.

Anna Wintour.

The ever-so-pretty Kate Upton in Dolce and Gabbana. While I get what they were going for, I don't think the designers did this beauty any justice...but her signature boobies look typically voluptuous.

Michelle Williams looking cute but completely inappropriate for the occasion.

Blake Lively looking a little too obviously old-Hollywood for my liking, but she clearly looks beautiful.

Rita Ora looking way too tarty for this event...or any event for that matter.

Charlize Theron.

The always-cute Chloe Moretz.

The always-fun Chloe Sevigny.

Dakota Johnson looking understatedly glam.

Pacey Witter...OK, sorry...Joshua Jackson and Diane Kruger.

Cara 'Screw-the-dress-code' Delevingne.

Jesscia 'What-have-I-done-lately?' Alba.

Suki 'you-only-know-who-I-am-cos-I-date-Bradly-Cooper' Waterhouse looking ethereal in ruffles.

Emmy Rossum looking super pretty in florals. I love this colour palette and think it would lend itself well to summer weddings and races.

Florence Welch.

Gabrielle Union in a daring two-piece.

Naomi Campbell with Riccardo Tisci.

Zoe Kravitz.

Arizona Muse in one of my favourite dresses of the night by Zac Posen. It's just so classic and well tailored. Full points!

Ivanka Trump.

Jourdan Dunn.

Idina 'It's-hard-to-believe-I'm-not-really-Lea-Michele's-mum' Menzel.

Johnny Depp and Amber Heard.

Alexa Chung.

Lupita Nyong'o- if she had just lost the stupid headband this would actually be quite fun. It's all a bit much though which is sad :-(

Jay-Z and Beyoncé. I adore the netting combined with Beyoncé's makeup. I think she looks absolutely beautiful and it perfectly compliments her dress.

Janelle Monae.

Kate Mara.

Selena Gomez, Diane Von Furstenburg and Jessica Alba.

A close up look at the best part of Kate Upton's outfit- her beautiful face and her décolletage.

Kendall 'In-your-face-Kim-the-fashion-world-loves-me' Jenner.

Katie Holmes- a woman who never ever seems to love or believe in what she is wearing, which always makes it look even worse. Confidence is key people!

Kirsten Dunst in a Rodarte dress that will make nerds around the world happy. Yes, that is the Death Star from Star Wars on her dress. For real. That's hard not to love.

Yeezy and Kim K. Kim certainly redeemed herself after last years Mrs-Doubtfire/ floral-couch debacle.

K-Stew, the most annoying celeb on the planet. And she doesn't look good either.

Lily Aldridge looking super-shiny...and I like it.

Lily Allen looking like a bit of a snoozefest. Nice, but Lily can do better...I expect more from Sheezus!

Jake and Maggie Gyllenhaal who both seemed to throw the dress code out the window.

Margot Robbie in a disappointing hot-glue-gun-inspired number. But her hair and makeup look flawless. 

Another view of Queen B and Jay-Z. The more I see her dress, the more I like it.

SJP who took the Cinderella-style dress code seriously.

Emma Stone. I love love love this! I don't know if its really perfect for this event, but I LOVE it. I love these shades together- and on a redhead! Amazing! Bravo!

Nicole Richie.

Kylie Minogue looking lovely but underwhelming.

Zoe Saldana in a frock that has divided critics. I am on the fence. It's all a bit fun really.

Naomi Watts not looking like her usual flawless self, but I am happy that she didn't go for something completely safe.

Marion Cotillard looking super pretty in navy with some very fun shoes. Loving the pop of colour in the lippy!

Olivia Munn looking stunning and classic in yellow.

The world's hottest new girl group: Cara Delevingne, Rihanna, Stella McCartney, Reese Witherspoon(who's dress I absolutely adore!)and the ever-boring Kate Bosworth.

Rachel McAdams kept it simple and stylish.

Donatella Versace looking amazingly-tacky as always.

Dianna 'I'm-another-one-who-probably-had-to-pay-to-be-here' Agron in one of the fugliest frocks of the night.

Lena 'Why-do-stylists-keep-letting-me-out-like-this' Dunham.

A back view of SJP in her very Carrie Oscar De La Renta gown. Love this or hate this it is super dramatic and fun. 

Sarah Paulson in a dress that I really love but that I imagine many don't. I just love the colour and the detail on the skirt.

Shailene Woodley in a completely fugly frock. This girl needs a stylist that is going to help her find her fashion identity- she has been all over the place lately! And good god, she is only like 22- this dress is at least 52.

 

The always-daring Solange Knowles. I love the colour on her, but not loving the hair.

Mr Cumberbatch, dressed in his dapper gentlemanly white-tie getup. Very dreamy!

David and Victoria kept it super-sleek in white.

Taylor swift looking like a vintage Barbie doll.

Zooey Deschanel also rocking a super classic look, care of Tommy Hilfiger. How does she get her hair so voluminous?!

What was your fave look of the night? We would love to hear your comments! And let me know if I left anyone out- there were so many looks to see!
-Emily